the woods in this very spot as the king of a herd of deer. But this spot was specially esteemed by the Buddhists on account of a curious story which is given at some length by Hwen Thsang, and which, as illustrative of the Buddhist tenderness for life, I will now relate.*"The Raja of Banâras, who was fond of sport, had slaughtered so many deer that the king of the deer remonstrated with him, and offered to furnish him with one deer daily throughout the year, if he would give up slaughtering them for sport. The Râja consented. After some time, when it came to the turn of a hind, big with young, to be presented to the Râja, she objected that, although it might be her turn to die, yet the turn of her little one could not yet have arrived. The king of the deer (that is, Buddha) was struck with compassion, and offered himself to the Râja in place of the hind." On hearing the story the Raja exclaimed-"I am but a deer in the form of a man, but you are a man in the form of a deer." He at once gave up his claim to the daily gift, and made over the park for the perpetual use of the deer, on which account it was called the Deer Park' (Mrigadáva). It is curious to learn that a ramna, or antelope preserve still exists in the neighbourhood of Sarnáth.

The principal remains at Sârnâth are the following:

1st. The great stone tower call Dhamek; 2nd, the remains of a large brick tower opened by Jagat Sing; 3rd, the traces of buildings excavated by myself in 1835-36; 4th, the remains of buildings excavated by Major Kittoe in 1851-52; and 5th, a high mound of solid brick-work crowned with an octagonal brick tower, called Chaukandi, and situated at rather less than half a mile from the great tower of Dhamek. With the simple exception of Chaukandi, the whole of these remains are situated on an extensive mound of brick and stone ruins about half a mile long, and nearly a quarter of a mile broad. On the north and east there are three large sheets of water which communicate with one another. To the east lies the Narokar or Sárang Tál, which is 3,000 feet long and 1,000 feet broad. On the north-east this communicates with the Chandokar or Chandra Tal, which is of about the same size, but of less regular shape. On the north lies

* Julien's Hwen Thsang, II., p. 361.

the Naya Tal, or "New Tank," which is upwards of half a mile in length, but little more than 300 feet in width.*

At the north-eastern end of the mass of ruin is situated the village of Bardhi, which, as I infer from the spelling, must have been named after Vajra Varahi, a goddess of the later Buddhists. To the west, beyond the bend of the Naya Tâl, lies Guronpur, or the "Village of Teachers," which in its day was probably inhabited by Buddhist Gurus. The Mrigadáva, or "Deer Park," is represented by a fine wood, which still covers an area of about half a mile, and extends from the great tower of Dhamek on the north to the Chaukandi mound on the south. To the south-west of the great tower the Jains have erected a modern temple of Párswanath. The temple is white-washed and surrounded by a wall enclosing an area 167 feet square. Since I first surveyed these ruins in 1835, a second or outer enclosure has been added on the east side, the walls of which run right up to the great tower and cause much inconvenience to visitors, by obstructing their free passage round the building.

The most remarkable of the Sârnâth Monuments is the great tower called Dhamek. Mr. Fergussont has stated that "this building was opened by Major Cunningham, under Mr. Prinsep's auspices;" but this statement is incorrect, as the operations were begun by myself before any communication was made to James Prinsep, and were afterwards continued entirely under my own guidance. The cost of opening the tower was shared between James Prinsep, Captain Thoresby, Major Grant, and myself, but the work had been commenced "under my own auspices," and was not suggested to me by James Prinsep. The excavation was begun in December 1834, and closed in January 1836, at a cost of Rupees 517-3-10. But, before detailing these operations, I will describe the tower itself.

The Buddhist stupa called Dhamek is a solid round tower, 93 feet in diameter at base and 110 feet in height above the surrounding ruins, but 128 feet above the general level of the country. The foundation or basement, which is made of very large bricks, has a depth of 28 feet below the level of the ruins, but is sunk only 10 feet below the surface of the

See Plate XXXI.

+ Handbook of Architecture, I., p. 15.

country. The lower part of the tower, to a height of 43 feet, is built entirely of stone from one of the Chunar quarries, and with the exception of the upper five courses, the whole of this part of the building is a solid mass of stone, and each stone, even in the very heart of the mass, is secured to its neighbours by iron cramps. The upper part of the tower is built entirely of large bricks, but as the outer facing has long ago disappeared, there is nothing now left to show whether it was formerly cased with stone, or only plastered over, and coloured to imitate the stone-work of the lower portion. I infer, however, that it was plastered, because the existing stone-work terminates with the same course all round the building, a length of 292 feet. Had the upper part been cased with stone, it is scarcely possible that the whole should have disappeared so completely that not even a single block out of so many thousands should now remain in its original position. In one part I observed some projecting bricks which appeared very like the remains of a moulding at the base of the dome. On the top I found a small brick cap, 8 feet in diameter and only 4 feet high. From its size I infer that this was the ruin of the base of a small pinnacle, about 10 feet square, which most probably once supported a stone umbrella. I infer this because the figures of Buddha the Teacher are usually represented as seated under an umbrella.

