1865.] Report of the Archaeological Survey. 239 



the G-odavery to Seioet, or Srdvasti, as recorded in the Ceylonese Bud- 

 dhist works. This pilgrim, after passing through Mahissati and Ujani, 

 or Maheshniati and Ujain, reaches Kosambi, and from thence passes 

 through Sdketa to Sewet ; that is, along the very route followed by 

 Hwen Thsang. "We have, therefore, two authorities in favour of Sewet 

 being to the north of Saket. With regard to the distance, I refer 

 again to the Buddhist books of Ceylon, in which it is recorded that 

 from Sakespura (or Sangkasyapura, now Sankisa) to Sewet was a jour- 

 ney of 30 Yojans. Now, Fa Hian makes the distance from Sankisa 

 to Kanoj 7 Yojans, thence to the forest of Holi, on the Granges, 3 

 Yojans, and thence to Shachi 10 Yojans, or altogether only 20 Yojans, 

 or 10 less than the Ceylonese books. That Pa Hian's statement is 

 erroneous, is quite clear from the fact that his distance would place 

 Shachi in the neighbourhood of Lucknow ; whereas the other distance 

 would place it close to Ajudhya, or Faizabad, or in the very position 

 indicated by Hwen Thsang's itinerary. Here, again, we have two 

 authorities in favour of the longer distance. I have no hesitation, 

 therefore, in declaring that Fa Hian's recorded bearing of She-wei from 

 Sha-chi is wrong, and that "north" should be read instead of "south." 

 305. I have now to show that Fa Hian's Sha-chi is the same as 

 Hwen Thsang's Visdkha, and that both are identical with Sdketa or 

 Ajudhya. With respect to Sha-chi, Fa Hian relates that " on leaving 

 the town by the southern gate you find to the east of the road the 

 place where Buddha bit a branch of the nettle tree and planted it in 

 the ground, where it grew to the height of seven feet, and never in- 

 creased or diminished in size." Now, this is precisely the same legend 

 that is related of Visdkha by Hwen Thsang, who says that " to the 

 south of the capital, and to the left of the road (that is to the east as 

 stated by Fa Hian), there was, amongst other holy objects, an extra- 

 ordinary tree 6 or 7 feet high, which always remained the same, neither 

 growing nor decreasing. This is the celebrated tooth-brush tree of Bud- 

 dha, to which I shall have occasion to refer presently. Here I need 

 only notice the very precise agreement in the two descriptions of this 

 famous tree, as to its origin, its height, and its position. The perfect 

 correspondence of these details appears to me to leave no doubt 

 of the identity of Fa Hian's Sha-chi with the Visakha of Hwen 

 Thsang, 



