254 Report of the Archaeological Survey. [No. 4 



only the usual rhyming addition of which the Hindus are so fond, as 

 in ulta pulta, or "topsy-turvy/' which many of the people say is the 

 true meaning of Sdhet-Mdhet, in allusion to the utter ruin of the whole 

 place. But some say that the name was originally Set-met, and as 

 this form seems to be only a corruption of Sewet, it is probable that 

 Sahet-mahet or Sdhet-mdhet, is simply a lengthened pronunciation of 

 Set-met. One man alone, and he, strange to say, was the Musalman 

 in charge of the tomb of Pir-Barana close to the rained city, affirmed 

 that the true name was Sdvitri, which is so close to the correct Pali 

 form of Sawatthi as to leave but little doubt that it preserves the 

 original name of the place. 



332. The next point of difference is the distance of the celebrated 

 monastery of Jetavana from the south gate of the city. According to 

 Fa Hian this was 1,200 paces, or about half a mile, which is increased 

 by Hwen Thsang to 5 or 6 U, or nearly one mile. But as the only 

 mass of ruins which can possibly be identified with the Jetavana is 

 exactly half a mile from the nearest opening in the south rampart of 

 the old city, there is clearly some mistake in the distance given by 

 Hwen Thsang, unless we may suppose him to have approached the 

 monastery by a somewhat longer route through the multitude of holy 

 places, of which the remains still exist to the east of the Jetavana 

 ruins. By this route the distance would be increased to three -quarters 

 of a mile, or 4J U, which is sufficiently close to the number given by 

 Hwen Thsang. 



333. A third discrepancy is contained in the statement of Fa Hian 

 that "the town has two gates, one facing the east and the other the 

 north," when we know that it had a south gate by which both himself 

 and Hwen Thsang had issued from the city, when on their way to the 

 Jetavana monastery. Perhaps Fa Hian intended to say that " besides 

 the south gate, the city had two other gates, one to the east and one 

 to the south." But as it is scarcely credible that a city which was 3 J 

 miles in circuit should have possessed only three gates, I think that 

 we may understand that the statements refer only to the principal 

 entrances, and that there were at least as many more smaller gates, or 

 wickets, corresponding with the present openings in the ramparts. 



334. Both pilgrims begin their account of Srdvasti at the old 

 palace of King Prasenajita, and as both, after describing the surround- 



