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374*4 


PROCEEDINGS  &  TRANSACTIONS 


OF  THE 


FIRST  ORIENTAL  CONFERENCE,  POONA 


Held  on  the  5th,  bth\mod  7th  of  November  1919 


Vol.  I 


Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute     Poona 
1920- 


Copies  of  this  volume  can  be  had  at  the 

Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute,  Poona 

Price:  In  India  Rs.  5;  Foreign  £  0-10-0 


As 


i'rint*  I  .it  the  Aryahhuahan  Press,  Poona  by  An;int  Vinayak 
ml   published    ;it    the  Bhandarkar  Oriental 
iron  Institute  Poona,  by  P.  D.  Qune,  m.a.,  ih.D., 
Joint  Secretary,  First  Unontal  Conference. 


CONTENTS. 


Pr*'}  ...  ...  ^ 

1  First  fitting  ...  ...  ^ , 

Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya's  Speech 
His  Excellency's  Speech 
Congratulatory  Telegrams 
Presidential  Address 

2  Second  fitting 

Election  of  Sectional  Chairmen 

Report  of  the  Bombay  Branch  of  the  R.  A.  8. 
,i        ..         Anthropological  Society 
i,        h        Jarlhoshti  Din  ni  Ehol  Karnari 
Mandali 

n        H        K.  R.  Cama  Oriental  Institute 
«i        m        Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research 
Institute 

„         Karnatak  ItihSsa  Maudala 
h        h        Andhra  Parisodhaka  Maha- 
mandali 

3  Third  sitting 

Reading  of  papers  in  different  sections 

4  Fourth  sitting 

Reading  of  papers  in  different  sections 
Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusaua's  address 

5  Fifth  sitting 

6  Sixth  sitting 

7  List  of  Delegates 

Patron  and  Vice-patrons 

Representatives  of  Universities 

„  of  learned  Institutions 

,,  of  Governments  and  Native  States 

Delegates  Elected  by  the  Working  Committee 

8  List  of  articles  lent  to  the  Exhibition 

9  Donations 

10  Statement  of  Accounts 

11  Contents  of  the  Summaries  of  Papers 

12  Summaries  of  Pi i 

Vedic  .section 

Avesta 

Pali  and  Buddhism 

I'hilology  and  Prakrits 

I  'hissioai  Literature 

Persian  and  JLrabio 
Dravidian  languag 
Philosophy 

Archaeology 
Ancient  History 

ology  and  Folklore 

General 


1-5 

5-10 

11-12 

13-27 

29-30 
30-34 
35-38 

38-41 
41-46 

46-50 
50-53 

53-55 


61-67 


75 
75-76 
76-78 
78-80 
80-85 


1-X1X 

xxi-xxviii 

xxix-xxw  ii 
\x\ix-xlix 
li-lxiii 
lw   Ixix 
Iwi   1  . 
Ixx.\\ 
i-iii-  cix 
cxi-cxxxviii 

clii 
oiiii — i 
>\\\  clxxxi 


[1-11] 
1-29 


29-5'. 


56-60 


60-71 


72-74 


86-  3 
94 
93 
96-100 
i-clxxxi 


=: 
o 


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c 
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o 


a 

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a 


tf 


PREFACE. 


The  idea  of  holding,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Bhandar- 
kar  Oriental  Research  Institute,  a  Conference  of  Orientalists 
in  India,  Burma  and  Ceylon, — an  idea  which  had  been  in 
the  minds  of  the  promoters  of  the  Institute  since  its  very 
foundation-,  took  material  shape  in  the  following  resolu- 
tion of  the  Executive  Board  of  the  Institute,  passed  on  the 
12th  of  December  1918. 

"  That  it  is  desirable  to  hold  a  Conference  of  Orientalists 
in  India,  if  possible,  in  Poona.  in  the  month  of  May  (1919) 
ar.d  that  with  that  view,  correspondence  be  opened  with 
e  :  inent  scholars  in  India,  requesting  them  to  communicate 
to  the  Secretary  their  opinions  on  the  subject  in  about  a 
month's  time." 

The  Secretary,  accordingly,  about  the  middle  of  January 
1919,  addressed  the  following  letter  to  about  twenty-five 
prominent  Orientalists  in  India  : — 

"DEAR  SIR, 

The  Executive  Board  of  the  Bhandarkar  Oriental  Re- 
search Institute  thinks  it  desirable  to  hold  an  All-India 
Conference  of  Orientalists  at  F'oona,  if  possible  in  the  month 
of  May  1919.  This  would  be  the  first  Conference  of  its  kind 
in  India,  and  it  will  be  repeated  periodically  at  different 
centres. 

The  necessity  and  utility  of  such  a  Conference  need  not 
be  emphasised.  You  are  probably  aware  that,  in  the  Con- 
ference ol  Orientalists  summoned  at  Simla  by  the  Hon.  Sir 
Harcourt  Butler  in  July  1911,  Dr.  Vogel  had  laid  before  the 
scholars  assembled,  a  plan  for  holding  an  Oriental  Congress 
in  India  (  I  ide  the  Report  of  the  Conference  of  Orientalists. 
including  Museum*  and  Archaeology,  held  at  Simla  in  1911. 
page  66  ff  )      The  present  plan  is  a  modest  one,  in  that  it   is 


[2] 

to  be  a  Conference,  at  first,  of  all  Orientalists  in  India,   and 
limited  in  its  sphere,  as  the  memo*  of  notes  below  will  show. 

You  are  cordially  invited  to  indicate  your  opinion  al  out 
the  scheme  and  the  time  proposed  for  the  holding  of  the  first 
Conference  in  Poona,  and  to  offer  any  other  remarks  or 
suggestions  you  deem  necessary.  The  co-operation  of 
scholars  like  you  is  earnestly  solicited.  If  the  idea  meets 
with  general  approval,  further  necessary  step-  in  the  matter 
(  e.  g.  appointing  a  committee  etc.  )  will  be  taken  by  the 
Institute  in  consultation  with  you  all. 

I  shall  feel  obliged  if  you  kindly  communicate  your 
views  in  details,  so  as  to  reach  me  before  the  end  of  February 
1919. 

Yours  sincerely, 
P.  D.  GUNE, 

Secretary." 

All  the  scholars  thus  consulted,  unanimously  hailed  the 
idea  of  such  a  Conference  and  generally  approved  of  the 
scheme.  But  the  time  proposed  was  found  inconvenient  to 
many,  and  the  Executive  Board,  while  changing  it  to  Octo- 
ber in  deference  to  their  wishes,  appointed  the  following 
Working  Committee  (  with  power  to  add  )  on  the  3rd  of 
March  1919. 

Prof.  V.  K.  Rajwade,  Mr.  K.  G.  Joshi,  Dr.  V.  S.  Ghate , 
Dr.  S.  K.  Belvalkar,  Prof.  R.  D.  Ranade,  Dr.  N  G.  Sardesai, 
Prof.  R.  D.  Karmarkar,  Mr.  N.  B.  Utgikar,  and  Dr.  P.  D. 
Gune,  (  i.  e.  the  nine  members  of  the  Executive  Board,  and 
Dr.  V.  S.  Sukthankar,  Prof.  A.  B,  Dhruva,  Prof.  D.  R.  Bhan- 
darkar,  Prof.  M.  Hiriyanna,  Dr  Ganganath  Jha,  Mahama- 
hopadhyaya  Harprasad  Shastri,  Mr.  D.  V.  Potdar  and  one  Re- 
presentative of  the  Bombay  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic 
Society  were  elected  members.  Dr.  S.  K.  Belvalkar  was  ap- 
pointed Secretary  and  Prof.  R.  D.  Karmarkar,  Assistant 
Seoretary.  But  on  the  former's  declining  to  do  the  work  of  u 
Seoretary,   the   Board  on  the  6th  March  1919   appointed    Dr 

*  A  memorandum  of  points  to  be  considered  in  this  connection,  such 
as  the  aims  and  objects,  ways  and  means,  subjects  to  be  discussed  etc.,  was 
also  attaohed  ,  but  a,  it  is  almost.  thea.im.'  t>  ilu>  one  included  in  t h«»  first 
Bulltltn,  it  is  given  further  beh>w. 


[8] 

P.  D.  Gum-,    f'rof   K.  IX  Kannurkar  and   Mr     .\ .     B.    Utgikar 
Joint  Secretaries. 

The  Secretaries,  with  the  approval  of  the  Committee,  sent, 
on  the  22nd  of  March  1919,  the  following  letter  to  about  five 
hundred  scholars  and  Pandits  all  over  India.  This  may  bo 
said  to  be  the  first  Bulletin  of  the  Working  Committee  of  the 
( 'uiiference.  As  this  was  tho  first  formal  letter  of  the  Con- 
ference, it  is  given  here  in  extenso. 

"SIR, 

We  are  glad  to-inform  you  that  the  prominent  Orien- 
talists whom  the  Institute  had  approached  some  time 
ago,  with  the  object  of  ascertaining'their  views  regarding  the 
desirability  of  holding  an  All-India  Oriental  Conference, 
have  signified  their  approval  of  the  idea.  The  Institute 
has  therefore  decided  to  hold  a  conference  in  Poona  of  the 
Orientalists  in  India,  Burma  and  Ceylon,  by  the  end  of 
October  or  by  the  beginning  of  November  next  This  time 
has  been  fixed  in  deference  to  the  consensus  of  opinion  of 
scholars  written  to.  The  Institute  has  now  appointed 
a  working  committee  of  the  persons  noted  overleaf  to 
carry  on  all  work  regarding  the  First  Oriental  Conference. 

2.  The  memorandum  of  the  subjects  to  be  dealt  with  at 
the  Conference,  and  of  the  ways  and  means  proposed,  is 
attached  herewith,  and  we  hope  it  meets  with  your  approval. 
We  have  now  to  request  you  to  lend  us  your  hearty  and 
active  co-operation  and  advice,  by  personally  attending  the 
Conference  and  taking  part  in  its  deliberations,  and  by  try- 
ing to  enlist  the  sympathy  of  other  lovers  of  Oriental  learn- 
ing known  to  you  as  likely  to  render  literary  or  financial 
help.  You  will  ^therefore  kindly  communicate  to  us  the 
names  of  all  such  persons,  whom  we  shall  be  very  glad  to 
approach.     Awaiting  the  favour  of  an  early  reply, 

Yours  truly 
P.  D.  GUNE. 

D     KAKMARKAR. 
N.  13.  UTGIKAH. 
Sec 


[41 

[*As  the  list  of  Members  of  the  Working  Committee  has  been 
already  given- at  p.[**l,  it  is  not  repeated  here.  ] 

Memo  of  Notes  on  the  All-India  Conference  of  Orientalist* 
of  1919. 


1.     Necessity  : — 

Conferences  in  other  branches  of  learning  such 
Mathematics,  Science,  History,  Economics,  Engineer- 
ing &c,  are  now  held  in  India  from  time  to  time.  A 
similar  Conference  for  Oriental  Subjects  is  a  long-felt 
want.  If  this  Conference  meets  with  success,  it  might 
be  held  periodically  at  different  centres  of  learning  in 
India. 


2.     Aims  and  objects  : — 

(1)  To  bring  together  Orientalists  of  all  provinoes 
of  India,  in  orderto  take  stock  of  the  various  activi- 
ties of  Oriental  scholars  in  India. 

(2)  To  facilitate  co-operation  in  Oriental  Studies 
and  Research. 

(3)  To  afford  opportunities  to  scholars  to  put  forth 
their  views  on  their  respective-  subjects  and  to  venti- 
late the  difficulties  experienced  in  the  way  of  their 
special  branches  of  study. 

(4)  To  promote  social  and  intellectual  intercourse 
among  Oriental  scholars. 

(5)  To  keep  pace  with  the  march  of  scholarship  in 
Europe  and  Amerioa. 

3.  Subjects  to  be  included    in     the   programme    of  the    Con- 
ference : — 

(1)  Sanskrit  Language  and  Literature,  (2)  Avesta  in 
its  relation  to  Sanskrit,  (3)  Pali,  (4)  Jain  and  other 
Prakrits,  (5)  Philology  of  Indian  Languages,  ancient  and 
modern,  (6)  Modern  Languages  and  Literature  in  their 
oldest  phase,  (7)  Archaeology,  Epigraphy,  Numismatics, 
and  Ancient  Art,  (8) "History  (Ancient),  Geography,  and 
Chronology,  (9)  Technical  Sciences  (e.  g.  Ancient  Medi- 
cine, Music  &c),  (10)  Ethnology  and  Folk-lore,  (ll)iPer- 
sian  and  Arabic,  (12)  General: — (a)  Present    position   of 


[51 

toademioal  study  of  Sanakrit  ad4  allied  languages 
(e.  g.  in  Universities,  Sanskrit  Colleges,  Pathashalas, 
&c),  {!>)  Old  Shastric  Learning,  (c)  A  Uniform  Transli- 
teration System. 

Membership  and  attendance  : — 

1 1)  All  scholars  and  learned  persons  interested  in 
the  advancement  of  Oriental  Studies,  would  be  eligible 
to  become  members   of   the   Conference. 

(2)  All  Governments,  Native  States  and  Learned 
Institutions  would  be  requested  to  send  members  and 
representatives  to  the  Conference,  and  to  allow 
scholars  in  their  employment  to  take  part  in  its 
deliberations. 

(3)  I  '.aiding  andiodging  arrangements  will  be  made, 
Hiired,  for  members  at  an  extra  charge.' 

(I)  It  is  expected  that  the  work  of  the  Conference 
will  last  for  three  or  four  days,  the  proceedings  opening 
with  an  inaugural  address. 

Deliberations  etc.  : — 

Scholars  in  India,  Burma  and  Ceylon,  will  be  request- 
ed to  atted  or  send  papers.  In  order  that  the  discussion 
may  take  a  fruitful  turn,  it  may  be  necessary  to  have 
summaries  of  the  papers  sent  well  in  advance  for  being 
printed  and  supplied  to  members.  All  papers  and  im- 
portant points  of  discussion  to  be  ready  in  manu- 
script. 

The  proceedings  may  soon  be  published  after  the 
Conference  is  over,  containing,  as  circumstances  may 
permit,  abstracts  of  papers  and  discussion,  or  even  whole 
papers. 

The  balance  remaining  after  defraying  all    expenses 
in  connection  witli  the  Conference  may  form  the  nucleus 
of  a  fund  for  such  Conferences,  to  be  administered  I 
representative  committee  of  scholars. 

Ways  and  means: — 

El  [fl expected  that  the  expenditure  on  account  of  the 
propoaed  Qonfereao*  would  be  Rs.  8000-(eight  thousand). 


[6] 

It  is  therefore  proposed  : — 

(1)  To  approach  all  Governments,  Native  States  and 
learned  Institutions  (Oriental)  for  their  approval  of  the 
scheme  and  for  rendering  direct  monetary  help. 

(2)  To  invite  publio  support. 

(3)  To  charge  a  small  delegate's  fee  (some  five 
rupees)  from  those  who  would  join  the  Conference  as 
members." 

The  response  evoked  by  this  letter  was  without  exag- 
geration splendid,  as  some  hundred  and  twenty-five  scholars 
all  over  India  promised  hearty  co-operation  and  com- 
municated the  names  of  the  papers  that  they  would  send, 
and,  if  possible,  read  personally.  Meanwhile,  letters  were 
sent  to  the  various  Governments,  Native  States  and  learned 
Institutions  all  over  India,  seeking  co-operation  by  (i)  giving 
monetary  help,  (ii)  sending  rare  manuscripts,  coins,  paint- 
ings, etc.  for  the  exhibition  to  be  held  in  connection  with 
the  Conference,  and  (iii)  sending  representatives  to  attend 
the  Conference.  The  reponso  from  this  direction  also  was 
beyond  expectation. 

The  Working  Committee  held  9  meetings  in  all,  and  con- 
sidered points  like  (i)  fees  to  be  charged  to  delegates — these 
were  fixed  at  Rs.  5-,  (ii)  accommodation  and  conveyances 
for  delegates — both  were  to  be  supplied  free  of  charge — , 
(iii)  election  of  the  President  of  the  Conference,  (iv)  select- 
ing the  site  for  the  pandal  and  decorations,  (v)  settling  the 
dates  of  the  Conference  to  be  the  30th,  31st  of  October  and 
the  1st  of  November  1919,  (vi)  requesting  His  Excellency 
Sir  George  Lloyd,  G.  C.  I.  E.,  D.  S.  O.,  Governor  of  Bombay, 
to  open  the  Conference  and  to  agree  to  become  its  Patron, 
(vii)  fixing  the  programme  of  the  three  days  of  the  Conference 
and  announcing  it  in  the  form  of  a  bulletin,  (viii)  appointing 
sub-committees  to  look  to  the  different  items,  like  the  ac- 
c  nBmcxJfttion  of  scholars,  pandal  and  seating  arrangements 
exhibition,  the  literary  part,  etc.,  (ix)  appointing  a  Reception 
Committee  with  Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya,  B.  A.,  Bar-atLaw,  J.  P., 
of  Bombay  a^  chairman,  etc. 

The  dates  had  to  be  subsequently  changed  to  the  5th, 
fith  and  7th  of  November,  in  order  to  suit  His  Excellency 
id  to  oorai  down  to  Poona  specially  for  the  purpose 


17] 

The  Second  Bulletin  gave  (i)  the  names  of  the  papers 
promised  by  scholars  for  the  different  .sections,  (ii)  the  names 
of  the  representatives  of  the  Univer-  earned   Societies 

including  Museums,  Governments  and  Native  States,  and 
(iiij  the  pecuniary  help  promised  by  the  different  Govern- 
ments and  Native  States. 

The  Third  Bulletin,  issued  on  the  2nd  of  October  1919, 
contained  all  information  useful  to  delegates  during  travel 
and  on  arrival  at  Poona,  such  as  (i)  the  times  of  arrival  in 
Poona  of  the  principal  trains  coming  from  important  centres, 
(ii)  clothing  etc.  required  according  to  the  climatic  condi- 
tions of  Poona,  (iii)  lodging  and  boarding  arrangements  for 
guests  etc. 

The  Fourth  and  the  most  important  Bulletin,  which  was 
issued  on  the  3rd  of  November  and  was  personally  handed 
over  to  the  delegates,  contained  the  final  and  correct  list  of 
papers  with  the  names  of  their  writers,  supplementary  list 
of  representatives  sent  by  learned  societies  and  the  detailed 
programme  of  the  three  days  of  the  Conference  as  under  : — 

Programme  of  the  three  days  of  the  Conferen 

(a)     First  sitting:  II  a.  m.  to  1  p.  m.  on  Wednesday  the  5th. 

(1)  The  speech  of  Mr.  V.  1'.    Vaidya,    Bar-at-Law,   Chairman   of   the 

Reception  Committee,  welcoming  Their    Excellencies  and   the 
guests. 

(2)  Opening  speech  of  H.  E.  Sir  George  Lloyd.  Governor  of  Bombay. 

(3)  Election  of  Sir  R.O.  Bhaudaikar  ;is  President  of  the  First  Oriental 

Conference. 

Proposed  by  :—  Principal  A.  ('.  Wo  >lner, 
Seconded  by  : — Prof.  S.  Kuppuswanu  Bhaairi, 
Supported  by: — S.  Khuda  bukhsh,  Esq. 

(4)  Presidential  Address. 

(5)  Election  of  Vice-Presidents. 

(6)  Appointment    of  a   Committee    to    discuss    suggestions    m  Bt  by 

scholars. 

(h)     Second  sitting  :  8-80  to  5-C0  p.  m.,  tlu>  laaN  day. 
(1)    Election  of  Chairmen  tor  sectional  meetings. 
Reports  ot  Oriental  and  Raaaaroh  fnatitutii 

(3)     Mah'dbii' 
work. 


[8] 


(4)     Reading  of  the  following  papers  of  general   interest   selected   r*r 
tbe  Committee. 


Saras-ul-Ulama  Sayyad  Muhammad 
Amin,  Jubbulpore. 

Maung  Schwe  Zan  Aung,  Esq.,  Ran- 
goon. 

Dr.  Gauranganath  Banerjee,  Cal- 
cutta. 

Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  Calcutta. 

P.  B.  Desai  Esq.,  Bombay. 

Prof.  M.  Hiriyanna,  Mysore. 

S.  K.  HodiwaJ-t.  Esq.,  Bombay. 

Dr.  Ganganath  Jha,  Benares. 


A  short  Note  on  the  Arabic  Langu- 
age. 

The  Buddhist  Philosophy  of  Change. 

Indian   as   known   to  the   ancient 
Woild. 

The  Origin  of  Indian  Alphabet. 
Okhaharana  in  the  Shahnameh. 
Indian  Aesthetics. 

V.iruna,   the  prototype   of  Ahura- 
maztla. 

Theism  of  Gautama,  the  founder  of 
Nyaya. 


(c)     Third  sitting  :— 8-30  to  10-30  a.  m.  Thursday  the  6th  November 
The  Conference  will  split  itself  up  into  the  following  sections  :-- 


Sections. 
Veda  and  Avesta. 

Classical    Literature    and    Modern 

Vernaculars. 
Ethnology  and  Folklore,  Persian  and 

Arabic. 

Technical  Science. 
Archaeology. 


Chairmen. 

Dr.  R.  Zimmermann  and  Dr.  J.J 
Modi. 

Prof.  S.  Kuppuswaini  Sh  istri. 

Dr.    Modi   ami  S    Khuda    Bukfash 
Esq. 

G.  R.  Kuye,  Esq. 

Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar. 


(■I)     Fourth  sitting :  2-30  to  5-30  p.  m.  the  same  day. 

Sections.  Chairmen 

Philosophy.  Dr.  Gunguuutli  Jha. 

Buddhism.  Dr.  Satis  Chaudra  Vidyabhusan 

Ancient  History.  Prof.  Krishnaswami  Aiyangar. 

Philology  and  Prakrits.  Prof.  V.  K.  Kajwade. 

(e)     Fifth  sitting :  8-30  to  10-30  a.  ra.,  Friday,  the  7th  November. 
General  Session.    The  following  papers  selected  by  the  Committee  \m11 
be  read  : — 

Principal   A.    C.   Woolner,  Lahore. 


1  --mja. 

i'-utta. 


The  philological  Argument  for  the 
upper  Limit  to  the  Age  of  the 
Rgveda. 

Naksatras  ar  ">u. 

The  early  History  of  the  Gurj 


»1 


PaaobaiMUU  Maitr...  Calcutta.         The  earliest  prehistoric    HeL.tiorr. 

betweeu  India  and  the  West. 

Dr.  J.  J.  Modi,  Bombay.  King  Akhar  and  the  Persian  trans- 

lations from  Sanskrit. 

Kadhakumud  Mookerji,  Mysore.       Educational    Organisation    in   the 

Upanisads. 

.lb  «li,  Esq..  Bombay.  Aryina   Vaejo,    or  the    Cradle  ol 

Indo-Aryan  Civilisation. 

Prof.  V.  k.  H.tjw.ido,  Poona.  Asurasya  MSyS  in  the  Kgveda. 

Dr.    Satis     Chandra  Vidyabbusana,  NSgSrjuna,  the  earliest   writer   of 

it | a.  the  Renaissance  Period. 

IT.. I.  N.  Sahidullah.  Caicntt...  MSgadhi  Prakrit  and  Bengali. 

I  >r.  O.  P.  Taylor,  Ahmedal)ad.  Note  on  some  Valabhi  Coins. 

(/)     Sixth  sitting  :  2-30  to  5  p.  m.  the  same  day. 

(1)     Consideration  ot  the  Report  of  the   Committee  appointed   at   the 
rirst  sitting. 

oral  resolutions  regarding  the  constitution  of  the  Conference, 
etc. 
(3)     Teaching  of  Second  Languages  at  the  Universities,  Transliteration 
item  etc. 

The  same  Bulletin  also  showed  where  scholars  were  to 
!>e  lodged.  Four  different  centres  had  to  be  chosen  for  this 
purpose  :-  (i)  the  Vaidikashram,  the  Avate  and  the  Leie 
quarters  and  the  guest  house  of  the  Servants  of  India  Society 

—all  within  5  to  10  minutes'  walk  from  the  pandal  erected 
in  front  of  me  Institute  ;  (ii)  the  National  Hotel  just  opposite 
the  Railway  Station,  where  Parsee  delegates  were  accom- 
modated ;  (ii  )  Ho  15,  Klphinstone  kead,  (Camp),  which 
with  all  arrangements  and  comforts,  \\a>  kindly 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  our  Mahomedan  delegates  by  the 
Hon'ble  Khan  Bahadur  Ibrahim  Haroon  Jaffar,  /vho  mag- 
nanimously treated  our  delegates  as  his  personal  guests; 
(iv)  and  the  Sangam  Bungalow,  where  Mr.  P.  E.  Percival, 
S  .    then    District   Judge  of  Poona,  very  kindly  treated 

mr  Kur  .;n  an  di  l<  gatofl  as  his  personal 

Three  mot  ren  or  eight  tirst  class  glian 

were  in  attendance  tor   five   days,   carrying   delegates    from 
the  station  to  their    residences  and   from    the    latter   to    the 
bl  e     ;  srsM 

served   as    voluuteeis   and    were 


1 10  I 

always  at  the  dock  anu  call  of  the  delegates,    studying   their 
comforts. 

The  whole  staff  of  the  Institute  very  naturally  looked  to 
one  kind  of  business  or  another  in  connection  with  tne  Con- 
ference and  did  us  excellent  service  in  a  spirit  of  noble 
selflessness.  They  did  nothing  more  nor  less  than  their  duty 
as  they  think,  but  none  the  less,  our  most  cordial  thanks  are 
due  to  them  and  to  the  young  volunteers.  Amongst  the 
latter,  we  cannot,  but  make  special  mention  of  Mr.  Tam- 
hankar,  B.  A.,  our  Head  Volunteer,  and  Mr.  L.  V.  Vaidya, 
the  son  of  the  chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee,  who 
managed  the  volunteers  so  ably  and  by  personal  example 
cheered  them  on  to  do  any  piece  of  work  that  fell  upon 
them. 

In  the  literary  work  that  had  to  be  done  immediately 
before  the  Conference,  for  instance,  the  printing  of  the  sum- 
maries of  papers,  we  have  to  rocord  our  deep  obligations  to 
Prof.  C.  V.  Rajwade,  M.  A.,  of  Baroda  and  Prof.  P.  L.  Vaidya, 
B.  A.,  of  Sangli,  who,  now  by  turns  and  now  together, 
attended  the  Aryabhushan  Press  to  see  through  the  print- 
ing. Had  it  not  been  for  their  timely  and  willing 
help,  we  doubt  if  we  could  have  placed  the  summaries 
in  printed  form  ( although  in  the  last-proof  stage  )  in 
the  hands  of  our  delegates  in  time.  Our  thanks  are  also  due 
to  the  manager  of  the  Aryabhushan  Press,  who  did  the 
printing  work  of  the  Summaries  at  high  pressure  and  to  the 
Manager  of  the  Orphanage  Press,  who  did  the  printing  of 
the  fourth  Bulletin  with  a  map  of  Poona,  in  time  to  be  use- 
ful to  the  delegates,  and  the  addresses  of  the  Chairman  ol 
the  Reception  Committee  and  the  President  so  beauti- 
fully. 

While  the  Secretaries,  always  in  consultation  with  the 
Working  Committee,  looked  to  the  literary  part,  to  the  com- 
fort of  scholars,  the  seating  and  other  arrangements  and  the 
actual  conduct  of  business  during  the  three  busy  days,  Dr 
Belvalkar.  helped  by  representatives  from  different 
museums  and  libraries,  was  in  charge  of  the  Exhibition, 
I  an  oaoripts,  illuminated   scrolls  ius  and 

i>aintiugs,  were  beautifully  arranged  un  tables  and   in  6how- 


fill 

oases  made  specially  l"i  the    purpose.     A    list   of   the 
important  exhibits  with  the   names    •  >!    [nftitation       (lovern- 
ments  and  States  that  kindly  lent  them,  will  be  found    at  the 
end  of  the  Procn'f/ings. 

As  to  the  success  or  otherwise  of  the  ('•inference,  the 
literary  world  will  be  able  to  judge  when  Lhi  Proceeding* 
and  the  volume  of  papers  will  be  in  their  hands.  We,  on  oni 
part,  feel  it  our  duty  to  acknowledge  that,  whatever  was 
achieved,  vas  mainly  due  to  the  loyal  co-operation  of  the 
Working  Committee,  the  cheerful  accommodating  spirit  <•(" 
the  scholars,  and  particularly  to  the  willing  help  always 
rendered  by  Professors  D.  D.  Kapadia  and  N.  D.  Minocher 
flomji  of  the  Deccan  College  and  by  Barrister  V.  P.  Vaidya 
and  Dr.  Zimmermann  of  Bombay.  These  gentlemen,  not 
only  gave  advice  whenever  consulted,  but  also  ungrudgingly 
did  every  service  that  was  required  of  them  in  the  interest  of 
the  First  Oriental  Conference.  In  common  with  them  and 
•ther  members  of  the  Working  Committee,  we  share  the  rare 
oomfori  of  having  served  unselfishly  a  great  and  noble  cause. 

P.  D.  GUNE, 
R.  D.  KARMARKAR, 
N.  B.  UTGIKAR, 
Honorary  Secretaries, 
First  Oriental  Conference, 

POONA. 


Sir  R.  G.  Bhandarkar,  President  of  the  First  Oriental  Conference,  Poona. 


THE 

FIRST  ORIENTAL  CONFERENCE,  POONA 


«^*^~ 


PROCEEDINGS 


I.    KIksi  WEDNESDAY,  THE  5TH  OF  NOVEMBER. 

11  A.  M.  to  1  P.  M. 


1.  The  First  Oriental  Conference  met  in  a  spacious 
pandal  erected  specially  for  the  purpose  in  front  of  the 
Bhandarkar  Institute,  at  11  A.  M.  on  Wednesday  the  5th  of 
November  1919.  Many  distinguished  persons  such  as  the 
Chief  of  Aundh,  the  Chief  of  Sangli,  the  Chief  of  Miraj,  the 
Yuvarajas  of  Aundh  and  Bhor,  the  Hon.  Sir  George  Carmai- 
ohael  and  Lady  Carmaichael,  the  Hon.  Sir  Ibrahim  Rahim- 
toola,  the  Hon.  Mr.  Curtis,  the  Hon.  Mr.  R.  P.  Paranjpye,  the 
Hon.  Mr.  Covernton  and  Mrs.  Covernton,  Mr.  G.  A.  Thomas 
and  Mrs.  Thomas,  Dr.  D.  Mackichan,  the  Hon.  Khan  Baha- 
dur Ibrahim  Haroon  Jaffar,  acd  the  Hon.  Mr.  Upasani 
among  others,  all  the  delegates  (vide  Appendix  A.)  and  some 
iive  hundred  visitors  were  in  attendance.  His  Excellency 
Sir  George  Lloyd,  G.  C.  I.  E.,  D.  S.  0.,  Governor  of  Bombay, 
and  Patron  of  the  Conference,  arrived  at  11  A  M.  precisely 
and  was  received  at  the  entrance  by  the  Chief  of  Aundh,  the 
Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee  and  the  Secretaries. 

The  proceedings  began  with  the  following  address  of 
welcome  by  Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya,  B.A.,  Bar-at-Law,  J.  P.,  Chair- 
man of  the  Reception  Committee. 

"  Yor  I. ami 

On  behalf  "l  "Hi-  Reception  Committee,  I  feol  great  plea- 
sure to  welcome    you   all   to   this  )  nferencc   of   the 


%  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Orientalists  in  India,  which  is  an  event  of  exceptional  in- 
terest and  importance  in  the  annals  of  learning  in  this 
country. 

The  idea  of  bringing  savants  of  different  countries  to- 
gether, where  they  can  make  acquaintances  and  discuss 
questions  of  Oriental  studies,  was  started  in  Europe  and  in 
the  year  1873  the  First  International  Congress  of  the  Orien- 
talists met  at  Paris,  that  great  city  of  learning,  arts  and  pro- 
gress. The  next  year  the  Congress  met  in  London,  a  place 
again  distinguished  for  its  interests  of  Commerce,  Educa- 
tional activities  and  Inauguration  of  Western  civilization  in 
India,  where  the  English  nation  has  undertaken  the  duties 
of  governing  the  people  of  different  languages,  of  varied  re- 
ligions and  of  a  vast  indigenous  literature,  which,  even  after 
the  work  of  centuries,  remains  only  partially  explored.  In 
this  the  2nd  Congress,  India  was  represented  by  no  less  a 
scholar  than  the  late  Mr.  Shankar  Pandurang  Pandit,  whose 
labour  in  the  research  of  the  Indian  literature,  recognized  on 
all  hands,  was  as  remarkable  as  his  services  to  the  country, 
both  as  a  distinguished  officer  of  the.  Governmeit  and  as  an 
administrator  of  an  Indian  State.  Several  Congresses  have 
met  thereafter  in  the  prominent  capitals  of  Europe  and  I  see 
here  amongst  us  some  of  the  learned  men  of  India,  who  were 
invited  there  and  who  made  impression  on  their  brethren, 
which  has  elicited  opinions  of  respect  and  admiration.  To 
name  some  of  them,  they  were  Dr.  Ramkrishna,  Dr.  J.  J. 
Modi,  the  late  Dr.  H.  H.  Dhruva,  and  other  younger  men 
most  of  whom  are  present  here. 

The  question  of  bringing  the  International  Congress  of 
Orientalists  to  India,  was  suggested  several  times,  but  was 
dropped  on  account  of  the  difficulties  of  long  distance  and 
the  time  that  the  European  scholars  may  not  be  able  to  spare, 
even  in  their  vacations.  In  the  meantime,  India  was  prepar- 
ing young  men  to  take  up  the  work  so  eminently  done  by 
their  aged  professors  and  friends.  Some  of  these  young  men 
proceeded  to  the  Universities  in  England  and  the  Continent 
and  studied  the  methods  for  which  European  scholarship  is 
distinguished  ;  while  others  imbibed  the  spirit  from  the  in- 
spiring example  of  Gurus  like  Sir  Ramkrishna.  As  a  result 
«lav  amongst  us  Indian  scholars  whose  distinction 


Proceedings.  3 

for  learning,  research  and  judgment  can  do  honour  even  to 
the  eminent  savants  under  whom  they  took  their  lessons  in 
the  Indian  and  European  Universities. 

In  response  to  the  general  desire  of  people  interested  in 
'riental  learning,  the  Bhaudarkar  Institute  proposed  to 
have  a  conference  in  India,  where  the  work  so  ably  com- 
menced in  Europe  and  carried  on  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
century,  would  be  continued  with  facilities  and  first-hand 
information,  which  could  be  easily  made  available  in  this 
country.  As  a  prominent  seat  of  learning  in  Western  India, 
as  the  residence  of  Sir  Ramkrishna  Bhandarkar,  whose  re- 
putation, not  only  in  India  but  in  the  whole  world,  as  an 
Orientalist  of  unprecedented  eminence,  remains  unchalleng- 
ed, Poona  suggested  itself  as  the  best  place  for  the  first  ga- 
thering of  this  importance.  Gentlemen  taking  interest  in 
the  question  were  consulted,  Government  and  learned  bodies 
were  approached  and  they  all  with  one  voice  agreed  to  sup- 
port. Your  Excellency's  Government  was  the  first  to  come 
forward  with  a  handsome  donation  of  Rs.  1500  -  and  the 
further  allowance  of  travelling  facilities  and  other  conces- 
sions to  the  scholars  of  this  province  who  proposed  to  attend 
the  Conference.  The  Imperial  Government  of  India  has 
been  pleased  to  send  us  Rs.  1000. '-.  The  Bengal  and  the 
United  Provinces  Governments  have  sanctioned  grants  of  Rs. 
1500-  and  Rs.  2000  -  respectively;  the  Government  of  Burma 
has  sanction  .00  -  and    allowed   similar   facilities   to 

scholars.  His  Most  Kxalted  Highness  the  Nizam  of  Hydera- 
bad, His  Highness  the  Gaekwar  of  Baroda  and  H.  H.  the 
Maharaja  of  Mysore  have  contributed  Rs.  1000  -  each  and 
have  further  favoured  us  by  sending  scholars  from  their 
States  with  exhibits  of  Manuscripts,  Inscriptions,  and  Coins 
for  our  Exhibition.  H.  II.  the  Maharaja  Holkar  of  Indore 
and  H.  H.  the  Maharaja  of  Bhavnagar,  H.  H.  the 
Maharaja  of  Dhrangadhra,  and  the  Administrator  of  Juna- 
gadh  State  have  each  contributed  Rs.  500-  Thakorsaheb 
Daulattinghji  of  Limbdi  a  good  student  of  Sanskrit 

"«  sent    Rs.     150  \    number   of  scholars   and 

gentlemen  interested  in  learnirg  have  become  Vice-patrons 
of  the  Conference  by  subscribing  Re.  100-  each. 


4  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Our  expenses  were  estimated  at  Rs.  8,000  to  10,000,  but 
the  mass  of  literature  sent  to  us  by  way  of  papers  by  scholars, 
has  far  exceeded  our  expectations,  and  I  should  consider  it 
fortunate  if  our  expenses  do  not  exceed  Rs.  15,000. 

The  Universities  of  Calcutta,  Bombay,  Punjab,  Allaha- 
bad and  Mysore  and  the  Council  of  Post-Graduate  Teaching 
at  Calcutta  have  sent  us  20  delegates.  Fourteen  learned 
Associations  and  Institutions  have  deputed  about  50  dele- 
gates. The  Museums  of  Calcutta,  Patna,  Bombay,  Madras, 
Rajkot,  Bhavnagar,  Bhopal,  Jodhpur,  the  Archaeological 
Departments  of  Mysore,  Baroda,  Madras,  Punjab  and  Bombay, 
and  the  Cama  Institute  have  sent  us  exhibits  of  antiquarian 
interest.  The  Governments  of  Baroda,  Gwalior,  Mysore, 
Bhavnagar  and  Jhalwar  have  deputed  special  representa- 
tives. Delegates  have  come  from  all  parts  of  India,  includ- 
ing such  distant  places  as  Kashmere  and  Ceylon. 

The  papers  sent  by  scholars,  which  number  about  120, 
deal  with  almost  all  the  different  branches  of  Oriental  learn- 
ing such  as  History,  Inscription-reading,  Philosophy,  Philo- 
logy— Vedic  and  Prakritic,  Numismatics,  and  several  other 
subjects  which  are  classified  by  us  under  twelve  heads.  The 
number  is  so  large  for  a  session  that  we  propose  to  work  by 
sectional  meetings. 

One  feature  of  our  Conference  will  be  to  discuss  a  scheme 
prepared  under  the  patronage  of  Shrimant  Balasaheb  Pant 
Pratinidhi  of  Aundh,  a  veritable  scholar  .  himself.  The 
scheme  relates  to  the  preparation  of  a  critical  edition  of  the 
MahSbharata,  the  great  epic  of  India.  The  question  of  the 
MahSbharata  is  being  discussed  in  Europe  for  the  last  fifty 
years.  The  preparation  of  an  authentic  edition  of  the  Maha- 
bhurata  is  beset  with  difficulties  which  would  dishearten  any 
scholar,  unless  he  is  supported  by  a  band  of  workers  who  are 
ready  to  devote,  perhaps,  their  whole  life  to  the  work.  Shri- 
mant Balasaheb  Pant  Pratinidhi  promises  us  help  which 
would  amount  to  nearly  a  lac  of  rupees,  which  is  about  a 
third  of  the  estimated  cost.  Scholars  as  to  whose  reliability 
we  have  no  doubt,  have  come  forward  to  help  us  and  a  small 
number  of  than  bavo  promised  to  exclusively   engage   them- 


Proceedings.  5 

selves  for  the  work  of  bringing  to  light  a  correct  and  criti- 
cally prepared  edition  of  the* Mahabharata,  which  is  the 
desideratum  of  each  and  every  scholar  of  Indian  learning. 

I  should  not  forget  to  mention  the  Institution  under 
whose  auspices  we  meet  here.  The  Bhandarkar  Oriental 
Research  Institute,  named  after  the  old  venerable  scholar 
whose  devotion  and  single-minded  exertions  for  the  propa- 
gation of  Sanskrit  learning  have  created  an  atmosphere  in 
Poona,  the  parallel  of  which  is  extremely  difficult  to  find, 
was  organised  by  the  young  scholars  as  a  memorial  to  their 
saintly  Guru,  who  to  them  is  an  ancient  Rsi  incarnate,  a 
man  of  pure  convictions  and  courage,  an  example  of  purity 
of  life,  purity  of  thought  and  purity  of  actions.  Sir  Dorabji 
Tata  and  the  late  Sir  Ratan  Tata  were  the  first  to  endow  the 
institution  with  a  magnificent  grant  of  Rs.  21,000  ~  from 
which  we  have  erected  the  Tata  Hall  for  the  Bhandarkar 
Institute.  Shet  Ilirji  Khetsey,  a  rich  Jain  merchant,  has 
made  an  equally  magnificent  grant  of  Rs.  25,000;-  for  adding 
a  wing  to  that  hall,  to  house  the  books  and  manuscripts  which 
we  have  and  which  we  may  hereafter  acquire.  There  are 
scholars  and  gentlemen  interested  in  the  work,  who  have  given 
contributions  and  they  are  nominated  patrons,  vice-patrons 
and  benefactors.  The  Government  of  Bombay  have  trans- 
ferred to  the  Institute  their  extremely  valuable  collection  of 
Sanskrit  and  other  manuscripts.  Sir  Ramkrishna  himself  has 
made  us  a  gift  of  his  whole  library,  nearly  3,000  volumes  of 
rare  merit.  This  Institute  takes  the  leading  part  in  all  the 
responsibilities  of  holding  this  conference.  On  behalf  of  this 
Institution  also,  I  welcome  you  and  say  that  we  greatly  ap- 
preciate the  kindness  and  consideration  of  Your  Excellency 
in  coming  here  to  grace  the  occasion  and  in  agreeing  to  open 
the  Conference.  I  will  now  request  Your  Excellency  to 
formally  open  the  Conference.  " 

3.  His  Excellency,  in  rising  to  open  the  Conference, 
made  the  following  Bpeecb  : — 

"  Mr.  Vaidya,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 

It  is  with  the  greatest  regret  that  I  have  to  announce  to 
you  that  Sir  Ramkrishna  Bhandarkar  is  too  unwell  to  attend 


6  First  Oriental  Conference. 

this  Conference.  In  view  of  all  that  he  has  done  to  bring 
about  this  Conference  here  at  Poona,  as  well  as  in  view  of 
the  affectionate  regard  and  esteem  with  which  his  name  is 
known  throughout  India,  I  am  sure  that  we  all  at  this 
Conference  shall  express  our  regrets  at  his  inability  to  be 
here,  and  our  desire  that  he  shall  soon  be  healthy  and  strong 
again,  and  able  to  pursue  the  work,  in  research  to  which  he 
has  given  so  much  time  and  attention. 

It  is  a  very  great  pleasure  to  me  to  come  to  the  opening 
of  this  Conference,  and  I  thank  you  very  heartily  for  the 
cordial  welcome  which  you  have  offered  to  me.  I  in  turn, 
as  the  head  of  this  Presidency,  would  like  not  only  to  extend 
my  warmest  welcome  to  all  those  distinguished  scholars 
who  have  done  us  the  honour  to  come  to  this  Conference 
from  all  parts  of  India,  but  to  express  the  satisfaction  which 
this  Presidency  feels  at  being  selected  as  the  scene  of  your 
first  deliberations.  I  trust  that  you  will  profit  by  your  stay 
among  us  and  will  go  away  with  pleasant  recollections  of 
this,  the  first  Conference  of  Orientalists  in  India. 

The  history  of  its  inception   is   an  interesting   one.     In- 
ternational  Congresses   of    Orientalists    have,   as   is   well- 
known,  been  regularly  held  in  the  various  capitals  of  Europe 
for   many   years   past.     At  the  Congress  that  was  held   at 
Copenhagen,  Professor  Macdonell  of  Oxford  put  forward   a 
proposal  that  one  of  these  Congresses   should   be    held    in 
India,  but  the  suggestion  had  to  be  discarded  for  several 
obvious  reasons.     After  this,  Professor  Macdonell  attempted 
to  arrange  for  a  meeting  of  the  Indian  section  of  the  Congress 
at  Calcutta.     This  proposal,  too,  fell  through  for  want  of 
support  in  India.     In  jb02  the  Conference  that   was  called 
the  Premier  <  kmgress  international  dea  elude*  dy  Extreme  Orient 
was  held  at  Hanoi  in  Tokin  under  the  auspices  of  the  Ecole 
Francuise  d' Extreme  Orient.     This  Congress  dealt  with  three 
out  of  the  usual  eleven  sections  dealt  with  by  the  European 
Conferences,  namely,  India,  China  and  Japan,  and   Further 
Jndia.     TIip  number   of  members   from   India  who  attendod 
this  Congress  was  very  small ;   but  the  proceedings  of  the 
Congress  attained,  as  I  understand,  a  ve  :y  high  standard  of 
scholarship,  and  on   the   whole  it  was  a  great  success.     In 


Prorfipilinga.  7 

1911,  Sir  Harcourt  Butler  called  a  meeting  of  distinguished 
Orientalists  in  India  at  Simla,  whore  very   interesting   dis- 
cussions  t<iok  place,  and   where  definite  proposals  were  put 
forward   hy    Professor   Vogel    for   the    establishment   of   an 
Oriental  Research  Institute  and  also  for  the  inception  of  a 
Congress  of  Orientalists  in  India.      As  the    result  of   these 
discussions  and  of  the  strong  desire  of  those  -fortunate    stu- 
dents who  had  come  in   touch   with   Sir  Ramkrishna  Bhan- 
darkar  to  do  honour  to  their  revered  Guru,   the   Bhandarkar 
Oriental  Research  Institute  of  Poona  was  founded   with  tbe 
help  of  the  generous  support  of  certain  public-minded   citi- 
zens of  Bombay,  at  least  one  of  whom  may  be  amongst  us 
to-day — I  refer  to  Sir  Dorab  Tata.     Last  year   the   Bhandar- 
kar Oriental  Research  Institute  conceived  the  idea  of  hold- 
ing an  All-India  Conference  on  the  model   suggested   by    Dr. 
Vogel,   and    tbey   accordingly    consulted    various    leading 
scholars  and  institutions  in  India,  all  of  whom   enthusiasti- 
cally acclaimed   the   idea.      The   Institute   thereupon 
up  the  matter  energetically,  and  this  Conference  at  which 
we  are  privileged  to  attend,  is  the  result  of  their  labours.     I 
am  sure  that  you  will  all  agree  with  me  that  Sir  Ramkrishna 
Bhandarkar  and  his  helpers  of  the  Oriental   Research    Insti- 
tute are  deserving  of  our  warmest  congratulations,  both  for 
the  courage  and  enthusiasm  with  which  they  have  organized 
the  Conference  and  for  their  good   fortune    in   having   such 
generous  supporters.     I  am  more  usually  in   the    position  of 
listening  to  requests  for  money  ;  but  to  day  it  is  my  task   to 
tender  thanks  to  all  who  have  supported  and  given  help  to  the 
present  Conference,  and  confidently  to  appeal  to  them  to 
give  their  generous  support  to  the  new  developments  which 
will,  I  am  convinced,  be  the  result  of  your  discussions  this 
week. 

The  purposes  which  have  been  in  view  in  holding  such  a 
Conference,  are  very  succinctly  laid  down  in  the  memorandum 
issued  by  the  Secretaries  to  the  Conference,  and  I  will  not 
repeat  them  here.  Such  Conferences  are  of  value  not  onl; 
the  scholars  throughout  the  world,  but  also  to  the  general 
public.  Those  present  have  the  advantage  of  meeting  each 
■her  and  >f  discussing  topics  of  mutual  interest  > -hilars 
■broad  will  read  with  interest  the  many  papers  which    have 


8  First  Oriental  Conference. 

been  contributed,  and  the  reports  of  the  work  of  the  Conference 
which  will  be  issued  later.  Lastly,  the  general  public  will 
have  the  interest  in  these  subjects  awakened  or  stimulated, 
and  fresh  enthusiasts  in  the  cause  of  Orientalism  in  India 
will  be  attracted. 

Sir  Ramkrishna  Bhandarkar,  in  the  address  which 
he  should  have  read  to  you,  but  which  will  now  be  read 
by  another  gentleman,  would  give  you  two  very  excellent 
pieces  of  advice.  He  will  tell  you  to  avoid  undue  artificia- 
lity and  to  preserve  a  sane  and  judicial  outlook  when  dis- 
cussing controversial  matters.  This  is  an  advice  which  it  is 
very  easy  to  give  on  the  platform,  but  extremely  difficult  to 
follow  when  we  are  involved  in  the  heat  of  our  favourite 
controversy.  It  is  not  rare  in  the  House  of  Commons  to  see 
two  honourable  members  criticising  each  other's  views  in 
the  most  unmeasured  terms,  and,  after  the  debate,  displaying 
every  symptom  of  personal  amity  and  mutual  respect.  And 
so  it  is  in  the  controversies  in  which  you  all,  I  am  sure, 
indulge.  Sir  Ramkrishna  will  tell  you  that  in  the  field  of 
critical  interpretation  of  historical  records,  Europe  has  given 
the  lead,  and  that  up  to  the  present,  the  great  bulk  of  critical 
appreciation  of  the  various  forms  of  ancient  Indian  record 
is  the  result  of  the  work  of  European  Orientalists.  Sir 
Ramkrishna  says  that  it  is  a  natural  tendency  for  an  Indian, 
when  discussing  the  past  of  India,  to  lay  stress  on  Indian 
influences;  and  for  a  European  to  stress  the  outside  influ- 
ences which  are  known-  to  have  so  largely  affected  the  early 
growth  of  institutions  in  India.  This  is  probably  quite  true, 
and  there  is  no  great  harm  in  it.  A  European  scholar  has 
the  advantage  of  taking  an  outside,  detached  point  of  view 
while  an  Indian  undoubtedly  profits  from  his  superior  apti- 
tude for  dealing  with  Sanskrit  and  the  mother  tongues  of 
India.  Up  till  now  the  work  done  by  European  Orientalists 
has  held  the  ground,  but  many  Indians  are  now  following  the 
inspiring  example  set  by  Sir  Ramkrishna  Bhandarkar  and 
will  soon  rival  their  European  Confreres  in  (he  Indian  branch 
of  Oriental  study.  The  holding  of  such  Conferences  as  this 
in  India  will.  I  hope,  serve  to  focus  the  attention  of  Euro- 
pean scholar?  on  the  very  valuable  work  that    is  being  done 


Pr<  9 

in  IimIii.  I  trust  that,  in  the  next  Conference  which  will  be 
held  in  India,  European  scholars  who  are  interested  in 
Indian  problems  will  be  invited  to  attend;  and  also  that 
more  Indians  will  find  time  and  opportunity  to  visit  Europe 
and  discuss  these  questions  with  their  brother  critics. 
Nothing  but  good  can  come  of  such  meetings.  The  preju- 
dices of  each  side  will  be  softened  by  debate  and  the  history 
of  the  past  will  be  seen  in  its  true  perspective. 

There  are  two  other  matters  to  which  I  would  draw  your 
attention.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  find  time  to  see  the  very 
interesting  collection  of  antiquities  of  all  kinds  which  have 
brought  together  by  the  kindness  of  many  Government-, 
States  and  Societies.  Such  a  collection  is  unique  and 
should  prove  of  very  great  interest  to  us  all.  Secondly,  I 
would  call  your  attention  to  the  tremendous  task  which  the 
Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute  has  taken  upon 
itself  with  the  encouragement  and  support  of  the  Chief  of 
Aundh,  whose  munificent  and  princely  donation  I  would 
warmly  acknowledge  to-day;  I  refer  to  the  critical  edition 
of  the  Mahdbhmrata  which  the  Institute  has  undertaken. 
This  is  a  monumental  task,  and,  if  undertaken  at  all,  must  be 
carried  through  with  the  greatest  care  and  completeness. 
Not  only  money  is  needed,  but  also  the  support  and  en- 
couragement of  all  Scholars  who  are  really  interested  in  the 
work.  I  trust  that  as  a  result  of  this  gathering,  this  project 
will  be  put  on  a  sound  footing. 

Well,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  I  do  not  propose  to  speak 
up<.n  any  technical  subject  this  morning;  for,  to  judge  by  the 
very  wide  range  of  subjects  on  your  programme,  you  will,  in 
the  time  at  your  disposal,  have  the  greatest  difficulty  in 
hearing  the  views  of  all  those  many  distinguished  scholars 
who  are  here  to-day.  I  have  always  taken  great  interest  in 
matters  antiquarian  and  Oriental,  both  before  I  arrived  in 
India  during  my  somewhat  extensive  travels  in  the  East,  and 
also  since  my  arrival  in  Bombay.  I  have  found  in  the 
Bombay  I 'residency  much  to  interest  me  in  the  many 
ancient  monuments  which  exist  atPoona,  Bijapur,  Ahmeda- 
bad,  Sholapur,  and  oven  in  Sind  ;  nnd  I  have  done  and  ftlf 
will  do  my  best  to  help  students  by  payimr  special  atte: 
F.  O.  C.  I.  | 


10  First  Oriental   Conference. 

to  the  preservation  of  such    ancient   monuments   and  other 
places  of  interest. 

I  cannot  conclude  without  congratulating  the  Secretaries 
to  this  Conference  on  the  very  able  way  in  which  they  have 
carried  out  the  organisation  of  the  meeting.  [  shall  follow 
your  doings  with  the  greatest  interest,  and  I  tr.ust  that  you 
will  all  enjoy  your  visit  to  Poona  and  will  profit  by  the 
discussions  and  by  the  friendships  which  you  will  make 
while  at  Poona. 

I  have  in  final  conclusion  to  express  the  very  great  regr- 
ets of  Lady  Lloyd,  who,  up  to  the  last  minute,  had  hoped  to 
come  here  to-day;  but  who,  owing  to  a  slight  riding  accident, 
is  not  quite  well  enough  to  attend;  otherwise  it  would  have 
given  her  the  greatest  pleasure  to  come  and  meet,  in  common 
with  myself,  the  distinguished  ladies  and  gentlemen  who 
have  come  to  this  Conference. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  much  pleasure  in  declaring  this 
Conference  open." 

4.  On  the  conclusion  of  His  Excellency's  speech,  Prin- 
cipal A.  C.  Woolner  of  the  Oriental  College,  Lahore,  rose  to 
propose  that  Sir  R.  G.  Bhandarkar  should  be  the  President 
of  the  First  Oriental  Conference.     Principal  Woolner   said  : 

"  Your  Excellency,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 

I  have  to  perform   the  pleasant  duty  of  proposing  that 
Sir  R.  G.  Bhandarkar  should  be  the  President  of  this  First 
Conference  of  Orientalists  in  India.     I  see  no  person  better 
fitted  for  the  task  than  Sir  Ramkrishna  Bhandarkar,  whose 
indefatiguable  energy  and  patience  in  the  cause  of  Oriental 
Research  for  over  half  a  century,  are  so  well  known.     From 
his  early  youth,  he  took  part  in  discussing  on  various  orien- 
tal subjects  with  such  scholars  as  Drs.   Weber,  Buhler  and 
Peterson.     It  was  against  the  latter,  that  he  so  successfully 
raaiu'ained  his  theory  about  the  date  of  Patanjali  which  has 
become  one  of  the  important  landmarks   in  ancient  Indian 
Chronology.      Sia  patient  search  for  MSS  and  the   carefully 
drawn  up   reports,  su  full   of  new  matter,  information  and 
research,  are  too  well  known  to  be  mentioned  here.     His 


Proi  11 

sphere  of  research  has  beoa  a  wide  one,   including  Archaeo- 
logy, Epigraphy .  t  1 1  istory,  Vedic  studies,   Phil 
of  the   Indian    Vernaculars   and  History    of    religioui    sects 

Dg  others.     Even  as  late  as  1913,   when   Sir   Kamkri 
was  in  failing  health  and  advanced  age  which  cost  him   his 
sight,  he  has  given  us  his  magnum  opiu 
and  minor  religious 

Professor  S.  Kuppuswami  Shastri  of  the  Presidency 
College,  Madras,  in  seconding  the  proposal  said  : — 

11  Youit  Excellence  ,  l  idxeb  and  Gentlemen, 

1  behmg  to  the  generation  of  scholars  who  can  be  called 
Sir  Ramkrishna's  literary  grand-children.  It  would  there- 
fore be  presumption  for  me  to  discant  upon  our  grand- 
father's qualities.     I  heartily  second  the  proposal." 

Upon  Prof.  S.  Khuda  Bukhsh  of  the  Calcutta  Univer- 
sity, and  Dr.  T.  K.  Laddu  of  the  Queen's  College,  Benares, 
supporting  the  proposal,  it  was  carried  with  acclamations. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  Sir  Ramkrishna  was  pre- 
vented from  attending  the  Conference  by  illness,  the  Con- 
ference proceeded  to  elect  two  Vice-Presidents  for  the 
conduct  of  business.  Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar  of  the  Calcutta 
University  proposed,  and  Prof.  Hiriyanna  of  the  Maharaja's 
College,  Mysore,  seconded,  that  Principal  A.  0,  Woolnor, 
and  Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana  be  elected  Vice-Presi- 
dents of  tl,r  First  Oriental  Conference.  The  proposal  was 
carried  unanimous] 

6.    After  this  Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya,  with   Sis  Exoellenc 
permission,  road  ;  i  letter  i  froi 

languished  per  a  ttfi  who  I  regret  at    not   I 

able    to    attend    the   Conference,    but    heartily    wished    it     a 
success. 

Lord   Willingdon  of   Madras,    First     President    of  the 
Bhandarkar    institute,    in    hii    letti  Chairman    of 

the  Reception  Commits 

i  am  sure  and  I  trust  the   (  not   will  be  a   great 

natural   interest   in   th< 


12  First  Oriented  Conference. 

opened  it,  and  the  gentleman  after  whom  it  is  named  will 
always  remain  to  me  a  great  personal  friend  and  one  to 
whom  India  owes  much  indeed  in  all  matters  of  education 
and  literary  advance." 

The  Chief  of  Ichalkaranji,  Vice-President  of  the  Insti- 
tute, wired  saying : — 

''  Regret  ill-health  prevents  me  from  doing  my  duty  to- 
wards the  Bhandarkar  Research  Institute  on  this  memorable 
occasion.  Please  convey  my  apologies  to  His  Excellency 
and  Sir  Ramkrishna  Bhandarkar." 


H.  H.  the  Yuvaraja  of  Mysore   wrote  wishing  the 
ference  a  success. 


Sir  Asutosh  Mookerjee,  President  of  the  Council  of  Post 
Graduate  Teaching,  Calcutta,  sent  a  telegram  to  the  follow 
ing  effect : — 


"  Please  convey  wannest  congratulations  to  Conference 
and  respectful  greetings  to  its  venerable  President." 


The  Hon.  Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malaviya,  Pro-Vice 
Chancellor  of  the  Benares  University,  telegraphed,  regret 
ting  inability  to  attend  and  wishing  the  Conference  ever 
success. 


. 


Sir  John  Marshall,  Director  General  of  Archaeology, 
while  regretting  inability  to  attend  the  Conference,  wished 
it  every  success. 

The  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  Mysore  University,  in  nil 
letter,  also  regretted  inability  to  attend  but  wished  the  Con- 
ference complete  success. 

Sir  P.  Arunachalam,  Member  of  the  Council,  Columbo, 
Ceylon,  regretted  inability  to  attend  the  Conference,  where 
he* had  looked  forward  to  meeting  many  scholars. 

Mi.  A.  Hwlari,  Secretary  to  the  Government  of  1 1  is 
Most  Exhalted  Highness  the  Nizam  in  the  Educational  and 
Judicial  Departments,  regretted  inability  to  attend  the  Con- 
ference, though  ho  had  bo  much  wished  and  liked  to 
stten 


' 


Proceedings.  ]  3 

Sir  Deva  Prasad  Sarvadhikari  of  Calcutta,  wished  the 
Conference  every  success  and  prayed  that  it  might  lead  to 
useful  and  tangible  result-. 

The  Vice-Chancellor  of  the  Patna  University  also  re- 
gp-tted  inability  to  attend. 

The  Hon.  Sir  D.  E.  Wacha,  the  Hon.  Rao  Bahadur  Sathe, 
among  others,  wished  the  Conference  every  success. 

7.     His  Excellency  then  called  upon  Prof.  V.  K.  Rajwade, 
Chairman  of  the  Executive  Board  of  the    Bhandarkar    Insti- 
tute, to   read   out   Sir    Ramkrishna's    Presidential   AdH 
Prof  Rajwade  rose  and  read  as  follows  : — 

"  YuiiR  EXCELLENCY,  LADIES   LHD  GEHTJ 

I  sincerely  thank  you  for  having  elected  me  President 
of  this  Conference.  My  only  qualification  for  this  post  is 
that  1  .am  the  oldest  of  you  all,  and  if  time  allows,  [ 
intend  to  give  you  an  illustration  of  my  age  by  mentioning 
the  several  controversies  which  I  have  carried  on  since  I 
began  life  as  a  scholar.  I  take  it  that  our  b:>dy  here  is  com- 
posed of  two  classes  of  learned  men,  those  educated  as 
Pandits  of  the  old  school  and  those  who  have  been  studying 
the  literature  of  the  country  and  the  inscriptions  and  the 
antiquities  which  are  found  scattered  in  the  different  pro- 
vinces, by  the  application  of  the  critical  and  comparative 
method.  As  to  the  former  class,  there  are  at  peresent  two 
Sastras  mostly  studied,  namely  Vyakarana  and  Nyaya.  In 
the  former,  Bhattoji  Dlksita*a  Sidddntahaumudi and  MdnoramS 
and  portions  of  Nagojlbhatta's  Stobiienduiekhara  and  hi.s  I 
ndusekJiara  and  the  Navahniki  and  the  Angadhi 
from  Patau  jali's  MahabhSsya  are  taught.  My  only  sugges- 
tion with  reference  to  this  is,  that  the  MakdbhUsya  is  such  an 
important  and  informing  work  that  it  should  be  the  aim  of 
the  Vaiyakarana  school  to  read  the  whole  of  it  with  its  pupils. 
f  had  an  occasion  in  connection  with  a  controversy  to  give 
Hip  correct  sense  of  tho  passage  of  the  MahdbhUqya  in  P.  \ 
S,  99  given  in  the  footnote.      My  diffioultj  tras  gn 

it :  t  *?-ini-  it:  »?aft  »fm>rTFTro 


14  First  Oriental  Conference. 

cially  because  Nagojibhatta  in  his  Uddyota  on  the  passage  in- 
terprets Maury  as  as  manufacturers  of  idols.  I  consulted 
learned  grammar  pandits,  but  they  were  not  able  to  give  me 
the  correct  sense  off-hand,  because  this  portion  of  the  Maha- 
bhSsya  does  not  come  within  the  range  of  their  studies.  I 
then  wrote  a  Sanskrit  commentary  on  the  passage  ,  and 
they  saw  the  propriety  of  taking  Mauryas  as  a  race  of  prin- 
ces. My  interpretation,  that  the  Mauryas  are  spoken  of  in 
the  passage  as  having  used  golden  images  for  their  purpose 
when  they  were  in  need  of  gold,  was  accepted  by'Prof.  Kiel- 
horn  who  was  opposed  to  me  in  that  portion  of  the  contro- 
versy, as  he  wrote  to  me  in  a  private  letter  and  did  not  con- 
test my  view  again  in  the  Indian  Antiquary  for  1887,  in  which 
the  controversy  was  carried  on. 

The  other  school,  that  of  the  Nyaya,  deals  with  what  is 
called  the  Navya  (  or  modern  )  Nyaya,  based  upon  the  Tahn- 
cintamani  composed  by  Gahgesopadhyaya  of  Bengal,  the 
many  abstruse  commentaries  beginnining  with  the  Didhiti 
of  Raghunathabbatta  Siromani,  and  ending  with  the  JugadHi 
of  Jagadlsa  Bhattacarya  and  the  Gadadharl  of  Gadadhara 
Bhattacarya,  are  taught  and  studied  in  this  school. 

The  whole  learning  has  become  extremely  artificial  and 
the  student  of  this  school  acquires  a  certain  intellectual 
acumen,  which,  however,  is  not  of  much  use  in  ordinary 
matters.  It  is  very  unfortunate  that  this  modern  Nyaya 
hould  have  driven  out  of  the  field  the  system  of  Logic  and 
Didactics  or  Nyaya  founded  by  Gautama  and  elucidated  by 
Vatsyayana  in  his  Nyayabhasya,  for  about  the  time  when  this 
Bhasya  was  written,  the  Buddhist  Mahayana  school  had  ac- 
quired prominence  and  the  two  systems  carried  on  controver- 
vrhicfa  are  interesting  to  students  of  the  progress  of 
thought.  Vacaspati  gives  some  valuable  information  about 
this  point  and  I  have  given  elsewhere  a  translation  of  his 
remark  in  the  following  words  : — "  The  revered  Aksapada 
having  composed  the  Sastra  calculated  to  lead  to  eternal 
and  an  exposition  of  it  ha'  fiven  by  Paksila- 

swamin,  what   is   it   that    remains     and     requires     that    a 
should    be    composed?      Though    the    author     of 
the    Phis:,:    ha  an  exposition   of  the    Sastra,  still 


Proa  15 

modern  scholar-  like  Dinntga  and  others  having  env.  loped 
it  in  the  darkness  of  fallacious  arguments,  (hat  exposi- 
tion is  not  sufficient  for  determining  the  truth  Hence 
the  author  of  the  Uddyota  'he  darkness  by  his  work 

the  Uddyota,  i.  e.,  light  (torch.)'*.  On  this  Uddyota  there  is 
a  commentary  by  Vacaspati  himself,  entitled  Vurtihi- 
tutparyatika  and  on  this  again  Udayana  wrote  the  TStparya- 
parisuddhi.  These  works  represent  the  Rrahmanic  side  of 
the  argumentation  with  the  Mahaynnists  and  a  study  of 
them  would  be  both  interesting  and  Instructive.  But  this 
uly  has  disappeared  before  the  oumbroui  subtleties  <>f  the 
modern  Nyaya.  Still,  however,  I  hear  that  some  of  these 
works  are  read  in  the  Mithila"  country. 

There  are  other  schools  also  which  might  be   styled   (  i  ) 
the  literary,   (  ii  )  the  medical    and   (  iii  )    the    astronomical 
or   astrological    schools.       In    connection    with    the    Si 
Kavyas,     dramatic    plays    and     works      on    Poetics    such 
as  the   Kuvalayananda,  the  KavyaprakUia  and  the  rfigU 

dhara  are  generally  taught  and  studied.  The  coarse 
of  this  school  might  be  improved  by  including  some  of 
the  works  alluded  to  in  the  last  two  treatises.  As  to 
the  other  two  schools  I  have  nothing  to  say.  I  am  not 
aware,  whether  in  any  of  the  indigenous  establishments, 
there  exists  a  Mimamsa  school;  but  I  think  that  there  ought 
to  be  such  a  school  in  connection  with  Dharmasastra  in 
which  the  most  important  treatises  on  religious  and  civil 
law  should  be  taught  and  the  rules  of  interpretation  given 
by  the  Mimamsakas  applied  for  the  decision  of  legal  points. 
I  consider  it  advisable  that  in  connection  with  this  Dharma- 
and  Mimamsa  school  the  oldest  treatises,  the  flhosya 
or.  in  and  the  Viirtikas  of  Kumarilabhatta  should 

e  tudied. 

to  the  other  class  of  our  body  I 
of  critical  scholars,  the  first  thing  we  have  to   bear   in    mind 
study  of  thi  n    literature,   inscriptions  and 

•  ling  to  the  critical  and  comparative    method 

I  adian 

d    civilization,    is   prim  iy. 

aim,   therefore,  should  be  to  closely  observe  the  manner 


16 


First  Orient  id  Conference, 


in  which  the  study  is  carried  on  by  European  scholars  and 
adopt  such  of  their  methods  as  recommend  themselves  to  our 
awakened  intellect.  To  an  intelligent  man  this  ought  to  be 
enough  to  qualify  him  for  the  pursuit  of  critical  scholarship, 
and  the  Government  of  India  seemed,  at  the  Conference  held 
at  Simla  in  1911,  to  favour  the  idea  of  opening  Research  Ins- 
titutes at  the  Capital  City  and  presidency-towns;  but  sub- 
sequent events  led  to  the  idea  being  set  aside,  and  instead,  the 
Government  provisionally  adopted  the  plan  of  sending  quali- 
fied Indians  to  Europe  and  America  to  be  trained  under 
famous  Western  scholars.  We  have  now  among  us  several 
gentlemen,  who  have  returned  after  serving  out  their  period 
of  apprenticeship.  There  are  others  among  us,  who  have 
qualified  themselves  for  the  purpose  by  the  method  alluded 
to  above  by  me. 

Between  the  Western  and  Indian  scholars  a  spirit  of  co- 
operation should  prevail  and  not  a  spirit  of  depreciation  of 
each  other.  We  have  but  one  common  object,  the  discovery 
of  the  truth.  Both,  however,  have  prepossessions  and  even 
prejudices,  and  the  same  evidence  may  lead  to  their  arriving 
at  different  conclusions.  Often,  however,  when  controversies 
are  carried  on,  the  truth  comes  out  prominently,  and  there  is 
a  general  acquiescence  when  it  does  so.  To  express  the  same 
idea  in  other  words,  the  angle  of  vision,  if  I  may  use  an  ex- 
pression that  has  become  hackneyed,  may  be  and  is  different. 
The  Indian's  tendency  may  be  towards  rejecting  foreign 
influence  on  the  development  of  his  country's  civilization 
and  to  claim  high  antiquity  for  some  of  the  occurrences  in 
its  history."  On  the  other  hand  the  European  scholar's  ten- 
dency is  to  trace  Greek,  Roman  or  Christian  influence  at 
work  in  the  evolution  of  new  points,  and  to  modernize  the 
Indian  historical  and  literary  events.  It  is  on  this  account' 
that  there  has  been  no  consensus  of  opinion  as  to  the  appro- 

*  The  rotable  instances  of  the  former  are  afforded  by  the  persistent 
efforts  made  by  some  of  us  to  prove  that  the  twelve  signs  of  the  Zodi 
not  adopted  by  the  Hindus  from  the  Greeks,  though  names  of  the  signs  are 
the  translations  of  the  Greek  names,  and  even  these  last  are  given  in  a 
ver9e  of  Varahamihira.  Garga,  as  quoted  by  the  latter  states,  "The  x 
nas  are  the  Mlecchas  among  whom  this  Sffstra  (  astronomy  and  astrology) 
is  well  known  ;  they  even  are  worshipped  like  Rsis." 


17 

ximate  period  when  the  most  ancient  portion  of  the  hymns 
of  the  ftgveda  was  composed.  Some  refuse  to  assign  it  a 
higher  antiquity  than  15  centuries  before  Christ,  while  others 
carry  it  far  to  the  beginning  of  Kaliyuga,  i.  e  to  about  S101 
B.  0.  A  scholar  may  have  conceived  a  prejudice  against 
the  Indian  race  and  may  look  down  upon  the  Vedic  I 
Thus  our  critical  method  is  unfortunately  too  often 
vitiated  by  extraneous  influences.  But  this  probably  is  due 
to  human  weakness.  A  critical  scholar  should  consider  his 
function  to  be  just  like  that  of  a  judge  in  a  law-court;  but 
even  there  human  weakness  operates,  and  renders  a  number 
of  appeals  necessary,  so  that  one  judge  differs  from  another, 
and  so  does  one  critical  scholar  from  another. 

Now  as  to  the  subjects  to  which  our  critical  studies  are 
directed,  the  principal  one  is  that  of  the  interpretation  of  the 
Vedas.  This  has  been  the  monopoly  of  the  European  schol- 
ars and  we  Indians  have  not  taken  any  considerable  part  in 
it.  But  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  we  should  enter 
the  field.  A  European  scholar  may  give  up  the  function  of  a 
judge  which  I  have  attributed  to  him,  and  assume  that  of  a 
prosecuting  counsel.  A  certain  individual,  looking  to  what 
are  called  the  Danastutis  or  praises  of  gifts,  has  given  it  as 
his  general  opinion  that  the  old  Rsis  or  seers  had  no  higher 
aim  than  the  materialistic  one — the  acquisition  of  wealth. 
Thus  he  bases  a  universal  judgment  on  what  he  finds  in 
about  15  or  16  hymns  out  of  1017.  In  the  same  Vasistba 
Mandala  in  which  he  finds  such  a  praise  of  gifts  (  hymn  18  ), 
there  are  the  outpourings  of  a  contrite  heart  afflicted  with 
a  deep  sense  of  sinfulness,  and  humbly  begging  to  be  forgiven, 
uch  points  as  this  last,  do  not  attract  the  attention  of 
the  posecuting  counsel.     Then  again  the  same  scholar  asserts 

"  The  hymns  of  the  Rgvedn  are  for  the  most  part  com- 
posed with  the  technical  object  of  some  ritual  and  this  object 
stands  quite  near  to  the  later  ritual."  This  is  perfectly 
wrong.     The    Rgveda  collection   has  been   treated  from    the 

-  of  the  Aitureijd  Brahmana  down  to  the  present  day,  as  a 
storehouse  of  sacred  texts  to  be  uttered  and  used  whenever 
any  new  ceremony  has  to  he  sanctified.  Thus  the  Brah- 
mana  again    and    again   states   "  that 

sess  of  the  sacrificial  woi  hip,  whioh  is  1   an 

F.<J.  C.  1.  6 


18  First  Oriental  Conference. 

appropriate  form,  i.  e.,  when  the  act  performed  is  alluded  to 
by  the  Rgveda."  This  rule  has  been  followed  by  all  writers 
on  later  ceremonies.  The  resemblance  between  the  verse 
and  the  act  may  be  simply  verbal  as  in  the  prescription  of 
sukran  te,  etc'  (  Rgveda  VI,  58,  1.  )  in  vhich  there  is  a  men- 
tion of  the  bright  form  (  sukra  )  of  Pusan,  i.  e.,  his  form  dur- 
ing the  continuance  of  the  day,  to  the  invocation  of  Sukra 
or  the  planet  Venus  in  the  ceremony  called  the  '  Grahama- 
kha.'  And  this  adaptation  of  different  Rgveda  verses  for  the 
performance  of  the  Soma  services  also,  such  as  a  Sastra  re- 
peated by  the  Hota,  i.  e.  a  priest,  and  for  the  choice  of  the 
Anuvakya  and  Yajya  verses,  is  apparent  from  the  services 
and  the  verses  themselves,  so  that  there  is  no  question  that 
the  hymns  of  the  Rgveda  form  the  storehouse  for  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  services  required  for  rites  that  came  on  in  later 
times.  (  See  my  Report  for  1883—1884  pages  32  ff. ).  Thus 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  Rgveda  hymns  were  mostly  composed 
for  purposes  other  than  those  connected  with  the  sacrificial 
ritual  and  there  are  a  great  many  hymns  which  are  to  be 
recited  in  the  morning  on  the  first  day  of  the  Soma  sacrifice 
( prataranuvaka  ),  which  are  addressed  to  Agni,  Usas,  and 
the  Asvins.  The  commentator  on  the  Asv.  Sr.  Sidra  ( IV,  15, 
11  )  states  that  Usas  has  nothing  to  do  with  Soma  sacrifice  ; 
still  as  the  goddess  is  connected  with  the  preceeding  Agni 
and  the  following  Asvins,  hymns  to  her  are  intended  in  this 
list.  Thus  the  theory  that  the  hymns  to  the  Vedic  deities  were 
inspired  by  the  poetic  inspiration  of  beauty  holds  its  ground 
firmly,  notwithstanding  the  assertions  of  the  above  mentioned 
prosecuting  counsel  of  a  scholar.  The  three  deities,  Agni, 
Us  as  and  Asvins  are  represented  as  manifesting  themselves 
in  the  morning.  The  old  Aryans  were  accustomed  to  rise 
very  early  and  enjoy  the  beauty  of  the  Dawn  and  its  thick- 
ening away  into  brighter  light.  It  will  be  seen  from  all  this 
that  the  cult  followed  the  composition  of  hymns  and  did  not 
precede  it  in  a  far  outweighing  measure. 

Then  again  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  throw  dis- 
credit on  the  ritual  prescribed  in  the  Grhyasutras,  and 
the  Srautasutras,  by  tracing  them  to  the  practices  of 
savages  like  the  Red  Indians  of  America;  and  even  the 
Upanayana  and  the   marriage   ceremonies   of  the  domestic 


P r or p M i tig  8.  19 

rites  and  the  Dlksa  ceremony  are  treated  similarly.  But 
the  main  points  involved  in  these  ceremonies  are  neglected. 
The  priest  in  the  case  of  Upanayana,  is  the  father  of 
the  boy  himself  and  not  a  developed  form  of  the  "  medicine- 
man" of  the  barbarians.  The  boy  is  dedicated  to  the  service 
of  the  God  Savitar  in  the  words  "  0  God  Savitar,  this  is  thy 
Brahmacarin;  preserve  him,  may  he  not  die";  and  tie 
object  of  the  ceremony  is  not  to  scare  away  the  evil  spirits 
if  whom  the  Acarya  (ft  father  is  afraid.  The  putting  on  of 
the  hide  of  an  antelope  in  the  Diksa  and  other  ceremonies, 
the  fasting  which  precedes  them,  and  suoh  other  practices 
came  down  to  the  Hindus  from  their  residence  in  the  forest, 
where  the  antelope  was  a  familiar  figure,  and  from  the 
necessity  of  preserving  the  body  in  an  unencumbered  con- 
dition before  the  performance  of  any  rite.  This  is  done  even 
at  the  present  day  when  the  Brahmins  have  to  perform  holy 
functions  such  as  meditation,  celebration  of  the  birth  of 
such  a  god  as  Krsna,  the  performance  of  the  Sraddha  cere- 
mony, etc.,  and  these  practices  are  certainly  by  no  means  to 
be  traced  to  the  weird  performances  of  the  medicine-man 
of  the  savages.  The  question  of  magic  rites  is  an  indepen- 
dent one  and  should  not  be  confounded  with  the  cults  pres- 
cribed in  the  Sutras.  As  shown  by  an  inscription,  regarding 
a  treaty  between  the  king  of  the  Hittites  and  the  king  of 
Mitani,  found  in  Asia  Minor,  the  Aryans  who  ultimately 
migrated  to  India  were  the  neighbours,  of  [the  Assyrians  or 
Asuryas  and  must  have  learnt  from  their  connection  with 
these  and  the  Babylonians  the  art  of  magic,  and  the  subse- 
quent composition  of  the  Atharva-veda  must  have  been  great- 
ly influenced  by  this  circumstance.  Therefore,  whatever 
weird  and  magical  practices  are  to  be  found  in  Hinduism 
of  the  day,  are  not  unlikely  to  be  traced  to  this  source. 

Notwithstanding  such  aberrations  of  scholars  as  we  have 
noticed,  European  scholarship  deserves  our  highest  respect, 
and  the  erring  individuals  are  corrected  by  other  scholars 
and  on  the  whole  no  great  harm  is  done.  Still,  we  Indian 
scholars  ought  to  devote  ourselves  strenuously  to  Vedic 
study.  Yaska  tells  us  that  a  science  should  not  be  taught 
'tnmunicated  to  a  fault-finding  or  prejudiced  man  and 
the  mood  to  be  observed  in  studying  a  subir  vccording 


20  First  Oriental  Conference. 

to  the  Bhagavadgitu,  that  of  Sraddha,  i.  e.,  a  disposition  to 
receive  whatever  strikes  as  reasonable  or  an  attitude  of 
open-mindedness.  We  are  likely  to  be  more  actuated  by  this 
spirit  in  the  study  of  our  Vedas  than  any  foreign  nation. 
Still  those  of  us  who  have  not  become  critical  scholars  by 
closely  observing  the  method  of  European  scholars,  or  serv- 
ing out  a  period  of  apprenticeship  to  them,  exhibit,  a  number 
of  faults  and  weaknesses  which  entirely  vitiate  their  reason- 
ing. A  young  man,  the  editor  of  a  good  many  Sanskrit 
works,  asks  me  with  a  derisive  smile  what  the  necessity  was 
of  naming  a  MS.,  showing  the  country  it  came  from,  and  the 
age  in  which  it  was  written,  when  the  mere  fact  of  its 
presenting  a  varied  reading  is  enough  for  all  purpose?.  He 
did  not  know  that  when  a  judge  noted  down  the  age  of  a 
witness  appearing  before  him,  the  name  of  the  caste  or  the 
community  or  country  to  which  he  belonged,  he  got  informa- 
tion from  him  which  had  a  value  in  the  estimate  of  the 
evidence.  Similarly  anotLer  young  man,  not  fully  acquaint- 
ed with  the  critical  method,  said  that  Namadeva  and  Jrlana- 
deva  were  contemporaries  but  that  the  difference  between 
their  languages  was  due  to  the  mistakes  of  successive  scribes. 
He  thus  believed  that  the  scribes  could  reconstitute  the 
grammar  and  lexicon  of  a  language,  forgetting  to  ask  him- 
self why  the  marvels  effected  by  the  scribes  in  the  case  of 
Namadeva  should  not  have  been  effected  by  them  in  the 
case  of  Jnanadeva  himself,  whose  language  they  had  not 
altered.  I  do  not  give  these  as  solitary  instances  but  as  due 
to  the  working  of  a  spirit  which  has  rendered  Jnaneswara, 
the  author  of  Jilaneswari,  which  does  not  contain  the  name 
of  God  Vithoba  at  all  and  whose  Marathi  is  very  archaic, 
to  be  the  same  individual  as  the  author  of  the  Haripatha, 
whose  abhangas  teem  with  allusions  to  Vithoba,  and  Rakhu- 
mai  and  whose  language  considerably  approaches  modern 
Marathi.  The  Marathi  literature  which  has  come  down  to 
us  is  full  of  such  strange  theories.  It  is  a  very  disagreeable 
matter  to  dwell  at  this  length  en  the  faults  of  our  Indian 
scholars,  but  it  is  an  allegiance  which  I  owe  to  truth. 

The  study  of  Vedantism  among  European  scholars  is 
dominated  by  the  views  of  Prof.  Deussen,  who  is  a  follower 
of  Sankaracarya's  system  of  world-illusion  and  the  spiritual 


Proceed  inqs.  21 

monism,  but  it  is  wonderful  that  nobody  should  have  pene- 
trated below  the  surface  of  the  question  and  seen  that  it  is 
not  one  system  that  the  Upanisads  teach,  but  several,  incon- 
sistent with  each  other  and  each  supported  by  an  Upanitad 
text  (see  the  Introductory  chapter  of  my  Vaiqnavhm  and 
s.iii  ism  etc.).  I  have  already  alluded,  in  connection  with  the 
modern  system  of  Nyaya  which  forms  the  stock-learning  of 
the  existing  Nyaya  school,  to  the  growth  of  a  controversy 
between  the  Brahmins  and  the  Mahayana  Buddhists,  the 
Brahmanic  side  of  which  is  represented  by  Vatsyayana, 
Bharadvaja,  etc.,  and  the  Buddhistic  side  by  Dinnaga  and 
others.  This  controversy  might  well  form  the  subject  of 
close  study  among  modern  critical  scholars  and  perhaps 
even  a  clue  to  Sahkaracarya's  theory  of  world-illusion  might 
be  found  in  the  Nihilism  of  the  Buddhist  Mahayana  school. 

Another  very  important  branch  of  our  study  is  that  of 
inscriptions,  which  are  scattered  over  the  whole  country  and 
are  engraved  on  stones  or  on  copper-plates.  These  last  are 
mostly  deeds  of  gifts  of  villages  or  of  the  revenues  of  villages 
to  Brahmins  or  for  the  support  of  temples  and  other  religious 
establishments.  These  deeds  contain  the  pedigrees  of  the 
donating  monarch,  with  notices  of  important  points  in  the 
careers  of  his  ancestors  and  in  that  of  the  reigning  monarch 
himself.  These  notices  have  a  historical  value  which  must  be 
judged  of  by  our  usual  canons  of  criticism.  We  are  thus  ena- 
bled to  reconstitute  sketches  of  dynasties  and  of  the  principal 
points  in  the  history  of  the  provinces  concerned  The  ins- 
criptions on  stones  contain  records  of  specific  events  which 
enable  us  to  find  a  clue  to  the  progress  of  the  occurrences 
described  therein.  We  should  be  groping  in  the  dark  if  there 
were  no  chronological  light  thro  vn  on  the  events  recorded  in 
our  reconstituted  sketches.  Such  chronology  we  have  for 
post-Christian  occurrences.  We  have  an  era  which  original- 
ly dated  from  the  coronation  of  a  Saka  king  and  was  called 
also  the  Era  of  Saka  kings.  By  a  mistake  in  identification, 
such  as  those  we  have  noticed  in  our  vernacular  literature, 
the  name  of  the  Saka  king  was  supplanted  and  that  of  the 
Salivahana  or  Satavahana  Dynasty  which  followed  those 
kings  was  substituted  in  its  place.  In  the  usual  practice,  the 
two  names  are  put  together  and  the  era  is  called  "Salivahana 


22  First  Oriental  Conference- 

Saka"  which  can  denote  the  names  borne  by   two   dynasties. 
There  is  another  era  to  which  the  name  of  Vikramaditya   is 
attached.     There  is  a  third  bearing  the  name   of  the   Gupta 
princes,  which  has  been  in  use  for  some  centuries.    Its  initial 
date,  as  compared  with  the  Saka  era,  was  given  by  the  Arabic 
writer  Alberuni  as  242  Saka,  but   unfortunately   that   writer 
stated  it  to  be  the  era  of  the  extinction  of  the  Gupta  dynasty 
It  was  however  found  to  have  been  used  by  the  Gupta  princes' 
themselves  and  hence  scholars   and    antiquarians   not   only 
disbelieved  this  fact,  but  threw  discredit  on  Alberuni's   state- 
ment of  the  initial  date   of  Gupta  era.      Long  and  pungent 
controversies  followed  on  this  matter,  new   initial   dates  for 
the  Gupta  era  being  proposed.     I  also  took  part  in   the   con- 
troversy and  my  conclusion,  recorded  at  the   end    of  a   note 
in  the  Appendix  A  to  the  second  edition  of  my  Early  History 
of  the  Deccan,  is  as   follows  : — "  Thus,  then,  the  evidence   in 
favour  of  Alberuni's  initial  date  for  the   Gupta   era   appears 
to  me   to   be   simply   overwhelming."      Subsequently   in   an 
article  in  the  Indian  Antiquary.  Vol.  XLII  pp.  199  etc.,  I  had 
to  consider  the  relation  between  the  dates  found   in   Manda- 
sor  inscriptions.     These  dates  are  given   as   the    years   that 
had  elapsed  after  the  constitution  of  the  Malavas  as  a  Gana 
or  a  political  unit.     This  Malavagana  came  afterwards  to  be 
identified  with  the  name  of  Vikramaditya,  just  as   the   Saka 
era  came  to  be  associated  with  the   name   of  Salivahana   or 
Satavahana.    The  only  Vikramaditya  that  became   famous, 
after  the  institution  of  the  era  of  the   political   unity    of  the 
Malavas,  was  Candragupta  III  of  the  imperial  Gupta  dynasty, 
who  came  to  the  throne  about  A.    D.  400,  conquered  Ujjain, 
made  it  one  of  his  capital  cities,  drove  out  the  Sakas  and  was 
consequently  called  Sakari.      These  two   eras   then,  that  of 
the  Saka  and  that  of  Vikrama  have   become   our  guides    in 
determining   the   chronology   of  the    post-Christian   occur- 
rences. 

Another  source  of  information  is  that  which  is  afforded 
by  comparison  of  the  statements  by  foreign  writers  with 
those  found  in  the  indigenous  records.  Thus  Megasthenes 
is  mentioned  by  Greek  writers  as  an  ambassador  sent  by 
Selukos  to  the  court  of  Sandracotta.  Sandrasotta  is  the 
same  as  Candagutta,  the  popular  pronunciation  of  the  Sansk. 


Proceedings.  23 

rit  Candragupta.     Hence  we  gather  the   contemporaneity   of 
Candragupta,  the  Maurya,  with  Selukos. 

Similarly,  in  the  inscriptions  of  Asoka  "Antiyoko  nama 
Yona  Raja"  is*mentioned  as  a  friend  of  Asoka,  as  also  four 
others  associated  with  Antiocus.  Thus  the  age  of  Candra- 
gupta is  about  325-315  B.  C.  and  of  Asoka's  coronation  I 
about  269  B.  C.  Similarly  we  gather  chronological  infor- 
mation through  the  comparison  of  Chinese  literature  with 
the  Indian.  The  Karikas  of  Isvarakrsna  on  Sahkhya  philo- 
sophy and  its  commentary,  for  instance,  was  translated  into 
Chinese  between  the  years  557  A.  D.  and  569  A.  D.  Pulakesin 
came  to  the  throne  in  610  A.  D.  and  was  the  only  southern 
monarch,  to  conquer  whom  the  efforts  of  Siladitya  or  Harsa- 
vardhana  proved  fruitless ;  he  remained  an  independent 
sovereign.  These  facts  are  gathered  from  the  writings  of 
Hiuen  Tsang  and  our  copper-plate  inscriptions,  which  tally 
with  each  other. 

In  this  field  of  the  study  of  inscriptions,  the  most  con- 
fusing points  are  those  connected  with  the  dynasty  of 
Kaniska.  It  is  a  great  desideratum  that  all  inscriptions  and 
other  scraps  of  information  connected  with  the  family, 
should  be  brought  together  and  attempts  should  be  made  to 
fix  their  dates.  No  such  comprehensive  attempt  has,  I 
believe,  been  yet  made,  and  it  is  now  left  to  those  of  us  who 
have  paid  special  attention  to  this  branch  of  our  study,  to 
make  it.  The  EpigrapMa  fndica  has  been  doing  good  service 
by  the  discovery  and  publication  of  new  inscriptions  and 
the  whole  department  of  Archaeology  is  devoted  to  making 
excavations  and  bringing  to  light  new  sources  of  informa- 
tion. Such  a  source  is  that  of  a  Greek  of  the  name  Heliodora, 
having  been  discovered  by  means  of  an  inscription  at  Bes- 
nagar,  as  a  Bhagavata  and  a  worshipper  of  Vasudeva,  the 
rise  of  this  sect  being  shown  as  early  as  the  2nd  Century 
before  the  Christian  era  (  See  my  lrais>iarism  etc.  pp.  3-4)- 
The  field  of  research  in  this  connection  is  extensive  ;  to  cul- 
tivate it  and  to  bring  out  fruitful  results,  it  is  necessary  that 
more  of  us  should  devote  themselves  to  the  subject. 

During  the  period  that  I  have  been  workinK  in  this    line, 
1  have  had  to  take    part    in   several    controversies.      One   of 


24  First  Oriental  Conference. 

these  I  have  already  mentioned,  and  that  is  about  the  Gupta 
era.  I  now  close  the  address  by  briefly  setting  forth  the  points 
involved  in  one  that  is  still  agitating  us,  and  that  is  about 
the  genuineness  of  the  Aithasastra  attributed  to  Kautilya, 
which  has  been  recently  discovered.  Prof.  Jacohi  believes 
that  it  is  the  production  of  Canakya  or  Visnugupta,  who 
overthrew  the  Nandas  and  raised  Candragupta,  the  Maurya, 
to  the  throne.  Prof.  Hillebrandt,  on  the  other  hand,  attri- 
butes the  authorship  to  a  member  of  the  school  of  Kautilya 
and  not  to  the  great  Canakya  himself.  The  point  I  wish  to 
make  out  is  that  it  was  not  written  so  early  as  in  the  times 
of  Candragupta,  the  Maurya,  but  later.  The  earliest  notice 
of  Kautilya's  work  is  that  contained  in  the  Kamasutra  of 
VatSyayana,  in  which  occur  a  number  of  passages  which  are 
the  same  as  in  Kautilya.  It  is  then  mentioned  by  Kaman- 
daka  in  the  third  century,  by  Dandinin  the  sixth  century  and 
by  Bana  in  the  seventh  century  A.  D.  But  its  existence  is 
noticed  by  no  writer  earlier  than  Vatsyayana's  Kamasutra. 
Patanjal1',  the  author  of  MaKdbkasya,  throws  side-glances  on 
the  things  existing  in  or.about  his  time.  He  mentions  the 
Candragupta-Sabha,  the  greed  of  the  Mauryas  for  gold  and 
their  selling  golden  idols,  and  the  beating  and  the  sounding 
of  the  Mrdanga,  Sankha  andPanava  in  the  temples  of  Kubrera, 
Rama  and  Kesava,  the  existence  of  a  sect  of  Sivabhagavatas 
holding  an  iron  lance  in  their  hands.  In  the  extent  of  the 
literature  written  in  the  Sanskrit  language,  he  enumerates 
a  number  of  Vedic  words  with  the  Ahgas,  Vakovakya  (which 
is  defined  by  Sahkaracarya  and  Rahga  Ramanuja  as  Tarka- 
t-tra  ),  Itihasa,  Purana  and  Vaidyaka,  but  there  is  no  room 
anywhere  here  for  Kautilya  or  for  his  work  the  Arthasastra. 
Now  as  to  the  arguments  that  may  be  taken  as  pointing  to 
an  earlier  date  for  the  ArUuisustra,  the  following  may  be 
mentioned  : — 

(  i )  Anviksiki  as  defined  by  Kautilya  consists  of  Sari- 
khya,  Yoga,  and  Lokayata-  This  is  the  popular  philosophy 
of  the  time  of  the  Svetasvataropanisad  and  the  Bhagaradgita, 
while  the  Anviksiki  of  Vatsyayana's  Nyayabhasya.  is  the 
system  of  Gotama  himself.  They  should  rather  show  a  later 
date  for  Nyaya  Philosophy  than  an  earlier  one  for  the 
ra. 


Ptodtt&ifiga.  25 

(ii)  Then  again  Kautilya  speaks  of  his  writing  a 
Bhasya  on  his  own  Sutra  and  of  u/>>i  .   the  statement 

of  ihe  views  of  "thers  and  lastly  of  the  Siddhantin.  Now  in 
the  chapter  on  Tantrayuktis,  he  mentions  this  last  circum- 
stance as  the  yukti  or  the  device  for  the  exposition  of  the 
system,  so  that  it  should  not  be  necessarily  understood  that 
the  views  of  the  Siddhantin  or  the  last  writer  are  given  by 
himself.  Similarly  in  the  VerfantaxUtm,  when  the  views  of 
other  authors  are  first  given,  and  that  of  Badarayana  at  the 
end,  it  ought  by  no  means  to  be  understood  that  Badarayana 
himself  was  the  writer.  Hence  the  occurrence  of  the  name 
of  Kautilya  should  not  be  taken  as  indicating  his  authorship 
of  the  whole  statement. 

Now  as  to  the  date  of  the  Arlhusastra  itself,  it  depends 
on  that  of  Vatsyayana's  KStnasQtra.  Vatsyayana  lived  after 
Kuntala  Satakarni  Satavahana,  whom  he  mentions  as  having 
killed  his  queen  Malayavati  in  an  amorous  sport,  by  a  pair 
of  scissors.  Kuntala  must  have  flourished  in  the  middle 
of  the  tirst  century  B.  C.  and  consequently  Vatsyayana  lived 
about  a  hundred  years  afterwards,  so  that  he  may  be  placed 
in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era.  Since  these 
calculations  are  rough,  we  may  assign  him  to  the  first  or  the 
second  century  A.  D.  This  is  the  earliest  date  to  which 
we  can  refer  Kautilya.  The  last  Sloka  of  the  chapter  on 
Tantrayukti  Is : — 

j-H  Qlti  ^  *tf  si  «H[<I4<I<11 *»  Hi  ' 

the  sense  of  which  is  "This  S&stra  was  composed  by  him 
who,  unable  to  bear  h,  extricated  this  gnia 

of  authority  and  the  country  under  the  sway  of  Nandaraja." 
The  second  word  Sastra,  which  occurs  in  the  last  line,  r 
lu  tin  book  aotually  written, while  I  irring  in  the 

I  hit;  alludes  to  the  conception  and  develo]  the 

>lthe    Sastra.     Thi  iption    and    the   development 

attributed  \  .^uptaby   tradition,  as    wall    as  the 

removal  of  the  insignia  of  authority  and  overthrow  of  the 
sway   of   the    Nandas.     The   At  tore   wa 

tributed  to  'Ay    he    wai 

F.  U.  0.  1.  1 


26  First  Oriental  Conference. 

The  study  of  the  Avesta  or  the  sacred  literature  of  the 
Parsis  has  been  associated  with  the  study  of  our  Sanskrit 
literature.  There  is  a  close  resemblance  between  the  langu- 
ages of  this  literature  and  of  the  Vedic  Sanskrit,  so  much  so 
that,  with  but  the  slightest  changes,  certain  passages  from 
the  one  can  be  turned  into  the  other.  But  a  critical  study 
of  the  Parsi  Scriptures  began  with  a  French  scholar  named 
Anquetil  Du perron,  who,  came  to  this  Presidency  in  the  lbth 
century,  discovered  that  literature,  and  was  struck  with  its 
importance,  Critical  studies  were  undertaken  in  Europe 
and  several  scholars  such  as  Martin  Haug,  etc.,  devoted 
their  lives  to  it.  In  India  critical  scholarship  of  the 
European  type  was  introduced  by  the  late  Mr.  K.  R.  Kama,  in 
whose  memory  there  exists  an  Institute  erected  by  his  friend 
Mr.  Sukhadwala.  Avestic  studies  were  subsequently  con- 
ducted by  a  number  of  Parsi  scholars,  prominent  among 
whom  is  Dr.  Jivanji  JamshetjiModi.  It  is  very  desirable  that 
intelligent  Parsis  in  greater  numbers  should  enter  into  the 
field  and  conduct  researches  into  their  ancient  religion 
and  customs. 

The  Arabic  and  Persian  literature  also  should  prove  a 
fruitful  field  of  study.  Early  Arabic  and  Persian  writers, 
like  Alberuni,  have  much  to  say  about  the  contemporary 
history,  religions,  customs  and  manners  of  India.  Their 
study  is,  therefore,  bound  to  prove  of  great  use.  Again  our 
modern  vernaculars,  especially  the  Aryan  ones,  have  bor- 
!  much  from  these  sources  and  many  points  connected 
with  their  etymology  cannot  be  satisfactorily  solved,  unless 
we  seek  help  from  the  Persian  and  Arabic  languages.  I  am 
glad  to  note  that  the  attention  of  young  scholars  is  drawn 
in  this  direction  also.  In  this  connection  I  have  to  note 
with  satisfaction  the  useful  work  that  the  Hyderabad  Re- 
search Society  is  carrying  on  under  the  patronage  of  His 
Most  Exalted  Highness  the  Nizam's  Government.  I  do  hope 
that  scholars  will  take  greater  interest  in  these  subjects,  as 
also  in  the  Chinese  and  other  literatures,  without  which 
Oriental  studies  are  bound  to  remain  incomplete  and  One 
sided. 

Now,  gentlemen,  T  Hose.    1  am  very  glad  to  observe  that 
ciiticftl  scholarship  has,  notwithstanding  the  defects  alluded 


Proceedings.  27 

to  by  me,  been  flourishing  among  us.  Good  books  and 
lectures  have  recently  been  published,  especially  in  con- 
nection with  the  Calcutta  University.  Our  own  University 
has  not  extended  that  support  to  original  research  that  we 
might  expect  fr<>m  it.  Still,  I  close  the  active  years  of  my 
life  with  an  assured  belief  that  sound  critical  sohol  rship 
has  grown  up  among  us,  and  that  it  will  maintain  its  own 
against  aspersions  and  attacks.  1  am  very  glad  to  observe 
that  a  largo  number  of  papers  will  be  read  at  the  session  we 
begin  to-day,  a  good  many  of  which  must  be  important,  so 
that  in  every  way  we  have  reasons  to  congratulate  ourselves  ; 
and  this  our  Conference,  will,  I  trust,  be  a  landmark  in  the 
progress  of  our  studies." 

8.  His  Excellency  then  called  upon  Dr.  Ganganath  Jha 
of  the  Sanskrit  College,  Benares,  to  move  that  a  Committee 
consisting  of  the  following  persons  be  appointed  to  consider 
the  suggestions  received  from  various  scholars  and  to  frame 
a  constitution  for  the  Conference  and  to  report  at  the  last 
sitting  of  the  Conference. 

Members  of  the  Committee : — 1.  Principal  A.  C.  Woolner,  2.  Dr. 
Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana,  3.  Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya,  4  Prof.  S.  Kuppu- 
swami  Shastri,  5.  Dr.  T.  K.  Laddu,  6.  Mr.  J.  S.  Kudalkar,  7.  Prof.  M. 
Hiriyanna,  8.  Prof.  Khuda  Bukhsh.  9.  Dr.  S.  K.  Belvalkar,  and  10,  11,  12 
the  three  Secretaries  of  the  Conference  viz.  Dr.  P.  D.  Gune,  Mr.  N.  B. 
Utgikar  and  Prof.  H.  I>.  Karmarkar. 

Dr.  Jha,  while  proposing  the  motion  committed  to  his 
care,  said  that  the  Secretaries  had  received  letters  from  vari- 
ous scholars  on  a  variety  of  subjects  like  the  preservation 
of  Sanskrit  MSS.,  a  Central  All-India  Research  Institute,  un- 
dertaking different  works  that  could  not  be  carried  out  by  in- 
dividual effort,  constitution  of  the  Conference,  encouragement 
of  indigenous  Oriental  learning  etc.  It  was  impossible  to 
discuss  them  in  a  large  assembly  like  the  Conference  and 
arrive  at  any  definite  conclusion.  Such  a  work  could  only 
be  clone  by  a  small  representative  committee.  It  was  there- 
fore that  he  had  proposed  the  Committee. 

The  proposal  was  duly  seconded  by  Prof.  A.  B.  Dhruva 
of  Ahmedabad  and  was  accepted  by  the  Conference. 

9.  His  Excellency,  thereafter,  announced  that  a  gentle- 
man, who  wished  to  remain  an<>nymous,  had  offered    a    pri 


28  First  Oriental  Conference. 

of  Us.  2000  for  the  best  historical  review  of  Indian  commerce 
from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present  day. 

The  conditions  of  the  prize  and  other  details  were  left 
to  be  decided  later  in  consultation  with  the  donor. 

10.  Dr.  H.  H.  Mann,  Chairman  of  the  Council  of  the 
Bhandarkar  Institute,  then  announced,  with  the  permission 
of  His  Excellency,  that  the  Institute  would  be  At  Home  to 
the  delegates  of  the  Conference  on  Friday  the  7th  instant 
at  5  P.  M. 

11.  Shrimant  Balasaheb  Pant  Pratinidhi,  Chief  of 
Aundh,  then  rose  to  propose  a  vote  of  thanks  to  His  Excel- 
lency, and  said  : — 

"  Your  Excellency, 

We  are  all  thankful  to  you  for  having  specially  come 
down  to  Poonafor  this  occasion.  We  knew  of  the  keen  interest 
you  took  in  Oriental  learning  and  Oriental  affairs  in  general, 
and  we  trusted  that  you  would  grace  the  occasion  by  your 
presence,  as  you  have  done,  even  at  the  cost  of  some  per- 
sonal inconvenierice/' 

The  Chief  concluded  by  making  a  humorous  allusion 
to  His  Excellency's  love  of  Technical  and  Commercial  edu- 
cation, saying  how  oriental  research  also  helped  in  it. 

Shrimant  Babasaheb  Pant  Sachiv,  Yuvaraj  of  Bhor,  in 
seconding  the  proposal  said  : — 

"Ladies  and  Gentlemen, 

I  want  to  prominently  point  out  the  genuine  interest 
and  keen  enthusiasm  shown  by  His  Excellency  in  ancient 
Oriental  literature  and  other  educational  activities.  My  re- 
marks would  be  still  clearer  when  we  remember,  gentlemen, 
that  in  spite  of  the  multifarious  activities  of  greater  impor- 
tance engaging  the  attention  of  His  Excellency  and  in  spite 
of  his  being  in  Kashmir  very  lately,  he  could  find  time  to 
specially  come  down  here  to  open  this  grand  and  unique 
Conference — the  first  of  its  kind  in  the  educational  history 
of  India.  I  hope  you  will  carry  the  proposal  with  accla* 
mations." 

Hi  lenoy  then,  in   words    that   befitted    the    occa- 

sion, thanked  the  Chief  of  Aundh   and    the    members   of   the 


Barrlater  V.  r.  Vuidya,  b.  a.  j.  p.,  Chairman 
of  the  Reception  Commit  tre. 


His  Excellency  Sir  George  Lloyd  leaving  the 
Exhibition  Hull. 


Working  Committee  in  return,  and  was  glad  that  the  open- 
ing  session  of  the  First  Oriental  Conference  had  been  so 
eminently  successful. 

After   the   distrihuion    of   fiov  ><1     Pan    Sup.iri    by 

1  P.  If.,  His  Excellency,  accompanied  by  the  Chiefs  of 
Aundh,  Sangli,  Miraj  and  the  Chairman  of  the  Reception 
Committee,  proceeded  to  the  Tata  Hall  of  the  Institute,  where 
an  exhibition  of  old  and  rare  manuscripts,  illuminated 
scrolls  of  the  Ma habhS rata  and  the  (/ran,  old  and  valuable 
coins,  paintings  and  other  things  of  antiquarian  interest, 
was  beautifully  arranged  in  show-cases  made  specially  for 
the  purpose.  Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar  and  Dr.  S.  K.  Bolval- 
kar  helped  the  Chairman  of  the  Reception  Committee  in 
showing  His  Excellency  and  the  guests  round  the  Exhibition 
and  explaining  certain  exhibits.  His  Excellency  and  the 
other  distinguished  visitors  expressed  their  great  pleasure 
at  what  they  saw. 


II.— SECOND  SITTING  ON  THE  SAME  DAY. 

2-30  P.  M.  to  S-30  P.  M. 

12.  The  Conference  resumed  its  sitting  in  the  afternoon. 
The  attendance,  including  delegates,  was  about  five  hundred. 
Principal  A.  C.  Woolner,  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  took  the 
chair. 

Dr.  T.  K.  Laddu  then  proposed  and  Barrister  V.  P.  Vaidya 
seconded  that,  as  it  had  been  decided  to  read  some  twenty 
papers  only  in  the  general  sitting,  and  as  the  remaining 
bulk  of  papers  (  about  100  )  had  to  be  read  in  different  sec- 
tional meetings,  the  following  gentlemen  be  elected  chair- 
men for  the  subjects  indicated  against  their  nan 

Dr.  R.  Zimmermann  of  the  St.  Xavier's  College,  Bombay  : 

Veda. 
Dr.  J.  J.  Modi  of  Bombay  :    Avest 

Prof.  8.  Kuppuswami  Shastri  of  the  Presidency  College, 
Madras  :     Classical  Literature  and  modern   Verna- 
culars. 
Prof.  8.  Khuila  Bukhsh    of   the  University  of  Calcutta  : 
-ian  and  Arabic. 


36  Firtt  Oriental   Conference. 

G.  R.  Kaye,  Esq.  of  Simla  :  Technical  Sciences. 

Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar  of  the  University  of  Calcutta  : 
Archaeology. 

Dr.  J.  J.  Modi  of  Bombay  :   Ethnology  and  Folklore. 

Dr.  Ganganath  Jha  of  the  Sanskrit  College,  Benares  : 
Philosophy. 

Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana   of  the   University  o 
Calcutta  :    Pali  and  Buddhism. 

Prof.  S.  Krishnaswami  Aiyangar  of  the  University  of 
Madras  :    Ancient  History. 

Prof.  V.  K.  Rajwade  of  Poona  :  Philology  and  Pra- 
krits. 

Mahamahopadhyaya  Laxmanshastri  Dravid,  of  the  Sans- 
krit College,  Calcutta  :  Papers  in  Sanskrit  written 
by  learned  Pandits. 

The  proposition  was  carried  unanimously. 

13.  The  Vice-President  then  requested  the  representa- 
tives of  the  different  learned  societies  to  read  their  reports  and 
called  upon  Dr.  J.  J.  Modi  to  read  the  Report  of  the  Bombay 
Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  which  he  did  in  extracts. 

(1).  The  full  text  of  the  report  is  as  follows  : — 

"  The  Bombay  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  was 
founded  in  November  1804.  So,  it  completes  this  month 
115  years  of  its  existence.  Sir  James  Mackintosh,  who 
was  the  Record  of  Bombay,  was  the  founder  of  the  Society. 
He  called  a  meeting  of  some  well-known  European  citi- 
zens of  Bombay  at  his  residence  at  Parel  on  26th  November 
1804.  The  Hon'ble  Jonathan  Duncan,  the  then  Governor 
of  Bombay,  was  one  of  those  who  were  present.  He  knew 
Persian  well.  As  a  Parsee  I  specially  mention  his  name, 
because  his  name  has  been  somewhat  associated  with  that 
of  a  Parsee  Dastur  of  the  time.  The  father  of  Dastur  Moola 
Feroze  had  brought  from  Persia  the  Desatir  to  which  atten- 
>f  Persian  scholars  was  drawn  by  Sir  William  Jones, 
"  the  Columbus  of  the  new  Old  World  of  Sanskrit  and 
Persian  Literature."  Mr.  Duncan,  who  had  come  into  con- 
tact with  Moola  Feroze  in  the  matter  of  his  Persian  studies 
*'  considered  himself  as   supremely   fortunate  in   having   at 


Proceedings,  31 

length  made  the  longed  for  discovery  "  of  the  Desatir  in  the 
hands  of  his  friend,  the  Dastur.  He  requested  the  Dastur 
M  to  show  it  to  no  person  whatever,  and  having  undertaken  a 
translation  of  it,  continued  to  prosecute  his*work,  at  inter- 
vals, for  several  years,  intending  on  his  return  to  England 
to  present  it  to  His  Majesty  as  the  most  valuable  tribute 
which  he  could  bring  from  the  East."  But  alas  !  before  he 
could  do  that,  he  died  in  1811  and  lies  buried  in  St.  Thomas' 
Cathedral  Bombay. 

The  gentlemen  present  at  the  above  meeting  formed 
themselves  into  a  Society  under  the  name  of  "  The  Library 
Society  of  Bombay."  Sir  James  Mackintosh  was  appointed 
J  is  li  ist  President,  Mr.  William  Erekine,  a  known  Orienta- 
list of  the  time,  was  appointed  its  first  Secretary  and  Mr. 
t,  afterwards  Sir  )  Charles  Forbes,  whose  name  latterly  be- 
came very  popular  among  the  people  of  the  city  as  their 
friend,  was  appointed  its  first  Treasurer.  Among  the  members 
of  the  Committee  we  find  one  named  as  "Don  Pedro  de  Al- 
cantara, Bishop  of  Antiphile  and  apostolical  Vicar  in  the 
dominions  of  the  Great  Mogul,"  which  reminds  us  of  the  re- 
lations which  existed  between  the  Catholic  Fathers  and  the 
Moghul  Court  from  the  times  of  King  Akbar. 

It  was  resolved  at  the  meeting  that  monthly  meetings 
of  the  Society  may  be  held  at  4  O'clock  on  the  last  Monday 
of  each  month.  The  present  Government  House  at  Malabar 
Hill  was  then,  as  said  by  Anquetil  Du  I'erron  in  his  book  of 
the  Zend  Avesta,  a  rendezvous,  where  the  elite  of  Bombay 
met  tor  their  tea  after  dinner,  which  then  took  the  place  of 
our  present  tiffin  or  lunch.  The  monthly  meetings  of  the 
Society  remind  us  of  those  early  days,  when,  looking  to  the 
population,  the  times,  circumstances,  and  the  state  of  educa- 
tion, there  was  more  of  literary  activity  in  Bombay  than  at 
present,  when  the  lar^e  number  of  Gymkhanas  and  Clubs 
draw  away  people,  and  the  papers,  which  are  few  and  far 
between,  are  read  before  scanty  audiences. 

Calcutta  was  the  first  to  found  a  literary  society  of  this 
kind.     Sir  William  Jones,  who,  as  a  young  Oxonian, 
{rounded  to  tin  quiel  adopte-'  metil 

I'm  Pan  in  i  >warda  Hyde  and  in  his  book  on  the  Zend 


32  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Avesta,  had  attacked  both  the  French  scholar  and  the  Zend 
Avesta.  Sir  James  Mackintosh  in  his  first  discourse  on  the 
foundation  day,  referred  to  the  foundation  of  the  Bengal 
Asiatic  Society  at  the  able  hands  of  Sir  William  Jones  and 
discussed  at  some  length  the  object  of  the  Society,  viz.  in 
vestigations  into  literary  and  scientific  matters  pertain  in 
to  the  East  generally,  and  to  India  in  particular. 

It  was  in  1827  that  it  was  proposed  that  the  Society  may 
be  united  with  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  as  its  branch. 
The  proposal  was  accepted,  and  since  that  year,  the  Society 
gave  up  its  former  name  and  assumed  that  of  the  "  Bombay 
Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society."  Sir  John  Malcolm, 
the  then  Governor  of  Bombay,  and  the  then  President  of  the 
Society,  spoke  at  some  length  at  the  meeting  called  for  the 
purpose  of  the  union,  on  the  subject  of  Asiatic  learning. 
Though  the  Bombay  Society  was  thus  united,  in  the  matter 
of  its  administration  and  funds,   it   was    and  is  independent. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Society,  its  membership  was 
confined  only  to  Europeans  and  its  doors  were  firmly  closed, 
though  often  knocked  at,  against  the  natives  of  this  country. 
The  reason  for  this  exclusion  was  that  they  were  not  suffi- 
ciently advanced  in  education  to  take  part  in  such  literary 
societies.  But  when  the  Hon'ble  Mountstuart  Elphinstone, 
during  his  governorship  of  Bombay,  helped*  the  cause  of 
education  and  when  education  thus  began  to  spread,  the 
cause  of  exclusion  began  to  disappear.  Elphinstone  was 
also  President  of  the  Society.  In  a  letter  dated  5th  Decem- 
ber 1827,  written  to  Elphinstone  by  Sir  John  Malcolm,  an- 
other Persian  scholar,  who  succeeded  him  both  in  th 
gubernatorial  Chair  of  Bombay  and  in  the  Presidenti 
Chair  of  the  Society,  the  writer  expressed  indirectly  some 
In  ►pes  of  some  "happy  association  between  them  (the  educated 
natives  of  the  country)  and  their  European  fellow-subjects, 
which  will  essentially  aid  and  facilitate  the  future  labours 
and  researches  of  the  Literary  Society  of  Bombay. 

It  was  a  Parsi,  the   late   Mr.   Manookjee  Cursetjee, 

■or   in    various   paths  of    advancement   in   the   City   of 

Bombay,  who  first  knocked  at  the  doors  of  the  Society  to    be 

admitted,  and,  though  defeated,  knocked  again  and  again  and 


8 


hJ 


a 


Pmrcnliii'  33 

was  at  last  admitted.  When  he  was  first  proposed  and  sup- 
ported in  1833  by  Mr.  R.  C.  Money,  Secretary  to  the  Bombay 
Government,  and  Colonel  Vans  Kenandy,  the  then  President 
of  the  Society,  his  nomination  was  opposed  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Wilson  "on  the  ground  that'it  would  give  a  preference  over 
their  countrymen  of  the  highest  literary  attainments  to 
those  whose  only  literature  was  the  acquaintance  with  the 
English  language".*  Mr.  ManockjeeCursetjee  was,  in  the  elec- 
tion by  ballot,  rejected  by  14  black  balls.  Then  Mr.  Manock- 
jee  got  himself  first  admitted  into  the  parent  Society — the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society,  and  then  sought  admission  here  in 
the  Branch  Society.  As  the  parent  Society  had  admitted  him, 
he  had  to  be  admitted  here  also  and  so  the  doors  were  open- 
ed to  him  on  29th  January  1840.  The  doors  of  Free-Maso- 
nary,  which  also  were  closed  here  against  the  natives  of  the 
country,  were  similarly  knocked  at  by  Mr.  Manockji  Cur- 
setji  and  they  also  were  opened  at  last  to  him.  In  1864,  the 
Hon'ble  Mr.  Frere,  the  then  President  of  the  Society,  thus 
referred  to  the  subject  of  this  election  in  his  presidential 
address  :  — 

''  Those  of  you,  who  have  been  as  long  connected  with 
theSociety  as  I  have  been,  will  recollect  the  great  opposi- 
tion which  was  made  in  the  year  1833  to  the  admission  of  a 
native  as  a  member  of  the  Society.  It  is  a  good  rule  of  our 
Society,  that  no  record  is  ever  kept  of  those  who  have  been 
proposed  as  members  and  black-balled,  but  it  is  now  a  matter 
of  history,  that  notwithstanding  fchfl  exertions  made  by  some 
of  the  most  popular  and  influential  of  our  members,  they 
signally  failed  in  getting  this  native  admitted  into  the  Socie- 
a  member,  and  it  was  not  until  Manockjee  Oursetjee 
hud  been  elected  a  member  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
and  his  friends  claimed  as  a  right  for  him  to  be  admitted  a 
member  of  this  Branch  Society,  that  the  door  was 
opened.'  All  honour  he  to  him  for  his  characteristic 
•verance  and  indomitable  courage  on  this  as  on  all 
occasions.  After  he  was  admitted,  the  Hon'ble  Juggonath 
Sunkersett,  Sir  Jamsetjee  Jeejeebhoy,  and  others  soon  follow- 
ed ;  and  good  reason  we  have   not   only   to  be   proud  of  our 

*  Historical  sketch  of  1 1  .   by  Mr.  O.  K.  Jiv.irckar. 

I    In  .lanuaiy  1840. 
1.  5 


34  First  Oriental   Conference. 

native  members,  but  to  be  grateful  to  them  for  the  splendid 
additions  they  have  made  to  our  Library  and  Museum.  To 
whom  are  we  so  much  indebted  for  presents  of  books  and 
a  large  and  costly  collection  of  coins  as  to  Cowasji  Jehangir 
Readymoney,  Esq.,  and  the  Hon'ble  Juggonnath  Sunkersett  ? 
and  have  not  Bal  Gangadhar  Shastree,  Dr.  Bhau  Daji  and 
Dhunjeebhai  Framjee  been  large  and  useful  contributors  to 
our  journal  ?  Gifts  and  contributions,  such  as  these,  may 
well  make  the  Society  proud  and  grateful  to  our  native 
members." 

Later  on,  the  Hon'ble  Mr.  Frere,  when  an  address  was 
presented  to  him,  said  :  "The  Society  now  really  is  Asiatic, 
which  it  hardly  was  before,  but  which  I  trust  it  will  ever 
continue  to  be." 

In  1873,  the  Bombay  Geographical  Society,  which  was 
founded  in  1831  as  a  branch  of  the  Royal  Geographical  So- 
ciety, wae  amalgamated  with  this  Society  and  it  ceased  to 
exist. 

The  Transactions  of  the  Society  during  its  early  years 
were  published  in  three  Volumes  in  1819.  These  three 
Volumes  were  republished  in  1877  under  the  editorship  of  the 
late  Hon'ble  Rao  Saheb  Vishvanath  Narayan  Mandlik.  After 
its  amalgamation  with  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  in  England, 
all  the  papers  read  before  it  were  sent  to  England  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  Journal  of  the  parent  Society.  In  1841,  it  was 
again  resolved,  that  the  Society  may  publish  its  transactions 
here  in  a  Journal  to  be  issued  quarterly  But  the  Journal 
now  is  not  issued  quarterly.  It  is  published  irregularly  as 
papers  come  in.  By  this  timb  the  Society  has  published  in 
all  24  Volumes. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  note  that  while  at  one  time  in 
the  early  years  even  after  the  admission  of  Indian  members, 
the  Journal  had  few  papers — few  and  far  between, — from 
the  pen  of  Indian  members,  now  they  contain  mostly 
papers  from  their  pens." 

(2)  Dr.  J.  J.  Modi,  then  as  Secretary  read  extracts  from 
the  Report  of  the  Anthropological  Society  which  he  represent- 
ed.    The  full^report  runs  as  follows  : — 


Proceedings. 

The  Anthropological  Society  of  Bombay  was  founded 
at  a  meeting  held  in  the  rooms  of  the  Natural  History 
Society  of  Bombay,  on  7th  April  18H(>,  under  the  Pre- 
sidentship of  the  late  Mr.  Edward  Tyrrel  Leith,  LL.  M.,  who 
was  i's  founder.  Of  the  73  members,  announced  at  the  meet- 
ing as  "Original  Members  of  the  Society"  none  are  now  living 
as  its  members. 

We  hold  regularly  (except  in  May  and  December)  our 
monthly  meetings  on  the  last  Wednesdays  of  every  month, 
when  papers  are  read  and  discussed.  These  papers  are  then 
published  in  our  Journal,  of  which  we  have  in  all  published 
X  volumes  of  8  numbers  each  and  4  numbers  of  Vol. XI. 

The  Silver  Jubilee  Memorial  Number  of  the  Journal  of 
the  Society,  published  in  1911,  contains  an  exhaustive 
index  of  the  subjects  treated  in  the  papers  read  before  the 
Society  upto  that  time. 

The  society  has  an  official  Englishman  as  president,  but 
the  writers  are  nearly  all  Indians,  well-educated  men 
who  ought  to  be  able  to  get  at  the  correct  facts,  which 
they  certainly  can  present  in  good  style.  The  Silver  Jubilee 
Number  contains  special  contributions.  The  history 
of  the  society  shows  good  work  done  for  twenty-five 
years.  Ihe  index  of  the  papers  read  during  the  period  and 
of  the  anthropological  scraps  ranges  over  the  whole  field  of 
anthropology,  though  from  a  perusal  of  the  titles  the  merits 
of  the  papers  cannot  be  gauged.  The  specimens  in  this 
number  are  varied  and  excellent,  whether  they  deal  with 
legal  matters,  ethnography,  ancient  engineering,  supersti- 
tions, Hindu  rites  and  marriage,  or  Totem  theories.  In  such 
sooieties  all  classes  of  the  community  can  meet  freely,  and 
interchange  ideas  to  their  mutual  advantage. 

As  stated  by  the  founder  at  the  first  meeting,  the  Society 
was  "  not  intended  to  be  merely  a  local  Society  but  one  that 
should  embrace  the  whole  of  the  Indian  Empire."  He  fur- 
ther said  that  there  was  probably  no  country  in  the  world 
which  offered  to  interesting  a  field  Cor  aothropogioal  re- 
search. 

The  following  were  suggested    by   him   as   the   prim 
subjects  woith  inquiring  into  by  the  Society. 


36  First  Oriental  Conference. 

I.  Systetr.atization  of  the  knowledge  at  present  existing 
with  regard  to  the  races  of  India. 

II.  Comparative  Religion  ;  India  beiLg  the  home  of 
Vedism  and  Buddhism  in  the  past,  and  of  Hinduism,  Jai- 
nism,  Mazdaism  and  Islamisra  in  the  present,  offered  most 
valuable  materials  for  inquiry  by  the  student  of  Comparative 
Religion. 

III.  Comparative  Law. 

IV.  The  institutions  connected  with  the  genesis  and  de- 
velopment of  man. 

V.  Anatomical  relations. 

As  to  the  first  subject,  some  of  the  papers  of  the  Society 
have  been  written  on  the  various  tribes  or  classes  of  India. 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  contributing  seven  papers  on  this 
subject. 

As  to  the  second  main  division  suggested  by  the  founder, 
we  find,  that  he  named  the  following  subjects  as  worthy  of 
inquiry  among  many  others  : — 

1.  The  daily,  annual  and  other  ceremonies  of  the  Brah- 
min Caste;  2.  The  Religion  of  the  pre-Aryan  races  of  India, 
at  the  bottom  of  whose  list  stood  "the  black-skinned  jungle 
tribes  of  the  hills,  who  were  hardly  higher  in  culture  than  the 

aborigines  of  Australia, The  mother-worship  practised  in 

every  Hindu  village,  represented  the  primitive  religion  of 
India.  Closely  allied  to  it,  was  the  secret  Sakta  Sect.  Both 
systems  were  deserving  of  the  closest  investigation";  3. 
Sorcery,  witchcraft  and  necromancy  among  the  lower  castes 
of  India;  4.  Religious  ecstacy  or  frenzy,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  which  a  person  was  possessed  by  a  deity,  demon  or 
departed  spirit;  5.  The  constitution  and  practices  of  the  re- 
ligious orders,  such  as  Gosavis  and  Bairagis;  6.  The  sacred 
shrines,  idols  and  places  of  pilgrimage;  7.  The  primitive 
custom  of  human  sacrifice. 

As  to  the  third  main  heading  or  division,  viz.,  Compa- 
rative Law,  the  following  were  suggested  as  worth  inquir- 
ing :— 

1.  Mother-laiv  or  the  system  of  descent  through  the 
female  line;  _2.  Caste  rules;   3.  Oaths;   4.  Ordeals. 


Proceedings.  37 

As  to  the  torn-ill  in. mi   head,   viz.,   the    institutions   con- 
nected with  the  genesis  ;ind  development  of  man,    the    Presi 
dent  specially  referred  to  the  following  . 

1  The  rites  of  the  Wamainarga  in  Sakti-worship;  2.  The 
dedication  of  dancing  girls  to  the    service  of  the  temple. 

( "mi  ing  to  the  last  head,  viz.,  Anatomical  relations,  we 
tind  the  following  suggested  for  further  inquiry  : — 

1.  Collection  of  statistics  regarding  the  capacity  of  the 
human  skull  and  other  measurements  of  the  human  frame 
among  the  various  castes  and  races  W  the  Indian  Empire  ; 
2.  The  physiological  and  psychological  characteristics  of 
the  raci 

Tho  President-founder  had  in  his  inaugural  addre-- 
wished  that  the  motto  of  the  Society  should  be  "Surtout  de 
Zele "  The  Society  has  kept  up  the  same  zele  upto  now, 
though  not  to  the  same  extent  as  that  which  prevailed  in  the 
first  few  years  of  its  existence.  I  repeat  here  what  I  said  in 
my  Presidential  address  as  the  President  of  the  Society  for 
1914,  "As  far  as  the  work  of  our  liberal  societies,  such  a>-  the 
Bombay  Branch  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society,  the  Anthro- 
pological Society  and  others  is  concerned,  there  is  a  fall  in 
the  literary  activity  of  Bombay." 

What  is  the  cause  ?  Is  it  that  the  educated  classes  are 
10  much  over-worked  as  not  to  be  able  to  attend  one  or  t*ro 
monthly  meetings  of  these  Societies  V  Perhaps  that  is  so,  to 
a  small  extent.  But  that  does  not  seem  to  be  the  only 
cause.  Perhaps  it  is  the  number  of  Gymkhanas  and  Clubs 
that  have  arisen  of  recent  years  among  us,  that  is  the  cause 
6f  this  fall  in  the  literary  activity  of  the   learned   Societies. 

.  we  may  say  to  the  seekers  of  pleasure,  that  our 
Society  also  offers  a  kind  of  pleasure.  It  is  intellectual 
pleasure.' 

The  first   office-bearers  of  our   Society    were  the  foll< 

i  uk'  :— 

President,  Mr.  Tyrrel  Leith;    Vice-Presidents,  the  Hon'- 

ble   Mr.  Justice  Scott  and  the  Hon'ble    Rao   Saheb    Yishva- 

nath  Narayan  Mumllik;  Honorary  Secretaries,  Dr.  P.    Mac- 

P<  nald,  Mr.  Y.  W  Athalye  and  Prof.  ().  &  Pedraza;   Curator 


38  First  Oriental   Conference. 

of  the  Museum,  Mr.  H.  M.  Phipson;  Librarian,  Mr.  (now  Sir) 
Basil  Scott. 

The  post  of  President  was  held  from  time  to  time  by  dis- 
tinguished gentlemen,  the  Presidential  addresses  of  many 
of  whom  as  given  in  the  Society's  Journal,  will  give  one  an 
idea  of  the  great  scope  of  work  before  one  interested  in  the 
anthropological  subjects. 

(3)  Dr.  J.  J.  Modi  further  read  the  Report  of  the  Jani- 
thoshti  Din  ni  Khol  Karanari  Mandali  thus  : — 

"  The  late  Mr.  Khurshedji  Rustomji  Cama  in  whose- 
honour  the  K.  R.  Cama  oriental  Institute  has  been  lately 
founded  in  Bombay,  was  the  founder  of  the  Society.  He  had 
gone  to  England  in  1855  for  purposes  of  commerce.  On  his 
way  back  to  Bombay  in  1859,  he  had  stayed  for  some  time 
at  Paris  and  Erlangen  and  studied  Avesta  and  other  cognate 
languages  under  Professors  Mohl,  Oppert  and  Spiegel  He 
also  studied  there  French  and  German.  Two  years  after  his 
return  to  Bombay,  in  1861,  he  opened  a  private  class 
at  his  residence  in  the  Fort  to  teach  young  Parsee  priests 
the  A.vesta  and  Pahlavi  languages  according  to  the 
Western  Scientific  method.  After  thus  creating  and  culti- 
vating a  taste  for  the  study  of  Iranian  languages  according 
to  the  systematic  Western  method,  he  saw  the  necessity  of 
founding  a  Society,  where  scholars  and  students  both  of  the 
old  traditional  school  and  the  new  scientific  school,  may 
meet,  and  discuss  and  make  researches  into,  various  sub- 
jects of  Zoroastrian  religion.  So,  in  March  1864-  he  sent 
round  a  circular  among  the  local  Parsee  Dasturs  or  the 
Head  Priests,  who  knew  Iranian  languages,  inviting  them  to 
meet  on  30th  March  at  the  MoolaFeroze  Library,  which  is 
now  located  in  the  above-mentioned  K.  R.  Cama  Oriental 
Institute,  to  consider  the  question  of  founding  such  a 
Society.  In  that  meeting,  a  Society  was  founded  under 
the  name  "Jarthoshti  Din  ni  Khol  Karnari  Mandali",  i.  e.  the 
Society  for  making  researches  in  Zoroastrian  religion.  It 
was  resolved,  that  monthly  meetings  may  be  held  on  the 
29th  day  of  every  Parsee  month,  it  is  not  known  why  of  all 
the  days  in  the  mouth,  this  particular  day  was  chosen,  bul 
perhaps  it  was  because  the  day  bore  the  name  of  Marespan< 


Proceeding*.  39 

(  Mati.ra  Spent*)  i.  e.  the  Holy  Word,  the  Holy  Mathra  (  jpq) 
and  so  a  very  proper  day  for  making  inquiries  in  the  matter 
of  religious   scriptures. 

The  annual  subscription  was  fixed  at  Rs.  12.  Now  it  is 
Rs.  3.  The  Dasturs  or  the  Head  Priests  Dasturs  Peshotan 
Byramji,  Erachjee  Sorabji  and  Jamaspji  Minoncherji  were 
the  Presidents  of  the  Society  for  different  periods  till  1898. 
Then  Mr.  K.  R.  Cama  who  was  very  properly  called  "  a 
laique  Dastur"  by  the  late  Prof.  Darmesteter,  was  the 
President  till  the  end  of  his  life  in  1909.  He  was  succeeded 
by  Shams  ul-Ulama  Dastur  Darabji  for  one  year.  Mr.  M.  P. 
Khareghat,  I.  C.  S.,  (  Retd. ),  now  holds  the  Chair.  Mr.  Caraa, 
the  founder,  was  the  fourth  President  and  he  came  to  the 
Chair  about  34  years  after  its  foundation.  This  may  look 
rather  strange.  But  the  fact  was  that  from  the  very  begin- 
ing  he  wished  to  associate  the  clergy,  and  especially  the 
Dasturs,  the  leaders  of  the  clergy  in  the  work  of  the  Society 
and  so  he  always  gave  them  precedence.  Even  when  the 
President-Dasturs  were  absent,  he  did  not  take  the  chair, 
but  proposed  his  pupil-priests  to  it,  thus  showing  that 
from  the  very  beginning  he  intended  the  Society  to  be  a 
field  of  literary  activity  for  the  clergy. 

The  Society  has  at  times  asked  for  competitive  Prize 
Essays.  The  first  of  the  kind  was  in  the  very  first  year 
after  its  foundation.  The  late  Dr.  Martin  Haug,  Professor 
of  Sanskrit  at  the  Deccan  College,  who  was  also  versed  in 
Iranian  languages,  had,  at  the  request  of  Mr.  Cama,  deliver- 
ed a  public  lecture  on  "  Zoroastrian  Religions  "  on  8th  Octo- 
ber 18(i4,  in  a  bungalow  on  the  Gowalia  Tank  Road  at 
Bombay.  The  admission  to  the  lecture  was  by  tickets  of 
Rs.  5  each.  The  sum  realized,  about  Rs.  1,100  was  intended 
to  be  given  as  a  purse  to  Dr.  Haug.  But  the  learned  lecturer 
desired  that  it  may  be  utilizad  as  prize-money  for  some  work 
on  an  Iranian  subject,  So  Mr.  Cama  offered  the  sum  to 
thi>  Society  for  asking  prize  essays. 

The  Society  added  Rs.  100  -  from  its  own  fund  and  a«>ked 

for  two  Competitive  prize  essays,    one    of   Rs     800       for  the 

text,  translation  and    glossary    of  th<  I'ahlavi  Dand-nameh 

Aihiiim.i   Marespand  and  another  ofRa    1,000-  fur  the 


40  First  Oriental  Conference. 

text,  translation  and  glossary  of  the  Pahlavi  Dadistan-i- 
Dini.  Both  the  prizes  were  won  by  the  late  Ervad  Shariarji 
Dadabhai  Bharucha,  for  some  time  a  pupil  of  Sir  Ramkri- 
shna  G.  Bhandarkar  and  a  quiet  unassuming  scholar  of  the 
first  rank  among  the  Parsees.  who,  besides  the  Iranian  lan- 
guages, knew  Sanskrit  as  well,  and  who  later  on,  was,  at  the 
request  of  the  Trustees  of  the  Parsee  Punchayat,  the  Editor 
of  the  Collected  Sankrit  Writings  of  the  Parsees.  The 
second  prize  was  won  by  him  with  a  c  dlaborator,  the  late 
Ervad  Tehemurasp  Dinshaw  Anklesaria,  another  learned 
scholar,  who  also  knew  Sanskrit.  Another  Prize  Essay 
asked  by  the  Society  was  that  of  the  Gujarati  Translation  of 
the  Vendidad.  The  prize  money  Rs.  600  -  subsequently  in- 
creased to  Rs.  1,0^0  -  was  kindly  given  by  Mr.  Cama  himself 
and  the  late  Ervad  Kavasji  Edulji  Kanga  was  the  winner. 
The  Gujarati  Translations  of  all  the  parts  of  the  Avesta  by 
this  learned  scholar  are  deservingly  held  upto  now  to  be 
standard  translations  by  the  Parsee  Community.  The  trans- 
lation into  Gujarati  with  proper  comments  of  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge's  Substance  of  Faith  was  the  next  prize  Essay  asked 
ny  the  Society  at  the  instance  of  Mr.  Cama.  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  suggesting  the  subject  to  Mr.  Cama.  He  agreed 
with  me  that  in  the  midst  of  all  differences  of  views  among 
the  various  sections  of  all  the  different  religions,  Sir  Oliver 
Lodge's  book  supplied  a  sure  scientific  basis  of  Truth  and 
Belief  in  the  Supreme  Power. 

The  Society  has  published  upto  now  the  several  Reports 
of  its  Proceeding  intermittantly. 

Papers  have  been  read  before  the  Society  by  some  dis- 
tinguished non-Parsees.  Among  these,  there  was  a  paper 
by  I'rofessor  Rajaram  Ramkrishna  Bhagvat  of  St.  Xavier's 
College.  The  paper  was  on  the  subject  of  "The  Meher 
Yasht"  and  it  was  read  and  discussed  at  a  number  of 
meetings. 

The  Society  had  no  location  of  its  oven  upto  now.  It  met 
at  different  places.  But  now  it  is  located  in  the  K.  R.  Cama 
( >rient;tl  I  n>titute.  I  had  the  pleasure  and  honour  of  starting 
and  collecting  among  the  Parsees  a  Memorial  fund  in  honour 
of  Mr  C.uiia  on  his  death      I  entrusted  the  amount,  which  in 


Proceedings.  41 

all  amounted  to  about  Rs.  12,000/-  to  the  Institute,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  Moola  Feroze  Library  and  the  Society,  in  both 
of  which  Mr.  Cama  took  a  great  interest,  may  be  given  a 
home  in  its  premises. 

The  meetings  of  the  Society  have  beeii  occasionally 
attended  by  European  savants  coming  to  this  country. 
Professors  Darmesteter  and  Jackson  were  among  these." 

At  this  stage  Prof.  V.  K.  Raj  wade,  representing  the 
Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute  proposed  that  as  the 
time  at  the  disposal  of  the  Conference  was  short,  the  reports 
should  be  presented  to  the  conference  by  the  representatives 
of  the  various  Institutions  and  should  ho  taken  as  read. 
The  suggestion  was  unanimously  accepted.  The  following 
Reports  were  presented  to  the  Conference  and  taken  as  read. 
These  are  here  given  in  full. 

(4)  Retort  of  the  K.  R.  Cama  Orien'al  Institute:  by  Mr. 
R  P  Masani. 

"It  gives  me  great  pleasure  and  pride  to  present  to  the 
Conference  a  brief  account  of  the  origin  and  activities  of  the 
K.  R.  Cama  Oriental  Institute.  It  would  have  come  more  fit- 
tingly and  much  more  effectively  from  the  gifted  pen  of  so 
eminent  a  scholar  and  educationist  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  D.  D. 
Mackichan,  M.A  ,  D.  D.,LL.D.,  President  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  Institute,  but  as  he  considers  that  it  should  come 
from  me  as  one  of  the  active  promoters  of  the  Institute,  I 
cheerfully  respond  to  the  call,  although  I  feel  I  can  assert 
no  claims  to  oriental  scholarship  myself. 

On  the  20th  August  1909,  a  simple,  earnest,  saintly 
scholar  breathed  his  last  in  Bombay.  Remarkable  as  was 
his  personality,  long,  phenomenally  long,  arduous,  many- 
sided  and  high-minded  as  were  his  activities  and  services  in 
the  spheres  of  social  elevation  and  civic  progress,  the  late 
Mr.  Khurshedji  Rustomji  Cama  will  be  best  remembered 
amongst  the  present  and  future  generations  of  Bombay  as 
one  of  the  most  enlightened  followers  of  the  Zoroastrian 
faith,  as  an  anient  student  and  cultured  exponent  of  the 
doctrines  and  root  principles  of  the  time-hallowed  scriptures 
ufthe  Parsis,  and  a:  the  lather  and    rounder  of  a   new   and 

r.o.c.  i.  6 


41  First  Oriental   Conference. 

critical  method  of  study  of  the  teachings  of  the  great  pro. 
phet  of  Persia.  For  the  recent  awakening  of  interest  in 
Avesta  learning  amongst  the  members  of  their  community, 
the  Parsis  are  indebted  to  Western  scholars.  But  the  la- 
bours of  these  scholars  in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century 
would  have  borne  no  fruit,  had  there  not  been  one  among  the 
Parsi  community  to  enter  into  the  spirit  of  those  scholars 
and  to  appreciate  the  lines  on  which  the  Zoroastrian  scrip- 
ture should  be  studied  and  construed.  To  the  late  Mr.  Cama 
belongs  the  credit  of  introducing  among  his  co-religionists, 
at  a  time  of  religious  decadence,  the  study  of  comparative 
religion  and  comparative  philology.  Though  not  a  millionaire, 
he  opened  classes  for  teaching  Avesta  and  Pahlavi  langu- 
ages to  the  Parsi  priests,  paid  scholarships  for  attending  the 
classes  and  took  a  delight  in  dedicating  his  leisure  hours  to 
the  instruction  and  enlightenment  of  the  priests.  Thus  was 
he  the  Guru  of  Gurus  of  the  ancient  faith. 

It  was,  therefore,  natural  that  there  was  a  consensus  of 
opinion,  when  the  eminent  scholar  and  philanthropist  passed 
away,  that  the  most  fitting  monument  to  his  memory  should 
be  an  Oriental  Institute  for  the  promotion  of  Oriental  studies, 
and  research.  The  proposal  emanated  from  Dr.  Mackichan. 
It  was  approved  of  by  the  committee  appointed  on  the  8th 
December  1909  at  a  large  influential  meeting  of  the  citizens 
of  Bombay,  to  collect  subscriptions  for  a  suitable  memorial 
to  commemorate  the  eminent  services  of  Mr.  Cama  and  to 
promote  the  many  activities  to  which  he  had  devoted  himself 
with  exemplary  zeal  and  self-sacrifice. 

Subscriptions  were  received  to  the  extent  of  Rs.  1,10,000. 
This  included  a  munificent  donation  of  Rs.  1,00,000  from  a 
Hindu  friend  and  admirer  of  Mr.  Cama,  the  late  Mr.  Damo- 
dar  Gordhandas  Sukhadwalla.  Unique  as  was  Mr.  Cama 
in  his  catholic  sympathies,  broad-minded  tolerance  and  de- 
votion to  the  cause  of  intellectual  enlightenment  and  social 
emancipation,  no  less  remarkable  was  Mr.  Sukhadwala  for 
the  catholicity  of  his  views  and  his  anonymous  donations 
for  the  furtherance  of  projects  for  the  social  and  intellectual 
advancement  of  the  people. 

A  separate  fund  amounting  to  Rs.  12,100  raised  exclu- 
sively by    the   Parsis   for    perpetuating   the  memory    of    Mr. 


Proceedings  43 

i,  was  also  made  over  to  and  amalgamated  with  the  In- 
stitute fund,       A    Trust  Deed    was  then    drawn   up    defining 

objects  dI  tlu  Institute  and  the  considerations  under 
which  the  Institute  w.is  to  ho  maintained  and  was    approved 

meeting  of  subscribers  held  on  the  3lst  October  1916. 
At  the  t-ame  meeting  the  undermentioned  gentlemen  were 
made  Trustees  of  the  Institute  : — 

Rev.  Dr.  D.  Mackichan,  M.  A.,  D.  D.  LL.  D. 

Dr.  Sir  Stanley  Reid,  LL.  D. 

Shams-ul-Ulama  Dr.  Jivanji  Jatnshedji  Modi,  B.  A., 

Ph.  D.,  C  I.  E. 
Mr.  Sorabji  Edulji  Warden. 
Mr.  Mahomedbhoy  Currimbhoy. 
Mr.  Kazi  Kabiruddin,  Bar-at-Law. 
Mr.  Rustom  K.  R.  Cama  B.  A.,  LL.  B. 
Mr.  Krishnalal  Mohanlal  Jhaveri,  M.  A.,  LL.  B. 
Mr.  Rustom  Pestonji  Masani,  M.  A. 

The  inauguration  ceremony  of  the  Institute  was  per- 
formed on  the  18th  December  1916  by  His  Excellency  Lord 
Willingdon  amidst  a  large  and  influential  gathering  of  the 
citizens  of  Bombay. 

The  object  of  the  Institute  is  to  promote  and  advance 
Oriental  studies,  to  offer  facilities  to  the  existing  societies 
and  institutions  engaged  in  such  work  and  to  found  scholar- 
ships for  encouraging  and  advancing  Oriental  studies.  A 
Fellowship  has  been  already  endowed  for  the  preparation  of 
scholarly  treatises  on  subjects  connected  with  Iranian  civi- 
lization and  literature  for  collecting  and  editing  i  anuscri;>ts 
in  Iranian  and  Arabic  languages,  for  translating  such 
manuscripts  or  for  travelling  and  collecting  materials  such 
as  copies  of  old  documents,  colophons  of  old  manuscripts  etc. 
for  the  history  of  the  Parsis  in  India.  It  is  proposed  to  endow 
other  fellowships  for  research  in  Sanskrit  works  or  Muham- 
tnadan  or  1'ost-Islamic  Persian  or  Arabic  literature  Thus 
the  work  of  the  Institute  will  not  be  confined  to  the  promo- 
tion of  Iranian  studies  only,  but  will  also  embraco  the  ad- 
vancement of  studies  and  research  in  Sanskrit,  Persian  and 
Arabic  lore  and  the  Institute,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  a  centre  of 
many  sided  ai  tivities  in  Oriental  scholarship,  worthy    <>f  the 


44  First  Oriental  Conference. 

distinguished  scholar,  whose  valued  services  to  the  cause  of 
oriental  learning  it  commemorates  and  worthy  also  of  the 
second  City  in  the  Empire  in  which  it  is  located. 

The  Executors  of  the  late  Mr.  Cama's  will  were  good 
enough  to  present  his  private  library  to  the  Institute.  It  is 
intended  to  be  the  nucleus  of  a  comprehensive  collection  of 
works  bearing  on  Oriental  literature.  With  it  is  also  locat- 
ed in  the  Institute  the  famous  Moolla  Feroze  Library,  which 
is  now  happily  removed  from  the  obscurity  of  a  corner  in 
the  Dadyseth  Fire  Temple  at  Thakurdwar.  The  Moolla  Feroze 
Madressa  now  holds  its  classes  in  the  same  premises  and 
facilities  have  been  given  to  the  Zarthoshti  Dinni  Khol  Kar- 
nari  Mandali  and  the  Parsi  Writers  Association  to  hold  their 
meetings  in  the  Institute. 

It  is  pleasing  to  record  the  encouragement  and  support 
given  to  the  Institute  by  the  Government  of  Bombay.  From 
the  very  commencement  of  the  project  Lord  Sydenham,  the 
then  Governor  of  Bombay,  took  a  keen  personal  interest  in 
the  work  of  the  Committee.  While  the  scheme  was  matured, 
Lord  Willingdon's  Government  were  pleased  to  sanction  a 
grant  of  Rs.  30,000  to  the  Institute.  This  amount  has  been 
set  aside  by  the  Committee  as  a  special  endowment  for  the 
foundation  of  a  Fellowship  or  Fellowships  and  the  interest 
thereof  will  be  devoted  in  the  first  instance,  to  the  work  o 
compilation  of  a  full  and  descriptive  catalogue  of  all  manuf 
scripts  and  books  in  the  Institute.  Mr.  Bomanji  Nasarwan- 
ji  Dhabhar,  M.  A.,  has  been  appointed  a  Fellow  for  the  work 
of  preparing  the  catalogue  on  the  lines  of  those  prepared  for 
the  Bodieian  Library  at  Oxford,  the  British  Museum  and  the 
Moolla  Feroze  Library.  It  is  expected-that  it  will  be  com- 
pleted before  the  end  of  this  year.  Other  small  funds  have 
been  endowed,  largely  due  to  the  generosity  of  the  heirs  and 
relations  of  the  late  Mr.  Cama,  for  prizes  to  be  awarded  to 
students  for  essays  on  subjects  relating  to  Avesta  and  Pah- 
lavi  literature.  One  of  these  is  the  "  Surrosh  K.  R.  Cama 
Memorial  Prize,"  for  which  any  person,  who  writes  in  Eng- 
lish the  best  essay  on  the  life  or  teachings  of  Zoroaster  or 
some  such  cognate  subject,  will  be  eligible. 

Institute  is  still  in  its  infancy.     It  has  taken  a  long 
time  to  settle  the  preliminaries  and  to  overcome    the    initial 


Proceedings.  45 

difficulties.  Now  is  the  time  for  undertaking  research  work. 
tofore,  Bombay  could  not  boast  of  a  worthy  centre  for 
Oriental  research.  Now  we  have  got  one.  Similarly,  l'oona 
City  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  get  an  Institue  endowed 
in  honour  of  another  distinguished  Orientalist.  Let  us  make 
these  worthy  centres  in  all  respects  so  complete  and  so  fully 
equipped  that  scholars  from  the  East  and  scholars  from  the 
West,  who  are  in  search  of  materials  for  their  researches, 
may  find  therein  what  they  want.  Let  us  also  encourage 
young  men  to  avail  themselves  fully  of  the  priceless  trea- 
sures within  their  reach. 

The  graduates  of  our  universities  represent  the  pick  of 
Indian  literary  culture.  It  is  their  sacred  trust  and  privi- 
lege to  guard  and  to  enrich  the  treasures  of  Oriental  litera- 
ture. A  taste  for  such  pursuits  cultivated,  during  their 
college  days,  would  be  an  asset  to  them  and  to  the  com- 
inuiiity.  How  to  create  and  stimulate  it,  is  a  problem  to 
which  our  research  institutes  will  have  to  devote  special 
attention.  Years  ago  the  Dakshina  Fellowships  were  in- 
stituted for  the  express  purpose  of  encouraging  the  ablest 
young  men  of  the  Presidency,  to  apply  and  concentrate  their 
energies  for  the  best  years  of  life  on  the  development  of 
vernacular  literature.  "What  we  want",  observed  the  then 
Director  of  Public  Instruction,  Mr.  Howard,  "is  a  race  of 
native  authors  who,  being  full  of  sound  learning  and 
European  science,  would,  out  of  the  fulness  of  their  minds, 
write  books  of  authority  fashioned  in  native  moulds  of 
thought".  Accordingly,  under  the  scheme  as  orginally 
sanctioned,  each  Fellow  was  to  deliver  every  year  a  course 
of  lectures  in  the  college  and  publish  a  treatise  in  the  ver- 
nacular. He  was,  so  to  say,  told  that  he  had  no  right  to 
enjoy  the  feast  of  knowledge  in  silence  and  without  company 
but  that  it  was  his  duty  to  invite  his  uneducated  or  less  edu- 
cated brethren  to  tha  banquet.  Within  a  short  time,  how- 
ever, the  Fellowships  dwindled  into  mere  college-tutorships 
U)  the  detriment  of  the  Fellows  as  well  as  the  pupils.  About 
ars  ago,  I  brought  this  matter  to  the  notice  of  the  then 
I  Ireotor  of  Public  Instruction,  Mr.  Qlles,  and  pointed  out  to 
him  how  much  useful  work  could  have  been  done  lor  the 
oulth  ati<  ii  of  vernacular  literature,    had    not     lh«       nginal 


46  First  Oriental  Conference, 

object  of  the  Fellowships  been  lost  sight  of  He,  however, 
found  it  impossible  to  deprive  the  col  ege  professors  of  the 
assistance  that  they  used  to  receive  from  the  Dakshina 
Fellows  in  their  work  and  suggested  that  I  should  move  the 
University  in  the  matter.  The  University  has  since  taken 
some  measures  for  the  recognition  of  tho  vernaculars,  but 
that  is  no  justification  for  the  appropriation  of  the  Dakshina 
Fellowships  for  a  purpose,  for  which  they  were  never  intend- 
ed. I  would,  therefore,  appeal  to  the  Caraa  and  Bhandarkar 
Institutes  to  make  a  joint  appeal  to  the  Educational  Depart- 
ment for  earmarking  at  least  a  few  Fellowships  for  the 
original  object.  T  have  no  doubt  the  present  Director  of 
Public  Instruction,  the  Hon'ble  Mr.  J.  G.  Covernton,  C.  I.  E., 
will  lend  a  very  sympathetic  ear  to  the  representations  of 
such  influential  organizations.  The  two  Institutes  may  also 
press  upon  the  attention  of  the  University  the  desirability 
of  offering  incentives  to  young  graduates  for  oriental  studies 
and  research." 

(5)  Report  af  the  Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute  : 
"I  HISTORY. — The  idea  of  an  Oriental  Institute,  offering 
facilities  to  research  workers  and  at  the  same  time  comme- 
morating the  work  and  name  of  Sir  R.  G.  Bhandarkar,  origi- 
nated towards  the  middle  of  1915.  The  scheme  was  received 
enthusiastically,  and  with  public  support,  Government  sym- 
pathy, and  chiefly  the  noble  aid  rendered  by  Sir  Ratan  and 
Sir  DorabTata,  the  scheme  soon  materialized,  and  the  Institute 
was  formally  inaugurated  by  H.  E.  Lord  Willingdon,  the  then 
Governor  of  Bombay,  on  the  6th  of  July  1917.  One  part  of  the 
main  buildings  of  the  Institute — the  J.  N.  Tata  Research  Hall — 
was  opened  by  Shrimant  Balasaheb  Pant  Pratinidhi,  Chief  of 
Aundh,  on  6th  July  J918.  The  Institute  began  its  literary 
work  in  October  1918.  The  Government  of  Bombay  tran- 
ferred  to  the  Institute  the  Manuscripts  Library  formerly  at 
the  Deccan  College,  together  with  a  maintenance  grant  of 
Rs,  3000,  and  also  handed  over  to  the  Institute,  provisionally 
for  five  years,  the  management  of  the  Bombay  Sanskrit  and 
Prakrit  Series,  together  with  a  grant  of  Rs.  12,000  for  that 
purpose. 

II  OBJECTS— (  a  )  To  place  within  the  easy  reach  of  ad- 
vanced research  students  a  first  class  and    up-to-date    Ori- 


Proceed  47 

ental  Library  and  to  afford  them  all  other  ready-made  helps 
in  the  way  of  select  topical  bibliographies,  digests  of  maga- 
zine articles,  card-indexes  and  similar  critical  material. 

(A)  To  train  qualified  students  in  the  scientific 
iih  thuds  of  research  along  Western  lines  by  opening  post- 
graduate classes,  founding  lecturerships  and  in  time,  prepar- 
ing students  for  higher  degrees  in  Oriental  research. 

(  c.  )  To  place  the  indigenous  learning  of  Shastris  on  a 
broader  and  sounder  basis. 

(<7)  To  publish,  with  the  co-operation  of  distinguished 
scholars,  critical  editions  of  texts,  original  and  independent 
works,  bearing  upon  Indian  Antiquities  and  Literature,  as 
also  a  Journal,  Proceedings,  Catalogues,  Reports  and  Occa- 
sional Studies. 

(  c)  To  act  as  a  bureau  for  literary  advice  and  infor- 
mation on  points  connected  with  Oriental  studies. 

(/)  And  generally  to  do  everything  for  the  advance- 
ment of  Oriental  learning  and  studies. 

Ill  WORK. — ia)  The  Mss.  Department,  in  addition  to 
lending  out  Mss.  under  the  usual  conditions,  has  on  hand  the 
completion  of  the  card-catalogue  of  all  the  Mss.  of  the  Gov- 
ernment Library,  as  a  preliminary  to  a  subject  and  author 
catalogue  of  the  stme.  In  the  near  future  would  ba  published 
a  catalogue  of  about  2,500  Mss.  added  to  the  Library  during 
the  last  twenty  years.  It  has  also  undertaken  a  descriptive 
catalogue  of  all  the  Jain  Mss.  in  the  library  which  has  a 
larger  number  of  these  Mss.  than  any  other  Library.  This 
catalogue  is  being  compiled  under  the  immediate  direc- 
tion of  the  distinguished  and  learned  Jain  Muni  Jinavi- 
jayji  of  Poona. 

(/>)  The  Publication  Department,  besides  conducting 
the  work  of  the  Bombay  Sanskrit  and  Prakrit  Series,  has 
undertaken  a  new  Series  which  includes  texts,  and  independ- 
ent and  original  works.  For  this,  co  operation  of  scholars 
from  every whe-e  is  solicited.  It  is  al-o  hoped  to  publish,  in 
the  very  near  future,  an  authoritative  edition  of  the  works  of 
Sir  R.  O.  Bhandarkar,  prepared  under  his  supervision.  In 
-nitii»n    of    the    handsome    help    promised    by    the   Jain 


48  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Community,  the  Institute  is   devoting   special    attention   to 
the  publication  of  Jain  Literature. 

( c )  The  Research  Department  invites  distinguished 
Oriental  scholars  to  read  papers  at  the  Institute.  These  paperss 
are  published  in  the  Journal  of  the  Institute.  A  class  in  Ger- 
man, for  the  benefit  of  advanced  scholars  desirous  of  learning 
this  language,  was  regularly  held  by  Dr.  K.  K.  Joshi  of  the 
Fergusson  College  at  the  Institute.  A  similar  arrangement 
has  been  made  for  a  French  class.  At  the  request  of  a  number 
of  scholars,  it  is  proposed  to  open  classes  in  Pali,  Prakrit, 
Archaeology  and  the  old  Sastras,  under  proper  guidance.  In 
order  to  initiate  the  Shastris  into  the  critical  method  of  study, 
lectures  will  be  delivered  for  their  benefit  from  time  to  time 
in  Marathi,  summarising  the  results  of  the  latest  research. 
Provision  is  being  made  for  teaching  the  M.  A.  courses  of 
the  University  of  Bombay  in  Sanskrit  and  allied  subjects  at 
the  Institute. 

(</)  The  Library  Department  will  soon  publish  a  cata- 
logue of  the  magnificent  Library  of  Sir  R.  G.  Bhandarkar, 
of  which  he  has  made  a  free  gift  to  the  Institute,  and  a  part 
of  which  is  already  transferred  to  the  Institute.  The  work 
of  preparing  digests  of  Magazine  articles  and  bibliographies 
is  proceeding  apace.  The  Institute  seeks  co-operation  from 
publishers  and  authors  for  being  kept  in  touch  with 
current  Oriental  Literature. 

(  e )  The  Mahabharata  Publication  Department  owes 
its  existence  to  the  liberality  of  Shrimant  Balasaheb  Pant 
Pratinidhi,  B.  A  ,  Chief  of  Aundh.  He  has  undertaken  to  pay 
annually  Rs.  6000  for  preparing  a  critical  and  authoritative 
text  of  the  great  Indian  Epic  with  illustrations.  Public 
support  is  still  required  to  meet  the  other  half  of  the  ex- 
penses. A  prospectus  preliminary  to  this  edition  was  pub- 
lished on  the  1st  of  April  1919,  and  the  work  of  collating  and 
comparing  Mss-  and  preparing  the  press  copy  begun  on  that 
day.  The  preparation  of  the  press-copy  is  calculated  to  re- 
quire about  eight  years.  The  Prospectus  (pp.  44)  gives  a  sum- 
mary of  aH  important  writings  bearing  on  epic  studies,  indi- 

in  full  the  nature  and  the  method  of  the  new  edition  no\ 
in  preparation  and  baa  a  sample  illustration,  drawn  in   three 


Proa  49 

colours  by  Shrimant  Balasaheb  Pant  Pratinidhi  and  his  ar- 
tists. Co-operation  and  suggestions  are  invited  from  scho- 
lars in  the  investigation  of  Mss.  aud  the  preparation  of  the 
text.  A  responsible  editiorial  committee  has  been  appointed 
to  supervise  the  collation  work  from  time  to  time.  The  staff  at 
present  consists  of  the  Secretary  and  Editor,  one  Graduate 
and  three  Shastris.  The  work*is  going  on  necessarily  at  a 
slow  pace.  To  quicken  it,  more  men  will  have  to  be  engaged, 
which  means  more  money  will  be  required.  The  different  Gov- 
ernments and  states  are  being  approached  for  this  purpose. 

(/)  The  Journal  of  the  Institute  was  started  in  July 
1919  under  a  responsible  committee.  It  is  expected  that  the 
Journal  will,  in  the  first  instance,  be  issued  twice  a  year  ;  in 
July  and  in  December.  The  first  number  also  contains  the 
reports  of  the  Executive  Board  and  the  Council,  state- 
ment of  accounts,  list  of  publications  presented  to  or  bought 
by  the  Institute,  list  of  members  and  other  useful  infor- 
mation. The  articles  in  the  first  number  are  of  varied  interest 
and  will  speak  for  themselves. 

(  g  )  The  information  Bureau  supplies  gratis  informa- 
tion on  any  literary  or  historical  point  to  all  enquirers. 

IV  MANAGEMENT.— H.  E.  Lord  Willingdon,  now  the 
Governor  of  Madras,  is  the  President,  and  the  Chief  of 
Ichalkaranji,  Sir  Dorab  Tata  and  His  Holiness  the  Shankara- 
charya  of  Karvir  Math  are  the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Ins- 
titute. 

The  General  Body  of  the  Institute  consists  of  all  contri- 
butors to  the  Institute  under  the  rules.  The  contributors 
have  a  right  of  electing  members  to  the  Counoil  and  being 
themselves  so  elected.  The  General  Body  meets  once  a  year 
to  adopt  the  annual  report  of  the  work  of  the  Institute. 

The  Regulating  Council  consists  of  30  members,  25 
elected  triennially  by  the  General  Body  and  5  nominated  by 
the  Government  of  Bomay.  The  present  Council  has  members 
on  it  from  different  parts  of  India.  The  council  meets  ordi- 
narily twice  a  year,  passes  budgets,  controls  finances,  exer- 
cises general  supervision  and  elects  an  Executive  Board. 

Tho  Executive  Board,  which  oarriea  on  the  work  of  the 
Institute,  ooi 


50  First  Oriental  Conference. 

from  among  the  five  Government  nominees  on  the  Regulat- 
ing Council-  For  facility  of  work,  the  Board  has  appointed 
committees  to  carry  on  the  different  activities  of  the  Institu 
te  as  indicated  above. 

The  present  Executive  Board  consists  of: — 
1  Prof  V.  K.  Rajwade,  Ohairman;  2  Dr.  S.  K.  Belvaikar; 
3  Prof.  N.  D.  Minocher  Homji;  4  K.  G.  Joshi  Esq.;  5  Prof.  R. 
D.  Ranade;  6  Prof  R.  D  Karmarkar;  7  N.  B.  Utgikar,  Esq. 
Curator  ;  8  Dr.  N.  G.  Sardesai,  Treasurer;  9  Dr.  P.  D.  Gune, 
Secretary. 

V  PRESENT  NEEDS— Though  the  Institute  is  well  started 
on  its  career,  much  remains  to  be  done  for  establishing  it 
financially  on  a  sound  basis.  All  the  money  it  has  received 
upto  now,  has  come  ear-marked  for  specific  purposes.  The 
most  urgent  need  is  of  the  addition  of  the  two  projected  wings 
to  the  J.  N.  Tata  Research  Hall.  In  fact  no  exteusion  of 
the  Libraries  and  the  Reading  Room  can  be  contemplated 
unless  the  Institute  has  more  room  at  its  command.  Shet 
Khetsey  Khiasey  of  Bombay  has  promised  to  pay  Rs.  25000 
towards  the  cost  of  one  hall  and  the  Institute  has  recently 
approached  Government  for  a  contribution  of  Rs.  45000  for 
another  Hall.  The  difference  of  20000  in  the  cost  of  the  first 
hall  will  have  to  be  made  up  by  subscriptions.  New  and 
permanent  sources  of  income  are  required  for  building  up  a 
permanent  fund.  The  Library  will  have  to  be  maintained  at 
a  high  level,  and  an  Oriental  Reading  Room  containing 
journals  etc.,  is  a  prime  necessity. 

VI  MEMBERSHIP.-- -There  are  four  ways  of  join  ins;  the 
Institute  ;  as  a  patron  paying  Rs.  1000,  as  a  vice-patron  pay- 
ing Rs.  500,  as  a  benefactor  paying  Rs.  250,  as  a  lifemember 
paying  Rs.  100  and  as  an  annual  member  paying  Rs.  10 
annually.  Members  are  entitled  to  a  free  copy  of  the  Journal 
of  the  Institute  and  to  all  the  privileges  of  the  libraries.  They 
are  also  entitled  to  a  participation  in  the  management  as  in- 
dicated above." 

(6)  Report  of  the  Karnatak  ltihasa  Mantfala  :  — 

(1)     Introductory 
'The  Kanarese  country  is   Btudded  with    monuments  of 
arena  il    interest,    such    a.-     tompW  q<     Blabs 


ProceeJings.  51 

copper  plates  etc.  The  Kanareso  literature  abounds  in  in- 
cidents relating  to  various  dynasties,  such  as  the  Calukyas, 
the  Rastrakutas,  the  Kalacooryas,  the  Yadava  Princes  of 
Dorasamudra  and  Devagiri  and  the  Bijayanagar  Rayas. 

Mysore,  the  southern  part  of  the  Kanarese  country, 
has  suoessfully  collected  and  printed  the  available  inscrip- 
tions and  other  material ;  while  the  other  part  of  the  country 
is  yet  unexplored,  and  consequently  the  history  of  the  great 
mediaeval  dynasties  remains  closed  to  the  world.  Hence  the 
necessity  of  an  indigenous  association  like  the  Karnatak 
ltihasa  Mandala. 

(2)  The  objects. 

The  society  is  formed  mainly  with  the  object  of  col- 
lecting historical  facts  out  of  the  vast  material  lying 
scattered  in  the  country  and  to  place  the  same  before  the 
world  in  general  and  the  Kanarese  people  in  particular. 
The  society  was  founded  in  Dharwar  on  29-9-1914  with  7 
members  to  start  with.     Its  present  strength  is  112. 

(3)  Constitution. 

The  society  is  managed  by  5  members  of  the  Manag- 
ing Committee  headed  by  a  President.  The  members  them- 
selves have  got  a  power  of  filling  up  the  vacancies  created  in 
their  rank.  No  system  of  annual  election  is  in  vogue. 
The  membership  is  open  to  any  one  who  desires  to  study  the 
history  and  work  in  the  line. 

(4)     Difficulties  and  assets. 

1.  The  society  has  got  all  the  disadvantages  of  being 
placed  in  a  locality  far  removed  from  the  Presidency  towns. 

2.  It  feels  greatly  the  want  of  a  good  library  consisting 
of  books  of  reference  upto  date,  principally  on  history, 
archaeology  and  architecture. 

3.  It  is  not  so  much  in  touch  with  the  archaeological 
departments. 

4.  It  has  to  work  amidst  the  ignorance  and  the 
consequent  apathy  of  the  general  public. 

5.  Want  of  funds  is  the  greatest   impediment  that   ham- 
ihe  work  of  the  society  on  all  si 


52  First  Oriental  Conference. 

6.  The  society  has  got  no  building  of  its  own  ;  its  few 
book-shelves  are  kept  in  the  Karnatak  Vidya  Vardhaka 
Sangha,  and  its  Hall  is  occasionally  used  for  its  meetings. 

7.  The  present  library  of  the  society,  called  "The  Pra- 
yag  Library",  consists  of  several  good  books  worth  nearly 
Rs.  500.  Besides  the  books,  the  society  possesses  tadavalis, 
copper  images,  some  coins,  some  deciphered  copies  of  cop- 
per-plates, a  number  of  imprints  of  stone-slabs,  manuscripts 
and  a  number  of  documents  and  title-deeds. 

8.  The  society s  library  is  supplied,  free  of  cost,  with 
the  reports  of  the  Archaeological  Departments  of  the  Gov- 
ernments of  Mysore,  Bombay,  Madras  and  the  United  Pro- 
vinces. 

9.  The  Mysore  Archaeological  Department  has  been 
helping  the  society  to  decipher  the  society's  inscriptions  and 
manuscripts  whenever  necessary. 

10.  The  society  has  got  some  advantages  also.  It  is 
placed  in  the  midst  of  the  materials  that  supply  historical 
information.  It  is  an  indigenous  one.  Besides,  it  has  the 
advantage  of  its  members  knowing  Kanarese,  in  which 
language  alone  almost  the  whole  of  the  available  informa- 
tion is  shrouded. 

(5)    Work  accomplished 

Various  articles  are  published  by  the  society  through 
Kanarese,  Marathi,  Bengali  and  English  magazines  an 
papers  such  as  the  VagbhTmtna  (Kan),  Sabdacandri 
(Kan),  Karnataka  SUlutyapatrika.  (Kan),  Citramaya  Jay 
(Mar),  Bharail  (Ben),  Hindusthan  Review  (Eng)  and  Kama 
(Bog).  A  pamphlet  about  Karnatak  history  is  written  i 
English.  A  special  history  in  Kanarese  is  printed  (its  first 
Edition  of  1917  is  exhausted  ;  the  2nd  will  be  out  soon).  The 
society  has  also  supplied  information  to  the  Bharata  Itihasa 
Samsodhaka  Mandala,  Poona,  about  the  Kittur  Desai's 
fmiily  and  local  traditions  about  the  Desaini  of  Bellodi, 
who  repulsed  Shivaji's  attack  on  her  principality.  An  article 
has  been  published  about  Shahaji's  tomb  in  the  Shimoga 
district.  To  create  an  awakening  among  the  Kanarese  peo- 
ple, a  Kirtana  about  Sri  Vidyaranya  (the  famous  founder   of 


"I 


53 

the  Bijayanagar  Empire)  and  oil  life  has  been  published  and 
it  was  performed  in  various  places. 

In  May  1918,  a  small  exhibition  of  historical  curiosities 
was  held  by  the  society  in  the  Dharwar  Training  Colbge  for 
men,  along  with  the  4th  Karnatak  Sahitya  Sammelana.  Ma- 
gic lantern  slides  about  the  places  of  historical  interest  in 
Karnatak  were  shown  by  the  society  in  the  same  Samme- 
lana. 

Places  of  Karnatak  history  such  as  Hampi,  Halebidu, 
Belur,  Shravana  Belugal,  Harihara,  Badami,  Patadakal, 
Aihole,  Lakkundi,  Annigeri,  Laxmeshwar,  Itagi,  Chowdada- 
napur,  Verul,  Daulatabad,  Shrirangapatam,  Mysore  and 
Bijapur  were  visited  by  members  singly  or  in  groups. 
Lectures  about  the  epochs  in  Karnatak  history  were 
given  in  Poona  Colleges  and  in  Belgaum,  Dharwar,  Hubli, 
and  Kirtans  of  Sri  Vidyaranya  were  performed  in  Dharwar, 
Hubli,  Gadag,  Davangeri,  Belgaum  and  Hungund." 

(7)  Report  of  the  Andhra  Pari  sod  haka  Mahamandali  of 
Pithapuram,  Godavari  district  : — 

"This  institution  was  started  in  1917  by  Mr.  Ch.  Dharma 
Rao  (Bar-at-law)  and  Mr.  Kavyanidhi  Ch.  Satcha  Rao,  Ze- 
mindars of  Yernagudem. 

The  objects  of  the  Mahamandali  are  (1)  collecting  Mss., 
inscriptions  and  coins,  (2)  Facilitating  the  work  of  Research 
particularly  in  Telugu,  (3)  Popularising  history  and  en- 
couraging historical  productions  etc. 

The  institution  has  a  neat  little  building  of  its  own  in 
which  the  Library  is  now  situated.  In  spite  of  a  copious 
collection  of  Mss.,  both  by  the  Government  of  Madras  and 
the  Telugu  Academy,  our  Mahamandali  could  make  a  very 
satisfactory  collection  in  these  two  years 

The  Library  was  opened  by  the  Hon.  Rajah  of  Pitha- 
puram, C.  B.  E.  &  P.  M.  V.,  when  several  Telugu  scholars 
Of  great  eminence  were  present,  notably,  the  late  Rao 
Bahadur  K.  Viresalingam  Pantulu  and  Mr.  J.  Ramiab 
Pantulu,  a  great  epigraphist. 


54  First  Oriental  Conference- 

We  could  hitherto  collect  about  2500  Mss.  in  Sanskrit, 
Telugu,  Canarese  and  Tamil  languages,  of  which  several 
were  hitherto  unheard  of.  We  very  recently  began  collection 
of  coins  and  inscriptions,  some  of  which  are  exhibited  now 
here,  with  a  photograph  of  our  Library  and  its  buildings. 

Some  inscriptions  were  deciphered  and  texts  were  pub- 
lished in  our  vernacular  Magazines.  As  we  are  new  to  deci- 
phering of  coins,  we  would  like  to  place  them  before  scholars 
for  examination.  We  propose  sending  one  of  our  Pandits  to 
the  Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute,  for  training  in 
the  near  future. 

The  following  old  books  were  published  by  us  (1)  Jah- 
navl  Mahatmyam  (2)  Simantirii  Kalyanam  (3)  Nitihara  Mukta- 
vali,  (4;  Puspabaruwilasa  (5)  Narayna  tiataka,  (6)  Candraduta 
(7)  Vijaya-nandana  Vi/dsa,  (8)  Valmiki-caritra.  Valmiki- 
carUra  was  written  by  Raghunatha  Bhupala,  a  Mahratta 
king  of  Tanjore.  These  books  were  unknown  upto  now  even 
to  the  Andhras  and  they  throw  additional  light  on  the  history 
of  Telugu  Literature,  particulars  of  which  need  not  be  men- 
tioned here. 

A  printing  press  was  recently  started  to  facilitate  the 
work  of  the  Mahamandali.  The  hitherto  unpublished  works, 
Sataka  Kavi  CarUra  and  History  of  Telugu  Literature  will 
soon  be  given  to  the  public. 

Detailed  reports  of  the  work  and  descriptive  catalogues 
of  Mss.  and  inscriptions,  will  be  issued  shortly  after  a  good 
collection  is  made  and  we  mean  to  publish  the  Sanskrit 
part  of  our  catalogue  in  English  for  the  use  of  Orientalists. 

In  this  connection  mention  has  to  be  made  of  a  Telugu  Ms. 
which  was  recently  procured.  It  was  dedicated  to  a  grand- 
son of  Chatrapati  Shivaji's  brother,  the  Rajah  of  Tanjore; 
and  in  the  Krityadi  of  which,  a  full  genealogy  and  achieve- 
ments of  Shivaji  and  his  successors  are  given,  which  may  be 
of  interest  to  historians  of  Maharashtra.  One  Chidambara- 
kavi,  a  Maharatta  by  birth,  about  300  years  ago,  wrote  a 
b  A»k  in  T«luga  ealled  Angadarayabhavam  in  the  preface 
of  which  ho  says  that,  though  hi<  m  »ther-tongue  was  Mara- 
thi,  he  was    tempted    to    write    in    Telugu    on    account  of  its 


reding  8.  55 


sweet   and    melodious  sound.     Thus   we   find   several    Mah- 
ratta  princes  as  patrons  of  Telugu  letters."* 

14.  Tne  Conference  then  proceeded  to  the  reading  of 
papers  and  the  Vice-President  called  ujon  Shrimant  Bala- 
■abeb  Panl  l'ralinidhi,  Chief  of  Aundh,  to  read  his  paper  on 
ry  in  the  MahabhaZrata  The  full  text  of  the  paper 
will  appear  in  the  second  volume  of  the  Proceedings  of  the 
First  Oriental  Conference,  Poona.  The  President  suggested 
that,  as  it  was  not  possible  to  discuss  the  question  during 
the  session,  if  any  body  had  anything  to  say  on  that  point, 
he  should  communicate  with  the  Mahabharata  Editorial 
Committee  of  the  Bhandarkar  Institute. 

As  Shams-ul-Ulama  Saiyid  Muhammad  Amin  of  Jubbul- 
pore  and  Maung  Schwe  Zan  Aung  Esq.  of  Rangoon  were  not 
present  t">  read  thsir  papers  on  A  short  note  on  the  Arabic 
Language  and  The  Buddhistic  Philosophy  of  Change  res- 
pectively, the  Vice-President  called  upon  Prof.  D.  R. 
Bhandarkar  to  read  his  paper  on  The  Origin  of  the  Indian 
Alphabet,  which  he  did  in  extracts.  He  was  followed  by 
Prof.  M.  lliriyanna  of  Mysore,  who  r^ad  out  important 
points  from  his  paper  on  Indian  .Esthetics.  Then  came  Dr. 
Gauranganath  Banerjee  of  the  Calcutta  University,  with 
his  India  as  fenoum  to  (he  Ancient  World  which  he  read 
almost  in  extenso.  Mr.  S.  K.  Hodiwala  of  Bombay  followed 
with  his  Varutyi,  the  Prototype  of  Ahuramazda  of  which 
he  read  the  summary.  After  him  Dr.  Ganganath  Jha  read 
his  paper  on  Theism  <>',  Gautama,  the  Founder  of  Nyaya.  Lastly 
Prof.  8  Krishnaswamy  Aiyangar  cf  the  Madras  University 
made  :i  briel  speech  and  indicated  the  salient  features  of  his 
r  on   Vaisiiavism  in  Southern  India  before  RamUnuja. 

0*  ing  to  the  want  of  time,  there  could  not   be   any 
Dussion  on  these  papers,  all  of  which  are  being  printed  in  the 

iid  volume  of  the    I'roceedings.     The   session    closed    at 
5-30  P.  M. 


report  wasalw  I  from  the  Maharaj  rit  College  of 

our  funotion  to  prim  roporis  of    icholastl     \\ 


56  First  Oriental  Confereiice. 

III.    THIRD  SITTING,  THURSDAY,  THE  6TH  NOVEMBER  1919. 
8-30  A.   M.  to  11  A.   M. 

15.  The  whole  of  this  day  was  reserved  for  reading 
papers.  The  sectional  meetings  in  different  subjects  commenc- 
ed at  8-30  a.  m.  Several  tents  were  erected  near  the  pandal, 
with  seating  accommodation  for  members,  and  the  pandal  it- 
self was  divided  into  four  sections  by  means  of  screens.  The 
following  sections  could  therefore  conduct  their  meetings 
simultaneously. 

(1)  The  Vedic  Section  :  Chairman,  Dr.  R.  Zimmermann. 
The  attendance  was  about  sixty,  as  delegates  attended  one 
section  or  another,  of  the  many  that  were  going  on  at  the 
same  time,  according  to  their  choice.  The  following  papers 
were  read  and  discussion  followed  at  the  close  of  each. 

The  Nighantu  is  not  the  work  of  the  author  of  the 
Nirukta:    Prof.   R.  D.  Karmarkar  of  Poona. 

A  Study  of  the  Idea  of  Rudra  :  Mr.  S.  D.  Satvalekar  of 
Aundh. 

Ootra  and  Pravara :     Rao  B.  C.  V.  Vaidya  of  Kalyan. 

Reference  to  the  Mahabharata  in  the  Aivalayana  Grhyasiitra: 
Mr.  N.  B.  Utgikar  of  Poona. 

The  Nirukta  and  Nighantu;  their  mutual  Relations  :  Prof. 
Siddheshvara  Varma  Shastri  of  Shrinagar. 

Arya  and  Dasyu,  a  Cliapter  in  social  History  :  Mr.  S.  V.* 
Visvanath  of  Trichinopoly. 

Dr.  Zimmermann  summed  up  the  discussion  and  compli- 
mented scholars  on  the  high  level  of  scholarship  and  the 
critical  acumen  displayed  in  the  papers  generally.  The  sit- 
ting closed  at  about  10  A.  M. 

(2)  The  Avesta  Section  met  after  the  Vedic  section  had! 
finished.  Dr.  J.  J.  Modi  was  in  the  chair.  The  following j 
papers  were  read  and  discussion  followed. 

Armkhsha,  the  Archer  and  his  Arrow:  Mr.  B.  T.  Ankle- 
saria  of  Bombay. 

Aitareya  :     Dr.  I.  J.  Taraporewala  of  Calcutta. 

Avestan    Archangels  and  Sanskrit    Deities  :     Mr.   A. 
Vesavevala  of  Bombay. 


Proceedings  57 

SumhaLlujuiin  <in<i  emlti  Zorcxistrimi  Migration  into  hm 
Mr.  K.  N.  Sitaram  of  Madras. 

Modern  Science  in  Ancient  Iran  :  Mr.  M.  B.  Pithawala  of 
Poona. 

The  chairman  summed  up  the  discussion  and  was  ge- 
nerally satisfied  with  the  output.  The  meeting  olosed  at 
about  11-15  a.  m. 

(3)  The  Classical  Literature  and  Modern  Vernaculars 
Section  :  Chairman,  Prof.  S.  Kuppuswami  Shastri.  The  fol- 
lowing papers  were  read  and  discussion  followed. 

kunta/a,  an  Allegory  .    j£r<  jj.  S.  Adhikari  of  Gandevi. 

The  Relation  of  Sudraka's  Mrccluikatika  to  the  Carudatta 
of  Phasa  :     Dr  S.  K.  Belvalkar  of  Poona. 

Psychological  Study  of  Kd/idasa's  UpamUs.  :  Mr.  P.  K. 
Gode  of  Poona. 

KatidUsn  and  Music  :  Sardar  G.  N.  Mujumdar  of  Poona. 

Kautilya  ami  Kaltdasa  :     Mr.  H.  A.  Shah  of  Bombay. 

The  History  of  Uunasin  Alahkdra  :  Prof.  V.  V.  Sovani 
of  Meerut. 

Funeral  Place  of  Kalnlasa  :  Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidya- 
bhusana  of  Calcutta. 

The  Text  of  Sakuntala  :  Prof.  B.  K.  Thakore  of  Poona. 

After  summing  up  the  discussion,  the  chairman  proceed- 
ed to  the  Modern  Vernaculars  Section,  where  the  following 
papers  were  read. 

The  Dravidian  Tenses ujjixes  :  Mr.  R.  Swaminath  Aiyar 
of  Vemur. 

Old  Telugu  Literature  :     Mr.  K.  Sitaramaiya  of  Vemur. 

Telugu  Language  and   Literature:     Mr.    G.   Somanna  of 

Madras. 

(4).  Ethnology  and  Folk-lore  Section :  Chairman,  Dr. 
J.  J.  Modi.  The  following  papers  were  read  and  discussion 
took  place  on  some  of  them.  The  audience  numbered  about 
fifty. 

The  Rationale  of  the.  Hindu  Sraddha  \  Mr.  A.  Govind- 
caryaswamin  of  Mygore. 

v.  (\  o.  i.  a 


58  First  Oriental  Conference. 

A  Note  on  the  Dissolution  of  Castes  and  the  Formation  of 
new  ones  :     Dr.  S.  V.  Ketkar  of  Nagpur. 

A  brief  History  of  the  Survey  of  the  Ethnography  of  Bom- 
bay :      Dr.  J.  J.  Modi  of  Bombay. 

A  Plea  for  the  Pre-historic  Survey  of  India  :  Mr.  Haya- 
vadanarao  of  Madras. 

(  5  ).  The  Persian  and  Arabic  Section  was  presided  over 
by  Prof.  S.  Khuda  Bukhsh  of  Calcutta.  About  forty  members 
were  present.     The  following  papers  were  read. 

Persian  and  Arabic  Words  in  Ma  rat  hi:  Prof.  M.  T. 
Patwardhan  of  Poona. 

The  tin-known  Ya  in  Persian :  Prof.  A.  K.  Shaikh  of 
Bombay. 

Arabic  Star-names  in  Persian  Literature:  Mr.  Saiyid  M. 
Ahmed  of  Hyderabad. 

Ukhaharana  in  Shahnamah  or  the  Persian  Version  of  the 
Story  of  Ukha  :  P.  B.  Desai  of  Bombay.  (The  paper  was  read 
by  Mr.  M.  T.  Patwardhan  in  the  absence  of  the  writer). 

A  Short  Note  on  the  Arabic  Language:  A.  Saiyid  M. 
Amin.    (The  paper  was  read  by  Saiyid  Mukhtar  Ahmed). 

(6).  The  Technical  Sciences  Section  had  for  its  Chair- 
man Mr.  G.  R.  Kaye  of  Simla.  The  following  papers  in 
different  Technical  Sciences  were  read  with  interesting  dis- 
cussion.    The  audience  was  about  forty. 

Authorship  of  Rasarnavasudhakara  :  Dr.  P.  R.  Bhandar- 
kar  of  Indore. 

A  Note  on  the  Early  History  of  Music :  Mr.  Clements  ol 
Beigaum.  (The  paper  was  read  by  Rao  Bahadur  K.  B.  Deval 
of  Sangli.) 

Classification  of  Melodies :  Prof.  V.  G.  Paranjpe  of  Poona. 

.1  short  Note  on  the  Use  of  Metres  by  Sanskrit  Poets  :  Mr. 
A.  S.  Bhandarkar  of  Poona. 

A  Note  on  the  Ancient  System  of  Medicine  :  Mr.  M.  Amin 
of  Hyderabad. 

Rasavidya  or  Alchemy  in  ancient  India  :  Mr.  R.  V.  Pat- 
wardhan of  Poona. 


Hindu  Astronomy  :     Prof.  G.  S.  Apt©  of  Gwalior. 

On  th<-  U96  of  the  Astronomical  Phenomena  in  fixing  the 
Chronological  Periods  in  Indian  Hislory  :  Mr.  V.  B.  Ketkar 
of  Poona. 

An  Eye-table  of  Brahma  si  ddharda  :  Divan  B.  L.  P. 
Swamikannu  Pillai,  of  Nellore. 

On  the  Origin  of  the  Week  :  Mr.  R.  Shamashastri  of 
Mysore. 

Town-Planning  in  Ancient   India:     Mr.     Bhababibhuti 

Vidyabhushana. 

(7).  The  Archaeological  Section  met  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar.  About  one  hundred 
delegates  attended  ;  the  following  papers  were  read  with 
some  discussion. 

inskrit   Manuscripts ;    their  Search    and  Preservation  : 
Mr.  R  Anantakrishnashastri  of  Baroda. 

Introduction  to  tfie  Study  of  Ancient  Indian  Architecture  : 
Mr.  M.  A.  Ananthalwar. 

The  early  Kalacuris  and  the  Alplial>ets  of  tlieir  Copper- 
plate-grants :     Mr.  Y.  R.  Gupte  of  Poona. 

Indo- Aryan  Style  of  Architecture:     Y.  R.  Gupte  of  Poona. 

The  Caverns  and  the  Brahmi  Inscriptions  of  Southern 
India  :     Mr.  H.  Krishnashastri  of  Madras. 

Jain  Manuscripts  Bhandar  of  Patau  :  Mr.  J.  S.  Kudalkar 
of  Baroda. 

A  Mote  on  the  Tilakwada  Copper-plate  Inscription  of  the 
Tim,'  of  King  Bhoja  Paramar  of  Malwa  :  Mr.  J.  3.  Kudalkar 
of  Baroda. 

(8).  The  Sanskrit-papers  Section :  Chairman,  Maha- 
mahopadhyaya  Laxmanshastri  Dravid  of  Calcutta.  Eighty 
Pandits  and  scholars  attended.  The  following  papers  were 
read. 

The  City  Draraka:  Mahamahopadhy&ya  Hathibhai 
Shastri  of  Jamnagar. 

The  Padaand  V&kya  Bhasyas  of  the  Kenopanisad:  Pan<lit 
Bhridhar  Shastri  I'athak  of  Poona. 


60  Pitat   Oriental   Conference. 

The  Time  of  HaribtiadrasTiri  :  Muni  Jinavijayaji  of  Poona. 

The  Medical  Properties  of  Indian  Herbs :  Purushottam- 
shastri  Nanal  of  Poona. 

The  Importance  of  Sanskrit  and  its  Study  :  Pandit  Rama- 
shastri  of  Madras. 

The  Meaning  of  Sruti :    Mr.  Maganlal  Shastri  of  Bombay. 

The  Visistadvaita  Principles  :  Padit  N.  Tirumalacharya 
of  Bangalore. 

A  wrong  Interpretation  of  the  Mimamsa  Sutra  VI,  1,  24  : 
Pandit  G.  V.  Phadke  of  Ahmednagar. 

The  V  isesadvaita  Philosophy  :  Pandit  Virupaksha  Wo- 
deyar  of  Indore. 

IV.     FOURTH  SITTING,  THE  SAME  DAY. 

2-30  P.  M.  to  5-30  P.  M. 

16.     Heading  of  papers  in  sections  was  again  taken  up. 

(9).  The  Philosophy  Section  was  presided  over  by  Dr. 
Ganganath  Jha.  About  eighty  delegates  attended  and  the 
following  papers  were  read  with  discussion  now  and  then. 

Fallacies  in  Indian  Logic  :  Principal  G.  C.  Bhate  of 
Sangli. 

.Some  Aspects  of  the  Doctrine  of  Pratibha  in  Indian  Philoso 
phij  :  Pandit  Gopinath  Kaviraj  of  Benares. 

The  Relation  of  the  Bhagavadglta  with  Badarayana  Sutras  : 
Prof.  R.  D.  Karmarkar  of  Poona. 

71ie  S]>rings  of  Action  in  Hindu  Ethics  :  Mr.  Sushilkumar 
Maitra  of  Calcutta. 

Stinkard  andBuddha  :     Mr.  Pandurang  Sharma  of  Poona. 

A  ntujuity  of  the  Bhagavadglta  :  Mr.  S.  V.  Venkateshwar 
of  Madras. 

Logic  in  the  Philosophical  Systems  of  Suit kara  and  Aris- 
totle :     Dr.  Zimmermann  of  Bombay. 

situ  and  Phallic  Worship  :  Mr.  G.  K.  Chandorkar  of 
Dhulia. 

(10)  The  Buddhism  Section:  Chairman,  Dr.  Satis  Chan- 
dra  Vidyabhiisana    of   Calcutta.      About    seventy    delegates 


Proceedings.  61 

attended.     The  chairman  opened  the  proceedings  by  a  short 
speech  on  The  Revival  of  Buddhism  read  for  him  by  Mr.  P.  L. 

Vaidya  of  Sangli  : — 

4  Gentlemen, 

Kindly  allow  me  to  thank  you  most  heartily  for  the 
honour  you  have  done  me  by  electing  me  one  of  your 
Vice-Presidents  and  Chairman  of  the  Section  on  Buddhism. 
The  present  Conference  must  be  unique,  held  as  it  is  under 
the  Presidency  of  one  who  is  the  greatest  living  Orientalist 
in  India — I  mean  Sir  Ramkrishna  Gopal  Bhandarkar,  the 
guiding  spirit  of  an  Institute,  which,  undar  the  conduct  of  a 
band  of  scholars,  trained  up  under  his  influence,  is  moving 
forward  in  the  advancement  of  Oriental  studies.  For  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  modern  India,  scholars  of  the  old 
and  new  schools,  both  Indian  and  European,  have  met  to- 
gether to  discourse  on  profound  topics  connected  with  the 
Oriental  Culture. 

Providence  has  granted  to  our  country  the  good  fortune 
of  being  linked  up  with  a  state  that  has  exemplified,  through- 
out its  history,  a  beautiful  reconciliation  of  the  forces  of 
conservation  and  progress  Treasuring  up  the  experiences 
of  the  past,  Great  Britain  has  adapted  itself  to  the  measures 
of  reform  that  the  onward  course  of  time  showed  to  be  ne- 
cessary. India  has  need  of  the  guiding  hand  of  Britain  at 
this  juncture.  The  ancient  learning  of  India  does  not,  in 
this  age,  furnish  a  complete  outfit  of  life.  The  exclusive 
spread  of  modern  learning  of  the  West,  on  the  other  hand, 
would  efface  the  distinctive  features  of  the  Indian  intellect 
and  character.  The  Indian  Government  sees  with  a  dear 
eye  the  need  of  a  synthesis,  and  concerns  itself  as  much  with 
conservation  of  the  anoient  eduoational  Institutions,  as  with 
the  introduction  of  the  useful  sciences  that  this  age  prizes. 

In  the  sphere  of  Oriental  Scholarship,  the  ancient  trea- 
sures of  the  land  can  be  correctly  appraised,  if  only  they  are 
presented  in  a  form  that  can  be  appreciated  all  over  the 
world,  in  accordance  with  the  liberal  and  scientific  methods 
which  are  followed  in  the  West.  This  process  would  receive 
a  stimulus  from  the  holding  <»f  Conferences  like  the  Con- 
gresses of  Orientalists  in  Kuropp  ;    and    it    redounds   greatly 


62  hunt   Oriental   Cvnfereiia 

to  the  gl  >ry  of  the  Bombay  Presidency,  that  it  has  taken  the 
lead  in  organising  an  assembly  of  this  type  for  the  first  time 
on  Indian  soil.  So  many  scholars  have  graced  this  assembly 
with  their  presence,  and  the  subjects  for  discourse  are  so 
various  in  their  nature,  as  to  prove  abundantly  that  the 
spirit  of  research  has  been  awakened  and  our  country  is 
active  in  all  its  departments.  This  spirit  of  research,  this 
eagerness  to  investigate  afresh  into  the  past  acquisition  of 
Indian  intellect,  is  a  gift  of  the  West  to  the  East.  In  ancient 
times  the  different  branches  of  learning  numbered  fourteen, 
or  according  to  some,  eighteen.  But  the  West  has  opened 
our  eyes  to  richer  fields  of  intellectual  operation  and  multi- 
plied the  subjects  of  man's  study  to  an  enormous  extent. 
It  has  further  stimulated  the  study  of  the  older  subjects  from 
new  standpoints  and  according  to  new  methods.  As  an  in- 
stance of  this,  I  proceed  to  give  a  short  sketch  of  the  Revival 
of  Buddhist  Studies  in  this  country  during  the  last  century. 

Interest  in  Buddhism  roused  in  Europe. 

A  hundred  years  ago,  none  in  Europe  knew  of  Pali  and 
Buddhism.  Things  were  not  better  in  India,  where  the  peo- 
ple had  lost  all  recollection  of  Buddha  and  his  glorious  doc- 
trines. It  is  said  that  in  the  year  1687  A.  D.,  Louis  XIV  of 
France  sent  an  envoy  named  Loloubre  to  the  king  of  Siam, 
who  made  a  present  of  a  bundle  of  Pali  manu>cripts  to  king 
Louis.  Nothing,  however,  is  known  as  to  the  kind  of  recep- 
tion that  was  accorded  to  such  a  present  at  Paris.  The  Por- 
tuguese and  the  Dutch  who  ruled  in  Ceylon  in  the  17th  and 
18th  centuries,  in  their  zeal  for  establishing  one  religion  on 
the  earth  and  a  universal  brotherhood  through  the  bond  of 
Christianity,  did  not  care  to  take  notice  of  Pali  or  Buddhistic 
religion  Under  them  no  native  of  Ceylon  is  said  to  have  been 
eligible  for  a  high  appointment,  unless  he  had  embraced 
Christianity  and  assumed  a  Portuguese  or  Dutch  surname- 
The  country  was  administered  according  to  the  Roman- 
Dutch  law.  Luckily,  Ceylon  came  into  the  possession  of  the 
British  in  1811.  With  such  a  Portuguese  and  Dutch  tradi- 
tion behind  him,  it  was  no  small  courage  on  the  part  of  Sir 
Alexander  Johnston,  the  Chief  Justice  and  first  British 
member  of  the    Executive   Council    of  Ceylon,  to    move  His 


I'll,.  (j.'i 

Majesty's  Government  at  home  to  sanction  the  compilation, 
for  the  natives  of  the  island,  of  a  code  of  laws  suitable  to 
their  peculiar  religion,  manners,  usages  and  feelings.  His 
Majesty  granted  the  appeal.  Sir  Alexander  also  recommend- 
ed to  the  Court  of  Directors  at  home  the  publication,  with 
the  text  and  a  translation,  of  the  Makavamsa,  a  Pali  histo- 
rical work  giving  a  genuine  acoount  of  the  introduction  and 
progress  of  Buddhism — a  religion  which,  to  quote  the  words 
of  Sir  Alexander,  "whatever  may  be  the  nature  and  tendency 
of  its  doctrines,  deserves  the  consideration  of  the  philosopher 
and  the  statesman  for  the  unlimited  influence  which  it  at 
present  exercises  over  so  many  millions  of  the  inhabitants 
<t  Asia."  This  work  was  prepared  by  Mr.  Upham  with  the 
help  of  a  Wesleyan  Missionary,  named  the  Rev.  Mr.  Fox,  and 
printed  in  England.  It  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  Asiatic 
Society  of  Bengal,  in  as  much  as  it  confirmed  the  identifica- 
tion of  the  Indian  king  Chandragupta  with  Sandrocottus  of 
Greek  writers  and  Devanampiya  Piyadasi  of  Indian  inscrip- 
tions with  Asoka  of  the  Pali  Chronicle.  In  the  meanwhile 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  Clough  published  at  Colombo  in  1824,  a 
Pali  Grammar  to  unlock  the  treasure-house  of  Pali  litera- 
ture hitherto  sealed  to  the  civilized  world.  Messrs.  Burnouf 
and  Lassen  published  their  essays  on  Pali  at  Paris  in  1826 
and  1827  respectively.  George  Tumour,  another  distinuish- 
ed  member  of  the  Ceylon  Civil  Service,  undertook  to  bring 
out  a  revised  edition  of  Upham's  Mahaia/usa,  adding  the 
chapters  which  had  been  left  out.  This  edition  saw  the  light 
in  1836.  F.  Spiegel,  a  German  scholar,  published  in  1841 
the  Pali  work  of  Kammavaca  at  Bonn,  and  in  1845  he  pub- 
lished Anecdota  Palica  at  Leipzig.  In  1844  was  published 
Burnouf's  Introduction  to  the  History  of  Indian  Puddhism,  a 
masterly  work  which  challenged  the  attention  of  the  whole 
Western  world  to  Buddhism.  In  the  same  year  Bishop  Bri- 
gandet  published  from  Burmese  sources  a  comprehensive 
life  of  Buddha  called  the  Legends  of  Guutanui.  In  1848 
Rev.  Hardy  brought  out  a  list  of  books  in  the  Pali 
language,  as  also  Eastern  Monachism,  Manual  of  Buddhism, 
and  other  valuable  works  from  Singhalese  sources.  In  1855 
Dr.  Fausboll  of  Denmark  published  the  Pali  text  of  Dham- 
mapaila  with  a  Latin  translation  and  in  1861  the   same  scho- 


64  First  Oriental    Cimferenve 

lar  brought  out  some  of  the  Jataka  stories  in  Pali.  Kacca- 
yana's  Pali  Grammar  was  published  in  the  Bibliotheoa  Indi- 
oa  Series  of  Calcutta  under  the  editorship  of  Dr.  F.  Mason 
in  1857.  In  1866  Dr.  Alwis  published  at  Colombo,  certain 
papers  which  aroused  interest  in  the  philosophy  of  Bud- 
dhism. In  1869  Patimokkha,  the  manual  of  laws  regulating 
the  conduct  of  Buddhist  monks  and  nuns,  was  printed  at  St. 
Petersburgh  under  the  editorship  of  J.  Minayefif.  In  1870 
R.  C.  Childers  published  the  Khuddakapatha  and  in  1878  the 
Mahaparinibhanasutta  with  their  translations.  In  1875  the 
same  scholar  brought  out  a  Dictionary  of  the  Pali  Language 
which  marked  an  important  epoch  in  the  study  of  Pali.  In 
1871  Emile  Senart  published  Kaccayanas  Pali  Grammar 
with  notes  in  French.  In  1874  Mutu  Coomarswamy  pub- 
lished the  Pali  text  with  translation  of  Dathavai'nsa.  In  1876 
P.  Grimblot  published  at  Paris  seven  Pali  suttas  of  Dighani- 
kaya,  while  in  1877  a  portion  of  tiie  Samyuttanikaya  was  pub- 
lished by  Dr.  H.  S.  Feer-  In  1879  the  Dipavarhsa,  with  an 
English  translation,  was  published  by  Dr.  Oldenberg  and  sub- 
sequently the  Vinaya  texts  were  also  brought  out  by  him. 
In  1880  R.  Pischel  edited  and  translated  the  Majjhimanikaija 
and  V.  Trenckner  edited  the  Milinda  Panha.  With  the 
foundation  of  the  Pali  Text  Society  at  London  in  188  J  by 
Professor  T.  W.  Rhys  Davids,  commenced  the  systematic 
publication  of  Pali  texts  and  commentaries,  which  has  help- 
ed the  spread  of  Buddhistic  ideas  all  over  the  world. 

The  world  again  has  gained  much  valuable  information 
regarding  Buddhism  from  the  Chinese  sources.  Heinrich 
Julius  Klaproth  of  Berlin  published  in  1802  his  Asiatsche 
Magazin  in  which  he  gave  some  account  of  Buddhism  as 
derived  from  the  records  of  China.  In  1811  M.  Abel  Remusat 
published  at  Paris  an  essay  on  the  Chinese  language,  in 
which  he  gave  some  indication  of  the  kind  of  information 
available  from  that  language  about  Buddhism.  His  French 
translation  of  Fa  Hian's  Chinese  account  of  India  was  pub- 
lished at  Paris  in  1836.  In  1857  appeared  Julien's  French 
translation  of  the  Chinese  accounts  of  India  given  by  Hiuen 
Tsang.  But  no  scholar  has  given  more  information  to  the 
world  regarding  Chinese  Buddhism  than  Rev.  Beal,  whose 
English  translations  of  the  records  left  by  Chinese   pilgrims 


Pi  'is.  65 

to  India  began  to  appear  in  1869.  Subsequently  there  flou- 
rished other  Sinologists  such  as  Edkins  and  Eitel,  whose 
works  have  thrown  considerable  light  on  Chinese  Bud- 
dhism. 

The  third  source  from  which  the  world  has  obtained    in- 
formation regarding  Buddhism  is  the   Tibetan.     The    forbid- 
den land  of  the  Lamas  has  been  the    reservoir   of  numerous 
works  on    Buddhism    which  were  translated  into   Tibetan   a 
thousand  years  ago,  but  the  Sanskrit  and   Pali  originals   of 
which  have   been   lost  to   India.     In   1774  A.  D.   the   Tashi 
Lama  of  Tibet  sent  a   high   Tibetan   official,   three   senior 
lamas,  and  nine  novice  monks  to  conduct  religious  services 
at  Benares  and  Buddha  Gaya.     This   embassy   carried   with 
it  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Chait  Singh,  who  was  then  Raja 
of  Benares.     In  the  same  year  a  certain  Englishman,  named 
George  Bogle,  was  sent  by  Warren  Hastings,  the  first  British 
Governor-General  of  India,  to  Tashilhunpo  in  Tibet.     In   the 
year  1783  A.  D.  another  Englishman   named    Samuel   Turner 
was  seDt  to  Tibet  also  by  Warren  Hastings.    In  1811  Thomas 
Manning,  also   an    Englishman,  made  his    way   from   India 
to  Lhasa  where  he  saw  the  5th   Dalai   Lama.     Though  there 
was  thus  some  political    relation  established  between   Tibet 
and  India  in  the  latter  part  of  the   18th   century,   Buddhism 
and  Tibetan  literature  exercised  no  influence  in  India  at  the 
time.     The  first  contribution  to  the  knowledge   of  the  Tibetan 
language  came  from  one  Mr.  Georgi,  auother  of  Alphabetum 
Tilx'taiium.    The  work  which  supplied  the  real  wants  of  Euro- 
pean scholars  was  a  Tibetan  Dictionary  with   explanation   in 
Italian  published  at  Serampore,  Bengal,  in  1826.  The  Compiler 
was  a  Roman  Catholic  missionary  who  out  of  modesty  chose 
to  remain  incognito.     His   work   passed    into   the  hands   of 
another  missionary  gentleman  of  Bengal,  Mr.  Schroter,  who 
substituted    English    for  the   Italian,   and   brought   out   the 
edition   with  a  grant  from    the   East  India  Company.     The 
most  comprehensive  account,  however,  of  Tibetan   Buddhism 
was  given  by  a  Hungarian  scholar  named  Alexander   Csoma 
de  Koros,  who,  anxious  to  find  out  the   origin  of  his  race    in 
ntral  Asia,  set  out,  when  a  mere  boy,  from   Hungary   and 
after  undergoing   untold    privations    succeeded    in    reaching 
Tibet  where   he  studied  the   Tibetan   language  in   a   m">na- 

r.  o.    i.  9 


66  First   Orient  id   Conference. 

stery,  living  the  life  of  an  austere  recluse.  He  brought  out 
his  Dictionary  and  Grammar  in  English,  out  of  gratitude  for 
the  British  patronage  he  received,  in  1827  and  1834  respec- 
tively. The  analysis  of  the  Kangyur  and  Tangyur  by  him 
constituted  the  most  valuable  portion  of  the  early  num- 
bers of  the  Asiatic  Researches.  Then  followed  Was- 
siljew,  a  Russian  scholar,  who  during  his  ten  years'  re- 
sidence at  Pekin  from  1840  to  1850,  devoted  himself  to  the 
study  of  the  Chinese  and  Tibetan  languages  and  gave 
unmistakable  proof  to  the  world  that  the  "  Russians, 
too,  could  do  something  for  the  learning."  Wassil- 
jew  translated  for  the  first  time  into  the  Russian  language 
Lama  Taranath's  Chos-byung  or  the  Tibetan  History  of  In- 
dian Buddhism,  which  was  retranslated  into  German  by 
Schiefner.  M.  Foucaux's  Rgya-cher-rol-pa  in  Tibetan,  was 
published  at  Paris  in  1847.  Koppen's  Religion  of  Buddhism 
appeared  at  Berlin  in  1857.  Dr.  Schlagintweit's  Buddhism 
from  Tibetan  Sources  was  published  at  Leipzic  in  1862.  Next 
was  Father  Desgodins  whose  works,  including  a  Tibetan- Latin 
Dictionary,  were  published  at  Verdun  in  1872.  Rev.  H.  A. 
Jaschke,  a  Moravian  missionary,  whose  contributions  to 
Tibetan  literature  had  appeared  as  early  as  1865,  completed 
his  well-known  libetan-English  Dictionary  in  1881.  Lt. 
Col.  Waddell's  Lamaism  appeared  in  1895. 

Much  valuable  information  regarding  Mahayana  Bud- 
dhism as  taught  in  the  Universities  of  Nalanda,  Amaravatl 
Odantapuri  and  Vikramsila  has  been  obtained  from  the  vast 
mass  of  Buddhist-Sanskrit  works  that  lie  buried  in  the  re- 
mote regions  of  Nepal.  About  1820  A.  D.  Brian  Houghton 
Hodgson,  British  resident  in  Nepal,  sent  a  large  and  valu- 
able collection  of  Buddhist-Sanskrit  manuscripts  as  a  present 
to  the  Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal  and  he  also  contributed 
some  valuable  articles  on  the  Buddhism  of  Nepal  and 
Tibet  to  the  journals  of  that  Society.  But  it  is  a  matter 
of  regret  that  the  manuscripts  in  question  have  not  been 
utilised  as  they  deserve  to  be,  the  majority  of  them  remain- 
ing yet  unpublished.  A  few  Buddhist-Sanskrit  works 
included  in  the  Hodgson  collection  or  obtained  through  other 
agencies,  have  been  published  in  Europe,  such  as  the 
Mahavagtu   by      Emile  Senart   in   1882.      Several   Buddhist 


l'i  </s.  67 

Sanskrit  works  discovered  in  Japan  were  published  in  the 
Anecdota  Omniensis  Series  by  Prof.  Max  Muller.  The 
Bibliotheoa  Buddhica  Series  for  the  publication  of  Bud- 
dhist-Sanskrit  works   was   started   at  St.      Petersburgh   in 

The  knowledge  of  Buddhism  derived  from  Pali,  Chinese, 
Tibetan  and  Sanskrit  books  has  been    greatly   supplemented 
by  what  has  been  elicited  from  Epigraphic  and  Numismatic 
sources.      Facilities   were   afforded   for   the   publication   of 
papers   on   Buddhism   by   the  foundation   in     1784   of     the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal  under  the  auspices  of   the   British 
Government.     The   most   important   service   of  the  Asiatic 
Society  to  the  cause  of  Buddhism  was   the   decipherment,  in 
1834,  by  James  Prinsep,  of  the  Asoka  inscriptions  which  had 
escaped   the   notice   of  keen   observers   like     the     Chinese 
pilgrims  Fa  Huen   and   Hiuen  Tsang.      These   inscriptions 
became  for  some  time  "the  wonder  and  despair  of  the  learned." 
When  deciphered,  they  supplied  a  connecting   link  between 
the  history  of  India  and  that  of  other  countries,   containing 
such  historical  names   as  Antiochus   Gnatus,   Alexander   of 
Epirus,  Ptolemy  Philadelphus,  and  Magus  of  Cyrene.     Later 
on  numerous  other  inscriptions  on   rocks,   plates    and   coins 
were  discovered  and  deciphered,  which  led  to  the  foundation 
by  the  Government  of  India  of  the  Archaeological   Survey 
Department  in  1861  with  General  Cunningham  as  its  Director. 
This   Department,     now    working   under   the   distinguished 
guidance  of  its  present  head,  Sir  John  Marshall,  by  unearth- 
ing and   collecting   numerous    important   Buddhistic   relics 
and  remains,  has  helped  in  no  small  measure,  the   spread   of 
Buddhistic  knowledge. 

Buddhism  revived  in  India 
I  have  tried  to  indicate  from  various  sources  the  activi- 
ties of  European  scholars  from  1800  to  1880  A.  D.,  when 
Pandit  Satyavrata  Samashrami  of  Calcutta,  a  Vedic  scholar 
of  wide  reputation,  brought  out  an  edition  of  KaraniJavyTifai 
an  old  Buddhist-Sanskrit  work  of  the  Mahayana  school. 
This  work  supplies  an  explanation  of  the  formula  Ot'n  mani 
pa  (I  inch  u  in,      styled     Sadaksharl    MakSvidyd     or    the  gr 

lence  in  six  syllables  and   best  known  in    connection   with 
the  prayer-wheel  of  the   Lamai    of    High    \>ia.      The   great 


68  First  Oriental  Conference. 

antiquarian  Dr.  Rajendra  Lai  Mitra,  whose  researches  in  the 
field  of  Sanskrit  Literature  and  Epigraphy  had  won  for  him 
a  European  reputation,  brought  out  in  1869  an  edition  of  the 
Lalitavistara,  at  which  he  had,  it  is  reported,  been  working 
since  1853.  Subsequently  Mahamahopadhyaya  Harprasad 
Shastri,  C.  I.  E.,  Babu  Pratap  Chandra  Ghose  and  others 
published  certain  Buddhist-Sanskrit  works  of  the  Northern 
school.  But  the  person  who  did  the  most  signal  service  to 
the  cause  of  Buddhism,  was  the  late  Rai  Sarat  Chandra  Das 
Bahadur,  C.  I.  E.,  who  founded  the  Buddhist  Text  Society  in 
1893  and  published  the  Tibetan-Sanskrit-English  Dictionary 
as  well  as  a  number  of  important  Buddhist-Sanskrit  and  Pali 
works.  I  am  in  a  position  to  bear  personal  testimony  to  the 
late  Rai  Bahadur's  love  of  Buddhism  and  zeal  in  reviving  it, 
inasmuch  as  I  had  the  honour  of  collaborating  with  him 
for  a  series  of  years  in  many  of  his  activities.  The  Maha- 
bodhi  Society  was  founded  by  the  Anagarika  H.  Dharma- 
pala  of  Ceylon  at  Calcutta  in  the  year  1892  and  in  the  same 
year  the  Buddha  Dharmankura  Vihara  was  established  by 
the  Bengal  Buddhist  Association.  His  Holiness  the  Tashi 
Lama  of  Tibet,  during  his  tour  in  India  in  1905-1906,  founded 
in  Calcutta  a  society  called  the  Buddhist  Shrine  Restoration 
Society  with  Col.  O'Connor,  C.  I.  E.,  as  its  Director  and  my- 
self as  its  Secretary.  This  review  will  not  be  complete 
without  a  reference  to  the  services,  in  the  cause  of  the  revi- 
val of  Buddhistic  culture,  of  Justice  Sir  Asutosh  Mookerjee, 
who,  as  the  guiding  spirit  of  the  Calcutta  University,  took 
it  up  and  made  it  popular  among  its  alumni. 

Character  of  the  Revival 

The  researches  on  Buddhism  made  from  different  sides 
have  opened  before  us  a  long  forgotten  stratum  in  the  forma- 
tion of  Indian  life,  and  have  thrown  a  new  light  on  the 
glorious  past  of  our  country.  The  history  of  India  written 
in  this  light,  will  present  the  country  in  a  new  perspective. 
The  canonical  Buddhistic  scriptures  in  Pali,  which  preser- 
ve the  teachings  of  Buddha  in  their  pristine  purity,  set  forth 
the  simple  ideas  and  beliefs  of  the  Indian  people  during  the 
five  centuries  preceding  the  birth  of  Christ.  From  the  non- 
canonical    Pali    literature,  we  get  a   glimpse  of  the   internal 


Proceedings  69 

condition  of  India  as  known  to  the  Ceylonese,  Burmese  and 
Siamese  people  at  later  times.  The  Buddhistio  books  in 
Chinese  give  us  a  faithful  description  of  Indian  life,  social 
organisation  and  places  of  interest  during  the  ascendency  of 
the  Mahayana  Buddhism  from  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  to  about  800  A.  D.  As  to  the  value  of  the  informa- 
tion derived  from  the  Chinese  sources,  it  is  enough  to  say 
that  even  in  these  days  it  is  the  light  that  guides  the  steps  of 
archaeologists  in  their  fields  of  research.  The  Tibetans  have 
preserved  for  us,  in  translation,  the  Mahayana  Buddhistic 
literature  of  India  properly  classified  from  their  point  of 
view,  which  supplies  a  mass  of  most  valuable  historical  and 
geographical  information  about  India  up  to  the  17th  century 
A.  D.  The  Buddhistic  books  in  Sanskrit  give,  besides  other 
things,  an  account  of  the  conflict  between  Brahmanism  and 
Buddhism  and  of  the  precarious  oondition  of  the  latter  in  its 
place  of  shelter  in  Nepal  after  its  banishment  from  India. 

The  information  gained  from  these  sources  has  roused 
us  as  if  by  a  trumpet-call  to  read  the  history  of  our  country 
anew  amd  to  re-write  it  from  a  new  stand-point — the  stand- 
point of  Buddhism.  The  country,  seen  through  such  a  his- 
tory, will  shine  out  in  a  new  glory  and  splendour.  It  will 
bring  a  new  message  to  the  world  to  inspire  many  struggling 
souls  with  a  new  hope,  to  stir  new  activities,  to  strengthen 
the  drooping  heart  and  to  open  before  all  a  new  world  of 
thought. 

