Bae sai ore ye Aarne y eteeaey Ser eee Gare Deo Shen ah ee asa Reyes od geedsrere tae Sop ete SSR ee Ne tlt he iA, res See att be Se ae oe ee enoe te . ser eat : Se ARE ; ae : sats fs ones . SE he 58 F ” ea ae ; = age R rhein PRN et eee yet > z A A = 7 Mecgite Fay Bee pce Wk PLT OB P rant ws A ete aes ae re ee as ce : Sebo RS oe RET ab agi? ana He 4 Tey teeta Sr per ne ete re JR eos feat net NRE TE enigg Biade Spent rer eeaaebs oh oA hegerea Amo S Race sae re EEE © Feat iy sts P98 OME ote want SDAP M apie Ba EET Os athe Gakic Rae eeepc tw eRe He PP ARSED. este SSt Ge. sat abate eam thit at oF. tem as 4 v SANE AS eae: PF ute ah etree ete SOPAENA TT em aoa See Ew FOR THE PEOREE FOR EDVCATION FOR SCIENCE LIBRARY OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY j sy) ; SUNN AN en Ay ) He es [hese Me rae id Sang: i JOURMAL ASTATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL, VOL. XXXIV. PART £ - Nos. I. to*1V.—1865. EDITED BY THE PHILOLOGICAL SECRETARY. NAN “Tt will flourish, if naturalists, chemists, antiquaries, philologers, and men of science in different parts of Asia, will commit their observations to writing, and send them to the Asiatic Society at Calcutta. It will languish, if such communications shall be long intermitted: and it will die away, if they shall entirely cease,” ‘Siz Wut, Jonus. CALCUTTA: PRINTED AT THE BAPTIST MISSION PRESS, 1866. Walt EUM Mh j YROTE LE eee See i CONTENTS. rr @GQu— No. I. (Published 19th June, 1865.) Page Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund, Benares.— By the Rev. M. A. Suzrrine, LL. B. and C. Hornn, Esq. C. S., Judge of Benares. Illustrated by Plans and Mitho- graphs, . : soe oes 1 Ancient Tee Whee ih E. ree cree else ence mnUCE On some Siamese Inscriptions.—By Dr. A. Basrzay, 27 Notes on the Eran Inscription, being extracts from a letter to the HKditor.—By Professor F. E. Hatt, oat TUE 38 Literary Intelligence, ... pee MW xe JC 45 No. II. (Published 22nd July, 1865.) Ancient Indian Weights, No. III.—By E. Tuomas, Esq., ... 51 Description of a Mystic Play, as performed in Ladak, Zaskar, &. —By Captain H. H. Gopwin-Austen, Surveyor, Topogra- phical Survey, F. R. G. S.,. Bos 71 Some Account of Ancient Rema at Saidptr and Bhitari. ae the Rev. M. A. Suzrrine, LL. B., and C, Hornez, Esq. C.8., 80 Note on the Pronunciation of the Tibetan Language.—By the Rev. H. A. Janscuxn,of Kyélang, 91 Notes on the Garjat States of Patna.—By Mick lel, 18, Meee Depty. Commr. of Sumbulpore, SoC “55 e.. 10 Literary Intelligence, at he ee setiehegy Le fv Contents. No. III. (Published 23rd September, 1865.) Coins of the Nine Nagas, and of two other Dynasties of Narwar and Gwalior.—By Major-General A. Cunninenam, On the Sena Rajas of Bengal as commemorated in an Inscription from Rajshahi, decyphered and translated by C. T. Mar- caLre, Esq. C. §8.—By Babu RasenpratAta Mirra, Report of the Proceedings of the Archeological Surveyor to the Government of India for the Season of 1862-63, (Part IT.) —By Major-General A. Cunnineuam, Archeological Sur- veyor to the Govt. of India, ec its No. IV. (Published 1st December, 1865.) Report of the Proceedings of the Archzological Surveyor to the Government of India for the Season of 1862-63.—By Ma- jor-General A. Cunninauam, Archeological Surveyor to the Govt.. of India, bv ete Notes on Boodh Gaya.—By C. Hosea, Hsq. 6, 8. ay ee eee 128 155 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, &. IN PART I. Plate. VI.—II.— Ancient Buddhist Temples at Bakarya Kund near Benares, ve ne to face page 12 ~ I11.—Groups of stones oan sori Bakarya Kund, Hi ab. ¥IV.—Buddhist remains from Jounpore, ... 360 Fs ab. ~“V.—South end of the Tank in Kund, .... ie i ab. NI—West Bank of Kund, aoe ce p aD. ¥ VIIL—VIII.— Ground plans of Bakarya Zend 506 5 1b. _IX.—Hindu Punch coins, ann 566 rie 5 14 X.—Stone inscription from Cambodia, ... se 28 ¥XI.—Symbols on early Indian coins, ae y 55 XII. to XVI.—Scenes in Mystic plays pauormone in Ladak, .. See ; os acts HA 74 XVII.—Nabagrahas or nine hee es cae Bs 90 ~XVII.—Coins from Gwalior and Narwar, ie sy AD) \-XIX,.—Sketch of the Ruins of Delhi, ... ier iy cally) ——<—— PS OOOO See "Plates 2, 5 and 6 to illustrate Rev. Mr. Sherring and Mr, Horne’s ae will be issued with No, 2, of the Historical, &. Part, ie A . We Hive mESDaney Saas at & df=. JOURNAL OF THE Poe Tic SOCIETY. —_>— Part I—HISTORY, ARCH MOLOGY, NUMISMATIOS, PHILOLOGY ann LITERATURE. ~ No. 1.—1865. eee A Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund, Benares—By the Rev. M. A. Surrrine, LL. B:, and C. Horne, Hsq., C. S., Judge of Benares. Illustrated by Plans and Photographs.* [Received 15th April, 1864.] [Read 4th May, 1864.] The fact that Benares is the birth-place of Buddhism and that in it Sakya Muni first “turned the wheel of the Law” or in other words promulgated the peculiar dogmas of the Buddhist creed, is generally believed to rest on good historic grounds. This circumstance alone, independent of the concurrent testimony of Hindu writers, gives a high antiquity to the city. If, as there is reason to believe, Sakya Muni in the early part of the sixth century, B. C., in his own estima- tion attained to the mysterious and mystical condition of Buddhahood under the Bodhi tree at Gya, and thence proceeded to Benares, we may fairly imagine that he did so because it was then a city of much influence, if not also of great sanctity, among the Hindus, especially the Brahmins. In this case the true epoch of ancient Benares must date from an earlier period still. Had the Hindus been imbued with the desire of recording the memory of themselves in huge buildings of brick and stone, as the * Copied in the lithographs issued herewith, 2 Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. [No. 1, Buddhists confessedly were, they would not have left their most sacred city, and one of their most ancient, without some irrefragable proofs in column or cornice, of their residence there prior to the Buddhist reform- ation. In the present state of ignorance respecting the archeological remains in Benares, it would be hazarding too strong a conjecture that no such proofs actually exist; but this much may be said, that the probability of their existence is exceedingly small. As the habits of the Buddhists on this point were, as just observed, so contrary tothe practice of the Hindus, we are inclined to believe that a strict investigation instituted in places where Buddhism was once famous and powerful, would in most cases bring to light certain relics which they have left behind them. New discoveries of Buddhist remains are continually being made in various parts of Northern India, every instance of which is a fresh illustration of our conviction that Bud- dhism has preserved the footprints of itself in all places wheresoever it eminently flourished. That it existed in Benares during many centuries and was the dominant faith professed there, casting into the shade the elder creed, and asserting proudly its triumph over it, admits not of the smallest doubt. It is therefore highly interesting to inquire, what Buddhist remains are yet traceable in the city, whereby its historical position as one of the chief seats of Buddhism may be tested. Strange to say, until very recently, few or no remains in the city proper had been discovered, but the reason of this, we fully believe, was, that they had never been sought after. It is true, extensive ruins have been found at Sarnath, and have been frequently described, but these are three miles distant from the present city, although it is possible, and indeed probable, that they were once situated in, or were adjacent to the ancient city itself. Now while the hope of finding any buildings of the early Buddhist period in Benares might be pronounced too sanguine, yet, on the other hand, he would betray a singular ignorance of the massiveness and durability of Buddhist architecture, who should venture to assert that it was otherwise than exceedingly likely that portions of buildings of the later Buddhist period were still existing, waiting to be discovered. Even as late as the seventh century, A. D., when Hinduism had regain- ed much of its ancient prestige and influence, at the time that Hwan Thsang visited Benares, there were then in the city, according to the 1865.] Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. 3 testimony of that keen and accurate observer, upwards of thirty Ava lan or sacred monasteries,—to most or all of which, temples were pro- bably attached—and with them about three thousand priests and disciples were associated. It cannot be for an instant supposed, that these monasteries, which were unquestionably built of strong material, have all been swept away with the lapse of ages, and have “left not a wreck behind.’ Indeed the existence of the Sarnath ruins, which are mostly of the later Buddhist period,—some of which were seen by Fa Hian in the fifth century, and nearly all by Hwan Thsang in the seventh, is a strong argument for believing that portions, more or less considerable, of some, perhaps of most of these edifices, are still discoverable. We must not imagine that in any instance they are existing in their original integrity, but on the contrary, that where they exist at all, they have been appropriated by Hindus and Mohammedans, and principally by the latter, for their own purposes, and that therefore they have become blended with other buildings from which they must be disintegrated. The use of numerous pillars in the cloisters of Buddhist monasteries, which were mostly on a uniform pattern, greatly aids the identification of the remains of this ancient period. A careful examination of Benares will reveal those portions of the city which contain buildings, or parts of buildings, or sculptured stones, or other objects of undeniable antiquity. Such ancient remains are for the most part, we believe, only to be found in the northern division of the city, and among the narrow streets on its eastern. border, running parallel with the Ganges, in a thin band, as far as the Man Mandil Observatory. Under the conviction that Buddhist remains were to be met with in Benares, a search was made for some of them in the course of the year 1863. On the very first day of the search the ruins at Bakariya Kund were discovered, which we shall now proceed to describe. These ruins are situated at the north-west corner of the city in the Alaipore Mahalla, and are visible from the Raj Ghaut road leading from the cantonments to the Ganges. The path conducting to the tank or Kund leaves the main road a short distance to the west of the ‘420th mile-stone. The tank commonly known as Bakariya Kund, is about 300 yards distant from this road, and upon the summit of its By Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. [No. 1, banks the ruins are for the most part to be found. In the hot season very little water remains in the Kund, but in the rains it contains a considerable body of water. It is about 550 feet in length and 275 in breadth. On approaching the tank you pass along the foot of a high mound on its northern side, on the top of which lie several blocks of stone. Proceeding to the western bank you perceive a massive breastwork formed by large stones, bearing upon them various masonic signs, some of which are similar to those inscribed on the stones at Sarnath, and sustaining a solid platform or terrace, which runs by the side of the Kund to a great distance. This terrace is 20 feet above the tank, and supports two others of smaller dimensions, one above the ocher, each of which is girded by a breastwork of huge stones. The lower terrace is 130 feet broad, and 270 feet long on its western face, and 330 on its eastern face overlooking the tank. It was originally held up by the wall of heavy stones just alluded to, but this wall isin many places much broken down, especially towards the Kund, the great blocks lying in disorder at its ancient base. Nevertheless extensive portions are still standing. On the northern face about 70 feet are visible, while the western wall, which extends to 267 feet, is almost continuous throughout. The height of the terrace is constant, but the height of the wall varies greatly, owing partly to its being in a state of ruin, and partly to the circumstance of its forming in one place the flank of an old edifice, where it attains a height of at least 30 feet, measured from the ground on the western side, which is on a higher level than the tank. Two small windows or doorways open through this part of the wall, and over each a single stone projects, forming its eaves. The bare appearance which the wall would here have presented to the eye, is obviated by a broad moulding half-way down, a foot in width, and by a noble cornice parallel with it above. Ascending the terrace, you come to the building itself, which is occupied by Mussalmans, one portion being partitioned off and used as azenana. The beams and slabs constituting the roof are in some cases 9 feet in length, and the roof is supported by three rows of immensely thick stone columns, the capitals of which are in the form of across. The cornice decorating the walls is not of modern narrow- ness, but is twelve inches deep, and is ornamented with carvings of 1865.] Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. 4) various elegant devices. As the building is divided into two distinct sections, and moreover as the spaces between the pillars are in several instances filled up with a mud wall, it is impossible to gain a correct idea of its original grandeur. The outer wall on the western side is strengthened by a huge buttress of stone, 14 feet wide and 15 feet high. With pillars, breastwork, and buttress, of such prodigious strength, it seems not improbable that formerly there were several stories above this lower one, but this point is merely conjectural and is not easy to be decided. Moreover it is not unlikely that other structures once existed along the border of the terrace throughout a considerable portion of its extent, not only on its western side, but also on its northern and eastern sides. Directly in front of the ancient building just described, are two other extensive elevations of the ground or terraces, one over the other, as already stated. The lower elevation is 86 feet long by 624 broad, and about 4 feet in heighth. The upper is 484 feet by 24, and is crowned with an ornamental cornice, which runs in an unbroken band throughout a large portion of the circuit of the terrace, but this may possibly be of comparatively modern date, the Mohammedans having selected this spot for a mausoleum, and in many cases adopted the prevailing forms of ancient ornamentation. The breastworks of the two terraces by which the enclosed soil is sustained, although they have been evidently at times extensively repaired, nevertheless appear as ancient as the neighbouring building. Beyond the two upper terraces is another raised terrace, which in all likelihood was originally connected with one of them, but is now isolated from them. On this possibly stood a Buddhist shrine, con- nected by a cloister with a building on the main terrace. A short distance further on also, are remains of the foundations of probably another, but the traces of this are almost obliterated. On the eastern side of the Kund is a mound 220 feet long by 90 broad, running parallel with it, which might be taken fora mud embankment thrown up from the tank, were it not for the circumstance that layers of large Buddhist bricks, lying am setw, crop out from its side, and that upon its summit and slopes are numerous blocks of sculptured stones, symbols of bygone glory. One brick measured 20 inches in 6 Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. [No. 1, length and the bricks of an entire layer were 3? inches in thickness. Among the stones was an enormous ségment of a kalas or jagged circular stone found on the pinnacles of temples. The original kalas of which this segment is exactly the fourth part, was not less than 9 ieet in diameter, and of proportionate thickness, and must have belonged to a temple of vast strength and dimensions. Several small kalases are lying not far from this segment. Hight of these were counted at one time. Hxcavations into the mound would probably throw some light on the buildings formerly standing here. To the east of the mound is a small round structure called Jogi-bir, on the site of which, we were informed, a devotee buried himself alive. It is made of earth, but on the top is a hollow circular stone, the exterior surface of which is divided into sixteen equal sections, each of which exhibits the sculpture of a man, with one leg turned up, and the hands apparently grasping a garland which encinctures and connects together all the figures. The stone is in a reversed position. A portion of one similar to it found at the foot of a tree, was afterwards removed, and forms one of a group of sculptured stones taken from Bakariya Kund and photographed. Both of these stones were pro- bably capitals of highly enriched columns. To the south of the tank is a ghaut, the stones of which are scat- tered about in great disorder, so that looking at it from a distance, it has the appearance of an utter ruin. And such it really is. But it is nevertheless a comparatively modern structure, for the stones of which it is composed, judging from the elaborate and finished carvings on many of them, have been contributions from fallen edifices in the neighbourhood. At the south-west corner of the tank is a water-course, depressed considerably below the ground on either.side. It is not improbable that formerly this was the main source of water supply to the tank. To the south of this water-course, overhanging the Kund, is a huge breast- work of stone, on the top of which is a spacious courtyard and a Mohammedan Dargah or place of prayer. It is difficult by reason of the carved stones used in the foundations, the underlying mortar and the evident frequent repairs, to say whether any portion of this breast- work or of the buttress jutting out at its base, is really ancient, al- though some portions seem to be so. The buttress is continuous with the stone ghaut, and merges into it. 1865.] Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. 7 To the east of the Dargah is a small mosque, 37 feet long by 19 feet broad, open to the east, and supported by three rows of pillars, five in each row. The pillars in the second row have deep scroll carvings on their sides, with ornamented corners consisting of lotus seed-pods, one on another. Hach pillar is 7 feet 9 inches high, includ- ing the capital, and the latter is 2 feet 6 inches in length and 2 feet 4 inches in width. The capitals of the outer pillars are somewhat larger than those of the inner, and are in the form of a cross, the extremities being rounded off; while the upper surface of each limb exhibits a convex curve, the line of which rises higher in proportion as it recedes from the extremity. The architrave is about a foot in thickness, and on it the flat stone roof rests. Seven niches are placed at intervals round the three walls of the room. The entire building is of stone. ‘The western wall, on its outer side, is strengthened by a buttress, at the base of which runs a beautifully carved band, 11 inches broad, which projects a couple of inches from the wall, and below it is a cornice 10 inches in width and 7 in depth, bearing on its front a broad band of exquisite carving. Some parts of this building are certainly original ; and there can be no doubt of the antiquity of the pillars, which belonged to some Buddhist cloister, or of the fact of the modern character of the enclosing wall. A few steps off, is an enclosure in the form of an irregular parallelo- . gram, a wall being on either side, and two small Buddhist buildings at its extremities. That situated at the northern extremity is in some respects like the mosque just described. Its carvings, however, are not _ all the same, and its ornamented band is of a very ancient type. There is a small building used as a Ranza attached to its north-west angle, and sustained by ancient pillars and modern walls. The building is surmounted by a low cupola of primitive construction. It is not unlikely that originally there were cloisters on this bank of the Kund, and that the three small buildings just described were all at one time connected together. | The edifice at the southern extremity of the enclosure well displays the old Hindu and Buddhist method of making a roof by the imposi- tion of stone beams, one upon another, cross and corner-wise until they met in the middle. The roof of this building exhibits a mass of such beams piled upon each other, exactly like the roof of a house which 8 Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. [MNo. 1, children build with their little wooden bricks. A second object of in- terest here is a cut stone screen, which serves the place of a window. Nearly a hundred and fifty feet to the east of the last mentioned buildings, is another which has evidently been erected with old materials, and is of doubtful antiquity. It has four pillars, two outer and two inner, exclusive of others imbedded in the walls, and has five recesses on its three sides. The carvings have been to some extent obliterated by the whitewash with which the mosque is bedaubed. Still further on eastwards, at a distance of 75 feet, is a terrace walled round by a stone breastwork 48 feet long by 36 broad, on which stand four exquisitely carved columns, sustaining an ancient roof, the remains probably of a chaitya or Buddhist temple, or of its innermost shrine. Its position is exactly opposite the Buddhist temple to the west, yet to be described, from which it is distant 550 feet. The columns are 7 feet 7 inches in height including the base, and are elaborately ornamented; in which respect they differ from the pillars of the other temple, which, for the most part, are destitute of ornamentation. The four sides of the base display an elegant carving of a vase with flowers drooping low over the brim—a device always found in these partsin Buddhist shrine-pillars. The well-known representation of a face with a floreated scroll streaming forth from the mouth, eyes and moustache, is repeated four times on each column, and above it runs a band of beads, each of which is nearly an inch in diameter. -An are of the sun’s disk rests upon this band, and higher up, the column becomes octagonal. It then becomes quadrilateral again, and on each side is an exquisite design, exceedingly well executed, of an overflowing vase. The pillar is crowned with a capital, beneath which is a broad double moulding. The cornice above the architrave is also beautifully cut. But the ceiling of this shrine, consisting of overlapping stones built as before described, is perhaps its most striking feature. Hach stone is richly carved, and was originally coloured, while representations of suns and lotuses are depicted upon them in bold relief. Taking it altogether, this little remnant of antiquity is a charming piece of art, and is in itself a proof of the delicacy in taste and expertness in chiselling of the architects of those times, and is also a proof of the sad degeneracy of their posterity. This Chaitya seems to have been the eastern extremity of the 1865.] Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. 9 range of ancient buildings under notice. Leaving it, the boundary line took a southerly direction and probably included several buildings similar to those on the northern side, very faint traces of the found- ations of which, at the most, are visible. The boundary line, however, on its southern side takes in a remarkable structure, consisting of a massive stone breastwork, 130 feet long, 90 feet wide, and 5 feet 4 inches high, sustaining a terrace now used as a Mohammedan burial- ground. The breastwork is in some places in decay, but to a great extent is in good condition. Its stones, especially where exposed in the foundations, have masonic marks upon them, and some have as many as three symbols inarow. It is surmounted by a fine cornice six inches deep. Ascending the terrace no buildings besides Moham- medan tombs are visible, but it is probable that an extensive Buddhist edifice stood on this spacious area. On the western side, exactly in the centre, is a projecting buttress, originally the Singhasun, round which the moulding also runs. On this spot may have stood a gigan- tic figure of Buddha, visible to every one entering the court—for such we hold it originally to have been. Indeed the large terraces which have been described, may all have been cloistered courts, where dis- ciples and devotees congregated for religious purposes. An inspection. of the Atallah and Juma mosques at Jaunpore, formerly Buddhist monasteries, confirms this view. The most remarkable of these Buddhist ruins yet remains. This is the temple, to which allusion has been already made, and of which a separate Ground Plan has been drawn. The Mohammedans have appropriated this temple and capped it with a dome, and now use it as a mausoleum. It stands on forty-two pillars, all of which are in good. order with the exception of one in the southern portico, which has been twisted by the fall of a large tree upon it. Formerly, there were evidently two pillars more than there are at present, sustaining the heavy entablature of the southern portico, so that the whole number of pillars originally, was forty-four. Of these, thirty-two supported the temple proper, and four the roof of each of the northern, southern and eastern porticos. To the west, there is no portico, but simply a. sort-of projecting buttress or Singhasun, on which probably the chief idol stood, and was at once seen by persons coming in through the main entrance on the east. The northern and southern porticos are 2 10 Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. (No.1, 15 feet long by 10 wide, while the eastern is only 12 feet by 10. The inner part of the temple is 18 feet square. Round the whole of the exterior of the temple, above the capitals of the columns, and sup- ported by their external limb, runs an eave-stone nearly 3 feet in width, and, as at the Atallah, Juma Musjid, Pan Dareba at Juanpore, this eaves-stone has been made to imitate wood, thus confirming Fergusson when writing about this class of structures. Each column is 84 feet in height, of which the quadrilateral shaft between the capital and the plinth is 44 feet. The capital is in the form of a cross, each limb consisting of two portions, the lower being bell-shaped with an ornament in the corners. The columns in the temple proper stand two or four together, and the abacus or square stone upon them, between the capital and architrave, is 13 inches deep, and is beautifully carved. The architrave has a rich double band sculptured upon it, which passes all round the temple including the porticos. Above this is a flat stone, and above it again a row of niches which are probably of Mohammedan origin. Viewing the temple from the outside, a practised eye soon distin- guishes between the ancient portion and that added by the Moham- medans. Above the portico, all below the octagonal breastwork is undoubtedly of Buddhist workmanship, and the remainder of Moham- medan ; but the Mohammedans, there is reason to suppose, availed themselves of old materials. At the termination of the breastwork at each corner, rests a small kalas, about two-thirds of the circular disk of which is exposed, the remainder being inserted into the wall. Although so many ages have elapsed since this temple was erected, and although it has been exposed to the alternate ruthlessness of Hindu and Mohammedan fanaticism, nevertheless with such wonder- ful skill have its proportions been designed and its blocks of stone been joined together—yet without cement of any kind—that at the present moment, in spite of its aspect of hoary antiquity, it seems almost if not quite as durable as on the day on which it was finished ; and it is unquestionable that if it be not barbarously damaged by uncivilized hands, it will continue to stand for centuries to come. The simplicity combined with the great strength of its parts, and the symmetrical arrangement of the whole, give to the building, notwith- standing the general scantiness of its ornamentation, an appearance which 1865.] Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. 11 the most fastidious must pronounce to be of no mean order of beauty. A small cloister was originally connected with the south-west corner of the temple, as is shown by the continuation of the ancient basement moulding, a moulding which surrounds indeed all Buddhist buildings in these parts. This was probably the vestry or retiring room of the officiating priests. Some of its walls are still visible. It is greatly to be regretted that a large portion of the site of these Tuins is in a disgustingly filthy state, so that none but the most ardent investigator would care to visit a place so foul and abominable. As to the date of the buildings which have been briefly described, some of them at least must have been erected as early as the large tower at Sarnath, which General Cunningham considers was in exist- ence in the beginning of the fifth century of our era, and was then seen by the traveller Fa Hian. They formed probably one of the thirty monasteries referred to by Hwan Thsang, to which allusion has already been made. When looking upon these extensive ruins, we cannot fail to recall the time when they were frequented by crowds of priests and disciples of the Buddhist faith. Then probably the tank was surrounded on three sides by a lofty terrace of stone, while a large ghaut or flight of steps was on its southern side. Around the edges of this terrace, both to the south and west, ran cloisters, and to the east there must have been massive temples capable of carrying such caps or ‘kalases,’ one of them nine feet in diameter, as have been referred to in thisdescription. It is a matter of much interest to the archeologist, to try and save from total oblivion these few traces of the past, when the Buddhists, who long ages since were expelled from the country, were still famous, if not powerful, and were already engaged in that tremendous struggle with the Brahmins, which eventually terminated in their own utter extinction in India. We propose shortly submitting some notes relating to the numerous symbols found on the stones at Bakariya Kund and_ elsewhere, commonly known as mason’s marks, and would invite correspondence with any parties interested in the subject. A comparison of symbols found in various places would be curious, and would render our paper more complete. Tn illustration of the foregoing paper, there are herewith submitted two Plans, one representing this entire locality, and the other the 12 Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. [No. 1, Buddhist Temple still standing ; and in addition three Photographic Plates, of which the description is as follows: — Plate, No. 1, shews the Temple before alluded to, a full account of which has already been given. Plate, No, 2, exhibits the remains of a Buddhist shrine consisting of four handsomely carved pillars, standing on an ancient platform, with the usual Singhasun facing to the east. The ceiling, which has been described in another place, is unfortunately concealed from view in the photograph. Plate, No. 3, represents a group of stones and pillars brought from Bakariya Kund. To the right and left are two exquisitely chiselled shrine pillars, which are in many respects alike, but the grotesque faces on the four sides of the apex of each pillar, are in no two cases the same. The two bases also are different, for on the pillar to the right, one-half of the chakra is depicted, the symbol from which Buddha derived his title of Chakravarti, while the left pillar displays in this position a deeply compressed human face. Above these portions of the base, the columns become octagonal, and at each angle is a comical face, half on one side and half on the other, with flowing scrolls proceeding from the same. Over the faces a beaded band encompasses the columns, upon which rests the are of a dise on each of the eight sides. Higher up, the columns again become quadrila- teral, and exhibit flattened urns in bas-relief, overflowing with wreathed scrolls, a device exceedingly common on pillars of this age, (about 500, A. D., as we imagine). The uppermost portion of the pillars, on which the human faces are represented, is somewhat larger in circum- ference than the base. The dimensions of the pillars are as follows. Height 2 feet 8 inches, each face at apex 13 inches. Between these pillars are two large blocks of stone, which, like the topmost stone of the group, appear to have formed portions of a frieze running round some sculptured chamber, but as they are of different proportions, they probably belonged to different structures. The figures appear very bacchanalian. In the top stone, the man rests his left arm on a large wine jar of a Grecian pattern, whilst with his right he lifts the wine-cup. The other two figures are in nearly the same attitude. A narrow band, beaded or plain, ran round the figures, and by drooping between them, connected together all the portions of the Vol: XXXIV. Part 1 PLT. On Stone from a Photograph ty HL ARES. ANCIENT BUDDHIST: TEMPLE AT BAKARYA KUND NEAR ; ait = i 5 Vol. XXXIV. Part.I. PL Journal As: Soc: Ben R ay th 5.6.0. Calcutta June 1865. On Stone from a Phot Journal As: Soc Bengal Vol. XXXIV. Part. I Pl. I f areas = Ree: On Stone froma Photograph by H Tra . b wenal As: Soc: Bengal Val: XXXV. PartL. PL: MM, ! | _ x Soc Bengal le Journal As: Soc 5 Vol-XXXV° Part PLM. = ag ee oe 3 2 a i ©. 