1848.] Notices of an Arabic Work, fyc. 501 



easily recognised from the marked and unchanging features of the loca- 

 lity. None of the learned French commentators on Fa hian has at- 

 tempted any restoration of Pi pho lo ; but in connection with the pre- 

 ceding tradition, it is obviously the Chinese transcript of the Pali 

 Webharo, or of its Sanscrit equivalent. Now if we turn to Capt. Kit- 

 toe's interesting paper in the Journal for September 1847, we shall 

 ■find in the Sketch Map at foot of Plate XLII., the Son Bundar cave 

 set down in the Baibhar hill in the precise position indicated by Fa 

 hian. The cave itself is thus described by Capt. Kittoe : " To the 

 left or west side of the pass is a chamber called Sone Bundar, of pre- 

 cisely the same shape as those of Burabur. There are sockets to 

 admit of timber roofing on the exterior of the cave, and there have 

 been buildings extending to some distance in front : it would be inter- 

 esting to clear the rubbish here. There are several short inscriptions, 

 and some of the shell shape ; one has some resemblance to Chinese ; 

 but the cave has been sadly used by a Zemindar, who tried to blow it 

 up many years ago, hoping to find hidden treasure, and a large piece of 

 rock has been broken away at the very spot where we should have ex- 

 pected to find an inscription." There is scarce room to doubt that 

 this is the very site of the hall of the first convocation " at the entrance 

 to the Sattapanni cave on the side of the Webharo mountain," and the 

 precise spot where, as Fa hian assures us, " Foe, after meals habitually 

 resorted to meditate ;" and if subsequent investigation shall confirm this 

 identification, it affords great encouragement to Capt. Kittoe to prosecute 

 his labours in this interesting locality with renewed vigour. All the short 

 inscriptions he mentions should be carefully copied. I fear, however, 

 that the expense of digging and of clearing away the rubbish, without 

 which no important result can be expected, will prove his greatest 

 impediment. 



Notices of some copies of the Arabic work entitled " Rasdyil Ikhwdn 

 al-cafd" — \sj\ u&^-j Ifi-ft-* 1 iy^l dtt~*j By Dr. A. Sprenger, Com- 

 municated bij H. M. Elliott, Esq. V. P. 



In the year 1812, the Rev. T. Thomason published a fragment of 

 this work, which by the novelty of the ideas, the peculiarity of style j 

 and even of the language, created considerable sensation. Baron Von 



3 y 2 



