1865.] Report of the Archaeological Survey. 161 



a broken pillar of a Buddhist railing sculptured with the figure of 

 Maya Devi standing under the Sal tree. At the same time I found 

 the capitals of two large round pillars of an early date, which are most 

 probably Buddhist, along with a fragment of an inscription of the 

 Gupta dynasty, containing the well known genealogy from Gupta, the 

 founder, down to Samudra Gupta, where the stone is broken off. 

 During the present year I have discovered the peculiarly curved archi- 

 trave of a Buddhist gateway, which is richly sculptured on both sides 

 with buildings, figures, and trees, including a representation of a gate- 

 way itself. I found also a very perfect standing figure of Buddha, 

 the Teacher, which had lately been discovered in clearing out a well 

 at the north-west corner of the temple. The figure is 3§- feet high, 

 with the left hand grasping the drapery, and the right hand raised in 

 the act of teaching. On the pedestal there is a elated inscription, in 

 two lines, in characters of an early period. The date is given in 

 figures and is uncertain, but the remainder of the inscription, which 

 is in perfect order, is easily legible. It records the gift of a statue of 

 Sahya Bhihshu to the Yasa Vihdra, or " splendid monastery," which 

 I take to have been the name of the Buddhist establishment that once 

 existed on this spot. I think also that there are good grounds for 

 believing that this was the famous monastery which was founded by 

 the holy Upagupta during the reign of Asoka. 



172. In the same well there were found five other pieces of Bud- 

 dhist sculpture, of which the only specimens worth mentioning are 

 a colossal arm and hand, and a small figure of Buddha, the Ascetic, 

 with an imperfect inscription on its pedestal in characters of the Gupta 

 dynasty. All these discoveries are sufficient to show that the mound 

 of Kesava Ray must have been the site of a Buddhist establishment 

 of much wealth and of considerable size. The inscribed statue proves 

 that here stood the Yasa monastery, and the gateway architrave shows 

 that there must also have been a Stupa surrounded with the stone 

 railing which is peculiar to Buddhist architecture, and which on that 

 account I have ventured to call the Buddhist railing. The site is 

 a most promising one for a discovery, and as the Masjid has long been 

 disused, owing to many dangerous cracks in both roof and walls, 

 I believe that there would not be any objection whatever to a complete 

 exploration of the mound. 