2, Calcutta June 1865: OnStone from a Photograph by H.L Fraze: UP OF STONES BROUGHT FROM BAKARYA WUWO ee e Journal As. Soc: Ben PLP a : Journal As Soc Bengal Vol XXXIV PL. PL. 4. §.G, 0. CALCUTTA. MAY, 1865 ON STONE FROM A PHOTOGRAPH BY HL. FRAZER OTH: BY HM SwITH, BUDDIHST REMAINS FROM JOUNPORE Am 707 1d Tid Al x XX 19 "A {eeu a x 20S S$ sv Te wm 10 fe ONt 4 G ANVA IM YA 7%q “1 id AIXXX TA (euag og sy yeusnor a fat el i YS fe ’ ays t y “eye i ; * F F i i f H F ‘) ~ 7 5 ; Daal ra S™ iy y yi Ly iy if wea j i Oi f f Journ: As~ Soo; Bengal . Vol XXX Rot. 1 Pl VE South GROUND PLAN 5 of eel BAKARYA KUND [Pom aac and ruins adjacnt trend ee Ts Ye fot $ 1865.] Description of the Buddhist Ruins at Bakariya Kund. 13 original frieze. Beneath the loop of the drooping cord is the repre- sentation of a gem carved in the stone. Many figures similar to those now described, have been lately found among the ancient buildings in Jaunpore. Plate, No. 4, which represents a group of stones taken from these buildings, is added for the sake of comparison, as it pourtrays strikingly this similitude. In the College grounds in Benares, are some magnificent sculptures brought from Sarnath, one of which is a long frieze, cut with great boldness, the figures of which are connected by a narrow band or garland. A photograph of this frieze may perhaps at some future time be sent to the Society. The length of what remains of it is 264 feet. The topmost stone shews the projecting position it occupied, by its under-cutting, but it is hard to say in what part of the building this found a place. The next stone beneath it consists of a circle, formed by a narrow band, and surmounted by an elegant ornamentation indi- cating the central position which it originally occupied, which was probably the crowning decoration of a niche. In the circle itself a very merry face is depicted, by no means that of an ascetic. The large circular stone below this, represents eight human figures standing in most uncomfortable postures and supporting a cord or garland. This was probably the capital of an ornamental column; and there is reason to think that it must be assigned to a later date, on the ground that ancient Buddhist sculptures rarely if ever exhibit any distortion of limbs, while the Jains and modern Brahmins twist and distort their figures in every possible manner. The other half of this circular stone lies at the College, and as Major Kittoe is stated to have taken stones from Bakariya Kund until stopped by the people, may have been brought from this place. In addition to these Plates which have now been described, Mr. Tresham has kindly taken two others, one representing the south end of the Kund, No. 5, and the other a portion of the retaining wall on the western bank, No. 6, copies of which are also forwarded. PIOVILLPPPISISLAISIS IS LLLP PIL BEL IIL LE 14 Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 1, Ancient Indian Weights—By H. Tuomas, Esq. (Continued from p, 266 of Vol, XXXIIL.) [ Received 28th September, 1864, | I concluded the first portion of this article with a suggestive recti- fication of the reading of a passage in Manu, tending to prove that coined money was in use at the period of the compilation of the text of India’s earliest lawgiver. Any question that might have remained on this subject may be satisfactorily set at rest by the testimony of the published Sanskrit version of Yajnavalkya,* the commentary on which, known as the Mitdkshard, defines the Kdrslika as “ measured by a Karsha”’ (Karshenonmita) ; while the copper KArsua itself is described as Tamrasya Vikdra, or “copper transformed,” 7. e., worked up from its crude metallic state into some recognised shape.t This proves, in the one case, that the interpretation of the term Kdrsha, as 4 coin, or fabricated piece of whatever description, is fully authorised; and, in the other, that the copper Kdrshapana, as Manu’s text would imply, con- stituted the ready referee of weight, which its general currency as a coin of the period was calculated to ensure. Indeed it is curious to note how near an adherence to very primitive customs this state of things discloses, in that the original idea of the use of definite and subdivided weights of metal for commercial purposes, is still so closely identified with the secondary function these fixed units had come to fulfil in the guise of money, as circulating measures of value, while they retained their hereditary acceptance as bases of the metric system. This duality of function remained so essentially associated in the minds of the people, that the revised scales of weights of the British Govern- ment, in compliance with local predilections, were adapted and adjusted under a similar system,—the current upee recommending itself as the * Mitaékshara, i. 364. + Professor Wilson missed the full force of this explanation in adhering to the old translation of Manu—where “ Kdarsha or Pana” are given.—“ Ariana Antiqua,” p. 404; Prinsep’s “ Essays,” 1. 53, note. + An early example of the use of the Karsha as a weight is given in the Buddhist Legends (Burnouf, Introd. Hist. Bud., p. 258), where one Karsha weight of sandal wood is stated to have cost “6500 Karshapanas.” The custom of employing current coins as measures of weight appears to have become subsequently so much of a recognised system in Hindustan, that Sikandar bin Bahlol extended their metric functions into tests of measures of lengeth—414 diameters of his copper coins being assigned to the Guz or local yard.—Num. Chron,, xv. 164, Preiwaoru PUINWwSe Engraved by Shaik Munnecroddeen.N2M We terloo Street. 1865.] Ancient Indian Weights. 15 initial datum and “foundation of the Ser and Man,”’* and as the criterion and handy test of the higher weights. To the most casual inquirer, perusing the precepts and enactments embodied in the Statutes of Manu, the existence of some conventional means of meeting the ordinary wants of commerce and exchange, in- cident to the state of society therein typified, would be, so to say, self- evident. Thescale of fines, the subdivisions of the assessments of tolls, the elaboration of the rates of interest, and even the mere buyings and sellings adverted to, so far in advance of any remnant of a system of barter, would necessitate the employment of coved money, or some introductory scheme of equable divisions of metal, authoritatively or otherwise current by tale,f without the need of weighing and testing each unit as it passed from hand to hand. We need not attempt to settle the correct technical definition of coed money, or what amount of mechanical contrivance is required to constitute a coin proper,—it is sufficient to say that we have flat pieces of metal, some round, some square or oblong, adjusted with considerable accuracy to a fixed weight, and usually of an uniform purity, seemingly verified and stamped anew with distinctive symbols by succeeding generations, which clearly represented an effective currency long before the ultimate date of the engrossment of the Laws of Manu. The silver pieces of this class, the Purdnas, are found in unusual numbers, and over an almost unlimited extent of the entire breadth of Hindustan: from the banks of the sacred Saraswati; under eighteen feet of the soil which now covers the buried city of Behat;{ down the Ganges to the sea; on the eastern and western coasts; and in the “ Kistvaens” of the ancient races of the Dakhin.§ That the silver coins should have been pre- served to the present time, in larger numbers than their more perishable and less esteemed copper equivalents, was to be expected, especially looking to the reconversion of the latter into newer dynastic mintages, * Prinsep’s Useful Tables, ii. 95, 104-6; “Jour, As. Soc., Bengal,” 1834, Appendix, p. 61, &e. See also “ Jour. As. Soc., Bengal,” i. 445. + One example may suffice, “The toll at a ferry is one pana for an empty cart; half a pana for a man with a load; a quarter for a beast used in agri- culture, or for a woman; and an eighth for an unloaded man.’—Manu, viii. 404, f “Jour. As. Soc., Bengal,” iii, 44. Prinsep’s “Essays,” i.73, For range of localities, see also A. Cunningham, “ Bhilsa Topes,” p. 354. § Caldwell, “ Dravidian Grammar,” p. 526, Walter Elliot, “ Madras Journal Lit. and Science,” 1858, p. 227, 16 Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 1, and their proverbial absorption for the construction of domestic utensils. But with all this, the relative proportions of each, which reward modern collectors,* would seem to indicate that, of the joint currencies, the silver issues must have already constituted a large measure of the circulating media of the day; and this evidence is by no means un- important, as showing that while the standard of value was, from the first, copper, the interchangeable rates of the two metals must have been in a measure recognised, while these imperfect currencies were in the course of formation and reception into the commerce of the country. The tenor of the entire text of Manu conclusively demonstrates that the primitive standard of the currencies of the Indians, like that of the geographically less isolated, though equally independent originators of their own proper civilisation, the Egyptians, was based upon copper, a lower metal, which, however it may astound our golden predilections of modern times, was clearly in so far preferable in the early conception of interchangeable metallic equivalents, that it necessarily constituted the most widely distributed and diffused representative of value, brought home to the simplest man’s comprehension, and obviously in its very spread the least liable to sudden fluctuation from external causes, such as would more readily affect the comparatively limited available amounts of either of the higher metals. Hence, in remote ages, under an im- perfect philosophy of exchange, copper may be said to have been the safest and most equable basis for the determination of all relative values; and so well did it seemingly fulfil its mission in India, that as civilisation advanced with no laggard pace, and foreign conquest brought repeated changes of dominant power, and whatever of superior intel- ligence may have accompanied the intrusive dynasties, the copper standard continued so much of a fixed institution in the land, that it was only in Akbav’s reign (a. p. 1556—1605)+ that it even began to * Col. Stacey’s collection contributes 373 silver coins of this class to 30 copper pieces (“ Jour. As. Soc. Bengal,” vol. xxvii. p 256; 1858). The British Museum cabinets show 227 silver against 2 copper punch coins. Of the former 57 are round; the rest are square, oblong, or irregularly shaped. + The revenues of Akbar’s magnificent empire were all assessed in Dams; a copper coin weighing about 324 grains [N. C., xv. pp- 163—172]. The total demand of the state in A.D. 1596 is given as 3,62,97,55,246 dams, The payments in kind, in the province of Kashmir, are consistently reduced into equivalents in dams, and the single exception to the copper estimate occurs in the Trans-Indus. Sirkar, of Kandahar, where the taxes were collected in Persian gold Tomans and 1865.] Ancient Indian Weights. 17 lose its position as the general arbiter of all fiscal and mercantile transactions. With the accumulated increase of wealth, its cumbrous volume made an opening for the silver Rupee, which established itself permanently in its place, and as time went on, gold Muhars had an exceptional and temporary acceptance ; but, like the rupees of that mon- arch, they were leit to find their own level in the market, as certain inexperienced servants of the Hast India Company discovered, to their astonishment, to be still the ruling idea of the community at large, when, in subsequent times, they incautiously declared gold a legal tender.* I have already extracted from the ancient Sanskrit code the contem- poraneous definition of the weights of metal in use “for the purpose of worldly business.” I will now examine how much of an approxi- mation to the conventional notion of a money currency had been reach- ed, at the period of the composition of the Vedas and other archaic writings. Professor Wilson was under the impression that he had discovered a reference to coined money in the Vedas, where, in the enumeration of the gifts bestowed upon the Azshi Garga, mention is made of “ten purses” of gold ;; unfortunately, the contents of these “purses, bags, or chests,” or whatever may have been the intentional meaning of kosayth in this place, do not figure in the original text of the hymn, but form part of the conjectural additions of the commentator Sdyana.{ As such, it is useless to speculate further on the passage ; but the words dasa hiranya pinddn, “ten lumps of gold,” in the suc- ceeding verse, seem to have a much more direct bearing on the general question, and would almost in themselves establish a reckoning by tale. Had the text merely confined itself to the expression “ lumps of gold” in the generic sense, crude and undefined fragments of metal Dinars [Gladwin’s “ Ayin Akbari,” ii. pp. 3, 107,110. See also i. pp: 2, 3, 4, 35, 37,39]. Ido not lose sight of the fact of the long-continued use of an intermediate mixed silver and copper currency, which filled in the divisions between, and co-existed with higher and lower coinage of unalloyed metals [N. C., xv. pp. 153, 163; Prinsep’s “ Essays,’ Useful Tables, p. 71]. Ddms, like the old Karsha, were also occasionally used as weights (See Ayin-Akbari , ee James Steuart, “The Principles of Money, &c., in Bengal.” Calcutta, 1772, p. 26; Prinsep’s “ Essays,’ Useful Tables, pp, 73, 76, 77. + “ Rig Veda Sanhita,” iii. pp. xvi. and 474, t “Rig Veda,” text, vol. i, p.699; Max Miller. See also Wilson, “R. V, S.,” i. p. xlix. and iii; and note 4, page 474, 2 2) 18 Ancient Indian Weights. [Nope might have been understood; but the deliberate enumeration of ten horses and ten lumps of gold,* would seemingly enforce the conclusion that those lumps were fixed and determined sections of the metal of habitually recognised value, or precisely such divisional portions of gold as we see in the parallel cases of the silver and copper of which Manu speaks, and whose extant survivors find a place in our medal cabinets. In addition to this allusion to what I suppose to have been Swvarnas, the Vedas, on two occasions, distinctly name the Nishka. The first reference to this money-weight is to be found in a hymn by that most mercenary Rashi, Kaxsuivat,; devoted to no deity, but to the glori- fication of a mundane prince dwelling on the Indus, whose beneficence is eulogised, in an extended play upon the number of his gifts, among which the Rishi confesses to having “ unhesitatingly accepted 100 Nishkas, 100 vigorous steeds, and 100 bulls;” evidencing, as in the previous instance, a numerical computation by pieces of recognised value—much in advance of the primitive test of scales and weights. Again, in a subsequent Suikta, Grirsamapa, a Rishi of some celebrity,t in addressing the divinity Rupra, says, ‘‘ He shines with brilliant golden ornaments.”* * “ Worthy thou bearest arrows and a bow; worthy thou wearest an adorable omniform necklace.”’§ The medieval scholiast substitutes the word hara, a necklace, for the Nishka of the original text,|| an interpretation which is followed by the modern translator. It would seem that one of the derivative meanings of the word Neshka, as in the parallel instance of Dindra,J * “Rio Veda Sanhita,’ 4th Ashtaka, 7th Adhydya; “Stkta,” xlvii, verse 23—‘I have received ten horses, ten purses, clothes, and ample food, and ten lumps of gold, from Divodasa.” I should prefer the substitution of ‘cakes or balls’ of gold for the “ lumps” of the translator. Mr. W. Elliot mentions that “the Canarese gulige (Sanskrit gutika) was the ancient name of a class of small spherical coins.’ See figs. 3, 4, 5, pl. vii., vol. iii, “ Madras Journal’ (1858). Whence, also, the gold A’dal Gutkah (Gutka) of the ‘“‘ Ayin-Akbari,” i. p. 32. + Wilson, “ Rig Veda Sanhita,” ii, p.17. See also i. 312, 316, &c. + Wilson, “ Rig Veda Sanhita,” ii. p, 207. § Wilson, “ Rig Veda Sanhita,” 2nd ashtaka, 7th adhyaya. Sukta xxxiii. vol. ii. p. 293-2. I Vy ° I 5 ! ° o e I SS > weraata areata waielaey aad feyed | wefad cad fawad a Clee = Sn is TRA al Sista CAMS TS ll Ye tl || Max Miiller, “ Rig Veda,” wi. p. 579. §| Max Miller, ‘“‘ Sanskrit Literature,’ p. 247. 1865.] Ancient Indian Weights. 19 came in process of time to apply to “an ornament of the neck,” the component elements supplying the designation in either case. From the passage in question we may reasonably infer that the Nishka of the Vedas had, even then, attained so much of a definite and unvarying form, and partial ornamental fashioning, as to be suitable for decorative purposes in its current shape; a deduction which would further imply that the piece itself was understood, or admitted to be of a constant and uniform make, and that, in effect, it carried its description in its name. It is a question whether it is not also necessary to amend the trans- lation of the adjective, Vis’wa rupa, from “omniform,” to the more intelligible ‘“ pervaded,” or covered “with forms” or symbols,* a rendering which would singularly accord with the state in which we find the silver money of the period. Should any difficulty be felt at the supposition of the adornment of a god with so obvious a work of man’s hand, it may be said that bows and arrows are scarcely divine weapons; but the inherent tendency of lightly-clad, imperfectly domi- ciled races to wear on their persons their more valuable and easily portable wealth, would naturally suggest the notion that the deities followed a similar practice; and the expression instructs us that the people among whom it was uttered were in the habit of hanging round their necks sections of the precious metals, even as their successors in the land for ninety generations have continued to do; having thereby, * This rendering is in complete harmony with Burnouf’s “ Dinadras marqués de signes” (lakshanahatam dinara dvayam), two dinars impressed with symbols. A difficulty has been felt about the supposed Latin origin of the word Déindr ; but, if the passage quoted by Burnouf truly represents the tabric of the earlier mintages, it does not matter what term the original recorder or translator applied to the piece itself; he may well have used the conventional word of his age for gold coin, without damaging the authenticity or antiquity of the legend, or losing sight of the character of the old type of money he was then describing, and which must have been still abundant in the land. But apart from this, Colebrooke, in his Algebra of the Hindus (p. exxxiii.), has affirmed that Dindr “is a genuine Sanskrit word,” the derivation of which Professor Goldstiicker explains by dé (preserved in didi, and kindred with div, dép), hence the participle dina, “ shining,” with the affix dra, implying ‘‘ pre-eminence,” As regards the term Nishka, Max Miller has thrown out a suggestion that it may be in some way associated with the name of the Indo-Scythian king Kanishka (“* Sanskrit Literature,” p. 332). Professor Goldstticker, on the other hand, thinks that the word may be satisfactorily derived from nis, “ out,’ and ka, “splendour” (from kam, “to shine”). Nishka occurs in Panini, v. 1, 20; v. 1, 30: v. 2, 119. See “Introduction a VHistoire de Buddhisme,” p. 423; Max Miiller, «Sanskrit Literature,” p. 245; Prinsep’s ‘“‘ Essays,” i. 246, note 3; and “ Jour. As Soc. Bengal,” vi. 409. 20 Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 1, in many instances, undesignedly preserved to history the choicest and most interesting numismatic memorials of olden time. Dr. Weber has collected from the Sutras and later Vedic writings, a number of references to money weights,* the most interesting of which are the notice of the silver Satamina by Katyéyana (xx. 2, 6), and the mention of a “ yellow-gold satamana” (hiranyam suvarnam s atamdénam) in the Satapatha Brahmana (xii. 7, 2, &c.), showing that the term s’atamdna, which is given by Manu exclusively as a weight of silver, had come to be used indifferently with its coincident metric denomination, the Nishka, which, in earlier times, specially implied a measure of gold; The quotation of Suvarna S'aldkdni from the Sruti,{ is also of importance, the S’aldka identifying the gold piece directly with the parallel issue of silver, the residuary specimens of which retain the name to this day in the South of India.§ Having obtained from the Vedas themselves so much of an indica- tion of the use of circulating monetary weights at the very early period to which those hymns are now admitted to belong, my task in proving an obvious advance upon the rudimentary phase of the science of money, under Manu, will be simple; especially as so much has already been incidentally brought forward, tending to dissipate any remaining doubt as to the existence of a comed copper currency, much anterior to the epoch, when the customs and usages of preceding ages had to be acknowledged as the practical basis of, and as far as might be, conciliated in, the new code which was to make Brahmanism absolute.|| As I have already stated, there is no direct evidence to show what technic art had achieved in those days, or what form or finish was given to the current money; but, as with the copper, so with the divisional parts of gold and silver, in the table quoted from Manu (viii. 131—137); their classification represents something more than a mere theoretical * Zeitschrift,” 1864, p. 138-9. + See also the quotation from “ Yajnavalkya,” section i. sl. 364; Num. Chron., 1864, note, p. 56. { Madhava in Kalanirnaya. § Walter Elliot, “ Madras Journal of Lit. and Science,” 1858, p. 224. Saldku (Telugu), “ A dent or mark on a coin denoting its goodness.”—Wilson, ‘© Glossary.”” The leading meaning of the Sanskrit S’aldka is given as a dart, an arrow: one of its derivative meanings is “an oblong quadrangular piece of ivory or bone used in playing a particular game ; a domino.”—Wilson, “ Sanskrit Dictionary.” || “No greater crime is known on earth than slaying a Brahman.’— Manu, vill, 381. 1865.] * Ancient Indian Weights. 21 enunciation of weights and values, and demonstrates a practical acceptance of a pre-existing order of things; precisely as the general tenor of the text exhibits these weights of metal in full and free em- ployment for the settlement of the ordinary dealings of men, in parallel currency with the copper pieces; whose mention, however, is neces- sarily more frequent, both as the standard and as the money of detail, amid a poor community. Their use in the higher totals would seem to refer to an earlier stage of civilisation, or to a time when the inter- changeable values of the different metals were less understood and even more imperfectly determined. There is no attempt to define these relative values, and the omission may, perchance, have been intentional ; though some such scale would soon settle itseli ky custom, and the lawgivers may wisely, in their generation, have abstained from attempt- ing, like our own modern statesmen, to fix the price of gold for all time, to give permanency to an ephemeral balance, or otherwise to swerve from the ancient simplicity of their own copper standard. Neither need there be any distrust of the contrasted passages, as representing different stages of national advancement. The collection of a code of human laws would necessarily embrace the progress and practical adaptations of many generations of men, the older formule being retained in the one case, side by side with the more recent enactments and their modified adjuncts. In a compilation of this kind, the retention of such apparent anomalies would indeed be a negative sign of good faith ; and as we have to admit considerable uncertainty as to the exact epochs of the origin, application, and classification of these laws, and a still greater margin of time to allow for their versification and ultimate embodyment in writing, it would be as well not to lay too much stress upon their internal evidence, when all the legitimate deductions we seek can be established from external testimony. The next contribution to the history of comage in India is derived from the unexpected source of the Grammar of Pénini, in the text of which pieces of money in a very complete form are adverted to.* That * Professor Goldstiicker has been so obliging as to examine Panini for refer- ences to coins, and to furnish me with the following note on the subject :— “That Panini knew coined money is plainly borne out by his Sdtra, v. 2, 119, rapad ahata. . . . where he says, ‘the word répya is in the sense of “ struck” (ahata), derived from rtéipa, “form, shape,” with the taddhita affix ya, here implying possession ; when répya would literally mean “ struck (money), havin, nr 22, Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 1, nominal terms should appear in the grammar of a people would, at the very least, imply that the object designated had attained extensive local recognition. Without touching the higher ground, as to how soon in a nation’s’ linguistic progress fixed grammatical definitions may become a religious, intellectual, or material need, it cannot but be conceded that if the name and description of a coin find a place among rules for the formation of words, this should be evidence sufficient to prove that such a product of mechanical art must long have passed into the dealings and commercial life of the nation at large ere it could have become incorporated in the conventional speech; and been sane- tioned in the teachings of the schools. Admitting these inferences, it remains to decide upon the date of the grammarian himself. Professor Goldstiicker conceives that he has lately obtained most important confirmatory testimony that Panini lived before Buddha Sakya Muni (s.c. 543).* Accepting this period for the record 7m writing of the passage in question, I am satisfied to leave the limit of the anterior currency of the coins open to free discussion. The allusions to money in the sacred literature of Sakya Muni are so frequent, in comparison with their rare occurrence in the Vedic writings, as to have led one of our modern inquirers to infer that the Buddhists understood and employed the art of coming long before their Brahman adversaries;+ a more simple and satisfactory reason may be assigned for the apparent data, in the fact that the Vedas and their supplemental rituals refer to an ideal polytheism, while the Buddhist scriptures are based on the personal biography of a man living in the flesh among the people of India, whose manners and customs are thus a form.’ Katyaéyana and Patanjali make no observation on these words, but the Kasika-vritti says that ‘form’ here means ‘the form or shape of a man which was struck on it; and considering that riéipa, ‘form,’ is in this Sitra used without any addition—or emphatically, the ellipsis of pwrusha, ‘ man’—is perfectly natural and justified. As to the date of the Kasikavritti, nothing positive is as yet known of it; it is certain, however, that it is much later than the Mahabhashya; but even without its interpretation, I hold that no other sense than that put by it on this Stitra could rationally be attributed to it.” * While on the subject of dates, 1 may mention that since the publication of the earlier portion of this article, a paper has been presented to the Royal Asiatic Society, by Dr. Whitney, “On the Jyotisha Observation” (adverted to in Note 14, page 255, “Journal As. Soc. Bengal,’ 1864) questioning the accuracy of the results of previous calculations. The utmost possible limit of error, however, is admitted to lie between 1120 and 1187 B.c., instead of within the 1181 and 1186 B.c., already quoted. + Spence Hardy, ‘“‘ Hastern Monachism,”’ Lond., 1850, p. 66. 1865.] Ancient Indian Weights. 23 incidentally portrayed. So that the Vedas proper, as might be antici- pated, furnish but few references to money, and Manu confines his notices to the formal letter of the law, though that brings within its circle even the definition of the lowest rate of wages, which is fixed at one pana a day, with an allowance of grain, &. (vii. 126). The Buddhist legends, on the contrary, abound in illustrations of every-day life, including ordinary commercial dealings, frequent mention of charitable donations and distributions; and in one instance they have preserved a record of the quaint item, that the Anonyma of her day, in the ancient city of Mathura, estimated her favours at 500 puranas (about £16). Burnouf, who cites this anecdote, has further collected in his “ Introduction 4 l’Histoire de Buddhisme,”’ numerous passages _ mnentioning swvarnas, purdnas, kakini (vatis), and kdrshdpanas,* and among other things he reproduces a tale which exemplifies the curious custom of the women of the period indulging in the habit of ornament- ing the skirts of their garments with karshépanas. The notice of Dindrsy+ has already been referred to, but the most important passage under the numismatic aspect, in the Buddhist literature, is to be found in the text of the “‘ Mahawanso,” where it is stated that the Brahman Chanakya, the adviser of Chandra Gupta, ‘ with the view of raising resources, converted (by recoining) each kaha pana into eight, and amassed eighty kotis of kahdpanas.’’} Tf the Buddhist legends are to be taken as in any way correct ex- ponents of the state of civilisation existing at the period to which they professedly refer, it is clear that the act of recoining, and by conversion and depreciation making each karshdpana into eight, would imply unconditionally, not only that the art of coining had reached its most advanced stage, but that the ideas and customs of the country had been already trained by long usage, to identify the regal stamp with the supposed assurance of fixed intrinsic value—a fallacy that was very early * Pp. 91, 102, 103, 145-7, 236, 238, 243, 245, 258, note 329, note 597. + Ibid, 423. + Turnour’s “ Mahawanso,” Ceylon, 1837, p. xl.: and M. Miiller, “ Sanskrit Lit.” 289. The Ceylon writers wrote according to their own’ lights, as unlike the people of India Proper, who seem to have reserved the term Karshapana for the copper coinage. The inhabitants of Ceylon and the Western coasts appear to have coined both gold and silver into Kdrshdpanas, Mdshas, and other established weights ; though the generic term Kdrshdpana in books and inscriptions usually indicates copper coin in the absence of any specification to the contrary. 24 Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 1, taken advantage of by the ruling powers. For, while the primitive currencies which bear no royal impress, were endued with, and retain to the present, a remarkable uniformity of weight and fineness of metal, as in the very nature of things it was necessary for them to be full measure, that they might exchange against full measure in return; on the other hand, from the moment true coins, in our modern sense, make their appearance, irregularity accompanies them, so that in the Indian series, in one of the first completely fashioned- mintages, that of the silver Behat type, bearing the name of Kunanda,* the weights of fully- stamped well-preserved specimens vary from 29 to 38-2 grains. The Ceylon annals casually illustrate the subdivisions of the kdrshd- pana, as they may be inferred to have existed under Manu (viii. 404), in the descending scale as 1, 4, 4, 4. The Bhikkhus of “ Weséli” (Bassahr, north of Patna) asking alms, in 445 B.c., say, “‘ Beloved! bestow on the priesthood either a kdhdpan, or half, or a quarter of one, or even the value of a mdsa.”