1854.] Coins of Indian Buddhist Satraps* 703 



believed and maintained that Manikyala was the ancient Taxila. 

 In proof of this I quote the following paragraph regarding Ta-clia- 

 M-lo, which I published in this Journal upwards of six years ago. 

 " This is the Sanskrit TaJc-sha-shila, and Pali Tahlcasila, the Taxila 

 of the Greeks, as noticed by Lassen. It is undoubtedly the present 

 Manikyala, which is surrounded by ruins. One of the neighbouring 

 villages is still called Tahhdla, a name of the same import as Takka- 

 sila, and most of the coins now procurable at B-awul Pindi, and in 

 the neighbouring villages are brought from Manikyala." 



Fig. 26. Part of the inscription extracted by General Court 

 from a second tope at Manikyala. The portion which I have given 

 is taken from the end of the 4th line. I have selected this part 

 because it apparently contains the name of the elddr of the two 

 satraps of Taxila, who are mentioned in the other inscription. But 

 the name is unfortunately doubtful, as the two copies which I 

 possess of Genl. Court's inscription differ from each other, as well 

 as from Genl. Ventura's inscription. I have ventured however, to 

 read the name as Gandaphuka which I will retain for the present 

 for want of a better or more probable reading. 



The two inscriptions appear to me to contain the following im- 

 portant facts. 



Genl. Court's inscription. "In the year 446 in the reign of 

 Kanishka, Maharajah of the Gushang (tribe), the satrap Ganda- 

 phuka erected a tope (for what purpose I have not yet been able to 

 decipher)." As a proof of his attachment to the Buddhist faith the 

 inscription ends with the words, Sacha-dhama-pidasa " of the crown 

 of the true dharma" 



Genl. Ventura's inscription. "The Satrap Swasti Siva, son of 

 the satrap Gandaphuka, made a gift of three relic caskets, for the 

 purpose of enshrining the mortal remains "of the emancipated 

 Kanerki or Kanishka." 



The date of the former inscription I have read as 446 on the 

 authority of a stone slab in my own possession which gives in regu- 

 lar order the nine numerals* of as early a period as the Sfth coins of 



* In 1852 I discovered that these numeral figures, from 5 to 9, were the initial 

 letters of their PasJitu names written in Ariano Pali. Thus 5 is represented by 

 p for pinz ; 6 by sp for spaj ; 7 by a for avo ; 8 by th for alha, the a having 



4 z 



