Sugh

Location of Jagadhri in Yamunanagar District

Sugh is a village in tahsil Jagadhari of Yamunanagar district in Haryana.

Location

It is in south of Buria.

Hstory

Xuanzang travelled up the river to Shrughna, also mentioned in the works of Udyotakara, before crossing eastward to Matipura, where he arrived in 635, having crossed the river Ganges.

It was known as Srughna or Sugana in ancient times and was an old Capital of Ancient Punjab.

According to Siddhartha Gauri the best findings about Buddhism are in Haryana. There were as many as 14 such Buddhist sites in Haryana. His research further revealed that Buddhism was in full influence in Haryana from King Ashoka’s era tifi the rule of king Harsh Vardhana who ruled over a vast area of North India in the 7th century Buddhism dominated the area and it flourished and prevailed in Haryana uptifi the 14th century. According to a report, Haryana was an important centre of Buddhism. The foundation of Buddhism inthe state was laid by Lord Buddha himself when he set his foot in Sugh village of Haryana, 5 km from Yamunanagar. Lord Buddha delivered his sermon here. Though the structural evidence is lost, but coins and figurines depict a picture of Sugh as a centre of learning as important as Taxila and Patliputra of that time. Both the Chinese traveler Huen Tsang and Sanskrit grammarian Panini also rated Sugh as one of the highly civilized and developed villages of that time. The highly evolved people of different faiths- the Buddhist, Jains and Hindus, were engaged in their intellectual activities and lived harmoniously.

Visit by Xuanzang in 635 AD

Alexander Cunningham writes that

On leaving Thanesar, Hwcn Thsang at first pro- ceeded to the south for about 100 li, or 16-§ miles, to the Kiu-hoen-cJia, or Golcanllia monastery, -which has not yet been identified, but it is probably Gundiia, between Vyasthali and Nisang, 17 miles to the south-south-west of Thanesar. I am obliged to notice this monastery as it is the starting-point from which llwen Thsang measures his next journey of 400 //, or G6f miles, to Sn-hi-Jcin-na or Sru^lma, which makes the distance be- tween Thanesar and Srughna just GO miles.* Now Suc/h, the place Avhich I propose to identify with the capital of Sniffhna, is only .38 or 40 miles from Thanesar ; but as it agrees exactly in name, and cor- responds generally in other particulars, I am quite • satisfied that Hwen Thsang's recorded distance must be erroneous, although I am unable to suggest any probable rectification of his figures. The true distance is about 300 A', or 50 miles, from the Gokaiitha monas- tery.

The Sanskrit name of the country is Srughnaj Avhich in the spoken dialects becomes Suffhan and Su(/h, as it

• Julien'a ' Hiouen THsang,' ii. 215. See Map No. X.

34G XTIE AXCIEKT OEOGRAMlY OF INDIA.

is called at the present clay. The village of Biigh oceupics one of the most remavkal)le posilioiis that I met M-itli during the ayIioIo course of my researclics. It is sitxiatcd on a projecting triangular spur of liigli land, and is suvrounded on tln-ec sides by the Led of the old Jumna, which is now the western Jumna canal. On the north and west faces it is further protected by two deep ravines, so that the position is a ready-made stronghold, which is covca'ed on all sides, except the west, by natural defences. In shape it is almost trian- gular, with a large projecting fort or citadel at each of the angles. The site of the north fort is now occupied by the castle and village of Dyalgarh. The village of JMandalpur stands on the site of the south-east fort, and that of the south-west is unoccupied. Each of these forts is 15U0 feet long, and 1000 feet broad, and (\icli face of the triangle which connects them together is upwards of half a mile in length, that to the east being 4*100, and those to the north-west and south-west 3000 feet each. The whole circuit of the position is therefore 22,000 feet, or upwards of 4 miles, which is considerably more than the oh miles of Uwen Thsaug's measurement. Ijut as the north fort is separated froni the main 2)osition by a deep sandy ravine called the Hohara Nala^ it is possible that it may have been un- occupied at the time of the pilgrim's visit. This would reduce the circuit of the position to 19,000 feet, or lip wards of '1^- miles, and bring it into accord vrith the 2)ilgrim's measurement. The small tillage of >Sugh occupied the west side of the position, and the small town of IJuriya lies immediately to the north of 4)yri]garh. The occupied houses, at the time of my visit, were as follows: — J\Iandalpur 100, Sugh 125,

