Buddha in Chinese script

[N. Ganesan]

Is the word, Buddha written in Chinese in early centuries A.D.,
as Pu-ta or Po-ta?

S. Beal, Si-yu-ki, Buddhist records of the Western world, 1884
2.233  says:
"To the east of the Malaya mountains is Mount Po-ta-la-ka (Potalaka)."

T. Watters, On Yuan Chwang's travels in India, 1905
2.229 says:
"In the south of the country near the sea was the Mo-la-ya (Malaya)
mountain, with lofty cliffs and ridges and deep valleys and gullies,
on which were sandal, camphor and other trees. To the east of this was
Pu-ta-lo-ka (putalaka) mountain ..."

In the Malaya mountain range, there is a famous mount
called Potiyil. Its other names are Potikai and Potiyam
in tamil literature.

May be to Chinese Buddhsit ears, Potiyil was heard as
something related to Buddhaloka. To test this, I want to
know:
Is the word, Buddha written in Chinese in early centuries A.D.,
as Pu-ta or Po-ta?

Many thanks,
N. Ganesan

BTW, I checked the above two books thoroughly. Potalaka/Putalaka
is only mentioned near Malaya mountaions. In the MalakuuTa
country of the far south.

It is true that Kwan-tsz'-tsai Bodhisattva (= Avalokitesvara) is mentioned by
Xuanzang in Kapi"sa of Afghanistan also. But Potalaka/Putalaka
is not mentioned there at all. Nor is Potalaka mentioned
as the famous Buddhist sites in Andhra either.

Several scholars for the last 100 years or so, identify
Potalaka to Potiyil/Potikai. I will summarize them in the
future.