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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
the ordinary course of events to supernatural agency-declared that the Bhât was not dead, but lying in the samádh trance. There was, however, no pulse, and as it was clear that, even if the supposition of the villagers was correct, medical treatment would be desirable, I sent the body in a cart to the nearest dispensary, distant some six or seven miles, and in due time received a certificate of death from the hospital assistant in charge of that institution, together with a report of a postmortem examination of the body, which showed that death had resulted from heart-disease.
"Meanwhile I visited the village and ascertained the following facts:-The deceased was a man in fairly comfortable circumstances, and with some religious pretensions. It was well known that he aspired to a still higher reputation for sanctity, and that, with this view, he had for several months been contemplating samadh. The proper date for this rite had been finally settled, after many solemn ceremonies and the due observance of fasting, prayer, and charity.
"On the afternoon fixed for the samádh he assembled the villagers, and told them that it had been imparted to him in a vision that the Deity required him to pass six weeks in religious abstraction, and that he felt compelled to obey the divine command, and to remain in the vault prepared for him during that period. He then produced and worshipped a small earthen vessel containing the sacred Tulsi plant, and afterwards carefully planted therein twenty grains of barley, telling the villagers to watch for their growth, as it had been revealed to him that the grains represented his life. If at the end of the six weeks the grains had sprouted, the villagers were to understand that the Bhât was still alive. He was then to be removed from the vault, and worshipped as a saint. If, on the other hand, germination had not taken place, they were to understand that the Bhât was dead also, and the vault was in that case to be permanently bricked up, and the Tulsi planted over the grave.
"After giving these directions, the devotee recited some mantras and entered the vault, bidding farewell to the world, and declaring his belief that his life would be miraculously preserved. The vault was then roofed over with boards, and plastered thickly with mud. About two hours after this event, he was removed from the vault by the police under my orders, and placed in the verandah, the house itself being locked up.
"After ascertaining the above particulars, Icaused the house to be opened, and then discovered that a gross attempt at imposture had been practised. The grave was about three feet deep, being a hole dug in the floor of the inner room of the house.
[OCTOBER, 1878.
The wall of the room formed one side of the vault. The roof over the latter was a clumsy structure, and had been partly demolished to allow of the removal of the devotee. As usual in India, the only light admitted to the room was through the door, and the unsubstantial nature of the roof was not likely to attract the attention of the villagers. But I satisfied myself that the occupant of the vault might, with great ease, have demolished the covering which was supposed to shut him off from the world
"The vault itself was somewhat dark. I entered it in order to ascertain how much space had been allotted to the occupant. I found therein the rosary of the deceased, and the chaplet of flowers which he had worn before his self-immolation. There was sufficient room for me to sit in tolerable comfort. On one side of the vault I felt a small wooden plank apparently let into the wall, and on obtaining a light I found that a trap-door about a foot square had been ingeniously contrived to communicate with the other room of the house. The trap-door was so hung as to open inwards, towards the vault, at the pleasure of the inmate. On going into the outer room, into which communication had thus been opened, I found that a row of the large earthen jars, which Horace would have called amphora, and which are used in India to store grain, had been arranged against the wall. The trap-door into the vault was effectually concealed by them, and the supply of air, food, and water to the impostor within, thus cleverly provided for. The arrangement was neatly contrived, and was not likely to have attracted suspicion. Had the Bhât been a strong man, and in good health, he might, without any danger to life, and with only a minimum of discomfort, have emerged triumphantly after his six weeks' samadh, and have earned a wide reputation. But the excitement and fasting were too much for him."-Athenæum, August 4th, 1877.
ARUNAD YAVANO MADHYAMIKAM.
Mr. Carlleyle's and General Cunningham's remarks on pp. 201-205 of Vol. VI. of the Archaeological Survey Reports induce me to state that the oldest and best MSS. both of the Mahábháshya and of the Kásiká Vritti on P. III. 2. 111 read अरुगद्यवनो मध्यमिकाम् (and not माध्यमिकान् ). A marginal note in one of the MSS. of the Mahabhashya states that Madhyamika was a town (); Nâgojibhaṭṭa on P. VI. 3. 37 likewise says
; and in the Ganaratnamahodadhi we read मध्ये भवा मध्यमिका नगरी, तस्यां भवो माध्यमिकीयः.
I leave it to General Cunningham to decide whether this correct reading Madhyamika is of any