The lower part of the monument has eight projecting faces, each 21 feet 6 inches in width, with intervals of 15 feet between them. In each of the faces, at a height of 24 feet above the ground, there is a semi-circular headed niche, 5 feet in width, and the same in height. In each of the niches there is a pedestal, 1 foot in height, and slightly hollowed on the top to receive the base of a statue; but the statues themselves have long ago disappeared, and I did not find even the fragment of one in my excavation at the base of the monument. There can be little doubt, however, that all the eight statues represented Buddha the Teacher, in the usual form, with his hands raised before his breast, and the thumb and fore-finger of the right hand placed on the little finger of the left hand for the purpose of enforcing his argument. Judging by the dimensions of the niches, the statues must have been of life-size.*

I would suggest that one of the many sitting statues of Buddha the Teacher, which have since been discovered, and are now deposited at the Banaras College, should be placed in one of these niches.

From the level of the base of the niches the eight projecting faces lessen in width to five feet at the top; but the diminution is not uniform, as it begins gradually at first, and increases as it approaches the top. The outline of the slope may have been possibly intended for a curve, but it looks much more like three sides of a large polygon. Around the niches seven of the faces are more or less richly decorated with a profusion of flowing foliage. The carving on some of the faces has been completed, but on others it is little more than half finished, while the south face is altogether plain. On the unfinished faces portions of the unexecuted ornamentation may be seen traced in outline by the chisel, which proves that in ancient times the Hindus followed the same practice as at present, of adding the carving after the wall was built.

On the western face the same ornamentation of flowing foliage is continued below the niche, and in the midst of it there is a small plain tablet, which can only have been intended for a very short inscription, such, perhaps, as the name of the building. A triple band of ornament, nearly 9 feet in depth below the niches, encircles all the rest of the building, both faces and recesses. The middle band, which is the broadest, is formed entirely of various geometrical figures, the main lines being deeply cut, and the intervening spaces being filled with various ornaments. On some of the faces where the spaces between the deeply cut lines of the ruling figures are left plain, I infer that the work is unfinished. The upper band of ornamentation, which is the narrowest, is generally a scroll of the lotus plant with leaves and buds only, while the lower band, which is also a lotus scroll, contains the full blown flowers as well as the buds. The lotus flower is represented full to the front on all the sides except the south south-west, where it is shown in a side view with the Chakwa or Brahmani Goose seated upon it. This, indeed, is the only side on which any animal representations are given, which is the more remarkable, as it is one of the recesses and not one of the projecting faces. In the middle of the ornament there is a human figure seated on a lotus flower and holding two branches of the lotus in his hands. On each side of him there are three lotus flowers, of which the four nearer ones support pairs of Brahmani Geese, while the two farther ones carry only single birds. Over the nearest

pair of geese, on the right hand of the figure, there is a frog. The attitudes of the birds are all good, and even that of the human figure is easy, although formal. The lotus scroll with its flowing lines of graceful stalk, mingled with tender buds and full blown flowers, and delicate leaves, is very rich and very beautiful. Below the ornamental borders there are three plain projecting bands.

I employed two expert masons for twelve months in making full-size drawings of the whole of these bands of ornament. Two plates of the east south-east and south south-west sides were afterwards engraved in Calcutta under my own guidance, for publication by James Prinsep in the Asiatic Researches; but his lamented illness put a sudden stop to the work, as his successor, Mr. Curnin, would not allow the mint engraver to continue it.

Near the top of the north-west face there are four projecting stones placed like steps, that is, they are not immediately over each other, and above them there is a fifth stone which is pierced with a round hole for the reception of a post, or more probably of a flag-staff. The lowest of these stones can only be reached by a ladder, but ladders must have been always available, if, as I suppose, it was customary on stated occasions to fix flags and steamers on various parts of the building, in the same manner as is now done in the Buddhist countries of Burmah and Ladâk.

With the single exception of the Taj Mahal at Agra, there is, perhaps, no Indian building that has been so often described as the great Buddhist tower near Sârnâth. But strange to say, its dimensions have always been very much under-stated, although the circumference might have been very closely ascertained with the greatest ease in a few minutes, by measuring, either with a walking stick or with the fore-arm, the breadth of one projecting face and of one recess, which together form one-eighth of the whole. H. H. Wilson, quoting Wilford, states that "Sârnâth is about 50 feet high, and may be as many paces in circumference." Miss Emma Roberts states that it is "about 150 feet in circumference," and "above 100 feet in height." Mr. Fergusson calls it between 50 and 60 feet in diameter, and 110 feet in height. This last statement of the height is correct, having been taken from a note of mine, which was