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 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Cornell University Library 
 BL 1420.C97 
 
 The Bhilsa topes or, Buddhist monuments 
 
 3 1924 022 980 571 
 
 
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 PRINTED IN U.S.A. 
 

THE 
 
 BHILSA TOPES 
 
 OB, 
 
 BUDDHIST MONUMENTS OF CENTRAL INDIA. 
 
The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022980571 
 
THE 
 
 BHILSA TOPES; 
 
 OR, 
 
 BUDDHIST MONUMENTS OF CENTRAL INDIA : 
 
 COMPRISING 
 
 A BRIEF HISTORICAL SKETCH 
 
 03? THE 
 
 EISE, PBOGBESS, AND DECLINE OF BUDDHISM; 
 
 WITH AN ACCOUNT Off THE 
 
 OPENING AND EXAMINATION OF THE VARIOUS GROUPS OF TOPES 
 
 AROUND BHILSA. 
 
 BY 
 
 BREV.-MAJOR ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM, 
 
 BENGAL ENGINEERS. 
 
 " You fabric huge, 
 Whose dust the solemn antiquariau turns, 
 And thence in broken sculptures, cast abroad ' 
 Like Sibyl's leaves, collects the builder's name, 
 Rejoiced." Dyes..— Ruins of Rome. 
 
 Pttslrafcir foitfc ®feirtg-tfem $)lata. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 SMITH, ELDER AND CO., 65, CORNHILL. 
 
 BOMBAY : SMITH, TAYLOR AND CO. 
 
 1854. 
 
 {The Author 0/ this work reserves to himself the right 0/ authorizing a translation of it.] 
 
3*7^//^ 
 
 
 Printed by Stkwabt and Mubhay, 
 Old Bailey. 
 
PBEFACE. 
 
 1. The discoveries made by Lieutenant Maisey and 
 myself, amongst the numerous Buddhist monuments 
 that still exist around Bhilsa, in Central India, are 
 described — imperfectly, I fear — by myself in the 
 present work. To the Indian antiquary and his- 
 torian, these discoveries will be, I am willing to think, 
 of very high importance , while to the mere English 
 reader they may not be uninteresting, as the massive 
 mounds are surrounded by mysterious circles of stone 
 pillars, recalling attention at every turn to the early 
 earthworks, or barrows, and the Druidical colonnades 
 of Britain. 
 
 In the Buddhistical worship of trees displayed in 
 the Sanchi bas-reliefs, others, I hope, will see (as 
 well as myself) the counterpart of the Druidical and 
 adopted English reverence for the Oak. In the 
 horse-shoe temples of Ajanta and Sanchi many will 
 recognise the form of the inner colonnade at Stone- 
 henge.* More, I suspect, will learn that there are 
 Cromlechs in India as well as in Britain ; f that the 
 Brahmans, Buddhists, and Druids all believed in the 
 transmigration of the soul ; that the Celtic language 
 
 * Plate II. figs. 1, 2, and 3. t Plate II. figs. 4 and 5. 
 
 a 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 was undoubtedly derived from the Sanscrit ;* and 
 that Buddha (or Wisdom), the Supreme Being- wor- 
 shipped by the Buddhists, is probably (most probably) 
 the same as the great god Buddwds, considered by the 
 Welsh as the dispenser of good. These coincidences 
 are too numerous and too striking to be accidental. 
 Indeed, the Eastern origin of the Druids was sus- 
 pected by the younger Pliny, t who says, "Even to 
 this day Britain celebrates the magic rites with so 
 many similar ceremonies, that one might suppose 
 they had been taken from the Persians." The same 
 coincidence is even more distinctly stated by Diony- 
 sius Periegesis, who says that the women of the British 
 Amnitse celebrated the rites of Dionysos, v. 375 : — 
 
 As the Bistonians on Apsinthus banks 
 Shout to the clamorous Eiraphiates, 
 Or, as the Indians on dark-rolling Ganges 
 Hold revels to Dionysos the noisy 
 So do the British women shout Evoe ! 
 
 2. I have confined my observations chiefly to 
 the religious belief taught by Sakya Muni, the 
 last mortal Buddha, who died 543 B.C. There 
 was, however, a more ancient Buddhism, which pre- 
 vailed not only in India, but in all the countries 
 
 * The name of Druid may be taken as an example: Greek 
 tipvs; Sanskrit, -r, dru; Welsh, derm; Erse, dair: a tree, or oak 
 tree. 
 
 t Pliny? Nat. Hist. xxx. 1, — " Britannia hodie earn (magiam) 
 attonite celebrat tantis ceremoniis, ut earn Persis dedisse videri 
 possit." 
 
PREFACE. Vli 
 
 populated by the Arian race. The belief in Kra- 
 kuchanda, Kanaka, and Kasyapa, the three mortal 
 Buddhas who preceded Sakya Muni, was in India 
 contemporaneous with the worship of the elements 
 inculcated in the V6das. The difference between 
 Vedantism and primitive Buddhism, was not very 
 great; and the gradual evolution of the worship of 
 concrete Nature (called Pradhan by the Brahmans, 
 and Dharma or Prajna by the Buddhists), from the 
 more ancient adoration of the simple elements, was 
 but the natural consequence of the growth and 
 progressive development of the human mind. In 
 Europe the traces of this older Buddhism are found 
 in the Caduceus, or wand of Hermes, which is only 
 the symbol of Dharma, or deified nature, and in 
 the Welsh Buddwas, and the Saxon Woden ;— but 
 slightly altered forms of Buddha. The fourth day of 
 the week, Wednesday, or Woden's-day, was named 
 Dies Mercurii by the Romans, and is still called 
 Buddhrvdr by the Hindus. Maia was the mother 
 of the Greek Hermeias or Hermes ; and Maya was 
 the mother of the Indian Buddha. The connection 
 between Hermes, Buddwas, Woden, and Buddha is evi- 
 dent ; although it may be difficult, and perhaps nearly 
 impossible, to make it apparent to the general reader. 
 Hermeias and his " golden wand," -^pvaoppairig, are 
 mentioned by Homer ; but Hesiod* is the first who 
 * Theog. 938. 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 speaks of his mother " Maia, the Atlantis who bore 
 to Zeus the illustrious Hermes, the herald of the 
 immortals." In the Homeric poems, also, there is no 
 trace of serpents entwining 1 the wand in the manner 
 represented in works of art. Even in the late Home- 
 ridian hymn the wand (which was Apollo's sheep- 
 staff) is described as " a golden three-leaved innocu- 
 ous rod." The epithet of three-leaved is peculiarly 
 applicable to the three -pointed symbol of Dharma, 
 so conspicuous an ornament on the Sanchi gateways 
 of this volume. 
 
 In illustration of the ancient history of India, 
 the bas-reliefs and inscriptions of the Bhilsa Topes 
 are almost equal in importance to the more splendid 
 discoveries made by the enterprising and energ-etic 
 Layard in the mounds of the Euphrates. In the 
 inscriptions found in the Sanchi and Sonari Topes we 
 have the most complete and convincing* proof of the 
 authenticity of the history of Asoka, as related in 
 the Mahawanso. In the Pali Annals of Ceylon, it 
 is stated, that after the meeting of the Third Buddhist 
 Synod, 241 B.C., Kasyapa was despatched to the He- 
 mawanta country to convert the people to Buddhism. 
 In the Sanchi and Sonari Topes were discovered two 
 portions of the relics of Kasyapa, whom the inscrip- 
 tions call the " Missionary to the whole Hemawanta." 
 
 The Sanchi bas-reliefs, which date in the early part 
 of the first century of our era, are more original in 
 
PREFACE. IX 
 
 design and more varied in subject than any other 
 examples of Eastern sculpture which I have seen in 
 India. The subjects represented are religious pro- 
 cessions, the worship of Topes and trees, and the 
 adoration of the peculiar symbols of the Buddhist 
 Triad. Besides these there are some spirited sieges 
 of fortified cities, several stories from the life of Sakya 
 Muni, and some little domestic scenes which I would 
 rather attribute to the fancy of the artist than to 
 their particular significance in Buddhistical story. 
 
 The plans and sections which accompany this work 
 are all drawn from careful measurements on the same 
 scale (of 40 feet to an inch), to preserve the relative 
 proportions of the different Topes. The top of each 
 drawing is the north, by which the relative positions 
 of staircases, gateways, and other parts, may be de- 
 termined at a glance. The plans of the different 
 hills on which the several groups of Topes are 
 situated, are all taken from my own surveys on the 
 same scale of 400 feet to an inch. The eye can 
 thus compare the disposition of one group with 
 another. Lastly, the drawings of all the principal 
 relic-boxes and caskets are one half the original size, 
 sufficient (I have reason to think) for the correct deli- 
 neation of the different shapes and various mouldings. 
 
 I am indebted to the kind liberality of Major H. M. 
 Durand, of the Engineers, for the view of the Sanchi 
 Tope, and for the drawings of the Sanchi bas-reliefs, 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 containing the boat scene, or " Sakya's departure 
 from this world/' the " Religious Festival, with adora- 
 tion of a Tope/' and a scene in the royal palace, with 
 a relic-casket. 
 
 The Topes were opened by Lieut. Maisey and 
 myself in the end of January and beginning 1 of 
 February, 1851 ; and I attribute the success of our 
 discoveries in great part to the vigilance of our per- 
 sonal superintendence. I had become aware of the 
 importance of this strict watchfulness (after I had 
 opened the great Sarnath Tope, near Benares, in 
 1835), by the purchase of five beautiful gold coins 
 of Kadphises, which were brought from Anghanistan 
 at the very time that Mr. Masson was engaged in 
 opening the Topes of the Kabul valley. I now learn 
 from Major Kittoe that he has found a broken steatite 
 vase amongst the rubbish at the foot of the great 
 Sarnath Tope. It is, I fear, more than probable that 
 this vase was the relic-casket of the Sarnath Tope, 
 which must have been destroyed during my unavoid- 
 able absence on engineer duty at Mirzapore. 
 
 As the opening of the Bhilsa Topes has produced 
 such valuable results, it is much to be hoped that the 
 Court of Directors will, with their usual liberality, 
 authorise the employment of a competent officer to 
 open the numerous Topes which still exist in North 
 and South Bahar, and to draw up a report on all 
 the Buddhist remains of Kapila and Kusinagara, of 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 Vaisali and Rajagriha, which were the principal 
 scenes of Sakya's labours. A work of this kind 
 would be of more real value for the ancient history 
 of India (the territory of the Great Company) than 
 the most critical and elaborate edition of the eighteen 
 Puranas. 
 
 I would also venture to recommend that the two 
 fallen gateways of the Sanchi Tope should be removed 
 to the British Museum, where they would form the 
 most striking objects in a Hall of Indian Antiquities. 
 The value of these sculptured- gateways will, I feel 
 confident, be highly appreciated after the perusal of the 
 brief account of them contained in this work; while 
 their removal to England would ensure their preser- 
 vation. For a most admirable view of one of these 
 gateways I refer the reader to the frontispiece of 
 Mr. Fergusson's beautiful and artistic illustrations 
 of ancient Indian architecture. 
 
 Before parting, may I beg to draw the particular 
 attention of the reader to my identification of the dif- 
 ferent classes of Pramiue and Germance, as recorded 
 by Kleitarchos and Megasthenes, with the different 
 orders of Buddhist Srdmanas. I do so because some 
 of our most eminent scholars have doubted the preva- 
 lence and extension of the Buddhist religion before 
 the beginning of the Christian era. Now the Pramnce 
 of Kleitarchos, and the Germance of Megasthenes, are 
 both stated to have been the opponents of the Brah- 
 
XU PEEPACE. 
 
 mans. Were this the case they can only be the 
 Srdmanas, which was a title common to all the orders 
 of the Bauddha community ; even Sakya himself being- 
 styled Maha Srdmana, or the " Great Devotee." The 
 identity of the Germance of Megasthenes is placed 
 beyond all doubt by his mention that " women were 
 allowed to join them on taking- vows of chastity," * 
 for the Buddhists alone had nuns. 
 
 It will not, I trust, be out of place in a Preface to 
 observe that the several orders of Pramnce, mentioned 
 by Kleitarchos, are, — 
 
 1. Optivoi, or "mountaineers," a Greek corruption of 
 Arhan (or Aran, as it is sometimes spelt), which was 
 a common title of the Bodhisatmas, or second class of 
 the Bauddha community, who usually dwelt on hills. 
 
 2. YvfxvTiTai, the " naked," or rather the " half- 
 clad," — a descriptive title of the Bodhisatwas, who, 
 during their devotions, wore only the Sanghdti, or 
 kilt. Tvftvijc, or Tujuvhtj/c, was applied to a light-armed 
 soldier, — not to an unarmed one ; and, therefore, also, 
 to a lightly-clad person. 
 
 3. Ho\itikoi, the " townsmen," I only take to be 
 a corrupted transcript of the Sanscrit Pratyeka, the 
 third class of the Bauddha community, whose duty 
 it was to mingle with the people, and frequent the 
 towns. 
 
 * Megasthenes in Strabo, v. — 2vft<pi\o<ro<ptlv h'kviois t-ai ywa'uas 
 ae^oixivai nai uvras aQpoBiolwp. 
 
PBEFACE. Xlll 
 
 4. Rpoayiopioi, the "rural/' which I take to he 
 an alteration by some copyist, for the sake of the 
 antithesis of " town and country/' with the last. The 
 original term used by Kleitarchos was, I see reason 
 to believe, Tlpoae^pioi, the " listeners/' a literal trans- 
 lation of the Sanscrit Srdwaka, the fourth class of the 
 Bauddha community. 
 
 It is my belief that I have identified both the 
 Opuvoi and the Yvfivrirai with the Bodhisatwa of the 
 Buddhists. For, though there were four classes of 
 Buddhists, yet, the superior grade being those who 
 had attained the rank of Buddha, they had, of course, 
 no representatives on earth. Kleitarchos, therefore, 
 who had heard that there were four orders, has created 
 one out of the rv/xvrirai. Megasthenes, who resided 
 for some years in India, states more correctly that 
 there were only three classes of Ftp/xavai ; viz., 
 
 1. YAo/3ioi, from the Sanscrit alobhiya, " without 
 desire ; " that is, the Bodhisatwa, who had suppressed 
 all human passions. 
 
 2. IorpiKoi, the "physicians/' which I take to be 
 a slight corruption of UpanKoi, for Pratyeha, the third 
 class of Buddhists, who, as they mixed much with 
 the people, would no doubt have generally acted as 
 physicians, as the Christian monks have done in later 
 
 days. 
 
 3. ETroirai, or "beggars," equivalent to the Bhik- 
 shu, or mendicant monk of the Buddhists. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 Now Kleitarchos was one of the companions of 
 Alexander ; and, as he did not advance into India 
 beyond the Hyphasis, or Byas River, his distinct 
 mention of the different classes of the Bauddha com- 
 munity seems to me (at least) conclusive, that the 
 religion of Sakya had not only become prevalent in 
 Gangetic India, but that it had reached the Punjaub 
 at the period of the Macedonian invasion, B.C. 330. 
 
 Let me add that a still earlier mention of the 
 Buddhists may, I think, be found in Herodotus, who, 
 writing- about B.C. 420, shortly after the assembly of the 
 second Synod says, — " There are other Indians, who, 
 differing in manners from those before mentioned, put 
 no animal to death, sow no grain, have no fixed habi- 
 tations, and live solely upon vegetables." The name 
 of this class of Indians is not given by Herodotus ; 
 but it is preserved by Nicolaus Damascenus, whc 
 calls them Aritonii, the same, I believe, as the San- 
 skrit Arhanta. Now Arhanta is a title of th< 
 Bodhisatwa, one of the classes of the Bauddha com' 
 munity, which observed all the peculiarities attributeo 
 by Herodotus to the Aritonii. They were pro 
 hibited from taking life ; they soM'ed no grain, bu 
 begged their daily bread ; they had no fixed habita 
 tions, and lived wholly upon vegetables. 
 
 Alexander Cunningham. 
 
 Simla, 1853. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 
 §1. Limits of Buddhism .... 
 
 PAGE 
 I 
 
 2. Decay of Buddhism 
 
 2 
 
 3. Buddhist Remains . 
 
 3 
 
 4. Ditto .... 
 
 4 
 
 5. Cave Temples . 
 
 4 
 
 6. Vihars ••.... 
 
 5 
 
 7. Inscriptions on Bocks and Pillars 
 
 5 
 
 8. Topes ....... 
 
 6 
 
 9. Bhilsa Topes .... j 
 
 6 
 
 10. Ditto 
 
 7 
 
 11. Description of Topes 
 
 7 
 
 12. Origin of Topes . 
 
 9 
 
 13. Existing before Sakya's advent 
 
 10 
 
 14. Ditto 
 
 11 
 
 15. Various Buddhist Topes ... 
 
 11 
 
 16. Ditto . . 
 
 12 
 
 17. Dedicatory Topes . ... 
 
 12 
 
 18. Memorial Topes . ... 
 
 12 
 
 19. Funeral Topes . . 
 
 13 
 
 20. Ditto 
 
 13 
 
 21. Ditto 
 
 13 
 
 22. Intimately connected with Buddhist religion 
 
 14 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LIFE OF SAK.YA. 
 
 §1. Early Indian worship— Elements 
 
 2. Conflicting opinions at Sakya's advent 
 
 3. Doctrine of transmigration 
 
 4. The Swastikas 
 
 5. Their doctrine of eternal annihilation 
 
 6. Swastikas, Brahmans, and Buddhists, compared 
 
 7. Ditto Ditto 
 
 8. Birth and early life of Sakya 
 
 9. The four predictive signs 
 
 10. Ditto 
 
 11. Ditto 
 
 12. Ditto 
 
 13. Probability of the story of his conversion 
 
 14. Embraces a religious life . 
 
 15. His asceticism .... 
 
 16. Ditto 
 
 17. Braves the terrors of Maro or death 
 
 18. His teaching 
 
 19. Ditto 
 
 20. Sakya's death 
 
 21. Grief of his followers 
 
 22. Burning of his corpse 
 
 23. Division of his relics 
 
 24. They are collected by Ajatasatra 
 
 25. And again distributed by Asoka 
 
 PAGE 
 
 15 
 
 . 16 
 
 . 16 
 
 17 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 21 
 
 21 
 
 . 21 
 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 - 22 
 
 - 23 
 . 24 
 
 24 
 . 25 
 . 25 
 . 26 
 . 26 
 . 28 
 . 28 
 . 30 
 
 30 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FAITH OF SAKYA. 
 
 § 1. Early observations of mankind . 
 
 2. Discrimination of the elements 
 
 3. Early worship of Greece and India 
 
 31 
 31 
 32 
 
CONTENTS. XVU 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 4. Philosophical systems of ditto . . 32 
 
 5. The Pythagoreans . ... 33 
 
 6. Sakya's faith ; Buddha, Dharma, Sangha . 34 
 
 7. The Samadhikas (Contemplatists) and the Pradhanikas (Ma- 
 
 terialists) ... 35 
 
 8. Buddhists deny the Creator's providence . . 36 
 
 9. Doctrine of Mrvritti and Pravritti, or rest and action . . 37 
 
 10. The five Dhyani Buddhas, or personifications of the elements 38 
 
 11. Similarity of the early Brahmanical and Bauddha schools . 38 
 
 12. The Sankhy a doctrine of the eternity of matter . 39 
 
 13. Buddhist belief of creation of matter . . 39 
 
 14. Doctrine of the Sankhya teacher, Kapila . 39 
 
 15. Doctrine of the Sankhya teacher, Patanjali . . 40 
 
 16. The Brahmanical Nireswara similar to the Bauddha Swabhavika 
 
 doctrine of supreme nature . 40 
 
 17. Mystic roots of the elements . . . . 40 
 
 18. The Brahmanical Seswaras and the Aiswarika Buddhists 41 
 
 19. All the schools agree that there is a compound of mind and 
 
 matter . ... 41 
 
 20. The three classes of Sakya's doctrine: — 1. Vinaya; 2. Sutra; 
 
 3. Abhidharma 41 
 
 21. Called Tripitaka and Triyanika . . 42 
 
 22. Their compilation in b. c. 543 . 43 
 
 23. Kachhayana's Pali grammar . . 44 
 
 24. Ditto . . 45 
 
 25. Language of the Buddhist books . 45 
 
 26. Ditto . . 46 
 
 27. Ditto . . . .47 
 
 28. Identification of Kachhayana and Katyayana • 49 
 
 29. Ditto . 50 
 
 30. Ditto . . 50 
 
 31. Sakya a social reformer . 51 
 
 32. Ditto . 52 
 
 33. Buddhism and Mahomedanism ... .53 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 FIRST SYNOD. 
 
 § 1 . The Bauddha community . . • . 55 
 
 2. First Synod of five hundred monks . . .56 
 
XVU1 CONTENTS. 
 
 TAGE 
 
 §3. First Synod of five hundred monks • 57 
 
 4. Ditto . • 57 
 
 5. Rehearsal of Vinaya ... . 58 
 
 6. Rehearsal of Dharma .... 58 
 
 7. Buddha's Hymn of Joy . . • 59 
 
 8. His last injunctions . • 59 
 
 9. Conclusion of the Synod . 59 
 
 10. Admission of women . . 60 
 
 11. Dress of the ascetics • 61 
 
 12. Ditto . . -62 
 
 13. Sarmanes, or Sramanas . . .63 
 
 14. Hylobii, or Arhats . . . . • .63 
 
 15. Iatriki, or Pratyekas . . 64 
 
 16. The four classes of Kleitarchos . . . • .64 
 
 17. Types of the Buddhist classes ... .66 
 
 18. Difference between Buddhist and Christian ideas of immortality 67 
 
 19. The Grand Lama of Tibet a Bodhisatwa, and not a Buddha . 67 
 
 20. Rules for the Bhikshu . . . 68 
 
 21. His dress and equipments . . 69 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 §1. Succession of teachers . ... 71 
 
 2. Ditto . . ... 72 
 
 3. Chronological list of teachers ... 72 
 
 4. Date of Sakya's death — 543 b. c. . . .73 
 
 5. Chandra Gupta's accession . . . . .74 
 
 6. Possible origin of the error in Buddhist chronology . . 75 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SECOND SYNOD. 
 
 § 1. Ten indulgences claimed by the Vaisali fraternity . 77 
 
 2. Assembly of Second Synod .... 78 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XIX 
 
 § 3. Discussion on the indulgences 
 
 4. Sentence of degradation confirmed 
 
 5. Similarity of proceedings to those of English trial by jury 
 
 PAGE 
 
 79 
 80 
 
 ■80 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BUDDHIST SCHISMS. 
 
 § 1. The degraded monks originate the Maha Sanghika heresy . 81 
 
 2. Various sects . . . . . . .82 
 
 3. Ditto . . . , . . .82 
 
 4. The Vaibhashikas . . . . . .83 
 
 5. The Sautrantikas . . . . . .84 
 
 6. Names of eighteen schisms . . . . .84 
 7 Extent of Buddhism in 443 b.c. . . 85 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF BUDDHISM. 
 
 § 1. The Maurya dynasty : accession of Chandra Gupt 
 
 2. He expels the Greeks from the Panjab 
 
 3. He conquers India 
 
 4. Palibothra, or Pataliputra 
 
 5. Indian expedition of Seleukos Nikator 
 
 6. Ditto ditto 
 
 7. Accession of Bindusara . 
 
 8. Embassy of Dionysios 
 
 9. Asoka deputed to Taxila 
 
 10. Appointed Governor of Ujain 
 
 11. Death of Bindusara 
 
 87 
 88 
 90 
 90 
 91 
 91 
 92 
 93 
 93 
 95 
 96 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 REIGN OF ASOKA. 
 
 § 1 . Accession and conquests of Asoka 
 2. His conversion to Buddhism 
 
 97 
 
 98 
 
XX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 § S. He erects numerous Vihars and Chaityas 
 
 4. Promulgates numerous edicts 
 
 5. Title of Priyadarsi doubted by Prof. II. H. Wilson 
 
 6. True meaning of Dharma 
 
 7. Ditto ..... 
 
 8. Ditto ..... 
 
 9. Ditto ..... 
 
 10. Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, mentioned in the Bhabra 
 
 inscription ..... 
 
 11. Antiquity of the Pali Scriptures vindicated 
 
 12. Ditto Ditto 
 
 13. Ditto Ditto 
 
 14. Name of Asoka not mentioned in his own inscriptions 
 
 15. Identity of Priyadarsi and Asoka 
 
 16. Chronological difficulties removed 
 
 17. Doubtful name in edicts, perhaps Ariobarzanes 
 
 18. Asoka's knowledge of the Greeks 
 
 19. No mention of the kings of Kabul and Parthia in his edicts 
 
 20. Dates of the Rock edicts 
 
 21. Date of the Pillar edicts .... 
 
 22. Sincerity of Asoka's faith .... 
 
 99 
 100 
 100 
 102 
 103 
 104 
 105 
 
 105 
 106 
 107 
 107 
 108 
 109 
 110 
 111 
 111 
 112 
 113 
 113 
 114 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THIRD SYNOD. 
 
 §1. Heretics assume the dress of the Buddhists and enter their 
 monasteries ..... 
 
 2. Expulsion of the heretics 
 
 3. Rehearsal of Vinaya and Dharma 
 
 4. Missions to foreign countries 
 
 5. Relics of the missionaries found in the Bhilsa Topes 
 
 6. Relics of Kasapa .... 
 
 7. Ditto, and of Majhima 
 
 8. Relics of Gotiputra .... 
 
 9. Explanation of the term ddydda 
 
 10. Gotiputra, the missionary to Dardabhisara 
 
 11. Other relics ..... 
 
 115 
 116 
 11C 
 116 
 119 
 120 
 120 
 121 
 121 
 122 
 123 
 
CONTENTS. XXI 
 
 PAG1S 
 
 § 12. The zeal of Asoka anticipated Christianity in religious missions 123 
 13. Kunala, son of Asoka— Asoka's death . . . . 123 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 RISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS. 
 
 § 1. Division of Asoka's empire— Fall of the Mauryas . .125 
 
 2. Conquests of Menander in India . . . .126 
 
 3. The Scythian Mauas expels the Greeks . . . 127 
 
 4. He is succeeded by Azas ..... 127 
 
 5. Rise of the Yuchi or Tochari under Kadphises . .128 
 
 6. Kanishka, a zealous Buddhist . . . . .128 
 
 7. Milindu, Raja of Sakala . . . . .130 
 
 8. Nagarjuna : Buddhism extended into Tibet . . . 131 
 
 9. Mention of Buddhists by Apollonius of Tyana . .131 
 
 10. By Klemens of Alexandria . . . . .132 
 
 11. ByPorphyrius 133 
 
 12. By Palladius and Scholastikos . 135 
 
 13. In the Hindu dramas 136 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE GUPTA DYNASTY. — DECLINE AND FALL OF T1TJDDHISM. 
 
 § 1. Rise of the Gupta dynasty — Gupta era 138 
 
 2. Gupta era dates from establishment of dynasty . 139 
 
 3. Gupta kings mentioned by the Chinese . .140 
 
 4. Chronological table of the Guptas 141 
 
 5. Data for chronology • 141 
 6 & 7. Mr. Thomas's chronology . 145 
 
 8. He dates the rise of the Guptas from 78 a.d. 145 
 
 9. Reasons for adopting a later date . .146 
 9.* Silver currency of Gujrat copied from the drachmas of 
 
 Apollodotus 149 
 
 10. Inscription of Chandra Gupta at Udayagiri 150 
 
 11. Sanakanika, name of the kingdom of Bhilsa . 151 
 
 12. Vaishnava faith of the princes of Sanakanika , 152 
 
XX11 CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 13. Inscription of Chandra Gupta at Sanchi 152 
 
 14. Illustrations of the meaning of Prajna . 153 
 
 15. Prajna is nature deified . • 154 
 
 16. Chandra Gupta's gift to Sanchi Tope 154 
 
 17. Chandra Gupta, lord of Ujain . . . . .154 
 
 18. Ditto not an orthodox Buddhist . 155 
 
 19. Buddhism prevalent in Pataliputra . 155 
 
 20. Ditto paramount in the Panjab and Northern India 156 
 
 21. Religious belief of the earlier Guptas 156 
 
 22. Tantrika belief of Skanda Gupta ... 158 
 
 23. Extravagance of the Tantrists . . .160 
 
 24. Their charms and incantations . 160 
 
 25. Spread of Tantrika doctrines ..... 160 
 
 26. Lokfeditya 161 
 
 27. Budha Gupta ... 162 
 
 28. Toramana — inscriptions at Eran and Gwalior . 163 
 
 29. Conquests of Siladitya 164 
 
 30. Decline of Buddhism 165 
 
 31. Pall of Buddhism ... 166 
 
 32. Causes of the decline and fall of Buddhism . . 167 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BUILDING AND DEDICATION OF TOPES. 
 
 § 1. Account of the building of a Tope from the Mahawanso 169 
 
 2. Memorial pillar recording the builder's intentions . 169 
 
 3. Topes usually built by forced labour . . .170 
 
 4. Foundations . 170 
 
 5. Laying the foundation stone . 170 
 
 6. Ceremonies attending it 171 
 
 7. Form of the chaitya . . . . . .172 
 
 8. Construction of the relic-chamber . . . .172 
 
 9. Procession of the relic-casket . . . .173 
 
 10. Ceremonies on closing the relic-casket . . . 173 
 
 11. Ceremonies on placing it in the relic-chamber . .174 
 
 12. Completion of the Tope ..... 174 
 
 13. Cornices or copings added to it . . . .175 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XX111 
 
 § 14. Other additions by subsequent kings . 
 
 15. The same description applies to the Great Sanchi Tope 
 
 16. Different positions of the relic-chamber 
 
 17. Consecration of the ground 
 18,19. Various shapes of Topes 
 
 20. Their age ascertained approximately from shape 
 
 PAGE 
 
 175 
 176 
 176 
 176 
 177 
 178 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 SANCHI TOPE. — NO. 1. 
 
 § 1. Position of Sanchi Hill 
 
 2. Description of ditto 
 
 3. Group of Topes at Sanchi 
 
 4. Sanchi, the same as Sha-chi of Fa Hian 
 
 5. Name of Sanchi 
 
 6. Story of the holy nettle at Sha-chi 
 
 7. Village of Sanchi 
 
 8. Situation of the Great Tope No. 1 
 
 9. Other ruined Topes 
 
 10. Shape of the dome 
 
 11. Upper enclosure 
 
 12. Pinnacle, chatta 
 
 13. Height of the Tope 
 
 14. Colonnade or Buddhist railing 
 
 15. Pillars of colonnade 
 
 16. Kails of ditto 
 
 17. Architraves 
 
 18. Prevalence of Buddhist railings 
 
 19. Four gateways . 
 
 20. Pillars of gateways— different capitals 
 
 21. Architraves of gateways 
 
 22. Symbols of Buddha and Dharma 
 
 23. Variety of bas-reliefs . 
 
 24. Figures of the four Buddhas 
 
 25. Hariswamini inscription 
 
 26. Lion pillar, with inscription 
 
 27. Capital of pillar 
 
 28. Height of ditto 
 
 179 
 179 
 180 
 180 
 181 
 182 
 182 
 183 
 183 
 184 
 184 
 18.5 
 186 
 186 
 187 
 187 
 187 
 187 
 188 
 189 
 189 
 190 
 191 
 191 
 192 
 193 
 194 
 194 
 
XXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 195 
 196 
 197 
 197 
 
 197 
 198 
 
 § 29. Style of sculpture in the lions. 
 
 30. Statue pillar ..... 
 
 31. Capital of pillar .... 
 
 32. Description of statue . 
 
 33. Height of pillar .... 
 
 34. Shafts of pillars cut into pieces for sugar-mills 
 
 35. Eastern pillar . 199 
 
 36. Broken pillar of Hariswamini Gosha 199 
 
 37. Flight of steps, and statues at entrance • 199 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 
 EASTERN GATEWAY. 
 
 Right Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Palace Scene — Audience Hall ..... 201 
 H. Palace Scene — Women dancing before the King . 202 
 
 Bight Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Adoration of Tree . . 202 
 
 II. Dream of Maya . . .202 
 
 Left Pillar— Front Face. 
 
 I. Adoration of Symbol of Dharma . 203 
 
 DI. Boat Scene — Sakya's Nirvana . ... 204 
 
 In. Prince in Chariot leaving Kapila .... 205 
 
 Left Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Kitchen Scene ... . 205 
 
 H. Worship of Buddha — as flame . . 207 
 
 ni. Tope dedicated to the Supreme Buddha . 210 
 
CONTENTS. XXV 
 
 Architraves — Front. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Worship of Topes . . . . .211 
 
 II. Procession of Buddha's feet . . . .211 
 
 m. Worship of Tree . 211 
 
 Architrave — Rear. 
 
 I. Worship of Trees . . . 211 
 
 II. Worship of Trees hy Animals .211 
 
 III. Worship of Tope by Elephants .212 
 
 SOUTH GATEWAY. 
 
 Right Pillat — Front Face. 
 
 I. Triple Symbol of Dharma ... .213 
 
 II. Scene in Palace . . 213 
 
 III. Casket Scene in Palace . . .213 
 
 Architraves — Front. 
 
 I. Worship of Topes . . . 214 
 
 II. Worship of Tope . .... 214 
 
 HI. A Siege, and Relic-procession . . 215 
 
 WEST GATEWAY. 
 
 Right Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Trial of the Bow ... 218 
 
 II. Worship of Tree . . 222 
 
 HI. Ditto . 222 
 
 TV. Lions ........ 223 
 
 Right Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Gateway— Worship of Tree .223 
 
 II. Worship of Tree surmounted by Chatta . 223 
 
XXVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 I. Social Scene 
 II. Love Scene 
 
 Left Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 223 
 224 
 
 Left Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Ascetic Life — Archers 
 II. Festival of the Tree 
 III. State Barge 
 
 224 
 
 225 
 226 
 
 Architraves — Front Faces. 
 
 I. Procession escorting a Relic-casket 
 II. Worship of Symbol of Buddha 
 III. Worship of Tree by Elephants 
 
 227 
 229 
 229 
 
 Architraves — Rear Faces. 
 
 I. Worship of Topes 
 II. Triumphal Procession 
 III. Temple Worship 
 
 229 
 229 
 229 
 
 NOBTH GATEWAY. 
 
 Right Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Tree, with Staircase 
 
 230 
 
 Right Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Worship of Tree 
 II. Ditto 
 
 III. Ditto 
 
 230 
 231 
 231 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXV11 
 
 Left Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 L Worship of Tree 
 II. Reverence paid to a Boy 
 
 III. Simple Adoration 
 
 IV. Procession 
 
 V. Domestic Scenes at Fountain 
 
 PAGE 
 
 231 
 232 
 232 
 232 
 232 
 
 Left Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Cave Temple 
 IT. Procession 
 III. Worship of Tree 
 
 233 
 233 
 233 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 INSCRIPTIONS. — NO. 1 TOPE. — SjLnCHI. 
 
 Nos. 1 to 176. On colonnade— old 
 No. 177. On southern pillar 
 
 Nos. 178 to 196. Later inscriptions from gateways 
 
 235-259 
 
 259 
 
 262-267 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 OPENING OF sANCHI TOPE — NO. 1. 
 
 § 1. Manner of opening the Tope — Brick Tope 
 
 2. No discovery made 
 
 3. Probable age of the Tope — 500 b.c. 
 
 4,5. Probable date of the colonnade — 250 b.c. 
 
 6. Date of the gateways — 19 to 37 a.d. 
 
 7. Gateway inscriptions in a more recent character 
 
 8. Old inscription hidden by pillar of gateway 
 
 9. Tope probably dedicated to the Supreme Buddha 
 
 269 
 270 
 270 
 271 
 272 
 272 
 273 
 273 
 
XXYI11 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 NO. 2 TOPE. — SANCHI. 
 
 §1. Position of Tope 
 
 2. Dimensions of dome 
 
 3. Pinnacle 
 
 4. Colonnade, or Buddhist railing 
 
 5. Ornaments of pillars 
 
 6. Bas-reliefs of entrance pillars 
 
 7. Bas-reliefs of Tope and wheel pillar 
 
 8. Wheel pillar 
 
 9. Sangha, or the united symbols of Buddha and Dharma 
 10. Probable age, about 220 b. c. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 275 
 275 
 276 
 276 
 277 
 277 
 278 
 278 
 278 
 278 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 INSCRIPTIONS FROM NO. 2 TOPE. — SANCHI. 
 
 Nos. 1 to 43. On colonnade. 
 
 280 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 OPENING OF NO. 
 
 TOPE. — SANCHI. 
 
 § 1 . Present appearance of the Tope 285 
 
 2. Position of the relic-chamber . 285 
 
 3. Relic-box with inscription . 286 
 
 4. Remarks on inscription . 286 
 
 5. Inscriptions on the steatite boxes . 287 
 
 6. Remarks on the enshrined relics 289 
 
 7. Relics of ten Buddhist teachers in 240 e. c. . 291 
 
 8. Tope originally intended for relics of two only . 291 
 
 9. Intimate connection between the principal Buddhist leaders . 292 
 10. Value of genealogies derivable from other Topes . . 293 
 
CONTENTS. xxix 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 NO. 3 TOPE. slNCHI. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 SONARI TOPES. — NO. 1 TOPE. 
 
 § 1 . Position of Son&ri — meaning of name 
 
 2. Wheel pillar at Sravasti 
 
 3. Situation of Topes 
 
 4. No. 1 Tope — Sondri 
 
 5. Dimensions of Tope 
 
 PAGE. 
 
 295 
 295 
 296 
 296 
 297 
 297 
 
 § 1. Present appearance, and former size 
 
 2. Buddhist railing 
 
 3. Pillars of ditto 
 
 4. Square enclosure 
 
 5. Relic-chamber with two relic-boxes 
 
 6. Relic-box of Sariputra 
 
 7. Seven precious things in relic-casket 297 
 8, 9. Series of seven precious things according to the Chinese . 298 
 
 10. The seven precious things in this Tope . 298 
 
 11. Relic-casket of Maha Mogalana . 299 
 
 12. Initial letters of names written in ink , .299 
 
 13. Relative position of relics to right and left . . . 299 
 
 14. 15. Sariputra's career ... . 300 
 16, 17. Sakya's account of Sariputra 301 
 
 18. His death and cremation . . 305 
 
 19. Origin of Mogalana ..... 305 
 
 20. Relics of both found at Satdhara .... 306 
 
 21. Date of Tope uncertain — between 550 and 250 n. c. . 306 
 
 22. Date of Tope, perhaps 500 b. c. — of railing, 250 b. c. . 307 
 
 23. Other Topes at Sanchi . . .308 
 
 309 
 310 
 311 
 311 
 312 
 
XXX 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 § 6. Surrounded by a Buddhist railing 
 
 7. Probable date, 250—200 e. c. 
 
 8. Opening of Tope— stone boxes 
 
 PAGE 
 
 312 
 313 
 313 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NO. 2 TOPE.— SONARI. 
 
 §1 
 
 Position of No. 2 Tope 
 
 
 2. 
 
 Dimensions of Tope 
 
 3. 
 
 Opening of Tope . ... 
 
 4. 
 
 Large steatite relic-vase 
 
 5. 
 
 Flat crystal relic-casket of Gotiputra 
 
 6. 
 
 Steatite relic-casket of Majhima 
 
 
 7. 
 
 Ditto Kdsapa Goto, 
 
 
 8. 
 
 Ditto Kosiki-putra 
 
 
 9. 
 
 Ditto Aldbagira 
 
 
 10. 
 
 Date of Tope about 220 b. c. 
 
 
 11. 
 
 Other Topes at Sonari 
 
 
 315 
 315 
 316 
 316 
 316 
 317 
 317 
 318 
 318 
 318 
 319 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 TOPES AT SATDHARA. 
 
 §1. Position of Satdhara .... 
 
 . 320 
 
 2. Tope, No. 1, of brick .... 
 
 . 321 
 
 3. Buddhist railing 
 
 . 321 
 
 4. Opening of Tope 
 
 . 322 
 
 5. Massive foundations of Temples 
 
 . 322 
 
 6. No. 2 Tope ..... 
 
 . 323 
 
 7. Steatite Kelic-caskets of Sariputra and Mogalana 
 
 . 324 
 
 8. No. 7 Tope, Satdhara 
 
 ■ 325 
 
 9. Relics of No. 7 Tope 
 
 . 325 
 
 10. Other Topes at Satdhara 
 
 . 325 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXI 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 TOPES AT BHOJPUR. 
 
 1. Ruins of Bhojpur 
 
 2. Position of ditto 
 
 3. Situation of Topes 
 
 4. No. 1 Tope, A 
 
 5. No. 2 Tope, B 
 
 6. Opening of ditto 
 
 7. Relic-casket, a crystal Tope 
 
 8. No. 3 Tope, C . 
 
 9. No. 4 Tope, D 
 
 10. Remains of other Topes, upper stage 
 
 11. No. 7 Tope, a ; second stage 
 
 12. Opening of ditto 
 
 13. Relic-jar of Patito, the " degraded" 
 
 14. Relic-jar of Upahitaka 
 
 15. Probable date, 250—200 b. c. 
 
 16. No. 8, Tope, b 
 
 17. No. 9 „ c 
 
 18. No. 10 „ d 
 
 19. No. 11 „ e 
 
 20. Other Topes on the second stage 
 
 21. Third stage of Topes 
 
 22. Fourth stage of Topes 
 
 23. Bhojpur Topes, mostly opened before 
 
 PAGE 
 
 327 
 327 
 328 
 329 
 330 
 331 
 331 
 332 
 333 
 333 
 334 
 334 
 335 
 336 
 336 
 337 
 337 
 338 
 339 
 339 
 340 
 341 
 341 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 ANDHEE TOPES. 
 
 1. Position of the Topes 
 
 342 
 
XXX11 CONTENTS. 
 
 
 
 
 
 PAGE 
 
 §2. No. 1 Tope 
 
 
 
 342 
 
 3. Buddhist railing 
 
 
 
 . 343 
 
 4. Opening of No. 1 
 
 
 
 . 344 
 
 5. No. 2 Tope 
 
 
 
 . 345 
 
 6. Opening of ditto 
 
 
 
 346 
 
 7. Flat earthenware relic-box 
 
 
 
 . 346 
 
 8. Tall steatite relic-casket 
 
 
 
 . 347 
 
 9. Large steatite relic-vase 
 
 
 
 . 347 
 
 10. Probable date, 200 b. c. 
 
 
 
 . 347 
 
 11. No. 3 Tope 
 
 
 
 . 348 
 
 12. Opening of ditto — Kelics of 
 
 Haritiputra 
 
 348 
 
 13. Relics presented by Aswa Deva- 
 
 -Ink writing 
 
 349 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 SYMBOLS OP BUDDHA, DHARMA, AND SANGHA. 
 
 § 1. Symbols on Sanchi gateways and caves 
 
 2. Triad of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha 
 
 3. The wheel, a symbol of universal dominion 
 
 4. Crowns the summits of the Sanchi gateways 
 
 5. Various forms of wheel 
 
 6. Quadruple symbol of Buddha 
 
 7. Symbol of Dharma 
 
 8. Symbol of Sangha 
 
 9. Different spellings of Sangha 
 
 10. Triple symbol of Dharma 
 
 11, 12. Symbol of Dharma the same as Jagannath 
 
 13. Probable Buddhist origin of Vithoba 
 
 14. Fair at Besnagar 
 
 15. Origin of the fair 
 
 16. Another account 
 
 17. Rukmangada, the same as Lohangada 
 
 18. Besnagar probably included in Vidarbha 
 
 19. Foundation of Besnagar 
 
 20. Foundation of Bhilsa 
 
 351 
 351 
 352 
 353 
 353 
 355 
 355 
 358 
 358 
 358 
 359 
 360 
 361 
 362 
 362 
 362 
 363 
 363 
 364 
 
CONTENTS. XXXffl 
 
 PAGE 
 
 § 21. Position of the various groups of Topes . . 364 
 
 22. Appearance of the Tope hills in ancient times. . 365 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Description of ancient arms, &c. . . . . 369 
 
LIST OF PLATES. 
 
 I. Sketch map of the country around Bhilsa. 
 II. Comparison of Druidical and Buddhist monuments. 
 
 III. Various specimens of Topes. 
 
 IV. Group of Topes — Sanchi. 
 
 V. Groups of Topes — Sonari, Satdhara, and Andher. 
 VI. Group of Topes — Bhojpur. 
 VTI. View of the great Sanchi Tope, No. 1. 
 VHI. Plan and elevation of ditto. 
 IX. Elevation and section of colonnade. 
 X. Sanchi pillars. 
 XI. Boat scene — eastern gateway. 
 XII. Relic scene — southern gateway. 
 
 XIII. Tope scene — northern gateway. 
 
 XIV. Female dancer— west gate. 
 
 XV. Kitchen scene — leaf-roofed house and gateway. 
 XVI. Inscriptions from No. 1 Tope. 
 XVII. Ditto ditto. 
 
 XVIII. Ditto ditto. 
 
 XIX. Ditto ditto. 
 
 XX. Plan and elevation of No. 2 Tope, Sanchi. 
 XXI. Inscriptions from No. 2 Tope. 
 XXII. Plan and elevation of No. 3 Tope, Sanchi. 
 XXIIE. Ditto ditto No. 1 ditto, Sonari. 
 
 XXIV. Ditto ditto No. 2 ditto, Sonari. 
 
 XXV. Topes of Satdhara. 
 
XXXVI LIST OF ELATES. 
 
 XXVI. Nos. 1, 2, and 4 Topes at Bhojpur. 
 
 XXVII. Nos. 8, 9, and 10 ditto. 
 
 XXVIK. Plan and elevation of No. 1 Tope, Andher. 
 
 XXIX. Ditto ditto No. 2 ditto. 
 
 ' XXX. Ditto ditto No. 3 ditto. 
 
 XXXI. Symbols of Buddha. 
 
 XXXII. Symbols of Dharma and Sangha. 
 XXXIII. Ancient arms and instruments. 
 
THE 
 
 BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 1. The Buddhist religion has long been extinct in 
 India, but it still nourishes in Nepal and Tibet, in 
 Ava, Ceylon, and China, and amongst the Indo- 
 Chinese nations of Anam, Siam, and Japan, Its 
 votaries far outnumber those of all other creeds, 
 except the Christian, and they form one-fourth of the 
 whole human race.* The valley of the Ganges was 
 the cradle of Buddhism ; which, from its rise in the 
 sixth century before Christ, gradually spread over 
 the whole of India. It was extended by Asoka 
 to Kashmir and Kabul shortly after Alexander's 
 invasion; and it was introduced into China about 
 
 * The Christians number about 270 millions j the Buddhists 
 about 222 millions, who are distributed as follows: — China, 
 170 millions ; Japan, 25 ; Anam, 14 ; Siam, 3 j Ava, 8 ; 
 Nepal, 1 ; and Ceylon, 1 : total, 222 millions. 
 
 B 
 
2 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the beginning 1 of our era by five hundred Kashmirian 
 missionaries. In A. D. 400, when Fa Hian visited 
 India, Buddhism was still the dominant religion; 
 but the Vaishnavas were already rising into con- 
 sequence. In the middle of the seventh century, 
 although the pilgrim Hwan Thsang found numerous 
 temples of the Saivas, whose doctrines had been 
 embraced by Skanda Gupta and the later princes 
 of Pataliputra, yet Buddhism was still the pre- 
 vailing religion of the people. But the progress of 
 religion is like the existence of a tree ; which, 
 after the first symptoms of decay, can neither be 
 strengthened nor renewed. The faith of Sakya was 
 evidently on the decline ; and though it still lingered 
 about the holy cities of Benares and Gaya for 
 two or three centuries later, it was no longer the 
 honoured religion of kings and princes, protected by 
 the strong arm of power, but the persecuted heresy 
 of a weaker party, who were forced to hide their 
 images under ground, and were ultimately expelled 
 from their monasteries by fire.* 
 
 2. Buddhism had in fact become an old and 
 worn-out creed, whose mendicant monks no longer 
 begged their bread, but were supported by lands 
 
 * In 1835 I excavated numerous Buddhist images at Sarnath 
 near Benares, all of which had evidently been purposely hidden 
 underground. I found quantities of ashes also ; and there could 
 be no doubt that the buildings had been destroyed by fire. Major 
 Kittoe, who has made further excavations during the present year 
 is of the same opinion. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 long since appropriated to the monasteries. The 
 Srdmanas and Bhikshus were not like those of 
 ancient days, the learned and the wise, whose bodily 
 abstinence and contemplative devotion, combined 
 with practical exhortations and holy example, ex- 
 cited the pious wonder of the people. The modern 
 Buddhists had relapsed into an indolent and corrupt 
 body, who were content to spend a passive existence 
 in the monotonous routine of monastic life. There 
 was still the daily chanting- of an appointed number 
 of hymns ; still the same observance of forms and 
 ceremonies j there were still the same outward signs 
 of religion j but there was no fervent enthusiasm in 
 the lifeless performance of such monotonous routine ; 
 and the ardent zeal which once burned in the 
 heart of every Buddhist monk for the propagation 
 of his religion, had long- since become extinct. 
 The only virtue now consisted in abstinence from 
 evil, which was accounted equal to the performance 
 of good. Indolent listlessness and passive indiffer- 
 ence took the place of devout contemplation and 
 pious abstraction ; and thus the corrupt practices 
 of modern Buddhists would seem to countenance 
 the idea, that the more useless they became in this 
 life, the more fitted did they consider themselves 
 for the next. 
 
 3. But though the religion of the Buddhists has 
 long been extinct, and though the monks' " call to 
 refection" has been silent for ages, yet their monas- 
 teries and temples still remain j their paintings and 
 
4 THE BHILSA TOFES. 
 
 sculptures still exist ; their historical writings still 
 live, to attest the wonderful sway which a single 
 enthusiastic individual may succeed in establishing 
 over the minds of a whole people.* The sculptures 
 illustrate the history ; and in both we may read of 
 kings bowing reverentially before Topes and Trees ; 
 of princes bearing caskets of relics on their heads, 
 to be shrined in the Topes ; and of the universal 
 reverence paid to the monks. 
 
 4. The Buddhist remains now existing' may be 
 divided into four distinct classes. 
 
 1st. Cave Temples, containing Topes, Sculp- 
 tures, Paintings, and numerous inscriptions. 
 Snd. Vihdras, or Monasteries. 
 3rd. Inscriptions on Rocks and Pillars. 
 4th. Topes, or Religious Edifices. 
 
 5. The Cave Temples have been made known by 
 the beautiful pictorial illustrations of Ferg'usson ; 
 but the curious paintings which adorn the interior 
 must be copied, and the numerous inscriptions must 
 be deciphered, before the historical value of these 
 remarkable monuments of the Buddhists will be 
 fully appreciated. Captain Gill, of the Madras 
 
 * The principal paintings are in the Cave Temples at Ajanta 
 and Ellora; the sculptures at Sanchi, on the gateways of the 
 Great Tope. The identity of the head-dresses of the paintings 
 with those of the sculptures, and more particularly the recent 
 forms of the alphabetical characters in the Cave Temples, show 
 that the caves cannot date earlier than the beginning of the 
 Christian era. My own opinion is, that they are not earlier than 
 a.-d. 200. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 Army, is now employed at Ajanta in copying* the 
 painting's j but the volumes of inscriptions in the 
 Caves of Nasik, Junir, Kanari, and Karli, still 
 remain to be copied.* 
 
 6. The Vihdras, or Monasteries, are of two 
 kinds : — 1st, Cave Viharas, of which several mag- 
 nificent specimens have been published by Mr. 
 Fergusson ; and 2nd, Structural Vihdras, of which 
 some specimens still remain at Sanchi, but in a 
 ver}- ruinous condition. 
 
 7. The Inscriptions on the Pillars at Delhi and 
 Allahabad, and on the Tirhut Pillars at Mathiya 
 and R&dhiya have long ago been deciphered and 
 translated by the remarkable ingenuity of James 
 Prinsep. The Inscriptions on the Rocks at Junagiri 
 in Gujrat, and at Dhauli in Kuttack, were also 
 interpreted by him. A third version of the rock 
 inscriptions (but in the Ariano Pali character), 
 which was found at Kapur-digiri, near Peshawur, 
 has been carefully collated with the others by 
 
 * In Bird's learned " Historical Researches on the Origin and 
 Principles of the Bauddha and Jaina Religions," there are several 
 plates of inscriptions from the Caves of Kanari, Karli, Ajanta, 
 Ellora, Nasik, &c. Of some of these, Dr. Bird has offered 
 translations ; but as he has an evident leaning towards identify- 
 ing Buddhism with the ancient Sun-worship, the translations are 
 not so accurate as could be wished. For instance, wherever the 
 proper name of Mitra (a friend) occurs, he has translated it as 
 if it was the Persian Mithra, the sun. His third inscription, 
 p. 51, which gives the name of Biulha Mitra (the friend of 
 Buddha), should have taught him the true value of Mitra. 
 
6 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Professor Wilson. Many short inscriptions from 
 Gaya, Sanchi,, and Birat, as well as from the Cave 
 Temples of Southern India, have also been published 
 at different times j but, with the single exception of 
 the edicts in the Eock Inscriptions, which contain 
 the names of Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, and 
 Mag-as, the inscriptions in the present volume are 
 of greater interest, and of much higher importance, 
 than all that have yet been published. 
 
 8. The numerous Topes which still exist in India 
 are chiefly confined to a few localities. The Topes of 
 Kabul and Jelalabad were opened by Messrs. Honig- 
 berger and Masson in 1835, and those between the 
 Indus and the Jhelam by Generals Ventura and 
 Court in 1833 and 1834. The Topes near Benares 
 were opened by myself in 1835, and those at Sanchi 
 and other places around Bhilsa, were opened by Lieut. 
 Maisey and myself in January and February of the 
 present year. The Topes of Tirhut and Bahar still 
 remain to be examined. 
 
 9. Of the Bhilsa Topes none have yet been de- 
 scribed excepting the largest of the Sanchi group 
 near Bhilsa. An accurate plan and section of this 
 building, with a short account of the various subjects 
 represented in the sculptured bas-reliefs of the gate- 
 ways, was published by my brother Captain J. D. 
 Cunningham, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of 
 Bengal. On his solicitation* and earnest repre- 
 
 * See Vol. xvi., p. 745. Just eighteen days before his death, 
 my brother thus wrote to a friend regarding these discoveries, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 sentation of the great value of these bas-reliefs, the 
 Court of Directors were induced to employ Lieut. 
 Maisey to make drawings of the buildings and of its 
 sculptured gateways. In January last I joined Lieut. 
 Maisey at Sanchi, and I am therefore able to speak 
 positively of the value of his drawings, which cannot 
 be surpassed for strict fidelity of outline and minute 
 accuracy of detail. The bas-reliefs of the great 
 Tope at Sanchi will now be illustrated in a manner 
 worthy of their value and importance. 
 
 10. In the present work it is my intention to 
 describe the Topes, or Buddhist monuments, which 
 still exist in the neighbourhood of Bhilsa, in Central 
 India. These Topes consist of five distinct groups, 
 all situated on low sandstone hills, more or less 
 inaccessible. (See Map.) 
 
 1st, Sanchi, 5f miles to S. W. from Bhilsa. 
 
 2nd, SonAri, 6 miles to S. W. from Sanchi. 
 
 3rd, Satdhara, 6^ miles W. from Sanchi. 
 
 4th, Bhojpur, 7 miles E. S. E. from Sanchi, 
 and 6 miles S. S. E. from Bhilsa. 
 
 5th, Andher, 4 miles E. S. E. from Bhojpur, 
 and 9 miles E. S. E. from Bhilsa. 
 — The extreme distance from west to east, or from 
 Satdharato Andher, is 17 miles. 
 
 11 A Tope is properly a religious edifice de- 
 
 which had been early communicated to him. " It is no small 
 pleasure to me to reflect that my residence in Bhopal brought 
 about the delineation of this monument and that of others, and 
 so led the way to many important antiquarian results." 
 
THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 dicated emphatically to Buddha; that is, either to 
 the celestial Adi Buddha, the great First Cause of 
 all things, or to one of his emanations, the Mdnu- 
 shi, or " Mortal" Buddhas, of whom the most cele- 
 brated, and the only historical one, is Sakya Muni, 
 who died in B. C. 548. In the Topes dedicated 
 to the celestial Buddha, the invisible Being who 
 pervaded all space, no deposit was made ; but the 
 Divine Spirit, who is " Light," was supposed to 
 occupy the interior, and was typified on the outside 
 by a pair of eyes, placed on each of the four sides 
 either of the base, or of the crown of the edifice.* 
 Such is the great Chaitya or Tope near Kathmandu, 
 in Nepal, dedicated to Swayambhunath (the " Self 
 Existent"), in which the eyes are placed on the 
 upper portion of the building. A specimen of the 
 regular Chaitya is represented in the 3rd compart- 
 ment (inner face) of the left-hand pillar of the 
 eastern gate at Sanchi, in which the two eyes are 
 placed one above the other. Such also are the 
 numerous Chhod-tens in Tibet, which are dedicated 
 to the celestial Buddha, in contradistinction to the 
 
 * The legend of Kun&la, the son of Asoka, proves the antiquity 
 of this practice. In a former birth, Kun&la is said to have 
 plucked the eyes from a Chaitya, for which he was punished by 
 the loss of his own in the next birth ; and because he then 
 presented a pair of golden eyes to a Chaitya, he was afterwards 
 born as the son of Asoka, with eyes beautiful as those of the 
 Kunala bird, — from which circumstance he obtained his name. 
 See Hodgson, p. 117 ; and Burnouf Buddhisme Indien, pp. 
 409-413. See also Plate III. of this volume. 
 
INTRODUCTION. U 
 
 Dung-tens, which are built in honour of the mortal 
 Buddhas, and which ought to contain some portion 
 of their relics either real or supposed. The firsts 
 Chhod-ten, means simply an "offering'" to the Deity; 
 the latter, Dung-ten, is emphatically a "bone/' or 
 relic-receptacle. The same distinction is preserved 
 in the Sanskrit terms, Chaitya and Dhdtugarhha or 
 Dhagoba. The former is properly a religious edifice, 
 dedicated to Adi-Buddha, while the latter is only 
 a "relic-shrine," or repository of ashes. The word 
 Chaitya, however, means any sacred object — as a 
 tree, an altar, a temple — as well as any monument 
 raised on the site of a funeral pile, as a mound or 
 a pillar : Chaitya may therefore, perhaps, be only a 
 general term for both kinds of mound ; while Dhd- 
 tugarhha or Dhagoba is particularly restricted to the 
 " relic" shrine. 
 
 12. The word Tope is derived from Afghanistan, 
 where it is used to designate all the solid mounds of 
 masonry which were opened by Messrs. Honigberger 
 and Masson. The same term also is applied to the 
 massive tower of Manikyala in the Panjab, as well 
 as to all the smaller towers in its neighbourhood. 
 There can be no doubt therefore that the name of 
 Tope is the same as the Pali Thupo, and the Sans- 
 krit Stupa, a "mound" or "tumulus," both of which 
 terms are of constant use in the Buddhist books. 
 Stupa, or Tope, is therefore a name common to each 
 kind of tumulus; whether it be the solid temple 
 dedicated to the Supreme Being, or the massive 
 
10 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 mound erected over the relics of Sakya, or of one of 
 his more eminent followers. 
 
 13. From several passages in the Pali Budd- 
 histical annals, it would appear that Topes were 
 in existence prior to Sakya's advent ; and that they 
 were objects of much reverence to the people. 
 Sakya himself especially inculcated the maintenance 
 of these ancient Chaityas* and the continuance of 
 the accustomed offerings and worship. But this was, 
 doubtless, only a politic accommodation of his own 
 doctrines to the existing* belief of the people, adopted 
 for the purpose of ensuring a more ready assent to 
 his own views. Like as Mahomed recognised the 
 prophetic missions of Moses and Elias, and the 
 divinity of our Saviour Christ, so did Sakya Muni 
 acknowledge the holy Munis Kakutsandafi Kanaka, 
 and Kfoyapa, as his immediate predecessors. They 
 were, probably, heroes or saints, who had obtained 
 the respect of their fellow-countrymen during life, 
 and their reverence after death. Stupas had been 
 erected over their relics in the neighbourhood of 
 Kapila and of Benares, and their worship was too 
 firmly established to be attacked with any chance 
 of success. % Sakya therefore artfully engrafted them 
 
 * See his seven imperishable precepts, given to the people of 
 Vaisali. The sixth of these is, " to maintain, respect, reverence, 
 and make offerings to the Chaityas; and to keep up the ancient 
 offerings without diminution." 
 
 f Or Krakuchanda. 
 
 % Fo-hwe-H, chap. 20, — " His body remained entire." And 
 
INTRODUCTION. 11 
 
 on his own system as the Buddhas of a former age. 
 In like manner, the farmer, who cannot check the 
 mountain stream, turns its course into numerous 
 rivulets for the irrigation of his lands. 
 
 14. It appears also that Stupas had been erected 
 over Supreme Monarchs prior to Sakya's advent, for 
 Sakya particularly informs his disciple* Ananda 
 that, over the remains of a Chakravarti Raja, " they 
 build the thupo at a spot where four principal roads 
 meet." It is clear, therefore, that the Tope, or 
 " tumulus," was the common form of tombs at that 
 period. In fact, the Tope, as its name implies, is 
 nothing 1 more than a regularly-built cairn or pile of 
 stones, which was undoubtedly the oldest form of 
 funereal memento. 
 
 15. In his last injunctions to Ananda,f Bhagawia, 
 likewise " dwelt on the merits to be acquired by 
 building 1 thupd over relics of Tathagata, Pache- 
 Buddhd, and Sdrvakd," or Buddhas, Pratyekas, and 
 Srawakas ; and he more particularly pointed out 
 that they who prayed at the shrines that would 
 be raised to him would be born in heaven. J But, 
 although the original object of a Tope was to cover 
 the remains of the great, or to enshrine the relics 
 of the holy, yet, in a short time, other Topes, or 
 
 Tumour quotes the same from the Pali Annals, — " The joints 
 were not separated." — See Prinsep's Journal, vii. 797. 
 
 * See Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 1006. 
 
 f Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 1006. 
 
 I Turnour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 1005. 
 
12 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 memorial monuments, were erected on spots ren 
 dered famous by the leading events of Sakya's life. 
 These holy places . rapidly increased in number, until 
 there was scarcely a larg*e city in India, from Kabul 
 to Orissa, and from Nepal to Ceylon, which did not 
 possess a monument illustrative of some act of the 
 Great Teacher. For this end, the doctrine of trans- 
 migration was highly accommodating ; for although 
 the mortal pilgrimage of Sakya was limited to the 
 central provinces of the Ganges, yet there was no 
 part of India which he might not have visited in 
 some former existence; and in this way, indeed, he 
 is said to have been in Ceylon. 
 
 16. The Topes were, therefore, of three distinct 
 kinds : 1st, The Dedicatory, which were consecrated 
 to the Supreme Buddha; 2nd, The strictly Funereal, 
 which contained the ashes of the dead ; and 3rd, the 
 Memorial, which were built upon celebrated spots. 
 
 17. Of the Dedicatory Topes I have already 
 spoken; but I may here observe, that, as it is im- 
 probable that any deposit would have been placed 
 in them, we may plausibly conclude that the largest 
 Topes, such as those of Sanchi, Satdhara, and 
 Bhojpur, were consecrated to the Supreme Invisible 
 Adi-Buddha. 
 
 18. Of the Memorial Topes, little is at present 
 known. It seems nearly certain, however, that the 
 great Manikyala Tope was of this kind; for the 
 inscription extracted from it, which begins with 
 Gomangasa, " of the abandoned body," undoubtedly 
 
INTRODUCTION. 13 
 
 refers to Sakya's abandonment of his body to a 
 hungry lion. This Tope, therefore, dates earlier 
 than the period of Fa Hian's Indian pilgrimage 
 in a.d. 400. 
 
 19. The Funereal Topes were of course the most 
 numerous, as they were built of all sizes, and of all 
 kinds of material, according to the rank of the de- 
 ceased and the means of his fraternity. At Bhojpur, 
 the Topes occupy four distinct stages or platforms 
 of the hill. The largest Topes, six in number, occupy 
 the uppermost stage, and were, I believe, dedicated 
 to Buddha; that is, either to the celestial Buddha, 
 Adinath, or to the relics of the mortal Buddha, 
 Sdkya. This view is borne out by the facts that 
 the largest Tope contained no deposit; and that the 
 second and third sized Topes yielded crystal boxes, 
 one of which, shaped like a Tope, contained only 
 a minute portion of human bone smaller than a pea ! 
 
 20. The second-rate Topes, sixteen in number, 
 stand on the second stage. According to my view, 
 these Topes contain the ashes of those who had 
 reached the rank of Bodhisatwa. We discovered 
 relics in five of these Topes, but there were no 
 inscriptions of any historical value. 
 
 21. The third stage of the hill is occupied by 
 seven small Topes, all of which I suppose to have 
 been built over the remains of the third grade of 
 Pratyeka Buddhas. Of the eight Topes which stand 
 on the lowest stage of the hill, one is much larger 
 than any of those on the third stage. These Topes 
 
14 THE BH1LSA TOPES. 
 
 were, I believe, built over the ashes of the lowest 
 grade of the Bauddha community, the Srawaka 
 Buddhas. 
 
 22. The few remarks which I have suggested 
 above, will be sufficient to show the valuable light 
 which the Topes are likely to afford in illustration 
 of the religion of Buddha. But, before proceeding 
 to the examination of the Topes and their contents, 
 I propose to give a slight historical sketch of the 
 progress of that combined system of practical morality 
 and philosophical speculation which, under the name 
 of Buddhism, was the dominant faith of India for 
 nearly fifteen centuries. 
 
LIFE OF SAKYA. 15 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 LIFE OP SaKYA. 
 
 1. In the earliest times of which we have any- 
 authentic record, the Arian race,* both in Persia 
 and India, was attached to the worship of the Sun. 
 In Persia, the fiery element was looked upon as the 
 earthly type of Mithra, or the heavenly orb; and 
 the sacred flame was kept continually burning- by 
 the Magian priesthood. But the worship of the 
 elements was not unknown to the Persians; for 
 Herodotus expressly states that " they sacrificed to 
 the Sun and Moon, to the Earth, to Fire and Water, 
 and to the Winds."t In India, the worship of the 
 
 * I use the term Avian in its widest acceptation to signify 
 the race of Aryya, ' whose emigrations are recorded in the 
 Zendavesta. Starting from Ericene- Veejo, the Aryas gradually 
 spread to the south-east, over Aryya-vartta or Aryya-desa, the 
 northern plains of India; and to the south-west, over Iran, 
 or Persia. The Medes are called Apewi by Herodotus. 
 
 f Herodotus, i. 131, — Qvovat Ik jj\i£> re ical acXrjvrf Kal yy 
 
 koX irvpl Kal viari Kal avifioioi. So also Diogenes Laertius, 
 quoted by Barker, — " They teach the nature and origin of the 
 Gods, whom they think Fire, Earth, and Water." — Barker's 
 Lempriere, in v. Magi. Strabo and others say the same. 
 
16 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 material elements was intimately blended with that 
 of the Sun j and Varuna and Indra (with his 
 attendant Maruts), or Water and Air, shared with 
 Agni, or Fire, in the daily reverence of the people. 
 The religious rites consisted of sacrifices, and of the 
 recitation or chanting- of the ancient hymns of praise 
 and thanksgiving-, which are still preserved in the 
 Vedas. The officiating priests were most probably 
 Brahmans; for, although there is no positive au- 
 thority for such a belief, yet we know that, at the 
 rise of the Buddhist religion, in the 6th century 
 before our era, they formed an hereditary priest- 
 hood, and were the recognised teachers of the 
 Vedas.* 
 
 2. At this particular period of Indian history, the 
 minds of men were perplexed with conflicting systems 
 of religious belief, and with various philosophical 
 speculations on the origin of the world, and on the 
 mystical union of mind and matter, or of soul and 
 body. The most popular system was that of the 
 JBrdhmans and their followers, who believed in the 
 immortality of the soul after transmigration ; while 
 their opponents, the Swastikas, affirmed that its 
 existence was finite, and was limited to its con- 
 nection with the body. 
 
 3. The doctrine of the transmigration of souls was 
 one of the earliest religious beliefs of the ancient 
 world. In Egypt its acceptance was universal ; and 
 
 * Tumour, in Journal of Asiatic Society, Bengal, vii. pp. 805, 
 809. 
 
LIFE OF SAKYA. 17 
 
 in India* it was denied only by the atheistical 
 Swastikas; for the Brdhmans, notwithstanding- the 
 differences of their metaphysical schools, agreed in 
 believing that mankind were destined, by means of 
 successive regenerations, to a prolonged existence 
 in this world. By the attainment of true know- 
 ledge, through abstract meditation, and more espe- 
 cially by the endurance of painful mortifications of 
 the flesh, it was held possible to alleviate the misery 
 of each successive existence by regeneration in a 
 higher and a happier sphere of life. But it was 
 not enough that the general tenor of a man's life 
 was virtuous, for even a single sin was sufficient 
 to draw down the punishment of a lower state of 
 existence in the next birth. The sole aim, the one 
 motive impulse of man, in each successive existence, 
 was to win for himself a still happier state of life 
 at each birth, and a still higher stage of perfection 
 at each death. It was, therefore, only with the 
 greatest difficulty that the most virtuous could wring 
 from the reluctant gods his final exemption from 
 the trammels of this u mortal coil" by the eman- 
 cipation of soul from body, and by the re-absorption 
 of the liberated spirit into the divine essence or God- 
 head, which was its original source. 
 
 4. The Swastikas received their name from their 
 
 * The migration of souls was the fundamental belief of all 
 classes, both Buddhist and Brahmanical. The principal difference 
 between the two creeds lay in the means for attaining final 
 exemption from migration.. 
 
 C 
 
18 THE BHTLSA TOPES. 
 
 peculiar symbol the Swastika, or mystic cross, which 
 was typical of their belief in Swasti. This term is 
 a compound of Su, "well," and asti, "it is;" meaning 
 " it is well," or, as Wilson expresses it, " so be it;" 
 and implying- complete resignation under all circum- 
 stances. But it was the stupef} r ing submission of the 
 Fatalist, not the meek resignation of the Christian, 
 which bows to the chastening of the Almighty, and 
 acknowledges that " whatever is, is right," because 
 it is the will of God. According to the Chinese* 
 the Swastikas were Rationalists, who held that con- 
 tentment and peace of mind were the only objects 
 worthy of attainment in this life. Whatever ad- 
 vanced those ends was to be sought; whatever hin- 
 dered them was to be shunned. All impulses and 
 desires were to be subdued ; all hopes and fears were 
 to be suppressed ; 
 
 " All thoughts, all passions, all delights, 
 Whatever stirs this mortal frame," 
 
 were accounted violators of the peace; and all the 
 common cares of life were considered as so many 
 different forms and degrees of pain. In the anxious 
 quest for quietude, even the memory of the past was 
 to be forgotten; and, what was a more rational 
 
 * They are the Tao-sse of the Chinese ; and the founder of 
 their doctrine is said to have flourished between 604 and 623 b.c. 
 The Swa&ti of Sanskrit is the Suti of Pali ; and the mystic cross, 
 or Sw&stika, is only a monogrammatic symbol formed by the 
 combination of the two syllables, su + ti = suti. 
 
LIFE OF slKYA. 19 
 
 object, although perhaps not a more attainable one, 
 there was to be no vain solicitude for the future. 
 
 5. The fatalist doctrine of eternal annihilation, 
 and consequent escape from future punishment, will 
 always be popular amongst people of weak minds 
 and strong 1 passions ; and as these have ever been the 
 prevailing 1 characteristics of mankind in the East, 
 the Atheistical principles of the Swastikas were 
 received by the bulk of the people with very great 
 favour. They assumed the name of Tirthakaras,* 
 or " pure- doers ; " but by the Buddhists of Tibet 
 they are said to have been indecent in their dress, 
 and grossly Atheistical in their principles. Their 
 Tibetan name Mustegs, or " Finitimists," is signi- 
 ficant of their doctrine of finite existence ; but they 
 are more generally known as the Pon, or Pon-po. 
 This sect, which prevailed throughout Tibet until 
 the seventh century, is now confined to the furthest 
 parts of the most eastern province of Tibet. The 
 name of Pon is evidently only the Sanskrit tHJH 
 punya, " pure," — a synonyme of Tirthakara. 
 
 6. Between the Swastikas, who promised nothing- 
 after this life, and the Brahmans, who offered an 
 almost endless series of mortal existences, people of 
 strong- minds and deep thoughts must have been 
 sadly perplexed. Few men of vigorous intellect 
 could have believed that their never-sleeping- souls 
 
 * See Fo-kwe-ki, 22, 23, and Csoma's Tibetan Grammar, 
 pp. 181, 192. The old name of Tirthakara, cffa^T^, is still 
 preserved amongst the Mog-als as Ter. 
 
20 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 were subject to decay and dissolution ; and yet how 
 few of them, by the most zealous asceticism, could 
 reasonably expect the final attainment of incorpora- 
 tion with the Divinity. For the mass of mankind 
 there could have been no hope whatever; for few 
 would attempt the attainment of that which was so 
 difficult as to be almost impossible. 
 
 7. During- the prevalence of such beliefs, the 
 success of any more rational system was certain ; 
 and the triumphant career of S&kya Muni, and the 
 rapid propagation of his religion, may be attributed 
 as much to the defects of former systems as to the 
 practical character of his own precepts, which incul- 
 cated morality, charity, abstinence, and the more 
 speedy attainment of Buddhahood, with the abolition 
 of caste, and of the hereditary priesthood. 
 
