Elements of historical geography and travel literature:

Hiuen Tsang
 Hiuen Tsang, also known as Xuanzang, was a Chinese Buddhist, monk scholar,
traveller, and translator.

 He travelled from China to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures during the reign of
King Harsha Vardhan.

 He is best known for his journey to India from 629 to 645 CE and his efforts to
bring over 657 Indian texts into China.

 His translations of some contemporary texts provide valuable insights into India's
history, culture, and religion at the time. Hiuen Tsang is also revered in China as a
great scholar who helped establish the field of Buddhist studies. His writings had a
significant impact on the development of Buddhism in China.
•Hiuen Tsang (Xuanzang) is famous for his extensive travels to India during the Tang
Dynasty (618-907 CE). He also tried efforts to revive Buddhism in his native Tibet
during the Yuan Dynasty.

•He translated many Buddhist texts from Sanskrit into Chinese. He increased their
availability in China and contributed to spreading Buddhist philosophy and thought.

•Hiuen Tsang describes in detail the various kingdoms and rulers he met on his travels.
He also describes the customs, beliefs, and practises of the people he met.

•He also discusses the economic conditions of the time, including descriptions of
agriculture, trade, and commerce in various parts of India.

•In short, his travels and writings helped spread Buddhism and its practices throughout
Asia. His legacy continues to inspire academics and Buddhists today.
 Hiuen Tsang’s India Visit
In AD 627, Tang Dynasty (China) and the Gokturks (Turkic tribe) were at war. Tang
Emperor Taizong banned foreign travel during his reign. The conflict between the Tang
dynasty and the Gokturks was part of a long-standing struggle for control over the Silk
Road trade routes.

•In 629, Hiuen Tsang escaped the empire by persuading the Buddhist guards at Yumen
Pass to let him pass through Liangzhou (Gansu) and Qinghai.

•He crossed the Gobi Desert to Hami City (then Kumul), then went west to the Tian
Shan.
•In AD 630, he met the king of Turpan, a Buddhist, who assisted him in preparing for
his journeys.

•His famous work 'Journey to the West' (Si-Yu-Ki) represented China's hottest peak,
the Flaming Mountains near Turpan.
•Hiuen Tsang visited Central Asia (Tashkent, Kyrgyzstan, and Samarkand in
Uzbekistan).

•He also passed through the Iron Gate, a narrow and dangerous passage through the
mountains that form the border between modern-day Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.

•After crossing the Iron Gate, Huan Tsang continued his journey through the Pamir
Mountains (the roof of the world; a mountain range that runs across Central Asia, South
Asia, and East Asia ). The Pamir Mountains are located where the Himalayas range
meets the Tian Shan, Karakoram, Kunlun, and the Hindu Kush ranges.

•Upon his arrival in Afghanistan, he visited several Buddhist temples and relics,
including the Nava Vihara. The Nava Vihara was the westernmost vihara (Buddhist
monastery or temple; as described by Hiuen Tsang) in the world at the time.
•He met Dharma Simha in Afghanistan and over 3,000 non-Mahayana monks,
including Prajnakara, with whom Hiuen Tsang studied early Buddhist scriptures.

•During his time in Afghanistan, Hiuen Tsang obtained several important Buddhist
texts, including the Mahavibhasa, an ancient Buddhist text written around 150 AD by
Vasumitra, an eminent philosopher of the Kushan era.

•Hiuen Tsang accompanied Prajnakara on a trip to Central Afghanistan. He saw

dozens of non-Mahayana monasteries as well as two massive Bamiyan Buddhas
carved into the rockface.

•They resumed their journey and arrived in Kabul, where they found over 100
monasteries and 6000 monks, the majority of whom were Mahayana.

