1837.] Facsimiles of Ancient Inscriptions. 671 



shall proclaim it,— his minister of peace and war Kakkaka wrote this. 

 Chandra Salt, commander of the fort had it engraved. Nalgullika 

 vacchikdyd Samvat 1 (?) Mdgh sudi sattime, (on the seventh day of the 

 bright half of the month oiMdgha,) in the year one (?) of the Nulgulli era." 

 Gaya Cave Inscriptions. 

 The subject of Gaya antiquities is by no means exhausted, not- 

 withstanding the labours of Wilkins and Hamilton. — Mr. Hathorne 

 to whom I was indebted for the inscriptions from Buddha Gaya pul« 

 lished in the last volume of my journal, (page 657), — has now at my 

 request favored me with a fresh series of impressions from the Caves 

 in the neighbourhood of the same place, taken off with care and success 

 by his native employe, since his removal to the judicial charge of an- 

 other district, (Cuttack), As the instructions were to bring away 

 impressions of all that were to be found, the collection includes 

 some already known and published, particularly the long inscription 

 translated by Wilkins in the first volume of the As. Res. Neverthe- 

 less the engraving accompanying his version is so wretchedly executed 

 that I think it worth while to lithograph that inscription again from 

 the present impression, as a model of the form of the letters cannot but 

 prove useful, especially since in some slight degree they differ from the 

 Gujerat alphabet as well as from that of Mr. Wathen's plates. 



There are three other smaller inscriptions from various parts of the 

 Caves in the same character and relating to the same parties, namely 

 Sakdu'la Varma, and Ananta Varma. None of these seem to 

 have met the eye of Mr. Harington, as they are not alluded to in 

 his account of the caves, which I here extract from the same volume. 

 "The hill, or rather rock, from which the cavern is dug lies about H 

 miles north of the ancient city of Gaya, and seems to be one of the south- 

 eastern hills of the chain of mountains called by Rennel Caramshah, both 

 being a short distance to the west of Phulgo. It is now distinguished by 

 the name of Ndgdrjuni ; but this may perhaps be a modern appellation ; 

 no mention of it being made in the inscription*. Its texture is a kind of 

 granitef , called by the Mohammedan natives Sang-khdreh, which composes 

 the whole rock of a moderate height, very craggy, and uneven, and steep 

 in its ascent. 



" The cave is situated on the southern declivity about two-thirds from 

 the summit: a tree immediately before it prevents its being seen from the 



* The converse proves to be the fact, the name is that of a celebrated Buddhist 

 patriarch, and was doubtless given to the caves, then occupied by priests of that 

 persuasion, long before the Sdrdilla inscription was cut.— See below. 



t There is a soft compact basalt which is cut into ornaments and sculptured 

 images for sale ; I had understood the caves to be cut in this substance, but I 

 cannot positively assert it. 

 4 r 2 



