1802. j Address. 57 



Mauldna Hasanuddin, in the early part of the 16th century. The princi- 

 pal names of the Hindu pantheon are still familiar to them. 



It is in the department of Archaeology and Epigraphy that the 



greatest activity is found. The Epigraphia 



Archaeology and j n( n ca [ s wholly, and the Indian Antiquary 



almost wholly devoted to it ; and numerous 



papers on these subjects appear in the Journals of all Asiatic Societies. 



Mr. Fleet, Professor Kielhorn, Dr. Hultzsch, and Professor Biihler have 



published readings of numerous copperplate grants and other inscriptions 



in the Indian Antiquary and the Epigraphia Indica Amongst the papers 



deserving of special mention are the following : — 



(1) Prof. Bidder's papers in the Epigraphia Indica on " New Jaina 

 Inscriptions from Mathura." These inscriptions have all been recently 

 dug up by Dr. Fiihrer of the Archaeological Survey. They are of very 

 high importance as affording genuine contemporary evidence of the 

 Jaina traditions. 



(2) Prof. Biihler has also contributed to the Vienna Oriental 

 Journal a paper on ' Indian Inscriptions to be read from below.' Dr. 

 Hultzsch was the first to prove the existence of this curious class of in- 

 scriptions. Prof. Biihler shows that some hitherto unintelligible inscrip- 

 tions make sense if read in this way. 



(3) The same authority publishes Contributions to the Explana- 

 tion of the Asoka Inscriptions, in the Indian Antiquary and in the Journal 

 of the German Oriental Society. 



(4) Prof. Kielhorn has a paper on " Sanskrit Plays, partly pre- 

 served as Inscriptions at Ajmere," in the Indian Antiquary for June 

 1891. These are two unique inscriptions of very great interest, inas- 

 much as they preserve portions of two hitherto unknown dramas, and 

 afford actual proof of the fact that Hindu kings composed poetry. One 

 of the dramas is a composition of Vigraha Raja Deva, a Chohan Prince 

 of the 12th century A. D. 



(5) M. Etienne Aymonier publishes in the Journal Asiatique of 

 the French Asiatic Society, a Study of the Chanie Inscriptions in the 

 vulgar language of the ancient kingdom of Champa in Further India 

 (Annam). They date from the beginning of the 9th century A. D. 

 onwards. 



One of the most useful publications of the year is Dr. A. Fiihrer's 

 report on " The Monumental Antiquities and Inscriptions in the N.-W. 

 Provinces and Oudh, described and arranged." This is a goodly volume, 

 425 pages quarto, published by the Archaeological Survey of India. The 

 information in it was partly collected by Dr. Fiihrer himself, partly 

 reprinted by him from different Oi'iental scientific journals, such as the 