•Xuanzang arrived in Gandhara around 630 AD, which is now part of Pakistan and
Afghanistan.
•On his way out of Adinapur (now Jalalabad in Afghanistan), he passed through the
Khyber Pass and arrived in Purushapura, the capital of Gandhara (Now Peshawar in
Pakistan).
•He then came across the Kanishka Stupa, an ancient Buddhist pilgrimage and
learning centre.
•He travelled through Swat Valley to Uddayana, where he saw 1,400-year-old
monasteries with large communities of monks studying and practising the Buddha's
teachings.
•On his way to Burner Valley and Shahbaz Grahi, he crossed the Indus River at Hund
and arrived in Taxila.

•He discovered that most of Taxila's Sangharamas (temples and monasteries) had been
damaged or deserted due to conflict between local kings.

•When Hiuen Tsang arrived in Kashmir in AD 631, he discovered a large Buddhist

community with over 100 monasteries and over 5,000 monks.
•He also observed that this community was most likely established during the reign of
the Kushan Empire in the first and second centuries CE. It had grown and flourished
over time.

•In AD 634, Hiuen Tsang travelled through Chiniot and Lahore before arriving at
Matipura (modern-day Mandawa, near Bijnor in Uttar Pradesh).

•He studied under the renowned Buddhist teacher Mitrasena at Matipura Monastery.

•To further his understanding of Buddhist teachings and practises, Xuanzang travelled to
Jalandhar in Punjab and Kullu in Himachal Pradesh. He also travelled to Bairat in
Rajasthan and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh.

•Later, Hiuen Tsang travelled south to Kannauj, the capital of King Harsha Vardhan's
dominion in northern India.
• During his journey, he crossed several rivers, including the Yamuna, Shrughna, and
Ganga.

• Hiuen Tsang noted at Kannauj that King Harsha was a Buddhist patron and had
established several centres of learning and monasteries in the region. He also noted
that there were several monasteries in the region for both Mahayana and non-
Mahayana tradition followers.

• Hiuen Tsang was impressed by King Harsha's patronage of Buddhism and support
for scholarship. He also stated that he met several rulers who were either hostile or
indifferent to Buddhism, but King Harsha was an exception.

• Later, Hiuen Tsang visited several cities and monasteries associated with
Buddhism, including Govishan (now Kashipur, U.S.N, Uttarakhand), Ayodhya (the
seat of the Yogacara school), and Kausambi (Uttar Pradesh) during Harsha's reign in
AD 636.
•He then travelled north to Shravasti in Uttar Pradesh, and finally to the Terai regions of
Nepal.

•His final destination before arriving in Lumbini (the birthplace of Buddha) was
Kapilavastu.

•Hiuen Tsang travelled to several important Buddhist sites in northern India after visiting
Lumbini, including Kushinagar, Sarnath, Varanasi, Vaishali, Patna (ancient Pataliputra),
and Bodh Gaya. These are all significant locations associated with the Buddha's life and
the early development of Buddhism in India.

•Hiuen Tsang also visited the Champa Monastery in Bhagalpur, Bihar.

•He spent about five years studying at Nalanda University in present-day Bihar, India.

•Hiuen Tsang studied various subjects at Nalanda, including logic, grammar, Sanskrit,
and Buddhist philosophy.
•At Nalanda, Hiuen Tsang met Silabhadra, a renowned expert in Yogacara teaching who helped
shape Xuanzang's understanding of Buddhist philosophy.

•While studying Buddhism at Nalanda University in India, Hiuen Tsang discovered eleven
commentaries on Vasubandhu.

•Hiuen Tsang travelled from Nalanda to Bangladesh, where he discovered 20 monasteries with
nearly 3,000 monks studying both the Hinayana and Mahayana. In the Vasibha Monastery, he
discovered around 700 Mahayana monks from all over East India.

•Hiuen Tsang also visited the famous Buddhist site of Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda in
Andhra Pradesh (formerly Andhradesa).

•Hiuen Tsang studied the 'Abhidhamma Pitaka' manuscripts in Amravati before continuing on
to Kanchi, the Pallavas' imperial capital and a major Buddhist centre.

•Xuanzang also visited Malwa, Multan, Pravata, Nasik, and Ajanta before returning to Nalanda,
Bihar.
•Later, at the invitation of Assamese ruler Kumar Bhaskar Varman, Hiuen Tsang travelled east to the
ancient city of Pragjyotishpura in the kingdom of Kamarupa (near Guwahati, Assam).

