ey 
Vol. iv a 3.] Pala Inscriptions in the Indian Museum. 103 
&. 
original in the Museum gallery for the importance which it has in 
the records of the Pala kin ngs. 
e inscription is on the base of a statue measuring 
3”°5 « 8” 50”. The front of the pedestal is not one plane, but 
is divided into five surfaces. On the middle one is inscribed Ye- 
arma, etc.; the inscription proper is on the four other surfaces. 
It is written in three long a extending from one end of the 
pedestal to the other. The name of the reigning kin ng is written 
in a fourth line below the intktripbiba. The language is Sanskrit 
pert with high sounding metaphors, and is written in the 10th 
ury Nagari character. The letters are clearly and boldly 
cities. 
The inscription is not dated, but it ap states that it was 
incised in the reign of Gopal adeva. Now, there were at least three 
kings of this name in the Pala dynasty Pans Ep. Ind. , Vol viii, 
buted t Seg ltatem I, the founder of the Pala a oan, both by 
Cbiatigghans and Prof. Kielhorn (see A.S.R. Vol. i, p. 36; Vol. 
p- 120; Mahabodhi, p. 63, and 9 Xxvili, 2. Ep. Ind., Vol. 
App. i i, p. 85; and Vol. viii, hades , p.17). But from the follow. 
ing comparison of the pale ography of these two penal ase 
attributed to Gopaladeva I, with that of the inscription I 
belonging to the 26th year of the reign of Dharmapala, the son and 
successor of Gopala I, we are led to believe that the Gopaladeva 
of these two inscriptions must be later than Dharmapala and not 
his predecesso 
Palatal Sa occurs six times in the same form in the Bodh 
Gaya pedestal inscription. The same letter occurs seven times 
in the Nalanda image inscription and is identical with Sa in the 
Gaya inscription. In the inscription of Dharmapala the 
letter occurs seven times, five times in the Gupta form and twice 
only i in the later form, resembling the form in the inscriptions - 
opala. Here then there is the eae of five to two 
faire of Gopala being later than Dharma 
( he letter Ja occurs ten times in the "Bodh- -Gaya inscrip- 
tion and thrice in the Nalandé inscription, the only difference 
between the two types being that the lower-most horizontal line 
turns into ashort curve in the Bodh Gaya inscription ; while in 
Nalanda inscription the curvature exists, but itis not sosharp ; it is 
rather wavy. ‘he letter occurs thrice in ‘the inscription of Dharma- 
pala, year 26, of which the first in the first line is typical. The 
second in the fourth line is decidedl y ofalatertype. The third Jain 
the seventh line is exactly like the first one. But the abrasions in the 
ooks. ) 
the first horizontal line of the Gupta Ja which gradually becomes 
the seriff (mitra) of the Ja of the nailheaded type is parallel, 
both in the Gupta and early nailheaded type to the other two 
horizontal lines. The Jain the inscription of Dharmapala, year 26, 
’ 