 8. Sakya Sinha, or Sakya Muni, the great 
 mortal teacher of the Buddhist religion, was the son 
 of Maya, by Suddhodana, Raja of Kapila, a petty 
 principality near the present Gorakhpur. He was 
 born in the year 623 b. c, and was, by his father's 
 side, a descendant of Ikshmaku, of the Suryavansa, or 
 solar race.* His original name was Suddhatto, or 
 Siddhartha. He was reared in the palace of his 
 father in all the accomplishments of a young' prince 
 of that period ; and at sixteen years of age he was mar- 
 ried to the Princess Yasodard, or Subhaddakachhana. 
 From that time until his twenty-ninth year, he was 
 
 * Tumour's Mahawanso, p. 9. See also Tumour's Extracts from 
 the Atthakattha, published in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. p. 92?. 
 
LIFE OP SAKYA. 21 
 
 wholly wrapped up in the pursuit of human pleasures, 
 when a succession of incidents awakened in him a 
 train of deep thought, which gradually led to a com- 
 plete change in his own life, and which eventually 
 affected the religious belief of one-half of the human 
 race.* 
 
 9. Mounted in his chariot, drawn by four white 
 steeds, the prince was proceeding as usual to his 
 pleasure-garden, when he was startled by the sudden 
 appearance of an old, decrepid, toothless, gray-haired 
 man, tottering feebly along with a staff. The sight 
 roused him to reflection, and he returned to his 
 palace full of the sad belief that man, in whatever 
 state he may be born, is still u subject to decay." 
 
 10. Four months later, on a second excursion 
 towards the pleasure-garden, he met a poor wretch, 
 squalid with disease ; and he returned to his palace 
 sadder than before, with the reflection that man is 
 subject to disease as well as to decay. 
 
 11. Four months later on a third occasion, he 
 met a corpse ; and he returned to his palace still 
 sadder than the last time, with the reflection that 
 man, however high his station, is subject to decay, 
 disease, and death. 
 
 12. Four months later, he noticed a healthy, well- 
 clad person, wearing the peculiar robe of those de- 
 
 * In the time of Trajan, when the Roman Empire had attained 
 its greatest extent, Buddhism, was the prevailing belief of China 
 and India, which must then have contained more than one-half of 
 the population of the globe. 
 
22 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 dicated to religion. This caused another reflection 
 on the propriety of that mode of life which could 
 produce both cheerfulness of mind and healthiness 
 of body ; and the prince determined at once to 
 join the religionists. These four incidents are called 
 the " four predictive signs," which are shown at in- 
 tervals to the persons destined to become Buddhas.* 
 
 13. The whole story of Sakya's early life, when 
 stripped of the superhuman incidents fondly added 
 by his followers, seems both natural and true : for 
 nothing can be more probable than the religious 
 retirement of a young prince, who for twelve years 
 had abandoned himself to every variety of pleasure 
 until he was cloyed with enjoyment, and the cup of 
 desire was brimful to satiety. Even the miraculous 
 incidents narrated by devout Buddhists, are not 
 more wonderful than those which are recorded and 
 believed of the Virgin Mary, and scores of Eoman 
 Catholic saints, as well as of the Arabian Mo- 
 hammed. 
 
 14. Sdkya Sinha was twenty-nine years of age when 
 he left his wife Yasodard and her infant son Rdhula, 
 and quitted his native city of Kapila to assume the 
 garb of the ascetics. When near his journey's end, 
 on the bank of the Anoma river, he cut off his long 
 
 * Tumour's Extracts from the Atthdkatiha, in Prinsep's Jour- 
 nal, vol. vii. p. 805. These four predictive signs are generally 
 believed to have been witnessed at intervals of four months. The 
 Dighabhdnaka fraternity, however, assert that Sakya witnessed all 
 the four predictive signs on the same day. 
 
LIFE OF SAKYA. 23 
 
 hair with the tiara still attached to it,* and donned 
 the three religious garments, with the begging pot, 
 razor, sewing needle, waistband, and bathing cloth; 
 peculiar to the Bhikshu, or mendicant ascetic. Thus 
 clad, the prince entered the city of Rajagriha 
 (fourteen miles from Graya), and begged for alms and 
 food, which having collected, he retired from the 
 city, and seating himself with his face to the East, 
 ate without loathing his first mendicant meal of the 
 broken scraps of bread which had been thrown into 
 his begging pot. 
 
 15. Thence pursuing his alms -pilgrim age, Sdkya 
 acquired from certain priests the knowledge of 
 Samdpatti ;f but "finding that Samdpatti was not 
 the road that led to Buddhahood," he gave it up, 
 and devoted himself to Pradhan.% For six years 
 he dedicated himself to the study of Mahd pradhdn, 
 and subjected himself, to the utmost extremes of 
 penance and starvation, until he was reduced to a 
 " perfect skeleton ;" but finding that the mortification 
 of the flesh was attended with prostration of the 
 mind, he gave up this system also, as not being 
 the right road to Buddhahood. Sdkya then resumed 
 his begging pilgrimages, and with proper food he 
 
 • The Sanchi bas-reliefs, and Ajanta frescoes, both represent 
 the hair intertwined with the head-dres3 in a manner now only- 
 practised by the people of Burmah. 
 
 t Samddhi, inTrfV> silent abstraction, and contemplation of 
 the Supreme Being. 
 
 J Pradhdn, T[ViT*f, Nature, or concrete matter. 
 
24 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 regained his bodily strength and mental vigour ; but 
 was abandoned by the five disciples who had fol- 
 lowed him for six years.* 
 
 16. After this he passed four weeks under the 
 Bodhi tree, then one week under the Nigrodho tree 
 (Ficus Indica), then another week under the Macha- 
 lindo tree (Stravadia), then another week under the 
 Rqjayatana tree (Buchanania latifolia).^ For seven 
 whole weeks he thus continued absorbed in deep 
 meditation until he had obtained Bodhi-jnydn,^. and 
 was prepared to make known unto mankind the 
 wonderful efficacy of Dharmma (both faith and 
 works), and the desirableness of Nirvana. 
 
 17. During his fit of abstract meditation under 
 the Bodhi tree, Sakya was assailed by the terrors 
 of death § (Maro, or Death personified) and his 
 army of horrors ; but, to one whose belief taught 
 him that the dissolution of the body was the 
 liberation of the soul from its earthly trammels, 
 the approach of death was received with calm joy, 
 instead of cowardly apprehension. This event, which 
 is supposed to have ended Sakya's trials in this 
 mortal body, took place in the month of Astirh, or 
 
 * Tumour's Extracts in Prinsep's Journal, p. 811. 
 
 f I have purposely retained the mention of these trees, because 
 the Sanchi bas-reliefs, which exhibit the adoration of trees, may 
 be best explained by the knowledge that certain trees, under which 
 Sakya had sat, were held sacred. 
 
 \ Supreme wisdom. 
 
 $ Namuchi-Mara, the Demon of Death. 
 
LIFE OF SAKYA. 25 
 
 June, 588 B. c. A few days afterwards, on the 
 full moon of Asdrh, or 1st July, 588 B. c, Sakya, 
 clad in his ascetic dress, and with his begging- pot 
 in his hand, proceeded to the Isipatana Vihdra at 
 Benares. On his approach, he was recognised by 
 the five Bhikshus who had formerly deserted him, 
 and who were still resolute not to pay him reverence, 
 but under the influence of his benign spirit they 
 bowed down to him with every mark of adoration. 
 Sakya then explained to them that he had attained 
 Buddhahood, and preached to them on the supre- 
 macy of Dharmma. 
 
 18. From this time Sakya travelled over the 
 greater part of North- West India, continually in- 
 culcating the efficacy of Dharmma, and the vast 
 reward of Nirvana (or final emancipation). In 
 the first year of his ministry he is said to have 
 assembled a synod of no less than twelve hundred 
 and fifty sanctified disciples; of whom the chief 
 were Sariputra and Mangalyana, and the three 
 Kdsyapas. 
 
 19. The various acts of Sakya, during his long 
 ministry of forty-five years, are too numerous to detail, 
 and are too much mixed up with the fond exaggera- 
 tions of his followers to admit of any satisfactory 
 selection from them. But they may be taken gene- 
 rally as so many illustrations of the peculiar tenets 
 which Sakya inculcated — amongst which are charity, 
 abstinence, and the prohibition against taking life of 
 any kind. 
 
26 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 20. The death of this mortal Buddha took place 
 at Kvsindra, in January 543 B. a, when he was 
 eighty years of age. On his death-bed he thus 
 addressed his followers : " Bhikshus ! should there 
 be anything- doubtful or incomprehensible regarding 
 Buddho, Dhammo, Sangho, Maggo, or Pati-padd* 
 inquire (now)." Three times did Bhagawd [the Su- 
 preme, i. e. Sakya] address them in the same words; 
 but they were all silent. Among the five hundred 
 Bhikshus present, there was not one who doubted, 
 or who did not understand. Bhagawd again spoke : 
 " Bhikshus ! I now exhort you for the last time : 
 transitory things are perishable ; without delay 
 qualif} r yourselves (for Nirvana)." These were the 
 last words of Tathdgata.^ 
 
 21. The lower orders of Bhikshus, and all the 
 Mallians of Kusinara, lamented aloud with dis- 
 hevelled hair and uplifted arms, saying, " Too soon 
 has Bhagawd died ! too soon has Sugato died ! too 
 soon has the Eye (chakku) closed on the world!" 
 But those Bhikshus, who had attained the state of 
 Arahat, comforted themselves with the last words 
 of the sage, that all " transitory things are perish- 
 
 * Tumour's Extracts inPrinsep's Jour. vol. vii. p. 1007. Buddha, 
 Dharma, and Sangha, are the persons of the Buddhist Triad. 
 Maggo, the Sanskrit Mdrga, WT, " road," " way," was one of 
 the lower stages of initiation in the way of Buddhism. Patipadd, 
 the Sanskrit Pratipada, was the first or lowest stage of 
 Buddhism. 
 
 f Tumour's Extracts in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. p. 1008. 
 
LIFE OF SAKYA. 27 
 
 able." This very scene is, I believe, represented in 
 one of the compartments of the eastern gateway at 
 Sdnchi. Three figures are seated in a boat — one 
 rower, one steersman, and one passenger — all in 
 the dress of the religious class. On the shore are 
 four figures, also in religious garb; one with dis- 
 hevelled hair and uplifted arms, and the others, 
 who wear caps, with hands clasped together in atti- 
 tudes of devotion. The passenger is, I think, Sakya 
 Muni, who is represented after Nirvdna on his 
 passage over the waters which are said to surround 
 this transitory world.* The figures on the shore 
 are a Bhikshu of the lower grade bewailing the 
 departure of Sakya with dishevelled hair and uplifted 
 arms, which, from the description given above, would 
 seem to have been the customary manner of ex- 
 pressing grief. f The others are Bhikshus who had 
 attained the higher grade of Arahat, and who com- 
 forted themselves with the reflection that " all tran- 
 sitory things are perishable." The difference of rank 
 is known by the bare head of the mourner and 
 the capped heads of the others — a distinction which 
 still prevails in Tibet, where the lower grades of 
 Qe-thsul and Chhos-pa invariably go bare-headed; 
 whilst all the Ldmas (or higher grades), includ- 
 
 * Hodgson's Literature and Religion of the Buddhists, p. 151. 
 " The world is surrounded by water," — " Le tourbillon d'eau qui 
 embrasse les mondes." 
 
 f See Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. pp. 1009, 1011, for 
 these instances. See also Plate XI. of this volume. 
 
28 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 ing the Grand Lama himself, have their heads 
 covered. 
 
 22. The corpse of the Great Teacher was escorted 
 hy the Mallians of Kusindra with music, singing-, 
 and dancing, to the east side of the city. It was 
 first wrapped in a new cloth, then wound about with 
 floss cotton, and again wrapped in numerous other 
 cloths. Thus prepared, the corpse was laid in a 
 metal oil vessel, covered by another, and placed upon 
 a funeral pile of sandal wood. At this moment the 
 venerable Maha Kdssapo, having arrived from Pdwd, 
 approached the funeral pile. With one shoulder 
 bare (the right), and, with clasped hands, having 
 performed the padakhindn (perambulation) three 
 times j and, after opening the pile at the end, he 
 reverentially bowed down at the feet of Bhagawd* 
 The five hundred Ehikshus did the same; and the 
 pile was lighted. When the body was consumed, the 
 metal vessel was escorted back to the town; where, 
 with music, song, and dance, and with garlands of 
 sweet flowers, the people for seven days showed 
 their reverence and devotion to Bhagawd's mortal 
 remains. 
 
 23. After this, the burnt bones were divided into 
 eight portions by the Brahman Dono (Drona), and 
 
 * Tumour's Extracts in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. p. 1012. This 
 act of Kasyapa I believe to have been the origin of the worship of 
 Buddha's feet. The reverence shown to the feet is undoubtedly 
 old, as the feet are represented on the central architrave of the 
 Eastern Gateway at Sanchi, in a procession. 
 
LIFE OF SAKYA. 29 
 
 distributed amongst those who applied for them. 
 Eight Stupas or Topes were erected over the relics 
 at the following 1 places :■ — * 
 
 1st. At Rajagriha, in Magadha, by Ajata- 
 satta. 
 
 2nd. At Visali, by the IAohawi family. 
 
 3rd. At Kapilavastu, by the Sdkyas. 
 
 4th. At Allakappo, by the Balayas. 
 
 5th. At Ramagrama, by the Kausalas. 
 
 6th. At Wetthadipo, by the Brahmans. 
 
 7th. At Paw a, by the Malliyans. 
 
 8th. At Kusinara, by the Malliyans. 
 The Moriyans of Pipphaliwano having applied 
 too late for a share of the relics, received some 
 charcoal from the funeral pile, over which they 
 built Stupa the 
 
 9th. At Pipphaliwano ; 
 
 * Tumour's Extracts in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. p. 1013. The 
 whole of these places, including Allakappo, although it has not 
 been identified, were situated in Tirhut and Bahar. — 1, Raja- 
 griha was the ancient capital of Magadha, or Bahar Proper. 
 2. The ruins of Visixi still exist at Bassahr, to the north of 
 Patna. 3. Kapilavastu was somewhere between Ayodhya and 
 Gorakhpur. 5. Ramagrama was in the neighbourhood of 
 Gorakhpur : it was most likely the Selampura of Ptolemy, or 
 Sri-JRdmpura. 6. Wetthadipo was most probably Bettiya. 
 
 7. Piwi was to the west of Visali, on the high road to Kusinara. 
 
 8. Kusinara was about equi-distant between Benares and Visali, 
 or 'in the position of Kusia on the Little Gandak. 9. Pipphali- 
 wano, or the place of tbe Charcoal Tope, was between Kapilavastu 
 and Kusinara. The people of Visali are called Passalm by 
 Ptolemy. 
 
30 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 and lastly the Brahman Dono, over the vessel 
 (kumbha) in which he had measured the relics, built 
 the 
 
 10th Stupa. 
 
 24. The relics which remained uninjured b}' the 
 fire were the four canine teeth, two collar bones, 
 and one frontal bone with a hair attached to it, 
 which was therefore called the renhisa, or hair relic. 
 One of the teeth was ultimately enshrined in Gand- 
 hara, the country on the lower Kabul river around 
 Peshawur; a second in Kaling'a, at Dantapura, or 
 " tooth-town ;" and the others are said to have been 
 worshipped by the Devas and Nagas. 
 
 25. But within twenty years after the death of 
 Sakya, his relics were all brought together, excepting 
 the portion at Hajagrdma, by Ajatasatta, King of 
 Magadha, through the influence of Maha Kdsyapa, 
 the patriarch or head of the Buddhist religion, and 
 a great Stupa was erected over them to the south- 
 east of Rajagriha.* 
 
 26. In the reign of Priyadarsi or Dharmmasoka, 
 King of Magadha, about 250 B. c, these relics were 
 again distributed over the whole of India. 
 
 * Tumour's Extracts in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. p. 1014. 
 See also the Mahawanso, p. 185. In one of the Topes opened 
 at Bhojpur, we found, amongst numerous fragments of bone, four 
 teeth, all in good order. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 FAITH OF SAKYA. 
 
 1. In the infancy of the world, when Man was 
 left to his own unaided reason to solve the mysteries 
 of nature, and the destiny of his race, the most casual 
 observer must have seen that nothing 1 of this earth 
 is lasting- ; that the loftiest tree, the loveliest flower, 
 the strongest animal, the hardest rock, are all subject 
 to decay ; nay, that man himself is nought but dust, 
 and that to dust does he return. Closer observers 
 would have been struck with the perpetual recurrence 
 of seasons ; the ever-changing yet unchanged moon ; 
 the continued production of plants ; and, above all, 
 with the never-failing stream of human life. 
 
 2. Such observations would naturally lead to the 
 discrimination of the various elements — earth, water, 
 fire, and air; to a belief in the eternity of matter, 
 and to the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. 
 And thus the material elements, or Nature, with her 
 supposed inherent power of combination and repro- 
 duction, became the Deity of this world. But even 
 the most thoughtless man must at times have felt 
 
32 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 conscious that he possessed within himself an unseen 
 power which controlled the actions of his body. 
 Hence arose a belief in the existence of Spirit, 
 which was at first made only an inherent power of 
 Nature, but was afterwards preferred before her; 
 and was eventually raised to the position of the Great 
 First Cause and Creator of all thing's. 
 
 3. Such is the course which the human mind most 
 probably went through both in India and in Greece. 
 In process of time the more commanding - spirits, who 
 ruled the passions of their fellow-men by the ascen- 
 dancy of genius, and by unbending firmness of will, 
 were held to be mortal emanations or avatars of the 
 Supreme Being ; and, after death, were exalted to 
 the rank of demig'ods. Thus, in both countries, hero- 
 worship had prevailed from remote antiquity; and 
 the tombs of the mighty had become objects of reve- 
 rence. In India, the Topes or Tumuli of Kraku- 
 chanda, Kanaka, and Kasyapa, existed before the 
 preaching of Sakya -, and the ancient elemental deities 
 of the Vedas preceded the worship of Dharma, or 
 concrete Nature. 
 
 4. The religious systems of India are all deeply 
 imbued with metaphysical speculations ; and the close 
 agreement between these and the philosophical sys- 
 tems of Greece would be an interesting subject to 
 the classical scholar. A strict analysis and com- 
 parison of the systems of both countries would most 
 probably tend to mutual elucidation. The Indians 
 have the advantage in point of time; and I feel 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 83 
 
 satisfied that the Greeks borrowed much of their 
 philosophy from the East. The most perfect sys- 
 tem of the Ionics, as developed by Anaxagoras,* is 
 the same as the Sankhya school of India; and 
 the famous doctrines of Pythagoras are intensely 
 Buddhistical. The transmigration of souls is Egyp- 
 tian as well as Indian: but the prohibition against 
 eating animal food is altogether Buddhist. Women 
 were admitted as members both by Sakya and by 
 Pythagoras ; and there were grades in the brother- 
 hood of Pythagoreans, as in the Sangha, or Com- 
 munity of Buddhists. These coincidences between 
 the two systems seem too strong to be accidental. 
 
 5. Pythagoras is said to have visited India; and 
 there are some curious verbal coincidences which 
 really seem to countenance the story. Pythagoras 
 married Theano (Sanskrit, Dhy&na, " devout con- 
 templation") ; and by her had a daughter whom he 
 named Darno (Sanskrit, Dharmma, " virtue, or prac- 
 tical morality"), and who became a most learned 
 Pythagorean. He was the first who assumed the 
 title of <t>i\oao<t>og (Sanskrit, Buddha Mitra), the lover 
 of wisdom, or Budha. His own name is perhaps 
 only a compound of irvOag, or Buddha, and ayopevw, 
 
 * Anaxagoras held that Novr, Mind or Intellect, was not the 
 creator of all things, hut only the artist who gave form to pre- 
 existent matter. According to him, matter consisted of various 
 particles, which were put in motion by the action of Mind ; the 
 homogeneous particles were blended together into an infinite 
 variety of forms, and the heterogeneous were separated. 
 
 D 
 
34 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 to expound or announce j and the names of two of his 
 followers, Damon and Pythias (or Dharmma and 
 Buddha), have become celebrated for their disin- 
 terested friendship. All these coincidences can 
 scarcely be accidental ; and though we may not 
 be able to trace the actual progress of Buddhism 
 from India to Greece, yet the evidence in favour 
 of its transmission is much too strong to be doubted. 
 
 6. The system of faith taught by Sakya Muni 
 has been tersely and truly characterized by Mr. 
 Hodgson as " monastic asceticism in morals, and 
 philosophical scepticism in religion." This is espe- 
 cially the case with the two more ancient philo- 
 sophical sj-stems, the Swdbhdvika and Aismdrika, 
 which he has made known to us from the Sanskrit 
 books of Nepal. The former, Mr. Hodgson thinks, 
 was that of primitive Buddhism ; but as the 
 Swdbhdvika was essentially a doctrine of materialism, 
 it must have been closely allied to the Nirismara 
 Sdnkhya school of Kapila. In this system* Pradhan, 
 or MaM-Pradhdn, or " supreme nature," was held 
 to be the Mula-Prakriti, or "plastic origin" of all 
 things, from which Budhi, or " intelligence," was 
 produced. Now this is the very system which 
 Sakya had rejected, after six years' study at Ra- 
 jagriha. The supremacy of Naturef taught by the 
 Srvdbhdvikas is also utterly at variance with the 
 
 • Colebrooke, Trans. Roy. As. Soc. 
 
 + Hodgson, pp. 33, 77. The Swabhavikas were simple mate-: 
 
 rialists. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 35 
 
 solemn address made by Sakya to his disciples from 
 his death-bed under the Sdl tree at Kusinagara* 
 " Bhikshusl" said the dying- teacher, "if any points 
 seem doubtful or incomprehensible to you regarding 
 Buddho, Dhammo, Sangho, &c, inquire now." In 
 this address, which was three times repeated, Buddha, 
 or " supreme intelligence," is placed before Dharma, 
 or " material nature," as the first person of the 
 Triad. The system of faith taught by Sakya must, 
 therefore, have been that of the Theistical Triad of 
 Buddha,\ Dharma, and Sangha. This is placed 
 beyond all doubt by the edict of Priyadersi, pub- 
 lished after the meeting of the 3rd Buddhistical 
 Synod in B. C. 247, at which the orthodox doctrines 
 of Sakya were upheld.^ In this edict, the names 
 of the orthodox Buddhist Triad are distinctly men- 
 tioned as Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. The ex- 
 istence of the Buddhist Triad at that particular 
 period, is further proved by the occurrence of such 
 names as Budha-P&lita, Dharma Rakshita, and 
 Sangha-Mitra, among the colonnade inscriptions of 
 No. 2 Tope at Sanchi. 
 
 7. When Salya Muni began his religious career, 
 he first tried the system of the Samddhikas, who 
 placed the attainment of everlasting bliss in the 
 continued practice of Samddhi, or of deep and 
 
 * Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. p. 1007. 
 
 f Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, are the Sanskrit names ; the 
 others are Pali. 
 
 t See Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. ix. p. 619, where the three 
 names of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, are improperly translated 
 " Buddhist faith." 
 
36 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 devout abstraction.* Dissatisfied with this belief, 
 he next tried that of the Prddhdnikas, or worshippers 
 of "universal nature" as the sole First Cause of 
 all things. This atheistical doctrine he also aban- 
 doned ; and, in its stead, either invented or adopted 
 the theistical Triad of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, 
 in which Triad Buddha, or "supreme intelligence," 
 is the Creator of all things. " In the transcendental 
 and philosophical sense, Buddha means Mind ; 
 Dharmma, Matter ; and Sangha, the concretion 
 of the two former in the sensible or phenomenal 
 world. In a practical or religious sense, Buddha 
 means the mortal author of this religion (Sdkya) ; 
 Dharmma, his law ; and Sangha, the congregation 
 
 of the faithful."! 
 
 8. But though the early Buddhists admitted the 
 existence of a Supreme Being, they denied his 
 providence, in the full belief that without his aid, 
 and solely by their own efforts of Tapas % and 
 Dhyan, or Abstinence and Abstraction, they could 
 win for themselves the " everlasting bliss" (Moksha) 
 of absorption into the Divine Spirit.§ 
 
 * So complete was the power of abstraction held to be, that the 
 author of the Mahawanso (p. 262) gravely relates the following; 
 story : — " This Raja (Dhdtusena), at the time he was improving 
 the Kalawapi tank, observed a certain priest absorbed in the 
 Samddhi meditation ; and, not being able to rouse him from that 
 abstraction, had him buried under the embankment (of the tank) 
 by heaping earth over him." f Hodgson, p. 89. 
 
 I Hodgson, page 35. The Tapas of the Buddhists was 
 not penance, or self-inflicted bodily pain, like that of the 
 Brahmans, but a perfect rejection of all outward things (prav- 
 rittika). § Hodgson, p. 37. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 
 
 37 
 
 9. One belief common to Buddhism is the doctrine 
 of Nirvritti and Pravritti, or Eest and Action.* 
 The latter state is that of man, and the former that 
 of the celestial, self-existent Being, whether Buddha 
 or Dharma. According' to. the Aiswarikas, the 
 Supreme Being- Adi Buddha, or Iswara, though 
 formless as a cypher or mathematical point, and 
 separate from all things (in Nirvritti), is infinite in 
 form, pervading all, and one with all (in Pravritti).f 
 His proper and lasting state is that of Nirvritti, 
 but for the sake of creation, he spontaneously roused 
 himself into activity {Pravritti), and by means of 
 his five spiritual faculties (Panchqjny&na), and by 
 five exertions of mental reflection (Panchadhydna), 
 he created the Pancha-Bhyani-Buddha, or " five 
 celestial Buddhas," together with the " five elements," 
 the "five senses," and the five "objects of sense," 
 in the following order: J 
 
 1 
 
 Buddhas. 
 
 Elements. 
 
 Senses. 
 
 Objects 
 of Sense. . 
 
 Vairochana. 
 
 Earth. 
 
 Light. 
 
 Colour. 
 
 o 
 
 Akshobya. 
 
 Water. 
 
 Hearing 1 . 
 
 Sound. 
 
 3 
 
 Ratna Sambhava. 
 
 Pire. 
 
 Smell. 
 
 Odour. 
 
 4 
 
 Amitabha. 
 
 Air. 
 
 Taste. 
 
 Savour. 
 
 5 
 
 Amogha Siddha. 
 
 Ether. 
 
 Touch. 
 
 Solidity. 
 
 • Traf% and Mf%- 
 
 f Hodgson, pp. 81, 40, 110. These terms were also applied to 
 human heings, according as they passed secular or monastic lives. 
 Thus Sdhya, while Prince Siddharta, was exercising Pravritti- 
 M&rga; but when he adopted the religious garb, and the 
 devotional abstraction of the ascetics, he was then in a state of 
 Nirvritti- Marga. X Hodgson, pp. 40, 83, 111. 
 
38 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 10. These five celestial Buddhas appear to be simple 
 personifications of the five elements, and their in- 
 herent properties ; or, to use Mr, Hodgson's expres- 
 sion, " of the active and intellectual powers of nature." 
 The five Bodhisatwas, as well as the five Lokeswaras, 
 or inferior celestials, likewise possessed Saktis. 
 
 11. I omit the long* train of Bodhisatwas, Lokes- 
 waras, and Buddhasaktis, as I believe that they 
 formed no part of original Buddhism, but were 
 engrafted afterwards when the religion of Sakya 
 had become firmly established, and when its votaries 
 took more delight in the indolent enjoyment of meta- 
 physical speculations than in the active exertions 
 of propagandism. I believe also that, as Buddhism 
 gradually obtained an ascendancy over men's minds, 
 the whole of the Brahmanical schools, by an easy 
 change of phraseology, accommodated their own 
 doctrines so as not to clash with those of the domi- 
 nant party. At least it is only by a supposition of 
 this kind that I can account for the great similarity 
 which exists between the philosophical systems of 
 Buddhism and those of the Brahmanical Sankhj'as. 
 This similarity, which has already been noticed by 
 Colebrooke,* is, indeed, so great as to render it 
 difficult to discriminate the doctrines of the one from 
 those of the other. The phraseology varies, but the 
 ideas are the same ; so that there is a distinction, but 
 without a difference. 
 
 * Colebrooke, Trans. Boy. As. Society, vol. i. p. 19 — On the 
 Philosophy of the Hindus. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 39 
 
 12. There is, however, one doctrine of the Sdnkh- 
 yas, which neatly and clearly distinguishes them 
 from the Buddhists — a belief in the eternity of 
 matter, as well as in the immortality of the soul. 
 The Sankhyas asserted that nothing can be produced 
 which does not already exist; and that effects are 
 educts and not products.* This is the old classical 
 dogma of ex nihilo nil Jit, " from nothing, nothing 
 can come."f The stately tree sprang from a seed; 
 the costly jar was formed from the potter's clay. 
 There might be infinities of form and ever-varying 
 combinations of substance ; but the materials existed 
 before, and the difference consisted only in the shape 
 and mixture, and not in the matter. 
 
 13. The orthodox Buddhists, on the contrary, 
 believed that every thing was the creation of the 
 self-existent Adi Buddha, who willed it, and it 
 was. 
 
 14. The Sdnkhya teachers, whose doctrines cor- 
 respond with those of the primitive Buddhists, are 
 Kapila and Patanjali. The first held that all things 
 owed their origin to Mula-Prahriti, or Radical 
 Nature, in which Purusha, or Soul, was inherent, 
 and from which Budhi, or Intelligence (in a female 
 and inferior form), was brought forth. His system 
 
 • Colebrooke, Trans. Roy. As. Society, vol. i. p. 38 — On the 
 Philosophy of the Hindus. 
 
 f This is the doctrine of Lucretius, de Rerum Natura — Nil fieri 
 ex nihilo, in nihilum nil posse reverti. " From nonentity nothing 
 can be produced ; and entity cannot be reduced to nothing." 
 
40 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 was called Niriswara Sankhya* or " atheistical 
 Sankhya/' because he denied the existence of an 
 all-ruling Providence. Kapila also prohibited sa- 
 crifice, as its practice was attended with the taking 
 away of life. 
 
 15. The followers of Patanjali were called Ses- 
 wara Sdnkhyas,^ or " theistical Sankhyas," because 
 they recognised a Supreme Being who was the 
 ruler of the world, infinite and eternal. 
 
 16. The Brahmanical Niriswara system agrees 
 very nearly with that of the Buddhistical SwabMva, 
 in which Dharma is made the first person of the 
 Triad, as Mah£-Prajna,% or " supreme nature," 
 which is Sroabhava (or self-existent), the sole en- 
 tity, from which all things proceeded in this 
 order§: — 
 
 17. From the mystic root of the letter Y air 
 
 „ „ R fire 
 
 „ „ V water 
 
 „ „ L earth 
 
 „ „ S Mount 
 
 Sumeru. 
 In the Swabhavaka Triad, Dharma is repre- 
 
 * JSfir, without, and Isrvara, God — that is, Godless or 
 Atheistical. 
 
 t Sa, with ; Iswara, God. 
 
 I Hodgson, p. 77. 
 
 § Hodgson, p. 109. These are the Sanskrit radicals, — ya, ra, 
 va, la, which signify air, fire, water, and earth. From Mount 
 Sumeru proceeded all trees and vegetables, and from the earth 
 proceeded the Dhdtwdtmika, or bases of all the metals. 
 
FAITH OF SiKYA. 41 
 
 sented as a female, with Buddha on the right hand, 
 and Sangha on the left. 
 
 18. The Sesward school of the Br ah mans agrees 
 very closely with that of the Aiswdriha Buddhists. 
 Both take their names from the recognition of a 
 Supreme Being (Ismard), whom the Buddhist con- 
 siders as the first Intellectual Essence, the Adi- 
 Buddha, by whom all things were created. In the 
 Aiswarika Triad, Buddha holds the first place, and 
 Dharma, who is represented as a female, the second 
 place on his right hand, while Sangha occupies the 
 left hand. 
 
 19. All these schools, both Brahmanical and 
 Buddhistical, whether they deify intellectual spirit 
 or material nature, agree in considering that man 
 is the united production of both — a compound of mind 
 and matter, or soul and body. According to the 
 Aiswarikas, the human body, as well as the ma- 
 terial universe, was compounded of the five elements : 
 earth, water, fire, air, and ether.* The soul, which 
 animates it, was an emanation from the self-existent 
 Godi Man was, therefore, emphatically the " Union" 
 (Sangha) of " material essence" (Dharma) with a 
 portion of the " divine intelligence" (Buddha).-\ 
 
 20. But these metaphysical speculations were im- 
 parted only to the initiated, or highest class of 
 Bhihshus, who had attained the rank of Arahat, or 
 Bodhisatwa. For Sakya had divided his doctrines 
 
 * Hodgson, p. 112. 
 •f- Hodgson, p. 127. 
 
42 THE BHILSA TOPES- 
 
 into three distinct classes, adapted to the capabilities 
 of his hearers.* 1st, The Vindya, or " religious 
 discipline," addressed to the Srdwaka, or " au- 
 ditors/' who were the lowest class of the Bauddha 
 community ; 2nd, The Sutra, " aphorisms," or Prin- 
 ciples of Faith, addressed to the Pratyekas or " dis- 
 tinct intelligences," who formed the middle class of 
 monks; and 3rd, the Abhidharma, or " supreme 
 law," or Transcendental Principles of Paith, im- 
 parted only to the Bodhisatwas, or " true intelli- 
 gences," who were the highest class of the Bauddha 
 community. 
 
 21. These three classes of doctrine are collectively 
 called the Tri-Pitaka, or "three repositories;" and 
 the Tri Yaniharf or " three-means-of-progression;" 
 and separately they are generally known as the 
 Lowest, the Middle, and the Highest means of 
 Advancement. These terms are of common oc- 
 currence in the Buddhist writings, and especially 
 in the works, of the Chinese travellers; from whom 
 we learn that the pastoral nations of the Nor- 
 thern Hiils, accustomed to active habits, were con- 
 tent with the Lowest-means-of-Advancement, 
 while the more intellectual and contemplative people 
 of India generally strove for the attainment of the 
 superior degrees of Madhyima-Ydnika, and Mahd- 
 
 * Fo-krve-ki, c. 2, note. Csoma de Koros, —Analysis of the 
 Tibetan Works, in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vii. p. 145. 
 
 f Ydna means a vehicle of any kind, by which progress or 
 advance is obtained. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 43 
 
 Ydnika, or " Midble and Highest Means-of- 
 Advancement." 
 
 22. The Tri-Pitaka were compiled immediately 
 after Sakya's death, in B. c. 543, by three of his 
 chief disciples, with the assistance of five hundred 
 learned monks. The Abhidhaema was the work of 
 Kdsyapa, the head of the Bauddha fraternity; the 
 Sutea of Andnda, Sakya's favourite disciple; and the 
 Vinaya of Updli* The language in which these 
 works was written, has been the subject of much 
 dispute ; but the account given by the Tibetansf is 
 so probable, and at the same time so natural, that it 
 ought, as James Prinsep has observed, to set the 
 matter at rest. Their account is that the Sittbas 
 in general, that is, the Vinaya, as well as the Sutr& 
 proper, were first written in the Sindhu language ; 
 but that the whole of the Sher-chin,$ that is, the 
 Prajnd Pdramitd, or " transcendental wisdom," 
 and the whole of the Oyud, that is, the Tantras, or 
 " religious mysticism," were composed in Sanskrit. 
 This appears to be the only conclusion that anyone 
 can come to who examines the subject attentively. 
 For the Vinaya and Sutra, which were addressed 
 to the people at large, as well as to the Srdwakas 
 and Pratyekas, must necessarily have been published 
 in the vernacular language of the country; while 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, vol. i. p. 2; and Transactions As. Soc. 
 Bengal, vol. xx. p. 42. 
 
 t Csoma's Index to the Kahgyur, in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vi. 
 p. 688. \ See Csoma, in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vi. p. 503. 
 
44 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the abstruse and metaphysical philosophy of the 
 Abhidharma, which was addressed solely to the 
 learned, that is, to the Brdhmans and Bodhisatrvas, 
 would, without doubt, have been enunciated in San- 
 skrit, for the simple reason that its refined elegance 
 of ideas, and delicate shades of meaning-, could not 
 be adequately expressed in any of the vernacular* 
 languages. The Tantras are of much later date; 
 but the same reasoning holds equally good for them ; 
 as the esoteric mysticism of their doctrines could only 
 have been expressed in Sanskrit. In a few words 
 the speculative principles of Buddhism were ex- 
 pounded and recorded in Sanskrit,* while the 
 practical system of belief, deduced from those prin- 
 ciples, was spread abroad and propagated by means 
 of the vernacular Prakrit. 
 
 23. In the JRupasiddhi, which is the oldest Pali 
 grammar now extant, and which the author Buddha- 
 priya compiled f from the ancient work of KachM- 
 yana, a quotation from the latter is given, appa- 
 rently in the original words. According to this 
 account, Kachhayana was one of the principal 
 disciples of Sakya, by whom he was selected for the 
 important office of compiling the first Pali grammar 
 the rules of which are said to have been propounded 
 by Tath&gata himself. This statement seems highly 
 probable ; for the teacher must have soon found the 
 
 * See also Hodgson's opinion on this point. Prinsep's Journal 
 vol. vi. p. 683. 
 f Tumour's Introduction to the Mahawanso, p. 26. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 45 
 
 difficulty of making 1 himself clearly understood when 
 each petty district had a provincial dialect of its 
 own, unsettled both in its spelling' and its pro- 
 nunciation. 
 
 24. A difficulty of this kind could only be over- 
 come by the publication of some established rules of 
 speech, which should fix the wavering pronunciation 
 and loose orthography of a common language. 
 This was accomplished by the Pali Grammar of 
 KachMyana, compiled under Sakya's instructions ; 
 and the language, thus firmly established, was used 
 throughout India by the Buddhist teachers, for the 
 promulgation and extension of the practical doctrines 
 of their faith. 
 
 25. In the Buddhist works of Ceylon, this lan- 
 guage is expressly called Mdgadhi, or the speech 
 of Magadha ; and as this district was the principal 
 scene of Sakya's labours, as well as the native 
 country of himself and of his principal disciples, the 
 selection of Mdgadhi for the publication of his doc- 
 trines was both natural and obvious. It is true, 
 as Professor H. H. Wilson has remarked,* that 
 there are several differences between the language of 
 existing Buddhist inscriptions and the Mdgadhi of 
 Pali Grammars ; but these differences are not such 
 as to render them unintelligible to those whom 
 Pkiyadabsi addressed in his Pillar edicts in the 
 middle of the third century before Christ. The Pro- 
 
 * Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. sii. p. 238. 
 
46 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 fessor admits that the Pali was most likely selected 
 for his edicts by Pri}'adarsi, " that they might be 
 intelligible to the people ;" but he is of opinion that 
 the language of the inscriptions was rather the 
 common tongue of the inhabitants of Upper India 
 than a form of speech peculiar to a class of reli- 
 gionists ', and he argues that the use of the Pali 
 language in the inscription is not a conclusive proof 
 of their Buddhistical origin. 
 
 26. The conclusion which I have come to is exactly 
 the reverse ; for it is a well known fact, that the 
 Brahmans have never used any language but 
 Sanskrit for their religious writings, and have 
 stigmatised the Mdgadhi as the speech of men of 
 low tribes.* In their dramas also the heroes and 
 the Brahmans always speak Sanskrit, while the use 
 of Magadhi is confined to the attendants of royalty. 
 Professor Wilson has, however, identified the Mdgadhi 
 with Prdkrit, the use of which, though more honour- 
 able, was still confined to the principal female 
 characters ; but the extensive employment, in the 
 dramatic works of the Brahmans, of various dialects, 
 all derived from one common stock, seems to me to 
 prove that they were the vernacular language of the 
 people. In this vernacular language, whatever it 
 was, whether the high Prakrit of the Saurasenas, or 
 the low Prakrit of the Mdgadhas, we know certainly 
 that the Vinaya and Sutra, or the practical doctrines 
 
 * Colebrooke, in Trans. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. vii. p. 199. 
 Wilson's Hindu Theatre, vol. i. p. lxiii. iv. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 47 
 
 of Sakya, were compiled, and therefore also pro- 
 mulgated.* 
 
 27. In the opinion of Turnour, the celebrated 
 scholar, the Pali is a "rich and poetical language, 
 which had already attained its present refinement at 
 the time of Gotama Buddha's advent" (b. c. 588). 
 According" to Sir William Jones, f it is " little more 
 than the language of the Brahmans, melted down 
 by a delicate articulation to the softness of Italian." 
 To me it seems to bear the same relation to Sanskrit 
 that Italian does to Latin, and a much nearer 
 one than modern English does to Anglo-Saxon. 
 The nasal sounds are melted down ; the compounds 
 are softened to double and even single consonants; 
 and the open vowels are more numerous. It is 
 the opinion of all European scholai's that the Pali 
 language is derived almost entirely from the San- 
 skrit ; and in this opinion I fully coincide. Messrs. 
 Burnouf and Lassen, who jointly formed a Pali 
 Grammar, state, as the result of their labours, that 
 Pali is almost identical with Sanskrit; J and Pro- 
 
 * Csoma, in Prinsep's Journal, vol. vi. p. 503. I use the term 
 Prdkrit as comprehending; all the written and cultivated dialects 
 of Northern India. Prdkrit means " common" or " natural," 
 in contradistinction to the " artificial " or " refined " San- 
 skrit. 
 
 t Preface to Sakuntala. 
 
 X Essai sur le Pali ; par E. Burnouf et Chr. Lassen, p. 187, — 
 " II en est resulte qu'elle etait presque identique a l'idiome sacr6 
 des Brahmanes." 
 
48 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 fessor Lassen, at a later date,* when more conversant 
 with the Pali books, states authoritatively, that the 
 whole of the Prakrit language is derived from the 
 Sanskrit. Tumour f also declares his conviction 
 that all researches tend to prove the greater antiquity 
 of Sanskrit. Professor Wilson J and James Prin- 
 sep§ are likewise of the same opinion. This con- 
 clusion seems to me self evident j for there is a 
 tendency in all spoken languages to suppress dis- 
 similar consonants, and to soften hard ones : as in the 
 Latin Camillus for the Tuscan Cadmihs, and the 
 English farthing for the Anglo-Saxon feorthling ; or, 
 as in the Pali assa, " a horse," for the Sanskrit asrva, 
 and the Pali majha, " middle," for the Sanskrit 
 madhya. There is also a natural inclination to clear 
 away the semi-vowels and weaker consonants ; as in 
 the English King, for the Anglo-Saxon Kyning, or 
 as in the Pali Olakita, " the seen" (i. e. Buddha), for 
 the Sanskrit Avalakita ; and in the Pali Ujeniya, a 
 "man of Ujain," for the Sanskrit Ujjayaniya. It 
 is always therefore easy to determine between any 
 written languages, that resemble each other, which 
 of the two is the original, and which the borrowed j 
 
 • Institutiones Linguae Prakriticae ; Chr. Lassen, p. 6, — " Pra- 
 ki'iticam linguam derivatam esse totam a Sanskritica." 
 
 ■f Tumour — Mahawanso, Introduction, p. xiii. The general 
 results of all researches tend to prove the greater antiquity of the 
 Sanskrit. 
 
 t Hindu Theatre, vol. i. p. lxiii. 
 
 § Prinsep's Journal, vol. vi. p. 688. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 49 
 
 because letters and syllables are never added, but, on 
 the contrary, are always suppressed or curtailed in 
 the process of time. The Pali is, therefore, without 
 doubt, derived from the Sanskrit, and must, more- 
 over, have been a spoken language for many cen- 
 turies. 
 
 28. For the publication of his esoteric theories 
 regarding the origin of the world, and the creation 
 of mankind, Sakya made use of the Sanskrit lan- 
 guage only. But the perfect language of our day, 
 perhaps, owes much of its refinement to the care 
 and sagacity of that Great Reformer; for it seems 
 highly probable that Katyayana, the inspired saint 
 and lawgiver who corrected the inaccuracies of 
 Panini's Sanskrit grammar,* is the same as the 
 KachbayanoJ" who compiled the Pali grammar 
 during the life-time of Sakya. Katyayana's anno- 
 tations on Panini, called Vdrtikas, restrict his vague 
 rules, enlarge his limited ones, and mark numerous 
 exceptions to others. " These amended rules of 
 Sanskrit grammar were formed into memorial verses 
 by Bhartrihari, whose metrical aphorisms, entitled 
 Kdrika, have almost equal authority with the pre- 
 cepts of Panini, and emendations of Katyayana. 
 According to popular tradition,^ Bhartrihari was 
 the brother of Vikramaditya, the author of the Hindu 
 
 * Colebrooke, Trans. As. Soc. Bengal, vii. 199. 
 f Kachhayano is only the Pali form of the Sanskrit Kdtyd- 
 yana; the tya of the latter being invariably changed to chha. 
 X Colebrooke, Trans. As. Soc. Bengal, vii. 204. 
 
 E 
 
50 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Samvat, which dates from B. c. 57. The age of 
 K&tyayana is unknown ; but as he flourished between 
 the date of Panini, in about 1100 B. a, and that of 
 Bhartrihari, in 67 B. a, there is every probability 
 in favour of the opinion that he was one of the 
 disciples of Buddha. 
 
 29. But this identification of the two greatest 
 grammarians of the Sanskrit and Pali languages 
 rests upon other grounds besides those mentioned 
 above. Colebrooke, Wilson, and Lassen, have all 
 identified the commentator on Panini with Vara- 
 ruchi, the author of the " Prakrit Grammar," called 
 Prakrita-prakdsa, or Chandrika. Of Vararuchi 
 nothing more is known than that his work is the 
 oldest Prakrit grammar extant, and that his body 
 of rules includes all that had been laid down by 
 earlier grammarians regarding the vernacular 
 dialects. 
 
 30. This identification is still more strikingly con- 
 firmed by the fact that Kachhayano is not a name 
 but only a patronymic,* which signifies the son of 
 Kachho, and was first assumed by the grammarian 
 himself. If, therefore, Vararuchi Katydyana is not 
 the same person as Kachhdyano, he must be posterior 
 to him and of the same family. We shall thus have 
 
 * Tumour's Mahawanso, Introduction, p. xxvi. where the original 
 passage of the Bupasiddhi is given. See also Csoma de Koros, 
 in Prinsep's Journal, vii. p. 144, where the fact is confirmed; as 
 the Tibetans call the Grammarian K&ty&hi-bu— that is, the son 
 of KAtya. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 51 
 
 two Katyayanas of the same family living* much 
 about the same time, each of whom compiled a 
 Pali or Prakrit grammar; a conclusion which is 
 much more improbable than that the two were one 
 and the same person. 
 
 31. I have been thus particular in stating all the 
 evidences in favour of this supposition, as the pro- 
 bable identity of the two great grammarians seems 
 to me to offer an additional reason for considering* 
 Sakya Muni as one of the chief benefactors of his 
 country. For I believe that we must not look upon 
 S&kya Muni simply as the founder of a new religious 
 system, but as a great social reformer who dared to 
 preach the perfect equality of all mankind, and the 
 consequent abolition of caste, in spite of the menaces 
 of the most powerful and arrogant priesthood in the 
 world. We must regard him also as a patriot, 
 who, in spite of tyrannical kings and princes, had 
 the courage to incite his countrymen to resist the 
 forcible abduction of their wives and daughters by 
 great men.* To him the Indians were indebted for 
 a code of pure and practical morality, which incul- 
 cated charity and chastity, performance of good 
 works, and abstinence from evil, and general kindness 
 to all living things. To him also I believe they 
 owe the early refinement and systematic arrange- 
 ment of their language in the selection of the learned 
 
 * See the fifth of the " Seven Imperishable Precepts, imparted 
 by Sakya to the people of Vaisali." — Turnour in Prinsep's Journal, 
 vii. p. 991. 
 
52 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Katyayana as the compiler of the Sanskrit and 
 Pali grammars. 
 
 32. As the champion of religious liberty and social 
 equality, Stikya Muni attacked the Brahmans in 
 their weakest and most vulnerable points; in their 
 impious assumption of all mediation between man 
 and his Maker, and in their arrogant claims to here- 
 ditary priesthood. But his boldness was successful; 
 and before the end of his long career he had seen 
 his principles zealously and successfully promulgated 
 by his Brahman disciples Sariputra, Mangalyana, 
 Ananda, and Kasyapa, as well as by the Vaisya 
 Katyayana and the Sudra Up all At his death, 
 in B.C. 543, his doctrines had been firmly estab- 
 lished ; and the divinity of his mission was fully 
 recognized by the eager claims preferred by kings 
 and rulers for relics of their divine teacher. His 
 ashes were distributed amongst eight cities ; and the 
 charcoal from the funeral pile was given to a ninth ; 
 but the spread of his influence is more clearly shown 
 by the mention of the numerous cities where he lived 
 and preached. Amongst these are Champa and 
 Rajagriha on the east, Sravasti and Kausambi on 
 the west. In the short space of forty-five years,* 
 
 * Sakya began his public career at thirty-five years of age, 
 and died at eighty. Mahomed was born in 569 a. d. : he 
 announced his mission in 609 at forty years of age, and died in 
 644, when he was seventv-five. In a. r>. 640, or in thirty-one 
 years from the announcement of his mission, the arms and the 
 religion of Mahomed had spread over the ancient empires of Egypt, 
 Syria, and Persia. 
 
FAITH OF SAKYA. 53 
 
 this wonderful man succeeded in establishing 1 his 
 own peculiar doctrines over the fairest districts of the 
 Ganges; from the Delta to the neighbourhood of 
 Agra and Cawnpore. This success was perhaps as 
 much due to the early corrupt state of Brahmanism, 
 as to the greater purity and more practical wisdom 
 of his own system. But, rapid as was the progress 
 of Buddhism, the gentle but steady swell of its 
 current shrinks into nothing before the sweeping 
 flood of Mahomedanism, which, in a few years, had 
 spread over one half of the civilized world, from the 
 sands of the Nile to the swampy fens of the Oxus. 
 
 33. The two most successful religious impostures 
 which the world has yet seen, are Buddhism and 
 Mahomedanism. Each creed owed its origin to the 
 enthusiasm of a single individual, and each was 
 rapidly propagated by numbers of zealous followers. 
 But here the parallel ends ; for the Koran of Ma- 
 homed was addressed wholly to the " passions" of 
 mankind, by the promised gratification of human 
 desires both in this world and in the next ; while the 
 Dharma of Sakya Muni was addressed wholly to the 
 " intellect," and sought to wean mankind from the 
 pleasures and vanities of this life by pointing to the 
 transitoriness of all human enjoyment. Mahomed 
 achieved his success by the offer of material or bodily 
 pleasures in the next life, while Sakya succeeded by 
 the promise of eternal deliverance of the soul from the 
 fetters of mortality. The former propagated his re- 
 ligion by the merciless edge of the sword ; the latter 
 
54 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 by the persuasive voice of the missionary. The san- 
 guinary career of the Islamite was lighted by the 
 lurid flames of burning- cities; the peaceful progress 
 of the Buddhist was illuminated by the cheerful faces 
 of the sick in monastic hospitals,* and by the happy 
 smiles of travellers reposing in Dharmsdlas by the 
 road-side. The one was the personification of bodily 
 activity and material enjoyment; the other was the 
 genius of corporeal abstinence, and intellectual con- 
 templation, f 
 
 * Mahawanso, p. 249. Upatisso, son of Buddha Das, builds 
 hospitals for cripples, for pregnant women, and for the blind and 
 diseased. Dhatusena (p. 256) builds hospitals for cripples and 
 sick. Buddha Das himself (p. 245) ordained a physician for 
 every ten villages on the high road, and built asylums for the 
 crippled, deformed, and destitute. 
 
 f There is a curious coincidence also in the manner of death of 
 the two teachers. According to the Buddhists, Maro, the Angel of 
 Death, waited upon Sakya to learn when it would be his pleasure 
 to die. The Musulmans assert the same of Muhammad. Azrail, 
 the Angel of Death, entered the chamber of the sick man to 
 announce that " he was enjoined not to interfere with the soul 
 of God's prophet, without an entire acquiescence on his part." — 
 See Price's Muhammadan History, vol. i. p. 16. 
 
FIRST SYNOD. 55 
 
 CHAPTEE IV. 
 
 FIEST SYNOD. 
 
 1. The whole Bauddha community, or all who had 
 taken the vows of asceticism, were known by the 
 general name of Sangha, or the t( congregation." 
 The same term, with the addition of the local name, 
 was used to distinguish any one of the numerous 
 Buddhist fraternities ; as Magadhe- Sangham, the 
 fraternity of Magadha ; Santi Sangham, the fra- 
 ternity of Santi, or Sdnchi* It was also employed 
 to denote the general assemblies f of monks, which 
 were held at stated periods; as well as the Grand 
 Assemblies, which took place only on particular 
 occasions. Three of these extraordinary assemblies, 
 called respectively the First, Second, and Third 
 Synods, J were held at different periods, for the 
 
 * See the Bhabra inscription, Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, for the 
 first ; the other is used in the Sanchi pillar inscription, published in 
 this volume. 
 
 f MeyaXrjv awolov is the expression of Megasthenes for the 
 annual assembly held at Palibothra. 
 
 t PrathamS, Droitaye, and Tritaye Sangham, or Sangiti. 
 
56 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 suppression of heresy, and the solemn affirmation of 
 orthodoxy. 
 
 2. The first of these assemblies was convoked after 
 the death of Sakya, in the middle of the year 543 
 B. a, by the great Kasyapa, on hearing 1 the in- 
 sidious address of the aged Subhadra* " Revered 
 ones ! " said the dotard, " mourn no more ! We 
 are happily released from the control of the great 
 Srdmana (Buddha) : we shall no more be worried 
 with 'this is allowable/ and c that is not allowable;' 
 we can now do what we wish, and can leave undone 
 what we do not desire." Kasyapa reflected that 
 the present was the most fitting time to summon a 
 general assembly for the solemn rehearsal of Dharma 
 and Vinaya, according to the injunction of Sakya. 
 "Ananda," said the dying sage, "let the Dharma 
 and Vinaya, which I have preached and explained 
 to thee, stand in the place of a teacher after my 
 death." Reflecting' on this, and on the first of the 
 imperishable precepts, " to hold frequent religious 
 meetings," K&syapa addressed the assembled Bhik- 
 shus.f " Beloved ! let us hold a rehearsal both of 
 the Dharma and of the Vinaya" " Lord," replied 
 they, " do thou select the Sthdviras and JBhikshus." 
 Kasyapa therefore selected five hundred holy mendicant 
 monks who had mastered the Tripitaka, or Three 
 Repositories. By them it was decided that the First 
 Synod should be held at Rajagriha during the rainy 
 
 * Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 512. 
 + Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 518. 
 
FIRST SYNOD. 57 
 
 season, when the regular pilgrimages of the Buddhist 
 monks were suspended. 
 
 3. At the full moon of the month of Asarh (1st 
 July, 543 B. c), the five hundred monks having 
 assembled at Rajagriha, spent the whole of that 
 month in the repairs of their Vihars, lest the heretics 
 should taunt them,* saying, "the disciples of Gotama 
 kept up their Vihars while their teacher was alive, 
 hut they have forsaken them since his death." With 
 the assistance of Ajdtasatra, Raja of Magadha, the 
 Vihars were renewed j and a splendid hall was built 
 for the assembly of the First Synod, at the mouth 
 of the Sattapanni Cave, on the side of the Webhara 
 Mountain. Five hundred carpets were spread around 
 for the monks; one throne was prepared for the 
 abbot on the south side, facing* the north, f and 
 another throne was erected in the middle, facing 
 the east, " fit for the holy Buddha himself." Placing 
 an ivory fan on this throne, the Raja sent a message 
 to the assembly, saying, u Lords, my task is per- 
 formed." 
 
 4. On the fifth of the increasing moon (first week 
 of August), the monks, having made their meal, and 
 having laid aside their refection dishes and extra 
 
 • Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 516. 
 
 t Sthavirdsan, the dsan or " seat" of the Sthavira. In the 
 Mahawanso, p. 12, the position of this throne is exactly reversed. 
 The pulpit, or Dharmdsan, " throne of Dharma," was placed in 
 the middle of the Assembly. — See Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, 
 vii. 517. 
 
58 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 robes, assembled in the hall of the Dharma Synod, 
 with their rig-lit shoulders bare. They ranged them- 
 selves according 1 to their rank, each in his appro- 
 priate place ; and the hall "glittered with the yellow 
 robes" of the monks. 
 
 5. The Synod was opened with the rehearsal of 
 the Vinaya, superintended by Upali, whom Buddha 
 himself had pointed out as the most learned of all his 
 followers in "religious discipline." Up61i mounted 
 the Dharmasan, and with the ivory fan * in his hand, 
 answered all the questions of Kasyapa regarding- the 
 Vinaya, in which there was nothing to be added or 
 omitted. During this examination, the whole of the 
 assembled monks chanted the Vinaya, passage by 
 passage, beginning with " The holy Buddha in 
 Weranja dwells." This ended, Upali laid aside the 
 ivory fan, and descended from the Dharmdsan ; and, 
 with a reverential bow to the senior monks, re- 
 sumed his own seat. Thus ended the rehearsal of 
 Vinaya. 
 
 6. For the rehearsal of Dharma, the assembled 
 Bhikshus selected Ananda (the nephew and companion 
 of Buddha) f who, with his right shoulder bare, and 
 the ivory fan in his hand, took his seat on the pulpit 
 
 * The " jewelled fan," as a symbol of authority, is men- 
 tioned in the Mahareanso, p. 189; and it is still used by the 
 chiefs of religious fraternities in Ceylon, on all state occa- 
 sions. 
 
 t According to some, he was the son of Dotodana, the younger 
 brother of Suddhodan, the father of Sakya. 
 
FIRST SYNOD. 59 
 
 of religion. He was then interrogated by Kasyapa 
 on Dharma, beginning with the first words of S&kya, 
 after his attainment to Buddhahood, under the Bodhi- 
 tree at Bodhi-Gaya. These words are called — 
 
 7. Buddha's ' f Hymn of Joy :"* 
 
 " Through a long course of almost endless beings 
 Have I, in sorrow, sought the Great Creator. 
 Now thou art found, Great Artificer ! 
 Henceforth my soul shall quit this House of Sin, 
 And from its ruins the glad Spirit shall spring, 
 Free from the fetters of all mortal births, 
 And over all desires victorious." 
 
 8. The examination ended with Buddha's last 
 injunction to his disciples, given under the Sal tree 
 at Kusinara. 
 
 " Bhikshus ! I now conjure you — earthly things 
 Are transitory — seek eternal rest." 
 
 9. These rehearsals of Vinaya and Dharma lasted 
 for seven months, and were concluded at the begin- 
 ning of March, 542 B. c, when it was announced 
 that the religion of the "ten-power-gifted Deity" 
 should endure for five thousand years.f This synod 
 was known by different names; as the Prathama- 
 Sangham, or First Synod, the Pancha-Satika-San- 
 
 * Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 523. In this hymn 
 the Supreme Being is twice called GaMk&raka, the " house- 
 builder" — that is, the artificer or creator of the human house, or 
 
 body. 
 
 t See Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 527 ; and Maha- 
 ruanso, p. 11. The " gifted with ten powers." 
 
60 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 gham, or Synod of Five Hundred, and the Sthdviraka 
 Sangham, or Saints'-Synod, because all its members 
 belonged to the higher grade of monks.* 
 
 10. From this time until the end of the long reign 
 of Ajatasatra, 519 B. a, the creed of Buddha ad- 
 vanced slowly, but surely. This success was partly 
 due to the politic admission of women, who, even in 
 the East, have always possessed much secret, though 
 not apparent, influence over mankind. To most of 
 them the words of Buddha preached comfort in this 
 life, and hope in the next. To the young widow, 
 the neglected wife, and the cast-off mistress, the 
 Buddhist teachers offered an honourable career as 
 nuns. Instead of the daily indignities to which 
 they were subjected by grasping relatives, trea- 
 cherous husbands, and faithless lords, the most 
 miserable of the sex could now share, although still 
 in a humble way, with the general respect accorded 
 to all who had taken the vows. The Bhikshunis 
 were indebted to Ananda's intercession with Sakya 
 for their admission into the ranks of the Bauddha 
 community ; and they showed their gratitude by 
 paying their devotions principally to his relics. f 
 
 * See Fo-lime-hi, chap. xxv. note 11 ; and Mahamanso, chap. v. 
 p. 20 ; and Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 527. See also 
 Csoma's Analysis of the Dulva, Trans. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xx. 
 p. 92. 
 
 f See Csoma's Analysis of the Dulva, Res. As. Soc. Bengal, 
 vol. xx. p. 90; also Fo-hme-ki, chap. xvi. p. 101. The Pi- 
 khieu-ni, or Bhikshunis, at Mathura, paid their devotions chiefly 
 
FIEST SYNOD. 61 
 
 11. The dress of the Ascetics was the same both 
 for males and females. It consisted of three gar- 
 ments, all of which were yellow ; 1st, The Sanghdti, 
 or kilt, fastened round the waist and reaching 1 to the 
 knees ; 2nd, The TIttar a- Sanghdti, a mantle, or cape, 
 which was worn over the left shoulder, and under the 
 right, so as to leave the right shoulder bare ; 3rd, 
 The Antara-vdsaha, an under vest or shirt for sleep- 
 ing in.* The first and second garments are repre- 
 sented in many of the Sanchi bas-reliefs. They are 
 
 to the Stupa of A-nan (Ananda), because he had besought 
 Buddha that he would grant to women the liberty of embracing 
 ascetic life. The observances required from the nuns may be 
 found in note 23, chap. xvi. of the Fo-kwe-ki. The female ascetic 
 even of 100 years of age was bound to respect a monk even in the 
 first year of bis ordination. 
 
 * Fo-kwe-ki, chap. xiii. note 14. Csoma, Res. As. Soc. Bengal, 
 p. 70, Analysis of the Dulva, states that these three pieces of 
 clothing were of a dark red colour ; but yellow is the colour every- 
 where mentioned in the Pali annals. These two colours are still 
 the outward distinctions of the Buddhists of Tibet ; and therefore 
 it is probable that the Buddhist dress may have been dark red in 
 Sakya's time, and yellow during the reigns of Asoka and Milindu. 
 According to the Chinese {Fo-kwe-ki, xiii. 10), the Sangkdti 
 consisted of seven pieces ; the Uttara - Sanghdti, of seven 
 pieces ; and the Vdsaka of five pieces : but the number of pieces 
 is stated differently in another place (Fo-kwe-ki, c. viii. p. 5) as 
 nine, seven, and five. The dress also is said to have been of divers 
 colours ; while in the Buddhist annals it is invariably mentioned 
 as yellow. Ladies of wealth in Ladak have their petticoats formed 
 of numerous perpendicular strips of cloth, of different colours, but 
 generally red, blue, and yellow. See Plate XI. of this volume for 
 these dresses. 
 
62 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 all barred perpendicularly to represent their forma- 
 tion of separate pieces sewn together. In after 
 times, the number of pieces denoted the particular 
 school or sect to which the wearer belonged. The 
 mantle or cape was scarcely deep enough to hide the 
 right breasts of the nuns — at least it is so repre- 
 sented in the bas-reliefs ; but as the same custom of 
 baring the right arm and shoulder still prevails 
 amongst the females of Middle Kan&war, on the 
 Sutlej, without any exposure of the breasts, I pre- 
 sume that their representation by the sculptor at 
 Sinchi was only the result of his own clumsiness, 
 as he could not otherwise show the difference of 
 sex. 
 
 12. When engaged in common occupation, such 
 as fetching' water, felling wood, and carrying loads,* 
 the monks are always represented without their 
 mantles or capes. At religious meetings, as we have 
 seen at the First Synod, and as they are represented 
 throughout the Sanchi bas-reliefs, they wore all their 
 robes. But during their contemplative abstraction 
 in the woods, the devotees are represented naked to 
 the waist, their upper garments being hung up inside 
 their leaf-roofed houses. These devotees are, no 
 doubt, the Tvfivtirai of Kleitarchos ; for Yv/ivris or 
 Tvfivr)TT)Q does not mean a naked man, but only a 
 
 * All these acts are represented in the Sanchi bas-reliefs. The 
 first is found on the left pillar of the eastern gateway, second com- 
 partment, inner face. The others are shown in the third compart- 
 ment of the same pillar. 
 
FIRST SYNOD. 63 
 
 lightly-clad man; and with this signification it 
 was applied to the light-armed soldier of Greece. 
 These same devotees are, most probably, the Fvfivo- 
 aofiarai of other Greek writers ; for the Budd- 
 hists were positively prohibited from appearing 
 naked.* 
 
 13. All members of the Bauddha community, who 
 led an ascetic life, were called Sramana, or Srama- 
 nera. They who begged their food from motives 
 of humility were dignified with the title of Bhikshu 
 and Bhikshuni, or male and female mendicants. The 
 Srdmanas are, beyond all doubt, the Tap/iavai (or 
 Garmanes) of Megasthenes, and the Ilpafivai (or 
 Pramnts) of Kleitarchos ;f while the Bhihshus are 
 they who went about "begging both in villages and 
 in towns." J 
 
 14. Megasthenes divides the Garmanes or Srd- 
 manas into three classes, of which the most honour- 
 able were called BTylobii, "YXoj3ioi. These are clearly 
 the Bodhisatwas or Arhatas, the superior grade of 
 monks, who, having repressed all human passions, 
 
 •See Fo-kwe-hi, chap. viii. n. 8; and chap. xvii. n. 21. 
 See also Csoma's Analysis of the Dulva, Trans. A9. Soc. Ben- 
 gal, vol. xx. p. 70, where Sagama presents cotton cloths to the 
 monks and nuns, because she had heard that they lathed 
 
 f Strabo, xv. The Buddhist belief of the Tap/iavai, 
 'YXojiwi, and Iarpuoi, of Megasthenes, is proved by his mention 
 of the fact that women were allowed to join some of them. 
 Ev/MpiXosofeiv S'evloie Kal yvvaiKag. 
 
 J Strabo, XV. JL-n-aiTovvras Kal Kara Kuyjias Kal iroKsis. 
 
64 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 were named Alobhiya* or " without desires." . They 
 lived in the woods upon leaves and wild fruits. 
 Several scenes of ascetic life in the woods are repre- 
 sented in the Sanchi bas-reliefs. On the lowermost 
 architrave of the northern gateway (inside), there is 
 a very lively scene of monks and nuns, who are 
 occupied in various acts. Elephants and lions appear 
 amongst the trees, and the king on horseback is 
 approaching to pay them a visit. 
 
 15. The second class of Megasthenes are the 
 larpiKoi, Iatriki, which is a pure Greek word, sig- 
 nifying physicians. But I have little doubt that 
 this word is a corrupted transcript of Pratyeka, the 
 name of the middle class of Buddhists. The Pali 
 name is Pachhe, which seems fully as far removed 
 from the original as the Greek term. The third 
 class, or Srdwaka, are represented by the mendicants 
 before described. 
 
 16. According to Kleitarchos,'f" there were four 
 classes of Pramnce: the Opivoi, or Mountaineers; 
 the rv/iviirai, or Naked; the IloXn-i/coi, or Townsmen; 
 and the Ilpoayupioi, or Rural. All these are pure 
 Greek names : but it is not unlikely that Oreinos is 
 only a transcript of the Pali Aran\ (Sanskrit Ar- 
 
 * Sanskrit, ^5RnfH^T> fr° m a > without, and lobh, desire. Com- 
 pare the old latin lubedo, and the name of Queen Lab, of the 
 Arabian nights. 
 
 f Strabo, lib. xv. 
 
 | On the stone box, extracted from No. 2 Tope at Sanchi, this 
 title is twice written >j |*, Aran; but in the inscriptions generally 
 
FIRST SYNOD. 65 
 
 hanta), which was a title of the Bodhisatwas, or 
 first class of monks. As the Arhans, however, dwelt 
 chiefly in caves cut out of the living rock, the name 
 of " hill-men" is, perhaps, a marked one. Gumnetes, 
 or " lig'ht-clad," was, as I have already shown, only 
 another name for the Arkan, or hermit, who^ during 
 his fits of musing*, wore nothing but the kilt, reaching 
 from his waist to his knees. The name given to the 
 next class, Politikos, seems only a copy, and a very 
 near one, of the Sanskrit title Pratyeka, or " single 
 understanding." But the Greek term may, perhaps, 
 be descriptive of the duty of the Pratyeka; who, 
 while he sought deliverance for himself, was not to 
 be heedless of that of others.* As this duty would 
 lead him to mingle with the people, and chiefly with 
 those of the towns, the appellation of " townsman" 
 seems intended to distinguish the Pratyeka from 
 the " hill-monk" or Arhan of the rock-cut caves. 
 The name of the last class of Kleitarchos has, I 
 think, been slightly changed; and I would prefer 
 reading Ilpoae^iplovQ, the " listeners," instead of 
 npo<rxwpioue, the " rural ;" as the former is the literal 
 
 it is written either Araha or Arahata. The Sanskrit word is 
 *"*fif«TT, Arhanta. In Tumour's Annals (Prinsep's Journal, 
 vi. 513), the Stkdoiras who held the First Synod are called 
 ArahantA. It is possible that the Greek name of Opeivos 
 may be derived from the Sanskrit Aranyaka, a desert place, 
 because the Bhikshus were directed to dwell in such a place. 
 See Fo-Jtwe-M, chap. viii. note 5, where the Chinese term A-lafl-yo 
 is used for Aranyaka. 
 
 * See Fo-kwe-M, c. ii. n. 4. 
 
66 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 translation of the Sanskrit Srdwaka, a " hearer," 
 which was the designation of the lowest class of 
 Buddhist monks. These identifications of the different 
 classes of Pramnce with those of the Srdmanas are of 
 the highest importance to the history of the Buddhist 
 religion. For Kleitarchos was one of the companions 
 of Alexander ; and his distinct mention of these four 
 classes of the Bauddha community proves that the 
 religion of Sdkya Mwni had already been established 
 in the Panjab at the period of Alexander's invasion. 
 The worship of the Bodhi tree is also mentioned by 
 Curtius, who says : " Deos putant, quidquid colere 
 eoeperunt ; arbores maxime, quas violare capital est." 
 — " They hold as gods whatever they have been 
 accustomed to worship ; but principally trees, which 
 it is death to injure." * 
 
 17. The old Buddhists neatly distinguished the 
 different grades of monks by the types of sheep, deer, 
 and oxen.f The Sheep, when in flight, never looks 
 back, and, like the Srdwaka, cares only for self-pre- 
 servation. The Deer turns to look back on the- 
 following herd, and, like the Pratyeha, is mindful of 
 others while he seeketh his own deliverance. The 
 Ox, which beareth whatever burden is put upon him, 
 is typical of the Bodhisatwa, who, regardless of him- 
 self, careth only for the salvation of others. But the 
 last type is less happy than that of the sheep and 
 deer; for the Bodhisatwa, who is supposed to have 
 
 * Curtius, viii. 9. f Fo-kwe-M, e. ii. n. 4. 
 
FIRST SYNOD. 67 
 
 earned his own deliverance,* could not possibly have 
 any anxiety for himself, — whereas the most patient 
 of laden oxen must yearn for his own freedom. 
 
 18. The Bodhisatwa is the highest grade of mortal 
 being; for on his attaining Buddhahood he can no 
 more be regenerated. He has then become absorbed 
 into the Divine Spirit, and has altogether lost his 
 individuality or separate existence. The Christian 
 believes in the distinct immortality of each sentient 
 being; and that each soul will for ever retain its 
 personality in the world to come. But the Buddhist, 
 while he admits the immortality of- the soul, yet 
 believes that its individuality will have an end ; and 
 that, after it has been linked to a mortal body for an 
 unknown but finite number of existences, it will at 
 last be absorbed into the Divine Essence from which 
 it sprang; like as waters wafted from the ocean in 
 clouds, return to it again in streams; or as the par- 
 ticles of sand, borne away from the mountains to the 
 bottom of the sea, are again imbedded together and 
 consolidated into rock. 
 
 19. There has been some misapprehension regarding 
 the Buddhas and Bodhisatwas; the regeneration of 
 the Grand Lama being" considered as an exceptional 
 case of a Buddha returning* amongst mankind.f But 
 
 ♦Therefore in Tibet called SVcb 3 ?", Byang-chhvb or 
 Chmgchhub, " the perfect." 
 
 \ Mr. Hodgson, pp. 137, 138, truly calls the " divine Lamas" of 
 Tibet, Arhantas ; but he believes " that a very gross superstition 
 has wrested the just notion of the character to its own use," 
 and so created the " immortal mortals, or present palpable 
 divinities of Tibet." 
 
68 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the explanation which I received in Ladak, which is 
 the same as that obtained by Fra Orazio* in Lhasa, 
 is simple and convincing. The Grand Lama is only 
 a regenerated Bodhisatwa, who refrains from accept- 
 ing- Buddhahood, that he may continue to be born 
 again and again for the benefit of mankind. For a 
 Buddha cannot possibly be regenerated; and hence 
 the famous epithets of Tathagata, " thus gone/' 
 and Sugata, " well gone/' completely gone, or gone 
 for ever. 
 
 20. The monk who aspired to the rank of Bhikshu, 
 or Mendicant, was obliged to beg his daily food; 
 which, when obtained, was to be divided into three 
 portions — one for the hungry, the second for the birds 
 and beasts, and the third for himself; and even this 
 portion he was not allowed to eat after noon.f He 
 was forbidden to ask for gold and silver ; he was to 
 prefer old and tattered raiment ; and to eschew orna- 
 ments of all kinds. He was to dwell in the wilder- 
 ness (Aranydkd)) or amongst the tombs (sm&sdnika), 
 where the daily sight of birds of prey, and of funeral 
 pyres, would show him the instability of all earthly 
 things, and the utter nothingness of the human body, 
 
 * Nouv. Jour. Asiat. t. xiv. p. 408. " II Lama sempre sara coll' 
 istessa anima del medesimo Oiang-c'iub, oppure in altri corpi." 
 Rerausat was not aware of this fact when he stated " Les Lamas 
 du Tibet se considerent eux memes comme autant de divinites 
 (Bouddhas) incarnees pour le salut des hommes." Journal des 
 Savantes, Mai, 1831, p. 263. 
 
