________________ 364 Homage to Vaisali officials and other residents, have totally disappeared. The sealings found number about 1000, of which two or three bear the name of the town. The collection ranges in date from about 200 B. C. to A. D. 500, and is of much interest for many reasons. Although the site of Vaisali has been visited and described by three professional archaeologists, Cunningham, Bloch and Spooner, their explorations, owing to limitations of opportunity, have been extremely slight and superficial, so that in reality very little is known concerning the local remains of antiquity. The area of the city seems to offer tempting possibilities for future inquires. No distinct local tradition of the ancient glories of the city has survived. The identity of the site has been completely forgotten by the people, and is known only to a few students of Indian antiquities No pilgrims visit the ruins, and no considerable modern temple or shrine exists among them. "Yet few places in India have stronger claims upon the veneration of both Jains and Buddhists. Vardhamana Mabavira, commonly spoken of as the founder of the Jain church, belonged to a noble family of Vaisals where he was born and spent all his earlier life. After he had entered upon the ascetic career, he is said to have resided in his native town or the immediate neighbourhood for twelve rainy seasons, during which travelling was unlawful for persons of his profession. The Jain scriptures often mention Vaigali. 'The archaeologists have not sought for Jain remains on the site, and nothing in their reports would lead the reader to suppose that the Basadb area was the birthplace of Jainism, as it is known to the moderos. "Brahmanical tradition ignoies Vaigali almost completely, and no remarkable event in the history of orthodox Hinduism seems to be connected with the locality, although in the 7th century the territory of wbich Vaisali was the capital contained several scores of Hindu temples, besides hundreds of Buddhist monasteries, mostly dilapidated and deserted. The Jain establishments at that time were still numerous and remains of them must survive. Nobody has thought of even looking for them. Such attention as the site has received has been bestowed almost exclusively on efforts to trace Buddhist holy places described by HiuenTsiang. The discovery of the sealings mentioned above was accidental in the first instance. The sealings establish beyond doubt the fact that during the reign of Chandragupta II (c. A. D. 375-413), at the time when Fa-Hien was travelling, Vaissali was an important place, governed by a