The  life-long  labours  of  a  noble  band  of  scholars,  pur- 
sued oftentimes  under  difficult  and  even  impossible  condi- 
tions, have  thus  at  length  awakened  the  Indian  mind  to  the 
fact  that  2500  years  ago,  there  lived  and  preached  an  Indian 
prophet  named  Buddha,  who,  by  the  sublimity  of  his  teach- 
ings, conquered  the  heart  of  Asia  and  won  for  India  the 
glorious  title  of  'the  Holy  Land.'  This  awakening  means  a 
great  deal  more.  It  has  brought  back  to  India  the  highest 
ideal  which  is  to  be  realised  through  a  life  of  peace,  amity 
and  good  will,  not  only  between  man  and  man,  but  also  be* 
tween  man  and  other  living  beings.  It  has  brought  back  that 
Philosophy  which  solves  for  humanity  the  most  intricate 
prcbUms  ol  exiltenoe,    by  the    rational    interpretation  of  ths 


70  First  Oriental  Conference, 

harmony  of  all  conditions  in  the  Absolute.  It  has  brought 
back  Buddha,  the  embodiment  of  supreme  bliss,  to  proclaim 
once  more  from  the  holy  land  of  India,  with  a  voice  mighty 
like  "the  sounds  of  many  waters,"  in  the  midst  of  the  clash- 
ing of  passions  and  desires  and  the  storm  and  stress  of 
modern  life,  the  birth  of  a  New  Age — the  age  of  regenerate 
and  passionless  life  of  peace  and  humanity." 

After  the  address  was  over,  the  following  papers  were 
read  and  discussion  followed. 

Viiiaya  Lite?'ature  of  the  Buddhists  :  Prof.  N.  K.  Bhag- 
wat  of  Bombay. 

The  Burning  of  Mithila  :  Prof.  C.  V.  Rajwade  of  Baroda. 

Sogata  Nayasattham  or  the  Buddhist  Philosophy  :  Thera 
Widurpola  Piyatissa  of  Ceylon. 

(  The  last  paper  was  delivered  in  Pali  ). 

(11)  The  Ancient  History  Section  met  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Prof.  S.  Krishnaswami  Aiyangar.  About  one 
hundred  scholars  attended.  The  following  papers  were  read 
with  some  discussion  on  each. 

The  basic  Blunder  in  the  Reconstruction  of  Indian  Chro- 
nology by  Orientalists:     Mr.  M.  K.  Acharya  of  Madras. 

Karnatak  and  its  Place  in  the  Indian  History  :  Mr.  V.  B. 
Alur  of  Dharwar. 

The  Kings  of  Aryavarta  defeated  by  Samudra-Gupta : 
Mr.  K.  N.  Dixit  of  Patna. 

Notes  on  the  ancient  History  and  Geography  of  Konkan 
Prof.  P.  V.  Kane  of  Bombay. 

The  ancient  Germans,  their  Manners,  Customs  etc.  :  Dr. 
J.  J.  Mody  of  Bombay. 

Karnatak  Country  and  its  Language  :  Mr.  R.  Narsimha- 
char  of  Mysore. 

Jangaladeia  and  its  Capital  Ahicchatrapura  :  Mr.  Har- 
bilas  Sarda  of  Ajmer. 

The  Gupta  Era  :     Mr.  H.  A.  Shah  of  Bombay. 

A  Peep  into  Mediaeval  Deccan  :  Mr.  S.  V.  Venkatarama- 
nayyar  of  Tellichery. 


Proceedings,  71 

The  Vajji*  Country  and  the  Mallas  qf  Paw.  Mr.  Har- 
nandan  Panday  of  Patna. 

(12)  The  Philology  and  Prakrits  Section  was  presided 
over  by  Prof.  V.  K.  Rajwade.  About  forty  delegates  attended. 
The  following  papers  were  read  with  some  discussion. 

The- Phonogensis  of  the  wide  E  and  0  in  Gujarati  :  Mr, 
N.  B.  Divatia  of  Bandra  (Bombay). 

Apabhramsa  Litei'ature  and  its  Importance  to  Philology  : 
Di.  P-  D.  Gune  of  Poona. 

Common  elements  in  the  Gujarati  and  Gypsy  Languages  : 
Rao  Bahadur  Ramanbhai  Mahipatram  of  Ahmedabad. 

Dialects  of  the  Burmese  :     Mr.  L.  F.  Taylor  of  Burma. 


FIFTH  SITTING,  FRIDAY,  THE  7TH  NOVEMBER  1919. 

8-30  A.  M.  to  10-30  A.  M. 

17.  This  sitting  was  again  a  general  one,  where  all  the 
delegates  and  some  visitors  gathered  in  the  pandai  at 
8-30  A.  M.  to  listen  to  further  papers  reserved  for  a  general 
sittting.  Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana,  the  second  Vice- 
President  was  in  the  chair,  as  Principal  A.  C.  Woolner  had 
to  read  his  own  paper.  The  following  papers  were  read 
almost  in  extenso. 

The  Philological  Argument  for  the  upper  Limit  to  the  Age 
of  the  Rgveda  :     Principal  A.  C.  Woolner  of  Lahore. 

The  Nakstras  and  Precession  :    Mr.  G.  R.  Kaye  of  Simla. 
The  early  History  of  the  Gvrjaras  :     Dr.  R.  C.  Majumdar 
of  Calcutta. 

King  Akbar  and  the  Persian  Translations  from  Sanskrit : 
Dr.  J.  J.  Mody  of  Bombay. 

Notes  on  the  early  sect-home  Commerce  of  Weste.  n  India  : 
Principal  H.  G.  Rawlinson  of  Dharwar. 

The  Devanagari  Recension  of  the  Mahabharata :  Mr.  N.  B. 
Utgikar  of  Poona. 

Five  more  papers  were  not  read  as  the  writers  were 
not  present ;  and    the    papers    of  Prof.  V.    K.  Rajwade  and 


72  First  Oriental   Conference. 

Dr.  Satis  Chandra   Vidyabhusana   were  left  to   be   read   ii 
the  afternoon  session. 

An  informal  meeting  for  discussing  the  problems  of  the  text  and  the 
illustrations  of  the  Mahabhurata  was  held  at  1  p.  m.  The  following  schol 
ars  attended:— Principal  A.  C.  Woolner,  Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusans 
Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  Bai  Bahadur  Dayaram  Sahni,  MahSmahopadhyaya 
Lakshman  Shastri  Dravid,  Pandit  Vasudevashastri  Abhyankar,  Prof 
S.  Kuppuswami  Shastri,  Prof.  S.  Krishnaswarai  Aiyangar,  Dr.  R.  Zimmer 
mann.  Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya,  Dr.  T.  K.  Laddu,  Mr.  d  V.  Vaidya,  Prof. 
Hiriyanna,  Prof.  K.  B.  Phatak,  Mr.  G.  R.  Kaye,  Principal  Harley,  Dr. 
K.  Belvalkar,  Prof.  R.  D.  Karraarkar,  Mr.  N.  B.  Utgikar,  Dr.  P.  D.  Gun€ 
Some  other  delegates  also  attended. 

Discussion  took  place  on  the  point  raised  by  Mr.  C.V.  Vaidya,  whether 
the  MahSbhSrata  Editorial  Committee  could  tamper  (  as  he  called  it  )  with 
the  text  of  the  Epic.  Instead  of  selecting  the  best  reading  and  finding 
out  interpolations,  the  best  course,  he  thought,  would  be,  to  take  the 
oldest  Ms.  of  the  epic  and  print  it  as  text  and  show  all  deviations  there* 
from  in  the  foot-notes.  But  the  question  was  found  to  be  rather  late  in 
the  day,  as  the  present  position  in  regard  to  the  fixing  of  the  text  was 
taken  after  careful  consideration  and  previous  consultation  with  soholars 
who  ought  to  know.  European  scholars,  both  here  and  abroad,  had  also 
signified  their  approval  of  the  method  adopted.  Secondly,  it  was  thought 
that  the  text  was  already  so  often  tampered  with  in  order  to  enlarge  it, 
that  a  fresh  tampering  (  if  it  could  be  so  called  )  on  approved  methods,  and 
with  a  view  to  approximate  the  original  text  as  far  as  possible,  need  not 
be  felt  amiss.    No  definite  resolution,  however,  was  felt  necessary. 

The  question  of  the  drapery  was  also  discussed  and  scholars,  especially 
Rai  Bahadur  Dayaram  Sahni  of  the  Archaeological  Department,  offered 
valuable  suggestions,  which  Shrimant  Balasaheb  Pant  Pratinidhi  undertook 
to  observe  as  far  as  possible. 


SIXTH  SITTING,  THE  SAME  DAY, 

2-30  P.  M.  to  4-30  P.  M. 
18.  The  conference  resumed  its  sitting  in  the  afternoon 
when  Principal  A  C.  Woolner  took  the  chair.  Prof.  V.  K. 
Rajwade  was  then  called  upon  to  read  his  paper.  He  spoke 
on  the  important  points  in  his  paper  on  Asurasya  Maya. 
After  he  had  done,  Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana  followed 
with  his  paper  on  Nagarjuna,  the  earliest  Writer  of  the  R<>- 
'inissance  Period. 

After  the  reading  of  the  papers  was  over,  by  3-30  P.  M.* 
the  Conference  took  up  the  consideration  of  the  recom- 
mendations of  the  Committee  appointed  at  the   First  Sitting 


rroceerlinga,  73 

to  consider  the  suggestions  of  scholars  regarding  the  con- 
stitution of  the  Conference  etc.  The  Committee  sat  after 
5-30  P,  M.  on  Thursday  and  after  full  deliberation  made  the 
following  report. 

"(1)  That  the  invitation  from  Sir  Asutosh  Mookerjee,  on 
behalf  of  the  Council  of  Post-graduate  Teaching  of  the 
Calcutta  University,  to  hold  the  next  session  of  the  Con- 
ference at  Calcutta,  be  accepted. 

(2)  That  the  next  session  of  the  Conference  be  held  not 
earlier  than  1921. 

(3)  That  the  Secretaries  of  the  Conference  should  con- 
tinue as  Secretaries  for  the  printing  and  publishing  of  the 
Proceedings  and  the  papers  of  the  Conference. 

(4)  That  the  Secretaries  will  select  the  papers  to  be 
published,  after  consultation  with  the  Vice-Presidents  and 
Sectional  Chairmen. 

(5)  That  in  view  of  the  Bhandarkar  Institute  having 
undertaken  to  organise  the  Conference,  the  Conference 
resolves  that  the  surplus  of  the  funds,  if  any,  after  meeting 
all  the  expenses  of  the  Conference,  be  made  over  with  all 
books,  fixtures  etc.  to  the  Institute." 

The  adoption  of  the  Report  was  moved  from  the  chair 
and  carried  unanimously.  The  following  recommendation 
of  the  Committee  was  also  put  from  the  chair  and  unani- 
mously passed. 

"(6)  That  while  acknowledging  the  work  being  done 
by  the  several  Governments,  and  Native  States  in  the  collec- 
tion and  preservation  of  ancient  manuscripts,  the  Conference 
considers  it  desirable  that  arrangements  be  made  by  them 
for  more  thorough  and  rapid  collection  thereof  to  prevent 
permanent  loss  to  the  country  of  the  valuable  manuscripts.' 

The  business  of  the  adoption  of  the  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee being  thus  finished,  the  following  resolution  was 
proposed  by  Prof.  D.  D.  Kapadia  and  seconded  by  Dr.  I.  J. 
Taraporewala. 

"That  the  Conference  expresses  its  sense  of  gatitude  to 
the  different  Governments,  States  and  Gentlemen  who  have 

i'  o.  a  i.  nt 


74  First  Oriental   Conference. 

helped  the  First  Oriental  Conference  by  money  contribi 
tions,  by  lending  rare  articles  for  the  exhibition  and  in  othe 
way/'     It  was  carried  unanimously. 

Prof.  S.  Krishnaswami  Aiyangar  proposed   and  Prof. 
;\.uppuswami  Shastri  seconded,  a  hearty  vote  of  thanks  tc 
the  Vice-Presidents  for  having  ably  conducted  the  session 
the  First  Conference  of  its  kind  in  India. 

A  vote  of  thanks  to  the  Working  Committee    of  the  Coi 
ference  and  the  Volunteers  was  proposed  by    Dr.   Ganganatl 
Jha  and  seconded  by  Mr.  K.  N.  Dixit  and  was  carried. 

Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana  then  thanked  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Conference  for  having  paid  him  the  very  higl 
honour  of  electing  him  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents,  an  evei 
which  he  considered  as  the  crowning  piece  of  his  life. 

Principal  A.  C.  Woolner,  while  announcing  that  tl 
proceedings  were  over,  said  that  until  the  moment  of  his 
arrival  in  Poona,  he  had  scarcely  expected  that  he  would  be 
called  upon  to  perform  such  an  honourable,  but  at  the  same 
time  an  onerous  function.  But  he  was  thankful  to  all,  that 
with  their  help  and  co-operation,  he  had  been  able  to  carry  the 
proceedings  of  the  Conference — the  first  of  its  kind  in  Indii 
to  a  successful  conclusion. 

Dr.  P.  D.  Gune  then  expressed  the  joy  of  his  colleagues 
and  the  Working  Committee,  that  the  task  they  had  undei 
taken  with  enthusiasm,  had  come  to  such  a  happy  end.  He 
also  sincerely  thanked,  on  behalf  of  his  colleagues  and  hii 
self,  all  those,  without  whose  co-operation  the  Conference 
would  not  have  been  what  it  was  in  the  opinion  of  all, 
'an  unqualified  success.' 

The  delegates  then  proceeded  to  the  grounds  of  the  Ii 
stitute,  where  they  were  photographed  in  the  distinguishec 
company  of  Their  Excellencies,  who  had  specially  come  foi 
that  function,  and  the  Chiefs  of  Sangli,  Aundh  and  Miraj 
After  this  was  over,  they  were  treated  to  a  garden  party  b] 
the  members  of  the  Institute.  Distinguished  scholars  from 
different  parts  of  the  country  were  introduced  to  Their  Ex- 
cellencies, who  had  a  kind  word  to  say  to  every  one  of 
them. 


r-^ 


APPENDIX  A. 


List  of  the  Ueli'Utites  of th,    I'ir.st  Oriental  Conference. 


These  fall  into  the  Patron,  Vice-Patrons,  and  Ordinary 
Delegates.  The  names  of  the  latter  are  given  in  the  following 
order: — (1)  representatives  of  the  Universities,  (2)  repre- 
sentatives of  learned  Oriental  Institutions,  including  Muse- 
ums, (3)  representatives  of  Governments  and  States  and  (4) 
those  who  were  elected  delegates  by  the  Working  Committee 
of  the  Conference.  • 

Patron. 

His  Excellency   Sir  George  Ambrose  Lloyd,  G.  C.  I.  E. 
D.  S.  O.,  Governor  of  Bombay. 

Vice-  Patrons * 

Shrimant  Appasaheb  Patwardhan,  Chief  of  Sangli. 
Shrimant-  Balasaheb  Pant  Pratinidhi,    Chief  of  Aundh. 
Shrimant  Bhausaheb  Patwardhan,   Chief  of  Jamkhandi. 
5     Shrimant  Babasaheb  Pant  Sachiv,  Yuvaraj  of  Bhor. 
Sir  Dorab  Tata. 

The  Hon'ble  Mr.  Keshavrao,  Hyderabad. 
Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya,  B.  A.,  Bar-at-law,  J.  P.,  Bombay. 
Mr.  Hiralal  Amratlal  Shah,  B.  A.,  Bombay. 

(1)  ll<  pi*  s,  ntatives  of  the  Universities. 

10     Dr.  Ganganath  Jha,  M.  A.,  D.  Litt.  Allahabad  University. 
Prof.  M.  H.  Nasiri,  M.  A. 

Mr.  P.  V.  Kane,  M.  A.,  LL.  M.  Bombay  University. 

Dr.  R.  Zimmerman,  Ph.  D, 

Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  M.  A.  Calcutta  University. 

15        „     S.  Khuda  Bukhsh,  M.  A.,  B.  C.  L.  „ 

Dr.  R.  C.  Majumdar,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D. 

'   lli<    '•    Who        I'Hil  00   t<acli    townrda   the   expenses  of  the 

d  lis.  150. 


First  Oriental  Conference. 
Dr.  I.  J.  S.  Taraporewalla.B.A.,  Ph.D.  Calcutta  University 


Dr.  Gaurangnath  Banerji,  M.A.,  Council  of  Post-Gr 

B.  L.,  Ph.  D.  duate  Teaching  in 

Mr.  Susilkumar  Maitra,  M.  A.  Arts,  Calcutta 

20       „     Radhakamal  Mukerji,  M.  A.  „ 

The  Hon'ble  Dr.  A.  Suhrawardi,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D.  „ 


: 


Principal  Raghubir  Dayal,  M.A.,  M.O.L.  Punjab    Univer- 
„        A.  C.  Woolner,  M.  A.  sity. 

(2)  Representatives  of  learned  Institutions. 

Dr.  P.  N.  Daruvalla,  Ph.  D.  Anthropological  So- 
25    Rao  Bahadur  P.  B.  Joshi,  F.  R.  G.  S.       ciety,  Bombay. 

Mr.  R.  P.  Masani,  M.  A.  „ 
„     S.  S.  Mehta,  B.  A. 

Dr.  J.  J.  Modi,  B.  A.,  Ph.  D.  „ 

Mr.  K.  A.  Padhye,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.  „ 

30      „    J.  A.  Saldanha,  B.  A.,  LL.  6.  „ 

Dr.  R.  Zimmermann,  Ph.  D.  „ 

Mr.  R.  D.  Banerji,  M.  A.  Asiatic  Society,  of 

Dr.  Harprasad  Shastri,  C.  I.  E.,  Ph.  D.  Bengal. 
The  Hon'ble  Dr.  A.  Suhrawardy,  M.  A.  Ph.  D.  „ 
Dr.  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana,  M.  A.  Ph.  D.     „ 

Sardar  K.  C.  Mehendale,  B.  A.  BharatltihasaSarh- 

35     Mr.  D.  V.  Potdar,  B.  A.  sodhaka  Mandal, 

Rao  Bahadur  C.  V.  Vaidya,  M.  A.,  LL.  B.        Poona. 

Maharajah  Kumar  Maninath  Birbhuni  Research 

Niranjan  Chakrabutti  Society,  Hetam- 

Mr.  Harikrishna  Mukerji  pur. 

„    P.  V.  Kane,  M.  A.,  LL.  M.  Bombay  Branch 

Dr.  J-  J.  Modi,  B.  A.,  Ph.  D.  of  the     Royal 

Mr.  G.  K.  Nariman  Asiatic  Society, 

,,     V.  P.  Vaidya,  B.  A.,  Bar-at-Law,  J.  P.     Bombay. 
Dr.  R.  Zimmermann,  Ph.  D.  „ 

to     Mr.  B.  T.  Anklesaria.  M.  A.  Cama  Oriental  Insti« 

Dr.  D.  Mackichan,  M.A.,  D.D.,  LL.,  D.  tute,  Bombay. 


Appendices. 


77 


Mr.  R.  P.  Masani,  M.  A. 
Dr.  J.  J.  Modi,  B.  A.,  Fh.  D. 
Mr.  G.  K.  Nariman 

Sir  Poonambalam  Arunacha- 

lam  Kt. 
Or.  P.  E.  Plerin 

Mr.  N.  B.  Divatia,  B.  A. 
45     Prof.  A.  B.  Dhruva,  M.  A.,  LL.  B. 
Rao  Badadur  Ramanbhai  Mahi- 
patram  Nilkanth,  B.  A.,  LL.  B. 
Prof.  B.  K.  Thakore,  B.  A. 

Mr.  S.  K.  Hodiwalla,  B.  A. 
Dr.  J.  J.  Modi,  B.  A.,  Ph.  D. 
Mr.  G.  K.  Nariman 

Mr.  V.  B.  Alur,  B.  A.,  LL.  B. 
50      „     R.  K.  Asundi,  B.  So.,  B.  A. 
„     B.  N.  Datar,  M  .  A. 
„     N.  R.  Deshpande,  B.  A. 
„     R.  S.  Nargundkar,  B.  A.,  LL.  B. 

Rajasabhavibhushan  Karpur 
Shrinivasrao,  B.  Be,  L.  C.  E. 

55     Pandit  Virupaksha  Wodeyar 


Cama  Oriental  Ins- 
titute, Bombay. 
»> 

Ceylon  Branch  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  So- 
ciety. 

Gujarat  Vernacular 
Society,  Ahmed- 
abad. 


Jarthoshti  Din  ni 
Khol  Karnari  Man- 
dali. 

Karnatak    I  t  i  h  a  s  a 
Mandal,  Dharwar. 


Mr.  K.  A.  Ghas walla,  Bar-at-Law, 
Prof.  R.  P.  Patwardhan,  M.  A. 
Mr.  M.  B.  Pithawalla,  B.  A.  B.  Sc. 
Prof.  B.  K.  Thakore,  B.  A. 

Mr.  C.  R.  Kruhnamacharlu 
60       „     K.  A.  Viraraghavachariar 

Pandit  G.  V.  Phadke 


Pandit  Maugalruiuji  Sharma 


Karnatak   S  a  h  i  t  y  a. 
Parishad,  Bangalore 

Lingayat  Education 
Association,  Dhar- 
war. 

Literary  and  Philoso- 
phical Club,  Poona. 


Nellore      Progressist 
Union,  Nellore. 

Sanatan  Dharma  Sa- 
bha,  Ahmednagar. 

Sanskrit   Sabha,  Eta- 
wah. 


♦8 


First  Oriental  Conference. 


Dr.  Gauranganath  Banerji, 

M.  A.,  B.  L.,  Ph.  D. 


Sanskrit   Sahitya  Pa- 
rishad,  Calcutta. 


Mr.  G.  K.  Chandorkar,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.    Satkaryottejaka  Sa- 

bha,  Dhulia. 


65 


Mr.  D.  G.  Padhye,  M.  A. 
„    G.  B.  Vaidya,  B.  a. 


(3)  Representatives  of  Museums. 
The  Curator 

Mr.  J.  S.  Kudalkar,  M.  A.,  LL.  B. 

Prof.  D.  R.  Bhandarkar,  M.  A. 

The  Curator 


Mr.  G.  V.  Acharya,  B.  A. 
70      „     D.  B.  Diskalkar,  M.  A. 


Students'  Literary  anc 
Scientific   Society, 
Bombay. 

Barton     Museun 
Bhavnagar. 

Central  Library,  Ba- 
roda. 

Indian  Museum,  Cal- 
cutta. 

King     Edward    Mu- 
seum, Bhopal. 

Watson  Museum,  Raj- 
kot. 


(4)  Representatives  of  Governments  and  Native  States. 

Prof  B.  R.  Arte,  M.  A.  Government  of  H.  H. 

„      C.  V.  Rajwade,  M.  A.,  B.  Sc.    the  Gaekwad,  Baroda. 

Mahamahopadhyaya  Lakshman     Government  of  Ben 

Shastri  Dravid  gal. 

Principal  A.  H.  Harley,  M.  A.  „ 

75     Dr.  Musharraf-ul  Haq,  Ph.  D.  „ 

Shams-ul  Ulama  Mir  Muhammad  „ 

Mahamahopadhyaya  Pramothonath 

Tarkabhushan  „ 

Mahamahopadhyaya  Dr.  Satis  Chandra 
Vidyabhusana,  M.  A.  Ph.  b.  „ 

Shams-ul  Ulama  Mufti  Muhammad 
Abdulla  Tonki 

,,  ,,    Abu  Nasr  Muhammad 

Waheed,  M.  A.  „ 


Apt 


M     Pro£  Ji    B.  Uhide,  M.  A.  LL.  B. 
Mr.  K.  A.  Enti,  B.  A.  LL.  B. 
„      J.  B.  Garabhir,  B.  A. 
„     J.  J.  Kania,  B.  A. 

Prof.  C.  Duroiselle 
Ho     Mr.  Taw  Sein  Ko,  C.  I.  E. 

Prof.  G.  S.  Apte,  M.  A.,  B.  Sc. 
Prof.  A.  Khan  Saqib,  M.  A. 


90 


9.r, 


(iovernment   of  the 
Bhavnagar 8taU. 


Government  of 
Burma. 

Government   of  H. 

H.  the  Maharaja 

Scindiaof  Gwalior. 


Mr.  Abdul  Haq,  B.  A. 
Prof.  Jamil-ur-Rahman,  ty.  A. 
Meer  Mahbub  Ali  Sahib 
Hakeem  Muhammad  Afzal  Sahib 
Maulavi  Sayyid  (rhulam  Hussain 
Munshi  Fasil  Maulavi  Fazil 
n        Sayyid  Muhammad  Mazhar 
Maulavi  Fazil 

Sayyid  Mohammad  Murtuza 
Maulavi  Fazil 
„        Sayyid  Mukhtar  Ahmed  Sahib 
Mr.  G.  Yazdani,  M.  A. 


Government  of  H.  E, 
H.   the     Nizam   of 
Hyderabad. 


Pandit  Girdharlal  Sharma 
„        Ratilalji,  B.  A. 

Pandit  Bisweshwarnath  Reu 


Government  c:   the 
Jhalwar  State. 

Government  of  Jodh- 
pur  State. 


100  Mr.  R.  Shrinivas  Raghav  Aiyangar,  M.  A. 
,,     C.  P.  Venkataram  Aiyar,  M.  A.,  L.  T. 
„     S.  V.  Venkatesvar  Aiyar,  M.  A.,  L.  T. 
,,     R.  Krishnamachariar 
Rao  Saheb  H.  Krishna  Shastri,  II.  a. 
105  Prof.  S.  Kuppuswami  Shastri,  M.  A. 
Muhammad  Naimur  Rahman  Sahib 

Bahadur.  M.   \ 
Diwan  Bahadur  L.  P.  Swami  Kannu 
I'illai,  M.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Bar-at-Law,  I 
Mr.  s.  Subba  Rati,  m.  a 


Government 
of  Madras. 


80  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Prof.  M.  Hiriyanna,  M.  A.  L.  T.  Government    ot   H. 

110  Mr.  R.  Shamashastri,  B.  A.  H.  the  Maharaja 

Principal  C.  Venkataramanaiya  of  Mysore. 

Mr.  R.  Naiasimhachar,  M.  A.  Director  of 
Archaeology. 

Munshi  Ziaul  Hasan  Alavi,  M.  A.        Government  of  the 

United  Provinces. 

(5)  Delegates  elected  by  the  Working  Committee. 
Prof.  K.  V.  Abhyankar,  M.  A.,  Ahmedabad. 
115  Mr.  S.  V.  Abhyankar  of  Poona. 

Pandit  Vasudevashastri  Abhyankar,  Poona* 
Mr.  M.  K.  Acharya,  B.  A.,  Madras. 
„    N.  S.  Adhikari,  M.  A.,  Gandevi. 
„     C.  D.  Advani,  B.  A.f  LL.  B.,  Hyderabad,  Sind. 
120  Prof.  S.  KrishnaswaniAiyangar,  M.  A.,  Madras- 
„     R.  Swaminath  Aiyar,  B.  A.,  Madras. 
Mr.  V.  Natesh  Aiyar,  M.  A.,  Lahore. 
„    J.  L.  Allen,  Sindh. 
„     M.  A.  Ananthalwar,  Madras* 
125  Principal  R.  G.  Apte,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
„    R.  N.  Apte,  M.  A.,  Kolhapur. 
„    V.  G.  Apte,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
Pandit  V.  V.  Apte,  Ratnagiri. 
Mr.  R.  B.  Athavale,  B.  A.,  Ahmedabad. 
130     „     Shve  Zan  Aung,  B.  a.,  Kyanktan. 
„    S.  Bakarali,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
Prof.  Abdul  Bari,  Dharwar. 

Mr.    Muhammad  Beg  Sahib,  Hyderabad,  Deccan. 
Dr.  S.  K.  Belvalkar,  M.  A.,  PH.  D.  Poona. 
135  Mr.  H.  J.  Bhabha,  B.  a.,  Bombay. 

Prof.  R.  G.  Bhadkamkar,  M.  A.,  Bombay. 
Prof.  N.  K.  Bhagwat,  M.  A.,  Bombay. 
Dr.  V.  V.  Bhagwat,  L.  M.  &  S.,  Poona- 
Mr.  A.  S.  Bhandarkar,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
140  Dr.  P.  R.  Bhandarkar,  L.  M.  &  S.  Indore. 
Principal  G.  C.  Bhate,  M.  A.,  Sangli. 
Mr.  H.  R.  Bhatheja,  B.  A.  (Oxn.),  M.  A.  (Bom.),  Patna 
„    R.  K.  Bhide,  B.  A.,  Nasik. 
Pandit  Bhimacharya,  Bombay. 


Append  M 

11".  Mr.  M.  R.  Bodas,  M.  A.,  LI*  B.,  Bombay. 

,,     Mahima  Niranjana  Chakrabarty,  Calcutta. 
Sardar  Y.  M.  Chandrachuda,  Poona. 
Mr.  0.  A.  Chavan,  Poona. 
,,     E  Clements,  I.  C.  8.,  Dharwar. 
150  Hon'ble  Mr.  J.  G.  Covernton.  M.  A.,  Poona. 
Prof.  N.  G.  Damle,  M.  a  ,  Poona. 

„     F.  C.  Davar,  M.  a.,  LL.  B.,  Bombay. 
Mr.  D.  D.  Dave,  B.  A.,  Gandevi. 
„     H.  K.  Deb,  M.  A.,  Calcutta. 
155  Prof.  T.  K.  Deolalkar,  M.  A.,  Dharwar. 
Mr.  S.  M.  Desai,  Navsari. 
Prof.  D.  B.  Devadhar,  M.  A.   Poona. 
Rao  Bahadur  K.  B.  Deval,  Sangli. 
Mr.  K.  N.  Dixit,  M.  A.,  Lucknow. 
160     „     K.  S.  Dixit,  B.  A.,  Poona. 

Prof.  K.  N.  Dravid,  M.  A.,  Sangli. 
Mr.  N.  H.  Shastri  Dravid,  Indore. 
Dr.  G.  Dubreuil,  I),  Litt.  (Paris),  Pondicherry. 
Mr.  M.  Firozuddin  Khan,  Gulburga. 
Lfi5  Prof.  A.  B.  Gajendragadkar,  M.  a.,  Dharwar. 
Pandit  S.  D.  Gajendragadkar,  Bombay 
Mr.  T.  D.  Gajra,  B.  a.,  Shikarpur. 
„     M.  B  Garde,  B.  A.,  Gwalior. 
Prof.  D.  R.  Gharpure,  M.  A.,  B.  Sc,  Poona. 
170  Mr.  M.  Ghose,  M.  A.,  Patna. 
.,     A.  G.  Ginvardhana. 

Hon'ble  Divan  Bahadur  K.  U.  Godbole,  If.  c.  K.,  Poona. 
Mr.  P.  R.  Godbole,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
Mr.  P.  K.  Gode,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
175     „     G.  K.  Gokhale,  M.  A.,  Dharwar. 
,,    L.  R.  Gokhale,  Poona 
Dr.  V.  C.  Gokhale,  L,  \i.  &  s.,  Poona. 
Dr.  P.  D.  Gune,  M.  a.,  I'll.  I).,  Poona. 
Mr.  B.  G.  Gunjikar,  Dharwar. 
ISO     „    Y.  R.  Gupte,  Poona. 

Mahftmahopidbyftya    Huthibhui    Harishankar    shastri 

Jamnagar. 
\\v.  V.  rlayavadana  l\a«>,  B    \  ,  i<:>ngalore. 

Sardar  Abasalu'l»  EieblU  ar,  Pqona. 

0.  I  11 


82  Ffrst  Oriented   Conference. 

Sardar  Balasaheb  Heblikar,  Poona. 
185  Rai  Bahadur  Hiralal,  Wardha. 
Prof.  V.  K.  Joag,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
Mr.  C.  V.  Joshi.  M.  A.,  Ratnagiri. 

„     K  B.  Joshi,  Belgaum. 

„     K.  G.  Joshi,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
190    „     R.  B  Joshi,  Poona. 

Mr.  Vishvanath  Shastri  Joshi,  Nasik. 
Mr.  W.  J.  Joshi,  M.  A.,  Ratnagiri. 

„     G.  P.  Josyer,  Bar-at-Law,  Bangalore. 

„     G.  N.  Kale,  Jalgaon. 
195    „    S.  G.  Kale,  M.  A.,  Phaltan. 

Prof.  G.  G.  Kanetkar,  M.  a.,  Jubbulpore. 
Mr.  H.  J.  Kania,  B.  A.,  Bombay. 
Mr.  P.  D.  Kanitkar,  B.  A.,  Bhor. 
Prof.  D.  D.  Kapadia,  M.  A.,  B.  Scv Poona. 
200  Mr.  Motilal  K.  Kapadia,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Bombay. 
Prof.  R.  D.  Karmarkar,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
Mr.  M.  V.  Kathawate,  B.  A.  LL.  B.,  Wai. 
Krishnashastri  Kavade,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
Mr.  G.  R.  Kaye,  Simla. 
205  Dr.  S.  V.  Ketkar,  Ph.  D.,  Nagpur. 
Mr.  V.  B.  Ketkar,  Poona. 

„     M.  N.  Khan,  Poona. 
Rao  Bahadur  G.  N.  Khare,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
Dr  R.  V.  Khedkar,  L.  M.  &  S.,  Poona. 
210  Mr.  R.  T.  Kirtane,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Poona. 

„    N.  V.   Kolhatkar,  B.  A.,  Bombay. 

„     C.  R.  Krishnacharya,  Madras. 

„     P-  D.  Kulkarni,  (Pandurangasharma),  Poona. 
Pandit  Lakshmipathi  Shastri,  Pithapuram. 
21b  Prof.  Narendranath  Law,  Calcutta. 
Mr.  A.  M.  Lokhande,  Poona. 

„     G.  B.  Makoday,  Indore. 
Dr.  Harold  H.  Mann,  D.  Sc  ,  Poona. 
Mr.  (i.  S.  Mavlankar,  Baramati. 
220     ,,     Balwantrai  M.  Mehta,  Bhavnagur. 
Prof.  N.  D.  Minocher  Homji,  B.  A.,  Poona. 
Mr.  V.  V.  Mirashi,  M.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Nagpur. 

..     P.  P.  Mitragotri,  Dharwar. 


Appendices.  83 

Mr.  B.  L.  Modak,  L.  C.  E.t  Poona. 
225    „    A.  G.  Mundle,  Yeotmal. 

Prof.  R.  K.  Mukerjee,  M.  A.,  Mysore. 

Sardar  Abasaheb  Muzumdar,  Poona. 

Mr.  Jamshedji  Dadabhai  Nadirshah,  Bombay. 

Purushottam  Shastri  Nanal,  Poona. 

Mr.  H.  Narainrao,  Bombay. 

.,     M.  A.  Narayanshastri,  Bangalore. 

„     P.  V.  Narsingrao,  Bangalore. 
Mr.  Gaurishankar  Ojha,  B.  A.,  Ajmer. 

.,     M.  P.  Oka,  Poona. 
135   Pandit  Bhimacharya  S.  Ottamgadkar,  Bombay. 
Dr.  G.  S.  Palsule,  Poona. 
Mr.  Harnandan  Panday,  B.  A.,  Patna. 
Prof.  V.  G.  Paranjpe,  M.  a.,  LL.  B.,  Poona. 
Hon'ble  Mr.  R.  P.  Paranjpye,  M.  A.,  B.  Sc,  Poona. 
240  Rao  Bahadur  D.  B.  Parasnis,  Satara. 
Mr.  R.  C.  Parikh,  B.  A.,  Bombay. 
Prot  K.  B.  Pathak,  B.  A.,  Hubli. 
Pandit  Shridharshastri  Pathak,  Poona. 
Prof.  M.  T.  Patwardhan,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
245  Mr.  R.  V.  Patwardhan,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Poona. 

„    Laxmanrai  Prasad,  Calcutta. 

„     P.  E.  Percival,  I.  C.  S.,  Poona. 
Sardar  Babasaheb  Purandare,  Poona. 
Mr.  G.  K.  Puranik,  M.  A.,  Belgaum. 
250  Pandit  Rangacharya  Raddi,  Poona. 
Sardar  Y.  T.  Rajmachikar,  Poona. 
Prof.  V.  K.  Rajwade,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
Pandit  V.  Ramchandracharya,  Nellore. 
Mr.  Ramgopal,  Bar- at -Law,  Bangalore. 

G    V.  Ranade,  Poona. 
Prof.  R.  D.  Ranade,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
Mr.  S.  V.  Ranade,  Poona. 

,,     T.  V.  Ranade,  Poona. 

„    V.  V.  Ranade,  Poona. 
260     „     Y.  V.  Ranade,  Poona.  t 

„     P.  R.  Rangraj  Shastri. 
Principal  H.  G.  Rawlinson,  M.  A.,  Dharwar. 
.,     Sardaranjan  Ray,  M.  A.,  Calcutta. 


84  First   Oriental   Conference 

Rai  Bahadur  Dayaram  Sahni,  M.  A.,  Patna. 
265  Mr.  G.  E.  Saklatwalla,  Bombay. 

„     Harbilas  Sarda,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Ajiner. 
„     V.  S.  Saravte,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.  Indore. 
Dr.  N.  G.  Sardesai,  L.  M.  &  S.,  Poona. 
Pandit  Appashastri  Sathaye, 
270  Mr.  V.  V.  Sathaye,  B.  A,,  Poona. 
„     S.  N.  Sathe,  Poona. 
Secretary,  Sk.  Pustakonnati  Sabha,  Etawah. 
Mr.  S.  S.  Setlur,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Bombay. 
„    M.  Shahidullah,  M.  A.,  Calcutta. 
275  Prof.  A.  K.  Shaikh,  M.  A.,  Bombay. 
Mr.  A.  K.  Sharma,  Patiala. 
Prof.  M.  G.  Shastri,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
Mr.  R.  A.  Shastry,  Baroda. 

Pandit  Hari  Krishna  Telang,  M.  A.,  Jubbulpore 
280  Pandit  Vasudevashastri  Shedanikar,  Pooni. 
Dr.  P.  V.  Shikhare,  L.  M.  &  S.,  Poona. 
Mahatma  Shridatta  Lakshraj. 
Prof.  C.   S.  Shrinivasachar,  M.  A.,  Madras. 
Mr.  V.  S.  Shrinivasan,  Madras. 
285  Pandit  S.  V.  Shrirarnshastri,  Bezwada. 

Prof.  K.  N.  Sitaram,  M.  A.,  Kullidaikurichy. 
„     K.  Sitaramaiya,  B.  A.,  Vemur. 
„    V.  V.  Sowani,  M.  A.,  Meerut. 
Mr.  G.  Somanna,  Nellore. 
290     „     S.  Subbarao,  M.  A.,  Madras. 

Pandit  Vangwei  Subbarao,  Pithapuram. 
Dr.  V.  A.  Sukthankar,  Ph.  D.,  Indore. 
Mr.  T.  Suryanarayanrao,  Kovur. 
Mr.  V.  B.  Takalkar,  M.  A.,  Poona. 
21)5  Mr.  L.  P.  Taylor  of  Burma. 

„     R.    (Jr.  Tcrigundi,  M.  A.,  Dharwar. 
Pandit  N.  Tirumalachariar,  Bangalore. 
Mr.  K.  Tirumalarao,  B.  A.,  L.  T.,  Aurangabad. 
.,     S.  A.  Tivari,  Hyderabad. 
300  Mr.  J.  R.  Tullu,  B.  A.,  Indore. 

Dr.  J.  M    Unwala,  B.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  Bombay. 
Mr.  W.  G.  Urdhvareshe,  B.  A.,  Indore. 
,,     N.  B.  Utgikar,  M.  A.,  Poona. 


Appendices.  85 

vi  i    Durgaprasad  V.  Vaidya,  Bombay. 
p>i    P    L.  Vaidya,  B.  A.,  Sangli 

Mr.  K.  S.  Vakil,  B.  A..  Poona. 

Mr.  Gaurishankar  G.  Varma,  Bar-at-Law,  Ajmcr. 

Prof.  S.  Varma  Shastri,  M.  A.,  Shrinagar. 

K    Y'onkatachal    Shastri,  Bij.tpore. 
310     ,,     A.  K.  Vesawewala.  B.  A.,  Bombay. 

Pandit  B.  Vidyabhushan,  Calcutta. 

Sardar    Balasaheb  Vinchurkar,  Poona. 

Prof.  S.  V.  Visvanath,  M.  A.,  L.  T.,  Trichinopoly. 

Mr.  B.  Vyasrao,  B.  A.,  Lt.,  Aurangabad. 
315  Mr.  V.  V.  Waikar,  Surat. 

Prof.  A..  G.  Widgery,  M.  A.,  Baroda. 

Rov.  Widurupola  Piyatissa,  Dhanuskoti. 

Mr  Apparaju  Wodeyar,  Dharwar. 
,.     S.    K.  Wodeyar,  Dharwar. 


APPENDIX  B. 


An  alphabetical  list  of  the  Institutions,  Governments,  and  persons, 
who  lent  exhibits  for  the  Exhibition  in  connection  with  the  First  Oriental 
Conference,  Poona.    The  more  important  exhibits  only  are  mentioned. 

(1)  The  Andhra  Parisodhaka  Mahamandala,  Pithapuram, 
sent  coins,  copperplates  and  some  photos.  The  following 
were  the  most  interesting  of  them. 

(a)  A  copperplate  grant  of  the  Reddy  dynasty.  Date 
1400  A.  D. 

(6)  Fifteen  old  coins  found  while  digging,  and  seven 
new  coins,  of  the  South  Indian  dynasties  of  kings. 

(2)  The  Archaeological  Museum,  Madras,  sent  (a)  sets 
of  copperplate-grants,  (b)  five  caskets  from  Bhattiprolu  relics 
and  (c)  fifteen  sets  of  coins. 

(a)  Copperplate-grants  of  (1)  the  Calukyan,  (2)  Gaiiga, 
(3)  Cola,  (4)  Pallava,  (5)  Pandya,  and  (6)  Vijaya- 
nagar  dynasties. 

{(>)  Two  relics  from  the  first  Bhattiprolu  casket  and 
one  each  from  the  second  and  the  third. 

(c)  Punch-marked  coins,  Buddhist  coins,  and  coins 
from  several  South  Indian  Dynasties  like  the 
Kadamba,  the  Gahga,  the  Cola,  the  Pandya  etc. 
There  were  also  numerous  gold  coins  from  Kodur. 

(3)  The  Bhanlarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute,  Poona, 
lent  (a)  birch-bark,  (b)  palm-leaf,  and  (c)  paper  manuscripts 
and  (d)  an  old  astronomical  instrument.  The  more  Import! 
ant  only  of  these  are  mentioned  below. 

(a)  A  birch-bark  manuscript  of  (1)  the  Rgveda  in 
Sarada  characters,  an  old  script  of  Kashmir.  This 
Ms6.  was  used  by  Max-Muller  for  his  edition  of 
the  Rgveda,  and  bears  ample  traces  of  that  scho- 
lar's work  in  the  form  of  marginal  notes  and 
marks.     Anuther  birch-bark  Ms.,  of  (2)  the   Sakun- 


Append  19 

tnln,  also  in  Sarada  script,  was  procured  for  Go- 
vernment by  Dr.  (J.  Buhler  along  with  the  above 
one.  This  is  evidently  a  valuable  recension  of 
the  Sakitnt'i/a.  The  birch-bark  in  both  the  cases 
appears  to  have  been  specially  treated  and  being 
very  thin,  is  written  only  on  one  side.  Two  such 
leaves  are  now  pasted  together  back  to  back,  in 
order  that  the  crumbling  process,  which  has  al- 
ready set  in,  might  not  develop  rapidly. 

ff>)  Among  the  palm-leaf  Mss.  the  oldest  and  there- 
fore the  most  important  were  (1)  aiyaka- 
hhasyu  and  (2)  the  VisesdVdSi/dkdenriit,  both  be- 
longing to  the  sacred  literature  of  the  Jainas. 

(<-}  Of  the  paper  Mss.,  (1)  the  Agnivebya  RSmayaga 
la    about   five     hundred    years   old;    and   (2)   the 

/■Hn'tfjiinifd/turiinii  is  profusely  illuminated  in  the 
early  Mogul  style  of  painting. 

(d)  The  astronomical  instrument  was  procured  for 
Government  by  Sir  R.  G.  Bhandarkar,  and  is  now 
being  worked  up  by  Mr.  G.  R.  Kaye  of  Simla. 

(4)  The  A'.  R.  Coma  oriental  Institute,  Bombay,  sent 
five  exhibits  in  all,  some  of  them  very  valuable. 

(1)  Ijasne  Ihi  Maini,  a  Sanskrit  translation  of 
Yasna,  (2)  Kanoou-e-Masoudi,  (3)  Jog  Bashust,  a 
Persian  translation  of  the  Yoga  I'Usistfia,  (4)  five 
chapters  of  the    MakBbhSrata   and   the   (5)   Ocean 

of  Knowledge. 

(5)  The  Central  Library,  Baroda,  sent  thirty  Mss.,  on 
palm-leaf  and  paper,  in  Sanskrit,  Marathi  and  Gujarati,  and 
two  copperplates. 

(a)  (1)  The  Mahuhhurata  illuminated,  (2)  Bliugacata 
illuminated,  (3)  Valmiki-RUmdijana  in  Grantha 
characters,  (4)  HhagaKidfiitUtUtpurijiiniriKii/tdika, 
(5)  Sun n</(irijti/<ih(iri,  illuminated,  (6)  .luindnsru'm 
li'isa,  (7)  Sadaijd-l'a'xdt nrita,  (S)  [rUdhanB  and  (9) 
Oaurangaaandhi,  two  A-pabhraihsa    works. 

(/>)    Two  copper-pin 


88  First  Oriental  Conference. 

(6)  Kumar  Devendraprasada  Jain  of  Arah  sent  photo- 
graphic collections  of  the  Jain  temples,  paintings  and 
manuscripts. 

The  photos  were  of  temples  and  caves  at  Khanda- 
giri,  Udayagiri,  with  the  Hathigumpha  rock  and 
inscription  of  Kharavela,  Mathura  pannel,  sta- 
tues of  Jaina  Tirthankaras  etc. 

(7)  The  Director  of  Archaeological  Research,  Mysore, 
sent  some  plates  and  a  Campu. 

(a)  The  Saragur  plates  of  the  Ganga  dynasty,  Kuda- 
gere  plates  of  the  Kadamba  dynasty,  Kadaba  pla- 
tes of  the  Rastrakuta  kings  etc. 

(b)  A  palm-leaf  manuscript  of  Indirabhyudaya  Campu. 

(8)  Mr.  J.  G.  Gazdar,  a  well-known  Art-collector  of 
Bombay,  sent  three  cloth-paintings. 

(1)  XIII  century  painting  on  cloth,  depicting 
scenes  from  the  Ramayana,  (2)  XIV  century 
painting,  depicting  Saraswati  on  a  peacock  and  (3) 
XV  century  painting,  depicting  the  sports  of 
Krsna  and  the  Gopis. 

(9)  The  Government  Mss.  Library,  Madras,  sent  one 
hundred  and  twenty- four  Sanskrit  works  on  different  subjects. 
A  few  typical  ones  are  given  below. 

(1)  Rgvedavyakhya  of  Udgithacarya,  (2)  Rgbhasya  of 
Skandasvamin,  (3)  Rgbhasya  of  Venkatamadhava  who 
is  quoted  by  Vidaranya  and  Devaraja,  (4)  Vadhulaka/- 
pasutra-Vyakhtfil,  (5)  ApastambasulvasTitrabhasya,  (6) 
MahUbhusyacyakhyU  of  Bhartrhari  (the  photographic 
copy  of  the  only  Ms.  of  the  work  in  a  German 
Library),  (7)  Amogharrlti,  a  comm entry  on  Sakata- 
yana  Sutras,  (8)  ArthasastravyakhycL  of  Bhattaswamin 
and  (9) of  Madhavavarman, (10)  BfhaspatisUtra supposed 
to  be  older  than  the  Artltastistra,  (11)  Sankhyasaptati- 
tikn  of  Sankaracarya,  rare  and  hitherto  unknown, 
(12)  r<i'<ih.i<iUaj<><i<isi,tr<thhusinuir  iramt  of  Sankaracarya, 
rare  and  hitherto  unknown,  (13)  KanQdaa&tranti'an- 
(I hand  of  Harakinkara,  who  quotes  Anandagiii    m/>  i  is 


Appendices.  89 

quoted  by  Vidyftranya,  (14)  My  i  yBkhyU  of  Apa- 

radityamaharaja,  one  of  the  best  commentaries  on 
Bh&sarvajna's  Xydyasiira,  (15)  Xititatvavirbhara  of 
Cidananda,  a  Mimaihsaka  who  differs  both  from 
Knraarila  and  Prabh&kara,  (16)  Nyayukulisa  of  Vadi- 
hamsambudacarya,  uncle  and  preceptor  of  Desika- 
carya,  (17)  Spandanirnaya  of  Ksemaraja,  a  pupil  of 
Abhinavagupta,  (18)  Trairikrama,  a  drama  with  no 
characters  except  the  Nati  and  the  Sutradhara 
(19)  Bhimaparakrama  of  Satanandasunu,  an  old  drama, 
quoted  in  the  Sarilgadharapaddhati ,  (20)  Padmapra- 
bhrtaka  of  Sudraka  and  (21)  Ubhayabhisuri 'ku,  two  rare 
Bhanas,  (22)  DhUrtavitaaaihv&da  of  Isvaradatta,  men- 
tioned by  Bhoja,  (23)  Dasarupakavyukhyu  of  Bhattanr- 
simha,  (24)  Aumapatam  an  old  treatise  on  music, 
(25)  Manasura  and  (26)  Amsumadbhedi,  two  works  on 
agrioulture,  (27)  Mr(}anitantray  a  work  on  alchemy, 
(28)  Candrabharanahoru  of  Yavanacarya,  quoted  by 
great  writers  on  Astrology  ;  and  some  Telugu  and 
Malayalam  works  etc. 

(10)  The  Government  Oriental  Library,  Mysore,  sent 
copies  in  Kannada  characters  of  seven  old  Mss.  of  which  the 
following  were  most  important. 

(1)  Brliadyajurvidhana  of  Katyayana,  (2)  Vaikha- 
nasa  Kalpasutra,  (3)  Rgarthadipika  (first  Astaka) 
by  Madhavaoarya,  son  of  Venkataraya,  (4) 
Ayurvedasutra  with  Yogananda's  commentary, 

(11)  The  Gwukulasarma,  Bezwada,  sent  coins  from 
Nepal,  Ratlam,  Nizam's  State,  Travancore  etc.,  of  the  mo- 
dern period. 

(12)  Dr.  Musharraf -ul-Haq  of  Dacca  brought  some  rare 
articles,  scrolls  and  pictures. 

(1)  An  authentic  miniature  portrait  of  A buzzafar 
Muhammad  Bahadur  8hah  II,  (2)  The  Quran,  a  marvel- 
lous and  artistic  manuscript  of  the  holy  Qu 
written  on  a  scroll  of  paper,  10'  -  5"  x  1 '  -  18",  in  a 
most  microscopic  Nastali  character.  The  whole 
weight  is  less  than  a  tola.  It  is  stated  that  Em- 
F.  O.  C.  1. 1* 


« 
90  First  Oriental   Conference. 

peror  Shah  Alain  used  to  keep  it  in  his  head-gear. 
But  there  is  nothing  written  on  the  manuscript  itself. 
(3)  Kulliyyat-i-Sadi,  a  beautiful  and  illuminated  copy 
of  the  complete  works  of  Sadi.  It  was  one?  preserved 
in  the  Imperial  Library  of  Aurangzeb  and  was  probably 
presented  to  him  in  the  31st  year  of  his  reign.  (4)  Hal- 
namah,  a  Masnavi  by  Arefi.  It  is  an  allegory  in  which 
the  ball  and  the  bat  are  personified  as  types  of  mystic 
love.  It  was  transcribed  in  A.  H.  1000  by  Khandan, 
who  was  the  court  calligrapher  of  the  Emperor  Akbar. 

(5)  Timurnamah-i- Hateji ,  a  Masnavi  on  the  warlike  ex- 
ploits of  Timur.  A  very  neatly  written  copy.  Date 
A.  H.  972.  Bears  two  seals  of  Muhammad  Quli  Qutub 
Shaha  and  Jamshid  Qutub  Shah,  Kings  of   Golkonda. 

(6)  Shahnamah,  the  famous  epic  poem  by  Firdausi, 
most  profusely  illuminated  and  illustrated.  Parts  II 
and  III  are  written  in  the  most  excellent  Nastaliq 
probably  in  the  tenth  century  A.  H.  (8)  Jamih-ul-Hah 
ayat,  a  famous  collection  of  historical  tales  and  an- 
ecdotes by  Muhammad  Aufi.  The  oldest  and  the  best 
copy  extant.  Profusely  illuminated  and  illustrated 
with  scenes  from  Natural  History  in  its  earlier  part, 
and  containing  a  few  good  pictures.  Dated  A.  H.  843. 
(9)  Tuzuq-i-Timuri  of  Alfaquihi ;  this  is  a  continua- 
tion of  the  history  of  Tamarlane  and  his  ancestors. 
An  extremely  rare  work.  Transcribed  for  the  Em- 
peror Shah  Alam  in   A.  H.    1191.     (10)    Fvrsnama,   an 

«  illustrared  treatise  on  farriery,  translated  from  Sans- 
krit by  Abdullakhan  Bahadur  Firoz  Jung.  This  copy 
was  transcribed  at  Kabul,  A.  H.  1082,  twenty-eight 
years  after  the  death  of  Firoz  Jung.  (11)  Divani4-Sail 
an  autograph  copy  of  the  poet,  written  in  the  most 
marvellous  and  excellent  running  hand.  (12)  Bostaui- 
i-Sadi,  the  well-known  poem,  of  which  this  is  a  most 
magnificent  copy  written  in  the  hand  of  Shah 
Mahmmud  Nashapuri.  Dated  A.  H.  958.  Contains  a 
few  sketches  of  pictures.  (13)  Diwan-i- Hassan  Dihlam 
one  of  the  most  complete  and  clearly  written  copies 
of  the  poems  of  Hasan.  Dated,  A.  H.  951.  (14)  Task 
wirat-i-Ragmala,  an  album    illuminated   by   seventeen 


• 


Appendices.  91 

iMHUtif'il  croups  of  figures  of  Gouache  painting  in  a 
variety  ot  bright  colours,  attitudes  and  surroundings. 
Representing  conventional  symbols  of  tl  e  well-known 
personifications  of  Indian  pitches.  Early  12th  cen- 
tury A.  H. 

(13)  'I he  Indian  Museum,  (Archaelogical  Section,)  Cal- 
cutta, sent  the  toll  wing. 

(a)  Bhita  seals: — (1)  Kalesvarah  prlyatam,  (2)  Bhuta- 
kasa,  (3)  Sahijitiyenigmasa,  (4)  Na  (rh)  di  (below 
Sastika),  (5)  Sri  Vindhyabedhana  Maharajasya, 
Mahesvara  Mahasenatirsia  Rajjyasya  Vrsadhva- 
jasya,  Gautamiputrasya,  '6)  Om  Sri  Ranasi(rh)hah, 
(7)  Sealing  with  device  only,  Symbol  meaning 
Kaspapura  or  Multan,  (8)  Seal  with  perforated 
handle  at  top-Inscription-Raga,  Symbol-Trisula, 
(9)  Seal-die  with  perforated  top,  Inscription  Jitarh- 
monoratha,  Symbol-Star. 

(/>)  Basrah  seals: — (1)  Amratakesvara,  (2)  Mah&raja- 
dhiraja  Sri  Chandragupta,  Patni  Maharaja  Sri 
Govindagupta,  Mata  Mahadevl  Sri  Dhruvasvaminl, 
(3)  Sri  VishnupadasvamI,  (4)  Sri  Ghatothkacha- 
guptasya,  (5)  &  (6)  Yuvarajapadiya  Kumaramatya- 
dhikarana. 

(14)  The  Karnatak  Jtiham  Maniiala,  Dharwar,  sent  cop- 
per-plates, Mss.  etc.  of  which  the  following  were    important- 

(1)  Copperplate  of  the  Kadamba  age,  (2)  Copper- 
plate of  the  Vijayanagar  age,  (3)  Camunilaraya- 
punuxi,  (4-5)  Two  beautifnl  oarving  specimens  on 
Tadavali,  (6)  Hariuamsapuraiia,  a  Jain  work  by 
Mangarasa. 

(15)  fchrimant  Balabaheb  Pant  Pratinidhi  sent  some  ex- 
hibits, of  which  the  following  were  intersting  both  from  the 
artistic  and  the  calligraphic  points  of  view. 

(DA  manuscript  of  the  Saptasati,  beautifully  writ- 
ten in  golden  ink  and  profusely  illuminated,  be- 
lieved at  least  to  be  a  couple  of  centuries  old.  (2) 
\  man  t  of  the    'Juniv,   with    Arabic    and 

rsian  text  a  simultaneously    ne  bel"w  the 


92  First  Oriental   Conference. 

other,  nearly  four  hundred  years  old,  bought  at 
Bijapur  at  a  cost  of  Rs.  400/-. 

(16)  The  Patna  museum  lent  (a)  prehistoric  antiquities, 
and  (b)  historic  antiquities. 

(a)  Prehistoric  antiquities;  a  scraper,  a  borer,  arrow- 
and  spearheads,  a  knife,  a  flake,  axes,  a  bone-ham- 
mer, battle-axe  with  double  head,  bracelets,  a  bro- 

nze-bell  etc ; 

{b)  Silver  punch-marked  coins  of  the  Maurya  period, 
Ksatrapa  and  temple-seals,  Gupta  seals  etc. 

(17)  The  Provincial  Museum,  Lucknow,  sent  several  arti- 
cles like  (a)  castes  of  ancient  statues  and  architectural  deco- 
rations, coins,  seals  and  edicts,  (6)  estampages  of  certain  in- 
scriptions and  (c)  photographs. 

(a)  Among  the  casts  of  coins  were   those   of  (1)   Vima 

Kadphises,  (2)  Kaniska,  (3)  Huviska,  (4)  Samu- 
dragupta,  (5)  Vasudeva,  (6)  Kumarapala  etc.,  (7) 
golden  coins  of  Kumaragupta,  Pauragupta,  Akbar, 
Jahangir  etc. 

(b)  Among  the  estampages  were  those  of  the   Mukhari 

Inscription,  and  the  Kudarkot  Inscription  etc. 

(c)  The  photos  were  of  Jain,  Buddhist  and  Hindu    scu- 

lptures. 

(18)  The  Sardar  Museum,  Jodhpur,  sent  (a)   gold,  silver 

and  copper  coins,  (b)  old  paintings  and  (c)  reprints 
of  Inscriptions. 

(a)  Gold  coins  of  Vasudeva,  Huviska,  Samudragupta, 
Kumaragupta;  silver  coins  of  Azas,  Menander, 
Kumaragupta,  Jahangir  etc;  copper  coins  of  Dio- 
rnedes,  Mahipala,  Somaladevi  etc. 

(l>)  Paintings  about  the  history  of  the  Ksatrapa,  Gupta, 
Paramara,  Kalacuri,  Pala,  Sen  and  other  dynasti- 
es- 

(')  Reprints  of  Inst  ripiinns    of    Udayaditya,    Pratapj 
simha  etc. 


Appendices.  93 

(19)  Mr.  V.  P.  Vaidya,  B.  A.,  Bar- at  Law,  J.  P  ,  lent  Mss. 
and  gold,  silver  and  punch-marked  coins. 

(a)  Mss.     Virasimhavalokana,     At reyawrnhita   and    an 

illuminated  oopy  of  the  Bhagavadgitu. 

(b)  Old  ooins,  f  1)  Gold  mohur  (Mataji)  1,  (2)  Silver  coins 

of  the  last  century,  13,  (3)  Punchmarked  coins. 

(20)  The  Watson  Museum  of  Antiquities,  Rajkot,  sent  (a) 
four  copperplates,  (/>)  Mss.  and  (c)  seventy- six  ooins. 

(u)  Copperplates  of  Dharasena  I,  Gupta  Samvat  207; 
of  Dharanivaraha  of  the  Chavda  dynasty,  Saka 
639. 

(h)  A  Ms.  of  Mandalika  Kauya,  an  epic  on  the  last 
Yadava  King  of  Junagad,  Ra  Mandalika,  who 
was  defeated  by  Sultan  Mahmud  in  1472. 

(c)  Gold  coins  of  Antoninus,  Augustus;  silver  ooins  of 

the  Sassanian  Gadheya,  Rudrasena  son  of  Rudra- 
daman,  Nahapana,  Castana,  Rudradaman,  San- 
ghadaman  etc. 


APPENDIX  C. 


Donations  from  Governments,  States    and    Private  Indi 

duals. 

Indian  and  Provinci 

al  Government*. 

(1) 

Government  of  Bengal 

1500 

(2) 

•i 

Bombay 

1500 

(3) 

»» 

Burma 

500 

(4) 

>» 

India 

1000 

(5) 

!> 

Madras 

1000 

(6) 

II 

United  Provinces 

2000 

Native  States. 

(7) 

*1 

H.  H.  the  Gaekwad  of 
Baroda 

1000 

(8) 

II 

Bhavnagar  State 

5C0 

(9) 

11 

Dhrangdnra  State 

500 

(10) 

It 

H.  H.  the  Holkar  of  Indore 

500 

(11) 

II 

Junagadh  State 

500 

(12) 

II 

H.  E.  H.  the  Nizam  of  Hy- 
derabad 

1000 

(13) 

II 

H.    H.    the  Maharaja   of 
Mysore 

1000 

(14) 

,, 

The  Chief  of  Aundh      ... 

100 

(15) 

11 

The  Chief  of  Jamkhandi 

100 

(16) 

•  1 

The  Thakore  Saheb  of 
Limbdi     ... 

250 

(17) 

II 

The  Chief  of  Sangli      ... 

150 

(18) 

II 

The  Yuvaraja  of  Bhor  ... 

100 

Private  Individuals. 

( 19  )    The  Hon'ble  Mr.  J.  G.  Covernton  M. 
CLE 

(20)  The   Hon'ble    Mr.    Keshavrao     of 

Hyderabad 

(21)  Mr.  H.  A.  Shah  B.  A. 

(22)  SirD.  J.  Tata 

(  23  )      Principal  J.  R.  Tullu  B.  A.  ... 
(  24  )      Mr  V  P.  Vaidya,  B.  A.,    BAR-AT- 
LAW  J.  P. 


A., 


50 

100 

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CX         CO 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  SUMMARIES  OF  PAPERS. 


Packs. 

I— VEDIC  ...  ...  ...  i-xix 

Age  of  the  Brahmanas.    By  B.  V.  Kameswar  Aiyar    i-viii 
Study  of  the  Vedas.    By  Gauridatta  Sattree    .  viii 

Nighantu  is  not  the  Work  of  the  Author  of  the 

Nirukta.    By  R.  D.  Karraarkar  ...     iz 

Educatiou  in  the  Brahmauas  and   Upanisads.     By 

Radhakumud  Mookerji  ...  ...     ix 

Asura8ya  Maya"  in  the  Rgveda.    By  V.  K.  Rajwade  ...  ix 
The  Mention  of  the  MBh.  in  the  Aivalayana  Grhya 

Sutra.    By  N.  B.  Utgikar  ...  ...  xiv 

Gotra  and  Pravara.    By  O.  V.Vaidy  a                         ...  xv 
I  he  Nirukta  and  the  Nighantu  :  their  mutual  Rela- 
tion.   By  Siddheshwara  Varma                             ...  xvi 

Arya  and  Dasyu — A  Chapter  in  Social  History.     By 

S.  V.  Viswanatha  ...  ...  ...     xvi 

The  Philological  Argument  for  an   Upper    Limit  to 

the  Age  of  the  Rgveda.    By  A.  C.  Woolner         ...     xvii 

ft-AVESTA  ...  ...  ...  xxi-xxviii 

anskritised  Passages  from  the  Gathas.     By  Shams- 

ul-Ulama  Dastur  Kaikobad  A.  Nosherwan         ...     xxi 

Airyana  Vaejo,  the  Cradle  of  the  Aryans;  the  Maza- 
inya  Daeva,  the  Devas  of  Mazandran  or  Brah- 
manical  Devas.    By  J.  D.  Nadirshah  ...     xxi 

Modern  Soience  in  Ancient  Iran.     By  M.   B.    Pitha- 

walla  ...  ...  ...     xxii 

The   Avestan  Archangels   and  Sanskrit   Deities,  a 

Comparison.    By  A.  K.  Vesavevala  ...     xxv 

III.— PALI  and  BUDDHISM  ...  ...        xxix-xxxvii 

Buddhist  Philosophy  of  Change.      By  Maung  Shwe 

Zan  Aung  ...  ...  ...     xxix 

The  Vinaya  Literature  of  the  Buddhists.     By   N.  K. 

Bhagwat  ...  ...  ...     xxix 

The  Burning  of  Mithila.    By  C.  V.  Rajwade  ...     xxx 

Buddhist  Philosophy  (in  Pali).     By  Pandit   Widuru- 
polu      Piyatissa        ...  ...  ...     xxxi 


Contents  of  Summaries.  97 

NSgarjuna— the  earl  est  Writer  of  the   Renaissance 

Period.    By  Satis  Chandra  VidyaMiusana  ...     xxxiv 

IV— PHILOLOGY"  AND  PRAKRITS  ...  ...  xxxix-lxix 

The  Phonogenesis  of  the  "wide  E  and  O  in   Gujarati. 

By  N.  B.  Divatia  ...  ...  ...     xxxix 

Apabhrarnsa  Literature  and  its  Importance  to  Philo- 
logy.   By  P.  D.  Gune  ...  ...     xlv 

The  Dialects  of  the  Burmese.    By  L.  F.  Taylor        ...     xlvii 

The  Importance  of  Philology  for  modern  Languages. 

By  J.  M.  Unwala...  ...  ...     xlviii 

V.— CLASSICAL  LITERATURE  ...  ...  li-lxiv 

Sakuntala" — an  Allegory.    By  N.  B.  Adhikari  ...  li 

The  Relation  of  Sndraka's  Mrcchakatika  to  theCaru- 

datta  of  Bhasa.    By  S.  K.  Belvalkar  ...  li 

Kalidasa  and  the  Gupta  Kings.    By  H.  B.  Bhide       ...  lii 
Psychological  Study  of  K5lid5sa's  UpamSs.    By  P.  K. 

Gode  ...  np  •••  lii 

Indian  Aesthetics.     By  M.  Hiriyanna  ...  Iv 

Kalidasa  and  Music.    By  Sardar  G.  N.  Mujumdar     ...  lviii 

Kalidasa  and  Candragupta  II.     By  S.  Ray  ...  Iviii 

Kautilya  and  Kalidasa.     By  H.  A.  Shah  ...  lix 

The  Text  of  the  Sakuntala.    By  B.  K.  Thakore  ...  lx 

VI.— PERSIAN  AND  ARABIC  ...  ...  ixv-lxix 

OkhSharana  in  the  Shahnameh.    By  P.  B.  Desai       ...     lxv 
King  Akbar  and  the  Persian  Translations  from 

Sanskrit.    By  J.  J.  Modi  ...  ...     lxv 

The  unknown  Ya  in  Persian.  By  Abdul  Kadar  Shaikh 

Sarfraz  ...  ...  ...     lxix 

VII.— DRAVIDIAN  ...  ...  ...        lxxi-lxxxiv 

Dravidian  Tense-suffixes    By  R.  Swaminath  Aiyar  lxxi 

Old  Telugu  Literature.    By  K.  Sitaramayya  ...  lxxviii 

Telugu  Language  and  Literature.    By  G.  Somanna  ...  Ixxx 
The    Pronunciation  of    the    hard   r    in    Dravidian 

Languages.     By  C.  P.  Venkatarama  Aiyar  ...  lxxxi 

VIII.— PHILOSOPHY  ...  ...  ...  ixxxv-ci 

Vaisnavism   in    South    Irdia  before  RSminuja.      By 

S.  Krishnaswami  Aiyangar  ...  ...  lxxxv 

Fallacies  in  Indian  logic.     EyG.C.  Bhate  ...  lxxxvii 

A  Note  on   Siva    and   Phallic  Worship.      fry   G.   K. 

Chandorkar  ...  ...  ...  lxxxviii 

r.  o.c.  1. 1?] 


98 


First  Oriental  Conference. 


XCV 

xcvii 


xcvm 
xcix 


Trividham  AnumSnam,  or  a  Study  in  NyayS  Sntra 

I  i  5.    By  A.  B.  Dhruva  ...  ...  lxxxviii 

arT^^T  ^t%  ^  jp«j+i<iuiWH^ynrvrrffr :    cr^nr^    -^iwj^  i 

The  Yogisvara  YSjnavalkya,  his  Life  and  Philosophy, 

Chronology  and  Contemporaries.    By  P.  B.  Joshi    xci 

The  Relation   of  the   Bhagavadglta   and   the    BSda- 

rSyana  Sutras.     By  R.  D.  Karmarkar  ...     rev 

The  Springs  of  Action  in  Hindu  Ethics.  By  Susil 
Kumar  Maitra 

Sahkara  on  Buddha.     By  Panduranga  Sharma 

The  Pada  and  Vakya  Bhasyas  of  Kenopanisad.  By 
Sridharshastri  Pathak 

The  Antiquity  of  the    BhagavadgitS.      By  S.  V.  Ven- 

kateshwar.               ...                      v  •••      c 

Logic  of  SahkarScarya   and  Aristotle.    By   R.  Zim- 

mermann                  ...                       ...  ...      c 

IX.— ARCHAEOLOGY  ...  ...  oiii-«ix 

Ancient   Indian    Architecture.      By  M.   A.   Anan- 

thalwar  ...  ...  ...     ciii 

Sanskrit  Mss.,   their  Search   and  Preservation.    By 

Ananta  Krishna  Shastri  ...  ...      civ 

The    Rock-cut  Temples    in    Southern   India.    By    J. 

Dubreuil  ...  .  ...  ...       cv 

The  early  Kalacuris  and  the  Alphabet  of  their  Cop- 
perplate-grants.   By  Y.  R.  Gupte...  ...       cv 

The  Cave  and  Brahmi  Inscriptions  of  Southern  India. 

By  H.  Krishnashastri  ...  ...      cvi 

The  Jain  Manuscript-Bhandar  at  Patan — A  final  word 

on  their  Search.     By  J.  S.  Kudalkar  ...     cvii 

Note  on  some  Valabhi  Coins.    By  Geo.  P.  Taylor       ...      oix 

X. -ANCIENT  HISTORY...  ...  ...      oxi-cx*rviii 

The  basic  Blunder  in   the  Reconstruction   of   Indian 
Chronology   by  Orientalists,   or  the  Greek  Syn- 
chronisms reviewed.     By  M.  K.  Aoharya  ...     oxi 
A  Peep  into  Mediaeval  Dekkan.    By  A.   V.  Venkata- 

ramayyar  ...  ...  ...     oxv 

The  Karnatak  and  its  Place   in   Indian  History.    By 

V.  B.  Alur  ...  ...  ...     oxvi 

India  as  known  to  the  Ancient  World.  By  Gauranga- 
nath  Banerji 


Contents  of  Summaries. 


»» 


The  Date  of  Cakradhara  th-  ManabhSva.    By  G.  JC. 

Cbandorkar  ...  ...      cxix 

Date   of  the  Coronation  uf  MahSpadma.     By   Harit 

Krishna  Deb  ...  ...  ...      cxx 

Identification  of  Kinga  of  tbe  ArySvarta  defeated  by 

Samudragupta.     By  K.  N.  Dikshit  ...     cxxiv 

The  Date  of  HaribhadrasTIri.     By  Muni  Jinavijayaj:.      i  niv 

RSvana's  Lahk.i  discovered.     By  Sirdar  M.  V.  Kibe...     cxxvi 

The  early  History  of  the  Gurjaras.     By  R.  C.   Majum- 

dar  ...  ...  ...    cxxvii 

The  Anoient  Germans,  their  Mannen   etc.     By  J.  J. 


exxvm 


By 


oxxxiii 


By 


Modi 

A  Chapter  from  our  early   Economic   Geography. 
Radbakamal  Mookerji 

8ome  Aspects  of  the  Problem  of  the  Gupta  Era. 

K.  B.  Pathak            ...                        ...  ...    cxxxiv 

Notes  od  the  early  Sea-borne  Commerce   of  Western 

India.     By  H.  G.  Rawlinson          ...  «xxxit 

Jangaladesa  and  its  Capital  Ahicohatrapura.  By  Uar 

Bilas  Sarda  ...   exxxr 

Gupta  Era.    By  H.  A.  Shah                    ...  ...  exxxvii 

.—ETHNOLOGY  AND  FOLKLORE         ...  .,.  cxxxia-aiu 

Modern  Conscience  towards  Racial  Problems.  By  P. 

N.  Daroowalla        ...  ...  ...  cxxxix 

Note  on  the  Dissolution   of  Castes  and   Formation   of 

new  ones.     By  S.  V.  Ketkar  ...  ...      cxi 

Marriage  Customs  in  Western  and  Eastern   Nations. 

By  9.  S.  Mehta 
A  brief  History  of  the  Survey  of  the  Ethnography  of 

Bombay.     By  J.  J.  Modi  . 
Toteraism,  Exogamy  and  Endogamy  among  the  Aryan 

and  Dravidian  Hindus.     By  J.  A.  Saldanha  ...       cli 

.CHNICAL  SCIENCES 

The  constructive  Geometry  of  Altars  in  the   Vedas. 
By  R.  N.  Apte 

Naksatras  and    Precession.     By  G.  R.  Kaye  ...     cliv 

Ajtroa  Phenomena  in    fixing  the  chronolo- 

gical Periods  in  Indian  History.     By  V.  B.  Ketkar     cliv 

Rasa  Vidya*  or  Alchemy  in  Ancient  India.     By    R.   V. 

P.ttwardhan  ...  ...     «K 

A  short  Note  on  tbe  Use  of  Metre*  by  Sanskrit    1' 

By  A.  S.  Bhandarkar  ...  clvi 

Early  History  of  Music.     Hy  E.  Clements 


cxiii 


exlix 


lff$  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Principles  of  Melodic  Classification  in   anoient  Indian 

Music.    By  V.  G.  Paranjpe  ...  ...  clviii 

X  HI.— GENERAL.  ...  ...  ...      clxi-olxxib 

Sanskrit  and    its    Claims    upon    our   Attention.    By 

G.  S.  Apte  ...  ...  ...     clxi 

Old  Gujarati  Poets.    By  D.  D.  Dave  ...  ...    olxii 

Note  on  the  Ancient  History  and  Geography  of  the 

Konkan.    By  P.  V.  Kane  ...  ...   olxii 

3*n%?1ff?T  *FMlA  I   ^MJIHMitfiuji*^  ...  ...    clxvi 

State  Interference  in  Ancient  Indian  Industries.    By 

Narendra  Nath  Law  ...  ...    clxvi 

Old  Shastrio  Learning.  By  M.  A.  Narayan  Shastri...  clxvii 
Academical  Study  of  Sanskrit.  By  P.  V.  Narsingrao.  clxvii 
Som?  views  on  the   Problem  of  Sea-voyage.    By  C. 

Venkataramanaiyar  ...  ...    clxxi 

Funeral  Place  of  Poet  KalidSsa — a  Querry.    By  Satis 

Chandra  Vidyabhusana  ...  ...  clxxii 


The  Indo-ary an  Style  of  Architecture.  By  Y.R.  Gupte  clxxiii 
VisesSdvaita.    By  Virupaksha  Wodeyar  ...  clxxviil 

Origin  of  the  Indian  Alphabet.  By  D.  R.  Bhandarkar    clxxix 
Bhartrhari  in  Ibn  Muquaffa.    By  G.  K.  Nariman        ...   clxxxi 


L— Vedic. 


Age  of  the  Brahmanas.     Part  I.     By   B.  V.  KAMBSVARA 
AIYAR. 

In  the  second  stratum  of  Vedio  literature  (the  Yajus  and 

he  Atharva  Samhitas  and  the  several  Brahmanas  )  we   meet 
t 
with  lists  of  the  naksatras  of  the   Zodiac  (27  or  sometimes 

28  )     That  these   nak  atras  marked   the  diurnal  passage  of 

the  moon  in  the  course  of  its  heavenly  circuit  or  revolution 

is   plainly   indicated   by   expressions   like   '  Aghasu  '    (  Rv. 

X  85,  13  )  'Krttikasu  '  (  Taitt  Br.  I  1),  which  mean  the   days 

on  which  the  moon  is  in  conjunction  with   these   asterisms. 

Though  this  naksatra   Zodiac   is  primarily   connected   with 

the  moon's  path,  it  was   also  known   to   make   the   annual 

course  of  the  Sun. 

Now  a  Zodiac  like  this  should  have  a  starting  point. 
The  Brahmanas  state  that  the  Krttikas  are  the  first  of  these 
Zodiac  asterisms,  the  first  place  being  assigned  to  them  in  the 
several  lists.  Why  were  the  Krttikas  chosen  as  the  start- 
ing point  of  this  asterismal  Zodiac? 

It  was  thought  by  Weber  and  some  other  western  Sansk- 
ritists  that  the  same  reason,  which  led  to  the  recognition  of 
Asvini  as  the  first  asterism  in  post-Greek  Indian  astronomy, 
might  have  led  to  the  recognition  of  the  Krttikas  as  the 
first  in  the  period  of  the  Brahmanas.  It  is  well-known  that 
Asvini  came  to  have  the  first  place  among  the  asterisms  in 
the  post-Greek  system  because  it  (  or  more  accurately,  the 
segment  denoted  by  it  )  marked  the  commencement  of  tne 
vornal  equinox,  when  a  solar  calendar  was  adopted  under 
Alexandrian  influence  (  about  the  4th  or  the  5th  century 
A.  D.  ).  Similarly  it  was  thought  that  the  Brahmanas  as- 
signed the  first  place  to  the  Krttikas  because  at  that  time 
che  Krttikas  were  observed  to  mark  the  vernal  equinox. 

There  are  serious  difficulties  in  accepting  the  reason 
for  the  priority  of  tlio  K  it t ik ns.  The  Brahmanas  do  not 
anywhere  show  a  knowledge  of  the  equinoxes  or  of  a  year 
commencing  with  the  vernal  equinox.    Again  it  is  the  moon 


ii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

that    is    generally   connected     with    the     naksatras.     The 
analogy  of  Asvinyadi  cannot  therefore  apply. 

Why  then  did  the  Brahmanas  give  the  first  place  to  the 
Krttikas  ?  Dr.  Fleet  suggested  (  and  Prof.  A.  B.  Keith 
welcomed  the  suggestion  )  that  the  priority  of  Krttikas  was 
due  solely  to  ritualistic  considerations.  Dr.  Whitney  held 
that  the  Brahmavadins  should  have  borrowed  the  scheme 
with  the  Krttikas  at  its  head  from  the  Babylonians. 

I  have  tried  to  show  that  the  naksatra  scheme  of 
Zodiac  could  not  have  been  borrowed  from  Babylon  for  the 
simple  reason  that  there  is  nothing  in  common  between 
the  Indian  lunar  Zodiac  and  the  Babylonian  solar  Zo- 
diac. You  cannot  borrow  from  a  country  what  you  cannot 
find  there.  It  is  for  those  who  postulate  a  borrowal  to  show 
that  the  elements  of  the  Indian  Zodiac  and  the  Brahmanic 
calendar  are  also  found  in  the  cuneiform  literature  of 
Babylon  belonging  to  about  2300  B-  C.  This  has  not  been 
so  far  attempted  to  be  proved. 

The  reason  why  the  first  place  is  given  to  the  Krttikas  in 
the  Vedic  texts  is  to  be  found  in  the  Vedic  texts  themselves. 
The  Zodiac  line  does  not  run  from  east  to  west  direct  but  lies 
partly  to  the  north  of  the  east  point  and  partly  to  the  south 
of  it.  One  half  of  the  asterisms  of  the  Zodiac  lies  in  the 
northern  hemisphere  of  the  heavens  and  the  other  half  in  the 
southern  hemisphere.  Now  in  the  Brahmanas  as  well  as 
post- Vedic  literature,  the  Deva-loka  is  located  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  heavens  and  the  Yama-loka  is  located  in  the 
south.  Therefore  it  is  natural  to  find  in  the  Brahmanas  that 
the  asterisms  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  Zodiac  are  treat- 
ed as  Deva-naksatras  and  those  in  the  southern  portion 
were  known  as  Yama-naksatras.  The  asterisms  in  the 
northern  half  will  revolve  in  the  northern  hemisphere  to  the 
south  of  the  Deva-loka  and  those  in  the  southern  half  will 
revolve  to  the  north  of  the  Yama-loka.  This  is  exactly 
what  is  stated  in  Taittirlya  Brahmana  I  5,2.  This  is  how 
the  passage  should  be  naturally  understood  and  how  it  has 
been  understood  both  by  Sayana  and  Bhatta  Bhaskara. 
Now  the  Krttikas  are  stated  to  be  the  first  of  the  Deva- 
naksatras.     This  should  and  could   be  only  with  reference 


Vedic.  iii 

to  the  order  of  the  Moon's  passage  in  the  heavens.  The 
passage  would  thus  indirectly  mean  that  the  Krttikas 
marked  the  last.  Another  Brahraana  passage  Sat.  Br.  II  1,3 
says  the  same  thing  directly — that  Krttikas  do  not  swerve 
from  the  last  point  while  the  other  naksatras  of  the  Zodiac 
lie  either  to  the  north  or  the  south  of  this  point.  It  has 
been  attempted  to  show  that  these  two  passages  have  been 
correctly  interpreted  in  this  manner  both  according  to  tradi- 
tion and  according  to  the  obvious  rules  of  interpretation. 

A  third  passage,  though  in  a  presumably  supplementary 
portion  of  an  Upanisad,  Mait.  Up.  VI  14,  also  states  that 
the  Sun  turns  south  from  the  Maghas,  which  would  cor- 
respond to  the  Krttikas  at  the  east  point.  Thus  three  Vedic 
passages  ar«  found  to  state  directly  or  indirectly  that  the 
Krttikas  were  observed  to  be  at  the  east-point  at  the  time 
of  the  Brahmanas.  The  Brahmanas  had  to  determine,  for 
ritualistic  purposes,  the  cardinal  and  the  intermediate 
points  of  direction.  It  may  be  that  the  determination  may 
not  have  been  mathematically  accurate.  At  any  rate  the 
Brahmanas  talk  of  the  Sun  turning  north  or  south  and  the 
day  on  which  the  Sun  so  turned  could  be  determined  within 
an  error  of  say  lour  days.  An  error  of  4  or  5  degrees  in  the 
determination  of  the  cardinal  points  would  not  materially 
affect  the  accuracy  of  long  periods  like  those  we  are  dealing 
with. 

It  is  true  that  the  Brahmanas  do  not  appear  to  have 
been  acquainted  with,  or  recognised  as  important,  the 
equinoxes.  Nor  is  there  any  reference  to  a  year  commencing 
with  the  vernal  equinox.  Hut  this  can  not  prevent  them 
from  dividing  their  Zodiac  into  a  northern  and  a  southern 
half  and  locating  the  starting  point  of  the  asterisms  at  the 
east  point  You  can  not  say  that  simply  because  there  is  no 
reference  to  the  equinoxes  in  the  Brahmanas,  the  theologians 
of  this  period  could  not  have  observed  or  noted  that  a  certain 
asterism  in  their  Zodiac  was  at  the  last  point  and  others 
were  to  the  north  or  the  south  of  this. 

Leaving  a  margin  of  3  or  4  centuries  for  errors  of  observ- 
ation, it  may  be  safely  concluded  that  the  Brahmanic 
passages    that    locate    the    Krttikas   at   the    last    indicate 


iv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

approximately  that  they  were  composed  about  2,000  B.  C. — 
an  antiquity  which  scholars  like  Buhler(and  even  Whitney) 
considered  necessary  for  the  development  of  the  different 
strata  of  Vedic  literature. 

Part  II.     Section  I.    The  month   and  the  year  in   the 
Brahmanas. 

(1)  The  month  in  general  use  at  the  time  of  the  Brah- 
manas was  lunar  and  was  named  after  the  naksatra  in  or 
near  which  the  moon  became  full.  This  was  reckoned  as 
30  days,  as  the  amavasya  (or  purnima)  occurred  on  the  30th 
day  after  the  previous  amavasya  (or  purnima). 

(2)  The  month  began  from  the  day  after  the  amavasya 
and  ended  with  the  next  amavasya.  The  term  'amavasya' 
denoted  not  'the  moment  of  new  moon'  or  a  tithi  or  that  part 
of  the  amavasya  tithi  which  was  considered  fit  for  the  re- 
ligious rites,  (all  this  was  to  come  later)  but  the  civil  day  on 
which  the  moon  was  entirely  invisible.  The  term  'new 
moon'  is  a  misnomer  as  applied  to  amavasya  ;  the  term  in 
the  English  language  denotes  only  the  day  after  the  amavas- 
ya— the  day  when  the  moon  becomes  first  visible  after  its 
total  disappearance  on  the  amavasya.  The  misuse  is  perhaps 
partly  responsible  for  the  undilutedly  novel  theory  of 
'amadi.' 

The  evidence  for  the  amanta  and  against  the  purnimanta 


is 


(a)  Rv.  X  85,18,  which  states  that  the  moon  after 
completing  the  month  is  born  again. 

(b)  Taitt.  Br.  Ill  10,  1,  where  ritualistic  names  are 
given  to  the  days  i.  e.  of  the  month  in  their  calen- 
daric  order. 

(c)  The  frequent  use  of  the  expressions  "purvapaksa" 
and  ''apara  paksa"  in  all  the  vedic  Sakhas. 

(d)  Kaus.  Br.  XIX  3  which  states  that  an  amavasya 
closes  the  last  day  of  the  year  and  that  the  sun 
turns  north  on  the  next  day ;  and  Kaus.  Br.  I  3 
which  states  that  an  amavasya  is  in  the  middle 
of  a  rtu. 

(e)  Sat.  Br.  XI  1,  1  &c.  which  says  that  the  amavasya 
is  the  gate  opening  out  into  the  new  year  and  that 


Vedic.  ▼ 

the  amavasya  of  Vaisakha  coincides  with  Rohinl 
(of  course  in  the  prayikartha)  which  can  only  be 
if  the  amavasya  of  the  month  came  after  the 
purnima. 
(/)  Taitt.  Br.  I  8,10,35  which  states  the  amavasya  ends 
a  month  whereas  the  paurnamasl  ends  only  a  half- 
month. 

(3)  Sayana  and  Madhava  are  of  opinion  that  the  purni- 
unanta  month  is  also  contemplated  in  some  Vedic  texts.  Two 
Vedic  texts  are  adduced  in  evidence  in  the  Kalamadhava. 
One  of  them  that  the  term  'Krsna-paksa*  (itself  a  term  of 
the  post- Vedic  period)  is  used  before  the  term  'Suklapaksa' 
in  an  unidentifiable  passage  of  the  Atharvanikas  may  be 
dismissed  as  not  worthy  of  any  serious  consideration.  The 
other  Vedic  text  does  state  that  some  Brahmavadins  com- 
plete the  'month'  with  the  paurnamasl.  But  analogy  and 
the  context  require  that  the  word  'month'  (masa)  should  be 
here  understood  as  denoting  a  Satra-month  (known  later  as 
Savana  month),  the  co  nmencement  and  the  end  of  which 
were  determined  not  by  the  calendar  month  in  use  but  by 
the  opening  Diksa  day  for  the  Satra. 

(4)  There  were  12  lunar  months  in  the  year  which  was 
also  lunar.  Once  in  every  two  years  or  three  years,  as 
occasion  demanded,  an  additional  or  thirteenth  month  was 
added  to  the  year,  to  adjust  lunar  years  to  the  movement  of 
the  seasons  (which  are  regulated  by  the  position  of  the  sun). 
No  elaborate  calculations  were  needed  for  purposes  of  such 
adjustment.  If  the  Brahmavadins  went  on  inserting  an 
additional  month  only  when  the  difference  between  the  lunar 
and  the  solar  time  needed  such  insertion,  the  adjustment 
would  become  approximately  right  and  would  become  almost 
I        ct  in  an  exeligmos  of  160  years. 

(5)  In  popular  language,  the  year  was  spoken  of  as 
consisting  of  360  days  from  the  Bgvedic  period;  but  as  there 
is  no  natural  phenomenon  (like  the   amavasya  or   the   sun's 

ng  north  or  south)  to  mark   the  commencement   or   the 
-uch  a  year,  this  year  etjuld    never   have    been    ei  i- 
ployed    lor    practical     use.     In    the    Samvatsara-Satra   (an 
instn ui  i   n   is  old  as  some  of  the  oldest  parts  of  the  Rgveda) 


vi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

it  was  possible  to  employ  this  year  of  360  days,  as  the    com- 
mencement of  the  Satra  depended  on  various  considerations. 
This  year  was  therefore  known  later  as  Savana  year  and  the 
word  'masa'  was  in  connection  with  this,  used  for  a  group  of 
5  six-day  periods  without  any  reference  to  the  beginning  or 
the  end  of  the  calendar  month  then  in  vogue.     For  purposes  j 
of  this  thesis,  the  point  worth   remembering   is   that   in  the  j 
time  of  the  Brahmanas  the  calendar  month  was  exclusively 
amanta,  the  purnima  which  gave   the   name   to   the   month 
occurring  on  the  fifteenth  day  of  the  month  and  the  amavas-l 
ya  occurring  on  the  last  or  the  thirtieth   day    of  the    month 
and  closing  it. 

Part  II,     Section  II.     Ayanas  and  Rtus. 

The  only  passage  in  the  Brahmanas  for  determining  the' 
position  of  the  winter  solstice,  as   then    obtained,    is   Kaus. 
Br.  XIX  3  where  it  is  said  to  coincide  with  Magha  amavasya. 
Dr.  Thibaut,  either  on  the  authority  of  Vinayaka  and   Anar- 
tiya  or  by  some  ratiocinatory  process  which  is   beyond   my| 
comprehension,  understands  Magha  amavasya  to  mean  that| 
which  fell  15  days  before  the   full   moon    in   Maghas.     This 
would  correspond  to  the  position  of  the  winter   solstice   in 
the  Vedanga  Jyotisa.     Thus   both  would  tally  and   support  I 
each  other.     The  epoch  of  the  Vedanga,  from  other  (more  on 
less  accurate)  date  furnished  in   the   work,    would   approxi-  j 
mately  point  to  1000-1200  B.  C.     The  age  of  the   Brahmanas 
also  may  be  set  down  to  1000-1200  B.  C. 

But  the  Vedanga  Jyotisa  says  that  the  season  of 
Sisira  began  with  the  winter  solstice.  This  is  not  true  to 
the  seasonal  changes  of  India.  The  view  of  the  Brahmanas 
is  more  correct,  for  the  Brahmanas  state  that  the  Phal- 
guna  full  moon  is  the  mukha  or  the  first  day  of  the  year. 
This  should  be  taken  to  mean  that  the  Phalguna  full  moon 
was  the  first  day  of  Spring.  If  so  understood  it  would  mean 
that  spring  commenced  45  days  after  the  winter  solstice  ; 
this  would  fit  in  with  the  course  of  seasons  as  they  obtain 
in  Northern  India. 

This  is  Dr.  Thibfcut's  thex>ry.  I  have  tried  to  show  that 
this  theory  is  in  conflict  with  several  texts  from  the  Brah- 
manas.    In  the  first  place,  the  months  in  the  Brahmanas  are 


Vedic.  Tii 

exclusively  amftnta  ;  or  at  any  rate  the  evidence  for  a  con- 
current purnimanta  is  so  slight  and  of  doubtful  validity 
that  in  the  absence  of  sufficiently  convincing  reasons  to  the 
contrary,  which  neither  the  scholiasts  Vin&yaka  and 
Anartlya,  nor  Dr.  Thibaut  has  given,  Magha  amavasya  in  the 
Br.  XIX  3  must  be  understood  in  the  amanta  sense ; 
if  this  is  done,  the  year  would  commence  on  Phalguna  Sukla- 
1'ratipad  from  the  winter  solstice.  The  Brahmanas  also 
show  that  the  first  season  of  the  year  wasVasanta  and  there- 
fore Spring  would,  conventionally,  begin  with  Phalguna 
Sukla!  What  then  is  the  meaning  of  the  statement  in  the 
Brahmanas  that  Phalguna  full  moon  (t.  e.  Phalguna  15)  was 
the  first  day  of  the  year  ?  The  very  passage  (Sat.  Br.  VI  2,  2) 
that  states  that  the  Phalguna  full  moon  is  the  first  day  of 
the  year,  explains  in  the  same  context  that  Phalguna  purni- 
ma  is  so  called  because  it  is  the  first  of  the  three  important 
days  (parvans)  of  the  first  month  of  the  year  and  that  the 
other  two  parvans,  the  eighth  day  after  the  full  moon  and 
the  fifteenth  day  after  the  full  moon  are  also  the  first  days 
of  the  year  in  the  sense  that  they  are  the  first  parvans  of 
their  kind  in  the  year.  Moreover  another  Brahmana  pas- 
sage Sat.  Br.  II  1,  3  distinctly  states  that  Vasanta,  Grlsma 
and  Varsa  are  the  three  seasons  of  Uttarayana  and  Sarad, 
Hemanta  and  Sisira  are  the  three  seasons  of  Daksinayana.  It 
might  be  objected  that  this  arrangement  of  the  seasons  is  in- 
correct and  would  not  accord  with  the  course  of  the  seasons 
in  India.  I  have  tried  to  show  that  this  arrangement  might 
be  correct  enough  as  a  convention,  that  a  convention  which 
tries  to  express  the  seasons  in  terms  of  the  lunar  reckoning 
can  be  only  approximately  correct  with  a  margin  of  a  fort- 
night, that  Sarad  in  the  Brahmanas,  (unlike  the  notion  that 
has  crept  into  use  after  the  Vedanga  epoch  )  denoted  the 
second  and  wetter  half  in  the  four-monthly  period  of  rains, 
Varsa  denoting  the  first  half  which  might  have  included  the 
heavy  showers  that  often  preceded  the  regular  south-west 
monsoon  by  a  fortnight,  that  having  regard  to  the  fact  that 
Indian  meteorology  is  still  empirical  in  spite  of  recorded 
statistics,  the  Vedic  texts  which  showed  that  Vasanta  began 
from  the  winter  solstice  and  Sarad  from  the  summer  solstice 
need  not  be  absurdly  untenable  as  a  convention 


viii  First  Oriental  Conference. 


Dr.  Thibaut  has  considered  only  two  points,  one  about! 
Magha  atnavasya  and  the  other  about  Phalguna  full  mooi| 
and  his  theory  on  this  interpretation  of  these  two  terms  and 
supported  it  by  meteorological  considerations.  I  have  tried 
to  show  that  there  are  Brahmanic  texts  which  are  in  conflict 
with  his  interpretation  of  either  term  and  that  the  correct 
procedure  would  be  to  understand  from  the  Brahmarias  what 
their  seasonal  conventions  were  and  see  how  far  they  might 
be  reconciled  with  the  seasonal  changes  in  India  instead  of 
trying  to  deduce,  without  any  reference  to  these  texts,  what 
the  Brahmanic  conventions  should  have  been  from  the  com* 
plex  and  uncertain  data  afforded  by  current  meteorology. 

If  the  position  I  have  tried  to  establish  be  conceded,  ths 
conclusion  would  be  that  the  sun  turned  northwards  on 
Phalguna  Sukla-pratipad,  that  it  is  earlier  by  one  lunar  month 
than  the  Magha  Sukla-pratipad  which  coincides  with  the 
winter  solstice  according  to  the  Vedanga  Jyotisa,  that 
therefore  the  Brahmanas  point  to  the  coincidence  of  the 
summer  solstice  in  the  naksatra  Maghas,  which  correspond 
to  the  vernal  equinox  in  the  Krttikas,  that  this  would  tally 
with  the  date  derived  from  the  statements  about  the  positions 
of  the  Krttikas  in  the  Zodiac  of  the  Brahniana  period,  and 
that  the  evidence  of  both  these  sets  of  astronomical  data 
would  give  for  the  Brahmanas  a  date  which  may  be  approxi- 
mately fixed   between  2000-2300  B.  C. 


Study  of  the  Vedas.     By  GAURIDATTA  SASTREE. 
S^IRTcU  |1%    ^T^JT     I    3T%R<?^    ^Rf    Rc<TO«T<RJT  I  SPTlfasTqym 


Vedic.  ix 

The  Nighantu  is  not  the  Work  of  the  Author  of  the  Ni- 
rukta.     By  R.  D.  EARMARKAR. 

In  addition  to  the  points  noticed  by  Durga  and  Roth  in 
this  connection,  the  essay  brings  forward  further  evidence  to 
prove  that  the  author  of  the  Nighantu  is  different  from 
that  of  the  Nirukta.  The  following  words  from  the  Nighantu 
and  Yaska's  explanation  thereon  are  referred  to.  Talit,  Aksa- 
nah,  Apanah,  Viyatah,  Akhandala,  Vavaksitha,  Vivaksase, 
Vicarsanih,  Visvacarsanih,  Mehana,  Sipre,  Tutumakrse, 
Svatram,  Dyumna,  Turnasa,  Krtti,  Samba,  Srustl,  Andha, 
Varaha,  Svasarani,  Sarya,  Sina,  Vayunam. 

Evidence  is  also  brought  forward  to  show  that  the  Nig- 
hantu is  not  the  work  of  a  single  author. 


Education    in    the     Brahmanas    and     Upanisads.      By 
Radhakumud  Mookerji. 

The  paper  deals  with  the  types  of  the  educational  ins- 
titutions indicated  in  the  Upanisads,  so  as  to  show  the  precise 
character  of  the  educational  system  and  machinery  evolved 
in  ancient  India  for  the  spread  of  her  learning  and  culture 
through  the  different  and  distant  parts  of  the  country  in  those 
remote,  pre-mechanical  ages.  A  brief  reference  has  been 
incidentally  made  to  the  question:  How  far  was  Sanskrit  a 
spoken  language  during  the  period  or  a  mediun  of  instruction 
and  debate  in  learned  societies  ? 


Asurasya  Maya  in  Rgveda.     By  V.  K.  RAJWADE. 

The  word  asura  occurs  about  105  times  in  the  Rgveda-  In 
about  90  instances  it  is  used  in  a  good  sense,  while  the  ins- 
tances in  which  it  is  used  in  the  sense  of  'enemies'  of  Devas  are 
only  l/7th  of  the  whole-  It  means 'powerful,  strong',  and  is  ap- 
plied to  individual  gods  and  gods  in  general  and  is  only 
generic  in  character.  In  some  cases,  however,  it  is  significant 
and  purposeful  as  in  those  of  Mitra,  Varuna  and  Indra-  When 
used  about  Indra,  it  shows  physical  strength,  while  in  the  case 
of  Mitra  and  especially  Varuna,    it   shows   moral,   punitive 

s 


x  First  Oriental  Conference, 

strength.  This  has  led  some  to  believe  that  Varuna  really  is 
the  great  Asura,  the  prototype  of  Ahura  Mazdah.  I  think, 
however,  that  such  a  conclusion  is  not  warranted,  as 
along  with  other  gods  he  is  asura  or  asuraputra.  In  en- 
forcing the  moral  law,  he  enforces  the  Maya,  i.  e.  the  miracu- 
lous power,  the  thaumaturgy  of  asura.  The  Devas  are 
oalled  dioasputrasdh,  mahasputrasah,  asurasya  virah.  In 
a  list  of  Assyrian  Gods  published  by  Vincent  Scheil,  is 
mentioned  Assar  Mazaash  which,  the  writer  of  the  article 
on  Ormazd  in  the  Encyclopaedia  of  Religion  and  Ethics 
thinks,  is  nothing  but  Ahura  Mazdah  of  the  Zoroastrians 
(Vol.  9  p.  568).  I  think  the  name  is  a  mispronunciation 
of  asura  mahas.  The  words  do  not  occur  as  a  compound 
in  the  Rgveda  which  shows  that  they  were  compounded  by 
the  copyists-  If  the  poets  in  the  Rgveda  had  borrowed  the 
name  from  Chaldea,  as  the  Indian  Aryans  are  said  to  have 
borrowed  astronomy  from  that  country,  they  would  have  re- 
tained the  compound  name.  Whoever  was  the  borrower,  it 
is  clear  that  the  Chaldeans,  the  Indian  Aryans  and  Zoroas- 
trians were  once  neighbours.  Perhaps  they  had  a  common 
religion  and  common  gods,  among  whom  Asura  was  the  great- 
est. There  happened  a  cleavage,  however,  between  the 
Indian  Aryans  and  the  Zoroastrians  at  some  unknown 
period  of  the  world's  history,  of  which  the  causes  are  un- 
known. Perhaps  it  was  religious  differences.  Perhaps  the 
Indian  Aryans  came  to  regard  Indra  as  supreme  deity  while 
their  neighbours  clung  tenaciously  to  Asura.  Anyhow 
they  began  to  revile  each  other's  gods.  The  Zoroastrians 
degraded  Indra  into  a  minor,  insignificant  deity  or  as  I 
think,  transformed  him  into  Angra  Mainyu,  the  protagonist 
of  Ahura  Mazdah-  The  Devas,  the  followers  of  Indra,  had  to 
share  the  odium  that  came  to  be  attached  to  the  name  of  In- 
dra. There  commenced  a  campaign  of  mutual  vilification  and 
misrepresentation.  Indra,  who  was  turned  into  Satan,  became 
an  inveterate  foe  of  Ahura  and  is  called  asuraghna  in  the 
Rgveda.  The  Zoroastrians  exalted  certain  names  such  as 
asura,  manyu,  <i>a,  gat  ha  and  degraded  others.  The  Indian 
Aryans  too  adopted  the  same  method.  Kavi,  which  is  used 
in  an  evil  sense  in  the  Avesta,  was  prefixed  to  the  name  of 
Devas  and  conveyed  a  good  sense.     The    two   racee  adopted 


Vedic.  xl 

contrary      customs  with  regard     to    burial,    shaving    and 
marriage. 

But  before  the  cleavage,  all  the  gods  were  the  sons  of 
asura  and  were  called  asura  patronymically.  The  name  con- 
veyed a  good  sense.  Asurya  meant  strength,  and  asuratva  was 
used  in  the  sense  of  Maya,  thaumaturgy-  All  natural  pheno- 
mena were  miracles  and  the  work  of  asura.  Kings  were  com- 
plimented by  prefixing  asura  to  their  names,  or  by  use  of  the 
epithet  instead  of  the  names.  This  same  supreme  deity  was 
perhaps  called  by  various  names  such  as  dyau,  mafias  and 
amrta,  and  the  gods  were  divasputr'dsah,  mahasputrasah,  and 
amrtasya  putruh.  Dyau  is  Greek  Zeus,  mahas  is  Zoro- 
astrian  Mazdah,  asura-mahas  Chaldean  Assar  Mazaash. 
Whichever  party  or  parties  were  the  borrowers,  they  lived 
near  one  another,  Greeks,  Indian  Aryans,  Zoroastrians  and 
Chaldeans  were  once  neighbours.  What  was  the  region  they 
occupied  ?  Dr.  Sir  R.  G.  Bhandarkar  says  it  was  the  nor- 
thern portion  of  the  plain  between  the  Euphrates  and  the 
Tigris  or  Mesopotamia.  If  the  Indian  Aryans  were  borrow- 
ers, they  must  have  had  Greeks  on  one  side,  Chaldeans  on 
another  and  Zoroastrians  on  the  third,  and  when  the  cleavage 
came,  they  must  have  left  the  Zoroastrians  in  the  rear  and 
pushed  on  to  the  land  of  the  five  rivers. 

Dr.  Bhandarkar  thinks  that  just  as  the  dasyus  were  the 
aborigines  of  India,  the  asuras  were  aborigines  of  some  other 
country,  and  as  aboriginal  races  both  were  regarded  with  an 
evil  eye  by  the  Indian  Aryans.  It  is  my  humble  opinion 
that  the  asuras  were  the  cousins  of  the  Indian  Aryans.  In 
the  Sat.  Br.  ( 13,  8,  2,  1 )  we  have  devascasuruscobhaye  pruja~ 
jxitya  asmin  lokespardhanta,  te  deva  asuran  sapatnan  bhratr- 
vijuiiasmallokadanudanta.  The  dasyus  were  inhabitants 
or  people  of  dairjhu  (Av.  =  province  or  country).  This  dairjhu 
was  perhaps  the  country  of  the  Zoroastrians.  Misrepre- 
sentation or  vilification  followed  in  the  wake  of  their  enmity. 
Originally  of  one  stock,  they  quarrelled  and  parted  irreconcil- 
ably. Worshippers  of  asura  or  Ahur,  the  Zoroastrians  were 
nicknamed  Asuras.  Their  speech  is  set  down  as  barbarian, 
for  the  Avesta  seems  to  bo  Sanskrit  mispronounced.  Asura  is 
Ahur,  ahi  is  Azi.  manyu  is  Mainyu,  the  genetive  terminatiou 


xii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

sya  is  hya,  Indra  is  Indhra  or  Angra,  deva  is  Daeva,  namah 
is  nemo,  asva  and  visve  are  aspa  and  vispe>7.  The  gramma- 
tical forms  are  almost  the  same,  only  they  are  mispro- 
nounced either  deliberately  to  make  the  cleavage  permanent 
or  because   the  speakers   were  uncivilized  barbarians. 

I  have  only  one  word  about  mleccha  which  is  not  a  San- 
skrit word.  I  have  long  thought  it  to  be  Molech  or 
Melech,  which  originally  meant  'King'  and  was  the  name  of 
the  supreme  god  of  the  Ammonites,  hereditary  foes  of  the 
Israelites.  The  speech  of  the  Ammonites  or  worshippers  of 
Molech  or  Melech  sounded  barbarous  to  the  ears  of  the  In- 
dian Aryans.  Any  departure  therefore  from  standardized 
Sanskrit  was  set  down  as  mleccha.  The  Zoroastrians  mispro- 
nounced vowels;  they  pronounced  r  as  ere;  they  said  vererthra 
for  vrtra,  perethivi,  for  prthvl ;  kratu  they  call  khrathu,  citra 
and  putra  as  cithra  and  puthra.  The  Indian  Aryans  were 
bound  to  call  such  speech  Mleccha.  Unintelligible  or  mispro- 
nounced speeoh  is  naturally  barbarian  to  unaccustomed  ears. 

India  was  certainly  not  the  home  of  the  Rgvedic  people. 
Words  like  asura,  pani  (Phoenician),  dasyu  point  to  a  domi- 
cile other  than  India. 

Maya. 

1  Maya  has  the  sense  of  asuratva.  It  means  the  creative 

power. 

2  It  means  also  'thaumaturgy'  or  the  power  of  working 

miracles.  There  is  not  much  difference  between 
1  and  2. 

3  In  many  instances   it  means  'wiles,   tricks,  tactics' 

which  are  employed  both  by  Indra  and  his  oppo- 
nents. 

4  In  a  few  cases   it  means  'sorcery,  witchcraft,  magic' 

5  In  two  instances  only  it  means  'illusion,  appearance.' 

6  In  asurasya  maya,  the  asura  is  the  supreme  god  of  the 

Indian  Aryans.  He  is  the  Assar  Mazaash  of  the 
Chaldeans  or  Assyrians  and  Ahura  Mazdah  of  the 
Zoroastrians.  He  cannot  be  identified  with  Va- 
runa,  notwithstanding  the  moral  resemblance  be- 
tween Ahura  Mazdah  and  Varuna.  This  asura  em- 


Vedic.  xiii 

ploys  maya  in  creating  the  Universe  and  its  several 

parts.     All  wonders  of  the   world   are  due   to  that. 

In  Avesta   the   corresponding  word  is    maya,   but  the 

instances  of  its  use  are  very  few  and  very  doubtful. 


A  Study  in  the  Idea  of  Rudra.     By  S.  D.  SATAWALEKAR. 

The  oriental  scholars  state  that  "Rudra  is  the  lightning 
and  he  is  the  god  of  storms."  This  is  one  of  the  many 
aspects  of  Rudra. 

Vedic  seers  identify  Rudra  with  Indra,  Agni  and  Kala. 
This  identification  is  not  meaningless;  it  is  due  to  their 
valour,  lustre  and  destructive  power  respectively. 

Etymological  meanings  of  Rudra    are  five — (1)  speaker, 

(2)  trouble-remover,  (3)  trouble-giver,  (4)  oppressor,  and  (5) 
weeper.  Every  derivation  separates  one  word  from  the 
rest.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  one  word  has  got 
so  many  derivations. 

There  are  at  least  five  groups  in  the  names  of  Rudra. 
(1)  The  speaker  group  includes  a  praiser,  president,  a  minister, 
a  congress  and  such  other  Rudras.  (2)  The  trouble  remover 
group  includes,  a  doctor,  a  warrior,  an  army  and  its  leader, 
a  merchant  or  an  artisan  and  such  other  Rudras.  (3)  the  trouble 
nicer  group  includes  a  murderer,  a  thief,  a  rogue,  a  cheat 
and  such  other  criminal  Rudras.  (4)  The  fourth  group  com- 
prises such  Rudras  as  make  others  weep,  as  oppressors  and 
punishers.  (5)  In  the  fifth  group  all  kinds  of  weepers  are 
included. 

So  all  these  groups  cover  the  whole  of  the  creation. 

Every  name  of  Rudra  is  governed  by  the  word  namah  in 
the  Rudra  hymn.   This  namah  means    (1)  salutation,  (2)  food, 

(3)  a  weapon,  (4)  a  gift,  (5)  a  sacrifice.     These  meanings   are 
to  be  read  with  the  above  Rudra  group. 

There  is  "  one  and  without  a  second"  Rudra  and  there  are 
innumerable  Rudras.  In  those  innumerable  Rudras  all  the 
above  five  groups  are  included. 


xiv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Besides  these  there  are  Rudras  in  animal  kingdom  also. 
Disease-producing  germs  are  also  called  Rudras. 


The  Mention   of  the   Mahabharata   in  the    Asvalayana 
Grhya  Sutra.  By  N.  B.  UTGIKAR. 

The  note  is  an  attempt  to  examine  some  of  the  objections 
raised  against  the  genuineness  of  the  mention  of  the  Mbh. 
in  the  AGS. 

After  detailing  (§  1-5)  the  treatment  of  the  passage  in 
the  writings  of  Orientalists  and  its  importance  and  the  ob- 
jections raised,  the  note  proceeds  to  point  out  (§  6-11)  that 
the  omission  in  some  MSS.  only  of  the  word  Mbh.  is  nothing 
else  than  what  is  known  in  textual  criticism  as  "  Homoeo- 
graphy  ".  §  12  points .  out  that  the  non-mention  of  the 
Bharata  and  the  Mahabharata  earlier  in  the  AGS  itself 
cannot  be  made  a  point  against  AGS,  since  the  earlier  pas- 
sage enumerates  works- (and  not  authors,  Rsis  or  Acaryas), 
this  enumeration  being  based  on  an  older  list  such  as  e.  g. 
is  preserved  in  the  Satapatha  Brahmana. 

§  13-15  consider  the  objections  raised  by  a  comparison 
of  the  similar  list  in  the  Sankhayana  Grhya  Sutra.  The  ob- 
jections are  met  by  the  argument  that  (1)  Oldenberg  is  dis- 
posed to  regard  the  particular  sections  of  the  San.  Gr. 
Sutra  as  later  additions ;  and  (2)  it  is  also  pointed  out  that 
the  enumeration  of  two  works  only,  viz.  Sutra,  Bhasya  in 
the  midst  of  Rsis  preceding  and  following  in  the  Sankh.GS 
text  raises  a  strong  presumption  against  the  genuineness  of 
their  occurrence  in  that  Sutra. 

In  §  16  -  17  an  attempt  is  made,  on  the  basis  of  the 
tradition  preserved  by  Sadgurusisya  that  Saunaka  was  the 
Guru  of  Asvalayana,  to  substantiate  the  main  contention 
that  Asvalayana  very  probably  knew  the  tradition  of  both  a 
Bharata  and  a  Mahabharata. 

On  the  basis  of  the  same  authority  and  the  statements 
contained  in  the  Mahabharata  itself,  it  is  made  probable  in 
§  18-20  that  the  Bharata  became  the  Mahabharata  about 
the  time  of  Saunaka. 


Vedic.  xv 


In  §  21  is  shown  how  Saunaka  and  Asvalayana 
stand  on  the  borderland  between  the  Vedic  and  the  8utra 
period  (both  being  the  authors  of  parts  of  the  Aitareyaran- 
yaka  and  of  Sutra  works),  and  how  perhaps  a  new  order  of 
things  was  initiated  by  the  Great  War  (supposing  it  were  a 
historical  event). 

Finally  it  is  hinted  how  indications  are  left  which 
endow  the  reigns  of  the  early  four  or  five  Paurava  kings 
with  peculiar  significance  from  the  literary  and  social  point 
of  view. 


Gotra  and  Pravara.     By  C.  V.  Vaidya. 


1  Gotra  according  to  all  Sutrakaras  is  the  name  of 
some  descendant  of  one  of  the  7  Rsis  viz.  the  Saptarsis 
(1)  Jamadagni,  (2)  Bharadvaja,  (3)  Vasistha,  (4)  Visvamitra, 
(5)  Kasyapa,  (6)  Gautama,  (7)  Atri  and  (8)  Agastya. 

The  Mahabharata  however  preserves  a  sloka  which  states 
that  originally  the  Gotras  were  four  only,  viz.  Bhrgu,  Ahgi- 
rasa,  Kasyapa  and  Vasistha. 

This  seems  to  show  that  originally  four  stocks  of  Aryan 
families  came  to  India  and  subsequently  three  more  families 
viz.  Visvamitra,  Atri  and  Agastya  came  into  India,  of  course 
in  Vedic  times,  for  these  Rsis  are  also  composers  of  Vedic 
Hymns. 

2  What  is  Pravara  ?  That  is  known,  it  is  feared,  to 
very  few,  even  orthodox  and  learned  Brahmins.  The  Srauta 
Sutras  show  that  the  Pravara  consists  of  those  R,9is  in 
one's  ancestry  who  are  composers  of  hymns  in  the  Rgveda. 

3  These  Pravaras  are  49  in  number,  though  the  Gotras 
may  be  numbered  by  thousands.  The  Pravaras  are  the  same 
all  over  India  and  among  all  Brahmins  and  Ksatriyas. 
And  they  contain  the  names  of  many  Rfijarsis  i.  e.  holy- 
Kings  (Ksatriyas)  who  have  composed  Vedic  Hymns.  It 
thus  appears  that  the  original  Rsis  are  the  progenitors  of 
all  Ihdo-Aryans,  Brahmins,  Ksatriyas  and  Vaisyas  alike. 


xvi  First  Oriental  Conference.     - 

The  Nirukta  and  the   Nighantu:   their  mutual  relatioi 
By  SlDDHESHWARA  VARMA.  , 

1  What  is  the  Nirukta  ? 

1  As  a  book,  it  is  a  commentary  on  the  Nighanti 

2  Derivation  of  the   word  Nirukta   and  the  works 

where  it  first  occurs. 

2  What  is  the  Nighantu  ? 

1  Contents  of  the  Vedic  Nighantu. 

2  The  number  and  the  nature  of  the  words  given  ii 

the  Nighantu. 

3  Characteristic  features  of  the  term  Nighantu. 

4  Distinctive  features   of  the   Vedic  Nighantu  as  coi 
trasted  with  other  lexicons. 

5  The  term  Samamnaya  (the  first  word  of  the  Nirukts 

(1)  Its  literal,  primary  and    secondary  significance 

(2)  Its  bearing  on  Yaska's  authorship. 

(3)  Used  with  reference  to  the  Nighantu,  and  signi- 
fying '  a  traditional  collection  of  Vedic  words'.  II 
shows  that  Yaska  was  merely  the  editor  and  not  the 
author  of  the  Nighantu. 

(4)  A  passage  from  the  Mahabharata  on  the  authoi 
ship  of  the  Nighantu. 

6  Conclusion : 
The  Nighantu  is  a  Vedic  lexicon,    on  which  the  Ni- 
rukta is  a  commentary. 


Arya  and    Dasyu — A   Chapter    in  Social    History, 
S.  V.  VlSWANATHA. 

The  Paper  deals  with  the  relations  of  the  early  abori- 
ginal population  of  India  with  the  immigrants-tbe  Aryans. 
The  subject  has  been  dealt  with  in  its  social,  religious,  com- 
mercial and  political  aspects. 

Arya  and  Dasyu  are  contrasted,  one  from  the  other  as 
possessing  distinct  and  special   characteristics. 

The  Dasyus  were  the  non-Aryan  people  of  India  distinct 
from  the  Aryans.  The  view  that  thev  were  superhuman  is 
controverted. 


Vedic.  xvii 


The  relations  in  war  of  the  two  peoples.  As  a  result 
there  is  the  expansion  of  Aryavarta  at  the  expense  of  non- 
Aryan  territory  and  the  gradual  reduotion  of  the  aboriginal 
population  to  the  condition  of  serfs.  The  different  senses  in 
which  the  term  Dasyu  was  used  :  people  or  tribe  ;  enemy  and 
slave  or  serf. 

The  relations  in  peace — divided  under  social  and  religi- 
ous— Ln  agriculture  and  in  commerce.  The  policy  of  give  and 
take — fusion  of  the  two.  Social — The  apparent  conversion  of 
the  Dasyu  to  the  Aryan  fold  and  intermarriage  between  the 
two  peoples  indicated 

In  the  fields  of  agriculture  and  commerce  the  two  appear 
to  have  mingled  likewise.  The  Indian  agricultural  system 
was  as  much  non-Aryan  as  Aryan  and  the  sea  voyages  and 
relations  with  foreign  lands  were  undertaken  more  by  the 
former  than  by  the  latter. 

It  is  suggested  that  there  was  the  gradual  fusion  of  the 
two  races  and  the  early  processes  in  the  making  of  India  are 
traced  in  general. 


The  Philological  Argument  for  an   Upper  Limit  to  the 
Date  of  the  Rgveda.     By  A.  C.  WOOLNER. 

This  paper  does  not  pretend  to  fix  the  date  of  the  Rg- 
veda.  Need  of  resisting  bias  towards  an  earlier  date  simply 
because  it  is  more  remote,  or  towards  a  later  date,  simply 
because  it  is  nearer  dated  events. 

Statement  of  the  Argument  :  Comparison  of  Avestan 
with  Vedic  language  proves  that  Aryans  could  not  have 
entered  Panjab  long  before  1300  B.C.,  and  therefore  no  Vedic 
hymn  is  much  older  than  1300  B.C.  Moreover,  granted  that 
the  Brahmanas  begin  about  800  B.C.  four  centuries  suffice 
for  the  Mantra  period,  therefore  anything  older  than 
1300  B.C.,  is  highly  improbable. 

The  latter  part  of  the  argument  only  gives  the  lower 
limit  for  the  beginning  of  the  Rgveda.  The  upper  limit  is 
in  question. 

s 


xviii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Difficulties  :  Comparison  argument  initiated  to  prove 
"extreme  age"  of  Gathas ;  adapted  to  disprove  "extreme 
antiquity"  of  Mantras  ;  possibility  that  the  resemblance  has 
been  exaggerated.  Absence  of  definite  starting  points  on 
either  side.  Why  not  compare  inscriptions  of  Darius  with 
those   of  Asoka  ? 

Granted  that  all  languages  change,  do  they  change  at 
a  uniform  rate,  or  can  one  strike  an  average  for  six  01* seven 
centuries  ? 

Parallels  suggested  :  Greek  from  Homer  to  Plato. 
"Homer"  is  an  indefinite  date  ;  the  dialect-factor  is 
obvious  ;  the  conditions  very  different  ;  the  changes  in 
literary  Greek  down  to  the  newspaper  of  to-day  less  rapid. 

Europeanising  of  America  and  Aryanising  of  India. 
Difference  of  conditions  suggests  this  comparison  is  ir- 
relevant, especially  as  the  latter  process  is  less  complete 
than  the  former. 

Other  Parallels :    The   records   of  Egypt,   language 
Sargon  and  Nebuchadnezzar,  Chinese  literature. 

Objection  :  Stability  of  script  or  written  language,  not 
of  pronunciation  or  folk-language,  but  possibility  of  oral 
tradition  and  poetic  dialect  for  both  Mantras  and  Gathas. 

Parallel  of  Romance  languages  :  Convenient  because 
more  dated  documents  and  history  known  from  other, 
sources. 

An  Experiment  :  From  a  comparison  of  the  Spanish  and 
Italian  versions  of  the  Psalms  to  determine  when  the 
Romans  colonised  Spain. 

Difficulties  :  (a)  Relative  value  to  be  assigned  to 
changes  (i)  phonetic  (ii)  grammatical  structure 
due  to  (a)  phonetic  change  ;  (b)  new  methods 
(iii)  vocabulary. 

A  tentative  compromise:  (b)  Given  a  ratio  of  resemb- 
lance in  this  form,  how  can  it  be  applied  to 
chronology  ?  Which  affected  Spanish  most,  the 
original    contact   with   Iberians,  the   invasion  of 


Vedic.  xlx 

Visigoths,  or  oontaot  with  Arabic-speaking 
Moors  ? 
If  for  the  first  five  centuries  of  the  Roman  occupation 
the  language  of  the  colonists  remained  essentially  Latin, 
then  a  calculation  based  on  the  assumption  of  a  definite 
cleavage  starting  from  the  first  invasion  of  Spain  will  be 
several  centuries  wrong. 

(One  reason  for  this  slow  differentiation  was  continued 
oontact  with  Rome). 

Ap/Jication  of  this  Experiment  to  Avesta  and  Vecin  : 
In  absence  of  information  as  to  actual  cleavage  of 
Aryans,  there  is  the  possibility  of  contact  and  of  parallel 
development  for  several  centuries,  which  philology  cannot 
disprove. 

Conclusions:  1  Any  attempt  to  fix  chronological  limits 
on  the  basis  of  comparing  languages  should  be  based  on 
a  more  exact  numerical  comparison  than  has  been 
attempted  hitherto.     This  opens  up  a  new  line  of  research. 

2  It  is  necessary  to  realise  that  while  history  known 
from  other  sources  can  be  traced  in  the  history  of  language, 
it  is  much  more  precarious  to  reconstruct  history  on  a  basis 
of  comparative  philology.  In  particular  it  seems  that 
2,000  B.C.  remains  quite  as  possible  as  1,200  B.C.  for  the 
earliest  mantra  in  the  Rgveda. 

If  2,000  why  not  3,000  or  even  4,000  B.C  ? 
No  direct  philological  proof,  but  if  exact  comparison 
shows  this  means  assuming  a  degree  of  stability  twice  as 
great  as  that  recorded  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  philo- 
logists may  reasonably  demand  strong  confirmation  from 
archaeology,  and  if  it  means  a  degree  of  stability  in  folk- 
speech  (say)  ten  times  as  great  as  anything  found  elsewhere, 
the  philologist  will  not  be  able  to  regard  such  a  date  as  even 
faintly  probable. 

Doubtful  however,  whether  anyone  would  now  propose 
so  remote  a  date  as  4,000  B.C.  for  the  actual  text  of  any 
hymn,  or  for  the  Aryan  Settlements  in  the  Panjab.  The 
date  of  the  Vedic  deitieu  and  of  many  elements  of  Vedic 
culture  and  belief  is  a  different  matter;  some  strands  in 
the  web  are  admitted  to  be  Indo-Iranian,  and  even  Indo- 
European. 


II. — Avesta. 


•Sanskritised  Passages  from  the  Gathas.  By  DA8TUR 
Kaikobad  A.  Nosherwan. 

The  resemblance  between  the  language  of  the  Gathas 
and  that  of  the  Rgveda  is  very  great.  It  is  possible  with  the 
application  of  certain  phonetic  laws,  to  throw  a  Gatha  into 
a  genuine  Re-form  and  vice  versa.  Such  an  attempt  for  the 
Pehlavi  was  done  some  centuries  ago  by  Mobed  Nairyo- 
sangha;  the  same  ought  to  be  done  on  an  exhaustive  scale  for 
the  Gathas  of  the  Avesta.  Some  Gathas  from  Ahunavaiti 
are  translated  into  Sanskrit  in  this  paper. 

Results  of  the  comparison.  Great  phonetic  and  etymo- 
logioal  similarity  between  the  languages.  This  points  to  a 
period  when  the  Vedio  and  Avestan  Aryans  began  to  secede 
from  each  other.  Perhaps  the  parting  was  due  to  a  revolt 
against  the  domination  of  the  Vedic  language  and  religion  ; 
a  parallel  in  Buddhism.  The  Avesta  religion  is  a  stand 
against  the  multiple  Nature-worship  of  the   Rgveda. 

The  revolt  was  complete  long  before  the  conquest  of 
Medea  by  Cyrus. 


Airyana  Vaejo,  the  cradle  of  the  Aryans  and  Mazainya 
Daeva,  the  Devas  of  Mazandru  or  Brahmanical 
Devas.     By  J.  D.  NadIRSHAH. 

From  records  in  the  Zend-Avesta  and  the  Pahlavi 
Bundehshu,  I  have  traced  the  site  of  Airyana  Vaejo,  the 
birth-place  of  the  primitive  Aryans,  to  the  south-eastern 
foot  of  the  Caucasus.  It  was  gradually  extended  southwards 
during  the  regime  of  the  Yama  Dynasty.  Having  determined 
this,  it  was  not  very  difficult  to  show  that  Mazandrau  was 
the  ancient  home  of  the  Vedic  Brahmins.  In  ascertaining 
this  I  am  much  assisted  by  the  original  significations  of  the 
terms  Mazainya  Daem  and  Mazandrau,  as  also  by  the  account 
of  Indra  Daova  in  V.  XIX,  and  by  his  different  attributive 
name*. 


rxii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Modern   Science   in  Ancient   Iran.     By  M.   B.  PlTHA- 
WALLA. 

Experience  shows  that  'ideas'  always  endure  even  if  the 
words  and  deeds  that  enclose  them  disappear.  For  the 
Parsees  of  India  to  remember  Iran  is  to  remember  their  lost 
youth,  and  that  youth  must  have  permeated  the  structural 
frames  of  the  nations  that  once  surrounded  the  Persian 
Empire  and  ultimately  absorbed  that  Empire.  Looking  to 
the  richness  of  the  Greek  and  Arabic  literatures,  it  might  be 
said  that  parts  of  the  MSS.  of  which  there  were,  according  to 
Tarbari,  12,000  hides,  must  have  been  translated  or  para- 
phrased into  the  "languages  of  the  country's  enemies 

For  this  rather  too  ambitious  a  subject  our  sources  of  in- 
formation are :  (1)  Fragments  of  Avesta  and  Pahlavi  books 
and  (2)  Records  and  reminiscences  of  the  Aryan,  Greek, 
Arab,  Roman,  Egyptian  and  Indian  peoples. 

Of  the  21  Nasks  in  the  great  library  of  Persepolis,  some 
were  entirely  devoted  to  science  and  very  little  or  nothing  is 
left  for  us  to-day.  In  vain  would  we  search  for  treatises 
like  Visnupurana.  Arthasastra,  etc.  In  an  age  of  great 
scientific  achievements,  vague  and  unsystematic  references 
to  modern  science  in  old  books  like  the  Avesta,  are  likely  to 
be  considered  trivial,  and  yet  the  Zend-Avesta  reveals  with 
the  eye  of  science,  ideas,  principles  and  practices  of  the 
Ancient  Iranians  resembling  those  of  the  present  day.  There 
is  not  the  least  doubt  that  they  believed  in  the  law  of  Unity 
of  life,  to  which  Dr.  Sir  J.  C.  Bose  has  contributed  much  in 
the  new  world.  The  little,  that  is  at  our  disposal  to-day, 
shows  how  it  is  possible  for  Religion  to  go  hand  in  hand 
with  Science.  The  world-famous  religion  of  Iran  was  based 
on  some  scientific  truths  and  facts  which  are  corroborated 
by  modern  scientists.  In  Europe,  unlike  in  Iran,  Religion 
remained  averse  to  Science.  Science  promised  too  much 
there,  achieved  but  too  little.  Realism  led  ultimately  to 
anarchism.  People  do  not  understand  how  far  science 
could  help  her  handmaid,  in  man's  investigation  of  the  laws 
and  secrets  of  nature  and  of  human  life.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  classic  Persia  neglected  the  affairs  of  the 
nature  and  of  the  living,  changing  world.     Indeed,  practical 


: 


Aveata.  xxiii 

Persia  raised  its  house  of  philosophy  and  spirituality  on  the 
firm  rock  of  nature  and  her  laws.  And  to-day  ''the  freshest 
Graduate  from  the  Elphinstone  College  has  no  cause  to 
blush  for  the  'ignorance*  of  Zarathusht !'* 

We  shall  know  herein  the  twofold  objects  of  science 
which  the  old  Persians  kept  in  view,  viz.  (1)  To  make  human 
life  healthy  and  (2)  to  satisfy  human  longing  for  the  super- 
natural. 

1  Fire-energy  and  the  theory  of  light  and  heat:  All  forms 
of  energy,  including  electricity,  ultimately  turn  into  heat 
energy.  Heat  is  life  and  life  is  heat.  'Fire-worship*  is  the 
worship  of  the  spirit  of  the  Universe.  Atash,  like  electricity, 
gives  long,  healthy  and  quick  life. 

With  Atash  there  is  the  worship  of  Khorshed  (Sun)  and 
of  Meher,  Mithra  (Ether.)  Both  of  them  are  always  together 
and  jointly  praised.  The  light  of  the  Sun  is  conducted 
through  the  Ether  (Mithra)  of  space.  Matter  is  therefore 
related  to  ether  and  ether  to  spirit. 

2  Law  of  polarity:  This  law  is  most  manifest  in  the 
whole  universe.     The  earth  itself  is  a  huge  magnet. 

The  two  life's  First  Principles,  though  opposed  to  each 
other,  are  essential  for  physical,  mental  and  spritual  evolu- 
tion. Spenta  Mainyu  is  the  higher  potential  of  electricity  of 
life,  while  Angra  Mainyu  is  the  lower  one. 

3  Chemistry :  There  is  no  regular  Sastra  in  the 
Avesta,  but  the  Iranians  could  prepare  and  use  metals,  drugs, 
charms,  scents  etc.  Chemistry  in  Iran  had  much  to  do  with 
medicine.     Steel  weapons  were  used,   and  coins  were  struck. 

4  Medicine  and  Surgery:  Thritha  was  the  first  Iranian 
physician  ,  who  was  gifted  with  ten  thousand  medicinal 
plants.  There  were  three  kinds  of  cures,  herbs  (  drugs  ), 
knife  (surgery)  and  charms  (magic.)  Fevers,  colds,  plagues, 
itches,  etc.,  were  cured  by  Faridun  and  others.  The  college 
of  surgeons  allowed  3  trials  only,  first  on  a  'Daeva-worship- 
per'  and  then  on  a  'Mazda-worshipper'.  Failures  made  them 
unfit  for  ever.  Midwifery  was  highly  developed  according 
to  the .  Vendidad. 


xxiv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

5  Chemistry  of  Gaomez:  There  is  no  antiseptic  in  the 
preserved  Bull's  urine.  But  it  remains  preserved  for  years 
on  account  of  an  extra  percentage  of  Alkali.  There  are  no 
injurious  bacteria.     Its  use  to-day  is  highly  criticised. 

6  Hygiene  :  The  Ancient  Persians  are  known  for  their 
more  or  less  perfect  Code  of  Hygiene.  Air,  light,  heat  were 
appreciated.  Burial  of  the  dead  was  strictly  prohibited  from 
a  purely  hygienic  and  sanitary  motive.  A  system  of  Qua- 
rantine for  infection  and  contamination  was  enforced.  Things 
pervious  to  water  were  never  used  for  ceremonials.  River 
and  well-waters  were  never  to  be  polluted.  The  Parsees 
still  possess  a  hygienic  code  and  practise  it  up-to-date.  The 
Parsees  unlike  other  peoples  have  had  to  abstain  from  'smok- 
ing'. 

7  The  Hygiene  of  the  Dokhma:  The  Tower  of  Silence 
is  constructed  on  a  perfect  system  of  sanitation  and  quite 
harmless,  if  it  is  not  the  best  in  some  people's  opinion. 

8  Geology  and  Astronomy :  References  to  the  glacial 
epoch,  the  roundness  and  rotation  of  the  earth,  gravitation, 
formation  of  rain  have  been  noted  in  the  Avesta.  Astrology 
the  Persians  might  have  borrowed  from  Chaldea.  The  Ira- 
nians marked  the  Solar  year  and  once  possessed  a  most  cor- 
rect calendar,  including  the  Leap  Year  scheme. 

9  Agriculture:  To  sow  corn  was  to  sow  righteousness. 
Agriculture  was  Iran's  speciality  and  irrigation  was  prac- 
tised.    Corns,  medical  plants,  fruits  were  grown. 

10  Vegetable  and  Animal  Kingdoms:  The  Haoma  and 
Beresem  plants  are  prominent  and  there  is  in  the  Bundahish 
a  book  of  Botany  in  its  most  elementary  stage.  Domestic 
animals  were  taken  great  care  of  and  praised.  Butter  etc., 
were  made. 

11  Arts  and  Crafts:  In  architecture  the  Iranians  ex- 
celled and  influenced  surrounding  countries.  There  are 
splendid  remains  in  Persia  to-day,  showing  their  skill  in 
sculpture,  decoration,  painting  etc.  Also  there  were  the  arts 
of  music,  pottery,  jewellery  and  other  useful  and  artistic 
pursuits. 


Avesta.  xxv 

12  Miscellaneous:  The  Iranians  were  also  famous  for 
their  stone-carving,  cave-making,  coin-making,  navy,  forts, 
postal  system,  political  economy  etc.  Also,  Zarathustra  is 
supposed  to  have  known  electricity  and  some  ceremonies 
were  based  on  occult  principles. 

Thus  an  endeavour  is  made  to  touch,  mainly  through  the 
Avesta  in  this  paper,  the  smouldering  embers  of  the  Fire 
that  blazed  with  magnificent  radiance  in  Iran  and  illumi- 
nated the  many  landh  over  which  it  held  sway  for  centuries. 
The  twilight  of  all  European  sciences,  that  seems  to  dazzle 
some  of  the  moon-stricken  people  there,  is  but  the  light 
originally  received  from  the  Sun  of  the  Aryan  East  which 
shone  powerfully  over  Chaldea,  Babylonia,  Medea,  Egypt, 
India,  Greece  and  Rome.  Europe  is  but  a  satellite  de- 
pending for  her  illuminations  on  that  same  Sun,  that  has 
now  gone  below  our  horizon,  and  like  "the  pale  queen  of 
night"  she  struggles  to  hide  her  own  misgivings  and  bewitch 
her  own  as  well  as  our  people.  But  by  dint  of  the  great  law 
of  Righteous  Order  (Av.  Asa,  Sk.  ipr)  we  are  sure  the  same 
Luminary  shall  rise  again,  and  again  the  dormant  East 
shall  rouse  herself  from  her  dreamy  attitude,  eclipsing  the 
dimly-lighted  West  which  lately  laboured  to  burn  herself. 


The  Avestan  Archangels  and  Sanskrit  Deities  :  a   Com- 
parison.    By  A.  K.  VESAVEVALA. 

It  has  been  proved  by  history  and  the  Avestan  and 
Sanskrit  studies  that  in  times  immemorial  the  forefathers  of 
all  the  Aryans,  Hindus  and  Europeans  had  a  common  home 
in  Aryana  Vaejo  and  later  on  they  inhabited  a  greater  part  of 
the  eastern,  western  and  southern  regions.  It  is  not  known 
where  this  Aryana  Vaejo  was,  but  it  is  supposed  recently 
to  be  somewhere  in  the  Arctic  regions.  The  causes  of  their 
separation  were  mainly  of  a  social,  political  and  religious 
nature.  The  Aryans  after  they  had  left  their  home  led  a 
pastoral  life  and  sometimes  cultivated  some  patches  of  land. 
The  religion  of  these  tribes  consisted  at  first  in  worshipping 
all  the  good  elements  of  nature  separately,  while  that  of  the 
old  Aryans  as  opposed  to  the  Iranians  was  branded   by   the 

4 


xxvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

latter  as  a  source  of  mischief  as  some  of  the  Daevas 
presided  over  natural  objects  possessing  evil  qualities.  The 
Ahurian  religion  of  agriculture  was  instituted  which  sepa- 
rated them  from  their  Aryan  brethren.  Its  founder  was  the 
one  great  personage  SpitamaZarathustra  who  taught  the  wor- 
ship, not  of  many  gods,  but  of  one  true  god  Mazda.  He  applied 
the  term  Ahura  Mazda  to  God  and  hated  the  Daeva-worship- 
pers  by  naming  his  religion  as  Va-Daeva  i.  e.  opposed  to 
the  Daevas.  Thus  these  two  tribes  separated,  but  both  of 
them  kept  the  names  of  their  ancient  angels  and  heroes 
permanent,  in  order  to  show  their  respect  and  reverence  for 
them  and  so  we  find  similar  names  both  in  the  Avesta  and 
the  Vedas  as  the  Avestan  Mithra,  Sanskrit  Mitra. 

The  Daevas  is  the  name  given  in  all  the  Vedas  and  in 
the  whole  Sanskrit  Literature  to  the  divine  beings  or  Gods 
who  are  the  objects  of  worship  on  the  part  of  the  Hindus 
even  to  the  present  day.  In  the  Avesta  from  its  earliest  to 
the  latest  texts  and  in  Persian,  Daeva  is  the  general  term 
for  an  evil  spirit  which  is  hostile  to  all  that  comes  from  the 
Almighty  and  that  is  good  for  mankind. 

The  difference  between  the  Avestic  Yazata  and  the 
Vedic  Daeva  is  that  whereas  the  Avestan  Yazatas  show  only 
good  attributes  and  are  represented  as  shining  and  immortal, 
the  Vedic  Daevas  are  depicted  as  injuring  mankind  to  a 
very  large  extent.  The  Hindus  worship  the  Daevas  with 
the  main  object  that  they  may  escape  scot-free  from  their 
destructive  influence,  as  for  example  they  worship  Yamathe 
demon  of  death  with  a  view  to  be  free  from  his  pains.  Again 
the  Vedic  Daevas  are  not  represented  as  shining  and  im- 
mortal. They  assume  a  human  form  and  involve  themselves 
in  these  worldly  attractions  and  pleasures.  Again  human 
sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  Vedic  gods  whereas  in  Avesta 
no  such  sacrifices  seem  to  have  been  offered  to  the  angels. 

Now  let  us  come  to  the  main  point. 

The  first  and  most  worthy  of  adoration  is  Ahura,  the 
wisest,  the  greatest  and  the  best.  He  is  Omniscient,  Omni- 
potent, the  Supreme  Sovereign,  All- in-all,  and  All-beneficent. 
In  the  Vedas  we  find  Asura  used  in  a  good  and  elevated 
sense  as  in  the  Avesta.     In  the  plural  it  is  used   for   all    the 


A  vesta.  xxvii 

gods.  When  Zoroaster  taught  the  worship  of  one  god  and 
despised  the  worship  of  many  gods,  he  applied  the  word  Ahura 
for  one  deity  ;  later  on  the  believers  in  Vedas  used  the  word 
Asura  in  a  bad  sense  and  applied  it  to  the  bitterest  enemies 
of  the  Devas  with  whom  these  Asuras  are  depicted  as 
always  fighting.  The  second  archangel  after  Ahura  is  Vohu 
Mano.  The  literal  meaning  of  the  word  Vohu  Mano  is  'the 
good  mind.'  The  opposite  of  him  according  to  Avesta  is 
Akam  Mano.  We  do  not  find  any  equivalent  of  Vohu  Mano 
in  the  Vedic  literature. 

Then  comes  Asa  Vahistar  meaning  the  best  righteous- 
ness. He  is  the  Archangel  presiding  over  fire,  the  reason  be- 
ing that  fire  is  the  symbol  of  purity.  The  opposite  of  him  is 
Indra.  Indra  the  chief  god  of  the  Brahmins,  the  thunderer, 
the  god  of  light  and  the  god  of  war,  one  for  whom  the  Rsis 
drank  and  squeezed  the  Soma  beverage,  is  expressly  mentioned 
in  the  list  of  demons  in  the  Avesta.  In  the  Vedas  he  is  con- 
sidered as  the  great  god  on  the  same  level  as  the  Avestan 
Ahura.  In  the  Vedas  many  hymns  are  recited  in  his  praise. 
He  fights  with  the  Asuras,  with  Vrtra  and  Ahi  and  also 
with  Dasyus  and  Gandharva. 

The  fourth  archangel  is  Khsathra  Vairya  which  means 
the  desirable  strength  or  sovereignty.  This  personified 
abstraction,  rightly  observes  Prof.  Jackson,  represents  an 
embodiment  of  Ahura  Mazda's  might,  majesty,  dominion  and 
power,  or  that  blessed  reign  whose  establishment  on  earth 
will  mean  the  annihilation  of  evil.  Saurva  (  Vedic  Sarva  ) 
occurs  as  the  opponent  of  Khsathra  Vairya.  The  Vedic 
Sarva  is  called  the  Siva  of  the  Hindus.  His  work  is  to 
produce  mismanagement,  oppression  and  drunkenness  in 
men. 

After  him  oomes  Spenta  Armaiti,  which  means  literally 
'the  beautiful  righteous  thinking.'  By  this  is  not  only 
meant  wisdom  but  something  even  more  than  that,  viz.  humility 
and  quiet  resignation  to  the  divine  will.  Naonhaithya, 
Vedic  Nasatya,  is  the  name  of  an  evil  spirit  in  the  Avesta. 
He  is  the  demon  of  dissatisfaction  and  illusion.  Haurva*at 
and  Amaretat,  the  two  last  Archangels,  form  an  inseparable 
pair.     They  appear  almost  constantly  united.    Their   names 


xxviii 


First  Oriental  Conference. 


signify  invulnerability  or  totality  and  immortality.  The  ad- 
versaries of  Haurvatat  and  Amaretat  are  Tanru  and  Zairicha, 
the  demons  of  sickness  and  decrepitude  or  feebleness.  In 
the  Vedas  we  find  the  evil  powers  all  fighting  against  the 
angels  produced  by  Brahma  and  just  as  Zairicha  is  con- 
sidered to  be  the  opponent  of  Amaretat,  so  Zaras  in  the 
Vedas  is  supposed  to  be  the  evil  power  against  vegetation 
and  plants. 


III.— Pali  and  Buddhism. 

Buddhist     Philosophy    of  Change.     By   MAUNO   Shwe 
Zan  AUNG.  x 

1  Introductory   remarks 

2  (a)  Flux   as   original  from  the  Buddhist  point  of  view 

as  from  the  Bergsonian 
ib)  A  discussion  of  the  technical  term  anicca 

3  Hallucination  and  Change 

4  Continuity  versus  succession 

5  Perception  and  conception  of  ohange 

6  Buddha's  attitude  towards  conceptual  change 

7  General  method  of  contemplation  of  change 

8  Intellectual  verification  of  conceptual  change 

9  Inter-relation  between  conceptual  change  and  pain 

10  Philosophical  equanimity,   a  sine  qua   non  of    in- 

tuition. 

11  (a)  Period  of  adaption  for  intuition 

(b)  Thought-transition  from  intellect  to  intuition 

12  Adoption  into  the  family  of  intuitionists 

13  Intuition  of  true  flux 

14  Triple  marks  of  one  reality 

15  Nibbana,  true  flux 

16  Concluding  remarks. 


The   Vinaya   Literature   of    the    Buddhists.    By  N.    K. 
BHAGWAT. 

1  Pali  literature  is  vast,  though  the  canonical  litera- 
ture is  handy.  The  three  Pitakas.  The  Vinaya  Pitaka  forms 
the  subject  of  the  paper.  The  "  Buddhists,"  in  this  paper, 
connote  "  The  Hlnayanists.  "  The  paper  is  an  humble 
attempt  to  have  an  idea  of  the  Vinaya  literature  and  does 
not  pretend  to  be  exhaustive. 


xxx  First  Oriental  Conference. 

2  What  isVinaya?  Evolution  in  the  idea  of  Vinaya 
from  mere  Silani,  to  a  "  body  of  rules  and  regulations  for 
the  guidance  of  the  Sangha."  Traced  through  different 
stages  by  showing  how  the  terms  '  Vinaya,  '  'Patimokkha' 
had  first  ethical  significance  and  how  gradually  legal  aspect 
came  to  be  seen. 

3  History  of  the  Vinaya  literature  as  given  by  Bud- 
dhaghosa  in  his  Bahiranidanavannana.  Upto  this  time 
not  received  sufficient  attention  at  the  hands  of  western 
scholars.  A  very  good  attempt  to  trace  the  history  of  Vinaya 
from  the  Parinibbana  of  the  Buddha  to  its  (Vinaya)  estab- 
lishment in  the  island  of  Ceylon.  Making  allowance  for 
superhuman  element  in  the  narrative,  the  book  has  a  great 
historical  value.  The  tradition  of  the  southern  Buddhists 
is  clearly  seen. 

4  Web-like  growth  of  the  books  of  the  Vinaya  Pitaka 
first  simple  verses,  having  ethical  purity  as  its  burthen. 
Then  simple  rules  like  the  Sikkhapadani-the  complicated 
Patimokkha-the  expanded  version  of  the  Patimokkha  in  the 
Sutta  Vibhanga.  The  Khandhakas,  superiority  in  narra- 
tion and  style.  The  Parivara  Patha  a  kind  of  manual  to 
assist  memory  and  to  bind  the  different  works  of  the  Vinaya. 
Subsidiary  Literature  in  the  form  of  commentaries  and  Tikas. 
English  Translation  and  criticism  on  the  Vinaya,  complete 
the  survey  of  the  Vinaya  Literature  of  the  Buddhists. 

5  The  object  of  the  paper  is  over.  But  the  importance  of 
the  Vinaya  to  a  research  scholar  is  very  great.  It  throws 
light  upon  the  Buddha,  the  Dhamma,  the  Sangha,  the  poli- 
tical, moral,  intellectual,  agricultural,  medicinal  state  of 
Northern  India  and  thus  helps  us  in  solving  the  problem  of 
filling  up  a  gap  in  the  history  of  India  from  400  B.  C.  to  200 
A.  D. 


The  Burning  of  Mithila.     By  C.  V.  RAJWADE. 

1  The  burning  of  Mithila  is  merely  figurative. 

2  There  were  common  stories  current  among  the  people 
about  King  Janaka's  renunciation  and  the  temptation  to 
which  he  was  subjected. 


Pali  and  Budditm,  xxxi 

3  There  were  originally  two  different  versions  of  these 
stories  which  later  on  got  mixed. 

4  There  is  no  evidence  of  any  actual  borrowing.  All 
may  be  said  to  have  drawn  on  the  common  fund  of  folklore. 

5  The  bracelet  and  heaven  and  hell  incidents  were  in 
all  probability  quite  distinct. 

6  The  Buddhist  and  Jain  versions  seem  to  have  tried 
to  bring  together  all  isolated  factors  in  the  stories  current 
about  king  Janaka. 

7  The  Jains  seem  to  have  substituted  the  name  of 
Nimi  for  that  of  Janaka. 

8  The  Mbh.  versions  are  too  abrupt  and  isolated  and 
may  very  well  have  been  later  additions. 


Buddhist     Philosophy  (  in    Pali.  )      By     WlDURUPOLA 
PIYATI8SA. 

The  author  of  this  Naya  or  Buddhist  Philosophy  is  the 
Arahant  Mahakaccayana  Thera,  one  of  the  eighty  chief  dis- 
ciples of  Lord  Buddha.  This  philosophy  was  produced  by  him 
for  the  sake  of  interpreting  the  Buddha's  teaching,  which  is 
divided  into  nine  Ahgas  or  divisions  according  to  the  subject 
matter. 

The  nine  Ahgas  are  : — 

1  Sutta  (Discourses)  2  Geyya  (Mixed  prose  and  verse) 
3  Veyyakarana  (  Discourses  without  verses  )  4  Gatha 
(Verses)  5  Udana  (Joyous  utterances)  6  Iti-Vuttaka  (Sayings 
of  Buddha  at  which  Ananda  Thera  was  absent)  7  Jatakas 
(Birth  stories)  8  Abbhutadhamma  (Extraordinary  things) 
and    9  Vedalla     (Pleasurable  discourses). 

Lord  Buddha  has  taught  nothing  outside  the  scope  of 
these  nine.  Those  who  are  desirous  of  interpreting  any  of 
the  Buddha's  teachings  should  at  first  study  the  Buddhist 
Philosophy.  This  very  Mahakaccayana  Thera  is  the  author 
of  two  works  Petakopadesa  and  Netti-prakarana.  The  latter 
being  approved  by  Lord  Buddha  was  recited  at  the 
First   Sangha    Convocation.     Later,     the    great     commen- 


xxxii  Fir  at  Oriental  Conference. 

tator  Bhadanta  Dhammapala  Mahathera  of  the  Badara- 
tittha  Vihara  wrote  a  commentary  on  it  which  is  still  held 
in  high  repute  by  the  learned  Mahatheras  of  Ceylon,  Burma 
and  Siam,  who  are  well  versed  in  Dhamma. 

Yet  for  all  in  Ceylon  it  is  not  much  popular  as  it  is  not 
taught  to  the  pupils  by  their  teachers.  There  being  an  inter- 
pretation of  the  Buddha's  teaching  in  this  work,  and  without 
a  knowledge  of  which  the  students  are  liable  to  be  illogical 
in  giving  their  interpretations,  it  is  highly  beneficial  if  the 
teachars  in  Ceylon  do  undertake  the  task  of  teaching  this 
work  or  this  philosophy  to  their  pupils. 

In  consequence  of  these  and  many  other  advantages 
avail  of  this  opportunity  to  prepare  a  paper  on  the  Naya  oi 
Buddhist  Philosophy  in  briefly  confining  my  attention  mainl] 
to  the  ETetti  and  its  commentary. 

The  author  has  divided  this  work  into  two  sections. 

(a)  Sangaha  Vara  (abridged  section)and  (b)  Vibhaga  Vara 
(classified  section). 

Sangaha  Vara. 

The  following  is  briefly  described  in  it : — The  teaching 
which  ought  to  be  interpreted  according  to  the  Naya  or  Bud- 
dhist Philosophy  is  considered  by  the  name  "  Sutta  ",  which 
then  divides  itself  into  twelve  kinds  according  to  the  letter 
(Byanjana)  and  meaning  (Attha). 

The  sixteen  Haras,  the  five  Nayas,  and  the  eighteen 
Mulapadas,  are  alone  considered  as  the  Netti  or  Buddhist 
Philosophy. 

Byanjana  (Letter)  is  explained  by  the  sixteen  Haras, 
Attha  (Meaning)  by  three  Nayas  (Nandiyawatta  &c.)  and  the 
Sutta  by  the  above  and  the  rest. 

Vibhaga  Vara. 

This  is  sub-divided  into  three  other  sections,  Uddesa, 
Niddesa,  and  Pati-Nidessa. 

'  i".   Uddesa  Vara 

The  following  names  are  mentioned  in  it.  The  sixteen 
Haras: — 


Pali  and  Buddhism.  zxxiii 

1  Desana,  2   Vioaya,   3  Yutti,    4   Padatthana,    5  Lak 
khana,    6  Catubbyuha,  7  Awatta,  8  Vibhatti,  9  Pariwattana 
10  Vevacana,  11  Panhatti,  12  0tarana,  13  Sodhana,  14Adhit- 
thuna,  15  Parikkhara,  l&Samaropana. 

The  five  Nayas  : — 

1  Nadiyawatta,  2  Tipukkhala,  3  Slhawikkilita,  4  Disa- 
looana,  5    Ankusa. 

The  eighteen  Mulapadas  : — 

Nine  of  which  are  in  the  Akusala  (Immoral)  section. 
1  Tanha  (  Craving  ),  2  Avijja  (  Ignorance  ),  3  Lobha 
(Greed),  4  Dosa  (Hatred),  5  Moha  (Delusion),  6  Subha-Sanna 
(Agreeable  perception),  7  Sukha-Sanna  (  Pleasurable  percep- 
tion), 8  Niooa-Sanna  (Perception  of  permanence),  9  Atta- 
Sanna  (Self-perception). 

The  remaining  nine  are  in  the  Kusala  (Moral)  section. 

1  Samatha,  (  Concentration  ),  2  Vipassana  (  Insight  ), 
3  Alobha  (Disinterestedness),  4  Adosa  (  Amity  ),  5  Amoha 
(Freedom  from  delusion),  6  Asubha-Sanna  (Disagreeable  per- 
ception), 7  Dukkha-Sanna  (  Painful  Percepton  ),  8  Anicca- 
Sanna  (Perception  of  impermanence),  9  Anatta-Sanna  (Self- 
less Perception). 

II.  Niddesa  Vara 

A  fair  description  of  the  following  appears  in  this  section. 
The  above-mentioned  Haras  and  Nayas  are  fairly  described 
in  five  ways  Padatthana,  Lakkhana,  Kama,  Etaparamata  and 
Hetu. 

Also  the  six  Byanjanas,  Akkhara,  Pada,  Byanjana,  Ni- 
rutti,  Niddesa,  and  Akara- 

And  the  six  Atthas,  Samkasana,  Pakasana,  Vivaranii 
Vibhajana,  Uttani-Kamma,  and  Pannatti. 

7i7.  Pati-Niddesa  Vara 

This  is   sub-divided    into   four,  (a)  Haravibhahga  VSra, 
('/)  llara-Sampata  Vara,  (c)  Naya-Samutthana   Vara,   and  (d) 
ma-Patthana  Vara. 

('/)  Haravibhahga  Vara  is  that  which  describes  how 
many  scriptural  texts  are  contained  in  one  single 
Hara. 

5 


xxxiv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

(b)  Hfira-Sampata  Vara  is  that  which  describes  how  all 

the  sixteen  Haras  are  contained  in  one  scriptural 
text. 

(c)  Naya-Samutthana  Vara    is  that    which  describes 

in  detail  how  the  three  Attha  Nayas,  viz,  Nan- 
diyawatta,  Tipukkhala  and  Siha-Vikkilita  and  in 
brief  the  two  Kamma  Nayas  Disalocana  and  An- 
kusa  appear. 

(d)  Sasana-Pattbana  Vara  is  that  which,  after  hav- 
ing shown  the  eighteen  Mulapadas  in  sixteen 
kinds  of  Suttas  like  the  Samkilesabhagiya,  Vasan- 
abhagiya  and  so  forth,  and  in  twenty  eight  ways 
like  the  Lokiya  (  mundane  ),  Lokuttara  (  supra- 
mundane)  and  so  forth,  describes  the  two  divisions 
comparing  also  both  of  them. 

The  brief  contents  of  this  paper   are  arranged   according 
to  the  method  followed  in  the  Netti  and  its  commentary. 


Nagarjuna — the    earliest  Writer  of  the  Renaissance   Period 
By  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana. 

The  rule  of  the  Kusanas,  which  extended  from  1 0  B.  C. 
to  about  350  A.  D.,  was,  to  a  great  extent,  synchronous  with 
that  of  the  Andhras  who  seem  to  have  held  sway  up  to  the 
4th  century  A.  D.  Kaniska,  more  often  called  Kanika,  was, 
as  it  appears  from  the  Tibetan  and  Chinese  books,  a  general 
name  for  the  kings  of  the  Kusana  dynasty,  just  as 
Satavahana  was,  in  the  opinion  of  Sir  Ramkrishna  Gopal 
Bhandarkar,  a  common  name  for  the  kings  of  the  Andhra 
dynasty.  The  fourth  Buddhist  Council  for  the  codification 
of  the  Tripitakas  in  Sanskrit  was  held  in  Jalandhar  under 
the  patronage  of  a  certain  Kaniska  of  the  later  Kusanas, 
and  it  was  perhaps  to  the  son  of  this  Kaniska  that  Asva- 
ghosa  addressed  a  letter  under  the  title  of  Maharaja-Kanika- 
Lekha,  a  faithful  translation  of  which  is  contained  in  the 
Tibetan  Encyclopaedia  called  Bstain-hgyur.  The  son,  who 
is  described  as  a  descendant  of  the  Sun,  is  advised  to  imitate 
Deva,  signifying  a  god  as  well  as  Aryadeva.    In  fact  the  son 


Pali  and  Buddhism.  xxxv 

Was  a  junior  contemporary  of  Aryadeva  and  his  fore- 
fathers must  have  lived  long  in  India  before  he  could  be 
described  as  a  scion  of  the  solar  raoe. 

Nagarjuna,  who  was  a  senior  contemporary  of  Asva- 
ghosa,  wrote  a  letter  called  Nagarjuna- auhrllekha  to  a 
certain  Satavahana  of  the  Andhra  dynasty.  In  the  Tibetan 
version  of  this  letter  contained  in  the  Bstain-hgyur  the  king 
is  precisely  named  as  Udayibhadra.  This  name  does  not 
occur  in  the  list  of  kings  of  the  Andhra  dynasty  available 
up  to  date,  and  it  is  possible  that  he  was  not  a  monarch  but 
a  vassal  king  who  possessed  considerable  political  influence 
at  the  end  of  the  third-  and  ithe  beginningj'of  the  fourth 
century  A.  D. 

Now  Tan-cao,  a  Chinese  disciple  of  Kumara-jiva  (  400 
A-  D.  ^states  that  Aryadeva  lived  a  little  over  800  years 
after  the  Nirvana  of  Buddha.  On  the  assumption  that 
Buddha  attained  Nirvana  in  480  B.  C,  Aryadeva  and  his 
contemporary  Asvaghosa  must  have  lived  about  320  A.  D. 
Consequently  Nagarjuna  may  be  placed  at  about  300  A.  D., 
and  Kaniska  under  whose  patronage  the  fourth  Buddhist 
Council  was  held  lived  perhaps  about  the  same  time.  This 
view  tallies  well  with  the  statement  in  the  Rajatarahginl  that 
12  reigns  intervened  between  Kaniska  and  Mihirkaula  (  515 
A.  D. ).  In  fact,  according  to  Lama  Taranath,  Nagarjuna 
was  a  contemporary  of  a  king  named  Nemicandra,  who 
ruled  in  Aparantaka.  On  his  death  Phanicandra  and  two 
other  very  insignificant  kings  ruled  in  Magadha  until 
Candragupta,  who  "  did  not  take  refuge  in  Buddha,"  found- 
ed the  Gupta  Empire  in  319  A.  D. 

The  Council  of  Kaniska  inaugurated  the  renaissance  of 
Sanskrit  learning  among  the  Buddhists  by  about  300  A.  D. 
The  latertAndhra  chieftains  too  encouraged  Sanskrit  culture 
to  a  considerable  extent.  The  Gupta  kings  -by  extending 
their  patronage  began  to  give  an  impetus  to  the  renaissance 
movement  among  the  Brahmins  and  to  a  certain  extent  also 
among  the  Buddhists  by  about  319  A.  D.  The  teachings  of 
Mahavira  as  contained  in  the  J aina  Agamas  were  coditied 
in  writing  by   Devardhi  j  Gani  Ksama-sramana    at    Balabhi 


xxxvi  First  Oriental    Conference. 

in  153  A.  D.  The  band  of  scholars,  who  were  the  pioneers 
of  the  renaissance  included  Nagarjuna  (300  A.  D. ),  Aryadeva 
(320  A.  D.)  and  Asvaghosa  (320  A.  D.).  The  second  band 
included  Prasastapada,  Vatsyayana  (400  A.  D.)  and  Sabara- 
svami,  while  Difinaga  (500  A.  D.),  Kalidasa  (530  A.  D.)  and 
Varahamihira  (505-585  A  D.)  constituted  the  third  band. 
The  Puranas  and  other  important  works  were  the  produc- 
tions of  this  period. 

The  first  and  foremost  writer  of  the  renaissance  period 
was,  as  already  observed,  Nagarjuna  round  whose  name  has 
gathered  together  a  host  of  traditional  stories  referring  to 
his  gifts  as  a  physician,  a  chemist  and  alchemist  and  a 
philosopher.  Nagarjuna  was  born  in  Vidarbha  (Berar) 
during  the  reign  of  King  Satavahaua  of  the  Andhra  dynasty 
and  passed  many  of  his  days  in  meditation  in  a  cave  dwell- 
ing on  Triparvata  that  bordered  on  the  river  Krsna.  That 
Nagarjuna  lived  in  Vidarbha  is  evident  from  an  inscription 
on  an  image  of  Buddha  by  the  side  of  the  Amaravati  stupa 
in  characters  of  the  early  7th  century  A.  D.  The  latest  date 
that  can  be  assigned  to  Nagarjuna  is  401  A.  D.  when  his 
biography  was  translated  into  Chinese  by  Kumarajiva.  That 
Nagarjuna  lived  about  300  A.  D.  harmonises  well  with  the 
fact  that  his  disciple  Aryadeva  lived  a  little  after  320  A.  D. 

Nagarjuna  was  the  author  of  a  treatise  on  Logic  called 
Pramana  Vihetana  which  is  a  review  of  the  definitions  of  the 
sixteen  categories  as  given  in  the  Nyayasutra.  A  special 
feature  of  this  work  is  that  in  it  Nagarjuna  for  the  first  time 
reduced  the  syllogism  of  five  members  into  one  of  three. 
The  Indian  logicians,  inspite  of  their  stout  opposition  to 
Nagarjuna's  syllogism,  found  it  in  course  of  time  most  ex- 
pedient to  adopt  the  same.  Upaya-kausalya-hrdaya-hastra 
is  the  name  of  another  work  on  logic  in  which  Nagarjuna 
gives  a  clear  exposition  of  the  art  of  debate.  In  the  Vigraha- 
vyavartani-karika,  Nagarjuna  criticises  the  Nyaya  theory  of 
Pramana,  and  it  is  perhaps  this  criticism  which  is  reproduc- 
ed in  the  Nyayabhasya  of  Vatsyayana  in  connection  with 
his  examination  of  Pramana.  But  that  which  distinguishes 
Nagarjuna  pre-eminently  in  the  world  of  letters  is  the 
Madhyamika  philosophy  founded  by  him  in  consonance  with 


Pali  and  Buddhism.  xxrvii 

the  principles  of  the  great  Mahayanasutra  called  Prajna- 
paramita.  The  doctrine  of  the  Madhyamika  philosophy  has 
been  a  subject  of  constant  attack  by  the  Indian  philosophers 
of  all  schools.  An  attempt  has  even  been  made  to  misinter- 
pret it  wilfully  and  even  to  discard  it  as  a  system  of  Nihilism, 
but  it  has  emerged  unscathed.  Impartial  judges  have  declar- 
ed it  even  as  the  basis  of  Sankara's  Mayavada. 

I  have  given  only  an  imperfect  idea  of  Nagarjuna  as  a 
philosopher.  He  may  be  looked  at  from  so  many  distinct 
standpoints  that  we  shall  not  be  far  wrong  if  we  call  him 
the  Aristotle  of  India. 


IV.— Philology  and  Prakrits. 

The  Phonogenesis  of  the   wide   E   and   O    in   GujaratI. 
By     N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

1  Nature  and  Scope  of  this  sound. 

^t  (  =  a  jar),  ?fe\  ( =  the  wood-apple  tree) ;  *fte  ( -  round), 
urfe  (  =  molasses);  %??,  ^5 ;  ^j,  fa — these  represent  the  narrow 
and  wide  sounds.  (I  mark  the  wide  sound  with  an  inverted 
Matra  sign.) 

The  wide  sound  resembles  the  sound  in  English  "hat" 
and  "awl"  and  the  narrow  one  resembles  that  in  English 
"hale"  and  "hole". 

The  wide  sound  is  peculiar  to  GujaratI,  and  MaravadI, 
Hindi  represents  by  and  1  the  sound  which  is  slightly 
different  from  the  wide  sound. 

2  History  of  the  notice  taken  of  this  wide  sound. 

Stray  attempts  at  recognition  of  this  sound  were  made 
by  GujaratI  writers  before  1888  A.  D. 

In  A.  D.  1888   and  1905,   I   brought   this   prominently  to 
notice  in  a  pamphlet  (1888  A.  D.)  on  'Spelling  Reform'  and  in 
'  a  paper  (1905  A.  D.)  on  "Spelling"  read   before  the  1st  Guja- 
iratl  Sahitya  Parisad. 

(1)  My  article  (  Indian  Antiquary,  January  and   May 
1915  A.  D.) 

(2)  Dr.  Tessitori's  article  on  "Bardio  Survey",  Appen_ 
dix  I,  J.  A.  S.,  Beng.  A.  S.  XII,  1916  A.  D. 

(3)  My  second  article,  Ind.    Ant.  1917  A.  D.   and  191& 
A.  D.  on  "The  wide  sound  of  E  and  0". 

(4)  Dr.  Tessitori's  article  in  reply  to  above  (  No.  (3) ) 
Ind.  Ant.  September  1918  A.  D. 

contain  the  whole  discussion  of  this  subject. 

The  present  paper  is  in  the  form  of  a  rejoinder. 

S     The  main  issue  :   What  is  the  origin  of  the  uide  sound  t 

According  to  Dr.  Tessitori,  the  wide  sound  is  generated 

direct  by  3T*-3f3  (original  or   derived   by   samprasarana)  [and 

the  narrow  one  direct  by  3R-<K^.l 


xl  First  Oriental   Conference. 

According  to  me,  the  wide  sound  is  generated  by  3R^eT^ 
(through  3^-3Tf)  original  or  derived  by  prati-samprasurana 
[and  the  narrow  one  by  3Tf-3T3,  original  as  well  as  derived.], 

Thus  :— 


3^ 

<^JT 

cf^J\          ^JT 

jttS^ 

5R^3 

%$ 

w«? 

T^sC 

T3^        TT% 

gf2 

JT3S 

ftfe 

represent  Dr.  Tessitori' 

s  Steps ; 
II 

while 

c{?W 

^1 

m<Ar\*> 

m&j 

mvz 

w$&i 

4T^ 

T^T 

*m*s 

*v%® 

ife 

5fz 

W3Z 

mz 

flljF 

J?fe 

represent  my  steps. 

4  q^R  and  similar  forms;  Dr.  Tessitori 's  account  of  the  q. 

Dr.  Tessitori  denies  prati-samprasdrana.  I  confront  hi 
with  forms  like  c&t,  ^RT*ft,  T^TCH*,  3?T33,  <TC53  &c,  actuall 
found  in  O.  W.  Raj.  works.  Dr.  Tessitori  explains  this  3T  a 
a  mere  writing  peculiarity,  the  scribe's  writing  n  for  ^  ;  it  i 
not  a  real  phonetic  change,  according  to  him. 

To  prove  this  Dr.  Tessitori  goes  back  to  Prakrit  work 
even  and  shows  that  in  Jacobi's  Erzdhlungen  in  Maharastr 
(Pp.  60,  61,  63,  72). 

*R,  <T3^rf<3rl">  spf^r  and  ^m,  are  found  for 
it,  q^m^alt,  3^  and  ^. 

My  reply  : — The  Mss.  on  which  Jacobi  based  his  edition 
were  written  in  V.  S.  1611  and  1660  respectively.  Thus  this  q 
in  Prakrit  work  can  easily  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that 
the  forms  with  3T  were  in  actual  use  in  O.  W.  R.  and  the 
scribes  of  this  period  naturally  slipped  into  the  Prakrit  work 
this  spelling  quite  foreign  to  Prakrit,  as  it  came  long  after 
Apabhramsa  ceased. 

5  Dr.  Tessitori' s  varying  views  as  regards  this  q-. 

(a)  Dr.  Tessitori  has  actually  regarded  this  as  a  real 
change,  and  cited  ^i  etc.  as  instances  thereof  from  O.  W.  R 
works.  (His  "Notes",  §  4-(5)). 


Philology  and  Prakrits.  xl i 

(6)  He,  then,  later  on  regards 

(1)  ^m  &o.  as  instances  of  writing  peculiarity  ; 

(2)  ^re,  32Rnft  as  Prakrit  tatsanias ; 

(3)  That  the  arc  may  be  a  corruption  of  the   Sanskrit 

* 

("Bardic  Survey"  App.  1,  p.  76.) 
(c)  Lastly,  he  regards 

(1)  The  q  as  a  writing  peculiarity  for  % ; 

(2)  qm\i\\  as  a  tatsama  in  part  modelled  on  ^m. 

(Ind.  Ant.  September  1918.) 

(3)  Also  Beames,  Vol.  I.,  P.  238,  §  60. 

Thus,  he  is  shifting  his  ground  from  time  to  time.  Be- 
sides, the  three  sub-heads  under  (b)  above  show  a  conflict  of 
views. 

6  Change  of  3  to  ?.     Is  t£  3  gft  ? 

Dr.  Tessitori  objects  that  once  O.  W.  R.  has  turned  the 
^  to  3,  it  cannot  send  the  3  back  to  3.  (O,  W.  R.  changes  the 
3  to  3  invariably  e.  g.  3i^t-3>3^t ;  tR^3_tB^3  and  so  forth ). 

My  answer  was  that  reversion  is  a  well-known  princi- 
ple, and  I  cited  instances  of  Sanskrit  *,  Pr.  wi,  O.  W-  R. 
and  offspring  languages  ^  again;  Sanskrit.  f{,  Ap.  <r,  again 
^  (G).  This  being  the  case,  there  is  nothing  strange  in  3  re- 
verting to  3  if  necessary.  Dr.  Tessitori  repeats  old  objec- 
tions, and  in  the  instances  cited  by  me  ( ^TT3r-^l  W,  ^3?5-^o5, 
ifc*-^)  sees,  not  reversion,  but  an  interpolation  of  <%  9jfcf ; 
citing  Mar.     <T^55,  tf^T  in  support  of  the  argument. 

My  answer : — This  3  is  not  the  result  of  3  gft  inter- 
polated, but  the  turning  of  or  to  3,  just  as  Mar.  turns  ar  to  5 
in  %rre  &c.  Any  how  %  9jfa  argument  will  not  explain  the 
case  of  cjj^ri  back  from  353*1. 

7  Movement  of  linguistic  change  backward  and  forward. 

I  explained  the  presence  of  forms  like  ^33  and  3533 
side  by  side,  by  the  theory  that  laguages  do  not  move  on  re- 
gular lines  of  uniform  march,  some  forms  will  linger,  some 
progress,  go  backwards  and  forwards,  till  a  final  settled 
■tate  is  reached.  Dr.  Tessitori  considers  this  a  novel  theory 
Mouiring  proof. 
6 


xlii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

My  answer  : — (1)  The  change  of  55  to  55  and  back  to  & 
and  again  to  a  ;  ^  to  ir  and  back  to  ^  ;  =R^-^  and  «R  are  seen 
in  such  backward  and  forward  movement  in  Mss.  of  different 
periods,  so  also  3^-3Tl$,  ^~%- 

(2)     Dr.  Tessitori's  own  views  support  me. 
( Vide  his  "Notes",  Reprint,  P.  5, 11.  16-20). 

8  The  significance  of  the  symbol  -,  1"  in  Mss.  of  a  period 
about  the  16 th  Century  A.  D. 

Dr.  Tessitori  has  a  double  argument ; 

(a)  He  regards  these  ir-^TT  as  steps  from  a^-SB  to- 
wards the  wide  sound  ; 

(b)  He  contends  that  such  3T-3H  are  found  in  Gujarati 
Mss.  of  this  period. 

My  answer  : — 

(a)  The  lr-^fr  in  Mar.  Mss.  are  but  a  feeble  attempt  to 
symbolize  the  wide  sound  ; 

(b)  I  have  made  a  patient  scrutiny  of  many  old  Guja- 
ratl Mss.  of  the  period,  and  found  that  nowhere 
do  these  Mss.  use -,1"  for  the  evolutes  of  3T^-3T3 
and  that,  where  in  very  rare  instances,  these  sym- 
bols (-,^0  are  found,  they  are  there  either  because 
the  scribe  was  a  Maravadi  or  one  under  Maravadi 
influence. 

9  Confusion  in  Dr.  Tessitori 's  view  of  the  pronunciation 
of  these  3f-3n. 

What  was  the  actual  pronunciation  of  these  3T-3?f,  tad- 
bhava  ar-sfr  as  Dr.  Tessitori  calls  them  ?  He  really  gives 
varying  answers  to  this  question  :    Thus 

(a)    The  sr-irf  were  pronounced  as  diphthongs. 

(Ind.  Ant.  September  1918,  P.  227.) 

(6)     Tadbhava  %-ari1  were  not  pronounced  exactly  the 

same  way  as  tatsama^-^t  but  they  were  probably 

pronounced  in  a  way  similar  to  the  3T-3TT  of  Hindi. 

(Ibid-  P.  228  and  n.  10.) 

(c)    The   Hindi  %-3TT  sounds   are   identical    with  the 

wide  ^r-ari  of  Mar.  and  Gujarati,  except  that  they 

represent  a   slightly   earlier  stage,  the   very  same 

stage  of  the  Mar.  and  Gujarati  diphthongs  as   they 


Philology  and  Prakrits.  x  1  i  i  I 

must  have   been     pronounced    previous  to   their 
transition  into  the  wide  vowels,  ar-arf. 
(Ibid,  pp.  231-232). 
My  answer : — 

How  did  ar-an  all  of  a  sudden  jump  into  the  wide  sound, 
if  they  were  pronounced  as  pure  diphthongs?  Evidently 
Dr.  Tessitori  has  a  lurking  suspicion  that  the  If-an  in  ques- 
tion were  not  sounded  as  pure  diphthongs,  but,  fighting  shy 
of  the  wide  sound  (af-atf),  lingered  somewhere  before  the  fully 
developed  wide  sound.  He  again  regards  ar-afr  as  represent- 
ing this  fully  developed  wide  sound.  This  confusion  as  to 
the  real  nature  of  the  ar-arr  symbols  lands  Dr.  Tessitori  into 
apparent  inconsistencies. 

My  view  is  that  the  Mar.  St-3TT  are  poor  symbols  for  the 
truly  wide  pound.  I  prefer,  then,  to  represent  this  wide 
sound  by  the  inverted  mutra  sign  (as  in  ^T-atf),  especially 
as^r-aft,  as  *fcj[S  sfts^,  keep  the  components  a?-^  and  3T-3 
slightly  apart  from  each  other,  whereas  ^r-arf  as  *fa>i<St  #fa^, 
hold  the  component  <%%,  3J3  interfused. 

10  The  ear-test.  Is  it  to  be  rejected  t 

I  have  all  along  contended  that  the  wide  sound  can  only 
be  produced  by  the  3R-3iq[  and  the  narrow  one  by  3Tf-3T3,  and 
for  this  I  appealed  to  the  test  supplied  by  the  ear.  Dr.  Tessi- 
tori regards  this  test  as  misleading.  I  hold  that  in  matters 
of  this  kind  oral  tradition  and  demonstration  are  essential 
Dead  formulae  and  symbols  are  useless  without  such  demon- 
stration.    Live  sound  must  be  presented  to  the  ear. 

11  Samprasarana, — what  part  it  plays  in  the  present 
question. 

In  cases  like  «fiWi3>T — ^^-^^-^n^  and  vHrK+-v*"TO*3 
vrq^-q^Rj,  Dr.  Tessitori  objects  to  the  3-^  changes  (  sampra- 
sarana J  on  the  ground  that  samprasarana  is  not  possible 
(  in  O.  W.  R.  )  where  the  ^  or  q  is  intial.  Furthermore,  he 
holds  that  if  the  ^  and  3T  are  stressed,  there  is  no  sampra- 
</  but  if  unstressed  they  take  samprasarana. 

My  view  is  opposite.  If  ^ — ?r,  or  rather  the  3T  thereof, 
is  accented  there  is  samprasarana,  and  if  unaccented,  •amprv* 
nanina  is  prevented  by  the  accent  being   shifted   to   the   pre- 


xliv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

ceding  3T  (  of  3R-3T3  )  thus  turning  the  3T  of  q-q  into  a  t[cTCW  «f 
and  consequently  dropping  it,  leaving  3^-^ as  the  cause  of 
the  wide  sound. 

The  genesis  of  samprasarana  in  words  coming  into  the 
vernaculars  is  this,  as  I  perceive.  Samprasarana  is  due  to  a 
softening  of  effort  in  pronouncing  the  semi-vowels,  it  is  a 
liquefaction  of  these  sounds.  This  is  possible  when  the  ^-^ 
are  intervocalic;  for  the  two  adjacent  vowels  provide  a  voca- 
lic atmosphere  and  influence.  This,  as  a  first  step,  reduces 
the  strong  q-q  to  weak  q-q,  and  then  finally  to  f-3.  As  Dr. 
Hoernle  in  his  Introduction  to  the  Prakrita-Laksana 
P.  XXVII.  §  4  happily  calls  them,  the  strong  q-q  are  really 
semi-consonants  and  the  weak  q-q  are  semi-vowels.  Thus 
under  the  intervocalic  condition  the  semi-consonant  passes 
into  a  semi-vowel  and  then   a  vocalic  stage. 

Thus  the  conditions  for  samprasarana  are  : — 

(a)    Intervocalic  position  of  ^-qj 
and  (b)  stress  on  the  3f  of  q-q. 

«*ft  (  Skr. )  qsr  (  G.  ) 

m  (  Skr. )  qj  (  G. ) 

ft     (Skr)  3S(H.) 

*T1%  (  Skr. )  Jtm  (  G. ) 

may  at  first  sight  appear  to  violate  this  condition  as  regards 
intervocalic  position  of^-^.  But  in  these  cases  a  minute 
*^T!%  steps  in  first  and  yields  q^qft,  flf  q*,  ^  fq,  ^  qfrR  as 
intermediate  steps,  thus  furnishing  an  intervocalic  position 
for  the  \  and  q. 

12    Accent  and  its  influence. 

Dr.  Tessitori  is  puzzled  at  my  use  of  accent.  He  asks  if  it 
is  the  old  Sanskrit  accent.  It  cannot  be  in  the  case  of  Pra- 
krits and  vernaculars.  Even  the  old  Sanskrit  accent  was 
partly  pitch  and  partly  stress,  no  one  is  as  yet  decided  as  to 
its  true  nature,  and  scholars  like  Beames  and  Sir  R.  G. 
Bhandarkar  have  used  the  term  "accent"  in  the  sense  of 
"stress"  in  dealing  with  the  phonology  of  modern  vernacu- 
lars. There  was  therefore  no  occasion  to  ask  what  I  meant 
by  the  term  accent,  or  to  contend  that  my  accent  did  not  fall 
on  the  same  syllable  on  which  the  Sanskrit  accent  falls, 


Philology  and  Prakrits  xW 

IS     Foreign  influence  assisting  the  wide  sound. 

I  have  put  forward  a  merely  tentative  theory  that  the 
wide  -sound,  appearing  during  the  Mogul  period  of  Akbar's 
rule  and  intellectual  upheavel  when  Persian  and  Arabic 
flourished  in  India,  may  have  been  matured  under  this  indi- 
rect foreign  influence,  as  ^oj-^jj,  ^ff-^rit  answer  inherently 
to  the  type  presented  by  ^<l«f,  3^5  (Arabic-Persian)-  Dr.  Tea- 
sitori  laughs  away  this  theory,  and  says  that  we  may  as  well 
attribute  the  GujaratI  and  Marvadl  wide  sound  to  English 
influence,  because  English  has  this  sound  in  words  like 
*hat"  and  "hot". 

My  answer: — 

I  have  simply  stated  that  the  sound  was  matured  under 
the  indirect  influence  of  Arabic-  Persian.  The  Arabic-Persian 
sound  is  not  the  wide  3T-3TT  but  3rq;-3^.  All  that  I  suggest  is 
that  ^yi-^tT  represent  a  type  that  matured  into  ^n-#n^t  un- 
der conditions  similar  to  the  foreign  words  typified  by  5^<W 
3>^5  (  which  in  GujaratI  are  ^R-^R5 ).  The  joke  about  En- 
glish influence  involves  a  reversal  of  cause  and  effect,  for 
the  wide  sound  began  four  oenturies  ago  while  the  English 
contact  is  only  a  century  old. 


Apabhramsa  Literature  and  its  Importance  to  Philology. 
By  P.  D.  GUNE. 

1  The  importance  of  the  Apabhramsa  language  and 
literature  is  very  great,  as  that  is  the  stage  immediately  pre- 
ceding the  modern  Aryan  vernaculars  of  India. 

2  Apabhramsa  Literature  known  to  the  world  of  scho- 
lars was,  until  recently,  limited  to  (a)  the  VikramorvasIf 
IVth  act,  (b)  the  Prakrta-pihgalasutra,  (c)  Hemacandra'6 
Grammar,  IV  329  to  446,  (d)  the  Kumarapalacarita,  verses 
14  to  82  only  of  Canto  VIII,  (e)  stray  quotations  in  a  few  Jain 
legends  and  Alahkara  works. 

3  There  has  been  a  considerable  addition  to  our  know- 
ledge of  Apabhrahsa  literature  during  recent  years: — 

(a)  Printed  works  : — 

I     The  Bhavisayattakaha  of  Dhanavala,  edited  by  the 
late  Mr.  C.  D.  Dalai,   in   the  Gaekwad's  Oriental 


xlvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Series,  but  not  yet  published.  The  whole  is  in 
Apabhramsa. 

II  The  Kumarapala-pratibodha  of  Somaprabha,  edit- 
ed by  Muni  Jinavijayaji  in  the  same  series,  but 
not  yet  published,  contains  much  Apabhramsa,  es- 
pecially in  the  5th  Prastava. 

III  The  Upadesatarangini  of  Ratnamandiraganin, 
edited  iiy  Mr.  H.  B.  Shah,  Benares,  1911,  contains 
some  stray  verses  and  passages  in  Apabhramsa. 

IV  The  Supasanahacariyam  of  Laksmanaganin  I 
and  II,  edited  by  Pandit  Haragovinda  Das  Seth, 
Benares  1918,  contains  besides  stray  verses,  pas- 
sages of  considerable  length  at  pp.  50,  190,  212, 
286,  etc. 

(b)  Manuscripts  in  different  libraries  : — 

I  The  Sanjamamanjarl  of  Mahesarasuri,  in  35   doha- 

verses,  complete,  No.  1359  of  1886-92  of  the  Deccan 
College  Mss.  at  the  Bhandarkar  Institute. 

II  The  commentary  on  the  above  by  a  pupil  of 
Hemahamsasuri.  This  contains,  besides  stray 
quotations,  a  long  story  in  Apabhramsa,  corres- 
ponding to  our  Kahanl. 

III  The   Tisatthimahapurisagunalahkara    of  Puppha- 

danta,  No.  370  of  1879-80  of  the  Deccan  College 
Mss.  at  the  Bhandarkar  Institute,  is  an  incom- 
plete bat  voluminous  work  in  Apabhramsa,  folios 
304.  It  throws  additional  light  on  Apabhrmsa 
grammar,  idiom  and  metre. 

IV  There  is  a  lot  of  Apabhramsa  Mss.  at  the  Patan 
Bhandar  mentioned  by  the  late  Mr.  Dalai  in  his 
paper  read  before  the  Gujarat  Sahitya  Parisad 
(pp.  11  to  19).  Of  about  fifty  Mss.  that  Mr.  Dalai 
has  mentioned,  only  some  three  or  four  are  of  some 
considerable  size. 

(a)  The  Aradhana  of  Nayanandin,   a   Digambara 

Jain,  folios  18. 

(b)  The  Paramatmaprakasa  of  Yogindradeva,  also 

a  Dipjambara,  folios  19. 

(c)  The  Vairasamicariya  of  Varadatta,  in  two  san- 

dhis,  with  twelve   and   nine  stanzas   in  each 
respectively. 


Philology  and  Prakrits.  xWii 

(d)  The     Paumasiricariya     of    Dh&hala   in     four 
sandhis.    Most  of  the  others  are  of  the  nature 
of  rasaka,  and  oontain  either  praises  or  lives 
of  Jaina  saints. 
4    The  importance  of  this  literature  : — 

I  As  parent  of  some  of  the   modern   vernaculars,  es- 

pecially of  the  GujaratI  and  the  Rajasthanl.  Some 
points  of  close  similarity  like — u  of  the  neuter 
nom.  sing., — a  of  the  nom.  plural,  the  pronoun, 
the  diminutive  in  da  etc. 

II  As  containing  a  lot  of  desl  words,   which  throw  a 

flood  of  light  on  the  vocabulary  of  the  modern 
Aryan  vernaculars. 

III  As  showing  the  richness  and  flexibility  of  Apabh- 

ramsa  Grammar  such  as  is  not  gathered  from  a 
perusal  of  mere  Hemacandra. 


The  Dialects  of  Burmese.     By  L.  F.  TAYLOR. 

Three  different  families  of  languages  are  to  be  found  in 
Burma,  viz*:  the  Tibeto-Burman,  the  Tai-Chinese  and  the 
Mon-Khmer.  The  present  investigation  is  confined  to  a  com- 
parison of  nine  dialects  belonging  to  the  Burma  group  of 
the  Tibeto-Burman  languages.  The  dialects  are  (i)  Burmese, 
which  is  the  lingua  franca  of  the  Province,  (ii)  Arakanese, 
which  resembles  in  pronunciation  to  the  Burmese  of  a  thousand 
years  ago,  (iii)  Tavoyan,  which  is  supposed  to  be  an  off-shoot 
from  Arakanese,  (iv)  Intha,  which  is  supposed  to  be  an  off- 
shoot from  Tavoyan,  (v)  Danu,  which  is  less  archaic  than 
Arakanese,  (vi)  Yaw,  which  is  the  dialect  most  resembling 
modern  Burmese,  (vii)  and  (viii)  Two  dialects  of  Hpon, 
which  retain  some  very  archaic  features,  though  the  language 
is  on  the  verge  of  extinction,  and  (ix)  Tanugyo,  another 
dialect  which  retains  archaic  features,  though  it  has  under- 
gone phonetio  decay. 

Comparison  shows  that  in  syntax,  grammar,  idiom  and 
vocabulary,  these  dialects  are  practically  identical.  It  fol- 
lows, then,  that  the  essential  part  of  our  investigation  will  be 
ji  study  of  the  phonetic  changes  that  words  undergo  as  they 
from  one  <lialect  t<>  unothor. 


xlviii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

For  this  purpose  tables  have  been  constructed  which 
show  (i)  the  elementary  sounds  which  are  found  in  each  dia- 
lect and  in  the  group  as  a  whole,  also  the  various  combinations 
which  occur  and  (ii)  the  phonetic  changes  that  occur,  first  in 
the  initial,  and  secondly  in  the  middle  and  final  parts  of 
words. 

Finally  the  suggestion  is  thrown  out  that  Burmese, 
though  now  a  monosyllabic  language,  was  once  disyllabic 
or  polysyllabic,  and  in  the  structure  it  was  perhaps  similar 
to  Indonesian.  It  is  submitted  that  we  now  possess  evidence 
which,  though  it  is  quite  insufficient  to  amount  to  proof,  is 
sufficient  to  make  this  hypothesis  worthy  of  consideration. 


The  Importance  of  Philology  for  modern  languages. 
By  J.  M.  Unwala. 

1  The  descent  of  the  Modern  Indian  languages  of  the 
Aryan  Stock  and  their  sister-languages  in  Asia  and  Europe 
from  their  common  parent,  the  so-called  Indo-Germanic  or 
Indo-European  language,  shown  by  a  geneological  tree. 

2  The  Home  of  the  Indo-Germanslay  in  the  Carpathian 
mountain-ranges. 

3  The  rise  of  different  dialects  from  one  common  lan- 
guage and  the  development  and  fossilisation  of  these  dia- 
lects in  the  course  of  generations  into  separate  languages 

(1)  due  to  natural  barriers,   like  mountains  and  rivers 

between  two  regions  or  countries  ; 

(2)  due  to  mannerisms  of  a  person,  used  by  him  while 

speaking  his  mother-language  ; 

(3)  due  to  analogy  in  word-formation,  etc. 

4  The  importance  of  philology  : — 

(1)  it  proves  that  the  so-called  exceptions  in  the  gram- 

mar of  any   language   whatsoever  are  analogical 
formations  or  no  exceptions  at  all ; 

(2)  it  shows  the  common  relation  between  languages  of 

the  same   stock,   howsoever  different   in   external 
features  they  may  be  ; 

(3)  it  simplifies  grammar  by  bringing  the  so-called  ex- 

ceptions under  hard  and  fast  rules  ; 


Philology  and  Prakrits.  xlix 

(4)  it  throws  indirectly   much    important   light  on  the 

question  of  the  history  of  civilisation  and  culture 
of  the  people,  whose  language  it  deals  with  ; 

(5)  it  helps  us  also  to   discover  the   fossil  remains  of 

some    dead   languages  preserved   in    a  language, 
whioh  we  are  subjecting  to  a  comparative  study. 

5  Philology  is  studied  more  in  Germany  than  anywhere 
else  in  Europe,  except  lately  in  France,  since  the  time  of 
Francis  Bopp  (1719-1867),  the  father  of  Philology. 

6  What  has  been  said  above  on  the  importance  of  Phi- 
lology in  general  is  also  applicable  to  the  modern  Indian 
languages. 

7  The  necessity  of  a  comparative  grammar  of  the  mo- 
dern Indian  languages  worked  out  on  the  principles  of  Phi- 
lology. A  preliminary  work  or  works  are,  however,  required 
viz.  grammars  of  Gujarat!,  Marathi,  Bengali,  and  other  modern 
Indian  languanges  of  the  Aryan  stock  written  on  the  basis 
of  Philology,  wherein  chief  stress  is  laid  on  the  comparison 
of  one  of  these  languages  with  Sanskrit  or  Prakrit  dialects. 
Intermediate  works  already  done  by  German  savants,  Jacobi 
Pischel  and  Kuhn,  viz.  Comparative  Grammar  of  the  Parkrit 
dialects  and  Pali. 

8  Such  a  comparative  grammar  is  also  necessary  for 
the  languages  of  the  Dravidian  stock.  But  here  we  have  to 
reconstruct,  by  comparing  these  languages  with  one  another, 
the  once  spoken  ancient  Dravidian  language,  which  has  died 
out  without  leaving  behind  it  any  written  record  whatsoever. 


V.— Classical  Literature. 

Sakuntala— An  Allegory.      By  N.  S.  ADHIKARI. 

Allegorical  instinct  is  inherent  in  man.  Allegories  are 
of  three  types:  (1)  Prosaic  or  Rational  or  Conscious;  (2) 
Emotional  or  Poetic  or  Sub-or  un-conscious  ;  and  (3)  Mixed. 
Ealidasa  introduced  a  change  in  the  character  of  Dusyanta  of 
the  Mahabharata,  under  the  operation  of  a  subconscious  cause 
and  produced  a  consistent  allegory.  Objections  to  this  alle- 
gorical interpretation,  viz.  (i)  that  any  book  can  be  inter- 
preted  allegorically ;  and  (ii)  that  Dusyanta  represents 
Love,  are  perfectly  untenable,  and  the  splendid  ancestry  of 
allegories  which  Kalidasa  had  behind  him  must  have  had 
their  own  effect  upon  him,  who  improved  on  them,  and  who 
was  not  creating  any  new  ways  in  literature  when  he  wrote 
the  subconscious  allegory. 


The  Relation  of  Sudraka's  Mrcchakatika   to   the   Caru- 
datta  of  Bhasa.     By  S.  K.  BELVALKAR. 

After  proving  from  internal  evidence  that  the  author  of 
the  Carudatta  intended  to  write  more  than  the  extant  four 
Acts  of  the  play,  the  essay  considers  and  refutes  the  prima 
facie  view  that  the  Carudatta  is  an  abridgment  for  purposes 
of  stage  representation  of  the  lengthier  Mrcchakatika.  The 
argument  involves  a  critical  comparison  of  a  large  number 
of  parallel  passages  from  the  two  plays  mainly  from  the 
point  of  view  of  dramaturgy,  an  evolution  of  the  two  plays 
from  the  aesthetic  point  of  view  being  purposely  ignored  as 
not  being  capable  of  yielding  certain  results  acceptable  to 
all.  Next,  assuming  that  the  Carudatta  is  the  earlier  play 
elaborated  by  Sudraka,  an  attempt  is  made  to  discover  the 
dramatic  motives  underlying  the  additions,  which  have  been 
ascertained  to  be  (i)  an  exhibition  of  the  author's  knowledge 
and  familiarity  with  highly  technical  and  out  of  the  way 
Sastras ;  (ii)  an  introduction  of  low-life  realism;  ^iii)  the 
addition  of  the  political  bye-plot ;  and  (iv)  an  appeal  to  the 
gallery  by  means  of  broad  and   rollicking   humour.     And  as 


Hi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

these  motives  are  natural  motives  consistently  presented 
throughout  the  play,  the  priority  of  Bhasa  to  Sudraka  is  de- 
clared to  be  the  most  natural  and  the  only  possible  conclu- 
sion to  hold.  That  this  conclusion  is  not  without  some 
bearing  upon  the  date  of  Bhasa  is  only  hinted  at  towards  the 
end  of  the  paper. 


Kalidasa  and  the  Gupta  Kings.    By  H.  B.  BHIDE. 
The  following  are  the  points  sought  to  be  established  in 
the  paper. 

1  Originally  the  Raghuvamsa  comprised  only  the  first 
fifteen  Sargas. 

2  The  Solar  kings  described  therein  represent  the 
Gupta  Kings  as  indicated  below  : — 

Dilipa — represents  Candragupta. 

Raghu  „  Samudragupta. 

Aja  „  Candragupta. 

Dasaratha  „  Kumaragupta. 

Rama  „  Skandagupta. 

3  In  the  Vikramorvasiya,  in  the  first  Act  at  least, 
Pururavas  stands  for  or  is  meant  to  suggest  Skandagupta. 

4  Lastly,  therefore,  Kalidasa  was  a  contemporary, 
perhaps  elderly  contemporary,  of  Skandagupta. 

5  The  points  of  resemblance  between  the  exploits  of 
Raghu  and  Samudragupta  and  of  Rama  and  Skandagupta  are 
more  striking  than  in  the  case  of  the  remaining  kings. 


Psychological  Study  of  Kalidasa's    Upamas.  By  P.   K. 
GODE. 

I  The  purpose  of  the  Essay: — To  take  a  critical  survey 
of  Kalidasa's  "Upamas"  so  as  to  unfold  in  detail  the  work- 
ings of  his  faculty  for  noting  comparisons:  literary  issues  of 
the  prohlem  not  altogether  ignored:  Kalidasa's  keen  aesthetic 
sense,  his  penetrating  intellect,  his  wide  range  of  observa- 
tion etc.,  determined  tentatively. 


Classical  Literature  liii 

II  '  UpamO, '  in  the  broadest  sense  of  the  term  : — The 
technical  divisions  of  'Upama'  as  given  in  the  Indian  works 
on  Rhetoric,  not  followed  as  they  are  psychologically  too 
water-tight  to  admit  all  the  comparisons.  Maxims  included 
under  "Upamas". 

III  Enquiry,  based  on  the  Sakuntala  only  : — The  analyti- 
cal and  inductive  method  requires  the  limitation  of  the  field 
of  study.  The  Sakuntala  being  a  drama  is  truer  to  life 
than  Kalidasa's  other  Kavyas.  It  gives  a  variety  of  com- 
parisons. Other  Kavyas  give  variety  but  exaggerate  the 
picture  of  human  life  they  give. 

IV  Some  psychological  side-light : — Locke's  statement 
'Brutes  compare  but  imperfectly',  endorsed  by  almost  all  the 
psychologists.  The  presence  of  the  faculty  for  noting  com- 
parisons in  a  greater  or  less  degree  implies  greater  or  less 
intellectual  activity. 

V  Some  illustrations  from  literature : — From  Sir  R. 
Tagore,  Carlyle,  Prof.  Walter  Raleigh  etc.  Metaphorical 
employment  of  words  gives  a  brilliant  and  fascinating 
aspect   to  literature. 

VI  Metaphorical  vitality  of  words  : — Metaphorical  em- 
ployment of  words,  which  is  the  operation  of  the  faculty 
for  noting  comparisons,  is  the  very  soul  of  language — some 
illustrations. 

VII  An  estimate  of  the  comparisons  in  the  Sakuntala  and 
an  attempted  interpretation  of  the  same : — Total  number  of 
comparisons  is  about  180.  In  acts  where  there  is  no  "criti- 
cism of  life"  there  is  a  rarity  of  comparisons  since  the 
narrative  element  preponderates  in  them.  An  objective 
attitude  of  mind  is  oapable  of  producing  comparisons. 
Comparisons  are  the  outcome  mainly  of  the  poet's  head. 

VIII  Comparisons  a  psychological  test  and  the  limits 
thereof: — In  a  lyrical  piece  of  composition  there  would  be  a 
paucity  of  comparisons  but  the  converse  of  the  statement  is 
not  true.  A  drama  written  by  a  mastermind  will  abound  in 
comparisons. 

IX  Classification  of  Comparisons  according  to  thei" 
sources  : — 'The  sources  of  similitudes  are  co-extensive  with 
the  world  of  knowledge'.    By  taking  a  survey  of  them  we  get 


liv  First  Oriental  Conference 

at  the  poet's  knowledge  of  men  and  things ;  in  fact  we 
determine  his  range  of  observation.  Kalidasa  had  a  seeing 
eye  and  an  inquiring  mind. 

X  Sources  of  Comparisons  : — (1)  Heavens — the  various 
aspects  of  the  sun  and  the  moon — constellations — eclipses 
etc.  (2)  Earth. — Phenomena  of  the  sky  :  lightning,  wind, 
clouds,  rain  etc  Ocean,  rivers  etc.  Mountains,  wells  etc. 
Mineral  world  :  gems.  (3)  Life — The  Plant  Life  :  Creepers  : 
Sami,  Madhavi,  Atimuktalata,  Navamalika,  Vanajyotsna. 
Flowers'.  Kunda,  lotus,  lotus  leaves,  pollen  of  lotuses,  day- 
lotuses  aDd  night-lotuses.  Trees  :  Foliage  of  trees,  branches 
of  trees  etc.  Particular  Trees  :  Sahakara,  Kesara,  Candana, 
Sugarcane,  Reeds  etc.  Agriculture.  Animal  Life — Affections 
of  the  animal  body,  diseases  etc.  Particular  beasts  :  Deer, 
male  and  female,  wild  elephant,  tiger,  serpent,  etc.  Birds 
etc. — locusts  ;  cuckoo,  cakravaka,  male  and  female  ;  bee 
male  and  female ;  flies.  (4)  Domestic  Life — Eatables  :  dates 
tamarind,  honey  etc.  Fire,  lamp ;  water,  parasol,  miror, 
ornament,  flag  etc.  Wealth,  deposit  of  money  etc,  Family 
relations — conjugal  love,  parental  affection,  fraternal  affec- 
tion. (5)  Social  Life — Hospitality,  polite  behavour,  friend- 
ship, villainy — a  city  thronged  with  people  etc.  Military 
life,  hunting  and  other  sports  etc.  (6)  Religious  Life — prac- 
tical and  theoretical  side  of  religion,  doctrines  of  Karma  and 
Moksa.  (7)  Mythology  and  other  literature — Siva  ;  LaksmI ; 
Trisanku  ;  Yayati  and  Sarmistha  :  celestial  nymphs  ;  Sesa  ; 
Kalakuta  ;  Manes  of  ancestors  ;  Amrta  ;  Indra,  Jayanta  and 
Paulomi ;  Nrsimha  etc.  (8)  fiine  Arts — Painting  and  Music. 
(9)  Mental  States — Deranged  condition  of  mind;  Mental  illu- 
sions etc.  (10)  Abstract  World — Personified  abstractions 
as  standards  of  comparisons — other  abstract  comparisons. 
(11)   Conventions,  poetic  and  otherwise — a  few  illusrations. 

XI  Some  General  Conclusions  : — 

1  Kalidasa's  intellect  was  truly  comprehensive. 

2  His    knowledge   of    Nature,  quite  first-hand. 

3  His  skill  in  word-painting. 

4  He  drew  no  line  of  demarcation  between  Nature  and 
Man. 

5  Imaginative  Comparisions,  Utpreksas. 


Classical  Literature.  lv 

6  Intellectual  and  Emotional  Comparisons. 

7  Conventional  ideas  turned  to  good  account. 

8  An  objection. 

9  Aptness  of  Kalidasa's  Comparisons. 

other  qualities  of  comparisons  such  as  novelty,  variety  etc. 

10  No  "long- tailed"  Comparisons  in  Kalidasa.  His 
Comparisons  are  direct  and  there  is  a  freedom  of  spirit  about 
them. 


Indian  Aesthetics.     By  M.  HlRIYANNA. 

The  field  of  ancient  Indian  Aesthetics  remains  unexplor- 
ed and  vague  notions  are  current  regarding  the  Indian  con- 
ception of  Beauty  in  Nature  and  in  Art.  The  numerous 
works  in  Sanskrit  on  Poetics  furnish  sufficient  material  for 
deducing  the  Indian  aesthetic  theory  and  show  that  its  evo- 
lution closely  followed  that  of  general  philosophic  specula- 
tion. 

2  The  Indian  conception  of  the  Beautiful  was  influenc- 
ed mainly  by  : — 

(i)  The  Atman  doctrine  of  Upanisads  which  incul- 
cates that  the  world  of  sense  equally  with  the 
world  of  thought  is  but  an  imperfect  expression  of 
the  ultimate  Reality;  but  is  yetadequate,  if  rightly 
approached,  to  reveal  the  underlying  unity. 

(ii)  The  Jloanmukti  ideal  which,  by  recommending, 
not  the  repression  of  interests  but  an  expansion 
of  them,  gave  prominence  to  the  culture  of  the 
emotions  in  the  achievement  of  true  freedom. 

3  The  writers  on  Poetics  from  whom  the  material  for 
the  paper  is  drawn  may  be  divided  into  two  schools  : — 

(i)  The  )>raclna  school  which  confined  its  attention 
practically  to  an  analysis  not  of  what  constitutes 
the  essence  of  poetry  but  only  of  its  outer  form.  * 

(ii)  The  nuvlna  school  which  concentrated  its  atten- 
tion on  the  vyahyyartha  or  'implicit  sense',   which 


lvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

as  distinguished  from  the  vacyartha  or  'explicit 
sense'  constitutes  the  essence  of  all  first-rate 
poetry.  In  revealing  the  poetic  ultimate,  word 
and  explicit  sense  serve  the  same  purpose  as  the 
passing  things  of  experience  do  in  revealing  the 
underlying  reality  of  the  universe.  This  is  the 
theory  of  poetry  corresponding  to  the  doctrine  of 
atman. 

4  Of  the  three  varieties  of  the  implicit  sense  vastu, 
alankara  and  rasa,  the  last  was  specially  emphasised  for  the 
sake  of  the  emotional  culture  required  by  the  Jivanmukti 
ideal.  This  emphasis  finds  expression  in  the  statement  that 
rasa  is  the  atman  of  poetry.  The  term  rasa  has  got  an  ob- 
jective as  well  as  a  subjective  reference  and  means  not  only 
aesthetic  delight  but  also  sentiments  like  'love'  whose  treat- 
ment by  the  artist  affords  such  delight. 

5  The  theory  of  rasa  having  become  the  recognized 
basis  of  Indian  aesthetics,  each  system  of  philosophy  inter- 
preted it  in  the  light  of  its  own  fundamental  principles.  The 
Vedanta  ahd  Sankhya  interpretations,  which  are  the  most 
important,  are  as  follows  : — 

(i)  Vedanta: — The  term  ananda  furnishes  the  clue  to 
the  Vedantic  theory  of  rasa.  Joy  or  bliss  is  the 
intrinsic  nature  of  the  self,  that  being  the  signifi- 
cance of  describing  the  atman  as  ananda.  If  its 
intrinsic  character  is  not  always  manifest,  it  is 
because  desire  veils  it.  When  this  veil  is  stripped 
off,  no  matter  how,  the  real  nature  of  atman  asserts 
itself  and  we  feel  the  happiness  that  is  all  our  own. 
The  immediate  aim  of  art  being  pure  delight 
(Saayah-para-hirvrti)  the  artist  has  to  induce  an 
attitude  of  detachment  and  he  does  it  by  means  of 
the  ideal  creations  of  his  art.  The  particular  forms 
he  creates  are  determined  by  the  other  aim  of 
art,  viz.,  the  refinement  of  our  emotional  nature. 
Being  products  of  fancy  these  forms  cannot  awaken 
desire  ;  and  when  attention  is  once  concentrated 
upon  them,  the  ordinary  state  of  tension  caused 
by  selfish  desires  is  relaxed  and  joy  ensues  as  a 
matter  of  course. 


Classical   Literature.  IvU 

(ii)  S5?)khya  : — According  to  SSnkhya,  on  the  other 
hand,  Purusa  has  as  little  to  do  with  pleasure  as 
with  pain.  Pleasure  and  pain  arise  from  the  in- 
teraction between  the  two  spheres  of  prakr tic  deve- 
lopment— buddhi  and  the  objective  world— and 
Purusa  stands  by  only  as  an  onlooker.  The  Com- 
mon view  that  he  is  affected  by  either  is  due  to  a 
mistaken  identification  of  buddhi  with  Purusa. 
This  mistake  can  not  be  avoided  until  the  two 
are  dissociated — i.  e.  until  jivanmukti  is  reached. 
So  far  as  empirical  life  is  concerned,  individual 
purpose  or  selfish  desire  is  ineradicable  ;  and  the 
ordinary  man  must  take  pain  with  pleasure.  But, 
though  he  cannot  dissociate  himself  from  buddhi, 
he  can  by  resorting  to  art  find  a  temporary  release 
from  the  natural  world,  the  second  of  the  two 
factors  contributing  to  the  misery  of  common 
existence.  The  artist's  function  is  thus  to  lead  us 
away  from  the  real  world  into  another  not  consti- 
tuted of  the  three  nuijas.  The  details  of  the  new 
surroundings  he  creates  for  us  are  determined  by 
the  other  aim  of  art,  viz.,  the  refinement  of  our 
emotional  nature.  This  view  of  Sahkhya  art  is 
found  represented  in  Sanskrit  Poetics  as  that  of 
Bhatta-Nayaka. 

6.  Thus  according  to  optimistic  Vedanta,  pain  is  due  to 
misapprehension  and  pure  delight  may  be  derived  as  much 
from  Nature  as  from  Art.  According  to  pessimistic  San- 
khya,  pleasure  untainted  by  Sorrow  does  not  exist  in  the  real 
world  and  has  therefore  to  be  sought  outside  it.  Aesthetic 
delight  according  to  idealistic  Vedanta  is  due  to  a  forgetting 
of  our  narrow  Selves  ;  while  according  to  realistic  Sahkhya 
it  is  due  to  an  escape  from  common  world.  Art,  according  to 
the  one,  reveals  the  truth  of  Nature  ;  according  to  the  other, 
it  fashions  something  better  than  Nature. 

7.  Thus  according  to  optimistic  Vedanta,  everything  in 
Nature  is  beautiful  and  ugliness  is  due  to  misapprehension. 
According  to  pessimistic  Sahkhya  ugliness  is  as  real  as 
beauty  and   both   are   found    in  Nature.    Aesthetic    delight 

8 


Iviii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

according  to  idealistic  Vedanta  is  due  to  transcending  the 
narrow  self ;  while  according  to  the  realistic  Sahkhya,";it  is 
due  to  escaping  from  the  natural  world.  Art  according  to 
the  one  reveals  the  truth  of  Nature  ;  according  to  the  other, 
it  fashions  something  better  than  Nature. 


Kalidasa    and    Music.      By  Sardar  G.  N.   MUJUMDAR, 

The  chief  object  of  the  essay  is  to  show  how  far  Kalidasa 
had  the  practical  and  theoretical  knowledge  of  music  in 
its  three  aspects  viz: — vocal  and  instrumental  music  and 
dancing. 

Kalidasa's  possession  of  a  good  musical  ear  and  a  know- 
ledge of  the  so-called  ragas  of  the  Indian  music  can  be 
evidenced  from  two  works.  The  necessary  stages  in  the 
praotice  of  music  have  been  referred  to  by  him.  He  notes 
the  songs  or  airs  composed  and  to  be  chanted.  We  also  learn 
from  his  works  that  the  performance  of  vocal  music  must 
have  the  accompaniment  of  a  drum  and  a  stringed  or  wind 
instrument.  He  appears  to  be  well-versed  in  instrumental 
music  and  discloses  a  wide  knowledge  of  the  principles  of 
nrtya  and  natya.  Kalidasa  gives  sporadic  indications  of  his 
study  of  the  theory  of  music. 

The  chief  points  to  be  noted  here  are,  (1)  that  the  three- 
fold connotation  of  the  term  samglta  does  not  occur  in  Bha- 
rata's  Natyasastra,  while  in  Kalidasa's  works  it  is  very  com- 
mon ;  and  (2)  that  the  ragas  had  already  been  formed  and 
were,  therefore,  in  vogue  in  the  time  of  Kalidasa,  which 
Bharata  does  not  make  mention  of. 

Meanings  of  technical  words  and  a  list  of  original  vastus 
occurring  in  his  works  have  been  appended. 


Kalidasa  and  Candragupta  II.    By  S.  RAY. 

Current  Theory.  References  to  Candragupta  ILReference 
to  Hun  settlement  in  Bactria.  Hence  Kalidasa  was  the 
court  poet  of  Candragupta  II  in  the  5th  century  A.  D. 


Classical  Literature.  1  ix 

Refutation.  References  to  Candragupta  II  not  proved 
Similar  references  abound  in  the  Vedas,  the  Ramayana,  the 
Mahabha'rata  etc.  Admission  of  reference  leads  to  undesira- 
ble conclusions.  No  reference  to  Bactria.  Bahllka  is  north 
Punjab,  not  Bactria.  Vahksu  is  Sindhu  not  Ox  us.  Huns 
■till  to  the  north  of  India  in  Kalidasa's  time.  Current 
theory  contradicted  by  the  Malavikagnimitra.  Kalidasa  the 
court  poet  of  Agnimitra. 


Kautilya  and  Kalidasa.     By  H.  A.  SHAH. 

The  article  is  too  demonstrative  to  admit  a  summary 
without  one's  missing  the  trend  of  arguments  leading  to  cer- 
tain conclusions.  Roughly,  it  may  be  said  that  attention  is 
drawn  to  important  parallelism  of  thoughts  (and  of  language 
also)  met  within  the  works  of  Kautilya  and  Kalidasa. 

Subjects  seleoted  and  treated  are  (1)  Hunting,  (2)  Dis- 
eased and  new  kings,  (3)  High  Priest,  (4)  Use  of  technical 
terms. 

To  take  them  up  in  a  reverse  order  and  summarize  the 
results  : 

Technical  terms  show  crystallisation  of  thinking  and  so 
far,  the  instance  given  points  out  how  in  the  works  of  Kau- 
tilya and  Kalidasa,  the  same  way  of  expression  and  getting 
at  the  things  are  met  with. 

The  position  of  the  High  Priest,  the  estimation  in  which 
he  is  held  and  his  functions  (as  seen  in  the  Arthasastra  and 
Raghuvamsa)  are  all  according  to  Kautilya.  All  the  refer- 
ences are  supplied  for  one's  guidance. 

About  diseased  kings:  Notions  of  Kalidasa  run  in  line 
with  those  of  Kautilya  who  has  expressed  them  against  the 
opinion  of  a  politician  named  Bharadvaja. 

As  regards  new  kings:  The  arguments  of  Kautilya  are 
discussed  in  connection  with  the  fate  of  a  new  king  describ. 
ed  in  the  Malavikagnimitra. 

With  regard  to  Hunting  :  All  the  references  with  quota- 
tions are  given  so    that   there    may  be  no   possibility  of  mis- 


ix  First  Oriental  Conference. 

understanding  the  point.  Passages  from  works  of  other 
authors  are  cited  for  a  contrast  and  to  make  it  easy,  to  get 
at  a  clear  idea  on  the  subject  as  understood  and  deve- 
loped by  Kalidasa.  Contribution  of  Kautilya  lies  in  the 
revision  he  makes  and  innovations  he  introduces  or  in  his 
recognition  of  them  in  the  law  book.  Of  that  very  nature 
is  the  contribution  of  Kalidasa.  That  fact  is  pointed  out  at 
length  in  the  parallels  given.  Hypothesis  is  then  put  for- 
ward that  both  Kautilya  and  Kalidasa  belong  to  one  age. 

Some  of  the  ideas  on  the  subject  (i.  e.  hunting)  found  in 
the  Arthasastra  proceed  from  Kautilya  and  from  nobody  else. 
As  the  language  and  development  of  arguments  of  Kalidasa 
are  found  to  be  as  fresh  as  those  of  Kautilya,  it  is  suggested 
that  very  likely  they  are  one  and  the  same  individual. 

By  the  by,   the   source   for  the   date   of  Pusyamitra 
passingly  discussed. 


The  Text  of  the  Sakuntala.  By  B.  K.  THAKORE. 

