J 837.] from the Buddhist Tope at Sanchl near Bhilsa. 463 



No. 21 has been reserved for the last, because it contains a second 

 inscription in modern character : — the old writing is 



Kekateyakasa dhama sivasa ddnam ; ' The gift of Kekatetak Dhar- 



MASIVA.' 



Under this in the modern Deva-nagari, 



XI ^tWT^r ^"3" sn^fTrfaTtf Rd Si iSdo Diva pranamati nityam. 



* Rd (for Raja or Rao ?) Sri Sao Deva for ever makes reverential 

 salutation.' 



The same formula occurs on two other stones, and the form of the 

 letters would indicate that it has been introduced at a late period by 

 some rich traveller on his pilgrimage, — and, moreover, a merchant, 

 by his epithet Sod. 



There is still one more short line in the old character, at the foot 

 of the Sanscrit inscription No. 1, of some importance from its posi- 

 tion, as it must evidently have been inserted after the latter, which 

 Captain Smith assures us is the only formal well-executed inscription 

 likely to have been coeval with the structure of the edifice, or at least 

 of the stone gateway. The party who chose this conspicuous place 

 for cutting his name, did so, doubtless, from an ostentation, for which 

 he paid high! He rejoiced in the name of Datta Kalavada, the 

 line reading, Datta Kalavadasa ddnam ; which may perhaps be inter- 

 preted Dattakaravadasya ddnam, ' the gift of Dattakaravada,' (the 

 principal giver, of revenue. ?) 



§ 2. Application of the alphabet to the Buddhist group of coins. 

 Having once become possessed of the master-key of this ancient 

 alphabet, I naturally hastened to apply it to all the other doors of 

 knowledge hitherto closed to our access. Foremost among these was 

 the series of coins conjecturally, and, as it now turns out, correctly 

 designated as the Buddhist series ; and of these the beautiful coin 

 discovered by Lieutenant A. Conolly at Canouj, attracted the earliest 

 notice from the very perfect execution and preservation of the legend ; 

 (see Elate XXV. Vol. III. p. 433). The reading of this coin was 

 now evident at first sight, as ^ \j t 3 i rb Vippa devasa; which converted 

 into its Sanscrit equivalent will be fas^^T Vipra devasya, the 

 coin of Vipra deva. On reference to the Chronological Tables, we 

 find a Vipra in the Magadha line, the tenth in descent from Jara- 

 sandha, allotted to the eleventh century before the Christian era ! 

 Without laying claim to any such antiquity we may at least bespeak 

 our Vipra deva a place in the Indu vansa line of Magadha, and a de- 

 scent from the individual of the same name in the Pauranic lists. 

 3 o 2 



