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SANCHI STUPA INSCRIPTIONS.
367 of the edict (11. 2-3) "for my wish is,-what?--that the road of the Samgha may last a long time” removes even the possibility of a doubt regarding the correctness of the reading adopted, with which the shape of the remnants of the third, fourth and ninth signs of the line agrees. Though at the end of line 6 the letters ta pa are quite plain and again in line 5 towards the end the letters ka or ke, ye, as well as the word sangham, I do not dare to propose a restoration. I must content myself with putting down the few signs I believe to recognise. The better preserved remainder of the inscription, as I have stated formerly, indeed corresponds in part with the middle of the Kosambi edict on the Allahabad Pillar, and there is very little to alter in the readings which I have given in my former article.
TRANSCRIPT. Allahdbad.
Sánchi. . samgham . y[an] bhse?] .. mage kate (71 bbokhati bhikhu-va bhikhu-nî vå
khu[nam vâ] bhi .. Ânam [vậ] ti [1] .ta Pa [6] [pi cha]o—(2) data---ni []-uskuinaṁ dhåpal .[. ikhi(?)tan) .m. .ri (?) . [ke?] ye yitu anape.
samgharn (5) bhokhati bhiku vá bhikhuni va odatani du[s ].i sanat . . yitu ana . [3] sasi v[is. petaviy. [.) Ichha bi me kim- [2] ti samghasa mage chilatbitike siya ti [1]
TRANSLATION. ... "A road was made both for the monks and the nuns . . . ..the community will dine, both monk and nun, (and), causing white cloth to be put down (for them), you will order it to be spread; for my wish is-what?-that the road of the community (of the Buddhist monks) may endure for a long time."
It is now evident that the road (mage) is something material. Possibly the expression refers to the procession path or “terrace for circumambulation" which surrounds the Stupa (see Bhilsa Topes, p. 184). But the road may also be one which made the Stapas more conveniently accessible.
The characters of the small donative inscriptions offer various points of interest. Among those the alphabet of which in general agrees with that of Asoka's Edicts we find
(1) Some like I, Nos. 172, 174, 185, 203, the letters of which are very small, with short vertical strokes, giving one the impression of an attempt at reproducing the Maurya characters, used for literary purposes;
(2) Two-II, No. 61 and another,-illegible with the exception of the word dánarh, in which throughout thin double lines are employed instead of single ones;
(3) Many, which present cursive forms for one or two consonants, or even only for some medial vowel marks. Thus, da has frequently (see, eg., I, Nos. 129, 177, 186 and 188) a very shallow curve open to the left and otherwise abnormally bent strokes. Here and there ja, too, is irregular. In Ujeniya (No. 159) it has the angular shape, which is the usual one in the Andhra inscriptions, but occurs once in the Girnar version of Asoka's Rock-Edicts. In Rájuka (1, No. 177), and sometimes in the word pajávati, ja looks • The word ti indicates that the sentence is at an end. has not been restored completely, this is, of course, merely
I am inclined to take sarkghath As A neuter nominative tentative. with the lingavyalya-ya, se common in the Aboka inscrip- Usually called Pradakshind by the Binhmans and tious, and as the subject of the sentence. As long as the text Blinti (Bhramanti) by the Jainas.
