What Happened at Piprahwa3

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What happened at Piprahwa: a chronology of events

relating to the excavation in January 1898 of the

Piprahwa Stupa in Basti District !orth"Western

Provinces and #ude $%ttar Pradesh& 'ndia and the

associated (Piprahwa 'nscription) *ased on newly

availa*le correspondence+

,harles -llen

Bac.ground

Writing in the pages of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society in

January 2012, Dr Michael Willis, Curator of early South Asian and

Himalayan collections at the ritish Museum and author of

Buddhist Reliquaries from Ancient India !"ondon 2000#, declared

the $iprah%a inscription to &e 'in all li(elihood a forgery made &y

A) A) *+hreri) -.actly a century earlier the same scholarly /ournal

had carried a ery similar e.pression of concern from the $ali

scholar $rof) Heinrich "+ders, raising for the rst time in pu&lic

dou&ts that had hitherto circulated largely in priateii)

oth Willis and "+ders had the same culprit in mind Dr) Anton

Alois *+hrer, %ho in Septem&er 1343 had resigned from his post as

Curator of "uc(no% Museum and Archaeological Sureyor to the

5oernment of the 6orth7Western $roinces and 8ude !6W$98#,

after &eing charged %ith 'falsication of his correspondence %ith

seeral 5oernments, &ut %ith further charges of plagiarism,

forgery and corruption hanging oer himiii) :he scandal had &een

e;ectiely hushed up &y the 5oernment of <ndia and Dr) *+hrers

last o;icial pu&licationi had &een %ithdra%n and suppressed)

Ho%eer, $rof) "+ders article sho%ed ho% Dr) *+hrer had inented

a num&er of inscriptions supposedly found &y him at =amnagar in



=ohil(hand 134172, in some instances &asing them on genuine

inscriptions logged in Epigraphia Indica. More critically, $rof)

"+ders also dre% attention to some rahmi characters inscri&ed on

the &ac( of a Jain statue from Mathura in the "uc(no% Museum,done so crudely as to cause "+ders to declare that '< am not sure

%hether the pages of the Epigraphia Indica are really the proper

pages for such a /o(e ) ) ) < cannot help declaring this inscription to

&e a forgery) :he decision of the >uestion %ho is responsi&le for it <

leae to the readers of this paper) Since Dr) *+hrer had e.caated

the statue at Mathura in 134172 and in his report had dra%n

attention to the remar(a&ly early date it carried, there remainedlittle dou&t as to %ho the culprit %as)

As Michael Williss statement demonstrates, Dr) *+hrers

e.posure as (no%n forger of archaeological records continues to

this day to proide ammunition to those i %ho >uestion the

authenticity of a far more famous museum e.hi&it %ith %hich Dr)

*+hrer %as associated a steatite reli>uary ase in the <ndian

Museum in ?ol(ata, recoered from a stupa e.caated at $iprah%a illage in January 1343 &y a local lando%ner, William Cla.ton

$epp@, manager and co7proprietor of the irdpore -state in the

asti District of 5ora(hpur Diision in %hat %as then the 6W$98,

today ttar $radesh)

:he lid of the reli>uary in >uestion carries an inscription in

rahmi characters the so7called '$iprah%a inscription, potentially

among the earliest inscriptions of the Maurya or Shunga eras yetrecoered &ut still ie%ed %ith suspicion &y epigraphists &ecause

of its associations %ith Dr *+hrer) <n recent years such concerns

hae &een gien further %eight &y the researches of the

independent scholar :) A) $helps ii and Dr Andre% Hu.ley iii of the

"a% School at S8AS) <n the process of uncoering a great deal of

hitherto oerloo(ed material relating to the actiities of Dr) *+hrer

in <ndia and urma, $helps and Hu.ley &oth concluded that *+hrer

had contried to tin(er %ith or add to the artefacts recoered at



$iprah%a in January 1343, and that he might een hae &een a co7

conspirator in an archaeological conspiracy far outclassing the

notorious $iltdo%n Ja% scandal, perhaps inoling senior mem&ers

of the <ndian Ciil Serice) At an informal conference conened at Hare%ood House,

Bor(shire, on 4 July 200 to discuss these and other issues relating

to the $iprah%a e.caation, &oth :) A) $helps and Andre% Hu.ley

presented papers, as yet unpu&lishedi.) So, too, did 6eil $epp@, a

grandson of the original $iprah%a e.caator, %ho also put on

display a num&er of family documents, the e.istence of %hich had

hitherto &een un(no%n) Among these '$epp@ $apers %ere a seriesof letter e.changed &et%een W) C) $epp@ and the t%o ma/or

protagonists of the $iprah%a drama Dr) *+hrer, %ho in his capacity

as Archaeological Sureyor to the 5oernment of the 6W$98

conducted a num&er of archaeological sureys and e.caations in

the 6epal tarai country ad/acent to the <ndian &order and the

anti>uarian Eincent Smith, <CS, %ho at the time of the e.caation

of the $iprah%a stupa %as sering in the diisional head>uarters at5ora(hpur in the capacity of District Judge.)