 -(■ See the twelve observances, in the Fo-hrve-M, c. viii. n. 5. 
 
FIRST SYNOD. 69 
 
 which endures but for a little time, and then passeth 
 away into the five elements of which it is composed. 
 
 21. The equipments or indispensable necessaries 
 of a Bhikshu, or Mendicant, consisted of (1) an 
 " alms-dish " (pdtra), or vessel for collecting- the food 
 which he begged ; (2) an ewer, or " water-vessel" 
 (uda pdtra); (3) a stick or staff (pinda); (4) a razor; 
 (5) a sewing needle ; and (6) a waistband. The alms- 
 dish was of common material, such as earthenware 
 or iron. According- to the Chinese it was a shallow 
 vessel,* narrow at top and broader at bottom; but 
 the vessel which was shown to me in Ladak as the exact 
 copy of Shaky a-Thubba's alms-dish was just the reverse, 
 being broad at top and narrow at bottom ; of a para- 
 bolic form, and of red earthenware coloured black. 
 The shape was exactly the same as that of the large 
 steatite vases from the Sonari and Andher Topes, f 
 The colour was most probably black, because Fa 
 HianJ states that the kingdom of Kie-chha (that is 
 Kha chan-pa, " Snow-land," or Ladak §) possessed a 
 stone bowl of the same colour as the alms-dish of 
 Buddha. The thin earthenware bowls which have 
 been found in the Topes of Bhojpur and Andher, are 
 also black; those of the latter being of a glossy 
 metallic lustre. The shapes of these vessels would, of 
 
 * See Fo-kwe-ki, c. xii. n. 8. 
 
 f See Plate XXIV. Fig'. 3— and Plate XXIX. Fig-. 8, of this 
 volume. 
 
 \ See Fo-kwe-ki, chap. v. 
 
 § Ladak is still called Kha-chan-pa, or " Snow-land." 
 
?0 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 course, vary ; but I have little doubt that the Bhojpur 
 dishes, Nos. 4, 5, PI. XXVII.,* and the Andher dish, 
 No. 7, PL XXVIII., are the actual alms-dishes, or 
 pdtras, of the monks whose relics were deposited there. 
 And I am the more inclined to this belief because 
 the bowls which were inside these dishes seem to 
 answer exactly as water vessels or ewers. A monk 
 with his staff is represented on the leaden coin (Fig-. 
 11, PL XXXII.) which was found in the Ganges at 
 Patna, the ancient Pdtaliputra or Palibothra. 
 
 * See also Plate XXVI. for the black earthenware vessels, 
 extracted from No. 4 Tope, D., Bhojpur. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 71 
 
 CHAPTER V- 
 
 CHRONOLOGY. 
 
 1. During the first century after Sakya's death, 
 the Buddhist religion was perpetuated, if not extended, 
 by a succession of learned monks. Of these great 
 Arhans but little is related, and even that little is 
 contradictory. During this period the great pre- 
 ceptors of the Buddhist Faith are so variously named, 
 that it is clear the recorded succession cannot be con- 
 tinuous. Even Buddhaghoso gives two different suc- 
 cessions* down to the third convocation. 
 
 
 I. 
 
 II. 
 
 1. 
 
 Upali. 
 
 1. Sabiputto. 
 
 2. 
 
 DlSAKO. 
 
 2. Bhaddaji. 
 
 3. 
 
 SoNAKO. 
 
 3. EOSYAPUTTO. 
 
 4. 
 
 SlGGAWO. 
 
 4. SlGGAWO. 
 
 5. 
 
 MoGGALIPUTTO. 
 
 5. MOGQALIPUTTO. 
 
 6. SUDATTO. 
 
 7. Dhammiko. 
 
 8. DlSAKO. 
 
 9. SoNAKO. 
 
 10. Rewato. 
 
 * See Tumour's P&li Annals, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. ?28, 
 and vii. 701. 
 
72 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 2. Mahanamo, the author of the Mahawanso, gives 
 the succession agreeably to the first, and makes each 
 acharya the disciple of his predecessor.* In the 
 second list the places of the names have been com- 
 pletely changed, for we know that Mogaliputra 
 should be the last, as he conducted the proceedings 
 of the Third Synod. We know also that Bewato was 
 the leader of the Second Synod. The other list is 
 called by Buddhaghoso, the " unbroken succession of 
 Sthdviras" or elders of the faith. It seems likely, 
 therefore, that it contains the names of all the 
 teachers ; while the first list gives only those of the 
 most famous. By a new arrangement of the names 
 of the longer list, the succession becomes complete 
 and satisfactory. 
 
 3. But there is still one difficulty to be accounted 
 for, in the assertion that all the leaders of the second 
 synod had seen Buddha. This assertion, however, 
 carries its own denial with it ; for both Buddhaghoso 
 and Mah&namo agree in stating that six of these 
 leaders were the disciples of Ananda.-f Now the 
 companion of Buddha did not qualify himself as an 
 Arahat, or holy teacher, until after the death of his 
 patron. None of his disciples could, therefore, have 
 seen Buddha. In the following amended list it must 
 be remembered that Sariputra died a few years 
 before Buddha himself; and that Upali, the com- 
 
 * Mahawanso, pp. 28, 29. 
 
 f Mahawanso, p. 19 ; and Tumour's Annals, in Prinsep's Jour- 
 nal, vi. 730. 
 
CHRONOLOGY. 73 
 
 piler of the Vinaya, was one of the disciples of 
 Buddha. 
 
 SIriptjtra. 
 b.c. 543. Upali and Kasyapa. 
 
 B.C. 435. KoSYAPUTRA. 
 395. SlGGAWO. 
 
 523. Bhadraji or Ananda.* 
 493. Dasaka. 
 473. Sonaka. 
 
 355. Sudatta: 
 315. Bharmika. 
 275. Mogaliputha. 
 
 453. Eewata. 
 
 233. Mogaliputra's 
 Death. 
 
 4. This arranged list has the advantage of placing 
 Rewato at the period of the Second Synod, instead 
 of that of the Third Synod, which we know was con- 
 ducted hy Mogaliputra. If we could be positively 
 certain of the accuracy of the date given for Sdkya's 
 death, in 543 B.C., the chronology might perhaps be 
 arranged in a satisfactory manner. But, even in 
 early times, there would seem to have been a dif- 
 ference of opinion as to the period of Sdkya's death ; 
 for Hwan-Thsang, who travelled in India about 632- 
 640 A.D., says that accounts differf as to the year of 
 the Nirvana of Buddha. " Some make it 1,200 
 years ago, others more than 1,300 j others again 
 more than 1,500. There are some, too, that assure 
 us that this event occurred about 900 years ago, and 
 that 1,000 years are not yet fulfilled." The same 
 uncertainty would seem to have prevailed even at an 
 earlier date; for Buddhaghoso, speaking about the 
 succession of teachers from the death of Buddha to 
 
 * Bhadra is a synonyme of Anaiida. 
 f See Fo-kwe-M, c. xxiv. n. 4. 
 
74 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the period of ihe Third Synod, says that the religion 
 was perpetuated from Upali to Mogaliputra, " what- 
 ever the interval might be."* This expression clearly 
 shows that there was a difference of opinion even in 
 his day (a. d. 420) regarding- the exact date of the 
 death of Buddha. But as Buddhaghoso was a 
 Magadha Brahman, he must have known the Indian 
 date of Sakya's nirv&na, and as this date coincides 
 with that of the Burmese and Ceylonese chronicles, 
 I do not well see how it can be set aside. It is a 
 curious fact also that the mean of the dates, obtained 
 by Hwan-Thsang, agrees within one year of the 
 Burmese and Ceylonese dates. Thus the average 
 interval which elapsed from Sakya's death to Hwan- 
 Thsang's visit, is 1,180 years, from which, deducting* 
 636, the mean period of Hwan-Thsang's travels, we 
 obtain B. c. 544 for the death of Buddha. The coin- 
 cidence is remarkable. 
 
 5. In this work I have made use of the generally 
 received date of B. c. 543, as it appears to me to be 
 sufficiently well established. In adopting this date, 
 I am aware that a correction will be necessary for 
 the Buddhistical date of Asoka's succession in the 
 2.18th year after the Nirvana. But as the exact 
 amount of this correction can be obtained from a 
 source independent of the Buddhist annals, I think 
 that every reliance may be placed upon its accuracy. 
 Both Buddhaghoso and Mahanamo agree in making 
 the accession of Nanda, King of Magadha, in the 
 * Tumour's Annals, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 727. 
 
CHBONOLOGY. 75 
 
 118th year after the Nirvana, or in b. c. 425 j and 
 they assign to him, and to his successors, the nine 
 Nandas, a joint period of only forty-four years. Now 
 all the Brahmanical Puranas, in their accounts of 
 the king's of Magadha, agree in stating that the 
 Nandas reigned one hundred years. By using this 
 amount as the correct one, we ohtain Anno Buddhce 
 218, or B. c. 325, as the date of Chandra Gupta's 
 accession ; thus making him a contemporary of Alex- 
 ander the Great and Seleukos Nikator ; a fact which 
 has long since heen proved by several passages from 
 the Greek historians. The happy identification of 
 Chandra Gupta with the Sandrocottos, or Sandro- 
 kuptos* of the Greeks was first made by Sir William 
 Jones, and its accuracy has since been generally 
 admitted : for the identification depends fully as 
 much upon the similarity of their personal histories 
 as upon the positive identity of their names. 
 
 6. It would be difficult, and, perhaps, impossible, 
 to ascertain the real origin of this error of sixty- 
 six years in the Buddhist annals ; but I may hazard 
 a guess that the pious and enthusiastic Buddhists of 
 Asoka's age may in the first instance have adopted 
 the date of his conversion as that of the true foun- 
 dation of the Mauryan Dynasty, by omitting the 
 Brahmanical reigns of his father and grandfather, 
 as well as the first four years of his own reign before 
 his acknowledgment of Buddhism. Under this sup- 
 position, his inauguration would have been antedated 
 
 * SavSpoKVTTTos is the spelling of Athenseus. 
 
76 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 by sixty-six years, which is the exact amount of 
 difference between the Buddhist and Brahmanical 
 lengths of reigns, as well as the precise amount of 
 correction required to make the Buddhist chronology 
 harmonise with that of the Greeks. In after times, 
 when Buddhaghoso composed his commentaries on 
 the Singhalese Annals, I suppose that the date of 
 Asoka's inauguration was assumed to be correct, and 
 that the duration of his father's and grandfather's 
 reigns, and the first four years of his own reign, 
 were deducted from the one hundred years of the 
 Nandas. This supposition is rendered more probable 
 by the valuable opinion of Mr. Tumour,* the learned 
 translator of the Mahawanso, who points to the 
 difference between the Brahmanical and Buddhistical 
 authorities, and more particularly to " some confusion 
 in the durations assigned to the reigns of the ten 
 Nandas," as the most likely causes of error. He was 
 unable to account for the error himself; but he did 
 " not despair of seeing the discrepancy accounted for 
 in due course of time." He adopted the same fixed 
 points, as I have done ; namely, the Buddhist era of 
 Sakya's death, in B. c. 543 j and the Greek age 
 of Sandrocottos, about 325 B. C. ; but he was in- 
 clined to believe that the anachronism was the result 
 of design and not of accident. 
 
 * See Prinaep's Journal, vi. 725. 
 
SECOND SYNOD. 77 
 
 CHAPTEE VI. 
 
 SECOND SYNOD. 
 
 1. Having- thus adjusted the chronology, I can 
 proceed with confidence to the historical account of 
 the progress of Buddhism. I have already given the 
 proceedings of the First Synod, and some brief 
 details of the manner of life and strict observances of 
 the different grades of the Bauddha community. But 
 these observances, which the early Buddhists practised 
 with enthusiastic zeal, were found irksome by many 
 of their successors. At the end of the first century 
 after Sakya's death, a numerous fraternity of monks 
 at Vaisdli asserted the lawfulness of the following 
 indulgences*: — 
 
 1st. " The preservation of salt in horn for any 
 
 period is lawful," instead of the seven days 
 
 allowed by Sakya. 
 
 2nd. " The allowance of two inches in length 
 
 of the shadow of the declining sun, to partake 
 
 of food," which Sakya had prohibited after 
 
 midday. 
 
 * See Mahawanso, p. 15 ; and Tumour's Pftli Annals, in Prin- 
 sep's Journal, vi. 728, 729. 
 
78 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 3rd. " In villages it is allowable to partake of 
 indulgences" forbidden in the monasteries. 
 
 4th. " Ceremonies in their own houses may be 
 performed by the monks/' instead of in the 
 public hall. 
 
 5th. " Obtaining subsequent consent is allow- 
 able for the performance of any act ;" whereas, 
 consent should always precede it. 
 
 6th. " Conformity to example is allowable," 
 that is, they might act as their superiors did ; 
 whereas no example was admitted as an excuse 
 if the act was forbidden. 
 
 7th. e< The drinking of whey is allowable 
 after midday/' which whey, as a component part 
 of milk, had hitherto been forbidden. 
 
 8th. " The drinking of toddy is allowable 
 because it looks like water:" whereas all fer- 
 mented beverages were forbidden. 
 
 9th. " Cloth-covered seats are allowable." 
 
 10th. " Gold and silver may be accepted in 
 
 alms:" whereas the very use of the precious 
 
 metals was prohibited ; and more especially the 
 
 begging for money. 
 
 2. When the tidings of this formidable heresy 
 
 reached the revered Yasa, son of Kakandaka, 
 
 he repaired to Vaisali; and, in the midst of the 
 
 assembled monks, he denounced the asking for 
 
 money as unlawful. On this he was subjected to 
 
 various indignities by the schismatic monks, from 
 
 whose vengeance he escaped with difficulty to 
 
SECOND SYNOD. 79 
 
 Kausambi.* Thence, despatching- messengers to 
 Patheya and Ujain, he collected a small body of 
 orthodox monks, who with him waited upon the 
 Soreyan teacher Bewato, the most famous in his day 
 for depth of knowledge and holiness of character. 
 The schismatics tried to influence Eewato with pre- 
 sents, but failing in this, they petitioned the king-, 
 who was at first inclined to favour them. But the 
 king's intentions were changed by a dream, and he 
 proceeded to Vaisali in person, where, having heard 
 both parties, he decided in favour of the orthodox, and 
 directed them to take steps for the due maintenance 
 of religion ; after which he departed for his capital. 
 
 3. A stormy discussion then arose between the 
 assembled monks, which was only quieted by the 
 proclamation of the Ubbdhika rules for preserving 
 order at religious assemblies. Eight of the most 
 learned teachers, four from the eastern fraternities 
 and four from the western, were selected by Eewato 
 to examine into the lawfulness of the indulgences 
 now claimed. These monks retired to a quiet spot 
 to consider the matter; and, after much questioning- 
 amongst themselves, they decided upon rejecting the 
 heresy. They accordingly returned to the assembly, 
 and denounced the ten indulgences as unlawful; on 
 which the penalty of " degradation" was awarded to 
 the schismatic monks. f 
 
 * See Maharvanso, p. 16. 
 
 f The sentence of degradation was Sakya's punishment for all 
 who caused dissensions amongst the Bauddha community. See 
 
80 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 4. This sentence was afterwards confirmed by the 
 Second Synod, which was composed of seven hundred 
 monks selected by the learned Bewato. The synod 
 was held at the Balukarama Vihara at Vaisali, under 
 the protection of Kalasoka, King- of Magadha. The 
 proceeding's, which were conducted by question and 
 answer in the same manner as at the First Synod, 
 occupied eight months. The Vinaya and Dharma 
 were again rehearsed; and the suppression of the 
 ten indulgences was pronounced. This meeting was 
 called the Dwitiye Sangiti or Second Synod, and the 
 Saptasatika, or Synod of Seven Hundred. s 
 
 5. The English reader will be struck with the 
 resemblance which this synod bears to that of a trial 
 by jury, in which we have the hearing" of both 
 parties ; the retirement of the jury to consider their 
 verdict ; and the last sentence of the judge. 
 
 Csoma's Analysis of the Dulva, Researches As. Soc. Bengal, 
 xx. 80. See Plate XXVII. Fig. 4, for a memorial of a degraded 
 monk. The inscription is simply patito (Sanskrit patitah), the 
 " degraded." 
 
BUDDHIST SCHISMS. 81 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BUDDHIST SCHISMS. 
 
 1. The sentence of degradation which could be 
 carried out against an individual, was powerless 
 when pronounced against a multitude. The bod}^ 
 of schismatic monks who had been degraded 
 amounted to ten thousand : they were refractory, 
 and would not submit ; and their secession origi- 
 nated the Mahasanghika heresy, or schism of the 
 " Great Union."* In the Tibetan books, the origin 
 of this sect is referred to Kasyapa,t one of the 
 disciples of Buddha ; but the account of the Maha- 
 wanso is too circumstantial, and the orthodoxy of 
 the great Kasyapa is too well established, for the 
 admission of such an origin. There is indeed an 
 heretical Kasyapa, whom the Chinese call Fu-lan- 
 na-Kia-she (Purana Kasyapa ?), " who repudiated 
 all law — who recognised neither prince nor subject, 
 neither father nor son — and who considered void space 
 
 * Mahawanso, c. xx. 
 
 t Csoma de Koros, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 143. It is pro- 
 bable that his followers may have been the originators of the 
 Mahd-Sdnghika heresy. 
 
 G 
 
82 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 as the Supreme Being-."* But, as it would appear 
 that this Kdsyapa was a follower of the Brahmanical 
 Sankhya philosopher Kapila, it is scarcely possible 
 that he could have been the leader of the Maha- 
 Sanghika Buddhists. 
 
 2. According to the Tibetans, the earliest systems 
 of Buddhism were the Vaibhdshika and the Sautran- 
 tika, both of which were dogmatical.^ The followers 
 of the former believed in everything written in the 
 Scriptures, and would not dispute ; those of the latter 
 " proved everything on the authority of Scripture, 
 and by argument." 
 
 3. The Vaibhdshikas were divided into four prin- 
 cipal classes, which bore the names of four of Sakya's 
 disciples : Hdhula, Kasyapa, Kdtydyana, and Updli. 
 But it seems scarcely possible that these celebrated 
 Buddhist leaders, the companions of Sakya, would 
 have originated any schisms themselves. The more 
 probable conclusion is, that they established schools, 
 each instructing his own individual disciples, but all 
 teaching one common doctrine. That these schools, 
 though all professing the same belief at first, should, 
 after the lapse of time, differ from each other, is but 
 a natural result common to all human beliefs. In 
 this view there seems nothing extraordinary in the 
 
 * Fo-Jtme-ki, c. xvii. n. 21. 
 
 f Csoma, as quoted above. The Vaibhashikas were named 
 from f%, vi, certainty, and W^T, bhdsM, speech ; i. e. the dog- 
 matics. The Sautrantihas adhered strictly to the Sutras, or 
 Scriptures, from which they obtained their name. 
 
BUDDHIST SCHISMS. 83 
 
 principal sects of Buddhism being 1 named after four 
 of Sakya's chief disciples. 
 
 4. The four schools of the Vaibhashikas were — 
 
 1st. Sdhula, son of Sakya, a Kshatriya, The 
 Rahulakas were divided into four sects. They re- 
 cited the Sutras in Sanskrit, and affirmed the ex- 
 istence of all thing's. Their religious garb was 
 formed of from nine to twenty-nine narrow strips of 
 cloth. Their distinctive mark was a " water-lily- 
 jewel" (utpala-padma) and a tree-leaf, put together 
 like a nosegay.* 
 
 2nd. Kdsyapa, a Brahman. His followers, who 
 were divided into six sects, were called " the great 
 community" (Mahasanghika). They recited the 
 Sutras in a corrupt dialect ; their religious garb was 
 formed of from three to twenty-three strips of cloth ; 
 and they carried a shell as the distinctive mark of 
 their school. 
 
 3rd. Kdtydydna, a Vaisya. His followers were 
 divided into three sects ; and they recited the Sutras 
 in the vulgar dialect. Their religious garb was 
 formed of from five to twenty-one strips of cloth; 
 and they wore the figure of a wheel as a distinctive 
 mark of their school. They were styled " the class 
 that have a fixed habitation" (query Sthdpitaka). 
 
 4th. Updlij a Sudra. His followers were divided 
 
 into three sects, and they recited the Sutra in the 
 
 Pisanhika language. Their religious garb was 
 
 formed of from five to twenty-one strips of cloth; 
 
 * See Csoma de Koros in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 143. 
 
84 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 and bore a sortsika flower as a mark of their school. 
 They were styled " the class honoured by many " 
 (query the Sabbattha schismatics of the Maha- 
 wanso ;* perhaps from sambhram, reverence, respect, 
 and atishay, much.) 
 
 5. The Sautrantikas were divided into two sects, 
 the names of which are not given. 
 
 6. Altogether, according* to the Tibetans, there 
 were eighteen sects of Buddhists; a number which 
 agrees exactly with that of the Mahawanso. But 
 this agreement extends farther than the mere coin- 
 cidence of numbers ; for two out of three names are 
 the same as those of the Mahawanso. 
 
 The 1st schism of the Mahawanso is that which 
 followed the silly speech of Subliadra to the as- 
 sembled Bhikshus, shortly after the death of Buddha. 
 It was immediately suppressed by Maha-Kasyapa at 
 the First Synod ; but, as it was listened to by the 
 Sthaviras, it is named the Sthavira, or Thera schism. 
 
 The 2nd schism is that of the Mahasanghika, which 
 it was the object of the Second Synod to suppress. 
 
 The 3rd schism was that of the Gokulika, and the 
 4th was the Ekabbyoharika. 
 
 The Gokulika schismatics gave rise to the (5th) 
 
 * Mahawanso, p. 21. The derivation of the term Sabbattha 
 is uncertain; but the most probable etymology of Sabba is the 
 Sanskrit Sarvva, " all." The name ' is of some importance, as it 
 was most probably the original appellation of the Samarkand 
 River, which the Greeks translated by IloXi/ri^j/rof " the much- 
 honoured." 
 
BUDDHIST SCHISMS. 85 
 
 Pannatti; the (6th) B&hulika ; and the (7th) Chetiya 
 heresies. The last no doubt originated at the great 
 monastic establishment of Chetiyagiri, or Sanchi, near 
 Bhilsa. 
 
 From these again proceeded the (8th) Sabbattha 
 and the (9th) Dhammaguttika schisms (which arose 
 simultaneously) ; and from the Sabbattha proceeded 
 the (10th) Kassapiya schism. Lastly the (11th) 
 Sankantika priesthood gave rise to the Sutta schism. 
 
 Six other schisms arose in India during the second 
 century after the death of Buddha ; namely the (13th) 
 JTemdwanta; the (14th) Majagiriya ; the (15th) Sid- 
 dhatiki ; the (16th) Eastern and the (17th) "Western 
 Seliya; and lastly the (18th) Wddariyd schism. 
 
 " Thus there were eighteen inveterate schisms " 
 (including the Thera schism, which was suppressed at 
 the First Synod), of which seventeen arose in the 
 second century after Buddha, or between B. c. 443 
 and 343. I have been thus particular in enumerating- 
 these different secessions from the Buddhist faith, 
 because the very names are of value in pointing out 
 the geographical extension of the religion to the 
 Hemawanta, or Himalayan region, and to Chetiya, 
 or the present district of Bhilsa. 
 
 7. The gradual spread of the Buddhist faith is 
 thus 'clearly and naturally developed. At Sakya's 
 death in 543 B. c, the influence of his religion was 
 confined to the central provinces of the Ganges, from 
 the neighbourhood of Cawnpore and Agra to the 
 head of the Delta. One hundred years later, at the 
 
86 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 period of the Second Synod, the Dharma of Buddha 
 had been preached throughout Malwa, from Chetiya 
 (or Bhilsa)* to Avanti (or Ujain), and to the unde- 
 fined Patheya, or "Western" country. Of the 
 farther progress of the Buddhist religion, nothing is 
 certainly known until Alexander's invasion ; at which 
 time Brahmans and Sr&manas would appear to have 
 been held in about equal honour by the princes of the 
 land. 
 
 • This identification of Chetiya or Chetiyagiri with the modern 
 Bhilsa is proved by parallel passages in Mahanamo and Buddha- 
 ghoso, in which the former gives Chetiya and Chetiyagiri, where 
 the latter gives Wessanagara, which is no doubt the old ruined 
 city of Besnagar, two miles to the northward of Bhilsa. 
 
PEOGRESS OF BUDDHISM. 87 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PROGRESS OF BUDDHISM. 
 
 1. Chandra Gupta, the founder of the Mauryan 
 dynasty of Magadha, was the illegitimate son of the 
 last Nanda by the beautiful, but low caste, Murd, 
 from whom he obtained the name of Maurya. In 
 the jMudra Rakshasa, a Sanskrit drama detailing his 
 elevation, Chandra Gupta is frequently named Vri- 
 shala, a term said to be equivalent to Sudra ; and as 
 Nanda himself was the son of a Sudra woman, there 
 can be little doubt that the celebrated Maurya family 
 were of Sudra extraction. In the early part of his 
 career, Chandra Gupta led a wandering life in 
 the Panjab j* and was, most probably, engaged with 
 his fellow-countrymen in opposing Alexander. His 
 chief adviser, the Brahman Chanakya, was a native of 
 Takshasila, or Taxila, the capital of the Western 
 Panjab j and it was in that country that Chandra 
 Gupta first established himself by the complete 
 expulsion of the Greek troops left by Alexander. f 
 
 * See Tumour, Introduction to the Mahawan&o, p. xli., quoting' 
 the Tika or Commentary. 
 
 f Justin, xv. 4. — " Auctor libertatis Sandrocottus fuerat." 
 
88 THE BHILSA TOPES, 
 
 2. It would appear that the Greek colonists in the 
 Panjab had first been placed under, Philip ; while the 
 civil administration of the country remained in the 
 hands of its native princes, Taxiles and Poms. After 
 wards, on the murder of Philip by the mercenary 
 soldiers, Alexander* directed Eudemos and Taxiles 
 to govern the country until he should send another 
 deputy. It is probable, however, that they continued 
 to retain the charge j for after Alexander's death in 
 b. c. 323, Eudemos contrived to make himself master 
 of the country by the treacherous assassination of 
 king Porus.f Some few years later, in B. C. 317, 
 he marched to the assistance of Eumenes, with 3,000 
 infantry and 5,000 cavalry, and no less than 120 
 elephants. With this force he performed good ser- 
 vice at the battle of Gabiene. But his continued 
 absence gave the Indians an opportunity not to be 
 neglected ; and their liberty was fully asserted by 
 the expulsion of the Greek troops and the slaughter 
 of their chiefs.;}: Chandra Gupta was the leader of 
 this national movement, which ended in his own 
 elevation to the sovereignty of the Panjab. Justin 
 attributes his success to the assistance of banditti ; § 
 but in this I think he has been misled by a very 
 natural mistake ; for the Arattas, who were the 
 
 * Arrian, Anabasis, vi. 27. f Diodorus, xix. 5. 
 
 % Justin, xv. 4. — " Praefectos ejus occiderat;' : again, " Molienti 
 deinde bellum adversus praefectos Alexandri." 
 
 § Justin, xv. 4. — " Contractus latronibus Indos ad novitatem 
 regni solicits vit.'' 
 
PROGRESS OF BUDDHISM. 89 
 
 dominant people of the Eastern Panjab, are never 
 mentioned in the Mahabharata without being 1 called 
 robbers.* They were the republican defenders of 
 Sangala, or Sakala, a fact which points to their 
 Sanskrit name of Arashtra, or "king-less." But 
 though their power was then confined to the Eastern 
 Panjab, the people themselves had once spread over 
 the whole country. f They were known by the 
 several names of Bahika, Jdrttika, and Takka; of 
 which the last would appear to have been their true 
 appellation ; for their old capital of Taxila, or 
 Takka-sila, was known to the Greeks of Alexander ; 
 and the people themselves still exist in considerable 
 numbers in the Panjab hills. The ancient extent of 
 their power is proved by the present prevalence of 
 their alphabetical characters^ which ; under the name 
 of Tdkri, or T&kni, are now used by all the Hindus 
 of Kashmir and the northern mountains^ from Simla 
 and Subathu to Kabul and Bamiyan. On these 
 grounds I venture to identify the banditti of Justin 
 with the Takkas, or original inhabitants of the 
 Panjab; and to assign to them the honour of deliver- 
 ing their native land from the thraldom of a foreign 
 yoke. 
 
 * Lassen, Pentapot. Indica. — " Aratti profecto latrones," and 
 " Bahici latrones." The Sanskrit name is Arashtra, the " king- 
 less," which is preserved in the Adraistse of Arrian, who places 
 them on the Eavi. 
 
 1 " Ubi fluvii illi quini * * * ibi sedes sunt Arattorum." 
 ^Lassen ; Pentapot Indica, from the Mahabharat. 
 
90 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 3. This event occurred most probably about 
 316 B. c.j or shortly after the march of Eudemos 
 to the assistance of Eumenes. It was followed imme- 
 diately by the conquest of Gangetic India;* and in 
 315 B. a, the rule of Chandra Gupta was acknow- 
 ledged over the whole northern peninsula, from the 
 Indus to the mouths of the Ganges. The authorities 
 differ as to the length of Chandra Gupta's reign, 
 which some make thirty-four years, and others only 
 twenty-four.^ This difference may, perhaps, have 
 originated in two distinct reckonings of the date of 
 his accession ; the one party counting from the death 
 of Nanda Mahapadma, in b. c. 325 ; and the other 
 party from the conquest of India, in B. c. 315. Some 
 assumption of this kind is clearly necessary to recon- 
 cile the different authorities ; unless, indeed, we take 
 the only alternative of adopting the one and of re- 
 jecting the other. 
 
 4. At this period the capital of India was Pdtali- 
 putra or Palibothra, which was situated on the 
 
 Ganges, at the junction of the Erranaboas or Alaos 
 River. % The former name has already been iden- 
 tified with the Sanskrit Hiranyab&hu, an epithet 
 
 * Justin, xv. 4. — " Indiana possidebat." 
 
 -f- The Mahawanso gives thirty-four years, the Dipawanso and 
 the Vayu Pur&na give only twenty-four years. 
 
 J Arrian, Indica, x., gives the Erranaboas ; and Strabo, xv., uses 
 the following words, — k<u tov a\\ov Tora/j.ov, for which I propose 
 to read — km tov AXaov wora/iov. The change is very slight from 
 A to A, The Greek text has tov and not tov. 
 
PROGRESS OF BUDDHISM. 91 
 
 which has been applied both to the Gandak and to 
 the Son. But the latter name can only refer to the 
 Hi-le-an of the Chinese travellers, which was to 
 the north of the Ganges, and was therefore un- 
 doubtedly the Gandak. Indeed, this river still joins 
 the Ganges immediately opposite to Patna — that 
 is, " the city," or metropolis, as its proper name 
 (patana) implies, while the junction of the Son is 
 some nine or ten miles above Patna. But as there 
 is good reason for believing that the Son once joined 
 the Ganges at Bakipur or Bankipur, immediately 
 above Patna, it is quite possible that the Erranaboas 
 may have been intended for the Son, and the 
 Alaos for the Gandak. According to Megasthenes, 
 Palibothra was eighty stadia, or nearly nine miles 
 in length ; and fifteen stadia, or one mile and two- 
 thirds, in breadth. It was surrounded with a deep 
 ditch ; and was enclosed by lofty wooden walls, 
 pierced with loop - holes for the discharge of 
 arrows.* 
 
 5. Towards the close of the 4th century before 
 our era, when Alexander's successors were at peace 
 with each other, the great Seleukos, having con- 
 solidated his own dominions, turned his arms towards 
 the East, with the intention of recovering the Indian 
 provinces of Alexander. 
 
 6. But the plains of Northern India were no 
 longer divided amongst a set of petty chiefs, whose 
 
 * Arrian, Indica, x., and Strabo, xv. ; both quoting- Megas- 
 thenes. Strabo has IvKivov TrepifioXov. 
 
9'3 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 gallant but useless resistance had scarcely checked 
 the great Macedonian's advance. For the Mauryan 
 prince, who now wielded the sceptre of the East, 
 could bring 1 into the field that vast army of six 
 hundred thousand men,* whose very numbers had 
 before daunted even the stout hearts of the soldiers of 
 Alexander. The main object of this expedition was 
 therefore impossible. Where a successful advance 
 cannot be made, an honourable retreat becomes a 
 decided advantage; and this Seleukos secured for 
 himself, by yielding to Chandra Gupta the doubt- 
 ful allegiance of the provinces to the west of the 
 Indus for a valuable present of five hundred 
 elephants.f These friendly relations were cemented 
 at the time by a matrimonial alliance, and were 
 afterwards continued by the embassy of Megasthenes 
 to the Indian court at Palibothra. 
 
 7. Chandra Gupta died in 291 B. c, and was 
 succeeded by his son Vindusdra or Bimbisdra ; 
 to whose court a second Greek embassy was sent 
 either by Seleukos, or by his son Antiochus Soter. 
 Nothing is known of the object or results of this 
 embassy ; but the ambassador, DaimacJios, was con- 
 sidered by Strabo to be the most " lying" of all the 
 Greek historians of India.J He calls the king 
 Allitrochades, or Amitrochates, which Professor 
 Lassen supposes to be the Sanskrit Amitraghdta, 
 
 * Plutarch, Life of Alexander, 
 f Strabo, xv. ; and Plutarch. 
 | Strabo, xv., \pevSo\oyos. 
 
PROGRESS OF BUDDHISM. 93 
 
 or " foe-killer." The difference between the Greek 
 name of Amitrochates and the native one of Bin- 
 dusara, proves nothing- more than that the Hindu 
 princes delighted in a variety of names. For ; though 
 the Buddhist authorities agree with the Vishnu 
 Purana in calling this king Bindusara, yet each of 
 the other Purans gives him a different name. Thus 
 he is called Bhadrasdra in the Vdyu, Vdrisdra in 
 the Bhagavata, and apparently Vriliadratha in the 
 Motsya Purana. If we might read Varisdra, the 
 " foe-killing arrow/' instead of Vdrisdra, then the 
 name of Amitraghata, or " arrow to his enemies/' 
 might be considered as S3 r nonymous with that of 
 the Vayu Purana. 
 
 8. But in spite of the difference of names, there 
 can be no doubt of the identity of the persons; for 
 Strabo particularly states that Amitrochates was 
 the son of Sandrokottos. A third Greek embassy 
 is mentioned by Pliny ,* who states that the ambas- 
 sador Dionysius was deputed by Ptolemy Phila- 
 delphus, and that he remained for some time at the 
 Indian court ; but as the name of the king is not 
 given, and as Ptolemy's long reign extended from 
 B. C. 285 to 246, we are left in doubt whether 
 Dionysius paid his respects to Bindusara or to his 
 son Asoka. 
 
 9. About the middle of his reign (b. c. 280), 
 Bindusara deputed his son Asoka to quell a serious 
 
 * Pliny, Hist. Nat. vi. 17. — " Dionysius a Philadelpho missus." 
 
94 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 revolt in the district of Taxila.* The people came 
 forth to meet him with offerings, and to assure him 
 that they were not displeased with the king, but 
 with the minister who oppressed them; on which 
 Asoka made his entry into the town with great 
 pomp. He then conquered the kingdom of the 
 Swasas, or Khasas, who were most probably the 
 people of Kashmir.f For the Khasas were the 
 early inhabitants of Persia and of Northern India 
 before the Arian immigration, which drove them 
 from the plains to the hills, where they still exist 
 in great numbers, and now form a considerable part 
 of the population of that vast chain of mountains 
 which stretches from the banks of the Helm and to 
 the Brahmaputra. In Manu's Hindu Code they 
 are coupled with the Daradas or JDards ; and in 
 
 * Burnouf, Introd. a Y Hist, du Buddhisme Indien, pp. 361, 362. 
 
 t The difference between the Khasas and Kasas, is about the 
 same as that between the " men of Kent" and the " Kentish 
 men." The Kdsmiri pandits repudiate all connection with the 
 Khasas, and even so might an English Lander deny his an- 
 cestor the Lavandier. The difference of spelling only shows the 
 influence of Brahmanism, or rather of Hinduism, which changed 
 the Khasas of Kha-che (the Tibetan name for Kashmir) into de- 
 scendants from Kdsyapa. The connection between the names is 
 shown by the story which makes Kdsyapa and Khasd the parents 
 of the Imps and Goblins. As well might the Oggs and Hogges 
 repudiate their real ancestors the swineherds, and claim descent 
 from the King of Basan. But even this would be more probable, 
 for King Og was an actual historical personage, whereas Kdsyapa 
 Muni (according to the Brahmans) was the father of gods and 
 men. 
 
PROGRESS OF BUDDHISM. 95 
 
 the Mahabharat they are classed with the Odn- 
 dhtiras, Arattas, and Sindhu-Sauviras. Professor 
 Lassen has doubted the accuracy of Professor H. H. 
 Wilson's reading of Khasa in the Mahabharat; 
 but this reading- is supported, as M. Burnouf 
 observes, by the above mention of the Swasas or 
 Khasas as neighbours of the Taxilans ; and is fully 
 confirmed by a copy of the Mahabharat in the 
 possession of a Brahman at Thanesar. 
 
 10. Shortly after the reduction of Taxila, the 
 successful Asoka was appointed to the government 
 of Ujain, the capital of Malwa. Asoka set forth 
 to assume charge of his government in about 
 274 B. c. On his way he tarried some time at 
 Chaityagiri or Baisnagara,* situated at the junction 
 of the Besali River with the Betwa, two miles to 
 the northward of Bhilsa. Here he gained the 
 affections of Devi, the lovely daughter of the Sreshti 
 or " chief man" of the place. A year afterwards 
 she bore him a son named Mahendra, and one 
 year later a daughter called Sanghdmitra, both 
 of whom became celebrated in after times as 
 
 * See Tumour's Pali Annals, Prinsep's Journal, vii. 930, where 
 Buddhaghoso calls the city We&sanagara, which Mahanamo calls 
 Chetiya and Chetiyagiri (Mahawanso, p. 76). The story is the 
 same in both authors ; and as the ruins of the old city of Bais- 
 nagar, or Besnagar, two miles to the north of Bhilsa, are situated 
 on the high road between Pataliputra and Ujain, there can be no 
 doubt of the identification. Wessanagara was the city ; Chetiya- 
 giri was the hill of the great Chaitya at Sanchi, about four miles 
 to the south of the city. 
 
96 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the introducers of the Buddhist religion into 
 Ceylon. 
 
 11. Of Asoka's administration of Ujain little is 
 known, save the establishment of a celebrated place 
 of punishment, which was significantly named Hell* 
 because criminals were therein subjected to the same 
 tprtures in this life, as have been generally accorded 
 to the wicked in the next. During 1 Asoka's govern- 
 ment of Ujain, the people of Taxila again revolted 
 against Bindus&ra, who deputed his eldest son 
 Susima to reduce them ; but the prince was un- 
 successful, f During his absence the king fell 
 grievously sick, and directed his ministers to send 
 Prince Asoka to Taxila, and to recall Prince Susima 
 to court, that he might establish him on the throne. 
 But the ministers, who were friendly to Asoka, 
 deceived the king by a false report of his illness, 
 and at the same time informed the young prince 
 that his father was on his death-bed. Asoka in- 
 stantly hurried from Ujain to his father's palace at 
 Pataliputra; but the sudden appearance of his 
 younger son showed the king that he had been 
 deceived ; and in the midst of a fit of passion, he 
 burst a blood-vessel and died. This event happened 
 in the year 263 B. c, when Bindusara had reigned 
 twenty-eight years. 
 
 * Fo-hme-ki, c. 82, for Fa Hian's mention, and p. 393, for 
 Hwan Thsang's account of " Hell." 
 t Burnouf, Buddhisme Indien, p. 363. 
 
REIGN OF ASOKA. 97 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 REIGN OF ASOKA. 
 
 1. Immediately on his father's death Asoka seized 
 the government, and gave orders for the slaughter 
 of all his brothers, save Tishya, who was born 
 of the same mother. His eldest brother, Prince 
 Susima, who had marched against him from Taxila, 
 was cut off by an artifice; and the Mauryan dynasty 
 was thus reduced to the single family of Asoka ; 
 who, finding himself safe from the usual jealousies 
 and intrigues of relatives, gave up his whole energies 
 to the achievement of military glory. In the short 
 space of four years he succeeded in reducing the 
 whole of Northern India, from the mountains of 
 Kashmir to the banks of the Narbadda, and from the 
 mouth of the Indus to the Bay of Bengal ;* and 
 
 * Nepdl was probably included in the conquests of Asoka ; for 
 the kings of Tibet trace their origin to the Lichhavis of Vaisali ; 
 and Xhri-tsanpo, the first king, is said to have taken refuge in 
 Tibet about 350 b. c. — that is, in the reign of Asoka. See 
 Csoma's List of Tibetan Kings in Prinsep's Useful Tables, p. 131 ; 
 and also Fo-htve-ki, c. xxiii. n. 6. 
 
 U 
 
08 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 India, perhaps for the first time, was brought under 
 the control of one vigorous and consolidated go- 
 vernment. 
 
 2. During the first three years of his reign, the 
 mind of Asoka was fully occupied with views of 
 worldly ambition and personal aggrandizement ; but 
 in the fourth year, when all India was at peace, his 
 restless activity found a more pleasing occupation, 
 and a more lasting employment, in the acquisition of 
 the Buddhist faith. Like his father Bindusara, he 
 had been brought up as a worshipper of Agni and 
 Surya, of Indra and Vayu ; and, like him, he showed 
 his respect for the Brahmans by feeding sixty thou- 
 sand of them daily.* But Asoka was of a passionate 
 and impulsive temperament; and when he became a 
 convert to the Buddhist faith, he embraced it with all 
 the fervid zeal of his ardent nature; and though, 
 like Alexander, he may once have wept that no more 
 worlds were left for him to conquer, he now found 
 that he had still himself to subdue. The task, though 
 difficult, seemed not impossible; and the royal con- 
 vert, who had before been called Chand-Asoka, or 
 " Asoka the Furious," now submitted himself to the 
 outward discipline of the Buddhist faith, and at last 
 became so distinguished a follower of Dharma, that 
 he acquired the more honourable title of Dharm- 
 Asoka, or " Asoka the Virtuous." 
 
 • Mahawanso, c. 23 ; but Buddhaghoso has the more moderate 
 number of eight thousand. — See Tumour's Pali Annals in Prin- 
 sep's Journal, vi. 731. 
 
REIGN OF ASOKA. 99 
 
 3. The first proof which Asoka gave of his con- 
 version to Buddhism was the dismissal of the sixty 
 thousand Brahmans, in whose stead an equal number 
 of Srdmanas, or Buddhist ascetics, were daily fed. 
 His next act was the distribution of the relics of 
 Sakya to all the chief cities of India. These relics 
 had been collected by Ajatasatra, at the instance of 
 Kasyapa, and were deposited tog-ether in one large 
 Stupa at Rajagriha. But the king had now deter- 
 mined to manifest his zeal for the faith of Buddha, 
 by the erection of eighty-four thousand Vihdrs, or 
 monasteries, in honour of the eighty-four thousand 
 discourses of Buddha.* As this precise number has 
 always been deemed a fortunate one both by Brah- 
 mans and Buddhists, it may be looked upon as the 
 common expression for any very large number, f 
 These Vihars are said to have been erected in eighty- 
 four thousand different cities. I would reject the 
 thousands, and read simply eighty-four cities and 
 eighty-four Vihars. The building zeal of Asoka is 
 fully confirmed by the Chinese pilgrim Hwan-Thsang, 
 who travelled through India in the middle of the 7th 
 century of our era. At different places on his route, 
 from Anderab, beyond the sources of the Kabul River, 
 to Conjeveram, in the south of India, and from Pito- 
 shilo, in the delta of the Indus, to Tamluk, at the 
 mouth of the Ganges, this pilgrim saw upwards of 
 
 * Mdhawanso, p. 26. 
 
 f See Sir H. M. Elliott's Supplementary Glossary of Indian 
 Terms for a number of proofs. 
 
100 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 fifty large Topes, besides numerous Vihars, all of 
 which were attributed to Asoka. This account agrees 
 with the statements of the Mahawanso, which ascribe 
 to Asoka the building of splendid Chaityas on all the 
 spots rendered memorable by the acts of Buddha.* 
 All these buildings were completed within three 
 years. 
 
 4. This great king was not, however, content with 
 the erection of stately buildings for the service of his 
 religion, but, like a true Buddhist, while he sought 
 the achievement of his own salvation, he wished for 
 the eternal happiness of others. With this view he 
 is said to have promulgated eighty-four thousand 
 royal edictsf for the extension of Dharma. Numbers 
 of these edicts, engraved on massive rocks, and on 
 stone pillars, still remain in different parts of India 
 to attest the general accuracy of the Buddhist annals. 
 The oldest edicts are contained in the rock inscrip- 
 tions, which have been found at Dhauli in Kuttack, 
 at Girnar in Gujrat, and at Kapurdigiri near Pesha- 
 war. As these three places were the most distant 
 points in Asoka's dominions, they were no doubt 
 specially selected as the fittest positions for the in- 
 scription of these important religious ordinances. 
 
 5. In all these edicts the promulgator names him- 
 self " Peiyadarsi, the beloved-of-the-Devas." This 
 appellation, which is evidently only a title, has led 
 
 • Mahawanso, p. 34. 
 
 f Burnouf, Buddhisme Indieh, p. 403, quoting the Asoka 
 Avad&na. 
 
REIGN OF ASOKA. 101 
 
 Professor H. H. Wilson to doubt the generally 
 accepted identification of Asoka with the Priyadarsi 
 who published the edicts.* The learned professor 
 rests his scepticism on the following grounds, which 
 it is necessary to examine in detail, out of respect for 
 one who has rendered such distinguished services in 
 every branch of Indian literature. 
 
 1st. " It is doubtful whether the edicts of Priya- 
 darsi have any connection with Buddhism, the mean- 
 ing of the inscriptions, to say the least, being equi- 
 vocal." Again, " There is nothing in the injunctions 
 promulgated that is decidedly and exclusively charac- 
 teristic of Buddhism "j" 
 
 2nd. The total omission of any allusion to Buddha 
 himself by any of his appellations, Sugata, Tathdgata, 
 Gautama, or S&kya.^ 
 
 3rd. The identification (of Asoka with Priyadarsi) 
 rests upon a passage in the Dipawanso, " a work of 
 rather doubtful character," which is besides a com- 
 position of the fourth century of our era. J 
 
 4th. " It seems very inexplicable, why in none of 
 the inscriptions his own appellation Asoka, or 
 Dharmasoka, should ever be mentioned."^ 
 
 5th. Chronological difficulties of which it is not 
 easy to dispose. || 
 
 * Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, xii. 236. 
 t Ibid. p. 288. 
 t Ibid. p. 241. 
 \ Ibid. p. 243. 
 |j Ibid p.. 244. 
 
102 
 
 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 6. The first objection appears to me to rest entirely 
 upon the translation of a single word, Dharma, 
 which, as James Prinsep truly observed, is the 
 " keystone" of all the edicts. By translating- Dhav 
 ma, wherever it occurs, sometimes as "piety," or 
 " religion," and sometimes as " morality," or " virtue," 
 the whole scope and purport of the edicts of Priya- 
 darsi are entirely lost sight of. These ordinances, on 
 all the pillars, and on the rocks, both at Girnar and 
 at Kapurdigiri, are styled b}^ the king himself, 
 dhamalipi, or " edicts-on-Dharma." James Prinsep 
 translates this word as "religious edict 5" and Pro- 
 fessor Wilson omits all mention of dharma, and 
 simply calls the inscription an " edict ;" but to 
 obtain the full force and meaning of the term, it 
 should be rendered as I have given it above, " edict 
 or ordinance on Dharma" that is on the " religious 
 law" of Buddha. If the word Dharma had occurred 
 but once or twice in these inscriptions, it might have 
 been rendered by any one of the ordinary meanings 
 given above ; but in the rock inscriptions it occurs no 
 less than thirty-seven times ; and in combinations 
 with other terms which prove it to be wholly and em- 
 phatically Buddhistical. Thus, in the 5th Tablet, we 
 have Dhamma-vddhiya, which Prinsep translates 
 " increase of religion," and Professor Wilson, " aug- 
 mentation of virtue," but which ought to be rendered 
 " advancement of Dharma" — that is, the propagation 
 of the Religious Law of Buddha. This is still more 
 clearly shown in the opening of the 11th Tablet, in 
 
REIGN OF ASOKA. 103 
 
 which Dharma has been translated by both as 
 " virtue."* 
 
 " Devdnampiyo Piyadasi rdja evam dha : 
 ndsti et&risam da nam ydrisam Dltamma-dunam 
 Dhammasanstavo va Dhammasam vibhago 
 va Dhammasam bandho va." 
 
 " Thus saith King Priyadarsi, the beloved of the 
 Devas:— There is no gift like the gift of Dharma ; 
 whether it be knowledge of Dharma, or inheritance 
 of Dharma, or close union with Dharma." 
 
 And towards the end of the same Tablet : — 
 
 " idam sddhu, idam katavyam sotaihd 
 karni — lohavasa drddka hoti 
 parato vu anantam punam 
 bhavati tena Dhammaddnena." 
 
 " This is well : this should be done : (and for 
 him) who doeth thus, there is happiness in this 
 world ; and everlasting holiness hereafter is obtained 
 by this gift of Dharma." 
 
 7. Other passages of similar force and value 
 might be quoted at length ; but it will be sufficient 
 to mention that the whole of Priyadarsi' s edicts 
 are dedicated to the attainment of one object, 
 Dharma-varddhana, the " advancement of Dharma." 
 For this purpose he directed that " men learned in 
 Dharma" should be appointed to " establishments 
 of Dharma" to preach " sermons on Dharma" to 
 
 * Journal of Eoval Asiatic Society, xii. p. 213. 
 
104 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the " people united in Dharma."* These doctors 
 of Dharma were also directed to penetrate amongst 
 the unbelievers, to mix with high and low, rich and 
 poor, hermits and worldly men, for the purpose 
 of instructing them in the perfect observance of 
 Dharma.^ 
 
 8. Throughout all these edicts, both on the pillars 
 and on the rocks, Priyadarsi announces his own 
 adherence to Dharma (or the law of Buddha), and 
 his belief that the love of Dharma (Dhammakdma) 
 would continue to increase. He inculcates that 
 Dharma consists in the strict observance of moral 
 duties, in the performance of pious acts, and in the 
 entire subjection of the passions ; J and he declares 
 that Dharma will be advanced by the prohibition 
 {ahinsa or avihinsa) against taking life.§ Dharma 
 is in fact the only key by which the meaning of 
 these inscriptions can be unlocked ; and its frequent 
 and emphatic use, throughout these royal edicts, 
 shows that their promulgator was a firm and zealous 
 adherent of Dharma, or the law of Buddha. Asoka 
 was the same; for which reason the people called 
 him Dharmasoka. 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, vi. 602. Dhamma-maMmatd, " learned 
 men, or doctors of Dharma." Dhamma-thabavi, " establish- 
 ments-for-Dharma." Janam-DfommayuHm, " people-joined-by- 
 Dharma." Dhamma-sdvdndni, " lectures-on-Dharma." 
 
 + Dhamm6pad&na, perfect observance of Dharma ; from apaddn 
 well-doing, or complete performance. 
 
 J Prinsep's Journal, vi. 582. 
 
 ^ Prinsep's Journal, vi. 608. 
 
REIGN OF ASOKA. 105 
 
 9. I may observe here that Mr. Tumour, the 
 translator of the Pali Annals of Ceylon, appears to 
 have felt the full force and meaning of Dharma, 
 which he always gives in its Pali form of Dhammo. 
 Had he translated it simply as " religion/' the true 
 sense of many passages would have been utterly 
 lost. But he was living in a Buddhist country, and 
 in daily intercourse with Buddhist monks, and he 
 therefore knew and appreciated the peculiar signi- 
 ficance of the term ; which stamps the follower of 
 Dharma as an undoubted Buddhist, or observer of 
 the " Religious Law" of Buddha. 
 
 10. Professor Wilson's second objection is the 
 omission of any mention of Buddha himself, by any 
 of his well-known appellations. But this is met 
 by the frequent and emphatic use of Dharma, the 
 name of the second person of the orthodox Buddhist 
 Triad. Bhagavdn is also twice mentioned in the 
 13th Tablet of the Kapurdigiri inscription ; but this 
 title, although very commonly used by the Buddhists, 
 is only an epithet for the Supreme Being, and might 
 therefore have been used by the Brahmans of those 
 days as well as by the Buddhists. The common 
 Brahmanical term, however, is Bhagavat, and I 
 believe that the use of Bhagavan is almost peculiar 
 to the Buddhists. But though the omission of 
 Buddha's own name in these inscriptions cannot, 
 perhaps, be now explained, yet the Buddhistical faith 
 of Priyardarsi is placed beyond all doubt by his 
 mention of Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, the three 
 
106 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 members of the orthodox Buddhist Triad, in the short 
 rock inscription found at Bhabra, near Jay pur.* 
 
 11. Professor Wilson's third objection is the 
 asserted identification of Asoka with Priyadarsi, 
 which rests upon a passage in the Dipawanso, "a 
 work of doubtful character and of comparatively 
 modern date." Regarding- the authenticity of the 
 Dipawanso, I hold an opinion entirely different to 
 Professor "Wilson's. His doubts of its genuineness 
 were, I presume, based on the statement of Maha- 
 namo, which Mr. Tumour has brought prominently 
 forward,! that " the Pdli Pittakattaya and its attha- 
 kathd (or Commentaries), had been orally perpetuated" 
 previous to B. c. 88-76. If this statement were 
 true, it is clear that all events recorded previous to 
 that date could only be regarded as so many tra- 
 ditions. It is quite possible that the monks may 
 have made a mystery of their learning to increase 
 the reverence of the people, by asserting that all the 
 doctrines which they taught had been handed down 
 orally ; and this assertion might have gradually 
 grown into a belief which in Mahanamo's time 
 nobody disputed. But it is much more likely that 
 the assertion is a mere error of the text; for it is 
 most fully contradicted by another statement of Ma- 
 hanamo,J which has every appearance of truth to 
 recommend it to our implicit belief. According to 
 
 * Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, ix. 618. 
 t Maharvanso, c. 33, p. 207. 
 I Maharvanso, c. 37, p. 251. 
 
REIGN OP ASOKA. 107 
 
 this statement, the Singhalese Atthakatha were com- 
 posed by Mahendra (the son of Asoka), who had pre- 
 viously consulted the discourses of Buddha, and 
 the dissertations and arguments of Sdriputra and 
 others. But, in addition to this counter statement, 
 we have the testimony of Buddhaghoso,* who trans- 
 lated the Singhalese Atthakatha into Pali, between 
 A. D. 410~— 432. He states distinctly, that for his 
 own work he had availed himself of the Atthakatha, 
 which Tiad been in the first instance authenticated by 
 the five hundred Arahanta at the First Synod, and 
 subsequently at the succeeding synods; and which 
 were afterwards brought to Sihala (or Ceylon) by the 
 holy Mahendra, and " translated into the Sihala 
 language for the benefit of the people." 
 
 12. This account is older by some seventy 3 r ears 
 than that of Mahanamo, the author of the Maha- 
 wanso ; and as Buddhaghoso was a Magadha Brah- 
 man, he must have known that the Buddhist scrip- 
 tures had been compiled by the disciples of Buddha, 
 immediately after the meeting of the First Synod. 
 A Pali version of the Atthakatha, or Commentaries, 
 is mentioned as having been studied by Tisso Mo- 
 galiputra, while he was a Samanera, in the early 
 part of the third century before our era.f 
 
 13. There is, besides, the most convincing internal 
 evidence in the Mahawanso of the correctness of the 
 
 * Tumour's Pali Annals, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 510. 
 t Buddhaghoso, quoted by Tumour in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 
 731. 
 
108 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 above statement of Buddhaghoso, in the fact, that 
 no mention whatever is made of Indian affairs after 
 the advent of Mahendra. This proves, in my 
 opinion, that all the knowledge of Indian history 
 which the Singhalese possessed had been derived 
 from Mahendra : a conclusion which is supported by 
 the direct testimony of Buddhagoso. 
 
 14. The fourth objection, urged by Professor 
 Wilson against the identity of Asoka and Priya- 
 darsi, is the non-occurrence of the name of Asoka 
 or Dharmasoka in any of the inscriptions. The 
 same objection might be offered to the identity of 
 Prince Salim and Jahangir, and of Prince Kurram 
 and Shah-Jehan. In fact, it is a common practice 
 in the East for a prince to assume a new name upon 
 his accession to the throne ; and such we know was 
 the custom in Asoka's own family. His grandfather 
 had three names, — 1st, a birth name, which is not 
 given, but which was perhaps Vrishala ; 2nd, a local 
 name, Palibrothes, or lord of Pdtaliputra ; and 3rd, 
 a royal name, Chandra Gupta, which he assumed 
 on his accession to the throne.* Asoka's brother, 
 named Vitdsoka, was also called Tishya ; his son 
 Kundla had a second name, Dharma-Varddhana ;f 
 and his daughter, Sanghamitrd, was also named 
 Sumitra.\. At that period it was therefore the 
 common custom, for a prince at least, to have two 
 
 * Megasthenes in Strabo, xv. 
 f Burnouf s Buddhisme Indien. 
 | Mahawanso, p. 121. 
 
REIGN OF ASOKA. 109 
 
 names; and if Asoka, as the Dipawanso explicitly 
 states, bore also the title of Priyadarsi, it is evident 
 that the inscriptions which gave him this title would 
 omit all mention of his original name of Asoka. In 
 the edicts promulgated by himself, he is mentioned 
 by the name which he had assumed ; but in the 
 annals written by others he is called by that name 
 which he had always borne, and by which he was 
 best known to the people. An almost similar case 
 is that of the Roman Emperor Elagabalus, or 
 Bassianus, who assumed the name of Antoninus, 
 by which he is always mentioned on coins and 
 inscriptions ; while the historians and annalists in- 
 variably call him Elagabalus. 
 
 16. But the statement of the Dipawanso is most 
 happily confirmed by the Bhabra edict, from which 
 we learn that Priyadarsi, the worshipper of Buddha, 
 Dharma, and Sangha, was the Raja of Magadha 
 at the period of the Third Synod.* Now we know, 
 from the Buddhist annals, that this synod took place 
 in the reign of Asoka Maurya, the Buddhist King 
 of Magadha. The statement is further confirmed by 
 a fact mentioned by the Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hian ; 
 
 • Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, ix. 618. The opening words are 
 " Piyadasi-rdja Magadha-sangham abhivdde-mdnam, cha," or 
 " Raja Priyadarsi, saluting the Synod of Magadha, declareth." 
 This most valuahle document should he translated critically ; for 
 the version already puhlished renders the above passage as follows : 
 
 « Piadasa Raja, unto the multitude assembled in Magadha 
 
 saluting him, speaks (thus). 
 
110 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 who, writing in a.d. 400, attributes the erection of 
 a Lion- pillar at Samkissa to Asoka.* " The king 
 (Ayu or Asoka) felt sensible of a great increase of 
 his faith and veneration. He caused therefore a 
 
 chapel to be built Behind the chapel 
 
 was erected a pillar, 30 cubits high 
 
 Thereon was placed a Lion The interior 
 
 and the exterior were polished and resplendent as 
 crystal." Now, it is remarkable that the pillars 
 which bear Priyadarsi's inscriptions have all polished 
 shafts, about 30 cubits in height, of which some are 
 still surmounted by Lions. The chain of evidence is 
 therefore complete ; and there can no longer be any 
 doubt of the identity of Asoka Maurya with the 
 Priyadarsi of the inscriptions. 
 
 16. The minor difficulties of chronology, which 
 form Professor Wilson's last objection, are easily 
 disposed of; for they seem to me to have arisen 
 solely from the erroneous assumption that Priyadarsi 
 must have been a contemporary of Antiochus the 
 Great. In the Girnar and Kapurdigiri rock in- 
 scriptions, King Priyadarsi mentions the names of 
 five Greek princes who were contemporary with 
 himself. Of these, four have been read with cer- 
 tainty — Antiochus, Ptolemy, Antigonus, and Magas ; 
 and the fifth has been conjectured to be Alexander. 
 James Prinsep, who first read these names, assigned 
 them to the following princes : — 
 
 * Fo-kwe-ki, c. xiii. 
 
REIGN OF ASOKA. Ill 
 
 Antiochus II. Tlieos of Syria. b. c. 262, 247. 
 
 Ptolemy II. Philadelphia of Egypt. b. c. 285, 246. 
 
 Antigonus. Gonatas of Macedon. b. c. 276, 243. 
 
 Magas. Cyrene. b. c. 258. 
 
 and with these identifications the learned of Europe 
 have generally agreed. 
 
 17. The fifth name has heen read by Mr. Norris as 
 Alexander; and if this reading is correct, we may 
 identify this prince with Alexander II. of Epeiros, 
 who reigned from B. c. 272-254. But the two 
 copies of this name, published by Mr. Norris, from 
 fac similes by Masson and Court, appear to me to 
 read Alibhasunari,* which may be intended for 
 Ariobarzanes III., King of Pontus, who reigned 
 from B.C. 266-240. But in either case the date of 
 Priyadarsi's inscription will be about B. c. 260-258, 
 shortly preceding the death of Magas. 
 
 18. As the last-fitting pieces of a child's puzzle- 
 map test the accuracy of the previous arrangements, 
 so do these identifications prove the correctness of 
 Sir William Jones's happy conjecture of the identity 
 of Chandra Gupta and Sandrakottos. The facts are 
 undeniable. Asoka, or Priyadarsi, the Indian King of 
 Magadha, was the contemporary of five Creek princes, 
 all of whom began to reign a little before the middle 
 of the third century B. C. The nature of the rela- 
 tions which Asoka established with these princes, has 
 been lost by the abrasion of the rock-inscription ; but 
 
 * See Plate of Inscription in Journal Roy. As. Soc. xii. 
 
112 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 we may conjecture that the chief point was the pro- 
 pagation of the Buddhist religion, and the toleration 
 of Buddhist missionaries. To some it may seem 
 difficult to understand how any relations should exist 
 between the Indian Asoka and the Greek princes of 
 Europe and Africa ; but to me it appears natural and 
 obvious. Asoka's kingdom on the west was bounded 
 by that of Antiochus; his father, Bindusara, had 
 received missions from Antiochus, Soter, and Ptolemy 
 Philadelphus ; and as Asoka was forty-five years of 
 age when he was inaugurated, in b. c. 259, he might 
 have conversed with both of the Greek ambassadors, 
 Daimachos and Dionysios. He had been governor 
 of Ujain for many years in the lifetime of his father, 
 during which the Egyptian fleet had anchored an- 
 nually at Barygaza^ while the merchants proceeded 
 to the viceroy's court at Ozene, with choice specimens 
 of their valuables — wines, gold and silver plate, and 
 female slaves. Asoka had known the Greeks before 
 he became king ; he had seen their ambassadors and 
 their merchants; and he knew that his grandfather 
 had given five hundred elephants to Seleukos Nika- 
 tor in exchange for a barren and mountainous territory, 
 and a Grecian wife. 
 
 19. But there is another fatal objection to Pro- 
 fessor Wilson's identification of Antiochus the Great 
 with the Antiochus of Priyadarsi's inscriptions, in the 
 omission of any of the Greek princes of Kabul and of 
 the native princes of Parthia ; for we know that 
 Artabanus I. and Euthydemus were the contampo- 
 
EEIGN OF ASOKA. 113 
 
 raries of the Syrian prince, who, after an unsuccessful 
 attempt to reduce them, was obliged to recognize 
 them both as independent kings. 
 
 20. The ordinances of Asoka, or Priyadarsi, 
 were issued at different periods of his reign. Those 
 of the 10th and 12th years are found on the rocks 
 of Kapurdigiri, Girnar, and Dhauli ; while the 
 pillar-edicts are all dated in the 27th year of his 
 reign. Much has been written about the confused 
 dates of the different pillar-edicts, in spite of the 
 clear and decisive language of the ordinances them- 
 selves; which shows that they were all published 
 in the 27th year. It is true that the Eastern tablet 
 refers to an edict of the 12th year, but this, as 
 Priyadarsi states, had been abrogated, and the 
 Eastern tablet, which mentions the abolished or- 
 dinance, is itself dated in the 27th year.* The words 
 of the inscription referring to the edict of the 12th 
 year are dhamma-lipi likhapita, " an ordinance on 
 Dharma was published;" whereas each of the edicts 
 of the 27th year is described as it/am dhamma-lipi, 
 " this ordinance on Dharma." The rock-inscription 
 at Bhabra, near Jaypur, is of uncertain date ; but, as 
 it mentions the Third Synod, it must be posterior to 
 241 B. c. 
 
 21. The pillar inscriptions, therefore, contain the 
 latest edicts published by Asoka, as they date nine 
 years posterior to the assembly of the Third Synod. 
 The precepts inculcated in them are, however, generally 
 
 * Prinsep'a Journal, vi. 596, 597. 
 
 I 
 
114 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the same as those of the 12th year ; but a greater ten- 
 derness is expressed for animal life, and a more com- 
 prehensive view is taken of the moral duties of charity 
 towards all mankind, and of the sacred duty of a 
 king- towards his subjects. This difference shows the 
 advance made by Asoka in his acquirement of the 
 Buddhist faith, which is essentially one of good will 
 and toleration towards all men. 
 
 22. But the sincerity of Asoka's belief is further 
 proved by the zealous earnestness with which he 
 sought to propagate his new faith over all the distant 
 provinces of his own empire, as well as in the neigh- 
 bouring* kingdoms of his allies. His own family had 
 been early converted. His wife Asandhimitra was a 
 zealous Buddhist; his brother Tishya took the vows 
 of an ascetic ; his son Kunala became celebrated for 
 his early misfortunes and after attachment to the 
 faith • while his children Mahendra and Sanghamitra, 
 who were initiated at twenty years of age, immor- 
 talized themselves by converting the people of Ceylon. 
 Their mission formed part of the great scheme for the 
 propagation of Buddhism, which was arranged 
 between Asoka and the principal Arhat Mogali- 
 putra at the meeting of the Third Synod, in B. c. 241, 
 in the 18th year after Asoka's inauguration. 
 
THIRD SYNOD. 115 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THIRD SYNOD. 
 
 1. The Third Synod was composed of one thousand 
 holy arhats, selected by Tishya, the son of the 
 Brahman Mudgala, from whom he received the patro- 
 nymic of Maudgalaputra (Pali, Mogaliputa), by 
 which he is generally known.* This Synod was 
 assembled, at the express desire of Asoka, for the 
 purpose of discovering 1 and expelling- the multitude of 
 heretics, - }" who had insinuated themselves into the 
 monasteries, by shaving their heads, and by assuming 
 the yellow dress of the Buddhist ascetics. Each sect 
 professed its own creed, saying, " This is Dharma ; 
 
 * The assumption of patronymics became quite necessary, owing 
 to a partial fondness for particular names. Thus, there were four 
 other Tishyas, besides the leader of the Third Synod : — 1st, Tishya, 
 the brother of Asoka; 2nd, Tishya, the Arhata, who died of an 
 ulcer in his foot ; 3rd, Tishya, the King of Ceylon ; 4th, the am- 
 bassador of the Ceylonese king. Of these, Asoka's brother alone 
 is called Tishya : the others have additional names. 
 
 t Tithaya; that is, the Tirihahas, or Tirthakaras. See 
 Tumour's Pali Annals, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 732. 
 
116 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 this is Vinaya ;" and the Buddhist Vihdrs were 
 defiled by the presence of worshippers of Fire and 
 adorers of the Sun.* 
 
 2. The Bhikshus and ascetics of all descriptions 
 who attended the Third Synod, were assembled in the 
 Asqkarama Vihar, at Pataliputra, by the King 1 in 
 person, accompanied by the venerable Arhat Mogali- 
 putra, then seventy-two years of age. The Bhikshus 
 professing- different faiths were separated according 
 to their sects ; and to each sect was put the question, 
 "What faith did Buddha profess?" The Sussata 
 said, " The Sussata faith ;" and each answered 
 according to its own belief. There were eight dif- 
 ferent sects, all of which Asoka readily distinguished 
 by his own knowledge of the true doctrines. These 
 heretics, sixty thousand in number, were then stripped 
 of their yellow robes, supplied with white dresses, and 
 expelled from the Assembly, f 
 
 3. After the expulsion of the heretics, the Synod 
 were occupied for nine months in rehearsing the 
 Vinaya and Dharma, in the same manner as had 
 been done at the First and Second Synods by the 
 Great Kdsyapa, and Yasa. From the number of 
 Arhats who composed it, this Assembly was called 
 the SaJiasrika Sangiti, or " Synod of one Thousand." 
 
 4. At the conclusion of this Synod in b. c. 241, 
 several missions were despatched to foreign countries 
 
 * Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 833. 
 
 -f- Tumour's Pali Annals, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 736, 737. 
 
•THIRD SYNOD. 117 
 
 for the propagation of the Buddhist religion.* The 
 missionaries, who were selected by Mogaliputra, were 
 the principal Sthdviras, or leaders of Buddhism, men 
 who had acquired the rank of arhat, and were re- 
 spected for superior sanctity. The following* list gives 
 the names of the missionaries, and of the scenes of 
 their labours. 
 
 1st. Majjhantiko, or Madhyantika, was deputed to 
 Kasmira and Gandhara, or Kashmir and Peshawar , 
 where he is said to have ordained 100,000 persons, of 
 whom 80,000 attained superior grades. t He was at 
 first opposed by the Naga, King of the Aravalo or 
 Wular lake ; but the Naga was finally converted, to- 
 gether with 84,000 of his subjects, and " the land 
 glittered with the yellow robes" of the monks. 
 
 2nd. Mahadeva was deputed to Mahisamandala, 
 where he converted 80,000 persons. This country 
 is not known : it may be Maheswara, on the 
 Narbada. 
 
 3rd. Rakkhito or Bakshita was deputed to Wa- 
 nawasi, which is probably the country on the Bands 
 River, or the modern Mewar and Bundi. 60,000 
 persons are said to have attained sanctification, and 
 37,000 to have been ordained monks in five hundred 
 monasteries. 
 
 4th. Yona, Dhammarakkhito, or Y a van a Dharma 
 
 Rakshita (the Greek, — Preserver of Dharma) 
 
 was deputed to Aparantaka (the western country), 
 
 where 70,000 persons were converted. This country 
 
 * Mahawanso, p. 71. f Mahawanso, pp. 71, 73. 
 
118 THE BHIL8A TOPES. 
 
 is probably the Apanchha, or Northern Sind of Hwan 
 Thsang". 
 
 5th. Maha Dharma Rakshita was deputed to the 
 Maharatta country, where 97,000 persons were con- 
 verted. 
 
 6th. Mahaeakshita was deputed to the Yona or 
 Yavana country, that is, either to the Greek province 
 of Kabul, or to Arachosia ; for the name of the capi- 
 tal, Alasadda* or Alexandria, was common to both 
 countries. The former, however, seems the more pro- 
 bable — 180,000 persons are said to have been con- 
 verted, but only 10,000 ordained. 
 
 7th. Majjhimo, or Madhyama, was deputed to the 
 Himawanta, or country of the Himalayas ; along- 
 with four other Sthdviras, named Kassapo (or Kas- 
 y apa), Mulikadevo, Dhandabinasso, Sahasadevo. These 
 five Sthdviras are said to have converted 80 kotis of 
 people in the five divisions of the Himalayas. Relics 
 of Majjhima and of Kassapa were discovered in No. 
 2 Tope at Sanchi. 
 
 8th. Sono and Uttaro were deputed to Suvarna- 
 bhumi, or " golden land." As this country was on 
 the sea-coast, it may be identified either with Ava, 
 the Aurea Begio, or with Siam, the Aurea Cher- 
 sonesus. Six millions of people are said to have 
 been converted, of whom 25,000 men became monks, 
 and 1,500 women became nuns.f 
 
 9th. Maha Mahendra the son of Asoka, with four 
 other Sthdviras, named Ittiyo, JJttiyO, Sambalo, and 
 * Maharvanso, p. 171. f Maharvanso, p. 74. 
 
THIRD SYNOD. 119 
 
 Bhaddasalo, were deputed to Lanka, or Ceylon, 
 where they converted the king 1 Devanampriya-TisJiya, 
 and the whole of his court. 
 
 5. The narrative of these missions is one of the 
 most curious and interesting 1 passages in the ancient 
 history of India. It is preserved entire in both the 
 sacred books of the Singalese, the Dipawanso and 
 Mahawanso ; and the mission of Mahendra to Ceylon 
 is recorded in the sacred books of the Burmese. 
 But the authenticity of the narrative has been most 
 fully and satisfactorily established by the discovery 
 of the relics of some of these missionaries, with the 
 names of the countries to which they were deputed. 
 According to the MaMwanso, the Sthavira Kassapo, 
 or Kasyapa accompanied the holy Majjhima or 
 Madhyama to the Himawanta or Himalayan region. 
 Thus united in life, they were not separated after 
 death, and their relics were found enshrined together 
 in the same casket in No. 2 Tope at Sanchi. This 
 casket bears three inscriptions, each mentioning a dif- 
 ferent name.* The legend on the top of the lid is — 
 
 Sapurisasa, Kasapa-gotasa, savahemamtachariyasa 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Kasapa-gota, the spiritual teacher 
 to the whole Hemawanta." 
 
 On the inside of the lid is this legend :— 
 
 Sapurisa (sa) Majhimasa 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Majhima." 
 
 * See Plate XX. for these inscriptions. 
 
120 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 And on the bottom of the casket is this inscription : — 
 
 Sapurisasa hAritI-putasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated hAritI-putra." 
 