1  Our  manuscript  authorities  for  this  play  are  all 
comparatively  modern.  They  fall  into  four  or  at  least  thre* 
families.  They  yield  three  or  at  least  two  versions,  the 
differences  between  which  are  numerous  and  important. 
But  the  Sakuntala  is  a  play  that  belongs  to  world-literature. 
As  the  world  progresses  in  culture  the  number  of  non- 
Sanskritists  studying  it  as  the  best  product  of  ancient  Indian 
drama,  is  rapidly  on  the  increase,  and  in  Kalidasa  we  have 
a  dramatist  of  perfect  art  and  transcendent  genius.  Cul- 
tured humanity  cannot  tolerate  three  divergent  Sakuntalas 
or  even  two.  Nor  is  it  necessary.  This  essay  attempts  to 
show  that  in  many  cases  it  discusses,  we  can  select  out  of 
the  divergencies  presented  by  our  authorities  that  reading 
and  that  arrangement  of  speeches  which  in  the  light  of 
dramatic  criticism  is  demonstrably  the  best. 

2  Aot  V  from  the  beginning  up  to  the  entry  of 
Sakuntala  and  her  party.  The  Devanagari  version  is  here 
the  best. 

3  Act  III  from  ubhe  :  vuvvuda  mha  to  the  end. 


Classical  Literature.  lxl 

Here  also  the  Devanagarl  version  the  best.  The 
dramatic  construction  of  Act  III  considered. 

4  (1)    Act  VI  the  minister's  memorandum. 

The  versions  in  which  the  King  reads  out  the  memoran- 
dum verbatim  inferior ;  the  others  in  which  he  only  gives 
a  summary  of  it  are  the  best. 

(2,3)     Act    I     from   ido  ido   aahio   to   sarva   rajSnam 
drstva  kificidiva  sambhrantah. 

Here  again  the  Devanagarl  version   the  best. 

(4)  Act  V     The  verse   na  tiryag  and  the  prose  sen- 

tence introducing  it  should  be  omitted.  The 
speech  bhadre  prathitam  should  be  assigned  to 
the  Purohita. 

(5)  A  draft  translation  is  offered  of    the    Pravesaka 

preceding  Act  VII,  which  is  to  be  found  only  in 
the  Kasmlri  version.  A  play  on  the  stage  a  rich 
and  veried  feast  of  all  the  fine  arts.  But  the  ac- 
ceptance of  this  Pravesaka  into  the  body  of  the 
text  is  shown  to  be  impossible. 

5  (1)    Act  I,  the  king's  approach  to  the  hermitage. 

Both  verses  should  be  kept ;  the  oharioteer's  remark 
should  be  placed  between  them. 

The  geography  of  hermitage  and  the  marginal  upavanu 
between  it  and  the  primeval  forest. 

(2)  Beginning  of  Act  IV. 

All  four  verses  should  be  kept,  and  in  the  Bengali  order. 
Tune-analysis  of  the  first  four  Acts. 

(3)  Beginning  of  Act  III. 

All  the  eight  verses  from  Jane  to  abhyumuita  should  be 
kept;  at  the  most  vrthaiva  the  5th  might  be  omitted, 
although  there  is  no  clear  reason  even  for  that.  The 
dramatic  construction  of  Act  III  further  considered. 

(4)  Act  VI     After  asmatparam  the   speeches   of    the 

apsaras,  ceti  and  the  King  (this  last  including 
the  verse  mnula  follow  in  the  Bengali   and    Kas- 


lxii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

ralrl  versions,  and  it  is  at  the  end  of  this  last 
verse  that  the  King  swoons.  These  speeches 
should  be  kept. 

(5)  Sakuntala's  atmagata  speech  (Act  III  immedia- 
tely after  the  king's  inquiry  about  Sakuntala's 
health  and  Priyamvada's  reply)  should  be  kept. 

6  (1)  Aot  I  When  the  maidens  draw  their  own  con- 
clusion from  the  signet-ring,  the  king's  speech 
should  be: — 

and  not  the  longer  to  be  found  in  the  Devanagarl 
version. 

(2)  Act  II  In  the  first  verse  the  end  of  the  first  half 

should  be : — cT-^lfa^iWHlfi-l. 

(3)  Act  IX  Anasuya's  first  speech  should  be; — 

(4)  Act  IV  Anasuya's  second  speech. 

The  Kasmiri  version  with  only  the  word  pahasa  changed 
to  pavasa  the  best.     Thus  it  would  be  read: — 

Textual  criticism  an  indispensable  part  or  limb  but  only 
a  part  or  limb  of  literary  criticism  in  the  widest,  deepest, 
hightest  and  truest  sense. 

(5)  Act  V  In  the  muchdescussed  verse  f%  gfrt>N$ft», 

°  ^?f  '4  H%  fi^di  *lsl :  is  the  best  reading. 

(6)  Act  VI  In  the  Prevesaka  the  following  words  to 

be  found  in  the  Bengali  and  Kasmiri  versions — 

should  be  kept. 

(7)  Act  VI  In  karya  saikata  read  carnara  for  harina  as 

the  Bengali  and  Kasmiri  versions. 

(8)  Act  VI  After  the  king's  proclamation  read 


1  Classical  Literature.  IxiU 

•  arfW&    H*M&l«i    °    as   in   the    Bengali    and     Kaimlrl 
versions. 

kNote  10  Aot  II  ^d^^— read  tffafag  *£T:  or  *£*rfa?R: 
(9)    Aot    VI.    For  the  concluding  speech  of  the    ap- 
saras  the  K&smlrl  version  is  the  best. 
(10)   Aot  VII.     At   the   entry    into  the  hermitage   of 
Marici  read   as   beginning   of  Matali's   speech, 
WW4'|(ftl4*<l4t)  ^: 
Many  other  instances  could  be  given  in  which   free   use 
of  our  materials  and  a  consideration  of  the  drama  as  a  whole 
and  in  each  of  its  parts  as  work    of  art   conceived   and   ela- 
borated by  genius,  could  enable  us  to  pick  out  from  amongst 
the  variants  or  in  a  very  few   exceptional   cases   even  piece 
together  a  reading,  dramatically  the   best ;  a   reading  about 
which,  Kalidasa   being  Kalidasa,  we   can   draw  the   further 
inference  that  it  is  Kalidasa's  original  reading  about   any  of 
the  other  variants.     And  thus  out  of  the  Bengali,  Devanagarl 
and  Kasmiri  Sakuntala's  which   textual    criticism  gives  us 
and  beyond  which  mere  textual  criticism   can  never  hope   to 
advance,  we  can  perhaps  reconstruct  the    play    as   Kalidasa 
wrote  it. 


VI. — Persian  and  Arabic. 

Okhaharana  in  the  Shahnameh.     By  P.  B.  DESAl. 

The  Mahabharata  and  the  Shahnameh  are  the  two  most 
well-known  epics  of  India  and  Persia.  Peoples  of  both  coun- 
tries had  close  intercourse  fro:n  ancient  times.  They  were 
the  last  of  the  Aryan  races  to  separate  from  the  Ce 
Asian  Home.  The  Aryans  had  many  myths  and  legends, 
the  mos    innocently  lovely  was  the  sun  and  dawn  myth. 

Many  Btories  have  baen  composed  in  many  lands  in  imi- 
tation of  that  myth,  one  of  the.n  bein<j  the  love-story  of  Okha 
and  Aniruddha  in  the  19th  Parva  of  the  Mahabharata.  There 
is  a  story  of  Bizhan  and  Manizheh  in  the  Shahnameh  which 
seems  to  be  a  copy  of  that  Mahabharata  story  in  Persian 
verse. 

The  points  of  comparison  are  enumerated  and  discussed 
in  the  paper.  It  is  the  opinion  of  some  mythologists  that 
most  of  the  Aryan  myths  and  stories  have  common  origin  and 
have  independent  growth.  The  writer  of  the  paper  tries  to 
prove  that  the  story  of  Bizhan  and  Manizheh  was  a  glaring 
instance  of  "conscious  borrowing"  or  was  directly  imported 
into  Persia  from  India. 

There  are  more  than  one  stories  in  the  Shahnameh 
which  seem  to  be  borrowed  fro.n  the  Mahabharata,  Rama- 
yana  etc. 


King  Akbar  and  the  Persian  Translations  from  Sanskrit. 
By  J.  J.  Modi. 

The  object  of  the  paper  is  to  present  a  brief  account  of 
the  attempts  of  King  Akbar  to  get  some  important  Sanskrit 
!l  ited  into  Persian.     Oar  ition 

are  the  Ain-i-Akbari  of  Abul  Fazl  and  the  Muntakhab-ut 
warikh  of  Badaoni.    It  seems,  that  t'arnt  by 

Persians,  now  and  then,  lung  before  Akbar's  tin 

lavi  book  w  urco  of  the 


lxvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Calila  and  Damna,  was  a  rendering  of  an  Indian  book  in  the 
time  of  Chosroes  I  (  Noshirwan  the  Just ),  who  had  close  re- 
lations with  India.  The  time  of  Calif  Haroun  Al  Rashid  is 
spoken  of  as  the  "  golden  age  "  in  Mahomedan  history,  and 
that  of  his  famous  son  Al  Mamoun  as  the  "Augustan  age" 
of  Arabio  literature.  Al  Mamoun  held,  like  Akbar,  some  re- 
ligious conferences  at  his  court.  The  Pahlavi  Gajask-i-Aba- 
lish  is  a  result  of  one  of  such  conferences  where  Indian  scho- 
larsh  also  must  be  present.  The  Indian  medical  works  of 
Caraka  and  Susruta  had  been  rendered  into  Arabic.  It  is 
said,  that  two  Hindu  doctors  held  the  position  of  court  phy- 
sicians at  the  court  of  Harun  Al  Rashid.  Elliot  gives  us  an 
interesting  chapter  on  the  knowledge  of  Sanskrit  by  Maho- 
medans  before  Akbar's  time.  According  to  Ferishta,  Feroze 
Taghlak  had  got  translated  into  Persian  some  Sanskrit  works 
out  of  about  1300  he  found  in  a  Hindu  temple  at  Nagarkote 
in  the  Kangra  Valley,  which  he  conquered  and  which  is 
known  as  that  of  the  Jwala-mukhi  (volcanic)  on  account  of 
a  constantly  burning  subterranean  flame.  The  celebrated 
Persian  poet  Amir  Khushro  had  supplied  some  materials  for 
thought  to  Persians  of  literary  taste,  like  those  at  the  court 
of  Akbar,  in  his  Nuh  Sepehr  (Nine  Spheres),  wherein,  in  his 
third  sphere,  he  spoke  of  Indian  languages  and  especially  of 
Sanskrit 

Akbar,  as  a  boy,  was  truant  and  his  father  had  to  rebuke 
him  mildly  for  his  illiteracy.  But,  as  a  King,  he  grew  up  to 
be  one  of  the  best  kings  of  India,  and  his  court  was,  as  it 
were,  "  une  veritable  academie  ".  He  had  founded  a  large 
royal  library,  books  from  which  were  regularly  read  to  him 
by  different  readers  ( khanandah).  He  got  books  translated 
from  Greek(yunani),  Arabic  and  Sanskrit.  Among  the  Sans- 
krit books,  so  translated,  we  find  the  following:  Kishan  Joshi; 
the  Gangadhar;  the  Mohesh  Mahanand;  the  Mahabharata 
under  the  name  of  Razm-namah  i.  e.  the  Book  of  Wars ;  the 
Ramayana,  said  to  be  "a  book  of  ancient  Hindustan,  which 
contains  the  life  of  Ramacandra,  but  is  full  of  interesting 
points  of  philosophy":  At'harban  (the  Atharva  Veda);  the 
Lllawati,  said  to  be  "  one  of  the  most  excellent  works  writ- 
ten by  Indian  mathematicians  on  arithmetic  ".;  Haribans, 
(Harivamsa)  a  book   containing  the  life   of  Krisna;   Nal   va 


Persian  and  Arabic.  lxvfi 

Daman  (Nala  DamayantI );  Singhasan  Battisi;  and  Jog  Hasi- 
shta  (Yoga  Vasishta).  The  translations  of  some  of  these  were 
entrusted  jointly  to  more  than  one  scholar,  among  whom  we 
see  the  names  of  well-known  scholars  of  the  times,  likeA  bul 
Fazl,  Faizi,  Badaoni,  and  Nakib  Khan. 

I  produce  before  the  conference,  for  inspection,  three 
Mss.  of  these  translations.  Two  of  these  are  of  the  Maha- 
bharata, and  one,  of  the  Jog-Basisht,  which  is  mentioned 
neither  by  Abul  Fazl  nor  by  Badaoni  but  by  a  Hindu  writer 
of  Persian,  Hari  Charan  Das,  in  his  Chahar  Gulzar  Shujai,  as 
mentioned  by  Elliot. 

Abul  Fazul  speaks  of  the  Mahabharata  as  one  of  the  an- 
cient books  of  Hindustan  containing  nearly  100000  verses  He 
says,  that  though  there  are  in  it  many  extravagant  tales, 
yet  "it  affords  many  instructive  moral  observations  and  is 
an  ample  record  of  felicitous  experience."  The  recital  of  its 
concluding  portion  known  as  Harivamsa,  was  a  cure  to  ste- 
rility. Abul  Fazul,  who  was,  as  it  were,  the  Sir  William 
Hunter  of  Akbar's  Court,  has  given  in  his  Ain-i-Akbari,  the 
Gazetteer  of  Akbar's  time,  a  long  account  of  the  contents  of 
the  Mahabharata.  According  to  Badaoni,  some  attributed 
to  it  an  antiquity  of  4000  years,  and  some,  of  80000  years.  The 
idea  of  getting  the  book  translated  came  to  Akbar  as  if  with 
a  flash  of  thought,  when  he  was  hearing  the  reading  of  some 
Persian  books,  whioh,  he  said,  were,  after  all,  results  of  poetic 
imagination.  He  took  the  Hindu  books  to  be  such  as  were 
written  by  "holy  and  staid  sages"  and  "were  all  clear  and 
convincing  proofs  and  whioh  were  the  very  pivot  on  which  all 

their  religion  and  faith  and  holiness  turned They  are   by 

no  means  trite  but  quite  fresh  and  they  will  produoe  all  kinds 
of  fruits  of  felicity,  both  temporal  and  spiritual."  With 
thoughts  like  these,  he  at  once  ordered  a  translation.  Three 
court-scholars  were  at  first  entrusted  with  the  work  and  a 
number  of  learned  Brahmins  were  asked  to  interpret  and  help. 
For  the  first  few  nights.  Akbar  himself  took  an  active  part  in 
the  work.  He  heard  the  interpretations  of  the  Brahmins,  and 
explained  what  they  said  to  one  of  the  translators  Nakib 
Khan  In  all,  the  names  of  ail  scholars  are  associated  I 
the  Mahabharata      T<<  Badaoni.  one  of  the  translators,    who 


Ixviii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

was  one  of  the  most  bigoted  Mahomedans,  the  translation  of 
a  non  Moslem  religious  book  was  a  work  of  sin,  and  Akbar,  at 
one  time  suspecting  that  he  at  times  let  his  bigotry  creep  into 
the  translation,  went  to  the  extent  of  calling  him  haramkhor 
(one  earning  his  livelihood  unlawfully).  Akbar  seemed  to  be 
lieve  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  and  so.it  was  the  trans- 
lation of  a  passage  referring  to  the  theory  of  Karma  that  led 
to  this  rebuke.  The  translation  when  completed  was  illus 
trated  with  paintings,  the  art  of  which  flourished  at  Akbar's 
Court. 

Now  an  important  question  is  :  Are  the  Persian  trans- 
lations of  Sanskrit  books  literal  faithful  translations  or  more 
or  less,  paraphrases,  or  very  free  renderings  or  summing- 
ups.  It  seems,  that  however  learned  the  scholars  of  Akbar's 
court  were,  they  were  not  very  proficient  in  Sanskrit.  It  is 
likely,  that  all  the  translators  knew  some  Sanskrit,  but  tha' 
was  not  enough.  They  had  with  them  a  number  of  learned 
Brahmins  to  assist  them  as  interpreters.  Notwithstanding 
their  assistance,  their  Persian  translations  are  not,  what  we 
now  understand  to  be,  faithful  translations  from  the  original. 
Unfortunately,  I  cannot  compare  directly  the  Sanskrit  of  the 
Mahabharata  with  the  Persian,  but,  with  the  help  of  Mr.  P. 
C.  Ray's  translation,  I  have  compared  as  typical  examples, 
the  first  sections  of  the  first  two  parvus,  and  find,  that  they 
are  very  free  renderings  with  omissions  here  and  there,  but 
not  translations.  To  eriable  my  readers  to  judge  for  them- 
selves, I  give  at  the  end  of  the  paper,  the  original  Sanskrit, 
Mr.  Ray's  translation,  the  Persian  text  and  my  own  transla- 
tion of  the  first  section  of  the  second  parva,  the  Sabha- 
parva.  For  the  Persian  text  and  my  translation,  I  have 
followed  an  old  Persian  manuscript  of  the  Mullan  Firuz 
Library  in  the  K.  R.  Cama  Institute.  It  is  written  in  the 
Shikasta  style.  It  was  latterly,  well  nigh  at  the  end  of 
my  study  for  this  paper,  that  I  got  a  better-written  copy 
from  the  B.  B.  R.  A.  Society.  I  give  at  the  end  the 
Persian  text  from  that  Ms.  also,  to  enable  one  to  judge  of  the 
translation. 


Persian  and  Arabic.  Ixli 

The  unknown  Ya  in  Persian.  By  SHAIKH  ABDUL 
Kadar  Sarfraz. 

The  Paper  is  divided  into  two  parts. 

Part  I  : — (1)  Prevailing  misunderstanding  amongst 
Persian  scholars  as  regards  the  pronunciation  of  those  words 
in  which  the  majhiilat  letters  occur  ; 

(2)  The  two  ways  in  which  these  words  are  generally 
pronounced:   (a)   the  Persian  and  (6)  the  Indian; 

(3)  The  Persian  pronunciation  is  invariably  regarded 
as  the  only  correct  one  and  the  Indian  is  generally 
condemned  as  wrong  and  un-Persian; 

(4)  The  writer's  opinion  : — 

(a)  that  the  socalled  Indian  pronunciation   is   not  at 

all  Indian; 
(/>)  that  it  is  purely  and  properly  Persian ; 
(r)  that  under  certain  circumstances  it  is  scientifically 

more  correct ; 

{d)  that  the  modern  Persian  pronunciation,  appears,  in 
a  sense,  as  degenerate  as  it  is  foreign  to  Persian  ; 

(5)  To  prove  this,  four  arguments  have  been  advanced  : 

(a)  arguments  based  on  signification  of  terms  ; 

(b)  argument     based   on     historical   and    philological 
evidence; 

(c)  argument  based  on  testimony  of   standard   Persian 
poets; 

Part  II :— (6)  The  nature  of  "Ya-e-majhuT. 

(7)  Its  principal  varieties  ; 

(8)  A  list  of  useful  words  containing  the  "Ya-e-majhul." 


VII. — Dravidian. 


Dravidiain  Tense-suffixes.     By  R    SWAMINATHA  AIYAR. 
/    Introductory. 

1  The  views  put  forward  in  this  paper  and  the  sugges- 
ted inferences  therefrom  are  at  variance  with  the  present 
theory  in  regard  to  the  Dravidian  Languages.  The  paper 
should  not  be  regarded  as  propounding  any  considered  theory 
but  only  as  furnishing  materials  for  a  fresh  consideration  of 
the  subject. 

2  Caldwell's  theory  was  that  the  Dravidians  were  not 
an  autochthonous  Indian  people  but  were  immigrants  speak- 
ing a  Turanian  language,  who  entered  by  the  north-west 
passes;  he  was  of  opinion  that  the  Dravidian  languages  had 
a  few  Indo-European  giammatical  affinities  acquired  by 
contiguity  in  the  remote  pre-historic  past,  but  that  their 
grammatical  structure  was  essentially  different  and  that 
they  should  be  affiliated  to  the  Turanian  family. 

3  The  Authors  of  the  Linguistic  Survey  of  India  are 
of  opinion  that  the  Dravidian  is  an  isolated  family  of  langu- 
ages,  that  all  attempts  to  connect  them  with  other  lingui- 
stic families  outside  India  are  regarded  as  failures,  as  also 
attempts  to  establish  a  closer  relationship  with  the  Indo- 
European  family.  They  mention  several  particulars  in 
which  the  Dravidian  languages  are  supposed  to  have  influen- 
ced Aryan  inflection. 

//    Alleged  influence  of  the  Dravidian  Languages  on 
Aryan  Inflection. 

1  The  replacement  in  Classical  Sanskrit  of  verbal  ten- 
ses by  participles  generally,  and  the  increasing  use  of  con- 
junctive participles  in  subordinate  sentences.  The  reply  to 
this  is  that  the  participles  which  the  Aryan  languages  are 
said  to  have  imitated  are  formed  after  the  Aryan  model  and 
with  Aryan  materials,  as  will  appear  in  the  course  «f  this 
paper. 

2  It  is  stated  in  the  Linguistic  Survey  that  the  periphra- 
stic future  in  Sanskrit  is  based  on  the  Dravidian   model.     It 


Ixxii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

is  overlooked  here  that  there  was  a  periphrastic  future  in 
the  Avesta.  Indo-Germanic  philologists  carry  back  the 
origin  of  such  formations  to  the  pre-ethnic  period. 

3  It  is  stated  that   the  active   past  participle  krtavant 
is  based  on  the  Tamil  model  seydavan.     Here  also  the  Aves- 
tic  parallel  is   overlooked  ;  the   form    krtavant  has  its   roots 
in  the  Indo-Iranian  period.     If  the  various  forms  which  the 
masculine   nominative   singular  of  the    demonstrative  pro- 
noun  assumes  in  the    Dravidian   languages  be  examined,  it 
turns  out  that  such  Dravidian  language   imitates  the  Aryan 
present   participle   with   which  it  is  most   familiar.     Tamil 
avan   imitates   the   Vedic  bhuran;  the   Badaga  and  the   old 
Kanarese  avam   imitates   the  Magadhi   bharam ;  the   Telugu 
vandu   and     Madras    Gondi  ondu    imitates  Varamci's  bhx 
ranto  very   common   in   Pali;  the  Kui  Eanju    imitates  the 
Avestic  form  baras.     Further,   it  also   appears   that  the  Dra- 
vidian declension  in  n  for   names  of  rational  beings  and  the 
declension  in  t  for  the  names  of  irrational   things  correspont 
to  the  masculine  bharan  and  the  neuter  bharat;  while  mani 
Dravidian  case   postpositions  are   merely  loans   from   Pn 
krit. 

4  In  the  last  two  instances,  Dravidian  forms  whicl 
must  have  come  into  existence  within  the  last  2500  years 
are  stated  to  have  served  as  models  to  forms  which  are  at 
least  5000  years  old.  In  order  to  ascertain  the  relative  anti- 
quity of  forms  we  should  know  what  forms  were  in  use  in 
the  earliest  stage  of  the  development  of  Dravidian  langua- 
ges, what  changes  have  taken  place  in  them  since  then,  and 
bow  these  changes  have  been  brought  about.  It  is  also  ne- 
cessary to  know  what  were  the  Aryan  vernaculars  spoken  in 
India,  prior  to  and  about  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  Era. 

777"     Old  Aryan   Vernaculars. 

1  The  antiquity  of  the  Vedic  dialects.  Thibaut's  esti- 
mate of  1200  B.  G,  Jacobi-Tilak's  estimate  of  4000  B.  cJ 
MacDonell's  estimate  of  800  B.  C.  Grierson's  estimate  of  2000 
B.  C.  adopted  as  a  working  hypothesis 

2  Indo-Iranian  period  taken  as  2500  to  3000  B.  C. 

3  Prakritic    dialects.— The   earliest   specimens   of  Pra- 


Dravidian.  lxxHI 

kritic  language  in  the  Asoka   inscriptions  of  250  B.  C.    Four 
points  noted  : — 

(1)  The  extensive  use   of  causal   formations  with  the 

interposed  p. 

(2)  The  corrupt    pronunciation  of  the   Sanskrit  con- 

junct consonant  tv  as  tp. 

(3)  The  use   of  the   so-called  adverbial    present  parti- 

ciple. 

(4)  The  absolute  indifference  to  the  final  vowel  in  many 

cases  in  the  inscriptions. 

4  Pallava  Prakrit  inscriptions  of  the  early  Christian 
Centuries  in  the  Telugu  countries.  The  use  of  the  Prakritic 
future  in — ejja,  and  of  the  conjunctive  participles  in — tvna 
and  tunam. 

5  Vararuci's  Prakrtaprakasa,  1st  Century  B.  C.  Lite- 
rature in  the  Maharastri  Prakrit, — Kaocayana's  Pali  gram- 
mar.    Buddhist  canonical  works. 

6  Canda's  Prakritalaksanam-The  tradition  in  regard 
to  the  redaction  of  the  canonical  works  of  the  Jains  inArdha- 
magadhl  at  oouncil  of  Vallabhi  in  the  5th  Century  A.  D. 

IV    Dravidian  Languages. 

1  Tamil  has  a  literature  older  than  the  oldest  Tamil  in- 
scriptions which  begin  only  from  the  7th  Century  A.  D.  This 
literature  is  referred  by  some  to  the  3rd  or  2nd  Century  A.  D. 
Marked  difference  between  the  old  and  the  modern  Tamil. 

2  Malayalam.  Old  inscriprions  found  in  Malabar  are 
wholly  in  Tamil.  Inscriptions  in  Malayalam  and  Malaya- 
lam literature  are  quite  recent. 

3  Kanarese  inscriptions  begin  in  the  6th  Century.  The 
earliest  literature  extant  cannot  be  referred  to  a  period  ear- 
lier than  the  5  th  Century. 

4  The  earliest  Teluyu  work  extant  is  referred  to  the  11th 
century,  but  the  inscriptions  begin  earlier,  one  of  them  being 
referred  to  the  7th  or  8th  century. 

V     Tense  Suffixes  in  Dravidian. 
A.   Tamil. 
1      Vprbal  bases.     Definition  of  M  hages. 
10 


Ixxiv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

2  Acoent.  Classification  of  verbs  accented  on  the  final 
vowel.     Classification  of  other  verbs. 

3  Present  tense  suffixes  kirn  and  kinru,  corruptions  in 
colloquial  language  and  vulgar  speech. 

4  Past  tense  suffixes  t,  d  and  n. 

5  Future  tense  suffixes  pp,  v  and  b. 

6  Participles,  the  Infinitive  and  miscellaneous. 

B.  Old  Tamil. 

1  Tolkappiyam. 

2  Past  tense  formed  as  in  modern  Tamil. 

3  The  K  Aorist. 

4  The  T  Aorist. 

5  The  P  conjugation  which  furnishes  the  modern  future 
tense. 

6  The  use  of  the  2nd  person  singular  Imperative  as 
the  basis  of  new  verbal  formations. 

7  The  absence  of  kiru  and  the  rare  use  of  kinru. 

8  Participles,  the  Infinitive  and  the  Subjunctive. 

C.  Malayalam 

1  The  use  of  participles  as  finite  verbs  without  per- 
sonal endings. 

2  The  present  tense  suffix  kunnu- 

3  The  past  and  the  future  formed  as  in  Tamil. 

D.  Kanarese. 

1  Extension  of  u  bases  in  modern  Kanarese. 

2  The  present  tense  suffixes  uta  and  utta.  Criticism 
of  Kittel'8  view  that  the  final  e  of  the  present  tense  connotes 
emphasis. 

3  The  archaic  present  tense  in  dap  or  tap,  and  the 
ciange  t»f  meaning  which  it  is  supposed  to  have  undergone 
in  its  present  corrupted  form  without  either  of-the  conso- 
nants d  or  p  of  the  suffix. 

4  The  past  tense  suffix  d  changed  in  some  cases  to  t. 

5  The  future  tense  in  v. 

G    Old  special  formations  in  hum  and -0um, 


Orm  luv 

7     The  partioiples  and  the  Infinitive. 
E.  Telv 

1  Extension  of  u  bases  by  the  addition  of  the  suffix  rhu, 
to  all  other  bases  It. 

2  Two  present  tense   suffixes.    (1)  chun  or  fan    (2)   tu. 

3  Four  past  tense  suffixes.  1  yu,  2  iV^u,  3  inU,  4  en  from 
yan,  this  last  used  only  in  the  3rd  person  singular  and 
neuter  plural  without  personal  endings. 

4  Two  future  suffixes  e  and  eda,  having  alternative 
forms  in  the  3rd  person  singular  and  neuter  plural. 

5  One  Aorist  tense  in  du  (old  hi),  the  forms  in  the  3rd 
person  being  derived  from  the  base  without  any  tense  suffix. 

6  Participles,  the  Infinitive  and  miscellaneous. 

F.     General     Remarks- 

1  Great  changes  in  the  conjugation  of  verbs  since  the 
pro-Dravidian  period. 

2  Loss  of  the  K  aorist  in  Telugu  and  Kanarese  leaving 
only  a  few  verbal  bases  in  gu. 

3  Loss  of  the  t  aorist  in  all  the  languages  except  Telugu. 

4  Loss  of  the  p  tense  in  Telugu,  leaving  only  infini- 
tives in  pan  and  some  active  verbs  ending  in  pu. 

5  Loss  of  the  iya  past  tense  in  Tamil. 

6  Extension  of  Telugu  verbal  stems  by  the  formative 
suffix  chu,  and  Kanarese  causal  stems  by  8U< 

7  Formation  of  new  present  tenses  with  kirn,  and 
kinru  in  Tamil,  with  tu  and  turn  or  chun  in  Telugu,  and  with 
ufa  or  uttu  in  Kanarese. 

8  Formation  of  new  future  to  Telugu  with  i  and 
■do. 

9  All  the  new  forms  enumerated  above  appear  to  be 
based  on  the  model  of  grammatical  forms  in  Prakrit  and 
Sanskrit,  and  formed  with  materials  taken  from  those  lan- 
guages. The  same  remark  applies  to  some  of  the  old  forms  in 
the  pro-Dravidian  stage. 

17.   Derivation  of  the  Dravidian  $uj&it 
A.   Certain   \fiaoellan*OU4  forms 
1  Telugu   chu   and    Kanarese    mi.    Caldwell's    identifica- 
tion of  these  formative  Btlffixei  w  ith    Tamil    kku   rejected    as 


lxxvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

being  based  on  the  equation  of  wrong  elements.  Suggested 
identification  of  these  suffixes  with  the  Atmanepada  suffixes 
of  the  2nd  person  singular  imperative  in  Pali  and  Maharastrl 
respectively,  viz.  ssu  and  su. 

2  Suggested  identification  of  the  Dravidian  causal  suf- 
fixes i,  vi,  pi  with  the  Indo-Iranian  suffixes,  i,pi.  The  view 
of  Caldwell  that  the  Dravidian  causals  may  be  derived  from 
the  Dravidian  verbal  nouns  with  the   addition   of  the   verb  i 

to  give. 

3  Identification  of  the  Telugu  benedictive  suffix  tan 
with  tarn,  the  suffix  of  the  Atmanepada  singular  2nd  person 
imperative  in  Pali. 

4  Identification  of  the  Telugu  benedictive  suffix  edum 
with  the  Tamil-Malayalam  suffix  in  phrases  like  avan  vala- 
iium  or  valenum  which  is  taken  to  be  a  corruption  of  the 
anomalous  veridum,  'it  is  required'  but  appears  to  be  derived 
really  from  the  Vedic  suffixes  in  the  gerundives  of  the  form 
susrusenyam. 

5  Identification  of  Tamil  benedictive  suffixes, i,iya,iyai 
with  the  forms  which  the  Vedic  suffix  ly  takes  in  the  verbs 
bhunjita,  bhunjiyatam,  bhunjiran. 

6  Identification  of  the  Telugu  future  suffix  e  with  the 
ending  of  the  Parasmaipada  Potentials  in  Prakrit  which 
appear  to  have  been  of  the  same  form  bhave  in  all  persons  and 
numbers  for  which  forms  are  available. 

7  Suggested  identification  of  the  Telugu  future  suffix 
eda  with  the  ejja  and  ejja  which  are  stated  by  Vararuci 
(  vii  20,  34)  to  have  been  used  as  finals  in  the  definite  future; 
ja,  being  pronounced  dentally  in  Telugu,  may  become  da ; 
instances  of  such  change. 

8  If  these  identifications  are  correot,  the  remarkable 
fact  comes  out  that  the  immigrants  from  the  north  were  in 
the  habit  of  adding  Aryan  suffixes  to  Dravidian  verbs 

B.     Past  tense  suffixes. 
1    The  suffixes  tva  and  ya  in   classical   Sanskrit.     The 
forms  tvi,  tva,  tvaya,  tya,  ya   in  the  Vedic  dialects ;  and  thwa, 
twa,  ta  and  ya  in  the  Avesta.     The  changed  forms  in  Prakrit 
are: 

(a)  dua  in  SaursenI  for  two  verbs  gam,   kr. 


Dravidx  lixvli 

(/>)  tfiruim  and  tuna  in  the  Pallava  inscriptions. 

(r)  ////,  tta,  (tum,ppi  in  Arsa  Praki 

(</)  ya  appears  with  a  long  vowel   in   two-thirds   of  the 

number  of  forms  in  the   Vedas.     It   becomes  ia  in 

Prakrit  and  i  in  the  Apabhrarhsa. 

2  The  conjunctive  participle  of  bases  ending  in  u  in  all 
Dravidian  languages  are  formed  by  suffixing  i  to  the  base 
which  then  loses  the  final  u.  This  corresponds  to  the  ending 
of  conjunctive  participles  in  Apabhrarhsa  and  most  of  the 
neo-Aryan  vernaculars. 

3  The  form  kottya  in  Telugu  to  which  personal  endings 
are  affixed  is  on  the  same  model  as  the  majority  of  vedic 
forms  in  yU. 

4  The  old  Tamil  forms  iya  are  bases  on  the  Prakritic 
model  in  ia. 

5  The  Tamil-Telugu  suffix  /aw  corresponds  to  the  Ardha- 
magadhi  suffix  yanam  which  has  become  i-ne  in  Gujarafi, 
and  i/iu,  in  etc.,  in  several  Bhill  and  other  dialects  spoken  in 
Gujarat!  and  the  adjoining  parts. 

The  view  of  Sir  Herbert  Risley  who  considers  the  ne  of 
the  Gujarati  suffix  to  be  a  remnant  of  lane  and  of  L.  P.  Tessi- 
tori  who  considers  it  to  be  a  corrupted  remnant  of  kane 
examined  and  rejected. 

6  Telugu  suffix  ittu  identified  with  the  Arsa  Prakrit 
suffix  ttu  which  will  become  ittu  after  consonantal  bases. 
Tamil  suffixes  ttu  and  tu  also  fall  under  this  head. 

7  Kanarese  du  and  Tamil  ndu  which  is  perhaps  merely 
(In  nasalised  to  preserve  the  medial  pronunciation  may  be 
compared  to  Saurasfini  dun  which  like  ia  may  drop  the  final  a 
and  become  du. 

C.  Present  tense  suffixes. 

1  Tamil  kirn  identified  with  the  Sanskrit  root  kr  "  to 
do"  which  is  used  largely  in  the  neo-Aryan  vernaculars  as 
an  auxiliary  verb  to  form  conjunctive  participles. 

Caldwell's  and  Sten  Konow's  explanations  of  this  suffix 
examined. 

2  Tamil  kinru  and  Malayalam  kunnu.  Identified 
w  th  Prakrit  verb  kuiui  arising  from  krtiu,  the   Sanskrit    verb 


Ixxviii  First  Oriental  Conference, 

kr  with    the   oonjugational  suffix.     Telugu   pleonastic   konu 
referred  to  the  same  origin. 

Neo-Aryan  analogies.  Explanations  of  Hoernle  and 
Tessitori. 

3  Telugu  ta.  Probably  tarn  the  genitive  plural  ter- 
mination of  the  present  participle  in  Prakrit. 

4  Telugu  chun,  tun.  Usual  explanation  referring  these 
to  the  Malayalam   kun  questioned. 

5  Kanarese  uta,  utta.  Suggested  identification  with 
huttam  and  hutto,  two  of  the  forms  of  the  present  participle 
of  bhu  "to  be"  in  the  Maharastrl  Prakrit. 

D.  Future  tense  suffixes* 

1  Dravidian  p,  b,  v  and  its  correspondence  in  meaning 
and  in  use  with  the  neo-Aryan  b  derived  from  the  gerun- 
dive suffix  tavya.  Suggested  derivation  of  the  Dravidian 
p,  b,  v,  from  the  Vedic-Avestic  gerundive  suffix  tva.  Possible 
affiliation  of  Kanarese  dap  with   tavya. 

2  Suggested  derivation  of  the  suffixes  indicating  quality 
or  condition  from  the  Sanskrit  tvam. 

E.  Aorist  suffixes. 

1  Dravidian  ku.  Perhaps  derived  from  the  Sanskrit 
kr  which  assumes  the  form  ku  in  colloquial  Tamil  in  the 
verbs  irukku,  kufakku.     Hindi  analogies. 

2  Dravidian  t.  Possible  analogies  in  the  Vedic  and 
Avestic  dialects. 

Conclusion. 
If  the  above  identifications  or  even  a  portion  of  them  be 
accepted,  it  necessarily  follows  that  the  so-called  Dravidian 
languages  have  undergone  vast  structural  changes  since  they 
came  to  be  spoken  by  immigrants  from  the  north.  This  paper 
refers  only  to  tense-suffixes;  but  a  consideration  of  the  per- 
sonal endings  and  of  the  vocabulary  brings  out  the  same  tale. 


Old  Telugu  Literature.      By  K.  SlTARAMAIYA. 

The  Andhras  are  an   old    race   having   references   about 
them  In  many   ancient   works  like    the   Aitareya    Brahmanq 


DravMi  Ixxlx 

nn'l  the  MahdbhUrata,     They    became  powerful    and    reigned 
over  vast  territories.     They  can  be  traced  back  to  1000  B.  C. 
The  language  of  this  race  was   originally   a   spoken    dialect 
and  the  alphabet  was  invented    later.     From    indications   in 
some  Sanskrit  works,  the  Telugu  script  appears  to  be   older 
than  the    Sanskrit  one,    though   some    authorities  maintain 
that  it    was    modelled     after  that   of   Sanskrit.     Paisacl,   a 
vernacular  Prakrit  which    is  now  extinct   and  which   once 
possessed  a  glorious  literature,  is  considered  to  be  the  mother 
of  the  Dravidian  sisters. Telugu, though  a  Dravidian  language, 
has  so  much  transformed  itself  that  almost  all  Telugu  gram- 
marians speak,  of  Sanskrit  as  its  prakrti,   Telugu    has  three 
names  in  vogue-w>.Telugu,Tenugu  and  Andhrabhasa.    Paisacl 
literature  should  have  served  as  one  of  the  sources  of  Telugu 
literature.     But  the  influence  of  Sanskrit  literature    is  para- 
mount, and    in  the   domain   of   prosody  Kanarese   influence 
may  be  identified.     Religion,  being    the  first   inspiring   topic 
of  any  poetry,  should  have  been  such  even  in  Telugu    litera- 
ture, and  almost  the  whole  range  of  later   Telugu    literature 
has  religion  for  its   background.    Though  prose    is  of  a  later 
origin  in  any  literature,  oldest   Telugu  works   are    in  mixed 
prose  and  poetry  but  this  prose  has  all  the  qualities  of  poetry 
except  rhyme.  1500  A.  D.  may  be    considered    as   the   lower 
limit  of  old  Telugu   literature,   and  Nannayabhattu   may   be 
taken  as   the    pivot,  because   he  stands   at  the    threshold    of 
history.     Nannayabhattu  is  praised  as    the    traditional    first 
Telugu  poet,  but  there  is  ample  evidence    to  prove    the   con- 
trary.    Some  literature  before  him  has    been  recently    found 
out,which  consists  of  an  inscription  ascribed  to  Yuddhamallu 
who  lived  in  the  ninth  century   A.    D.    and   a   metrical  com- 
position Kit m~t rasa mbhnni   by    Nannecoda,  a   Calukya   king 
who  lived  in  the  tenth  century  A.  D.     Both  of  them   are  full 
of  linguistic  data  to  prove  their  pre-existence.  Their  perusal 
at  once  proves  to  the  reader,   that  they   belong   to   a    period 
when  there  was  greater   relationship   between   Telugu    and 
its  Dravidian  sisters,  than  at  present.     Gradually    Sanskrit 
iterature  began  to  wield   its   influence.     The   whole    period 
n  the  earliest    Telugu  poetry  to    1500   A.    D.    may    be 
roughly  oalled  the  a   e   of   translation.     Hhnnit-i,  Rhagtwata, 
luim<ii/<itHi    and    many    Sanskrit    Puranns    were     translated 


Ixxx  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Later,  translation  gave  its  place  to  adaptation,  and  Kavyas 
took  the  place  of  Puranas.  From  a  combination  of  the 
Puranic  and  Kavya  styles  a  fresh  literary  type  called  the 
"  Prabandha "  was  evolved,  and  it  was  perfected  by  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  This  Prabandha  style 
held  the  field  nearly  for  three  centuries  till  the  end  of  the 
last  century.  The  literature  of  these  three  centuries  is 
purely  imitative,  and  lacks  in  originality.  A  reaction  has 
set  in  and  poets  have  begun  to  take  license,  sometimes 
violating  even  the  laws  of  metre.  Drama,  Novel,  Essays, 
and  almost  all  types  of  literary  composition  are  being  at- 
tempted with  some  degree  of  success,  and  the  present  is  the 
period  of  renaissance  to  Telugu  literature. 


Telugu  language  and  literature.  By  G.  SOMANNA. 

1  Extent  of  Telugu  language:  Area  and  population 

2  Antiquity  of  the  Andhra  race:  References  i 
Aitareya  Brahamna,  the  Ramayana  and  Mahabharata  an 
writings  of  Megasthenes. 

3  Derivation  of  names  Andhra  and  Telugu. 

4  Contribution  by  Andhras  to  Sanskrit  culture:  Bhava- 
bhuti,  Madhava,  Vidyaranya,  Jagannatha  Pandita,  Vidya- 
natha,  Mallinathasuri,  Caitanya  and    Vallabhacarya. 

5  Affinities  of  Telugu  with  other  languages:  Scythian, 
Dravidian,  and  Sanskritic. 

6  Sanskritic  element  in  Telugu:  Substantives,  Pro- 
nouns, Compounds,  Verbs  and  Adverbs. 

7  Classification  of  Telugu  words:  Tatsama,  Tadbhava 
Desya  and  Anyadesya. 

8  Earliest  literature:  First  Telugu  work  and  first  Telugu 
grammar;  the  influence  of  these  on  subsequent  literature. 

9  Grammatical  controversy :  Classical  Telugu  and 
modern  Telugu  ;  relative  merits  and  demerits. 

10.  Subsequent  literature:  Prabandha,  Drama,  Novel, 
Journal,  and  Periodical. 


: 


Dravidian.  Ixxxi 

The    Pronunciation  of   the  hard  /•  in  Dravidian    langu- 
ages. By  C.  P.  Venkatabama  Aiyar. 

The  aim  of  this  paper  is  to  determine  the  exact  place  of 
articulation  of  the  consonant  known  as  the  hard  r  in  Dravi- 
dian languages,  and  ascertain  also  the  manner  in  which  it 
is  articulated. 

This  has  al  ways  been  a  moot  point  in  Dravidian  philology. 
Philologists  hold  conflicting  views  on  this  point.  Some  think 
that  the  hard  r  is  only  a  rougher  variety  of  the  lingual  r 
while  others  hold  that  it  is  a  characteristic  Dravidian  con- 
sonant which  is  pronounced  tr.  Nor  is  the  evidence  furnish- 
ed by  grammars  in  the  several  Dravidian  languages  quite 
conclusive.  The  author  of  a  grammar  in  Kanarese  thinks 
that  r  and  r  have  the  same  place  of  articulation.  The 
author  of  a  grammar  in  Malayalam  classifies  them  under 
cerebral  consonants.  In  Telugu  the  hard  r  still  exists  in 
many  words  of  Dravidian  stock,  which  are  current  even  to 
this  day  in  the  same  form  and  meaning  in  other  Dravidian 
languages  also. 

The  evidence  from  orthography  is  very  interesting  study, 
as  it  helps  us  to  establish  the  fact  that  r  and  r  are  different. 
The  hard  r  which  occurs  in  Old  Telugu  and  in  Old  Kanarese 
has  been  replaced  in  very  many  cases  by  the  lingual  r, 
though  at  one  time  the  hard  r  did  exist  in  these  languages 
in  old  orthography,  as  well  as  in  the  pronunciation  to  a 
certain  extent.  But  there  is  a  tendency  to  ignore  the  hard 
r  or  often  to  confuse  it  with  the  lingual  r  due  chiefly  to  a 
lack  of  proper  appreciation  of  the  sound  values  of  these 
consonants.  This  perhaps  accounts  for  the  curious  appella- 
tion by  which  some  people  would  denote  the  hard/".  They 
speak  of  it  as  the  big  r,  as  opposed  to  the  lingual  r  which  is 
named  the  little  r.  There  is  no  point  jn  such  an  unscienti- 
fic nomenclature. 

The  hard /•  does  not   exist   in   Sanskrit.     It  exists   only 

in  the  Dravidian   languages   and  hence  the    investigation  in 

eot  of  the   pronunciation  of  this   consonant   is   confined 

to  *he    sifting' of  the  available    materials  to    the    Dravidian 

languages  bearing  upon  this  point 

11 


Ixxxii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

The  materials  that  exist  for  this  purpose  are  extensive 
enough  and  go  back  to  very  early  times  in  the  history  of  the 
Dravidian  languages. 

(1)  There  is  first  of  all  the  testimony  of  ancient 
grammarians  whose  direct  statements  about  the 
sounds  in  the  language  are  valuable  for  the  in- 
vestigation in  phonology.  Especially,  Tamil  gram, 
mar,  historically  studied,  throws  considerable  light 
upon  the  problem.  The  rules  in  the  Tamil  gram- 
mars, as  well  as  the  interpretation  of  such  rules 
by  different  commentators,  go  to  show  that  r  is  a 
peculiar  Dravidian  consonant  which  exists  in  the 
languages  from  very  early  times. 

(2)  The  indirect  evidence  of  spelling  is  also  as  relia- 
ble as  the  statement  of  phoneticians.  Orthogra- 
phy brings  out,  especially  in  inscriptions,  certaii 
special  phonetic  features. 

(3)  An  important  criterion  is  metre.  In  the  Dravi- 
dian languages,  words  containing  hard  r  do  not 
rhyme  with  words  containing  the  lingual  r.  Bui 
in  consonantal  assonance  the  hard  r  generally 
rhymes  with  breathed  stops. 

(4)  In  common  with  the  plosives,  the  hard  r  whei 
doubled  sounds  as  a  breathed  consonant.  Th« 
real  pronunciation  of  stop  consonants  is  hearc 
only  in  such  words  where  they  are  doubled. 
When  they  occur  medially  and  singly,  they  are 
spirants  and  partake  of  the  nature  of  voiced  con- 
sonants. 

(5)  The  hard  r  is  never  used  as  an  absolute  final, 
whereas  the  lingual  r  is  absolute  final. 

(6)  In  words  where  the  hard  r  occurs  as  the  final 
sound,  an  enunciatory  vowel  comes  in  as  an  off- 
glide  to  silence.  In  this  aspect  the  hard  r  be- 
haves as  a  stop  consonant. 

(7)  The  stop  consonants  p,  t,  c,  etc.,  shorten  the  vo- 
wel quantity  of  the  final  enunciatory  vowels  in 
dissyllablic  words.     In  vowel    sandhi   this  vowel, 


Dravidian.  Ixxxiii 

which  is  not  very  audible,  is  elided-     Such  vowels 
are  elided  in  sandhi  when  they  occur  after  hard  r 
as  well.     No   such   final    enunciatory  vowel  is  re 
quired  to  pronounce  final  lingual  r. 

(8)  The  place  of  articulation  of  the  hard  r  is  given  in 
a  separate  rule  of  grammar,  distinct  from  those 
in  which  the  various  other  consonants  are  des- 
cribed. This  would  suggest  that  the  hard  r  has  a 
distinct  and  well-defined  place  of  articulation. 

(9)  r  being  a  rolled  sound,  a  double  r  in  words  is 
impossible,  whereas  double  r  is  very  common. 

(10)  Both  r  and  r  are  not  absolute  initials.  This  is 
the  only  point  in  which  they  apparently  agree. 
Bat  the  celebral  stop  also  is  not  absolute  initial 
in  Dravidian  languages.  Hence  this  proves  no- 
thing. 

(11)  The  several  pairs  of  words  of  one  syllable  having 
the  same  form  apparently,  but  differing  in  mean- 
ing according  as  they  contain  the  hard  r  or  the 
lingual  r,  in  the  Dravidian  languages,  establish 
the  distinction  between  them. 

(12)  In  the  combination  of  consonants,  the  hard  r 
combines  only  with  the  guttural  and  labial  stops, 
but  not  with  the  dental  or  the  oelebral  stops  pro- 
bably because  the  place  of  articulation  of  the  hard 
r  is  very  near  the  area  where  these  are  produced. 

(13)  The  hard  r  has  a  corresponding  nasal  n  which  is 
distinct  from  the  dental  nasal  and  functions  cha- 
racteristically as  an  absolute  final. 

(14)  The  past  participle  of  rm  . ble  verba, 
themes  ending  in  r  is  formed  by  reduplication  of 
the  /'  in  all  the  Dravidian  languages.  In  this 
matter  r  behaves  as  a  stop. 

(15)  In  Orthography  in  Tamil,  when  a  word  ending 
in  lingual  r  comes  in  contact  with  a  word  begin- 
ning with  a    stop    consonant    like  k.  c,  p.  the  stop 

.nd  is  doubled,  the    Inootninf  neing  in  the 


Ixxxiv  First   Oriental  Conference. 

nature  of  an  off-glide  from  one  manner  of  activity 
to  another.  No  such  glide  sound  is  audible  when 
r  is  followed  by  k,  c,  or  p. 

(16)  In  borrowings  from  Sanskrit  into  Tamil,  the 
dental  mute  before  the  other  explosives  in  such 
words  is  replaced  by  the  hard  r  in  Tamil. 

The  cumulative  effect  of  the  foregoing  investigation 
would  lead  to  the  irresistible  conclusion  (hat  the  hard  r  is 
an  alveolar  plosive ;  and  that  the  hard  r  and  its  correspond- 
ing nasal  with  which  the  enumeration  of  the  Tamil  conso- 
nantal system  ends,  are  characteristic  Dravidian  consonants, 
which  are  still  preserved  in  Tamil. 


VIII. -Philosophy. 

Vaisnavism  in  South  India  before  Ramanuja.  By  S. 
KRISHNASWAMI  AlYANGAR. 

The  history  of  Vaisnavism  before  Ramanuja  in  the 
Tamil  country  reaches  back  to  very  early  times.  Sir  R.  G. 
Bhandarkar,  in  his  book  on  V<iisn<trism  ^aivism  etc.,  con- 
tributed to  the  Encyclopaedia  of  Indo-Aryan  Research, 
has  taken  the  following  positions  in  respect  of  this  history. 
The  Vai9nava  religion  was  propagated  by  a  series  of  teachers, 
the  earlier  among  whom  are  generally  known  as  saints 
(Alvars),  and  the  later  of  them  teachers  ( Acaryas  ).  The 
latter  class  goes  back  five  generations  from  Ramanuja  for  its 
beginning,  and  the  former  class  begins  before  that  time  and 
counts  12  names  among  them.  In  regard  to  these  latter,  Sir 
Ramkrishna  takes  up  the  following  positions  : — 

1  That  Alvar  Kulasekhara  must  have   lived  some  time 

about  the  middle  of  the  12th  century; 

2  That,  in  consequence,  the   order    in  which    these  are 

usually  named  is  unreliable;  and 

3  That  the  earliest  of  these  Alvars  must  have  flourish- 

ed about  the  time  of  the  revival  of  Brahmanism  and 
Hinduism  in  the  north,  and  therefore  about  the  5th 
or  6th  century  A.  D.,  admitting  the  possibility,  how- 
ever, that  Vaisnavism  might  have  penetrated  to  the 
south  as  early  as  the  first  century  A.  D. 

An  examination  in  some  detail  of  these  positions  sepa- 
rately goes  to  prove  that  Alvar  Kulasekhara  must  have  lived 
long  anterior  to  the  12th  century  A.  D.  There  is  an  ins- 
cription of  A.  D.  1088  making  provision  for  the  recital  of  one 
of  his  works.  The  commendatory  verse  to  his  work 
PeruraalTiromoli  is  made  by  Manakkal  Nambi  four  genera- 
tions before  Ramanuja  On  other  general  historical  ground* 
Kulasekhara  may  have  to  be  ascribed  to  the  <Uh  or  7th  cen- 
tury A.  D. 

Tn  reeard  to  the  second  of  his  positions,  there  has  been  a 
traditional  order  recognised  f rom  the  days  of  Ram&nuj*   The 


lxxxv  First  Oriental   Conference. 

order  seems  to  have  been  regularised  and  put  into  its  present 
form  by  Vedanta  Desika  in  his  work  Prabandhasaram, 
which  seems  to  have  been  adopted  by  the  greater  hagiolo- 
gists who  were  followers  of  Desika.  But  the  question  has 
really  to  be  settled  not  on  the  details  of  history  preserved  by 
the  hagiologists,  but  by  a  study  of  their  own  works,  which 
in  many  cases,  provide  internal  evidence  for  ascribing  them 
to  particular  periods.  Examining  these  carefully,  we  can 
ascribe,  for  very  good  reasons,  the  last  of  the  traditional  Ti- 
rumangai  Alvar  to  somewhere  about  the  middle  of  the  8tl 
century,  Periyalvar  to  the  beginning  of  the  7th  century  an( 
the  early  Alvars,  Poygai  Alvar  and  his  two  companions,  t< 
the  age  of  the  Sangam  in  the  early  centuries  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  Neglecting  the  two  Alvars  whose  works  form 
comparatively  negligible  portion  of  the  Prabandham,  th< 
others  lend  themselves  to  this  classification  which  goes  a 
long  way  in  supporting  the  order,  such  as  is  recognised  by 
the  Vaisnavas,  whatever  errors  of  detail  may  be  discovered 
in  the  accounts  preserved  by  the  hagiologists.  In  regard  to 
Nammalvar  a  careful  examination  of  all  the  evidence  ad- 
duced goes  to  prove  that  he  must  be  given  a  place  imme- 
diately after  the  first  Alvars,  a  position  ascribed  to  him  in 
the  traditional  order. 

Apart  from  the  history  of  these  Alvars  merely,  there  are 
numbers  of  references  in  secular  literature  to  Vaisnavism, 
specially  in  the  work  of  the  Sangam  collection  called 
Paripadal.  There  is  a  clear  evidence  in  this  of  a  know- 
ledge of  the  Puranas  etc.,  and  of  the  Pancaratra  Agama; 
there  is  even  direct  reference  to  the  Saiva  Agamas.  On  a 
broad  review  of  the  information  that  is  available  in  early 
Tamil  literature,  it  comes  out  that  Vaisnavism  in  the  Tamil 
country  certainly  goes  back  to  the  commencement  of  the 
Christian  era  as  Sir  Ramkrishna  surmised  ;  and  the  form 
in  which  that  Vaisnavism  comes  to  our  notice  in  this  early 
literature  would  presume  an  anterior  history  for  this  Vais- 
navism, which  might  take  us  back  to  the  beginnings  of  its 
history  much  anterior  to  the  commencement  of  the  Chris- 
tian era.  This  investigation  raisos  various  other  issues  such 
as  the  date  of  the  Ramayana,   the   date    of  the    Mahabharata* 


Philosophy.  Ixixvii 

the  age  of  Manu,  each  one  of  which  will  have  to  be  investi- 
gated separately.  These  investigations  might  lead  to  con- 
siderable revision  of  the  views  at  present  holding  the  field 
on  many  of  these  particular  questions. 


Fallacies  in  Indian  Logic.     By  G.  C.  BHATE. 

1  The  definition  and  classification  of  fallacies  from 
the  logical  and  psychological  point  of  view. 

2  The  object  of  the  paper  is  to  bring  out  the  true  nature 
of  fallacies  of  Indian  logic  and  show  the  falsity  of  the  view 
which  compares  them  with  the  formal  fallacies  of  Aristotelian 
logic. 

3  The  similarity  and  peculiarity  of  Indian  analysis  of 
reasoning.  Its  admission  of  a  si/ty/e  type  of  Barbara,  hence 
no  moods  and  figures. 

4  Contrast  between  the  Aristotelian  and  Indian  presen- 
tation of  the  probative  force  of  an  argument;  the  Aristote- 
lian was  mathematical,  while  the  Indian  was  discursive  and 
dialectical.  Hence  the  importance  of  distribution  of  terms 
in  Aristotelian  syllogism  and  its  absence  in  Indian  syllogism. 

5  Meaning  and  significance  of  technical  terms  in  In- 
dian conception  of  reasoning.  The  force  of  the  argument 
depends  upon  the  right  or  wrong  reason. 

6  The  theory  of  fallacy  based  on  this  conception. 

7  Description  and  exemplification  of  the  five  funda- 
mental fallacies  of  Indian  logic- 

8  Their  similarities  and  dissimilarities. 

9  The  correct  conception  of  the  error  in  argument  from 
the  modern  point  of  view. 

10  All  the  Indian  fallacies  turn  out  to  be  cases  of 
material  fallacy,  where  either  the  major  or  the  minor  pre- 
miss is  wrong. 

11  Hence  the  simplicity  of  detection  of  fallacies  in 
Indian  Logic. 

it     Recognition  of  formal  fallacies  under  different  nai 
L3     Description  of  Chala,  Jati  and  Nigraha. 


Ixxxviii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

14  Stem  ambiguity  of  language  found  in  Chala- 

15  Petitio  principii  found   in  Annyonyasraya,   in  Pra- 
karanasama  and  in  one  sense  of  Asadharana. 

16  Irrelevancy  found  in  some  of  the  Nigrahastbanas. 

17  Conclusion. 


A  Note  on  Siva  and  Phallic  worship.  By  G.  K.  CHAN- 
DORKAR. 

Argument: — In  naming  certain  aboriginal  people,  the 
Jigveda  has  mentioned  only  the  totems  which  they  had  : 
Such  as  Aja,  Bheda,  Srga,  Paravata,  and  others. 

Sivah,  Bhalanas,  Pakthus  have  also  been  mentioned  in 
the  same. 

*  Siva  '  in  Sanskrit  means  4  Sisna'-phallus.  Hence  Sivah 
were  the  people  who  had  phallus  as  their  totem  : 

We  have  in  two  places  'Sisnadevah'  mentioned  in  the 
Rgveda,  as  the  enemies  of  the  Aryas.  'Sivah'  and  Sisna- 
devah, therefore  must  be  the  same — meaning  people  with  a 
totem  of  phallus- 

Hence  we  have  conclusive  evidence  to  prove  the  co- 
existence of  phallic- worship  among  the  aboriginal  tribes 
with  the  Vedic  Ilsis — a  conclusion  not  countenanced  by 
Dr.  Muir. 


4  Trividham    Anumanam  '    or  A  Study    in  Nyaya  Sutra 
I.  i.  5.  By  A.  B.  DHRUVA. 

1  Nyaya-Sutra  I.  i,  5  as  interpreted  in  : — 

(1)  Vatsyayana's  Nyayahhaxya 

(2)  Uddyotakara's  Nyayavartiku 

(3)  Vacaspatimisra's  NyayatatparyatiW. 

(4)  Isvarakrsna's  SankhyakarikZl 

(5)  Gaudapada's  S.  K.  Bhasya 

(6)  MSthara-Vrtti 

(7)  PurvamlmcliksSbhasya  of  Sabarasvamin 

(8)  AnuyogddvSra. 

2  General  uncertainty  among  commentators  : — 


Ph'lntnphi/  Ixxxir 

While  there  is  practically  complete  unanimity  a*  re**.,. 
the  names  of  the  three  types   of  Anum&oa,  there  are  serioni 
ditTerences    in    respect  of   what    the  name-  arp  intended    to 
convey.  Thus  : — 

(1)  cpta?r  may  mean  inference  from    a   cause,   or  simply 

inference  from  former  experience, "or  even  recogni- 
tion from  a  formerly  observed  mark: 

(2)  Jilwi; may  mean   an    inference   from    effect  or  infe- 

rence from  a  part,  or  inference  of  one  member  of  a 
pair  of  correlates  from  the  other,  or  a  totally  diffe- 
rent type  of  inference,  viz.  inference  by  exclusion; 

(3)  flWlwjciUti  may  mean  inference  based   on  mere  like- 

ness or  uniformity  of  experience,  without  causa- 
tion at  its  back,  or  it  may  mean  inference  of  super- 
sensible truths  through  abstract  generalities. 

Gotama  himself  has  borrowed,  the  terminology  of  the 
Sutra  (1,  i,  5)  from  "NaiySyikas"  who  were  the  ancient  Ml- 
mamsakas.  Proof  of  this,  and  of  the  antiquity  of  Indian 
Logic  generally.  Importance  of  the  Jain  tradition  about 
the  composition  of  the  Agamas,  and  its  bearing  upon  the 
question  at  issue.     Results  summarized  : 

(1)  The  first  glimmer  of  the  light  of  Indian  Logic  be- 
longs to    the  Pre-Buddhistic  age  of  the  Tarsads' 

[%)  The  early  beginnings  of  a  systematic  art  of  Logic 
belongs  to  the  latter  part  of  the  same  age. 

(3)  The  art  tends  to  become  a  science  in  the  period  of 
early  Buddhism  and  its  contemporary  Brah:na- 
nism. 

(4>  It  has  established  itself  as  a  science  before  300 
B.C. 

The  results  of  Brahmanical  thought  in  this  depart- 
ment, as  linked  with  Theism  and  Realism,  get 
summed  up  in  the  Nyaya  Sutras  of  Gotama. 
similar  work  of  Jain  and  Buddhist  logic 
carried  on  in  harmony  with  their  own  religious 
and  philosophical  dogmas  is  represented  in  the 
responding  fragments    of  tl  and  But: 

literatures. 


to  First  Oriental  Conference. 

(6)  Gotama's  Sutras — not  necessarily  all  their  contents, 
some  ot  which  are  earlier — belong  to  the  latter 
half  of  the  Pre-Christian  Sutra  period.  The  work 
may  be  dated  somewhere  about  200  B.  C,  in  the 
age  of  the  Ahnikas  or  Daily  Lessons,  like  the 
Navahnikas  of  Patanjali's  Vyakarana  Maha- 
bhasya. 

3.  Comparison  of  the  commentaries  inter  se.  The  light 
it  throws  upon  the  chronological  relations  of  (1)  Vatsyayana 
(2)  Mathara  and  (3)  Anuyoga.  A  passage  of  Anuyoga.  Prio- 
rity of  Mathara  to  Anuyoga.  The  dates  of  Sastitantra,  the 
Sankhyakarika,  the  Matharavrtti  (all  the  three  referred  to  in 
Anuyoga.)  Takakusu — Belvalkar — Keith  controversy.  Their 
view  discussed.  Vatsyayana  earlier  than  Mathara  ;  Mathara- 
vrtti may  with  a  great  deal  of  probability  be  referred  to  the 
first  century  A.  D.,  Vatsyayana  a  century  or  two  earlier. 
This  will  account  for  the  vast  development  of  the  Science  of 
Logic  which  took  place  in  the  interval  between  Vatsyayana 
and  Mathara.  The  date  of  Vatsyayana  not  a  settled  fact. 
Madhyamika  Philosophy  before  Nagarjuna  and  Lankavatara 
Sutra. 


'1   3T«fiqi^nrT:  t    (  3T  )    sn^RTT^    fl<WMi:    W^BRr:    SIT^TT: 

^  aim  ffa  ^,  "<  sTtair^^rai  T%jtf*F%  =g  i  3.  ^RTTf^^wwr:  ^  $m- 


Philosophy,  xci 


The  Yoglsvara  Yajnavalkya,   his   Life   and   Philosophy, 
Chronology  and  Contemporaries.   By  P.  B.  JOSHL 

It  is  generally  believed  that  Sankaracarya  was  the 
founder  of  the  School  of  Vedanta  Philosophy.  This  is  true 
to  some  extent,  but  it  is  not  literally  true  and  in  my  opinion 
Yajnavalkya  was,  ii  not  the  chief,  at  least  one  of  the 
original  founders  of  the  School  of  Brahma-vidya.  And  the 
great  Acarya  has  at  the  beginning  of  his  commentary  on 
Brhad&ranyakopanisad  indirectly  admitted  this  fact. 

Yajnavalkya  was  a  scholar  of  marvellous  genius  and 
high  attainments  and  as  a  matter  of  fact  he  was  acknow- 
ledged to  be  the  greatest  original  thinker  and  philosopher 
of  his  time  ;  and  that  is  the  reason  why  in  the  Upanisads, 
in  the  Puranas  and  in  the  Smrtis,  by  sages  like  Parasara 
and  others,  he  was  styled  Yoglsvara  or  the  Lord  of  Philoso- 
phers. It  is  therefore  sad  to  find  that  the  life  and  writings 
of  this  sage  of  gigantic  intellect  should  not  have  received 
a  wider  publicity  than  they  have  received  at  the  present 
moment.  As  the  information  about  Yajnavalkya  lies  scat- 
tered in  various  Sanskrit  works  such  as  the  Muhahhanitu, 
Upaniqads,  bataf.atha  Brahmana,  Bhagarnui,  J  7.*////,  Aditya, 
Bkanda  and  other  Puranas  and  Smrtis,  an  attempt  has 
been  made  in  this  paper,  on  the  authority  of  these  sources, 
to  give  a  connected  narrative  of  the  life  and  writings  of  this 
great  philosopher  and  law-giver  of  India. 

In  the  city  of  Mithila,  there  lived  a  pious  Brahmin 
named  Devarata  who  was,  owing  to  his  generosity,  nick- 
named Vaja  Seni  or  food-giver.  As  he  had  no  son,  he  per- 
formed many  sacrifices  and  as  the  result  of  his  piety,  he 
was  blessed  with  a  son  whom  he  named  Yajnavalkya. 
After  being  invested  with  the  sacred  thread,  Yajnavalkya 
Studied  the  Rgveda  under  Baskala,   the    Suma   and   Atharva 


xcii  hirst   Oriental    Confererwe. 

Vedas  under  Jaimini  and  Aruni  (Uddalaka)  and  the    Yajur- 
Veda  under  his  uncle  Vaisampayana. 

While  h9  was  st;iid"in^  under  Vaisampayana,  some  dis- 
agreement occurred  between  Yajnavalkya  and  his  uncle 
and  as  the  result  of  this  dispute,  he  left  his  uncle  and  went 
to  the  Himalayas  where  he  practied  psmance.  And  as  the 
result  of  his  penance  and  special  prayers,  the  God  of  Light 
was  pleased  with  him  and  he  became  inspired.  And  by  the 
favour  of  the  God  of  Light  Yajnavalkya  was  able  to  com- 
pose the  white  Yajur-Veda,  Satapatha  Brahmaria  and  other 
works  on  Hindu  law  and  philosophy.  All  the  mantras  in 
the  Yajur-Veda  of  Yajnavalkya  are  most  systematically 
arranged  aud  they  are  not  mixed  here  and  there  with  the 
Brahmanas  as  is  the  case  with  the  old  Yajur-Veda.  And  for 
this  reason  as  well  as  for  the  superiority  of  its  philosophy, 
the  Yajur-Veda  of  Yajnavalkya  came  to  be  styled  as  Sukla 
or  bright,  as  the  Taittirlyas  were  called  Krsna  or  black. 
Yajnavalkya  divided  the  white  Yajur-Veda  into  fifteen 
branches  such  as  Kanva,  Madhyandina,  Jabala,  etc.,  and  all 
of  these  came  to  be  called  Vajasaneyins. 

Yajnavalkya  had  two  wives  named  Maitreyl  and  Katya- 
yani  and  the  latter  bore  him  three  sons,  named  Candra- 
kanta,  Mahamegha  and  Vijaya.  Maitreyi  was  highly  edu- 
cated and  before  his  departure  to  forest,  at  her  special  re- 
quest, Yajnavalkya  expounded  to  her  the  doctrine  of 
Brahma-vidya  ;  and  his  philosophy  is  seen  at  its  best  in  his 
dialogues  with  Maitreyi  and  Gargl  and  also  with  Janaka 
and  Sakalya. 

King  Janaka  had  organised  a  sacrifice  to  which  learned 
Brahmins  were  invited  and  he  had  offered  a  gift  of  a  thou- 
sand cows  to  anyone  who  was  the  most  expert  in  the  know- 
ledge of  Brahma-vidya  As  no  one  accepted  the  challenge 
Yajnavalkya  got  up  and  asked  his  pupils  to  take  away  the 
cows.  His  claim  to  be  the  Brahmana  (  expert  in  the  know- 
ledge of  Brahma  )  was  disputed  by  the  other  sages  unless 
and  until  he  gave  satisfactory  replies  to  their  queries.  And 
Yajnavalkya  was  able  to  accomplish  this.  In  reply  to  Gargi's 
question  about  cidakUsa  and  its  abode,  Yajnavalkya  answer- 
ed '  Cidakr.'"  -  pervades  above  and  below  this  Universe.     It  is 


Philo.tn/jfuj.  iriii 

imperishable.  It  is  neither  large  nor  small,  neither  long  nor 
short.  It  is  different  from  the  organs  and  living  creatures.  It 
does  not  affect  and  is  not  affected.  It  is  self-refulgent  and 
free  from  darkness.  It  is  omnipresent,  free  from  all  desires.  It 
is  knowledge  incarnate — it  is  Para- Br  a  hnv  in.  By  its  will  the 
Sun  and  the  Moon  shine  in  the  sky,  and  the  rivers  flow. 
Those  who  do  not  know  this  Brahman  and  perform  sacrifices 
and  other  rituals,  perform  them  invain  ;  because  without  the 
knowledge  of  this  Brahman  all  these  become  perishable.  And 
after  death  these  persons  are  born  and  reborn.  But,  those 
who  know  that  Brahman  and  identify  themselves  with  it,  get 
everlasting  salvation." 

Yajnavalkya  firmly  believed  in  the  existence  of  one 
Supreme  God  whom  he  called  Brahman  or  Para-Brahman,  and 
.  his  explanation  given  to  Sakalya,  as  to  how  the  one  Supreme 
God  was  turned  or  symbolized  into  three  and  the  three  into 
thirty  three  deities  and  the  thirty  three  into  thirty  three 
crores,  is  highly  interesting.  He  was  the  greatest  social 
and  religious  reformer  of  his  time.  He  believed  in  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  and  taught  that  mental  adoration  was 
the  best  form  of  worship  and,  that  the  worship  of  idols  was 
meant  for  persons  of  inferior  intellect  (jffiTfRr  TO  'iptr-  MMflF.^I- 

Chronology  and  Contempora  ri> «. 

It  is  now  generally  admitted  by  scholars  that  Patanjali 
who  wrote  the  Maliahhdsija  on  Panini's  grammar,  lived  in 
the  second  century  B- C,  and  it  is  therefore  believed  that 
the  date  of  Panini  cannot  be  later  than  400-300  B.  C.  On 
Sakatayana's  and  Yaska's  theory  of  the  verbal  origin  of 
nouns,  the  whole  system  of  Panini  is  founded  and  we  find  in 
Yaska's  work  that  he  refers  to  twenty  predecessors  among 
whom  Sakatayana  and  Sakalya  are  the  most  important. 
And  we  have  already  shown  that  Sakalya  was  a  contempo- 
rary of  Yajnavalkya.  In  his  Sutras  Panini  also  refers  to 
skara  in  the  following  words,  "  Paraskarajtrablirtini  ca 
SaihjnUtjuiir  and  we  find  that  Yaska  respectfully  refers  10 
Pciraskara  at  the  end  of  his  Xirukta.  From  the  above  it  is 
clear  that  Paraskara  lived  long  before  Panini  and  Ya9ka. 
From  a  careful  study  of  the  Sraula  Sutras  of  ana  and 

the  Grkyu  Su.'raaui  i\u-askara,  we   come  to    the   conclusion 


xoiv  First  Oriental   Conference. 

that  both  were  friends  and  contemporaries.  There  is  a  tra- 
dition current  among  the  orthodox  Brahmins  that  the 
Grbya  Sutras  and  the  Srauta  Sutras  were  prepared  by  Para 
skara  under  the  guidance  of  Katyayana.  The  commentator 
on  the  Pratisakhya  of  the  white  Yajur-Veda,  at  the  begin 
ning  of  his  work  pays  respectful  compliments  to  Katyayan 
and  describes  him  as  the  most  distinguished  disciple  of 
Yajnavalkya.  This  clearly  shows  that  Katyayana  was  a 
disciple  of  Yajnavalkya  and  therefore  the  period  of  the 
latter  must  have  been  earlier  than  that  of  the  former.  This 
Katyayana  who  was  the  author  of  the  Srauta  Sutras,  should 
not  be  confounded  with  the  later  Katyayana  who  wrote  the 
Vartikas  on  Panini's  Sutras. 

In  the  Mahabharata  Sabhaparvan,  Chap.   33,   there  is  an 
account  of  the  Rajasuya   sacrifice   performed   by   king    Yu 
dhisthira.    From  that    account  we  find    that  at  this    sacri 
fice,  the  sage  Vyasa  acted  as  Brahma,  Susama  held  the  office 
of  Udgata,  Paila  was  appointed  as  Hota  and  to  Yajnavalkya 
was  assigned  the   important  duty  of  Adhvaryu.     We   there 
fore  find  from  the   above   account,   that  Yajnavalkya  was  a 
contemporary  of  Vyasa,  Yudhisthira  and  Paila. 

Again,  from  Harivamsa,  Chap.  142,  we  find  that  Brah- 
madatta,  a  disciple  of  Yajnavalkya,  was  the  famiiy  priest, 
friend  and  fellow-student  of  Vasudeva,  the  father  of  Sri  Kr- 
sna,  and  at  the  Asvamedha  sacrifice,  performed  by  Vasu 
deva,  there  were  present,  Vyasa,  Vaisampayana,  Yajnaval- 
kya, Sumantu,  Jaimini,  Brahmadatta,  Jabaia  and  Devala. 
Thus  we  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  period  of  Yajna- 
valkya was  earlier  than  that  of  the  Mahabharata. 

Among  the  fifteen  chief  disciples  of  Yajnavalkya,  after 
whom  the  fifteen  recensions  of  the  white  Yajur-Veda  were 
called,  was  one  named  Kanva.  Whether  this  Kanva  was 
identical  with  the  sage  Kanva  of  Kalidasa's  Sakuntala  or 
not,  cannot  be  definitely  ascertained.  But  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that  in  the  s'atapat/ta  Brahinana  of  Yajnavalkya,  we 
find  the  first  allusion  to  Dusyanta,  Bharata  and  Sakuntala 
the  heroes  and  heroine  of  Kalidasa's  Sakuntala;  and  there 
is  not  the  least  doubt  that  the  plot  of  Kalidasa's  drama, 
Vikramorvasiya,  was    written   on  the    basis  of  the    story  of 


Philosophy. 


XtfW 


UrvasI  and  Pururavas,  first  narrated  at  full  length  in  the 
8atapath</  BrShmaria  of  Yajnavalkya— a  work  which,  as 
Prof.  Macdoneli  rightly  observes,  is  next  to  the  ftuvcda, 
the  most  important  production  in  the  whole  range  of  Vedic 
Literature. 


The    relation  of  the    BhagavadaUa  and   the  Badartlyaiia* 
sfitra.s.        By  R.  D.  KARMARKAR 

The  essay  is  mainly  oonoerned  with  a  criticism  of 
the  verse  ^ftfi^igvrr  *fH...  (  Bhag.  XIII.  4  ).  It  is  shown  that 
the  expression  Brahmasutra  in  the  verse  cannot  be  taken  to 
mean  loose  passages  from  the  Upanisads  or  a  prose  treatise 
like  the  sutta  of  the  Bauddhas  but  must  mean  a  work  in  the 
Sutra  style.  It  further  controverts  Mr.  Tilak's  view  that 
Brahmasutra  means  Badarayanasutras  and  that  one  and  the 
same  author  was  responsible  for  both  the  Gita  and  the  Barfa- 
rayanasvtrax.  Mr-  Tilak's  view  is  refuted  on  the  following 
grounds  : — (l)The  Gita  based  upon  the  Sank hy  a  and  the  Yoga 
philosophy,  while  the  Badarayaiiasutras  try  to  refute  them. 
(2)  The  (H  it  a  makes  no  clear  allusion  to  Buddhism,  while  the 
Badardyjnasutras  take  great  pains  to  refute  the  Buddhistic 
doctrine  in  detail.  (3)  The  Gita  introduces  a  new  termino- 
logy Ksetra  and  Ksetrajnain  the  thirteenth  chapter  only, 
where  a  reference  to  the  Brahmasutras  is  made,  jut  the 
pSdarSyanasUtras  do  not  contain  the  words  Ksetra  and  Keetra- 
jna  at  all.  The  expression  Brahmasutra  oannot  thus  possibly 
refer  to  the  Badarayanasutras.  It  probably  has  reference  to 
earlier  the  Vedanta  Sutras  composed  by  ancient  sages  like 
Badari,  Audulomi  mentioned  in  the  Badarayanasutras. 


The  Springs  of  Action  in  Hiudu  Ethios.  By  StJSIL 
Kumar  maitra. 

Hindu  Ethics  is  social  ethics  and  psychological  ethios 
and  oulminatM  in  tlie  I'hiloHophy  of  the  Absolute  as  the 
highest  stage  of  the  spirit. 

The  Social  Ethics  of  the  Hindus  is  embodied  in  a  sche- 
me of  Varnasramadharmas  or  duties  of  station  in  life. 
whilf  thpir  Psychological  RthiOfl    includes  a    comprehensive 


T<sy\  First  Oriental   Conference. 

analysis  of  volition  and  of  the  springs  of  action  as  well  as 
practical  schemes  of  Cittasuddhi  or  subjective  purification 
based  thereon.  Lastly,  their  Philosophy  of  the  Absolute  is 
expounded  in  the  various  schemes  of  Moksa  or  Trascenden- 
tal  Freedom  whether  regarded  as  a  state  of  self-autonomy, 
or  as  of  extinction  of  self-hood  in  the  Absolute,  or  as  of  de- 
votion, worship  and  love. 

The  subject  of  the  present  paper  "The  Springs  of  Action 
in  Hindu  Ethics"  is  part  of  the  psychological  ethics  of  the 
Hindus  and  is  treated  in  Vaisesika,  Nyaya,  Sahkhya  and 
Vedanta  systems. 

The  Vaisesikas  trace  will  to  two  sources  or  roots 
namely  Desire  (Iccha),  and  Aversion  (  Dvesa  ).  Desire  is 
classified  into  egoistic  and  altruistic,  The  springs  whicl 
are  compounds  of  desire  are  : — Sexual  Craving,  Appetite  foi 
food  and  drink,  Passion,  Resolve,  Dispassion,  Compassioi 
&c.  Similarly  the  various  forms  of  aversion  are  : — Anger 
Revengefulness,  &c. 

The  Naiyayikas  go  further  and  derive  even  desire  ai 
aversion  from  something  more  ultimate  viz.  : — Error.  Ii 
consonance  with  this  intellectualism,  Jayanta  distinguish^ 
two  forms  of  the  springs  of  action,  (I)  those  that  are  of  ai 
intellectual  nature  and  are  therefore  forms  of  Error  or  Mohi 
such  as  perplexity,  vanity,  inadvertance  &c,  and  (2)  thos 
that  are  forms  of  attraction  and  aversion  and  are  therefoi 
mediately  connected  with  Moha  through  attraction  ant 
aversion. 

The  Sankhya  view  is  expounded  in  the  .system  of  Patai 
jali  which  derives  the  impulses  from  three  roots  namely 
(1)  Error,  Moha  (2)  Greed,  Lobha  and  (3)  Anger,  Krodha. 
The  passions  namely  cruelty,  mendacity,  etc.  may  eaolj 
arise  from  ;in\  mho  of  khee*  three  sources  They  maty 
determine  the  subject  in  various  ways,  in  some  cases  lead- 
ing to  indulgence  through  overt  ants,  in  some  to  acts  of 
persuasion  or  use  of  force  on  others,  in  some  again  to  mere 
subjective  approval  when  such  acts  are  perpetrated  by  others. 
They  are  again  of  various  degrees  of  intensity  ranging  from 
the  violent  and  impetuous  down  to  the  mild  and  the  feeble. 
Some  passions  again  are  to  be  uprooted  altogether  and  in  all 


Phil<>x"i  xcvii 

Conditions  of  the  spirit,  while  others  may  be  permitted  under 
special  conditions  and  circumstances. 

Hence     the     characteristic-    ol     Hindu     Psychological 
Ethics  are  : — (1)  The  doctrine  of  psychological   composition 
in  regard  to  emotions   and    passions ;  (2)  the    recognition  of 
the  spontaneous,  the  unreflective  and   the   instinctive  in  the 
account   of   the    impulses   and    passions   as   having    ethical 
significance;  (3)  the  intellectualistic  and  the  transcendental 
stand-point  in  the  ethical  valuation  of  the  springs  of  action  ; 
(4)  the  attempt  to  bridge  the  gulf  between  the  transcendental 
and  the  phenomenal  by  the  recognition  of  Sattvika  impulses, 
auspicious   tendencies   and   dispositions  ;  (5)  the  doctrine  of 
self-autonomy   and   absolute   freedom  as    the     ideal    of  the 
iscendental  life,  the    ultimate  end  or  goal  in  the   ethical 
ordering  of  the  impulses  as  distinguished    from  the   doctrine 
of  freedom- in-cooperation  which  is  the  highest  ideal  accord- 
ing to  Christians  and  Buddhist-. 

In  the  Vedanta  view,  the  springs  are  classified  into  aus- 
picious and  inauspicious  dispositions  and  tendencies  of  the 
mind  as  determined  by  habitual  past  indulgence.  The  baser 
tendencies  are  unreflective  and  spontaneous,  while  the  purer 
Impulses  imply  knowledge  of  the  truth.  It  is  pointed  out 
that  these  desires  and  longings  may  exist  either  in  the  fo:m 
of  appropriated  impulses  implying  subjective  choice  or  again 
as  passing  wishes  and  mere  fancies  without  any  conscious 
preference  above  the  threshold.  The  latter,  however,  indi- 
cate a  deeper  subliminal  personality  and  therefore  must  not 
be  ignored  by  the  moral  philosopher. 


kara  on  Buddha.    Htj  PANDURANGA  SHARMA. 

Sankara  rejected  the  Buddha  teachings  on  four  grounds. 
His  usual  way  of  accepting  the  truth  is  based  on  three  prin- 
ciples.    Buddha's  not  accepting  the  Vedas  as   an   authority 
b  shown   and  refuted    by   Kumarila.     It    is   rejected   by  all 
authorities   taking  their  stand    on   scriptures.     The   test   of 
aing  is  applied  in  his  scholium.  Buddha  laid  his   main 
ihical  matters.     Sankara  remained  silent  on    this 
point      Ethical   views   not    inconsistent  with  his  authority 
I  •"> 


xoviii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

need  not  be  criticised.  Buddha  was  not  conversant  with  the 
true  spirit  of  deep  Brahmanical  learning  and  hence  Buddha's 
hatred  towards  the  vedic  religion.  Its  causes.  He  was  a 
man  of  pessimistic  views.  He  only  thought  over  the  way  to 
come  out  of  the  pain  and  this  was  the  moral  side  of  Buddh- 
ism. Metaphysics  was  developed  afterwards  by  his  disciples. 
Sutras  of  Vyasa  on  Buddha  in  Bramha-sutra  are  inserted 
later  on.  This  portion  of  Bramha-sutra  is  the  fruit  of  Vyasa's 
afterthought  and  was  embodied  in  the  body  of  the  work  in 
its  revised  edition.  At  the  time  of  Jaimini  Buddhists  were 
non-entities.  Explanation  of  the  two  interpretations  of  the 
two  Sutras  of  Jaimini  prove  this  clearly.  Gautama  thought 
it  necessary  to  record  the  views  of  Buddha  in  his  system. 
At  the  time  of  Vyasa  necessity  was  felt  to  consider 
Buddhism  at  one  place  in  all  its  sides.  Revolutionary 
change  in  the  literature  on  this  subject.  There  is  a  great 
necessity  of  considering  Buddhism  and  the  social  condi- 
tion of  the  Bauddhas  for  the  right  grasp  of  Sankara.  San- 
kara  adopted  the  material  already  assimilated  by  Gautama, 
Vatsyayana,  Kumarila  etc.  Effects  of  his  predecessors 
on  Sankara.  Vatsyayana's  objections  on  Buddhism  with 
their  answers  are  literally  adopted  by  Sankara  in  Sartru. 
The  work  of  Nyaya  school  on  the  subject  is  very  useful. 
Kumarila  was  the  best  judge.  It  is  evident  from  many 
grounds  that  Sankara  had  grasped  the  true  spirit  of  Bud- 
dhism and  represented  it  faithfully  in  his  work.  He  was  pro- 
ficient in  the  original  Pali  works  on  Buddhism  side  by  side 
with  the  Sanskrit  works  on  it.  Reason  for  the  abeence  of 
metaphysical  discussions  in  the  Tripitakas  is  popular 
Buddhism.  The  terms  used  by  Sankara  in  connection  with 
the  Bauddhas  in  his  scholium  are  simply  expressive  of  the 
bare  facts  only.  Bauddha's  Avidya  is  altogether  different 
from  Maya  of  Sankara. 


The    Pada    and    Vakya    Bhasyas  of    Kenopanisad.     By 
Shridharshastri  Pathak. 

?Tm»fI«T^f^5^^%f^r^^^  fofa  fasFq*  f%J^  I 


PMmophy.  xoix 

*n^*nwrftft  ^ren  jmft  ^r  *ra  i  <^*  fin%  Qwtwft  f»^»T^%  fc  rft 
^TifvtrT^r  i  ^  ^t^?*tiwt^t  <r*n^raA  ftfc  f%^r:  ^tc5t^?tt»t^  ^t^ptt^- 

^fqifEf^fcl  *FF<ra^lf^H$H  STftfT^  I  STffRfa^Tt  HM^I^fT  3TH^- 
JMHJHtal  fffsT^Tf^f^HHl  ^  *raift    ft^T    <Ttfl?raiH   I  ^  ^T^rfon: 

spr^T^^n  g^Tc^r^  i  ^MwWliHfaMMl  RlPhfcfl  R<jHfa1ra  \  n? 

*TT»pft  ^*CT**T  ^ft  rR  qsKTTrR:  %farf|g^TJ^R    1l*<lft$3<{     H|WR+|tf  I 
<=T?Tt  ^fWI^  ^13*f*n«JfR    *TT    T^TrRHTWTC**    3*1  d|H«J^    M^HI^ftft 

«^  «in  ?*&ft  *rfos?tr*   i  era    3*Rt>ft«T*Tfo>3^*^R   srram^- 
f^rnri  iraiH  Rffet  T^f^enra  i 


By  G.  V.  PHADKK. 

*RTsta  sh^ir  ar^rfj  «rrerats*ra:  i 
^T«^«n:  $rt  ^i  ^ra  *i%&i  ^  n  i  ii 

rT^«15^t  TRt  €§*T»f<ft  JRT  I 

sjfrntagf^P?  siczt^t  ^ra«ra  ii  ^  ii 
*jj?r>  *&  wwn  arR+KR^R^ST:  I 
<1fr*K4*jR^  H>3fw<^*T:  II  *  II 

*&$  %^  ssjj^  tfft:  <nw.  ^:5rar:  I 

TO^JTRfi:  RRt  f^f-WHI  gft:  R?TH  I 
^Wt  «N^  fof  SRW  TO*r|*Ji  II  ^   II 


First  Oriental  Conference. 

sn%cTT  srejerrf^ft  ^m^  csta^it:  u  %  it 
?5jt  ^i%^  $$m  w$fi%  ii  d  n 

qRfTW  3  awfr  <^l%^t  $rT:  II  *>  II 

arr^ft^rr  ^  qi^r-sA^f  ^  c^tsfw:  i 
rc^trt  ^qre:  ^Mr  $fffa^rr  u  °i  °  u 

3ff^^R5?t  $  f^i  f|  i^a:  ll  <n  ii 
fe^N  qisw  JF5rr  ^  3^c^«ri^  i 
qp?  fa^sft  firtNf  %?rc*ar  ^ifo  ll<R  II 


The  Antiquity  of  the  Bhagavadgita.     By  S.  V.  VENKATE- 
SHWAR. 

A  review  of  the  date  of  the  Gita  as  compared  with  the 
Kautiliya  and  the  Buddhist  and  Jain  texts,  and  as  classified 
into  Political,  Sociological,  Cosmological,  Philosophical, 
Religious  and  Literary,  assigning  the  Gita  to  the  pre- 
Mauryan  period. 


Logic  of  SankarScSrya  and   Aristotle.     By  R-   ZlMMER- 

MANN. 

1  Definition  Of  Logic  with  both  philosophers,  Aristotle 
and  Sahkaracarya.  Logic  is  the  science  of  correct  thinking 
It  is  a  distinct  discipline  of  philosophy  in  Aristotle,  in  Sah- 
karacarya Logic  is  embodied  and  supposed  in  the  whole 
system.  The  reason  for  the  difference  lies  in  the  different 
lines  along  which  philosophical  development  went  in  ancient 
India  and  Greece.  In  Aristotle,  Logic  has  universal,  in 
Sankara  limited  force. 

2  The  system  of  Louie   in  the   two   philosophies.     Aris- 
totle's logical  writings,   his  division  of   Beings,    the  relation 


Philosophy.  ci 

between  body  and  mind,  the  nouroes  of  concept  and  thought 
are  described.  In  Aristotle  Logic  is  formal  Logic,  epistemo- 
logy,  methodology ;  in  Sahkara  it  is  mainly  epi.stemology 
and  methodology.  The  views  on  knowledge  and  its  sources 
are  with  Sahkara  and  Aristotle  the  same  only  to  a  certain 
t.  The  main  difference  lies  in  the  universality  of  the 
principle  of  contradiction  in  Aristotle  which  isnot  without 
exception  in  Sahkaracarya. 

:J  The  relation  of  Logic  toother  philosophical  doctrines. 
Aristotle's  system  is  essentially  Realism ;  hence  Logic,  though 
only  a  propaedeutic  discipline,  is  scientific  and  governing  all 
the  other  philosophical  doctrines.  The  Sahkaramata  is  subs- 
tantially a  teaching  of  Moksa.  This  Moksa  is  brought  about 
by  knowledge,  a  logioal  principle  ;  but  where  knowledge  and 
Logic  in  the  ordinary  sense  clash  with  his  own  final  doc- 
trines, Sahkaracarya  discards  the  "  lower  "  by  an  appeal  to 
the  "  higher  "  knowlpdqre- 


IX.— Archaeology. 


Ancient  Indian  Architecture.  By  M.A.  ANANTHALWAk. 

1  The  ancient  Science  of  Architecture. 

2  The  'Sastras*  and  'Kalas'  of  India. 

3  The  Sanskrit  Works  on  Architecture. 

4  The  great  antiquity  of  the  Silpa  Sastras. 

5  Need  for  a  critical  study  of  the  Sastras. 

6  Difficulties  of  the  task. 

7  Th  artisan  classes. 

8  The  danger  of  a  superficial  study  of  the  Sastras. 

9  Vastness  of  the  subject. 

10  General  purpose  of  the  discourse. 

11  Testimony  of  eminent  Western  scholars  on  the 
greatness  of  India  and  of  her  Architecture. 

(a)  Professor   Carpenter    (b)    Max  Muller  (c)   Toda   (d) 
Banister  Fletcher    (e)  Fergusson    (f)  Harrington. 

12  Service  of  eminent  Indian  scholars  in  the  direction 
of  Positive  Sciences. 

13  Lack  of  knowledge  of  and  sympathetic  insight  into 
the  Indian  ideals  in  the  Western  authors,  their  wrong  and 
misleadiDg  starting  points,  their  consequent  misinterpreta- 
tion of  her  Architecture. 

14  Discussion  of  the  question  of  the  'descending  bathos* 
in  the  design  of  Hindu  temples,  wrongly  condemned  by  some 
Western  writers. 

15  Architecture  expressive  of  national  life  and  character. 

16  Ancient  cult  and  religion  of  the  country  and  the 
history  of  its  evolution  from  the  genesis  to  be  studied  for  a 
proper  appreciation  of  her  Architecture. 

17  Natural  conditions  of  the  country  shape  the  artistic 
impulse 

18  Need  for  tracing  the  evolution  of  Indian  Architecture 
from  its  earliest  origins  and  stages. 


civ  First   Oriental  Conference. 

19  Modern  researches,  revealing  to  us  the  great  anti- 
quity of  the  ancient  civilizations. 

20  The  region  of 'Jambu-dwlpa'  and  'Bharata-khanda'. 

21  The  trans-Indian  origin  of  the  Aryan  race. 

22  The  Sumerians,  the  earliest  ancestors  of  the  Aryan 
race. 

23  Their  divergence  into  two  cults,  the  'Classic'  or  the 
'Sumeru'  and  the  'Reformed'  or  the  'Semitic'.  The  countries 
of  the  two  oults. 

24  Similarity  of  cult  obtaining  in  Babylonia,  Persia  and 
India. 

25  The  immigration  of  the  Aryans  into  South-India — 
the  Dravido-Aryans — their  classic  cult  and  Architecture. 

26  The  Aryan  immigration  into  North  India,  tht 
Semitic  influence,  the  later  Buddhistic  cult  and  Architecture. 

27  Architecture,  the  outward  index  of  the  cult  of  th< 
land.  India's  architectural  glory,  the  several  styles 
obtaining  in  India. 

28  The  features  of  the  Buddhist  style,  th  early  Chris- 
tian  and  the  later  Gothic  styles. 

29  Plea  for  the  revivification  of  ancient  Indian  science* 
and  for  the  uplift  of  national  ideals. 


Sanskrit     MSS.,   their    Search    and  Preservation.      /?? 
Anantha  Krishna  Shastri. 

Gives  a  short  summary  of  the  history  of  MSS. 

Strongly  recommends  collection  of  MSS.  at  a  Central 
place. 

Degeneration  of  the  objects  of  life  from  intellectual  to 
material  gain  resulting  in  carelessness  about  MSS.  preser- 
vation and  the  consequent  loss. 

Regeneration  by  creating  an  interest  in  MSS.  collection 
by  having  a  general  MSS.  survey  of  the  whole  of  India. 

Preparation  of  cumulative  lists  of  MSS.  from  time  to 
time  necessary. 

Suggests  steps  for  the  preservation  of  MSS.  with  the  cus- 
todians themselves. 


Archaeology.  rv 

Strongly  recommends  formation  of  "The  All-India 
Association  for  the  Search  of  old  MSS."  with  branches 
throughout  India. 

Mentions  differences  of  scripts  in  the  north  and  the 
south,  also  similar  differences  in  the  subjects  treated. 

Advocates  editing  and  printing  MSS.  under  the  supervi- 
sion of  recognised  scholars. 

Advocates  even  Government  intervention  for  preserva- 
tion of  MSS.  on  the  ground  of  their  being  more  or  less  na- 
tional property  rather  than  individual  one. 

Mentions  the  qualifications  necessary  for  the  worker  in 
the  cause  of  MSS.  search. 


The    Rock-cut    Temples     in     Southern   India.      By  J. 
DUBREUIL. 

In  this  paper  it  is  pointed  out  that  cave-temples,  are 
numerous  in  the  Tamil  country  being   found  in  64  villages. 

The  rock-out  temples  constitute  an  isolated  group  well 
characterised  by  their  sculptures  and  inscriptions. 

Many  of  them  are  found  in  the  Pandya  country  (Madura, 
Ramnad  and  Tinnevelly  districts);  but  the  mode  of  cutting 
the  rocks  has  been  introduced  in  the  Tamil  land  by  a  King 
of  the  Pallava  dynasty  named  Mahendravarman  I. 


The  early  Kalacuris  and  the  Alphabet  of  their  Copper- 
plate grants.     By  Y.  R.  GUPTE. 

The  names  Kalacuri,  Kalaccuri,  Kalatsuri,  Katac- 
curi  and  Kalacuri  are  identical.  Dr.  Fleet's  remark  that 
Buddharaja,  son  of  Sahkaragana  was  probably  an  early 
kintf  of  the  Kalacuri  dynasty.  Sahkheda  grant  of  Sahtilla. 
What  it  proves.  Abhona  grant  of  Sankaragana  edited  by 
Prof.  K.  I'..  Pathak.  Its  date.  Places  mentioned  in  it.  The 
Aiholo  inscription.  What  it  indicates.  The  Nerur  grant 
Of  Mangalesa.  It  implies  that  Buddharaja  was  strong  in 
1  1 


cvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

cavalry   and   had   considerable   troops   of    elephants.      The 
Vadner  grant  of  Buddharaja  discovered  by    the   author  and 
edited  by   him.     Places   mentioned  in   it.     The   date   of  the 
record.  The  Sarasvani  grant  edited  by  Dr.  Kielhorn.    Its  date 
and  places  noted  in  it.  The  dominions  ruled  over  by  the  early 
Kalacuris.     Their  capital.     Clue   as   to    where    they    reign- 
ed.    Krsnaraja,   the    first   known   member   of  the    dynasty. 
Sankaragana's    power.      The   extent   of  his   territory.     His 
feudatory.      Buddharaja     was   an   emperor.     His  addrerses, 
his  commands  to  all  kings  and  tributary  princes.    Mangalesa 
did  not  crush  his  power.  The  fabric  of  the  copperplates  of  the 
early  Kalacuris.      Their  era.     It     was   employed   by   other 
kings   viz.,   Traikutakas  and     Ucchakalpas.        The   coinage 
of  the  early  Kalacuris.     Devalana    coins.      Their  attribu- 
tion  by   Drs.    Bhau    Daji   and  Fleet.     Prof.  Rapson's  views. 
Author's  reasoning  and  views.     What  Rai  Bahadur  V.  Ven- 
kayya,  late  Government  Epigraphist  for  India  thought  of  the 
author's   assignment.     Was  the  coinage   stopped  by  Sanka- 
ragana   and  Buddharaja?      The    early  Kalacuris   borrowed 
Gupta  epithets.     It  is  not  improbable  that  before   attaining 
sovereignty   they   were   subordinate     to  the    Guptas.      The 
Kalacuri  alphabet  also  has  the  Gupta  characteristics.    Form 
of  their   copperplates.      Their  alphabet  is  of  the     western 
variety  of  the  southern  one.     The  most   important   southern 
characteristics.     The   accompanying  plate  of  the   alphabets 
has  been  prepared  by  using  the  cuttings  from  the  plates  that 
appeared  in  the  Epigraphia  Indica  with    the  permission   of 
the  Director  General  of  Archaeology  in  India  and  the  Govern- 
ment Epigraphist  for  India.     Peculiarities   of  single  letters 
in  the  grants.     Slight   differences   observable  in   the   alpha- 
bet of  the  three  grants,  one  of  Sankaragana  and  two  of  Bud- 
dharaja.     Buddharaja's   records  have    more   of  the  southern 
characteristics     than   that  of    Sankaragana's.      Local   ele- 
ment.    If  we  want  a  term   for   the  sake  of  convenience,   we 
may  call  the  alphabet  dealt  with  as  the    Kalacuri    alphabet. 


The  Cave  and  Brahmi  Inscriptions  of  Southern  India. 

By  H.  KRISHNA8HA8TRI. 
1     The  paper  attempts  to  bring   to  the  notice  of  schol 


Anlm,  otjj 

the  earliest  writings  found  bo  far  in  the  caverns  of  the  Madura 
ami  Tinnevelly  districts  of  the  Madra-  Presidency.  They  are 
about  twenty  in  number  and  are  engraved  in  Br&hmi  cha- 
racters of  the  early  Asokan  type.  Orthographical  affinities 
appear  to  connect  them  with  Ceylon  cave  characters  and  the 
Bhattiprolu  (Guntur  District)  casket  script 

These  epigraphical  monuments  of  a  pre-Christian 
have  not  been  interpreted.  Their  language  is  such  as 
to  suggest  a  mixture  of  Prakrit  and  Dravidian  elements- 
The  renderings  are  purely  tentative  and  suggetions  made  may 
not  command  final  acceptance  from  scholars.  The  modest 
attempt  of  this  paper  is  only  the  initial  step  in  the  long  and 
interesting  course  of  profitable  research  that  these  ancient 
records  are  bound  to  evoke  in  the  world  of  scholars. 


The  Jain  Manuscript  Bhandars  at  Patau — A  final  Word 
on  their  Search.     By  J.  S.  KUDALKAR. 

Anhilwada  Patan,  ever  since  its  foundation  in  A.  D.745- 
46,  has  been  the  true  centre  of  Jainism  in  Gujarat  and  under 
royal  patronage,  the  Jain  preceptors  went  on  writing  Jain 
literature  till  the  16th  century.  All  this  literary  treasure 
miraculously  escaped  destruction  at  the  hands  of  the  Maho- 
medan  conquerors  of  Gujarat  and  has  come  down  to  us  as 
"  a  great  store  of  documents  of  venerable  antiquity  "  of 
which  any  European  University  Library  could  be  proud 
Besides  the  three  superficial  inspections  made  of  these  MSS. 
Bhandars  by  the  Bombay  Government,  H.  H.  the  Maharaja 
Gaekwad,  in  whose  territories  these  Manuscript  libraries 
are  located,  had  these  libraries  thoroughly  inspected  on  two 
occasions.  This  paper  is  an  account  of  these  searches  of 
inspection. 

It  is  said  that  KingKumarapala  had  established  twenty- 
one  large  Bhandars  of  Manuscripts,  and  Va9tupala,  minister 
of  King  \  iradhavala,  established  three  more  large  Bhandars 
at  great  costs.  But  unfortunately  none  of  these  is  in  exis- 
tence to-day,  having  been  probably  scattered  through  reli- 
gious persecutions. 


cviii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Col.  Tod,  of  Rajasthan  fame,  was  the  first  to  bring  to 
notice  the  great  manuscript-collection  at  Patan  in  1832, 
when  there  existed  40  boxes  and  a  catalogue.  In  about  1850 
A.  K.  Forbes,  the  author  of  the  Rasamala,  got  from  this 
collection,  which  then  numbered  about  500  works,  a  copy  of 
Hemacarya's  Dvyasraya.  In  1873  and  1875  Dr.  Biihler, 
sent  by  the  Bombay  Government,  attempted  to  see  the  Patan 
Bhandars  and  got  partial  access  to  five  collections,  which  in 
all  contained  about  3000  manuscripts.  Encouraged  by  Dr. 
Buhler's  report,  the  Bombay  Government  sent  in  1883  Dr. 
(now  Sir)  R.  G.  Bhandarkar.  The  latter,  during  a  week's 
stay,  saw  4  out  of  11  Bhandars  cursorily,  compared  their  lists 
with  their  contents  and  inspected  carefully  only  a  few' 
These  searches  induced  the  BaroJa  Gevernment  to  send  in 
1892  Mr.  M.  N.  Dwivedi  to  make  a  detailed  search  with  the 
double  object  of  preparing  a  cotalogue  of  the  important  MSS. 
and  of  publishing  translations  into  vernaculars  of  a  few 
most  important  among  them.  Mr.  Dwivedi  examined  about 
ten  thousand  MSS  ;  prepared  a  list  of  2619  important  ones 
and  recommended  374  for  translation.  Mr.  Dwivedi  was 
followed  in  1893  by  Dr.  Peterson,  with  the  main  object  of 
seeing  the  famous  Hemacarya's  Bhandar,  but,  like  his  pre- 
decessors, he  too  failed.  He,  however,  discovered  new  boxes 
containing  many  MSS.  not  seen  by  Dr.  Bhandarkar  and  got 
extracts  made  of  about  200. 

The  Jain  community  by  this  time  realised  the  import- 
ance of  these  searches  and  prepared  a  list  of  all  important 
Jain  Bhandars  in  India,  including  those  at  Patan,  and  a 
Jain  millionaire  promised  to  give  a  building  of  Rs  41,000  for 
keeping  the  Patan  Bhandars  together. 

After  the  Sanskrit  Branch  of  the  Baroda  Central  Library  i 
was  organised  in  1912,  a  search  of  important  MSS.  all  over 
India  was  undertaken  by  the  Library  and  this  led  the  Baroda 
Government  to  institute  a  second  and  a  final  detailed  search 
of  the  Patan  MSS.  collections.  The  late  Mr.  C.  D.  Dalai 
M.  A.,  the  then  Sanskrit  Librarian,  who  was  a  Jain  by  birth 
and  a  Jain  scholar,  was  deputed  for  this  work.  Mr.  Dalai 
stayed  in  Patan  for  3  months,  worked  14  hours  a  day  and 
examined  carefully  all  the  13  Bhandars,  which;exist  there  at 


Archaeolf'iiij.  cix 

present  and  which  contain  more  than  12,000  paper  MSS.  and 
658  palm-leaf  manuscripts.  Mr.  Dalai  prepared  a  detailed 
catalogue  r<iiscmn6  of  all  the  658  palm  leaf  MSS.  and  of  an 
equal  number  of  very  important  paper  MSS.  These  will  be 
published  in  the  "  Gaekwad's  Oriental  Series"  started  by 
the  Baroda  Central  Library  in  1916. 

This  final  search  has  brought  to  light  some  new  rare 
works,  of  which  no  other  copies  exist  elsewhere,  or  which 
were  known  to  exist  upto  now  only  through  their  Chinese  or 
Tibetan  translations,  and  has  also  revealed  a  rich  literature 
in  Prakrit,  Apabhramsa,  and  Gujarat!  languages,  which 
would  throw  a  new  light  on  the  philology  and  history  of 
these  languages.  There  are  at  least  more  than  300  manus- 
cripts in  these  collections,  which,  by  their  importance  and 
antiquity,  would  be  the.  object  of  jealousy  among  scholars  of 
high  repute  either  for  possessing  or  editing  the  same. 


Note  on  some  Valabhi  Coins.     By  G.  P.  TAYLOR. 

The  coin-legend,  supplied  to  scholars  during  the  sessions, 
to  be  printed  later  (has  now  for  the  first  time  been  deciphered 
on  some  Valabhi  copper)  coins,  that  were  struck  pro- 
bably in  the  8th  century  of  the  Christian  era.  The  inscrip- 
tion is  written  in  Brahmi  characters,  but  of  a  debased  type. 
Can  any  member  of  the  Oriental  Conference  read  it,  or  shed 
any  light  upon  it  ? 


X.— Ancient  History. 

The  basic  Blunder  in  the  Reconstruction  of  Indian  Chro- 
nology by  Orientalists  :  or  The  Greek  Synchronisms 
revised.     By  M.  K.  ACHARYA- 

1  Introductory: — The  great  and  good  work  done  by 
western  orientalists  and  their  Indian  followers  since  the 
time  of  Sir  William  Jones — the  difficulties  of  earlier  orien- 
talists. European  public  opinion  against  assigning  any  great 
antiquity  to  India  beyond  that  of  Greece.  Hopeless  exaggera- 
tion, to  the  European  mind,  of  Indian  traditions.  The  Pura- 
nas  thus  totally  ignored  by  earlier  orientalists.  Lack  of 
indigenous  historic  materials  assumed  by  them  and  explain- 
ed away  by  reference  to  the  supposed  philosophic  indiffer- 
ence of  the  Hindus  to  mundane  affairs.  The  attempts  made 
"  to  reduce  to  proper  limits  "  the  Puranic  accounts.  The 
work  however  marred  by  serious  limitations  of  the  investi- 
gators, by  complexity  of  subject  matter,  and  by  defective 
methods  of  investigation  arising  from  racial  prejudices  and 
prepossessions,  superficial  knowledge,  undue  disregard  of 
tradition  recorded  in  "native  literature,"  reckless  distortion 
of  original  texts,  and  overweaning  selfconfidence.  The 
most  typical  instance  furnished  by  the  false  synchronism 
of  Alexander  the  Great  and  Candragupta  Maurya  which 
has  been  called  the  "Sheet  Anchor  of  Indian  Chronology." 

2  Origin  and  application  of  the  hypothesis: — Sir  William 
Jones  vaguely  started  the  theory  in  1793.  Colonel  Wilford 
and  Prof.  Lassen  put  it  on  firmer  basis.  Prof.  Max  Muller's 
staunch  support,  plausibility  of  the  theory.  The  familiarity 
of  the  Europeans  with  Greek  and  Roman  accounts  of  India. 
Sandrocottos  of  the  Greeks  undeniably  contemporaneous 
with  Alexander  the  Great  and  Seleukos  Nikator.  Identi- 
fication of  Sandrocottos  with  Candragupta.  Candragupta 
assumed  to  be  the  Maurya,  who  was  the  only  Candragrupta 
known  to  the  earlier  orientalists.  The  theory  welcomed  as 
furnishing  one  certain  starting  point  in  investigating  a 
hupp  field    of   uncertainties.    The  hypothesis  by  shtsr  repeti- 


cxii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

tion  now  passed  off  as  a  proved  fact"no  longer  open  to  doubt". 
Reconstruction  of  Indian  chronology  by  counting  backwards 
and  forwards  and  by  applying  averages  and  approximations, 
all  starting  from  the  "  fixed  point  "  of  322  B.  C,  to,  e.  g.  the 
Saisunaga  and  Nanda  pre-Mauryan  dynasties,  and  the  Suhga, 
Kanva,  Andhra  and  Gupta  post-Mauryan  dynasties. 

3  Point  in  favour  of  the  hypothesis  : — Sandrocottos 
undeniably  contemporaneous  with  Alexander  and  Seleukos 
Nikator,  as  Megasthenes  was  the  latter's  ambassador  at  the 
court  of  Sandrocottos  described  as  ruler  of  the  Prasii  or 
kingdom  east  of  the  Indus,  with  capital  at  Palibothra  iden- 
tical with  Pataliputra.  His  predecessor  he  overthrew  was 
Xandramus  or  Andramus  or  Aggraman,  reported  to  be  of  low 
origin  and  unpopular  with  his  people.  These  details  would 
apply  to  Candragupta  Maurya  who  overthrew  the  Nandas, 
the  first  of  whom  Mahapadma  Nanda  was  of  low  origin,  be- 
ing the  son  of  a  Sudra  woman.  This  first  or  major  Greek 
synchronism  supported  by  the  second  or  minor  Greek  synch- 
ronism, afterwards  discovered,  of  Asoka,  grandson  of  Can- 
dragupta Maurya  and  Antiochus  Teos,  grandson  of  Seleukos 
Nikator  as  recorded  in  the  edicts  of  king  Priyadarsin,  who 
in  Buddhist  record  is  identical  with  Asoka  Maurya.  The 
theory  as  assumed  by  Vincent  Smith  gives  the  most 
satisfactory  basis  for  fixing  the  date  of  Buddha  also  (as  lying 
between  570  and  480  B.  C.  ). 

.  4  Arguments  against  the  hypothesis  :  —Reexamination 
of  the  details  supplied  by  the  Greeks.  Xandramus  or  Andra- 
mus cannot  be  identical  with  Nanda,  if  Nanda  were  the 
reigning  king  of  the  Prasii  at  the  time  of  Alexander's  inva- 
sion. Xandramus  only  a  Greek  corruption  of  Candramus 
or  King  Candra.  Sandrocottos  or  Sandrocyptus  who  visited 
Alexander  during  the  reign  of  Xandramus  and  who  later 
overthrew  Xandramus  must  be  some  one  other  than  Candra 
or  Candragupta.  The  impossibility  of  making  all  the 
details  given  of  Xandramus  and  Sandrocottos  refer  to  one 
and  the  same  person.  The  Greek  Sandrocottos  a  great  em- 
peror who  owed  his  elevation  entirely  to  his  own  prodigious 
powers.  The  Candragupta  Maurya  both  of  the  Hindus  and 
the  Buddhists  a  mere  puppet  in  the  hands  of  the  wily 
Canakya,  who  elevated   Candragupta   to   the   throne   solely 


Amirnt   History.  Olltl 

venge  himself  on  the  Nandai      The  concensus  of  auih  .- 
rity     of  the   Puranas,   of    Keith*  gara   and  Muthar&k- 

.yisa,  and  of  the    Di\  ;md    MahOvaiksa   on    the   point. 

The  dates  assigned  to  Buddha  hy  orientalists  quite  conven- 
tional. The  comparatively  meagre  value  of  the  second 
Greek  sy  nchronism,  as  grandsons  of  two  contemporaries  must 
necessarily  be  contemporaries  also.  The  assumption  involv- 
ed that  Priyadarsin  of  the  Edicts  is  identical  with  Asoka- 
vardhana.  This  identification  entirely  based  on  Buddhi>t 
records,  which  however  are  rejected  by  all  later  orientalists 
as  being  historically  untrustworthy. 

4  The  new  or  suggested  hijpothesis  :  The  contemporary 
references  of  the  Greeks  would  fit  in  more  aptly  if  applied 
to  Candragupta  and  Samudragupta  of  the  early  Gupta 
dynasty.  Candragupta  and  his  father  Ghatotkaca  both 
Andhrabhrtyas,  being  only  officers  in  the  army  of  theAndhra 
kings.  Unpopularity  of  Candragupta  who  overthrew  the 
Andhras.  His  prodigious  powers.  The  dates  of  the  reigns  of 
Candragupta  and  Samudragupta  according  to  the  Puranas, 
intampered,  are  B.  C.  328  to  321  and  321  to  270— Alexander's 
invasion  324-Megasthenes  ambassador  302.  Samudragupta  a 
great  conqueror,  called  by  Vincent  Smith  "  the  Indian 
Napoleon,"  bore  also  the  title  of  Asokaditya  or  Mahasoka. 
His  conquests  recorded  by  Harisena  and  inscribed  on 
Priyadarsin's  pillar  at  Allahabad.  Who  was  Priya- 
darsin the  great  Buddhist  Emperor?  Three  kings  called 
Asoka  :— Dharmasoka  of  Kashmir,  Asokavardhana  Maurya 
and  Asokaditya  Gupta— all  three  in  all  probability  Bud- 
dhists. Samudragupta  Asokatlitya's  relations  with  the  kings 
of  Ceylon  and  Assyria.  Vasubandhu  the  Great  Buddhist 
teacher  and  writer  patronised  by  Candragupta  and  Samu- 
dragupta. Internal  evidence  from  the  Puranas  most  of  which 
make  the  scantiest  references  to  the  Gupta  emperors  but  put 
the  Andhrabhrtyas,  Abhiras  and     Hunas   all    together.    The 

nee  of  any  reference  to  the  edicts  of  Asoka  Maurya  by 
Chinese  pilgrims  esp.  Kiuen  Tsang  The  confusion  in  the 
Ceylonese  Buddhist  records  between  the  three  Asokas  and 
the  transference  of  the  deeds  of  all  three  to  one,  Asoka 
Maurya  ;  Candragupta  and  Samudragupta  however  not 
known  to  earlier  orientalist 

i: 


cxiv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

5  Comparative  merits  of  the  two  hypotheses  i  The 
earlier  theory  placing  Candragupta  Maurya  in  320  B.  C- 
originated  by  orientalists  whose  knowledge  was  very  imper- 
fect and  superficial,  and  maintained  by  later  orientalists 
only  by  pulling  down  and  upsetting  all  Hindu  and  Buddhist 
records  and  traditions.  The  earlier  orientalists  lived  in  times 
when  European  conception  of  the  ancient  history  of  no 
nation  other  than  the  Jews  extended  beyond  B.  C.  500  or  600, 
Since  then  the  discovery  of  the  ancient  histories  of  Egypt. 
Babylon,  Persia,  and  China  have  carried  the  world's  ascer- 
tainable history  far  back  of  B.  C.  2000  to  3000.  The  over- 
whelming evidence  in  favour  of  holding  India  to  be  no  less 
older  than  Egypt  and  China.  Indian  chronology  as  recon- 
structed by  Western  orientalists  on  the  basis  of  the  synchro- 
nism of  Alexander  the  Great  and  Candragupta  Mauryj 
entirely  conventional  and  opposed  to  all  Hindu  and  Buddhist 
records.  The  interpretation  of  archeological  remains  addu< 
ed  in  support,  is  no  less  conventional,  and  is  vitiated  by 
very  imperfect  understanding  of  Indian  Eras  used  in  ins 
criptions,  whether  monumental^or  numismatic.  The  subjec 
dealt  with  in  great  detail  by  the  late  T.  B.  Narayana  Sasti 
B.  A.,  LL.  B.,  of  Madras  in  his  "  Mistaken  Greek  Synchrc 
nism  "  originally  issued  as  an  appendix  to  his  "Age  of  San 
kara  ".  The  suggested  hypothesis  of  synchronising  Alej 
ander  with  Candra,  the  Gupta,  would  furnish  a  far  moi 
satisfactory  basis  for  calculation.  The  dates  of  Buddha, 
Mahavlra,  of  the  Mahabharata  War  etc.,  on  the  new  hype 
thesis,  will  be  in  consonance  both  with  old  Hindu  an< 
Buddhist  records  and  with  later  researches  correctly  intei 
preted. 

6  Conclusion: — Reconstruction  of  our  past  history  oi 
the  new  hypothesis  will  of  course  create  big  gaps  especially 
after  the  Gupta  period  which  cannot  be  filled  up  withoul 
colossal  labour.  Our  archaeological  records  will  have  to  be 
revised  and  reinterpreted.  The  difficulties  of  the  task  before 
the  Indian  orientalists.  The  opposition  likely  to  come  from 
the  "prestige"  of  Western  orientalists.  The  need  to  over- 
come these  difficulties  in  the  interests  of  Truth.  Correct 
principles  of  investigation  and  criticism.  The  office  of  tne 
Historian. 


Ancient    llintory)  OXV 

A  Peep   into   Mediaeval    Dokkan.     liu   A.     V.    VENKA- 

TAKAMAYYAK. 

Administrative,  economii .  religious,  architectural  and  social 

urc  of  ihr  Inter  Culukyus  in  the  eleventh  <///</  twelfth   centu- 
f  the  ( 'hrinstian  era. 

The  ohiof  sources  of  information 
(A)   Administrative 
The  Maharaja.     The  Mahapradhanas.    The  YuvarSja.     Mill 
tary  administration.     The  standing   army   and  feudal    levy. 
Official  divisions  <>f  the   army.      Weapons  of  war-   martial 
law.     High  chivalry  of  the  times.     Lofty  standard   of  inter- 
national   morality.     The    civil    administration.      Territorial 
divisional  officials  etc.  The  central  Government, chief  depart- 
ments.    Sources  of  revenue,    land,   customs   etc      Customs 
and  revenue  officials.     Surplus  budget.      Local    administra- 
tion.    The  village,  twelve  village    land.     Village    paiicayat, 
Stability  of  the  self-governing  village  constitution. 

(B)  Economic 
Soil,  climate,  products,  imports,  exports  etc.  Sea-borne 
trade.  Intervention  of  money  as  a  medium  of  exchange. 
Coins,  weights  and  measures.  Household  furniture.  Mecha- 
nical and  technical  knowledge.  Merchant  and  craft  guilds. 
Town  corporations.  Relations  between  the  guilds  and  cor- 
porations. Opulence  of  the  trading  class.  Kate  of  interest 
and  its  significance 

(C)  Religious 
Worship  of  the  Puranic  Gods.  Siva  but  not  Visnu  the 
Kuladevata  of  the  Calukyas.  The  hold  of  Jainism  and  Bud- 
dhism. Local  deities.  Combined  religious  worship.  Per- 
fect religious  toleration.  Preponderant  religious  worship. 
Formularies  of  religion.  Religious  grants  and  endowments. 

(D)  Architectural 
Calukya  architecture.     Carving   sculpture.     Range  of  style. 

(E)  Social 
General  character  of  the  people.  Women,  their  ornaments, 
dress  etc.  Sports  and  amusements  of  kings,  queens.  Upper 
class  women.  Tenderness  to  animals.  Belief  in  astrology. 
Dolotsavam  and  hook.  Swinging  festivals.  Educational 
advance. 


oivi  First  Oriental   Conference. 

The    Karnatak  and    its    Place  in    Indian    History.     By 
V.  B.  ALUR. 

1  Introduction. — A  student  of  Indian  History  will  be 
struck  with  wonder  to  see  that  so  few  pages  are  allotted  to 
the  history  of  Southern  India  and  especially  that  of  Karna- 
tak in  the  recognised  histories  of  India.  I  want  to  show 
that  the  history  of  Karnatak  also  is  important;  and  so 
deserves  more  space. 

2  Definition  of  the  word  "The  Karnatak  History." — The 
history  of  the  strip  of  land  that  is  peopled  by  Kanarese  peo- 
ple is  not  called  "Karnatak  history"  as  it  ought  to  be  :  the 
word  used  in  the  histories  is  "Mabarastra."  But  it  is  not 
right  to  use  that  word  ;  for  the  dynasties  of  Calukyas,  Ra- 
strakutas  elc,  who  ruled  over  Kanarese  country  should  be 
properly  called  Karnatak  kings  ;  because  their  capitals  are 
in  Kanaresp  country,  their  inscriptions  are  in  the  Kanarese 
country  etc.  Dr.  Bhandarkar,  when  he  wrote  the  history  of 
the  Deccan,  was  perhaps  misled  by  the  word  Maharastra  in 
the  Aihole  inscription.     It  is  time  we  should  correct  it. 

3  Mr.  Vincent  Smith  says  in  his  history  that  the 
materials  for  this  history  are  few,  and  that  the  dynasties  of 
this  country  are  mainly  of  local  interest.  I  want  to  show 
that  these  statements  are  not  accurate. 

4  But  before  proceeding  further  I  must  give  a  very 
brief  sketch  of  the  history  of  the  dynasties  who  ruled  in  the 
Karnatak.  Leaving  Kadambas,  and  Gahgas  who  ruled  about 
the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era,  we  come  to  Calukyas, 
They  ruled  in  Badami  for  abo>nt  250  years  and  their  kingdom 
extended  almost  over  the  whole  of  the  Southern  Peninsula. 
The  Rastrakutas  ruled  in  Malkhed  for  about  250  years. 
Then  again  Calukyas  succeeded  and  ruled  vigorously  for 
about  200  years.  Then  after  a  short  interval  the  whole 
country  was  split  up  into  two.  The  northern  portion  was 
ruled  by  Yadavas  of  Devagiri  and  the  southern  by  Yftdavas 
of  Halebidu  Then  oame  Vijayanagar  kings  who  fell  in 
1565.  These  are  the  important  periods  of  Karnatak  his- 
tory. 

5  The  objection  as  to  want  of  material  is  not  true.  For, 
though  the   traditions   and   accounts   of  foreign    travellers 


Ancient   Hi*toni  CjtH 

are  not  many,  the  materials  are  not  wholly  wanting 
But  as  to  the  evidence  of  archaeology,  monumental, 
epigraphic  and  numismatic,  there  is  copious  material 
already  discovered.  But  there  is  a  vast  store  yet  undis- 
covered. Moreover,  not  only  is  this  material  vast  but  also 
varied.  We  havo  beautiful  temples  of  all  sorts  worth  study- 
ing, and  other  monuments  which  throw  light  on  mythology, 
architecture,  religion,  history  and  iconography.  In  no  part 
of  the  world  are  the  inscriptions  so  very  numerous  ;  and 
coins  also  are  frequently  found.  The  exploration  of  certain 
villages  will  reward  the  enterprise  of  an  explorer.  As  to 
evidence  of  contemporary  literature,  Karnatak  is  very  rich. 
There  are  many  Sanskrit  works  and  the  whole  of  Kanarese 
itur^  will  yield  history  if  properly  studied. 

6  The  "bjection  as  to  its  importance  also  is  not  true 
The  dynasties  that  ruled  over  the  Karnatak  ruled  over  vast 
territories  and  were  very  advanced.  Moreover,  in  Karnatak 
we  find  all  the  peculiar  traits  of  Hindu  civilisation  such  as 
caste  system,  village  community  etc.,  in  their  extreme  form, 
and  so  one  can  study  them  there  more  systematically.  Kar- 
natak in  ancient  days  produced  great  religious  preachers, 
statesmen,  scholar* ,  etc.,  who  occupy  a  very  prominent  po- 
sition in  Hindu  civilisation.  The  names  of  Sankara,  Rs- 
manuja,  Madhva,  Vidyaranya,  Bhaskaracarya,  etc.,  and 
the  names  of  Kanarese  authors  such  as  Adi-Pampa,  Ponna, 
Ranna,  etc  ,  will  do  honour  to  any  country.  All  these  per- 
sons belong  to  Karnatak.  Kings  like  Pulakesin,  Nrpatun, 
ga  and  Vikramaditya,  are  such  as  any  nation  may  be  proud 
of.  i  he  history  of  such  a  land  deserves  a  prominent  place 
in  the  history  of  India. 

7  Conclusion  : — Hence  the  warning,  given  by  Mr.  Vin- 
cent Smith,  that  the  attention  of  historians  should  now  ho 
turned  to  the  South,  should  be  attended  to. 


India  as  known  to  the  Anoient  World.  By  GAURANGA- 
NATH   BANERJI. 

The  original  habitat  of  the  human  rnoe  was  in  the  East 
Arts  and  sciences  were    cultivated    here    from    very    anoient 


crviii  fiirM   Oriental    Con+'eretice. 

times  Intercour.se  between  different  countries  was  carried 
on  by  means  of  caravan.s,  particularly  by  the  inhabitants 
of  the  coasts  of  the  Arabian  Sea.  But  the  land  route  was 
beset  with  many  difficulties.  So  sea-borne  trade  gradually 
Hprang  up.  Navigation  however  made  its  first  efforts  in  the 
Mediterranean  Sea  and  Persian  Gulf  as  these  Seas  lay  open 
tbe  continents  of  Asia,  Europe  and  Africa.  But  gradually 
the  Arabian  Sea  was  included  in  the  sphere  of  Commerce, 
and  subsequently  communication  by  sea  with  India  was 
established.  The  question  of  navigation  on  the  Persian 
Gulf  however  is  still  entirely  shrouded  in  mist.  The  most 
ancient  inscriptions  do  not  mention  anything  of  such 
matters.  Incidentally  we  may  gather  however  that  the 
great  prosperity  of  Elam  was  due  to  the  wealth  acquired  by 
trade  relations  with  countries  on  her  eastern  frontier.  Elam 
was  really  the  connecting  link  between  the  civilized  coun- 
tries of  Nearer  and  E  tstern  Asia. 

Now  the  principal  sources  of   our   knowledge    regarding 
the  early  Indian  trade  are  derived  from  the  Indian  Scripture? 
on  the  one  hand  and  from    contemporary   foreign    literature 
on  the  other.     In  the  Vodic  times,  navigation  was  diligentl; 
pursued,  though  trade  only  existed  in  barter.     The  first  trade 
between  India  and  the  West  was  that   carried  on   the    Ery- 
threan  sea, — the  Arunodadhi  of  the  Pauranic  lore.  From  th< 
history  of  the  Chinese  coinage,  it  is  quite   certain   that   ai 
active   sea-borne    commerce     between   China   and   Westen 
Asia  sprang   about  700  B.C.     There  is   ample  evidence  that 
there  existed  maritime  intercourse  between  India  and  Baby- 
lon in  the  7th  century  B.  C.    e.  g    the  Baveru   Jataka.     Bui 
the   trade   was    chiefly    in     the    hands   of    the    Dravidiant 
although  the  Aryans  also  had  a  share  in    it.     The   secret 
the   greatness   of  Babylon     lay   in     her    monopoly   of  the 
treasures  of  the  East. 

The  trade  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  on  the  contrai 
consists  in  buying  goods  from  their  nearest  neighbours  oi 
one  side  and  selling  them  to  those  on  the  other  sitfe  of  them, 
and  though  trading  wealth  of  Egypt  hail  mainly  arit-eu  from 
carrying  the  merchandise  of  ludia  and  Arabia,  the  Egyptian* 
•eem  to  have  gained    no    knowledge    of   the    countries    tioi 


Ancient    Ifisfury.  cxix 

which  these  goodB  come.  India  only  seems  to  have  been 
known  to  the  early  Greeks  as  a  oountry  that  by  sea  was  to 
be  reached  by  way  of  the  Euphrates  and  the  Persian  Gulf. 
It  was  in  the  reign  of  Energetes  200  8.0.  that  an  Indian 
toiled  straight  from  India  to  Egypt  and  following  his 
example,  Endoxus  of  Cyzicus  made  a  voyage  of  discovery  to 
India.  But  the  art  of  navigation  was  so  far  unknown  that 
but  little  use  was  made  of  this  voyage  and  the  trade  with 
India  under  the  Ptolemies  was  still  carried  on  camels'  backs. 
It  was  only  through  the  Romans  that  Egypt  obtained 
the  great  maritime  traffic  to  the  Kast  Alexandria  under  the 
Romans  became  the  great  entrepot  of  the  tradingworld — it 
was  a  spot  where  Europe  met  Asia  and  each  wondered  at 
the  strangeness  of  the  other.  It  is  in  the  time  of  Clau- 
dius (A.  D.  41)  that  the  route  through  Egypt  to  India  became 
really  known  to  the  Europeans.  The  historian  Pliny 
(79  A. D.)  has  left  us  a  contemporary  account  in  his  "Natural 
History".  There  is  also  the  " Periflus  of  the  Erythrmn  Sea," 
giving  us  a  valuable  geographical  knowledge  of  the  several 
sea-passes  and  towns  near  the  coast  etc.  But  that  the 
Romans  did  not  go  to  India,  is  a  fact  of  vast  historical 
importance.  The  Western  World  was  cut  off  from  all 
contact  for  1000  years  with  the  world  of  the  East. 


The  Date   of  Cakradhara   the    Manabhava.       By   G.    K. 
CHANDORKAR. 

Argument: — The  time  of  Cakradhara  the  Manbhava  is  pro- 
posed to  be  ascertained  from  the  Life  of  Cakradhara  himself 
in  two  parts,  Lila  Saibvdda  and  LU<1  Caritra  a  work 
written    by    a    Manabhava  in     symbols   and    from     PhnPan 

'ttmija  also  another  work  of  a  Manabhava. 

I     The  story  of  Cakradhara's  (  alias  Cangadeva's  )    birth 

1  forth  in  the  Pha/tun  Mahal  mijn,   state-    that  the  father 

of  Cakradhara  had  made  a  vow  to  th<  I  hi  of  ( !ahgad«v« 

.  the  Purandhar  hill'.  This  Bamftdhi  'near  the  Puran- 
dhar  hill*  is    (he    Sainndhi  of  CftDgi     Va  the    famous 

iple  of  Sii  i»n\  aue-wara. 


cxr  First  Oriental   Con/eren<e. 

Chahga  Vateswara  went  into  Samadhi  in  the  Saka  year 
1219. 

2  Muktabai  the  only  sister  of  Sri  Dnyaneswara  has 
been  thrice  mentioned  in  the  Caritra  as  a  person  of  the 
past. 

Muktabai  went  into  Samadhi  in  the  Saka  year  1220  as 
accepted  by  MarathI  Scholars. 

3  The  same  Caritra  mentions  Namdev  the  favourite 
of  Sri  Vitthala. 

Namdev  is  described  by  Cakradhara  himself  as  a  high- 
wayman given  to  cattle-stealing  along  with  Vitthala  a  Brah- 
man. Both  were  once  pursued  and  killed.  Vitthala  became 
a  God,  or  was  rather  turned  into  God  by  his  sons  composing 
Abhahgas  on  him,  wherein  he  and  his  wife  Rakhumai  were 
mentioned  by  the  sons. 

Namdev  went  into  Samadhi  nearly  50  years  after  Sri 
Dnyaneswara,  that  is  in  Saka  year  1268. 

4  MarathI  scholars  are  aware  that  some  Abhahgas  of 
Sri  Dnyaneswara  appear  under  an  assumed  name  of  'Bapa 
Rakhuma  Devi  Varu  Vitthalu'.  These  are  the  Abhahgas  re- 
ferred to  above. 

Hence  Cakradhara  Manabhava  must  have  lived  long  after 
Saka  1248. 

Since  the  earliest  reference  to  Manabhavas  is  to  be  met 
with  in  the  works  of  Sri  Eknath  (1521  Saka).  Chakradhar 
must  have  lived  between  1268  and  1521.  I  allot  him  ro  The 
latter  half  of  the  15th  century. 


Date  of  the  Coronation  of  Mahapadma.    By  HARIT  KHl- 

shnaDeb. 

The  Matstja  Vayu  and  Brakmanria  Puranas,  towards 
the  close  of  their  dynastic  account  of  the  Kali  Age,  assert 
that  the  account  has  been  carried  down  to  the  836th  year 
'  after  M:ihupadma '.  As  the  preceding  verse  counts  back 
from  the  coronation    of  Mahapadma,    the   expression    '  after 


Ancient   lit  <-xxi 

Mahapadma  '  should  be  understood  to  mean  '  after  Maha- 
padma's  coronation '  which  is  obviously  taken  here  as  the 
pivot  of  reckoning. 

To  determine  a  precise  date  for  this  event  is  the  object 
ot  this  paper.  The  approximate  date  has  long  been  known. 
It  must  fall  about  the  4th  or  5th  century  B.  C,  since  the 
Greek  notices  conclusively  prove  that  the  Maurya  dynasty, 
which  supplanted  Mahapadma's  dynasty  after  the  latter  had 
ruled  for  40  or  100  years,  had  already  been  established  before 
:linU'.  ('.,  .-Mid  Asoka  Maurya  speaks,  in  an  inscription,  of 
Magas  who  ruled  in  Cyrene  c.  300  B.  C— c.  250  B.  C.  The 
836th  year  after  Mahapadma,  the  last  definite  date  given  in 
the  Puranas,  thus  falls  about  the  5th  century  A.  D. 

It  is  not  likely  that  Indian  historians  of  such  a  late 
period  failed  to  recognise  the  necessity  for  the  use  of  an  era 
in  order  to  make  their  dynastic  account  chronologically 
intelligible.  Several  eras  were  in  existence  at  that  period, 
but  most  of  them  were  regnal  reckonings  of  particular 
monarchs,  and  the  adoption  of  any  one  of  these  reckonings 
may  have  been  thought  to  betray  a  political  bias  not  worthy 
of  an  impartial  historian.  But  there  was  one  era  not  open 
to  this  objection,  namely  the  Laukika  or  Saptarsi  era. 
This  era  has  been  used  by  Kalhana  in  his  R3jatarangiai  in 
preference  to  the  Saka  era  in  recording  the  dates  of  Kashmir 
kings.  It  would  appear  that  this  custom  was  already  quite 
archaic  in  Kalhana's  time,  and  may  well  have  existed  at  the 
time  the  earliest  Puranas  received  their  present  form.  The 
Laukika  era  was  eminently  suitable  for  employment  in 
Puranic  chronology  ;  for  it  is  'laukika,'  i.e.  'popular, 'and  the 
Puranas  are  popular  histories.  Another  name  for  this  era 
is  'Sastra  sarhvat';  and  what  Sastras,  if  not  the  Puranas,  could 
imperatively  require  the  use  of  an  era?  The  Puranic  account 
actually  gives  an  exposition  of  the  Saptarsi  reckoning  just 
after  mentioning  the  period  between  Mahapadma's  coronation 
and  the  last  definite  date  to  which  the  dynastic  account  has 
been  brought  down  It  is  difficult  to  avoid  concluding  that 
the  Saptarsi  or  Laukika  reckoning  has  been  availed  of 
here ;  in  other  words,  the  836th  year  after  Mahapadma's 
16 


cxxii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

coronation   is    nothing    but    the   last    year  of  a  Saptarsi 
century. 

This  century  must  correspond  to  the  years  324-424 
A.  D. ;  for  no  other  century  preserves  the  Graeco — Indian 
synchronisms  alluded  to  above.  Mahapadma's  coionation 
thus  falls  about  the  year  413  B.  C.  (413  B.  C.-424  A.  D.  =  836 
years). 

The  same  conclusion  follows  from  other  and  independent 
considerations.  The  dynastic  account  is  claimed  to  have 
confined  itself  to  the  enumeration  of  kings  of  the  Kali  Age. 
The  836th  year  after  Mahapadma  must,  therefore,  have  been 
considered  to  mark  the  end  of  the  Kali  Age. 

Now,  the  Puranas  also  assert  that  the  beginning  of  the 
Treta   Age    is   to   be   identified   with   the    starting-point   of 
history.     True,    they    assume    several    manvantaras,    each 
manvantara  consisting   of   several    caturyugas,    and    each 
caturyuga  consisting  of  four  yugas  calculated  according   to 
the  dimja  reckoning  which   conceives   of  a    single   year  as 
containing  360  human  or  ordinary  years.     But  the  manvan- 
taras  before    the   Vaivasvata   period   have   no    relation   to 
history  proper,  as  proved  by  the  occurrence,  in  Matsya,  of  the 
word  bhuvi  in  connexion  only  with  the   sons   of  Vaivasvata 
Manu,   as   also   by   the    explicit    statement   in    Vayu   that 
corn-cultivation,    preservation   of  cattle   etc,  first    became 
possible  in  the  Vaivasvata  period.     Further,  the  divya  mode 
of  reckoning  is  conventional,  as  attested  by  the  use  of  such 
expressions  as  Safijnita,   ahurmanisinah,  and  by  the  existence 
of  an  account  of  the  yuga  periods  without   reference   to   the 
divya  reckoning  in  ch.  32  of  Vayu.     The  first  27  caturyugas 
of  the  Vaivasvata   period   are   likewise   conventional,   since 
the  Puranas   ascribe   a   cyclic    character  to  the   historical 
events  they   enumerate.     The   Tretayuga,   therefore,   which 
is  taken  in   the  Puranas  to  mark  the  beginning  of  orthodox 
history,    is    the   Tretayuga   of  the   28th   caturyuga   of   the 
Vaivasvata  manvantara;  and  the  divya   calculation  need  not 
be  considered  in  judging  the   historical   period.     The  period 
between  the  starting-point  of  history   and   the   end   of  the 
Kali  Age  is  thus  one  of  (3600  +  2400  +  1200  or)  7200  years. 


Ancient  History.  cxxiii 

In  the  days  of  Megasthenes,  the  Hindus  reckoned  the 
starting-point  of  their  history  to  have  been  6451  years  and 
three  months  before  Alexander,  that  is,  about  6777  B.  C« 
As  this  reckoning  was  based  upon  the  reign-periods  of  kings, 
and  was  associated  with  legends  concerning  Spatembas 
(Svayambhuva)  and  Boudyas  (Buddha),  the  standpoint  must 
have  been  that  of  the  Puranas.  The  date  6777  B.  C.  should 
consequently  be  identified  with  the  beginning  of  the  Treta- 
yuga  of  the  Puranas,  with  the  result  that  the  end  of  the 
Kaliyuga  falls  in  424  A.  D.  (6777  B.  C.-424  A.  D.  7200  years), 
and  the  coronation  of  Mahapadma  is  assigned  to  413  B.  C, 
being  836  years  prior  to  the  end  of  Kali. 

According  to  this  view  of  the  chronology,  the  yuga- 
periods  are: — 

Treta— 6777  B.  C.-3177B.  C. 
Dvapara— 3177  B.  C -777  B.  C. 
Kali— 777  B.  C.-424  A.  D. 

We  can  put  this  chronology  to  some  rough  tests. 

The  Puranas  say  that  the  Vedas  were  divided  into  four 
parts  in  the  Dvaparayuga,  /.  e.  between  3177  B.C.  and  777  B.C. 
This  result  is  in  sufficient  agreement  with  the  considered 
views  of  Western  scholars  on  the  age  of  the  Vedas.  Again, 
the  Puranas  ascribe  to  the  Dvaparayuga  the  division  of 
Puranic  literature  into  18  parts.  This  view  tallies  with  the 
infemivo,  based  upon  the  Puranie  use  of  the  present  tense 
in  connexion  with  three  contemporary  kings,  who  were 
removed  from  Yudhi?thira  by  about  four  genera:  ions,  that  the 
age  of  compilation  of  the  original  Puranas  lies  in  the  1 
or  Hth  century  B.  C.  But  it  seems  to  conflict  with  the 
view,  also  noted  in  the  Puranas.  that  the  Kali  Age  began 
with  the  death  of  Krsna.  The  fact  is  that  both  views 
are  combined  in  the  Puranas  as  at  present  constituted  ;  for 
while  proposing  to  give  a  dynastic  account  of  the  Kaliyuga 
only,  which  consists  of  no  more  than  1200  years,  the  Puranas 
actually  treat  of  a  period  extending  over  more  than 
18  centuries.  This  composite  standpoint,  resulting  in  an 
overlapping  of  about  700  years  as  between  the  Dvapara  and 
Kali  periods,  is  admitted  in  so  many  words: — i/w./npat 
Bamavi  '<ni  dwtu  thridhn  mktum  na  mkyc 


cxxiv  First  Oriental  Confeience. 

Mahapadma's  coronation-date,  as  determined  here,  brings 
him  into  chronological  connexion  with  Darius  II  of  Persia 
(424  B.  C.-404  B.  C.)  who  was,  like  Mahapadma,  an  illegiti- 
mate scion  of  the  older  ruling  house,  and  had  usurped  the 
throne  by  killing  the  legitimate  heir.  V  ahapadma  may  have 
been  encouraged  by  the  Persian  example  to  seize  the  throne 
not  lawfully  belonging  to  him.  The  conquests  of  Darius 
I  had  brought  the  Achaemenian  Empire  into  close  contact 
with  India  proper,  and  may  have  necessitated  the  formation 
of  a  unified  Middle  Indian  Empire  under  Udayana, — the 
Empire  which  Mahapadma  was  later  to  constitute  into  a 
kingdom  under  his  sole  sway  by  uprooting  the  subordinate 
kings.  He  was  the  first  Sudra  monarch  after  the  Bharata 
War,  and  his  coronation-date  is  a  very  important  land-mark 
in  the  political  history  of  India. 


Identification  of  the  Kings  of  Aryavarta  defeated  by 
Samudragupta.    By  K.  N.  DlKSHIT. 

Important  points  treated  in  the  paper  : — 

1  Balavarman,  the  last  of  the  nine  princes  of  Arya- 
varta defeated  by  Samudragupta  (vide  his  Allahabad  Pillar 
Inscription)  is  most  probably  identical  with  Balavarman, 
the  ancestor  of  Bhaskaravarman  of  Assam. 

2  Rudradeva  the  first  of  the  9  kings  mentioned  in  the 
same  inscription  is  probably  to  be  identified  with  Rudrasena 
I  of  the  Vakataka  dynasty,  who  was  a  contemporary  of 
Samudragupta. 

3  These  identifications  point  to  an  order  in  which  the 
names  of  the  nine  kings  were  mentioned,  beginning  from  the 
South,  then  to  the  West,  then  to  the  North  and  finally  to  the 
Eastern  frontier  of  the  original  Gupta  kingdom.  The 
kings  mentioned  may  thus  be  tentatively  localized  in  parti- 
cular regions. 


The  Date  of  Haribhadrasuri.     By  MUNI  JlNAVIJAYAJL 
More  than  one  Jain  writer  bears  the  name  Haribhadrasuri, 
but  the  Bubjeoi    of   this    paper    is   the   earliest  and    the    most 


Ancient  History,  cixv 

famous  of  them:  the  author  of  Avasyakasutravrtti,  Yogabimlu, 
Sastraiiir'iistimuccayat  and  scores  of  other  works  small  and 
large.  Haribhadra  supplies  scanty  details  about  himself  in 
the  coloph«»n  to  the  Ava&yakasBtravrtti,  but  his  date  is  still 
disputed.  The  question  was  opened  up  by  Peterson,  who 
was  followed  by  Klatt,  Leumann,  Ballini,  Mironow,  and 
Jacobi.  The  last  mentioned  scholar  doubts  the  validity  of 
an  anonymous  Prakrt  gatha,  which  has  been  the  basis  for  all 
other  chronological  statements  about  Haribhadra  and  which 
records  the  death  of  the  great  acarya  as  having  taken  place 
in  529  A.  D.,  on  the  strength  of  (i)  a  statement  in  the  Upami- 
Ubhavaprapaflcakatfia  which  was  finished  in  A.  D.  906  and 
the  author  of  which,  Siddharsi,  calls  Haribhadra  his  pre- 
ceptor;  and  (ii)  certain  identities  of  expression  between 
Haribhadra  and  Dharmaklrti.  Now  as  to  (ii)  Jacobi  could 
have  made  a  much  stronger  case  in  as  much  as  Haribhadra 
actually  mentions  not  only  Dharmaklrti  but  even  Bhartrhari 
the  author  of  the  Vakyapadlya  (cir.  650  A.  D.)  and  Kumarila 
(first  half  of  the  8th  century)  as  also  a  number  of  other  Jain 
and  Buddhistic  writers.  But  we  cannot  accept  the  argument 
(i)  because,  if  we  follow  the  words  of  Siddharsi  carefully  it 
becomes  evident  that  Siddharsi  does  not  wish  us  to  regard 
Haribhadra  as  his  immediate  teacher  (ch.  Anagatam  parijua- 
///).  Thus  although  the  anonymous  Prakrt  gatha  has  to 
be  rejected  as  a  chronological  evidence,  we  cannot  take 
Haribhadra  at  once  from  the  6th  to  the  10th  century,  but 
have  to  place  him  rather  in  the  8th  century  after  Christ. 
One  evidence  of  a  compelling  kind  for  this  is  the  mention  of 
Haribhadra  by  Udyotanasuri  who  wrote  his  Kuvalayamola 
in  Saka  699  or  777  A.  D,  Further  collateral  evidence  enables 
us  to  place  Haribhadra  between  705  and  775  A.  D.  He  lived 
therefore  in  that  same  century  which  produced  great  writers 
like  Kumarila,  Prabhakara,  Sarikara  and  Sureswara;  Bhava^ 
bhntiand  V-ikpati;  Santaraksita  and  Kamalaslla;  Akalafika, 
ndi,  Vidyananda,  and    Prabhaoandra. 

The  four  Appendixes  at  the  end  of  the  paper  discuss  the 

ion  of  the  relation  between  Haribhadra  and  Santaraksita; 

then.  of  distinguishing  between  a   Vrddha-Dharmot- 

tara  (whom  Haribhadra  quotes)  and  a  latpr  writer  of  thp  Ramp 


cxxvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

name;  the  necessity  of  -a  similar  distinction  between  two 
writers  of  the  name  Mallavadin;  and  the  indirect  bearing  of 
the  date  of  Haribhadra  upon  the  date  of  Sankaracarya  whom 
Haribhadra  does  not  quote  and  who  therefore  cannot  be 
placed  a  hundred  years  earlier  than  the  date  accepted  for 
him  by  Professor  K.  B  Pathak  and  others.  If  Sahkara  had 
lived  100  years  before  Haribhadra,  the  absence  of  all  reference 
to  him  or  to  his  works  by  Haribhadra  remains  unexplained. 


Ravana's  Lanka  discovered.     By  Sirdar  M.  V.  KIBE. 

The  identity  of  the  Ayodhya,  and  Citrakuta  mentioned 
in  Valmiki's  Raniayana  with  the  modern  sites  or  places 
bearing  those  names  is  not  disputed.  There  is,  however,  no 
certainty  as  regards  the  places  visited  by  Rama  and  his 
party  during  his  exile  afterhis  visit  to  Citrakuta.  It  appears' 
that  he  spent  nearly  ten  years  in  the  Dandaka  forest  and  then 
resided  at  a  particular  spot  in  it  for  about  two  years  when 
his  wife,  Sita,  was  abducted  by  Ravana.  In  search  of  her, 
Rama  reached  Kiskindha.  This  place  could  be  fixed  with 
certainty  on  three  grounds.  The  first  is  that  from  here  Su- 
grlva,  while  sending  expeditions  in  four  directions,  enume- 
rated the  countries  in  each  directiou.  This  centre  appears 
to  be  on  the  Northern  slope  of  the  extreme  East  of  the  ViD. 
dlj-  a  range.  Then  the  distance  between  Citrakuta  and  Kis- 
kindha is  indicated  in  yojanas.  In  mileage  it  comes  to  about 
92  miles.  This  again  leads  to  the  same  spot.  The  third 
ground  is  that  the  search  party  which  went  to  the  South 
immediately  entered  the  Vindhyas  after  leaving  Kiskindha. 
These  three  grounds  lead  to  the  location  of  Kiskindha  in 
the  present  Rewa  State.  Local  tradition  also  points  to  the 
same  place. 

The  next  place  then  to  be  searched  is  Ravana's  Lanka, 
The  Ram  ay  ana  is  quite  clear  that  the  search  party  which 
entered  the  Vindhya  went  to  the  South  and  as  soon  as  it  left 
its  valley  <*ame  across  the  Sea.  on  the  other  shore  of  which 
Lanka  was  visible,  perched  on  the  peak  of  a  mountain.  There 
is  no  sea  which  washes  the  Southern  side  of  the  Vindhyas.  It 
is  not  unlikely  that  the  poet  might  have  magnified  an  ex* 
pense  of  water  into  a  sea.     If  this  explanation  is  accepted,  a 


Ancifu'    History,  cxxvii 

mysterious  peak  which  is  visible  from  the  neighbourhood  of 
the  Amarkantak,  the  source  of  the  Narbudda,  and  which  is 
surrounded  by  marshy  land  may  be  identified  with  Lanka. 

Local  tradition  connects  the  country  with  Ravana  and 
this  part  of  the  Vindhyas  which  is  called  the  Kaimur  range 
contains  traces  of  the  habitation  of  pre-historic  men. 


The.  early  History  of  the  Gurjaras.  Bij  R.  C.  MAJUMDAR 

The  object  of  the  present  paper  is  to  discuss  the  history 
of  a  Gurjara-Pratlhara  ruling  family,  earlier  than  and  differ- 
ent from  the  well-known  Imperial  Pratiharas.  The  family 
was  founded  by  a  Brahmana  called  Haricandra  in  the 
middle  of  the  sixth  century  A-  D.  and  ruled  over  territories 
round  about  Mandor  in  Rajputana.  This  is  the  earliest 
Gurjara  power  in  India  known  to  History,  and  the  province 
over  which  they  ruled  was  known  in  later  times  as  Gurjara- 
tra.  Among  others,  the  following  important  points  regard- 
ing the  history  of  this  family  have  been  sought  to  be  esta- 
blished in  the  present  paper. 

(1)  They  were  the  Gurjaras  against  whom  the  kings  of 

Thaneswar,  notably  Prabhakaravardhana,  carried 
on  constant  warfare. 

(2)  They  represent   the   Gurjara  power   which    came 

into  conflict  with  the  Calukyas  of  Badami, 
notably  Pulakesin  II. 

(3)  The  Samanta  Dadda  who  founded  a  feudatory  ruling 

family  at  Broach  was  the  brother  of  a  king  of  this 
dynasty  and  the  Broach  Gurjaras  were  thus  sub- 
ordinate to  this  family. 

(4)  The  Gurjara  kingdom  referred  to   by   the   Chinese 

traveller  Yuan-chwang  is  the  province  ruled  over 
by  this  family  and  the  king  whose  court  was 
visited  by  the  pilgrim  was  the  fifth  king  of  this 
family  called  Tata. 

(5)  The  power  and  prestige  of  this   family   underwent 

a  considerable  decline  in  consequence  of  an  in- 
vasion by  the  Arabs  in  c.  725  A.  D. 


rxxviii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

(6)  The  ultimate  downfall  of  the  dynasty  was    caused 

by  the  rise  of  a  rival  Pratlhara  family  which  drove 
away  the  Mleccha  invaders  and  established  the 
supremacy  over  the  Gurjara  confederacy. 

(7)  Henceforth  the  family  continued   as  a  subordinate 

power  under  the  imperial  Pratlharas  till  at  least 
the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  A.  D.  but  its 
end  is  involved  in  obscurity. 


The  Ancient  Germans.  A  few  points  in  their  Con- 
stitution, Religion,  Society,  etc,  common  to  them 
and  to  the  Early  Indo-Iranians.  By  JlVANJl 
Jamshedji  Modi. 

The  last  great  war,  in  which  many  nations  of  the  Indo- 
Germanic  group  took  part,  drew  the  attention  of  the  whole 
civilized  world  to  the  Germans.  According  to  Gibbon,  the 
ancient  Germans  have  "a  stronger  and  more  domestic  claim" 
upon  the  attention  of  the  Britons.  We  may  add,  that  they 
have  also  some  claim  upon  the  attention  of  the  Modern 
Indo-Iranians — the  Hindus  and  the  Parsis.  As  to  the  claims 
of  the  Britons,  Gibbon  says  that  "the  most  civilized  nations 
of  modern  Europe  issued  from  the  woods  of  Germany,  and 
in  the  rude  institutions  of  those  barbarians,  we  may  still 
distinguish  the  original  principles  of  our  present  laws  and 
manners".  Dr.  J.  Aikin,  a  translator  of  Tacitus,  the  Histo- 
rian of  the  ancient  Germans,  says :  "  The  government 
policy  and  manners  of  the  most  civilized  parts  of  the  globe 
were  to  originate  from  the  woods  and  deserts  of  Germany". 
Mr.  Baring  Gould,  in  his  book  on  Germany,  says:  "Influences 
have  gone  forth  from  her  which  have   deeply   affected   every 

one  of  her  neighbours The   reader   of  the  story   of 

Germany  is  thus  brought  face  to  face   with   problems  of  the 
deepest  moment,  with  which  men  of  deadly  earnestness  were 
struggling  through  the  ages,  putting  forth    all   the   power   of 
their  intellect  and  the  force  of  their    vigorous  bodies,  intei 
sified  by  the  deep-seated    religious   convictions   which   the: 
nourished  in  their  hearts.     The  story  of  such  a  people  as  th< 
Germans  could  not  fail  to  possess   intense  interest  for  any- 


tnt   History.  cxxlx 

That  story  does  possess   some   int*  t    us,    Indo- 

Iranians,  also,  but  that  interest  is  based  on  a  ground  different 
from  that  on  which  the  Britons  base  their  interest.  The  in- 
terest of  the  Britons,  lies  mostly  on  the  ground  that  the 
Germans  were  looked  at  as  blood-relations,  as  cousins,  and 
that  they  (  the  Britons  ),  to  a  great  extent,  built  upon  the  ex- 
perience of  these  cousins  and  looked  to  them  for  guidance. 
The  reason  of  the  claims  of  the  ancient  German  upon  our  at- 
tention is  that  the  ancient  Germans  were  the  contemporaries 
of  the  ancient  Indo-Iranians.  So  our  interest  lies  more  in 
the  line  of  comparing  some  of  our  old  religious  beliefs,  man- 
ners and  customs  with  those  of  the  ancient  Germans  looking 
at  them  as  our  great  grand  uncles  of  the  past  and  not  in 
the  line  of  tracing  the  origin  or  rise  of  these  from  them  as  is 
the  case  with  the  modern  Britons  and  other  European 
nations,  who  look  at  them  as  their  remote  ancestors  or  great 
grandfathers.  Both  Ethnography  and  Philology  present 
this  view  of  the  case. 

Our  authorities  for  information  about  the  ancient  Ger- 
mans are  Caius  Julius  and  Caius  Cornelius  Tacitus.  Tacitus 
has  been  held  to  be  wrong,  when  he  said,  that  the  ancient 
Germans  were  "  indigenous  and  free  from  intermixture  with 
foreigners,  either  as  settlers  or  casual  visitors",  (a)  The  burial 
mounds  found  in  some  parts  of  Germany,  (b)  the  ancient 
names  of  some  of  its  rivers  and  mountains  and  (c)  the  divi- 
sion of  the  people  like  that  of  Aryas  and  Non-Aryas,  like 
that  of  Iranians  and  Non-Iranians,  into  the  free  and  non-free 
(  the  serfs,  the  original  natives  of  the  place  )  among  whom 
intermarriages  were  prohibited  by  a  law,  the  relic  of  which 
prevented,  up  to  now,  a  German  prince  from  marrying  out 
of  the  princely  family — all  these  point  to  an  early  occupa- 
tion of  the  land  by  some  people  other  than  the  ancient  Ger- 
mans, and  to  the  conclusion  that  the  ancient  Germans  came 
from  somewhere  else  and  occupied  the  country  as  con- 
quer 

They  are  believed  to  have  a  Scythian  origin  and  to   In 
come  from    a  countrv    occupied   by    the   Scythians.     Several 
17 


cxxx  .    first  Oriental  Conference. 

facts  lead  us  to  that  conclusion,  (a)  Their  god  Tuist  w*' 
the  god  Teut  or  Teutates,  the  Celto-Scythian  king  or  her. 
(b)  The  story  of  Manus,  the  son  of  this  Tuisto,  whose  thr» 
sons  gave  their  names  to  three  great  bribes  of  the  anciet 
Germans  reminds  us  of  the  Iranian  story  of  the  Avesta 
Thraetana  (  Faridun  )  and  of  his  three  sons,  who  gave  the? 
names  to  three  Iranian  countries.  The  name  Manus  remins 
us  of  the  Iranian  Manush  (  Manushcheher,  Minocher  )  i 
descendant  of  Thraetaona. 

Then,  the  Scythians,  from  whom  the   ancient   Germas 
took  their  origin,  were,  as  pointed  out   by  Prof.  Gutsc" 
"  Aryan  and   nearly   akin    to    the   settled   Iranians", 
account  of    Herodotus   about  the   Scythians   support- 
conclusion.     They  had  among  them   the  story   of  the   thre 
sons  of  Targitans  and  of  their  trial,   which    reminds  us  f 
the  story  of  the  trials  of  his  three    sons  by    the  Thraetaoa  i 
of  the  Tuesta. 

We  find  that  almost  a  similar  story  of  three   brotherss 
connected  with  the  God  Tuist   of  the  ancient  German 
God  Trita  Aptya  of  the  Hindus,  and  the   hero  Thraetaoa 
Athwya  of  the  Iranians.     Again  the  story  of  the  mares  of  te 
Scythian  Hercules,  disappearing  when  the  hero  was  asleep,  t 
the  instance  of  a  woman  who  wanted  to   marry   him,    r 
bles  that  of  the   Iranian   Hercules,   Rustam,   and   his  wfi; 
Tehmina. 

We  trace  similarity  between  the  institutions  of  the  a- 
cient  Germans  and  the  ancient  Indo-Iranians  in  the  follo- 
ing  matters. 

1     Constitution,  2  Religion,  3  Womanhood,  (a)  Socil  I 
position  (b)  Prohibition   against  Widow-man 
(c)  Sutteeship  id)  Prohibition   of  Intermarri:; 
4  Computation  of  time,  5  Miscellaneous  mal 
such  as  (a)  Calculation  of  Wealth  (0)  Deliberate 
during  and  after  feasts. 
1     The  Civil  Economy  of  the  ancient  Germans   conBj 
ponded,  to  a   certain   extent,   to   that  of  the   Iranians  ttk 
Indians.     The  German  divisions  of  houses,  vici,  districts  ML 
tribes,  corresponded  to  the   Iranian   division   of  houses,  (Ife 
mana),  vica  (for),   Zantu   (^)   and    danghu  or  dakhyu 


Ancient  History.  cxtxi 

•wn-ships  of  the  Germans  corresponded  to  the  village- 
nununities  of  India.     Their  way  of  conducting   communal 

ss  resembled  the  Indian  way.  Sir  H.  Maine  has  corn- 
red  these  two.  Their  mode  of  electing  the  chiefs  or  the 
.nchayat  was  well  nigh  similar.     The   common   civil  Eco- 

>f  the  ancient  Germans,  Indians  and  Iranians  shows 
,  that  local  Self-Government  was,  as  it  were,  'as  old  as  the 
Us'.  As  Prof.  Rehatsek  has  said,  "it  was  the  feature  of  the 
rsian  system  of  administration  to  allow  the  nation  under 

ule  a  good  deal  of  self-Government  and  internal  in- 
pendence.     Even  the  civil   governors  of  Judaea were 

-  Jews".  There  prevailed  a  reasonable  democratic 
trit  or  rule.  Kautilya's  Arthasastra  shows  that  there 
jvailed  such  a  spirit  in  ancient  India.  It  extended  even 
the  Tamil  country.  The  Germans,  the  Iranians  and 
dians  had  both  kinds  of  government  in  their  extended  ter- 
ories,  monarchies  as  well  as  republics.  The  Buddhist 
takas  and  the  Iranian  Vendidad  refer  to  both.  The  "vox 
puir  prevailed  in  the  election  of  kings  and  chiefs. 

As  to  the  Religion  of  the  ancient  Germans,  Caesar 
78 :  "They  reckon  those  alone  in  the  number  of  gods 
tich  are  the  objects  of  their  perception  and  by  whose  attri- 

they  are  visibly  benefited,  as  the  Sun,    the    Moon,  and 

in      The  rest  they   have  not  heard  of".    Herein   we  see 

»  old  Tndo-Iranian  worship,  "a   worship   of  the  wonderful 

uid  phenomena  of  Nature,"  as  said  by  Dr-  Whitney. 

e  statement  of  Tacitus   about   the   ancient   Germans,  that 

ley  conceive  as  uuworthy  the  grandeur  of  celestial  beings 

contine  their  deities    within    walls,  or  to    represent   them 

der  a  human   similitude,"   seems  to  be,  as  it  were  another 

•sion  of  what  Herodotus  says  of  the   early    Iranians,  that 

is  not  their  practice  to  erect   stones  or  temples  or  altars, 

t  they  charge  those   with  folly,   who   do   so".     Arrian  ra- 

o   Megasthenes,   as   saying   a   similar   thing  of  the  an- 

[ndians  of  the  pre-Buddhistic  times.     \\  hat  Prof.  Gut- 

i  -ays  of  the  Scythian  worship,  that  "in  true  Iranian 

Won  the  gods   were   adored   without   images  or  temples", 

s  true  of  the  Germans  also.     The  German  god  Wotan,  the 

1  Of  air,  who  has  given  his  name  to  a  week-day.   the   Wed- 

-  the  same  as  thp    Vata.    the    Iranian    Yazata  of  air 


exxxii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

or  wind.  A  kind  of  divination  was  associated  with  Religion 
among  these  three  people.  Their  divination  from  twigs  re- 
minds us  of  the  divination  among  the  Iranians  through  their 
barsam,  referred  to  in  the  old  testament,  which,  though  now 
made  of  metallic  rods,  was  formerly  made  of  twigs,  and 
which  seems  to  have  been  used  for  divination.  All  the  three 
ancient  nations  had  divination  from  birds,  horses  and  fights 
of  individual  champions. 

3  (a)  The  ancient  Germans  had  like  their  Indo-Iranian 
brethren  a  very  great  esteem  for  women,  who  held  a  high 
position  among  them.  They  married  like  them  at  a  mature 
age,  and  had  like  them,  monogamy  as  the  rule  and  polygamy 
as  exceptions.  Tacitus  presents  to  us  as  bright  a  picture 
of  the  position  of  woman,  as  that  presented  by  the  Avesta  for 
the  Iranian  women,  and  by  the  ancient  Hindu  books  for 
Indian  women.  It  was  the  husband  who  brought  the  gifts  or 
dowry  and  not  the  wife.  In  ancient  Iran  and  India  also,  the 
gifts  were  from  the  husband.  A  desire  for  a  large  progeny 
was  common  among  the  three  nations.  The  mothers  "suckled 
their  own  children"  and  did  not  "deliver  them  into  the  hands 
of  servants  and  nurses". 

(b)  They  had  among  them  in  some  states  prohibition  of 
Widow-marriages  and  Suttee-ship,  which  at  one  time  or  an- 
other in  the  history  of  the  ancient  Hindus,  existed  among 
them.  It  is  a  question  how  old  is  the  prohibition  in  India. 
It  seems,  that  (a)  either  there  were  different  views  about 
widow-marriages  at  different  periods  of  Indian  history,  or 
(fythat  the  views  differed  in  different  parts  of  the  country. 
Itseems,  that  the  prohibition  existed  when  the  ancestors  of 
the  ancient  Germans  and  the  ancient  Hindus — their  common 
Aryan  forefathers — lived  together  somewhere.  We  learn 
from  Kautilya's  Arthasastra,  that  widow-marriage  was  per- 
mitted in  Candragupta's  time.  Again,  we  learn  from  Firdousi, 
that  in  later  times  also,  in  the  times  of  Chosroesjl  (Nowsher- 
wan  A'dil,  6th  Century  A.  D.),  it  was  permitted. 

(c)  As  to  Suttee-ship  among  the  ancient  Germans,  Bar- 
ing Gould  attribute?;  it  rather  to  want  of  self-respect,  but 
following  Tacitus,  wp  must  say,  that,  as  at  one  timr  in  India, 
it  was  resorted  to  by  women  out  of  highor  frelinKs  for  thp 
sacred  tie  of  marriage. 


Ancient  History.  oxixiii 

('/)  The  ancient  Germans  had,  according  to  Tacitus, 
no  inter-marriages  with  non-Germans.  They  had  also  no 
inter-marriages  with  what  we  may  call  the  aborigines  of  the 
country,  whom  they  called,  'non-free,  calling  themselves  who 
had  come  from  a  foreign  land,  free'.  According  to  Megas- 
thenes  and  Arrian,  there  was  some  prohibition  against  inter- 
marriage's between  the  castes. 

4  In  their  computation  of  time,  the  ancient  Germans, 
like  their  brethren  the  Indo-Iranians  "computed  time  not  by 
the  number  of  days  but  of  nights". 

5  They  counted  their  wealth  by  their  cattle. 

They  were  late  risers,  ate  on  separate  tables  or  plates- 
and  indulged  in  drinking.  Like  their  Iranian  brothers,  of 
whose  custom  Herodotus  speaks  at  some  length,  they  held 
deliberations  on  serious  matters  in  the  midst  of  feasts  and 
after  drinking,  and  confirmed  those  deliberations  in  sober 
hours,  the  next  day. 


A  Chapter  from   our   early  Economic   Geography.      By 
Radhakamal  Mookerji. 

There  can  be  no  greater  test  of  India's  economic  progress 
in  the  past  than  the  age-long  distribution  and  utilisation  of 
forest,  agricultural  and  mineral  products  from  the  Himalayas 
to  the  Cape  and  from  Sindh  to  Assam.  It  is  also  significant 
that  the  distribution  is  in  some  cases  fairly  the  same  as  it 
had  been  25  centuries  ago,  being  determined  by  the  physio- 
graphical  characteristics  of  the  different  forest,  pastoral, 
agricultural  or  mineral  regions  and  zones  in  India.  The 
pearls  of  Ceylon,  the  corals  of  the  Sea  of  Barbara,  the  fores 
products  of  the  sub-tropical  slopes  of  the  Himalayas  and  oft 
Assam,  the  shawls  and  rugs  in  the  wool  areas  of  the  dry  N. 
W.  and  especially  Kashmir  and  Nepal,  the  cotton  in  the  old 
cotton  areas  of  Bengal  and  Paundra,  the  Ganges  valleysorthe 
Ooromandal  Coast  lands,  the  horses  <»f  the  dry  bills  of  the  N. 
W.  in  Sindh  and  in  Afghanistan,  *ho  elephants  in  the  Terai 
and  Assam  forests,  'bo  salt  dug  from  the  Sindh  n  'hese 

are  as  woll  known  t-^-day  as  they  had  been  in  the  age*  pf  the 


czxziv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Arthasastra,  the  Mahabharata  or  the  Periplus.  The  names 
of  towns  and  regions  are  sometimes  easy  and  sometimes 
difficult  to  identify.  The  careful  and  accurate  topographi- 
cal descriptions  of  the  Periplus  give  an  identical  picture  of 
the  economic  life  of  the  Tamil  country  and  Malabar  and  its 
economic  products  as  modern  district  gazetteers.  The 
economic  regions  remain  the  same  and  consequently  their 
commercial  products. 

A  classification  of  these  as  shown  in  the  paper  would 
show  India's  resources  and  her  geographical  unity  and  eco- 
nomic destiny  through  all  the  long  centuries  in  the  past. 


Some  Aspects  of  the  Problem    of  the  Gupta   Era.     By 
K.  B.  PATHAK. 

Alberuni  makes  four  statements  : — 

1  The  expired  years  of  the  Indian  eras  were  used. 

2  Gupta  was  another  name  of  the  Valabhi  era. 

3  The  difference  between  corresponding  Valabhi  and 
Saka  is  expressed  by  the  cube  of  6  and  the  square  of  4  (241). 

4  The  initial  day  of  the  Valabhi  year  is  Caitra  S.  1. 

These  statements  are  proved  by  three  different  and  in- 
dependent methods  based  on  the  results  of  astronomical 
calculations.  In  this  way  Alberuni  is  completely  vindi- 
cated against  the  attacks  of  his  critics  of  the  nineteenth 
century. 


Notes  on  the  early  Sea-borne  Commerce  of  Western  India. 
By  H.  G.  RAWLINSON. 

1  Trade   between  India  and  the  west  travelled  by  three 
routes  viz : — 

('/)     Oxus  route,  to  Black  Sea  and  Aegean. 

(b)     Persian  Gulf  route  to  Mesopotamia  and  Levant. 

(r)     Red  Sea  route  to  Egypt  and  Syria. 

2  Four  Epochs  of  Indian  trade  : — 


Ancient   History.  cxxiv 

(a)  Egypto-Semitic  pericxJ.  Antiquity  of  Egyptian 
Mesopotamian  culture.  Solomon  and  the  Phoenician  fleet 
from  Akaba.  Rise  of  Assyria,  and  of  Babylon.  Mesopota- 
mian influence  on  early  Indian  culture.  Ports  of  Western 
India  :  roads,  references  in  the  Jutabis.  Ancient  trade  in- 
direct through  clearing-houses. 

(b)  Persian  Period.  Conquest  of  the  Panjab  by 
Darius. 

(c)  Hellenic  Period.  Alexander  conquers  Punjab. 
Leaves  his  kingdoms  in  the  East  to  the  Seleukids  and  the 
Ptolemies.     The  Mauryas,  and  sea-trade  regulations. 

(d)  The  Roman  Period.  Rise  of  the  Andhras  and  their 
control  of  the  Konkan  ports.  Discovery  of  the  Monsoon,  A. 
D.  45.  Its  effect,  centre  of  gravity  changes  to  Malabar  : 
the  trade  in  spices,  pepper  and  jewels.  Roman  coins  in  S. 
India.  The  Periplus  and  Pliny  and  their  accounts  of  Indo- 
Roraan  trade.     Sack  of  Rome  410  A.  C. 

3.    Causes  of  the  decline  of  Indian  trade  : — 

(a)  External.  Collapse  of  Rome,  rise  of  Mahomme- 
danism. 

(h)  Internal ;  Buddhism  succeeded  by  Brahmanism. 
Buddhism  =  Trading  class  of  Puritanism. 

4     Indian  Imports  and  Exports  and  their  prices  : — 

(a)    Imports — copper,  tin,  silver,  a  few  drugs. 

(6)     Exports — jewels,  pepper,  drugs  etc. 

Great  excess  of  Exports  over  Imports*  Balance  made 
up  in  tpecieu  Disastrous  effect  of  this  on  Economic  position 
of  the  Roman  Empire.     General  conclusions. 


Jahgaladesa  and  its  Capital,   Ahicchatrapura.     Py  Har 
BlLAS  SARDA. 

Jangaladesa  was  one  of  the  several  provinces  of  Bbarata 
Varna  in  ancient  times. 

lt^  physical  oharacterestics  as  described  in  Sanskrit 
books  show  that  it  must  have  been   situated   somewhere   in 


cxxxvi  First  Oriental   Conference. 

what  is  now  known  as  Rajputana.  Nana  Lai  Dey's  opinion 
that  Jahgala  and  Kurudesa  were  one  and  the  same  country 
and  were  known  as  Srikanthadesa  cannot  be  accepted.  Sri- 
kanthadesa was  the  kingdom  of  Thanesvara,  and  Kuru  and 
Jahgala  were  two  separate  countries.  The  term  Kuru-Jah- 
gala  shows  that  Kuru  and  Jahgala  lay  adjacent  to  each  other 
and  formed  a  political  or  economic  unit  as  Kuru-Pancala. 
A  part  of  Bikaner  territory  is  still  called  Jahgala  and  the 
Bikaner  Chiefs  are  called  '  Jangaldhar  Patshah  '  by  bards. 


The  early  Cauhans  ruled  over  the  country  round  Nago 
(now  in  Marwar)  and  their  kingdom  was  called  Jangaladesa  . 
or  Sapadalaksa.  As  their  power  increased  and  their  domi- 
nions extended,  the  whole  of  their  kingdom  came  to  be  called 
Jangaladesa  or  Sapadalaksa.  Thus  when  Sambhar  and  later 
on,  Ajmer  became  their  capitals,  Jangaladesa  included  the 
greater  part  of  the  present  Bikaner,  Jaipur  and  Jodhpur 
states,  the  whole  of  Ajmer-Marwara  and  Kishengarh,  and 
the  Eastern  part  of  Mewar.  Cauhan  Kingdom  is  called 
Sapadalaksa  in  the  Visalpur  and  other  inscriptions,  and 
Sanskrit  works  are  quoted  to  show  that  the  Cauhan 
Kingdom  was  sometimes  called  Jangaladesa  and  sometimes 
Sapadalaksa.  Jangaladesa  is  the  ancient  and  Sapadalaksa 
the  modern  name  of  the  territories  ruled  over  by  the  Cau- 
hans. 

The  Capital  of  Jangaladesa  is  not  recorded  anywhere. 
In  the  collection  of  manuscripts  and  transcripts  of  inscri- 
ptions, left  by  Yati  Gyanchandra,  Guru  of  Colonel  James 
Todd,  there  is  a  paper  containing  names  of  26  countries  with 
their  capitals  and  the  capital  of  Jangaladesa  is  stated  therein 
to  be  Ahicchatra.  This  Ahicchatra  must  have  been  situated 
within  the  Jangaladesa  or  Sapadalaksa  country.  Both  the 
Bijolian  Rock  inscription  of  A.  D.  1170  and  the  celebrated 
Epic,  Prthnrajn  Vijaya,  name  the  capitalof  the  Sapadalaksa 
country  Ahicchatrapura. 

It  appears  from  the  account  given  in  the  Prthciraju 
Vijaya,  of  the  origin  of  the  salt  lake  oi  Sambhar,  that  the 
Capital  of  Samanaraja,  the  successor  of  the  founder  of  the 
Cauhan  dynasty,  Vasudeva,  was  situated  about  a  day's 
hard  ride  from  Sambhar.     This  fact,  along  with  the  fact  that 


Ancient  History  cxxxvii 

the  pargannah  of  Nagor  (  Nagapura  )  has  always  been  and 
is  still  nailed  Svalak,  the  Hindi  form  of  Sapadalaksa,  and 
that  Nagor  is  a  synonym  of  Ahicchatrapura,  (  both  meaning 
"  the  town  of  the  serpent)"  shows  that  Ahicchatra  is  the  an- 
cient name  of  Nagor  or  Nagapura,  and  that  the  present  town 
of  Nagor  was  the  Capital  of  Jahgaladesa  or  Sapadalaksa. 


Gupta  Era.     By  H.  A.  SHAH. 

The  starting  point  of  the  Gupta  Era  is  determined  with 
the  help  of  Jinasena.  He  gives  it  in  terms  of  Vira  years. 
Valuing  the  Vira  years  into  Saka  years  and  thence,  in  turn, 
those  Saka  years  into  A.  D.  years,  the  Gupta  Era  is  found  to 
begin  in  about  200  A.  D.  A  corresponding  Buddhist  year 
is  also  obtained  by  inferenoes. 

The  problems  connected  with  Gupta  history  are  then 
examined  and  applied  to  the  chronology  which  begins  from 
200  A.  D. 

Sources  of  information  are  as  follows:— (1)  The  records 
of  Chinese  travellers.  (2)  Ceylonese  History.  (3)  History  of 
the  Western  Ksatrapas.  (4)  Gupta   inscriptions. 

Ceylonese  History  is  expressed  in  Buddhist  years. 
Dates  of  Chinese  travellers  are  known  in  A.  D.  years.  Dates 
of  W.  Ksatrapas  are  known  in  Saka  years.  Gupta  inscrip- 
tions record  in  Gupta  years. 

They  all  agree,  severally  and  conjointly,  with  one 
mother.  It  is  thus  shown  that  the  harmony  of  results  is  an 
inprecedented  one  in  the  Ancient  Indian  Chronology.  Fur- 
ther treatment  of  the  subject  and  allied  questions  are  reserv- 
)d  for  another  occasion. 

Inferences  and  conclusions  made  on  various  grounds  are 
summarised  as  follows  : — 

(1)  The  Imperial  Guptas  are  only   those    kings  whose 
names  stand  in  the  geneologies  of   Bhitari  record 
and  Bhitari  seal.  All  the  rest  belong  to  a  ditT. 
ick  <>r  hit  off-choota. 

I  The  Gupta  Kra  begins  in  aboul  D 

L8 


cxxKviii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

(3)  The  Vallabha  Era  (or  Gupta- Vallabha  Era)  begins 

in  about  319  A.  D. 

(4)  Malava  Era  is  very  likely  the  Vikrama  Era. 

(5)  Dates  of  the  Nirvana  of  Mahavira  and  Buddha  are 

about  527  B.  C.  and  534  B.  C.  respectively. 

(6)  Traditional  dates  are  generally  correct. 

(7)  Statements  from   Chinese   annals  must  be   consi- 

dered seriously. 

(8)  The  accepted  date  of  Fa-hien  (399-414  A.  D.)  is  in- 

correct. 

(9)  Ceylonese  history  is  generally  correct  in  its   chro- 

nology. 

(10)  The    Western    Ksatrapas   suffered   defeat   at   the 

hands  of  the  Guptas.  '  We  cannot  say   that   they 
were  overthrown  by  them. 

(11)  Ideas  about  Buddhism    and  Hinduism  must  be  re- 

vised.    (So  too,  about  the  literature.) 


XI.— Ethnology  and  Folklore. 

Modern  Conscience  towards   Racial  Problems.     By   P. 
N.  DAROOWALLA. 

The  modern  conscience  towards  various  races  has  been 
awakened  and  it  is  in  the  fitness  of  things  that  the  causes  of 
this  awakening  should  be  examined  to  create  abond  of  union 
between  different  races.  Thecauses  are  mainly  the  spread 
of  democratic  ideas  among  the  people  of  the  East.  Japan  has 
shown  what  the  East  can  do  by  imitating  the  West  with  due 
modification.  Language  is  a  bond  of  union.  The  great  influ- 
ence of  English  tongue  and  English  literature  on  eastern 
countries  and  on  national  aspirations  should  be  noted.  The 
influence  of  the  press  in  spreading  news  from  the  different 
parts  of  th£  globe  has  contributed  to  intimate  knowledge  of 
different  races.  The  West  has  turned  seriously  to  study  eas- 
tern languages  and  the  rich  contribution  to  religion,  philoso- 
phy, art,  has  been  freely  acknowledged  by  Western  scholars. 
The  study  of  the  oldest  code  of  laws  of  Hamurabi  has 
thrown  a  flood  of  light  on  the  ancient  civilisation  of 
Babylon  and  Assyria.  The  influence  on  scientific  and 
religious  law  has  been  traced  to  the  code  of  Hamurabi. 
The  teaching  of  Zorastrianism  as  it  is  contained  in  the 
Gathas,  has  been  taken  up  in  the  universities  of  England 
Germany,  France  and  America.  Among  the  several 
spells  the  most  effectual  is  the  [adaptability  of  this  ancient 
Religion. 

The  Mahabharata  and  the  Ramayana  are  the  great  epics  of 
the  Hindus  and  their  contribution  to  philosophy,  legend  and 
religion  is  immense.  They  are  the  living  forces  among  the 
Hindus  and  rich  narration  is  hardly  surpassed.  There  are 
conceptions  of  law  and  justice  contained  in  ancient  religions. 
Among  the  ancient  nations,  law  and  medicine  were  not 
separate  professions.  Law  is  invariably  interwoven  with 
religion.  English  Classics  have  shown  the  readers  of  the 
West  the  national  character  of  the  Asiatics.  Western 
scholars   have   found    intellectual    wealth    in  Jthese   works. 


cxl  First  Oriental  Conference. 

The  Shahnameh  of  Firdausi  has  revealed  to  the  western  mind 
the  gTeat  and  noble  heroes  that  flourished  in  Persia.  The 
contact  of  the  East  with  the  West  has  counteracted  the  ten- 
dency towards  materialism,  while  the  contact  of  the  West 
with  the  East  has  awakened  the  national  consciousness,  to 
leave  off  speculation  and  to  turn  to  commercial  and  industrial 
regeneration  of  Asia.  India  has  come  into  contact  with 
England  and  her  influence  is  the  greatest.  The  reformation 
in  England  has  given  rise  to  reformation  in  India  and  old 
superstitions  and  caste  prejudices  are  dying  out  in  the  wake 
of  education. 


Note  on  the  Dissolution  of  Castes  and  Formation  of  new 
ones.     By  S.  V.  KETKAR. 

1  The  usual  suppositions  that  every  member  of  the 
Hindu  community  is  bound  firmly  to  a  certain  caste  and 
that  castes  are  air-tight  compartments  and  that  if  castes  are 
not  quasi-eternal  entities,  they  are  at  least  corporations 
dating  from  a  period  too  far  removed  from  the  historian's 
gaze,  are  all  unhistorical. 

2  The  very  contrary  statement  could  be  made  with 
an  overwhelming  evidence,  that  during  the  last  3000  years 
there  has  been  no  period  in  the  social  history,  when  the 
process  of  dissolution  of  the  old  groups  and  of  the  formation 
of  new  ones  was  not  going  on. 

3  The  existence  of  a  number  of  castes  could  be 
explained  by  one  process,  viz.  when  classes,  tribes  and 
nations  lose  their  expansive  character,  they  are  formed  into 
castes. 

4  The  sentiments,  either  expansive  or  restrictive,  arise 
or  decline  in  classes,  tribes  and  nations ;  admission  of 
foreigners  or  otherwise  depends  on  the  sentiment  of  that 
period. 

5  History  of  the  formation  of  castes  means  history  of 
the  formation  of  nations,  classes  and  o\her  loose  social 
groups. 


Ethnology  and  Folklore.  cxli 

6  The  line  of  demarkation  between  castes  on  the  one 
band  and  classes,  tribes  and  nations  on  the  other,  is  not  so 
shurp  as  it  is  supposed.  As  expansion  or  restriction  depends 
on  the  varying  sentiment  of  the  group,  description  of  the 
group  demands  greater  exaotitude.  Among  the  various  social 
groups  which  we  may  find  named  at  two  different  periods  of 
history,  whether  that  group  was  a  tribe  or  a  caste  or  a  class 
should  be  determined  by  actual  observation  of  the  facts  of  the 
times.  Without  positive  evidence  no  conclusion  should  be 
drawn  that  the  same  group  observed  the  same  restrictions  at 
both  periods. 

7  Expansion  seems  to  have  taken  place  not  by  the 
corporate  effort,  even  when  caste  or  tribe  had  a  government, 
but  it  became  possible  by  active  and  powerful  persons  arising 
in  the  caste  ;  they  moulded  the  shape  of  the  caste  afterwards. 

8  Generally  more  dominant  and  powerful  castes  show 
tendency  towards  expansion.  Weak  castes  are  generally 
restrictive. 

9  We  shall  find  that  non-admission  of  a  foreigner  of 
the  group  into  the  group  or  non-admission  of  the  progeny 
of  mixed  marriages  into  the  group  are  not  rules  which  are 
strictly  followed  by  any  caste  whose  history  is  known  so  far. 
In  this  expression  a  large  number  of  the  prominent  castes 
in  Maharastra  such  as  Chitpavan,  Desastha  and  Karada 
Brahmins,  Marathas,  Malis,  Sonars  and  Mahars,  the  Qauda 
brahmans  domiciled  in  Deccan  are  included,  so  also  are 
included  castes  like  Rajputs  and  Kayasthas  of  Northern 
India  and  Bengal  and  Vellalas,  Telagus  of  Madras  Presi- 
dency and  the  Karnas  and  Khandaits  of  Orissa  and  Bhil-. 
Gonds,  Katkaris,  Kaikadis  etc. 

10  It  should  be  stated  that  this  process  has  been  taking 
place  for  centuries,  that  is,  long  before  the  modern  creed  of 
social  reform  was  born. 

11  When  a  new  olass  or  a  nation  builds  itself  it 
slowly  incorporates  (1)  families  and  olaa*  lb-castes  of 
other  castes.  When  such  a  proce--  takes  place,  a  new 
principle  of  social  formation  arises  with  it 


cxlii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

12  When  new  principles  of  social  formation  arise,  old 
oastes  crumble  and  new  groups  arise. 

13  In  a  number  of  cases  in  the  new  group  old  ethnic 
distinctions  are  retained,  the  sub-castes  and  families  of 
various  origin  become  sub-castes  of  the  new  group.  Greater 
contact  and  stronger  affinity  developing  subsequently, 
greater  unity  is  created  and  the  new  caste  acquires 
solidarity. 


Marriage  Customs  in  Western  and  Eastern  Nations. 
By  S.  S.  MEHTA. 

Marriage  is  an  event  of  gravity  and  essential  religious 
elevation  in  the  life  of  the  Hindu.  Great  importance  is  at- 
tached to  it  among  all  nations,  who  look  upon  Matrimony  as 
a  form  of  contract.  The  wife  leaves  her  father's  protection 
and  seeks  shelter  under  the  roof  of  her  husband  where  pure 
and  happy  love  reigns.  In  a  society  so  primitive  as  that  of  the 
Vedic  times,  there  was  no  religious  obligation  that  every 
girl  should  be  married.  It  is  also  gathered  that  the  bride 
was  almost  of  equal  age  of  puberty  with  the  bride-groom 
during  the  times  of  the  Vedas  ;  the  Smrtikaras  made  them 
younger  in  age,  and  enjoined  the  time  of  celebrating  nup- 
tials earlier  ;  and  put  a  mandate  over  all  girls  for  compul- 
sory marriage.  The  bride  had  a  voice  in  selecting  her  husband 
for  life  during  the  Vedic  ages ;  whereas  latterly,  the  parents 
managed  all  about  the  marriage.  Polygamy  was  allowed 
among  Hindus  as  also  among  many  other  nations;  but  it 
was  confined  to  kings  and  wealthy  lords,  as  a  general  rule. 

In  the  Sutra  days,  six  forms  of  marriage  prevailed ;  and 
two  others  came  later  to  be  added  to  these  : — 

(1)  Brahma — The  father  pours  out  a  libation  of  water 

and  gives  his  daughter  to  a  suitor-student. 

(2)  Daiva — The  father  decks  his   daughter   with  orna- 

ments and  gives  her  to  an  officiating  priest,   when 
sacrifice  is  being  performed. 

(3)  Arsa — The  father  gives  his  daughter  for  a   cow  or 

a  bull. 

(4)  Gandharva — The  lover  takes  and   weds   a   loving 

damsel. 


Ethnology  and  Folklore.  cxliii 

(5)  Ksatra  (  Raksasa)-The  bridegroom  forcibly    takes 

a  damsel,  destroying  her  relatives  by   strength  of 
arms. 

(6)  Manusa  (Asura) — The   suitor  purchases    a  damsel 

from  her  father. 

(7)  Prajfipatya — The  father  gives  away  his  daughter  to 

the  Suitor,  saying '  Fulfil  ye  the  law   conjointly  '. 

(8)  Paisaca — A  man   embraces   a   woman  deprived  of 

consciousness — it  was  a  form  of  rape. 

Marriage  marks,  no  doubt,  an  entrance  to  a  new  stage 
of  life — the  life  of  a  householder — the  chief  part  of  religious 
ceremony  in  a  praiseworthy  form  of  marriage  among  the 
Hindu  consists  of  the  bride-groom  sending  messengers  to 
the  house  of  the  girl's  father,  reciting  Rv.  X  85, 23 ;  and 
if  the  proposal  pleases  both  the  parties,  the  promise 
of  marriage  is  ratified,  and  both  parties  touch  a  full  vessel 
into  which  flowers,  fried  grain,  barley  and  gold  have  been 
put,  and  then  they  recite  a  formula.  The  bride-groom  then 
performs  a  sacrifice.  On  the  appointed  day,  the  bride's  re- 
lations wash  her  with  water  fragrant  with  the  choicest  fruits 
and  scents,  make  her  put  on  a  newly  dyed  garment,  and 
cause  her  to  sit  down  by  a  fire,  while  the  family  Acarya 
performs  a  sacrifice.  The  bridegroom,  who  has  also  bathed 
and  gone  through  auspicious  ceremonies,  is  escorted  by 
happy  young  women  who  are  not  widows,  to  the  girls  house, 
(Sahkhyayana). 

The  Institutes  of  Manu  enumerate  all  the  forms  noted 
above;  but  Manu's  sense  of  decorum  rebels  aginst  some  of 
them  ;  and  he  observes  :  "The  Paisaca  (  seduction  )  and  the 
Asura  (sale)  must  never  be  used"  ;  so  also:  "No  father  who 
knows  the  law  must  take  even  the  smallest  gratuity  for  his 
daughter;  for  a  man  who,  through  avarice,  takes  a  gratuity, 
is  a  seller  of  his  offspring."  We  are,  again,  reminded  that 
even  a  Sudra  should  not  take  a  nuptial  fee ;  and  that  such  a 
transaction  has  never  been  heard  of.  Widow  remarriage  pre- 
vailed in  Manu's  time,  although  it  was  not  approved  of  by 
the  orthodox.  Inter-marriage  was  freely  allowed  pMN 
th.vt  a  man  of  a  lower  caste  did  not  marry  a  woman  of  a 
higher     oast*      Marriage     between     relations    was    strictly 


oxliv  Oriental   Conference 

prohibited   in  Manu's  ti  "A   damsel   who   is   neither  a 

sapirida  on  the  mother's  side,  nor  belongs  to  the  same  family 
on  the  father's  side,  is  recommended  to  twice  born  men  for 
wedlock  and  conjugal  union."  (Ill  5)  The  ancient  custom 
of  raising  issue  on  a  brother's  widow  seems  to  have  fallen 
into  disuse  in  Manu's  time. 

In  the  Puranic  age,  marriage  was  arranged  by  the  parents 
of  the  bride  or  the  bride-groom  ;  but  no  gifts  were  settled  ; 
but  the  husband  made  a  gift  in  advance  which  was  the  wife's 
property  (Stridhana)  ever  after.  In  the  modern  age,  castes 
have  become  more  rigid,  and  Brahmans  never  marry  any 
woman  except  one  of  their  own  caste. 

The  ceremonies  : — 

(1)  Vagdana—  Betrothal.  ' 

(2)  Simanta-pujana — The  worshipping  of  the  boundary 

of  the    town  or   village — and  receiving   with    due 
hospitality  the  bride-groom  and  his  party. 

(3)  The  arrival  of   the  bridegroom    at  the  house  of  the 

bride. 

(4)  Madhuparka — The   mixture  of  treacle    and   water 

offered  for  drink  ;  and  the  adoration   of  the   bride- 
groom and  party. 

(5)  Vistarasana — The     offering    of  the  Darbha-seat    to 

the  bride-groom. 

(6)  Mangalastaka — While   veiling  and   curtaining  the 

bride,  benedictory   verses   are   recited   to   prepare 
them  to  see  the  faces  of  each  other. 

(7)  Paraspara-nirlksana — Seeing   the  faces     of    each 

other. 

(8)  Kanyadana — Actual  gift   of  the   bride  to  the  bride- 

groom. 

(9)  Suvarnabhiseka — Giving  a  bath  with  a  gold  piece 

in  the  water. 
(10)  Sutravestana — Tying   of  the  auspicious   thread  of 

marriage. 
Ml)  Kankana-bandhana — Putting  on  of  the  bracelet. 
(12)  Ak?ataroparia-PuttinK  in   of  auspicious  rice  mixed 

with  milk,  yhee  &c. — on  each  other's  heads. 


EthnUogy  and  A  <«//./  <x\i 

(13)  Tilaka-puspamaladharana — Anointing  each  other 
by  the  marrying  couple,  with  an  auspicious  nup- 
tial mark  on  the  forehead  and  garlanding  each 
other. 

(14)  Mahgala  Sutra — Bestowing  an  auspicious  decora- 
tion on  the  bride. 

(15)  Vastragranthi-bandhana — Tying  up  of  the  garment 
knot  of  both. 

(16)  Vivaha-homa — The  connubial  fire  and  sacrifice. 

(17)  Panigrahana — Joining  the  hands  in  marriage. 

(18)  Saptapadi — The  seven  steps  on  small  heaps  of  rice. 

(19)  Dhruva-darsana — The  sighting  of  the  Pole  Star, 
Arundhati  and  the  seven-sages-constellation. 

(20)  Grhapravesaniya-toma — The  sacrifice  to  the  holy, 
fire  before  entering  the  bride-groom's  house. 

(21)  Airinldana — In  a  bamboo  basket,  grains  &c.  are 
filled  and  given  away  in  alms. 

Most  of  these  ceremonies  are  common  to  Brahmins  of 
different  provinces  and  presidencies  in  India;  but  the  Prar- 
thana  Samaj,  the  Arya  Samaj  and  such  other  institutions 
that  are  mostly  the  result  of  modern  civilization,  generally 
dispense  with  many  details  and  also  with  many  main  rites, 
out  of  those  that  are  noted  above.  The  Parsi  has  much  in 
common  with  these  ceremonies.  According  to  Dr.  J.J.  Modi 
the  ceremony  of  marriage  can  be  divided  into  three  main 
groups  : — 

{a)  Mutual  presents  ;  (b)  Witnesses  ;  (c)  Ceremonies. 

Mutual  Presents. 

(1)  Money  payment ;  (2)  rings  ;  (3)  dress  ;  (4)  articles  of 
food. 

1  Among  the  Romans  and  ancient  Christians,  this  pay- 
ment of  money  was  known  as  Earnest-money ;  and  among 
ancient  Jews,  it  was  essential  for  a  betrothal.  It  may  be 
symbolic  of  purchase-money. 

2  Rings  are  given  as  gift ;  and  may  be  a  remnant  of 
bride-purchase,  when  marriage  must  have  been  equivalent 
to  bride-catching.  In  the  Christian  marriage  service  the 
rin£  is  put  on  the  book.     The  DogM  of  ancient  Venice  threw 

1!) 


cxlvi  First   Oriental   Conference. 

on  tne  Ascension  day  every  year  a  ring  in  the  Adriatic- 
which  ceremony  has  been  immortalized  by  Byron.  Accord- 
ing to  Gibbon,  a  ring  in  the  5th  century  A.  D.  was  regarded 
as  a  pledge  of  affection. 

3  Dress  is  regarded  as  auspicious.  The  dress  among 
the  Hindus,  the  Parsis  and  the  Mahomedans  is  peculiar  to 
each  but  the  common  characteristic  is  that  it  is  rich  and 
pompous.     The  Roman  bride  used  to  wear  a  white  gown. 

4  Food — Milk,  curds,  honey,  sugar,  cocoanuts  &c,  form 
the  principal  articles  for  mutual  exchange.  So  far  the  Parsis 
have  common  features  with  the  Hindus;  but  the  Parsis  would 
add  fish  to  all  these  as  a  special  feature  of  their  marriage 
rite. 

Witnesses. 

(1)  Relations  and  friends  on  both  sides; 

(2)  Fire ; 

(3)  The  departed  souls; 

(4)  Musical  bands ; 

(5)  Marriage  feast. 

These  are  common  to  the  Hindu  and  the  Parsi.  Among 
the  ancient  Romans,  holding  of  fire  and  water  as  necessaries 
of  life,  before  the  bride,  prevailed  at  the  time  of  marriage. 
In  some  parts  of  Australia,  the  brides  carry  fire  to  the  houses 
of  their  respective  bride-grooms.  Among  the  Assyrians,  the 
father  of  the  bride-groom  invoked  the  double  of  Nebo  and 
Merodach  aid  prayed  to  them  to  grant  long  years  of  happi- 
ness to  the  young  couple.  Moreover,  among  the  ancient 
Greeks,  the  marriage  feasts  were  believed  to  signify  that  they 
served  as  an  evidence  of  marriage. 

Rites  and  Ceremonies. 

(1)  Planting  the  Mandapa  branch;  (2)  Marking  the  fore- 
heads of  the  couple  ;  (3)  Marking  the  doorposts  of  the  house; 
(4)  Orientation  or  turning  to  the  East ;  (5)  Throwing  of  rice 
over  the  couple  ;  (6)  The  clapping  of  hands  ;  (7)  Presenting 
water  before  the  couple ;  (8)  Garlanding  ;  (9)  Breaking  arti- 
cles of  food;  (10)  Sacred  baths;  (11)  Curtaining  and  Veiling; 
(12)  Hand  fastening  ;  (13)  Skirt-fastening;  (14)  Circling  and 
tying  the  knot;  (15) Feet-washing;  (16)  Eating  together. 


Ethnology  and  Folklore.  cxlvii 

Most  of  these  ceremonies  are  a  common  feature  of  the 
Hindu  and  the  Parsi. 

1.  Planting  a  branch  and  erecting  a  mandap  is  common 
to  the  Hindu  and  the  Parsi.  ''  The  same  idea  is  to  be  traced 
in  the  form  of  survival,  in  the  custom  of  giving  a  branch  of 
laurel  to  a  bride  which  is  found,  according  to  Mannhardt  of 
Carnac  in  Brittany,  in  the  introduction  of  a  decorated  pine 
bough  into  the  house  of  the  bride,  met  with  in  Little  Russia; 
as  well  as  in  the  ceremony  of  carrying  the  May  aHorned 
with  lights  before  the  bride  and  bride-groom  in  Hanoverian 
Weddings." 

2.  According  to  Col.  Dalton,  marking  the  foreheads 
prevails  among  many  aboriginal  tribes  of  Bengal  ;  and  Mr 
Sidney  Hartland  describes  the  same  and  considers  it,  along 
with  some  others,  as  a  relic  of  ancient  blood  covenant  ob- 
served on  Marriage.  The  Svastika  of  the  Hindus  can  be 
traced  in  a  modified  form  to  the  Tau  among  the  Egyptians 
and  the  Cross  of  the  Christians. 

3.  Among  the  ancient  Romans,  the  bride  applied  oil  to 
the  door-posts,  oil  being  regarded  as  a  symbol    of  prosperity. 

4.  On  the  custom  of  orientation,  Mrs.  Murray  Aynsley 
says  : — 

"  In  European  common  life  also,  when  passing  the  wine 
or  dealing  a  pack  of  cards,  we  commonly  hear  it  said  that 
this  should  be  done  the  way  of  the  sun,  and  the  same  persons 
deem  it  most  unlucky,  if  through  inadvertence,  the  bottle 
be  sent  round  the  other  way." 

5.  Grain  is  symbolical  of  plenty.  In  Poland  the  father 
of  the  bride-groom,  after  the  nuptial  benediction,  welcomes 
the  married  couple  into  his  house,  by  throwing  over  their 
heads  grains  of  barley  corn  (Howett).  Among  the  Hebrews, 
grains  of  barley  were  thrown  in  front  of  the  couple,  meaning 
to  denote  their  wishes  for  a  numerous  progeny.  In  Notting- 
hamshire and  Sussex,  the  sprinkling  of  rije  over  the  couple 

a  prevalent  custom,  and  in  ancient  Spain,  not  only  the 
parents  of  the  couple,  but  even  tho  passers-by  sprinkled  I 
In  Kn^land,  they  throw  rice  after  a  newly  married  cuplo. 


cxlviii  First  Oriental   0<mference. 

6.  This  ceremony  is  peculiar  to  the  Hindu  and  the 
Parsi ;  and  Rev.  Padfield  assigns  a  peculiar  significance 
to  it. 

7.  Among  the  ancient  Rom  ins,  both  the  bride  and  bride- 
groom touched  fire  and  water,  because  all  things  were  sup- 
posed to  be  produced  from  these  two  elements  (  W.  Tegg's 
"The  Knot  tied"). 

8.  In  ancient  Greece,  the  priest  put  a  crown  on  the 
head  of  the  bride-groom  ;  in  Athens,  a  friend  of  the  bride  put 
on  a  crown;  in  Egypt,  the  bride  put  on  a  crown ;  in  Norway, 
the  bride  put  on  a  crownlike  jewel ;  in  old  Anglo-Saxon  Chur- 
ches, the  priests  blessed  the  pair  and  put  garlands  round 
them.  "  Bride-groom  and  bride  were  crowned  as  victors, 
assuming  their  purity  over  the  temptations  of  the  flesh." 
"  The  bride-groom's  wreath  was  for  the  most  part  of  myrtle, 
the  bride's  of  Verhena." 

9.  In  Scotland  they  used  to  break  a  cake  over  the  head 
of  the  bride  at  the  threshold  of  her  husband's  house,  when 
after  marriage  she  entered  it  for  the  first  time.  Among  the 
Hebrews,  a  similar  custom  prevails.  Among  the  Greeks, 
according  to  Dr.  Potter,  when  the  bride-groom  entered 
the  house  with  his  bride,  it  was  customray  to  pour  on  their 
heads,  figs,  and  diverse  other  sorts  of  fruits,  as  an  omen  of 
future  plenty. 

10.  Among  the  ancient  Greeks,  among  the  ceremonies 
bearing  religious  character  which  preceded  the  wedding,  an 
important  part  was  played  by  the  bath.  Among  the  ancient 
Hebrews,  sacred  baths  preceded  solemn  religious  rites. 

11.  "The  veil  put  on  by  the  Christian  bride  is  a  remnant 
of  the  old  custom,  signifying  that  she  conceals  her  face  from 
her  husband."  The  early  Christians  derived  it  from  the 
Romans.  Among  the  Hebrews,  the  bride  put  on  a  veil  which 
is  to  be  removed  after  marriage. 

12.  Among  the  Christians,  "after  the  Council  of  Trent, 
it  was  customary  in  many  places  for  the  priest  to  entwine 
the  ends  of  his  stale  round  the  joined  hands  of  the  bride  and 
the  bride-groom  at  the  words — 'those  whom  God  has  joined 
together'— in  token  of  the  indissoluble  union  thereby  effected" 


Ethnology  and  Folklor  cilxi 

(M.  E.  Howett).  In  Finland  the  father  of  the  bride-gromo 
fastened  the  hands.  Among  the  Greeks  this  ceremony  was 
considered  as  ratifying  the  agreement  of  marriage.  Among 
the  Assyrians,  the  father  of  the  bride-groom  fastened  the 
hands  of  the  couple  with  a  woollen  thread. 

13.  The  bride  and  bride-groom,  among  the  Hebrews,  were 
made  to  walk  under  a  canopy  of  cloth,  signifying  unity  of 
protection.  Among  the  Santals,  the  clothes  of  the  married 
couple  were  tied  together  as  a  symbol  of  union. 

14.  "  A  circle  signifies  endless  union.  "  In  France,  a 
canopy  is  held  over  the  couple  during  the  ceremony;  and  in 
a  certain  part  of  Spain,  the  custom  is  prevalent. 

15.  In  Scotland,  the  unmarried  friends  of  the  bride 
washed  her  feet  on  the  eve  of  marriage ;  the  custom,  in  a  simi- 
lar way  with  a  modified  form,  prevailed  among  the  ancient 
Romans  and  Hebrews,  as  well  as  ancient  Greeks. 

16.  Among  the  ancient  Romans,  "(Jonfarreatio"  was  a 
ceremony  for  the  bride  and  the  bride-groom  to  taste  together 
the  holy  cakes — also  called  "panis  farreres";  among  ancient 
Greeks,  they  ate  a  quince.  This  custom  similarly  prevailed 
among  the  Hebrews,  the  Melanesians,  the  Papuous,  the 
Yezuadees  and  many  other  races  as  well  as  nations. 


A  brief  History  of  the   Survey   of  the   Ethnography   of 
Bombay.  By  J.  J.  MODI. 

On  account  of  its  geographical  situation  and  i  i 
commerce  and  on  account  of  its  rise  to  the  position  of  a 
great  city  from  its  original  state  of  being  a  fishing  village, 
Bombay  is  spoken  of  as  'The  Alexandria  of  India'.  It  is  the 
brief  historical  survey  of  the  Ethnography  of  such  a  city, 
made  beautiful  by  the  hand  of  Nature  and  then  by  the  hand 
of  Man,  that  forms  the  subject  of  this  paper. 

Bombay  owed  its  birth  to  the  last  throbbings  of  the 
Volcanic  pangs  of  the    Western    coast   of  India   in   a    very 

I  early  pre-historic  age.  The  objects  found  during  the  exca- 
vation of  our  Prince's  Dock  and  some  stone  implements 
discovered  on  the  shore  of  the  beautiful  Hack  Bay,  show 
that  the  level  of  Bombay  has    undergone    a    change    in    pr. 


cl  First  Oriental   Conference. 

historic  times,  since  the  time  of  a  general  subsidence,  which, 
on  account  of  its  having  gone  to  the  Bombay  coast  its 
present  outline  is  spoken  of  as  the  'Bombay  Break-off*. 

Going  to  the  very  dawn  of  history— history  presented 
not  by  inscriptions,  coins,  monuments  or  books,  but  by  some 
coastal  finds — we  find  some  evidence  of  Bombay  being  in- 
habited by  some  people  in  the  Neolithic  age.  In  a  paper 
entitled  'Some  rude  stone  implements  from  Back  Bay,  Middle 
Colaba,  Bombay',  read  by  Mr.  Swynnerton,  before  the 
Anthropological  Society  of  Bombay,  some  flints  found  on 
the  shore  of  the  Back  Bay,  were  exhibited  as  stone  imple- 
ments used  by  the  prehistoric  people  who  inhabited  our 
island  of  seven  islets.  These  Back  Bay  'coast-finds'  are 
compared  with  the  'coast-finds'  of  Denmark  which  are 
associated  with  the  well-known  Danish  Kjokhin  middlings 
or  kitchen  middlings  or  as  they  are  called,  the  refuge-heaps 
found  along  the  coast  of  Denmark.  Again  close  to  the  flint 
flakes  at  the  Back  Bay  was  found  a  fossil  tooth  "the  first 
fossil  belonging  to  a  mammal  found  at  Bombay".  These 
Back  Bay  pre-historic  people  were  in  very  low  stage  of 
culture,  people  like  the  'cave-men  of  Europe'  t\ough  not 
necessarily  of  the  same  age. 

Coming  to  the  historic  age,  we  may  divide  the  period 
into  Hindu  period,  Mahomedan  period,  and  coming  down 
to  our  times,  the  European  period,  the  period  of  the  advents 
of  the  Portugese,  the  French,  the  British  &c.  The  Hindu 
period  had  the  following  dynasties  : — 1  The  Mauryans,  2 
the  Satakarnis  or  the  Salavahanas,  the  Andhrabhrtyas  of 
the  Puranas,  3  the  Rastrakutas,  4  the  Maurya  chiefs 
of  the  Konkan,  an  offshoot  of  the  early  Mauryans,  5  the 
Calukyas  (  7th  century  A.D.  ),  6  the  Silars  or  Silaharas, 
7     the  Devgir  kings. 

In  the  discovery  at  Sopara,  about  30  miles  from  Bombay 
on  the  B.  B.  C.  I.  Ry.,  of  a  fragment  of  Asoka's  edict,  we 
have  the  evidence  of  the  Mauryan  rule,  during  which  time 
the  Kolis  were  the  first  settlers  of  Bombay.  They  were  the 
Dravadian  aborigines  of  the  country.  The  presence  of  the 
Satakarnis  who  overpowered  the  Sakas,  the  Pahlavas  an 
off-shoot  of   the   Parthians  of  Persia,  the   Yavanas   &c.    is 


Ethminqy  ami    Folk'  dj 

evidenced  by  a  numismatic  find.  A  further  band  of  Kolis 
came  here  during  this  period.  It  is  of  the  India  of  this  time 
that  Ptolemy  speaks.  It  is  at  about  this  time  that  the  early 
settlers  of  Bombay,  the  Kolis,  came  into  contact  with  the 
traders  from  the  West,  among  whom  there  may  be  even  some 
Sassanian  Persians.  In  the  discovery  of  the  'Dramma' 
(Pers.  dirhem)  at  Cavel,  Mr.  Edwardes  finds  "the  first  direct 
evidence  of  Bombay's  connection  with  civilization"  a  con- 
nection which  became  stronger  in  the  times  of  the  Hawya 
chiefs  of  the  Konkan.  With  the  next  dynasty  of  rulers, 
the  Silaharas,  there  came  to  Bombay  and  to  the  adjoining 
country  the  Agris,  the  Kayashths,  the  Arabs,  the  Parsees 
and  Israels.  With  the  advent  of  the  Devgiri  kings,  and 
among  them  especially  of  Ramdeo,  Bombay  began  to  assimi- 
late to  a  greater  extent  the  Hindu  Civilization  of  North 
Konkan.  Then  there  came  to  Bombay,  people  of  a  number 
of  castes.  The  Prabhu,  the  Palshikar  Brahmins,  the  Bhan- 
daris,  the  Panchakalsis,  the  Thakurs  and  Bhow,  all  followed 
after  one  another. 

Coming  to  the  Mahomedan  period,  we  find  the  advent  to 
Bombay  and  to  the  adjoining  country  of  the  Arabs.  The 
Konkan  Mahomedans  are  somewhat  connected  with  this 
advent.  Latterly  there  came  other  Mahomedans  from 
northern  India. 


Totemism,  Exogamy  and    Endogamy  among  the    Aryan 
and  Dravidian  Hindus.    Rij  J.  A.  SaldaNHa. 

The  caste-system  is  more  rampant  among  lower  classes 
of  Dravidians  than  other  peoples  in  India.  And  their  society 
discloses  a  totemistic  exogamous  organisation  which  closely 
resembles  that  prevailing  among  aboriginal  tribes  in  Aus- 
tralia and  North  America.  These  systems  can  hardly  be 
traced  among  the  ancient  Aryans  in  Europe,  Centr.il  Asia  or 
India.  Exogamy  as  such  can  first  be  traced  only  in  the 
Sutra  period  of  the  Vedas,  among  the  Aryan  Hindus.  It 
seems  therefore  on  a  careful  study  of  comparative  ethnology 


clii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

and  history,  that  the  Aryan  Hindus  are  indebted  for  their 
exogamous  system,  prohibition  of  marriages  of  sister's  child- 
ren and  some  other  phenomena  in  their  social  life,  to  the 
practices  prevailing  among  the  Dravidians  with  whom  they 
coalesced.  The  author  discusses  the  theory  in  the  light  of 
recent  ethnological  lore. 


XII.— Technical  Sciences. 

Mathematics. 

The  Constructive  Geometry  of  Altars  in  the  Vedas.     By 

R.   N.  Apte. 

1  Constructive  Geometry  of  Altars  as  treated  in  the 
Sulvasutras  is  given  and  discussed  by  Dr.  Thibaut  and 
Dr.  Biirk.  They  have  also  shown  how  the  construction  of 
Altars  in  the  Vedas  presupposes  an  amount  of  geometrical 
knowledge.  It  is  the  object  of  this  paper  to  give  some 
new   points  in  this  connection. 

2  The  method  of  determining  the  East-West  line  as 
given  by  Varahamihira  stated.  It  is  shown  from  passages 
in  the  Vedas  that  the  central  East-West  line  of  the  Sacrificial 
compound  is  a  very  important  line. 

3  The  Cayana  or  high-Altar,  of  bricks  considered  and 
passages  from  the  Taitt.  Sam.  and  Taitt.  Brahmana  cited  to 
show  the  Naksatra  bricks  and  the  way  of  consecrating  and 
laying  them  on  the  Cayana. 

4  This  shows  that  the  East-West  line  was  determined 
by  the  rising  and  setting  points  of  the  asterism  Krttika  and 
verified  by  the  Sun's  position  on  the  equinox  day;  and  from 
this  the  age  of  Ta\(l.  Sain,  determined  to  be  about  3000  B.  C. 

5  The  next  line  of  reference  in  importance  is  a  North- 
fcouth  line.  The  way  in  which  this  was  determined  in  the 
Vedas  pointed  out. 

6  Tlie  Aksnya  (^f^wrr)  the  hypotenuse  of  a  right 
angled-triangle  given  in  the  Vedas  explained  and  the  way  in 
which  V/ji  >/s"i  V7, found  by  the  Vedas  by  geometri- 
cal construction  pointed  out  by  considering  the  Ekavims&gni 
of  Asvamedha  and  the  Anokavidhapurusa  Cayana. 

7  Tho  Sulvasutras  were  only  meant  as  guides  for  prac- 
tical construction  anl  i  Its  <he  theorem  of  the  hypotenuse,  or 


cliv  First  Oriental  Conference. 

the   theorem   of   Pythagoras  as  it  is  called,  as  already  well- 
known. 

8  The  Mahavedi — the  measurements  of  it  given  in  the 
Vedas  geometrically  discussed,  which  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  theorem  was  known  in  the  times  of  the  Vedas. 


Naksatras  and  Precession.     By  G.  R.  KAYE. 

Mr.  G.  R.  Kaye  very  briefly  refers  to  the  generally  ac- 
cepted view,  that  the  naksatras  are  certain  constellations 
that  mark  the  ecliptic.  He  distinguishes  the  ritualistic, 
stellar  and  scalar  aspects  of  the  naksatras  and  hints  that 
these  may  indicate  a  mixed  origin.  He  refers  to  certain 
passages  in  early  texts  that  indicate,  that  the  constellations 
revolve  with  reference  to  the  naksatras,  points  out  that 
this  implies  a  knowledge  of  precession,  and  suggests  that 
the  naksatras  conceived  as  an  ecliptic  scale  whose  initial 
point  is  the  vernal  equinox,  would  fit  these  passages,  and 
would  perhaps  clear  up  many  other  controversial  points. 