+ Without insisting upon this last, which would constitute =; of the kdrshdpana, I may notice once again the permanency of Indian institutions, in the fact that Akbar’s copper} coins were retained under the original and simple division of 1, $, 4, z, in the presence of, and associated with, the most curious complica- tions of the weights and values of the currency of the precious metals. There is little else that will immediately serve our purpose in the notices of Ceylon coins.§ Nor do the more promising inscriptions of the Western Caves throw any particular light on the primitive coin- ages of Northern India. They contain numerous records of donations of kdhdpanas, and in one place notice a Kahdpan Sdla, or Hall for the distribution of kdrshdpanas.|| HinsJ and Padikas are often cited * Prinsep’s “ Essays,” i. p. 2038, pl. xi., fig. 16; vol. ii., pl. xliv., figs. 2, 3, 4; « Ariana Antiqua,” p. 415, pl. xv., fig. 23. + Mahawanso, J. A. S., Bengal, vi. 729, + “ Ayin-Akbari,” i. 36. § Other references to money are to be found, “ Mahéwanso,” pp. xli., 10; Spence Hardy, “‘ Manual of Buddhism,” pp, 119, 218, 219. || “Bombay Jour. Royal Asiatic Soc.,” 1853; Dr. Stevenson’s “ Kanheri Caves, Inscrip.”’ No. x. p. 9, and the revision by Mr. EH. W. West in 1862, p. 1, et seq. See also “ Nasik Cave Inscriptions,’ 1853, p. 3; and “ Sahyadri Inscriptions,’ 1854, p. 1. - @ The mention of Huns thus early is of some value in this inquiry, as showing the age of the name, associated with the near coincidence of its authorised weight with that of the old Purana. Mr. Hlliot derives the word from pon, “ cold ;’ Canarese honna, The Varaha, or modern Pagoda, being merely a double honna of 32 gunjas. 1865.] Ancient Indian Weights. 25 and special respect seems to have been shown to a currency called by ‘the local name of Nedndigera. In attempting to ascertain the relation of the weights of ancient and modern days, and to follow the changes that time and local custom may have introduced into the static laws of India, the capital point to be determined is the true weight of the ratz, as it was understood and accepted when the initiatory metric system was in course of form- ation. Two different elements have hitherto obstructed any satisfac- tory settlement of the intrinsic measure of this primary unit—the one, the irregularity of the weight of the gwnja seeds themselves, which vary with localities and other incidental circumstances of growth;* the other, the importance of which has been rather overlooked, that the modifications in the higher standards, introduced from time to time by despotic authority, were never accompanied by any rise or fallin the nominal total of ratvs which went to form the altered integer. From these and other causes the rate of the rat has been variously estimated ast 1°3125 grains, 1:875 grains, 1-953 grains, and even as high as 2°25 grains. We have Manu’s authority for the fact that 32 ratis went to the old silver dharana or purdna, and we are instructed by his commentator, in aneedlessly complicated sum, that the kdrsha was composed of 80 ratis of copper. We have likewise seen that this kdrsha constituted a commercial static measure, its double character as a coin and as a weight being well calculated to ensure its fixity and uniformity in either capacity within the range of its circulation. I shall be able to show that this exact weight retained so distinct a place in the fiscal history of the metropolis of Hindustan, that in the revision and read- justment of the coinage which took place under Muhammad bin * Colebrooke, As. Res. v. 93. + Sir W. Jones, “ As. Res.,” ii. 154, “ Rati—1°, of a grain.” Prinsep, U. T. (180+96) ; Jervis, ‘“ Weights of Konkan,” p, 40 ; Wilson, “‘ Glossary.” sub voce Rati. Col. Anderson, working from Akbar’s coins, which were avowedly in- ereased upon the old ratios, made the rati 1:94 (Prinsep’s “ Essays,” ii., U. T., p. 22). We need have no further difficulty about Shir Shah’s or Akbar’s coin weights now that we know the bases upon which they were founded, Indeed, the determination of the true value of the kdrsha enables us to explain many enigmas in the numismatic history of India; why and whence Muhammed bin Tughlak adopted his new 140 grain standard; why the unequally-alloyed billon coins of Firoz and others were all kept at one determinate weight, &c , &c.; N. C., xv. 1386, and notes, pp. 153, 163. 4 26 Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 1, Tughlak, in a.v. 1325,* this integer was revived in the form of silver coin, and was further retained as a mint standard by his successors, till Shir Shah remodelled the currency about the middle of the sixteenth century. In the same way I have already demonstrated elsewhere, in illustration of an independent question, that a coin retain- ing with singular fidelity the ponderable ratio of the ancient purdna, was concurrent with the restored kadrsha under Féroz Shah (4.p. 1351— 1388) and other kings. And to complete the intermediate link, I may cite the fact that when the effects of Greek and Scythian inter- ference had passed away, the 32-rat1 Purdna reappeared in the Punjab and Northern India, as the silver currency of the local dynasty of Sya’na and Samanta Deva,{ and furnished in its style and devices the prototype of the Dehli Cuona’n series of ‘‘ Bull and Horseman” coins, the Dilliwdlas, which were retained, unaltered in wieght, by the Muhammedans, in joint circulation with the silver double Dirhams of 174 grains, of their own system.§ Extant specimens of Sydla’s coins in the British Museum weigh 54°4 grains and upwards. If this double series of weights, extending over an interval of time represented by 24 or 25 centuries, and narrowed to an almost identical locality, are found not only to accord with exactitude in themselves, but to approach the only rational solution of the given quantities, the case may be taken as proved. The ancient purdna hall-marked silver pieces range as high as 55 grains; copper coins of Ramadatal| are extant of 137.5 grains; and other early coins of about 70 grains ; while, in parallel exemplification, the later standard weights, under the Muhammedans at Dehli, are found to be 56 and 140 grains. Hence— 140+80 ratis = 1:75 grains. DO oan —— Loe * “ Coins of the Patan Sultans of Hindustan,’ Num. Chron., 1847, coin No 87, and vol. xv., No. 24, page 130.. + Num. Chron., xv., notes, pp. 138, 153, &. In the minor subdivisions, the 345 and 17-4 of coins Nos. lix. and Ix., p. 155, singularly accord with the weight required for the 4 and 3 kdrsha. tJ. A. S. Bengal, iv. 674; J.R. A. S., ix. 177; Ariana Antiqua, p. 428; Prinsep’s Essays, i. 313, § N. C., xv. 136; Prinsep’s Essays, U. T., p. 70. || Prinsep’s “ Essays,” i. p. 216, pl. xx., figs. 47, 48. 1865.] Ancient Indian Weights. 27 and this is the weight I propose to assign to the original rate ; there may be some doubt about the second decimal, as we are not bound to demand an exact sum of even grains, but the 1:7 may be accepted with full confidence, leaving the hundredth at discretion, though from pre- ference, as well as for simplicity of conversion of figures, I adhere to the 12. Under this system, then, the definition of each ancient weight by modern grains will stand as follows :— 1 Masha ==!) 22) Watis or)’ ia.or eras: Srver o4\1) Dhgrana, or Purana =) 32. ,,. ,, 56:0 1% 1 Sataména SOO I ha te OO: 4 (1 Masha = Oe ca: Sei oie aie J 1 Suvarna SOON ee ot LAO: ” "} 1 Pala, or Nishka eS AO A 1 W56Oh a 1 Dharana == S200) 5 5. 5000; ¥ Copper . 1 Karsha SSO hic LAO: Ne (2 = 40 oP) 7) 70: oP) Subdivisions ol Karsha: O08 4° Ew a 200) 2) Or Bb “ Manik 15, (ust UTBn hele eee On some Siamese Inscriptions—By Dr. A. Bastran. [Received 12th May, 1864.—Read 1st June, 1864.] Of the Indo-Chinese alphabets, the most interesting one is that of the Siamese. The others, as those of the Cambodian, the Lao, the Shan, the Talein, &., are all derived, more or less directly, from the Pali characters, which connect them with the circular alphabets of South India and the vernacular Singhalese. The Siamese flows more immediately from the Sanscrit and has, for instance, preserved the three sibilants, whereas there is only one in the Pali and its cognate languages. For a great many of those terms, which all the Buddhistic literatures of eastern India have purloined from the Pali, the Siamese possesses two forms, one taken from the original Sanscrit, and the other modified by its passage through the medium of the Pali. In writing the sacred books of the Trai-Pidak, the Siamese do not employ their vernacular letters, but have borrowed the Pali ones from the Cambodians, and call them therefore Akson (Akkara) Khom or Khamen letters. The Birmese use only one alphabet, (with the single exception of the square characters), whereas the Laos and Cambodians have varied’a little the 28 On some Siamese Inscriptions. [No. 1, forms of their Pali alphabet for profane uses, but have never employed two distinct alphabets, as has been the case in Siam. The introduction of the Pali alphabet in Ultra-India, is connected everywhere with the arrival of Buddhaghosa, the Brahmin of Maghada, who visited Ceylon to translate the Atthakatha, but the invention of their vernacular alphabet is ascribed by the Siamese to their favourite king Phra- Ruang, whose exact date is a great point of controversy amongst them. In the Phongsavadan Muang nua, or the history of the northern towns, it is said, that Phaya Ruang, (who was carried by fis kite to foreign lands, like the Raja of Dewaju), invented for the nations, subjected to his rule, the Xieng thai (Siamese strokes or letters), the Xieng mon (Peguan letters), the Xieng khom (Cambodian letters), and the now unusual employment of the word Xzeng (nclined or oblique) seems to have reference to the straight and angular shape of the Siamese letters, (recalling the ancient alphabets of the Bugis and Battas in the Hastern Archipelago), in contradistinction to the circular one of the Pali. But without going farther into the claims of Phaya Ruang to the invention of the alphabet, a subject which would require a disser- tation by itself, I shall lay before you the translation of an old stone- inscription, found at Sukhothai, (the ancient capital of Siam during the reign of Phaya Ruang and before him,) and placed at present in the palace of Bangkok, by the order of the reigning king. You will see that the king mentioned in it under the name of Ramkhamheng, assigns to himself the honour of having invented the written character, which he, (a very interesting circumstance, ) calls Laz-sé. The present word for books in the Siamese language is Nangsd, pronounced by a fanciful whim and against all rules of Siamese grammar, as Nong-sti. Nang-st means verbally the writing on skins (nang), and thus illustrates in a strik- ing way, the old traditions of the Lawa, Karen, &c., regarding the former existence of parchment books, and it appears that the Siamese, a people of quite recent growth, as they could not understand the reason for the appellation, gave intentionally a different pronunciation, al- though they retained the original spelling, a manner of proceeding, which could be illustrated by many similar examples in the Siamese language. The other term Lav-sw ‘ ‘would, according to the same analogy, mean writing in (various) colours, or writing in stripes.” A Chinese officer who visited Cambodia in the year 1295, says of the Pé:1. Pt: 10 2 ee Journ: As: Soc: Bengal. N21. STONE INSCRIPTION FROM CAMBODIA. He SLAlns@ ! ne BP men be k loph lam sat Yol. XXXIV Ps:1, Pl: 10 N23 ANOTHER KIND. ee td) On wd) Thehatrena N& 4 ANOTHER KIND. F&M GOLF N° 5 STONE INSCRIPTION, IN AN ANTIQUATED PALI CHARACTER FROM THE PAGODA PATHOMMA-CHEDI IN SIAM CONTAINING THE BUDDHISTICAL CREED. Ye dhammu hetuppw bhava Yesarvhetum tathakhate aha Te sonja’yo narodho wam athy maha samanoti N26 STONE INSCRIPTION FROM FIG ORS ZALSVFTUONLID OFT E LE BED OS We Be ER? ra Ww 1865.] On some Siamese Inscriptions. 29 literary sect, which, according to his accounts, then existed in the coun. try, “Their books and public records are written on buck-skin dyed black, and cut into the required dimensions. They work down a paste, resembling the China white lime. Of this they form little sticks, and taking one into the hand, like a pencil, form characters, which can never be effaced.”’ He must mean the black books, still in use, amongst the Birmese, Siamese and Cambodians, on which they write with a soft chalk-stone. In the convents they employ wooden tablets, cover- ed with a black varnish, on which the writing of the boys, who trace the letters for exercise, can be easily blotted out, and the same material is used afresh. For documents and memorials, these black books are at present made of vegetable substances Jike the white paper books, and afterwards covered over with a black varnish. The writing is, however, far from being indelible, and can be effaced without difficulty. If the book is written full and not required to be kept, the leaves (iolded up in zigzag,) are rubbed over with a preparation of burnt peas and charcoal, and then used again, as if new. In especially valuable books, the letters, for appearance’ sake, are traced with a yellow dye, a preparation from gamboge, on a smoothly varnished surface, but gradually crumble off and become illegible, because the fluid does not enter into chemical composition with the material of the substratum. The white books are written on with Chinese ink. On the leaves of the Talipoin-palm the letters are traced with an iron style. The change from parchment to paper took place very likely in the rigorous times of Buddhism, when the pious priests would not allow the killing of animals to carry on its fabrication. The inscription, translated here, is written in an ancient kind of character, differing from the present one. The vowels are still written in one line with the consonants, and the diacritical points of the mo- dern alphabet are mostly dispensed with. The complicated system of accentuation in the Siamese of to-day, has developed itself only gra- dually, and can be traced back im old books to that simplicity, which still reigns in the ruder dialects of the Laos, and makes them unintel- ligible to the polished ear of the low-landers. I was enabled by the help of some learned friends in Bangkok to extract the antiquated alphabet of the inscription, but have not brought it yet to the state of perfection, which would be desirable for publication. The first lines 30 On some Siamese Inscriptions. [No. 1, in the commencement of the inscription, are to be found in the book about Siam by Sir John Bowring, to whom the king hail sent it, and as the form of the letters can be looked for there (Vol. I. p. 278), I abstain from giving specimens. Two other stone-inscriptions from the neighbourhood of Xiengmai, which were obtained by me in Bangkok, are written likewise in an ancient character, related to that of the inscription of Sukhothai, although differing in many particulars. Both speak of royal offerings and the deposition of relics to establish the sacred period of 5000 years, in terms similar to those employed by the Birmese king Mentara, but I have not yet advanced far enough in the explanation of the cha- racters to translate the whole of them. Even the present translation, which I offer here, is still a very imperfect one, but whenever I was at a fault to make out a satisfactory explanation, I was sure to find the best informed Siamese in the same predicament. The inscription of Sukhothai covers the four sides of a conical stone, and in the same court of Vat Keoh in the royal palace at Bangkok, is placed at its side, another stone, which was brought from Kampheng-phet and bears a Pali inscription. Besides these, stone inscriptions are found in the Siamese province of Ligor, and at the old pagoda of Pathomma-chedi at Nakhon-Xaisi, where also brick medallions are disinterred, resem- bling those of Tagoung and other localities, and containing the con- fessional formula of the Buddhists. I have added for comparison, a few specimens of several inscriptions, which I copied at length from the stone monuments in Cambodia. The ancient characters, called Akson Mthng, abound chiefly at Nakhon Tom, but are found also at Nakhon Vat, intermixed with inscriptions of modern date. They are believed by the natives to be wholly unintel- ligible, but seemingly without real foundation, as I have already suc- ceeded, by consulting the more intelligent members of the priesthood, in decyphering the names of gods, kings and towns, mentioned in them. Some characters in ancient Devanagari, (resembling the Bengal inscriptions of the 12th century,) I found at the side of Cochin Chi- nese letters on a sepulchre in the plain of tombs at Saigon, a town which belonged for some time to the kingdom of Chiampa. The sepulchre was that of a priest and the Cochin Chinese Buddhists on such occasions, sometimes mix their writings with fanciful letters of their own invention, and intersperse them with Chinese characters. 1865. ] On some Siamese Inscriptions. 31 TRANSLATION oF THE SuKuoruHal Inscription. ““My father was called Sinitharatthija, my mother, lady (nang) Stang, my elder brother, Ban-Ma@ang. I had of the same mother (womb), five brothers and sisters, three being brothers and two sisters. Of my elder brothers, the eldest died and departed at a time, when I was still young. When I became large and grown up to about nineteen, the chieftain (Khun) Samxon of the “myang” (town or country) Xot came up to the place of “myang’’ Tak. My father went to attack Khun Samxon and fight him on the outworks of his camp. Khun Samxon does not delay, he comes forth from the camp. Khun Samxon spread out his troops, covering the open plains of the fields and chased my father, who fled hastily, being defeated. Ido not fly. I (ku) mount the elephant, rushing onupon the army. I push on before my father; I close with Khun Samxon; I myself throw down the elephant of Khun Samxon, mounted on which he had come up to the town. Khun Samxon is defeated; he is beaten and takes to flight, jumping on a horse. My father then raised my title, I was called Phra Ram Kamheng (the courageous Lord Rama), because I had thrown down the elephant of the chieftam Samxon. All the time of my father’s life, I gave support to my father; I gave support to my mother; I procured the flesh of stags and fishes; I brought them up to my father. I procured fresh areca, sweet areca, which I had tasted myself to be savoury, tasted myself to be good; I bring this up to my father. I set out against the savages, the tribes provided with elephants, to obtain slaves for my father. I fall on their villages, on their towns. I get elephants, get tusks; I get males and females; I get silver; I get gold ; I bring it all up with me and deliver it over to my father. Then my father dies. There is still an elder brother. I give support to my elder brother, in the way, as | had supported my father. My elder brother dies. Now the towns come to me, all the four towns. Of all these towns of mine, of me, the father-benefactor (Pho-Khun) Ram- khamheng, this town here, the town of Sukhotay excels. The waters are full of fish, in the field grows rice. The Lord of the town does not exact any duties, he does not tax the people. Undisturbed they go along the roads, leading oxen to trade in them, mounting horses to trade in them. If they wish and desire to trade in elephants, let them do so. They may trade in them in the same way, as they are used to 32 On some Siamese Inscriptions. [No. 1, trade in horses or in cattle. If they should like to trade in silver, trade in gold, trade in slaves, they are free to do so. Let them fearlessly transact their business before the face of the lords, before the host of princes and young nobles. If death occurs, the property of the father goes to his sons, of whatever it may consist. His children, his wives, his servants, his slaves, the fruit-gardens of betel and areca, all and every thing, what the father possessed, is inherited by his son. When- ever disputes arise between the common people and members of the nobility, they will be examined into and decided with justice, both parties being equally regarded as subjects. The judge must not side with the person who clandestinely steals and defrauds. He must not harm the property of the litigants and take from it by his greediness. Whenever traders to buy or sell come in companies to visit the town, let them come. Such as wait for me at the northern frontier, requir- ing my assistance, shall have it. If they are in want of elephants, or of horses, or of slaves, or of money, it will be given to them. After the goods have been stapled* up in the town and stored, there will be made an election of slaves and a rejection of slaves. Such as are clever in spearing, clever in fighting, shall not be killed, neither shall they be beaten. There is under the portico a bell hung up for the use of the people, the royal subjects, in the centre of each village, in the centre of each town. If in quarrels or injuries of any kind, they wish to speak their mind before the lord or complain to the nobleman, it is not difficult. They go and ring the bell, which has been hung up there for them. The father-benefactor Ramkhamheng, the father (sovereign) of the country, takes it up, he has the matter enquired into and the names of the parties searched out. “Wurthermore in this city of Sukhotay there are planted orchards of areca-palms and _ betel-vines, all over the town. On every place there are groves of cocoanut trees in great abundance. In this town are parks of the resin tree and plenty of them. In this town are mangoes and plenty of them. In this town are tamarinds and plenty of them. In this town there is liberty to build and plant for whosoever wishes. In the middle of this town of Sukhotay there is a stone basin with a bubbling fountain, the water is clean and clear and good to drink without being distilled, clear like the water of the Ganges (khongka). * Sic in MSS. Query [secured] ?—Ebs, 1865.] On some Siamese Inscriptions, 33 There is a river, which surrounds this town of Sukhotay in three windings, even at the dry season, two thousand four hundred fathoms in extent. The people in this town of Sukhotay are addicted to alms- givings, are addicted to observe the precepts, are addicted to make offermgs. The father-benefactor Ramkhamheng, the sovereign of this town of Sukhotay, he with all his ladies, with the host of lords, all men and women, the whole of the princely race, the sons of nobles, all males and females, as many as there are, the whole multitude, all of them, persevere piously in the religion of Phra-Phuth (Buddha). They keep the precepts during the time of Lent, every one of them. When the rainy season is concluded, they celebrate the processions to throw presents to the priests during one month, and then it is finished. To solemnize this festival, they contribute artificial fruits; they collect the fruits of areca; they bring flowers; they bring cushions; they will reap the fruits of meritorious rewards. Those who present cushions, will sleep on costly canopy couches. The variety of the presents in multifarious patterns, heaped up by royal command and by the com- mon folks, are innumerable, glittering in such quantities that they cannot be counted; they block up all places, filling every spot. The lines of presents extend in piles beyond the precincts of the town till to the outskirts of the jungle. If they have to be transported inside the palace, there is one uninterrupted mass of goods stretching around, before and behind, from the jungle outside. Then in praying and ejaculating pious words, the air resounds with the clashing of voices, with the echo of voices, in the passing and repassing of voices, with singing voices. According to every one’s liking, he who feels inclined and wishes to gamble, may gamble; who feels inclined to play, may play ; who feels inclined to promenade, may walk about. In this town of Sukhotay there are excellent singers with melodious voices. At the height of the festival the people use to come in in crowds, jostling each other and eager to look on, how they light up the fire-works and let them off. This town of Sukhotay contains a gong, split in halves, This town of Sukhotay possesses a temple; possesses a statue of Bud- dha, 18 cubits high; possesses a large image of Buddha; possesses a holy convent ; possesses aged teachers ; possesses a high priest. To thé west of the town of Sukhotay there is a jungle-monastery (of hermits). The father-benefactor Ramkhamheng bestows alms on the high priest 5 34 On some Siamese Inscriptions. [No. 1, (Maha-thero or the great Thero). Amongst the aged teachers there is a learned one, who has read through the Pidok in all its three parts. He is the head of the tribe of savans, excelling above all others in this town of Sukhotay, and there is none like him, from the town of Srithammarat to here. In the midst of the jungle there is a monas- tery. It is very large and roomy and exceedingly beautiful. At the eastern side of this town of Sukhotay there is a monastery with vene- rable professors; there is a royal lake; there is a forest of areca-palms and betel-vines; there are fields aud cultivated tracts; there are home- steads with gardens ; there are houses, large and small; there is a forest of mangoe trees; a forest of tamarinds handsome to look at and care- fully kept. At the south of the town of Sukhotay there is a market and a school-room ; there is the palace; there is a forest of cocoa-palms, a forest of thorny areca; there are fields and cultivated tracts; there are homesteads and gardens; there are houses, large and small. To the north of the town of Sukhotay, there is a convent with the cells of venerable teachers, who live by alms; there is a pretty lake with plenty of fish; there are plantations of cocoa-palms, plantations of resin trees, plantations of mangoes and tamarinds; there is water in a cistern. There is also the lord Khaphung, the demon-angel, who is the mightiest in that mountain and above every other demon. In this country every one of the nobles reverences the town of Sukhotay, and observes the rules of adoration in his worship, paying homage. This town is an upright one. This town stands well with the demons. Tf mistakes are committed in the worship, if the sacrifice is not correct, the demons in yonder mountain do not guard and protect the town; they disappear, When the era was dated 1214, in the year of the dragon, the father- benefactor Ramkhamheng, the sovereign of this country (town) of Sisatxanalai-Sukhotay planted a palm tree, and after nineteen rice crops had gone by, he ordered the workmen to prepare the smooth surface of a stone, which was fastened and secured on the middle of the trunk of the palm tree. Inthe days of the dark moon, at the beginning and at the end, for eight days, and on the days of the full moon and the quarters, the assembly of the aged teachers and the priests ascend the surface of the stone to rest; and the whole circle of pious laymen accomplish the holy law in remembering and observing 1865. ] On some Siamese Inscriptions. 35 the victorious precepts. The father-benefactor Ramkhamheng, the sovereign of the country of Sitxanalai-Sukhotay, ascending to the surface of the stone, sat down; and the host of the lords and the sons of the nobles, the whole multitude, paid homage to him for their vil- lages, paid homage for their towns. On the first and the last day of the dark moon, on the extinguished moon, and at the full moon, the white elephant was adorned in its trappings of costly gold, as it has always been the custom to do. Its name is Ruchasi. The father- benefactor Ramkhamheng, having mounted on its back, proceeds to worship the image of Phra-Phuth in the jungle. He has brought forth the engravings from the town of Xolajong, to place them in the foundation, together with the glorious relics, the jewels holy and splendid from the cave on the source of the waters, the cave on the river's bank, from the precious fountain in the middle of the palm forest. Of the two halls, the one is called the golden, the other the strength of the protecting Buddha. The flat stone, called Manang-sila, in the form of an alms-bowl, is placed (as Dagob) above the relics, to close the foundation formed by the stone. Then all men saw and acknowledged, that the father-benefactor Ramkhamheng, son of the father-benefactor Sinitharathiya, had become king in the coun- try Sri Satxanalai-Sukhotay and over the Ma-kao, the Lao and the Thay; over all towns, below and above, under the vault of heaven. All the inhabitants of the mountain U, the dwellers on the banks of the river, were called out in the year of the pig, when the era dated 1209. They were ordered to dig and take out the holy relics. Hav- ing come upon them and seen them, they made offerings and worship- ped the holy relics. At a favourable day of the sixth month, they took them out and brought them, to be buried in the centre of the town of Sisatxanalai. A pagoda was placed upon them and _ stone- towers were erected in a circle around the holy relics. Then three years went by. In former times there was no written character of the Thai. When the era dated 1205, in the year of the horse, the father-benefactor Ramkhamheng, having consulted with the learned teachers, established the letters of the alphabet for the Thai, which exist since that time, when the king arranged them for use. Then it was, that the father-benefactor Ramkhamheng became verily the king and royal lord to all the Thai, because then verily he became 36 On some Siamese Inscriptions. [ No. 1 their teacher and instructor, enlightening the Thai, that they might know truly the merits and understand the law. But amongst the people, living in this country of the Thai, there is nobody equal in regard to firmness and boldness, in regard to courage, pre-eminence and strength, equally powerful to overcome the host of enemies. The country stretches far and wide, being enlarged by conquests. On the side of sunrise, it extends to the royal lake, stretching in two lines through the low grounds along the banks of the river Khong (Mekhong), up to Viengchan and Viengkham, which two forts have been placed there to form the boundary posts. On the south side it comprises the people who inhabit the district Phrek in Suphanna- phumiratburi, the boundary line being marked by Petchaburi and Srithammarat on the shores, which are washed by the waters of the sea. On the side of sunset, it extends to the countries of Xot and Bangkapadi, and there are no frontiers along the waters of the ocean. In a northerly direction it. comprises the town of Phleh (Pre), the town of Nahn, the town Phlua, stretching to the banks of the large river, where the country of the Xava (Xao) constitutes the boundary. There are eatables cultivated in this territory, that the multitude of villagers and citizens may be provided with food, as it is right and just, according to the laws of line men.” The discussion of the many important points, alluded to in this in- teresting inscription, I must leave for another occasion. It has been remarked above, that this truly enlightened king, under whom, the people might with more propriety than now, have been styled “ the free” (Thai), appears to be identical with the famous Phra Ruang, (at least with one of the different representatives of this name). The Siamese chronicles place his reign generally in the seventh century, but the Peguan history confirms his having reigned at about the epoch here mentioned, which has to be reckoned most probably in the Mahasak- kharat : if not, as the era appears to be counted backwards, it begins with the holy period of 5000 years. The first king of Siam makes the date of the inscription 1193 of the Christian era. The town of Sukhothay is one of the oldest capitals of Siam and continually cele- brated in the Phongsavadan muang nua, where one of the Brahmini- cal ancestors is called by the name of Satxanalai. The town of Tak 1865.] On some Siamese Inscriptions. 