 6. In the first inscription Kasapa is distinctly 
 styled the achariya ; that is, the spiritual teacher or 
 missionary to the HSmawanta. The perfect agree- 
 ment between this inscription and the record of the 
 Mahawanso, in the names both of the missionary and 
 of the scene of his labours, is too remarkable to be 
 the result of any combination of chances. But the 
 identity of the two persons is rendered positively 
 certain by the discovery of the relics of Majhima, 
 the companion of Kasapa, in the same casket, and 
 of the relics of the great Mogaliputra in another 
 casket which was found in the same stone box. 
 
 7. In the text of the Mahawanso Majjhimo alone 
 is mentioned, but the other names are given in the 
 commentary ; and Mr. Tumour has therefore in- 
 serted them in his translation. It is probable, there- 
 fore, that Majhima was the senior monk or head 
 of the mission, and that Kasapa was the most suc- 
 cessful missionary. I infer this from the significant 
 manner in which he is styled u Missionary to the 
 whole Hemawanta ;" a marked distinction, which 
 cannot be accidental, as it is repeated on a second 
 casket containing- his relics which was found in No. 
 2 Tope at Sonari.* This inscription is the same 
 
 * See Plate XXIV. Inscription on No. 3 Box. 
 
THIRD SYNOD. 121 
 
 as that of the Sanchi casket, but with the important 
 addition of the name of the missionary's father. 
 
 Sapurisasa Koti-putasa, KAsapa-gotasa, savahemavata- 
 chariyasa. 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated son of Koti, Kasapa-gota, the 
 spiritual teacher of the whole Hematvanta." 
 
 From this inscription we learn that Kdsapa was 
 also known by the patronymic of Koti-putra. 
 
 8. But there was another missionary companion 
 of Majhima and Kasapa whose labours in the Hema- 
 wanta region are recorded on a crystal casket which 
 was found in No. 2 Tope at Sonari.* The legend 
 is — 
 
 Sapurisasa Goti-putasi Hemavatasa Dadabhisarasa ddyddasa. 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Goti-putra, the relation 
 [of the faith] amongst the Daddbhisaras of the Hemawanta." 
 
 D&rdabhisara is the hilly country lying on both 
 banks of the Indus, to the west of Kashmir. Dardu 
 was on the right bank, and Abhisdra (the present 
 Hazara) on the left bank of the river. The meaning 
 of ddydda (literally son, offspring, relative) is best 
 illustrated by the following anecdote from the Ma- 
 li awanso.t 
 
 9. When Asoka had dedicated his son Mahendra 
 and his daughter Sanghamitrd to the religion of 
 
 * See Plate XXIV. Inscription on No. 1 Box. 
 f Maharvanso, p. 36. 
 
122 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Buddha, he inquired from the arhats — " Lords ! 
 whose acts of pious bounty to the Buddhist religion 
 have been the greatest?" The crafty Mogaliputra 
 answered with ready wit, " Ruler of Men ! a greater 
 benefactor to the faith than thou art can only be 
 called a benefactor, but he who dedicates a son or 
 daughter to the ministry of our religion, that person 
 is more than a ' benefactor' (ddyako), he is a e rela- 
 tion (ddydda) of the faith.' " Goti-putra had there- 
 fore earned the title of ddydda, or " relation of the 
 faith" by the ordination of one of his children to the 
 Buddhist religion. 
 
 10. It seems strange that Gotiputra, who was so 
 famous amongst his contemporaries for the success of 
 his missionary labours, should not be mentioned in 
 the Mahawanso. But I have a suspicion that both 
 himself and the scene of his labours are mentioned in 
 the Commentary. Mr. Tumour gives Kassapo, Mu- 
 Ukadewo, Dhandhabinasso, and Sahassadewo, as the 
 name of the four theros or sthdviras who accompanied 
 Majjhima to the Hemawanta country. One of these, 
 therefore, must be the missionary to Abhisara, unless 
 the patronymic Gotiputra has been omitted as super- 
 fluous; for I propose to read the barbarous Dhan- 
 dhabinasso as Dardabhisdra, and to insert Gotiputra 
 as the name of the missionary who was deputed to 
 that country. I should be inclined to identify Goti- 
 putra either with Mulihddewo, or with Sahasadewo, 
 were it not that the text of the Mahawanso particularly 
 mentions four theros (chatuhi therehi) as the com- 
 
THIRD SYNOD. 123 
 
 panion9 of Majjhimo. It is indeed possible to read 
 Dadabhisara as the missionary's name; but as the 
 name of the country, Hemavata, is placed between 
 Gotiputra and Dardabhisara, it seems much more 
 probable that the latter is intended for the name 
 of the well-known country of Dardu and Abhisara. 
 
 11. The name of the other Arhats, whose relics 
 have been found in company with those of Majjhima, 
 Kasapa, and Gotiputra, will be found in the account of 
 the discoveries made in the Topes at Sanchi and Sonari.* 
 
 12. The proselytizing 1 zeal of Asoka is the more 
 worthy of record, as it anticipated by nearly three 
 centuries one of the most characteristic institutions 
 of the early Christian Church. Though his notions 
 of a Supreme Being were of a less lofty and of a 
 more indistinct nature than those of the Christian, 
 yet the Buddhist Prince was imbued with the same 
 zealous wish for the propagation of his faith, and 
 with the same good will and brotherly love towards all 
 mankind. He was especially desirous that all men 
 should be brought into the right way; but he was 
 content to propagate his own faith by persuasion and 
 by argument, and to pray for all those who dif- 
 fered from him in religion, with the hope that his 
 example might perhaps induce some to labour for 
 their own everlasting salvation. f 
 
 13. Like the great Constantine, the Indian King 
 was doomed to learn the guilty passion of his Queen 
 
 * See Plates XX. and XXIV. 
 
 t Eastern inscription of Delhi Pillar. 
 
124 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 for the most promising- of his sons ; but, more fortu- 
 nate than the Roman Emperor, Asoka was saved 
 from the pain of condemning- his own child. The 
 Queen, Tishya Rahshita, was enraged by the beau- 
 tiful-eyed Kundla's rejection of her overtures, and 
 meditated revenge. An opportunity soon occurred 
 by the deputation of Kunala to Taxila to quell 
 another revolt. Through the Queen's influence (but 
 unknown to the King), a royal order, sealed with the 
 King's signet, was sent to the Taxilans to put out 
 those beautiful eyes which had excited the Queen's 
 love for Kunala. The people hesitated, but obeyed ; 
 and the unfortunate Kunala, guided by his faithful 
 wife, Kanchanamala, took his dreary way to the 
 King's court at Pataliputra. When Asoka saAv his 
 beloved son, his anger was inflamed against the 
 Queen, and in spite of Kunala' s entreaties for mercy, 
 she was made over to the torturers to be burned to 
 death. Such is the legend which the Buddhists 
 relate of their king and his favourite son ;* but as 
 they add that Kunala was restored to sight on 
 account of his piety, we may perhaps conclude that 
 the Queen's evil intentions were not fulfilled. Asoka 
 died in the year 222 B. c. after a long and pros- 
 perous reign of forty-one years, including the four 
 years that elapsed between his accession and his in- 
 auguration. As he was forty-five years old when 
 he was crowned in B. c. 259, he lived to the good old 
 age of fourscore and two years. 
 
 * Burnouf's Buddhisme Indien, pp. 409-413. 
 
RISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS. 125 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 RISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS. 
 
 ]. After the death of Asoka, the wide dominions 
 of the Maruyas were divided amongst several of his 
 descendants. The whole of Central India, with the 
 royal metropolis of P&taliputra, fell to his son Sujasas, 
 or, according- to others, to Sampadi, the son of Ku- 
 nala.* Kashmir was seized by Jaloka, another son 
 of Asoka, who reverted to the Brahmanical faith; 
 Kunala established himself in the Panj&b ; and a 
 fourth son, whom the Burmese call JRahanman, be- 
 came king* of Ava.f But though India was thus 
 politically dismembered, it was strongly united in the 
 bands of one common faith. The large monastic 
 establishments instituted by Asoka, possessed all the 
 learning and much of the wealth of the land. Their 
 influence was everywhere superior to the power of the 
 king; and the people deposed and accepted their 
 monarchs at the bidding of the monks.J The power 
 
 * Bumouf's Buddhisme Indien, p. 430. 
 
 f Prinsep's Useful Tables. 
 
 I See the Maharvanso, for several instances, 
 
120 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 of the Mauryas was overthrown by Pushpamitra, 
 who encountered the Greeks on the Indus during* the 
 reign of Menander. By the advice of a Brahman, 
 whom he had chosen for his family priest, Pushpa- 
 mitra persecuted the Buddhists throughout India.* 
 At Pataliputra on the Ganges, and at Sakala in the 
 Panjab, the monks were massacred, and their mon- 
 asteries were overturned. But Buddhism was too 
 strongly rooted in the soil to be thrown down by the 
 passing whirlwind of a single king's persecution; 
 and in little more than a century later we know that 
 it grew more flourishing than before, under the 
 fostering care of the holy Ndgdrjuna and Milindu, 
 Raja of Sakala. 
 
 2. During this period the Greek sovereigns of 
 Bactria extended their dominions to the south of 
 the Indian Caucasus; and as they were gradually 
 dispossed of their Turanian territories by the Scy- 
 thian Tochari, they took from the weaker Indians 
 the whole of the Kabul valley and western districts 
 of the Panjab. Menander even is said to have pushed 
 his conquests as far as the Isamus or Isan, a small 
 stream which flows between the Jumna and Ganges. 
 The Buddhist faith of Menander's subjects is proved 
 by the contention of eight different cities for por- 
 tions of his relics, over which Tombs (or Topes) were 
 erected. f This story is similar to that which has 
 been already related regarding Buddha's remains, 
 
 * Burnouf, p. 431. * 
 
 f Bayer, Historia Reg-ni Grsecorum Bactriani, p. 77. 
 
EISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS. 137 
 
 which were divided amongst the claimants of eight 
 different cities. It may also serve to illustrate the 
 extent of Menander's rule, when we remember the 
 injunction of Buddha that his own remains were to 
 be treated exactly in the same manner as those of a 
 Chakravartti Mqja. Menander therefore must have 
 been a Chakravartti, or supreme monarch ; whose 
 power was sufficient to render himself entirely inde- 
 pendent of all his neighbours. In another work* I 
 have shown from the monogrammatic names of cities, 
 in which his coins were minted, that Menander's rule 
 extended over the whole of the Kabul valley, the 
 Panjab and Sindh, including the capital city of Min- 
 nagara on the Lower Indus. His reign lasted from 
 about 165 to 130 B. c. 
 
 3. Menander was succeeded in his northern do- 
 minions by the Greek Princes Strato and Hippo- 
 stratus ; and in Sindh by the Scythian Mauas. 
 This chief expelled the Greeks from the Panj&b, and 
 confined their power to the modern districts of Kabul 
 and Jelalabad. About 126 B. c. Hermseus, the last 
 Greek Prince of India, became a mere puppet in the 
 hands of the Scythian Kadphises (or Kadaphes) of 
 the KJiordn, tribe. 
 
 4. Mauas was succeeded in the Panjab and in 
 Sindh by the Scythian Azas, who extended his do- 
 minions beyond Jelalabad, while the Kabulian king- 
 dom of the Scythian Kadphizes, was subverted by the 
 
 • Monograms on the Grecian coins of Ariana and India, pub- 
 lished in the Numismatic Chronicle of London. 
 
128 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Parthian Princes Vonones, Spalygis, and Spalirisas ; 
 during- the reign and perhaps with the assistance of 
 the Arsacidan king-, Mithridates the Great. But it 
 was wrested from them hy the Scythian Azilisas, the 
 successor of Azas ; and about 80 B. c, the whole of 
 Khorasan, Afghanistan, Sindh, and the Panjab, were 
 united under the dominion of some nameless king 
 of the Sakas, or Sacse Scythians.* 
 
 5. A few years later the Sakas were dispossessed 
 of their conquests in Afghanistan and the Western 
 Panjab by the Yuchi or Tochdri Scythians, who, 
 with their leader Kadphises, of the Hieu-mi tribe, 
 were at once converted to Buddhism. The posses- 
 sions of the Sakas on the Lower Indus were seized 
 by the Ujain Prince, Vikramaditya, who after his 
 conquest assumed the title of Sdkdri, or foe-of-the- 
 Sakas. By these losses the Sakas were confined to 
 the south-western parts of Khorasan; which, after 
 them, was called Sakasthan (or Sacastene), a name 
 which still exists in the modern Sistan. 
 
 6. The Hieumi Prince, Kadphises, was followed 
 by Kanishka of the EJioran^ tribe, who is celebrated 
 
 * All these details of the Greek princes of Kabul and the 
 Panjab have been derived principally from coins. They will be 
 treated at full length in my forthcoming work of " Alexander's, 
 Successors in the East." 
 
 t The name of Khorasan is most probably due to the occupa- 
 tion of the country by the Khoran tribe : Khorasdn or Xhorastdn 
 would be the country of the Khor tribe, as Sacassene or Sdhastan 
 was that of the Sakas. 
 
RISE AND PALL OP THE IN DO-SCYTHIANS. 129 
 
 as one of the most eminent patrons of Buddhism, 
 His coins, which are now discovered in very great 
 numbers over the whole of Afghanistan and the 
 Panjab, attest the wide spread of his dominions ; and 
 their common occurrence in Rajputana and the North 
 Western Provinces of India perhaps shows the extent 
 of his conquests. He subdued the valley of Kashmir, 
 and there founded a town named after himself which 
 is still called Kampur or Kanikpur. * For the 
 honour of his religion he erected numerous Topes, 
 of which the most magnificent is still standing in the 
 Khaibur Pass beyond Peshawar.j - Another of his 
 Topes at Manikyala was opened by General Court j 
 and its deposits form one of the most interesting dis- 
 coveries that have yet been made in the archaeology 
 of India. At ten feet above the ground level, 
 General Court obtained a stone box covered with a 
 flat slab, which on its under surface bore an inscrip- 
 tion of nine lines in the Ariano-Pali character.^ 
 The published copy is very corrupt ; but through the 
 kindness of Professor Lassen I possess a more 
 correct transcript, from which I have been able to 
 read with certainty the name of Maharaja Kanishka 
 of the Cfushang tribe. The second line contains a 
 figured date which I have not yet been able to read, 
 but which looks like either 520 or 120. Inside the 
 
 * Raja Tarangini, i. 168. 
 
 t Hwan Thsang, in the Appendix to the Fo-ltrve-M. 
 \ See the account of this disoovery in Prinsep's Journal, vol. iii. 
 p. 558. 
 
 K 
 
130 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 stone box were found three cylindrical caskets of 
 copper, silver, and gold, each containing- a certain 
 number of coins. The copper casket held eight 
 copper coins ; the silver casket held seven silver 
 coins ; and the gold casket held four gold coins. 
 On the lid of the stone box also there were four 
 copper coins. The gold coins and all the copper 
 ones, excepting three, belong to Kanerki or Ka- 
 nishka himself; two of the copper coins are of his 
 predecessor Kadphises Hieumi, and the third is of 
 Kadphizes or Kadaphes Khoran. The seven silver 
 coins all belong to the last years of the Roman 
 Republic, from B, c. 73 to 33, * and they serve to 
 establish the period of Kanishka's reign in the 
 latter end of the first century before the Christian 
 era. 
 
 7. At this time the Eastern Panjab was governed 
 by Milindu, Eaja of Sakala or Sangala, one of the 
 most learned disputants in India. He had chal- 
 lenged the Buddhist Arhats of Sakala to argue with 
 him, and had silenced them all. t The discomfited 
 monks retired to Rahkhita-talo or Rakshita-Tal in 
 the Hemawanta region ; where after a lapse of twelve 
 years they were joined by the youthful Nagasena or 
 Nagarjuna, whom they persuaded to undertake the 
 difficult task of coping with Kaja Milindu in argu- 
 
 * Journal des Savans, Fevrier, 1836, p. 74. The battle of 
 Actium was fought in B.C. 31. 
 
 t Tumour's Pali Annals, in Prinsep's Journal, v. 533 ; also 
 Colonel Low. Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, xvii. 616. 
 
RISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS. 131 
 
 ment. The challenge was accepted by Nagasena, 
 and the whole body of monks returned to Sdgala 
 which once more " glittered with the yellow robes" 
 of the Buddhist fraternities. The disputation, which 
 was held in the king's palace in the presence of ten 
 selected Sthaviras, ended in the immediate conversion 
 of Milindu to Buddhism, and in his ultimate ordination 
 as a monk. 
 
 8. The teaching of Nagarjuna extended through 
 the reigns of Milindu of Sakala, and of Kanishka of 
 Kashmir.* By his influence five hundred Kashmir- 
 ian Arhans were deputed to Tibet for the propaga- 
 tion of Buddhism, and to the enthusiasm created by 
 his example must be attributed the contemporary ex- 
 tension of the Buddhist religion to the island of 
 Java at the beginning of the Christian era, when 
 twenty thousand families arrived from India.f The 
 conversion of the Javanese to the faith of Sakya is 
 attested by the numerous Buddhist remains, which 
 still exist on the island. 
 
 9. About twenty years later, when the sophist 
 Apollonius visited India, the dominion of the Par- 
 thian Bardanes extended to the banks of the Indus.J 
 
 * Csoma, Tibetan Grammar, p. 182, states that Nagarjuna was 
 born in B.C. 93. The Eaja Tarangini places him 500 years after 
 the death of Buddha, and makes him a contemporary of the Indo- 
 Scythian Kanishka. 
 
 f Klaproth, in Prinsep's Useful Tables, places this event between 
 the years 24 — 57, a.d. Baffles, Java ii. 69, places it in a.d. 10. 
 The difference is only a few years. 
 
 J Philostratus, ii. 18. Tacitus, Ann. xi. 10. 
 
132 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 A petty chief named Phraortes reigned at Taxila ; 
 and a more powerful but nameless sovereign pos- 
 sessed all the country between the Hyphasis and the 
 Ganges. The whole story of this sophist's travels is 
 so full of fables that it is difficult to know what to 
 believe and what to reject ; but from the agreement 
 of several passages, it may be inferred that both of 
 the Indian king's were Buddhists. The Gangetic prince 
 abstained from animal food, * and his Sages (that is 
 wise men, or Bauddhas) let their hair grow long, 
 wore white mitres on their heads, and had no clothing 
 save short tunics. This is an exact description of 
 the Bodhisatwa, or upper class of Buddhist monks, 
 who throughout the Sanchi bas-reliefs are repre- 
 sented seated in abstract meditation with long hair, 
 covered by a low conical cap or mitre, and with no 
 clothing save the kilt or sanghati. 
 
 10. For the next four centuries the history of India 
 is almost a blank ; and for this dark period we must 
 be guided by the feeble glimmer of a few slight 
 notices preserved by the Chinese. From them we 
 learn that the Yuchi or Scythian Tochdri retained 
 their power in Northern India until the beginning 
 of the third century of our era.f They abstained from, 
 wine and from animal food, and practised the law of 
 Buddha. The prevalence of Buddhism at this period 
 is also attested by several classical authors, of whom 
 
 * Philostratus, iii. 15-26. 
 
 f Until A. r. 222. See Chinese account of India, in Prinsep's 
 Journal, vi. 63. 
 
RISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHIAN8. 133 
 
 Klemens of Alexandria is the most precise. He 
 flourished from 180 to 230 a.d., when the power of 
 the Yuchi was already on the decline. The Brahmans 
 are said to have been worshippers of Herakles and 
 Pan ; while the Se^voi (Sramanas or Monks) and the 
 Sejuvoi (Srdmands or Nuns) were distinguished by the 
 worship of certain pyramids which they believed to 
 contain the bones of some God.* This is a most 
 accurate description of the Buddhist fraternities, with 
 their adoration for Topes or Chaityas, which con- 
 tained relics of Buddha, or of some of his more 
 eminent disciples and followers. 
 
 11. About a century later (a. d. 270-303), the 
 learned Porphyrius divided the Gymnosophists (or 
 half-naked philosophers of India) into two classes, the 
 Brachmanes and 8amancei : the former being 1 a family 
 or tribe, the latter a mixture of all classes.f The 
 Samanesi or Sramanas shaved their heads, wore 
 nothing but a stole or tunic, abandoned their families 
 and property, and lived together in colleges outside 
 the city walls. Their time was spent in holy conver- 
 sation, and at the sound of a bell they assembled for 
 prayers ; for the monks no longer begged their daily 
 bread, but each received his dish of rice from the 
 
 * "Ltfjovat Tiva irvpafuSav^rjv oarta tivos Qeou. 
 
 f E'£ kvus yap irarpos kcu filas juj/rpos iravres Siuyovai ; that is, 
 the Brahmans — but of the Sramanas, he says, "Zafiavatui B£ ovk elel 
 tov yivovs avT&v, ctXX' in iravros rov tUv 'IvEuiv tdvovs, wo 
 kipa/xty, trvveiXeyfievoi. 
 
184 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 king-. Colonel Sykes* has already remarked the 
 close agreement of this description with the account 
 of the Chinese pilgrim Fa Hian, who travelled 
 through India just one century after the death 
 of Porphyrius. But the details given by Por- 
 phyrius become the more valuable, when we know 
 that his own religion and philosophical principles 
 were almost the same as those of the Indian Budd- 
 hists. He believed in one Supreme Being ; and held 
 that " Reason " or Intellect (Buddha) was superior 
 to " Nature " (Dharma) ; for by reason we are uplifted 
 towards the Deity, while we are only degraded by 
 our natural appetites and material desires. Man's 
 chief object therefore should be to free himself from 
 all outward and sensual influences. With this view 
 Porphyrius rejected animal food, and refrained from 
 making material offerings to the Supreme Being, 
 because all material objects are unclean. Like the 
 Buddhist also Porphyrius recognized four degrees or 
 classes of virtue, of which the lowest was political 
 virtue, or the moral goodness acquired by temperance 
 and moderation of the passions. The next grade was 
 purifying virtue, in which man has entirely conquered 
 all human affections. In the third grade man is 
 wholly influenced by Reason, and more and more 
 resembles the Deity, until at last he has acquired 
 such perfection that he becomes " one with the one 
 
 * Notes on Ancient India, in Journal of the Royal Asiatic 
 Society. 
 
RISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHlANS. 135 
 
 Supreme Being-."* These principles have so much 
 in common with the doctrines of Buddhism, that we 
 can only account for the coincidence by supposing" 
 that Porphyrius must have possessed the most ample 
 and correct details of the religious beliefs and philo- 
 sophical speculations which then prevailed in India. 
 We need therefore no longer wonder at the ac- 
 curacy with which he has described the daily dis- 
 cipline and outward observances of the Buddhist 
 monks. The learned Pagan was in fact a European 
 Buddhist. 
 
 12. The travels of Palladius and of the Thebsean 
 Scholastikos only preceded the pilgrimage of Fa Hian 
 by a few years. The former, it is true, did not reach 
 India ; but he could have obtained much information 
 regarding the Indians from the merchants of Egypt 
 and of Persia ; and he gives at some length the 
 account of Scholastikos, who was detained for six 
 years as a prisoner in the pepper districts of Malabar. 
 The result of his information is given in some imagi- 
 nary conversations between Alexander the Great and 
 the Indian Sage Dandamis; in which the Indian 
 declares that "God, the great king, causes injury to 
 no man ; but gives light, peace, and life, a human 
 body and soul ; and that God was his master and 
 only Lord." This sage Dandimis was therefore a 
 monotheistic Buddhist, as indeed might be inferred 
 from his name which is evidently a compound of 
 
 * C. P. Mason: Article' Porphyrius, in Dr. Smith's New- 
 Biographical Dictionary. 
 
136 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Dharma in the Pali form of Dhama ; perhaps Dha- 
 madhdni, the " receptacle of Dharma." 
 
 13. The prevalence of Buddhism about this period 
 is further proved by several passages in the Brah- 
 manical Dramas and in the Institutes of Manu. The 
 uncertain date of these compositions, however, some- 
 what lessens their value as precise authorities. The 
 Mrichhakati, which is the oldest Hindu Drama now 
 extant, exhibits "not only absolute toleration, but a 
 kind of public recognition" * of the Bauddha faith, by 
 the appointment of a Buddhist ascetic as chief of all 
 the Vihars of Ujain. That virtuous city could not 
 " tolerate even the death of an animal." This play 
 is of later date than the Hindu code, for the Judge 
 in the &th act quotes Manu f ; and as Manu himself 
 mentions nuns, or " female anchorites of an heretical 
 religion,";]; it is certain that the Buddhist faith was 
 still honoured and flourishing when these works were 
 composed. There is internal evidence that the code 
 of Manu is posterior to the Ramayana and the Ma- 
 habharata in the mention of " heroic poems/'§ which 
 should be read at the celebration of obsequial rites in 
 honour of ancestors ; and in the allusions to image- 
 worship, || which is not mentioned either in the Ra- 
 
 * Wilson's Hindu Theatre, vol. i. p. viii. 
 
 f The Mrichhakati, or " Toy-cart," act. viii. Wilson's Hindu 
 Theatre, i. 140. 
 
 t Haughton's Laws of Manu, viii. 363. 
 
 § Haughton's Laws of Manu, iii. 232. 
 
 | Wilson. Preface to Vishnu Puvan, p. xiiL 
 
RISE AND FALL OF THE INDO-SCYTHIANS. 137 
 
 mayana or Mahabharata. Bentley assigned the Ka- 
 mayana to the fourth century of our era, and the 
 Mahabharata to the eighth century or even later. 
 But the latter date is certainly too low; for the 
 Great War is mentioned in a copper plate inscription 
 of a date not later than the first half * of the sixth 
 century, along with the names of Vyasa, Parasara, 
 and Yudhishtara. Bentley's method of compression 
 is in fact too much like the Prokrustean bed of Da- 
 mastes, into which the large were squeezed, and the 
 small were stretched until they fitted. The composi- 
 tion of the Mahabharata cannot therefore be dated 
 later than the beginning- of the fifth century, and it 
 should no doubt be placed even earlier ; perhaps about 
 A. D. 200 to 300. The code of Manu is a mere com- 
 pilation, filled with the most contradictory injunc- 
 tions ; but in its present state it is certainly later than 
 the great epics, and may be dated about A. D. 400. 
 
 * This valuable inscription is the property of Captain Ellis 
 The date is thus stated : Idkhitam samvatsara satadwaye chatur- 
 dasa — " written in the year two hundred and fourteen." As the 
 characters are similar to those of the Gupta inscriptions, the date 
 is most probably of the Gupta era, or 319 + 214 == 533, a. d. If 
 of the Saka era, the date will be 78 + 214 = 292, a. d. ;. but the 
 characters are not so old as those of the early Gupta inscriptions of 
 A. D. 400. 
 
138 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE GUPTA DYNASTY.— DECLINE AND FALL OF 
 BUDDHISM. 
 
 1. At the period of Fa Hian's pilgrimage, the Gupta 
 dynasty occupied the throne of Magadha. Their 
 dominions extended from Nepal to the Western 
 Ghats,* and from the Indus to the mouths of the 
 Ganges. The family was established by Maharaja 
 Gupta, in 319 a. d., which became the first year 
 of the Gupta era. This epoch is not mentioned in 
 the Allahabad inscription of Samudra Gupta ; but it 
 is used in the Sanchi and Udayagiri inscriptions of 
 Chandra Gupta ; in the Kuhaon Pillar inscription of 
 Skanda Gupta; and in the Eran Pillar inscription 
 of Budha Gupta. It is besides especially mentioned 
 by Abu Bihan,f who, in his account of Indian eras, 
 identifies the Gcpta-kal, or Gupta era, with the 
 Ballaba-kAl, or era of Balabhi, which commenced 
 
 * The Western Ghats are called Sainhddri ; and the inscription 
 on the Allahabad pillar records Samudra Gupta's influence over 
 that country. 
 
 t M. Reinaud : Fragments Arabes et Persans inedits relatifs a 
 l'lnde, pp. 138-143. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 139 
 
 in A. D. 319. These eras are mentioned no less than 
 three times by Abu Rihan ; and each time he has 
 identified them as starting from the same date. But 
 it appears to me that the most important of these 
 passages must either be corrupt or obscure, for the 
 translation given by M. Reinaud makes the epoch of 
 the Guptas commence from the date of their exter- 
 mination ! If this is a coi'rect translation there can 
 be little doubt that the text of Abu Rihan must be 
 erroneous ; for we know positively that the Guptas 
 were reigning during the fifth and sixth centuries 
 of our era. But I will venture to suggest a different 
 translation of this important passage, by which the 
 error is got rid of without any alteration of the 
 text : — 
 
 \,J\ \j\p\ Uy JJ U J& JS c^/ UU 
 
 " With regard to the Gupta Kal (or era of the Guptas), the 
 name was that of a wicked J and powerful family ; whose epoch 
 became extinct with themselves; and truly Ballaba was after them j 
 for the beginning of their era is the the same as (that of ) the 
 the last j (namely) 241 of the SXka-kIl." 
 
 2. The underlined passage in the original text is 
 thus translated by M. Reinaud :* " Et l'ere qui porte 
 leur nom est l'epoque de leur extermination j" but 
 * Fragments, p. 143. 
 
140 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the literal translation appears to be, " and then 
 became extinct along with their epoch," which agrees 
 with the version that I have given above. The 
 statement made in M. Reinaud's version is so extra- 
 ordinary that, even without any direct proofs of its 
 inaccuracy, I would have set it aside as erroneous. 
 The era of the Seleukidge began with the foundation 
 of the Syrian empire by Seleukos ; the Christian era 
 is dated from the establishment of Christianity ; and 
 the era of the Guptas without doubt commenced with 
 the settlement of their own dynasty. For the Guptas, 
 as I have mentioned before, date their inscriptions in 
 an era of their own ; which, though not so named by 
 them, was actually a Gupta-kdl, and must, therefore, 
 have been called such by the people. 
 
 3. The direct evidence of the period when the 
 Guptas flourished is derived from the Chinese. In 
 A. D. 428, the king of Kapila was named Yuegai, or 
 " moon-beloved," which is a synonyme of Chandra 
 Gupta, or " moon-cherished." In A. B. 502, the 
 king of India was named Keu-to, that is Gutto, the 
 Pali form of the Sanskrit Gupta. Lastly, Hwan- 
 Thsang* names five Princes of Magadha who 
 flourished previous to the conquest of the country 
 by Siladitya, in the following order :— 
 
 Lo-kia-lo-a-yi-to, 
 
 or 
 
 Lagraditya. 
 
 Fo-tho-kiu-to, 
 
 or 
 
 Budha Gupta, 
 
 Tha-ka-ta-kiu-to, 
 
 or 
 
 Taltta Gupta. 
 
 Pho-lo-a-yi-to, 
 
 or 
 
 Baladitya. 
 
 Fa-che-lo, 
 
 or 
 
 Vajra. 
 
 * Fo-hve-hi. 
 
 , Appendix. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 
 
 141 
 
 4. Now Siladitya died between 642 and 648 (say 
 in 645), and as he reigned sixty years, his accession 
 must have taken place in A. D. 585 ; and his conquest 
 of Magadha may be dated about A. D. 600. The 
 chronology of the Guptas as derived from all sources 
 will then stand thus : — * 
 
 Names. 
 
 TlTlES. 
 
 Gupta 
 Era. 
 
 A.D. 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 41 
 
 61 
 81 
 111 
 121 
 133 
 161 
 191 
 221 
 251 
 281 
 
 319 
 340 
 360 
 380 
 400 
 430 
 440 
 452 
 480 
 510 
 540 
 570 
 600 
 
 
 
 * III. Chandra Gupta 1st 
 
 * IV. Samudra Gupta . . 
 
 * V. Chandra Gupta 2nd 
 
 * VI. Kumara Gupta .... 
 
 * VII. Skanda Gupta .... 
 VIII 
 
 XII Va jra 
 
 
 Vikram&ditya .... 
 
 Kramaditya .... 
 Lagrdditya f . . . . 
 
 
 
 Conquest of Silt 
 
 
 
 5. The stars placed against the names in this 
 
 • The dates obtained from various sources are : For Chandra 
 Gupta Vikramaditya, 82 (Udayag-iri inscription), and 93 (Sanchi 
 inscription), equivalent to a.d. 401 and 412, from Jain authorities 
 a.d. 409 ; and from Chinese authorities a.d. 428 — for Skanda 
 Gupta — his death in 133, or a.d. 452, as stated on the Kuhaon 
 pillar ; for Budha Gupta 165, or A.d. 484, as given in the Eran 
 pillar inscription. 
 
 t Or Lokaditya, 
 
142 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 table denote that coins have been discovered of each 
 of those princes ; and it is from coins alone that I 
 have ascertained that Baladitya was named Nara 
 Gupta. The chronological table has been framed 
 upon the following- data. 
 
 1st. The power of the Indo-Scythians did not 
 begin to decline until the time of the later Hans in 
 China, whose dynasty was only established in A. d. 
 222. During the latter half of the third century 
 their power was on the decline, and may be supposed 
 to have been finally overthrown by Gupta in A. D. 
 319. There are great numbers of gold coins of Indo- 
 Scythian type with corrupt Greek and Indian legends 
 which can only be attributed to this dynasty. 
 
 2nd. A short inscription of Chandra Gupta, at 
 Udayagiri, is .dated in the year 82 ; and a second of 
 the same prince, at Sanchi, is dated in the year 93. 
 These dates of the Gupta era are equivalent to A. D. 
 401 and 412, which agree with the Chinese date 
 of A. D. 428* for Yue-gai. But Chandra Gupta on 
 his coins takes the title of Vihramaditya, and in the 
 Agni Purana,f it is said that Vihrama, the son of 
 Gadharupa, should ascend the throne of Malawa 
 seven hundred and fifty-three years after the expia- 
 tion of Chanakya. This event I have already placed 
 in B.C. 325, from which, deducting 753 years, we 
 
 * This is the date given in the Chinese account of India, in 
 Prinsep's Journal, vi. 665 ; but Des Guignes, i. 45, says a.d. 
 408. 
 
 f Prinsep's Journal, iv. 688. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 143 
 
 obtain A. D. 428 for the date of Vikrama of Malwa. 
 Colonel Tod also quotes a Jain inscription of Chandra 
 Gupta, dated either in A. D. 370 or 409,* in which 
 he is styled Avanti-ndth, or " lord of Ujain," which 
 was the capital of Malwa. Here then we have a 
 Vikrama and a Chandra Gupta both king's of Malwa 
 at the same time : two statements which can only be 
 reconciled by supposing them to be the same person 
 under different names or titles. This supposition is 
 confirmed by the coins of Chandra Gupta, on the 
 reverses of which we find that he took the titles of 
 Vikrama and Vikramaditya. A cave inscription at 
 Udayagiri of the Samvat year 1093, or A. D. 1036, 
 couples the name of Chandra Gupta with the king- 
 dom of Vikramaditya (Vikramaditya Itdjyarn). In 
 the Raja Tarangini also it is mentioned that Matri- 
 g-upta was placed on the throne of Kashmir by Vikra- 
 maditya, King of Ujain. According to my corrected 
 chronology of the Raja Tarangini, this happened in 
 A. D. 430. The Satrunjaya Mahatmyaf also places 
 the third Vikramaditya in Samvat 466, or A. d. 409. 
 From this accumulation of evidence it seems to me 
 certain that a Chandra Gupta, with the title of 
 Vikramaditya, was the sovereign of Malwa in the 
 early part of the fifth century of our era. 
 
 * See Transactions Roy. As. Soc, pp. 140-211, where Colonel 
 Tod, by some inadvertence, gives both 427 and 466 Samvat as the 
 date of this inscription. 
 
 t Wilford : Researches As. Soc. Bengal, is. 156 ; and Wilson : 
 Researches As. Soc. Bengal, xv. 39, note. 
 
144 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 8rd. The date of Skanda Gupta's death, which is 
 found upon the Kuhaon Pillar, is the year 133.* 
 No era is stated ; but it must of course be that era 
 which was used by the (f royal race of Guptas," of 
 which he is said to have been born, and which could 
 only have been the Gupta-kdl, or Gupta era. His 
 death, therefore, occured in 319+133=452 a. d., as 
 given in my table. 
 
 4th. The date of Budha Gupta has been deter- 
 mined by the inscription at Eran,f which records the 
 erection of a pillar in the year 165, or a. b. 484. 
 An inspection of the table will show how well this 
 date agrees with the period which must be assigned 
 to Budha Gupta on the authority of Hwan Thsang-; 
 according to whom Fo-tho-kiu-to, or Budha Gupta, 
 was the fourth prince prior to Siladitya's conquest 
 of Magadha in A. D. 600. The coins of Budha Gupta 
 may be seen in Plate II., figs. 55, 57, of Mr. 
 Thomas's essay on the Sah kings of Surastra. I can 
 confirm the reading of the legend which he gives 
 with some hesitation as Budha Gupta. I procured 
 five of these silver coins from a traveller at Benares, 
 of which I have given away four ; but I still possess 
 sealing-wax impressions of them all, from which 
 I have been able to recognize the engraved specimens. 
 
 5th. The coins of Nara Gupta Baladitya are 
 scarce. Of two specimens in gold that have been 
 in my own possession, I .still have impressions ; but 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, vii. 37. 
 f Prinsep's Journal, vii. 634. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 145 
 
 the type may be seen in Fig. 22, Plate xviii. of 
 Wilson's " Ariana Antiqua." On the obverse, under 
 the Raja's arm, is written Nara, and on the reverse, 
 Baladitya. The small silver coin Fig'. 19, Plate 
 xv. of the same work, most probably also belong's to 
 Nara. I read the leg-end : — 
 
 Paramadhi Raja Sri Nara-Gupta Baladitya. 
 
 6. As the correct determination of the epoch of the 
 Gupta dynasty is of the first importance to the 
 relig-ious as well as to the political history of ancient 
 India, it becomes necessary to examine the chronology 
 which Mr. E. Thomas, with much critical skill and 
 ingenuity, has proposed for the Sah kings of Gujrat 
 and the Gupta princes of Magadha.* We agree 
 as to the facts, but differ in our deductions. The 
 facts are these : — 
 
 1st. The beautiful silver coins of the Sah kings 
 are all dated in the fourth century of some unknown 
 era. 
 
 2nd. The silver coins of Kumara Gupta and of 
 Skanda Gupta are evident and undoubted copies of 
 those of the Sah kings, and therefore these two 
 princes must have reigned at a later date than the 
 last of the Sah kings. 
 
 7. In making his deductions from these facts, Mr. 
 
 * See Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol. xii., " On the 
 Dynasty of the Sah Kings of Surashtra ; " by Edward Thomas, 
 esq. Bengal Civil Service ; a most valuable contribution to the 
 ancient history of India. 
 
146 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Thomas has based all his calculations on M. Rei- 
 naud's translation of the passage in Abu Rihan, which 
 gives the year 319. A.B., for the beginning- of the 
 Gupta era, and also for the final extinction of the 
 Gupta dynasty. In adopting this version of Abu 
 Rihan's statement, Mr. Thomas is obliged to search 
 for some other epochs as the starting points from 
 which to count the dates of the Surashtra and Gupta 
 coins. The earlier era which he uses for this pur- 
 pose is that of Sri Harsha,* which was entirely un- 
 known until the publication of M. Reinaud's extracts 
 from Abu Rihan. This era dates from B. c. 457; 
 and the epoch of the Sah kings of Surashtra is thus 
 fixed between 157 and 57 b. c.f 
 
 8. Between the Sah kings and the Guptas, Mr. 
 Thomas interposes the Indo- Scythians, whose con- 
 quest he places in 26 B. C, and he proposes to count 
 the date of Chandra Gupta's inscription at Sanchrj; 
 from 78 A. B., which is the well-known commence- 
 ment of the Saka era. This will place the reign of 
 Chandra Gupta in 78 + 93 = 171 A. b., and the reign 
 of Buddha Gupta in 78 + 165 = 243 A. B., after 
 whom there is time for the reigns of a few more 
 princes before the asserted extinction of the family 
 in 319 A. b. 
 
 9. My reasons for assigning the Guptas to a 
 later period have been given already ; and I will 
 
 * See Mr. Thomas's Essay, p. 43. 
 t See Mr. Thomas's Essay, p. 45. 
 X See Mr. Thomas's Essay, p. 5. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 147 
 
 now state as briefly as possible all my objections to 
 Mr. Thomas's chronology. 
 
 1st. According" to the Chinese historians, the power 
 of the Indo-Scythians remained in full force until 222 
 A. d. ; after which it began to decline. This state- 
 ment is supported by Ptolemy the geographer, who 
 between a. d. 140-160, assigns the whole valley of 
 the Indus, including Sirastrene, or Surashtra, to the 
 Indo-Scythians. 
 
 2nd. Samudra Gupta, according to the Allahabad 
 and Bhitari inscriptions, was the fourth prince of the 
 Gupta dynasty, and if we allow twenty years to each 
 reign, Samudra will date from 60 to 80 of the Gupta 
 era, or from 138 to 158 A. D. But in the Allahabad 
 pillar inscription, Samudra mentions the Shdhdn-shah 
 (that is, one of the Sassanian kings of Persia) as his 
 contemporary, whose dynasty did not attain the 
 throne until a. d. 223 ; and as in his account of the 
 tributary and conquered provinces he omits Magadha, 
 Surashtra, and Ujjayani, it has been inferred by 
 James Prinsep, * and is admitted by Mr. Thomas 
 himself, that these provinces must have formed his 
 own proper dominion. But as Sirastrene belonged 
 to the Indo-Scythians at the very date that must be 
 assigned to Samudra by Mr. Thomas's chronology, 
 we must either reject his scheme altogether, or con- 
 clude, that both the Chinese historian and the Alex- 
 andrian geographer were in error. 
 
 * Journal vi. 975. 
 
148 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 3rd. The independence of the native princes of 
 Gujrat between 157 and 57 B. c. is completely at 
 variance with the Greek accounts of Menander's con- 
 quest of Sariovstos or Surashtra, between 160 and 
 130 B. C., which is further authenticated by the long- 
 protracted currency of his coins at Barygaza or 
 Baroch. 
 
 4th. The alphabetical characters of the Surashtran 
 coins* are so widely different from those of the 
 Pillar and Rock inscriptions, and at the same time 
 are so much similar to those of the Guptas, that it is 
 impossible not to conclude that there must have been 
 a long- interval between Asoka and the independent 
 Sah kings, and an almost immediate succession of the 
 Sah king-s by the Guptas. But Mr. Thomas's pro- 
 posed chronology exactly reverses this conclusion, by 
 making the interval between Asoka's death and the 
 earliest date of the Surashtra coins not more than 
 sixty-five years, while the interval between the last of 
 the Sah kings and the rise of the Guptas is one 
 hundred and thirty-five years, or more than double 
 the other. 
 
 * Another evidence in favour of the later date of the Sah king's 
 of Gujrat is furnished by the gateway inscriptions at Sanchi. 
 These date in the early part of the first century of our era (see No. 
 190) ; and though they show the nearest approach to the forms 
 of the Sah alphabet, yet the latter is certainly posterior to the 
 Sanchi inscriptions. This result agrees with the period which I 
 have assigned to them, from a.d. 222 (the beginning of the 
 Indo-Scythian decline) to a.d. 380, the accession of Samudra 
 Gupta. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 149 
 
 5th. The author of the Periplus of the Erythrsean 
 sea, who lived between 117 and 180 A. v., states that 
 ancient drachmas of Apollodotus and of Menander 
 were then current at Barygaza.* This prolonged 
 currency of the Greek drachmas points directly to the 
 period of the Indo- Scythian rule; for though we 
 have some hundreds of their gold coins, and many 
 thousands of their copper coins, yet only one solitary 
 specimen of their silver coinage has } r et been dis- 
 covered. The Indo-Grecian silver probably con- 
 tinued current until after 222 A. D., when the Indo- 
 Scythian power began to decline. From this period, 
 about 250 A. D., I would date the independence 
 of the Sah kings, and the issue of their silver 
 coinage, which was a direct copy in weight, and 
 partly in type, from the Philopater drachmas of 
 Apollodotus. 
 
 9.* We have thus a continued series of silver cur- 
 rency in Gujrat for upwards of six hundred years, 
 from Menander's conquest, in B. c. 150-140, to Budha 
 Gupta's death, in about 510 A. D. From this period 
 thick silver pieces of the same type and of the same 
 value, but one half more in weight, were issued by the 
 Balabhi kings down to the Mahomedan conquest. 
 In the more precious metal the coinage of the Indo 
 Scythians was immediately succeeded by the golden 
 dinars of the Guptas, whose earliest pieces are almost 
 
 * Hudson, Geogr. Min., i. 87—" Vixit, teste Suida, Hadriani, 
 Marci et Antonini temporibus;" that is, -between 117 and 180 
 a.d., or about 160 a.d. 
 
150 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 exact copies of the well-known Ardokro coins of 
 Kanishka and his successors.* 
 
 10. The importance of establishing the correet era 
 of the Guptas becomes apparent when we learn that 
 Chandra Gupta was most probably one of the last 
 paramount sovereigns of India who professed the 
 Buddhist faith. The inscriptions of his reign, which 
 still exist at Sanchi and at Udayagiri, confirm the 
 account of the contemporary traveller Fa-Hian ; that 
 Buddhism, though honoured and flourishing, was cer- 
 tainly on the decline, and that temples of the Brah- 
 mans were rising on all sides. The earliest inscrip- 
 tion of Chandra Gupta is dated in 82 of the Gupta 
 era, or A. d. 401. It consists of two lines carved on 
 a rock tablet at the foot of the Udayagiri hill, which 
 was intended for a longer inscription. There is room 
 for five more lines ; and, as no event is commemorated, 
 it is evident that the record is incomplete. The tablet 
 is placed to the right of the entrance of a cave- 
 temple apparently dedicated to Surya, whose image 
 is represented on each side of the doorway. Immedi- 
 ately to the left of the cave there is a large alto- 
 relievo of the Vardha or Boar Avatar, ten feet and a 
 half in height. The inscription is partially injured by 
 the peeling of the rock on the right hand ; but the 
 
 * See Prinsep, in Journal iv. 629, and Plates XXXVIII. and 
 XXXIX., in which the imitation is clearly developed ; but I was 
 the first to point out to James Prinsep the seated Ardokro on the 
 Indo-Scythian coins, which figure afterwards became the most 
 common reverse of the early Gupta coins. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 151 
 
 date is perfect, and the only part that is completely 
 lost is the name of the Raja who excavated the cave. 
 A fac-simile of the inscription will be found in Plate 
 XXI., No. 200. The following- is a transcript in 
 Roman characters : — 
 
 Siddham samvatsare 82 Sravana-mdm suklehadasya 
 parama-bhattaraka Mahdrdjadhi c h and ra-gupt a pdddnaddtasya 
 Mahdrdja chagaliga potrasya, Maharaja vishnu-dasa putrasya 
 Sanakdiiikasya Mahd (r&ja * * * 
 
 " Finished in the year 82, on the 11th of the bright half 
 of the month of Sravana ; [the cave] of him, bowing to the feet of 
 the paramount, homage-receiving, Supreme Maharaja Chandra- 
 Gdpta, the grandson of Maharaja Chagaliga, the son of 
 Maharaja Vishnu-Dasa, Maharaja (name obliterated) of Sana- 
 
 11. SanaMnika is included by Samudra Gupta 
 amongst his tributary provinces,* but unfortunately 
 the name of its Raja is not given. The position of 
 Sanakanika is, however, now placed beyond all doubt '■> 
 as it must have included Udayagiri, JBhilsa, and 
 Sanchi. It is even possible that SanaMnika may 
 have some connection with the names of Sanchi — 
 Kanakhera. 
 
 12. The Vaishnava faith of this petty royal family 
 
 * Allahabad Pillar inscription, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 973. 
 The name of Chagaliga or Chaglig recalls those of Kutlugh, Togh- 
 lak, and others of undoubted Tartar origin, so strongly, that one 
 can scarcely help assigning this petty family to the Indo-Scythian 
 stock. 
 
152 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 is shown by the name of Vishnu Das, the " slave of 
 Vishnu;" and by the Vaishnava subjects of all the 
 rock sculptures at Udayagiri. The Boar Incarnation 
 of Vishnu has already been mentioned. On the top 
 of the hill there is a colossal figure of Vishnu himself 
 twelve feet in length, reposing 1 on the folds of the 
 serpent Sesha or Ananta, the emblem of eternity. 
 The worship of Vishnu, which then prevailed at 
 Udayagiri, has been supplanted by that of Siva ; and 
 the votaries of the lingam have occupied the cave- 
 temples of Vishnu. In the principal temple, now 
 dedicated to Mahadeo, there is a native inscription on 
 a pillar dated in the Samvat year 1093, or a. d. 1036, 
 in which the votary records his " adoration at the feet 
 of Vishnu."* 
 
 13. The second inscription of Chandra Gupta is 
 carved on one of the railings of the colonnade of the 
 great Tope at Sanchi. It was translated and pub- 
 lished by James Prinsep in 1837 ;-\ but its date wa3 
 not properly ascertained. Since then, Mr. Thomas 
 has satisfactorily shown that the Samvat date is 93 ; 
 but he has failed to see that the day of the month is 
 likewise represented in figures. I have given a fac- 
 simile of this date in Plate XXI., No. 197. It reads 
 S. 93, BhMrapada 14 = " the year 93, the 14th 
 (of the month) Bhadrapada." This inscription records 
 a grant of money by the paramount sovereign Chandra 
 Gupta, through his local agent, to the Sramanas of 
 the Maha-Vihara, or Great Monastery at Sanchi. 
 * Vishnu-pado-nityam. f Journal, vi. 455, 456. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 153 
 
 Prinsep's translation gives the general sense of the 
 text; but, in documents of this kind, it is always 
 desirable to have as literal a version as possible. The 
 opening lines especially have been much abridged ; 
 and, as they are thoroughly Buddhistical in their lan- 
 guage, I will venture to give my own translation of 
 them. 
 
 Ku (la Dhamma) si Mahdvihdre sila-samddki Prajnydguna 
 bhavitendraydya paramapunya kri (fa sramantard) garbhya 
 gatdya sramana-punggavvdsatahdydryya sanghdya. » * • 
 
 " To the followers of Dharma in the Great Monastery, who, by 
 the practice of morality, and by deep meditation on the attributes 
 of wisdom (Prajnd), have subdued their passions, and become dis- 
 tinguished for virtue ; to the Sramanas of the venerable fraternity, 
 pre-eminent in private religious observances (Avasatha)," &c. 
 
 14. Prajnd means " wisdom, understanding," or 
 more literally, " foreknowledge." The author of the 
 Ashta Sahasrika thus addresses Prajna : — 
 
 " Thou mighty object of my worship ! Thou 
 Prajnd ! art the sum of all good qualities ; and 
 Buddha is the Guru of the world. The wise make 
 no distinction between thee and Buddha. He who 
 devoutly serves thee serves the Tathdgata also."* 
 
 The author of the Pujd-hand thus addresses 
 Prajna : — " I make salutation to Prajnd-Devi, who 
 is the Prajnd Pdramitd (Transcendental Wisdom), 
 the Prajnd-rupa (multiform), the Nir-rupa (formless), 
 and the universal mother." 
 
 * Hodgson, pv 123. 
 
154 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 The author of the Sadhana-mala offers his " salu- 
 tation to Prajna-Devi, from whom, in the form of 
 desire, the production of the world was excellently 
 obtained, who is beautiful as the full moon, the 
 mother of Adi Buddha."* And again, " Salutation 
 to Prajna Paramita, the infinite, who, when all was 
 void, was revealed by her own will."t 
 
 15. Prajna or Prajna Devi is deified Nature, or 
 Diva Natura, and the same as Dharma. In the 
 Sanchi inscription her supremacy is acknowledged 
 by Chandra Gupta's belief in the attainment of 
 purity and the subjection of the passions by medita- 
 tion on the attributes of Prajna. The great king 
 was therefore not an orthodox Buddhist, but a 
 heterodox materialist, who held Dharma or material 
 nature as the first person of the Triad. 
 
 16. If James Prinsep's restoration of the text be 
 correct, and I believe that it is so, Chandra Gupta 
 was a most munificent patron as well as a faithful 
 follower of Buddhism. His gift to the Sanchi Tope 
 for its regular illumination, and for the perpetual 
 service of Srdmanas or ascetics, was no less a sum 
 than twenty-five thousand dinars, or 25,000/., equal 
 to two lakhs and a half of rupees. 
 
 17. But the religious belief of Chandra Gupta 
 does not rest solely on the authority of this inscrip- 
 tion ; for, according to the sacred books of the Jains, 
 the last Tirthankara Mahavira is said to have ex- 
 
 * Hodgson, p. 125. 
 f Hodgson, p. 126. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 155 
 
 pounded his twelve dreams to Chandra Gupta, the 
 lord of Avanti or Ujain.* 
 
 18. The same story is related in the Buddha 
 vilasa,f but the dreams are said to have been fourteen, 
 and to have been expounded to Chandra Gupta, the 
 monarch of Ujain, by Bhadra Bahu Muni. From 
 this it may be inferred that the Prince was certainly 
 not a worshipper of the Brahmanical Pantheon ; and 
 as we have seen that he was not an orthodox Budd- 
 hist, we may conclude that his heterodoxy was not 
 very dissimilar from Jainism, which is generally ac- 
 knowledged to have been a sectarian offspring of 
 Buddhism. 
 
 19. But, if my chronology of the Guptas be 
 correct, we have the most clear proof of the Bud- 
 dhist belief of Chandra Gupta in Fa Hian's travels. 
 The Chinese pilgrim left his native land in A. D. 399, 
 and returned to it again in A. D. 415. His visit to 
 Pa-lian-fu, or Pataliputra,^ the capital of the king- 
 dom of Mo-kie-thi, or Magadha, therefore took place 
 in the early part of Chandra Gupta's reign. He de- 
 scribes the city as very large ;§ the people as rich and 
 fond of discussion ; but just in all their dealings. They 
 celebrated Sakya's birthday annually by a procession 
 
 * Transactions Royal Asiatic Society, i. 211 — Colonel Tod. 
 
 t At p. 413 of the same volume, Major Delamaine states the 
 same thing, on the authority of the Buddha Vildsa, a Digambara 
 Jain work. 
 
 I Fu is only the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit putra, a 
 son. 
 
 % Fu-krve-ki, c. xxvii. 
 
156 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 of four-wheeled cars, with little chapels at the four 
 corners, each containing 1 a seated Buddha, with 
 Bodhisatwas standing by him. This festival still 
 survives in the Rath Jattra, or annual procession of 
 Jagannath, which the crafty Brahmans have adopted 
 into their own creed, because it was too popular to 
 be suppressed.* 
 
 20. At the time of Fa Hian's visit Buddhism 
 was the prevailing religion of the Panjab, and of 
 Northern India from Mathura to the mouth of the 
 Ganges. Between the Panjab and Mathura, that is 
 in Brahmavartta Proper, the law of Buddha was not 
 held in honour. f But this was the original seat and 
 stronghold of the Brahmans and their religion ; and 
 its exception by Fa Hian is one amongst the many 
 proofs of the pilgrim's accuracy. Everywhere else 
 Buddhism was honoured and flourishing; the kings 
 were firmly attached to the law, and showed their 
 reverence for the ascetics by taking off their tiaras 
 before them. But at Shachi and at Shewei, in Oudh, 
 the heretical Brahmans had attempted to destroy a 
 sacred nettle and some holy Topes. The very at- 
 tempt shows the increasing power of the Brahmans, 
 and their confident hope of ultimate success. 
 
 31. In the Bhitari Pillar inscription, no mention 
 is made of the religious belief of the first Chandra 
 
 • See note 9 to chapter xxvii. of Mr. Laidlay's translation of 
 the pilgrimage of Fa Hian ; and the concluding chapter of this 
 volume. 
 
 f Fo-kwe-ki, c. xv. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 157 
 
 Gupta, but his son Samudra would appear to have 
 been a strict observer of the Vedas, as he is repre- 
 sented offering' vast sacrifices to the ancient elemental 
 Deities, Indra, Varuna, and Yama.* In his own 
 inscription on the Allahabad Pillar he is also com- 
 pared to Dhanada, Varuna, Indra, and Antaka;f 
 that is, to the Gods of the four elements, earth, water, 
 fire, and air. His son, the second Chandra Gupta, 
 and his grandson Kumara Gupta, are called wor- 
 shippers of the Supreme Bhagavat,;]: whom Dr. 
 Mill identifies with Krishna. But as the Vishnu 
 Purana, which was most probably written in the 
 tenth century ,§ makes no mention of the worship of 
 Krishna, although it gives a long account of his 
 history, the Bhagavat who was worshipped by 
 Chandra and Kumara, must be either Vishnu or 
 Buddha. In his remarks on this inscription, how- 
 ever, Dr. Mill drops Krishna || altogether, and makes 
 Vishnu the object of Chandra's and Kumara's wor- 
 ship. But as Bhagavat is one of the commonest of 
 the many titles of Buddha, the balance of evidence 
 still remains very much inTavour of Chandra Gupta's 
 attachment to Buddhism. It is even possible that 
 Chandra Gupta may have professed Buddhism in the 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, vi. 5. 
 ■\ Prinsep's Journal, vi. 980. 
 t Prinsep's Journal, vi. 5 — parama Bhagavata. 
 § Prinsep's Journal, i. 441— Professor H. H. Wilson says middle 
 of the tenth century. 
 
 || Prinsep's Journal, vi. 7. 
 
158 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 early part of his reign,* and Vaishnavism in the 
 latter part ; for the difference between the two is 
 more nominal than real. Indeed the mention of 
 Vishnu himself would no more invalidate the Bud- 
 dhism of Chandra Gupta than the Tantric pictures 
 of Mahadeva and Kali can disprove the present 
 Buddhism of the Tibetans and Nepalese. The 
 exoteric or outward worship of Chaityas, and of 
 statues of Buddha, no doubt remained unchanged; 
 but the esoteric or philosophical speculations of the 
 learned were continually changing 1 ; and the com- 
 paratively pure theism and practical morality of 
 Buddha were first encumbered with the mild quietism 
 of the Vaishnavas, and at last deformed by the wild 
 extravagances of the Tantrists. 
 
 22. Skanda Gupta, the grandson of Chandra Gupta, 
 ascended the throne of Magadha about A. d. 440. He 
 inherited the vast dominions of his family, including 
 the whole of Northern India, from Gujrat to the 
 mouth of the Ganges ; and though his reign was dis- 
 turbed by the rebellion of a minister, yet he left his 
 kingdom undivided to his successor. Of his religious 
 faith there is no doubt ; for, in the Bhitari Pillar 
 inscription, f he is stated to have possessed " a clear 
 insight into the wisdom of the Tantras." The mys- 
 teries of the Tantrikas were secret and incommunic- 
 able. They taught formulas of incantation and 
 
 * His gift to the Sanchi Chaitya is dated Anno Owptm 93, or 
 a. d. 412 ; and we know that he was reigning so late as a. d. 428. 
 t Prinsrp's Journal, vi. 6. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 169 
 
 mystic charms for the attainment of superhuman 
 power. They degraded the material worship of the 
 reproductive powers of Nature by a sensual and 
 obscene interpretation, in which Siva and Durga, or 
 their emblems the lingam and yoni, played a conspicu- 
 ous part. One of their orders, the Kdpalikas, or 
 " men-of-skulls," has been well represented in the 
 Prabodha Chandrodaya, * a native metaphysical 
 drama. The speakers are a Buddhist monk, a 
 Brahman mendicant, and the Kapalika. 
 
 Buddhist : " This man professes the rule of a 
 Kapalika. I will ask him what it is." (Going 1 up to 
 him.) " Ho ! you with the bone and skull necklace, 
 what are your notions of happiness and salvation ? " 
 
 Kapalika : " Wretch of a Buddhist ! Well, hear 
 what is our religion : — 
 
 " With flesh of men, with brain and fat well smeared, 
 We make our grim burnt offering;; break our fast 
 From cups of holy Brahman's skull; and ever, 
 With gurgling drops of blood, that plenteous stream, 
 From hard throats quickly cut, by us is worshipped 
 With human offerings meet, our God, dread Bhairava." 
 
 Brahman mendicant (stopping his ears): "Bud- 
 dhist, Buddhist, what think you of this ? Oh ! horrible 
 discipline ! " 
 
 Buddhist : " Sacred Arhata ! some awful sinner 
 has surely deceived that man." 
 
 Kdpdlika (in a rage) : " Aha ! sinner that thou art 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, vi. 14 — translated by Dr. Mill. 
 
160 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 — vilest of heretics, with thy shaven crown, drest like 
 the lowest outcasts — uncombed one ! away with 
 thee !" 
 
 23. The extravagance of this class of Tantrika's is 
 further displayed by the Kapalika's boast : — 
 
 " I call at will the best of Gods, great Hari, 
 And Hara's self, and Brahma : I restrain 
 With my sole voice the course of stars that wander 
 In heaven's bright vault ; the earth with all its load 
 Of mountains, fields, and cities, I at will 
 Eeduce once more to water ; and, behold ! 
 I drink it up ! " 
 
 24. From this specimen of the Tantrika faith, it 
 may be inferred that the cabalistic charms and mystic 
 incantations, added to the free use of spirituous 
 liquors, induced an excited state of mind in the 
 votaries that was highly favourable to a full belief in 
 the attainment of superhuman power. No wonder 
 that the Buddhist considered such extravagance as 
 the effect of delusion. 
 
 25. But the Tantrika doctrines continued to spread 
 in spite of their wildness ; and they at length became 
 so popular that they were even carried into Nepal and 
 Tibet, and permanently engrafted on the Buddhism of 
 those countries. Their success was, however, as much 
 due to force as to persuasion, for zealots are always 
 persecutors. To Skanda Gupta, therefore, I would 
 attribute the persecution of the Buddhists mentioned 
 by Hwan Thsang.* "Writing in the first half of the 
 
 * Fo-hve-hi, c. xxiv. note 12. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 101 
 
 seventh century, the Chinese pilgrim says: — "Not 
 long 1 ago the king, She-shang-kia, who persecuted and 
 sought to abolish the Law of Buddha, tried also to 
 destroy the stone which bore the holy impressions of 
 his feet." As She-shang-kia is not included by 
 Hwan Thsang amongst the five kings who reigned 
 over Magadha previous to Siladitya's conquest, he 
 must be looked for amongst the predecessors of Budha 
 Gupta. Of these, the only one whose name at all 
 resembles She-shang-kia is Skanda ; and as his Tan- 
 trika zeal would naturally have led him to persecute 
 the Buddhists, there is every probability in favour of 
 the proposed identification. It is also not unlikely 
 that the rebellion of Skanda Gupta's minister may 
 have been caused by his persecution of Buddhism. 
 But the followers of Sakya recovered their influence ; 
 and the holy stone, which She-shang-kia had thrown 
 into the Ganges, was restored to its original position, 
 where it was seen by Hwan Thsang about A. D. 642. 
 26. The interval between the death of Skanda 
 Gupta and the date of Budha Gupta's pillar at Eran 
 is only thirty-two years;* and as Hwan Thsang 
 places Lo-kia-lo-a-yi-to (perhaps Lokaditya) as the 
 immediate predecessor of Budha Gupta, a reign of 
 about twenty-five years might be assigned to him to 
 connect the series of the earlier Guptas found in the 
 Pillar inscriptions with the later series recorded by 
 the Chinese pilgrim. In the Seoni copperplate grants 
 there is mention of Deva Gupta, a paramount sove- 
 * From 133 to 165, Anno Guptae. 
 
 M 
 
162 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 reign * whose authority was acknowledged by the 
 petty Rajas of the Narbada. He must therefore have 
 been one of the Magadha dynasty; and he might 
 either be placed between the two series of Guptas, or 
 be identified with the first of Hwan Thsang's princes. 
 As Lo-kia-lo-a-yi-to is evidently some title, such as 
 Lokaditya, " Sun-of-the-world," similar to those 
 which we know were assumed by other members of 
 this dynasty, it seems quite probable that Deva Gupta 
 and Lo-kia-lo-a-yi-to were one and the same person. 
 
 27- The name of Budha Gupta, " cherished by 
 Budha," refers so distinctly to his own faith that there 
 can be no hesitation in classing him amongst the 
 royal followers of Sakya. His pillar inscription is 
 dated in the Gupta year 165, or A. d. 484 ; and I 
 suppose that he may have reigned from about 480 to 
 510 A. D. During this period, in A. D. 502, the 
 Chinese record f an embassy sent by the "King of 
 India," named Keu-to (that is, Outto or Gupta), to 
 the Emperor of China with presents of crystal vases, 
 perfumes, precious talismans, and other articles. The 
 "kingdom of India" is afterwards described to be the 
 country watered by the Ganges and its affluents ; that 
 is, Magadha as it existed under the Guptas, which 
 included Magadha proper, and all the tributary pro- 
 vinces between the Himalayan and Vindhyan moun- 
 tains. This vast empire was possessed by four Gupta 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, v. ?30, " Maharajadhiraja ; " that is, the King 
 of Kings, 
 f Chinese account of India, in Prinsep's Journal, vi. 65. 
 
THE GUPTA DYNASTY. 163 
 
 princes, the predecessors of Budha Gupta ; and there 
 is sufficient evidence to prove that his sway was 
 equally extensive. He is mentioned by Hwan 
 Thsang* amongst the 'kings of Magadha ; he is 
 called, in the Eran pillar inscription, king- of the 
 " beautiful country situated between the Kalindi and 
 the Narmada,"-f or Jumna and Narbada ; and his silver 
 coins are of the Ovjrat type of the Sahs of Surashtra, 
 which was used by his predecessors, Kumara and 
 Skanda. Mr. Thomas doubts the accuracy of James 
 Prinsep's reading- of Kalindi ; but I can vouch for its 
 correctness, as I have examined the inscription care- 
 fully, and am now writing- with a fac-simile before 
 me. What Mr. Thomas calls the very legible r 
 over the concluding compound letter is only the 
 long vowel i. The name is perfectly distinct on the 
 pillar. 
 
 28. According to Hwan Thsang, Budha Gupta 
 was succeeded by TJia-ka-ta-kiu-to, or Takta Gupta; 
 but his dominions must have been confined to 
 Magadha proper, as we learn from the inscription on 
 the colossal Varaha Avatar, at Eran, that the para- 
 mount sovereign Toramana possessed all the country 
 about Bhupal and southern Bundelkhand not many 
 years after the elevation of Budha Gupta's pillar ; 
 for the pillar was erected by Vaidala Vishnu, at the 
 expense of his cousin .Dhanya Vishnu, while the colos- 
 sal Boar was set up by Dhanya Vishnu himself. The 
 death of Budha Gupta, and the accession of Toramana, 
 * Fo-krve-M, Appendice. f Prinsep's Journal, vi. 634. 
 
164 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 therefore both took place during- the life-time of 
 Dhanya Vishnu. But there must have been an in- 
 terval of some years between the two events, as 
 Dhanya's elder brother, Matri Vishnu, who is not 
 even mentioned in the pillar inscription, had since 
 assumed the title of Maharaja, and was then dead. 
 Dhanya himself then became regent, apparently to 
 the young prince, Toramana j for, in another inscrip- 
 tion from the Fort of Gwalior, .1 find Toraoia.ua 
 described as the son of Matri D&sa, and the grandson 
 of Matrikula, who is probably the same as Matri 
 Vishnu. As the celebrated hill of Udayagiri is men- 
 tioned in the Gwalior inscription, there can be little 
 doubt of the identity of the two Toramanas, and of the 
 consequent extension of the principality of Eran to 
 the banks of the Jumna. The reign of Toramana* 
 probably extended from A. d. 520 to 550, contempo- 
 rary with Takta Gupta of Magadha. 
 
 29. From this time until the conquests of Siladitya, 
 King of Malwa, in the early part of the seventh cen- 
 tury, nothing certain is known of the history of India. 
 Takta Gupta was succeeded by Nara Gupta Baladit} r a, 
 and he was succeeded by Vajra, who was reigning 
 when Siladitya conquered Magadha. According to 
 Hwau Thsang, this warlike prince " fought battles 
 such as had never been seen before," and all the 
 northern provinces submitted to him. Hwan Thsang 
 
 * Mr. Prinsep read this king's name as Tdrapdni ; but I have 
 examined the inscription myself, and can state positively that the 
 name is Toramana. 
 
DECLINE AND FALL OF BUDDHISM. 16f> 
 
 visited his court in a. d. 642 ; and from him* we learn 
 that the king sent an embassy with a present of books 
 to the Chinese Emperor. This present proves that 
 Siladitya was a follower of Buddha, for none but 
 Bauddha works would have been acceptable to the 
 Buddhist Emperor of China. 
 
 30. At the time of Hwan Thsang's visit, Buddhism 
 was rapidly declining', many of the monasteries were 
 in ruins, and temples of the heretical Brahmans were 
 rising- on all sides. At Benares there were one hun- 
 dred heretical temples, and ten thousand heretics who 
 worshipped Tswara,t while the Bauddhas had only 
 thirty monasteries, and some three thousand monks 
 and their disciples. Beyond the city, however, at the 
 great temple in the Deer Park, there were about 
 fifteen hundred monks and disciples; but altogether 
 in this once holy place, where Buddha preached the 
 law, there were twice as many heretics as Buddhists. 
 In Kalinga^ also, the faithful were few, and the 
 heretics very numerous. But, notwithstanding this 
 spread of heretical opinions, the rulers of the land 
 were still attached to Buddhism. The King of Chi- 
 chi-to, Jajavati (that is, modern Bundelkhand), was a 
 firm believer in the three precious ones,§ Buddha, 
 Dharma, and Sangha. The great Siladitya of Malwa 
 and Magadha was a Buddhist, and these two coun- 
 
 * Fo-kme-H, Appendice. 
 f Fo-kwe-lii, c. xxxiv. note. 
 | Fo-krve-ki, Appendice, p. 389. 
 | Fo-hve-H, Appendice, p. 393. 
 
166 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 tries were still the most eminent in India for the study 
 of Buddhism.* 
 
 31. From the fifth to the seventh century, the de- 
 cline of Buddhism was gradual and gentle ; but the 
 farther progress of decay was then stayed for a time, 
 and the expiring religion, like a dying lamp, still 
 burst forth with occasional brightness, and its sudden 
 flashes of light threw a transient brilliance over the 
 wide-spreading gloom. In the seventh century Bud- 
 dhism was propagated over the whole of Tibet; the 
 magnificent stupa of Sdrndth, upwards of two hun- 
 dred feet in height, was erected near Benares; and a 
 colossal copper image of Buddha was set up, and several 
 chaUyas and vihars built by the great Lalitaditya 
 in Kashmir.f But, from the eighth century, the fall 
 of Buddhism was rapid and violent. New dynasties 
 arose who knew not Sakya ; and the Tuars of Delhi, 
 the Bahtors of Kanoj, and the Chandels of Mahoba, 
 succeeded to the vast empire of Siladitya. The rise 
 of all these families has been traced to the eighth 
 century; and both coins and inscriptions remain to 
 attest their Brahmanical belief. But Buddhism con- 
 tinued to linger in Benares, in Malwa, and in Gujrat ; 
 and was not finally extinguished until the eleventh or 
 the twelfth century, when the last votaries of Buddha 
 were expelled from the continent of India. Numbers 
 of images, concealed by the departing monks, are 
 found buried near Sdrndth, and heaps of ashes still 
 
 * Fo-kme-ki, Appendice, p. 392. 
 f Raja Tarangini, iv. si. 188-216. 
 
DECLINE AND PALL OF BUDDHISM. 167 
 
 lie scattered amidst the ruins to show that the monas- 
 teries were destined by fire.* 
 
 32. The fall of Buddhism was a natural con- 
 sequence of closing 1 all roads to salvation, save the 
 difficult path which led from one grade to another 
 of the monastic orders. No layman could hope to 
 be saved j and even the most zealous votary must 
 have felt that the standard of excellence was too 
 lofty to be reached. Absolute faith, perfect virtue, 
 and supreme knowledge, were indispensable ; and, 
 without these, no man could attain Buddhahood, 
 and final freedom from transmigration. Continued 
 celibacy, abstinence, and privation, were expected 
 from all who had taken the vows ; and a long course 
 of prayer, penance, and devout abstraction, were re- 
 quisite before the votary could gain the rank of 
 'Arhata or Bodhisatwa. But as this was the only 
 path to salvation, people of all ranks flocked to the 
 monasteries — men crossed by fortune or disappointed 
 in ambition, wives neglected by their husbands, and 
 widows by their children, the sated debauchee, and 
 the zealous enthusiast, all took the vows of celibacy, 
 abstinence, and poverty. In the early ages of 
 Buddhism the votaries supported themselves by daily 
 
 * I wrote this passage from my own knowledge, as I made many 
 excavations around Sarnath in 1835-36. Major Kittoe has since 
 (1851) most fully confirmed my opinion by his more extended ex- 
 cavations in the same neighbourhood. He writes to me : " All 
 has been sacked and burned —priests, temples, idols, all together ; 
 for in some places, bones, iron, wood, and stone, are found in huge 
 masses, and this has happened more than once." 
 
168 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 begging-- but the pious generosity of individuals 
 had gradually alienated the finest lands in the 
 country for the support of the monasteries ; and 
 the mass of the people looked with envy upon the 
 possessions of an idle multitude of monks. The rich 
 domains of the monasteries attracted the notice of 
 kings, and the desire of possession was soon followed 
 by its accomplishment. The people looked on un- 
 moved, and would not defend what they had long 
 ceased to respect ; and the colossal figure of 
 Buddhism, which had once bestridden the whole 
 continent of India, vanished suddenly like a rainbow 
 at sunset. 
 
BUILDING AND DEDICATION OF TOPES. 169 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 BUILDING AND DEDICATION OF TOPES 
 
 1. The following description of the building- and 
 dedication of a Tope is taken from the Mahawanso ; 
 and chiefly from the account of Dutthagamini's 
 erection and consecration of the Mdha-thupo, or 
 " Great Tope" in Ceylon. A short notice of this 
 kind is necessary for the better understanding' of the 
 minute details of the opening of the Bhilsa Topes, 
 and for the easier comprehension of various scenes 
 pictured in the Sanchi bas-reliefs. 
 
