Successful exploration of the Magadh region south of the Ganges in Huen Tsangs footsteps.

Ref- First successful exploration of Magadh region in Bihar south of the Ganges in the footsteps of Huen Tsang a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, and traveler of the seventh century. Below is the report I have submitted to the Archaeological Survey Of India. The entire report is based on quotes of Huen Tsangs journal “Si-Yu-Ki Buddhist records of the western world,” which I have done page to page and paragraph to paragraph. The link to Samuel Beals translation of this book is  https://archive.org/details/SiYuKiBuddhistRecordsOfTheWesternWorldVol2

I have attached the link of my youtube video titled “Buddha Exhumed: Buddhist sites south of the Ganges visited by Huen Tsang.” The reader can follow my report in this video which is simply satellite pictures of the places. The reader will get an idea where the places really are by comparing the report given below with the spots in the video. The report travels alongside the video. Heres the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51hIAUxsh7g  

I will describe the actual route Huen Tsang took in the Magadh region. I will start from Pataliputra

(1)PATALIPUTRA NEAR BARH : (Si-yu-Ki page 82 to 102) The historical search for the elusive historical city of Pataliputra is unique. God destined me to find it.  Amongst ancient scholars Pliny was the first to point to a particular place identifying it as Palibothra. He places Palibothra 425 miles from the confluence of the river Jomanes (Jamuna) and the Ganges. Other European scholars attempted to identify the site of Pataliputra during the latter half of the eighteenth century. The first European in the field of identification is the well known French Geographer D. Anville (1697 to 1782) who published in 1768 his “Geographic Ancienne Abregee.” He erroneously identified the river Erranoboas, mentioned by the Greek writers who refer to Palibothra (Pataliputra) with the Jamuna, instead of the river Sone. He placed Pataliputra somewhere near Halebas or modern day Allahabad. Rennel (1742 to 1830), the most celebrated English geographer of his time was the first to identify the site of modern day Patna as the ancient Pataliputra. In his “Memoir of a map of Hindostan,” published in 1788 he first identifies ‘Cannauj’ as Pataliputra. He later states that later enquiries reveal that a large city by the name of Patelpoot-her, or Pataliputra was on the confluence of the Sone and the Ganges. His change in calculation was due to Sir William Jones findings that there was a city by that name on the ancient confluence of the river Sone and the Ganges. Later he accepts Pliny’s decision and says “Pliny’s Palibothra is however clearly Patna.” Thomas Pennant (1726-1798) a known antiquary published a work titled “Outlines of the globe,” in which he agrees with Rennel identifying the site of Patna with the ancient Palibothra or Pataliputra. He accepted the city once sat on the fork of the Ganges and Sone river. Cole Wilford in 1798 had a weird theory that Palibothra was the same as Rajagriha. According to him one Balaram rebuilt it and it was called Baliputra because the son of Balaram lived in it. Later in 1822 he shifted his gaze to Patna and stated there were two adjacent cities like London and Westminister. They were Patna and Palibothra. Colonel W. franklin in 1815 identified Pataliputra with Bhagalpur. He stated the hills near modern day Bhagalpur made this town a better contender for the elusive city of Pataliputra than either Rajmahal, Patna, Kannauj or Allahabad. In 1808, Dr Buchanon Hamilton got information from a priest near Patna which seemed to confirm Rennels identification. The oral tradition (not written) of the priest said that the ancient name of the place was Pataliputra.

It was after all this guesswork that people came to know about the itineraries of two Chinese Buddhist monks, namely Huen Tsang and Fa Hein. Surprisingly they all attributed the Chinese description of Pataliputra to a site close to modern day Patna in modern day Kumhrar. And they were all of the view that though the site was that of Pataliputra, the traces of the old city did not exist at all being washed away by the river Ganges. This was the general view of the officers of the archaeological department of that time. In 1876 however, while digging a tank in a part of Patna, “the remains of a long wall,” and “a line of palisades” of timber was first discovered which Mr J.W. McCrindle notes in his “Ancient India” (dated 1877). In 1878 General Cunninghams view swerves around differing from the general view of his department, affirmed that most of the remains of the old city still existed at Panch Pahari and Choti. He assigned the ground between these two places as the site of Ashokas old palaces, monuments and monasteries. Colonel Waddell with the aid of the two Chinese pilgrim’s accounts confirmed Cunningham’s view, that most of the remains of Pataliputra remained and were not washed away by the river Ganges. He went on to identify the landmarks of some of the buildings of the old city such as prince Mahendras hermitage hill, the Rajah’s palace, Ashokas palace etc. He further excavated and tried to identify ancient structures that were found. Dr Spooner’s excavations in Kumhrar unearthed the so-called hundred pillared hall. Colonel Waddell found some curved stone fragments he thought were a part of the Ashokan pillar Huen Tsang had described.

Reading the above we realize that prior to the discovery and translation of Huen Tsangs “Si-Yu-Ki Buddhist Records Of The Western World,” by Samuel Beal which was published in 1906, all sorts of theories abounded in relation to the identification of the site of ancient Pataliputra. But till date none of the actual sites Huen Tsang described have been found in the excavated sites near Patna. Till now there are no traces of Ashokas palace, his first sanghdharma, prince Mahendras hill house, Ashokas first Buddha relic stupa, Ashokas hell or torture chambers, the Ghantaghar stupa, the unbeatable Brahmins house, the rock on which Ashoka fed the monks, the stone with lord Buddhas foot impression on it, the stupa in the name of a medicinal fruit, the pond in which all sins were washed away, and the five extra relic stupas made for the left over relics of the Buddha.

All the above mentioned are found approximately 58 kilometers east of Patna as the crow flies, in six villages bordering the river Ganges and to north of the Barh National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) power plant close to the subdivisional town of Barh in Patna district. The villages are Dheebar, Sahnoura, Pachmahala, Lemuabad, Railli, Chintamachak, Balam Pokhar, Mahender Ghat, and Pandarak. The power plant and these villages combined together stand on the site of the ancient city of Pataliputra. According to Huen Tsangs description the power plant is definitely on the spot of the old city of Pataliputra. Prince Mehendras hill house is a Hindu temple in Dheebar, the Kali temple in village Sahnoura stands on Ashokas hell; near the Kali temple in the fields lies the rock on which Ashoka fed the monks, the ghanta stupa is in a village called Railli, the Patna to Mokameh highway passes over the stupa named after a medicinal fruit, Ashokas palace is in a village called Pandarak, Ashokas first relic stupa is in Pandarak and is today a sun temple, the rock with the Buddhas foot impression is near the sun temple on the banks of the Ganges, Ashokas first sanghdharma is in village Chintamanchak, and the five Buddha relic stupas are in a village called Pachmahala or Sahari. I will now give a detailed description of this find.

(1) HUEN TSANG starts his tour of the Magadh region from Pataliputra and travels 450 Li or 79 miles south west to Gaya. Orientalists like Samuel Beal and the others had pinpointed Kumhrar in Patna as Pataliputra which is directly north of Gaya so doesn’t match Huen Tsangs description. It seems the orientalists didn’t think ancient Indians capable of supplying accurate mileage which is why they didn’t do a simple thing as calculate the direction and mileage Huen Tsang supplied to travel from Pataliputra to Gaya. The ancient Chinese pilgrim had traveled 79 miles south west to Gaya so Pataliputra should be north east of Gaya. The Barh NTPC and the five villages north to it, namely Pandarak, Sahnoura, Lemuabad, Railli, Dheebar, Pachmahala is 450 Li’s north east of Gaya. This matches with Huen Tsangs description of Pataliputra.  The city can be described as follows.

(a) Barh Thermal Power station: The Barh Thermal power station is bang on the old city of Pataliputra. I have come to this conclusion because of my identification of the first Sanghdharma emperor Ashoka built after he suffered a change of heart and became a pious man and the identification of the pond Huen Tsang describes which had the ability to wash away the sins of the bather who bathed in its waters.

(b) Chintamanchak/Kui-cha-o-lan-mo: According to Huen Tsang’s book “Si-Yu-Ki,” in page 95 in the first paragraph the Chinese pilgrim says “To the south east of the old city (Pataliputra, now the Barh NTPC) is the sanghdharma Kiu-cha-o-lan-mo which was built by Ashoka Raja when he first became believer in the religion of the Buddha. It was a sort of first fruit.” Kiu-cha-o-lan-mo is a Chinese mispronunciation of an Indian name. It was Ashokas first sanghdharma after he suffered a change of mind and converted to Buddhism. Today exactly south east of NTPC is the village of Chintamanchak with ruins which Huen Tsang mispronounced as K’iu-cha-o-lan-mo which Samuel Beal translates and further mispronounces as Kukkutarama. Huen Tsangs K’iu-chan-o-lan-mo sounds similar to Chintamanchak so it is safe to identify today’s Chintamanchak village with Huen Tsangs mis-pronounced name. Chintanman in the local Bihari language means to think deeply and decide so the village name itself states that there was a change of mind before he built the sanghdharma.  This village is in the Taal area of Barh subdivision and is prone to floods so people have made their homes on the sanghdharma itself thinking it free high ground. The fact that Huen Tsang states the sanghdharma is south east to the old city and in actuality the village is south east of the thermal power station, the latter can be safely identified as the site of the city of Pataliputra itself.

(c) Balam Pokhar: Huen Tsang writes about a pond to the southwest of the old city of Pataliputra. It is next to some low rocky high ground which unfortunately has been land filled by the power plant to make a temple. Half of the pond still exists. I will quote the last chapter of page 93 of Si-Yu-Ki. “By the side of it is an old tower, the ruins of which are a massed of heaped up stones. There is also a pond, the gentle ripples of which play over its surface as pure as a mirror. The people far and near call it the sacred water. If anyone drinks thereof or washes in it, the defilement of their sins is washed away and destroyed.” The reader will realize according to Huen Tsang south west to the old city of Pataliputra there is a pond where after bathing in it people’s sins are washed away. Today south west of the NTPC power plant there is a revered pond by the name of Balam pokhar where people come and bath. It is believed that the pond and its mud water cures skin diseases. This pond tallies with Huen Tsangs description and helps us mark the Barh NTPC power plant to be standing on the remains of the city of Pataliputra. The pond is in danger of being land filled for building purposes. Villagers requested me that it was a holy site and to stop the land filling.  Together the pond and the village of Chintamanchak can safely identify the site of the power plant as the site of Huen Tsangs old city of Pataliputra.

(d) Sahnoura village/ Ashokas hell: According to Huen Tsang an old palace was north of the city of Pataliputra so this palace should be north of the thermal power plant. To the north of the palace he made a hell or torture chamber. I will quote the last chapter of page 85 of “Si-Yu-Ki.” He writes,“To the north of the old palace of the king is a stone pillar several tens of feet high; this is the place where Ashoka Raja made a hell.” The Chinese traveler then describes the hell or torture chambers king Ashoka made to torture people. I have located that hell which is now under a Kali temple in village Sahnoura which is adjacent to Pandarak village. There are intricately carved rocks and artifacts there that could belong to a torture chamber. One looked like a guillotine. The pillar Huen Tsang had described is wedged within the western wall of the Kali temple. It isn’t as high as Huen Tsang described it. This is natural as it must have been attacked by King Shashank who had a habit of persecuting Buddhists, pulling down Ashokan pillars, and chopping them into small Shiva Lingas. The temple is on high ground and villagers say that artifacts are procured whenever someone digs in its premises or in the surrounding area. I am sure excavation of the site will produce the torture chambers. The villages name Sahnoura in the rural Bihari dialect of that area itself means to ‘bear great pain in hell.’ It also sounds similar to Sramna who is the main character in Huen Tsangs story of the torture chamber.

 (e) Pundarakh village/First relic stupa: Huen Tsang further goes on to describe King Ashokas first relic stupa to house the Buddhas relics. This stupa helps us identify Ashokas palace itself. I will quote the last chapter of page 87 of the Chinese traveler’s journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “to the south of the earth prison and not far off is a stupa. Its foundation walls are sunk and its in a leaning ruinous condition. There remains however, the crowning jewel of the cupola. This is made of carved stone and has a surrounding balustrade. This was the first (or one) of the 84000 (stupas). Ashoka Raja erected it by the power of man in the middle of his royal precinct.” Exactly north east of the NTPC power plant is the village of Pandarak which I believe stands on King Ashokas palace itself. In the middle of the village is King Ashokas first relic stupa with the Buddhas relics in it which today is a Hindu sun temple. The temple is on high ground which is the stupa itself. I have seen a lot of Ashokan stupas in my explorations so I regard myself as the only authority on Ashokan stupas in the world till date. I recognized the gradual incline to the sanctum sanctorum of the sun temple which is nothing else but the cupola Huen Tsang described. Huen Tsangs story of the capture of the sun by Upagupta and the local folk lore of the sun temple of Pandarak village are very similar. According to Huen Tsang after King Ashoka got 84000 stupas constructed to house the relics of the Buddha he wanted the relics to be lowered into all the stupas at the same time. Upagupta tells him to advise his men to watch the sun and as soon as it sets during the day to insert the relics into the stupas. Thus the relics would be inserted in all the stupas at the same time. The people obeyed and one day Upagupta covered the sun during the day so everyone, where ever they were, inserted the relics into the stupas. The modern day story of Pandarak sun temple is the same. Punya Baba is the reigning deity of the village. It is said that one day he caused the sun to set during daytime right above the stupa or the modern day sun temple. Modern day villagers don’t know that relics were immersed in the stupa. They simply believe that Punda Baba dug a hole five thousand feet down and immersed some sort of machine to control the sun.  Huen Tsang goes on to describe the stupas cupola. When he visited the stupa, it had tilted. The cupola was the saving grace. It is today preserved in the sun temples sanctum sanctorum and prayed to as the sun God. The villagers have surrounded the cupola with new marble and pray to it. The ancestors of the local priest where brought here by Sakraditya Raja who made the first Sanghdharma in Nalanda. I suspect the village alley that travels around the stupa is the ancient parikrama. And since Huen tsang states the stupa is in the middle of the royal precincts, that means the colony to the right of the parikrama or to the right of the colony alley that travels around the stupa (sun temple) is on top of King Ashokas palace itself.

