Page:The Ancient Geography of India.djvu/237
NORTHERN INDIA. 193
line it is not more than 16 miles. The circuit of Tse-
kia was about 20 li, or upwards of three miles, which
agrees sufficiently well with my measurement of the
ruins of Asarur at 15,600 feet, or just three miles. At
the time of Hwen Thsang's visit there were ten mo-
nasteries, but very few Buddhists, and the mass of the
people worshipped the Brahmanical gods. To the
north-east of the town at 10 li, or nearly 2 miles,
there was a stupa of Asoka, 200 feet in height, which
marked the spot where Buddha had halted, and which
was said to contain a large quantity of his relics. This
stupa may, I think, be identified with the little mound
of Sâlár, near Thata Syadon, just two miles to the
north of Asarur.
Ran-si, or Nara-Sinha.
On leaving Tse-kia, Hwen Thsang travelled east- ward to Na-lo-Seng-ho, or Nára-Sinha, beyond which place he entered the forest of Po-lo-she, or Pilu trees (Salvadora Persica), where he encountered the bri- gands, as already related. This town of Nara-Sinha is, I believe, represented by the large ruined mound of Ran-Si, which is situated 9 miles to the south of Shekohpura, and 25 miles to the east-south-east of Asarur, and about the same distance to the west of Lahor.* Si, or Sih, is the usual Indian contraction for Sinh, and Ran is a well-known interchange of pro- nunciation with Nar, as in Ranod for Narod, a large town in the Gwalior territory, about 35 miles to the south of Narwar, and in Nakhlor for Lakhnor, the capital of Katehar, or Rohilkhand. In Ransi, there- fore, we have not only an exact correspondence of
- See Map No. VI.