22 
[No. 1, 
S. C. Das —Antiquity of Chittagong. 
the three great provinces, viz :—Tirabhukti, Baggala and Kamarupa. lie 
patronized the Madhyamika philosophers, pri Gupta, the pupil of Supra- 
datta and also the Acaryas Ratna Kirtti and Amara Siddba. King 
Yimala Candra had married a sister of king Bhartrhari, the last of the 
line of the Candras who ruled in Malava, and had two sons, viz :—Lalifca 
Candra and G5pi Candra After king Bhartrhari had renounced the 
world in order to live the life of an ascetic, Lalita Candra succeeded him. 
King Vimala Candra was succeeded by Gopi Candra, during whose 
reign the seat of Government was at Catigrama (modern Chittagong) 
in Eastern Bengal. In Catigrama there were in that early time many 
Tirthika temples and Buddhist Viharas. The Buddhist of Catigrama 
belonged to the Tantrik Mahayana school. To the south of Catigrama 
was the kingdom of Raklian or Arakhan. In Catigrama there was 
Jalandhara, in which flames of fire appeared mixed up with water. 
The Buddhist Siddha Balapada was born at Nagara Thata in Sindu, 
in the family of a rich fudra merchant. He became a Buddhist and 
studied a large number of Buddhist works under eminent Buddhist sages. 
Then entering the holy order of Bhiksus, he visited Udyana (modern 
Swat and Chitral) and there practised yoga . From there he proceeded 
to Jalandhara (a place somewhere between Kacmir and Nepal), where 
appeared flames of fire in the midst of water and stone. For his long 
residence there he was called the Saint of Jalandhara. He visited Nepal 
and there causing the chief Lirjga of piva to be split by the efficacy of 
his charms, converted the Nepalese to Tantrik Buddhism. From Nepal 
he proceeded to the city of Avanti in Malava. At this time Bhartrhari, 
a member of the old royal family of Malava, had succeeded to the 
throne on the death of Visnu Raja. Balapada converted a large 
number of people at Avanti to Buddhism by performing miracles. 
Once several thousand goats were being sacrificed by the Brahmans 
before some deity. Suddenly by his charms he changed them into so 
many wolves. This frightened the people who, imbibing faith in 
Buddha, desisted from animal sacrifice. He initiated a man of the weav¬ 
er-caste, aged 99 years, in the mystic cult of Tantrik Buddhism and 
admitted a young Brahman to the holy order, who afterwards became 
an adept in mysticism and was called Krisn-acarya (the performer 
of black magic). Lastly, once while he was seated in deep meditation 
at the foot of a tree in a grove outside the city of Avanti, some robbers 
came and sat round him. At night they committed robbery in the city 
and obtained good many precious things. Thinking that good luck had 
attended them on account of their having seen the sage, they made him 
large presents of pearl rosaries and other precious things which weighed 
several hundred ounces. When they had gone away, the people saw in 
