270 Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. [Drc. 
of the Kol women, and it is known that the aboriginal tribe of 
Mhars were in possession of the country until dispossessed by the 
ancestors of the present Rajput family of Sonpura. 
Tirruut. Wo. 118.—Bukra. This place, which is one of the 
banks of the Gandack or Naraini, must have been a place of great 
importance, and has been identified as the ancient Vaisala, The 
principal antiquity is one of Asoka’s pillars surmounted by a lion. 
It is only 18 feet above the present level of the ground, and 27 
feet, 11 inches above the level of the surrounding fields. Colonel 
Cunningham made an excavation down to the water level, or 14 
feet below the present surface, but found no inscription, and had 
not then reached the square base, so that the whole length above 
the water level is 32 feet, and, including the statue and capital, 
44 feet 2 inches. 
Wo. 119.—Immediately to the north, and outside the courtyard 
in which the pillars stand, there is a ruined brick stupa with a fine 
old pipul tree growing on the top. This place is famous in Bud- 
dhist annals as the place where the second Buddhist synod was 
held. 
LovuryA NEAR ARE-RAJ. Vo. 120.—Between Bukra and Betteah, 
and twenty miles north-west of Kesariya, at a village called Lourya, 
there is another of Asoka’s pillars, and of the same polished com- 
pact sandstone. It is 363 feet high and hasno capital; it is 41°8 
inches in diameter at the base, and 37} inches at the top. It has 
several of Asoka’s edicts neatly engraved on both sides, and the 
letters are still as fresh and sharp as if only done a year ago. 
Smroun.—On the borders of Nepal, north-east of Motihari, 
is the fort of Simroun, the ancient capital of Mithila. The ruins 
cover an area of sixteen square miles, but are so overgrown with 
dense jungle that it is almost impossible to make out anything. 
A brick wall of four feet thick by a further thickness of 10 feet of 
mud, surrounds the whole. The bricks used ave large, 10’ & 7’ & 2’, 
well burnt, and finely fitted together. Within the outer enclosure 
there is another, comprising about five acres; inside this was the 
palace and principal buildings. Between the two enclosures a great 
number of figures, carvings, statues, and large wells built with 
stone are scattered all over. The palace and many of the principal 
