Beport of the Arch<eological Survey. xxxv 



although it must be considerable, as the pillar is said not to have been 

 loosened by the excavation. I think, therefore, it is highly probable 

 that the whole length is not less than 60 feet. The lower diameter of 

 the shaft is 16.4 inches, and the upper diameter is 12.05 inches, the 

 diminution being .29 of an inch per foot. The pillar contains about 80 

 cubic feet of metal, and weighs upwards of 17 tons. 



66. The Iron Pillar records its own history in a deeply cut Sanskrit 

 inscription of six lines on its western face. The inscription has been 

 translated by James Prinsep, who remarks that " the pillar is called 

 the arm of fame" (Kirtti thuja) " of Raja Mam, and the letters cut 

 upon it are called the typical cuts inflicted on his enemies by his 

 sword, writing his immortal fame." It is stated that he subdued a 

 people on the Sindhu, named VMiJcas, who must be the Bahikas of 

 the Panjab, and lastly, that he " obtained with his own arm an un- 

 divided sovereignty on the earth for a long period." The above is 

 the whole of the meagre information that can be gathered from this 

 inscription, save the bare fact that the Raja was a worshipper of Vishnu. 

 The date of the inscription is referred by James Prinsep to the third or 

 fourth century after Christ ; but Mr. Thomas considers that this is 

 u too high an antiquity for the style of writing employed on the monu- 

 ment." I agree, however, with Prinsep, as the characters appear to 

 me to be exactly the same as those of the Gupta inscriptions. I have 

 already suggested the year A. D. 319, which is the initial point of the 

 Balabhi or Gupta era, as an approximate date for Raja Dhava, as I 

 think it not improbable that he may have assisted in the downfall of 

 the powerful Gupta dynasty. 



67. According to universal tradition, the Iron Pillar was erected 

 by JBilan Deo, or Anang Pal, the founder of the Tomara dynasty , who 

 was assured by a learned Brahman that, as the foot of the pillar had 

 been driven so deep into the ground that it rested on the head of 

 VdsuM, king of the serpents, who supports the earth, it was now im- 

 moveable, and that dominion would remain, in his family as long as the 

 pillar stood. But the Raja, doubting the truth of the Brahman's 

 statement, ordered the pillar to be dug up, when the foot of it was 

 found wet with the blood of the serpent king, whose head it had pierced. 

 Regretting his unbelief, the Iron Pillar was again raised, but owing 

 to the king's former incredulity, every plan now failed in fixing it firmly, 

 and, in spite of all his efforts, it still remained loose (dhila) in the 



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