:he $epp@ $apers hae since &een donated to the =oyal

Asiatic Society &y 6eil $epp@ and are accessi&le to scholars in the

Societys "i&rary) :he purpose of this article is to pu&lish the $epp@

correspondence relating to the $iprah%a stupa e.caation,

together %ith a commentary restricted to inferences dra%n from

the contents of these letters alone)

/he Piprahwa 0xcavation

<n March 134F and again in 6oem&er7March 13474G Dr) *+hrer

carried out sureys and e.caations at a num&er of sites in the



6epal tarai a&utting the <ndian &order due north of 5ora(hpur

Diision in ritish <ndia) <n the course of this %or( Aso(an pillars

%ith rahmi inscriptions %ere uncoered at 6iglia sagar and at

$adariya, the latter identifying the site as the "um&ini 5arden,&irthplace of uddha Sa(yamuni) :hese discoeries encouraged Dr)

*+hrer to return in mid7Decem&er 134G to conduct an e.tensie

e.caation at Sagar%a, a site &eside the =ier anganga %hich he

&elieed to &e the ancient ?apilaastu of the Sa(yas.i)

Sagar%a lies a&out 11 miles north of the 6epal7<ndia &order and

a&out 1G miles north of irdpore, then the head>uarters of

irdpore -state and the home of its proprietor W) C) $epp@) *ieand a half miles north of irdpore and less than one mile from the

6epal &order is $iprah%a kot, in $epp@s time the largest of a

num&er of articial mounds on his estate) <n January 134G, his

curiosity aroused &y the discoeries /ust north of the &order, $epp@

superised the digging of a trench across the $iprah%a mound and

found it to coer a solid &ric( structure) He then stopped %or( and

informed Eincent Smith in 5ora(hpur) <n 8cto&er 134G Smith cameto irdpore to inspect the e.caation, declared it to &e an Asho(an

stupa and instructed $epp@ on ho% to proceed)

:he rst t%o letters in the $epp@ collection relate to this

period) oth are dated 2 6oem&er 134G and %ere sent to $epp@

&y Smith from 5ora(hpur) 8ne is personal and congratulates $epp@

on the &irth of his son) <n it the %riter e.plains that he has %ritten

'a&out the pillars on a second sheet so that $epp@ can for%ard acopy to Mr) 5i&&on, his &rother7in7la% and /unior partner on the

irdpore -state) :his second letter %as eidently %ritten in reply to

a letter !no longer e.tant# from $epp@ as(ing for information on

Aso(a and his pillars, a su&/ect on %hich Smith later pu&lished a

&oo( .ii

My dear $epp@

Bour letter /ust receied)



Aso(a of the Ceylonese &oo(s, %ho calls himself $iyadasi in

his inscriptions %as -mperor of <ndia, %ith his capital at $atna

!$Italiputra# from a&out )C) 2F47222) He isited the

traditional &irthplace of 5autama uddha in the 21st year of his

reign 7 in )C) 24, %hich %ithin a year or t%o is the date of the

$adaria pillar, and no dou&t also of the 6igla one)

:he date of uddhas death is uncertain &ut %as most

pro&a&ly )C) KGG L the tradition a&out his &irthplace %as

therefore tolera&ly fresh in Aso(as time) Huien :sangs traels

lasted from 24 to KF A) D) He isited the frontier some%here

&et%een 0 and K2 A)D) :he &athing temple of the SI(yasN

!ie, uddhas family# is the pond in the south end of the mound):here %ere 3 stOpas close to it L eidently all in the same

mound) y the side of these stOpas, and not far from them

there is a great stone pillar, on the top of %hich is the gure of

a horse, %hich %as &uilt &y Aso(a =a/a) After%ards &y the

contriance of a %ic(ed dragon, it %as &ro(en o; in the middle,

and fell on the ground) y the side of it is a little rier %hich

Po%s to the S) -) :he people of the place call it the =ier of

8ilN) !ie, :ilIr 6adi#)

:he a&oe is eals.iii translation) Julien.i renders the passage

a&out the pillars L foudroy@e par un m@chant dragon) Cette

colonne gt I terre, &ris@e par le milieu)N :his suggests a

lightning stri(e) Anyho% in the Gth century the pillar lay

prostrate, and some&ody set it up later L ery li(ely one of the

mediaeal $Ila (ings of ihar %ho %ere uddhist up to A)D)

1100)

< thin( if < hae time < shall %rite an article e.plaining popularly

the interest of the recent discoeries)

Bours sincerely

E) C) Smith

<t can &e inferred from these remar(s that W) C) $epp@, a ciil

engineer &y training, had scant (no%ledge of early uddhist history

or of rahmi $ra(rit)



According to $epp@s o%n account, set do%n in the Journal of

the Royal Asiatic Society in July 1343., he resumed e.caation on

the $iprah%a stupa soon after Christmas 134G) After digging

through 13 feet of 'solid &ric(%or( set in clay his %or(menuncoered a large stone co;er %hich $epp@ calculated to %eigh

1,FG pounds !See Fig. 1 &elo%#) Although &ro(en in four places,

the co;er lid had remained in position, so presering the contents)

<n the earliest presered account Q a letter sent on 20 January to

the Joint Magistrate and 8;iciating Collector of asti District,

$andit =ama Shan(ar Misra Q these contents are listed as 't%o

stone ases, one stone lota, one stone &o., one crystal &o%l allcontained &o.es, stones of arious (inds, gold leaf and ornaments

!See Fig. #.i)

Fig. 1. :he stone co;er in situ at the &ase of the $iprah%a stupa %ith itslid remoed) eside it is the trolley on %hich the co;er %as placed for



remoal) !Courtesy of 6eil $epp@, -s>)#)

Fig. . :he e reli>uaries from the $iprah%a stone co;er) :heinscription is inscri&ed on the lid of the smaller of the t%o round steatite

ases !Courtesy of 6eil $epp@, -s>)#)

According to the pencilled draft of a deposition later su&mitted to

$andit Misra at his re>uest, W) C) $epp@ opened the stone co;er in

the presence of four eye7%itnesses) :hese appear to hae &een W)

C) $epp@s cousin Allen $epp@, manager of the Chota 6agpur =a/,

-) W) A) Judson, assistant to Mr) ridgeman, manager of the

neigh&ouring 6e%ra -state, and another cousin, *rancesco :osco

$epp@, and his %ife Mrs) Delia $epp@, isiting from =anchi) <n that

same draft deposition $epp@ certied that all the relic material

from the co;er, together %ith the crum&ling %ood containers in

%hich they %ere found, %ere placed in t%o /ars, after%ards handed

oer to $andit Misra at asti

< here&y certify that these t%o /ars contain all the &ones and

%ood 9 dust that %ere found in the di;erent urns and lying

loose in the co;er e.caated &y me in the stupa at $ipra%ah onthe ) -) D 6 W $ Rirdpore -state, asti District, 6orth7



