1837.] in the district of Gorakhpur. 479 



I may mention that the appearance of the petals of the flower on 

 the sole of the fragment of the left foot (for one foot and one hand 

 are mutilated) would almost induce a belief that the statue was not 

 quite finished when subjected to the ruthless hand of the destroyer. 

 The other parts of the sculpture give an idea of its having been com« 

 pleted and finished with much care. The two figures of the eight- 

 armed gocWess in particular seem to me very well designed and ex- 

 ecuted. 



The group outside what may be termed the frame of the principal 

 figure consists of two stout male personages having each at his left 

 band a figure of the same sex, but of not more than half the height. 

 The form next Mata Koohr seems of more than Herculean proportions, 

 and has apparently a flame or a glory about his head. His left hand 

 rests on the head of a goat, I think, without horns and with pendent 

 ears. The less robust figure has a disc with eight petals in each of 

 his hands, which are held up so that the discs appear over his shoul- 

 ders. He seems dressed in short drawers and short boots, whilst the 

 apparel of his stouter companion more resembles that usually worn in 

 the country. 



The three aerial figures waving necklaces (?) over the eight-armed 

 goddess, occupy rather more space on the stone than they appear to 

 do in the sketch. 



The waved line in the cornice over the head of Mata Koohr is in 

 the original an ornamental carving. 



[Note. — We have delayed the publication of this notice, with the 

 intention of lithographing the sketch ; but although sufficient to 

 shew that the image is one of Buddha, surrounded with the smaller 

 compartments descriptive of various acts of his life, surmounted also 

 above by angels and gods, and below supported by the sinha and 

 elephant, it is not distinct enough for the pencil. The inscriptions 

 also are far too much abraded to be legible — but they probably con- 

 tain nothing more than the ordinary couplet. The Buddhist monument 

 to which the image belonged was probably connected with the lat in 

 the same district described by Mr. Hodgson in the Journal of the 

 Asiatic Society, vol. III. page 482. Tbe name of that lat situated be- 

 tween the town of Bettiah and the Gandak is Mathia, evidently the 

 patronymic of Mata or Matha ; Koohr, or Kunwar, is a corruption of 

 Kumdra, the youthful, or the god of war : — or it may be derived from 

 his adventure in the well, kuhwa. Mata Kumdra might also be inter- 

 preted, ' the defunct Kumara," but in any case the vulgar appellation 

 has nothing to do with the original intention of the image. — Ed.] 

 3 q2 



