452 Ancient Sculpture and Inscriptions [Junb, 



tually cut away. It contains, as will be seen presently, and as M. 

 Jacquet was able to guess with infinite trouble from the former tran- 

 script, an allusion to Maharaja Chandra-gupta, with the advantage 

 wanting in other inscriptions of this great prince, of a legible date. 

 Moreover, it contains the name of the current coin of the period, 

 and leads to very curious conclusions in regard to the source of the 

 money of India at that time. A second inscription somewhat similar 

 to the first, which had escaped Mr. Hodgson, has been brought to 

 light : and in addition to these a number of minor inscriptions in the 

 ancient lat character. 



These apparently trivial fragments of rude writing have led to 

 even more important results than the others. They have instructed 

 us in the alphabet and the language of those ancient pillars and 

 rock-inscriptions which have been the wonder of the learned since 

 the days of Sir William Jones, and I am already nearly prepared 

 to render to the Society an account of the writing on Sultan Firoz's 

 lat at Delhi*, with no little satisfaction that, as I was the first to 

 analyze those unknown symbols and shew their accordance with 

 the system of the Sanscrit alphabets in the application of the vowel- 

 marks, and in other points, so I should be now rewarded with the 

 completion of a discovery I then despaired of accomplishing for want 

 of a competent knowledge of the Sanscrit languagef. 



As to Captain Murray's beautiful drawings, I only regret that it is 

 impossible to do them justice in Calcutta. I have merely attempted 

 in the accompanying lithographic Plates XXVIII. and XXIX. to 

 give a reduced sketch, shewing the general outline of the building (of 

 which a rough plan was published with my former note), and the pecu- 

 liar form of the gateways, on one of which both the inscriptions were 

 found. Of them Captain Murray writes : " The form of the gateways 

 is, as far as I know, perfectly unique, and however it may outrage all 

 the canons of architectural proportion, there is an according propriety 

 in it perfectly in keeping with the severe simplicity of the boundary 

 palisades and the massive grandeur of the lonely and mysterious 

 mound ; and its lightness is so combined with solidity and durability 

 that it is with a mixture of awe, and reverence, and admiration you 

 contemplate this unknown work of forgotten times." 



A native drawing of one of the sculptured compartments of the gates 

 was made public by Dr. Spilsbury. It represented the procession 

 establishing the chaitya itself : a common subject on such monuments. 

 Others exhibit the worship of the sacred tree of Buddha : — but the 



* Vide infra. f Journal Asiatic Society, vol. III. p. 117. 



