1898.] Dr. Roernle— Block-Prints from Khotan. 129 



The insertion of the additional column would seem to indicate that 

 each column of the simpler text must be read by itself, the third 

 column forming an additional text. The horizontal blank space, divid- 

 ing the column into halves of seven and five lines respectively, would 

 seem to show that each column consists of two formulae. The simpler 

 and fuller texts would thus contain four and six formulae respectively. 

 Of course, they might be connected with one another. 



The text, to judge from its repetitions, would seem to be some 

 formula, perhaps a charm or an invocation or a so-called " creed." 

 The repetitions seems to suggest a system of praying like that of the 

 Tibetans with their prayer- wheels or flags. The Khotan devotee may 

 similarly have sent up a long string of prayers by simply turning the 

 leaves of his book as rapidly as possible. 



I have already remarked on the resemblance of some of the signs 

 to letters of the Kharosthi alphabet. Accordingly I suspect that the 

 lines are to be read from the right to the left, and that the letters 

 belong to the Semitic class of alphabets. It will be noticed that the 

 letters are written in different sizes, apparently only for the purpose 

 of utilising the available space to the fullest extent. Here and there 

 the forms of the letters in the two texts do not fully coincide. This 

 seems to be due to imperfect inking of the block, or to inequalities in the 

 execution of the block. What the correct form of the letter may be 

 must remain, for the present, uncertain. 



In the following references the letters of the three columns are 

 counted separately, and, in each column, from the right to left. 



Col. II, line 10, letter 4 (the last) resembles the Kharosthi letter 



khu. The same letter (kha) occurs in col. II, line 3, letter 2. 

 Col. I, line 2, letter 5, resembles the Kharosthi da. It is also 

 written diminutively. It also occurs in col. II, line 4, letter 3 ; 

 col. II, line 12, letter 3 ; and col. I, line 8, letter 5 (du). 

 Col. I, line 4, letter 1 resembles the Kharosthi ya. It also occurs 

 in col. 1, line 3, letter 1 (ye) j col. Ill, line 8, letter 1 ; col. II, 

 line 3, letter 4. 

 Col. I, line 4, letter 3 resembles the Kharosthi wo ; the bottom of 

 the letter is open owing to imperfect inking of the type. 

 The same letter occurs in col. II, line 12, letter 4 {7na)f and 

 in col. Ill, line 5, letter 3 {mam). 

 Col. 11, line 4, letter 1 resembles the Kharosthi na. It also occurs 



in col. Ill, line 6, letter 2, and col. I, add. line, letter 3. 

 Col. II, line 9, letter 1 resembles Kharosthi tra. It also occurs in 



col. Ill, line 6, letter 3. 

 Col. II, line 9, letter 4 resembles the Kharosthi ha ; and in diminu- 

 tive form, it occurs in col. Ill, line 11, letter 4. 



