968 Reexamination of the various Inscriptions [Not. 



third century before Christ, is proved by the longitudinal or random 

 insertion of several names (of visitors ?) in a character intermediate 

 between No. 1 . and No. 2. in which the m, b, &c. retain the old form, 

 as in the Gujerat grants dated in the third century of the Samvat. Of 

 these I have selected all I can find on the pillar : — they are easily read 

 as far as they go. Thus No. 7, under the old inscription in Plate LVI. 

 is «TT"¥^f narasa. It was read as Baku tate in the former copy. No. 8 

 is nearly effaced : No. 9 may be Malavadi ro lithakandar (?) prathama 

 dharah. The first depositor of something ? No. 10, is a name of little 

 repute : irfwarrensf ganikdkasya, * of the patron of harlots.' No. 11 is 

 clearly •TKT^W Narayana. No. 12, "^^ VT3T Chandra Bhat. No. 13 

 appears to be halachha seramal. And No. 14 is not legible though 

 decidedly in the same type. 



Now it would have been exceedingly inconvenient if not impossible 

 to have cut the name, No. 10, up and down at right angles to the other 

 writing while the pillar was erect, to say nothing of the place being 

 out of reach, unless a scaffold were erected on purpose, which would 

 hardly be the case since the object of an ambitious visitor would be de- 

 feated by placing his name out of sight and in an unreadable position. 



This epoch seems to have been prolific of such brief records : it had 

 become the fashion apparently to use seals and mottos ; for almost 

 all (certainly all the most perfect) yet discovered have legends in this 

 very character. One in possession of Mr. B. Elliott of Patna, has 

 the legend lithographed as fig. 15, which may be read ^t%T3T •IT3"^J 

 Sri Lokandvasya, quasi ' the boatman of the world.' General Ventura 

 has also brought down with him some beautiful specimens of seals of 

 the same age, which I shall take an early opportunity of engraving and 

 describing. 



But to return from this digression. The pillar was re-erected as 

 * Samudra gupta's arm' in the fourth or fifth century, and there it pro- 

 bably remained until overthrown again by the idol-breaking zeal of the 

 Musalmans : for we find no writings on it of the Pdla or Sdrndth type, 

 ( i. e. the tenth century), but a quantity appear with plain legible dates 

 from the Samvat year 1420, (A. D. 1363) down to 1660, odd : and it 

 is remarkable that these occupy one side of the shaft, or that which was 

 uppermost when the pillar was in a prostrate position. There it lay, 

 then, until the death of the Emperor Akber ; immediately after which 

 it was once more set up to commemorate the accession (and the 

 genealogical descent) of his son Jehangir. 



A few detached and ill executed Ndgari names, with Samvat dates of 

 1800, odd, shew that even since it was laid on the ground again by 



