Parayatra

Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R)

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Location of Bairat (Viratnagar) in Jaipur District

Parayatra (पारयात्र) is city mentioned by Chinese traveler Xuanzang in his travels of India. It has been identified with present Bairat town in northern Jaipur district of Rajasthan.

Variants

• Parayatra (पारयात्र) (AS, p.549)
• Paryatra
• Poli-ye-to-lo (by Xuanzang)

Visit by Xuanzang in 635 AD

Alexander Cunningham writes that According to Hwen Thsang the capital of the kingdom of Poli-ye-to-lo which M. Reinaud has identified with Paryatra or Bairat, was situated at 500 li, or

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[p.338]: 83-2/3 miles, to the west of Mathura, and about 800 li, 133-2/3 miles, to the, south-west of the kingdom of She-to-tu-lo that is, of Satadru, or the Satlej. The bearing and distance from Mathura point unequivocally to Bairath the ancient capital of Matsya as the city of Hwen Thsang's narrative, although it is upwards of 100 miles further to the south of Kullu than is recorded by the pilgrim. But I have already given an explanation of this discrepancy in my account of the intermediate position of Satadru in Northern India.

Abu Rihan, the contemporary of Mahmud, places Narana, the capital of Karzat, at 28 parasangs to the west of Mathura, which, taking the parasang at 3½ miles, would make the distance 98 miles, or 14 miles in excess of the measurement of Hwen Thsang. But as the narratives of the different Muhammadan historians leave no doubt of the identity of Narana, the capital of Karzat, with Narayana the capital of Bairat, this difference in the recorded distance from Mathura, is of little moment. According to Abu Rihan, Narana, or Bazana, was called Narayan,<arabic> by the Musalmans, a name which still exists in Narayanpur, a town situated at 10 miles to the north-east of Bairat itself. From Kanoj to Narana, Abu Rihan gives two distinct routes; the first direct via Mathura being 56 parasangs, or 196 miles, and the other to the south of the Jumna being 88 prasangs, or 308 miles. The inter-mediate stages of the later route are, 1st, Asi, 18 para-

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[p.339]: sangs, or 63 miles; 2nd, Sakina, 17 parasangs, or 59½ miles; 3rd, Jandara, 18 parasangs, or 63 miles; 4th, Rajauri, either l5 or 17 parasangs, 54 or 59½ miles, and 5th, Bazana, or Narana, 20 parasaiigs, or 70 miles. As the direction of the first stage is speeially recorded to have been to 'the south-west of Kanoj, it may be at once identified -with the Asai Ghat on the Jumna, 6 miles to the south of Etawa, and about 60 miles to the south-west of Kanoj. The name of the second stage is written ...?... Sahina, for which by the simple shifting of the diacritical points, I propose to read ...?... Suhania, which is the name of a very large and famous ruined town situated 25miles tothe north of Gwalior. Its distance from the Assai Ghat is about 50 miles. The third stage named Jandara by M. Reinaud, and Chandra by Sir Henry Elliot, I take to be Hindon reading ,...?... for...?... distance from Suhaniya by the Khetri Ghat on the Chambal river is about 70 miles. The fourth stage, named Rajori, still exists under the same name, 12 miles to the south-west of Macheri, and about 50 miles to the north-west of Hindon. From thence to Narainpur and Bairat, the road lies altogether through the hills of Alwar or Macheri, which makes it difficult to ascertain the exact distance. By measurements on the lithographed map of eight miles to the inch, I make the distance to be about 60 miles, which is sufficiently near the 20 parasangs, or 70 miles, of Abu Rihan's account.

