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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY,
[DECEMBER, 1906.
on horseback. As their bats and dress were unusual, I copied specimens of them. To the left were representations of Buddhist saints, and, what is of particular value, all were furnished with inscriptions, which by their orthography must date from 900-1200 A. D. They are thus of the greatest historical value. I copied the following: -
Inscription. Text: - ca 'adra 'abbomyi byai blama de phyag thsalo. Translation : - Greeting to the lama called Ca-'adra-'abkomyi.
This name seems to be a Tibetan transcription of the Sanskrit Chandra-bhumi, as ca-'adra can be pronounced chandra in Tibetan. Jyi for mi is a sign of the ancient orthography. Two other names which I read were Shakya and Tsapari.
On the other walls I noticed several pictures arranged in circles, but no raised medallions. The figures of the lamas were either naked or dressed in grey or red, but noue in yellow. I gather that Rinchen-bzangpo found on his arrival a Tibetan form of Buddhism, on which he grafted some peculiarities of the Buddhism of Kashmir, and from the study of this temple I draw the conclusion that in the renorated temples many of the pictures go back to ancient designs.
It is high time that these relics of Kashmiri Buddhism should be brought to the knowledge of competent scholars.
D. - The Nyi-zla-phug Monastery. A genuine cave monastery on the hillside to the north-west of Saspola is another interesting ruin. The caves, which are in fairly good order, are only approachable with considerable difficulty, but they are worth visiting on account of the wall-paintings (vide Plate I.). The style of the pictures is ancient lamaist, and the interest in them arises from the fact that the monastery has been traditionally deserted for about 300 years, as it is said to have been destroyed by the Baltis. Among the walls of the mani at the foot of the bill, there is an ancient Buddhist soulpture on stone in good preservation, which I believe belongs to the times of the pre-Lamaist Buddhism of Western Tibet.
There is a story that the lama who painted the frescoes at Nyi-sla-phug had a liaison with a woman at Alchi, the wife of a peasant. He used to visit the village almost daily, and the people. soon found out the cause of the attraction. The couple were surprised, and the lama received a thorough thrashing. His feeling of shame and hn miliation was so keen that be put an end to bis life with his own bands in the middle of his art gallery. E. Hymn in honor of King Nyima-rnam-rgyal, o. 1700-1730,
inscribed on a stone. This bymn is found on one of the walls of an ancient mari at Saspola. There are many such in the village, and most of them have votive inscriptions of some historical value, as they contain names of Ladékhi kings, and can be approximately dated. It is much rarer to find an inscription containing a hymn in praise of a king. The following is a specimen :
Tibetan Text. s Basti dKyil 'skhor rnams rimchags dbags0 i dbang blunpo ni: dpag thsad 'abum phrag bzhi thsaddu brjid ; phyi nang gling mchod ribo kannas bekor; shar lho nub byang gling bzhi gling pbran brgyad ; rim bzhin xla gam zur youm gra zhi dang; zlum chags rgya khyon thsad kyang go rim bzhin ; dpag thsad stong phrag bdun brgya beu dang dgu; rgyalpoi phobrang sumcu rtsag sum 'adra; rgyalsa ting egang rab brtan Iba rtse dang thola ytanpa ale cben dpal mkhar rtse ; de 'adrai rinchen sergyi kbri stengnas; chos rgyal chenpo nyima ram rgyal stod ; emaho : Iba sras yabonnayi 'ong mdzespai rgyan; dpag beam ljonpa bde skyong ram rgyalgyi yab yum gongmai srolka 'adzinpar shog.