Astronomical     Phenomena  in  iixing  the    Chronological 
periods  in  Indian  History.     By  V.  B.  KSTKAR, 

1     The  Aryans  lived  in  an  age  when  there  was  no   public 


era. 

2  The  existence  of  the  celestial  eras. 

3  Aryan  observations  available  for  the  determination 
of  the  ancient  dates. 

4  The  date  of  the  Solstices  in  the  Vedanga  Jyotisa. 

5  The  age  of  the  Krttikas'  rising  due  east. 

6  The  date  of  the   occultation    of  the    star   Pusya   by 
Jupiter. 

7  The  date  of  the  first  appearance  of  Canopus   on   the 
ridge  of  the  Vindhya  Mountain. 

I  ho  drinking  off  of  the  sea  by  Agastya  explained. 

9    The  dale  ol  lh>-  Bulth  of  Kurukoetra. 


Teehmea  civ 

10    The  Gavumayana,  which   resembles   in    sound   the 
i.tlan  word  Epagomene  used  in  the  same  sense- 


Medicine. 

Rasavidya   or  Alchemy  in  Ancient  India.      By   R.   V. 
Patvardhan. 

It  is  difficult  to  say  definitely  in  what  country  Alchemy 
arose.  But  neither  Egypt,  nor  Greece  could  be  its  birth- 
place. The  works  of  Geber,  the  Arabian  Alchemist,  are  the 
oldest  genuine  works  extant,  and  treatises  attributed  to  the 
Egyptian  Hermes  are  undoubtedly  spurious.  Greek  philoso- 
phy was  anthropomorphic  and  never  indulged  in  occultism. 
Mysticism  in  Greek  philosophy  is  due  to  the  influenoe  of 
oriental  transcendentalism  of  which  neo-platoism  or 
pseudo-platonism  was  the  result.  The  3rd  and  4th  centuries 
of  the  Christian  Era  are  notorious  for  forgeries  in  the  sphere 
of  occultism.  Alchemy  or  Cheraia  was  not  derived  from 
Chemi ;  neither  was  chemi  ever  a  name  of  Egypt.  Chemia 
was  derived  from  chymies  a  word  coined  in  the  3rd  century 
A.  C,  and  the  word  chemia  in  the  sense  of  Alchemy  was  fir>t 
used  by  Snidas  a  lexicographer  of  the  10th  century. 

The  tradition  that  Emperors  Severus  and  Diocletian 
caused  the  Egyptian  works  on  Alchemy  to  be  burnt,  finds  no 
support  from  trustworthy  authors.  There  is  no  reference  to 
Alchemy  in  the  works  of  Herodotus,  Diodorus,  Plutarch  and 
Pliny.  The  medicinal  properties  of  mercury,  which  plays 
an  important  part  in  alchemy,  were  unknown  to  the  Greeks. 
Consequently  the  Greeks  must  have  been  unacquainted  with 
Alchemy  before  the  3rd  or  the  4th  century  A 

On  the  other  hand  we  iind  that  in  the  Satakas  of 
Bhartrhnri  who  flourished  about  the  1st  century  A.  0.  there 
are  clear  allusions  to  alchemy.  Tn  the  alchemical  works 
compiled  by  the  Greeks  there  are  references  to  Oriental  and 
Persian  authorities,  and  Ammianus  Mareellinus  a  great 
Roman  historian  Of  the  4th  century  tells  us  that  the  nmat 
or  Persian  priests  derived    their   secret  txfte  from    the    I 

mine  of  India     From   this  it  appears  prebable  thai   India 
and  not  Egypl  was  the  birth-place  of  Alchemy. 


clvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Metrics. 

A  short  Note  on  the  Use  of  Metres  by  Sanskrit  Poets, 
By  A.  S.  BHANDARKAR. 

Need  of  artistic  appreciation  and  pure  literary  criticism 
as  such  in  Sanskrit  literature  Metric  fault  Yatibhanga 
occurs  when  a  pause  due  to  a  metre  falls  in  the  middle 
of  a  word  in  the  absence  of  sandhi.  There  is  a  science  and 
art  underlying  the  use  of  metres,  in  general,  by  Sanskrit 
poets  especially  Kalidasa. 

Well  suited  for  narration  due  to  their  shortness- 
Anustubh,  Upajati,  Vafnsastha  most  prominent;  VasantatUakS, 
Malinl  following.  Appropriate  use  of  Mandakranta  in 
Meghadhtita,  of  Anustubh  and  Viyogini  in  Kumarasaih- 
bhava  II,  Raghuvamsa  X  and  Kumara.  IV,  Raghu.  VIII 
respectively.  A  change  in  metre  relieves  monotony  and  is 
often  introduced  at  the  end  of  a  canto  to  give  the  subject 
matter  a  kind  of  finish. 

A  Sanskrit  drama  with  its  essentially  lyrical  nature  and 
comparatively  slow  development  of  action  offers  good 
opportunities  for  a  variety  of  meters  in  consonance  with  the 
prevailing  sentiment  or  atmosphere.  Sragdhara  mainly  a 
metre  of  heroic  and  kindred  sentiments  and  seldom  used  in 
dramas  of  love  and  pathos  ;  therefore,  its  abundance  in 
Mudraraksasa  and  Veiusamhura  end  all  but  total  absence 
in  Kalidasa's  works.  Also,  scarcity  of  Sikharhii,  abundance 
of  Arya  and  liberal  use  of  Vamsastha  and  Upajati  in  these 
works  as  compared  with  those  of  other  poets. 

Sragdhara. — Used  chiefly  in  dramas  of  heroic  and 
kindred  sentiments  and  in  invocations.  Suited  for  descrip- 
tive purposes  on  account  of  its  length. 

Sardulavikridita  : — Mainly  a  metre  of  softer  sentiments 
and  nature's  normal  moods.  Among  longer  vrttas  most 
favourite  with  Kalidasa  after  Vasantatilaka.  Its  length  suits 
it  for  descriptive  purposes  like  Sragdhara. 

Sikharinl  : — Sparingly  used  by  Kalidasa.  Fit  for 
conveying  pathos  because  of  its  syllable  arrangement. 


Maud"  —Them  .metric  of  metres.     Its  four 

opening  long  syllable  justify  its  name  and   fit   for   depicting 
nature  in  her  calmer  aspects. 

Hurini  : — A  somewhat  symmetric  metre  having  a  sad, 
sweet  melody  when  sung  in  tune.  Unlike  other  poets 
Kalidasa  uses  it  only  on  choice  occasions.  Some  Hariyts 
in  TJttararamacarita  III  are  also  beautiful. 

Prfhri: — Sparingly  used  by  Sanskrit  poets.  Examples  of 
it  in  Uttara.  and  Voni.  are  charming  because  of  alteration 
and  mainly  concern  the  heroic  sentiment.  Equally  sym- 
metric with  Hariiji. 

Molim  : — After  VasantatiiakS,  most  used   among   metres 
of  medium  length.     Its  opening  short  syllables  render   it   fit 
for  conveying  hurry,  excitement  &c.     Frequently  used 
change  metre  by  Kalidasa  in  his  narrative  poems. 

V(isanf<i!i/(ik(i : — Most  used  among  metres  of  medium 
length.  Kalidasa  is  specially  fond  of  it  and  often  uses  it  as 
a  change  metre  in  his  non-dramatic  poems. 

Va/hsastha,  Indravajra,  Upajati : — Comparatively  scarce 
in  the  works  of  dramatists  other  than  Kalidasa,  probably  be- 
cause the  latter  was  used  to  them  in  his  narrative  poems. 

Salini : — Rarely  used.  Wide  difference  between  the 
number  of  its  short  and  long  syllables.  Those  occuring  in 
Uttara.  contain  subject  matter  noble  or  dignified  in  tone. 

Arya  : — Most  favourite  with  Kalidasa  but  least  so  with 
other  poets.  Its  preponderance  in  Malavikagnimitra  points 
to  Kalidasa  as  being  the  author  of  the  work. 

A  it  ust  a  hit  : — A  metre  of  old  and  sacred  tradition.  There- 
fore, frequently  used  in  invocations,  propitiation  of  gods 
and  in  connection  with  revered  characters  generally  contain- 
ing high  moral,  ethical  or  similar  ideas.  Fit  vehicle  for 
alankaras  like  Upama,  Drstanta  etc.  because  of  its  shortness 


Music. 

Early  History  of  Music.     By  E.  CLEMENTS. 

Karly  history    of   music    involved   in    confusion.     The 
musical  training  and  surroundings  of  the  European  mal. 


olviii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

almost  impossible  for  him  to  understand  oriental  music. 
His  prejudices  illustrated. 

It  is  fallacious  to  take  the  theories  of  ancient  writers  on 
music  at  their  face  value.  They  knew  nothing  of  science. 
The  idea  that  Greek  music  was  based  mainly  upon  the  scale 
of  Pythagoras  is  also  erroneous. 

The  nucleus  from  which  the  chief  systems  of  oriental 
music  sprang  was  a  musical  civilisation  in  Central  Asia 
which  favoured  the  scale  (odhava).  In  Assyria  and  Egypt 
the  harp  was.the  chief  instrument.  In  ancient  Greece  the 
lyre  became  many  stringed  like  the  harp.  In  India  the  harp 
was  probably  in  vogue  in  Aryan  times.  It  was  succeeded 
by  the  vina 

In  Greece  'the  art  of  the  sarangi-player'  was  brought  to 
a  high  degree  of  excellence.  Many-stringed  instruments 
led  to  an  intricate  notation  and  a  system  of  keys.  The 
tradition  of  all  this  had  its  effect  on  the  evolution  of  modern 
European  music,  which  is  distinguished  by  (1)  relying  for 
unity  of  mode  upon  successions  of  chords,  not  so  much 
upon  a  chief  note  {sainwdi  or  antsa  svara),  (2)  a  system  of 
keys,  by  means  of  which  one  can  repeat  phrases  of  melody 
at  different  pitches  and  so  introduce  variety  (modulation), 
(3)  the  leading  note,  the  tonic  or  fundamental  note  of  every 
mode  having  a  note  a  semitone  below  it  which  leads  up  to  it. 
The  last  property  leads  to  a  paucity  of  modes.  To  counter- 
balance this,  modulation  is  resorted  to  more  and  more.  The 
second  property  made  temperament  of  some  sort  inevitable. 
Equal  temperament  was  finally  adopted  about  1850. 

In  India,  the  Aryan  system  appears  to  have  been  supnr- 
imposed  upon  an  indigenous  or  Dravidian  system.  Indian 
music  resembles  ancient  Greek  music  to  a  remarkable 
extent,  in  its  modes  and  their  derivative  the  ragas.  The 
music  of  Europe  and  that  of  India  belong  to  the  same  family. 
[t  may  be  inferred  that  each  has  something  to  gain  from  tho 
other. 


Principles  of  melodic  Classification  ii.    Ancient    Indian 

MUSIC.       /'//   V.   (i.   P  \K  AN.U'K. 

The  pre-requisitos  of  the   study   of  the   ancient  melodic 


i  roui  l'»!  •.  Ottld    be    the    inter- 

'inn    .if    technical    term    like     Murehain,    ' 
•  I  .1  differentiation  of  the  ab  "I mo  and  1  f < o 
pilch  iii  point  of  assthetio  Valuation. 

In  the  relative pitoh  88  ia  always  Hie  key-note,  in  the 
Absolute  any  note  may  be  the  koy-notc.     old  Indian   music 

employed  the  absolute  pitch;    the  relative  pitch  (fl  U  ed    now, 
while  both  were  in  use  in  the  mediaeval  period. 

The  Gramas  Were  sot--  of  fixed  notes,  not  varied  ordi- 
v,  which  with  a  key-relationship  established  among  them- 
-  formed  the  Murchanas  or  ran-  ties. 

M  irohan&a  wore  understood  by  mediaeval  writers  i<> 
denote  pitoh,  but  from  indications  Buoh  as  the  identity  of 
Murchanas  in  the  two  Gramas,  these  being  susceptible  of 
variation  &c.  they  clearly  denoted  scales  in  Bharata's  book. 

Of  the  14  Murchanas  only  9  were  actually  used.  The 
number  of  Murchanas  and  Tanas  was  a  matter  of  theory 
only. 

The   .I  it  is    were    the    genera   under    which    the   musical 
modes  were  grouped  together,  those  being  the  modal  elements 
of  which  the  Nyasa  was  the  final  note  constituting  Hie 
note  in  all  .lat  is  except  two,  where   it    occurs    as    an    ending 
note  not  amounting  to  the  key. 

Tables  of  the  twenty-two  Srutia  and  th<  .   of    the 

.  -  ami  J&tia  and  the  intervale  used,  with  their  value 
relative  pitch,  have  been  given  in  the  body    of  the   essay    in 
their  proper  places. 

Phe  ancient  system  consisted  in  sorting  out  melodies 
under  modes,  which  were  recognized  as  varieties  of  the  Jatis, 
amongst  the  variable  modal  elements  being  the  Arhsa, 
sa,  and  occasionally  the  Nyasa,  amongst  the  in- 
variable ones  being  the  Sancari  Varnas  and  the  proportions 
which  in  the  Svaras  were  blended  to  form  the  melody  and 
the  N.  The  Jatis  thems- lives,  when  divested  of   the   ten 

modal  tissues  were  reduced  to    the  skeletons  of  the  scales 
and  '  reduced  to  r  :^as.    The  modal 

oi  obs<  :•    -  nun,,  i at  ion  and 


clx  First  Oriental   Conference. 

classification.  The  system,  however,  did  not  retain  its 
vitality  long.  The  Jatis  soon  made  room  for  the  Ragas,  the 
chromatic  intervals  and  the  relative  pitch  and  the  old  classi- 
fication became  useless.  The  insufficiency  of  the  number 
of  Gramas  being  at  the  root  of  the  disappearance  of  the 
old  system,  it  is  a  question  whether  the  old  system  of  classi- 
fication, which  has  at  least  a  scientific  basis  and  has  a 
.parallel  in  the  Greek  system  of  scales  and  letrachords,  could 
not  be  revived  with  advantage,  care  being  taken  to  arrive  at 
a  sufficiency  of  Gramas  that  would  meet  all  the  requirements 
of  modern  music. 


XIII.— Gefcieral. 


Sanskrit  and  its  Claims  upon  our  Attention.     By  OOVIND 
Sadashiv  Apte. 

1  We  meet  here  to  consider  in  what  best  way  the  study 
of  Sanskrit  may  be  encouraged. 

2  Any  wrong  notions  about  Sanskrit  can  be  corrected 
by  attending  conferences  like  the  present. 

3  A  magazine  like  the  Bhandarkar  Research  Institute 
Magazine  will  greatly  facilitate  ffhe  work  of  research  and 
will  supply  a  long-felt  need  of  Sanskrit  scholars  and  re- 
searchers. 

4  Dr.  Schroder's  proposal  to  m»ke  Sanskrit  the  Lingua 
Franca  of  India  is  not  feasible;  but  it  rests  with  us  to  allow 
Sanskrit  to  remain  a  dead  language  or  to  make  it  a  revived, 
if  not  a  permanently  living,  language. 

5  The  grammar  of  Sanskrit  may  be  written  in  a  simple 
language  and  the  language  itself  may  be  made  more  elastic 
and  richer  than  at  present  by  writing  works  in  Sanskrit  on 
Modern  Sciences. 

6  The  Gwalior  Darbar  Government  is  contemplating 
a  scheme  for  organizing  a  library  of  Sanskrit  MSS.  in  the 
Gwalior  State. 

7  The  following  are  the  results  of  my  study  of  the 
Hindu  Astronomy,  in  which  I  am  interested. 

(1)  From  the  verse  99th   Ch.  IV,  18  of  Jilanesiari  and 

from  some  references  in  Suryasiddhanta,  SiddhWa- 
sirmnani  and  Orahalaghava  I  infer  that  the  Hindus 
were  acquainted  with  the  Copernican   System   of 

planets,  two  centuries  before  Copernicus  lived. 

i 

(2)  The  verse  19th  of  the  Vedahga  Jyotisa  is  considered 

unintelligible  ;  but  I  think  that  the  interpretation 
which  I  propose  in  this  papor,  gives  a  meanin 
the  verse  and  the  Inftfmatioo  we    khui    obtain    !■ 
some  ufeotul  knuwledgr  ny 

21 


clxii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

(3)  Lastly,  I  show  the  validity  of  the  Vedanya  Jyo- 
tisa  by  interpreting  the  12th  and  14th  verses  of 
the  Yajurveda  Jyoti*a  and  the  5th  verse  of  the 
Ryveda  Jyotisa,  in  the  way  I  have  indicated  in  this 
paper.  These  verses  also  are  some  of  the  12,  which 
are  not  yet  properly  understood. 


Old  Gujarat!  Poets:  A  Critical  Exposition.  By  D.  D.  DAVE. 

Old  GujaratI  poets  are  five  in  number,  Narsinh  and 
Miranbai  being  the  chief.  All  of  them  flourished  between  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries.  All  of  them  were  not  born 
poets,  but  were  substantially  influenced  by  the  Literary,  Po- 
litical and  Religious  state  of  Gujarat.  Some  of  the  indivi- 
dual characteristics  of  all  the  five  poets  in  succession.  Then 
are  given  some  general  ti%its  distinguishing  the  whole  group, 
such. as  the  predominance  of  Bhakti  sentiment,  inattention 
to  nature  for  its  own  sake,  pictures  of  domestic  life  and  so 
on.  Then  the  conclusion  that  the  old  group  of  poets  had 
certain  characteristics  in  common,  as-  distinguished  from 
other  groups,  that  they  had  inherited  the  language  in  a  form 
which  they  developed  and  enriched  by  their  writings  and 
thus  cleared  the  way  for  the  change  in  the  Vernacular  as  it 
is  spoken  to-day. 


Note   on   the   Ancient  History  and  Geography  of   the 
Konkan.     By  P.  V.  KANE. 

From  ancient  times,  the  Western  coast  of  India  has  been 
in  close  communication  with  the  countries  in  the  West. 
Scholars  hold  that  many  of  the  articles,  with  which  Solomon 
(1016-976  B.  C.)  adorned  his  court,  came  from  India  and  that 
Ophir  often  mentioned  in  the  Old  Testament  as  the  city  of 
gold  and  precious  stones  is  to  be  located  in  India,  the  pro- 
bability being  that  it  was  Sopara.  It  can  be  established  with 
tolerable  certainty  that  from  about  600  B.  C.  Western  India 
carried  on  a  vast  trade  with  Babylon  and  other  Western  count- 
ries. The  Baveru  Jataka  refers  to  Babylon  and  several  other 
Jatakas  speak   of   Supparaka    (Sopara)    and    Bharukacchi 


rol  ,.|xjJi 

(Broach).     Megasthenes  refers  to  the  Pandyas  and  to  Tapro. 
bane  (Ceylon).    Strata,  Pliny,  fcba  Peripliu  qfths    Eryfl 

md  Ptolemy  testify  to  the  large  trade  between  India  and 
the  West.  The  large  finds  of  Roman  ooins,  particularly  in 
southern  India,  oonfirm  what  Strabo  and  the  other  writers 
say. 

The  Konkan  is  a  poor  couutry,  but  its  ports,  viz.  Sopara, 
Chaul,  Kalyan,  Thana  rose  to  be  flourishing  marts  because 
they  served  as  the  emporia  for  the  commodities  of  the 
countries  beyond  the  Ghats. 

In  very  ancient  times  the  Konkan  country  was  known 
under  the  name  Aparanta.  The  Arthasustra  of  Kautilya 
(300  B.  CJ  refers  to  the  heavy  rainfall  in  Aparanta.  A  frag- 
ment of  Asoka's  eighth  edict  was  found  at  Sopara  and  the  word 
Aparanta  occurring  in  his  fifth  edict  probably  refers  to  the 
Konkan  country.  An  inscription  at  Nasik  and  that  of  Rud- 
radaman  speak  of  Kuhuraparanta.  The  Mahavarhsa  speaks 
of  missions  sent  by  Moggaliputta  Tissa  to  Vanavasi  and 
Aparantaka  and  other  countries.  These  references  to 
Aparanta  and  Kalidasa's  mention  of  it  in  the  Raghuvamsa 
establish  that  Aparanta  was  the  strip  of  country  between 
the  sea  and  the  Sahya  north  of  Banavasi  and  south  of  Surat. 
The  Aparanta  king  referred  to  by  Kalidasa  may  have  been  a 
Traikutaka,  that  dynasty  being  so  named  after  the  mountain 
Trikuta  mentioned  in  the  Racjhurai'nsa.  The  same  country 
was  later  on  designated  Konkan.  The  northern  part  of 
Aparanta  from  Thana  was  included  in  the  kingdom  of  Lata, 
Navsari  being  its  Capital.  Ptolemy  speaks  of  Larike.  The 
Mahdbh&rata  (Anusasanaparva)  and  the  Mandator  Inscrip- 
tion of  A.  D.  473  refer  to  Lata. 

The  earliest  reference  to  Konkan  perhaps  occurs  in 
Strabo  (1st  quarter  of  first  century  A.  D.)  who  speaks  of  a 
country  called  Koniakoi.  Bhismaparvan  includes  Konkan 
in  the  list  of  countries.  The  Brhatsiu'ithita  of  Varahamihira 
(first  half  of  6th  century)  speaks  of  the  people  of  Konkan. 
The  Aihole  inscription  of  634  A.  D.  tells  us  that  Kirtivarman 

1  »-567  A.  D.)  overthrew  the  Maurya  rulers  of  tin-  Konkan. 
Hiuen  Tsang  gives  us  a  description  of  K<>n£-kin-na-pul<'. 
His  references  to  the  climate,  the  soil   and    the   complexion 


clxiv  First  OrMml   Conference. 

of  the  people  and  the  fact  tfftt  other  Chinese  accounts  tell 
us  that  Kong-kin-na-pulo  was  one  day's  journey  from  the 
sea  make  it  almost  certain  that  the  Chinese  traveller  speaks 
of  the  kingdom  of  the  Kadambas  of  BanavasI  which  then 
included  the  Belgaum  and  Dharwar  districts.  It  is  thus 
established  that  from  at  least  500  A.  D.,  the  term  Konkan 
came  to  be  generally  used,  though  how  much  earlier,  it  is 
difficult  to  say. 

The  extent  and  boundaries  of  Konkan  towards  the  north 
and  south  cannot  be  ascertained  with  precision.  But  as  a 
grant  of  the  Rastrakuta  Krsnaraja  speaks  of  a  village  on 
theTap!  as  included  in  theKonkan.it  seems  that  Konkan  ex- 
tended to  the  Tap!  towards  the  North.  Navsari,  the  capital 
of  Lata,  once  a  province  of  Konkan,  must  have  been  includ- 
ed in  it.  The  Konkan  Silahara  records  speak  of  a  city  called 
Hanjamana,  which  is  to  be  identified  with  modern  Sanjan. 
As  regards  the  southern  lim#ts  of  Konkan,  great  difference 
of  opinion  prevails.  Some  Indian  writers  make  Gokarna, 
25  miles  south  of  Karwar,  the  boundary  between  Kerala  and 
Konkan.  The  Sahyadrikhanda  says  that  Konkan  extends 
from  Cape  Comorin  to  Nasik.  Madhavacarya's  grant  of  1391 
A.  D.  speaks  of  Goa  as  the  capital  of  Konkan.  Jayakesin 
one  of  the  Kadambas  of  Goa,  is  said  to  be  the  king  of  Kon- 
kan. From  all  these  facts  it  follows  that  Konkan  included 
towards  the  south  Goa  and  parts  of  Karwar  and  that  at 
times  it  was  supposed  to  have  included  Banavasi  and  the 
territories  of  the   Konkan  kings  beyond  the  Ghauts. 

From  ancient  times  Konkan  has  been  subdivided  into 
seven  parts-  What  the  names  of  these  seven  divisions  were 
it  is  difficult  to  say.  There  were  two  well-known  divisions: 
north  Konkan  which  was  a  1400 province  and  south  Konkan 
which  was  a  900  province.  Dr.  Fleet  arranged  the  divisions 
as  Payve  or  Haive  5tK),  then  Konkan  900,  then  Iridige; 
then  Konkan  1400  and  then  Lata.  Besides  there  were  many 
smaller  subdivisions  of  Konkan  such  as  Palasldesa  (Belgaum) 
and  Kalagiri  Kampana,  Revatidwlpa,  Attavire  Kampana 
(Adivare  in  Ratnagiri),  Kapardikadwipa  (from  Rajapur  to 
Sopara),Kapura  (Sopara  to  Sanjan),Kandalamuliya(Chaul  to 
Sopara),  Satsasti  (modern  SriTsette),  Navasarika,  Soparaka 
and  Kheta  (Khed  in  Ratnagiw). 


General.  cIit 

The  origin    of   the   name    Kunkan    i.s   doubtful.     In   the 
grants  and  ancient  works  various  forms  of  the   name  occur 
such   as   Konkana,    Konkanana.     The  Mahomedan  writers 
present    even    a    greater    variety.      In   many   grants   and 
inscriptions  found  in  the  Konkan,  the  names  of  donees  and 
great  officers  of  State  are  distinctly  southern.     It  cannot  be 
argued  that  this  indicates  that  the  country  was  inhabited  by 
Kanarese  people,  or  that  the  Kanarese  language  was   spoken 
in  Konkan.     The  proper  explanation  is  that  as  the  overlords 
of  Konkan  from     600   A.D.     were    the    Calukyas   and    the 
EU  'rakutas   whose   central   government   was    in   the   heart 
of  the  Kanarese  country  and  as   the    Silahara   rulers   of  the 
Konkan  also  came  from  Tagara,  modern  Ter  in  the  Nizam's 
dominions,  the  ministers  and  donees   were    naturally    Brah- 
mins   from     Karnatak.      Some   derive    the    word     Konkan 
from  a  Kanarese  word  meaning  "uneven  ground".     But  ths 
derivation  cannot  be  accepted.     The   earliest   dynasty   from 
the  Kanarese  country  to  conquer   Konkan   was   that  of  the 
Calukyas  who  did  so  only  after  550  A.  D. ;  while  the  term  was 
well  established  long  before  it.  North   Konkan  was  Konkana 
governed  successively  by  the  Asokan  Mauryas,  the   Andhra- 
bhrtyas,  the    Ksatrapas,   Abhiras  and   later   Mauryas  from 
300  B.C.  to  600  A.D.     If  the  word  Konkana  is   non-sanskritic 
in  origin,  it  may  be  conjectured  that  it  was   evolved    during 
the   times   of  the     Ksatrapas   and     is    connected   with   the 
Persian  word  "Koh"  meaning  mountain.     Some  connect  the 
word  Konkana  with  the  Naga   Kuhkuna   occcurring   in   the 
Udyogaparvan  of  the  MahahhUrata.     This  is  far-fetched.     It 
is  more  likely  that  the  name  of  the  Naga  is  due  to  the  name 
Konkana  or  Kuhkuna  given  to   the   country.     Scholars  take 
Kukuraparanta  occurring    in    Rudradaman's   inscription   as 
two  countries,  but  the  fact,  that  no  sandhi  is  made«elsewhere 
in  the  same  passage  except  in  Akaravati,  shows  that  Kukura- 
paranta  is   one   country.       One   feels   tempted   to   identify 
Kukura  with  Kunkuna.     But   there    are   objections   against 
this.     Ancient   works  like    the   MahSbh  eem    to   have 

kept  the  words  Kukura  and  Konkana  distinct  Besides  the 
Kukuras  are  connected  with  the  Yadava  tribes  of  Dwara  in 
the  MuhUbhUrat  i.  The  question  of  the  origin  of  the  term 
Konkan  is  therefore  still  an  open  one. 


olxvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 

^TfoWrWf  sfi!*qTR.       By  KtUSHNAMACIIARYA. 

1  *fi*TR4    $T?^r£T    J?frqf|q§    ^t^q^T^qq^Rflfa^^    M%vm% 
qWFRR:,    I:    S^STft    <tf    ^  *ffi\   ^    *TT^T  3TIS5T  3q^,    ^  =* 

gvnfqai^rafai     ^    %qo5qicqR    q*    <E3qi^CR      wn^*wiiT 
3  fei^q  =*  ^ppqW*^  q<q  r^r  ^f%*rf^n%JT  JprqgfeqRt 

5  &t4  ^  qii%T^q:  ^$3  s^fq  qjn^q  5^rcw4  qr  Rq£  w<ftsfq 
^rqiqq>}*riRaWSW%  I 

*g&RTff^<32fte  q^wtfaqist  i%rqfq:  qR<g^  i 


State-interference    in   Ancient   Indian     industries.     Btj 
Narendra  Nath  Law. 

The  Artlmsastra,   the    Afahabharata,    and    other  ancient 
texts,   furnish    us     with    very    interesting    and    instructive 
evidences  in  regard   to  the  economic    functions   of  govern- 
ment.    Not    merely    were    coins   minted    and    weights   and 
measures  supplied  exclusively  by   the  government,  but   the 
manufacture  of  salt,  and  the  extraction  of  minerals  were  the 
monopolies  of  the  state.     Thre  weie   also   state-departments 
of    agricukure    and    industries,      state-forests,     and    state- 
manufacture  of  luxuries,  principally  for  the  imperial  house- 
hold,  and  the    imperial    civil    and    military    departments. 
Indirectly,  the  state  had  minute  regulations  to    control    the 
standard  of  production   in   some   handicrafts,   the   prices   of 
commodities  as  well  as  the  place  and  time  of  markets,  while 
encouragement   was  given   to   those   who   imported   foreign 
merchandise.     Indian     importers    of    foreign    goods    were 
favoured    with   the   remission   of    trade-taxes,   and   foreign 


General.  olxril 

merchants  were  exempted  from  being  sued  for  debts.  Through 
sumptuary  laws  as  well  as  laws  of  contracts  and  the  pro- 
tection of  guilds  within  proper  limits,  the  state  prevented 
economic  abuses  and  tried  to  keep  itself  in  close  touch  with 
the  social  well-being  of  the  people. 


Old  Shastric  Learning.      By  M.  A.  NARAYAN   SHA8TRI. 

1  Scope  and  meaning  of  Old   Shastric    Learning,  and 

2  Suggestions  for  its  Revival. 

Under  1  are  included  Vedas,  their  six  Ahgas,  Sanskrit 
language  and  literature,  Fine  Arts  and  the  various  Sastras, 
Astronomy,  Medicine,  Economics  and  Mimamsa  being  spe- 
cially dealt  with.  Three  different  periods  have  been  noticed 
in  tracing  the  gradual  decadence  of  Shastric  Learning  with 
some  approach  to  history. 

Under  2  organisation  of  special  schools  for  imparting 
Shastric  instruction  to  Indian  youths,  vocational  education 
being  correlated  whith  the  same.  The  development  of  the 
Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute,  the  creation  of 
similar  institutions  in  all  parts  of  the  country  as  auxiliaries 
to  the  parent  institution,  the  collection,  copying  and  publica- 
tion of  rare  manuscripts  from  all  possible  sources,  establish- 
ment of  permanent  fellowships  to  encourage  research,  the 
formulation  and  execution  of  a  scheme  of  translation  where- 
by modern  scientific  and  other  useful  literature  can  be  made 
accessible  to  the  existing  generation  of  Pandits  whose  ser- 
vices deserve  to  be  utilised  in  discovering  the  full  scope  and 
comprehension  of  the  Shastric  Learning. 


Academical  Study  of  Sanskrit.      By  P.  V.  NARSINORAO. 
1     The  value  of  a  study  of  Ancient  Literature  tvith  special 
reference  to  Sanskrit  •• — 

(a)    A  study   of  the  past  has   a  peculiar  interest;  it 
interprets  the  present  and  gives  a   clue   to  the  fu- 
ture;    it    enables   us     to    comprehend     ourselvoK 
better. 
(/>)     Ancient     Indian     literature    ll    I    ITOfl    >f    extra- 
ordinary merit. 


elxviii  Pirst  Oriental  Conference. 

(c)  Study  of  grammatical  science  in  Sanskrit  affords 
a  valuable  mental  training  and  is  a  basis  for 
abstract  thinking. 

(d)  Sanskrit  study  is  very  useful  on  philological 
grounds. 

(e)  Every  Hindu  ought  to  know  Sanskrit  in  order  to 
understand  the  meaning  of  his  own  daily  prayers 
and  mantras. 

(/)  Sanskrit  study  has  a  moral  and  -disciplinary 
value. 

(g)  It  binds  together  the  various  classes  of  people  de- 
riving their  better  aspirations  from  sacred  works 
in  Sanskrit. 

2  Sanskrit  study  in  Ancient  India  : — 

(a)  Every  dvija  studied  Sanskrit  under  a  highly  qua- 
lified preceptor. 

(6)  Many  of  these  preceptors  maintained  residential 
teaching  universities  and  spread  a  very  compre- 
hensive education. 

3  Western    education  lowered  the  importance  of  Sans- 


krit:- 


(a)  The  graduates  of  ancient  institutions  were  not  so 
well  off  economically  as  the  graduates  of  modern 
schools. 

(b)  The  main  object  of  modern  schools  was  held  to  be 
the  development  of  western  learning. 

Sanskrit  study  in  Modern  Schools  and  Colleges: — 
(a)     The    provision    made    for  the   study  of  Oriental 

languages  is  inadequate. 
(6)    The  attainments  in  these    subjects  of  an  average 

graduate  is  low. 

(c)  Indian  languages  are  seriously  neglected. 

<d)  Those  that  wish  to  specialise  in  Sanskrit  have 
to  study  three  languages  and  this  is  a  heavy 
strain. 

(e)  Absence  of  regular  syllabuses,  lack  of  appro- 
priate books  and  want  of  efficient  teachers  have 
made  Orient  il  education  in  Softools  and  colleges 
ineffective. 


General.  clxix 

(/)  The  neglect  of  vernaculars  has  meant  a  serious 
neglect  of  the  pupil's  most  natural  medium  of 
thought. 

5    Sanskrit  study  in  Put  hairdo's : — 

(a)  The  outlook  of  the  Pandits  is  narrow.  Subjects 
oalculated.to  widen  their  outlook  should  be  intro- 
duced and  elements  of  secondary  education  must 
also  be  given. 

(b)  Oriental  studies  must  be  based  on  historical  and 
critical  methods. 

(')  There  is  no  co-ordination  of  aim  between  the  tra- 
ditional Oriental  languages  and  the  university 
studies  ;  and  therefore  the  attempts  of  the  Univer- 
sity to  bring  the  Sanskrit  College  under  their  con- 
trol have  not  produced  satisfactory  results. 

(J  Defects  of  the  present  si/stem  of  education: — 
('/)  This  system  fails  to  realise  the  two  main  objects 
of  a  liberal  education — mental  training  and  ac- 
quisition of  knowledge. 
(6)  A  foreign  medium  of  instruction  involves  waste 
of  mental  energy,  presents  two  difficulties  (of 
language  and  matter)  simultaneously,  destroys 
independence  of  thought,  leads  to  the  evil  of 
cramming  and  allows  no  time  and  energy  for  a 
proper  study  of  our  languages. 

7  Remedies  for  overcoming  the  defects  .— 

(a)  Vernacular  should  be  made  the  medium  of  in- 
struction. 

(/>)  English  should  be  made  a  compulsory  second 
language,  with  provision  for  specialising  in  that 
language  in  the  case  of  those  that  have  an  apti- 
tude for  higher  English  education. 

8  Re-nrtfanisalion  of  Sanskrit  Colleges: — 

A    Need  for  reorganisation. 
(a)    The  work  done  in  these   institutions  is  at  present 

inadequate. 
(/>)     The  attempt  of  the  University    to   apply    Western 

method?  to  OrUnttl  »tudy  feM  not  produced  good 


olxx  First  Oriental  Conference. 

results.  And  there  is  incongruity  of  aim  between 
the  traditional  study  of  Oriental  classics  and 
university  study. 
(c)  Neither  the  University  nor  the  Oriental  studies 
have  profited  in  any  way  by  the  action  of  the  Uni- 
versity. 
B     Proposed  reorganisation. 

(a)  Oriental  studies  on  traditional  methods  must  re- 
main undisturbed  and  the  university  students  may 
have  free  access  to  the  learning  of  the  Pandits. 

(b)  A  systematic  study  of  the  Indian  languages  on 
modern  lines  must  be  encouraged. 

(c)  The  Sanskrit  College  must  be  divided  into  three 
sections  : 

(  i  )  A  High  School  department  managed  by   the 

board  of  secondary  education. 
( ii)  A  college  department  controlled  by  the  Uni- 
versity, 
(iii)  A  purely  Oriental  department   independent 
of  the  University  and  managed  by  a  special 
committee. 
('/)     The  students  of  the  Oriental  department  after  pas- 
sing the  Title  Examination  may  study  Sanskrit  in 
western  aspects,  without  going  through  the  High 
School  course  and  they    may  be   given  a   diploma 
or  a  degree. 
(e)    The  various   universities   should   open   chairs    in 
the  Vernaculars  of  the  respective  States   and    en- 
courage the  study   of  vernacular   literature    and 
philology. 


Some   Views   on   the   Problem   of  Sea-Voyage.     By   C 
Venkataramanaiyar. 

Among  several  social  questions  of  the  day,  the   question 
of  Sea.  Voyage  rushes  in  at  the  very  threshold,  as  the    neces- 
;iinl  the  cirou instances  <>t"  the  present  time    demand    the 
firs!  and    foremo  aideration   t»f  this  subject.    The   ra- 

tions  found  In   some   of  the   Sinrtis   and   other   works 
trding  Si  ■(•    to  be  and  n  bj   Hindus^,  ei  pecjr 


. 


ral.  clxxi 

ally  by  the  high  caste  people,  were  primarily  intended  to 
safeguard  the  purity  of  Hindu  society  and  religion  in 
former  days,  when  the  facilities  for  sea-travel  and  for  living 
in  foreign  countries  uncontaminated,  were  not  existent. 
politfoal  situation  and  the  material  condition  of  old 
India  favoured  such  restriction  or  prohibitions  with  ad- 
vantage. But  the  time  has  changed.  New  ideas  on  modern 
scientific  basis  and  modes  of  life  according  to  the  programme 
of  modern  civilization  compel  us  to  acquire  and  assimilate 
them  to  a  certain  extent,  as  we  come  in  contact  with  other 
nations  day  by  day.  This  is  necessary  for  the  political 
advancement  as  well  as  for  the  material  progress  of  India. 
Hence  arises  a  necessity  and  aspiration  for  Sea-Voyage 
being  freely  undertaken.  As  in  the  present  age,  when  with- 
out breaking  the  social  laws  and  without  losing  the  religious 
spirit  of  India,  it  is  possible  to  live  in  the  foreign  country 
for  a  certain  period  with  a  view  to  acquire  some  scientific  or 
industrial  or  commercial  knowledge,  or  to  achieve  any  other 
object  for  the  well-being  of  Mother-India,  such  restrictions 
do  not  hold. 

Beside  properly  interpreted,  it  will  be  clear 

that  there  is  no  prohibition  at  all  to  a  sea-travelled 
being  admitted  into  social  intercourse.  As,  restrictions  laid 
Sown  regarding  '  Sannyasa  Swlkara*  <&o.  along  with  'Sea- 
Voyage'  do  not  find  place  in  practice,  the  prohibitive  nature 
of  the  Smrti  diction  should  not  stand  in  the  way  of  Sea- 
Voyage. 

On  the  analogy  of  a  man  who  undergoes  imprisonment 
for  any  length  of  time  and  who  is  still  admitted  into  society 
with  proper  expiation,  although  the  limit  of  time  for 
a  case  is  laid  down  only  for  one  month,  the  sea-travelled 
man  may  also  undergo  expiation  and  be  admitted  into  social 
intercourse,  whatever  be  the  time  of  Sea-Voyage,  without 
minding   the   time  limit  oi  three   day-  found   in  is   in 

the  same  connection. 

There     is    a    permissible    cl  tra    Sm\ 

amend  or  change  looial  laws  and  aa  from  time  to  time 

by  competent  persons  of  the  ag 

•Me  \  ie\ 
Bsed  on  the  subje 


clxxii  First  Oriental  Conference. 

Funeral  Place   of  Poet  Kalidasa,  a  Querry.     By  SATIS 
Chandra  Vidyabhusana.* 

In  1909,  while  Mahamahopadhyaya  Dr.  Satis  Chandra 
Vidyabhusana  was  staying  in  Ceylon,  he  found  in  the 
southern  province  of  Matara  a  spot,  at  the  confluence  of  the 
river  Kirindi  and  the  Indian  ocean,  which  was  reported  to 
be  the  funeral  place  of  the  great  Indian  poet  Kalidasa.  It 
was  covered  over  with  clusters  of  creepers  and  flowers  and 
surrounded  by  numerous  cocoanut  and  arecanut  trees.  The 
monks,  residing  in  a  monastery  called  Tisyarama,  in  the 
neighbourhood,  corroborated  the  report;  and  the  monks  of 
other  monasteries  in  other  parts  of  Ceylon  related  the  same 
story-  Parakramabahucaritra,  a  Ceylonese  work  500  years 
old,  as  also  other  works,  bear  testimony  to  the  authenticity 
of  the  tradition. 

It  is  said  that  Kumaradasa,  otherwise  known  as  Kuma- 
radhatusena,  a  very  learned  king  of  Ceylon,  as  a  token  of  his 
gratitude  to  Kalidasa  for  the  latter's  high  opinion  of  the 
former's  epic  Jaiiakiharana  Kavija,  invited  Kalidasa  to 
Ceylon,  where  great  patronage  and  friendship  were  accorded 
to  him  by  the  Ceylonese  king.  It  is  reported  further  that 
Kalidasa  met  his  death  in  Ceylon  under  tragic  circum- 
stances ;  and  that  so  indissoluble  was  the  bond  of  friendship 
between  the  two  that  Kumaradasa  threw  himself  into  the 
funeral  pyre  of  Kalidasa.  The  death  of  Kumaradasa  took 
place,  according  to  the  Pali  chronicle  Mahava/hsa,  in  the 
year  524  A.  D. 

It  is  said  that  once  Kumaradasa,  to  show  his  familiarity 
with  the  mother-tongue  of  Kalidasa,  composed  a  verse  in 
that  tongue  and  asked  Kalidasa  to  solve  the  puzzle  involved 
in  it.     Kumaradasa's  verse  was  as  follows  : — 

Original  Verse. 

fa*  mv  fcw  <fcrci  ft*  *r^ft  i 

Sanskrit  Paraphrase. 

STctfr*  rTTJT^T  **T£  rTWS,  (  ?T**  )  x^rp£  ^flR:  I 

*  This  aud  the  foll<  w  ing  summaries  were  received  too  late  to  be  in- 
cluded iu  the  proper  lections. 


CI"  clxx 

Its  purport  is  : — '(Just  before  sunset)  a  bee,  covetous  of 
honey,  entered  into  a  lotus  and  was  shut  up  within  its 
hundred  petals.  Unable  to  get  a  sound  sleep,  filling  his 
eyes,  he  sat  up,  brooding  over  his   plight.' 

The  following  is  Kalidasa's  reply  : — 
Original  Verse. 

Sanskrit  Paraphrase. 

UT?5PTf  (  5^  )  f^'faf  UT*IFI.*raT5{^T  *lrWM,»5%5T  II 

The  purport  : — '(Just  before  sunset)  a  wild  bee  wishing 
to  drink  honey  without  destroying  flower,  entered  into  the 
latter.  (In  the  morning)  when  the  flower  opened,  he,  effect- 
ing his  deliverance  from  inside  the  flower,  flew  away  at  ease.' 

The  question  now  is  :  'In  what  dialect  were  the  stanzas 
composed?'  The  Ceylonese  say  that  the  stanzas  are  written 
in  the  old  Singhalese  ;  the  Bengalees  think  them  to  have 
been  written  in  archaic  Bengali,  while  the  Maithils  hold 
that  the  language  is  old  Maithili  ;  and  the  Gujaratis,  on 
the  other  hand,  maintain  that  the  language  employed 
must  be  Gujarati,  on  account  of  the  preponderence  of  nasal 
sounds  in  it. 

Dr.  Vidyabhusana  now  places  this  question  before  the 
Conference  in  the  hope  that  the  delegates  will  kindly 
identify  the  dialect  of  the  stanzas  and  discuss  the  reliability 
of  the  date  of  Kalidasa's  death. 


The  Indo-Aryan  Style  of  Architecture.     By  Y.  R.  I  • 

Definition  of  Architecture.  (Architecture  and  Archaeo- 
logy) ideas  conveyed  by  irohiteoture.  Itbas  two  sidei  I 'o 
understand  this  two-fold  function,  and  it-  arietiee  and  sub- 
varieties  illustrations  are  required.  Subject-matter  of 
this  paper.  The  results  obtained  by  pioneers.  The  modi- 
fications that  are  required.  Leading  eharaoterietiof  of  the 
Indo-Aryan  style.  The  ration  1  nus  il  assumed,  M 
ami  drawbai  ks  of  edifices. 


clxxiv  First  Oriental   Conference. 

Earliest  models  of  Architecture  are  found  in  Babylonia 
and  Egypt.     Their  relatioD  to  India  is  not  known. 

Some  points  for  general  guidance.  Architectural  deve- 
lopments depend  upon  the  materials  available  in  a  country- 
wood,  stone  and  clay.  Generally  wood  precedes  brick;  stone 
was  employed  after  bricks  in  India. 

Divisions  of  Architecture: — Hindu  Architecture-Its  divi- 
sions, 1  Indo-Aryan,  2  Dravidian,  and  3  Chalukyan.  Main 
differences.  The  Indo-Aryan  style  only  is  dealt  with  in  this 
paper.  In  India  the  style  is  peculiar.  The  details  were  bor- 
rowed from  time  to  time  from  Greece  and  Persia.  But  the 
style  is  decidedly  indigenous.  So  it  is  called  Indo-Aryan. 
The  provinces  in  which  the  typical  examples  are  noticed  are 
known  as  Aryavarta.  The  fashion  prevails  from  the  Hima- 
layas to  the  Vindhyas,  in  Maharashtra  and  in  a  part  of  H. 
E.  H.  the  Nizam's  Dominions. 

The  origin  of  it  is  a  mystery.  The  prototype  of  the 
Sikhara  has  defied  the  attempts  of  scholars.  Mr.  Fergusson's 
hypothesis  of  Persian  influence. 

Innovations  in  India  are  not  suddenly  made.  This  rule 
applies  particularly  to  religious  things. 

Propriety  in  calling  a  sikhara  a  vimana.  Its  derivation. 
Gods  are  represented  as  fond  of  travelling  in  vimanas. 
Square  forms  are  disadvantageous.  The  circular  shape  is 
better  suited.  The  Puspaka  vimana.  In  the  2nd  centnry 
A.  D.,  the  date  of  the  Ramayana  the  Sikharas  were  white. 
Flatness  of  roof  is  a  characteristic  of  the  Gupta  period. 
Temples  of  the  late  Gupta  period  have  spires. 


The  plan  of  an  Indo-Aryan  temple  is  a  square  inside 
and  outside.     But  addition  of  slices  are  made. 

It  is  believed  that  Orissa  possesses   temples   of   the  pure 

type  which  is  astylar.     Their  general   characteristics.     No- 

examples  are  those   at    Bhuvanesvara   and    I'uri.     The 

-a  group  forms  in  itself  one  of  the  most  complete  and  in- 
teresting in  all  [ndia,  lor  tin',  reason  the  monuments  in 
Orissa  are  dealt  with  first. 


A  i  gy.  clxxv 

Parasuramesvra  tomple  at  Bhuvanesvara.  It  is  not 
magnificent.  But  the  sculptures  are  exquisite.  The  ornament* 
are  well-designed.  The  temple  of  Muktesvara,  though  small 
is  more  beautiful.  The  plan  is  similar  to  that  of  the  Parasu- 
rann'svara  temple.  But  the  beauty  lies  in  the  details.  The 
Lintfaraja  temple  at  Bhuvanesvara.  It  belongs  to  the  9th 
century  A.  D.  Its  description-Absence  of  monotony  is  a 
characteristic  of  this  monument.  There  are  two  fashions  in 
Orissa,  one  represented  by  the  temple  ol  Parasuramesvara 
and  the  other  by  that  of  Lingaraja. 

Adoption  by  the  Hindus  of  the  Buddhist  system  of  using 
repetitions  of  temples  as  ornament.  The  extent  to  which 
this  system  is  carried  is  a  fair  test  of  the  age  of  Hindu 
temples. 

The  early  Orissan  system  was  astylar  But  it  was  not  a 
peculiarity  of  the  Indo-Aryan  style.  Later  Orissa  examples 
have  pillars.  The  Black  Pagoda  at  Kanarak.  Its  date — Its 
description.  The  temple  of  Jagannatha  at  Puri.  Its  descrip- 
tion. The  Mukhalihgam  temple  in  the  Ganjam  District. 

The  style  in  Orissa  degenerated  from  the  12th  century 
onwards. 

The  Kashmir  temples  form  a   peculiar  group.     It  is   not 
apparently  included  in  the  Indo-Aryan  style  by   Mr.  Fergus- 
son  and  others.    The  typical  example  is  the   temple   of 
tanda.     Its  description. 

Northern  and  Central  India : — Here  the  temples  are 
smaller  as  compared  to  the  Orissan  and  Southern  ones.  But 
they  have  very  neat  and  eleuant  forma.  Models  of  the  style  f 
1  The  brick  temple  at  Bhitargaon.  2  The  sand-stone  temple 
at  Deogarh,  Jhansi  District.  Their  descriptions  and  dates. 
The  Gupta  architectural  characteristics.  3  The  Saiva  temple 

taler       ra  at   Candravati    in   Rajaputana.     Its    descrip- 
tion and   date.     4  Two  temples  of   the    11th   century    in    the 
Qwalior  fort.     Their  descriptions.     5  Tcmplo  at    \ "  rin«i 
near  Mathura.    Their  description*    5  Tha  temple  of  \. 

■I   description      I    '• 
temple  a!  Chi  tor 


clxxvi  First  Oriental  Conference. 


Chandel  buildings  : — Specimens  are  to  be  met  with  in 
Bundelkhand.  8  The  temple  at  Phutera  on  the  Jhansi- 
Nowgong  road.  Its  date.  The  Saiva  temple  at  Gaharao 
( Tahsil  Mau,  District  Jhansi ).  Its  description  and  date, 
9  The  templo  at  Khajuraho. 

Gujrat  Architecture  : — 10  The  temples  in  Gujarat  are 
believed  to  be  in  the  Jain  style.  But  that  is  the  style  of  a 
province.     13  The  characteristics  of  the  style. 


Bengal: — The  Bengalis  did  not  adopt  any  of  the  above 
styles  in  tact.  The  prevailing  one  differs  from  them. 
Observations  on  the  same.  11  The  temple  at  Kantanagara 
near  Dinajpur.     Its  date  and  description. 


The  Deccan  : — The  Hemadpanti  temples.  12  A  typical 
example  of  another  form  of  the  Indo-Aryan  style  of  the  11th 
and  12th  centuries  is  the  temple  of  Gondesvara  at  Sinnar  in 
the  Nasik  District.  Its  description.  13  The  temple  at  Ambarr 
nath  near  Kalyan  in  the  Thana  District.  Its  description. 
Some  observations  on  the  style  called  after  Hemadpant. 
The  places  where  specimens  are  to  be  found.  The  Kala 
Rama's  temple  at  Nasik  exhibits  the  latest  phase  of  the  style. 
Its  description.     15  Naro  Shankar's  temple  at  Nasik. 

Dharawad  and  Maharashtra  in  general: — The  Dravidian 
style  has  influenced  the  Indo-Aryan  in  Maharashtra.  The 
edifices  afford  scope  for  comparing  the  advantages  and  the 
disadvantages.  16.  A  typical  monument  is  the  Papnath 
temple  at  Pattadakal.     Its  description. 

Edifices  of  the  Sikhs  : — They  are  few.  17  Haramandir 
at  Amritsar.  Its  history  and  description.  18  Shrine  at 
Nander.  19  The  Gurudvara  at  Shahajahanabad  (Delhi).  Its 
history  and  description. 

Rock-cut  temples  . — General  observations.  20  The  caves 
at  Badami  with  their  dates.  21  The  caves  at  Elura.  22  The 
Dasavatara  temple  at  Elura.  23  The  Elephanta  Caves. 
Their  date.  Some  general  observations.  24  The  Pancale- 
svara  temple  near  Poona.     Some  observations  on  it. 

Two  monuments  that  have  come  to  light  since  the 
publication  of  Mr.  Fergusson's,  History  of  Indian  <m</  Ea 


/!/.  Cllivli 

ArcJutecturt,  25  The  Masnn  monuments.  Their  descrip- 
tion. Their  date.  26  The  monolithic  temple  near  Thai 
known  as  the  Eka-Hatia  Temple.     Its  description. 

Klrtistambhas: — An  early  torana-gateway  at  Pathari  in 
the  Gwalior  state.  Vadnagara  gateways  are  remarkable  for 
carving. 

Palaces  : — General  observations.  Palaces  mentioned  in 
ancient  works  like  the  RamUyana.  The  palace  at  Tazila 
excavated  by  Sir  John  Marshall.  The  Mauryan  palace  at 
Patna.  The  palaces  in  the  Gwalior  fort.  Their  descrip- 
tions and  dates.  The  palace  at  Udeipur.  Its  date  and 
description.  The  palace  at  Ambar  built  by  Sawai  Jai 
pfngh.  The  palace  of  Surajmal  at  Dig.  Its  description  and 
observations  on  its  construction. 

Town-planning  : — It  is  not  dealt  with  in  this  paper  as 
another  gentleman  has  promised  to  enlarge  upon  the  sub- 
ject. 

Houses,  Chatris  or  Cenotaphs  : — The  Hindus  are  not 
accustomed  to  show  much  respect  for  the  dead.  When 
the  Rajputs  and  the  Marathas  came  in  close  contact  with 
the  Muhammadans,  they  began  to  raise  monuments  to  mark 
the  sites  where  the  deceased  had  been  burnt.  The  Chatris 
do  not  vie  with  the  splendid  tombs  of  the  Pathans  and  the 
Moghals  Mahasatis.  Rana  Sangram  Singh's  Chatris. 
Foliated  arch  was  the  fashionable  form  at  Delhi  and 
(i ovardhan.  In  the  18th  century,  even  the  Brahmin  Subhe- 
dars  adopted  the  suggestion  offered  by  the  Muhammadans. 

City  walls  : — Walls  at  Pataliputra  were  of  wood.  Later 
on  mud  and  stone  were  freely  used.  Markat  Kesari's  stone 
revetment. 

Bridges  at  Puri  and  Jajpur. 

Tanks:— Their  characteristics.  Tanks  at  Chandpur  and 
Dabhai.  Rana  Sang.  Singh's  dam.  The  embankment  of  Raja 
Udet  Singh  constructed  to  form  the  lake  Barva  Sagar. 

Wells  and  Baolis. 

Ghats   at   Benares,    Mahesvara,    Ujjain    and    Haradvar. 
Kahara-ghati  and  Raja-^hati  at  Deogarh.  .Ihanshi  Dist- 
•  23 


olxxviii  First  Oriental   Conference. 

Visesadvaita.     By  VlRUPAKSHA  WODEYAR. 

The  principal  object  of  the  teaching  of  the  Vedas  is  to 
reveal  the  highest  ideal  of  man's  life  and  to  lay  down  the 
appropriate  means  of  attaining  it,  by  removing  all  doubt  and 
ignorance  and  by  finally  solving  the  mystery  of  life.  Num- 
erous doubts  haunt  our  minds  regarding  this  universe  and 
its  Maker.  And  many  conflicting  attempts  have  been 
made  to  remove  all  doubts  and  illumine  our  minds.  And 
these  constitute  the  rival  schools  in  philosophy,  the  .schools 
founded  by  Sahkara,  Ramanuja,  Madhava,  \  allabha,  Srikara 
and  others.  lam  concerned  with  Sirkaracarya's  ViiefjjUdoaita 
philosophy.  It  has  not  received  the  attention  it  deserves,  of 
our  scholars.  But  to  my  mind  Srlkaracarya's  philosophy 
possesses  the  supreme  value.  It  has  said  the  last  word  in  phi- 
losophy. It  has  constructed  the  most  satisfactory  system  of 
philosophy,  having  refuted  other  systems.  It  has  pointed  out 
the  errors  lurking  in  other  systems  and  conclusively  establi- 
shed its  thesis.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  Srlkaracarya  has  never 
failed  to  incorporate  into  his  own  system  the  truths  in 
the  doctrines  of  other  Acaryas.  His  is  a  very  comprehensive 
and  liberal  view. 

I  cannot  discuss  in  this  summary  Srlkaracarya's  refuta- 
tions of  rival  theories,  I  refer  you  to  my  Sanscrit  paper.  Nor 
can  I  do  justice  in  this  summary  to  the  details  of  Srikara- 
carya's philosophy.  I  shall  only  very  briefly  touch  the  most 
important  points.  My  only  purpose  is  to  draw  your  atten- 
tion to  the  philosophical  doctrines  of  Srlkaracarya  which 
have  been  neglected,  even  though  they  merit  a  close  study. 

Brahman  is  He  who  apportions  rewards  and  punishments 
to  Jivas  according  to  their  Karman.  He  is  the  light  that 
illumines  the  gross  and  the  subtle,  the  sentient  and  the  non- 
sentient  things.  He  is  possessed  of  truth,  knowledge  and 
innumerable  other  good  qualities- 

Jiva  is  that  which  is  fettered  by  Maya,  burnt  up  b 
miseries  of  three  kinds  and  is  a  seat  of  pleasure  and  pain  as 
a  result  of  kama,  krodha,  produced  from  its  entering  into 
numerous  bodies. 

Maya  or  Sakti  is  a  peculiar  characteristic  of  Paramat- 
man.     It  is  inseparable  from  Paramatman.  It  is  to  Paratuat- 


, 


Philosophy  mid  Archueoh  ciixix 

man  what  the  quality  of  burning  is  to  the  fire,  what  the 
quality  of  attracting  a  piece  of  iron  is  to  a  magnet.  It  is 
therefore  erroneous  to  say  that  Maya  is  false. 

Though  .J ivatinan  and  Paramatman  are  different,  still 
Jlvatman  can  become  one  with  Paramatman  just  as  extreme- 
ly heated  iron  becomes  one  with  fire   itself.      This    is   called 

unity  of  diva  and  Siva. 

Srikara  says  that  Brahman  is  spoken  of  as  Linga  iu  the 
Vedas,  Smitis  and  other  great  works.  Even  the  Gayatrl 
Mantra  advises  1/mgadharana.  Many  passages  may  be 
cited  from  Manu  and  Gautama  in  support  of  this  Lingadha- 
rana.  The  Brqhma~SUtra8  explain  how  Lihga  is  worshipped 
in  three  ways.  Linga-worship  is  not  the  privilege  of  any 
particular  caste  or  creed  or  sex.  (  Vide  ParameivarSyama  ). 
Srlkar&o&rya  has  no  faith  in  re-birth.  Salvation  is  possible 
in  this  very  birth  if  we  but  wear  Lihga,  worship  it  and  prac- 
tise meditation  &c. 

Such  ennobling  ideas  and  liberal  principles  ( — universal 
love  and  sympathy,  equality  of  rights  to  both  the  sexes,  re- 
moval of  the  barriers  of  the  caste  system — )  were  taught  in 
very    ancient     times   by   Acarayas   like    Rvnu'  idcva, 

Ekaram,  Morula  Siddha,  A'gantyu  and  others,  who  propagated 
Lingayatism* 


Origin  of  the  Indian  Alphabet.    Ihj  D.  R.  \kK.\R 

The  scripts  at  present  indigenous  to  India  have  all 
(raced  to  only  one  alphabet  viz.,  the  Brahmi  Lipi  which  has 
therefore  been  regarded  as  the  real  ancient  alphabet  of 
India.  When  therefore  we  discuss  the  origin  of  Indian 
alphabet,  wo  have  in  view  the  orign  of  this  Brahmi  Lipi  only 
The  existing  theories  about  the  origin  of  this  alphabet  are 
twofold  in  character,  according  as  thoy  are  traced  to  the 
indigenous,  or  to  the  foreign  source.  The  first  of  these  theo- 
ries was  held  by  Lassen,  E.  Thomas,  Alexander  Cunnin&ham 
and  D<  wson,  Th<«  the  >reign  origin  again  is  held  h 

me  referring  the  Indian  \ 
to  the  '  Ireek    uid  tha  othoi  to  th 


clxxx  First  Oriental  Conference* 

of  these  theories  was  held  by  Prinsep,  Miiller  and  Senart  but 
as  the  Brahmi  alphabet  is  now  proved  to  have  originated 
much  earlier  than  the  Asoka  period,  this  theory  is  no  longer 
countenanced  by  any  scholar.  Two  theories,  again,  have 
been  broached  in  regard  to  the  Semitic  origin  of  the  Indian 
alphabet,  one  band  of  scholars  like  Deecke  and  Isaak  Taylor 
holding  that  it  was  derived  from  the  southern  Semitic  script 
and  another  band  headed  by  Weber  and  Buhler,  tracing  it 
to  the  north  Semitic.  And  it  is  this  last  theory,  namely  the 
north  Semitic  origin  of  the  Brahmi  Lipi,  that  is  in  the  ascen- 
dent. It  is  however  very  doubtful,  whether  this  theory  can 
now  be  upheld,  in  the  light  of  the  discovery  of  the  pre- 
historic potteries,  made  by  Mr.  G.  Yazdani  in  the  Nizam 's 
dominions.  These  potteries  have  single  alphabetical  marks 
inscribed  on  them,  and  similar  ones  have  been  noticeable  on 
those  found  by  Bruce  Foot  and  now  deposited  in  the  Madras 
Museum.  About  131  marks  have  been  detected,  five  of  which 
have  been  found  to  be  identical  with  the  letters  of  the  earliest 
Brahmi  alphabet.  It  does  not  therefore  seem  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  the  Brahmi  script  was  derived  from  an  in- 
digenous Indian  alphabet  of  the  pre-historic  period.  It  may 
be  mentioned  here  that  the  Cypriot  and  Phoenician  alpha- 
bets have  similarly  been  traced  to  prehistoric  origin,  because 
20  letters  of  the  scripts  were  found  to  closely  resemble  the 
alhabetic  marks  painted  on  pebbles  of  the  Palaeolithic  and 
Neolithic  ages  discovered  by  Piette  in  France.  In  connec- 
tion with  the  pre-historic  writing  of  India,  it  deserves  to 
be  further  noted  that  there  are  at  least  two  Neoliths  in  the 
Indian  Museum,  Calcutta,  which  are  scratched  with  letters. 
One  of  these  which  was  found  in  Assam,  bears  letters  cor- 
responding to  the  pre-historic  character  of  Egypt.  The 
other  which  comes  from  about  Ranchi  in  Bihar,  contains  three 
letters  bearing  close  correspondence  to  the  Brahmi  cha- 
racters of  the  Asokan  period,  but  reversed  in  form.  The 
origin  of  the  Indian  alphabet  is  thus  transferred  from  the 
historic  to  the  pre-historic  period.  And  when  letters  of  the 
Brahmi  Lipi  are  found  identical,  or  almost  identical  with 
those  on  the  pre-historic  antiquities  of  India,  it  is  absurd  to 
maintain  any  longer  the  theory  of  the  BOinith  01  foreign 
origin  of  the  Indian  Alphabet. 


Classical.  clxixi 

Bhartrhari  in  Ibn  Muqaffa.    By  G.  K.  N  AMMAN. 

The  Zoroastrian  litterateur  Rozbeb,  who  embraced 
Islam  as  Ibn  Muqaffa  and  died  in  about  757  A.  C.  is  famous 
as  the  translator  into  Arabic  of  the  Puncatantra  from  its 
Pahlavi  version.  He  is  also  the  reputed  author  of  Adabul 
8aghif  and  Ada/mi  Kn/jir  dealing  with  maxims  and  wisdom 
in  literature.  It  seems  his  knowledge  of  Hindu  wisdom  was 
not  confined  to  the  Paticatatnra.  And  as  he  himself  could 
hardly  have  learnt  Sanskrii,  it  is  established  that  other 
Sanskrit  works  besides  the  original  of  Kaliia  "'u  Dirnua 
were  accessible  to  him  in  Pahlavi.  For  the  passage  from 
1  wa  laysa  min  khillatin  '  at  p.  73  to  '  summeya  aiyyan 
p.  74  in  Adah  Sayhir  is  a  free  translation  of  the  well  known 
Sloka  in  Bhartrhari  '  jadyarh  hrlmati  ganyate  '  in  the 
Nitisataka.  The  passage  next  following  is  also  a  version  of 
the  Sloka  'rogi  cirapravasi  parannabhojl,'  the  last  line  '  yaj 
jivitam  tan  maranam  yan  maranarh  so'  sya  visramah  '  being 
literally  represented  by  '  fal  hayato  lahu  maotun  wal 
maoto  lahu  rahatun.' 


INDEX  TO  NAMES  AND  SUBJECTS  IN  TflK 
SUMMARIES  OF  PAPERS 


Abhoua  grant     cv 

Abul  Fazl    lxv;   Ixvii 

Achaemenian  Empire     cxxiv 

Adabul  Kabir    clxxxi 

Adabul  Saghir    olxxxi 

Aesthetics    lv 

Agastya  clxxix;  drinking  of  the  Sea 

explained  cliv 
AghSsu    i 

▲hiccnatra      oxxxvi 
Ahura — Asura  xxvi;  Mazda 

xxvi;  Mazdab    x 
Ahuriaii  religion     xxvi 
Aihole  inscription        cv;  cxvi;  clxiii 
Aikin  J.     oxxviii 
Aini  Akbari     lxv 
Aitareyaranyaka     xv 
Aitareyu  BrShmana    lxxviii;  lxxx 
Akalanka     cxxv 
Aksnya     cliii 
Akam  Mano    xxvii 

Akbar    lxv 

Alht-riuii     cxxxiv 

AlexaiKlar-Cindr  ijs'upla     cxi 

Allahab-id.    pillar    inscription    ol 
Samndfagupta     cxxiv 

Allegories,  tbree  types  ot     h 

ai  Mftinoun    i xv i 

Alphabet,    Indian,   (ircek  origin    ot, 
.    Semitic  origin  of     0lxX2 

AI  Kasliid     Ixvi 

Altars,  i  nil- 1  ruction  "I      cliii 

Ain.ir.ik  ii.itaka      cxx»ii 

A  m. ir.  t  it  .iikI  H.iur\  ii  il      \w  ,i 

Ani.int.i-iiK'iiih  in  tln>  Br. dun  I 

Amavasya  iv  ;  tbe  Magh.i   vi; 
u>>t  new   moon    iv 

Amir  Khushro    Ixvi 

Ammonites  and  Israelite!    xii 

Anakavidhapurufa  Cayana  cliii 


Angra  Mainyu     x  ;  xxiii 

Anhilwada  Patau     cvii 

Antiochus  Teos     cxii 

AnumSna,  tbree  types  of     Ixxxix 

AnuyogadvUra     lxxxviii 

Apabhraiiisa      xliv 

Aparantaka    xxxv;    Kuhuraparaota 

clxiii;  in  Raghuvamia    clxiii 
Arabic  literature,  Golden  age      Ixvi 
Arabs     cxxvii 
Architecture,  Hindu — its  division 

clxxiv;     Jndo-Aryan    style    of 

clxxli;   Orissa  style  of  clxxir 
Armaiti,  spenta     xxvii 
Arrian  cxxi 
Arthakastra   xxiii  ;    lix  ;  olxiii  ; 

of  Kautilja    cxxxi 
Arts  and  Crafts    xxiv 
Arunodadhi  =  Erythraean  Sea  oxviii 
Aryaua  Vaejo  xxi;  xxv 
Aryanising  of  India       xviii 
Aryans  (Vedic),  homo  not  India  xii; 

fusion  with  Dasyus    xvii 
r  afaaaash    x 
Ass^  rian  Uods     x 
Astrology,  the  Persians  borrowed 

from  Cbaldea    xxiv 
Asura     ii 

■lii-tar       xxvii 
Aioka    lx xi ii:    cxn;    edict   of  S 

<  I;  inscriptions  ot   xviii;  Ma 
cm 
Asok&ditya  Qupta     oxiii 

_'hos;i         \> 
Asvnu  as  lirsi  asferisin  I 
At' It, i  '  I    Iwi 

Athaii.n      i 

Aw-t..    ohaMOttf  of     xi 
Avulya  of  Bauddbas     xcvm 
.rsloy.  Mr-    M  vii 


m 


Adi-Parapa    oxvii 

Agamas     lxxxix 

Ahnikas,  the  age  of    xo 

Alwar  Kulasekhara     lxxxv 

Anartlya     vi;  vii 

Andhra  xxxiv;  antiquity  of  racelxxx 

Aradluina     xlvi 

Aruni     xcii 

Aryadeva    xxxiv 

Aryavarta    xvii 

AsvulZyana  Grhya  Sutra     xiv 

Atharvavikas    v 

Atman  of  the  Upanisads   lv;    as 

Anauda      lvi 
AvasyakaaTitr  ivrtti    cxxv 
Babylon    ii ;  Solar  Zodiac  in    ii 
Back-Bay  coast  finds     cl 
Bactria,  Hun  Settlement  in     lviii 
Badaoni     Ixv;  lxvii 
Balavarraan,the  ancestor  of  Bhas- 

karavarraan  of  Assam   oxxiv 
Ballini    cxxv 
Bardic  Survey    xxxix 
Barsam     cxxxii 
B&dar&yan  asUtras    xcv 
Bah  iramdfi  n  a  va  n  >>  ana     xxx 
Bahllka     lix 
Bask  a  la     xci 

HUvtru  ,/atakn.     cxviii;  clxii 
Bcanirs      xli,  xliv 
Beauty,  Indian  conception  of    lv 
Bergsonian  tlux     xxix 
Bhagavadfftta   xcv;    antiquity  of  o 
Bhandarkar     R.  G.    xi;  xxxiv;   xliv; 

lxxxv;  cviii;  oxvi 
Bharata  clix 
Bharata-Khanda    civ 
Bhartrhari    cxxv;  clxxxi 
Bharukaccha    (Broach)     clxii 
Bhatti-Nayaka   lvi 
Bhau  Daji    cvi 
Bhavabhuti    lxxx;  cxxv 
Bhavisayattakaha  xlv 
Bharadvaja    lix 
BhUrata,    became  the  Mahabharnta 

at  the  time  of  Saanaka    xiv 


Bhasa  lii 

Bhaskaracarya    ii;   cxvii 

Bhitari  record  and  seal   cxxxvii 

Bijolian  Rock  Inscription     cxxxvi 

Bombay,  The  Alexandria  of  India 

cxlix 

Bopp  xlix 

Bose,  J,  C.  xxii 

Boudyas  (Buddha)    oxxiii 

Brahman    xxviii 

Brahmasutras    xcviii;  clxix 

Bramanas,     composed     about     2000 
B.C.    iv 

Brahmi   characters  cvii;    origin   of 
olxxix 

BrhaJuran yaknpaiuxad    xci 

Bstain-hgyur  xxx'v 

Buddha  xcvii;   Avidya  of    cviii; 
Nirvana  of  cxxxviii 

Buddhaghosa     xxx 

Buddharaja,  immigrant  cvi;  son  of 
Sahkaragana    ov 

Buddhism,  Philosophy   of   change 
xxiv;    Vatsyayana's    objections 
on    xcvjii 

Bandahish    xxiv 

Burmese,  dialocts  of  the   xlvii 

Biihler     iv;  clxxx 

Biirk     oliii 

Caesar  cxxxi 

Caitanya     lxxx 

Cakradbara,    (alias   CShgadeva 
date  of    cxix 

Caldwell     lxxv;  lxxi 

Calukyas  (later),  their   administra- 
tion cxv;  their  architecture   cxv 

Candragupta-Alexander  cxi 

Candragupta     xxxv;  viii 

Canopus  cliv 

Cardinal  points,  how  determined    iii 

Carlyle  liii 

Carpathians,  the  Home  of  the  indu- 
Germans    xlviii 

Carpenter    ciii 

Castes,  their  dissolution  and  forma- 
tion in  Maharastra     oxl;  cxli 


13] 


••in,  among  Drai  "ii  u 
:  Kingdom    ''xxxvi 

ma     I'liii 
Canakya     cxii 
Carudatta  li 
Chaldeans,    neighbours    of    Greeks 

and  the  Aryans     x;    xi 
Cliahnr  Quito?  Bkujai   Ixvii 
Chinese  literature  xviii 
Chosroos  J     lxvi;  cxxxii 
Cornelius  Tacitus     cxixx 
( 'unningliam,  A.    clxxix 
Dadda  BSmanta  cxxvi 

Daksinayana     vii 

Dalton    cxlvii 

Darius,  Inscriptions  of  xviii;    II    of 

Persia    cxxiv 
Dasyus,  fusion  with  Aryaus    xvii; 

the    Indian     non-Aryans    xvi; 

■enaes  of  vrll 

Deecke     clxxx 

Deva-loka,  location  of    ii 

Deva-naksatrai    ii 

Dhanavala     lxv 

DharmakTrti    C 

Uharmasoka  of  Kaamir   oxiii 

Diocletian  civ 

Diodorus  civ 

Divia  mode  of  reckoning   cxxii 

Dny  ant-svara  cxix 

Doges  cxlv 

Dokhma  xxiv 

Dowson   clxxix 

Dramma   cli 

Dravidians,  caste-system  amongst 

Oli 
Durga     is 

Education,  in  the  Jpaniaidi   ix 
Edwards  cli 
Egypt    xviii 
Ekanatha    c.w 

nmsSgni  cliii 
Ekoram    olxxix 
Slam    cxviii 
Elliot     Ixvii 
So  loxua  of  Oyxioua    cxix 


Epagoimn  •     Liavamus  ana  cl» 

Equinox,  vernal     i 

Equinoxes,  no  reference  in  the 

Brfibmanai    iii 
Erythrean  Sea  (Arunodadhi)  cxviii 
Ertdklmngtm  in  JfflASrSffri  xl 
Ethics   Hindu  xcv 
Exognmy,     among     the    Ayran 

Hindus    cli 
Fa-luen    cxxxviii 
Faizi     Ixvii 
Faridun      xxiii 
Fergussrm     oiii 
Ferishta  lxvi 
Feroz  Taghlak     xvi 
Firdausi    cxxxii 
Firo-worship    xxiii 
cv;  cvi;  clxiv 

Fletohor,  B.    ciii 

Foot,  Bruce    clxxx. 
Forbes,  A.  K.    cviii 

sk'i-Abulisli     lxv 
(Jaoinez,  Chemistry  of   xxiv 
Gavamayana  =  Epagomene    (  in 

sound)  civ 
GargI     xcii 
Gat  has     xviii;  cxxxix;   great    i\si-iu- 

blance -with  /.'y><?</<i  xxi 
Geber     civ 
Gibbon    cxxviii 
Gokarga,    the   boundary  between 

Kerala  and  Konkan    clxiv 
(iotama     lxxxix 
Gotras,  originally  four     xv 
Gould,  B.     cxxviii;  0 
(huhalTitjhiiva     clxi 
Greeks,  neighbours  of  Chaldl 

Aryans     xxi 
dryha  Sutras 
Gujarati  Poets  (old)     clxii 
Gnpta  Empire    x.w  woiom 

of  information    QXXXrii;  K; 

Solar  Kings  of  KSlidflsa     hi 
hara  ruling  fa:. 

exxvii 


[4] 


(Jurjaratra     cxxvii 

Gutschraid    cxxx;  cxxxi 

Gyanacandra    cxxxvi 

Hamurabi    cxxxix 

Haribans=  Harivai'nka  lxvi 

Haribhadrasiiri,  the  date  of    cxxiv 

Harioandra    cxxvii 

Harisena    oxiii 

Harivai'nsa     xoiv 

Harp,  in  vogue  in  Aryan  times  clviii 

Harrington    ciii 

Haurvatat  and  Amaretat    xxvii 

Hemacandra  xliv;  his  Grammar  cviii 

Herodotus  cxxxi;  cxxx;  civ 

Hindu  Ethics    xcv 

Hiuen  Tsang    cixiii;    refers  to 
Konkan    cxiii 

Hlnayanists    xxix 

Hoernle    xlix 

Horaceography    xiv 

Howett,  M.  E.     cxlix 

India,  imports,  cxxxv;  not  home  of 
Vedic  Aryans  xii;  Sea-commu- 
nication with    cxviii 

Indo-Germans,  home  of    clviii 

Iran,  Cheraitry  in  xxiii;  Hygiene  in 
xxiv;  medicine  and  surgery  in 
xxiii 

Jackson     xxvii 

Jacobi     xl;  xlix;  Ixxii;  cxxv 

Jagannatha  Pandita  lxxx 

Jaimini    xcii 

Jambu  Dvlpa     civ 

Janaka     xxx;  xcii 

Jayakesin  (of  Goa)    clxiv 

Jahgaladesa,  a  province  of  Bharata 
Varsa     cxxxv 

Jatakas    cxxxi 

Jinasena   cxxxvii 

Jlva    clxxviii 

Jivanmukti-ideal     lv 

Jnancsvarl     clxi 

Jog  Basust-Yoga  Pfest&fa     lxvii 

Jones,  William    cxi 

Julius    cxxxix 

JvalSmukhi     lxvi 


Kalacuris    cv;  alphabet  cvi 

Kallila  va  Dimna  clxxxi 

Kamalasula    cxxv 

Kaniska    xxviv 

Karnatak,  dynasties  of,   cxvi 

Kathasaritsagara   cxiii 

Kausltakl  Brahmana    iv;  vi;  vii 

Kautilya    c 

Kalamadhava    v 

Kalidasa  xxxvi;  li;  clvi;  Aparanta  in 
the  Jiaghuvavisa  of  cixiii;  con- 
temporary of  Skandagupta  lii; 
the  court-poet  of  Agnimitra  lix; 
funeral  place  in  Ceylon  clxxii; 
his  knowledge  of  music  lviii: 
and  Kautilya  lviii;  Upamas  of  lii 

KStyayana    xciv 

KatyayanI     xcii 

Keith,  A.  B.    ii 

Khandakas    xxx 

Khorsched  (Sun)  worship  of    xxiii 

Kielhorn    cvi 

Kishan  Joshi    lxvi 

Kittel    lxxiv 

Kirtistambhas    clxxvii 

Klatt    cxxv 

Kolis,  as  first  settlers  of  Bombay  cl 

Koniakoi  (Gk.)  Konkan    cixiii 

Kong-kin-na-pulo   (  Chinese  for 
Konkan  )     cixiii 

Konkan,  old  sub-divisions  of  clxiv; 
origin  of  the  name    clxv;   refer- 
red to  by  Hiuen  Tsang    cixiii 

Krsnaraja    cvi 

Krsna-Yajurveda    xcii 

Krttikas,  Fleet  on  ii;  Whitney  on   ii 

KrttikSsu    i 

Ksama-Sraraana    xxxv 

Kuhn    xlix 

Kuhuraparanta    cixiii 

Kulasekhara,  AlwSr     lxxxv 

Kusanas,    xxxiv 

KumaradSsa,  bis  puzzle  to  Kalidasa 
clxxii;  King  of  Ceylon  and 
anther  of  Janaklliarana    clxxii 

KuraSra-jiva    xxxv;    xxxvi 


I  5] 


Eamlraplla    ovil 

KumUrujiTihuarita     xlv 

KumarupMapratibodha    xlvi 

'KumQrasambhava  of   Nannecoda 
lxxix 

KumSrila     xcvii;  cxxv 

Kuru-Jahgala,-PSnc5la     oxxxvi 

Kuruksetra,  date  of  the  battle  of  cliv 

KuvalayamUlTl   of  VidyotanasUri 
oxxv 

Laksraanaganin     xlvi 

La&kfl    cxxvi 

Lankao  itura  Sutrii     xc 

Lassen    cvi;  clxxix 

Laukika  or  Saptarsi  or   SSstra  Era 
cxxi 

Lata— (Jr.  Larika     olxiii 

Leumann    cxxv 

Lihga-worship    clxxix 

LilU-Carita    oxix 

L'lu-Saihvndu     cxix 
ail    lxvi 

Locke    liii 

Logic,  Aristotelian,  fallacies   in 
lxxxvii;  Indian,  fallacies   in 
lxxxvii;   of  SahkaraoSrya  and 
Aristotle    c 

Lunar-month     iv 

Macdonell    xcv;   lxxii 

Magas  of  Cyrene    cxxi 

Magadha     xxxv 

Muluibharata    xiv;    xix;     lxv;   lxxix; 
lxxx;   xoiv;   exxxix;    on   the   au- 
thorship of  the   Nighantu    xvi; 
with   Persian    translation    and 
paintings   lxvi;  lxviii 

MahHbh&lya,  of  Patafijali,     xciii 

MahakaccSyana  Thera     xxxi 

Mahapadma  exx;  coronation  of  oxxii 

MahHrHja'Kanika-L*kha    xxxiv 

M  iharSstra,  castes  in     cxli 
Uuliai  m'/isa     rxiii;    olxxii 

M.ihivfiii      eliv 

Mali. i\  mm,  Nirvana  of     cxxxviii 

ICahendra\  arman  I    cv 

Ma  lies  trasQri    \iv i 


Mniie,  11.     cxxxi 

Maitrey!     xcii 

Maitryupaniitat     in 

Mallavildiu  cxxvi 

Mallinatha  Stlri  lxxx 

Mandasura  Incriptiou  olxiii 

Mahgalesa,  his  grant  cv 

Mann  lxxxvii;  exxx;  cxlii  i 

ManakkSl  Narobi  Jxxxv 

Marcellinus  Ammiauis  civ 

Marriage,  ceremonies  of  cxhv;  cxlvi 
oustoms  of  cxlii;  forms  (it  cxlii 
the  Hindu  and  tin-  1'arsi,  fea- 
tures of  cxlvii;  presents  in  cxlv 
witnesses  in  cxlvi 

Marshall,  John  clxxvii 

Marula  Siddha  clxxix 

Max  Muller  cxi;  ciii 

Maya  clxxviii 

Mazandru  xxl 

MSdhava  v;  lxxx;  cxvii 

Madhyamika-Philosphy  xxxvi;  be- 
fore Rainanuja  Xc 

Magna  Amavasya  vi 

MSlava  Era   cxxxviii 

Mrilavikagni?iiitr<i  lix 

Manikyanandi  cxxv 

Mnthara-Vrtti  lxxxviii 

Maya  of  Sahkara  xcviii 

Medea,  conquest    by  Cyrti- 

Megastbenes  lxxx;  cxii,  exxiii;  oxxxi- 
clxiii 

Metres  clvi 

Mihirakaula  cxv 

Miranbai  olxii 

Mironow  • 

Mithila,  the  burning  of  xxx 

Mithra  xxiii 

Mleccha  xii 

Moksa  ci 

Moon,  diurnal  passage  of  the  1 
li 

JfudrBrSAfOM  oxili 

Hair  lxxxviii 

Muktaba    0 
Muntakhab-Hl-TaWitrikk'-lxr 


[6] 


Music,  early  history  of  clvii;  Pytha- 
goras scale  clviii 

Miiller  clxxx 

Nagor  (Nagapura)  cxxxvii 

Nairyosangha   xxi 

Nakib  Khan  lxvii 

Naksatra  ii;  three  aspects  of  cliv;  of 
Devas  ii,  of  Yaraa  ii 

Nal  va  Daman  (Nala-Damayantl) 
Ixvi 

Namah,  meanings  of  xii 

Nandas,  Pre-mauryan    cxii 

Nannayabhatta    lxxix 

Nannecoda  lxxix 

Naonhaithya  (Vedic  Nasatya)  xxvi 

Narasiriiha  clxii 

Narayana  Sastri,  T.  B.  cxiv 

Nasks  xxii 

Navigation,  in  the  Vedic  times  cxviii 

Nayanandin  xlvl 

NSgarjuna  xxxiv 

Nagarjuna-SvhrUekha    xxxv 

Namadeva  cxx 

NTiti/nsfisfm  lviii 

Nemicandra  xxxv 

Nerur-grant  of  Mahgalesa  cv 

Netti  xxxii 

Netti  Prakarana  xxxi 

Nibbana,  true  flux    xxix 

Nigltuntu,  ix;  distinctive  features  of 
xvi;editor  of  xvi 

Nimi  xxxi 

Nine  Ahgas  xxxi 

Nirukta  iv 

Nrpatuhga   cxvii 

Nuh  Sepehr  (Nine  Spheres)  xlvi 

Nyayabhasya  lxxxviii 

NyayasTdra   xxxvi;  I.  i.  5  lxxxviii 

Nyayatatparya  Tlka  lxxxviii 

Nyaya vartika  lxxxviii 

Oldenberg  xiv 

Ophir=Sopara  clxii 

Orma/.d  x 

Padneld   cxlviii 

Paisgoi  literature    lxxix 

Palibothra  (PStaliputra)   cxii 


Pafioatantra,  Persian  translation  of 
clxxx 

Paramatmaprakasa  clvi 

Parasara  Smrti   clxxi 

Paripadal  Ixxxvi 

Parsads   lxxxix 

Patafijali  xciii 

Pathak,  K.  B. cv; cxxvi 

Paumasiricariyu  xlvii 

Paiicaratra  Agaraa  Ixxxvi 

Pathasalas  clxix 

Periplus  of  the  Erythraean  Sea  cxi: 

cxxxiv;  clxiii 
Periyalvar  Ixxxvi 
Persepolis  xxii 
PerumalTiromali  lxxxv 
Petakopadesa  xxxi 
Peterson  cviii;  cxxv 
Phallic-worship  lxxxviii 
P halt an  Mali  at  my  a  cxix 
Phanicandra  xxxv 
PhSlguna  full-moon,    the  mukha 

the  year  vi 
Philology,  the  importance  of     xlviii 
Piette,     lithic    ages    discovered 

clxxx 
Pisohel  xlix 
Pitakas   xxix 
Pliny  civ;  clxiii 
Plutarch   civ 
Poeiic-scaools,    prac'uia,  and  navUna 

school  lv 
Polarity,  Law  of  xxiii 
Polygamy   o:lii 
Ponna  cxvii 
Potter  cxlviii 
Poygai  Alvar   Ixxxvi 
Prabandhasaram  Ixxxvi 
PrabhScandra  cxxv 
Prabhakara  cxxv 
Prabhakaravardhana  cxxvi i 
PrajTi  a  pa  ra  in  it  a  xxxvi  i 
Prakria-piii'jalasTitra   xlv 
I'ramaiia  Vihetajia  xxxvi 
Prasastapada  xxxvi 
Pratlhara  cxxvii 


[7] 


Pravaraa,    common     to      Brahmins 

and  Ksatriyas  xv 
Prakrtulakxanum  of  Candu  lxxiii 
PrMertupruknia  of  Varauci  lxxiii 
Priyadarsin,  edicts  of  cxii;  pill 

Allahabad  i-xiii 
F'rin&ep  clxxx 
Prthvirilja   Vijaiin  cxxxvi 
Ptolemy    clxiii 
F'ulakesin    cxvii  ;  II    cxxvi' 
Pupphudanta    xlvl 
Pusyamitra    lx 

I'Tirvn ml  ma  iiixa blins i/a     Ixxxv ii i 
Pythagoras  cliv 
Racial  Problems  cxxxix 
Rayhttvamsa   lix,      hi 
Raleigh,  Walter   liii 
Ranna   cxvii 
Rapson   cvi 

Rasa,  the  at  man  of  poetry    If] 
Katuamandira  Uanin    xlvi 
Ray,  P.  C.  Ixviii 
Razni'tiamiili,      Persia  i    translation 

of  .\falt<jl>'t<lrat<i   Ixi 
Ragas   lviii 
Rajarsis 
h'ujutaniiHjin,     of     Kalhaua     xxxv; 

cxxi 
Kamanuja    cxvii 
liamoyaija  l.w  ;    Ixvi  ,     \\\\  :      cxxri; 

oiuii 

Ras^rakQta  Krsnaraja  grant   clxiv 
RSvana's  Lanka   cxxvi 
ReliatHrk    cxxxi 

[■MOOS     ol     Sanskrit     learning 
xxxv 
Reuuka   clxxix 
Kisley,  Herbert    Ixxvii 
Rodra,    mean  in  roups     slit; 

Rudras     as      disease-producing 
germs   xiv 

Rudradaman,   inscription   at    Nasik 
clx 

Kiulrasena  1  of  the  i    dyn- 

asty  cxxiv 


Rock-cut  Templet  cv  ;  clxxvi 

Roth   ix 

Rozbeh  (alias  Ibn  Muqaffa).  transla- 
tor into   Arabic  of  the  P" 
tantra    clxxxi 

Id  iv;  Jyottqa  clxii;  lower  limit 
for  the  beginning  of  xvii;  Nature 
worship  in  xxi 

Rsis,   the   progenitors   of  all    Indo- 
Aryans  xv 

Sahyadrikhantia    clxiv 

SamanarSja  cxxxvi 

Samamnaya  xvi 

SamprasSrana  xliii 

Samvatsara-Satra.     as     old   a*  the 
Rgveda   v 

Samudragupta  cxxiv;  pillar  inscrip- 
tion of  cxxiv;  cxiii 

Sahgha-Convocation,  first  xxxi 

Sahgraha  Vara  xxxii 

Sanjamamaiijari  xlvi 

Sauskrit.a  medium  of  instruction  and 
debate  in  learned  Societies  ix 

SapSdalaksa  (or  Jangaladesa)  cxxxvi 

Sap  tars  is   xv 

Sarasvati- grant  cvi 

Satr  imonth  (known  later  as 
ana  momh)  v 

Sam. una  Dad  da    cxxvii 

Sanklieda  grant  of  Santilla  cv 

■Sankhya    Ivii 

hyakanka  lxxxv hi 

Sankhyakarikabha.fya   lxxxvin 

Sankhayana  Grhya  6Qtra.  xiv 

SSvana-raontli   v  ^seo  S.i-  r a-moiuh) 

Sa\  ana-\  oar   VI 

Sayana  ii;  v 

Boheil,  v  x 
Schroeder  olxi 
BoyihiMM  fxxiv 

Sea-oomniuoitiou  with    India  cxvui, 
drinking,  ol  oxpl.uu«J 

cliv;  -voyage,  reatrictiou  to  olxx 
Seleukos  Nikator  cxi 
Senart    clxxx 
bhtihnunu-h  Lxv;  exl 


[8] 


Siddharsi  cxxv 
Siddhantutiiromani  clxi 
Sikhs,  edifices  of  cixxvi 
Singhusanu  Battisi  lxvii 
Smith,  Vincent  A.  cxii;  cxvi 
Snidas   civ 
Solar-calender   i 
Solar-kings  =  Gupta  kings  In 
Solar-Zodiac,  Babylonian    ii 
Somaprabha  xlvi 
Sopara  clxii;  edict  cl 
Spatetnbas  (Svayambhuva)  oxxiii 
Spenta  Mainyu  xxiu 
Sten  Konow  lxxvii 
Strabo  clxiii 
Sumerians  civ 
SupUsanahacariyam  xlvi 
Supparaka  (Sopara)  clxii 
Suresvara  cxxv 
Susarua  xciv 
Suryasiddhanta  clxi 
Swynnerton   cl 
Sabaraswamin  xxxvi 
Saisunaga  dynasty  cxii 

Sakuntala  liii;  lx;  xciv;  the  Deva- 
nagari  recension  x 

Sahkara,  age  of  xci;  cxiv;  cxxx;  cxvii; 
on  buddha  xcvii;  his  Maya 
xcviii 

Sankaragana,   his  Abhona-grant  cv 

blatatcai  of  Bhatrhari  civ 

Stitupatha  Bi alimana  iii  ;  iv  ;  vii; 
xi  ;  xciv 

Saunaka,  guru  of  Asvalayana  xiv 

Sakalya  xcii  ;  Sakatayana   xciii 

Saiikhayaua  (jirhyasiura  xvi 

Santaraksita  cxxv 

Santilla,  Ins  Sahkheda  Grant  cv 

Sastnivnrtiixiiiintciai/ii   cxxv 

Natavahana  xxxiv 

Silpa  SasttM  ciii 

&\  -mi  phdllua  i  Ixxxviii 

Sivadevu  clxxix 

iirauta  Silt  ran  of  Kaiyay.m.i   coiii 

Srikau^liadesa  cxxxvi 

Srikara  cixxvi  ii 


Sulvasutras  cliii 

Sudraka  li 

Sadgurusisya   xiv 

Sastitantra  xc 

Tacitus  cxxxi ;  cxxxii 

Tagore  R.  liii 

Taitttriya  Brahmana    i ;  ii;    iv 

Takakasu-Belvalkar- Keith      cont 

versy  xc 
Tan-cao  xxxv 
Taprobane  (Ceylon)  clxiii 
Taranath,  Lama  xxxv 
Tarbari  xxii 
Taylor,  Isaak  clxxx 
Tata  cxxvii 
Tegg  cxlvfii 
Telugu  literature  lxxx 
Temples  (Hindu),  descending  bath 

in  ciii 
Tessitory,  Bardic  Survey  xxxiv 
Thibaut  v  i;  vii ;  viii  ;  lxxii  ;  cliii 
Thirteenth  month,  for  adjustment  v 
Thomas,  E.  clxxix 
Thraetana  (Faridun),  story  of  cxxx 
Thrita  xxiii 
Tilak  lxxii;  xcv 
Tirumangai  Alvar  lxxxvi 

Tisatthimahapuriziayunalahkara 

xlvi 
Tod  oviii 
Toda  ciii 

Trade,  Ancient  Indian  cxxxiv;  cxxxv; 
-routes,  to  India  cxxxiv 

Tripitakas  xcviii 

Tuist,  (Teut  or  Teutates)  the   Celto 
Soythian  Kiug  or  hero  cxxx 

Udayana  cxxiv 

Udyotanasuri  cxxv 

/  luhhxiitarnhgini  xlvi 

/  pamitibhavaprapallcikathO  cxx: 

/  pnijiikiiusin '.yuhrilnyasasfra   xxxvi 

Uttarftyaya    vii 

Va-Daeva    (  opp.     to    the    Daevas 

xxvi 
Vaduer-grant,  of  BuddharBja  n  i 
Vuii  axuiinctuiya  xlvi 


. 


(9] 


Vaisampuyana  xcii 
Vaisnavism  before  Rfim&nuja  lxxxi 
Yakataka  dynasty  cxxiv 
Valabbi,   Copper-Cc  ins   cix;   •r.t 

cxxxiv;  cxxxviii 
\  illabhacSrya  lxxx 
Vanksu  lix 
Varadatta  xlvi 
\  arShamihira  xxxvi  ;  chiii 
Vastupala  cvii 
\ "asubandhu  cxiii 
Yakpatl  cxxv 

Yakyapadlya  of  Bhartrhari  cxxvi 
V5tsy5yana  xxxvi 
Veduhga  Jyotim  vi;  vi Li  ;  cliv  ;   clxi 
VadSnta  lvi 
VedSnta  Desika  lxxxvi 
Vedic  Aryans,  borne  of  xii 
Vrndidad  cxxxi  ;  xxiii 
Venkayya  ovi 

Vernaculars  old  Aryan  lxxii 
VibbSga  Vara  xxxii 
VidySbhOsana  clxxii 
VidySnanda  cxxv 
VidySnStba  lxxx 
VidySranya  lxxx  ;  cxvii 
V iijraha-V ij'ii.nrtani-KTirihTi    xxxvi 
VikramSditya  cxvii 
Vi kramorva&l  xlv;  lii;  xciv 
Yuxmja  ri/dka  xxix 
VinSyaka  vi  ;  vii 

VisesSdvaita  of  SrikaraoSrya  clxxvii 
I  rt*|  n)>uranu  xxii 


Vitthala  cxx 
Vohu  Mano  xxvii 
Vyangyarths  lv 
VySkarann    \iahabhn*yn  x>- 
VyBsa  xciv 
Weber  clxxx  ;  i 
Whitney  iv  ;  cxxxi 
Widow-marriage,   in    Muuu'*   time  ; 

cxliii;  amongt  ancient  Germans 

cxxxii 
Wilford    cxi 
Winter-solstice,     coinciding       with 

Magha  Amavasya  vi 
Yujurveda  Jyotisa  clxxii 
Yajua'x 

Yama-naksatra  ii 
Yamaloka,  the  location  of  ii 
Yatibhahga  clvi 
Yazata  xxvi ;  cxxxi 
Yazdani,  G.  clxxx 
Ya-e-majhUl  lxix 
Yajfiavalkya  xci 
Yaska    ix;     the  editor    of  the    \<- 

ghantu  xvi 
Yogabindu  cxxv 
Voglndradeva  xlvi 
Yuan-chwang  cxxvii 
Zaratbustra  xxv;  Spitama  xxvi 
Zend-Avesta  xxii 
Zodiac,  lunar  ii 
Zoroaster  xxvii 

Zoroastrians,       cleavage      bet-ween 
Indian  Aryans  and  x 


PROCEEDINGS  8  TRANSACTIONS 

OF  THE 

FIRST  ORIENTAL  CONFERENCE,  POONA 

Held  on  the  5th,  6th  and  7th  of  November  1919 


Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute,  Poona 

1922 


Copies  of  this  volume  ( Price :  Rs.  8  ;  Foreign 
£0-16-0)  and  those  of  the  first  volume  (Price  Rs.  5 ; 
Foreign  JL  0- 10-0 )  can  be  had  at  the  Bhandarkar 
Oriental    Research    Institute,    Poona. 


Vol.  II 


Printed   by   V,  P,  Pendherkar  at  the  Tutorial   Press,    ana,  Girgaon 

Back  Road,  Bombay,  and  published  by  R.  D.  Karmarkar,  M.A., 

Ph.  D.,  Joint   Secretary,  First   Oriental  Conference,  at 

the  Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute,  Poona. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAGES 
I    VEDIC  1—76 

1  Asura — By  V.  K.    Rajwade,  M.  A.,  Principal 

M.  T.  B.  College,  Surat.  I 

2  The  Philological   Argument  for  an   Upper 

Limit  to  the  Date  of  the  Rgveda — By  A. 
C.  Woolner,  M.  A.,  Principal,  Oriental 
College,  Lahore.  20 

3  Gotra  and  Pravara — By  C.  V.  Vaidya,  M.A., 

LL.  B.,   Kalyan   (  Bombay  Presidency).  34 

4  The   Mention   of  the  Mahabharata   in    the 

A^valayana  Grhya  Sutra — By  N.  B. 
Utgikar,  M.  A.,  Secretary,  the  Maha- 
bharata Editorial  Committee,  Bhandarkar 
Oriental  Research  Institute,  Poona.  46 

5  The  Authorship  of  the  Nighantu — By  R.  D. 

Karmarkar,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of 
Sanskrit,  New  Poona  College,  Poona.  62 

6  The  Nighantu   and  the  Nirukta — By    Prof. 

Siddheshwar  Varma  M.  A.,  Srinagar.  68 

II    AVESTX  79—  in 

1  Erekhsha,   the  Archer  and   his   Arrow — By 

B.  T.  Anklesaria.  79 

2  Airyana  Vaejo,  the   Cradle   of  the  Aryans, 

and  Mazainya  Daeva,  the  Devas  of 
Mazandran,  or  Brahmanical  Devas — 
By  J.  D.  Nadirshah.  84 


iv  CONTENTS 


PAGES 


3  Aitareya    and    Aeora — By    I.    J.     Sorabji 

Taraporewalla,  B.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  Calcutta 
University.  95 

4  The     Avestan    Archangels    and    Sanskrit 

Deities,  A  comparison — By  A.  K. 
Vesavewala.  100 

in  pXli  and  buddhism  115— 138 

1  King  Janaka  and  the  Burning  of  Mithila 

(  From  Pali  and  Jain  Sources  ) — By  the 
late  C.  V.  Raj  wade,  M.A.,B.Sc,  Professor 
of  Pali,  Baroda  College,  Baroda.  1 15 

2  Nagarjuna,  the  Earliest  writer  of  the  Renais- 

sance Period — By  the  late  Satis  Chandra 
Vidyabhusana,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D.  125 

3  Sogata      Nayasattham     (  The      Buddhist 

Philosophy  ) — By  Widurapole  Piyatissa, 

Ceylon.  131 

IV  PHILOLOGY  AND  PRXKBTS  141— 186 

1  The  Phonogenesis  of  the  wide  E  and  O   in 

Gujarati — By  N.  B.  Divatia,  B. A.,  Lecturer 
in  Gujarati,  Elphinstone  College, 
Bombay.  141 

2  Apabhrmsa  Literature  and   its  Importance 

to  Philology— By  P.  D.  Gune,  M.  A.,  Ph. 
D.,  Professor  of  Sanskrit,  Willingdon 
College,    Sangli  (  Bombay  Presidency  ).  151 

3  The  Dialects  of  Burmese— By  L.  F.  Taylor.  171 

V  CLASSICAL   LITERATURE  180—226 

I  The  Relation  of  Sudraka's  Mrcchakatika 
to  the  Carudatta  of  Bhasa— By  S.  K. 
Belwalkar,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of 
Sanskrit,  Deccan  College,  Poona.  189 


CONTENTS 


2  A  Psychological  Study  of  Kalidasa's 
"  Upamas  "—By  P.  K.  Gode,  M.  A., 
Curator,  Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research 
Institute,  Poona. 

VI  PHILOSOPHY 

1  Indian      Aesthetics— By       Professor      M. 

Hiriyanna,  M.  A.,  Mysore  University, 
Mysore. 

2  '  Trividham  Anumanam '    or    A   study    in 

Nyayasutra  I,  I.  5, — By  Principal  A.  B. 
Dhruva,  M.A.,  LL.B.,  Pro- Vice-Chancel- 
lor, Hindu  University,  Benares. 

3  The  Theism  of   Gautama,   the   Founder  of 

Nyaya — By  the  Hon'ble,  Dr.  Ganga- 
nath  Jha,  M.A.,  Ph.  D.,  Principal  Queen's 
College,  Benares. 

4  Logic  of  &ankara  and  Aristotle — By    Dr.  R. 

Zimmermann,  S.  J.,  Ph.  D.,  Professor  of 
Sanskrit,  St.  Xavier's   College,  Bombay. 

VII  ARCHAEOLOGY 

1  The  Origin  of  Indian  Alphabet — By    Dr.  D. 

R.-Bhandarkar,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  Professor 
of  Ancient  Indian  History,  University  of 
Calcutta,   Calcutta. 

2  A  Note  on  Tilakwada  Copperplate — By  the 

late  Mr.  J.  S.  Kudalkar,  M.  A.,  LL.  B., 
Curator  of  State  Libraries,  Baroda. 

3  The  Caverns   and    Brahmi  Inscriptions   of 

Southern  India — By  H.  Krishna  Shastri, 
M.  A.,  Epigraphist  to  the  Government  of 
India,  Madras. 

VIII  ANCIENT  HISTORY 

I  Date  of  the  Coronation  of  Mah apadma— by 
Mr.  Harit  Krishna  Deb,  M.  A.,  Calcutta. 


PAGES 


205 
229—301 


229 


251 


281 


287 
305—348 


305 


319 


327 
349—419 

351 


vi  CONTENTS 


PAGES 


2  Notes   on   the  Ancient   History   and    Geo- 

graphy  of    the  Konkon — By   Professor 

P.  V.  Kane,  M.  A.,  LL.  M.,  Bombay.  365 

3  The  Early  History  of  the  Gurjaras — By  Dr. 

P.  C.  Majumdar,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  University 

of  Calcutta,   Calcutta.  393 

4  Jangaladesa  and  its  Capital — By  Mr.  Hara- 

bilas  Sarda,  B.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Ajmer.  407 

DC    TECHNICAL   SCIENCES  419—459 

1  A  note  on    Simha-Bhupala,  the   Reported 

Author  of  a  Commentary  on  Samgita- 
Ratnakara — By  Rao  Bahadur  P.  R. 
Bhandarker,  L.  M.  &  S.,  Home  Member, 
Indore.  421 

2  Melodic   classifications  in  Indian  Music — 

By  Dr.  V.  G.  Paranjpe,  M.  A.,  LL.  B., 
D.  Litt.,  Professor  of  Sanskrit,  Fergusson 
College,  Poona.  427 

3  The   use   of  Astronomical    phenomena   in 

fixing  the  chronological  periods  in  Indian 
History — By  V.  B.  Ketkar,  Bel  gaum, 
(Bombay).  445 

X    PERSIAN  461—470 

I  Persian  and  Arabic  words  in  MarathI — By 
Prof.  M.  T.  Patwardhan,  M.  A.,  Fergusson 
College,  Poona.  461 


PREFACE 

It  is  with  many  apologies  that  this  Second  Volume 
of  the  Proceedings  and  Transactions  of  the  First 
Oriental  Conference,  held  at  Poona  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research  Institute  in 
November  1919,  is  being  published.  This  volume 
contains  those  papers  which  the  Selection  Committee 
recommended  for  being  printed  in  extenso,  and 
for  which  space  could  be  found.  The  preceding 
volume,  containing  a  detailed  account  of  the  Conference 
and  a  summary  of  all  the  papers  submitted  to  the 
Conference,  was  published  in  1920.  The  work  on  this 
volume  was  taken  up  towards  the  end  of  that  year,  the 
intervening  period  of  time  being  required  for  the 
arrangement  of  the  material  and  for  constant  references 
to  the  Selection  Committee  and  to  the  scholars 
concerned. 

A  word  of  sincere  apology  is  due  to  those  scholars, 
whose  papers,  though  recommended  by  the  committee 
to  be  printed  (and  though  to  print  them  would  have 
been  a  privilege  and  a  service  to  scholarship)  had  to  be 
omitted  as  being  beyond  the  ordinary  length,  and  withal 
too  important  to  be  abridged  or  printed  in  selections. 
In  such  cases  the  consideration  of  funds  naturally 
weighed,  with  the  result  that  not  a  few  of  such  papers 
had  to  be  laid  aside,  much  against  the  wishes  of  the 
managers.  The  Institute  is  arranging  to  print  most  of 
these  in  its  own  Annals.  The  same  considerations  of 
space  and  funds  are  mainly  responsible  for  the  absence  of 
the  Index  to  this  volume,  which,  though  far  advanced 
in  execution,  has    for  the  present  to  be  laid  aside.     It 


viii  PREFACE 

will,  however,  be  printed  through   the   agency  of  the 
Institute  at  no  distant  date. 

It  remains  to  express  the  Secretaries'  sense  of 
gratefulness  to  many  who  have  generously  helped  in 
the  execution  of  this  volume.  Foremost  among  such 
obligations  are  those  of  the  Chairmen  of  the  different 
sections.  Dr.  A.  B.  Gajendragadkar,  M.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  of  the 
Elphinstone  College  and  Mr.  P.  K.  Gode,  M.  A.  of  the 
Bhandarkar  Institute  were  kind  enough  to  read  parts 
of  the  work  in  proof  and  to  help  in  other  ways.  It  is 
a  pleasure  to  acknowledge  these  disinterested  labours, 
as  also  the  courtesy  and  promptness  of  Mr.  Pendherkar, 
the  Manager  of  the  Tutorial  Press. 

The  work  which  was  thus  undertaken  nearly  three 
years  ago  comes  now  to  a  happy  conclusion.  The  idea, 
which  the  Institute  inaugurated  has  taken  firm  root, 
as  the  successful  holding  of  the  Second  Session  of  the 
Conference  in  Calcutta  shows.  There  is  no  doubt  at 
Madras  and  subsequent  places  the  Conference  will 
enter  on  a  life  of  gradually  widening  usefulness. 

P.  D.  GUNE, 

R.  D.  KARMARKAR, 

N.  B.  UTGIKAR, 

Honorary  Joint  Secretaries, 
First  Oriental  Conference,  Poona. 

Bhandarkar  Oriental 

Research  Institute, 

Poona  City, 

30th  September  1922. 


ASURA 
By  V.  K.  Raj  wade 


In  the  Annals  of  the  Bhandarkar  Oriental  Research 
Institute,  I  made  an  attempt  recently  to  determine  the 
meanings  of  certain  words  in  the  Kgveda  such  as 
dhanas,  vihdyas,  sasni,  tnehand,  krpd  and  citra,  by 
collating  all  the  passages  in  which  these  words  occur 
in  all  possible  forms  and  classifying  them.  I  deduced 
the  meanings  applicable  in  almost  all  cases.  I  am 
going  to  pursue  that  method  in  the  case  of  asura  and 
hope  that  the  senses  I  attach  will  convince  you,  as 
they  have  convinced  me. 

The  word  asura  in  all  its  inflectional  and  derivat- 
ive forms  occurs  about  105  times  in  the  Rgveda.  In 
some  cases  it  appears  to  be  generic  in  sense.  Sayana 
and  most  modern  scholars  derive  it  from  asu  and 
Sayana  interprets  it  as  balardn  i  c.  possessed  of 
strength,  prdnavdn  i.  e.  possessed  of  life,  or  praju'ir'in 
i.  e.  possessed  of  wisdom.  Asura  meaning  powerful, 
full  of  life,  may  be  used  in  the  case  of  each 
and  every  god,  as  all  of  them  are  full  of  life  and 
strength.  Sometimes  Sayana  interprets  it  as  prnnadcUd 
or  baladdta  i.e.  one  who  gives  life  or  strength. 

Agniis  ^sHmr  srg*:  g?r#:  (5,15,l)-'one  tliat  is  pleased 

with    ghee,     powerful    and  full     of    happiness  ' ;    s*l'fir: 
'*S\wi<:    (7,30,3.)— 'Agni'  the  mighty,  sat   down';  mi  SP#' 

*rg*r  sftra;  (7-2-3)— the    powerful  Agni,  possessed 

of  great  strength,  and  kindled   by    Minn'  ;   w*f*t  ai$TO 

sstffcT    (7-6-1) — 'the  praise  of   the   powerful    ruler'  ;  smft' 


i 


V,    K.    RAJWADE 


...3T§*r  jf#  (*k)  (5-12-1) — 'let  us  offer  prayer  to  the  power- 
ful Agni.'      In  all  these  cases,   asura   seems   to   be  an 
honorific  epithet  that  can  be  safely  dispensed  with. 
But  in  c^tsT  m  3T#  ?rtr  f^J  (2-1-6) — 'thou  art    the 

powerful  Rudra  of  the  great  heaven,'  or  'thou  art  Rudra, 
being  more  powerful  than  the  great  Dyau  ;'     ^fa**R  arg*: 

(10-11-6) — 'the  mighty  Agni  will  grow  mightier  still', 
the  epithet  seems  necessary  and  significant. 

As  Rudra  and  the  Maruts  are  mighty  forces, 
the  epithet  in  their  case  is  quite  appropriate  and 
necessary.     ( mti )     *p?w      *rir       aritf:       (1-64-2) — (the 

Maruts)  'the  mighty  warriors  of  Rudra.' 

But  sometimes  it  may  be  honorific  even  in  their 
case  as   in   ^    T&tftEiwgc    <r^r    (  5-42-11  ) — 'serve  the 

mighty  god  Rudra  with  salutations/    5^...3Tg^q    ^rct: 

(8-20-17) — 'of  the  mighty  Rudra,  the  god  of  action. ' 
Parjanya  also  is  asura  as  in  ^i7^  wwRjc^hsjm)    ft'i^rag*: 

fa^T  tf:  (5-83-6) — 'O  powerful  father  of  us  (all),  come  down 
dropping  rain  with  this  thunder.'  Here  asura  may  be 
significant. 

Surya  and  Savitr  are  also  called  asura  but  in  an 
honorific   sense   as    T«fr#rr  ^W--   3*ft*i :  (1-35-7) — 'Surya, 

mighty,  of  grave  motion,  and  entitled  to  good  praise'; 
f|H5«ft     3T#::     3*fr*r:      (  1-35-10 )  ;    c4  ^NnjRwiw     w»i 

(1-100-3) — 'that  bowl  used  for  eating  by  the  mighty 
Savitr';     *t%^'  J^pfmt    a^rer     a^krcr :    (  4-53-1  ); 'it*rt 

?£T#rsg*  ^jrjrrwtaRT  (10-56-6)— 'the  sons  stationed  the 

mighty  sun,  intimate  with  heaven,  in  two  ways'  (i.  e. 
for  rising  and  setting);  sfo'  ^i^rt^w  f^SFc?^^  ^forir  %*iw 

(5-49-2) — 'knowing  the  departure  of  the  mighty  Savitr, 
praise  or  serve  that  god  with  hymns.' 

Soma,  who  is  identified  with   each    and  all  gods,  is 


ASURA  3 

naturally   asura    as   in   *$*<*  Jjwt   ar^sn;   sfR^  (9-73-1  }— 

'the  powerful  Soma  made  three  heads  at  the  beginning 
(i.e.    created    the  three  worlds);    *fon    *fl|f  ar^t  %^>p?W: 

(9-74-7) — 'the  powerful  Soma,  raining,  knew  plenty  '  ; 
U^t  fo^g^w  ftfi&rar  (9-99-1) — 'they  weave  a  white  filter  for 

the  powerful  Soma.'  In  the  case  of  Soma  the  epithet 
is  purely  honorific. 

Dyau   also   is  asura  J&fa  ft  4r*#  3R&T  (1-131-1) — 

even   the  powerful    Dyau   bowed   to  Indra' ;    3<T  *t  fcjr 

3T1*t?t  jf*t  si  *rc:#  (5-41-3) — 'offer  prayers  to   the  powerful 

Dyau';  5T  r>  fjHn%  wW  f&ftfr  t^w    ^T^rnm  (3-29-14) 

— 'ever  since  he  was  born  from  the  womb  of  the  powerful 
Dyau,  the  beautiful  son  has  never  winked  from  day  to 
day  i.e.  on  any  day '  ;  sfaifa  f^  argas  sft'  (10-124-3)  — 

'I  recite  pleasing  prayers  to  the  powerful  father,  the 
Dyau.'  Even  the  powerful  Dyau  bowed  to  Indra' ; 
here  the  epithet  is  significant  and  appropriate.  In  the 
other  quotations  it  is  only  honorific. 

Mitra  and  Varuna  togetheV  are   called  asura  in  the 
usual  generic  sense,     5j  m  foGu^t  it  Tft'  farr  (1-151-4) — 

'that  are  exceedingly  dear  to  you,  O  powerful  ones  '  ; 
5*rt  srt  Grerraw  gffar...#^  3Ti<T...(7-36-2)-'0  powerful  Mitra 

and  Varuna,  I  fashion  this  well-cut  hymn  for  you;'  *w*g\ 
fotn4uii  ?wsrf  I^tw^t  (8-25-4) — 'Mitra  and  Varuna  are 
great,  powerful  ruling  gods.'  But  the  epithet  is 
assertive     in   m  ft  ^w%    (  7-65-2  ) — '  they     are     the 

strongest  of  the  gods.' 

If  any  one^deserves  to  be  called   asura,  it  is  Indra. 
qr  ^  ^rr  ^  w«f  ftfcswfa  3\  {Nirukta,  7-10)  'wherever  there  is 
a  deed  of  physical  strength,   it    must   be  Indra's,'   says 
Yaska.       His    protection    is    solicited    because     he 
powerful,      wm*  ?WTH  (1-174-1);  squares*  *fcrm*Tf*fn* 


4  V.    K.    RAJWADE 

ft  *$ta  (10-96-11) — 'O  powerful  In dra,  reveal  the 
pleasant  abode  of  the  cow  i.  e.  the  waters  '  ;  t^t^tt 
ztitw  jtw  f^tfr  sT^crt^r  crefr  (3-38-4) — 'great  is  the  name 

of  the  powerful  showerer;  of  many  forms,  he  presides 
over  the  immortal  waters ' ;  cTjJ  ?^t  3«t#§*  5T%<tct  *r4t'  *n*rftr#*rt 

(8-90-6)  — O  powerful,  wise  one,  we  beg  of  thee  that  pro- 
tection as  though  it  were  part  of  our  food.' '   f^5^  z&J 

5rf<ff  $cf:  3*T...(  1-54-3) — 'the    powerful  one  of  wide   fame 

was  placed  in  front  because  of  his  valorous  deeds. 
But  in  his  case  too  the  epithet  is  sometimes  honorific. 

It  is  not  only  individual  gods  that  are  asura  ;  gods 
in  general  are  sometimes  called  asura.  wfafa^  $3®  ^ 
^  &B$ff  fa  ^3$    (8-27-20  ) — 'or  when  we  shall  secure  a 

seat  at  the  general  symposium  to  the  sacrificer  going 
to   heaven,  O  powerful    ones'  ;  <rcf  i^r  <rc  t^rr  ^s^r  to 

^ft<3MT^r  (10-82-5) — that  whica  is  superior  to  heaven 
and  earth  and  even  the  powerful  gods  ' ;  arc  #ft  3T§brf 
i%^:  (1-108-6) — '  this  Soma  of  ours  is  worth  being 
demanded  by  the  powerful  gods.' 

Asura  thus  appears  to  be  a  generic  epithet  of  the 
gods,  though  in  a  few  cases  it  appropriately  means 
'  powerful,  strong.'  Why  should  the  gods  be  called 
asura  in  so  many  places  in  the  Ifgveda,  though  in  the 
same  Veda  and  in  subsequent  literature  the  word  came 
to  be  applied  to  the  enemies  of  the  gods  ?  Asura 
seems  to  show  some  desirable  good  quality.  We 
have  seen  that  in  some  cases,  as  in  those  of  Rudra, 
Maruts,  Indra,  Mitra  and  Varuna,  the  meaning  '  power- 
ful '  is  exceedingly  applicable.  In  the  case  of  Varuna 
it   seems   most   so.      *tm 3T3*  9%cn  *T5T%Mift   %^«r: 

$<TTft'  (1-24-14) — 'O  wise  and  powerful  king  Varuna, 
loosen  the  (bonds  of)  sins  committed'  (by  us).'     Varuna 


ASURA  5 

is  a  mighty  power,  that  oversees,  detects  and  punishes 
sin.  The  other  gods  are  physically  powerful.  Varuna 
is   morally   so.   *rr  sft'  *$$&!    %    <t  fsr%^:   f^^r^    tfmM 

(2-28-7)-- 'do  not  strike  us  with  these  destructive  weapons, 
O  powerful  Varuna,  which  wound  one  who  commits 
sin  in  thy  sacrifice.'  He  is  a  mighty  ruler,  universal 
lord-<*  f^ftr  ^wftrjTsn  ^  4  ^r  a^r  %  =*  ttfft:  (2-27-10).  'He 

held  up  the  heavens  on  high,  spread  out  the  earth,  or 
measured  the  width  of  the  earth,  and  as  Universal 
Ruler,  presided  over  all  the  worlds  ;  all  these  are  the 
acts   of.  Varuna — sr^hjTRiR^t   f^fcr  arfaifirT  iftmtf  ^fawn:  i 

3fftfcfc*T  g^TH  ?RTf|^rm%  ^^T  3<TTfa'      (  8-42-1  ).      3TC?T^T 

3%  3?ra  s?M  fasfai  ^r%  usi'r  i   Jj^rr  **to    ^sSrarabtoRTCp; 

(10-132-4).  Mitra  and  Varuna  are  contrasted  here.  'He 
(Mitra)  is  quite  different  (i.e.  inferior  to  you);  (Him) 
Dyau  begot;  (but)  thou,  Oh  powerful  Varuna,  art  the 
king  of  all.  He  (Mitra)  comes  as  the  head  of  the 
wheel  (the  sun).  Thou  art  the  hater  of  even  death  for 
sin,  though  ever  so  slight,' 

All  these  Kks  insist  on  the  moral  and  punitive 
side  of  Varuna's  character  and  in  all  he  is  addressed  as 
asura.  He  seems  to  have  a  prior  or  foremost  claim  to 
that  epithet  but  for  the  following  Kks. 

( tfwwii  )  ?it  ^fa*ft  zr&w  wwi  (  5-63-3  )—  'You  cause 
heaven  to  rain  down  by  (using)  the  thaumaturgy  of 
Asura.   *fifan   tfMuwi   f^rf^n  3ctt  tsfa  3T^<ft  jtti<?i  (5-f 

— 'Mitra  and  Varuna,  wise  as  you  are,  you  righteously 
maintain  laws  by  using  the  power  of  Asura.'  ^v^ 
«*rg«4  ^cM  *r#  *rrot  imw  a  ki^*{(5-$5-5} — 'I  have  loudly 

proclaimed  this  great  power  or  skill  of  Varuna,  the 
well-known  Xsura.'  Varuna  is  Xsura,  i.e.  a  son  of  Asura 
and  plies  Asura's  power  or  skill.  He  might  be  the 
(eldest)  son  of  Asura  and  was  not  primarily  Asura   him- 


6  V.    K.    RAJ  WADE 

self.  Mitra  and  Varuna  and  all  the  other  gods  had  to 
do  the  bidding  of  Asura.  They  derived  their  power  or 
skill  from  him. 

Asura  then  at  one  time  was  supreme  master,  an 
over-lord,  whose  decrees  were  binding  on  all.  Who  was 
this  Asura  ?  The  other  gods  or  some  of  them  at  least 
are  called  asurasya  virah.    5^  w^J  arffftsr  fawn  f^iwsfr 

st^ft  ifrcr:  i  fasrftfrro  ^t  wwft  spwrl  sr  fifes  3^(3-53-7) — 
'These  Bhojas  and  Angirasas  of  various  forms,  sons  of 
Dyau  and  warriors  of  Asura,  giving  riches  to  Visvamitra 
in  the  sahasrasava  sacrifice,  prolong  life.'  These  Bhojas 
or  Angirasas  seem  to  be  the  Maruts  or  some  other  gods, 
though  Sayana  takes  them  to  be  kings.  fMrwr  ^i^ri  fcwfr 

w  tt^c^ft^:  (3-56-8) — 'three  sons  of  Asura  rule  over 
three  best  and  imperishable  heavenly  worlds'  (or 
worlds  of  light ).  Sayana  understands  by  them  Agni, 
Vayu,  and  Surya  and  does  not  explain  the  three 
Rocanas.  55*3^  ^^  ^  ^  ^  ^^  fft'<^H.  (10-10-2) 
— 'the  sons  of  Mahas,  the  heroes  of  Asura  and  the 
supporters  of  heavens,  keep  an  all-round  watch  far  and 
wide.'   f^rcgsrraft  wgm  sfar:  (3-53-7)  andjT^w  %mw  ^r: 

in  the  last  quotation,  show  the  identity  of  Dyau,  Mahas 
and  Asura.  The  Dyau  is  the  Zeus  of  the  Greeks,  in 
whose  mythology  all  the  gods,  or  at  least  some,  are  his 
sons.  May  not  Mahas  and  Asura  be  the  Mazda  and 
Ahura  of  Zoroastrianism  ?  European  scholars  connect 
Mazda  with  the  Vedic  Medhas  on  the  ground  that 
Ahura  was  the  wisest.  But  this  ground  is  not  con- 
vincing. In  the  article  on  Ormadz  in  the  Encyclopaedia 
of  Religion  and  Ethics  (vol.  ix,  p.  568,  Col.  2)  the  writer 
says  that  in  a  list  of  Assyrian  gods  published  by 
Vincent  Scheil,  there  occurs  the  name  of  Assar  Mazaash, 
which  according  to  him,  is  Ahura  Mazda.     I  think  it 


ASURA  7 

corresponds  exactly  to  Asura  Mahas.  German  oriental- 
ists hold  the  view  that  the  sun-god,  moon-good  and 
seven  Xdityas  were  not  originally  Aryan,  but  that 
they  were  borrowed  from  Chaldea  to  which  India  owes 
most  of  her  astrology.  Assar  Mazaash  might  also  have 
been  borrowed  from  Chaldea  and  sanskritised  as 
Asura  Mahas.  Like  the  Romans  in  the  days  of  the 
Empire,  the  Indian  Aryans  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt 
foreign  gods.  They  had  not  the  exclusive  spirit  of  the 
Semitic  people. 

The  two  names  of  Asura  and  Mahas  do  not  occur 
in  a  compound  form  in  the  Rgreda  but  once  or  twice 
they  are  used  in  juxtaposition  as    in  Ti*g^iflt  <H"§*^  «far: 

(10-10-2).  The  compound  name  Ahura-Mazda  does 
not  occur  in  the  oldest  portions  of  the  Avesta.  It  is 
only  Mazdah  or  Mazdah  Ahura.  Ahura  was  only  an 
epithet  and  applicable  to  other  gods  like  Mithra  and 
Apam  Napat.  It  was  also  prefixed  to  the  names  of 
kings.  In  the  case  of  Mazdah,  however,  it  came  to  be 
persistently  and  pre-eminently  used,  so  that  ultimately 
it  was  considered  as  exclusively  his  property.  In  the 
Hgveda  the  two  names  or  rather  the  three  names 
Asura,  Mahas  and  Dyau  are  interchangeable  and  denote 
the  supreme  deity.  Dyau  is  often  a  masculine  word  as 
tttafr:  (1-131-1)  artr  f&i^  (1-54-3),  sfitfiftftf  (5-47-7). 

The  absence  of  the  compound  name  may  be  used  as  an 
argument  to  prove  that  the  religion  of  the  />£; 
was  earlier  than  the  Chaldean  and  Mazdean  reliu 
and  that  the  borrowing  was  rather  the  other  way.  But 
this  is  by  the  way.  Another  name  that  may  be  con- 
sidered as  interchangeable  with  these  is  Amrtasya,  for 
we  have  such  expressions  as  sr^g  fa^f    ap^te?  3^:  w  ^ 

Wft  f^nfaf  cT^J:  (10-13-1)  and^T:    T^it  M:   ^•WKk4_l 


8  V.    K.    RAJWADE 

(6-52-9).  Asura  also  seems  to  have  been  used  in  the  sense 
of  'son'  as  in  3f§d    JTfr  f^n  (2-1-6).  The  gods  are  putrdh, 

virdhf  or  sfmavah  of  Asura,  Mahas,  Dyau  or  Amrta.     In 

Vedic  literature  vlra  often   means  putra  areT  *t  ^ft^iftr- 

ft  ^r  afr  *rr  sfte  ^r^terf  (7-104-15) — 'may  he  be  deprived 

of  his  ten  sons,  who  for  no  reason  calls  me  a  sorcerer,' 
says  Vasistha. 

If  Asura  was  the  supreme  deity  once  of  the  Indian 
Aryans  as  I  think  he  was,  his  sons  would  be  naturally 
called  Asura  in  name  and  spirit  both.  Asura  then 
ould  be  a  patronymic,  though  in  some  cases  the 
epithet  may  be  significant.  In  the  same  way,  Amrta 
also  came  to  be  a  patronymic.  Agni  is  called  Amrta 
(1-44-5),  so  Rudra  (1-114-6),  so  Indra  (5-31-13),  so 
Soma  (8-48-3),  In  Avesta  also  Agni  is  called  the  son 
of  Mazdah-a^ro  asurahe  mazdao  puthra  '  Oh  Atar 
(Agni),  thou  son  of  Mazdah  Ahur. ' 

The  name  Asura,  then,  had  for  a  long  time  no 
evil  meaning  attached  to  it,  so  that  it  was  often  applied 
to  kings  and  even  men.  One  Tryaruna  is  said  to  be 
more  powerful  than  even  Indra.  (  ^JW- )  argd  t*tr: 
(5-27-1);    3RT  SKgNf    ari^r    «Wlt    (  1-126-2  )  — 'Kaksivan 

received  from  the  powerful  Bhavya  a  hundred  cows;  ' 
9  *r*r  *n%*r#:'  (10-93-14)  — 'I  have  sung  praises  in  behalf  of 

Rama'  ;    w  ^t  jtw:  u^fcg  *tt  aft  3^  /%*r<fr  (7-56-24) 

— 'let  us  have,  O  Maruts,  a  strong,  powerful  son,  an  up- 
holder of  men. '  That  Asura  means  powerful,  strong 
is  clear  from  vt  y$w&<\   *%^  ?it  (10-74-2) — 'the  powerful 

call  (neighing)  of  these  (horses)  pervades  the  sky.  ' 
Like  Asura,  the  abstract  noun  Asuratva  too  showed 
something  praiseworthy.     T3  zfrfairg^r  mj^  (10-99-2)— 

'Indra     occupied   a   broad   seat   on     account    of     his 


ASURA  9 

strength.  '  ^  «fa#:  *w  foTUTTJrtoit  ^  $z&  gpj  i  ^ 
snfirc^T^  <rtor  q&itzm WRrwH  (10-55-4) — 'that  thou  rosest, 

O  dawn,  first  of  (all)  lights,  that  thou  begottest  the 
fattest  of  all  the  fat  lights  ( the  sun),  that  though  so 
exalted,  thou  shouldst  maintain  relations  with  the 
lower  world,  all  this  is  the  unique  and  great  thau- 
maturgy  of  thee,  the  great  one. '  *n^iwi*Wc«A4>'  forms 
the  refrain  of  a  hymn  consisting  of  22  rks  (3-55).  The 
things  praised  are  the  rise  of  the  dawn,  sunrise,  Agni's 
parentage,  his  impregnating  of  the  herbs,  his  leader- 
ship in  sacrifice,  conflagrations,  Agni's  various  forms  as 
he  appears  in  the  three  regions,  the  two  sisters — the  black 
and  the  white,  the  hidden  and  the  open  (night  and  day), 
the  two  cows,  the  mother  and  daughter,  the  one 
even  and  the  other  awry  (earth  and  heaven).  All 
these  are  the  thaumaturgy,  the  miracles  wrought  by  the 
gods.  The  dawn,  the  sunrise,  night  and  day,  and 
heaven  and  earth,  were  miracles  to  early  man. 

The  word  Asurya  derived  from  Asura  is  sometimes 
used  as  an  adjective  but  very  often  as  a  noun.(  anf^rra:  ) 
<tfrWt  T^noir  3T#'  (2-27-4) — 'the  Xdityas  of  far-reaching 

intellect,  preserving  their  power.'  t^tar^T  *ffaw  *&* 
5rT^4)^Kg4'  (2-33-9) — 'never  has  power  departed  from 
Rudra,  ruling  over  this  large  universe.'  aM^-^urf- 
5T^tt=tt  f^   wRmV  Jrforc   ^TJTten  (3-38-7) — 'the  thaumaturges, 

each  one  invested  with  his  own  peculiar  might,  created 
beauty  in  him  (Indra).'  ^  a^  3  *n^;(5-10-2) — 'power 
mounted   thee  '    (said     of  Agni).     <nffc  orcuftyi   fl"!1*"?- 

SnJran^  (5-66-2) — 'They  (Mitra  and  Varuna)  possess  un- 
assailable   strength,    excellent     power.'   3«Rf^T  w^i*4 

W*Wrft  f¥4    (6-20-2) — 'All  power  was    bestowed  i  n    thee 
by  gods,  O   Indra,  for  ever.'  arart  ^  frtgfcre*  *nf*  VW 
[P.  o.  C.  II  21 


10  V.    K.    RAJWADE 

^farr  ftfrrfa  (6-30-2) — 'I  consider  his  power  to  be  great, 
for  none  injures  what  he  upholds. '  sprr  *r^rro#  f^*^n: 
wit  rnisn  ?  <rr$%m:  i  w  ^rsfRuwfr  fawr  q^I  wfrr  3T^' 

(6-36-1) — 'As  (alone)  among  the  gods  thou  holdest  power, 
thy  intoxication  has  proved  beneficial  to  all,  as  also  all 
earthly  riches,  and  thou  becomest  the  distributor  of 
food.'  sfato  qr^RT|4  (6-74-1),  <%  %fte&fr  ^^  (7-5-6), 
w<i4  WW^t  (7-65-1),  3TTf  ^^s^fer  tot  firarwrif  g^far  ststr 
(  2-35-2),  m  iw  wfir  jt^t  m^|4frot  s*wr  str^rt  (4-42-2), 
^r^nt'  ^  3T*prrr*r  ^Rr^rv^f^  m\^q  m^  (10-54-4),  ^qfcTTfa  srSprr 

1-134-5).  In  all  these  rks  Asurya  denotes  power. 
*?r  qrctar  ^rr:  §^rr  ^forcr  i  3T§qk  swsar  (7-66-2),  <rr  atctt 

f^qfan?pfa  5W^rr  i  ^r  **Rifift<Nten#ft  (8-25-3)  ;     in   these 

two  rks  Mitra  and  Varuna  are  said  to  have  been  created 
by  the  Gods  or  Aditi  for  Asurya,  i.  e.  great  exploits 
or  exhibition  of  strength. 

As  an  adjective  Asurya  occurs  five  times.  ^tt%% 
*rm?  <$si  3ptf  Tfaft  tfftfa (7-21-7) — 'even  the  ancientgods 
counted  their  strengths  as  coming  in  rear  of  thy  Asura- 
like  strength.'  Here  Asuryaya  qualifies  Ksatraya. 
%  ?r  qT^ig^  ftfrft  %...fr^  (10-50-3)— 'who  were  sent  for 

thy  Asura-like  wars,  who  for  heroism  ? '  (s^Tcfr)  arg^r 
T^tii  (7-96-1) — 'Saraswati  the  mightiest  of  the  rivers. 
^^ri?^r...^^art:  (1-167-5) -'the  mighty  Rodasifond 
of  heroes  served  them  (the  Maruts);  *i?r  ^t  trt^:  <f*r<ft  ^  ^nw 
££**&'  3T5^  ^rs^fr  (1-168-7) — 'Auspicious  is  your  gift,  of 
Maruts,  like  the  largesse  of  a  sacrificer  who  wishes  to 
please  the  gods  ;  it  has  great  speed  like  a  resounding 
weapon  (javelin)  wielded  by  Asuras.' 

Indra,  besides  being  called  Asura,  is  three  times 
called  Asurya.  srt  <n  q^sifa  ^t  5fimr?n*#iH(10-105-ll) — 


ASURA  11 

when  Sumitra  praised  thee  a  hundred  ways  thus,  O 
son  of  Asura ;  '    T  ^  tfrd   3ffa'    ^  3^  *  §gfr$#Fi    f*5R 

(7-22-5)— 'knowing  (how  to  praise),  I  shall  never  neglect 
or  forget  the  praises  of  thee  who  art  so  quick  and 
powerful. '  *rsTcj?«rg$pfa  ^ifsrft^  3f^f^^4(4-16-2) — the 
poet  like  Usanas  utters  prayer  to  thee,  who  art  power- 
ful and  conscious  (of  every  thing)/  Asurya  may  in  all 
these  cases  mean  powerful  or  son  of  Asura. 

Another  derivative  besides  Asuratva  and  Asurya 
is  Xsura.  We  have  seen  how  in  a  certain  quotation 
Varuna  is  called  Xsura.  a^w/5^  »r*?  sngd  «iW«V  *reft 
*rfpn#  (3-29-11) — 'the  Asura-fcetus  is  called  Tan unapat ; 
when  born,  it  is  called  Naras'arhsa'.  Asura  may  be 
derived  from  tasydpatyam  (  P  4  -1-92  )  or  4ivddibhyo\i 
(P  4-1-112).  Varuna,  in  that  case,  would  be  a  son  of 
Asura.  Garbha  dsurah,  by  sutra  tasyedam  (  P  4-3-120) 
'the  foetus  belonging  to  Asura.'  Or  as  Agni  is  the  son 
of  Asura,  he  may  be  called  Asura  by  tasydpatyam.... 
Asura  lays  the  foetus  in  the  womb  and  hence  Agni  is 
called  Tanunapat — one  who  lies  in  the  body  (of  waters.) 

Asurya  however  is  a  word  difficult  to  account 
for  by  Panini's  rules.  Asurasya  svam  is  Panini's 
sutra  (4-4-123)  for  deriving  Asurya.  Svamajnatidhanlk- 
hydydm  (P  1-1-35)  shows  that  sva  has  many  senses. 
Does  sva  in  Asurasya  svam  mean  wealth  or  has  it  any 
other  meaning?  #  siraT^rfr  w  ftsirafft  ^  ftRt^(.4;»wnj 
3-3-210).  Sva  according  to  Amara  means  relatives, 
soul,  one's  own  and  wealth.  But  in  the  case  of  Asurya 
as  used  in  the  Jfgveda,  none  of  these  senses  is  suitable. 
Asurya  in  most  cases  means  power  ;  when  adjective  ly 
used,  it  should  mean  either  powerful  or  a  son  of  Asura. 
Svam  may  have  had  the  sense  of  'power'  in  Panini's 
days  and  Asurya  m.iv  be    derived  by  the  sutra  asm 


12  V.    K.    RAJ  WADE 

svam.  But  what  about  Asurya  when  it  means  power- 
ful or  a  son  of  Asura  ?     How  does  Panini  derive  it  ? 

The  form  Xsura  meaning  offspring  of  Asura  may 
be  derived  as  we  have  said  above  by  tasydpatyam. 
But  for  the  feminine  form  Xsuri,  Panini  has  Mdydydman 
(4-4-24)  which  means  that  the  word  Asura  takes  an,  it 
becomes  Xsuri  and  means  Maya,-miracle-working  power . 
But  the  form  Asuri  does  not  occur  in  the  Rgveda  even 
once.  In  the  Taittirlya  Samhitd  ( 4-1-9 )  we  have 
angft  Jrror  *^nrf  ?cTTfaf .  The  Ukha  (an    earthen   receptacle 

for  a  certain  sacrificial  fire)  is  called  Ssurl  Maya  i.e. 
a  miracle  wrought  by  Asura.  But  I  have  not  met  with 
Xsuri  used  by  itself  and  meaning  Maya. 

So  far  we  have  had  instances  of  the  use  of  Asura 
in  a  good  sense.  But  at  some  unknown  and  unascertain- 
able  period  an  evil  sense  came  to  be  attached  to  that 
word.  Indra  is  called  asurahd  (10-170-2)  and  asur- 
aghna  (6-22-4) ;  Asura,  Amitra,  Vrtra,  Sapatna  and 
Dasyu  are  placed  in  the  same  category,  and  Indra  is 
addressed  as  their  killer  (10-170-2).  Agni  too  is 
called  asuraghna  (7-13-1).    sa^rf^  ftsfairer  my*  %*%  soften*. 

(10-138-3) — 'Indra  scattered  or  destroyed  the  strongholds 
of  Asura  who  was  a  tactician  and  had  extended  his  power.' 
aRrfsmfr  3t^ct  3t^t^%<it  cfr  m  ^r^frf^:  (8-96-9) — 'the  Asuras 

deny  the  gods  and  are  without  weapons  ;  root  them 
out,  O  Indra,  fond  of  Soma,  with   the  disc'    f^nrNr  <j  <$ 

aip  3T^l  (10-1 24-5) — 'the  Asuras  have  lost  their  skill  ,' 
says  a  king,     ^rrgtf  3rft  ^r  arcrfa  (10-53-4) — 'whereby  we- 

the  gods,  may  overcome  the   Asuras'  ;   ^rc  ^r  3rg*r- 

*^i4*3«*i    3[Wtf»TC5rm*TT:  (10-157-4) — 'when  the  gods  came 

back  killing  the  Asuras  and  thus  preserving  their  god- 
hood.'    TT^   *J3T    *nfa:  ^rar  3|®wr:  I  WldKI^^T^^q  wfa  %  ^ 


ASURA  13 

?*  f^4flfa:  (8-97-1)  — '  prosper  thy  devotee,  O  Indra,  with 
that  wealth,  which  thou,  possessed  of  light,  extortedst 
from  the  Asuras.' 3prr^na!r#3  ^stfg^^fa^lO-lSl-Spasthe 

gods  reposed  trust  in  the  Asuras,  though  so  fierce.' 
The  inference,  of  course,  is  that  the  Asuras  betrayed  that 
trust.  The  gods  who  were  Asuras  themselves  now  glory 
in  killing  them,  as  the  latter  deny  gods.  They  have  lost 
their  industrial  and  military  skill  and  have  no  weapons. 
It  is  considered  righteous  to  rob  them  of  their  wealth. 
They  are  considered  dishonest  and  unfair  in  their 
dealings.  Their  very  complexion  becomes  hateful. 
3fg$  j  ^  ft  fMr%  (9-71-2) — 'Soma  loses  (in  the  process  of 

extraction  of  its  juice)  its  Asura-like  colour.' 

Indra,  himself  a  mighty  Asura  and  Asurya,  is 
solicited  to  strike  asurasya  vlrCui  with  his  burning 
weapons  as  with  a   stone   from    a   sling,     ffcr^  <rg<n%ft 

ft*  f%5^fr  3T#S3  *fw^  (2-30-4);  STcT  *faA\  m#  ^  *tt*  5*ft afaou- 

mi  *krc;   (7-99-5)— 'You  two,   (  Oh  Indra  and   Visnu), 

kill  by  hundreds  and  thousands,  the  sons  of  Asura  at 
one  and  the  same  time,  so  that  they  should  never  make 
head  again.' 

Of  all  gods  Indra  is  credited  with  the  greatest 
slaughter,  the  others  being  mere  accessories.  Indra, 
a  deva,  is  considered  an  evil  genius  by  Zoroastrianism 
and  is  one  among  the  miscellany  of  evil  genii.  He 
fills  there  quite  a  subordinate  place.  I  would  take 
Aingra  Mainyu  to  be  Indra's  prototype,  as  Manyu  is  a 
frequent  epithet  of  Indra.  Aingra  Mainyu  is  the 
adversary  of  Ahura  Mazda.  Indra,  being  called  father 
of  lies,  avenges  the  insult  by  becoming  Asura^hn a.  The 
two  religions,  Zoroastrianism  and  K-vedism,  came  to 
loggerheads  at  some  period  of  the  world's  history  and 
took  delight  in  reviling  each    other's  gods.      Indra,  who 


14  V.    K.    RAJWADE 

was  an  Asuravlra  himself,  supplanted  all  the  previous 
supremacies  and  became  supreme  deity  himself.  He 
was  an  Asuraghna  in  this  sense  and  was  therefore 
morally  and  spiritually  degraded  into  Aingra  Mainyu. 
The  name  Asura  became  a  stinkard  in  post-Rgvedic 
literature.  In  the  Rgveda  the  Asuras  are  the  equals  of 
the  gods  and  are  never  associated  with  Raksas  and 
Yatudhana,  who  are  considered  as  quite  despicable  and 
detestable.  Kill,  kill,  kill  is  the  constant  cry  of  the 
Rsis  with  regard  to  Raksas,  while  no  charge  is 
considered  so  degrading  as  that  of  being  named  a 
sorcerer. 

In  the  Aitareya  Brdhmana,  the  Devas  and  Asuras 
are  called  samavadvlryah  /.  e.  'of  equal  might'  only  once* 
In  certain  places  they  are  associated  with  the  Raksasas 
and  all  sorts  of  tactics  had  to  be  employed  to  prevent 
their  interference  with  the  sacrifice.  Their  religious 
formulas  were  counteracted  by  secret  mantras  and 
rites  of  the  opposite  character.  The  Asuras  employed 
the  Ukthas  (Ugdha  in  Avesta  means  holy  word  or  prayer) 
which  the  Devas  counteract  by  certain  Samans  (  Ait. 
Brdh.  15-5  and  28-6).  The  Maitrdvaruna  Uktha  is  said 
to  be  a  speciality  of  the  Asuras.  In  the  same  way,  they 
nonplussed  them  in  their  Gathas  by  singing  Indragathas 
(ibid  30-6).  Modern  Zoroastrians  do  not  know  what 
these  Ukthas  are,  though  they  have  the  word  ugdha.  The 
long-tongued  beastly  bitch  licked  the  morning  Soma- 
juice  ;  she  was  evidently  deputed  by  the  Asuras 
(ibid.  8-4).  Svarbhanu  or  Rahu,  who  strikes  the  sun  with 
darkness,  is  Xsura,  a  whelp  of  Asura  (5-45-5).  Prayers 
absent-mindedly  uttered  are  called  asurya  (ibid.  6-5). 
Violations  of  sacrificial  rules  are  also  considered  as  rules 
prevailing  among  Asuras.  Day  belongs  to  Gods,  night  to 
Asuras  (ibid.  16-5)  In  the  Maitrdyanl  Samhitd  (3-6-5) 
asurya  is  altered    into  asurya  to  show  that  the  Asuras 


ASURA 

are  the  children  of  night.  At  milking  they  used  an  iron- 
vessel  ;  consequently  they  milked  Suri  i.  e.  liquor, 
instead  of  milk  (ibid.  4-2-1).  While  gods  addressed  the 
cow  as  Kamye,  men  by  sravye  and  the  manes  by  lidtnit, 
the  Asuras  called  her  by  an  unnamable  name  {ibid.)  Men 
see  things  by  day-light  with  the  eyes  of  gods, 
by  moon-light  with  those  of  Pitrs,  in  the  dark  with 
human  eyes,  and  near  fire  with  those  of  Asuras. 
The  Asuras  thus  are  intimately  associated  with  fire  and 
shall  we  say  with  Sura  ? 

Very  curious  derivations  are  given  of  the  word 
Asura.  Says  the  Maitrdyanl  Samhitd  (4-2-1),  'Prajapati, 
sick  of  loneliness,  wanted  to  create.  So  he  became 
pregnant.  He  became  so  exhausted  with  the  burden 
that  he  turned  almost  black  and  only  the  breath  of 
life  remained  in  him.  It  was  from  this  breath  (asu) 
that  he  created  Asuras,  hence  the  name.  It  was 
daytime  (diva)  when  he  created  Gods,  hence  the  name 
Devas. '  The  Nirukta  (3-8)  gives  a  Brahmana  quota- 
tion which  can  not  be  identified,  thus  : — <ft$<i«i«nri 
?fcgu°Tr  g^HtfUiHMyjsrcT  cK^mw^c^ — 'he  created  gods  from 
an  excellent  part,  so  the  name  Sura  ;  and  the  Asuras 
from  a  vile  part,  hence  the  name  Asura.'  The  Nirukta 
has  other  flights  of  imagination.  Asitratdh  (sthane?u)- 
not  pleased  with  any  locality  long  ;  they  are  flighty  in 
character.  Or  they  were  driven  out  (astah  sthanebhyah) 
from  all  possible  places  ;  or  they  possessed  life  (Asu). 
By  the  way,  the  name  Sura  does  not  occur  even  once 
in  the  Rgveda.  It  is  only  in  the  above  untraced 
quotation  that  I  have  come  across  the  name.  It  seems 
to  be  an  invention  and  Asura  seems  to  have  been 
supposed  a  negation  of  Sura.  Such  is  the  religious 
and  literary  spirit  of  perversion. 

The  Devas  and  Asuras   must  do    things    always    in 


16  V.    K.    RAJWADE 

contrary  ways,  as  we  have  said  above.  Says  the 
Satapatha  Brdhmana  (13-8-2-1) — the  gods  and  Asuras, 
both  sons  of  Prajapati  struggled  for  supremacy  in  this 
world  and  the  gods  succeeded  in  ousting  their  rival 
cousins.  The  gods  have  open,  unenclosed  cemeteries, 
while  the  Asuras  have  enclosed  ones.  The  latter  must 
hide  the  corpse  in  a  tub  or  urn  (Camu)  or  a  similar 
receptacle'. 

In  the  Taitiirlya  Brdhmana  (1-5-6)  we  have  their 
manner  of  shaving.  The  Asuras  began  with  the 
hair  on  their  head,  then  came  down  to  the  face  and 
lastly  to  the  arm-pits.  By  following  this  downward 
course,  they  made  their  way  to  hell.  But  the  gods 
began  with  the  arm-pits,  rose  to  the  face  and  lastly  to 
the  head.  They  necessarily  rose  to  heaven,  I  do  not 
know  if  this  was  the  custom  of  shaving  in  the  days  of 
Zoroaster. 

In  the  Taitiirlya  Samhita  the  degradation  is  come 
plete.  The  Devas,  men  and  Pitrs  are  ranged  on  one 
side  ;  Asuras,  Raksas,  and  Pisacas  on  the  other  (2-4-1) 
In  comparing  Brahmanas  with  Sudras,  the  Taittirlya 
Brdhmana  (1-2-6)  says,  '  the  Brahmana  is  divine  in 
caste,  the  Sudra  is  asurya. '  In  the  Atharvaveda  the 
degradation  reaches  its  low-water  mark.  Ssuri  is  the 
name  for  mustard  {i.e.  1-24-6)  and  was  used  for  curing 
certain  diseases.  Certain  magic  charms  are  called 
Xsuri  there  (ibid  8-5-4).  Bad  dreams  are  born  in 
Asurayoni     {ibid  19-56-1). 

The  word  Manyu  which  in  Avesta  means  l  spiri- 
tual ',  '  invisible  ',  means  '  rage  '  or  '  fierce '  in  Ifgveda. 
So  Dasyu,  in  Avesta  Daihhu,  means  a  country  or  its 
people  ;  in  Hgveda  it  means  '  inimical  people,' 
enemies  of  the  gods.  Gatha,  which  in  Avesta  is  the 
highest,     most    exalted     human    utterance,   is   in    the 


ASURA  17 

Ki Ithakasamhitd  disparaged  thus: — 3T*r<T  stttoftt:  i   it   »mn 

^KKKftwrf  *RT1%  cTW  *  qui...  I  3T^t  f|  TT*f?  3T*cT  JTTTOTCn:  if  »TT*Tf*?: 

v$fa-(ibid  14-5) — one  should  not  perform  any  sacrificial 
rite  by  (reciting)  Gathas.'  *  »n*nf*T:  sr?3fa  one  should  not 
perform  any  sacrificial  rite  by  (reciting)  Gathas.  I 
have  noted  the  quotation  somewhere,  but  have  not 
been  able  to  find  it.  Srausa  is  an  Avestan  deity,  almost 
the  right-hand  of  Mazda  who  reveals  his  religion  to  him 
and  through  him  to  mankind.  He  fightsthe  demons  and 
drives  them  off  by  the  recital  of  certain  hymns.  In  the 
Indian  ritual  Srausat  is  simply  a  cry  uttered  by  a 
Indian  priest,  when  an  oblation  is  offered.  It  is  intended 
to  draw  attention.  In  the  Brahmanas  it  is  the  Asuras  that 
interfere  with  sacrifice  and  make  it  ineffective.  But  it  is 
curious  that  in  the  Maitrayani  Samhitd(  1-4-3) and  in  the 
Taittirlya  Samhitd(3-5A)  we  have  ^^t  191*:  andl^T  isgi: 
affirefrlt  *  *er<j  i  The  Aryan  gods  are  beneficent  powers. 
How  can  they  destroy  the  sacrifice  or  steal  it  ?  Is  this 
an  interpolation  from  Zoroastrianism,  or  a  reminiscence 
of  the  times  when  the  Aryans  lived  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Zoroastrians  ? 

I  have  not  dwelt  on  all  the  struggles  between  the 
Devas  and  Asuras,  which  form  such  a  large  part  of  the 
Brahmanas.  They  would  require  an  essay  by  them- 
selves and  perhaps  would  give  very  useful  information. 

As  far  as  the  present  treatment  goes,  I  think  the 
following  conclusions  may  be  drawn  :  — 

1.  Asura  at  one   time  was   the   supreme   deity  of 
many  nations — at   least  of  the  Vedic    Ar\ 
Chaldeans  and  Zoroastrians. 

2.  His  other  names  were,  perhaps,  Dyau,  Mahas 

and  Ainrta. 

3.  The  question  as  to  who  ed  from   whom 

can  never  be  answered       Th  D 

resemblance  between  Asura   Mahas  and  A 

[F.O.CII3] 


18  V.   K.    RAJWADE 

Mazaash     and    Ahur   Mazda,    that   the   three 
nations  must  have  been  neighbours. 

4.  In  the  Avesta,  Xthro  or  fire  is  called  the  son 
of  Ahura  and  certain  female  deities  his 
daughters.  In  the  R-gveda  almost  all  the  gods 
are  the  sons  of  Asura.  Hence  Asura  came  to 
be  a  patronymic  and  had  a  generic  sense.  In 
some  cases  the  epithet  was  significant,  as 
for  instance  in  the  case  of  Indra,  Varuna  and 
Mitra.  The  Encyclopedia  of  Religion  and 
Ethics  is  wrong  in  saying,  that  Asura  means 
God.  It  is  an  adjective  and  an  epithet  of 
gods  and  means  powerful.  It  is  used  as  a 
comparative  and  superlative. 

5.  Varuna  was  not  the  supreme  Asura  in  the 
lygveda  as  he  is  called  Asura  and  Asura- 
putra.  The  writer  on  the  article  Ormazd 
thinks  that  Varuna  was  the  Vedic  prototype  of 
Ahura  on  account  of  the  moral  and  intellectual 
resemblance  between  them.  Pracetas  is  how- 
ever used  equally  in  the  case  of  Indra  (8-90-6) 
Brhaspati  (2-23-2),  and  Savitr  (4-53-1).  Asura 
employed  all  the  gods  including  Varuna  to 
supervise  human  affairs  and  gave  special 
powers  to  Varuna  as  the  latter's  moral  and 
punitive  nature  appears  emphasized  in  so 
many  places. 

6.  Asura,  Asuratva  and  Asurya  had  for  a  long 
time  a  desirable  connotation.  As  kings  like 
Haoshravah  were  called  Ahura,  so  were  Indian 
kings.  Asuratva  and  Asurya  meant  thau- 
maturgy,  the  power  of  working  miracles. 

7.  There  is  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
instances  in  which  the  word  Asura  is  used  in  a 


ASURA  19 

good  sense,  the  bad  instances  being  in  a 
minority  of  about  15  i.e.  about  f  of  the 
whole  (105).  This  shows  that  the  cleavage 
between  the  Kgvedic  religion  and  Zoroa- 
strianism  happened  towards  the  end  of  the 
Kgvedic  period.  The  enmity  became  bitter 
and  bitterer  in  post-Rgvedic  times.  There 
was  as  it  were  a  partition  of  deities  and  it 
came  to  be  the  special  duty  of  the  priestly 
class  to  exalt  the  deities  of  its  own  adoption 
and  vilify  those  of  the  enemies.  Words  like 
Manyu,  Gatha,  Dasyu,  Kavi  were  given  a  fair 
or  foul  meaning  according  to  the  prejudices 
and  prepossessions.  Asa  which  occurs  only 
once  in  the  Rgveda  (1-173-4)  and  that  too 
as  an  adjective  in  the  comparative  degree,  is 
given  an  unrivalled  prominence  in  Zoroas- 
trianism.  Asura  and  Deva,  once  denoting  all 
that  is  spiritually  good  and  divine,  were 
construed  by  the  opposite  camps  into  monsters 
of  the  vilest  characters.  No  abuse  was  too 
bad.  The  two  races  adopted  contrary  customs 
in  burial,  shaving,  and  even  in  marriage, 
if  we  interpret  Khetukdash  according  to 
European  savants,  the  Indian  Aryans  insisting 
on  marriage  out  of  family-relations,  the  other 
side  advocating  marriage  even  with  a  sister  or 
a  daughter. 


THE  PHILOLOGICAL  ARGUMENT  FOR  AN 

UPPER  LIMIT  TO  THE  DATE  OF  THE 

RGVEDA 


By  A.  C.  Woolner 

This  paper  does  not  pretend  to  fix  the  date  of  the 
Rgveda.  No  attempt  will  be  made  to  review  such 
slender  historical  evidence  as  has  been  gleaned  so  far 
from  the  records  of  Mesopotamia,  as  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Medes  and  of  the  Horse.  I  shall  not  discuss  the 
presence  of  Aryan  names  in  a  Mitanni  record  of  the 
14th  century,  B.  C,  or  the  possibility  of  an  Aryan 
influence  in  the  heresy  of  the  Egyptian  Akhnaten  a 
century  later.  Nor  again  do  I  propose  to  discuss  the 
internal  evidence,  whether  of  generations  of  Kings,  or 
of  the  whole  history  of  Vedic  religion  before  Gautama 
Buddha. 

While  alluding  to  these  matters,  however,  I  venture 
to  emphasise  the  need  of  resisting  a  definite  bias  one 
way  or  the  other.  It  will  be  admitted  that  many  people 
when  discussing  Indian  dates  have  a  distinct  preference 
for  the  earliest  possible  date,  simply  because  it  is  more 
remote.  On  the  other  hand  I  think  some  scholars 
have  shown  a  strong  bias  towards  the  latest  possible 
dates,  simply  because  they  are  nearer  to  dated  events  ; 
in  other  words  they  always  lean  towards  the  lower 
limit  and  tend  to  regard  any  date  beyond  1,000  B.  C. 
as  inherently  improbable,  unless  supported  by  a  dated 
inscription. 

This  difference  of  attitude  has  .  been  so  marked  in 
this  question  of  the  date   of   the  Hgveda,  that  it  may 


ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  DATE  OF  RGVEDA     21 

not  seem  a  mere  platitude  to  insist  on  the  need  of 
unbiassed  judgment. 

The  aspect  of  the  question  with  which  this  paper 
is  concerned  is  the  philological  evidence  for  fixing  an 
upper  limit  for  the  earliest  hymn  (whichever  it  is)  of 
the  J\gveda, 

The  argument  has  been  stated  by  Prof.  Macdonell 
in  his  History  of  Sanskrit  Literature  (p.  12)  and 
more  recently  in  the  Hastings  Encyclopaedia  (s.  v. 
Hymns,  Vedic). 

The  two  wings  of  the  argument  are  : — 

(1)  That  a  comparison  of  the  language  of  the 
Avesta  with  that  of  the  Ifgveda  proves  that 
the  Aryans  could  not  have  entered  the  North 
West  of  India  much  before  1,300  B.  C,  and 
therefore,  (granting  that  the  hymns  were  com- 
posed afterwards,)  no  Vedic  hymn  is  much 
older  than  1,300  B.  C. 

(2)  Assuming  that  the  Brahmana  period  begins 
somewhere  about  800  B.  C,  three,  or  at  the 
most,  five  centuries  are  '  amply  sufficient '  for 
the  changes  which  the  hymn  literature 
reveals  ;  hence,  by  implication,  any  Vedic 
hymn  older  than  about  1,300  B.  C.  is  highly 
improbable. 

Taking  the  second  part  of  the  argument  first,  it 
should  be  noted  that  it  is  not  purely  philological. 

In  his  History  Prof.  Macdonell,  following  Max 
Muller,  an  early  philologist,  wrote  :  -"A  lapse  of  three 
centuries,  say  from  1,300-1,000  B.  C,  would  amply 
account  for  the  difference  between  what  is  oldest 
newest  in  Vedic  hymn-poetry "  and  speaks  of  "  A 
development  of  language  and  thought  hardly  greater 
than  that  between  the    Homeric    and   the    Attic  age  of 


22  A.  C.   WOOLNER 

Greece  ".  In  the  Hastings  Encyclopedia  he  says  : — 
"  To  allow  for  all  this  gradual  development  it  is  neces- 
sary to  postulate  a  period  of  some  centuries,  decidedly 
longer,   for   example  than   that   between   Homeric  and 

Classical  Greek Five    Hundred  years  are   amply 

sufficient  to  account  for  the  gradual  changes,  lin- 
guistic, social,  and  political  that  this  hymn  literature 
reveals". 

Of  the  comparison  with  Greek  I  shall  say  some- 
thing later,  but  we  may  note  here  that  this  estimate 
does  not  claim  to  be  precise,  that  it  depends  not 
merely  on  language  but  also  on  an  estimate  as  to  how 
fast  social  and  political  changes  were  likely  to  take 
place,  and  finally  that  the  wording  really  indicates  a 
lower  limit  (the  lowest  possible  or  the  lowest  probable) 
which  is  regarded  as  being  fairly  near  the  earliest 
probable  date.  Estimates  as  to  the  probable  pace  of 
social  and  political  changes  in  Ancient  India  will  vary, 
and  there  is  the  further  difficulty  that  there  is  no 
fixed  point  before  Gautama  Buddha  from  which  to 
reckon  back.  Prof,  Macdonell  says  "  Since  that 
( Theological  and  Theosophical  literature)  is  extensive, 
it  cannot  be  assumed  to  have  begun  later  than  about 
800   B.   C.  "   Again   the  lower  limit. 

We  may  compare  the  chronology  of  the  Aitareya 
"kranyaka  with  it's  Upanisads  as  worked  out  by 
Professor  Keith  (p.  49.  p.  73).  He  argues  from  work  to 
work,  taking  the  lower  limit  in  each  case:  "  Panini, 
who  cannot  well  be  dated  later  than  300  B.  C. ;"  "Yaska, 
who  can  hardly  be  brought  down  lower  than  550-500 
B.  C.  ;"  "Yaska  cannot  well  be  later  than  500  B.  C." 
and  so  on. 

This  is  a  perfectly  legitimate  method  of  arriving 
at  a  lower  limit  for  the   older   books  :  obviously  it  does 


ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  DATE  OF  RGVEDA     23 

not  give  an  upper  limit  at  all.  Even  so  Professor 
Keith  will  go  back  as  far  as  700-600  B.  C.  for  the 
second  Xranyaka,  and  he  admits  "  The  upper  date  may 
perhaps  be  pushed  further  back  ".  At  this  point  he 
seems  to  have  felt  a  qualm  of  orthodoxy ;  "  but  this 
involves  the  pushing  back  of  the  date  of  the  Rgveda, 
for  which,  at  least  at  present,  no  satisfactory  evidence 
has  been  adduced  "•  If  to  so  conservative  a  scholar  as 
Prof.  Keith,  his  profound  knowledge  and  patient 
analysis  of  Brahman ic  literature  suggest  the  possibility 
of  pushing  back  the  date  of  the  Rgveda,  and  yet  he 
refrains  from  this  in  the  absence  of  satisfactory 
evidence,  what  is  the  nature  of  the  evidence  for  fixing 
the  dates  of  the  Rgveda  so  low  ? 

The  answer  is  contained  in  the  first  wing  of  the 
argument,  with  which  I  am  mainly  concerned. 
Professor  Macdonell  writes  in  the  Hastings  Encyclo- 
pedia "  If  the  language  of  the  Avesta  were  known  to  us 
at  a  stage  earlier  by  six  or  seven  centuries,  it  could  hardly 
differ  at  all  from  that  of  the  Vedic  Hymns.  "  "It  there- 
fore seems  impossible  to  avoid  the  conclusion  that  the 
Indians  cannot  have  separated  from  the  Iranians  much 
earlier  than  about  1,300  B.  C.  " 

The  study  of  this  argument  will  involve  us  in 
some  difficulties,  and  perhaps  some  doubts. 

To  start  with,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
comparison  of  the  Avestan  Gathas  with  the  Vedic 
hymns  was  first  adduced  (as  by  Geldner,  Encyclop. 
Britt.j  11th  edn.,  s.  v.  Persia)  to  prove  "the  extreme 
age  of  the  Gathas  "  and  then  adapted  to  disprove  "  the 
possibility  of  extreme  antiquity  '  of  the  Rgveda. 
Geldner  was  arguing  against  the  possibility  of  a  Sas* 
san ian  date  for  the  text  of  the  Avesta.  He  showed 
that    there   was   development;    the    Gfttbifl   were    i 


24  a.  c.  woolner 

archaic  than  "  the  later  Zend "  and  he  stated  that 
they  had  "  a  close  resemblance  to  the  language  of  the 
Vedas  exceeding  that  of  any  two  Romance  languages  : 
they  seem  hardly  more  than  two  dialects  of  one  tongue. 
Whole  strophes  of  the  Gathas  can  be  turned  into  good 
old  Sanskrit  by  the  application  of  certain  phonetic 
laws  :"  and  he  gives  an  example.  Prof.  Macdonell 
gives  this  in  a  stronger  form.  "  By  the  mere  appli- 
cation of  phonetic  laws,  whole  Avestan  stanzas  may  be 
translated  word  for  word  into  Vedic,  so  as  to  produce 
verses  correct  not  only  in  form  but  in  poetic  spirit." 

If  however,  one  takes  Gathas  at  random  this  sort 
of  transliteration  process  does  not  seem  very  easy.  Pro- 
fessor Jackson  writes  : — "  Because  of  this  close  corres- 
pondence, many  Avestan  words  and  phrases  may  be 
changed  at  once  into  their  Sanskrit  equivalents  by  the 
mere  application  of  certain  phonetic  laws."  That  is  a 
very  different  story,  and  I  venture  to  think,  more 
exact. 

We  may  suspect  then  that  though  his  conclusion 
was  sound,  Geldner  exaggerated  the  similarity  of  the 
two  languages. 

Another  difficulty,  though  not  so  serious,  is  the 
absence  of  definite  dated  starting  points  on  either  the 
Indian  or  the  Iranian  side  of  the  argument.  Prof. 
Jackson  quotes  as  the  generally  accepted  view  that  the 
Gathas  date  back  to  an  early  period  of  the  religion,  if 
not  to  the  prophet  Zoroaster  himself,  and  he  gives  as 
the  extreme  limits  of  the  period  of  development  about 
B.  C.  560  and  A.  D.  375. 

Macdonell  takes  the  estimated  date  of  the  6th 
century  as  his  starting  point.  This  may  very  likely  be 
correct,  quite  apart  from  any  doubt  there  may  be 
about   the   date    of   Zoroaster.     At   the   same  time  the 


ARGUMENT   FOR  THE   DATE   OF   RGVEDA  25 

question  suggests  itself,  why  should  not  the  philological 
comparison  start  from  the  dated  inscription  of  Darius 
the  Great  in  Old  Persian  ?  Is  it  impossible  to  estimate 
the  difference  in  time  between  Old  Persian  and 
Vedic  ?  Or  again  why  not  compare  Darius  '  inscrip- 
tions of  about  500  B.  C.  with  those  of  A^oka  about  250 
B.C.? 

This  question  brings  us  to  the  root  of  the  matter. 
How  and  to  what  extent  can  we  estimate  dates  by 
comparing  similar  languages?  That  languages  are 
continually  changing  is  the  primary  fact  from  which 
philology  starts.  But  it  is  soon  obvious  that  they  do 
not  all  change  at  a  uniform  rate.  Icelandic  has  not 
changed  so  rapidly  as  English  ;  Singhalese  has  travelled 
further  from  its  original  Indian  source  than  Hindi  has 
done.  Is  it  not  true  that  at  certain  periods  of  their 
history  languages  have  changed  faster  than  at  others  ? 
When  an  old  system  of  grammar  is  breaking  down  and 
being  replaced  by  new  methods,  is  not  change  likely 
to  be  more  rapid  than  in  the  periods  before  and  after  ? 
Is  it  not  reasonable  to  expect  that  a  period  of  fresh 
contact  with  new  peoples  will  show  more  changes  in 
pronunciation  and  vocabulary  than  a  period  of  un- 
ruffled calm  ?  May  not  both  movement  and  stagnation 
be  reflected  in  the  growth  of  language  ? 

If  pace  does  vary  under  such  circumstances,  it  is 
obvious  that  we  cannot  have  a  minute  calculus, — of  so 
much  change  means  so  much  time, — though  investi- 
gation might  indicate  the  limits  to  be  expected  in  vary- 
ing circumstances.  If  however  we  tike  a  wider  sweep 
of  time  like  six  or  seven  centuries  it  may  be  claimed 
that  the  total  change  must  have  ited   at    least  so 

much.     The  only  method  of  investigating   the  question 
lies  in  observing   how   much    change    has   taken  place 
between  known  dates  in  ni.mv   langl 
[F.  O.  c.  II  4  I 


26  A.   C.   WOOLNER 

The  argument  we  are  discussing  has  in  fact  been 
content  with  two  or  three  parallels. 

One  parallel  is  that  of  Greek  from  Homer  to  Plato. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  Homer  is  not  definitely  dated, 
and  even  if  we  accept  the  9th  century  for  the  poet,  he 
is  held  to  have  "  dealt  freely  with  the  dialect  of  the  old 
Achaean  poems,  "  ( Bury,  History  of  Greece  p.  66  ). 
That  means  that  the  language  of  the  Homeric  poems  is 
more  archaic  than  the  ordinary  Ionian  dialects  of  the 
ninth  century.  Attic  is  not  only  later,  but  is  also  a 
different  dialect  of  the  Ionian  group.  The  geographical 
conditions  of  Hellas  were  particularly  conducive  to  the 
growth  and  maintenance  of  many  separate  dialects 
(Giles.  Manual  of  Comparative  Philology  p.  525). 
Moreover  the  period  in  question  witnessed  the  expan- 
sion of  Greece,  the  growth  of  Athens,  and  the  conflict 
with  Persia.  These  conditions  are  very  different  to 
those  of  the  Aryans  in  Gandhara  and  Iran. 

The  changes  of  literary  Greek  from  those  Attic 
days  down  to  the  newspaper  of  to-day  have  been  less 
rapid,  especially  if  "  mere "  phonetic  changes  are 
discounted. 

Another  suggested  parallel  is  between  the 
Europeanising  of  America  and  the  Aryan ising  of  India. 
The  differences  in  the  conditions  are  here  so  obvious 
that  it  is  difficult  to  regard  it  as  really  relevant.  We 
may  note  that  in  India  the  process,  though  it  still  goes 
on  after  at  least  3,200  years,  is  less  complete  than  that 
in  America  ;  also  that  four  centuries  have  not  made 
a  great  difference  in  the  European  languages  spoken  in 
America. 

If  we  glance  now  at  other  possible  parallels  we 
can  find  instances  of  apparent  stability  during  long 
periods.     In  Egypt,  as   the   records  are   rendered,  the 


ARGUMENT   FOR   THE    DATE   OF   RGVEDA  21 

lapse  of  a  thousand  years  seems  to  make  little  or  no 
difference  to  the  language  or  the  style.  In  the  Assyrian 
records  the  language  of  the  great  King  Sargon  appears 
to  be  much  the  same  as  that  of  Nebuchadnezzar  about 
two  thousand  years  later.  In  Chinese  again,  apart  from 
11  mere  "  phonetic  decay,  it  will  be  admitted  that  the 
language  has  changed  extremely  slowly  during  the  last 
two  thousand  years. 

To  these  examples  the  objection  may  be  taken 
that  they  really  represent  stability  of  script,  and  that 
we  do  not  know  how  much  phonetic  change  may 
underlie  the  writing.  Or  with  greater  force  it  may  be 
said,  these  are  fixed  stereotyped  literary  or  priestly 
forms  of  language,  not  the  untrammelled  folk-speech 
which  the  philologist  should  study,  and  which  we 
should  assume  for  the  early  Aryans. 

We  may  admit  that  the  language  of  the  hymns 
was  not  a  written  language.  When  and  how  the 
Gathas  were  first  written  down  we  do  not  know.  Old 
Persian  appears  at  the  end  of  the  6th  century  B.  C,  in 
a  script  that  had  been  adapted  from  Assyrian  cuneiform, 
and  had  presumably  been  in  use  some  time  before  it 
was  used  for  a  royal  document.  As  to  pronunciation 
we  should  remember  that  the  sounds  of  the  letters  in 
which  the  Gathas  and  Old  Persian  are  recorded  h 
been  deduced  from  the  sounds  used  in  later  ages,  and 
by  comparison  with  Sanskrit.  The  sounds  of  the  Veda 
are  deduced  from  the  oral  tradition  still  existing,  t he- 
directions  of  the  Pratisakhyas,  the  treatment  of  sounds 
in  sandhi  and  so  on.  Now  suppose  these  deductions 
to  be  absolutely  accurate  tor  the  end  of  the  period  (i.e. 
for  the  century  in  which  the  latest  hymns  were  com- 
posed) can  they  also  be  absolutely  accurate  for  the 
beginning  of  the  period  (  /.< .  for  the  century  in  which 
the  earliest  mantra  was  composed  >.; 


28  A.   C.   WOOLNER 

Either  we  must  admit  the  probability  of  some 
amount  of  phonetic  change  that  has  not  been  recorded, 
or  else  we  must  assume  several  centuries  at  least  of 
remarkable  stability  of  pronunciation.  A  high  degree 
of  stability  is  not  impossible,  if  the  importance  of 
correct  oral  transmission  was  recognised  during  the 
Vedic  period  itself.  But  the  same  oral  tradition  could 
also  preserve  the  structure  and  vocabulary  of  a  poetic 
dialect  from  rapid  change.  The  hymns  are  not  simple 
folk-poetry  in  contemporary  colloquial  idiom. 

On  the  other  side  we  know  nothing,  I  believe, 
about  the  pre-Zoroastrian  ancestors  of  the  speakers  of 
the  Avestan  language,  except  that  they  must  have 
inherited  some  of  the  elements  which  are  assigned  to 
the  Indo-Iranian  period  :  including,  as  Professor 
Macdonell  notes  (p.  68),  a  religious  hymn-poetry  with 
stanzas  of  four  eleven  syllable,  and  of  four  or  three  eight 
syllable  lines. 

In  other  words  Zoroaster's  ancestors  had  a  literary 
tradition,  and  very  probably  a  poetic  dialect  which 
would  tend  to  check  rapid  change. 

I  do  not  wish  to  exaggerate  this  argument,  or 
maintain  that  either  Vedic  or  the  Old  Iranian  poetry 
was  out  of  all  relation  to  the  ordinary  spoken  languages 
of  N.  W.  India  and  Iran,  but  I  do  claim  that  the  poetic 
dialect  could  remain  more  stable  than  the  folk  dialects, 
and  that  that  fact  has  to  be  considered  in  any 
calculation. 

I'have  reserved  to  the  last  the  parallel  of  the 
Romance  languages,  though  it  was  the  first  suggested 
by  Geldner.  Here  we  have  the  advantages  of  a  great 
abundance  of  dated  documents,  and  the  history  of  the 
countries  is  known  from  other  sources. 

I  have  endeavoured  to    check   the  statement   that 


ARGUMENT   FOR   THE    DATE   OF   RGVEDA  29 

the  Avesta  is  nearer  to  the  Veda  than  any  two 
Romance  languages  to  each  other.  I  will  not  enter 
into  details  here,  but  I  must  confess  myself  still  uncon- 
vinced of  its  accuracy. 

Brief  mention  may  be  made  of  an  experimental 
attempt  to  find  some  numerical  formula  to  express  the 
relationship  of  Spanish  and  Italian.  The  most  instruc- 
tive points  about  that  experiment  are  to  be  found,  I 
think,  in  the  difficulties  encountered. 

The  very  first  question  is,  on  how  much,  and  on 
what  sort  of  material  should  such  an  enquiry  be  based. 
The  texts  chosen  with  an  eye  to  the  Aryan  parallel 
were  the  Spanish  and  Italian  versions  of  the  Psalms. 
Here  are  two  documents  in  related  languages  derived 
in  historical  times  from  a  common  source.  Can  we 
correlate  their  relation  to  one  another  with  the  length 
of  time  since  they  diverged,  and,  in  particular,  estimate 
when  the  Romans  colonised  Spain  ? 

The  initial  difficulty  is  to  decide  what  sort  of 
difference  should  be  counted  in.  We  cannot  ignore 
mere  phonetic  changes,  for  some  of  these  affect  the 
development  of  the  grammar.  We  cannot  simply  count 
the  percentage  of  words  common  to  both  vocabularies, 
for  though  the  Spanish  version  uses  another  word, 
there  may  be  a  word  in  Spanish  which  exactly  cor- 
responds to  that  used  in  the  Italian  version.  To 
merely  compare  the  grammars  may   e  ate   the   im- 

portance of  more  unusual  words.  As  a  compromise 
(necessarily  arbitrary)  one  may  estimate  for  a  given 
text  the  percentages  of 

(a)  Words  common   to  the  two  versions  that  are 
identical  in  form  ; 

(b)  Nearly    identical     but     with    Blight    phonetic 
change  ; 


30  A.   C.   WOOLNER 

(c)  Equivalent  but  more  changed,  as  "  figlio " 
and  "  hijo." 

(d)  Different  words  which  can  be  replaced  by 
equivalents,  (i)  nearly  identical  or  (ii)  much 
changed  ; 

(e)  Different  words  that  cannot  be  so  replaced, 
as  "fratre  "  and   "  hertnauo." 

Suppose  now  that  we  have  estimated  the  percent- 
ages of  these  six  classes  of  words  in  our  text,  we  should 
have  a  rough  but  numerical  formula  expressing  the 
degree  of  resemblance  between  the  languages  of  the 
two  versions.  Now  how  is  such  a  result  to  be  correlated 
with  chronology?  We  shall  at  once  wish  to  know 
whether  the  changes  that  have  produced  these  differ- 
ences have  been  continuous  or  whether  they  have 
come  with  a  rush  at  certain  times.  Glancing  at  the 
history  of  Spanish  we  shall  want  to  know  whether-  the 
original  contact  with  the  Iberians  (in  the  2nd  century 
B.  C.)  has  influenced  the  language  as  much  as,  or  less 
than,  the  occupation  by  the  Visigoths  in  the  6th 
century  A.  D.,  or  the  contact  with  Arabic  from  the 
eighth  to  the  thirteenth  century.  These  questions 
can  only  be  alluded  to  here.  But  it  might  turn  out 
that  for  the  first  five  centuries  of  the  Roman  occupa- 
tion of  Spain  the  language  of  the  colonists  remained 
essentially  Latin  (not  all  literary,  but  for  colloquial 
purposes  the  average  Low  Latin  of  the  Roman  army) 
and  that  most  of  the  changes  came  after  that.  If  so, 
then  any  calculation  as  to  how  far  back  the  languages 
would  coincide,  based  on  the  assumption  of  a  definite 
cleavage  starting  from  the  first  invasion  of  Spain  by 
the  Romans,  would  be  five  centuries  wrong. 

Of  course  an  obvious  factor  tending  to  retard  the 
separate  development  of  a  Spanish  language  during  the 


ARGUMENT    FOR   THE    DATE   OF    RGVEDA  31 

first  seven  centuries  was  the  continued  contact  with 
Rome  and  Latin. 

Returning  now  to  our  special  problem.  The  same 
method  of  calculation  can  be  applied.  I  cannot  claim 
to  have  carried  this  far  enough  to  obtain  results  that 
are  worth  quoting.  I  am  not  prepared  to  prove  my 
suspicion  that  the  Avesta  would  show  a  wider  degree 
of  difference  from  the  Rgveda  than  Spanish  from 
Italian  ;  but  let  us  assume  that  the  difference  is  of  the 
same  order  of  magnitude. 

What  then  should  we  conclude  as  regards  chrono- 
logy ? 

The  upper  limit  for  these  Romance  translations  is 
about  1400  ;  later  versions  date  about  1550.  So  we 
may  equate  about  1500  A.  D.  with  about  500  B.  C.  for 
the  Avesta. 

Going  back  eight  centuries  we  get  to  1300  B.C., 
the  supposed  upper  limit  of  the  separation  of  the  two 
branches  of  the  Aryans,  and  to  700  A.  D.  for  Roman 
colonization  of  Spain, — which  is  manifestly  absurd — 
about  nine  centuries  out ! 

On  the  other  hand  if  we  apply  the  parallel  of 
about  seventeen  centuries  from  the  Romance  to  the 
Aryan  languages,  we  get  to  about  B.  C.  2200. 

To  avoid  this  result  it  would  be  necessary  either 
to  show  that  the  difference  between  Avestan  and  Vedic 
was  much  less  than  between  Castilian  and  Italian  about 
1500,  (which  I  think  is  not  the  case),  or  else  to  argue 
thai  the  circumstances  were  different  and  that  the 
Indo-Iranian  languages  must  have  diverged  more 
rapidly. 

This  latter  course  would  mean  that  the  argument 
was  not  purely  philological,  but  was  combined  with 
certain    assumptions,     which     may     or     may     not  be 


32  A.   C.   WOOLNER 

justified,  as  to  the  previous  history  of  the  Aryans.  We 
have  been  in  the  way  of  assuming  that  once  upon  a 
time  the  Indo-Iranians  split  up  into  two  divisions  of 
which  one  forthwith  became  Iranian  and  the  other 
Indian  ;  after  which  they  lost  contact  with  each  other, 
and  each  developed  separately  after  its  own  kind. 

Perhaps  it  was  so.  But  in  the  absence  of  evidence, 
there  remains  the  possibility  that  the  separation  was 
more  gradual,  and  that  contact  was  not  broken 
the  moment  that  the  dialects  began  to  diverge  in  the 
West  and  East.  Even  when  contact  was  broken,  the 
common  inheritance  of  religious  hymn-poetry  would 
probably  remain  the  most  stable  element  in  the 
languages  on  either  side.  Such  a  parallel  development 
of  a  conservative  literary  tradition  does  not  seem  im- 
possible. (We  only  know  the  Avestan  language  after 
Zoroaster's  revolution).  In  any  case  philology  cannot 
disprove  its  possibility. 

Now  I  will  sum  up  the  general  conclusions  of  my 
whole  argument  as  follows  : — 

i.     Any  attempt  to  fix  chronological  limits  on  the 
basis  of  comparing  languages  should  be   based 
on  a  more  exact  numerical  comparison  of  dated 
documents  than  has   been   attempted   hitherto. 
The  conditions   under  which   languages  change 
more    or    less    rapidly    must   be    investigated. 
This  opens  up  new  lines  of  investigation. 
If  it  be  objected  that  linguistic  change  cannot  be 
treated  statistically,     then  grave  doubt  must  attach  to 
any  numerical  estimates  based  on  general  impressions, 
ii.      Our    attempts    to    come  to    grips   with  this 
particular  argument  suggest  a  further  conclu- 
sion, which  may  be  regarded  as  heretical.     It 
is  that  while  history  known  from  other  sources 


ARGUMENT  FOR  THE  DATE  OF  RGVEDA     33 

can  be  traced  in  the  history  of  language,  it  is 
much  more  precarious   to  reconstruct  history 
on  a  basis  of  comparative  philology  alone. 
iii.     In  particular  it  seems  that  as  far  as  any  philolo- 
gical estimates  go,  2000  B.  C.  remains  quite  as 
possible  as  1200  B.  C.  for  the  earliest   Mantra. 
Possibly   more  exact  comparison  may  succeed 
in  establishing  the  probability  of  a  lower  date, 
but  I  contend  that  this  has  not  yet  been  done. 
Perhaps  it  may  be  asked — is  there   then   no  limit  ? 
Can  we  equally  well  go  back  to  3000  or  even  4000  B.C.? 
The  answer  to  this  is,  I  think,  that  no  direct   proof  has 
been    obtained   from  the   philological   data  taken   by 
themselves    without  any   assumption     as   to  historical 
conditions  and  the   nature   of   the   tradition.     On   the 
other  hand,  if  an  accurate  comparison  should  show  that 
these  remoter  dates  would    involve  a  degree  of  stability 
in  a  literary  language  twice  as   great   as   that   recorded 
anywhere  else  in  the  world,  philologists  may  reasonably 
demand  strong  confirmation  from  archaeology. 

And  if  again,  on  any  reasonable  assumption  as  to 
conditions,  the  remoter  dates  should  indicate  a  degree 
of  stability  in  folk-speech  ten  times  or  even  live  times  as 
great  as  anything  found  elsewhere,  the  philologist  will 
not  be  able  to  regard  such  a  date  as  even  faintly  probable. 
I  imagine  however  that  it  is  doubtful  whether 
anyone  would  now  propose  so  remote  a  date  as  4000 
B.  C.  for  the  actual  text  of  any  hymn,  or  for  the  Aryan 
settlements  in  the  Punjab.  The  highest  possible  date 
for  the  Vedic  deities,  and  of  many  elements  of  V 
culture,  not  to  speak  of  possible  reminiscences  of  older 
periods,  is  a  very  different  matter.  Some  of  the 
strands  in  the  web  are  admitted  to  be  Indo-Iranian  and 
some  may  even  belong  to  the  Indo-European  period. 

[F.  O.  C  II  6] 


GOTRA  AND  PRAVARA 


By  C.  V.  Vaidya 

I  was  led  to  study  this  subject  on  account  of  the 
question  whether  the  Rajputs  (Ksatriyas)  have  any 
gotra  of  their  own  ;  or  whether  it  is  a  fact,  as  stated 
by  VijnanesvaraJ  in  his  commentary  on  Yajnyavalkya's 
line  arom^S'Trw^  that  they  have  to  employ  the  gotras 
of  their  Purohitas,  having  no  gotras  of  their  own.  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  this  is  a  wrong  view 
and  a  later  view.  This  subject  apart,  I  may  state  here 
what  I  have  found  in  my  study  about  the  origin  and 
nature  of  gotras  and  pravaras. 

The  modern  orthodox  Hindu  idea  of  gotra  is  that 
it  is  the  name  of  the  Rsi  or  ancestor  in  whose  line  one 
is  born,  the  ancestor  being  a  son  or  descendant  of  one 
of  the  seven  great  Rsis  (the  Saptarsis)  and  the 
eighth  Agastya  ^TWRi  *lH<tfuiwi*canOTr«if  ^cq  ^fcrfqw^STtt  I 
Thus  it  is  believed  that  the  original  Indo-Aryan 
families  were  eight,  viz.  1  Visvamitra,  2  Jamadagni, 
3  Bharadvaja,  4  Gautama,  5  Atri,  6  Vasistha,  7  Kasyapa, 
and  8  Agastya.  But  a  very  curious  but  important 
sloka  in  the  Mahdbhdrata  states  that  originally  the 
gotras  were  four  only,  viz.  1  Bhrgu,  2  Vasistha, 
3  Kasyapa,  and  4  Angiras.  This  and  the  next  sloka 
are  as  follows  : — Jj^ifi^rrfo   ^^\f<.  sgcisrrfjf    *rrc<r   i     arflftT: 

^WT^nnft  aw  <rrfa^  sr^r  *tcti^  ii  ( ^rrf^crq^r,  3?«n^  ^$  ) 
This  means  historically  that  there  were  originally  four 
great  stocks  of  Aryan  families  and  that  subsequently 
they  were  counted  as  eight.  Looking  into  the  later 
eight  names  and  the  ancient  four,  we  find  that  Kasyapa 


GOTRA  AND  PRAVARA  35 

and  Vaslstha  remain,  but  Bhrgu  is  substituted  by  his 
son  Jamadagni,  Angiras  is  substituted  by  his  two  sons 
or  grandsons  Bharadvaja  and  Gautama,  and  three  are 
entire  new  additions,  viz.  Visvamitra,  Atri,  and  Agastya. 
Possibly  these  were  newly-arrived  Aryan  families,  but 
that  they  must  have  come  in  Vedic  times  is  clear,  for 
all  these  three  are  well-known  Vedic  ttsis  or  com- 
posers of  Vedic  hymns. 

It  is  really  strange  to  see  that  the  Mahdbhdrata  of 
300  B.  C.  still  retains  the  tradition  that  the  original  Aryan 
families  were  four,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  all  the  Srauta 
Sutras  give  the  original  family  Rsis  as  eight.  The  line 
^fts^nf^r  iftenfa  sg^reTft  qrf*N  is  rather  difficult  of  expla- 
nation.    The  commentator  Nilakantha  says  "  %4d)!^ift 

^:  ^stf^  g^M  »TT5rTfa"  We  have  the  Pauranika  story 
here  that  Visvamitra  became  a  Brahmin  by  his  acts. 
But  we  know  nothing  about  Atri  and  Agastya  is  said  to 
be  a  son  of  Mitravaruna,  i.  e.  in  a  sense  a  brother  of 
Vasistha.  But  this  is  a  later  legend  ;  as  also  the  legend 
that  Visvamitra  was  a  king  of  the  Lunar  line  born  from 
a  scion  sprung  from  Atri.  This  descent  of  Visvamitra 
is  a  palpably  concocted  later  theory.  The  line  of 
Visvamitra  is  a  dubious  line,  which  claims  to  be  some- 
times Solar  and  at  other  times  Lunar.  I  believe  that 
there  were  more  lines  than  two  among  the  Ksatriyas 
and  Visvamitra's  line  was  entirely  distinct  from  the 
Solar  and  the  Lunar  lines.  Whatever  this  may  be,  we 
may  be  sure  that  there  were  originally  four  great  Aryan 
families  which  came  into  India  and  that  three  other 
families  came  in  subsequently;  the  old  Angiras  being 
sub-divided  into  two.  This  gives  us  eight  families  or 
gotra-stocks.  But  the  modern  gQtras  are  innumerable  ; 
in    fact    Baudhayana    says  they    can    be    counted   by 


36  C.   V.   VAIDYA 

thousands  (  ifftTwi  =*  x&ufii  ^dMJ^ift  ^  i  )  How  is  this  to 
be  explained  ?  Here  comes  in  the  Sutra  of  Panini  ( *fft 
fersrowTc^ )  explaining  the  generally  used  word  gotra 
or  gota  as  it  is  used  in  modern  Indian  languages. 
Gotra  in  this  sense  means  the  descendants  from  the 
grandson  onwards  of  any  well-known  man.  In  the 
families  of  the  eight  Rsis  were  born  many  men  of  note 
who  by  their  great  renown  gave  their  names  to  then- 
descendants.  This  sort  of  thing  is  still  to  be  seen 
among  Rajputs,  which  gives  rise  to  clans  named  after 
famous  ancestors  such  as  the  Chandavats  from  Chand 
and  so  on.  I  suppose  the  next  line  "  srwwfa  <ttot  "*  of 
the  Mahdbhdrata  sloka  may  be  interpreted  in  this  way, 
though  it  is  rather  enigmatic.  New  names  arise  owing 
to  austerity  or  renown  and  thus  the  number  of  gotras 
or  gots  goes  on  increasing. 

The  connection  between  gotra  and  marriage- 
restriction  easily  arises,  when  consanguinous  marriages 
come  to  be  prohibited  in  each  nation.  The  Indo- 
Aryan  notion  about  consanguinity  became  very  fine  in 
very  ancient  times  and  the  knowledge  of  each  person 
that  he  was  born  in  a  particular  family,  insisted  upon 
in  the  performance  of  sacrificial  rites,  was  useful  for 
this.  Persons  born  in  the  same  family  or  gotra  of 
course  could  not  marry ;  but  this  prohibition  soon 
went  further  as  the  Aryans  of  India  always  remembered 
that  they  were  born  of  one  or  other  of  the  great  eight 
Vedic  Rsis.  Here  was  evolved  the  law  of  pravara- 
prohibition  which  was  also  based  on  certain  restrictions 
or  necessities  of  sacrificial  rites. 

Now  what  is  pravara  ?  The  study  of  various  Srauta 
Sutras  in  this  connection  has  led  me  to  formulate  what 
is  pravara  and  to  trace  the  history  of  the  descent  of 
certain   Aryan  families.     It  has  even    suggested   to   me 


GOTRA  AND   PRAVARA  37 

that  the  priority  of  the  different  Srauta  Sutras  may 
be  determined  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  pravara-law 
enunciated  by  them  gradually  became  rigid. 

The  theory  of  pravara  according  to  all  Srauta-Sutra 
writers  is  the  same.  It  is  based  on  the  requirements  of 
sacrifice.  The  Yajamana  or  sacrifice-holder  must  choose 
the  Hota  and  the  Adhvaryu  of  the  same  pravara  as  him- 
self, and  invoke  fire  in  the  name  of  the  same  ancestors. 
Thus  Xpastamba  who  appears  to  be  the  eldest  Sutrakara, 
says  first  in  his  Pravaradhyaya  arrcfaf  «pfi^.  The  word  anfo 
is  difficult  to  interprete  but  I  think  Pundit  C.  Gulleri  of 
Ajmer  was  correct  when  he  told  me  that  he  looked 
upon  an'fa  as  an  adjective  qualifying  art's  understood. 

That  means  that  the  sacrificer  calls  upon  the  fire 
by  the  name  of  his  Rsi.  The  commentator  suggests 
two  meanings,  the  second  being  the   one  given   above. 

It  seems  that  in  the  Rgvedic  times  fires  were 
known  by  the  name  of  certain  Rsis  and  kings,  for  even 
the  Rgvedic  hymns  mention  3TRq,  si^fo,  and  other  fires. 
The  significance  of  this  I  shall  discuss  at  another  time. 
The  Sfinkliyayana  Srauta-Sutra  cites  the  Rk  am^iw  *rt% 
msm  *rrc<T  in  this  connection  and  in  this  way  looks 
upon  Agni  as  a  Brahmin,  a  Bharata  (Indo-Aryan)  and 
a  Rsi.  The  sacrificer  therefore  praises  fire  as  hi> 
own  ancestor  and  prays  him  to  look  upon  him  the 
descendant  as  the  ancestor  himself.  The  pravaras  are 
to  contain  all  the  Rsis  in  one's  ancestry,  i.  e.  those  who 
are  the  composers  of  Rgvedic  hymns.  Xpastamba 
gives  the  further  sutra  ♦*,  fft?r  ip#  ftfi^  i*rf<frFTOfr 
fft^fr  f^q% — 'He  praises  three  Ksis,  those  who  com- 
posed mantras  '.  The  word  *^*di  is  very  important. 
The    Sutrakara  does  not  yet   look   upon    the   mantras 


38  C.    V.    VAIDYA 

as  eternal  and  Not-Made.  The  pravara  Rsis 
are  therefore  those  Rsis  in  one's  ancestry  who 
composed  Vedic  hymns.  There  may  be  many  and 
there  may  be  only  one  or  two.  The  next  rule  given  is 
therefore  or^wMfr  f°frar  if  ffft  sffa;  ftfft  jt  =srg*t  ffflr  * 
Ts^rrfcT  ffi%  %ffi  fairrcd"  11  c  u  This  means  that  the 
sacrificer  should  call  upon  one,  two,  three,  never  four 
nor  more  than  five  Rsis.  The  reason  of  this  is  not 
given.  Possibly  it  may  be  that  sacrificial  fires  were 
one,  two,  three,  never  four  nor  more  than  five(wrw 
^  ^  £pwt^%3T:  ).  Hence  the  pravara  Rsis  are  one,  two, 
three  or  five.  The  method  of  reciting  the  Rsis  is  differ- 
ent for  the  Hota  and  for  the  Adhvaryu  according  to  all 
Sutrakaras. 

The  Adhvaryu  goes  backwards  from  the  descendant 
to  the  ancestor,  while  the  Hota  recites  forward  from  the 
ancestor  to  the  descendant  e.  g.  ^Trfo^p^rsreHt^ m^a-^ifcl 
fftn  sw^Tsre^^^TT5^^^?^^^:  i  The  formula  for  the 
latter  adds  invariably  the  suffix  ^  which  means  proba- 
bly, as  stated  above,  that  the  fire  is  requested  to  look 
upon  the  sacrificer  like  *m^ft  who  praised  him  in  Vedic 
times  or  like  his  father  3^  or  his  grand-father  stst^tr  or 
his  great  grand-father  '^^FR  or  his  father  £3.  This 
direction  makes  it  certain  that  the  Rsis  recited  in  Pra- 
varoccara  are  related  as  ancestors  or  descendants,  and 
we  know  thus  even  the  order  of  descent.  These  facts 
are  very  interesting  as  showing  that  the  In  do-Aryans 
have  kept  up  the  memory  of  their  descent  from  Vedic 
Rsis  through  all  these  thousands  of  years,  at  least 
through  three  thousand  years,  the  probable  date  of  the 
composition  of  some  of  these  Sutras.  I  have  tried 
to  ascertain  whether  as  a  matter  of  fact  the  Rsis 
mentioned  in  the  pravaras  have  really  left  hymns  com- 
posed by  them  in  the  Rgveda.     So  far  as  it  was  possible 


GOTRA   AND   PRAVARA  39 

to  ascertain,  the  fact  is  correct.  I  am  however  looking 
over  the  ^•I'Wft  to  examine  this  question  most  care- 
fully. But  I  have  at  this  stage  no  doubt  that  the 
pravaras  do  contain  the  names  of  ntantrakrt  JJtsis  in 
the  ancestry  of  Indo-Aryans. 

If  we  scan  the  list  of  pravaras  in  detail  we  shall  be 
able  to  deduce  some  further  interesting  historical  facts. 
First  the  word  Rsi  means  a  Rsi  mentioned  in  pravara 
which  again  means  that  he  is  the  composer  of  a  Vedic 
hymn.  In  later  Sanskrit  the  word  Rsi  is  often  loosely 
used.  In  the  Dharma  Sastra  however,  Rsi  means 
pravara-Rsi  and  Xrseya  or  Xrsa  means  pravara  itself, 
see  the  line  arcWFrmfrsn^  of  Yajnyavalkya.  Secondly 
of  these  Rsis  Bhrgu  was  the  foremost.  In  all  pra- 
varadhyayas  the  pravara  enumeration  begins  with 
Bhrgu.  Thus  Apastamba  says  ^pcrc^m  sjitwftw:  i  We 
can  thus  understand  the  line  q&foti  f'i^H.  in  the 
Bhagavadglta.  Sri  Krisna  identified  himself  with  Bhrgu 
among  Maharsis.  He  stands  first  in  the  list  of  Rsis,  as 
Margaslrsa  stands  first  in  the  list  of  months  and 
Kusumakara  of  seasons. 

Thirdly  the  reminiscence  in  the  Mahlbharata  that 
formerly  there  were  four  great  family-stocks  only,  Bhrgu 
and  Angiras,  Vasistha  and  Kasyapa,  is  still  traceable 
in  the  Sutras,  which,  though  they  describe  gotra-KV 
descendants  of  the  Saptarsis  and  Agastya,  still  begin 
with  the  Bhrgu  gana  (a  name  not  included  in  the 
Saptarsis).  The  Bhrgu  gana  and  the  Angiras  gaija 
are  the  most  important  ,and  these  arc  names  not  of 
Saptarsis  but  of  the  ancestors  of  some  of  them.  In  the 
pravara  of  these  two  ganas  are  found  names  of 
Ksatriya  kings  born  in  the  line  of  the  Sun  and  the 
Moon.  That  these  names  are  the  names  of  some  of 
the  Lunar  kings  given  in  the  Paficftla  and  Kuni  lines 


40  C.    V.   VAIDYA 

is  almost  certain,  for  the  names  of  fathers  and  grand- 
fathers and  even  great-grand-fathers  coincide.  Some 
kings  born  in  the  Solar  line  are  also  mentioned. 
What  does  this  mean  ?  Two  inferences  appear  to  be 
certainly  deducible.  First  that  this  pravara  system 
is  not  prescribed  for  Brahmins  only,  but  for  all  the 
three  Aryan  varnas,  Brahmins,  Ksatriyas  and  Vaisyas. 
At  any  rate,  as  I  will  show  further  on,  this  system  in  the 
Sutra  times  was  fully  in  vogue  among  Brahmins  and 
Ksatriyas  and  secondly  it  appears  clear  that 
certain  Ksatriyas  became  Brahmins  and  attached 
themselves  to  the  gotra  and  pravara  of  their  teachers  or 
Acaryas.  I  will  discuss  these  two  points  in  detail  and 
speak  of  the  latter  first. 

The  clearest  case  is  of  Devapi  elder  brother  of 
Santanu.  He  was  a  Ksatriya  but  gave  up  his  kingdom 
and  went  to  the  forest  for  Tapas.  He  is  called 
Xrstisena,  because  he  joined  that  family  of  Brahmins. 
This  family  is  in  the  Bhrgu  gana  and  is  clearly  a 
Brahmin  family,  the  pravara  being  *rw ^ H?nsi^ni^n^i%  i 
That  he  was  originally  a  Kuru  Ksatriya  is  also  clear 
and  well-known,  for  the    Brhaddevata    gives  his  history 

Similar  is  the  case  of  Garga.  He  was  a  son  of 
Bhumanyu  son  of  Vitatha,  son  of  Bharata,  son  of 
Dusyanta.  This  Garga  became  a  Brahmin  and  at- 
tached himself  to  the  Bharadvaja  family  of  Brahmins. 
Thus  the  Vdyu  Pur  ana  says  ^w^rft  jpMt  ftrft^r  ^^1 1 

The  pravara  given  of  the  Gargas  coincides  with 
this  Puranic  account.     Thus  Spastamba  ap-r   iFimt  ^TT^r: 

A  Malayan  a  gives  ™WRYto^7cW*5r^^#Fqfcr  1  3nfj^rfRT- 


GOTRA   AND   PRAVARA  41 

Exactly  similar  is  the  case  of  the  Kanvas.  Kanva 
was  born  in  the  Lunar  line  of  Puru.  His  son  was 
Medhatithi  and  from  him  were  born  the  Kanvas.  Thus 
Kanva  was  a  near  ancestor  of  Dusyanta  and  hence  is 
explained  how  Kanva  lived  in  the  forest  of 
Duysanta's  kingdom.  The  Puranic  account  is 
corroborated  by  the  pravara  of  Kanva.    Says  Xs*val§yana 

i.  e.  One  Kanva  is  in  the  line  of  Ajamidha  mentioned 
in  the  ffgveda.  In  these  cases  as  Mr.  Pargiter  has 
properly  inferred  in  JRAS  1918  on  the  Pancala 
Dynasty )  Ksatriyas  who  became  Brahmins  were 
incorporated  into  families  of  Brahmins  either  in  the 
Xcarya  gotra  or  by  adoption  and  were  not  allowed  to 
start  a  new  line  like  Vi^vSmitra. 

But  there  are  other  Ksatriyas  whose  names  are 
mentioned  in  the  pravara  lists  and  who  are  not  known 
to  have  become  Brahmins.  The  only  explanation 
of  this  is  that  the  pravara  lists  are  not  intended  for 
Brahmins  only  but  also  for  Ksatriyas  and  Vai^yas 
even.  It  seems  that  Vaisyas  lost  touch  with  gotra  and 
pravara  even  in  Sutra  times.  But  that  the  Ksatriyas, 
like  the  Brahmins,  kept  their  gotra  and  pravara  memo- 
ries always  fresh,  is  certain  from  the  following  discussion 
quoted  by    Pravara-manjarl  from   Katyayana  3ffa  t  % 

sHHitfo  *ntfcT  i  '  Some  ^caryas  say  that  only  one 
pravara  should  be  recited,  viz.  Manu.  But  that  is 
not  correct  ;  for  it  is  ordained  that  pravara  should  not 
relate  to  gods  nor  to  men  but  to  Rsis  only.  There- 
fore that  opinion  should  be  held  applicable  to  others 
than  Brahmins   and  Ksatriyas. 

I  will  give  particular   instances  of  such  names   as 
[F.  O.  c.  I   6.] 


42  C.   V.   VAIDYA 

are  names  of  undoubted  Ksatriyas.  The  most  noted 
are  Mandhata,  Ambarisa,  Yuvanasva.  They  are 
mentioned   in   the   Angiras   group-      Says  Xpastamba 

iik^i^iMfiN^NHi%%  i  This  is  a  very  interesting  pravara, 
for  it  cuts  off  even  the  connection  with  Angiras.  The 
three  Rsis  or  rather  Rajarsis  are  in  the  ascending 
order  Yuvanasva,  Ambarisa  and  Mandhata.  These 
are  not  only  undoubted  Ksatriyas  but  are  also  com- 
posers of  Vedic  hymns  (9th  Mandala,  see  Sarvdnu- 
kramanl)  and  therefore  Rajarsis.  Now  the  Vdyu 
Purdna  refers  to  this  line  and  pravara,  when  it  says 
(chapter  88)  "  ?rengw^ww  TF^ffirr  ^  §<tt^  srg:  i  g^^R^f? 

913^  ^  %^H  I    ainONW  W  g^RTOtsq*:   &$$:  \  f Reft  f^T^I 

Here  we  have  the  same  line  as  given  by  the 
pravara,  viz.  Harita,  Yuvanasva,  Ambarisa  and  Mandhata. 
They  are  clearly  kings  of  the  Solar  line.  The  descendants 
of  Harita,  Vdyu  says,  became  Brahmins  endowed  with 
Ksatra  and  were  attached  to  the  Angiras  stock.  The 
optional  pravara  which  omits  Angiras  and  substitutes 
Mandhata  has  to  be  explained.  And  I  explain  it  on 
the  supposition  that  some  Haritas  remained  Ksatriyas 
and  recited  in  their  pravara  only  the  Rajarsis.  The 
difference  between  this  pravara  and  that  of  Garga  is 
that  Garga,  adopted  into  a  Brahmin  family,  recites 
Brahmarsis  only  in  his  pravara  ;  while  here  even  the 
Harita  Brahmins  stick  to  the  two  Rajarsis,  Ambarisa 
and  Yuvanasva. 

Similar  is  the  case  with  Maudgalyas  who  belong 
to  the  Pancala  Lunar  race.  The  pravara  given  by 
Xpastamba  is  as  follows  : — sw  gs^Ri  «n$r:  •  3Ti%**flTrRfe- 

Now  the  line  as  given  in  the  Puranas   is   Mudgala, 


GOTRA    AND   PRAVARA  43 

Bharmyagva  and  Rksa,  while   the    Vdyu   states   clearly 

g£c5WTfa  jftj^fT:  ^IW  f|*T?TC:  I  ^  WffrW:  #  S^ffiT:  V333CSI:  II 

But  here  again  we  have  to  consider  the  alternative 
pravara  which  omits  Angiras  and  substitutes  Tarkshya. 
To  my  mind,  some  descendants  of  Mudgala  remained 
Ksatriyas  and  did  not  go  into  the  Angiras  stock  ; 
and  they  recited  their  pravara  as  fiM*n«p*#i£^ftf  all 
the  three  names  being  names  of  Ksatriya  kings. 

The  third  mentionable  pravara  is  that  of  Visnuvrd- 
dhas.  Says  Xpastamba  ar*r  G«^£MWiiW<UM?H<*Ni^w%<!'  i 
Here  there  is  no  optional  change  and  the  Visnuvrddhas 
appear  to  have  all  become  Brahmins  from  Ksatriyas 
of  the  Solar  line.  The  Vdyu  says  fa^jf^:  gcrew  fawjfgr  *rt: 
SW:  i  ^  snfsw?:  5^7:  en^wr:  WJjf^i:  i  Visnuvrddha  is  in 
the  Vdyu  not  a  son  of  Trasadasyu  but  a  great-gre.it- 
grandson,  the  latter  being  a  son  of  Purukutsa.  As 
probably  the  intervening  kings  are  not  Rsis  or 
composers  of  Vedic  hymns,  they  are  not  mentioned 
in  the  pravara. 

In  the  Bhrgu  and  the  Angiras  stock  there  are 
enumerated  gotras  and  pravaras  which  are  5J5*rg  and 
&sjf>?ST  or  %*F>*r?j  and  %^fw*s  and  these  appear  to  me 
to  be  Ksatriya  lines.  They  may  be  mentioned  here. 
Thus  the  work  ifaswA"^  says  =^rc:  gsr+rr^reRn  f|  **T^nj:  i 

v$  ¥T5imt:  sh  SHT*rr  «ftcrm:  w.  ii Now  the  four  Suddha 

Bhrgus  are  (1)  t^TT:  ( iHV:  Hi^V^m^frT  ).  This  is  a 
purely  Ksatriya  line,  viz.  of  Prthu  and  Vena  who  are 
now  here  said  to  have  become  Brahmins.  (2 1  *iETOift*i£J: 
(  <tafo*i'Wwwftfcr ).  Now  Vadhryasva  and  Mitrayu  are 
names  of  kings  as  may  be  found  from  the  Puriupas. 
(3)  Ic^t^t:  g^rr:.  Now  Grtsamada  is  ;i  well-known  com- 
poser of  Vedic  hymns  in  the  second  Man<lal  i  The 
Sarrdnukriiiniuji  of  Katyay.ina  even  glVCB  his  story  in 
the  line  "t  anffw  *fa*i?n  H^1  mfa-  ^t*is»r«»  q**w  ffo(N 


44  C.    V.    VAIDYA 

jt^sjtt^  "  i.  e.  He  was  a  son  of  Suna-hotra,  probably 
a  king  of  the  Angiras  family  and  he  became  a  Brahmin, 
a  son  or  pupil  of  Sunaka  of  the  Bhargava  line.  The 
story  of  Grtsamada  is  given  in  the  Mahdbhdrata  Anu. 
P.  Ch.  18,  where  he  is  said  to  have  committed  a  mistake 
in  reciting  a  Rathantara  Sama  in  Indra's  sacrifice.  But 
I  do  not  know  whether  this  story  is  the  same  as  referred 
to  in  the  commentary  on  Sarvdnukramani .  In  Mbh. 
Anu.  Ch.  30  the  story  is  given  that  Vitahavya,  a 
Ksatriya,  became  a  Brahmin  by  the  word  simply  of 
Bhrgu,  His  son  was  Grtsamada  whose  son  was 
Suceta  :  his  son  was  Varcas  and  in  his  line  was  born 
Ruru  whose  son  was  Sunaka  whose  son  was  Saunaka 
the  reciter  of  Vedas  and  the  man  to  whom  Sauti  related 
the  Mahdbharata.  Sunaka  is  thus  Grtsamada's 
descendant ;  but  there  is  another  Sunaka  who  was  his 
ancestor.  The  same  names  some-times  recur  and  we 
have  to  be  careful  and  rind  out  the  father's  name  also. 
The  pravara  alternatively  given  by  Asvalayana  is 
vrfefR^rinrsm^ftT  which  proves  that  the  Saunakas  were 
descendants  of  Sunaka,  a    descendant  of  Grtsamada. 

It  may  be  stated  here  that  this  story  of  Vitahavya 
becoming  a  Brahmin  by  the  mere  word  of  Bhrgu  and 
the  other  stories  of  Ksatriyas  becoming  Brahmins, 
coupled  with  the  pravaras  themselves,  show  that  in  the 
Kgvedic  times  Brahmins  and  Ksatriyas  were  not  rigid 
castes  but  merely  classes.  It  also  appears  to  me  that 
Brahmins  also  often  became  Ksatriyas,  as  the  story  of 
Bharadvaja,  a  Brahmin,  becoming  the  son  of  Bharata, 
son  of  Dusyanta  proves.  The  pravaras  consequently 
appear  to  me  to  belong  to  Brahmins  and  Ksatriyas 
indiscriminately. 

(4)  Vitahavya  is  himself  a  Ksi  and  is  mentioned 
in    the    pravara    of    ^w^^tfr^r^rf^feflT^MsrrafT^- 


GOTRA  AND  PRAVARA  45 

%WfaVi*c*iHM  gotras,  viz.  *TTfctftfl^rcTTt<raf<T  ( XsValftyana). 
Apparently  Grtsamada,  his  first  son,  went  into  another 
gotra,  viz.  that  of  Sunaka.  And  Vitahavya  and 
Sunahotra  may  be  the  same  or  father  and  son. 

I  need  not  go  into  the  other  pravaras.  Although 
gotras  are  thousands,  innumerable  so  to  say,  Baudha- 
yana  counts  the  pravaras  as  49  only  (  3*nNr3P?t*t  u*tt: 
<ffaftfifar:  )  They  are  divided  as  follows: — Suddha 
Bhrgus  4,  other  Bhrgus  3,  Suddha  Angirasas  7, 
through  Bharadvaja  3,  Gautamangirasas  7,  Atris  3, 
Visvamitras  10,  Kasyapas  4,  Vasisthas  4,  Agastyas  4, 
in  all  49. 

Lastly  I  have  to  turn  to  the  Sutra  3?rf^crsmr  *t*th... 
and  others  and  to  the  Sutra  that  Ksatriyas  if  they  wish 
should  recite  the  pravara  *n*l55<fts*^rfcr.  The  Vaiiyas 
are  again  to  recite  their  pravara  as  Vatsapri  son  of 
Bhalandana,  who  has  no  doubt  composed  a  Rgvedic 
hymn.  I  surmise  that  these  Sutras  were  necessitated 
by  the  fact  that  even  about  the  time  of  the  Sutras, 
i.  e.  about  100  B.  C.  or  thereabout  the  Ksatriyas  and 
Vaisyas  had  begun  to  forget  their  gotras  and  pravaras 
and  hence  one  pravara  for  each  of  them  was  provided. 
But  this  clearly  contravenes  the  marriage-law,  wherein 
gotras  and  pravaras  are  always  to  be  consulted.  As  ill 
Vaisyas  and  all  Ksatriyas  would  be  of  one  pravara, 
this  prohibition  would  be  meaningless  for  Ksatriyas 
and  Vaisyas.  And  yet  the  Smrtis — notably  Y&jna- 
valkya-apply  it  to  them  ilso.  Are  they  then  to  regulate 
their  marriage  relations  by  the  pravaras  of  their 
Purohitas  ?  Have  they  no  gotras  of  their  own  ?  And 
yet  inscriptions  mention  the  oi   Ks.uny.i  kings. 


THE  MENTION  OF  THE  MAHXBHXRATA 
IN  THE    XSVALIYANA  GRHYA  SUTRA 


By  N.  B.  Utgikar 


[For  the  abbreviations  used, see  atthe  end  of this  paper,  p. 61.] 

It  is  well  known  to  students  of  Sanskrit  literature 
that  one  of  the  earliest  references  to  the  Mbh.  occurs  in 
the  AGS  III  4.  Indeed,  the  only  other  mention  of  that 
epic  in  any  other  work  belonging  to  the  ancient  period 
of  Indian  literary  history,  is  to  be  found  in  Panini, 
VI.  2.38.  All  other  early  references  to  the  poem  occur 
in  the  Mbh  itself  (Compare  P,  W.,  s.  v.  Mahabharata). 
It  is  the  former  of  these  two  early  references  which 
forms  the  subject  of  this  paper. 

2.  The  passage  itself  of  the  AGS  under  reference 
is  as  under  : — 

3PT  ^R:     ^Idf^MI     *n*W    *Tc3W^r    fa^TI^^T      3T*rHtsf^*KS,Ml 

(Page  15a  of  the  PothI  form  Nirnayasagar  Edn.  ;  p.  164 
of  the  Bibl.  Indi.  Edn.  ;  p.  29  of  Stenzlers'  Edn.; 
p.  127  of  the  Bombay  Edn.  of  1909.) 

