Page:History of India Vol 2.djvu/163

ASOKA MAURYA 131 OLD ASTKONO.MICAL OBSERVATORY AT UJJA1N. From a photograph. pendent state, weak enough to be in terror of its neigh- bours, and yet strong enough to render Alexander val- uable assistance. The Greeks, who considered the little state to be well governed, noted with inter- e s t , and without disapprobation, the local customs, which included po- lygamy, the expo- sure of the dead to be devoured by vul- tures, and the sale in open market of maidens who had failed to secure husbands in the ordi- nary course. The position of the city on the highroad from Central Asia to the interior of India fitted it to be the capital of the northwestern viceroy, and its strategical advan- tages are still recognized. Hasan Abdal, close to its ruins, is a favourite ground for the manoeuvres of the Indian army, and at Rawalpindi, a few miles to the southeast, a huge cantonment guards the road to India against possible Alexanders advancing from the north- west. Ujjain, the capital of Western India, was equally famous, and equally suitable as the seat of a viceregal government. Reckoned to be one of the seven sacred cities, and standing on the road leading from the busy