37 lies now in ruins, in the neighbourhood of the present Rahsin, and belonged to the kingdom founded in Kampengpet. The mentioning of the ocean, in defining the frontiers there, recalls the traditions of the Taleins; and Sukhothai itself is said to have been formerly a sea- port. According to the Siamese legends, Phra-Ruang sailed from it to conquer China (Krung Chin), in the same year in which the Chinese historians (616 P. D.) speak of a tribute brought from Siam. The mythic traditions of the Damdukban place the residence of Phaya Ruang in Nophburi or Lophburi, the ancient capital of the aboriginal occupants of the soil, before the emigration of the Thai. The demon- worship, mentioned in the inscription, continues still in various forms in all Buddhistic countries, and the processions to make presents to the priesthood may still be seen repeated every year at Bangkok, in the way here described. The presents are called Kathin, on account of their variegated components, in remembrance of the checkered gar- ments of the monks, which, according to the founder’s institution, had to be sown together in incongruous patchwork. The royal custom of hanging up a bell, which might be rung by complainants seeking access, occurs also in the history of Hongsavadi and is known all over the orient. From the remark, that the stone placed over the relics had the form of an alms-bowl (batr), one would have to conclude, that the shape of the Dagoba is only indirectly connected with the lotus it is supposed to represent. In Cambodia, one often sees pots with bones and ashes of priest$, placed under the Pho-tree, the peepul. The town of Xalang is perhaps Jonk-Ceylon (the shipping of Ceylon), a place formerly in intimate connection with the island of Ceylon, where relics were cheap as mushrooms. The places mentioned to define the boundaries of the kingdom, are all stillin existence, and can be easily traced by the directions given. The kidnapping of the mountaineers to carry on the slave-trade is still continued at the present day by the Laos. The northern trade, the inscription speaks of, may have been in the hands of Chinese merchants, and the king promises them, (as pro- tection for their valuable cargoes), a safe conduct through the territory occupied by hostile and predatory tribes. The years are counted by erops of rice, as it is often done by the present Siamese, who at other times employ the enumeration of the yearly inundations in their reckonings. The names given to the years are those of the Dodecade. 38 On some Siamese Inscriptions. [No. 1, It is said in Siamese history, that Phra Ruang changed the succession of the series, in which the two cycles intersected each other, and since that time the Siamese haye continued to observe two festivals of the new year. Notes on the Eran Inscriptions, being extracts from a letter to the Editor —By Professor F. KH. Hat. [Received 4th January, 1864.] In the volume of your Journal for 1861, pp. 14—22, is a paper of mine, entitled “The Inscriptions of Erikaina, now Eran, rede- ciphered and retranslated,” dated at Kran, Dec. 31, 1860. Writing at Saugor, April 30, 1861, I recurred* to an expression in one of the forementioned inscriptions, which I was inclined to read sansurabhu, and not sanswratam, as Mr. Prinsep read it. When a second time at Hran, Feb. 26, 1862, I observed: “ Four months after my first visit to Kran, writing under the guidance of my facsimile copy, I said of what looked to me like sanswrabhu,”’+ &c. * Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1861, p. 150. + Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1862, p. 127. Ithen go on to say that my old reading, sansurabhu, must, possibly, be exchanged for sansurdtri. To bespeak trust in my decipherment of the Eran inscriptions, I had formerly said : “ Standing before the originals, I compared my facsimiles, letter by letter, with those that have been lithographed ; and every, the slightest dis- similarity of the copies, was patiently tested by the perishing archetypes.” Thus I wrote when first at Eran. Afterwards, at Saugor, April 30, 186], I noted that my sanswrabhwu should have been described as “ doubtful in its penultimate syllable, and very doubtful in its final.” With these words before him, Baba Rajendralal Mitra declared himself “ disposed to think’ my lection “ the offspring of an illusion.” ater still, Jan. 1, 1862, I said : « [ have far from intimated any confidence in the correctness of my read- ing ; aud I have no partiality for it whatever. The fact is, simply, that the original symbols looked to me, in the dilapidated condition in which I found them, rather like the constituents of sansurabhu than like anything else.” At last, Feb. 26, 1862, dating from Eran, I wrote: “For the second time I have just read the old inscriptions here, on the column and on the gigantic stone boar. It has caused me no surprise to find that my former decipher- ments of them admit of a few corrections.’ On this the Baba ejaculates: ““ No surprise indeed after the ‘ letter by letter’ comparison!’ This surprise at my absence of surprise I have no doubt is genuine; and it betrays, to those concerned, a rather interesting piece of psychology. The Baba speaks of “what was given with so much positivity as san- surabhu.” Where have I been at all positive about itP It is true, that, 1865.] Notes on the Eran Inscriptions. 39 Referring to the passage just extracted, Babi Rajendralal Mitra has asserted, that here ‘‘we have the learned gentleman * * * informing his readers, that, when his paper on the Eran inscriptions was written, he had only a facsimile before him, and not the original.”* The Italics are the Babi’s. It must be evident enough, I should think, that I am misrepre- sented. Four months added to Dec. 31, 1860, bring us to April 30, 1861. At the former date I was at Eran; and it was then that I wrote my paper on the inscriptions there, after minute examination of them, as I stated at length. At the latter date I was at Saugor; and at that time I had to trust, in drawing up my additional notes, to my facsimiles of the inscriptions. Having quoted my words, “Four months after my first visit to Hran, writing under the guidance of my facsimile copy,” the Baba inquires: ‘‘ And not the original?” Precisely : not the original. The Hran inscriptions are engraved, the one on a monolith some fifty feet high and thirty inches square, and the other ona stone boar about twice as large as a full grown elephant, and hewn out of a rock pro- jecting from the bowels of the earth. The monument and the effigy I was compelled to leave behind me, even as I found them. Again, the Babi expresses it as his opinion, that, ‘‘ when a critic, professedly the most microscopically exact, comes forward with the reminding the Babt of my deciaration “standing before the originals,” &c., I had said that it went, with him, for but little, “as contributing to induce credit in the trustworthiness of my version of the Eran inscriptions.” But that is all. As my several statements show, the first time I was at Eran, my attention was not very particularly drawn to what I then read sanswra- bhu. I made ashort note on it, and so let it pass. Perceiving, subsequently, that my facsimile suggested doubts, I entered into further particulars, based on that facsimile; and, eventually, on re-inspection of the inscription itself, J found I must abandon my old position. A little way on, in this letter, quoting myself, I speak of having used my best diligence, when first at Eran, in weighing all the cases where I differed from Mr. Prinsep. These cases are very numerous; and, of course, I gave more heed to those which seemed of moment, than to such as appeared to be of only second-rate im- ortance. That, on re-examination of the original words, I found it necessary © amend some of my earlier conclusions, will astonish but few ; and I cheer- fully confront the jeopardy of such damage to my reputation as this confession may entail. Change of opinion is not necessarily retrogression ; and a man’s best diligence is likely to be better the second time than it was the first. * Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1862, p. 395. 40 Notes on the Eran Inscriptions. [No. 1, avowed object of correcting the errors of such a scholar as Prinsep, it is naturally expected that he should take some precaution to ensure accuracy, and not blunder even in those places where the unfortunate subject of his criticism happens to be correct.”* This is directed at me ; and I reply to it. Where have I come “ forward with the avowed object of correcting the errors of such a scholar as Prinsep’”’ ? Are the words of such an avowal producible? Or can it be inferred, from anything I have put on paper, that my purpose was that here alleged? Adverting to the Eran inscriptions, I have expressed myself as follows, concerning their original decipherer : ‘‘ Had Mr. Prinsep inspected the documents in discussion, with the advantage of the facilities I have been able to com- mand, it is beyond question that his conclusions respecting them would have differed, as on matters of moment, so as to points of unimport- ance, from those he has recorded. Writing under obligation of the reserve impressed by this consideration, I shall stay to expatiate on but a few of the discrepancies, touching secondary details, which, on collation of our results, the attentive reader will discover. At the same time, I have weighed these cases, one and all, with my best diligence.”’+ My chief aim, as to the Hran inscriptions, was to read and to translate them anew. That, all along, I studiously aimed, wherever it was practicable, not to provoke comparison of my own work with that of my predecessor, will, I believe, strike most of my readers. The Baba, on the other hand, has thus delivered himself with respect to “such a scholar as Prinsep,” “the unfortunate subject of” my “criticism:” ‘ Prinsep, notwithstanding his untiring diligence and splendid critical acumen, was obliged, owing to his own want of familiarity with the Sanskrita, to depend upon his interpreters; and they, blind to the importance of the work upon which he was so ardently engaged, neglected their duty, and trifled with him in all matters in which he could not readily detect the imposition they prac- tised upon him. Hence it is, that his translation of the Hran re- * Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1862, p. 394, + Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1861, p. 16. Mr. Prinsep was guided solely by Captain Burt’s facsimiles; and I had pored for two whole days on the incised originals. 1865.] Notes on the Eran Inscriptions. 4}, cords * * is sadly defective in many respects.”* To this I need not add one word of comment. Before passing to other things, I take occasion to say, that, contrary to what has been intimated, not in a single instance that has been pointed out, have I “ blundered” where Mr. Prinsep “ happens to be correct.” And was “such a scholar” correct only by hap ? At the end of my ‘“ Note on Budhagupta’” are these words: “ My paper on the land-grants of Hastin, and that on the Kran inscriptions, as I did not see the proof-sheets, abound in errors of the press, to say nothing of other faults. The more important will here be rectified, and a few comments interspersed.” Referring to me, the Baba says : “T must, even at the risk of being tedious, adduce my premises for the errors [s?c] in his reading of the Iran inscriptions, to which I take exception. Dr. Hall has attributed most of them to the printers; but it is difficult to conceive how those scape-goats are to be responsible for the word sanswrata, which Dr. Hall altered into sanswrabhu with- out any authority. ** Regarding the elegant simile of a king electing his wife like a maiden her husband, the Doctor says,’ t dc. de. My “bulky” list of corrigenda and addenda, as the Babi styles it, takes up just twenty-one lines ; and within that space, I set sdnka and Surdshtras, for s'anka and Surdshtra, to the account of the printer : and this is the entire foundation for the charge that I have attempted to disown my errors. The Babi’s clause bearing on sanswratam certainly stands in need of readjustment. The word was Mr. Prinsep’s, not mine. And now for the “elegant simile,’ which is altogether the Babi’s own property. I first printed: ‘ Who, by the will of the Ordainer, acquired, like as a maiden sometvmes elects her husband, the splendour of royalty.” This I corrected to: “ Providentially preferred by Royal Prosperity, as it had been a maiden who elects her husband.’ No- where have I spoken of “aking electing his wife like a maiden her husband ;” and whence does it appear that I took “ the splendour of royalty” for anything but an unfleshly personification ? * Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1861, p. 268. + Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1861, p. 149. £ Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1862, p. 394, 4g Notes on the Eran Inscriptions. [No. 1, The Babi, animadverting on my rendering of the Eran inscriptions, says: ‘‘ He translates waawngiezat: into the unmeaning* ‘ derived prosperity to his race ;’ when he should have followed Prinsep and 39 given ‘ for the prosperity of his race.’ On turning to the version of Mr. Prinsep, I am not at all startled to discover that he has not so translated wawteaear:, an epithet of Harivishnu. He has not transs lated the expression at all. It is lower down, in the column inscrip- tion, that the words occur to which his “for the prosperity of his race” are meant to correspond.+ Differing, there, from Mr. Prinsep, a4 in deciphering the original, I have given “with purpose to advance the merit of his father and mother.” When I called tracaasiag “a hoary solecism,” I should not have done so,—as I wrote near two years ago,—t} if I had had access, at the time I so characterized it, to a respectable Sanskrit Dictionary. The Babu, with all the air of a discoverer, magnanimously taunts me with this mistake, notwithstanding my voluntary and explicit admis- sion that I had erred. Who shall say that, but for his ploughing with my heifer, I might not here have eluded the Babu’s penetration ? However, my translation of the aforesaid expression, ‘‘ the counterpart of his sire,” is quite correct. The Babi, with intent to make me out wrong, refers to Dr. Goldstiicker’s Sanskrit Dictionary. Dr. Gold- stiicker authorizes me to say that my explanation is quite as good as his own. * More literal than my “ who derived prosperity to his race’ would have been “ cause of the prosperity of his race.” Only I wished to make promi- nent the devolution which is implied by the Sanskrit. The verb “ derive,” as employed by me, has been in the English lan- guage for several hundred years; and it is not yet obsolete. Within a short time I have met with it, in the acceptation which the Babt pronounces to be “ unmeaning,” in three living writers. ; “The term, indeed, is derived to us from the Schoolmen ; and so far they are chargeable with having perplexed theology with the disquisitions arising out of it.” Bishop Hampden’s Bampton Lectures, third edition, p. 181. Also see pp. 153, 184, 331. i «The king’s power of assent is a power derived to him from the whole body of the realm.” Gladstone ; The State inits Relations with the Church, second edition, p. 9. Also see the same author’s Church Principles, Sc. p. 5. «Tt is proper to state that I forego any advantage which could be derived to my argument from the idea of abstract right, as a thing independent of utility.” J.S. Mill: on Liberty, pp. 23, 24. Also see the same author's Considerations on Representative Government. + Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1888, p. 634. + Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1861, p. 139. 1865.] Notes on the Eran Inscriptions, 43 Commenting on the Babt’s decipherment of an inscription, I said : ** The third line shows an upadhmdniya beforea y. In the teeth of all grammar, this, as lately edited, had been turned into a repha.”’* To this the Babu rejoins: “ The wpadhmdniya is a printer’s blunder.” The Sanskrit scholar cannot fail to discern that there is, in this reply, a blunder incomparably worse than a printer’s. Again, I objected to the Baba’s aratfyqerat. The reply is: “ My mitdpitustatha is quite as correct as the suggested mdtdpitrostathd ; the one being an ttaretarasamdsa, and the other a samdhdra.”’ In passing, mdtdpitustatha would involve, not, as is here implied, an ttaretarayoga compound, but a samdhdra. A compound of the samdhdra description must be a neuter singular; and that ‘“ mother” and ‘‘ father’ can be thus combined, the veriest tyro in Sanskrit should know to be impossible. These specimens of the Babi’s want of accuracy and scholarship might be greatly extended. But I shall have said as much as I care to say, after mentioning that he has credited Mr. Prinsep,} instead of myself, with extracting a full date from the inscription of Budha- gupta. This is a trifle; but it is characteristic. I had written thus far in April last, but laid my letter aside, with the intention of withholding it. Owing, however, to Baba Rajendra- 141 Mitra’s paper on Bhoja, in the second number of this year’s Jour- nal, I have resolved to forbear no longer. It would make a long list, if I were to resume the facts of my own finding out which the Baba there appropriates as though he himself had first brought them to light. Where, too, he assails me, in connexion with the name of ‘Colebrooke,t he knows full well that I was not professing to correct that great scholar as to the meaning of the word dala. When tre- translating a passage translated by another, it is no just conclusion that I regard as wrong, whatever I do not think fit to copy from his renderings. It was a matter of misreading and metre, in the instance in question, where I showed that Colebrooke had slipped. For the * Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1862, p. 128. + Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1862, p. 396. + Journal As. Soc. Beng , 1863, pp. 106 & 107. § Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. VII., pp. 31 and 46; and Journal As. Soc. Beng., 1861, p. 210, +4 Notes on the Eran Inscriptions. [No. 1, rest, the word dala signifies “‘ petal’? as well as “leaf.” I am told that “it is only on the leaf of the lotus that water is tremulous, and not on its petals.” Indeed ! In preceding volumes of this Journal,* I have stated that Babi Rajendralal Mitra has interpolated an inscription, and thereby created anew king; and this myth, Mahendrapala II., has been adopted as a reality, in Professor Lassen’s Indian Antiquities.+ Your obedient servant, F. KE. Hatt. King’s College, London, Nov. 9, 1863. P.S. Colonel Cunningham, in his Archeological Survey Report, published in your Journal for this year, writing of the year in which the inscription naming Skandagupta is dated, says: ‘‘ Professor Hall, on the authority of Bapti Deva Sastri, the learned astronomer of the Benares College, prefers the era of Vikramaditya.” I have never expressed any such preference ; and I have never appealed, on the subject, to Pandit Bapi Deva. Colonel Cunningham was thinking of the inscription of Budhagupta. I have explicitly said: “ Not to my knowledge, is there one particle of proof that Kuméragupta preceded Budhagupta, or that Skandagupta did, whether immediately, or after an interval.” The year 141 in the inscription that speaks of Skanda- gupta I have not suggested to place either before or after Budha- gupta’s year 165. By the by, the Udayagiri inscription is not dated in S’ravana, as according to Colonel Cunningham’s decipherment, but in A’shadha, and very distinctly, I read the word on the spot in the spring of last year. * 1861, p. 199; 1862, pp. 5 and 15. t Indische Alterthumskunde, Vol. UTI., pp. 827 and 1169. { Journal As, Soc. Beng., 1861, p. 388. 1865. ] Literary Intelligence. 4S Literary INTELLIGENCE. The large bronze statue of Buddha which was exhumed at Sooltan- gaunge by Mr. Harris and which has been figured in this Journal, has reached England and been presented by Mr. T. Thornton to the town of Birmingham. Capt. Lees was under a misimpression when he announced at the last August meeting that the Elliot MSS., now under publication in England by Mr. H. B. Cowell and Dr. Reinhold Rost, were being published by our Society. The offer of assistance, which, on the recommendation of our Philological Committee, our Council sent to Lady Elliot in June 1863, through our Honorary Agent in London, Mr. EH. Thomas, was not at once accepted, and in the mean time, Mr. Cowell’s return to England enabled her ladyship to make other and to her more acceptablearrangements. The historical materials left by Sir H. Hlliot, are to be published in 3 volumes, edited by Mr. Cowell, under the title of ‘ The History of India as told by its own historians,’ while M. Rost is to bring out a complete edition of the Glossary under that of ‘Memoirs on the history, philology and ethnic distri- bution of the races of the N. W. Provinces of India.’ The History is not to contain any oriental text. M. Jules Mohl in announcing its projected publication in the Journ. Asiatique, makes the following remarks. ““ Je ne suis pas, en général, grand partisan des ouvrages posthumes ; mais je suis heureux de voir que l’on sauve de l’oubli tout ce qui peut se publier des matériaux préparés et élaborés par un homme aussi distingué par le cur, Vesprit et le savoir, que Sir H. Elliot, qui était certainement un des hommes les plus remarquables parmi le grand nombre des savants que le service de la Compagnie des Indes a formés. On ne leur a jamais rendu en Angleterre la méme justice que sur le continent, et je crois qu'il en sera de méme des ouvrageg posthumes dont je parle ici.” Mr. Cowell, we hear, has also undertaken the continuation of Wilson’s translation of the Rig Veda. Brockhaus has undertaken to publish M. Haug’s ‘ Religion of the Zoroastrians,’ which is to be in two volumes, the first to contain the 46 Lnterary Intelligence. [No. 1, history of Zend and Pehlevee literature, accompanied by translations and grammars of these languages, the second to explain the Zoroastrian dogmas, and to give an account of the origin and develop- ment of this religion and of its relations with Vedism. The Royal Asiatic Society have commenced a new series of their Journal, the first part of which contains a paper by Dr. J. Muir on the Vedic Theogony and Mythology. This is to be followed by others, - the Author’s object being to examine the religious ideas of the Rig Veda and ‘to compare them occasionally with the corresponding conceptions of the early Greeks.’ The Oriental Translation Fund Committee are, we regret to see, unable to proceed with any new publications for want of funds. They propose, therefore, to complete, as soon as practicable, De Slane’s translation of Ibn Khallikan and to close their labours. The following is from General Cunningham, dated October last. ‘““The coins of Sophytes to which Captain Stubbs refers, have only been found in the N. W. of India, as far as I am aware: and I am therefore inclined to assign them to Sophites, or Sopeithes, or Cuphites, the king of the Kathei, who was contemporary with Alexander. The coins themselves appear to be of the same age as those of Alexander and Seleukos. ‘“‘ Thomas’s article on Indian Weights promises to be interesting — I have been collecting materials for the same subject for nearly 20 years, and I have made many curious discoveries—I see that he quotes Sir William Jones as fixing the weight of the Krishnala, or Rati seed, at 1,8, grain: but I am satisfied that this is a simple misprint of Jones’s manuscript, for 1% or 1.833 grain, which is as nearly as possible the average weight of thousands of seeds which I have tested. The great unit of medieval and modern times is the tdka of not less than 145 grains, of which 6 make the chha-taka, or chhatak, equal to 870 grains, or nearly 2 ounces—and 100 make the setaka or ser, the derivation being sat-tdka or 100 takas—For conve- nience LI have taken, in all my calculations, the rat: seed at 1.8229 grain—Then 80 ratis, or 145.832 was the weight of the tangka of copper, and algo of the golden swvarna, which multiplied by 6 gives $74.99 grains, or exactly 2 ounces for the chhatdka or chhatak. One 1865. ] Literary Intellogence. AT of the most curious facts connected with ancient oriental Numismatics is that sém in Persian means both “ thirteen’? and “ silver,” which confirms the statement of Herodotus that in the time of Darius gold was 13 times the value of silver.” Extract from Capt. Stubbs’ letter to Mr. Grote :-— ““T shewed the gold stater of Diodotus, which you may recollect my having, to Messrs. Vaux and Poole at the British Museum, and they held a Committee on it, the result being a clear verdict in its favour : so Mr. Thomas writes me word. They were much pleased with a Sophytus which I gave them,* and Mr. Vaux agrees with me in thinking that General Cunningham’s attribution of the name w@vutos to the Latin suffes and the Aramean— py is objectionable.” Professor Holmboe of Christiania, in a letter to Babu Rajendralala Mitra, gives the following summary of certain memoirs lately pub- lished by him on the relation which formerly existed between Asia and Scandinavia. “““A présent je prends la liberté de vous envoyer trois petits mé- moires archéologiques: 1. Om Eeds-Ringe c. & d. sur des anneaux &serment. J’y ai prouvé, que les anneaux, dont se servaient nos ancétres payens, pour y poser la main en prétant serment, ont eu: la méme forme que les anneaux, qu’on voit entre les mains de quelques personnes dans la procession sacrificale sculptée aux murs & cété des escaliers du temple de Pesepolis. J’ai taché de prouver, que Vusage de préter serment sur an anneau ait été en usage chez les anciens Perses; particulitrement sous la dynastie der Sassanides, dont les sculptures & Nakhchi Roustam et & Nakhchi Bostan ne representent pas, comme ona cru, la remise solennelle du symbole de la royauté au nouveau roi, mais le prétement de serment du nouveau roi sur un anneau, qu’au nom de Dieu lui présente le grand mobed (mobedi mobedan), ce qui démontre assez clairement la tenure de la main du roi. Sur la pl. I, j’ai donné les dessins de deux anciennes monnaies celtiques, dont l’obvers represente la juris- diction par un homme tenant l’anneau & serment, et le revers de l'une represente le sacrifice par [d’?] un quadrupéde, sur le dos duquel on * It is considered a better one than Major Hay’s. 48 Literary Intelligence. [No. 1, voit le mauteau sacrificial. Le résultat, que je tire de mes raisonne- ments, c’est que le rite de préter serment sur un anneau, comme tant d’ autres rites, a dt passer de 1’ Orient dans le Nord de 1’ Europe. 2. Kong Svegders Reise c. & d. le voyage du roi Svegder. On lit dans Vhistoire de Norvége par Snorro Sturlason, chap. 15 de Vhistoire des Ynglings, qu’ un roi de Suéde, nommé Svegder, jequel, vu la série des rois qui ont regnés jusqu’au temps ot nous avous une chronologie certaine, a di vivre au 4me siécle de Vére chrétienne, fit deux voyages pour aller & Godheim ou Asaland, ot il espérait trouver Odin (Bouddha?) Le récit rap- porte, que dans sen premier voyage il visita le pays des Tures, le grand Svithjod c, 4d, la Russie actuelle, et Panaheim c, ad. le Ta Ouan ou grand Quan sur les bord de Jaxartes (Lir devger,) dont patle le Chinois Lee’mutsien dans le Laéki. Le voyage dura cing ans. Aprés avoir resté quelque temps ala maison il fit un second voyage dans le méme but. [I] traversa de nouveau Svithjod, et ayant passé sa limite [?] de 1’Hst il arriva & un lieu, nommé Stein, ou il y avait une pierre (stem en Norv. signifie pzerre,) grande comme une grande maison. La, sortant le soir d’ une maison, ot lui et sa suite s’étaient endormis, [?] il observa sous la pierre, un dverg (petit étre mysterreux de la Mythologie des anciens, demeu- rant sous terre, mais en sortant le soir et la nuit,) assis sous la pierre. Alors le roi et sa suite se mirent 4 courir vers la pierre, mais avant d’y arriver, il vit le dverg debout dans la porte, l’appel- lant et l’invitant & entrer s'il desirait voir Odin. [1 entra, la porte se ferma, et on ne le vit plus. Voila le contenu du récit. Je suppose que la pierre ait été un Stoupa au Tope, dont Vexterieur bien platré lui ait donné laspect dune pierre, d’une masse solide. Le dverg assis a di étre une statuette de Bouddha assis, telle qu’on les voit quelquefois dans les niches de la base des monuments bouddhiques; et la porte a pu étre la porte d’une chapelle réunie au tope, telle qu’on voit par exemple au dagobah de Pollanarua 4 Ceylon (p. 11, du mém.) Un des gardiens du monument a dai Jappeler ainsi, pour s’emparer d’un homme, dont il craignait violence contre le sanetuaire, et sachant qu il cherchait Odin (Bouddha,) il lui dit, quil était la-dedans, oti, peut-étre, quelques reliques de Bouddha 1865.] Literary Intelligence. 49 étaient déposées. Le récit doit donc sortir de la classe des fables, et étre reputé historique dans son fond. 3. Thoroli Begifcts Begravelse c. 4 d. Venterrement de Thorolf Begifot. Dans une histoire d’une province de VIslande nommée Hyrar, concernant les derniers temps du paganisme, on lit d’un homme, nommé Thorolf Begifot, lequel, revenant un soir d’un voyage, s’assit sur son siége d’honneur et y resta jusqu’au matin, lorsqt on l’y trouva mort. Son fils étant appelé, enfonga le parois derriére le dos du défunt, et emportale corps par l’ouverture. C’est, & ce que je sais, le seul exemple en Scandinavie, d’une maniére si singuliére de faire sortir un corps mort. Mais en Asie on en trouve plusieurs exemples. Marco Paolo raconte, qu’en Tartarie, les astrologues conseillaient vers quel point de l’univers les morts devaient étre retirés et s'il n’y avait pas de porte dans la direction indiquée on faisait une ouverture dans le parois, et retiraient par la le mort. Le Rey. Pallagoix raconte, qu’é Siam, au lieu de faire passer le cer- cueil par la porte, on le descend dans la rue par une ouverture pratiquée au murail. Ht M. Pallas raconte, qu’un lama des Kalmuks étant trouvé mort sur son siege d’honneur, on renversa sa demeure par derriere [sic.| Ce exemples éveillent la supposition, que la maniére, dont on retirait le corps de Th. B. était une trace de Bouddhisme. Ayant été enterré dans une vallée, le méme Th. B. causait comme revenant tant de malheurs, qu’on se crut forcé de transporter son corps dans le désert, mais arrivé & la sortie de la valleé, le corps devint si Jowrd; que 14 hommes ne pouvaient pas l’emporter plus loin. J’ai comparé ce récit avec celui que rapporte Mr. Schmidt dans ses notes au Scanavy Lectren, 4 propos de l’enterrement du conquérant cdébre, Dchingis-Khaghan, Htant mort au Tohet, son corps fut trans- porté & sa demeure. Arrivé la, le corps fut si lowrd, qwon s’efforca en vain de descendre le cercueil de la voiture. On se vit obligé de’éléver le tertre sépulcrale au dessus de la voiture. Voila un nouvel exemple de Jinfluence de croyances orientales sur celles deg Scandinaves. ae cee te ech ete ee eee nena aa i ivr The issue of Plates 5 and 6 is unavoidably delayed. Plate XVII. to illustrate Rev. Mr. Sherring and Mr. Horne’s paper on Ancient Remains at Saidpur and Bhitari, will be issued with No. 3 of the Historical Part. S0g ee, Yoxar wi6 ae. of dfs 8 ob pA Ee Ea CHP hee | Ata ies DhiaPanh ed iy wise a Sa pos! J AN) jaler le Sih OO LPR Beal lays Beil sidit is JOURNAL OF THE eel Acs S: OC EB Te —}— Parr 1—HISTORY, LITERATURE, Ge. eee No. II.—1865. eee ee Ancient Indian Weights, No. I1J.—By HK. Tuomas, Esq. [Received 15th March, 1865. | THE EARLIEST INDIAN COINAGE. So many questions connected with the earliest form of Indian money have been incidentally adverted to in the examination of the weights upon which it was based, and from whose very elements as divisional sections of metal, all Indian coinages took their origin, that but little re- mains to be said in regard to the introductory phase of local numismatic art, beyond a reference to the technic details, and a casual review of the symbols impressed upon these normal measures of value. The con- trast, however, between the mechanical adaptations of the east and west may properly claim a momentary notice, with the view of testing the validity of the assumption I have previously hazarded respecting the complete independence of the invention of a metallic circulating medium by the people of Hindustan.* Many years ago the late Mr. Burgony+ correctly traced, from the then comparatively limited data, the germ and initial development of the art of coining money in Western Asia, describing the process as ema- * Num. Chron., N. S., vol. iii. note, p. 226; and more in detail in my edition of Prinsep’s “ Hssays” (Murray, London, 1858), vol. i. p. 217, + Numismatic Journal, 1887, vol. i, p, 118. 