






























198 Report of the Archeological. Survey. [No. 4, 
Ndga, which still exists to the south-east of the ruins, in the very 
position described by Hwen Thsang. The name of the Ndga is Kédre- 
war, and that of the tank Kandaiya Tél. Milk is offered to him dur- 
ing every day of Vaisakh, and on the Ndg-panchami of Sravana, and 
“at any other time when rain is wanted.” In a note on the word 
Chaurdsi Sir Henry Elliot has given an account of Sankisa, in which 
he asserts that this Ndga is the common Nag of the Hindu worship, to 
whom the Ndg-panchamz is specially dedicated. But this opinion is 
certainly wrong, as the above account shows that the Sankisa Naga of 
the present day is propitiated with offerings of mill whenever rain is 
wanted, just as he was in A. D. 400, when Fa Hian visited the place. 
This therefore is not the common Ndga of Hindu worship, but the lo- 
cal Naga of Sankisa, who is commonly invoked as Kdrewar Ndg 
Devata. 
241. Before attempting to identify the site of the great monastery 
with its three famous staircases, its lion pillar and attendant Stupas, 
it will be better to describe the place as it is at present, although but 
little is now left of the great city of Sankisa with all its magnificent 
monuments. The little village which still preserves the name of San- 
kisa is perched upon a lofty mound of ruins 41 feet in height above 
the fields. This mound, which is called the Kilah, or “fort,” is 1,500 
feet in length from west to east, and 1,000 feet in breadth. On the 
north and west faces the sides are steep, but on the other faces the slope 
is much more easy. Due south from the centre of the Kilah, ata 
distance of 1,600 feet, there is a mound of solid brick-work which is 
crowned by a modern temple dedicated to Biséri Devi, who is describ- — 
ed as a goddess of great power. At 400 feet to the north of the tem- 
ple mound there is a capital of an ancient pillar bearing the figure of an 
elephant, standing, but both his trunk and tail are wanting. The capital — 
itself is of the well known bell shape, corded or reeded perpendicularly, — 
with an abacus of honeysuckle similar to that of the Allahabad pillar. 
The figure of the elephant is by far the best representation of that 
animal that I have seen in any Indian sculpture. The veins of the 
legs are carefully chiselled, and the toes of the feet are well and faith- 
fully represented, but the loss of the trunk prevents us from forming a 
decided opinion as to its excellence as a work of art. Ifwe may judge 
from the position of the legs, the animal was most probably represent-_ 
