beginning of the Christian era. It was with great satisfaction therefore that I afterwards discovered the name of Sri Sátakarni in a conspicuous situation over the southern gateway. This successful result of my long experience in Indian archæology has given me sufficient confidence to say that the age of any Indian inscription may be determined approximately by the forms of its alphabetical characters. No. 191.-Ayachudasa Dhamakathikasa "Gift of BALA-MITRA, pupil of ARYA KSHUDRA, This inscription is taken from the bas-relief of a Tope on the middle architrave of the south gateway. Prinsep, No. 23, reads the "well-tonsured pupil," but Antevúsin, f, means simply a “pupil,” being derived from, anta, near, and , vasa, to "abide"-that is one who lives near another; as a pupil near a master. Aya-chuda is the teacher's name: see inscription No. 193. Prinsep reads kathaka at the end of the first line; but my facsimile impression gives kathikasa, the possessive case of af, kathika, a "narrator, or story-teller," as कथिक, Prinsep has translated it. ON THE WEST GATE. No. 192.-Kiraraya Nágapiyasa Achhavada Sethi-putasa cha Sanghasa. "Gift of the son of NÁGAPRIYA ACHHAVADA, the master of the weavers, and of SANGHA." See No. 182 for the term which I have translated "weavers." I rather suspect that it must be the name of a place, Kirára. No. 193.-Aya-chudasa Aterásino Bala Mitasa danam thabho. "Pillar-gift of BALA-MITRA, the pupil of ARYAKSHUDRA." Prinsep, No. 22. In this inscription there seems to me to be no doubt that Aya-chuda or Aryya-kshudra is the teacher's name. The Nos. 194, 195, 196. These show that the inscriptions were carried on from one line to another. word dánam, "gift," is carved at the end of the upper band of the column, and thabho, "pillar," begins the second line, which is carved on a central band. Here the sense is complete; and the swastika, , separates this inscription from the following one; which, although it looks legible enough, has quite baffled all my attempts to read it. It is worthy of remark that upwards of one-third of the gifts recorded in these inscriptions were made by the fair sex; who in all countries have been noted for their pious donations. The number is very remarkable, when we remember that in India women could not possess property; but were entirely dependent on their fathers, their husbands, their brothers, or their sons. Another point which I have noticed is the extremely rare use of compound letters. Only three instances occur throughout all these inscriptions; and they are certainly exceptions to the common practice of Asoka's age, which adhered to the simplest Pali forms. The compound sw occurs twice in asna (see Nos. 80 and 83), but the true Pali form of Asa occurs in the ink inscription found inside the lid of the steatite casket from No. 3 Tope at Andher, see Plate XXX. The compound sth is found only once in Dhama sthiri (see No. 160); but the regular Pali form of th occurs twice in patithiya for pratisthiya (see Nos. 40 and 41), and once in mila thiti for milasthiti in the inscription on the southern pillar. The compound nh occurs once in the name of Jonhaka, see No. 152. CHAPTER XVII. OPENING OF THE SÁNCHI TOPE, NO. 1. 1. The persons who tried to open the great Sánchi Tope in 1822 made a large breach on the south-west side, and carried the excavation to the foundation, but they failed in reaching the centre of the building. The Tope was thus partly ruined without any discovery having been made to repay its destruction. Lieutenant Maisey and myself determined to proceed in a different manner, by sinking a perpendicular shaft down the middle of the Tope, so as not to injure its external appearance. After a number of careful measurements, the centre was determined as nearly as possible, and a shaft or well, 5 feet in diameter, was sunk through the solid brickwork to a depth of 48 feet, or 6 feet below the level of the terrace, at the base of the Tope. But the only discovery which we made consisted of numbers of spiral shells (Planorbis), which had been gathered in the mud with which the bricks were cemented together. These will be valu able curiosities to the naturalist, as they certainly date as high as B. C. 300, and are probably not less than two thousand four hundred years old. The bricks are large-16 by 10 by 3 inches. 2. From the non-discovery of any relics or other objects, we are left to guess at the age and destination of the great Sánchi Tope, from less certain although very probable sources of information. From these I have deduced that the Tope itself was in existence not long after the period of the Second Synod in B. C. 443, that the massive stone railing was erected in the reign of Asoka, between 260 and 250 B. C., and that the gateways were added in the reign of Sri Sátakarni, between the years 19 and 37 A. D. 3. The age of the Tope itself depends on the identification of Wessanagara with Chetiya; a point which has been already discussed and settled. Wessanagara is still represented by the ruins of Besnagar, two miles to the north of Bhilsa; and Chetiyagiri (or Chaitya-hill) is undoubtedly the hill of Sánchi, on which the great Chaitya now stands. It was here that Asoka rested, on his way between Pátaliputra and Ujain. Buddhaghoso calls the place Wessanagara, and Mahanamo calls it Chetiya and Chetiyagiri. The Tope was therefore in existence in 270 B. C., during Asoka's government of Ujain; but as one of the eighteen heresies which prevailed after the meeting of the Second Synod was named the "Chetiya Schism," it is certain that the Sánchi Chaitya must date as high as the fourth century before our era, |