1852.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 277 



ture, of columns, cornices, friezes, &c, scattered about the jungles 

 and built into mosques, &c, also of many ancient and curious sculp- 

 tures which, with the kind assistance of Mr. Gray, of Goamutty, I 

 have been able to collect. Owing to the weight of the stones I have 

 left all at Goamutty, for transport to Berhampore during the rains, 

 deferring their transit to the Society's Museum until I learn from you 

 whether they would be acceptable to the Society or not ; otherwise Mr. 

 Gray concurs with me in my intention of presenting them to the 

 British Museum. 



" The principal sculpture I have to offer now, consists of a very 

 beautifully carved image of Soorya highly relieved and surrounded by 

 numerous smaller figures, standing on the car drawn by the seven 

 coursers of the Sun driven by Arun : the height of the principal 

 figure is about 2\ feet. 



" Coleman, in his mythology of the Hindus gives a description of 

 Soorya, and drawing of an image at Benares (if I remember right), 

 but this sculpture which I was fortunate enough to find in the jungle 

 near Gungerampore, appears to be far superior, and much more elabo- 

 rately ornamented than that described by Coleman, or even those 

 mentioned in Buchanan Hamilton's work. Next to this stone, I must 

 mention one found by Mr. Gray, which represents a female figure lying 

 on a richly ornamented couch with an infant by its side, the lady is 

 being shampooed by a female attendant. There are several other 

 figures on the stone and amongst them a row of presiding Deities on 

 the upper portion. The whole is beautifully carved in very high relief 

 and slightly mutilated. I have another portion of a stone representing 

 the same scene as the above, but very much smaller, and so much 

 destroyed by having been cut up, that it is not worth offering to the 

 Museum. There are several other sculptures more or less ancient and 

 curious, which I can describe hereafter, whenever they reach from 

 Goamutty. 



" I have taken impression on cloth of all inscriptions lying about the 

 jungles or fixed on the mosques, which I will at leasure try to deci- 

 pher or send to you to have deciphered in Calcutta, or bring them 

 down with me hereafter if I can get leave of absence for a few days. 

 There are also some copper coins which I was fortunate enough to 

 pick up (mostly from coolies who dig for bricks) and which may lead 



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