1837.] Facsimiles of Ancient Inscriptions. 679 



To comment further on this highly curious announcement will be 

 premature until we have benefited by the examinations now in pro- 

 gress on the west of India, of the inscriptions in similar characters on 

 the caves of Carli, Keneri, Adjanta, &c. It will probably be found 

 that most of them belong to the same period, and some may yet 

 furnish a clue to their actual date, which is still a matter of obscurity. 



The insulated fragments in plates XXXV. -VI. will not detain us 

 long. None of them are in the most ancient character, or we might 

 have looked for the usual donations ! — On the contrary they seem to 

 designate the names of places of attention, the Buddhist sacred tree, 

 or of Hindu images subsequently introduced. They are in every gra- 

 dation of alphabet from No. 2 of Allahabad to the modern Devanagari. 

 It will be best to take them according to their numbers. 

 Short Inscriptions from the Ndgdrjuni cave. 



No. 4, (the second alphabet.) f?Z'*CTO$|?K : 1f&, ' the renown of Vi- 

 tasavasah' — probably the name of some rich contributor. 



No. 5, is illegible, except the last two letters, 31^. 



No. 6, in a modern character, say of the sixth century: the same 

 is was found on one of the Manikyala coins of Sri Yag.. . 



^IT^Hf ^tifarrar 5 ^ W*?f<T falrSTC. ' The irresistible and auspicious 

 VTogananda reverently salutes Siddheswara.' The want of the 

 muswara or sign of the accusative case to Ananda or Siddheswara 

 eave it ambiguous which is the saluting and which the saluted party ! 



No. 7. *ffafiT Jn^TWl . . Sri Karmamdrga Yogi. . a name, but in- 

 ;orrectly written (JogiJ, and in quite a modern type. 



No. 8. The same remarks apply to this which reads ^?W«F^:«TT"«r. 



Nos. 9, 10. Illegible and in a rude style of writing which I have 

 mly met with on one other monument, the trident of Barahat,—see 

 )late IX. of vol. V. 



No. 1 1 . 3PfN<J§T^T ? Karmachanddla, in very large and plain cha- 

 acters, probably a name. 



No. 12. *?^T<2^^nT, Mahdtrlnasdra, the great plantain, or sdr tree. 



No. 13. ^ffc^fcr (^0 ' The illustrious tiger of battle,' a name. 



No. 14. fararegarfa? ' Oh ! formidable, dread, Siva/ 



No. 15. "^fe^Jr^n; ' The beggars' cavern, or difficult road :' — 

 robably the name of one of the caves. 



No. 16. ^ifV^T 'The root of the fig-tree (or of knowledge)' ? 

 'his formula is repeated several times in other places as in Nos. 18 

 nd 21 of the haftkhaneh series (plate XXXVI.) as though the root 

 f the sacred tree had penetrated in various places into the caves 

 elow. 



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