52 Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 2, nating from the Eastern custom of attaching seals, as the pledge of the owner’s faith in any given object. This theory satisfactorily pre- dicated the exact order of the derivative fabrication of coins, which may now, with more confidence, be deduced from the largely-increased knowledge of the artisan’s craft and mechanical aptitude of the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia, the relics of which the researches of Layard, Loftus, and Botta have recovered in so near an approach to their primal integrity. The universal employment of clay for al- most every purpose of life, including official and private writings, with the connecting seals that secured even leather or parchment documents, extending down to the very coffins* in which men were buried, natu- rally led up to marked improvements in the processes of stamping and impressing the soft substance nature so readily hardened into durabi- lity, and to which fire secured so much of indestructibility. If moist clay was so amenable to treatment, and so suitable for the purpose of receiving the signets of the people at large, we need scarcely be un- prepared to find yielding metals speedily subjected to a similar process —for the transition from the superficially-cut stone seal to the sunk die of highly-tempered metal which produced the Darics, would occupy but a single step in the development of mechanical appliances. In effect, the first mint stamps, were nothing more than authoritative seals, the attestation-mark being confined to one side of the lump of silver or gold, the lower surface bearing traces only of the simple con- trivance necessary to fix the crude coin, In opposition to this almost natural course of invention, India, on the other hand, though possessed of, and employing clay for obvious needs,+ had little cause to use it as a vehicle of record or as the medium of seal attestations ; if the later practice may be held to furnish any evidence of the past, her people must be supposed to have written upon birch bark,} or other equally suitable substances so common in the south from very remote ages,§ * Mr. J. EH. Taylor, “Jour. Roy, As. Soc,,” xv. 414. Loftus, “ Chaldza,” p. 204. + Wilson, ‘ Rig Veda.” vol. iii. p. xiv. ‘ Arrian,” lib, v. cap. xxiv., and lib. viii. cap. x. Hiouen-Thsang, “Mémoires,” vol. i. p. 333, &c. { The primitive Persians of the north-east also wrote upon birch bark. Ham- za Isfahani, under the eyents of a. H. 350 (a. D. 961), adverts to the discovery at Jai (Isfahan), of the rituals of the Magi, all of which were written, im the most ancient Persian language, on birch bark. See also Q. Curtius, viii. 9, § 15; Reinaud, * Mém. sur I Inde,” 305; “ Ariana Antiqua,’ pp. 60, 84; Pyrim- sep's “ Essays,” i1. 46, § “ Arrian,” yiii. 7. “ La Vie de Hiouen-Thsang,” 158. 1865.] Ancient Indian Weights. 53 while the practical advance from ever-recurring weighings towards fix- ed metallic currencies was probably due to the introductory adop- tion of lengths of uniformly-shaped bars of silver (Plate XI. Figs. 1, 2), which, when weight and value gradually came to require more formal certificates, were adapted designedly to the new purpose by change of form and a flattening and expansion of surface, in order to receive and retain visibly the authoritative countermarks. One part of the system was so far, by hazard, in accord with the custom of the west, that the upper face alone was impressed with the authenticating stamps, though the guiding motive was probably different, and the object sought may well have been the desirable facility of reference to the serial order of the obverse markings—each successive repetition of which constituted a testimony to the equity of past ages. The lower face of these domino-like pieces is ordinarily indented with a single minor punch, occupying as a rule nearly the middle of the reverse. The dies, though of lesser size, follow the usual symboli- cal representations in vogue upon the superior face. There are scarce- ly sufficient indications to show if the dies in question constituted a projected portion of the anvil; but I should infer to the contrary : nor does the isolation of these symbols, in the first instance, prevent repe- titions of small punch-marks over or around their central position; in some cases—though these form the exceptions—the clear field of the reverse is ultimately devoted to the reception of the obverse or larger devices: which anomaly recurs, of necessity, to a greater extent with those pieces which have continued long in circulation, and more es- pecially is this found to be the case among the residue of this descrip- tion of currency in Central India and the Peninsula, where ancient customs so firmly resisted the encroachments of foreign or extra-pro- vincial civilisation. As far as the typical designs in themselves, when compared with later Indian symbolical adaptations, are concerned, they would seem to refer to no particular religious or secular division, but, embodying primitive ideas, with but little advanced artistic power of representa- tion, to have been produced or adopted, from time to time, as regal or possibly metropolitan authorities demanded distinctive devices. It would be useless, at this stage of the inquiry, to attempt to decide whether these discriminating re-attestations appertain primarily to 54 Ancient Indian Weights. [ No. 2, 7 succeeding dynasties, progressive generations of men, or whether they were merely the equitable revisions of contemporary jurisdictions. Though more probably, as a general rule, the simple fixed weights of metal circulated from one end of the country to the other, in virtue of previous marks, only arrested in their course when seeming wear or dubious colour called for fresh attestation : or incidentally, when new conquerors came on the scene and gratuitously added their hereditary symbols. The devices, in the open sense, are all domestic or emble- matic within the mundane range of simple people—the highest flight heavenwards is the figure of the sun, but its orb is associated with no other symptom of planetary influences, and no single purely Vedic conception. So also, amid the numerous symbols or esoteric mono- grams that have been claimed as specially Buddhist,* there is not one that is absolutely and conclusively an origination of, or emanation from, that creed. The Chaitya other Scythians had before them ; the Bodhi- Tree is no more essentially Buddhist than the Assyrian Sacred Tree, the Hebrew Grove,t or the popularly venerated trees of India at large.$ Equally on the other part Vedic advocates will now scarcely claim the figure of the objectionable Dog,|| or seek to appropriate to Aryan Brahmanism ploughs, harrows, or serpents. In brief, these primitive punch-dies seem to have been the produce of purely home fancies and local thought, until we reach incomprehensible devices, composed of lines, angles, and circles, which clearly depart from Nature’s forms ; and while we put these aside as exceptional composite designs, we may accept unhesitatingly as of foreign origin the panther and the vine, engraved in a style of good Greek art, which overlays the mixed im- pressions of earlier date and provincial imagery, and appears only to- wards the end of the career of the punch-marked coins, in their north- western spread, before they were finally absorbed im that quarter by * Sykes, “Jour. R. A. 8.,” v. 451; Cunningham, “Bhilsa Topes,” p. 351, plates xxxi., xxxu. B.H. Hodgson, ‘“‘ Jour. R. A. 8.,’ xviii. 393. + Gosse’s “ Assyria,” p. 94; Rawlinson’s ‘“‘ Ancient Monarchies,”’ ii. 235. { Smith’s “ Dictionary of the Bible,” article “ Grove,’—doubts are raised regarding the correctness of the translation of the word Ashérah as a grove. See also note in Gesenius, sub voce Ashérah. § Wilson, ‘‘ Megha Dita,’ ver. 157. Ward’s Hindus, iii. 204. So also Tul- ast,—* Ocymum sanctum,” or “ Sacred Basil.” || Manu, iii. 92, iv. 208, x. 51, 91, 106, etc. Max Miiller, ‘Science of Lan- guage,” ii. 481, Jurnat As. oo0c. Bengal. Tee ees bi NS 3 s WL S Wye PL. SOG Se Se OS rant aaa ew Oe o Oo as ot, BS 48 a uw GF Sa Gel at aw oe é: 1 TS oS ee ME NN ; sul NO ANC Ce ~ant aol “RP Ts a ate sae es : a) oe a es 2 Vine / ih Cue g 7 a, “pe : Me Q why MM, os dg hs oS ae 3 i id baa ano" 2 || fbf “ats re ae we gs es) ay fy op ERY Re jen Amr | 7 i A, 3d * eye. (Os tre CYS + |e GER Sys) > 8 ive] $2 5 ig Cups He we oore|.@ @ Ge wif Als 4 a = a aS AS | 2 2 N ] : On Ab @ Ge Ge te om & aa ll WZ to angh “yy aQ Aula, " Ni &S55 BB I) Ee 1B be “a wy, Up alty q a ap By | om G8. CO Da, ae Ho dh S).@ a OP Sp Sail it _ 5 rs m) & a dye JA 0 Gla a (e3) RS aS we @& cS Y ee ES as 1” L nf WS sss char wi iS hs SYMBOLS ON EARLY INDIAN COINS. On Stone by Dinonath Nauth. LITH: BY H.M. SMITH. SURV: GEML’S OFFICE, CALCUTTA, E 1865. 1865.] Anciert Indian Weights. 55 the nearly full-surface die-struck money with devices of an elephant and a panther ;* which class in turn merge naturally into the similar though advanced fabrics of the mints of Agathocles and Pantaleon, of square or oblong form,+ a shape the Greeks had not previously made use of, but which when once adopted they retained without scruple, whatever their early prejudices might have been—possibly out of re- spect for local associations, a motive which weighed sufficiently with their successors and other Bactrian Hellenes to induce them to per- petuate the square indifferently with the circular coins. The excep- tional, or in this case indigenous form, found favour in later generations with the Muhammadan conquerors, who sanctioned unreservedly square pieces in common with the circular forms, up to the time of Shah Jehan (4.d. 1628-58). But though these unshapely bits of metal ran on in free circulation up to the advent of the Greeks, this by no means implies that there were not other and more perfect currencies matured in India. The use of the time-honoured punch survived in the Penin- sula till very lately, but no one would infer from this fact that there were not more advanced methods of coining known in the land. In fact, like other nations of the Hast, the Hindus have uniformly evinc- ed more regard for intrinsic value than criticism of the shape in which money presented itself. Many of these ancient symbols, more especially the four-fold Sun (17, No. 1, Plate XI.) are found established in permanence on the fully-struck coinage of Ujain,{ of a date not far removed from the reign of Asoka, who once ruled as sub-king of that city; the pro- bable period of issue is assumed from the forms of the Indian-Pali let- ters embodying the name of U’suntnt, the local rendering of the later classical Sanskrit Ujjayini. Associated in the same group as regards * These coins are still mere compromises, being formed from an obverse punch, with a full surface reverse. “Ariana Antiqua,’ pl. xv. figs. 26, 27; Prinsep’s “ Essays,” i. pl. xx. figs. 50, 51, page 220; Cunningham’s pl. i., &e. While upon this subject, | may notice the discovery of the name of Agathocles in Bactrian characters ona coin of similar fabric. His name, it will be re- membered, has hitherto only been found in the Indian-Pali transcript of the Greek (Num. Chron. N.S. iv. 196), The piece in question has, on the obverse, a Chaitya, with a seven-pointed star, and the name Akathakayasa (possibly Ankathakrayasa). The reverse bears the conventional sacred tree, with the title Maharaja strangely distorted into Hi,rajasa,me or He,ragasa,me. + A. A., pl. vi. figs. 7, 8, 9, 11; Prinsep’s “ Essays,” pl. xxviii, 8, 9; vol. ii. pp. 179, 180; “ Jour. des Sav.,” 1835, pl. i. fig, 1. tf “Jour. As, Soc. Bengal,” vol. vii., pl. Ixi., p. 1054, 56 Ancient Indian Weights. [No. 2, general devices, and identified with the apparently cognate mintages of similar time and locality, there appear other symbolical figures which no predilection or prejudice can claim as exclusively Buddhist ; indeed, whatever hostility and eventual persecution may ultimately have arisen between the leading creeds of India, it is clear that at this period, and for long after, the indigenous populations lived harmoni- ously together ;* like all things Indian, old notions and pre-existing customs retained too strong a hold upon the masses to be easily re- volutionised ; and if at times a proselyting Buddhist or able and am- bitious Brahman came to the front, and achieved even more than pro- vincial renown, the Indian community at large was but little affected by the momentary influence; and it is only towards the eighth or ninth centuries A. D. that, without knowing the causes which led to the re- sult or the means by which it was accomplished, we find Brahmanism dominant and active in persecution. T have now to advert to the symbols embodied in the Plate. (No. XT.) T shall notice only those of more moment in the text of this paper, leaving the engraving to explain itself under the subjoined synopsis. A. Heavenly bodies ... bay AN a ae Ores B. Man and his members... 2 Animals i soo) see OMemlenhants. bs 5 4 Dogs 5) 3b Hey: we eee 9 Deer, Cows, &e. a 500 we .-. 6 Leopards. Fish i Reptiles —.... 8 C. Home life ee 9 Ploughs. . fit bel J, 7 Oe Cups,’ vases dre! aah) aoe besid sain. yliO (clarnows: As aan ae ... 11 Wheels. sat) Beiaeks He .-. ..« 12 Bows and arrows. D. Imaginary devices we veal oo iChaityas: emere Ts fe AOE Ceres! i fic fag ... 15 Ornamental circles. Hane slp ste ees ccuden ALY SMMOO CYR Akh: RAEN Bloc sttoiee ba dindte edalees setiee ‘ aster btn COL Melt pr Meh iacsltes seit. «Sa eisse sess sth JES CON ROM GOVT. sos rdobeocenedde ceiaeuedosouen oso penance URud STATOR SOTLY Lee hiclos ce see ea oeBslec ses « MPRA: ite EYUS PO DONE) Aes cipesis cones. St Gk et aaa ong) STIL A TTA AGING YEN arai sh ciatinis se Melclseld ohleighlogeidlecis ela ote To No. 2. Tam, cabbage, Tib. literally; kram. Kad, language, lit. skad. Karma, star, lit. skarma. Thim, judgment jurisdiction, lit. khrims. Du, corner ; ship, lit. gru. Doi, counsel, advice, lit. gros. Nyingzhe, compassion, benevolence, lit. snyingzhe, Tontog, harvest, lit. stontog. Jungwa, element, lit. byungwa. Chodpa, behaviour, lit. spyodpa. Digpa, sin, lit. sdigpa. ngoipo. chepa. nyingru. nyenia, dui. tan. tong. pu. ug, U. chhagpulwa. chhugpa. dawo. dag. dangsa. diwa. nyangwa, zug. yal. ral, rig. ruipa. man, Lobma, pupil, lobpon teacher, lit. slobma and slobdpon. This would seem to indicate two different influxes of Tibetan words and ideas, one at a very early period, the other much later,—so many ” : 15 100 Note on the Pronunciation of the Tibetan Language. [No. 2, centuries after the invention of the alphabet, that the pronunciation was already altered to that of the present day. It is not impossible that a more complete dictionary of this language in both its dialects, that of Kunawar and that of Lahoul, and perhaps also of other un- written Himalayan dialects and languages, situated as they are between the great Tibetan and Indian families, might afford more than one interesting result with regard to the history of the Tibetan language and the histories of the people of these countries, in their political situations as well in their civilisation. If such investigations happened to be aided by the discovery of local records of such a kind as formed the history of Sikkim, destroyed by the Nepalese soldiery (v. Hooker’s Him. Journ. I. p. 331) it might be possible to clear up parts of the history of these countries hitherto very obscure. It would seem to me as if the collection of words given above, might suggest the conjecture that the first of the two irruptions of Tibetan power and influence into these valleys, inhabited by Boonan- speaking mountaineers, was merely of a political nature, carrying with it such institutions as tawes, very probably the first thing which the small population of a secluded valley is likely to be taught by a foreign invader,—some new articles of manufacture (cotton cloth, car- pets, &c.), words for the higher numerals, and some others; whereas the second,—perhaps going on in a more quiet and slow way,—brought with it judicial and governmental institutions of a somewhat higher order, and the religious and philosophical ideas as well as usages of Buddhism, 1865. ] Notes on the Gurjut State of Patna. 101 Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna.—By Major H. B. Iveny, Deputy Commissioner of Sumbulpore. [Received 18th October, 1864. | The following sketch of the history of the Gurjat state of Patna is founded upon the records, genealogical trees, and traditions maintained by successive Rajahs. Although there may be errors in the calculation of periods, and mistakes in the incidence of events, yet, considering how all. natives of pretension or position strive to keep up a remem- brance of their ancestors through the services of Brahmins, and how strictly they themselves cherish the links of private history (as for instance, the custom of the Hindus to religiously pronounce the names of their preceding generations, while engaged in their ablutions,) it may be assumed that such records and links, when adjusted by their cir- cumstantial data, as in this case, will generally form a pretty correct chain of evidence in respect to main facts. Origin of the Mahdrajéhs—The Maharajéhs of Patna claim direct descent from a race of Rajpoot Rajahs of Gurh Sumbul, near Mynpooree, and count back the individuals of this race for 32 generations. Foundation of one state, Patna, from a cluster of exght Gurhs.—It is narrated that these Rajahs used to be in constant attendance at the Court of Delhi till the last named Hutumber Singh having intrigued. and run off with one of the king’s daughters, was pursued and killed, and his family forced to fly. Amongst the wives of this Rajah was one who, escaping, arrived enciente, in Patna, and found refuge with the chief of Khobagurh, being one of eight gurhs,* which at that time, alone formed the territories of Patna, being comprised within the three rivers Ung, Mahanuddy, and Sel, and bounded on the west by Khurriar, (a possession then of Jaypoor), and Bindanawagurh and the chiefs of which took it in turns, a day. at a time, to * | Patna, 5 Sindeehala. 2 Salabhata, 6 Kolagurh. 3 Kongaon. 7 Gooragurh. 4 Jhorasinga, 8 Boomnagurh, 102 Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. [No. 2, exercise full authority, as Rajah over the whole. She was placed in charge of the said Chief's Brahmin at Ramoor, and there gave birth to a boy named Raman Deo. The Chief adopted the boy, and subsequently, on his coming of age, himself being sick and weary of rule, resigned his position to him, Raman Deo soon after this succeeded in murdering the other seven Chiefs, and usurping to himself the whole and perma- nent authority in Patna. Finally he married a daughter of the Ruler of Orissa, through whose influence and power, he was enabled to maintain his usurped position. Extension of territory and dominion to the right bank of the Mahanuddy.—It would appear that during the time of Raman Deo and the two succeeding Maharajahs the territories and dominion of Patna became extended beyond the Ung river to the right bank of the Mahanuddy : embracing— 1st. Patna Proper, as now, but with the addition to the west, of three gurhs, viz. Kholagurh, Goorhagurh and Koomragurh at present included in the Gurjat state of Khurriar and of 12 villages known then as “ Baragam,”’ afterwards as “ Borasambeer,”’ and subsequently detached as portion of the Gurjat State of that name, and to the east in continuation between the rivers Ung and Sel to the Mahanuddy. 2nd. As annexed to Patna Proper, all the land embraced within the Ung and Mahanuddy rivers, and bounded on the west by Phooljur and Sarumgur, which now comprises the southern portion of Sumbul- pore and part of Sonepore. As Tributary dependencies the Gond Gurjat States of Brindanawa- gurh,* Phooljhurt and Sarungurh.} The lands and estates lying contiguous to the left bank of the Mananuddy were, it is believed, at that time attached to Sirgooja, with the exception of the North Western portion of the present Sumbulpore district known as Chundurpore and Bhortia which belong- ed to Ruttunpoor. Subjugation of States and acquisition of territory on left bank of the Mahanuddy.—The fourth Maharajah, Puthee Singh Deo, subjugated and made tributary to Patna, the three dependencies of Sirgooja, named Bamall, Gangpoor and Bamra, and annexed to Patna itself, by dispossession from the Rajah of Bamra, the zemindaree of Rehracole, * 3rd. $ 4th. { 5th. 1865. ] Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. 103 and so much of the lands (mow) of Sumbulpore on the left bank of the Mahanuddy, as were contained between Rehracole and Bamra to the east, Bamra and Gangpoor to the north, and to the west by the river Hebe to its sudden bend westward, and from thence by a line running south, to the spot at the extremity of the present city of Sumbulpore where now the Jail Bridge stands. Erection of a Fort in Phooljwr.—Maharajah Bikrumdit Deo, the ninth Rajah of Patna, erected a Fort in Phooljur at Seespalgurh, where its remains are said to be still traceable: a proof this of the unflinching authority then exercised over the Gurjat states. Acquisition of the “Gurh” of Chundurpoor.—It is probable that the erection of this advanced post in a Tributary State had for its aim, as much the extension of dominion, as the maintenance in security of existing dominancy: for no sooner did the next. ruler, Maharajah Baijul Deo 2nd, succeed to the Guddee, than he advanced to Chundurpoor, and forcibly dispossessed the ruler of Ruttunpoor of that ‘“ Gurh” with its surrounding lands. There still remained, to complete the circle known afterwards as the “28 Gurhs:” Ist. The three Northern Gurjat states of Raigurh, Burgurh and Suktee, (dependencies of Sirgooja) ; 2ndly, the centrical tract of land (now an integral portion of the Sumbulpore district,) falling between the Hebe and the line drawn therefrom, as before observed to the present Sumbulpore Jail Bridge, and the Gurjat State of Sarungurh, (also belonging to Sirgooja,) and lastly the two eastern Gurjat States of Boad and Atmullrick. It never fell to the lot of Patna itself to include these remaining States and lands within the scope of its authority or possession. The completion of the circle was not effected till Patna had retired from the banks of the Mahanuddy, so far as the mouth of the Ung river near Binka, and a new state had sprung up under its auspices (on the north of the Ung,) afterwards known as Sumbulpore. It might therefore seem foreign to the object of these ‘“‘ Notes” as touching Patna, to speak of the rise and power of this second State. Never- theless the advance of the latter was so intimately connected with, and so immediately the result of, the dominion of the former, and again the decline of the former so direct an issue of the rise of the 104 Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. [No. 2 7 latter, that it is necessary to trace the history of the extension of power across the Mahanuddy in so far as the grouping of the once known “18 Gurhs’’ shall be concerned. Relinquishment by the Rajah of Patna of territory and dominion on the left bank of the Ung River.—Nursing Deo, the 12th Maharajah of Patna, and his brother Bulram Deo quarrelling, the former made over absolutely to the latter, (probably on compulsion,) all such portions of his territories as lay north of the river Ung: the engagement between the two brothers being that each was to be perfectly independent of the other. Bulram Deo, taking possession of his allotment, erected a fort on the right bank of the Mahanuddy, exactly opposite the present city of Sumbulpore at Chowunpore, (where to this day the traces of his fort are visible,) and adopted the title of Rajah of Chowunpore. Shortly after this, he dispossessed Sirgooja of the depen- dencies of Suktee, Raigurh and Burgurh, and of the remaining por- tion, as before noticed, of Sumbulpore, and finally imcluded Boad and Atmullick, (mow Gurjat States of Cuttack,) among the number of his territory mehals. After this, he abandoned the Fort of Chowun- pore, and crossing the river, erected a mud fort on the opposite bank. To this, be gave the name of Sumbulpore, from the number of Seemul trees that existed there on its site. Then changing his own title to that of Maharajah of Sumbulpore, he founded a dominion which soon took the real ascendancy over the parent State of Patna. The two states of Patna and Sumbulpore were now distinct, and the area of the ‘28 gurhs” was now fully embraced. But as yet this number of Gurjat States with independent chiefs, tributary to the two paramount rulers of Patna and Sumbulpore, were not fully formed. Enumeration of the 15 Gurhs of the Sumbulpore and Patna group.—The then existing tributary Gurjat States attached to Sum- bulpore were Phooljur, Sarungurh, Suktee, Raigurh, Burgurh, Bur- marr, Gangpoor, Bamra, Boad, Atmullick, and, by admission of the Sumbulpore Maharajah, Rehracole: to these may be added Chundur- pore, retained by the Maharajah under his own immediate authority. In Patna, the only dependency was Bindanawagurh. ‘The total there- fore of the “18 gurhs” or Gurjat States, during the time of Nursing 1865. ] Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. 105 Deo and Bulram Deo, Maharajahs respectively, of Sumbulpore and Patna, was 15, wanting to complete were Sonepore in the one case, and Khurriar and Borasamber in the other. Formation of the 8 remaining Gurjat States.—The necessity of providing for younger sons, caused the alienation from the parent states of Sonepore and Khurriar. Thus Sonepore, as far as the left of the river Ung, (the land on the right to the Sel river, still, as before noted, belonging to Patna,)its chief town being Binka, was constituted an independent tributary Gurjat State by the 4th Rajah of Sumbulpore, who made it over with the title of Rajah to his 2nd son Muddun Gopaul. And again the 15th Maharajah of Patna giving over three ‘ gurhs” of the original eight of Patna, viz., Kholagurh, Goorhagurh, and Boomragurh, to his younger son Gopaul Roy, and the latter obtaining Khurriar as a dowry on his marriage with a daughter of the Rajah of Jaipore, those gurhs merged into Khurriar and the whole was constituted one Gurjat state with the title of Rajah. The last created Gurjat was Borasambur the present chief of which owes his position to the cunning and power of an ancestor. Originally Borasambur consisted of eight villages, which went by the name of ‘‘ Atgoan,” and formed a small zemindaree, part of the inte- gral state of Patna. It is stated that one of the zemindars of “ Atgoan” having saved the life of a Sambur deer by killing a “ bora” or boa-constrictor which had attacked it, the name of the zemin- daree was changed to Borasambur. Notwithstanding the smallness originally of the area of the zemindaree, the proprietor was a man of some importance, he was chief of his caste-men, Bhinjwals—and, on the occasion of a new Maharajah being raised to the Guddee, it was his especial duty to take the latter on his lap and fold over his head the turban of state. Again, the zemindar held an important position: his lands were situated alone on the north side of the range of hills called Goondmardhum, which form part of the northern boun- dary of Patna, and thus he could hold the approaches through those hills to Patna for or against any hostile forees. It would appear that during the first inroads of the Mahvattas, the zemindar of Bora- sambur was successful in guarding these approaches. For this service he was granted an extension of property on the Patna side. What 106 Notes on the Guryjat State of Patna. [No. 2, the real grant was, it is impossible now to say : but when the Maharajah of Patna in A. D. 1818 was released from the captivity, in which he had been kept for 14 years by the Mahrattas, under orders of the British Government, and replaced in possession of his estates by Major Roughsedge, it was found that the zemindar had encroached upon a large tract of Patna territory, and it is said, had possessed himself also of some 84 villages of the Phooljur Gurjat. Complaint was made by the restored Maharajah of Patna, and he was forced to retire to his proper side of the hills: a gainer, however, so far that he retained the 84 villages of Phooljur and was allowed to hold possession of Borasambur with them in his own right from that time, as an indepen- dent tributary chieftain. Completion of the 18 “ Gurhs.”—Thus, then was completed the cluster of the 18 ‘ Gurhs” as follows :— 1.— Patna. 10.—Burmarr. 2,—Sumbulpore. 11.— Raigurh. 3.—Sonepore. 12.—Burgurh. 4.—Bamra. 13.—Saktee. 5.—Rehracole. 14.—Chundurpore. 6.—Gangpore. 15.—Sarungurh. 7.—Boad. 16.—Bindanawagurh. 8.—Atmullick. 17.—Khurriar. 9.—Phooljur. 18.—Borasambur. Loss to Patna of the land on the right bank of the Mahanuddy between the Ung and Sel rivers——Before proceeding to notice the ultimate severance and distribution of these states, it is necessary to refer back briefly to the time of Raee Singh Deo, the 21st Maharajah of Patna. This chieftain, having recovered possession of his Guddee from an usurping uncle, after a reign of nearly 60 years, and at the age of 80, was ultimately forced, on a general insurrection, to flee his country. He sought refuge at Binka, the seat of the Rajah of Sonepore: and fearful of pursuit or teachery, promised the latter a grant of that portion of his estate which fell between the Ung and the Sel, if he would protect and assist him. The Rajah of Sonepore was not slow to take advantage of the offer. The son secured to himself the possession of the promised land: but assistance was confined to 1865.] Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. 107 personal protection, the aged Maharajah three years after died a refugee in Sonepore, without a blow being struck for his restoration. This insurrection caused the loss to Patna of the last relic of its early acquisitions. Gurjat States brought wnder direct supervision of the British Government.—The incursions and depredations of the Mahrattas had now caused the intervention of the British Government for the pro- tection of the Gurjat states. This ultimately resulted in 1821; after that Boad and Atmullick had been transferred to Cuttuck, the rest being separately disconnected and placed under the immediate control and supervision of British agency. In 1861 the states of Bamra and Gangpore were transferred to Ranchee ; and thus the circle of Gurjat states became considerably reduced. Summary.—To sum up, reverting to Patna, it will be observed, that between the time of its foundation by Raman Deo and the reign of its 12th Maharajah, or say during a period of 840 years, Patna had grown from a comparatively small state of eight united gurhs, held by chiefs who, each in turn fora day, aped supreme authority over the rest, to a powerful province extending in territory and dominion for miles across the Mahanuddy to the confines of Sarungurh, and on the left bank from the borders of Atmullick to a line drawn northward, from the west end of the (present) city of Sumbulpore, falling in with the river Hebe, to Gangpoor, and its authority embracing the Gurjat states, surrounding the possessions of Brindanawagurh, Phooljur, Sarungurh, Gangpoor, Bamaee and Bamra. That by the abandonment of all its property and dominion on the north or left side of the Ung river, it relapsed to the area of its original eight gurhs, including the plain between the Sel and Ung rivers, and to the authority over the one Gurjat state of Brindanawagurh ; that subsequently it first alienated three of its original gurhs, and afterwards had to relinquish 12 of its most important villages, in return for all which, with additional lands from other quarters, it obtained control over two newly created Gurjat states, viz. Khurriar and Borasambur; that previously to the last noted relinquishment, it had lost the tract of land between the Sel and Ung rivers, and that lastly, being brought under the direct control of the British, it became deprived of the last vestige 14 < 108 Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. [No. 2, of its power, the control of its three tributary states,* and thus finally fell into a smaller circle of power and property than that which it embraced when some 600 years before (dating from the usurpation of Raman Deo) it had first sprung into powerful existence. Such then is the history of the extension and contraction of the territories and dominion of Patna. Like as at its first sacrifice of ground, and of prospect of further advancement, was owing to family dissension, so also was the final loss of the last tract of its former acquisitions caused by family dissensions. Inthe one instance, how- ever, it was left with the substance of conquest, and the opportunities from arrested ambition of employing such to the development of its own reserved dominions. But in the other, it was brought ultimately to entire ruin. A glance at the present features of the country of Patna and a brief review of the dissensions that occurred during the time of Raee Singh Deo, and of their results, will serve to explain these last assertions. ; Description of the present area of Patna.