Archeological Survey Report. xlili 
in the Barabar group. It is true indeed that the Barabar caves are 
somewhat older than those of Nagarjuni, but the difference of date 
is very little, being not more than 30 years, as will be shown when I 
come to speak of the inscriptions. 
112. The Karna Chopdr cave is situated in the northern face of 
the Barabar ridge of granite which has already been described. The 
entrance, which is of Egyptian form, faces the north. The cave is 33 
feet 64 inches in length, by 14 feet in width. The sides of the cave 
are 6 feet 13 inch in height, and the vaulted roof has a rise of 4 feet 8 
inches, making the total height 10 feet 9 inches. At the western 
end there is a raised platform 7 feet 6 inches long, 2 feet 6 inches 
broad, and 1 foot 3 inches high. From its length I infer that this 
was the pedestal of a statue. ‘The whole of the interior of the cave 
is polished. On the outside, and at the western corner of the en- 
trance, there isa sunken tablet containing a short inscription of five 
lines in the ancient character of Asoka’s pillars. It records the 
excavation of the cave in the 19th year of the reign of Raja Piya- 
dasi, that is, of Asoka himself. ‘This cave therefore dates as far 
back as 245 B. C. The inscription has been so much injured by the 
weather that it is very difficult to make out the letters satisfactorily. 
It also faces the north, so that no advantage can be obtained from 
the difference of light and shade which is caused by the sun in the 
hollows of the letters of such inscriptions as face in other directions. 
There are also several short inscriptions on the jambs of the door- 
way, such as Bodhimula, “the Root of Intelligence,” Daridra Kdn- 
tdra, “‘ the cave of the poor,” or “the mendicant’s cave,” and others 
the records of mere visitors. 
113. The Suddma cave is situated in the same granite ridge, but 
on the opposite side of it, and with its entrance facing the south. 
The door-way which is of Egyptian form, is sunken in a recess 64 
feet square and 2 feet deep. On the eastern wall of this recess or 
porch, there is an inscription of two lines in the ancient Pali charac- 
ters of Asoka’s pillars. An attempt has been made to obliterate 
the greater part of this inscription with a chisel, but owing to the 
great depth of the letters the work of destruction was not an easy 
one, and the clearly cut lines of the original letters, with the excep- 
tion of one perhaps at the end, are still distinctly traceable in the 
midst of the rough holes made by the destroyer’s chisel. This in- 
G 2 
