celebrated cities which had witnessed various acts in the life of Buddha, is to be accounted for by the fact that the people of Ujain were converted by Katyáyana the disciple of Buddha, and were never visited by the Great Teacher himself. At the time of the Second Synod, in B. C. 443, the fraternity of Avanti (or Ujain) furnished no less than eighty orthodox Bhikshus to assist the holy Yaso in suppressing the schisms of the community of Vaisáli. As conversion must have preceded the establishment of fraternities and monasteries, the propagation of Buddhism throughout Ujain may be dated with certainty in 500 B. C., and with probability even as high as 550 B. C., during the lifetime of Sákya.

22. On the other hand, it seems to me more likely that the relics of Sáriputra were all deposited in the Tope at Rajagriha; and that they remained there undisturbed until the time of Asoka; who, when he distributed the relics of Buddha over India, would most probably have done the same with the relics of Sariputra and of Máha Mogalána. I have already stated that the still existing gateway of this Tope is of the same date as those of the Great Tope, that is, the early part of the first century of our era. The railing I attribute to the age of Asoka, at which period I suppose it probable that this Tope was built, although it is quite possible that it may date as early as the middle of the sixth century before our era. The great Topes at Sánchi and at Satdhára were built principally of brick and these I presume to be

the oldest of the Bhilsa Topes, most of the others, which are of stone, were certainly of the age of Asoka.

OTHER TOPES AT SÁNCHI.

23. The solid mounds of masonry marked Nos. 4, 5, 6, and 7 in Plate IV., were all opened without any results. They were built of large stones set in mud. In No. 4, the solid rock was reached at 8 feet; and in No. 7, the earth was reached at 13 feet; Nos. 8 9, and 10, are merely circular foundations.

CHAPTER XXII.

SONÁRI TOPES.

1. The little village of Sonári is situated on a low spur of a sandstone hill, between the Betwa and Besăli Rivers, six miles to the south-west of Sánchi, and about twenty-one miles to the north-east of Bhupál. The name is only the spoken form of Suvarnári, or the "golden wheel," which is a symbol of Buddha as the Maha Chakravartti Raja. The traditions of the Buddhists say that when the age of man attains four thousand years, there appears a King of the Golden Wheel* "who is born in a royal family, and obtains supreme dignity on succeeding his father and being baptized in the water of the four oceans. For fifteen days he bathes in perfumed water, and fasts; then ascends an elevated tower, surrounded by his ministers and courtiers. Suddenly there appears a golden wheel in the east, shedding a brilliant light, and advancing to the place where the King is standing. If the King would proceed towards the East, the

* Fo-kwe-ki, c. xviii., note 12.

wheel turns in that direction, and the King, accompanied by his troops, follows. Before the wheel are four genii, who serve as guides. Wherever it stops, The same thing

there does the King in like manner. takes place in the direction of the south, the west, and the north-wherever the wheel leads, the King follows; and where it halts, he does the same. In the four continents he directs the people to follow the ten right ways, that is to say, not to kill, not to steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, not to be double tongued, not to calumniate, not to speak with elaborate refinement, not to abandon one's-self to lusts, not to entertain anger and hatred, and not to have immodest looks. He is called the King of the Golden Wheel, or the Holy King turning the wheel; and he possesses the seven precious things, of which the first is the treasure of the Golden Wheel." This wheel has a thousand rays. The monarch who possesses it is called "the Holy King who causes the wheel to turn," because from the moment of his possessing it, the wheel turns and traverses the universe, according to the thoughts of the King. Other wheels of silver, copper, and iron, are also mentioned; but they are all nearly the same symbols of Buddha.

2. From this explanation of the name, it seems probable that Sonári once possessed a golden wheel, which must have been elevated on a pillar, as shown in so many of the Sánchi bas-reliefs. A pillar of this kind is described by Fa Hian, as still standing at

Shewei or Srávasti in Oudh, when he visited the place in 400 A. D.

"There are," says he, "two pavilions and two stone pillars; on the pillar to the left, is executed the figure of a wheel-on that to the right is placed the figure of an ox." There is, however, no trace of a pillar now at Sonári; but the polished cylindrical shafts of these columns could be so readily converted into sugar-mills, that their entire disappearance offers no proof of their non-existence.

3. The Sonári Topes are situated on the top of the hill, about one mile to the south of the village.* To the north, east, and south of the Topes, the hill extends for some distance almost level, but to the westward it is broken into narrow ravines, which give rise to clear springs that once furnished the fraternity of Sonári with drinking water. The hill is covered with trees and low thorny jungul; and the place is now as wild and desolate as it was once cheerful and flourishing when the hymn of praise was chanted by

several thousand voices.

4. The Great Tope at Sonári is situated in the midst of a square court, 240 feet each side. In the south-west corner there is a solid square mass of masonry, from 12 to 15 feet in height, and 36 feet on each side. In the north-east corner there is a flight of steps, 4 feet wide, leading to the top. The object of this building and of similar structures at Satdhára puzzled me very much, until I had seen the ruins at * See Plate V.