—It is calculated that the present territories of Patna contain 5,000 square miles. Although they are dotted at distant intervals with a few small hills, yet it may be stated that they compose a plateau of undulating surface so peculiarly favourable for the cultivation of rice, the pulses, oil seeds and sugar-cane. There are certainly besides the few scat- tered hills, interruptions also of gravelly or rocky rises covered with jungle and a few forest trees. But making allowance for the deduction of these from the general area, there remains a vast expanse of cul- turable land, the soil of which is of a good description. Present condition of the area and indications of past prosperity. —Tracts of scrubby jungle have usurped the sites of former fields, and wild beasts now hold dominion where once stood the habitations of men. The Gurh of Patna is now the centre of such a jungle, radiating 10 coss or say 20 miles in every direction. Close around the “ Gurh,” at distances varying from one or two miles, are about 100 tanks, and in the surrounding jungle beyond these, at intervals of four or six miles, are said to be the remains of other tanks, with traces of villages marked, not only by the general certain evidence of planted * 1, Brindanawagurh, 2, Khurriar. 3. Borasambur. 1865.] Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. 109 trees, such as the mangoe, but also by the unmistakeable proof of old broken tiles and brick foundations of houses and temples. Nor is it alone immediately around the “ gurh” of Patna, that signs of former welfare and former energetic rule are to be found. Turning to the southern position of the state in the Kondhan zemindarees of Lowa and Topa, at Jhoorwace in Lowa, at Titoola and Oodeypoor in Topa, are numerous ruins of solid buildings, of from one to three stories high, and generally through the Kondhan lands are the walls of neglected temples at distances of two or four miles apart. Moreover to prove in some measure the earnestness which formerly existed for developing the country, and the respect which is still held for the race of its once energetic rulers, it is to be remarked that the Khonds of the oldest Khond settlement at Saintula claim to have been brought to Patna from Jeypore by Raman Deo, and pride themselves in being still loyal and Khalsa subjects of his descendants. Further indications of decayed prosperity and past enterprise might be adduced and not least, this, the minute respectability and intelligence of some of the Zemindars and Gountiahs of old familes; but enough perhaps has been noticed to prove that there is just ground for the boast of the Patna people that their country was once thickly populated and flourishing to such an extent, that even rich merchants were numbered in it up to the time when anarchy at first, and the depredations of the Mahrattas afterwards, compelled them to depart—till the occurrence of these events, which now remain to be noticed, it is believed, then, that the attention of the rulers of Patna, 20 in succession, was given to the welfare and prosperity of their country and subjects. Cause of decline of power and prosperity—Hindur Shah Deo, the 20th Maharajah of Patna, died, leaving two young sons, the eldest named Raee Singh Deo under the guardianship of his younger brother, their uncle, Buckraj Singh. This uncle, in view to the usurpation of the Guddee, murdered the mother of the two boys.and intended also to: kill the latter, But he was frustrated in this intention. For the boys: were carried off in security to Phooljur by their maternal uncle, and there brought up. Raee Singh Deo, on coming to age, sought assistance: from Nagpore, and, procuring a force of Mahrattas, proceeded to regain his rights. He attacked and killed his uncle, and thus obtained possession of his estate. But, however much this was beneficial to. 110 Notes on the Gurjat State of Patna. [No. 2, himself, and pleasing perhaps to a portion of his subjects, still the country paid heavily at the time for his restoration. While party spirit and enmity having now been excited, it was to be expected that, an occasion offering, conflicting interests might again stir them to a blaze ; and again, the plains of Patna having now been opened out to the view of the Mahrattas, it might be regarded as certain that their greed would spend itself on the first opportunity of home dissensions in depredatory incursions. And this prospect was indeed brought to issue as follows. Raee Singh retained his position for many years, but during this period the roused spirit of discontent and rebellion was spreading through the land, till ultimately it was brought to burst upon the unfortuuate Maharajah, then nearly 80 years old, by the intrigues of his second wife. The story is, that he had three wives, no offspring by the first, two boys by the second, and one son, the eldest of all, by the third. The second wife was fearful that the eldest son by the third Ranee would, as being his father’s favourite, succeed to the Guddee, unless during the Maharajah’s life she should take steps to prevent it. The measures she took for prevention were the exciting a general rebellion which resulted as before noted, in the flight of the Maharajah Raee Singh Deo to Sonepore. The Maharajah, however, frustrated the design of his second wife; for he took her with him to Patna, along with his grandson by his eldest born; and on his death three years afterwards, appointed him his successor by putting the regular Pugree on his head. During these three years, the whole of Patna was in a state of perfect anarchy. The Ranees at Patna were quarrelling for dominion, and their partizans were pillaging the country indiscriminately around. Life and property were nowhere secure. All respectable persons fled to Sonepore and were followed by numbers of the general population. On the death of the old Rajah the people acknowledged his appointed successor, who then returned to Patna. He was, however, but a youth and found none to advise or assist him, except such as had shared in the outrages of the interregnum. Even his father, dismayed at the state of general disturbance and disappointed at the preference given to his son, retired on a pilgrimage to Allahabad and there died. The young Maharajah, Prithee Singh Deo lived only three years after succeeding to the Guddee. The next ruler was Ramchundur Deo, the captive of the 1865.] Interary Intelligence. 111 Mahrattas, who now had completely overrun and spoliated the country already so unhappily ripe for spoliation. It was scarcely to be expected that after an anarchy of three years and a total disruption of order under the force of subse- quent events that the Zemindars of the frontier, who had been so long revelling in wild independency, would soon be brought back into proper subjection, especially when the power by entire loss of resources of the succeeding Maharajah (father to the present one) was almost utterly paralyzed. Still less could it be supposed that within the short space of the reign of that one Maharajah, the vacuum in the population would be filled up. Yet it is satisfactory to be able to state that a move towards a clearance of the jungle, and an extension of cultivation is certainly being made, and that out of 22 Zemindars four only are complained of, and of these four, only one is rebellious. St Lirerary INTELLIGENCE. The following is an extract from a letter from Major Pearse, on certain Buddhist antiquities of the Hazara valley. “In reading the Proceedings of your Society, No. 4 of 1861, page 413, I was much interested by the description of a small crystal figure of a duck found in one of the topes or Stupas near Shah ke Dehzri. “Tt reminds me that there is one object I obtained from a tope of Shah ke Dehri, of which I should have published the account in our Journal long ago, but I never did so. It may be interesting still at this distant date to do so. “Tn January 1850, Major Jas. Abbott, Deputy Commissioner of Hazara, was absent from that district on duty in which I had just arrived. A zumeendar brought me for sale either an emerald, or a green piece of glass or crystal about 2 inches in oblong length, 1} inches broad, and # of an inch thick; the centre of this emerald was scooped out and in it was inserted a small gold casket, and in the casket I found a small piece of bone, which I believe, from subsequent enquiries, to be the bone of the smallest joint of the smallest finger. The goldsmiths of the country all pronounced the ornament to be an emerald. If it was so, it was of a bad pale colour with a 112 Laterary Intelligence. [No. 2, great quantity of flaws. I had intended it for presentation to the British Museum. But the fame of the jewel was so hinted about, that my own Sikh Guard coalesced and carried off the box in which the relic was. The theft was proved, the culprits were all punished, and everything was recovered, but the one great thing, notwithstand- ing that Major Abbott and myself offered very large rewards for its recovery. “‘ You may be aware that whilst in Hazara, I greatly amused myself in excavating topes, and only desisted by finding it not at all a paying thing, and besides the natives of the country took to opening the topes and selling any relics found to Major Abbott and myself. Thus from living in the country, hearing the legends of the land, studying coins and books, and from my own explorations, I formed my own conclusions on these topes, which in the main, I believe all subsequent theories and discoveries have proved to be pretty correct. The con- clusion was that such large grand topes as Manykyala and Bulhur were the Westminster Abbeys of bygone Buddhist cities, at once a great religious building and the regal burial-place, answering to the great Rangoon Pagoda, and to the Bodh Nath of Nepal, only that these buildings are seen in the days of Buddhistic decadence, those existed in the days of its glory. Around Bulhur and Manykyala are the easily traceable remains of cities that must once have had 150,000 inhabitants each. Taking Bulhur and Shah ke Dehri, places on the right and left banks of the Hurroo river and going up the stream ten miles, you do not go over a yard of what was not, in olden times, built over. I have gone over every inch of it and was astounded to find every where building remains. Thus all the smaller topes, I conclude from the facts already adduced and from what I see of modern Buddhism, were at once both religious and burial buildings in the enciente of old Buddhist cities. And further they belonged either to noble families, good families, guilds, wards, parishes or priests. *‘ T went to see the Stupa from which my emerald relic was excavated. I conceived, judging from its foundation, that when it stood in its integrity, it was from 50 to 80 feet high, or such a building as could be afforded by a Chinese Mandarin or a Thibetan Lama of our time, and such as still abound in Nepal. I therefore concluded that my emerald relic had belonged to a noble Buddhist lady ; that it was in 1865.] Literary Intelligence. 113 her lifetime her drop pendant of her forehead ornament, for so all the Hindoos of Hazara pronounced it to be, and that on her death the little gold casket was set in it, and her relic bone placed in it and buried. “With reference to the duck crystal ornament mentioned at page 413 by Mr. Westropp, it is not a rare figure, but is on the contrary a very common one. “From all the topes we excavated there was a perfect similarity of objects found in all. And all the objects quite similar to those found by Masson ; the coins were of the same kings. A good deal of Greek, nearly purely so, and Graeco-Buddhistic statuary was found. I ex- cavated two or three small topes with all the figures of Buddha at the different sides in perfect preservation, and similar in all respects to the Buddhist temples of Nepal. From this I always concluded that these cities did not perish by the hands of the Iconoclast Muhammadans of the 8th and 9th centuries, but had fallen into desuetude centuries before. * * * * * “ Steatite vases or boxes were plentiful enough. I found but one inscription on a copper-plate, and that I presented the Society with.” m JOURNAL OF THE MoLATIC SOCLE TY, —_}— Part I—HISTORY, LITERATURE, &c. a No. IIf1.—1865. nN VS Coins of the Nine Nagas, and of two other Dynasties of Narwar and Gwalior—By Major-General A. Cunnineuam. [Received 13th July, 1865. Read 2nd August, 1865. ] The old Hindu coins which are engraved in the accompanying plate, were nearly all obtained in the Gwalior territory, and chiefly in the cities of Gwalior, Narwar, and Gobad. Most of them are now pub- lished for the first time, as only five specimens out of the whole num- ber will be found in James Prinsep’s plates. These are Nos. 7, 11, and 12 of the first series, No. 15 of the second, and No. 25 of the third series. Most of the coins now published are very rare, and several’ of them are unique; but Nos. 27 and 29 are common, and No. 7 is so exceedingly numerous that upwards of 3,000 specimens have passed through my hands, and there are as many more in the Stacy cabinet, of the Asiatic Society’s collection. Stacy’s specimens were obtained at Gobad, and more than half of mine were found at the same place, but the remainder were procured at Mathura and Delhi, as well as. at, Gwalior and Narwar. 2. It is always difficult to feel any interest about ancient kings whose names are known to us only from their coins, and whose king- doms can only be guessed at by the find-spots of their money. But in the present case I am fortunate in being able to illustrate each of the three different series by references to inscriptions. The last, series 15 116 Coins of the Nine Nagas. [No. 3, of coins give their own dates, which accord exactly with the dates of the inscriptions and with a solitary notice in Ferishta. 3. The first series of coins, from No. 1 to No. 14, may be atiribut- ed, I think with considerable probability, to a dynasty of kings whom the Puranas call the “ Nine Nagas,” and who would appear to have been contemporary with the Guptas. In the Vishnu Purdna, it is stated that “the Nine Nagas will reign in Padmévati, Kantipuri and “ Mathura, and the Guptas of Magadha along the Ganges to Prayaga ‘and Saketa, and Magadha.”’ Padmavati was at first identified by H. H. Wilson with some unknown city in Berar, far to the south of the Narbada, and afterwards with Bhagalpur on the Ganges, but the mention of Mathura utterly precludes the possibility of either of those places having belonged to the Nagas. Both cities should no doubt be looked for within some moderate distance of Mathura. The scene of Bhavabhuti’s Malati and Madhava is laid in the city of Padmavati m the Vindhyan mountains. As his description of the locality is a favourable specimen of Hindu poetry, I will not curtail it. ‘“‘ How wide the prospect spreads, mountain and rock, “Towns, villages and woods, and glittering streams,— “There where the Pardé and the Sindhu wind, ‘he towers and temples, pinnacles and gates, * And spires of Padmdvaté, like a city ‘¢ Precipitated from the skies, appear “Inverted in the pure translucent wave.” The Sindhu is, 1 think the Sindh river on which the city of Narwar is situated, and the Pdrd is the Pérbati or Pdrd river, which flows only 5 miles to the north of the Sindh. Narwar also is in the midst of the Vindhyan mountains, and at a moderate distance, about 160 miles, from Mathura, so that there are no geographical difficulties to overthrow the proposed identification. On the contrary the subse- quent mention of the Madhuvati and the Lavana as streams in the neighbourhood of the city, renders this identification almost complete, as the first may be identified with the Mohwar or Madhwwvar on the south, and the other with the Nain or Lim to the north. With regard to the third city named Kantipuri, I agree with Wilford in identifying it with the ancient Kutwdl or Kutwar, on the Ahsin river, 20 miles to the north of Gwalior. The kingdom of the Nagas there- 1865. ] Coins of the Nine Nagas. 117 fore would have included the greater part of the present territories of Bharatpur, Dholpur, Gwalior, and Bundelkhand, and perhaps also some portions of Malwa, as Ujain, Bhilsa and Sagar. It would thus have embraced nearly the whole of the country lying between the Jumna and the upper course of the Narbada, from the Chambal on the west to the Kaydn or Cane on the east, an extent of about 1,800 square miles, in which Narwar occupies a central and most command- ing position. 4. The identification of Narwar with Padmavatt, the capital city of the Nine Nagas, is strongly corroborated by the coins which I am about to describe, as most of the earlier specimens were obtained at Narwar, and the remainder at Gwalior. It is also supported by the Allahabad Pillar inscription of Samudra Gupta, in which the king boasts of the extent of his dominions, and enumerates the different princes and countries which had become subject to his power. In the 18th line he mentions Ganapati-Ndga as one of the nine tributary princes of Aryavurtta. Now Ganapati or Ganendra is the name of the Raja whose coins are the most common and the most widely diffused of all these Narwar kings. The legends of his coins are also in the very same character as those of the Gupta coins and inscriptions. I think therefore that there is every probability in favour of the identity of these two princes. My discovery of an inscription of Samudra Gupta in Mathura itself is sufficient to show that the Nagas must have lost that city at an early date. It may also be taken as corrobo- rative of the decay of their power, and of the supremacy of Samudra, Gupta, as stated in the Allahabad Pillar inscription. It may be objected that the coins of Ganapati do not bear the additional name of Naga, and that James Prinsep has rendered Ganapati Naga as two separate names. To these objections I can reply at once that, so far as I am aware, Naga is never used alone as a man’s name, but always in conjunction with some other word, either preceding it as in Naga-sena, Nagarjuna, Nagaditya, Nagadatta, d&c., or following it as in Skanda- Naga, Brihaspati-Naga, and Deva-Naga of the coins now under review. For this reason I conclude that the name of Samudra Gupta’s contem- porary must almost certainly have been Ganapati-Naga. The omission of the latter part of the name in the legends of the coins is sufficiently explained by the minute size of the money, which did not afford room 118 Coins of the Nine Nagas. [No. 8 for along name. Thus on some of the coins of Brihaspati-Naga the name is given at full length, while on others it is contracted to Bri- haspati and Brihaspa, and even to Briha. Similarly, the name of Deva Naga is contracted to Deva Na and Deva, while that of Gana- pati himself is variously rendered as Ganapatya and Ganendra on the larger coins, and as Gana and even Ga on the smaller coins. A simi- lar omission of the family appellation may be observed on many of the contemporary coins of the Guptas, on which the names of Chandra, Samudra, Kumara, Skanda and Nara are found alone under the Raja’s arm without the additional title of Gupta which, as we know from other coins and inscriptions, certainly belonged to all of them. From these instances I infer that the title of Naga belonged not only to Ganapati himself but to every one of the early princes of Narwar, whose coins form the first series of the accompanying plate. 5. The period to which these princes must be assigned depends solely on the date of their contemporaries, the Guptas. In 1851, when I wrote my account of the Bhilsa Topes, I referred the begin- ning of the Gupta era to the year 319 A. D., but shortly afterwards on comparing the Gupta gold coins with their Indo-Scythian prototypes, and the Gupta silver coins with the Sah coins of Saurashtra, I saw that the first Guptas must certainly have been contemporary with the earlier princes of the Kushén Scythians, and consequently that their date could not possibly be later than the first century of the Christian era. In 1855 Mr. Thomas devoted a special essay to the determina- tion of the date of the Guptas, in which the subject was most fully and ably treated. In this article, and subsequently in his valuable notes on Prinsep’s essays, he inclines to refer the dates of the Gupta coins and inscriptions to the Saka era, an opinion in which [ fully concur. But in assigning the Bhilsa inscription of Chandra Gupta, which is dated in the year 93 to the first king of that name, he must have overlooked the Udayagiri Cave inscription of the year 82, which, according to H. H. Wilson, refers to Chandra Gupta’s great-grandson, the Raja of Sanakaénika. The only scheme, as far as I can see, that will suit all the known dates and other conditions of this dynasty, is to make Chandra Gupta Ist, the founder of the era. By adopting this scheme, his great-grandson the Raja of Sanakanika may be allowed to have been reigning in the year 82, and his grandson Chandra Gupta 1865. ] Coins of the Nine Négas. 119 Qnd of Magadha in the year 93. But if we assign Chandra Gupta Ist to the year 93, we must then allow that he continued to reign for at least eleven years after the accession of his own great-grandson the Raja of Sanakanika. According to Mr. Thomas’s arrangement of the Gupta coins, with which I generally agree, the pieces that bear the title of Vikramaditya are assigned to Chandra Gupta Ist, and those that bear the simpler title of Vikrama to Chandra Gupta 2nd. We know from Abu-Rihan that in his time the origin of the Saka era was attributed to a prince named VikramAditya after his victory over the Sakas. We learn also from the Allahabad pillar inscription that Samudra Gupta, the son of Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya, professed to have received tribute from the Sakas. From all these concurring testimonies, I am inclined to adopt the Saka era, which began in A. D. 79, as the actual era of the Gupta dynasty, and to attribute its establishment to Chandra Gupta Ist. 6. According to this view the date of Samudra Gupta, and there- fore algo of his contemporary Ganapati Naga, would be the beginning of the second century, or about A. D. 110. The dynasty of the Nine Ndgas may accordingly be assigned to the first and second centuries of the Christian era. In the following list I have arranged the names of the Naga kings according to the devices on their coins, beginning with those types which seem to me to be the earliest on account of the more ancient appearance of their accompanying inscriptions. It is worthy of note, as corroboratory of the date which I have assigned to the Nagas that the whole of the devices on these copper coins are to be found on the silver coins of the Guptas themselves, or on those of their acknowledged contemporaries. 120 Coins of the Nine Nagas. [No. 3, No. Kings’ names. Types. oe a) Bhima Ne oars tee aan en eacockatonents 2 SALUT Sle A RA ig Nt PS ai Ditto right. i DHT aA oils Sn See MOR At A al A Ditto ditto. iy TVG | SkandatNaca: ca cee} ‘Ditto ditto. 3 Ditto ie os. ee. cceeeeeece ee bull, recumbent) tosrig ite |r Ve Brihaspati Ni Nag, 3 Wiis olaesietee ole Ditto ditto. 5-6 VI. |Ganapati,..................--..-.|Bull walking to lett. 7,8,9 Dit TONER AS 6 bids, ther kor) an Wheel. Wall |My ashray Nagacsssc. ..sepeeee | Dittos 11 WHS Was Naga tes eee eee Ditto: 12 IX. |Deva Naga, Begle A shal 5 ts ga Ditto. 13,14 Ditto, Lineeeed sess accesses ullere cumalbent, Lomein hanes La Oly Poe es ae AS SAUTE Ce Trisul. is 7. I will now proceed to the more technical description of the coins themselves for the benefit of the professed numismatist. The pieces are all of small size, and many of them are so minute, that their average weight is only 7 grains each. The whole of them, however, may be readily divided into four distinct classes, which correspond with the known divisions of the old Indian pana or copper coin of 145.833 grains. These divisions were, Weight. Phe S wana eo CARO A A ee OO Mometa Ins: ” t Pang, ory) Kain Ye. Baek. eee eee OOO me Kealeuna SR eee Lee20 4; Lor panaor Ly ialineil, se.) Sa eeeenn ay alee Mae. As the whole of these coins, excepting only the smallest of 9 grains, are mentioned in the Code of Manu, the antiquity of the names is undoubted. In B. VIII, verse 404, the ferry tolls are fixed at the following rates : DUE, Ors HIE bole An empty cart, ...... rat edi eee aE in ss 1 pana. Aloaded aniany 20 Re aeteee tne sat cs +. oe ae JN YOM, Oe OE, | snoooe Bi cncadedeeOcoibe Naeem Sas An unloaded man,. Brae oe Rie, But the pana was also walled en ‘* copper ee aoe and under this fe < = a < 2 Coins from GWALIOR and A Cunningham 1865: ] Ooins of the Nine Nagas. “121 name it. is mentioned by Hesychius, who lived about A. D.350 to 380, as Kepoa Aciavoy vouiopa 8. Of the $ pana, the few specimens that I possess belong to the - Peacock type, but the heaviest weighs only 64 grains. Of the + pana or kdkini, the specimens are common and of all the types. One peacock coin of Maharaja Va * * weighs 36 grains, five specimens of Bhima average 34 grains each, three illegible coins give 34.2 grains, twelve peacock coins of Skanda give 34.1 grains, five Bull coins of Skanda give 37.2 grains, nine Bull coins of Ganapati average 34.5 grains, and two of Deva Naga weigh respectively 39 and 35 grains. Altogether these 37 specimens offer a mean weight of 34.87 grains, ' which, making allowance for wear, is sufficiently near the standard which I have adopted for the quarter pana or Kadkin. Of the half kdkinz, the specimens are very numerous, embracing three Bull coins of Skanda, all the coins of Brihaspati, the greater number of those of Ganapati, and two coins of Deva Naga. The three coins of Skanda give a mean of 16 grains each, thirteen coins of Brihaspati give 18.3 grains, thirty-four coins of Ganapati give 17.55 grains each, and two of Deva Naga give 18.5 each. The mean of these specimens gives a weight of 17.76 grains for the half kakinz, which is within half a grain of the standard. Of the quarter kdkini, which was the smallest “coin” of the old Hindu mint, the only examples belong to Ganapati. Twenty of my specimens weigh 140 grains or exactly,7 grains each, the heaviest being 11} and the lightest 45 grains.. In the original monetary scheme of the Hindus, the copper pana was equal in weight. to 80 raktikas (or ratis), and in value toa handful of cowree shells. The average handful was fixed at 80 cowrees a number, which I have tested repeatedly with cowrees of all sizes as the handful always tang: ed between 70 and 85 shells. To this circumstance the coin owed its name of pana or the handful from pdm, the hand. Both the name and the value are even now preserved in the Calcutta reckoning-of cowrees in which 4 cowrees make 1 ganda and 20 ganddés make 1 pan, that is 80 cowrees are still equal to 1 pan. . I. Burma N&ea. x Fig, 2.—5 specimens. Obv.—Peacock standing to lefts Rev.—A horizontal line like a spear-head. Legend. Maharaja Bhima Naga. 122 Coins of the Nine Nagas. [No. 3, II. Kaa ( Fig. 1.—Unique—d0 grains. 7 Obv.—Peacock standing to right. ftev.—Two uncertain upright objects. Legend. Mahdrdja Kha * * * * This name must have ended in Ndga, as there is room for at least - four more letters. The full name may have been Kharjjura Nadya, as there is a trace of the vowel w at the foot of the second letter. TAT VA ) Unique—36 grains. Obv.—Peacock standing to right. Rev.—Two uncertain upright objects. Legend. Mahdrdja Va * * * This name must also have ended in Ndga. Jt may have been Vatsa Naga, but it was more probably of three syllables, as Varuna. IV. Sxanpa Naga. Fig. 3—12 specimens. Average weight 34.1 grains. Obv.—Peacock standing to right. Rev.—As on Fig. 1. Legend. Mahdrdja Skanda Nagasya. V. Brinaspatr Naga. Figs. 5, 6.—31 specimens—all half kékinis, averaging 18.3 grains. Obv.—Recumbent Bull to right in a dotted circle. Rev.—Legend, Maharaja Brihaspati Naga. Most of the legends are incomplete in the name, for want of space, several of them reading Brihaspa as on No. 6, whilst a few have only Briha. It is to be noted that the uncertain object which occupied the field of the previous coins has now disappeared. VI. Ganapati (Naga.) Figs. 7, 8, 9.—Extremely common :—Kdkinis, } hdkinis, and $ kdkinas. ni Obv.—Bull walking to left, in a dotted circle. Rev.—Legend. Mahdrdja Sri Ganapatya. The name varies on different coins both in its form and in its spell- ing. On No. 7,1 read Ganapatya,’ and on No. 8, Ganendra, both properly spelt with the central x. On No. 9 the name of, Ganendra. 1865. | Coins of the Nine Nagas. 123 incorrectly spelt with the dental n. These coins are extremely com- mon. Mr. Thomas has noted that there are 3,479 specimens in the Stacy collection, of which I know that by far the greater number were obtained at Gobad. At the close of the Gwalior Campaign in 1844, Col. Stacy’ showed me a bag full of these coins weighing about 4 seers or 8 lbs. which his coin collector had just brought from Gobad; and as he had not purchased the whole find, I managed to secure the remain- der, which were about 2 seers or 4 lbs. in weight, and numbered about 1,750 specimens. Since then on different occasions I have procured 812 specimens at Mathura and 357 at Delhi, besides many more at other places more especially at Gwalior and Narwar, which altogether make my number considerably over 3,000. Unique.—Kdkini of 35 grains. Obv.—Wheel in a circle of dots. Rev.—Legend. Mahdrdja Sri Gane (ndra.) VII. Vya’eura Na’Ga. Fig. 11.—Unique. Half kdkini of 18 grains, square. Obv.—Wheel in a dotted circle. Rev.—Legend. Vydyhra (Na) ga. VIII. Vasu (Na’aa.) Fug. 12.—Square. Half kdékini of 19 grains, duplicate in Dr, Swiney’s collection, Thomas’s Prinsep, Plate 34, Fig. 30. Obv.—Wheel in a dotted circle. Rev.—Legend. Vasu Naga. IX. Deva Na’ga. Figs. 13, 14.—18 kdkinis and 2 half kékinis. Obv.—Wheel in a dotted circle. Rev.—lLegend. Mahérdja Sri Deva Ndgasya. Xa. Six specimens—all hakinis. Obv.—Recumbent Bull to right in a dotted circle. fiev.—A Trisul, or trident, in the field. Legend. As on Fig. 13. IXd. Unique. Half kakinis of 17 grains. Obv.—Trisul in a dotted circle, Rev.—-Legend. As on Fig. 13, 124 Coins of the Nine Nagas. [No. 3, 9. On a general view of all the coins of the Naga series, it will be observed that the unique specimens of both Vydghra and Vasu are of square form, and that they also differ from the others in omitting the title of Maharaja. It is possible therefore that they may not belong to the dynasty of the Nine Nagas, although their type of the wheel is also that of Deva Naga and Ganapati. It seems probable that a care- ful scrutiny of the coins in the Stacy collection would increase con- siderably the variety of types, and perhaps also might add to the number of names of these Naga kings. 10. The second series of coins consists of five specimens, of which no less than four belong to the same king, Pasupatc, whose name occurs in the oldest of my Gwalior inscriptions. In that record he is stated to be a mighty sovereign, the son of Toramana, who was him- self first made known to us by the inscription on the great boar statue at Eran. A single silver coin of Toramana has also been described by Mr. Thomas, who reads the date as “‘ one hundred and eighty odd” of the Gupta era, or about 20 years later than the Eran inscription of Budha Gupta, that is about A. D. 263. If therefore we place Tora- mana between the years 260 and 285 A. D., the date of his son Pasu- pati will be 285 to 310, or about 300 A. D. The coins of Pasupati consist exclusively of copper, and are so extremely rare, that, so far as I am aware, three out of the four specimens now made known are unique, and of the fourth specimen I have only two examples. PAasuPAtI. ; Fig. 15.—Copper coin weighing 92 grains. Obv.—Figure of the king seated cross-legged in the Indian fashion, his right hand holding a flower, and his left resting on his hip ;—the whole surrounded by a circle of large dots. Rev.