1863. | Inscription from Pu-gan. 267 
Remarks on a stone inscription from the ruins of Pu-gin on the 
Irrawaddy river.— By Lieut -Col. A. P, Puayre, C. B. Bengal 
Staff Corps. 
Among the ruins of the city of Pu-gan are numerous ancient 
inscriptions, generally on slabs of sandstone, which being soft, and 
the slabs having for centuries been exposed to the weather, the 
inscriptions have for the most part become much worn, and are now 
difficult to be read. Many of these inscribed stones have been re- 
moved by order of the king of Burmah to the capital. Those which 
remain at Pu-gan are seldom found in their original places, but have 
been collected chiefly within the enclosure of one Pagoda called 
Baudi-Phra. Some years ago when at Pu-gan I took rubbings of 
several of the inscriptions, but from want of leisure, have never set 
seriously to work to decipher them. At length I commenced with 
one, the date of which was legible, and which had the merit of being 
short. With the help of two Burmese literati, Moung Shwé Hlau 
and Moung Ta, I have been able to decipher it. The inscription 
possesses no historical interest, but may be of use as showing the 
form of letters existing among the Burmese at the time it was 
engraved, and so be a key to other and more valuable writings. For 
this reason the original rubbing is sent, and a copy in modern Bur- 
mese character, with an English translation, and notes, are added. 
The inscription is unsatisfactory, as it does not give even the name 
of the person making the gifts which it records. Very different in 
this respect is the conduct of the bestower, to that of the modern 
Burmese, who take care to record carefully their names when they 
build a religious or charitable fabric. The language of the inscrip- 
tion is homely Burmese, with such few Pali words as the nature of 
the subject required. In later times a man would have despised the 
vernacular, and have recorded his good deeds entirely in flowing 
Pali. The language is quite intelligible, though the meaning of a 
few words is still doubtful. Considering that the inscription is now, 
(in A. D. 1862), six hundred and seventy-three years old, it is won- 
derful that so few of the words have become obsolete. 
The inscription records that the donor from sincere feelings of 
respect to “the three treasures, Budha, his law and his ministers,” 