(f) Pandarak/ Koyla Rani: Huen Tsang goes on to describe a rock with the Buddhas footmark on it. He said it was near the stupa on the banks of the Ganges. I will quote the second paragraph of page 90 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “By the side of the stupa and not far from it, in a vihara, is a great stone on which Tathagat walked. There is still the impressions of both his feet on it, about eighteen inches long and six inches broad, both the right and left impress have the circle sign, and ten toes are all infringed with the figures of flowers and forms of fishes which glisten brightly in the light.” In the village on the banks of the Ganges is a bunch of intricately carved rocks with Lord Buddha’s footmark on it just as Huen Tsang had described. The villagers call it Koyla Rani. Lord Buddha stood on this rock and looked for the last time at Magadh when he crossed the Ganges on his way to Khushinagar. Villagers do not touch it. They don’t know what it is but revere it and occasionally pull out the grass that grows around it. On one rock you can see half the footmark of the Buddha just as Huen Tsang described. The rock is in pieces just as Huen Tsang described. He tells the story of how King Shashank broke it to pieces and threw it into the river. Legend has it that the rock jumped back onto land so the villagers fear it and refuse to touch it.  So basically the stupa or the sun temple, the stupas cupola, and the rock on the banks of the Ganges are ample proof of the site around them being that of King Ashokas palace.

(g) Sahnoura village fields: Huen Tsang describes a huge flat rock with a hollow in which King Ashoka kept food for the Bhikshus. According to him this rock was between the hell he made to kill people and the relic stupa. I will quote the third last chapter of page 93 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.”  He says, “To the north of the old palace and to the south of the hell, is a great stone with a hollow trough in it. Ashoka raja commissioned the Genii as workmen to make this hollow to use for the food which he gave to the priests when he invited them to eat.” In the fields between the Kali temple in Sahnoura village and the stupa in Pandarak  is a huge flat rock with a hollow in which Ashoka kept food to feed the monks. It is just as Huen Tsang described. The villagers showed me the rock though they didn’t know what it was for. British Indigo planters used it to dry their Indigo.

(h) Lemuabad/ O-mo-lo-kia: Near the first Sanghdharma or the village of Chintamachak is a stupa named after the name of a fruit used as a medicine. I will quote the second chapter of page 95 of “Si-Yu-Ki.” Huen Tsang says, “By the side of the sanghdharma is a great stupa called O-mo-lo-kia, (amalaka) which is the fruit named as the medicine of India.” The stupa was constructed after Ashoka recuperated from grave illness. Huen Tsang Calls it O-mo-lo-kia. Samuel Beal says it is the Amla fruit and translates O-mo-lo-kia as the Amalaka fruit. But this fruit is not available in this area. The medicinal fruit used in this area is Lemu or lime. Today near Chintamanchak village which is the first sanghdharma is the village of Lemuabad which is on top of a stupa. Lemuabad means life after eating a lime and sounds similar to Huen Tsangs O-mo-lo-kia. Unfortunately people have settled on top of all the stupas in this area as it is a flood prone zone. The Mokameh to Patna highway used this mud mound or stupa so the highway passes over it right through the middle of Lemuabad village. It is clear this stupa was a commemorative stupa to commemorate King Ashokas recuperation from grave illness.

(i) Railli: Huen Tsang says northwest of the O-mo-lo-kia (Modern day Lemuabad) stupa in the middle of an old sanghdharma is a stupa that is called “establishing the sound of the ghanta.” I will quote the last para of page 96 of Si-Yu-Ki. “To the north west of the Amalaka stupa, in the middle of an old sanghdharma, is a stupa; it is called ‘establishing the sound of the ghanta (kin-ti).’” From this paragraph we realize religious debates took place between Buddhists and Hindus here. Every time the Buddhists won the bell would ring making a din informing the people of Pataliputra of the victory. Today northwest of Lemuabad village is a village called Railli. Like Lemuabad it is on top of a stupa. The name itself means to make a din. The local folklore in the village is that debates took place here. According to Huen Tsang the heretics (Hindus) once won the debate for 14 years in a row. They didn’t allow the bell to ring until a disciple of Nagarjuna came from south India and challenged the heretics (Hindus) to a debate and won. The bell once more rang. Sadly that very same bell was stolen forty years ago or we would have still had it.

(j) Railli/abode of feared Brahmin (Jagdamba Asthan): Huen Tsang further goes on to say north of the Ghanta (bell) stupa was the abode of a feared learned Brahmin who was undefeatable in debate. I will quote the single line of the last chapter in page 99 of Huen Tsangs “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “To the north of the stupa built where the ghanta was sounded is an old foundation. This is the dwelling place of a Brahmin that was inspired by demons.” A learned Buddhist whom Samuel Beal calls Asvaghosha defeats the Brahmin and silences him. Today on that spot north of Railli village or the ghanta stupa is a Hindu temple called Jagdamba sthan where they pray to Balbir Das a great Brahmin who built many temples all over north India.

(k) Pach Mahala/ Talibpur stupas and sun temple: According to Huen Tsang when King Ashoka made 84000 stupas some of Buddhas relics were left so Ashoka made five more stupas to house  the remaining relics. To quote the second paragraph of page 94 of Huen Tsang’s “Si-Yu-Ki” he says, “To the south west of the mountain is a collection of five stupas. The foundation are lofty but ruinous; what remains however, is a good height. At a distance they look like little hills. Each of them is several tens of paces in front. Men in after days tried to build on top of these little stupas. The records of India state, ‘in old times when Ashoka Raja built the 84000 stupas, there was still remaining five measures of relics. Therefore he erected with exceptional grandeur five other stupas, remarakable for their spiritual portents. With a view to indicate the fivefold spiritual body of the Buddha.” This is easily found next to Railli stupa. There is a village called Pach Mahala. In English Pach Mahala means five palaces. There are no palaces here and locals wonder why it got the name. The village is made up of five colonies situated on five mud mounds which are the stupas.  Huen Tsang and I have solved a local riddle. Why this village is called Pachmahala. Unfortunately Pach Mahala village doesn’t lie south west of the stone house. And since I have full faith in Huen Tsangs accuracy the second option is the five mud mounds in Sahari village next to a lake. Here too, like the Pandarak Buddha relic stupa, the Sahari villsge stupa is a sun temple. So it is definitely a Buddha relic stupa with a similar story of the Pandarak Buddha relic stupa.

(j) Dheebar and Mahenderghat: According to Huen Tsang emperor Ashoka loved his brother Mahendra. The latter was a recluse who enjoyed meditating in the solitude of hills. Ashoka wanted his brother to live by him so he got a mountain house built which looked like a hill. This is what Huen Tsang writes in the second paragraph of page 93 in his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “The king said if you wish to subdue your heart in quiet, you have no need to live in the mountain fastnesses. To meet your wishes I will construct you a dwelling. Accordingly, he summoned the Genii to his presence and said to them. On the morrow I am about to give a magnificent feast. I invite you to come together to the assembly but you must each bring for your own seat a great stone.” King Ashoka then goes on to make the Genii build a hilly room with the stone they brought along. This was for his brother Mahendra. I located that rocky house in a village called Dheebar which is North West to NTPC on the banks of the Ganges. Today there is a Thakubari or Shiva temple on top of that hill house. It is on the banks of the Ganges and is called Dheebar. The villages name is also Dheebar which itself implies a rocky lonely high ground. This is what it means in the local Bihari language. The villagers say the temple was originally made of rocks and the new temple was made on top of the old rocky one. They say it is Khandani which in Hindi means royal lineage. This is why I identified this temple with King Ashokas rocky mountain house. Royal lineage or Khandani meant it was his. The second option for Mahendras house made by the Genii is Mahender Ghat itself on the banks of the Ganges east of Barh town. This is an important bathing ghat of the area and carries Mahenders name. So that is another strong option.

 (k) According to Huen Tsang the city of Pataliputra was huge, approximately 70 Li’s or 63000 feet round.  By ‘round’ Huen Tsang means length and breadth of the city and not measurements in square feet. So basically I have found all the ten places Huen Tsang described as parts of ancient Pataliputra city. If we take the entire length of NTPC power plant which is on the city itself and the villages north to it. I mean the villages of Pandarak, Railli, Lemuabad, Sahnoura, Pachmahala and Dheebar, the entire area covered by these places equals to 63000 feet in length and breath. From this area we get an idea on how huge Pataliputra was. This area is definitely Huen Tsangs Pataliputra.

I have described in detail all the spots that Huen Tsang visited in the ancient city of Pataliputra. We must remember that Huen Tsang had seen a degenerated decaying old city which was on the downswing. Today the huge colonies Huen Tsang described seem to have disappeared leaving behind six to seven tiny villages. You can view the places described in the above report of the city in my Youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.” There are several videos of places I discovered and amongst them one is on Pataliputra. For further proof that the area under Barh NTPC and the villages north to it was Pataliputra we must take note of the distance and bearing of the city in relation to Gaya. As previously stated Huen Tsang travelled 450 Li’s south west from Pataliputra to Gaya. That will be 80 miles south west to Gaya. If you measure the distance of Barh NTPC from Gaya, the mileage is exactly 80 miles south west from the power plant to the town of Gaya. I will describe the route he takes.

(2) Chandi/ Kariawan: (Si-Yu-Ki page 102) Huen Tsang travels 200 li’s or 39 miles from the south west angle of the city to an old sanghdharma. I will quote the second paragraph of page 102 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “Leaving the south west angle of the city and going about 200 li there is an old sanghdharma, by the side of which is a stupa which from time to time reflects a divine light and displays many miracles.” South West from Pataliputra 200 Li or approximately 39 miles Huen Tsang goes to an old sanghdharma in modern day Kariawan area. It is in Harpur village near Chandi. Huen Tsang doesn’t give the name of the village or Sanghdharma. He simply says it is an old sanghdharma. The village has an ancient sun temple.

(3) Telhara: (Si-Yu-Ki pages 102 and 103) South west from Kariawan Huen Tsang goes a 100 Li’s to an old sanghdharma he calls Teladhaka which is the ruins of todays excavation site of Telhara. I will quote the third paragraph of page 102 of “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “To the south west of the old sanghdharma about 100 Li’s is the sanghdharma of Tiladhaka. This building has four halls, belvederes of three stages, high towers connected at intervals with double gates that open inwards.” The present day ruins and the excavations in Telhara match with Huen Tsangs description of Teladhaka.

(4) Bekh hills : (Si-Yu-Ki pages 103 and 104) From Telhadhaka or the modern day Telhara he goes 90 Li’s or 25 km south west to the Bhekh hill where the Barabar caves are situated. But he doesn’t mention the caves. In the second paragraph of page 103 of “Si-Yu-Ki,” he says, “To the south west of Tiladhaka sanghdharma about 90 li we come to a great mountain of blue clouded marble, dark and tangled with wood. Here the divine Rishis dwell, poisonous snakes and savage dragons inhabit their dens while numerous beasts and birds of prey dwell in the forest.” We realize Huen Tsang describes the area around the Barabar caves without mentioning the caves themselves.

(5) Kharauna: (Si-Yu-Ki page 104) From Bhekh mountain he goes 30 li or 8.5 km northwest to another mountain where there is a Sanghdharma in a valley. This is Kharauna hill northwest of the Barabar caves. I will quote the third paragraph of page 104 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” The Chinese traveler says “To the north west of the mountain about 30 li or so, on a declivity of the mountain, is a sanghdharma; it is flanked by high precipices and the lofty walls and towers stand up in intervals of the rocks. The priests are about 50 in number, who all study the little vehicle. This is the place where Gunamati (Kiu-na-mo-ti) overcame the heretic.” The ASI has identified the nameless hill north east of Kharauna as Gunmatis monastery. They failed to take into account the actual word mispronounced as ‘Kiu-na-mo-ti’.

(6) Samaspur:  (Si-Yu-Ki page 110) From Kharauna hill he goes 20 li or 5.5 km south west to the convent of Silabhadra. This is the small hill below the big hill which is Choti Masjid Ashrafpur. In the second paragraph of page 110 of Si-Yu-Ki, Huen Tsang writes, “Southwest of the convent of Gunamati about 20li we come to a solitary hill which is a convent called the sanghdharma of silabhadra. This is the convent which the master of Shastras caused to be built out of the funds of a village that was given to him.”

 (7) Gaya (Si-Yu-Ki page 112) Huen Tsang then goes 40 to 50 Li or 14 km south west to the town of Gaya from where he went to Bodh Gaya and the Bodhi tree.  We must remember here there is a catch. By south west Huen Tsang means slightly south west. He writes in the last paragraph in page 112 of Si-Yu-Ki, “Going to the southwest of the sanghdharma of Silabhadra about 40 or 50 Li, and crossing the Nairanjana river we come to the town of Gaya.”

(8) Basically I have successfully spent the 450 Li’s or 80 miles from Pataliputra (present day Barh NTPC and the six villages north to it) to Gaya which is the distance according to Huen Tsang. This proves that Barh NTPC and the six villages before it, namely, Pachmahala, Sahnoura, Dheebar, Lemuabad, Pandarak, and Railli, should be accurately identified with the ancient city of Pataliputra. All that I have described about Pataliputra can be seen visually in my youtube channel, namely, “Buddha Exhumed: Discovery of the long lost city of Pataliputra.”

 From Gaya Huen Tsang goes 5 to 6 Li’s south west to Mount Gaya. From here he goes to the Bodhi tree via the Dungeshwari hills.

