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tures.

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.

The next temple is divided into two

chambers, and is of considerable size. It is dedi cated to Mahāvira, and both the inner and outer

doors are very fine. The cornice of the latter is divided into nine compartments, in the first of which a man is represented in the act of dedicating a chaitya. The others are filled with the usual Buddhist devices. The top of the temple is pyramidal in shape. The next

[APRIL 5, 1872.

Au milieu du chem in, il y a deux petits Stoºpas: ... Le som met de cette montagne est -

allongé de l'est à l'ouest, et resserré du sud au

nord.”

He then proceeds to speak of a vihāra

to the west of the mountain, a colossal stone

once trodden by the sacred feet of Sakhya Muni, a Stâpa to the south, and a second on the sum

mit of the mountain.

Fah-Hian's description?

is far less minute, but he gives exactly the same

pagoda is faced by an open court, to the right

distance [viz. 15 li] and speaks of two caves

and left of which are two slabs, the one covered

on the hill—the colossal stone—the Wihāra,

with the representation of the ten Incarnations of Vishnu, and the other with those of the Nine Planets. The vacant space at the base of the carving is covered with a modern inscription in Nāgari. The doorway is surmounted by a com

and the lofty peak.

paratively plain moulding. This temple is dedi cated to Munisuvrata—the 20th Jaina Tirthan

kara, who is said to have been born in Rajgir. Inside the fourth temple are four charanas—two

On the 20th January, I made an attempt to

explore the valley. Clearing the dense brush wood and jangal as I advanced, I skirted the foot of Ratnagir for about a mile from the old city, and then struck across into the centre of

the valley, and pushed on two miles further to the east. I then saw that to the east of Ratnagir there is another mountain terminating in a lofty

of them being of white marble. They are dedi cated respectively to Mahāvira, [or Wardha mâna] Pårshwanātha, Shanthanātha, and Kun

peak, which towers above the summit of the surrounding hills. This mountain is called

thunātha-the 24th, 23rd, 16th and 17th Tir

that mentioned in the text of Fah-Hian and

thankaras respectively. Leaving the temples and skirting the north

Hwen Thsang. It adjoins the southern side of Vipula. In the middle of the valley a stone terrace or staircase, about 20 feet broad, runs due north, towards the foot of the hill, for a distance of 900 feet. At this point it branches off to the east up the mountain side. At the dis tance of 300 feet from the plain I found a small stúpa in the very centre of the staircase about 8 feet square, and in front of it three or four steps are still almost intact, each step being about 18 or 20 feet wide and a foot high. Near this place under a great heap of débris I found three images of Buddha almost perfect, but of the rudest

side of the ravine, you cross a narrow ridge

which brings you to Mount Ratnagir. The summit is crowned by a temple decorated with some small black basalt columns, elaborately carved. From this a stone staircase or pathway leads down the western slope of the hill to the plain beneath.

Between Ratnagir and Udayagir lies a narrow valley covered with jangal, situated, as nearly as possible, due north-east of the ancient city, and stretching away as far as Giryak—a dis tance of six or seven miles. I shall now pro ceed to establish if possible an identification of

Devaghāt, and I unhesitatingly identify it with

workmanship. They are uniform in size, and bear

inscriptions.

From the stûpa the staircase

this valley, connected with the writings of both

continues to

traverse

the pilgrims. Hwen Thsang writes as follows”:

“Au nord-est de la ville, il fit de quatorze a quin ze li” [2} or 3 miles], “et arriva au mont Ki-li tho-kiu-teh'a (Gridhrakoúta Pârvata) qui touche

a distance of 800 feet. At this point I discovered a second stipa and a large quantity of images, pillars, &c. Of these, the most remarkable are a figure of Buddha seated on a lion, a large

au midide la montagne du nord, et s'élève isolément

seated Buddha with the usual lotus throne, and

à une hauteur prodigieuse. . . Le roi P'in-pi so-lo (Bimbisara), voulant entendre la loi, leva un grand nombre d’hommes; puis, pour traverser la vallée et franchirles ravins, depuis le pied de la montagne jusqu'au sommet, il fit assembler des

pierres, et pratiqua des escaliers larges d'environ dix pas, et ayant une longueur de cinq à six li.
 * Mémoires, Vol. II. p. 20-21

the

mountain-side

for

a standing figure of Buddha with a long in scription. All these idols have been removed to Bihār, and merit a much more detailed de scription. The terrace now becomes more broken,

but its traces are visible up to the peak. From its commencement in the valley up to the summit

of

the mountain

it

measures, as

f Beal's Fah-Hian, Ch. xxix. p. 114.