1887.] S. J. Cockburn —Sitas Window or Buddha s Shadow Gave. 35 
History .—I would identify this cave with the lofty stone cavern of 
a venomous dragon, in which Buddha was supposed to have left his 
shadow, and the spot visited by Hwen Thsang in the seventh century. 
The permanent character of the colossal ruins of Kosambi and the hill 
of Prabhasa should afford a valuable standard for the determination of 
the exact length of the Chinese Li. Hwen Thsang mentions that the 
cave is 8 or 9 li to the south-west of Kosambi. This bearing is, how¬ 
ever, erroneous as the hill bears north-west from the Bliil (or stupa). 
General Cunningham at first supposed the cave to have been carried 
away by the encroachments of the Jamna (A. S. R. Yol. I, p. 311.) 
He subsequently seems to have found a cave (Yol. XXI, Part I, p. 2.) 
But it seems to me from the reference to the three standing Jain figures 
cut in the rock, that he alludes to a rock shelter behind the temple, and 
immediately below these three figures. He says, “ the cave is artificial 
and is simply an old quarry with a pillar left in front for the roof.” 
Sita’s window on the contrary is one of the most perfect and typical 
rock-hewn caverns in existence. With a small and perfect door it has 
evidently considerable internal capacity and a lateral internal extension 
of at least 6 feet. The outer wall is without doubt the natural face of 
the cliff. The cave is hewn in hard grey quartzite, as is of course also 
the inscription. It forms a perfect cysk, with one small entrance and 
two apertures about 8" square to admit of light. The irregular form of 
these apertures is, I consider, the best proof that this cave is that in 
which Buddha left his shadow, as the irregular apertures might well be 
constructed to throw a shadow within, having the human outline. 
The cave is, as before stated, 150 feet to the north-east corner of 
the Jain temple of Paras’nath, and it is difficult to understand how any 
one could overlook it. I have clearly been able able to see the window 
from a distance of three miles. 
The cave is now known to the people as “ Gheta Mata-Jcan BoseiyaB 
