By Puran Singh No definite or indefinite details as to the site and the times of the story narrated in the following pages could have been at all even remotely guessed from the vague rumours in the freed mouths of confused traditions heard from old men and women to whom the story was subject of a Katha—a recital, a chant with explanatory extempore additions. History does not become ripe in its lesson, till it has forgotten its own time and space, and descends as a song on the tongues of men, or sinks as a beautiful story into the depths of human consciousness becoming an organic part of it. One may, however, guess that, most probably, there was, out of the innumerable Buddhist estates and kingdoms one small Buddhist kingdom of Anardha, mentioned in our story, historically speaking, perhaps all so insignificant, in that corner of the north-west India which is now known by the name of Pothohar, Dhani and Hazara. There is, no doubt, that this part of the country, at one time, was full of monasteries and stupas; and many of these important historical sites of the old Buddhistic periods of history were buried here by Time. Taxila, the old Buddhistic University had sunk in earth, not at very great distance from Anardha, the capital of this kingdom. Occasionally the Chinese and other pilgrims roamed about Anardha to verify some important details of history as recorded by the famous Chinese travellers, the glorious past had left but these last remanants and ruins as pathetic tales of Buddhism in India.