National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

Ketās we must rely upon the location of the site which Hsüan-tsang's subsequent
account, as translated by Mr. Watters, describes as follows:
'Forty or fifty *li* to the south-east of the capital is a stone tope above 200 feet
high built by Aśoka. Here are also more than ten tanks large and small—"a
scene of sunshine". The banks of these tanks are of carved stone representing
various forms and strange kinds of creatures. The struggling water (that is, the
river which supplied the tanks) is a clear brawling torrent; dragons, fish and
other watery tribes move about in the cavernous depths; lotuses of the four
colours cover the surface of the clear ponds; all kinds of fruit trees grow thick,
making one splendour of various hues and, the brightness of the wood mixing
with that of the tanks, the place is truly a pleasure-ground.
'Beside [the tope?] is a Buddhist monastery which has long been unoccupied.
Not far from the tope is the place at which the founder of the "White-clothes"
sect, having come to realize the principles for which he had been seeking, first
preached his system, the place being now marked by a memorial beside which a
Deva-temple has been erected. The disciples [of the founder of the "White-
clothes" sect] practise austerities, persevering day and night without any relaxa-
tion, etc.'
Then follows a brief but correct description of the white-robed heretics and
their system by which, as long ago recognized by students of the *Hsi-yü-chi*, the
Jaina sect of the Śvetāmbaras and their doctrine are intended. The translations
of Julien and Beal agree with the above rendering of Mr. Watters in all essen-
tials, except that they refer to the spot where the founder of Jainism found
enlightenment as being marked by an inscription. Whether the Chinese words
quoted by Mr. Watters imply an inscription or other form of memorial, it is
certain that the site where the founder of the Jaina doctrine, that early rival of
Buddhism, was believed to have attained his *bodhi* may claim exceptional interest.
I do not propose to relate here afresh how on my first arrival at the pleasant
District Bungalow of Chōa Saidān Shāh on Christmas Day, 1889, I learned from
the villagers that in the valley of Gamdhāla there was a place called significantly
enough *Mūrti*, 'the [place of] sculptures'. It was said to have yielded stone
images and beautifully carved blocks of stone, such as had been taken some years
before to build a new bridge at Chōa Saidān Shāh over the small stream that
descends from Ketās.¹⁰ After satisfying myself that the materials of the bridge,
partly showing relief decoration, must have been taken from an old temple, I
followed the stream downwards, and to my joyful surprise was shown by my
guide the place from which all the sculptures had been obtained. It was a spot