Page images
PDF
EPUB

No. 40. An inscription of five lines, originally 6 feet long, on the right-hand side-wall, outside the verandah of cave No. 77, and over the entrance to a side chamber. This inscription is rather faintly cut on a rough surface, and is therefore not distinct; nearly all the first line has peeled off, and about 18 inches of the left-hand end of the second line, with a corresponding portion of the following lines. In the fourth line occur the words "lena deya dhama ;" and in the fifth line,"bhikha saghe pati thápit mátápitaro."

No. 41.-An inscription of ten lines, 3 feet 6 inches long, on the back of the recess over the tank, on the left-hand of the entrance to cave No. 77. This inscription is faintly cut on a honeycombed surface, very indistinct, and almost completely illegible.

No. 42. An inscription of four letters, on the front of a pedestal, or altar, before a sitting figure, in the inner dark chamber of cave No. 78. The surface of the stone is much honeycombed, and the first two letters illegible, without a clue.

No. 43. An inscription of two 7-feet lengths, of five lines each, on the architrave, over the verandah colonnade of cave No. 78; each length being over an intercolumniation, and the short line below being on the capital of a column. This inscription is faint and indistinct in places; and there is a great resemblance between it and No. 15, especially near the beginning; it appears to contain a date, and the names of kings, which are, however, mostly defaced; the names "Vishnu " and "Krishna" also occur. The space after the name "Vishnu" is blank; and also the two spaces just above it, and preceding "shrí."

No. 44.-An inscription of twelve lines, 3 feet 9 inches long, on the left-hand side-wall, outside the verandah of cave No. 81, and over a recess. This inscription is cut rather deep, and is tolerably distinct; the last four lines being more distinct than the rest, and probably cut subsequently; the spaces in the sixth and seventh lines are probably blank. Dr. Stevenson's transcript requires several alterations, especially in the first eight lines; and the name "Nagakanda" is clearly a myth.

No. 45.-An inscription of probably more than five lines, originally 3 feet 3 inches long, on the right-hand side-wall, outside the verandah of cave No. 82. This inscription is cut rather deep, but the rock is honeycombed and weather-worn, so that the letters are very indistinct in places; about three letters are wanting at the end of the first line, and a corresponding number below. Compare the beginning with that of No. 24.

No. 46.-An inscription of eight lines, probably 3 feet 3 inches long, on the right-hand side-wall, outside the verandah of cave No. 84, and above a recess over a tank-opening. This inscription is faintly cut on a tablet surrounded by an ornamental border, the surface of the tablet being much corroded. The letters are of a peculiarly ornamental character, differing from all others at Kánheri.

No. 47. An inscription of two unequal lines, 3 feet 11 inches and 4 feet 8 inches long respectively, above a recess over a bench, at the left-hand end of the verandah of cave No. 96. This inscription is rather faintly cut, but is distinct and perfect; many of the letters are rudely shaped. The first line appears to begin with "sidham uchasakasa vyamita putasa negamasa ;" and the last to end with "deya dhama chheta diná akhayá nivi."

No. 48.-An inscription of three lines, on the face of a squared stone 19 inches x 10 inches, found lying on the outside terrace, under the trees, in front of the chaitya cave (No. 3), and since in the possession of Dr. Wilson. As this may have been built up with other similar stones, it would be rash to read these three lines consecutively.

No. 49. An inscription of two lines on the face of a similar, but smaller, squared stone, found near the same place as the last. This is probably a portion of the same inscription, and seems to contain a portion of the lower two lines, and at a lower level than the other stone.

No. 50.-An imperfect inscription of two lines, on the back of a bench on the north side of the nulla, opposite cave No. 7, being the remains of cave No. 94. The bench is 10 feet 6 inches long, but only 3 feet 6 inches of the end of the last line of the inscription are legible. This inscription is deeply cut, but the surface of the rock is much honey. combed and weather-worn.

No. 51. An inscription of one line, on the front of a small low platform, cut in the surface of the rock, near the summit of the cavehill. The platform is 6 feet long, but there are no letters on the first 18 inches. This inscription is faintly and roughly cut, and difficult to copy, owing to the complexity of the character and the similarity of the lines to the natural markings on the rock. It probably commences with "swasti shrí."

No. 52. An inscription of three lines, 3 feet 9 inches long, on a tablet, cut on a detached rock standing between caves Nos. 21 and 22, and not far from the bund, built of squared stones, across the nulla. This bund, when perfect, was the direct route to the structural temple on the northern hill. This inscription is deeply cut and distinct; but

most of the first line, and part of the second, have peeled off. Possibly the word "taláke" may refer to the temple. It is worthy of note, that though this detached boulder appears to stand on a very insecure base, the fact of the sides of the tablet remaining vertical proves that it has not moved since the inscription was cut; so that if the rocks lying about owe their present state of confusion to an earthquake, it must have been one of very ancient date.

No. 53. An inscription of four lines, 1 foot 4 inches long, on a tablet, cut on a detached rock, standing between caves Nos. 14 and 15. This inscription is deeply cut, but not very distinct in places; no letters are wanting. It appears to read, "Kaliyana tonadasa kamárasa patho deya dhama ;" and perhaps commemorates the dedication of a pathway by some one of Kalyán; if so, the donor appears to have spent more money on the inscription than upon the pathway.