(9) Bodh Gaya with the Bodhi tree. (Si-Yu-Ki pages 115 to 136) This will be a deadly shock and surprise to most historians. Like in the case of Pataliputra which I have described above, no one has attempted to cross check the finds of the British historians who identified all the places Huen Tsang visited. The mistake Indian historians did was to treat the findings and conclusions of Britisher’s as the bible or final word of ancient Indian history. A cursory glance at Huen Tsangs journal “Si-Yu-Ki Buddhist records of the Western World,” will alert the reader. First and foremost I would like to drive home a point. Buildings, trees and other structures may die, wither, and disappear, but stupas are immortal. They are mud mounds which live forever. They live on to tell their tale. It is as though dead men are talking. I base my searches of Buddhist spots mainly according to the position of stupas. We all know it was Huen Tsangs and Fa Heins writings that the great British orientalists treated as the bible for ancient Buddhist Indian history. A simple reading of Huen Tsangs account of Bodh Gaya and the Bodhi tree will arouse suspicion on the sites identified by Cunningham, Col Waddell and other orientalists. The buildings have disappeared and trees are long gone dead. The stupas and their names are alive to tell their tale. I searched for the stupas and their names and found the real area where the Bodhi Tree once was. The following are a few of the clues supplied to us by Huen Tsang that are a must to identify the spot where the Bodhi tree and the Mahabodhi temple once were. These are missing in the present day Bodhi tree and the Mahabodhi temple but are found elsewhere.

(b) First and foremost we must remember that Huen Tsang had stated the Bodhi tree was surrounded by a boundary wall 500 paces round. I will quote the third paragraph of page 115 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says “Going south west from Mount Pragbodhi about 14 or 15 Li we come to the Bodhi tree. It is surrounded by a brick wall of considerable height steep and strong. It is long from east to west and short from north to south. It is about 500 paces round. The principal gate opens east to the Narayani river. The southern gate adjoins a great flowery bank. The northern gate opens into the great Sanghdharma.” According to Huen Tsangs quote the boundary wall of the Bodhi tree will be 500 paces which is equal to twelve hundred and fifty feet in length and breadth (note the measurement isn’t in square feet). He further states it is longer from east to west and shorter from north to south. So twelve hundred and fifty feet in length and breadth will be huge. Take for example 400 ft long and 225 ft broad. That will be approximately 90,000 sq ft which is approximately three acres. The present day wall around the Bodhi tree is only a quarter the size of what Huen Tsang described and there is no great Sanghdharma outside the northern gate of the present boundary wall.

(c) Ratnara Ganga Bigha (Diamond throne): Huen Tsang describes the distance of the Bodhi tree from Mount Pragbodhi which is the Dungeshwari hills of today. He says it is 14 to 15 Li’s distant which is roughly equivalent to 4 kilometers. The catch lies here. From which point of the Dungeshwari hills does Huen Tsang take the measurement of 15 Li’s to the Bodhi tree. If one takes the measuring point of the south western tip of the Dungeswari hills then the 15 Li ends up safely on the spot where the Bodhi Tree is today. It seems Cunningham, Waddell, and the other British explorers did this mistake. I don’t believe the Chinese traveler had the time and energy to walk five kilometers to the south western tip to take the measurement from there to the Bodhi tree. I strongly believe he took measurements from the point he climbed onto the Dungeshwari hill and the point he climbed down the hill. That will be the point below the Dungeshwari cave. Fifteen Li’s south west from the ground below the Dungeshwari hill is the area around Ratnara Ganga Bigha village. This area is a sort of an Island between two rivers. A particular spot near this village and near the eastern river matches the sketch made by Fa Hein of the Buddha sitting under the Bodhi tree right on the banks of the Niranjana with the Dungeshwari hills to the left of his left shoulder. This sketch gives us a pretty accurate visual picture of the proximity of the south western tip of the Dungeshwari hills with Fa Heins and Huen Tsangs Bodhi tree. The problem of measuring from a particular point of a long range of hills also foxes historical explorers searching for the spots Huen Tsang visited northwest of the Rajgir hills which is thirty three kilometers long travelling slightly south west from Giriak to Titua. This is why till date historians never found the villages and relic stupas of Sarbhada, Sariputra, Mogliyana, who were the Buddha’s most important disciples. Neither were they able to find the real Nalanda Sanghdharma which they wrongly identified with the Odantupra sanghdharma. I was also foxed for five months and was searching for these places. But like the Dungeshwari hills when I put the measurement at a point marked Natsar in satellite pictures which was where Huen Tsang most probably climbed the Indrasaila Guha mountain and descended it. From that point I was able to locate Sarbhada’s, Sariputra’s, and Mogliyana’s villages and stupas as well as the original and actual Nalanda Sanghdharma. I used the same principle in my search for the spot where the Bodhi tree once was. I measured 15 Li’s or 4 kilometers from the point below the Dungeshwari cave. If one chooses the site in Bakraur, then all the places described by Huen Tsang fall into place and can be traced. In the first para of page 116 Huen Tsang writes. “In the middle of the enclosure surrounding the Bodhi tree is the ‘Diamond Throne’. In former days when the Bhadra Kalpa was arriving at the period of perfection, when  the great earth arose, this (throne) also appeared. It is in the middle of the great Chilicosm; it goes down to the limits of the golden wheel, and upwards it is flush with the ground. It is composed of diamond. In circuit it is 100 paces or so.” This quote clearly states that ‘Ratnara ganga Bigha’ was the exact spot where the diamond throne was. ‘Ratna’ means precious stones which in English is called a diamond. That is where the Bodhi tree once stood.

 (f) Sujata stupa/ Bakraur: I will start with the most important stupa that is pivotal in identifying ‘Ratnara Ganga Bigha’ as the area where Huen Tsangs Bodhi tree and King Ashokas Mahabodhi vihara were. That is the Sujata stupa marking the place where Sujatas house was. She was the girl who boiled milk and fed the Buddha kheer or rice milk. I will quote the second paragraph of page 127 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” Huen Tsang writes, “At the south west of the Bodhi Tree, outside the walls, there is a stupa, this is where the old house of the two shepherd girls stood who offered the rice milk to the Buddha. By the side of it is another stupa where the girls boiled the rice; by the side of this stupa Tathagat received the rice.” The Sujata stupa marking the spot of Sujatas house was excavated in the years 1973-74 and 2001 and 2004 in the area that is now called Bakraur. Bakraur means goat herd which is exactly what Sujata was. This stupa is two kilometers to the east of the present day Bodhi tree and is across the river. You can read about the Sujata stupa in Wikipedia. A plaque dated 8-9 CE reads “Devpala Rajasya Sujata Griha.” This means, “this is the house of Sujata.” As soon as this stupa was excavated, historians should have been alerted to the authenticity of the present day Bodhi Tree and Mahabodhi vihara in the present day Bodh Gaya as these places don’t have any such stupa around them or anywhere near them. Huen Tsang clearly states this stupa was outside the south west corner of the Bodhi tree wall. So the stupa was to the south west of the Bodhi tree. Naturally that would mean the Bodhi tree was to the north east of the Sujata stupa. This is the area in ‘Ratnara Ganga Bigha’ on the banks of the river with the Dungeswari hills just across the river. Orientalists and Indian historians previously marked the Sujata stupa as the Ganda Hasti stupa or the stupa of the scented elephant that Huen Tsang said was across the Narayani river east of the Bodhi tree. So now since the Ganda hasti stupa has been identified as the Sujata stupa, the Ganda hasti stupa should be searched for on the Dungeshwari hill side of the river. This stupa is to the north of Moratal and Dungeshwari hills and is called ‘Gandhar.’ Unfortunately till date no one has attempted to do this. Today there is no Sujata stupa anywhere around the present day Bodhi tree or Mahabodhi vihara. The Sujata stupa is across the river to the east of the Bodhi tree. This doesn’t match Huen Tsangs description at all because the Bodhi tree should be to the north east of Sujata’s stupa.

(f) Kheer feeding stupa: There are more stupas that help pinpoint the site where the Bodhi tree once stood. Huen Tsang further states in the second paragraph of page 127 of his journal Si-Yu-Ki which I have quoted above. He says, “by the side of it (Sujata Stupa) is another stupa where the girls boiled rice; by the side of this stupa Tathagat received the rice.” In Bakraur, approximately 100 meters to the east of Sujatas stupa which marks the place where her house was, there are two small neglected stupas. One is bigger than the other and the big one has a small temple at the western side of the stupa. The remains of the plinth of a boundary wall surround’s both the stupas. According to me the smaller stupa is the spot where the two girls boiled milk and next to it is the bigger stupa where the girls offered the Buddha kheer. The river is 100 feet to the east of this stupa. Unfortunately these stupas are neglected and one hundred feet to the south of these is the base of a big stupa which has been wrongly called the Sujata temple and wrongly identified as where the girls boiled rice and Sujata offered kheer. This should be corrected. The angle of the two neglected stupas clearly states that the Bodhi tree should be to their north with the river within a hundred feet to the east. There are no such stupas south of the present day Bodhi tree.

(b) Huen Tsang further says there are stupas in every corner of the boundary wall. I will quote the first paragraph in page 127 of his journal “Si_Yu-Ki.” He says, “Within the walls of the Bodhi tree at each of the four angles is a great stupa.” This statement made by Huen Tsang is to be taken seriously as stupas don’t die easily. I can vouch that for Ashokan stupas as I now regard myself an authority on that type of stupa. The Bodhi tree is long gone dead but stupas are immortal.  These stupas can be found in the area west of ‘Ratnara Ganga bigha’ village. The present day Bodhi tree doesn’t have these stupas around it so we can safely say the site simply doesn’t match Huen Tsangs description. The area of ‘Ratnara Ganga Bigha’ which is north to the two neglected stupas should be thoroughly explored. The stupas with the remains of the Bodhi tree boundary wall will be found there. I am sure about that. The stupas tell me that.

(c)Huen Tsang then states the main entrance in the boundary wall is in the eastern gate facing the Niranjana river. This is in the third paragraph of page 115 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki,” which I have previously quoted. In the present case the main entrance is from the north of the Bodhi tree of today.

(d) Maha Bodhi vihara: Huen Tsang goes on to state King Ashoka’s Vihara was to the eastern gate of the boundary wall. It was 160 ft high and fifty feet in length and breath. In the Bodh Gaya of today the Bodhi tree is outside the south western wall of the Mahabodhi temple. And the Bodhi tree isn’t the original one. Dr Buchanon Hamilton saw it in its prime in 1811, it had decayed by 1876 when Alexander Cunningham saw it. It finally died in 1881 causing Cunningham to plant a sapling on the same spot. So the Bodhi tree isn’t the original one. In my explorations I have realized the Bodhi tree is long gone dead. Wherever the Bodhi tree was it should be surrounded by the remains of a twelve hundred and fifty feet boundary wall with stupas within all its four corners and the Mahabodhi vihara to the east of the tree. I found the ruins of a vihara without a roof or a steeple to the north of the two neglected stupas I had mentioned above and which I believe are the stupas where Sujata boiled the milk and offered the Buddha kheer. South west to that ruined vihara is the Sujata stupa that marks the spot where Sujata’s house was. Fifty meters to the east of that vihara is the river with the south western tip of the Dungeshwari hill on the other side. And Huen Tsangs description of Ashokas vihara makes the ruined vihara I saw a strong contender for the Ashokan vihara Huen Tsang described. It is around fifty feet in length and breadth and has an inner chamber fifty feet long and three feet broad along the southern wall. There are two niches like chambers on both sides of the fifty foot long eastern wall. I will quote the third paragraph of page 118 of Si-Yu-Ki. “To the east of the Bodhi tree there is a vihara 160-170 feet high. Its lower foundation wall is twenty or more paces in its face. The building is of blue tiles covered with chunam.” As stated earlier the ruined vihara I saw where I suspected the Bodhi tree once stood was fifty feet in length and breadth which is twenty paces in length and breadth just as Huen Tsang described. In the first paragraph in line four of page 119 of Si-Yu-Ki, Huen Tsang continues, “Its somber chambers and mysterious halls have doors in each of the three stories. To the right and left of the outside gates are niches like chambers. In the left is a figure of Avalokiteshwara and in the right a figure of Maitriya Bodhisatva.” This is just as I had described the eastern wall of the ruined vihara. It had two small temple like chambers which Huen Tsang calls niches on each corner of the wall. The vihara didn’t have a steeple or a roof which I expected as normal. Historians have failed to discuss the total annihilation of Buddhism from this land. This religion was totally wiped out to the extent that the people living in Pataliputra didn’t know it was Pataliputra. So was the case of Bodh Gaya till the British historians told them. Historians haven’t taken into account the massive brainwashing that occurred causing a strong religion such as Buddhism to be totally forgotten. During that brain washing all major Buddhist sites were wiped out clean. I mean forgotten. So it was natural that the ruined vihara was roofless or steepleless. It was attacked and destroyed by people like Shashank. We know about Shashank because Huen Tsang wrote about him. What about the multitude of others who must have behaved like him. Historians haven’t looked at the present day Mahabodhi vihara in Bodh Gaya from this angle. If it was the actual Buddhist site how did this monument survive that brainwashing? That too with its 160 foot high steeple intact. This proves it was a Hindu structure which wasn’t attacked by vandals. The fact that the ruined vihara I saw near the Dungeshwari hills was steepleless proves it was a Buddhist monument that had been physically assaulted. And the final clue to the ruined vihara being Ashokas vihara is the three feet broad and fifty feet long chamber along the southern wall I saw and video graphed in the ruins. According to the story Huen Tsang narrates King Shashank after destroying the Bodhi tree wanted the figure of the Buddha to be removed from the Ashokan vihara and replaced by one of Mahesvara-Deva. The officer felt guilty as he was a Buddhist so he ordered a wall to be made covering the figure of the Buddha and a picture of Maheswara-Deva made on it. I will quote the last paragraph of page 121 of Si-Yu-Ki. “On this he called to his presence a man with a believing heart to help him, and sent him to build up across the chamber and before the figure of Buddha a wall of brick. The man from a feeling of shame from the darkness, placed a burning lamp; and on the interposing wall he drew a figure of Mahesvara-Deva.” This paragraph clearly states why the three by fifty feet chamber existed behind the southern wall of the ruined vihara. The chamber housed the Buddhas statue hiding it from Hindu vandals. I personally think this is a strong contender for the real Buddhist Ashokan vihara.

