1840.] from Bactrian and Indo- Scythian coins. 343 



PAO upon the Kanerkes-coins, and he was in consequence com- 

 pelled to admit some spurious forms of n, resembling the shape 

 of r and t ; his alphabet exhibits five of them. Mr. Prinsep sup- 

 posed them to be repetitions of the word Malakdo. Both of 

 them, I think, will admit the refutation on previous grounds. 

 By the term Mahdrdgo the simple title, fiaaiXevg, is always ex- 

 pressed, and it is remarkable enough, that the simple word 

 rag an never occurs for it. The Greeks were satisfied with 

 the plain title /3ao"iXo)e ; this term Menandros and the 

 Greek Kings ordinarily make use of : Eukratides alone affects 

 the prouder title BA2IAEQ2 MErAAOY, for which Mahd- 

 rdgo appears to be the adequate translation. It certainly may 

 be so according to original meaning, but scarcely according to 

 the real interpretation of the word ; for Mahdrdgo was already 

 so much worn out by use, that it was of no more value than 

 the simple king. Many an insignificant chieftain thus styles 

 himself in Indian inscriptions ; and the degradation of the term 

 has so increased, that many private men at present claim this 

 title, as for instance Rammohun Roy, who was so called, and 

 a Mahdrdga is as common in India, as a principe* in Italy. Eu- 

 kratides (whether the second, or not, shall here be left undiscussed) 

 was certainly aware of the difference in the acceptation of those 

 words, if he have also titled himself, according to the draw- 

 ing of Masson (and not according to the represented coins f) 

 upon some specimens ^PH^ii^l T^^llu, " the great king, the king 

 of kings. " As then Mahdrdgo was of less value, than it was 

 as originally compounded, the explicit addition of the term 

 (C great" to Azes after the words, (i King of Kings" is less 

 tautological, than it appears at the first glance. 



The compound word rag dr ago corresponds to jSao-tXcwc 

 (5a<ri\i(jjv. These words (mahdrdgo rdgdrdgo) may both be Sans- 

 crit as well as Pracrit ; for as used here, the Sanscrit would 



* As. Trans, iv. p. 338. 



t If the definition of an Italian principe, " something less than an English 

 Esquire," is correct, Mr. Lassen is certainly out in his estimate of the 

 common usage, to which maharaja is put. It is only in Bengal and Behar, 

 that the title may be termed degraded to the use of private men. Hj 



