1837.] from the Buddhist Tope at Sanchi near Bhilsa. 457 



or the dark half of the lunation, sudi or badi. Further, in them the 

 term Bhddra is generally employed for the name of the month, while 

 Bhddrapada is Usually applied to the nacshatra or lunar asterism : I 

 cannot, however, insist on any inference hence, that this mode of rec- 

 koning was prevalent at the time of our inscription,) because the final a 

 should be long, and the word purva or uttara should have been affixed 

 to distinguish which mansion of the name was intended ;) but only 

 that the shorter teim Bhddra had not come into use for the month. 

 The year might be made the theme of still more prolific speculation. 

 Taking the letter ^ for Samvat, we have a circle inclosing a cross and 

 three horizontal dashes to the right, © =• This might be plausibly 

 construed into 1000 and 3 ; or 403 ; — or one chakra of the Jovian or 

 Vrihaspati cycle of 60 years plus 3 years ; and arguments might 

 be adduced in support of all these theories, with exception perhaps of 

 the last ; for by the Tibetan account the Jovian cycle was not intro- 

 duced into India earlier than the 9th century. But I rather prefer 

 what appears to me a more simple interpretation, viz. that ^ © 

 stand for Samvat, and = for three quarters, — this being the prac- 

 tical mode of expressing quarters in Indian numeration. Samvat we 

 find every day to be used in the oldest inscriptions for the year of 

 reign, — and it is well known that the Hindus do not reckon a year until 

 it is passed. Supposing then that Chandra gupta made this grant 

 through his agent the son of Amuka, in the first year of his reign, 

 say in the tenth month, there would be no other way of expressing the 

 date in the Hindu system than by saying " f year (being elapsed)." 

 1 offer this conjecture with diffidence, and invite the attention of 

 orientalists to the curious point, with full assurance that there is no 

 uncertainty in the reading of the facsimile, at this place. 



The second inscription, which Captain Smith states to be situated 

 on the side of the same, or eastern, gate-post, has evidently been cut 

 upon the stone after it was erected ; as otherwise the precaution would 

 have been taken of smoothening and polishing the surface for the 

 better reception of the writing. It is, on the contrary, so slightly 

 scratched that in the three facsimiles thus carefully taken, it is hardly 

 possible in many places to distinguish between the letter marks 

 and the natural roughnesses of the stone. The lithograph of it 

 attempted in Plate XVI. was most impartially taken before any at- 

 tempt had been made to read it, and on comparing it with the tran- 

 script in modern Nagari, as subsequently modified and corrected, 

 many instances will be perceived in which my eye has been induced 

 * Captain Cunningham suggests 475, the i being applicable rather to the century. 