 2. When any wealtlry or powerful person under- 
 took to build a Tope, he first raised a pillar on the 
 spot inscribed with a record of his intentions ; which 
 pillar was afterwards removed when the building of 
 the Tope was begun. The Raja Devanampiiya, who 
 began to reign in Ceylon in the year 240 B. c, 
 wished to erect a Tope on a spot consecrated by the 
 teachings of Buddha ; but being warned by the hoty 
 Mahendra that this great work was reserved for 
 Dutthagamini, he was content to raise a stone 
 pillar,* Avith an inscription recording his wish. 
 ~* Mahuvanso, p. 97. 
 
170 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Dutthagamini, who reigned over Ceylon between the 
 years 161 and 137 B. c, removed this pillar before 
 laying- the foundations of the Mahathupo.* 
 
 8. It would seem that the Topes were usually 
 built by forced labour,! for Dutthagamini evidently 
 made an exception in the case of the Mahathupo, 
 for which he did not think it right to exact com- 
 pulsory or unpaid labour. 
 
 4. The foundations were formed of round stones 
 (perhaps boulders), which were trodden down by 
 elephants. Above these were placed courses of fine 
 clay, bricks, cement, kuruwinda stones, iron plates, 
 divine incense (brought by the Srdmaneras, from the 
 Hemawanta), phalika stones (steatite), common stone, 
 plates of brass (imbedded in Kapittho gum which had 
 been moistened with the milk of small red cocoa-nuts), 
 and plates of silver (cemented with vermilion mixed 
 in oil of sesamum).J I have preserved this extrava- 
 gant account simply because I think it probable that 
 most of these particulars may be partially true. 
 The plates of silver and brass, and even of iron, were 
 possibly only small discs ; and the course of phalika 
 stone only a single slab ; each deposited in the centre 
 of the building. 
 
 5. The laying of the foundation stone was attended 
 with as much solemnity as now takes place at the 
 same ceremony in England. " Revered ones!" said 
 the Maharaja, " To-morrow, I will lay the festival- 
 
 * Mahawanso, p. 169. f Mahawanso, pp. 165 and 175. 
 t Mahawanso, p. 169. 
 
BUILDING AND DEDICATION OF TOPES. 171 
 
 brick of the Great Chaitya ; let all the fraternities 
 assemble there :" and further, he proclaimed, " Let 
 all my people attend with offerings for Buddha, and 
 with garlands." The road leading from the city 
 to the site of the Tope was decorated ; and on the 
 appointed morning, the moon being full, the king, 
 attended by his ministers, and accompanied by 
 thousands of troops, with dancing and singing 
 women, and bands of musicians, proceeded to the 
 site of the Makdthupo.* On reaching the place he 
 made an offering of one thousand and eight suits 
 of clothing; which were deposited in the middle, 
 and at the four sides, of the intended site. 
 
 6. The ceremony was attended by numbers of 
 Bhikshus from the principal monastic establishments 
 in India; from Raj agriha and Vaisali; from Benares, 
 Sravasti, and Kosambi; from Ujain, and from the 
 wilderness of Vindhya; from Kashmir, and from 
 Alasadda (or Alexandria), the capital of Yona (or 
 Greek country of Kabul). f The king, encircled by 
 the multitude of Bhikshus, entered the holy space, 
 and, bowing with reverence to them, presented an 
 offering of garlands. Then walking thrice round 
 the site, he stationed himself in the centre, and with 
 a pair of highly polished silver compasses pointed 
 with gold, described a circle for the lower course of 
 bricks. He next placed in the centre eight gold and 
 eight silver vases, and encircled them with eight 
 
 * Mahawamo, p. 170. t Mahawanso, p. 172. 
 
172 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 gold and eight silver bricks.* Around each brick 
 he deposited one hundred and eight pieces of cloth, 
 and around the whole one hundred and eight new 
 earthen vases. Then taking up the eastern brick 
 the king deposited it again in a fragrant cement 
 formed of the jessamine flowers which had been 
 offered on the holy spot. In the same manner seven 
 ministers of state deposited the other seven bricks. 
 Then the king, bowing down to the assembled 
 Bhikshus, again made offerings on the four sides of 
 the site ; and repairing to the north-east point, 
 bowed with reverence to the great Sthavira Pkiya- 
 darsi, who at once began to chant the jaya mangold, 
 " or hymn of joy," which was uttered by Sakya at 
 the moment of his attaining Buddhahood.f 
 
 7. The bricklayers were assembled by beat of 
 drum ; and the Rajah inquired from the architect, 
 " In what form dost thou propose to construct the 
 chaitya?" The architect, taking some water in the 
 palm of his hand, dashed it into a golden vessel full 
 of water, and pointing to a hemispherical bubble of air 
 which stood for a moment on the surface, he said, " I 
 will build it in this form "J 
 
 8. The relic-chamber was formed of six clouded 
 slabs of stone (meghawanna). One was placed flat, 
 four were arranged like the sides of a box, and the 
 sixth (which was the lid) was placed to the eastward. § 
 
 * Mahanianso, p. 173. 
 
 f See chap. iv. 7, of this volume for Buddha's hymn. 
 
 I Mahawanso, p. 175. § Mahawanso, p. 179. 
 
BUILDING AND DEDICATION OF TOPES. 173 
 
 111 the middle of this chamber was deposited a 
 golden boclhi-tree, and round it were placed golden 
 images of Buddha. Various acts in the life of Buddha 
 were depicted on the sides of the chamber, which was 
 illuminated with rows of lamps fed with scented oil. 
 
 9. On the evening of the day of full moon the 
 king Dutthagamini, in a chariot drawn by four white 
 horses, carried the golden relic-casket on his head, 
 surmounted by the canopy of dominion, towards the 
 Tope. The procession was headed by the state 
 elephant Kandulo, fully caparisoned ; and the chariot 
 was surrounded by men and women bearing vases, 
 baskets of flowers, torches, and flags. Elephants, 
 horses, and chariots, followed in the procession ; 
 and the crash of all kinds of vocal and instrumental 
 music was so loud that it seemed as if the earth was 
 being rent asunder.* 
 
 10. On reaching- the Tope the pious monarch re- 
 ceived the relics from the chief sthavira, and deposited 
 them in a golden casket. Then placing the casket 
 on a throne he made his offerings to the relics ; and 
 bowing reverentially down, stood with uplifted hands 
 joined in adoration. He now dedicated his canopy 
 of dominion (that is, the royal chatta) to the relics, 
 and exclaimed with joy, " Thrice over do I dedicate 
 my kingdom to the redeemer of the world, the divine 
 teacher, the bearer of the triple canopy, the canopy 
 of the heavenly host, the canopy of mortals, and the 
 canopy of eternal emancipation." 
 
 * Mahamanso, p. 186. 
 
174 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 11. Then placing- the relic-casket on his head, the 
 monarch presented more offering's, and, encircled by 
 the Bhikshus, thrice perambulated the Tope ; and 
 mounting the eastern side he descended into the relic- 
 chamber. On all sides stood the arhatas with uplifted 
 hands joined in adoration, while the king deposited 
 the relic-casket on the golden altar. He next made 
 an offering of all the royal ornaments on his person, 
 and for seven days invested the relics with the 
 sovereignty of Lanka* The ministers and all the 
 people in attendance likewise made offering's of all 
 the ornaments on their persons. Hymns were 
 chanted throughout the night by the Bhikshus ; the 
 lid of the relic-chamber was closed by two srdma- 
 neras ; and the enshrinement of the relic was com- 
 pleted. 
 
 12. After this "thousands of relics" were deposited 
 by the people above the relic-chamber,! and the dome 
 was closed, and crowned by a square capital.^ At 
 this time, when only the chatta (or canopy) and the 
 plastering remained to be done, the Raja fell sick, 
 and enjoined his younger brother Tisso to finish the 
 Tope. As the Raja was at the point of death Tisso 
 quickly covered the whole Tope with white cloth sewn 
 together, and raised a cloth umbrella with a bambu 
 
 * Or Ceylon. Mahamanso, p. 190. 
 
 t Mahawanso, p. 192 — "Sahassa dhatunan,'" thousands of 
 relics. 
 
 I See the relic-casket in the shape of a crystal Tope found in No. 
 2 Tope, at Bhojpur, Plate XXVI. See also the restoration of the 
 great Sanchi Tope, Plate VIII. 
 
BUILDING AND DEDICATION OF TOPES. 175 
 
 handle on the summit ; and then announced to the 
 king- that the Tope was finished. The dying monarch 
 was carried to the holy spot, and laid upon a carpet 
 opposite the southern entrance, where, after gazing 
 with delight on the Tope, he breathed his last. The 
 pinnacle and the plastering of the dome, and the 
 enclosing parapet wall, were all completed by his 
 brother Saddh&tisso who succeeded him on the throne 
 of Ceylon. 
 
 13. About one hundred and twenty years after- 
 wards, between 19 and 9 B. c, the Raja Bhatikabhayo 
 festooned the great Tope with garlands of jessamine 
 flowers from top to bottom, and fixed flowers in the 
 intervals by their stalks. He next covered the 
 Chaitya with a paste of red lead, one finger thick, 
 and studded the paste with flowers. He then buried 
 the whole chaitya, from the steps at its enclosure to 
 the top of its pinnacle, in a heap of flowers : and 
 lastly he white-whashed it with oyster-shell lime, and 
 studded it over with a net-work of pdwdla stones, and 
 fixed golden flowers, of the size of chariot-wheels, in 
 the interstices. He likewise added two cornices,* or 
 copings, to the basement of the building. 
 
 14. Between the year 21 and 30 A. D., the Raja 
 Amandagamini erected another chatta-f on the pin- 
 nacle of the Great Tope, and added copings to the 
 base and crown of the dome. Images of the four 
 
 • Mahawano, p. 211-215. 
 
 | Mahawanso, p. 221— Chattadhichattan, or " Chatta-above- 
 chatta." See the Sanchi Chaitya No. 1. 
 
176 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Buddhas were presented to the Great Tope by Raja 
 Wasabho who reigned from 66 to 110 A. D. And 
 lastly, Raja Sirinago, between the years 184 and 
 209 A. D., gilded* the chatta of the Mahdthupo, and 
 inserted gems in the centre of each of the " four 
 emblems of the sun."f 
 
 15. This account agrees so closely with the present 
 state of the great Sanchi chaitya that it might be 
 taken as an actual description of that building. The 
 hemispherical form, the square crown, the chatta 
 above chatta, are all the same, and there are also the 
 same statues of the four Buddhas, and the same 
 " emblems of the sun" over the four gateways. 
 
 16. In the Mahdthupo, the relic-chamber was 
 placed low down in the building, for the king had to 
 " descend" into it to deposit the casket. But in the 
 Thupdrdmo, which was built by Devanampriya about 
 240 B. c, the chamber was excavated knee deep on 
 the summit of the dome for the reception of the relics.;]; 
 This agrees with the position of the chamber in the 
 great Tope at Sonari. 
 
 17. Lastly, the ground was consecrated by the 
 Bhikshus with the performance of uposatho and other 
 rites, after the boundary had been marked out by the 
 king in procession with a golden plough drawn by 
 two state elephants. § This ceremony was performed 
 
 * Maharvanso, p. 226. 
 
 f Maharvanso, p. 229 — chattunan suriyanan, " four suns." 
 
 I Mahwanso, p. 104. 
 
 § Maharvanso, p. 98. 
 
BUILDING AND DEDICATION OF TOPES. 177 
 
 with the same display which has already been de- 
 scribed in the procession of the relic-casket. 
 
 18. But this account describes only the older kind 
 of Tope, which was a simple hemisphere, such as the 
 great Chaityas at Sanchi and at Satdhara, and which 
 probably date as high as the middle of the sixth cen- 
 tury before our era. The next in point of antiquity 
 are the Topes around Bhilsa, which contain the relics 
 of Asoka's missionaries, and of the venerable Mogali- 
 putra, who conducted the proceedings of the Third 
 Synod. In these, which were built in the end of the 
 third century before Christ, the dome is raised a few 
 feet above the basement by a cylindrical plinth. The 
 third class of Topes are those represented in the 
 Sanchi bas-reliefs, which date between 19 and 37 A. D. 
 In these the hemisphere is placed on a plinth of equal 
 height, so that the centre of the dome is the centre of 
 the whole building. Six representations of this kind 
 of Tope occur amongst the Sanchi bas-reliefs, of which 
 one is on the southern gate of No. 2 Tope, and 
 another on the southern gate of No. 3 Tope.* 
 
 19. The crystal Chaitya discovered in No. 2 Tope, 
 at Bhojpur, is also of the same shape ; and I am 
 therefore inclined to attribute the erection of that 
 Tope to the beginning of the Christian era. The 
 Topes in Affghanistan are mostly of this shape. In 
 the latest Topes, of which Sarnath, near Benares, is a 
 magnificent specimen, the plinth is equal in height to 
 the diameter of the hemisphere. Two specimens of 
 
 * For two of these Topes see Plate III., figs. 1 and 2. 
 
 N 
 
178 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 this kind are given in Plate III., from the small dedi- 
 catory Topes now lying in the enclosure of the Great 
 Sanchi Chaitya. 
 
 20. From these remarks it is evident that the age 
 of almost every Tope may be obtained approximately 
 from its shape ; the most ancient being a simple 
 hemisphere, and the latest a tall round tower sur- 
 mounted by a dome. 
 
SANCHI TOPES.. 179 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 SiNCHI topes. 
 
 1. The small village of Sanchi is situated on the low 
 ridge of a sandstone hill, on the left bank of the 
 Betwa, about five miles and a half to the south-west 
 of Bhilsa, and twenty miles to the north-east of 
 Bhupal. The hill is flat-topped and isolated, with a 
 steep cliff to the eastward ; and to the westward an 
 easy slope covered with jungul at the foot, and near 
 the top broken into steps by horizontal ledges of 
 rock. 
 
 2. The general direction of the hill is from north to 
 south, and its whole summit is covered with ruins. 
 But the principal building's that now remain occupy 
 only the middle part of the level top, and a narrow 
 belt leading down the hill to the westward. The 
 summit itself has a gentle slope in the same direction 
 with the dip of the strata ; and the level of the court 
 of the great Tope is some twelve or fifteen feet below 
 that of the ruined vihar and temple on the eastern 
 edge of the precipice. The hill, which is about three 
 hundred feet in height, is formed of a light red sand- 
 stone, hard and compact in texture, but subject to 
 
180 THE BHILSA TOFES. 
 
 split. . This stone has been used for all the Topes and 
 other buildings where mere hardness and durability 
 were required ; but for the colonnades and sculptured 
 gateways a fine-grained white sandstone was brought 
 from the Udayagiri hill, three miles and a half to the 
 northward. 
 
 3. The group of Topes at Sanchi is represented in 
 Plate IY. The Topes are numbered from 1 to 11, 
 and the other objects are described in the plan. Of 
 these the most remarkable is a large stone bowl, now 
 lying on a small mound between the two principal 
 Topes. The interior dimensions of the bowl are — 
 diameter, 4| feet ; depth, 2% feet. The thickness at 
 top is 6 inches, at bottom 18 inches. The size of this 
 bowl agrees so closely with that of the golden vessel,* 
 in which Asoka despatched the "cutting" of the 
 great Bo-tree to Ceylon, that it seems highly proba- 
 ble the Sanchi bowl must once have held a sacred 
 tree. Indeed I feel inclined to go even farther, for I 
 suspect that this bowl once held the holy nettle which 
 Buddha himself had bitten off and planted. But this 
 depends upon the identification of S&nchi with the 
 Shd-chi of Fa Hian, a point which I will now 
 examine. 
 
 4. On leaving Ki-jao-i, or Kanoj, Fa Hian pro- 
 ceeded about twenty miles to the opposite bank of the 
 Ganges; and from thence, he says, "ten yojans to 
 
 * Mahawanso, pp. Ill, 112. Asoka's vase was nine cubits in 
 circumference, three cubits in diameter, five cubits in depth, and 
 eight fingers (atihangida) in thickness. 
 
SANCHt TOPES. 181 
 
 the south-west you come to the great kingdom of 
 Sha-chi ;" and " thence, proceeding south to the dis<- 
 tance of eight yojans, you arrive at the kingdom of 
 Kiu-sa-lo, and the town of She-wei" (Ajudhya, or 
 Audh). There is a difficulty in this part of the route 
 which (I agree with Mr. Laidlay* in thinking) can 
 only be explained away on the supposition of a mis- 
 print in the French edition, or an error in the original 
 Chinese. Ajudhya is almost due east from Kanoj j 
 and the direct distance is much more than eighteen 
 yojans. Hwan Thsang is silent regarding Shachi, 
 although he travelled over this part of the country, 
 and describes it in detail ; besides which we know of 
 no place of Buddhist celebrity between Kanoj and 
 Ajudhya. On the other hand, we have the absolute 
 identity of the names of Sha-chi, and Sanchi or 
 Sachi,f and the knowledge that Sanchi was a large 
 Bauddha establishment, as well as the capital of a 
 kingdom, at the time of Fa Hian's visit. The south- 
 westerly direction is correct, but the distance should 
 be about fifty yojans instead of ten. 
 
 5. The name of Sanchi, or Sachi, is most probably 
 only the spoken form of the Sanskrit Sdnti: for I 
 find the term Santi-sangham (the Santi community) 
 
 * Fo-kwe-ki, c. xix. note 2 — Mr. Laidlay's translation. It is im- 
 possible to conceive that any " great " kingdom, as Fa Hian calls 
 Shachi, could have intervened between the kingdoms of Samkassa 
 and Kosala, or the present Mainpuri and Oudh. 
 
 t See Journal As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xvii. p. 746. The name is 
 always written Sdtchi by my brother. 
 
182 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 used in the inscription on the southern pillar of the 
 Great Tope.* The Chinese also transcribed sdnti 
 by sd-chi ; for they say that it signifies " silence, 
 repose."! This proves the identity of the names ; but 
 until the original text of the Fo-kwe-ki has been re- 
 examined, nothing- more can be insisted upon than 
 the probability of the identification. 
 
 6. The story of the nettle is thus told by Fa Hian. 
 "On leaving the town of Sha-chi by the Southern 
 Gate you find to the East of the road, the place 
 where Fo bit a branch of nettle and planted it in the 
 ground. This branch sprang up and grew to the 
 height of seven feet, and afterwards neither increased 
 nor diminished. The heretical Brahmans, fired with 
 envy, cut and tore it to throw it away ; but it always 
 sprang up again in the same place." 
 
 7. The present village of Sanchi is situated on the 
 low spur connecting the Tope-hill with the Kana- 
 khera-hill. The village is now very small ; but the 
 numerous ruins scattered over the hill between Sanchi 
 and Kanakhera prove that there has once been a 
 large town on this site. At the time of Fa Hian's 
 visit it was one of the principal places in the king- 
 dom of Sanakanika. On leaving it by the South 
 gate, the road led (as it does now) along the foot of 
 the hill ; and the great stone bowl was therefore to 
 the eastward, as described by Fa Hian. 
 
 * See Plate XIX. No. 177, for this inscription, 
 f Fo-ktve-M, c. xvii. note 17. 
 
SANCHI TOPES. 183 
 
 No. 1 Tope.— Sanchi. 
 
 8. The great Sanchi Tope is situated on the 
 western edge of the hill. The ground has once been 
 carefully levelled, by cutting away the surface rock 
 on the east, and by building up a retaining wall on 
 the west. The court (as it now exists) averages one 
 hundred and fifty yards in length, and is exactly 
 one hundred yards in breadth. In the midst 
 stands the Great Chaitya, No. I.,* surrounded by a 
 massive colonnade. The bald appearance of the 
 solid dome is relieved by the lightness and elegance 
 of the highly picturesque gateways. On all sides 
 are ruined temples, fallen columns, and broken 
 sculptures : and even the Tope itself, which had 
 withstood the destructive rancour of the fiery Saivas 
 and the bigoted Musalmans, has been half-ruined by 
 the blundering excavations of amateur antiquaries. 
 
 9. In the north-east, south-east, and south-west cor- 
 ners of the court there are small ruined Topes, marked 
 Nos. 5, 6, 7 in the plan, Plate IV- In the south there 
 is a small temple of middle age, and an old Chaitya 
 temple with lofty square columns. The semicircular 
 end of this temple was first traced by my brother, 
 
 " " There is a stern round tower of other days, 
 Firm as a fortress with its fence of stone ; 
 Such as an army's baffled strength delays, 
 Standing with half its battlements alone, 
 
184 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Captain J. D. Cunningham,* and afterwards more 
 leisurely by Lieut. Maisey, who made an excavation 
 on the supposed site of the Chaitya, and was re- 
 warded by the discovery of a small chamber contain- 
 ing a broken steatite vase. 
 
 10. The great Tope itself is a solid dome of stone 
 and brick, 106 feet in diameter, and 42 feet in height, 
 springing from a plinth of 14 feet, with a projection 
 of 5£ feet from the base of the building, and a slope 
 of 2^ feet. The plinth or "basement formed a terrace 
 for the perambulation of worshippers of the enshrined 
 relic ; for, on the right pillar of the North Gateway 
 there is a representation of a Tope and of two 
 worshippers walking round it,| with garlands in 
 their hands. The terrace was reached by a double 
 flight of steps to the south, connected by a landing 
 ten feet square.^ 
 
 11. The apex of the dome was flattened into a terrace 
 34 feet in diameter, surrounded by a stone railing of 
 that style so peculiar to Bauddha monuments, that I 
 will venture to call it the " Buddhist Bailing." 
 
 And with two thousand years of ivy grown, 
 The garland of eternity — where wave 
 The green leaves, over all hy Time o'erthrown, 
 What was this tower of strength ? Within its cave 
 What treasure lay so locked, so hid ? A hermits grave." 
 
 Byron ; Childe Harold. 
 
 * Journal As. Soc. Bengal, xvii. Plate XXVIII. 
 + See Plate XIII. 
 X See Plate VIII. 
 
SiNCHI TOPES. 185 
 
 Many of the pillars of this colonnade are now lying 
 at the base of the monument ; and several portions 
 of the coping or architrave prove that the enclosure 
 was a circular one. The inscriptions Nos. 173, 174, 
 175, and 176, are taken from the fallen pillars of this 
 colonnade. The pillars are 3 feet 4 inches high, 9 inches 
 broad, and 7^ inches thick. They are of the same 
 pattern as those of the lower enclosure, and in fact 
 of all the enclosures of Buddhist Topes throughout 
 India.* I counted nearly forty of these pillars, but 
 several must be buried beneath the rubbish of the 
 destructive excavation made by the amateur anti- 
 quaries in 1822.-f As the spaces between the pillars 
 were, as nearly as can now be ascertained, about one 
 foot, this enclosure would have required exactly sixty- 
 one pillars. 
 
 13. Within the upper enclosure there was a square 
 altar or pedestal surrounded by pillars of the same 
 description, but much taller, some of which are still 
 lying on the top of the dome. In 1819, when Cap- 
 tain Fell visited Sanchi,J these pillars were all there ; 
 but one of the corner pillars is now lying at the base 
 of the monument to the north-west. It is proved to 
 have belonged to a square enclosure, by its having 
 faces at right angles to each other with two rows of 
 mortices for the reception of the ends of the stone 
 
 * See Plates VII., IX., XXIII., and XXVIII., for specimens 
 of enclosures. 
 
 t Prinsep's Journal, iv. 712. 
 | Prinsep's Journal, iii. 490. 
 
186 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 rails. The projecting- cornice of this altar or pedestal 
 is restored from the numerous representations of 
 Topes amongst the bas-reliefs of the gateways. The 
 cupola or umbrella-pinnacle is restored from existing- 
 fragments guided by the designs of Topes just men- 
 tioned.* One piece is now lying on the top of the 
 dome, and another at the foot of the breach. This 
 cupola was 5 feet 6 inches in diameter, and 2 feet 
 high. It is hollowed out underneath j and above it 
 has a mortice 8 inches deep for the reception of a staff 
 of a second cupola, such as we see represented in the 
 bas-reliefs. 
 
 13. The total height of the building including the 
 cupolas must have been upwards of one hundred 
 feet. 
 
 14. The base of the Tope is surrounded by a 
 massive colonnade, 144J feet in diameter from west 
 to east, and 15 1| feet in diameter from north to 
 south. This enclosure is therefore elliptical ; the 
 greater diameter exceeding the lesser by 7 feet. By 
 this arrangement a free passage is obtained round the 
 southern staircases, and a greater breadth at the foot 
 of the ascent. The breadth of the cloister on the 
 north-west and north-east sides averages 9 feet 
 7 inches, the several measurements only differing by 
 a few inches. From east to south the cloister in- 
 creases rapidly in width; the breadth at the east 
 being only 9 feet 11 inches, and at the foot of the 
 staircase 13 feet 8 inches. The elliptical form is 
 
 * See two specimens in Plate III., figs. 1 and 2. 
 
SANCHI TOPES. 187 
 
 shown distinctly in my brother's plan,* although he 
 does not mention it in his description. 
 
 15. The pillars of this colonnade are 9 feet 10£ 
 inches in height, with an average thickness of 1 foot 
 10^ inches. The front and back of each pillar have 
 three faces ; a middle one, 9^ inches in breadth, and 
 two side ones, slightly bevelled, each 6£ inches broad. 
 The pillars are let into the ground from 15 to 18 
 inches. The interval or inter-columniation is 2 feet 
 1% inch. 
 
 16. The rails are three in number with intervals of 
 4 inches. Each rail is 2 feet 1£ inch long, and the 
 same broad. The section is formed of two inter- 
 secting circular segments, with a double versed sine 
 of 9|- inches, which forms the thickness of the 
 rail. The mortices in the pillars are of the same 
 section as the rails, and are from 3 to 4 inches in 
 depth. 
 
 17. The architrave or coping is formed of long 
 solid blocks rounded at top, each 2 feet 3 inches in 
 height, by 2 feet 1 inch in thickness. Each beam 
 spans two intercolumniations, and has three mortices 
 for receiving the tenons of the three pillars. Some 
 of the beams are connected together by tenons and 
 mortices, and others by stone joggles. 
 
 18. A view of this remarkable stone-railing is 
 given in Plate IX., which shows the general dis- 
 position of the numerous inscriptions. The style is 
 evidently characteristic and conventional, as it is 
 
 * Journal" As. Soc. Bengal, xvii. Plate XXVIJI. 
 
188 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 found wherever the Bauddha religion prevails.* It 
 is in fact so peculiar to Buddhism that I have ven- 
 tured to name it " the Buddhist railing-." This pe- 
 culiar railing- is still standing around the principal 
 Topes at Sanchi and Andher ; and some pillars and 
 other fragments are still lying around the great 
 Topes at Sonari and Satdhara. The same railing 
 was placed around the holy Bodhi Trees/f and the 
 pillars dedicated to Buddha.J The balconies of the 
 City Gates^ and of the King's Palace^ were en- 
 closed by it. It formed the bulwarks of the State 
 Barge.^f It was used as an ornament for the capi- 
 tals of columns^ as on the northern pillar at Sanchi ;** 
 and generally for every plain band of architectural 
 moulding. At Sanchi it is found in many places 
 as an ornament on the horizontal bars which sepa- 
 rate the bas-reliefs from each other.. 
 
 19. The Sanchi railing has one entrance at each 
 of the four cardinal points ; as represented in the 
 plan in Plate IV. Each entrance is covered in 
 
 * No less than nine specimens of this kind of railing 1 were 
 found amongst the Bhilsa Topes, all of which are described in the 
 following pages. In Plate IX. fig 3, I have added a specimen 
 from the great Dipaldinna Mound at Amaravati, for the descrip- 
 tion of which see Prinsep's Journal, vol. vi. Plate X. 
 
 t See coins, in Plates XXXI. and XXXII. 
 
 t See Plate XXXI. fig. 1, and Plate XXXII. fig. 11. 
 
 § Bas-relief at Sanchi, Eastern Gateway, Plate XV. fig. 3. 
 
 || Bas-relief of Eastern Gateway — Fergusson's Illustrations. 
 
 IF Bas-relief of Western Gateway, Left Pillar, Inner Face, No. III. 
 
 *• See Plate X. 
 
sAnchi topes. 189 
 
 front, and to the left (as seen from the outside), by a 
 short railing 1 of the same style. In after times 
 another short railing was added to the right of each, 
 and the entrance was changed to the front through a 
 lofty gateway. 
 
 20. These four gateways are the most picturesque 
 and valuable objects at Sanchi, as they are entirely 
 covered with bas-reliefs representing various domestic 
 scenes and religious ceremonies. Each gateway is 
 formed of two square pillars, 2 feet 3 inches thick, 
 and 13 feet 8 inches in height. The capitals of these 
 pillars vary. The pillars of the western gate have 
 each four human dwarfs ; those of the southern gate 
 have four lions ', and those of the other gateways have 
 four elephants surmounted by their riders. The 
 height of the capital is 4 feet 6 inches. The total 
 height of the gateway is 18 feet 2 inches, and its 
 breadth is 7 feet 1 inch. 
 
 21. The pillars are crowned by an architrave 19 
 feet 9 inches in length, with an arched rise of 4 
 inches in the middle, and a projection of 4 feet 5 
 inches on each side. These projecting ends are 
 supported by brackets, each formed of the stem and 
 foliage of a tree, beneath which is a n&chni, or 
 dancing woman. The style of hair and the peculiar 
 bead-girdle of these female dancers, is so much like 
 those of some of the Tibetan women of the present 
 day, that one is naturally led to trace them to an 
 Indo-Scythian origin ; especially when we know that 
 the Indo-Scythian power was paramount in India at 
 
190 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the very time that these gateways were erected.* 
 A second architrave ie placed above the other at a 
 height of 2 feet 2£ inches, and is supported by five 
 uprights, of which two are simple continuations of 
 the pillars. This second architrave is 2 feet and 
 | inch in height ; and its ends project only 4 feet 
 
 2 inches. Five uprights of the same height as this 
 architrave, support a third architrave only 1 foot 
 9J inches, in height, with diminished projections of 
 
 3 feet 11 inches. The ends of the architraves are 
 formed into narrow threaded volutes surmounted by 
 winged lions. The open spaces between the uprights 
 contain small figures of elephant riders below, and 
 of horsemen above ; and on the outside of the pillars 
 there are small figures of female dancers. 
 
 22. The summit is crowned in the middle by a 
 wheel (half broken) upwards of three feet in diameter, 
 supported by four elephants. On each side, immedi- 
 ately above the pillars, there is a peculiar emblem, 
 which will be described hereafter. Between each of 
 these emblems and the wheel there is a male attend- 
 
 • See Plate XIV. for one of these dancing figures. The features 
 are quite Tibetan ; and this peculiarity is so strong that it has 
 struck others besides myself. Thus Captain Eyre writes to me : "A 
 very remarkable feature in the sculptures is the peculiar Tartar-like 
 physiognomies of the principal figures. How is this to be ac- 
 counted for? The sculptors must have been familiar with that 
 peculiar form of the ' human face divine,' or they would not so 
 successfully have chiselled it. It seems to me probable, therefore, 
 that the conquering race must have been of Tartar origin." For 
 the complete figure, see the Frontispiece of Fergusson's Illustra- 
 tions. 
 
SANCHI TOFES. 191 
 
 ant with a chaori, or Tibetan cow's tail. The wheel 
 is the symbol of Buddha ; and the peculiar monograph 
 on each side is the emblem of Dharma.* 
 
 23. The whole of these gateways, excepting- where 
 they abut on the railings, are most elaborately carved. 
 
 The faces of the pillars are divided into compart- 
 ments, each containing a scene either religious or 
 domestic. The faces of the architraves, both front 
 and rear, represent — (1st) sieges ; (2nd) triumphal 
 processions either entering or leaving cities j (3rd) 
 adoration of Topes, and of trees ; (4th) processions 
 escorting relic-caskets ; and (5th) ascetic life in the 
 woods. A short description of these valuable delinea- 
 tions of ancient Indian manners and customs will be 
 given at the end of this account of the Great Sanchi 
 Tope, along with the translations of all the inscrip- 
 tions. 
 
 24. Within the enclosure, and immediately facing 
 each entrance, there is a large figure. Each figure 
 has once rested under a canopy supported in front on 
 a couple of pillars ; but these have long since been 
 broken, and the figures themselves have been very 
 much injured. The eastern statue is now lying on its 
 face; but, by digging under it, Lieutenant Maisey 
 discovered that it was a seated figure, which I believe 
 to be that of Kbakuchanda, the first mortal Buddha. 
 
 * See Plate VII. for a view of the Great Tope, with its peculiar 
 gateways. The wheel, or emblem of Buddha, will be found in 
 Plate XXXI. fig. 2; and the other emblem, which is that of 
 Dharma, in Plate XXXII. fig. 10. 
 
192 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 The southern statue is a standing' figure, with a halo 
 round the head. To the right and left there are two 
 attendant figures of half size, and a small elephant. 
 This is most probably a statue of Kanaka, the second 
 mortal Buddha. The western figure is much muti- 
 lated, and the head is entirely gone. It is seated, 
 and probably represents Kasyapa, the third mortal 
 Buddha. The northern statue is seated cross-legged, 
 with both hands in the lap, the palms uppermost. 
 The head is surrounded by an ornamental nimbus. 
 A small figure, sceptre in hand, hovers above each 
 shoulder j and a male attendant stands on each side, 
 with his left hand resting in his girdle, and his 
 right bearing a mace, or ehaori. This is no doubt a 
 statue of Sakya Sinha, the last mortal Buddha, 
 seated in the very attitude in which he obtained 
 Buddhahood. 
 
 25. These four statues are referred to in one of the 
 longer railing inscriptions which has been translated 
 by James Prinsep.* Amongst other things this in- 
 scription records a gift of money, the interest of which 
 was to be expended in daily lamps, for the four 
 shrines of the four Buddhas. The inscription is very 
 rudely cut, and fully merits the description which 
 James Prinsep gave it, of a " network of scratches." 
 But as the four Buddhas and the four Buddhist 
 shrines are twice mentioned, there is no doubt of the 
 correctness of Prinsep's reading. The date of the 
 
 * Journal, vi. 459. This inscription is generally called the 
 Hariswamini inscription, from the names of the recorder. 
 
sanchi topes. 198 
 
 record is doubtful j* 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 I, 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 magni- 
 ficent 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.f 
 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. 
 
 f Prinsep's Journal, iii. Plate XXXI. 
 
 O 
 
194 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 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 1 
 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 3J inches, surmounted by a very 
 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 repre- 
 sented billing, with outstretched necks, and heads 
 lowered towards the ground.* 
 
 28. The total height of the capital is 3 feet 11| 
 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. 
 
sAnchi topes. 195 
 
 Its width is 3 feet, or just three-fourthg 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 1 \ 
 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 8J 
 inches. This would give a capital of 4 feet and § 
 inch in height, which is within one inch of the mea- 
 sured 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 Au- 
 rangzeb attracted numbers of European jewellers and 
 goldsmiths to the Indian Court : and we may there- 
 fore 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 de- 
 lineation of the feet, which have four large front 
 claws, and one small hind claw. Now this lion 
 
190 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 capital has been imitated by the sculptor of the 
 pillars of the South Gateway, which we know was 
 erected during- the reign of Sri Satakarni in the 
 early half of the first century of the Christian era. 
 On these pillars the lions are represented with Jive 
 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. 
 
 30. To the north of the Tope there is a second 
 isolated column of similar dimensions to the last. It 
 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 stand- 
 ing ; and the capital is now lying to the northward, 
 at a distance of 32J 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. 
 
SANCHI TOPES. 197 
 
 31. The bell capital of the northern pillar is termi- 
 nated 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 be- 
 hind 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 pro- 
 bably 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 Sakya 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- 
 
198 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 coloured compact sandstone and were very highly 
 polished. This polish* still remains on the shafts, 
 and on the smoother portions of the statues. The 
 south pillar has an inscription in the oldest Indian 
 Pali, but it is too much mutilated to be read with 
 any certainty, excepting 1 in the closing" lines.f 
 
 34. There is every reason to believe that these 
 noble columns would have been standing at this day, 
 had it not been for the petty avarice of the neigh- 
 bouring zamindars. The southern pillar has been 
 broken off at 6^ feet from its base, and the rest of 
 the shaft is now lying in two pieces on the ground 
 towards the south. The capital of the northern pillar 
 is lying to the north of its shaft. Thus both pillars 
 have fallen outwards from the building. This could 
 scarcely be the effect of an earthquake ; but would 
 naturally be the case if they had been pulled down 
 for the purpose of making use of their material. 
 Now there is a row of holes chiselled across the 
 middle portion of the southern pillar, which prove 
 that since its fall the people have attempted to cut it 
 into lengths for their own use. Each of these pieces 
 would have formed a sugar-miil, such as has been in 
 use in India from time immemorial. But it may be 
 asked, " Why did the cutter desist from his labour, 
 and leave the wished- for stone at the top of the hill V 
 
 * The same high polish is observable on the Allahabad and 
 Delhi Pillars; and also on the Radhiya, Mathiya, and Bakra Pillars, 
 as I am informed by Major Kittoe. 
 
 t See No. 177, Plate XIX. 
 
SANCHI TOPES. 199 
 
 The answer is simple and conclusive. During- the 
 operation of cutting-, the stone split longitudinally 
 from top to bottom, and was no longer of any use. 
 The same cause preserved the upper portion of the 
 southern pillar. I presume therefore that the shaft 
 of the northern pillar did not split, and that it was 
 long ago carried away and formed into sugar-mills. 
 It is right, however, to add that I made inquiries for 
 sugar-mills in the neighbourhood without success : 
 although the ignorance of the people by no means 
 proves their non-existence. 
 
 35. Close to the eastern gateway there is a third 
 pillar with a shaft 13 feet high, and rather more than 
 one foot in diameter. Its capital is bell-shaped, like 
 those of the others ; and it is crowned by a single 
 seated lion. 
 
 36. To the north-east of the Tope also there are 
 two small broken pillars, of which one bears an in- 
 complete inscription in characters of the early Gupta 
 period, about 400 a. d. This inscription is given in 
 Plate XXI. No. 199. It reads, " * * di Hariswami- 
 Oosha Sinha Baliputra * * " that is, " Hariswami 
 Gosha the son of Sinhabali"* This Hariswami 
 probably belonged to the same family as the Haris- 
 wamini before mentioned, who was the donor of 
 lamps to the shrines of the four Buddhas. 
 
 37. At the north-west angle of the court, a flight 
 of steps formerly led down the hill towards No. 2 
 Tope. Due north there is a ruined flight of steps 
 
 * This inscription had escaped the notice of previous visitors. 
 
200 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 leading- past No. 8 Tope into the road towards the 
 village of Sanchi. At the head of these steps there 
 are two colossal figures, probably of porters or gate- 
 keepers. On the outside of the western wall, and 
 about 20 feet below the level of the court, there is a 
 long, dry tank cut out of the solid rock. Below this 
 there are the ruins of a large oblong building, pro- 
 bably a Vihar, or monastery. Below this again are 
 the circular bases of Topes Nos. 9 and 10, and the 
 stone bowl which has already been described. From 
 this point there is a ruined but well-defined flig*ht of 
 steps leading to No. 2 Tope.* 
 
 * See Plate IV. of this volume for all these ruins. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCH1 BAS-RELIEFS. 201 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE SiNCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 
 
 The bas-reliefs are carved upon the front and rear 
 faces of the architraves, and upon the front and inner 
 faces of the gateway pillars. The outer faces of the 
 pillars are ornamented with, flowers, garlands, and 
 other devices, which need not be detailed. I will 
 begin with the pillar of the eastern gate, and follow 
 in my description the course of the sun round by the 
 south, and west towards the north. The bas-reliefs 
 on the pillars are divided into compartments, which 
 I have numbered from top to bottom. The lowest 
 compartments of the inner faces of all the pillars are 
 occupied by large figures of porters or doorkeepers, 
 some with spears, some with chaoris, &c* 
 
 EASTERN GATEWAY. 
 
 Right Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Palace Scene. — Audience Hall. — Upper apart- 
 ment of palace. Two royal personages seated 
 with several attendants. 
 
 * A very correct view of the Eastern Gateway will be found in 
 Fergusson's Illustrations of Ancient Indian Architecture : Frontis- 
 piece. 
 
202 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 II. Palace Scene. — Women dancing before the king. 
 Raja seated on a morha, or throne, in the palace- 
 hall, holding" the vajra, or thunderbolt, in his 
 right hand, and in his left a gourd. Two attend- 
 ants behind him hold the ckatta and chaori, 
 both being insignia of royalty. On his right 
 is seated either the heir-apparent or the prime 
 minister, attended by two chaori and chatta 
 bearers. On the king's left are two Nachnis, 
 or dancing women, who are dancing to the 
 sound of two sdrangis (or lutes) and two drums. 
 
 III. IV. and V. are the same repeated. 
 
 The whole of this front of the pillar represents a 
 six-storied palace. Each story is supported on a 
 front of four octagonal pillars, with bell-shaped capi- 
 tals surmounted by recumbent winged horses. 
 
 Eight Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Adoration of tree. — Royal figures paying their 
 
 adorations to a tree. 
 
 II. Dream of Maya. — Maya, the mother of Buddha, 
 represented asleep, and the Chddanta elephant 
 touching her feet with his trunk. Below her 
 the Prince Siddhartha is passing through the 
 city gate of Kapila in a chariot drawn by two 
 horses. He is preceded by musicians, and at- 
 tended by elephant riders and horsemen. The 
 rear of the procession is inside the city. In 
 front are three figures with joined hands adoring 
 
DESCRIPTION OP THE SA.NCHI BAS-HELIEFS. 203 
 
 a holy Bo-tree enclosed in a square Buddhist 
 railing". 
 
 This second compartment is one of the most in- 
 teresting" bas-reliefs at Sanchi. The upper portion 
 represents the dream of Maya the Queen of Suddho- 
 dana, Raja of Kapila. She dreamed that she was 
 touched by a Chddanta elephant, which the wise 
 men interpreted as a divine conception. It thus 
 represents the incarnation of the last mortal Buddha, 
 Sakya Sinha. 
 
 The lower portion represents the last act in the 
 life of the Prince Siddhartha, before he took the 
 vows of asceticism. It is in fact the last of the 
 " four predictive signs."* On emerging from the 
 city in his chariot, Sakya saw some healthy, well- 
 clad persons wearing the peculiar robe of those 
 dedicated to religion. These are the three ascetics 
 paying their adoration to the Bo-tree. 
 
 EASTERN GATE. 
 Left Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Adoration of Symbol of Dharma. — Temple con- 
 taining the symbol or monogram of Dharma 
 on an altar ; over which some fabulous Kinnaras 
 are waving garlands and making offerings. On 
 each side of the temple are two royal or lay 
 
 * See the account of the four predictive signs in the second 
 chapter of this work. 
 
204 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 personages with hands joined in adoration (see 
 Plate XXXII. for symbols of Dharma). 
 II. Boat Scene. — Sdkya's Nirvwrta. — A boat is repre- 
 sented on the ocean ; containing* three persons ; 
 one rower, one steersman, and one passenger, 
 all of whom are clad in the costume of the 
 higher ranks of Buddhist ascetics. In the right 
 and left upper corners there are trees ; and scat- 
 tered about in the waters there are lotus flowers, 
 alligators, ducks, and shells. On the shore 
 below are represented four figures also in a 
 religious garb ; one with dishevelled hair and 
 uplifted arms; and the others, who wear caps, 
 with hands clasped together in attitudes of de- 
 votion. In the right hand corner below is a tree 
 with an altar.* 
 
 This scene I have already described in my account 
 of Sakya's death. The passenger is, I think, Sakya 
 Muni, who is represented, after the attainment of 
 Nirvana, or freedom from transmigration, as being 
 wafted over the waters which are said to surround 
 this transitory world. The figures on the shore are 
 a Bhikshu of the lower grade, bewailing the de- 
 parture of Sakya with dishevelled hair and uplifted 
 armB, which, from the accounts given in the Pali 
 
 * See Plate XI. of this volume. The manner in which the 
 planks of the boat are secured together is the same as that which 
 is now practised. I have reduced Major Durand's sketch to one- 
 half size. Numerous shells, ducks, and lotus-flowers have been 
 omitted. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-BELIEFS. 205 
 
 annals, would seem to have been the customary 
 manner of expressing 1 grief at that period. The 
 other figures are Bhikshus who had attained the 
 higher grade of Arahat, and who comforted them- 
 selves with the reflection that " all transitory things 
 are perishable." The difference of rank is known by 
 the bare head of the mourner, and the capped heads 
 of the others; a distinction which still prevails in 
 Tibet, where the lower grades Ge-thsul and Chhos-pa 
 invariably go bare-headed, whilst all the Lamas (or 
 higher grades), including the Grand Lama himself, 
 have their heads covered. 
 
 III. Prince in chariot leaving Kapila. — Gate and 
 walls of city. Chariot with three persons leaving 
 the city, followed by elephant riders and horse- 
 men, who are represented inside the city. Be- 
 yond the walls there are an altar and two royal 
 or lay personages standing before it with hands 
 joined in adoration. The three figures in the 
 chariot are the king, the driver, and the chaori 
 holder. 
 
 This scene probably represents another of the 
 " four predictive signs;" and the figures at the altar 
 may be intended either for the sick or aged persons, 
 whom Sakya met before he became an ascetic. 
 
 EASTEEN GATE. 
 Left Pillar — Inner Face. 
 I. Kitchen Scene. — To the right is the city gate, and 
 a man carrying a banghy, or small load, sus- 
 
206 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 pended by ropes from both ends of a pole. Be- 
 yond him are two women, naked to the waist ; 
 one stooping to fill her water jar from a tank or 
 stream, and the other with a water jar under her 
 left arm. On their right is a male personage, 
 also naked to the waist, his loins and thighs 
 covered in the folds of a dhoti, standing with 
 hands joined in adoration before an altar. On 
 the left of the compartment there is a very lively 
 kitchen scene. A woman, naked to the waist, is 
 husking corn in a large wooden mortar, with a 
 two-handed pestle. A second woman is seated 
 winnowing the corn from the chaff in a flat 
 shovel-shaped basket. A third woman is stand- 
 ing at a four-legged table rolling out chapattis, 
 or unleavened cakes ; and a fourth woman is 
 seated grinding spices or condiments on the sil, 
 or " flat stone," with a bant or round muller. 
 Behind her, seated on the ground, is the Eaja, 
 or master of the household; and in the back- 
 ground are two houses with dome-shaped roofs. 
 The lower portion of the compartment is filled 
 with goats, sheep, and oxen.* 
 This scene is one of the most curious and interest- 
 ing of all the Sanchi bas-reliefs. Women only are 
 employed in all the domestic occupations : in drawing 
 water, in husking and winnowing the corn, and in 
 
 * See Plate XV., fig. 2, of this volume, for the kitchen scene, 
 which is copied from one of Lieutenant Maisey's heautiful 
 sketches. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 207 
 
 the cooking- of food. The last fact is noticed by 
 Quintus Curtius, who, speaking- of the Indian king, 
 says : " Women prepare his food."* The mortar and 
 two-handed pestle are the same as those in use at 
 the present day in India. The mortar (okhli) is 
 exactly the same as the Greek l'-yS»j, and the Roman 
 pila ; and the pestle (musar) is the same as the 
 Greek /coVavov, and the Roman pilum. The primi- 
 tive method of winnowing represented in the above 
 scene is still used in India ; and it recalls one of the 
 blessings of the prophet promised to the children of 
 Israel :f "The oxen likewise, and the young asses 
 that ear the ground, shall eat clean provender which 
 hath been winnowed with the shovel and with the Jan." 
 Bishop Lowth reads, "winnowed with the van and 
 the sieve." But shovel is the nearest descriptive word 
 in English for the present winnowing-basket, which 
 does not seem to differ, even in the slightest, from the 
 ancient one represented in the bas-relief. 
 II. Worship of the Supreme Buddha as Flame. — 
 Temple with altar inside, and a small vessel filled 
 with fire, behind which a five-headed naga, or 
 snake, forms a canopy. Flames issue from two 
 windows in the roof of the temple.J To the left, 
 
 * viii. 9. — Feminae epulas parant. 
 
 f Isaiah xxx. 24. 
 
 X See Plate XXVIII., vol. xvi., Journal of the Asiatic Society 
 of Bengal, for a sketch of the roof of this temple. The worship of 
 fire was repudiated hy the Buddhists ; and one of the principal 
 objects of the assembly of the Third Synod was the expulsion of 
 worshippers of fire from the Vihars. 
 
208 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 three figures in the dress of arhatas, with caps 
 on their heads; their right hands raised, and 
 gourds or water-vessels in their left hands. To 
 the right, five figures, in the same religious cos- 
 tume, with both hands joined in adoration. In 
 the lower corner, to the right, a small hut 
 roofed with leaves ; before or in which a very- 
 holy arhata is seated on a mat, with only the 
 sanghdti, or kilt, about his loins.* His uttara- 
 sangh&ti, or cape, is hanging up inside the house. 
 Apparently he is in deep abstraction, for a cord 
 is passed round his waist and knees as if to keep 
 him from losing his position. In front stands 
 another arhata, with hands joined in supplica- 
 tion to the holy ascetic. Behind the last ascetic 
 there is a fire-vessel, and some instruments, 
 apparently a spoon, a ladle, and a pair of pincers. 
 In the foreground is a sheet of water filled with 
 lotus flowers, wild ducks, and shells. One ascetic 
 is bathing, a second is filling his water-vessel, 
 and two others are coming down to the water 
 with jars. The intermediate space is occupied 
 by an elephant and several buffaloes. 
 At first sight this scene has every appearance of 
 genuine fire-worship. But as Buddhism has nothing 
 in common either with sun-worship or fire-worship, 
 some other explanation must be sought for the scene 
 of this bas-relief. According to the modern Bud- 
 
 • See Plate XV., fig. 1, of this work, for an ascetic and his 
 hut. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 209 
 
 dhists of Nepal, Vairochana, or " Light," is sup- 
 posed to occupy the centre of every chaitya dedicated 
 to Adi Buddha. Amongst the numerous titles of 
 Buddha contained in the Tibetan works, are "the 
 universally radiant sun/' and " the chief lamps of all 
 the regions of space."* A common name also for 
 Buddha was Chakku, or "the eye." In all these 
 titles, " light" is considered as a mere attribute of 
 the all-seeing Buddha. " Adi-Buddha was never 
 seen," said Mr. HodgsonVold Bauddha friend: "he 
 is light." f Now, as light could not be represented, 
 the sculptor was obliged to seek some form which 
 should be typical of it. In the present instance he 
 has selected flame, and in another instance, as we 
 shall see in the next bas-relief, he has taken a pair of 
 eyes. Both are sources of light, and therefore types 
 of the All-seeing - . The Sambhu Pur&na, indeed, 
 distinctly states that Buddha was manifested in the 
 shape of flame J (jyoti-rupya, or " flame-formed"). 
 From these statements it is clear that the fire itself 
 was not worshipped by the Buddhists, but was looked 
 upon simply as the visible type of the All-seeing. 
 This explanation is fully confirmed by the occurrence of 
 other symbols in temples of the same description, both 
 at Sanchi and at Gya, and by the total absence of 
 image-worship. Indeed at this time the Buddhists 
 would appear to have repudiated image- worship, and 
 
 « Prinsep's Journal, L, 383. Wilson's Abstract. 
 
 f Hodgson, p. 67. 
 
 X Hodgson, p. 86, and p. 103 note. 
 
210 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 to have paid all their adoration to symbols of Buddha 
 and of Dharma, and to Topes and trees which had 
 been dedicated to Buddha. 
 
 III. Tope dedicated to the Supreme Buddha. Ascetic 
 Life in the Woods. — A Tope marked with hori- 
 zontal layers of masonry, and decorated with a 
 pair of eyes, one placed above the other. The 
 Tope is surrounded by a square Buddhist rail- 
 ing-.* Background of various trees, amongst 
 which the plantain is easily distinguishable. To 
 the left, a hermit naked to the waist is bringing 
 in a pile of faggots on his shoulder ; a second is 
 carrying a banghy, or pole, with baskets slung at 
 the ends by ropes. A third is seated on a mat, 
 and is apparently feeding a fire kept in a small 
 vessel. A fourth is seated in the same way, and 
 is fanning a fire in a similar vessel. A fifth is 
 fanning an empty-looking vessel, but which may 
 be supposed to contain some hot embers that 
 could be fanned into flame. To the right, two 
 other ascetics are engaged in splitting a log of 
 wood with large felling axes. 
 
 It appears to me that this scene is intended to re- 
 present the fewness of the wants of ascetic life. Each 
 hermit is employed in looking after his own wants, 
 which would seem to be limited to the collection of 
 a small quantity of firewood. At first sight I thought 
 that this scene represented the building of a wooden 
 
 * See Plate III., fig 1 . 7, of this volume. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 211 
 
 Tope ; but the Tope is finished, and the whole of the 
 figures are ascetics. It is possible that they may be 
 preparing 1 small huts for their own residence similar 
 to that shown in the last bas-relief. The neighbour- 
 hood of the Tope makes this supposition highly proba- 
 ble, as it was the usual custom of the Buddhist hermits 
 to congregate around their Topes. The chaitya in 
 this scene is evidently dedicated to the Supreme 
 Buddha, as I have explained in my account of the 
 last bas-relief. 
 
 EASTERN GATE. 
 Architraves — Front. 
 
 I. Worship of Topes. — Upper. — Numerous figures 
 
 paying their adoration to Topes. 
 
 II. Procession of Buddha 's Feet. — Middle. — To the 
 left a city gate into which a procession is enter- 
 ing. In the centre a sacred tree, and to the 
 right a chariot behind which are the holy im- 
 pressions of Buddha's feet. 
 
 III. Worship of Tree. — Lower. — Procession advanc- 
 ing to the worship of a tree in a small Temple. 
 
 Architraves — Rear. 
 
 I. Worship of Trees. — Upper. — Numerous figures 
 
 paying their adoration to trees. 
 
 II. Worship of Trees by Animals. — Middle. — 
 Various animals, such as Bams, Buffaloes, Lions, 
 
212 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Vultures, and others not identified, tog-ether with 
 the Naga Raja, or King* of the Snakes, are all 
 paying - their adoration to a tree. 
 III. Worship of Tope by Elephants. — Lower. — 
 Several Elephants are perambulating a Tope 
 with garlands. 
 
 This scene, I think, represents a tradition pre- 
 served by Fa Hian relative to the Tope at Lan-mo, 
 or Ramagrama.* " In this sterile and solitary place 
 there are no men to sweep and to water ; but you 
 may there see continually herds of elephants s which 
 take water in their trunks to water the ground, and 
 which, collecting all sorts of flowers and perfumes, 
 perform the service of the tower. There were Tao- 
 sse (Rationalists) from various countries who had 
 come to perform their devotions at this tower. They 
 met the elephants, and overcome with terror, con- 
 cealed themselves among the trees, whence they 
 witnessed the elephants performing the duty accord- 
 ing to the law. The Tao-sse were greatly affected 
 to observe how, though there was no one to attend to 
 the service of the tower, it was nevertheless kept 
 watered and swept. The Tao-sse thereupon aban- 
 doned their grand precepts, and returning became Shd- 
 mi. Of themselves they plucked up the grass and the 
 trees, levelled the ground, and kept the place neat and 
 clean. They exerted themselves to convert the king, 
 and induce him to found an establishment of eccle- 
 
 * Fo-ftrve-te, c. xxxiii. Laidlay's Translation. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 213 
 
 siastics, as well as to erect a temple. There is at 
 present a habitation of ecclesiastics. This happened 
 not long" ago, and tradition has transmitted it to the 
 present time." The expression " not long 1 ago" must 
 mean three or four centuries, otherwise the story 
 could scarcely be said to have been transmitted by 
 tradition. At any rate the story illustrated the bas- 
 relief; and proves that there was a belief prevalent 
 at that period that elephants had somewhere paid their 
 devotions to a Tope. See .the description of the 
 lower architrave, Western Gateway, front face. 
 
 SOUTH GATEWAY. 
 Right Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Triple Symbol of Dharma. — A temple supported 
 
 on pillars, and containing an altar on which 
 are placed three symbols or monograms of 
 Dharma.* 
 
 II. Scene in Palace. — King seated with his two 
 wives. Four other females, two seated (wives of 
 less rank), and two standing (attendants). 
 
 III. Casket Scene in Palace. — The king with his 
 family and ministers seated in the foreground to 
 the left. In the centre a relic-casket, with two 
 attendants holding the chatta and chaori over 
 it. To the left, a seated female beating a drum, 
 and a female dancer naked to the waist with 
 her arms stretched before her in a peculiar 
 
 » See Plate XXXII., fig. 22. 
 
214 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 manner, still practised in India. In the back 
 ground two male figures, and one female figure 
 with a round cap similar to those worn by the 
 Kashmiri women of the present day. To the 
 right numerous figures, all standing. Two in 
 the foreground with hands joined in adoration 
 appear to be the Raja and his ministers. They 
 are naked to the waist ; but are literally covered 
 with necklaces, armlets, and bracelets.* 
 
 I. Worship of Topes. -r- Upper. — Three Topes, the 
 
 middle one bearing the inscription No. 190, with 
 the name of Sri Satakarni. On each of the 
 bosses of this architrave, immediately over the 
 pillars, are two men riding oxen. The oxen 
 are regularly caparisoned for riding. The nose- 
 string is passed through the nostrils, and 
 twisted together to avoid the eyes ; the ends 
 are then passed outside the horns, where they 
 are secured from slipping by a head-band. Of 
 the figures on the right boss, one carries a 
 lotus, and the other a relic-box. Those of the 
 left boss both carry trays containing some in- 
 describable object. Between this boss and the 
 end volute a led horse is represented passing 
 through a temple gateway of two architraves. 
 The horse is attended by two figures, one carry- 
 ing a chaori, and the other a vessel exactly 
 resembling a tea-pot. 
 
 II. Worship of Tope.— Middle. — A Tope with in- 
 
 * See Plate XII. of this volume. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 215 
 
 scription in two lines (No. 191). Kinnaras with 
 garlands. King in a chariot with driver and 
 chaori-bearer, attended by elephant riders. 
 III. A siege and Relic Procession. — Lower. — A 
 part of this interesting scene has been made 
 known by James Prinsep;* but the architrave 
 is broken, and the portion to the right of the 
 boss, which has not been published, seems to 
 complete the story, although it forms a different 
 compartment. The scene in the middle of the 
 architrave represents a besieged city. The 
 battlements, the city gate, and the upper stories 
 of the houses, are filled with defenders, who are 
 shooting arrows and hurling stones upon the 
 assailants below. The attack is carried on with 
 arrows only ; but as several of the besiegers are 
 covered with long shields, they were no doubt 
 furnished with swords. One horseman and 
 several elephant riders appear on the left, with 
 two standard-bearers. 
 
 To the right of the boss, the king appears in 
 his chariot, attending an elephant, which bears 
 a relic-box on its head, covered by the honorary 
 chatta. 
 
 The siege represented in this scene was probably 
 undertaken for the purpose of gaining possession of 
 some holy relic, which the king is carrying off to the 
 right. The dresses of the soldiers are remarkable, 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, vol. vi v PI. XXIX. 
 
216 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 and the mode of fastening- the quiver to the back is 
 very peculiar and picturesque. The quiver is fastened 
 to the right shoulder, and the fastenings, which are 
 apparently leather straps, are passed over both 
 shoulders, crossed in front, and carried to the back, 
 where they were probably passed through a ring in 
 the end of the quiver, and then carried to the front 
 and again crossed, the ends being secured by loops to 
 the upper straps,* The only apparent clothing is a 
 kilt 5 but there was no doubt a tight fitting jacket of 
 some kind to cover the body. The whole costume 
 has a striking resemblance to that of the Highlanders 
 of Scotland. 
 
 The swords throughout the Sanchi sculptures are 
 all short and broad. A specimen, hanging- by one of 
 the porter's sides, is given in Plate XXXIII., fig. 3. 
 It agrees exactly with the description of Megas- 
 thenes :f " All wear swords of a vast breadth, though 
 scarce exceeding three cubits in length. When they 
 engage in close fight, they grasp these with both their 
 hands that the blow may be stronger." 
 
 The whole account of Megasthenes, although three 
 hundred years earlier in date than the Sanchi bas- 
 reliefs, is still partially applicable, and may be quoted 
 as much to show the changes which had taken place 
 in that period as to illustrate the military equipments 
 
 * This description recalls the words of the Psalmist regarding 
 the children of Ephraim, who, being harnessed, and carrying bows, 
 turned themselves back in the day of battle. — Ps. Lxxviii. 10. 
 
 f Arrian, Indica xvi. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SlNCHl BAS-RELIEFS. 217 
 
 of the sculptures. In the time of Megasthenes, " the 
 infantry usually carried a bow of the same length with 
 the bearer." This agrees with the bas-reliefs, which 
 represent nearly all the foot soldiers as archers ; but 
 the less ancient bows are much shorter than the 
 bearers, and do not appear to have been more than 
 four feet in length. Most of the bows appear to be 
 straight pieces of barnbu, but a few have the double 
 curve, with a straight hand-piece in the middle, similar 
 to the modern ornamental bows of buffalo's horn. 
 u Their arrows," says Megasthenes, " are little less 
 than three cubits long, and fly with such force that 
 neither shield nor breast-plate, nor any armour, is 
 strong enough to withstand them." * The arrows in 
 the bas-reliefs appear to be from 3 to 5 feet in length. 
 " Some of them," he adds, " use darts instead of 
 arrows." In one of the bas-reliefs a soldier covered 
 by a shield is represented holding a dart horizontally 
 ready to launch it forward. The same dart is placed 
 in one of the porter's hands at the western gate. 
 " Upon their left arms they wear something resem- 
 bling peltce, made of raw hides, rather narrower than 
 their bodies, but nearly as long." The most usual 
 shield represented in the bas-reliefs is long and 
 narrow, and rounded at top. It covers the bearer 
 from the head to the knee, and must therefore have 
 been about 3£ feet in length and 1^ in breadth. In 
 
 * Arrian's Indioa, Q. Curtius, however (viii. 9.), says " that their 
 arrows were only two cubits in length, and were discharged with 
 more exertion than effect, as their weight checked their velocity." 
 
218 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the time of Megasthenes, however, it was fully five 
 feet in length. " The shields of the cavalry were 
 smaller than those of the infantry." This is the case 
 throughout the bas-reliefs, in which the horseman's 
 shield is always about two feet in length. It is very 
 peculiar in form, being shaped like a bell with a very 
 wide mouth, and much rounded at bottom. The usual 
 ornament of the shields both for horse and foot 
 was a double cross, the St. George and the St. 
 Andrew; but a cavalry shield on the western gate 
 bears only a crescent and two stars.* 
 
 WESTERN GATEWAY. 
 
 Right Pillar— Front Face. 
 
 Trial of the Bow. — A river ; archer on the left bank 
 shooting at a rock on the right bank, from 
 which water is gushing forth. A monkey is 
 leaping across the river to a tree on the left 
 bank. Two figures seated under a tree; one 
 with a bare head and clad in a a dhoti, 
 the other richly dressed. Below, the prince on 
 horseback, attended by a chatta-bearer, a flute- 
 player, a bowman, and others in procession. 
 
 This story is also mentioned by Fa Hian,f who 
 places the scene of action beyond the walls of the 
 city of Kapila. There the Prince Siddharta Cc drew 
 
 * See Plate XXXIII., figs. 3, 4, 5, of this work, 
 f Fo-kme-ki, c. xxii. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 219 
 
 a bow, and the arrow flying 1 to the south-west struck 
 the ground at the distance of thirty li (five miles), 
 and caused a spring of water to gush forth. In 
 after times the people built wells on this spot to 
 supply travellers with drinking water." M. Remu- 
 sat* has given a long account of this popular story 
 from the Chinese works ; and it is curious to com- 
 pare this with the original story preserved in the 
 Pali annals of Ceylon. These annals, which were 
 carried to Ceylon by Mahendra, the son of Asoka, in 
 B. c. 240, give the following account : — t " When 
 Prince Siddharta had reached the age of sixteen, his 
 father demanded the daughters of the neighbouring 
 chiefs in marriage for his son ; but they all refused, 
 because the Prince, though handsome, had not been 
 taught any martial accomplishment, and was, there- 
 fore, incapable of controlling women. The Prince 
 inquired " What accomplishment is it necessary 
 for me to exhibit?" His father replied, " To string 
 the bow which requires a thousand persons to bind." 
 11 Bring the bow," said the prince. The bow was 
 brought to him, and he, while still seated, " twisted 
 the bowstring round his great toe, and drawing it 
 with his toe, strung the bow ; and taking the bow in 
 his left hand, and drawing the string with his right, 
 let it (the cord) fly. The whole town started, and to 
 the inquiry, " What noise is this?" the answer was, 
 " The clouds are rolling with thunder •" some others 
 
 * Fo-krve-M, c. xxii., note 7. 
 
 f Tumour in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 804. 
 
220 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 observed, " Ye know nothing- about it ; it is not the 
 rolling- of thunder: it is the ringing- of the bow 
 which requires the strength of a thousand persons, 
 which the great archer, the prince endowed with a 
 halo around his person, has rung." The Sakya 
 princes on hearing of this, from that circumstance 
 alone, commencing to rejoice, were highly gratified. 
 
 The great mortal then inquired " What more 
 should be done?" They replied, " It is requisite 
 that an iron target eight inches thick should be 
 pierced with an arrow." Having pierced it, he said, 
 " What else?" " It is requisite that a plant of the 
 Arsana tree four inches thick should be pierced." 
 Having transfixed that, " What else should be 
 done?" "Then carts filled with sand and with 
 straw." The great elect, then transpiercing the straw 
 cart, drove the arrow one usabhan deep into the 
 water, and eight usdbdni into the earth. They then 
 said, " It will be requisite to pierce a horse-hair, guided 
 by the mark afforded by the suspended fruit of the 
 watingdno" (which is attached to the hair.) Eeply- 
 ing, " Hang it up at the distance of one yojanan," 
 he shot his arrow in a direction which was as dark, 
 under the obscurity of dense clouds, as if it were 
 night, and pierced the horse-hair, which at the 
 distance of one yojanan, was indicated only by the 
 watingdno, which was suspended from it, and it 
 entered the earth. If fully related, these were not 
 all that the great mortal exhibited on that day to the 
 world, in proof of his accomplishments in martial 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SAnCHI BAS-BELIEFS. 221 
 
 deeds. Thereupon the Sakya tribes sent their 
 daughters superbly decorated. There were forty 
 thousand dancing- and singing- girls. The princess 
 (who was afterwards) the mother of Kahulo, became 
 the head queen." 
 
 In this story there is nothing about the gushing 
 forth of the water, which must therefore be an ad- 
 dition of after times, between B. c. 240 and A. D. 
 30, when the Sanchi gateways were erected. The 
 Chinese account also refers the shooting to the 
 occasion of Prince Siddharta's marriage : but his 
 brothers Thiao-tha (or Devadatta) and Nan-tho (or 
 Nando) are brought to compete with him in the 
 trial of archery. " First an iron target was placed at 
 the distance of 10 li, and so on to seven targets. The 
 shafts of the most renowned archers went no further 
 than the first target. Thiao-tha having drawn, shot 
 beyond it and reached the second. Nan-tho surpassed 
 this, and pierced through the third. The other archers 
 being unable to shoot so far, the prince broke all the 
 bows of those who had shot before him ; not one was 
 equal to his strength. The king then said to his 
 attendants, ' My ancestors possessed a bow, which is 
 now in the temple of the Gods; go, bring it.' They 
 went to fetch the bow, which required two men to 
 carry. No man in that assembly could lift it. When 
 the prince shot with it, the twang of the string was 
 heard forty li. The bent bow hurled the shaft so as 
 to pass through the seven targets. He shot again, 
 and the arrow having passed the tai'gets, pierced the 
 
222 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 earth, and caused a spring of water to gush forth. At 
 the third shot he pierced the seven targets, and 
 reached the mountains of the iron girdle. The 
 whole assembly wondered at this unheard-of prodigy. 
 All who had come to partake in the sports were over- 
 come, and returned confounded." The figure shooting 
 must be Sakya himself: the two personages seated 
 under the tree are perhaps his two brothers, Devadatta 
 and Nanda. The figure on horseback is the Prince 
 returning in the very manner related in the Chinese 
 account. "The Prince having thus obtained com- 
 plete victory, the bells were rung, the drums beaten, 
 and amidst vocal and instrumental music, he mounted 
 his horse, and returned to the Palace." 
 
 II. Worship of Tree. — A tree with bunches of 
 berries (perhaps a Pipal tree), with a terrace 
 round it. To right and left Kinnaras and figures 
 riding winged lions. In front, twelve royal or 
 lay personages with uplifted faces and joined 
 hands raised in adoration to the tree. 
 
 III. Worship of Tree — Tufted tree with Kinnaras 
 as above ; but the tree is a different species, per- 
 haps a Mango. In front nine figures with 
 hands simply joined in adoration. 
 
 The worship of trees did not escape the notice of 
 Alexander's followers, for Quintus Curtius* says, 
 "They" (the Indians) "contemplate as Deities what- 
 
 * Q. Curtius, viii. 9. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 223 
 
 ever their ancestors worshipped, particularly trees, to 
 wound which is a capital crime." 
 
 IV. Lions. — Three Lions. 
 
 WESTERN GATE. 
 Right Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Gateway. — Worship of Tree. — Gateway, with one 
 
 architrave, slightly arched, and similar to those 
 of the gateways themselves. Inside the gate- 
 way a tree before which male and female figures 
 are paying adoration with uplifted hands. Horse, 
 Ox, Elephant, and Lion. 
 
 II. Worship of Tree surmounted by Chatta. — Tree 
 covered with garlands, and surmounted by chatta. 
 Kinnai'as with garlands — male figures paying 
 adoration with uplifted hands. 
 
 WESTERN GATE. 
 Left Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 Social Scene. — Tree in middle. To left a royal 
 couple seated on a couch, the male raising a cup 
 to his lips, and the female holding in her hand a 
 round looking-glass similar in shape to those 
 found in the Etruscan tombs.f To right a 
 second couple in social dalliance. In the middle 
 
 t See Plate XXXIII., fig. 28, for this looking-glass. 
 
224 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 below the tree, a couple of servants standing- on 
 a staircase, the male apparently speaking*, and 
 the female holding her right hand over her 
 mouth. 
 
 The male servant in this scene is evidently making 
 some allusion to the amorous dalliance of the loving 
 couples on each side ; and the female is trying to hide 
 or silence her laughter by closing her mouth with her 
 hand : but her bursting cheeks too plainly show that 
 the effort is in vain. 
 
 II. Love Scene — To left a loving couple seated, the 
 female behind with her arms thrown around the 
 male figure. To right a second couple seated 
 face to face. Water below. 
 
 WESTERN GATE. 
 Left Pillar — Inner Pace. 
 
 Ascetic Life. — Archers. — Hut with roof of 
 leaves : in front a bearded ascetic (Srdmana) 
 seated in contemplation, with a band passed round 
 his loins and knees. A second leaf-roofed hut 
 with a female ascetic (Srdmand). Between the 
 huts a vessel containing fire and a spoon ; and in 
 the back-ground a monkey. To the left of the 
 huts are two royal personages, one with uplifted 
 hands in adoration, and the other with the right 
 hand raised, and with a gourd in the left hand. 
 Beyond them are two male ascetics, and behind, 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. 225 
 
 one female ascetic. In front of the figures there 
 are three antelopes, and there is one antelope 
 before the fire. In the foreground, to the right, 
 there is a tree, beneath which are two buffaloes 
 on the edge of a piece of water, to which a boy 
 dressed in a kilt is approaching, with a waterpot 
 on his shoulder. On the boy's right a royal 
 personage is paying reverence to him with 
 uplifted hands ; and to the left of the scene 
 are two archers, one standing with a quiver on 
 his shoulder and a bow in his left hand, the 
 other also standing, bow in hand, having just 
 shot an arrow into a long-haired figure, who is 
 struggling in the water. 
 
 I am unable to offer any explanation of this curious 
 scene, but it may possibly have reference to some 
 event in the early life of Sakya. 
 
 II. Festival of the Tree. — Altar, with tree sur- 
 mounted by chatta, over which Kinnaras are 
 hovering. To the left two females, one carrying 
 a chaori, and the other a water-vessel: to the 
 right a ndchni, or dancing woman, and two 
 other females, one playing a flute, and the other 
 a s&rangi, or lute. In front of the altar a male 
 figure is seated on the ground, lotus in hand, 
 canopied by a five-headed naga. To his left are 
 three females, each holding a cup ; and to the 
 right are two females, each carrying a long drum. 
 Each of these females is canopied by a naga. 
 
 Q 
 
226 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 III. State Barge. — A large vessel floating- in the 
 midst of the ocean. The prow formed of a 
 winged griffin ; and the stern of a dolphin's tail, 
 raised very high out of the water, with a garland 
 hanging from it. In the middle a stately canopy 
 supported on pillars, and ornamented both above 
 and below with the Buddhist railing. Beneath 
 the canopy there is an empty throne, or state 
 morha, over which one attendant is holding the 
 state chatta and another a chaori. A third figure 
 is steering the boat. The water is filled with 
 lotus flowers. Five figures are swimming about, 
 supported either on planks or on inflated skins ; 
 and a sixth figure is stretching out both arms 
 towards the steersman, apparently for assistance 
 to get into the boat. 
 
