496 Translation of some Inscriptions [Oct. 



the others, from the position they occupy, the apparently more ancient 

 cast of the letter, and the damage they have sustained from time, are 

 evidently coeval with the excavation of the temple. The other inscrip- 

 tions on the temple, which I have not sent you, are all more or less 

 imperfect, and are retained at present for farther investigation ; as is also 

 an inscription found in an adjoining cave written in the same character 

 as No. 2, of the Allahabad pillar. The inscription A is all contained in 

 one line of about 12 feet long, and the height of each of the letters is 

 about five inches. 



I give you no description of the temple itself, as I am informed that 

 a particular description of it, will soon be published in the Transactions 

 of the Royal Asiatic Society of London. It seems only necessary to 

 sav, that the images inside are all of the Buddhist class, while on the 

 outside, the Buddhist and Brahmanical are intermixed with one another. 



From the inscriptions already decyphered, the following facts may, I 

 think, be gathered. 



1st. That the temple in question was excavated sixteen and a half 

 centuries ago. The inscription (E), which contains the date, seems 

 coeval with the sculptured images, and though in several places a little 

 defaced, that part of it which contains the numeral figures, and a few 

 letters both before and after, are happily in a state of perfect preserva- 

 tion. In order that no doubt might rest on this important point, I 

 kept the inscriptions by me for two months, after decyphering them, 

 and at last made a journey in the midst of the rains to the place, in 

 order to ascertain whether or not my friend Lieutenant Jacob had co- 

 pied them with perfect accuracy, before mentioning publicly the dis- 

 covery I had made. The result of that examination was quite satis- 

 factory, and left a full conviction on my mind, that there would be no 

 doubt about the numeral figures. As to the era being any other than 

 that of Sha'livahana, though that is not quite clear from the inscription 

 taken singly, the mention of one of his successors by the unambiguous 

 title, of " Ruler of the Shakas," in an adjacent inscription, of the same 

 cast of letter, carries this point also beyond all reasonable doubt. 



2nd. It seems evident that Shalivahana's empire in the Dakhan, 

 continued in great splendour, in the persons of his successors, for at 

 least a hundred years after the commencement of his era, as is plain 

 from their executing works of so much labour and expence. 



3rd. It would appear, that the Buddhist was the religion at that time 

 most favoured by the ruling party, though the Brahmans, probably from 

 their extensive influence among the lower orders, were thought of suffici- 

 ent consideration, to have some of their images admitted into the society 

 of the deified sages. 



