660 Facsimiles of Ancient Inscriptions. [Oct. 



Translation. 



" Salutation to Buddha. — May this votive aspiration of the devoted 

 votary to Mahdvira Swdmi* — (Of him who is) in holiness like the 

 blue-bee steeped in the honied lotus of the feet of a divine personage, 

 and in might like the lion triumphant over the infuriate elephant, 

 who reigns over the royal and puissant progeny of Hulkara Bhupa'la, 

 named Krishna Nripati and Garudana/rayana, his inveterate anta- 

 gonists — who is himself the gracious father (protector) of tributary 

 kings — who, adorned with such might and virtues, sways the im- 

 perial sceptre over 125000 kingdoms well people with mountaineer 

 warriors — the king of kings — the auspicious and high in dignity 

 Asoka Chandra Deva, — (of the aforesaid Raja's) younger brother, 

 Dasaratha Kuma'ra, supported and maintained through the lotus of 

 his gracious feet, his dependent treasurer, a conscientious Bodhisatwa 

 — the light of his tribe and family, by name Sahasrapa'ua, son of 

 the dignified Sri' Cha'ta Brahma, and grandson of Mrishi Brahma 

 — may (this his holy act), united with the virtues of his teachers and 

 guru, his mother and father, enable to attain the fruit of immortal 

 wisdom, salvation from passions and delusions of sublunary existence, 

 and absorption of his soul in the Supreme Being." 



" Written after the conclusion of the reign of Sri mat Laxmana 

 Sena Deva, in the year 74, on Thursday, the 12th day of the dark 

 half of the month of Vaisakha." 



The inversion of the sentence, and the multitude of epithets applied 

 to each party, makes it difficult for an English reader to follow the 

 sense through such a labyrinth : — in a few words, it prays that some 

 good act (probably the building or endowment of a temple) may 

 redound to the eternal welfare of one Sahasrapa'da, the treasurer of 

 Dasaratha Kuma'ra, the younger brother of Maharaja Asoka Chan- 

 dra Deva, the reigning prince of a dynasty that had supplanted by 

 conquest some descendants of the Bhupala family, (of Gaur doubt- 

 less,) by name Krishna and Garudana'ra'yan. All these names 

 and persons I believe are new to history : at least I find no Asoka 

 among the successors of Bela'l Se'n. From his assumption of such 

 a name it may be presumed that he was of the Buddhist faith, as the 

 invocation shews to have been the case also with his officers of state. 



* Buddha, the transcendently victorious hero. The construction of the sen- 

 tence, which it is endeavoured to follow closely, will be hardly intelligible 

 without explaining that this first epithet belongs to Sahasrapa'da, whose 

 name occurs lower down. 