3.  The  mention  of  such  an  important  work  as  the 
Mbh  occurring  in  an  early  work  of  the  post-vedic 
period  naturally  attracted  the  notice  of  modern 
Sanskritists  from  early  times.  Among  these,  Rudolph 
Roth  was  the  first  to  draw  attention  to  the  passage 
(Zur  Litteratur  des  Weda,  1846,  p.  27).  This  he  did, 
not  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Mbh.,  but  only  to 
draw  attention  to  the  mention  therein  contained  of  the 
traditional  Rsis  or  'Seers'  of  the  ten  Mandalas  of  the  RV 
who  are  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of  our  passage. 
Weber  followed  him  in  1852   in  his  History  of  Indian 


THE  MBH.  IN  ASVALXYANA  GRHYA  SUTRA   47 

Literature  (p.  56  of  the  Eng.  translation  in  the 
Trubner's  Ori.  Series  Edn.  of  1892),  and  in  1853  at 
p.  35  of  his  Catalogue  of  Sanskrit  MSS.  in  the  Berlin 
Imperial  Library.  Max  Muller  discussed  the  passage 
in  1859  in  his  History  of  Ancient  Sk.  Liter,  (p.  22  of 
the  Panini  Office  Reprint  of  1912),  and  R.  G.  Bhan- 
darkar,  in  1872,  in  the  JBBRAS.  Vol.  10  p.  81  ff. 
Later  historians  of  Sanskrit  literature  and  other 
scholars  have  taken  due  notice  of  the  fact  of 
Xsvalayana's  mentioning  the  Mbh  (Macdonell,  History 
p.  285  ;  Winternitz,  Geschichte  I  p.  400  and  402  ;  C.  V. 
Vaidya,  Mahdbharata :  a  criticism,  p.  6  ;  B.  G.  Tilak 
Gitdrahasya,  p.  520,  Holtzmann,  Das  Mahdbharata  IV 
p.  27/,  Dahlmann,  Das  Mahdbharata  also  Epos  etc. 
p.  152/f ;  and  Hopkins,  Great  Epic  of  India  p.  389/;  cf. 
also  Oldenberg,  Imiischc  Studicn  Vol.  XV,  p  153,  with 
reference  to  the  corresponding  passages  of  the  Sankh- 
ayana  and  Sambavya  Sutras.) 

4.  For  the  history  of  the  text  of  the  Mbh,  such  a 
piece  of  testimony,  pointing,  as  it  would  have  done,  to 
the  existence  of  the  Bhdrata  and  the  Mahdbharata  for 
the  time  of  Xsvalayana,  would  have  been  highly 
valuable,  were  the  authenticity  of  the  text  of  Xsvalayana 
unchallenged,  and  his  date  approximately  fixed.  But 
as  is  unfortunately  the  case  with  almost  all  other 
problems  of  Indian  literature  and  chronology,  the 
authenticity  of  our  passage  has  been  impugned  on 
textual,  comparative  and  interpretational  grounds,  and 
in  general,  its  value  sought  to  be  belittled.  Leaving 
aside,  for  the  present,  the  question  of  the  date  of  the 
Asvaldyana  Grhyastltra,  it  is  proposed  to  examine 
here  some  of  the  objections  raised  against  our  present 
passage. 

5.  Among    the    scholars    referred  to   in    para  3 


48  N.  B.  UTGIKAR 

above,  Weber,  Max  Muller,  Holtzmann  and  Hopkins 
express  doubts  concerning  the  authenticity  of  the 
words  Bharata  and  Mahabharata  occurring  in  the 
passage.  The  objections  that  can  be  raised  against  the 
passage  have  been  perhaps  best  summarised  by  Hopkins 
(1.  c.  p.  389^).     They  are:— 

(a)  The   Grhya   Sutras   belong  to   the  close  of  the 

Sutra  period. 
{b)  The  words  Bharata  and  Mbh  are  a  substitute  for 

Itihasa  and  Purana  mentioned  earlier  in  the 

same  Sutra. 

( c)  Some  of  the  latest  Sutras    mention    Itihasa  and 

Puranas,  only  the  JIGS  mentioning  Bharata 
and  Mbh.  The  AGS  may  therefore  be  justly 
regarded  as  one  of  the  latest  Sutras. 

(d)  The    £dnkhayana   Grhya     does    not    mention 

Bharata  and  Mbh. 

(e)     Therefore  they  are  interpolated  in    the    AGS. 

if)     In    some   texts   (i.  e.    MSS)  of  1GS  only  the 

Bharata  is  mentioned  ;  therefore  just  as  the 

Mbh  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  inserted 

later,  so    we   may   hold   that    Bharata  itself 

might  be   an    insertion    in   the  AGS.     This 

view   gains  support  from  a    comparison    of 

the  text  of  SGS  (cf.  d  above.) 

(g)  The    £ambavya    Grhya    Sutra    mentions   only 

Mahabharata,    with     no     mention    of     the 

Bharata. 

These  variations  in  the  mention  of  the  Bharata  and 

the  Mbh,   show  according  to  Hopkins'   reasoning   what 

the  history  of   the    mention    of  the  Mbh  might   be:    it 

might   have    grown  from  : — (1)    No    mention  of  either 

the  Bharata  or  Mbh  in  $GS  and  other  Grhya  Sutras  to 

(2)  Mention  of   the  Bharata  only  in  some  MSS  of  JIGS, 


THE  MBH.  IN  ASVALAYANA  G^HYA  SUTRA     49 

developing  to  (3)  Mention  of  the  Bhftrata  and  Mahi- 
bharata  in  some  MSS  of  AGS,  leading  to  (4)  Mention  of 
Mbh.  only  in  Sdmbaya  Grhya  Sutra,  by  the  time  of  the 
composition  of  which,  all  tradition  about  a  (smaller) 
Bh'lrata  was  obliterated,  only  the  current  bigger 
Mahdbhdrata  being  universally  in  the  mouth  of  all. 

6.  As  regards  the  textual  question,  it  comes  in 
thus.  Max  Muller  states  in  his  HASL  ( as  quoted 
above)  that  one  of  the  MSS  of  AGS  belonging  to  the 
Library   of  the  East  India  House,  which    he    consulted 

gave  the  reading  of  the  passage   as    ^<<m»tf-«n1: 

instead  of  *tr<t  WfTC^WH!^ :,  the  *r  in  the  former 
being  a  mistake  for  *rr.  This  reading  gives  rise  to  the 
supposition  that  one  line  of  the  traditional  text  of  the 
AGS  refers  itself  to  a  period  when  only  the  wis  was 
known  :  in  other  words  to  a  period  when  the  Mbh 
was  yet  to  be.  This  is  the  interpretation  put  on  this 
particular  passage  by  Hopkins  (  1.  c.  p.  390  )  when  he 
says  "  some  texts  make  even  the  Aivaldyana  Sutra  omit 
Mbh.  altogether,  reading  Bharatadharmacary&h"  (Com- 
pare  5/  above). 

7.  One  of  the  other  main  grounds  on  which  the 
authenticity  of  the  AGS  passage  is  doubted,  I  have 
ventured  to  call  interpretational.  Xsv.,  as  is  well 
known  is  a  Sutra  Carana  of  the  RV  and  from  a 
comparison  of  this  passage  with  the  corresponding 
one  in  the  Grhya  Sutra  of  Sankhayana,  another  Sutra 
Carana  of  the  same  Veda,  it  is  concluded  by  Weber 
(History,  p.  56/,  Holtzmann,  1.  c.  p.  27,  and  Hopkins 
1.  c.  p.  390)  that  as  the  &GS  does  not  contain  the 
two  words,  their  presence  in  the  AGS  is  an  interpol- 
ation, pointing  to  a  later  date  of  Xsv.  than  Sankhayana. 
The  corresponding  passage  in  the  &GS  runs  thus  : — 
(  after     ajs^n      JTft^fT:    )    f»r§  ■      IfliPrtiiwiHMVwn*!!** 

[F.  O.  C  I.  7  ] 


50  N.  B.  UTGIKAR 

nN^^i^r^H^i"^!:  '•iMiTqi-qRj'fr ^rs 

%    =*t^    3tt^rN^  ^  ^Fg   (  Oldenberg's   Text,  in 

Indische  studien  Vol.  XV,  p.  92). 

8.  Max  Muller's  transcription  of  the  passage  of  the 
MS  of  fiGS  (this  MS  being  the  same  as  described  by 
Eggeling  in  the  catalogue  of  the  Sanskrit  MSS  of  the 
India  Office  Library,  Vol.  I,  p.  41  under  No.  253)  and 
the  conclusions  drawn  therefrom,  led  me  to  examine 
all  the  MSS  of  the  IGS  in  the  Government  MSS 
Library  at  the  Bhandarkar  Institute,  and  it  is  found 
that  while  three  MSS  viz.  No.  9  of  A1879-80,  No  75  of 
A  1881-82  and  No.  68  of  1884-87  support  the  reading 
HKd*f%T»TR?T,  there  is  only  one  MS,  viz.  No.  8  of  Vi&  I 
which  gives  the  reading  of  *n*?r  only  (with  no  mention 
of  «nT^R^.)  Further  there  are  a  number  of  good  many 
other  MSS  of  fiGS  described  in  reliable  descriptive 
catalogues,  viz.  Weber's  Berlin,  Eggeling's  India  Office, 
Aufrecht's  Bodlean  and  the  Madras  Library  Catalogues. 
None  of  these  catalogues  note  any  variant.  Three  of  the 
other  MSS  of  IGS  belonging  to  the  India  Office,  were, 
before  Eggeling,  referred  to  by  Roth  too  (1.  c.  p.  VIII).  It 
would  thus  appear  that  only  two  of  the  MSS  examined 
read  *tt**t  (only),  many  of   the  others  reading  ^TRcnrfPTRcr. 

9.  But— and  this  is  the  point  to  be  emphasised, 
but — one  is  not  convinced  that  one  has  here  to  deal 
with  two  distinct  lines  of  traditions  in  the  text  of  the 
ZGS — and  that  an  examination  of  the  MSS  of  the  Sutra 
reveals  a  particular  period  in  the  history  of  the  Mbh. 
viz.  that  one  when  Asvalayana  knew  only  the  Bharata. 
The  discrepancy  in  the  reading  of  this  particular 
passage  in  the  MSS  of  the  XGS,  is,  I  venture  to  submit, 
amply  covered  and  can  indeed  be  satisfactorily 
explained,  by  what  students  of  textual  criticism  call 
*  Homosographa '   or     Haplography    (  see    Article     on 


THE  MBH.  IN  A6VALAYANA  GflLHYA  SUTRA      51 

Textual  Criticism  by  Postdate  in  the  Encycl.  Brit 
11th  edition,  Vol.  26,  Compare  also,  F.  W.  Hall, 
Companion  to  Classical  Texts,  p.  189  (with  examples) 
who  calls  this  sort  of  mistake  "  Haplography  ").  This 
is  simply  and  primarily  a  mistake  of  the  eye,  arising 
when  similar  letters  or  groups  of  letters  stand  next  to 
each  other,  and  it  results  in  the  loss  of  one  of  the 
similar  group  of  letters.  We  can  imagine  easily,  how, 
after  the  copyist  had  written  the  words  §<M#\  *TR<T  his  eye 
might  have  unwittingly  wandered  on  to  the  *?TCcr  of  the 
next  word,  jtstwcT,  and  thus  the  whole  group  t*wt**t 
come  to  be  omitted. 

10.  Further  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  reading 
given  by  Max  Muller  (  *RrTW«)  there  would  seem  to  be 
an  additional  reason  for  believing  that  in  the  transcrip- 
tion of  this  particular  passage,  the  copyist  had  not  had 
his  wits  about  him,  since  he  wrote  M<d*i*ji*  instead  of 
*Trc<T*nrHTPTt:.  The  former  expression,  as  it  stands,  has 
no  meaning.  A  further  plausible  reason  for  confusing 
the  eye  (and  therefore  the  mind)  of  the  scribe  in  this 
particular  part  of  the  text  is  also  the  presence  of  three 
*TTs  quite  close  to  each  other.  In  one  of  the  Poona  MSS, 
viz.  No.  68  of  1884-87  the  "  w  "  oi  *w  has  been  added 
by  the  copyist  in  the  margin. 

11.  It  is  not  therefore  too  bold  a  conjecture  to 
make  that  the  omission  of  the  word  Mbh  in  certain 
texts  of  the  AGS  is  simply  due  to  the  copyist's  error, 
and  that  we  are  not  justified  in  holding  that  the  text 
reveals  to  us  two  distinct  lines  of  deviation,  in  one  of 
which  the  word  Mbh  was  interpolated  subsequently. 
To  put  the  same  statement  in  other  words  ;  the 
tradition  of  a  Bhdrata  as  al  a  Mai:  .fa  may 
reasonably  be  presumed  1    K*  known   to  the  autl 

the  AGS  from  the  beginning. 


52  N.  B.  UTGIKAR 

12.  A  second  objection  against  the  trustworthiness 
of  our  present  passage  is  that  "  here  the  words  Bharata 
and  Mbh  occur  in  a  list  of  authors  and  works  as 
substitutes  for  the  earlier  mention  of  Itihasa  and  Purana 

in  the  same  place But  when  the  words  do  actually 

occur,  they  are  plainly  additions  to  the  earlier  list" 
(Hopkins  op.  cit.  p.  389).  In  the  first  place,  it  is  to  be 
observed  that  the  second  list  in  Xsva.  is  not  of  "authors 
and  works  "  but  of  "  authors  "  only,  a  fact  to  be  referred 
to  again  below.  It  is  now  true  that  in  the  earlier 
section  beginning  with  zw  WJraTtoN'  (III.  3)  Xsv. 
mentions  TT^TMRreftft:  and  ffcrfWg^Twnfc.  It  is  also  true 
that  these  two  kinds  of  literature  form  the  material  from 
which  the  epic  arose  ;  but  the  distinction  lies  in  this 
that  the  earlier  list  is  of  works  only-of  Svadhyaya-and 
the  second  of  authors  or  Rsis  and  iVcaryas.  More 
important  than  this  is  however  the  fact  that  the  earlier 
list,  and  indeed  the  whole  passage  treating  of  the  M^^iis 
is  mainly  a  summarised  copy  of  Satap.  Br.  XI.  5.  6., 
a  fact  noted  by  Oldenberg  in  his  translation  of  AGS 
(  SBE,  Vol.    XXIX,   p.   218  ).     We    might     compare, 

^isr  ^fcJTJrr  *nrrft:  y^ri^r:  sptt^  :    &c.   of  Satap.  Br.  with 

q?^Stfr^T  <TO3TTffafVRq  ^RnwNclT  of    1GS. 

After  enumerating  the  traditional  list  of  ancient 
works  as  was  known  and  preserved  in  his  times,  our 
author  may  reasonably  be  supposed  to  have  begun 
afresh  a  list  of  Ksis  and  Acaryas  after  the  Devatas. 
These  are  not  mentioned  in  the  earlier  list.  That  the 
first  passage  of  AGS  very  much  resembles  in  substance 
that  of  the  Satap.  Br.  is  simply  a  proof  of  how  the 
later  literature  rests  ultimately  on,  and  naturally  grows 
out  of,  the  older  materials  and  how  it   cannot  simply  be 


THE  MBH.  IN  ASVALXYANA  G$HYA  SUTRA   53 

called  a  growth  due  to  some  extraneous  causes.  It  is 
no  objection  against  the  genuineness  of  the  AGS 
mentioning  the  Bharata  and  the  Matidbhdrata  at  the 
place  where  it  does,  to  urge  that  the  section  of  the 
Satap.  Br.  to  which  it  corresponds  is  itself  a  later 
addition  to  that  Brahmana  (cf.  Weber,  History,  p.  121/), 
since  the  completion  of  the  Brahmana  as  a  whole  must 
be  presumed  to  have  preceded  the  AGS. 

13.  Most  of  the  scholars  have  regarded  the  AGS 
passage  under  discussion  as  a  later  interpolation.  No 
cogent  reasons  are  however  adduced.  Thus  Roth 
(op.  cit.  p.  27)  simply  calls  the  whole  of  the  passage  as 
1  probably  not  originally  belonging  to  this  Sutra ' 
without,  however,  giving  any  additional  reason. 
Perhaps  the  only  reason  that  can  be  conceived  is  a 
comparison  with  the  corresponding  passage  of 
Sarikhayana.  But  is  the  SGS  really  older  of  the  two  ? 
Is  the  maxim  that  shorter  texts  are  older  ones  universally 
correct?  Further,  there  are  at  least  two  arguments 
which  can  be  adduced  to  show  that  no  great  weight  can 
be  attached  to  the  absence  of  the  words  Bharata  and 
Mbh  in  the  SGS.  Oldenberg,  the  editor  and  translator  of 
that  Sutra  is  inclined  to  regard  chapters  IX  and  X  of  the 
fourth  Adh.  of  the  SGS  which  contains  the  passage  paral- 
lel to  the  AGS  one,  as  a  "supplementary  addition"  to 
chap.  VI  of  the  same  Sutra,  /'.  t\,  he  regards  the  ^rmfar  and 
the  ^cT^t  sections  of  the  SGS  as  not  having  originally 
belonged  to  that  Sutra  (SBE  Vol.  XXIX,  p,  UO/foot 
note).  If  these  passages  arc  therefore  to  be  regarded  as 
borrowed,  their  source   can  be  no  other  than  the  AGS. 

14.  And  secondly  the   way    in    which    the 
words   ^    and    *n^    are     mentioned     in  the   S(/S   is 
not  convincing:  the  mention  of  two  works   <  nly   in  the 
midst  of  a  number   of  i.Isis  and  Aearyas  preceding  and 


54  N.  B.  UTGIKAR. 

following  raises  a  strong  presumption  against  their 
originally  having  formed  part  of  the  text.  It  will  be 
understood  that  in  the  corresponding  passage  of  the 
-JIGS,  the  mention  is  all  of  individual  Xcaryas.  Thus 
Xsv.  begins  3T*r  ^PPT:,  and  after  ^i^t  flcf  he  begins 
a  new  passage  g^'^Wfl^NM^^^HijlHiwjHiw^^Niwvii^Hl: 
«imRhi$Ehii4  &c.  But  in  SGS  it  is  thus:  tH*^ft«fl&NH«tfl<!& 
(all  Xcaryas),  tipWi1^  (two  works),  ^«n*M*Ju3  etc.,  etc.  to 
|j5»iifl*M  (again,  all  Xcaryas). 

There  is  thus  wanting  in  the  SGS  any  supporting 
word  to  indicate  the  authors  (^Hi^is)  of  the  ^T  and  the 
*tt«?.  Xsv.  has  previously  mentioned  the  Rsis  of  fhe  ten 

Mandalas  of  the  RV  in  ^d^rt to  ^br^rt  ffiR^T  %fa, 

%$k£&\  Tir^RT  are  Rsis,  not  authors.  Compare  «jsVwi  HI. 
116  p.  34  of  Macdonell's  Edn  :— 

When  scholars  speak  of  "K&v.'s  mention  of  Bhdrata 
and  Mbh.  in  a  tist  of  authors  and  works,  it  is  probably 
due  to  the  fact  that  pps  and  ^i^'s  are  regarded  as 
works,  when  they  are  to  be  in  fact  regarded  as  Rsis, 
and  their  not  connecting  the  word  3jrxpft:  with  *^r,  W*i, 
?rnr<T,  ^MKd  and  *nt.  Each  class  of  work  has  necessarily 
to  be  taken  singly  with  3|Nh1:  . 

Oldenberg  (1.  c.  p.  220)  translates  the  passage  of 
the  AGS  thus:  "Sumantu,  Jaimini,  Vaisampayana,  Paila, 
the  Sutras,  the  Bhasyas,  the  Bhdrata,  the  Mahdbhdrata, 

the  teachers  of  law,  Janati  Bahavi  Gargya  etc.,  etc 

the    Sakala   (text),    the    Baskala   (text) Saunaka, 

Xsvalayan — and  whatever  other  teachers  there  are, 
may  they  all  satiate  themselves."  It  can  be  urged 
against  this  translation  that  the  Sutras,  the  Bhasyas,  the 
Bhdrata  and  the  Mahdbhdrata,  (and  further   down)   the 


THE  MBH.  IN  XSVALXYANA  G$HYA  SUTRA  55 

Sakala  text  and  the  Baskala  text   cannot  be  regarded  as 
teachers. 

15.  It  is  therefore  very  much  doubtful   whether 

the  words  ^     and  *n«r   in   the  SGS  did    really    form 

originally  an  integral  part  of  the  text,    or    whether   the 

two  words  might  not   have  crept    in    there   through   a 

more  or  less  acquaintance  with,  or  imperfect  borrowing 

from,    the    JlGS.       In     favour     of     this     supposition 

speaks  the  circumstance  that  the  mention  of  two  works 

in  the  midst  of  a  list  of   teachers   is   indeed   a   curious 

feature.     As  will  be  mentioned  just   below,   there   are 

some  special  reasons  which  would  satisfactorily  explain 

why  Xsv.      of   all    teachers    should     have   mentioned 

Bhdrata,  and  Mbh,  and   why  the  -SGS  and  other  texts 

might  not  have  mentioned  them,  even  granting  that  the 

former  work  did  originally  contain  the  suspected  section 

on  the  Tarpana  and  the    mention  therein    of   the   two 

other  classes  of  works,  viz.  the  Sutra  and  the  Bhasya. 
•  •  • 

16.  An  attempt  has  been  made  above  to  vindicate 
the  probability  that  the  tradition  of  the  existent 
both  a  Bhdrata  and  of  a  Mahabharata  was  current  in 
the  time  of  the  composition  of  the  AGS  and  that  it 
was  therein  embodied.  Unfortunately  the  date  of  the 
Sutra  cannot  be  fixed  even  approximately :  nay,  the 
likely  period  of  the  composition  of  the  class  of  works 
to  which  it  belongs,  is  also  a  matter  of  much  uncertain- 
ty. And  it  is  still  an  open  question  whether  the 
different  "  periods "  of  the  early  literature  are 
exclusive  or  whether  they  often  overlap  each  other.  Apart 
from  all  this  however,  there  are  sufficient  indications 
preserved  for  us  in  the  literary  tradition  of  India  which 
enable  us  to  understand  whv  the  Bhlrata  and  the  AfakA- 
bh'lrata  might  have  come  to  be  noticed  and  recorded 
by  Asvalayana.    This  latter  is  a  direct  pupil  of  daunaka, 


56  N.  B.  UTGIKAR 

and  Saunaka's  name  is  closely  associated  with  the  final 
redaction  of  the  Mbh.  itself.  This  point  is  of  much 
importance  and  may  well    deserve  our  consideration. 

17.  Sadgurusisya,  a  vedic  commentator,  belonging 
to  the  latter  half  of  the  12th  century  A.  D.  who  "lived  in 
the  middle  of  the  period  of  the  revival  of  Vedic  studies 
in  India,  almost  half  way  between  Kumarila  and 
Sayana  "  ( Macdonell,  in  the  preface  to  his  Edn.  of 
Katyayana's  Sarvdnukramani,  preface  p.  XIX)  throws  a 
flood  of  useful  and  interesting  light  on  these  relations  of 
preceptor  and  pupil  between  Saunaka  and  Xsvalayana, 
as  also  on  the  works  composed  by  them  two.  (  For 
the  passage  itself,  see  Max  Muller  History,  p.  120).  That 
Xsvalayana  was  a  pupil  of  Saunaka  can  also  be  seen  from 
the  way  in  which  XsV.  concludes  his  Sutra-JW  sffr^rc. 
Sadgurusisya  has  also  something  more  to  tell  us. 
Before  enumerating  the  works,  which  Saunaka  com- 
posed "  for  the  preservation  of  the  Veda  "  (vedaguptaye), 
he  informs  us  how  Uerasravas  narrated  the  Mbh. 
Akhyana  to  the  great  sage  Saunaka  during  his  twelve- 
years  sacrifice.  As  is  well  known,  this  account  is  also 
mentioned  in  the  Mbh.  itself  (I.  1.  4  etc.).  The  same 
writer  further  tells  us  that  Saunaka  narrated  :to  King 
Satanlka,  the  son  of  Janamejaya,  the  f^^iTR.  Saunaka 
therefore  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  teacher  of  Xsvalayana, 
and  also  as  one  standing  in  close  relation  with  the 
third  Paurava  king  after  Pariksit,  the  son  of  Abhimanyu. 
(cf,  Pargiter,  Dynasties  of  the  Kali  Age  p.  4,  and  the 
Pauranic  authorities  quoted  there  regarding  Satanlka 
and  Saunaka ). 

18.  All  this  therefore  converges  to  substantiate 
our  contention  that  there  is  a  particular  propriety  in 
the  mention  of  the  Bhdrata  and  the  Mhh.  in  the 
Xsvalayana  Sutra.     The  writer  is   an   immediate  pupil 


THE  MBH.  IN  A&VALAYANA  G$HYA  SUTRA   57 

of  Saunaka ;  one  of  the  literary  activities  which 
Saunaka  therefore  might  be  reasonably  supposed  to 
have  countenanced,  finds  an  appropriate  mention  in 
the  writing  of   the  pupil    of   Saunaka. 

19.  We  have  now  to  consider  the  significance  of 
the  mention  of  both  the  Bharata  and  the  Mbh.  in  the 
AGS.  Here  we  have  unfortunately  to  rely  solely  on  the 
statement  of  the  Mbh.  itself  regarding  its  growth.  The 
two  main  statements  are  : — 

(I)  %i  3ra*r#  3  *&1+Mi  3**r^TT^  i 

(II)  ^gftsrftfll^il  ^%  HKdtff^dl^  I 

These  verses  make  it  clear  that  the  (smaller)  Bharata 
of  24,000  verses  grew  into  the  (greater)  Bharata  of  100000 
verses.  The  former  did  not  contain  the  ^i^his.  With 
the  addition  of  the  stt^trts  however,  it  reached  the 
dimension  of  one  hundred  thousand  verses .  (Mbh.  I.  1 
10lb.  to  103a  in  Bombay  edn.) 

20.     Are  we  however   justified  in   holding  that  the 

*nw  became  the  JTfnrrceT  before   XsvalSyana?  or  in  other 

words  that  the  ^mi^i^tts  were  added  before  Xsvalayana  ? 

I  think,   yes.     The   personage  who   recited   the  Maha- 

bharata  to  Saunaka,    is   Ugrasravas,   the   <?kn6fa   who  is 

also  5^cnt  i>ewr:.     Here   is   perhaps  offered  to  us  a  hint 

that  Ugrasravas  is   responsible  for   the   addition  of  the 

matter  over  and  above  the  24,000  verses — Bharata  of  old. 

This  matter  is  of  a  Pauramc  kind,  since    "  in  a  Purina 

are     forsooth     contained    divine   stories     and     initial 

geneologies  of  the  wise  "  5^  f|  $*n  $°m  arn^rra  *ii*i<iih 

(  Mbh.  1.  5.2).    We  might  also  compare  the  introduction 

to  I.    1.    and   conclude    that    it  was   the    most    diverse 

kinds   of   stories   that     imparted    the   **mrc<Te*  to   t; 

original  epic. 

•  •  • 

[F.  O.  C  II  8.] 


58  N.  B.  UTGIKAR 

21.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  additions  made 
to  the  Bhdrata  were  still  fresh  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  and  were  recognised  as  such  about  the  time  of 
Xsvalayana.  The  additions  soon  came  to  be  regarded 
as  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  work,  and  so  both  these 
circumstances  led  to  the  mention  of  the  Bhdrata  and 
the  Mbh.  in  the  fiGS.  Lastly  it  has  to  be  noted  that  the 
Mbh.  being  closely  connected  originally  with  the  name 
of  Saunaka,  it  may  not  have  been  deemed  necessary 
by  the  other  Sutra-writers  to  enumerate  it  in  the 
Hi^n  list  of  their  respective  Sutras.  In  this  respect 
it  is  to  be  observed  however,  that  the  Mbh.  is  usually 
regarded  as  being  developed  in  the  School  of  the 
Yajurvedins  (cf.  Hopkins  1.  c.  p.  368).  This  hypothesis 
requires  however  additional  evidence  before  it  can 
command  general  acceptance.  It  may  after  all  turn 
out  that  the  ascription  of  such  general  works  as  the 
Mbh  to  a  particular  school  may  be  unjustifiable.  The 
contents  of  such  works  would  seem  to  protest  against 
such  a  procedure.  There  is  nothing  particularly 
Rgvedic  or  Yajurvedic  about  the  Mbh.  which  may 
entitle  us  to  ascribe  it  more  to  either  of  the  Vedic 
schools  concerned.  The  probabilities  would,  if  any 
thing,  point  to  a  different  conclusion  than  the  one  quoted 
above.  But  this  is  not  what  at  present  we  are 
immediately  concerned  with. 

22.  Max  Muller  says  (HASL.  p.  119)  that  if  the 
Saunaka  who  is  the  preceptor  of  Asvalayana  and  the 
Saunaka  to  whom  the  Mbh.  was  recited,  be  one  and 
the  same  person,  then  "  a  most  important  link  would 
be  gained,  connecting  Saunaka  and  his  literary  activity 
with  another  period  of  Indian  literature.  But  this  point 
must  be  reserved  for  further  consideration."  That 
Saunaka  and  Asvalayana  belonged  to   what    might   be 


THE  MBH.  IN  XSVALXYANA  GfcHYA  SUTRA    59 

called  the  connecting  link  of  two  literary  periods,  which 
almost  imperfectibly  glide  into  each  other,  is  clear 
enough  from  another  piece  of  tradition  left  to  us  by 
Sadgurusisya  and  also  by  Sayana.  Their  works  cover 
the  Vedic  as  also  the  subsequent  period.  Xraijyaka  V  of 
the  Aitareyaranyaka  is  attributed  to  Saunaka,  and  the 
fourth  of  the  same  work  to  S^valayana  (  For  this 
whole  question,  see  Oldegberg,  SBE,Vol.XXIX,p.l54/). 
We  might  also  compare  the  Mbh,  itself  I  IV  6,  where 
Saunaka  is  called  ?n%  -<wmm»  3^:.  We  also  know  what 
other  works  of  the  Sutra  style  are  attributed  to  these 
two.  writers.  They  therefore  stand  at  the  juncture, 
t  or  if  we  so  will,  at  the  parting  of  the  ways  of  the  Vedic 
and  the  Sutra  period.  Their  works  are  influenced  by  the 
motive  of  the  preservation  of  the  old  Vedic  literature — 
vedagupti.  It  is  to  be  added  that  if  we  would  fain 
believe  this  part  of  the  tradition  recorded  by  Sadguru- 
sisya and  Sayana,  regarding  their  authorship  of  parts 
of  the  Ait.  Ar.,  there  is  no  reason  why  we  should 
disbelieve  Sadguru's  another  statement  that  it  was  also 

this  Sunaka  to  whom  the  Mbh.  was  recited. 
*  *  * 

Lastly  I  have  only  one  point  to  allude  to. 
Supposing  the  Mbh.  war  to  be  a  real  event,  a  new  era 
seems  to  have  been  opened  in  literary,  social  and 
Political  matters,  with  the  advent  of  the  Pandava 
dynasty.  I  grant  that  here  we  have  mainly  Paur&gnc 
authorities  to  depend  upon  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  to 
be  remembered  that  they  are  not  lightly  to  be  set. aside. 
If  this  be  admitted,  the  reigns  of  the  earlier  Paurava 
kings  gain  greatly  in  significance.  Janamejaya,  the 
son  of  Pariksit  is  reported  in  the  Puranas  to  have  a 
bitter  quarrel  with  Vaisampayana  (  cf.  Pargiter  1.  I  • 
p.  86  f.).  The  Mbh.  itself  was  first  promulgated  by 
Vaisampayana    during     Janamejaya's     reign.     Though 


60  N.  B.  UTGIKAR 

the  exact  nature  of  the  dispute  between  Janamejaya 
and  Vaisampayan  a  cannot  be  ascertained,  still  so  much  is 
certain  that  the  supreme  authority  of  the  Brahmins 
began  to  be  called  in  question.  It  was  to  his  son  Satanlka 
that,  according  to  Sadgurusi§ya,  the  M bh.  was  { again  ?) 
recited  by  Saunaka.  It  is  also  a  significant  fact  that  the 
geneology  given  in  prose  of  the  Paurava  line  in  the 
Mbh  itself  (1.95)  stops  with  Asvamedhadatta,  Satanlka's 
son.  The  initial  compilation  of  the  modern  Puranas 
would  seem  to  go  back  to  the  reign  of  Adhisimakr§na, 
the  fifth  king  of  the  Paurava  line  ( artSftfa-fjeofr  srtfcjrr  mvti 
qwiTwr:  compare  Pargiter,  1.  c.  p.  4,  and  Intro,  p.  VIII 
f.)  It  would  thus  look  that  the  new  order  of  things 
established  after  the  great  war,  was  marked  by  a 
peculiar  outburst  of  literary  and  social  activity. 
Brahmins  or  Xcaryas  like  Saunaka  and  iVsValayana 
were  at  once  engaged  in  consolidating  and  establishing 
on  a  secure  basis  the  old  Vedic  literature,  and  in 
producing  and  lending  support  to  works  suited  to  the 
altered  times.  There  were  probably  as  already 
mentioned,  kings  like  Janamejaya  too,  who  began  to 
challenge  the  overweening  Brahmanic  presumption, 
asserted  with  undue  emphasis  with  regard  to  seemingly 

insignificant  ritualistic  details. 

♦  #  # 

I  only  hope  to  have  made  clear  that  the 
mention  of  the  Bhdrata  and  the  Mbh.  in  the  AGS 
is  to  be  held  as  textually  genuine  and  justified  by 
other  important  considerations,  and  that  if  this  be 
admitted — as  I  think,  it  must  be — then  we  shall  have 
succeeded  in  gaining  an  important  link — an  Anhalts- 
punkt — justifying  us  in  taking  the  history  of  the  origin 
and  development  of  the   Mbh.  appreciably  backward. 

This  subject  must  for  the  present  remain  here: — 
objections  could  possibly  be   raised    against  the  line  of 


THE  MBH.  IN  XSVALXYANA  GfcHYA  SUTRA     61 

reasoning  here  followed.  A  consideration  of  these 
together  with  a  discussion  of  the  similar  mention 
of  the  Mbh.  in  Panini  and  of  the  probable  dates  of 
these  two  works,  as  also  the  question  of  the  individual 
or  school  authorship  of  works  like  the  3GS,  and 
similar  other  questions  must  be  reserved  for  some 
future  occasion. 


The  abbreviations  used  in  this  paper  are: — 
AGS     -         Asvalayana  Grhya  Sutra 
Asv       =         Asvalayana 

HASL  —         History  of  Ancient  Sanskrit  Literature 
Mbh.     -         Mahabharata 

P.W.      =         Bdhtlingk   and  Roth's   Petrograd    Sanskrit 
German  Dictionary. 


Postscript: — As  the  proofs  are  being  passed  for  the  Press, 
I  take  the  occasion  of  stating  that  tha  first  of  the  two  verses 
of  Mbh.  I  I  referred  to  on  p.  57,  above,  viz  fi  5RW«  3  is  fouud 
wanting  in  five  of  of  the  six  MSS  of  the  Government  Library 
with  us.  The  omission  is  not  accidental  and  therefore  acquires 
a  peculiar  significance,  though  the  former  half  of  this  verse 
which  recurs  in  the  text  (G.  K.  I.  62.14a)  is  found  at  this  latter 
place  in  all  these  MSS.— N.  B.  U. 


THE  AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  NIGHANTU. 
By  R.  D.  Karmarkar. 


(All  references  to  pages  are  to  the  sq^src  press  edition.) 

Tradition  regards  the  Nighanfu  and  the  Nirukta 
as  the  work  of  one  and  the  same  author  viz.  Yaska. 
The  fact  that  this  tradition  cannot  stand  has  been 
recognised  even  by  the  commentator  Durga,  who,  at  the 
very   beginning  of  his  commentary,  says    *T    [  *wiyM:  ] 

sr^ftfcT  ^Hb,  thus  attributing  the  Samamnaya  to  ancient 
sages  and  not  to  Yaska.  On  p.  307  also  Durga 
remarks  '3rfrarc;*q  ^i^'  icwnRt:  t^tr^t:  i  wsrrc  $*•   '^hr 

si^r^iinTf^T^Jr^nTcRit:  mil  3*4  ^r^r^i^ .  Roth1  in  his  Intro- 
duction to  the  Nirukta  draws  attention  in  this  con- 
nection to  the  famous  passage  ^rr^rrc^cTTjfroi^ppfj-^^:  ...sq^rrc 
*3T2Rfrsq^  tersrsoTRTJT  JT?4  <dmmft^5  **  %^Twn%  =*  which 
clearly  proves  that  the  f^nr^  was  the  work  not  of 
Yaska  himself,  but  of  ancient  sages. 

Following  are  the  additional  arguments  to  prove 
that  the  Nighantu  could  not  have  been  written  by  the 
author  of  the  Nirukta. 

(1)    The  Nirukta  opens  with  the  passage    smsrw 

QWm:  S  ^  5^[^fcT5Jj:  |  ^fajf  sp^RT  frspi^  f^Tr^^T  (p.  4  &  5). 

The  expression  arr^r^  clearly  shows  that  the  *wr?TRT  was 
called  ftsre^:  by  others.  If  Yaska  had  been  the  author 
of  the  fr^,  he  could  not  have  written  that  his  work 
received    its    name     from      others.        Similarly      the 

I  P.  4.  Translation  by  Dr.  Mackichan,  Bombay  University. 


THE  AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  NIGHAtf«J!U  63 

first  half  of  the  passage  shows  that  Yaska  is  going  to 
explain  the  wwr  which  had  been  already  compiled 
or  authoritatively2  collected  before.  The  expression 
3Tprer^  occurring  in  the  following  passages  corroborates 
what  has  been  said  above.  <r?nM  Jmni%  sn^rwrgafhft  ^Rf 
d^df^Hqffr  (p.95),  ^^^qr^r^  (p.  267). 

(2)  The  well-known  passage  flT3rr?Fr'T*T*r  *s*ft  w^: 
...9*i  *wiynQ^4  ^  ^i#ift  ^  proves  the  same. 

(3)  The  ft^i  includes  crf*^  under  aifcer^imft 
(p.  200)  and  also  under  «w**ifai:  (p.  204).  Following 
the  ^r^  Yaska  remarks  on  p.  206  rTfef^Tfar^^: 
%^^flr  <TTf^^fti%  tfcf: .  But  on  p.  207  after  giving  sn^frr's  view 
that  *Tfo5^  means  f^FT.,  Yaska  remarks  that  the  meaning 
3rfare  also  would  suit  the  passage  ^  fa^  ^FrTfotf^rrfcttfa*? 
the  meaning  being  ^:sfa  *wPti^  %i  &zw%  fftr.  Yaska  seems 
to  regard  3Tfora  as  the  proper  meaning  of  <rfe^. 

(4)  On  p.  204,  seven  roots  are  given  under  nouns 
^TTftrsflW:  by  the  fa*^.  The  list  includes  two  nouns 
affirm:  3nTR:  as  Yaska  himself  remarks  ^  |  *\r#i  3n^i°r 
3Tr^fR  arrow  sfi^R: .  Apparently  the  for^*»nr  mis- 
took these  two  for  roots  and  Yaska  draws  our  attention 
to  the  discrepancy. 

(5)  Similarly  on  p.  204,  the  three  words  folFT:, 
<rfe^  and  3rr<w?3,  though  nouns,  are  wrongly  put  in  the 
list  of  ^RfflrW. 

(6)  On  p.  213,  in  the  list  of  h*mihim,  two  roots 
^fl%*r  and  ro^*rd  are  wrongly  put.  Yaska  obviously 
would  not  have   made  such   a  mistake. 

(7)  On  p.  217  in  the  list  of  <wft**rigi:,  two  nouns 
fa^ft:  and  f^j^tfr:  are  included,  Yaska  himself 
remarking   srwrcfonfa. 

2  Dr.  Bhandarkarin  his  article  on  the  Maud  ription 

JBBRAS.     P.  913  gives  this  as   the    moaning  of  twiwrn. 


64  R.  D.  KARMARKAR 

(8)  In  the  i£W^>  section,  the  ftw^  gives  the 
word  sri^  (p.  275)  Yaska  explains  it  as  JT^fta  and 
proposes  an  alternative  explanation  that  it  might  be 
split  up  into  %  15  T,  three  different  words.  Yaska  would 
not  have  included  this  word  in  the  ^T^s  section 
as  he  does  not  regard  it  as  one  word  in  the  alternative 
explanation.  Similarly  on  p.  323  Yaska  seems  to  regard 
W:  as  made  up  of  two  words. 

(9)  On  p.  286,  commenting  upon  f^ra  Yaska  says 
ftrsj  fi%  37%r^  s^nwFTW:  and  explains  it  under  i^rsr  (p. 
488).  Yaska  would  have  included  only  one  of  these 
words  in  the  text  rather  than  giving  the  two  similar 
words  in  two  different  places  and  then  referring  one 
to  the  other. 

(10)  Similarly  on  p.  361,  he  says  fTtfJTR^t  3?teTrj. 
sqrwFmr:,  on  p.  371  *r#  ^i^i^,  on  page  431,  Tft*ftf¥cr 
o^HsJjidi:  .  Yaska  would  not  have  included  the  terra's,  <rft, 
^,  #f^,  which  he  explains  in  his  introduction. 

(11)  (P.  306)  The  f^1^  gives  *ra*  ^Trrer,  while 
the  Vedic  order  is  3t^tr^t  ^%  and  Yaska  follows  that 
order.  If  he  had  been  the  author  of  the  f^%,  he 
would  have  corrected  the  order  easily.  This  is  the 
only  place3  where  the  ft^n1?  does  not  follow  the  order 
of  the  Rgvedic  passage.  The  following  list  of 
consecutive  words  in  the  f^n^  occurring  in  one  and 
the  same  passage,  keeps  up  the  original  order  fa&, 
5^  (p.  293);  *rf|#,  W-  (p.  347);  $zw,  ^i%  (p.  422);  3Rqra*, 
foffi¥*  (p.  469);  >£fr,  j*ft:  (  p.  474)  ;  Vr?,  T^rr  (p.  484) ; 
*crp#,  ftrftfe  <p.  524). 

(12)  On  p.  357,  in  the  ^7/^?  section  we  have  sror 
ar^rT: .  Durga  remarks  upon    this  that    the   word  *fa    is 

3  On  p.  380  %ftfte:,  fag:  are  given.  Possibly  this  is  also 
a  case  of   inverted   order.     The  passage  has...fWr:...faftfas$:flr 


THE  AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  NIGHA^fU  65 

put  in  for  the  better  understanding  of  the  *n  (  ipto 
sftre?^  sms?:  www  %$),  but  this  is  hardly  satisfactory. 
The  difficult  word  is  aw  only;  Yaska  does  not  explain 
stor  at  all. 

The  two  words  %fafasandfa*3:  are  given  on  p.  380; 

Yaska  does  not  explain  ft*3.   Of  ^t  ««i*4i  $qr  on  p.  465, 

Yaska  does  not  explain  ^  at  all.      If   he  had  been  the 

f  author,  he  would  not  have  put  in  ^  at  least   in   the 

above  expression. 

On  p.  425  fi.gwf^  occurs  in  the  fcnr^  as  one  word. 
Yaska  explains  it  as  <t%m$^.  The  difficult  word  is 
^^  which  only  ought  to  have  been  included  in  the 
^^.  The  ft*<u£*bit  seems  to  have  regarded  <13TT$^  as 
one  word. 

On  p.  402,  ^tft:  and  <¥k<H"i:  are  included  in  the 
ftw*%.  As  they  are  similar  in  formation  Yaska  would 
have  given  only  one  of  them. 

On  p.  433,  an^jgsnfy  occurs  as  one  word.  Yaska 
explains  it  in  various  ways.  He  takes  3flg  and  3  to 
mean  fere  and  separates  the  two  words  from  qrftr: 
according  to  one  explanation. 

On  p.  480,  the  words  ar^ft  ^  should  not  have  been 
given  separately. 

(13)  In  explaining  the  list  of  difficult  words  in 
the  4th  Adhyaya  of  the  ft^,  Yaska  has  offended  the 
first  three  lists;  thus:  — He  gives  a  meaning  to  certain 
words  in  the  4th  Adhyaya  but  these  words  are  not 
included  in  the  first  three  Adhyayas  under  these 
meanings. 

(a)  Thus  on  p.  359  he  says  **Mftft  ftimTir,  but  wt 
is  not  included  in  the  list  of  26  f^JT?mt%  (p.  199.) 

(b)  On  p.  375,  he  says  5*...aro  tt,  but  q*  is  not 
included  in  the  list  of  28  anwwft  (p.  194). 

[  f.  o.  c  11 9.  ] 


66  R.  D.  KARMARKAR 

(c)  On  p.  407,  he  says  wrg^s  *wl%,  but  cjyfarn.  is  not 
included  in  the  list  of  100  3^*wrfa  (p.  159-60). 

(d)  On  p.  417,  he  says  $fcr...3m  ^r,  but  $fa:  is  not 
included  in  the  list  of  28  arsrcunft-  (p.  194). 

■  (e)  On  p.  423,  he  says  3P*r  fict  *htcijt,  but  3P*r  is  not 
included  fn  the  list  of  18  srercroift  (p.  208). 

(/)  On  p.  474,  he  says  ^rr%  flrsww,  but  f#  is  not 
included  in  the  list  of  26  flrsrawrft  (p.  199). 

If  Yaska  had  been  the  author  of  the  ft^,  he  would 
have  included  these  words  in  the  lists  in  the  first  three 
Adhyayas,  not  in  the  fourth. 

There  are  again  to  be  found  in  the  fourth  ar^n* 
of  the  ft*°5  certain  words  which  have  been  already 
included  in  the  lists  in  the  first  three  enqros.  If  Yaska 
had  been  the  author  of  the  ft^,  he  would  not  have 
put  these  words  in  the  4th  ar^n^r  of  the  ftwg,  as  their 
meanings  are  already  known  from  the  first  lists.  For 
these  words  see  II  below. 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  above,  that  there  is  con- 
clusive evidence  to  prove  that  Yaska  could  not  have 
been  the  author  of  the  Nighanfu. 

II 

Nor  does  the  Nighanfu  seem  to  be  the  work  of 
only  one  author.  Thus  for  instance,  the  author  of  the 
second  section  of  the  fourth  Adhyaya  of  the  Nighanfu 
is  clearly  different  from  the  author  of  the  first  three 
Adhyayas,  as  shown  from  the  fact  that  the  second 
section  of  the  fourth  Adhyaya  gives  certain  words,  the 
meanings  of  which  have  already  been  given  in  the 
first  three  Adhayas. 

Thus  w-  IV.  2.6,  to*  IV.  2.21,  *&wft  IV.  2.22, 
*nrh  IV.  2.23,  fonUV.  2.28,  ^J*  IV.  2.48,  are  already 
explained  in  II.7.1,  1.10.13,  1.9.5,  II.5.5,   II.7.8,  III.9.10 


THE  AUTHORSHIP  OF  THE  NIGHA^U  67 

respectively.  It  is  clear  therefore  that  the  author  of  the 
second  section  of  the  fourth  Adhyaya  was  not  aware  of 
the  first  three  Adhyayas, 

Similarly  the  author  of  the  third  section  of  the 
fourth  Adhyaya  must  have  been  different  from  the 
author  of  the  third  section,  as  the  word  ^  which  occurs 
in  IV.  2.3  is  repeated  again  in  the  third  section  IV.  3.99. 

The  author  of  the  first  section  of  the  fourth 
Adhyaya  must  be  different  from  the  author  of  the  third 
section  of  the  same  Adhyaya,  as  ftrsfr  occurs  in  IV.  1.11 
and  a  similar  word  §fttti:  is  repeated  again  in  IV.3. 72. 

In  the  fourth  Adhyaya  of  the  ft**"-*,  there  are 
eight  pairs  of  consecutive  words  occurring  in  the  same 
Rgvedic  passage,  out  of  which  (1)  Two  occur  in  IV.  1. 
^  3t^tt^  IV.l. 32,33  and  M^  IV.l. 18,19,  (2)  Two 
occur  in  IV.2,  «rrf&:  =£T:  IV.2.2.3  and  $sw  *$fa:  IV.2, 
70,71  and  (3)  Four  occur  in  IV.3  3R*nra;,  foftf^  IV.3. 
43,  44  %jtf,  3^:  IV.3.50,51.  **  <rotr  IV.  3.64.65,  «hf% 
f^ftfas:  IV.3. 119,120.  In  the  case  of  the  first  section, 
the  exact  words  occurring  in  the  passage  are  taken, 
though  the  order  is  changed  in  the  case  of  5W^  «iv*i<h. 
In  the  case  of  the  second  section  ^Tf|#...^  in  the 
passage  is  reduced  to  its  original  irifa:  and  ^r*. 

But  in  the  case  of  the  third  section,  while  aR^HJ^, 
fatftf^,  and  ^:,  T^cTT  are  taken  unchanged,  %J^t 
3*fa*:  and  *t^fI  M^te,  are  substituted  for  the  g£r  3*^1 
and  W^  faftfasw  of  the  original  passage.  If  one  can 
keep  in  tact  5[r^3TfqRPT  in  IV.  1,  one  fails  to  understand 
why  ftfftfasw  should  lose  its  genitive  or  ^P*H  its 
accusative.  It  is  clear  therefore  that  the  third  section 
must  not  have  been  produced  by  the  author  of  the  first 
section  of  the  4th  Adhyaya. 

<Tfe?Us  taken  once  as  a  noun  II. 16.1,  and  once  as  a 
verb  II.19.2l. 


THE  NIGHANTU  AND  THE  NIRUKTA. 
By  Siddheshwar  Varma. 

What  is  the  Nirukta  f  This  expression  may  be 
considered  from  two  aspects,  the  Nirukta  as  a  book, 
and  Nirukta  as  a  subject.  What  is  the  Nirukta  as  a 
book  ?  This  question  is  anticipated  and  answered  by 
the  word  vydkhydtavyah  occuring  in  the  very  first  line 
of  the  Nirukta.  This  word  vydkhydtavyah  means  to  be 
explained.  For,  the  central  idea  of  the  word  Nirukta 
is  also  explanation,  derived  as  it  is  from  the  verb  vac 
with  the  prefix  nir,  to  explain.  In  this  sense  of  expla- 
nation, the  expression  Nirukta  first  occurs  in  the 
Chdndogya  Upanisad  viii-3-3,  where  it  is  said  about  the 
heart  as  well  as  the  soul:— 'This  soul  is  present  in  the 
heart  (  ff^  ),  and  this  also  is  the  explanation  (niruktam) 
of '  f^T '.  The  Nirukta  as  a  book,  is  therefore  an  expla- 
natory commentary  on  the  work  which  Yaska  calls  the 
Samamnaya,  but  which  is  more  commonly  known  as 
the  Nighantavah  or  simply  the  Nighanfu. 

The  Samamnaya,  the  Nighanfu,  of  which  Yaska's 
Nirukta  is  a  commentary,  is  the  name  of  a  Dictionary 
of  1765  Vedic  words  in  five  chapters  with  this 
reservation,  however,  that  we  consider  even  the  phrases 
in  Naighanfuka-13,  as  words,  for  the  phrases  merely 
illustrate  the  particles  of  Analogy  as  iva.  Of  these 
1765  Vedic  words,  350  words  have  been  explained  by 
Yaska  in  his  Nirukta,  as  Devaraja  says  "^r^mff#^  i^«*m- 
k*\<\-Awmfii  <t^tr  *TRrejR&r*r  ^r  asr  f^%  swtt^  ftwrft"  in  the 
introduction  to  his  own  commentary  on  the  Nighantu. 

The  Nighantu  has  three  sections,  the  Naighantuka, 
the  Naigama  and  the  Daivata. 

The  Naighantuka  section  corresponds  more  to  the 


THE  NIGHA^TpU  AND  THE  NIRUKTA  69 

modern  Dictionary  than  the  other  sections,  for  it 
enumerates  in  three  chapters  some  1336  synonymous 
words,  while  the  latter  merely  give  obscure  or  important 
Vedic  expressions,  without  explaining  them  or  referring 
to  their  equivalents.  The  arrangement  of  these  words 
is  based  neither  on  the  alphabetical  system  nor  on  any 
distinct  classificatory  system. 

The  first  chapter  of  this  section  consists  of  words 
mostly  expressing  some  phenomenon  in  Nature,  like 
the  earth,  the  cloud  etc.  The  second  chapter  enume- 
rates words  concerning  human  and  animal  life,  /.  e. 
names  of  man  and  beast,  etc.  The  third  chapter 
consists  of  abstract  terms — as  synonymous  words  for 
happiness,  truth  and  also  ritualistic  terms.  The 
whole  section  consists  of  843  nouns,  365  verbs,  and  12S 
adjectives  and  particles. 

The  second  section  designated  the  Naigama  section 
(from  Nigama- Vedic  text)  may  be  called  a  "Homony- 
mous lexicon,"  as  it  consists  of  278  single,  obscure 
words  from  the  text  of  the  Vedas. 

In  the  third  section  designated  Daivata  151 
Devatas  of  the  various  Vedic  Mantras  have  been  enume- 
rated and  classified  according  to  their  three  domains- 
the  Earth,  the  Atmosphere,  and  Heaven. 

It  is  important  to  note  in  this  connection  that  our 
Nighantu  is  the  most  ancient  of  extant  lexicons  in 
India.  The  most  common  designation  for  a  lexicon 
in  Sanskrit  is  Kosa,  literally  a  treasure;  the  complete 
designation  is  'Abhidhana  Kosa',  or  simply  'Abhidhana' 
(  name  ).  The  word  Abhidhana,  as  an  abbreviation  of 
Abhidhana  Sastra  (  Lexicography  )  is  employed  to 
designate  the  whole  Literature  of  this  type,  e.  g.  in  the 
notices  of  Sanskrit  manuscripts  in  the  Calcutta  Library. 
Other,  and  probably  more  ancient   names  of   lexicons 


70  SIDDHESHWAR  VARMA 

are.: — Namaparayana,  Namamala  (mala  also);  as  Amar- 
mdld,  Deslndmamdld)  finally  Nighantu  also  written 
Nirghantu,  Nirghanta1  (probably  due  to  wrong  reading 
of  Mss.  ),  and  in  Jaina-prakrita,  Nigghanta. 

According  to  the  eminent  lexicographer,  Hema- 
candra,  Nighantu  means  a  collection  of  names  (  Pl^«i?*J- 
*pt^:),  while  Sayana  in  his  introduction  to  the 
Rgveda  defines   the   term  Nighantu  thus  :    "  ^W^^Tt 

tspRft-fcSi^^rn^  <^ii3w=i  fi%  sq^RT^".  The  term,  how- 
ever, is  generally  applicable,  not  only  to  a  vocabulary 
or  any  list  of  synonymous  words,  but  also  to  any  ex- 
haustive and  classified  catalogue  of  technicalities  and 
properties  of  things.  Thus  in  Sanskrit  medicine,  there 
are  several  books  styled  the  Nighantus,  e.  g.  Rdjani- 
ghan\u,  Rdjavallabhanighantu,  Nighan\uratndkara, 
MadanapdlanighantUy  etc.  The  Madanapdlanighantu, 
to  quote  only  one  example,  gives  the  properties  and 
names  of  all  drugs  ( srlfai^WSOTRt  i^%:  ).  Again  in 
Sanskrit  Astronomy  we  have  Jyotisas'dstra-Nighantu,  a 
work  which  indicates  the  names  of  seven  famous 
Astronomical  categories,  the  lunar  mansions,  etc.  Hence 
the  word  nighantu  has  acquired  a  significance  as  wide 
as  the  word  Dictionary  in  modern  times  though  the 
method  of  the  Nighantu  is  much  briefer  than  that  of 
the  Dictionary.  It  is  indicatory  rather  than  explanatory. 

The  place  of  our  Nighanfu  is  unique  in  Sanskrit 
Lexicography.  As  we  have  already  stated,  the 
Nighantu  is  the  oldest  of  extant  lexicons  in  India;  and 
it  differs  essentially  from  the  later  works  on  Lexicogra- 
phy in  contents,  form,  and  object  as  under. 

(a)     In  our  Nighantu,  not  only  nouns  and   indecli- 

I  cf.  Monier-William's  Dictionary  on  Nirghanta. 


THE  NIGHAtfTU  AND  THE  NIRUKTA  71 

nables,  but  also  verbs  have   been    enumerated.     Not  so 
the  later  Kosas. 

(b)  The  Nighaytu  merely  enumerates  its  words  in 
prose  order;  but  the  later  KoSas  are  all  metrically 
composed,  the  usual  metre  being  Anustubha  and 
sometimes  Xrya  also. 

(c)  Our  Nighaytu  is  a  sacred-booVt  as  its  object, 
fully  treated  in  the  Nirukta  1.  6.  5,  is  to  serve  as  a  key 

to  the  explanation  of  Vedic  texts.  As  Herr  Zachariae 
Die  Indischen  Worterbiicher  p.  3,  says,  the  glossaries  of 
the  Nighaytu  must  have  served  as  practical  guides  to 
he  Vedic  teacher  for  oral  instruction,  as  we  can  infer 
from  the  fact  that  in  the  Naigama  section  of  the 
Nighantu}  single  words  from  Vedic  texts  have  been 
enumerated,  while  their  meanings  have  not  been  given 
at  all. 

But  the  later  extant  works  on  Sanskrit  Lexicogra- 
hy  are  mostly  nothing  else  than  collections  of  import- 
ant and  rare  words  for  the  use  of  poets.  Thus  the 
Abhidhana  Kosa  is  styled  one  of  the  "auxiliary  branches 
of  Kavya  "  (  Kavyangani )  and  often  the  later  Lexicogra- 
phers sufficiently  emphasize,  in  the  introduction  to  and 
conclusion  of  their  works,  that  they  write  for  the  poets. 
Compare  phrases  as  "for  the  sake  of  adorning  the  throat 
i.e.  the  vo  ice)  of  the  poet"  (Halayudha);  "the  ornament 
of  good  poets"  (Vaijayanti),  "with  good  wishes  for  poet- 
(Dhananjaya),  "for  the  happiness  of  poets"  (Dharayikoa'a) 
These  aims  are  professedly  secular.  The  only  later 
(lexicon  that  resembles  our  Nighantu  in  its  object  and 
contents  is  the  Mahdvyutpatti  of  the  Buddhists.  It 
enumerates  not  only  synonyms,  but  also  phrases, 
verbal  forms  and  even  whole  sentences.  And  just  as 
the  words  of  the  Nighantu  directly  refer  to  the  sacred 
texts  of  the  Vedas,  so  the  Mahdvyutpatti  is  dire^ 
related  to  the  Sacred  Work>  o(  Buddhism. 


72  SIDDHESHWAR  VARMA 

Now  what  is  the  Samamnaya,  the  very  first  word  of 
the  Nirukta  ?  It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  here 
the  Samamnaya  is  what  is  more  commonly  known  as  the 
Nighantu.  The  word  Samamnaya,  as  Durga  has  ex- 
plained it,  is  derived  from  the  verb  mnd  to  repeat, 
with  the  prefixes  sam  and  d,  the  whole  word  indicating 
passive  sense,  and  so  it  means,  'That  which  is  pro  perly 
repeated  according  to  the  rules  of  tradition.  In  the 
same  sense  the  word  dmndya  is  employed.  The 
central  idea  of  the  verb  mnd,  connected  as  it  is  with 
the  verb  man  to  think,  is  to  repeat  mentally,  i.  e.  to 
remember.  Amnaya  would  then  mean  correct  repeti- 
tion memoriter  (Monier  Williams).  Thus  this  word 
signifies  traditional  knowledge,"  handed  down  by  teacher 
to  pupil  from  generation  to  generation.  The  prefix 
sam,  further  added  to  the  word  amnaya,  indicates 
combination,  collection.  Thus  the  whole  word 
Samamnaya  means  traditional  collection  or  compilation. 
Yaska  himself,  in  a  famous  passage  in  the  Nirukta  1.6.5, 
uses  the  verb  samdmndsisuh,  in  the  sense  of  "compil- 
ed", while  a  much  earlier  work,  the  Aitareya  Aranyaka 
III. 2. 3,  uses  Aksarasamamnaya  in  the  sense  of 
"collection  of  letters". 

The  word  Samamnaya,  however,  must  be  strictly 
translated  here  as  "  the  traditional  co  llection  of  Vedic 
words".  We  now  come  to  another  more  general 
significance  of  the  term  Samamnaya. 

The  terms  Xmnaya  and  Samamnaya  are  often  used 
for  the  Veda.  Thus  according  to  the  Ndmalingdnusd- 
sana,  the  words  Sruti,  Veda,  Amnaya  and  Trayi  are 
synonymous  for  the  Veda.     Further,  both  Amnaya  and 

2  Cf.  Vdcaspatyam — "  anCT-3^  J3«m«n«  Wli?  ^  I  3TT5TTC:  =* 
anwnew  flww^  f^rawrc^ta— g^wp^^'   and   Sabdakalpa- 


THE  NIGHAtfTU  AND  THE  NIRUKTA.  73 

Samamnaya  are  synonymous  terms  for  the  Veda,  as 
Nagesa  on  *  it  i  Mahesvarani'  says  in  his  Laghufabitm- 
diUekhara.  In  the  famous  Sutra  of  the  Purva  Mlmamsd 
1-2-1,  'The  purpose  of  the  Veda  (Jimndyasya)  being  to 
lay  down  actions  &', — the  term  Xmnaya  clearly  means 
the  Veda.  In  the  same  sense  the  word  Samamnaya 
has  been  employed  in  the  Purva  Mlmamsd  Sutra  1-4-1, 
'It  has  been  explained  that  the  Veda  (Samdmttdya)  per- 
tains to  actions'.  .  And  our  own  Yaska,  when  defending 
the  relevance  of  such  Vedic  passages  as  'O  axe,  do  not 
kill'  1-16-6,  says  that  harmlessness  appears  from  the 
explicit  word  of  the  Veda  (Amnaya).  Again  while  refu- 
ting the  view  that  Vaisvanara  means  "Surya",  Yaska 
says  that  the  descent  after  ascent  can  be  attributed  to 
Vaisvanara  also  by  the  explicit  words  of  the  Veda 
(Ttmndya),  vii-2,4-2.  Veda,  then,  is  the  general  signifi- 
cance of  the  term  Smnaya  or  Samamnaya. 

We  have  seen  above  that  the  special  as  well  as  the 
central  implication  of  this  term  is  "traditional  know- 
edge"  that  is  handed  down  by  teacher  to  pupil  from 
generation  to  generation.  It  is  true  that  various  forms 
of  secular  knowledge  in  India  have  also  been  handed 
down  by  tradition,  but  these  sciences  have  been  modi- 
fied or  improved  upon  from  time  to  time  by  various 
individual  teachers.  It  is  the  Veda  which  is  the 
traditional  knowledge  par  excellence,  the  minutest 
syllables  and  accents  whereof  have  been  handed  down 
unchanged  from  time  immemorial.  Hence  the  Veda 
is  appropriately  called  "Sruti"  (hearing).  The  term 
S.unamnaya,  then,  equally  suits  the  Veda,  and  the 
Veda,  therefore,  is  the  primary  meaning  »>l"  the  term 
Samamnaya. 

But  there  is  also  a   secondary   significance   of  the 

term  Samamnaya.     By  analogy,  any  form  of  traditional 
[F.  o.  c.  II  io.] 


74  SIDDESHWAR  VARMA. 

knowledge,  especially  auxiliary  sacred  knowledge,  can 
be  called  Samamnaya.  Thus,  as  Durga  says,  the  col- 
lection of  Vedic  words  called  the  Nighanfu  can  also  be 
designated  the  Samamnaya,  because  these  words  have 
been  taken  from  the  Veda  ;  and  consisting  as  it  does  of 
portions  of  the  Veda,  it  has  acquired  thereby  the  charac- 
teristics of  the  Veda.  Even  Yaska  includes  all  the 
Vedangas  under  the  word  Samamnaya  in  Nirukta  1-6-5, 
where  the  sages  are  said  to  have  compiled  (Samamna- 
sisuh)4  the  Veda  and  the  Vedangas.  Further,  not  only 
the  Sanskrit  alphabet6  given  by  Panini  has  been  called 
the  Samamaya,  but  the  term  has  been  extended  even 
to  works  on  the  Drama.  Thus,  according  to  Panini  IV. 
3-129,  the  suffix  nya  is  to  be  added  to  the  word  na\a 
in  the  sense  of  duty  or  traditional  knowledge  (Amnaya). 
Hence  the  word  Ndfya  is  formed,  and  it  means  u  the 
duty  or  traditional  knowledge  of  actors."  The  second- 
ary significance,  then,  of  the  word   Samamnaya   is   any 

*  sacred  or  honoured  work'. 

No  doubt  the  central  idea  in  this  secondary 
significance  of  the  word  Samamnaya  is  the  same,  viz. 
traditional  knowledge,  but  in  this  case  the  term,  which 
primarily  denoted  the  Veda,  has  been  secondarily 
extended  to  other  forms  of  traditional  knowledge  also. 

.    The  above  discussion  gives  us  three   meanings    of 
the  word   Samamnaya  : — (1)  Its  literal    meaning,    viz., 

*  traditional  compilation/  (2)  Its  primary  meaning,  viz.. 
'the  Veda,'  (3)  Its  secondary  meaning,  viz.,  'any  sacred 
or  honoured  work.'     I    am  of  opinion  that   the   word 

3     In  the  introdution  to  his  commentary,  cf.    "  Sfsft^:  WW&Q 


THE  NIGHAtfTU  AND  THE  NIRUKTA.  75 

Samamnaya  as  given  in  the  first  line  of  the  Nirukta 
implies  all  the  meanings  that  the  above  discussion  has 
shown.  The  first  and  the  second  meanings  help  us 
to  translate  the  word  Samamnaya  as,  the  '  traditional 
collection  of  Vedic  words,'  the  adjective  Vedic  being 
supplied  by  the  second  meaning,  as  I  have  shown 
above.  The  third  meaning  is  important,  as  it  throws 
considerable  light  on  the  relation  of  the  Nirukta  to  the 
Nighantu. 

This  third  meaning  of  the  word  Samamnaya,  by 
which  we  understand  '  sacred  record  handed  down  by 
traditional  knowledge',  decidedly  proves  that  Yaska 
was  not  the  author  of  the  Nighantu.  We  should, 
therefore,  receive  with  considerable  caution  and 
reservation  Sayana's  remark  in  his  introduction  to 
Rgveda  which  identifies  the  Nighantu  with  the  Nirukta^ 
viz.,  'Nirukta  is  a  work  where  a  number  of  words  is 
given,  without  any  intention  to  connect  them  in  a 
sentence.'  Thus  he  designates  the  above-mentioned 
catalogue  of  words — the  Nighantu  or  the  Samamnaya — 
with  the  title  Nirukta.  But  it  must  be  now  clear  that 
the  essential  idea  of  the  Nirukta  is  explanation,  and  it  is 
this  explanatory  commentary  on  the  Nighantu  which  is 
to  be  strictly  known  as  the  Nirukta  ;  while  Yaska  calls 
the  Nighantu  as  Samamnaya.  Sayana's  mistake  is  thus 
well  explained  by  Max  Muller  in  HASL  79,  when  he 
aptly  remarks,  '  As  he  preserved  them  by  his  commen- 
tary, it  was  natural  that  its  authorship,  too,  should  be 
ascribed  to  him.' 

Moreover,  ancient  tradition  ascribes  the  authorship 
of  the  Nighantu  not  to  Yaska,  but  to  Kasyapa.  Thus 
the  Mahdbhdrata  : — 

"  f*d  ft  wmr^  *k:  ^rrat  at%3  wiz  i 


76  SIDDESHWAR  VARMA. 

+f^<l*:  STB?*  *?$«*  fT  3T5q%  l 

Here,  then,  the  sage  Kasyapa  has  been  referred  to 
as  the  author  of  the  Nighantu.  And  although  it  is 
extremely  difficult  to  give  any  definite  and  accurate 
details  about  the  personality  of  this  Kasyapa,  the 
allusion  suffices  to  confirm  the  view  that  Yaska  was 
not  the  author  of  the  Nighantu  or  the  Samamnaya.  His 
work  was  to  edit,  and  to  explain  (vyakhyatavyah)  the 
Samamnaya. 


flVESTA. 


EREKHSHA  THE  ARCHER  AND  HIS  ARROW. 

BY  B.  T.  ANKLESARIA. 

The  Avesta  Tistar  Yast,  whilst  describing  the  speed 
of  Tistri  in  its  progress  towards  the  ocean  Vourukasha, 
introduces  the  story  of  "  Erekhsha,  the  swift  archer,  the 
swiftest  of  Aryan  archers,"  and  of  "  the  arrow  which  he 
darted  from  the  mountain  Khshuth  to  the  mountain 
Kh  van  vat." 

Albiruni  gives  the  same  legend  with  further 
details  in  his  Athdrul  Bdkiya  whilst  explaining  the 
origin  of  the  Tiragan  feast  of  the  Zoroastrians 
observed  by  the  Parsis  from  times  immemorial  on  the 
day  Tir  of  the  month  Tir.1  According  to  him,  the 
arrow  was  shot  by  a  noble,  pious  and  wise  man  named 
Arish  at  the  order  of  the  Plsdadian  king  Minochihr 
while  he  was  being  besieged  by  Afrasiab  in  Tabaristan. 
Arish  "  bent  the  bow  with  all  the  power  God  had 
given  him  ;  he  shot  the  arrow  and  fell  asunder  into 
pieces.  By  order  of  God  the  wind  bore  the  arrow  away 
from  the  mountain  of  Ruyan  and  brought  it  to  the 
utmost  frontier  of  Khurasan  between  Farghana  and 
Tabaristan  ;  there  it  hit  the  trunk  of  a  tree  that  was 
so  large  that  there  had  never  been  a  tree  like  it  in  the 
world.  The  distance  between  the  place  where  the 
arrow  was  shot  and  that  where  it  fell  was  1000 
Farsakh." 

Firdausi2  in  his  Sah-ndinah,  refers  in  three  places 
to  '  Aris  '  and  in  one  place  to  his  '  arrow. 

According  to  the  iMojmel  al-Tawarakh  Aris  siwatir 

1  Albiruni's  Chronology  of  Ancient  \<ttions,  Ed.  Dr.  Sachau, 
(1879),  P-  205. 

2  See  "  Lc  livir  dtS  Rois  par  Aboul-Kasim  Firdousi,  publ., 
trad,  et  comment^  '  par  M.  Jules  Mohl.  (1838-1878),  Vol.  6,  o. 
178, 1.236 ;  Vol.  7,  P-  36, 1.  378  ;  lb.  p.382,  1.  324  ;  Vol.  4.  P-  4<& 
1.  586. 


80  B.  T.  ANKLESARIA. 

is  an  ancestor  of  the  Sassanian  hero  Bahram  Chubin3. 

Tabari  refers  to  "  the  arrow  of  Arissatan  in  the 
battle  between  Manochihr  and  Frasijat  "  and  to 
u  Aris,  the  ancestor  of  Bahram  4. 

Noldeke  established  the  identity  of  the  Avestan 
Erekhsha  with  the  Persian  Aris  in  an  Article  published 

*  in  the  Zeitschrift  der  Deutschen  Morgenlandischen 
Gesellschaft  (1881,  p.  445  sq.)5. 

The  Avestan  '  erekhsha  '  can  be  equated  with  the 
Sanskrit  riksha,  but  the  counterpart  of  the  Avestan 
legend  has  not  as  yet  been  found  from  the  Sanskrit 
Literature. 

If  we  turn  to  the  Greek  mythology  we  find 
Heracles,  the  oldest  and  most  illustrious  of  all  heroes 
in  the  mythology  of  Greece.  Heracles  was  the  son  of 
Zeus  by  Alcmene,  the  wife  of  Amphitriyon,  whose 
form  the  god  assumed  while  he  was  absent  in  the 
war  against  the  Telgboi.  On  the  day  on  which  he  should 
have  been  born,  Zeus  announced  to  the  gods  that  a 
descendent  of  Perseus  was  about  to  see  the  light,  who 
would  hold  sway  over  all  the  Perseidae.  The  child 
grew  up  to  be  a  strong  youth,  and  was  taught  by 
Eurytus  to  shoot  with  the  bow,  and  by  Castor  to  use 
the  weapons  of  war.  Amphitriyon,  alarmed  at  his  untama- 
ble temper  sent  him  to  tend  his  flocks  on  Mount 
Clthaeron.     The   Delphic    oracle    commanded   him   to 

.  enter  the  service  of  Eurystheus  king  of  Mycenae  and 
Tiryns  and  perform  twelve  tasks  which  he  should  im- 
pose upon  him.     The  poet    Pisander   of    Rhodes  first 

3  See  Extraits  du  Modjmel  al-tewarikh  trad,  par  M.  Jules 
Mohl  in  Journal  Asiatique. 

4  See  Geschichtc  der  Perser  unci  Arabcr  zur  sett  der  Sasanicicn, 
aus  der  Arabisclicn  Chronik  des  Tabari,  von  Th.  Noldeke  (1879), 
pp.  271,  279- 

5  See  also  Etudes  Iraniennes  par  James  Darmesteter,  Tome 
II,  pp.  220-221. 


EREKHSHA  THE  ARCHER  AND  HIS  ARROW     81 

armed  the  hero  with  the  club  and  the  skin  taken  from 
the  lion  of  ClthzerOn.  Heracles  was  previously 
represented  as  carrying  a  bow  and  arrows.  Of  the 
twelve  labours  of  Heracles,  which  need  not  be  recounted 
here,  the  tenth  contains  the  legends  of  Heracles 
aiming  his  bow  at  the  Sun-god,  who  marvels  at  his 
courage  and  gives  him  his  golden  bowl  to  cross  the 
Ocean  in,  and  of  his  dreadful  struggle  with  the  Llgyes 
when  his  arrows  were  exhausted  and  he  had  sunk 
in  weariness  upon  his  knee,  Zeus  rained  a  shower  of 
innumerable  stones  from  heaven  with  which  he 
prevailed  over  his  enemies6. 

From  the  long  extract  quoted  from  Nettleship  and 
Sandys  we  have  to  note  the  points  of  comparison 
between  the  Avestan  and  the  Greek  legends: — 

1.  The  Avestan  archer  '  Erekhsha  '  is  to  be 
equated  with  '  Heracles.' 

2.  The  ocean  Vourukasha  whereto  the  star 
Tistrya  moves  might  be  the  Ocean  Heracles  crossed  in 
the  Golden  Bowl. 

3.  The  mountain  Khshaotha  from  where  the 
arrow  was  darted  by  Erekhsha  might  be  mount 
Cithaeron. 

We  have  further  to  trace  the  origin  of  the  Northern 
Constellation  Heracles,  so  well-known  after  the  Greek 
hero  for  whom  so  many  legends  are  interwoven  in  the 
Hellenic  mythology. 

Robert  Brown,  Jun.,  in  his  Researches  into  the 
Origin  of  the  Primitive  Constellations  of  the  Greeks. 
Phoenicians  and  Babylonians,  tries  to  prove  that 
"  Influences  Sumero-Akkadian,  Babylonian,  Assyrian, 
Hittite,  Phoenician,  not  to  mention  those  of  Egypt,  are 

6  Taken   from  Dictionary  of  C  Antiquities,   by    H. 

Nettleship  and  J.  E.  Sandys  (1899). 
[F.  O.  C.  II  11] 


82  B.  T.  ANKLESARIA 

now  allowed  by  all  competent  students  to  have*  made 
themselves  felt  in  Hellas,  borne  on  the  wings  of 
conquest,  commerce  and  colonization." 

He  further  says  that  "  the  Greeks  received  the 
constellation  names,  and  nearly  all  the  stories  connect- 
ed with  them,  not  from  any  savages  but  from  the 
highly  civilized  Phoenicians,  who,  in  turn,  like  the 
ancient  Arabians,  had  obtained  many  of  these  names 
from  the  archaic  civilization  of  the  Euphrates  Valley."* 

Eudoxos  of  Knidos  (cir.  B.  C.  403-350)  mentioned 
in  his  work  the  Phainomena  the  primitive  constellations 
of  the  Greeks.  The  treatise  was  afterwards  versified 
by  the  poet  Aratos,  (Cir.  B.  C.  270),  and  Brown 
(Jr.)  maintains  that  the  <l  statements  of  Aratos  in 
reference  to  the  principal  stars  near  the  equator, 
exactly  agree  with  the  actual  state  of  things  at  the 
vernal  equinox,  B.  C.  2084,  a  date  when  the  Euphra- 
tean  formal  scheme  or  chart  of  the  heavens  had  been 
already  completed."9 

Whilst  giving  a  description  of  the  Northern  Con- 
stellation of  *  The  Kneeler,'  Brown  notes  (p.  34)  that 
'  this  constellation  is  Euphratean  in  origin  and  was 
known  as  (Ak.)  Lugal,  (Bab.-As.)  Sarru  ( '  the  King'). 
It  originally  represented  the  kneeling  Sun-god,  some- 
times overcoming  the  Lion,  sometimes  shooting  at  the 
Demon-birds.  Adopted  by  the  Phoenicians,  it  became 
WLz\(\v.rth.-Harekhal  (Herakles),  and  is  reproduced  on 
coins."  On  p.  199 of  his  work,  describing  the  coin-types, 
he  gives  the  description  of  the  figure  of  "  Heracles 
naked,  kneeling  and  discharging  Arrow  ;  Club  on  the 
ground  behind  him,  before  him  two  Birds"  and  again 
on   p.  234  :     "  Herakles,    naked,   running,  holds   Lion- 

7  Vol.  I,  p.  2. 

8  Ibid.  p.  4. 

9  Ibid.  p.  15. 


EREKHSHA  THE  ARCHER  AND  HIS  ARROW      83 

skin  and  Bow  and  strikes  with  Club}  Bow  and  quiver." 

From  these  notes  it  will  be  seen  that  whereas  the 
Avestan  Erekhsha,  just  like  the  Phoenician  Harekhal, 
HSraklSs,  holds  a  bow  in  his  hand  and  discharges  the 
arrow  whilst  kneeling,  the  story  of  the  two  birds  that 
are  shot  by  Harekhal  and  of  the  Lion-skin  on  the  naked 
body  of  Harekhal  and  of  the  Club  cannot  be  traced  in 
the  Avestan  literature. 

The  Arrow  supposed  to  be  shot  from  the  bow  of 
the  Kneeler  among  the  Birds,  seems  also  to  have  been 
placed  as  a  constellation  of  the  Northern  Hemisphere 
by  the  Phoenicians  as  Khaits,  (the  arrow)  betwixt 
Nesher  (the  Eagle)  and  Nakhir  (the  Dolphin).10 

Although  we  do  not  find  in  the  Vedic  astrono- 
mical myths,  an  archer  named  rksa,  who  darted 
his  heavenly  arrow  at  any  bird,  we  find  in  the  Kgveda 
Sukta  VI  (XXVII)  the  story  of  Krsanu  the  archer, 
pursuing  with  the  speed  of  thought  the  hawk  on  his 
descent  from  heaven  carrying  away  the  Soma,  stringing 
his   bow   and  letting   fly   an   arrow  against  him. 

Summary  : — It  is  possible  with  a  further  study  of 
comparative  mythology  to  prove  that  the  myth  of  Heracles 
and  his  arrow,  so  well-known  to  the  Greeks,  which  is 
rightly  supposed  by  Robert  Brown  (Jr.)  to  have  been 
derived  from  the  Phoenician  myth  was  originally  existing 
in  the  home  of  the  Aryans  when  the  forefathers  of  the 
Vedic  and  the  Avestan  people  were  living  together  as  one 
united  community.  The  name  of  the  Hellenic  archer  is 
traceable  to  the  Avestan  name  but  the  Vedic  name  i> 
quite  different  ;  not  only  does  the  name  dirier,  but  the 
legend  too  seems  to  be  based  on  a  separate  structure. 

10  The  Avestan  Ere  +  kh  +  sh  +  a  can  be  equated  with  the 
Phoenician  (H)  +  are  +  kh  +  a  +  l.  Cf.  Av.  Th  +  w  +  i  +  sh+a- 
Pahl.  S  +  p  +  a  +  hr. 


AIRYANA  VAEJO,  THE  CRADLE  OF  THE 

ARYANS,  AND  MAZAINYA  DAEVA, 

THE  DEVAS  OF  MAZANDRAN, 

OR  BRAHMANICAL  DEVAS. 

By  J.  D.  Nadirshah. 

Scholars  have  not  as  yet  agreed  as  to  the  locale  of 
the  original  home  of  the  Vedic  Brahmins,  or  even  of 
the  Aryan  race,  the  stock,  of  which  they  were  merely  a 
branch.  It  is,  therefore,  desirable,  to  collect  all  the 
information  direct  or  indirect,  that  can  be  found 
anywhere  relating  to  them.  With  this  view,  all  that 
I  have  come  across  in  the  Avesta  and  Pahlavi  books 
about  the  cradle  of  the  Aryans  and  the  ancient  home 
of  the  Vedic  Brahmins  is  put  together  in  this  paper 
for  the  consideration  of  the  Orientalists. 

In  V.  I  (Vendidad  ch.  I.)  there  is  a  list  of  sixteen 
specific  districts  describing  the  order  in  which  they 
grew  up  one  after  another.  These  territories  are 
apparently  all  situate  in  or  about  Persia,  and  no  land 
known  to  be  either  of  the  Semetic  or  Tartaric  race  is 
included  in  the  list  which,  therefore,  seems  to  be  a 
register  of  colonization  only  of  some  tribes  of  the  Aryan 
race. 

The  land  which,  according  to  the  list,  flourished 
first  is  called  Airyana  Vaejo,  Pahlavi  Iran-Vej,  signify- 
ing the  beginning  or  source  of  the  Aryans,  from  Av. 
Vaejo  =  Sansk.  sfto"  beginning  or  source.  It  is  declared 
in  V.  I.  1,  that  were  not  the  land  absolute  made 
enjoyable,  the  whole  of  the  corporeal  world  would 
have  come  to  Airyana  Vaejo.  The  phrase  Vanhuyao 
Daityayao  of  the  good  Dditya,  is  always  added  in  the 
Zend-Avesta  to  the  name  Airyana  Vaejo.     The  original 


AIRYANA  VAEJO,  CRADLE  OF  THE  ARYANS,  etc.  85 

place  is,  however,  said  to  be  excessively  cold,  having 
a  winter  often  months,  and  a  summer  of  two  (V.  I 
3-4).  Here,  the  commentator  notes  that  the  winter 
is  known  to  be  of  seven  months  and  the  summer  of 
five.  Notwithstanding  the  excessive  cold  the  place  is 
said  to  have  become  so  overcrowded  that,  during  the 
reign  of  King  Jamshed's  dynasty,  the  territory  had  to  be 
extended  thrice  southward,  each  time  at  an  interval 
of  three-hundred  years  (V.  II.  8-18). 

From  the  above,  one  naturally  concludes  that 
the  dynasty  of  Jamshed  reigned  for  over  900  years. 
It  must  be  noted  here  that  the  first  King  Jamshed,  the 
founder  of  the  dynasty,  is  called  in  the  Avesta  Yima 
Khshaeta,  Jamshed  the  son  of  Vivanhat,  Sansk.  fa«w< 
(Yasna  IX.  4,  5)  and  his  descendants  Yima  Yivanhana, 
Jam  of  the  family  of  Vivanhat  (V.  II,  9).  We  are  told  in 
V.  II.  21,  that  Ahura  Mazda  who  was  celebrated  in 
Airyana  Vaejo  held  a  meeting  with  Yima  Khshaeta 
(Jamshed),  also  celebrated  in  Airyana  Vaejo,  forewarned 
him  of  the  approach  of  the  world-wide  destructive 
winter,  and  counselled  him  to  build  the  Vara  (a  fortified 
town)  on  a  sufficiently  elevated  ground  in  order  to  save 
select  men,  animals,  and  plants  from  destruction. 

We  also  learn  that  King  Haoshyanha,  one  of  the 
predecessors  of  King  Jamshed  I,  struck  down  two- 
thirds  of  the  Devas  of  Mazandran  and  of  the  marauders 
of  Varenya  (Gilan)  Yasht  V.  21,  XIII.  137,  XV, 
whereas  Jamshed  merely  subdued  all  the  countries  of 
the  Devas  (Yt,  V.  24).  The  latter  story  has  .i  support 
in  the  fact  that  the  Hindus  have  deitied  Yama,  the  I 
of  Vivasvat. 

It  seems  that  the  last  king  of  this  dynasty  was 
murdered  by  Spityura,  nicknamed  Yimokerenta.  the 
murderer  of  Yuma  (Yasna    XIX.  46),   and    the    empire 


86  J.  D.  NADIRSHAH. 

was  overthrown  by  Azhi-Dahaka,  Pers.  Azhdha  Zahak, 
of  Babylonia  (Y.  V.  29).  Wherever  several  personages 
are  described  in  the  Avesta  as  praying  for  help,  they 
are  mentioned  in  their  chronological  order.  Thus 
we  find  in  Y.  V.  29,  XV.  19,  Zahak  next  to  Jamshed 
and  then  Thraetaona,  Sansk.  fer,  Pers.  Fraedun  the 
son  of  Xthwya,  Sansk.  3^^,  Pers.  Atbin,  who  killed 
Zahak  (Yt.  IX.  8 ).  Fraedun  was  born  in  Varenya 
(Gilan)  and  he  killed  Zahak  (V.  I.  18.  Yt.  V.  33-35, 
XV.  23-25). 

According  to  Yt.  IX.  14,  Zoroaster  who  was 
renowned  in  Airyana  Vaejo,  first  proclaimed  there  the 
Ahunavar>  the  oldest  Gathic  stanza  •  It  inculcates 
that  the  Ratu,  the  spiritual  ruler,  is  on  an  equality  with 
the  highest  temporal  ruler  and  that  he  is  the  Viceroy  of 
Ahura  Mazda  in  this  world.  Zoroaster  was  the  son  of 
Pourushaspa  (V.  XIX.  6,  Y.  IX.  13  ),  on  the  sloping-side 
of  whose  house  was  the  Darejya  (V.  XIX.  4).  It  was  in 
Airyana  Vaejo  that  Zoroaster  prayed  to  Aban  for  help  in 
converting  toZoroastrianism  King  Vishtaspa,  the  son  of 
Aurvataspa  (Lohrasp),  Yt.  V,  104-105  ;  and  to  Gosh  (Yt. 
IX.  26-27)  and  Ashi  (Yt.  XIII.  45-47)  in  converting 
Queen  HutaosA. 

In  V.  XIX.  43-47  we  find  a  concise  record  of  the 
discussion  of  some  Daevas  of  a  plot  for  the  destruction  of 
Zoroaster  The  names  of  the  leading  Daevas  are  given 
there.  They  are  Indra,  Sansk.  f^,  Sauru,  Sansk.  5T# 
and  Naonhaithya,  Sansk.  ffrntq.  All  these  Daevas  are 
deified  in  the  Vedas.  They  sent  out  some  other  Daevas 
to  murder  Zoroaster.     But  the  mission  failed. 

From  the  above  scattered  records  in  the  Zend- 
Avesta  one  can  easily  infer  (1)  that  the  territory  of 
Airyana  Vaejo  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Mazandran 
and  Gilan,  and  not  far   from  Babylonia;  (2)  that  King 


AIRYANA  VAEJO,  CRADLE  OF  THE  ARYANS,  etc.  87 

Yima,  son  of  Vivanhat,  and  the  prophet  Zoroaster,  were 
natives  of  it ;  (3)  that  a  fortified  town  Vara  was  built  in 
it  on  a  moderately  elevated  place  ;  and  (4)  that  the  house 
of  Zoroaster's  father  was  on  the  bank  of  the  Darejya. 

These  give  us  some  vague  idea  of  the  situation  of 
the  territory.  The  Pahlavi  Bundehashn,  however, 
mentions  some  definite  landmarks  of  its  whereabouts. 
It  tells  us: 

(a)  Iranvej,  in  the    side    of     Adarbaijan  ;   M. 

B.1    82. 

(b)  Varjamkart     of     Iranvej ;    M.  B.   80.     It  is 

here  mentioned  as  one  of  the  chief  places 
of  Khaniratha,  the  most  renowned  of  the 
seven    divisions   of  the  world. 

(c)  Zoroaster   when    he  brought   the     religion 

first  proclaiming  it  in  Iranvej  ;  M.  B.   92. 

(d)  The    Datyak   river   goes  out   from    Iranvej 

and  enters  into  Gorjastan  (Georgia) ; 
M.  B.  60. 

(e)  The  Tort  river,   which   is  also  called   Koiri 

(the  Kur)  starts  from  the  Black   sea    and 
pours  into  the  Caspean  ;  M.  B.  61. 
(/)    The  Daraja  of  Iranvej  in  the  basin  of  which 
was  the  house  of  Pourushasp,  the   father 
of  Zoroaster  ;    M.  B.  62. 
(g)     The  Daraja  River  is  a  rivulet.     Here   there 
was  the   house   of  Zoroaster's   father   in 
the   basin.     Zoroaster   was  born    there  ; 
M.  B.  68. 
We   thus   see    that    Iranvej    was    in    Adarbaijan, 
contiguous  to  Georgia  ;  that  the  Vara  built  by    Jamshed 
was  one  of  its  chief  cities  ;  that  of  the  two  rivers  passing 
through  Georgia  viz.,  the  Kur  and  the  Aras,   the   latter 

I  M.  B.,  the  Pahlavi  Bundehashn  edited  by  the  late 
Mr.  Maneckji  Rustomji  Unwala. 


88  J.  D.  NADIRSHAH 

represents  the  Daitya  of  the  Zend-Avesta  ;  and  that  the 
Darejya  was  in  Iranvej. 

From  the  above  accounts  we  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  ancient  Airyana  Vaejo,  as  it  extended 
during  the  regime  of  the  Yimas,  consisted  of  Adarbaijan 
stretched  northwards  as  far  as  the  Caucasus  of  which  a 
considerable  portion  is  always  clad  with  ice  and  snow. 
It  is,  therefore,  no  wonder  that  the  original  Airyana 
Vaejo  is  said  to  be  excessively  cold.  But,  on  the 
downfall  of  the  Yima  dynasty,  the  kingdom  was 
naturally  broken  up.  The  commentator's  remark  in 
V.  I.  4,  noted  above  that  *  the  winter  is  known  to  be  of 
seven  months  and  the  summer  of  five,  indicates  that 
latterly  the  northern  portion,  chiefly  consisting  of 
Albania  (Shirvan)' was  not  included  in  Airyana  Vaejo. 
It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote  here  what  Strabo 
says  about  Albania  : — 

rt  Perhaps  such  a  race  of  people  (the  Albanians) 
have  no  need  of  the  sea,  for  they  do  not  make  a  proper 
use  even  of  the  land,  which  produces  every  kind  of 
fruij,  even  the  most  delicate,  and  every  kind  of  plant 
and  evergreen.  It  is  not  cultivated  with  the  least  care; 
but  all  that  is  excellent  grows  without  sowing  and 
without  ploughing,  according  to  the  accounts  of 
persons  who  have  accompanied  armies  there,  and 
describe  the  inhabitants  as  leading  a  Cyclopean  mode 
of  life.  In  many  places,  the  ground  which  has  been 
sowed  once,  produces  two  or  three  crops,  the  first  of 
which  is  even  fifty  fold,  and  that  without  a  fallow,  nor 
is  the  ground  turned  with  an  iron  instrument,  but  with 
a  plough  made  entirely  of  wood.  The  whole  plain  is 
better  watered  than  Babylon  or  JEgypt,  by  rivers  and 
streams,  so  that  it  always  presents  the  appearance  of 
herbage,  and  it  affords  excellent  pasture.  The  air  here 
is  better  than  in    those   countries.     The    vines  remain 


AIRYANA  VAEJO,  CRADLE  OF  THE  ARYANS,  etc.    89 

always  without  digging  round  them,  and  are  pruned 
every  five  years.  The  young  trees  bear  fruit  even  the 
second  year,  but  the  full  grown  yield  so  much  that  a 
large  quantity  of  it  is  left  on  the  branches.  The  cattle, 
both  tame  and  wild,  thrive  well  in  this  country."  (The 
Geography  of  the  Strabo  translated  by  Hamilton  and 
Falconer,  B.  XI.  C.  IV.  §  4). 

The  name  Airyana  is  still  preserved  in  the  Pers. 
"  Arran,  a  tract  of  country  situated  between  the 
provinces  of  Azerbaijan,  Shirvan,  and  Armenia"; 
and  to  Arraa  belongs  the  city  of  Maughan  ;  (vide  the 
Geographical  works  of  S&dik  Isfahdni,  translated  by 
J.  C).  Maughan  implies  the  country  of  the  Maogs 
(Magi),  a  tribe  to  which  belonged  the  prophet  Zoroaster. 

Latterly  Airyana-Vaejo  was  called  Media.  It 
then  included  the  district  of  Ragha,  Gr.  Rhagae, 
Pers.  Rae,  which  was  also  called  Ragha  Zarathushtri, 
Ragha  relating  Zarathushtra  (Y.  XIX.  18).  Herodotus2 
informs  us  that  "at  an  earlier  period  the  Medes  were 
all  called  Arians",  and  that  "the  Medes  originally 
consisted  of  six  tribes,"   one   of  which   was  the   Magi. 

About  the  Good  Daitya,  now  known  as  Aras,  we 
read  the  following  in  the  above-mentioned  Geographi- 
cal Works  of  SCtdik  Isfahdni : — 

"Aras,  a  considerable  river  in  the  province  of 
Shirvan  :  it  rises  in  the  mountains  of  Armenia,  and  is  a 
fortunate  or  blessed  stream,  for,  of  the  animals  that 
happen  to  fall  into  it,  most  are  saved". 

The  Darejya  is  now  called  the  Darjai  Rud  or 
Karasu.     It  falls  into  the  Aras.5 

It  starts  from  near  the  foot  of  the  Savalan  Dagh. 
The   Persian    dictionary  Burhane    Qdte  writes    about 

2  The   Geography  of  Herodotus  by  J.  T.  Wheeler,   p.  287. 

3  V.Phillif>'s  New  Series  of  Travelling  Maps.  Turkey  in 
Asia;  38°43'  N.  and  47°25'  E. 

[f.  O.  C.  II  12. 


90  J.  D.  NADIRSHAH. 

the  Savalan  :  It  is  the  name  of  a  mountain  near 
Ardabil  in  Azerbaijan;  it  has  been  a  resort  of  monks 
and  ascetics  before  and  after  the  spread  of  Islamism; 
so  the  Moghans  (Zoroastrians  )have  deemed  it  a  blessed 
place  as  they  used  to  take  oath  by  it  ". 

According  to  Strabo,  Media  was  divided  into  two 
parts,  one  of  which  was  called  the  Greater  Media,   and 
the  other  Atropatene  Media  ;  the  summer  palace  of  the 
latter  was  at  Gazaka  (Tabriz),  situated  in  a   plain,  and 
the  winter  palace  in  Vera,  a  strong  fortress.     Ecbatana 
(Hamadan)  a  large  city  was  the  capital  of  the  Greater 
Media   and   contained   the  royal  seat  of  the  Median 
Empire.     Here  their  kings  passed  the  summer.     Their 
winter  residence  was  at  Seleucia,  on  the   Tigris,  near 
Babylon  (B.  XL  C.  XII.  §  1-3).     We,  however,  notice 
that  the  above  Ecbatana  is  different  from  that  mentioned 
by  Herodotus.     "This  was  erected  upon   a  mountain, 
and  consisted  of  seven  strong  and  lofty  walls,  each  one 
rising  in  a  circle  within  the  other.     The  ground  was  of 
an   easy   ascent,    and    each    inner    wall   displayed  its 
battlements  above  the  other.     The  outside  wall  was 
therefore  the  lowest,  and  was  about  equal  in  circumfer- 
ence to  the  city  of  Athens.  The  innermost  wall  was  the 
highest,  and  within  it  was  the  king's  palace  and  also 
his  treasury.     The  battlements  of  all    these    circular 
walls  were  of  different  colours.     The  first  were  white, 
the  second  black,  the  third  purple,  the  fourth  blue,  the 
fifth  bright  red,  the  sixth    plated  with  silver  and  the 
seventh  or  innermost  one  plated  with  gold.    The  people 
dwelt  outside  all  round  the  walls".(Geo.  Hero.  p.  218). 

Such  is  Herodotus's  extraordinary  description  of 
Ecbatana.  The  story  of  the  seven  walls  is  considered 
by  Colonel  Rawlinson  to  be  manifestly  a  fable  of  Sabean 
origin,  the  seven  colours  being  precisely  those 
employed  by  the  Orientals  to  denote  the  seven  great 


AIRYANA  VAEJO,  CRADLE  OF  THE  ARYANS,  etc.  91 

heavenly  bodies,  or  the  seven  climates  in  which  they 
revolve.  The  hill  of  Takhti-Soleiman,  which  Colonel 
Rawlinson  identifies  with  Ecbatana,  rises  one  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  above  the  plain,  and  its  brow  is  still 
crowned  with  a  wall  thirty  feet  high,  and  having  thirty- 
seven  bastions  in  a  circuit  of  a  little  more  than  three 
quarters  of   a   mile. 

"  Media,  as  described  by  Herodotus,  was  generally 
level,  but  the  region  to  the  north  of  Ecbatana,  and 
towards  the  Saspeires  and  the  Euxine  Sea,  was  very 
mountainous,  and  covered  with  forests,  and  abounding 
in  wild  beasts,  yet  including  some  pastures  which  were 
favourable  to  the  grazing  of  cattle  ".  This  is  the  only 
passage  in  our  author  which  will  really  assist  us  in 
discovoring  the  territory  to  which  he  referred.  Rennell 
supposes   that   Media  Magna,  or  Irak  Ajami,   only    is 

meant;  He,  therefore,  identifies 

the  Ecbatana  of  Herodotus  with  the  site  of  the  modern 
city  of  Hamadan.  Colonel  Rawlinson,  however,  contends 
that  only  Northern  Media  or  Azerbaijan  is  meant,  and 
that  the  site  of  Takhti-Soleiman  represents  the  Ecbatana 
of  Herodotus.  It  is  certain  that  our  author's  description 
already  quoted  refers  to  northern  Media,  and  there  are 
mountains  to  the  north  of  Takhti-Soleiman,  but  none 
to  the  north  of  Hamadan. 

The  Ecbatana  of  Herodotus  appears  to  be  the  same 
as  the  Vera  of  Strabo,  and  the  Vara  of  the  Zend-Avesta. 
Vera  and  Vara  represent  the  same  place  as  is  manifest 
not  only  from  the  similarity  of  the  names  but  also  from 
their  description,  each  being,  in  olden  times,  a  forti- 
fied city  in  Atropatene  and  a  royal  seat. 

The  Province  of  Ragha  was  turned   in   the  time  of 
Zoroaster  into  a  patrimony  or  church   estate  and   \. 
therefore  called  Ragha   Zarathushtri.     We   are  told  in 


92  J.  D.  NADIRSHAH. 

Y.  XIX.  18,  that  the  countries  ruled  by  other  than  the 
Zarathushtri,  Zoroaster  and  his  successors,  have  five 
Ratus,  viz.,  (1)  the  head  of  the  house,  (2)  of  the 
family,  (3)  of  the  district,  (4)  the  king,  and  (5)  the 
representative  of  Zoroaster ;  and  that  Ragha  Zara- 
thushtri has  only  four,  omitting  the  king.  This  indi- 
cates tjiatt  he  country  of  Ragha,  situated  on  the  south 
of  Mazandran,  had  become  a  stronghold  of  Zoroastrian- 
ism  in  the  time  of  Zoroaster. 

Having  thus  determined  the  site  of  Airy  an  a- Vae  jo, 
the  cradle  of  the  Arian  race,  it  is  not  very  difficult 
now  to  find  the  ancient  home  of  the  Vedic  Brahmins 
who  formed  one  of  its  several  branches. 

Before  the  advent  of  the  prophet  Zarathushtra  all 
the  Arians  in  and  about  Persia  worshipped  the  twin 
gods,3  Mithra — Ahura-Berezat,  the  Vedic  f*^r  ^r. 

But  on  Zarathushtra  proclaiming  his  religion  which 
teaches  that  Ahura  Mazda  is  the  sole  Creator  of  the  Uni- 
verse (lb.  P.  2),  a  strong  constant  enmity  was  raised 
between  the  partisans  of  Zarathushtra  and  the  worship- 
pers of  the  old  deities.  In  the  Vedas,  these  are  called 
Devas,  because  they  called  their  gods  devas  ;  and  those 
Asuras,  because  they  called  their  God  Ahura  -  Sansk.  ^w. 
The  word  %$,  Av.  daeva  was  no  doubt  originally  used 
by  all  the  Arians  in  a  good  sense,  as  it  radically  signi- 
fied shining ,  illustrious,  and  hence  '  a  god  among  men, 
a  king,  a  deity'.  The  Lat.  deus  and  Gr.  Zeus,  which 
are  akin  to  it,  literally  mean  the  god,  like  the  Arabic 
Allah.  By  the  way,  it  may  be  noted  that  like  Deva, 
the  Avestan  Ahura  also  indicates  a  king  (Yt.  XIX.  77). 
Apte  in  his  Sanskrit  English  Dictionary  remarks  under 
arg*,  "In  the  oldest  parts  of  the  Rig  Veda  the  term 
Asura  is  used  for  the  supreme  spirit  and  in  the  sense  of 

3  My  paper  on  the  Four  Ahura  Mazdas  in  the  Avesta. 
Vol.  VI,  No.  I  of  the  Journal  of  the  Iranian  Association. 


AIRY  ANA  VAEJO,  CRADLE  OF  THE  ARYANS,  etc.    93 

'god',  'divine';  it  was  applied  to  several  of  the  chief 
deities  such  as  Indra,  Agni  and  Varuna.  It  afterwards, 
acquired  an  entirely  opposite  meaning,  and  came 
to  signify  a  demon  or  an  enemy  of  the  gods".  It 
is  not  surprising  that  Daeva  is  not  used  in  its 
primitive  good  sense  anywhere  in  the  Zend-Avesta, 
as  the  whole  of  it  was  very  bitter  hatred  between  the 
Devas  and  the  Asuras.  An  Asura  is  also  called  ^*tT<  and 
^tti-M,  an  enemy  of  Devas  ;  ^nft  an  enemy  of  Indra  ; 
^sg*  an  enemy  of  sacrifices,  ^f^  hating  sacrifices,  and 
t^fa.  The  last  denomination  seems  to  signify,  relating 
to  the  Dditya  and  people  of  the  country  watered  by  the 
above-cited  Dditya  River. 

Of  Daevas,  the  Mazainya  Daevas  are  specially  men- 
tioned  in   the   Zend-Avesta.4 

Who  can  they  be  ?  Mazainya  means  relating  to 
Mdzana.When  Sansritized,  Mazana  becomes  jh^t  which 
indicates  'a  Brahmin'.  Mazainya  Daeva,  therefore, 
originally  signified  the  Brdhmanical  Devas,  the  Devas  of 
the  land  of  the  Brahmins.  This  leads  one  to  think  that 
the  name  Mazandran,  the  ordinary  rendering  of  Mazai- 
nya, is  the  Persian  for  an  obsolete  Avestan  word 
Mazindrana,//z£  country  of  the  Great  Indra,  who  was  call- 
ed ^33"  and  3<km,  the  king  of  Devas.  We  thus  see  that 
Mazandran  was  the  ancient  home  of  the  Vedic  Brahmins 
and  that  it  was  situated  to  the  north  of  Ragha  Zarathus- 
hri,the  stronghold  of  Zoroastrianism.  It  appears  that  the 
Devas  of  Mazandran  could  not  long  hold  their  own 
against  the  inroads  of  the  Asuras,  and  therefore 
migrated  to  India. 

It  is  now  easy  to  understand  why  ^>TFT  implies 
'the  northern  hemisphere  (opposed  to  Asurabhaga,  the 
southern  hemisphere)'  ;  and  why  we  read  in  V.  XIX.  1, 

4  V.  IX.  13 ;  X.  16.  Y.  VXVII.  I ;  LV1I,  32. 


94  J.  D.  NADIRSHAH. 

that  Anhra-Mainyu  comes  from  the  north  ;  in  V.  VIII. 
71,  that  by  the  purification  ceremony  the  Druj  finally 
escapes  and  hides  himself  in  the  north;  and  in  Yt.  XXII, 
that  on  the  third  day  after  death,  the  soul  of  the  pious 
reaches  a  place  where  he  finds  a  fragrant  wind  blowing 
from  the  south  (para  7),  and  the  soul  of  the  wicked  a 
region  where  he  gets  striking  wind  blowing  from  the 
north  (para  25).  It  is  useful  to  note  here  ^tt^t  which 
signifies  'relating  or  belonging  to  Yama,  southern'. 

From  records  in  the  Zend-Avesta  and  the  Pahlavi 
BundehashUj  I  have  thus  traced  the  site  of  Airyana 
Vaejo,  the  birthplace  of  the  primitive  Aryans  to  the 
south  eastern  foot  of  the  Caucasus.  It  was  gradually 
extended  southwards  during  the  regime  of  the  Yama 
dynasty.  Having  determined  this,  it  was  not  very  diffi- 
cult to  show  that  Mazandran  was  the  ancient  home  of 
the  Vedic  Brahmans.  In  ascertaining  this  I  am  much 
assisted  by  the  original  significations  of  the  terms 
Mazainya  Daeva  and  Mazandran,  as  also  by  the  account 
of  Indra  Daeva  in  V.  XIX,  and  by  his  different 
attributive  names. 


AITAREYA  &  AE0RA. 
By  I.  J.  Sorabji  Taraporewala. 

The  word  aitareya  is  found  in  Sanskrit  only  as 
applied  as  the  name  of  a  special  branch  of  Vedic 
Literature  consisting  of  a  Brahmana,  an  Sranyaka 
and  an  Upanisad.  It  has  always  been  explained  as 
being  the  name  of  a  Rsi,  the  reputed  author  of  these 
works  and  this  strange  name  has  been  derived  by  our 
ancient  etymologists  from  the  word  itara.  A  legend  is 
given  that  this  great  Sage  was  the  son  of  "  another 
woman,"  itara,  i.e.,  not  the  legally  married  wife  of  his 
father.  Stung  by  this  slight,  he  gave  himself  up  to 
religious  practices  and  ultimately  left  behind  him  a 
great  name  as  the  founder  of  a  great  Vedic  School. 

This  legend  is  a  very  fine  example  of  popular 
etymology,  quite  on  a  par  with  the  other  etymological 
explanations  given  in  ancient  Sanskrit  works.  Palpably 
the  story  is  a  later  invention  to  explain  the  meaning 
of  a  word  which  has  been  forgotten,  for  the  word  has 
not  been  found  in  any  other  context. 

In  Avesta,  however,  we  meet  a  word  which  appears 
to  be  a  cognate.  The  word  is  aeOrya  which  with  the 
compound  word  aeQrapaiti  is  found  in  several  passages. 
These  seem  to  throw  a  lot  of  light  on  our  word 
aitareya. 

There  does  not  seem  to  be  any  doubt  whatever 
as  to  the  meaning  of  these  words  ;  atQrya  means  a 
pupil  or  a  disciple  (Pricstcr-schiiler  as  Bartholomae 
puts  it1),  and  the  compound  acQra-paiti  means  teacher, 
master,  or  spiritual  guide  (Herr,  Meister,  der  PriesUr, 
according  to  Bartholomae2).  Nairyosangin  his  Sanskrit 
version  translates  aeQrya  by  a'isya. 

I.  Altiranisches  Wdrterbuch.  20.         2.  Ibd. 


96  I.  J.  SORABJI  TARAPOREWALA. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  most  cases  both  the  words 
occur  together.  AeQrya,  in  fact,  occurs  by  itself  only 
in  one  passage,  miQr9m...fratnrvisa  aeQryandm  (praise 
aloud  Mi0ra  before  the  disciples),  Yt.  x.  119.  In  all 
the  other  passages  the  word  is  found  with  aeQrapaiti. 
The  most  notable  of  these  are  : 

antard  aeQrya  aeQrapaiti  (between  the  teacher  and 
the  pupil),  Yt.   x.    116. 

aeQrapaitindm    aeQryandm  naram  nairindm*  i8a.... 

fravasayo  yazamaide  (We    worship  here   the  Fravashis 

of  the  teachers  and  of  the  disciples both  male   and 

female)  Yas.  xxvi.  7. 

The  word  aeQrapaiti,  however,  is  more  important 
from  our  point  of  view,  because  it  embodies  the 
original  word  aeQra,  of  which  the  master  {paiti)  is  the 
Teacher.  As  to  the  meaning  of  this  aeQra  there  seems 
to  have  been  some  doubt  in  the  mind  of  Bartholomae. 
He  posits  a  word  aeQra  which  he  renders  by  "a  priestly 
school  "  (Priester-schule)  or  "  Learning "  (Lehre)  and 
he  notes  the  etymology  as  doubtful4.  And  for  reasons 
which  he  does  not  give,  he  remarks  that  the  explanation 
of  Haug  in  the  Zend-Pahlavi  Glossary,  p.  129,  is 
worthless  (ohne  Wert).  As  a  matter  of  fact  Haug's 
explanation  is  quite  correct  and  it  has  besides  the 
great  merit  of  being  the  traditional  explanation. 

In  the  first  place  the  word  aeQrapaiti  survives 
among  the  Parsis  to  this  day  in  the  word  ervad  (Per. 
herbad),  the  name  applied  to  priests  .  The  word 
originally  meant  the  master  of  aeQra.  As  to  what  this 
aeQra  is,  can  be  determined  by  a.  passage  in  the 
Farvardin  Ya4t,  (Yt.  xiii.   105.) — MdQravdkahe  Sditnuf- 

dis  aeQrapatois  hamibpatoti  aiaono  frava^lm  yazamaide 

3.  It  may  be  remarked  in  passing  that  Zoroastrianism 
never  made  any  difference  between  the  sexes  as  far  as  religious 
rites  were  concerned,  4.  Loc.  cit.  5.  The  change  of  pati 
to-^  or  -bad  is  paralleled  in  A  v.  maXupaiti,  Parsi  3**. 


AITAREYA  &  AEeRA  °7 

(We  worship   the  Fravashi   of   MQfiravdkv  the  son   of 

Saimuzi  the  lord  of  aeQra  and  the  lord  of  hamii).  Now 
the  word  hamid  reminds  us  directly  of  the  Sanskrit 
word  samidh,  the  fuel  used  for  the  sacred  fire  ;  and 
hence  naturally  we  should  expect  the  aeQra  to  be 
connected  in  sense  with  the  hamid.  Darmesteter 
rightly  following  the  tradition6  renders  these  words  as 
11  master  of  the  hearth  "  and  "  master  of  the  sacrificial 
log."  Bartholomae  needlessly  renders  hamiBpaiW  as 
'!  master  of  assembly  "  and  aeQrapaiti  as  "  master  of 
religious  lore."  The  tradition,  agreeing  as  it  does 
with  the  Sanskrit  word  samidh,  seems  here  to  be  the 
higher  authority  and  we  can  therefore  provisionally 
take  aeQra  to  mean  "  the  sacrificial  fire." 

In  another  verse  of  the  Farvardin  Yait  (Yt.  xiii.  97) 
we  have  the  mention  of  Saena  who  is  mentioned  as 
satdaeQrya.  Bartholomae  in  his  Dictionary8  translates 
this  as  u  having  a  hundred  pupils"  but,  as  Haug  rightly 
remarks,9  "it  would  be  against  all  common  sense  to  sup- 
pose that  the  only  remarkable  fact  known  of  him  was, 
that  he  had  for  the  first  time  a  hundred  pupils  on  this 
earth.  Such  an  insignificant  fact  (great  teachers  in  the 
Orient  do  not  count  their  pupils  by  hundreds  but  by 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands)  nobody  would  have 
thought  worth  commemoration.  The  statement  that  he 
was  the  first  satoaeQryo  indicates  that  the  satoacQi 
must  be  a  title  of  great  honour  which  but  few  did 
obtain.  If  we  take  it  in  the  sense  of  'one  who  has  a 
hundred  fire  places, '  i.e,$  one  who  has  established  a 
hundred  places  of  worship  or  kindled  a  hundred 
sacrificial  fires,  then  we  have  a  fact  which  really 
deserved  to  be  handed  down  to  posterity.  The 
Sanskrit  term  tatakratu  may  best  be  compared". 

6.    S.  B.  Evol.  xxiii  p.  200  (footnote).      7.     Op.  cit..  17/7. 
8.  Op.  cit.,  1556.      9.   Loc.,   cit. 

[F.  O.  C.  II  13.] 


98  L  J.  SORABJI  TARAPOREWALA. 

A  third  remarkable  point  in  this  connection  is  the 
use  of  the  word  aiwydtjhat  (in  the  sense  of  being  under 
the  charge  of  an  aeGrapaiti)  used  in  two  places  10  in 
connection  with  the  word  aeGrapaiti.  This  word  refers 
to  the  investiture  of  the  sacred  girdle  after  which  the 
boy  (or  girl)  in  ancient  Iran  went  to  the  aerpatastan  or 
the  religious  school  under  the  charge  of  the  aeOrapaiti. 
The  close  parallel  to  the  Indian  custom  of  the  Brahma- 
carl  going  to  his  Teacher  after  the  upanayana 
ceremony  is  evident  and  need  not  be  given  in  detail. 
The  Indian  disciple's  chief  work  was  the  tending  of  the 
fire  and  looking  after  the  daily  sacrifices  in  the  house  of 
his  Guru,  and  of  course  in  Iran  where  the  cult  of  the 
Fire  was  so  strong  there  was  doubtless  the  same 
practice.  This  fact  also  tends  to  prove  that  the  aeQra 
was  originally  probably  the  "  hearth  "  or  "  sacred  fire  of 
the  household." 

Bartholomae  rightly  traces  the  word  aeQra  to  an 
Aryan  prototype  *aitra.  The  probable  Sanskrit 
equivalent  would  be  *^  or  *q<re12  and  the  meaning 
was  very  probably  "  the  sacred  fire."  The  Avestan 
word  atar  is  cognate  as  also  dGravan  and  the  Sanskrit 
3T*r^and  possibly  zffi  are  also  cognate.  Haug  traces  the 
word  to  the  root  idh  to  kindle  and  thinks  that  the 
Greek  cri0co  (to  burn)  and  aiOpa  (a  clear  sky,  ^Ether)  are 
cognates.14  He  also  says  that  the  meaning  of 
"  pupil"  was  acquired  by  aeQrya  "  by  a  transference." 
Very  likely  the  "  pupils  were  trained  to  tend  the  fire 
hence  the  word  came  to  be  applied  to  them."1* 

10.    Nirangistan    II    and    16.      II.    Worterbuch,   20.     12. 
Jackson,  Avesta  Grammer.  §   55.    13.  In  Rv.,  II,  8.  5  the  word 
*rfa  is  used  in  the   sense   of  fire  and    is  thus   explained  by 
Sayana,  although  his  etymology  of  the  word  is  fanciful.    14 
Loc.  cit.     15.  Loc.  cit. 


AITAREYA  &  AE0RA.  99 

Hence  the  legend  of  Itard  goes  back  to  its  proper 
place  as  an  example  of  popular  etymology  and  the 
aitareya  School  of  the  Veda  becomes,  what  it  ought  to 
be,  "  the  lore  of  the  sacred  sacrificial  fire."  This  con- 
clusion, besides  on  the  grounds  referred  to  above,  is 
amply  borne  out  by  the  contents  of  the  Aitareya 
Brahman  a. 


THE 
AVESTAN  ARCHANGELS  &  SANSKRIT  DEITIES 

A  COMPARISON. 

By  A.  K.  Vesavewala. 

It  has  been  proved  by  history  and  the  Avestan  and 
Sanskrit  Studies  that  in  times  immemorial  the  forefathers 
of  all  the  Iranians,  Hindus  and  Europeans  had  a 
common  home  in  Aryana  Vaija  and  later  on  they 
separated  themselves  into  different  tribes  and  inhabited 
a  greater  part  of  the  eastern,  western  and  southern 
regions.  The  Aryana  Vaija  of  those  days  was  not  the 
modern  Iran  (Persia)  and  it  is  not  clearly  known  where 
this  place  was  located,  though  it  is  recently  supposed 
to  be  somewhere  in  the  Arctic  regions  where  ail  the 
Aryans  appear  to  have  stayed  once.  They  seem  at  first 
to  have  been  all  united  but  afterwards  they  separated 
themselves  owing  to  religious  differences.  The  causes 
which  led  to  their  separation  were  mainly  of  a  social, 
political  and  religious  nature.  The  Aryan  tribes,  after 
they  had  left  their  original  home  which  was  in  all 
likelihood  a  cold  country,  as  we  find  it  described  in  the 
second  Fargard  of  the  Vendidad,  mostly  led  a  pastoral 
life  and  sometimes  cultivated  some  patches  of  land  for 
their  maintenance.  In  this  state  we  find  the  ancient 
Aryan  community  throughout  the  earlier  part  of  the 
Vedic  period.  Some  of  these  tribes  whom  we  may 
style  the  Iranians  proper  became  tired  of  this  nomadic 
mode  of  life  and  after  having  reached  Bactria  and  the 
place  between  the  Oxus  and  theZacxartes,  seem  to  have 
forsaken  the  pastoral  life  of  their  ancestors  and  their 
brother  tribes  and  become  agriculturists.     The  religion 


*  AVESTAN  ARCHANGELS  &  SANSKRIT  DEITIES.    101 

of  these  new  tribes  consisted  at  first  in  worshipping  all 
the  good  elements  of  nature  separately,  while  that  of 
the  old  Aryans  as  opposed  to  the  Iranians,  was  branded 
as  a  source  of  mischief  by  the  latter  tribe,  because  some 
of  their  Daevas  presided  over  natural  objects  possessing 
evil  qualities.  The  Ahurian  religion  of  agriculture  was 
instituted  which  separated  thenceforth  for  ever  from  that 
of  their  Aryan  brothers.  The  peculiar  form  of  this 
Ahurian  religion  was  mainly  due  to  one  great  personage 
Spitama  Zarathustra.  The  religion  of  Zoroaster  taught 
the  worship,  not  of  many  gods,  but  only  of  the  one  true 
god  Mazda  (Mazdayasna  as  opposed  to  Daevayasna). 
The  founders  of  this  Ahurian  religion  first  introduced 
agriculture  and  made  it  a  religious  duty  and  commenced 
war  against  the  Daeva  religion.  The  struggle  had 
begun  for  many  centuries  even  before  Zoroaster,  but 
it  can  never  be  doubted  that  he  gave  a  finishing  stroke 
to  their  idolatry  and  separated  the  contending  parties 
from  one  another  completely.  He  applied  the  term 
Ahurmazda  to  God  and  hated  the  Daeva-worshipping 
religion  by  distinguishing  his  religion  as  Vi-Daeva  i.  e. 
"opposed  to  the  Daevas."  Thus  these  two  tribes 
separated,  but  both  of  them  kept  the  names  of  their 
angels  and  heroes  permanent  in  order  to  show  their 
respect  and  reverence  for  them  and  so  we  find  similar 
names  both  in  the  Avesta  and  the  Vedas,  as  the  Avesta 
Mithra,  Sansk.  Mitra  ;  and  Avesta  Verethraghtta,  Sansk. 
Vrirahan  ;  Avesta  Haotna,  Sansk.  Soma.  They  are  all 
depicted  as  good  in  both  the  scriptures,  whilst  the 
Danu  tribe  plays  an  evil  part  in  either.  With  respect 
to  the  other  names,  though  some  are  to  be  found  in 
the  scriptures  of  both  the  communities,  still  they  do 
not  stand  in  the  same  light,  i.  e.  those  that  are  repre- 
sented  as   good    in    the  Avesta  are  reckoned  as  evil  in 


102  A.  K.  VESAVEWALA. 

the  Vedas.  e.  g.  the  Avesta  Ahura  and  Sansk.  Asura, 
and  those  that  are  represented  as  evil  in  the  Avesta  are 
characterised  as  good  in  the  Vedas.  e.  g.  Avesta-iWra, 
Vedic-TWra.  It  is  said  that  the  Brahmans  were  not 
satisfied  by  praising  their  forefathers  as  men  but 
extolled  them  as  divine  beings  or  angels  as  Avesta 
Yima,  Sansk.  Yama. 

Angels  in  the  Avesta  are  all  predominant  over  the 
good  creation  of  Ahura.  They  are  represented  as 
shapeless  and  undying  and  shining.  They  may  be 
divided  into  two  groups  (a)  those  that  resemble  the 
Vedic  gods  and  other  nations  of  antiquity  and  (b)  those 
that  are  purely  Iranian.  Every  archangel  is  supposed 
to  represent  an  abstract  conception  which  is  generally 
indicated  by  the  term  itself  and  every  angel  is  supposed 
to  be  a  minor  divinity  presiding  over  a  certain 
beneficent  natural  object.  For  example  Ater,  the  angel 
of  fire,  presides  over  fire  also.  A  very  great  homage 
was  paid  to  fire  so  much  so  that  no  important  ceremo- 
nies could  be  performed  without  it.  The  Yazatas 
(angels)  stand  in  the  Vedas  under  the  Name  of  the  Daevas. 
The  Devas  is  the  name  given  in  all  the  Vedas  and  in  the 
whole  Sanskrit  literature  to  the  divine  beings  or  gods  who 
are  the  objects  of  worship  on  the  part  of  the  Hindus 
even  to  the  present  day.  In  the  Avesta  from  its 
earliest  to  its  latest  texts  and  even  in  Persian  literature, 
Daeva  (Per.  Div.)  is  the  general  term  for  an  evil  spirit, 
a  fiend,  demon  or  devil  who  is  hostile  to  all  that  comes 
from  the  Almighty  and  that  is  good  for  mankind.  In 
the  confession  of  faith  recited  by  the  Parsis,  a  Mazda 
worshipper  is  distinctly  said  to  be  "  Vi-daeva  "  against 
the  Daevas. 

In  the  Vedas,  especially  in  the  Alharvaveda  and  the 
Brahmanas,  the  gods  number  thirty-three  (trayas  trim^ad 


AVESTAN  ARCHANGELS  &  SANSKRIT  DEITIES.  103 

devah)  in  all.  The  names  of  the  individual  Vedicgods 
are  not  the  same  throughout.  In  the  Aitareya  Brdh- 
inana  III,  22  they  are  enumerated  thus,  eight  Vasavas, 
eleven  Rudras,  twelve  Xdityas,  one  Prajapati,  and  one 
Vasatkara.  Instead  of  the  last  two  we  find  Dyava- 
Prthivi  (heaven  and  earth)  mentioned  in  the  Satapalha 
Brdhmaua  IV,  5,  7,  2.  In  another  passage  of  the 
same  work  XI,  6,  3,  5,  we  find  Indra  and  Prajapati 
mentioned  as  the  last  two.  In  the  Rdmdyana  III,  3,  12 
the  two  Asvins  are  mentioned  instead  of  them.  With 
these  thirty  three  Devas  of  the  Vedas  we  may  compare 
the  thirty  three  Ratus  or  chiefs  for  maintaining  the 
best  truths  as  they  are  instituted  by  Mazda  and  pro- 
mulgated by  Zoroaster.  The  difference  between  the 
Avestaic  Yazata  and  the  Vedic  Devas  is  that,  whereas  the 
Avestan  Yazatas  show  only  good  attributes  and  are  re- 
presented as  shining  and  immortal,  the  Vedic  Devas  are 
depicted  as  injuring  mankind  to  a  very  large  extent. 
The  ancient  Indians  worship  the  Devas  with  the 
main  object  that  they  may  escape  scot  free  from  their 
destructive  influences;  as  for  instance,  they  worship 
Yama,  the  Demon  of  death,  with  a  view  to  be  free  from 
his  pains.  On  the  other  hand  the  Parsis  are  enjoined 
to  fight  heroically  against  their  difficulties.  Again,  the 
Vedic  Devas  are  not  represented  as  shining  and  im- 
mortal. They  assume  a  human  form  and  involve 
themselves  in  these  worldly  attractions  and  pleasures. 
Again,  the  ancient  Indians  represent  a  pious  dead  man 
as  a  divine  being,  as  Yama,  Sansk.  Yama  being  the 
first  man  to  die  was  considered  a  god  after  his  death. 
Again,  the  Vedic  gods  are  not  the  direct  productions  of 
the  Almighty  but  they  have  parents  like  worldly 
men,  as  we  find  Indra  having  his  parents  in  this  world. 
Another    great    difference    is    that    human    sacrifices 


104  A.  K.  VESAVEWALA. 

were  offered  to  the  Vedic  gods,  whereas  in  Avesta  no 
such  sacrifices  seem  to  have  been  offered  to  the 
Yazatas.  In  the  Vedas  we  find  horses  and  sheep 
offered  as  sacrifices  to  Indra  and  Agni.  Now  let  us 
come  to  our  main  point. 

According  to  Avesta  the  first  and  most  worthy  of 
adoration  is  Ahura,  the  wisest  and  the  greatest.  He  is 
creator  of  the  invisible  as  well  as  the  visible  world. 
It  is  he  himself  who  inspired  Zoroaster  with  the  holy 
religion.  In  his  being,  Ahura-Mazda  is  [a  spirit.  He  is 
repesented  as  the  Creator,  the  supporter  and  the  ruler 
of  the  whole  universe.  His  character,  as  depicted  in 
the  holy  Gathas,  is  the  highest  and  noblest  conception 
of  spiritual  sublimity.  He  is  the  maker  of  the  sun,  the 
moon,  the  stars,  the  earth,  the  waters,  the  trees,  the 
winds,  the  clouds,  man,  the  Producer  of  the  day 
and  night,  without  beginning  and  without  end. 

According  to  Pahlavi  writings  He  is  Omniscient 
(vispa-akas),  omnipotent  (vispa-tuban),  the  supreme 
Sovereign  (vispa-khudai),  All-beneficent  (vispa-sut), 
All-in-all  (vispan-vispa.)  Many  different  sublime  attri- 
butes and  qualities  of  Ahura  are  found  in  Ahura  Mazda 
Yast,  which  go  to  prove  that  the  honour  and  dignity 
of  the  godhead  of  Ahuramazda  is  fully  upheld  and 
maintained  in  Avesta.  In  the  Vedas,  too,  we  find 
"  Asura  "  used  in  good  and  elevated  sense  as  in  the 
Avesta.  In  ligveda  the  chief  gods  Indra,  Agni  and 
others  are  all  named  Asura.  The  chief  gods  such  as 
Indra  (Rv.  I,  54,  3),  Varuna  (Rv.  I,  24,  14),  Agni 
(Rv.  IV  2,  5,  VII  2,  3),  Savitr  (Rv.  I,  35,  9),  Rudra  or 
Siva  (Rv.  V  42,  11,)  &c.  are  all  honoured  with  the 
epithet  Asura  which  word  means  "the  living,  spiritual," 
signifying  the  divine  in  opposition  to  human  nature. 
In   the   plural    it    is  even    used  for  all   the    gods,  as 


A  VEST  AN  ARCHANGELS  &  SANSKRIT  DEITIES.  105 

in  (Rv.  1  108,  6)  "This  Soma  is  to  be  distributed  as  an 
offering  among  the  Asuras."  by  which  word  the 
R^i  means  his  own  gods,  whom  he  was  worshipping. 
We  find  one  Asura  particularly  mentioned  who  is 
called  "  Asura  of  heaven  "  (Rv.  V,  41,  3).  Heaven  itself 
is  called  by  this  name  (Rv.  I,  131,  1).  From  all  this  we 
find  that  Asura  was  used  in  a  good  and  elevated  sense 
in  the  Vedas,  not  in  the  singular  only  but  also  in  the 
plural.  Zoroaster  used  (applied)  the  word  only  for  one 
Deity  and  despised  the  worship  of  many  gods.  Later 
on,  the  word  seems  to  have  assumed  a  bad  meaning  and 
was  so  applied  to  the  bitterest  enemies  of  the  Devas 
(gods)  with  whom  these  Asuras  are  depicted  as  always 
fighting.  The  Asuras  were  then  supposed  to  be  the 
constant  enemies  of  the  Hindu  gods,  and  they  make 
attacks  always  upon  the  sacrifices  offered  by  the 
devotees. 

The  second  archangel  mentioned  in  Avesta  next 
in  order  after  Ahura  is  Vohu  nicwo  who  is  regarded  as 
the  essential  faculty  in  all  living  beings  of  the  good 
creation.  He  is  also  regarded  as  the  guardian  in 
Pahlavi.  The  literal  meaning  of  the  word  Vohu-mano 
is  "  the  good  mind."  The  opposite  of  him  according  to 
Avesta  is  Akem-mano,  mentioned  in  Vcndidad  Fargarad 
XIX  4.  He  produces  all  bad  thoughts  in  men.  We  do 
not  find  any  equivalent  of  Vohu-mano  in  the  Vedic 
literature.  After  Vohu-mano  comes  Asha  Vahishta. 
This  term  means  "  the  best  righteousness ",  the 
first  part  whereof  viz.  Asha  means  "  rectitude, 
righteousness"  and  the  second  part  Vahishta  means, 
"the  best."  In  the  later  Avestan  literature  he  is  also 
the  archangel  presiding  over  fire,  the  reason  being  that 
fire  is  the  symbol  of  purity.  Vcndidad  XIX  43  depicts 
Indra  as  the  opponent  of  Asha  Vahishta.  Thus  Indra 
[F.  o.  c  II  i+] 


106  A.  K.  VESAVEWALA. 

the  chief  god  of  the  Brahmans,  the  thunderer,   the   god 

of  light  and  god  of  war,  one  for   whom   the   Rsis,  the 

ancient  founders  of  Brahman  ism,   squeezed  and  drank 

the  exhilarating  Soma  beverage,  is  expressly  mentioned 

in  the  Avesta  passage  above  referred  to  in   the  list   of 

demons.    Therein  he  stands  as  one  of  the  six  associates 

of  Angra-mainush  and  also  as  the  opponent   of  Asha 

Vahishta.     He  is  the  opponent  of  righteousness.     But 

in  the  Vedas,  he  is  considered  as  the  great   god   and  is 

placed  almost  on  the  same  level  as  the  Avestan   Ahura. 

He  reigns  over  the  deities   of   the   intermediate  region 

or  atmosphere.     He  fights  against   and  conquers  with 

his  thunderbolt,  the  demons  of  darkness  and  in  general 

he  is  a  symbol   of  generous   heroism.     In   the   Vedas 

many  hymns  are  recited  in  his  praise.     He  is  the   head 

of  all  and   fights   against   the  wicked  for  the   good   of 

mankind.     Everyone  is  afraid  of  him.     He  protects  the 

Aryans  and  guards  their  flock.  He  fights  with  theAsuras 

in   order  to   save  the  wives  of  the   Devas  from  falling 

into  their  hands  and  also  to   protect   men   and  cattle 

against  drought.     His  chief  power  lies  in   his  material 

strength.     The  Devas  Mitra,  Agni,  Marut  etc.  help  him 

in   his    battles.     Although    he   is   considered   so   very 

exalted  yet  he  is  not  uncreated.     "  A  vigorous  god  begot 

him,  a   heroic   female   brought  him  forth."     We   also 

find  his  parents  mentioned   in   the  Vedas.     He   fights 

with  Vrtra  and  Ahi,  who   are  the   demons  of   drought 

and  inclement   weather   and  overpowers    them   both. 

He  also   fights   with   Dasyus   and   Gandharva.     He    is 

represented  as  a  warrior.     He  has   vigour  in  his  body, 

strength  in  his   arms,   thunderbolts   in    his  hands  and 

wisdom  in  his  head.     Different   appellations  are  given 

to  him.     He  is  sometimes  called  the  Valabhid,  because 

once  he  protected  the  cattle  of  the  Brahmans  from  the 


AVESTAN  ARCHANGELS  &  SANSKRIT  DEITIES.  107 

hands  of  the  demon  Vala.  Another  name  is  "Vrtrahan" 
which  corresponds  to  Av.  Verethraghna.  The  chief 
triad  among  the  Hindus  is  that  of  Agni,  Surya  and  Vayu 
in  which  Indra  took  the  place  of  Vayu  and  was 
represented  as  the  demon  of  storm,  thunder  and 
lightning.  Like  human  nature,  however,  he  is  a  slave  to 
his  passion.  He  has  got  a  wife  called  Indrani  in  the 
Vedas  and  several  children.  According  to  the  Mahd- 
bhdrata,  he  even  seduced,  or  at  all  events,  endeavoured 
to  seduce  Ahalya,  the  wife  of  the  sage  Gautama.  His 
libertine  character  is  also  shown  by  his  frequently 
sending  celestial  nymphs  to  excite  the  passions  of  holy 
men  and  to  beguile  them  from  the  potent  penances 
which  he  dreaded.  He  is  wrathful  with  those  who 
do  not  dedicate  to  him  the  drinking  beverage  called 
Soma.  Although  he  obtains  victory  over  his  rivals,  still 
he  is  sometimes  afraid  of  them  and  especially  of  the 
Brahmans.  Owing  to  this,  his  position  is,  in  the  later 
Vedas,  so  much  depreciated  that  even  his  existence 
is  doubted. 

The  fourth  archangel  is  Klishathra  Vairya  Sharevar, 
(which  in  the  later  literature),  presides  over  metals 
in  the  Avesta  and  is  the  giver  of  wealth.  The  name 
literally  means  the  desirable  strength  or  sovereignty. 
Khshathra  in  Gatha  means  power,  strength  or  authority 
and  Vairya  means  desirable  or  wished  for.  It  is  found 
in  Pahlavi  as  Khshathra  or  Shatrevar,  in  Persian  as 
Shahrivar. 

u  This  personified  abstraction  In  its  spiritual  sense" 
rightly  observes  Professor  Jackson  "  represents  an  em- 
bodiment of  Ahura  Mazda's  might,  majesty, dominion  and 
power,  or  that  blessed  reign  whose  establ  ishment  on  earth 
will  mean  the  annihilation  of  evil."  The  pious 
Zarathushtra  desires  strength  from  god  for  his  disciples 
so  that  they   may   give   him   help    in   performing  the 


108  A.  K.  VESAVEWALA. 

marvellous  achievement  of  this  world  viz.,  propagation 
of  the  religion.  "Khshathra  in  short  denotes  the  rule  of 
Ahura  Mazda  as  is  apparent  from  Yasna  Ha  41  sec.  2. 
"May  we  attain  to  thy  Good  Kingdom,  O  Ahura  Mazda, 
for  all  eternity."  In  the  world  of  material  things 
Khshathra  Vairya  is  represented  as  presiding  over  metals, 
Saurva  (Vedic  Sarva)  occurs  as  the  opponent  of 
Khshathra  Vairya  in  Vendidad  Fargarad  XIX,  in  which 
context,  he  is  mentioned  as  a  perishable  cold-producing 
demon  and  an  assistance  to  Indra  and  Anghromainush. 
The  Vedic  Sarva  is  called  the  Siva  of  the  Hindus. 
His  work  is  to  produce  mismanagement,  oppression  and 
drunkenness  in  men.  Among  the  Hindus  he  is  con- 
sidered to  be  a  great  god. 

In  Bundehishna  we  find  the  word  Savar  or  Sovar 
for  the  same.  In  the  Vedas  his  appearance  is  depicted 
as  very  dreadful.  He  wears  a  garland  of  the  human 
skulls.  In  the  exercise  of  his  function  of  Universal 
Destroyer  he  is  said  to  destroy  not  only  all  created 
beings  but  even  Brahma,  Visnu  and  the  other  gods 
whose  bones  and  skulls  he  wears  as  garlands.  He  is 
compared  with  the  demon  of  death.  Later  on^he  is 
called  the  chief  of  the  spirits  and  witches.  Siva  is 
the  term  unknown  to  the  Vedas  but  the  one  frequently 
used  is  Rudra.  In  the  Rdmdyana  Siva  is  a  great  god 
but  the  references  to  him  have  more  of  the  idea  of  a 
personal  god  than  of  a  supreme  divinity. 

One  triad  of  divine  manifestation  among  the 
Hundus  is  that  of  Brahman  (Creator),  Visnu  (Protector) 
and  Siva  (Destroying  spirit).  There  he  is  found  as  a 
destroyer.  In  this  capacity  he  can  to  a  certain  extent 
be  compared  with  Angromainush,  the  evil  spirit. 

After  Khshathra  Vairya  comes  Spenta  Armaiti 
(Spendarmad)  "  the  bountiful  Armaiti  "  who  represents 


AVESTAN  ARCHANGELS  &  SANSKRIT  DEITIES.  109 

the  earth.  The  name  literally  denotes  "  bountiful 
righteous  thinking  "  the  mind  which  keeps  itself  always 
within  the  bounds  of  what  is  right  and  good.  By  this 
is  not  only  to  be  understood  wisdom  but  something 
even  more  than  that  viz,  "humility  and  quiet  resigna- 
tion to  the  divine  will."  The  earth  has  two  names  in 
the  Avesta  (1)  Spenta  Armaiti  and  (2)  Zejn  Hudio.  The 
first  is  one  of  the  names  of  the  Amesha  Spentas  and  the 
second  is  the  name  both  of  the  earth  and  of  its 
Yazata.  Ervad  Sheriarji  Bharucha  translates  it  as 
"beneficent  love".  The  root  meaning  of  Armaiti  is  also 
"  devotion ".  She  represents  the  pious  and  obedient 
heart  of  the  true  worshipper  of  Ahura  Mazda  who  serves 
god  alone  with  body  and  soul.  Materially  Spenta 
Armaiti  is  represented  as  the  protectress  of  the  earth. 
This  part  of  her  nature  appears  more  clearly  in  the 
legend  of  Yama,  according  to  which,  under  that  king 
the  human  and  animal  creations  having  multiplied 
themselves  and  the  earth  having  consequently  become 
too  narrow  for  them,  he  prayed  to  Spenta  Armaiti  to 
extend.  Along  with  this  idea,  one  may  inquire  as  to 
how  humility  could  be  made  to  be  the  protectress  of 
the  earth.  This  comes  from  the  idea  of  regarding  the 
earth  chiefly  as  the  humble  suffering  one  which  bears 
all,  nourishes  all,  and  sustains  all.  Armaiti  is  found 
as  a  female  spirit  in  the  Vedas  also.  Here  too  she 
stands  under  a  double  aspect.  In  Rgveda  VII,  1, 
6  ;  34, 21  Aramati  is  used  in  the  sense  of  "  devotion". 
In  the  same  book  (X  92,  4,  5)  we  find  Anunati  used 
also  in  the  sense  of  earth.  "  From  this  we  see '' 
observes  Dr.  Haug  "  that  in  the  Vedas  as  well  as  very 
often  in  the  Avesta,  we  cannot  with  certainty  separate 
the  abstract  from  the  concrete  significance".  She  is 
called  a  virgin  in  the  Vedas  who   comes   to  Agni  with 


110  A.  K.  VESAVEWALA. 

the  offerings  of  butter  every  morning  and  evening 
(Rv.  VII,  1,  6.).  In  the  Gathas  she  is  called  the  daughter 
of  Ahura  Mazda.  Naonhaithya,  Vedic  Nasatyas,  is  the 
name  of  an  evil  spirit  in  the  Avesta.  He  is  the  demon 
of  dissatisfaction  and  illusion.  He  is  also  Asvin  in  the 
Vedas  and  an  opponent  of  Spenta  Armaiti.  In  Bun- 
dehishna  he  is  called  "  Naonhas  ".  Here  we  find  his 
another  name  Taromat,  which  is  exactly  the  opposite 
of  Spenta  Armaiti.  He  is  mentioned  as  an  evil  Daeva 
along  with  Indra,  Sauru,  Tairich,  Zairich  etc.  in  Vendi- 
dad  Fargarad  19-42  and  Vendidad  Fargarad  10-9.  In 
Naonhaythia  daeva  we  readily  recognise  the  Nasatyas  of 
the  Vedic  hymns.  He  is  herein  depicted  as  the 
companion   of  Indra,  Shurva  and  Aesma. 

Haurvatat  and  Ameretat  (Khordad  and  Amardad), 
the  two  last  archangels,  form  an  inseparable  pair.  They 
appear  almost  constantly  united  and  the  presence  of  the 
one  announces  that  of  the  other.  The  link  which 
unites  them  is  as  close  as  that  of  Mitra  and  Varuna  in 
Vedic  poetry.  Their  names  signify  invulnerability  or 
totality  and  immortality.  They  rule  over  the  water 
and  the  plants  respectively  in  the  later  literature.  They 
represent  the  preservation  of  the  original  uncorrupted 
state  of  the  good  creation  and  its  remaining  in 
the  same  condition  as  that  in  which  it  was 
created  by  God.  They  are  generally  both  mentioned 
together  and  they  express  a  single  compound  idea. 
Being  the  tutelary  deities  of  waters  and  plants,  they 
are  quite  naturally  appointed  to  preside  over  the 
nourishment  of  mankind.  The  abstract  significance  of 
both  these  Amesha  Spentas  is  quite  clear,  as  we  know 
the  water  dispenses  health  and  the  wholesome  plants 
are  created  by  God  to  dispel  sickness  and  death ; 
hence  both  of  them  form  as  if  it  were  an  inseparable 


AVESTAN  ARCHANGELS  &  SANSKRIT  DEITIES.  Ill 

pair.  Haurvatat  is  derived  from  haurva  meaning 
entire,  whole  and  t&t  is  the  abstract  suffix ;  so  it  seems 
that  Haurvatat  corresponds  to  the  Latin  Word  Universi- 
tas  meaning  healthiness,  totality.  Ameretat  is  derived 
from  a  and  mereta  meaning  not  dying,  the  tdt  being 
the  abstract  suffix  ;  so  the  whole  meaning  is  immorta- 
lity or  indefinite  recoil  from  death.  The  adversaries  of 
Haurvatat  and  Ameretat  are  Tauru  and  Zairicha,  the 
demons  of  sickness  and  decrepitude  or  feebleness.  In 
the  Avesta  Vendidad  thty  are  considered  to  be  the  com- 
panions of  Anghra  Mainush.  As  Haurvatat  and  Ameretat 
acquired  the  attributes  of  the  protectors  of  water  and 
vegetation,  so  their  opponents  appear  most  likely  to  be 
the  demons  of  thirst  and  hunger.  The  derivation  of 
Zairicha  corroborates  this  statement.  It  comes  from 
'  Zar '  to  weaken  or  to  fall  down  and  hence  this  demon 
produces  weakness,  debility  and  death  among  mankind 
and  so  whilst  Ameretat  increases  the  growth  of  trees  and 
food,  this  demonZairicha  produces  aridity  and  barrenness 
and  scarcity  of  food,  for  living  creatures.  According 
to  Bundehishna  and  Dddestdrti  Dini  Zairicha  produces 
poison.  In  the  Vedas  we  find  Brahma  producing 
several  angels  and  the  evil  powers  all  fight  against  them 
and  just  as  Zairicha  is  considered  to  be  the  opponent 
of  Ameretat,  so  Zaras  is  supposed  to  be  the  evil  power 
against  vegetation  land  plants.  In  Dddestdtii  Dini 
Zairich  is  considered  to  be  the  producer  of  poison. 


PALI    HND   BUDDHISM 


[F.  0.  C,  18  j 


KING  JANAKA  AND  THE  BURNING 
OF  MITHILX 

(From  Pali  &  Jain  Sources.) 

By  C.  V.  Rajwade. 

I. 

The  earliest  mention  of  King  Janaka  in  the 
Brahmanical  texts  is  in  the  Satapatha  Brahmana.  His 
name  occurs  there  in  various  places  (xi  3.1.2  ;  4.3.20  ; 
6.2.1  &c).  But  the  famous  passage  which  is  frequently 
repeated  in  later  texts  is  xi.  6.2.1.  There  it  is  said  of 
King  Janaka  of  Videha,  that  he  once  met  with 
some  travelling  Brahmins  named  *ta%3  3TT^pi,  stag**?", 
tfT^rfsf  and  ^TTfre^H  and  asked  them  as  to  how  they 
offered  the  3Tfasfa  oblation.  They  replied  in  different 
ways.  The  King  was  satisfied  with  the  answer  of  -I mm* 
and  gave  him  three  hundred  cows  etc. 

He  is  mentioned  in  some  of  the  other  Brahmanas 
also  as  liberal  in  his  gifts  and  famous  for  his 
philosophical  discussions  on  Brahman. 

Of  the  Upanisads  the  Kausitaki  and  Jdbdla  have 
merely  passing  references  to  him.  But  almost  the 
whole  of  the  4th  Adhyaya  of  Brhaddranyaka  Upanisad 
speaks  of  his  philosophical  discussions  mainly  with 
Yajnavalkya. 

These  are  all  related  in  the  same  way  as  the 
narratives  of  Sat.  Br.  and  show  the  same  familiarity 
with  the  subject.  Brh.  Up.  4.3  especiallv  is  interesting 
as  it  is  a  continuation  of  Sat.  Br.  xi.  6.2.1.  given  above. 

In  the  Mahdbhdrata  there  is  a  very  large  number 
of  narratives  about  him.  But  a  tone  of  respectful 
distance  is  already  visible  in  them  and  sometimes  he 
becomes    almost  mythical.     The   famous  stanza  \ 


11£  C.  V.  RAJWADE. 

ftteret  MflHMi  =r  *r  ^rfr  f%=^r  u  xii  219,50 
is  many  times  abruptly  ushered  in  as  having  been 
formerly  sung  by  the  King  of  Videha.  All  these 
narratives  are  further,  with  only  one  exception 
(iii.  8089),  restricted  to  the  twelfth  book  Santi- 
parvan,  where  there  is  free  scope  for  the  addition 
of  any  matter  of  a  philosophical  import.  Thus  besides 
the  famous  stanza  about  the  burning  of  Mithila  we 
meet  with  narratives  of  discussions  of  the  King  with 
various  persons.  Adhs.  220-223  are  very  important. 
Janaka  is  there  said  to  have  employed  a  hundred 
teachers  of  various  sects  and  tried  hard  to  find  out  the 
'soul'.  At  last  Pancasikha  is  brought  in  who  preaches 
the  Sankhya  doctrine  to  the  King.  This  is  interesting 
as  the  fact  of  the  King's  ever  having  been  conversant 
with  the  Sankhya  doctrine  has  not  been  mentioned 
before  in  the  Brahmanas  and  Upanisads.  And  in  the 
treatment  of  the  principles  of  the  Sankhya  doctrine, 
there  is  clearly  visible  a  dominating  influence  of  the 
tenetsof  Buddhism.  There  are  other  Adhs.  also,  treating 
of   Sankhya  as  preached  to  Janaka. 

But  the  passage  that  is  of  great  importance  to  us 
for  our  present  enquiry  is  contained  in  Adh.  18  which 
records  the  conversation  of  Janaka  with  his  wife,  as  he 
was  about  to  renounce  the  world.  In  order  to  stop 
him  from  doing  so,  she   uttered   the   following   stanzas 

h«-«im  TT^pfi  fl^rr  *FF$t  H\<&w\\%m'  u  *  n 


and  asked  him  to  stay  in  worldly  life  and  give  gifts, 
for  that  was  the  best  Dharma  and  renunciation  was  of 
no  use. 


KING  JANAKA  &  THE  BURNING  OF      ITHILX    117 

What  connection  this  legend  has  with  the  famous 
stanza  will  be  apparent  when  we  treat  of  the  Buddhist 
and  Jain  parallels  in  the  next  two  sections.  Let  it 
suffice  here  to  note  the  very  abrupt  beginning  and 
close  of  the  narrative  and  its  omission  to  give  a 
connected  account  as  to  the  renunciation  of  the  great 
King. 

II. 

There  is  no  mention  of  King  Janaka  in  the 
Buddhist  Tripitaka  except  in  the  Jataka  book.  But 
there  is  a  Gatha  in  the  Dhammapada  which  closely 
resembles  the  famous  stanza.     It  is  as  follows  : — 

In  the  Chinese  and  Tibetan  versions  of  the  Dhp. 
there  is  an  additional  verse  given  preceding  this  Gatha, 
which  appears  as  an  exact  translation  of  the  famous 
stanza  in  Mbh. 

The  Jataka  that  narrates  the  story  of  King  Janaka 
is  the  Mahajan  akajataka  (No.  539).  At  Mithila  in  Videha 
reigned  a  King  called  Maha-Janaka  He  had  two  sons 
Arittha  and  Pola-janaka  by  name.  After  the  death  of 
the  King  the  first  ruled  the  country  and  imprisoned  his 
brother.  But  the  latter  escaped  by  means  of  the  'truth 
ordeal',  attacked  Arittha  with  a  large  army  and  killed 
him.  The  queen  of  Arittha  fled  from  the  city  and  with 
the  aid  given  to  her  by  Sakra  went  to  Kalacampa  where 
a  Brahmin  took  care  of  her.  She  gave  birth  to  a  son 
at  that  place,  who  was  named  Mahajanaka.  When  he 
came  of  age  he  set  out  for  Suvarnabhumi  with  desire 
to  regain  his  father's  kingdom.  The  prince  reached 
Mithila  and  found  that  Pola-janaka  was  dead.  The 
ministers  wanted  to  choose  a  new  King  as  there  was 
no  heir  to  the   throne.     For   this   purpose   they   made 


118  C.  V.  RAJ  WADE. 

ready  a  chariot  according  to  instructions  left  by  the 
dead  King  and  carried  it  all  over  the  city.  It  went 
and  stopped  just  before  the  prince  who  had  arrived 
there,  and  thus  he  was  duly  chosen.  Another  con- 
dition laid  down  by  the  late  King  was  that  the  man 
selected  should  be  able  to  win  the  hand  of  his 
daughter. 

After  a  time  his  queen  gave  birth  to  a  son.  Once 
the  King  went  to  a  garden  where  stood  two  mango 
trees,  one  laden  with  fruit  and  the  other  devoid  of  any. 
He  took  off  a  mango  fruit  from  the  former  tree  and 
began  to  eat  it.  His  retinue  thereupon  ransacked  that 
tree  and  left  no  fruit  on  it.  On  his  way  back  the 
King  found  what  had  happened.  He  reflected  in  his 
mind  that  the  tree  was  ruined  on  account  of  its  fruit, 
while  the  other  was  quite  safe.  Thus  in  this  world,  it 
is  only  those  that  have  possessions  that  are  beset  with 
fear:  'Sakincanasseva  bhayan  na  akincanassa.'  With  this 
thought  he  resolved  to  renounce  the  world.  He  left 
the  palace  just  at  the  time  when  the  Queen  was  coming 
to  see  him.  Knowing  what  had  happened,  she  followed 
the  King,  and  in  order  to  tempt  him  back  into  worldly 
life,  continued  to  show  him  fire  and  smoke  on  every- 
side  and  said  to  him,  "Here  are  the  flames  that  are 
burning  down  all  your  treasures.  Come  back,  O  King! 
May  not  your  wealth  be  destroyed!"  To  this  the  King 
calmly  replied 

125    m®  srt  sfaR  *m  :rr  ;tfcsr  fy&R  \ 

faterc  tf^Mn  ^  ^  %f^  are^sr  ii  245 

The  Queen  then  tried  to  win   him   over  by  various 
other  expedients.     She  showed  him   that  thieves   were 
plundering  his  city,  to  which  the  reply  was 
127    m®  *R  ttw  ^  3t  =rfc«T  fi»*#  i 

#  G&WMft*  *  *r  fofar  alitor  II  247 


KING  JANAKA  &  THE  BURNING  OF  MITHILX    119 

128    §g*r  ^  *fcm  tt  3\  srfrr  ft*««i  i 

«J)ftw=wi  nfaw w  ^n  amrercr  *ror  ii  248  ( -  Dhp.  200) 
The  queen  and  the  people  still  tried  to  follow  him. 
On  his  way  to  Himalaya  the  King  met  Narada  and 
Migajina  and  at  last  reached  the  city  of  Thuna,  where 
he  began  to  eat  a  morsel  of  flesh  left  by  a  dog,  at 
which  the  Queen  was  disgusted.  But  he  calmly  replied 
that  all  food  was  pure  alike.  Sabbo  bhakkho  anavajjo. 
Going  further  they  saw  a  girl,  on  one  of  whose  arms 
there  were  two  bangles  and  on  the  other  only  one.  The 
two  bangles  on  one  arm  jingled  while  the  one  on  the 
other  was  silent.  In  order  to  convince  the  queen  of  the 
advantage  of  solitary  life,  the  king  asked  the  girl  how 
the  two  made  noise  while  the  one  was  silent.  She 
replied. 

157  ft%  ww  ^  qfegsrr  $*tg?r  i 
wnm  ^fFT^  sft  $Rm*H  *n  *Rfr  ii  277 

158  fri&r  ww  %&  ifegsff  tr^ft^r  i 

#  sr^fcRft  *  ^^  Jjf^ra  frrsfcT  n  278 

159  GMKH^cfl"  %faft  %N»r  forttwfcr  i 
<TW  %  Piiiw  v^x\  sfqdtfd  ii    279 

Further  they  saw  a  fletcher  heating  and  straitening 

an  arrow   by   closing   one   eye,     On    being    asked  the 

reason  of  this   he  replied,    "viewed  with  both  the  eyes, 

the  object  appears  large,   with  one  eye,  one  can  hit  the 

exact   spot   in    the   object"   and   repeated   stanza  159. 

Seeing   the   king   leave   her,  the  queen  fainted,  but  the 

king   went  on.     The   queen  built  shrines  at  the  various 

places  where  they  had  stopped,  returned  and  renounced 

the  world. 

III. 

In  the  sacred  books  of  the  Jains,  the  name  of 
Janaka  does  not  occur  at  all.  We  have  instead  legends 
about  a  king   called    Nami    which  correspond  to  those 


120  C.  V.  RAJWADE. 

about  king  Janaka  in  the  Brahmanical  and  Buddhist 
books.  Nami  in  Jain  scriptures  is  one  of  the  four 
Pratyekabuddhas  whose  accounts  are  given  in  the  com- 
mentaries to  the  ninth  Adh.  of  the  Uttarddhanasiitra 
which  is  styled  Namipravrajya.  He  seems  to  corres- 
pond to  king  Nimi  of  the  Brahmanical  and  Buddhist 
books.  There  is  mention  of  a  king  of  that  name  in 
the  Paiicavimsabrdhmana  (XXV.  10. 17).  The  Mahabha- 
rata  speaks  of  Nimi  as  an  ancestor  of  Janaka  (ii-8,  9  ; 
xiii.138)  and  his  name  frequently  occurs  in  the  Puranas. 
Thus  in  Visnu  (iv-5-6)  it  is  told  how  once  Nimi  and 
Vasistha  cursed  each  other.  The  same  story  is  told 
in  Bhdgavata  (ix.l 3.1-13). 

In  the  Buddhist  scriptures,  a  whole  Jataka  (Nimi- 
jatka  No.  541)  deals  with  his  account.  He  is  said  to 
have  been  an  incarnation  of  the  famous  king  Makhadeva 
who  renounced  the  world  on  seeing  a  grey  hair  appear 
on  his  head  He  became  pious  and  liberal,  whereupon 
Sakra  in  fear  came  down  to  see  the  king,]* who  asked 
him  about  the  fruit  of  Dana  and  Brahmacarya.  Sakra 
then  asked  his  charioteer  Matalito  show  heaven  and  hell 
to  the  king,  which  was  done.  Sakra  finally  asked  the 
king  to  partake  of  the  joys  of  heaven,  but  he  declined. 
He  came  back  to  the  earth  and  renounced  the  world. 
His  son  Kalara-Janaka  then  sat  on  the  thorne. 

The  commentary  to  the  Uttaradhyayana  gives  the 
introductory  account  of  the  life  of  Nami  upto  the  point 
where  the  text  of  the  9th  Adh.  begins.  Its  substance 
is  as  follows  :- 

At  Sudarsanapura  in  the  Malavaka  country,  there 
reigned  King  Maniratha.  His  brother  was  appointed 
Yuvaraja.  He  had  a  wife  Mayanareha  and  a  son.  The 
king  once  fell  in  love  with  Mayana  but  as  she  would 
not   consent   he  tried  to  kill    her   husband.     So  when 


KING  JANAKA  &  THE  BURNING  OF  MITHIlX  121 

once  the  Yuvaraja  was  sporting  in  a  garden  with  his 
wife,  the  king  went  there,  killed  him  and  pretended 
that  this  happened  through  mistake.  Madanarekha 
fled  to  the  forest,  where  she  gave  birth  to  a  son.  While 
she  went  to  an  adjoining  lake  to  wash  herself,  a  water- 
elephant  threw  her  up  with  his  trunk.  A  Vidyadhara 
caught  her  up,  and  would  not  allow  her  even  to  fetch 
her  child. 

The  king  of  Mithila  found  the  child  and  reared  him 
up  with  the  aid  of  his  wife.  Madanarekha  outwardly 
consented  to  the  advances  made  by  the  Vidyadhara  and 
both  went  to  Nandisvara  and  listened  to  the  sermon; 
when  the  Vidyadhara  was  imbued  with  the  spirit  of 
religion  he  left  her.  The  saint  who  was  preaching 
then  told  her  the  former  story  of  her  son  in  detail. 
Mandanrekha  was  taken  by  a  god  to  Mithila  where  she 
renounced  and  was  named  Suvvaya.  Her  son  was 
named  Nami.  Maniratha  died  by  serpent-bite,  just  the 
night  he  killed  his  brother.  So  Candrayasas  was 
placed  on  the  throne  of  Sudarsanapura.  Once  the 
white  elephant  of  Nami  wandered  in  the  town  and 
was  caught  by  Candrayasas  whence  ensued  war.  But 
Suvrata  revealed  her  identity  to  Nami  and  made  peace 
between  the  two  brothers.  Candrayasas  then  renounced 
the  throne    in  favour  of   Nami. 

Once  there  was  an  intense  burning  sensation  in 
the  body  of  king  Nami.  The  queens  began  to  anoint 
him  with  sandle  juice,  but  their  bangles  jingled  which 
troubled  the  king  a  great  deal.  So  they  broke  all 
their  bangles  leaving  only  one  on  each  arm,  when  all 
noise  was  stopped.  From  this  the  king  realized  that 
Sangha  was  the  cause  of  all  pain  in  this  world,  and  so 
he  renounced. 
LF.  o.  C.  II  16.] 


122  C  V.  RAJWADE. 

tnTST  3T*T^T  3&Wt  H*fKI^I  Pl^dl  41  foil (M  II 
Here  the  commentary  is  over  and  the  text 
begins.  King  Nami  renounced  the  world  and  there  was 
a  great  commotion  in  Mithila  at  this.  To  test  him, 
Sakra  came  in  the  guise  of  a  Brahmin  and  asked  the 
king,  "Why  is  there  so  much  commotion  in  the  city  ?" 
Nami — There  is  a  Caitya  tree  in  Mithila  full  of 
fruit  and  flowers.  It  is  shaken  by  the  wind,  and  these 
creatures,  the  birds,  are  crying  being  helpless  (9-10). 

Sakra— Here  is  fire  and  wind,  your  palace  is  being 
burnt,  why  do  you  not  look  at  your  harem  ?  (Here 
Sakra  showed  the  king  the  ravages  done  by  fire  and 
wind). 

Nami — §t  «Kn*ft  sfRTjfr  *rf%  *rt  *rf&  f%^t  I 

ftii\<Aiqr  s^jTFjftTT  ^  ^  &*%%  m^n  II  14 

Since  I  have  left  wife  and  son  and  am  without 
any  business  and  have  turned  a  Bhiksu  I  have  neither 
likes  nor  dislikes. 

Then  follows  a   long   conversation  in  which  Sakra 

tries   in   various   ways   to   tempt   the   king   back  into 

worldly   life  but   the   king   answers  all  his  arguments 

and  is  quite   determined   to  renounce   (17-49).     Sakra 

at  last  expressed  his  great  surprise  and  then  left  off  the 

guise  of  a  Brahmin,   bowed  down  to  the  king,  praised 

him  and  went  away. 

*  #  # 

We  may  now  try  to  see   what    results  we   obtain 

by  the   comparison  of  the   three  versions.     One  thing 

is  clear   enough  at  the   outset  by  being   common  to  all 

the  versions,  that  Mithila  was  never  actually  burnt.     It 

is  not  a  historical  fact  at  all.     Further  it  appears   that 

it  was   a  mere    show  put   forth  to  tempt   the  king, 

although  this  fact  is  absent  from  the   Mbh.  version. 

There  seem  to  have  been  two  different  accounts  of  the 


KING  JANAKA  &  THE  BURNING  OF  MITHILA.  123 

temptation  to  which  the  king  was  subjected.  In  one 
it  was  Sakra  that  came  down  from  heaven  specially  to 
test  the  king,  and  in  this  the  Jain  account  seems  to  be 
more  ancient.  As  shown  before  the  Mbh.  story  is  a 
mere  makeshift.  According  to  the  other  account,  it 
was  his  queen  that  tried  to  tempt  him  back  into 
worldly  life.  This  is  recorded  in  an  isolated  chapter 
(xii-18)  of  the  Mbh.,  which  tallies  in  its  general  idea 
with  the  Mahajanakajataka.  The  Jataka  story  is  a  homo- 
genious  and  compact  account,  although  some  incidents 
may  as  well  have  been  added  there,  while  as  noted 
before,  the  Mbh.  version  is  too  abrupt  and  uncon- 
nected. 

The  name  of  the  king  on  whom  these  legends 
are  fathered  seems  to  have  been  Janaka.  The  Mbh.  and 
Jataka  versions  are  at  one  with  regard  to  this  fact.  In 
the  Jain  version,  however,  these  accounts  are  given  not 
about  Janaka  but  about  Nimi.  From  the  agreement 
in  name  in  the  Mbh.  and  Jataka  versions  it  may  in  all 
probability  be  said  that  the  Jains  substituted  the  name 
of  Nimi,  one  of  Janaka's  ancestors,  for  Janaka  himself. 
The  fact  that  Janaka  was  a  pious  king  always  engaged 
in  philosophical  discussions  and  that  he  was  a  Brahmin 
in  spirit  goes  back  to  the  times  of  Sat.  Br.,  while  the 
name  and  account  of  Nimi  is  no  where  to  be  found 
in  ancient  literature.  The  idea  of  substitution  need 
not  surprise  us  as  such  things  have  been  done  by  the 
Brahmins  and  Buddhists  themselves.  It  is  in  fact 
common  to  all  religions. 

The  two  versions  of  the  story  of  Janaka's  renun- 
ciation seem  originally  to  have  been  quite  distinct, 
but  later  on  to  have  got  mixed,  as  can  be  seen  from 
the  parallelism  in  stanzas  in  the  three  versions.  Closely 
similar    words   are   put    in   the   mouths  of  Sakra   and 


124  C.  V.  RAJWADE. 

the  queen  and  the  fact  of  the  burning  of  Mithila 
being  figurative  already  peeps  out  from  the  second 
version  (xii-18)  in  the  Mbh.  where  the  queen  says: 

In  spite  of  the  agreement  between  the  Buddhist 
and  Jain  versions,  it  may  have  been  the  fact  that  the 
bracelet  incident  was  originally  quite  independent 
and  was  later  on  amalgamated  with  the  main  story. 
This  may  be  further  seen  from  the  fact  that  the 
incident  is  put  at  different  parts  of  the  story  in  the  differ- 
ent versions.  In  the  Mbh.  it  is  a  separate  incident  quite 
unconnected  with  the  story,  as  is  also  the  case  with 
the  reference  in  Suttanipata  given  before.  In  the 
Jataka  version  it  is  put  at  the  end  of  the  story,  while 
in  the  Jain  version  it  does  not  appear  in  the  regular 
text  of  the  Uttarddhyayana  at  all,  but  belongs  to  the 
commentarial  portion  and  is  given  there  as  having 
happened  before  the  renunciation  of  the  king. 

The  heaven  and  hell  incident  may  be  said  to  have 
no  parallelism  at  all.  In  Nimijataka  it  is  Sakra's 
charioteer  that  showed  heaven  and  hell  Xo  king  Nami 
while  in  Mbh.  xii-99  king  Janaka  himself  showed  these 
to  the  warriors. 

1  This  Stanza  occurs  also  in  the  Samyutta  Nikfiya  IV.  2-8. 

2  Fausboll  VI  33-68. 

3  Fausboll  VI. 

4  I  do  not  mean  that  there  was  2.ny  conscious  and 
deliberate  attempt  at  substitution.  Attention  to  minor  details 
is  many  times  not  paid  owing  to  religions  enthusiasm.  Besides 
as  Nimi  was  an  ancestor  of  Janaka,  legends  about  both 
might  early  have  got  mixed  together  and  the  Jains  may  have 
used  just  the  other  version  for  their  purpose. 


nXgXrjuna,  the  earliest  writer  of 
the  renaissance  period. 


By  Satis  Chandra  Vidyabhusana. 

The  first  and  foremost  writer  of  the  Renaissance 
period  300  A.  D.  to  600  was  Nagarjuna,  called  by  Tibe- 
tan writers,  Klu-grub,  round  whose  name  has  gathered 
together  a  host  of  traditional  stories  referring 
to  his  gifts  as  a  Physician,  a  Chemist,  an 
Alchemist  and  a  Philosopher.  I  shall  here  only 
give  a  sh  ort  account  of  Nagarjuna  as  a  Philosopher. 
Nagarjuna  was  born  at  Vidarbha  (modern  Berar) 
in  Mahakos'ala  during  the  reign  of  King  Sadvaha  or 
Satavahana  to  whom  he  wrote  a  letter  called  Nagarjuna- 
subord  lekha  (of  the  Andhra  dynasty)1  and  passed 
many  of  his  days  in  meditation  in  a  cave  dwelling 
of  Sri-Parvata2  that  bordered  on  the  river  Krsni. 
That  Nagarjuna  lived  in  Vidarbha  (modern  Berar)  is 
evident  from  an  inscription  on  an  image  of  Buddha 
by  the  side  of  the  Amaravati  Stupa  in  character  of  the 
early  7th  century  A.  D,  The  image  is  said  to  have 
been  originally  prepared  by  Candraprabha,  disciple 
of  Jnanaprabha,  who  in  his  turn  was  a  disciple  of  Bha- 
danta  Nagarjunacarya.'  Nagarjuna  was  a  pupil  of 
Saraha  and  is  said  to  have  converted  a  powerful  king 
named  Bhoja  Deva  to  Buddhism.  He  is  stated  by 
Lama   Taranath,   to  have  been  a  contemporary  of  king 

1.  Beal's  Buddhist  Records  of  the  Western  World,  Vol. 
II  Book  VIII,  p.  97  and  book  X  p.  210. 

2.  For  an  account  of  Sri-parvata  or  &ri-saila  see  Hinen- 
thsang's   life,  Introduction  p.  xi  by  Beal; 

3.  Archaeological  Survey  of  South  India  No.  3.  Amara- 
vati Stupa. 


126  SATIS  CHANDRA  VIDYABHUSANA. 

Nemi  Candra  (about  300  A.  D.)  and  perhaps  also  of 
Candra  Gupta  I  (319  A.  D.).  The  latest  date  that  can  be- 
assigned  to  Nagarjuna  is  401  A.  D.  when  his  biography 
was  translated  into  Chinese  by  Kumarajiva. 
That  Nagarjuna  lived  at  the  end  of  the  3rd  century 
A.  D.  harmonises  well  with  the  fact  that  his  disciple 
Deva  lived  a  little  after  320  A.  D. 

Nagarjuna  was  the  author  of  a  treatise  on  logic 
called  Pramdna  Vihetancf  which  is  a  review  of  the  defini- 
tions of  the  sixteen  categories  as  given  in  the  Nydya 
Sutra.  The  Sanskrit  original  of  this  work  is  not  available, 
but  there  is  extant  a  Tibetan  version  of  a  comment- 
ary on  it,  called  Pramdna-vihetana-tippi~taka-vrtti 
or  a  magic-stick  commentary  on  Pramana-Vihetana. 
A  special  feature  of  the  Pramana-Vihetana  is  that  in  it 
Nagarjuna  for  the  first  time  reduced  the  syllogism  of 
five  members  into  one  of  three.  The  five  membered 
syllogism,  as  explained  in  the  Nydya-siitra,  runs  as 
follows  :— 

(1)  This  hill  is  fiery  (Proposition). 

(2)  Because  it  is  smoky  (Reason). 

(3)  All  that  is  smoky  is  fiery,  as  a  kitchen 

(Example). 

(4)  This  hill  is  smoky  (Application). 

(5)  Therefore  this  hill  is  fiery  (Conclusion). 

As  shortened  by  Nagarjuna,  the  syllogism  stands 
thus: — 

(1)  This  hill  is  fiery  (Proposition). 

(2)  Because  it  is  smoky  (Reason), 

(3)  As  a  kitchen  (Example). 

It  may  be  remembered  that  Indian  logicians,  in 
spite  of  their  stout  opposition  to  Nagarjuna's  syllogism, 

4.    Published  by  the  Buddhist  Text  Society  of  Calcutta. 
Prof,  Louis  de  La  Valle  Poussin  has  also  edited  it. 


NAGXRJUNA.  127 

found   it  in    course   of  time   expedient   to  adopt  the 
same. 

Updya-Kausalya-hrdaya-tdstra  is  the  name  of 
another  work  on  logic  in  which  Nagarjuna  gives  a  clear 
exposition  of  the  art  of  debate.  In  the  Vigrahabydbar- 
tanlkdrikd,  a  work  on  general  philosophy,  Nagarjuna 
criticises  the  Nyaya  theory  of  pramftna  and  it  is  perhaps 
this  criticism  which  is  reproduced  in  the  Nydya-bhdsya 
of  Vatsyayana  in  connection  with  his  examination  of 
pramana. 

But  that  which  distinguishes  Nagarjuna  pre-eminent- 
ly in  the  world  of  letters  is  the  Madhyamika-philosophy 
founded  by  him  in  consonance  with  the  principles  of 
the  great  Mahajana  Vaipulya-sutra  called  Prajnd- 
Pdramitd. 

The  Mddhyamika-kdrikd  is  the  first  work  on  the 
Madhyamika  philosophy.  The  doctrine  which  per- 
meates this  work,  is  that  of  the  middle  path5  which  is 
to  be  comprehended  from  four  aspects  viz,  (1)  in  con- 
tradistinction to  one-sidedness,  (2)  as  the  abnegation 
of  one-sidedness,  (3)  as  unity  in  plurality,  and  (4)  in 
the  sense  of  absolute  truth. 

As  we  cannot  conceive  of  being  (existence)  in- 
dependently of  non-being  (non-existence),  it  will  be 
taking  a  one-sided  view  if  we  are  to  say  that  the  world 
exists  or  that  it  does  not  exist.  The  middle  path 
furnishes  a  contrast  to  this  one-sidedness  by  avoiding 
the  extremes  of  being  and  non-being.  This  is  the  first 
aspect  of  the  middle  path. 

Denying  the  two  extremes  the  middle  path  reveals 
itself  through  a  complete  harmony  between  them,  that 
is,   it   transcends   the  extremes  of  being  and  non-being 

5.    L.C.  XXIVP.  185. 


128  SATIS  CHANDRA  VIDYABHUSANA. 

which  are  unified.     This  is   the   second  aspect   of  the 
middle  path. 

The  middle  path  which  unifies  all  particulars,  does 
not  lie  beyond  them.  The  particulars  attain  their 
characters  of  particularity  only  through  our  conception 
of  the  unity  among  them.  Had  there  been  no  unifying 
principle,  the  particulars  would  have  ceased  to  be  as 
such.     This  is  the  third  aspect  of  the  middle  path. 

By  "middle  path"  it  is  not  to  be  understood  that 
there  is  something  between  the  two  extremes  of  being 
and  non-being.  In  fact  we  must  avoid  not  only  the 
two  extremes  but  also  the  middle.  The  middle  path, 
which  discards  all  limitations,  expresses  the  human 
conception  of  the  absolute  truth.  This  is  the  fourth 
aspect  of  the  middle  path. 

The  absolute  (Sfinyata  or  void)  is  demonstrated 
through  the  assumption  of  two  truths-the  conditional 
(samvrti)  and  the  transcendental  (paramartha).  Judged 
by  the  transcendental  truth  no  object  comes  into  being 
or  dissolves  into  non-being.  It  is  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  conditional  truth  alone  that  we  can  speak 
of  the  existence  or  non-existence  of  an  object.  As  a 
fact  no  object  has  a  nature  or  self -existence  :  objects 
come  into  existence  in  virtue  of  certain  relations  or 
conditions.  Taking  a  substance  and  its  qualities  we 
find  that  the  latter  exist  in  relation  to  the  former,  and 
the  former  exists  in  relation  to  the  latter.  So  a  whole 
exists  in  relation  to  its  parts  and  the  latter  exists  in 
relation  to  the  former.  Proceeding  in  this  way  we  find 
that  the  world  is  an  aggregate  of  relations  or  conditions. 
Origination  and  cessation,  persistence  and  discontinu- 
ance, unity  and  plurality,  coming  and  going — these  are 
the  eight  fundamental  conceptions  of  relation  or 
condition. 


NAGARJUNA.  129 

These  conceptions  which  are  absolutely  unreal, 
give  rise  to  our  prejudices  and  wrong  judgments. 
There  nestles  in  them  the  principle  of  unrest  and 
misery,  and  as  people  cling  to  them  their  life  is  an 
everlasting  prey  to  the  pendulous  feeling  of  exultation 
and  mortification. 

Where  there  is  conditionality,  there  is  no  truth. 
Truth  and  conditionality  are  incompatible.  Therefore 
to  attain  the  truth,  conditionality  must  be  completely 
cast  aside.  When  our  mind  is  purified  from  the 
smirch  of  conditionality,  there  will  come  out  the  serene 
moon-light  of  "suchness"  (tathata)  or  transcendental 
truth  (paramartha),  otherwise  known  as  the  void  or 
absolute  (s'unyata). 

It  may  be  asked  as  to  whether  there  is  actually  a 
thing  called  "suchness",  "transcendental  truth"  or  "the 
absolute".  The  answer  will  be  that  the  thing  which 
lies  beyond  conditionality,  cannot  be  expressed  in 
terms  of  "is"  and  "is  not"  or  "being"  and  "non-being". 
It  avoids  the  two  extremes  of  "being"  and  "non-being", 
nay,  it  unifies  both  by  underlying  each  of  them.  This 
so-called  thing  (sunyata)  is  called  Nirvana,  which  is 
an  unconditional  condition  in  which  all  contradictions 
are  reconciled.  Attempts  have  been  made  to  express 
this  condition  by  the  term  "  Infinite  ",  "  Eternal  ", 
"Profound"  "Unconditioned",  "Absolute"  or  "Blissful", 
but  in  reality  no  language  can  give  adequate  expression 
to  it. 

The  Mddhyamika-kdrikd  by  Nagarjuna,  MfiUi- 
madhyama-urtti  by  Buddha  Palita,  Hastabala  by  Xrya 
Deva,  Madhyama-hrdaya-kdrikd  by  Bhavaviveka, 
Madhyama-pratUya-satmttpdda  by  Krsna,  Mddhyamika- 
vrtti  by  Candra  Kirti  and  Mddhyamikaratratlkd  by  Jayi- 
nanta — are    the    principal  works  of    the    Madhyamika 

[  F.  0.  C.  II  17  ] 


130  SATIS  CHANDRA  VIDYABHUSANA. 

School.  Mula~Mddhyamika-vrtti-akutobhaya}  a  work  of 
Nagarjuna  was  translated  into  Tibetan,  under  orders 
of  the  great  king  Dpal-tha-tsanpo,  by  the  Indian  sage 
Jnanagarbha  and  the  Tibetan  official  interpreter  Kluhi- 
rgyal-Mtshan.  The  translation  Closes  by  mentioning 
eight  expounders  of  the  Madhyamika  philosophy,  viz. 
i\rya  Nagarjuna,  Sthavira  Buddha  Palita,  Candra 
Kirti,  Deva  Sarma,  Guna-Sri,  Guna-Mati,  Sthira-mati, 
and  Bhavya  (or  Bhava-viveka).  The  doctrine  of  the 
Madhyamika  philosophy  has  been  a  subject  of  constant 
attack  by  the  Indian  Philosophers  of  all  Schools.  An 
attempt  has  even  been  made  to  misinterpret  it  wilfully 
and  even  to  discard  it  as  a  system  of  nihilism,  but  it 
has  emerged  unscathed.  Impartial  judges  such  as  the 
authors  of  the  Padma  Purdna  etc  have  declared  the 
Madhyamika  Philosophy  of  Nagarjuna  as  the  basis  of 
the  Mayavada  of  Sankaracarya. 

I  have  given  only  an  imperfect  idea  of  Nagarjuna 
as  a  Philosopher.  He  may  be  looked  at  from  so  many 
distinct  stand-points  that  he  may  be  rightly  called  the 
Aristotle  of  India. 


SOGATA  NXYASATTHAM. 
(The  Buddhist  Philosophy.) 

BY   WlDURUPOLA    PlYATISSA. 

Idam  pana  satthamayasmata  mahakaccayanatthere- 
namahakhinasavena  pabhinnapatisambhidena  asitiya 
mahasawakesuantogadhenabhagawata  etadagge  thapite- 
na  panitam  navangasatthusasanasamvarinanaya.  Tattha 
navangasatthusasanam  nama  : —  suttam,  geyyam,  veyy- 
akaranam,  gatha,  udanam,  itiwuttakam,  jatakam,  abbh- 
utadhammam,  vedallanti.  Bhagavata  desitohi  pariyatti- 
dhammo  imehi  navahi  angehi  vinimmutto  nama  natthi. 
Tadetam  navangasatthusasanasamkhatam  pariyattidham- 
mam  samvannetukimenatawanayasatthannuna  bhavitab- 
bam.  Tampanetam  sattham  racayantena  ayasmata  maha- 
kaccayanattherena  dve  pakaranani  panitani  PeiakOpa- 
deso  Nettippakaranaricati.  Tesuca  Nettippakaranam- 
bhagavata  anumoditam  mulasangitiyam  saiigitam 
Badaratittharaviharavasina  bhadanta  Dhammapalamaha- 
therena  dutiyatthakathacariyena  viracitayaatthakatha- 
ya  patimanditam  syamamaramnavisayesu  larikadipeca 
sogatagamadharehi  theranutherehi  sambhaviyaminam 
vattate.  Tassevam  sambhavitatte  satipi  yasma  netameta- 
rahi  larikikasu  acariyaparamparasu  antevasike  vacenti 
tasmassa  sabbatthapacalitabhavo  na  dissate.  Tarn  sadhu 
vatassasacelankadipika  sogatagamadhara  ftcariyapungavi 
pasattham  nayasatthamidamantevasike  vaceyyum  eta- 
dantogadhatta  sakalanavangasatthus&sanasainvannanaya 
;ivi  n  i  uttanayasatthanan  cftdhoo  ikanam  palyatthasam- 
vannanaya  nayavirodhapajjanasambliavat»».  Tasini  ma* 
yainevamadikam  payojanant.iramabhivindhaya  Nettip- 
pakaranam  tadat  t  hakathanca  nisSaya  tatthagatanayeneva 
sogatam    nayasatthamidha     sanikhepato  dassayissima. 


132  WIDURUPOLA  PIYATISSA 

Sakalamevahi  Nettippakaranam  ayasmata  mahakaccaya- 
nena  dvidha  vibhattam  sangahavaro  vibhagavaroti.  Tat- 
rayam  sangahavarassa  samkhepo. 

Nettisamkhatena  nayasatthena  samvannetabbapa- 
datthabhave  thitam  suttageyyadinavangasangahitam 
pariyattisasanam  byanjanatthappabhedato  dvadasapada- 
miha  suttam  nama.     Tenaha  : — 

"Dvadasa  padani  suttam,  tarn  sabbam  byanjananca 
atthocati ". 

Tassa  ca  suttassa  atthasamvannanabhuta  solasahara 
panca  naya  attharasa  mulapadani  ca  netti  (athava  soga- 
tafiayasattham)  nama.  Tattha  desanadayo  solasapi  hara 
mulapada-niddharanamantarena  byanjanamukheneva 
suttassa  samvannanahonti.  Pancasu  nayesu  tayo  attha- 
naya  nandiyavattadayo  atthamukheneva  suttattham 
samvannenti.  Ubhayampetam  suttassa  atthaniddha- 
ranavasena  sabbatha  sutte  payojitam  suttam  samvanneti- 
nama. 

Athava,  atthesu  kataparicchedo  byanjanappaban- 
dho  desana,  yo  pathoti  vuccati.  Tadattho  desitam,  taya 
desanaya  pabodhitatta.  Tadubhayampi  ekanteneva 
vinneyyam  anupadaparinibbanapariyosananam  sampat- 
tinam  hetubhavato  tadubhayavinimmuttassaca  neyyassa 
abhavatoti.  Yathavutte  ca  vijanane  sadhetabbe  ayam 
vakkhamano  haranayanupubbisamkhato  anukkamo  na- 
varigasasanasamkhatassa  suttassa  attavicaranati  veditab- 
boti. 

Evamatisamkhittam  sangahavaram  vibhajitva  das- 
setum  tadanantaram  vibhagavaro  desito.  Socatividho 
uddesa-niddesa-patiniddesavasena. 

I  (I).  Tattha  uddesavare  tava  solasa  hara  bhavan- 
ti  : — 1.  Desanaharo.  2.  Vicayaharo.  3.  Yattiharo.  4. 
Padatthanaharo.  5.  Lakkhanaharo.  6.  Catubyuhaharo. 
7.    Swattaharo.   8.   Vibhattiharo,    9.   Parivattanaharo. 


SOGATA  NAYASATTHAM.  133 

10.  Vevacanaharo.  11.  Pannattiharo.  12.  Otaraijaharo. 
13.  Sodhanaharo.  14.  AdhitthanahSro.  15.  Parikkha- 
raharo.  16.  Samaropanaharoti. 

Tattha  kenatthena  h5ra  ?  hariyanti  etehi  etthava 
suttageyyadivisayaannanasariisayavipallasati  hara.  Haran- 
ti  va  sayam  tani  haranamattameva  vati  h&ra,  phalupaca- 
rena.  Athava  hariyyanti  vohariyyanti  dhammasamvaij- 
naka  dhammapatiggahakehi  dhammassa  danagahariavas- 
enati  har5.  Athava  hara  viyati  hara.  Yathahi  aneka- 
ratanawalisamuho  harasamkhato  attano  avayavabhutar- 
atanasamphassehi  samupajaniyaraanahiladasukho  hotvi 
tadupabhogijanasarirasantapara  nidaghaparilahupajani- 
tam  vupasameti.  Evametepi  nanavidhaparamattharata- 
nappabandha  samvannanavisesa  attano  avayavabhuta- 
paramattharatanadhigamena  samuppadiyamananibbuti- 
sukha  dhammapatiggahakajanahadayaparitapara  karaa- 
ragadikilesahetukam  vupasamentiti.  Athava  harayanti 
annanadinam  haram  apagamam  karonti  acikkhatitivil 
hara.  Athava  sotujanacittassa  haranato  ramanatoca 
hara,  niruttinayena,  yatha  M  bhavesu  vantagamano  bhag- 
avati".  Ayam  tava  haranam  sadharanato  attho.  Asadha- 
ranato  pan  a  : — 

1.  Desiyati  samvanniyati  etaya  suttatthoti  desana 
desanasahacaranatova  desana.  2.  Viciyanti  etena  etthava 
padapanhadayovicitieva  vatesanti  vicayo.  Paliyampana 
vicinatiti  vicayoti  ayamattho  dassito.  3.  Yuttiti  upa- 
pattisadhanayutti.  Idha  panayuttivicarana  yutti,  uttara- 
padalopena;  rupabhavo  rupanti  adisuviya.  Yuttisahaca- 
ranato  va  yutti.  4.  Padatthananti  fisannakfiranara.  Idha- 
pi  padatthanavicaranati  adi  \  uttanayameva.  5.  Lakkhi- 
yanti  etena  etthava  ekalakkhana  dhammi  avuttapi  ekav- 
acanenati  lakkhanam.  6.  Viyuhiyanti  vibhagena  pindi- 
yanti  etena  etthavati  byuho.  Nibbacanadinamsuttedas- 
siyamananam  catunnam  byiihoti  catubyuho.   Catunnam 


134  WIDURUPOLA  PIYATISSA. 

va  byuho  etthati  catubyuho.  7.  Svattiyanti  etena 
ettha  va  sabhaga  visabhaga  ca  dhamma,  tesam 
va  avattananti  avatto.  8.  Vibhajlyanti  etena 
etthava  sadharanasadharananam  samkilesavodanadham- 
manam  bhumiyoti  vibhatti.  Vibhajanam  va  etesam 
bhumiyati  vibhatti.  9.  Patipakkhavasena  parivatti- 
yanti  imina,  etthava  sutte  vuttadhamma,  parivattanam 
vatesanti  parivattano.  10.  Vividham  vacanam  ekas- 
sevatthassa  vacakametthati  vivacanam.  Vivacanameva 
vevacanam.  Vividham  vuccati  etena  atthoti  va  vivaca- 
nam. Sesam  vuttanayameva.  11.  Pakarehi  pabhedato 
va  napiyanti  imina  ettha  va  atthati  pannatti,  12.  Otarl- 
yanti  anuppavesiyati  etena  ettha  va  suttagata  dhamma 
paticcasamuppadadisuti  otarano.  13.  Sodhlyanti  sama- 
dhlyanti  etena  ettha  va  sutte  padapadatthapanharam- 
bhati  sodhano.  14.  Adhitthiyanti  anupavattlyanti  etena 
ettha  va  samannavisesabhuta  dhamma  vina  vikappenati 
adhitthano.  15.  Parikaroti  abhisamkharoti  phalanti 
parikkharo.  Hetu,  paccayoca.  Parikkharam  acikkhatiti 
parikkharo  haro,  Parikkharavisayatta  parikkharasaha- 
caranatova  parikkharo.  16.  Samaropiyanti  etena  ettha 
va  padatthanadimukhena  dhammati  samaropano.  Sab- 
battha  ca  bhavasadhanavasenapi  attho  labbhatiti  tassapi 
vasena  yojetabbam. 

(II.)  Panca  naya  bhavanti,  yatha  : — 1.  Nandiya- 
vatto,  2.  Tipukkhalo.  3.  Sihavikkllito.  4.  Disalocano. 
5.  Ankusoti. 

Tattha  nayanti  samkilese  vodananica  vibhagato  na- 
pentiti  naya.  Niyanti  va  tani  etehi  ettha  vati  naya.  Na- 
yanamattameva  vati  naya.  Niyanti  va  sayam  dhammaka- 
thikehi  upanlyanti  suttassa  atthapavicayatthati  naya 
Athava    naya    viyati   naya.     Yathahi    ekattadayo    naya 


SOGATA  NSYASATTHAM.  13S 

samma  pativijjhiyamana  paccayapaccayuppannadliam- 
manam  yathakkamam  sambandhavibhagabyaparaviraha- 
nurupaphalabhavadassanena  asankarato  sammatisaccapa- 
ramatthasaccanam  sabhavam  pavedayanta  paramatthasac- 
capativedhaya  samvattanti,  evametepi  kanhasukkasap- 
patibhagadhammavibhagadassanenaaviparitasuttatthava- 
bodhayaabhisambhunanta  veneyyanam  saccapativedhaya 
samvattanti.  Athava  pariyattiatthassa  nayanato  samkile- 
sato  yamanato  ca  naya,  niruttinayena. 

1.  Nandiyavattoti  adisu  nandiyavattassa  viya 
avatto  etassati  nandiyavatto.  Yatha  hi  nandiyavatto 
anto  thitena  padhanavayavena  bahiddha  avattati,  eva- 
mayampi  nayoti  attho.  Atha  va  nandiya  tanhaya  parao- 
dassa  va  avattoti  nandiyavatto.  2.  Tihi  avayavehi 
lobhadlhi  samkilesapakkhe  alobhadlhi  vodanapakkhe 
pukkhalo  sobhanoti  tipukkhalo.  3.  Asantasanajavapa- 
rakkamadivisesayogena  siho  bhagava.  Tassa  vikkilitam 
desanavaclkammabhuto  viharoti  katva  vipattasatappati 
pakkhaparidipanato  sihassa  vikkilitam  etthati  sihavikki- 
lito  nayo.  Balavisesayogadlpanato  va  sihavikkilita- 
sadisatta  nayo  sihavikkilito.  Balaviseso  cettha  saddhadi 
balam,  dasabalani  eva  va.  4.  Atthanayattayadisabha- 
vena  kusaladidhammanam  alocanam  disalocanam- 
5.  Tatha  alocitanam  tesam  dhammanam  atthanayatta 
yayojane  samanayanato  ankuso  viya  ahkusoti. 

(III.)  Attharasa  mulapadani  bhavanti  yesam  nava 
kusalani  nava  akusalani.  Tattha,  (1).  Tanha.  (2)  Avijja. 
(3).  Labho.  (4).  Doso.  (5).  Moho.  (6).  Subha- 
sanfia.  (7.)  Sukkhasaiina.  (8).  Niccasanna.  (9) 
Attasannati,  navapadani  akusalani.  Sabbopi  akusal.i- 
pakkho  ettheva  sangaham  samosaranam  gacchati. 

Tatha,  (1.)  Samatho.  (2.)  Vipassanft.  (3.)  AIo- 
bho.     (4.)    Adoso.     (5.)    Amoho.     (6.)     Asubhasanna. 


136  WIDURUPOLA  PIYATISSA. 

(7.)  Dukkhasafina.  (8.)  Aniccasanna.  (9.)  Anatta- 
saiinati,  imani  navapadani  kusalani.  Sabbo  kusalapak- 
kho  ettheva  sangaham  samosaranam  gacchatiti. 

Tattha  mulapadaniti,  mulani  ca  tani  nayanam 
patthauabhagananca  patitthabhavato  padani  ca  adhi- 
gamupayabhavato  kotthasabhavato  cati  mulapadani.  Ko 
sallasambhutatthena  kucchitanam  va  papadhammanam 
salanato  viddhamsanato,  kusanam  va  ragadinam  lavanato, 
kusam  viyava  lavanato,  kusena  va  nanena  latabbato  pa- 
vattetabbato  kusalani.  Tappatipakkhato  akusalaniti. 
Ayam  uddesavarassa  samkhepo. 

(II)  Idani  niddesavaram  samkhepato  dassema. 
So  pancadha  datthabbo.  (1.)  Padatthato.  (2.)  Lakkh- 
anato  (3)  Kamato.  (4).  Etaparamato.  (5.)  Hetvadi- 
toti. 

1.  Tattha  samannena  haranayasaddanam  visesena 
desanasaddadinanca  padattho  atthakathagatanayena 
uddesavare  dassitto  yeva. 

2.  Lakkhane  pana  samafinato  tava  sabbepi  hara 
naya  ca  yathakkamam  byanjanatthamukhena  navangassa 
sasanassa  atthasamvannanalakkhana.  Visesato  desanadi- 
nam  lakkhanam  evam  datthabbam  : — 

(1)  Assada-adlnava-nissarana-phala  -  upaya  -  anatti- 
nam  vibhajanalakkhano  desanaharo.  (2)  Padapuc- 
chavissajjanapubbaparanugltinam  assadadinanca  visesa- 
niddharanavaseneva  vicayalakkhano  vicayaharo.  (3) 
Sutte  byafijanatthanam  yuttayuttabhavavibhavanalak- 
khano  yuttiharo.  (4)  Sutte  agatadhammanam  padat- 
thanabhuta  dhamma  tesafica  padatthanabhutati  sam- 
bhavato  padatthanabhutadhanmaniddharanalakkhario 
padatthanaharo.  (5)  Sutte  anagatepi  dhamme  vuttap- 
pakarena  agate  viya  niddharetva  samvannanalakkhano 
lakkhanaharo.  (6)  Nibbacana  adhippaya  desananidana 
pubbaparanusandhlnam    catunnam  vibhavanalakkhano 


SQGATA  NXYSATTAAM.  137 

catubyuhaharo.  (7)  Desanayagahitasabhagavisabhl- 
dhammavasena  avattanalakkhano  avattaharo.  (8)  Sam- 
kilesadhamme  vodanadhamme  ca  sSdharanasadharanato 
padatthanato  bhumito  ca  vibhajanalakkhano  vibhattiha- 
ro.  (9)  Nidditthanam  dhammanam  patipakkato  parivat- 
tanalakkhano  parivattanaharo.  (10).  Ekasmim  atthe  ane- 
kapariyayasaddayojanalakkhano  vevacanaharo.  (11)  Eke- 
kassa  dhammassa  anekahi  pafinattihi  pannapetabbakara 
vibhavanalakkhano  pannattiharo.  (12)  Paticcasamup- 
pada-indriya-khandha-dhatu-ayatanamukhehisuttatthas- 
sa  otaranalakkhano  otaranaharo.  (13)  Sutte  pada-padattha 
panharambhanam  sodhanalakkhano  sodhanaharo.  (14) 
Suttagatanam  dhammanam  avikappanavasena  samanfia- 
visesaniddharanalakkhano  adhitthanaharo.  (15)  Sutte 
iigata  dhammanam  parikkharasamkhate  hetupaccay  enid- 
dharctvasamvannanalakkhanoparikkharahiiro.  (16)  Sutte 
agatadhammanam  padatthana-vevacana-bhavana-pahiina 
samaropana  vicaranalakkhano  samaropanaharo. 

Nayesu  ca,  (1)  Tanha  avijjahi  samkilesapakkhassa 
suttatthassa  samathavipassanahi  vodanapakkhassa  ca 
catusaccayojanamukhena  nayanalakkhano  nandiyavatto. 
(2)  Akusalamulehi  samkilesapakkhassa  kusalamuleh 
vodanapakkhassa  ca  suttatthassa  catusaccayojanamui 
khena  nayanalakkhano  Tipukkhalo.  (3)  Subhasannadih- 
vipallasehi  sakalassa  samkilesapakkhassa  saddhindriyS- 
dihi  vodanapakkhassa  ca  catusaccayojanavasena  naya- 
nalakkhano sihavikkilito.  (4)  Tesu  tesu  suttatthavissa- 
jjanesutassa  tassa  nayassa  disa  bhutanam  vodaniyanam 
samkilesikanam  ca  dhammanam  manasaolokanalakkhano 
disalocano.  (5)  Disalocanena  olokitanam  dhammanam 
uddharitva  tassa  tassa  nayassa  yojanawasena  samanaya- 
nalakkhano  ankusoti.  Ime  pana  dvepi  na  atthanayt. 
Athakho  voharanaya  kammanayati  ca  vuccanti. 

[  F.  0.  0.  II  18  ] 


138  WIDURUPOLA  PIYATISSA. 

Tattha  byanjanapariyetthibhavato  haranam  patha- 
mam  solasa  hare  yojetva  tadanantaram  tinnam  atthana- 
yanam  disabhuta-dhamme  disalocana-nayena  oloketva 
puna  te  niddharetva  ankusanayena  tisupi  atthanayesu 
nandiyavattatipukkhala-sihavikkilitesu  yojentena  suttat- 
thavannana  katabba. 

Idha  thatva  cha  byanjanapadani  cha  atthapadaniti 
suttassa  dvadasa  padani  dassetabbani. 

Tattha  cha  byanjanapadani  nama,  (1)  Akkharam. 
(2)  Padam.  (3)  Byanjanam.  (4)  Nirutti.  (5)  Niddeso. 
(6)    Xkaroti. 

1.  Tattha  apariyasite  pade  vanno  akkharam, 
pariyayavasena  akkharanato  asancaranato  ca.  2.  Pajjati 
attho  etenati  padam.  Nama-akhyata-upasagga-nipatava- 
sena  catubbidham.  3.  Samkhepato  vuttam  padabhihi- 
tam  attham  byanjayatlti  byanjanam  Vakyam.  Padasa- 
mudayoti  attho.    4.    Xkarabhihitam  nibbacanam  nirutti. 

5.  Niravasesadesanatta      nibbacanavittharo      niddeso, 

6.  Padehi  vakyassa  vibhago  akaro. 

Atha  padato  akarassa  ko  visesoti?  Apariyasite 
vakye  avibhajjamane  va  tadavayavo  padam.  Uccarana- 
vasena  pariyasite  vakye  vibhajjamane  va  tadavayavo 
akaroti. 


•PHILOLOGY  AND    PRAKRTS" 


THE  PHONOGENESIS  OF  THE  WIDE 
E  AND  O  IN  GUJARlTl. 

By  N.  B.  Divatia. 

This  wide  sound  is  distinctly  perceived  in  Gujarat! 
in  words  of  the  type  of  3ft,  s&,  and  «ft#,  »fra,  especially 
when  they  are  contrasted  with  the  narrow  sound  in 
words  of  the  type  of  fo,  l*$;  ttt,  its.  (  %fift  means  the 
wood-apple  tree,  *M  means  a  large  earthen  jar;  *tra 
molasses,  *Ttc5  round).  The  wide  sound  resembles  that  of 
a  in  "hat"  and  that  of  aw  in  "awl"  in  English.  The 
narrow  sound  resembles  the  sounds  in  English  "hale" 
and  "hole." 

The  wide  sound  is  peculiar  to  Gujarat!  and  Mara- 
vadi;  it  is  not  heard  in  other  cognate  languages1  of 
India.  Hindi  possesses  a  sound  which  it  represents  by 
*  and  *T  (aVaft);  it  does  not  exactly  tally  with  the 
wide  sound,  it  approximates  it  up  to  a  certain  point 
only.  It  may  be  stated  roughly  that  the  wide  sound 
comes  into  Gujarat!  words  which  had  an  ar$  or  anr,  or 
are  or  3^  in  the  earlier  stage  (Prakrt,  Apabhrams'a,*  or — 
where  possible — Sanskrit),  whereas  words  having  an  *> 
or  aft  originally  in  Sanskrit  or  Prakrt  stages  yield 
the   narrow   sound  in  Gujarat!.     Thus  : —  TO  (Ap.),  ms 

I.  Marathi,  which  sedulously  avoids  the  wide  sound  as 
a  rule,  discloses  occasional  exceptions,  as  in  the  final  »  of 
neuter  plural  forms  of  nouns  ending  in  *  ,  e.  g.  TO,  TO  (plur.), 
and  in  the  final  a*  of  the  nominative  singular  of  words  in  the 
neuter  gender  ending  in  the  *i  stem  e.  g.  ?V.,  TOr;  the  *  «n 
both  these  cases  is  9Nfa??T. 

In  the  latter  case  this  sound  is  derived  from  the  •»*  (Skr.) 
yielding  W  in  Prakrt,  and  in  the  former  it  comes  from  the 
**Tfa  (Skr.)  becoming  wt*  in  Prakrt,  which  contracts  into  «i, 
then  finally  becomes  **;  (  TOrfa,  «^rt,  toi,  to*,  to  ). 


142  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

(Ap.),  =*3*r  (Ap.),  »re?^  (Ap.),  then  1*5,  yield  the  wide- 
sounding,  sft,  ^n,  ^5,  nfe,  whereas  %3t  (Pr.),  *rft  (Pr.), 
give  the  narrow-sounding  ^,  src  &c. 

In  GujaratI  this  wide  sound  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  systematically  recognized  by  any  special 
symbol,  either  in  olden  times  or  during  the  period  of 
revival  of  education.  Occasional  and  stray  attempts 
were  made  to  indicate  the  sound  by  marks  like  or 
sometimes  by  inverted  mdlrd  marks,  thus  .  In  1888 
A.  D.,  however,  I  pressed  the  claim  of  this  sound  in  a 
pamphlet  in  GujaratI  on  the  unsettled  state  of  spelling 
in  GujaratI.  I  renewed  the  fight  in  1905  A.  D.  in  a 
paper  on  GujaratI  spelling  read  before  the  First  Guja- 
ratI Sdhitya  Parisad. 

In  an  article  in  the  Indian  Antiquary2  I  discussed 
this  question  and  suggested  for  the  first  time  that  both 
the  sets  of  changes,  ar^-are  to  alr-af?  and  ar^-are  to  aMtf 
could  be  reduced  to  a  common  principle  by  showing 
that  3T5-3T3  went  through  a  process  which  I  termed 
prati-sariiprasdrana,  and  thus  became  are-are  ,  and 
eventually  both  these  are-are  forms  (original  and 
derived  fromar^-3re,)  becameare-are^,  and  this  peculiar 
sound  (  3P£-are J  generated  the  wide  at  and  arf. 

In  an  Appendix  to  his  article  on  "  Bardic  and 
Historical  Survey  of  Rajputana"s  Dr.  L.  P.  Tessitori 
examined  my  views  above  indicated,  and  showed  why 
he  differed  from  me  and  held  that  the  wide  sound 
resulted  from  a  direct  contraction  of  arf-are.  I  felt  that 
this  contention  had  obvious  drawbacks,  and  in  a  second 
article  in  the  Indian  Antiquary4,  I  went  into  the   whole 

2.  Ind.  Ant.  XLIV,  Parts,  DLII,  and  DLVI,  January  and 
May,  191 5  A.  D. 

3.  J.  A.  S.  Beng.,  N.  S.  XII,  1916  A.  D. 

4.  Ind.  Ant.  Vol  XLVI,  Part  DLXXXIX  1917  A.  D.  and 
Vol.  XLVII,  Parts  DXCI  and  DXCII,  1918  A.  D. 


PHONOGENESIS.  143 

question  at  great  length,  drawing  upon  portions  of  my 
Wilson  Philological  Lectures  (still  in  the  press),  and 
hoped  that  the  question  was  set  at  rest.  Dr.  Tessitori, 
however,  was  not  satisfied,  and  published  his  remarks 
on  this  article  of  mine  in  the  Indian  Antiquary  last 
year5. 

In  order  to  clear  up  the  position,  I  think  it  neces- 
sary to  place  my  views  on  these  remarks  finally  as 
briefly  as  possible.  Dr.  Tessitori's  contentions,  as 
seen  in  this  last  article,  seem  to  be  these: — 

(a)  That  words  like  ^R,  <w<Hft,  qw*  are  not 
really  instances  of  what  I  call  prati-samprasdraija, 
but  the  result  of  the  tendency  of  scribes  to  write  1  for  %, 
and  that  this  writing  peculiarity  is  found  even  in  Prakrt 
MSS,  and  he  cites  instances  from  Jacobi's  Mahdrdstri 
Erzahlungcn  pp.  73  (?  72),  63  61,  and  60. 

(b)  That  3T?-3T3  were  altered  by  scribes  into  lr-*fr 
as  soon  as  the  spelling  ceased  to  correspond  to  the 
actual  pronunciation,  and  that  Gujarat!  MSS.  show 
this  %-3ff  to  represent  the  wide  sound. 

(c)  That  the  principle  of  accent  which  I  hold  to 
govern  the  production  or  otherwise  ^of  anj-3re  and  then 
3MtT  or  the  opposite,  is  not  properly  applicable. 

(d)  That  perception  by  the  ear  in  the  case  of  the 
origin  of  this  sound  is  a  misleading  test,  the  true  guides 
are  MSS.  and  etymology. 

(e)  That,  in  the  instances  given  by  me  such  as 
^nf!^-3src/!3Tr-^RT32t-3*H#,  «rc<rc^-«m*rc3-MUi*<v5-sms,  the 
change  that  takes  place  is  are  to  a*  (narrow)  or  «reto  «i* 
(narrow)  direct  and  not  through  a?5-are,  because  the 
n-3  there,  being  initial,  cannot  undergo  sariiprasdrana. 

5.    Ind.  Ant.  Vol.  XLVII.   Part   DXCIX,   September   1918 
A.  D. 


144  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

(/)  That,  in  short,  the  wide  sound  results  from 
3??-3T3  direct  and  the  narrow  one  from  arc-are  direct.  Thus, 
the  main  point  at  issue  is:  Of  the  two  phonetic 
courses  : 

(a)  ^JT-^JOT-3^-5FT, 

and 

(b)  Wt-fPf-^F-^T, 

which  is  the  correct  one? 

In  other  words,  of  these: — (a)  and  (b)  viz. 
(a)     m-*W-$,  sT^rc-aR^-aT, 

3^-3^3^,  3T5-3R-3Tf-3fr; 

and         (b)    are-  a^-ar, 

3?^-  3^-3Tf, 

9T3-3ff, 

which  is  the  correct  tracing  of  the  sound-history? 

All  other  issues  are  but  ramifications  of  this  main 
one. 

In  support  of  my  theory  I  cited  *re*,  sreu'ft,  m^k,  «rc§, 
<re§  etc.-as  showing  that  the  step  from  ar?  to  are  was  seen 
in  actual  use  as  these  forms  are  found  in  old  MSS.  and 
works.  To  get  over  this  difficulty  Dr.  Tessitori  wants 
us  to  hold  that  these  forms  with  a  1  in  them  do  not 
represent  a  real  change  from  %  to  T,  but  that  the  T  there- 
in is  a  mere  writing  peculiarity  of  the  scribe.  We  have 
thus  to  believe  that  what  we  see  as  ^is  not  1  but  ? — a  sort 
of  vivartavdda  introduced  in  phonology  !  Dr.  Tessitori 
wishes    to  strengthen  his  contention  and   show  us  such 


PHONOGENESIS.  145 

illusive  writing  even  in  Prakrt  and  cites  instances  from 
Jacobi's  Mahdrd§tri  Erzahlungen.  (Pp.  73  ( ?  72),  63,61 
and  60);  these  are: — 

(a)  m  for  i*  (p.   72)  (b)   wiWl  for  q*srfrit  (p.  63) 
(c)  WW  for  ^^T  (p.  61)  (d)  «ptc  for  ^  (p.  60). 

Now,  *w  can   be  taken  as  the  Prakrit  of  t<t  and  we 
need   not   regard   it   as   t^   written   as  *w,   for  »rt   can 
also  mean  "gait"  (tI%).  But  <rwffc>ft,  &FW  and  **rc  cannot 
be  explained   in   any   such    way.     Let   us   then   take 
m  also  as   representing   15   and   look   for   the    cause 
of  the  T  in  all  the   four  cases.     This  much   is    certain : 
that    Prakrt   never  changes  an  \  to  *?.  ^R   and   similar 
forms   came  into  vogue  (whether   as    phonetic    reali- 
ties  or  as   the  scribe's    vagary)    during    the    O.    W. 
Rajasthani  period,  which  Dr.  Tessitori  places  from   the 
thirteenth  century  A.  D.  down  to  the  sixteenth  and  part 
of  the  17th  century  A.  D.     The  chances,  then,  are  equal 
or  perhaps  greater  that  these  readings  with  a  1  in   them 
must   have  been   the  result  of^  handling    by    scribes 
belonging  to  this  O.  W.  Rajasthani  period,  when  such 
forms  existed  as   results   of  real   substantial    phonetic 
changes".  And  Jacobi  tells  us  in  his  preface  that   Ms.  A 
was  written  in  V.  S.  1611  and  Ms.    B.   in   V.  S.    1660, 
which  dates  just  fall  within  that   period.     He  also  tells 
us  therein  that  in  certain  points  of    orthography  stated 
by  him  (which  points,  it    is  true,   do   not   include   the 
writing  of  q  and  %. )   the  Mss.   are  quite   arbitrary   and 
inconsistent.     This   character   of   the   Mss.   may   have 
affected  the  writing  of  ?  as  well,  especially  as   Jacobi   in 
his  "Foreward"  tells  us  also  that  the  Mss.   A  and  B  are 
corrupt  and  unreliable  and  he  had  to  construct  the  text 

6.    m,  however,  presents  a  difficulty.    For  such  a  change 
is  not  known.     It  must  be  regarded  as    a   mislection,   if  ni  is 
not  accepted  as  the  original. 
[  f.  o.  c.  U  19J 


146  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

by  using  one  Ms.  against  the  other,  and  by  using 
reflection  and  thought  when  both  the  Mss.  were 
wrong.  In  these  circumstances  it  would  be  unsafe  to 
regard  the  writing  of  ?r  for  %  as  dating  from  the  Prakrt 
period,  and  as  a  mere  writing  peculiarity.  For  the 
writing  cannot  be  referred  to  a  time  anterior  to  V.  S. 
1660  and  1611  in  the  case  of  these  Mss. 

I  may  point  out  that,  far  from  regarding  forms  like 
^JT  etc.  as  the  result  of  the  scribe's  writing  peculiarity, 
Dr.  Tessitori  has  treated  the  change  of  5  to  7  as  a  sub- 
stantial phonetic  change  in  his7  "  Notes"§  4-  (5),  claim- 
ing such  a  change  for  the  medial  %  and  citing  the  very 
words  <?W*  (Pancakhyana,  246),  *R*(Ibid  503),  and^PRFfr 
(Florentine  Mss.  616,126).  He  has  there  treated  of  the 
change  of  %  to  H  in  rare  cases  as  a  writing  peculiarity 
and  cited  instances  like^ffl",  ^?*r,  W^  which,  I  contend, 
are  real  changes,  as  we  find  them  in  the  present  day 
Gujarat!,  spoken  and  written.  But  for  ^m,  *Fffrtt,  wwi  he 
has  not  at  that  time  claimed  the  theory  of  mere  "writ- 
ing peculiarity."  It  was  when  later  on  he  replied  to 
my  first  article  in  his  paper  on  M  Bardic  Survey"  that 
(P.  76)  he  extended  this  theory  of  "  writing  peculiarity" 
to  ^rc.  And  yet  in  the  same  place,  at  the  next  breath,  he 
says  that  *RTC,  ^Hfi  are  Prakrt  tatsamas  and  that  the  arcr 
may  be  a  corruption  of  Skr.  ^"  instead  of  a  modification 
of  O.  W.  RajasthanI  **%..  In  my  reply  article  I  showed 
that  this  could  not  be,  the  change  of  ^  to  3R  being 
unknown  to  Prakrt.8  Now,  in  his  final  rejoinder, 
Dr.  Tessitori  adheres  to  the  "writing  peculiarity"  theory, 
and  yet  in  foot-note  6  he  again  says  that  ^wftis  a 
taisama  "in  part  modelled  on  to".  Now,  what  are  we  to 

7.  "  Notes  on  the  Grammar  of  the  O.    W.    Rajasthdw,"  re- 
printed from  the  Indian  Antiquary. 

8.  Indian  Antiquary,  December  1917,  P.  299. 


PHONOGENESIS.  147 

accept? — Real  phonetic   change,   as   stated   in  "Notes" 
4-(5)?    Or  tatsama  theory,  as  given  in  "Bardic   Survey" 
(P.  76)?   Or"  writing  peculiarity"  theory  ?  I  see  absol- 
utely no   reason   to  give   up   the   first  theory   of   real 
phonetic  change.     I  have  already  given  my  reasons    in 
previous  articles.     I  had  put    forward  the   theory  that 
"changes  in  a  language  cannot  proceed  on  regular  lines 
of  uniform  march,  some   forms   will   linger,  some  pro- 
gress, some  go  backwards  and  forwards  till  a  final  settled 
state  is  reached."    Dr.  Tessitori  is  sceptical   about,   and 
laughs  at,  this  theory  and  considers  that   it  requires    to 
be  proved.     For  proof,   I    would   simply  point  to  the 
cases  of  reversion  of  $5  to  a  and  back  to  3  and  again  to 
a;  T  to  <t  and  back  to  *  which  I  have  already  cited  in   my 
article  ;  also  to  the  fact  that  forms    like  ^\,  *fr  and  ^ 
are  seen  in  backward  and  forward  movement  in  Mss.  of 
different  periods,  till  ^\  was  the  finally  fixed  form;  so  also 
3T3f,  g^,  3rd,  &  are  found  with  and  without  ar  in  a  similar 
state  of  flux  and  reflux.     Lastly,  Dr.   Tessitori    himself 
elsewhere  says: — 

11  The  passing  of  one  language  into  another  being 
always  effected  through  gradual  steps,  it  is  natural  that 
whenever  the  older  language  is  made  to  finish  and  the 
younger  one  to  commence,  some  of  the  features  of  the 
former  must  be  found  in  the  early  stage  of  the  latter 
and  likewise  some  of  the  features  of  the  latter  in  the 
ultimate  stage  of  the  former." 

See  also  Beames  (Comparative  Grammar,  Vol.  I 
P.  238,  §60). 