(f) Huen Tsang goes on to say to the south of the Sanghdharma is the Muchalinda lake which is 700 paces round. That will be around 1750 ft in length and breath. There was another lake to the south of this. I will quote the second paragraph of page 127 of Huen Tsangs journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “Outside the south gate of the Bodhi tree is a great tank about 700 paces round, the water of which is clear and pure as a mirror.” In todays Bodh Gaya the south of the Bodhi tree is a lake which is hardly five hundred feet in length and breath. This also doesn’t match Huen Tsangs description. 

(g) Grass Cutter stupa:  Huen Tsang says to the south of the Bodhi tree boundary wall King Ashoka made a 100 foot high stupa to mark the spot where the grass cutter gave grass to the Buddha to sit on. I will quote the last paragraph of page 123 of Si-Yu-Ki. “Not far to the south of the Bodhi tree is a stupa about a hundred feet high, which was built by Ashoka Raja.” Huen Tsang goes on to narrate why the stupa was built. It was built to commemorate the event of the grass cutter giving the Buddha grass to sit on. Once again there is no such stupa south of the present day Bodhi tree or the Mahabodhi vihara. This is a serious anomaly that goes against the present day Mahabodhi vihara. As I stated earlier stupas do not die. The base of such a stupa will never die. It should be somewhere nearby. It isn’t anywhere around the present day Mahabodhi vihara. There is the foundation of such a stupa to the south of the ruined vihara I just described. The foundation is just one hundred feet to the west of the river with the Dungeshwari hill on the other side.

 (h) Proximity of the Bodhi tree to the Niranjana river and the south eastern tip of Dungeshwari hills is shown in Fa Heins sketch of the Buddha sitting under the tree. This also doesn’t match the distance of the present day Bodhi tree and the Dungeshwari hills.

In my exploring in different places I have realized that buildings may die but stupas have an eternal life. Buddhist Stupas will always help mankind identify the correct places because they are simple mud mounds which nature or man doesn’t bother to destroy. Neither did their names die as villages settled on them and kept the names alive. The above mentioned stupas can all be found on the eastern side of the Falgu river and to the west  of the other river bordering the south western tip of the Dungeshwari hill. The area between the two rivers is called Bakraur. This areas proximity to the Dungeshwari hills matches that of Fa Heins sketch. The spot I suspect where the Bodhi tree once stood is north east to the Sujata stupa that marks the spot which was Sujatas house. This is the area west of ‘Ratnara Ganga Bigha’. The ruined vihara I saw was to the east of where the Bodhi tree once stood. East of Sujatas stupa is a small stupa that I suspect is the stupa where Sujata boiled milk. Next to it is a slightly bigger stupa with a temple next to it where Sujata offered the Buddha milk. South of the spot where I suspect the Bodhi tree once stood is a stupa with a strong base on which the ASI has wrongly identified with the stupa where Sujata offered the Buddha Kheer. The present day Sujata temple stands on that stupas base. The strong base of the stupa itself implies that it was the hundred foot high Ashokan stupa to mark the spot where the grass cutter gave the Buddha grass to sit on. These are a few of the clues that strongly identify ‘Ratnara Ganga Bigha’ as the true Bodh Gaya and not the present day one with the Bodhi tree and Mahabodhi temple. The Bodhi tree is long gone dead. Excavations will unearth the boundary wall and the Muchlinda lake. All this has to be corrected. You can view my findings and my explorations on Bakraur and ‘Ratnara Ganga Bigha’ in my youtube Channel “Buddha Exhumed: Discovery of original Bodh Gaya.”

(10) Moratal: In page 138 first para first line Huen Tsang goes east from the Bodhi tree and after crossing the Niranjana river reaches a stupa. The stupa’s name most probably is Moratal with the village settled on it. The Bodhi tree should be to the west of Moratal village.

(11) Gandhar: In page 138 first para third line Huen Tsang writes, “To the north of this is a pool. This is the spot where a perfumed elephant waited on his mother.” This is exactly what Gandh of Gandhar means. Infact Samuel Beal translates it as Gandahasti which sound very similar to Gandhar. Gandh means perfume and ‘har’ means to lose. This is where the perfumed elephant lost and was captured. Huen Tsang goes on to tell the story of the Buddhas previous life as a perfumed elepehant who looked after his blind mother. One day the young elephant helped a man to find his way. That man reported him to a king and advised the latter to capture him. The latter did that even when in the attempt, the man’s hands were chopped off when he pointed at the perfumed elephant. The young elephant refused to eat because in its captured state it couldn’t feed its blind mother. The king feels sorry, repents and lets the elephant go free.

(12) Inguna+Surheri:  In page 139 second para first line Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of this (pool) is a stupa, before which is built a stone pillar. In this place the Buddha Kashyapa (kia-she-po) long ago sat in meditation. This is the hillock of Inguna+Surheri. This is where Kashyapa sat in meditation. The stupa can be seen in satellite pictures.

(13) Baijal Tetariya: In page 139 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the east of this spot, crossing the ‘Mo-ho’ (Mahi) river, we come to a great forest in which is a stone pillar. This is the place where a heretic entered a condition of ecstacy and made a wicked vow.” Huen Tsang calls that heretic Udra-Ramaputtra. He pronounces it ‘U-Teou-lan-tseu’. It seems U was a mispronounciation of Baijal which Samuel Beal deciphers as ‘Udra’. ‘Teou-lan-tseu’ is certainly a Chinese mispronunciation of ‘Tetariya.’ So the Tetariya temple is the spot where that pillar must have been. Huen Tsang says that this heretic was respected by the king of Magadh. The latter one day felt a sexual desire for a girl in waiting. This destroys all his holy actions so the heretic swears that in his next life he will be born an ugly looking fierce looking hideos thing. After he took the vow his troubled mind came to rest and he led a peaceful moral life again. This is in the great wild forest which is today called Jamuanwan.

(14) Tungi/Cocks foot mountain: In page 142 second para Huen Tsang goes 100 li or 28 kilometers to a place he mi-pronounces as ‘K’iu-k’iu-cha-po-to-shan’. This Kenar Paharpur village. We can see the resemblance with Huen Tsangs ‘K’iu-k’iu-cha-po-to-shan’. He mistakes this for the cocks foot so he deciphers it as ‘Kukkutapadagiri’ or cocks foot mountain. I have identified the cock’s foot mountain as the Tungi mountain which is approximately ten kilometers east of Kenar Paharpur. ‘Tungi’ is certainly an ancient rendition of ‘Tungri’ which means cocks foot.  In rural India we have different names for the feet of different beings. Dogs have panja, humans have ‘gor’ or laat. Cocks and hens have Taang or Tung depending how one ones to pronounce it. Huen Tsang goes on to say the Buddha gave his kashaya garment before his nirvana to Kashyapa and told him to protect the law. He was to give the garment to Maitriya after the latter became a Buddha. Kashyapa looked after the Buddhas teachings for twenty years and soon got fed up with the people straying away. So he went to the cocks foot mountain or Tungi (modern day Tungri) where he went to the top and on the middle peak he meditated. Legend has it he meditated on the middle peak while the other two closed in on him. Legend has it that Maitriya would come as a Buddha and with a snap of his finger, the closed mountain would open revealing Kashyappa who would then hand over the Kashaya garment as promised to the Buddha.

(15) Buddha Garden (Fo-to-fa-na): Huen Tsang then goes north east 100 li or 28 kilometers to the Buddhavan which he pronounces as ‘Po-to-fa-na’. Unfortunately this is a mountainous hilly area with no people living here so the name has been lost. I have therefore chosen the Buddha Garden near the Sarb Dharm Prarthnasthal to mark the area where Huen Tsangs ‘Fo-to-fa-na’ or Samuel Beals Buddhavan was.

(16) Ashoka’s stupa/Yashtivan: In the Buddhavan Huen Tsang travels 30 li or 8 kilometers east to the base of the ropeway, slightly east to the Vishwa Shanti stupa. In page 145 second para Huen Tsang writes, “Going 30 li to the east amongst wild valleys of the Buddhavana (Fo-to-fa-na) mountains, we come to the wood called Yashtivan.” Basically the area around the Vishwa Shanti stupa at the base of the ropeway suits the description of wild valleys. Huen Tsang tells the story of how a Brahmin tried and failed to measure the Buddhas height using a bamboo. In page 146 second para Huen Tsang mentions an Ashokan stupa in the Yashtivana. This Ashokan stupa marks where the Yashtiwan was, and the stupa marks the spot where the Buddha did some miracles for seven days. Here Huen Tsang narrates the story of an Upasakha named Jayasena and how he used to preach and how his followers came to hear him.

(17) Rajgir Hot springs: In page 147 second paragraph Huen Tsang writes, “South west of the Yashtivana about 10 li or so, on the south side of a great mountain, are two warm springs; the water is very hot.” It seems here Samuel Beal made a mistake while translating. He says south west ten li. The hot springs are northwest of the Ashokan stupa that marks Yashtivana. So I have changed it to 10 li northwest which ends exactly on the area of the hot springs.

(18) Great mountain+stupa: In page 147 last para Huen Tsang writes, “To the south east of the Yashtivana about 6 to 7 li, we come to a great mountain.” This great mountain is on the range north east of Udai Giri Digamber Jain temple. There should be a stupa there that marks the spot where during the rains for three months the Buddha preached. In page 148 second para Huen tsang writes, “To the north of the great mountain going 3 or 4 li is a solitary hill. Formerly the Rishi Vyas lived here in solitude.”

(19) Stone chamber/ Veerayatan: In page 148 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the solitary hill, 4 or 5 li, there is a small hill also standing alone. In the side of this hill is a stone chamber. In length and breath it is enough to seat 1000 persons or so.” This is slightly south east of Veerayatan complex. The stone chamber and the Asuras cave should be here. King Bimbisaras stairs which were ten li broad should also be found here.

(20) Ghora Katora/Kiu-she-kie-lo-pu-lo: In page 149 last para Huen Tsang writes, “From this spot proceeding eastwards through the mountains about 60 li, we arrive at the city Kusagara-pura (Kiu-she-kie-lo-pu-lo) or the royal city of best grass.” Here Huen Tsang or the translator has made a big mistake. It is only four and a half kilometers from the stone chamber to Ghora Katora. Instead of 60 li Huen Tsang should have written 16 li. Huen Tsang has described the old capitol as being a city with the best grass. That is exactly what Ghora Katora means. Ghora means horse and Katora means a trough for the horse to eat in. So this area was a trough for horses to eat in. And the trough had the best grass. Samuel Beal was a foreigner which was why he took Huen Tsangs ‘Kiu-she-kie-lo-pu-lo’ at face value and deciphered it as ‘Kusagara-pura’ or the city of grass. Satellite pictures show how apt the name is for the place. The entire Ghora Katora area is fit to grow grass for horses to eat. Huen Tsang goes on to say the city is broad from west to east and thin from north to south. We all can see that in satellite pictures. Ghora Katora means grass and the two words match Huen Tsangs mis-pronounced ‘Kiu-she-kie-lo-pu-lo’.

(21) Sithaura: In page 150 second para Huen Tsang writes, “Outside the north gate of the palace city is a stupa. Here Devadutta (Ti-po-to-lo) and ‘Ajatasatru Raja (Wing-sing-yun), having agreed together as friends, liberated the drunken elephant for the purpose of killing Tathagat. But Tathagat miraculously caused five lions to proceed from his finger ends; on this the drunken elephant was subdued and stood still before him.” From this quote we clearly see the gist of the story was that a drunken elephant was let upon the Buddha in an attempt to kill him. The latter caused five lions to scare the elephant to the point that it froze. This is the exact meaning of the rural Bihari word ‘Sithoor’ means. To stop and stand frozen with fear. ‘Sithaura’ is certainly an ancient rendering of the Bihari word “Sithoor.’ Sithaura on a stupa is no doubt the pkace where the elephant froze.

(22) Pawadih+ Ashutosh Mahadev/O-shi-po-shi: I will quote page 150 third para, “To the north east of this spot is a stupa. This is where Sariputra (She-li-tseu) heard Asvajita (O-shi-po-shi) the bhikshu declare the law, and by that means reached the fruit (of an Arhat).” I am sure the name Asvajita is a direct foreign Buddhist mispronunciation of the Indian word Ashutosh. Asvajita and Ashutosh sound very similar. The name Mahadev added to Ashutosh may put off Buddhists. The truth is when Buddhism was wiped out, the names of great saints remained. But people forgot that names history. Finally that temple was converted into a Shiva temple with Mahadev added to Ashutosh (Asvajita). Huen Tsang mispronounces Asvajita as ‘O-shi-po-shi’. I think ‘O-shi’ represented “Ashutosh’ while ‘Po-shi’ represented ‘Pawadih’. This is certainly the spot where sariputra heard Asvajita/Ashutosh speak and became an Arhat.

(23) Chandiman/Kamal Bigha: I will quote page 151 last para, “To the north of this place not far off, there is a very deep ditch, by the side of which is built a stupa where Srigupta ‘Shie-li-kio-to’wished to destroy the Buddha by means of fire concealed in the ditch and poisoned rice.” Srigupta covers the fiery ditch. The villagers hear about this and warn the Buddha about the plot. The latter still goes and crosses the ditch. The fire turns into a lovely lake with lotus flowers. This is why the place is called Kamal Bigha. Kamal means lotus flowers. Satellite pictures show a lovely lake by that name. When the Buddha eats the poisoned rice and nothing happens to him, Srigupta becomes a follower.