Western $roinces) ) ) :hese &ones %ood dust etc hae &een

(ept in these /ars under our mutual RT care 9 they hae not

&een tampered %ith in any %ay) 6o one has &een allo%ed to see

them e.cept in my presence 9 < hae eery condence in

saying they are e.actly as they %ere unearthed &y me) .ii

:he third letter in chronological order is from Eincent Smith at

5ora(hpur) Dated 14 January 1343 &ut continued on 20 January, it

is an enthusiastic response to a letter from $epp@ !no longer

e.tant# most pro&a&ly %ritten on 13 January.iii

My dear $epp@

Bour discoeries at $iprah%ah are ery interesting) < send you a

olume of the ne% Archaeol) Surey =eports %hich gies an

account of similar nds in the Madras $resy R$residency.i.) :he

great siUe of your stone chest is remar(a&le, and < &eliee the

relics %ere ery highly esteemed ones) < suppose there is no

trace of an inscription)

< hope you %ill %rite a detailed account of your e.plorations

accompanied &y plans, sections and eleations) < shall hae

much pleasure in communicating it to either the =oyal Asiatic

Society in "ondon or the engal Asiatic Society in Calcutta,

%hicheer you prefer) Dra%ings and photographs of its

principal o&/ects found %ould &e of much interest and might &e

com&ined or Rillegi&le together in one or t%o plates)

nder the :reasure :roe Act you should communicate the

nd o;icially to the Collector L 5ot possesses a right of presumption to such nds) $ossi&ly you may feel inclined to

present the nds either to the <ndian Museum Calcutta or the

"uc(no% 5ot Museum)

<t is desira&le to hae a surey of the %hole site including the

parts e.caated and those une.caated) <f you choose to add

sureys of the other sites seen, they %ill &e of interest)

*rom its slope < &eliee the stupa to &e of early date L anterior

to the early Christian era L roughly spea(ing not less than 2000



years old)

:he enclosure on the east is eidently a small monastery) Bou

may nd in it stone stools !chauki# and odds and ends) <t might

&e completely e.caated %ith adantage and sureyed) 6ote

dimensions of &ric(s, and all measurements in detail)

:he letter continues on a second sheet, dated 20 January

So much < %rote in the morning)

< hae &een in court and loo(ed oer my case list) <t is

impossi&le for me to go out at once) We are going to the -clipse

&y special train on the 22nd and < hae Sessions on the 2Kth, 2Fth

and possi&ly the 2th) !y the &ye do you (no% a&out the

Special train on the 22nd L start at G)0 L return from -(men RT

at 1K)0 L due in 5or(hpur at 14)1F) Carlnam RT gies lunch at

-(men) "et Wal(er (no% if you are coming L fare =s 1171K#)

:he earliest < could start is the night of the 2 th reaching your

place at say 4 am on the 2Gth after sleeping at s(ar Rs(ar

aUaar) 8r < thin( < should prefer to go out &y the morning

train of the 2Gth !%hich is a holiday# :hursday, that %ould leae

*riday and Saturday, and < could return on Sunday)

My %ife than(s you for your (ind initation, and unless

anything happens to preent her %ill &e glad to come %ith me)

We are sorry to hear that Mrs $epp@ is indisposed and hope she

is >uite recoered)

Bou may of course desire to ma(e your trip earlier if so dont

%ait for me) <f you %ant me to come these are the only ones <

can manage)

=emem&er me to 5eorge)

With (ind regards

Bours sincerely

E C Smith

*rom this letter it is possi&le to surmise rstly, that Smith %as not

inoled in the opening of the stone co;er secondly, that his



professional duties made it impossi&le fro him to proceed to

irdpore to see the co;er and its contents &efore 2G January) As to

Smiths adice that $epp@ should report his nd to the local

Collector, it %ill &e noted that $epp@ had already done so &y thetime he receied Smiths letter) 8n receipt of this information

$andit Misra on 2 January reported the nd to the acting

Commissioner at 5ora(hpur, Dr) William Hoey, <CS, a recognised

anti>uarian and Sans(ritist..)

:he fourth letter in se>uence is the rst from Dr) A) A) *+hrer) <t is

dated 14 January and headed 'Camp ?apilaastu L the name

*+hrer had gien to his e.caation site at Sagar%a

Dear Mr $epp@,

< am e.ceedingly o&liged to you for your ery (ind letter of

yesterdays date, and ta(e this early opportunity of

congratulating you most heartily to your great success in

e.caating part of $ipra%a (ot) ?indly see carefully %hether

the stone chest or any of the other stone &o%ls found do not

contain inscriptions, anything may gie a clue for the date of

that stupa)

< should &e delighted to accept your (ind initation to come

and see the e.caation, &ut < cannot leae the e.caations here,

not een for a day, as the coolies, 200 at present on the %or(,

%ould do a great deal of damage to the &uildings no% &eing

unearthed, if not properly superised)

< shall, ho%eer, &e glad to come on a&out the 1Fth *e&ruary,

%hen the 6epalese 5oernment %ill close the %or( for the

season here, &ut if you li(e < shall &e glad to continue the

e.caations from a&out the 10th March, and ma(e a determined

surey of the &uildings unearthed and careful dra%ings of the

relic cas(ets unearthed and their contents)

<f you approe of it, (indly discontinue the %or( of e.caating

until < can superintend it, as the coolies might distur& the

original plan of the &uildings, if not properly loo(ed after) <need hardly say that < %ill ma(e no use of your priate



information and (eep the %hole matter to myself)

<f you %ish to send me a fe% lines, (indly address cVo $) 8)

Shohrutgan/, asti District)

eliee me

Bours sincerely

A) *+hrer

$)C) ?indly e.cuse &ad hand%riting, as < am su;ering from

%riters cramp)