—A vase surmounted by a crescent and star or perhaps a flower, and enclosed in a circle of large dots. Legend in Gupta characters in one straight line, Paswpatv. Fig. 16.—Copper coin weighing 109 grains : duplicate 105 grains. Obv.—Figure of the king seated im the Indian fashion, holding a flower in his right hand and a vase of flowers in his left hand ;—the whole surrounded by a circle of large dots. Rev.—A vase of flowers, surrounded by the same dotted circle. Legend in two lines, Paswpatz. 1865.] Coins of the Nine Ndgas. 125 Fig. 17.—Copper coin weighing 92 grains. Obv.—A short trident or trisul, on a stand surrounded by a circle of small dots.—Legend in two lines, Pasupatv. Rev.—A globe surrounded by rays, enclosed in a dotted circle. Legend disposed circularly, Pasupati. Fig. 18.—Copper coin weighing 43 grains. Obv.—Humped Bull to right with a crescent above, and surrounded by a dotted circle. Rev.—Type and legend the same as No. 17. fig. 19.—Copper coin weighing 112 grains. Obv.—Figure of the king seated in the Indian fashion on a high backed throne, and surrounded by a circular line and an outer circle of dots :—Legend over the head in Gupta characters which are not easily legible. I read doubtfully Srz Guhila-pate. fiev.—An elephant to right surrounded by a circular line and an outer circle of dots. 11. I have added the last coin to this series because it corresponds both in weight and in fabric with the specimens of Pasupati’s mintage, The type of the obverse also agrees so closely with that of the first example just described that I have little doubt that this coin belongs to some member of the same family. The specimen is unique. [ have added two small coins of Chandra Gupta, Figs. 20 and 21, for the purpose of shewing that similar vases of flowers were used as types by the Gupta dynasty which immediately preceded the family of Tora- mana. Fig. 22 is another small coin with the flower-vase type, but bearing a different name, Swarga, regarding which I am unable to offer any remarks save that its type and fabric range it with the con- temporary coins of the Guptas. 12. The third series of coins belongs to a much later period of Indian history, shortly after the capture of Delhi by the Muhammad- ans. The coins themselves are utterly rude and barbarous imitations of the horseman mintage of the Brahman kings of Kabul;—but they are otherwise interesting and important, as they bear legible dates, from which I have been able to verify two of the names as those of actual Rajas of Narwar. Of the earliest of these coins belonging to Malaya Varmma Deva, 1 have seen only 5 specimens. On one of them, Fig, 26, the date is $, 1280, or it may be S. 1285 as the unit 126 Coins of the Nine Nagas. [No. 3, figure is partly cut off. On a second coin the date is 8. 83, and on a third S. 90 odd, the unit being cut off. Here we see that the last two dates must undoubtedly refer to the same century as that of the first coin, because the name of the prince and the fabric of the coins are precisely the same. Of the second prince named Chahada Deva, I have numerous specimens, bearing various dates from 1303 to 1311, of which Figs. 27 and 28 give 8. 1305 and 8. 1311. Of the third prince, named A’sala Deva, the specimens, though numerous, are always small and much worn, and the dates are therefore generally imperfect. Two of the more perfect coins, however, give the dates of 1311 and 1312, and a third has 1330 odd: see Figs. 29 and 30. In illustration of these coins, I have engraved a curious specimen of the contemporary coinage of Ala-ud-din Masadiid, Fig. 23, which bears on the obverse the well known recumbent Bull with the Nagari legend Srz Ala-va- dina and the date of 1300, inserted on the quarter of the Bull. This date must certainly refer to the Vikramiditya Samvat as Masaiid reigned from A. D. 1242 to 1246, and S. 1300 is equal to A. D- 1243. 13. The coins of this third series of Narwar princes are found chiefly about Gwalior, Jhansi, and Narwar, but a few stray specimens may be picked up at Agra and Mathura. The obverse bears the rude figure of a horseman which is only traceable on the coins of Asala Deva by comparing them with the earlier pieces of Malaya Varmma. A brief description will therefore be sufficient for this barbarous coinage. IT. Maraya Varmua Deva. figs. 25, 26.—Copper coins weighing from 50 to 56 grains. Obv.—Rude horseman with no trace of the legend of Sri Hamir which is found on all the contemporary Muhammadan mintages. Rev.—legend in three lines FlwMBMaaMe|d F- YRe- Srv-man Ma- laya Varmma Deva. 8. 128 and also S. 83. II. Cuduapa Deva. Figs. 27, 28.—Copper coins weighing from 50 to 59 grains. Rev.—tLegend in three lines Blayeerd G- Voy, Sri-Mat Chéhada Deva, S. 1305. III. Asaua Deva. Figs. 29, 30.—Copper coins weighing from 50 to 57 grains. 1865.] Ovins of the Nine Ndyas. vag Rev.—Legend in three lines HlweeaMea G- (2°r- Sri-Mad Asala Deva, §. 1311. 14. All my researches have failed to discover any trace of the first of these princes, but I have found the name of Chahada Deva in two different inscriptions, as well as in Ferishta’s history. In the year A. H. 649, or 1251 A. D., the historian relates that Naser-ud-din Mahmud, the king of Delhi “ proceeded to the siege of Narwar. The Raja Jéhir Dew, having lately constructed the fort on the summit of a rock, prepared to defend it to the last. He accordingly marched out to oppose the Muhammadans, with 5,000 horse and 200,000 foot. This immense host being defeated with great slaughter, the place was invested and reduced to surrender after a few months’ siege.” In Dow’s translation the Raja is called Téhir Deo, and under this name he is entered in Prinsep’s tables, but with the date of A. D. 1251 trans- posed as 1215, and the name of Narwar erroneously referred to Nahrwara, or Analwéra-patan, in Gujarat. The inscriptions which mention Chdhada Deva are dated in 8. 1348 and 1355 or A. D. 1291 and 1298, but the first refers apparently to a younger son and the second to a grandson. 15. Ofthe third prince named A’sala Deva, I can find no trace in history, but he is mentioned in the Narwar inscription of S. 1355 as the son and successor of Chahada Deva, and I found his name on a Sati pillar at Rai, with the date of S. 1327 or A. D. 1270, at which time he was the reigning sovereign. The beginning of his reign is fixed in the year 8S. 1311 by the agreement of the date of his father’s latest coins with that of his own earliest coins. The following table gives the chronology of these three princes as determined from various sources :— Accession, Samvat. A. D, 1. Malaya Varmma Deva, 1267 1210 Coins S. 1280 odd, 82 & 1290 odd, 2. Chahada Deva, ......... 1292 1235 Coins S. 1303 to 1311. Ferishta A. D. 1251. 3, Asala Deva, ........... 1311 1254 Coins S. 1311 to 1330 odd. 1336 1279 Inscription, S. 1327. All the inscriptions referring to these Narwar princes, will be duly transmitted to Babu Rajendraldla Mitra in the hope that he will kindly undertake their translation. een 128 On the Sena Rajas of Bengal. [No. 3, On the Sena Rajas of Bengal as commemorated in an Inscription from Rajshahi, decyphered and translated by C. T. Murcatrz, £sq., C. S.—By Babu R&ésenprausua Mitra. [Received 5th July, 1865. Read 5th July, 1865.] Subjoined are the text and translation of a Sanskrit inscription of some interest lately found in a part of Rajsh4hi called the “ Burrin,” close by the village of Deopdérah, Thannéh Godagari. Mr. C. T. Met- calfe, to whom the Society is indebted for the original and the transla- tion, gives the following account of the place where the monument was found. ‘‘ The tank where I found it,’ he says, “is some 40 miles from Goa (Gour?); but it stands on the bank of a river which was the old Pudda bed, and which river now flows 6 miles to the south, before Rampur Bauleah. The locality is evidently the site of some temple, and the stone records, I should say the inscription, the praises of the founder. While making some further examinations I came to the top of a series of black stone-steps leading underground ; one monster stone was 1 yard in thickness. In the tank itself are 2 slabs which can be felt with a bamboo and which, a hoary-headed old man says, were above ground when he was a chokra (boy) and kept the village cattle, 7. e. some 60 years ago.” The place was of some distinction, even during the Mahomedan period, for there still stands a magnificent masjid about 650 years old. Mr. Metcalfe describes it as “built entirely of stone without a bit of mortar, and put together like a child’s toy-house, the stones fitting the one into the other. The carving on it is beautiful.” The stone slab upon which the inscription is recorded, was found in a dense jungle apparently away from its original position, but amidst a number of large blocks of stone half buried under the earth. It measures 3 ft. 2 inches by 1 ft. 93. Its material is basalt carefully polished on the upper surface. The letters of the inscription are of the Tirhoot or Gour type, simi- lar to that of the Bakerganj plate of Kesava Sena, decyphered by James Prinsep. Bengali MSS. three centuries old, are written in very much the same characters, and the facsimile of the Yaynadatta- badha published by Chezy, bears some resemblance to it. It is in fact 1865.] On the Sena Rijas of Bengal. 129 the first transition stage of the Kutila in its passage to the modern Bengali. Mr. Metcalfe found considerable difficulty in getting the record decyphered, owing to modern pandits not being familiar with its style of writing, but I have carefully compared his transcript with the original and satisfied myself that his reading is perfectly correct. The language of the inscription is pure Sanskrit, but its style is highly inflated and hyperbolical. Umépati Mis’ra, the author of it, is never satisfied with an ordinary comparison. If he has to describe a high temple, he cannot stop without making its pinnacle stand as an obstruction to the course of the sun. His kings must upbraid the heroes of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata as vain boasters and insignificant upstarts, and his war-boats, even when stranded on a sand-bank in the Ganges, must eclipse the glory of the moon. This style, common enough in oriental writing, was particularly remarkable in Northern India in the 9th, 10th and the 11th centuries of the Christian era. Whether at Gour or Benares or Kanauj or Oujein or Mathura, this straining after bombast was so universal, that no one familiar with the monumental literature of the period, can mistake it for a moment, and it may therefore be taken as characteristic of the time. I have myself met with it so often, that had I no other guide to ascertain the age of the record under notice, I would have taken its style to be a conclusive proof of its being of the 10th or 11th century. The subject of the record is, the dedication of a temple which is described to have ‘‘extended to all directions in space, and vied in loftiness with the Mount Meru round which the sun, moon and the stars run their course.” Its pinnacle of gold, which was shaped like a water-jar, was equal to the Meru in weight. Its locality was the. margin of the tank where the inscription was found. Judging from the insignificant remains now traceable in that locality, I believe the edifice was by no means a very extraordinary one. Its presiding deity was Pradyumnesvara or S’iva as the destroyer of Cupid, a form in which he is not often worshipped by his votaries in Bengal. This divi- nity, who is generally represented as a vagrant mendicant, is said to have exchanged, by the favour of the dedicator of the temple, his tiger skin toga for silken dresses, his serpent neck-chains for garlands of jewels, his ashes for sandal wood powder, his rosary for pearls, and his human bone ornaments for precious gems. 130 On the Sena Rijis of Bengal. [No. 3, Of the dedicator of the temple, Vijaya, the record is, as usual in such cases, the most lavish in its praise. According to it, he was the great- est of kings that ever held sway on earth; the most valiant, the most charitable, and the most virtuous. While describing the hero as a devout follower of Mahadeva, it does not hesitate to make him even superior to that dread manifestation of the divinity, for the one, says it, destroys all alike, while the other, killed his enemies and cherished his friends. There is, however, very little in the verses devoted to his glorification which may be taken for facts. The time of his reign is not given, nor the name of his caste, nor that of the place where he caused the temple to be erected. He is related to have invaded Assam (Kamartipa) and the Coromandel Coast between the Chilka Lake and Madras (Kalifiga), and to have sent a fleet of war-boats up the Ganges to conquer the Western kings; but nothing is said of the results of these invasions : the last is, ina manner, acknowledged to have proved a failure ; for the only thing noticeable in it, was the stranding of one of the boats on a sand-bank, poetically described as “‘ the ashes on the forehead of S’iva, changed to mud by contact with the water of the Ganges.” The genealogy of the king includes three names, those of Hemanta Sena, Sumanta Sena, and Vira Sena. The last was evidently the founder of the family, for he appears as a descendant of the moon, without any reference to his immediate progenitors. All the three were kings of Gour, but their names occur nowhere in history. Vijaya the last of the series was, according to tradition, known by the name of Sukha Sena, and under that name he occurs in the Ayin Akbary, as the father of Ballala Sena. His name occurs in the Bakerganj plate as the first of a series of four kings, the last of which was Kesava Sena. Vijaya there appears as the father of Ballala Sena. Again, in a manuscript of the Danasdgara, a treatise on gifts attributed to Ballala Sena, the author describes himself as the son of Vijaya Sena and the grandson of Hemanta Sena. These facts justify the assump- tion that the three records allude to the same family, and that Sukha Sena was an alias of Vijaya Sena. If this be admitted, the Sena dynasty of Bengal will have to be extended by the addition of the three names which occur in the inscription now under notice. Of the descendants of Vijaya, the most distinguished was, no doubt, 1865.] On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. 131 his son Ballala. “‘ This prince,” to quote the words of an able writer in the Calcutta Review, “ was held in such high estimation all over Bengal, that the most extravagant fancies have been indulged and the wildest tales invented in order to connect his memory with the mar- vellous and the sublime.’”” The same writer continues; “ Poets have invested him with the dignity of a divine original and described his infantile precocity in the most glowing colours. He has been represented as the son of the fluvial god Brahmaputra, who had deceived his mother by assuming the form of her own hus- band. His nativity is said to have taken place in the solitude of a thick forest, where his mother had been banished a few months before her parturition through the jealousy and treachery of his father’s two ether wives. In these sylvan shades and under the especial protection of heaven he passed his infantile days, undisturbed by the noise and distractions of towns and cities, and uncontaminated by the pleasures and irregularities of riotous-society. His divine parent, ‘‘ the uxorious Amunis,” as Horace would perhaps call him, instructed him in the different branches of a Hindu’s education, and in the tactics of war and diplomatic policy. While yet a boy he is said to have exhibited extraordinary proofs of heroism and strength. He had discomfited unassisted and alone a whole host of disciplined troops commanded by princes and veteran captains, and armed with all the weapons of native warfare.’ The whole of this statement, however, is founded upon vague traditions or modern records of doubtful authority. We may dismiss it, therefore, without a remark. The Bakerganj inscription of Balldla’s grandson does not allude to the facts noted in it with sufficient circum- stantiality to give them any prominence. From what it says, we may take for granted, however, that he was a great patron of learning and himself an author of some pretension.—Vedartha smriti safigrahadi purusha. The treatise on gifts alluded to above shews that his reading was extensive and his knowledge of the s’astras respectable.* He is, * The prominent mention madein the work of the author’s tutor, Anirndha, would waken a suspicion that, like many other crowned heads in India and Europe, Balléla had assumed to himself a credit which rightly belonged to another. How- ever that be, the authenticity of the work is undoubted. It has been quoted by the author of the Samaya Prakdsd who lived several hundred years ago, and Raghu- nandana who flourished at the end of the 15th century, alludes to it in two places in this Suddhitatwa: Qa SSI RHLAT AA Saas Vaal Ta Cine Serampore edition, p, 194, Again : BqTHRCH argite, frqaara,srareatfeaa- a 132 On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. [No. 3, however, better known in this country by the system of hereditary nobility which he established in his court than by his devotion to letters. The main object of that system was to give preéminence to Waly afta avqaract: | Ibd. 20—3. The work is divided into 70 Sections and devoted to a description of 1875 gifts, the mode of consecrating them, the pro- per persons to give them to, the time meet for making such oifts, &e. &c. The author enumerates in his introduction the different authorities he had consulted in compiling his work, and as his list gives an idea of the works which were reckoned as standard authorities: in his time, 9 hundred years ago, I quote it entire. Purdnas. Vishnu-dharma. Yama. Brahma, Gopatha Braéhmana. Yogayajnavalkya. Varaha. Ramayana. Devala. Agni, Mahabharata. Baudhayana. Bhavishya, Manu. Angirasa. Matsya. Vasishtha. Danavyasa, Kurma. Samvarta. Vrihaspati ? 2 Kaya. Yajnavalkya. Sankha. Upapuranda. Gotama. Likhita. Adya, Katyayana. Apastamba. Samba. Yavala. Satyayana. Kalika, Sandana. Maha Vyasa. Nandi. Vrihaspati. Laghu Vyasa. Aditya. Vrihad Vasishtha. Laghu Harita. Narasifiha. Harita. Chhandoga perisishta. Markandeya. Pulasta. Vishnudharmottara. Vishnu. S’dstras. Satatapa, S‘lokas are often repeated by panditas, which tradition ascribes to this prince. Itis said that once when his son Lakshmana was long absent from home, his daughter-in-law brought the circumstance to his notice by writing the following s ‘loka on the wall before the place where he used to dine :— uaaiata aft zaia fufeat Hat | Bq Riad: Baie aT Var arcafa | “The clouds are pouring without intermission and the peacocks are dancing ‘with joy ; on such a day death or my darling alone can remove my suffering.” Touched by it he invited his son back to his home with the following stanza :— SAM CwWaagqiiaa eafqat asia aagieusa featzalragaienat | Bl ust eqqgquq ufaat saaHtatsra aT Hraease at TUW < au wala ug tl “© thou who art disposed as the second (the Bull—listen).”” Alone and op- pressed is she with the breasts like the eleventh (pitchers-globes) of the elephant, by the approach of him who has the tenth (Makara on his flag Cupid), even as are the twelfth (fishes) and the fourth (crabs), on the approach of the shark (maka- ra), That sixth (virgo), with eyebrows without compare, (lit. devoid of the seventh libra), who should belong to the royal fifth (lion-prince is suffering from the pangs of the eighth (scorpio). O, first (aries—my son) hasten and be thou the third 1865.] On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. 133 the descendants of the five Brahmins and Kayasthas” who had been brought to Bengal by Adis’tira. The particular qualities which were to characterise his nobles were ‘‘ good manners, learning, humility, reputation, pilgrimage, faith, fixed profession, austerity, and charity’’* but as there was no standard measure for those qualities, and it was difficult to secure them without attaching penalties to personal delinquencies which could never be enforced, he had recourse. to other and more definite means for their perpetuation. He availed himself of the popular notion that children invariably inherit the moral qualities of their parents, and hoped that by maintaining the blood of his newly created nobles pure and undefiled, he would attain his end. He forbad all imtermarriage between the original Brahmans and Kayasthas of the country and the newcomers, and ordained various and complicated rules for the gradual degradation of those families which should permit any stain to fall on the gentility of their blood. Mis-alliances could not, how- (gemini).” The play on the names of the twelve signs of the zodiac in this s‘loka cannot be preserved in the English translation. On another occasion he was himself absent from home for a lone time, having been detained in a forest by the charms of a lowly born damsel. The scandal was great, and his son, to stop it, requested his return with the following verse :— a. Ss We AH AAs Yes Guitaal at fa sa: Whaat vat Waa RT VEIT | fase ayaa a aiard yalfrat ala aaaraiaa asefa qa: acai frre wa: | ‘* Generally cool art thou, O river, and transparent by nature. Of thy purity what can I say ? everything becomes pure by thy touch. What else need I tell in thy praise ? thou art the life of all living things. And yet strange to relate, thou flowest downwards and none can withhold thee.” To it the king sent the following reply :— ATA ATMA SA TT BA Val A Ve aa St PUPVAAIC HAHIS: Hl ATH AM VAT I Strataracy va aca war a at yfye HCAS) AAGCHTCUAST WHITH SAT: I “The elephant has not yet soothed its skin nor allayed its thirst; the dust on its body still remains unwashed, and the tuberous roots of the lotus have hi- therto not yielded it a mouthful of food, much less an entertainment; the lotus remains untouched by his far projectile arm: verily the bees have raised an unmeaning hue and cry by their murmurs.” The muthenticity of these s'lokas is, however, not such as may be relied upon. * Acharo vinayo vidya pratishtha tirtha davsana, nishtha yritti tapo danam navadha kula-lakshanam, 134 On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. [No. 3, ever, be altogether prevented, and the successors of Ballala somewhat encouraged them, by raising the social status of those plebeans who succeeded in securing the alliances of kulinas. Wealthy maulikas large- ly availed themselves of the opportunity which was thus given them of rising in social rank, and the cupidity of our nobility has of late encouraged them by a system of polygamy which has made kulinism in Bengal, a positive nuisance to society. The son and successor of Ballala was Lakshmana Sena. The author of the Bakerganj plate makes him erect altarsand pillars of victory at Benares, Allahabad, and Jagannath, but “it may reasonably be doubt- ed,” says Prinsep, “‘ whether these monuments of his greatness ever existed elsewhere than in the poet’s imagination.” His prime minis- ter and Lord Chancellor (Dharmadhikara,) was Haldyudha, son of Dhananjaya, of the Vatsya race, a Brahmin of great learning and a descendant of Bhattanaéréyana, the author of the Venisanhara. His eldest brother, Pashupati, wrote atreatise on the srdddha and other ceremonials under the title of Pashwpati Paddhatv. His next brother was a great scholar and professor of Smriti and the Mimafisé ; he wrote a treatise on the diurnal duties of Brahmins which still exists— Aluka Paddhati. Walayudha himself is said to have written several works on Smriti, of which the most important is the Brahmana Sarva- sva. Init, he describes his patron in the usual grandiloquent terms of his time, but there is nothing in it to shew that he was other than a prince of mediocre merit. He is said by the Mahomedan historians to have greatly embellished the city of Gour, and called it after his own name Lakhnouty or Lakshmana-vati ; but the inscriptions are silent on the subject, as they are as regards the popular belief of Ballila Sena’s having built the town of Gour. Lakshmana was followed successively by his two sons, Madhava Sena and Kesava Sena. The Rajdvali brings in a Su or Stra Sena after Kesava, and Mahomedan writers have a Nouwjib, a Narayan, a Lakh- mana, and a Lakhmaniyé to follow him; but no monumental record has yet been found to prove their ever having existed. An As’oka Sena also occurs as one of the kings of Gour, but his position in the list is nowhere defined. Of these therefore I have nothing to say. JI shall make an exception, however, in favour of the last of the series. The Tabkdt + Ndsirt of Minhajuddin Jowzjani says that the last king of 1865.] On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. 135 the Sena dynasty was Lakhmaniy4, andthis authority must be accepted as correct, as the work was written within fifty-eight years after the conquest of Bengal by Bakhtiar Khilijy, and its author had ample opportunities, during his sojourn in Bengal, of conversing with the contemporaries of Lakhmaniyé who had taken part in that conquest, and of collecting the most authentic information available in his time. The account given in that book is as follows :— ecle* 35d woe OS Sy F Slay ehe SU Prey ray) (23 Slettyis 8S O20) bigest ly! SU dpmy ylais? desler gid y e}y Lio 9 ge) Sey lew glide wove y ag) Sy5 cyt ob af s a9? Strgined of 6 So] als yo awe] X gli} ¢ Lexhas| <_l) wT wile 5 Bum BE90 Utd! 9 eyo baie co'y vy! o95 UR bs jh ey WHO? Woe bS-omT WT y WIA 9 Mimd sag! alo Crs Wied 9 Syke of po bo ps2 au oy pole WIZ Noo ENV.) Kale wea Sy5oy <_ OALS] y S) > KD Ql) ly what wes od ,ol6 Jom e~9 ht Ly CByslo 4 dd) Shy beg) wy iq wl 51 8S OLAS GIL odty MGI fy OF PLU 955 Ga ly lio, y aldol s OBL Lolys Ke 72 cree? OSL Wolly crslw O29 1) 3} 59 csrlBglh le gbhe woo db Woy Hele 9 OS Ey jf OF! 51g Owes Ble 9570 tg G opopd oaidy la? 51 pS Ex! st yole we aif diiwy GS ee PEG ssasliss 1) wles? y ist 57 ya yledyS 4 ating p53 oils S 59° ty 9! G yyy WoT ody rds AF Sigg GH OB O54 Wye 5g wt ox bdo 51 Cpy glo ont OAH OS - O9 wods Ly ly Sarees (fla yy- oS) psrloly Slew ghd 9 Hols we, sty Kaigs) wad OF 38 wath Translation.—Contemporary historians, on whom be the blessings of God, have thus related : ‘‘ That when the news of the valour and the wars and subjugation of kingdoms by Mohammed Bakhtyar, may the mercy of God be on him, reached Lakhmaniy4, the capital of his kingdom was Nuddea. The Raya was very learned and had sat on the throne for 80 years. It will not be amiss to mention here an anecdote of the Raya which has come to my knowledge; it is this: When the father of the Raya passed away from this world, Raya Lakhmaniya was in his mother’s womb. The crown was therefore placed on the womb, and the officers of State all girt themselves and stood round and behind the mother. The family of this prince was known as the Raya of Rayas of Hind by the wise men of the time, and reckoned as 136 On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. [No. 3, the viceroys (khalifa) of India. When the time for the birth of Lakh- maniydé approached near, and the mother felt the pains of delivery, the astrologers and Brahmans were assembled together, so that they may watch the auspicious moment of birth. They unanimously said that should this boy be born immediately, it will be unfortunate in every respect, and he will never attain to royalty. But should he be delivered two hours hence, he will reign for 80 years. When the mother heard this from the astrologers, she ordered that she may be hung up by her two feet as long as the auspicious moment should not come, and that the astrologers should be in attendance to watch that moment. When the proper time arrived and the astrologers said that it was at hand, she was taken down. Thus was Lakhmaniya born, but his mother immediately died of the pains she had been subjected to. Lakhmaniyd was immediately placed on the throne, where he reigned for eighty years.” Three things may be taken for granted in this statement; first that the name of the last king of the Sena dynasty was Lakhmaniy4; second, that he was a posthumous child; and third, that he reigned for eighty years. It must be admitted, however, that the word Lakhmani- ya is very unlike a Bengali proper name. The only Bengali or San- skrit word to which it bears any resemblance is the patronymic* Ldksh- maneya, ‘“a son, grandson or descendant of Lakshmana,”’ and if it be admitted that the Lakhmaniyd of the Mahomedan historians is a cor- ruption of the Sanskrit Ldkshmaneya, it would not be too much to assume that the prince under notice was the grandson of Lakshamana son of Ballala. The reigns of Madhava and Kesava Sena were short and inconsequen- tial, and it is very likely that the Lakhmaniya who succeeded Kesava, and reigned in Bengal for 80 years, was taken by the Mahomedans to be the immediate successor of Lakshmana, son of Ballala, who hada long and prosperous reign of many years. I adopt this assump- * The affix dhak is ordinarily used after feminine nouns, @iQ1 SA Panini iv, I, 120, but under the especial rule s’‘ubhrd-dibhyas'cha (P. iv, I. 123.) Lakhsh- mana of the Vasishtha gotra takes that affix. “ Lakshmana sydmayorvdsish- the.” I know not whether the Senas were of the Vasishtha gotra, but such niceties of grammar were so little attended to in the middle ages that I do not think that anybody would have objection to its use in the case of persons not of the Vasish- tha gotra, If such an objection be raised, we must take Lakshmaniya to be a matronymic and assume the name of our prince’s mother to haye been Laksh- mana, 1865.) On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. 137 tion owing as much to the names of Su Sena Noujib and a second Lakshmana not occurring in any authentic early document, as to there being no sufficient time available between the dates of Balléla Sena and that of the Mahomedan conquest for the allocation of three reigns, after making the necessary allowance for Lakshmana, Madhava and Kesava Senas and Lakhmaniya. It is possible that those reigns were only of a few months’ duration each, but there is nothing authentic to support such a theory, and therefore, I feel fully justified in the assump- tion I have made above. The inscriptions are very unsatisfactory on the subject of dates. The Bakergan] plate professes to have been recorded in the month of Jaishta in the third year of the king’s reign, but does not name any cur- rent era. The Rajashahi stone has no date whatever. But it is not difficult to find the probable time when the different members of the Sena dynasty flourished in Bengal. According to the author of the Samaya Prakdas'a, the Danasdgara was written (or completed ?) in the S’aka year 1019* — A. D.1097. Ballala must therefore have lived at about the end of the eleventh century, and this accords well with the statement of the Ayin Akbary which makes that prince commence his reign in the year 1066. Lakshmana, according to Abul Fazel, assumed the sovereignty of Bengal in 1116, which gives a period of 51 years to Ballala. I doubt, however, the accuracy of the last date. The date of Bakhtiar’s conquest of Bengal is well known (1203), and the testimony of Minhajuddin regarding the eighty years’ reign of Lakshmaniya cannot be easily set aside. This carries us back to 1123. On the other side if we allow only three years to Ballala after the completion of his Danasagara we come to the end of the 11th century, leaving only 23 years between 1101 and 1123 for distribution among Lakshamana, Madhava and Kesava. The exact period of Laksmana’s reign is not known. Abul Fazel allots to him only 8 years, but Halay- udha, his prime minister, suggests a much longer time. He says that he was in his boyhood made a court pandit, by the king; that in his early manhood, he attained to the rank of a minister; and that * fafeweraafaaatsaeriesa | ye nitaa-enfae wate alaawmerchaea: ll 138 On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. [No. 3, subsequently he was raised to the office of the Lord Chancellor Dharmédhikira.