INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEYS. 349 



remarks that these edicts give an idea of what the king did for his 

 subjects in his wide empire which extended from Behar to Gandhara, 

 and from the Himalayas to the Kalinga coast. Asoka the 

 Humane, went over to Buddhism in the eleventh year of his reign 

 and became a zealous religionist, but he was a good prince, and 

 tolerant towards the other faiths, as is exemplified in his edicts. 



The Buddhist caves of Junagadh, Talaja, Sana, &c. form another 

 feature of interest in Kathiawar. Hwen-Thsang, the Chinese 

 pilgrim of the seventh century states that there were in his time 

 about 50 convents here with about 3,000 recluses. Of these 

 Buddhist convents remains still exist, though four centuries of 

 Moslem dominion and strife have obliterated nearly every trace 

 of most of them. The rock-cut caves at Junagadh were probably 

 excavavated for the Jainas by the Sah or Kshatrapa kings of 

 Surashtra about the end of the second century A.D. Mount Girnar 

 was doubtless a place of pilgrimage, even before the days of 

 Asoka, and in his time it probably became a Bauddha sacred 

 place where monasteries were early formed and cells cut in its 

 granitic scarps for the devotees. The Jaina temples here form a 

 sort of fort, perched on the ledge at the top of the great cliff ; they 

 are 16 in number, and some present a majestic appearance with 

 their boldly carved granite pillars. There is a striking example of 

 modern indigenous art at Junagadh in the tomb of Maiji Sahiba, 

 the mother of the late Nawab of Junagadh. From a low platform 

 rise 20 rich and elegant columns supporting the colonnade or 

 verandah surrounding the tomb. The carving is most elaborate and 

 florid, though Mr. Fergusson considers the details inappropriate for 

 stonework and the style not in accordance with the true principles of 

 constructive design. The town of Jamnagar is of recent origin, and 

 there is not much of antiquarian interest in it, but the facade of 

 the palace and the Delhi gateway, two capital photographs of which 

 were taken by Dr. Burgess, are good specimens of modern Hindu 

 architecture. 



The history of Cutch is involved in great obscurity. But perhaps 

 the most important, as it certainly was the most disastrous, event 

 connected with the architectural remains of the province was one of 

 comparatively recent date, i.e., the great earthquake of the 16th June 

 1819, which extended from Nepal in the north to Pondicherri in the 

 south, and from Makran in the west to Calcutta in the east, but 

 the force of which most violently affected Cutch and the region 