Surely  my  theory  differs  very  little,  in  principle  and 
in  effect,  from  the  one  adumbrated  in  the  above  quoted 
passage.  Dr.  Tessitori's  final  argument  is  that  «Tf-3f  J  of  O. 
W.  Raj.  were  changed  into  §-"&  in  Maravadi  and  Gujaratl 


148  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

writing  about  the  sixteenth  century9  A.  D.,  when  the 
MaravadI  and  the  Gujarat!  found  that  the  spelling  z^-^z 
no  longer  corresponded  to  the  actual  pronunciation.  I 
contested  the  statement  that  old  GujaratI  writing  pos- 
sessed tt-aft1  in  such  cases  (i.  e.  for  3T^-3T3  in  their  pro- 
gress towards  the  wide  sound).  Dr.  Tessitori  contends 
that  even  if  these  ^r-aft  were  found  in  MaravadI  Mss. 
alone,  it  would  suffice.  I  fail  to  see  how.  For,  as  I 
have  pointed  out,  the  It-aft  in  MaravadI  Mss.  are  but  a 
feeble  attempt  to  symbolize  the  wide  sound.  I  maintain 
that  3T5-3T3  passing  through  the  arcr-are  and  ^-^  stages 
attained  the  wide  sound  and  for  want  of  any  better 
symbols  the  MaravadI  Mss.  represented  it  by  the 
diphthongal  signs  *  *r.  But  Dr.  Tessitori  goes  a  step 
further  and  maintains  that  old  GujaratI  Mss.  too  possess 
these  symbols  a  *r  for  such  cases,  and  he  quotes  an 
extract  from  a  GujaratI  Balavabodha  to  a  "Jambucaritra" 
(a  Jain  work)  which  has  1st . .  .srtoa  ®$  fi!Mi<$.  .  .*r»i^r  ^t  ^f... 
^... ^rsfaf... 95.  Dr.  Tessitori  finds  in  the  simultaneous 
position  of  *  and  ^%  here  a  proof  that  3t^-3ts  led  direct 
to  tf-sft  without  any  intermediate  step  like  3TO-3R. 
It  is  necessary  to  know  where  this  Ms.  was  written  and 
whether  by  a  GujaratI  or  by  a  MaravadI  scribe  ?  With- 
out having  a  careful  look  into  the  Ms.  which  is  quoted 
from,  it  would  be  difficult  to  make  any  pronouncement. 
But  in  view  of  Dr.  Tessitori's  assertion  that  the  above 
is  only  one  of  many  Mss.  in  which  §r  is  used  side  by 
side  withers  I  may  just  hint  that  this  admixture  of  %  and 
3T?  may  be  the  result  of  MaravadI  scribes  copying 
GujaratI  Mss.    I  have  recently  made  a  careful  scrutiny  of 

9.  This  is  inconsistent  with  the  period  assigned  by 
Dr.  Tessitori  to  O.  W.  Rajasthani.  For,  he  holds  rightly  that 
O.  W.  Rajasthani  extended  at  least  up  to  the  end  of  the  16th 
Century  A.  D, 


PHONOGENESIS.  149 

many  old  Gujarat!  Mss.  of  the  period  under  considera- 
tion, with  the  result  that  nowhere  do  the  Gujarat!  Mss. 
use  *  *fr  for  the  evolutes  of  ar^-an  and  that  where,  in 
very  rare  instances  these  diphthongal  symbols  are 
found,  they  owe  their  presence  lo  the  fact  that  the 
scribe  was  a  Maravadi  or  one  under  Maravadi  influence. 
But  a  greater  confusion  attends  Dr.  Tessitori'sview 
about  the  actual  pronunciation  of  aVaft  turned  out 
from  a^-sr?  (according  to  him).  What  was  the  actual 
pronunciation  ?  We  should  have  expected  the  answer 
to  be — the  wide  af-atf.  But  Dr.  Tessitori  gives  us 
varying  answers.     Thus: — 

(1)  The  Ir-aft  were  pronounced  as  diphthongs. 
(Ind.  Ant.  September  1918,  P.  227). 

(2)  Tadbhava  aVaft  were  not  pronounced  exactly 
the  same  way  as  tatsama  aV-aft  but  they  were  prob- 
ably pronounced  in  a  way  similar  to  the  aV-aft  of  Hindi. 
(Ibid,  P.  228  and  n.  10). 

(3)  The  Hind!  tr-aft  sounds  are  identical  with  the 
wide  aY-afr  of  Maravadi  and  Gujarat!,  except  that  they 
represent  a  slightly  earlier  stage,  the  very  same  stage  of 
the  Maravadi  Gujarat!  diphthongs  as  they  must  have  been 
pronounced  previous  to  their  transition  into  the  wide 
vowels,  «T-«fr.  (Ibid  Pp.  231-232). 

Now,  a  number  of  questions  rise  up  on  a  perusal 
of  these  more  or  less  conflicting  statements: 

First  and  foremost: — If  tr-aft  were  pronounced  as 
diphthongs,  how  did  they  all  of  a  sudden  jump  into  the 
the  wide  sound?  This  my  doubt  (Ind.  Ant.  Jan.  1918) 
received  no  answer. 

Secondly,  What  are  tadbhava  aVaf)  ?  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  there  are  no  aV-aft  in  Prakrt  or  Gujarat!,  except  in 
rare  instances  like  *ft,  b^t,  §$1,  wherein  the  sound  is 
exactly  like  the   tatsama  a>-aft.  Probably   Dr.   Tessitori 


150  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

means  by  "  tadbhava  ^-aft  "  the  really  widish  sound  of 
Hindi,  in  fact  he  suggests  this  cautiously  in  note  10  at 
P.  228,  for  he  uses  the  word  "probably."  This  caution, 
combined  with  the  fact  that  Dr.  Tessitori  at  first  says 
(P.  227)  that  the  at-aft  were  pronounced  as  diphthongs,— 
as  also  the  expression  "presumably  like  the  tatsama^-^*' 
(Bardic  Survey,  P.  76,  last  para,  11.  5-6),  drives  me  to  the 
suspicion  that  Dr.  Tessitori  is  undecided  as  to  the  exact 
nature  of  the  tr-aft  used  in  MaravadI  (and,  according  to 
him,  in  Gujarat!) ;  that  he  feels  the  gradations  of  the 
sound  from  tr-aft  to  aY-aft,  but  represents  them  haltingly. 
Thirdly: — taking  Dr.  Tessitori's  statements  all  to- 
gether, especially  No.  (3)  noted  above,  the  following 
appears  to  be  his  serial  view: — 

(a)  Pure  diphthongal  sound — found  only  in  Sans- 
krit and  in  tatsama  words  in  the  vernaculars; 

(b)  aY-afr  sounded  not  like  pure  diphthongs,  but 
fighting  shy  of  the  wide  sound  (  aY-afT )  as  is  the  case 
with  Hindi,  and  which,  Dr.  Tessitori  thinks,  existed 
in  MaravadI  (and,  according  to  him,  in  Gujarat!)  before 
the  true  wide  sound  (  aY-aff )  was  arrived  at; 

(c)  aVafr  as  representing  the  present  day  true  wide 
sound  in  MaravadI. 

Taking  this  as  the  fairest  construction  of 
Dr.  Tessitori's  view,  I  maintain  what  I  stated  before,  that 
the  aV-trr  of  Hindi  stand  by  themselves,  and  that  the 
early  MaravadI  tr-aft  did  not  represent  this  semi-wide 
Hindi  sound,  but  were  but  wrong  symbols  for  the  true 
wide  sounds  aY-arY.  For  there  are  hardly  any  grounds  on 
which  the  theory  suggested  in  (b)  above  for  the  old 
MaravadI  sound  can  be  based.  Anyhow,  when  the 
symbols  ar-aft  cover  so  very  divergent  sounds  as  noted 
above,  how  can  we  accept  Dr.  Tessitori's  recommenda- 
tion for  the  adoption  of  those  symbols  for  the  representa- 
tion of  the  true  wide  sound  ? 


PHONOGENESIS.  151 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  tt-aft,  as  diphthongs, 
possess  the  component  sounds  ar  and  $,  and  «r  and  ?,  not 
so  closely  fused  together  as  ar-3fr  do,  and  that  the  wide 
af-aft  are  of  the  latter  kind  (*$m  *Jftrerc)  rather  than 
of  the  former  kind  (ssb  #fa^*).  Thus  ^-^ft  would  be  a 
better  sign. 

In  the  course  of  my  arguments  I  have  appealed  to 
ear-perception  in  tracing  the  genesis  of  the  wide  sound 
as  contrasted  with  the  narrow  sound;  thus,  I  have  shown 
that  ar^-ar^ (after  the  loss  of  the  JcRR  final  ar  in  are-are)  if 
sounded  as  in  ^c  ( from  ^R  J-tto  (  from  *re^  ), 
present  to  the  ear  the  sound  nearest  to  the  wide  sound 
aVafr,  whereas  ar^-are,  sounded  as  in  are^  (from  are^re^ 
TO55  (from  5Tf«5 ),  present  the  conditions  of  the 
narrow  sound.  Dr.  Tessitori  regards  this  ear-test  as 
misleading.  According  to  him  the  real  facts  are  that 
a?f-are  do  not  give  aj-aft  (narrow),  but  aMtf  (wide),  and 
are-are  do  not  give  a7-3?f  (wide),  but  aMfr  (narrow). 
According  to  him  *re<R*6  gives  *m$  (G.)  through  the  are 
in  vmw,  and  ^Tit^T  gives  ^t€t  (G.)  through  the  are  in 
iwufi.  I  go  a  step  further  and  hold  that  the  narrow 
sound  results  after  the  are-are  pass  through  the  aij-sre 
stage;  nothing  else  is  phonally  possible. 

Dr.  Tessitori's  view  that  are-«re  generate  the 
narrow  sound  direct,  and  a^-sre  generate  the  wide  sound 
direct,  will  land  him  into  a  dilemma  in  certain  cases: 
Take,  for  example,  ^a-sraa-Jita  (G.),  *$3sfl-S2re*rft-iw<«<A 
by  metathesis) — wfatf^t  (G-).  Here,  if  he  interpolates 
an  are  between  the  are  and  aft  stages,  he  will  have  to 
accept  prati-sathprasdrana,  which  he  has  all  along  been 
opposing;  if  he  does  not  interpolate  an  an?  he  must 
accept  the  direct  change  of  are  to  aft  (narrow).  He 
cannot  get  over  this  situation  by  bringing  in  the  ^jRt 
theory  to  his  rescue.    For,  according  to  him,  f*Ji<t  comes 


152  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

in  if  the  3  is  preceded  by  a  long  vowel  whereas  here  the 
preceding  vowel  is  short. 

In  matters  of  this  kind  oral  tradition  and  demon- 
stration are  essential;  hence  the  value  of  35&KI4.  Mere 
dead  formulae  and  symbols  are  useless  without  such 
teaching.  Live  sound  must  be  presented  to  the  ear. 
Even  Dr.  Tessitori  himself,  when  he  had  to  rely  on 
dead  spelling  and  symbols  before  he  arrived  in  India,  was 
under  the  impression  that  Gujarat!  turned  the  3T|- 
3T?  of  O,  W.  Raj.  to  sr-sfF  and  Maravadi  to  tr-3jh  He 
perceived  the  wide  sound  only  after  hearing  it  in  India. 
And  I  am  sure  that  he  will  perceive  the  true  sound- 
values  of  individual  words  in  Gujarat!  after  he  visits 
Gujarat  and  hears  the  various  sounds  carefully. 

Dr.  Tessitori's  view  is  based  on  what  is  visible  to 
the  eye  on  the  surface;  thus,  he  finds  ^m^^-^wJ-^; 
*qMfH[-wi£Mi^t  and  seeing  3R-3T3  as  precursors 
of  the  narrow  3T-3TT  he  at  once  regards  them  as  the 
immediate  precursors.  I  feel  a  phonal  difficulty  in 
obtaining  a  narrow  sound  from  QR-are,  and  therefore 
interpolate  (with  good  reasons  and  evidence)  a  sampra- 
sdrana  stage  3TI-3F?  ,  which  alone  can  yield  the  narrow 
sound.  To  this  Dr.  Tessitori's  objection  is  that  sath- 
prasarana  is  not  possible  if  the  ^  (or  *r )  is  initial,  and 
in  these  words  the  ^  and  v  are  initial  with  reference 
to  the  3wr^  or  the  suffix  (as  the  case  may  be);  for 
instance,  says  he,  3%l  and  zf-w  retain  the  ^  intact 
because  they  are  initial,  but  ^T^re  becomes  ^3W3. 
He  further  seems  to  trace  the  cause  in  the  presence  or 
absence  of  stress  on  the  ^  (and  ^ );  thus,  according  to 
him  ^f^r  becomes  ^\€t  (narrow)  from  are  direct, 
when  .the  ^  is  stressed,  and  it  becomes  **h£i  and  then 
nottt  (wide)  when  the  w  is  unstressed — (ssftet — wide — 
may  be  Maravadi,  but  it  is  not  Gujarat!  which  has  only 
the  narow  «ft  in  *^). 


PHONOGENESIS.  153 

Thus  he  believes  in  the  shifting  of  accent  just  as 
I  do,  but  we  arrive  at  different  results:  with  him  the 
stress  on^f  or  1  prevents  samprasdrana  and  its  loss 
causes  samprasdrana,  while  my  theory,  on  the  other 
hand,  is  that  absence  of  accent  on  3  or  3  (in  3T3-3T3  ) — 
strictly  speaking,  on  the  ar  thereof-leaves  the  preceding 
3f  accented,  and  the  3?  of  3  and  3  becoming  ^T<nr,  is 
dropped,  thus  creating  3T^-3T^  as  the  cause  of  the  wide 
sound;  whereas  an  accent  on  such  3  or  3(i.  e.  on  their 
3t)  causes  samprasdrana  of  the  3  or  3. 

The  reason  is  this  :  the  principle  governing  sam- 
prasdrana is  quite  different  from  what  Dr.  Tessitori 
supposes.  Samprasdrana  is  not  prevented  by  the 
position  of  3  or  1  as  an  initial  letter  of  a  word,  nor  is  it 
caused  by  its  not  occupying  such  position.  The 
principle  governing  samprasdrana  in  words  coming 
into  the  vernaculars  seems  to  be  this:  samprasdrana. 
arises  from  the  softening  of  the  effort  in  pronouncing 
the  semi-vowels,  3  and  3  ;  it  is  a  liquefication  of  these 
sounds.  This  softening  of  the  effort  occurs,  is  rendered 
possible,  when  the  3  or  3  occupies  an  accented  position. 
It  will  be  perceived  that  the  3  and  3  first  get  softened 
into  the  sgsRTc^rc  stage,  and  then  that  leads  to 
the  complete  liquefication  into  the  vowel  stage. 
This  will  be  clear  when  we  remember  that  the  355i3<3 
3-3  possess  a  larger  consonantal  element  than  vocal, 
while  the  ajpq^rc  contain  a  larger  vocal  element 
than  consonantal.  This  view  will  enable  as  to  truly 
appreciate  the  very  happy  names  coined  by  Dr.  Hoernle 
for  the  two  aspects:  "semi-consonants"  to  express  the 
strong  3-3  and  "semi-vowels"  to  denote  the  weak  3-3 
(Vide  his  Introduction  to  the  Prdkrita-Laksumi,  Page 
XXVII,  §   4). 

[  F.  O.  C.  II  20  ] 


154  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

However,  when  the  ^  or  1  is  purely  initial  i.e. 
at  the  beginning  of  a  word  which  is  not  ansm^in 
a  compound  or  a  suffix,  this  power  of  the  accent 
is  counteracted  by  the  necessity  of  pronouncing  the 
\  or  ^strongly,  as  they  have  no  preceding  support,  and 
so  w,  2J^r  retain  their  initial  ^and  \  respectively  un- 
softened,  although  they  are  accented.  This  leads  up  to 
the  condition  essential  for  sathprasardna;  viz:  inter- 
vocalic position  of  \  and  %.  For,  when  \oy  ^  comes 
between  two  vowels,  a  vocalic  atmosphere  is  created  by 
the  vocalizing  influence  of  the  two  adjacent  vowels, 
and  we  get  the  sathprasdrana.  This  is  possible  only 
when  the  3?  of  q-?  is  accented,  for,  otherwise,  the  first 
3T  (of  3R-3m)  gets  the  accent,  and  this  final  ^  of  3R-3R 
becomes  *fW  and  |<T<T*  and  gets  dropped;  and  so  ar^-sr^ 
come  in  and  give  the  wide  sound.  (Thus,  the  very 
stress  which,  as  belonging  to  the  initial  q  or  =r  of  an 
skUM<*  or  suffix,  Dr.  Tessitori  regards  as  preventive  oi 
sathprasdrana,  is  with  me  the  very  condition  furnishing 
a  causative  principle — viz:  a  vocalic  surrounding — for 
sathprasdrana,  (of  course,  provided  that  a  vowel  also 
precedes  the  ^-3"  ).  Thus,  the  two  conditions  for  sath- 
prasdrana are: — 

(a)  Intervocalic  position  of  \  or  ^  and  (b)  Stress 
on  the  second  vowel,  i.  e.  the  vowel  of  q-3. 

Dr.  Tessitori  (P.  229)  seems  puzzled  at  this  accent 
theory  of  mine.  He  rightly  guesses  that  the  accent  I 
speak  of  is  not  the  old  Sanskrit  accent.  It  cannot 
possibly  be  where  Prakrit  and  post-Prakrit  word-forms 
are  concerned. 

This  being  the  case,  Dr.  Tessitori's  contention 
that  my  accent  does  not  fall  on  the  same  syllable  on 
which  the  Sanskrit  accent  would  fall,  and  so  forth,  and 
his  instances  at  footnote  12,  P.  229,  must  be  brushed 
aside  as  more  or  less  irrelevant. 


PHONOGENESIS.  155 

But  Dr.  Tessitori  objects  to  my  way  of  locating 
the  accent  relatively  as  between  the  *f  and  l  (or  3),  or 
between  ar  and  T  (or  1  ).  He  thinks  that  instances 
like  !%W3ra  and  <TT3i#  are  irrelevant  because  these  are 
cases  of  a  long  3;  (are;)  not  of  ars  (short  3  ).  I  am  afraid 
Dr.  Tessitori  has  overlooked  the  object  I  have  in  view 
in  giving  such  instances.  It  is  to  derive  from  cases 
of  undoubted  accent  (the  long  vowel  being  necessarily 
accented)  the  underlying  principle  which  prevents 
prati-samprasdrana. 

Finally,  Dr.  Tessitori,  in  dealing  with  my  tenative 
theory  about  foreign  influence  in  the  matter  of  the 
wide  sound,  resorts  to  a  very  questionable  argument. 
I  have  simply  stated  that  in  view  of  the  appearance  of 
the  wide  sound  during  a  period  coinciding  with  the 
intellectual  advancement  during  Akbar's  time  when 
Persian  and  Arabic  flourished  in  India,  this  wide  sound 
in  words  of  the  type  of  my  (^r)-^^t  ($&)  found  a  sort  of 
kinship  in  the  Arabic-Persian  words  of  the  type  of  53TR 
( I^R),  ^55  (*Ffa),  and  "  was  matured  under  the  indirect 
influence  of  these  foreign  languages."  Dr.  Tessitori  says 
that  such  a  theory  is  "as  ridiculous  as  it  would  be  to 
impeach  English  because  it  possesses  words  like  "hat" 
and  "hot"  whereof  the  vowels  are  pronounced  much 
like  the  sfr-aft  of  modern  Gujarati." 

This  would  be  really  reversing  the  sequence  and 
relation  between  cause  and  effect,  for  the  wide  sound 
began  four  centuries  ago,  while  the  English  contact 
with  Gujarati  is  only  a  century  old,  whereas  the  Arabic- 
Persian  sound  and  the  Maravadi  Gujarati  sound  flourish- 
ed side  by  side  in  India,  both  undergoing  the  operation 
of  similar  formative  forces.  This  need  not  be  pooh- 
poohed  as  absurd,  for  the  3R-^  phonally  generate 
the  3?-3T?  in  either  case.     It    must  be  noted  particularly 


156  N.  B.  DIVATIA. 

that  the  Arabic-Persian  sound  is  not  the  wide  sf-aft 
but  3T^-3R;  only  in  coming  into  Gujarat!  from  Arabic- 
Persian  it  is  that  such  words  transform  the  3T^-3T^ 
into  at-3tf. 

If  phonal  influence  from  English  were  to  be  traced, 
one  could  very  well  note  the  foreign  sound  of  ^  (f)  that 
is  imperceptibly  creeping  into  Indian  phonology, 
which  centuries  later  may  be  justly  traced  to  English 
(and  partly  to  Persian)  influence.  The  foreign  sound 
of  v;  is  dento-labial,  while  the  true  Indian  sound  is 
purely  labial;  and  yet  we  often  find  Indians  (who  have 
come  under  English  influence)  pronouncing  the  <*>  even 
in  Sanskrit  words  dento-labially:  *$&  (fala)  instead  of 
<fi*5  (phala). 

To  sum  up:— The  cardinal  difference  between  Dr. 
Tessitori  and  me  lies  in  the  fact  that  while  I   trace   the 
wide  sound  of  3?-3ff  to  3R-3H  (through  ^-apjj  both  in  the 
case  of   original  3^-3^  as   well   as  the  aw-are  evolved  by 
prati-samprasdrana  from  3T^-3re,  and  the  narrow  sound 
of  3T-3fr  to  3T|-3rj  both   in  the  case  of  original  or  derived 
a*f-3T3  by  samprasdrana  from  arc-are,   Dr.   Tessitori    in- 
verts the  process  and  believes  the  wide  sound  to   have 
come   direct  from  3T^-3f?  (original  or  derived  by  sathpra- 
sdrana from  anr-ar?)  and  the  narrow   sound   direct  from 
arc-are,  (original  only,  I   suppose;   for   a   derived  3rc  or 
are  will   necessitate  prati-samprasdrana  which    is    not 
recognised   in  the  learned  Doctor's  phonetics,  at  least 
in   this   connection).     I   base  my  conclusions  on  the 
phonal  impossibility  involved  in  tracing  the  wide  sound 
from  ar^-sre  direct  and  the  narrow  one  from  3pr-&re  direct. 
I  hope  1  have  given  sufficient  reasons  in  support  of  my 
conclusions  in  this  paper,  supplementing   those   given 
in  my  two   contributions   to  the  Indian  Antiquary   on 
this  subject. 


APABHRAMSA   LITERATURE  AND  ITS 
IMPORTANCE  TO  PHILOLOGY. 

By  P.  D.  Gune. 

1.  The  importance  of  the  Apabhramsa  language 
and  literature  is  very  great.  According  to  Pischel,  we 
have  to  look  upon  ApabhramSa,  not  as  one  language 
or  dialect,  but  as  so  many  popular  dialects  of  India. 
They  also  later  on  developed  a  literature  of  their 
own. 

2.  What  is  the  extent  of  the  Apabhramsa  litera- 
ture ?  Until  recently  the  only  literature  in  Apabhramsa 
known  to  scholars  and  recognised  by  them  as 
such,  was  what  was  found  (a)  in  the  fourth  Act  of 
Kalidasa's  Vikramorva^  (b)  in  Pingala's  Prdkrta 
pingalasutra  (c)  in  Hemacandra's  Siddhahemacandram 
Sutras  IV,  329  to  446,  where  he  quotes  from  various 
sources,  (d)  in  Hemacandra's  Kiundrapdlacarita,  other- 
wise called Prakrtadvydgrayakdvya,  Sarga  VIII  vs.  14-82, 
which  professedly  illustrates  his  own  grammatical 
rules,  and  lastly  (e)  stray  pieces  found  in  Jain  legends1 
like  the  Kdlakdcdryakahd   and   that  of  the   destruction 


of  Dvdravati  and  in  Alamkftra  works  like  Sarasvatl- 
kanfhdbharanam,  [Datarupdvaloka  and  Dhvanydloka. 
It  is  to  be  remarked  that  only  stray  verses  in 
Apabhramsa  here  and  there  are  found  scattered  in  these 
works.  To  the  Apabhramsa  verses  in  the  Sarasvatl- 
kanthdbharanam  ( Borooh's  edition)  mentioned  by 
Pischel,  are  to  be  added  those  at  p.  58,  74,  76, 158,  174, 
261,  348,  373.     Besides,  some   verses   are   to  be  found 

1.  The  text   wrongly  reads   thus  for  fl^  which  the    con- 
text requires. 

2.  Wrong  for  fal 


158  P.  D.  GUNE. 

in   the      Vetdlapancavims'atikd,    Sitnhdsanadvdtrimgikd 
and  in  Prabandhacintdmani. 

The  genuineness  of  the  IVth  Act  of  Vikramo- 
rvas'l,  which  was  called  into  question  by  scholars  like 
S.  P.  Pandit  and  Bloch,  is  now  generally  accepted.8 
But  the  fact  remains  that  the  act  has  suffered  by  the 
dictum  of  the  above-mentioned  scholars.  It  requires 
to  be  again  edited  with  care  by  one  who  knows 
Prakrit  well. 

Pischel  has  not  mentioned  Kumar  apdlacarita  as 
it  was  published  in  1900,  when  his  grammar  was  also 
in  the  press.  The  Prdkrtapihgala  has  been  edited 
again  in  the  Bibl.  Indica  by  Candramohan  Gosha, 
1902  ;  but  it  is  apparently  no  improvement  upon 
Sivadatta  and  Parab's  Kavyamala  edition. 

3.  Since  Pischel's  time,  there  has  been  a  con- 
siderable addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the  Apabhramsa 
literature.    This  is  partly  printed  and  partly  yet  in  Mss. 

I  (a)  The  Bhavisayattakahd  of  Dhanavala  is  a  work 
entirely  written  in  Apabhramsa.  It  is  divided  into 
twenty-two  sandhi  or  chapters,  each  sub-divided  into 
from  10  to  20,  sometimes  25,  ghattd  stanzas.  This 
work  has  been  edited  in  the  Gaekwad's  Oriental  Series 
by  the  late  Mr.  C.  D.  Dalai.  It  awaits  an  intro- 
duction only  and  will  be  out  probably  next  year. 
It  begins:  — 

3.    Wrong  for  fl^w 


apabhramSa.  159 

and  ends: — 

The  author  occasionally  finishes  a  sattdhi  with  his 
own  name,  e.g. 

This  Dhanavala  or  Dhanapala  and  the  Dhanapala 
often  quoted  by  Hemacandra  in  his  Defind- 
mamdld  can  not  be  one  and  the  same.  The  other 
Dhanapala  is  the  author  of  (i)  ftsabhapancdtfikd  (Ed. 
Kavyamala),  (ii)  Pdialacchindmamdld  (edited  by  Biihler 
and  Pischel,  B.B.  and  Co.  Bhavanagar)  and  (iii) 
Tilakamanjarl  in  MSS.  According  to  the  last  verse  of 
Pdialacchl,  Dhanapala  completed  the  work  in  Samvat 
1029,i.e.A.D.  973.  He  therefore  belongs  to  the  latter 
half  of  the  10th  century  A.  D .  In  Kumar  apdlapraban- 
dha,  2l  late  work  of  the  15th  century,  MS.  19)of  1869- 
70  of  the  Deccan  College  Collection  now  at  the  Bhan- 
darkar  Institute,  mention  is  made  in  folio  79a  of  the 
Jfsabhapancdsikd  of  Dhanapala  having  been  repeated 
by  Hemacandra  before  Kumarapala.  This  Dhanapala 
was  born  in  a  Brahman  family,  and  then  turned  Jaina 
whereas  our  Dhanapala  is  born  in  the  Dhakkadavani- 
gvamsa,  his  parents'  names  being  Maesara  and  Dhana- 
siridevi  respectively. 

(b).  The  Kumar apdlapratibodha  of  Somaprabha- 
carya,  (ed.  Muni  Jinavijayaji,  Gaekwad's  Oriental  series) 
contains  much  Apabhramsa.  This  is  a  bulky  Jain 
work,  purporting  to  be  the  enlightenment  of  the  young 
king  Kumarapala  by  the  advice  of  the  polihistor  Hema- 
candra. It  has  five  long  Prastavas  broken  by  different 
Kathds  or  stories,   drawn   as  illustrations  of  particular 


160  P.  D.  GUNE. 

merits  or  vices.  Thus  there  is  Nalakathd  which  illus- 
trates the  evils  of  dice-playing,  Pradyotakathd  as  illus- 
trating evils  of  debauchery,  Tdrd  and  Rukminlkathd  as 
examples  of  the  virtue  of  faithfulness  and  the  like. 
The  bulk  of  the  work  is  written  in  what  Jacobi  calls 
Jaina-Maharastri  or  simple  Maharastri  and  contains 
both  prose  and  poetry.  One  or  two  Kathas,  e.g.  that  of 
Makaradhvaja  are  written  in  Sanskrit.  But  the  last 
Prastdva  is  important  from  one  point  of  view  as  it  con- 
tains some  entire  kathds  in  Apabhrams'a,  such  as  (i)  the 
Jlvaniandkkaranasamldpakathd,  containing  105  stanzas 
in  Apabhramsa;  (ii)  the  Sthulibhadrakathd,  having  106 
stanzas  (with  the  exception  of  a  very  few  Gathas  in 
Maharastri)  in  Apabhramsa;  (iii)  the  Dasdrnabhadraka" 
thd  which  is  half  Apabhramsa  and  half  Sanskrit. 
Besides  Apbh.  stanzas  are  scattered  over  the  other  parts 
of  the  work.  e.g. 

^wf^fas  301  *frfaf^  srft  5^1  crft  55T3  ii  from  ^ra^ft^ 

?3f  <S*>J||ft^  Q%  3T55  fl|  3fltfT%2T  5W  i 

qt  ft  qsrirfa  *m  q%  f%  g^qfl  g^f^r  i  from  «w<fi^*rr 

*f|  t  JTwr^rft^  qqf^  fawre§  n  from  awfte^rr 

^%  5?rc  *i  ?&n  %f|  *ftt  far  *rcw  i 

sfrsrr  %sw  ^  w$  eft  *  f^s%  ft^s  n  from  tfte^tftesr^cr 

f  *rf*  ft^ift  ^  <T3  3T«?f  ^  *rar|  ii  from  5T#re*rr 
The  author  Somaprabha  gives  some  information 
regarding  himself  in  the  praiasti  at  the  end  of  the 
work.  He  was  the  pupil  of  Vijayasimhasuri, 
who  again  was  the  pupil  of  Ajitadevasuri.  He  wrote 
the  work  in  the  house  of  one  Siddhapala,  who  was  a 
favourite  of  king  Kumarapala.  He  wrote  it  in  (evi- 
dently Samvat)  Satijaladhisiiryavarse,  i.e.  1241,  which 


APABHRAM6A.  161 

corresponds  to  A.  D.  1185,  i.e.  twelve  years  after 
Kumarapala's  death.  He  was  therefore  an  immediate 
successor  of  the  great  Hemacandra. 

(c)  Another  work  containing  some  Apbh.  is  the 
Vpadeiataran^MX  of  Ratnamandiraganin  edited  by 
H.  B.  Shah,  Benares,  V  .S  .  2437.  (A  .D.  1911.)  This 
is  a  late  work  of  promiscuous  nature,  full  of  Sanskrit 
and  Prakrit  quotations.  The  Sanskrit  quotations  are 
generally  from  the  Mcvhdbh&rata  and  the  Satakas  of 
Bhatarbari  and  the  prakrit  fromidifferent  Xgama  works 
and  other  sources.  There  is  little  that  belongs  to  the 
author,  but  ithat  little  is  written  in  bad  Sanskrit;  <e.  g. 
satrdgdro  manditah,  p. 42;  Jamhudvlpo  ja,lad}iifiar.iglia~ 
bhu$itah,p.  142;  butnbdm  pdtayan,  p.  76  (from  Gujarat!, 
biftn  padavutn);  kutiimbam  vilapantam  drspi'd,  p  .  67 
etc.  There  are  about  25  passages  that  can  be  strictly 
called  Apbh-;  there  are  some  more  which  tie  on  the 
borderland  of  Apbh.  and  old  Gujarat!.  A  few  might 
he  quoted  ihere  with  a&vantage>- 

The  author  was  a  pupil  of  Nandiratna.  This  latter 
was  the  pupil  of  Ratna^ekharasuri,  who  again  was 
the    pupil   of    Somasundarasuri,      the    head    of     the 

Tapagaccha. 

(d).  The  Supdsandhacariyam  of  Laksnawganin, 
parts  I  &  II  (3rd,to  be  out)edited  by  Pandit  Haragovind 
Das  Seth,  Benares  1918,  contains  some  Apbh.  here  and 
there.  The  body  of  the  work  is  in  Maharastri.  Some 
examples  are: — 

[  F.  O.  0.  II  21  ] 


162 


P.  D.  GUNE. 


&*\*%<d  m  Tfl^i  ftcrs  3n^rf^  ii  p.  115 

Besides  stray  verses  at  about  sixteen  places,  there 
are  Apbh.  passages  of  considerable  length  at  pages  50, 
190,  212,  286,  and  440. 

II.  Then  there  are  some  Jaina  MSS.  in  Apbh.  in 
different  libraries.  Many  of  them  were  not  so  far  re- 
cognized as  Apbh.  works,  as  the  catalogues  put  them 
under  the  promiscuous  heading  of  Prakrit.  Such  are: — 

(a)  The  Sanjamamanjari  of  Mahesvarasuri,  No.  1359 
of  1886-92  of  the  Deccan  College  Collection  at 
the  Bhandarkar  Institute.  It  is  written  entirely  in 
Apbh.  and  contains  35  verses  in  dodhaka  or  dohd 
metre.     It  begins  and  ends  thus  : — 

Tmfaijki  &j!Hg**ieftftr>T  ^ri  11  1 
mm  w1  i*raro  whr  ^  1 
faft  ^s<*iftjA<»  ^fa  %m  #1 11 
The  dohas,  only  55  of  them  in  all  as   said    above, 
are  written  in  perfect  style  ;  e.  g. 

%ft  *  m%  ir^r  srfts  <rs  §*rc  ssrs  11 
finm  Am.  arrcres  ^rftwr*  sre«r  1 

Sf^3  ^  ^  $5^3  l^  ^nf$  3PJI   II 


APABHRAtygA.  163 

5%fa  #^T  5^few  3Q75  %*F3  ??5«r  I 

The  MS.  was  written  at  the  instance  of  Santisuri 
in  Samvat  1561,  i.  e.  A.  D.  1505.  Mahes'varas'uri 
must  therefore  have  lived  long  before  this.  At 
the  end  of  another  work  of  Manes  vara^uri, 
in  the  Government  Collection  at  the  Bhandarkar 
Institute,  Samvat  1365  is  mentioned,  which  is  probably 
the  year  of  the  copy.  If  so,  our  author  must  have  lived 
prior  to  A.D.  1309.  The  curator,  Baroda  central 
Library,  mentions  a  Pattan  Mss.  of  the  Dnydnapancaml- 
kathd  by  Mahesvara  of  10th  century  Samvat.  Is 
this  Mahes'vara  and  our  author  the  same  ? 

(b)  The  commentary  on  this  work  by  a  pupil  of 
Hemahanasaguri  is  also  important  from  our  point  of  view. 
It  is  perhaps  more  valuable,  as  it  is  voluminous.  The 
commentator  must  also  have  lived  before  A.D.  1505, 
the  date  of  the  copy  of  the  Sanjamamafijarl  together 
with  its  commentary.  It  contains  lots  of  Apabhrams'a 
quotations,  some  of  very  considerable  length.  The 
smaller  ones  are  generally  of  the  nature  of  subhdsita 
verses  that  must  have  been  familiar  in  the  days  of  the 
commentator  ;  e.g. 

m^%  *ft  snts  S  5^  jfftm  11  fol.  716 

3H<r^r  «ft  3n=*?st  f&\  fa^  faw  11  fol.  826 
m?\  fa  *te  *ictTST  qfai  fa  g^i  &  1 
§fo3T  §#^r  $f$  q*  a  fafm\i  fas$  11  fol.  146 
Here  is  a  description  of  a  city  and  its  suburbs  : — 


164  P.  D.  GUNE. 

hmh^  mm  *i<&h<a<\  **&&  ^ro  srmww^ii  i 
f*rft  *^?  v^fdr  q^j^r  ^"src^  qr%$  wwtt  ii 
srft  ^  w^k  mmi  *^3r  sptow^ts  i 

^  wim^mr  foftfo^rer  ^rft  5§te  ^  ^r^i^Rf  r 

At  folio  106  begins  the  story  of  a  king  of  Taksasila 
named  Tivikkama  or  Trivikrama.  This  runs  over 
three  folios,  and  is  given  as  an  illustration1  of  the  merits 
of  obeisance  to  Jina. 

I  shall    only  quote  the  beginning  of  the  story, 
Which  is  interesting  in  itself  :— 

^fa  fafafanf  ^T%  *"«w^fa  ?r  stf^g  11  fol.  106. 
It  is  to  be  noticed  that  this  commentator  also,  like 
the  commentator  on  Upadiiatarangini  quotes  from 
various  Sanskrit  and  Prakrit  works  like  the  Mahdbhti- 
rata,  Vdyu  and  Matsya  Puranas,  the  &zfote-chiefly  the 
Vairdgyas'ataka-oi  Bhatrhari,  and  the  Prakrit  Sgamas. 
Apabhramsa  quotations  like  rdsahu  kandhi  caddviya 
etc.  at  fol.  826  or  divasi  pahillai  pdhunu  sondsamu 
vlkdi  fol.  54a  look  like  stray  subhasita  verses  current  in 
the  author's  time  and  show  that  there  must  have  been 
a  rich  literature  in  Apabhramsa.  The  long  story  that  he 
has  quoted  corroborates  this  view.  It  reads  like  what 
to-day  is  called  Kahanl  or  Rasa  in  folklore. 


APABHRAM6A.  165 

(c)  The  TisatthimahipurisagiirtdiamkrJra  of  Pup- 
phadanta  is  an  important  work  in  Apabhram4a.  It  forms 
No.  370  in  section  X  of  the  Catalogue  for  search  of 
Mss.  for  the  years  1879>-801  and  is  entered  as  an  incom- 
plete Prakrit  work  in  304  folios.  The  Ms.  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Deccan  College  Mss.  Collection,  now 
deposited  at  the  Bhandarkar  Institute.  The  work  is 
divided  into  sandhi  or  chapters,  as  most  Apabhraniia 
works  are,  and  has  27  such  saradhis*  The  number  of 
stanzas  in  a  Sandhi  varies  from  1 5  to  25,  sometimes 
however,,  a  sandhi  has  only  nine  stanzas.*,  £.  chapter  VI, 
or  as  many  as  29,  e.  g.  chapter  IX. 

It  begins  :~ 

etc.  etc. 

Every  sandhi  ends  with  the  following  words  : — 

T5PT3^*J<tll!Ji*(^"»I^  JTSW%  tf«T??WTO*ft  °IR  I  etc. 

(the  name  and  number  of  the  pariccheda  or  sandhi,) 
The  poem  is  said  to  be  approved  by  the  most  noble 
(king)  Bharaha  ;  but  it  is  not  clear  who  this  Bharaha  is. 
The  seventh  stanza  in  sandhi  I  is  important  as  it 
contains  an  explicit  reference  to  the  Setubcindha  of 
Pravarasena,  side  by  side  with  that  to  the  Rdntdyana. 


166  P.  D.  GUNE. 

♦^fc^i'mR  *»r  ^srcft  fe^t%f|  or  f^r^fl  II 
st^t^  or  m&ft  $%mfe  or  v¥®*fi  i 

etc.  etc. 

The  reference  in  line  7,  by  the  words  vdlavuddha- 
santosaheu  is  to  Valmiki  and  his  work  Rdmdyana  ;  and 
that  in  line  9,  Jo  summai  kliivai  vihiyaseu  is  clearly  to 
Pravarasena  of  the  Setubandha  fame.  In  the  ninth 
stanza  the  poet  mentions  several  predecessors  of  his  ; 
some,  like  Kapila  and  Vyasa  almost  mythical,  others 
like  Bharavi  and  Bana  of  living  memory.  It  is  import- 
ant to  note  that  Puspadanta  mentions  Rudrata  and  not 
Hemacandra,  when  speaking  about  his  knowledge 
of  poetics.  Had  Hemacandra,  who  was  looked  upon 
as  a  literary  colossus  by  all  his  Jaina  successors,  and 
quoted  with  reverence,  lived  before  him,  he  certainly 
would  have  made  respectful  mention  of  his  name,  as 
for  instance  Somparabha  has  done  (see  supra).  But 
it  is  to  be  remembered  that  he  was  a  Digambara.  The 
passage  which  deals  with  this  subject  is  worth  quoting 
and  reads  thus:— 

ore  qft^t  TT^nrf&sreit  i   aiWS-S^Mt  fawidi*  II 
*Trsrrft?  xxx  *rrs  «rri  i  £if^  ^tefas  ^rfe^rs  n 
=^35f  stfg  faU*Ug  ^tj  i  irerts  ^  $*n?j  error  n 
ore  *rra  or  (&$  ui  gorcrcni  1  ^^  ^3  ^*?J  fafaiifofi  11 
ora  #fa  q  ^t^j  q*rcwfa  1  ore  srrforq  q%  %$fa  fasr%  u 

013  ffore  3TT?T5  3^3  I    fe3  *^3  <W«1<3  ^9  il 

qf  s^f  ^fa^n^is  1  qnt^n^R  ou<i+u>  sts  11 
f^JTc5^«T^  *$\  <?f%3  I   *T  ^^  qfi^  far%  ^fes   II 
*re?tg  f%^^tc5 1%^  1  or  ?E5$nfiT*n$  ft2^  forflg  11 


APABHRAM6A.  167 

mg*ig  fa  T5T5^i  i  ^tmr  ^  vt  sref^rg  ii 

Many  names  in  this  passage  are  familiar  to  us,  such 
as  Kapila,  Bharata,  Patanjali,  Bhasa,  Vyasa,  Kalidasa, 
Bana,  Harsa,  Rudrata,  Pingala.  But  others  like 
Akalamka,  Kanayara,  Purandara,  Dantilla,  Visahila, 
Kohila,  Svayambhu,  Drona,  Isana  are  obscure.  The 
writer  of  the  marginal  notes— and  they  are  sometimes 
very  helpful  as  I  find — has  tried  to  give  some  informa- 
tion regarding  them.  According  to  him  Akalamka 
is  Nyayakara  ( ?  )-karta,  Kanayara  is  Vais'esikadarsan- 
amulakarta,  Purandara  is  Carvakamate-granthakarta, 
Dantilla  and  Visahila  with  Bharata  are  writers  of  works 
on  Music  ;  the  last  four  are  poets  about  whom  the 
writer  of  the  marginal  notes  does  not  enlighten  us. 

This  work  also  possesses  considerable  poetic  merit. 
The  author  has  command  over  metre  and  language, 
and  uses  similes  that  would  do  credit  to  a  Kalidasa; 
e.g. 

aw?  *rctaR  ^"tfcr  =^5ivt^5  <mi  srgftffi^  i 
srfit  3^^  *g*n^wt  °i^  ^^%  m>y(i.w\\i  n  8a. 

Before  closing  the  brief  account  of  this  work, 
attention  has  to  be  drawn  to  the  fact  that  the  Mss. 
always  has  the  cerebral  n  in  place  of  the  dental  n  in  all 
positions.  This  appears  to  be  the  characteristic  of  the 
Apbh.,  which  is  ignored,  e.g.  in  works  like  Bhavi sayatta- 
kahd  and  Sanjamamanjari.  In  these  latter  works  the  ;/ 
is  made  to  follow  its  own  fate  in  the  Ardhamagadhi. 
This  has  to  be  explained  (as  due  to  the  predilections 
of  the  scribes  towards  the  language  of  their  sacred 
lore. 


166  <p.  ©.  <H3NE. 

(d)  Lastly  there  are  smaller  works  in  Apabhramsa 
called  Sandlhi,  eg.,  Arddhand  18  fol.  and  Paramdtma 
prakdsa  in  19  fol.,  Caivrangasandhi,  Bhmamdsandhi, 
Rasas  and  Statras  at  the  Patana  Bhandar.  These  were 
first  Tmaentioiifid  /by  (the  ilate  Mr.  C.  D.  Dalai  in  the  «ssay 
that  he  read  at  the  Gujarat  Saihitya  Pardsad,.pp.  HI  to  21. 
He  has  given  a  few  quotations  frona  some  df  them,  and 
■diced  others  very  briefly.  They  approximately  num- 
ber 15  Sandhis  and  22  Rasas. 

S  Now  what  is  the  importance  of  the  Aipabhramsa 
literature so if ar  brought  to  light?  It  is  indeed  very 
great  :and  .chiefly  philologieally. 

(a)  In  the  first  place  it  :shows  us  the  iparent  of 
some  oHkre  modern  vernaculars,  especially  the  Gujararti 
and  JRajasthanl.  The  printed  wonks  and  Mss.  of 
Apabhramsa: so  far  known  to  us  almost  exclusively  -hai-l 
from  that  part  of  India  where  the  two  languages  are 
spoken  ito-day. 

The  nora.  sing,  neuter  in  :tt-or— -w,  as  in  :vir&ntttn$b 
manu,  the  nom.  pi.  of  a  bases  in — a  or  a  as  in  thodd, 
ghand,  Mora  ;  '.pronominal  forms  like  atnhe,  tumhe,  the 
diminutive  or  endearing  suffix  -  da  as  in  ihiyadd, 
kammadd  ;  the  ya  of  the  past  participle  as  in  kiyau, 
gayau,  the  possessive  suffix  -  tana  as  in  tahaintaniya, 
pahititaniiie,  the  stray  infinitive  in  vntn  as  in  jivlvum, 
the  causal  in — <}a  as  in  bhatnddiu  all  these  and  several 
other  forms  xemind  us  one  partly  of  oldGujarati  and 
partly  of  Old  Western  Rajasthaul. 

(b)  In  the  second  place,  it  makes  clear  that  the 
words  in  the  modern  vernaculars  not  traceahle  .to  Sans- 
krit -and  there  are  a  host  of  such  -  are  living  detfi  or 
wurds  in  the  language  of  the  people.,  rich  in  meaning 
and  expression,  which  the  cultured  people  had  either 
lost  or  not  acquired.     Such  are  : — 


APABHRAN1SA.  169 

Dhadahadanta  (Mar.  dhaddhadnem),  gulagulanta 
Chillara,  shnisimanta  Mar.  (iivativnem\  rimijhimiri 
(Mar.  runijhum\Jhagadantu  (Mar.  and  Guj.  jhagadd), 
pahgurana  (Mar.  pangharun),  chadaya  (Mar.  sadd), 
tdlijjai  (Mar.  \a]anem)  dhukkau,  ghuliil  (Mar.  gholanem), 
hindai  (Mar.  hindanem),  pilliyditn,  (Guj.  pelyum, 
Hindi  peland),  halliydem  (Hindi  hilana,  Mar.  halanem), 
khudai  (Mar.  khudnetn),  navalliiu  (Mar.  naval), 
ha\\a  (Mar.  //«£)  dhakkd  and  hudukka  (Mar.  dhakkcL) 
tharaharde  (Mar.  thartharto)  and  a  host-of  others 
bhasalu  pahadu  pabrtam  !  ca^r  Mar  ceda. 

(c)  In  the  third  place,  it  throws  an  immense  flood 
of  light  on  the  grammar  of  the  Apabhrams'a.  Hema- 
candra  is  our  principal  authority  in  this  matter  although 
there  are  other  writers  like  Canda,  Markandeya,  Kra- 
madisvara.  For  instance  Tisatfhimahdpurisagundian- 
kdra  and  the  Sanjamamanjari  contain  forms  not  coun- 
tenanced by  Hemacandra  and  therefore  also  not  to  be 
found  in  Pischel.  A  few  of  them  only  are  given  here 
as  illustrations  : — 

(1)  The  Nominative  singular  of  Masculine  bases 
in  a  often  ends  in  -  o,  although  -  u  is  more  frequent 
e.  g.  Sampanno  khoho  (fol.  28a),  pasdhio  Mahdideu  and 
capalattavajjio  haydvaleu  (fol.  316)  surauiahiharo  (fol. 
34b). 

2  The  Instrumental  singular  of  neuter  (and  even 
of  masculine), bases  in-a  ends  m-ihi  as  frequently  as  in 
ehl  or  alii  mentioned  by  Hemacandra  and  Pischel  ;  e,g.t 
cayanihi  (fol.  23a)  nisasihi  (Sanjama.  vs.  27),  punnihi 
(Sanjama,  fol.  23a)  kammihl  (Sanjama  fol.  101a).  This 
evidently  is  only  a  weakening  of  the  e  in  ehl.  The 
same  happens  to  the  ehl  of  the  Locative  e.g.,  naraihi 
(Sanjama  vs.  6). 
[  f.  o.  c.  II  22  J 


170  P.  D.  GUNE. 

(3)  The  Locative  singular  of  -  a  bases  frequently 
shows  the  ending  mmi  which  Hemacandra  and  Pischel 
do  not  teach  ;  e.  g.  mdsammi  caitti  (fol.  276). 

(4)  The  Gen.  postposition  kera  often  takes  the 
place  of  tana,  e.  g.  siddhihikerau  (fol.  356). 

(5)  The  Nom.  sing,  of  the  pron.  tvam,  has  also 
got  the  form  pai,  which  (although  nasalized)  is  pre- 
scribed for  the  Ace.  sing,  and  Instr.  sing,  by  Hemacan- 
dra and  Pischel. 

(6)  The  3rd  sing.  Fut.  of  bhu  has  also  hohi,  in 
addition  to  the  hosai  of  Hemacandra  and  Pischel ;  e.  g., 
(fol.  27a). 

(7)  The  causal  has  a  suffix-a/a,  in  addition  to- 
ada  mentioned  by  Hemacandra  and  Pischel ;  e.  g. 
dikkhdlami  (fol.  24a  &  28a),  side  by  side  with  bhamddai 
etc. 

(8)  The  absolutive  shows  forms  like  datthunam 
(fol.  28a),  although  rarely,  along  with  the  usual  Apbh. 
forms  like  pdvedi,  paviseppinu  (fol.  29a),  which  are  very 
common. 

(9)  The  abstract  temmation-ttanam  znd-ppanam 
also  appears  zs-ppunam,  although  rarely.  There  are 
cases  oi-tta  also;  e.  g.  capalatta  (fol.  31b). 


5.  Three  syllables  have  been  rubbed  out  here,  owing  to 
two  pages  having  stuck  together  and  then  torn  as  under  by 
some  one.     The  first  appears  to  be   the  last. 

It  is  not  unlikely  that  it  was,  as  the  marginal  note 
suggest,  Bharavi,  the  celebrated  Sanskrit  poet. 

6.  This  is  perhaps  the  scribe's  mistake  for. 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE. 
By.  L.  F.  Taylor. 

1.  Sir  George  Grierson  has  placed  it  upon  record 
that  "most  of  the  dialects  belonging  to  the  Burma 
group  are  all  but  unknown,  and  only  the  classical 
language  of  the  Burmese  literature,  as  it  is  spoken  by 
educated  Burmans,  has  been  made  available  to  philo- 
logists." This  paper,  therefore,  which  is  based  on  the 
comparison  of  nine  different  dialects  of  Burmese 
opens  up  a  new  subject. 

Last  year  gramophone  records  were  prepared  by 
the  Burma  Government,  at  the  request  of  Sir  George 
Grierson,  in  twenty-nine  of  the  languages  and  dialects 
found  in  the  Province.  These  included  eight  of  the 
dialects  considered  herein.  In  order  that  the  pieces 
recorded  might  be  properly  understood,  and  in  the 
absence  of  anything  but  the  scantiest  information 
concerning  the  dialects  of  Burmese,  the  Local  Govern- 
ment sent  me  out  on  tour  to  investigate  these  different 
forms  of  speech  in  situ.  The  result  is  that  we  now 
possess  (at  present  in  manuscript)  outline  grammars  and 
lengthy  vocabularies  of  many  languages  which  had 
hitherto  remained  uninvestigated.  It  is  upon  some  of 
these  materials  that  the  present  study  is  based. 

Shouldjresults  of  any  value  appear  in  this  and  in 
subsequent  papers,  our  thanks  will  be  due  to  th 
Hon'ble  Mr.  C.  Morgan  Webb,  Chief  Secretary  to  th 
Government  of  Burma,  who  has  not  only  suggested 
and  made  possible  these  investigations,  but  who  has 
also  advocated  strongly  the  institution  of  a  Linguistic 
Survey  for  Burma  to  supplement  the  Survey  conducted 


172  L-  F.  TAYLOR. 

by  Sir  George  Grierson  for  India.  For  my  part  I  owe  much 
also  to  Mr.  Mark  Hunter,  Director  of  Public  Instruc- 
tion, who  has  not  only  permitted  me  to  work  outside 
his  department  but  has  also  assisted  me  by  his  advice 
and  encouragement.  For  any  defects  in  the  treatment 
of  the  materials,  I  alone  must  accept  responsibility. 

2.  A  word  is  here  necessary  on  the  meaning  of 
the  word  dialect.  If  we  travel  to  any  civilized  part  of 
Upper  or  Lower  Burma,  between  say  Rangoon  and 
Shwebo,  we  shall  find  that  the  medium  of  communica- 
tion is  a  language  called  Burmese.  Knowing  this 
language  we  can  enter  into  conversation  readily  in  any 
place.  Nevertheless  we  shall  discover  slight  variations 
in  pronunciation  and  idiom  here  and  there.  These, 
however,  are  too  insignificant  to  arrest  our  attention. 
We  shall,  therefore,  be  justified  in  regarding  this 
language  as  uniform  and  the  local  variations  as  of  in- 
sufficient importance  to  be  termed  dialects. 

If  on  the  other  hand  we  travel  to  Tavoy  or  to 
Arakan,  or  if  we  should  happen  to  stay  for  a  while  in 
the  villages  near  the  Uppermost  Defile  of  the  Irrawaddy, 
we  shall  find  ourselves  considerably  puzzled  to  know 
what  is  being  said  to  us.  In  a  week,  however,  or  a 
month  or  in  three  months  as  the  case  may  be,  we  shall 
discover  that  we  can  get  along  quite  well.  The  sounds 
which  were  formerly  so  strange  will  now  appear  to  be 
Burmese  words  strangely  pronounced,  and  the  grammar 
will  appear  to  be  the  same  as  the  grammar  we  have 
been  used  to.  In  a  word  we  shall  recognise,  and  learn 
sufficiently  well  to  understand  it,  a  dialect  of  Burmese. 

It  is  with  dialects  of  Burmese,  in  this  sense  of 
the  term,  that  we  shall  deal  in  this  paper.  Of  such 
dialects  there  are  perhaps  eleven  or  twelve,  but  I  have 
been  able  to  investigate  nine  only,  including  Burmese 
itself. 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE.  173 

It  may  be  mentioned  in  passing  that  materials 
have  been  collected  also  from  the  languages  of  the 
more  uncivilized  peoples.  Five  or  six  of  these  languages 
which  bear  no  superficial  resemblance  to  Burmese,  are 
found  on  close  study  to  be  so  similar  to  it  in  grammar, 
idiom  and  even  in  vocabulary  when  we  have  determin- 
ed the  phonetic  laws  that  hold,  that  we  must  set  them 
down  too  as  dialectical  variations.  I  have  not  suffi- 
icient  time,  however,  to  embody  them  in  the  present 
investigation  and  must  set  them  aside  for  future 
occasion. 

3.  The  dialects  with  which  we  are  concerned  are 
the  following  : — Burmese  ;  Arakanese;  Tavoyan  • 
Intha  ;  Danu  ;  Yaw  ;  Samong  Hpon  ;  Megyaw  Hpon, 
and  Taungyo.  A  few  preliminary  remarks  may  be 
made  about  each  of  them. 

BURMESE.  This  is  the  lingua  franca  of  the 
country.  I  have  already  referred  to  its  uniformity 
above.  The  literary  language  differs  somewhat  from 
the  colloquial  in  being  more  conservative  and  more 
aniform.  It  is  the  colloquial  form,  however,  that  I  have 
chosen  for  my  present  purposes.  The  pronunciation  of 
Burmese  has  changed  considerably  during  the  last 
thousand  years  if  we  are  to  judge  by  the  spelling  of  the 
oldest  stone  inscriptions.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that 
Burmese,  when  it  was  first  written,  was  written 
phonetically  ;  and  by  a  study  of  the  old  inscriptions 
we  can  measure  with  some  accuracy,  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place.  It  has,  therefore,  been  urged  more 
than  once  that  any  comparison  of  the  vocabularies  of 
the  dialects  of  Burmese  ought  to  be  made  with  the  old 
Burmese  of  the  inscriptions  and  not  with  modern 
colloquial  Burmese.  This  is,  in  the  main,  a  right 
contention.     It  is  equally  true    however  that   only  by 


174  L.  F.  TAYLOR. 

a  study  of  the  sounds  in  the  dialects  can  we  be  really 
sure  what  the  pronunciation  of  the  oldest  written 
Burmese  really  was.  Seeing,  therefore,  that  my  present 
limits  confine  me  to  the  comparison  of  dialects' and 
exclude  any  investigation  of  old  Burmese,  I  have 
chosen  the  Burmese  colloquial  speech  simply  as  one 
of  the  nine  dialects  to  be  compared  The  investigation 
of  the  sounds  of  Old  Burmese  is,  therefore,  left  to  a  later 
occasion.  The  old  spellings  (which  often  differ  consi- 
derably from  the  modern  spellings)  are  being  collected 
for  me,  and  no  work  of  any  value  can  be  done  until 
this  task  shall  have  been  completed. 

ARAKANESE.  This  is  the  speech  of  the  civiliz- 
ed peoples  of  Arakan.  The  pronunciation  differs  a 
good  deal  from  Burmese.  In  many  ways  it  is  more 
archaic,  sound  and  spelling  being  in  agreement. 
Tentatively  we  may  consider  the  sounds  of  Arakanese 
as  resembling  those  of  Burmese  when  the  language 
was  first  reduced  to  writing,  about  a  thousand  years  ago. 
Arakanese  and  Burmese  must  have  parted  from  one 
another  somewhere  between  one  and  two  thousand 
years  ago. 

TAVOYAN.  Tavoy  is  supposed  to  have  been 
peopled  by  colonists  from  Arakan,  and  the  language  is 
said  to  be  Arakanese  which  has  undergone  change  and 
which  has  been  influenced  by  Siamese.  It  does  un- 
doubtedly resemble  Arakanese  in  many  respects  and 
popular  opinion  may  be  correct.  I  doubt,  however, 
whether  Siamese  has  exercised  as  much  influence  as  has 
been  supposed. 

INTHA.  In  Yawnghwe  in  the  Southern  Shan 
States  a  strange  people  is  to  be  found  who  live  on  the 
Inle  Lake  and  in  the  neighbouring  villages.  They  are 
said  to   have   migrated  thither   from    Tavoy  some  six 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE.  175 

hundred  years  ago.  The  language  is  in  many  respects 
archaic  and  does  resemble  Tavoyan.  The  Inthas  are 
undoubtedly  much  mixed  in  race,  but  they  have 
preserved  their  language  in  a  fair  degree  of  purity. 

DANU.  The  Danus  live  near  to  the  Inthas. 
What  they  are  racially  cannot  be  determined.  Probab- 
ly they  are  a  mixture.  Their  language,  however,  is  most 
distinctly  a  form  of  old  Burmese  with  peculiar  modi- 
fications of  the  vowel  sounds  which  may  be  due  to 
Shan  or  Taungthu  influence. 

YAW.  The  Yaws  live  in  the  Pakokku  District. 
What  they  were  originally  has  not  been  determined.  I 
suspect,  however,  that  they  are  civilized  plains  Chins 
who  have  adopted  Burmese  speech  within  the  last  four 
or  five  hundred  years.  Of  all  the  dialects  of  Burmese, 
this  most  resembles  Burmese. 

HPON.  The  Hpons  are  a  small  community 
who  live  on  the  defile  of  the  Irrawaddy  between  Bhamo 
and  Myitkyina.  They  are  referred  to  in  Chinese  History 
as  having  been  settled  in  South-West  Yunnan 
sometime  before  the  'eighth  century  'A.  D.,  and 
they  came  into  Burma  about  six  hundred  years  ago. 
They  claim  that  they  lived  in  Burma  before  they 
went  into  Yunnan,  and  the  probability  of  this  is  borne 
out  by  their  language  which,  although  it  is  on  the  very 
verge  of  extinction,  is  still  well  remembered  by  a  few 
old  men.  It  is  unmistakeably  a  dialect  of  Burmese  (it 
has  now  become  divided  into  two  sub-dialects,  the 
Samong  and  Megyaw)  though  very  archaic  in  form, 
much  more  so  in  fact  than  Arakanese,  Many  words 
which  occur  as  monosyllables  in  other  dialects  of 
Burmese  are  still  to  be  found  as  disyllables  in  Hpon, 
and  evidence  points  to  this  as  being  the  older  form. 
Hpon  alone  provides  many  of  the   intermediate   forms 


176  L.  F.  TAYLOR. 

of  words,  which  are  essential  for  the  successful  linking 
up  of  Burmese  with  other  Tibeto-Burman  forms  of 
speech.  Without  a  knowledge  of  Hpon,  the  study  of 
the  history  of  the  Burmese  language  is  impossible. 

TAUNGYO.  This  is  another  primitive  form  of 
Burmese.  It  is  spoken  in  the  West  of  the  Southern 
Shan  States.  It  preserves  many  very  archaic  features, 
such  as  the  original  "  1 "  sound  which  is  often  repre- 
sented in  Arakanese  by  "  r  "  and  in  Burmese  by  "  y  ". 
On  the  other  hand  it  has  suffered  much  phonetic  decay, 
so  that  a  Burman  will  not  recognise  it  as  a  form  of 
Burmese  at  all.  Nevertheless  it  has  preserved  a 
wonderful  degree  of  purity  and  freedom  from  admix- 
ture and  is  a  dialect  of  Burmese  beyond  all  possibility 
of  doubt.  I  suppose  it  to  have  branched  off  from  the 
parent  stem  some  two  thousand  years  ago.  It  is  are 
older  dialect  than  Arakanese, 

Syntax  and  Grammar. 
4.  On  examination  we  find  that  the  syntax  and 
grammars  of  these  dialects  are  almost  identical  with 
one  another  and  with  Burmese.  In  describing  briefly 
then  the  structure  of  Burmese  I  shall  be  describing 
that  also  of  the  other  eight  dialects  which  we  are 
investigating. 

Burmese  belongs  to  the  Tibeto-Burman  sub-family 
of  the  Tibeto-Chinese  family  of  languages.  It  is  an 
isolating  language  and  is  usually  described  as  being 
"tonal  and  monosyllabic."  This  description  is 
superficially  correct.  Burmese  does  possess  three 
distinct  tones  for  many  of  its  syllables  in  addition  to 
certain  syllables  ending  with  the  killed  consonants 
k,  t,  s  or  p  which  are  not  variable  in  tone  and  which 
in  themselves  are  supposed  by  some  authorities  to 
constitute  a  fourth  tone.     This  tone,   if  it  be   admitted 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE.  177 

as  such,  would  be  confined  to  syllables  of  this  class 
alone,  and  syllables  of  this  class  could  not  take  on  any 
of  the  other  three  tones.  So  far  as  u  monosyllabism  " 
is  concerned,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  many  of  the 
monosyllables  of  the  present  day  are  but  poorly  disguis- 
ed disyllables,  and  there  is  now  evidence  that  many 
of  the  undoubtedly  monosyllabic  words  are  but  the 
result  of  phonetic  decay  acting  on  and  disguising  old 
words  of  two  or  more  syllables. 

The     following   are   some    of    the   characteristic 
features  of  the  grammar  and  structure  : — 

I.  The  unit  of  speech  is  a  root  which  does  not 
correspond  to  any  of  our  parts  of  speech. 
According  to  its  place  in  the  sentence, 
or  by  addition  of  some  formative  particle 
(itself  originally  a  root),  it  may  fulfil  the 
functions  of  noun,  adjective,  verb  or 
adverb.  The  term  root  is  here  applied  to 
such  a  unit  of  speech,  though  the  unit 
may  itself  be  of  secondary  origin,  a  com- 
pound or  fusion  of  roots  of  an  older 
language  period.  They  are  primary  roots, 
so  far  as  the  Dialects  of  Burmese  are 
concerned,  though  they  may  be  but 
secondary  products  in  a  wider  sense. 
II.  The  general  order  of  the  parts  of  the 
sentence  is  subject,  object,  verb. 

III.  Gender    accords   with   sex.     The    sexes  are 

represented  either  by  distinct  words  or 
by  particles  indicating  sex  postfixed  to 
nouns  (or  pronouns)  of  common 
gender, 

IV.  The  plural  is  indicated  either   by   collective 

adjectives  or  by  a  postfixed  particle 
implying  multiplicity. 

[  F.  O.  C.  U  23.  ] 


178  L.  F.  TAYLOR. 

V.    The  nouns  and  pronouns   are  indeclinable. 
"Case  relations  "  are  indicated  by  various 
postfixes   which   have  the    functions  of 
English  Prepositions. 
VI.     The   adjective  may  generally    precede     or 
follow    the     noun    it   qualifies.     In  the 
former   case  a  connective   particle  is,   in 
some     dialects,     inserted    between     the 
adjective  and  the  noun.     Some  adjectives 
are  in  some  dialects  confined   by  use   to 
one     or  the  other    position    only.     The 
genitive  precedes  the  governing  noun. 
VII.     The  adverb  precedes  the  verb. 
VIII.     The  verb  is  an  impersonal  root.  The  persons 
are  indicated  by  the  pronouns  or  subject. 
The    tenses   are   indicated  by  postfixed 
particles.      The    transitive    form    of     a 
verb  is  distinguished   from   the   intransi- 
tive  form   either  by  the  aspiration  of  the 
initial     consonant     or    by    the    use    of 
the   auxiliary  verb     "to      cause."      The 
passive  form  may  be   distinguished  from 
the  active  either  by   putting  the   subject 
into  the  objective  case  or  by    the   use   of 
the  auxiliary  verb  "  to  suffer."  Thus  "  me 
call  "  or  "  I  suffer   a   calling  "   would   be 
the  passive  forms  of  "  I  call." 
IX.     In  common  with  almost  all  the   languages  of 
South  East  Asia  we  find  the  employment 
of  numeral  affixes  in  the    enumeration   of 
nouns.     In  such  cases  the  noun  generally 
comes  first,  the  numeral   next,  and   then 
follows  a  word  descriptive  of  some  quality 
of  the   noun.     Thus    for     "two   men", 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE.  179 

"  two   needles  ",  "  two     eggs  "   or  "  two 
houses  "  we  must  say  "  men  two  beings  " 
"  needles  two   long  things,"    "  eggs   two 
spherical  things  "  or  "  houses   two   struc- 
tures."    The  same  numeral  affixes   are  to 
be  found  in  all  the  dialects   of   Burmese, 
though  Hpon  employs  some  affixes  which 
have  probably  been   borrowed   from   the 
Shans. 
5.     Another  feature    that   our   comparison  brings 
to  light   is   the   common   possession  of    many   idioms 
and  compounds.     It  is   common   in    Burmese   to  find 
two  monosyllables  united  to  form  a   compound   word. 
Such  monosyllables  may  usually,  but  not   always,   exist 
alone.   We  find  however  many  of  the  same  compounds 
occurring  in  every  dialect.     It  is  evident  therefore  that 
these  are  of  great   antiquity,  having  been  formed  before 
the    dialects   separated   from     the     parent     language. 
Similar  idioms  are  also  found  throughout,  thus  to  listen 
or  obey  is  invariably  rendered  by   "  to   erect  the    ear." 
These  also  must  be  of  great  age. 

6.  The  individual  words  too  are  nearly  always  the 
same.  That  is  they  are  the  same  etymologically  though 
phonetically  they  differ.  The  following  illustrations 
will  make  my  meaning  plain.  The  English  word  in 
each  case  will  be  followed  by  the  Burmese,  Arakanese, 
Tavoyan,  Intha,  Danu,  Yaw,  Samong,  Hpon,  Megyaw 
Hpon  and  Taungyo  words. 

To  drop:— tfa  tfa,  kla,  tfa,  tfa,  tfa,  tfa,  tfa,  kla. 
Horse: — mjin,  mrey,  bjin,  hmjaj,  meay,  mjaj,    ms, 

mjo,  mle- 
Become  : — pjit,  praik,  pjit,  pjeat,    pjeat,   pjit,  pjit, 

pjit,  plaik. 
Stone  : — dfauk,    dfauk,     kid,    dzok,   dzok,   djauk, 
ka-lauk,  ka-lok,  klce. 


180  L-  F.  TAYLOR. 

The  proportion  of  words  in  the  vocabularies  of  the 
various  dialects  which  correspond  to  the  words  in 
Burmese  varies  between  70  and  98  per  cent. 

7.  Having  shown  that  the  dialects  are  similar  in 
structure  and  idiom  and  vocabulary,  it  follows  that  the 
essential  part  of  our  enquiry  will  be  a  study  of  the 
phonetic  changes  that  words  undergo  as  they  pass  from 
dialect  to  dialect.  We  must  classify  the  words  accord- 
ing to  their  sounds  and  meanings  and  study  the 
phonetic  changes  that  take  place.  We  may  reasonably 
expect  that  law  and  order  will  prevail  and  that  we  shall 
discover  certain  laws  which  regulate  these  changes. 

8.  This  I  have  attempted  to  do,  and  the  materials 
which  I  have  employed  are  vocabularies  of  some  eight 
hundred  words  in  each  of  the  nine  dialects.  For  the 
sake  of  facilitating  the  work  I  have  dropped  out  of 
comparison  all  compound  words  (for  in  these  secondary 
changes  take  place)  and  words  of  Pali  origin  and  have 
been  left  with  a  list  of  approximately  five  hundred 
monosyllables,  the  greater  part  of  which  are  to  be 
found  in  every  dialect.  The  changes  which  these 
syllables  have  undergone  have  been  tabulated  and  are 
given  below  in  Table  II.  I  have  also  analysed  the 
sounds  of  these  five  hundred  monosyllables  into  their 
ultimate  elements  and  these  have  been  arranged  and 
tabulated  in  Table  I.  Table  I  therefore  gives  a  list  of 
the  phonetic  elements  to  be  found  in  each  dialect  and 
the  combinations  in  which  they  occur.  Table  II  gives 
a  list  of  the  combinations  of  these  elementary  sounds 
into  syllables  and  shows  how  the  latter  change  from 
dialect  to  dialect.  It  must  never  be  forgotten,  however, 
that  these  tables  do  not  profess  to  be  the  result  of  an 
exhaustive  study  of  all  the  sounds  to  be  found  in  these 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE.  181 

dialects.  They  are  the  result  of  the  analysis  and  com- 
parison of  vocabularies  of  five  hundred  words.  More 
than  this  they  do  not  pretend  to  be.  They  have  been 
grouped  in  accordance  with  their  spelling  in  Burmese. 
This  has  been  done  because  trial  has  shown  that  such 
is  the  logical  and  proper  arrangement. 

9.  We  may  divide  words  into  four  groups,  accord- 
ing to  their  sounds.  In  the  first  group  are  included 
those  words  which  occur  as  simple  vowel  sounds.  The 
second  group  includes  words  which  commence  as  a 
vowel  and  which  terminate  in  a  nasal  or  in  a  "  killed 
consonant."  The  third  group  includes  words  which 
commence  with  a  consonant  and  which  end  in  a 
vowel,  whilst  in  the  fourth  group  are  included  the  words 
of  triple  formation.  They  commence  with  a  consonant 
(or  combination  of  consonants)  which  is  followed  by  a 
vowel  (or  diphthong)  and  they  terminate  in  a  nasal  or 
with  a  killed  consonant.  The  words  in  the  first  three 
groups  may,  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  be  regarded 
as  special  forms  and  we  may  represent  the  typical  word 
by  the  definition  which  has  been  applied  to  the  words 
in  group  four. 

Since  however  the  killed  consonants  are  not  really 
pronounced  but  only  modify  the  preceding  vowel,  and 
since  the  only  real  finals  are  n  and  ng,  it  follows  that 
it  will  be  sufficient  in  Table  II  to  trace  the  changes 
that  our  syllable  undergo  first  when  arranged  accord- 
ing to  their  initial  sounds  and  secondly  when  arranged 
according  to  their  middle  or  vowel  sounds. 

10.  So  far  I  have  dealt  with  facts.  In  this  con- 
cluding paragraph  I  wish  to  deal  with  something 
which  has  not  yet  been  established,  but  which  is  indi- 
cated by  the  materials  that  have  been  collected.  I  do 
not  claim  originality  for  the  hypothesis  that  I  am  about 


182  L-  F.  TAYLOR. 

to  express,  I  content  myself  with  asserting  thatthenew 

materials  tend  to  strengthen    it  and    encourage   us   to 

believe  that  some   day    it   will    be   either   confirmed 

or  refuted. 

If  we  investigate  words  in  the  Indonesian  languages 

we  find  that  they  have  a  definite  structure.  In  the 
first  place  there  is  a  definite  root,  consisting  generally 
of  three  sounds:  a  consonant,  vowel  and  final  consonant. 
From  these  roots  are  formed  word-bases.  The  bare 
root  may  become  a  word-base,  or  the  reduplicated  root 
may  do  so,  or  roots  may  be  combined  and  form  a  word- 
base,  or  finally  the  word-base  may  be  formed  from  the 
root  by  formative  particles  which  may  be  prefixes,  in- 
fixes or  postfixes.  Finally,  by  the  extension  of  the 
word-base  by  reduplication  or  formative  particles  are 
formed  the  bulk  of  the  words  of  the  Indonesian 
dialects.  All  this  can  be  demonstrated  with  certainty 
because  the  Indonesian  words  are  polysyllabic  and 
phonetic  decay,  though  sometimes  great,  has  not  dis- 
guised the  traces. 

I  believe  that  something  of  the  same  sort  has 
occurred  in  the  monosyllabic  languages  of  the  Tibeto- 
Burman  group  if  not  in  all  the  mono-syllabic  languages 
of  South  East  Asia.  I  must  however  confine  myself 
here  to  Burmese  and  its  dialects. 

I  believe  that  in  the  history  of  Burmese,  as  in  Indo- 
nesian, roots  were  converted  into  word-bases,  and  that 
word-bases  were  extended  until  a  large  vocabulary  had 
been  built  up.  Such  words  must  have  been  poly- 
syllables originally  and  must  have  betrayed  the  nature 
of  their  origin.  At  a  later  date  phonetic  decay  set  in  on 
an  almost  unprecedented  scale  and  these  polysyllables 
became  shortened  and  simplified  into  monosyllables. 
But  this  is  the  source  of  all  our  difficulties.  Poly- 
syllabic Burmese  (or  rather  proto-Burmese)  could  have 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE.  183 

been  analysed  and  studied.  Monosyllabic  Burmese 
however  defies  analysis.  Nevertheless  certain  indica- 
tions may  be  pointed  out. 

I.  If  we  look  through  a  Burmese  Dictionary 
we  are  arrested  by  many  words  which  have  similar 
meanings  and  similarity  in  sound.  For  instance  (i)  a 
wa,  an  orifice  ;  win,  a  fence  round  an  enclosure  ;  wut, 
to  dress  or  wear  ;  wun,  to  be  round  or  circular  ;  wun, 
the  belly  ;  we,  to  overflow  or  distribute  ;  we,  to  run 
round  an  object ;  we,  a  whirlpool ;  we,  to  fly  round  an 
object  ;  waik,  to  curve  round  ;  waiylh,  to  encircle  ;  etc. 
etc.  (ii)  la,  to  come  ;  la,  to  advance  ;  lun,  to  exceed  or 
trespass  ;  ahlun,  exceedingly ;  Ian,  a  road  ;  law,  to  err 
or  wander ;  hlwe,  to  divert,  etc.  or  (iii)  kin,  to  cook; 
dfet,  to  cook;  dfat,  a  word  connected  with  cooking 
places,  soot,  etc  ;  dgo  to  boil  to  a  pulp  ;  dfwan,  to  be 
burnt  up;  dfauy,  to  feed,  tend;  dfwe,  to  give  a  meal  ; 
tfet,  to  cook,  tfit  to  be  burnt,  as  food  in  cooking;-and  so 
on#  I  could  give  dozens  of  such  groups  of  words,  but 
those  given  already  are  typical  of  the  rest.  In  some 
instances  I  have  discovered  twenty-six  different  words 
which  are  similar  in  sound  and  meaning. 

I  think  we  may  safely  conclude  that  there  is  a 
common  root  submerged  in  every  one  of  the  words  of 
each  group.  This  root  has  in  each  case  been  extended 
and  modified  in  meaning  by  various  formative  elements 
which  have  been  attached  to  and  become  fused  with  it. 

II.  That  it  was  possible  for  formatives  to  have 
modified  words  is  indicated  not  only  by  what  has  been 
said  immediately  above,  but  also  by  the  fact  that  a 
similar  thing  can  be  seen  to-day.  The  transitive  verb 
is  formed  from  the  intransitive  by  the  aspiration  of 
the  initial  consonant.  Thus  from  no,  to  wake,  we  form 
hno,  to  awaken;    from  nit,   to   be   drowned,    we   form 


184  L.  F.  TAYLOR. 

hnit,  to  drown  something  else;  from  le,  to  fall  we  form 
hie  to  fell;  from  dfa,  to  fall  we  form  tfa,  to  drop  etc. 
etc.  This  illustration  does  not,  of  course,  afford  us 
any  proof,  but  it  encourages  us  to  hope  that  a  minute 
comparison  of  Burmese  words  may  enable  us  in  time 
to  effect  at  least  a  partial  analysis. 

III.  Some  few  words  which  occur  as  mono- 
syllables in  Burmese,  occur  as  disyllables  in  Hpon. 
We  will  consider  two  instances. 

The  word  for  tiger  in  Burmese  is  dfa,  in  Hpon 
it  is  k3,-la.  The  word  for  stone  in  Burmese  is  dfauk, 
in  Hpon  it  is  k3-lauk.  The  "  kft  "  is  a  common  prefix 
in  Hpon,  and  many  words  cannot  exist  without  it. 
Now  the  "1"  in  Hpon  corresponds  very  frequently  to 
"y"  in  Burmese.  Thus  I  suppose  ka-la  and  ka-lauk 
to  have  become  ka-ya,  and  ka-yauk.  These  forms 
would  telescope  at  once  into  dfa  and  dfauk.  That  ul" 
was  the  original  sound  contained  in  these  words  is 
proved  conclusively  by  a  comparison  of  the  same 
words  in  other  languages  of  the  Tibeto-Burman  family 
and  even  in  the  dialects  of  Burmese  itself.  Thus  for 
tiger  we  get  "kla"  in  Tavoyan  and  "klaw"  in  Taungyo. 
For  stone  we  find  "klaw"  in  Tavoyan  and  "Klce"  in 
Taungyo.  We  have,  therefore,  in  the  Burmese  words 
cha  and  chauk,  succeeded  in  proving  the  fusion  of  a 
prefix  with  a  root. 

All  this,  however,  requires  further  investigation, 
and  the  materials  that  have  been  collected  should  prove 
of  value.  I  hope  to  deal  with  the  subject  more  fully 
at  a  later  occasion.  The  illustrations  given  above  are 
not  all  that  I  have  been  able  to  collect,  they  are  just 
sufficient  to  indicate  the  nature  of  the  evidence  upon 
which  our  hypothesis  is  based.  Not  until  we  know 
more   of  the  word  structure,  not  only  of  the  Burmese, 


THE  DIALECTS  OF  BURMESE.  185 

but  also  of  the  Shan,  Karen  and  Mon-Khmer  languages 
shall  we  be  able  to  understand  their  relationships  with 
one  another.  Much  less  shall  we  be  able  to  make  any 
fruitful  comparison  of  this  order  of  languages  with 
Indonesian  or  with  the  great  order  of  agglutinating 
languages  which  extends  across  Eur-Asia  from  Hungary 
to  Japan. 

Phonetic  Symbols  employed. 

The  symbols   employed   are  those   of   the  "Inter- 
national Phonetic  Association." 

p',  k',  t',  &  s\  are  the  aspirated  forms  of  p,  k,  t,  &  s. 


6 

is 

pronounced 

as 

th    in    "thin". 

f 

i> 

» 

n 

th     „     "that". 

Z 

» 

it 

II 

z      „     "zoo". 

s 

n 

ii 

» 

s     „     "ship". 

z 

7) 

i) 

n 

g  in  French  "rouge". 

The 

English    word   "jar"   would 
be  writen  dza. 
R.  &  H-  The  former  resembles  the  noise  made  when 
gargling  at  the  back  of  the  mouth, 
The  latter  an  attempt  to  hiss  from  the  throat, 
n  is  pronounced  as  ng  in  "singer". 

The  other  consonants  have  their  common  values, 
y     is  pronounced  as  u  in  the  French  "pur". 


ce    „ 

II 

„  French  e. 

„  eu  in  French  "peur". 

ae    „ 
a    u 

d       n 
9       M 

n 

V 

„  a  in  "man". 
„  a  in  French  "patte". 
„  a  in  "tar". 

„   5  in  "thS  'man".      A   short   in- 
definite vowel. 

9      » 

V 

1) 

„  u  in  "but". 
„  aw  in  "claw". 

[  F.  0.  0.  II  24  ] 

186  L.  F.  TAYLOR. 

o   is  pronounced  as  o  in  "go". 
6     „  „  „  o  „  "hot". 

The  other  vowels  as  in  Italian, 
ds   is  written   to  indicate  a    sound   intermediate 
between  ts  and  dz. 

°as  in  i°,  e°,  etc.   indicates  an  abrupt   termination) 
a  sudden  check  to  the  vowel. 

k,  l,  as  in  ak,  i\  etc.  indicates  a  consonant  hinted  at 
rather  than  pronounced.  It  has  the  effect  of  checking 
the  vowel. 

as  in  I,  a,  etc.  indicates  a  nasalization  of  the  vowel. 


CLASSICAL     LITERATURE. 


THE  RELATION  OF  SDDRAKA'S 

MRCCHAKATIKA  TO  THE  CXRUDATTA 

OF  BHXSA. 


By  S.  K.  Belvalkar. 
1.  Bhasa,  the  famous  dramatist,  the  theme  of 
unstinted  eulogy  for  Kalidasa  {Mdlavikdgmmitray  i.  5), 
Bana  (Harsacarita,  Introd.  st.  15),  Vakpatiraja  (Gaiida- 
vahoy  st.  800),  Jayadeva  (Prasanna-R.  i.  22)  and  others, 
has  had  a  most  strange  reception  at  the  hands  of 
modern  Sanskritists.  When  he  was  a  mere  name,  the 
loss  of  even  the  most  distant  trace  of  his  works  or  their 
names  was  universally  deplored  as  a  great  disaster  to 
Sanskrit  literature  ;  but  when  by  a  happy  accident  a 
number  of  his  works  were  discovered  and  brought  to 
light  by  Mahamahopadhyaya  T.  Ganapatisastri,  many 
of  us,  refusing  to  believe  in  the  great  good  news, 
essayed  to  prove  that  the  author  of  the  newly  discover- 
ed 13  plays  was  not  the  great  Bhasa  but  perhaps  a 
name-sake  of  his  who  has  been  variously  assigned  to 
the  6th,  8th,  or  the  10th  century  after  Christ  : — and 
this  in  face  of  the  steadily  growing  mass  of  evidence 
which  Mr.  Ganapatisastri  and  others  placed  before  the 
world  in  learned  Prefaces  and  magazine  articles.  We 
do  not  wish  to  discuss  in  this  place  the  question  as  to 
the  genuineness  of  these  plays  or  the  date  of  their 
author,  but  limit  ourselves  to  a  more  or  less  detailed 
comparision,  especially  from  the  point  of  view  of 
dramaturgy,  of  the  Cdrudatta  of  Bhasa  and  the 
Mrcchakafika  of  Sudraka — the  two  plays  which  have 
been  on  all  hands  admitted  to  bear  to  one  another  a 
relation  the  most  unique  of  its  kind  in  Sanskrit 
literature. 


190  S.  K.  BELVALKAR 

2.  While  Sudraka's  Mrcchakafika  is  a  complete 
play  in  ten  Acts  the  Cdrudatta  of  Bhasa,  as  is  well 
known,  ends  with  Act  4.  Is  the  four  Act  play  com- 
plete in  itself;  and  if  not,  did  Bhasa  write  any  more 
Acts  ? — this  is  our  first  question.  Now  in  spite  of  the 
colophon  avasitam  Cdrudattam  which  one  of  the  two 
Mss.  gives,  it  can  be  proved  from  internal  evidence 
that  the  author  of  the  extant  four  Acts  of  the  Carudatta 
intended  to  write  more.  Thus  in  Act  i  stanza  6,  in  the 
course  of  his  lamentation  on  account  of  poverty,  the 
hero  is  made  to  say — 

Pdpam  karma  ca  yat  parairapi  krtam  tat    tasya 

sambhdvyate. 

"  And  a  crime  by  others  committed  is  from  him 
suspected  to  emanate." 

These  words  can  have  a  significance  only  if  the  hero 
comes  to  be  accused  for  a  crime  such  as  the  murder  of 
the  heroine  which  is  committed  by  others  (Sakara). 
This  event  does  not  take  place  in  the  course  of  the 
extant  four  Acts.  Again  in  the  same  Act  Sakara,  after 
discovering  that  Vasantasena  the  heroine  has  given 
him  the  slip,  utters  the  threat — Ahakc  ddva  vancite 
kuddkdvadail\aye  tauvdhd  dukkhade  kade  ! — "  So  you 
have  dared  to  deceive  me,  the  master  of  those  that 
deceive !  A  bitter  end  is  in  store  for  you ."  And 
later  in  his  message  to  Carudatta,  he  conveys  a 
similar    threat    in     the     words — Vataiicasenid    ndma 

ganidddrid     ammehi     ba\\akdrena     nlamdnd 

mahantena  iuvannd\amhdrena  tava  geham  pavittdh  Sd 
iuve  niyydaidavvd.  Md  ddva  tava  a  mama  a  dd\uno 
khoho  hodi  tti,  etc. — "  The  courtizan's  daughter  by 
name  Vasantasena,  about  to  be  led  away  by  us  in  force, 
has,  with  great  golden  ornaments,  entered  your   house. 


SUDRAKA'S  MRCCHAKATIKA  &  B.'S  CARUDATTA  191 

Send  her  back  to-morrow  for  fear  lest  there  might 
ensue  a  great  quarrel  between  you  and  me."  The 
expectancy  here  raised  has  not  been  fulfilled  in  the 
existing  four  Acts.  Sakara  somehow  wished  to  make 
the  revenge  turn  upon  the  great  golden  ornaments  : 
but  just  how  is  not  clear. 

3.  A  similar  unfulfilled  expectancy  confronts  us  in 
the  next  Act.  For  instance,  the  Sarhvahaka  (shampooer), 
who  takes  to  gambling,  and  is  rescued  by 
Vasantasena  from  the  clutches  of  his  creditors,  longs  to 
return  the  obligation  but  finds  no  opportunity,  just  as 
in  Act  four  Sajjalaka  (  =  SarviIaka)  leaves  the  stage  with 
the  pious  but  unfulfilled  wish — Bhoh  !  Kadd  khalv- 
asydh  pratikartvyath  bhavisyati — "Oh  !  When  can  it 
be  possible  for  me  to  requite  her  ?  "  Dramatic  Justice 
requires  that  an  opportunity  be  given  to  these  persons 
to  do  what  they  so  ardently  long  for  ;  otherwise  their 
very  introduction  into  the  play  becomes  absolutely 
void  of  meaning. 

4.  Lastly  consider  the  case  of  Carudatta  himself, 
the  hero  of  the  play.  Bhasa  introduces  him  to  us  as 
a  poor  man — but  not  without  a  hope  of  someday  being 
able  to  regain  his  fortune  :  cp.  1.5 — Bhdgyakrametja  hi 
dhandni  punar  bhavanti. — "By  another  turn  of  fortune 
riches  may  come  back  again."  Here  again  dramatic 
justice  requires  that  this  hope  be  fulfilled  :  that  the 
merits  of  the  hero  be  adequately  rewarded.  Nothing 
of  the  kind  takes  place  in  the  course  of  the  four  Acts 
of  Bhasa.  On  the  other  hand  an  additional  monetary 
misfortune  falls  upon  the  hero  in*  the  shape  of  the  theft 
of  Vasantasena's  ornaments  from  his  house.  And 
although  the  ornaments  arc  ultimately  restored  to  the 
rightful   owner,   the   point  to  note  is  that     Carudatta 


192  S.  K.  BELVALKAR 

never  knows  of  this  fact.  Yet  more  strange  perhaps  is 
the  circumstance  that  while  presumably  one  of  the 
main  themes  of  the  play  is  the  love  and  the  ultimate 
union  of  Carudatta  and  Vasantasena,  this  never  actually 
takes  place  in  the  first  four  Acts.  At  the  end  of  Act  4 
the  heroine  does  indeed  start  as  an  abhisdrikd  to  meet 
Carudatta  in  his  house,  taking  along  with  her  the  stolen 
ornaments  (imam  ajarnkdram  ganhia)  and  regardless  of 
the  clouds  gathering  overhead  ;  but  the  rest  is  all 
silence  !  It  is  clear  that  no  audience  can  ever  be  ready 
to  tolerate  such  a  tantalizing  end  to  an  otherwise 
perfectly  interesting  play.    • 

5.  The  conclusion  is  therefore  inevitable  that  the 
author  of  the  Carudatta  did  contemplate  writing  more 
than  the  existing  four  Acts.  We  may  therefore  rest  in 
the  pious  expectation  that  the  remaining  Acts  of  the 
Carudatta  will  one  day  be  discovered,  and  for  the 
present  account  for  the  separate  existence  of  the  first 
four  Acts  (and  incidently  of  the  colophon  avasitamCdru- 
dattam)  by  assuming  that  it  was  perhaps  customary  to 
divide  a  longer  play,  for  purposes  of  stage  representa- 
tion, into  two  or  more  smaller  parts  not  quite  on  the 
analogy  of  the  Trilogies  and  Tetralogies  of  the  Greek 
and  Elizabethan  Stage,  but  rather  like  what  is  sometimes 
done  on  our  modern  stage  (and  even  occasionally  by 
some  of  our  Universities  who  are  expected  to  know 
better)  when  they  divide  Kalidasa's  Sakuntala  into  two 
parts  :  1-4  and  4-7,  both  inclusive.  Or  as  an  alternative 
hypothesis  we  may  assume  that  death  or  some  such 
thing  came  in  the  way  of  the  proper  conclusion  of 
play.  The  last  hypothesis  rules  out  of  court  the  view 
that  the  Carudatta  of  Bhasa  is  an  abridgement  of  the 
Mrcchakatika,  and  we  will  not  therefore  here  take 
that  hypothesis  into  account. 


SUDRAKA'S  MRCCHAKATIKA  &  B.'S  CXRUDATTA   193 

6.  But  limiting  ourselves  to  a  critical  comparison 
of  the  extant  portion  of  the  Cdrudatta  with  the  corre- 
sponding portion  of  the  Mrcchakatika^  can  we  come  to 
any  definite  conclusions  as  to  the  priority  of  the  one 
over  the  other?  I  believe  that  we  can.  Let  us  there- 
fore consider  the  evidence  both  ways. 

7.  The  view  that  the  Cdrudatta  is  an  abridgement 
of  the  Mrcchakatika  is  rendered  prima  facie  probable 
by  the  circumstance  that  the  former  does  not  contain 
Vidusaka's  tiresome  description  in  Act  4  of  the  eight 
quadrangles  in  Vasantasena's  house,  or  the  Robber's 
lengthy  effusion  (in  eight  verses)  on  the  fickleness  of 
women  in  the  same  Act ;  nor  again  the  low-life  realism 
exhibited  by  Sfidraka  in  the  rather  lengthy  intermezzo 
in  Act  2  wherein  we  are  introduced  to  Mathura, 
Samvahaka,  Dyutakara,  and  Darduraka — to  say  nothing 
of  the  considerable  shortening  in  the  chasing  scene  in 
Act  1  (19  stanzas  and  74  prose  lines  in  the  Mrcchakatika 
as  against  14  stanzas  and  52  prose  lines  in  the  Cdrudatta^ 
or  in  Carudatta's  lamentation  on  poverty  (10  stanzas  in 
the  Mrcchakatika  as  against  just  5  in  the  Cdrudatta)  in 
the  same  Act,  or  in  the  Robber's  preamble  on  the 
philosophy  of  theft  in  Act  3,  besides  a  number  of 
minor  omissions  too  numerous  to  specify.  As  it  is 
perfectly  conceivable  that  a  play  like  the  Mrcchakatika 
should  have  been  shortened  for  stage  purposes,  there 
are  a  number  of  scholars  who  refuse  to  subscribe  to 
Mr.  Ganapati  Sastri's  view  that  the  "  short  play  of 
Cdrudatta  has  been  amply  enlarged  by  the  addition  of 
fine  passages,  which  render  the  plot  even  more  interest- 
ing, and  has,  under  the  name  of  Mrcchakatika^  become 
famous  as  the  work  of  Sudraka." 

8.  But  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  sufficiently 

[  F.  0.  C.  II  25  ] 


194  S.  K.  BELVALKAR 

realised  that  the  Cdrudatia  of  Bhasa  is  in  some  places 
more  extensive  than  the  play  of  which  it  is  presumed 
to  be  the  abridgement.  Thus  consider  the  soliloquy 
of  Vidtisaka  in  the  first  Act  immediately  after  the 
Prologue  (25  lines  in  Bhasa  as  against  16  in  Sudraka) 
and  note  in  particlular  the  words — Eso  vdd  paccdcak- 
khido  hiaena  anubandhlamdno  gacchladi;  and  further — 
Mama  udaratn  avatthdvisesam  jdnddi.  Appendvi 
tussadi.  Bahuam  vi  odanabharam  bharissadi  dlanm- 
namt  na  dedi  adlamdnam,  na  paccdcikkhadi  : — words 
which  are  of  great  significance  for  the  character  of 
Vidfisaka,  the  avaricious  and  withal  the  loyal  Brahman 
friend  of  the  hero.  Similarly  in  the  chase  scene 
Sudraka  does  not  give  the  bragging  speech  of  Vita — 
Vasantasene,  sarvatra  bhaydnabhijnahrdayam  math 
kuru.    Pas'ya: 

Paricitatimird  me  s'iladosena  rdtrir 
Bahalatimirakdldstlrnapurvd  vighaftdh; 
Yuvatijanasamaksath  k&mam  etanna  vdcyam 
Vipanisu  hatatiesd  raksinah  sdksino  me. 

which  again  has  a  particular  bearing  upon  the 
character  of  Vita  as  also  upon  the  morale  of  the 
Ujjayini  of  the  day.  In  fact  the  character  of  this  Vita 
as  Bhasa  paints  him  is  most  cowardly  and  contempti- 
ble and  has  none  of  the  culture  and  other  relieving 
features  of  Sudraka's  Vita.  Thus  for  instance  Bhasa's 
Vifa,  at  the  sight  of  Carudatta's  Ceti,  as  she  was  issuing 
out  of  the  house,  himself  conceives  of  the  dastardly 
plan  of  maltreating  her  and  of  offering  her  to  Sakara  as 
a  substitute  for  the  lost  Vasantasena  :  cp.  his  speech — 
Bhavandnnirgatya  kdcid  iyam  dgacchaji.  Bhavatu 
anayd  vardkam  vancaydmi.  And  when  Sakara  says — 
Jtindmi  4a\ayogena  na  hoi  Vasancasenid,  he  even  tries  to 


SUDRAKA'S  MRCCHAKATIKA  &  B.'S  CARUDATTA    195 


convince  him  that  the  lady  is  Vasantasena  herself — 
Esd  rangapraveiena  kaldndth  caiva  tiksayd 

Svardntarena  daksd  hi  vydhartum ;  tanna  muncyatdm. 
It  is  evident  that  such  a  total  change  in  the  conception 
of  a  character — a  change  again  which  is  not  a  change 
for  the  better — is  beyond  the  province  of  the  mere 
abridgement-maker.  A  few  more  cases  tending  to 
disprove  the  view  that  Bhasa's  play  is  an  abridgement 
will  now  be  exhibited  in  parallel  columns  without  any 
comment: — 


BHXSA 

P.  17,  Act  i.  st.  20. 

P.  42,  Aharh  pi  tena 
ayyena  abbhanunnado  : 
annarh  uvacitthadutti. 
Kaharh  annam  erisarh 
manussaraanarh  labhearh 
ti,  kaharh  ca  tassa  komala- 
lafidamahurasarlrappari- 
sakidattharh  me  hattharh 
saharanasarlrasama  d  d  e- 
na  soaniam  karissarh  ti 
jadanivvedo  daddhasa- 
rirarakkhanatthaih  jQdo- 
vajivl  samvuddo. 

P.  53,  The  short  dialogue 
between  VidQsaka  and 
Carudatta  before  sleep  : 

P.  57,  Act  iii  st.  1 2  and 
the  speech  immediately 
preceding. 

P.  64,  Act  iii  st.  16  and 
the  speech  of  VidQsaka 
which  is  the  occasion 
for  it. 

P.  67,  Act  iii  st.  18. 


SUDRAKA 

Absent. 

P.  112  (B.S.S.),   Calittava- 

^ese  a  tas's'im  jQdovajivi- 

damhi  gariivutte. 


Absent. 


Absent. 


Absent. 


Absent. 


196  S.  K.  BELVALKAR 

P.  81, Ganika (atmagatam)  P.  214,    Vasentasena 

— Dhikkhu      ganiabha-  (vihasya       sakhlmukham 

varh.      Luddhatti    marh  pasyanti) — Mitteya     kad- 

tulaadi.     Jai   na   padic-  ham  na  genhissarh  raana- 

che  so  jjeva   doso  bha-  valim?   (iti  grhltva  parsve 

vissadi.    (prakasam)  sthapayati.) 
Snedu  ayyo. 

9.  But  it  may  be  argued  that  the  author  of  an 
abridgement  may  occasionally  find  it  necessary  to  expand 
the  original  for  the  sake  of  better  dramatic  effect  ;  and 
although  none  of  the  passages  we  have  hitherto  adduced 
are  capable  of  being  thus  explained  away,  yet,  granting 
the  truth  of  the  proposition,  it  follows  as  a  necessary 
corollary  to  it  that  the  author  of  the  abridgement 
will  at  least  endeavour  not  to  spoil  the  effect  of 
the  original  by  introducing  inartistic,  meaningless, 
and  even  absurd  speeches  of  his  own  composition. 
But  this  is  what  Bhasa  must  be  supposed  to  have  done 
if  he  is  to  be  placed  after  Sfidraka.  Thus  in  Act  4 
whatever  reason  we  might  assign  to  Bhasa's  having 
ushered  Vidfisaka  into  the  presence  of  Vasantasena 
earlier  than  the  Robber,  nothing  in  my  opinion  can 
justify  Vasantasena's  direct  and  unskilful  accusation  of 
the  Robber  in  the  words — Ahatn  jdndmi  tassa  gehe 
sdhasath  karia  dnldo  aam  alamkdro.  It  is  quite  incon- 
ceivable that  with  that  skilful  management  of  this  part 
of  the  dialogue  by  Sfidraka  before  one's  eyes  even  a 
third-rate  dramatist  would  commit  such  a  glaring  and 
unmotivated  blunder.  A  somewhat  similar  comment 
has  to  be  made  in  regard  to  the  dialogue  which  ensues 
in  Act  i  between  the  hero  and  the  Ganika  whom  he 
mistakes  for  Radanika. 

10.  Then  again  if  the  Cdrudaita  of  Bhasa  is  an 
abridgement  of  Sfidraka's   Mrcchakatika,   what   could 


StfDRAKA'S  MRCCHAKATIKA  &  B.'S  CARUDATTA    197 

have  been  Bhasa's  motive  in  studiously  avoiding  all 
reference  to  the  political  revolution  at  Ujjayini  which 
forms  the  background  of  Sodraka's  play  ?  SQdraka 
alludes  to  it  in  the  Prologue  (P.  13)  and  again  in  Act  4 
(P.  189),  and  we  know  that  in  the  denouement  it  is 
through  this  political  revolution  that  it  has  become 
possible  for  the  poet  to  accord  poetic  justice  to  all  the 
parties  concerned.  It  is  too  much  to  expect  that  the 
author  of  the  abridgement  would  omit  this  important 
bye-plot  and  yet  preserve  the  main  features  of  the  play 
unchanged,  which  he  must  do  as  an  epitomiser.  On 
the  other  hand  the  addition  of  a  bye- plot  is  what 
properly  belongs  to  the  province  of  an  elaborator  of 
an  earlier  shorter  version  of  the  play. 

11.  The  argument  based  upon  an  aesthetic 
evaluation  of  certain  stanzas  in  Bhasa's  Cdrudatta  with 
the  corresponding  stanzas  in  Sodraka's  Mrcchakatika, 
where  they  are  not  absolutely  identical,  is  rather  of  an 
illusive  character  and  cannot  yield  decisive  results. 
The  work  of  the  earlier  writer  is  normally  expected  to 
be  crude  and  less  polished  while  that  of  the  later 
writer  should  be  more  refined  and  poetic.  But  this  is 
not  an  invariable  rule  ;  and  if  the  later  writer  happens 
to  be  an  elaborator  rather  than  an  epitomiser,  and  if 
the  elaboration  has  been  carried  from  some  specific 
motive,  no  chronological  conclusions  of  any  kind  are 
possible  even  as  regards  passages  which  all  critics — by 
a  sort  of  a  literary  miracle — agree  to  regard  as  poetically 
superior  or  inferior  as  the  case  may  be.  Although 
therefore  we  have  collected  a  number  of  passages  from 
Bhasa  which,  according  to  us,  are  poetically  superior, 
and  a  number  of  others  which  are  poetically  inferior, 
to  the  corresponding  passages  from  Sudraka,  we  abstain 
from  making  use  of  them  for  our   present   purpose,   as 


198  S.  K.  BELVALKAR 

the  argument   is  likely  to   cut   both   ways.     We  give 
below  a  few  illustrations  of  what  we  mean — 

BH&SA  sudraka 

P.  8-pQrvabalirudhayavan-P.  19-samprati  virudhatrn- 
kurasu.  ankurasu. 

P.  10-atthavavara  govada-P.  22-atthakallavatta  varada- 
raa  via  masaabhlda  giha-  bhita  via  govaladaraa  jahim 
do  niggacchandi.  jahim  na   khajjanti   tahim 

tahim  gacchanti. 

P.  12-Vegadaham  pracali- P.  29-Vegadaham  pravisrtah 
tah  pavanopameyah     pavanam  nirundhyam, 

Kirhtvam  grahitum  athava     Tvannigrahe    tu   varagatri 
na  hi  me'sti  saktih  ?  na  me  prayatnah. 

P.  14-Made  khu  jo  hoi  na  P.  35-Mumukkhu  je  hodi  na 
nama  jivai.  ^e  kkhu  jivadi. 

P.  24-Na  tasya  ka^cid  vib-  P.  54-Na  tena  ka^cid  vibha- 
havair  amanditah.  vair  vimanitah. 

P.  28  and  elsewhere — Ka-  P.  65  and  throughout— Kama- 
made  vanuyanappahudi.         devaadanujjanado  pahudi. 

P.  29-vivahanta  via  saad-  P.  67-duvevi  tumhe  susam- 
iam  duvvinidaballvadda  panna  via  kalamakedara 
annonnarh  samkijesandi.  annonnam  siseria  sisaiii  sa- 
Aharh  dani  karh  pasa-  magada.  Aharh  pi  imina 
demi.  Bhodu,  dani  Ra-  karahajanusarisena  sisena 
daniarh  pasademi.  Rada-  duvevi  tumhe  panamia 
nie,  pasidedu  pasidedu  pasademi,  utthedhatti. 
hodi. 

These  are  all  passages  taken   from  the   first   Act ;   the 

other  Acts  yield  even   larger    material   for   comparison. 

In   some   of   these   passages   the    palm   of   superiority 

undoubtedly  belongs  to  Bhasa  ;  in  others   to   Sudraka. 

But  it  is  impossible  to  say   what   passage  was   written 

first  and  what  was   its   second   and   improved  edition. 

In  short  the  aesthetic  argument  is  an   argument   which 

cannot  be  used  on  either  side  of  the  question  with   any 

compelling  force. 


SUDRAKA'SMECCHAKATIKA&R'S  CARUDATTA   199 

12.  The  considerations  hitherto  urged  would 
probably  enable  us  to  arrive  at  the  negative  conclusion 
that  there  exist  no  valid  reasons  for  regarding  the 
Cdrudatta  of  Bhasa  as  a  later  abridgement  of  Sudraka's 
MrcchakaUka.  Let  us  now  look  at  the  shield  from  the 
other  side  and  determine  if  any  positive  reasons  exist 
for  regarding  the  Mrcchakafika  as  the  later  elabora- 
tion of  the  Carudatta.  Now  if  we  look  at  passages  such 
as  those  mentioned  in  Para.  7  above  as  later  additions, 
the  motive  for  their  addition  becomes  at  once  evident. 
It  is  partly  to  show  off  one's  knowledge  and  familiarity 
with  such  highly  technical  and  out-of-the-way  facts  as 
the  inner  arrangement  of  a  wealthy  courtizan's  house  or 
the  scientific  accoutrements  of  a  professional  robber, 
which  were  detailed  in  regular  manuals  now  un- 
fortunately, or  rather  fortunately,  no  longer  extant ;  and 
partly  to  introduce  broad  humour  and  low-life  realism. 
Indeed,  that  Sudraka  often  makes  a  deliberate  appeal  to 
the  gallery  is  capable  of  easy  illustration.  Consider  for 
instance  the  speeches  of  Sakara  (P.  33)  ending  with — 
Itthidnatk  satarn  mdlemi  :  sule  hagge  I  or  those  ending 
with — I  do  Bhdve  ido  Cede  :  Bhdve  Cede,  Cede  Bhdve : 
Tutnhe  ddva  eante  cis'ta.  (P.  47),  or  lastly  those  begin- 
ning with — Ale  kdkapadama$tas'i$'akd  duslavaduakd^ 
uvaviia  uvavisa  (P.  56)  in  Act  first  ;  then  passing  over 
the  extremely  humorous  scene  between  the  Shampooer, 
the  Sabhlka,  the  Gambler,  and  that  lovable  rogue  of  a 
Dardurka,  wc  may  mention  the  little  affair  in  Act  iii 
between  Vidusaka  and  Vardhamunaka  about  washing 
the  feet,  and  in  Act  four  Vidusaka  "s  court  ecu- 
reference  to  Vasantasena's  old  mother  (P.  2(  70.  Here 
the  appeal  is  rather  loo  broad,  and  no  wonder  if  it  at 
times  transcends  the  bounds  of  what  is  proper  or 
dignified.     For    instance,    I    have  always  thought    th.it 


S.  K.  BELVALKAR  200 

it  is  extremely  improper  of  Carudatta  to  propose — 
Vayasya  Maitreya,  tvam  udakarh  grhdna;  Vardhamdnakah 
pddau  praksdlayatu.  The  corresponding  portion  in 
Bhasa  is  much  more  successful  even  as  a  humorous 
scene.  So  also  in  Act  4,  after  the  description  of  the  8 
quadrangles  or  courts  of  Vasantasena's  house,  Sudraka 
contradicts  himself  by  bringing  Vasantasena  into  the, 
Rukkhavadia,  whereas  in  the  beginning  of  the  Act  she 
is  seated  in  an  apartment  of  her  house  having  a  gavaksa. 
Such  a  violent  shifting  of  scenes  within  an  Act  is  an 
absolute  heresy  in  a  Sanskrit  drama,  and  perhaps  the 
only  reason  for  the  fact  is  Sfidraka's  desire  to  thereby 
secure  for  VidQsaka  in  Act  5  an  opportunity  for  the 
retort — 

Vasantasena — Kd  tumhdnath  Rukkhavddid  vuccati  f 
VidQsaka — Jahith  na  khdladi  na  plladi. 
13.  It  would  I  suppose  be  admitted  by  all  that 
Sudraka  could  not  have  himself  been  the  author  of  at 
least  that  stanza  in  the  Prologue  which  speaks  of 
SQdraka's  own  death  in  the  words — Labdhvd  cdyuh 
iatabdarh  datiadinasahitath  Sudrako  'gnirh  pravistah ; 
and  there  is  further  evidence  to  prove  that  the  Dhfita 
episode  in  Act  10  is  added  to  the  play  by  a  hand  later 
than  that  of  Sudraka.  This  being  the  case,  it  is  con- 
ceivable that  throughout  the  play  a  few  stanzas  here 
and  there  such  as  those  on  the  fickleness  of  women, 
the  miseries  of  poverty,  and  so  on,  got  interpolated  in 
later  times.  These  stanzas  are  often  extremely  dull  and 
superfluous.  For  example,  stanza  iii.  22  or  iv.  23  and  iv. 
27.  Even  if  we  take  away  ail  such  palpable  addition  from 
the  present  text  of  the  Mrcchakatika,  and  even  if  we 
agree  to  put  up  with  the  redundencies  and  the  mytho- 
logical solecisms  a  la  mode  de  Sakara  (of   which    there 


gtJDRAKA'S  MBCCHAKATIKA  &  B.'S  CXRUDATTA  201 

is  little  trace  in  Bhasa),  yet  what  remains  of  Sodraka's 
play  is,  from  the  stage-manager's  point  of  view  an 
extremely  awkward  piece  to  deal  with,  whereas  Bhasa 
has  such  a  fine  and  discriminating  eye  for  the  little 
details  of  time  and  place  and  situation  and  apparel 
(which  can  come  only  of  an  attentive  study  of  the  stage- 
conditions  and  a  perfect  imaginative  identification  with 
the  several  characters  brought  on  the  stage)  that, 
whether  the  author  of  the  newly  discovered  plays  is  to 
be  regarded  as  the  predecessor  of  Kalidasa  or  not,  it  is 
evident  that  we  must  rank  him  as  a  dramatist  of  a  very 
high  order.  A  few  illustrations  will  make  our  point 
clear — 

Act  i — Throughout  the  chase  scene  Carudatta  is 
seated  in  a  part  of  his  house  not  illuminated 
by  any  lamp  ;  hence  although  the  Ganika 
presumably  recognises  the  hero  by  his  voice 
how  natural  it  is  for  her,  when  Vidusaka 
comes  back  with  the  lamp,  to  ejaculate — 
Dlvdloasuidariivo  so  evva  dani  eso  jaass 
kide  aham  nhsdsamattalakhidath  sarlram 
uvvahdmi  I  Please  note  also  how  skilfully 
the  return  of  Radanika  is  timed. — Bhasa 
gives  us  a  clear  idea  throughout  the  chase 
scene  of  the  topography  of  the  city.  The 
chase  began  upon  a  thoroughfare.  Then 
Vasantasena  enters  a  lane  which  in  Sakara's 
words  was  andhaalapulixagathbhla,  and  it  is 
in  this  lane  that  the  hero's  house  is  situated. 
As  the  house  was  sambhoamal'ina  and  as 
no  rays  of  a  lamp  etc.  streamed  out  of  its 
windows  and  doors,  that  particular  spot,  as 
Vasantasena  correctly  observes,  was  the 
darkest  in  the  lane,  and  it  was  also  a  windy 

[  F.  0.  C.  II  26  ] 


202  S.  K.  BELVALKAR 

night.  We  thus  see  that  Bhasa  omits  no 
circumstance  that  would  lend  probability  to 
the  events. 

Act  ii — After  the  heroic  rescue  of  the  Buddhist 
mendicant  from  the  infuriated  elephant, 
Karnapura  naturally  expects  to  receive  some 
presents  and  not  a  mere  profusion  of  praise; 
as  he  says — Na  una  kocci  kimpi  icchai  dddum. 
It  is  at  this  that  Carudatta  gives  away  his 
only  prdvdraka  and  returns  home  jannovavi- 
damattapdvdrao,  as  the  heroine  says.  In 
Act  three  Vk'Gsaka  blames  the  hero  for  this 
his  unconsidered  charity.  If  it  was  through 
compassion,  says  he,  a  worthier  object  for  it 
existed  nearer  at  hand,  viz.,  VidOsaka  him- 
self who  in  a  cold  night  bharidagaddabho 
via  bhumie  pallotthdmu 

Act  iii — The  dialogue  between  VidQsaka  and  Caru- 
datta's  wife  after  the  theft  is,  in  Bhasa's 
Cdrudatta,  far  more  full  of  feeling  and  verve 
than  the  corresponding  portion  in  the 
Mrcchakafika.  And  Bhasa  wishes  to  preserve 
a  system  of  time-indication  for  the  play: 
the  chase  taking  place  on  the  sasthi,  and 
theft  on  the  saptami,  and  the  incidents  of 
the  last  Act  on  the  astaml, — which,  because 
it  involves  an  astronomical  inconsistency 
( the  Moon  being  made  to  rise  at  midnight 
on  the  sasthi  in  Act  i  and  to  set  at  about  the 
same  time  on  the  astaml  of  the  same 
fortnight  in  Act  iii)  is  probably  ignored 
deliberately  by  the  author  of  the  Mrcchaka- 
tika.  An  improvement  of  this  nature  is 
more  in   the  line  of  a  later  elaborator  :  it  is 


UDRAKA'S  MRCHHAKATIKA  &  B.'S  CXRUDATTA  203 

too  much  to  believe  that  an  epitomiser  has 
allowed  such  a  blunder  to  creep  into  the 
play  when  it  was  not  originally  there. 

And  generally  it  may  be  said  that  Bhasa  is  more 
full  and  precise  in  his  stage-directions  than 
Sudraka.  Thus  it  is  absurd  to  make  Caru- 
datta  sit  down  immediately  after  he  has 
offered  the  ball  in  the  beginning  of  Act  i.  He 
is  in  the  courtyard  outside  and  must  re-enter 
the  house.  Then  later,  after  the  melee  with 
Sakara  when  Carudatta  discovers  a  stranger 
in  the  house  and  Vidusaka  delivers  the 
message  of  Sakara,  Bhasa  makes  Vasantasena 
say  very  properly — Ayyasaravdgadanthi;  and 
Vidusaka's  speech  wherein  he  tells  the  hero 
that  the  stranger  in  the  house  is  no  other 
than  Vasantasena  who  has  already,  ever 
since  the  return  from  the  Fare  of  K&madeva, 
conceived  an  affection  for  him,  that  speech 
is  rightly  made  apavdrya  by  Bhasa.  Sudraka 
has  no  such  refined  ideas;  he  is  often 
coarse  to  a  fault.  Compare  the  gross 
suggestion  in  Mathura's  speech  in  Act  ii — 
Kis's'a  tuhath  tanumajjhe  aharena  radada\\a 
duvvinldena 

Jathpafi  man  aharavaanath  lodanti  kadakkhena  t 

And  in  Act  1  also  towards  the  end  it  is  absurd 
to  make  Carudatta  accompany  the  heroine 
in  person  in  her  return  journey  to  her 
house;  and  absurder  still  isVidQs;ika's  speech 
— Tumam  jevva  edam  kaUihamsagaminim 
anugacchanio  rdahantso  via  sohasi.  But 
with  an   author  bent    upon  making    even- 


204  S.  K.  BELVALKAR 

possible  appeal  to  the  gallery  nothing  bette 

can  ever  be  expected. 
14.  It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  labour  the  point 
any  further.  An  attentive  study  of  the  two  plays  along 
lines  somewhat  similar  to  those  we  have  hitherto 
followed  would  convince  any  unbiassed  reader  that  the 
Mrcchakafika  of  Sudraka  is  a  deliberate  amplification  of 
the  earlier  play  of  Bhasa,  underaken  from  specific 
dramaturgic  motives;  and  while  therefore  the  elaborator 
has  improved  upon  the  original  in  a  number  of  ways  he 
has  in  the  attempt  sacrificed  the  unity,  the  delicate 
finish,  and  a  portion  of  the  beauty  of  the  original, 
as  was  quite  inevitable.  The  plays  cannot  possibly 
have  been  independent  productions:  the  many  identical 
and  analogous  passages  in  the  two  plays  make  such 
an  hypothesis  quite  untenable.  And  whether  the 
reason  for  SQdraka's  elaboration  was  the  fact  that  the 
play  had  remained  unfinished  in  the  original,  or  it  was 
simply  a  kdvydrthacauryarii  is,  in  the  present  state  of 
our  knowledge,  more  curious  than  profitable  to  inquire 
15.  M.  Sylvain  Levi  alone  amongst  Oriental 
critics  has  been  from  the  first  consistent  in  assigning 
the  Mrcchakatika  to  the  6th  century  after  Christ,  while 
all  other  scholars  had  agreed  to  regard  the  play  as 
earlier  than  any  of  Kalidasa's,  and  probably  dating 
from  the  beginning  of  the  Christian  era.  The 
discovery  of  Bhasa's  Cdrudatta  has  unexpectedly 
strengthened  Levi's  position,  but  if  there  be  something 
in  the  argument  based  upon  internal  evidence  (such 
as  the  form  of  the  Prakrit)  to  make  us  still  regard  the 
Mrcchakatika  as  earlier  than  the  plays  of  Kalidasa,  and 
if  Bhasa  is  to  be  regarded — as  we,  hope  we  have  made 
it  probable — as  a  predecessor  of  Sudraka,  this  will  not 
be  without  an  indirect  bearing  upon  the  question  of 
the  date  of  Bhasa. 


a  psychological  study  of  kslidxsa's 
*  upamXs  ". 


By  P.   K.  Gode. 

Every  student  of  Sanskrit  literature  is  quite 
familiar  with  the  sloka,  which  begins  with  3W  ^rrfe^rcrcf  l 
and  though  the  force  of  the  quotation  has  gone 
home  to  many  a  reader  of  Kalidasa,  none  has  under- 
taken a  critical  survey  of  his  Upamas,  which  are  so 
charming  and  interesting  not  only  to  the  students  of 
Rhetoric  proper,  but  also  to  the  general  lovers  of 
literature.  I  propose  to  examine  the  above-mentioned 
remark  on  objective  grounds.  But  in  doing  so  my 
object  is  mainly  psychological.  I  shall  try  fo  indicate, 
not  only  the  poet's  range  of  observation,  his  keen 
aesthetic  sense,  his  penetrating  intellect  but  the 
workings  in  detail  of  that  unique  faculty  for  noting 
comparisons,  which  is  considered  to  be  one  of  the 
"  foundation-pillars  of  intellectual  life." 

I  understand  the  word  "  Upama  "  in  the  broadest 
sense  of  the  term.  Under  it  might  be  included  not 
only  all  the  figures  based  on  similarity  but  also  many 
more  which  escape  the  water-tight  compartments 
created  by  Indian  rhetoricians.  For  instance  the 
application  of  maxims  to  particular  situations  in  life 
necessarily  postulates  the  process  of  comparison,   and 

^ffrsW:  q^c5TfcMr  W§  tffnT  ^pft  5"U:  II 

In  the  references  given,  Roman  figures  stand  for  Acts,  the 
second  figures  denote  pages,  while  the  last  figures  shew  the 
lines,  except  when  preceded  by  the  symbol  v.,  which  indicates 
the  numbers  of  verses. 


206  P.  K.  GODE 

they  will   have  to  be  included  under   "  Upamas  "  from 
the  psychological  point  of  view. 

I  have  restricted  my  effort  to  an  examination  of 
comparisons  in  the  Sdkuntala 2  only,  firstly  because  it 
is  the  masterpiece  of  Kalidasa  and  secondly,  being  a 
piece  of  dramatic  art,  it  is  a  truer  reflection  of  human 
life  than  what  we  find  in  his   '  Kavyas.' 

There  are  about  180  comparisons  in  the  whole  of 
the  work  under  examination.  Though  Act  I  and  VI 
are  almost  equal  in  extent,  the  former  is  quite  barren 
in  comparisons  containing  about  8,  while  the  latter 
quite  bristles  with  them,  containing  about  51.  The 
reason  for  this  deficiency  is  quite  plain,  for,  Act  I  is 
almost  an  introduction  to  the  whole  of  the  work  and 
the  poet  is#  more  engaged  in  narration  than  in  the 
"  criticism  of  life  "  proper,  which  is  the  main  work  of 
a  dramatist  in  a  play.  In  Act  VI  the  poet  is  able  to 
maintain  certain  detachment  of  mind  so  indispensably 
necessary  for  the  psychological  analysis  of  character 
and  its  detailed   representation.      Acts  II,  III,  IV  and 

V  contain  13,  17,  27  and  29  respectively.  Here  we 
find  a  gradual  increase  till  it  culminates  in  Act  VI, 
which,  as  I  have   said   above,    contains  51.     From  Act 

VI  onward  there  is  no  increase  but  a  definite  decrease. 
Act  VII  containing  only  34.  The  winding  up  of  the 
drama  begins  and  ends  in  Act  VII  and  hence  the 
decrease.  In  fact  there  seem  to  be  two  elements 
playing  a  tug  of  war.  In  the  earlier  part  of  the  play 
the  narrative  element  preponderates,  sometimes  per- 
ceptibly and  sometimes  in  disguise  while  the  critical 
element  is  quite  in  the  back  ground.  In  Act  IV  in 
particular   the   poet   seems    to   be   unable   to   keep   a 

'The  edition  used  is  that  by  M.  R.  Kale,  Bombay  1913. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS  207 

completely  objective  attitude  of  mind,  which  alone  is 
capable  of  producing  comparisons.  Here  pathos  reigns 
supreme  and  the  mind  sways  with  emotion.  The 
qualities  of  style  that  we  notice  are  more  of  emotional 
than  of  intellectual  character  and  hence  there  is  a 
relative  decrease  of  comparisons.  It  is  mainly  an 
outcome  of  the  poet's  heart  and  not  of  his  head. 

As  the  main  object  of  my  essay  is  psychological, 
I  propose  to  classify  the  comparisons  according  to  their 
sources.  The  sources  of  similitudes  are  co-extensive 
with  the  world  of  the  poet's  knowledge  of  men  and 
things. 

I.  Heavens — The  Sun  in  his  various  aspects  is 
largely  employed  for  the  purposes  of  comparison.  His 
boiling  heat  in  the  summer  season  is  referred  to 
in  III,  73,  v.  10.  His  powerful  light  makes  the  moon 
fade  (III,  79,  v.  15).  The  simultaneous  rising  of  the 
moon  and  the  setting  of  the  Sun  illustrate  the  pros- 
perity and  adversity  of  the  world  (IV,  94,  v.  2).  The 
birth  of  an  illustrious  son  is  like  the  rising  of  the  Sun, 
in  the  eastern  quarter  (IV,  114,  v.  19.)  The  Sun  is 
pointed  to  us  as  an  example  of  dutifulness  since  he 
never  fails  in  his  duty  of  giving  light  to  the  people 
(V,  121,  v.  4).  He  is  the  most  effective  agency  in 
removing  darkness  (V,  129,  v.  14).  In  spite  of  this, 
however,  he  is  unable  to  dispel  the  nocturnal  gloom 
(VI,  182,  v.  30).  Aruna  or  the  morning  twilight  is  said 
to  be  his  harbinger  (VII,  185,  v.  4).  It  is  the  sun  that 
makes  the  day-lotuses  blossom  (V,  141,  v.  28). 

The  Moon's  various  aspects  and  peculiarities  have 
been  almost  conventionalized  in  Sanskrit  poetry  as  will 
be  clear  from  the  following  references  : — The  light  of 
the  autumnal  Moon  is  most  inviting  (III,  77,1).  She 
fades  into  insignificance  before  the   blazing  light  of  the 


208  P.  K.  GODE 

sun  (III,  79,  v.  15).  The  rise  of  the  Moon  denotes  the 
glowing  prosperity  of  certain  individuals  in  this  world 
(IV,  94,  v.  2).  She  alone  is  able  to  drive  off  the  nightly 
darkness  (IV,  182,  v.  30).  The  eclipse  of  the  Moon  is 
referred  to  in  VII,  202,  v.  22.  The  dark  spots  on  the 
Moon's  surface  are  mentioned  in  I,  20,  v.  18.  A  lotus 
fibre  is  as  soft  as  the  Moon's  rays  (VI,  170,  v.  18). 
Sakuntala's  personal  magnetism  towards  her  two  female 
friends  is  illustrated  by  the  attraction  which  the  Moon 
exerts  on  the  Visakha  constellation  (III,  74,  11).  The 
Moon's  rays  though  cool  in  themselves  produce  a  burn- 
ing effect  on  love-smitten  souls  (III,  66,  v.  3).  The 
absence  of  the  Moon  by  day  deprives  the  night-lotuses 
of  all  their  gladdening  beauty  (IV,  95,  v.  3).  It  is  the 
Moon  that  causes  the  blooming  of  the  night-lotuses 
(V,  141,  v.  28). 

References  to  constellations  are  very  rare  in  the 
play.  The  Visakha  Constellation  is  attracted  by  the 
moon  (III,  74, 11).  RohinI,  the  fourth  lunar  constellation) 
is  united  to  her  lover,  the  moon  after  an  eclipse 
(VII,  202,  v.  22),  As  regards  the  eclipses  of  heavenly 
bodies,  only  the  eclipse  of  the  moon  has  been  referred 
to  in  VII,  202,  v.  22.  The  surface  of  the  heaven  has 
been  mentioned  in  VII,  186,  7.  The  intermediate 
space  between  heaven  and  earth  as  the  region  for 
birds  to  move  in  is  mentioned  in  V,  138,  v.  22. 

II.  Earth — The  following  phenomena  of  the  sky 
have  been  made  use  of  for  the  purposes  of 
comparison  : — 

Lightning  is  probably  referred  to  as  a  tremulously 
radiant  flash  having  an  unearthly  origin  (I,  31,  v.  23). 
The  morning  twilight  is  able  to  dispel  darkness  only  on 
account  of  its  share  in  the  sun's  light(  VII,   185,  v.  4). 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS    209 

The  unceasing  blowing  of  the  wind  is  a  symbol  of 
dutifulness  (V,  121,  v.  4).  Mountains  stand  unshaken 
in  a  storm  (VI,  160,  12-13).  The  wind  dries  up  the 
succulent  leaves  of  tender  creepers  (III,  72,  v.  8). 
Evening  clouds  forming  a  bar  on  western  horizon  look 
like  a  mountain  range  as  it  were  (VII,  190,  1).  The 
tawny-coloured  demons  appear  like  so  many  evening 
clouds  (III,  88,  v.  25).  Modest  people  are  like  clouds 
surcharged  with  rainwater,  which  are  bent  low  to  the 
earth's  surface  (V,  127,  v.  12).  Dusyanta's  assurance  of 
help  to  his  subjects  was  hailed  like  timely  rain  (VI,  176, 
14).  The  Ocean's  invariable  and  direct  connection 
with  a  big  river  illustrates  the  natural  and  worthy  long- 
ings of  Sakuntala's  heart  for  the  illustrious  descendant 
of  the  Purus  (III,  74,  7).  As  enveloping  the  earth,  the 
ocean  is  said  to  be  her  garment  (III,  81,  v.  18). 

A  river  with  its  torrent  divided  by  a  hillock  happily 
illustrates  the  divided  mind  of  the  king  (II,  62,  v.  17). 
Big  rivers  are  extremely  attached  to  the  ocean  (111,74, 
7).  A  river  torrent  pulls  down  trees  situated  on  the 
banks  (V,  134,  v.  21  and  VI,  162,  v.  10).  The  contrast  of 
the  mirage  and  a  full- flowing  river  is  made  use  of  in 
(VI,  168,  v.  16).  Disappointment  is  compared  to 
mirage  (VII,  199,15).  Reeds  growing  in  the  river  are 
bent  down  by  the  sweep  of  flowing  waters  (II,  45,5). 
The  idea  of  bathing  in  a  lake  is  implied  in  VII,  192,1 
and  that  of  a  river  overflowing  its  banks  in  V,  119,1, 
where  a  song  is  said  to  be  overflowing  with  emotion. 
The  description  of  eyes  full  of  tears  indicative  of 
excessive  joy  has  also  the  same  idea  underlying  it  (IY, 
103,8).  Water  cannot  flow  from  a  lower  to  a  higher 
level.  This  physical  law  illustrates  the  faring  of 
Dusyanta's  love  on  Sakuntala  (III,  65,  footnote  1). 
Water  is  discarded  by  the  Harhsa  birds  when  the  same, 

[F.O.C.  II  27] 


210  P.  K.  GODE 

mixed  with  milk  is  offered  to  them  (VI,  181,  v.  28). 
The  killing  effect  of  hot  water  on  tender  creepers  is 
spoken  of  in  IV,  94,  3. 

The  sublime  strength  of  the  mountains  is  describ- 
ed only  in  one  comparison.  They  remain  unshaken 
and  immovable  in  spite  of  the  abnormal  fury  of  stormy 
winds  (VI,  160,  12-13).  The  ups  and  downs  of  the 
earth's  surface  are  implied  in  VI,  166, 7,  where  a  picture 
in  relief  is  described. 

A  well  concealed  by  grass  resembles  a  man  putting 
on  a  cloak  of  virtue  (V,  138,4).  The  surface  of  the 
earth  is  incapable  of  producing  lightning  (I,  31,  v.  23). 
A  dull  intellect  is  compared  to  a  lump  of  earth  (VI, 
160,5).  The  burden  of  the  earth  is  borne  by  the 
Serpent  God  Sesa  (V,  121,4).  The  earth  is  said  to  be 
the  co-wife  of  the  ruling  king  (III,  81,  v.  18). 

Comparisons  from  the  mineral  world  are  very  few 
but  many  of  them  are  quite  original  :  A  bright  gem 
though  it  resembles  fire  in  brilliancy  is  capable  of  being 
touched  by  human  hands  (I,  34,  v.  25).  A  crystal  lens 
(Suryakanta)  emits  burning  heat  when  acted  upon  by 
the  sun's  rays  (II,  50,  v.  7).  Boring  of  gems  is  referred 
to  in  11,54,  v.  10.  Gems  attain  exceptional  brilliancy 
even  though  reduced  in  size  by  a  polishing  instrument 
(VI,  156,  v.  6).  A  woman's  beauty  is  compared  to  that 
of  a  gem  (II,  53,  v.  9,  line  1). 

III.  (1) — the  Plant  Life-  Comparisons  from  the 
Plant  Life  are  quite  numerous. 

Garden  creepers  and  forest  creepers  are  contrasted 
in  I,  18,  v.  16.  A  thick  eye-brow  iseempared  to  a  creeper 
(  III,  77,  v.  13  ).  A  slender  and  supple  woman  imitates 
a  creeper  (  VII,  158,  19  ).  Creepers  blossom  in  the 
vernal  season  (  VII,  205,  8  ).  A  creeper  in  flowers  is 
delighted  to  a  have  bee  as  a  welcome  guest  (VI,  171,  10). 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S   UPAMXS     211 

Creepers  shed  tears  at  the  time  of  Sakuntala's  departure 
from   the  penance-grove  (  IV,    107,  v.  12  ).     A   coil  of 
creepers  has  grown   round  the  neck  of   a  sage  in  medi- 
tation (III,  191,  1  ).     Comparisons  are  also  drawn  from 
particular  plants   and  creepers.     The   aspects  generally 
touched  upon  are  tenderness  and  beauty.     Sami  creep- 
er is   very  tough   to    cut    (  1,  19,  v.    17  ).     Sami  stick 
holds  in  itself  the   capability  of  producing  fire  (  IV,  98, 
v.  4  ).   M&dhavi  creeper  is  dried  up  by  the  action  of  the 
wind  (  III,  72,  v.  28  )      The  Atimuktalatd  is  encumber- 
ed with  foliage  and  entwines  a  mango  tree   (III,    74,  8). 
The  tenderness  of   Navamdlikd  flower  is  quite  prover- 
bial in  Sakuntala  (  I,  19,  2  ).     The  sun's  rays  produce  a 
blighting  effect  on   a  Navamdlikd  flower  (II,  52,  v.  8  ). 
What  man  can  have  the  heart  to   pour   hot  water  on   a 
Navamdlikd  creeper  ?     (  IV,  94,  3  ).     The    Vanajyotsnd 
creeper  in   blossom   is   mentioned   in  I,  23,  3.     She  is 
also  said   to  be  the   sister   of   Sakuntala  (  IV,  107,  11). 
Particular  flowers  are  also  made  use  of  for  comparisons. 
A  Kunda  flower,  filled  with   dew  at  dawn  tempts  a  bee, 
but  he  is  prevented  from   enjoying  it  on  account  of  the 
cold  dew  (  V,  133,  v.    19  ).     The   tenderness  of   a  blue 
lotus  and  the  toughness  of  a  Sami  creeper  are  contrasted 
(  1,  19,  v.  17).     A  lotus,  though  intertwined  with  moss, 
is  charming  (  I,  20,  v.  18  ).     Lotus   leaves  are   used   as 
fans  (  III,  82,  v.  19  ).     Dust   on   a  road   resembles  the 
soft  pollen  of  lotuses  (  IV,    106,    11  ).     A   lotus   is  the 
habitual  dwelling  of  a  bee  (  V,   118,  v.  1  ).     A  beautiful 
forearm  looks  like  a  red  lotus  stalk  (  VI,  170,  13).     The 
tender  hand  of  a  child  resembles  a  lotus  opened  at  early 
dawn.    (VII,  195,  v.  16),    The  sun  produces  an  injurious 
effect   on   the   night-lotuses  ( III,   79,   v.    15  ).    In  the 
absence  of  the  moon  a  lake  full  of  night-lotuses  is  really 
a  distressing  sight  (  IV,  95,  v.  3  ).     In  his  presence  they 


212  P.  K.   GODE 

blossom  forth  (  V,  141,  v.  28 ).  Day-lotuses  blossom 
only  in  the  presence  of  the  sun  (  V,  141,  v.  28  ). 

Youth  is  as  inviting  as  a  flower  (  I,  22,  v.  19). 
Unenjoyed  beauty  is  like  an  unsmelt  fragrant  flower 
(  II,  54,  v.  10  ).  A  bee  sucks  honey  from  a  fresh  flower 
(  III,  84,  v.  22  ).  He  is  a  thief  stealing  away  honey  from 
flowers  (  VI,  171,  2  ).  Vernal  blossom  indicates  the 
union  of  creepers  with  the  vernal  season  (  VII,  205,  8). 
Appearance  of  flowers  is  an  indication  of  youth  (  I,  23, 
3  ).  Lips  are  as  red  as  the  red  foliage  of  trees  (  I,  22, 
v.  19  ).  The  lower  lip  of  a  maiden  looks  as  beautiful 
as  the  tender  foliage  of  trees,  untouched  by  hand  (  VI, 
172,  v.  20  )  The  innocent  beauty  of  a  maiden  is  like 
the  tender  foliage  of  trees  untouched  by  hand  (  II,  54, 
v.  10  ).  The  colour  of  the  palms  of  the  hands  emulates 
that  of  the  young  shoots  of  trees  (  IV,  101,  v.  5  ). 
Red  foliage  is  contrasted  with  the  pale  dried  white 
leaves  of  trees  (  V,  128,  v.  13  ).  A  vigorous  young  man 
with  a  promising  career  is  compared  to  a  vigorous  off- 
shoot of  a  tree  (  VII,  197,  v.  19  ).  Leaves  of  trees  set 
in  motion  by  the  wind  are  as  it  were  their  fingers 
calling  the  beholder  to  come  near  them  (  I,  21,  1  ). 

Branches  of  trees  are  their  arms  with  which  they 
embrace  Sakuntala(  IV,  107,  15).  Trees,  bent  with 
the  burden  of  abundant  fruit,  illustrate  the  modesty  of 
obliging  persons  (  V,  127,  v.  12  ).  A  Yogin  practising 
spiritual  contemplation  is  as  motionless  as  the  trunk  of 
a  tree  ( VII,  191,  11  ).  Roots  of  trees  are  the  dwelling 
place  of  ascetics  (  VII,  198,  v.  20 ). 

Trees  are  the  friends  of  Sakuntala  (  V,  105,  v.  10  ), 
They  bear  the  excessive  heat  of  the  sun  and  give 
shelter  to  people  under  their  shade  (  V,  124,  v.  7  ). 

To  come  now  to  particular  trees  and  plants.  The 
Sahakdra  or  mango  tree  alone  can  bear  the  burden    of 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS    213 

the  Atimuktalata  (III,  74,7-8).  He  is  the  lover  of  the 
Vanajyotsna  creeper  (I,  23,4),  and  also  of  the  Navamalika 
(IV,  108,  v.  13).  Mango  blossom  is  no  more  remember- 
ed by  a  bee  when  it  has  secured  a  happy  dwelling  in  a 
lotus  (V,  118,  v.  1).  It  is  the  very  life  of  the  vernal 
season  (IV,  151,  v.  2).  It  produces  intoxicating  effect  on 
bees  (VI,  :51.  6).  Reeds  are  swept  down  by  the 
torrentuous  onflow  of  river  waters  (11,45,5).  Sugar-cane 
is  mentioned  in  VI,  179,16.  A  Candana  tree,  though 
it  makes  happy  all  creatures  resorting  to  it,  is  itself 
defiled  by  the  presence  of  a  young  black  cobra  inside 
(VII,196,v.  18).  A  kesara  tree  looks  as  if  entwined  by 
a  creeper  when  Sakuntala  takes  her  seat  at  its  root 
(1,21,6).  Demons  are  compared  to  thorns  (VII,  185,v.  3.) 

Comparisons  from  Agriculture  are  very  scanty : 
Seed  sown  at  the  right  time  produces  abundant  crop 
(VI,177,v.  24). 

(2)  Animal  Life—  Animal  Life  brings  with  it  all  the 
affections  of  the  animal  body.  These  also  are  made 
use  of  in  comparisons  :  Dusyanta  is  said  to  suffer  from 
a  disease  viz.  Sakuntala  (VI,  157,8)  and  his  case  is 
wellnigh  hopeless.  A  pimple  growing  upon  a  boil  is 
referred  to  in  11,41,10.  The  overpowering  hunger  of 
the  VidGsaka  devours  him  (VI,  165,  11). 

Particular  beasts  are  made  use  of  in  comparisons 
to  illustrate  some  quality  found  in  them  prominently  in 
common  with  other  objects  : — The  deer  is  a  common- 
place standard  of  comparison  in  Sanskrit  poetry. 
Sakuntala  s  eyes  are  like  those  of  a  female  deer  (1,33, 
v.  24)  and  also  of  a  male  deer  (VI,157,v.  7).  The  sweet 
glances  of  a  deer  resembling  those  of  Sakuntala  desist 
the  king  from  killing  him  (11,46,  v.  3).  A  deer  is  said 
to  be  the  adopted  son  of  Sakuntala  (IV,109,  v.  14).  The 
king  on  account  of  his  deep  love  for  hunting  resembles 


214  P.  K.  GODE 

a  wild  elephant  roaming  on  mountains  (II,  47,  v.  4). 
The  king  taking  rest  after  the  duties  of  the  day  looks 
like  an  elephent-lord  retiring  to  a  cool  place  after  having 
conducted  the  herds  to  their  pastures  (V,  122,  v.  5). 
Matali  giving  a  severe  thrash  to  the  Vidusaka  compares 
himself  to  a  tiger  pouncing  upon  a  struggling  prey  (VI, 
180,  v.  27).  A  mouse  seized  by  a  cat  is  hopeless  of  life 
(VI,  180,  8). 

A  serpent  expands  its  hood  when  offended  (VI, 
182,  v.  31).  A  black  serpent  defiles  a  Candana  tree  by 
its  presence  (VII,  196,  v.  18). 

A  mass  of  dust  settling  down  on  the  trees  in  the 
penance  grove  looks  like  a  swarm  of  locusts  (I,  38,  v. 
29).  A  cuckoo  feels  an  intoxicating  joy  at  the  sight  of 
mango  blossom  (VI,  151,  8).  The  sweet  notes  of  the 
cuckoo  issuing  from  trees  are  supposed  to  be  their 
permission  to  Sakuntala  at  the  time  of  her  departure  to 
her  husband's  house  (IV,  105,  v.  10).  The  cuckoos  are 
supposed  to  be  reared  up  in  the  nests  of  crows  (V,  138, 
v.  22).  The  female  Cakravdka  bird  is  referred  to  in 
III,  85,  3).  Her  cry  indicates  her  pangs  of  separation 
from  her  mate  (IV,  110,  13).  A  bee  sucks  honey  from 
a  fresh  flower  in  a  very  careful  and  kind  manner  (III, 
84,  v.  22).  It  is  also  said  to  have  resorted  to  a  lotus 
after  having  kissed  the  mango  blossom  (V,  118,  v.  8). 
It  cannot  enjoy  a  Kunda  flower  filled  with  morning 
dew  (V,  133,  v.  19).  It  is  a  welcome  guest  to  a  creeper 
in  flowers  (VI,  171,  10)  A  female  bee  does  not  drink 
honey  without  her  lover  out  of  excessive  love  for  him 
(VI,  171,  v.  19).  Absence  of  flies  in  a  place  implies 
complete  seclusion  (II,  51,  5  ;  VI,  158,  5). 

IV.  Domestic  Life — Comparisons  from  this  depart- 
ment of  knowledge  are  very  varied  and  homely  : — 

A  man  who  has  lost  his  relish  for  dates  may   have 


•PSYCHOLOGICAL    STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS     215 

a  desire  for  tamarind  (II,  53,  1).  Fresh  honey  is  referred 
to  in  II,  54,  v.  10.  Sensual  women  are  honey-tongued 
(V,  137,  13).  The  king  is  also  said  to  be  honey-tongued 
(V.  139,2).  Sugar-cane  is  mentioned  in  VI,  179,16.  A 
spark  of  fire  on  a  pile  of  cotton  works  havoc  (1,13, 
v.  10).  Fire,  when  stirred,  burns  with  a  glowing  flame. 
(VII,  182,  v.  31).  No  other  agency  than  fire  can  consume 
things  (IV,  91,19).  A  man  experiences  darkness  even 
though  a  lamp  be  near,  if  a  screen  covers  the  same. 
(IV,  178,18-19).  Water  can  not  flow  from  a  lower  to  a 
higher  level  :  just  in  the  same  way  the  heart  of  the  king 
cannot  turn  back  from  Sakuntala  (III,  65,  foot  note  1). 
The  administration  of  government  is  compared  to  a 
parasol  with  its  staff  held  in  hand  (  V,  123,  v.  6  ).  A 
mirror  covered  with  dust  does  not  reflect  a  clear  image 
but  the  same  wiped  clean  gives  a  well-defined  image 
very  easily  (  VII,  210,  v.  32  ).  Indra's  thunderbolt  was 
as  good  as  an  ornament  since  it  proved  ineffectual  in 
his  war  with  demons  (  VII,  206,  v.  26  ).  A  silken  flag 
keeps  fluttering  backwards  though  its  staff  is  carried 
forward  :  just  of  such  a  nature  was  the  state  of  the  king's 
mind  when  returning  to  the  capital  after  his  first  love 
(  I,  40,  v.  31  ).  Penance  is  the  wealth  of  ascetics  (  IV, 
91,  v.  1  ).  Restraint  of  body  and  mind  is  a  treasure  in 
itself  (  IV,  111,  v.  17).  A  daughter  is  a  deposit  of 
money  (  IV,  117,  v.  22).  The  same  relation  exists 
between  Saradvata  and  the  pleasure-loving  souls  of  the 
city  as  is  to  be  seen  between  one  who  has  bathed  and 
one  annointed,  between  a  pure  man  and  an  impure  one, 
between  one  who  is  wide  awake  and  one  sleeping  and 
finally  between  one  who  is  fettered  and  one  who  is 
quite  free  (V,  126,   v.  11  ). 

Family   relations  are   also  made   use   of   in    com- 
parisons.    As  the  drama   presents  to  us  on  a  miniature 


216  P.  K.  GODE 

scale  an  idealized  picture  of  ancient  Indian  life  in 
all  its  varieties,  it  is  but  natural  that  a  prominent 
place  should  be  given  to  these  relations  : — A  wife's 
natural  influence  over  her  husband  is  referred  to 
in  VII,  210,  v.  32.  A  mango  tree  is  the  husband  of 
Navamalika  creeper  (  IV,  108,  v.  13  ).  The  earth  is  the 
co-wife  of  a  ruling  sovereign  (  IV,  115,  v.  20  ).  A  male 
bee  and  a  female  bee  are  mentioned  in  VI,  172,  v.  20. 
Comparisons  illustrating  parental  affection  are  the  follow- 
ing : — Animals  are  to  be  looked  upon  as  children  (  VII, 
194,  4  ).  A  certain  deer  was  the  adopted  son  of  Sakun- 
tala  (  IV,  109,  v.  14  ).  A  king  protects  his  subjects  as 
his  own  children  (  V,  122,  v.  5  ).  Comparisons  illustrat- 
ing fraternal  relations  are  also  noteworthy.  The  king's 
subjects  are  said  to  be  his  brethren  (  V,  124,  v.  7  and 
VI,  176,  v.  23  ). 

V.  Social  Life* — In  ancient  India  hospitality  to 
guests  was  regarded  as  almost  a  virtue.  The  hospitable 
treatment  given  by  Indra  to  Dusyanta  is  spoken  of  in 
glowing  terms  in  VII,  184,  3.  The  bee  is  a  welcome 
guest  to  creepers  in  flowers  (VI,  171,  v.  19).  The 
polite  manner  of  addressing  persons  is  referred  to  in 
V,  119,  12.  Friendship  hastily  formed  without  sufficient 
knowledge  of  each  other's  hearts  is  sure  to  turn  into 
enmity  ( V,  139,  v.  24  ).  Good  persons  always  look 
upon  their  friends  with  favour  (  VI,  187,  v.  29  ).  An 
ideal  act  of  favour  is  compared  to  taking  a  man  from 
the  stake  and  mounting  him  on  an  elephant  (  VI,  148, 
v.  21). 

As  opposed  to  friendship  villainy  is  the  subject  of 
certain  comparisons  :-The  king  is  compared  to  a  sweet- 
tongued  villain  (  V,  139,  2  ).  He  is  also  compared  to  a 
thief  (  V,  134,  v.  20  ).  The  bee  is  said  to  be  a  thief 
stealing   honey   from  flowers   V.    126,    v.    10.     A  city 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS     217 

thronged  with  people  is  compared  to  a  house  on  fire 
surrounded  by  large  crowds  (V,  126,  v.  10). 

The  idea  of  imprisoning  is  implied  in  VI,  172,  v.  20, 
where  the  king  becomes  jealous  of  the  bee  represented 
in  the  picture  as  hovering  round  the  face  of  Sakun- 
tala  and  wishes  to  close  him  up  in  a  lotus.  The  delight 
felt  by  some  persons  when  they  practise  mischief  know- 
ingly is  illustrated  by  a  parallel  from  daily  life  viz. 
paining  the  eyes  of  a  man  so  as  to  cause  a  flow  of  tears 
and  then  to  ask  him  the  cause  of  it  (  II,  45,  1  ).  Com- 
parisons relating  to  military  life,  hunting  and  other 
sports  are  also  to  be  found  : — The  Sutradhara  is  carried 
away  by  the  enchanting  melody  of  his  lady  like  Dusy- 
anta  in  pursuit  of  a  swift-footed  deer  (  I,  9,  v.  5  ). 
Again  in  I,  10,  v.  6  Dusyanta  in  his  turn  is  compared 
to  God  Siva  chasing  a  deer. 

The  apparently  virtuous  conduct  of  a  hypocrite  is 
compared  to  an  armour  (  V,  138,  4  ).  The  torments  of 
a  repenting  heart  are  like  those  produced  by  a  poisoned 
arrow-head  shot  in  the  heart  (  VI,  160,  v.  9  ).  The 
relief  felt  when  such  an  arrow-head  is  taken  out  is 
described  in  VII,  204,  9.  The  twanging  sound  of  the 
bow  is  likened  to  the  terrific  growl  of  a  wild  beast  ( III, 
64,  v.  1  ). 

The  earth  is  imagined  to  be  a  big  ball  thrown 
high  aloft  in  the  air  (VII,  189,  v.  8). 

VI.  Religious  Life. — Sakuntala  is  congratulated 
by  her  female  companions  upon  her  getting  a  worthy 
husband  by  coincidence  like  the  oblation  of  a  sacri- 
ficing priest,  which  falls  direct  into  the  sacrificial  fire 
even  though  his  sight  is  obscured  by  smoke.  She  is 
also  compared  to  knowledge  delivered  over  to  a  good 
student  in  as  much  as  such  knowledge  need  not  at  all 
be  deplored  (VI  97,  19-20).     The  Vidusaka,  describing 

[F.  O.  0.  II  28] 


218  P.  K.  GODE 

how  he  was  roughly  handled  by  Matali,  compares  him- 
self to  a  sacrificial  victim  gradually  done  to  death  (VI, 
182,  1). 

The  following  comparisons  illustrate  the  two 
religious  doctrines  of  Karman  and  Moksa  : — 

The  fruit  of  various  acts  done  in  former  births 
comes  to  maturity  (II,  54,  v.  10).  There  is  no  possibi- 
lity of  a  sage  getting  Moksa  if  he  is  seduced  by  the 
Apsarases  (V,  119,  8-9.) 

VII.  Mythology  and  other  literature. — Compari- 
sons drawn  from  this  source  of  knowledge  show  that 
Kalidasa's  knowledge  of  ancient  works  embodying 
myths  and  legends  was  quite  sound. 

The  idea  of  God  Siva  pursuing  a  deer  is  taken 
from  the  Puranas3  (I,  10,  v.  6).  The  goddess  LaksmI 
as  the  one  and  only  standard  of  beauty,  appears  to  have 
been  equalled  if  not  surpassed  by  Sakuntala4  (II,  53, 
v.  9).  A  divided  state  of  mind  leading  to  utter  inaction 
is  well  illustrated  by  alluding  to  Trisanku  suspended 
midway  between  heaven  and  earth.5  (  II,  61,  21  ). 
Reference  to  the  Visakha  constellation  and  the  digit  of 
the  moon  (  III,  74,  11 )  seems  to  have  its  origin  in  the 
astronomical  fact  that  the  Visakha  constellation  appears 
near  the  moon  when  the  sky  is  bright  and  shines 
brightly  viz.  during  the  months  of  April  and  May.6 

Reference  to  Yayati  and  his  wife  Sarmistha  in  IV, 
104,  v.  7.  is  from  ancient  legendary  history. 

3  Monier  William's  edition,  p.  9,  foot-note  2. 

4  1  am  inclined  to  understand  the  allusion  in  this  way  ; 
otherwise,  the  force  of  the  word  wm  would  not  be  clearly- 
explained. 

5  See  M.  W.,  p.  91,  foot  note  3. 

6  Cf.    Vikramorvasiya     Act  I.  —  f^r&jnftrfaf    fsrassftg^sfi 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS     219 

Apsarases  or  the  celestial  nymphs  as  employing 
seductive  artifices  against  sages  with  suppressed  pas- 
sions are  mentioned  in  V,  119,  8-9. 

The  sun  with  horses  yoked  to  his  chariot  and  the 
serpent  god  Sesa  as  bearing  the  burden  of  the  earth  are 
mentioned  in  V,  121,  v.  4.  The  sun  as  having  seven 
horses  is  referred  to  in  VI,  182,  v.  30.  Aruna,  the 
charioteer  of  the  sun  is  said  to  destroy  darkness  by  the 
power  acquired  from  his  master  (  VII,  185,  v.  4  ). 

Kalakfita,  the  poison  of  poisons,  illustrates  the  poi- 
sonous influence  of  the   king's  harem  (  VI,  174,  v.  21  ). 

Dusyanta  draws  an  imaginary  picture  of  his  ances- 
tors, not  getting  the  requisite  oblations  for  want  of  a 
son  to  offer  the  same  to  them.  (  VI,  177,  v.  25  ). 

No  distinction  exists  between  Indra  and  Dusyanta 
except  this  that  while  Indra's  chariot  moves  on  the 
earth  without  touching  the  ground,  that  of  Dusyanta 
touches  it  (  VII,  191,  v.  1  ). 

Dusyanta  thinks  himself  to  be  as  it  were  in  a  deep 
lake  of  Amrta  while  at  the  asylum  of  Marica,  so  very 
rich  is  the  atmosphere  of  the  place  in  spiritual  happi- 
ness (  VII,  192,  v.  1  ). 

The  mythical  interpretation  of  the  lunar  eclipses 
together  with  the  legend  regarding  the  love  of  Rohitu 
and  the  moon  is  made  use  of  in  VII,  202,  v.  22  to 
illustrate  the  separation  of  Sakuntala  from  Dusyanta 
and  her  re-union  with  him. 

In  VII,  20s,  v.  28,  Dusyanta  is  compared  to  Indra; 
his  son,  Sarvadamana  to  Indra's  son  Jayanta  and  Sakun- 
tala to  Paulomi,  the  wife  of  Indra. 

As  Dusyanta  destroyed  a  race  of  demons  hostile 
to  Ind,ra  he  is  compared  to  Nrsimha,  tbe  fourth 
incarnation  of  Visnu  (VII,  185,  v.  3). 


220  P.  K.  GODE 

VIII.  Fine  Arts. — Allusions  to  Fine  Arts  in  the 
works  of  Kalidasa  go  to  prove  that  apart  from  his  being 
a  poet,  he  had  a  deep  knowledge  and  a  critical  appre- 
ciation of  other  arts  allied  to  poetry  viz.  painting  and 
music. 

The  variegated  audience  in  a  theatre  listening 
with  eager  attention  to  the  melodious  music  of  the 
stage  is  said  to  be  like  an  assemblage  of  persons  re- 
presented in  a  picture  (I,  8,  1-2).  How  an  artist  in 
painting  an  ideal  picture  combines  all  the  beautiful 
forms  is  well  described  in  II,  53,  v.  9,  where  the  king 
dazzled  by  Sakuntala's  exceptional  beauty  indulges  in 
various  fanciful  theories  regarding  her  origin.  Another 
principle  of  the  pictorial  art  that  the  objects  represented 
in  a  picture  must  appear  forth  in  full  relief  is  illustrated 
in  VI,  166,  7,  where  the  picture  of  Sakuntala  painted 
by  the  king  is  described  at  length.  In  the  description 
of  the  same  picture  it  is  said  that  she  is  represented  as 
slightly  exhausted  on  account  of  her  having  watered 
the  plants  in  the  penance-grove  (VI,  167,  15). 

Comparisons  from  music  are  very  scanty  in  the 
Sdkuntala,  though  in  other  works  of  Kalidasa  many 
more  will  be  found.  The  emotive  aspect  of  music  is 
mplied  in  V,  119,  1,  where  the  king  appreciates  the 
music  of  his  former  favourite  Haitsapadika. 

IX.  Mental  States. — Comparisons  dealing  with 
the  states  of  mind  either  in  a  sound  or  deranged  condi- 
tion as  well  as  from  mental  experience  of  a  general 
nature  are  also  to  be  found  : — 

No  coherence  of  speech  is  to  be  expected  of  a 
mad  man  (IV,  91,  v.  1).  The  king  conversing  with  his 
finger-ring  in  a  fit  of  erotic  reverie  is  compared  to  a 
mad  man   (VI,  165,  5).     A  blind  man  mistakes  even   a 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K/S  UPAMXS     221 

garland  thrown  on  his  head  for  a  serpent  (  VII,  203, 
v.  24.)  Mental  illusions  whether  those  experienced 
during  sleep  or  those  produced  by  a  conjurer  or  those 
resulting  from  a  want  of  mental  concentration  are 
referred  to  in  VI,  162,  v.  10. 

The  extreme  velocity  of  Indra's  chariot  descending 
precipitately  towards  the  earth  produces  a  sort  of  illu- 
sion that  the  earth  itself  is  descending  from  the  summits 
of  mountains  emerging  suddenly  into  view  (  VII,  189, 
v.  8  ).  The  transition  from  the  false  knowledge  of  a 
thing  to  the  true  knowledge  of  the  same  by  means  of 
inference  based  on  reliable  evidence  is  described  in 
VII,  209,  v.  31.  From  VI,  173,  v.  31,  we  know  how  our 
own  absorbing  interest  in  certain  things  can  make 
dead  things  alive. 

X.  Abstract  World — The  chief  purpose  in  introduc- 
ing comparisons  in  any  composition  is  to  illustrate 
abstract  notions  by  means  of  concrete  instances.  But 
in  Kalidasa  as  in  some  English  poets  like  Shelley  and 
others,  we  notice  a  reversion  of  the  usual  process.  At 
times  a  personified  abstraction  becomes  the  standard 
of  comparison.  The  following  are  the  instances  of 
abstract  comparisons  : — 

An  elephant,  terrified  at  the  sight  of  the  king's 
chariot,  enters  the  sacred  grove  of  Kanva,  appearing  as 
if  he  were  a  corporeal  interruption  to  his  penance  (  I, 
38,  v.  30  ).  In  VII,  193,  v.  13,  Sakuntala,  who  was  in 
fact  the  object  of  the  king's  desire,  is  identified  with 
the  desire  itself.  The  happy  union  of  Dusyanta,  Sakun- 
tala and  their  son  is  compared  to  an  accidental  combi- 
nation of  Faith,  Fortune  and  Action  (VII,  21  8,  v.  29). 
The  faultless  beauty  of  Sakuntala  is  compared  to  a  full 
reward  of  meritorious  deeds  ( II,  54,  v.  10  ).  The  king 
in  a  repenting   mood,   recounting   his  first  happy  love- 


222  P.  K.  GODE 

making  with  Sakuntala  compares  it  to  merit  worn  out 
with  that  much  of  scanty  reward  (  VI,  162,  v,  10  ). 
Other  instances  of  personifications  are  commonly  met 
with  : — Disasters  crowd  at  loop  holes  (VI,  158,9). 
Fate  is  indeed  all-prevailing  (  VI,  160,  5  ).  The  ambi- 
tion of  the  magnanimous  is  indeed  high-soaring  (  VII, 
192,  13  ).  Dusyanta's  fame  is  established  on  the  sur- 
face of  heaven  ( VII,  186,  7  ).  Hunger  has  almost  eaten 
up  VidQsaka  (VI,  165,  11  ). 

XI.  Conventions,  poetic  and  otherwise — It  is  a  fact, 
patent  to  all  lovers  of  Sanskrit  literature,  that  many  of  the 
ideas  which  were  originally  full  of  fire  and  fancy  in  spite 
of  their  exaggeration,  became  an  the  hands  of  later  poets 
quite  petrified  and  conventional.  It  is  no  wonder, 
therefore,  if  we  find  in  Kalidasa  side  by  side  with  pure 
gold  some  dregs  of  the  baser  metals  in  spite  of  all  his 
alchemy  of  imagination. 

The  cool  rays  of  the  moon  pour  down  fire  on  a 
love-smitten  person  (  III,  16,  v.  3  ).  There  seems  to 
have  been  a  set  description  of  love-struck  persons  given 
in  some  ancient  works  since  it  is  remarked  by  Anasuya 
that  the  above-named  description  is  applicable  to  her 
friend  Sakuntala  ( III,  70,  v.  14  ).  The  comparison  of 
an  eye-brow  with  a  creeper  is  quite  hackneyed  ( III,  77 
v.  13  ).  The  influence  of  the  moon  on  the  night-lotus- 
es, which  is  referred  to  in  almost  all  the  Sanskrit  Kavyas, 
is  a  tiresome  source  of  comparisons  (  III,  79,  v.  15  )  ; 
(  IV,  95,  v.  3  ).  The  earth  is  looked  upon  as  a  co-wife 
of  a  sovereign  (  III,  81,  v.  18  ).  The  separation  of  the 
male  and  female  Cakravaka  birds  is  quite  proverbial 
(  III,  85,  3  ).  The  Malaya  mountain  as  the  natural 
home  of  Candana  trees  is  referred  to  in  IV,  113,  12. 
The  young  ones  of  the  cuckoos  are  brought  up  in  the 
nests  of  crows  {  V,  138,  v.  22  ).     It  is  for  the  naturalists 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS.     223 

to  test  the  truth  of  this  convention.  The  representation 
of  Cupid  as  armed  with  bow  and  arrow  is  the  same  in 
English  and  Sanskrit  poetry  (V,  138,  v.  23  ;  VI,  153,  v.  4)« 
Mango-blossom  is  the  sixth  arrow  of  the  God  of  Love 
(  VI,  152,  v.  3  ;  VI,  158,  v.  8  ). 

The  intoxication  felt  by  bees  at  the  sight  of 
mango-blossom,  though  natural,  has  become  almost  a 
passport  to  the  attainment  of  poetic  dignity  (VI,  151, 
S). 

The  peculiar  virtue  of  Harhsa  birds  to  suck  up 
milk  only  and  discard  water  when  a  mixture  of  both  is 
offered  is  a  time-worn  convention  (VI.  181,  v.  8.) 

Some  general  conclusions — From  the  foregoing 
conspectus  of  ideas  it  will  be  abundantly  clear  that 
Kalidasa's  susceptibility  to  the  uncommon  aspects  of 
common  things  was  exceptionally  keen.  Even  from 
the  results  of  analysis  at  my  disposal,  I  am  happy  to 
note  that  his  intellect  was  truly  comprehensive  and  it 
appropriated  every  thing  that  stood  within  its  range. 
His  knowledge  of  nature  was  quite  first-hand.  Dusyanta's 
first  love  has  gained  a  permanent  footing.     He  says  : — 

"  It  is  as  impossible  for  his  heart  to  leave  the 
object  of  his  love  as  for  water  in  a  low  place  to  flow  to 
a  higher  one."     (Ill,  65,  foot-note  1.) 7 

To  take  another  instance.  No  comparison  depicts 
more  skill  in  word-painting  than  what  is  contained  in 
the  description  of  dust,  first  raised  by  the  hoofs  of 
horses  and  then  settling  down  on  the  trees  of  KanvVs 
penance-grove.     The   mass  of  dust    is  compared  to   a 

7  Though  this  stanza  is  given  in  the  foot-note  in  the 
edition  I  have  used  for  reference,  I  am  inclined  to  ascribe  it  to 
Kalidasa  on  account  of  its  simplicity  and  beauty. 


224  P.  K.  GODE 

swarm  of  locusts  : 

Does  not  this  comparison  bespeak  Kalidasa's  freshness 
of  outlook  on  nature  ?  Has  he  not  the  rare  power  of 
visualizing  things  by  means  of  slight  suggestions,  which 
Tennyson  or  Browning  among  others  depict  in  abun- 
dance ? 

Another  noteworthy  point  with  regard  to  his 
knowledge  of  nature  is  that  he  drew  no  line  of  demar- 
cation between  nature  and  man.  Relations  of  men  in 
society  are  illustrated  by  those  between  plant  and 
plant.  In  particular  we  find  in  the  Sdkuntala  that  all 
differences  between  the  plant  life  and  the  animal  life 
are  completely  obliterated  and  life  as  a  whole  is  pre- 
sented to  us. 

A  very  exalted  type  of  imagination  is  required  to 
describe  in  detail  the  whole  aerial  experience  of 
Dusyanta.  How  for  instance  the  earth  appears  to  have 
been  tossed  up  towards  Dusyanta  in  his  downward 
flight  is  sublimely  described  in  VII,  189,  v.  8.  There 
were  no  aeroplanes  in  Kalidasa's  time  and  still  wonder- 
fully enough  the  whole  description  tallies  mutatis 
mutandis  with  that  given  by  Mr.  H.  G.  Wells8  in  one 
of  his  articles,  where  he  informs  us  of  his  first  aerial 
experience. 

Then  again  I  have  to  emphasize  that  every  com- 
parison can  never  be  a  sign  of  genius.  Comparisons 
like  every  thing  else  in  this  world  have  their  own 
aesthetics.  In  the  first  place  they  must  be  apt.  When 
a  pedant  on  seeing  a  high  tower  remarked  :  "  What 
a  phrase  of  building  !  "  he  really  proved  his  incapacity 
to   be  either  a  child  or  a  poet. 

8  "  How  an  Englishman  looks  at  the  world",  passim. 


PSYCHOLOGICAL  STUDY  OF  K.'S  UPAMXS     225 

That  Kalidasa's  comparisons  show  this  aptness 
without  fail  can  be  shown  by  referring  to  a  few 
instances.  Priyarhvada  congratulating  her  friend 
Sakuntala  upon  getting  a  suitable  husband  says  : — 

(IV,  69,  19-20). 

The  aptness  and  the  beauty  of  the  comparisons 
consist  in  the  poet's  power  to  illustrate  a  worldly 
relation  by  means  of  an  instance  from  religious  life. 

On  the  other  hand  in  the  hands  of  the  VidGsaka 
every  thing  serious  and  sacred  becomes  vulgar  and 
comic.  When  thrashed  out  severely  by  Matali  he 
says  :— f^TSJTR  mfa:  i  (IV,  182,  1).  Elsewhere  speak- 
ing of  Dusyanta  gone  mad  with  love,  he  says  : — 
aft^r  ^  *$rsfa  ^^p^rforr  etc.,  (VI,  157,  8).  Berg- 
son's  theory  of  laughter  is  fully  illustrated  in  the 
development  of  the  Vidusaka's  character,  for,  while 
speaking  of  the  soul  he  always  refers  to  the  body  and 
all  its  vulgar  affections.9 

Other  qualities  of  comparisons  such  as  novelty, 
variety  etc.  need  no  particular  illustration  as  they  are 
apparent  from  the  classification  of  the  sources  of  com- 
parisons furnished  above. 

The  student  of  English  literature  will  be  surprised 
not  to  find  in  Kalidasa  those  '  long-tailed  '  compari- 
sons which  he  finds  in  abundance  in  Milton  or  in 
Homer.  The  deliberate  hammering  out  of  a  single 
idea,  howsoever  skilfully  managed,  produces  on  us  an 
impression  of  artificiality,  which  is  in  no  way  helpful 
to  work  of  creative  art,  for,  artifice  can  never  stand 
on  par  with  creative  art.  Kalidasa's  comparisons  are 
almost  all  of  them  direct  and  they  appeal  to  an  Indian 

9  Laughter  by  H.  Bergson,  p.  53. 
F.  o.  c.  II  29] 


226  P.  K.  GODE 

mind  as  they  depict  Indian  civilization  nurtured  in  the 
forest  and  not  within  the  city  walls  as  in  the  case  of 
Greeks  and  Romans.  There  is,  therefore,  noticeable 
in  all  of  them  a  freedom  of  spirit  resulting  from  every- 
day contact  with  the  vital  force  in  Nature. 


PHILOSOPHY 


INDIAN   AESTHETICS. 

BY 
M.  HlRIYANNA. 

It  has  become  somewhat  of  a  commonplace  in 
these  days  to  speak  of  the  ancient  Hindus  as  having 
achieved  distinction  in  Philosophy.  But  the  word 
1  philosophy '  is  so  loosely  used  and  the  phases  of 
philosophic  investigation  are  so  many  and  so  varied 
in  character  that  such  an  opinion,  standing  by  itself, 
cannot  be  taken  to  indicate  anything  beyond  a  certain 
aptitude  of  the  Hindu  mind  for  abstract  speculation. 
A  signal  illustration  of  the  indefiniteness  of  this 
opinion  is  furnished  by  Max  Muller,  the  very  scholar 
that  was  largely  responsible  for  giving  currency  to  the 
view  that  the  ancient  Hindus  were  highly  gifted 
philosophically  ;  for  while  he  at  one  time  described 
them  as  '  a  nation  of  philosophers  ',  yet,  at  another 
time,  gave  out  as  his  considered  opinion  that  '  the 
idea  of  the  beautiful  in  Nature  did  not  exist  in  the 
Hindu  mind.'1  The  fact  is  that  a  vague  and  general 
statement  like  the  above  is  of  little  practical  value 
unless  it  is  supported  by  evidence  of  progress  made 
in  the  various  departments  of  philosophic  study,  such 
as  Logic,  Psychology  and  Metaphysics.  Here  is  a  vast 
field  for  the  student  of  Indian  antiquities  to  labour  in 
and  the  harvest,  if  well  garnered,  will  be  of  advantage 
not  only  for  the  history  of  Indian  thought  but  also,  it 
may  be  hoped,  for  Universal  Philosophy.  The  object 
of  the  present  Paper  is  to  indicate,  however  slightly  it 
may  be,  the  nature  of  the  advance  made  by  the  Indians 
in  one  bye-path  of  philosophy,   viz.,   aesthetics   or   the 

1  See     'The   Philosophy   of  the  Beautiful'   by  William 
Knight,  Part  I,  p.  17. 


230  M.  HIRIYANNA 

inquiry  into  the  character  of  Beauty  in  Nature  as  well 
as  in  Art. 

2.  The  most  noticeable  feature  of  Indian  philosophy 
is  the  stress  which  it  lays  upon  the  influence 
which  knowledge  ought  to  have  on  life.  None  of  the 
systems  that  developed  in  the  course  of  centuries  in 
India  stopped  short  at  the  discovery  of  truth  ;  but 
each  followed  it  up  by  an  inquiry  as  to  how  the  dis- 
covered truth  could  be  best  applied  to  the  practical 
problems  of  life.  The  ultimate  goal  of  philosophic 
quest  was  not  knowledge  (tattva-jndna)  so  much  as  the 
achievement  of  true  freedom  (moksa).  Indian  philo- 
sophy was  thus  more  than  a  way  of  thought  ;  it  was  a 
way  of  life  ;  and  whoever  entered  upon  its  study  was 
expected  to  aim  at  more  than  an  intellectual  assimila- 
tion of  its  truths  and  try  to  bring  his  every-day  life  into 
conformity  with  them.  Consistently  with  this  prag- 
matic aim,  ethics  occupies  a  very  important  place  in 
Indian  philosophy.  Like  ethics,  aesthetics  is  depend- 
ent upon  philosophy  and  like  ethics,  it  aims  chiefly  at 
influencing  life.  When  such  is  the  kinship  between 
ethics  and  aesthetics,  is  it  probable  that  a  people  who 
devoted  so  much  attention  to  one  of  them,  altogether 
neglected  the  other  ?  Is  it  conceivable  that  they  who 
showed  special  power  in  the  grasp  of  the  good  did  not 
even  stumble  upon  the  kindred  conception  of  the 
beautiful  ?  We  are  not  however  left  to  such  vague 
surmises  ;  for,  not  infrequently  we  find  in  Sanskrit 
philosophical  works2  parallels  drawn  from  art  which 
imply  that  the  close  relation  of  the  beautiful  to  the 
good  and  the  true  was  not  all  unknown  to  ancient 
India.     We  have  even   more   direct   evidence    in    the 

2  Compare  e.  g.  Sirhkhya-Karika,   si.   65  ;   Samkhya-Tattvar 
kaumudi  on  si.  42,  59  ;   and  Pahcadaii  of  Vidyaratjya,  ch.  X. 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  231 

numerous  works  in  Sanskrit  on  Poetics  which,  though 
their  set  purpose  is  only  to  elucidate  the  principles 
exemplified  in  Poetry  and  the  Drama,  yet  furnish 
adequate  data  for  constructing  a  theory  of  fine  art  in 
general.  A  consideration  of  the  teachings  of  these 
works  shows  us  that  Indian  aesthetics  had  its  own 
history  ;  and  the  process  of  its  evolution  as  may  well  be 
expected,  followed  closely  that  of  general  philosophy. 

3.  It  is  well-known  that  the  earliest  philosophy 
of  India  consisted  in  the  explanation  of  the  universe 
by  means  of  a  number  of  supernatural  powers  called 
'  devas  ',  'the  shining  ones  ',  or  4gods  '.  This  plural- 
istic explanation  however  soon  appeared  inadequate  to 
the  growing  philosophic  consciousness  of  the  Indian  ; 
and  a  quest  began  thereafter  whose  aim  was  to  discover 
the  unity  underlying  the  diversity  of  the  world.  The 
history  of  this  quest  is  very  long  and  can  be  traced 
from  the  Mantras,  through  the  BrdhmavaSj  down  to 
the  period  of  the  Upanisads.  Various  principles  were 
in  turn  regarded  as  representing  this  ultimate  reality 
some  concrete,  others  abstract — and  although  each 
solution  was  in  turn  given  up  as  unsatisfactory,  the 
search  itself  was  not  abandoned  until  an  abiding  con- 
clusion was  reached  in  what  is  known  as  *  the  dtman 
doctrine '  of  the  Upanisads.  The  central  point  of 
this  doctrine  is  that  whatever  is,  is  one  ;  and  that  its 
essence  is  manifested  more  clearly  in  the  inner  self  of 
man  than  in  the  outer  world.  This  doctrine  brought 
about  a  total  revolution  in  the  point  of  view  from 
which  speculation  had  proceeded  till  then ;  for  the 
ultimate  reality  was  no  longer  regarded  as  something 
external  but  as  fundamentally  identical  with  man's 
own  self.  The  enunciation  of  the  absolute  kinship  of 
Nature  with  Man  marks   the    most    important    advance 


232  M.  HIRIYANNA 

in  the  whole  history  of  Indian  thought.  I  am  not, 
however,  for  the  moment,  concerned  with  this  philo- 
sophic solution  in  general,  reached  in  the  Upanisadic 
period.  I  am  interested  only  in  emphasising  one 
aspect  of  it,  viz.,  that  what  we  commonly  regard  as  real 
is  not  in  itself  the  ultimate  reality  but  only  a  semblance 
of  it.  The  world  of  sense,  equally  with  the  world  of 
thought,  is  but  an  appearance  of  the  ultimate  Truth  — 
an  imperfect  expression  of  it  but  yet  adequate,  if 
rightly  approached,  to  point  to  the  underlying  unity. 
Neither  our  senses  nor  our  mind  can  grasp  this  unity, 
but  so  much  of  it  as  they  can  grasp  is  sufficient  to  find 
out  its  true  meaning  and  realise  it  within  ourselves. 

4.  There  is  a  second  aspect  of  Indian  philosphy 
to  which  it  is  necessary  to  draw  attention  before  speak- 
ing of  Indian  art.  The  earliest  philosophy  of  India 
had  a  supernatural  basis.  Although  the  objects  of 
early  Aryan  worship  were  in  reality  only  powers  of 
Nature,  there  were  supposed  to  be  working  behind 
them  supernatural  beings.  So  long  as  this  belief 
continued,  the  ambition  of  the  Indian  in  this  life  was  to 
secure  the  favour  of  those  beings  with  a  view  to  attain 
companionship  with  them  hereafter.  This  eschatologi- 
cal  view  changed  with  the  change  of  belief  in  the  gods, 
but  yet  for  long  afterwards  there  lingered  the  view  that 
the  highest  good  that  man  could  attain  was  attainable 
only  after  death.  With  an  ideal  like  this,  man 
naturally  looked  upon  the  present  life  as  merely  a 
passage  to  another  and  a  better  one.  He  lived  mainly 
for  the  coming  world,  disregarding,  if  not  altogether 
discarding,  the  realities  of  this  life.  Asceticism  was  the 
natural  outcome  of  it.  In  course  of  time  this  ideal  of 
practical  life  also  underwent  a  change,  not  less  import- 
ant than  the  change  on  the  speculative  side  to  which  I 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  233 

have  already  referred  and  it  came  to  be  believed  that 
the  highest  ideal  that  man  could  attain  was  attainable 
on  this  side  of  death,  here  and  now.  The  full  develop- 
ment of  this  view  belongs  to  the  period  that  followed 
the  composition  of  the  classical  Upani?ads  but  its 
source  can  be  traced  earlier  in  those  Upanisadic 
passages  which  refer  to  Jlvamnukti'6.  Jivanmukti>  to 
speak  from  the  purely  philosophic  standpoint,  marks 
the  highest  conception  of  freedom.  It  is  one  of  the 
points  where  Indian  philosophy  emerges  clearly  from 
Indian  religion;  for,  the  goal  of  existence  according  to 
this  conception  is  not  the  attainment  of  a  hypothetical 
bliss  hereafter  but  the  finding  of  true  freedom  on  this 
bank'  and  shoal  of  time.  It  is  difficult  to  exaggerate 
the  importance  of  this  change.  It  transformed  the 
whole  outlook  of  the  Indian  upon  life  and  remoulded 
his  ethical  ideal.  The  ideal,  no  doubt,  was  yet  as  far 
as  ever  from  the  average  man;  but  what  once  was  more 
or  less  a  matter  of  pure  speculation  had  been  brought 
within  the  possibility  of  positive  experience.  The  aim 
of  life  was  no  longer  conceived  as  something  to  be 
sought  for  beyond  this  world,  but  to  be  realised  here, 
and  if  one  so  willed,  noiv.  The  new  ideal  was  the 
achievement  of  a  life  of  harmony,  not  thro'  the  extinguish  - 
ment  of  interests  but  by  an  expansion  of  them — not 
through  repressing  natural  impulses  but  by  purifying 
and  refining  them.  It  was  a  mode  of  living  character- 
ised by ,  passionless  purity  and  an  equal  love  for  all, 
such  for  instance  as  is  described  in  flowing  terms  more 
than  once  in    the   Bhagavadgita4.     For  the   realisation 

3  The  word  j-ivanmukta  is  not  known  to  the  Upanisads  ; 
but  the  conception  is  there  all  the  same.  Cf.  e.g  ,  Katha.  Up. 
v.  i.,  vi.  14. 

4  e.g.,  v.,  23-5- 

IF.  O.  C.  II  30I 


234  M.  HIRIYANNA 

of  this  ideal,  the  training  of  the  feelings  was  a  necessary 
preliminary  and  in  consequence,  the  first  aim  of  life 
came  to  be  looked  upon  not  so  much  the  cultivation  of 
the  intellect  or  the  development  of  the  will  ;  as  the 
culture  of  the  emotions. 

5.  In  these  two  characteristic  features  of  early 
Indian  philosophy,  it  seems  to  me,  we  have  the  main 
influences  which  moulded  the  theory  of  art  as  it  is 
disclosed  to  us  in  Sanskrit  works  on  Poetics.  We  do 
not  know  when  this  class  of  works  began  to  appear, 
Tradition  is  at  one5  in  counting  Bhdmaha  among  the 
earliest  writers  on  Poetics;  but  in  him  we  see  the 
subject  has  already  assumed  a  definite  shape.  His 
name,  along  with  those  of  some  others  like  Udbhata, 
Rudrata,  Dandin  and  Vdmana  is  associated  with  a 
distinctive  canon  of  poetry.  There  are  indeed  differ- 
ences in  matters  of  detail  among  these  writers.  For 
instance,  there  is  no  clear  distinction  recognised 
between  gunas  and  alathkdras  by  some,6  while  others 
give  the  one  or  the  other  of  these  the  first  place  in 
judging  the  worth  of  a  poem7.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
enter  into  these  details  here;  for  all  these  writers,  in 
spite  of  minor  differences,  exhibit  cognate  ways  of 
thinking.  We  may  therefore  regard  them  as,  on  the 
whole,  representing  the  first  stage  in  the  growth  of 
poetic  criticism.  In  the  writers  of  this  prdclna  school 
we  find  the  subject  of  poetry  dealt  with  under  three 
heads  dosas,  gunas}  and  alathkdras.  The  last,  alath- 
karas,  may  be  left  out  of  consideration  here;  for,  in  the 
first  place,  they  are  not  recognised  by  all  to  be  essential, 

5  Comp  :  e.g.,  first  sloka  of  the  Prataparudnya  ;   Alamkara 
Sarvasva  (Nir  :  S.  Pr.)  p.  3. 

6  e.g.,  by  Udbhata  (see  Alamkara-Sarvasva,  by  Ruyyaka 
p.  7.) 

7  See  Vamana  :   '  Kavyalamkara  Sutra  '  III,  i,  I,  2,  and  3. 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  235 

and  in  the  second,  they  almost  exclusively  relate 
to  imaginative  literature  and  have  no  proper  place  in 
any  general  theory  of  art.  Some  of  the  conditions  laid 
down  under  the  remaining  two  heads  are  intended  only 
to  secure  logical  or  grammatical  requirements  such  as 
coherence  of  thought  and  correctness  of  language.  Even 
the  others  as  we  shall  presently  see,  rareley  allude  to 
the  central  essence  of  poetry.  Where  they  do  involve 
a  reference  to  this  essence,  its  importance  is  misjudged 
and  only  a  subordinate  place  is  assigned  to  it."  The 
attention  of  this  school  is  practically  confined  to  the 
outward  expression  of  poetry  viz.,  sabda  (word)  and 
artha  (sense).  Certain  forms  of  these  are  regarded  as 
dosas  and  certain  others  asgwnas;  and  it  is  held  that 
what  confers  excellence  on  Poetry  is  the  absence  of  the 
one  and  the  presence  of  the  other. 

6.  There  is  another  school  known  as  the  later  or 
navlna  school  of  critics,  the  theory  advanced  by  whom 
is  far  different.  As  in  the  case  of  the  earlier  school, 
this  also  seems  to  have  had  more  than  one  branch. 
We  shall  here  consider  the  most  important  of  them  as 
represented  by  the  Dhvanyaloka.  Apparently  it  is  the 
oldest  work  of  the  kind  extant;  but  this  very  work 
contains  evidence  of  the  fact  that  the  point  of  view 
which  it  adopts  in  judging  poetry  had  been  more  or 
less  well-known  for  a  long  time  before.9  This 
work  starts  by  distinguishing  between  two  kinds  of 
meaning — the  explicit  and  the  implcit — and  attempts 
to  estimate  the  worth  of  a  poem  by  reference  to  the 
latter  rather  than  to  the  former.10    The  explicit   mean- 

8  Vide    Alamkara     Sarvasva    by     Ruyyaka,    pp.  3 — 7) 
Dhvanyaloka  pp.  9 — 10. 

9  Vide  sloka  i,  i  ;  iii,  34,  52,  also  the  final  iloka  of  the  Aloka. 

10  Vide  Dhvanyaloka  i,  3-5. 


236  M.  HIRIYANNA 

ing,  no  less  than  the  words  in  which  it  is  clothed, 
constitutes,  according  to  this  view,  the  mere  vesture 
of  poetry.11  They  together  are  its  outward  em- 
bodiment— the  necessary  conditions  under  which  a 
poetic  mood  manifests  itself.  These  external  and 
accidental  features  alone  appealed  to  the  earlier  school. 
But  the  critic  of  the  new  school  concentrated  his 
attention  on  the  implicit  meaning  which  forms  the 
real  essence  of  poetry.  From  this  new  standpoint 
things  like  dosas  or  gunas,  in  settling  the  nature  of 
which  there  was  once  so  much  controversy,  are  easily 
explained.  It  is  as  though  we  are  now  in  possession 
of  the  right  key  to  the  understanding  of  all  poetry. 
Whatever  in  sound  or  sense  subserves  the  poetic  end 
in  view  is  a  guna ;  whatever  does  not,  is  a  dosa12. 
Dosas  and  gunas  are  relative  in  character.  There  is 
no  absolute  standard  of  valuation  for  them.  They  are 
to  be  judged  only  in  reference  to  the  inner  meaning 
which  constitutes  the  truly  poetical.  The  artist  never 
really  feels  concerned  about  them  ;  for,  a  thought  or 
feelinge  xperienced  with  poetic  intensity  is  sure  to 
find  expression.  The  expression  is  also  likely  to  ibe 
more  or  less  imperfect,  but  the  question  is  not  whether 
it  is  perfect,  but  whether  it  is  adequate  to  convey  the 
thought  or  emotion  to  others.  If  it  is  adequate,  it  is 
good  poetry,  otherwise,  it  is  not. 

7.  The  implicit  meaning  is  three-fold  and  the 
poet  may  aim  at  communicating  a  fact  (vasiu)  or 
transferring  an  imaginative  (alamkdra)  or  an  emotional 
mood  (rasa).  The  first  is  obviously  the  least  poetic 
and    whatever   artistic    character    it    may    possess    is 

ii    Id.  1,7-12. 

12    Cf.  Dhvanyaloka,  ii,  6. 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  237 

entirely  due  to  treatment  and  not  to'subject.  We  may, 
therefore  consider  here  only  the  remaining  two,  which 
have  their  bases  respectively  in  imagination  and  feel- 
ing. True  art  is  no  doubt  a  compound  of  feeling  and 
imagination  but  in  any  particular  case  the  one  or  the 
other  may  predominate  and  the  two-fold  classification 
should  be  regarded  as  having  reference  to  the  pre- 
dominant factor.  In  this  view  art  represents  the  almost 
spontaneous  expression  of  a  responsive  mind  when  it 
comes  Hinder  the  spell  of  an  imaginative  or  an 
emotional  mood.  It  wasrthis  expression-the  outward 
element  of  poetry  and  not  its  inner  springs  which  the 
older  school  of  critics  analysed13.  The  later  school,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  occupied  itself  with  what  this 
expression  signifies.  The  expression  was  important  to 
them  only  as  a  means  of  suggesting  or  pointing  to  the 
implicit  significance.  'Here  we  find  a  theory  of  art 
which  exactly  corresponds  to  the  doctrine  of  [dtmatu 
Just  as  the  passing  things  of  experience  are  not  in 
themselves  real  but  only  imperfect  manifestations  of 
Reality,  so  word  and  explicit  meaning  are  but  the 
exterior  of  poetry  and  until  we  penetrate  beneath  that 
exterior,  we  do  not  reach  the  poetic  ultimate. 

8.  So  far  we  have  considered  the  essence  of 
poetry  as  consisting  in  the  imaginative  thought  or  the 
emotional  mood  which  a  poet  succeeds  in 
communicating  to  us.  But  gradually  more  stress  came 
to  belaid  upon  the  latter  than  upon  the  former.  Under 
the  influence  of  the  altered  ethical  ideal  to  which 
allusion  has  been  made  above  art  came  to  be  more  and 
more  utilised  as  a  means  of  emotional  culture. 
There  was  peculiar  fitness  in  its  being   so   used,  for  it 

13  See  Dhvanyaloka,  iii,  52. 


238  M.  HIRIYANNA 

can,  not  only  teach,  but  also  please  and  while  it  can 
successfully  persuade,  it  can  keep  its  persuasive 
character  concealed  from  view.  It  was  thus  that 
poetry  came  to  be  viewed  as  possessing  a  double  aim — 
the  direct  one  of  giving  aestheic  delight  (Sadyah-para 
nirvrti)  and  the  indirect  one  of  contributing  toward 
the  refinement  of  character14.  This  particular  use  to 
which  art  was  put  made  Rasa  more  important  than 
either  Vastu  or  Alamkara15.  It  is  this  change  in  the 
nature  of  Sanskrit  poetry  that  is  meant  when  it  is 
stated  that  rasa  is  the  dtman  of  poetry — a  statement 
which  by  the  way  shows  clearly  the  dependence  of 
this  canon  on  the  dtman  doctrine  of  the  Upanisads. 
When  the  predominance  of  rasa  came  to  be  insisted 
upon  as  indispensable  to  artistic  excellence,  many  of  the 
systems  of  philosophy  applied  their  own  fundamental 
principles  to  its  interpretation  so  that  in  course  of 
time  there  came  to  be  more  than  one  theory  of  rasa. 
I  shall  devote  the  rest  of  the  paper  to  an  elucidation 
of  these  theories  according  to  two  of  the  chief  systems, 
viz.,  Vedanta  and  Sarhkhya  alluding  incidentally  to 
the  corresponding  conceptions  of  Beauty  in  Nature  :— 
9.  And  first  as  regards  the  Vedanta.  Among 
the  various  approximate  terms  used  in  the  Upanisads 
to  denote  Brahman,  one  is  TLnanda,  Ananda  means 
bliss  ;  and  Brahman  according  to  the  monistic  and 
idealistic  teaching  of  the  Upanisads,  represents  the 
inner  harmony  of  the  universe.  Brahman  is  termed 
dnanda  because  of  the  restful  bliss  that  results  from 
realising  that  harmony.  Brahman  is  so  termed  for 
instance  in  the  Tait.  Up.  iii.  The  appropriateness  of 
the  term  dnanda  consists  just  in  this  suggestion  that  the 
harmony  of  the  universe  must  be  realised  in  one's  own 

14  Cf.  e.g.    Kavyaprakaga,  i,  2. 

15  Cf.    e.g.,  Dhvanyaloka.  p.  27  (con). 


INDIAN   AESTHETICS  239 

experience  and  not  merely  intellectually  apprehended; 
for  there  can  be  no  such  thing  as  mediated  dnanda. 
This  word  contains  the  clue  to  the  whole  aesthetic 
theory  of  the  Vedanta.  Common  experience  takes  for 
granted  that  variety  is  the  ultimate  truth.  According 
to  the  Vedanta,  the  final  truth  lies  in  the  unification 
of  this  variety  through  a  proper  synthesis.  But  this 
unification  is  what  takes  place  in  perfect  knowledge. 
Commonly  we  are  occupied  with  appearances  which 
give  only  a  fragmentary  view  of  Reality.  They  alone 
concern  us  in  our  everyday  life.  But  he  who  attains 
perfect  knowledge — the  jlvanmukta — transcends  this 
fragmentary  view.  He  may  continue  to  perceive 
variety;  but  it  ceases  to  have  any  ultimate  significance 
for  him.  He  merges  in  the  unity  which  he  realises 
all  separate  existence  including  his  own  and  enjoys 
dnanda — the  peace  that  passeth  understanding.  This 
higher  view-point  is  not  possible  for  us  while  we  are  yet 
on  the  empirical  plane.  We  are  absorbed  in  the  narrow 
distinction  between  the  self  and  the  not-self.  But 
sometimes,  though  rarely,  there  is  a  break  in  this 
routine  and  then  in  the  sudden  transition  from  one 
empirical  state  to  another,  we  transcend  our  narrow 
selves.  Our  connection  with  the  work-a-day  world 
seems  to  snap.  We  do  not  indeed  realise  then 
like  the  knower,  the  unity  of  all  that  is,  but  we  yet 
resemble  him  in  one  respect,  in  that  we  lose  sight  of 
ourselves  and  feel  delight,  however  short-lived,  it 
may  be. 

10.  But  among  the  myriad  impressions  that  reach 
us  from  the  outer  world,  what  is  it  that  gives  rise  to 
such  an  attitude  ?  This  question  admits  of  a  variety 
of  answers.  It  is  now  symmetry,  now  novelty,  and 
now  something  else;  and  it  is  this  variety  that  accounts 


240  M.  HBUYANNA 

for  the  almost  bewildering  number  of  theories  of  the 
Beautiful  that  one  finds  in  any  history,  of  aesthetics. 
According  to  the  Vedanta,  these  do  not  constitute  true 
Beauty  at  all  but  are  only  its  outward  and  visible 
symbols.  Though  diverse  in  themselves  they  point  to 
the  same  underlying  harmony  which  constitutes  real 
Beauty.  But,  this  perfect  Beauty  which  is  identical 
with  the  ultimate  Reality  is  revealed  only  to  the 
knower.  We  perceive  only  its  outward  symbols  and 
we  may-  describe  them  as  beautiful,  in  a  secondary 
sense,  since  we  experience  dnanda  at.  their 
sight.  Those  who  identify  Beauty  with  these 
external  factors  and  seek  it  as  an  attribute  forget  that 
while  these  are  perceivable  by  the.  senses,:  Beauty  is 
disclosed  only  to  the  'inward  eye.'  True  Beauty  is 
neither  expressible  in  words  nor  knowable  objectively; 
itican  only  be  realised. 

luV  Beauty  in  Nature  then,  as  we  commonly 
understand,  is  anything  that  brings  about  a  break  in 
the  routine  life  and  serves  as  a  point  of  departure 
towards  the:  realisation  of  delight.  This  is  the  only 
condition  which  it  should  satisfy.  But  what  is  the.  signi- 
ficance of  this  break?  Generally-  we  lead  a  life  of 
continuous  tension,  bent  as  we  are  upon  securing  aims 
more  or  less  personal  in  character.  In  Sarhkara's  words 
life  is  characterised  by  avidLya-kama-karma,  i.e.,  desite 
and  strife,  arising  out  of  the  ignorance  of  the  ultimate 
truth.  When  we  are  not  actively,- engaged  we  may?  feel 
this  tension  relaxed;  but  that  feeling  of  the  relaxation 
is  deceptive  for  even  then  self-interest  persists  as  may 
be  within  the  experience  of  us  all.  Delight  means  the 
transcending  of  even  this  inner  strain.  The  absence  of 
desire  then  ist  he  determining  condition,  of  pleasure; 
andiits  presence,  that  of  pain*     The   absencu  of  desire 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  241 

may  be  due  to  any  cause  whatever — to  a  particular  desire 
having  been  gratified  or  to  there  being,  for  the  time, 
nothing  to  desire.  The  chief  thing  is  that  the  selfish 
attitude  of  the  mind-the  'egocentric  predicament'-must 
be  transcended  at  least  temporarily,  and  a  point  of 
detachment  has  to  be  reached  before  we  can  enjoy 
happiness.  Joy  or  bliss  is  the  intrinsic  nature  of  the 
self  according  to  the  Vedanta,  that  being  the  signi- 
ficance of  describing  the  ultimate  reality  as  dnanda.  The 
break  in  the  routine  life  restores  this  character  to  the 
self.  If  its  intrinsic  nature  is  not  always  manifest,  it  is 
because  desire  veils  it.  When  this  veil  is  stripped  off, 
no  matter  how,  the  real  nature  of  dtman  asserts  itself 
and  we  feel  the  happiness  which  is  all  our  own.  In  the 
case  of  zjitanin  the  true  source  of  this  delight  is  known ; 
but  even  when  such  enlightenment  is  lacking  we  may 
experience  similar  delight.  We  may  enjoy  while  yet 
we  do  not  know.  To  use  Samkara's  words  again,  the 
ever-recurring  series  of  kdma  and  karman  or  interest  and 
activity  constitutes  life.  The  elimination  of  Kdma 
and  Karman  while  their  cause  avidyd  continues  in  a 
latent  form,  marks  the  aesthetic  attitude;  the  dismissal 
of  avidyd  even  in  this  latent  form  marks  the  saintly 
attitude.  Thus  the  artistic  attitude  is  one  of  dis- 
interested contemplation  but  not  of  true  enlightenment 
while  the  attitude  of  the  saint  is  one  of  true  enlighten- 
ment and  disinterestedness  but  not  necessarily  of 
passivity.  The  two  attitudes  thus  resemble  each  other 
in  one  important  respect,  viz,,  unselfishness. 

12.  And  now  as  regards  the  Vedantic  theory  of 
Rasa,  The  immediate  aim  of  art,  as  already  indicated, 
being  pure  delight,  the  theory  of  Rasa  in  the  Vedanta 
will  be  known  if  we  ascertain  the  conditions  that 
determine   a    pleasurable   attitude    of   the  mind.     The 

[F.  O.  C.  II  31.] 


242  M.  HIRIYANNA 

overcoming  of  desire  is  the  indispensable  condition  of 
pleasure.  The  artist  has  therefore  to  induce  an  attitude 
of  detachment  and  he  can  easily  do  it  by  means  of  the 
ideal  creations  of  his  art.  Being  products  of  fancy 
they  cannot  awaken  desire  and  when  attention  is  once 
concentrated  upon  them,  the  ordinary  state  of  tension 
caused  by  selfish  desires  is  relaxed  and  joy  ensues  as  a 
matter  of  course.  The  various  devices  of  art  such  as 
rhythm,  symmetry,  etc.,  are  intended  to  help  this  con- 
centration and  successfully  maintain  it.  They  also 
serve  another  important  purpose,  viz.,  securing  unity 
to  the  subject  portrayed.  We  have  seen  that  the 
knower  who  enjoys  perfect  beatitude  realises  unity  in 
Nature's  diversity.  Similarly  in  artistic  perception  also, 
which  is  followed  by  pure  delight,  there  is  a  realisation 
of  unity  in  variety.  But  while  in  the  one  case  what 
is  realised  is  the  truth  of  Nature,  it  is  in  the  other,  the 
truth  of  Art.  The  latter,  no  doubt,  is  a  lower  truth; 
but  there  is  yet  a  close  resemblance  between  the 
two  attitudes  ;  and  we  may  well  compare  the  person 
appreciating  art  to  a  Jlvanmukta.  He  does  indeed  get 
a  foretaste  of  tnoksa  then  ;  but  it  is  not  moksa  in  fact 
because  it  is  transient,  not  being  based  upon  perfect 
knowledge. 

13.  To  turn  to  the  Sarhkhya:  The  essential 
features  of  this  system  are  its  dualism  and  its  realism 
It  starts  with  two  Absolutes  which  are  altogether 
disparate — Prakrti  and  Purusa.  The  former  splits  up 
on  the  one  hand  into  the  entire  psychic  apparatus,  with 
buddhi  as  its  main  factor  ;  and,  on  the  other,  into  the 
physical  world  constituted  out  of  the  five  elements. 
The  Purusa  or  self  is  awareness,  pure  and  simple.  It 
stands  at  one  extreme  while  at  the  other  is  the  objective 
world.     The  whole  of  the  mental  apparatus  is  designed 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  243 

to  bring  about  a  mediation  between  them.  How 
buddhi,  itself  a  product  of  Prakrti,  can  serve  as  a 
connecting  link  between  them — how  a  physical  stimulus 
is  converted  into  a  psychical  experience, — is  a  question 
which  we  need  not  stop  to  discuss.  Our  concern  is 
not  primarily  with  Sarhkhya  psychology  or  metaphysics 
but  only  with  its  conception  of  art.  It  is  enough  for 
our  purpose  if  we  remember  that  by  such  mediation 
buddhi  enables  the  Purusa  to  realise  either  of  the  two 
ideals  of  life — bhoga  and  apavarga-that  is,  to  experience 
pleasure  and  pain  or  to  attain  spiritual  aloofness  through 
right  knowledge. 

14.  It  is  also  necessary  to  make  a  brief  reference 
here  to  the  theory  of  the  three  gunas.  The  conception 
of  gunas  is  as  difficult  to  understand  as  it  is  essential  to 
the  system.  Of  the  large  number  of  effects16  that  can 
be  traced  to  these  gunas,  sukha,  dukkha  and  moha,  which 
are  respectively  the  result  of  sattva,  rajas  and  tamos,  are 
the  most  important;  and  it  is  possible  that  the  Sariikhya 
system  is  less  concerned  with  the  intrinsic  nature  of 
things  than  with  their  meaning  for  us.  It  seems  to  aim 
primarily  at  estimating  the  value17  of  things  as  means 
of  pleasure  and  pain  and  may  therefore  be  described  as 
a  philosophy  of  valuation.  Two  applications  of  the 
doctrine  of  gunas,  we  have  to  notice  in  particular  here 
(i)  Everything  whether  it  belongs  to  the  outer  physical 
world  or  to  the  inner  psychic  apparatus  is  made  up  of 
these  three  factors.  But  some  are  predominantly 
sattvic  others   predominantly  rajasic  or  tamasic.     The 

1 6  Vide  quotation  from  Pancaiikha  in  SZ/hkhya-Pravacancr 
Bha?ya,i,  \2J. 

17  Since  no  value  has  any  meaning  apart  from  con- 
sciousness, we  probably  have  here  an  explanation  for  the 
persistent  effort  of  certain  Orientalists  to  describe  the  S.irii- 
khya  philosophy  as  idealistic. 


244  M.   HIRIYANNA 

buddhi  is  intrinsically  sattvic  in  this  sense.18     We  must, 
however,  remember  that  each  individual  buddhi  has  in 
it,  from   the  beginning,  vasanas  or   acquired  impulses 
which   may   modify  its   intrinsic  sattvic  character  and 
transform  it   into  a  predominantly  rajasic  or  tamasic 
entity,    (ii)  The  feeling  of  pain  or  pleasure   which  we 
experience   arises   from  the   inter-action     of  the   two 
spheres  of  prakrtic  development — the  buddhi  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  objective  world  on  the   other,  the  Purusa 
standing  by,  only  as  an  onlooker.     Though  the   buddhi 
owing  to  its  intrinsic  sattvic  character   should  give  rise 
only  to  pleasure,   the  play   of   its     acquired    in  pulses 
coupled  with  the  character  •  of  the   particular   physical 
object  acting  upon  it  may  reverse     this  result.     The 
same   thing  may    therefore     affect    different  persons 
differently.    That  causes   pleasure  to  one  may  cause 
pain  to  another,   and  what  one   regards   as  beautiful, 
another  may  regard  as   ugly  ;   everything  that  is   per- 
ceived  comes   to   be   viewed  through   the  distracting 
medium  of  individual  purpose,  and  we  ordinarily  Hvq 
in  a  secondary  world,  ignoring  the   intrinsic   nature  of 
things   and  setting  a  conventional  value   upon  them 
according  to  our  individual  bias. 

15.  Now  according  to  the  S&rhkhya,  the  basic 
cause  of  this  predicament  is  to  be  traced  to  a  mistaken 
identification  of  the  buddhi  with  the  Purusa.  The 
mistake  cannot  be  avoided  until  the  Purusa  dissociates 
himself  from  buddhi  altogether,  but,  according  to  the 
Sarhkhya,the  question  of  neither  pleasure  nor  pain  arises 
then.    So  far  as  the  ordinary  empirical  state  is  concerned, 

18  What  is  meant  is  that  buddhi  when   purged   of  all  its 
egoistic  impulses,  as  in  the  case  of  a  jivanmukta,  is  sattvic. 

Compare    Tattvakaumudi  on  st.  65  ;  Mtyiiprabha  on   Yoga- 
sutras  L  49.  and  SUmkhya-pravacana-bhasya  ii,  15. 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  245 

individual  purpose  or  selfish  desire  is  ineradicable  and 
life  becomes  a  condition  of  pain  mixed  with  uncertain 
pleasure.  What  is  pleasant  to  one  may  be  unpleasant 
to  another  ;  or  even  to  the  same  person  at  a  different 
time.  He  on  the  other  hand  who  acquires  true  know- 
ledge and  realises  the  intrinsic  disparateness  of  Prakrti 
and  Purusa  transcends  the  sphere  of  pain  as  well 
as  of  pleasure.  Such  a  man  is  a  Jivanmukta.  He  sees 
things  not  as  related  to  him  but  as  related  among  them- 
selves, that  is,  as  they  are  absolutely.  Everything 
impresses  him  in  the  same  way  and  nothing  excites 
his  love  or  hatred  so  that  he  is  able  to  maintain 
complete  composure  of  mind,  and  be,  as  Vijnana- 
Bhiksu  says,  serene  like  a  mountain-tarn. ia 

16.  But  such  absolute  detachment  is  beyond 
the  reach  of  ordinary  man ;  for  he  cannot  transcend 
his  buddhi.  He  cannot  therefore  grow  impersonal 
even  for  a  while.  But  we  should  not  therefore  con- 
sider that  the  average  man  cannot  escape  from 
pain  at  all  :  for  although  he  cannot  transcend  his 
buddhi,  he  can,  by  resorting  to  art,  find  a  temporary 
release  from  the  natural  world,  the  second  of  the  two 
factors  contributing  to  the  misery  of  ordinary  existence, 
Pleasure  untainted  by  sorrow  does  not  exist  in  the  real 
world  and  has  therefore  to  be  sought  outside  it  The 
world  of  art  is  no  doubt  like  nature,  but  being 
idealised  it  does  not  evoke  our  egoistic  impulses. 
There  we  have  a  distinct  class  of  things  altogether, 
which  are  not  made  up  of  the  three  gunas.  They 
cannot,  give  rise  to  either  pleasure  or  pain.  The  mind 
is  thus  enabled  to  assume  a  well-poised  attitude  of 
which  the  automatic  result  is  a  feeling  of  pleasure. 
The  artist's  function  is  thus  to  restore  equanimity  to 
19    Samkhya-sara  vii,  16. 


246  M.  HIRIYANNA 

the  mind  by  leading  us  away  from  the  common  world 
and  offering  us  another  in  exchange. 

17.  I  have  stated  that  in  not  a  few  systems  of 
philosophy,  there  was  a  deliberate  application  of 
fundamental  principles  to  the  interpretation  of  Rasa. 
The  distinctive  doctrines  of  more  than  one  system 
are  found  mentioned  in  Sanskrit  works  on  Poetics.20 
As  an  illustration  of  them,  I  shall  take  up  the  theory 
of  Rasa  associated  with  the  name  of  BhaUandyaka 
and  show  how  it  is  identical  with  the  Sarhkhya  theory 
as  briefly  sketched  above.21  BhaUandyaka  was  a 
reputed  alathkdrika  and  wrote  a  work  known  as 
Hrdaya-darpana  which,  I  believe,  has  not  been 
discovered  yet.  But  references  to  it  are  plentiful  in 
alathkdra  works,  especially  in  Abhinavagupta's  com- 
mentary on  the  Dhvanyaloka.  BhaUandyaka  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  much  older  than  Abhinavagupta 
himself.  The  following  is  a  resume  of  the  theory  as 
given  in  the  Kdvyaprakdtfa  : — 

18.  If  we  leave  out  the  references  to  the  other 
views  from  which  the  present  theory  differs,  there  are 
three  points  worthy  of  note  here  : — 

(i)  The  first  refers  to  the  nature  of  the  objects 
contemplated  in  art.  They  have  no  reference  to 
anybody  in  particular.  In  life  everything  is 
consciously  or  unconsciously  related  to  the  individual 
perceiver  (dtman)  or  to  some  one  else  (tatastha)  ;  but 
the   creations   of  art   are  wholly  impersonal.     It  is  not 

20  The  commentary  on  Alaihkara-Sarvasva   refers  to  as 

many  as  a  dozen  theories.    (Vide  P,  9.) 

21  The  Kdvyapradipa  indentifies  this   theory   as  the   one 

corresponding  to  the  Saihkhya. 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  247 

given  to  the  ordinary  man  to  transcend  personal 
relations ;  art  by  its  impersonated  forms  affords 
the  best  means  for  a  temporary  escape  from  the  ills 
of  life  arising  from  such  relations. 

(ii)  The  next  point  refers  to  three  stages  in  the 
appreciation  of  poetry  which  gradually  lead  up  to 
aesthetic  experience.  The  first  of  them  is  the 
apprehension  of  the  meaning  of  the  words  of  a  poem  ; 
the  second  the  finding  through  them  of  generalised 
conceptions  unrelated  to  any  one  in  particular  and 
lastly  the  actual  experience  of  delight.  This  statement 
brings  out  clearly  the  characteristic  of  the  Samkhya 
theory  that  aesthetic  delight  is  the  result  of  contemplat- 
ing the  imaginative  and  therefore  impersonal  creations 
of  the  poet.  In  the  passage  quoted  above  these  three 
states  are  represented  as  vydpdras  or  processes  ascrib- 
ablc  to  a  work  of  art.  The  first  of  them  is  abhidhd 
by  means  of  which  the  words  constituting  a  poem 
convey  their  ordinary  meaning.  The  second  is 
bhdvand.22  It  is  the  process  of  impersonating  by 
virtue  of  which  the  accessories  of  the  emotion  portray- 
ed such  as  the  vibhdvas  become  generalised  (sddharanl- 
krta)  thereby  gaining  a  power  of  equal  appeal  to  all. 
The  words  and  their  literal  meanings  are  not  therefore 
to  be  regarded  as  important  in  themselves  but  only  as 
pointing  to  these  generalised  ideas.  The  third  or 
bhoglkarana  is  that  by  virtue  of  which  we  are  enabled 
to  derive  pure  pleasure — bhoga — from  these  idealised 
creations  of  the  artist.     The   purpose   of   evolution    in 

22  The  word  bhavanti  reminds  one  of  MimUmsd  and  it  is 
possible  that  BhattanHyaka  was  indebted  to  that 
system  of  philosophy  for  this  conception.  He  was, 
we  know  from  Abhinavagupta,  a  Mitnasaka.  In  one 
of  his  many  unkind  remarks  against  BhattanSyaka, 
Abhinavagupta  suggests  this.     Cf .  D.  A.  p.  63. 


248  M.  HIRIYANNA 

the  Samkhya  is  bhoga  and  apavarga  and  the  use  of  this 
word  bhoga  in  this  passage  constitutes  a  link  connect- 
ing the  present  theory  with  the  Sarhkhya.  What  is 
implied  by  the  use  of  this  word  here  is  that  the 
artistic  attitude  in  spite  of  its  being  the  source  of 
unalloyed  pleasure  is  more  akin  to  the  empirical  than 
to  the  saintly  attitude.  Of  these  three  vydpdras  the 
first  is  recognised  by  all.  But  it  appears  strange  that 
the  remaining  two  should  be  ascribed  to  a  work  of  art. 
If  however  we  remember  that  this  theory  is  based  on  the 
Saihkhya  we  see  that  the  statement  is  not  altogether 
inappropriate.  The  Purusa  according  to  the  Sarhkhya 
conception  is  absolutely  passive  so  that  all  activity 
must  be  of  Prakrti.  Prakrti  not  only  creates  every- 
thing but  also  brings  about  Purusa's  experience  of 
pleasure  and  pain  through  them,  by  means  of  its  own 
agency.  Thus  Prakrti  discharges  two  functions  :  (a) 
that  of  evolving  the  things  through  which  pleasure  or 
pain  may  be  derived,  and  (b)  that  of  enabling  Purusa 
to  experience  such  pleasure  and  pain.  These  two  steps 
may  be  seen  in  art  also,  if  we  distinguish  the 
apprehension  of  idealised  forms  from  the  aesthetic 
enjoyment  derivable  from  them.  There  is  no  doubt  a 
touch  of  personification  in  the  manner  of  its  statement 
by  Bhattandyaka  :  but  that  is  probably  to  be  attributed 
to  a  desire  to  maintain  the  parallelism  with  Sarhkhya 
metaphysics. 

(iii )  The  third  point  refers  to  the  nature  of  the 
aesthetic  attitude  itself.  This  attitude  is  one  of 
Sathvit,  !.£.,  contemplation  dissociated  from  all 
practical  interest  as  is  shown  by  visrdnti — '  composure'. 
Thus  the  artistic  attitude  differs  from  the  natural  as 
well  as  the  spiritual  attitude;  for  while  the  former  is  not 
always  pleasurable  and  the   latter  neither   pleasurable 


INDIAN  AESTHETICS  249 

nor  painful  art  produces  a  condition  of  pure  pleasure. 
Wc  have  here  the  expression  sattvodreka  which  is 
important  inasmuch  as  it  contains  another  indication 
of  the  theory  being  based  upon  Sarhkhya  philosophy. 

19.  To  sum  up  the  essential  differences  between 
the  Vedanta  and  Sarhkhya  aesthetics.  According  to 
pessimistic  Sarhkhya,  Nature  is  not  wholly 
beautiful  but  has  in  it  phases  of  beauty  as  well 
as  of  ugliness.  It  does  not  indeed  say  the 
objects  in  Nature  do  not  give  delight  at  all.  What  it 
means  is  that  there  is  nothing  in  Nature  which  at  all 
times  is  pleasurable  to  all.  For  pure  unalloyed 
pleasure  we  must  therefore  look  elsewhere  than  in  the 
real  world.  According  to  optimistic  Vedanta  on  the 
other  hand  every  thing  is  beautiful  and  there  is 
nothing  in  the  universe  to  mar  its  inward  harmony. 
This  is  indeed  the  first  corollary  of  the  atman- doctrine ; 
and  the  saint  is  the  greatest  artist,  for  everything 
delights  him.  Although  we  may  not  possess  the 
saint's  knowledge  that  every  thing  is  dtman,  we  can 
occasionally  derive  aesthetic  enjoyment  from  Nature. 
But  ordinarily  we  are  too  dull  to  perceive  the  beauty 
of  the  universe.  The  artist  who  is  endowed  with  an 
eye  for  the  beautiful  derives  pleasure  from  Nature 
where  we  cannot  and  through  the  expression  which  he 
spontaneously  gives  to  his  feeling,  he  opens  our  eyes 
to  what  we  miss.  In  a  sense  this  art  is  nature  herself 
presented  in  such  a  manner  that  it  appeals  to  us.  The 
aim  of  art  according  to  both  the  systems  is  to  induce 
a  mood  of  detachment.  But  according  to  idealistic 
Vedanta  the  artistic  attitude  is  characterised  by  a  for- 
getting, though  temporary,  of  our  individuality  ;  while 
according  to  realistic  Samkhya,  it  is  due  to  an  escape 
from  the  natural  world.     According   to  the    former,  irt 

[F.  O.  C.  II  32.] 


250  M.  HIRIYANftA 

serves  as  a  pathway  to  Reality ;  but  according  to  the 
latter,  it  is  so  to  speak  a  c  deflection'  from  Reality . 
The  one  reveals  the  best  in  Nature,  while  the  other 
fashions  something  better  than  Nature. 

20.  I  must  in  conclusion  say  a  word  in  regard  to 
my  selecting  a  subject  which  may  appear  to  some  as 
rather  out  of  the  way.  Research  has  till  now  been 
largely  confined  to  linguistic,  historical  and  similar 
aspects  of  oriental  learning ;  but  there  are  still  other 
aspects  of  it  which  cannot  be  regarded  as  either  less 
instructive  or  less  interesting.  It  appears  necessary 
in  the  future  not  only  to  carry  research  further  in  the 
departments  already  worked,  but  also  to  widen 
considerably  the  sphere  of  research  itself.  What  I  have 
attempted  in  this  paper  does  not  profess  to  be  more 
than  a  first  and  a  very  imperfect  sketch  of  the  subject 
I  have  selected ;  but  I  trust  it  is  sufficient  to  indicate 
what  vast  fields  of  ancient  Indian  learning  lie 
unexplored. 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM 

OR 

A  STUDY  IN  NYXYASOTRA  I.  1.  5. 


By  A.  B.  Dhruva. 
The  Stitra  which  we  propose  to  study  runs  thus  : — 

aw  dr4J*>  fafevm^H  T5rgRt$req<!  WWPWftri  *  I 
I.  i-5. 

Leaving  aside  the  minor  uncertainties  about  the 
meaning  of  tatpurvakam,  viz.,  whether  tat  means  the 
several  pramanas  of  Sutra  I  i.  3,  or  only  pratyaksa  of 
Sutra  I.  i.  4  and  this,  again,  one  or  more,*  we  pass  on  to 
the  important  question,  What  are  the  kinds  of  Inference 
—the  TRIVIDHAM  ANUMlNAM— referred  to  in 
the  particular  stitra  ? 

1.  According  to  Vatsyayana,  who  as  the  Bhasya- 
kara  of  the  NyayasQtras  is  expected  to  be  our  best  guide 
in  this  matter,  the  three  kinds  of  Inference  are  no 
doubt  (1)  PQrvavat  (2)  Sesavat  and  (3)  Samanyatodrsta; 
but  he  is  not  sure  about  the  meanings  of  these  terms,  of 
which  he  gives  two  alternative  explanations  together 
with  their  appropriate  illustrations.     These  are  : 

(i).  (a)  PQrvavat  or  Inference  from  the  Antecedent 
to  the  Consequent,  i.e.,  from  Cause  to  Effect  ;  e.g.  from 
thickening  clouds  to  an  impending  shower  of  rain  ; 

(b)  Sesavat  or  Inference  from  the  Consequent  to 
the  Antecedent,  i.  e  ,  from  Effect  to  Cause  e.  g.  from  an 
unusually  full  and  fast  current  of  a  river  to  a  heavy 
shower  of  rain  in  the  uplands  ; 

(c)  Samanyatodrsta  or  Inference  from  the  Co- 
ordinate i.  e.,  from  one  case  to  another  falling 
under  the  same   class  but   not  connected  with    it  by 

*N.  Vart. 


