at 50 feet above the ground, the broken wall is still 15 feet thick. Most probably the walls were not less than 20 feet thick at this height, which would leave an interior chamber 30 feet square. There is now a great hollow in the centre of this mound, which I would recommend to be further excavated down to the ground level, as I think it highly probable that both statues and inscriptions of much interest would be discovered. Perhaps the colossal statue of Buddha, the teacher now standing at the foot of mound II., may have been originally enshrined in this temple.*

In the north-east corner of the square terrace that surrounds this massive ruin, I found the remains of several small stupas, in dark blue stone of various sizes, from 10 to 30 feet in height. The ornamental carvings are still in good order, many of them being very elaborate. Rows after rows of Buddhas of all sizes are the most favourite decoration. The solid hemispherical domes are from 1 foot to 4 feet in diameter. The basement and body of each stupa were built of separate stones, which were numbered for the guidance of the builders, and cramped together with iron to secure greater durability. No amount of time, and not even an earthquake, could have destroyed these small buildings. Their solid walls of iron-bound stones could only have yielded to the destructive fury of malignant Brahmans. I tried to complete a single stupa, but I soon found that several pieces were missing. I believe, however, that a complete one might be obtained by a careful search about the village temples, around the Jain temple, and in the small court-yard opposite Mitrajit's house. If one could be obtained complete, or nearly so, it would form a most striking and ornamental addition to the Calcutta Museum.

This mound was subsequently excavated by order of Government under the superintendence of Captain Marshall. The temple stood on a plinth 12 feet high above the ground level, forming a terrace 15 feet wide all round. The inner room is 20 feet square, with an entrance hall on the east side. The walls, which are of extreme thickness, are built of large bricks laid in mud. There are few remains of plaster, but the lower walls appear to be sound, but externally they are much cracked. The remains of the pedestal occupy nearly the whole west half of the inner room, but there were no traces of any statues. Pieces of broken statues were, however, found in the entrance hall. A portion of the entrance is of more modern date, the same as at Bodh-Gaya. Captain Marshall closes his account of the explorations with the following opinion, which seems to be well founded: "The general appearance of the building, viz., the false doorway, the abstraction of the idols, and the absence of inside plaster, all give me the notion of the building having been made use of after the glories of the temple had passed away, and then to have fallen to pieces by neglect and consequent decay."

E

A short distance to the north of the Great Vihar, there was another temple containing a statue of the Bodhisatwa Avalokiteswara. This Saint is the same as the Padma-páni of the Tibetans, and is always represented with a lotus in his hand. An extensive low mound, marked G., immediately to the north of the great mound, corresponds exactly with the situation of this temple.

To the north of the last temple there was a grand vihâr, built by Bâlâditya, containing a statue of the ascetic Buddha. The height, as I have already noticed, is differently stated by Hwen Thsang at 200 and 300 feet. The lesser height I believe to be the correct one, more especially as Hwen Thsang mentions that in its magnificence, its size, and its statue of Buddha, it resembled the Great Temple at Buddha-Gaya. As this last was 170 feet in height, Bâlâditya's Vihâr might very fairly be said to resemble it in size, if it was 200 feet high; but if it was 300 feet in height, there could have been no resemblance whatever in the dimensions of a temple that was nearly twice as lofty. A mound, marked H., to the east of the Dehar Tank, corresponds exactly with the situation of this temple. It is still 45 feet in height, with a breadth of 50 feet at top from edge to edge of brick-work. As the facing has disappeared on all sides, the original breadth, at the ground level, could not have been less than 60 feet; and if the relative proportions were the same as those of the Buddha-Gaya Temple, the height of this temple must have been 204 feet, or say, in round numbers, 200 feet, exactly as stated by Hwen Thsang. There is a colossal statue of the ascetic Buddha in a small court-yard called Baithak Bhairav at the foot of this mound, which, in all probability, was the original statue enshrined in Bâlâditya's Vihâr.

