1839.] Inscribed Slab found near Chhatar pur. 163 



rior height and age. But the chances are, the trees (or jungle rather) 

 will eventually have the best of it. My first inquiry, after taking 

 breakfast, was for ancient inscriptions, and a temple close by was im- 

 mediately pointed out as the possessor of one. I went there, and sure 

 enough there was an inscription in the No. 3 Sanscrit character of the 

 Allahabad pillar, in the most perfect and beautiful state of preserva- 

 tion, engraved on a stone slab which measured about five feet by four, 

 and was completely covered on the upper side with writing ; the stone 

 was laying at a slope against a step in the side wall of the temple. 

 It was the largest, the finest, and the most legible inscription of any I 

 had yet met with, and it was with absolute delight that I set to work 

 to transfer its contents to paper. I took two copies, one on a plain 

 white paper, without ink, by pressing it in a wet state with towels 

 into the hollows formed by the letters, and another reversed with 

 ink, which I spread upon the stone. The facsimile, or impression, ob- 

 tained was the most beautiful specimen I have by me, and I regretted 

 that the surface of the stone twenty square feet, was too large for me 

 to spare time to make a duplicate with ink. The date of it is 1123,* 

 Sunbat, or 771 years ago, as was distinctly pointed out in the lower- 

 most line of the inscription ; having done this I took a look around, — 

 " Si monumentum quseris, circumspice," — and could not help ex- 

 pressing a feeling of wonder at these splendid monuments of antiquity 

 having been erected by a people who have continued to live in such a 

 state of barbarous ignorance. It is a proof that some of these men must 

 then have been of a more superior caste of human beings than the rest. 

 Khajrao is situated one koss distant from Rajnuggur, the Rajah 

 of which sent to express a hope I would pay him a visit on my return : 

 and as I was in his dominions, I thought it was as well to do so in the 

 evening. I found in the ruins of Khajrao seven large Diwallas, or 

 Hindoo temples, most beautifully and exquisitely carved as to work- 

 manship, but the sculptor had at times allowed his subject to grow 

 rather warmer than there was any absolute necessity for his doing ; in- 

 deed, some of the sculptures here were extremely indecent and offensive; 

 which I was at first much surprised to find in temples that are pro- 

 fessed to be erected for good purposes, and on account of religion. But 

 the religion of the ancient Hindoos could not have been very chaste if 

 it induced people under the cloak of religion, to design the most dis- 

 graceful representations to desecrate their ecclesiastical erections. The 

 palky bearers, however, appeared to take great delight at the sight of 

 those to them very agreeable novelties, which they took good care 

 to point out to all present. I was much struck with the beauty of the 



* The impression gives 1173 Sambat. 



