________________
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY,
A JOURNAL OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH.
VOLUME XVIII.-1889.
THE INSCRIPTIONS OF PIYADASI. BY É. SENART, MEMBRE DE L'INSTITUT DE FRANCE. Translated by G. A. Grierson, B.C.S., and revised by the Author.
(Continued from Vol. XVII., P. 307.)
THIRD EDICT. Prinsep, 1.c. p. 584; Burnouf, 1.c., pp. 669 and ff.
• TEXT. 17 Dévânampiyê Piyadasi lâja hêvam aha (.) kayananm êva dêkhatil iyam mê 18 keyênê kateti nô mina pipan dekhati iyam mê cấpê kateti . iyam và
Asinave 19 namati [.] dupațivekhe3 chu khô éså hêvam chu khô êsa dekhiye imani 20 Asinavagâmini nama atha chamdiye nithůliyê kôdbê mânê [] isya 21 kalanêna va hakam mâ palibhasayisam esa badhe dekhiye iyam mê 22 hidatikâye iya ma namê på latikâyê [-]
NOTES. 1. It matters little whether we should read here, and lower down, dékhati or dékhamti. The subject is indefinite : one sees,' they see. And we must consider the form dakhati or dékhati as certainly the present and not the future (cf. Kern, J.R.A.S., N.S., xii. 389, note). See lower down the future participle dekhiya. It is unnecessary to remark that the regular orthography would be kayána (or nam) éva.
2. The syllables no mina are embarrassing, and the more so becanse the agreement of all the versions compels the greatest caution in making conjectures. Burnouf analyzed it into no imind, not by this, but I confess that I do not see clearly the sense which he proposes to draw from it, and perceive still less any meaning which would be usefully drawn from such an analysis. One thing is certain, that a negative is wanting. It may be contained in the first gyllable, no; but it may also be in the last syllable, na. Dr. Kern apparently, "so far agreeing with Burnonf, adopts the first explanation when he incidentally quotes this member of the sentence (J.R.A.S., N.S., xii. 389, note), and transcribes it as m punaḥ: mina would therefore represent punah. Perhaps the same could be found again in the form mana at the end of this edict : iyan mana mé. However, as will be seen in a subsequent note, punah, in this latter sentence, is not needed by the necessities of the sense, - quite the contrary. This analogy would