:his letter allo%s a num&er of inferences to &e dra%n rstly, that

W) C) $epp@ almost certainly %rote &oth to Smith and to *+hrer on

the same day, 13 January, to inform them of his discoeries, %hich

suggests that the stone co;er %as most pro&a&ly opened on that

same date or a day earlier secondly, that $epp@ had not at this

stage seen any inscription thirdly, that *+hrer, li(e Smith, %as

preented &y %or( commitments from inspecting the $iprah%a

e.caation and artefacts for some days) :hat Smith and *+hrer

should &oth hae as(ed $epp@ to loo( for an inscription %as an

entirely appropriate response, gien that &oth (ne% that many

uddhist reli>uary cas(ets recoered &y Sir Ale.ander Cunningham

at Sanchi and else%here &ore inscriptions)

<t is also reasona&le to surmise that Smiths and *+hrers

replies, dated 14720 January and 14 January, could not hae &een

receied &y $epp@ in irdpore &efore 20 January)

8n 14 January Q and thus !efore receiing Smiths and

*+hrers letters as(ing him to loo( for an inscription Q $epp@found /ust such an inscription on the lid of the smaller of the t%o

steatite ases) :he eidence for this lies in the dating of a note

signed &y $epp@ !See Fig. "#)



Fig. ". :he scrap of paper from W) C) $epp@ to Eincent Smith %ith hishand7dra%n copy of the $iprah%a inscription and Smiths rst attempt at

a translation !courtesy of 6eil $epp@, -s>)#)

Written in in( on one side of a narro% strip of paper torn along the

&ottom edge, this note reads

My dear Smith L :his is some %riting scratched round the top

of one of the &o%ls L yours W) C) $) 14)1)43)

elo% this e lines hae &een ruled in pencil, along %hich rahmi

characters hae &een dra%n along t%o lines) nder these, also%ritten in pencil, &ut in Eincent Smiths hand, a transliteration and

partial translation hae &een added

# sal$la nidh%ne Budhasa !hag&atasa ki su ki ti !ha ti nam sa !hagi

n$ ka

:his Ris the relic receptacle of the lessed uddha Ra proper

nameT sister

nam sap u tra da la nam

son

Written in pen on the &ac( of this note is Eincent Smiths response,

dated 2 January 1343

:he relics appear to &e those of the uddha himself L !ie

&elieed to &e his# as the &eginning of its inscription proes)

Salla Sans(rit sarram &odyN, the regular %ord for relicsN)



< cannot at present ma(e out the sense of the remainder L

pro&a&ly some of the letters are erroneously copied)

:he character and languages are those of the third century )

C), and are su&stantially the same as on the =ummindei pillar

Rat "um&ini) An accurate copy can &e ta(en &y %etting country

!&adInu# paper, and patting it in %ith a clothes &rush, so as to

ta(e a cast, %hich can &e made clear &y pencilling in the lines

%hen dry L or &y a ru&&ing)

ECS 2)1)43)

Smith accompanied this note %ith a letter, also dated 2

January 1343

My dear $epp@

Bour nd turns out to &e of een greater interest than %e

thought as the &ones %ere &elieed &y their depositor to &e

those of uddha himself) :his e.plains the unusual siUe of the

chest and the large num&er of precious articles accompanying

the deposit) :he characters may &e as early as ) C) 00)

:he e.act dates of uddhas &irth and death are still disputed

&ut you may ta(e his Poruit as ) C) F00) =hys Daids tried a

later date &ut that %ont %ash..i)

Aso(a !$iyadasi# emperor of <ndia L Poruit a&out 2G0 C) -.act

dates hae

R R yet to &e .ed, &ut %e (no% appro.imately %ith certainty)

With (ind regards

Bours sincerely

E) C) Smith

We sa% the eclipse %ell)

<t is clear from $epp@s pencilled rendering of the inscription that

he omitted some of the ner points, such as the triangle of three

dots at the start of the rst %ord and the further dot at the end, so

that Smith read it as ya rather than iyam) :his is precisely the sort

of misreading a person ignorant of rahmi script %ould ma(e) <t



%ill also &e noted that Smith failed to ma(e any sense of the second

half of the inscription, in part &ecause he missed the (ey %ord

sakiyanam !'of the Sa(ya#..ii, haing failed to realise that the t%o

genitie characters ya nam set do%n &y themseles a&oe the rstline in $epp@s rendering %ere not random scratches &ut had &een

set there deli&erately Q presuma&ly added &y the original inscri&er

after &eing accidentally omitted from the main line) :his is hardly

the sort of error a forger %ould ma(e !see Fig '#)

Fig. '+ $art of the inscription cut into the coer of the smaller of the t%osteatite reli>uary ases) :he inscri&er eidently ran out of space and had

to add t%o letters a&oe the line) !Detail, Asia and Africa Collection,ritish "i&rary#)

Ho%eer, it still has to &e as(ed ho% $epp@ could hae missed theinscription %hen the contents of the stone co;er %ere rst

reealed on or a&out 13 January) nfortunately, %e (no% nothing of

the conditions under %hich the stone co;er %as opened and its

contents ta(en to irdpore House, although a photograph of the

co;er in situ &ut %ithout its lid ! Fig. 1# suggests that its contents

%ere remoed %hile the co;er %as still in situ, presuma&ly &ecause

it %as too heay to &e remoed %ithout ris( to them) <t is

reasona&le to assume that $epp@s rst letters to Smith and *+hrer



%ere %ritten &efore he had had time to e.amined the reli>uaries

and o;erings in detail on the follo%ing dayQand here it is %orth

commenting on the >uite remar(a&le scale of those o;erings,

amounting to some 1,200 indiidual items..iii

) :he steatite ase&earing the inscription %as itself not particularly large, $epp@

descri&ing it as ' inches high and four inches in diameter..i)

