1865.] Report of the Arcliceological Survey. 283 



Hwen Thsang describes a lofty stupa of Asoka, 200 feet in height, 

 and a stone cavern of a venomous dragon, in which it was devoutly 

 believed that Buddha had left his shadow. But the truthful pilgrim 

 candidly says that this shadow was not to be seen in his time. If 

 Hwen Thsang's south-west bearing is correct, the holy cave must have 

 been carried away long ago by the encroachment of the Jumna, as the 

 clear reach of the river above Kosambi, as far as the hill of Prabhasa, 

 a distance of 4 miles, now bears 282° from the south-west of the old 

 city, or 1 2° to the north of west. The hill of Prabhasa, which is on 

 the left bank of the Jumna, is the only rock in the Antarved or Doab 

 of the Ganges and Jumna. In a hollow between its two peaks stands a 

 modern Jain temple, but there is no cavern, and no trace of any 

 ancient buildings. 



295. At a short distance to the south-east of Kosambi, there was 

 an ancient monastery containing a stupa of Asoka, 200 feet in height, 

 which was built on the spot where Buddha had explained the law for 

 many years. Beside the monastery, a householder named Kiu-shi-lo ) 

 formerly had a garden. Fa Hian calls it the garden of Kiu-sse-lo ; but 

 by the Buddhists of Ceylon it is called the Glwsiha garden. M. Julien 

 renders the name doubtfully by Goshira, but it appears to me that the 

 true name was most probably the Sanskrit Gosirsha, and the Pali 

 Gosisa, which I believe to be still preserved in Gopsahsa, the name of a 

 small village close to Chota Garhawd. This name is now written JTPJrW- 

 "^T Gop-sahasa, but as the well known name of Janamejaya is Written 

 sjJrij^T Jag-medau, and also aj^ra«£T: Jalmedar, by the half educated 

 people of Kosam, I do not think that the slight difference of spelling 

 between the ancient Gosisa and the present Gopsahasa, forms any very 

 strong objection to their identification, more especially as the position 

 of the Gosisa garden must have been as nearly as possible on the site of 

 the Gopsahasa village. There are no ancient remains about this village ; 

 nor indeed could we expect to find many traces of the garden. But in 

 the neighbouring village of Kosam Khirdj, or Hisdmdhad, the vestiges 

 of ancient occupation are found everywhere, and this village I believe 

 to have been the site of the monastery with its lofty stupa of 200 feet, 

 built by Asolca, and its smaller stupa containing the hair and nails of 

 Buddha. The position of this village, within one quarter of a mile of 

 the south-east corner of the ancient fort, agrees precisely with the site 

 of the monastery as described by Hwen Thsang, " cl une petite distance 



