268 Inscription in old character on the [MarCHj 



The only other name that occurs is one of some importance and 

 celebrity, being no less than Putaliputa itself the capital of the Maury an 

 dynasty of Magadha, known as such in the Buddhist annals, and in the 

 Greek authors as Palibothra. In Sanskrit it is written with precisely 

 the corresponding orthography, "qr^f^g^:, but in the Buddhist annals 

 we find sometimes Patiliputto, frith the dental t. No clue is afforded of 

 the position of the town by the inscription, but it is remarkable that the 

 name is omitted at DJiauli, and in its stead the expression hida cha 

 * here' — * at home*-— as contrasted with bdhilesu cha, or bdhiresu, 

 ' without, abroad, among foreign countries' "^l^"^. Of hida, for \q 

 more will be said when I speak of the dialect. 



Remarks on the Sixth Tablet* 



I was inclined at first to look upon the prativedakas, as a kind of 

 khabar navis or newswriters appointed every where to send informa- 

 tion to the sovereign of what was going on among the people, as is 

 universally the practice with native courts at this day: 



Or again the recurrence of the word atham (artham) which means 

 wealth, riches, as well as interest, object, might induce some to consider 

 them inspectors appointed to assess the wealth of the people,— for the 

 collection of revenue, arthasanstirand ? 



But the sense adopted is preferable, and we may either regard this 

 edict as setting on foot an extensive system of national education (an 

 education in which conduct through life was the thing taught) — or a 

 system of judicial administration to take cognizance and decide on all 

 departure from the moral law — and this latter is the more likely, because 

 the mention of atydyaka or agents of punishment immediately follows. 



The adjudication of punishments is treated of at greater length in the 

 west compartment of the Delhi pillar, the correct interpretation of 

 which is still a desideratum. 



Remarks on the Seventh Tablet. 

 The only remark which it occurs to me to make on this short sen- 

 tence, relates to the last word bddham, which I stated, in my transla- 

 tion of the inscription round the shaft of the Feroz lat at Delhi, not to 

 be Sanskrit. True it is not to be found in Wilson's Dictionary nor in 

 Colebrooke's Amera cosha, but Kamalaka'nta informs me now 

 that the word "^t^ bddham frequently occurs in Sanskrit works. Thus, 

 in Bhavadeva JBhattas Dasakarma this word is given with the signi- 

 fication of assent " yes." The guru is instructing the noviciate what he 

 is to do, w^T^t ^^ ^T^fafcT w?i > ' the pupil answers to all this 