According to the other itineraries of Abu Rihan, Narana was 25 parasangs the north of Chitor in Mewar, 50 parasangs to the east of Multan, and 60

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[p.340]: parasangs to the north-east of Anhalwara. The bearings of these places from Bairat are all sufficiently exact, but the measurements are more than one-half too short. For the first distance of 25 parasangs to Chitor, I would propose to read 65 parasangs, or 227 miles, the actual distance by the measured routes of the quartermaster-general being 217¾ miles. As the distance of Chitor is omitted in the extract from Abu Rihan which is given by Rashid-ud-din, it is probable that there may have been some omission or confusion in the original of the Tarikh-i-Hind from which he copied. The erroneous measurement of 50 parasangs to Multan is perhaps excusable, on the ground that the direct route through the desert being quite im-passable for an army, the distance must have been estimated. The error in the distance of Anhalwara I would explain by referring the measurement of 60 parasangs to Chitor, which lies about midway between 35airat and Anhalwara. From a comparison of all these different itineraries, I have no hesitation what-ever in identifying bazana or Narana, the capital of Karzat or Guzrat, with Narayanapura, the capital of Bairat or Vairat. In Ferishta the latter name is written either Kibrat <arabic> in Dow, or Kairat <arabic> as in Briggs, both of which names are an easy misreading of <arabic> Wairat or Virat, as it would have been written by the Muhammadans.

Virat, the capital of Matsya, is celebrated in Hindu legends as the abode of the Five Pandus during their exile of 12 years from Dilli or Indraprastha. The country was also famous for the valour of its people, as Manu directs that the van of an army should be

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[p.341]: composed of " men born in Kurukshetra near Indraprastha, in Matsya or Virata, in Panchala or Kanya Kubja, and in Surasena of the district of Mathura." The residence of Bhim Pandu is still shown on the top of a long low rocky hill about one mile to the north of the town. The hill is formed of enormous blocks of coarse gritty quartz, which are much weather-worn and rounded on all the exposed sides. Some of these blocks have a single straight face sloping inwards, the result of a natural split, of which advantage has been taken to form small dwellings by the addition of rough stone walls plastered with mud. Such is the Bhim-gupha or Bhima's cave, which is formed by rough wails added to the overhanging face of a huge rock about 60 feet in diameter and 15 feet in height. Similar rooms, but of smaller size, are said to have been the dwellings of Bhim's brothers. The place is still occupied by a few Brahmans, who profess to derive only a scanty subsistence from the offerings of pilgrims, a statement which is rather belied by their flourishing appearance. Just below Bhim's cave, a wall has been built across a small hollow to retain the rain water, and the fragments of rock have been removed from a fissure to form a tank, about 15 feet long by 5 feet broad and 10 feet deep ; but at the time of my visit, on the 10th of November, it was quite dry.

The present town of Bairat is situated in the midst of a circular valley surrounded by low bare red hills, which have long been famous for their copper mines. It is 105 miles to the south-west of Delhi, and 41 miles to the north of Jaipur. The main entrance to

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[p.342]: the valley is on the north-west along the bank of a small stream which drains the basin, and forms one of the principal feeders of the Ban Ganga. The valley is about 2½ miles in diameter, and from 7½ to 8 miles in circuit. The soil is generally good, and the trees, and more especially the tamarinds, are very fine and abundant.

Bairat is situated on a mound of ruins, about one mile in length by half a mile in breadth, or upwards of 2½ miles in circuit, of which the present town docs not occupy more than one-fourth. The surrounding fields are covered with broken pottery and fragments of slag from the ancient copper-works, and the general aspect of the valley is of a coppery red colour. The old city, called Bairatnagar is said to have been quite deserted for several centuries until it was repeopled about 300 years ago, most probably during the long and prosperous reign of Akbar. The town was certainly in existence in Akbar's time, as it is mentioned by Abul Fazl in the ' Ayin Akbari,' as possessing very profitable copper mines. A mumber of large mounds about half a mile to the east, and immediately under the hill, are said to have formed part of the old city ; but, both from their position and appearance, I am inclined to think that they must be the remains of some large religions establishment. At present the surface remains consist of rough stone foundations only, as the whole of the squared stones have been used in building the houses of the modern town.

The number of houses in Bairat is popularly reckoned at 1400, of which 600 are said to belong to Gaur Brahmans, 400 to Agarwal Baniyas, 200 to Minas, and the remaining 200 to various other races. Allowing

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[p.343]: the usual average of 5 persons to each house, the population of Bairat -will amount to 7000 persons.