 It is difficult to say what this scene represents. 
 Captain Fell* described it as a shipwreck. "The 
 vessel," he says, " is on an open sea in the midst of a 
 tempest j near it are figures swimming, and en- 
 deavouring, by seizing piles, &c, to save themselves 
 from sinking. One on the point of drowning is 
 making an expiring effort to ascend the side. The 
 features of all betray their melancholy situation." 
 But this description is far from accurate, for the 
 figures in the water have their backs turned to the 
 vessel, and seem to be floating about quite at their 
 ease. In fact, the whole scene looks more like a 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, iii. 491. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCH1 BAS-RELIEFS. 227 
 
 bathing 1 party than anything else. I presume, how- 
 ever, that it has a religious meaning, and that 
 it is typical of life ; for " our terrestrial globe 
 rests upon the waters like a boat," according to 
 the Buddhists. The empty throne may, perhaps, 
 denote Sakya's attainment of Buddhahood, and 
 his final emancipation from this life. But I do 
 not see how this explanation will suit the swimming 
 figures. If I could find any authority for it, 
 I should prefer the following explanation. The 
 waters represent the ocean of life in which mankind 
 are for ever struggling, and the empty throne is that 
 of a Buddha, the Chakravarti, or Supreme King, 
 who, by. the suppression of all mortal desires, and by 
 the continued practice of abstract contemplation, has 
 freed himself from the trammels of this mortal coil. 
 The figure struggling -to get into the boat is, perhaps, 
 a JBodhisatrva, or one who has nearly attained 
 Buddhahood, 
 
 WESTERN GATE. 
 
 Architraves. — Front Faces. 
 
 I. Procession escorting a Relic Casket. — Upper. — 
 Street of a city to the left ; houses on each side 
 filled with spectators, some leaning on their 
 elbows, and others hanging their arms over the 
 window-sill. In the street a few horsemen head- 
 ing a procession. Behind them the city-gate, 
 
228 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 and walls surmounted with battlements. Imme- 
 diately outside the gate. are four persons bearing 
 either trophies or some peculiar instruments of 
 office. Then follow a led horse, passing a tree, 
 a soldier, with bell-shaped shield, two fifers, three 
 drummers, and two men blowing conches. Next 
 comes the king on an elephant, carrying the 
 holy relic-casket on his head, and supporting it 
 with his right hand. Then follow two peculiarly 
 dressed men on horseback, perhaps prisoners. 
 They wear a kind of cap (now only known in 
 Barmawar, on the upper course of the Ravi), 
 and boots or leggings. The procession is closed 
 by two horsemen (one either the minister or a 
 member of the royal family), and by an elephant 
 with two riders. 
 
 This scene is best illustrated by the account of a 
 relic procession recorded in the Mahawanso.* Dut- 
 thagamini, Rajah of Ceylon, having prepared a golden 
 casket for the enshrinement of some relics brought by 
 the holy monk Sonuttaro, marched in " procession " to 
 the Tope, with the casket " on the crown of his head •" 
 and having deposited the relics therein, placed them 
 on the throne. Afterwards "the monarch, attended 
 by DSvas and men, and bearing on his head the 
 casket containing the relics, making presentations of 
 offerings thereto, and surrounded by the bhikshus, 
 marched in procession round the Tope, and then 
 
 * Mahawanso, p. 190. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-EELIEFS. 229 
 
 ascending- it on the eastern side he descended into the 
 relic-chamber." 
 
 II. Worship of Symbol of Buddha.— Middle.— A 
 wheel on an altar • winged Kinnaras hovering 
 over it with garlands in their hands. Royal 
 personages with uplifted hands joined in ado- 
 ration. Elks and antelopes. 
 
 III. Worship of Tree by Elephants.— Lower. — Ado- 
 ration of Banian-tree by elephants carrying gar- 
 lands; flowers, chatta, and chaori. Two elephants 
 crossing a stream towards a Tope. 
 
 The story represented in this scene is the same 
 as that which has already been described on the 
 rear face of the lower architrave of the Eastern 
 Gateway. 
 
 WESTERN GATE. 
 Architrave — Rear Faces. 
 
 I. Worship of Topes. — Upper. — Adoration of Topes, 
 
 by numerous figures. 
 
 II. Triumphal Procession. — Middle. — Procession 
 entering a city gate. Trophy bearers and mu- 
 sicians leading foot soldiers with long shields; 
 one horseman and three elephant riders. Chariot 
 bearing the Raja and two attendants, followed by 
 two horsemen and two elephant riders. 
 
 III. Temple Worship. — Lower. — Temple. To left 
 
230 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 several figures with uplifted hands in adoration. 
 To right; giants. 
 
 NORTHERN GATEWAY. 
 Right Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Tree, with Staircase. — A long staircase with 
 Buddhist railing on each side. Tree above, and 
 several royal personages with hands joined in 
 adoration. 
 
 Right Pillar — Inner Face. 
 
 I. Worship of Tope. — Tope enclosed by Buddhist rail- 
 ing, and with an entrance gateway, surmounted 
 by two architraves, similar to those of the gate- 
 ways of the Sanchi Tope itself.* A second 
 Buddhist railing which is represented round the 
 side of the Tope, may probably be intended for 
 the railing of the terrace or upper surface of the 
 plinth. The Tope is surmounted by three chattas, 
 emblematic of Buddha. Three figures, with 
 garlands in hand, are perambulating the Tope 
 inside the enclosure. Outside, one figure is 
 carrying a relic-casket, and a second bearing a 
 standard surmounted by the symbol or mono- 
 gram of Dharma. Kinnaras hover above the 
 Tope with garlands. Two figures bear offerings 
 in shields ; two are blowing long horns ; one is 
 
 * This gateway misled Captain Fell, who supposed it to be an 
 entrance into the Tope itself. 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEES. Q31 
 
 playing a double flageolet j and four are beating 
 long drums and kettle-drums.* 
 
 This scene represents the whole ceremony of the 
 solemn adoration of Topes, as practised on stated oc- 
 casions. The perambulation of the Tope, and the 
 open display of the relic-casket, are accompanied with 
 instrumental music and waving of garlands, which 
 have all been fully described in the account of the build- 
 ing and dedication of a Tope, taken from the Maha- 
 wanso. 
 
 II. Adoration of Trees. — Three trees, that to the 
 left with an altar. Two females and a child 
 kneeling between the trees. To the front, two 
 royal personages with hands joined in adoration, 
 and two females with offerings. In the fore- 
 ground two monkeys, one with a cup. 
 
 III, Worship of Tree. — To left, tree and altar. The 
 King and Queen, with hands joined in adoration, 
 standing before the tree. Two attendants with 
 chatta and chaori. To the right an altar, and 
 Kinnaras hovering above it with garlands. 
 
 NORTHERN GATE. 
 Left Pillar — Front Face. 
 
 I. Worship of Tree. — Tree surmounted by chatta. 
 Four figures, in royal costume, seated, to the 
 * See Plate XIII. of this work. 
 
232 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 fron^ with hands joined in adoration"; and four 
 others, in similar dress, carrying" garlands. Ten 
 figures standing with hands joined in adoration. 
 Two figures with large drums above. 
 
 II. Reverence paid to a Boy. — Three temples and 
 three trees. A boy seated with a plumed head- 
 dress (or canopied by a three-headed ndga). 
 Four figures, two royal and two others, with 
 hands joined in adoration. 
 
 This scene, perhaps, represents the story of Bimbi- 
 sara, King of Magadha, paying reverence to the 
 Sakya. 
 
 III. Simple Adoration. — Three male figures and one 
 boy with hands joined in adoration. 
 
 IT. Procession. — Procession through a gateway. 
 Two figures on horseback, preceded by musicians. 
 Battlements of city. Spectators in the upper 
 apartments of the houses. 
 
 This scene, perhaps, represents the return of 
 Sakya to Kapila at the earnest request of his 
 father. 
 
 V. Domestic Scenes at Fountain. — Wild rocks, and 
 water gushing forth into a pool, which is over- 
 flowing. A female seated on the rock with her 
 legs in the water. To the left, a loving couple 
 seated, with their arms thrown around each 
 other ; the male with a cup in his hand. To the 
 right, a royal personage playing the sdrangi, or 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE SANCHI BAS-RELIEFS. £33 
 
 lute. In the foreground, two elephants in water. 
 The king - , seated on the left elephant, is as- 
 sisting' a female to get up behind. On the 
 right elephant two females are seated behind the 
 king. 
 
 This bas-relief appears to represent four different 
 domestic scenes in the life of Sakya. In the first, 
 he is seen seated in playful dalliance with his wife 
 Yasodara. In the second, he is playing the sdrangi, 
 while she is bathing-. In the third, he is assisting her 
 to mount an elephant ; and, in the fourth, they are 
 seated together on the elephant. 
 
 NORTHERN GATE. 
 Left Pillar — Inner Pace. 
 
 I. Cave Temple. — Entrance to a cave temple; nu- 
 
 merous figures standing with hands joined in 
 adoration. The king's face turned towards the 
 temple. 
 
 II. Procession. — Figure in a two-horse chariot 
 issuing from a city gate, preceded by musicians. 
 Standard-bearer mounted on an elephant, and 
 horsemen inside the city. Spectators in the 
 upper apartments of the gateway and in the 
 verandahs of the palace. 
 
 III. Worship of Tree. — Tree and altar. Four 
 females, with long plaited hair, seated in adora- 
 
234 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 tion. Seven females standing 1 with joined hands. 
 One male figure paying adoration. 
 
 This scene represents the king and his family pay- 
 ing their private adorations to one of the sacred Bodhi 
 
 trees. 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 235 
 
 CH'APTER XVI. 
 
 INSCRIPTIONS.— NO. I. TOPE.— SANCHI. 
 
 From North to East — Inside. 
 
 Plate XVI. 
 
 No. 1. — Kekateyapurasa Dhama-Sivasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharma Siva of Kekateyapura." 
 
 This is No. 21 of James Prinsep's Sanchi inscrip- 
 tions.* He reads Kehateyakasa as a part of the 
 donor's name. 
 
 No. 2.—Hanct-bMchhuniy& ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of HANl,>the mendicant nun."j 
 
 No. 3.— Vaja-Gfutasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vajra-Gupta." 
 
 This is No. 25 of Prinsep^ who reads Vajdgato- 
 ddnam, " Gift of VkijagAn ; " because in Pali an 
 becomes ato in the genitive ; but he has omitted the 
 vowel u, and the final s in gutasa, both of which are 
 very distinct even in his own fac-simile. 
 
 * The Nos. of James Prinsep's inscriptions are taken from the 
 Plates in his Journal — vol. vi., Plate XXVII., and vol. vii., 
 Plate XXIII. ; the lesser Nos. being in the former Plate, and the 
 greater Nos. in the latter. 
 
236 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 4. — Dhamagirikasa — m&tu-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharmagirika's mother." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 5, reads Dhamagdlika, but the vowels 
 are very distinct in the inscription. 
 
 No. 5. — Kekateydkasa Jamata Vijitasa d&nam. 
 
 " Gift of Janamata Vrijita of Kekateyaka" 
 
 No. 6. — Kddasa-bhichhuno-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Kanda, the mendicant monk." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 15 ; translates bhichhuno, "poor man •" 
 but the Bhihshu was a mendicant who had taken 
 vows of poverty, and who begged his bread. 
 
 No. 7. — Devo-bh&g (iniya) Dhamanaka (yd) Ihichhuniye 
 d&nam. 
 " Gift of Deva's sister, Dharmanaka, the men- 
 dicant nun." 
 
 From East to South — Inside. 
 
 No. 8. — Vdkaldye Deviye Ahi-Mitama (tu-ddnam). 
 
 " (Gift of) Vakala-Devi, the mother of Ahi- 
 Mitra." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 40 ; reads Akilaye Deviye ahi matu 
 mara ; but the vowel i in Mita is distinct even in his 
 own fac-simile. The mother's name is nearly the 
 same as that of No. 11. 
 
 No. 9. — Phaguyavasa . . ikaya. 
 
 " Of Phalguna the Updsiku." 
 No. 10. — Nagadinasa-bhichhuno-dcmam. 
 
 " Gift of Nagadina, the mendicant monk." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 237 
 
 No. 11. — Ujeniya Vdkiliy&na d&nam. 
 
 « Gift of Vakiliyan of Ujain." 
 
 See No. 76 for another gift of this person. 
 
 No. 12. — Ujeniya Gopdlasa-Visa(ka")masa-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Gopala Viswakarma (the architect) 
 of Ujain." 
 No. 13. — Ayapasanakasa — bhichhuno-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arya-Prasanaka, the mendicant 
 monk." 
 No. 14. — Nadinagara Achalaya-bhikhuniya ddnam, 
 
 " Gift of Achala, the mendicant nun of Nadina- 
 gara." 
 No, 15. — Nadinagard Kabojasa-lhikhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Kamboja, the mendicant monk of 
 Nadinagara." 
 
 From South to West Gate — Inside. 
 
 No. 16. — Siha-Bakhitasa-pajavatiya Sono Devaya ddnam. 
 " Gift of Sinha-Rakshita's sister-in-law, Sona- 
 Deva." 
 
 Pajavati is the Sanskrit Praj&vati, a brother's 
 wife. Prinsep, No. 8, reads this inscription quite 
 differently : — 
 
 Siha-rakhitasa-parawtiyasa-rudov&ya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Sri (or Sinha) Bakhita, the hill man, to Rudova ? " 
 
 out the lady's name is again mentioned in the next 
 inscription : — 
 
 No. 17. — Sono-Dewya-parijaya Agidoviyadha-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Sona-Deva's servant, Agni, the washer- 
 man" (?) 
 No. 18. — Subhagdyasa-bhdginikaya-d&nam. 
 
 " Gift of Subhagaya's sister." 
 
238 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Prinsep, No. 7, reads Sabhageyamasa-aginikeya 
 ddnam, " Gift of Sabhageya, the fireman (or black- 
 smith) •" but I had the letters of all the inscriptions 
 well cleaned before I copied them, and I have full 
 confidence in my own transcript (See No. 36 for a 
 gift of Subhaga himself) : — 
 
 No. 19. — Dhama-Bakhitasa — bhichhuno-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharma Rakshita, the mendicant 
 monk." 
 No. 20. — A (yd) sa-kamakasa-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arya-Karmaka." 
 No. 21 . — Pusagirino — bhichhuno-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Pusagiri, the mendicant monk." 
 No. 22. — . . . pasa-kama Chada bhichhuniya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of . . . pakarma ChandI, the men- 
 cant Nun." 
 
 No. 23. — Samanerasa Abeyakasa Sethino ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of the ascetic Abeyaka, the Sreshti." (See 
 No. 124.) 
 
 Sreshti means the master of a trade or guild ; a 
 " deacon" in Scotland. Prinsep, Nos. 4 and 11, 
 makes Samanera a man's name ; and reads " Gift of 
 Samanera and of Abeyaka;" but the omission of the 
 conjunction cha, which should follow each name (if 
 this were the true reading) shows that Samanera is 
 only the common title of ^TTOWtTj Srdmanera, an 
 ascetic. 
 
 No. 24. — Pati-bdnasa hhichhuno Pddayasa Atevdsino ddnam. 
 " Gift of Pratiban, the mendicant monk, pupil 
 of Pdndaya." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. S39 
 
 No. 25. — Udubaraghariyasa Sa . . . Rakhitasa-ddnam. 
 " Gift of 8ANDHAEAKSHiTA ; of Udubaraghariya." 
 
 This inscription has puzzled Prinsep from its 
 rudeness. 
 
 No. 26. — Udatikaye bkichhuni Vedisikayd ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of TJdatika, the mendicant nun of Vidisa." 
 
 From West to North Gate. — (Inside.) 
 
 No. 27. — Yasopdlasa-da (nam) Ihadanaka. 
 
 " Gift of Yasopala, the fortunate?" 
 No. 28. — Mahamaragimusapagirino-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Sarpagiri, the . . . 
 
 No. 29.— Pusasa-cha-Hatiyasa bhichhunoddnam. 
 
 "Gift of Pusa and of Hatiya, the mendicant 
 monks." 
 No. 30. — Dhama Rakhitaya Madhava-nikdye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharma Rakshita, of the Mddhava 
 community." 
 
 13TRJ, nikaya, means an assemhly, a congrega- 
 tion. 
 
 No. 31. — Dhana-bhiMuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dhana, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 32. — (Ga) ha-patino Budha Ghosa . . . 
 
 " (Gift of) the householder, Budha Ghosha." 
 No 24. — Gotiputasa Bhadukam bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Goti's son, Bhanduka, the mendicant 
 monk." 
 
 See No. 110 for another son of Goti. See also the 
 relic hones of Sanchi, Sonari, and Andher, for other 
 sons of the same teacher. 
 
240 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 34. — Veyajasa-g&masa-ddnam. 
 " Gift of Vejajjagrama." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 10, suggests that the population of a 
 village ; called Vrijagrdma, combined to make this 
 offering; but the name is most probably that of a 
 man. 
 
 No. 35. — Araha-Gutasa Sds&dakasa bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arhata Gupta, a mendicant monk of 
 the Sdsdrdaka order." 
 
 Sdsan is " devotion/' and arda means " to beg;" 
 Sdsdrdaka, therefore, means a religious mendicant, 
 but as Bhikshu has the same signification, I have 
 considered the former as the title of a particular class 
 or order. 
 
 No. 36. — Sabhagasa Koragharasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Subhaga, of Koraghara. 
 
 (See No. 18 for a gift of Subhaga's sister.) 
 No, 37. — Aya Bahilasa Sdrhineyakasa-Mdtu ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arya EahilI, the mother of Sarhi- 
 neyaha. 
 
 There is a grammatical mistake in the masculine 
 termination of the female name, which should have 
 been Bahilaya. The son's name may be read 
 Saphineyaha. 
 
 From East Gate— Outside. 
 
 No. 38. — Vaddn&ye Upa&ikdyd ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vadana, the Updsikd." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 241 
 
 Upasika means literally a c< worshipper/' or rather a 
 " female worshipper." M. Burnouf* renders this 
 term by " devotee/' which certainly appears to be 
 the best equivalent for it. I consider the Up&saka 
 and Upasika as male and female devotees who had 
 not taken the vows of celibacy and mendicancy pro- 
 fessed by the Bhihshu and JShikshuni. 
 
 No. 39. — Kdkandye Bhagavatopamona-lathi ; or 
 Kdhenoye Bhagavatopamdne-rathi, 
 
 as Prinsep, No. 18 ; reads it; but he gives no trans- 
 lation. I can only suggest Bhagavata-upamanoratM, 
 which may be translated — 
 
 " Gift of K&kana, an anxious longer for Bhagavat." 
 
 Manor atha is " wish, desire/' and upa means " excess 
 of anything." Bhagavata is the " Supreme Being," 
 and is often applied to Buddha. 
 
 No. 40. — Tubavani-gahapatinopatithiya-nasdya-visamana- 
 datiya-ddnam ; or 
 Gobavand-gahapati-nopatidhiyanusaya vesa-man- 
 dataya ddnam, 
 
 according to Prinsep, No. 6, who thus translates 
 
 * Introduction a l'Histoire du Buddhisme Indien, p. 279 — "La 
 lecture attentive des textes, et quelques autorites non moins 
 respectable a mes yeux que celles que je viens de citer, m'ont 
 decide en faveur du sens de devot ou fdtte." See also Wilson's 
 Hindu Theatre, i. 123, where the heroine of the Mrichhakati is 
 called BuddhopAsikd, the " devoted-to-Buddha." 
 
 R 
 
242 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 it : " Gift of the cowherd Agrapati, commonly 
 called Nopati, to the highly ornamented (Chaitya) :" 
 but Agrapati would be written Agapati, and not 
 Agahapati. In fact, gahapatino is the Pah genitive 
 of the Sanskrit grihapati, a " householder/' and the 
 inscription may be read thus : — 
 
 " Gift of Visarmana-datti the . . • of Pratisthiya, a 
 householder of Tubavan." 
 
 taking patithiya for pratisthiya. The next inscrip- 
 tion, which is four times repeated, refers to the same 
 person, and proves the correctness of my reading. It 
 is Prinsep's No. 9. 
 
 No . 41 . — Tubamni-gakapatino-patithiyasa-ddnam . 
 
 " Gift of Pratisthiya, a householder of Tula- 
 van." 
 
 No. 42. — NamdmaMdisd rakhitasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isa-Rakshita, of Narmamakddi " ? 
 
 No. 43. — Nadavuno-cha Nadidrohisa-cha dinam. 
 
 " Gift both of Nandabu and of Nadisirohi." 
 
 No. 44. — Pothd Devdya ddnam. 
 
 "GiftofPoTHA-DEVA." 
 
 No, 45, — Kandarigdmiyasa - Sethino -pajavatiya Ndgaya- 
 danam. 
 " Gift of NagA, the sister-in-law of the Sreshti of 
 Kandarig&miya." 
 
 No. 46. — Kandarigdmiyasa - Sethino -pajavatiya - Ddsdya- 
 ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of DAsA, the sister-in-law of the Sreshti of 
 Kandarigamiya.' ' 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 243 
 
 No. 47. — Kandarigamd-varhasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vakha, of Kandarigr&ma." 
 
 Kandarigrdma, or grdmiya, must have been a con- 
 siderable place ; or it would not have had a Sreshti. 
 
 No. 48. — Mulagirino ddnam lekhakasa. 
 
 " Gift of Mulagiri, the scribe." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 30, reads lakhakasa, the " millionaire." 
 But the inscription occurs twice, and is quite distinct. 
 
 No. 49. — Ujeniyi . . . 
 
 No. 50. — Yakhadtinasa-bhikhuno-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Yakshadana, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 51. — Padondya- Upasikdkaya-ddnam. 
 " Gift of Padona, the devotee." 
 
 No. 52.— . . . raha-Savdnodasa Isadatasa-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isa-datta, the humble in all things" 1 
 
 I have taken savdnoda as a compound of sarvva, 
 " all" and anuddhat, humility ; but this rendering- is 
 a mere conjecture. 
 
 No. 53. — Navagdmikand Upasik&na-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Navagamika, the devotee." 
 
 No. 54. — Isi-Mitdyd Vahilasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isi-Mitha of Vakila. (Bhilsa ?)" 
 
 This inscription is on the coping* to the north-east. 
 
 No. 55. — Ujeniya Rohuniya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Rohuni of Ujain." 
 
 No. 56. — Ujeniya Dhamagirino-ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dhabmagiei of Ujain." 
 
244 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Prinsep, No. 29, reads Dhamagilino, but the 
 meaning- of the name remains unchanged, the two 
 liquid letters r and Z being constantly used the one 
 for the other. 
 
 No. 57. — Ujeniya Sonasa ddnam. 
 
 "GiftofSoNAof Ujain." 
 No. 58. — Ujeniya Tapasaydna Pusanajaya ddnam. 
 
 "Gift of the tapasya (ascetic) Pusdnajd of 
 Ujain." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 35, reads punsanamjaya, and trans- 
 lates " The victory gift of the people performing 
 austerities at Ujain." But tapasya is only a title, 
 like that of Bkikshu or Upasikd • and it is not easy 
 to imagine how the gift of a stone-slab could have 
 anything to do with a victory. 
 
 No. 59. — Ujeniya Tapasayana Isi Mitasd-ddnam. 
 " Gift of the ascetic Isi-Mitra of Ujain." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 32, reads Isi-mdtasa, and translates, 
 " The gift of the body of rishis performing* their 
 austerities at Ujain." 
 
 No. 60. — Ujeniya Mula-dataye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Mula-datta of Ujain." 
 No. 61.— Ujeniya Balakaya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Balaka of Ujain." 
 
 No. 62. — Ujeniya Upedadatasa — pajavataya Maya-dalaya 
 ddnam. 
 "Gift of Mayadatta, the sister-in-law of 
 TJpendradatta of Ujain." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 245 
 
 Prinsep, No. 34, reads padavalayuchhaya, and 
 translates, " The gift of Upendradatta of Ujain, for a 
 perpetual charity to the itinerants." But it is dif- 
 ficult to conceive how the gift of a stone to the 
 Sanchi enclosure could form a charity to anybody. 
 The correctness of my reading is proved by the two 
 following inscriptions. Upendradatta's own gift is 
 recorded in No. 90. 
 
 No. 63. — Ujeniya Upedadatasa bhaginiya Himadataya 
 ddnam. 
 " Gift of Himadatta, the sister of Upendra- 
 datta of Ujain." 
 No. 64. — Ujeniya Upedadatasa ihaginiya Budhaye-ddnam. 
 " Gift of Buddha, the sister of Upendradatta of 
 Ujain." 
 
 No. 65. — Ujeniya Kadiye bhichhuniye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Kadru, the mendicant nun of Ujain." 
 
 No. 66. — Ujeniya Chheta-matu ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Chhetra's mother of Ujain." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 31, prefers Kshatra's mother j but 
 the meaning- is exactly the same. 
 
 No. 67. — Ujeniya Tapasiyena Siha-dataya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of the Ascetic Sinha-datta of Ujain." 
 
 This is probably the same inscription as Prinsep's 
 No. 37. If so the p of Tapasiyena has been omitted. 
 
 No. 68. — Ujeniya Saphineyakina Isakasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isaka, the Saphineyaki (?)of Ujain." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 33, translates " The gift of the 
 
246 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 morality students of TJjain to the rishis." By reading 
 savineyaka, as Prinsep has done, the translation 
 would rather be " learned in Vinaya," which was the 
 name of the lowest class of Buddhist scriptures. 
 
 No. 69. — Kuraghara hi Mitaya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isi Mitra of Kuraghara." 
 
 No. 70.— Ujeniya Vipulaya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vipula of TJjain." 
 
 No. 71. — Kuraghara Naraya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Nara of Kuraghara." 
 
 No. 72. — Kuraghari Nigd Mitaya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Nagamitra of Kuraghari." 
 
 No. 73. — Bodhe Gothiye Dhama Varhanana ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Bodhi-Gothi for the advancement of 
 Dharma." 
 
 No. 74. — Nagddinasa-bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Nagadina, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 75. — Phaguyavasa . rikdya. 
 
 "(Giftof)PHALGUNA . . ." (See No. 9.) 
 
 No. 76. — Ujeniya Vakiliydnd ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vakiliyan of TJjain." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 28, reads Phahiliyanam, and trans- 
 lates "Gift of subscribers of Ujain." See No. 11 for 
 another of this person's gifts. 
 
 No. 77. — Ujeniya Gohilasa Visasa-cha d&nam. 
 
 " Gift of Gohila and of Viswa of Ujain." 
 
 No. 78. — Chirdtiya hhichhuniyd ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Chirati, the mendicant nun." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 14, translates bhikshuni as " poor 
 woman." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 247 
 
 No. 79. — Sadhanasa bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Sadhana, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 80. — Aswa-Devaye Bahadata mdtu ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Aswa-Deva, the mother of Bahadatta." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 41, reads " Aswa Devi." 
 
 No. 81. — Utareyekasa Saligutasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Satya Gupta of Utareyaka." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 38, reads Ogireyakasa, the l< Agar- 
 wala" or " son of Agra;" but his fac-simile begins 
 with u } and not with o. 
 
 No. 82. — Araha Gutaya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of the Arhata, Gupta," or 
 " Gift of Arhata Gupta." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 13, Arahagataya, of Arahagatd. I 
 am not sure that the lady had attained the rank of 
 arhat ; for it is quite possible that araha should form 
 only part of her name, arhata Gupta, or " cherished 
 by the arhats f for a Bhikshuni, even of eighty years 
 of age, was inferior to an upasampada, or newly 
 ordained monk of twenty years. 
 
 No. 83. — Aswa Devaya Sarnikasa Mdtu danam. 
 
 " Gift of Aswa Deva, the mother of Samika." 
 
 (See No. 80, and No. 119). 
 
 No. 84. — Yasilaya Atevasini Sagha Rakhitaya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Sangha Kakshita, the pupil of 
 YasM." 
 No. 85. — Sethino-m&tu Kaniya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Kaniya, the mother of the Sreshti." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 17, reads rnata, and translates " the 
 
248 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Sethin's deceased daughter;" but the word ddnam 
 shows that the inscription records a " 'gift," and not 
 an " obituary notice." 
 
 No. 86. — Yasilaya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Yasila." 
 
 See No. 84 for this lady's name. She is there re- 
 corded as the teacher of Sangha Rakshita. Prinsep, 
 No. 27, reads Yasili. 
 
 No. 87. — Setldno-gliati-kamak&rikana ddnam; or, 
 Seth in o-pati-hamakalik&n d ddnam, 
 
 of Prinsep, No 26, who translates " Gift of the 
 serving women of the nobility." But the second 
 word is ghati, a ghat, or landing-place; and as 
 makarin, or makarika, means the ocean, I think that 
 the translation should be — 
 
 " Gift of the Sreshti of the Sea-ghat." 
 
 that is, u of the harbour-master." 
 
 No. 88. — Vasulaye danam. 
 " Gift of Vasula." 
 
 Prinsep, Nos. 24 and 25, reads Vasuliye, but 
 notices that the name, which occurs more than once, 
 is also written Vasulaye, and states that these dif- 
 ferences are caused by an attempt to render without 
 compound letters the Sanskrit genitive Vasulyah. 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 249 
 
 No. 89. — Dadatasa Pdwdrikasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dandata of Pdwdrika." 
 
 The town of Pdwd was on the northern bank of the 
 Ganges between Vaisali and Kusinagara. 
 
 No. 90. — Upedadatasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Upendradatta." (See Nos. 62, 63, 
 64.) 
 
 No. 91. — SemaJcaye Dhitaye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Semakadhrita." 
 
 No. 92. — Vdghumanyo Saghadandya bhichhuniye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Sangha-dana, the mendicant Nun, of 
 Vaghumanya" ? 
 
 No. 93. — Yakhiya bhichhuniye- Vedisa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Yakshi, the mendicant nun of Vidisa." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 42, translates " Gift of Yakhi, the 
 priestess and traveller." 
 
 No. 94. — Kudurasa Sethi Bha {dasa) ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Bhadka, Sreshti of Kundura." 
 
 No. 95.—Kurardye tapasiye matu ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Kurara, the ascetic's mother." 
 
 No. 96. — . . . pidalaya Sadina pajava(ti)ya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of . . . pidattd, the sister-in-law of Sadi." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 45, reads hidatdye sada dinadhe 
 
 jivdya ddnam, and translates, " A gift for those living" 
 
 here (for distribution of food) at midday for ever." 
 
 But the gift of a pillar or rail of the stone enclosure 
 
 can have no connection with the provision of food. 
 
250 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 97. — Chada Gutasa sA . . . hagomiya . . . mita ddnam. 
 " Gift of Chandra-Gupta . . ." 
 
 No. 98. — Dhara-hind Sdtilasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of SAntila of Dharaki (? Dharanagara)." 
 
 No. 99. — Kdpasigama Arahasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Kapasigrama, the arhat." 
 
 This may be read in another way as ; " Gift of the 
 arhat of Kapasigrama (cotton-town) f but the former 
 seems the more simple reading and is also in keep- 
 ing- with the other inscriptions, each of which records 
 the gift of a particular individual. This inscription 
 occurs twice. 
 
 No. 100. — Ketakareyakasa Araha-ddsasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arhata-Dasa, of Ketakareya." 
 No. 101. — Ketakareya BJiadakasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Bhadraka of Ketakareya.'' 
 
 This inscription occurs three times. 
 
 No. 102. — Apathakasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Aprasthaka." 
 No. 103. — Bhoga-varhanakasa Ajiti-gutasa. 
 
 " (Gift) of Ajita-Gupta, the increaser of en- 
 joyment." 
 No. 104. — Bajahikdtd Arahadinasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arahadina of Rajahikati." 
 
 No. 105. — -Bhoga-varhana Dhama Bakhitaya Siva Nadino 
 matu. 
 " Gift of Siva-Nandi's mother, Dharma Rak- 
 shita, the increaser of enjoyment." 
 
 This occurs twice. The use of the names of Siva 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 251 
 
 and Nandi at this early period is very remarkable. 
 The Bhogavarhana of this inscription, as well as of 
 No. 103, may perhaps be the name of a place. 
 
 No. 106. — Saghaya ddnam. 
 
 "GiftofSANGHA." 
 
 No. 107. — Navagdmakasa Milcaye Ujenihdrd danam. 
 
 " Gift of Mriksha, of Navagdmaka (New-town), 
 in Ujain." 
 
 No. 108. — Sri Gutasa Vdnijasa danam. 
 
 " Gift of Sri-Gupta, of V&nijaf or 
 
 " Gift of Sri-Gupta, the grain merchant." 
 
 It is not impossible that Vanija may mean only 
 " nephew, or " sister's son ;" the bhdnjd of Urdu. 
 
 No. 109. — .Subdhitasa-pajavatiyd Majhimdyd danam. 
 
 " Gift of Madhyama, the sister-in-law of Suba- 
 hita." 
 
 No. 110. — Subdhitasa Gotiputasa, Rajalipdkarasa danam. 
 "Gift of Subahita, son of Goti, the royal 
 scribe." 
 
 This is the most valuable of all the inscriptions on 
 the Sanchi colonnade ; as it belongs to the family of 
 Goti, whose eldest son Gotiputra was the teacher of 
 the celebrated Mogaliputra. This inscription there- 
 fore serves to fix the date of the Sanchi enclosure in 
 the early part of Asoka's reign. 
 
 No. 111. — Taradapaddnd Updsikaya danam. 
 
 " Gift of Tarandapada, the devotee." 
 
 No. 112. — Burdya musanagothiyajana Vedisdnyd. 
 "GiflofBuRA(?) . . . of WW 
 
259 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 113. — Dhama Rakhitaya Ihichhuniye kdchupathasa 
 ddnam. 
 " Gift of DriABMA Bakshita, the mendicant 
 nun, of Katyaprastha." 
 
 No. 114. — Dhama Rakhitasa Kachhupathasa bhichhuno 
 ddnam. 
 " Gift of Dharma RakshitA, the mendicant 
 monk, of Katyaprastha." 
 
 No. 115. — Sandh&nasa hhichhu danam. 
 
 " Gift of SandhAna, the mendicant monk." 
 
 The possessive termination of bhichhu(no ) is 
 omitted in the original. 
 
 No. 116. — Pusagirino Vagamahasa danam, 
 
 " Gift of Pusagiri, of Vangamaka ;" or 
 " Gift of Vangamaka of Pusagiri." 
 
 South Gate. — Outside. 
 
 No. 117. — Bhichhakasa Padanayasa danam. 
 
 " Gift of the mendicant Padanaya." 
 
 No. 118. — Vdghumato Kachano-pitano ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vaghuman, the father of Katya." 
 
 No. 119. — Samikasa- Vdnikasa- 
 
 No. 120. — -putasa-cha-Siripalasa 
 
 No. 121. — danam = 
 
 " Three (=) gifts of Samika, son of VInika, and 
 
 of SRIPi.LA." 
 
 This inscription is carved on three railing's of the 
 colonnade^ and, as the gift thus consisted of three 
 rails, I presume that the three horizontal strokes 
 which follow danam are intended for that number. 
 See Plate IX. of the Sanchi enclosure, where this 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 353 
 
 curious inscription is shown in the actual position which 
 it occupies on the three rails. For Samika's mother 
 see No. 83. 
 
 No. 122. — Bhadata Vdjukasa danam. 
 
 " Gift of Bhadrata Vanjuka." 
 No. 123. — Visakhasa bhichhuno danam. 
 
 " Gift of Vaisakha, the mendicant monk." 
 
 PI. XVIII. No. 124. — Sdmanerasa Abeyakasa Sethino diinam. 
 " Gift of the ascetic Abeyaka, the Sreshti." 
 
 See No. 23. 
 
 No. 125. — Nadi-Gutasa danam bhichhuno. 
 
 " Gift of Nandi (or Nadi) Gupta, the mendi- 
 cant monk." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 12, reads Nadigata, a " ferryman." 
 
 No. 126. — Podaka d&nadata Dha (mika) d&nam. 
 
 "The religious gift of Podraka Danadatta." 
 
 No. 127. — Arapanato arahadi (nasa matu ddnani). 
 
 " Gift of Aryapana (the mother of) Arhata- 
 
 DINA." 
 
 See No. 148 for another inscription of the same 
 lady. 
 
 No. 128. — Nyabalamidakajape-danam. 
 
 (?) 
 
 No. 129. — Madhnvana JDhama Gutasa bhichhuno danam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharma Gupta, the mendicant monk, 
 of Madhuvana" (perhaps Mahobd). 
 No. 130. — Nadasa Kurarago. 
 
 " (Gift of Nanda, of Kurara . . ." 
 No. 131. — Mahagirino bhichhuno danam. 
 
 " Gift of Mahagiri, the mendicant monk.'' 
 
254 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 132. — Madkuvana Isidataya bhichuniye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isidatta, the mendicant nun of Ma- 
 dhuvana." 
 
 No. 133. — Isidataye Ihikhiniye Kurariye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isidatta, the mendicant nun of Kurd- 
 riya." 
 
 No. 134. — Dhama Pdlasa . . . thukapadinasa ddnam. 
 " Gift of Dharma Pala ..." 
 
 No. 135. — Upasijhasa Phagunasa bhatu bhichhuno. 
 
 " (Gift) of Upasidya, the brother of Phalguna, 
 the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 136. — Bhoga-varhanato Isi Rakhitaya. 
 
 " (Gift) of Isi Rakshita, the increaser of enjoy- 
 ment." 
 
 No. 137. — Bhoga varhand Dunyondne. 
 
 " (Gift) of Dunyona, the increaser of enjoyment." 
 
 No. 138. — Kurariyasa Vimalasa ddnam. 
 " Gift of Vimala, of Kurariya." 
 
 No. 139. — Sdmidatasa bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Swamidatta, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 140. — Devagirino Padenekayikasa. 
 
 " (Gift) of Devagiri, of Pandenekayika." (?) 
 
 No. 141. — Bhichhunosa Atevasa . . . 
 
 " Gift of the mendicant's pupil . . ." 
 
 No. 142. — Pasakasa bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Parswaka, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 143. — Chudasa-cha Dhama Rakhitasa bhichhuno 
 ddnam. 
 " Gift of Kshudra and of Dharma Rakshita, 
 the mendicant monks." 
 
 No. 144. — Ujeniye Agisamaye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Agnisarma, of Ujain." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 255 
 
 No. 145. — Patithanasa bhichhuno-d&nam Ay a . i . na 
 Atevasino. 
 " Gift of PratisthAna, the mendicant monk, 
 pupil of Arya . • ." 
 
 No. 146. — Budha Rakhitasa bhichhuno danam Esavatasq. 
 
 " Gift of Budha Rakshita, the mendicant 
 monk . . ." 
 
 No. 147. — Nadinagarikaya Isidinaye Ihichhuniye. 
 
 " Gift of IsidinA, the mendicant nun of Nadina- 
 garika." 
 
 No. 14S.—Ardp&na Asadasamatu danam. 
 
 " Gift of AryApAnA, the mother of Asada." 
 
 See No. 137 for another inscription of the same 
 name. 
 
 No. 149. — Ujeniye-tdpasiyana Nasaya Mitaya. 
 
 " (Gift) of Nasa-Mitra, the (female) ascetic." 
 No. 150. — Bharadiyasa Sapurisasa Yugapajakasa danam. 
 
 " Gift of Bhardiya (son) of the emancipated 
 Yugaprajnaka." (Luminary of the age.) 
 
 The term sapurisa is the Pali form of the Sanskrit 
 sapurusha, which is a compound of sa, with, and 
 purusha, the divinity, or of the pronoun sa, which, 
 when joined with purusha, means, " the man," or 
 " that man," or simply " the mortal." The term is 
 found on nearly all the relic-caskets, and must there- 
 fore apply to the dead. Accordingly I have every 
 where rendered it by " emancipated," that is, from 
 future transmigrations. This gives the meaning at- 
 tached to the term by the Buddhists ; but perhaps a 
 more literal translation would be "absorbed," that is, 
 
256 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 into the divine essence. Each word gives the meaning' 
 in part only ; for the term sapurusha implies one who 
 has attained Buddhahood by " absorption " into the 
 divine essence, and who is therefore " emancipated" 
 from future transmigration. Perhaps the best render- 
 ing would be *' the Buddha," that is, one who has at- 
 tained Buddhahood : but as the sole aim of the 
 Buddhist was to obtain moksha, that is, " liberation, 
 or emancipation" from transmigration, I have pre- 
 ferred the well-known term " emancipated." 
 
 No. 151. — Ayadhanakasa bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Aryadhanaka, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 152. — Jonhalcasa bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Grift of Jonhaka, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 153. — Jenahasa-bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Jenaka, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 154. — Dhama Bakhitdya Madhuvanikaye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharma Rakshita, of Madhuvanika." 
 
 No. 155. — Mahamarati musipagarano-ddnam. 
 
 This inscription appears to be the same as No. 28 ; 
 but I am unable to offer any translation. 
 
 No. 156. — Yaso-P&lasa ddnam hhasikada. 
 
 "GiftofYASO-PiLA." 
 
 No. 157. — Dhanagirino ddnam. 
 
 "GiftofDHANAGIRI." 
 No. 158. — Pusasa-cha Hatiyasa bhichhuno ddnam. 
 
 "Gift of Pusa and of Hatiya, the mendicant 
 monks." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 257 
 
 From South Gate to West Gate. 
 
 No. 159. — Balikdya hhichhuniya madald chhakatikaye 
 ddnam. 
 " Gift of Balika, the mendicant nun of the tem- 
 ple of Chhakrdtika." 
 No. 160. — Dhamasthiriyd IMchhuniye madala chhikatikaye 
 ddnam. 
 " Gift of Dharma Sthiri, the mendicant nun of 
 the temple of Chhakrdtika." 
 No. 161. — Avisinaye Sutatikiniyd madala Chhikatikaye 
 danam. 
 " Gift of Sutrantikirni, the novice of the temple 
 of Chhakr&tika." 
 
 The term Avisina occurs in No. 190 as Avesani, 
 which means an " entrance," from vis "to enter." 
 Avesana and Avesand may therefore be the titles of 
 those who had entered into the religious life, but had 
 not yet taken the vows. I have consequently, but 
 not without hesitation, rendered the terms by " neo- 
 phyte" and " novice." This inscription occurs 
 twice. It may also be rendered " Gift of Avisina, 
 the Sutrdntiki (or reader of the Sutras), in the temple 
 of Chhrakratika." 
 
 No. 162. — Sagha Devasa Verohakatasa Vdniddsa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vani Dasa, the . . . of Sangha 
 Deva." 
 No. 163.— Bhadikiyasa Sanghilasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Bhadikriya, of Sanghila ;" or perhaps, 
 " Gift of Sanghila, of Bhadikriya." 
 No. 104. — Arahata Palitasa . . . 
 
 " Gift of the Arhata Palita . . ." 
 
 S 
 
258 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 165. — Arahakasa Paripanakasa ddnam. 
 
 "Gift of the Arhata Paripanaka." 
 No. 166. — Dhamagirika m&tu ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharmagiri's mother." 
 
 From West to North. — Outside. 
 
 No. 167. — Udiya Nadinagariya ddnam. 
 " Gift of Udi, of Nadinagari." 
 
 This occurs twice on portions of the fallen colon- 
 nade to N. W. 
 
 No. 168. — Sadhathasa Va . . . 
 
 " Gift of Sadhantha . . ." 
 No. 169. — Id Dasiyena d&nam : Garakaye hhichhuniye 
 d&nam. 
 " Gift of Garaka, the mendicant nun, offered by 
 Isi Dasi." 
 No. 170. — Nadinagara Dupasaha hhichhuniye ddnam. 
 
 "Gift of Drupasaha, the mendicant nun of 
 Nadinagara." 
 No. 171.— Yakhadasiya dd(nam). 
 
 "GiftofYAKSHA-DASI." 
 
 No. 172. — Datakulavadasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Datta-Kulavada." 
 
 On Small Pillars Fallen from Upper Enclosure. 
 
 No. 173. — Damakasa sotikasukasukapasa. 
 " Gift of Damaka . . ." 
 
 No. 174.— Dhama-datasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharma-datta." 
 
INSCEIPTIONS. 259 
 
 Plate, No. 175.— Arahad&siya-bhichhuniye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arhata-Dasi, the mendicant nun." 
 
 No, 176. — S&midar&ya ddnam. 
 
 "GiftofSwAMIDARA.", 
 
 Inscription on South Pillar. 
 
 PL XIX., No. 177. This inscription is carved upon 
 a fragment of a broken isolated pillar near the south 
 gateway. As it was a practice amongst the early Bud- 
 dhists, before building a Tope, to erect a pillar on the 
 spot, with an inscription recording their intentions, it 
 seems possible that this broken column might bear a 
 memorial inscription relating either to the erection of 
 the Great Sanchi Tope, or to some additions or re- 
 pairs. The latter is the more probable, as the pillar in 
 the former case was generally if not always removed. 
 
 But the inscription is unfortunately so much ob- 
 literated that it baffled even the heaven-born sagacity 
 of James Prinsep. Some few words he read ; but 
 apparently with hesitation, as he says,* "This in- 
 scription is in too mutilated a state to be restored 
 entirely, but from the commencement of the third 
 line, bhakhatibhikhunabhi khamavase data, it may be 
 concluded that some provision was made by ' a 
 charitable and religiously-disposed person for hungry 
 priests/ and this is confirmed by the two nearly perfect 
 lines at the foot, — 
 
 * Journal, vii. p. 565. 
 
260 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 " Sasijald petaviye ichhdhime(idi)si : sampesimate chilathiiika 
 siydti. 
 " ' It is also my desire that camphorated (cool ?) water should be 
 given to drink ; may this excellent purpose endure for ever.' " 
 
 I examined the inscription in several positions and 
 in all lights : I took impressions on paper and made 
 a copy by hand ; but the surface of the stone has 
 been so much injured that very few of the letters are 
 readable excepting- in the last two lines. There is, 
 however, a sufficient blank surface on all four sides to 
 make it certain that we have the whole of the inscrip- 
 tion. It is therefore very much to be regretted that 
 the general indistinctness of the letters should have 
 rendered this inscription almost illegible. The open- 
 ing - is nearly obliterated ; but, on a comparison of 
 James Prinsep's copy with my own, I think it pro- 
 bable that the first word was Devanam ; next comes 
 a blank; and then Maga, or perhaps Magadha; and 
 it is possible that the whole line might be read — 
 
 Devanam(piya) Magadhe raja. 
 
 " Devanampriya, King- of Maghadha." 
 
 The second line may be partially restored, thus :— 
 
 . (a)bhi(vademd)nam Chetiyagiri . . 
 
 " with salutation to the fraternity of Chaityagiri." 
 
 At the end of the third line, the word Sano»ham 
 "community" is distinctly legible; and I think 
 that I can trace the name of Dhamagiri. The 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 261 
 
 fourth line seems to have been correctly given by 
 Prinsep : — 
 
 bhokhati-bhikhundbhikhamaviseddto. 
 " a gift of food to the much-emaciated Bhikshus." 
 
 I can mate nothing of the fifth line and of one- 
 half of the sixth ; but the concluding portion of the 
 inscription, which is nearly perfect, reads — 
 
 Ichhaliime Sdn- 
 
 -ti-Sangham samage milathitike siydti. 
 " Is it my wish that the Santi community may always be 
 united." 
 
 The whole inscription, in Roman characters, may, 
 with some conjectural restorations, be read as 
 follows : — 
 
 1. Dev&nam^piya) Magadhe (raja). 
 
 2. . . (a)bhi(vddemd)nam Chetiyagiri. . . 
 
 3. . tikhi-cha(Dha)magiri . ikeye sangham. 
 
 4. bhokhati bhikhundbhikhamavise ddto. 
 
 5. nidu . ti sanam . . chhava annd 
 
 6. SariviQ/e) petaviye. Ichhahime Sdn- 
 
 7. -ti Sangham samage milathitike siydti. 
 
 The drift of this inscription, at least as I under- 
 stand it, seems to be the following :— 
 
 " DevAnampriya, king of Magadha, offers his salutation to 
 the community of Chaityagiri (and perhaps to that of Dharma- 
 giri also) . . . with a gift of food for the Bhikshus, much- 
 emaciated • (with their austerities ?) . . . and prays that the 
 Santi community may always be united." 
 
 * By reading ^JT*Tj Jtshdma, " debilitated " for the Pali 
 khama. 
 
262 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 In my account of the great Sanchi Tope I have 
 already identified the present name of Sanchi with 
 the Sanskrit Sdnti, which I presume was the name 
 of the great Vihar on the Chetiyagiri, or ^hill of 
 Chaityas." If my reading of Dhamagiri be correct, 
 we may identify the " hill of religion" in the long 
 spur which stretches northward as far as Kanakhera. 
 This hill is still covered with ruins, which no doubt 
 once formed a part of the vast religious establishment 
 of Sanchi-kanakhera. 
 
 LATER INSCRIPTIONS FROM THE GATEWAYS. 
 
 On the North Gateway. 
 
 PI. XIX., No. 178. — Dhamagirino Ihikhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Dharmagiri, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 179. — Isi-Pdlitasa-cha Samanasa-cha d&nam. 
 
 " Gift both of Isi-Palita and of Sramana." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 16, reads the same. 
 
 On the East Gateway. 
 
 No. 180.— Arahadinasa bhikhuno Pokhareyakasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Arhatadina, the mendicant monk of 
 Pokhareyaka." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 20, reads Pakhareyakasa doubtfully 
 as the name of the donor, and takes no notice of 
 Arahadina. 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 363 
 
 No. ISi.^mBhadata Ndgilasa Savinamjnydtinam ddnam 
 thalho. 
 " Pillar-gift of Bhadrata Nagila, the learned 
 in all things." (?) 
 
 Prinsep, No. 47, reads Danda-nagilalasa pavina- 
 ndtinam danathambho ; and translates, <( This pillar 
 is the gift of the illustrious family of Danda Nagi- 
 rala." But the fac- simile impression of this inscrip- 
 tion, as well as a hand-copy now before me, agree in 
 the reading" which J have given above. 
 
 No. 182. — Kirdrasa Ndgapiyasa, 4-chhavade Sethisa ddnam 
 thabho. 
 "Pillar-gift of Nagapriya, Achhavada, the 
 Sreshti (or master) of the weavers." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 3, reads Karam and translates " Gift 
 of Achhavada Sethi, the beloved of Karasa 
 Naga." See also No. 192 of the western gate. 
 Prinsep evidently considered Sethi as the feminine 
 form of Seth, a " banker." I have ventured to 
 identify the Kirdr of this inscription with the weaver 
 caste, who bear the same name at the present day ; 
 but this is a mere conjecture. 
 
 No. 183. This inscription is too indistinct to allow 
 even of a conjectural translation. 
 
 On the South Gateway. 
 
 No. 184. — Budha Palitaya bhikhunaye ddnam. 
 
 fC Gift of Budha Palita, the mendicant nun.' 
 
264 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Prinsep, No. 23, reads Budha Palitasa bhikhuno 
 ddnam, " the gift of Budha Palit, the poor man." 
 
 No. 185. — Pothahasa bhikhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Posthaka, the mendicant monk." 
 
 Prinsep, No. 23, reads Panthaka. 
 
 No. 186. — Virasa bhikhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Vika, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 187. — Yakhaye bhikhuniyd vddiva. 
 
 " Gift of Yaksha, the mendicant nun . ." 
 
 No. 188. — Hanajaya ddnam. 
 "GiftofHANAJA." 
 
 No. 189. — Vedisa Kehid&ntakarehirdpakam mankata. 
 
 This inscription is quite perfect : but as it seems to 
 have formed only a part of a longer inscription, I 
 cannot even make a guess as to its meaning. The 
 donor was an inhabitant of Vidisa, and was perhaps 
 named Kehiddnta. 
 
 No. 190. — Rajnye Siri S&takanisa 
 Avesanisa Vdsithi-putasa 
 Anandasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Ananda, son of the neophyte Vasish- 
 tha, in the reign of Sni Satakarni." 
 
 This valuable inscription is carved on the bas-relief 
 of a Tope, in the middle of the upper architrave of 
 the south gateway. The King, Sri Satakarni, was 
 the third* of the Andhra dynasty of Magadha; and 
 
 * Wilson's Vishnu Purana, p. 472. 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 265 
 
 his reign extended from the year 19 to 37 A. d. The 
 word ; which I have translated neophyte, occurs also 
 in No. 161 ; but in this instance it is possible that it 
 may have another signification. A'vesan means 
 simply " entrance/' from vis to enter ; but as there is 
 a separate inscription on the middle architrave (see 
 No. 191), and another on one of the pillars of the 
 gateway (see No. 189), it is clear that the whole 
 entrance could not have been the gift of Ananda. 
 A'vesani must therefore have some other meaning* 
 which is not given in the dictionaries. Now as ishd, 
 a ploughbeam, is derived from f;*?, isha, to go, 
 ishani may be taken for a beam of any kind ; and 
 thus we shall have ava + ishani = aveshani, or (as 
 there is but one s in Pali) avesani, an entrance- 
 beam, or gateway architrave. As ava means to 
 "enter/' this derivation is quite legitimate. But if 
 this was the real meaning, it seems difficult to say 
 why the term should have been separated from 
 danam • for in the pillar gifts the word thabho in- 
 variably precedes or follows danam. 
 
 After a careful examination of all the inscriptions 
 on the gateways of the Sanchi Tope, and a com- 
 parison of their alphabetical characters with those 
 of other inscriptions of known dates, such as those of 
 Asoka, B. c. 250 • those of the Sah coins of Gujrat, 
 A. D. 300 j and those of the Guptas, A. D. 400 to 500 ; 
 both Lieutenant Maisey and myself had concluded 
 that the Sanchi gateways were erected about the 
 
266 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 beginning- of the Christian era. It was with great 
 satisfaction therefore that I afterwards discovered the 
 name of Sri Satakarni in a conspicuous situation over 
 the southern gateway. This successful result of my 
 long experience in Indian archaeology 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 
 Atevasino Bala Mitasa d&nam. 
 "Gift of Bala-Mitra, pupil of Arya Kshitdra, 
 the reciter of Dharma." 
 
 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 Antevdsin, H|*Hlf%«T, means simply a "pupil/' 
 being derived from ^Sf*f[, anta, near, and 7p%, 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 
 hathaka at the end of the first line; but my fac- 
 simile impression gives kathikasa, the possessive case 
 of ^rf^RT, kathika, a "narrator, or story-teller," as 
 Prinsep has translated it. 
 
INSCRIPTIONS. 267 
 
 On the West Gate. 
 
 No. 192. — Kirhraya Ndgapiyasa Achhavada Sethi-putasa 
 cha Sanffhasa. 
 " Gift of the son of Nagapriya Achhavada, 
 the master of the weavers, and of Sanqha." 
 
 See No. 182 for the term which I have translated 
 " weavers." I rather suspect that it must be the 
 name of a place, Kirdra. 
 
 No. 193. — Aya-chudasa Atevdsino Bala Mitasa danam 
 thablio. 
 " Pillar-gift of Bala-Mitra ; the pupil of Arya- 
 Kshudra." 
 
 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. 
 
 Nos, 194 ; 195, 196. These show that the inscrip- 
 tions were carried on from one line to another. The 
 word d&narn, " 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, 
 j\* separates this inscription from the following one ; 
 which, although it looks legible enough, has quite 
 baffled all my attempts to read it. 
 
S68 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 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 j but were entirely de- 
 pendent on their fathers, their husbands, their brothers, 
 or their sons. 
 
 Another point which I have noticed is the ex- 
 tremely 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 aswa (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 mila- 
 sthiti in the inscription on the southern pillar. The 
 compound nh occurs once in the name of Jonhaha, 
 see No. 152. 
 
OPENING OF THE SANCHI TOPE ; NO. 1. SC9 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 OPENING OF THE SANCHI TOPE, NO. 1. 
 
 1. The persons who tried to open the great Sanchi 
 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 dis- 
 covery 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- 
 
270 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 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 Sanchi 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 Sata- 
 karni, 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. Wes- 
 sanagara 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 Sanchi, 
 on which the great Chaitya now stands. It was here 
 that Asoka rested, on his way between Pataliputra 
 and Ujain. Buddhaghoso calls the place Wessana* 
 gara, 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 meet- 
 ing of the Second Synod was named the " Chetiya 
 Schism" it is certain that the Sanchi Chaitya must" 
 date as high as the fourth century before our era> 
 
OPENING OF THE SANCHI TOPE, NO. 1. 271 
 
 and perhaps even a century earlier, or about b. c. 
 500,* 
 
 4. The date of the colonnade or railing 1 might be 
 determined approximately to belong to the age of 
 Asoka, by the alphabetical characters of the inscrip- 
 tions, which are exactly similar to those of the pillar 
 edicts. But there is a still more certain proof of the 
 correctness of this date in the short inscription, No. 
 110, which records the " gift of Subahita, son of Goti 
 the royal scribe." This Goti was a descendant of 
 Kodini (Sans. Kohudinya), one of the principal dis- 
 ciples of Buddha. As he was the teacher of Vachhi 
 Suvijayata, he must have taken the vows himself. 
 His eldest son, Ootiputra, was one of the most famous 
 Buddhist teachers of his day. We learn this fact 
 from the relic inscriptions which record the names of 
 two disciples of Gotiputra. Of these, the most cele- 
 brated is that of Mogaliputra, who conducted the pro- 
 ceedings of the Third Synod in B. c. 241. The other 
 pupil was Vachhiputra. 
 
 6. A third son of Goti, named Kakanava Pra- 
 bhdsan, was the donor of Suvijayata's relics to the 
 Sanchi Tope, No. 2 ; and his own relics were found 
 in the Andher Tope, No. 2. A fourth son, named 
 Bhanduka, is mentioned in the colonnade inscription, 
 
 * I suppose that the interior brick Tope may be as old as 500 
 b. c, and that the stone casing; was added by Asoka. This kind of 
 addition was not unusual. See Mahawanso, p. 202, where Lajji- 
 tisso, king' of Ceylon, encloses the Thuparamo with a case of 
 stone. 
 
272 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 33. Thus three sons of Goti had taken the vows, 
 whilst a fourth became the King's Scribe, or Secretary 
 (Raja'Lip&kara). As the eldest of these brothers was 
 the teacher of Mogaliputra, he was probably some- 
 what older than his pupil, although not necessarily 
 so. The younger brother may therefore be looked 
 upon as the contemporary of Mogaliputra, which 
 will fix his date from 260 B. C. to 230, during the 
 most flourishing period of the Buddhist religion. 
 
 6. The age of the gateways has been ascertained 
 from an inscription carved on a bas-relief representa- 
 tion of a Tope on the upper architrave of the southern 
 entrance. This inscription (No. 190) records the 
 " gift of an entrance architrave by Ananda, the son 
 of Vasishtha, in the reign of Sri Satakarni." This 
 Prince was the third of the Andhra kings of Ma- 
 gadha ; and his reign has been fixed, by the common 
 consent of all archaeologists, in the early part of the 
 first century of our era. According to my chrono- 
 logy he reigned from 19 to 37 A. D. 
 
 7. The fact that the gateways are of later date 
 than the colonnade or railing, is confirmed by the 
 more recent character of the inscriptions, which 
 approaches that of the Sah coins of Gujrat. For 
 the sake of comparison, I have collected all these 
 gateway inscriptions in Plate XIX., beneath the more 
 ancient record of the Southern Pillar. By this 
 arrangement, a single glance is sufficient to show the 
 great change which had taken place in the alpha- 
 betical characters in about two centuries and a half. 
 
OPENING OF THE SANCHI TOPE, NO. 1. 273 
 
 8. But there is still one more convincing 1 proof 
 that the gateways are of later date than the railing. 
 In the plan of the Tope, in Plate VIII., the old railing 
 on which the more ancient inscriptions are carved, is 
 shaded lightly, and the additional railing and gate- 
 way pillars, on which the less ancient inscriptions are 
 found, are made quite hlack. By this it will be seen 
 that a half pillar of the more recent railing is made to 
 abut against the third pillar of the older railing. 
 Now, as most of the old pillars were inscribed, it 
 seemed probable that one inscription at least would 
 be found hidden by the half pillar of the less ancient 
 railing. And such, indeed, is the fact at the northern 
 entrance, where a long hidden inscription on the 
 pillar of the old railing is now revealed by the 
 separation of the two pillars of different ages. 
 
 9. The different dates of the Tope, of its colonnades 
 and of its gateways, have been satisfactorily settled 
 within certain limits ; but the destination or object of 
 the building is more difficult to be ascertained. From 
 the non-discovery of relics, I infer that this great 
 chaitya was dedicated to the Supreme Buddha. This 
 conjecture is strengthened by the existence of statues 
 of the four mortal Buddhas at the entrances. For 
 it is the practice of the modern Buddhists of Nepal, 
 when they dedicate a Chaitya to Adi Buddha, to 
 place four statues of the Dhyani Buddhas at its base. 
 Vairochana (or light), the first of the Pancha Dhy- 
 ani Buddhas, is supposed to occupy the centre of the 
 building. It seems quite possible, however, that this 
 
274 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Tope contained some relics of Sakya; but if, as I 
 believe, the relics of the holy teacher were always 
 kept in some easily accessible place, for the purpose 
 of being- shown to the people on stated festivals, it 
 seems probable that they would have been carried off 
 by the monks, on the general break-up of the Bud- 
 dhist monastic establishments throughout India. 
 
NO. 2 TOPE. — SANCHI. 275 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 NO. 2 TOPE.— SANCHI. 
 
 1. In 1819, when Captain Fell visited Sanchi, this 
 Tope was " in perfect repair, not a stone having 
 fallen ; " * but in 1822 it was half destroyed by the 
 same amateur antiquaries who ruined the larger Tope. 
 It stands half way down the slope of the hill, about 
 400 yards from the great Tope, from which it bears 
 109^° west. The hill has been carefully levelled, and 
 the western side built up to form a court 100 feet 
 square, in the midst of which stands the Tope sur- 
 rounded by the usual Buddhist railing. 
 
 2. The Tope is a solid hemisphere (built of 
 rough stones, without mortar) 39 feet in diameter, 
 springing from a cylindrical plinth of the same dia- 
 meter, and 3f feet in height. The basement is 6 
 feet in height, with a projection of 5 feet 4 inches, 
 which forms a terrace for the perambulation of wor- 
 shippers. The terrace is reached on the eastern side 
 by a double flight of steps (now in ruins) 5 feet 2 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, iii, 494. 
 
276 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 inches wide, which meet at a landing-place, 7 feet 
 
 6 inches square. 
 
 3. The hemisphere was flattened at top to form a 
 terrace ; which, when measured in its perfect state by 
 Captain Fell, was 19 feet in diameter.* This was 
 most probably enclosed by a coping*, or cornice, 
 similar to that which is represented around the 
 terrace of No. 1 Tope at Andher. In the centre 
 stood a square pedestal, surrounded by a square 
 Buddhist railing- of small dimensions, its whole height 
 being only 4 feet. The fragments of this railing, 
 which I measured, were : — pillars, 3 feet 1^ inch in 
 height, with a section of "7\ inches by 5§ inches ; 
 rails, 10|- inches long by 8J inches broad, at intervals 
 of 2f inches. The pedestal was of course originally 
 surmounted by a chattel, but of this no trace -now 
 remains. 
 
 4. The whole is surrounded by a Buddhist railing 
 
 7 feet 6 inches in height, with four entrances to- 
 wards the four sides of the square court. The 
 pillars are 5 feet 11 \ inches in height, with a section 
 of 15 \ inches by 11^ inches. The rails are 18 
 inches broad, with a thickness of 5^ inches in 
 the middle. The inter - columniation varies from 
 17 to 18 inches; and, as in the great Tope, seems 
 to be equal to the depth of rail. The coping is 
 21 inches in height, and 14 inches thick, and is 
 connected to the pillars in the same way as in 
 the large Tope. This railing, like that of the great 
 
 * Prinsep's Journal, iii. 494. 
 
NO. 2 TOPE. — SANCHI. 277 
 
 Tope, is elliptical, the longer diameter from east to 
 west being 74| feet, and the shorter diameter from 
 north to south only 69 feet. By this ellipticity of 
 form, a clear breadth of more than 8 feet is pre- 
 served all round the base of the building.* 
 
 5. The pillars of the Buddhist railing which have 
 already been described, are perfectly plain ; but these 
 are ornamented by medallions containing a variety of 
 flowers, and numerous animals, both known and 
 fabulous. The medallions are circular in the middle 
 of the pillar, and semi-circular at its head and base. 
 The semi-circular medallions are nearly all filled with 
 flowers ; but the full medallions have men and women, 
 horses, bulls, lions and elephants, centaurs, winged 
 horses, and winged bulls. Many of the flower orna- 
 ments are pretty, but the figures of men and animals 
 are generally coarse and clumsy. 
 
 6. The pillars of the entrances are'covered with bas- 
 reliefs, all of the same inferior style of art, save a few 
 remarkable exceptions at the eastern entrance, one of 
 which is much superior, even to the best bas-reliefs of 
 the great Tope. This represents a female standing in 
 a doorway, with her right hand resting on her hip, 
 and in her left hand a lotus flower. Her hair is 
 parted on the right side. She is naked to the waist, 
 from which a single piece of drapery is drawn over the 
 left thigh. The graceful proportions and easy atti- 
 tude of this figure place its sculptor almost in the 
 same rank with the carver of the beautiful lions of the 
 
 * See Plate XX. for a plan and view of this monument. 
 
278 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 south pillar. On another face of the same pillar 
 there is a two-horse chariot containing 1 two figures, 
 and attended by an elephant carrying a standard- 
 bearer. On a second pillar is represented a wheel, or 
 symbol of Buddha, standing- on an altar, and orna- 
 mented with garlands.* Two kneeling figures are 
 bowing down to the steps of the altar. 
 
 7. On one of the pillars of the south entrance there 
 is a representation of a Tope, enclosed with a Bud- 
 dhist railing, and surmounted by a square pedestal, and 
 by the usual chatta. On a second pillar is repre- 
 sented an isolated column surmounted by three lions 
 bearing a wheel or symbol of Buddha. 
 
 8. On a pillar of the west entrance there is a bas- 
 relief of a single column surmounted by three ele- 
 phants carrying the same wheel emblem of Buddha. 
 The base is enclosed by a square Buddhist railing ; 
 outside which two figures, a male and a female, are 
 paying their adorations.t 
 
 9. On a pillar of the north entrance, the wheel or 
 emblem of Buddha is represented resting on the 
 peculiar monogram or symbol of Dharma.J On 
 another pillar is shown an isolated column, sur- 
 mounted by an elephant, and two lions, carrying 
 the wheel emblem of Buddha. 
 
 10. The colonnade of this Tope, like that of the 
 Great Ohaitya, bears many inscriptions, of which 
 
 * See Plate XXXI., fig. 6, of this work, 
 t See Plate XXXI., fig. 1, of this volume, 
 j See Plate XXXII., fig. 1, of this volume. 
 
NO. 3 TOPE. — SANOHI. 279 
 
 none have yet been published. These inscriptions are 
 chiefly valuable for the light that they throw on the 
 changes which had gradually taken place in the 
 language. The most remarkable of these is the 
 substitution of Bhikhu for BMchhu. With five 
 exceptions, the latter is the only spelling used 
 throughout the numerous inscriptions of Asoka' s age 
 on the colonnade of the Great Tope at Sanchi ; while 
 the former is the only spelling used in all the gate- 
 way inscriptions of the age of Sdtakarni. 
 
 But on the colonnade of this Tope we have both 
 spellings ; bhikhu being used ten times, and bhichhu 
 five times. From this fact we may conclude that 
 the colonnade was certainly erected at some period 
 between the ages of Asoka and Sri Satakarni. This 
 is borne out by the forms of the alphabetical charac- 
 ters, which, though generally like those of Asoka's 
 time, yet present some differences which undoubtedly 
 point to a later date. The principal change is seen 
 in the manner of attaching the vowel u at the foot of 
 the kh. In the Asoka inscriptions, this is done by 
 the intervention of a dot, or point ; but in those of 
 the present Tope, the dot is replaced by a small 
 circle. 
 
280 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 CHAPTEE XIX. 
 
 INSCRIPTIONS.— NO. 2 TOPE.— SANCIir. 
 
 PI. XXI V No. 1. — Ndgildsi ddnam Ayasa-atevasino. 
 
 " Gift of Nagilasi, the pupil of Aryya." 
 
 No. 2. — Dhama Bakhitasa sejhasaka. 
 
 " (Gift) of Dharma Rakshita . . ." 
 
 No. 3. — P&dulml&lidyag&masa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Aryyagrama, of the P&ndu race." 
 
 The celebrated name of the Pandus is here met 
 with, for the first time, on a genuine ancient monu- 
 ment. The use of the cerebral d, and the affix of the 
 term hula, " race or tribe," prove that I am right in 
 attributing this gift to one of the race of Pandu. See 
 also No. 8, for another inscription of a Pandu. 
 
 No. 4. — Budhilasa-bhogavarhanakasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Budhila, the increaser of enjoyment." 
 
 No. 5. — . . ma-devaya ddnam Mitamajheya Antevd- 
 sini(ya). 
 " Gift of (Dhar)ma Deva, the pupil of Mitra 
 Madhya." 
 
 No. 6. — Isilasa bhikhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isila, the mendicant monk." 
 
INSCRIPTIONS.— NO. 2 TOPE.— SANCHI. 281 
 
 No. 7. — Sagha Mitasa bhikhuno danam. 
 
 " Gift of Sangha Mitra, the mendicant monk." 
 No. 8. — Budha Paliiasa Sethino Padukuliniyase danam. 
 
 " Gift of Budha PAlita, the Sreshti (or master of 
 a trade*) of the race of Pandu." 
 No. 9. — . . yapana . . . kasa danam. 
 
 «Gift0f(AB)YYAPANA ..." 
 
 No. 10. — Budha Sakhitasa anammitakasa d&nam. 
 
 " Gift of Rakshita . . ." 
 No. 11. — Vijhasa bhikhuno d&nam. 
 
 " Gift of Vidta, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 12. — Yakhilasa bhichhuno d&nam. 
 
 " Gift of Yakshila, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 13. — N&gap&yasa Achhava(da)sa Sethisa d&nam. 
 " Gift of NAgapaya Achhavada, the Sreshti." 
 
 See Nos. 182 and 192 of No. 1 Tope, which both give 
 the name of N&gap&ya (or friya) Achhavada, but the 
 persons cannot be the same, as there is a difference in 
 the dates of the inscriptions of the two Topes of about 
 two centuries. The two donors must, however, have 
 been of the same family. 
 
 No. 14. — . . sapaMya Soraya d&nam bhikkuniya. 
 
 " Gift of (Ka)syapaki Sora, the mendicant nun." 
 No. 15. — ValayA Korariye bhikhunaye d&nam. 
 
 " Gift of Vala Korari (the weaver ? ), a mendicant 
 nun." 
 No. 16. — Bhama Sanaya Korariya ddnambhi . . . 
 
 " Gift of Dharma Sena, Korari, the mendicant 
 nun." 
 
 * The meaning of this term has been given before; but it may 
 De as well to repeat here, that Sreshti is the head of a guild, and 
 is equivalent to the modern Chaodri. 
 
282 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. 17. — Naga Palitaya ddnam ihabho. 
 " Pillar-gift of Naga Palita." 
 
 No. 18. — Phagulaya bhikhuniya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Phaoula, the mendicant nun." 
 
 No. 19. — Balakasa Ayasa Arapa Grutasa sdsd . (nan)- 
 dakasa atevasino ddnam. 
 " Gift of Balaka Aryya, the pupil of Arapa - 
 Gupta, the (delighter) in Scripture." 
 
 Balaka may mean simply a boy, and Balaka Ayasa 
 will signify only the child Aryya. My copy reads 
 Arapa ; but I believe the true name to be Araha. 
 
 No. 20. — Yama Rakhitdya bhikhuniya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Yama Eaeshita, the mendicant nun." 
 
 No. 21. — Muldya ddnam-thabho Yadaya Atevasiniya. 
 " Pillar-gift of MulI, the pupil of Yada." 
 
 No. 22. — Sagha Rakhitaya mata . . daka Isiddsiya 
 bhichhuniya ddnam. 
 " Gift of Sangha Eakshita, the . . of Isidasi, 
 the mendicant nun." 
 
 No. 23. — Yasa Budha Rahhitasa Pokhareyakasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Yasa Budha Rakshita, of Pokhare- 
 yaha." 
 No, 24. — Vindkdye Vddyuvahanikdye ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of the lute-player, Vadyuvahanika." 
 
 This inscription is carved on the bas-relief of a 
 wheel pillar of the western entrance. There has 
 been an attempt to render some double letter, and 
 I am not satisfied that I have read the middle part of 
 the inscription correctly. If we might read ^j or 
 3^, vadhu, instead of vadyu, which seems perfectly 
 
INSCRIPTIONS.— NO. 2 TOPE. — SANCHI. 283 
 
 allowable, the translation would be simply " Gift of 
 Vinaka ; the daughter-in-law (son's wife) of Va- 
 
 HANIKA." 
 
 No. 25. — Pedaya bhikhmiya thabho ddnam. 
 
 " Pillar-gift of Penda, the mendicant nun." 
 
 No. 26. — Isadakaditisisasa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Isabakaditya (?) . (or Isadakanditi)." 
 No. 27. — Isddekadiyd ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of ISADEKANDI." 
 
 No. 28. — (I)saddkadiya Patolaya ddnam. 
 " Gift of Isadakandi, of Pratold." 
 
 No. 29. — Budha Pd(litd)sdkodiya ddnam. 
 " Gift of Budha Palita . . ." 
 
 This inscription is much mutilated; but I believe 
 it to be the same as No. 8. 
 
 No. 90. — Sagha Mitasa Sonadakasd ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Sangha Mitra, of Sonadaka." 
 
 No. 81. — Budha (Miti)sedakadiya ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Budha Mitra . . ." 
 No. 32. — Abha(ti)sd ddnam adha-porikasa. 
 
 " Half-gateway gift of Abhrati (the brotherless)." 
 
 Adha-porikasa I have taken for arddha-paurikasya, 
 " of half an entrance/' which is not an unlikely gift 
 to have been made to the Tope. 
 
 Plate, No. 33. — Hasogirino ddnam bhichhuno. 
 
 " Gift of Yasogiri, the mendicant monk." 
 No, 34, — AraJiakasa bhichhuno chanakaya ddnam. 
 " Gift of the holy bhikshu Chanakya." 
 
