1863. | Literary Intelligence, &c. 19 
Colonel Cunningham writes to E. C. Bayley, Esq., in a letter 
dated Camp Gonda, 20th February, 1863. 
“T have been most fortunate this season in my identifications of 
the ancient sites. The fact is, that I have had time to read and 
compare the authorities beforehand, and so I was able to make up 
my mind as to where to look for most of the places. I marked them 
down like quail, and then marched up and bagged them. Ahichha- 
tra is a valuable discovery, as the place was of great consequence in 
the early days of Indian history. It is the Adscadpa of Ptolemy, and 
was the capital of northern Panchala. I intend to finish the excava- 
tion of its large Tope during next month. 
In the Khalsi inscription of Piyadasi the letter “r’ is not used, 
hence the name of Alexander is written as <dAlikyasadale—at least 
so I read the name, for it contains a curious compound letter 
+ which I take to be ky. The inscription in this portion is 
certainly different from those of Dhauli and Kapurdigiri and Gujrat, 
The names of the subject countries follow immediately after those 
of the Greek Kings—commencing with Choda Pandiya (not Pida 
ag hitherto given). On the opposite side of the rock, there is an 
elephant boldly cut in outline, and between his legs the short inscrip- 
tion Gajatame, which may perhaps be “'The Black Elephant,” in 
coutradistinction to the Sweta hasti of the Gujrat inscription. 
At Kosam there is an immense ancient fortress with a stone pillar 
of the same dimensions as those of Delhi and Allahabad, but it bears 
no ancient inscription that I could find, although I dug to a depth 
of upwards of seven feet all round it. There is however a record of 
Akbar’s time, in which a pilgrim calls the place Kosdmbi-pura. That 
Kosambi was on the Jumna see the legend of Bakkula who was 
dropped by his mother into the Juwmna at Kosambi, and was floated 
down the stream to Benares. 
Hwen Thsang’s Kia-she-pu-lo is Sultanpur of which the old Hindu 
name was Kusabhavanapura, or simply Kusapura. 
Hwen Thsang’s Pi-so-kia or Visdkha is the same as Fa Hian’s 
Sha-chi, and also the same as the Séket of the Pali annals. It was 
no doubt called Visakha, after the celebrated lady Visékhd who was 
a native of Sdéket ; and I presume that her name was held in esti- 
mation for centuries afterwards, as I refer the coins of Visékha Deva 
and Dhana Deva to princes of Ajudhia who were named after the 
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