252  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

the  relation  of  cause  and  effect.  For  example,  we 
know  that  a  person,  say  Devadatta,  who  is  seen  at 
two  different  places  in  succession  has  moved  from  one 
place  to  the  other  ;  similarly,  the  sun  which  is  observed 
at  two  different  places  in  the  sky  in  succession  must 
have  moved  from  one  place  to  the  other.  Here, 
Devadatta  and  the  sun  are  not  related  as  cause  and 
effect  ;  but  they  are  both  cases  of  material  bodies,  and 
our  inference  here  is  from  one  co-ordinate  to  another. 

(ii)  Or,  again,  the  same  three  terms  in  question 
may  mean  the  following,  says  Vatsyayana  : 

(a)  Purvavat  i.e.,  Inference  from  former  experience 
(sensuous  perception  )  ;  as,  for  example,  we  infer  fire 
from  smoke,  on  the  basis  of  our  former  experience  of 
smoke  as  accompanied  by  fire  ; 

(b)  Sesavat  i.  e.,  Inference  by  Exclusion  ;  as,  for 
example,  we  can  exclude  Sabda  from  the  categories  of 
Samanya,  Visesa  and  Samavaya  on  the  ground  of  its 
being  a  non-eternal  reality,  and  next  show  how  for 
certain  reasons  it  cannot  be  referred  to  the  categories  of 
Dravya  and  Karman,  thus  leaving  Guna  alone  in  the 
field  as  the  only  remaining  category  to  which  Sabda 
can  belong. 

(c)  Samanyatodrsta  i.  e.,  Inference  of  something 
which  is  supersensible  from  something  which  is 
sensible,  on  the  ground  of  the  latter  being  found  to 
be  possessed  of  a  nature  which  it  shares  in  common  with 
certain  other  things.  Thus,  for  example,  we  infer  the 
existence  of  Stman,  which  is  a  supersensible  reality, 
from  certain  sensible  realities  such  as  iccha  (desire) 
etc.,  in  consequence  of  their  possessing  the  common 
nature  of  gunas  (qualities)  which  require  a  substance 
to  support  them. 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  253 

The  two  sets  of  explanations,  together  with  their 
illustrations,  are  .so  radically  different  from  each  other 
that  the  writer  evidently  seems  to  be  groping  in  the 
dark  for  the  real  meaning  of  the  Sutra. 

2.  Our  next  guide  along  this  much-trodden  but 
little-understood  path  is  Uddyotakara,  the  Nyaya-Varti- 
kakara.  In  him  we  alight  upon  a  world  of  still  greater 
uncertainty  about  the  meaning  of  the  Sutra.  His 
alternative  explanations  are  as  follows  : — 

(i)  The  three  kinds  of  Inference  may  be  what 
are  known  as  Anvayavyatireki,  Anvayi  and  Vyatireki, 
the  word  trividham  in  the  Sutra  referring  not  to  the 
classification  contained  in  the  Sutra  itself  viz.  PQrvavat, 
Sesavat,  and  Samanyatodrsta  but  to  a  classification 
which  is  supposed  to  be  understood,  and  of  which  the 
reader  is  expected  to  take  what  lawyers  call  l  judicial 
notice.' 

(ii)  The  unsatisfactory  character  of  this  mode 
of  interpreting  the  Sutra  is  obvious,  and  so  the 
Vartikakara  proposes  another  interpretation  in  which 
the  word  trividham  refers  to  PQrvavat,  Sesavat  and 
Samanyatodrsta  i.e.  to  the  classification  contained  in  the 
Sutra  itself.  But  here,  again,  he  does  not  take  the 
terms  PQrvavat  etc.  as  signifying  the  three  kinds  of 
inference  but  as  laying  down  the  conditions  of  a  valid 
Inference.     Thus  : — 

(a)  PQrvavat  means  that  the  hetu  should  be 
invariably  accompanied^  by  its  antecedent  (PQrva) 
viz.,  the  Sddhya  ;  (b)  Sesavat  means  that  the  hetu 
must  have  been  observed  as  invariably  accompanied  by 
the  Sadhya  in  other  (6esa)  cases  ;  and  (c)  Samanyatodrsta, 
which  should  be  broken  up  into  samanytah  and  adrsfa, 
means  that  the   hetu   is   not  common  to  Sadhya  and 


254  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

Sadhyabhava,  that  is  to  say,  it  should  not  be  what  is 
called  Sadharana  hetvabhasa. 

To  these  three  two  more  conditions  are  added  by 
a  tour  de  force  which  consists  in  extracting  them 
from   'ca'  at  the  end  of  the  Sutra.    These  are  ; 

(d)  that  the  Inference  should  not  be  opposed  to 
Pratyaksa  and  (e)  that  it  should  not  be  opposed  to  Xgama. 
All  the  five  conditions  will  have  to  be  fulfilled  in  the 
case  of  a  good  anvayavyatireki,  and  four  in  each  of  the 
other  two,  viz.,  Kevalanvayi  and  Kevalavyatireki. 

(iii).  Lastly,  the  Vartikakara  accepts  the  meanings 
of  Pfirvavat  and  Sesavat  as  given  by  the  Bhasyakara  in 
his  first  alternative  explanation,  and  adds  remarks  to 
show  how  the  words  PGrvavat  and  Sesavat  may  mean 
cause  and  effect  respectively,  and  how  the  illustrations 
in  the  Bhasya  may  be  expressed  in  the  set  form  of  a 
Naiyayika  Anumana.  But  in  regard  to  Samanyatodrsta 
not  only  does  he  give  a  different  illustration  but  takes 
the  liberty  of  criticising  the  one  given  in  the 
Bhasya.  Thus,  Samanyatodrsta  in  his  opinion,  is  that 
general  case  in  which  the  relation  between  the  hetu 
and  the  sadhya  is  not  causal,  and  yet  the  inference  is 
valid.  For  example,  we  may  infer  the  existence  of 
water  at  a  particular  spot  from  the  appearance  of 
cranes  thereabout.  The  illustration  given  in  the 
Bhasya  that  of  the  motion  of  the  sun  as  inferred  from 
its  appearance  at  two  different  places  at  two  different 
times  is  rejected  by  the  Vartikakara  on  the  ground  that 
the  sun  after  all  is  not  found  to  be  actually  travelling, 
and  all  that  we  see  is  that  the  solar  orb  was  then  there 
and  is  now  here.  In  the  absence  of  actual  observation 
of  motion,  on  the  simple  ground  of  likeness  between 
the  sun  and  Devadatta,  we  cannot  infer,  he  argues,  that 
the  sun   is  moving. 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  255 

3.  Coming  next  to  Vicaspatimtera,  the  famous 
writer  of  the  commentary  called  NydyatAtparyatikd  on 
Uddyotakara's  Nydyavdrtika  we  notice  a  very  curious 
jugglery  played  with  the  words  of  the  Sutra.  Thus,  in 
connection  with  Explanation  1  of  the  Vartika,  he  says  i 

that  is  to  say,  the  conditions,  (a)  (d)  and  (e)  of  the 
Vartikakara's  Explanation  1  are  essential  to  all  valid 
inferences  ;  while  (a)  Sesavat  ( =  sapakse  satvam)  is 
essential  to  one,  viz.,  kevalanvayi  {b)  S&manyatodrsta 
(  =  Vipaksadvyavrtti)  to  the  second  viz.  kevalavyatireki, 
and  (c)  Sesavatsamanyatodrsta  to  the  third  viz., 
anvayavyatireki. 

In  commenting  upon  the  Vartikakara's  rejection  of 
the  third  illustration  given  under  the  Bhasyakara's 
Explanation  1,  he  points  out  two  reasons  :  first,  that  the 
illustration  is  obscure,  and  secondly,  that  it  does  not 
essentially  differ  from  the  illustration  wherein  we  infer 
a  Cause  from  its  Effect ;  as,  for  example,  the  motion  of 
the  sun  may  be  inferred  as  a  cause  from  the  sun 
occupying  a  new  point  in  the  sky,  which  is  its  effect. 

Next,  stepping  out  of  the  circle  of  the  Nyayadars'ana, 
we  notice  that  the  Trividha  Anumana  of  Gotama  has 
found  favour  with  other  schools  of  Indian  Philosophy 
also.    Thus, 

4.  I^varakrsna,  the  author  of  the  Sdrhkhyakdrikd, 
takes  the  foregoing  division  of  Anumana  as  well-known. 
Without  enumerating  the  three  kinds,  and  just 
remarking  that  Anumana  is  said  to  be  of  three  kinds 
(trividhamanumanamakhyatam  S.  T.  K.5,)  he  goes  on  to 


256  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

state  that  the  supersensible  principles  of   the  Samkhya 
system  can  be  proved  by  Samanyatodrsta  anumana. 

5.  Gaudapada  in  his  Bhdsya  on  the  Kdrikds 
supplies  the  names  of  the  other  two  kinds  of  Anumana, 
and  explains  and  illustrates  the  varieties  as   follows  :— 

6.  In  the  Mdfharavrtti,  which  is  reported  to  be  the 
basis  of  Gaudapada's  Bhdsya  on  the  Sdmkhya  Kdrikd, 
we  have  the  illustrations  of  both  Purvavat  and  Sesavat 
brought  under  the  single  head  of  Purvavat,  which,  is 
explained  as  ijffltf  ( f^n )  sift"  ^jjN^  i.e.  Inference  from 
former  experience;  while,  Sesavat  is  explained  and  illu- 
strated as  an  argument  from  a  part  to  the  rest,  e.g.  from 
the  brackish  taste  of  a  drop  of  sea-water  to  that  of  the 
rest  of  the  sea-water  ( *?5$(k*i9«^  sn^  tfaFT  ^w^n^tsgjfr^f  fl% 
Srwt);  and  Samanyatodrsta  is  described  as  an  argument 
founded  on  a  general  principle  which  must  apply  to 
all  the  individuals  of  a  class,  to  those  as  well  as  to 
these  ;  e.g.,  '  as  these  mango-trees  have  flowered,  so 
must  have  those '  (<tuiM<ita&  jfadiy^K^  si^twt  ansrr  f%) 

In  addition  to  the  above  explanation  of  'Trividha 
Anumana,'  Mathara  has  some  exceedingly  valuable 
information  to  impart  while  commenting  upon  the  word 
Trividham.  Trividham  besides  meaning  'of  three  kinds' 
may  be  also,  he  says,  trisadhanam,  tryavayavam.    Here 

I  For  the  use  of  the  Matharavrtti,  which  is  still  in 
manuscript,  I  am  indebted  to  Dr.  S.  K.  Belvalkar  of  the 
Deccan  College,  Poona. 


TR1VIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  257 

Mathara  duly  notes  that  according  to  some,  it  may  be 
pancavayavam  i.  e.  five-membered  and  the  five 
members  arc  enumerated  as  follows  : — 

srfrrfTT,  am*r,  fc#r,  3T3*rorc  and  5r<*n*5fro 2  — 

corresponding  to  the  Naiyayika's  arfcTUT,  I3,  3^Tf*w,  &fw 
and  f^TJR  respectively.  In  explaining,  tryavayavam 
Mafhara  states  that  the  three  avayavas  are  paksa, 
hetu  and  drstanta.  Obviously,  these  are  names  not 
of  terms  but  of  propositions.  Thus,  Paksa  means 
pratijna  or  Enunciation  of  the  proposition;  Hetu  is 
the  statement  of  Reason  ;  and  Drstanta  is  Udaharana 
i.e.  statement  of  invariable  association  supported  by 
Example.  The  author  then  proceeds  to  add  that  there 
are  nine  types  of  Paksabhasa  i.e.  false  pak§a  or  pratijna, 
fourteen  of  Hetvabhasa  i.e.  false  hetu,  and  ten  of 
Nidarsanabhasa  i.e.  false  nidarsana  or  drstanta.  Thus, 
a  good  anumana,  which  contains  the  three  avayavas 
viz.  paksa,  hetu  and  drstanta  should  be  free  from 
thirty-three  abhasas  i.e.  false  appearances  or  fallacies.  3 
Again,  the  author  observes  in  passing  that  a  hetu  should 
be  trirupa  or  three-formed  i.e.  it  should  satisfy  three 
conditions,  viz  ;  <rsrei^R[,  *rosr  tfr^,  far&  ^mf^ir. 

7.  The  Purvamlmdmsd  Bhdsya  of  Sabarasvamin 
is  another  great  work  outside  the  school  of  Nyaya  which 
notices  this  subject.  It  defines  Anumana  as  a  move- 
ment of  thought  from  a  part  which  is  present  before  the 
senses  to  another  part  which  is  not  so,  in  virtue 
their  being  known  to  be  (invariably)  associated  ;  and  it 
divides  it  into  two  kinds,  pratyaksatodrstasambanriha  and 
samanyatodrstasambandha,  the  former  being  illustrated 

2  Compare  Praiastapada  Bhasjra  on  Vaitfefika  Stiti 

3  Compare  Ny.iyapraves'a  and  the  commentaries  thereon. 
[F.  O.  C.  II.  331 


258  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

by  the  case  of  smoke  and  fire  whose  invariable 
association  is  known  by  perception,  and  the  latter  by 
that  of  the  sun's  motion  and  its  occupation  of  a  new 
point  in  the  sky,  i.e.  a  sadhya  and  a  hetu,  whose 
connection  is  not  apprehended  by  the  senses  but  is  only 
known  in  the  abstract.  Thus,  the  samanyatodrsta  of 
Sahara  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  Sdrkkhyakdrikd  and  the 
Nydyabhd§ya  Expl.  I,  while  the  Pfirvavat  and  Sesavat 
of  the  latter  are  rolled  up  into  a  single  pratyaksatodrsta. 
8.  Lastly,  we  have  a  very  detailed  and  interesting 
exposition  of  the  '  Trividham  Anumanam '  in 
Anuyogadvdra  which  is  a  canonical  work  of  the 
Svetambara  Jainas.  Here,  Anumana  is  divided  into 
( 1 )  3^,  (  2  )  ^fcrc,  and  (  3  )  f^i*«re  i.e.  the 
same  types  as  those  mentioned  in  Gotama's  Sutra, 
and  no  doubt  borrowed  from  it,  with  a  careless,  or,  it 
may  be,  careful  and  deliberate  addition  of  'vat'  (va) 
at  the  end  of  the  last  term,  thus  making  it  uniform  with 
the  preceding  two.  The  different  kinds  are  illustrated, 
and  in  some  cases  also  subdivided  as  follows  : 

(1)  Puwava=as  before  i.e.  Inference  from  marks 
formerly  observed.  Thus,  a  mother  recognises  her 
child  from  such  physical  marks  as  she  has  observed 
before,  e.g.  a  mole  or  a  scar.  The  illustration  in  the 
text  is,  moreover,  supported  by  a  quotation4  which 
goes  to  show  that  there  had  been  earlier  writers, 
probably  Jains,  who  had  dealt  with   the  subject. 

(2)  Sesava=Inference  from  the  other  i.e.  of  one 
member  of  a  pair  of  correlates  from  the  other.  This  is 
of  five  kinds  : 

(a)  Kajjenam  (Karyena)  i.e.  Inference   of  a  cause 
from    its   effect.      Thus,   says   the  writer,  we  infer  a 
4  tttt  gtf  wq  *i  qjsrm  $mmA  1 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  259 

conch  from  the  sound  of  its  blowing,  a  drum  from 
its  beating,  a  bull  from  bellowing,  a  peacock  from  its 
peculiar  note,  a  horse  from  his  neighing,  a  yak  from  her 
gurgling,  and  a  chariot  from  the  tinkling  of  its  bells. 

(b)  Karanenam — Inference  of  an  effect  from  its 
cause.  For  example,  threads  are  a  cause  of  a  piece  of 
cloth  and  not  vice  versa,  grass  fibres  are  a  cause  of  a  mat 
and  not  vice  versa,  a  ball  of  clay  is  a  cause  of  a  jar  and 
not  vice  versa.  The  exact  point  of  these  illustrations  is 
somewhat  obscure"'  ,  and  the  commentator,  in  view  of 
the  obscurity,  supplies  other  illustrations  of  this  type 
which  means  that  given  all  the  causes,  the  effect  must 
follow  e.g.  from  a  particular  look  of  the  clouds  one  may 
infer  a  sure  rainfall,  from  the  rise  of  the  moon  its 
necessary  effect  viz.  a  tide  in  the  sea,  from  the  rise  of 
the  sun  its  necessary  effect  viz.  the  blooming  of 
day-lotuses,  and  so  on. 

(c)  Gunenam — Inference  of  Substance  from  its 
Attribute.  Thus,  we  infer  gold  from  its  test,  a  flower 
from  its  smell,  salt  from  its  taste,  wine  from  its  flavour, 
cloth  from  its  feel  etc. 

(d)  Avayavenam — i  e.  Inference  of  the  Whole  from 
its  Part.  Thus,  e.g.  we  infer  a  buffallo  from  his  horn,  a 
cock  from  its  crest,  an  elephant  from  his  trunk,  a  boar 
from  his  tusk,  a  peacock  from  its  feathers,  a  horse  from 
his  hoof,  a  tiger  from  his  paw,  a  yak  from  her  hair  etc. 

(e)  Xsayenam''  — i.e.  Inference  as  regards  the 
Abode  from  that  which  abides  therein,  e.  g.  of  fire  from 

5  It  is  probably  this  :  When  we  infer  that  a  piece  of 
cloth  will  be  woven  out  of  certain  threads,  we  go  from  Cause 
to  Effect,  and  not  from  Effect  to  Cause,  and  yet  it  is  a  sound 
inference.  Hence  the  second  variety  requires  to  be  recognised 
quite  as  much  as  the  first  whose  claim  is  obvious. 

6  This  is  explained  by  the  commentator  as  anwreftaTTW?: 
(fa)  and  therefore  as  practically  equivalent  to  anfafa 


260  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

smoke,  or  water  from  cranes,  a  shower  of  rain  from 
turbid  waters,  a  gentleman  from  his  character  and 
general  demeanour. 

(3)  ditthasahammava= Inference  from  similar  cases 
This    is  of  two   kinds  ;   (a)  samannadittham  and    (b) 
visesadittham. 

(a)  Samannadittham  is  Inference  from  that  which 
is  observed  as  a  point  in  common  to  all  the  individuals 
of  a  group,  e.g.  'as  one  man,  so  many  ;  as  many,  so  one.' 

(b)  Visesadittham  is  Inference  from  that  which  is 
observed  as  a  distinguishing  trait  of  a  certain  individual 
amidst  a  group,  e.g.  when  one  recognises  a  friend  from 
amongst  a  number  of  men  in  a  crowd. 

The  treatment  of  the  subject,  already  too  much 
detailed,  does  not  end  here.  Anumana  is  further 
divided  according  as  it  refers  to  time  past,  present  or 
future,  and  these  divisions  are  illustrated  at  great  length. 

II. 

Such  are  in  brief,  the  expositions  of  the 
u  Trividham  Anumanam  "  in  and  outside  the  school  of 
the  Nyayadarsana.  While  there  is  practically  complete 
unanimity  as  regards  the  names  of  the  three  types 
of  Anumana,  there  are  serious  differences  in 
respect  of  what  the  names  are  intended  to  convey. 
Thus:  (l)Purvavat  may  mean  Inference  from  a  cause,  or 
simply  Inference  form  fromer  experience,  or  even 
recognition  from  a  formerly   observed  mark  ; 

(2)  Se§avat  may  mean  an \  Inference  from  Effect, 
or   Inference  of  one    member  of   a    pair  of  Correlates 


TRIVIDHAM   ANUM^NAM  261 

from  the   other,   or  Inference  from  a  Part,  or  a  totally 
different  type  of  Inference,  viz.  Inference  by  Exclusion. 

(3)  Samanyatodrsta  may  mean  Inference  based  on 
mere  likeness  or  uniformity  of  experience,  without 
Causation  at  its  back,  or  may  mean  Inference  of 
supersensible  truths  through  abstract  generalities. 

The  one  impression  which  these  differences  collect- 
ively  leave     upon    the   mind   is   that   the    expositors, 
whether  right  or  wrong,  are  all  more  or   less  groping  in 
the   dark   about    the    original    meaning   of   the    Sutra, 
from    which    they  seem  to  be  separated  by  a  consider- 
able interval  of  time.  The  time  appears  to  have  been  long 
enough   to  make  such   diverse  schools   of   thinkers  as 
the  Naiyayikas,   the    Sarhkhyas,  the  Mimamsakas,  and 
even  the  Jainas  join  hands  in    accepting  verbatim  the 
'three   kinds   of   Anumana  '    mentioned   in  Gotama's 
Sutra.     They   have   no   doubt   some   sort   of  a  broken 
tradition  regarding  the  original   meaning  of  the  terms 
Purvavat    etc.,    as     would     appear     from    the    same 
explanations,   and  what   is  more  remarkable,  the  same 
illustrations    recurring    in    several   of   the  works.    But 
the    tradition    is   sometimes   lost   or  obscured  by  the 
writers'  own7  ideas  of  the  general  principles  of  Logic 
crowding  thickly  upon  their  brain  even  while  they   are 
actu  illy  dealing  with  a  much  narrower  subject  viz.  the 
three  kinds  of  Anumana. 

I  would  go  further  and  add  that  not  only  is  the 
earliest  of  the  works  cited  above — which  I  believe  to  be 
Viitsyayana's  Bhdsya-  far  removed  in  time  from  Gotama, 
but  even  Gotama  himself  lias  borrowed  the  terminology 
of  the  Sutra  (I.  i.  5)  from  older  "  Naiyayikas,"  who,  I 
submit,  were  the  ancient  Mlmirosakas.  Vatsyayana, 
7  Vide  Ucldyotakara's  Nyayavartika. 


262  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

when  he  says  that  Purvavat  and  Sesavat  may  mean, 
respectively,  Inference  from  Cause  and  Inference  from 
Effect,  is  doubtless  in  possession  of  the  real  meanings 
of  the  terms  as  used  in  the  Sutra.  But  he  does  not 
seem  to  know  that  they  were  borrowed  from  the 
vocabulary  of  Mimamsa  where  the  words  Purva,  and  Sesa, 
are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Thus,  we  read  in  the 
Purva  Mimamsa  Sutras  : 

frfW  wi^^i^^T^T5r  9H*faq[  (I,ii,  19).  *  1^ffit(l,  ii,  22), 

fafasjR*fo:  ffarTOTKi;*§%:  Hcfi^T  dcHWMJlQd^  ^«nc^  (I.  ii,  23), 

m^  ftMlqcM  w  st%  (I.  ii  29)  fa  qr^r^T^  (III.  i.  2), 
ssqgorctestfg  *nscft:  [trw^  ^1%  S%]  (III.  i.  3)  snsrfi^rRgw^fs^g 
$re*ra:  ^TTri:  (III  ii.  1.)  etc. 

In  the  Mimamsa  Sutras,  Samanya,  i  e.,  likeness 
or  participation  in  a  common  class,  is  often  made 
the  basis  of  an  argument  from  parallel  instances.  Purva 
and  Sesa  i.e.  the  prior  and  the  remainder,  which 
primarily  mean  the  logically  prior  and  the  posterior  part 
of  a  sentence  or  paragraph,  are  sometimes  used  in 
connection  with  vidhi  and  arthavada  respectively  ; 
and  the  two  being  parts  of  one  organic  whole,  argument 
from  one  to  the  other  becomes  easily  possible.  Sesa, 
which  means  the  remainder,  is  also  subsidiary  as 
opposed  to  principal  or  primary,  to  which  the  term 
purva  may  be  applied.  In  the  sense  of  subsidiary,  the 
term  is  sometimes  applied  to  arthavada,  and  is,  more- 
over, used  to  denote  the  relation  of  a  thing  to  its 
ultimate  end,  such  as  that  of  dravya,  guna  and  samskara 
to  kriya,  or  of  karman  to  phala,  or  of  phala  to  purusartha 
or  of  purusa  to  karma,  and  so  forth.  Now,  it  is  obvious 
that  in  Mimamsa,  an  argument  from  sesa  would  be  an 
argument  from  the  subsidiary  to  the  principal  in 
thought,  and  so  long  as  Mimamsa  was  merely  a  science 


TRIVTOHAM   ANUMXNAM  263 

of  the  laws  of  Interpretation,  the  meaning  of  §e$a  would 
hardly  travel  beyond  the  region  of  thought.  But  the 
passage  from  thought  to  being,  from  ratio  to  cause  in 
the  present  case,  is  not  difficult,  and  the  necessary 
in  thought  could  easily  become  the  necessary  in  being. 
Thus,  the  words  purva  and  sesa  which  at  first  stood  for 
certain  relations  of  necessary  connection  in  a  group  or 
groups  of  words,  or  of  things  symbolised  by  them,  could 
well  be  used  for  denoting  Cause  and  Effect  respectively. 

It  is  very  significant  that  nowhere  in  the  Nyayadar- 
sana — neither  in  the  Sutras  nor  in  any  later  work — the 
words  purva  and  sesa  bear  the  sense  of  Cause  and 
Effect,  except  in  the  single  Sutra  which  we  are  here 
discussing.  Moreover,  if  the  Naiyayikas  had  originally 
attempted  to  express  the  ideas  of  Cause  and  Effect  by 
the  category  of  succession  they  would  have  employed 
the  words  y$  or  T*,  and  3TTC  or  zmt,  and  not  purva 
and  sesa,  the  last  word  being  entirely  foreign  to  their 
vocabulary.  Hence,  it  is  clear  that  for  the  terminology 
of  the  "  Trividha  Anumana "  Gotama  is  indebted  to 
earlier*     Mlmamsakas,    who    were   not   only    exegetes 

8  That  Nyaya  was  a  synonym  of  Mimamsa  was  known 
even  to  such  latter-day  writers  of  Mimamsa  as  Madhava  and 
Parthasarathimisra,  who  called  their  works  Nyayamalavistara 
and  Nyayaratnakara.  Note  that  the  word  Nyaya  is  used 
in  the  sense  of  a  general  proposition  in  the  IJg-Veda 
Pratis*akhya  ^T«rf^«F1'^T^l  SKffal^  (Rg-Veda  Pr.  I  Patala). 
Besides,  in  his  paragraph  on  the  members  of  a  syllogism, 
Vatsyayana  remarks  that  "  some  Naiyayikas"  (  ^  2t*rrftol0 
hold  that  a  syllogism  has  ten  members,  which  we  should 
have  prima  facie  supposed  to  be  those  mentioned  in  the 
Niryukti  of  the  Darfavaikalika  Sutra  of  the  Jainas.  Buf 
Vatsyayana  mentions  the  five  which  the  above-mentioned 
"Naiyayikas  "  add  to  those  recognised  by  Gotama  as  follows  : 
frrorar,  «3ra,  SPWirffo,  Jiq.sra  and  tfswapra.  These  additional  five 
members  have  such  a  clear  Mimamsa  ring  about  them  that  one 
cannot  help  suspecting  that  the  "  Eke  Naiyayikaah  "  of 
Vatsyayana  are  a  section  of  the  earlier  Mimamsakas. 


264  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

but  also  logicians.  Thus,  for  the  origin  of  the  Sutra 
relating  to  the  Trividha  Anumana  we  are  carried 
far  back  into  the  distant  past  when  the  Mimamsakas 
were  the  only  Naiyayikas,- when  the  priests  held  their 
parsads,  and  discussed  the  questions  of  Philosophy, 
Ritual,  and  Law  round  the  sacrificial  altar  or  on  the 
judicial  bench.  Like  Geometry,  Astronomy,  Music, 
and  Surgery,  Logic  too  would  seem  to  have  been  born 
in  the  yajnavata,  and  the  Sutra  under  notice  is  a 
reminder  of  its  ancient  origin. 

This  conclusion  about  the  antiquity  of  Indian 
Logic  is  corroborated  by  the  evidence  of  Buddhistic 
Sutras.  These  contained  not  only  general  references 
to  rationalistic  disputants,  wranglers  and  sophists, 
among  Brahmanas  and  sramanas,  such  as  <T^r,  3fa*ft, 
for^,  etc.  but  also  to  such  technical  detail  of  the  art  of 
debate  as  3TRFT,  fa^Tf ,  ^t^w^^  ,  and,  further  more,  they 
presuppose  a  fixed  form  of  carrying  on  a  debate  so 
that  a  man  who  inverted  the  recognised  order  of 
propositions  was  taken  to  task  ;  Thus,  5^  ^RJfre  t^ji  3^ 

But,  be  it  noted  that  the  question  before  us  is  not 
of  the  antiquity  of  Indian  Logic  in  general,  but  of 
its  particular  topic  viz.  the  Trividha  Anumana,  and, 
therefore,  the  evidence  cited  from  the  Budhistic  Sutras 
can  only  raise  a  general  presumption  in  favour  of  the 
latter's  antiquity  but  it  cannot  place  it  beyond  dispute. 
For  this,  we  have  to  rely  upon  the  internal  evidence 
of  the  terminology  of  the  Sutra  wfrch,  as  we  have  seen, 
points  to  the  age  of  the  early  Mimamsaka  logicians. 

To  it  I  now  propose  to  add  some  external  evidence, 
which  has  not  hitherto  attracted  sufficient  attention. 
This  evidence  is  to  be  found  in  the  Jaina  Xgamas.    We 


TRIVIDHAM   ANUMXNAM  265 

have  already  seen  that  barring  the  prakrtization  and  a 
slight  attempt  at  improving  upon  the  last  word  in  the 
Sutra  by  substituting  sr*T  (srcn^)  for  PR  so  as  to 
include  both  *mw  and  fatre,  the  division  of  Anumina 
contained  in  the  Anuyogadvara  is  word  for  word  the 
sameas  that  contained  in  Gotama's  Sutra.  Now,  accord- 
ing to  the  Jaina  tradition,  the  Anuyogadvara  in  its 
present  form  was  composed  by  Xryarakshita  who  lived 
t«  'wards  the  end  of  the  first  century  A. D.  Hut  that 
does  not  mean  that  the  work  was  an  original  production 
of  Xryarakshita.  Xryarakshita  and  Devardhigani 
are  responsible  for  the  existing  redaction  of  the  Jaina 
Siddhanta,  but  they  are  supposed  to  have  only 
reproduced  or  rearranged  what  they  already  found 
existing  under  that  title.  We  have  proof  of  this  in  the 
fact  that  the  Bhagavati  Sutra  which  is  one  of  the  Angas 
of  the  Jaina  Scripture  settled  at  the  Council  of 
Pataliputra  in  the  beginning  of  the  third  century  B.C., 
refers  to  Anuyogadvara  and  several  other  works, 
although  in  their  present  form  they  are  of  a  later 
date.  Thus  it  says  :  "3r?r  9^3*1^:,  st?t  **§,  «r£t  «ntw$" 
&c.  The  reference  to  Anuyogadvara,  moreover,  is 
made  in  connection  with  the  subject  of  Anumana,1' 
thus  guaranteeing  with  almost  absolute  certainty  that 
the  passage  relating  to  Trividha  Anumana  in  the  Anu- 
yoga  belongs  to  the  original  edition  of  the  work,  which 
as  we  have  seen  existed  even  before  the  compilation 
of  the  Bhagavati  Sutra  in  the  time  of  Bhadrabahu  i.e. 
before  the  third  century  B.C.  Now  let  us  allow  some 
time  between  the  Bhagavati  and  the  Anuyoga  to  admit 
of  the  former  quoting  the  latter,  and  then  allow  still 
another   interval   of   time   required   to   account   for  a 

9  ^  f3»  tf  tht^  -^  ftrfc  i$  <ra^  w]Ri"t  1^  •ttt^  5tit  wj3«i<*ft.— Bhaga. 
v.  4. 

(F.  O.  C.  1L  34I 


266  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

Jain  writer  adopting  with  equanimity  the  division  of 
Anumana  which  was  originally  formulated  by 
Brahmanas,10  and  we  shall  have  very  nearly  reached 
the  period  of  the  early  Mimamsakas  who  were  our 
first  logicians. 

This  does  not  mean  that  all  the  Nyaya  Sutras  are 
as  old  as  the  one  under  consideration.  We  should  be 
careful  not  to  extend  the  conclusion  drawn  from  the 
study  of  a  single  Sutra,  that  relating  to  the  Trividha 
Anumana,  to  the  whole  of  Gotama's  work  in  its  present 
form.  But  I  demur  to  the  view  put  forward  by  Dr. 
S.C.  VidyabhOsana  that  the  present  work  of  the  Nyaya 
Sutras  should  be  credited  to  a  writer  of  the  second 
century  A.  D.,  whom  Dr.  Vidyabhusana  calls  Aksapada, 
as  distinguished  from  Gotama,  and  also  to  Vatsyayana 
who  is  supposed  to  have  added  certain  Sutras  of  his 
own  and  generally  revised  the  work  of  his  predecessors 
while  writing  his  Bhasya.  The  distinction  made 
between  Gotama  and  Aksapada  is  contrary  to  the 
generally  accepted  tradition  about  their  identity,  and 
the  evidence  adduced  to  prove  that  Vatsyayana  was 
later  than  Nagarjuna  is  altogether  inconclusive,  as  I 
shall  show  in  the  sequel.  Moreover,  I  beg  to  demur 
still  more  strongly  to  another  view   recently    expressed 

10  Later  Jain  writers  show  a  disinclination  to  adopt 
these  divisions  of  Anumana.  They  attribute  them  to 
Naiyayikas  ( Brahmana  logicians )  and  condemn  them  in 
unequivocal  language.    Thus, 

(  Nyayavivrti ) 

— (Abhayadevasuri's    ar?wtofo»TTfoft  #W  on  flflfa^. ) 
For  the  latter  I  am  indebted  to  Muni  Sri  Nemi-Vijayajf 
of  Ahmedabad, 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  267 

by  the  learned  scholar  that  the  word  'wr'  is  a  Sanskrit 
translation  uf  the  Greek  "Analytics"  and  that  the 
whole  subject  of  Syllogistic  Reasoning  has  originated 
and  developed  under  the  influence  of  Aristotle. 
Apart  from  the  general  lack  of  historical  evidence 
showing  that  Indians  had  heard  of  Aristotle  or  any 
foreign  logician,  Dr.  Vidyabhu§ana's  theory  would 
require  the  very  first  Sutra  of  the  Nyayadarsana  which 
contains  the  word  ar^ra  to  be  thrown  overboard  or 
placed  on  the  list  of  'suspects  ';  and,  further,  it  would 
have  us  believe  that  one  whole  branch  of  western 
learning  was  imported  into  India,  and  that,  too,  by 
many  hands  and  across  many  centuries  without  leaving 
a  single  philological  vestige  behind  to  betray  its 
foreign  origin.  Such  a  supposition  would  be  contrary 
to  what  we  have  observed  in  the  history  of  Indian 
Mathematics,  Astronomy  and  Medicine,  wherein  a 
foreign  influence  has  never  failed  to  be  detected 
under  the  microscope  of  Comparative  Philology.  A 
closer  examination  of  this  question  will  carry  us  far 
beyond  the  limits  of  this  paper,  and  should  be  deferred 
to  a  more  suitable  occasion. 

The  results  of  this  part  of  our  inquiry  may  be 
summed  up  somewhat  as  follows  : — 

1.  The  first  glimmer  of  the  light  of  Indian  Logic 
belongs  to  the  pre-Buddhistic  age  of  the  Par§ads. 

2.  The  early  beginnings  «»t  ,i  systematic  Art  ol 
Logic  belongs  to  the  latter  part  o(  the  same  age. 

3.  The  Art  tends  to  become  a  Science  in  the 
period  of  early  Buddhism  and  its  contemporary 
Brahmanism. 

4.  It  has  established  itself  as  a  Science  before 
300  B.  C. 


268  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

5.  The  results  of  Brahmanical  thought  in  this 
department,  as  linked  with  Theism  and  Realism,  get 
summed  up  in  the  Nyaya-Sutras  of  Gotama,  as  similar 
work  of  Jain  and  Buddhist  logicians,  carried  on  of 
course  in  harmony  with  their  own  religious  and  philo- 
sophical dogmas,  is  represented  in  the  corresponding 
fragments  of  the  Jain  and  Buddhistic  literatures. 

6.  Gotama's  Sutras,  not  necessarily  all  their 
contents,  some  of  which  are  earlier,  belong  to  the  latter 
half  of  the  Pre-Christian  Sutra  period.  The  work  may 
be  dated  somewhere  about  200  B.C.,  in  the  age  of  the 
Shnikas  or  Daily  Lessons,  like  the  Navahnikas  of 
Patafijali's  Vyakarana  Mahabhasya. 

Ill 

So  much  for  the  date  of  Gotama's  Nyaya  Sutra  I.  i.  5 
which  we  considered  in  the  light  of  the  general 
uncertainty  which  prevails  among  commentators 
regarding  its  meaning.  Next  let  us  turn  our  thought 
to  points  which  arise  from  a  comparison  of  some  of 
the  commentaries  inter  se.  And  here  I  would  beg  my 
readers  to  draw  conclusions  from  the  collected  data 
unhesitatingly,  without  any  pre-conceived  and  rigid 
notions  in  regard  to  the  dates  of  particular  authors 
which  may  thereby  be  affected. 

1.  Now,  if  we  compare  Vatsyayana's  account  of 
the  Trividha  Anumana  with  that  given  in  the 
Anuyogadvara,  we  cannot  but  be  impressed  by  the 
great  mass  of  details  which  the  latter  possesses  as 
distinguished  from  the  former. 

2.  In  the  same  way,  if  we  compare  Mathara's 
exposition  of  the  subject  with  Vatsyay ana's,  we  cannot 
help  concluding  that  Mathara  represents  a  step  forward 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  269 

in  the  history  of  Indian  Logic.  This  may  appear 
"  adharottaram  "  to  those  who  are  committed  to  the 
theory  of  Vatsyayana's  belonging  to  the  fifth  century 
A.  D.,  i.  e.t  after  Nagarjuna,  and,  perhaps,  after  Asanga 
also.  But  the  logical  doctrines  known  to  Mathara  are 
so  clearly  in  advance  of  Vatsyayana's  knowledge  of 
the  subject,  that  this  very  fact  calls  for  a  re-adjustment 
of  the  date  of  Vatsyayana  as  determined  by 
Dr.  VidyabhQsana11.  On  comparing  Vatsyayana's  know- 
ledge of  Anumana  with  that  of  Mathara  we  notice 
that  Vatsyayana  is  acquainted  with  only  two  types  of 
Anumana  :  the  ten-membered  and  the  five-membered. 
Had  he  been  aware  of  the  three-membered,  he  would 
have  mentioned  it  along  with  the  ten-membered  to  which 
he  has  devoted  a  special  paragraph  in  his  Bhasya. 
Besides,  he  explains  "  Trividha  "  as  u  of  three  kinds  ", 
and  also  as  "  Tri-sadhana  "  and  "  Tri-avayava  ".  Here 
in  addition  to  declaring  the  three  conditions  of  a  good 
hetu  Mathara  refers,  as  we  have  already  seen  supra,  to 
33  kinds  of  fallacies,  9  of  <rer,  14  of  ^  and  10  of  ft#* 
or  ?^rnT — an  amount  of  logical  wealth  far  beyond  the 
dream  of  Vatsyayana.  Moreover,  from  the  manner  in 
which  they  are  introduced,  without  explanation  or 
illustration,  it  would  seem  that  they  were  all  very  well 
known  in  his  days,  and  a  fair  amount  of  time  may 
therefore  be  supposed  to  have  passed  before  their 
general  recognition  became  possible. 

3.  Next,  as  between  Mafh.ir.i-Vrtti  and  Anuyo- 
gadvara,  Mathara-Vrtti  is  undoubtedly  earlier,  it  being 
referred  to  as  an  example  oi  'jftamur  HTOjer'  in  Anuyoga. 

11  The  passage  is  repeated  in  the  Nandi  sutra  with 
slight  variations,  i.  <\.  it  introduces  *T*F*  and  <?wwft  and  splits 
up  nw  Stf°i  *wn  into  msj  3<ii  mt«i  etc. 


270  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

Bearing  these  chronological  relations  in  mind,  viz., 
first  Vatsyayana,  then  Mathara  (who  may  be  supposed 
to  be  separated  from  him  by  at  least  a  century),  and 
last  Anuyogadvara,  let  us  proceed  to  settle  their 
respective  dates.  The  passage  in  the  Anuyogadvara 
which  refers  to  Mathara,  inter  alia,  throws  a  flood  of 
light  on  the  whole  problem.     It  runs  thus  : — 

^Hiqqfl  «*3 Rw  p^rcm    sifts    %fo$    afri^r  ( w  )  frfjafr 

The  references  which  particularly  interest  us  in 
this  passage  are  those  made  to  WHKidti  srftcm  and 
it?*.  <n>hkit1(1  is  evidently  i^n^H^  or  f|^WHl%  the 
"Gold-Seventy",  which  together  with  a  commentary 
was  translated  into  Chinese  by  Paramartha  between  557 
and  568  A.  D.  Dr.  Takakusu  identifies  the  "  Gold- 
Seventy  "  with  the  uM«mTHi  or  SfffcT  of  I^varakrsna, 
which,  moreover,  he  believes  to  be  the  same  as 
'Vindhyavasa's  revised  Samkhyasastra  \  He  argues  thus: 
Since  I^varakrsna  is  said  to  have  revised  the 
"  Sastitantra,"  and  Vindya-Vasa  a  "  Samkhya-  Sastra," 
Igvarakrsna  is  to  be  identified  with  Vindhyavasa  ;  and 
since  Vindhyavasa  is  reported  by  Paramartha  to  have 
been  an  older  contemporary  of  Vasubandu,  whose 
teacher,  Buddhamitra,  he  defeated,  the  Samkhyakarika, 
which  is  the  same  as  Hiranyasaptati,  is  to  be  placed 
a  few  years  before  Vasubandu,  whom  Dr.  Takakusu 
assigns  to  the  last  three-quarters  of  the  5th  century 
A.  D.  Thus,  the  date  of  the  Samkhyakarika  or 
Hiranyasaptati,  i.  e.t  of  the  Kanagasattari  of  our  passage, 
must  be  fixed  at  about  450  A.  D.  according  to 
Dr.  Takakusu.  But  the  date  of  Vasubandhu  has  been 
considerably  shaken  by  the  researches  of  N.  Peri,  and 


TRIVIDHAM   ANUMXNAM  271 

he  is  now  generally  held  to  have  lived  between  280  and 
360  A.  D.  Dr.  Keith  accepts  Peri's  date  of  Vasuban- 
dhu  and,  consequently,  the  period  of  Isvarakrsna  and 
his  Sarhkhyakarika  is  according  to  him  thrown  back 
into  the  4th  century  A.  D.  Further,  the  author  of  the 
1  Sastitantra'  which  is  supposed  to  be  the  original  of 
the  revised  Sarhkhyasastra  i.e.  of  the  Sarhkhyakarika  or 
Saptati,  he  believes  to  be  Varsaganya,  the  teacher  of 
Vindhyavasa — a  fact  which,  he  says,  is  borne  out  by 
(1)  Vacaspatimis'ra  describing  a  quotation  (grRt  «rw  sri 
etc.)  in  Vyasa's  Yogabhasyaas  one  made  from  Sastitantra 
(  u  qfe^i^ftuV)12  and  elsewhere  attributing  the  same 
couplet  to  Varsaganya,  and  (2)  to  also  the  Chinese  tradi- 
tion which  ascribes  to  Vindhyavasa  (Isvarakrsna)  the 
rewriting  of  a  work  of  the  'Rain-host,'  /.  e.,  Vrsagana  or 
Varsagana. 

Dr.  Belvalkar  disputes™  Dr.  Takakusu's  identification 
of  Vindhyavasa  with  TsVarakrsna,  and  he  regards  the 
latter  as  a  predecessor  of  both  Vindhyavasa  and  his 
teacher  Varsaganya,  and  places  him  in  the  '  first  or  first 
half  of  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era.'  For 
Isvarakrsna's  priority  to  Vindhyavasa  and  Varsaganya  he 
relies  on  the  negative  evidence  of  the  guru-Sisya- 
parampara  given  in  the  Mathara-Vrtti,  which  makes  no 
mention  of  the  last  two  writers.  He  also  questions 
Dr.  Takakusu's  equation  of  Po-po-li  (whom  a  Chinese 
tradition  mentions  as  a  teacher  of  Isvarakrsna)  with 
Varsa  (Varsaganya),  and  suggests  that  Po-po-li  may  be 
Devala14  of  the  aforesaid  parampara.  Further,  he  thinks 
that  Hiranyasaptati  was  not  the  same  as  S&mkhya 
Sapatati  or  Karika  but  was  'a  distinct  work,'  some  kind 

12  "  Bhagavan  V.ir§aga^yah  "—Vacaspatimis'ra. 

13  Bhand.  Com.  Vol. 

14  Query  :     Is  the  Chinese  P  known  to  be  an  equivalent 
of  the  Sanskrit  D  ? 


272  A.   B.  DHRUVA 

of  a  commentary  on  Isvarakrsna's  Samkhya  Saptati, 
written  by  Vindhyavasa.  As  to  Sastitantra,  he  leaves 
the  question  of  its  authorship  undecided,  but  he  believes 
it  to  be  a  work  'prior  to  150  B.  C  But  the  young 
scholar's  main  contribution  to  Sanskrit  scholarship 
consists  in  his  having  brought  to  light  from  the  Deccan 
College  Library  two  Mss.  of  Mathara-Vrtti,  which  on 
comparison  he  finds  to  be  the  original  of  the  Samkhya 
work  which  Paramartha  translated  into  Chinese  a 
few  centuries  later.  Dr.  Keith  refuses  to  accept  Dr. 
Belvalkar's  view  of  the  Mathara  Vrtti  being  the  original 
of  Paramartha's  Chinese  translation,  and  believes  that 
the  hypothesis  of  a  'common  source'  for  both  the 
Mathara-Vrtti  and  the  Chinese  translation  is  not  excluded. 
Besides,  he  does  not  think  much  of  Dr.  Belvalkar's 
argument  based  on  the  guru-parampara  in  the  Mathara- 
Vrtti  which  contains  no  mention  of  Varsaganya  and 
Vindhyavasa.  Such  is  the  position  in  regard  to  the 
date,  and  authorship,  of  Sastitantra,  Hiranyasaptati 
and  Mathara-Vrtti.  It  is  not  possible  here  to  attempt  a 
full  discussion  of  all  the  points  at  issue  in  this 
controversy,  but  since  they  have  a  close  bearing  on  the 
dates  of  Vatsyayana  and  Anuyoga,  a  few  remarks  may 
be  permitted. 

(1)  I  think  Dr.  Belvalkar  is  right  in  holding  that 
Isvarakrsna  is  not  the  same  as  Vindhyavasa,  But  this, 
for  the  simple  reason  that  there  is  no  evidence 
whatever  to  prove  their  identity,  except  such  as  is 
made  up  by  piling  conjecture  upon  conjecture  (see 
supra)  for  which  there  is  absolutely  no  justification. 
The  guru-parampara  of  the  Mathara-Vrtti  on  which 
Dr.  Belvalkar  relies  is  condemned  by  Dr.  Keith  as 
inaccurate  in  the  light  of  the  Chinese  tradition.      But 


TRIVIDHAM   ANUMXNAM  273 

Dr.  Keith  here  appears  to  have  been  unfair  to  Mathara 
in  his  zeal  to  demolish  Dr.  Belvalkar.  A  careful 
reading  of  the  passage  in  question  in  the  Mathara- 
Vrtti  will  show  that  it  does  not  carry  the  sense  which 
Dr.  Belvalkar  reads  into  it  and  is  therefore  not  liable 
to  the  charge  of  inaccuracy  which  Dr.  Keith  has 
levelled  against  it.  The  passage  says  :  "  This  wisdom 
(of  the  Sarfckhyas)  was  handed  down  by  Kapila  to 
Xsuri,  by  Xsuri  to  Paficasikha,  from  whom  it  came  to 
Bhargava,  Uluka,  Valmika,  Harita,  Devala,  and  others. 
Afterwards  from  them  it  was  obtained  by  Isvarakrsna. 
That  same  (wisdom)  called  the  Sastitantra  was 
summarized   (by  Isvarakrsna)   in  Xrya  metres". 

The  passage  leaves  no  doubt  that  Devala  was  not 
a  direct  teacher  of  Isvarakrisna,  any  more  than 
Bhargava,  Uluka,  Valmika,  and  Harita  with  whom  he 
is  co-ordinated.  Moreover,  there  is  ample  room  in 
the  word  '  snjfa  '  ('and  others')  to  hold  Varsaganya,  who 
might  thus  intervene  between  Devala  and  Isvarakrsna. 

(2)  I  further  agree  with  Dr.  Belvalkar  that 
Isvarakrsna — who  is  not  the  same  as  Vindhyavasa — is 
to  be  dated  in  the  first  or  the  first  half  of  the  second 
century  A.  D.  ;  but  here  I  would  add  the  words  "  at 
the  latest  ",  thereby  reserving  my  right  to  carry  the 
date  backwards  in  the  light  of  the  date  of  AniiyogadvSra, 
which  will  be  considered  hereafter. 

(3)  I  do  not  think  that  ft<IMNiHft  was  a  work  of 
Vindhyavasa,  and  '  some  sort  of  a  commentary  on 
fivarakrsna's  Samkhyakarika.'  I  rather  think  that  it  was 
the  same  as  the  Saptati  or  the  Samkhyakarika — the 
1  Kanaga  Sattari  '  of  Anuyoga — and  its  attribution  to 
Vindhyavasa  was  due  to  misapprehension  arising  from 
the  latter  having    probably   written  '  some   sort   of  a 

[F.  O.  C.  IL  351 


274  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

commentary  on  the  Saptati.'  Dr.  Takakusu  quotes  a 
passage  from  Kueichi,  pupil  of  Hiuentsang,  as  follows  :— 
u  The  Samkhya  school  was  formerly  split  up  into 
eighteen  groups,  the  head  of  which  was  Ba-li-sha, 
meaning  the  'Rain'  (Varsa).  His  associates  were  all 
called  the  'Rain-host'  (Varsaganya).  The  'Gold- 
seventy  '  (Hiranyasaptati)  is  the  work  of  them,"  This 
does  not  require  us  to  suppose  that  the  Gold-seventy 
was  a  work  of  Vindhyvasa  ;  it  only  attributes  it  to  the 
1  Associates '  of '  Rain  ' — the  'Rain -host'  (Varsaganya) — of 
whom  Vindhyavasa  may  be  one,  and  the  same  may  be 
traceable  to  that  of  the  original  founder — one 
Varsaganya, — a  predecessor  of  Isavarakrsna  and  one  of 
the  sages  mentioned  in  the  Mahabharata.  The 
Sastitantra  may  conceivably  be  his  work15.  The  Chinese 
tradition  that  Vindhyavasa  was  a  pupil  of  Varsaganya 
may  be  understood  in  the  sense  of  his  being  the  'acarya' 
or  founder  of  the  School  to  which  Vindhyavasa  belong- 
ed later  in  the  third  century  A.  D. 

We  thus  arrive  at  the  following  chronological 
order  : — 

1.  Sastitantra  (to  be  placed  before  the  Christian 
era  :  circa  150  B.  C,  if  it  be  a  work  of  Varsaganya 
earlier  still,  if  Paficasikha's). 

2.  Kanagasattari  (in  the  first  half  of  the  second 
century  A.  D.  at  the  latest,  the  date  being  subject  to 
alteration  in  the  light  of  the  date  to  be  assigned  to  the 
Anuyoga  passage). 

15  I  do  not  commit  myself  to  this  view.  Sastitantra  may 
be  even  older  than  Varsaganya  and  may  have  to  be  ascribed 
to  Paficas'ikha  in  harmony  with  the  Chinese  tradition. 
Vacaspati  Misra's  "  tfta^fofl  "  would  then  mean  not  a 
quotation  from  Sastitantra  but  'a  teaching  in  accordance  with 
(*3)  Sastitantra/ 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  275 

3.  Mathara-Vrtti,  a  commentary  on  Kanagasattari 
(in  the  second  half  of  the  second,  or  first  half  of  the 
third  century  A.  D.,  subject  to  alteration  in  the  same 
way  as  the  Kanagasattari). 

If  we  accept  Weber's  view  that  the  Jaina  Siddhanta 
was  given  its  present  shape  between  the  third  and  fifth 
century  A.  D.,  the  latest  date  for  the  foregoing  passage 
of  Anuyoga  will  be  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century 
A.  D.  For  the  same  passage  occurs  with  slight 
alterations  in  the  NandisQtra,  and  supposing  the 
NandisQtra  is  a  work  of  Devardhiganin  (end  of  the 
fifth  century  A.  D.),  the  passage  in  question  from 
Anuyoga  will  have  to  be  placed  some  time  before  it. 
Now,  if  Vatsyayana  is  later  than  Nagarjuna  (250  A.  D. 
Dr.  Vidyabhusana),  Vatsyayana  and  Mathara  have  to 
be  accommodated  in  the  interval  between  250  A  D. 
(the  date  of  Nagarjuna)  and  400  A.  D.  'the  date  of  the 
passage  of  the  Anuyogadvara).  Allowing  a  margin  of 
50  years  on  either  side,  the  remaining  period  of 
50  years  is  all  too  short  to  account  for  the  development 
of  logic,  such  as  we  have  noted  above,  between 
Vatsyayana  and  Mathara.  If,  on  the  contrary,  we 
accept  the  Jaina  Svetambara  tradition  as  it  stands — 
and  we  cannot  set  it  aside  except  for  very  cogent 
reasons — and  assign  the  present  edition  of  Anuyoga  to 
Xryaraksita  Uiwho  lived  in  the  second  half  of  the  first 
century  A.  D.,  the  dates  of  the  Samkhyakarika 
(-  •  Kanagasattari  ')  and  the  Mathara-Vrtti  will  have 
to  be  shifted  to  the  first  century  B,  C.  and  early  part  of 
the  first  century  A.  D.f  respectively.  Now,  one  strong 
reason    for   assigning  the   passage   in  Anuyoga  to  the 

16  The  Jain  tradition  ascribes  not  only  the  division  of 
Anuyoga,  but  also  the  compilation  or  composition  of  Anuyo- 
gadvara to  Xryaraksita   (see   Xva^yaka   I.  774). 


276  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

latter  part  of  the  first  century  A.  D.,  rather  than  to 
some  period  between  the  third  and  the  fifth  century 
A.  D.  is  that  the  passage  refers  to  Buddhistic  scriptures 
in  an  altogether  general  way — it  calls  them  merely 
p^rrem17  while  the  Sarhkhya  works  referred  to  are  no  less 
than  three,  which  are  mentioned  specifically  over  and 
above  the  general  *i(«lRwf  (the  philosophy  of  Kapila).  Had 
the  Anuyogadvara  been  written  in  the  3rd  or  5th  century 
A.  D.,  in  the  age  of  such  eminent  Buddhistic  teachers 
we  would  have  found  them  or  their  works  mentioned 
as  Nagarjuna,ls  Sryadeva,  Asanga  and  Buddhaghosa, 
individually,  as  has  been  done  in  the  case  of  the  Sarhkhya 
authors.  The  list  clearly  reveals  an  atmosphere  of 
flourishing  Brahmanism  which,  as  we  know,  charac- 
terized the  three  or  four  centuries  from  the  death  of 
Asoka  to  the  coronation  of  Kaniska.  That  the 
Mahdbhdrata  and  Rdtndyana  were  popular  works  read 
at  certain  hours  of  the  day  among  the  people  in  the 
time  of  the  Anuyogadvara  does  not  impair  the 
conclusion  we  have  arrived  at.  For  we  know  that 
they  were  read  in  the  remote  Indian  colony  of 
Kamboja  about  600  A.  D.,  and  the  custom  of  reading 
them  as  sacred  literature  may  have  been  established  in 
India  several  centuries  before.  Land  grants  dated  in 
the  5th  century  A.  D.,  and  found  in  various  parts  of 
India,  quote  Mahabharata  as  an  authority  possessed  of 
the  character  of  a  Smrti  or  Dharmasastra — a  status 
and  breadth  of  popularity  which  it  cannot  have 
acquired  in  a  couple  of  centuries. 

17  3SWi— Nandisutra. 

18  Could  Nagarjuna  have  been  referred  to  in  "  «WI&$fl  "? 
Nagasena  could  be  meant  as  well.  It  may  be  neither.  11 
Nagarjuna  is  meant,  his  date,  which  is  still  uncertain,  should 
be  pushed  up,  in  the  light  of  the  date  of  the  Anuyoga 
passage. 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  277 

Having  thus  seen  that  the  Mathara-Vrtti  may  with 
a  great  deal  of  probability  be  referred  to  the  first 
century  A.  D.,  we  place  Vatsyayana  a  century  or  two 
earlier,  which  will  account  for  the  vast  development  of 
the  Science  of  Logic  which  took  place  in  the  interval 
between  Vatsyayana  and  Mathara. 

The   date    thus    arrived   at   for   Vatsyayana   may 
appear  to  be  a  violent  outrage  upon  the  date  which  is 
generally  accepted  among   oriental   scholars,   viz.,   the 
fifth  century  (450)  A.  D.     But  I  submit,   with   all   due 
deference   to  Dr.  VidyabhGsana,  Dr.  Jacobi,  Dr.  Keith 
and  others   who   share  the  view,   that   arguments   by 
which  the  theory  of  the  fifth  century  A.  D.  is  supported 
are  in  the  first  place   inconclusive,  and  secondly   they 
have  not  been  co-ordinated   with  the   evidence  of   the 
works  cited  above.     If   Dr.  Jacobi  is  right  in   holding 
that  Vatsyayana's  revised  edition  of   the   Nyaya-Sutras 
discusses  the  Sunyavada  or  Nihilism  of  the  Madhyamika 
school  of  Nagarjuna  (about  200 — 250  A.  D.)  but  not  the 
Idealism    of    the    Yogacara    school    of     Asanga     and 
Vasubandhu,  he  cannot  take  the  latter  part  of   the   5th 
century  A.  D.  (to  which  Vasubandhu   was   assigned  by 
Dr.  Takakusu)    as    the    lower   limit   of   the     date   of 
Vatsyayana.     For  the  date  of  Vasubandhu,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  has  been  pushed  back  to  the  third  century 
A.  D.    by   the    researches     of     Peri,    and,   therefore 
Vatsyayana  will  have  to  be   placed  at    the   latest  in  the 
early  part  of  that  century.      Again,  even    on    Weber's 
hypothesis    of   the   date   of     the   Jaina   Siddhanta,   if 
Anuyoga  belongs   to   circa  400  A.  D.,  and  Mathara  to 
350,     Vatsyayana    cannot    be    later   than    250   A.   D. 
Although  Dr.    Vidyabhusana's   date   of   Vatsyayana   is 
thus  carried  back  nearly  200  years,    it   requires   to   be 
pushed  up  still  further  by  nearly  three  centuries  if   wc 


278  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

are  to  do  full  justice  to  the  authority  of  the  Svetambara 
tradition  about  the  composition  of  Anuyogadvara.  The 
only  difficulty  in  the  way  is  the  supposed  posteriority 
of  Vatsyayana  to  Nagarjuna  and  to  the  author  of  the 
Lankavatarasutra.  It  is  said  that  certain  aphorisms  in 
the  Nyayastitra  '  do  not  constitute  an  essential  part  of 
the  Nyayastitra,  and  were  evidently  interpolated  into 
it  before  or  during  the  time  of  Vatsyayana,  who  wrote 
a  commentary  on  them.'  I  wonder  how  such  a  state- 
ment could  be  made,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
impugned  passages  discuss  (1)  the  question  of  the 
reality  of  the  external  world  and  its  cause,  which 
arises  directly  from  the  topics  of  (  sfffa  '  and  '  #T  '  and 
(2)  another  about  the  nature  of  ^  whether  it  is  ft^r  or 
arftrf  or  srfarai  wherein  the  Buddhist  standpoint  comes 
naturally  to  be  considered  as  an  extreme  view  in 
opposition  to  that  of  the  Sarhkhya. 

It  is  remarkable  that  there  is  not  a  single 
Nyayastitra  of  a  convincing  character  which  reproduces 
verbatim  the  corresponding  text  or  part  of  the  text 
of  Nagarjuna's  Madhyamika  Sutra.  The  few  that  seem 
to  do  so  contain  either  the  Siddhanta  or  the  Drstantas 
which  could  have  come  down  from  an  earlier  period 
and  repeated  verbatim  according  to  the  general  custom 
of  Indian  writers,  who  love  to  make  anuvada  of  an 
opponent's  position  in  his  own  words,  and,  besides, 
show  little  disposition  to  vary  the  Drstantas19.  Besides 
the  very  fact  that  in  the  parallels  which  Dr.  Vidyabhu- 
gana  had  cited  there  is  often  a  difference  of  words 
without  a  difference  of  sense  points  to   the   conclusion 

19  Of  this  we  have  numerous  instances  in  the  comment- 
aries on  the  Trividha  Anumana  collected  in  this  very  paper 
(See  supra.)  I  just  happen  to  read  the  illustration  *tftfa-3^fi-^ 
in  the  Lankavatara.  Is  it  contended  that  the  UpaniSad  which 
contains  the  illustration  of  sra^  is  posterior  to  Lahkavatara? 


TRIVIDHAM  ANUMXNAM  279 

that  the  author  of  the  Sutras  had  used  some  work 
of  Madhyamika  philosophy  other  than  the  Madhyamika 
Vrtti  of  Nagarjuna.    Thus,  for  example,  Nagarjuna's  'itf 

*  it^'  etc.  which  Dr.  VidyabhGsana  cites  as  the  original 
of  the  Nyaya  Sutra  '^UMmw  ^^-  qfcr<rcfad«i*i<A'mw$  -.' 
appears  to  me  to  be  really  not  its  original  but  only  a 
parallel,  the  original  being  some  other  work  earlier 
than  both.  Prof.  Vidhusekhara  Bhattacarya  has  rightly 
observed  :  "  Certainly  Nagarjuna  established  the 
Madhyamika  school.  But  it  does  not  follow  from  it 
that  all  the  materials  for  building  the  new  structure 
were  his  own.  He  chiefly  collected  them  from  the 
works  previous  to  him,  such  as  the  Prajnaparamita, 
Lankavatara,  etc." 

Now  the  Lankavatara  itself  clearly  indicates  that 
it  is  based  upon  older  traditions  of  the  Madhyamika 
philosophy.  The  very  mythological  setting  of  the 
treatise,  in  which  Buddha  teaches  the  doctrine  of 
Stinyata  to  Ravana,  shows  that  the  author  wants  the 
reader  to  accept  the  doctrine  as  an  old  heritage. 
Besides,  it  is  clearly  declared  to   have  been    taught   by 

*  former  Buddhas,'2"  which  need  not  be  taken  literally, 
but  which  does  point  to  a  date  long  prior  to  the 
composition  of  the  Lankavatara  Sutra.  Besides,  one  of 
the  passages  of  the  Lankavatara  shows  that  the  doctrine 
of  Ksanikata  had  been  criticized  before  and  the  author 
had  therefore  to  stand  on  his  defence  and  explain  what 
it  really  meant  and  what  it  did  not  mean.  Thus,  we 
read  : 

20  «^»TWT^  ^  ^l^ffiflT,  I 


280  A.  B.  DHRUVA 

All  this  is  not  surprising  if  we  remember  that  the 
doctrine  of  Ksanikata,  Nairatmya  or  Sunyata,  is  of  the 
very  essence  of  Buddhism,  and  its  logical  representa- 
tion must  have  been  attempted  centuries  before  the 
age  of  Nagarjuna  and  Lankavatara  Sutra.  The  con- 
troversy of  Sassatavada  and  Ucchedavada  is  at  least 
as  old  as  Buddhism,  perhaps  even  the  Upanisads 
(see  Br.  Up.);  moreover,  the  very  existence  of  a 
school  of  Buddhist  thinkers  who  call  themselves 
Sarvastitvavadins  (a  sub-division  of  the  Sthaviras  and 
one  of  the  primitive  schools  of  Buddhism)  implies  that 
there  existed  a  rival  school  who  denied  that  "  All 
exists  ".  This  may  be  either  the  school  of  Vijnana- 
vadins  who  held  that  "  not  all,  but  only  a  series  of 
Vijnanas  exists  ",  or  those  who  denied  existence  to 
every  thing,  including  even  the  Vijnanas21. 

We  may  therefore  claim  that  the  Buddhistic 
doctrines  which  are  noticed  in  the  Nyaya-Sutras  do 
not  require  us  to  believe  that  they  belong  to  a  period 
posterior  to  the  Lankavatara  Sutra  or  the  Madhyamika 
Vrtti. 

We  have  completed  our  study  of  the  Nyaya  Sutra 
I.  i.  5.  It  has  yielded  very  important  results  in  re  the 
date  of  Gotama's  Sutras,  and  the  history  of  Indian 
Logic  in  the  millenium  following  the  age  of  Gautama 
Buddha  ;  and — what  is  of  still  greater  importance — 
it  has  Jed  us,  in  the  humble  opinion  of  this  writer,  to 
treat  the  date  of  Vatsyayana  as  fixed  by  Dr.  Jacobi 
and  Dr.  Vidyabhusana  as  by  no  means  a  settled  fact. 

21  The  two  doctrines  were  more  or  less  inseparably 
bound  up  together,  and  even  as  late  as  the  Nyaya  Sutra  it  is 
difficult  to  decide  whether  a  particular  adhikarana  contains  a 
refutation  of  one  or  the  other. 


THE   THEISM  OF  GAUTAMA,  THE  FOUNDER 
OF  'NY&YA.' 

By  Ganganath  J  ha. 

1.  In  the  course  of  one's  study  of  the  Indian 
Philosophical  systems,  there  is  scarcely  any  subject 
more  perplexing  than  that  of  Theism.  The  common 
belief  is  that  the  Purva-Mimamsa  is  most  orthodox 
and  hence  the  most  throughgoing  protagonist  of 
Theism  ;  but  every  student  of  this  system  knows  what 
position  if  any  'God'  occupies  in  that  system.  To  say 
nothing  of  the  'God,'  the  Creator  of  the  Universe,  the 
Mlmamsaka  denies  ail  gods,  except  as  hypothetical 
entities,  accepted  only  as  necessary  factors  of  the  act 
of  'sacrifice'. 

2.  Then  comes  the  Uttara-Mimamsa,  popularly 
known  as  'Vedanta';  the  place  assigned  to  this  system 
in  the  hierarchy  of  orthodoxy  is  next,  if  even  so,  to  the 
Purva-Mimamsa  only.  But  here  also,  the  exact  position 
assigned  to  God  is  an  interesting  subject  of  study.  He 
is  not  the  creator,  not  the  nimitta-kdrana>  but  the 
constituent  cause,  the  Upadana,  of  the  Universe  ;  and 
even  so  his  position  is  lower  than  that  of  the  highest 
Being,  Para-Brahman. 

3.  The  'theism'  of  the  two  Mlmamsas  however, 
notwithstanding  the  popular  conception  regarding  it, 
has  long  been  appraised  at  its  true  value  by  all  serious 
students.  The  Mlmamsaka  has  long  been  stigmatised 
as  'atheistic',  and  Kumarila  has  had  to  make  extra- 
ordinary efforts  to  bring  it    into  the  'Xstikapatha'  (vide 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  36I 


282 


GANGANATH  JHA 


Slokavdrtika).    The    Vedantin    also    has  been    openly 
called  the  'pracchanna  Bauddha',  'the  hidden  Buddhist.' 

4.  When  we  turn  to  the  Nyaya,  we  find  that, 
thanks  to  the  two  works  of  Udayanacarya,  it  still 
holds  the  field  as  the  stoutest  champion  of  orthodox 
'Theism'.  So  far  as  the  later  works  are  concerned, 
there  does  not  seem  to  be  any  doubt  as  to  the  fact 
that  the  Naiyayika  is  the  most  thorough-going  upholder 
of  the  view  that  the  world  is  the  creation  of  God. 

5.  What  we  are  going  to  consider  now  is  the 
exact  position  taken  up  on  this  subject  by  the  founder 
of  the  Nyaya  system.  The  Nyaya-sutras,  according  to 
the  Bhasya-kara,  are  divided  into  three  sections- 
Uddesa,  Laksana  and  Pariksd.  The  Uddesa  of  all 
categories  is  contained  in  the  opening  siitra.  In  this 
Sutra,  we  find  only  the  generic  term  'prameya'  'object 
of  cognition';  andthe  individual  objects  of  cognition  are 
uddista  mentioned,  in  Sutra  1.  1.  9,  where  we  find  the 
general  term  'dtman'  ;  and  under  Sidra  1.1.  10,_as  the* 
anumdpaka  or  indicative,  of  the  existence  of  the  Atman 
are  mentioned,  Desire,  Aversion,  Effort,  Pleasure,  Pain 
and  Cognition.     This  is  the  laksana  of  'Stman', 

6.  A  full  lpariksd'  is  contained  under  Sutras 
3.  1.  1.  to  27.  These  27  Sutras  are  divided  into  5 
sections  : — The  first  section  proves  rXtman'  to  be 
distinct  from  the  sense-organs,  the  second  proves  it  to 
be  distinct  from  the  Body;  the  third  section  deals  with 
a  side-issue;  the  fourth  proves  the  Xtman  to  be  differ- 
ent from  Manas  ;  and  the  fifth  proves  that  it  is  an 
eternal  entity. 

7.  There  is  no  mention  in  all  this  of  any  such 
division  as  into  'Jivatman'  and  'Paramatman'. 


THE  THEISM  OF  GAUTAMA  283 

8.  When  we  come  to  the  Fourth  Adhyaya,  we 
find  the  theistic  view  stated  in  unmistakable  terms  in 
SGtra  4.  1.  19,  which  says^'God  is  the  cause,  because 
the  action  of  man  is  found  to  be  fruitless.' 

9.  This  would  appear  to  clinch  the  whole  dis- 
cussion regarding  Gautama's  position.  But  on  closer 
scrutiny  we  find  that  this  theistic  doctrine  has  been 
put  forward  among  'the  views  of  pravadukas',  says  the 
Bhasyakara,  according  to  whom,  therefore  the  Sutra 
does  not  represent  Gautama's  own  view.  It  is  in  fact 
preceded  by  the  much-maligned  and  ill-understood 
Sfinyavada'  doctrine,  which  is  dealt  with  under, 
Sutras  4.  1.  14  to  18. 

10.  It  is  only  when  we  come  to  read  the  Vdrtika 
that  we  find  that  the  peculiarity  of  the  position  was 
realised.  And  it  is  no  wonder ;  since  it  was  the  author 
of  the  Vartika  who  had  to  guard  the  Nyaya  against  the 
attacks  of  lKfddrkikas\  i.  e.  atheists.  He  has  therefore, 
with  a  view  to  show  that  the  doctrine  of  Theism  is  not 
meant  by  Gautama  to  be  relegated  entirely  to  the 
circle  of  '  prdvddukdndm  drstayah\  construed  the 
words  of  the  Bhasya-'Atah  param  pravadukanam 
drstayah  pradarsyante'-by  adding  the  tell-tale  words  - 
Kdnicit  pratisidhyante  Kdnicidabliyauujndyante',  'some 
of  the  views  are  negatived  and  some  are  accepted'; 
evidently  the  doctrine  set  forth  in  Sutra  4.  1.  19 
regarding  'God'  being  the  'cause',  being  the  only  one 
that  is  'accepted.' 

11.  A  study  of  the  commentators  however  sheds 
a  lurid  light  upon  this  device  of  the  Vartikakara  ;  and 
shows  how  hopelessly  confused  is  the  entire  attempt  to 
fasten  this   doctrine    on   Gautama.     According   to   the 


284  GANGANATH  JHA 

Bhdsya,  the  Vartika  and  Visvanatha's  Vrtti,  Sutra  19 
'God  is  the  Cause'  represents  the  view  of  the  Sutrakara 
himself ;  this  is  objected  to  by  the  opponent  who  says 
(Sfitra  20)-'If  God  were  the  Cause,  and  not  man's  action, 
then  results  would  follow,  even  in  the  absence  of  any 
act  of  man';-and  this  is  rebutted  by  Sfitra  21,  which  says 
that  the  act  of  man  is  helped,  in  its  fruition,  by  God. 

12.  As  this  appeared  to  be  inconsistent  with  the 
words  of  the  Bhasya  introducing  the  doctrine  as 
'pravadukanam'  view,  the  Tdtparya  takes  the  entire 
section  as  levelled  against  the  Vedantic  conception  of 
God  being  the  constituent  or  material  cause  of  the 
world.  According  to  this  explanation,  Sfitra  l9-'God 
is  the  Cause'  sets  forth  the  Vedanta  view,  that  God  is 
the  material  cause,  and  this  is  rebutted  in  Sutra  20,  and 
the  Nyaya  view-that  God  is  the  Nimitta-kdrana-is  set 
forth  in  Sutra  21.  This  interpretation  by  the  Tdtparya 
has  been  supported  by  the  Parisuddhi,  which  remarks 
that  Sutra  19  must  be  taken  as  referring  to  the  'material 
cause',  because  the  preceding  section  has  dealt  with 
the  question  of  that  cause.  Vardhamana  also  has 
accepted  this  same  explanation.  Visvanatha  is 
hopelessly  confused  in  his  attempt  at  grappling  with 
the  difficulty. 

13.  The  very  fact  of  'man's  action'  being  set  up 
as  an  antithesis  to  the  'agency  of  God',  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  what  the  Sutra  is  thinking  of  is  the 
nitnittu,  and  not  the  Updddna}  Kdrana. 

14.  The  commentators  are  fully  agreed  regarding 
the  final  siddhanta  of  the  Nyaya  being  that  God  is  the 
nimittaka  aua.  All  that  we  mean  to  show  is  that  there 
is   no   unanimity   among   them   regarding     the    exact 


THE  THEISM  OF  GAUTAMA  285 

bearing  of  the  Sutras;  and  it  is  highly  significant  that 
there  should  be  this  want  of  unanimity  regarding  the 
vital  point. 

15.  It  is  to  be  notd  that  the  doctrine  of  Theism 
has  found  no  mention  anywhere  in  the  sections  that 
contain  Gautama's  statement  of  his  own  views,  and 
that  it  has  been  found  sandwiched  among  avowedly 
heterodox  doctrines  ;  and  has  therefore  called  forth  all 
the  ingenuity  of  all  the  later  commentators,  from  the 
Vdrtika-kara  downwards. 

16.  Incidentally  we  may  note  also  that  according 
to  the  Vartikakara,  there  is  no  such  thing  as  wfrt$} 
'beginning  of  creation'.  He  says  clearly  on  p.  445 
(Bib.  Ind.  Edition),  'Sargdderana-bhyupagamdt,'  and 
again  on  p.  466,  'dderanabhyupagamdt.'  If  there  is  no 
ddi,  beginning,  of  creation  (sarga),  what  would  be  the 
meaning  of  God  being  its  nimittakdrana  f 

17.  From  the  above  it  would  appear  that  the 
conception  of  God  as  the  'Creator'  of  the  world  did 
not  form  part  of  the  philosophy  as  propounded  by 
Gautama ;  and  perhaps  it  was  on  account  of  the 
heretics  having  taken  advantage  of  this  fact  that 
Gautama's  followers  had  to  put  forth  strenuous  efforts 
to  base  their  theism  upon  Gautama's  words  and  to 
prop  it  up  by  means  of  subtle  reasonings  ;  so  much  so 
that  they  have  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  the 
doughtiest  champions  of  the  Theistic  faith. 


LOGIC 

IN    THE    PHILOSOPHICAL    SYSTEMS 

OF   SANKARXCXRYA  AND   ARISTOTLE 

By   R.    Zimmermann,    S.  J. 

The  enquiry  into  the  Logic  in  the  systems  of 
Sankaracarya  and  Aristotle  comprises  three  questions  : 

(1)  What  do  Aristotle  and  Sankaracarya  under- 
stand by  Logic  ? 

(2)  What  is  the  system  of  Logic,  either  expressly 
taught  or  implied  in  the  two  philosophies  ? 

(3)  In  what  relation  does  Logic  stand  to  the 
other  main  heads  of  the  two  philosophical  systems  ? 

/.     The  notion  of  Logic  in  Sankara  and  Aristotle. 

To  observe  the  chronological  order,  Aristotle's 
notion  and  definition  may  be  considered  first.  No- 
where in  Aristotle  is  there  a  clean  cut  definition  of 
Logic  to  be  found.  It  has  to  be  derived  from  the 
division  of  philosophy  and  the  system  of  Logic  itself 
which  Aristotle  propounds  in  the  "Organon".  There 
can,  however,  be  little  doubt  that  he  understands  by 
Logic  the  science  of  correct  thinking,  or  the  science 
of  those  laws  of  thinking  by  which  reason  has  to  be 
governed  to  preserve  the  right  order  in  its  functions. 
Etymologically,  Logic  is  the  science  of  the  Xo'709 
meaning  in  Aristotle  tongue,  speech,  language,  in  the 
first  place;  it  signifies,  secondly,  the  notions  and 
thoughts,  expressed  by  words  and  speech  (^r^n^);  third- 
ly it  indicates  the  faculty  of  thinking  and  reasoning. 
Both  from  the  etymological  meaning  and  from  a  con- 
sideration of  Aristotle's  system  of  Logic,  it  is  clear   that 


288  R.  ZIMMERMANN,  S.  J. 

his  system  of  this  science  comprised  the  so-called  formal 
logic,  moreover  epistemology  or  criteriology,  and 
finally  methodology.  For,  in  his  logical  writings  the 
philosopher  analyses  the  process  of  thinking,  inquires 
into  its  forms  and  functions  by  defining  its  various 
elements  and  means,  concept,  judgment  and  con- 
clusion. Then  he  examines  the  validity  of  the  general 
principles  and  states  their  application  to  the  reality, 
affirming  that  thought  is  but  the  representation  of  the 
reality  in  its  various  degrees.  Finally  he  goes  into  the 
methods  of  the  various  sciences,  seeing  how  far  they 
merely  apply  to  their  object  the  general  laws  laid 
down  by  Logic.  It  is  because  Aristotle  maintains  that 
thought  represents  reality,  that  he  cannot  be  considered 
as  an  exponent  or  follower  of  "  formalistic"  Logic, 
which  makes  the  laws  of  thinking  its  object  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  neglects  the  contents  of  thought 
altogether.  The  real  end  and  aim  of  Logic,  to  find  the 
truth,  is  shaped  by  the  general  tendency  of  the  human 
mmd  towards  the  truth.  This  tendency  has  been 
given  by  no  one  better  expression  than  by  Aristotle 
himself  in  the  classical  words  with  which  he  opens  his 
treatise  on  Metaphysics,  and  it  permeates  the  whole 
system  of  the  Stagirite  in  such  a  manner  that  his  Logic 
receives  its  right  to  be  from  the  desire  to  know,  viz.,  the 
truth. 

Though  the  beginnings  of  philosophical  thought 
may  have  been  very  much  the  same  in  ancient  India 
and  Greece,  yet  the  development  of  it  apparently  did 
not  march  along  the  same  lines.  In  India  specialisa- 
tion of  the  various  branches  of  knowledge  was  soon 
adopted  to  such  an  extent  that  the  organic  connection 
between  the  different  sciences  was  lost  at  a  compara- 
tively early  date.     These  branches,   instead   of  forming 


LOGIC  OF  SANKARA  AND  ARISTOTLE.        289 

one  organic  body  of  thought,  had  each  one  and  the 
same  purpose,  the  explanation  of  the  great  questions 
about  God,  the  World,  our  own  Soul  and  its  functions. 
The  two  Mimarhsakas,  as  well  as  Nyaya  and  Vaisesika, 
and  not  less  than  Samkhya  and  Yoga,  pretended  to 
solve  these  questions  in  harmony  with  the  Sruti.  In 
the  beginning,  then,  they  were  all  centred  round  the 
Sruti,  but  it  must  be  accepted  as  an  historical  fact  that 
these  sciences  of  exegesis  did  not,  according  to  their 
own  natural  character  and  purpose,  develop  into 
branches  of  the  one  great  philosophical  system  based  on 
Sruti,  subordinate  as  we  might  expect,  but  they  grew 
into  various  independent  systems,  co-ordinate  to  one 
another. 

The  reason  for  the  mutual  independence  of  Logic 
from  Metaphysics,  for  instance,  is  therefore  to  be  sought 
in  the  position  which  philosophy  occupied  at  the 
beginning  ;  each  of  these  philosophical  branches  were 
like  Vedangas,  immediately  connected  with  the  tra- 
ditional teaching  of  the  Sruti  which  they  undertook  to 
interpret.  And  now  Logic,  for  instance,  instead  of 
combining  with  some  other  branch  of  philosophy, 
Metaphysics,  e.g.,  developed  into  a  complete  system, 
supposed  to  lead  as  well  as  any  other  to  the  desired 
goal  of  all  philosophy.  This  goal  was  the  Mukti, 
Liberation,  in  later  tiroes,  in  earlier  periods  simply 
the  answer  to  the  many  whys?  and  hows  ?  any  thinking 
man  would  ask  the  Sruti  and  its  exponents.  It  might  thus 
be  in  keeping  with  modern  notions,  but  unhistorical 
in  this  case,  to  look  in  the  system  of  Nyaya  for 
completely  developed  Metaphysics  and,  vice  versa,  in 
Vedanta  for  a  systematic  exposition  of  Logic.  Nor  is 
it  surprising  at  all,  if  in  all  Sankara's  writings  nowhere 
a  binding  definition  of  Logic  may  be  discovered.     But 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  37) 


290  R.  ZIMMERMANN,  S.  J. 

it  is  quite  certain  that  a  head  so  clear  as  that  of 
Sankaracarya's  had  a  very  definite  notion  of  Logic  and 
knew  its  limits  and  its  functions  in  philosophy  right 
well.  For  Sankara,  not  less  than  for  Aristotle,  Logic  is 
the  science  of  correct  thinking,  or  the  science  of  those 
laws  of  thinking  by  which  reason  has  to  be  guided  to 
preserve  the  proper  order  in  its  activities. 

There  is,  however,  one  great  difference  between 
the  two  philosophers.  In  Aristotle's  system  reason  is 
the  supreme  arbiter  in  all  questions  before  the  court  of 
human  enquiry,  whether  it  deals  with  established  facts 
of  the  outside  world,  or  the  inner  psychological  life  of 
Man,  or  even  tries  to  penetrate  the  depths  of  the  other 
world,  and  attempts  to  dive  into  the  divine  Essence 
and  Life.  Not  so  in  Sankaracarya's  system.  It  is 
declared  in  so  many  words  that  Logic  has  to  recognise 
a  court  of  appeal  set  up  in  Sruti.  The  range  of  Logic 
appears  thus  limited  in  Sankaracarya's  system.  It  is 
of  little  avail  to  say  that  the  final  authority,  the  anu~ 
bhava,  is  again  independent  of  Sruti.  Anubhava  as  a 
psychological  act  may  be  independent  of  Sruti,  but  not 
independent  are  the  contents  of  the  act  which  are 
furnished  by  Sruti.  These  points  of  difference  between 
Aristotle's  and  Sankara's  system  are  then  to  be 
registered: — Sankara  has  not  developed  like  Aristotle  a 
scientifically  logical  system  which  could  serve  as  an 
infallible  guide  in  all  the  other  chapters  of  his  philoso- 
phy. Second,  he  allowed  Logic  only  a  limited  field  of 
highest  and  final  authority  in  the  most  important 
questions.  If  it  clashes  with  Sruti,  human  reason, 
though  it  may  work  according  to  the  laws  of  Logic,  is 
no  more  credited  with  sufficient  light  to  be  a  sure 
guide  to  the  desired  goal,  the  ultimate  truth. 


LOGIC  OF  ^ANKARA  AND  ARISTOTLE.         291 

//. — The  system  of  Logic. 

To  begin  with  Aristotle.  His  system  of  Logic  is 
expounded  in  the  so-called  "Organon",  the  instrument 
of  investigation  and  knowledge.  The  Organon  com- 
prises Karrjyopfai  which  treat  of  the  fundamental  forms 
of  "affirmations  concerning  the  existent".  The  short 
essay  Uepl  'Ep/uyeias  analyses  the  proposition  and 
logical  judgment  ;  the  'AmXpned  Updrepa  examine 
the  syllogism;  the  >Ava\iTi<a  "Yo-repa  give  the  philoso- 
pher's view  on  proof,  the  definition  of  a  thing,  the 
division  of  things  and  of  theii  concepts  and  the  cognition 
of  principles.  The  Totuku  treat  of  the  dialectal  or 
examining  inferences,  arising  from  probable  assump- 
tions, The  fallacies  of  the  Sophists  and  their  exposure 
are  the  subject-matter  of  the  Ihp)  o-okftikSv  £\eyx«>v. 

These  works  form  as  many  chapters  in  the  whole 
system  of  Aristotelean  Logic.  First,  there  is  the  onto- 
logical  order  to  be  classified.  Whatever  may  be  attitude 
of  the  cognising  mind  towards  its  object,  and  whatever 
may  be  the  reality  of  Being  :  that  object  and  that  Being 
will  appear  as  something  outside  the  mind,  and  will 
always  appear  as  something  definite.  Hence  the  need 
of  dividing  Being  and  classifying  the  division.  These 
divisions  of  Being  form  the  Aristotelean  categories. 
They,  in  their  turn,  form  the  contents  of  the  notions, 
the  concepts,  which  represent  the  outside  world 
accurately.  The  categories  are  ten  in  all  : — (1)  sub- 
stance: man  ;  (2)  quantity:  two  miles  long  ;  (3)  quality: 
white  ;  (4)  relation  :  double,  greater  ;  (5)  place  :  at  sea; 
(6)  time  :  now  ;  (7)  position:  lies;  (8)  possession: 
armed;  (9)  action:  burns;  (10)  passion:  is  cut.  That 
the  contents  of  thought  and  the  forms  of  speech 
correspond  with  the  forms  of  Being  is  expressly 
stated   by   Aristotle.     And   as   both    the  concepts  and 


292 


R.  ZIMMERMANN,  S.  J. 


the  forms  of  speech  are  alike  based  on  the  forms  of 
existence,  they  correspond  themselves  with  each  other. 
Naturally  then,  the  objective  concepts  as  well  as  the 
forms  of  thought  and  speech  are  considered  and 
examined  by  Aristotle  in  their  relation  to  reality.  Thus 
substance  as  category  denotes  the  substantial  and  the 
independent  ;  it  denotes  also  the  essential.  The 
essential  makes  up  the  contents  of  the  concept — Adyo? 
— and  is  the  logical  parallel  to  the  ontological  thing 
outside.  The  most  outstanding  feature  of  the  substance 
is  its  independence  from  another  substratum  in  which 
it  might  inhere,  and  the  power  of  expressing  the  thing 
determined  and  circumscribed.  For  the  substance, 
more  than  anything  else,  makes  the  thing  to  be 
what  it  is. — All  the  other  categories  are  "Sv/ufiefaicdTa, 
accidents.  They  denote  anything  that  is  extraneous  to 
the  bare  essence  of  a  thing  and  not  essentially  included 
in  its  concept.  There  are  accidents  that  necessarily  are 
connected  with  the  essential  ;  such  an  accident  is  the 
equation  of  all  the  angles  of  a  triangle  with  two  right 
angles.  Other  determinations,  like  colour,  are  merely 
accidental. 

The  combination  of  concepts,  formed  and  circum- 
scribed according  to  the  objective  categories,  is  the 
judgment,  the  expression  of  which  is  done  through  the 
proposition.  The  proposition  is  either  affirmative  or 
negative;  both  are  either  true  or  false.  Truth  in 
Aristotle  is,  as  has  been  stated  above,  nothing  but  the 
agreement  of  knowledge  with  reality.  Now  as  every 
proposition  is  either  true  or  false,  the  principles  of  con- 
tradiction and  of  the  excluded  third  or  middle  follow 
as  a  matter  of  course.  Therefore,  "of  the  affirmation  and 
the  negation  of  the  same  thing  the  one  is  always  false, 
the  other  true."     And  "  between  the  two  terms  of  con- 


LOGIC  OF  ^ANKARA  AND  ARISTOTLE.         293 

tradiction  there  is  no  mean;  it  is  necessary  either  to 
affirm  or  to  deny  every  predicate  of  every  subject." 
Or,  if  we  apply  these  principles  to  the  notion  of 
existence  and  non-existence  in  one  and  the  same  thing 
it  follows  that  "  affirming  non-existence  of  the  existent, 
or  existence  of  the  non-existent,  is  falsehood;  but 
affirming  existence  of  the  existent,  and  non-existence 
of  the   non-existent,  is  truth". 

According  to  Aristotle  a  conclusion  may  be  drawn 
from  certain  premises,  and  through  their  force  ;  this 
conclusion  is  supposed  to  be  different  from  the  pre- 
mises. This  form  of  ratiocination  is  called  syllogism, 
the  typical  form  for  "reasoning  out",  or  deduction. 
Aristotle's  terms  for  induction  is  'Eirayooyri  which  suggests 
a  drawing  up  of  individual  cases  in  lines,  like  troops. 
Only  the  complete  induction  according  to  him  is  a 
strictly  scientific  induction;  the  incomplete  induction, 
combined  with  a  syllogism  sub-joined,  results  in  the 
analogical  inference.  Needless  to  say  that  sense- 
perception  is  recognised  by  Aristotle  as  a  source  of 
truth,  since  he  builds  his  whole  system  on  external 
experience  as  well  as  on  the  functions  of  reason. 
Human  knowledge  with  Aristotle  has  as  boundary  line 
the  individual  (substance)  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
most  general  and  universal  on  the  other.  The  most 
general  principles  cannot  be  proved;  hence  universal 
truths  or  maxims  have  to  be  admitted  as  immediately 
certain.  These  ultimate  principles  —ap%ai  —are  the 
object  of  the  intellect — vols — they  form  an  infallible 
source  of  knowledge.  And  as  psychology  is  with  the 
Stagirite  a  large  field  of  enquiry,  it  goes  without  saying, 
too,  that  he  acknowledges  the  internal  testimony  of  our 
own  consciousness  as  an  independent  source  and 
criterion     of    truth.     From     his     whole     treatise    on 


294  R.  ZIMMERMANN,  S.  J. 

Rhetoric,  as  well  as  from  remarks  made  incidentally  to 
the  exposition  of  the  syllogism,  it  is  clear,  finally,  that 
Aristotle  recognises  the  testimony  of  others,  written  or 
spoken,  as  a  reliable  source  of  truth. 

The  points  of  paramount  importance  in  Aristotle's 
Logic  may  be  summed  up  as  follows: — 

(1)  Concepts  and  thought  of  the  human  mind 
correspond  to  the  outside  world;  (2)  concepts  and 
thoughts  are  transmitted  to  the  mind  by  (five)  sources  of 
knowledge,  which  are,  at  the  same  time,  the  criteria  of 
truth;  (3)  these  criteria  can  under  no  circumstances 
contradict  or  nullify  each  other;  for  truth  is  only  one, 
and  one  and  the  same  thing  cannot  be  true  and  false 
at  the  same  time. 

In  treating  of  Sankaracarya's  Logic  there  is,  at  the 
outset,  the  fallacy  to  be  avoided  of  thinking  that 
Sankara's  Logic  might  be  worse  than  Aristotle's,  because 
it  is  not  such  a  systematic  structure  with  the  same 
clear  features  as  that  of  Aristotle.  Nor  would  it  be 
correct  to  assume  that  certain  tenets  are  not  recognised 
by  Sankara,  because  they  are  not  mentioned  in  so  many 
expressed  words.  A  logical  maxim  or  law  may  not  be 
mentioned  by  any  of  the  three  score  passages  in 
Sankara's  Brahmasutrabhasya  which  treat  of,  or  touch 
upon,  Logic:  yet  it  may  all  the  same  be  a  working 
principle  with  him  and  he  may  build  momentous 
conclusions  on  it.  The  only  safe  way  is  to  construct 
Sankara's  system  of  Logic  in  outline  both  from  his  direct 
utterances  and  from  his  whole  philosophy  as  far  as  it 
supposes  and  embodies  his  views  on  the  laws  of 
thinking. 

From  the  external  shape  of  Sankara's  Logic  it 
follows  at  once  as  a  matter   of    course   that    it  is  in  no 


LOGIC  OF  SANKARA  AND  ARISTOTLE.         295 

way  a  "  formalistic  "  one,  which  merely  considers  the 
functions  and  laws  of  thinking  as  such,  neglecting  the 
contents  of  the  thought.  On  the  contrary,  Sankara's 
Logic  is  mainly  epistemology  and  methodology,  sub- 
servient to  his  higher  ends  of  finding  the  truth  and 
gaining  moksa.  Sankara  cannot  be  considered  as  an 
idealist  either,  in  the  unrestricted  sense  of  the  word, 
though  his  ultimate  assertions  may  justify  such  a  name 
to  a  large  extent.  Again,  though  certain  tenets  of  his 
might  countenance  the  suspicion  that  he  was  a  sceptic, 
yet  he  uses  reason  to  such  a  degree  in  building  up  his 
system  that  the  term  sceptic  would  become  something 
very  short  of  a  misnomer.  For,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  Sankara  not  only  believes  in  the  theoretical 
capability  of  the  human  mind  to  attain  the  truth  ;  he 
also  holds  that,  the  necessary  conditions  on  the  part  of 
the  cognising  subject  and  the  object  of  cognition  being 
fulfilled,  the  mind  is  actually  in  possession  of  truth. 
With  Sankara,  too,  truth  is  but  the  adequation  of  the 
cognising  faculty  to  the  reality.  This  definition  of 
truth  holds  good  in  the  qrw^Nsr  awn  neither  more 
nor  less  than  in  the  °4N*ifafl  3T*rerr ;  the  objective 
reality,  whatever  that  may^  be,  is  the  unm^  the 
mind  is  the  sfcp^.  Sankara  went  on  holding 
this  view  on  the  mind  and  its  object  in  face  of  his 
theory  of  the  unreality  of  the  world  which  goes  against 
the  plain,  matter-of-fact  view  and  the  testimony  of  the 
majority   of   the   sources   and   criteria   of    knowledge. 

Unlike  Aristotle,  Sankara  does  not  seem  to  have 
aimed  at  a  classification  of  the  things  that  are  the 
objects  of  perception  and  the  basis  of  human  thought. 
This  was  not  so  necessary  for  him  as  for  the  Greek 
philosopher,  a  good  deal  of  whose  labour  was  to  be 
spent  among   the    material    things  of   this   world   into 


296  R.  ZIMMERMANN,  S.  J. 

which  he  carried  his  system  of  classification  for 
purposes  of  science.  Nor  did  Sankara  possibly  even  think 
such  a  classification  worth  his  trouble,  his  one  great 
end  being  to  lead  from  the  "unreal"  world  over  to  the 
only  Reality  along  the  shortest  possible  route,  w^  or 
stwi ,  was  for  ever  the  great  question  with  Sankara - 
carya.  Having  once  declared  the  appearance  of 
individuals  and  the  plurality  of  Beings  as  an  illusion, 
it  was  not  worth  while  any  more  to  enquire  what  was 
the  carrier  of  the  erroneous  illusion,  and  how  it  was 
clothed  :  in  other  words,  the  question  of  substance 
and  accident  waned  into  insignificence. 

As  to  the  sources  of  concept  and  thought,  it 
is  a  well  known  fact  that  Sankara  recognises  Sew, 
3T3^R,  «d<WM,  51^  as  sources  of  knowledge.  It  is 
obvious  that  they  correspond — details  of  external  form 
left  apart — to  Aristotle's  sense  perception,  syllogism, 
analogical  inference,  and  testimony  of  authority.  The 
5T^r«TfqT%  and  qt^tst^t  ,  also  recognised  by  Sankara,  have 
no  parallels  in  Aristotle's  Logic  as  independent  sources 
of  knowledge  and  criteria  of  truth.  But  there  is  one 
wn^ ,  though  usually  not  mentioned  by  Indian  writers 
as  such,  that  unquestionably  has  not  only  been  accepted 
by  Sankara,  but,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  has  been  made 
the  criterion  of  the  <rcr  f^ir  ,  and  which  accomplishes 
nothing  less  than  the  transference  of  the  ^rft^ into  the 
TTWPfor  3T^«rr  .  This  most  important  wi^  is  the  3T«pTC 
which  has  its  accurate  logical  pendant  in  the 
(testimony  of)  consciousness,  recognised  and  largely 
made  use  of  by  the  Stagirite. 

So  far  the  logical  concepts  and  their  applications 
are  essentially  the  same  with  the  two  philosophers. 
The  differences  to  be  registered  are  of  such  minor 
importance  that  they  could  not  substantially  affect  their 


LOGIC  OF  SANKARA  AND  ARISTOTLE.         297 

whole  systems.  So  it  seems.  There  arises  then  the 
problem,  how  can  on  substantially  the  same  logical 
basis  the  one  philosopher  rear  his  system  of  pantheistic 
monism,  and  the  other  a  system  of  dualism?  The 
ways  of  the  two  thinkers  part  in  their  concept  of  Being, 
and  second  in  their  application  of  the  criteria  of  truth. 
The  two  steps  are  not  independent  of  each  other.  For 
Aristotle,  as  we  have  seen,  the  principle  of  contradiction, 
and  consequently  the  principle  of  the  excluded 
third  or  middle  is  an  universal  axiom  that  does  not 
suffer  any  exception  whatever.  u  The  same  thing 
cannot  at  the  same  time  and  in  the  same  respect 
belong  and  not  belong  to  the  same  thing."  It  is  a 
categorical  Either  Or  which  Aristotle  here  professes. 
Sankara,  on  the  other  hand,  feels  no  hesitation  in 
postulating  a  middle  term  between  the  two  contra- 
dictories,    when     he   defines   the   objective  Maya    as 

As  the  principle  of  contradiction  sustains  thus  a 
breach  in  the  very  first  concept,  that  of  Being,  it  is 
small  wonder  that  the  ontological  foundation  of  the 
Sankaramata  becomes  diametrically  opposed  to  that  of 
Aristotle.  This  exception  from  the  principle  of  con- 
tradiction once  accepted,  the  theory  of  Maya,  in  the 
subjective  and  objective  sense,  loses  its  grotesque 
character.  Sankara  cannot  in  earnest  be  taken  to  task 
for  using  a  double  standard  of  truth,  the  one  set  by  the 
5c2^tt^?i%  the  other  by  Sruti,  and  realised  and  indi- 
vidually appropriated  by  means  of  the  3T-pre  .  The 
distinction  between  the  wn  and  f^ir  f^n  may  not  be 
backed  up  by  the  Badarayanabrahmasutrani ;  Sankara  is 
free  to  confess  to  them  as  a  bold  innovation  of  his  own 
or  his  predecessors'  genius. 

There  then  lies  the  greatest  difference  between 
[F.  O.  C.  II.  38] 


298 


R.  ZIMMERMANN,  S.  J. 


the  two  logical  systems  of  Sankara  and  Aristotle  : — 
Sankara  splits  the  concept  of  Being  into  two  ;  he  postu- 
lates something  between  existence  and  non-existence, 
affirming  contradictory  predicates  of  the  offshoot  and, 
naturally,  confessing  its  inexpressibility.  With  Aristotle 
Being  either  is  or  is  not  ;  there  is  no  third  or 
mean  between  them.  Consequent  upon  this,  Aristotle 
has  only  one  standard  of  truth  and  only  one  system  of 
reality  :  absolute  unity  pervades  the  realms  of  the 
subjective  and  objective  worlds. 

777.     The    Relation  of  Logic  to  the  other 
philosophical  disciplines. 

The  position  of  logic  is  marked  out  by  the  general 
aim  of  that  particular  system  of  which  Logic  forms 
part,  and  by  the  main  divisions  into  which  that  system 
is  divided.  As  for  the  aim  of  Aristotle's  philosophy, 
the  student  is  not  in  the  least  left  in  the  dark.  The 
Greek  philosopher  observed  the  facts,  analysed  and 
classified  them,  drew  from  them  his  conclusions,  and 
constructed  his  theories  in  that  direction  in  which  the 
ascertained  data  pointed.  All  through,  the  desire  to 
know  stimulated  the  investigator  and,  with  an  acumen 
unique  for  his  time  and  for  centuries  to  come,  he 
based  his  doctrines  on  the  World,  its  constitution  and 
origin,  on  Man,  and  on  God  on  the  actual,  observed  state 
of  things.  Thus  the  Aristotelean  system  fully  deserves 
the  name  of  Realism.  Never  perhaps  in  all  history  of 
philosophy  did  a  thinker  start  with  less  preconceived 
ideas,  and  very  rarely,  indeed,  did  a  philosopher  more 
carry  his  observations  into  his  speculations  ;  and  it 
would  be  difficult  to  find  anyone  who  built  his  system 
with  more  consistency  both  on  his  observations  and 
speculations.  In  fact,  Logic  and  its  laws,  extracted 
from,   and  in   harmony   with,  the  reality,  speaks  the 


LOGIC  OF  ^ANKARA  AND  ARISTOTLE.         299 

final  verdict  equally  in  the  plainest  and  the  most 
sublime  questions.  If  the  laws  of  thinking  permitted,  a 
conclusion  was  accepted  ;  but  no  theory,  however 
tempting  in  itself,  and  apparently  unavoidable  either 
from  a  theoretical  or  practical  point  of  view,  was 
admitted  that  could  not  stand  the  test  of  rigid  Logic. 

A  consideration  of  the  division    of  philosophy,   as 
proposed  by  Aristotle,  gives   the   same   impression   on 
the  importance  of  Logic.     He  divides   philosophy  very 
much    in    the   same   way   as    Plato  when   he     says  :- 
"Philosophical  problems  and  theorems  are  either  ethical, 
physical,  or  logical".     The  logical  theorems   are  those 
that  have  a  general  bearing  on  all   subjects.     They   are 
not  specifically  physical  or  ethical,  but  universal,  and  as 
such  reach  all  things,  including  metaphysical  questions 
in     particular.     It   is    true,    this   arrangement     seems 
to  have  been   only  a   provisional   one  ;  Aristotle's   real 
division  of  philosophy  is  a  distinction  between  practical, 
poetical       ( creative ),      and     theoretical     knowledge. 
As  Logic  has  no  distinct  place  in  this  division,  it  seems 
Aristotle  considered  it  as  a  merely  preparatory  doctrine, 
though  theoretical  knowledge  occupies   the  first    place 
among  the  rest.     In  Metaphysics   IV.  3   he   points   out 
the  necessity  of  knowing  Logic  before  studying   Meta- 
physics.    This,    indeed,  would  seem  to  make  Logic  a 
propaedeutic  science  only  to  Metaphysics,    if  it   would 
not  actually  include  Logic  in  Metaphysics   as  a   formal 
introduction.      Since,    however,    Logic    is    the    right 
method  of  thinking,  not  only  in  Metaphysics,  but  in  all 
philosophical  disciplines,  it  is  beyond  doubt  that  Logic 
occupies  the  same  position  of    a  conditio  sine   qua    non 
with  reference  to  Ethics  and  Physics,    in  short   to   the 
whole  philosophy,   as    it    does   to   Metaphysics.     This 
view  that  Logic  is   a   propaedeutic    discipline   has  not 
impaired  in  the  least  the  strictly  scientific  and  methodic 


300  R.  ZIMMERMANN,  S.  J. 

character  of  Aristotle's  logical  system.  On  the 
contrary,  because  he  made  weal  and  woe  of  his  whole 
philosophy  depend  on  Logic,  he  created  such  a  perfect 
system  of  that  science  that  rightly  he  is  called  the 
founder  of  scientific  Logic  in  the  West. 

Turning  to  Sankaracarya,  we  find  that  the  position 
of  Logic  in  his  system,  too,  is  fixed  both  by  the  general 
aim  of  his  philosophy  and  by  the  distinction  between 
the  various  disciplines  that  is  either  actually  or  at  least 
virtually  to  be  seen  in  his  writings.  For  Sankara,  not 
less  than  for  any  of  the  great  thinkers  of  ancient  India, 
philosophy  had  to  perform  the  grand  task  of  liberation. 
And  now  Sankara's  position  is  marked  off  from  that  of 
most  of  his  rivals  in  India  and  a  good  many  illustrious 
names  outside  India  by  his  doctrine  that  liberation 
from  the  dreadful  bondage  of  migration  is  brought 
about  by  the  intellect  and  its  highest  function,  the 
proper  knowledge,  the  %H  par  excellence.  It  cannot 
be  denied  that  at  first  sight  there  seems  to  be  an  incon- 
sistency in  this  that  the  bondage  is  effected  by  ^, 
action,  both  of  will  and  body  ;  the  liberation  from  it, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  accomplished  by  the  intellect 
and  its  activity.  But  it  must  not  be  left  out  of  sight 
that  even  the  %rc  and  all  its  causes  and  consequences 
are,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  effect  of  ignorance,  3TW*. 
Thus  it  is  on  the  part  of  Sankara  not  at  all  illogical  to 
say  that  will  and  action  may  change  the  course  of  the 
transmigration,  but  true  knowledge  alone  can  do  away 
with  it.  Thus  the  highest  principle  in  Sankara's 
philosophy  is  the  Myos  in  the  sense  of  the  faculty  and 
its  acts. 

The  question  now  arises,  does  this  principle  of 
liberation  act  according  to  fixed,  unalterable  laws  ? 
The  exercise  of  the  cognising  faculty   which   leades  to 


LOGIC  OF  SANKARA  AND  ARISTOTLE.         301 

redemption  is  the  3*3*pt,  self-realisation.  This  anubhava 
must  be  prepared  by  action,  teaching,  self-concen- 
trating meditation,  etc.;  but  how,  when,  why,  it  actually 
will  take  place  is  beyond  all  control.  If  it  comes  to  the 
wft^,  well  and  good,  if  it  tarries,  it  cannot  be  forced. 
There  is  no  ^rfe^WT^  between  anubhava  and  any 
of  its  antecedents,  no  infallible  means  to  bring  it  about 
in  a  definite  manner  and  at  a  certain  time.  The  con- 
clusion, then,  would  seem  unavoidable  that  the 
Vedanta  of  Sankara  raises  knowledge,  a  logical  principle 
to  the  highest  possible  dignity,  yet  he  lowers  it  as  a 
philosophical  and  scientific  principle  by  removing  it 
from  the  control  such  a  principle  is  necessarily 
subject  to. 

The  main  heads  of  Sankara's  doctrine  are  summed 
up  in  the  sloka  : — w®  *R*T  *hiPhwtt  sfaft  stjta  JTm:  i  which 
amounts  to  the  assertion  of  the  (only)  reality  of  the 
Supreme  ontological  Principle,  the  unreality  of 
the  (outside)  world,  and  the  identity  between  the 
human  soul  and  the  Supreme  Principle.  It  is  hardly 
justifiable  to  say  that  Logic  occupies  the  position  of 
a  propaedeutic  science  in  this  division,  as  it  does  in 
Aristotle's  philosophy.  With  Sankara,  Logic  is  only 
in  a  restricted  sense  the  necessary  supposition  for  the 
rest  of  philosophy.  In  his  system  it  is  not  the  universal 
logical  maxim  and  principle  that  is  without 
exception.  If  Logic  runs  counter  to  the  ultimate 
thesis,  All  is  brahman,  then  Logic  has  to  end,  its 
means  are  declared  invalid  and  misleading  and 
theories  like  that  of  the  epsns  are  put  forward  to  ex- 
plain the  contradiction.  Thus  there  results  the 
paradox  that  in  Sankara's  sytem  of  philosophy  for  the 
sake  of  logical  consistency  Logic  itself  is  set  at  nought. 


ARCHAEOLOGY. 


ORIGIN  OF  INDIAN  ALPHABET. 

By  D.  R.  Bhandarkar. 

All  the  earliest  inscriptions  found  in  this 
country  have  been  engraved  in  two  different  scripts 
or  lipis,--one  called  Brahmi  which  was  written 
from  left  to  right  as  in  all  Hindu  scripts  of  the 
modern  day  and  the  other  called  Kharosthi  which 
was  written  from  right  to  left  as  in  Persian  or 
Arabic.  The  latter  flourished  in  the  north-west 
part  of  India  only,  whereas  the  former  was  in  vogue 
all  over  India,  including  the  small  region  where 
the  Kharosthi  was  written.  Again,  the  Kharosthi 
died  a  natural  death  before  the  4th  century  A.  D., 
whereas  the  Brahmi  has  been  recognised  to  be  the 
parent  of  all  the  scripts  indigenous  not  only  to  India 
but  also  to  Ceylon,  Burma  and  Tibet.  The  foreign 
origin  of  the  former  has  never  been  called  in 
question,  but  the  same  has  not  yet  been  definitively 
established  of  the  latter.  Besides,  the  Brahmi  is 
admitted  to  have  been  framed  by  phonologists  for 
writing  Sanskrit  and  Sanskrit  ic  languages.  The 
Brahmi  has  thus  been  rightly  looked  upon  as  the  real 
ancient  alphabet  of  India.  When,  therefore,  the  origin 
of  the  Indian  alphabet  is  the  subject  of  discussion, 
the  origin  of  the  Brahmi  alone  is  understood. 

Numerous  and  diverse  arc  the  views  propounded 
of  the  origin  of  the  Indian  alphabet.  They  may, 
however,  be  reduced  to  three  main  theories.  The  first 
is  that  originally  suggested  by  Prinsep  who  first 
unravelled  the  enigma  of  the  Brahmi  ///>/.  He  was  in- 
IF.  O.  C.  II  39l- 


306  t>.  R-  BHANDARKAR 

clined  to  ascribe  the  alphabet  of  Asoka  inscriptions  to 
the  Greek  source.  In  this  view  he  was  followed  by 
Otfried  Muller  and  sometime  after  even  by  Senart1. 
There  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  is  a  great  resemblance 
between  the  Greek  and  the  earliest  Brahml  characters. 
But  it  is  beset  by  insuperable  difficulties  based  chiefly 
on  grounds  of  chronology.  Nobody  now  believes  that 
the  Brahmi  lipi  originated  in  the  Asoka  period.  This 
view  consequently  has  long  since  been  rejected.  The 
second  theory  we  have  to  consider  is  that  which  regards 
the  Indian  Alphabet  as  having  an  indigenous  origin. 
It  was  first  suggested  by  Lassen  and  afterwards  counten- 
anced by  Edward  Thomas  who  thought  it  to  be  an 
invention  of  the  Dravidian  races  of  Southern  India. 
This  theory  in  somewhat  recent  times  found  an  able 
supporter  in  Sir  Alexander  Cunningham  who  made  a 
regular  attempt  to  derive  it  from  a  primitive  Indian 
picture-writing2.  Cunningham  was  followed  by  Dowson 
who  maintained  more  emphatically  that  the  Indian 
alphabet  was  an  independent  invention.  The  third 
theory  is  that  of  Semitic  orgin.  It  is  upheld  by  a  good 
many  palaeographists,  and  is  now  in  the  ascendant.  It 
was  originally  put  forward  as  early  as  '1806  by  Sir 
William  Jones.  Of  the  advocates  of  this  theory  two 
main  classes  are  at  present  recognised.  The  foremost 
of  one  class  are  Deecke  and  Issac  Taylor3  who  hold  that 
the  Indian  alphabet  is  derived  from  that  of  the  Southern 
Semites  in  South  Arabia,  and,  of  the  other  are  Weber 
and  Biihler4  who  maintain  that  it  is  derived  directly 
from  that  of  the  Northern  Semites,  the  earliest  Phoeni- 

1 2 . , 

1  Isaac  Taylor,  The  Alpliabet,  II.  304 

2  CII.,  I.  52. 

3  The  Alphabet,  II,  314  &  ff. 

4  bid.  Studies,  III.  53  &  ff. 


ORIGIN  OF  INDIAN  ALPHABET  307 

cian  alphabet  known  to  us   from   the   long   epigraphic 
document  of   Mesha,  king   of   Moab,   the   oldest   Sin- 
jirli   inscription   and    certain    characters    engraved  on 
the  Assyrian    Weights,    which  all  have  been  supposed 
to  be   of   about     B.  C.  850.     The     adherents   of    the 
latter  view   are   now  so   numerous  that  it  has  become 
the    accepted    doctrine    of    all    experts     in     Indian 
palaeography.     This   theory   of  the    Phoenician   origin 
of  the    Indian   Alphabet     was     no     doubt    first    pro- 
pounded by  Weber  but  the  credit  of  establishing  it  on 
a  firmer  basis  certainly  goes  to  Buhler.     It  was  he  who 
brought   all    his  scholarship  and    his  expert    knowledge 
of    Indian   epigraphy  to   bear  upon    the    subject   and 
has   done  real   service   to  the   cause   of  palaeography 
in    establishing   some   conclusions  which  are  even  now 
unassailable.     One  of  the   strongest    arguments   urged 
by   Cunningham    and   Thomas  in  rejecting   a  Semitic 
origin    for   the   old  Alphabet  of  India  is  the  difference 
in    the   direction  of   the   writing.     All   the   epigraphic 
records  of  ancient   India  run  from  left  to  right  whereas 
those   of     the    Semitic    races     from     right    to     left. 
Unless,  therfore,   it   was  proved  that  the  Indians  wrote 
from  right  to  left    it   was  impossible   to  adhere  to   any 
theory   of     Semitic     origin.     In    other  words,   before 
any   scholar  can  hope  to   propound  the  theory  that  the 
Brahml  is  derived  from  a    Semitic  alphabet,  he  has   to 
prove  in  the  iirst    place   that    Brahmi  was  at    any  time 
written  from  right  to   left    like  Semitic  scripts  and  not 
from  left  to  right  as  is  generally  known  to  us, — a  point  on 
which  Cunningham   and   Thomas  laid  so 9 much  stress. 
And   it    must  now  be  acknowledged  that  the  adherents 
of    the     thoery    of    the     Semitic     origin     have    now 
clearly     demonstrated    that     even    the      Brahmi     lipi 
was   originally     written     from     right     to  left.      Thus 


308  D.  R.  BHANDARKAR 

Biihler   has     drawn     our     attention   to  the   fact  that 
the   legend   on    a     coin,    originally   found     by    Cun- 
ningham at  Eran    but   now  deposited    in   the   British 
Museum,   consists   of      letters   which   not   only     have 
to  be   read    from     right   to    left    but   are   also   each 
reversed5.      He    has     further   shown     that     even     in 
Asoka's     edicts     single   letters   such   as   dh,  t  and    o 
are   sometimes   found    reversed,     no    doubt     a  remi- 
niscence of  the  writing  from  right  to  left.     Further  such 
reminiscences   have   been  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Wickre- 
masinghe,     the      learned    Editor    of    the    Epigraphia 
Zelynica.    The   students    of  Asoka's   inscriptions   are 
aware  of  the  rather  peculiar  way  in  which  the  conjunct 
consonants   are   engraved.     Conjunct  .  consonants,    it 
need  scarcely  be  stated,  must   be   so   written    as    to 
follow  the  order  in  the  pronunciation    of    its   sounds. 
And  when  a   script  is   written    from    left   to     right  as 
we  do   at    present,    the    letter  /must    come    above/) 
in    the   conjunct    consonant    tpa,  s    above  /  in    sta,  v 
above  y  in  vya.    But  what  do  we  find  in  Asoka's  edicts  ? 
As  a    rule  the    letter    that    is    pronounced    first    is 
placed  below  and  not   above  the  second  letter.     Such 
a  reversal  of  the  process  is  possible  only  in  the  mode 
of  writing  from  right  to  left.     The  compound-letters  of 
his  inscriptions  clearly  show  that  the  writing  of  Asoka's 
period  was  still  to  a  large  extent  influenced  by  the  old 
long-settled  system  of  reading  from  right  to  left0.     But 
Asoka's  incriptions  are  not  the  only  instances  of  this 
kind.     Mr.  Wickramesinghe  has  informed  us  that  in 
Ceylon   have^  been   discovered   scores   of   inscriptions 
whose  characters  are  in  several    instances  cut  reverse- 
ly or     which  have    actually    to    be  read   from  right 

5  Ind.  Studies,  III.  44-5. 

6  J.  R.  A.  S.,  1901,  302  &  ff. 


ORIGIN  OF  INDIAN  ALPHABET  309 

to  left7.  The  important  fact  to  note  is  that  this 
anomaly  is  to  be  met  with  only  in  the  most  ancient 
inscriptions,  i.e.  in  the  Southern  Asoka  character,  and 
that  there  is  not  a  single  epigraph  of  a  later  date,  in 
Ceylon  as  in  India,  which  reads  from  right  to  left  or  in 
which  individual  letters  are  reversely  engraved.  The 
evidence  thus  set  forth  is  strong  enough  to  show  that 
long  long  anterior  to  Asoka  the  Brahml  letters  were 
written  from  right  to  left  and  in  a  reversed  form  but 
that  shortly  before  his  time  people  had  commenced 
writing  from  left  to  right  with  the  result  that  even  in  his 
time  writing  from  right  to  left  had  not  become  com- 
pletely extinct  and  that  even  in  writings  from  left  to 
right  the  reversed  forms  of  single  letters  occasion- 
ally lingered  both  in  India  and  Ceylon.  An  exactly 
analogous  case  has  been  furnished  by  the  earliest 
Greek  alphabet  called  the  Cadmean  alphabet8.  From 
the  island  of  Thera,  now  called  Santorin,  have  been 
obtained  upwards  of  twenty  inscriptions  extending  over 
two  or  three  centuries.  The  latest  have  been  written 
from  left  to  right  in  a  Greek  alphabet  approaching  to 
the  Abu  Simel  type,  but  the  earliest  are  engraved  from 
right  to  left  and  in  reversed  Greek  characters  thus 
resembling  letters  of  Phoenician  style.  What  thus 
happened  in  the  case  of  the  Greek  alphabet  must 
doubtless  have  happened  in  the  c;ise  of  the  Bramhi  lipi 
also.  Thus  the  argument  that  the  ancient  alphabet  of 
India  always  ran  from  left  to  right  which  was  urged  by 
Cunningham  and  Thomas  against  its  foreign  origin  was 
completely  demolished  by  the  evidence  adduced  by 
Bflhler  and  Mr.  Wickramcsinghe.  There,  however, 
remained  the  third  vehement  advocate  of  the   theory 

7  Ibid.,  1895.  896-7. 

8  Issac  Taylor,  The  Alphabet,  II.  28  &  ff. 


310  D.  R.  BHANDARKAR 

of    indigenous    origin,    viz :       Dowson9,    who    boldly 
challenged   his  adversaries  "to  show  whence  it   came" 
if  the  Indian    alphabet  was   a  foreign    importation,  no 
sufficient   resemblance  between  the  Brahml   character 
and    any   class   of   Semitic   alphabet    being   till   then 
established,   Then  came  Isaac  Taylor10  who  first  made  a 
systematic   attempt  at  showing  a  close  correspondence 
between  the  Brahml  and  the  Sabean  alphabet  of  Arabic 
Felix.     And   he   was   soon   followed  by   Biihler    who 
showed  the   still  closer  correspondence  of  the    Brahml 
with   the   alphabet   of  the  Northern  Semites   thus    de- 
monstrating   as    he    thought   the    correctness   of  the 
hypothesis  which  Weber  originally  put  forth  but  could 
not   prove   owing  to  the   lack   of   materials   when    he 
wrote11.     Biihler   went    further   and  showed  that   the 
theory  of  a  South-semitic  origin  of  the  Brahml  alphabet 
was   untenable,  because  the  resemblance   of  character 
between  the  two  pointed  out  by  its  advocates  was  often 
fanciful  and  assumed  most  extraordinary  changes  in  the 
phonetic   value   of  the  signs,   especially   when    Hindus 
had   always   been   very   particular,    nay    pedantic,    in 
matters,  connected  with  phonetics.     On  the  other  hand 
Buhler's  theory  was  not  free  from  an  element  of   doubt, 
to  which  Prof.     Rhys  Davids  was  the  first  to  draw   our 
attention12.     Direct     intercourse   between    India  and 
South   Arabia   along   the   coast  was  at    least  possible, 
though   not  probable   in   the  6th  or  7th  century   B.C. 
So  that  it  is  at  least  possible,  on  this  ground,  to  trace 
the  source  of  the  Brahml  lipi  to  South   Arabia   though 
on  other  grounds  it  is  untenable,  as  Biihler  has  shown. 

9  J.  R.  A.  S.  (NS.),  XIII,  H2 

10  Tlie  Alphabet,  II.  318  &  ff. 

1 1  Ind.  Studies,  III.  54  &  ff . 

1 2  Buddhist  India,  1 1 4 


ORIGIN  OF  INDIAN  ALPHABET  311 

"But  no  one  has  yet  contended  that  the  Indians  had 
any  direct  communication  with  the  men  who,  on  the 
borders  of  Palestine,  inscribed  the  Mesa  stone,  where 
the  resemblance  is  greater."  Prof.  Rhys  Davids  is, 
therefore,  compelled  to  put  forth  the  hypothesis  that 
"Indian  letters  were  derived,  neither  from  the  alphabet 
of  the  Northern,  nor  from  that  of  the  Southern  Semitesi 
but  from  that  source  from  which  these,  in  their  turn 
had  been  derived — from  the  pre- Semitic  form  of  writing 
used  in  the  Euphrates  Valley."  Unfortunately,  Prof. 
Rhys  Davids  has  not  shown  what  this  "pre-Semitic 
form  of  writing  used  in  the  Euphrates  Valley"  is, 
whether  there  is  any  convincingly  sufficient 
resemblance  between  it  and  the  Brahmi  //'/>/,  and  at  what 
period  approximately  it  was  transplanted  into  India. 
Unless  some  light  is  thrown  on  these  points,  his  theory 
about  the  pre-Semitic  form  of  writing  is  wholly  con- 
jectural, being  unsupported  by  any  known  facts.  It  is 
this  conjectural  nature  of  his  theory  that,  I  am  afraid, 
has  prevented  scholars  from  perceiving  the  flaw  in 
Biihler's  theory  which  Prof.  Rhys  Davids  has  correctly 
pointed  out.  Unless  it  is  clearly  shown  that  India 
had  direct  intercourse  with  the  borders  of  Palestine 
in  the  7th  or  8th  century  B.  C,  what  is  the  good  of 
saying  that  the  Brahmi  lipi  is  derived  from  the 
alphabet  that  was  prevalent  in  that  part  of  the  World 
and  at  that  period,  as  Biihler  has  no  doubt  done  ? 
Nevertheless,  scholars  have  not  taken  cognisance  of 
this  glaring  flaw  so  ably  perceived  by  Prof.  Rhys 
Davids,  ;md  have  rather  precipitately  fallen  in  entirely 
with  the  views  of  Biihler.  The  triumph  for  the  Semitic 
theory  was  thus  complete,  apparently  at  any  rate,  and 
continued  to  be  so  until  three  years  ago  when  the  pre- 
historic cairns  in  the  Nizam's  dominions  were  excavated 


312 


D.  R.  BHANDARKAR 


in  Rajgir  in  the  Nalgonda  District.  On  cleaning  the 
pottery  dug  out  here,  Mr.  G.  Yazdani,  Superintendent 
of  Archaeology,  noticed  peculiar  marks  on  them,  which 
in  some  cases  were  so  faint  that  they  would  have 
escaped  his  notice,  being  mistaken  for  ordinary 
scratches  but  for  the  identity  of  one  of  them  with  a 
character  of  Brahmi  script  which  was  fresh  in  his  mind 
as  he  had  then  only  recently  finished  his  eye  copies  of 
the  newly  discovered  Asokan  edict  of  Maski.13  The 
identity  impressed  him  ;  and  as  he  continued  to  wash 
and  examine  the  pots,  he  found  that  every  one  of  them 
was  similarly  marked.  Similar  marks  had  been  noticed 
by  the  late  Mr.  Bruce  Foote  on  the  p  re-historic  pottery 
exhibited  in  the  Madras  Museum.  Mr.  Yazdani 
naturally  visited  this  Museum,  and  personally  and  care- 
fully examined  all  the  pots  and  potsherds  collected 
here  from  the  fourteen  districts  of  the  Madras  Presidency 
and  the  various  sites  of  the  Mysore  and  Travancore 
States.  No  less  than  one  hundred  and  thirty  one 
different  marks  was  he  able  to  notice,  of  which  he  pre- 
pared a  diagram  accompanied  by  a  brief  description  of 
each  pot.  But  this  number  he  rightly  regards  as  by  no 
means  final,  as  pottery  from  every  fresh  site  may  add 
to  it,  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  has  since  then  added  to 
it.  It  may  be  mentioned  here  in  passing  that  the  pre- 
historic pottery  dug  out  in  the  Hyderabad  cairns  is 
associated  with  Megalithic  structures  which  cannot  be 
later  than  1500  B,  C.  and  that  some  of  the  pottery 
exhibited  in  the  Madras  Museum  belongs  to  the  Neoli- 
thic age  u,  which  cannot  be  posterior  to  3000  B.  C. 
What  is,  however,  most  noteworthy  in  this  connection 
is  that  at  least  five  of  these  marks  are  identical  with  the 

13  Jour.  Hyder  Arch.  Soc,  1917,  57  &  fif. 

14  Ibid.,  65-6,  nos.  I  &  3. 


ORIGIN  OF  INDIAN  ALPHABET  313 

letters  of  the  earliest  Brahml  alphabet.  Is  it  not  possible 
that  this  script  was  after  all  derived  not  from  any  foreign 
but  an  Indian  alphabet  though  of  the  pre-historic 
period  ?  Fortunately  for  us  this  phenomenon  is  confined 
not  to  India  only  but  is  noticeable  also  in  Europe. 
A  large  number  of  pebbles  were  discovered  by  M.  Ed. 
Piette  at  Mas  d'Azil,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Arize  in 
France  belonging  to  a  stratum  between  the  Palaeolithic 
and  Neolithic  Age.  On  some  of  these  pebbles  symbols 
resembling  the  capital  letters  of  the  alphabet  have  been 
found  painted.  Piette  himself  is  inclined  to  see  in 
these  symbols  the  forerunners  of  the  later  syllabaries 
and  alphabets  of  the  East,  nine  of  them  agreeing  with 
forms  of  the  Cypriot  syllabary  and  eleven  with  those  of 
the  Phoenician  alphabet IB.  It  is,  therefore,  perfectly 
reasonable  to  see,  in  the  symbols  on  the  pre-historic 
pottery  of  India,  the  forerunners  of  the  characters  con- 
stituting the  Brahml  lipi.  If  we  now  carefully  examine 
the  diagram  of  symbols  prepared  by  Mr.  Yazdani  it 
must  be  admitted  that  some  of  them  do  look  like  picto- 
graph  or  ideograms.  But  it  cannot  be  denied  that  a 
fairly  large  number  of  these  signs  look  like  letters  of  an 
alphabet.  Five  of  them,  as  has  just  been  stated,  are 
certainly  identical  with  the  characters  of  the  earliest 
type  of  the  Brahml  lipi.  No  doubt,  this  number  is 
very  small,  but  this  is  just  what  might  be  expected. 
For  how  is  it  possible  to  expect  a  larger  number  of 
identical  letters  in  alphabets  which  were  separated 
by  milleniums  ?  Nor  is  it  reasonable  to  doubt  the 
identity  of  these  letters  precisely  on  the  same  ground, 
i.e.  because  these  alphabets  were  divided  by  millen- 
iums. For  we  know  that  some  of  the  pre-historic 
symbols  found   in    Egypt    and   referred    to   a   period 

15  Encycl.  Brit.,  I.  724;  XXVIII.  852. 
[F.  O.  C.  II  40]. 


314  D.  R.  BHANDARKAR 

anterior  to  5000  B.C.  have  been  found  to  be  identical 
with  some  of  the  alphabetic  signs  of  the  Phoenicians 
e.g.,  which  have  been  assigned  to  Circa  900  B.C. — 
showing  thus  an  interval  of  four  milleniums. 
Coming  to  our  own  country  do  we  not  find  that  the 
letter  g  e.g.  of  the  inscription  on  the  relic-casket 
of  the  Piprahwa  Stupa  which  may  be  ascribed  to  about 
500  B.C.  has  survived  in  that  exact  form  to  this  day 
in  the  modern  Kanarese  script  ?  Another  reason  why 
we  have  to  consider  some  of  these  symbols  to  have 
an  alphabetic  value  is  that  there  seem  to  be  signs 
even  for  expressing  medial  vowels  (such  as  we  see 
in  Asoka's  time).  Thus  No.  3  in  Mr.  Yazdani's 
diagram  seems  to  me  clearly  to  be  go  i.  e.  g  with 
the  medial  vowel  O.  And  No.  13  is  almost  certainly 
to,  the  only  difference  being  that  the  stroke  indicat- 
ing o-kdra  is  here  attached  not  to  the  top  but  to  the 
middle.  An  i-kdra  also  appears  to  have  been  expressed 
as  in  No.  10  for  instance  not,  however,  in  the  Brahmi 
but  in  the  Kharosthi  fashion.  Again,  it  is  worthy  of 
note  that  the  diagram  shows  instances  of  reversed 
letters.  Thus  Nos.  4  and  5,  14  and  15,  and  18  and 
19  give  symbols  which  are  reversed  or  inverted 
forms  of  each  other.  These  considerations  are 
distinctly  in  favour  of  regarding  some  of  the  signs  at 
any  rate  in  the  diagram  as  being  alphabetic  letters. 
The  only  argument  that  might  be  urged  against  this 
view  is  that  there  can  be  no  earthly  reason  why 
single  letters  were  scratched  on  these  pots  if  we  look 
upon  these  marks  as  alphabetic  letters  at  all  and  that 
the  only  theory  that  appears  plausible  is  that  they 
are  ownership  marks.  I  am  afraid  I  cannot  agree 
to  this  theory.  Because  many  of  the  signs  in  the 
diagrams   are  identical  with  the  signs   found  elsewhere 


ORIGIN  OF  INDIAN  ALPHABET  315 

outside  India,  on  proto-historic  and  pre-historic 
antiquities  e.g.  in  Egypt  and  Europe,  and  these  latter 
have  been  proved  to  be  alphabetic  signs.  Secondly, 
the  custom  of  engraving  a  single  letter  which  was  also 
the  initial  letter  of  a  name  was  by  no  means  unknown 
to  India,  A  typical  case  is  furnished  by  Stfipa  No.  3 
at  the  well-known  SaficI  in  the  Bhopal  State, 
Central  India.  Here  two  relic-caskets  were  found,  the 
inner  surfaces  of  whose  lids  bear,  in  one  case,  the  letter 
sa  and,  in  the  other,  the  letter  ma.  If  we  had  had 
merely  these  relic-caskets  to  go  upon,  I  am  sure  the 
significance  of  these  individual  letters  would  not  have 
been  grasped,  and  they  would  have  been  thought  to 
be  mere  ownership  marks.  But  fortunately  for  us,  they 
were  found  inside  two  boxes,  apparently  of  ordinary 
stone,  each  incised  with  an  inscription  to  the  following 
purport  and  explaining  the  initials  in  one  case,  Sdripu- 
tasa,  and  in  the  other,  Mahd-Mogaldnasa16.  Is  it  not 
thus  clear  that  the  single  letters  sa  and  ma  of  the  relic- 
caskets  stand  for  the  initial  letters  of  the  names  Sariput- 
ta  and  Mogalana  ?  Precisely  the  same  must  have  been 
the  case  with  the  individual  letters  scratched  on  the 
pre-historic  pottery  of  India  which,  be  it  noted,  has 
been  found  in  burial  or  inhumation  sites.  If  there  is 
any  scepticism  still  left  on  this  point,  it  is  completely 
dispelled,  I  think,  by  two  neoliths  lying  in  the  collection 
of  the  pre-historic  antiquities  of  the  Indian  Museum. 
The  credit  of  perceiving  their  importance  goes 
solely  to  Mr.  Panchanan  Mitra,  who  is  perhaps  the  only 
Indian  scholar  of  the  pre-historic  archaeology  of  India. 
While  one  day  he  was  engaged  upon  inspecting  the 
pre-historic  artifacts  in  our  Museum,  he  suddenly  light- 
ed upon  these  neoliths  which  he  rightly  inferred  to  be 
1 6  Cunningham's  Bhilsa  Topes,  297—9,  &  pi.  22. 


316  D.  R.  BHANDARKAR 

inscribed  with  some  characters.  He  forthwith  hasten- 
ed to  my  office-room  and  placed  them  before  me  for 
examination.  One  of  these  was  certainly  a  celt  of 
greenish  stone  found  in  Assam.  It  bears  apparently 
four  letters,  two  of  which  are  exactly  and  one  almost 
exactly  similar  to  those  of  the  pre-historic  character  of 
Egypt  as  may  be  seen  from  a  comparison  to  the  table 
published  by  Dr.  F.  Petrie  in  a  recent  number  of  the 
Scientia17.  And  what  is  strange  is  that  they  have  all 
been  connected  by  one  continuous  line  as  in  the  pre- 
historic Minoan  epigraphs.  The  other  n eolith  came 
from  a  place  near  Ranchi  and  is  a  tiny  piece  of  hematite 
stone  shaped  like  the  palm  of  the  right  hand.  It  is 
faintly  scratched  with  three  letters  only,  two  of  which 
bear  fairly  great  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Brahmi 
lipi  of  the  Asoka  period.  These  were  the  letters  at  the 
ends,  one  of  which  was  ma  and  the  other  ta.  The 
middle  letter,  as  it  stood,  could  not  be  read  for  a  long 
time.  Then  it  occurred  to  me  that  the  letter  ta  was 
evidently  in  a  reversed  form  and  the  other,  viz.  ma, 
must  remain  the  same  even  when  it  is  reversed.  Might 
the  middle  letter  similarly  present  a  reversed  form  ?  I 
at  once  held  the  neolith  before  a  mirror,  and  to  my 
agreeable  surprise  I  found  that  the  middle  letter  came 
fairly  close  to  the  Asokan  a.  As  all  the  letters  are 
reversed,  the  inscription  has  to  be  read  from  right  to 
left  and  reads  accordingly  ma-a-ta.  This  neolith  as  has 
been  stated  above  was  found  in  Bihar  where  there  are 
still  some  tribes  with  non-Aryan  tongues,  which  are 
believed  to  furnish  a  key  to  the  languages  spoken  by 
the  predecessors  of  the  Aryan  conquerors  of  India. 
And  as  was  pointed  out  by  Mr.  Mitra,18  there  is  a  word 

17  XXIV.  440. 

18  Ind.  Ant.,  XLVIH.  63-4. 


ORIGIN  OF  INDIAN  ALPHABET  317 

Mahto  or  Mahtou  in  non-Aryan  parlance,  signifying  'a 
chief  or  headman  '  as  is  clear  from  Russell's  Tribes  and 
Castes  of  the  Central  Provinces  in  India  and  Risley's 
Tribes  and  Castes  of  Bengal.  Could  the  Ma-a-ta  of  the 
neolith  be  equivalent  to  mahto  or  mahton  f  Whatever 
the  answer  to  this  query  may  be,  this  much  is  certain 
that  we  have  here  two  neoliths  whose  neolithic  character 
is  undisputed  and  which  bear  each,  not  one  individual 
letter  so  that  it  may  be  thought  to  be  an  ownership 
mark  but  many  letters,  one  containing  three  and  the 
other  four.  No  scepticism  is,  therefore,  here  possible 
as  to  these  being  alphabetic  signs  and  not  ownership 
marks — a  conclusion  which  is  further  fortified  by  the 
fact  that  they  bear  resemblance  to  what  we  know  to  be 
the  actual  alphabetic  characters.  Thus  the  discussion 
about  the  origin  of  the  Br&hml  alphabet  is  transferred 
from  the  historic  to  the  pre-historic  sphere.  This  is 
just  as  it  should  be,  for  even  in  Europe  all  Semitic  and 
other  alphabets  are  now  being  traced  to  the  pre-historic 
times,  and  the  view  is  gradually  gaining  strength  that 
the  alphabet  originated  with  the  pre-historic  man.  It 
is  true  that  Dr.  Petrie,  the  most  celebrated  Egyptologist 
of  the  modern  day,  thinks  pre-historic  Egypt  to  be  the 
cradle  of  all  alphabets  because  it  presents  the  largest 
signary  from  which  the  Phoenicians  and  the  Greeks 
borrowed  as  many  signs  as  were  necessary  for  their 
alphabetic  purposes  ;  but  I  am  afraid  that  this  is  by  no 
means  yet  an  incontrovertible  conclusion,  especially  as 
pre-historic  archaeology  of  India  is  still  in  its  infancy  ; 
and  as  its  study  develops  as  a  science,  pre-historic  India 
may  be  found  to  yield  a  still  larger  signary  which  was 
drawn  upon  not  only  by  the  Aryans  and  later  peoples 
of  India  but  also  by  outsiders, — the  Phoenicians,  Greeks 
and  even  Egyptians.     Hence  at  the  present  day,   when 


318  D.  R.  BHANDARKAR 

characters  of  the  neolithic  period  have  been  found  in 
India,  if  we  still  insist  upon  asserting  that  the  ancient 
Brahmi  lipi  is  derived  from  the  South-Semitic  or  North- 
Semitic  character,  why  not  then  derive  it  from  the 
present  English  alphabet  ?  This  may  incline  the  reader 
to  laugh.  But  I  may  mention  in  this  connection  that 
in  1905  when  I  was  in  Calcutta,  a  young  intelligent 
Bengali  scholar  showed  me  a  note  in  which  he  most 
ingeniously  derived  the  old  Brahmi  characters  from  the 
present  English  alphabetic  letters  by  adopting  precisely 
the  same  principles  according  to  which  Buhler  derived 
them  from  the  North-Semitic  signs.  And  we  know 
that  a  similar  attempt  has  been  but  recently  made  by 
Pandit  Gaurishankar  Ojha  of  Ajmer.19.  Of  course,  all 
alphabets  are  at  present  being  traced  to  one  alphabet, 
which,  as  I  have  just  said,  was  invented  in  the  pre- 
historic period.  Hence  it  is  no  wonder  even  if  an 
earlier  alphabet  can  be  derived  from  a  later  one.  But 
what  I  emphatically  assert  is  that  when  symbols  of  this 
pre-historic  alphabet  closely  resembling  some  of  the 
Brahmi  lipi  are  actually  noticeable  on  the  most  ancient 
remains  of  the  primitive  man  in  India  and  cannot  be 
later  than  3000  B.  C.  but  may  be  as  early  as  6000  B.  C. 
it  is  absurd  to  trace  the  old  Brahmi  lipi  to  any  Semitic 
script  of  700  B.  C. 


19  Bharatiya-pracina-lipimala,  26. 


A    NOTE    ON    TILAKWXDX    COPPER-PLATE 

INSCRIPTION  OF  THE  TIME  OF  KING 

BHOJA  PARAMARA  OF  MftLWX 

(VlKRAMA    SAMVAT    1103) 
BY 

J.  S.  Kudalkar,  M.  A.,  LL.  B.,  Baroda. 

The  inscription  was  brought  to  my  notice  in  the 
summer  of  1919  by  a  brother-officer  of  the  State 
Mr.  R.  D.  Korde,  Abkari  Depot  Officer  at  Tilakwada 
through  his  brother  Mr.  L.  D.  Korde,  B.  A.,  now 
Vahiwatdar  at  Karjan.  The  inscription  was  discovered 
in  May  1917  at  Tilakwada  in  the  bed  of  the  river 
Narmada  at  the  spot  called  "  Nana  Owara,"  (smaller 
bathing  Ghat)  near  u  Dhobi  Shala "  (washerman's 
depot).  It  was  found  by  a  man  of  the  Dhanka  com- 
munity, named  Bhaila  Nat  ha  (now  dead),  while  he  was 
swimming  and  diving  in  the  waters  of  the  Narmada. 

The  Plates  are  two  in  number,  the  first  measuring 
8J*  by  5¥  and  the  second  9"  by  5i".  The  plate  at  the 
beginning  is  missing  and  could  not  be  discovered  even 
after  repeated  efforts  to  find  it  out  at  or  near  about  the 
former  spot.  The  first  plate  is  engraved  on  both  the 
sides  and  the  second  on  one  side  only,  as  the  inscription 
ends  on  that  side,  thus  leaving  the  outer  side  blank. 
Whether  the  missing  plate  was  inscribed  on  only  one 
side  or  on  both  cannot  be  known.  The  plates  are  in  a 
perfect  state  of  preservation,  so  that  the  reading  of  the 
text  is  nowhere  doubtful.  First  plate  front-side 
contains  12  linesof  writing,  first  plate  other  side  contains 


120 


J.  S.  KUDALKAR 


10  lines  and  second  plate  contains  7  lines.  In  the 
upper  part  of  the  plate  there  is  a  hole  in  the  centre  for 
the  ring.  The  ring,  together  with  the  seal  if  any,  is 
missing  and  its  loss  accounts  for  the  loss  of  the  plate  at 
the  beginning.  The  weight  of  the  two  plates  is  about 
2  lbs.  The  letters  are  clearly  engraved  and  their 
average  size  is  about  J"  by  J".  The  characters  are 
Nagari  of  the  10th  Century  and  the  language  is  Sanskrit. 
The  whole  inscription  is  in  verse.  A  few  grammatical 
inaccuracies  are  to  be  noticed.  As  regards  orthography, 
the  dental  sibilant  is  used  instead  of  the  palatal  in 
several  places  and  the  palatal  instead  of  the  dental  in 
two  places. 

The  inscription  is  dated  Vikrama  Sarhvat  1103 
(A.  D.  1047)  and  is  regarding  the  grant  of  a  village, 
called  "  Viluhaja,"  along  with  a  hundred  (acres)  of  land 
from  the  neighbouring  village  of  "  Ghantapalll  for  the 
temple  of  the  deity  Shri  Ghantesvara  given  by  Shri 
Jasoraja,  son  of  Suraditya,  probably  a  prince,  feudatory 
to  King  Bhoja.  The  grant  was  given  in  the  temple  of 
Manesvara,  situated  at  the  confluence  of  the  river 
Mana  and  the  Narmada.  The  donee  was  a  holy  sage, 
by  name  Dinakara,  and  the  inscription  was  written  or 
engraved  at  the  request  of  the  King  by  a  Kayastha  by 
name  Sohika,  son  of  Aivala  of  the  family-name  Vala. 

Now  the  details  of  the  eulogy  of  the  ancestors  of 
King  Bhoja  are  lost  in  the  first  missing  plate.  The 
second  plate  begins  with  the  last  quartet  of  the  verse 
describing  the  immediate  predecessors  of  Bhoja,  who 
must  have  been  Sindhuraja.  Suraditya,  the  father  of 
the  donor,  is  described  in  the  plate  to  have  been  an 
immigrant  from  Kanouj  and  to  have  rendered  great 
help  to  King  Bhoja  by  vanquishing  the  armies  of  his 
other  rival  princes,  among  whom   one   "  Sahavahana  " 


A  NOTE  ON  TILAKWXDX  COPPER-PLATE     32l 

is  mentioned  prominently.  Now  there  is  no  doubt 
that  this  King  Bhoja  is  no  other  than  the  famous 
Paramara  King  Bhoja  of  Malwa.  According  to 
Vincent  A.  Smith  the  Paramara  King  Bhoja  "  reigned 
gloriously  for  more  than  forty  years  from  about  A.  D. 
1018  to  1060.''  With  these  dates  the  consensus  of 
opinions  of  other  scholars  agrees  with  a  few  years' 
difference.  Lionel  D.  Barnett,  in  his  u  Antiquities  of 
India  "  gives  A.  D.  1010  as  the  year  in  which  Bhoja 
succeeded  his  father  Sindhuraja,  the  year  in  which 
Muhamud  of  Ghazni  took  Multan.  Even  accepting 
this  date,  the  date  of  the  present  inscription  (A.  D. 
1047)  falls  well  within  the  long  regime  of  King  Bhoja, 
which,  according  to  Barnett,  terminated  in  1055  when 
Jaysiihha  succeeded  King  Bhoja  to  the  throne  of 
Malwa.  The  other  King  Bhoja  II  Parihara  or  Prati- 
hara,  of  Kanouj,  had  a  very  short  reign  of  three  years 
from  A.  D.  908-910  ;  and  the  period  of  nearly  140 
years  between  this  date  and  the  date  A.  D.  1047  of  the 
present  inscription  cannot  be  accounted  for  by  only 
one  generation  from  Suraditya  to  his  son  Jasoraja,  the 
donor. 

Now  who  is  this  "  Sahavahana  and  the  other 
King  "  whom  Suraditya  defeated  and  thereby  "  made 
Bhoja's  royal  glory  stable  "  ?  V.  A.  Smith  refers  to 
"  his  (Bhoja's)  fights  with  the  neighbouring  powers, 
including  one  of  the  Muhammadan  armies  of  Maham- 
mud  of  Ghazni.  L.  D.  Barnett  says  that  "  he  (Bhoja- 
deva)  carried  on  wars  with  Indra-ratha,  Toggala  (?),  the 
kings  of  Chedi  and  Lata,  the  Turushkas,  the  Chaha- 
manas  of  Nadol  and  the  Western  Chalukyas  Jayasimha 
II.  and  Someshvara  I.  and  overcame  the  Chaulukya, 
Bhima-deva  I."  These  references  will  explain  the 
defeat  of  "other  princes";  still  the  crux  of  the 
IF.  O.  C.  II  41  ] 


322  J-  S.  KUDALKAR 

inscription  remains  in  the  reference  to  "  Sahavahana." 
The  word  "  Sahavahana  "  cannot  be  a  corruption  of 
"  Satavahana "  which  is  another  name  of  M  Saliva  - 
hana  "  ;  for  this  dynasty  of  "  Satavahanas  "  came  to  an 
end  in  A.  D.  218  with  the  30th  King  of  the  line,  by 
name  Pulomavi  IV.  (  See  R.  G.  Bhandarkar's  "  Early 
History  of  the  Dekkan,"  2nd,  ed.  P.  36,  and  V.  A. 
Smith's  "  Early  History  of  India,"  3rd  ed.,  table  facing 
page  218). 

Who  then  is  this  King  "  Sahavahana  "  so  promi- 
nently mentioned  in  our  inscription  ?  Can  he  be  one 
of  the  Turki  "  Sahi  "  or  "  Shahiya  "  kings,  descendents 
of  Kaniska,  who  ruled  in  Kabul  till  A.  D.  870,  when 
that  city  was  captured  by  the  Arab  General  Yakub-i- 
Lais,  and  after  that,  shifted  their  capital  to  Ohind  on 
the  Indus,  or  is  he  a  king  of  the  dynasty  founded  by 
the  Brahmin  Lalliya,  who  overthrew  the  last  of  the 
Turki  Shahiya  kings  in  the  reign  of  Sankarvarman  of 
Kashmir  (A.  D.  883-902)  and  whose  dynasty,  known  as 
that  of  the  Hindu  Shahiyas,  lasted  till  A.  D.  1021,  when 
it  was  exterpated  by  the  followers  of  Muhammud  of 
Ghazni  ?  The  history  of  this  King  "  Sahavahana " 
would  indeed  throw  a  new  light  on  the  history  of  the 
time  of  King  Bhoja  Paramara  of  Malwa. 

The  other  allusions  in  our  inscription  can  be  very 
well  explained.  Tilakwada  is  the  head-quarters  of  the 
small  "  Mahal "  of  that  name,  which  is  almost  a  minor 
part  of  the  other  contiguous  rt  Mahal  "  of  Sankheda  in 
the  Baroda  Prant  of  H.  H.  the  Gaekwad's  State- 
Sarhgamakhetamandala"  in  the  inscription  is  the  present 
'  Sankheda  "-mahal  (=  Sam-Kheda  or  Khetaka).  At 
Tilakwada  there  is  the  confluence  of  the  rivers  "  Nar- 
mada  "  and  "  Mana  "  or  modern  Mena  or  Meni.  The 
temple  of  "  Manesvara  "  is  the  modern  temple  of 
"  Mani-Nagesvara  "  of    God  Siva.     At   a   distance   of 


A  NOTE  ON  TILAKWXDX  COPPER-PLATE      323 

about  11  miles  from  Tilakwada  is  a  village  by  name 
m  Ghantoli ",  which  must  be  a  corruption  of  our  "Gha^- 
tapalli  "  in  the  inscription,  and  about  two  miles  from 
Ghantoli  is  a  village  named  u  Velpur  "  which  must  be 
the  corrupted  modern  form  of  the  village  M  Viluhaja  " 
or  u  Viluhayc "  mentioned  in  the  inscription. 
u  Ghantoli "  is  now  a  railway  station  on  H.  H.  the 
Gaekwad's  "  Motipura-Tankhala  line,  which  joins  H.  H. 
the  Gaekwad's  Dabhoi  Railway  at  Chhuchhapur,  station 
for  the  Motipura  mines.  At  Ghantoli  there  is  still  to 
be  found  the  temple  of  Ghantes'vara  in  ruins.  The 
reason  why  the  copper-plates  were  found  at  Tilakwada 
and  not  in  the  Ghantesvara  temple  at  Ghantoli  is  that 
after  the  holy  water  for  the  land-grant  was  offered  to 
the  sage  Dinakara  in  the  temple  of  Manes'vara  at 
Tilakwada,  probably  the  plates  remained  in  that  very 
temple  and  when  that  old  temple  of  Manesvara  was 
probably  washed  away  by  the  waters  of  the  Narmada. 
the  plates  also  must  have  been  carried  away  in  the 
waters  and  remained  buried  in  the  bed  of  the  Narmada, 
The  present  temple  of  Mani-Nagesvara  at  Tilakwada 
seems  from  its  modern  appearance  to  have  been  built 
on  or  near  about  the  ruins  of  the  old  temple  of 
Manesvara. 

The  donor,  u  Sri  Jasoraja  ",  seems  to  be  of  a  royal 
descent  ;  for  his  father  Suraditya,  who  is  said  to  have 
come  from  Kanouj  and  to  have  belonged  to  the  family 
of  u  Sravana-bhadra  ",  is  styled  as  "  Narottama  "  (the 
best  of  men  or  a  king).  Then,  while  granting  the  land 
he  called  "sons  of  Amatya"  and  other  prominent 
inhabitants  to  witness,  which  implies  that  he  could 
command  the  "  Minister's  sons  "  to  attend.  Again, 
the  writer  of  the  plate  is  said  to  have  inscribed  it  at 
the  request   of  the  "  King  ",  that   is,  probably   Jasoraja 


324  J.  S.  KUDALKAR. 

himself.  At  the  time  of  the  grant  Jasoraja  appears  to 
have  retired  from  life  and  to  be  leading  a  religious  life 
on  the  banks  of  the  Narmada  in  Sankheda  Taluka. 

[THE    TEXT] 
First  plate  (Obverse) 

313:  si%c^  ( *r )  *m  ft<r*fr  ^^rr:  11  awrgftji  gfa  f^nftfc^p 
?fRf5%  Ufa  «5 (fit)  apwq  ^r  1  z?w:  (?) 5r^rrq%f%5TT ftswst 

1%  R:%2*  te  ^$K  f^T  *R*T  II  cTc^^JJT^WT  *«4*»4- 
fafr^:i^RT  Wl^tf  fCTf^ftsRT  (ft)xR:||  ^r^^^T^TT^ 
SJ^tomft  H^H  II  fc^T  ^fM  TC«rct  55^ff  ^fr^^^R  3T:  II  ^  $qff 

(«0  st  ^015^  3ft  *rffor  1  §uf^i!r  3?^tjt  v  ( ^r? )  <t^  ft  ?ft- 
^  ii  cr^r  «ft  *refarsr  ^jwIzjtsS  1  gjapfft  g^r  q#f  ^npfRrr— 

fcTcFt  ^t  I  3H+MWI<*J33'l  (5TT  )  ^  5TWRT  ^Mr%JT:  ^qfcr  SfT^— 
qWTCT    frf^T  ^hRT^T  I  SWTcT*tT  *Wfa  Tc^T  efHJ^r<T^  I 
2TS  (  ^  )  \ft*HII^:  5l!fa»MNcr*lT  II  ^JxTWfomftfcr- 

*mt  *n*rw  <rtfa  1  wf^r  s^sirra:  £^r%*r  (^rt )  *Tf^rc  11 

(Reverse) 
«U<t+4«?+  n  *frpfrs#rra  jtw  f^ar  ( ? )  ^ff  1  tot— 
q$qt  <t*jt  jtt^  ^rcf  *$r:  §tfi*H  11  "^trercjfftw 
^^  fare  1  37*1*1*  ^tttt  irorrcfifcr*  11  sf— 

^5TT^^:  xT5W|raiT«Rt3l%  I  f^TTid  *R  *:  WT — 
c*7iaTT7  &fft:  II  ^Tc[rf  W  ^R  TTSifpj"  sftfafr 
fofW*pftfc3i%:  *p*mi^r;7H  II  *JI*|I^ 

*nfo§:  *7P»rr  *ra>  *r%  qTs^t  *ref^[:  1  sttt 

*l|fa%*T  gw  V^ft:  WWlfffi:    I  ****** 

*^ftr*<r**  *tcjcki4»«a  11  *fe:  qfofsrrfa 
Second  plate  (Obverse) 

*&  fcrefcRjfSR:  I  9TT^!T^I3^T  *  cfl^  *  JR*  *&T  II 

***w*  Jiqrjhri  »^r%*  jt?j*5  (?)  1  s*7rc*jn2m%  *n<i$d 
*ts*  u  f7«*T3*>*cfT*rg  is**r2**r%*:  $wrgqfr*FJrr*RT 


A  NOTE  ON  TILAKWXdA  COPPER-PLATE    325 

TRANSLATION. 
,l  Endless  enemies  secured  fast  friendship  (  of 
Sindhuraja).  From  him  (Sindhuraja)  was  born  Sri- 
Bhojadeva,  whose  great  renown  as  "chastiser  of 
enemies  "  was  heard  the  world  over.  Having  burnt 
the  hearts  of  (his)  enemies  with  the  flame  of  his  glory- 
he  indeed  reigned  for  a  long  time  undisturbed.  There 
was  a  devotee  of  his  lotus-like  feet  (or  a  faithful  follower) 
a  prince  (or  best  of  men)  (by  name)  Suraditya,  of  the 
family  of  Sravanabhadra  (or  of  an  "  illustrious  "  family), 
come  from  Kanyakubja  (Kanouj),  who,  by  slaughtering 
the  (enemy)  warriors  in  the  battle  with  Sahavahana 
and  also  with  other  princes,  made  the  royal  glory  of 
Bhojadeva  stable.  On  account  of  his  doing  so  and 
being  at  the  head  of  waning  Suras,  his  name,  which 
is  "  Suraditya  ",  indeed  becomes  him.  His  son,  Sri- 
Jasoraja,  passing  life  in  the  province  of  Sangamakheta 
(and)  being  always  religious,  shone  all  the  more  (made 
a  greater  name)  for  his  religion  (or  charity).  Having 
called  sons  of  the  Minister  and  prominent  inhabitants 
he  requested  (their)  consent  (thus)  :  "  To  you  is  known 
the  exploits  (of  my  ancestors)".  By  them  bein£  given 
consent,  he  went  to  the  bank  of  the  Narmada  and, 
on  Monday,  the  day  of  lunar  conjunction,  in  the  month 
of  Marga-(sirsa)  of  Vikrama  year-three  plus  eleven 
hundred,  (1103), — having  bathed  and  taken  permission 
(of  his)  preceptor,  worshipped  the  gods  ;  and  in  the 
beautiful  temple  of  Siva  (called)  Manesvara  on  the 
confluence  of  (the  river)  Mana  (with  the  Narmada) 
offering    (holy)    water     in     the      direction     of    Siva, 


326  J-  S.  KUDALKAR. 

facing  the  south,  granted,  to  the  deity  Sri-Ghante- 
svara,  the  village  Viluhaja  as  also  charming  hundred 
(acres)  of  land  in  the  (neighbouring)  village  (of)  Ghanta- 
palli  ;  (thus)  gave  this  permanent  grant  (of  land) 
furnished  with  four  boundaries,  for  the  welfare  of  all 
(and)  or  for  destroying  my  own  sin.  There  the  person, 
who  accepted  the  holy  water,  was  a  sage  of  great 
austerities,  by  name  Dinakara,  who  was  as  if  Kapila- 
Sankara  incarnate.  This  grant  is  given  by  me  and 
should  be  maintained  by  princes  desirous  of  (main- 
taining) the  cult  of  Siva  and  welfare  in  this  life.  'This 
is  the  common  'bridge  of  religion'  of  kings  (which) 
should  be  protected  by  you  from  time  to  time'  so  begs 
Ramabhadra  again  and  again  of  all  these  future  kings. 
The  earth  was  enjoyed  by  many  kings,  Sagara  and 
others.  Whatever  earth  one  (gives)  that  much  reward 
he  gets.  A  giver  of  land  remains  in  heaven  for  sixty 
thousand  years.  Whoever  takes  it  away  by  force  and 
who  consents  (to  do  that)  all  those  (go  to)  dwell  in  hell. 
By  taking  away  a  little  gold,  a  single  cow,  or  even  a 
finger's  breadth  of  earth  one  goes  to  hell.  People,  who 
deprive  (others)  of  land,  come  into  trouble,  (have  to 
wander)  in  the  waterless  forests  of  the  Vindhya 
mountain  or  are  attacked  by  black  serpents  living  in 
dry  hollows  (of  tree).  The  Kayastha,  by  name  Sohika, 
son  of  Aivala,  born  in  the  family- Vala,  prepared  this 
grant  at  the  request  of  the  King.  Whatever  less  or  in 
excess  is  written  through  ignorance  in  this  grant-(deed), 
all  good  people  should  accept  that  for  helping  (the 
writer).     Auspicious  Great  Glory  !  " 


THE  CAVERNS  AND  BRXHMI  INSCRIPTIONS 
OF  SOUTHERN  INDIA. 

H.  Krishna   Shastri 

Our   present    knowledge     of    the    history   of  the 
Southernmost   part  of   the  Indian  Peninsula,   derived 
mostly     from     indigenous      inscriptions     does      not 
extend     farther     back   than    the    7th    century    A.  D. 
The    possibilty,    however,     of    the     existence     of    a 
long-standing   earlier     civilisation     and    dominion    is 
suggested   by   references    in   Asoka's   Edicts    to     the 
kingdoms     of       Cola,      Pandya      and       K-"?ralaputta ! 
bordering  on  that  of  the  great   Mauryan   Emperor  and 
to  the  mutual  commercial  relations  said  to  have  existed 
between  the    countries    of   Pandu    (/.  c,    Pandya)  and 
Rome,  as  gathered  from  the  statements  of  early  foreign 
travellers.     Nearer  home  we  have  the  further  evidence 
of  the  epics  Rdmdyana  and  Mahnbhdrata  and  a  host    of 
literary  references  including  those  of    Katyayana,    Kali- 
dasa  and  Varahamihira,  which  lead   to   the    same   con- 
clusion.    Still  the  data  for  the  existence  of  a  Dravidian 
civilisation  distinct  from  that  of  the  now-existing  super- 
imposed Aryan  element  of   literary,   political,  religious 
and  scientific  thought,  is  but  indefinitely  postulated  and 
the  evidence  in  proof  thereof  scantily  put    forth.      We 
are  asked  to  look  for  traces  of  the  ancient  Dravidas  of 

I  Professor  S.  Venkateswara  Ayyar,  M.  A.,  has  stated  in 
his  latest  contribution  to  the  Indian  Antiquary  that  still  another 
Southern  country  mentioned  as  bordering  on  Asoka's  domini- 
ons viz.,  that  of  Satiaputta  must  be  verified  with  the  country 
surrounding  Conjeevaram  which  according  to  the  SthalapurHna 
of  the  place  was  known  as  the  kingdom  of  Satyavrata. 


328  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRl 

Southern  India  in  the  Dasyus,  Kiratas,  Vyadhas,  and 
Sabaras  of  Sanskrit  literature,  whose  modern  repre- 
sentatives are  again  assumed  to  be  the  hill -tribes  of  the 
present  day  with  their  crude  customs  and  manners.  It 
is  not  possible  to  believe  that  the  Dravidian  civilisation 
which,  if  it  deserved  that  name  at  all,  must  have  count- 
ed in  it  salient  elements  such  as  civil  administration, 
military  organisation,  commercial  adventure,  religious 
forecast  and  scientific  enquiry  should  have  dwindled 
down  into  nothing  but  feticism  and  the  ill-bred  law- 
lessness of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  Southern  India. 
Much  less  would  it  be  reasonable  to  work  back  from 
the  rude  elements  of  the  present-day  aboriginal  insti- 
tutions to  arrive  at  the  essentials  of  Dravidian  civilisa- 
tion. It  appears,  therefore,  more  scientific  to  suppose 
that  the  Dravidian  elements  of  civilisation  that  existed 
at  the  time  when  the  Aryans  came  into  contact  with 
Southern  India  were  at  once  recognised  by  the  conquer- 
ors and  fast  became  assimilated  with  those  of  the 
superior  and  super-imposed  civilisation  of  the  latter, 
the  two  races  becoming  largely  mixed  up,  and  the 
uncivilised  element  in  society  which  must  have  existed 
even  then,  finding  shelter  only  in  mountains  and 
forests  as  it  does  to  this  day.  Consequently  the 
elements  of  Dravidian  civilisation  if  any,  have  to  be 
worked  out  purely  from  literature  and  possibly  also 
from  a  comparative  study  of  civilised  institutions  both 
Northern  and  Southern.  Epigraphical  research,  too, 
contributes  not  a  little  in  this  direction  as  will  be 
recognised  in  the  present  paper  dealing  with  the 
Natural  Caverns  and  Brahml  Inscriptions  of  Southern 
India.  Before  proceeding  to  give  the  preliminary  read- 
ings of  these  Brahml  records  and  descussing  their 
importance  from  the  standpoint  of  the    Dravido-Aryan 


CAVERNS  AND  BRSHMT  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.L  329 

elements  that  may  be  contained  in  them  it  would  be 
useful  to  acquaint  the  reader  with  a  general  description 
of  these  very  interesting  monuments,  the  natural 
caverns  so  called. 

It  is  a  peculiar  physical  feature  of  the  Madura  and 
Tinnevelly  districts  to  be  abounding  in  isolated  hills, 
sometimes  high  and  sometimes  low,  with  huge  boulders 
indifferently  piled  up  in  all  possible  positions. 
The  higher  ones  of  these  hills  generally  go  by  the  name 
Kalugumalai  from  the  fact  that  they  afford  shelter  to 
kites  (Tamil  :  kalugu).  High  boulders  standing  on 
their  narrow  bases  and  affording  shelter  by  their  expand- 
ing tops  to  the  rocky  surfaces  below  naturally  make 
good  resting-places  for  shepherds  and  other  people 
who  might  frequent  these  spots.  The  existence  of 
large  numbers  of  such  boulders  form  the  general 
characteristic  of  these  hills. 

About  twenty    of    such    rock-shelters    distributed 
over  a  wide  area  in  the  districts  mentioned  above,  have 
been  discovered   to    be     of    considerable   antiquarian 
interest.   These  may  have  been  once  utilised  as  dwelling- 
places  by  their  primitive  occupants  by  closing  up   part 
or  parts  of  the  opening  all  round,  either   by   mud  walls 
or  by  rubble.   Even  to-day  the  space  below  these  shelter- 
ing rocks  is  often   found   divided  into    dark    cells    by 
partitions  of  mud-walls, — of  course  by  resident  mendi- 
cants who,  according  to  an  old  tradition,  still  preserved 
by  them,  like  to  resort  to   these   caverns   commanding 
natural  beauty.     Common  folk,  however,  connect  them 
with  the  five  Epic  heroes,  the  Pandavas  of  the  MahabJid- 
rata  and  consequently    call    the  hills   Pancapandavar- 
malai  or   Pancavarkottu   and    the   beds    Paficapanda- 
varpadukkai,  a  spot  on  the  Siddharmalai  hill   near   the 

[F.  O.  C.  II  42  ] 


330  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

village  MHtupatti  being  even  now  recognised  by  the 
villagers  as  the  seat  of  Draupadi  (!).  This  tradition 
significantly  reminds  us  of  the  analogous  Ceylonese 
tradition  regarding  king  Pandukabhaya  of  the  4th 
century  B.  C. 

While  most  of  the  caverns  are  at  easily  accessible 
heights  of  the  hills,  some  are  almost  inaccessible  and 
are  reached  through  steep  and  narrow  ravines. 
Traces  of  small  foot-holds  and  holes  for  fixing  supports 
where  necessary,  could  also  be  seen  in  the  case  of 
caverns  situated  at  great  heights.  Invariably  the 
presence  of  a  water-spring  seems  to  have  been  taken 
advantage  of,  in  converting  these  natural  shelters  into 
dwelling-places.  On  the  rocky  floor  below  are  found 
numerous  beds  measuring  on  the  average  1-J-  to  2  feet 
by  4i  to  6  feet,  dressed  and  made  smooth  with  pillow- 
sides  slightly  raised  in  most  cases.  A  drain  to  carry 
off  the  rain-water  from  encroaching  on  the  beds  was 
always  cut  and  a  similar  cutting  was  made  on  the  brow 
of  the  sheltering  rock  almost  to  the  full  length  of  its 
open  front  to  carry  off  the  water  running  down  from  the 
top  of  the  boulder.  Below  the  drip-ledge  and  generally 
on  a  dressed  surface  are  cut  the  Brahmi  inscriptions — 
the  subject  of  this  paper.  In  a  few  cases  they 
are  cut  on  the  beds  inside  the  caverns.  Along  with 
Brahmi  records,  we  find  sometimes  sculptures  of  either 
isolated  Jaina  images  or  big  rows  of  them  with 
inscriptions  in  the  rounded  Tamil  character  called 
Vatteluttu  of  about  the  8th  century  A.  D.,  cut  below.2 


2  Rocks  exclusively  occupied  by  Jaina  sculptures  and 
Vatteluttu  inscriptions  are  not  uncommon  in  the  Tamil 
country. 


CAVERNS  AND  BRAHMI  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.I.  331 

Who  were  the  authors  of  these  beds  and  Brahml 
inscriptions  ?  Firstly,  it  is  useful  to  enquire  whether 
previous  to  their  occupation  by  the  authors  of  these 
beds  and  inscriptions  whoever  they  might  be,  there 
had  been  others  who  were  using  them  and  secondly 
whether  the  beds  and  the  inscriptions  are  contempo- 
raneous. The  late  Rai  Bahadur  V.  Venkayya  was  of 
opinion  that  the  inscriptions  and  beds  were  synchron- 
ous and  we  may  accept  his  view  since  stone  beds  have 
been  noticed  in  the  Buddhistic  caves  of  Bhaja,  Kuda, 
Junnar,  Ajanta  and  Kondivte,  and  since  the  Brahml  in- 
scriptions in  question  are  sometimes  found  written  on 
the  beds  themselves,  as  already  observed.  As  regards 
the  first  question  I  may  refer  to  Mr.  Parker  who  in 
describing  the  ancient  peoples  of  Ceylon  makes  elabo- 
rate references  to  thousands  of  natural  caverns  or  rock- 
shelters  which  formed  once  the  abodes  of  the  wild 
Vaeddas  of  that  island,  who,  he  believes,  abandoned 
them  in  pre-Christian  times  just  when  Buddhists  enter- 
ed Ceylon,  and  converted  these  into  residences  for  their 
ascetics.  The  Vaeddas  themselves  are  traced  by  Mr. 
Parker  to  the  Cola  and  Pandiyan  Tamils.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  as  in  Ceylon,  the  natural  caverns  in 
the  Madura  and  Tinnevelly  districts  may  have  been 
occupied  in  pre-Buddhistic  times  by  indigenous  abo- 
rigines who  were  perhaps  as  Mr.  Parker  suggests,  the 
ancestors  of  the  Vaeddas  of  Ceylon  or  similar  other 
wild  hill-tribes.  One  point  of  difference,  however, 
between  these  caverns  and  those  of  Ceylon  is  the  pro- 
vision made  in  the  former  for  stone  beds  for  the  use  of 
the  Buddhist  occupants.  Another  is  that  the  language 
of  the  Brahml  inscriptions  on  these  caverns  far  from 
being  purely  Buddhistic  Pali  as  in  Ceylon,  is  in  a  mixed 


332  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

dialect,  perhaps  in  use  among  the  then  inhabitants 
of  Southern  India, — the  Vaedda  ancestors  spoken  of 
above.  Certain  peculiarities  of  the  alphabet  too  which 
are  noticed  below  may  also  distinguish  these  records 
from  the  almost  contemporaneous  Pali  records  of 
Ceylon. 

Thirty-one  Brahmi  inscriptions  selected  from 
eleven  different  villages  are  given  below  in  illustration 
of  the  remarks  made  above.  There  may  be  a  dozen 
others  which  have  been  so  far  discovered  ;  but  these 
are  very  much  damaged  and  indistinct.  The  Madras 
Epigraphical  Reports  for  1912,  1915  and  1918  include 
photo-litho  plates  of  all  these  records. 

I. 

MARUGXLTALAI  is  a  village  in  the  Tinneveily 
district  about  10 \  miles  North-east  of  Palamcottah,  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river  Tamraparni.  On  the  Eastern 
side  of  the  low  hill  near  this  village,  is  a  broad  cavern 
formed  by  a  huge  overhanging  rock  sheltering  below  it 
a  rocky  floor  on  which  are  chiselled  a  number  of  beds 
at  convenient  places  in  four  different  sections.  The 
cavern  measures  in  length  52  feet,  North  to  South,  but 
is  only  8  feet  deep.  A  little  below  the  \  katarh  '  or 
water-drain  cut  on  the  edge  of  the  sheltering  boulder 
is  engraved  the  inscription  subscribed  below  in  clear 
Brahmi  script  of  about  the  3rd  century  B.  C.,— the 
characters  ranging  in  height  from  1'  to  1',  3*  the  largest 
size  found  for  the  Brahmi  characters  with  which  we  are 
now  concerned.  There  are  no  sculptures  in  the  cavern 
as  we  find  in  other  cases  ;  nor  do  we  find  any  water 
spring,  in  the  rocky  hollows  adjoining  the  cavern.  On 
some  of  the  beds,  however,  are  cut   Tamil   letters    and 


CAVERNS  AND  BRXHMI  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.I.  333 

diagrams  of  a  recent  date  among  which  may  be  special- 
ly noticed  a  Pallava  lion  of  the  5th  century  A.  D. 
which  we  find  also  on  old  coins  and  copper-plate  seals. 
The  Brahmi  inscription  was  brought  to  the  notice  of 
the  Archaeological  Department  by  Mr.  L.  A.  Cammiade 
in  1906-07  when  he  was  a  Divisional  officer  in  Tinne- 
velly  and  its  importance  was  recognised  and  noticed 
by  Rai  Bahadur  V.  Venkayya  in  his  Epigraphical 
Report  for  1907,  though  four  years  previous  to  this  a 
similar  inscription  was  secured  by  Mr.  Venkoba  Rao  at 
Kilavalavu  near  Mllur  but  its  importance  was  not  then 
recognised.     I  tentatively  read  the  inscription  thus  : — 

Text. 

Ve     na     ko2a     si     pa    na 

ku     tu     pi         ta     k[a]     [la]     ka     na 

cha     na     ma 

Remarks. 

The  word  kosipdnd,  if  it  has  been  read  correctlv 
may  be  compared  with  the  skt.  Kdsyapdndm  and  kutii- 
pita  which  often  occurs  in  these  inscriptions,  with  the 
Tamil  kottuviftdn  <l  caused  to  be  cut  "  ;  cf.  also  Childers: 
kotteti. 

II. 

XNAIMALAI  is  a  celebrated  place  of  pilgrimage, 
only  5  miles  from  Madura,  on  the  M"»lur  road.  It  was 
perhaps  evidently  so  called  from  the  shape  of  the  hill 
which  is  prominently  seen  from  several  miles  to  be  like 

2a.  The  syllable  h~>  has  been  read  directly  from  the 
stone.  In  the  impression,  however,  there  is  a  clear  resem- 
blance to  A  • 


334  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

a  sleeping  elephant  dnai  with  its  trunk  hanging  down. 
Almost  at  the  top  of  its  proboscis  is  a  natural  cavern 
with  the  usual  beds  cut  into  it.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill 
are  groups  of  Jaina  figures  with  inscriptions  below 
them,  cut  on  huge  boulders  and  also  one  or  two  aban- 
doned Jaina  shrines.  The  great  Saiva  Saint  Tirujna- 
nasambandha  is  said  to  have  crushed  the  pride  of  the 
Jainas  who  had  established  themselves  at  Snaimalai 
and  other  Jaina  centres  in  the  South.  The  cavern  con- 
taining the  Brahml  inscription  is  23  feet  6  inches  long 
and  3  feet  and  1  inch  high,  at  its  entrance,  in  the 
centre.  There  are  several  rows  of  narrow,  longish  beds, 
some  spreading  East  to  West  and  others  North  to 
South.  No  sculptures  which  prove  subsequent  Jaina 
occupation  are  found,  for  the  evident  reason  that  the 
Jainas  had  their  own  distinct  quarter  lower  down  the 
hill.    The  inscription  has  been  tentatively  read  thus: — 

Text 

[1]     I     va[m]     je     na    du3tu     u 
dai3  yu     la4]  pa5]  ta    na    ta    na    e 
ri     a    ri     ta     na 

[2]      a     ta6  tu     va     yi     a     ra     tarn 
tha     ka     yi     pa     na 

3  These  are  letters  the  formation  of  which  is  not  found 
elsewhere.  I  have  suggested  the  readings  du  and  dai  on  the 
strength  of  the  remarks  on  the  letter  da  made  by  Dr.  Biihler 
on  the  paleography  of  the  Bhattiprolu  inscriptions  ;  Epigraphia 
Indica  Vol.  II,  pp.  323  ff.  Still  the  letters  read  du  and  dai  are 
not  certain.    They  may  be  conjunct  consonants  as  well. 

4  This  symbol  for  la  occurs  occasionally  in  the  ancient 
inscriptions  of  Ceylon.    But  here  the  letter  is  rather  broad. 

5  The  letter  may  possibly  also  be  read  as  po. 

6  The  clear  dot  after  the  letter  ta  is  probably  to  be  taken 
as  an  anusvUra. 


CAVERNS  AND  BRAHMT  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.  I.  335 

Remarks. 

This  is  one  of  the  best  preserved  of  the  cavern 
inscriptions.  We  have  very  few  doubtful  letters  here 
and  yet  the  meaning  is  not  clear.  If  the  fifth  syllable 
has  been  correctly  read  we  have  here  the  Tamil  word 
nddu  preceded  by  the  proper  name  Ivamje.  Similarly 
udaiyu  may  correspond  to  the  Tamil  '  udaiydn  '  a  chief. 
It  may  be  observed  also  that  eri  in  Tamil  means  "  a 
tank ".  Aritand  like  kosipdna  of  Marugaltalai  may 
stand  for  the  Sanskrit  Hdrltdndm.  I  cannot  make  bold 
to  suggest  that  in  tdtuvdyi  we  may  find  the  Prakrit 
form  for  tamtuvdya  '  a  weaver.' 

Ill 

TIRUPPARANKUNRAM    near   Madura    is  cele- 
brated for  its  temple    of    Kumara    and   attracts    large 
crowds.     This  temple  is  a  rock-cut  shrine   bearing  an 
old  inscription    of  about  the  8th  centuary  A.  D.,  which 
speaks  of   the   consecration   of    an    image   of    Jyesthii 
Durga  in  that  rock-cut  temple.     On  the  Eastern  slope 
of  the  hill  is  the  cavern  with  beds  and  two  Brahml  in- 
scriptions at  a  rather  inaccessible  height.     It  measures 
56  feet  in  length,  North  to  South   and    is    20    feet    in 
depth  and  5  feet  10  inches  in  height,  in  the  centre.     In 
another  part  of   the   Tirupparankunram   hill   are  some 
more  beds  cut  into  the  rock  but   without   inscriptions. 
A   full   description  of    the    antiquities  of  Tirupparan- 
kuanrm  is  given  in  the  Madras  Epigraphical  Report  for 
1909,  pp.  68  ft".     The  one  peculiar  feature  of  this  cavern 
is  that  it  has  two  low  benches    cut    into    the    rock  in 
addition    to    the    usual    beds.     One  of    the    benches 
measures  5  feet  by  1  foot  9J  inches  and  the  other  6  feet 
by  3  feet.     The  two  Brahml  inscriptions  again  are  not 
written  on  the  brow  of  the  cavern   but  on   the   pillow- 
sides  of  two  of  the  beds. 


336  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 


Text. 

[A] 

E    ru 

kfo] 

[tu 

ra] 

i 

jam7 

ku 

tu 

ma 

[pi 

ka] 

na 

po 

la 

l[ai] 

ya 

na. 

Remarks. 

The  letters  in  this  inscription  again  are  perfectly 
clear.  Erukotura  may  stand  for  a  place-name  like 
Erukottur.  In  kutumapika  we  may,  by  eliding  the 
vowel  on  ma,  get  the  expression  kutumpika  (kutumbika) 
which  occurs  in  Pali  inscriptions  for  'a  husband-man.' 

Text. 

[B]     C     h[fl     ya*     ta    a     ya8   cha9 
ya8     na    nai    tu     ch[a]9    ta     na. 

IV 

ARITTXPATTI.  The  village  which  goes  by  this 
name  is  mid-way  between  M^lur,  one  of  the  important 
taluk-towns  of  the  Madura  district  and  the  Alagarmalai 
Hills.  The  hills  near  Arittapatti  on  which  the 
caverns,  Pafichapandava  beds  and  Brahmi  inscriptions 
are  found,  are  nearly  3  to  4  miles  away  from  the  village 
and  belong  properly  to  a  smaller  village  named  Man- 
gulam  and  are  locally  known  by  the  general  name  of 
the  Kalugumalai    Hills,      The   ascent   is   through   the 

7  The  formation  of  this  letter  again,  is  very  peculiar. 
Its  similarity  with  the  Khalsi  Asokan  ja  given  on  Biihler's 
Tafel  II-1 5,  2,  is  very  slight.  One  can  venture  to  say  that  it 
is  somewhat  like  the  modern  Tamil  la. 

8  These  three  letters  written  somewhat  irregularly 
have  been  read  as  ya. 

9  Cha  in  both  these  cases  has  a  vertical  tail  below  as  in 
the  Bhattriprolu  inscriptions. 


CAVERNS  AND  BRXHMI  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.  L  337 

rocky  slopes  of  the  hill,  sometimes  almost  inaccessible. 
There  are  as  many  as  five  caverns  with  the  usual  beds 
and  Brfihml  inscriptions  on  the  Eastern  slope  of  the 
hill.  The  long  inscription  in  the  lowermost  cavern  is 
not  written  on  the  brow  of  the  overhanging  boulder 
but  on  another  which  forms  the  back  wall  of  its  nor- 
thern portion.  The  floor  of  the  cavern  is  sandy  and 
hence  no  beds  are  found  in  this  cavern.  The  south- 
ern part  of  the  cavern  extends  to  a  depth  of  49  feet  5 
inches  between  two  boulders  that  serve  as  walls.  The 
entire  length  of  the  cavern  which  is  a  curve,  is  58  feet 
and  the  height  at  the  opening  is  11^  feet  roughly.  The 
katarh  on  one  of  the  upper  caverns  is  missing  and 
another  with  two  short  Brahmi  inscriptions  there  are  as 
many  as  31  beds  both  inside  and  outside,  on  a  project- 
ing platform.  One  of  the  beds  in  front  of  this  last 
cavern  measures  7  feet  8  inches  by  5  feet  and  is  on  a 
higher  level  than  the  others  and  occupies  a  central 
position.  The  inscription  in  the  lowest  cavern,  which 
is  the  longest  so  far  discovered,  is  read  thus  : — 

Text 

[A]      Ka     ni10    ya     n[&]una     ta  si 

ri     ya     ku     a     na    dha     ma  ma 

i     ta     na    ti     na     cha     tthi  ya 

na     sa     1     [a]     ka    na     I     1&  na 

cha     ti     ka     na     ta     na     tai  ya 

cha     ti     ka     na     cho     I      y£  pa 
li     ya. 

10  There  appears  also  a  vertical  stroke   attached  to  na 
at  the  bottom  like  the  medial  M-sign. 

11  Length     of    na    throughout    these     inscriptions     is 
generally  of  the  Bhattriprolu  type. 

IF.O.C.  II  431. 


338  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

Remarks. 

The  only  observation  that  might  be  made  here  is 
the  occurrence  of  the  expression  chdtthiydnd  once  and 
perhaps,  its  variant  chdtikdnd  twice.  Can  che  %  yd  at 
the  end  stand  for  chaitydni  and  pdliya  for  pdlyal  If  so, 
these  would  be  some  at  least  of  the  Prakrit  words  in 
the  inscription.  The  three  possible  words  siriyaka, 
siriyaku  and  yakdsltikd  which  occur  in  this  and  in  Band 
E  below,  include  in  them  the  word  yaka  (=yaksa) 
which  is  not  uncommon  in  Buddhist  names.  We  find 
again  yakand  in  10  (C)  below.  Mr.  Parker  believes 
that  the  yakas  (=yaksas)  are  to-day  represented  by 
the  Vaeddas  of  Ceylon.     The  other  inscriptions  are: — 

Texts. 

[B]  Ka  [ra]  ni  ra  n[o]  ta  si  ri  ya  ka  [ru] 

[C]  12Ch[a]  na  ta  ri  ta  na  ko  tu  pi  to  na 

[D]  Ve  la  a  dai  ni  ka  ma  to  ra  ko  ti  [o  ra]13 

[E]  [Ve]  la  [a]  [dai]  ya  ni  ka  ma  t[a]  ko 
[po]  ti  ra  [ya]  ka  si  ti  ka  a  [ri  te]  a 
sa  ta  na  pi  na  ka  ko  tu  pi  to  na 

Remarks. 

The  expressions  Velaadainikdmd  and  Velaadaiyani- 
kdmd  occur  in  both  D  and  E  above.  The  extra  syllable 
ya  of  the  latter  may  be  compared  with  the  superfluous 
consonant^  which  occurs  frequently  in  Tamil  inscrip- 
tions after  syllables   ending   in    medial   ai.    Ko\upitbnd 

12  There  seem  to  be  three  dots  before  cha  arranged  like 
the  Asokon  letter  i ;  but  it  is  highly  doubtful  if  they  have  to 
be  taken  so. 

13  The  letters  a  and  ra  are  engraved  so  close  to  each 
other  that  they  may  also  be  read  as  a  broadly  formed  la. 


CAVERNS  AND  BRXHMr  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.  L  339 

similarly  occurs  in  both  C  and  E  and  has  to  be  con- 
nected, as  already  pointed  out,  with  the  root  ko\u. 
Notasiriyaka  of  B  occurs  as  natdsiriyaku  in  A. 

V. 

Between  KILUR  and  kIt.AVALAVU,  nearly  7 
miles  from  Melur  on  the  road  to  Tiruppattur,  on  a  low 
hill  with  huge  boulders,  are  seen  some  caverns  contain- 
ing the  usual  Panchapandava  beds  and  inscriptions. 
Numerous  Jaina  figures15  with  Vatteluttu  inscriptions 
below  them,  are  cut  into  the  rock  near  one  of  these 
caverns.  The  naked  Jaina  figures  are  interpreted  by 
the  local  people  as  '  school-children  ';  and  the  whole 
spot  is  connected  by  them  with  a  school  that  is  sup- 
posed to  have  once  existed  here.  The  Brahml  in- 
scription was  discovered  by  Mr.  Venkoba  Rao  as  early 
as  1903  and  is  about  15  feet  from  the  ground-level  of 
the  cavern.  The  letters  are  written  upside  down  and 
are  boldly  cut.  Mr.  Parker  refers  to  an  old  Brahml 
inscription  on  one  of  the  Tevandan  Puliyangulam  rocks 
in  Ceylon  which  is  written  upside  down  and  which  he 
quotes  as  the  first  instance  of  what  is  known  in  Ceylon 
as  the  Paeraeli  Bdsd  or  transformation  of  letters  in 
written  or  spoken  words.  In  interpreting  it  he  says 
that  the  letters  must  be  read  from  right  to  left.  It  is 
doubtful  if  this  latter  principle  applies  also  to  our  in- 
scription.    It  reads  thus:  — 

Text. 
u  pa  [ch]a  a  pO  te16  na  tu  la  vo  chho 
ko1G  tu  pa  1  i  I 

1 5  This  must  have  been  a  strong  centre  of  Jaina  influence 
like  Xnaimalai. 

16  The  two  letters  te  and  ko,  however,  are  in  the  correct 
position  with  reference  to  the  reader  from  the  ground. 


340  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

Remarks. 

It  may  be  noted  that  updchda  at  the  beginning 
seems  to  suggest  the  Prakrit  form  of  upddhydya  and 
vochhb  is  likewise  synonymous.  We  have  been  familiar 
also  with  the  root  kofii;  and  pdlil  is  perhaps  comparable 
with  paliya  in  [IV]  (A)  above. 

VI. 

KARUNGXLAKKUDI  is  a  village  8  miles  north 
of  Melur  on  the  Trichinopoly  road.     The  caverns  and 
beds  on  the  hill  near  this  village  are  of  special  interest 
as,  besides  the  usual  Brahml  inscription  which  is  tran- 
scribed below,  there  is  a  Vatteluttu  inscription  in  Tamil 
verse  cut  on  one  of  a  row  of  rocky   beds   in    a   cavern 
higher  up  on  the  same  hill,  which  states  that  a  certain 
chief  Pajlidaraiyan  rendered  service  in   different  capa- 
cities to  his  master,  the  Pandya  king  ( Valudi  or   Mina- 
van)  first,  by  building  a  bright  vim&na,  then  by  stop- 
ping the  sea  from  encroaching,  by  protecting  sacrifices 
at  Tiruppodiyil,   by   his   scholarship,    asceticism   and 
saintliness  (?).     There  is  an  apparent  reference  here,  to 
the  sage  Agastya  whose  intimate  connection   with   the 
Pandyas,  the  Podiyil   mountain   and    Tamil   literature 
is  well   known.    The  age  to  which  Pallidaraiyan    and 
his  master,  the  Pandya  king,  belonged,  cannot   be   de- 
termined at  present.     The  Vatteluttu  characters,  how- 
ever, suggest  a  period  approximating  to  the  9th  century 
A.  D.     One  interesting  inference  which  this  short   in- 
scription leads  to,  is  the  evident  fact  that  the  beds   in 
the  natural  caverns  were  used  not  only  by  Jaina   saints 
but  also  by  laymen  twelve   hundred  years   ago,   as   is 
done  by  the  mendicants  of  the  present  day. 


CAVERNS  AND  BRXHMI  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.  I.  341 

The  cavern  with  the  Brahml  inscription  measures 
33  feet  East  to  West  and  33  feet  North  to  South  open- 
ing both  on  the  southern  and  western  sides.  On  a 
rock,  opposite  to  the  cavern  on  the  West,  is  engraved 
a  Jaina  image  with  a  Vatteluttu  inscription  below  it, 
which  invokes  the  teacher  Ajjanandi.  The  Brahml 
inscription  reads  as  follows  : — 

Text. 

[E]  thu  ya  r[u]  ra  a  ri  ti17  na  pa  li 

Remarks. 

The  first  five  syllables  which  end  in  lira  may  con- 
stitute the  name  of  a  village.  Pa]i  occurs  in  IV  (A) 
and  V,  above. 

VII. 

MUTTUPPATTI  is  a  small  hamlet  about  10  to  12 
miles  from  Madura  on  the  Madura-Tirumangalam  road. 
The  last  of  the  hills  of  the  Ummanamalai  range  which 
runs  parallel  to  the  road  on  its  left  side,  has  a  cavern 
measuring  43  feet  East  to  West,  26  feet  deep  ( on  the 
east  side  )  and  about  5  feet  high.  There  are  several 
beds  and  five  Brahml  inscriptions  two  of  which  latter 
are  highly  damaged  and  cannot  be  read.  Two  Jaina 
images  cut  just  above  the  brow  of  the  cavern  have  no 
inscriptions  below  them.  The  three  legible  Brahmi 
inscriptions  might  be  read  thus: — 

Text 

[A]  Vi  na  tai  u  ra 

[B]  Chai  ya  a  la  na 

[C]  Ka  vi  ya 

17  Between  the  syllables  for  ti  and  »J  the  estampage 
shows  a  symbol  (?)  somewhat  like  that  of  the  mark  of 
interrogation.  It  may  only  be  a  clumsy  slit  on  the  stone  or 
may  be  read  as  a  damaged  Asokan  kha. 


342 


H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 


Remarks. 

As  in  other  cases  A,  which  ends  in  ura  may  be 
the  name  of  a  village. 

VIII. 

SIDDHARMALAI  is  a  hill  near  Mettuppatti  not 
far  from  the  Peranai  Dam  in  the  Nilakkottai  taluk  of 
the  Madura  district.  It  contains  a  specious  cavern 
which  measures  no  less  than  297  feet  in  length  and  6 
feet  8  inches  in  height  with  stone  beds  and  a  small 
shrine  enclosed  by  modern  railings  for  a  pair  of  sandals 
raised  on  a  platform.  The  beds  which  are  in  two  rows 
have  each  a  pillow-loft  with  a  Brahml  inscription  at 
the  headside.  Between  these  two  rows  of  beds  there 
is  another  that  extends  from  South  to  North  with  an 
inscription  in  later  Grantha  characters.  Over  the  brow 
of  the  cavern  just  above  the  shrine  containing  the 
sandals  is  a  Tamil  inscription  which  refers  to  these  as 
the  sandals  of  Sahajanandanatha,  a  Tantric  writer  of 
about  the  14th  century  A.  D.  The  Brahml  inscriptions 
are  read  thus: — 


Texts. 

[A]  Po  ti  na  [u]  ra  a  tat17*)  [na*] 

[B]  Ku  vi  ra  a  [na]  tai  ve  ya  a  ta  na 

[C]  Ku  vi  ra  a  na  tai  ve  [ya]18  a  ta  na 

17a  It  may  be  observed  that  in  the  letter  ta,  the  two 
lower  prongs  of  which  the  one  on  the  proper  right  is  generally 
straight  and  the  left,  somewhat  curved,  have  been  reversed. 

18  This  syllable  must  be  ya  since  we  have  the  same  ex- 
presssion  ve  ya  in  B  above  clearly  expressed.  In  this  case, 
however,  it  deserves  to  be  noticed  that  the  right  half  of  the 
letter  has  been  omitted  and  the  whole  looks  like  the  modern 
Nagari  *l  without  the  top  stroke. 


CAVERNS  AND  BRXHMI  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.  L  343 

[D]  Ti  fo  I  la  a  ta  na 

[E]  A  na  tai  a  ri  ya 

[F]  Ti  a  na  tai  [i  ra]  va  ta  na 

[G]  Ma  dhi  r[a]  a  na  tai  [vi],,J  su  va  na 
[H]  Cha  na  ta  na  tai  cha  na  ta  na 

[J]  A  na  tai  v[e]  na  ta  a  ta  na 

Remarks. 

Nos.  B  and  C  are  identical.  Pdtinctura  of  A 
possibly  contains  the  name  of  a  village.  Atfina  occurs  in 
6  of  the  Siddharmalai  inscriptions,  one  of  Kongar-Puli- 
yangulam  noticed  below  and  2  of  Ajagarmalai  (seq.) 
Anatai  occurs  seven  times  in  the  Siddharmalai  inscrip- 
tions. Rai  Bahadur  V.  Venkayya  has  tried  to  explain 
in  his  Epigraphical  Report  for  1908  (p.  59)  anatai 
ariya  ( E )  as  'the  dwelling  place  of  the  Buddhist  saints.' 

IX. 

KONGAR-PULITANGULAM.  This  is  a  village 
on  the  11th  mile  from  Madura,  on  the  Madura-Tiru- 
mangalam  road.  On  a  low  range  of  hills  about  200 
yards  to  the  North-East  of  the  village  and  at  a  height 
of  about  25  yards  from  the  hill,  are  three  huge  boulders 
forming  natural  caverns  below  them.  They  are  now 
used  for  shelter  from  sun  and  rain,  by  shepherds  and 
their  folds.  The  caverns  extend  from  East  to  West  for 
a  length  of  about  297  feet.  The  greatest  depth  is  55 
feet  9  inches  and  the  height  6  feet  9  inches  near  the 
inscribed  brow.  Higher  up  on  the  rocks  are  some 
Jaina  figures  and  a  Vatfeluttu  inscription.  The  Brahmi 
inscriptions  read  thus: — 

19    The  letter  vi  is  incomplete  on  the  impression. 


344  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

Text 

[A]  Ku  tu20  ko  tu  pi  ta  va,  na  u  pa 
chaa  na  [u]  pa  [tu]20  va(20«) 

[B]  Pa  ka  na  u  ra  ps  t[a]  t[a]  na  pi 
ta  na  I  ta  ta  ve  po  na 

[C]  [Ku]  t  [u]  ko  ta  la  ku  [i]  ta  ta  vi 
na  che  ffi  a  t[a]  na  Is  na 

KUTU  which  occurs  in  A  and  C  is  perhaps  the 
same  as  ku\u  of  Triupparankunram  [A].  Kofupitd,  kutn- 
pitd,  kotupito,  are  all  connected  with  each  other  and 
with  the  root  kotu.  The  five  syllables  u  pa  chd  a  nd 
may  suggest  the  Sanskrit  upddhydydndm.  Itatd  of  B 
may  also  be  noted  to  be  the  first  element  of  the  word 
Udtdrind  of  C.  The  five  syllables  pd  kd  na  u  ra  of  B 
may  be  compared  with  the  name  of  an  old  territorial 
division  called  Pdgaunru-kurram  which,  however,  was 
to  the  North  of  Madura.  Lend  in  C  may  be  the  Pali 
lena  (layana)  'cave.'  If  so  this  will  be  the  one  clear 
Pali  word  found  in  these  inscriptions.  Of  the  two 
symbols  of  punctuation  which  occur  in  B  and  C,  the 
latter  is  found  also  in  early  Ceylon  inscriptions  ( Par- 
ker's Ancient  Ceylon  plate  p.  446). 

X. 

ALAGARMALAI.  This  is  the  highest  hill  on 
which  we  find  caverns,  beds  and  Brahml  inscriptions. 
Those  on  the  other  hills  may  not  be  said  to  be  at   any 

20  The  letter  tu  which  occurs  twice  in  this  inscription 
shows  two  different  forms  of  the  medial  u  sign. 

20a  It  is  not  unlikely  that  this  last  letter  is  part  of  a 
punctuation  which  we  find  in  the  case  of  the  two  other  in- 
scriptions from  Kosigar  Puliyahgulam. 


CAVERNS  AND  BRAHMI  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.  I.  345 

great  height  though  in  most  cases  they  are  also  inacces- 
sible. The  inscriptions  here  are  8  in  number.  One 
of  those  is  written  on  the  pillow-side  of  a  stone-bed. 
The  rest  are  on  the  chiselled  brow  of  the  sheltering 
rock  which  is  nearly  thirty  feet  above  the  floor.  In  the 
cavern  is  an  image  of  Ajjanandi  with  the  usual  invoca- 
tory Vatteluttu  inscription  below  it.  There  is  a  natural 
spring  of  water  in  one  corner  of  the  cavern.  The 
approach  to  the  cavern  which  is  most  difficult  is  through 
a  thick  jungle  and  narrow  ravines  intercepted  by  steep 
rocks.     The  inscriptions  read  thus: — 

Texts. 

[A]  Ma  [ta]  ti  [raf^yi  po  na  ku  la  va  na  a 
[ta]  na  a  t[a]  na 

[B]  M[a]  ta  ti  rai  ko  [pa]  pu  va  ni  ka  na 

[C]  Ya  ka  na  ko  na  ti  ka  na 

[D]  Ka  na  ka  a  t[a]  na  m[o]  ka  na  a  ta  na 
a  ta  na 

[E]  Sa  [ma]  mi  si  na21  mi  ta  ti 

[F]  Ru21  pa  ni  ti  va  ni  [ka]  na  na  du 
ma  la  na 

[G]  [Va  ni]  ka  na  yu  la  na  ta  na 

[H]  Chi  ka  ttha  ma  tQ  na  ta  na  ta  ra  a 

ni  y[a]  k[o]  tu  po  ta  a  va  na 
[J]  A  na  ka  na  nfi 

Remarks, 

The  expression  Mdtatirai  occurs  in  both  A  and  B, 
the  former  giving  as  in  Nos.  IV  (D)  and  IV  (E),  ;in 
extra  consonant  y  after  rai  which  is  a  feature  of   Tamil 

21  Between  the  letteis  nH  and  mi  there  is  space  for  one 
letter  which  has  been  left  blank.  The  same  is  seen  between 
the  syllables  ru  and  pd  of  F. 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  44-1 


346  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

orthograghy.  Vanikana  appears  in  B,  F  and  G.  Pro- 
bably this  has  to  be  connected  with  Sanskrit  vanik  or 
Tamil  Vaniyan.  Of  the  symbols  used  here  for  punctu- 
ation the  svastika  is  familiar.  Inscriptions  H  and  J  are 
fragmentary  since  they  do  not  end  with  any  mark  of 
punctuation. 

XI. 

SITTANNAVXSAL  is  a  village  about  22  miles 
from  Pudukkottai  bordering  on  the  Madura  district. 
The  high  hill  near  it  contains  a  cavern  with  beds  de- 
scribed in  the  Annual  Report  on  Epigraphy  for  1915. 
The  spot  where  the  cavern  lies,  is  known  as  eladippdt- 
tam  on  account  of  the  seven  (elu)  square  holes  in  the 
steep  rock  which  are  used  as  steps  in  reaching  it.  The 
Brahmi  inscription  is  written  on  two  sides  of  one  of 
the  seventeen  beds  in  the  cavern.     It  is  read  thus: — 

Text. 

E  u  mi  na  t[u]  ku  mu  ttha  [u]  ra 
pi  da  na  ta  ka  vu  H  I  te  na  ku 
chi  tu  po  chi  la  I  la  ya  ra  che  ya 
to  a  ti  ta  a  na  ma 

Remarks. 

Here  again  ndta  and  ura  might  indicate  the  district 
and  village  names  respectively. 

CONCLUSION. 

From  the  remarks  made  above  it  would  appear 
that  words  like  kufupita,  kotupifo,  kotupitd,  kutu,  nddu, 
udaiyu  and  eri  and  the  adding  of  a  superfluous  y  after 
words  ending  in  medial  ai,  point  to  what  may  be  called 
the  Dravidian  element  in  the  language  of  these  inscrip- 


CAVERNS  AND  BRSHMT  INSCRIPTIONS  OF  S.  L  347 

tions.  In  arriving  at  the  proper  interpretation  of  these 
records  it  may  also  be  necessary,  as  in  Tamil,  to  take 
some  at  least  of  the  consonants  as  basic  ( i.  e.t  ardha- 
aksaras )  as  of  course  we  have  to  treat  the  palatal  na 
in  kdlakdnacha  in  No.  I  and  \inachU\\hi  and  Udnachdti 
in  No  IV  A.  The  words  ura,  ora  or  ura  in  Eruktyura, 
Ethuyaura,  Kotiora,  Vinataiura,  Potindura,  Pdkdndura 
and  Kumufthaiira  and  the  words  nddu  or  napi  in  Ivam- 
jenddu  and  Eumindtu  are  apparently  Tamil. 

The  words  kosipdnd,  dritand,  kutumapikand,  chelya, 
pdli,  pdliya,  pdli,  updchdd,  iipdchdand,  vochhd  and  lend 
similarly,  represent  the  Prakrit  element  of  these  records, 
more  or  less  clearly  expressed.  The  numerous  words 
ending  in  nd  in  all  the  inscriptions  may  be  taken  to  be 
the  genitive  plurals  ending  in  ndm  e.  g.t  Sdvatiydna= 
Srdvastiydndm.  With  reference  to  kdlakdncha  in  No.  I 
it  is  worthy  of  note  that  kdlakanjaka  according  to 
Childer's  Pali  Dictionary  is  a  '  sort  of  Preta  '  and  Kdla- 
kanja  according  to  Monier  Williams  is  the  '  name  of  a 
Danava  family.'  The  words  Sdldkdnd  and  Chdtikdnd 
appear  to  be  connected  with  the  Pali  words,  saldkd 
and  chdti  the  former  of  which  means  *  a  ticket  for  food 
given  to  Buddhist  monks  '  and  the  latter  '  an  earthern 
vessel.'  Kulavdnd  may  likewise  be  connected  with 
kulava  {  a  member  of  a  high  family.'  Nikama  which 
occurs  twice  in  the  Arittapatti  inscriptions  may  possi- 
bly stand  for  nigama  or  negama  which  in  Paji  means 
1  a  mercantile  guild.' 

One  other  point  which  lends  these  inscriptions  a 
purely  southern  characteristic  may  also  be  noted.  It 
is  its  paleography  which  often  resembles  the  alphabet 
of  the  ancient  inscriptions  of  Ceylon  and  in  some 
cases  the  Bhattiprolu   casket    inscriptions.     In    a   few 


348  H.  KRISHNA  SHASTRI 

other  cases,  again,  they  supply  an  exclusively  new  type. 
The  symbol  *  for  instance  occurs  ten  times  in  these 
inscriptions.  For  the  first  time  it  has  been  found 
hitherto  only  in  the  Kshatrapa  and  Xndhra  inscriptions 
of  the  1st  century  A.  D.  But  the  symbol  occurs  in  the 
ancient  Brahmi  inscriptions  of  Ceylon  where,  however, 
it  is  read  as  short  i.  The  modern  Tamil  l  is  quite 
similar  to  it  and  is  very  probably  derived  from  it.  Two 
forms  of  ja  occur.  One  is  the  regular  type  found  in 
the  Brahmi  inscriptions  of  Asoka  and  the  other  is  the 
one  with  a  loop  in  the  middle  formed  somewhat  like 
the  Kalsi  ja  but  still  different  from  it.  This  rare  form 
occurs  in  the  Tirupparankunram  inscription  only.  The 
length  of  na  throughout  is  after  the  Bhattiprolu  type. 
The  letter  ma  which  is  formed  with  the  u-like  tube 
opening  upwards  with  a  cross  line  about  its  middle,  is 
quite  peculiar  to  these  cavern  characters  and  is  found 
again  only  rarely  in  the  Brahmi  inscriptions  of  Ceylon. 
The  Dravidian  la  which  occurs  7  times  in  these  inscrip- 
tions does  not  at  all  figure  in  the  Northern  Brahmi  in- 
scriptions but  is  occasionally  met  with  in  the  ancient 
inscriptions  of  Ceylon.  The  letter  \tha  (written  actual- 
ly as  pita )  occurs  thrice  in  these  inscriptions  and  is 
the  only  double  consonant  found  in  them.  The  symbol 
for  da  is  quite  peculiar  and  is  found  nowhere  else 
except  in  these  inscriptions. 

I  have  nothing  more  to  add  to  this  imperfect  paper 
but  to  request  the  scholars  congregated  here  to  pay 
their  earnest  attention  to  these  new  inscriptions  of 
Southern  India  and  to  arrive  at  an  indisputed  inter- 
pretation of  them  which  if  done,  must,  I  am  sure,  set 
at  rest  the  hypothetical  theories  about  the  antiquity  of 
the  Dravidas  and  Dravidian  civilisation,  which  is  so 
much  discussed. 


ANCIENT     HISTORY. 


DATE  OF  CORONATION  OF  MAHlPADMA 

BY 

Harit  Krishna  Deb. 

The  most  systematic  literary  account  of  the 
dynastic  history  of  India  during  the  period  following 
the  Bharata  war  is  to  be  found  in  some  of  our  Puranas. 
In  concluding  their  dynastic  account,  the  three  earliest 
Puranas,  the  Matsya,  Vayu  and  Brahmanda,  assert  that 
the  account  has  been  carried  down  to  the  836th  year 
(elapsed)  "after  Mahapadma"  (Mahdpadmintare  or 
Mahdpadmottare).1  This  expression  should  be  under- 
stood to  be  equivalent  to  "  after  Mahapadma's  corona- 
tion." ;  for,  the  preceding  verse  counts  back  from  that 
king's  coronation,  showing  that  this  event,  and  no 
other,  has  been  taken  here  as  the  pivot  of  reckoning. 
I  propose  to  attempt,  in  this  paper,  to  arrive  at  a 
definite  date  for  this  important  event.2 

The  best  way  in  which  we  could  do  it  would  be  to 
try  to  determine  the  Christian  equivalent  for  the  last 
definite  date  given  in  the  Puranic  chronicles,  namely, 
the  836th  year  after  Mahapadma's  coronation.  This 
year  must  fall  somewhere  about  the  fifth  century  A.D. 
For,  in  the  first  place,  the  Greek  notices  leave  no  room 
for  doubt  that  the  Maurya  dynasty  had  already  been 
established  before  the  end  of  the  fourth  century   B.C.  ; 

1  Pargiter,  Dynasties  of  the  Kali  Age,  Oxford  1913,  p.  58, 
5-10. 

2  A  notable  attempt  has  recently  been  made  by  Mr.  K.  P. 
Jayaswal  in  JBORS,  June  1917.  I  have  much  pleasure  in 
acknowledging  that  a  perusal  of  Mr.  Jayaswal's  paper  prompt- 
ed me  to  examine  the  problem  for  myself,  with  the  result 
embodied  in  my  present  essay. 


352  HARIT  KRISHNA  DEB 

secondly,  As'oka,  the  third  Mauryan  king,  refers  in  one 
of  his  inscriptions  to  five  Greek  princes  one  of  whom, 
Magas,  reigned  in  Cyrene  from  c.  300  to  c.  250  B.C.3 
Since  the  tenure  of  power  by  Mahapadma's  dynasty 
could  not  have  lasted  longer  than  a  century,  and  may 
have  endured  only  for  forty  years  as  certain  MSS.  of  the 
Vayu  assert,4  the  coronation  of  Mahapadma  must  be 
placed  approximately  within  the  hundred  years  com- 
prising the  latter  half  of  the  5th  century  and  the  first 
half  of  the  fourth  century  B.C.  ;  and  836  years  after 
that  would  take  us  down  to  about  the  5th  century  A.D. 
Now,  I  do  not  think  that  the  authors  of  the  Puranas 
were  oblivious  of  the  fact  that  their  chronology  would 
be  meaningless  if  not  referred  to  some  era.  Several 
eras  were  in  existence  in  the  5th  century  A.D.,5  and 
we  should  be  surprised  if  Indian  historians  of  such  a 
late  period,  setting  their  hands  to  the  task  of  giving  an 
account  of  kings  and  their  reigns  in  a  sober  and 
systematic  form,  free  from  all  glamour  of  mythology, 
allegory  and  rhetoric,  evolved  a  chronicle  without  an 
intelligible  chronology,  without  any  reference  to  a 
definite  point  of  time  with  which  the  people  of  those 
days  might  be  familiar.  It  may  be  said  that  the  eras 
then  in  use  were  mostly  established  by  some  particular 
kings,  and  the  adoption  of  any  one  of  their  reckonings 
would  have  endowed  the  account  with  a  political 
complexion,  with  a  bias  hardly  befitting  the  impartial 
historian.  But  there  was  one  era  not  open  to  this 
objection.  This  was  the  laukika  era  used  by  Kalhana 
in  his  Rajatarangini,  the  only  known  regular  book  of 
history,    as   understood   in    Europe,    in    the   Sanskrit 

3  JRAS,  1914.  P-  945- 

4  Pargiter,  op.  cit.,  pp.  25-26, 

5  e.g.,  Vikrama,  Saka,  Kalachuri,  Gupta. 


DATE  OF  CORONATION  OF  MAHXPADMA  353 

language.  Kalhana  knew  the  Saka  era  :  he  gives  the 
equation  for  converting  his  laukika  years  into  the 
corresponding  Saka  years  ;  yet  he  adopts  the  laukika 
in  preference  to  the  Saka  era  in  his  chronology  of  the 
kings.'1  This  preferential  procedure,  as  well  as  the  fact 
that  the  Kashmir  chronicler  begins  to  give  his  dates 
according  to  the  laukika  reckoning  as  soon  as  he  is 
able  to  present  a  reliable,  dated  history,  shows  that  in 
the  Middle  Ages  Brahmanical  history-writers  employed 
the  laukika  era  in  their  chronology.  Kalhana's  first 
recorded  date  corresponds  to  the  year  813  A.D., 
expressed  by  him  as  the  89th  year  of  a  laukika 
century  ;7  but  the  custom  of  dating  kings  according  to 
the  laukika  era  was  very  probably  quite  archaic  in 
Kalhana's  time,  since  Kalhana  admits  having  borrowed 
his  materials  from  earlier  historians,8  and  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  in  adopting  the  laukika  era  he 
was  departing  from  well-established  usage.  In  fact,  his 
reference  to  his  own  period  in  terms  of  Saka  and 
laukika  years  and  to  the  periods  of  the  kings  in  terms 
of  the  laukika  era  only  cannot  be  explained  except  on 
the  supposition  that  the  latter  was  the  orthodox  reckon- 
ing, at  any  rate  in  historical  chronology.  The  custom 
may  well  have  existed  at  the  time  the  earliest  Puranas 
received  their  present  form.  As  the  Puranas  were 
meant  for  popular  reading,  the  laukika  or  '  popular  '  era 
would  be  eminently  suitable  for  employment  in 
Puranic  chronology.  Moreover,  one  name  for  the 
laukika  era  is  Sastra-samrat,    th  it  is   to  say,    '  the   era 

6  Stein,  Kalh  in.is  chronicle  of  Kashmir,  vol.    I,    introd., 
para  56. 

7  Ibid,  vol.  I,  p.  183,  v,  703. 

8  Ibid,  introd.,  paras  21-23. 

9  IA  XX,  p.  152. 
[F.  O.  C.  II  451. 


354  HARIT  KRISHNA  DEB 

used  in  the  Sastras '  ;  and  the  Puranas,  certainly  are 
Sastras  requiring  the  use  of  an  era.  Now,  it  is  remark- 
able that,  immediately  following  the  statement  that  the 
dynastic  account  should  be  considered  as  coming  down 
to  the  836th  ye  ir  after  Mahapadma,  is  to  be  found,  in 
the  Matsya,  Vayu  and  Brahmanda  Puranas,  an  exposi- 
tion of  the  Saptarshi  reckoning10  which  is  identical 
with  the  laukika  reckoning.  It  is  difficult  to  resist  the 
inference  that  the  object  of  this  juxtaposition  is  to 
indicate  that  the  account  has  been  carried  down  to  the 
end  of  a  Saptarshi  centennium  ;  in  other  words,  the 
836th  year  after  Mahapadma's  coronation  is  nothing 
but  the  last  year  of  a  laukika  or  Saptarshi  century. 

Such  an  inference  being  acknowledged,  it  is  easy 
to  show  that  this  Saptarshi  century  corresponds  to  the 
hundred  years  324-424  A.D.  For,  no  other  Saptarshi 
century  will  preserve  the  Graeco-Indian  synchronisms 
alluded  to  above.  Take  for  instance  the  century  224- 
324  A.D.  ;  Mahapadma's  coronation  would  fall  in 
513  B.C.  ;  and  since  his  dynasty  did  not  last  more  than 
a  hundred  years,  Chandragupta  would  come  to  the 
throne  in  413  B.C  at  the  latest,  which  is  impossible. 
Take  again  the  century  424-524  A.D.;  Mahapadma 
would  be  crowned  in  313  B.C.,  and  since  his  dynasty 
did  not  last  less  than  forty  years,  the  earliest  date  for 
Chandragupta's  accession  would  be  273  B  C,  which  is 
inadmissible.  The  year  424  A.D.,  the  last  year  of  the 
Saptarshi  century  324-424  A.D.,  corresponds,  therefore, 
to  the  836th  year  after  Mahapadma's  coronation,  which 
event  should  consequently  be  assigned  to  the  vear 
413  B.C. 

We  have  another  set  of  data  yielding  the  same 
result.    The   Puranas,   in   introducing  their   dynastic 

10    Pargiter,  op.  cit,  pp,  58-59. 


DATE  OF  CORONATION  OF  MAHXPADMA    355 

enumeration,  declare  their  object  to  consist  in  the 
presentation  of  the  dynastic  history  of  the  Kaliyuga.11 
The  accouats  close  with  the  statement  that  the  end 
of  the  Kaliyuga  '  will  be  '  reached.12  Here  the  future 
tense  should  not  be  taken  too  literally ;  for,  it  is 
only  in  conformity  with  the  Historical  Future  used 
throughout  the  enumeration  irom  Adhisimakrsna 
Paurava  downwards,  being,  in  this  respect,  analogous 
to  the  Historical  Present  tense  employed  by  Western 
historians  even  to  this  day.  Towards  the  end  of 
the  chapters  in  Matsya  and  Vayu13  which  quote  the 
dynastic  account  from  the  Bhavisya  Purana  occur 
some  verses  developing  the  yuga-theory  and  bringing  it 
into  connexion  with  the  seven  Ri-his  and  the  Lunar 
and  Solar  dynasties.  The  bhavisya  technique  could 
here  be  set  aside.  Consequently,  we  find  it  explicitly 
stated  in  Matsya,  273,  59 — 

Kslne  Kaliyuge  caiva  tisthantiti  Kite  yuge...15  i.  e. 
11  The  Kaliyuga  having  passed  by,  (the  seven  Rishis) 
are  in  the  Krtayuga..."  ; 

and  verse  76-77  of  the  same  chapter  employ  the  past  tense 
asfavimsasamakhyati  gati        VaivasvatVntare 

etc    devaganaih  sardham   sisfa    ye    tan    nibodhata 
catvirimsat-trayas-caiva    bhavisyaste    mahatnianah 
avasisfa  yugakhyastu  tato  Vaivasvataksayah.1" 
i.e.     "  The  28  intervals   ("the    28    caturyugas)  within 

11  Ibid,  p.  2. 

12  Ibid,  p.  56. 

13  The  Bangab  isi  editions  of  the  Matsya  and  V.iyu  Purn- 
$kas  are  referred  to  in  my  text  and  notes  here. 

