1848.] through Afghanistan and India. 39 



this part of the country was once subject to volcanic action. There 

 cannot therefore be any good reason for doubting Hwan Thsang's rela- 

 tion, more particularly as the present name of the place, Mauna-giri, 

 or the " quiet hill," would seem to allude to a former period of volcanic 

 noise and activity. I am aware that the Brahmans refer the name to 

 Mudga-giri, which however can scarcely be the original of the present 

 spoken form of Mongir.) 



Thence following the S. bank of the Ganges to the E. at 300 It (50 

 miles) to 



No. 79 — Chen-pho, Bhdgalpur, Landresse. The capital to the N. 

 rests on the Ganges, and to the E. of it at 40 or 50 li (6 or 8 miles) S. 

 of the Ganges was an isolated hill surrounded by water. (The ancient 

 name of Bhagalpur was Champapura, and as the distance and bearing 

 agree with those of Hwan Thsang the identification of M. Landresse is 

 undoubtedly correct. The isolated rock surrounded by water must be 

 one of those in the neighbourhood of Kahalgaon (Colgong), although 

 the recorded distance is much too small. I would propose to read 140 

 or 150 instead of 40 or 50 li : this distance would bring us to the well 

 known rock of Patharghatta, below Kahalgaon.) 

 Thence to the E. at 400 li (66 miles) to 



No. 80 — Ko-chu-wen-ti-lo, also named Kocheu-ko-lo, 2000 li 

 (333 miles) in extent. On its northern side, not far from the Ganges, 

 was a large brick tower. (The bearing and distance point to the ruins 

 of Gaur, the former capital of Bengal. The Chinese syllables perhaps 

 represent the Sanskrit ^r^pR, Kachchha-vetra, the " reedy marsh," 

 and ^f^Jl^S", Kachchha-gurha, " surrounded by marshes," or Kachchha 

 Gaurha, the " swampy Gaurh," to distinguish it from the hilly Gaurli 

 near Kashmir. In the syllables Ko-lo I recognize the name of Gaurh, 

 31^. The only apparent objection to this identification is the fact that 

 Gaur now stands some 10 or 12 miles from the northern bank of the 

 Ganges ; whilst Ko-cheu-ko-lo would seem to have been on the south- 

 ern bank of the river. But it is well known that Gaur was originally 

 on the bank of the Ganges, and that the gradual desertion of the river 

 has led to the ruin of the city within the last 300 years. It seems to 

 me however highly probable that one of the principal branches of the 

 Ganges once flowed to the northward of Gaur, through the channel now 

 called Kalendri, which connects the Kusi and Mahananda rivers. If this 



