Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/314

 272 THE GUPTA EMPIRE government, Hinduism of the orthodox kind must have been far more prominent than his account would lead the reader to suppose, and sacrifices must have been permitted. In fact, the Brahmanical reaction against Buddhism had begun at a time considerably earlier than that of Fa-hien's travels, and Indian Buddhism was already upon the downward path, although the pilgrim could not discern the signs of decadence. While the general prosperity and tranquillity of the empire under the rule of Chandragupta Vikramaditya are abundantly proved by the express testimony of Fa-hien and by his unobstructed movements in all directions during many years, certain districts did not share in the general well-being, and had retrograded in population and wealth. The city of Graya, we are informed, was empty and desolate; the holy places of Bodh Gaya, six miles to the south, were surrounded by jungle; and an extensive tract of country near the foot of the mountains, which had been the seat of a large population in the fifth century B. c., was now sparsely inhabited. The great city of Sravasti, on the upper course of the Rapti, was occupied by only two hundred families, and the holy towns of Karrilavastu and Kusina- gara were waste and deserted, save for a scanty rem- nant of monks and their lay attendants. The son of Yikramaditya, who ascended the throne in 413 A. D., is known to history as Kumaragupta I, in order to distinguish him from his great-grandson of the same name. The events of this king's reign, which exceeded forty years, are not known in detail, but the