 This inscription will admit of several readings, such 
 as — 
 
284 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 " Gift of Arhdka, the mendicant monk of Cha- 
 
 nakd." 
 " Gift of Arhaka, the mendicant monk, and of 
 Nak&r 
 No. 35. — Bahulasa ddnam. 
 
 "GiftofBAHULA." 
 
 No. 36. — Gadaya Nadinagarikaya. 
 
 " Gift of Ganda, of Nadinagarikd." 
 No. 37. — Idagi(riya)sa ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Indragiriya." 
 
 No. 38. — Aya Nandahasa bhikhuno ddnam. 
 
 " Gift of Aryya Nandaka, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 39. — Naga Rakhitasa bhiohhuno Pokhareyaliasa 
 ddnam. 
 " Gift of Naga Rakshita, the mendicant monk, of 
 PoMareyaha." 
 
 No. 40. — Sagha Rakhitasa bhichhu danam hma. 
 
 " Gift of Sangha Rakshita, the mendicant monk." 
 
 No. 41. — (Ya)khihanakasa Udabaraghariyasa danam. 
 " Gift of Yakshihanaka, of Udabaraghariya." 
 
 No. 42. — . . . Udabaraghariyasa. 
 
 " (Gift) of ... of Udabaraghariya." 
 
 No. 43. — Sediya bhikhuniya thabho ddnam. 
 
 " Pillar-gift of Sendi, the mendicant nun." 
 
OPENING OF NO. 2 TOPE. —SAN CHI. 285 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 OPENING OF NO. 2 TOPE.— S^NCHI. 
 
 1. On looking at this Tope, which Captain Fell 
 had seen perfect in 1819, I must confess that I felt a 
 secret satisfaction that the labours of the bung-ling 
 amateurs, who had half ruined it in 1822, had ended 
 in nothing. But at the same time I had some mis- 
 givings, from the large size of the breach, whether 
 their workmen had not reached the centre. After 
 several careful measurements, however, both Lieu- 
 tenant Maisey and myself felt satisfied that the 
 actual centre had not quite been attained, although 
 the excavators must have been within a single foot of 
 it. After a few hours' labour in clearing away the 
 loose stones from the middle of the breach, we began 
 carefully to sink a shaft down the centre of the Tope. 
 In three hours more the removal of a single stone 
 from the western side of the shaft, disclosed a small 
 chamber containing a stone box. 
 
 2. The chamber was made of six stones, four set 
 on edge forming the sides, and two laid flat forming* 
 the top and bottom. The chamber was not in the 
 
286 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 centre of the building-, but two feet to the westward 
 of it, the measurement from the south side being 1 18^ 
 feet, or exactly half the diameter, while that from the 
 eastern side was 20J feet, or 2 feet more than the 
 semi-diameter. The bottom of the chamber was 
 exactly 7 feet above the terrace or upper surface 
 of the basement, and 3J feet above the centre of the 
 hemisphere. 
 
 3. The relic-box, formed of white sandstone, is 11 
 inches long, 9^ inches broad, and the same in height, 
 including the lid. It was standing- with one of its 
 long sides to the east, towards the Great Tope. On 
 removing it from the chamber, we found the follow- 
 ing inscriptions carved in three lines on its eastern 
 face : — 
 
 Savina Vinaydk&na Aran Kasapa 
 
 Gotam Up&diya Aran cha Vdchhi 
 
 Suvijayatam Yindyaka. 
 " Teacher of all branches of Vinaya, the Arhat KAsyapa 
 Gotra, Up&diya (or Abbot) ; and the Arhat 
 Vachhi Suvijayata, teacher of Vinaya."* 
 
 4. Up&diya, in Sanskrit UpadMya, was the Abbot 
 or head of a Buddhist monastery, who had accom- 
 plished Updddna, or the complete restraint of all the 
 organs of sense, and the consequent suppression of all 
 earthly desires. Vinaya was the lowest of the three 
 grades of advancement taught by the Buddhist 
 religionists ; and the fact that Kasyapa-Gotra was 
 a teacher of Vinaya will account for his mission 
 
 * See Plate XX. 
 
OPENING OF NO. 2 TOPE. — SANCHI. 287 
 
 to the Hemawanta, where, as we learn from the 
 Chinese travellers, the active mountaineers preferred 
 the practical teachings of the Vinaya to the esoteric 
 doctrines of the Abhidharma. The spelling of Aran 
 for Arhata is peculiar, as this title is always written 
 Araha in the inscriptions of the colonnade of the 
 Great Tope. 
 
 5. On removing the lid of the stone box, we found 
 inside four small caskets or boxes of mottled steatite, 
 of which one is represented of half size in Plate XX. 
 Each of these caskets contained small portions of 
 burnt human bone, and each was inscribed with the 
 names of the holy men whose ashes were enshrined 
 therein. All these inscriptions will be found in 
 Plate XX. 
 
 No. I.— STEATITE BOX. 
 Outside Lid. 
 
 Sapurisa(sa) K&sapa Gotasa Sava Hemavatachariyasa. 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Kasyapa Gotra, the missionary to 
 
 the whole Hemarvanta." 
 
 Inside Lid. 
 
 Sapurisa(sa) Majhimasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Madhyama." 
 
 Bottom. 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Haritiputra." 
 
288 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 No. II.— STEATITE BOX. 
 
 Outer Circle. 
 
 Sapurisasa Vdchh&ya Suvijayatasa Gotantevasitw. 
 ' (Relics) of the emancipated Vachha Suvijayata, the pupil of 
 
 Gota." 
 
 Inner Circle. 
 
 Kdhanava-p&bh&sasahana d&nam. 
 " The gift of Kakanaya PrabhAsana." 
 
 No. III.— STEATITE BOX. 
 
 Outside Lid. 
 
 Sapurisasa Maha Yanayasa — Sapurisasa Apagirasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Maha Vanaya, (and) of the eman- 
 cipated Ipagira." 
 
 Inside Lid. 
 
 Sapurisasa ICodiniputasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Kohudinya-putra." 
 
 No. IV.— STEATITE BOX. 
 
 Outside Lid. 
 
 Sapurisasa Kosikiputasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Kausikiputra." 
 
OPENING OP NO. 2 TOPE.— SANCHI. 289 
 
 Inside Lid. 
 
 Sapurisasa Gotiputasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Gotiputha." 
 
 Bottom. 
 
 Sapurisasa Mogaliputasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Maudgalaputra." 
 
 6. REMARKS. 
 
 No. I. Box. — The names of Kasyapa and Ma- 
 dhyama are recorded in the Mahawanso as two of the 
 five missionaries who were despatched to the Hema- 
 wanta country, after the meeting of the Third Synod 
 in 241 B. c. A second casket of Kasyapa's relics 
 was discovered at Sonari, and from the inscription we 
 learn that he was the son of Koti. Of Haritiputra 
 nothing- is known ; but another portion of his relics 
 was found enshrined alone in No. 3 Tope at Andher. 
 
 No. II. Box. — Vacchi-suvijayata must have been 
 a man of some consequence, for his name is placed on 
 the outside of the stone box, along* with that of 
 Kasyapa. Relics of his son, Vacchiputra, were 
 found at Andher, along with those of Kakanava 
 Prabhasan and Mogaliputra. He is thus doubly 
 connected with Kakanava, who was the donor of his 
 
 u 
 
290 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 relics to the Sanchi Tope. Colonel Low gives a story 
 from the Pali books of Burma, regarding 1 a sea 
 captain named Kakd-bhasd, who traded to Takkasila 
 in the reign of Asoka.* Kdkd-bhdsd appears to be 
 only a contracted form of Kdhanava Prabhdsan. 
 The Captain was a servant of the King of Mom, 
 whose subjects were famous for magic spells. Asoka, 
 therefore, employed Kdkdbhdsd to discover some 
 hidden relics, and to superintend their enshrinement 
 in a splendid Chaitya, which was duly accomplished 
 with the recital of one hundred and eight Pah invo- 
 cations. I presume that Kdkdbhdsd was a native of 
 Multan, or Sind, and that he traded to Takkasila for 
 rock salt. Kdkanava Prdbhdsdn was the son of Ooti, 
 and a descendant of Kodini or Kohudinya, one of 
 Buddha's eighty disciples. The name is a remark- 
 able one, and as both parties were contemporaries of 
 Asoka, it is at least quite possible that they were the 
 same person. 
 
 No. III. Steatite Box. — Of Maha Vanaya and 
 Apagira I know nothing; but Kodini'putra was 
 probably a son or descendant of the celebrated Kohu- 
 dinya, one of Buddha's eighty disciples. 
 
 No. IV. Steatite Box. — I know nothing of Kosi- 
 kiputra ; but Gotiputra, as we learn from one of the 
 Andher inscriptions, was a descendant of Kodini or 
 Kohudinya, who has just been mentioned. Mogah 
 or Maudgala putra was the well-known head of the 
 Buddhist Church, who superintended the proceedings 
 * Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society, xvii, 91, 92. 
 
OPENING OF NO. TOPBj— SANCHI. 291 
 
 of the Third Synddj during the reign of Asoka 
 in BiC. 241* He died at eighty years of age, in 
 B. c. 233. 
 
 7. The discovery in this Tope consisted of the 
 relics of no less than ten of the leading men of the 
 Buddhist Church, during the reign of Asoka. One 
 of them conducted the proceedings of the Third 
 Synodj in 241 b. c, and two others were deputed 
 to the Hemawanta country as missionaries, after the 
 meeting of the Synod. ]?rom this we may con- 
 clude that the date of the Tope cannot be earlier 
 than about 220 b. c^ by which time the last of 
 Asoka's contemporaries would have passed away. 
 The railing is most probably of the same period, for 
 the use of the term BhikJiu instead of BhichM (of 
 which latter there are only five instances amongst the 
 numerous inscriptions on the colonnade df the great 
 Tope); might readily be supposed to have" extended in 
 fifty years to that proportion in which we find it used 
 in the inscriptions of No. 2 Tope at Sanchi. The 
 general forms of the alphabetical characters agree too 
 closely with those of Asoka'S owft age", to permit the 
 assignment of a later date than 200 b. C, for the 
 erection of this Tope. 
 
 8. The Tope itself Would seem at first to have been 
 intended only for the relics of Kasyapa Gotra, and of 
 Vacchi Suvijayata, whose names alone are found on 
 the outside of the stone box. But I suppose that 
 during the several years of its erection the Sanchi 
 community gradually became possessed of the relics 
 
292 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 of other distinguished men who had worked long" 
 and well for the extension and glory of the Buddhist 
 religion, during' the long and prosperous reign of 
 Asoka. 
 
 9. A comparison of all these different inscriptions 
 establishes the intimate connection which existed be- 
 tween many of the principal leaders of the Buddhist 
 faith during the reign of Asoka. The family of 
 Kodini, in two generations alone, would appear to 
 have furnished no less than six leading* members of 
 the Buddhist priesthood. His son Majhima was the 
 missionary sent to the Hemawanta country in 241 
 B.C. • and his grandson, Gotiputra, was so eminent a 
 member of the Bauddha community as to have merited 
 the title of ddyado, or, " brother" of the faith ; which 
 proves that he must have dedicated some of his own 
 children to the service of his religion. This family, 
 also, would appear to have been equally celebrated as 
 successful propounders of Buddhism, for Goti is re- 
 corded to have been the teacher of Vachhi Suvijayata, 
 and his son Gotiputra, to have been the teacher of 
 the famous Mogaliputra, who was the head of the 
 Buddhist Church at the Assembly of the Third Synod 
 in B.C. 241. The connection between the different 
 members of this family and their pupils is shown in 
 the following table : — 
 
OPENING OF NO 2 TOPE. — SANCHI. 293 
 
 KODESTI 
 
 had three sous, 
 
 I I I 
 
 KODINI-PUTEA, GOTI, MAJHIMA, 
 
 Belies at Sdnchi. had 4 sons Missionary to the 
 
 and 1 pupil. Hemawanta, 
 
 I Eelics at Sdnchi 
 
 and Sonari. 
 
 __ A 
 
 I , I I ,1 
 
 GOTI-PUTEA, KAKANAVA BHANDUKA, SUBAHITA, 
 
 Missionary to PBABHASAN, a Bhikshu or the royal 
 
 Ddrddbhisara, Eelics at Andher, Mendicant Monk. scribe. 
 
 Eelics at Presented See Sdnchi See Sdnchi 
 
 Sdnchi & Sondri, Relics of Vdchhi Inscriptions, Inscriptions, 
 
 had 2 pupils. to Sdnchi. No. 33. No. 110. 
 
 GOTPS pupil was VACHHI-SUVIJAYATA, 
 | Eelics at Sdnchi, 
 
 GOTI-PUTEA had 1 son. 
 
 had 2 pupils. 
 
 MOGALI-PUTEA, VACHHI-PUTEA, 
 
 Head of the Buddhist Eelics at Andher. 
 
 Church in b.o. 241. 
 
 Eelics at 
 Sdnchi and Andher. 
 
 10. This genealogy, obtained from the inscriptions 
 of the Bhilsa Topes, shows what we might reasonably 
 expect to get from the numerous Topes which still 
 exist in the ancient Kapila and Magadha, the scene 
 of Sakya Sinha's birth, teaching, and death. A few 
 more genealogies, similar to the above, would pro- 
 bably give us a complete succession from the time of 
 Sakya Sinha down to the age of Asoka, and so esta- 
 blish the accuracy of the date now assigned to the 
 great founder of the Buddhist religion. As we have 
 already discovered relics of his contemporaries, Sari- 
 putra and Mogalana, who date from the middle of 
 
294 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the 6th century B.C., and of Mpgaliputra and others 
 who assisted at the Third {Synod in b.c. 241, there is 
 every reasonable expectation that a complete examina- 
 tion of the still existing 1 monuments would yield us 
 the nanies of many of the principal leaders of Bud- 
 dhism during 1 the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries before 
 Christ, We should thus, perhaps, obtain one or more 
 complete, genealogical successions (Juring the most 
 eventful period of Indian history. 
 
NO. 8 tope.— sAnchi. 395 
 
 CHAPTER XXL 
 
 NO. 3 TOPE.— SANCHI. 
 
 1. At first sight this Tope presented a mere mass of 
 ruins ; * but a closer inspection showed the lower 
 courses of the hemisphere and the terrace of the 
 basement tolerably perfect, although hidden amongst 
 a heap of fallen stones. The diameter of the hemi- 
 sphere is 40 feet ; the breadth of the terrace, which 
 was formed of single slabs, and is still quite perfect on 
 the western side, is 6 feet, and its height above the 
 original level of the soil is 7£ feet ; but only 6 feet 
 above the floor of the entrance door-way which is 
 still standing to the south. The dome was crowned 
 by a pedestal 4^ feet square, which supported a chatta 
 about 3^ feet in diameter. A square, slab, which 
 once formed part pf the pedestal, is now lying to the 
 south of the Tope, and a fragment of the chatty to the 
 north-east. 
 
 2. The Tope was surrounded by a Buddhist railing, 
 of which the only reinains, are a few pf the curve.d 
 • See Plate XXII. 
 
296 THE BHILSA TOPES t 
 
 coping 1 stones, and some fragments of two pillars. 
 The coping stones are 9 inches high and 7% inches 
 thick. The pillars have the same section ; and we 
 may therefore conclude that the railing was some- 
 what less than five feet in height. The railing of 
 No. 1 Tope at Sonari, of which the pillars are 9J 
 inches by 8 inches, is only 4 feet 8 inches in height. 
 The enclosure most probably had four gateways ; 
 one to the south is still standing, and I thought 
 that I could trace the remains of a second on the 
 east. 
 
 3. The pillars of the southern entrance are 14 
 inches square, with an interval of 5 feet 4 inches. 
 The clear breadth between the railing and the base 
 of the Tope must have been about 12^ feet ; one 
 side of each of the pillars, to which the railing was 
 attached, is left plain ; and as the arrangement is the 
 same as that of the entrances of the Great Tope, it 
 seems certain that the gateways of this Tope must 
 have been of a later date than the railing. The bas- 
 reliefs of the pillars and architraves are so strikingly 
 similar in subject and in style to those of the Great 
 Tope, that there can be little doubt that both are the 
 work of the same period. There are the same repre- 
 sentations of Topes and Trees, the same lion pillar 
 surmounted by a wheel, and the same figures clad in 
 the same dresses. 
 
 4. The Tope stood in the midst of a square en- 
 closure, and was surrounded by a very thick wall, the 
 foundations of which still remain on three sides. The 
 
NO. 3 TOPE.— SANCHI. 297 
 
 enclosure was 90 feet square, and the walls were built 
 due north and south, and east and west. 
 
 5. A shaft was sunk in the centre of this Tope, 
 and after a few hours' labour we came to a large slab 
 upwards of 5 feet in length, lying in a direction from 
 north to south. On raising this slab we saw two 
 large stone boxes each bearing a short inscription on 
 its lid. That to the south bore Sdriputasa, " (relics) 
 of Sariputra" ; that to the north bore MaM 
 Mogalanasa, " (relics) of Maha Mogalana." Each 
 box was a cube of 1^ foot, with a lid 6 inches thick. 
 The position of the relics was on the same level as the 
 terrace outside. 
 
 6. In Sariputra's box we found a large steatite 
 casket, upwards of 6 inches broad and 3 inches in 
 height, covered by a very thin saucer of black 
 earthenware 9^- inches in diameter with a depth of 
 2 inches. The saucer was broken, and the upper 
 surface had peeled off, but the colour of the inside 
 was still lustrous. Close to the steatite casket were 
 two pieces of sandal-wood, one 4^ inches in length, 
 and the other 2J inches. The only other thing in 
 this box was a live spider. 
 
 7. The relic-casket is of white steatite. It has 
 been turned on a lathe \ and its surface is now hard 
 and polished. In Plate XXII. I have given a 
 half-size sketch of this antique casket, which con- 
 tained only one small fragment of bone, scarcely an 
 inch in length, and seven beads of different kinds. 
 These are no doubt the " seven precious things" which 
 
398 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 were usually deposited with the holiest relies j as with 
 the skull of Buddha* at Hilo near Jalalabad. There 
 were two distinct sets of the seven preeious things 
 the one containing 1 the precious metals as well as 
 precious stones, the other precious stones only, 
 
 8. According to the Chhiese the first series con- 
 sisted of — 
 
 Chinese. Sanscrit. 
 
 1. Su-fa-lo Suvama Gold. 
 
 2. A-lu-pa Rwpya Silver. 
 
 3. LieuJi , , Vaidurya, ,,,. Lapis lazuli. 
 
 4. Serphortiikia ..,,..,. Spfyatika . . , , Rocfc-prystal, 
 
 5. Meu-pho-lo-kie-la-pho .... (A pale blue stpije— ame- 
 
 thyst). (?) 
 
 6. Mo-lo-kia-li .... (Variegated agate). 
 
 7. Po-ma-lo-kia Padmardga . .Ruby. 
 
 9. The second series consisted of— 
 
 Chinese. Sanscrit. 
 
 1. Po-lo-so Prab&la Coral. 
 
 S. A-cby-ma-kie-pho . . , AmagyrbhaiJ) Amber. 
 
 3. Ma-ni , , , , , , , . Mani , . , Pearl, 
 
 4. Chin-shu-kia (A red stone— garnet), (?) 
 
 5. Shy-kia-pi-ling-kia (The most excellent of pre- 
 
 cious stones). 
 
 6. Mo-lo-kia-pbo Marakala .... Emerald. 
 
 7. Pa-che-lo Vajra Diamond. 
 
 10. The seyen precious things found with S&ri- 
 putr^'s relics differ somewhat from both of these 
 series ; but the correspondence is still very striking. 
 
 * Fp-kweM, c. xiii. 
 
NO. 3 TOPE.— SANOHI. 299 
 
 1st, a flat piece of pearl; 2nd, 3rd, two small seed 
 pearls ; 4th, a garnet bead ; 5th, a star^shaped bead 
 of lapis-lazuli ; 6th, a crystal bead ; 7th, an oblong 
 bead of pale amethyst. The same custom still pre- 
 vails amongst the Buddhists of Ladak, who usually 
 place with the ashes of a chief, or the dead body of 
 a Lama, bits of gold, silver, copper, and iron ; pearls, 
 garnets, and turquoises ; grains of wheat, barley, and 
 rice; specimens of red and white sandal-wood ; and 
 of the holy BMkpa, or pencil eedar (Juniperus 
 excelsa). 
 
 11. In the northern stone box we found another 
 steatite casket, somewhat smaller than that of 
 Sariputra. It is apparently of a softer substance ; 
 fop the surface when first seen was white and powdery 
 like chalk ; but this has now nearly disappeared, and 
 the colour is almost the same as that of Sariputra's 
 casket. Inside we found only two minute fragments 
 of bone, of which the larger was rather less than half 
 an inch in length. 
 
 12. On the inner surface of the lid of each casket 
 there is a single ink letter, half an inch in height. 
 In Sariputra's casket the letter is sd, and in that of 
 Maha Mogalana's it is ma; these being the initial 
 letters of their respective names. 
 
 13. The relative position of these relics has its 
 significance : for in their religious ceremonies the 
 ancient Indians always sat facing the east, which 
 therefore they named the front, para; while the 
 south and north were respectively the u right," 
 
300 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 dakshina, and the " left/' vcima. The west was called 
 apara, "behind." Now Sariputra and Maha Mo- 
 galana were the principal followers of Buddha, and 
 were usually styled his right and left hand disciples. 
 Their ashes thus preserved after death the same posi- 
 tions to the right and left of Buddha which they had 
 themselves occupied in life. 
 
 14. Sariputra was the son of the Brahman Tishya, 
 and of the beautiful-eyed Sari or Sarika, who received 
 her name from the resemblance of her eyes to those 
 of a Saras or Cyrus bird. Sariputra, or son of Sari, 
 is his most common name ; but he is also known by 
 the patronymic of Upatishya. The Tibetans call him 
 Sha-ri-hi-bu, or Sari's son. Tishya was the most 
 learned of all the Brahmans at the court of Raja- 
 griha. Sarika herself was a proficient in the four 
 Vedas, and had overcome her brother in disputation. 
 But her son excelled them both; and was much 
 celebrated for his wisdom. His talents, which were 
 attributed to his moral and religious merit in former 
 births,* were so great, that Sakya himself proclaimed! 
 that the " profoundly wise Sariputra was competent 
 to spread abroad the wisdom of Buddha;" and his 
 fellow-disciple Kachhayano declared that a excepting 
 the Saviour of the world, there are no others in exist- 
 tence whose wisdom is equal to one sixteenth part of 
 the profundity of Sariputra." 
 
 * Csoma de Koros in Asiatic Society's Researches, vol. xx., 
 p. 52. 
 
 f Tumour, Introduction to Mahawanso, p. xxvii. 
 
NO. 3 TOPE. — SANCHI. 301 
 
 15. According 1 to the Japanese chronology, this 
 wisest of the disciples of Buddha embraced a monastic 
 life, four years after Sakya's attainment of Buddha- 
 hood, that is in 584 B. c. He, and his fellow-student 
 Maudgalyayana, had attended all the philosophical 
 schools of the day without obtaining conviction, until 
 they heard the preaching of Buddha, when they gave 
 up all and followed him. 
 
 16. In a Mongolian wort translated from the 
 Sanskrit, and entitled Uligerun dala'i (the Sea of 
 Parables), we read,* " When Sabiputba learnt that 
 Buddha was bent on entering nirvana, he experienced 
 profound sorrow, and said to himself, f It is soon 
 indeed, and contrary to all expectation, that the 
 Tathagata hath resolved upon entering nirvana j who 
 after him will be the protector and shield of souls and 
 of beings enveloped in darkness V He then said to 
 Buddha, ' It is impossible for me to witness the 
 nirvana of Buddha.' Thrice he repeated these words, 
 when Buddha replied, ' If thou believe thy time 
 come, then do thy will, like all the Khutukhtu (in 
 Sanskrit, Nirmmanhaya, incarnations), who enter the 
 Nirvana of tranquillity/ Sariputra, having heard 
 these words of Buddha, arranged his dress ; and, 
 having a hundred times walked round Buddha, he 
 repeated a great number of verses in praise of him. 
 He then embraced the feet of the latter, placed 
 them thrice upon his head, and joining the palms of 
 his hands, said, ' I have been found worthy to ap- 
 * Fo-kwe-M, c. xxviii., note 7, Laidlay's translation. 
 
302 THE BHIIigA TOPES. 
 
 proach the gloriously accomplished Buddha/ He 
 then worshipped Buddha, and proceeded with his 
 servant^ the monk Yontij to Rajagriha, his native 
 town. When arrived there, he said to Yonti, f Go 
 into the town, into the suburbs, and to the palace of 
 the king 1 , and to the houses of the high functionaries, 
 and of such as give alms, and thus say to them : 
 " The Kutukhtu Sariputra hath resolved upon en- 
 tering nirvana— ^come and prostrate yourselves before 
 him.'" The monk Yonti executed the orders of his 
 master, went to the places indicated, and thus de- 
 livered his message: ' The Kutukhtu SaripIjtRA 
 hath arrived here ) if you Would visit him^ come with- 
 out delay.' When the king Ajatasatra^ the dis- 
 penser of alms, the great dignitaries, the officers of 
 the army, and the heads of families, heard this an- 
 nouncement, they were all filled With sorrow^ and 
 with heavy hearts said, { Ah ! what will become of 
 us when the second head of the law, the leadef of so 
 many beings, the Kutukhtu SaRiputha shall have 
 entered nirvana! Hurriedly they proceeded towards 
 him, bowing down and saying, ' Kutukhtu! if thou 
 becomest nirvana who shall be our protector,- and 
 that of so many other beings?' Sariputra then 
 addressed them the following words : ' Since all is 
 perishable, the end of all is death. As ye, too, 
 belong to this world of torment, ye, too, will ndt 
 remain long; death Will come and terminate your 
 career. But as you all, in consequence of meritorious 
 works in a former existence, have had the happiness 
 
NO. 3 TOPE.-— SANCHI. 80S 
 
 of being; ton in tile World with Buddha, and that too 
 in the human form, do you add other accumulative 
 merits, and accomplish such works as Shall save you 
 from Sansara.' When Sariputra had finished 
 preaching thus to the bystanders the inexhaustible 
 law, and had comforted their spirits with salutary 
 medicaments, they bowed doWn before the Rutukhtu, 
 and each returned to his home. After midnight, 
 SaripuTUA sat in a perfectly erect position ; gathered 
 all the faculties of his soul \ directed these upon one 
 pointj and entered the first Dhytina. Thence he 
 entered the second ; thence the third ; and from the 
 third the four th* From the fourth he passed into the 
 Saniddhi of the births of boundless celestial space ; 
 then into the Samtidhi of the births of complete 
 nihility. From this Samddhi he entered that of 
 1 neither thinking, nor not thinking f then into that 
 of limitation ; and lastly into Nirvana. 
 
 17. " When Khourmousda, the king of the Gods, 
 learnt of the Nirvdna of SariPTjtra, he came with 
 several hundreds of thousands in his suite, bearing 
 flowers^ perfumes, and other objects meet for sacrifice. 
 They diffused themselves through the whole space 
 of heaven ) their tears fell like rain ; they scattered 
 their flowers so as to cover the earth, saying, ' Oh ! 
 he whose wisdom was as the depth of the sea, who 
 had passed through all the gates of knowledge, whose 
 musical speech flowed sweetly as a running stream, 
 who was perfect in the fulfilment of every duty, in 
 self contemplation, in all wisdom— the sublime chief of 
 
304 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the doctrine, the excellent Khutulthtu Sariputra — 
 hath too hastily entered nirvana. Who shall suc- 
 ceed the gloriously accomplished Buddha and Tatha- 
 gata to spread ahroad the law?' All the inhabitants 
 of the town and neighbourhood, as soon as they were 
 apprised of the nirvana of Sariputra, came, bearing- 
 much oil, perfumes, flowers, and other things appro- 
 priate for sacrifice. They wept loudly with accents 
 of woe and sorrow, placing upon the ground the 
 objects fit for the sacrifices. Khourmousda, the 
 prince of the Gods, then commanded Vishwamitra to 
 prepare a car of various precious materials for the 
 body of Sariputra. When the car was finished, 
 the corpse of Sariputra was placed thereon in a 
 sitting position, and taken forth to a beautiful plain, 
 all the while the JNagas, the Yakshas, the king, the 
 commanders of the army, the officers, and the whole 
 people, uttering cries of sorrow. There they raised a 
 pile of chandana (sandal) wood. After moistening it 
 with oil and butter, they placed upon it the body of 
 Sariputra, and applied fire. Then all bowed down, 
 and each went to his home. When the fire was 
 completely extinguished, the priest Yonti collected 
 from the ashes the sdrira of his master, and conveyed 
 them, as well as his pot and ecclesiastical dress, to 
 Buddha. He placed these things at the feet of 
 Buddha, announcing, at the same time, the death of 
 his master. When Ananda learnt this from the lips 
 of Yonti, he was much grieved, and said to Buddha, 
 1 Oh, Buddha ! the first of our band has entered 
 
NO. 3 TOPE. — SANCHI. 305 
 
 nirvana; to whom now shall we unbosom ourselves, 
 and whom shall we regard as our protecting- sun?' 
 Buddha replied, e Ananda ! although Sariputra 
 hath entered nirvana, neither the charge of your 
 duties, nor samddhi, nor understandings nor plenary 
 redemption, nor the prajna of plenary redemption, 
 nor the nature of occult properties, hath become so ; 
 moreover, many generations ago Sariputra once be- 
 came nirvana, because he could not endure to see me 
 enter upon nirvana.' " 
 
 18. As the funeral pile was formed of chandana, 
 or sandal, it seems highly probable that the two 
 pieces of this fragrant wood, which we found along 
 with Sariputra's relics, must have been taken from 
 the pile. We know that a Tope was built over the 
 charcoal with which Buddha's body was burned, and 
 that the Moriyans of Pipphaliwano celebrated a fes- 
 tival* in honour of their much-prized acquisition. 
 From this account there would seem to be nothing 
 improbable in supposing that fragments of sandal- 
 wood from the funeral pyre of Sariputra should have 
 been held in almost equal estimation. 
 
 19. Mogalana, or Maha Mogalana as he was 
 usually called to distinguish him from others of the 
 same name, was the son of the Brahman Mudgala. 
 His proper name was Kalika or Kolita, but he 
 was generally called by his patronymic Maudgal- 
 yayana, or Mogalana. Csoma de Korosf calls 
 
 * Tumour, in Prinsep's Journal, vii. 1013. 
 f Asiatic Researches of Bengal, xx. 49. 
 
 X 
 
306 THE BHUSA TOPES. 
 
 him Mongalyana, that is one of Mongol extraction ; 
 but his true Sanskrit name is Maudgalyayana. 
 
 20. The relics of these two famous disciples of 
 Buddha would appear to have been almost as widely- 
 scattered as those of Buddha himself : for we found 
 another portion of their relics enshrined together in 
 No. 2 Tope at Satdhara. We learn also from Fa 
 Hian that at Mathura* there were Topes both of 
 She-li-foe (or Sariputra) and of Mou-lian (or Mo- 
 galana), while we know that the former died at Raja- 
 griha, where a Tope was erected over his ashes which 
 was still standing in 400 A. D. 
 
 21. It is not possible to fix the date of this Tope, 
 more nearly than between 550 and 250 B. c. Sari- 
 putra died a few years beforef Sakya's attainment of 
 nirvana, in 543 b. o. It is therefore just possible 
 that the Tope may have been built as early as 550 
 B. c. ; and if there was any proof that Buddhism had 
 extended so far at this early period, I should have no 
 hesitation in ascribing the Tope to the middle of the 
 sixth century before our era. In the Tibetan Duha£ 
 it is recorded that Katyayana, and five hundred 
 other monks, were despatched by Sakya to convert 
 the King of Ujain to Buddhism. This would seem 
 to show that the religion of Sakya had been estab- 
 lished as far as Ujain, even during his lifetime ; and 
 that the omission of Ujain amongst the names of the 
 
 * Fo-hme-hi, c. xvi. 
 
 f Fo-kwe-hi, c. xxviii, 
 
 X Asiatic Researches of Bengal, xx. 89, Csoma de Koros. 
 
NO. 3 TOPE. — SANCHI. 307 
 
 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 Katya- 
 yana 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 Vaisali. 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 Sakya. 
 
 22. On the other hand, it seems to me more likely 
 that the relics of Sariputra 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 Maha Mogalana. 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 Sanchi and at Satdhara were 
 built principally of brick : and these I presume to be 
 
308 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the oldest of the Bhilsa Topes, most of the others, 
 which are of stone, were certainly of the age of 
 Asoka. 
 
 OTHER TOPES AT SANCHI. 
 
 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. 
 
SONABI TOPES. 309 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 SONARI TOPES. 
 
 1. The little village of Sonari is situated on a low- 
 spur of a sandstone hill, between the Betwa and Besali 
 Rivers, six miles to the south-west of Sanchi, and 
 about twenty-one miles to the north-east of Bhupal. 
 The name is only the spoken form of Suvarnari, or 
 the " golden wheel/' which is a symbol of Buddha as 
 the Maha Chakravartti Baja. The traditions of the 
 Buddhists say that when the age of man attains four 
 thousand years, there appears a Xing 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 minis- 
 ters 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-hwe-ki, c. xviii., note 12. 
 
310 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 wheel turns in that direction, and the King, accom- 
 panied by his troops, follows. Before the wheel are 
 four genii, who serve as guides. Wherever it stops, 
 there does the King in like manner. The same thing 
 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 u 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 j but they are all nearly the same symbols 
 of Buddha. 
 
 2. From this explanation of the name, it seems 
 probable that Sonari once possessed a golden wheel, 
 which mu3t have been elevated on a pillar, as shown 
 in so many of the Sanchi bas-reliefs. A pillar of this 
 kind is described by Fa Hian, as still standing at 
 
SONABI TOPES. 311 
 
 Shewei or Sravasti in Gudh, when he visited the 
 place in 400 A. D. 
 
 " There are/' says he, " two pavilions and two 
 stone pillars j 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 Sonari ; 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 Sonari 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 Sonari with drinking water. The hill is covered 
 with trees and low thorny jungul j 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 Sonari 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 Satdhara 
 puzzled me very much, until I had seen the ruins at 
 
 * See Plate V. 
 
312 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Bhojpur, amongst which there is a very large build- 
 ing- of the same description, but in a more perfect 
 state. As this was undoubtedly a temple, I presume 
 that the Sonari structure was only the basement or 
 terrace of a Buddhist temple. 
 
 5. The Tope itself* is a solid hemisphere, 48 feet 
 in diameter, of dry stones, without either cement or 
 mud. This is raised above the terrace on a cylin- 
 drical plinth 4 feet in height. The terrace itself is 
 5|- feet broad by 6^- feet in height. The Tope is 
 nearly perfect, not more than 6 feet of its entire 
 height having been lost. It was once surmounted by 
 a square Buddhist railing, of which only a few frag- 
 ments now remain. The pillars were rather less than 
 3 feet in height, with a section of 6^ inches face, by 6 
 inches side. There were three rails, each 8 inches 
 deep by 3^ inches thick. The railing was all formed 
 of white sand-stone, from the Udayagiri hill, while 
 the Tope itself was built of the claret-coloured sand- 
 stone of the Sonari hill. (See figs. 2 and 3, Plate 
 XXIII.) 
 
 6. The base of the Tope was surrounded by a 
 Buddhist railing, 4 feet 8 inches in height, of which 
 nothing now remains but a few broken pillars, and 
 two or three small fragments of coping. The pillars 
 were 3 feet 8J inches in height, with a section of 9|- 
 inches face by 8 inches side. There were three 
 railings, each 15 inches long, 11 inches broad, and 
 3£ inches thick. The coping was different from that 
 
 * See Plate XXIII. 
 
SONAKI TOPES. 313 
 
 of the Sanchi railings,, It was 11^- inches iii height, 
 and the upper half had a projection of 2 inches on the 
 outer face.. The pillars were ornamented on the 
 outer faces with medallions: of full and half lotus 
 flowers, as shown in the fragment, Plate IX. This 
 railing was erected in the same manner as those at 
 Sanchi, by the gifts of many different individuals- 
 Two of these simple records still remain (see Plate 
 XXIII, figs.. 8 and 9). 
 
 Fig. 8. — Aya-pa&analiasa Atevas(ino) Dhama Gutasa Navaka- 
 
 manasa ddnam. 
 " Gift of Dharma Gupta, the new man (». e., the regenerated) 
 
 the pupil of Akyya Prasannaka." 
 Fig. 9. — (A)yapamnakasa Atevasino Sagha Rakhitasa adnam. 
 "Gift of Sangha Eakshita, the pupil of Aryya Prasannaka." 
 
 7. In No. 13 of the inscriptions from the great 
 Tope at Sanchi, we have a record of a gift made by 
 Abyya Prasannaka himself, who is there called a 
 BMkshu, or mendicant monk. As the name does not 
 appear again amongst nearly three hundred inscrip- 
 tions, it seems highly probable that the Bhikshu of 
 the one record and the teacher of the others are the 
 same person. This would fix the date of the Tope in 
 the latter end of Asoka's reign, coeval with that of 
 the neighbouring Tope, No. 2, which will presently be 
 described. 
 
 8. A shaft was sunk down the centre of this Tope, 
 and at a depth of little more than 5 feet a large slab 
 was reached, which on being raised disclosed the relic- 
 chamber strewn with fragments of stone boxes. The 
 
314 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 fragments were carefully collected and afterwards put 
 together, but no trace of bone or of other relic was 
 discovered. The largest of the relic-boxes is a cylin- 
 der 4 inches in height and upwards of 8 inches in 
 breadth, covered by a domed lid of the same fine sand- 
 stone having a rise of more than 2 inches. Inside 
 this was a smaller stone box of the same description ; 
 but only 5 \ inches in diameter and 3| inches in total 
 height. Inside this, again, there was a third stone 
 box or casket only If inch in diameter, and of a 
 different shape, being nearly spherical with a pin- 
 nacled top. Lastly, inside this there was a small 
 crystal casket only seven-eighths of an inch in dia- 
 meter. This little casket must once have enshrined 
 some minute portion of bone, or perhaps a single 
 tooth of the holy Buddha ; but, after the most careful 
 search of the chamber, no trace of any relic was dis- 
 covered. As the relic-chamber was near the summit 
 of the Tope, the probability is that the villagers had 
 opened it long before, and that when the relic-boxes 
 were broken the minute fragment of bone was dropped 
 into the chamber, and after the lapse of years had 
 become mingled with its kindred dust. 
 
NO. 2 tope.— sonAri. 315 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 NO. 2 TOPE.— SONARI. 
 
 1. The second of the Sonari Topes* is situated north 
 by west from the Great Tope at a distance of three 
 hundred and fifteen feet. The bearing 103 deg. W., 
 is so very nearly the same as that between Nos. I. 
 and II. Topes at Sanchi, that I cannot help sus- 
 pecting- that there must have been some peculiar 
 significance in this particular angle. The Sanchi 
 angle is 109 deg\, and the mean between the two is 
 106 deg. At Sanchi the line is prolonged to the 
 eastward to a lofty temple. At Sonari also it is 
 extended in the same direction to No. 3 Tope which 
 bears 102 E. from the Great Tope. 
 
 2. No. 2 Tope is situated in an enclosure 165 feet 
 square. It is a solid hemisphere of dry stone, 27^ 
 feet in diameter, raised on a cylindrical plinth 4J feet 
 in height. The terrace is 5 feet 8 inches broad, and 
 12 feet in height. This is gained by a double flight 
 of steps each 20 feet long, which meet at a landing 
 6J feet long by 6 feet broad. No trace of railings or 
 • See Plate XXIV. 
 
816 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 pinnacles could be discovered ; but the Tope is other- 
 wise tolerably perfect, not more than 5\ feet having 
 been lost. 
 
 3. A shaft was sunk down the centre of the Tope, 
 which at 7 feet reached the slab forming' the lid of the 
 relic-chamber. The chamber itself was 1^ foot in 
 depth, and its bottom, where the relics were deposited, 
 was on the same level as the base of the hemisphere. 
 
 4. In the chamber was found a large steatite vase 
 profusely but coarsely ornamented with elephants and 
 horses, and indescribable winged animals of rude 
 execution. The vase was covered by a plain lid, 
 secured by lac. Inside this vase were found five 
 relic-caskets, each containing portions of human bone, 
 with an inscription recording the name of the person 
 whose relics were enshrined therein. 
 
 5. No. 1 Relic-casket is a round flat box of crystal, 
 2 inches in diameter, and six-tenths of an inch in 
 height. As the crystal was too hard a substance to 
 be inscribed, the name and title of the holy man were 
 carved on a small piece of stone three quarters of 
 an inch long and only half an inch broad. The 
 inscription, which is engraved on both sides, is one of 
 the most interesting - of these discoveries : — 
 
 Sapurisasa Goti- i c -sa Dadabhisd- 
 
 -putasa Sava Hemavata $ \ -ra d&y&dasa. 
 
 " (Kelics) of the emancipated Gotipdtra, the brother of religion 
 among-st the Dardabhisdras of the Heniawanta." 
 
 As a full explanation of this legend has been given 
 in my account of the different religious missions 
 
NO. 2 TOPE. — SONAEI. 317 
 
 despatched by Asoka to different countries bordering 
 upon India, nothing- more need be added in this 
 place. (See Plate XXIV.) 
 
 6. No. 2 Relic-casket is of a dark mottled steatite, 
 nearly hemispherical in shape, with a flat bottom and 
 pinnacled top, similar to the smallest of the stone 
 caskets found in No. 1 Tope. The inscription is 
 engraved on the outside of the lid. 
 
 Sapurisasa Majhimasa Kodini-putasa. 
 "(Relics) of the emancipated Majhima, the son of Kodini'.' 
 
 Majhima is the Sanskrit Madhyama • and Kodini is 
 perhaps the vernacular form of Kohudinya, which is 
 the name of one of the eighty principal disciples of 
 Buddha. In No. 2 Tope at Sanchi the relics of a 
 second, or of the same Majhima were found, but in 
 the inscription the patronymic is omitted. As the 
 relics of Kdsyapa-gotra were found in both Topes, it 
 seems probable that the two Majhimas were the same 
 person, who was placed at the head of the Hemawanta 
 Mission after the meeting of the Third Synod in B. c. 
 241. His father Kodini was probably a descendant 
 of the great Kohudinya the companion of Buddha. 
 
 7. No. 3 Relic-casket is similar in shape and size 
 to No. 2, and is of the same dark-coloured and 
 mottled steatite. The inscription, engraved around 
 the outside of the lid, is 
 
 Sapurisasa Kotiputasa K&sapa Ootasa Sava Hemavat&cha- 
 
 riyasa. 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated son of Koti, KAsyapa-gotra, the 
 
 missionary to the whole Hemawanta." 
 
318 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 The relics of Kasyapa were also found in No. 2 
 Tope at Sanchi with the same inscription recording 
 his mission to the Hemawanta, hut omitting* the 
 patronymic. 
 
 8. No. 4 Relic-casket is similar to Nos. 2 and 3. 
 The inscription engraved on the top of the lid is — 
 
 Sapurisasa Kosikiputasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Kosikiputha." 
 
 Another portion of Kosiki's relics was found in No. 
 2 Tope at Sanchi. 
 
 9. No 5 Relic-casket is of black steatite, and is 
 shaped somewhat like a pear. The outside is or- 
 namented by a succession of triangles, alternately 
 plain and crossed. The inscription occupies the plain 
 triangles on the lower half of the casket. 
 
 Sapurisa(sa) Alabagirasa. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Alabagiba." 
 
 Allakappo or Alawi was one of the eight cities 
 which obtained a portion of Buddha's relics, and 
 perhaps the name of Alabagira may have been de- 
 rived from the city. Relics of Apagira were found 
 in No. 2 Tope at Sanchi ; and I suspect that the two 
 names are the same ; the letter ^J Z, having been in- 
 advertently omitted in the Sanchi inscription. 
 
 10. The erection of this Tope, which contained the 
 relics of no less than four of the Buddhist teachers 
 whose ashes had already been discovered in No. 2 
 Tope at Sanchi, must evidently be referred to the 
 
NO. 2 TOPE. — SONAR!. 319 
 
 same period, towards the end of the third century 
 before our era, by which time all the eminent mis- 
 sionaries employed by Asoka for the propagation of 
 his religion must have closed their earthly career. 
 
 OTHER TOPES AT SONART. 
 
 11. The remaining 1 Topes at Sonari are all of small 
 dimensions.* The most perfect were Nos. S, 5, and 8 ; 
 but even these had been opened before, and on the 
 removal of a little rubbish in No. 3 ; the broken 
 chamber was discovered quite empty. Nos. 4 ; 6, 
 and 7, were mere circular foundations. No. 3 has a 
 diameter of 15^ feet, with a present height of 6 feet. 
 The bottom of the chamber is 3 feet above the ground. 
 No. 5 is a nearly perfect little Tope. It is 14 feet 4 
 inches in diameter at base with a height of 9 feet. 
 The upper diameter is 10 feet 4 inches. The terrace 
 is 2\ feet in breadth, and 1^ foot in height. Its 
 whole height could not have been more than 12|- feet. 
 No. 8 is very much ruined. It has a diameter of 12|- 
 feet, with a terrace 3 feet broad and 3 feet high. 
 
 * See Plate V. 
 
320 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 TOPES OF SATDHAKA. 
 
 1. The group of Topes known as the Satdhara 
 Topes are situated on the left bank of the Besali River 
 just below the junction of the Ghora-pachar River.* 
 Sat-dhara means literally the "hundred streams/' 
 and the place most probably received its name from 
 the number of streams which meet at this point. The 
 hill on which the Topes stand here forms a perpen- 
 dicular cliff, beneath which flows the Besali River 
 through a deep rocky glen. The view up the river 
 is one of the most beautiful I have seen in India. 
 Above are the Topes, those mysterious piles which 
 have baffled the great destroyer Time for upwards of 
 two thousand years. Beneath are the clear emerald 
 waters of the Besali; on one side darkly shadowed 
 by the overhanging trees and frowning cliffs ; on the 
 other side sparkling bright in the noon-day sun. The 
 selection of this lovely spot shows that the Buddhist 
 Bhikshu was not without a lively appreciation of the 
 
 * See Plates I. and V. 
 
TOPES OF SATDHARA. 331 
 
 beauties of that nature which he worshipped under 
 the name of Dharma. 
 
 2. The Topes are situated about two miles to the 
 W.S.W. of the small village of Firozpur, and about 
 three miles from the village of Sonari. The largest 
 of the Topes is now a vast ruinous mound of brick- 
 work that has once been faced with stone like the 
 great Tope at Sanchi, which it almost rivals in size.* 
 The base of the dome is 101 feet in diameter ; but its 
 present height is only 30 feet. The terrace is 9 feet 
 wide with a height of IS feet above the ground. The 
 total height therefore is 42 feet as it now stands ; but 
 as the hemisphere was an essential part of every 
 Tope, the height could not have been less than the 
 radius, or 50^ feet; and was most probably some- 
 what more. The Tope was crowned by a Buddhist 
 railing, of which several pillars still remain lying 
 together upon the terrace. Some pillars of the square 
 pedestal also remain ; and there can be no doubt that 
 this Tope was once completed with the chatta pinnacle, 
 which has already been described in the account of 
 the Sanchi Topes. 
 
 3. The circular railing which surrounded the top 
 consisted of pillars 2 feet 4J inches in height with a 
 section of 9 inches face, and 7 inches side. There 
 were only two rails, each 10 inches deep, and 3| 
 inches thick. The whole was surmounted by an archi- 
 trave or coping, 10^ inches high and 9 inches thick. 
 The square railing of the pedestal had pillars of the 
 
 * See Plate XXV., fig. 3. 
 
 Y 
 
322 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 same section ; but as there were three rails the pillars 
 were 3 feet 5 inches in height. They were ornamented 
 with the usual medallions of full and half lotus 
 flowers. 
 
 4. A perpendicular shaft was sunk to a depth of 
 10 feet, hut without any discovery. As the great 
 brick Tope at Sanchi had not yielded any relics, and 
 as we were pressed for time, we gave up the farther 
 opening of this Tope. My own opinion regarding 
 these large Topes is that the relics were always placed 
 near the top so as to be readily accessible for the 
 purpose of showing them to the people on stated 
 festivals. Now as the great Satdhara Tope has cer- 
 tainly lost at least ten feet of its height, and probably 
 more, it seemed to me very unlikely that any relics 
 would be found in it : but, had time permitted, I 
 should have carried down the shaft to the level of the 
 ground. 
 
 5. Around this Tope there are three of those re- 
 markable solid masses of building, of which one has 
 already been described in my account of the Great 
 Tope at Sonari. The first, which is half engaged in 
 the northern wall of the court -yard, is 55 feet long 
 from east to west, and 48 feet broad, with an average 
 height of from 16 to 18 feet. The second, which is 
 immediately outside the western wall of the court- 
 yard, is 80 feet long from north to south, and nearly 
 60 feet broad. The third is in a more perfect state. 
 It stands due west from the second, and on the very 
 edge of the cliff overhanging the river ; the wall on 
 
TOPES OP SATDHAKA. 333 
 
 this side being- built up to a considerable height. This 
 building is about 98 feet long and 55 feet broad, with 
 an average height of 16 feet above the ground. It is 
 pierced on the eastern side with a doorway leading 
 into an open passage, from which a flight of steps, 4|- 
 feet wide, ascends towards the north to the top of the 
 platform. All of these buildings were most probably 
 temples, of which nothing but the raised basements 
 now remain. The people know them by the common 
 name of Siddh-ka-makdn, or " saints' houses." As 
 the term Siddha, the " perfected," or " finished," was 
 a common title of the Bodhisatwas, it is probable 
 that these places are only the remains of their resi- 
 dences. 
 
 NO. 2 TOPE.-SATDHARA. 
 
 6. This ruined Tope stands at a distance of 230 
 feet to the N.N.W. of the great Tope. It is 24 feet 
 in diameter, but only 8 feet in height, and has a trace 
 of a small raised terrace.* A shaft was sunk in it to a 
 depth of 6 feet, when some stones falling in, two small 
 steatite caskets were seen lying at the bottom. The 
 stones were loose ; there was no trace of any chamber ; 
 and the caskets were both much discoloured on the 
 upper surface. It is evident therefore that the Tope 
 had been opened before by the villagers ; who, find- 
 ing nothing but a few calcined bones, had replaced 
 
 * See Plate XXV., fig. 2. 
 
324 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the relic-caskets, and filled up the holes again with 
 loose stones. 
 
 7. These caskets are of a pale mottled steatite, each 
 three inches in diameter, and two inches in height. 
 They are inscribed inside the lids, the one with Sdri- 
 putasa " (Relics) of Sariputra," and the other with 
 Maha-Mogalanasa " (Relics) of Maha Mogalana." 
 See Plate XXY., figs. 4, 5. The history of these two 
 holy men, the right and left hand disciples of Buddha, 
 has already been given in my account of the opening 
 of No. 3 Tope at Sanchi. The only real difference 
 between the alphabetical characters of the Sanchi and 
 Satdhara inscriptions, is in the position of the vowel o, 
 which, in the Sanchi legend, is attached to the top of 
 the m, whereas in the Satdhara legend it is attached 
 to the middle of the letter. This variety may have 
 been only a mere matter of taste with the engraver ; 
 but as it is also possible that it may be the result of a 
 difference of date, it is worthy of remark. 
 
 NO 7 TOPE.— SATDHAKA. 
 
 8. This Tope is similar in all respects to that 
 which has just been described, but somewhat more 
 perfect.* The diameter of the hemisphere is 24 feet ; 
 the terrace is 2 feet broad ; and the whole height at 
 present is 9 feet. A shaft was sunk down to the 
 centre to a depth of 4 feet, when a large irregular- 
 shaped slab, 8 inches thick, was reached. On this 
 
 * See Plate XXV., %. 1- 
 
TOPES OP SATDHARA. 325 
 
 being 1 raised we saw a chamber, 1 foot 8 inches long 
 from north to south, by 1 foot 3 inches broad, and 1 
 foot 6|- inches in depth. The bottom of the chamber 
 was therefore only 1 foot 3|- inches above the terrace. 
 In the chamber there were two red earthenware pots, 
 or covers, shaped like beehives. See Plate XXV., figs. 
 8 and 9. On raising the larger cover, which was Ill- 
 inches in height, we saw a cylindrical red earthen- 
 ware box, 7|- inches in diameter, closed by a domed 
 lid. There was no inscription of any kind. The 
 mouth of this vase is broken in two places ; and I 
 believe that it was an alms-dish of the holy man 
 whose relics were here enshrined. 
 
 9. On raising the smaller cover, which was 9f 
 inches in height, we found a similar red earthenware 
 box, containing two small caskets, one of steatite and 
 the other of red earthenware, and both without 
 inscriptions. Of these relics, therefore, nothing 
 more can be said, than that they are probably the 
 remains of some of the principal teachers of the 
 Satdhara fraternity. 
 
 10. The remaining Topes at Satdhara are now 
 little more than mere circles of stone, from IS to 20 
 feet in diameter. Two of them are hollow in the 
 centre, and contain trees ; and it is therefore possible 
 that these circular walls may once have been only the 
 enclosures around different holy trees. It is remark- 
 
3S6 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 able, however, that at Satdhara we found one solitary- 
 trace of the real builders of these Topes, in the name 
 of Buddha Bitha, or " Buddha's Topes/' which is the 
 name still current amongst the people for these 
 massive and mysterious piles. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPUR. 327 
 
 CHAPTEK XXV. 
 
 TOPES AT BHOJPUK: 
 
 1. The Buddhist remains at this place were first 
 visited hy my brother, who gave a brief notice of 
 them under the name of "the Pipaliya-Bijoli Topes."* 
 The former name is so common in this part of the 
 country, that it is the usual practice to add the name 
 of Bijoli to distinguish it from the other Pipaliyas. 
 In the same way Sanchi is invariably called Sanchi- 
 Kanakhera, to distinguish it from two other places of 
 the same name. As Bhojpur has long been a deserted 
 village, my brother probably never heard of its name. 
 The ruined houses of Bhojpur, however, still remain 
 on the hill between the Topes, and I have adopted 
 this name in preference to the others, as it may possi- 
 bly have had some connection with the monastic estab- 
 lishment in the midst of which it is situated. 
 
 •2. The Topes of Bhojpurf stand on the southern 
 end of a low range of hills, 6 miles to the S.S.E. of 
 Bhilsa, and 7 miles to the E.S.E. of Sanchi. To 
 
 * Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, xvi. 752. 
 t See Plates VI. and XXVI. 
 
328 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the S.S.W. stands the celebrated Fort of Raysen, 
 which offered so gallant a resistance to the treacherous 
 Shir Shah. On the west the great SanchiTope, and on 
 the east the Andher Topes are all distinctly visible. 
 
 3. The Topes are situated on the south-east corner 
 of the hill, on four successive stages, rising one above 
 the other, and separated by rocky ledges, which here 
 and there have been formed into rude steps. The 
 principal Topes stand on the uppermost stage, and 
 are very nearly in a straight line from north to south. 
 On the same stage, to the east, are the ruined houses 
 of Bhojpur, and to the west are the remains of a 
 large square solid building, 96 feet long by 84 feet 
 broad. The ruins of a second building known by two 
 names, either as Siddh-ka-makdn, the " Saint's house ;" 
 or, as M&dhu-Deo-ka-mandar, the "Temple of Ma- 
 dhava Deva," that is, Krishna, are 113 feet long from 
 east to west, and 82 feet broad, and upwards of 20 
 feet* in height. The walls slope considerably, and 
 are supported by square towers of small projection at 
 the corners. The entrance is in the north-east corner, 
 from which a flight of steps leads to the top of the 
 terrace, which is covered with grass. At the western 
 end there is a small ruined temple,t of which the 
 
 * Seventeen feet high on north and east sides, and twenty-eight 
 feet high on the other sides. The walls have a slope of one inch 
 for every cubit of height. 
 
 f Amongst Sir Charles D'Oyly's lithographed sketches on the 
 new road from Calcutta to Gya, there is one of an old temple at 
 Budh-Gya or (Bodhi Gya), which stands upon a solid terrace, the 
 same as this at Bhcjpur. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPTJR. 329 
 
 doorway and a few pillars are still standing 1 . The 
 enshrined figure of Buddha is squatted in the usual 
 manner j with the soles of the feet turned up, the 
 right hand lying over the knee, and the left placed in 
 the lap. To the right and left of the head there are 
 representations of Topes and other ornaments. Be- 
 low, there is the following inscription in characters of 
 the seventh or eighth century, similar to that which I 
 extracted from the Sarnath Tope near Benares. 
 
 Ye Dharmma hetu prabhava, hetun tesh&n Taih&gato 
 Hyavadat tesh&n cha yo nirodha, evam vddi Mahasram&nas. 
 " Of all things springing 1 from cause, that cause hath the 
 
 Tathagata explained. The cause of their extinction the great 
 
 ascetic hath also declared." 
 
 Dharma is personified Nature, or all existing things. 
 Tathagata and Maha Srdmana are names of Buddha. 
 Besides this figure of Buddha., there are some small 
 broken images, of which one is recognizable as Surya, 
 or the Sun, with his seven-horsed chariot represented 
 on the pedestal. 
 
 UPPERMOST STAGE OF TOPES. 
 No. 1 Tope, A. — Bhojpur. 
 
 4. There is a considerable breach on the south 
 side of this Tope ; but the hemisphere of dry stones 
 is otherwise nearly perfect, excepting the upper sur- 
 face, which is wanting in all the Topes. The dia- 
 meter of the hemisphere is 66 feet 2 inches, and the 
 
330 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 height of the cylindrical plinth above the terrace is 4 
 feet. The terrace itself is llf feet in breadth and 5 
 feet in height. The height above the terrace is 24 
 feet 8 inches.* A shaft was sunk to a depth of 13 
 feet without any discovery being made ; and as we 
 were pressed for time, we were reluctantly obliged to 
 leave the excavation unfinished. I feel confident, 
 however, that the complete excavation of this Tope " 
 will lead to some important discovery, perhaps more 
 interesting than any that has yet been made. The 
 Tope is situated in an enclosure 252 feet long- by 214 
 feet broad. 
 
 No. 2 Tope, B.— Bhojpur. 
 
 5. This is one of the most perfect of all the Topes 
 around Bhilsa. The top is, of course, gone, but 
 the double flight of steps to the west is still complete, 
 and the traveller may mount the terrace and peram- 
 bulate the Tope. It stands just 200 feet to the south 
 of the great Tope, and is surrounded by an enclosure 
 240 feet long, and 210 feet broad. The base of the 
 hemisphere is 39 feet in diameter, and its present 
 height, including the cylindrical plinth of 4 feet, is 
 14|- feet. The terrace is 6 feet broad and 7 feet 
 high. It is reached by a double flight of steps, 4|- 
 feet in breadth, which meet at a landing, 7 feet 
 square, on the outside of the terrace. The whole is 
 built of dry stones, without any mortar or mud. 
 * See Plate XXVI. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPUB. 331 
 
 6. A shaft was sunk down the middle, which, at 
 the end of two hours' labour, had reached the relic- 
 chamber, at a height of 9| feet above the terrace. 
 The chamber was a square of 1^ foot, with a depth of 
 1^ foot. Inside we found a hemispherical cover of red 
 earthenware, 9 inches in height, and 1 foot 4 inches 
 in diameter, beneath which was a red earthenware 
 box, 8J inches in its greatest diameter, and 6 inches 
 in height. The lid had been thickly coated with 
 whitewash, on which the traces of ink letters were yet 
 visible ; but so much of the whitewash had peeled off 
 in the lapse of ages, that not even a single letter was 
 legible. This is the more to be regretted, as the 
 relic-casket found inside is the most curious and costly 
 of all our discoveries. The lid of the box was white- 
 washed inside, and the white colour is as fresh as if it 
 had been recently done. On seeing this I could not 
 help wishing that the inscription had been placed 
 inside the lid. 
 
 7. The relic-casket is a small crystal Tope, with its 
 terrace, plinth, hemispherical dome, square pedestal, 
 and double chatta pinnacle, all complete. It is shown 
 in half size (in Plate XXVI.) placed inside the 
 earthenware box in which it was found. The top is 
 pierced with a small perpendicular shaft, to which 
 the pinnacle forms a stopper. The bottom of the 
 shaft is the relic-chamber, in which we found some 
 minute pieces of bone. In the red earthenware box 
 there were several small pieces of bone, and a series 
 of the seven precious things usually placed along with 
 
332 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the relics of an eminent person. These consisted of 
 4 thin, round bits of gold, weighing altogether only a 
 few grains, 1 bead of garnet, or Badakshani ruby, 1 
 crystal bead, 2 beads of pale greenish crystal, and 
 some minute fragments of pearl. For another series 
 of the seven precious things, see my account of the 
 opening of No. 3 Tope at Sanchi, in which the pre- 
 cious metal is omitted. 
 
 No. 3 Tope, C— Bhojpur. 
 
 8. This was a ruinous-looking mound, 14 feet in 
 height, but with a slight trace of circular form on 
 one side. The shaft was sunk down the centre to a 
 depth of eight feet, but without any discovery. From 
 the best measurements that I could make, the dia- 
 meter appeared to be about 40 feet, or one foot more 
 than that of No. 2 Tope. Now, the relics of that 
 Tope were found at a height of more than 15 feet 
 above the ground, and as the remains of this Tope 
 were only 14 feet high, we concluded that the relics 
 had long ago been removed along with the upper half 
 of the Tope. One curious fact which we observed 
 was that the Tope had been built in four distinct 
 quadrants of masonry, meeting at a point, by which 
 means the centre of the structure was accurately 
 preserved. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPUE. 333 
 
 No. 4 Tope, D. — Bhojpue. 
 
 9. This Tope stands in an enclosure of 130 feet 
 square, and 750 feet due south from No. 2. The base 
 of the hemisphere is 31 feet 2 inches in diameter. It is 
 raised on a cylindrical plinth 3 feet in height above 
 the terrace, which is itself 3^ feet in breadth, and 4J 
 feet in height. The present height of the Tope is 16 
 feet. A shaft was sunk down the centre, which 
 reached the relic-chamber at a depth of 5^ feet. The 
 chamber itself was 2 feet 5 inches deep ; the level 
 of the bottom being 4 feet 4 inches above the terrace. 
 In the chamber we found a black earthenware box 
 (see Plate XXVI., fig. 6), containing an earthenware 
 bowl covered by a lid of the same material, on which 
 is the word O Mun, "the holy" — a title generally 
 applied to Buddha himself. Inside the bowl was a 
 small crystal casket, with a perfectly flat lid. This 
 casket is remarkable for the thinness of its sides, 
 which in such a hard material must have been most . 
 difficult of execution. This casket contained nothing 
 but a little brownish-red powder, which I believe to 
 be only a portion of the dust which had found its way 
 into all the relic-chambers in the lapse of ages. I 
 presume, therefore, that this Tope had been opened by 
 the villagers. 
 
 10. To the east of this Tope, at a distance of 60 
 feet there is the circular foundation of another Tope, 
 18 feet in diameter, with a terrace 3 feet in breadth, 
 
334 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 and beyond this, again, there is another of the same 
 dimensions. 
 
 SECOND STAGE OF TOPES. 
 No. 7 Tope, a. — Bhojpur. 
 
 11. This Tope is situated on the eastern edge of 
 the second stage, at a distance of 850 feet from the 
 Great Tope, on the uppermost platform. The dia- 
 meter of the hemisphere is 32 feet 4 inches, and its 
 present height is 11 feet above the cylindrical plinth, 
 which is only 1 foot 8 inches in heig'ht. The terrace 
 is very small for a Tope of this size,* its breadth 
 being only 1 foot 8 inches, and its height 1-J foot. 
 The whole height of the Tope is therefore little more 
 than 14 feet. 
 
 12. A shaft was sunk as usual, down the centre ; 
 but at a depth of less than 3 feet the edge of the 
 relic-chamber was discovered on the south side of the 
 excavation. On measurement, the centre of the relic- 
 chamber was found to be 3 feet to the south of the 
 centre of the Tope. In cases of this kind, I always 
 suspect that a second chamber has formerly existed, 
 such as we found in Tope No. 17, k, at Bhojpur 
 (See Plate XXX., fig. 5), and that it was destroyed 
 when opened by the villagers. A presumptive proof 
 of this supposition was found in the disposition and 
 contents of the relic-chamber. One of the side stones 
 
 * See Plate XXVIL, figs. 1 and 2. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPUR. 335 
 
 was displaced, and its end thrust some three inches 
 into the chamber. The lid of the red earthenware 
 box was separated from the bottom, and each half 
 contained an earthenware vase, both without lids, and 
 one with a broken neck. The whole chamber was 
 full of leaves and earth, and small stones, amongst 
 which rubbish we found the lids of the two vases. 
 Now, the relic- chamber, which was 9 feet 8 inches 
 above the terrace, was only 15 feet square and 8 inches 
 deep. It could scarcely, therefore, have been in- 
 tended to hold both of the vases which were found in 
 it. One of these vases was, no doubt, originally 
 placed in the red earthenware box ; and it is possible 
 that the other vase may have been placed in the 
 corner of the chamber ; but it seems to me more pro- 
 bable that it should have been placed in another 
 chamber. 
 
 13. Both of these earthenware vases are inscribed ; 
 and as these are the only inscriptions that were found 
 at Bhojpur their occurrence is remarkable. The red 
 earthenware box is shown in Plate XXVII., fig. 3, on 
 a scale of one-eighth of the original size. The larger 
 vase is given in fig. 4 of the same Plate. It is 4£ 
 inches in height and 6J inches in breadth — the width 
 of the neck, which is broken, being 3 inches. The 
 upper surface is ornamented with a succession of dotted 
 figures, and on the body of the bowl is the legend 
 Patito, " the degraded." This simple inscription is a 
 curious and unexpected illustration of the most com- 
 mon punishment for breaches of discipline in the 
 
336 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 ancient Buddhist Church. The punishment of a de- 
 gradation" was awarded for indecent conversation or 
 for immoral behaviour, or for causing- dissensions 
 amongst the fraternity.* The Patito (Sanskrit 
 Patitya) must therefore have been guilty of one of 
 these three sins. The ceremony \ of degradation 
 consisted in turning the offender's alms-dish upside 
 down^ in which position it was left until reconciliation 
 had taken place, when the alms-dish was again set 
 upright. In the present case we may suppose that 
 the offending monk had died during his degradation, 
 and that his alms-dish had been thus inscribed at 
 his own request as a mark of his penitence and 
 humility. 
 
 14. The smaller vase is of red earthenware, 4^ 
 inches in height and nearly 5 inches in width. On 
 the upper surface of the bowl is the legend Upahita- 
 kasa, ■' Relics of Upahitaka," which was no doubt 
 the name of one of the leading monks of the Bhojpur 
 fraternity. 
 
 15. It is scarcely possible to determine the age of 
 this Tope except conjecturally. The forms of the 
 alphabetical characters in the two inscriptions show 
 that its date cannot be much later than the end of the 
 third century before our era ; while the lowness of the 
 plinth on which the dome stands shows that it was 
 most probably erected in the beginning of Asoka's 
 
 * Csoma de Koros — Analysis of the Dulvaj in Asiatic Re- 
 searches of Bengal, xx. 82. 
 f Ditto, ditto, p. 87. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPUR. 337 
 
 reign. The date may therefore be stated approxi- 
 mately as the latter half of the third century before 
 the Christian era. 
 
 No. 8 Tope, b.— Bhojpur. 
 
 16. This is the largest Tope on the second stage of 
 the hill, the base of the dome being 38J feet in 
 diameter. It stands to the south-west of the last 
 Tope at a distance of 260 feet in the direction of 
 No. 4 Tope.* The plinth is raised 3 feet above the 
 terrace, which is 5 feet 4 inches in breadth, and 6^ 
 feet in height, with a slope of 6 inches. As the 
 height of the mound is now only 19|- feet, or only two- 
 thirds of the original height of the Tope, it is not to be 
 wondered at that the shaft which we sank down to the 
 level of the terrace should have yielded no relics. 
 
 No. 9 Tope, c. — Bhojpur. 
 
 17. At 160 feet to the S.S.E. of the Tope, there 
 is another of less size but equally ruinous. The base 
 of the dome is 29 feet in diameter, and the heig'ht of 
 the cylindrical plinth is 1^ foot. The terrace is 2^ feet 
 broad, and 5\ feet in height, with a slight slope out- 
 wards. The whole height is now only a little more 
 than 14 feet. The usual shaft was sunk to a depth 
 of nearly seven feet to the relic-chamber, in which 
 * Fig. 6, Plate XXVII. 
 
338 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 was a large box of red earthenware, Inside this was 
 a double steatite vase* of a mottled purple colour, 
 containing 1 an abundance of human bones amongst 
 which the following 1 are recognizable : — 
 
 Portion of temporal bone. 
 
 Portion of parietal bone. The internal surface still retains the 
 
 branching lines called sulci meningei. These portions of the 
 
 skull are very much solidified, which proves that they belonged 
 
 to an old person. 
 Three incisors, or front teeth. 
 One molar, or back tooth, not fully developed, and therefore the 
 
 backmost, or wisdom tooth. 
 Portions of ulna, forming 1 the lower end of long arm bone. 
 Portions of tibia ? 
 Portions of femur, or thigh bone, with the linea aspera still 
 
 strongly marked. 
 Portions of phalanges unguium, or finger bones. 
 
 No. 10 Tope, d. — Bhojpur. 
 
 18. This ruinous Tope had a diameter of 19 feet, 
 with a terrace 2 feet 8 inches broad and 3 feet in 
 height. The whole height was only 7% feet. On 
 removing a few stones we found a chamber, 1 foot 
 square and 1 foot deep, filled with leaves and rubbish, 
 and containing one complete earthenware box, and a 
 part of a second. In the box there were a few small 
 pieces of bone mixed with leaves and gravel. This 
 
 * See Plate XXVII., fig. 8. The lid of the large box is itself 
 formed into a small box. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPUR. 339 
 
 Tope had therefore certainly been opened before by 
 the villagers. 
 
 No. 11. Tope, e. — Bhojpur. 
 
 19. A tree was growing- in the middle of this 
 ruined Tope which is only 15^ feet in diameter, with 
 a terrace 3^ feet broad, and 5 feet high. On the 
 west a double flight of steps 3^ feet broad meet at a 
 landing 6^ feet long by 4§ feet broad. The removal 
 of a few stones showed a chamber 18 inches square, 
 and 13 inches deep, the bottom being on a level with 
 the terrace. In the chamber we found a round 
 earthen jar full of bits of bone, leaves, and rubbish. 
 Like the last Tope, this had evidently been opened 
 before. 
 
 20. The remaining Topes on the second stage of 
 the hill may be described in a few words. 
 
 No. 12 Tope, f, and No. 13, g, have each a 
 diameter of 17 feet. No. 14, h, has a diameter of 
 17f, and No. 15, i, of 18£ feet, the present height 
 being only 4 feet. No. 16, j, has a diameter of 23£ 
 feet, with a terrace 3 feet broad. 
 
 No. 17, k, has a diameter of 19£ feet, and a height 
 of 6 feet. On removing a few stones we found two 
 relic-chambers at a height of 5 feet above the ground. 
 The chambers stood respectively to the N.E. and 
 
340 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 S.W- of each other, although the direction of their 
 sides corresponded with the north, south, east, and 
 west. See Plate XXX., fig-. 5. One chamber was 
 9 iuches square, and the other only 7 inches square. 
 Inside we found the remains of earthenware pots 
 and bits of bone mixed with leaves and rubbish. This 
 Tope had also been opened by the villagers. 
 
 No. 18, 1, has a diameter of 10|- feet, and No. 
 19, m, of 13 feet ; No. 20, n, is a mere circular 
 foundation ; No. 21, o, has a diameter of 18J feet ; 
 and No. 22, p, of 9^ feet, with a terrace of 1 foot 1 
 inches. 
 
 THIRD STAGE OF TOPES.— BHOJPUR. 
 
 21. The third stage or platform of the hill is 
 very narrow, and has only a few Topes, all of which 
 are of small size. 
 
 No. 23, q, has a diameter of 19 feet, and a terrace 
 of 1^ foot. A chamber was found in this Tope at a 
 height of only 3 feet above the ground. It was 1|- 
 foot long, 1^ foot broad, and 9 inches deep j and it 
 contained three earthenware jars filled with earth and 
 leaves. 
 
 No. 24, r, is 6 feet in diameter, and is the smallest 
 at Bhojpur ; No. 25, s, is 9 feet in diameter, with a 
 terrace of only 6 inches ; No. 26, t, is 8 feet in diameter 
 with a terrace of 14 inches ; No. 27, u, is 7^- feet in 
 diameter ; No. 28, v, is 10 feet ; and No. 29, w, is 7 
 feet. 
 
TOPES AT BHOJPUE. 341 
 
 LOWERMOST STAGE OF TOPES.— BHOJPUR. 
 
 22. There are only eight Topes now remaining' 
 on this platform of the hill all lying 1 in a direction 
 from north to south, and parallel to the other series. 
 
 No. 30 Tope, a, is 85- feet in diameter and 2 feet 
 high ; with a terrace of 1 foot 6 inches ; No. 31, |3, is 
 10 J feet in diameter ; No. 32, y, is 9 feet ; No. 33, 
 8, is 13 feet ; No. 34, e, is 10 feet ; and No. 35, I, is 
 17-g- feet in diameter. All these Topes are standing 
 close together at the northern end of the platform. 
 At 600 feet to the south are the remains of No. 36 
 Tope, t), and again at 600 feet to the south of this is 
 No. 37 Tope, 0, which is now a mere mound of stones 
 with a diameter of between 30 and 40 feet. A shaft 
 was sunk down the centre of this Tope to the solid 
 rock without any discovery. 
 