(24)Gorma/ Junedi/ Shi-fo-kia: I will quote the fourth para of page 152, “To the north east of this fiery ditch of Srigupta (Shing-mi), at the bend of the city is a stupa; this is where Jivak, the great physician, built a preaching hall for the Buddha.” During Huen Tsangs visit the foundation wall existed. By the side of it were the ruins of the foundations of Jivaks house. The Buddha used to come here regularly. This village is at the bend of the river to the north east of Kamal Bigha and Chandiman. I will quote third last line of page 152 fourth para. “By the side of this place are the remains of the house of ‘Jivak’, and the hollow of an old well also exists there.” If we take this quote seriously, then just next to Gorma village to its east is “Devisthan temple Junedi.” Juned sounds like a Muslim name. But why a Devisthan temple with Juned attached to it. Junedi sounds very similar to ‘Jivak’. Gorma village is on the right bank of the Panchane river while ‘Devisthan temple Junedi’ is to trhe east of Gorma village. It is possible that Gorma was the teaching hall that Jivak made for the Buddha.

(25) Giriak/Ki-li-tho-kiu-cha (Ghridhrakuta) Khirkiya: In page 152 last para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of the palace city going 14 or 15 li, we come to the mountain of Gridhrakuta (Ki-li-tho-kiu-cha). Touching the northern slope of the southern mountain, it rises as a solitary peak to a great height, on which vultures make their abode. It appears like a high tower on which the azure tints of light are reflected.” I now realize the villages adjacent to the mountain gave its name to it. The village of Giriak is just below the mountain. (a) There should be Bimbisaras stairs 10 paces (25 ft wide) and 6 li’s long. There should be two stupas up those steps. (b) The mountains summit should be long from east to west and narrow from north to south with a brick vihara on the western side of the mountain. (c) To the east of the vihara is a long stone. (d) Next to it there is a large stone about 15 ft high and 30 paces round. It was here that Devadutta threw a stone at the Buddha. (e) To the south of this stone below the precipice is a stupa. (f) Here the Buddha rendered the ‘Saddharma Pundarika sutra.’ (g) To the south of the vihara by the side of a mountain cliff is a great stone house. The Buddha entered Samadhi here.(h) To the north west of the stone house and in front of it is a great stone where Anand was frightened by Mara. There should be traces of the vulture and the hole in the rock through which the Buddha calmed Anand. (i) by the side of the vihara are many stone houses where Sariputra and other great Arhats entered Samadhi. The house with a well before it is Sariputras house. (j) To the north east of the vihara in the middle of a rocky stream is a large and flat stone where the Buddha washed his clothes. There are still etches on the rock as though the cloth design was carved. (k) Beside the washing rock is a rock with the foot trace of the Buddha. The wheel sign is obscure but can be distinctly traced. (l) On the top of the northern mountain is a stupa. The Buddha preached here for seven days while he beheld Magadh.

(26) Pilkhi/Pi-pu-lo:  Here again Samuel Beal mispronounces it as ‘Vipulagiri. I will quote page 155 fifth para, “To the west of the north gate of the mountain city is the mountain called ‘Pi-pu-lo’(Vipula-Giri). According to the common report of the country it is said, “on the northern side of the south western crags of this mountain, there were formerly 500 hot springs; now there are only some ten or so.” This is the mountain directly south of Pilkhi village. Basically Huen Tsang is taking us away from what we know as present day Rajgir. He describes some ten cold and warm springs with lions and elephants heads as outlets and are surrounded by stupas. (b) In page 156 second para Huen Tsang goes west of the hotsprings where he says is the ‘Pi-pu-lo’ stone house. The Buddha would live here when he visited. There should be a cavern behind the walls of the stone house. (c) (page 158 fourth para) On the top of Mount ‘Pi-pu-lo’ is a stupa which marks the spot where the Buddha preached. When Huen Tsang visited naked heretics prayed there and respected the stupa.

(27) Natsar:  In page 158 third last para Huen Tsang describes the place or stone house where Devdutta formerly entered Samadhi. I have identified it as Natsar, because this word lies just below crags. The word itself means a person who is always upto tricks. (B) East to the Natsar stone house is a rock or flat stone with blood marks where a bhikshu was injured while doing samadhi. Huen Tsang hints at a stupa to mark the spot.(c) (page159 first para tenth line) To the east of this spot is a rocky stupa to mark where a Bhikshu jumped to his nirvana in happiness on seeing the Buddha. These stupas must be searched and found.

(28) Khiri/ Kia-lan-to-chuh-yen/Karandaradavenuvana: I will quote page 159 last para, “Going about one li from the north gate of the mountain city we come to the Karandavenuvana (Kia-lan-to-shuh-yuen), where now the stone foundation and the brick walls of a vihara exist. Huen Tsang goes on to say a householder named Karanda gave this bamboo garden to the heretics. But when he heard the Buddha speak he gave it to the Buddha and asked the heretics to vacate. Khiri could mean anger of the heretics. Chasing Huen Tsang he usually tells a story in which the places name is hidden. In rural Bihari we say ‘khisya’ for anger. ‘Khiri’ seems to be an ancient rendition of ‘khisya.’

(29) Chakra: In page 160 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the east of the Karandavenuvana is a stupa which was built by Ajatshatru Raja. After the nirvana of Tathagat the kings divided the relics. The king Ajatshatru returned with his share, and on a feeling of extreme reverence built (a stupa) and offered religious offerings to it.” The reader will be surprised why I chose the village of Chakra as the stupa of Ajatshatrus share of the Buddhas relics. Taranath tells the story of Ashoka confiscating some of his ancestors share of Buddha relics. When he opened the stupa he saw a wheel turning and emanating fire. He had to divert the waters of a nearby stream to douse the fire. The wheel stopped moving and Ashoka managed to take out most of the relics. When the stream of water was diverted to its original course, the fire once again lit up turning the wheel again. Because of this wheel this stupa was called Chakra.

(30) Bara: In page 160 third para third last line Huen Tsang writes, “When Ashoka Raja became a believer, he opened it, and took the relics, and in his turn built another stupa. This building constantly emits miraculous light.” I have chosen the village of Bara to be on Ashokas Buddha relic stupa because it is east to Chakra, Dumri, and Tajparsa villages. In the next para Huen Tsang says that by the side of Ajatshatrus Buddha relic stupa (village of Chakra) is the latter’s share of the half body of Anand stupa. So I chose Bara because of the name. Huen Tsang always gives a story with the stupas name hidden in it. In the case of Ashokas Buddha relic stupa he says it “constantly emits miraculous light.” This is what ‘Bara’ means. In rural Bihari language we say ‘baral’ to mean that there is light. We say ‘baar’ when we want to switch on a light. So ‘Bara’ is definitely a 2000 year old rendition of todays ‘Baar’ which means light.

(31) Dumri: In page 160 last para Huen Tsang writes, “By the side of the stupa of Ajatshatru Raja (he means by the side of Ajatshatrus Buddha relic stupa) is another stupa which encloses the relics of half the body of Anand.” Huen tsang then goes on to narrate the story of Anand crossing the Ganges to go to Vaishali which Huen Tsang calls ‘Fe-she-li’. The kings of Magadh and Vaishali are enemies so want to keep Anand on their side of the river so they raise an army to fight for him. Anand is disgusted and commits suicide/nirvana. His disciples give half the relics to Vaishali and the other half to Magadh. Ajatshatru brings his share to Rajgir and builds a stupa over it. I have chosen Dumri to be the stupa because of its proximity to Chakra which is the stupa housing Ajatshatru’s share of the Buddhas relics. Dumri in rural Bihari language also means skin or dry skin which is why the little drum sadhus keep is called ‘dumroo’. It is called that because it’s made of dry skin. When one walks uphill and gets tired one says, “Dum pasar gaya,” which means my skin has been floored with fatigue. The name Dumri hints at how Anand must have died. According to Huen Tsang the legend was Anand was burnt in the middle of the river. It could mean that an irritated and saddened Anand was suffering from depression after Sariputras and the Buddhas death. Seeing the two loved kings of the Buddha raising an army to fight each other for him, he commited suicide by burning himself to escape this madness. The stupas name Dumri could mean the body was only partially burnt. It could mean when Ajatshatru collected his half share of Anands body, it wasn’t fully burnt and some skin was left which had dried. What ever the case Dumri surely means a part of the human anatomy. I am sure this village is on the stupa that entombs half of Anands relics.

(32) Tajparsa: In page 161 second para Huen Tsang writes, “Not far from this is a stupa. This is the place where Sariputra and Maha Mougliyaya dwelt during the rainy season.” I have chosen Tajparsa to be the place because it is on the side of the hill so will keep people safe from flooding in excessive rainfall.

(33) Jethian: In page 161 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the south west of the bamboo garden (Venuvana), about 5 or 6 li, on the north side of the southern mountain is a great bamboo forest. In the middle of it is a large stone house. Here the venerable Kasyapa with 999 great Arhats called a concocation for the purpose of settling the three Pitakas. Before it is the foundation of the great hall. King Ajatshatru made this hall for the sake of accommodating the great arhats who assembled to settle the Dharma Pitaka.” Huen Tsang goes on to tell the story of how Kasyapa hears of the Buddhas death and hurries to the spot where his body lay. After his cremation he announces from Mount Sumeru that there would be a convocation where all the teachings of the Buddha would be gathered in three pitakas. He felt that this was necessary because some Bhikshus were happy that the Buddha was no more alive to scold them when they did mistakes. A huge gathering assembles from all over India and it becomes impossible to concentrate on the work. So Kashyapa forces the inexperienced and unlearned people to take their leave. Only 999 elder fully tutored arhats remain. In short the young ones are sent back and the old and wise ones are retained. This is what Jethian means. ‘Jeth’ means elder and ‘Jethian’ means a group of ‘elders.’ Anand wasn’t a fully educated elder so initially he wasn’t allowed into the convocation of elders or arhats.

(34) Atri: In page 164 second para Huen Tsang writes, “North west of the place where the great Kashyapa held the convocation is a stupa. This is where Anand being forbidden by the priests, to take part in the assembly, came and sat down in silence and reached the fruit of an Arhat. For this he joined the assembly.” The village of Atri on a stupa is certainly where Anand sat down and became an Arhat. The names Atri and Arhat sound very similar. I have realized most/all the Buddhist words returned from foreign countries mispronounced. Arhat may be a mispronunciation of Atri. I’m sure of that.

(35) Sohari: In page 164 third para Huen Tsang says, “Going west from this 20 li or so, is a stupa built by Ashoka Raja. This is the spot where the “great assembly” (maha sangha) formed their collection of books (or, held their assembly). Those who had not been permitted to join Kasyapa’s assembly, whether learners or those above learning (Arhats), to the number of 100,000 men, came together at this spot and said, “Whilst Tathagat was alive we all had a common master, but now the king of the law is dead, it is different. We too wish to show our gratitude to the Buddha, and we also will hold an assembly for collecting the scriptures.” The word Sohari means to collect something which is scattered all over. In this case it means to gather scriptures which were scattered all over. Soharna is a common rural Bihari word to collect or gather scattered items. The distance of Sohari village is approximately 5.5 kilometers west from Atri. That is exactly 20 li west just as Huen Tsang said. So Sohari is certainly the Ashokan stupa marking the spot where the huge convocation took place.

(36) GB (Gab) Kund Jharna Saren/ Kia-l’an-to-chuh-yuen: I will quote page 165 second para, “To the north of the Venuvana vihara about 200 paces we come to the Karanda lake (Karandharada). When Tathagat was in the world he preached often here. The water was pure and clear, and possessed of the eight qualities. After the nirvana of the Buddha, it dried up and disappeared.” In page 159 last para Samuel Beal gives us Huen Tsangs original Chinese rendition of Karandaradha Venuvana. It is ‘Kia-lan-t’o-chuh-yuen’. ‘GB Kund’ is replaced by ‘Gab Kund’. The actual name seems to be Gab Kund Jharna Saren which sounds very similar to Huen tsangs Chinese pronunciation of ‘Kia-lan-t’o-chuh-yuen’. Where the Venuvana sanghramma is supposed to be is a village called ‘Naudiha’ which means nine bodies. In the above quote Huen Tsang states “The water was pure and clear, and possessed of the eight qualities.” The village/sanghrammas name is Naudiha. ‘Nau’ means nine, and ‘Diha’ here can means qualities or bodies. Put together ‘Naudiha’ means nine qualities. Huen Tsangs eight qualities of the purity of the water could be a slight miss in his mathematics. It is a case of Indian mathematics converted to Chinese.

(37) Saren: In page 165 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north west of the ‘Karandarahda’, at a distance of 2 or 3 li, is a stupa which was built by Ashoka Raja. It is about sixty feet high;  by the side of it is a stone pillar on which is a record engraved relating to the foundation of the stupa. It is about 50 ft high and on the top has a figue of an elephant.” This is definitely Saren (pronounced Saray) village around the stupa. The stupa is big, is next to the railway line, and can be seen easily in satellite pictures.

