456 Note on an Inscription. [No. 6. 



Samvat 1273 or A. D. 1216 ; the character is, as I have above men- 

 tioned, the nearest approach to modern Deva Nagri, the last shade of 

 transition from the " Gowr" or " Kutila" of the inscriptions of the 

 9th and 10th centuries. No deity in particular is here invoked, by 

 which we could speculate upon the creed of the praties concerned, or 

 of the prevailing worship of the day — but the prefix is the mystic 

 " Aum" So that we may suppose them to have been Saivas, though 

 it is not confined to them only. I should mention that inscriptions of 

 this period have often the indefinite [salutation of " praises be" and 

 "praises be to whomsoever." From this it may be inferred that at that 

 period, public opinion was divided as to which should prevail of several 

 creeds. In Jayachandra's time the Buddhists were greatly persecuted, 

 ergo they must have existed (probably in large numbers at so late a 

 date, though the orthodox Hindus would deny this fact.) 



We learn further from this inscription that the usage of mortgages 

 prevailed as early as the 13th century, and that engraving the deeds, 

 and probably burying the same in some spot on the land mortgaged, 

 was common ; the form is simple, and bears the stamp of honesty ; 

 it is drawn up, signed, and agreed to, before witnesses, and securities 

 furnished for the fulfilment of the agreement. No registry is men- 

 tioned, though such a practice, at courts, prevailed as far back as the 4th 

 and 5th centuries : two such documents engraved on copper are in my 

 prossession. If the registry was made on bricks of the same bulk as 

 that of the subject of our remarks, the Registrar would soon have had 

 materials to build a house with. 



We learn that the currency was termed " drummas," in this instance 

 " Shadboddika drumma ;" but the meaning of the term cannot be 

 made out by the pundits, who suggest that a " drumma" must be some 

 given number of cowries, such as the " gandas" and " chaddams" of 

 modern times. 



We are indebted to that talented scholar, Dr. J. Ballantyne, Principal 

 of the Benares College, not only for the present translation, but for 

 several others of lengthy inscriptions, from Gay a and other places, which 

 I hope to lay before the Society at an early date ; and I must here 

 also acknowledge the services of pandit Hiranand, also of the College, 

 who is the only one who has been successful in decyphering ancient 

 characters. K. M. 