CK.NTEAL JMJIA. oil

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Dyillgarli 150, iviul Biiriyti 3500, or altogether oSTO houses, containing a popiiktion of about 2n,(l(ill soul.<. Of /%// itself the people have no special traditions, hut of J/d/idar, or Mundaljjur, they say that it fornierl}^ covered an extent of 1:2 kos, and included Jagadri and Chancti on the west, Avitli Bimya and Dyalgarh to the north. ^Vs Jagudri lies o miles to the -west, it is not possible that the city could have extended si far ; hut Ave may reasouahly admit that the gardens and sum- mer-houses of the wealthier inliabitants may once po:^- sihly have extended to that distance. At Chaueti, which lies 2 miles to the north-west, old eiiius arc foimd in considerable numbers ; but it is now entirely separated from Euriya and Dyfdgarh by a long space of open country. The same coins are found in Sugh, Mandalpur, and Bm-iya. They arc of all ages, from the small Dilidls of the Cholian and Tomar Eajas of Delhi to the square punch-marked piiccs of silver and copper, Avhich arc certainly as old as the rise of Buddhism in 500 B.C., and which were probably the common currency of Xorthem India as early as 1000 D.c. With this undoubted evidence in favour of the antiquity of the place, I have no hesitation in identi- fying Sugh with the ancient Srughua. The impoi-tunce of the position is shown by the fact that it stands on the high-road leading from the Gangetic Doab, via J\lirat^ Sahdrcaipiu-j and Ainbdla, to the Upper Punjab, and commands the passage of the Jumna. By this route Mahmud of Ghazni returned from liis expedi- tion to Kanoj ; by this route Timur returned from his plundering campaign at Ilaridwur ; and by this route Baber advanced to the conquest of Dellii.

According to Hweu Thsang, the kingdom of Sruyhna

34:8 Tllli ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA.

was GOUO //, or 1000, miles in circuit. On tlic cast it extended to the Ganges, and on tlic nortli to a range of lofty mountains, Avliilc the Jumna flowed tlirougli the midst of it. From these data it would appear that iSni(jhiia must have comprised the hill states of kSirmor and Garhwal, lying between the Giri river and tlic Ganges, with portions of the districts of Ambrda and Saharanpur in the plains. But the circuit of this tract docs not exceed 500 miles, which is only one half of Ilwcn Thsang's estimate. Ilis excess I would attribute chiefly to the difference between direct mea- surements on the map, and the actual road distances in a mountainous country. This would increase the boundary line by about one-half, and make the whole circuit 750 miles, which is still far short of the pil- grim's estimate. But there is an undoubted error in his distance between the J umna and the Ganges, which he makes 800 //, or loo miles, instead of 300 //, or 50 miles, which is the actual distance between the two rivers from the foot of the hills down to the parallel of Delhi. As it is probable that this mistake was doubled by applying the same exaggerated distance to the northern frontier also, its correction is of import- ance, as the double excess amounts to 1G7 miles. De- ducting this excess, the circuit of Sruffhna will be only 833 miles according to Hwen Thsang's estimate, or within 83 miles of the probable measurement.

Probable age of the Stupa of Bharhut

The probable age of the Stupa of Bharhut which Cunningham has assigned to the Asoka period or somewhere between 250 and 200 B.C. Bharhut was on the high road between Ujjain and Bhilsa in the south, and Kosambi and Sravasti in the north, as well as Pataliputra in the east. On this line at a place called Rupnath, only 60 miles from Bharhut, there is a rock inscription of Asoka himself. As he was governor of Ujjain during his father's lifetime Asoka must often have passed along this road, on which it seems only natural to find the Stupas of Bhilsa, the rock inscription of Rupnath, the Stupa of Bharhut, and the Pillar of Prayaga or Allahabad ; of which two are actual records of his own, while the inscriptions on the Railings of the Stupas show that they also must belong to his age.

