98 CONCERNING SOME OLD SANSKRIT. 



Mahanavika-Buddhguptasya Raktamrittikavasa. 



i. e. of the eminent shipowner Buddhagupta, resident at 

 Raktamrttika (9). The words following these cannot be made 



out with certainty, possibly sya (sign of genitive) ddndm (gift) 

 or deyadharmah (pious donation). Even less can we decide 

 if anything was written on the broken foot of the pillar. 



On the left hand side beginning at the top we read — Sarv- 

 vena prakarena sarvvasmat sarvvatha sarvva — Then follows a 



gap until at the end of a second line we see : — 



Siddhay anasanna . 



What is left of the first line can be translated word for 

 word : ' In every way, from every thing, in every respect, all ' • • • 

 Siddhay anasanna might mean ' who has performed a successful 

 journey ' but it is impossible to decide with certainty that that 

 is the meaning ; too much of the sentence is missing to allow 

 of its restoration to its original form. 



Despite the incompleteness of these inscriptions which 

 all appear to be by the same hand it is probable that the 

 monument is the gift of a pious Buddhist sea-trader to a temple. 

 As regards the man's residence, Raktamrttika i. e. Red-earth 

 I would remark that the Chinese accounts make frequent men- 

 tion of a port in the Gulf of Siam Chih-tu ' Red-earth * (see 

 Groeneveldt in Verhand: Batav: Genootschap XXXIX8 2 _ 

 101) (10) That is probably the place meant. 



The style of writing of Buddhagupta's inscription agrees 

 exactly with the type found in Wenggi and in Tjampda in 

 West Java. The agreement is so striking that I have no hesi- 

 tation in regarding the inscriptions from Wenggi, Tjampa and 



(9) Mrittika is a misspelling for mrttika. A similar mistake is 



found in Jcritiva in an inscription at Ajanta (PI. XXI in No. 9 of the 

 Archaeological Survey of Western India by J. Burgess Cp. No. 10 

 page 79 inscrip. 7) and elsewhere. The mistake is explained by the 

 fact that in many parts of India r is pronounced as ri, 



(10) Misc. papers relating to Inde-China Second Series Vol. I 

 page 205, 242. 



Jour. Straits Branch 



