Key Takeaways
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Fa-Hien was a Chinese Buddhist monk who came to India to find and collect Buddhist scriptures.
He visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II of the Gupta dynasty.
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He wrote a book called "Fo-kwo-ki" (also known as "Record of Buddhistic Kingdoms") about his journey.
Chandragupta II was also known by the title Vikramaditya.
Fa-Hein was a Chinese Buddhist monk who came to India during the reign of Chandragupta II of the Gupta Dynasty. He came to India to find and collect the scriptures of the Buddhists. So, explore this article and know about Fa-Hien and Chandragupta II and why did Fa-Hien came to India in detail.
Who Was Fa-Hien?
Fa-Hien, whose full name was Faxian, was a Buddhist monk from China, and was born around AD 337. From childhood only, he was deeply devoted toward Buddhism.
He left the China from Chang'an,which is presently located in Xi’an, to India in AD 404–411 to find and collect Buddhist sculptures.
Before he came to India, he also travelled in Central Asia to explore about the Buddhist monasteries
During Whose Reign Did Fa-Hien Travel to India?
Fa-Hien visited India during the reign of Chandragupta II, a famous Gupta ruler. As per the NIOS, "The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Fa Hien (AD 404–411) visited India during his reign. He has left an account of the life of people in India in the fifth century AD."
Who Was Chandragupta II?
Chandragupt II (AD 375–414) was a successor of Samudragupta, who was also known as “Chandragupta Vikramaditya”, which means “the one who is as powerful as the sun”. He earned this title after defeating the Shaka kings.
He married Kuvernaga, the Naga princess, and she gave birth to a daughter named Prabhavati. Chandragupta II was also known for his patronage of art and literature. He also kept the nine great scholars, who were known as Navaratnas (nine gems).
Under his nine gems, the most famous one was Kalidas, and he had written two of the most famous works of literature, Meghadutam and Abhijnanashakuntalam.
Why Did Fa-Hien Come to India?
Fa-Hien came to India for many purposes, and he wanted to:
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Collect the original Buddhist scriptures.
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Visit the different Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India.
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Study the Vinaya Pitaka, one of the Buddhist rules of conduct for monks.
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Learn the Sanskrit, so he could read and understand all the texts written about Buddhism.
He studied the Sanskrit language for about three years in Pataliputra (modern-day Patna, the capital of the Gupta Empire). He visited many important places including Peshawar, Taxila, Mathura, Kannauj, Sravasti, Kapilavastu, and Sarnath. All these were important centres of Buddhism.