* This is not practicable within the space of eight years, and I feel no hesitation in assigning to him two and a half times that number of years ; the remaining three years being left for Madhava and Kesava and possibly for Su or Sura Sena should a prince of that name be hereafter verified. For the present I am disposed to throw out a hint that Su Stra Noujeb and As’oka were probably the proper name and aliases of the prince whose patronymic was Lakhmaniya. Prinsep, following the Ayin Akbary, takes 1136 to be the date of the Bakerganj plate, but as that authority makes Lakhmaniya begin his reign in the year 1200 A.D. and fly to Orissa three years after, when Minhajuddin, who had ample opportunities of conversing with the contemporaries of Lakshmana, and was himself in Bengal a few years after his overthrow, assures us that that prince reigned for 80 years, we may without com- punction reject its evidence as unworthy of belief. The ancestors of Ballaéla from Hemanta to Vira Sena were hitherto unknown to history, and even now the inscription under notice does not name the time when they flourished. The final settlement of their dates must, therefore, be left for future research. If we assign to them the usual Indian average of 18 years to a reign, the Sena dynasty may be arranged as follows :— * For those who may be curious on the subject I quote a few stanzas from the Brahmana Sarvasva. qua aul yaaaeitad faa faararad SSTTE: | aml acanfaeatwews refereed faut 1 UH nA VAHqIgIag Mewauagqa- Crew Wear fay TIT Frat WRTITAAT | NAT FUCTAIHIS WAT waima- afe safgaqae ara fates utartca qadigtad 4 frase araraarat Paar FAA aaa araifad areaa | ee | fanaTE “atear Rawr: wry fa- Aa FU AALVTATATTCSICIACT GATE: II ay Bliqatimyfware: antares TI RCT TAAL CTG IS Zeal aa Baa | aa Sramivamafera areca: Raa MAIS aaylavaantt fat | 1865.] On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. 139 A.D Vorname hs owe Ne ek oi chs oS ELE ees 994 BS AMMAN CEI OM UA ak ae) Wels lddoduabese bd tbardtte 1012 lleniambay Sema vite ias Hi. tececagicencessteeee . LOSO Wajaya alzas Sukha Sena, 2... sc..ci.cscceieds' 1048 Ballade, Sema wae cosceci le isisesie sue wlsigeb enlaces 1066 MASMMAN AVON A: Vacensa cesorcskceevievaslild ese’ 1101 Mindnawan Sema fs ncckbeastibhle soda cdne wee’ 1121 HMesiva Seman csse is fcliitiecs ies heswgere 1) LL22 Lakhmaniya, ae As’ a Su or Sire Sena, 1123 The last overthrown by Bhakhtiar in ...... 1203 This arrangement brings the age of Vira Sena, probably the first of the family who settled in Bengal, to very near the time which I have assigned to Adis’ tira in my paper on Mahendrapdila,* and it would not be too much to assume that Vira was the immediate successor of Adis’ tira. There is, however, no monumental or any ancient authentic record to prove the date of A’dis’tra. The authorities quoted in my paper agree in bringing him down to the time of Ballala, and must therefore be rejected as false. The author of the Kdyastha Kaustubha places the advent of the Kanauj Brahmans in Bengal in the year 380 Bengali or 892 A. D., which would place A‘dis’ tra in the midst of the Palas and be altogether inconsistent with the history of the five original Brahmans and Kayashtas of Bengal. Pere Tieffenthaler’s authorities carry Adis’ tra still further back, and place him twenty-two generations away from Ballala. My date of Adis’ura is founded upon the genealogical tables of the Kayasthas as now current in this country. Those tables give 27 generations from the time of Adis’tra, and at 3 generations to a century the time of that prince is carried to 964 of the Christian era. If there be any error in the tables, it would no doubt falsify my deduction, but as long as that error is not detected, that deduction will, I expect, command more attention than the authorities I have quoted. But be that as it may, as far as we are at present informed, it must be admitted that the two princes lived at times very close to each other. It is said by some that Adis’tra was the father of Ballala ; while others maintain that he was the progenitor of the Sena dynasty. The first statement may at once be rejected as inconsistent with the inscriptions and the * Ante Vol. XXX, p..11. 18 140 On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. [No. 3, Dénasdgara ; but the second may be true, and if so, Vira Sena may well be taken to be the same with Adis‘tira, The name Adis‘Gra does not sort either with the Palas or with the Senas. The word s’aira is a synonym of Véra a hero, and the ddz is indicative of the initial position which Vira Sena occupies in the genealogy of the dynasty. It is stated in the genealogical tables of the Kayasthas that when Ballala established his system of Kula the original five Kéyasthas of Ka- nauj had multiplied to 56 families. Assuming that each generation of the original Kayasthas had multiplied two-fold, five generations from Adis‘tra to Balléla would give eighty individuals, who may well repre- sent the alleged number of families. Of the Brahmans the total number of families that lived at the time of Balldla is not known. But it is evident that it was not large, for we find that he included only ten families in the ranks of his nobles, viz. two of the descendants of Bhattanarayana, two of those of Daksha, one of those of S’ri Harsha, three of those of Chhandada, and two of those of Vedagarbha. They do not suggest a longer period than would be covered by five generations. It should be noted that the editor of the Venisanhdra,* Muktarama Vidyavagis’a, in his genealogical table of the Tagore family makes Haléyudha minister of Lakshmana Sena, to be the 16th in descent from Bhattanarayana; but masmuch as his statement has been con- tradicted by the author of the Khités a-vaisdvali-charitay who would have him to be the third in descent from Bhattanaraéyana, and both have been contradicted by Haléyudha himself, who calls his father Dhanafijaya, whereas the one makes him the son of Nipu and the other that of Ramaripa, we may well reject his testimony as inad- missible. It must, however, be admitted that the identity I suggest is a mere conjecture, and I hope it will be taken as such and no more. There is one more circumstance in connexion with the Senas to which I wish to allude, before I conclude,—it is with reference to their caste. The universal belief in Bengal is, that the Senas were of the medical caste, and families of Vaidyas are not wanting in the present day who trace their lineage from Balldéla Sena. There is, however, nothing authentic to justify this belief. It is well known that a great many of the pedigrees given in Burke’s Landed Gen- try ave utterly worthless, and it is notorious that many families of * Hd, Calcutta, 1855. + Pertche’s Hd. p. xvi. 1865.] On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. 141 obscure origin have their veins filled with the blue blood of genera- tions of kings by the opportune help of popular genealogists, and we feel strongly tempted te believe that the pedigree of the so- called Ballala’s descendants is no better. The Kulapanjikdé of Kula- charya Thakura describes Adis’tira as the “ sun of the Kshatriya race.” (Kshatriya vansa haisa) ; the Bakerganj and the Rajshahi inscrip- tions agree in calling the Senas, the descendants of the moon or Kshatriyas of the lunar race (Somavansa) ; the latter describes Samanta Sena as “a garland for the head of the race of noble Kshatriyas’’— brahma kshatriydndém kulos’iro ddéma; and their testimony cannot be rejected in favour of modern tradition. Nor is it difficult to account for the mistake which has given rise to that tradition. There lived in former days in the North-West a race of Kshatriyas of the name of Ambastha. The Vishnu Purana alludes to them when enumerating the several races of the North-West Provinces, (@31 XTHTAaleqsr: GT- =~ Sala qua: wat setauEtare sara fear saalaaaate @ fcqweca fear: Tat I es I Of the (three) qualities of the Deity, which manifest themselves singly, without discrimination, one destroys the universe, the other preserves, and the third creates it. But this king resembled the Deity, on account of his having these eminent qualities, and employing them with discretion, for he destroyed his enemies, preserved the virtuous, and made his subjects happy by destroying their foes. awa feaya: ofs fafaoaataciqa at ceases yfacaat WaT wate: | qq ad ATAU Aad Vat feaeTySt astazaumaifefa wat vy feat a-afa: | re I He assigned heaven for the residence of his opponent kings, and took upon himself the dominion of the earth; his sword decked with heroes’ blood, fulfilled this contract. Had it been otherwise, then why did the descendants of his enemies, fly from the field of battle, where he chal- lenged them with his sword ? a araqdictasaiia fac: avatar FASAU AAASCAACLTA: | WiSssaRIcuiMaRaey- ay afagata awcat faata | 2: I “Thou hast no hero to conquer” said the bards. On hearing it, through a misconception (the words being susceptible of the meaning “thou hast conquered no hero,’”’) a deep anger rose and assailed the king of Gauda who overcame the king of Kamrupa, and forthwith con- quered him of Kalinga.* * The latter part of the s‘loka may mean that the king (not the anger) assailed the king of Gour, subjugated the king of Kamrupa and quickly conquered him of Kalinga; or, he assailed the king of Gour who had subjugated the king of Kamarupa, and quickly conquered him of Kalinga ; or he quickly conquered the king of Kalinga who had overcome the king of Kamarupa without the interven- tion of the king of Gour. R. M, 1865.] On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. 149 qiagq saa aay fafas © crag wa wai aaa ay ate facar arate Cua | raaiaasfanuufate: Fares: aayat adalcueatataataat faxaateqa: | zr Il O Raghava, O Aswineya, O Vardhana, do you boast, calling yourself a hero? away with your boasting, stop your pride. The cries that arose day and night among the captive kings prevented the guards of the prison-house from sleeping’ (at any time). UIsiaaaaaaray say aaz mqtaa tea arata arfqara | vig afsefccafs wary. aufeada afefoeaat wari | 22 | The fleet which he equipped for conquering the western countries, went up the stream of the Ganges, and one of the ships became stuck in the ashes which are on the forehead of Shiva, and which have been changed into mud by constant mixture with the water of the Ganges, and being left there, shines as the moon. [The Hindu Shasters affirm that the Ganges proceeds from the Jaté (matted hair of Shiva), and hence this sloka means, that this king having resolved to conquer up to the source of this river, one of his ships going up the stream became stuck on the forehead of Shiva, where it shines like the moon. | qa RUAA AMC HILAT WAV ATA. yay waite ta ufcafafaee: qfataerfearara | qywiaagcui faateaqaa: arya arch: fused aq getctgstanasat aise: Bifaararaieal Through his favour the wives of the rich Brahmins learned to make diamonds from cotton seeds, black diamonds from grass leaves, silver from the flower of long gourds, pearls from brittle cavities of pome- granates, and gold from flowers of gourd-creepers and euphorbia. aaratasifaaaa ag - WAIN HIAIAAATA: | 150 On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. [ No. 3, awrataig faaygate- ATTARATS HUST BAA: | 2S Il Though on account of this age, the praise of his virtue is one-legged, yet, through his power, it has travelled over the world, holding the sacrificial posts continuously erected by him (on the earth). [The import of the sloka is, that he was constantly engaged in per- forming sacrifices, on which occasion posts are erected on the spot where the ceremony is performed. Among the Hindus, there are four ages; Satya Yuga is the age of purity, Treta, Dwapara and Kali. In the first, virtue is supposed to be four-legged, in the second, three-legged, in the third two-legged, and in the last one-legged ; thereby showing that the worldis gradually becom- ing sinful. This is Kali Yuga, and is said to have commenced from the latter part of the reign of Yudhisthir, king of Hastinapura, the modern Delhi. | AN EN SUC SIafCVyFaAISa sa PHALTY gard yaaa a: ay awe q | EN a cN ay ~ e SUG: Goataias fracas Lalaa aA TT ULNCY waa aayfysra: || 2 | Having invited the gods from Meru, which was infested by enemies, this sacrificer made the inhabitants of the heaven and earth to change their places ; and by digging deep ponds* and erecting lofty temples, he made the heaven and the earth to resemble each other. [It is supposed thatthe peaks of Meru are inhabited by the gods. When any sacrifice is performed, they are suffered to come down to the earth to partake of the offerings. | TANIGIAIUW WTAITIA EAT AALS war siagaafsfafafanecaay AEN aa | ariamaan fyqauaawand frciat ~ EN ESS angaacy aad asadiaiad: Gags |i Re | * The Burrin or high land of Rajashahi is covered with the most enormous tanks that astonish every body. I do not know of ever hearing of any other dis- trict with the same number of tanks as this. It is no exaggeration to Say, that there is a tank measuring 200 to 500 yards in the north of this district, and Some most extensive and beautiful. 1865.] On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. 151 This king of the earth erected a temple to Pradyumneshwar, which was girdled by the oceans and contained inside the whole ethereal firmament. It extended to all directions in space, and vied in lofti- ness with Meru, round which the sun, moon and the stars move. It became the mid-day mountain of the sun who rises and sets in the eastern and western mountains. mated catasa efeataeat fewer qu aatattia aarti efaafenm: rarest ata: | sagaraaaeg fer fanaa asat arasefa catty ate ueat Grae mbes | Ro | 0 sun! in vain have you obliged Agastya to remain in the southern quarter ; look, this lofty temple has obstructed the passage of your horses.* Let Agastya go in any direction he likes, and let Vindya increase its heights as much as it can, but it shall never be able to attain the loftiness of this temple. [According to the Purans, the sun is represented as moving round Sumeru, a mountain supposed to be situated in the middle of the earth. This particular honour paid to it, excited the jealousy of Vin- dhya, another mountain, (the mountains are supposed to possess animal life), and he worshipped Shiva and obtained the power of increasing his body as high as he wished. Vindhya did so, and obstructed the passage of the sun which doomed the half of the earth to darkness. The gods, having perceived this, were alarmed and prevailed upon Agastya, a moonie and spiritual guide of Vindhya, to leave Kashi (Benares) and to prevent his increase. Agastya acceded to their wishes, and went to Vindhya who, seeing his guru, prostrated himself on the ground. Agastya, thereupon in order to serve the purposes of the gods, ordered him to remain in that posture till his return from the southern quarters, where he is supposed still to reside. | ez ute eats ufasa, gavefoufaaa aif: | aclue: wieuaieafan wanquwy acfuasw IRs | If Brahma, making the earth as a potter’s wheel builds a pot, taking as much mud as the Sumeru is in weight, then that pot can bear resemblance to the golden one placed by this king on the summit of this temple. * The mythological story of Phoebus and his horses, 152 On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. [No. 3, fainafanifentageniecage wcafacmagqeeicaatege qa: | PCIE qzafea: SAVAAUIAIFAT MAUACHILASTAA BAH AE: |] RE | Before the temple of Shiva, he dug a pond in which reflected the rays of the pearls stuck in the diadem of the crest of the female ser- pent and to which the black bees are attracted by the sweet scent of the musks applied to the breasts of the maidens who go to bathe there. [The snakes are supposed to reside in Patal, a region below this earth. He dug his pond to such a depth, to cause the rays of the dia- monds over the heads of the female snakes to pierce, through its waters. | saat fence THAT ASFA aifaat tasgatatantaray a Ara: Wa Faq: | Teas Wet: maaqaa hia atearaat awl agaiefesuca qa fe Gaga: |) se | This descendant of the Sena family did wisely provide for the poor, inasmuch as he clothed Digambar (naked) with coloured dresses, adorned his body with golden ornaments, erected a palace for him, as he used to live in Shashana (a place where dead bodies are burnt,) and made him rich, as he maintained himself by begging. . [In the Hindu mythology, Shiva is represented as naked, living in Shashana, and maintaining himself by begging. He is ornamented, with serpents. | fasaiauaan eeafatafeagaeecis: BWIA TNMACalAAA BAL TCATAATT: | quae aa WASafMIat Tas: ATAAAL aug, 4 fact aataacaa aaatafaae® || 32 II This king dressed Shiva at his own choice in the shape of Kalpa Kapdlika, replacing his (Shiva’s) tiger’s hide by coloured silken clothes, his serpents by bulky garlands pendent over his breasts, his ashes by sandal wood powders, his rosary by blue pearls, and his human _ bones by gems. 1865. ] On the Sena Rdjds of Bengal. 153 [A Kalpa is a period of 4,320,000,000 of years (constituting a day and night of Brahma), after which period the universe is supposed to be destroyed by Shiva, who assumes on the occasion the form of Kapalika, having a tiger’s hide for his dress, serpents round his neck, ashes over his body, and a rosary of human bones in his hand. The carpenter in Marryat’s ‘ Midshipman Easy” was evidently ac- quainted with the Kalpa theory. | aITet HiMtuctedynaawe yfesiaa qatdia a uate featy qaqa dateaa | taae feng vaaqceiag carts: ue e aasaaraufeacuTe Taerafa | a2 | He acquired by his arms the government of the world, and gained what was good for him in earth by his own powers. He has nothing to ask for in this world ; but, O Shiva, who hast the half-moon on thy crest, bless him and give him in the end final absorption into yourself, yRiguya ufcasfed wa: SIL WTaAal ule ULIMLA AT AT aaifuqcacfeafaareaa qa: ufaataqaa ¢ a yaa: 1.33 | Jt is Valmika and Vyasa who are able awhile to do justice to hig life ; we have tried this only to purify our words by emerging in the holy river of his fame. [Valmika, a saint, is the author of the Ramayana, a famous and beautiful historical poem, containing a life of Rama. I believe Rama to be Bacchus, or rather Bacchusto be Rama. I have no authority for this idea beyond a curious similarity between the fables of this country and the fables as told by the Greeks. Rama conquered the Continent of India, and — nune quoque qui puer es, quantus tum, Bacche, fuiste Cum timuit thyrsos India victa tuos ! Victa racemifero lyneas dedit India Baccho. Ovid. Art. Amorum v. 189, 190. Metam. av. 413.] 154 On the Sena Rajds of Bengal. [No. 3; ios 6 ox aaaerafaqeaayys: @ Tata 5 ° £ qaarat Ista aaMaat Waa: | a -™ ° ~N qiasa waata watstaara faaet aaUai CaIg Bel aaneare alfa: || ae | As long as the Ganges will purify the heaven, the earth, and the Patdla, (a region under the earth, Purgatory), as long as the moon wilt become an ornament of Shiva, and as long as the three Vedas (Rig, Yajus and Shama) impart true knowledge to the virtuous, so long may his fame, becoming their friends, do similar duties which are done by them ! fafwaaaqeautaartaatat. antyanuaaaasaate: | QU Ra: UU UfawIEgs- qguataueyw afa: safes: | ay | This garland of praises, consisting of the gems of the pure Sena family kings, has been constructed by Oomapatidhar, a poet, whose under- standing has been refined by study of words and their meanings, (7. e. by the study of literature). YPRMIUAU AACA seud aafcai one aaa qesafafaarat- FSlaMcCaA Baath || a¢ | This praise has been inscribed (dug) by humble Shulapani, the head of the Barendra artists, son of Brihaspati, grandson of Manadasa and great-grandson of Dharma. AAADDARR ADA RAR ARA RADA AAA Piss Val: XRXIV. Pare 1 Plate xr Jowrnsl As, Soc “ DELHI ———— eee se Es Bf ugha = SM1KAR SS Sketch ot the Ruins of DELHI wy, ry INDRA- PRASTHA een “ ¢ ish Ds | Ra lt aS Ne hy q Las 3 URtKor | Pirnonn ie se = highed Mara ee ae eee Be, Beard ae. ; Uitheg: at Whe Surv. General iPice, calcutta, Aug’ 1665, al Part [ Plate XTX. | cetch | ) Ruins of YELHI 1865.] Report of the Archeological Survey. 155 Report of the Proceedings of the Archeological Surveyor to the Govern- ment of India for the Season of 1862-63.—By Major-General A. Cunnineuam, Archeologicai Surveyor to the Govt. of India, [ Received 3rd Feb., 1865. | [Read 1st March, 1865. ] (Continued from Vol. XXXIII. page Ixxxvii.) I1—MATHURA. 159. In the Brahmanical city of Mathura, in A. D. 634, the temples of the gods were reckoned by Hwen Thsang at five only, while the Buddhist monasteries amounted to 20, with 2,000 resident monks. The number of Stwpas and other Buddhist monuments was also very great, there being no less than seven towers, containing relics of the principal disciples of Buddha. The king and his minis- ters were zealous Buddhists, and the three great fasts of the year were celebrated with much pomp and ceremony, at which times the people flocked eagerly to make their offerings to the holy Stupas containing the relics of Buddha’s disciples. Hach of them, says Hwen Thsang, paid a special visit to the statue of the Bodhisatwa whom he regarded as the founder of his own school. Thus the follow- ers of the Abhidharma, or transcendental doctrines, made their offerings to Sdriputra ; they who practised Samddhi or meditation, to Mudga- laputra ; the followers of the Sautrdntikas, or aphorisms, to Purva Maitreyani Putra ; they who adhered to the Vinaya or discipline, to Upali ; the Bhikshunt or Nuns, to Ananta ; the Anupdsampannas, or novices, to Rdhula (the son of Buddha) ; and they who studied the “ Greater means of advancement,” to the great Bodhisatwa Manju Sri or Avalokiteswara, who plays such a conspicuous part in later Buddhism. But notwithstanding this apparently flourishing condition of Buddhism, it is certain that the zeal of the people of Mathura must have lessened considerably since A. D. 400, when Fa Hian reckoned the body of monks in the 20 monasteries to be 3,000, or just one-half more than their number at the time of Hwen Thsang’s visit in A. D. 634. 160. Fa Hian and his companions halted at Mathura for a whole month, during which time “the clergy held a great assembly and discoursed upon the law.” After the meeting they proceeded to the Stupa of Sdriputra, to which they made an offering of all sorts of 20 156 Report -of the Archeological Survey. [No. 3, perfumes, and before which they kept lamps burning the whole night. Hwen Thsang describes these processions as carrying flying streamers and stately parasols, while the mists of perfumes and the showers of flowers darkened the sun and moon! J can easily realize the pomp and glittering show of these ceremonies from the similar scenes which T have witnessed in Barma. I have seen streamers from 100 to 200 feet in length carried in processions, and afterwards suspended from pillars or holy trees. I have beheld hundreds of gorgeous parasols of gold and silver brocade flashing in the sun; and I have witnessed the burning of thousands of candles day after day before the great Stupa of Shwe-Dagon at Rangoon, which is devoutly believed to contain eight hairs of Buddha. Before this sacred tower, I have seen flowers and fruits offered by thousands of people, until they formed large heaps around it, while thousands of votaries still came thronging in with their offerings of candles, and gold leaf, and little flags, with plantains and rice, and flowers of all kinds. 161. From these accounts of the Chinese pilgrims it would appear that the Buddhist establishments at Mathura must have been of consi- derable importance, and this conclusion is fully borne out by the number and interest of the recent discoveries. Contrary to his usual practice, Hwen Thsang has unfortunately given us but few details regarding the monasteries and temples of Mathura. This is the more to be regretted, as we now know that one of the monasteries was established by the great Indo-Scythian King Huwishka, about the beginning of the Christian era, and that one of the stone statues, judging by the size of its hand, could not have been less than 20 feet in height. 162. The first place described by Hwen Thsang is a monastery situated on a mound, at 5 or 6 li, or about one mile, to the east of the city. Cells were formed in the sides of the mound, which was ap- proached through a hollow, and in the midst was a Stwpa containing the nails of Buddha. This monastery is said to have been built by the holy Upagupta, who, as we learn from one of the legends of Pdtalz Putra, was a contemporary of Asoka. The nails and beard of the holy man were still preserved. 163. On another mound to the north of this monastery, there was a cave containing a stone chamber, 20 feet high and 30 feet long, 1865. ] Report of the Archeological Survey. 157 which was full of bamboo spikes only four inches in length. These spikes represented the number of husbands and their wives who had been converted by Upagupta. 164. At 24 or 25 li, or just four miles to the south-east of the stone chamber, there was a large dry tank, with a Stwpa on its bank, which marked the spot where Buddha was said to have taken exercise. On this spot also, according to the local legends, a monkey had offered honey to Buddha, which the teacher graciously accepted and directed that it should be mixed with water and given to the monks. The glad monkey made a wild bound, and fell into the tank and died; but owing to the powerful influence of his good act, he became a man in his next birth. 165. Ina forest at a short distance to the north of the tank there was another holy spot, where the four previous Buddhas were said to have taken exercise ; and all around it there were numerous Stupas, which marked the places where no less than 1,250 arhats, or holy men, including Sdriputra, Mudgalaputra, and others, used to sit in meditation. But besides these, there were several other Stwpas on the spots where Buddha at different times had explained the law. 166. The two principal sites described by Hwen Thsang can, I think, be fixed with tolerable certainty ; namely, that of the famous Upagupta monastery, and that of the monkey’s offering. The first is said to be at 5 or 6 lv, or just one mile, to the east of the city ; but as an eastern direction would take us to the low ground, on the oppo- site bank of the Jumna, where no ruins now exist, I feel quite satisfied that we should read west instead of east. This change is rendered almost certain by the discovery of numerous Buddhist remains inside the great square of the Katra, which is just one mile to the westward of the old fort of Mathura. But it is rendered quite certain by the more recent discovery of very important Buddhist remains and old inscriptions in a mound beside a tank which is situated just three miles to the south-east of the Katra mound. This tank mound [ take to be the place where Buddha was said to have taken exercise, and where the monkey made his offering of honey. The direction is precisely the same, and the distance agrees also as well as can be made out from Hwen Thsang’s statements. He gives the distance as four miles from the stone chamber, which was at some unstated, but certainly: short, 158 Report of the Archeological Survey. [No. 3, distance to the north of the Upagupta monastery. The nearest mounds are about half a mile to the north of the Katra, which will make the whole distance 33 miles, if measured in a direct line by the British road, which passes outside the city, but which will be fully four miles if measured by the old road, which goes through the city. Had the Chinese pilgrim given us the name of the monastery built by Upagupta, we might perhaps have obtamed some absolute proof of its identity with the site of the Katra ; but I believe that the very strong reasons which I have just before given are amply sufficient to fix the site of the Upagupta monastery at the present Katra. 167. There are a great number of lo‘ty earthen mounds around Mathura which are covered with fragments of stone and brick. No- thing, however, is known about them, although every one of them has a separate name. The numerous fragments of stone which are found upon them show that they are not old brick-kilns, as might have been supposed from their vicinity to the city. Apparently, they are natural mounds such as are found everywhere along the lower course of the Jumna, and which have usually been taken advantage of for the sites of forts or temples. Thus the old fort of Mathura is perched upon a similar mound, and so also is the Jama Masjid in the middle of the Katra Square. Most of the names of these mounds refer to the Brah- manical divinities; but there are two of them, such as the Anand Tila and the Vinayak Tila, that are unmistakably Buddhist, and which may possibly refer to the two Stupas of Ananda and Updli (the Vinayaka, or teacher of Vinaya) as described by Hwen Thsang. Both of these mounds are to the north of the city. To the south there are seven mounds known as the Sat Tila, which are severally named as follows :—1, Dhu-ka-Tila ; 2, Sapt Rishi ; 3, Bal, or But, Tila ; 4, Narad ; 5, Kans ; 6, Kal-jug ; 7, Nagshesha. Now, it is remarkable that the number of great Stwpas of the disciples of Buddha was also seven; but unfortunately as nothing is recorded regarding their relative positions, we are left entirely to conjecture whether these seven mounds may possibly represent the seven famous Stwpas of Bud- dha’s principal disciples. I think that it would be worth while to make some excavations in all of these seven mounds to the south, as well asin the two northern mounds which still bear Buddhistical names. 1865.] Report of the Archeological Survey. 159 168. The Katra mound has been successively occupied by Bud- dhists, Brahmans, and Musalmans. The Kasra, or market-place, is: an oblong enclosure like a Sara, 804 feet in length by 653 feet in breadth. In the midst of this square stands the Jdéma Masjid, on a large mound from 25 to 80 feet in height. The mosque is 172 feet long and 66 feet broad, with a raised terrace in front of the same length, but with a breadth of 86 feet, the whole being 30 feet in height above the ground. About 5 feet lower, there is another terrace 286 feet in length by 268 feet in breadth, on the eastern edge of which stands the mosque. There is no inscription on the building, but the people ascribe it to Aurungzib, who is said to have pulled down the great Hindu temple of Kesava Deva, or Keso Ray, that formerly stood on this high mound, a most noble position, which com- mands a fine view of the whole city. Curiously enough, I have been able to verify this charge against Aurungzib by means of some inscrip- tions on the pavement slabs which were recorded by Hindu pilgrims to the shrine of Kesava Ray. In relaying the pavement, the Muham- madan architect was obliged to cut many of the slabs to make them fit into their new places. This is proved by several of the slabs bear- ing incomplete portions of Nagari inscriptions of a late date. One slab has “ bat 1713, Phdlgun,” the initial Sam of Sambat having been cut off. Another slab has the name of Keso Ray, the rest being wanting ; while a third bears the late date of S. 1720. These dates are equivalent to A. D. 1656 and 1663; and as the latter is five years subsequent to the accession of Aurungzib, it is certain that the Hindu temple was still standing at the beginning of his reign. 169. The greater part of the foundations of the Hindu temple of Kesava Ray may still be traced at the back of the Masjid. Indeed the back wall of the mosque itself is actually built upon the plinth of the temple, one of the cyma reversa mouldings being filled up with brick and mortar. I traced the walls for a distance of 163 feet to the westward, but apparently this was not the whole length of the temple, as the mouldings of the Hindu plinth at the back of the Masjid are those of an exterior wall. I think it probable that the temple must have extended at least as far as the front of the mosque, which would give a total length of 250 feet, with an extreme breadth of nearly 72 feet, the floor of the building being no less than 25 feet above the 160 Report of the Archeological Survey. [No. 3, ground. Judging from these dimensions, the temple of Kesava Deva must have been one of the largest in India. I was unable to obtain any information as to the probable date of this magnificent fane. It is usually called Keso Ray, and attributed to Raja Jaga Deva, but some say that the enshrined image was that of Jaga Deva, and that the builder’s name was Ray or Raja Kesava Deva. It is possible that it may have been one of the ‘‘innumerable temples” described by Mahmud in his letter to the Governor of Ghazni, writtenin A. D. 1017, as we know that the conqueror spared the temples either through admiration of their beauty, or on account of the difficulty of destroy- ing them. Mahmud remained at Mathura only 20 days, but during that time the city was pillaged and burned, and the temples were rifled of their statues. Amongst these there were “ five golden idols whose eyes were of rubies, valued at 50,000 dinars,” or £25,000.