1877.] Eajendralala Mitra — Researches at Buddha Qaya. 259 



Gaya, a part of which he had suggested should be presented to the Society. 

 Among these stones there were several pillars, rails and coping stones or 

 the old Asoka railing round the temple. One of the stones bore a large 

 inscription in the Lat character of the 3rd century, B. C, and another in 

 the Gupta character of the fourth century A. D. 



Adverting to the arches which he was the first to bring to the notice 

 of the public, Dr. Mitra said that there were altogether eleven arches in the 

 temple, four over doorways, two over passages leading to the sanctuaries, 

 and five forming vaulted roofs. Seven of these were pointed Gothic, and 

 four semicircular. They were built of well-dressed .bricks, shaped like vous- 

 soirs, and set in clay cement. The bricks were set lengthwise, touching 

 each other by the ends, and not side by side as is usual in the present day. 

 This arrangement, conjoined with the defect in the cement, made the arches 

 weak ; but they were true radiating arches, i. e., a series of blocks so formed 

 as to fit in and disposed in the line of a curve, the blocks supporting each 

 other by their mutual pressure, and the entire structure suj^ported at the two 

 ends resting on piers and not horizontal ones, formed of projecting bricks 

 which were so common in India in former times. When Dr. Mitra first saw 

 the arches in 1864, he had only two hours to devote to the examination of the 

 ruins, and he then thought that they were synchronous with the shell of the 

 temple. But further and more careful examination had now convinced him 

 that the temple had originally been built without any arches, the opening 

 in front having been closed by gradually projecting bricks, which left 

 a very high triangular opening, very like what was now to be seen in the 

 old temple at Konch. The object of this opening was to throw the sun- 

 light at dawn on the sacred image in the temple. It was, however, found 

 exceedingly inconvenient, as it brought in the rain-water, which deluged the 

 sanctuary. The interior was therefore divided into three storeys, by build- 

 ing two vaulted roofs, and the entrances were arched over, and provided with 

 doors. This, however, was done before the seventh century, for when the 

 Chinese traveller Hiouen-Thsang, visited the place in 637 A. D., he found 

 the different storeys and the pavilion in front, which stood over a vaulted 

 roof, and described them in detail. He said they had been built after the 

 temple {en suite) but did not give any date. General Cunningham accepted 

 the opinion of the Chinese traveller, and believed that the arches had been 

 built long before the 7th century. Concurring in this opinion. Dr. Mitra 

 observed that the fact would inevitably lead to the conclusion that the 

 arches had been built by the natives of India without any aid from foreign- 

 ers. Had they learnt the art of building arches from the Western nations 

 the Persians, Greeks or Romans, they would have for certain reproduced the 

 foreign model, and arranged their bricks in the same order in which those 

 nations did, and used the same cement which their teachers did. But they 



