The cave was made as a resting-place for travelers ascending the hill, which lies on the road from Kaly[=a]na to Junar. It seems to have been cut out by a descendant {23} of King ['S][=a]tav[=a]hana,[75] for inside the wall opposite the entrance are representations of the members of his family, much defaced, but with the names still legible. It would seem that the excavation was made by order of a king named Vedisiri, and "the inscription contains a list of gifts made on the occasion of the performance of several _yagnas_ or religious sacrifices," and numerals are to be seen in no less than thirty places.[76] There is considerable dispute as to what numerals are really found in these inscriptions, owing to the difficulty of deciphering them; but the following, which have been copied from a rubbing, are probably number forms:[77] [Illustration] The inscription itself, so important as containing the earliest considerable Hindu numeral system connected with our own, is of sufficient interest to warrant reproducing part of it in facsimile, as is done on page 24. {24} [Illustration] The next very noteworthy evidence of the numerals, and this quite complete as will be seen, is found in certain other cave inscriptions dating back to the first or second century A.D. In these, the Nasik[78] cave inscriptions, the forms are as follows: [Illustration] From this time on, until the decimal system finally adopted the first nine characters and replaced the rest of the Br[=a]hm[=i] notation by adding the zero, the progress of these forms is well marked. It is therefore well to present synoptically the best-known specimens that have come down to us, and this is done in the table on page 25.[79] {25} TABLE SHOWING THE PROGRESS OF NUMBER FORMS IN INDIA NUMERALS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 200 1000 A['s]oka[80] [Illustration] ['S]aka[81] [Illustration] A['s]oka[82] [Illustration] N[=a]gar[=i][83] [Illustration] Nasik[84] [Illustration] K[s.]atrapa[85] [Illustration] Ku[s.]ana [86] [Illustration] Gupta[87] [Illustration] Valhab[=i][88] [Illustration] Nepal [89] [Illustration] Kali[.n]ga[90] [Illustration] V[=a]k[=a][t.]aka[91] [Illustration] [Most of these numerals are given by Buehler, loc. cit., Tafel IX.]