________________
802
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[November, 1893.
means according to Professor Oldenberg " 256 beings have passed into Nirvana)," and according to M. Senart" 256 men have been sent forth on missions."
My special objections against this very unceremonious treatment of the text are, (1) that cardinal numerals are never shortened, in the manner assumed, neither in ancient nor in modern Indian inscriptions, while in those of the seventh and later centuries the first syllable of an ordinal is put occasionally for the whole, see e. g. ante, Vol. XIII. p. 84, 1. 40, and Vol. XV. p. 340, 1. 57, where dui occars for duitiya, (2) that, to judge from the analogies, furnished by the forms sad-u-visti and á-sum-mustke in the Pillar Edicts, the form chha is not admissible in the dialect of the Sahasram inscription, and (3) tbat the phrase duré sa tá) painá sa] [chh]é ti would not be idiomatic, chha cha being required instead of chha ti. The meaning, which Professor Oldenberg elicits by his remarkable interpolations and emendations, is more curious than interesting. M. Senart's translation is on the contrary very interesting, and would make the passage historically valuable, if it could be apheld. This is, however, not possible, because it rests on the same doubtful assumptions as Professor Oldenberg's, and because the proofs for various minor auxiliary statements, such as, that vivas means to depart on missions,' and vivutha 'missionary,' and that the Rapnâth text has the reading vivasétariya, have been omitted. Under these circumstances I can only adhere to my former interpretation, which makes it unnecessary to do violence to the authentic text. And it is a matter of conree that I still hold the passage to refer to the time ela pred since Buddha's death and the 257th year after Buddha to coincide with the last of Asoka's reign. As according to the beginning of these edicts Asoka's connection with the Buddhists had lasted upwards of eight years, his conversion falls about the twenty-ninth year of his reign. The Sahasråm Edict. The Räpnath Edict.
The Bairat Edict. Dévântun Piyê hê. . . . Devanam - Piyê hêvam - Aha ( Dâvânat Piyê Aha [:] . . . . . . . . . &ticle]káni adhatily]ani" sati. . . . . . . . [1] . . . ani am upåsa- va-ya - sumi - pâkas vas&n[i] ya hakao7 upåsa. kêr sumi nalo chu badham [sa][va]k416 no-chu badhi kên. . bådba[m] pala kamtê (1) sadvachhales pakatēL:] Bâtilêkê - chu... . . . . . . sâdhi[kje . : . chhavacharê ya sumi- ... [2] [m] mamay&
hakarn? sagha" up.tel sa[m]ghe upayatês
. . [1] badhi chua pakaté bedha ch: . . . . . [êt. . lêna! (.) Y[i]" . imaya -- kalaya - ... ... [3] (J Jambudipasi ammisar dêv& Jambudipasi amisd-dêvê - Jambudipasi amiså n. dêvê [h]," sam(t&][2 muniså misam dêv. husu têdani mi]s.- kata* , .
. . . .......... ( Pakamasi - hi-êsa- phale . .. masa esa lê [4] . . . . mahatatâ va nô-cha éså - mabatata . . hi ésê mahatanêva . chakiyê pêvatavel[.) Khudakêna pâpotave[.] khudakêna chakiye .. .. .... pi pal[a]-[3] kama bi kao[2] pi -paruma - . . . [ka]ma - minêni vipulêpi suag. minêna-sakiyê-[p]i pules minénk
[5] vipulê • kiyes &.....v.1 [] pievage - årôdhavan [.) pi svago chaky Aladhêta.es S& @taye athayo iyam Etiya" -athầya-cha--savane ... . . . ... sú vânê' : ) khudaka cha udald -kate [] Khudaka-cha- udald .
[]& cha udala cha pa-[4] [a]kamamtu [.]cha pakamamtu ti [.] cha palakamata i [.6 Amtå pi cha? 1 janatatu | chila- Atà - pi-cha- jậnam'u iyam. A [m]ta . pi cha jânatctù ti [th]itik.8 cha palakame pakar..va[3]kiti chirathitike- chilathit. hotu I [.] Iyam cha ath. siya 1.) Iya-hi athe va. .. vadhisati vipular picba dhi-vadhisiti vipula cha..... .. lampi vadhisati [5] diyâdhiyar vadhisiti apaladhiyên- vadhisa. [7] avaladhiyênê diyadhiyam diyadhiya - vadhisata), [.] . yadhiyam vadhisati [8. vadhisati [.]
Iya -cha athë pavatie? . . 11 Professor Oldenberg adduces bati as an abbreviation for battimaa from the Jour. Bo. Br. Roy. As: Soc. Vol. V. p. 158. Dr. Stevenson's reading bati 82 is erroneous. The inscription has bitiye 2, see Archæol. Sury. West. Ind. No. 10, p. 36, and Reports, Vol. IV. p. 113. The abbreviation di for divase arrd similar ones, to which Professor Oldenberg also refers, do not prove anything regarding the treatment of the cardinal numerals,