Four other buildings and statues, which I have been unable to identify, are next mentioned by Hwen Thsang, who then goes on to describe a brick vihâr containing a very lofty copper statue of Tara Bodhisatwa. This was situated at 2 or 3 li to the north of the monastery, that is, between onethird and one-half of a mile. Now, at a distance of 2,000 feet to the north of the monastery, and to the east of the Suraj Pokhar, there is a brick ruin of a very large temple, marked N. From its close proximity to the village, this ruin has supplied materials for all the existing houses, and is

consequently of much smaller dimensions than those which have been already described. But the removal of the bricks has exposed the actual walls of the temple in several places; and, by making a few excavations, I was able to determine the exact dimensions of the base of this temple. It was 701 feet by 67 feet, and it stood on a raised terrace 6 feet in height and 125 feet square. If the relative proportion of base to height was the same as that of the Buddha-Gaya Temple, the height of this temple could not have been less than 228 or 240 feet, according to which side of the base is taken for the calculation.

Hwen Thsang also mentions a large well which was just within the gateway on the south side of the surrounding walls of this vihar. Now, there is a large well, marked P., immediately on the south side of the ruined mound above described, which must be the very one noticed by Hwen Thsang as having owed its origin to Buddha himself.

There are many other objects worthy of notice at Baragaon, which I can only briefly enumerate: 1st, The sculptures collected in the enclosure at Baithak Bhairav, marked M. 2nd, The colossal figure of the ascetic Buddha at S. This statue is remarkable for having the names of the attendant figures inscribed over their heads. Thus we have Arya Sáriputra and Arya Maudgalayana inscribed over two flying figures carrying garlands; and Arya Mitreyanátha and Arya Vasumitra over two attendant standing figures. An inscription in two lines on the back rail of the seat gives the usual Buddhist formula, and adds that the statue was "the pious gift of Ganggaká (a lady who had attained the religious rank of paramopásiká.) This statue is well worthy of being photographed. 3rd, A small temple, marked T., with a figure of the three-headed goddess Vajra-Varahi. The Buddhist formula is inscribed on this figure, which is evidently one of those mistaken by Major Kittoe for Durgâ slaying the buffalo demon Maheshasur. The goddess has one porcine head, and there are seven hogs represented on the pedestal. 4th, A life-size ascetic Buddha in the village of Baragaon, and a number of smaller figures at an adjacent Hindu temple, and also at the house of Mitrajit Zamindar. 5th, Two low mounds to the north of the village marked V., one having a four-armed image of Vishnu on Garud, and the

other having two figures of Buddha seated on chairs. The former must clearly have belonged to a Brahmanical temple. 6th, Three statues at W., near the Târ Sing Tank, of which two are females and one a male figure seated with hands on knees. 7th, The small temple in the hamlet of Kapatiya, marked X., where there are several interesting figures collected. Amongst them there is a fine Vajrâ Varâhi, and a very good Vâgiswari, with an important inscription in two lines, which gives the name of the place Nâlanda, and is dated in the year 1 of the reign of the paramount sovereigu Sri Gopâla Deva.* 8th, A large mound at Y., which looked like a ruined stupa. I sank a shaft 20 feet deep in the centre of the mound, and found that it was filled with rubbish. If, therefore, it was a stupa, it had been opened long before; but I am inclined to believe that it was a temple, as a large stone was found in the excavation at a depth of 13 feet. 9th, A Jain temple at Z., which is only remarkable as being of the same style of architecture as the Great Temple at Buddha-Gaya. It is probably of about the same age, or A. D. 500. Its present height is only 36 feet without the pinnacle, which is modern. The whole is white-washed. Inside the temple there are several Jain figures, of which that of Mahavir bears the date of Samvat 1504, or A. D. 1447. 10th, On the banks of the Suraj-kûnd many interesting figures are collected. They are chiefly Buddhist, but there are also some figures of Vishnu four-armed, of the Varâha Avatâr, of Siva and Pârvati, and also of Surya himself.

I cannot close this account of the ancient Nâlanda without mentioning the noble tanks which surround the ruins on all sides. To the north-east are the Gidi Pokhar and the Pansokar Pokhar, each nearly a mile in length; while to the south there is the Indra Pokhar, which is nearly half a mile in length. The remaining tanks are much smaller in size, and do not require any special notice.

IX. BIHAR.

The old city of Bihâr lies 7 miles to the north-east of Baragaon. In our maps the name is spelt Behar, but by the people it is written Bihár, which is sufficient to show that it

* See Plate XIII. for a copy of this inscription.