(38) Horidih/ Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi- (Si-Yu-Ki page 165 to 167)- Huen Tsang travels from the Karandarada lake or ‘GB Kund Jharna Saren’ to Saren and finally to Horidih which was the new capital of Magadh after it was shifted from Kushagar or Kushinagar (which I have identified as Ghora Katora). I will quote the last paragraph of page 165 of “Si-Yu-Ki,” where Huen Tsang says, “To the north east of the stone pillar, not far, we come to the town of Rajgriha (Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi). The outer walls of this city have been destroyed, and there are no remnants of them left; the inner city although in a ruined state, still have some elevation from the ground, and are about 20 li in circuit. In the first place Bimbisara Raja established his residence in Kusagara.” It must be noted present day Rajgir isn’t the city where King Bimbisara changed his capitol from Kusagara (Ghora katora). King Bimbisara shifted his capitol from Kusagara to a place Huen Tsang calls Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi. On comparing the two names of Rajgir and Huen Tsangs ‘Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi’ you will realize Huen Tsangs Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi has no verbal resemblance with Samuel Beals Rajagriha at all. British historians were indulging in wild guess work and threw verbal semblances out of the window.  I am grateful to Samuel Beal who has taken pains to supply some of the original words or mis-pronouned ones Huen Tsang used so that the reader can judge for himself. Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi sounds very similar to a village north of the Rajgir range, seven km slightly south west of the modern day town of Rajgir, and north east to ‘Gab Kund Jharna saren’. The villages name is Horidih which sounds similar to Huen Tsangs Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi. The new railway line that is being layed passes the village and travels south west into an opening or a pass through the hills which was a gate of the old capitol or mountain city of Kushagara. In exploring I will have to search for the cities boundary wall. Outside the southern gate of the city on the left of the road should be a stupa. That should be the small village on the south east of the main village. It has to be explored . (a) Natesar:  In the second paragraph of page 167 of his journal Si-Yu-Ki, Huen Tsang further says, “At the south west angle of the royal precincts are two small sanghdharmas; the priests who come and go, and are strangers, lodge here. Here also Buddha, when alive, delivered the law.” This I can safely say is Natesar village to the south west of Horidih. I have been deciphering many ancient names in this report so I can afford to give a guess. ‘Nate’ or todays ‘Nathay’ definitely means relationship. The last three letters of Natesar, I mean ‘sar’ can mean ‘without’. Put together Natesar means without nathay or without relationship which in short means stranger. We see in the above quote that travelling priests who are strangers lodge here. (b) Ghansura: In page 167 second para fifth line, Huen Tsang writes, “ Northwest of this is a stupa; this is the site of an old village where the householder Jyotishka (Ch’u- ti-se-kia) was born.” From this quote we realize, according to Huen Tsang there was a huge stupa to the north west of Natesar village or, where travelling priests who were strangers stayed. This is the present day village of ‘Ghansura’. There was an Ashokan stupa to the south west of the city. Today there is a stupa south west of Horidih and north east of the village of Manjhuay. Since the present day town of Rajgir does not have these stupas I have concluded that the capitol city Huen Tsang visited wasn’t Rajgir of today but the village of Horidih. This village is approximately seven kilometers slightly to the south west of present day Rajgir.

(39) Nalanda Sanghdharma/Mahmuda: (Si-Yu-Ki page 167 to 175) From Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi or Horidih, Huen Tsang goes 30 li’s north to Nalanda Mahavihara. Alexander Cunningham himself had stated in his report that Fa Hein had made silly mistakes. As an example of a mistake he stated that Fa Hein had stated Nalanda (by Nalanda I mean the mis-identified Nalanda of today which I have identified as the Odantpura sanghramma) was to the west of Rajgir while according to him Nalanda was to the north of Rajgir. I will quote the last paragraph of page 149 of Alexander Cunninghams report of 1871-1872, volume three. He writes, “I have considered this subject with much care and attention. I admit that there are difficulties in Fa-Heins account, owing apparently to simple negligence, as when he places Rajgir to the west instead of to the south of Nalanda.” When I read this report I had already experienced Cunninghams serious misjudgements on other sites so I started taking Huen Tsang seriously and realized the present day ruins of Nalanda aren’t the ruins of the Sanghdharma Huen Tsang had visited and written about. Cunningham and his ilk had forcibly and inexplicably deciphered Huen Tsangs ‘Ho-li-shi-ki-li-hi’ as Rajgir, though there was no verbal resemblance between the two words. He announced the present site of Rajgir to be King Bimbisaras new capitol. He did this so that the present mis-identified site of Nalanda could be proved to be Huen Tsangs Nalanda, when actually it is the ancient Odantpura sangramma. I have realized there never was a sanghramma by the name of Nalanda. Exactly 30 li north of Horidih village is Mahmuda village. Nalanda is another Foreign Buddhist mispronounciation of an Indian name. That name is Mahmuda. The name Mahmuda fits perfectly into the explanation Huen Tsang gives on how Nalanda got its name. I will first quote the last paragraph of page 167 of the journal Si-Yu-Ki where the Chinese traveler writes, “Going north from this 30 li or so, we come to Nalanda sanghdharma. The old account of the country say to the south of the sanghdharma, in the middle of an amra (an-mo-lo) grove, there is a tank. The Naga of this tank is called Nalanda. By the side of this is built the sanghdharma which therefore takes its name.” Now thirty li’s equals to approximately five and a half miles or eight kilometers. So he goes eight kilometers north where we reach a village called Mahmuda which is slightly south east of the rural town of Khudagunj. This is the famous Sanghdharmas south eastern boundary wall. We can clearly see the name Mahmuda has been mispronounced and replaced by Nalanda. The tank Huen Tsang describes can be seen in satellite pictures on the north western edge of the village. This was originally in an Amra garden and belonged to a Naga by the name of Nalanda which sounds vebally similar to Mahmuda. In this case I realize Samuel Beal has purposely mi-translated Huen Tsangs account of Nalanda adjusting what Huen Tsang writes to suit what the orientals thought he had written so that they could prove their find right. So Huen Tsangs writings need to be studied afresh. I have however managed to find all the spots and the meanings of the words of which Huen Tsang tells a tale or gives an explanation.

(a) Mahmuda/Nalanda: Maha means extreme, and ‘Muda’ means topic of discussion or debate. Put together Mahmuda means topics of extreme discussion. I will quote the first few lines of page 171. “If men of other quarters desire to enter and take part in the discussion, the keeper of the gate proposes some hard questions; many are unable to answer and retire. One must have studied deeply both old and new to get admission. Those students, therefore, who come here as strangers, have to show their ability by hard discussion, those who fail compared to those who succeed are as 7 or 8 to 10.” From this quote we realize the essence of the Maha Vihara was discussion on a special topic. That is exactly the meaning of ‘Muda’. Mahmuda caters exactly to what I have just quoted. We can safely conclude that the name Mahmuda was a perfect name for the sanghrammas activity and aims which was education and debate.

(b) Harsingra: Previously Huen tsang states the sanghramma was named after a Naga who owned the Amra grove. But in page 167 last para seventh line he contradicts his last statement. I will quote, “But the truth is that in the old days Tathagat in old days practiced the life of a Bodhi satwa here, and became the king of a great country and established his capitol in this land. Moved by pity for living things, he delighted in continually relieving them. In remembrance of this virtue he was called ‘charity without intermission.” That is exactly what Harsingra means. ‘Har’ means always, and Singra seems to be an ancient rendition of the modern day rural word ‘sangharna’ which means to manage something or to organize. In this case it will be to manage someones elses problems. So put together ‘Harsingra clearly means to always manage someone elses problems. So this village lies smack on the remains of that sanghramma.

(c) Harsinghara Madangopal: In page 168 second para Huen Tsang writes, “His son Buddhagupta Raja, who succeeded him; continued to labor at the excellent undertaking of his father. To the south of this he built another sanghramma.” Harsinghara Madangopal village is directly south of Harsingra village, which is on the ruins of the sanghramma, just as Huen Tsang described. This is certainly on the ruins of the sanghramma. Villagers have settled on it, and on doing so have kept the name alive. Harsinghara Madangopal village is certainly Buddhagupta rajas sanghrama which Huen Tsang described. The slight difference in names is certainly a mis-deciphering of the original Chinese writing by Samuel Beal.

(d) Madargunj: In page 168 second last para, Huen Tsang writes, “Tathagatgupta Raja (Ta-tha-kie-to-kio-lo) vigorously practiced the former rules (of his ancestors). And he built east from this another sanghramma.” This is Madargunj village on the ruins of another sanghramma. Huen Tsang doesn’t give a story to this sanghramma except that it was made according to Tathagatgupta raja vigorously practicing the formers rules, and that it was east of Harsinghara Madangopal. In this case by former he means his ancestor Madangopals rules. So the sanghramma was similar which is why it got the similar name of Madangopal and Madargunj. Madargunj is east of Harsinghara Madangopal just as Huen tsang described.

(e) Simrauka: This is the sanghramma made by Sakraditya Raja. The name Simrauka is very similar to Sakraditya. The latter seems to be a foreign Buddhist mis-pronunciation of the former. The name sounds similar and the Naga pond Huen Tsang describes is seen on the north western corner of the village. I will quote last para of page 167 second line. “The old accounts of the country say that to the south of this (Harsinghara Madangopal) sanghramma, in the middle of an Amra grove there is a tank. The Naga of this tank is called Nalanda. By the side of it is built the sanghramma.” From this quote we clearly realize that, ‘by to the south of the saghramma’, he means, to the south of Harsinghrara Madangopal sanghramma. This is Simrauka village no doubt on top of ruins to the east of the Naga pond which can be seen in satellite pictures.

(f) Jethauna: In page 168 last para Huen Tsang writes, “Baladitya Raja (Po-lo-o-tie-lo) succeeded to the empire. On the north east side he built a sanghramma. The work being done he called together an assembly for congratulations.” By north east Huen Tsang means north east of todays Simrauka village. That is Jethauna, whose meaning Huen Tsang explains in an interesting story. When the sanghramma was completed, Baladitya Raja invited an assembly to boast and show off his construction. People from far and wide came. Two people from China also appeared after the meeting. They showed their presence and disappeared. When Baladitya heard of their arrival, he went to the sanghramma and realized they had gone. He felt dejected and gave up his kingly position and became a recluse. He thus fell to the lowest rank of the priest hierarchy since he was uneducated. He complained to the monks that as a king he was highly respected but as a low ranked priest he got no respect. The monks decided to correct that and give Baladitya his right. In Baladitya’s sangramma the rule of hierarchy by educational knowledge was waved and hierarchy was fixed according to age. This is exactly what Jethauna means, heirarchy with age. So Jethauna village is definitely over the ruins of Baladitya Raja’s vihara.                     

 (g) Waira/Fo-shi-lo: In page 170 first para Huen Tsang writes, “This king’s son called Vajra (Fo-she-lo), came to the throne in succession, and was possessed of a heart firm in faith. He again built on the west side of the convent a sanghramma.” By the statement “on the west side of the convent,” Huen Tsang means on the west side of the Jethauna sanghramma/village. The village of Waira is to the west of Jethauna and adjacent to Madargunj which is to its north. Waira is also on the ruins of a sanghramma. Waira has a verbal similarity with Samuel beals ‘Vajra’. So the village of Waira certainly carries the name of king Baladityas son.

(h) Kochra: I will quote page 170 second para. Huen Tsang writes, “After this a king of central India built to the north of this a great sanghramma. Moreover he built round these edifices a high wall with one gate.” Huen Tsang doesn’t take the name of the south Indian king. He states it is to the north of the Waira and Madargunj sanghramma/village. That is Kochra village over ruins north of Waira. We all know that Kochi is a south Indian city. Kochra is a village found in Maharashtra. So Kochra is definitely the sanghramma of the south Indian king who made the sanghrammas southern gate at Keori village and the boundary wall.

(i) Safipur Harsingra: I will quote page 172 second para of Si-yu-ki. “The sacred relics on the four sides of the convent are hundreds in number. For brevities sake we will recount two or three. On the western side of the sanghramma, at no great distance is a vihara. Here Tathagat in old days stopped for three months and largely expounded the excellent law for the good of the Devas.” Safipur harsingra village is definitely on the ruins of the sanghramma. We must remember the word Harsinghara is used where ever the Buddha stayed because he had a habit of handling people’s problems. This is what Singhara or sangharna means.

(j)Sarthua: This seems to be an ancient rendering of the modern day word ‘swarthi’ which means greedy. It is used on people who do something to profit from it. In page 171 third para Huen Tsang says, “To the south hundred paces or so is a small stupa. This is the place where a bhikshu from a distant region saw the Buddha.” Huen Tsang goes on to describe how the Bhikshu was affected by the Buddha and fell at the latters feet. But he asked to become a Chakravarty Raja. The Buddha grants him his wish but says he won’t attain the holy fruit because he wanted material benefit. This is exactly what Sarthua or Swarthi means. This is the stupa of that greedy but holy Bhikshu.

(k) Keur (In Hindi it is pronounced koor): Keur or Koor sounds similar to the modern day rural word ‘kroor’ which means cruel. The name suits the story which Huen Tsang narrates. In page 173 second para Huen Tsang writes, “To the west of this, outside the wall, and by the side of a tank, is a stupa. This is where a heretic, holding a sparrow in his hand, asked Buddha questions relating to death and birth.” Holding a sparrow in ones hand is definitely a cruel act. That heretic was cruelly teasing the Buddha who certainly didn’t approve of that man capturing a sparrow. So the stupa in Keur village certainly is the one representing that cruel man. And as Huen Tsang described, Keur village is next to a huge tank.

(l) Laliari: In page 173 third para Huen Tsang writes, “To the south east about 50 paces, within the walls, is an extra ordinary tree, about 8 or 9 feet in height, of which the trunk is two fold. When Tathagat in old times was in the world, he flung his tooth cleaner on the ground here where it took root.” This paragraph is important because it gives the exact location of the sanghrammas boundary wall. The tree which grew out of the teeth brushing stick which the Buddha threw, and which took root, was fifty paces within the wall. By south east Huen tsang means south east of Sarthua village. This is Laliari village. Laliari is the ancient form of the modern day word Laliarna which means to wash ones tongue with half the stick with which one washes his teeth. Even today in rural Bihar people prefer to brush their teeth with a stick called ‘Datun’. They then tear the stick down two halves to make it flexible after which they shove it into the mouth to wipe the slime off the tongue. That is called laliari. That means the village of Laiari got its name from this tree.