 23. A more careful examination of all the little 
 heaps of stones lying about these different stages of 
 the hill would no doubt discover some ten or even 
 twenty more of these small Topes j but as they have 
 all long ago been rifled by the villagers the labour 
 would be completely thrown away. The old village 
 of Bhojpur was no doubt entirely built of stones 
 taken from these little Topes, and from the surround- 
 ing walls of the great Topes. This will fully account 
 for the few discoveries of interest amongst so many 
 Topes ; as not more than five, or perhaps six, of the 
 largest had escaped the hands of the spoilers. 
 
342 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 CHAPTEE XXVI. 
 
 ANDHER TOPES. 
 
 1. The little village of Andher is situated at the 
 foot of a hill 10|- miles to the south-west of Bhilsa, 
 and 5 miles to the west of Bhojpur. The Topes are 
 perched on the northern declivity of the hill just two 
 miles from Andher, and on the very edge of the cliff, 
 about 500 feet above the plain. The position is a 
 very fine one, from which the eye wanders over the 
 whole of the Bhilsa district to the north, till checked 
 by the blue hills beyond Gyaraspur, a distance of 
 twenty-five miles. The Great Tope at Sanchi, the 
 Lohangi rock at Bhilsa, and the holy hill of Udaya- 
 giri, are the most conspicuous objects in the landscape. 
 Nearer, and almost beneath one's feet, are the nu- 
 merous Topes of Bhojpur.* 
 
 NO 1 TOPE.— ANDHER. 
 
 2. This is one of the few Topes which has a 
 Buddhist railing still standing.-)" Its preservation 
 * See Plates I. and V. 
 t See Plate XXVIII., figs. 1 and 2. 
 
ANDHEB TOPES. 343 
 
 is no doubt due to the secluded and inaccessible posi- 
 tion of the Topes, which are not large enough to 
 attract the eye, although they can be distinctly seen 
 when pointed out. The base of the dome, which is 
 35 feet 2 inches in diameter, rests on a cylindrical 
 plinth only 4 feet in height. The terrace, 5\ feet 
 wide and 5 feet high, has a stone coping, along its 
 outer edge, 15 inches in height, and 13 inches in 
 thickness. This is the only instance of terrace-coping 
 that now exists. From the style of the bas-reliefs of 
 Topes on the Sanchi gateways, we had expected to 
 have found some terraces surrounded by Buddhist 
 railings, but we were disappointed, for not one of the 
 numerous Topes excepting this has the slightest trace 
 of a ledge of any kind. The rounded and massive 
 coping forms an appropriate finish to the massive 
 basement. On the west there is a double flight of 
 steps, 4 feet 4 inches in width, which meet at a 
 landing-place 7 feet 2 inches in length and 5j feet in 
 breadth. Several of the steps are perfect, 13J inches 
 broad and 10 inches high j and, as the gateway is 
 still standing, we have here one of the most complete 
 existing specimens of the second-rate Tope. 
 
 3. The base is enclosed by a Buddhist railing 7 
 feet in height, with an entrance on the west formed 
 in the same manner as those of the Sanchi Topes. 
 The pillars are 5 feet 8f inches in height, with a 
 section of 14J inches face and 10^ inches side. There 
 are three railings each 18 inches broad, and Q\ inches 
 thick. The coping is the same as that of the terrace. 
 
344 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 The pillars are ornamented with full and half me- 
 dallions formed of lotus and other flowers. The 
 quadruple emblem of Dharma, which is seen on so 
 many of the old coins, here occupies a medallion.* 
 On one of the pillars there is a short inscription in 
 the usual style : — 
 
 Dhama Sivasa Mdtu ddnam. 
 " Gift of Dharma-Sjva's mother." 
 
 The characters, which are very neatly cut and well 
 formed, are apparently as old as those of the great 
 Sanchi Tope which dates in the reign of Asoka. 
 The pillars of the entrance are carved on both sides, 
 and the two outer ones on three sides. The principal 
 subjects are : a wheel-pillar with a capital formed of 
 two lions and an elephant, a holy tree surmounted by 
 a chatta, and a Tope. There is also another scene in 
 which several fig'ures are seated in a circle, each on a 
 small square couch. This may perhaps represent the 
 meeting of one of the Buddhist Synods. The Tope 
 is surrounded by the remains of a walled enclosure, 
 and to the south there is one of those massive founda- 
 tions which have already been described. It is nearly 
 70 feet long-, and between 30 and 40 feet broad, but 
 not more than 6 feet high at present. 
 
 4. A shaft was sunk down to the centre of the 
 
 hemisphere, where we found a chamber 10 inches 
 
 square, and 18 inches in height on one side, by 10 
 
 inches on the opposite side. Within was a round 
 
 * See Plate XXXII., fig. 4, of this work. 
 
ANDHEE TOPES. 345 
 
 stone box, 5^ inches in height, 6| inches broad at 
 bottom, and only 5f- inches at top. The chamber, 
 which is 3^ inches deep and 4 inches wide, contained 
 nothing- save a small quantity of black ashes and 
 something- like calcined nut-shells. The lid of the box 
 is 2^ inches in height, domed, and slightly hollowed 
 beneath. See Plate XXVIII., fig. 6. Three feet 
 beneath this deposit, and on a level with the terrace, 
 we found a second chamber, somewhat slightly formed, 
 containing a hemispherical red earthenware vessel 10 
 inches in diameter turned with the mouth downwards. 
 Beneath this was a second vessel of red earthenware, 
 8^ inches in diameter, containing a black earthenware 
 bowl 7 inches in diameter and 3£ inches in height. 
 Lastly, inside the bowl there was a black earthenware 
 vase 5 inches in diameter and 4| inches in height, 
 with a small lid of the same material.* This vase 
 was empty. See Plate XXVIII., fig. 7. 
 
 NO. 2 TOPE.— ANDHEE. 
 
 5. One hundred and twenty feet to the south-east 
 of the last, there is a second Tope of much smaller 
 dimensions, but in a much more perfect state than 
 these buildings are usually met with. The base of 
 the dome, which is 18 feet 10 inches in diameter, rests 
 on a cylindrical plinth 4 feet in height above the 
 terrace, which is 4 feet 4 inches broad and 6 feet 
 
 • The glaze of these black vessels is beautifully smooth, and of 
 a bright metallic lustre. 
 
346 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 high. It is reached by a double flight of steps ; 4 
 feet 8 inches broad, each step being- 6 inches high and 
 14 inches in width. The whole height of the Tope 
 as it now stands, is only 14 feet 7 inches.* 
 
 6. A shaft was sunk down the centre of the Tope 
 to the depth of 3|- feet, when we found the chamber 
 1|- foot broad and 1 foot deep. The sides of this 
 chamber were not in the meridian as usual, but bore 
 57|- deg. and 147|- deg. E. and W. respectively. 
 Inside we found a large box of red earthenware, 9£ 
 inches in diameter and 7^ inches in height, f containing 
 a small flat casket of red earthenware and a tall 
 steatite casket, both inscribed. Beside the earthen- 
 ware box, and mixed with the leaves and rubbish 
 which half filled the chamber, we found a large 
 steatite vase with the neck partly broken, but luckily 
 with the inscription complete. This chamber had 
 evidently been opened before by the villagers. 
 
 7. The flat earthenware casket is 3 inches in dia- 
 meter, and nearly 1| inch in height. J The inscription 
 on the outside of the lid is partially obliterated, but 
 by supplying a few letters, the sense is easily com- 
 pleted. 
 
 Sapuri&asa V&chhiputasa Gotiputa Atevdsino. 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated VAchhi-putra (son of Vachhi), the 
 
 pupil of Goti-putra." 
 
 The relics of Vachhi himself were found in No. 2 
 Tope at Sanchi. 
 
 * See Plate XXIX., figs. 1 and 2. 
 
 t Plate XXIX., fig. 4. j Plate XXIX., fig. 5. 
 
ANDHEB TOPES. 347 
 
 8. The tall steatite casket is 3 \ inches in diameter 
 at bottom, and 2£ inches at top, with a height of 5| 
 inches. It is ornamented on the outside by bands of 
 moulding-, between which the whole surface is divided 
 into triangles, alternately plain and barred.* The 
 inscription on the top of the lid is — 
 
 Sapurisasa Gutiputasa Kahanava Pabh&sanasa Kodinyegotasa. 
 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated son of Goti, Kakanava Prabha- 
 
 sana, of the race of Kodini (or Kohudinya.)" 
 
 In my account of the discoveries made in No. 
 2 Tope at Sanchi, I have already stated all that 
 I can suggest regarding Kahanava Prabhdsan, who 
 was the donor of Vachhi Suvijayata's relics to the 
 Sanchi fraternity. 
 
 9. The large steatite vasef is made of two pieces, 
 which were fastened together with lac. Its orna- 
 ments are similar to those of the great vase found 
 in No. 2 Tope at Sonarij but the Andher vase has a 
 narrow neck and no lid, and was once furnished with 
 a spout, for which the hole still remains. No trace 
 of this spout could be found in the relic-chamber, but 
 I presume that it was similar to those which are 
 represented in the Sanchi bas-reliefs. See Plate 
 XXXIII, figs. 20 and 21. On the upper rim of the 
 neck there is the following inscription : — 
 
 Sapurisasa Mogaliputasa Ootiputa Atevdsino. 
 " (Relics) of the emancipated Moqaliputra, the pupil of Goti- 
 
 putra." 
 
 10. Every thing that I can collect regarding this 
 * Plate XXIX., fig. 3. t Plate XXIX., fig. 8. 
 
348 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 celebrated personage has already been mentioned. 
 As the pupil of Gotiputra, he was of course a con- 
 temporary of Goti's other son, Kakana Prabhasan ; 
 and it is therefore very natural that we should find 
 their relics enshrined together. This Tope must of 
 course be of the same age as No. 2 at Sanchi, or 
 rather a few j r ears later, as Kakanava Prabhasan 
 was still alive when the latter was erected. The date 
 may therefore be fixed with some certainty in 200 
 B. a, when the religious enthusiasm excited by the 
 zeal and example of Asoka was still fervent. 
 
 NO. 3 TOPE.— ANDHEE. 
 
 11. This little Tope, which was the last that we 
 had the pleasure of examining, was likewise one of 
 the most complete in its preservation, and one of the 
 most interesting in its contents. It stands to the 
 north-west of the other two, at a distance of rather 
 more than 200 feet. The base of the dome is only 
 15 feet in diameter, and the whole height of the Tope 
 is just 12 feet.* The base stands on a cylindrical 
 plinth 3|- feet above the terrace, which is 4 feet in 
 width and the same in heig'ht. On the east there 
 is a landing place, 6 feet by 4 feet, which is reached 
 by a double flight of steps, 3 feet 2 inches in width. 
 
 12. A shaft was sunk as usual down the centre of 
 the Tope, and the relic-chamber was reached at a 
 height of 1 foot 8 inches above the terrace. The 
 
 * See Plate XXX., figs. 1 and 2. 
 
ANDHER TOPES. 349 
 
 chamber was 14 inches long by 13^ inches broad, 
 and the same in height. The side stones were placed 
 so as to overlap at one end, thus forming" a Swastika 
 or mystic cross of the relic-chamber. See Plate XXX., 
 figs. 3 and 4. Inside there was a large box of thin 
 red earthenware, 7|- inches high and 7 inches broad, 
 containing a tall steatite casket,* similar to that of 
 Kakanava, which was found in the Tope just 
 described. This casket, however, is quite plain on 
 the outside, with the exception of the ornamental 
 bands. It is quite full of fragments of burnt 
 bone. On the outside is carved the following in- 
 scription : — 
 
 Sapurisasa H&ritiputasa. 
 " (Eelics) of the emancipated Haritiputba (son of Hariti)." 
 
 Inside the lid is the following inscription, written 
 in ink : — 
 
 Asa Devasa ddnam. 
 " Gift of Aswa-Deva." 
 
 13. The relics of Hariti-putra were therefore pre- 
 sented to the Andher fraternity by Aswa Deva. As 
 another portion of his relics was found in No. 2 Tope 
 at Sanchi, enshrined in the same casket with those of 
 Majhima and Kasapa Gota, the two missionaries to 
 the Hemawanta, there can be little doubt that he was 
 a contemporary of those once celebrated men; and 
 that he was one of the principal Buddhist teachers of 
 the age of Asoka. The date of the Tope may there- 
 * See Plate XXX., fig. 6. 
 
350 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 fore be fixed with some certainty in the end of the 
 third century before the Christian era, which will 
 make the ink writing 1 of the relic-casket about two 
 centuries and a half older than that of the Papyri of 
 Herculaneum and Pompeii. 
 
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHARMA, AND SANGHA. 851 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHARMA, AND SANGHA. 
 
 1. In my account of the sculptured ornaments of 
 the different Topes, frequent mention is made of the 
 symbols of Buddha and Dharma, which occur either 
 singly or united amongst the bas-reliefs at Sanchi, 
 and on many of the most ancient coins of India. The 
 summits of the Sanchi gateways are crowned with 
 these symbols. They occur as objects of worship 
 amongst the bas-reliefs, supported either on pillars or 
 on altars. They form ornaments for the arms and 
 standards of the soldiers ; and they are frequently 
 placed both at the beginning and end of inscriptions. 
 
 2. The Triad of the Buddhists, which has already 
 been explained, consisted of Buddha, Dharma, and 
 Sangha. Buddha was Spirit, or Divine Intelligence ; 
 Dharma was Matter, or Concrete Nature ; and San- 
 gha, the " union" of the two, was the universe. This 
 was the esoteric or metaphysical explanation of the 
 terms ; but according to the exoteric doctrine, Buddha 
 was Sakya Sinha, the mortal author of the Buddhist 
 
352 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 faith: Dharma was the religion, or the "Law,"* 
 and Sangha was the " congregation" of the faithful. 
 By the orthodox believers, Buddha was held to be 
 the chief person of the Triad, and the Supreme First 
 Cause and Creator of all things ; but the Materialists 
 exalted Dharma to the chief place, and taught that 
 Buddha, or Spirit, was only an emanation from 
 Prajna, or Nature, which was the Divine Source 
 of all. 
 
 3. The symbol of Buddha was, I believe, the 
 wheel; which in its revolution was emblematic of 
 the passage of the soul through the circle of the 
 various forms of existence. Hence, the wheel, or whole 
 circle, was typicial of any one who, after obtaining 
 nirvana, or emancipation from this mortal coil, had 
 completed the circle of his existence, and was no longer 
 subject to transmigration. Such a person was 
 Buddha, the founder of the Buddhist religion, who 
 was commonly called the Maha Chakravartti Maja,-\ 
 or Supreme Lord of the Universe ; or, more literally, 
 the Great King who hath turned the wheel (of trans- 
 migration). In the institutes of Manu,J transmi- 
 gration is compared to the wheel of a car ; and again, 
 in the Vishnu Purana, § " the mark of Vishnu's dis- 
 
 * The Buddhist reverence for Dharma, or the Law, will remind 
 the English reader of the law in the Old Testament. 
 
 t See Fo-kwe-ki, c. xx., n. 10; and also Prinsep's Journal, 
 vol. vii., p. 106, where Tumour states that as Buddha's attributes 
 were those of a Chakravartti Raja, so was he called by that title. 
 
 t Chap, xii., si. 124. 
 
 § Wilson's Translation, p. 101. 
 
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHABMA, AND SANGHA. 353 
 
 cus" is said to be " visible on the hand of one who is 
 born to be a universal emperor" (Chakravartti). 
 
 4. The wheel is the central emblem on the summit 
 of each of the Sanchi gateways. This would seem to 
 have been its usual position, and it was, no doubt, 
 significant of the supremacy of Buddha. In the 
 Mahawanso, Eaja Sirinago of Ceylon is stated to have 
 inserted gems in the centre of each of the four 
 emblems of the " Sun" on the Maha Stupo, or Great 
 Tope.* This, perhaps, points to the absorption of the 
 ancient sun-worship into Buddhism ; for the wheel 
 was one of the most common and obvious emblems of 
 the sun. 
 
 5. In Plate XXXI., I have collected together 
 several illustrations of the wheel-symbol of Buddha 
 from the Sanchi bas-reliefs, and from coins. 
 
 Fig. 1. Bas-relief on a pillar of the western en- 
 trance of No. 2 Tope at Sanchi. A man and woman 
 are represented perambulating the pillar. The illus- 
 tration shows the importance attached to this symbol 
 by the Buddhists of Asoka's age. The same wheel- 
 pillar occurs again at the northern entrance. 
 
 Fig. 2. Central emblem on the summit of each of 
 the four Sanchi gateways-! 
 
 * Mahawanso, p. 229. 
 
 f See Plate XXXI., fig 1 . 7, for the celebrated wheel and club of 
 Surya, from Udayagiri. This was the god whom the Greeks of 
 Alexander's army mistook for Hercules j but one of them has pre- 
 served the true name in SopoaSiios, or Surya Deva, the " Sun- 
 God." 
 
 A A 
 
354 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Figs. 3, 4. Eeverses of coins found at Ujain^- 
 quadruple emblems of the sun. 
 
 Fig-. 5. Bas-relief on a pillar of the south gate of 
 No. 2 Tope, and also on a pillar of the south gate of 
 No. 3 Tope, both at Sanchi. 
 
 Fig. 6. Bas-relief on a pillar at the eastern en- 
 trance of No. 2 Tope, Sanchi, A figure is kneeling- 
 at its foot. 
 
 Figs. 8, 9. On the earliest silver and copper coins 
 found in all parts of India, from Nepal to Ceylon, 
 and from Kandahar to the Delta of the Ganges. 
 
 Fig, 10. Ancient Hindu coin of brass, literally 
 covered with Buddhist symbols. On the obverse is a 
 bull ; to the left, a peculiar symbol, which is found on 
 other Buddhist coins, and on the necklace of Bud- 
 dhist symbols on one of the Sanchi gateways. Above 
 is the quadruple emblem of DJtarma. On the reverse 
 (in the middle), is a tree surrounded by a Buddhist 
 railing ; below is a chaitya, or, more probably, Mount 
 Sumeru; to the right, a swastika, or mystic cross; 
 and to the left, the symbol of Sangha, being the 
 united emblems of Buddha and Dharma. The latter 
 is placed uppermost, which I presume is intended to 
 show the superiority of Dharma, or Concrete Nature, 
 over Buddha, or Spirit. 
 
 Fig. 11. Coins, both of silver and copper, found 
 chiefly between the Indus and the Jumna. On the 
 obverse is a deer, with branching horns, and before it a 
 human figure with the arm raised. Behind the deer an 
 emblem of the sun. Inscription in old Indian Pali. 
 
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHAKMA, AND SANGHA. 355 
 
 Rajnya Kunandasa Amogha-bhatisa Maharajasa. 
 "(Coin) of the royal Kunanda, the brother of Amogha, the 
 
 King." 
 
 On the reverse is a chaitya, or Mount Sumeru, sur- 
 rounded by the monogram or symbol of Dharma ; to 
 the right, a tree in a Buddhist enclosure, and to the 
 left, a swastika, and the unknown triangular symbol. 
 Inscription in Ariano Pali the same as on the obverse. 
 
 6. The quadruple symbol of Buddha, which is 
 found on the Ujain coins, and the quadruple symbol 
 of Dharma which occurs on coin No. 10, and on one 
 of the pillars at Andher, most probably have reference 
 to the other four mortal Buddhas, Krakuchanda, Ka- 
 naka, Kdsyapa, and SdJcya Muni. The four en- 
 trances at Sanchi, and at the Great Tope in Ceylon, 
 with their crowning symbols of Buddha, may, I 
 think, be also referred to the same, 
 
 7. Dharma, or Concrete Nature, was, I believe, 
 neatly symbolized by a monogram which united the 
 radical letters of the various elements of matter. 
 According to the Pwja-kand* " all things with their 
 veja-mantras (radicals), came from Swabhdva (the 
 self-existent), in this order : — 
 
 From the vija of the letter Y, air. 
 
 From that of the letter E, fire. 
 
 From that of the letter V, water. 
 
 From that of the letter L, earth. 
 
 From that of the letter S, Mount Sumeru. 
 
 * One of the Sanskrit Buddhist works of Nepal, quoted by 
 Hodgson, p. 105. 
 
356 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Now it is curious that the old Pali equivalents of 
 these letters form, when combined together, a mono- 
 gram of exactly the same shape as the symbol which 
 I have attributed to Dharma. In Plate XXXII., fig. 3, 
 I have given this monogram, with the singie letters 
 which compose it placed in a line below. In all the 
 monograms, both of the bas-reliefs and of the coins, 
 the symbol is crossed by a horizontal line in the 
 middle, which I take to represent the lower stroke of 
 the Pali letter , n, the radical of " void space, or 
 vacuity." This, therefore, must be the fifth element, 
 the dkds of the Hindus, and the mdrip of the Greeks. 
 The symbol is thus strictly composed of the five 
 radical letters of the five elements, y, air ; r, fire ; v, 
 water ; 1, earth ; and n, ether ; which when combined 
 contain the letter £j s, for Mount Sumeru, as well as 
 the letter 6, m, or manas, or mind.* In Plate XXXII., 
 I have given all the different specimens of this sym- 
 bol that I can collect from various sources. 
 
 Fig. 3 is the simple monogram, composed of the 
 five radical letters of the elements. 
 
 Pig. 4 is a quadruple specimen of this symbol, from 
 a bas-relief medallion on one of the pillars at Andher. 
 The same is found on No. 10 coin of Plate XXXI. 
 
 Fig. 8 shows the elemental symbol crowning the 
 staff of a flag or military ensign. 
 
 * A strong proof of the correctness of this explanation is found 
 in the jt| , smdstika, or mystic cross, which appears to be only a 
 monogram or literal symbol of the old letters (f , su, and $ , ti, 
 or suti, which is the Pali form of the Sanskrit swasti. 
 
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHARMA, AND SANGHA. 357 
 
 Fig-. 9 is one of the ornaments from a necklace in 
 the Sanchi bas-reliefs. 
 
 Fig-. 10 is the same monogram, but very highly 
 ornamented. Two of these symbols are placed on 
 the summits of the Sanchi gateways, one on each side 
 of the wheel-symbol of Buddha. 
 
 Fig. 13 is a copper coin from the ruins of the 
 ancient city of Ayodhya, or Ajudhya, in Oudh. 
 The inscription in Old Pali is Vijaya Mitasa, " (coin) 
 of Vijaya Mitra." In the centre is the monoo-ram- 
 matic symbol. Vijaya Mitra was most probably one 
 of the ancient kings of Oudh, although his name is 
 not to be found in the fabulous lists of any of the 
 Puranas. 
 
 Fig-. 14 is the reverse of a copper coin, procured 
 from several old cities around Ujain. In the centre 
 is the quadruple symbol of Dharma already de- 
 scribed. 
 
 Fig. 15 is from one of the Sanchi bas-reliefs, on a 
 sword scabbard. 
 
 Fig. 16 is from the coins of the Indo-Scythian 
 Kadphises. 
 
 Fig. 17 is from the coins of Kunanda, the brother 
 of Amogha. 
 
 Fig. 18 is from the coins of Sasa, of the family of 
 Gondophares. 
 
 Fig. 19 is from the Sanchi colonnade inscriptions. 
 
 Fig. 20 is from the Sanchi colonnade inscriptions. 
 
 Fiff. 21, from the Sanchi bas-reliefs, shows the 
 symbol placed on an altar. 
 
358 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Fig-. 22, also from the Sanchi bas-reliefs of the 
 South Gateway, gives a triple representation of the 
 symbol of Dharma, which is most probably intended 
 for the Buddhist triad of Buddha, Dharma, and 
 Sangha. 
 
 8. The third member of the triad is represented in 
 Plate XXXII. , fig-. 1, from a bas-relief of No. 2 Tope 
 at Sanchi. In this the wheel, or emblem of Buddha, 
 is placed above the monogram or symbol of Dharma, 
 perhaps to indicate the superiority of Spirit over 
 Matter. On the obverse of coin No. 10, Plate XXXI., 
 the symbol is represented in the contrary manner, 
 with the monogram of Dharma above, and the wheel 
 of Buddha below. This, I presume, denotes the 
 belief of the striker of the coin in the superiority of 
 Dharma, or elemental Nature, over Buddha, or 
 Spirit. 
 
 9. Two different spellings have been given for the 
 name of sangha. Schlegel writes it Hf* sangga; and 
 Professor H. H. "Wilson, ^f sanggha. The latter 
 appears to be the more correct reading, as the Bhilsa 
 Tope inscriptions invariably spell it sangha, with 
 the gh. 
 
 10. The triple emblem, represented in fig. 22, 
 Plate XXXII., is one of the most valuable of the 
 Sanchi sculptures, as it shows in the clearest and most 
 unequivocal manner the absolute identity of the holy 
 Brahmanical Jagannath with the ancient Buddhist 
 Triad. The similarity between the Buddhist pro- 
 cession of images described by Fa Hian and that o . 
 
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHARMA, AND SANGHA. 359 
 
 the modern Rathyattd of Jaganndth was first pointed 
 out by the Rev. Dr. Stevenson.* Colonel Sykes 
 discovered that both processions took place at the 
 same time of the year.f Mr. Laidlay, after noticing 
 both of these facts, adds his opinion that a the modern 
 procession of Jagannath originated in the Buddhist 
 practice described by Fa Hian." He founds his 
 opinion on the fact, that "in the ordinary native 
 pictures of the avatdras of Vishnu, the ninth, or 
 Bauddha Avatdro, is represented by a figure of 
 Jaganndth^ or the Bath Jdttrd." \ To these facts 
 I can now add that of the absolute identity in form 
 of the modern Jaganndtha and his brother Balardma, 
 and sister Subhadrd, with the Buddhist monogram or 
 symbol of Dharma. This identity is rendered much 
 more striking and convincing by the occurrence of 
 the symbol of Dharma in a triple form amongst 
 the Sanchi bas-reliefs. In Plate XXXII., fig. 23, I 
 have given a sketch of Jagannatha and his brother 
 and sister side by side, with the triple symbol of 
 Dhafma from Sanchi. § 
 
 11. But there are still two points of coincidence 
 which, in my opinion, tend to complete the proof of 
 
 * Journal of the Eoyal Asiatic Society, vol. vii., p. 8. 
 
 t Journal of the Eoyal Asiatic Sooiety, vol. vi., p. 420, n. 
 
 J See his translation of the Fo-kwe-ki, pp. 21—261. 
 
 § Another drawing of Jagannath, and his brother and sister, 
 may be found in vol. vi., p. 450, of the Journal of the Royal 
 Asiatic Society. In this the identity of figure is even more 
 striking. 
 
360 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 the Buddhist origin of Jagannatha. These are, <( the 
 suspension of caste during 1 the festival," and " the 
 helief that the image contains the relips or bones of 
 Krishna." The first is one of the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of the Buddhist faith, that was promulgated 
 by the great teacher Sakya Muni, and is so utterly 
 repugnant to the deeply inwoven spirit of caste which 
 pervades Brahmanism, that we may safely refer it to 
 a Buddhist origin. The other is also not at all Brah- 
 manical, while, as we have seen throughout this work, 
 it is eminently characteristic of Buddhism. 
 
 12. When restored to its original monogrammatic 
 form, the figure of Jagannath, or the Lord of the Uni- 
 verse, becomes clear and intelligible, but its present 
 uncouth shape has taxed even the ingenious menda- 
 city of a Brahman to account for. According to the 
 learned, a king named Indradyumna besought the 
 divine artist Viswakarma to make a figure of Jagan- 
 nath to contain the relics of Krishna. The artist 
 promised on condition that he should not be dis- 
 turbed. But the king's impatience interrupted the 
 work in the midst, and the enraged artist immediately 
 gave up his labour, and left the figure of Jagannath 
 without arms. A trace of the Buddhist origin of 
 the name may perhaps be found in the fact that 
 one of the cave temples of Ellora is still called 
 Jagannath. 
 
 13. There is another modern Triad which I believe 
 to be also of Buddhist origin, namely, Vithoba and 
 his two wives Mukmini (or Rakhami) and Satyavama. 
 
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHARMA, AND SANGHA. 361 
 
 Their statues are represented standing- with the arms 
 a-kimbo. The Hindus generally do not recognise 
 them as orthodox;* but their worshippers have at- 
 tempted to identify Vithoba and his wives with 
 Krishna and his wives, who are also named Hukmini 
 and Satyavama. Dr. Stevenson was the first to 
 point out that u the festivals of Vithoba correspond 
 in a remarkable manner with the seasons of the 
 Buddhists." The two principal festivals of Vithoba 
 occur, " the one just four days before the com- 
 mencement, and the other just four before the com- 
 pletion of the Buddhist Wasso, or season of sacred 
 rest, which continues from the full moon of Asarh to 
 that of Kartik. -\ The full moon of Asarh is the 
 pancha-dasam-sudi, or 15th of the bright half, or 
 waxing moon ; and the full moon of Kartik is the 
 15th sudi of that month. Four days earlier would be 
 the 11th of the bright half, or ekddasi sudi." 
 
 14. I have been thus particular in specifying the 
 date of Vithoba's festivals, because the latter one at 
 least appears to me to have some connection with 
 the mela, or " fair," which is held at the old ruined 
 city of Besnagar, near Bhilsa, in the same month of 
 Kartik. According to one statement this takes place 
 on Kdrtik sudi 9; but another authority makes 
 
 * Journal of the Koyal Asiatic Society, vii. 5. I believe that 
 the worship of Krishna is only a corrupt mixture of Buddhism and 
 Christianity, and was a sort of compromise intended for the sub- 
 version of both religions in India. 
 
 f From the middle of July to the middle of November. 
 
36£ THE BaiLSA TOPES. 
 
 it Kartik badi, 11. The true date* is, however, 
 Kdrtika sudi eMdasi, on the 11th of the bright half 
 of Kartik ; that is, just four days before the full moon 
 of that month. According 1 to tradition this fair was 
 established by Raja Rukmangada, from whom it was 
 named the Rukhm&ngada ekddasi.'f 
 
 15. According 1 to the Bhagta-m&la, the Rukhman- 
 gada Ekadasi was instituted in commemoration of an 
 Apsara (or heavenly nymph) having* pricked her foot 
 with the thorn of a Bhangan plant in Rukhman» 
 gada's garden. 
 
 16. According to the Bukm&tigada cheritra, Ruk- 
 mangada was the son of Rohitasvra, and the grandson 
 of Harischandra. He had a son named Dharman- 
 gada by his wife, whom he neglected for the beautiful 
 Apsara Vismd Mohoni, and his after life was em- 
 bittered until he made propitiation by the establish- 
 ment of the festival called the Mukmdngada ehadasi.% 
 
 17. Rukmin or Rukam was the name of a prince 
 who was slain by Balarama, the brother of Krishna. 
 An existing tradition says that one of the Rajas 
 of Bhilsa had a white horse, which, for security, Was 
 stabled on the top of the precipitous rock of Lohangi, 
 
 * The first date was obtained by my brother; the latter by 
 Lieutenant Maisey, as communicated by Captain Ellis. The be- 
 ginning- of the Buddhist Wasso is still celebrated at Bhilsa by 
 the illumination of the Zi&rat, or shrine of Loh&iigi Pir or the 
 " Saint of Lohangi," on the full moon of Asarh. 
 
 f My authority refers to the Matsya Purana for this account. 
 
 % For these two references I am indebted to the kindness of 
 Captain Ellis. 
 
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHA, DHA&MA, AND SANGHA. 363 
 
 to the eastward of Bhilsa. But the Raja was over- 
 come by the Pandus, who carried off the white horse 
 for the performance of the asroamedha, or horse- 
 sacrifice. This prince was most probably the Rukam, 
 or Rukma of the Prem Sdgar, and the brother of 
 Rukmani, who became one of the eight wives of 
 Krishna. Bukma, in Sanskrit, means " iron/' and 
 therefore Bukmangada is only a synonyme of LoMri- 
 gada, or JLoMngi, the name of the famous Bhilsa 
 rock.* It is true that Krishna was a Yadava and not 
 a Pandava ; but as I have always found that the 
 latter name is used in a general manner throughout 
 India to denote any hero of ancient times, the tradi* 
 dition of the Pandu conqueror may be applied to 
 Krishna and his brother Balarama. 
 
 18. According 1 to the Prem Sagur, Rukma was 
 the son of Bhikmak, the Raja of Vidarbha, or Berar. 
 His sister Rukmini is often called Vidarbhaja, or 
 " born in Vidarbha." The name of Vi-darbha implied 
 a country in which the holy Kusa grass is not found $ 
 and it is generally applied to the modern Berar 
 Proper. But if I am correct in my identification of 
 Raja Rukma of Vidarbha with Rukmangada of Bes- 
 nagar, there can be no doubt that Vidarbha must, in 
 ancient times, have included the whole of Bhopal and 
 Bhilsa to the north of the Narbada. 
 
 19. In my account of Asoka's reign, I have already 
 shown that Besnagar was a large city in 270 B. c, 
 and that it was also called Chaityagiri, or the " hill of 
 
 * It is also called LoMchal, or " Iron-hill." 
 
364 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 chaityas" because the Tope-covered hill was in its 
 immediate neighbourhood. According 1 to tradition ; 
 Besnagar was founded by Rukmangada, in the 
 Dwapur-yug* (the third age, or age of copper), 
 one million and three hundred thousand years ago. 
 It stands at the Triveni, or triple junction of the 
 rivers Betwa, Bes (or Besali), and Granga, of which 
 the last is believed to flow underground. 
 
 20. The less ancient city of Bhilsa, or Bhadravati, 
 is said to have been the capital of Yavanaswa Chan- 
 dravansi.f The same story which I have related 
 above is told about him and the Aswamedha, or 
 white horse with a black ear, which was carried off by 
 a Pandu prince. The existence of the Pandus in 
 this part of the country is proved by the inscriptions 
 of No. 2 Tope at Sanchi, which certainly dates as 
 high as 200 B. c. The trough from which the horse 
 used to drink is still pointed out ; but this is only a 
 bell capital of a gigantic Buddhist pillar, of which 
 nothing more now remains. The capital is 3 feet 
 high, and 3£ feet broad ; and as the Sanchi capitals 
 are only 3 feet, the Lohangi pillar must have been 
 nearly 50 feet high. The capital is now standing 
 upside down, and has been hollowed out to a depth of 
 15 inches, with a diameter of 21 inches, so as to form 
 a large bowl. 
 
 21. A glance at the map (Plate I.) will show the re- 
 
 * Captain Ellis's information says the Satya-yug; that is, the 
 first, or golden age. 
 
 f Called Alamgirpur by the Mahomedans. 
 
SYMBOLS OP BUDDHA, DHARMA, AND SANGHA. 365 
 
 lative positions of all the Tope stations with respect to 
 Besnagara and Bhilsa. The ancient city of Besna- 
 gara extended from the junction of the Betwa and 
 Bes rivers, as far south as the Udayagiri hill, and 
 the Lohangi rock of Bhilsa, from which point the Che- 
 tiyagiri (or Tope range of hills), stretching from 
 Satdhara and Sonari, hy Sanchi Kana-khera to 
 Bhojpur and Andher, was only three miles distant. 
 The presence of these large monastic establishments 
 must, for a time at least, have brought both wealth 
 and prosperity to the country ; and the remains of 
 three embankments thrown across the valleys between 
 Sanchi and Satdhara, show that the Buddhist monks 
 were as famous for practical agricultural, as for phi- 
 losophical learning. 
 
 22. Let the imagination wander back for two 
 thousand years, and the mind's eye will behold the 
 Chaityagiri, or Tope range of hills, " glittering with 
 the yellow robes" of the monks. Along the road 
 side, and in sequestered spots, will be seen numerous 
 trees, beneath which half-naked ascetics sit silent and 
 still, brooding upon futurity. The classical reader 
 will recal the Tabasi Magorum (or ascetic Magians), 
 and the Tabaso gens (or ascetic nation), both of whom 
 Ptolemy places to the eastward of Ujain, and who 
 could therefore only be the Tapasyas, or " ascetics" 
 of the Chaityagiri hills. 
 
366 THE BHII^A TOPES. 
 
 Thrice blest the man who with himself can hold 
 Communion deep ; and, in his spirit, range 
 
 To lands far distant, into times of old, 
 And view successive ages as they change : 
 Strange countries, and inhabitants as strange — ■ 
 
 By Tiber, where the Kesars held their sway, 
 Attic Ilissus, Nile, and sacred Gange 5 
 
 Kingdoms and empires long since passed away, 
 And kings and conquerors, the mighty of their day. 
 
 Thus, Fancy-led, the aspiring Soul can spring 
 Her daring flight beyond the bounds of space, 
 
 And soar through heaven on unwearied wing, 
 Leaving slow Time behind her in the race 
 To crawl this world's monotonous foot-pace $ 
 
 Call up the mighty of another age, 
 The men most celebrated in their day, 
 
 The young and beautiful, the old and sage, 
 And all who 've famous been in this life's pilgrimage. 
 
 Or, with prophetic eye and buoyant hope, 
 
 See into dim futurity 5 and pierce, 
 With quick-ey'd Fancy, the mind's telescope, 
 
 The lengthening vista of succeeding years, 
 
 Before which all Time-past as nought appears, 
 And Time-to-come, in beautiful array, 
 
 Smiling with hope amid her rainbow tears, 
 Trips gaily on, and points the unknown way, 
 Bright as the evening sky, and clear as the noonday. 
 
 And blest that spiritual happiness which sees 
 Perfect design in Nature's wanderings — 
 
 A beauty in her strangest images, 
 
 And in her quaintest forms ; that power which flings 
 Its own bright joyance round the meanest things, 
 
CONCLUSION, 367 
 
 And, like the sun, makes gladness general ; 
 That elasticity of thought which springs 
 Highest and quickest from the greatest fall; 
 That buoyancy of mind which rises above all. 
 
 And blest, oh ! more than blest, those thoughts which spring 
 
 Prom the rich memory of historic lore, 
 The lonely heart with gladness deluging, 
 
 As moonlight floods the heavens ; those thoughts of yore, 
 
 Which haply thousands may have dreamed before, 
 Yet we no poorer are ; our fancies rove 
 
 Through distant times, and kingdoms now no more ; 
 And the bold spirit broods on things above, 
 And human hopes and fears of ancient hate and love. 
 
 Like as an eagle on the wild winds playeth, 
 
 Or as a nightingale dwells on her song ; 
 Like as a river in a vale delay eth, 
 
 Or as a breeze near rose-fields tarrieth long; 
 
 As young steeds loiter the green meads among ; 
 As bees and butterflies, from morn till even, 
 
 Amongst the sweetest flowers their sports prolong ; 
 The aspiring soul, in thoughts celestial weaven, 
 Dallies in bygone dreams, the dim foretaste of heaven. 
 
 How changed the busy scene of former days, 
 
 When twice five thousand monks obey'd the call 
 To general thanksgiving and to praise; 
 
 When the stone cloisters echoed, and the hall 
 
 Resounded with the solemn festival ; 
 And gay processions filled each gorgeous gate. 
 
 No more do pilgrims round the solid wall 
 Of yon mysterious pile perambulate : 
 No more to Budh do kings their kingdoms dedicate. 
 
368 THE BHILSA TOPES. 
 
 Nought but the Topes themselves remain to mock 
 
 Time's ceaseless efforts ; yet they proudly stand 
 Silent and lasting up their parent rock, 
 
 And still as cities under magic's wand ; 
 
 Till curious Saxons, from a distant land, 
 Unlock'd the treasures of two thousand years ; 
 
 And the lone scene is peopled ; — here a band 
 Of music wakes the echoes ; there the cheers 
 Of multitudes, alive with human hopes and fears. 
 
 THE END. 
 
Plate [] 
 
 Uruiilir.il and Budrlhist Woiuuncnts 
 _^i S3 ^^ »»_ 
 
 
 1 Eg.l 
 
 STONEHENCE 
 
 sa «*=* 
 
 Pg.4 
 
 Tig. 3 
 SANCH I 
 
 E 
 
 ENGLAND. 
 
 INDIA. 
 
 Published by Smith Wdcr It. 0), London 
 
Plate III 
 
 Various Specimens of Topes. 
 
 gg HBHBgHH 
 
 Eg. 2 
 
 fgggHBgCT 
 
 Jfrrxhsf' Chaitvo/ Tibetan/ Owcfaru 
 
Hate.W 
 
 
 
 »V 
 
 Group of Topes 
 SANCHI. 
 
 Jvni&MsAZifJi' 
 

 \ii)iiS2£- 
 
 %ii 
 
 
 
 
 Group of Xopes 
 
 SONAR I. 
 
 -* ? "j».- - .. A ..-4 
 
 a «"A. 
 
 2 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 
 '^W'^SM-i ^Wwfs^iw 
 
PJaielff. 
 
 Puhbikai ty Smilh, Hdur & C? landau 
 
Plate V11I. 
 
 Tablisked "by ?vnn fh Elder k Co. London 
 
I'latf-lX 
 
 COLONNADES. 
 
 f.rwrr b'nclamrt SANCHI .VI Tope 
 
 Pid.l. 
 
 1 '^ 
 
 .): 
 
 a 
 
 llllhlil .l ll 
 
 J I I L 
 
 J I L 
 
 Rg.2. 
 Avken FtMor at SONAR I. 
 
 Flg.3. 
 
 Brelcen, Pillar, 
 S, Gate, Dipaldiivna. 
 AMARAVATI . 
 
 PnHisheA iy Smifh , Ella' &Co loncta. 
 
 >.y f «?« .z^A 
 
PlateX 
 
 South. 
 
 J\ 
 
 SANCH I. 
 
 Pillars 
 
 Worth. 
 
 LLlI i . i I i i i 
 
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 E. GATE. 
 Left Pillar. Ecarit Fa.ce. 
 
 Tuw,cl.=aJ™-RiTiTfh radgrJlGo landon. 
 
iigkJPiUat 
 
 Plate III. 
 
 Elder & C° London 
 
 T&&&, West: Zt£h. 
 
Plate XE 
 
 Published by S.mth, Elder, & C° London 
 
 ZbrJ.&VfcrJul 
 
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 Plate ay. 
 
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 JJacfcKm' 
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APPENDIX. 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF ANCIENT ARMS AND INSTRUMENTS 
 IN PLATE XXXIII. 
 
 The figures in this Plate have been taken from the Sanchi bas- 
 reliefs, which date between a. d. 17 and 39 ; and from the sculp- 
 tures at Udayagiri, which were executed in a. d. 401. 
 
 Fig. 1 is a dagger from Sdnchi. I saw a similar weapon 
 amongst the broken sculptures at Buri Chanderi, which has been 
 in ruins for the last six hundred years. 
 
 Fig. 2. — Sword worn by a porter, or doorkeeper. — Sdnchi. 
 
 Fig. 3. — Infantry shield. — Sdnchi. 
 
 Fig. 4 and 5. — Cavalry shields. — Sdnchi. 
 
 Fig. 6. — Pike, or javelin. — Sdnchi. 
 
 Fig. 7. — The Indian Vajra, or thunderbolt ; a symbol of uni- 
 versal dominion, usually placed in the hand of a king. Very 
 common at Sdnchi. Compare the form of the Vajra of four cen- 
 turies later, in Fig. 14, from Udayagiri. 
 
 Fig. 8. — Falling axe. — Sdnchi. 
 
 Fig. 9. — Battle axe. — Sdnchi. 
 
 Fig. 10.— Trisul, or trident. — Sdnchi. 
 
 Fig. 11. — Anhhus, or elephant goad. 
 
 Fig. 12. — Sword. — Udayagiri. 
 
 B B 
 
370 APPENDIX. 
 
 Fig. 13. — Shield. — Udayagiri. 
 
 Pig. 14. — Vajra, or thunderbolt. — Udayagiri. 
 
 Fig. 15. — Trident in porter's hand. — Udayagiri. 
 
 Fig. 16. — Trident carried by the Bhains&sur, or buffalo-demon, 
 at Udayagiri. 
 
 Figs. 17 and 18. — Bow and arrow. — Udayagiri. 
 
 Fig. 19. — Bell attached to elephant housings. — S&nchi. 
 
 Figs. 20 and 21. — Vessels carried in procession. — S&nchi. I 
 believe they are the water-vessels (uda-p&tra) of some holy per- 
 sonages. A vessel of similar shape is still used by the Grand 
 Lama. 
 
 Fig. 22. — Standard from the S&nchi bas-reliefs. The staff is 
 surmounted by the symbol of Dharma. 
 
 Fig. 23. — A chatta, or umbrella, with long handle. — S&nchi. 
 
 Fig. 24. — A chaori, or tail of the Yak (Bos grunniens). — 
 S&nchi. 
 
 Fig. 25. — A long drum. — S&nchi. 
 
 Figs. 26 and 27. — Kettle-drum and drum-stick. — S&nchi. 
 
 Fig. 28. — Looking-glass. — S&nchi. 
 
 Figs. 29 and 30. — Morhas, or ornamental seats, or thrones, with- 
 out backs. — Sdnchi. 
 
 London : Printed by Stiwakt and Mckkai, Old Bailej. 
 
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 " The book can scarcely fail to find a curious and interested public."— Athenozum. 
 
 " The volume is instructive and attractive in a very high degree." — Illustrated 
 News. 
 
 "The revolution in China is, in all respects, the greatest revolution the world has 
 yet seen." — Times. 
 
 n. 
 
 MEMORANDUMS MADE IN IRELAND IN THE 
 
 AUTUMN OF 1852. 
 
 By JOHN FORBES, M.D., Author of "The Physician's Holiday." 
 
 In Two Vols., Post 8vo., with Illustrations. Price 21s. cloth. 
 
 "The book is excellent, and, like all the writings of its author, points to a good 
 purpose. Its tendency is to dispel prejudices against Ireland and the Irish. It 
 contains sensible comments upon most topics in Irish affairs. It is honest thought- 
 ful liberal, and kindly. By readers of all grades Dr. Forbes's volumes will be read 
 with pleasure for the knowledge they give, and the cheerful way in which they give 
 it." — Examiner. 
 
 "A complete handbook of the sister island. If there be any, who, knowing 
 nothing <rfits social and political condition, meditate a tour in Ireland, the p easure 
 ana Zfit to be derived from the journey will be much enhanced by a careful study 
 of Dr Forbes's very sensible observations."— New Quarterly Meview. 
 
 "Dr Forbes is evidently possessed of a candid mind, and though he has dealt 
 with polemical matter, he does not write in a sectarian spirit."-^— 
 
 "A very complete description of the present condition of Ireland, written with 
 the kindliest and fairest of pens."— Economist. 
 
 in. 
 AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND, 
 
 AND THE COUNTRY ADJACENT. 
 Post 8vo., with Vieiv and Colored Map. Price 6s., cloth. 
 
Works Published by 
 
 RECENT TRAVELS. 
 
 HI. 
 
 TWO THOUSAND MILES' EIDE THROUGH 
 THE ARGENTINE PROVINCES : 
 
 WITH AN ACCOUNT OF 
 
 BUENOS AYBES, the KIO DE LA PLATA, MONTE VIDEO, &c. 
 By WILLIAM MacCANN, Esq. 
 
 Two Vols., Post 8vo., with Illustrations. Price 24s. cloth. 
 
 " Mr. Mac Cann's volumes present an admirable account of life in the Argentine 
 Provinces. The incidents of his adventures are replete with interest, practical value, 
 and amusement." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 "This is neither a history, a commercial and political treatise, nor a hook of 
 travels, but a mixture of all three ; containing good and instructive matter, much 
 local knowledge of Buenos Ayres, and information concerning the Banda Oriental 
 and Paraguay." — Athenceum. 
 
 " The unlaboured yet animated narrative of an observant and sensible man, 
 containing much valuable information to commercial men." — British Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 IV. 
 
 THE SECOND BURMESE WAR. 
 
 A NARRATIVE OF THE OPERATIONS AT RANGOON. 
 By Lieut. WILLIAM F. B. LAURIE, Madras Artillery. 
 
 Post 8vo., with Maps, Plans, and Views. Price 10s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 " The events of the current campaign are here condensed into a well-replenished 
 volume, written on the very theatre of war, and illustrated by skilfully-drawn plans 
 of each important scene of action. A concise account of the Burmese Empire is 
 furnished by the author, who combines with his talent for research a lively style of 
 narrative." — Globe. 
 
 " The work before us is a military narrative, told in the cheerful tone of an officer 
 who is proud of his profession, and anxious to do justice to his comrades : there is 
 nothing about himself. It is illustrated by plans, views, and sections, and is cal- 
 culated to remove many erroneous impressions as to the character of the Second 
 Burmese War." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " This volume exhibits war in its details, as seen by the subaltern, and in its 
 larger aspects as picked up from the gossip and criticism of the camp. Mr. Laurie 
 varies actual warfare by the antiquities of the country, and a description of the 
 temples and tenets of Gaudama — a variety of Buddhism." — Spectator. 
 
 v. 
 
 TRAITS OF AMERICAN-INDIAN LIFE. 
 
 By a FUR-TRADER. 
 
 Post 8vo. Price 7s. cloth. 
 
 " The Pur-traders' little book, containing sketches of real life among the people 
 of the Oregon Territory, is very welcome from his intimate knowledge of the Indian 
 tribes." — Examiner. 
 
 " A genuine volume. The writer is an actor in the scenes he describes, and the 
 hazards which our adventurous fur-traders undergo, and the savage life of the wil- 
 derness, are graphically delineated in these sketches." — Morning Advertiser. 
 
 " One of the most readable books of the day, and worthy of the best reception." 
 — Weekly Dispatch. 
 
WORKS OF MR. THACKERAY. 
 
 LECTURES ON THE ENGLISH HUMOURISTS 
 OF THE 18th CENTURY. 
 
 By W. M. THACKERAY, Esq., Author of "Vanity Fair," 
 "Esmond," &c. 
 
 SECOND EDITION, REVISED BT THE AUTHOR. 
 
 In One Volume, crown 8vo. Price 10s. &d. cloth. 
 
 " To those who attended the lectures, the book will be a pleasant reminiscence, to 
 others an exciting novelty. The style — clear, idiomatic, forcible, _ familiar, but 
 never slovenly; the searching strokes of sarcasm or irony; the occasional flashes of 
 generous scorn; the touches of pathos, pity, and tenderness; the morality tempered, 
 but never weakened, by experience and sympathy; the felicitous phrases, the striking 
 anecdotes, the passages of wise, practical reflection; all these lose much less than 
 we could have expected from the absence of the voice, manner, and look of the 
 lecturer." — Spectator. 
 
 " All who did not hear these lectures will wish to know what kind of talk they 
 were, and how these English humourists and men of genius in past times were 
 described or criticised by a humourist and man of genius in our own. * * * 
 What fine things the lectures contain! What eloquent and subtle sayings, 
 what wise and earnest writing! How delightful are their turns of humour; with 
 what a touching effect, in the graver passages, the genuine feeling of the man comes 
 out; and how vividly the thoughts axe painted, as it were, in graphic and charac- 
 teristic words." — Examiner. 
 
 " This is to us by far the most acceptable of Mr. Thackeray's writings. His 
 graphic style, his philosophical spirit, his analytical powers, his large-heartedness, 
 his shrewdness, and his gentleness, have all room to exhibit themselves. The lives 
 of these famous writers are told in a few paragraphs, and illustrated by a selection 
 of striking anecdotes." — Economist. 
 
 " These lectures are rich in all the qualities of the author's genius, and adapted 
 to awaken and nourish a literary taste thoroughly English."— British Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 "Full of sound, healthy, manly, vigorous writing; sagacious in observation 
 independent and thoughtful; earnest in sentiment, in style pointed, clear, and 
 straight-forward."— Westminster Review. 
 
 " A valuable addition to our permanent literature: eloquent when the author is 
 serious; brilliant when he is gay; they are charming reading. -Daily News. 
 
 « One of the most amusing books that we have read for a long tune and one that 
 we think will occupy a lasting place in English literature. -Standard. 
 
 A PORTRAIT OF W. M. THACKERAY, Esq. 
 
 Engraved by FRANCIS HOLL, from a Drawing by SAMUEL LAURENCE. 
 Engraver's Proofs on India Paper, £2 2s. Prints, £1 Is. 
 
WORKS OF MR. THACKERAY. 
 
 ESMOND. 
 By W. M. THACKERAY, Author of " Pendennis," "Vanity Fair." 
 
 SECOND EDITION, 
 
 In Three Volumes, Crown 8vo. Price 11. lis. 6d. 
 
 "A second edition of "Esmond" within a few weeks of the issue of the first, 
 speaks significantly for Mr. Thackeray's growing popularity. * * * * 
 Mr. Thackeray has selected for his hero a very nohle type of the cavalier softening 
 into the man of the eighteenth century, and for his heroine one of the sweetest 
 women that ever breathed from canvass or from book, since Raffaelle painted and 
 Shakspeare wrote. ' Esmond ' will, we think, rank higher as a work of art than 
 'Vanity Eair' or 'Pendennis,' because the characters are of a higher type, and 
 drawn with greater finish, and the book is more of a complete whole. The style is 
 manly, clear, terse, and vigorous, reflecting every mood — pathetic, grave, or sarcastic 
 — of the writer." — Spectator. 
 
 " Once more we feel that we have before us a masculine and thorough English 
 writer, uniting the power of subtle analysis with a strong volition and a moving 
 eloquence — an eloquence which has gained in richness and harmony. His pathos 
 is now sweeter, — less jarred against by angry sarcasm, but perhaps scarcely so 
 powerful. ' Esmond ' must be read, not for its characters, but for its romantic though 
 improbable plot, its spirited grouping, and many thrilling utterances of the anguish 
 of the human heart. Having reached the middle of the first volume, ' forward ' 
 will be the wish of eveiy reader of this highly-wrought work." — Athenceum. 
 
 " The interest of ' Esmond ' is, in the main, purely human interest. The story is 
 more than anything a family story. The effect is as if you had suddenly come 
 into that old time as into a chamber; and the light you see things by is that of the 
 warm domestic fire blazing there. By that light you see the faces of the painted 
 old ladies, and the jolly men of letters, and the great lords, and the brave soldiers. 
 The book is as interesting as any previous book of the author's, and more absolutely 
 real than any historical novel since Scott's early ones." — Daily News. 
 
 " We have at once to express in the warmest terms of praise our appreciation of 
 the skill and taste with which 'Esmond' is written. The story of the novel is in- 
 genious and very elegantly constructed, and carried onward so as to gratify constant 
 curiosity until the end. In short, the book thoroughly occupies our minds with a 
 sense of strength on the part of the writer, of which the manifestation is always 
 made gracefully." — Examiner. 
 
 " In quiet richness, ' Esmond ' mainly resembles the old writers j as it does also in 
 weight of thought, sincerity of purpose, and poetry of the heart and brain. It is 
 wise and sweet in its recesses of thought and feeling ; and is more hopeful, consola- 
 tory, and kindly than ' Vanity Eair.' Thinking and educated readers will discern 
 in it an immense advance in literary power over Mr. Thackeray's previous writings." 
 — Frazer's Magazine. 
 
 III. 
 
 THE KICKLEBURYS ON THE EHINE. 
 A new Picture-Book, drawn and written by Mr. M. A. TITMARSH. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 With a Preface entitled " An Essay on Thunder and Small Beer." 
 
 bs. plain, 6s. coloured. 
 
Smith, FAder, <$f Co. 
 
 WORKS OF CURRER BELL. 
 
 i. 
 
 VILLETTE. 
 
 By CURRER BELL, Author of "Jane Eyre," "Shirley," &c. 
 
 In Three Volumes, Post 8vo. Price 11. lis. 6d 
 
 "This book would have made Currer Bell famous had she not been already. It 
 retrieves all the ground she lost in 'Shirley,' and it will engage a wider circle of 
 readers than ' Jane Eyre,' for it has all the best qualities of that remarkable book. 
 There is throughout a charm of freshness which is infinitely delightful : freshness in 
 observation, freshness in feeling, freshness in expression. Brain and heart are both 
 held in suspense by the fascinating power of the writer." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 "This novel amply sustains the fame of the author of 'Jane Eyre' and 'Shirley' 
 as an original and powerful writer. ' Villette' is a most admirably written novel, 
 everywhere original, everywhere shrewd, and at heart everywhere kindly." — Ex- 
 aminer. 
 
 " The tale is one of the affections, and remarkable as a picture of manners. A 
 burning heart glows throughout it, and one brilliantly-distinct character keeps it 
 alive." — Athenamm. 
 
 " ' Villette ' has that clearness and power which are the result of mastery over the 
 thoughts and feelings to be expressed, over the persons and scenes to be de- 
 scribed." — Spectator. 
 
 " The whole three volumes are crowded with beauties ; with good things, for 
 which we look to the clear sight, deep feeling, and singular though not extensive 
 experience of life, which we associate with the name of Currer Bell." — Daily News. 
 
 " The author of ' Jane Eyre' and ' Shirley' has again produced a fiction of extra- 
 ordinary literary power, and of singular fascination ; it is one of the most absorbing 
 of books, one of the most interesting of stories." — Globe. 
 
 "'Villette' is not only a very able but a very pleasant book." — Morning 
 Chronicle. 
 
 SHIELEY: A Tale. 
 
 By CURRER BELL. 
 
 A new edition. Crown 8vo., 6s. cloth. 
 
 " The peculiar power which was so greatly admired in ' Jane Eyre ' is not absent 
 from this book. It possesses deep interest and anirresistible grasp of reality. 
 There is a vividness and distinctness of conception in it quite marvellous. The 
 power of graphic delineation and expression is intense. There are scenes which, 
 for strength and delicacy of emotion, are not transcended in the range of English 
 fiction." — Examiner. 
 
 "'Shirley' is an admirable book; genuine English in the independence and 
 uprightness of the tone of thought, in the purity of heart and feeling which pervade 
 it in the masculine vigour of its conception of character, and in style and diction: 
 it' is a tale of passion and character, and a veritable triumph of pyschology. — 
 Morning Chronicle. 
 
 " ' Shirley ' is very clever. The faculty of graphic description, strong imagination, 
 fervid and masculine diction, analytic skill, all are visible. Gems of rare thought 
 and glorious passion shine here and there throughout the volume, —limes. 
 
10 Works Published by 
 
 WORKS OF CURRER BELL. 
 
 in. 
 
 JANE EYRE: An Autobiogeaphy. 
 By CURRER BELL. 
 
 Fourth Edition. Crown 8vo., 6s. cloth. 
 
 "'Jane Eyre' is a remarkable production. Freshness and originality, truth 
 and passion, singular felicity in the description of natural scenery, and in the 
 analyzation of human thought, enable this tale to stand boldly out from the mass, 
 and to assume its own place in the bright field of romantic literature. "We could 
 not but be struck with the raciness and ability of the work, by the independent 
 sway of a thoroughly original and unworn pen, by the masculine current of noble 
 thoughts, and the unfli nching dissection of the dark yet truthful character." — Times. 
 
 WUTHERING HEIGHTS and AGNES GEEY. 
 By ELLIS and ACTON BELL. 
 
 WITH A SELECTION OE THEIR LITERARY REMAINS, AND A 
 BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OE BOTH AUTHORS. 
 
 By CURRER BELL. 
 
 Crown 8vo., 6s. cloth. 
 
 " ' Wuthering Heights ' bears the stamp of a profoundly-individual, strong, and 
 passionate mind. The memoir is one of the most touching chapters in literary 
 biography." — Nonconformist. 
 
 V. 
 
 POEMS. 
 By CURRER, ELLIS, and ACTON BELL. 
 
 Fcap. 8vo., As. cloth. 
 
 " Remarkable as being the first efforts of undoubted genius to find some con- 
 genial form of expression. They are not common verses, but show many of the 
 vigorous qualities in the prose works of the same writers : the love of nature which 
 characterises Currer Bell's prose works pervades the whole of the present volume." 
 — Christian Remembrancer. 
 
 NEW WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF "OLIVE," &o. 
 
 AVILLION, and OTHER TALES. 
 
 Three Vols., Post 8vo. Price £1 Us. 6d., Cloth. 
 
 " ' Avillion' is a beautiful and fanciful story; and the rest make agreeable read- 
 ing. There is not one of them unquickened by true feeling, exquisite taste, and 
 a pure and vivid imagination." — Examiner. 
 
 "These volumes form altogether as pleasant and fanciful a miscellany as has 
 often been given to the public in these latter days." — Athenaeum. 
 
 " In a nice knowledge of the refinements of the female heart, and in a happy 
 power of depicting emotion, the authoress is excelled by very few story-tellers of 
 the day."— Globe. J 
 
Smith, Elder, fy Co. 11 
 
 WORKS OF MR. GWYNNE. 
 
 The Life and Death of SILAS BARNSTARKE. 
 
 By TALBOT GWYNNE, Author of "The School for Fathers." 
 
 One Volume, Crown 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 " In many ways this book is remarkable. Silas and his relations stand forth so 
 distinctly and forcibly, and with so much simplicity, that we are far more inclined to 
 feel of them as if they really lived, than of the writers of pretended diaries and auto- 
 biographies. The manners and ways of speech of the time are portrayed admirably." 
 — Guardian. 
 
 " Mr. Gwynne has adopted the nervous and succinct style of our forefathers, while 
 narrating the career of a lover of money. The reader will find little to impede his 
 interest in following the career of this bad man to its bad end." — Athenwum. 
 
 " The gradual growth of the sin of covetousness, its temporary disturbance by the 
 admixture of a softer passion, and the pangs of remorse, are portrayed with high 
 dramatic effect, resembling in some scenes the gigantic majesty of ancient Tragedy." 
 — John Bull. 
 
 " A story possessing an interest so tenacious that no one who commences it will 
 easily leave the perusal unfinished." — Standard. 
 
 " A book of high aim, and unquestionable power." — Examiner. 
 
 n. 
 
 THE SCHOOL FOR DREAMERS. 
 
 By T. GWYNNE, Esq., Author of "The School for Fathers." 
 
 One Volume, Crown 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 " The master-limner of the follies of mankind, the author of ' The School for 
 Fathers,' has produced another tale to the full as attractive as the former, and 
 abounding with traits of exquisite humour and sallies of sparkling wit. — John Bull. 
 
 "'The School for Dreamers' may be credited with life, humour, and vigour. 
 There is a spirit of enjoyment in Mr. Gwynne's descriptions which indicates a 
 genial temperament, as well as a shrewd eye." — Athenomm. 
 
 "A powerfully and skilfully written-book, intended to show the mischief and 
 danger of following imagination instead of judgment in the practical business of 
 life." — Literary Gazette. . . 
 
 "An admirable and caustic satire on 'equality and fraternity theories. — 
 
 Britannia. 
 
 in. 
 
 THE SCHOOL FOR FATHERS. 
 
 AN OLD ENGLISH STORY. 
 By T. GWYNNE. 
 
 Crown 8vo. Price 10s. 6d. 
 
 "The pleasantest tale we have read for many a day. It is a stoij of theTMer 
 and Spectator days, and is very fitly associated with that time of good English 
 literature, by its manly feeling, direct, unaffected manner of wilting, and nicely- 
 managed well-turned narrative. The descriptions are .excellent; some of the 
 cXitr? painting is as fresh as a landscape by Constable, or an idyl by Alfred 
 Tftnnvson." — Examiner. . , - , . , 
 
 "'The School for Fathers' is at once highly amusing and deeply interesting- 
 full of that genuine humour which is half pathos-and written with a freshness of 
 feeling and raciness of style which entitle it to be called a tale in the Vicar of Wahe- 
 
 ^Stre aftatet interesting to read, and so admirable inpurpose and style, 
 as ' The School for Fathers.' "—Globe. 
 
12 Works published by 
 
 Miss Kavanagh's Female Biographies. 
 
 WOMEN OP CHRISTIANITY, EXEMPLARY 
 
 FOR PIETY AND CHARITY. 
 
 By JULIA KAVANAGH. 
 
 Post 8vo., with Portrait. Price 12s. in embossed cloth, gilt edges. 
 
 " The authoress has supplied a great desideratum, both in female biography and 
 morals. Her examples of female excellence are taken from the earliest ages of the 
 church, and come down to recent times : she has a niche in her temple for every one 
 who deserves a position there. The style is clear, the matter solid, and the con- 
 clusions just." — Globe. 
 
 " A more noble and dignified tribute to the virtues of her sex we can scarcely 
 imagine than this work, which Miss Kavanagh has reared, like a monumental tablet, 
 to the memory of the ' Women of Christianity.' To this grateful task the gifted 
 authoress has brought talents of no ordinary range, and, more than all, a spirit of 
 eminent piety, and admiration for the good and beautiful, and a heart entirely 
 absorbed in the work she has so ably accomplished." — Church of England Quarterly 
 Review. 
 
 " The women pourtrayed have been selected from every period of the Christian era ; 
 the same range of female biography is taken by no other volume; and an equal 
 skill in the delineation of characters is rarely to be found. The author has accom- 
 plished her task with intelligence and feeling, and with general fairness and truth : 
 she displays subtle penetration and broad sympathy, joining therewith purity and 
 pious sentiment, intellectual refinement and large-heartedness, and writes with 
 unusual elegance and felicity." — Nonconformist. 
 
 "Miss Kavanagh has wisely chosen that noble succession of saintly women who 
 in all ages of Christianity are united by their devotion to the sick, the wretched, 
 and the destitute." — Guardian. 
 
 II. 
 
 WOMAN IN FRANCE DURING THE 18th 
 
 CENTURY. 
 
 By JULIA KAVANAGH. 
 
 2 Vols., post 8vo., with eight Portraits. 12s. in embossed cloth. 
 
 " Miss Kavanagh has undertaken a delicate task, and she has performed it on the 
 whole with discretion and judgment. Her volumes may lie on any drawing-room 
 table without scandal, and may be read by all but her youngest countrywomen 
 without risk." — Quarterly Review. 
 
 " Elegantly illustrated with a series of line engravings, this work has claims upon 
 the boudoir-table, in right of its guise and garniture. But its letterpress is superior 
 to the general staple of books of this class. Miss Kavanagh proves herself adroit 
 in sketching, and solid in judging character. Which among us will be ever tired of 
 reading about the women of France? especially when they are marshalled so 
 agreeably and discreetly as in the pages before us." — Athenceum. 
 
 " There is a great deal of cleverness and good taste in this book. The subject is 
 handled with much delicacy and tact, and takes a wide range of examples. Miss 
 Kavanagh's volumes are to be commended as a compact view of a period of always 
 reviving interest (now more than usually attractive), pleasingly executed. The book 
 shows often an original tone of remark, and always a graceful and becoming one." — 
 Examiner. 
 
Smith, Elder, and Co. 13 
 
 WORKS OF MR. LEIGH HUNT. 
 
 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF LEIGH HUNT; 
 
 ■WITH KEMINISCENCES OF FRIENDS AND CONTEMPORARIES. 
 
 Three Volumes, post 8vo., with Portraits, lbs. cloth. 
 
 "These volumes contain a personal recollection of the literature and polities, as 
 well as some of the most remarkable literary men and politicians of the last fifty 
 years. The reminiscences are varied by sketches of manners during the same 
 period, and by critical remarks on various topics. They are also extended by 
 boyish recollection, family tradition, and contemporary reading; so that we have a 
 sort of social picture of almost a century, with its fluctuations of public fortune, and 
 its changes of fashions, manners, and opinions." — Spectator. 
 
 n. 
 
 THE TOWN: 
 
 ITS MEMORABLE CHARACTERS AND EVENTS. 
 
 Two Volumes, post 8vo., with Forty-Five Illustrations. 11. 4s. cloth. 
 
 " We will allow no higher enjoyment for a rational Englishman than to stroll 
 leisurely through this marvellous town arm-in-arm with Mr. Leigh Hunt. He 
 gives us the outpourings of a mind enriched with the most agreeable knowledge." — 
 Times. 
 
 in. 
 
 MEN, WOMEN, AND BOOKS. 
 
 Two Volumes, post 8vo., with Portrait. 10s. cloth. 
 
 "A book for a parlour-window, for a summer's eve, for a warm fireside, for a 
 half-hour's leisure, for a whole day's luxury ; in any and every possible shape a 
 charming companion. — Westminster Review. 
 
 rv. 
 
 IMAGINATION AND FANCY. 5s. doth. 
 
 " The very essence of the sunniest qualities of the English poets."— Atlas. 
 
 V. 
 
 WIT AND HUMOUR. 5s. doth. 
 
 "A book at once exhilarating and suggestive."— Aihemum. 
 
 VI. 
 
 A JAR oe HONEY erom MOUNT HYBLA. 5s. doth. 
 
 "A book acceptable at all seasons."— Athermum. 
 
 VII. 
 
 TABLE TALK. 3s. U. doth. 
 
 "Precisely the book we would take as a companion on the green lane walk."- 
 Globe. 
 
14 Works Published by 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 POETICS : AN ESSAY ON POETEY. 
 
 By E. S. DALLAS, Esq. 
 
 In One Volume, crown 8vo. Price 9s. cloth. 
 
 " This book is one of the most remarkable emanations of the present time. It 
 actually overflows with the nectar of thought. 'Poetics' should be read, for no 
 reviewer can present a perfect idea of the richness of language and aphorism which 
 run, like silver threads, through the soberer line of argument." — Critic. 
 
 "A remarkable work — the work of a scholar, a critic, a thinker. It contains 
 many novel views and much excellent matter. The style is fresh, independent, 
 sharp, clear, and often felicitous. Amidst the intricacies of his complex subject, 
 Mr. Dallas moves with the calm precision of one who knows the labyrinth." — 
 Leader. 
 
 " A mind at once acute and imaginative, a range of reading so wide as to seem 
 marvellous, a power of classification which we have rarely seen equalled, are the 
 characteristics shown on every page. The work is deserving of a most attentive 
 perusal." — Free Church Magazine. 
 
 CONVERSATIONS OF GOETHE. 
 Translated from the German, by JOHN OXENFOKD. 
 
 Two Volumes, post 8vo. 10s. cloth. 
 
 " These conversations present a distinct and truthful image of Goethe's mind 
 during the last ten years of his life; and never was his judgment more clear and 
 correct than in his closing years. The time spent on the perusal of this book will 
 be usefully and agreeably employed. Mr. Oxenford's translation is as exact and 
 faithful as it is elegant." — Spectator. 
 
 THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF CASTE. 
 By B. A. IRVING, Esq. 
 
 One Volume, post 8vo. Price 5s. cloth. 
 
 " An elaborate performance, exhibiting a digested view of the old theory, and the 
 actual operation of caste, from the best authorities; giving some hints that may be 
 useful in our future dealings with the people of India." — Spectator. 
 
 " A volume worth consulting, especially for the indications it affords of the sources 
 of our success in establishing a peaceful dominion in India amongst races of different 
 religions." — Globe. 
 
 THE LAND TAX OF INDIA, 
 
 ACCORDING TO THE MOOHUMMUDAN LAW. 
 By NEIL B. E. BAILLIE, Esq. 
 
 ATjTHOE op the "moohttmstodajt law op sale," &c. 
 8vo., price 6s. cloth. 
 
 " Mr. Baillie, who has acquired a reputation for profound knowledge of the 
 Mahommedan Law by former publication, has, in the volume before us, exhausted 
 his subject. The reader may rely implicitly on the accuracy of Mr. Baillie's trans- 
 lations." — Press. 
 
 "A learned and valuable treatise." — Literary Gazette. 
 
 " A complete account of the Mahomedan Law of Land Tax." — Economist. 
 
Smith, Elder, § Co. 15 
 
 WORKS OF PRACTICAL INFORMATION; 
 
 GEOLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS 
 
 On CORAL KEEPS, VOLCANIC ISLANDS, and on SOUTH AMERICA. 
 By CHARLES DARWIN, M.A., &c. 
 
 In One Volume 8vo., with Maps, Plates, and Woodcuts, 10s. 6d. cloth. 
 
 THE BRITISH OFFICER; 
 
 HIS POSITION, DUTIES, EMOLUMENTS, AND PRIVILEGES. 
 By J. H. STOCQUELER. 
 
 8vo., 15s. cloth extra. 
 
 " In writing this book Mr. Stocqueler has performed an acceptable service to the 
 military profession. The style is clear, vigorous, and precise; and the arrangement 
 perspicuous and systematic. The book has also a value to non-professional readers." 
 — Athenceum. 
 
 THE SAILOR'S HORN-BOOK OF STORMS. 
 By HENRY PIDDINGTON, Esq. 
 
 Second Edition, 8vo., 10s. 6d., with Charts and Storm-Cards. 
 " A valuable practical work." — Nautical Magazine. 
 
 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HURRICANES. 
 By HENRY PIDDINGTON. 
 
 8vo. 7s., with Diagrams and Storm- Cards. 
 
 THE GOLD VALUER; 
 
 BEING TABLES POR ASCERTAINING THE VALUE OF GOLD. 
 By JAMES H. WATHERSTON, Goldsmith. 
 
 Post 8vo., price 3s. Gd., cloth. 
 
 DR. ROYLE ON THE CULTURE AND COM- 
 MERCE OF COTTON, IN INDIA. 
 
 8vo., 18s. cloth. 
 
 CRAWFURD'S GRAMMAR AND DICTIONARY 
 OF THE MALAY LANGUAGE. 
 
 Two volumes, 8vo., 36s. cloth. 
 " These volumes are inestimable to the philologist as well as the Eastern traveller 
 and trader: and the first is interesting to all educated readers, because in that are 
 included the preliminary dissertation and the grammar. It is a book of standard 
 and enduring value, and at once establishes its claim to take rank as the best 
 authority now extant on the subject of which it treats."— Examiner. 
 
16 Works Published by Smith, Elder, $ Co. 
 
 RELIGIOUS AND EDUCATIONAL. 
 
 THE NOVITIATE; ok, The Jesuit in Training: 
 
 BEING A YEAR AMONG THE ENGLISH JESUITS. 
 By ANDREW STEINMETZ. 
 
 Third Edition, post 8vo., 5s. cloth. 
 
 " This is a remarkable book. It describes with a welcome minuteness, the daily, 
 nightly, hourly occupations of the Jesuit Novitiates of Stonyhurst, their religious 
 exercises and manners, in private and together; and depicts, with considerable 
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