The earliest historical notice of Bairat is that of the Chinese pilgrim Hwen Thsang in A.D. 634. According to him, the capital Mas 14 or 15 li, or just 2i miles, in circuit, which corresponds almost exactly with the size of the ancient mound on which the present town is built. The people were brave and bold, and their king, who was of the race of Fei-she, either a Vaisya or a Bais Rajput, was famous for his courage and skill in war. The place still possessed eight Buddhist monasteries, but they were much ruined, and the number of monks was small. The Brahmans of different sects, about 1000 in number, possessed 12 temples, but their followers were numerous, as the bulk of the population is described as heretical. Judging from the size of the town as noted by Hwen Thsang, the population could not have been less than four times the present number, or about 30,000, of whom the followers of Buddha may have amounted to one-fourth. I have deduced this number from the fact that the Buddhist monasteries would appear to have held about 100 monks each, and as those of Bairat are said to have been much ruined, the number of monks in Hwen Thsang's time could not have exceeded 50 per monastery, or 400 altogether. As each Buddhist monk begged his bread, the number of Buddhist families could not have been less than 1200, allowing three families for the support of each monk, or altogether about 6000 lay Buddhists in addition to the 400 monks.

The next historical notice of Bairat occurs during.

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[p.344]: the reign of Mahmud of Ghazni, who invaded the country in A.H. 400, or A.D. 1009, when the Raja submitted. But his submission was of little avail, as his country was again invaded in the spring A.H. 404, or A.D. 1014, when the Hindus were defeated after a bloody conflict. According to Abu Rihan the town was destroyed, and the people retired far into the interior. By Ferishta this invasion is assigned to the year A.H. 413, or A.D. 1022, whcn the king hearing that the inhabitants of two hilly tracts named Kairat and Nardin {or Bairat and Narayan) still continued the worship of idols (or lions in some manuscripts) resolved to compel them to embrace the Muhammadan faith. The place was taken and plundered by Amir-Ali, who found an ancient stone inscription at Narayan, which was said to record that the temple of Narayan had been built 40,000 years previously. As this inscription is also mentioned by the contemporary historian Otbi, we may accept the fact of the discovery of a stone record in characters so ancient that the Brahmans of that day were unable to read them. I think it highly probable that this is the famous inscription of Asoka that was afterwards discovered by Major Burt on the top of a hill at Bairat, and which now graces the museum of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta.

In the seventh century the kingdom of Bairat was 3000 li, or 500 miles, in circuit. It was famous for its sheep and oxen, but produced few fruits or flowers. This is still the case with Jaypur to the south of Bairat, which furnishes most of the sheep required for the great Muhammadan cities of Delhi and Agra, and their English

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[p.345]: garrisons. Bairat, therefore, may haw included the greater part of the present state of Jaipur. Its precise boundaries cannot be determined ; but they may be fixed approximately as extending on the north from Jhunjnu to Kot Kasim, 70 miles ; on the west from Jhunjnu to Ajmer, 120 miles; on the south from Ajmer to the junction of the Banas and Chambal,150 miles ; and on the east from the junction to Kot Kasim, 150 miles ; or altogether 490 miles,

पारयात्र

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है ...पारयात्र (AS, p.549): चीनी यात्री युवानच्वांग ने इस नगर का वर्णन करते हुए इसके राजा को वैश्य-जातीय बताया है. पारयात्र का अभिज्ञान वर्तमान बैराट (जिला जयपुर) से किया गया है जिसे महाभारत कालीन विराट (मत्स्यदेश की राजधानी) माना जाता है. यह नगर अवश्य ही पारियात्र पर्वत की श्रेणियों के सन्निकट बसा होने से ही पारियात्रा या पारयात्र कहलाता था.

पारियात्र

विजयेन्द्र कुमार माथुर ने लेख किया है ...2. पारियात्र (AS, p.553)= Parayatra (पारयात्र): पारियात्र पर्वत का प्रदेश (हर्षचरित, उच्छवास 6). युवान्च्वांग ने यहां वैश्य राजा का शासन बताया है.