(m) Safipur Harsighara: This is once more Safipur Harisinghara. In page 173 fourth para Huen Tsang writes, “Next to the east there is a great vihara about two hundred feet in height. Here Tathagat residing for four months explained the excellent law.” Huen Tsang doesn’t say anything about this sanghramma except that it is two hundred feet in height.

(n) Pachrukhia: In page 173 fifth para Huen Tsang writes, “After this to the north, a hundred paces or so, is a viahara in which is a figure of ‘Kwan-tsz-tsi’ Bodhisatwa. The disciples of pure faith who offer their religious gifts, do not all see the place he occupies alike, it is not fixed. Sometimes he seems to be standing by the door; sometimes he goes out in front of the eaves.” Huen Tsangs description talks about a multi faced or multi angled statue. This is exactly what ‘Pachrukhia means.’ It means five faced. This is village is definitely on top of the ruins of the muti faced statue vihara Huen tsang wrote about.

(o) Bardaha: In page 173 last para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north of this vihara is a great vihara, in height about 300 feet, which was built by Baladitya Raja (Po-lo-o-tie-to-wang).’ This great vihara is Bardaha village which is east to the rural town of Khudagunj. The first four letters of Bardaha sound very similar to Baladitya and is definitely a short form or nick name of Baladitya. The last two letters, namely ‘ha’, means to give away. So put together Bardaha means the vihara Baladitya gave away. So this village is on the ruins of the elusive three hundred feet high vihara.

(p) Daura: In page 174 second para Huen Tsang writes, “To the north east of this is a stupa. Here Tathagat in days gone by explained the excellent law in seven days.” This is Daura village which is north east to Bardaha. By seven days Huen Tsang means the Buddha was travelling and preaching. He had a fixed itinery and preached here and there for seven days at a time. This is exactly what ‘Daura’ means. To move and to preach and move on. This village is definitely on that stupa.

(q) Panhar: In page 174 third para Huen tsang writes, “To the north west is a place where the four past Buddhas sat.” This is Panhar village which is northwest of Bardaha. It is directly west of Daura. This village has got a big graveyard with plenty of undulating mud mounds. It is a Muslim dominated village The villagers fail to understand why there are so many graves and grave yards for such a small village. This hints at a fight between the Buddhists and Bakhtiar Khiljis army when the latter attacked.

(r) Khudagunj police station: In page 174 fourth para Huen Tsang describes a brass vihara one hundred feet in size built by Siladitya Raja. This is slightly south west of the Khudagunj police station and west of the Khudagunj Islampur road.

(s) Khudagunj police station: In page 174 fourth para Huen Tsang states that 200 paces to the east of the brass vihara is an 80 feet high brass statue of the Buddha. Exactly 500 feet east of where I suspected the brass vihara was I saw a shadow of a man lying in the wheat field south of the poice station. I measured the length of the man and realized it was eighty feet just as Huen Tsang had stated. This area should be checked for the mammoth brass statue. It was made by Purnavarma Raja. Maybe that is why this village got its name. Panhar. ‘Pan’ may be a short form or nickname of Purnavarma Raja, and the last three letters ‘har’ means to lose. So the name Panhar for this area suits the name of where the statue disappeared.

(t)Sukaran Bigha Tola of Keori: Till now Huen Tsang was taking the reader gradually northwards. Now he suddenly goes south to the sanghrammas southern gate in preparation to take the reader further south outside the sanghrammas boundary wall leaving the sanghramma behind. In page 175 second para he writes, “Within the southern gate of the wall is a large well. Formerly, when the Buddha was alive, a great company of merchants parched with thirst came here to the spot where the Buddha was.” Huen Tsang goes on to tell the story of how the Buddha asked the merchants to open their vehicles axle and slam it into the ground. They did this and water gushed out of the hole. This is exactly what Sukaran means. “Sukar’ is short form of sukhar which today means parched and hints at extreme thirst. The last four leters ‘aran’ of Sukaran is a short form of ‘haran’which means relief from something. In this case relief from thirst.  Put together Sukaran certainly means relief of parched thirsty people. This is within the gate and the boundary wall of the sanghramma.

(u) Keori: Keori is pronounced ‘Kewri’ which simply means door or gate. Today we also call a door a ‘Kewari’. The difference in Kewari and Keori is simply on the area using this word. So this village is certainly the sanghrammas southern door or gate which the south Indian king made. 

Important notice: The famous Nalanda/Mahmuda Sanghrama, according to Buddhist texts was situated close to Maugliyayana’s and Sariputras villages. These were two of the Buddhas most important disciples. The fact that Nalanda Sanghdharma was deliberately mis-identified by British orientalists to be near the village of Bargaon, resulted, in the world not finding the two important disciples villages. Sariputras stupa marking his birthplace in Kodihara village is directly five kilometers south of Nalanda/Mahmuda sanghdharma or Keori village which was the sanghrammas southern door, while Khushiyalpur village where Mougliyayana was born is three kilometers south west to Keori village or the sanghramas southern gate. This proves that Keori village is defenitely the southern gate of the southern boundary wall of the Sanghrama. This also proves that all that I have described about Mahmuda/Nalanda sanghramma is accurate.

 (40) Khushiyalpur village/Kiu-li-kia: (Si-Yu-Ki page 175 and 176) From Keori village or Nalanda Sanghdharma’s southern gate Huen Tsang travels nine Li’s south west to a village he calls Kiu-li-kia which has two stupas. I will quote the third paragraph of page 175 of Huen Tsangs journal Si-Yu-Ki. He writes, “Going south west or nine Li from the sanghdharma, we come to the village of Kulika (Kiu-li-kia). In it is a stupa built by Ashoka Raja. This is where the venerable Mudgaliputra (Mo-to-kia-lo-tseu) was born. In it is a stupa built by Ashoka Raja. This is where the venerable one reached complete nirvana; and in it are placed the remains of his bequeathed body.” The reader can clearly see the English translator’s mis-pronunciation of Indian names. Samuel Beal mispronounces Kiu-li-kia as Kulika and Mougliyana as Mudgaliputra. Today approximately three kilometers to the south west of Keori village or the sanghdharmas southern gate is the village of Khushiyalpur which sounds similar to Huen Tsangs Kiu-li-kia and is populated by Rajputs. This village is Mogliyayas village who was one of the Buddhas favorite disciples.  In the village is an Ashokan Stupa that marks the spot of Maugliyaya’s birth place. Unfortunately the villagers have built their homes on the stupa itself. The dome of the stupa is an alley between two rows of houses. There is an ancient well next to the stupa just like the other Ashokan stupas. And the second stupa is a mammoth one that houses Maugliyanas relics. Samuel Beal translates Maugliyanas name as Mudgaliputra and says he was from a Brahmin family. This village is important as it strengthens Huen Tsangs claim that the area between Keur and Panhar villages is the real Nalanda sanghdharma. You can view the village and stupas on my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed. Mudgaliputras village.”

(41) Hathiyama/Bimbisara’s stupa- (Si-Yu-Ki page176 and 177) From Khushiyalpur village Huen tsang goes four or five Li’s or 4700 ft to the east to the village of Hathiyama where King Bimbisara of Magadh met the Buddha after he gained enlightenment. I will quote the second paragraph of page 176 of Huen Tsangs journal Si-Yu-Ki. He says, “East of the old village of Mudgaliputra, going three or four Li, we come to a stupa. This is the place where Bimbisara Raja went to have an interview with the Buddha when Tathagat first obtained the fruit of the Buddha.” We can see that to commemorate the event and mark the spot the king constructed a stupa. I visited the village and found the stupa which the villagers call a Garh.  I realized three walls of the stupa was missing. Mud had been sold or pilfered. But the stupa was there with one ancient wall. I personally think this is the most ancient standing wall in India as it was constructed in the Buddhas lifetime. There was enough mud left for the stupa to be repaired. The stupa can be viewed in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed: Bimbisaras stupa.”

(42)Kodihara village/Kia-lo-pi-na-kia (Si-Yu-Ki page177 to 179) From the Hathiyama stupa or the stupa made by king Bimbisara, Huen Tsang traveled twenty Li’s or five and a half kilometers south east to the village of Kodhihara. I will quote the second paragraph of page 177 of his journal Si-Yu-Ki. He says, “South east from the spot where Bimbisara met Buddha, at a distance of about 20 li, we come to the town of Kalapinaka (Kia-lo-pi-na-kia). In this town is a stupa that was built by Ashoka Raja. This is the place where Sariputra, the venerable one, was born. The well of the place still exists. By the side of the place is a stupa. This is where the venerable one obtained nirvana; the relics of his body are therefore enshrined therein.” Huen Tsang calls the village  Kiu-lo-pi-na-kia and Samuel Beal calls it Kalapinaka. Huen Tsangs Kiu’lo-pi-na-kia sounds similar to the village called Kodihara. The peculiarity of this name is it is written Kodihara but pronounced Kolihara so matches Huen Tsangs mis-pronounced Kiu-lo-pi-na-kia. I visited the village and realized it was populated by Bumihar Brahmins. I found the two stupas. The Ashokan stupa was just outside the village next to a mango grove and was half destroyed. Half the stupas mud had been excavated by an excavator for earth filling on the village road. Huen Tsang had described an ancient well near the stupa. The well is there but the walls have been plastered in an attempt to make it look new. Today the well is defunct. I videographed the well. West of the village on a hillock is enshrined the relics of Sariputra in a mammoth sized stupa. It looks magnificent and is very high. It has mud plastered around the hillock and rocks the size of a palm covering the hillock to make it into a perfect circle. According to Huen Tsang when Sariputra heard of the forecast of the  Buddhas death he asked the latter for permission to die first. He was granted permission so he died in the seclusion of this hillock. From this stupa you can see the stupa that has enshrined in it the relics of Sariputra’s favorite disciple. These stupas are important as they belong to important Buddhist personalities. They also strengthen Huen Tsangs claim that the area beteen Keur and Panhar village is the actual Nalanda sanghdharma. The video of the village and stupas can be viewed in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”

(43)Sariputras disciples stupa: (Si-Yu-Ki page 180 first para) Four or five Li’s or approximately 4700 ft south east from Kodihara village Huen Tsang visited the stupa of Sariputras favorite disciple. This is on a hillock in a place called Patharkatti. I will quote the second paragraph of page 180 of his book Si-Yu-Ki. He writes, “Four or five li’s south east of the town of Kalapinaka is a stupa. This is the spot where a disciple of Sariputra reached nirvana.” Unknowingly the Bihar Government has built a guest house for pilgrims just below the stupa. The video is available in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”

(44) I’n-to-lo-shi-kia-ho-shan: (Si-Yu-Ki page 180 to 181) From the Patharkatti hillock Huen Tsang goes thirty li’s or eight and a half kilometers east to what he calls “In-to-lo-shi-lo-kia-ho-shan” mountain. Samuel Beal calls it Indrasailaguha mountain. I realize Samuel Beal has guessed what the name could be. The actual name can be got from Buddhist scriptures. On the ground the name is lost. I will quote the second paragraph of page 180 of Huen Tsangs book Si-Yu-Ki. He writes, “Going thirty li or so from this last named stupa, we come to the Indrasaila Guha mountain (In-to-lo-shi-kia-ho-shan). The precipices and valleys of this mountain are dark and gloomy. Flowering trees grow thickly together like forests. The summit has two peaks which rise up sharply and by themselves. On the south side of the western peak between the crags is a great stone house, wide but not high.” This has to be explored. On the eastern peak is a stupa where a goose died and fell to the ground. There is a story for this too.  This is Gulelwa mountain north of Horidih village.

(4) Gulelwa/Keng-sha: (Si-Yu-Ki page 181 to I82) will quote Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes in the second paragraph on page 181 of the journal, “Before the sanghdharma on the eastern peak of the Indrasaila Guha mountain is a stupa which is called Hansa (Keng-sho). Formerly the priests of this sanghdharma studied the doctrine of the little vehicle.” One day a Bhikshu was walking and a flock of geese flew overhead. He shouted that the Bhikshus had nothing to eat. A goose fell down dead. Because of the gooses death the Bhikshus of that Sanghdharma changed their practices and built the stupa in memory of the goose which they buried in it. The stupa was supposed to remind people of the change in practice. Today the place is called Gulelwa which means a catapult with which you can shoot a swan. I didn’t visit it as the peak was too high for me to climb because I am a spinal patient. Doctors have forbidden me. This will be explored later during winters. What was important was that I had identified it.

Now there is a short note here. You will realize that I haven’t quoted any of the British orientalists or historians in my journey from Horidih to the Indrasailaguha or Gulelwa mountain. This is because this mountain is on the western section of the Rajgir hills. Britishers like Alexander Cunningham, Wadell, J.D.Beglar are all silent on the journey from Horidih to the Indrasaila Guha mountain as it was next to impossible to pin point the thirty li on a mountain range which was approximately thirty kilometers from the east to west. People have a tendency to take measurements from the eastern or western tip of the range which is why all the spots British orientalist’s identified are wrong. This is exactly what happned in Bodh Gaya. Cunningham and the others took measurement of 15 li’s from the southwestern tip of the Dungeshwari hills which is why they identified the wrong place as Bodh Gaya. They should have taken measurements at the point of ascending and descending the mountain which was from the Dungeshwari cave. This is why the orientalists and present day historians never found Sariputras and Mougliyayas village. They were taking measurements from the eastern or western tip of the Rajgir hills.  Naturally the offshoot is they never found the real Nalanda. So they conveniently kept proving Huen Tsang wrong and increased and decreased his li’s to suit themselves and identify the Odantpura sanghdharma as Nalanda because the place was littered with ruins. Right on the western tip of the Rajgir hills is Giryek which Cunningham identifies as Indrasaila Guha mountain by increasing and decreasing Huen Tsangs Li’s while Broadley who was the magistrate of Biharsharif at that time puts his bet on the hillock at village Parbati. Again the orientalists wrongly identify Rajgir instead of Horidih as the new capitol of King Bimbisara so that they could prove that the wrongly identified Nalanda was thirty Li’s to the north of the new capitol because Huen Tsang stated it. I have simply faithfully followed in Huen Tsangs steps giving him the benefit of doubt so he takes me smoothly to the correct places. 

