ĭt which is found in almost all documents of the Indo-Skythian kings, and whichas Dr. Hoernle was the first to recognise--was one of the literary languages of northern and northwestern India during the first centuries before and after the commencement of our era.
In the calculation of dates, I use the favourite starting point for the era of the Indo-Skythian kings, which unfortunately, is not certainly determined, and assume that it is identical with the Saka era of 78-¼ A.D. The rule of these princes could not have fallen later: in my opinion it was somewhat earlier [[44]] I give here transcripts and restorations of such inscriptions as mention Jaina schools or titles.
1. The inscription which is the most important for my purpose and at the same time one of the best preserved, is Sir A. Cunningham's No. 6, plate xiii, which was found on the base of a Jaina image (Arch. Sur. Rep. vol. III, p. 31). The copy compared with a rubbing gives the following reading, (the letters within parentheses are damaged):
L. 1. Siddham[postvocalic]
sam[postvocalic]
20 gramâ 1 di 10 + 5 ko(t
i)yato gan
ato (Vâ)n
iyato kulato V(ai)r(i)to śâkâto Śirikâto
2. (bha)ttito vâchakasya Aryya-Sam[postvocalic]