1896.] G. A -'- - — Bepmt am imeestigaiitM at Bedi'-Cmfa. 53 



the engraxie ' -'nabet ocmldbe witlunit ibis waatftS, least cf 



all tliat of Jl irliera Anusvat aa were used tcij extensiTeij. 



"' Sir A. Gnimiiigiuun's dia cu f ery paraesses^ as he hims^f has 

 pointed oat, considerable importaiioe for the hktorjr of Indian wziting'. 

 The masons' alphabet, with its diphthong ai and aim, the Yisai^a. in 

 the gronp ah and the gnttoral ^n^ deals a heaiy blow to the theory, 

 aooordin<^ to whidi the writing of the third eesoSkmrj BLG. and eairlier 

 tknes senred merel j the purposes <rf the Prakrit dialeets. It is as 

 plain as possible that this alphabet has been fiamed for the reqnire- 

 moitB of Sanskrit, and it is at least hig'hly probable that its formaiian 

 is dne to the Brahmans, whose iniSnenoe and peculiar themies are also 

 lecognixable, as will appear farther on, in the mamnfT of the dai^^'ti '^ 

 of the secondary signs &oni ibe original ones. In the third ot-rzij 

 B.C., it appears the state frf things in the elementuy sdiools wi ' 

 same as in our dajs. The <diildren leami an alphabet whidi wa.H :_ : : 

 intended for their Tcmacnlar dialects, and this was no doobt dne i:<: :-t 

 yir paimgfaiMiPi that already then fas later, when the legend r^ari -^' 

 Buddha's Brahminical writing-master, IFisramitza^ arose^ and als-: ::: 

 modem tinii^) the elementaiy instruction was chiefly in the hajiki~ 'A 

 the Brahmans, who did not think it worthwhile to alter, for the s^^ir 

 their Prakritt^peaking pupils, the alphabet imreiited and suited ic : :i.r 

 peculiar hhaaa of their scliools and dass.^ 



As I knew Bodh-Gaya pretty well, and iuad no inem<My of this im- 

 portant series of masons' tnayfcBi, I -fisited that place, under instradioas 

 of the Bengal Goronm^it, in the middle of Morember, and examined 

 the pillar, or rather pillar bases, referred to by l>r. Bohler, with se?*^? 

 minuteness. Sir A. Canningham's descriptioa* is as follows : — 



'^ This chnstered walk, whit^ still exists close to the naf. f 



the Temple, is a simple brick wall, 53 feet long, 3 feet 6" inci' 

 and a little more than 3 feet in height. On each side there : 

 11 Persepolitan pillar bases, of the well-known pattern of a v 

 above three or four steps and surmoonted by a parabolie : 

 with an octagonal ia^ for the reception of an octagonal shafIL Eaidi of 

 these bases was marked with a separate letter of the Aii;Jk%, alphabet^ 

 tiae 11 bases on the south side bearing the 11 Towels a, a, £. £ «, h, e^ 

 m, o, OS, ak, and the northern bases the first 11 consonants h, Vk, g, gh, 

 ■jf, ck, ckh^j^jk, mg, L In Plate W [of Mahabodki}, I hare gnren one 

 of the Bharhut bas-relieCB, which 1 feel certain must be a represent*, 

 tion of one of these covered walks. In the same plate I have given a 

 ¥iew of the remains of Buddha's walk at MahabodhL The whole length 

 of the walk is given with the north^n row of pillar bases still iu siiu. 



