1881.] A new reading oftlie Sue Vilidra copperplate ~by Dr. Hocrnle. 139 



" I read Mr. Growse's seal as Ifattila, which is a known name ; see 

 Samudra Gupta's Allahabad Pillar inscription, line 18 of Prinsep's Plate in 

 the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, November 1837. It is the 

 second name in the line. The first letter cannot by any possibility be s." 



Dr. Hoeenle communicated a new reading of the Arian Pali Inscrip- 

 tion on the so-called Sue Vihara copperplate. He stated that this 

 inscription had already been read, though imperfectly, by Sir E. C. Bailey 

 and Professor Dowson, in 1870. (See J. A. S. B., vol. XXXIX, 

 pp. 65-70, and J. R. A. S., Vol. IV, pp. 497-502.) Having recently had 

 occasion to examine the copperplate, which forms part of the collection of 

 this Society, he found that some of the letters had hitherto been misread. 

 The rectification of these errors made the meaning of the inscription clear 

 and consistent. Literally translated it is as follows : " On the 20th day 

 of the month Daisios, in the 11th year of the great king, the Overking of 

 kings, the son of the gods, Kanishka ; On the said day, to the mendicant 

 Nagadatta, learned in the Sankhya (philosophy), the disciple of the Acharya 

 Damatrata, the disciple of the disciple of the Acharya Bhava, putting up 

 his staff (or pillar) ; here the owner of the Damana Vihara, a female lay- 

 devotee, Balanandi, (who is) much given to penancey, and Balajaya, her 

 mother, give a shrine for the staff, and the customary accessories. 

 May it be for the health and wealth of all beings." The paper will be 

 published in the Indian Antiquary. 



The following papers were read : — 

 1. On the Temples of Deoghar. — By Dr. Rajendralala Mitra, C. S. I. 



(Abstract.) 



The paper opens with a description of Deoghar, its situation, extent 

 and population. Then follow some extracts from the Puranas on the 

 origin of the Vaidyanatha temple. The substance of the legend is that 

 Ravana, king of Ceylon, was in the habit of daily paying a visit to a 

 lingam on the Kailasa mountain, but, feeling the self-imposed task too 

 troublesome, once sought the permission of the lingam to remove 

 it to Ceylon. The lingam assented on the condition that the removal 

 should be affected by Ravana without a break in the journey, or a deposition 

 of the lingam on the ground any where in the way. Ravana agreed, but 

 when bringing it through mid-air, was obliged to hand it over to a 

 Brahman, who deposited it at Deoghar. The principal temples of the 

 place are all located in a courtyard in the north-east quarter of the town. 

 The largest and most sacred one is barely 400 years old, and was erected 

 by one of the Rajas of Gidhor. The rest are of later dates. The pre- 

 siding divinity of the principal temple is a lingam about 3^ inches high, 



