distinguished under the name of Kooroos: the sons of Pandoo were 
five; Yoodishter, Bheem, Arjoon, Nekool, and Sahader. 
Upon the death of Pandoo, Doorgadun, his nephew, succeeded 
to the throne; hence divisions were excited, and conspiracies 
were alternately formed, on the one hand, to usurp the govern- 
ment, and on the other, to extirpate the race of Pandoo. At 
length, to terminate the feuds, it was agreed between Doorgadun 
and Yoodishter to divide the kingdom; when Doorgadun con- 
ceived an artifice by which he might remove his rival, without 
occasioning those contentions to which the empire had before 
been a prey. To effect this purpose he challenged Yoodishter to 
a game of chance; which being accepted, Doorgadun, by means 
of false dice, won all his adversary’s wealth and kingdom; and 
having thus succeeded, he agreed to give him one chance more of 
redeeming his loss, if, in case of failure, he would retire with his 
brothers for twelve years into such strict banishment, that they 
should not within that time be seen by any man. These terms 
were consented to, Doorgadun prevailed, and the Pandoos entered 
upon their exile into forests the most unfrequented. The term 
of their seclusion from society being expired, they addressed Door- 
gadun, by Vedum and Vyasa, to be restored; when, their over- 
tures being rejected with contempt, they assembled a large army, 
and effected by force what they failed in by entreaty; for in a 
pitched battle fought between the two armies near the city of 
Tanassar, the Kooroos were vanquished, and Yoodishter succeeded 
to the throne. 
It is to these exiles in the forests that the inscriptions are found 
to relate; they consist of short obscure sentences, supposed to have 