The inscription of Raja Dhanabhuti, the munificent donor of the East Gateway of the Stupa — and most probably of the other three Gateways also. In his inscription he calls himself the Raja of Sugana, which is most likely intended for Sughna or Srughna, an extensive kingdom on the upper Jumna. I have identified the capital of Srughna, with the modem village of Sugh which is situated in a bend of the old bed of the Jumna, close to the large town of Buriya. Old coins are found on this site in considerable numbers. In this inscription on the East Gateway at Bharhut Raja Dhanabhuti calls himself the son of Aga Raja and the grandson of Viswa Deva, and in one of the Rail-bar inscriptions we find that Dhanabhuti's son was named Vādha Pala. Now the name of Dhanabhuti occurs in one of the early Mathura inscriptions which has been removed to Aligarh. The stone was originally a corner pillar of an enclosure with, sockets for rails on two adjacent faces, and sculptures on the other two faces. The sculpture on the uninjured face represents Prince Siddhartha leaving Kapilavastu on his horse Kanthapa, whose feet are upheld by four Yakshas to prevent the clatter of their hoofs from awakening the guards. On the adjacent side is the inscription placed above a Buddhist Railing. At some subsequent period the Pillar was pierced with larger holes to receive a set of Rail-bars on the inscription face. One of these holes has been cut through the three upper lines of the inscription, but as a few letters still remain on each side of the hole it seems possible to restore some of the missing letters. We read the inscription as follows :

1. Kapa (Dhana)

2. Bhutisa * * * Vatsi

3. Putrasa (Vadha Pa) lasa

4. Dhanabhutisa dānam Vedika

5. Torana cha Ratnagraha sa —

6. -va Buddha pujāye sahā māta pi-

7. -tā ki sahā* chatuha parishāhi.

There can be little doubt that this inscription refers to the family of Dhanabhuti of Bharhut, as the name of Vātsi putra of the Mathura pillar is the Sanskrit form of the Vāchhi putra of the Bharhut Pillar. This identification is further confirmed by the restoration of the name of Vādha Pāla, which exactly fits the vacant space in the third line. From this record, therefore, we obtain another name of the same royal family in Dhanabhuti II., the son of Vadha Pala, and . grandson of Dhanabhuti I. Now in this inscription all the letters have got the matras, or heads, which are found in the legends of the silver coins of Amoghabhuti, Dara Grhosha, and Varmmika. The inscription cannot, therefore, so far as we at present know, be dated earlier than B.C. 150. Allowing 30 years to a generation, the following will be the approximate dates of the royal family of Srughna :

• B.C. 300. Viswa Deva.

• B.C. 270, Aga Raja.

• B.C. 240. Dhanabhuti I.

• B.C. 210. Vadha Pala.

• B.C. 180. Dhanabhuti II.

• B.C.150. -------------

Now we learn from Vadha Pala's inscription, Plate LVI., No. 54, that he was only a Prince (Kumara) the son of the Baja Dhanabhuti, when the Railing of the Bharhut Stupa was set up. We thus arrive at the same date of 240 to 210 B.C. as that previously obtained for the erection of the magnificent Gateways and Railing of the Bharhut Stupa. To a later member of this family I would ascribe the well-known coins of Raja Amogha-bhuti, King of the Kunindas, which are found most plentifully along the upper Jumma, in the actual country of Srughna. His date, as I have already shown, must be about B.C. 150, and he will therefore follow immediately after Dhana-bhuti II. I possess also two coins of Raja Bala-bhuti, who was most probably a later member of the same dynasty. But besides these I have lately obtained two copper pieces of Aga Raja, the father of Dhana-bhuti I. One of these was found at Sugh, the old capital of Srughna, and the other at the famous city of Kosambi, about 100 miles to the north of Bharhut.

Note - This section is from The stūpa of Bharhut: a Buddhist monument ornamented with numerous sculptures by Alexander Cunningham 1879, pp.14-17

External Links

• Geo Location of Sugh

References

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