(46)Mathokhar Duh/ Kapotika: (Si-Yu-Ki page 182 to 184) From Indrasailaguha mountain or Natsar Huen Tsang travels 150 or 160 Li’s or twenty eight miles east to what he calls Kapotika or the pigeon monastery. I will quote the second paragraph of page 182 of Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes, “Going 150 or 160 li to the north east of Indrasailaguha mountain, we come to the Kapotika (pigeon) convent. There are about 200 priests, who study the principle of the Sarvastava school of Buddhism.” This is Mathokhar Duh of today which sounds similar to Huen Tsangs Kapotika. The monastery is 2 to 3 Li’s or 2800 ft south west of the lonely hill. I will quote the second paragraph of page 183 of Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes, “To the south of this 2 or 3 li’s we come to a solitary hill, which is of great height, and covered with forests and jungle.” The lonely hill is Mathokhar hill where stone quarrying is taking place and must be stopped. Huen Tsang states that there was an Ashokan stupa east of the monastery and a Sri Lankan monastery on the lonely hill or the Mathokhar hill. I realized Huen Tsang called it the lonely hill because it stood alone at a distance from the range of Sheikhpura hills. Mathokhar today has two parallel mud mounds about two thousand feet long with a beautiful lake in between. This lake isn’t mentioned by the Chinese traveler so I suspect it was made after him. Infact I suspect it was dug up to hide the ruins of the Sanghdharma. Huen Tsang stated there were 200 priests who study the principles of Sarvastavada school of Buddhism. That meant to house 200 priests the Sanghdharma must have been big. Today there is an Ashokan stupa to the west of the Sanghdharma. Here Huen Tsang makes a slight mistake in his bearing. He is very accurate in his long distance bearings but in short distances like 2 or 3 Li’s he is inaccurate. Basically the reader will realize the Chinese traveler has been reaching holy Buddhist places without any hindrance or without a hitch despite being a foreigner. He doesn’t stray off the road or search for places which is unique and is possible only if he had an escort. I suspect he wasn’t travelling alone but with an escort party on a guided tour arranged by Emperor Harsha Vardhan himself. The escort party was taking him directly to important holy Buddhist sites where he was treated well. They were looking after all his needs like food and clothing and shelter. It seems Huen Tsang asked his escort long distance bearings which he notes down accurately. In the short distance ones he gives wrong bearings. This means he avoids asking his guide the short distance bearings because short distance ones are supposed to be easy. I suspect the latter might think him illiterate. Another example of giving wrong short distance bearings is in Pataliputra. Ashokas hell, the Ghanta stupa, and Dheebar are all to the west of Ashokas palace. These are all at short distances. Surprisingly he states they are to the north when the palace is on the banks of the Ganges itself. This means he was embarrassed to ask close range bearings thinking his escort would think him to be illiterate. So instead of giving the bearing of the Ashokan stupa in Mathokhar as west to the sanghdharma he gives it to the east. This must have happened in Pataliputra too. That means he was looking in the opposite direction when he gave the bearing. Today there is a mosque and five Muslim graves on the Ashokan stupa in Mathokhar. Next to the stupa is a hillock on which there is a rock with shadows of footmarks on the rock. The Muslims claim it is the Muslim dargah baba’s footmark. Huen Tsangs story tallies with the local folk lore of the place. According to him the Buddha preached here for a day. There was a bird catcher who caught and ate birds. One day he didn’t catch a bird. He thought it was a magic of the Buddha so he went to the latter and complained that he and his family were hungry. The Buddha told him to light a fire. The bird catcher did as asked and a dove seemed to drop into the fire. The bird catcher cooked it and fed his family. But he came back and repented for killing and became a holy man who never went back home. He stayed back in the Sanghdharma and became a learned Bhikshu and an arhat. The villagers of Mathokhar have a similar story to tell. Instead of the Buddha the Dargah Baba was camping there. He wanted to drink milk so he asked a milk man. The latter told him to milk a cow that never gave milk. But the Dargah Baba successfully milked it so the surprised Jadav boiled the milk and made Kheer and fed the Baba. The Jadavs name was Chulhai. After that he realized the dargah Baba was special. He repented and stayed back and never went home. He became a learned man. I believe the Ashokan stupa is dedicated to him. This story compared to Huen Tsangs story and the accurate Li’s from the Indrasailaguha mountain proves Mathokhar is Kapotika. On top of the Mathokhar hill is a rocky stupa which the locals pray to and call Rani Machola. This is the Sinhalese monastery Huen Tsang writes about. Another Buddhist stupa has been blown away by the stone quarriors. Huen Tsang had written about other monasteries on the hill. All these seem to have been quarried. Rani Machola proves that Mathokhar hill is Huen Tsangs lonely hill. Every Thursday and Friday villagers assemble on the Ashokan stupa and sacrifice goats and chickens to the Dargah Baba and cook it on the stupa itself. They are repeating the act of the bird catcher who cooked the dove.

Alexander Cunningham came here and wrote about the place in his report of Sheikhpura. He failed to realize Mathokar matched with Huen Tsangs mis-pronounced Kapotika. Cunningham went on to report that this was the Deva temples Huen Tsang had written about south of the Ganges. The Ganges is nowhere near Mathokhar. He identifies Parvati hill as Kapotika. I will quote page six of Cunninghams report in, “A tour in Bihar and Bengal in 1879-80.” It is the sixth page and the chapter on ‘Parbati’. He writes, “On leaving Indrasailaguha or Indras cave, Huen Tsang says he traveled 150 to 160 Li’s to the north east to the Kapotika or pigeon monastery close to which on the south there was a steep isolated hill covered with holy buildings. Now there is clearly some error in the distance as a journey of some 25 to 27 miles would have taken the pilgrim into the old bed of the Ganges, now called the Halohar river and at least twelve miles away from the nearest hills of Sheikhpura. I propose therefore to read 50 to 60 li; a distance which would suit either for the hill of Bihar or for that of Parbati.” The reader will realize Cunningham and other orientalists were guessing. He was measuring from Giryek village which he had wrongly identified as the Indrasaila Guha mountain. The British orientalists were reducing and increasing Li’s to suit their finds while all the time proving Huen Tsang wrong when they were wrong themselves. All this and much more is available in the video in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”

(47)Gadua: (Si-Yu-Ki page 184) Southeast from the lonely mountain or Mathokhar hill Huen Tsang goes 40 Li’s or 7 miles to a Sanghdharma with fifty priests who study the teachings of the little vehicle. I will quote the second paragraph of page 184 of his journal Si-Yu-Ki. He says, “Going south east from this shrine on the solitary mountain about 40 li, we come to a convent with about 50 priests, who study the teaching of the little vehicle. Before the sanghdharma is a great stupa where many miracles are displayed. The Buddha stayed here for seven days and taught for Brahma Devas sake and others.” Before the Sanghdharma is a stupa where the four previous Buddhas sat and many miracles took place. This is the village of Gadua in Sheikhpura district which is populated by the Bhumihar Brahmin cast belonging to the Bharduaj gotra. My cast and my gotra. Huen Tsangs 40 li takes us to this village. My ancestors came from this village. I suspect that Brahma Deva is an Indian to Chinese mispronunciation and a Chinese to English mispronunciation by Samuel Beal of the word Bharduaj. Brahma Deva sounds very similar to Bharduaj which is the gotra of that village. There is a stupa called Garh in the middle of the village while most of the homes are on the sanghdharma. Near the Sanghdharma ruins there is a parapet where Lord Mahavira sat and preached. On the parapet is a small cemented stupa four feet high. It was previously made of mud. But the mud would slide away due to rains so the villagers cemented it. This is proof that this is the Sanghdharma Huen Tsang spoke of because Lord Mahavira was a contemporary of the Buddha and preached where the latter preached. Cunningham does guess work here too and identifies the sanghdharma with Aphsar village. I will quote the first line in page 11 of his report” A tour in Bihar and Bengal in 1879 and 1880.” He writes, “In the position indicated there are no remains of any kind. It seems probable therefore we should read 4 li instead of forty, which should take us to the high conical mound of Aphsar, where there are both Buddhist and Brahmanical remains.” Cunningham has conveniently reduced 36 li’s from 40 li to suit his find. This is why all the sites the orientalists identified are wrong. The video is available in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”

(48) Indradamaneshwar temple Ashok Dham/ Deva temple: (Si-Yu-Ki page 184) From Gadua village Huen Tsang went 70 Li’s or twenty kilometers north east to a thickly populated village south of the Ganges with several Deva temples all of them admirably adorned. Huen Tsang writes in the second paragraph in the fourth last line in page 184 of his journal “Si-Yu-Ki.” He says, “To the north east of the sanghdharma about 70 li’s; on the south side of the Ganges river, we come to a large village thickly populated. There are many Deva temples, all of them admirably adorned.” By Deva temples he means Shiva temples. This is the present day Ashok Dham just west of Lakhisarai town. The thickly populated village south of the Ganges is the village of Balguddar to the north of which the ancient Ganges flowed. The village includes the villages of Rajaona and Chowki. One of the well adorned Deva temples is the swanky present day Indradamaneshwar temple of Ashok Dham. The Shiva Linga was excavated in the year 1976. The other is the Motka Mahadeo Shiva Linga in Purani Bazaar lakhisarai which was stolen from Rajaona (Ashok Dham) more than a hundred years ago. Alexander Cunningham had excavated it way back in 1872. Recently more Shivalingas have been excavated with many more mud mounds still to be excavated. So Ashok Dham with the swanky new Indradamaneshwar temple of today is Huen Tsangs Deva temples. Cunningham identifies Mathokhar with the Deva temples south of the Ganges. He writes in the first paragraph eleventh line of page 13 of his report, “A tour in Bihar and Bengal in 1879-80.” He says, “I feel sure therefore, that the large Brahmanical village visited by Huen Tsang must have been situated in the pretty and well wooded oasis of sheikhpura. The remains here are all Brahmanical of which the principal is a fine tank called Mathokhar Tal. On its banks there is a Dargah referred to as Mathokhar Khan.” How Cunningham made this decision is an enigma never to be solved. The Ganges is nowhere near Sheikhpura hills and Mathokhar.

(49) Brindaban stupa: (Si-Yu-Ki page 184) Not far to the south west of the Deva temples or Indradamaneshwar temple of Ashok Dham Huen Tsang visited a great stupa where the Buddha preached for one day. This is the Brindavan stupa next to the Ghosi Kundi stupa which is just opposite Laalipahari. I will quote the second paragraph of page 184 of Huen Tsangs Si-Yu-Ki. He writes, “Not far to the south east is a great stupa. Here Buddha for a night preached the law. “Alexander Cunningham had dug into the Ghosi Kundi stupa which is next to the Brindaban stupa way back in 1872. He had found some relics like a bone fragment in a golden box and a green bead in a small silver box all in a steatile casket. Next to the casket he found some ashes and a tooth. On the eastern slope of the stupa in a chamber he had found in an earthen pot in an earthen jar more than two thousand seals made of lac. He also found four bronze statues of the ascetic Buddha and a steatile one. What he did with these no one knows. But Cunningham doesn’t mention digging the Brindaban stupa. This is because he failed to recognize it was an Ashokan stupa. You can view this in my youtube channel “Buddha Exhumed.”

(50) Losghani/Lo-in-ni-lo: (Si-Yu-Ki page 184 and 185) Huen Tsang goes east from this stupa through the desert mountains for 100 Li’s or 28 kilometers to the convent of Lo-in-ni-lo. I will quote the second last paragraph of page 184 of Si-Yu-Ki. Huen Tsang writes, “Going east from this we enter the desert mountains; and going 100 li or so, we come to the convent of the village of Lo-in-ni-lo. Before this is a great stupa which was built by Ashoka Raja. Here Buddha formerly preached the law for three months. To the north of this 2 or 3 li’s is a large tank about 30 li’s round.” The desert mountains are the Lakhochak and Jallappa sthan hills. The convent is in the Taal area of Losghani village. Losghani is Lo-in-ni-lo. Before the Sanghdharma is an Ashokan stupa as described by Huen Tsang. The name Losghani also tallies with Huen Tsangs Lo-in-ni-lo.  North of the stupa there was a water body around 30 Li’s or eight kilometers round. Today north of the stupa there is a low dip in the wheat fields. Previously this area was fed by a destributary of the Ganges called the Jhana river. The Bihar Government blocked the mouth of the river at Surajgarha so that it no more supplies water. This is why the water body Huen Tsang described has disappeared. The sanghdharma is huge covering an area of 45 acres which is the built up area. I suspect it is a very important Buddhist site in Bihar with the biggest built up area. The biggest in India. Excavations will reveal structures better than the present day Nalanda. It is a mud mound twenty feet high and may yield beautifully adorned buildings. The Ashokan stupa before it is majestic.

(51) Kheraiya/ Hario village/I-lan-na-po-fa-to: (Si-Yu-Ki page 185 to 186) From Losghani Huen Tsang travels 200 Li’s or fifty six kilometers east across thick jungles to the country of what Samuel Beal calls Hiranyaparvata. Hiranyaparvata is a mistranslation of Huen Tsangs ‘I-lan-na-po-fa-to’. They are two villages called Kheraiya and Hario which now has a Muslim name Akbarnagar.This is outside the country of Magadh so I haven’t studied it yet. It east of the town of Sultangunj which is on a huge mound and next to the Ganges river. From Hario he went further 300 Li’s to Huen Tsangs mispronounced Chen-po which is Chhata Lohanda which is slightly south east of the town of Sahibgunj. I haven’t studied hario village and Chhata Lohanda as I will be dealing with these places in the next part.

The link to the youtube video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51hIAUxsh7g&t=199s