198 Report of the Archaeological Survey. [No. 4, 



Ndga, which still exists to the south-east of the ruins, in the very 

 position described by Hwen Thsang. The name of the Ndga is Kdre- 

 war, and that of the tank Kandaiya Tdl. Milk is offered to him dur- 

 ing every day of Vaisahh, and on the Ndg-panchami of Sravana, and 

 " at any other time when rain is wanted." In a note on the word 

 Chaurdsi Sir Henry Elliot has given an account of Sanhisa, in which 

 he asserts that this Ndga is the common Nag of the Hindu worship, to 

 whom the Ndg-panchami is specially dedicated. But this opinion is 

 certainly wrong, as the above account shows that the Sanhisa Ndga of 

 the present day is propitiated with offerings of milk whenever rain is 

 wanted, just as he was in A. D. 400, when Fa Hian visited the place. 

 This therefore is not the common Ndga of Hindu worship, but the lo- 

 cal Ndga of Sanhisa, who is commonly invoked as Kdrewar Nag 

 Devata. 



241. Before attempting to identify the site of the great monastery 

 with its three famous staircases, its lion pillar and attendant Stupas, 

 it will be better to describe the place as it is at present, although but 

 little is now left of the great city of Sanhisa with all its magnificent 

 monuments. The little village which still preserves the name of San- 

 hisa is perched upon a lofty mound of ruins 41 feet in height above 

 the fields. This mound, which is called the Kilah, or " fort," is 1,500 

 feet in length from west to east, and 1,000 feet in breadth. On the 

 north and west faces the sides are steep, but on the other faces the slope 

 is much more easy. Due south from the centre of the Kilah, at a 

 distance of 1,600 feet, there is a mound of solid brick-work which is 

 crowned by a modern temple dedicated to Bisdri Devi, who is describ- 

 ed as a goddess of great power. At 400 feet to the north of the tem- 

 ple mound there is a capital of an ancient pillar bearing the figure of an 

 elephant, standing, but both his trunk and tail are wanting. The capital 

 itself is of the well known bell shape, corded or reeded perpendicularly, 

 with an abacus of honeysuckle similar to that of the Allahabad pillar. 

 The figure of the elephant is by far the best representation of that 

 animal that I have seen in any Indian sculpture. The veins of the 

 legs are carefully chiselled, and the toes of the feet are well and faith- 

 fully represented, but the loss of the trunk prevents us from forming a 

 decided opinion as to its excellence as a work of art. If Ave may judge 

 from the position of the legs, the animal was most probably represent- 



