1888.] S. C. Das —The Sacred and Ornamental Characters of Tibet. 47 
The monograms in Plate Vd, are in Lan-tsha characters. It is 
not easy to ascertain the date when this design was made in Tibet. 
They are found engraved on rocks, or slabs of stone, in votive piles, and 
on boards used in caves and corners of temples. I conjecture they were 
designed and matured by the five Sakya hierarchs who are recognised 
as the successive manifestations of Manju Grhosha, the god of science and 
learning. 
In Plate VI, Nos. 2 and 3, there are two forms of Khando yige, i. e., 
‘ the letters of fairies.’ These characters were used in the old Ninma 
works, said to have been discovered under rocks by some of the Tertons 
or ‘ discoverers of sacred treasure.’ 
In Plate VII there are six specimens of ornamental characters, of 
which :—No. 1 is used in seals and tablets. 
No. 2 is the modified form of the Tibetan characters, called Chhag- 
lohi yig gsar, i. e., 1 the letters invented by Chhag Lochava,’ a celebrated 
translator of Buddhist works. His name is mentioned in Sumpa’s 
chronological list of Tibet. 
No. 3 is the form that was given to the Tibetan characters by the 
historian of Tibet, called Hgos Lochava or Lama Shonnu cZpal. He 
A 
wrote the history of Tibet called Debther Non-po. This form is 
called Hgos lohi yig gsar, i. e., 1 the new letters of Hgos Lochava.’ 
No. 4 is the form of Tibetan characters introduced by $kyogs 
Lochava. These letters are called Skyogs lohi yig gsar, i. e., ‘ the new 
letters of Skyogs Lochava.’ 
No. 5 is called No-mtshar-yig gsar or ‘ the curious new letters.’ 
No. 6 is the form of ornamental Tibetan used in the monastery of 
Rdorje-gdan. 
The symbols, preceding each set of letters (Plates I—VIII) are 
called mgo-yig (lit. head-letter), and are always used to introduce 
writing. They represent the sacred invocation ‘ Om.’ 
In the appendix of Csoma’s Tibetan grammar there are specimens 
of three forms of Tibetan characters and one form of ornamental San¬ 
skrit; viz., 1, U-chan (or headed); 2, U-me (headless); 3, Dutsha 
(round or granular), and 4, the Lan-tsha Sanskrit. These four forms 
being known to the Cis-Himalayan Buddhists, both Csoma and Jaschke 
obtained specimens of them. 
I. The U-chan is confined to printing, and sacred writings, on 
paper, stone and wooden blocks ; to inscriptions on cloth and paper for 
flags, amulets, charm boxes, and prayer wheels, &c. ; and to inscriptions 
for casting lots.—Plate II, a. 
II. The U-me form is in general use, all over the country, it being 
the chief medium of conducting business in the writing of every day life 