:he ne.t letter in chronological order in the $epp@ $apers

demonstrates that as %ell as ma(ing a copy of the inscription for

Eincent Smith W) C) $epp@ also made other copies, t%o of %hich he

sent to Dr) *+hrer at Sagar%a) *+hrer responded from his camp on

2K January

Dear Mr) $epp@,

< am e.ceedingly o&liged to you for so (indly sending me a plan

of your e.caations, a photograph of the relic cas(ets and the

copies of the inscription on the lid of one of the &o%ls) *rom a

cursory glance at it, < can safely say that your shrine contains

real relics of "ord uddha, as the reading hudasa

hagaaton is >uite clear) :his is indeed a great nd, and you

hae done a great serice to ancient history &y unearthing it)

:he place is still %ithin the enirons of ?apilaastu, at least

%ithin the country of the SI(yas)

< shall &e glad to follo% out the plan of the &uildings, %hen

coming on the 1Fth inst, and if R R R for e.ploring also the

other mounds in the neigh&ourhood and the ancient road to

?apilaastu, you mention)

< shall &e glad to see you and Mr) E) Smith, if you can arrange

R R ) ut you %ill hae a ery trying ride, as the distance from

here to irdpur is certainly 13 or 20 miles if not more) ?indly

let me (no% R R R , %hen you intend to come, as it is ery

di;icult to get proisions here and < R horri&ly R anything)

As soon as < can ma(e out the %hole inscription, < shall let you

(no%)

Bours sincerely



A) *+hrer

Although some passages of Dr) *+hrers letter hae yet to &e

deciphered it is >uite clear that he agreed to meet Smith and $epp@at his camp in 6epal) :hat meeting too( place on *riday 23

January.., follo%ing Smiths arrial at irdpore on the morning of

:hursday 2G January, and as arranged in his letter of 20 January)

Smiths su&se>uent report of this isit ma(es no mention of

$iprah%a, &eing entirely ta(en up %ith Dr) *+hrers actiities..i)

Dr) *+hrers ne.t letter from his Camp at Sagar%a is dated

*e&ruaryDear Mr) $epp@,

$lease accept my R than(s for your (ind letter of today and

that nice R shirt Mrs $epp@ so ery (indly sent me) < hope to

&e at $ipra%a(ot on the 22nd *e&ruary, as Captain ir Jung

R6epalese liaison o;icer says he cannot stay any longer here,

although %e hae spent only a&out 300V7 out of the 2000V7

sanctioned &y the 6epal Dur&ar) At present < hae commenced

e.caating a ery old lion temple %hich e.isted at the R at the

home of uddha 5autama and as the foundations are /ust &eing

e.posed < am afraid to leae the coolies here alone) < shall

therefore &e much o&liged if you could (indly instruct your men

to uncoer the monastery %hich e.isted near the R stupa)

When coming to $ipra%a(ot, < shall try to nd %hether a railing

ran round the stupa)

< hae %ritten to 5oernment for sanction to use the 000V7 still

aaila&le in our udget) :hus < hope < shall &e a&le to let you

hae payment for your coolies)

<n one of those small s>uare stupas, you sa% to the south7east

of the la(e, < found a ery ne &ronUe urn, %ith relics the urn

is of the same shape as those found in ancient 5ree( cities) <

am reluctant to gie you at present a complete translation of

the inscription on the shrine relic cas(et, as < cannot yet ma(e

out the meaning of the last %ord of it) < shall, ho%eer, R

supply you soon %ith it)



Would you please tell $rince RT Jina%ara%ansa..ii RT from

unri RT to come to Sagra%ah, %here my camp is, as soon as

he has nished your %or() < told the R last R to come to

=ummindei in the &eginning of *e&ruary, and he may hae gone

there already, or &e ready to go there)

With (ind regards

Bours sincerely

A) *+hrer

Dr) *+hrer had sent one of $epp@s copies of the $iprah%a

inscription on to his old mentor $rofessor 5eorg +hler at the

niersity of Eienna and %as at this time %aiting to receie his

translation..iii) His ne.t and last letter from Sagar%a %as dated 2

*e&ruary 1343

Dear Mr) $epp@,

$lease accept my sincerest than(s for so (indly sending me my

%ifes letter and a paper ) We hae only /ust today nished our

%or(, and < am going tomorro% to "ori ?udan near :aulihon

R:auliha%a, %here there had R another Aso(a pillar) < hope to

arrie at $ipra%a(ot on *riday eening Rie 2 *e&ruary at

a&out si. ocloc(, and shall &e glad to see you on Saturday

morning, in order to see %hat is to &e done ne.t season, as <

fear it %ill &e almost impossi&le for me to commence the %or(

this season, as < hae to go to ?ha/napore RT in undel(hand

on some urgent %or() 8f course, my draftsman %ill prepare

dra%ings of the places R R &y you and also to do photos of allthe relic cas(ets, and their contents, if you %ill so (indly permit

it)

eliee me,

Bours sincerely

A) *+hrer

Also among the $epp@ $apers are t%o notes, &oth undated) :he rst

appears to &e a second and more careful copy of the $iprah%a



inscription made &y W) C) $epp@, presuma&ly in response to Smiths

letter of 14 January !see Fig. (#)

*ig) F) Although undated, this note appears to represent a second

and improed copy of the $iprah%a inscription made &y W) C)

$epp@) !Courtesy of 6eil $epp@#

$epp@s note reads

:he only inscription of any (ind is scratched on the coer of the

smaller urn) :he letters are in the $ali character 9 a&out V1 of

an inch long) < hae &een una&le to get an impression as the

letters are so slightly scratched, &ut < hae made a ery careful

ru&&ing and anne.e a facsimilie Rsic of it7

What appears to &e Smiths response in the form of a second

transliteration and translation is also undated, the transliteration

set do%n in in( and then the translations in pencil



#am salilanidhane Budhassa Bhaga&ato

:his !is# in the relic receptacle !of the# uddha !&lessed#

Sakiyanam sukitti!hatinam su!hginikanam

8f the Sa(yas of the &rothers !no&le# of the sisters people

soputta )m* dalanam)