•However, He went to Sylhet (a modern city in Bangladesh) before going to Kamarupa and gave a
thorough assessment of its culture and people.

•Hiuen Tsang returned to Kannauj at the invitation of King Harshavardhana to attend a major Buddhist
assembly. The assembly was known as the "Kannauj assembly" and it was held in 643 AD in Kannauj
(present-day Uttar Pradesh, India).

•Hiuen Tsang also attended the Prayag Kumbh Mela, where he witnessed King Harsha's lavish gift-
giving to the poor.

•On the 7th day of the first month of AD 645, after extensive travels in India and other parts of Central
Asia, Hiuen Tsang returned to Chang'an (the modern-day city of Xi'an) through the Khyber Pass,
Hindu Kush, Kashgar, Khotan, Dunhuang, etc.

•Hiuen Tsang's journey lasted 16 years, during which time he travelled over 10,000 miles and visited
various important Buddhist sites in India and other parts of Asia.
 Recordings of Hiuen Tsang

Harsha, also known as Harshavardhana, ruled over much of northern India from 606 to 647
AD. His reign is regarded as one of relative peace and prosperity. The events of the reign of
the northern Indian emperor Harsha were well-documented by Hiuen Tsang.

•Hiuen Tsang's records provide valuable insights into Harsha's governance, relationships with
neighbouring kingdoms, and patronage of Buddhism and other religions.

•Emperor Harsha Vardhana was praised by Xuanzang, who described him as a laborious king.
During his reign, the kingdom was free of revolts and well-governed.
•
•The tax burden was lower, and land revenue was the primary source of income. However,
travel was not particularly safe at the time.

•He said that Harsha divided his kingdom into four portions. One for state administration; a
second for government employees; a third for scholars; and a fourth for charitable donations to
Brahamanas and Buddhist monks.
•Hiuen Tsang wrote that Harsha's army comprised 60,000 war elephants, 50,000 cavalry
chariots, and 100,000 infantry.

•He described Harsha as a perfect devotee of Buddha, but Hinduism was more popular in India
at the time than Buddhism.

•Hiuen Tsang also documented several key events during Harsha's reign. He documented the
Kumbh Mela festival in Prayag which Harsha attended and Xuanzang witnessed.

•According to him, during Harsha's reign, people were completely accepting of one another and
free to change religions.

•Further, He described Indian city life, describing how houses were built out of wood, bricks,
and dung. People dressed in cotton, silk, and wool.

•The streets in Indian cities were circular and dirty. Prayag was an important city, and Kannauj
was lovely. Shravasti and Kapilavastu had lost religious significance, and Nalanda had become
the centre of Buddhist learning.
•Education was primarily religious and focused on the study of religious texts, and was
given between Nine to Thirty years of age. This education was generally provided
orally in Sanskrit by Brahmin priests.

•Indians were passionate about education, literature, and the fine arts at the time.

•He also stated that the caste system was rigid, with no purdah system, and that
women were educated. However, Sati Pratha was prevalent.

•Indians used a wide variety of jewellery and ornaments, according to Hiuen Tsang,
who also praised the high quality of Indian pearls and ivory.
•Hiuen Tsang described Indians as having brisk trade with foreign countries and
prospering ports and sea coasts in both the East and West.

•India imported gold, silver, and horses while exporting cloth, sandalwood, medicinal
herbs, ivory, pearls, and other goods to other nations.

•In short, Hiuen Tsang described India as a prosperous and wealthy country.
 Conclusion

Hiuen Tsang, or Xuanzang, was a Chinese Buddhist monk and scholar who lived
during the Tang dynasty in the 7th century. During the reign of Emperor Harsha, He
paid for a journey to India. He went on a trip during that time (AD 627-643). Hiuen
Tsang thoroughly documented his observations and experiences in India, providing a
valuable account of Indian society, culture, religion, and politics. His writings
provide essential insights into Indian history and culture at the time.