| Population
was dense. Religious institutions flourished. The capital, Valabhipur, was then the home
of power, learning and commerce; the people were happy and prosperous; the merchants
carried on intensive commercial activity. More than a hundred merchants in the city were
worth over a lakh each; rare and valuable articles secured from distant places were
amassed by these rich men.3 The courts of Valabhi kings abounded in learned men who aimed
at literary efforts after the fashion of Bana and Dandin. Yuan Chwang was, however, not interested in Hindu shrines; his only interest was
in Buddhist monasteries.
3 BRW, II. 266-268; also The Glory that was
Gurjaradesha, Pt. III, pp. 28-29. |