With the sons R 7 portion !otie o;ering#

:his is the o;ering made of the no&le &rotherhood of the

Sa(yas, %ith

their sons sons 9 sisters sons

elo% this are t%o lines in W) C) $epp@s hand%riting, %ritten in

in(:his is the only paper < hae here the %hole of the le is in 5)pore

R5ora(hpur L < %ill send them from there to you

WC$

:he $epp@ papers contain t%o further letters from Eincent Smith

sent from 5ora(hpur, dated March and 23 March 1343, and t%o

further letters from Dr) A) A) *+hrer %riting from "uc(no%

Museum, dated 1 March and 1 April 1343) Ho%eer, these and

other letters from arious correspondents..i. hae no &earing on

this article, the purpose of %hich is to demonstrate that on the

&asis of the information proided &y these letters it %ould hae

&een physically impossi&le either for Smith or for *+hrer, %hether

acting alone or in collusion, to hae interfered %ith the $iprah%a

nds &efore the inscription &ecame (no%n)



,onclusion

:he names of Dr) Anton Alois *+hrer, William Cla.ton $epp@,

Eincent Smith, and Dr) William Hoey hae all &een put for%ard as

potential archaeological fraudsters, either acting alone or in /ointconspiracy) Ho%eer, the $epp@ $apers demonstrate that

1)$epp@ %rote to &oth Smith and *+hrer most pro&a&ly on 13

January giing notice of his nds, &ut %ithout reference to

any inscription

2) *+hrer replied on 14 January and Smith on 14720 January,

&oth as(ing $epp@ to loo( for an inscription

) on 14 January, !efore receiing their replies, $epp@ found theinscription and %rote to &oth men enclosing hand7dra%n

copies

K) Smith replied on 2 January and *+hrer on 2K January) oth

had translated enough of the te.t to grasp the inscriptions

signicance

F) &oth Smith and *+hrer e.plain in their letters that their %or(

preented them from isiting $iprah%a immediately):hroughout this period Smith %as at 5ora(hpur and *+hrer

at his camp at Sagar%a in 6epal

) Smiths rst glimpse of the $iprah%a co;er and its

contents %as on the morning of 2G January) 8n the follo%ing

day he and $epp@ then met %ith *+hrer at Sagar%a in 6epal

G) <n *+hrers letter of 2 *e&ruary he states that he did not

plan to isit the $iprah%a e.caation &efore 2 *e&ruary) :hee.act date of his isit to irdpore is not (no%n, &ut his letters

indicate that *+hrer did not see the contents of the stone

co;er until at least e %ee(s after the discoery of the

reli>uary inscription)

*rom the a&oe correspondence it is clear that neither *+hrer nor

Smith could hae interfered %ith the $iprah%a e.caation or %ith

the relic urns &efore the inscription &ecame pu&lic (no%ledge)



:here is no %ritten eidence of Dr) Hoeys inolement in the

$iprah%a e.caation prior to his receipt of $andit Mishras %ritten

notication of 2 January, a %ee( after $epp@ %rote to notify Smith

and *+hrer of the inscriptions e.istence) y contrast, thee.caator of the $iprah%a stupa, W) C) $epp@, had eery

opportunity to fa(e an inscriptionQ&ut lac(ed the necessary

e.pertise to do so)

y proiding a clear chronology of eents the letters

contained in the $epp@ $apers go some %ay to%ards lifting the pall

of suspicion that hangs oer the $iprah%a inscription) ltimately,

its alidity as a genuine and potentially early rahmi te.t of theMauryan period rests in the hands of the epigraphists, %ho may

no% feel a&le to approach it %ith greater condence than &efore)

My than(s to 6eil $epp@ for allo%ing me unlimited access to his

family papers and photographs, to Mrs) Sheila Hoey Middleton and

Een) S) Dhammi(a for their inalua&le adise in the %riting of thispaper and to ?athy "aUen&att, "i&rarian at the =oyal Asiatic

Society, for her unstinting assistance)

0ndnotes



i M. Willis in reviewing H. Falk, Asokan Sites and Artefacts. A Source-book with Bibliography, JRAS , 3rd series, Vol.

XXII, Part 1, 2012, p. 1.

ii H. !"ders, #$n %o&e 'ra(&i Ins)riptions in t(e !*)know M*se*&+, JRAS , 112, pp. 1-/. (e ea)t

)ir)*&stan)es leading *p to r F"(rer+s dis&issal are *n)ertain *t t(e4 involved a series o5 )(arges and )o&plaints

t(at )a&e to a (ead in 6*g*st/%epte&er 1. Vin)ent 6. %&it( gives so&e a))o*nt o5 t(e& on pp. 3/7 o5 (isIntrod*)tion to P. 8. M*ker9i, Report on a Tour of Exploration of the Antiuities of the Tarai! "epal , 1. F*rt(erre5eren)es are 5o*nd in #:ploration o5 t(e 'irt(pla)e o5 '*dd(a in t(e ;epal arai+, #o$t. "orth-%estern &ro$inces

and 'ude! &%( &roceedings for August )*++, File ;o. 7 Mis)., 1 <'! P=-->, ,perial Archaeological Sur$ey Report /, 0AS, of "orthern ,ndia /ol. /,1, :n)los*re I, 1 and, &ore re)entl4, M. Willis, #(ar, '(oka and

%arasvati? 5ro& Indolog4 to Poli)ital M4t(olog4 and 'a)k#, 6ppendi, JRAS! 3rd series, Vol. XXII, Part 1, 2012,

pp. 17/1-3. (e4 are also to*)(ed on in 8(arles 6llen, The Buddha and the Sahibs, 2002, pp. 20/2, and in 6.

