75 
1900.] W. B.oey— ^Identification of Kusinara^ Vaisalf ^c. 
A-li (var. Ho-lo, A-lo) and here he found traces of Buddha in the 
usual form of memorial buildings. He and Hvven Thsang probably 
visited the same place. Anyhow I have no doubt that Asi-vana is the 
forest of A-li, and the present pargana of Asiwau probably represents 
approximately the area of the forest of Fa Hian’s time. The people 
have a local tradition that the town of Asiwan was founded by one 
Asan, a name which will be seen to be of importance when I recur later 
on to the route subsequently taken by Hwen Thsang. 
On leaving the A-li Forest Fa Hian proceeded to the country of the 
Sha-chi. He travelled direct, but Hwen Thsang on leaving Newal went 
to other places before he reached Pi-so-kia, which is, I think, plainly 
the capital o£ the Sha-chi. One is tempted to say that the Sha-chi 
must be the Saketas (San sc.), the inhabitants of Saketa or Ayodhya, 
and to restore Pi-so-kia as Vi-saka (not Vi9akha) so as to introduce a 
common root to connect Sa-chi and Pi-so-kia as Chinese renderings of 
Sanscrit names. The temptation is all the stronger because at the S.E. 
of Ramkot, the ancient citadel of Ayodhya, we have the mani parbat ^ 
(Orajhar), which might be thought to be a stupa, and beside it there 
are numerous ‘chilbil* (Sansc. civillilea) trees. The twigs of tlie 
chilbil are largely used to serve the purpose of tooth brushes. All this 
bears a plausible resemblance to what both pilgrims record as to the 
place which they visited but doubt still remains. I have been unable 
to find any trace of Deva-9arman at Ayodhya, but I do find that the 
hermitage of this sage is still pointed out near the Varaha sangam, the 
junction of the Sarju and Grogra rivers near Pasha, in the Gonda 
District, where there is still a shrine to which Hindu pilgrims resort. 
They attach sanctity to this locality because of the image of the Boar 
here placed which is said to mark the scene of the Varaha Avatara. 
I believe that Pasha will be found to be Pi-so-kia, the capital of the 
kingdom or country of the Sha-chi. 
Proceeding from this both pilgrims went on to fra vast! , which may 
be held to be Set-mahet until something tangible be shown to upset 
the identification. It is true that Kapilavastu is said to have lain S.E, 
from fravasti or rather the pilgrims went S.E. from that city to visit 
places on their way to Kapilavastu, whereas the direction of the sup^ 
posed site of Kanakamuni’s stupa is slightly N. of E. from Set-mahet, 
but we find so many instances in which directions given by the pilgrims 
do not tally with directions shown on modern maps, prepared on the 
basis of careful surveys with modern instruments that we must not 
argue too strenuously on the directions loosely recorded and often 
I This spot, however, may really preserve the name of Mani-cuda, one of the 
prehistoric kings of Ayodhya. 
