record is doubtful;* but it appears to me to be in the fourth century of the Vikramaditya Samvat. The figure for 300 is clear, and so is that for 1; but the middle figure, which is the same as the letter 7, is doubtful. We know that it is not 10, or 18, or 90; and this limits the date within fifty years, between 321 and 371 Samvat, or A. D. 264 and 314. If the Saka era of 78 A. D. was used, the date will range between 399 and 441 A. D. I have used the earlier epochs instead of the Gupta era, because the latter would bring the date of the inscription down to the middle of the seventh century, at which period we know that the alphabets of India were the same as the modern Tibetan. The form of the characters shows that this inscription was not later than the time of the earlier Guptas. The date, therefore, whether reckoned in Samvat or in Saka, will range between 300 and 400 A. D.

26. A few feet to the east of the southern entrance there is still standing the lower portion of a magnificent lion pillar. Other portions of the shaft as well as the capital are lying on the ground to the south. By a careful measurement of the different pieces, I found that the height of the shaft must have been 31 feet 11 inches. Captain Fell calls it 32 feet.† The diameter at the base is 2 feet 10 inches; and at the neck it was only 2 feet 3 inches; the total

See inscription No. 198, Plate XXI. of this volume, for a fac-simile of this date.

+ Prinsep's Journal, iii. Plate XXXI.

diminution, therefore, is 7 inches, or nearly one-fifth of the lower diameter. At 10 feet the diameter is 2 feet 8 inches, and at 21 feet it was 2 feet 6 inches. These measurements show that this pillar had a gentle swell in the middle of the shaft, and that the early Indian architects followed the same practice in this respect as the Greeks. The whole diminution being 7 inches, the proportional diminution (if the sides of the column were straight) would be 2.19 inches at 10 feet, and 4.60 inches at 21 feet. There is thus an increase in the thickness of the shaft of rather more than one inch at two-thirds of its height.

27. The capital of the column is 2 feet 10 inches in height. It is somewhat like a bell in shape, but with a greater swell near the top, and is ornamented with narrow festoons. The bell was surmounted by a corded torus of 4 inches, above which was a plain circular band of 3 inches, surmounted by a very 31 handsome circular abacus 6 inches in height. The abacus is ornamented with some very Grecian-looking foliage, and with four pairs of chakwas, or holy Brahmani ducks. These birds are always seen in pairs, and are celebrated amongst the Hindus for their conjugal affection. They are therefore represented billing, with outstretched necks, and heads lowered towards the ground.*

28. The total height of the capital is 3 feet 112 inches, or exactly one-eighth of the height of shaft.

See the abacus of the Allahabad Pillar in Prinsep's Journal, iv. Plate IX., or Layard's Nineveh, ii. 295.

Its width is 3 feet, or just three-fourths of its height. If the dimensions of the capital were obtained from any multiple of the lower diameter, it is probable that the rule was to make the height of capital equal to 11⁄2 diameter of the base. The south pillar is 2 feet 10 inches in diameter, but the northern pillar is only 2 feet 7 inches, and the mean of the two is 2 feet 8 inches. This would give a capital of 4 feet and inch in height, which is within one inch of the measured height.

29. The capital is crowned by four lions standing back to back; each four feet in height. The heads are all broken; but the limbs, which are still perfect, are so boldly sculptured, and the muscles and claws are so accurately represented, that they might well be placed in comparison with many specimens of Grecian art. I attribute these pillars to the period of Asoka's reign, when Greek princes were ruling in Bactria and Kabul. We know that the "barbaric pearl and gold" of the Mogul emperors from Akbar to Aurangzeb attracted numbers of European jewellers and goldsmiths to the Indian Court: and we may therefore naturally infer that the architectural munificence of Asoka would have allured many Greek sculptors and architects from the neighbouring kingdoms of Bactria and Syria. But there is one reason which more than the others inclines me to attribute these lions to a Grecian artist, namely, the correct delineation of the feet, which have four large front claws, and one small hind claw. Now this lion

capital has been imitated by the sculptor of the pillars of the South Gateway, which we know was erected during the reign of Sri Sátakarni in the early half of the first century of the Christian era. On these pillars the lions are represented with five large front claws, and some straight channels up and down are perhaps intended for the muscles. The marked difference of style shows a considerable difference of age; and I attribute the pillars to the same early period as the railing. The native sculptor of Satakarni's reign was no match for the Greek artist employed by Asoka.

It

30. To the north of the Tope there is a second isolated column of similar dimensions to the last. stands on a square plinth 9 feet 3 inches in width at base, 8 feet wide at top, and 3 feet 6 inches in height. It is broken into three steps, as shown in the sketch in Plate X. The lower portion of the shaft is still standing; and the capital is now lying to the northward, at a distance of 32 feet from the shaft. The other portions of the shaft are missing; but the socket in the lower end of the capital shows that the neck of the shaft was 2 feet 3 inches in diameter, or the same as that of the southern pillar. The base is only 2 feet 7 inches in diameter. As these dimensions are nearly the same as those of the other column, and as the measured distance of the prostrate capital from the base of the shaft is only seven inches more than the height of the remaining shaft, I have assumed that the two pillars were most probably of the same height.

31. The bell capital of the northern pillar is terminated by an octagonal abacus, 6 inches in height. Above this there is a massive pedestal 3 feet square, and 2 feet 2 inches in height, which is ornamented on all four sides with a representation of the Buddhist railing. The pillar is crowned by a human figure of rather more than life size. The arms are both missing from the shoulders, and the statue is broken off at midleg. The lower parts of the legs are wanting, but the feet are still adhering to the upper part of the large tenon which was morticed into the head of the pillar.

32. The figure is dressed in the Indian dhoti gathered around the loins, and drawn in folds across the thighs. The end of the dhoti cloth flutters behind the left thigh. The body and the legs are naked. There is a necklace round the neck, and a belt or girdle round the waist. The left hand probably rested on the left hip; but the position of the right hand I cannot even guess. The expression of the face is placid, but cheerful; the posture of the figure is easy, though standing with unbent knees, and altogether there is an air of calm dignity about the statue that places it amongst the finest specimens of Indian sculpture. It probably represents Asoka himself, for there is a figure of Sákya within the northern entrance.

33. The total height of this pillar was forty-five feet and a half, and that of the south pillar very nearly forty feet. They were formed of a light