H*le4, A 2raudulent Scholar in Bura3 Re$. (r. Anton 24hrer , paper read at %$6% 2@ Aan. 200@.

iii Vin)ent %&it( went to !*)know in %epte&er 1 #4 order o5 Bovern&ent, to enC*ire into r. F"(rer+s

pro)eedings, and )onvi)t (i& o5 s4ste&ati) 5alsi5i)ation o5 (is )orresponden)e wit( several Bovern&ents+. In t(e )o*rseo5 (is &eeting %&it( )(allenged F"(rer ao*t (is )lai&s to (ave 5o*nd an ins)ried pre/6s(okan )asket? #I )(arged r.F"(rer to (is 5a)e wit( t(at 5orger4, and (e did not atte&pt to den4 it+. r. F"(rer appears to (ave resigned i&&ediatel4a5ter t(e visit. %&it(+s a))o*nt is to e 5o*nd in #:ploration o5 t(e 'irt(pla)e o5 '*dd(a in t(e ;epal arai+, #o$t.

"orth-%estern &ro$inces and 'ude! &%( &roceedings for August )*++, File ;o. 7 Mis)., 1, ;ote @0. #;ote on t(e

eploration o5 Dapilavast*, 4 V. 6. %&it(, :sC., I8%, dated 3rd Aan*ar4 1 Esi)? 1+.

iv 6. 6. F"(rer , #6ntiC*ities o5 '*dd(a %ak4a&*ni+s 'irt(/Pla)e in t(e ;epalese arai+, ,perial ArchaeologicalSur$ey Report /, 0AS, of "orthern ,ndia /ol. /,1, 1.

v #$ne ins)ription espe)iall4, dated %a&vat 2, and ins)ried on t(e ase o5 a li5e/siGe stat*e o5 6r(at Ma(v*ra . . .

indi)ates t(at t(e dates o5 t(e D*s(an kings o5 Mat(*ra &*st e interpreted ot(erwise t(an is *s*all4 done+. *oted 4Vin)ent 6. %&it(, toget(er wit( a 5ootnote epressing p*GGle&ent, on p.7 The Jain Stupas and 'ther Antiuities of

5athura! 5uttra Antiuities, "orth-%estern &ro$inces and 'ude, Vol V, 6r)(aeologi)al %*rve4 o5 India, Vol. XX,101.

vi 6n earl4 ea&ple o5 do*ts epressed )an e seen in )(anges to t(e tet o5 Vin)ent %&it(+s The Early 6istory of

,ndia <107>, t(e 5irst edition o5 w(i)( )arried a 5*ll/page reprod*)tion o5 t(e Pipra(wa vase wit( t(e ins)ription)(alked in. (e t(ird and s*seC*ent editions retained t(e ill*stration *t t(e tet on p. 1 was )(anged to read? #(eoldest nort(ern do)*&ent was s*pposed at one ti&e to e t(e dedi)ation o5 t(e reli)s o5 '*dd(a at PiprJwJ, w(i)( was elieved to date 5ro& ao*t 7-0 '. 8., *t a &ore re)ent )riti)is& (as t(rown do*t *pon t(at t(eor4.+ 6 linked 5ootnote

re5erred t(e reader to #'art(., J. des Sa$ants, $)t. 10@+ and # ,nd. Ant ., 10, pp. 11/27+. vii . 6. P(elps ! 7ubini 'n Trial3 the 8ntold Story, www.l*&kap.org.*k, 2001.

viii H*le4, ,bid .

i . 6. P(elps, The &iprahwa (eceptionsK 6. H*le4, #eorge B4hler9s (eath and its ,plications for &iprahwa.

Vin)ent %&it( was per(aps est known at t(is ti&e 5or (is The Settleent 'fficer9s 5anual for the "orth-%estern

&ro$inces, 11, *t (ad p*lis(ed a n*&er o5 &onograp(s on lo)al ar)(aeolog4 in)l*ding :oinage of the Early or

#upta (ynasty, 1, and The Reains near ;asia in the #orakhpur (istrict , 1@.

i r F"(rer+s 6nn*al Leports are to e 5o*nd in t(e &rogress Reports of the Epigraphical < Architectural Branches

of the "orth-%estern &ro$inces and 'ude! 12/103.

ii Vin)ent %&it(, Asoka3 the Buddhist Eperor of ,ndia, 101.

iii %a&*el 'eal, Si-=u-;i3 Buddhist Records of the %estern %orld by 6iuen Tsiang , 17.

iv %tanislas A*lien, /oyages du &elerin 6iouen-tsang , 1-3.

v W. 8. Pepp, #(e PiprJ(wJ %tNpa, )ontaining reli)s o5 '*dd(a, 4 Willia& 8laton Pepp, :sC, )o&&*ni)ated

wit( a note 4 Vin)ent 6. %&it(, I8%, ML6%+, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, A*l4 1, pp. -3/-.

vi W. 8. Pepp in a note to Pandit Misra dated 20 Aan*ar4 1. Part o5 t(e letter is C*oted in . 6. P(elps, The

&iprahwa &roble.

vii (is dra5t )erti5i)ate is a&ong t(e Pepp papers, written on t(e a)k o5 part o5 a note 5ro& Pandit Misra dated 21

Fer*ar4 1 reC*esting #a ver4 earl4 repl4 o5 t(e sa&e+.

viii 'irdpore is ao*t 0 &iles 4 road 5ro& Borak(p*r, a two/da4 9o*rne4 4 (orse and trap. However, t(ere is also

a ran)( railwa4 line r*nning 5ro& Borak(p*r to 'alra&p*r wit( a station at Oska 'aGaar 17 &iles so*t( o5 'irdpore,allowing &essages 5ro& 'irdpore to e re)eived in Borak(p*r wit(in 27 (o*rs.

i (e re5eren)e is to 6leander Lea, South ,ndian Buddhist Antiuities, Archaeological Sur$ey of ,ndia! "ew

,perial Series, Vol. XV, 17. Lea+s e)avation o5 a da&aged st*pa in 'attiprol* in t(e Madras Presiden)4 in 12(ad re)overed large C*antities o5 gold/lea5 orna&ents rese&ling t(ose 5o*nd at Pipra(wa as well as ot(er si&ilarities.6n i&portant ins)ription relating to a re)epta)le )ontaining #reli)s o5 t(e '*dd(a+ was also 5o*nd w(i)( Pro5. B. '"(ler )o&&ented *pon in JRAS , A*l4 12, pp. @02/@0. However, t(at ins)ription was not reprod*)ed in Lea+s South ,ndian

