I 
1899.] the vitasta valley. 87 
Marching down the valley from Uskiir: Huskapura, we first cross 
the spur which bounds the gorge of Varahamula from the south. We 
then reach a fertile little plain, about two miles broad, charmingly 
situated in an amphitheatre of high pine-clad mountains and facing the 
Dyai ^gul ridge. It is known as Nar a vav and contains at the village of 
S'ir and Fattegarh considerable remains of ancient temples. On a 
small plateau which forms the western boundary of this plain by the 
river bank, lies the village of Kitsthom It marks the site of the an¬ 
cient Buddhist convent of Krtyasrama , the foundation of which a curi¬ 
ous legend related by Kalhana attributes to the son of Asoka. 1 Ou- 
k'ong refers to it as the ‘ monastere du mont Kitche 
At Buniar, near the end of the first day’s march we pass the well- 
preserved ruins of an ancient temple which are of considerable antiqua¬ 
rian interest. Its name and date cannot be traced in our extant records. 
Another similar ruin, but far more decayed, flanks the road about mid¬ 
way between Buniar and Uri. 
From near the latter place the Vitasta Valley is held on the left 
bank chiefly by the Khakha tribe, on the right by the closely related 
Bombas. In the former we recognize the ancient KJiasas whose settle¬ 
ments lower down the Valley, at Viranaka, are distinctly mentioned by 
Kalhana. 2 The predatory habits and restless ways of the Khasas form 
a frequent theme in the Chronicle. The modern Kliakhas and Bombas 
have up to the middle of the present century done their best to main¬ 
tain this ancient reputation, just as their seats have remained the old 
ones. 
T See Rdjat. i. 147 note; also my Notes on Ou-k'ong, pp. 13 sqq « Krtyasrama is 
mentioned already by Ksemendra, Samaijam, ii. 61. 
2 Rdjat. viii. 409. 
