1 & 3 ? . ] XJday agiri and Khandg iri in Cut tack. 1075 



prevents our getting completely at their meaning. The language 

 is of course no longer Pali but Sanskrit. 



No. 1. ^SCTfWT^KT^rT^rq^ia? 



^ fsKWI (%^) II T^?T JT^W^ 



WW ^t^^^t ^cg^fir ii 



M Under the fortunate government of an equitable prince this cavern (was exca- 

 vated) — to endure as long as the sun and moon — for the heaven-born munis — (or 

 holy ascetics), in the viraja khetra (or holy precincts) of the lord of gods (Jagan- 

 nath), as a cave of sacrifice (ijya garbha) In the samvat year nine — (muni)." 



It is a curious fact that all the inscriptions in this comparatively 

 modern character found on the eastern side of India bear samvat 

 dates, either in an era unknown, or in the mere reign of the existing 

 sovereign ; so that little advantage can be taken of them in fixing the 

 epoch of what they commemorate. The word muni here attached to 

 samvatsare is used numerically for * nine,' that being the number of 

 the sages. The name of the king under whose just rule the elephant 

 cave was formed into a sacrifice cave connected with the worship of 

 Prabhiswara, or Jagannath, does not clearly appear. 



The fragments (figs. 2 to 11) carelessly cut on various parts of the 

 caves are for the most part imperfectly legible. — They are in all pro- 

 bability merely the names of visitors as at Allahabad, Gaya, &c. The 

 word ^r?T hotta, i a burnt-offering,' occurs in Nos. 3 and 6. No. 8. 

 contains the name Kuvera'gni, and No. 10 the title Uttamakula vansa, 

 ' descendant of an illustrious family.' — It is unnecessary to dwell upon 

 the reading of the rest, in which many letters and detached syllables 

 might be easily transcribed, because they carry with them no trait of 

 interest further than the fact, that the same transitions of the written 

 character visible elsewhere are equally developed in the remains of 

 these Kalinga monuments. 



We now arrive at the more elaborate and curious document from the 

 same neighbourhood which was the subject of Mr. Stirling's remarks 

 alluded to in a preceding page. I cannot begin better than by inserting 

 in his own words Mr. Kittoe's 



Note on the Khandgiri Inscriptions. 

 " At your request I visited the caves of Khandgiri in March last, for 

 the purpose of examining the inscription mentioned by Mr. Stirling 