Buddhist Antiuities and )o*ld not (ave provided a &odel 5or W. 8. Pepp or an4 ot(er 5orger.



r. Hoe4 was an estalis(ed a*t(orit4 on '*dd(ist ar)(aeolog4, (aving e)avated t(e site o5 %ravasti in 17/-

*nder t(e orders o5 t(e provin)ial govern&ent. He (ad taken an a)tive interest in lo)al antiC*ities ever sin)e eing posted to t(e Borak(p*r istri)t in 12. He was at t(is ti&e t(e a)ting 8o&&issioner o5 Borak(p*r ivision.

i . W. L(4s avids was at t(is ti&e %e)retar4 o5 t(e Lo4al 6siati) %o)iet4. In (is Buddhis&, 1@, (e (ad

post*lated t(at #t(e '*dd(a died wit(in a 5ew 4ears o5 712 '. 8.+.

ii (e 5irst person to &ake a )orre)t transliteration o5 t(e 'ra(&i tet appears to (ave een r. Willia& Hoe4,

w(ose translation was p*lis(ed in t(e &ioneer newspaper on 2 Fer*ar4 1.

iii Vin)ent %&it( provided a reakdown o5 t(e ite&s in a letter to . W. L(4s avids, s*seC*entl4 p*lis(ed in

JRAS , $)toer 1, pp. @/0. W. 8. Pepp+s own lists in t(e Pepp papers s(ow t(at (e retained a )onsideralen*&er o5 ite&s )onsidered to e #d*pli)ates+.

iv W. 8. Pepp, ,bid .

v In V. 6. %&it( #s Introd*)tion to P. 8. M*k(er9i, Report on a Tour of Exploration of the Antiuities in the Tarai!

"epal , 1, p. 3, (e states t(at (e visited r F"(rer+s )a&p on 2 Aan*ar4. However, in V. 6. %&it(+s #;ote on t(eeploration o5 Dapilavast*+ reprinted in #o$t. "orth-%estern &ro$inces and 'ude! &%( &roceedings for August )*++,File ;o. 7 Mis)., 1, ;ote @0, (e states? #I paid a rie5 visit, a))o&panied 4 Mr. W. 8. Pepp, to t(e western end o5t(e r*ins on 2 Aan*ar4 1, and 5o*nd r. F"(rer in t(e a)t o5 etra)ting 5ive )askets 5ro& t(e ase o5 one o5 t(eseventeen sC*are st*pas w(i)( (e e)avated+.

vi V. 6. %&it(, ,bid .

vii (e Ven. P. 8. Ainavaravansa, pop*larl4 known as t(e Prin)e Priest, was orn in 1-1 as Prin)e Prisdang

8(*&sai, grandson o5 Ding La&a III o5 %ia&. 6n engineering grad*ate o5 Ding+s 8ollege, (e served as %ia&+sa&assador and treat4 negotiator to a n*&er o5 )o*ntries etween 10 and 1@, in)l*ding writing t(e dra5t to %ia&+s5irst 8onstit*tion in 1-. In 1@ (e was re)alled to %ia& and appointed ire)tor/Beneral o5 (is )o*ntr4+s new Postand elegrap( ept. *t resigned a5ter a n*&er o5 #vi)io*s+ allegations were &ade against (i&. He went <or was sent>into eile and In 1@ was ordained as &onk at t(e Waskad*we Vi(ara in 8e4lon, a5ter w(i)( (e )o&&en)ed an

etended pilgri&age to India. He presented a portrait o5 (i&sel5 in &editational pose to W. 8. Pepp dated - 6pril1, w(i)( s*ggests t(at (e was in 'irdpore on t(at date. He s*seC*entl4 petitioned r Hoe4, 6)ting 8olle)tor o5Borak(p*r, t(at t(e Pipra(wa '*dd(a reli)s s(o*ld e (anded over to Ding 8(*lalongkorn o5 %ia& as (ead o5 t(e'*dd(ist religion. 65ter long delieration t(e Bovern&ent o5 India de)ided t(at t(e reli)s s(o*ld e donated to %ia&,w(ere &ost were ens(rined in t(e Bolden Mo*nt in 'angkok. 65ter living an a*stere li5e in 8e4lon t(e Ven. P. 8.Ainavaravansa e)a&e t(e aot o5 ipad*tta&ara&a Vi(ara in 8olo&o, restoring t(at 5o*ndation and setting *p

s)(ools 5or '*dd(ists. %o&e 9ewel reli)s 5ro& Pipra(wa were also ens(rined 4 (i& in t(e Latna 8(eti4a atipad*tta&ara&a, t(e *ilding o5 w(i)( (e egan in 10. Wit( t(e deat( o5 Ding 8(*lalongkorn in 110 t(e Ven. P. 8.

Ainavaravansa ret*rned to %ia& 5or t(e late king+s )re&ation, *t was 5oridden to re&ain a &onk 4 t(e new &onar)(and a))ordingl4 ret*rned to se)*lar li5e as Prin)e Prisdang 8(*&sai, d4ing in 13-.

viii Pro5. B. '"(ler+s translation was )ontained in a letter p*lis(ed as #Preli&inar4 ;ote on a Le)entl4

is)overed %ak4a Ins)ription+, JRAS , 6pril 1 pp. 3/. He sent t(is reading to W. 8. Pepp in a letter dated 21Fer*ar4 1, alt(o*g( t(e original is not a&ong t(e etant Pepp letters.

i %ee 6ppendi. The %illia :laxton &epp> :orrespondence3 A &reliinary 6andlist , Lo4al 6siati) %o)iet4

!irar4.

Documents

What Happened at Piprahwa3