INSCRIPTION FROM BUDDHA GAYA. 



163 



liood, translations from which are given in the Appendix No. 5, to Symes's 

 embassy to Ava, and in Dr. (Buchanan) Hamilton's essay on the lite- 

 rature and religion of the Burmans, published in the 6th volume of the 

 Asiatic Researches. The writing exhibited in Symes's plate of the Bur- 

 man alphabet as the Pali or religious text of the Burmans, is in the same 

 square character ; indeed, it is a sentence copied from the Kammua-tsa, 

 which is usually written on plates of ivory or other substance with the 

 Burmese varnish boiled, the plates being often gilded.* The learned ima- 

 gine that the square form of the letters rendering this character more easy 

 to be cut, it was invented for lapidary inscriptions ; or perhaps its closer 

 resemblance to the ancient Pali alphabet may have led to its adoption. 

 The Burmese possess eight or ten different kinds of Kyoiik-tsa, but most of 

 them differ from the character in this inscription chiefly in ornamental 

 additions. 



As I possess and have read through a complete copy of the Burmese 

 History in 39 volumes,! I have been enabled, with the assistance of some 



* Symes has not copied the sentence quite correctly, and has omitted the first syllable of the 

 first word. In the accompanying paper B. (Plate II.) the sentence maybe seen written in both 

 the square and the common Burmese characters. The Kammua-tsa is composed entirely in the 

 Pali language, and held in great reverence, being used to administer an oath upon to a priest, 

 and sometimes on solemn occasions to laymen. 'I'hose vowel marks which are placed above 

 consonants in the common character, are often placed, slightly altered, on the same line with 

 the consonants in the Kammua-tsa character, apparently because the lines in that kind of 

 writing have very little space between them. Th\s Kammua-tsa character is called " 3Iag- 

 yeeze-ye,"l Tamarind seed writing, because the letters are supposed to resemble that seed. 



f The Burmese possess several histories of their own kings, as well as of the kings of 

 Prome, Pagan, Pegu, Zenmay, Toung-ngoo and Ta-t,houng, relating fairly enough their dis- 

 asters as well as successes, and bearing strong internal marks of authenticity, often supported 

 by ancient stone inscriptions. About four years ago the present king of Ava appointed some 

 of his most learned priests and officers to compile a new edition of the large Burmese History, 

 called Maha Yazawen-dau-gyee ("). I possess a copy of this work in 39 volumes. It commences 

 with the creation of the world, accordirg to the Buddhist system of cosmogony, and after giving 



X Perhaps a corruption of MagadU, from the country where the writing was current. Sec. 



(-) Maha Raja Wenddyri. 



