1 837. "I on the Columns of Delhi, Allahabad, Betiah, SfC. 571 



specific forms, which are spontaneously evolved from the union of 

 Buddha with Dharma*." Happily in our inscription there is no neces- 

 sity to resort to these subtleties of the schools which have rendered a 

 plain matter perplexed. The word is here evidently used in its sim- 

 ple sense of " the law, virtue, or religion" — and though its gifts and 

 excellencies are vaunted, there is no worship offered to it, no godhead 

 claimed for it. 



The word dhamma is in the document before us generally coupled 

 with another word, vadhi, in its several cases, dhamma-vadhi, dhamma- 

 vadhiyd, &c. according to the Sanskrit grammatical rules of combina- 

 tion or samdsa. 



The most obvious interpretation of the word vadhi is found in the 

 Sanskrit gflf vriddhi, increase, whence are derived the vernacular words 

 barhnd, to increase ; bafhtd, increasing ; barhai, increase, &c, differing 

 imperceptibly in pronunciation from the vadhi and vadhitd of the 

 inscription. The constant recurrence of the same expression would 

 lead to the conclusion that the religion of Buddha was then generally 

 known by this compound title, as * the increase of virtue,' ' the 

 expansion of the law,' in allusion to the rapid proselytism which it 

 sought and obtained. 



Against this interpretation if it be urged that the dental dh [) is in 

 other cases used for the Sanskrit dh ^ ; as in the word dharmma itself ; 

 in vadha, murder ; bandha, bound, &c. Such objection may be met by 

 instancing other undoubted cases where the cerebral dh is used for the 

 Sanskrit ^ ddh as in H <o Tjji]^ adhakosaydni (for arddha) 'half 

 kos ;' and in like manner the dental rth is generally expressed by the 

 cerebral th, as atha, athdya for ^\ ^"«jr^. 



The only other word by which vadhi can be rendered is the Sanskrit 

 if^I vritti, ' occupation, turning/ Now we have examples of the 

 dental t being represented by the cerebral d in the inscription, espe- 

 cially when double or combined with p, as ^ £ sadda for sapta, (or 

 satta, Pali) seven ; and in one compartment (the commencement of 

 the under inscription round the shaft), the same letter, p! dd is used 

 indifferently for <£ , dh, in the very word, dhamma vaddiyd, which we 

 are discussing. It is hardly possible to imagine that two expressions 

 so strikingly similar in orthography as dhammavadhi and dhammavatti 

 or vaddi, yet of such opposite meaning should be applied to the same 

 thing. One must be wrong ; and I should have had no question 

 which to prefer, were it not for a curious expression I remembered to 

 have met with in the Tibetan translation of the Buddhist volumes. 

 * Journ, As. Soc. Vol. V. page 37. 



