India has been the center of religion, art since ancient times. It has been famous for its extraordinary achievements in the field of politics, civilization and culture. This is the reason why India has always been the center of curiosity for foreigners.
A Chinese Buddhist monk named Fahien visited India with his three other monk companions in the 4th century. Fahien was the first Chinese monk, traveler and translator to visit India with the goal of collecting Buddhist texts from here and taking them to China. Although the main purpose of his travels was to study Buddhist texts, yet in his interesting travelogue he has revealed many interesting aspects of the then Indian society and culture. It is surprising that he has not even mentioned the name of the then emperor Chandragupta II in his travel account.
Fahian was born in 337 AD in village Wu-young in Shan-Si region of China. His original name was Kung. Fahien was his religious name, which means 'Dharma Light'. He was converted to Buddhism at the age of three. Since Buddhism had gone to China from India, the main purpose of its coming here was to visit the holy places related to Buddhism and to find 'Vinay Pitaka', one of the basic texts of Buddhism, Tripitaka.
Buddhism and Gautama Buddha
Fahian set out from Chang'an to visit India in 399 AD at the age of 65. After traveling to Kansu, Tun-Huang city, Fahien crossed the desert of Gobi and reached India in 402 AD via Khotan, Pamir, Swat and Gandhara. On the way he had to face many difficulties. According to Fahien, Buddhism was fully prevalent in Turkistan, Khotan and Kabul. The people of East Turkistan belonged to the Hinayana sect and the people of Kabul were the followers of the Mahayana sect.
Fahian visited India between AD 402-411. He went to Punjab, Mathura and Sankisa (Farrukhabad) in India. He reached Pataliputra visiting Buddhist places like Shravasti, Kapilvastu, Gaya, Sarnath, Kushinagar, Vaishali etc. He continued to learn Sanskrit by staying in Pataliputra, the capital of Chandragupta II, for three years. Fahien also visited Rajgriha, Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, Varanasi. Finally, on his return he went to Sinhala (Lanka) by ship via the ports of Champa, Tamralipti. From there, when Fahien was 77 years old, after suffering many hardships, he returned to his country China via Java and Sumatra. He recorded his travels in 414 AD “Record of Buddhist Kingdoms written under the name "Fahian's visits today" Known by name.
Teachings of Gautam Buddha
The description of Patliputra
Pataliputra was a prosperous city according to Fahien. He writes that the inhabitants of this region used to compete with each other in the conduct of religion and charity. Every year on the eighth day of the second month, a procession of the idols of Mahatma Buddha and Bodhisattvas was taken out in the city. Fahien himself had seen a display of Buddha and Bodhisattva statues on a huge chariot at Pataliputra.
The city of Pataliputra had two magnificent and beautiful monasteries. One of the Hinayana branch and the other of the Mahayana branch. Six seven hundred monks resided in both the Bihars, who were scholars of high order and led a holy life.
Fahian writes that the subjects were happy and prosperous. The government did not interfere in any way in the lives of the people. People could move freely anywhere. Wherever people wanted to go, they went, wherever they wanted to stay, they stayed. They neither have to get their names registered in the government registers nor do they have to face the trouble of approaching the judges.
Fahyan was amazed at the splendor of the Maurya palace at Pataliputra, which was now deserted. According to him, this prasad was built by the gods because human beings cannot have such skill. Fahien has given a detailed description of a cavity which was five storeys high and was carved out of stone. Five hundred, four hundred and hundred cells were built on three floors respectively and there was a special arrangement for water everywhere.
Chandragupta II 'Vikramaditya' (Chandragupta II ‘Vikramaditya’)
administrative system
According to Fahien, the administration of the Indian emperor was of a high order. There was happiness, peace and prosperity all around the country. He had not seen any famine anywhere. Crimes were few and the penal law was very liberal. There was no provision for the death penalty. Generally, heavy or light fines were imposed on criminals according to the circumstances of their crime. But the right hand of the criminals who committed the crime repeatedly and rebelled was cut off. The roads and roads were safe and there was no fear of burglary. Fahien writes that he had traveled thousands of miles to India, but no one tried to rob him.
social life
Fahyan has described the conduct of Indians as ideal, pious and of the highest order while throwing light on the society of the time. People were guests. In the middle country people did not use animal slaughter, alcohol, onion, garlic, alcohol, meat, fish. He writes that 'No one kills any living being in the whole country and no one eats onion or garlic. In this country people do not raise pigs and chickens, there is no animal trade, and there is no butcher shop or liquor store in the markets. .
Fahian in his travelogue also mentions a lower caste like the Chandalas who hunted animals and birds and also ate meat, onions and garlic. That is why the general public considered them untouchables. They lived on the edge of town and village. Whenever he came to the city or the market, he used to walk with wood so that people would be alert and make arrangements to stay away from him. From this it seems that the practice of untouchability was prevalent in the society at that time. Fahyan has praised the Vaishya caste because the people of this caste used to spend a lot of money on the propagation of Buddhism and the construction of monasteries for the rest of the monks.
Fahian's description shows that people used all three types of fabrics, woolen, cotton and silk. Silk was used in havans and flags. According to Fahien, Indians were fond of flowers and fragrances. Along with physical purity, the piety of the people was also of a high order. The people of India believed in reincarnation and considered it bad to commit sins.
Indians were conscious of their health. There was a beautiful system of dispensaries in all the big and small towns of the country. There was complete arrangement of free food, medicine etc. in the dispensaries. Generally the middle class and Vaishya class people used to donate to dispensaries with free hands. Fahien has greatly appreciated the charity and love of celebration of Indians.
Economic Life
Fahian's travelogue shows that Indian trade was at an advanced stage. Indian goods went abroad by ships. Bharuch, Cambay and Tamralipti were the famous ports of India. The trading activities from South-East Asia were carried out from the Tamralipti trading center. From Tamralipti, ships used to move towards Sinhala (Lanka) and India. Fahien himself took this route on his way back from Tamralipti port. He praised Indian ships which were huge and were able to withstand severe storms. Indian ships also carried small boats which were used in emergency.
Fahian has written in the context of exchange that Indians used to buy and sell shells. This does not mean that the Indian monetary system was underdeveloped. Possibly, shells were used for buying and selling, especially in rural areas, the goods were very cheap and the practice of exchange was prevalent.
Religious Life
Fahian's travelogue reveals that the king himself was a follower of Vaishnavism, but was tolerant of other religions. Everyone had complete freedom to practice his religion, the state did not interfere in any way. There were Brahmin, Buddhist and Jain temples in the then cities. People of all religions lived in harmony with each other. The Gupta emperor assisted both Brahmins and Buddhist monks. Brahmins were also involved in the processions of Buddhists taken out in big cities every year.
Fahian's travelogue indicates the widespread spread of Buddhism in the Gupta age. According to him Buddhism was widely spread in Punjab, Mathura and Bengal. In Mathura he saw twenty monasteries, in which 3000 monks lived. He had seen 24 sangharamas in Tamralipti. The people practiced Buddhism's principle of non-violence and Buddhist monks were supported by the state. Fahien mentions the worship of the Stupa of Ananda by Buddhist nuns.
Historicity of Ramgupta
Skandagupta 'Kramaditya'