Nos. 54, 55, 56.-Three inscriptions of two lines, two lines, and one line, respectively, cut on the circular edges of three flat segmental stones, dug out of the ruins of the large built and sculptured dagob, in the open gallery (No. 38). The sizes of the circular surfaces of the stones are, respectively, 18 inches x 5 inches, 20 inches x 5 inches, and 214 inches 6 inches. These inscriptions are cut in fine lines upon a smooth surface; the commencement of all the lines is distinct; but the stone is corroded at the right-hand end of the second and third inscriptions. They are all probably parts of the same inscription, and the beginnings of the lines have been originally in the same vertical line. No. 54 commences with the date "Samvat 731, Ashwin Sudh 13.” Another inscription has existed on one of the friezes of this dagob, alongside a sculptured representation of (probably) a human sacrifice, where some very faint traces of letters, of a more ancient form, are barely visible.

No. 57.-An inscription of 24 lines, 3 feet 9 inches long, on the back of a low benching, alongside the flight of steps just above cave No. 95. This inscription is deeply cut, distinct, and perfect; it appears to read, "Chemalakasa heranakasa rohani mitasa putasa dhamanakasa pátho deya dhama ;" and seems to refer to the dedication of a pathway, by the brother of the donor of the tank in cave No. 7. Compare with inscription No.13. The pathway in question consists of a long flight of steps, beginning on the side of the nulla opposite to the tank-recess (No. 5), and ascending the northern hill as far as the ruins of the great dagob.

No. 58. An inscription of three lines, on the segmental face of a stone 8 inches x 4 inches x 9 inches deep, found among the ruins of the brick dagobs in the open gallery No. 38. The first two lines were very distinct, excepting the third letter in the second line; but

the lower line was much decayed. It is probable that the inscription was confined to the single stone, which was built in with the brickwork, another (plain) stone having been found thus in situ. From various circumstances it has been conjectured that these small brick dagobs, which are very numerous, contained the ashes of priests deposited probably in the upper part, as nothing but bricks and dust can be found below; and this insoription might settle this point. This stone appears to have been lost.

No. 59.-An inscription of four lines, painted in white, upon one face of the ootagonal column, on the right-hand side of the inner doorway of the chaitya cave (No. 3). This painted inscription is very faint in places, but the date is olearly legible, especially in the afternoon, when the sun shines on the entrance to the cave. It appears that the column had formerly been covered with plaster, which has been laid over the inscription, and has tended towards its preservation. The date may possibly be read "Samvat 1210. Ashwin Sudh 1...." A very similar inscription occurs on the next face of the column, and two others on two faces of the column on the opposite side of the doorway; but all these are fainter and less legible.

No. 60.-An inscription of two lines, 2 feet 6 inches long, on the outside of the circular wall round the dagob in cave No. 13, at Mahákal, and over a grated window. This inscription is faintly cut on a smooth surface, but is distinct, except at the left-hand end, where the letters are somewhat defaced; the characters are as rudely formed as in No. 47. A copy of this inscription occurs in the fifth volume of the Asiatic Researches, but without any intimation of its locality. There has been a very long inscription of small letters, on the inner side wall of the next cave, east of the dagob cave; but only a few letters, here and there, are legible, resembling those in No. 14 inscription.

No. 61. An inscription on a squared stone, 9 inches x 5 inches x 5 inches, found in a large modern temple with a tiled roof, close to the village of Devíka-párá, less than mile east of the caves of Magathán. It is a loose stone, in good preservation, and lies upon a bench inside the temple, near some modern sculptures, being smeared with red paint on the face. The temple stands on the site of a large ancient temple. The copyist has been misled, in places, by natural markings; but the inscription is clearly Buddhist, and reads, "ye dhamá hetu prabhavá hetu teshán tathágato hyavadat teshán oha yo nirodha evam vádí mahá shramana." As the chief sculpture at Magathán, though very much decayed, has evidently been a sitting figure of Buddha, there can be no doubt that these caves were Buddhist.

No. 62.-A white-painted inscription, scrawled over the back-wall of the verandah of cave No. 27 at Kánheri, between the centre and right-hand doorway; it is very faint, and the letters about a couple of feet in height. No. 27 cave is unfinished, but has been intended to be a very large vihára; the columns are similar to those of the unfinished chaitya (No. 1); and it is probable that these two caves, on the opposite sides of the hill, were being excavated at the same time.

No. 63. An inscription on the back of a seat at the eastern end of the columned verandah at Jogeshwarí. It appears to read "gahapahika rá-ja,” and the space between the last two letters is probably blank.

No. 64.-An inscription on the rock, to the right of the colossal figure, on the left-hand side of the entrance to the chaitya at Kondana, near the Bhore Ghaut. From the forms of the letters, it would appear to be older than the inscriptions at Kánheri.

Besides the rock-inscriptions at Kánheri there has been discovered a considerable number of seal-impressions in dried clay, differing in size, but nearly all bearing the inscription No. 61; one set of impressions bears a very minute and long inscription, ending with the words found in No. 61, but the first portion requires some clue to enable it to be read. There were also found many impressions of a figure of Buddha, surrounded by ornaments, and with the same inscription as No. 61 below the figure, very difficult to read, owing to imperfections in the original seal; these last-mentioned impressions are believed to be counterparts of those in lac, found elsewhere in India. Some copper coins were found near the same place, in stone pots, containing ashes: the coins bear an Arabic inscription, with the date 844.*

On account of the inaccuracies in Mr. Brett's copies of the Kanheri Inscriptions, the Society has been induced to lithograph those also which have been taken by Mr, West, for besides the advantage of having been copied and reduced by the same hand (to say nothing of the Plan of the Caves "on scale," from original survey, which is added to them), they bear such signs of care and correctness in their delineation as, under the circumstances, to make the publication of the whole highly desirable.-Ed.

« PreviousContinue »