ex Archaological Survey Report. 
covered near Sarnath would appear to have been of a similar kind to 
those which I extracted from the ruined building close to Jarandha’s 
tower at Giryek, and also to those which I have described as having 
been found in the ruins at Bakror, opposite to Buddha Gaya. | 
256. The next excavations, as far as I am aware, were those 
undertaken by myself in 1835-36. These excavations, as well as the 
drawings of the elaborate ornament of the great tower, were made 
entirely at my own expense, the cost during 18 months having been 
Rs. 1,200. I made several desultory excavations wherever I saw traces 
of walls, but they all proved to belong to temporary habitations of a 
late period. At last, after a heavy fall of rain, I observed a piece of 
terraced floor which I ordered to be cleared for the purpose of pitch- 
ing my tent upon it. After a few hours’ labour, however, the flooring 
terminated on what appeared to be the edge of a small tank, which 
was only 13 feet 9 inches square. Continuing the work, I found the 
bases of pillars in pairs surrounding the square. Amongst the rubbish 
inside the square, I found an elaborately sculptured bas-relief, in grey 
sandstone, representing the Nirvdna of Buddha. The stone had been 
broken into four pieces, of which one was missing, but the remaining 
three pieces are now in the Calcutta Museum. This sculpture I 
consider particularly interesting, as the subject is treated in a novel 
and striking manner. In the ordinary representations of the death- 
bed scene, the spectators are confined to a few attendants, who hold 
umbrellas over the body or reverentially touch the feet. But in the 
present sculpture, besides the usual attendants, there are the WVava- 
graha or “ Nine Planets” in one line, and in a lower line, the Ashta 
Sakti, or “ eight female energies,” a series of goddesses apparently 
belonging to one of the later forms of Buddhism. This sculpture is 
well worthy of being photographed. 
257. Further excavation showed that the small pillared tank, or 
court-yard, was the centre of a large building, 68 feet square, of 
which the outer walls were 44 feet thick. My exploration was not 
completed to the eastward, as the walls of the building in that direc- 
tion had been entirely removed by some previous excavation, with 
the exception of detached portions of the foundation, sufficient to 
show that it¢ corresponded exactly with the western half of the 
building. The central square was apparently surrounded by an open 
verandah, which gave access to ranges of five small rooms or cells 
