Srinagar is the summer capital of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It lies in the Kashmir Valley, on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus. The city is famous for its gardens, lakes and houseboats. It is also known for traditional Kashmiri handicrafts and dried fruits. However, the earliest records mention the name as siri-nagar which in turn is a local transformation of the original Sanskrit name surya-nagar, meaning "City of Sun".The city is said to have been named by the King Pravarasena II over 2,000 years ago, named it Parvasenpur. Kalhana notes in Rajatarangini that Maurya Emperor Ashoka built the city of Srinagari in the 3rd century BC and also built many stupas in Kashmir. The city was then a part of the Maurya Empire, one of the largest empires of the Indian subcontinent. Ashoka introduced Buddhism to the Kashmir valley, and the adjoining regions around the city became a centre of Buddhism.

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