296 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. (June, 1911. 
half of the 7th. The next point is the form of the letter Ya 
when it occurs alone, as the subscript form does not vary in 
inscriptions of this period. We find that the first two grants 
invariably use the tripartite form of Ya: it is only in the third 
grant that we find both forms of Ya used together. In the 
fourth grant, on the other hand, the bipartite form of Ya has 
been used throughout the inscription. Finally we come to the 
test letters Ha and La. I have already shown in the examina- 
tion of the characters of the different plates the several 
different instances of the use of the different forms of these 
two letters. Thus we find in the first grant in eight cases the 
Eastern variety of early Gupta form has been used, while in 
the remaining eight cases the early 6th century form is to 
be found. In the case of Za, we find the earlier form in six 
cases and the later form in 17 cases. But in inscriptions in 
which the presence of the acute angle is general one hardly 
expects to find such early forms of a character used side by 
side with the later forms. Unfortunately in the case of the 
second plate the facsimile does not allow us to be definite in 
our statements, but as much of it as is legible shows the same 
mixture of earlier and later forms. The reproduction of the 
third plate is sonewhat better, though the obverse is more or 
less blurred by corrosion, Here also we find the same mixture 
of early and later forms of Ha and La; but in this plate the 
earlier form of La approaches more to the 6th century form 
than in the two preceding plates. In the case of the fourth 
plate I have all the advantages of having the original before 
me just now. Here also we find the same mixture of the 
different varieties of Ha and La. I do not want to recapitu- 
late the details of my former examination, but it is gratifying 
to see that I was correct in my estimate of the characters of 
this plate. The correctness of my result is supported by the 
foregoing examination of the characters of the three other 
plates. The paleographical evidence of the four plates taken 
jointly prove that the grants are spurious. The alphabet in 
which they are written has been compiled from that of three 
different centuries, viz. 4th, 5th and 6th centuries A.D. I shall 
have to refer to the numerals used in these plates in a later 
of my essay, and the determination of the date of these 
grants is a matter of considerable difficulty and ought to be 
treated separately. 
he foregoing paleographical examination will be incom- 
plete if the characters of these four plates are not compared 
with those found in some records which have been incised in 
characters of a similar nature. The most important inscrip- 
tion in Nepal for this period is the Changunarayan Pillar 
Inscription of Minateva. I mean that this is important 
for the palzography of the four plates which form the subject 
of this paper. This inscription was brought to public notice by 
