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126
EPIGRAPHIA INDICA
[VOL. XXVIII
II This piece has three letters the first of which is slightly destroyed at the top. They read :
a da na The form of na shows a later development. It may be referred to the Kushāņa period, i.e., about 2nd century A. D.
No sense can be made of the extant portion of the record. The last two letters, however, suggest that they are the first two letters of the word danamukhe 'gift' which so frequently occur in donative Kharðshthi inscriptions. One of the three earthen jars with similar painted inscriptions discovered at Palätü Dheri mound, now in the Peshawar Museum, has this expression (see C. I. I., II, 121, Pl. XXIII-1a). On the analogy of this we may surmise that the present sherd is a piece of a pot which was a religious gift by an individual whose name is lost.
III
But for a small irregular spot of black paint about the centre showing that this piece also had some writing on it, it has now no writing left on it. The whole writing seems to have been washed clean.
IV This piece contains remnants of three letters. The upper portion of the first letter is gone, but what remains of it suggests that it might have been a sa with its loop filled up. The second letter is mostly blurred. It may be a da or a dha, but in either case the form would be unusual. The third letter is almost entirely gone.
This potsherd has the upper portion of one letter, which is to be read as:
khe
It is very faint, but can be read when moisture is applied to the piece. There is a small trace of another letter below the left limb of khe, but it cannot be recognized. The reading khe is suggestive of danamukhe .gift. And possibly the pot was a gift by an individual. This may be compared with No. 2 above.
VI This piece contains very small upper portion of six letters, none of which can be read with any certainty. The loop of the second suggests it to be an a. The last one is most probably an a, too. Almost completely gone.
VII This potsherd has five letters. Bottoms of the first three have been destroyed. The fourth is complete and the fifth is only partly preserved. They read :
a ra ga tascha] The third letter shows a stroke on the top to its right, but a careful examination showed that it is not joined with the letter ga and is not meant to be a part of this syllable. Again, applying moisture shows the inscription more distinctly.
No interpretation of the extant portion of the record can be suggested at this stage. Compare, however, No. XII. below.