14  Mt.  ch.  273  ;  Va.  ch.  99. 

15  Cf.  V.i  99,  441,  where  tistfuntiti  has  been  changed  to 
thavisyetu,  still  conforming  to  the  '  future  '  technique. 

16  Cf.  V.u  99,  459-60.     The  word  ksayah  occurs  corruptly 
as  hyayam  in  Mt. 


356  HARIT  KRISHNA  DEB 

the  Vaivasvata  period  have  already  passed  away  :  these, 
together  with  the  d^vas  (have  passed  away).  Hear 
what  remain  :  43  future  (yugas)...then  will  come  the 
end  of  the  Vaivasvata  (manvantara,  consisting  of  71 
caturyugas)".  Clearly,  therefore,  the  last  definite  date 
in  the  Puranic  account — the  836th  year  after  Maha- 
padma's  coronation— is  the  same  as  the  last  year  of  the 
Kaliyuga  of  the  28th  caturyuga  in  the  Vaivasvata 
manvantara. 

Again,  according  to  the  Puranas,  the  beginning  of 
the  Tretayuga  is  the  starting-point  of  History.  The 
Markandlya  Purana,  for  instance,  speaks,  in  canto 
XLIX,  (ed.  Pargiter)  of  the  first  stage  of  man's  life  as 
belonging  to  the  sky.  "Those  kalpa-trees  were  pro- 
duced which  are  called  houses,  and  they  brought  forth 
every  kind  of  enjoyment  to  those  (people).  At  the 
beginning  of  the  Treta  age,  the  (people)  got  their 
subsistence  from  those  trees... Afterwards,  in  course  of 
time,  those  (people)  grew  covetous  ;  besides,  their 
minds  being  filled  with  selfishness,  they  fenced  the 
trees  round  and  those  trees  perished  by  reason  of  that 
wrong  conduct  on  their  part.  Strife  sprang  up  in 
consequence  ;  their  faces  felt  cold  and  heat  and 
hunger.  Then,  for  the  sake  of  combination  and 
resistance,  they  made  towns  at  first  ;  and  they  re- 
sorted to  fortresses... and  they  first  made  measures 
intended  for  measurement. ..they  also  (constructed)  the 
pura,  the  khetaka...and  the  gramas.  And  trees  and 
shrubs  bearing  flowers  and  fruit  in  their  seasons  were 
produced.  This  manifestations  of  vegetation  appeared, 
first  in  the  Trlta  age."  The  Matsya,  in  chapters  142- 
143,  like  the  Vayu  in   ch.   57  and   the    Brahmanda  in 

17  Brahmanda  Purana,   edited  by   Debendra  Nath   Basu, 
Calcutta,  B.  S.  1 302. 


DATE  OF  CORONATION  OF  MAH^PADMA    357 

chs.  61-62,17  also  asserts  substantially  the  same  thing 
in  regard  to  the  Treta  age  ;  and  these  authorities 
further  inform  us  that  the  Vedas  were  collected 
[samhata  or  samhita)  in  the  beginning  of  Treta,  trut  the 
varna-system  was  established  in  the  same  yuga,  that 
kings  were  created  first  in  the  TretS,  age. 

When  the  Puranas  say  that  orthodox  history  is 
traceable  to  the  beginning  of  the  TrMa  yuga,  we  may 
be  sure  they  are  referring  to  the  Trlta  yuga  of  the 
28th  caturyuga  in  the  Vaivasvata  manvantara.  The 
first  six  manvantaras  have  no  relation  to  history 
proper  :  the  Puranic  accounts  of  their  presiding 
Manus  are  extremely  laconic  and  partake  of  the  nature 
of  folklore.  Each  one  of  these  Manus  is  credited  with 
ten  sons  ;  but  the  sons  are  not  of  this  earth.  It  is 
only  the  Vaivasavata  Manu  whose  sons  belong  to  our 
world.  This  is  indicated  by  the  use  of  the  word  bhuvi 
in  connexion  only  with  them  in  the  Matsya  description 
of  the  Manus  (ch.  9).  According  to  the  Vayu  (ch.  62), 
it  was  during  the  Vaivasvata  period  that  corn-cultiva- 
tion, preservation  of  cattle,  commerce,  towns  and 
villages  were  made  possible.  The  first  27  caturyugas 
of  the  Vaivasvata  manvantara  are  as  conventional  as 
the  manvantaras  themselves.  All  the  three  Puranas, 
the  Matsya,  Vayu  and  Brahmanda,  enunciate  the 
principle  :  whatever  happens  at  a  particular  period  in 
any  yuga  happens  at  the  corresponding  period  in  every 
such  yuga.18  Such  a  cyclic  march  of  events  b 
assumed,  it  was  easy  to  carry  imagination  back  over 
any  length  of  time.  There  would  be  no  harm,  from 
this  standpoint,  in  imagining  the  day  of  the  Pitris, 
called  divya,    celestial,    as  comprising    360    human  or 

18    Mt.  144,  103  ;  VI  58,  1 16 ;  Bd.  63,  1 18. 


358  HARIT  KRISHNA  DEB 

ordinary  days,  or  in  applying  the  divya  calculation 
to  the  1200 J  years  pertaining  to  a  caturyuga.  The 
conventional  character  of  the  divya  reckoning  is  fully 
established  by  its  association,  in  Puranic  accounts, 
with  such  expressions  as  tndn.se na  saiijnitah, 
ptakiriitah,  kavayo  viduh,  ahurmanisiyah  as  well  as  by 
the  unequivocal  statement — 

divyenaiva  pramarnna  yugasankhyaprakalpanam19. 
We  are  not  surprised,  therefore,  to  find  in  ch.  32  of 
the  Vayu  an  account  of  the  yuga-periods  without  any 
mention  of  the  divya  mode  of  reckoning.  It  is  thus 
quite  clear  that  not  till  we  come  down  to  the  Treta- 
yuga  of  the  28th  caturyuga  of  the  Vaivasvataman- 
vantara  can  we  tread  on  solid  ground ;  and  that  we 
must  set  aside  the  divya  convention  for  purposes  of 
plausible  history.  It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to 
mention  in  this  connexion  the  fact  that,  in  astronomi- 
cal treatises  of  the  Siddhanta  variety,  the  calculations 
arc  based  on  yuga-periods  ;20  and  it  seems  to  be  quite 
in  keeping  with  tradition  that  the  Suryya  Siddhanta 
should  represent  the  science  of  astronomy  as  having 
been  received  by  the  Sun  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Tretdyuga  of  the  28th  caturyuga  of  the  Vahasvata 
manvantara,  employing,  however,  the  divya  standard 
of  reckoning  which  met  astronomical  requirements. 
Astronomy  is  the  earliest  of  sciences,  and  its  history  is 
intimately  associated  with  the  history  of  human  civili- 
sation ;  Man's  first  study  betook  itself  to  the  twinkling 
stars,  the  sun,  the  refreshing  moon,  and  Heaven's  light 
was  his  &uide. 

The  interval  between  the  beginning  of   Treta   and 
the  end  of  K<di  being   one   or  (3600  +  2400+1280)    or 

19  Mt.  ch.  142 ;  Va.  ch.  57 ;  Bd.  ch.  61. 

20  JASB,  1884,  p.  261. 


DATE  OF  CORONATION  OF  MAHXPADMA     359 

7280  years,  the  acceptance  of  the  date  424  A.D.  as 
marking  the  end  of  the  Kalivuga  and  coinciding  with 
the  856th  year  after  Mahapadma  involves  the  carrying 
back  of  the  traditional  beginning  of  orthodox  history 
as  handed  down  through  the  Puranas  to  the  year  6777 
B  C.  There  is  evidence  to  show  that  this  was  precisely 
the  date  assigned  to  the  same  terminus  as  early  as  the 
4th  century  B.C.  Pliny,  quoting  from  Magasthenes, 
says  that  the  Indians  reckoned  from  Bacchus  to 
Alcxandjr  the  Great  154  kings  who  reigned  for 
64S1  years  and  3  months.21  Quoting  this  passage, 
Cunningham  observes  :  "As  Alexander  entered  the 
Punjab  in  326  B.  C,  and  left  it  towards  the  end  of  the 
same  year,  this  account  fixes  the  starting-point  of 
Indian  chronology  to  the  year  6777  B.  C."22  Arrian 
says  :  "  From  the  time  of  Dionysus  to  Sandracottus 
the  Indians  counted  153  kings  and  a  period  of  6042 
years,  but  among  these  a  republic  was  thrice 
established... and  another  to  300  years,  and  another  to 
120  years.23  The  lacuna  renders  Arrian 's  figures 
inutilisable.  We  may  suspect,  besides,  the  accuracy 
of  Arrian 's  figures  as  compared  with  those  of  Pliny; 
for,  the  latter  gives  even  the  fraction  of  a  year  in  the 
total,  and  Arrian's  round  number  M  3C0  years  "  does 
not  admit  of  easy  belief.  Pliny's  figures  are  confirmed 
by  Solinus24  and  take  us  down  to  Alexander  whose 
precise  date  we  know  ;  whereas  Arrian  speaks  of  a 
period  down  to  Sandracottus  whose  exact  date  we 
do  not    know.     We   need   not   hesitate,   therefore,   to 

21  M'Crindle,  Andcnt  India  (1901),  p.  108 ;  Pliny,  Nat  Hist. 
VI,  17. 

22  Book  of  Indi  in  Eras,  p.  1 5.    C.  was,  I  believe,  the  first  to 
connect  this  date  with  the  Saptarshi  reckoning. 

23  IA,  VI,  p.  250. 

24  Ibid. 


360  HARIT  KRISHNA  DEB 

accept   the   figures  of  Pliny  in  preference  to  the  vague 
and  incomplete  datum  of  Arrian. 

Arrian,  however,  has  preserved  some  details  of  the 
popular  legends  connected  with  this  traditional 
beginning  of  Hindu  history:  "But  when  he  (Dionysus) 
was  leaving  India,  after  having  established  the  new 
order  of  things,  he  appointed,  it  is  said,  Spatembas,  one 
of  his  companions,  the  most  zealous  of  his  imitators 
(or  the  most  conversant  with  Bacchic  matters)  to  be 
the  king  of  the  country,  and  that  when  Spatembas  died 
his  son  Boudyas  succeeded  to  the  sovereignty."25 
Spatembas  and  Boudyas  evidently  stand  for 
Svdyambhuva  and  Burtha,  as  already  conjectured.  We 
may  thus  feel  assured  that  Megasthenes'  information 
regarding  the  starting-point  of  Indian  chronology  is 
bound  up  with  some  form  of  Puranic  legend, — a 
conclusion  fortified  by  the  fact  that  the  chronology  of 
the  Puranas,  like  the  chronology  of  the  Indians  as 
recorded  by  Megasthenes,  is  based  upon  the  reign- 
periods  of  successive  kings,26  both  the  accounts  being  in 
this  respect  radically  at  variance  with  the  standpoint  of 
astronomers  like  Varahamihira  who  flourished  in  the 
6th  century  A.  D.  and  placed  Yudhisthira  nearly  ten 
centuries  earlier  than  the  date  assigned  to  that  king  by 
the  authors  of  the  Puranas.27  The  basic  identity  of  the 
two  chronological  systems,  one  represented  by  the 
Puranas  and  the  other  by  Megasthenes,  guarantees  the 
accuracy  of  the  inference  that  6777    B.  C.   corresponds 


25  Ibid,  p.  249. 

26  Solinussays:  " the  calculations  being  made  by- 
counting  the  kings  who  reigned  in  the  intermediate  period,  to 
the  number  153. 

27  Brhatsamhita,  ch.  13,  3.  See  also  C.'s  remarks  in  Book 
of  Indian  Eras,  pp.  8  ff. 


DATE  OF  CORONATION  OF  MAHXPADMA    361 

to  the  traditional  beginning  of  the  Treta  yuga  as 
contemplated  in  Puranic  literature.  The  resulting 
scheme  of  chronology  is — 

Treta  -  6777  B.  C.  -  3177  B.  C. 
Dvapara-  3177  B.  C-  777  B.  C. 
Kali       -    777  B.  C.  -    424  A.  D. 

Let  us  put  this  result  to  some  rough  tests. 

The  Puranas  say  that  the  originally  single  Veda 
was  divided  into  four  parts  in  the  Dvapara  yuga,28  i.  e. 
between  3177  and  777  B.  C.  This  result  is  in  sufficient 
agreement  with  the  conclusions  of  Western  scholars  in 
regard  to  the  age  of  the  Vedas.  The  redaction  of 
Puranic  literature  and  its  division  into  eighteen  parts 
is  also  assignable  to  the  Dvapara  yuga  as  asserted  in  the 
Puranas.29  For,  the  Matsya  and  Vayu  Puranas,  in  their 
dynastic  account  of  the  post-YudhisHiira  period,  use 
the  present  tense  in  enumerating  three  contemporary 
kings  of  the  three  principal  dynasties,30  and  these  three 
kings  are  removed  from  Yudhisthira  by  four  or  five 
generations;  so  that  the  age  of  composition  of  the 
original  Puranas  initiating  the  dynastic  account  must 
be  considered  to  lie  in  the  14th  or  13th  century  B.  C-, 
because  Yudhisthira,  according  to  the  Puranas, 
flourished  a  thousand  and  odd  years  before  Maha- 
padma.31  This  inference  may  seem  to  conflict  with 
the  idea  that  the    Kali   age    began    with   the   death   of 

28  Mt.  ch.  144 ;  VS.  ch.  58 ;  Bd.  ch.  63. 

29  e.g.,  Mt.  ch.  53. 

30  Viz.,  Adhisimakrsna  Paurava,  Div.ikara  Aiksv.iku  and 
Sen  ijit  Barhadratha. 

31  Pargiter,  op.  cit.,  p.  58.  The  enumeration  of  the  subse- 
quent kings  had  to  be  made  in  the  future  tense,  the  other  two 
tenses  having  been  appropriated  already. 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  46] 


362  HARIT  KRISHNA  DEB 

Krsna.32  The  fact,  however,  that  the  Puranas,  setting 
out  to  give  a  dynastic  account  of  the  Kali  Age  (1200 
years),33  actually  treat  of  a  period  extending  over  more 
than  18  centuries  (1015  or  1050+836  years)  shows  that 
they  admit  more  than  one  standpoint  from  which  the 
Kaliyuga  might  be  viewed.  One  view  would  make 
Kali  begin  with  Krsna's  death;  another  would  assign 
its  end  to  the  836th  year  after  Mahapadma's  coronation. 
That  the  former  was  an  old  view  is  proved  by  the 
statement  in  the  Bhagavata — 

yasmin  Krsno  divam  yatah  tasminneva  tadahani 
pratipannam  Kaliyugam  iti  prdhuh  purdvidah.u 

It  seems  to  have  been  the  view  adopted  by  the  earlier 
Puranakaras;  for,  a  summary  of  the  contemporary 
dynasties  from  Pariksit  to  Mahapadma  is  inserted  just 
after  the  enumeration  of  these  dynasties  which  are 
stated  in  the  Matsya  to  have  lasted  ydvat  Kali  (altered 
in  Vayu  to  tdvatkdlam).u  The  other  view  is  connected 
with  the  date  6777  B.  C.  as  marking  the  initial  point  of 
traditional  history  and  identified  with  the  beginning  of 
the  Tretayuga.  The  simultaneous  adoption  of  both 
these  reckonings  by  the  later  Puranakaras  resulted  in 
an  overlapping  of  about  seven  hundred  years;  Kali 
beginning,  according  to  one  view,  in  the  15th  century 
B.  C,  and  according  to  another,  in  the  8th  century 
B.  C.  That  such  a  composite  standpoint  was  in  truth 
adopted  by  the  editors  of  the  Puranas  is  shown  by  the 
statement  that  the  Dvapara  and  Kali  Ages  could  not  be 
spoken  of  separately,  being  inseparably.linked  together — 

32  Ibid,  p.  62. 

33  Ibid,  p.  2. 

34  Ibid,  p.  62.    See  also  Mr.  Pargiter's  opposite  remarks 
on  the  text.  p.  79  (App.  I). 

35  Ibid,  p.  23. 


DATE  OF  CORONATION  OF  MAHXPADMA     363 

yugapat     samavetau     dvau     dvidha     vaktum     na 

sakyate.36 

The  assignation  of  Mahapadma's  coronation  to  the 
year  413  B.  C.  would  lead  us  to  compare  his  case  with 
that  of  his  Persian  contemporary,  Darius  II,  nicknamed 
Nothus  on  account  of  his  illegitimate  descent  from 
Artaxerxes  "  the  long-handed".  Darius  usurped  the 
throne  by  killing  his  half-brother  Sogdianus,  another 
illegitimate  son  of  Artaxerxes,  who  had  assassinated  the 
legitimate  heir,  Xerxes  IF7.  Darius  II  reigned  in 
Persia  from  424  to  404  B.  C.  Mahapadma  may  have 
been  encouraged  by  the  Persian  example  to  seize  the 
throne  which  did  not  lawfully  belong  to  him.3*  The 
probability  of  the  inference  will  be  reinforced  by  the 
consideration  that  the  conquests  of  Darius  I  (c.  500 
B.  C),  preceded  by  the  reconnoitring  expedition  of 
Skylax  down  the  course  of  the  river  Indus,39  brought 
the  Achaemenian  Empire  into  close  touch  with  India 
proper,  and  may  have  necessitated  the  formation  of  a 
unified  Middle  Indian  Empire,  stretching  from  sea  to 
sea,  under  the  leadership  of  Udayana,  the  founder  of 
Palaliputra,40 — the  Empire  which  Mahapadma  wis 
destined  later  to  constitute  into  a  Great  Kingdom  under 
his  sole  sway  by  uprooting  all  the  subordinate  kings, 
much  in  the  same  manner  as  Darius  I   had  done   with 

36  Mt.  142,  38  ;  VS.  57.  37  ;  Bd.  61,  38. 

37  G.  Rawlinson,  Ancient  History  (World's  Great  Classics 
series)  p.  88. 

38  Pargiter,  op.  cit.,  p.  25. 

39  V.  A.  Smith,  Early  History  of  India,  3  ed.,  p.  37. 

40  See  my  booklet  on  Udayana  Vatsaraja.  (March  1919). 
Dr.  Vincent  Smith  concurs  with  me  in  holding  that  Udayana 
is  the  connecting  link  between  Magadha  and  Avanti.  The 
possible  influence  of  Darius'  invasion  on  the  formation  of  a 
Middle-India,  strong  enough  to  withstand  the  shock  of  a 
vigorous  Persian  attack,  is  suggested  here  for  the  first  time. 


364  HARIT  KRISHNA  DEB 

the  loosely-knit  empire  of  Cyrus.41  The  date  of 
coronation  of  Mahapadma  appears,  from  this  stand- 
point, to  be  a  highly  important  landmark  in  the  course 
of  evolution  of  the  Indian  political  constitution,  and 
his  usurpation  of  the  throne  by  overthrowing  ancient 
dynasties  established  a  precedent  which,  in  later  times, 
facilitated  the  continued  exercise  of  kingly  power  by 
Sudra  monarchs.  Kautilya's  reaction  against  "  new  " 
(nava)  and  "  low-born  "  (anabhijdta)  kings  succeeded 
for  a  time  in  re-establishing  on  the  throne  at  Pataliputra 
a  scion  of  the  earlier  Nandas42  ;  but  the  effect  was 
nullified  by  the  liberalising  influence  of  the  creed  of 
Asoka  whose  patronage  of  the  Yavanas,  instanced  by 
the  appointment  of  Tushaspa  to  the  governorship  of 
Girnar,43  laid  the  foundations  for  subsequent  Greek 
rule  in  the  Punjab,  and  paved  the  way  towards  the 
protracted  rule  of  other  foreigners  over  the  whole  of 
Northern  India. 

41  Pargiter,  op.  cit.  p.  25.  M.  was  sarvaksatrantaka,  i.e., 
1  destroyer  of  all  kings '.  Only  subordinate  kings  could  be 
meant  here.  The  analogy  with  Darius  I  seems  perfect  when 
we  comprehend  the  full  significance  of  the  Puranic  statement 
that  M.  destroyed  all  kings,  being  prompted  by  prospective  wealth. 
(bhavinarthena  coditah) ;  for,  Darius  was  impelled  by  the 
same  motive  to  divide  his  kingdom  into  satrapies  :  D.  was 
ridiculed  as  an  "  innkeeper  greedy  of  gain  ". 

42  Chandragupta's  descent  from  the  earlier  Nandas  is 
explicit  in  the  Brihatkatha.  See  my  note  on  the  subject  in 
JBORS,  1918,  pp.  91-95.  Dr.  Smith  has  expressed  his  approval 
of  this  finding  in  his  latest  edition  of  the  Oxford  History 
(  Additions  and  corrections  ")•  I  have  since  noticed  the 
passage  in  Kautilya's  Arthasastra  (p.  326,  ed.  1919)  which 
adversely  criticises  nava  kings,  perhaps  in  view  of  M.'s  con- 
duct. ^  This  passage  proves  that  Kautilya's  master  was  not  a 
'  new  '  king,  but,  on  the  contrary,  ruled  by  hereditary  right  as 
implied  in  the  Brihatkatha  account  of  his  origin. 

43  EI,  viii,  p.  43. 


NOTES  ON  THE  ANCIENT   HISTORY   AND 
GEOGRAPHY  OF  THE  KONKAN. 

By  P.  V.  Kane. 

From  very  early  times,  the  western  coast  of  India 
has  been  in  close  communication  with  the  countries 
of  western  Asia,  Greece,  Rome,  and  Egypt.  The 
whole  of  the  seaboard  from  Broach  to  Cape  Comorin 
was  studded  with  marts  and  emporia  that  served  as 
warehouses  for  the  products  of  the  whole  of  India  and 
poured  from  their  ample  stores  commodities  of  various 
kinds  into  the  markets  of  the  West.  The  Old  Testa- 
ment furnishes  ample  evidence  of  an  extensive  trade 
between  India  and  Babylon.  Ophir,  famed  in  the 
Bible  as  the  City1  of  gold  and  precious  stones,  sandal- 
wood and  peacocks,  is  located  by  most  competent 
scholars  somewhere  on  the  western  side  of  India.  2 
It  has  been  argued  with  considerable  reason  that  many 
of  the  things  with  which  Solomon  (1016-976  B.  C.) 
added  to  the  pomp  and  glory  of  his  Court  such  as  the 
throne  of  ivory  overlaid  with  the  best   gold,    the    three 

1  See    I  Kings  Chap.  IX.26-28 ;  I  Kings  Chap.  X.I I ; 

II  Chronicles  Chap.  VIII.  18 ; 

III  Chronicles  Chap.  IX.IO. 

2  Lassen  identified  Ophir  with  the  Aberia  of  Potlemy, 
the  Xbhlra  of  Sanskrit  Geographers,  the  district  bordering  on 
the  mouths  of  the  Indus.  Vide  JRAS  for  1898  p.  253. 
Cunningham  identified  Ophir  with  Sauvira,  the  country  near 
Mount  Abu  (Ancient  Geography  p.  496-7).  Many  have 
identified  it  with  Sopara.  Mr.  Aiyangar  (Ancient  India 
p.  368)  identifies  it  with  Beypoor  on  the  Malabar  Coast.  If 
Ophir  is  to  be  looked  for  in  India  it  seems  highly  probable 
that  it  is  Sopara.  Sopara  figures  very  largely  in  the  J.itaka 
stories  (e.  g.  Jataka  No.  453).  A  fragment  of  As'oka's  eighth 
edict  was  found  at  Sopara  (Vide  I.  A.  Vol.  17  page  295). 


366  P.V.KANE 

hundred  shields  of  beaten  gold,  the  spices,  the  apes 
and  peacocks  brought  in  by  the  navy  of  Tharshish 
once  in  three  years,  and  also  almug  trees  of  which  he 
made  pillars  for  the  house  of  the  Lord  (I  Kings 
Chap.  X  11-12,  15,  17,  18,  22)  can  only  be  traced  to 
India.  Leaving  aside  these  regions  of  conjecture  we 
can  establish  with  a  great  degree  of  probability  that 
from  the  6th  century  B.  C.  the  western  coast  of  India 
was  in  close  communication  with  Babylon  and 
countries  in  the  west.3  The  Baveru  Jataka  (Co well 
Vol.  Ill,  p.  83,  No.  339)  bears  witness  to  an  early  export 
trade  with  Babylon.  Several  other  Jatakas  (e.  g. 
No.  463)  mention  Bharukachchha  (modern  Broach) 
and  Surparaka.  In  the  Sussondi  Jataka  we  have  a 
reference  to  merchants  of  Bharukachchha  setting  sail 
for  the  Golden  land.3A  Strabo4  says  that  he  saw  120 
ships  sail  from  Myos  Hormos  to  India,  the  former 
being  the  emporium  of  the  Egyptian  trade  with  India. 
The  Pandyas  in  the  extreme  south  of  India  are  referred 
to  by  Megasthenes  in  his  Indika  and  Ceylon  seems  to 
have  been  referred  to  by  him  as  Taprobane5  (Tamra- 
parni).  The  Gautamadharmasutra  (10-33)  and  Baudha- 
yanadharmasutra5A     (1-18-14)     mention      the      duties 

3  Vide  JBBRAS  Vol.  15  p.  109  and  Prof.  Rawlinson's 
'  Intercourse  between  India  and  the  Western  world'  p  3,  11  for 
identifications  of  various  Hebrew  and  Greek  names  of  things 
with  their  Indian  originals.  Vide  JRAS  1916  p.  847,  for  some 
criticism  of  Prof.  Rawlinson's  book. 

See  L  A.  Vol.  13  p.  228  for  historical  account  of  exports 
of  gems  and  metals  and  vol.  14  p.  274  for  animals  and  plants 
known  to  Greek  authors. 

3A.     Jatakas  Vol.  Ill  p.  123,124  (Cowell). 

4  M'Crindle's  Ancient  India  p.  6. 

5  I.  A.  Vol.  VI.  129. 

5A.  Baudhayana  S.  B.  E.  Vol.  14  p.  200;  Gautama  S-B.E. 
Vol.11,  p.  228. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  367 

payable  on  merchandise  imported  by  sea.  A  passage 
in  the  Kevattuasutta  of  the  Digha  (5th  century  B.  C.) 
speaks  of  ships  that  went  far  out  of  sight  of  land  with 
the  help  of  a  shore  sighting  bird.  This  is  one  of  the 
earliest  references  to  ocean-going  ships.53  The 
description  of  voyages  in  the  Buddhist  books  imply 
that  the  vessels  employed  were  of  large  size.  The 
ship  in  which  Vijaya  was  cast  adrift  carried  700  of  his 
followers  (See  I.  A.  Vol.  16  p.  7,  and  Geiger's 
Mahavamsa  p.  54). 

The  Manusmriti  contains  rules  as  to  the  interest 
to  be  taken  from  those  that  are  skilful  in  plying  the 
sea  trade.6  The  large  finds  of  Roman  coins  discovered 
particularly  in  Southern  India  establish  that  at  least 
from  the  time  of  Augustus  to  the  time  of  Nero  (who 
died  in  68  A.  D.)  the  volume  of  trade  between  Rome 
and  India  was  very  large.7  The  discovery  of  the 
monsoon  route  by  Hippalus  (about  47  A.  D.)  gave  a 
great  impetus  to  the  trade  of  India  with  countries  in 
the  West.  Embassies  are  said  to  have  been  sent  from 
Southern  India  to  Rome*  and  Syria.  Pliny  (who  died 
in  79  A.  D.)  contains  valuable  information  of  the 
exports  of  India9  and  about  the  Geography  of  India. 
He  complains  that  India,  China  and  Arabia  absorbed 
between  them  one  hundred  million  sesterces  (calculated 
to  represent    -611,00,000     by    Mommsen)   per   annum, 

5B    JRAS  1899  p.  432. 

aft  u  Manu.  VIII   157. 

7  See  Mr.  Sewell's  article  on  'Roman  coins  found  in  india' 
JRAS  1904  p.  591. 

8  M'Crindle's  Ancient  India  p.  212  anil  p.  167. 

9  See  M'crindle's  Ancient  India  pp.  102-135. 


368  P.  V.  KANE 

half  of  which  went  to  India  and  that  Indian  goods  were 
sold  in  Rome  at  one  hundred  times  their  prime  cost. 
Pliny  speaks  of  Indian  merchants  that  had  been  driven 
by  storms  to  Germany  (M'crindle's  Ancient  India 
p.  110).  The  Periplus  of  the  Erythraean  sea  by  an 
unknown  Greek  author  in  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  era  contains  the  best  account  of  the 
commerce  carried  on  between  the  Western  coast  of 
India  and  the  Red  Sea.  That  work  mentions  such 
ports  and  marts  on  the  western  coast  as  Borugaza 
(Broach),  Simylla  (Chaul),  Mandagora  (probably  Man  dad 
in  the  Rajpuri  creek),  Melizeigara  (?),  Buzantion 
(VaijayantI  i.  e.  Banavasi)  &c.  Ptolemy  (150  A.  D.) 
mentions  such  places  on  the  western  coast  as  Nausaripa 
(modern  Navsari),  Sopara,  Sinylla,  Balepatna, 
Hippocoura  &c.  In  the  Kanheri  caves  we  have  a 
representation  of  a  shipwreck  on  the  sea  and  of  two 
persons  praying  to  Padmapani  for  rescue  who  sends 
two  messengers  for  the  purpose.10 

The  western  coast  of  India  (particularly  Konkan)  is 
comparatively  a  poor  and  rugged  country.  If  the  sea- 
ports of  the  Konkan  had  simply  exported  the  products 
of  the  Konkan  they  could  scarcely  have  attained  to  any 
prominence.  The  reason  why  Sopara,  Kalyan,  Thana, 
Chaul  rose  to  be  very  flourishing  seaports  is  that  they 
were  connected  with  the  fertile  country  beyond  the 
Ghats  by  trade  routes  and  served  as  the  outlets  for  the 
commodities  of  the  vast  countries  in  the  peninsula. 
The  inscriptions  and  the  rock-cut  caves  and  temples  at 
Nanaghat,  Karla,  Bhaja  and  other  places  establish  that 
the  passes  in  the  Sahyadri  were  in  the  centuries 
immediately  preceding  and  following  the  Christian  era 

10  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  XIV  P.  165  and  Mukherji's 
Indian  Shipping  II.  I.  A,  Vol.  1 6,  P.  49. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  369 

important  trade  routes  and  were  so  easy  and  safe  that 
an  enormous  volume  of  trade  went  on  through  them. 
Punna  and  his  merchant  companions  used  the  trade 
route  from  Supparaka  to  Sewet  (Sravasti)  in  Oudh. 
An  inscription  in  the  Nasik  Caves  states  that 
Ushavadata  made  boat  bridges  and  established  ferries 
at  several  of  the  rivers  along  the  coast,  such  as  Iba, 
Parada,  Damana,  Tapi,  Karabena  and  Dahanuka.UA 
Kosmas  Indikopleustes  (6th  century  A.  D.)  says  *  In  the 
place  called  Kalliana  (modern  Kalyan)  there  is  a  bishop 
usually  ordained  in  Persia.'118 

In  the  foregoing  an  attempt  has  been  made  to 
point  out  indications  from  ancient  authors,  Indian  as 
well  as  non-Indian,  to  establish  that  the  western  coast 
of  India  from  Broach  to  Cape  Comorin  was  the  scene 
of  great  commercial  and  maritime  activity  from  at  least 
the  6th  century  B.  C.  The  next  step  will  now  be  to 
find  out  under  what  name  or  names  the  countries 
comprised  in  the  strip  of  territory  between  the  sea  and 
the  western  Ghauts  were  known  to  ancient  people. 
In  very  ancient  times  a  large  part  of  the  western  coast 
from  Broach  to  Cape  Comorin  was  known  as  Aparanta. 
It  is  very  dfficult  to  determine  with  any  degree  of 
precision  the  limits  of  Aparanta.  That  it  included  the 
territory  from  the  vicinity  of  Thana  to  Goa  may  be 
satisfactorily  established.  The  earliest  certain  reference 
to  Aparanta  is  in  the  Arthasastra  of  Kautilya  (about 
320  B.  C.)  The  author  says  that  the  rain-fall  in 
Aparanta  and  the  Himalaya  regions  is  the  heaviest  of 
all  and  cannot  be  measured  in  Dronas   while    that    in 

1 1 A     See  A.  S,  W.  I.  Vol.  4  p.  99. 

1  iH    Apostles  of  India  by  Dr.  Ogilvie  p.  55. 
[F.  O.  C.  II  47] 


370  P-  V.  KANE 

As'maka  and  Avanti  is  13|  and  23  Dronas  respectively.12 
This  description  in  the  matter  of  rain-fall  can  only 
apply  if  by  Aparanta  we  understand  what  is  commonly 
known  as  Konkan.  Aparanta  seems  to  have  either 
formed  part  of  Asoka's  vast  empire  or  was  on  the 
confines  of  it  or  friendly  to  it  A  fragment  of  Asoka's 
edicts  was  found  at  Sopara.13  The  5th  rock-edict  of 
As'oka  refers  to  the  Rastikas,  the  Petenikas  and  other 
Sparantas.  What  As'oka  means  by  Xparantas  is  not 
quite  clear.  Mr.  V.  A,  Smith  takes  the  word  to  mean 
1  Other  nations  on  my  borders.'14  M.  Senart  rendered 
it  as  '  Westerns.' 15  Mr.  Smith's  rendering  is  not 
warranted  by  the  natural  meanings  of  the  components 
of  the  word  Xparantas.  M.  Senart's  meaning  is  natural. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  word  is  used  also  in  the 
sense  of  "  Those  people  that  inhabit  the  western  coast" 
(i.  e.  Konkan).  The  Mahavansa  mentions  a  mission  to 
Aparanta  sent  by  the  priest  Moggaliputta  Tissa  about 
247  B.  C.16  It  is  to  be  noted  that  a  mission  was  also 
sent  to  Vanavasi.  This  shows  that  Aparanta  did  not 
include  Banavasi  i.  e.  present  North  Canara  and  the 
country  round  about  it.  Though  the  Mahavamsa  was 
composed  only  in  the  5th  or  6th  century  A.  D.  it 
embodies  ancient  traditions  and  is  generally  regarded 
as  faithfully  chronicling  events  as  they  had  been  handed 
down.     In  the  Kamasutra  of  Vatsyayana   the  women  of 

p.  115  (text). 

13  I.  A.  Vol.  17  p.  295. 

14  Edicts  of  As'oka  p.  II. 

15  LA.  Vol.  20  p.  240. 

16  Mahava^so  (Tumour)  p.  71 ;  Geiger's  edition 
Chap.  12.  pp.  82-85;  See  also  Vinayapitaka  (Oldenberg) 
Vol.  3.  p.  314. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.— KONKAN    371 

Aparanta  and  Lata  are  mentioned.17  In  one  of  the 
Kanheri  inscriptions  mention  is  made  "  of  Damili, 
whose  husband  was  Bhojaka,  lord  of  Aparanta."18 
Bi'ihler  holds  that  the  inscription  is  earlier  than 
Gotamiputra  Satakarni  I.  One  of  the  Nasik  inscriptions 
associates  Aparanta  with  Kukura19.  So  does  the 
inscription  of  Rudradaman  (150  A.  D.).20  In  the  latter 
Surashtra  is  mentioned  as  a  country  distinct  from 
Kukuraparanta.  The  Milindapanha  mentions  the 
people  of  Aparantaka  and  Bharukachchha.21  In  the 
Maha-Bharata  we  find  that  Arjuna  goes  from  Aparanta 
to  Prabhasa,  from  the  latter  to  Raivataka  and  thence  to 
Dvarka.22  In  Raghuvarhsa  Kalidasa  gives  a  graphic 
description  of  the  conquest  of  Aparanta  by  Raghu.23 
After  encamping  on  the  slopes  of  the  two  mountains 
Malaya  and  Dardura  he  crossed  the  Sahya.  His  vast 
army  bent  on  the  conquest  of  Aparanta  spread  between 
the  sea  and  the  Sahya  mountain.  Then  the  poet  refers 
to  the  damsels  of  Kerala  (Malabar)  whose  tresses  were 
powdered  with  the  dust  raised  by  the  march  of 
Raghu's  army.  The  king  of  Aparanta  submitted  to 
Raghu  and  offered  him  tribute.  The  mountain 
Trikuta  in  Aparanta,  which  Raghu's  elephants  butted 
against  with  their  tusks,  served  as  the  triumphal  column 
recording  his  victory.  Then  Raghu  started  for  the 
conquest  of  the  Parasikas  by  the  land  route.  These 
details  enable  us  to  say  that  Aparanta  was  to  the  north 
of  Kerala  and  between  the  sea   and   the  Sahya.     What 

17  =^¥VtT  *F5tfl?f*TT  3*Wlftl5T  «ft|«|l«l   I  ^WT^     II. 

18  A.  S.  W.  I.  Vdl.Vp.  84. 

19  A.  S.  W.  I.  IV  p.  109. 

20  I.  A,  Vol.  VII  p.  262  and  A.  S.  W.  I.  II  p.  1 28. 

21  S.  B.  E.  Vol  36  p.  2M. 

22  Xdiparva  Chap  :  218.  I-l  1 . 

23  See  Raghuva'msa  IV.  51-60. 


372  P.  V.  KANE 

its  northernmost  limit  was  is  not  quite  clear.  That 
Kalidasa  is  unconsciously  giving  us  the  political  history 
and  geography  of  his  own  times  or  of  times  a  little 
previous  to  his  own  is  evident.  Kalidasa  is  generally 
supposed  to  have  flourished  in  the  5th  century  A.  D. 
Kalidasa  seems  to  be  speaking  of  some  dynasty  that 
ruled  over  northern  Konkan.  Pandit  Bhagavanlal 
took  Trikuta  (Raghuvamsa  IV  59)  to  be  a  city  and 
identified  it  with  Junnar.24  Jackson  pointed  out  that 
it  was  a  mistake.25  What  mountain  or  hill  in  northern 
Konkan  was  designated  Trikuta  it  is  difficult  to  say. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  Traikutaka  dynasty,  that 
appears  to  have  held  sway  over  southern  Gujerat  and 
northern  Konkan  from  about  250  to  450  A.  D.  was 
named  after  the  Trikuta  mentioned  by  Kalidasa.  That 
dynasty  had  an  era  of  its  own,  which  commenced  in 
A.  D,  248-49,  founded  according  to  Fleet  by  an 
Sbhira  prince  Isvarasena.26  A  Traikutaka  Maharaja 
Dahrasena  (A.  D.  456)  made  a  grant  of  a  village  to 
Nannaswami  residing  in  Kapura.27  We  know  that  Kapura 
was  a  district  on  the  Konkan  coast  where  Ushavadata 
granted  a  thousand  cocoanut  trees.28  A  copper  plate 
found  in  one  of  the  Kanheri  caves  refers  to  the  erection 
of  a  Chaifya  in  the  great  monastery  on  Krishnagiri 
(Kanheri)  in  the  245th  year  of  the  era  of  the  Trikutakas 
(i.e.  in  A.D.  493-494)29.  So  it  is  not  unlikely '  that 
Kalidasa  is  speaking  of  some  Traikutaka  Prince.      This 

24  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  I.  part  I  p.  57. 

25  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  1  part  1  p.  59. 

26  J.  R.  A.  S.  for  1905  p.  566. 

27  J.  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  16  p.  346. 

28  See  Nasik   inscription  No.  9   in   A.   S.   W.  I.  Vol.  4 
p.  102  and  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  1 6  p.  573. 

29  Burgess  and    Bhagwanlal's     inscriptions    from  cave 
temples  in  western  India  p.  58. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  373 

also  fits  in  well   with   the   generally   accepted   date   of 
Kalidasa. 

The  foregoing  discussion  has  established  that 
from  the  times  of  the  Arthasastra  of  Kautilya,  if  not 
earlier,  Aparanta  denoted  the  Konkan  coast  and  that  it 
comprised  the  territory  north  of  Ban  a  vase  and  south 
of  modern  Surat.  It  will  be  shown  hereafter  that  this 
very  part  of  the  western  coast  came  to  be  called  Konkan 
in  later  times.  Dr.  Fleet  was  of  opinion  that  Aparanta 
included  the  Konkan,  Northern  Gujerat,  Kathiawar, 
Kutch,  and  Sind.30  Dr.  Fleet  is  right  if  only  the 
etymological  sense  of  the  wrord  Aparanta  be  looked  to.31 
But,  as  appears  from  the  Arthasastra,  the  inscription 
of  Rudradaman,  the  Mahabharata  and  the  Raghuvamsa, 
long  established  usage  had  restricted  Aparanta  to  the 
strip  of  country  from  Karwar  to  Surat.  Even  within 
these  narrow  limits  certain  parts  went  under  other 
distinct  names.  The  country  between  Broach  and 
Sopara  was  also  called  Lata.  Ptolemy  says  that 
Barygaza  is  in  the  interior  of  Larike  which  is  east 
of  Indo-Skythia  along  the  coast.32  Here  Larike 
evidently  stands  for  Lataka.  Navsari  was  the  capital  of 
the  Chalukyas  of  Lata,  the  dynasty  being  founded  by 
Jayasiinha  Varman  Dharasraya,  brother  of  Vikramaditya, 
second  son  of  Pulikesi  II  of  Badami33.  In  the 
Mahabharata  Anusasana  Parva  (Chap.  35.  17)   mention 

30  J.  R.  A.  S.  1910  p.  427. 

31  e.  g.  the  Matsyapurana  Chap  s  114  says  '  *tt^i»^: 
rni&i:  *%m&Riwu  1  OT^faw  *far£r  an^af  ^^:  *%  11  *c^ 
3mF^r*3  ?jnj  %  f^rerfoT:  i  45-48. 

Here   the      countries      mentioned      are      called    western 
Janapadis.   See   also  Vayupur.uui    Chap:    45.    128-131  ; 
Brahmapurana  27-59. 

32  M  '  Crindle's  Ptolemy  p.  J  52. 

33  J-  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  16  p.  2. 


374 


P.  V.  KANE 


is  made  of  the  Latas  among  Kshatriya  tribes  who 
became  outcasts  from  seeing  no  Brahmana34.  The 
Mandasor  inscription  of  A.D.  473  describes  Lata  as  a 
pleasing  country  with  choice  trees  bowed  down  by  the 
weight  of  flowers,  with  temples  and  halls  of  Gods  and 
Viharas  From  a  record  of  888  A  D.  it  appears  that 
Lata  was  one  of  the  divisions  of  Konkan35  and  from  the 
reference  to  Tajikas  (Arabs)  who  came  first  to  Navasarika 
to  reduce  the  country  it  seems  that  Navasarika  was  the 
capital  of  Lata.  Al  Masudi  speaks  of  Tana  (modern 
Thana)  as  on  the  coast  where  the  Lariya  language  is 
spoken.36  From  this  it  follows  that  Lata  extended  up 
to  Thana. 

That  part  of  the   western    coast   from    Karwar  to 

Surat  came  to  be   called    Konkan   from   comparatively 

ancient   times,  we   shall   now  endeavour  to   shew  by 

bringing  together   passages   from   various    early  works 

that  speak  of  Konkan.    Strabo  speaks  of  a  people  called 

Koniakoi.     His  words   are   "  This  length  is  mentioned 

from  the   mouths  of  the   Indus  along   the  coast  of   the 

outer  sea  to  the  promontary  already  mentioned   and  its 

eastern  limits.  There  the  people  live  called  Koniakoi."37 

Again  he  says  "  they  say  that  Taprobane  is   an    island 

lying  out  in  the   sea   distant   from   the   most   southern 

parts  of   India,   which  are   next  to  the   country  of  the 

Koniakoi,  a  seven  days'  journey  southwards."38      From 

these  details  it  is  not  unlikely   that   the   people    called 

Koniakoi  stand  for  the  people  of  the  Konkan.     The  list 

of  countries  given  in  the  Mahabharata  includes  Konkan 

34  Gupta  inscriptions  p.  84. 

35  t  A.  Vol.   13  p.  69. 

3b    Elliot's  History  of  India  Vol.  I  p.  24. 

37  M'Crindles  Ancient  India  in  Classical  writers,  p.  18. 

38  M'Crindle's  Ancient  India  p.  20. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  375 

(Bhishmaparva  9.60).  The  Brihatsamhita  of  Yarahami- 
hira  mentions  the  Kaunkmas  (16,11).  A  copper  plate 
of  584  A.D.  refers  to  Purl  the  capital  of  the  Konkan 
(Bom.  G.  Vol.  14  p.  401).  The  Aihole  inscription 
(634  A.D.)  records  the  fact  that  the  Maurya  rulers  of 
the  Konkan  were  overwhelmed  by  Kirtivarmi,  the  first 
Chalukya  king  of  Bidami  (550-567  A.D.)  and  by  his 
grand-son  Pulikesi  II  (61J-640  A.D.)39.  Hiuen  Thsang 
the  fanous  Chinese  traveller  speaks  of  a  country  called 
Kong-kin-na  pulo  (Konkanapura)  as  being  north  of 
Dravida  and  about  2,000  //  from  the  latter.40  He  further 
says  that  Moholach  (Maharashtra)  was  to  the  north-west 
of  Konkanapura  and  about  2400  //  from  it.  His 
description  of  Kong-kin-na-pulo  is  "  this  country  is 
about  5,000  //  in  circuit.  The  land  is  rich  and  fertile. 
It  is  iegularly  cultivated  and  produces  large  crops.  The 
climate  is  hot  ;  the  disposition  of  the  people  ardent 
and  quick.  Their  complexion  is  black  and  their 
manners  fierce  and  uncultivated."  (p.  254  of  Beal's 
Buddhist  Records).  In  Hiuen-Thsang's  Life  we  read 
"  from  Dravida  he  went  north  west  in  company  with 
70  priests  from  Simhala.  After  going  about  2,000  li 
we  come  to  Kinnapolo.  There  are  about  100  Sangha- 
ramas  here  and  10,000  priests  belonging  both  to  the 
Great  and  Little. Vehicle".41  Scholars  are  not  agreed 
to  as  to  what  country  the  Chinese  traveller  speaks  of 
as  Kong-kin-na-pulo.  M.  Vivien  de  Saint-Martin 
suggested    Banavasi  ;     General   Cunningham   thought 

39  I.  A.  Vol.  8  pp.    242,    244.  «t*%   q^TftiMu^u* \u$4\ n<fa;  , 

Fleet  took  "  Chan dadanda"  to  be  the  name  of  a  general, 
but  it  seems  that  the  word  means  no  more  than  "  fiery 
army  ". 

40  See  Beat's  Buddhist  Records  Vol.  2  pp.  253-255. 

41  Beat's  Life  of  Hiuen  Thsang  p.  146. 


376  P-  v-  KANE 

that  both  bearing  and  distance  pointed  to  Anegundi  on 
the  north  bank  of  the  Tungabhadra.42      Beal   says  that 
we  must  look  for  it  somewhere  near  Golkonda.  Burgess 
identified  it  with  Kopal  or  Kokanur.43      In  this  conflict 
of  authorities,  one  feels  extremely  diffident   in    making 
one's  own  choice.     In  other  Chinese  accounts  of  India, 
Konkanapura  is  said  to  have   been    one   day's  journey 
from  the  sea.44     This  makes  it  highly  probable  that  the 
country  called  Kong-kin-na-pulo  is  the  kingdom  of   the 
Kadambas,  whose  capital  was  Banavasi  in  north  Canara 
and  whose  domains  extended  over  the  modern  Belgaum 
and  Dharwar  Districts.      The  reference  to  the  climate, 
the  soil  and  the  complexion  of  the  people  of  Kong-kin- 
na-pulo  point  to  the  Karnataka  as   the  country  through 
which  the  traveller  passed,  those  districts   being   then 
included  in  the  Banavasi   kingdom.      In    the  Padma- 
purana  there  is  a  long  list  of  countries   where    Konkan 
occurs   after   Chola.45     In   the  Vayupurana,  the  Matsya 
and  the  Brahma,  though   the    Pandya,    Chola,    Kerala, 
Vanavasi  countries   are   mentioned,   the  word   Konkan 
does  not  occur.    In  the  Sabhaparva  of  the  Mahabharata, 
Sahadeva     is    said    to     have     conquered    Surashtra, 
Surparaka,  Talakata,  Dandaka,  Kolagiri  (Kalvan    in   the 
modern     Nasik     district  ?),     Surabhlpattana,     Kerala, 
Vanavasi.40     We  expect  here    the  word   Konkan.      It 
seems  that  Surparaka   is  put  in  to  represent   the   same 
country  as  Konkan.    Leaving  aside  the  doubtful  passage 
of  Strabo  and  the  quotations  from  the  Mahabharata  and 
the  Padmapurana  about  the   date   and   authenticity   of 

42  Ancient  Geography  p.  552. 

43  I.  A.  Vol.  23  p.  28. 

44  I.  A.  Vol.  9  p.  23. 

45  Chap :  6-55. 

46  Sabhaparva  Chap  :  31.  65-70. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  377 

which  there  may  be  room  for  argument,  it  is  clear  that 
at  least  from  the  6th  century  A.D.  the  word  Konkan 
had  come  to  be  well  known  as  the  designation  of  the 
country  that  now  goes  under  the  same  name.  How 
much  earlier  it  came  into  general  use  it  is  not  possible 
to  say  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge.47 

Extent  and  Boundaries  of  Konkan. 

It  is  always  extremely  difficult  to  fix  with  preci- 
sion the  extent  and  boundaries  of  ancient  countries.  In 
the  case  of  the  Konkan  its  western  boundary  is  the  sea 
and  its  eastern  boundary  also  is  to  some  extent  definite, 
namely,  it  is  the  Sahya  mountain.  It  will,  however, 
be  shown  later  on  that  Konkan  seems  to  have  included 
some  territory  even  beyond  the  Sahya.  The  difficulty 
lies  in  fixing  its  northern  and  southern  limits.  A  grant 
of  the  Rashtrakuta  Akalavarsha  Krishnaraja  dated  Sake 
810  (i.e.  888  A.  D.)  describes  how  the  king  on  the 
occasion  of  a  Solar  eclipse,  or  after  having  bathed  in  the 
Narmada  granted  a  village  to  the  east  of  Variavipattana 
in  the  district  of  Variavi  in  the  Konkan  country. 
Variavipattana  is  to  be  identified  with  a  large  village 
called  Variav  on  the  Tapl  near  Surat.  This  shows  that 
Konkan  extended  towards  the  north  right  up  to  the 
Tap!.  Even  in  these  days  the  Damanganga  River  is 
looked  upon  as  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Konkan. 
We  saw  above  that  northern  Konkan  from  Sopara  and 
Thana  was  included  in  Lafa.  Navasari  (Sanskrit 
Navasarika,  the  Nausaripa  of  Ptolemy)  was  the  capital 
of  Lata.48     The  Navasari  grant  of    739   A.    D.   tells    us 

47  See  E.  1.  Vol.  4  p.  l8l.  One  of  the  mythical  remote 
ancestors  of  Nripatungadeva  is  Konkanika,  which  seems  to  be 
a  reminiscence  of  Konkani  who  is  believed  to  have  been  the 
ancestor  of  the  western  Gangas. 

48  M'Crindle's  Ptolemy,  p.  39. 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  48I 


378  p-  v-  KANE 

how  in  the  time  of  Vikramaditya  II  of  Badami  a  formi- 
dable force  of  Tajikas  (Arabs)  overran  Sind,  Kutch, 
Kathiawar  and  Gujerat  and  desiring  to  enter  the 
Deccan  came  to  Navasari  but  was  routed  by  the  feuda- 
tory Chalukya  prince  Avanijanasraya  Pulikesi.49  If,  as 
shown  above,  Lata  was  a  province  of  Konkan,  it  is 
natural  to  suppose  that  Konkan  extended  up  to  Nav- 
sari  if  not  beyond.  A  town  called  Hanjamana  or 
Hanyamana  is  mentioned  as  situated  in  the  Konkan 
and  as  being  under  the  rule  of  the  Konkan  Silaharas.50 
It  is  to  be  identified  with  Sanjan  where  the  ancestors 
of  the  present  Parsees  are  said  to  have  first  landed.  Al 
Idrisi  (12th  century  A.  D.)  says  "  Sindan  is  about  a  mile 
and  a  half  from  the  sea.  It  is  populous  and  the  people 
are  noted  for  their  industry  and  intelligence.  They 
are  rich  and  of  a  war-like  temper.  The  town  is  large 
and  has  an  extensive  commerce  both  in  exports  and 
imports."51  Al  Istakhri  says  "  Between  Surabaya  and 
Sindan  about  5  days.  From  Sindan  to  Saimur  5 
days  ".52  Ibn  Haukal  says  that  Sindan  is  about  a 
Parasang  from  the  sea  and  that  the  journey  from 
Subara  to  Sindan  takes  ten  days  and  from  Sindan  to 
Saimur  (Cheul)  five.53  The  above  discussion  makes  it 
clear  that  the  Northern  limit  of  Konkan  was  the  Tapi. 

The  greatest  divergence  of  views  prevails  as  to  the 
southern  boundary  of  Konkan.  Grant  Duff  (History 
of  the  Mahrattas  p.  5)  considered  that  Konkan  extend- 
ed along  the  coast  from  the  Tap!  to  Sadashivgad  and 

49  Bom.  G.  Vol.  I  part  2  p.  375. 

50  I.  A.  Vol.  9  p.  35  the  Kharepatan  grant  of  Ananta  of 
Anantadeva  dated  Sake  1016  (i.  e.  1094  A.  D.)  and  I.  A.  Vol. 
5  p.  278  the  inscription  of  Chittarajadeva. 

51  Elliot  Vol.  I  p.  85. 

52  Elliot  Vol.  I.  p.  30. 

53  Elliot  Vol.  1  p.  39. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  379 

inland  as  far  as  the  open  plains  of  the  Deccan  and 
included  in  it  parts  both  of  Gujerat  and  Kanara  and  of 
the  country  above  the  Ghats.  The  latter  he  called 
Konkan  Ghatmatha  as  opposed  to  Talkonkan.  He 
inferred  that  the  Mussulmans  restricted  it  to  the  lower 
country.  Some  Indian  writers  make  Gokaraa,  25  miles 
south  of  Karwar,  the  boundary  between  Konkan  and 
Kerala,  the  latter  being  regarded  as  stretching  south 
either  to  Tinnevelli  or  Cape  Comorin.54  In  the  Sahya- 
drikhanda  we  are  told  that  the  territory  reclaimed  from 
the  sea  by  Para^urama  extended  from  Cape  Comorin 
to  Nasik.55  In  another  place  the  same  work  includes 
Gokarna  in  Konkan  (Uttarardha  Chap  :  6.50).  At 
present  Konkan  is  held  to  include  all  the  land  between 
Daman  in  the  north  to  Terekhol  on  the  Goa  frontier  in 
the  south  and  is  generally  divided  into  two  parts,  north 
Konkan  and  south  Konkan.  It  is  evident  that  at  one 
time  Goa  was  looked  upon  as  the  Capital  of  the 
Konkan.  Madhavacharya,  the  famous  minister  of 
Harihara  of  Vijayanagar,  in  making  a  grant  of  the 
village  of  Kuchara  (modern  Kochare  in  Savantwadi)  in 
Sake  1330(1391  A.  D.)  speaks  of  Goa  as  the  Capital 
of  Konkan.56  A  king  Jayakesi  in  the  line  of  the 
Kadambas  of  Goa  was  subdued  by  Vikramadity  i 
Chalukya,  son  of  Xhavmalla  and  made  an  alliance  with 
the  Chalukya  king  by  marrying  his  grand-son  toMallala- 
devi,  daughter  of  Vikram&ditya.  This  Jayakesi  is 
spoken  of  as  the  king  of  Konkan.57  From  the  fore- 
54    Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  I  part  2  p.  75. 

**rn$jntf  3*;*  5ufa*.T*q***; :  m:  1  *ft*n¥^i  fkw  tf^nrcroi :  5^  11  swrfc- 
nnrs^KT^  chap  7.  28-29. 

56  J.  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  4  pp.  107,  115. 

57  Compare  fo«WI<*^-<f>?l  v.  25  '  'wfa  smfwffo:  $nffcinfafr 
JnfasJra  1  f5w<*w*<iti*Hp$*t  *1|WJi<nft;ftg^3  n'  see  J.B.  B.R.A  S. 
vol.  9,  p.  242. 


380  P-  v-  KANE 

going  it  is  evident  that  Konkan  included  towards  the 
south  the  Goa  territory  at  all  events.  It  is  likely,  as 
Hiuen  Thsang's  account  suggests,  that  it  extended  as 
far  as  the  kingdom  of  Banavasi,  the  country  beyond 
the  latter  towards  the  south  being  called  Kerala  or 
Malabar.  When  parts  of  the  country  beyond  the 
Ghats  came  to  be  ruled  over  by  Konkan  kings,  such 
tracts  were  often  spoken  of  as  included  in  Konkan. 
The  Silaharas  ruled  over  southern  Konkan  and  also  the 
Mirinja  (modern  Miraj)  country.58 

The  Sub-Divisions  of  Konkan. 

From  very  ancient  times  the  Konkan  has  been 
divided  into  seven  regions.  The  Miraj  plate  of  Sake 
946  (1024  A.  D.)  tells  us  that  the  Chalukya  king 
Jagadekamalla  after  having  deprived  the  king  of  the 
seven  Konkanas  of  everything  started  for  the  conquest 
of  the  north  and  encamped  near  Kolhapur.59  These 
indications  make  it  clear  that  the  ruler  of  the 
seven  Konkanas  referred  to  must  be  a  Kadamba  king 
of  Goa.  The  Prasannaraghava  of  Jayadeva  alludes  to 
the  divisions  of  Konkan  into  seven  provinces.60  What 
the  names  of  these  seven  divisions  were  it  is  extremely 
difficult  to  say.  One  thing  is  clear.  From  very 
ancient  times,  epigraphic  records  speak  of  two  Kon- 
kanas, the  one  containing  1400  villages  and  the  other 
900.  The  Konkan  1400  represents  that  country,  the 
capital  of  which  was  Purl  and  which   included  Hanja- 

58  A  record  of  1110  A.  D.  describes  the  *SW^*TC 
•wiiTta  as  reigning  over  the  fttH^r  country  together  with  the 
seven  Khollas  and  Konkan.    J.  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  1 13  p.  6. 

59  L  A.  Vol.  VIII  p.  18. 

60  4fyii«nq^4<$     f^T    ifit^raeng  1  ^iuh~hi  %&]    ef^n^ra 

*W0WN  II  JTCTOKm  IV. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  381 

mana  (Sanjan)  Sopara,  Thana,  Kalyan  and  Chaul  i.e., 
northern  Konkan  including  the  districts  of  Thana  and 
Kolaba  and  parts  of  Ratnagiri.  A  king  Chittaraja- 
deva  of  the  Silahara  dynasty  is  styled  in  a  grant  dated 
948  Sake  (1026  A.  D.)  the  ruler  of  the  1400  Konkan 
villages  chief  of  which  were  Puri  and  Hanjamana.61 
The  Kharepatan  copperplate  speaks  of  the  Silara 
Anantapala  as  ruling  over  the  whole  Konkana  1400 
villages  in  1096  A.  D.62  It  records  the  grant  of  exemp- 
tion from  tolls  for  all  carts  belonging  to  the  great 
minister  Bhabhana  Sreshthin,  son  of  the  great  minister 
Durgasreshthin  of  Valipavana,  and  that  his  carts  were 
to  come  into  any  of  the  parts  of  Sreshthanaka  (Thana), 
Nagapura  (?),  Surparaka  (Sopara),  Chemulya  (Chaul)  and 
others  included  in  Konkan  1400.  The  Konkan  900 
is  the  province  over  which  the  Kadambas  of  Goa 
ruled.63  These  two  viz:  Konkana  1400  and  Konkana 
900  are  undoubtedly  two  of  the  seven  divisions  of 
Konkan.  Scholars  are  not  agreed  as  to  what  the 
names  of  the  seven  divisions  were. 

Prof.  Wilson  (probably  relying  upon  corrupt 
passages  of  the  Sahyadrikhanda  explained  the  seven 
as  Kerala,  Tuluva,  Govarashtra,  Konkana  (proper), 
Kerataha,  Varalatta  and  Barbara.64  Dr.  Gundert's 
Malayalam  dictionary  on  Konganam  enumerates  Karata, 
Virata,  Marata,  Konkana  Havyaga,  Taulava  and  Kerala 
as  the  seven  Konkanas.  Fleet  thought  that  the 
above  list  was  imaginative,  except  as  to  the  last  three- 
He  proposed  the  divisions  as  follows: — Payve,  Hayve 
or  Haive  500  (north  Canara)  was  the  first  division  ;  then 

6i  L  A.  Vol.  V,  278. 

62  I  A.  Vol.  IX  p.  41. 

63  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  12  p.  452. 

64  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  I  part  II  p.  282  n  5. 


382  P-  V.  KANE 

Konkan  900,  which  he  was  inclined  to  identify  with 
the  Revatidvipa  of  the  Aihole  Inscription;  then  Iridige 
(corresponding  to  Savantvadi  and  Ratnagiri),  which  is 
called  Mahasaptama  in  a  record  of  705  A.  D.64A  ,  then 
Konkan  1400  of  the  Silaharas  and  then  Lata.  In  the 
Sahyadrikhanda  the  seven  divisions  given  are  Kerala, 
Tulanga,  Gorashtra  (Goa),  Konkana,  Karahata,  Kara- 
nata  and  Barbara.65     The  passage  is  evidently  corrupt. 

Apart  from  these  main  divisions,  epigraphic  and 
other  records  mention  several  other  districts  in 
Konkan. 

A  grant  dated  in  expired  Kali  year  4270  of  the 
Kadamba  Sivachittaparmadi  speaks  of  a  Palasidesa  and 
a  Kampana  (district)  in  it  called  Kalagiri.66  Palasidesa 
seems  to  be  the  same  as  the  Palasige  12000  province, 
which  comprised  the  present  Belgaum  district.  The 
chief  city  was  called  Palasika  or  modern  Halsi,  10  miles 
south  east  of  Kharsapur  It  is  not  unlikely  as  said 
above  that  when  the  Kadambas  ruled  over  Belgaum 
and  Goa,  Palasige  was  looked  upon  as  a  Konkan 
province. 

Revatidvipa  is  often  spoken  of  in  the  epigraphic 
records.  A  grant  of  Pulikesin  II  dated  in  the  5th  year 
of  his  reign  (i.  e.  A.  D.  614)  found  in  the  Malvan 
Taluka  refers  to  a  village  Pirigipa  in  Revatidvipa.67 
The  Chalukya  Mangalisa  (one  of  whose  grants  is  dated 
Sake  500)  is  said  to  have  conquered  Revatidvipa  in  the 
western    sea.     Dr.  Bhandarkar   identifies   Revatidvipa 

64A  I.  A.  Vol.  9  p.  131.  See  also  p.  129  for  one  of  the 
Nerur  plates  of  Chalukya  Vijayaditya  dated  700  A.  D.  which 
says  that  the  village  Nerur  is  in  the  Iridige  District. 

65  surfs^  3W&  Chap  :  6.  47-48. 

66  J.  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  9  p.  279. 

67  I.  A.  Vol.  14  p.  330. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  383 

with  Redi,  a  few  miles  to  the  south  of  Vengurla.'* 
Fleet  says  that  Dr.  Bhandarkar  is  wrong  in  calling 
Revatldvipa  an  island.  He  says  that  'dvipa'  is  used 
in  a  broad  sense  in  which  it  also  occurs  in 
Kapardikadvipa  and  he  identifies  Revatldvipa  with  the 
Konkan  900.68A  But  the  Kauthem  plate  of 
Vikramaditya  V  dated  Sake  930  (i.  e.  A.  D.  1008)  shows 
that  Revatldvipa  was  an  island.69  It  may  be  admitted 
that  the  country  round  about  the  island  of  Revatidvipa 
came  to  be  called  by  the  same  name. 

In  a  grant  of  the  Silahara  Bhoja  dated  Sake  1113 
(1191-92  A.  D.)  the  village  granted,  Viz  :  Kaseli,  is 
described  as  being  in  the  Attavire-Kampana.  Kaseli 
is  a  village  near  Adivare  in  the  Ratnagiri  District  and 
Attavire  is  evidently  Adivare.70 

Jayakesin  I,  a  Kadamba  of  Goa,  is  described  as 
Death  to  the  king  of  Kapardikadvipa  Kapardikadivpa 
seems  to  be  the  kingdom  of  the  northern  Silaharas, 
probably  extending  from  Rajapur  to  Sopara  and 
Sanjan.  It  was  so  called  after  Kapardin  I  or  II  one  of 
the  northern  Silahara  kings.  The  Kadamba  king 
Jayakesin  II  of  Goa  is  said  to  have  held  the  whole 
Konkan  including  Kavadidvipa  lakh  and  quarter.72 
It     appears     that      Kavadidvipa    is    a    corruption     of 

68  Bom.  Gazeteer  Vol.   I  part  2  p.  l8l, 

68 A    Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  I  part  2  p.  347  note  2. 

69  I.  A.  Vol.  16  p.  15,  22  '  ^sftoT3wnRffl>  ntq  ;ftflg^$?B«nf»< 

'  whose  army  after  crossing  the  sea  by  a  bridge  of  boats 
caused  (or  brought  about)  the  disappearance  of  Revatldvipa 
(as  an  island) '. 

70  See  report  of  the   *m?l-*fafTCMj5faifi-quc?j  for  Sake  1835 
p.  220. 

71  J.  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  9  P.  266. 

72  Bom.  Gazetteer  I  part  2  p.  283  note  and  452. 


384  p-  V.  KANE 

Kapardikadvipa.  As  it  is  said  to  be  quarter  and  a  lakh 
province,  it  must  have  been  a  very  large  country. 
Even  then  the  figure  seems  to  be  extremely  exaggerated. 

There  is  frequent  mention  of  a  district  called 
Kapura.  It  seems  to  have  been  on  the  western  coast 
from  Sopara  to  Sanjan.  In  one  of  the  Nasik  inscriptions 
of  Ushavadata  mention  is  made  of  the  gift  of  8,000 
cocoanut  trees  in  the  village  of  Chikhalapadra  in  the 
district  (Shara)  of  Kapura.73  In  the  grant  of  the 
Traikiitaka  Dharasena  dated  207  of  the  Traikutaka  era 
(i.  e.  456  A.  D.)  the  donee  Nannasvami  was  a  resident 
of  Kapura.74 

In  the  Kharepatan  grant  of  Sake  930  we  have  a 
district  called  Kandalamuliya  which  probably  stretched 
from  Chaul  (Chemulya)  to  Bassein.  The  name  seems 
to  be  significant.  It  probably  refers  to  the  large  groves 
of  plantain  trees  that  even  now  are  a  special  feature  of 
Cheul  and  Bassein.  The  town  Chandrapura  mentioned 
in  the  same  grant  as  included  in  Kandalamuliya  is 
probably  the  modern  Chembur.  It  is  probable  that  the 
Kandavalahara  district  mentioned  in  the  Navsari  grant 
is  the  same  as  the  Kandalamuliya  district  of  the 
Kharepatan  grant.75 

The  famous  city  of  Sopara  was  the  chief  place  of  a 
district  called  Soparakahara.  In  one  of  the  Kanheri 
inscriptions  there  is  mention  of  it.76  From  a  record  of 
Chhittarajadeva  Silahara  we  learn  that  the  district  of 
Shatshashti   (modern    Salsette)   was     included    in   the 

73  A.  S.  W.  I.  IV  p.  102 ;  Bom  Gazetteer  Vol.  l6  p.  572. 

74  J-  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  16  p.  346. 

75  J.  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  16  p.  3. 

76  A.  S.  W.  I.  Vol.  5  p.  76,  No.  5. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  385 

Thana  province.77  In  many  of  the  Kuda  inscriptions 
near  the  Rajpuri  creek  we  often  meet  with  the  form 
Sadageriya  or  Sadageriya  which  is  probably  to  be 
connected  with  Shafshashti.7*  In  an  inscription  of  the 
Konkanchakravarti  Aparaditya  dated.  Sake  1109 
(1187  A.  D.)  reference  is  made  to  a  village  Mahavali  in 
Shatshashti.79 

The  Navasarika  district  is  spoken  of  in  a  grant  of 
Pulakesi  Chalukya  of  Gujerat  dated  738-9  A.  D.80 

In  a  grant  found  near  Goa  of  Sake  532  (610  A.  D.) 
the  gift  of  the  village  of  Karellika  in  the  district  of 
Kheta  is  mentioned.81  Prince  Kakusthavarmi  of  the 
Kadamba  family  gave  away  while  in  Palasika  a  field  in 
a  village  called  Kheda82  It  is  not  quite  clear  what 
district  is  meant  by  Kheta.  Probably  it  is  identical 
with  Khed  in  the  Ratnagiri  District. 

The  Bhadana  plate  of  Aparajita  dated  Sake  919 
(i.  e.  997  A.  D )  speaks  of  a  Mahirihara  district  (Vishaya) 
in  Konkan  1400.  This  district  comprised  the  modern 
town  of  Bhiwandi  near  Kalyan,*3  as  the  places 
mentioned  therein  can  be  identified  with  certain 
villages  near  Bhiwandi. 

THE  ORIGIN  OF  THE  NAME  KONKAN. 

It  is  said  in  the  Imperial  Gazetteer  (Vol.  15  p.  3°4) 
"  The  term  Konkan  seems  to  be    of    Dravidian   origin 

77  I.  A.  Vol.  5  p.  278. 

78  Burgess  and  Bhagwanlal's  cave  temples  p.  4  and  p.  9; 
A.  S.  W.  I.  Vol.  4  P  84. 

79  J-  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  12  p.  333- 

80  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  I  part  I.  p.  109  N.  2. 

81  J.  B.  B.  R.  A.  S.  Vol.  10.  p.  365. 

82  J.  B.  B.  R,  A.  S.  Vol.  9  p.  235. 

83  E.  I.  Vol.  3  p.  267. 
[F.  O.  C.  II  49-1 


386  P.  V.  KANE 

but  has  not  so  far  been  satisfactorily  explained." 
Before  proceeding  to  discuss  the  origin  of  the  name 
of  Konkan  it  is  necessary  to  dwell  upon  one  or  two 
points.  In  the  first  place  various  forms  of  the  name 
present  themselves,  though  the  form  Konkana  is  the 
most  frequent.  Even  in  the  same  record  one  meets 
with  two  different  forms  of  the  name.  For  example, 
in  the  Kharepatan  grant  we  have  the  form  Konkana 
and  also  Kunkana  twice.84  The  commentator  of 
the  Kamasutra  uses  the  form  Kunkana.85  In  the 
Ganadharasardhasataka  of  Jinadatta  (Samvat  1211  i.e. 
1155  A  D.)  we  have  the  form  Kunkuna.86  Mankha 
(1135-11-45  A.  D.)  in  his  Srikanthacharita  speaks  of  an 
embaassy  sent  by  Aparaditya  king  of  Kunkuna  to 
Kashmir.87  If  we  turn  to  Mahomedan  writers,  we 
shall  find  a  variety  of  forms.  Alberuni  speaks  of  Tana 
as  the  capital  of  Kunkan.88  Al  Masudi,  who  died  in 
956  A.  13.,  says  "  this  country  is  also  called  Kamkar. 
On  one  side  it  is  exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  king  of 
Juzr  (Guierat)/'89  Ibn  Batuta  (1340  A.  D.)  and 
Rashi-ud-din    used    the    form    Konkan-Tana.     Other 

84  I.  A  Vol.  9  P-  35.^ 

85  '$^F>.qfqq*n^toi  ^raTfaw:'  on  the  sutra  '  jpawVli :  hIrtsj- 
^TOrPtaT :' 

86  I.  A.  Vol.  II  p.  293. 

87  '  ^ftfa^  ^fasftsn>sqFift:  1  *rfctf  ^f^rfan^uiU+i«i§  11 
*l*fa<rTnfi><i    fft  frqqfa^  1   5rfon?wsm:   5R*JUl-«K$^:  "   chap. 

25.  109-1 10. 

It  is  remarkable  that  Kashmir  though  so  distant  from 
Konkan  was  in  close  touch  with  it.  The  commentary 
of  Apar.irka,  king  of  Konkan,  on  the  Yajnavalkyasmriti  was 
received  as  an  authority  in  Kashmir.  Pratlharenduraja, 
commentator  of  Udbhata's  work  on  Poetics,  was  an  inhabitant 
of  Konkan  and  became  a  pupil  of  Mukula. 

8S     Alberuni  (Sachau  Vol.  I  p.  203) 

89     Elliot's  history  of  India  Vol.  I  p.  25. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  387 

Mahomedan  writers  employ  the  forms  Kemkem, 
Komkam  and  Kankan.  These  different  forms  of  the 
name  increase  the  difficulty  of  the  task  of  finding  out 
the  origin  of  the  term  Konkan.  Another  circum- 
stance that  is  worthy  of  note  is  that  in  numerous  grants 
and  inscriptions  found  in  the  Konkan,  the  important 
ministers  of  state  as  well  as  the  donees  have  names 
that  more  or  less  seem  to  be  Dravidian.  For  example  in 
the  grant  of  the  RashfrakGta  Akalavarsha  KrishnarSja 
dated  Sake  810,  where  the  village  granted  was  on  the 
Tap!  the  name  of  the  Diitaka  and  Mahattamasarvadhi- 
kari  was  the  Brahmana  Ullaiyaka  or  Allaiyaka.90  Simi- 
larly in  the  inscription  of  the  Silahara  Chittarajadeva 
recording  the  grant  of  a  village  in  Salsette,  the  names 
of  the  donee  Amadevaiya,  of  the  Sarvddhikari  Naga- 
naiya,  of  the  Minister  for  peace  and  war  Sihapaiya  indi- 
cate that  they  were  all  southerners.91  In  the  Bhadana 
plate  of  Aparajita  the  names  of  most  of  the  people  in 
whose  hands  water  was  poured  when  making  the  grant 
of  the  village  to  the  temple  of  Lonaditya,  viz:  Vapaiya 
Sreshthin,  the  Bhojaka  Chelapaiyu,  the  Brahmana 
Govanaiya,  point  towards  the  south  as  their  native 
place.92  It  has  often  been  argued  from  these  facts  that 
the  Kanarese  language  was  spoken  up  to  the  Tap! 
in  the  Konkan  and  up  to  the  Godavari  in  Maharashtra 
and  that  the  population  of  the  Konkan  also  was  more 
or  less  Kanarese.  It  seems  however,  that  the  facts  to 
be  gathered  from  the  epigraphic  records  furnish  far 
too  slender  a  basis  for  such  an  hypothesis.  There  is 
another  and  perhaps  a  more  natural  and  satisfactory 
explanation.     It  is  to  be   remembered   that    the   over- 

90  I.  A.  Vol.  13,  65,  67. 

91  I.  A.  Vol.  25  p.  278. 

92  E.  I.  Ill  p.  267. 


388  P-  V.  KANE 

lords  of  the  Konkan  from  the  6th  century  onwards 
were  the  Chalukyas  of  Badami,  the  Rashtraktitas  of 
Manyakheta  and  the  Chalukyas  of  Kalyanpura  and  that 
Konkan  was  ruled  by  the  Silaharas  who  styled  them- 
selves Mahamandalesvaras  (great  feudatories)  of  the 
above  mentioned  imperial  houses.  Now  Badami  and 
Manyakheta  are  in  the  heart  of  the  Kanerese  country. 
It  is  quite  natural  that  as  the  victorious  arms  of  the 
Chalukyas  and  the  Rashtraktitas  advanced  in  the 
Konkan  Kanerese  Brahmanas  residing  at  the  centre  of 
Government  followed  in  their  wake  in  various  capa- 
cities. Hence  is  it  that  the  ministers  and  the  donees 
even  in  Konkan  grants  are  southerners.  Further  it 
seems  that  even  the  Silahara  rulers  of  the  Konkan 
were  not  natives  of  the  soil.  One  of  their  birudas  is 
u  overlords  of  the  city  of  Tagara  ".  It  follows  therefore 
that  the  Silaharas  cherished  memories  of  their  ances- 
tors having  been  connected  in  the  dim  past  with  the 
famous  city  of  Tagara.  Tagara  is  one  of  the  two 
important  cities  and  marts  of  Dakinabades  mentioned 
by  the  Periplus,  the  other  being  Paithan.93  For  many 
years  there  was  a  great  controversy  about  the  site  of 
Tagara.  But  the  researches  of  Dr.  Fleet  established 
that  Tagara  is  the  same  as  the  modern  Thair  or  Ter  in 
the  Naldurga  District  of  the  Nizam's  Dominions.94  If 
the  Silaharas,  the  rulers  of  the  Konkan  from  the  8th 
century  to  the  13th  century,  came  originally  from  the 
Karnataka  country  and  if  the  central  government  of 
their  overlords  was  also  in  the  heart  of  Karnataka,  it  is 
but  natural  that  many  of  their  chief  ministers  and 
advisers  should  be  Brahmanas  from  Karnataka.  A 
parallel  is  furnished  in    later    times    by   the    Peshwas. 

93  See  Schoff's  Periplus  p.  43  Para.  51. 

94  J-  R-  A.  S.  1 901,  pp.  537-552. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  3.X9 

The  fact  of  the  occurrence  of  distinictly  southern 
names  in  the  epigraphic  records  does  not  establish  that 
Konkan  was  inhabited  by  a  Kanarese  people  or  that 
the  Language  there  spoken  by  the  common  people  was 
Kanarese.  Some  writers  think  that  the  word  Konkana 
is  derived  from  a  Kanarese  word  "  Konku  "  meaning 
"  uneven  ground  "  with  the  affix  ana  added  to  form 
the  name  of  a  country  as  in  Telingana.95  But  on 
closer  examination  this  derivation  will  be  found  to  be 
unacceptable.  The  Chalukyas,  the  first  of  the  dynas- 
ties beyond  the  Ghats  that  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  Konkan,  turned  their  attention  to  the  Konkan 
only  in  the  latter  half  of  the  6th  century.  It  is  Kirti- 
varma,  the  first  Chalukya  king  (550-567  A.  D.)  who 
is  described  as  the  knight  of  death  to  the  Nalas  and 
the  Mauryas,  the  rulers  of  the  Konkana.96  But  we  saw 
above  that  the  name  Konkan  was  well  established  in 
the  times  of  Varahamihira  (first  half  of  the  6th  century 
A.  D.).  It  cannot  therefore  be  urged  that  it  was 
in  the  time  of  the  first  Chalukya  king  that  the  term 
Konkan  was  first  coined  by  the  followers  of  the 
victorious  Chalukyas  to  represent  the  peculiar  physical 
features  of  Konkan.  Nor  can  it  be  said  that  the 
Kadambas  of  Banavasi  gave  that  name  to  the  country 
over  which  they  ruled.  In  the  first  place  it  has  not 
yet  been  established  that  the  Kadambas  ruled  over 
Banavasi  before  500  A.  D.  In  the  second  place  there 
is  no  reason  why  the  name  Konkan  should  have  been 
applied  to  the  northern  part  of  it  in  the  Aihole 
inscription,  when  northern  Konkan    was   never   under 

95  See  the  Marathi  monthly  Lokamitra  for  June  1913. 
See  also  Bom.  Gazetteer  Vol.  I  part  II  p.  283  N.  which 
mentions  a  record  from  Balagamve  in  Mysore  where  an  attempt 
is  made  to  connect  Konkan  with  "  Kana  "  a  particle. 

96  I.  A.  Vol.  8  p.  244. 


390  P-  v-  KANE 

the  suzerainty  of  the  Kadambas.  It  is  well  known 
that  northern  Konkan  was  successively  governed  by 
the  Asokan  Mauryas,  the  ^ndhrabhrityas,  the 
Kshatrapas,  the  Xbhlras,  the  Traikutakas  and  th. 
later  Mauryas  from  the  3rd  century  B.  C.  to  the  7th 
Century  A.  D.97  In  epigraphic  records  before  600 
A.  D.  we  do  not  come  across  the  word  Konkan.  But 
the  early  records  at  Kanheri,  Nasik  and  other  places 
use  the  word  Aparanta  or  such  place  names  as 
Soparaka,  Chemulya,  Kaliana  etc.  If  the  word  Konkan 
is  to  be  derived  from  a  non-Sanskritic  source,  a 
conjecture  may  be  hazarded  that  it  was  evolved  some 
time  between  100  to  400  A.  D.  either  by  the  Kshatra- 
pas or  the  Xbhiras  and  that  the  word  Konkan  may 
have  something  to  do  with  the  Persian  word  "  Koh  •' 
meaning  mountain. 

In  the  Udyogaparva  of  the  Mahabharata  we  come 
across  a  list  of  Nagas.  Therein  Kukura  and  Kukana 
are  mentioned.98  Some  think  that  the  name  Konkan 
is  derived  from  the  name  of  the  Naga  Kukuna.  It 
seems,   to   say  the  least,  that  this  is  a  very  far-fetched 

97  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  Traiutakas  were  Abhlras. 

98  Udyogaparva  Chap  :  103.  10. 

The  name  Konkan  occurs  as  Kon-Hanam  in  Early  classical 
Tamil  literature.  It  was  included  in  the  territory  of  Naman 
the  woman-killer-Elil  kairhaw.  Mont  d'  Ely  north  of  Cannanore 
was  also  in  his  Kingdom  which  included  Tuln  and  Konkan. 
Ahananura,  poems  referring  to  Nannan.  The  meaning  of  the 
term  Koir-Kanam  would  be,  "the  forest  wherein  it  was  legitimate 
to  plunder,"  a  tract  of  forest  country  which  was  a  woman's 
land  of  same  kind.'  That  this  was  the  meaning  is  clear  as 
these  poems  interpose  "peruin"  vast  between  the  words. 
(Purananurn,  poems  referring  to  Naunan).  The  name  seems 
apparently  to  be  of  Tamil  origin  and  may  have  denoted 
originally  the  country  along  the  coast  south  of  Goa,  at  any  rate 
not  far  north  of  Goa  for  its  northern  limit.  This  name  seems  to 
have  stuck  onto  the  territory  in  spite  of  its  expansion. 


THE  ANCIENT  HISTORY  &  GEO.  OF  KONKAN  391 

derivation.  There  is  hardly  anything  to  show  that 
Konkan  was  the  country  of  the  Nagas  or  that  the 
latter  were  the  predominant  people  in  it  at  some 
historical  period.  Besides  it  is  questionable  whether 
the  list  of  the  names  of  the  Nagas  is  not  itself  suggested 
by  the  names  of  the  countries  themselves  instead  of 
the  countries  being  designated  after  the  Nagas." 

In  the  inscription  of  Rudradaman  (A.  D.  150)  and 
in  the  Nasik  inscription  of  Vasishthiputra  Pulumavi 
we  come  across  Kukuraparanta.100  One  feels  the 
temptation  of  identifying  Kukura  with  Kunkuna 
(the  meaning  being  "  that  portion  of  Aparanta  called 
Kukura  ").  That  Kukuraparanta  is  the  name  of  one 
country  seems  to  follow  from  the  manner  in  which 
other  countries  are  grouped  in  the  inscription  of 
Pulumavi.  In  the  list  of  countries  there  given 
(Asika-  Asaka  -  Mulaka-Suratha  -  Kukurapararta  -  Anupa 
Vidhabha-Xkaravati-Rajasa)  there  is  no  Sandhi  between 
Asika  and  Asaka,  between  Kukuraparanta  and  Anupa 
and  between  Vidabha  and  Skaravati.  The  intention 
of  the  engraver  was  apparently  to  keep  the  name  of 
each  country  distinct.  If  therefore  Kukura  and 
Aparanta  were  thought  to  be  distinct  countries,  there 
should  have  been  no  Sandhi.  There  are  however 
serious  objections  against  the  tempting  hypothesis  of 
the  identity  of  Kukura  and  Kukuna.  In  the  passage 
of  the  Udyogaparva  cited  a  little  above  Kukura  and 
Kukuna  are  separately  mentioned.  It  was  believed  in 
ancient  times  that  each  country  had  a  guardian  Naga 
(vide  the  mention  of  the  Srikanthaniiga  in  the 
Harshacharita  III).     Besides  in   numerous   passages   of 

99    I.  A.  Vol.  7  p.  262  and  A.  S.  W.  L  Vol.  2  p.  128. 
100    A.  S.  W.  I.  Vol.  4  p.  108  ;     Bom.   Gaz.  Vol.  16  p.  550. 


392  P.  V.  KANE 

the  Mahabharata  the  Kukuras  are  described  as  a  tribe 
of  Yadavas  associated  with  the  Vrishnis,  the  Bhojas 
the  Andhakas  and  Dasarnas  and  so  are  connected  with 
Kathiawar  and  northern  Gujerat.  It  is  therefore 
difficult  to  regard  Kukura  as  the  original  of  Kunkuna 
or  Konkana. 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  GURJARAS. 

BY 

R.  C.  Majumdar. 

Various  references  indicate  that  there  was  a  Gurjara 
kingdom  at  the  beginning  of  the  Seventh  century 
A.  C.  Thus  Banabhatta1  refers  to  Prabhakaravar- 
dhana's  successful  wars  against  the  Gurjaras,  while  a 
similar  claim  is  advanced  on  behalf  of  Pulakesi  II  in 
the  Aihole  inscription.2  The  Chinese  traveller  Yuan- 
Chwang  visited  a  Gurjara  kingdom3  on  his  return 
journey  and  the  inscriptions  of  the  feudatory  Gurjara 
chiefs  of  Broach  claim  descent  from  the  Gurjarnripa- 
vatks'a  indicating  the  existence  of  a  royal  family  of  the 
Gurjaras.4 

Yuan-Chwang  places  the  Gurjara  kingdom  about 
300  miles  north  of  Valabhi.  This  takes  us  to  the 
Central  Rajputana  and  a  Gurjara  kingdom  in  this 
locality  satisfactorily  explains  all  references  about  it. 

It  is  generally  assumed  that  the  Imperial  Pratihara 
Dynasty,  which  had  its  capital  at  Kanauj,  originally 
ruled  over  this  province.  That  may  be  so,  but  this 
dynasty  did  not  exist  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventh 
century  A.  C  According  to  the  Gwalior  Inscription 
of  Bhoja,5  Vatsaraja  belonged  to  the  third  generation 
of  kings  and  as  he  is    known  to   have   been   ruling   in 

(i)  Harsha-charita   translated     by   Cowell  and  Thomas, 
p.  IOI. 

(2)  Ep.  Ind.  Vol.  VI,  p.  6. 

(0  Watters  Vol.  II.  p.  249. 

(4)  Bombay  Gazetteer  Vol.  I,  Part  II,  p.  313. 

(5)  Annual  Report  of  the  Archaeological  Survey  of  India, 
1903-4.  P.  277. 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  50] 


394  R.  C.  MAJUMDAR 

783-784  A.  D.,6  Nagabhata,  the  first  king,  cannot  be 
placed  further  back  than  the  beginning  of  the  eighth 
century  A.  D.  The  question  therefore  naturally  arises, 
what  royal  family  of  the  Gurjaras  ruled  in  Rajputana 
about  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  A.  D.,  and 
carried  on  wars  against  the  House  of  Thaneswar  in  the 
north  and  the  Chalukyas  in  the  south  ? 

So  far  as  the  available  evidence  goes,  there  is  only 
one  direction  to  which  we  may  turn  for  an  answer. 
Several  inscriptions  testify  to  the  existence  of  a  Gurjara 
Pratihara  line  earlier  than,  and  different  from,  the 
Imperial  one,  and  this,  I  believe,  to  be  the  ruling  family 
which  is  referred  to  in  the  literature  and  inscriptions 
of  the  Seventh  century  A.  D. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  history  of  this  dynasty  is 
based  upon  six  inscriptions,  viz. 

(I)  Jodhpur  Inscription  of  Bauka,  published  in 
J.  R.  A.  S.  1894,  p.  I.  The  inscription  is  dated  but  the 
portion  containing  the  date  has  been  variously  inter- 
preted. Thus  Munshi  Deviprasad,  Dr.  Kielhorn  and 
Professor  Bhandarkar  read  the  date  respectively  as 
Sarhwat  940,  4,  and  894.7 

(II — VI).  The  five  Ghatayala  inscriptions  of 
Kakkuka  ;  of  these,  one  was  published  in  J.  R.  A.  S., 
J  895  p.  51 3£f. ,  and  the  remaining  four  in  Ep.  Ind., 
Vol.  IX,  p.  277ff.  Three  of  these  five  inscriptions  bear 
the  date  Sarhvat  918. 

(6)  This  follows  from  a  passage  in  Jaina  Harivarhsa. 
Cf.  J.  R.  A.  S.  1909  p.  253. 

(7)  For  the  first  two  views  Cf.  J.  R.  A.  S.  1894,  p.  3.  For 
the  last  Cf.  Progress  Report,  Arch.  Surv.  W.  India,  1907, 
p.  30  ff. 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  GURJARAS    395 

The  inscription  No.  I,  supplies  us  with  the  follow- 
ing geneology  of  a  line  of  Kings  belonging  to  the 
Pratihara  dynasty. 

Brahmana  wife=Harichandra=Bhadra  (Kshatriyi.) 
Pratihira  Brahmatias 

i  i  i  i 

Bhogabhata  Kakka  Rajjila  Dadda 

Narabhata 

I      ' 
N&gabhata 


Tata  Bhoja 

Yasovardhana 


Chanduka 

I 
Siluka 

I 
Jhota 

I 

Bhilladitya 

Durlabhdtvi=  Kakka—  Padmini 

I  I 

Kakkuka  Bauka 

The  Ghatayala  inscriptions  of  the  Pratihara  Kakkuka, 
dated  in  the  Vikrama  year  918,  confirm  the  above 
geneology,  although  in  one  of  them  the  names  are 
slightly  modified  such  as  Silluka  for  Siluka,  and 
Bhilluka  for  Bhilladitya.  As  they  trace  only  the  line 
of  descent,  they  omit  the  names  of  the  three  brothers 
of  Rajjila.  They  add  a  new  name  to  the  dynastic  list 
viz.  that  of  Kakkuka,  the  son  of  Kakka  and  Durlabha 
Devi.     Kakkuka  was  thus  a  step-brother  of  Bauka. 

That  the  chiefs  above  mentioned  were  independent 
rulers    admits   of   no    doubt.      The   inscription    No.  I 


396  R-  C.  MAJUMDAR 

applies  the  term  rdjni  to  Bhadra,  the  queen  of 
Harichandra,  the  first  chief,  and  to  Jajjikddevi,  the 
queen  of  Ndgabhata,  and  the  term  Mahdrdjnt  to 
Padminiy  the  queen  of  Kakka.  It  refers  to  the  Raja- 
dhdni  of  Ndgabhata  and  the  rdjya  of  Tata,  Jhota  and 
Bhilladitya.  The  sons  of  Harichandra  are  called 
Bhudharanakshama  and  Kakka  is  styled  bMpati,  and 
Bauka  is  called  Nrsimha. 

The  absence  of  pompous  and  high-sounding  titles 
need  not  necessarily  indicate,  as  Dr.  Hoernle  contends, 
"  that  the  princes  of  this  dynasty  were  only  small 
chiefs."8  For  in  this  respect  the  inscription  No.  I 
bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the  Gwalior  inscription  of 
Bhoja  I.  The  latter  adds  no  royal  epithet  to  Naga- 
bhata,  the  first  chief,  calls  the  second  and  fourth  Kings 
respectively  as  kshmdbhrdise  and  kshmdpdla  while 
Nagabhata  and  Bhoja,  the  greatest  kings  of  the  dynasty 
are  introduced  without  any  royal  epithet.  Whatever 
might  be  the  reasons,  the  close  parallel  between  these 
two  contemporary  records  would  preclude  any  conclu- 
sion regarding  the  subordinate  rank  of  the  chiefs  under 
consideration  on  the  basis  of  the  absence  of  high- 
sounding  royal  epithets. 

The  inscriptions  thus  furnish  us  with  a  line  of 
kings  extending  over  twelve  generations.  Taking 
twenty-five  years  as  an  average  for  each  generation,  the 
total  reign  period  of  the  dynasty  would  be  about  300 
years.9    As  the  date  of  Kakkuka  is  Sarhvat  918  or  A.  D. 


(8)  J.  R.  A.  S.  1905,  p.  28. 

(9)  Dr.  Hoernle  remarks  "  The  two  half  brothers  Kakkuka 
and  Bauka  formed  the  twelfth  generation  of  their  Pratihara 
dynasty.  This  fact,  at  the  usual  rate  of  twenty  years  for  a 
reign,  will  place  Harichandra  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  at 
about  640  A.  D.  "  Dr.  Hoernle  here   overlooks  the   difference 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  GURJARAS    397 

861  the  founder  of  the  dynasty  Harichandra  may  be 
placed  at  about  A.  D.  550.  This  is  in  full  accordance 
with  the  fact  that  the  earliest  reference  to  the  Gurjaras, 
to  which  race  the  Pratiharas  belonged,  is  carried  back 
to  the  same  period,  by  the  reference  in  Harshacharita 
to  the  wars  of  Prabhakaravardhana  against  them. 
The  Province  of  Gurjaratrd,  which  was  named  after 
the  Gurjaras,  and  must  therefore  be  looked  upon  as  the 
province  where  the  Gurjaras  gained  a  firm  footing  and 
established  themselves,  was  under  the  sway  of  this 
dynasty.  This  is  quite  evident,  not  only  from  the 
find-spots  of  the  inscriptions  of  this  dynasty  which  have 
all  been  found  within  its  area,  but  also  from  the  state- 
ment in  the  Ghatayala  inscription,  that  Kakkuka  ruled 
in  Gurjaratrd.  The  inscription  No.  I  also  throws  some 
light  as  to  the  period  when  this  province  was  being 
gradually  occupied  by  this  dynasty.  The  verse  9  tells 
us  that  the  four  sons  of  Harichandra  built  a  large 
rampart  round  the  fort  of  Mandavyapura  which  was 
gained  by  their  own  prowess  (nijabhujdrjjita).     Mandav- 

between  "  reign  "  and  "  generation  ".  A  consideration  of  the 
well  known  historical  dynasties  such  as  the  Palas,  the 
Chalukyas  and  the  RashtrakGtas  would  show  that  the  average 
duration  of  a  generation  must  be  taken  to  be  at  least  25  years. 

Thus  (i)  Eight  generations  of  the  Pala  kings  from 
Dharmapala  to  Mahlpala  ruled  from  about  800  to 
1025  A.  D.  giving  an  average  of  about  28  years  ; 

(2)  Seven  generations  of  Chalukya  kings  from 
Kirtivarman  I  to  Kirtivarman  II  ruled  from  567 
A.  D.  to  c.  747  A.  D.  giving  an  average  of  about 
26  years. 

(3)  Nine  generations  of  Rashtrakuta  kings 
from  Dantidurga  to  Indraraja  IV  ruled  from  753 
A.  D.  to  982  A.  D.  giving  an  average  of  25  years. 

(4)  Nine  generations  of  the  Imperial  Pratihara  kings 
from  Vatsaraja  to  Trilochanapala  ruled  from  783 
A.  D.  to  1027  A.  D.,  giving  an  average  of  27 
years. 


398  R.  C.  MAJUMDAR 

yapura  is  evidently  Mandor,  near  Jodhpur.  It  is  evident, 
therefore,  that  the  Gurjaras  under  Harichandra  and  his 
sons  had  occupied  the  province  known  after  them,  and 
proceeded  up  to  Mandor  before  the  end  of  the  Sixth 
century  A.  D. 

The  period  was   indeed   a   suitable   one   for   such 
conquest.    After  the  downfall  of  the  short-lived  empires 
of  Mihirakula  and  Yasodharman,  Northern    India   must 
have  presented  a  favourable   field   for   the   struggle   of 
nations.     The  Gurjaras,   who   probably   entered  India 
along  with,  or  shortly  after,  the  Hunas,10  found  a  favour- 
able opportunity  to  press  forward  till  they  advanced    as 
far  as  the  Jodhpur  State.     Their   further   advance   was 
checked  by  the   prowess  of   Prabhakaravardhana   and 
his  son,  and  they  were   therefore   obliged   to   establish 
themselves  in  the   province  which   was   consequently 
named  after  them.     Harichandra  must  have  been   the 
leader,  or  at  least  one  of  the   principal  leaders,   of  this 
advanced  section  of  the  Gurjaras,  but  in    any  case   his 
dynasty  was  ultimately  able  to  establish   its  supremacy 
over  the  entire  clan.  This  seems  to  be  the  only  reason- 
able inference  from   the    circumstances    stated   above, 
and  I  do  not  know  of  anything   which  contradicts   this 
view. 

The  Gurjara  chiefs  ruling  at  Broach  seem  to  have 
been  feudatories  of  this  main  dynasty,  serving  as  their 
advance  post  in  the  south.  The  earliest  date  of  the 
third  chief  of  this  dynasty  is  928-9  A.  D.11  Allowing 
fifty  years  for  the  two  generations  that  preceded  him 
we  get  the  date  c.  580  A.  D.  for  the  sdmanta  Dadda 
who  founded  the  line.  The  date  corresponds  so  very 
well  with  that  of  Dadda, the  youngest  son  of  Harichandra, 

(io)    J.  R.  A.  S.  1909,  p.  61 

(n)     Bombay  Gazetteer  Vol.  I  part  II,  p.  313. 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  GURJARAS    399 

that  the  identity  of  the  two,  may  at  once  be  presumed. 
It  has  been  already  suggested,  on  general  grounds,  that 
the  Broach  line  was  feudatory  to  the  main    line  of   the 
Gurjaras  further  north,  but  no  link,  connecting  the  two, 
has  been    hitherto   obtained.     The    proposed   identifi- 
cation would  not  only  supply  such  a  link  but  would  also 
explain  why  the  Gurjara  inscriptions  record  that  Dadda  I 
was  of  the  race  of  Gurjara  kings  (Gurjara-nripa-varhs'a) 
although   he  and  his   descendants  are   referred   to   as 
sdmantas  or  feudatories.     Further,  it  closely  fits  in  with 
the  theory  of  the  Gurjara  invasion  dealt  with  above.     It 
would   appear   that   after   Harichandra    had    carved   a 
principality  for  himself    in    Gurjaratra   and   the   neigh- 
bouring country,  the  nomadic  habits   of   the  tribe   led 
them  further  south  till  they  conquered  a  fair  portion  of 
Lata.     The  necessity  of   preserving   their   own  against 
the  rising  power  of  the  Chalukyas  probably  led   to   the 
foundation  of  a  feudatory  state  in  the  southern  province 
under  Dadda,  the  younger  brother  of  the    ruling   king 
Rajjila.     Instances    like    these     are   furnished   by   the 
history  of  both  the  Chalukyas  and  the  Rashtrakutas. 

There  can  be  scarcely  any  doubt  that  the  Gurjara 
kingdom  visited  by  Yuan-Chwang  belonged  to  this 
dynasty.  The  kingdom,  according  to  Yuan-Chwang, 
was  about  300  miles  north  of  Valabhi,  and  Gurjaratra 
or  country  round  Mandor  exactly  answers  to  this  de- 
scription. As  Harichandra's  dynasty  was  certainly  ruling 
in  the  locality  at  the  time  of  the  pilgrim's  visit,  we  are 
justified  in  identifying  their  kingdom  with  the  one 
described  by  Yuan-Chwang.  Nay,  I  believe  that  we 
are  even  able  to  identify  the  king  whose  court  was 
visited  by  the  pilgrim.  "  The  king  ",  says  he,  "  is  of 
the  kshatriya  caste.  He  is  just  twenty  years  old.  He 
is  distinguished  for  wisdom,  and  he  is  courageous.     He 


400  R.  C.  MAJUMDAR 

is  a  deep  believer  in  the  law  of  Buddha  and  highly 
honours  men  of  distinguished  ability."  Now,  as  the 
pilgrim  visited  the  kingdom  about  100  years  after  the 
foundation  of  the  dynasty  we  may  reasonably  expect 
four  generations  of  kings  to  have  passed  away  during 
that  period  and  the  young  king  may  be  looked  upon  as 
belonging  to  the  fifth.  On  referring  to  the  dynastic 
list,  we  find  king  Tata  occupying  this  position.  The 
verses  14-15  of  the  Inscription  No.  1  inform  us  that 
king  Tata,  considering  life  to  be  evanescent  as  lightning 
abdicated  in  favour  of  his  younger  brother,  and  himself 
retired  to  a  hermitage  practising  there  the  rites  of  true 
religion.  The  words  buddhva  and  siiddha  used  in 
these  verses  might  have  been  deliberately  used  as  an 
indirect  hint  about  the  Buddhist  religion  which  he 
professed,  but  the  curious  coincidence  about  the 
religious  fervour  of  the  king  who  may  be  held  on  other 
grounds  to  have  been  contemporary  with  the  pilgrim 
gives  rise  to  a  strong  presumption  about  the  correct- 
ness of  our  identification. 

The  Gurjaras  after  their  settlement  in  Rajputana 
and  Broach  had  to  fight  for  their  supremacy  with 
Prabhakara-Vardhana  of  Thaneswar  who  seems  to  have 
headed  the  native  resistance  against  the  invading 
hordes  of  the  Hunas  and  the  Gurjaras.  We  have 
already  referred  to  the  wars  of  Prabhakaravardhana 
against  the  Gurjaras.  The  poetical  language  of  Bana- 
bhatta  may  be  taken  to  imply  that  the  further  advance 
of  the  Gurjaras  was  stayed  in  the  north.  The  struggle 
was  not,  however,  a  decisive  one  and  seems  to  have 
been  continued  till  the  time  of  Harshavardhana.  The 
feudatory  Dadda  II  of  Broach  is  said  to  have  protected 
a  lord  of  Valabhi   against   the    Kanauj    emperor12   and 

(12)    Ibid.  p.  315. 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  GURJARAS    401 

surprise  had  justly  been  expressed  how  a  small  state 
like  Broach  could  withstand  the  force  of  the  mighty 
emperor.  Everything  however  appears  quite  clear  if 
we  admit  Broach  to  have  been  a  feudatory  state  of  the 
dynasty  of  Harichandra  and  remember  its  hereditary 
enmity  with  the  House  of  Thaneswar.  That  the 
Gurjaras  were  not  worsted  in  their  struggle  with  the 
kings  of  Thaneswar  appears  quite  clearly  from  the  fact 
that  they  retained  their  independence  as  Yuan-Chwang 
informs  us,  till  at  least  a  late  period  in  the  reign  of 
Harshavardhana.  The  struggle  between  Dadda  II 
and  the  rulers  of  Kanauj  incidentally  referred  to  in 
inscriptions  may  thus  be  looked  upon  as  part  and 
parcel  of  the  great  and  long  drawn  battle  between  the 
two  powers. 

The  extension  of  the  Gurjara  power  in  the  south 
brought  it  into  conflict  with  the  rising  power  of  the 
Chalukyas.  It  is  recorded  in  the  Aihole  inscription 
that  the  Cha}ukya  hero  Pulakesi  II  (611  to  c.  640  A.  D.) 
defeated  the  Latas,  Malavas  and  the  Gurjaras13.  The 
Gurjaras  must  here  be  taken  to  refer  to  the  Pratihara 
dynasty  under  consideration,  for  it  cannot  denote  the 
feudatory  line  founded  by  Dadda  as  it  is  included 
under  the  Latas.  The  mention  of  the  Gurjaras  along 
with  the  Latas  and  Malavas  clearly  show  that  they 
occupied  a  territory  contiguous  to  these  two  provinces 
and  the  kingdom  of  the  Pratihara  line  under  con- 
sideration exactly  corresponds  to  this.  The  struggle 
between  the  two  powers  must  have  been  of  long 
duration.  For  during  the  reign  of  the  successor  of 
Pulakesi  a  branch  of  the  Chalukya  dynasty  was 
established    in   the   Southern     Gujerat   and   this   was 

(13)     Ep.  Ind.  Vol.  VI  p.  6. 
[F.  O.  C.  II  51.] 


402  R-  c-  MAJUMDAR 

evidently  to  keep  in  check  the  powerful  Gurjaras  in  the 
north. 

The  Gurjara  Pratihara  line  founded  by  Harichandra 
thus  established  itself  in  Rajputana  and  fought 
successfully  against  the  royal  houses  of  Thaneswar  and 
Badami.  For  about  two  hundred  years  they  ruled  in 
splendour  over  the  greater  part  of  Rajputana,  but  the 
Arab  invasion  of  about  725  A.  D.  brought  about  a 
decline.  The  Mausari  Grant14  of  Gujerat  Chalukya 
Pulaklsi  Raja  dated  in  October,  738  A.  D.  tells  us  that 
Gurjaras  were  destroyed  by  an  invasion  of  the  Tajjikas 
or  Arabs,  apparently  shortly  before  that  time.  There 
can  be  scarcely  any  doubt  that  the  Arab  invasions 
referred  to  in  the  grant  were  those  undertaken  by 
Junaid,  the  general  of  Khalif  Hasham.  Al  Biladuri 
gives  a  short  account  of  these  expeditions  and 
mentions,  among  other  things,  that  Junaid  sent  his 
officers  to  Marmad  Mandal,  Barus  and  other  places,  and 
conquered  Bailaman  on  Jurz15  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  Marmad  is  the  same  as  Maru-Mara  which  is 
referred  to  in  the  Ghatayal  inscription  No.  II.  above 
and  includes  Jaisalmer  and  part  of  Jodhpur  state16. 
Barus  is  undoubtedly  Broach  and  Mandal  probably 
denotes  Mandor.  It  is  now  a  well  known  fact 
that  Jurs  was  an  Arabic  corruption  of  the 
Gurjara  and  Bailaman  probably  refers  to  their 
circle  of  states  referred  to  in  the  Inscription 
No.  I.  as  Vallamandala.  It  thus  appears  that 
the    Arabian     army    under     Junaid     conquered     the 

(14)  Vienna  Or  Congress,  Arian  section,  p.  230. 

(15)  Elliot,  History  of  India  Vol.  I  p.  126. 

(16)  Ep.  Ind.  Vol.  IX.  p.  278. 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  GURJARAS    403 

main   Gurjara    states     in   the   North   as   well   as   the 
feudatory  state  of  Broach  in  the  South. 

This  catastrophe  must  have  taken  place  in  about 
725  A.  D.,  for  the  expeditions  were  undertaken  during 
the  Caliphate  of  Harham  (724-743  A.  D.)  and  Junaid 
was  succeeded  by  Tamim  in  726  A.  D.17  It  dealt  a 
deathblow  to  the  power  and  prestiegeof  the  dynasty  of 
Harichandra  and  its  immediate  effect  was  the  conquest 
of  Lata  by  the  western  Chalukya  prince  Avani- 
Janasraya  Pulakls'i,  who  successfully  resisted  the  Arabs. 
The  remoter  consequences  were  still  more  serious. 
Out  of  the  deadly  conflict  with  the  Arabs  emerged  a 
new  Pratihara  Power  which  was  destined  to  cast  the 
old  one  into  the  shade. 

The  Gwalior  inscription  of  Bhoja  records  the  fact 
that  Nagabhata,  the  founder  of  the  family,  defeated  the 
myriads  of  soldiers  of  the  Mlmccha  king  of  Valava 
(Valava-mlonccha-dhipa-kshauhini).  As  Vatsaraja  the 
grand-nephew  of  Nagabhata  was  ruling  in  783-784  A.  D., 
the  latter  must  have  flourished  about  the  period  of  the 
Arab  expeditions  referred  to  above.  It  therefore 
appears  that  shortly  after  the  Arabs  had  conquered  the 
Gurjara  states  they  were  defeated  by  this  new  Pratihara 
chief,  and  if,  as  I  suspect,  Valava  is  identical  with 
the  Valla  over  which  the  dynasty  of  Harichandra  ruled 
and  which  apparently  was  the  leading  state  in  the 
Gurjara  circle,  known  after  it  as  Vallamandala  there  was 
apparently  a  successful  rising  of  the  Gurjaras  against 
the  Arabs  who  had  conquered  their  territory  and 
occupied  it  with  their  forces.  This  is  fully  confirmed 
by  the  Arab  historians  themselves.  Thus  Al  Biladuri 
says,  that  in  the  days   of  Tamim,   who  succeeded   the 

(17)  Elliot,  History  of  India  Vol.  I  p.  126. 


404  R-  C.  MAJUMDAR 

Arab  general  Junaid  in  the  year  727  A.  D.  "the 
Mussulmans  retired  from  several  parts  of  India  and 
left  some  of  their  positions18."  As  the  Mussulmans 
still  retained  Sind  they  could  only  have  retreated  from 
the  states  conquered  by  Junaid. 

The  Gurjara  state  was  thus  freed  from  the  Muslim 
yoke  but  the  balance  of  power  was  destroyed.  It  was 
natural  that  the  new  chief  who  won  the  laurels  in  this 
war  of  liberation  should  aspire  to  the  supreme  position, 
and  a  contest  between  his  family  and  the  dynasty  that 
so  long  held  the  chief  power  was  almost  inevitable 
under  the  circumstances.  The  Inscription  No.  I. 
preserves  some  echo  of  this  struggle.  It  tells  us  in 
verse  19,  that  Siluka,  who  was  the  protector  of  Valla- 
mandala  and  had  the  ensign  of  Umbrella  defeated 
Devaraja,  and  secured  the  allegiance  of  the  Bhatti 
confederacy.  As  Devaraja  of  the  Imperial  Pratihara 
line  was  the  father  of  Vatsaraja  who,  according  to 
Jaina  Harivarhsa,  was  ruling  in  783-784  A.  D.,  his  date 
may  be  fixed  at  about  the  middle  of  the  8th  century 
A.  D.  Siluka,  who  belonged  to  the  eighth  generation, 
must  have  also  been  ruling  about  the  same  time 
and  the  identity  of  the  two  Dsvarajas  may  there- 
fore be  at  once  presumed.  This  presumption  almost 
becomes  a  certainty  when  we  remember  that  Siluka 
is  described  as  the  chief  of  the  Bhatti  confederacy 
in  the  Inscription  No.  I.  whereas  Vatsaraja  is 
said  in  the  Gwalior  inscription  to  have  wrested  the 
empire  from  the  famous  Bhandi  clan.  A  careful  study 
of  the  two  inscriptions  seems  to  show  that  Nagabhata, 
the  founder  of  the  Imperial  Pratihara  line  successfully 
resisted  the  Arab  invasion  which  proved   so   disastrous 

(18)  Ibid. 


THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE  GURJARAS    405 

to  the  other  Pratihara  line.  His  successors  were  not 
slow  to  take  advantage  of  this  favourable  situation,  and 
Devaraja  entered  into  a  contest  for  supremacy  with 
Siluka.  He  was  defeated  by  the  latter,  but  his  son 
Vatsaraja  pursued  his  policy  with  signal  success  and 
wrested  the  empire  from  the  family  of  Harichandra. 
These  successive  changes  are  fully  reflected  in  the 
Inscription  No.  I.  According  to  our  scheme  of 
chronology  Chanduka  was  on  the  throne  when  the  Arab 
invasion  took  place.  It  becomes  therefore  a  significant 
fact  that  whereas  he  is  passed  over  with  merely  conven- 
tional praises,  tribute  is  paid  to  the  prowess  and 
heroism  of  his  successor  who  regained  the  ensign  of 
Umbrella  by  defeating  Devar&ja.  Then,  again,  the  two 
successors  of  Siluka  are  said  to  have  taken  to  religious 
life  and  not  a  single  act  of  prowess  or  heroism  is  attri- 
buted to  any  of  them.  This  was  apparently  the  time 
when  their  rivals  gradually  established  themselves  in 
the  position  of  the  recognised  suzerainty  over  the 
entire  confederate  clans  which  was  so  long  enjoyed 
by  them. 

The  line  of  Harichandra  retained  possession  of 
their  own  kingdom,  although  they  lost  their  supreme 
position  and  gradually  seem  to  have  reconciled  them- 
selves to  their  new  situation.  Kakka,  the  great  grand- 
son of  Siluka,  appears  to  have  accompanied  the  new 
suzerain  power  in  its  wars  of  conquest.  For,  we  are 
told  in  the  verse  24  of  the  Inscription  No.  I  that  he 
fought  with  the  Gaudas  at  Mudgagiri  or  Monghyr. 
Apparently  he  fought  as  feudatory  of  one  of  the 
imperial  Gurjara  Pratihara  kings  probably  Bhoja,  who 
is  said  in  the  Gwalior  Inscriptions  to  have  defeated  the 
Lord  of  Vanga.  The  existence  of  the  family  as  a 
ruling  power  can  be  traced  to  about   918   A.   D.  when 


406  R.  C.  MAJUMDAR 

the  Ghatayala   inscriptions    of   Kakkuka   were  incised 
but  its  end  is  involved  in  obscurity. 

Is  it  not  likely  that  the  Gurjaras  of  Rajputana  went 
out  of  existence  as  the  imperial  Pratihara  dynasty  was 
thrown  back  upon  the  Marudosa  by  the  ruling  power  of 
the  Rashtrakutas  ? 


JXNGALADESA    and    its    capital 

AHICHHATRAPURA. 

BY 

Har   Bilas  Sarda 

1.    jlNGALADESA. 

Jangaladesa  is  mentioned  in  the  Mahabharata  but 
it  is  not  stated  where  it  was  situated  (  Mahabharata, 
Bhishma  Parva,  Adhyaya  9,  391  ).  The  physical  charac- 
teristics of  Jangaladesa  as  given  in  Sanskrit  works 
(Sabdakalpadruma  Kosha,  Vol.  II,  p.  5292  )  are  "Scarcity 
of  water  and  grass  ;  high  winds  ;  intense  heat,  and 
abundant  grain  production  after  rains."  It  is  also 
stated  ( See  Bhava  Prakasha,  and  Sabdakalpadruma 
Kosha,  Vol.  II,  p.  5293  )  that  in  Jangaladesa,  the  sky 
remains  clear  and  such  trees  grow  as  require  little 
watering  for  their  growth  ;  for  instance,  Saml  (  sraft  | 
(prosopis  spicigera),  Karira  (Capparis  aphylla),  Bilva 
(Aegle  marmelos),  Arka  (Calotropis  Procera),  Pilu 
(Salvadora  persica),  and  Karkandhu. 

2.  The  above  description  shows  that  Jangala- 
desa must  have  been  situated  somewhere  in  the  sandy 
plains  of  Rajputana,  where,  owing  to  comparative 
scarcity  of  rainfall,  the  sky  is  clear  ;  where  water  and 
grass  are  scarce  ;  where  high  winds  blow  and  con- 
stantly shift  sand-hills  from  one  place  to  another  ;  where 
intense  heat  keeps  the  air  in  constant  vibration  during 

ST  |T*?t  3Tt*T55t  ^Tt  «gt*Mll3^d:  II 

}      9fl*Uiy^  3^3J  WcMMI«fl4m<W:  I 
5r^^kft^lWcS+^^3^:   || 


408  HAR  BILAS  SARDA 

a  part  of  the  day  in  the  hot  season  ;  and  where  the 
principal  trees  are  the  Sami  (Khejda),  (the  Karria  Ker) 
and  the  Pilu.  A  part  of  the  present  Bikaner  State  in 
Rajputana  is  still  termed  Jangalu  which  is  the  Prakrita 
form  of  Jangala.  The  kings  of  Bikaner,  evidently  be- 
cause they  ruled  over  the  country  which  in  ancient 
times  was  known  as  Jangaladesa  and  a  portion  of  which 
is  still  known  as  Jangalu  are  called  by  the  Bhdts, 
(the  bards  of  Rajputana),  as  "  Jangaladhar  Patasdh," 
which  means  Padshah,  or  king  of  the  Jangaladesa. 
"  Jai  Jangaldhar  Badshah"  is  the  inscription  borne  on 
the  coat  of  arms  of  the  Rulers  of  Bikaner,  and  this 
would  show  that  a  portion  at  least  of  the  old  Jangala- 
desa is  incorporated  in  the  dominions  over  which  the 
Maharajas  of  Bikaner  hold  sway. 

3.  Mr.  Nando  Lai  Dey  has  not  included  in  his 
"  Geographical  Dictionary  of  Ancient  and  Medieval 
India,"  the  name  of  Jangaladesa,  but  mentions  Kuru 
Jangala  as  one  name  which  he  describes  as  : — 

"  A  forest  country  situated  in  Sirhind,  north  west 
of  Hastinapura.  It  was  called  Srikanthades'a  during 
the  Buddhist  period.  Its  Capital  was  Bilaspura.  It 
was  included  in  Kurukshetra  "  (p.  15). 

4.  This  view  of  Babu  Nando  Lai  Dey  cannot  be 
accepted  as  correct  for  two  reasons.  In  the  first  place, 
there  is  no  warrant  for  the  assumption  that  Kuru 
Jangala  was  the  name  of  one  Country,  for  the  Maha- 
bharata  regards  Kuru  and  Jangala  as  two  separate 
countries  (Mahabharata,  cited  above).  Secondly,  the 
Kuru  and  Jangala  countries  were  never  known  as 
Srikanthadesa.  Banbhatta  in  his  Harshacharita 
(translated  into  English  by  E.  B.  Cowell  M.  A.  and 
F.   W.   Thomas,   M.   A.,   p.    73  and  note  6)  gives  the 


jXngaladeSa  and  ITS  CAPITAL  409 

name  of  Harsha's  ancestral  Kingdom  as  Srikantha,   by 
which  is  meant,  the  Kingdom  of  Thanes'vra. 

5.  The  compound  terms,  "  Kuru  Jangala  "  and 
"  Kuru  Panchala "  which  occur  in  Sanskrit  works, 
indicate  a  certain  relationship  between  the  two  com- 
ponent parts  of  the  two  terms,  and  evidently  the  same 
relationship  exists  between  Kuru  and  Jangala  as 
between  Kuru  and  Panchala.  Kuru  and  Panchala 
were  admittedly  two  separate  des'a  or  territories  which 
lay  adjacent  to  each  other.  Kuru  and  Jangala  must 
similarly  have  been  two  separate  territories  and  the 
term  Kuru  Jangala  means  or  expresses  a  political, 
economic,  or  geographical  unit  or  idea  as  much  as  the 
other  term  "  Kuru  Panchala".  As  Panchala  was  situ- 
ated on  one  (the  eastern)  side  of  Kuru,  it  is  probable 
that  Jangala  was  also  situated  on  another  side  (south) 
of  it  and  both  Kuru  and  Jangala  formed  one  portion  of 
Bharatavarsha  for  some  political  or  geographical 
purpose. 

6.  The  physical  character istrics  of  Jangalades'a 
given  above  and  the  use  of  the  term  "  Kuru  Jangala  " 
lead  us  to  believe  that  the  country  lay  towards  the 
south  or  south-west  side  of  Kuru,  comprising  parts 
of  the  Bikaner  and  Jaipur  States  and  the  northern 
part  of  Marwar  territory.  The  road  from  Dwarka  to 
Hastinapura  is  said  to  have  passed  all  along  these  parts 
the  journey  terminating  with  the  passing  up  of  the 
Kuru-Jangala  in  the  Bhagavata.  The  present  day  road 
seems  to  keep  the  same  course.  Kuru-Jangala  may 
mean  Jangala  adjoining  Kuru  in  contradistinction  to 
other    portions   of  Jangala   or   other  Jangalas. 

7.  The  boundaries  of  countries  vary  from  time 
to   time,   and   expand   and   contract,   as    the  political 

[F.O.  C.  II  52]. 


410  HAR  BILAS  SARDA 

power  of  their  rulers  increases  or  decreases.  It  is 
therefore  difficult  to  lay  down  with  any  precision,  the 
limits  of  the  Jangaladesa,  We  know  that  the  Chauhans 
ruled  over  a  large  part  of  Rajputana  from  the  7th  to 
the  12th  Century  A.  D.  and  that  the  country  they 
ruled  over  was  called  Jangaladesa  or  Sapadalaksha 
(lj  lacs).  Of  these  two  names,  Jangaladesa  is  the 
more  ancient  one  as,  it  is  found  in  the  Mahabharata, 
while  the  other,  Sapadalaksha,  came  into  prominence 
only  during  the  Chauhan  times.  It  also  appears  that 
the  Chauhans  originally  ruled  over  the  country  round 
the  town  of  Nagor,  for  that  part  of  Rajputana  is  still 
called  "  Savalak  "  (vernacular  form  of  Sapadalakaha). 
As  the  power  of  the  Chauhans  increased,  their  kingdom 
expanded  ;  and  when  Sambhar  and  Ajmer  became  their 
Capitals,  the  whole  of  the  country  over  which  their 
rule  extended  came  to  be  called  Sapadalaksha  or 
Jangaladesa.  The  eastern  (or  some)  part  of  Mewar,  the 
major  parts  of  the  present  Jodhpur,  Bikaner,  and  Jaipur 
States,  the  whole  of  Ajmer-Merwara  and  Kishengarh, 
were  included  in  the  Sapadalaksha  country.  That  part 
of  Mewar  which  lies  to  the  east  of  Chitor  and  which 
includes  the  districts  of  Mandalgarh,  Jahazpur,  Bijolian 
and  others,  was  under  the  rule  of  the  Chauhans,  when 
Ajmer  was  their  Capital,  and  hence  the  Mewar  fortress 
of  Mandalgarh  (Mandalakara)  is  recorded  as  situated  in 
the  Sapadalaksha  country.  The  Dharmamrita  Sastra  of 
Xshadhar,  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  1230,  says4  : — 

"There  is   a   country   (called)   Sapadalaksha    the 
ornament  of  which  is   Sakambhari   (Sambhar)  ;    there 

(  Prasasti  at  the  end  of  the  work.) 


jXngalade£a  and  ITS  CAPITAL  411 

is  in  it  a  great  fort  called  Mandalakara"  (MSndalgarh 
in  Mewar);  vide  Dr.  Bhandarkar's  Report  for  1883-84,  on 
the  Search  for  Sanskrit  Manuscripts  p.  390,  see  also 
pp.  103-6  of  the  preface. 

The  principal  victories  gained  by  the  Chaululkya 
(Solanki)king,  Kumarapala,  (A.  D.  1143  to  1174)  were 
three,  and  they  were  achieved  by  defeating,  (1)  Arno- 
raja  (Xnaka  or  Xna)  the  Chauhan  king  of  Sapadalaksha 
or  Jangaladesa,  (Bombay  Gazetteer,  Vol.  I,  Part  I, 
pp.  184-85);  and  (2)  King  Ballala  of  Malwa  (ibid 
p.  185)  ;  and  (3),  Mallikarjuna,  the  king  of  Konkan 
(ibid  pp.  185-86).  The  inscription  of  the  Vikrama 
Samvat  1207  (A.  D.  1150),  found  in  the  Mokalji's 
Temple  at  Chitor  (Mewar),  and  published  in  the 
Epigraphia  Indica  Vol.  II  pp.  422-3,  while  describing 
the  victory  of  Kumarpala  over  Arnoraja  (or  Xnaka)  the 
Chauhan  King  of  Ajmer,"  says5  : — 

"  When  the  King  Kumarpala  had  defeated  the 
King  (A"nak)  of  Sakambhari  (Sambhar,  the  old  Capital 
of  the  Chauhans  of  Ajmer)  and  devastated  the 
Sapadalaksha  country  (line  11),  he  went  to  Salipura 
(line  12)  (Salera,  4  miles  from  the  Chitor  hill),  and 
having  pitched  his  great  camp  there,  he  came  to  view 
the  glorious  beauty  of  the  Chitrakuta (Chitor)  mountain." 

This  war  took  place  about  Vikrama  Samvat  1207 
and  was    undertaken    by    Kumarpala    to   avenge  6  the 

fw3^%  *  jnT%vrfi5T:  i 

f%^f2fitR3^c55T>rt  Ztyui  *rjfa:  $<j%3T  | 
6    Indian  Antiquary  for  IQI2,  p.  196. 


412  HAR  BILAS  SARDA 

insult  and  ill-treatment  to  which  Kumarapala's  sister, 
Devaladevi,  the  Queen  of  Arnoraja,  was  subjected  by 
her  husband.  Devaladevi  was  offended  by  some 
remark  of  Arnoraja  and  accused  him  of  want  of 
manners  as  he  belonged  to  the  Jangala  country.  This 
enraged  Arnoraja  who  gave  her  a  kick.  She  left 
Ajmer  and  went  to  her  brother  who  invaded  Ajmer 
(Kumdrpdla  Charita  by  Jinamandanopadhyaya). 

The  Vlsalpur  inscription  of  Emperor  Prithviraja, 
dated  Samvat  1244  (A.D.  1187),  calls  7  Prithviraja  the 
King  of  Sapadalaksha  country.     It  says  : — 

"  During  the  reign  of  Maharajadhiraja  Prithviraja- 
deva  in  Sapadalaksha  "  etc.  (Cunningham's  Archaeo- 
logical Survey  Reports,  Vol.  VI,  Plate  XXI). 

Merutuhga  (k^r )  in  his  Prabandha  Chintamani, 
written  in  Vikrama  Samvat  1361,  (A.D.  1304),  calls  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Chauhans,  Sapadalaksha  in  a  number 
of  places.  (1)  While  describing  the  invasion  of 
Gujrat  by  the  Chauhan  King,  Vigraharaja,  between  973 
and  996  A.D.  Merutunga  says8  : — 

"  On  a  certain  occasion  the  King  of  the  country 
of  Sapadalaksha  came  to  the  border  of  the  land  of 
Gujrat  to  attack  Mulraja.  (C.  H.  Tawney's  translation, 
p.  23).  (2).  The  Prithviraja  Vijaya  (Canto  V-verse  51) 
describes  this  war,  as  also  the  Hammir  Mahakavya 
(Canto  II). 


jXngaladeSa  AND  ITS  CAPITAL  413 

(3)  The  Prabandha  Chintamaniy  in  the  course  of 
its  account  of  the  invasion  of  Gujrat  by  Arnoraja,  under- 
taken (about  Samvat  1200  to  1202)  to  support  the  claims 
of  Bahada,  son  of  Udayana,  (s^r)  and  the  adopted 
son  of  Siddharaja  Jaya  Sin  ha,  to  the  throne  of 
Anhalwara  against  Kumarpala,  says  that  "  Bahada, 
despising  Kumarpala,  made  himself  a  soldier  of  the 
King  of  Sapadalaksha  country.  He,  desiring  to  make 
war  on  Kumarpala,  having  won  over  to  his  side  all  the 
officers  in  those  parts,  with  bribes,  attentions  and 
gifts,  bringing  with  him  the  King  of  the  Sapadalaksha 
country,  surrounded  with  a  large  army,  arrived  at  the 
borders  of  Gujrat."  (Prabandha  Chintiimani  by 
Tawney,  p.  121). 

(4).  The  Dvyasrya  of  Hemchandra,  written  about 
A.D.  1160,  describing  this  war,  says  : — 

u  The  Raja  of  Sapadalaksha  whose  name  was 
Xnna,  when  he  heard  of  the  death  of  Jaya  Sinha, 
though  he  had  been  a  servant  of  that  monarch,  now 
thought  the  time  was  come  for  making  himself 
known  "  (  Indian  Antiquary  for  1912,  p.  195  );  also 
Forbes'  Rasmala  p.  142,  which  gives  the  DvyasYya's 
account  of  the  war.  Thus,  while  both  the  Prabandha 
Chintiimani  and  the  Dvyasrya  style  Xnak  or  Arnoraja 
as  the  King  of  the  Sapadalaksha  country,  Somesvara 
in  his  Klrtikaumudi,  written  about  A.D.  1225,  (Vikrama 
Samvat  1282,  (Canto  II  Verse  46)  calls  this  enemy  of 
Kumarpala  "  Jangalakshonipula  "  or  the  Lord  of 
Jangaladesa9  )  while  in  his  other  work,  Surathotsava 
(Canto  XIV,  Verse  22),  he  calls10  the  same  Xnaji 
"  Sapadalakshapati"    "  or  King  of  Sapadalaksha." 

9    snicSsfif&FTT^  szn^T^:  <fofa  (  canto.  II,  46  ); 
io    sh:  slfa  s<tt^s^ti%:  q^rcffi  ftr^RT:  (canto  XV,  22  ) 


414  HAR  BILAS  SARDA 

Arisimha  in  his  Sukrita  (§^r)  samklrtana  (Canto  II, 
verse  43)  calls  Arnoraja  as  "Jangalesa  or  the  King 
of  the  Jangaladesa."  It  is  thus  clear  that  the  Kingdom 
over  which  the  Chauhans  of  Ajmer  ruled  was  called 
Sapadalaksha  as  well  as  Jangalades'a;  that  Sapddalaksha 
and  Jangaladesa  were  not  two  separate  countries  but 
one  and  the  same  country,  and  that  the  country  known 
in  ancient  India  as  Jangalades'a  came  in  latter  times  to 
be  called  Sapadalaksha.  That  the  country  continued 
to  be  called  Siwalak — the  Hindi  rendering  of  Sapad- 
laksha — even  during  the  Pathan  times  is  clear  from 
the  Talevdti  Nasiri,  which  always  terms  the  territory 
of  Nagor  as  Siwalak  country. 

II.    THE  CAPITAL  OF  JANGALADESA. 

The  name  of  the  Capital  of  Jangaladesa  is  not 
recorded.  Rai  Bahadur  P.  Gauri  Shanker  Hira  Chand 
Ojha,  during  a  visit  paid  in  1905  A.  D.  to  Mandal  (in 
Mewar)  to  see  the  collection  of  manuscripts  and  copies 
of  old  inscriptions,  left  by  Yati  Gyanchandra,  guru 
of  Colonel  James  Tod — the  illustrious  author  of  the 
Annals  and  Antiquities  of  Rajasthan,  found  in  the 
collection,  a  paper  containing  the  names  of  26  different 
countries  and  their  Capitals.  No.  10  on  that  list  is 
Jangalades'a  and  its  Capital  (or  principal  town)  is  stated 
to  be  "  Ahichhatra  ".  Now,  there  are  more  towns  than 
one  which  bear  this  name  :  vide  Bombay  Gazetteer, 
Vol.  I,  Part  II,  560,  note  11.  The  best  known  town 
which  bears  this  name  and  which  the  famous  Chinese 
Pilgrim  Hinen  Tsiang  calls  "  O-hi-ch-ta-lo  "  {Buddhist 
Records  of  the  Western  World,  Vol.  I,  p.  200)  was  the 
Capital  of  the  northern  Panchala  country,  the  ruins  of 
which  were  stated  by  General  Cunningham  (Cunning- 
ham's Archaeological  Survey  Reports  Vol.  I,  p.  255)  to 


jXngaladeSa  and  ITS  CAPITAL  415 

be  still  existing  near  Ramnagar,  20  miles  from  Badaun 
in  the  United  Provinces.  This  Ahichhatra,  however, 
could  not  have  been  the  Capital  of  Jangalades'a.  The 
Capital  of  Jangaladesa  must  have  existed  somewhere 
in  the  heart  of  Rajputana. 

The  geneologies  of  the  Chauhan  Rulers  of 
Sambhar  and  Ajmer  declare  that  the  founder  of  that 
family  was  one  Vasudeva  and  his  first  visit  to  Sambhar 
or  Sakambhari  is  described  in  the  third  and  the  fourth 
cantos  of  the  Epic  Poem,  Prithvirdja  Vijaya}  the  most 
reliable  work  on  the  early  history  of  the  Chauhans. 

11  Vasudeva  one  day  went  on  a  hunting  expedition. 
Being  impelled  by  good  omens,  he  had  a  lofty  palace 
built  there  which  no  one  else  was  allowed  to  enter. 
One  day,  after  spending  the  mid-day  in  the  hunt,  he 
retired  to  his  palace,  where  he  found  a  divine  being, 
decked  in  jewels,  sleeping  on  his  bed.  The  King 
was  very  much  surprised,  and  inferred  that  the  sleeper 
was  a  Vidyadhar  from  a  magic  pill  which  slipped  from 
the  sleeper's  half-open  mouth  and  rolled  towards  the 
King's  feet.  Suddenly  the  Vidyadhar  awoke,  and  as  the 
power  to  fly  in  the  air  which  these  celestial  beings 
possess  depends  on  the  possession  of  the  pill,  he  was 
disconsolate  at  losing  it.  The  King  offered  him  the 
pill  at  which  the  Vidyadhar  complimented  him  on 
his  magnanimity  in  not  having  taken  advantage  of  his 
sleep  to  get  possession  of  a  charm  of  such  power,  even 
when  lying  at  his  feet.  He  then  told  the  King  that 
his  father  was  a  Vidyadhar  named  Sakambhar,  whose 
devotions  in  that  forest  had  pleased  the  goddess 
Parvati  so  much  that  she  resided  there  under  the 
name  Sakambhari  ;  that  the  speaker  often  paid  visits 
to  the  shrine,  the  fruit  of   which    he    had   obtained  in 


416  HAR  BILAS  SARDA 

meeting  such  a  high  minded  personage  as  the  King. 
He  then  told  the  King  to  send  away  his  army,  and  at 
sun-set  to  plant  his  lance  in  the  ground  and  ride  away 
towards  his  capital  without  ever  looking  back, 
adding  that  that  would  be  some  small  recompense  to 
the  King  for  his  favour  to  the  Vidyadhar.  Saying 
this,  the  Vidyadhar  vanished.  The  King  did  as  he 
was  told.  While  he  was  riding  away  at  full  speed  he 
heard  the  sound  of  ocean's  waves  behind  him,  and 
forgetting  the  advice  of  the  Vidyadhar  he  looked 
behind  to  see  what  was  following  him.  The  Vidya- 
dhar appeared,  this  time  in  the  sky,  and  said  that  that 
was  to  be  a  salt-lake. 

Kurukshetra  (five  Yojans=40  miles  in  extent)  con- 
ferred benefit  in  the  next  world  only,  while  the  Salt- 
Lake  would  bring  renown  to  the  King's  line,  as  it 
would  yield  advantages  in  both  the  worlds.  He  added 
that  the  goddess  Sakambhari  and  Asapuri,  the  family 
deity  of  the  King,  would  keep  up  the  lake,  which 
would  always  remain  in  the  possession  of  his  family. 
The  Vidyadhar  then  disappeared,  having  first  pointed 
out  to  the  King  that  he  had  come  to  the  shrine  of 
Sakambhari,  to  whom  he  should  now  go  to  pay  his 
respects.  The  King  dismounted  and  tasted  water 
of  the  lake,  and  having  spent  the  night  not  very  far 
from  the  feet  of  the  goddess,  started  for  his  Capital  the 
next  morning." 

This  account  of  the  origin  of  the  Salt-Lake  of 
Sambhar  shows  that  Vasudeva  had  come  to  that  place 
from  some  distance,  that  the  journey  had  caused 
him  fatigue,  that  he  had  been  a  stranger  to  the 
name  Sakambhari,  that  Sakambhari  or  Sambhar  was 
not  the  Capital  of  the  Chauhans   till   Vasudeva's  reign 


jXngaladeSa  AND  ITS  CAPITAL  417 

and  that  the  Chauhan  Kings  came  to  be  called 
"  Sakambharishwara  "  (Lord  of  Sakambhari)  sometime 
after  Vasudeva's  reign.  We  have  now  to  see  which 
town  was  the  residence  of  the  Chauhan  Kings  before 
Sakambhari  became  their  Capital.  In  the  Chauhan 
geneologies,  the  name  of  Samantaraja  (or  Samanta) 
comes  next  to  Vasudeva,  but  whether  Samanta  was 
a  son  of  Vasudeva  or  only  a  successor,  is  not  recorded. 
The  Prithvirdja  Vijaya  too  (Sarga  5,  Sloka  7)  mentions 
Samantaraja  and  says  that  he  was  Vasudeva's  kinsman 
and  successor. 

The  Bijolian  Rock  inscription  of  the  time  of  the 
Chauhan  King  Somesvara  dated  the  Phalgun  Vadi  3rd, 
Samvat  1226  (A.D.  1170)  gives  the  Chauhan  geneology 
from  Samanta  to  Somesvara  and  states  that  the  Capital 
of  Samanta  was  Ahichhatrapur.  (Journal  of  the 
Asiatic  Society  of  Bengal,  Vol.  LV,  Part  I,  page  41). 
The  Prithviraja  Vijaya's  account  of  Sakambhari  has 
already  shown  us  that  Vasudeva's  Capital  was  some 
town  other  than  Sakambhari,  and  that  it  was  situated 
at  some  distance  from  it.  We  have  now  the  following 
facts  before  us  : — 

(1)  That  the  Capital  of  Samantraja  was  Ahichha- 
trapura  ; 

(2)  that  Ahichhatrapura  was  a  town  distinct  from 
Sakambhari  ; 

(3)  that  Ahichhatrapura,  the  Capital  of  the  early 
Chauhans,  was  situated  at  a  distance  from  Sambhar 
but  within  a  day's  hard  ride  from  it.  The  town  that 
best  answers  to  this  description  is  Nagor  (in  Marwar) 
which  is  an  abbreviated  form  of  Nagapura.  This 
town  is  situated  at  a  distance  of  about  65  Miles 
to    the    northwest     of      Sambhar.      The       name     of 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  S3l 


418  HAR  BILAS  SARDA 

Nagapura  means  the  same  thing  as  Ahichhatrapura 
(Nagapura  means  'the  city  of  the  Serpent';  and 
Ahichhatrapura,  the  city  whose  chhatra  or  protector 
is  the  serpent).  Nagapura  and  Ahichhatrapura  are 
thus  synonyms.  In  Sanskrit,  different  names  having 
the  same  significance  are  sometimes  given  to  the  same 
object.  For  instance,  while  the  Harsha  stone 
inscription  of  A.D.  973  calls  the  successors  of  the 
Chauhan  King  Gtivaka  as  Chandraraja  (Epigraphia 
India  Vol.  II  p.  117),  the  Bijolian  Rock  inscription  of 
A.D.  1170  (quoted  above)  calls  him  "  Saslnripa,  "  both 
meaning  the  u  Moon  King." 

The  first  Capital  of  the  Chauhan  Kingdom  of 
Sapadalaksha  must  therefore  have  been  Nagapura  or 
Nagor.  The  territory  round  Nagor  is  still  called 
"  Svalak "  (Sapadalaksha)  by  its  people,  and  as 
Jangaladega  is  the  ancient  name  of  Sapadalaksha 
territory,  its  Capital  Ahichhatrapura  was  no  other 
town  than  the  modern  Nagor  in  Marwar,  which  is  a 
place  of  great  antiquity. 


TECHNICAL     SCIENCES. 


A  NOTE  ON  SIMHA-BHUP^LA,  THE  REPUTED 

AUTHOR  OF  A  COMMENTARY  ON  THE 

SAMGITA-RATN&KARA. 

BY 

P.  R.  Bhandarkar. 

In  his  introduction,  the  author  of  the  Sarhgita- 
Ratnakara  mentions  the  names  of  several  writers  on 
music  and  dancing,  but  with  the  exception  of  a 
recension  of  the  Bharatlya-Natyasatra  and  a  small  tract 
called  Naradiya-Siksha,  their  works  are  not  yet 
available.  This  has  made  it  impossible  to  follow  the 
development  of  those  arts.  The  only  parts  by  which 
these  non-extant  works  are  known  to  us  are  the 
quotations  from  them  found  in  the  commentaries  on 
other  works  such  as  the  Sarhgita-Ratnakara.  Of  these 
commentaries  the  one  by  Kallinatha,1  who  lived  about 
the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  has  been  published 
in  the  Xnandasrama  Series.  The  first  adhydya  of  another 
was  printed  and  published  at  Calcutta  in  1879.  In  the 
introductory  verses  of  this  the  name  of  the  author  is 
given  as  famjrfa",  tftf^£?  or  f§\  .  In  this  edition  at 
the  end  of  each  division  of  the  adhydya  occurs  the 
Colophon — %f%    sftf^Jjnafatf^rrct    ?nfYrRc^T^^t^i2Tt  ^frag- 

*<i<Mi<«4i3Tt This     commentary   is    in 

certain  places  better  than  that  of  Kallinatha,  but  its 
special  value  lies  in  the  quotations  from  older  authors 
cited  in  it.  Who  was  this  ft^jrra  and  when  did 
he  flourish  ?  The  editors  of  the  printed  book  say  in 
the  preface   that   he    "  lived   some  time    between    the 

I  R.  Simon,  Quellen  Zur  indischcn  Musik  Z.  D.  M.  G.  1901, 
131.  Mr.  R  .  Ramasastry  says  that  Kallinatha  wrote  this 
commentary  in  1553,  A.  D.,  but  has  not  mentioned  his 
authority  (vide  The  Indian  Music  Journal  Vol.  I,  p.  32). 


422  P.  R-  BHANDARKAR 

twelfth  and  the  thirteenth  century  ",  without  giving 
grounds  for  the  statement. 

R.  G.  Bhandarkar  in  his  report  on  the  Search  for 
Sanskrit  Manuscripts  for  1882-83  says  : — "  The  last  of 
the  four  is  a  commentary   on   the    Samglta-Ratnakara. 

(No.  406) The  commentary  is  attributed  to  a 

King  of  the  name  Singa,  who  is  spoken  of  as  the 
supreme  sovereign  of  the  Xndhra  circle.  Who  this 
Singa  was  it  is  difficult  to  say  ;  but  it  is  not  unlikely 
that  he  was  the  Yadava   prince    Singh  ana  who  reigned 

at   Devagiri A   commentary   on   this    work 

(the  Sarhgita  Ratnakara  of  Sarngadeva),  therefore, 
written  either  by  himself  (Sarngadeva)  or  some  other 
court  dependant  may  have  been  dedicated  to  the 
King  ".  Similarly  in  his  Early  History  of  the  Dekkan 
he  says  : — "  There  is  a  commentary  on  this  work  (the 
Sarhgita-Ratnakara)  attributed  to  a  King  of  the  name 
of  Singa  who  is  represented  as  a  paramount  Sovereing 
of  the  Andhra  circle.  This  Singa  appears  in  all  likeli- 
hood to  be  Singhana  ;  and  the  commentary  was  either 
written  by  him  or  dedicated  to  him  by  a  dependant, 
as  is  often  the  case  ".2  The  printed  book,  however 
contains  a  quotation  from  Kallinatha,3  which  made  me 
say  that  Sinha-BhQpala  could  not  be  Singhana,  who 
flourished  early  in  the  thirteenth  century.4  Recently, 
however,  I  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  a  defective 
manuscript  of  Sirhha-Bhupala's  commentary  from  the 
collection  of  the  R.  A.  Society  of  Bengal,  marked 
781/3  This  manuscript  does  not  contain  the  quotation 
from  Kallinatha,  referred  to  above,  which  would  appear 
to  be  only  an  interpolation,  probably  by  the  editors 
themselves,  judging  from   the   method  they  say  they 

2  Loc.  cit.  pp.  III-H2. 

3  Loc,  cit.  p.  156. 

4  The  Indian  Antiquary,  July  1 91 2,  p.  1 59,  foot-note  5. 


A  NOTE  ON  SIMHA-BHlfPXLA  423 

have  adopted  in  editing  a  portion  of  this  prakaraija.  •"' 
This  discovery  thus  once  more  left  the  question  of  the 
authorship  of  the  commentary  in  statu  quo.  Fortunate- 
ly, however,  light  has  been  thrown  on  the  matter  from 
other  sources. 

In  the  printed  book  beyond  the  bare  name  the 
colophons  give  no  information  about  the  author  (vide 
supra).  But  the  colophon  at  the  end  of  the  manuscript, 
noticed  by  R.  G.  Bhandarkar,  runs  as  follows  : — 

^oWdtffa  sftf$*P£TT<ARKfadHi 

In  the  Calcutta  Manuscript  we  have  the  following 
colophons  : — 

(1)  sfr  WT^m^snqt^^  *\*z§m  4lpp 

^  fjfccffa:  II 

(End  of  Ragavivekadhyaya). 

(2)  °§vpft  ^V*^*  g^F^^^rmtftf^ 

(End  of  Prakirnakadhayaya). 

(End  of  Vady&dhy&va). 

The  late  Prof.  M.  Sheshagiri    Sastri   in   his  report 

on  the  Search  for  Sanskrit  and   Tamil    Manuscripts  for 

1896-97  notices   at   some   length   a   manuscript   work 

called  Rasarnavasudhakara,  which  ends  in  the  following 

colophon: — 

*1%  'tfr»ri«c5Tvf>>^:  vf\  BRqffa  ^^^wag^r 

5  Loc,  cit.  pp.  162,  1613,  65  and  166. 


424  P.  R.  BHANDARKAR 

Since  then,  the  work  has  been  printed  and 
published  in  the  Trivandrum  Sanskrit  Series.  It 
consists  of  three  Ullasas  or  Vilasas,  and  the  following 
are  the  three  corresponding  colophons  : — 

(  i  )  ^f%  ^ij^y^^rinq^yRi^iJi^^^r^^Mid^^ 

(  ii  )  oafiWUdsfciJ ^TRTfrT tffc^tKTST  sffR"  f|cft%... 

( iii )  °*fnwiid 5Tiffcr wsmt  ^nr  fcftzfr. . . 

A  perusal  of  these  colophons  leaves  no  doubt  in 
the  mind  of  the  reader  that  the  reputed  author  of  both 
works,  viz.  the  Samglta-sudhakara  (commentary  on  the 
Sarhgita-Ratnakara)  and  the  Rasarnava-sudhakara,  is  the 
same  Singa.6  An  account  of  this  Singa  with  his 
geneology  is  given  at  the  commencement  of  the  latter 
work,  from  which  it  appears  that  he  lived  with  his  six 
sons  "  in  a  town  called  Rajachala  (Rachakonda),  which 
was  the  capital  of  his  ancestors,  and  ruled  over  the 
country  between  the  Vindhya  mountains  and  the  hill 
Srisaila  which  is  situated  in  the  Kurnool  district.  7 
Prof.  Seshagiri  Sastri8  mentions  a  printed  book  called 
Biographical  Sketches  of  the  Rajas  of  Venkatagiri, 
compiled  from  the  Palace  Records,  from  which  he 
identifies  this  King  as  Singama  Nayadu,  who  flourished 

6.  Since  writing  this  note  I  have  discovered  that  this 
observation  had  already  been  made  by  the  late  Prof.  S.  R. 
Bhandarkar  after  an  examination  of  the  manuscripts  in  the 
State  collection  at  Bikaner.  See  his  Report  of  a  second  Tour 
p.  54.  Burnell's  remark,  quoted  therein,  that  "the  nominal 
author  is  said  to  have  been  a  Tanjore  Prince  of  the  last  (18th) 
century"  has  proved  incorrect,  as  will  be  seen  below. 

7.  Report  on  the  Search  for  Sanskrit  and  Tamil  Manuscripts 
for  the  year  1896-97,  p.  9. 

8.  Report  on  the  Search  for  Sanskrit  and  Tamil  Manu- 
scripts for  the  year  1896-97,  p.  9. 


A  NOTE  ON  SIMHA-BHUPXLA  425 

about  1330  A.  D.  and  was  called  Sarvajna  on   account 
of  his  vast  learning  and  was  a  great  patron  of  learning. 

Mr.  M.  T.  Narasimhiengar,  however,  says  in  the 
introduction  to  his  edition  of  the  Subhashita-Nlvi  that 
the  late  Rao  Bahadur  K.  Viresalingam  Pantulu  in  his 
treatise  on  the  Telugu  Poets  had  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  this  Singama  Nayudu  was  a  contemporary 
of  Praudha  Devaraya  of  Vijayanagar  (1422-1447).  I  have 
neither  before  me  the  "Biographical  Sketches"  referred 
to  above  nor  R.  B.  Pantulu's  treatise  and  cannot 
therefore  discuss  the  comparative  merits  of  their 
arguments.  But  some  of  the  additional  arguments 
brought  forward  by  Mr.  Narasimhiengar  are  far  from 
convincing.  Thus  firstly  he  remarks  that  Mallinatha, 
the  great  Commentator,  is  said  to  have  attended  the 
court  of  "  Sarvajna  Singama  Nayudu;  and  as  according 
to  R.  G.  Bhandarkar  the  former  belonged  to  the  15th 
Century  the  latter  could  not  have  belonged  to  the 
14th.  If  the  reader,  however,  refers  to  Bhandarkar's 
Preface  to  the  Malati-Madhava,  he  will  find  that 
Mallinatha  is  represented  there  as  having  flourished 
after  the  middle  of  the  14th  Century,  so  that  the  period 
assigned  to  Sarvajna  Singama  Nayudu  by  R.  B. 
Pantulu  does  not  agree  with  the  tradition  of  Mallinatha's 
having  attended  his  court. 

Secondly  the  epithet  <M^V*H4KfaKT  in  the  comment- 
ary Ratnapetikd,  even  if  its  correctness  be  granted, 
does  not  conflict  with  the  earlier  date  as  the  Reddi 
rulers  took  possession  of  it  sometime  between  1340 
A-  D.  and  1369  A.  D. 


[F.  O.  C.  II.  54) 


PRINCIPLES  OF  MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION 
IN  ANCIENT  INDIAN  MUSIC. 

By  V.  G.  Paranjpe. 

For  a  proper  understanding  of  ancient  Indian 
music  it  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the  technical 
terms  employed  in  Bharata's  Natyasastra,  our  oldest 
authority  on  profane  music,  should  be  correctly 
interpreted  and  the  Srutis  and  notes  accurately 
ascertained.  Another  matter  of  equal  or  even  greater 
importance  is  that  the  difference  in  aesthetical  valu- 
ation between  notes  belonging  to  the  relative  pitch  and 
those  belonging  to  the  absolute  pitch  should  be 
realized.  Not  until  this  is  done  could  we  proceed  to 
deal  with  the  Melodic  classification  of  Bharata. 

We  shall  take  the  subject  of  absolute  and  relative 
pitch  first  as  of  paramount  importance  to  the  Indian 
student  of  ancient  Indian  music.  The  Indian  ear  is 
accustomed  to  the  relative  pitch  and  is  not  in  a 
position  to  appreciate  the  difficulties  and  the 
complexities  of  the  absolute  pitch,  to  which  the 
Europeans  are  accustomed.  Komala  Dha  for  the 
Indian  is  always  a  relation,  a  definite  interval  from  an 
ascertained  basic  note  or  key  with  its  definite  aesthe- 
tical associations,  the  note  and  the  aesthetical  value 
being  inseparably  connected  for  him.  D,  E,  or  F,  on 
the  other  hand,  in  the  absolute  pitch,  is  a  note,  with  a 
pitch  determined  with  reference  to  a  standard  note 
which  may  or  may  not  be  the  key,  and  without  a  clear 
aesthetical  significance,  until  its  relation  to  a  key-note  is 
determined.  In  the  relative  pitch,  the  key-note  is 
always   Sa   or  Doh  or  whatever  else  is  the  designation, 


428  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

although  it  may  be  a  hundred  different  sounds,1  and 
the  other  notes  signify  key  relations,  i.e.  intervals  from 
the  Sa  or  Doh  ;  in  the  absolute  pitch,  notes  mainly 
signify  pitch  and  their  relationship  with  the  key  will 
have  to  be  expressed  by  its  proper  designation  in  the 
relative  pitch  in  order  that  an  ear  accustomed  to  the 
latter  alone  can  value  it  correctly.  In  European  music 
there  is  little  confusion  between  the  absolute  and  the 
relative  pitch,  as  there  are  separate  designations  for  the 
notes  in  each,  and  both  systems  are  side  by  side  in 
use  ;  while  the  case  is  otherwise  in  India.  In  modern 
works  on  Indian  music  we  have  the  relative  pitch 
exclusively  in  use,  while  in  old  music  the  absolute 
pitch  clearly  was  in  vogue,  since  Ma  was  the  standard 
note2  for  tuning  and  Sa  was  not  a  designation  of  the 
key-note  ;  in  fact  Sa  was  often  elided  in  the  partial 
scales.  The  Naradiya  Siksha3  with  its  standard  notes 
consisting  of  the  cries  of  the  birds  and  animals  would 
even  point  to  a  rigid  pitch,4  but  in  the  Paniniya  Siksha 
and  in  Bharata's  Natyasastra5  where  the  same  note  is 
described  as  standing  in  a  variable  capacity,  we  find 
the  rigid  pitch  having  disappeared  and  the  ordinary 
absolute  pitch  having  taken  its  place.  The  Samgita 
Ratnakara,  on  the  other  hand,  and  even  a  late  work 
like  the  Ragavibodha,  appear  to  use  both  pitches, 
indiscrimanately  on  occasions,  and  represent  the 
transitional   period.     The  two   systems  of  notations  not 


1  See,  Curwen,  How  to  read  music,  P.  16. 

2  cf.  n«mwrasri:...j&3?r*r  in  Bharata's  Natyasastra  to  be 
explained  later.  References  in  this  essay  to  Bharata  are  to 
Nirnayasagar  Edn.  (1894)  ch.  xxviii. 

3  cf.   *i^^m«hxyi?r#q^5^T:  1  m%  Sfl  q^n^^T5^7^^pft  II 

4  cf.  ?st%  fawTT^ml  3?3^tti  wpfcra^  1  ^f<?um^  ^  ^srowpnwn:  11 

5  cf.  wft  mfo  q^u^rra;  ^nn^Rff  $qfa;  1  p.  304, 1.  10 ;  foftf&ipri* 
(p.  305  1.  24). 


MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  INDIAN  MUSIC  429 

having  had  a  parallel  course,  one  as  a  matter  of  fact 
having  insidiously  supplanted  the  other,  and  the 
designations  Sa,  Ri,  Ga,  etc.  being  common  to  both, 
the  confusion  is  likely  to  be  very  serious0  and  in  reading 
the  old  notation  we  must  always  see  what  a  particular 
note  stands  for,  for  the  pitch  or  for  an  interval, 
especially,  what  Sa  stands  for,  for  a  note  or  for  the  key 
note,  and  then  only  can  we  do  justice  to  the  melody 
before  us. 

Coming  now  to  the  interpretation  of  old  musical 
terms  we  shall  first  turn  to  the  Gramas,  the  MQrch- 
chhanas,  the  Srutis  and  the  Svaras.  Shadja  and 
Madhyama  are  the  two  Gramas  recognized  by  Bharata, 
the  latter  being  differentiated  from  the  former  by  its 
diminished  fifth.  The  Grama  was  a  set  of  seven  notes 
of  which  the  intervals  were  not  varied,  except  by  the 
Kakali  and  Antara  notes,  which  were  only  grace  notes 
sparingly  used  and  only  in  the  Xroha,  the  Kakali  serving 
to  vary  the  fourth  in  a  single  Jati  and  the  Antara 
varying  the  sixth  and  seventh  in  the  Panchama  and 
Madhyama  respectively.7  The  Vikrita  notes  apparently 
belong  to  a  later  period,  when  the  liberties  contemplated 
in  Bharata  V-358  were  freely  taken  and  new 
Murchchhanas9  and  new  Svaras  came  to  be  employed, 
and  when  the   Gramas   themselves,   their  number  not 

6  Mr.  Deval's  paper  on  the  Bhinna  Shadja  read  before  the 
Bhandarkar  Institute  for  instance,  was  vitiated  by  his  having 
understood  *i  the  mm  in  its  modern  value  of  498  cents,  while 
the  value  should  have  been  0. 

7  cf.  Bharata,  the  portion  on  p.  307  from  ^Trwi  firfN 
aimfora  to  end  of  v.  39.  See  also  the  table  of  Jatis  towards 
the  end  of  the  essay. 

9  cf  *?fi^*T  quoted  in  B  X  pp.  60 — 61 ;  also  *N^l  II.  26  ;  TO*!** 
I,  10 ;  $*K*.  VIII  51  (?). 


430  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

having  correspondingly  increased,  could  not  serve  their 
purpose  well  and  so  fell  into  disuse. 

The  Grama  notes  in  their  dynamic  aspect,  as  a 
succession  of  notes  each  with  an  aesthetic  association 
by  reason  of  its  relationship  with  the  key  would  form  a 
Murchchhana,  a  musical  scale.  Scales  of  seven  notes 
were  called  Murchchhanas  proper,  while  hexatonic  and 
pentatonic  scales  were  called  Tanas. 

In  the  scales  we  have  to  do  not  merely  with  notes, 

but  with  musical  intervals,  which,  as  we  shall  see  later 

on,  are  as  numerous  and  varied  as  in  modern  music. 

The  Shadja  Grama  scale  for   instance,  with  Ri,  as  the 

kev 

Ri       Ga    Ma     Pa    Dha    Ni      Sa     Ri 

(value  in  182,    294,  498,  702,  884,  996,  1200  182, 

cents) 

when  transported  gives  the  scale 

Sa      Ri      Ga     Ma      Pa     Dha     Ni         Sa 
0     112     316     520     702     814     1088     1200 
where  we  have  five  vikrita  intervals,  while  the  ancients 
would  still  regard  the  notes  as  Suddha. 

A  brief  mention,   at  this   stage,   of  the   method  of 
ascertaining  the  mathematical   values   of  the   Grama 
notes   and  the   twenty-two   Srutis,  will  not  be  out  of 
place.    The  all  important  passage  in  Bharata  on  p.  304 
and  verse  24  on  page   303   are   our   main  authorities 
here.     The  value  of  Ma  and  Pa  are   fixed   by  physical 
laws  to  be  of  498  and  702  cents  respectively.      Now  if 
the  four  Srutis  in  the   subtractions  of   page  304  be  Y, 
Y',  Y",  and  Y"'  respectively 
Y+Y'+Y"XY'"  =  Pa-Ma  =     702-498-204 
-Ma-Ga  =       Sa-Ni 
.-. Ga-498-204- 294, andNi- 1200-204-996  (i) 


MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  INDIAN  MUSIC  431 


Y+Y'-Ga-Ri     -  Ni-Dha  (ii) 

Y+Y'+Y"  =  Ri(-Sa)  =   Dha-Pa  (Hi) 

If  Ri  -  X,  from  v.  24      Pa  -  Pa-Y  -  Ri  +  498 

.'•702-Y     -     X+498 
*X+Y      -     204  (iv) 

The   Svaras   and   Srutis     might   now    be    written    in 
columns  to  denote  each  revised  tuning. 


"(Y) 

-(Y+Y') 

-(Y+Y' 
+  Y") 
(3rd) 

-(Y+Y'  + 
Y"+Y") 

Sa          o 

(1st  Subt) 

(2nd  Subt) 

(4th) 

Ri.  (3rd  Sr) 
Y+Y'  +  Y'=X 

(2nd  Sr) 

Y'  +  Y" 

(4th  gr) 

Y  +  2Y'  +  Y* 

(1st   Sr) 

0  =  Sa 

Ga  (5th  Sr) 

2Y  +  2Y'  +  Y" 
=  294 

(Ri) 

Ma498(9thSr) 

8th 

7th 

6th 

(294=Ga) 

Pa  702 

(12th) 

11th 

10th 

(498 -Ma) 

Now 

X     =     Y     +      Y'     +     Y" 
While  X  +  Y  =  204-Y+Y'  +  Y"  +  Y"     (cf.  i) 
.'.Y'  =  Y"  (v) 

Also      Ga=294  =2Y  +  2Y'  +  Y"-X+Y+Y'  =  204  +  Y' 

•-.Y'  =  90  (vi) 

And     2Y+Y"  =  294-2Y'  =  114  (vii) 

If  no  Sruti  can  be  less  than  of  20  cents   then  Y  is 

114-20     94  x     .nl  .... 
7-  =  T)=47(vm). 

And   if   Ri  +  Y- 204,  Ri  must   be  greater  than  (204-47) 
-157  and  less  than  (204-20)- 184 (ix). 

Now  by  the  laws  of  sound  the  only  interval 
between  157  and  184  cents  that  could  be  utilised  in 
music  is  of  182  cents  =  (tj)  because  the  traction  con- 
tains the  smallest  integers  available  and  then  again    by 


greater  than  20  and  less  than( 


432  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

fitting  in  the  figures  in  the  columns  of  Subtractions 
above  with  Ri  equal  to  182  and  to  any  intermediate 
figure  say  160,  we  shall  see  that  in  the  latter  case 
we  have  to  sacrifice  at  least  six  of  the  known  musical 
intervals  up  to  the  fifth. 

0  44     90  26     44 

160  116     26  0 

294  250    160 

498  454   364  338    294 

702  558   568  542  498 

This  appears  to  be  a  convincing  proof  for  the 
equation  Ri  - 182.  The  other  Srutis  and  Svaras  will 
be  as  follows  : — 


0 

22 

90 

70  22 

182 

160 

70 

0 

294 

272 

182 

498 

476 

386 

316  294 

702 

680 

590 

520  498 

884 

862 

772 

(16) 

(15) 

(14) 

996 

974 

(18) 

(17) 

1200 

1178 

1088 

1066 

(22) 

(21) 

(20) 

(19) 

Now  we  may  turn  to  the  interpretation  of  the 
difficult  word  Murchchhana,  which  has  been  so  far 
totally  assumed  to  mean  a  scale.  Three  sentences  in 
Bharata,  page  306  may  be  pointed  out  in  this 
connection  for  being  carefully  studied.9a  The  Murch- 
chhana is  indicated  by  reference  to  the  Madhyama  note 
on  the  Vina.  On  account  of  its  imperishibility  the 
Madhyama  is  never  elided  nor  its  pitch  lowered  (as  is 
done  in  the   case   of  other   notes   for   partial   scales). 

9a  »iww«l«>l  3  ¥fa  »jp^T  ftWl   vptf%  |  3^%cjF1«ro*fl3*l  1  ft^Tf  : 

sfoft  ^l *$j§5nR*rt3W*ft  ^<n^qT^^i   I  have  made   a  necessary 

addition  in  the  second  sentence,  that  of  3,  which  is  supported 
by  the  reading  of  the  Bikaner  Ms.  of  which  there  are  two 
copies  in  B.O.R.I.   Library.    Cf.  also  the  following  verses. 


MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  INDIAN  MUSIC  433 

The  purpose  of  the  Murchchhanas  also  is  to  facilitate 
the  judging  of  a  suitable  pitch.  By  Madhyama  in 
this  passage  is  clearly  meant  the  fourth  note,  for  here  in 
speaking  of  the  partial  scales,  Bharata  is  alluding  to  the 
imperishibility  of  the  Madhyama,  which  is  again  spoken 
of  in  verses  72-7310.  The  Murchchhana  itself  is  defined  in 
Bh.  V-3411  as  the  seven  notes  pronounced  in  their 
proper  order,  while  according  to  the  definition  of  the 
Sang.  Ratn.12  it  is  the  ascent  and  descent  of  the  seven 
notes  in  order.  Neither  the  descent  nor  the  ascent  are 
essential;  but  it  was  by  singing  the  notes  thus  that  a 
singer's  ear  would  be  attuned  to  the  key,  the  key  being 
of  course  the  note  beginning  the  ascent  and  ending 
the  descent.  What  Bharata  therefore  means  to  say  is 
that  the  Murchchhana  was  mentioned  and  recognized  by 
the  position  of  the  key  with  reference  to  the  Madhyama. 
There  was  a  strange  superstition  about  the  Madhyama 
shared  by  the  Indians  along  with  the  Greeks13,  for  it 
was  never  elided  and  the  vina  was  tuned  by  it.  It 
could  not  have  been  an  absolutely  fixed  note,  but  it 
must  have  been  of  a  tolerably  uniform  pitch  like  the  A 
of  European  music  and  the  singer  could  gauge  his 
voice  by  the  relation  of  the  key  to  the  standard  note, 
Ma,  since  the  voice  could  not  be  raised  higher  than 
Sa  in  the  Tara  register  according  to  ancient  theory.14 
Then  again  if,  as  stated  in  Bharata,  Ch.  XVII,  dejection 
and  other  mental  states  are  to  be   expressed  by   low  or 

SH^Ilf  SRCt  ?WT5ft  ^  *T"lfl  :  I  IFlW*  ftfai:  Wfcft  *&W.  II 

1 1  aR^TRT:  *3fl  :  SH  Jjt£n«^f^*ifaa  :  i 

12  *>mrc^FIT  UHMIHlCltwdfF*. 

13  cf.  Aristotle,  Problems,  quoted  by  Helmholtz,  sensation 
of  Tone  (Tr.  Ulis  p.  note). 

14  Bharata  V.  79  ;  but  the  text  is  corrupt ;  cf.  «.  I.  pp.  81-82 
[F.  O.  C.  II.  551 


434  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

high  pitch  of  the  voice,  the  singer  could  obtain  the 
desired  effect  by  tuning  the  Ma  accordingly.  This 
then  would  be  the  meaning  of  the  last  part  of  the  passage. 

Now  Matanga,  from  the  quotation  in  Kallinatha's 
commentary15,  understands  Bharata  rather  differently. 
According  to  him  the  Murchchana  is  mentioned  in  the 
middle  register,  otherwise  the  lower  or  upper  register 
might  not  be  possible.  Sarngadeva16  echoes  the  explana- 
tion of  Matanga  and  Kallinath17  reiterates  the  authority 
of  Bharata,  while  Bharata  himself  has  manifestly  meant 
only  the  note  Ma  and  not  the  middle  register. 

This  confusion  about  the  Madhyama  Svara  of  the 
text  has  a  significance  of  its  own.  It  signifies  that  just  as 
with  the  introduction  of  the  Vikrita  Svaras,  the  Gramas 
ceased  to  be  of  use,  so  also  did  the  Murchchhanas, 
and  they  survived  in  music  as  effete  forms,  with  a 
sacrificial  sanctity.18  The  Sthanaprapyartham  of  the  text 
haunted  the  minds  of  the  later  interpreters  of  a  dead 
art  and  they  understood  the  Murchchana  to  denote  the 
pitch  rather  than  the  scale.  Kallinatha's  quotations18 
from  older  authors  would  bear  out  the  truth  of  the 
preceding  remarks.  "  In  regard  to  the  knowledge  of 
the  proper  Murchchhanas  for  the  different  Gramaragas 
and  of  the  proper  uses  for  them  we  have  to  refer  to  this 
quotation  from  Matanga  :  Now  how  do  you  know  the 
proper  Murchchana  for  these   Ragas  ?  Our   answer  is 

1 5  *ffif»ltsfa Jflaraw**  Jr^TTfcf^:  <?nql  JR[<lTCffc«l*K  I  S.  *.  p.  47 

16  fl.  <.  p.  47  JTOWJ^^  JJjJ^K^sfqUT  I 

17  **reqT^*rajta m*&  i   fritei  foro :  i    «renfeftqfcwwmr 

q*n*  *roi:  1    *iwwt<ftui  Vft(?);r  j^M^t  sfa  i  na^ftsft  &c. 

18  b.   k.  p.  164  snwn^fat  ^nf^mft^  REKfriftSiwftifl 


MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  INDIAN  MUSIC  435 

the  MurchchhanS  is  known  from  older  authorities.  Now 
for  instance  Kasyapa  says  :  Wise  men  should  observe 
which  of  the  Ansas  recurs  oftenest  and  so  determine 
the  Murchchana.  "  It  is  in  accordance  with  this  dictum 
of  Kasyapa  that  Sarngadeva  himself  has  apparently 
understood  the  ShadjI  Jati  to  have  the  MQrchchhana 
beginning  with  Dha,19  since  Ga  is  there  the  Bahula 
Ansa  and  Sa  being  now  tuned  to  Dha  pitch,  Tara,  Ga 
would  in  reality  be  Tara  Sa,  which  is  the  theoretical  limit 
of  the  voice.  It  was  probably  on  account  of  the  same 
difficulty  that  Matanga  and  Nandikesvara,  according 
to  Kallinath20,  had  desired  twelve  Murchchhanas  to  suit 
the  requirements  of  the  doctrine  of  Mandra  and  Tara 
registers  according  to  the  music  current  in  their  times. 
According  to  Kallinath's  interpretation  of 
Sanglta-Ratnakara,  I-4,-14-16,21  there  were  current  in 
Sarngadeva's  time  Murchchhanas  that  amounted  to 
scales,  only  were  indicated  in  relative  pitch,  Sa  being 
the  key  note.  But  we  find  no  further  mention  of  them 
and  it  is  doubtful  whether,  as  Kallinath  says,  Sarngadeva 
in  these  verses  was  recording  the  current  practice  or 
whether  he  wanted  to  suggest  a  different  interpretation 
of  the  Murchchhanas  from  that  of  his  predecessors 
1  Pare  Vidus '  could  very  well  be  employed  for  suggesting 
a  new  interpretation.  Kallinatha's  very  boast  that  he 
had  solved  a  riddle  only  shows  that  the  old  system 
had  in  his  days  become  thoroughly  unintelligible. 

19  9.  K.  1.  7.  62.  cf.  also  67, 70, 72  &c. 

20  s.  *.  p.  47.  ,         

21  S^T^d^    '^TP^RH    I    T^jTCTRftqtterT*    CSFWTT:    <Jtf^:  I  flf}*PN- 

?r^4  src^ura;  1 *rc*«fo«wN*i?«r3JrcT  «sR«ifri  sMfori:  1 

Mallinatha's  quotation  from  the  fl.  K.  in  his  comm.  on 
Megh.  66  is  to  the  same  effect:  WFli  wn^i:  SI^tt:  (with  S 
as  the  final  note)  ISftT:  GH  AW  ft. 


436  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

That  the  Murchchhana  was  a  scale  in  Bharata's  time 
would  be  clear  when  we  correctly  read  a  very  important 
passage  at  the  bottom  of  page  305.  The  reading  of  the 
Nirnayasagara  edition  is  obviously  defective.  Corrected 
by  comparison  with  the  readings  of  the  Bikaner  Ms.  of 
which  there  are  two  copies  in  the  B.  O.  R.  I.  Library  the 
passage  would  read  thus. 

jj&rr  JTwqr^q^r  i     3T^rc*ren^  (cf.  TWRrra:  p.  304)  *t*w^t 

apTT#s^T     ftw/^c#     STt^^I^    I      <Tg?     JT^R5TR       %^RT^t|^T 

This    would    be    best    explained  by   a   concrete 

instance.     Let  us  take   for  example "  the   Murchchhana 

commencing  with  Sa  of  the  Shadja  Grama. 

294 
0  182  jgg  498  702  884  996  1200 

That  of  the  Madhyama  Grama  with  Ma, 

498     680    884    996  1200     182     294      498 
when  transposed  gives  the  scale 

386 
0     182     294    498     702    884    996     1200 

The  two  scales,  now,  will  be  identical  if  the  Ga  in 
former  be  sharpened  or  if  the  Dha  in  the  latter  be 
flattened  by  the  Srutis,  and  thus  we  could  treat  a 
Shadjagramic  Murchchhana  as  Madhyamagramic  and 
vice  versa,  the  intervals  being  identical. 

It  is  to  be  noted  here  that  the  question  of  pitch 
does  not  arise  at  all  and  the  very  fact  that  the  latter 
scale,  though  a  fourth  above  the  former,  should  be  re- 
garded as  identical  with  it  would  point  to  Murchchhana 
having  nothing  to  do  with  pitch.  Secondly  in  V.  35  the 


MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  INDIAN  MUSIC  437 

Murchchhanas  are  described  as  being  susceptible  of 
variation  by  the  Kakali  and  Antara  and  the  Elisions. 
The  ideal  wife  of  the  Yaksha  in  Kalidas's  Meghaduta22 
is  described  as  a  tone  poetess  also,  having  composed  a 
Murchchhana  of  her  own  which  she  however  forgets. 
Magna23  similarly  describes  Narada's  Vina,  Brihati,  as 
producing  Murchchhanas  of  new  gramas.  Murchchhana 
therefore  could  not  be  anything  but  a  scale. 

Having  thus  far  discussed  the  techincal  terms 
we  may  now  turn  to  the  main  subject.  The  fourteen 
full  scales  of  Bharata  in  relative  pitch  will  be  as 
follows  : — 

First  svara 

of  Shadja  Grama  scales 

Murchchhana 

Sa  Ri  Ga  Ma  Pa  Dha  Ni  Sa 

1  Sa  0  182  294  498  702  884  996  1200 

2  Ni  0  204  386  498  702  906  1088  1200 

3  Dha  0  112  316  498  610  814  1018  1200 

4  Pa  0  182  294  498  680  792  996  1200 

5  Ma  0  204  386  498  702  884  996  1200 

6  Ga  0  204  408  590  702  906  1088  1200 

7  Ri  0  112  316  520  702  814  1018  1200 

Madhyama  Grama  Scales. 

8  Ma   0  182  386  498  702  884   996  1200 

9  Ga   0  2C4  386  590  702  906  1088  1200 

10  Ri  0  112  316  498  702  814  1018  1200 

11  Sa  0  182  294  498  680  884  996  1200 

12  Ni  0  204  386  498  702  884  1088  1200 

13  Dha  0  112  316  498  610  814  996  1200 

14  Pa  0  204  316  520  702  814  1018  1200 

of  these  Nos.  5,  10,  11,  13  and  probably  12  have 
not  been  used  at  all  in  the  Jatis.  The  reason  appears 

22  Megh.  II.  26. 

23  Maghakavya  I.  10. 


438  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

to  be  that  a  difference  of  22  cents  in  a  note  which  is 
either  slurred  or  has  not  an  important  relation  with 
the  key  does  not  really  matter  and  so  Nos.  10,  11,  12 
and  13  become  superfluous  when  there  are  No,  7,  1,  2 
and  3 ,  while  Nos.  8  and  9  have  an  individuality  of  their 
own  on  account  of  their  second  and  third  respectively. 
It  is  a  noteworthy  feature  of  ancient  melody  that 
although  a  Pa  of  680  cents  is  the  distinguishing  feature 
of  a  grama  still  that  interval  has  been  carefully  avoided 
in  music.  No.  5  and  11  have  therefore  been  excluded. 
We  see  from  the  scales  used  in  the  Jatis  again  that 
there  were  nineteen  musical  intervals  actually  employed 
in  the  old  music  in  spite  of  its  eight  fixed  notes. 
These  are  : — 

0  or  1200,  112,  182,  203,  294,  316,  386,  408,  498,  520, 
590,  610,  702,  814,  884,  906,  996,  1018,  1088. 

Two  intervals  more  680  and  792  could  have  been 
employed,  but  at  least  the  former  was  felt  to  be  harsh 
and  unfit  for  melody. 

As  regards  the  number  of  Tanas  and  Murchchhanas 
on  page  306  it  appears  that  the  calculation  is  merely 
theoretical.  There  was  the  table  of  Jatis  before  the 
theorist  with  a  certain  number  of  partial  scales  in  use. 
The  number  of  Tanas  has  been  calculated  accordingly, 
but  the  possible  variety  of  scales  has  not  been  exhausted, 
Ma  having  never  been  elided  and  other  possible 
elisions  having  been  left  unaccounted  for. 

Besides  the  partial  scales,  there  were,  according  to 
v  35  and  the  following  prose  paragraph,  other  kinds  of 
scales  that  were  in  vogue,  but  which  could  not  be 
classified.  This  part  of  the  Sadharanakrita  scales  and 
the  Jati  Sadharana   is  obscure   and  the  Mss.  differ  very 


MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  INDIAN  MUSIC  439 

considerably  about  the  latter  portion.  One  thing  is 
clear  however  from  these  portions  and  that  is,  that  a 
scale  varied  by  the  Kakali  or  Antara  is  different  from 
the  Sadharanakrita  scale.  In  the  paragraph  following 
V.  35,  which  has  been  explained  above,  we  have  an 
instance  of  the  latter  kind,  and  there,  it  is  not  the 
Kakali,  which  might  be  expected  to  vary  the  Shadja 
Grama  scale,  that  is  used,  but  a  sharpened  Gandhara  ; 
and  so  also  in  the  Madhyama  gnima  we  see  the 
Dhaivata  flattened.  These  scales,  as  remarked  above, 
introduced  new  notes  and  made  the  Gramas  and  the 
Murchchhanas  based  on  them  practically  useless  and  so 
paved  the  way  for  the  modern  music  with  the 
relative  pitch. 

From  the  scales  we  ought  to  go  to  the  songs  and 
the  musical  modes.  Unfortunately  with  the  exception 
of  the  songs  preserved  in  the  Sangita  Ratnakara  as 
instances  of  the  Jatis  which  appear  to  be  very  old  on 
account  of  the  sanctity  attributed  to  them,  we  have 
no  idea  of  the  actual  music  of  ancient  India.  The 
Jati  in  Bharata  is  neither  a  song  nor  a  scale  nor  a 
musical  mode,  but  is  the  genus  under  which  different 
musical  modes  would  be  grouped  together.  It  is 
different  from  Murchchhana  in  as  much  as  the  Murch- 
chhana denoted  a  set  of  notes  which  fixed  the  key 
relationship  in  the  mind  of  the  singer  and  therefore 
was  a  mere  skeleton  which  would  have  to  be  enlivened 
and,  must  have  an  individuality  before  it  could  be  a 
Jati.  It  is  different  from  a  musical  mode,  the  modern 
Raga,  because  several  Ragas,  by  reason  of  a  common 
scale  of  a  common  mode  and  of  a  structure  similar  in 
regard  to  the  characteristic  phrase,  the  tone  proportion, 
ornament  and  movement  of  tones,  although  distinct 
in    point    of    Grama,  Amsa,  and    Apanyasa,    can    be, 


440  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

grouped  together,  and  were  so  grouped  together  under 
the  Jatis. 

The  enlivening  and  the  individualisation  of  songs 
in  general,  and  therefore  of  the  Jatis,  which  represented 
the  underlying  principle  of  melodic  classification,  have 
been  analysed  by  the  ancients  and  the  Jati  is  re- 
presented as  having  ten  vital  limbs,  which  are 
enumerated  in  the  following  verse  ; 

*t? reft  3RT^i  ^  ^tfSpt^tm  ^  ^  i 

3TFTO?  ^  3§  &  ^  qraA$ft§  <T*1T  II 

Of  these  Tara  and  Mandra,  Alpa  and  Bahu 
Shadava  and  Anduva  are  related  terms  and  so  there 
are  really  seven  charactcistics  of  a  Jati.  Graha  is  the 
note  with  which  a  song  opens  and  Nyasa  is  the  note 
with  which  it  closes.  Tara  and  Mandra  signify  high 
and  low  pitch.  As  a  characteristic  of  the  Jati  they 
would  mean  the  predominant  pitch  in  the  melody  ; 
Shadava  and  Anduva  the  elision  of  notes,  Alpatva  and 
Bahutva,  the  tonal  proportions.  Apanyasa  is  the 
end  note  in  sections  of  the  melody  ;  while  Amsa  is  the 
most  important  note  in  a  melody, — the  beauty-point 
which  gives  the  melody  its  individuality  and  to  which 
all  the  other  notes  are  subordinated. 

Although  the  characteristics  of  the  Jati  have  been 
mentioned  in  Bharata  as  though  they  were  of  equal 
importance,  we  have  to  realize  the  importance  of  the 
Nyasa ;  for  while  the  others  are  variable  in  a  Jati, 
the  Nyasa  in  all  Jatis  except  two  is  invariable  and  all 
the  Suddha  Jatis  are  named  after  it.  Nowhere  in 
Bharata  have  we  an  indication  of  the  tonics  or  the  key 
notes  of  the  Jatis  although  the  absolute  pitch  was  in 
use.     As  indicated  above,   in   absolute   pitch   the   key 


MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  INDIAN  MUSIC  441 

note  must  be  mentioned  ;  otherwise  the  key  relationship 
not  being  ascertained,  the  aesthetical  effect  would  be 
impossible.  The  Nyasa,  described  as  'fldumfaM.  by 
Sarngadeva  and  f*R*i$H<WM$ifl'  by  Kallinath,  which  deter- 
mines the  nature  of  the  Jati  in  a  way  by  its  invari- 
ability, which  determined  the  range  of  the  notes  in 
high  and  low  registers  (*rc<T  v.  80),  which  can  never  be 
elided  in  the  partial  scales  (Sangita  Ratnakara  page  74) 
and  which  is  explained  by  the  wordtf^  in  the  ff.  *.,  must 
be  the  key  note.  No  doubt  the  Nyasa  is  described  only 
as  the  final  note,  but  in  most  songs  there  is  a  gravita- 
tion of  the  notes  towards  the  key  at  the  end  of  the  song 
and  it  is  only  on  plagal  modes  like  Khamaja,  where  one 
could  even  question  the  propriety  of  Sa  as  the  key,  that 
the  key  note  is  invariably  different  from  the  end  note. 
In  spite  of  the  wonderful  powers  of  observation  and 
analysis  of  the  ancients  it  appears  that  on  account  of 
the  absence  of  relative  pitch  and  the  consequent 
simplification  of  musical  thought,  the  ancients  failed 
to  distinguish  between  the  final  note  and  the  keynote, 
and  in  consequence  there  are  two  Jatis  which  are 
described  as  having  more  than  one  Nyasa  ;  in  these 
cases  also  from  the  typical  songs  of  the  s.  t.  and  the 
elisions  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  partial 
scales  we  could  easily  determine  which  are  the 
keynotes  and  which  the  end  notes. 

With  the  Nyasa  as  the  key  we  could  form  same 
idea  of  the  Jatis  although  it  is  impossible  to  restore  a 
lost  music  only  by  a  general  description.  Below  I 
give  a  table  of  the  Jatis  with  the  note  values  in  relative 
pitch  arranged  first  according  to  their  names  and  then 
according  to  their  intervals,  which  would  show  that  the 
Jatis  would  form  distinct  melodic  modes  to-day. 
[F.  O.  C.  II.  56] 


442 

V.  G.  PARANJPE 

TABLE  OF 

JATIS. 

Shadji. 

0  182  294  498  702 

884   1200 

Ni  996 

Sr. 

0  112  316  702  814?1018?  1200Ma520Dha? 

xt:  i 

Gan. 

0  204  386  702  906 

1200  Ma590 

1M  I 

Nil088 

Ma. 

0  182  386  702  884 

1200  Ma498 

Nil088 
(Antara) 

Pa. 

0  204  520  7021018 

1200  Ga316 

Dha906 
(Antara) 

Dhai. 

0  112  498  610  814 

1200  Ga316 

Ni  1018 

Nai. 

0  386  498  7021088 

1200  Ri204 

Dha  906 

Shadjaka 

L0  204  408  590  702 

906  1088 

1200 

Shadjodi. 

0  386  498  702  996 

1200  Ri2C4 

Dha  884 

Shadjama.O  204  386  702  884 

1200  Ma590  (Kakali) 

Ni996 

Gan.  Udi.  C 

996  1200 

Dha  884 

RaktaGa. 

0  204  386  702  906 

1200  Ma590 

Ni  1088 

Kai. 

0  204  386  702  906 

1200  Ma590 

Ni  1088 

498     884 

Ga386 

Ma.  Udi. 

0  182  386  498  702 

884   996 

1200 

Karma, 

0  204  316  520  702 

814   1018 

1200 

Ga.  Pa. 

0  204  386  590  702 

906  1088 

1200 

Andhri. 

In  oc\±  iqa.  zar\    nc\o 

1f\QO    1  OC\C\ 

xt        j  fU    ^UT    OOU    Dy\J      /VJL      1UOO         1ZUU 

These  should  be  arranged  according  to  the  notes 
as  follows  to  show  that  they  would  form  different  Ragas 
to-day. 


Xr. 

0 

112 

316  (520) 

702 

Dhai. 

0 

112 

(316)  498 

610 

Sha. 

0 

182 

294  498 

Ma. 

0 

182 

386  702 

Gan:  Udi 

0 

182 

386  498 

702 

884 

Ma.  Udi. 

» 

>» 

"   )) 

t% 

996 

Sha.  Udi. 

>» 

(204) 

386   „ 

Kar. 

0 

204 

316  520 

Gan.  Pa. 

0 

204 

386  590 

702 

906 

Xnd. 

11 

n 

M     11 

j) 

1088 

Nan. 

» 

n 

11             >1 

ii 

ii 

MELODIC  CLASSIFICATION  IN  LMDIAN  MUSIC    44* 


Gan,    ]  „ 

n 

»» 

702  906 

Kai. 

RaktaGa.  J 

Shad.  Ma.  „ 

>> 

M 

,,   884 

Sh.  Kai.   „ 

n 

408 

590 

Kai.  (2)   0 

204 

498 

702 

Pa       0 

204 

520 

702  1018 

Sha.  Udl.    0    386    598    702    996 
Nai.  „      „        „        „    1088 

The  eighteen  Jatis  would  be  the  source  of  several 
Ragas  to-day  as  the  differences  of  Ams'a  and  Apanyasa 
always  vary.  In  the  melodic  effect  in  the  case  of  Xndhri 
and  Nan.  and  of  Gan.,  Rakta.  Gan.  and  Kai.  the  ancients 
found  the  change  of  Amsa,  Apanyasa  and  Sanchari 
notes  so  radically  varying  the  melody  that  it  was 
found  necessary  to  have  two  different  Jatis  where  one 
would  have  sufficed. 

Bharata's  book  was  not  a  text  book  on  Music.  In 
a  treatise  on  dramaturgy  he  has  just  devoted  a  few  pages 
to  music  and  he  has  given  brief  notices  of  the  salient 
features  of  the  art.  But  from  these  even  we  can  very 
well  see  how  the  infinite  forms  of  music  must  have 
been  analysed  and  classified  by  the  ancients;  how  music 
also  exercised  the  intellect  of  scholars  like  the  sister 
arts  and  philosophy,  and  how  with  all  the  limitations 
of  old  music  there  was  a  nearly  perfect  system  evolved 
by  them  in  which  we  see  side  by  side  with  the  minutest 
attention  to  technique  and  form,  a  most  scientific 
classification;  and  this  was  to  be  expected  from  progress 
which  the  ancients  had  made  in  the  arts  and  sciences  & 
logic  and  metaphysics.  The  clear  cut  generalisations  of 
the  Natyasastra  appear  to  be  the  crystalised  product 
of  centuries  of  observation  and  systematization.  Now, 
while,  there  is  a  spirit  of  re-generation  abroad  and 
India  is  searching  her  past   with  a  view  to  improve  her 


444  V.  G.  PARANJPE 

future,  one  wonders  whether  instead  of  the  Thatas  with 
their  woefully  unscientific  classification  and  the 
multiplicity  of  chromatic  notes,  we  could  not  return  more 
profitably  to  the  old  system  of  Gramas,  MQrchchhanas 
and  Jatis.  The  old  Gramas  were  discarded  because 
they  could  no  longer  serve  their  purpose,  owing  to  the 
progress  which  music  had  made,  but  if  we  rightly 
understand  the  old  principle  of  classification,  we  could 
arrive  at  a  number  of  Gramas — six  would  most  probably 
do — that  would  exhaust  all  the  scales  in  use.  But  this 
is  a  problem  of  the  present  with  which  we  here  are  not 
concerned. 


ON    THE    USE    OF   THE    ASTRONOMICAL 

PHENOMENA     IN     FIXING    THE 

CHRONOLOGICAL    PERIODS 

IN  INDIAN  HISTORY. 

BY 

V.  B.  Ketkar. 

We  all  agree  that  facts,  however  important  with 
regard  to  the  progress  of  a  nation,  lose  half  their 
importance  when  mentioned  without  the  time  of  their 
occurrence.  Our  Vedas,  Vedangas,  Smritis  and  other 
ancient  works  come  under  this  category.  They  are  full 
of  interesting  details  about  consecutive  facts,  but  they 
never  mention  the  year  of  their  occurrence  in  relation 
to  any  era.  The  Rigveda  which  is  supposed  to  be  the 
most  ancient  of  all  the  records  in  the  world,  mentions 
the  phenomenon  of  a  total  solar  eclipse,  and  says  that 
the  Rishi  Atri  alone  could  dispel  the  darkness,  but  as 
solar  eclipses  occur  almost  every  year  their  mention 
without  the  year  of  their  happening  is  of  little  use. 

2.  It  may  be  mentioned  however  on  behalf  of  the 
ancient  Aryans  that  they  lived  in  an  age  when  there- 
was  no  era.  They  lived  in  isolated  colonies  widely 
separated  from  each  other.  Each  colony  was  a  little 
world  carrying  on  the  functions  of  a  civilised  life- 
according  to  the  ideas  then  prevalent  So  it  is  unjust 
to  blame  them. 

3.  Fortunately  for  the  History  of  the  human  race, 
grand  celestial  eras  started  by  God  are  running  their 
rounds  through'all  the  past  ages;  and  human  know! 

of   astronomy   has,    at   present,   so    far    advanced  and 


446  V.  B.  KETKAR 

has  reached  such  a  degree  of  perfection  that  on 
the  strength  of  mathematics  and  the  principles  of  the 
celestial  mechanics  modern  astronomers  like  Leverrier 
and  Newcomb,  have  succeeded  in  determining  their 
vast  period,  correct  to  the  nearest  century.  The  period 
of  the  human  civilisation  compared  with  them  is  so 
small  that  it  can  form  but  a  small  fraction  for  them. 
By  celestial  eras  I  mean  the  periods  of  the  revolutions 
of  the  equinoxial  and  planetary  nodes,  for  instance 
the  equinoxial  points  complete  one  revolution  in 
26,000  years,  and  the  nodes  of  Jupiter's  orbit  in  90,000 
years. 

4.  Our  Vedic  Rishis  were  the  keenest  observers 
of  the  celestial  vault.  In  fact  their  deities  were  no  other 
than  the  luminaries  of  the  sky  and  the  natural  elements 
such  as  water,  fire  and  lightning.  Their  records 
abound  in  references  to  the  celestial  phenomena  such 
as  the  conjunctions  of  the  planets  with  the  stars  and 
the  positions  of  the  stars  in  relation  to  the  horizon. 
They  have  left  us  legends  regarding  the  stars  Polaris, 
Sirius,  Procyon,  Canopus,  Orion  and  Vega,  and  the 
star-clusters  of  Pleiades  and  Hyades.  To  ordinary 
men  these  may  seem  to  be  quite  trifling  but  to  scholarly 
minds  they  are  as  valuable  as  the  beds  of  diamonds. 

The  following  lines  will  fully  illustrate  what  is 
said  above.  I  have  discussed  in  them  on  astronomical 
principles  the  bearing  of  each  phenomenon  to  chrono- 
logy, and  have  explained  its  mathematical  treatment 
necessary  to  the  determination  of  its  date. 

The  first  two  of  the  following  phenomena  have 
been  discussed  by  the  late  Mr.  S.  B.  Dixit  in  his 
Bharatiya  Jyotish  Shastra.  I  have  re-discussed  them 
here  somewhat   differently   in   order   that   the   readers 


THE  USE  OF  ASTRONOMICAL  PHENOMENA  447 

may  have  in  one  place  all  the  important  phenomena 
connected  with  the  determination  of  the  pre-historic 
dates. 

The  date  of  the  Solstices  mentioned  in  the 
Vedanga  Jyotisha 

(  The  Equinox  in  Bharani  ). 

5.  As  a  first  instance  I  shall  discuss  the  following 
verse  given  in  the  Vedanga  Jyotisha  and  shall  determine 
the  date  of  the  observation  from  the  astronmical 
evidence  contained    in   it: — 

In  what  follows  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
Longitudes  are  sidereal  and  are  measured  from  the 
fixed  starting  point  which  is  180°  distant  to  the  star 
Spica  (Chitra)  or  47'  east  of  \k  Picium.  Also  the  present 
time  should  be  understood  to  mean  the  year  A.  D. 
1900.  The  distance  from  the  starting  point  to  the 
Vernal  Equinox  was  22°  27'  in  A.  D.  1900. 

The  verse  mentions  logitudes  of  the  Solsticial 
points  as  they  were  observed  in  the  days  of  Vedanga 
Jyotisha  and  thereby  enables  us  to  fix  the  date  of  the 
observation. 

The  smmmer  Solstice  was  according  to  the  above 
verse  at  the  middle  point  of  the  asterism  Sslesha.  Its 
longitude  was  therefore  equal  to  eight  and  a  half 
Nakshatra  space  i.e.  113°  20'.  At  present  the  longitude 
of  the  same  point  is  67°  20'.  It  has  therefore  retro- 
graded (113°  20'  minus  67°  20'  H6°>  since  the 
recorded   observation.     As  it   re^  at  the    rat 

one  degree    in    72  years,    it  must    have    taken    46X72= 


448 


V.  B.  KETKAR 


3312  years  or  33  centuries  to  do  the  retrograde  journey 
prior  to  A.D.  1900.  It  is  plain  therefore  that  the  date 
of  the  observation  recorded  in  the  above  verse  must  he 
B.C.  1400.  This  is  one  of  the  impregnable  fortresses 
of  Indian  antiquity  and  all  the  attempts  of  the  western 
Scholars  like  Prof.  Max  Miiller  to  reducje  it  have 
proved  ineffectual. 

The  date  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  star  Canopus 
on  the  horizon  of  latitude  22°  N. 

(  The  Equinox  in   Xshlesha ) 

6.  We. find  in  the  Brihatsamhita  of  Varahamihira 
(  A.  D.  500 )  the  following  verse  on  the  movement  of 
the  star  Canopus  ( Agastya): — 

*TT*ftf  c*tf^  | d <j[4Rl <4 <l    f^TFT55  :^fl%cft 

Meaning: — The  milk-white  (  or  water-purifier  ) 
sage  Agastya  who  ever  adorns  the  Southern  skies, 
drank  off  the  ocean,  digested  the  Demon  Vatapi  who 
hated  the  gods,  and  killed  the  Rishis  by  entering  and 
bursting  open  their  bellies.  He  stopped  the  growth 
of  the  mountain  Vindhyachala  whose  summits  had 
grown  so  high  as  to  obstruct  the  passage  of  the  sun. 

Shorn  of  all  poetic  exaggeration  and  legendary  form 
this  verse  tells  us  that  the  star  Canopus  which  always 
revolves  in  and  adorns  the  Southern  skies,  appeared 
for  the  first  time  to  the  Rishis  who  dwelt  on  the  nothern 
side  to  emerge  on  the  ridge  of  the  mountain  Vindhya- 
dri  and  gradually  surpassed  it  in   altitude  at   its  culmi- 


THE  USE  OF  ASTRONOMICAL  PHENOMENA      449 

nation,  since  which  time  the  ocean  disappeared.  (  I 
am  unable  to  trace  the  metaphorical  sense  of  the  story 
of  the  demon  Vatapi ). 

The  sudden  appearance  of  a  bright  star  like 
Canopus  upon  the  Southern  edge  of  the  horizon  must 
have  been  as  striking  a  phenomenon  as  that  of  a  Nova 
is  to  modern  astronomers.  It  must  have  been  therefore 
considered  a  great  epoch  to  which  the  subsequent 
great  events  might  be  referred.  The  near  approach 
of  two  planets  is  looked  upon  in  astrology  as  a  contest 
between  them.  In  the  same  way  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  Canopus  on  the  summits  of  the  Vindhya  was 
looked  upon  in  a  poetical  sense,  as  a  sort  of  race 
for  deciding  which  of  them  could  rise  higher. 
Fortunately  for  Canopus  his  upward  speed  was  at  its 
maximum  when  it  appeared  at  22°  of  latitude  (  see 
Table  in  Sec.  9  infra  )  and  so  he  came  out  victorious 
as  the  poet  imagines 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  explain  how  the  date  of 
the  phenomenon  can  be  calculated.  But  before  doing 
this  I  must  explain  the  connection  between  the 
precession  of  the  equinoxes  and  the  meridional  altitude 
of  Canopus,  which  varies  from  zero  to  38°  latitude 
from  the  south  point  on  the  horizon  of  a  given 
latitude. 

Owing  to  the  precession  of  the  equinoxes  the 
poles  of  the  celestial  equator  move  slowly  round  the 
poles  of  the  ecliptic  in  a  small  circle  of  24°  in  radius 
in  the  course  of  26000  years.  The  star  Canopus  lies 
fixed  at  a  distance  of  14°  from  the  south  pole  of  the 
ecliptic.  Viewed  from  Canopus  the  motion  of  the 
southern  pole  of  the  equator  takes  place  in  an  excentric 
[F.  O.  C.  II.  57) 


450 


V.  B.  KETKAR 


circle  around  it.  The  effect  of  this  is  that  the  distance 
of  Canopus  from  the  south  pole  varies  from  10°= 
(24° —  14°)  to  38°  =  (24° +14°)  in  the  course  of  13000 
years  and  back  again  in  the  same  period.  India  lies 
between  the  North  latitudes  of  8°  and  35°  and  is 
therefore  well  situated  within  the  range  of  the  north 
and  south  oscillations  of  Canopus. 

7.  I  have  prepared  the  following  table  employing 
the  present  position  and  motion  of  the  equinoxes.  It 
gives  the  Christian  dates  of  the  first  appearance  and 
last  disappearance  of  Canopus  on  the  horizons  of 
different  North  latitudes  in  the  course  of  its  current 
oscillation. 


First 

On 

Last 

On 

appearance 

Latitude 

Disappearnoe 

Latitude 

on  horizon. 

North 

on  horizon. 

North 

B.  C.      11180     ... 

10° 

A,  D.     3870  ... 

34° 

9030     ... 

17° 

6020  ... 

30° 

6880     ... 

24° 

8170  ... 

24° 

4730     ... 

29° 

10320  ... 

16° 

2580     ... 

33° 

12470  ... 

10° 

430     ... 

36° 

14620  ... 

10° 

A.  D.       1720     ... 

37° 

A.  D.  16770  ... 

17° 

The  mountain  Vindhya  extends  East  and  West 
along  the  22°  parallel  of  latitude.  It  is  easy  to  deduce 
from  the  table  by  proportional  parts  that  Canopus 
made  its  first  appearance  on  the  summits  of  Vindhya 
about  the  year  B.  C.  7500.  It  is  also  seen  from  the 
table  that  on  the  latitude  24°  it  was  first  seen  in  B.  C. 
6880  and  shall  be  lost  sight  of  there  in  A,  D.  8170 
during  its  return  journey  towards  the  South  Pole. 

The  legend  about  the  drinking  off  of  the  sea  by  Canopus. 

8.     The  puranas    tell  us   that   the  60000   sons  of 


THE  USE  OF  ASTRONOMICAL  PHENOMENA    451 

the  king  Sagara  in  their  search  for  the  lost  sacrifical 
horse,  entered  the  Patala-Loka  ( the  subterraneous 
regions )  and  offended  the  great  Muni  Kapila*  who 
was  deeply  engaged  there  in  his  Tapascharya;  that 
they  were  all  burnt  to  ashes  by  the  fire  of  the  curse  of 
the  angry  Rishi;  and  that  the  river  Ganges  moved  by 
the  entreaty  of  Bhagiratha  the  grand-son  of  Sagara, 
consented  to  come  down  from  the  Himalaya  to 
appease  the  anger  of  Kapila  and  to  raise  his  ancestors 
from  their  ashes.  The  esoteric  explanation  of  this 
legend  seems  to  be  that  after  the  appearance  of 
Canopus  above  the  Vindhya  mountain  a  terrible 
volcanic  erruption  extending  over  a  vast  area  took 
place,  laying  bare  a  part  of  the  present  low  valley 
of  the  Ganges  which  was  at  that  time  covered 
by  sea,  as  far  as  Haridwar.  The  angry  Kapila  in  the 
Patala  Loka  is  represented  by  the  subterraneous 
volcanoes  that  once  raged  among  the  Himalayas,  and 
it  is  quite  plain  that  the  river  Ganges  should  advance 
as  the  sea  receded  back,  owing  to  the  gradual  upheaval 
of  its  bed.  The  word  Sagara  which  means  a  Sea  seems 
to  be  derived  from  King  Sagara  who  together  with  his 
60000  sons,  stands  here  for  the  big  sea  and  its  count- 
less gulfs,  channels  and  esturies  that  once  separated 
the  Himalayas  from  Central  India.  The  drinking  off 
of  the  sea  by  Agastya  is  therefore  another  version  of 
the  same  terrible  cataclysm  which  must  have  taken 
place  over  a  vast  area  a  few  centuries  after  the  first 
appearence  of  Canopus  above  the  Vindhya  Mountain, 
i.e.  after  B.C.  7500.  Geologists  might  object  to  this 
speculation  on  account  of  the   smallness  of   the  period 

*  The   spot   of    the   hermitage   of   Kapila   Muni   is   still 
pointed  out  not  far  from  Haridwar. 


452  V.  B.  KETKAR 

which    had   elapsed.     But   they   should   see*   that   it 
carries  us  10  thousand  years  back  from  the  present  time. 

The  date  of  the  battle  of  Kurnksheira. 
9.  This  problem  has  been  the  gordian  knot  to 
all  the  scholars  who  have  hitherto  tried  to  solve  it.  In 
our  Maharastra  learned  men  like  V.  R.  Lele,  C.  V. 
Vaidhya  and  my  humble  self  have  in  vain  worried  our 
heads  in  attempting  to  solve  it.  The  reason  why  we 
failed  was  our  blind  faith  that  the  allusions  in  the 
Mahabharata  with  regard  to  the  planetary  places  were 
genuine.  But  the  positions  of  the  planets  stated 
therein  in  relation  to  the  bright  stars  such  as  Magna, 
Chitra  and  Rohini  are  often  double  and  sometimes 
even  triple.     Even  after  making  due  allowance  for  the 

*The  Arabian  sea  at  that  time  covered  the  Indus  Valley 
upto  Multan  and  the  seven  rivers  formerly  fell  into  the  sea 
directly  as  mentioned  in  the  Rig  Veda.  Benares  is  popularly 
believed  to  have  formed  the  new  tenth  continent  and  to  have 
been  supported  or  held  up  by  the  trident  of  God  Shiva.  This 
seems  to  allude  to  the  age  when  the  Bay  of  Bengal  had  receded 
from  Haridwar  as  far  back  as  Benares  which  at  that  time 
might  have  formed  an  Island  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ganges. 

Even  within  living  memory  large  areas  are  raised  up  by 
the  gradual  upheaval  of  the  sea-bed  and  the  present  Island 
of  Bombay  which  formerly  consisted  of  seven  separate 
Islands,  is  an  instance.  The  rising  and  sinking  of  surfaces 
surely  do  take  place  in  periods  much  shorter  than  those 
taken  up  in  the  formation  of  Geological  Strata.  Central  India 
and  the  Deccan  then  formed  a  triangular  island  called  Jambu- 
dvipa  with  the  Parasnath,  the  Aravali  and  the  Nilgiri  peaks  at 
its  three  corners.  In  the  Puranas  the  Godavery  is  called  *mM\ 
i.e.  the  old  Ganges,  probably  in  comparison  with  the  later  time 
of  appearance  of  its   younger  sister  the  Himalayan  Ganges. 

The  other  Himalayan  rivers  Gogra,  Gomati  and  Gandaki 
being  at  that  remote  time  mere  mountain  torrents,  the 
Rigveda  omits  their  mention  and  begins  with  the  Ganges  the 
enumeration  of  the  seven  rivers  viz.  *n  ^  ^  *tg^  wsfa  &c. 


THE  USE  OF  ASTRONOMICAL  PHENOMENA  453 

interval  that  separated  them,  they  ( the  positions )  are 
utterly  irreconcilable  and  contradictory.  Even  the 
first  day  of  the  battle  being  mentioned  with  reference 
to  two  Nakshatras  as  Magna  and  Mrigashirsha,  cannot 
be  fixed.  This  ought  to  have  been  a  sufficient  warning 
to  me  at  least  to  give  up  the  attempt  as  hopeless.  I 
now  think  that  the  inconsistency  between  the  double 
and  triple  positions  of  the  same  planet  can  only  be 
explained  by  the  probability  that  the  statements  must 
have  been  later  interpolations  in  the  epic,  by  persons 
quite  ignorant  of  astronomy,  and  that  their  object  must 
have  been  simply  to  produce  awe  and  terror  in  the 
minds  of  the  persons  addressed  about  the  coming 
catastrophy. 

10.  My  friend  the  late  Mr.  Trimbak  Gurunath 
Kale  has  directly  attacked  the  problem  in  his  book 
called  '  Purana  Nirikshana '  and  has  at  last  solved  the 
question  most  satisfactorily.  The  evidence  collected 
by  him  from  independent  sources  proves  that  the 
battle  of  Kurukshetra  took  place  in  the  year  B.  C.  1263. 
I  shall  not  here  repeat  all  the  details  of  the  evidence 
which  can  best  be  gathered  from  his  own  book.  I 
shall  content  myself  with  quoting  here  one  or  two  of 
his  cogent  evidences  corroborating  his  conclusions. 

The  Bhavishyapurana  gives  the  date  of  the  battle 
as  follows  : — 

The  meaning  of  this  verse  is  that  out  of  the  total 
period  of  the  Bhavishya  Mahftkalpa  containing  14 
Manus,  only  six  Manus,  27  Yugas  and  three  years  had 
elapsed  when  the  battle  of  Kurukhestra  took  place.     A 


454  V.  B.  KETKAR 

Manu  being  equal  to  a  period  of  two  hundred  and 
eighty  eight  years  and  a  Yuga  to  a  period  of  four  years 
we  can  very  easily  calculate  the  date  as  shown  below  :- 

The  year  of  the  beginning  of  the  Mahakalpa  or 
Kalpadi  which  was  the  same  as  Kalyadi  i.e.  beginning 
of  Kaliyuga  was  B.C.  3102. 

Deduct  the  years  since  elapsed —  B.C.   3102 

Manus  6x288  =  1728 
Yugas  27x4=  108 
Dwapara    3  =  3 

1839  1839 

Therefore  the  year  of  the  battle  was B.C.  1263 

11.  The  following  verse  from  Vayu  Purana  proves 
the  same  thing. 

Parikhshit  was  the  son  of  Abhimanyu  and  was 
born  in  the  first,  year  after  the  great  battle.  King 
Chandra  Gupta  whom  the  Greek  writers  mention  by 
the  name  of  Sandrokottas,  is  often  called  Mahadeva  or 
Mahananda  in  the  Puranas.  The  coronation  of 
Chandra  Gupta  took  place  in  the  year  312  B.C.  and 
the  verse  mentions  that  950  years  had  elapsed  between 
the  birth  of  Parikshita  and  the  coronation  of  King 
Chandra  Gupta.  It  is  obvious  then  that  in  the  opinion 
of  Vayu  Purana  the  great  battle  took  place  in  the  year 
312  plus  950  equal  to  1262  B.  C 

12.  Moreover  the  Mahabharata  contains  many 
allusions  to  the  five-year  luni-solar  Calendar  of  the 
Vedanga  Jyotisha  the  date  of  which  is  proved  to  be 
B.C.  1400  ( vide  para  :  5  ).    This  fact  alone  is  sufficient 


THE  USE  OF  ASTRONOMICAL  PHENOMENA  455 

to  establish  the  priority  of  the  Vedanga  Jyotisha  to 
Mahabharata,  independently  of  any  other  evidence. 
Any  date  therefore  which  is  subversive  of  the  priority 
must  be  wrong.  Mr.  Kale's  Purana  Nirikshana  is  a 
mine  of  information  about  the  Puranas.  A  perusal  of  it 
is  sure  to  convice  how  patiently  and  impartially  he  has 
toiled  on  to  disentangle  the  truth  from  fiction. 

The  Gavdtnayanai 

13.  Mr.  Kale  gives  an  interesting  account  of  the 
means  employed  by  the  ancient  Aryans  for  keeping  up 
a  progressive  record  of  the  years  elapsed  since  the 
beginning  of  the  Kalpa  i.e.  B.  C.  3102.  For  this 
purpose  they  used  to  perform  a  sacrifice  called 
Gavamayana  every  fourth  year,  and  to  commemorate  it 
by  composing  on  each  occasion  a  new  verse  of  64 
syllables  in  Brihati  Metre  and  adding  it  to  the  foregoing 
ones.  The  day  of  the  Vishuvan  that  is,  the  day  of  the 
vernal  Equinox  was,  I  believe,  chosen  for  these  quadren- 
nial sacrifices  as  being  most  suitable  for  testing  the 
correctness  of  their  reckoning  by  the  actual  observation 
of  the  sun  rising  due  east  on  that  day.  Pandit 
Rudrapattan  Shyamshastri  of  Mysore  mentions  that  in 
one  of  such  books  called  Brihadukta  there  are  as  many 
as  460  quadrennial  verses.     They  thus  give  an  account 

t  The  year  of  the  present  Egyptians  called  Coptes 
contains  12  months,  each  of  30  days  at  the  end  of  which  five 
complementary  days  are  added  and  also  a  sixth  one  at  the 
end  of  the  fourth  year.  These  days  they  call  Epagomenes. 
Can  there  be  any  connection  between  the  words  Gavamayana 
and  epagomene  which  resemble  each  other  so  much  both  in 
sense  and  sound  ?    At  present  I  leave  it  as  a  query. 

The  Puranic  yugas  in  Sec.  12  are  no  doubt  identical  with 
the  Gavamayanas  of  the  Smritis. 


456  V.  B.  KETKAR 

of  the  lapse  of  460  x  4  =  1840  years  since  the  Kalpadi 
or  Kalyadi  and  thus  bring  the  Aryan  Chronology  down 
to  the  year  B.  C.  3102  —  1840^1262  which  is  exactly 
the  year  next  to  that  of  the  battle  of  Kurukshetra. 
This  shows  beyond  any  doubt  what  pains  and  care  did 
the  ancient  Aryan  Rishis  bestow  on  their  Chronology 
by  making  it  a  part  of  their  religious  duty.  The 
charge  that  the  ancient  Hindus  did  not  realise  the 
importance  of  chronology  is  therefore  groundless. 

The  summary  of  events  in  the  order  of  time. 

14.  The  following  is  a  summary  of  what  has  been 
discussed  in  the  foregoing  pages.  It  shows  that  the 
literature  of  India,  although  it  is  in  a  legendary  and 
mythological  form,  is  based  on  much  that  is  valuable 
and  real.  To  discern  facts  from  fiction  in  it,  all  that 
is  needed  is  an  impartial  and  intelligent  spirit  of 
research  in  the  light  of  modern  science. 

B.  C  7500  The  beginning  of  the  era  of  Canopus 
described  in  the  Brihat-Samhita. 

B.  C  7000  The  probable  commencement  of  the 
disappearance  of  the  sea  from  the 
Gangetic  basin. 

B.  C.  4350  The  year  of  the  first  occultation  by 
Jupiter  of  the  Star  Pushya,  as  men- 
tioned in  the  Taittiriya  Brahmana. 

B.  C.  3000  The  age  when  the  cluster  of  the 
Pleiades  used  to  rise  due  East,  as 
stated  in  the  Satapatha  Brahmna. 

B.  C  1400  The  date  of  the  observation  of  the 
Solsticial  Points  described  in  the 
Vedanga  Jyotisha. 


THE  USE  OF  ASTRONOMICAL  PHENOMENA  457 

B.  C.  1263  The  year  of  the  battle  of  Kurukshetra 
ascertained  from  the  Bhavishya 
and  Vayu  Puranas. 

A.  D.     290     The     initial     point    of  the    Hindu 

Ecliptic  was  fixed   as  being    diame- 
trically opposite  to  the  star  Chitra. 

The  Calendars  in  use  in  India  during  the  present  Kalpa. 

B.  C.  3100— B.  C.  1400      The     solar       Calendar 

with  a  cycle  of  4  years. 

B.  C.  1400— A.  D.     300      The  luni-solar  Calendar 

with  a  cycle  of  5  years. 

A.  D.  300 — Present  time     The      luni-solar      and 

planetary  Calendars 
with  the  Jovin  cycles 
of  12  and  60  years. 

Determination  of  the  First  Point  of  Asvinu 

15.  This  probem  has  hitherto  baffled  all  attempts 
at  solution.  Eminent  scholars  like  Colebrooke,  Bentley, 
Whitney  and  Bapudev  have  identified  it  with  the 
insignificant  star  £  picium  on  no  other  evidence  but 
its  extreme  proximity  to  the  Ecliptic  within  the  limits 
of  the  Asterism  Revati.  Dr.  Thibaut  does  not  however 
concur  in  their  opinion  for  the  reason  that  it  brings 
the  composition  of  the  early  siddhantas  to  a  much  later 
date  than  what  is  compatible  with   other  considertions. 

My  friend  Mr.  Narhar  Venkatesh  Kolhatkar,  B.  A. 
has  reccently  discovered  a  stanza  in  the  Panclui 
Siddhantika  of  Varaha-Mihira  and  has  succeeded  in 
completely  settling  the  question  by  its  aid.  The 
Stanza  runs  thus  : — 
[F.  O.  C.  II.  58.I 


458  v-  B-  KETKAR 

f^n*tfw*T*fr  (  1*°°)  ^W:  SftsRT  ftfat&:  II 

The  Stanza  occurs  in  a  Section  of  the  work 
devoted  to  the  statement  of  the  Latitudes  and  Longitudes 
of  seven  conspicuous  stars  favourably  situated  for 
occultation  by  the  Moon.  In  this  Stanza  the  longitude 
of  the  Star  T*rr  (Regulus)  is  stated  to  be  126°  and  that 
of  the  star  f%3T  (Spica)  to  be  180°  from  the  common 
initial  point  on  the  sphere.  The  latter  longitude 
shows  that  the  First  point  of  Asvini  was  situated 
diametrically  opposite  to  the  star  Spica  and  the  former 
longitude  of  the  star  Regulus  fully  corroborates  this 
statement.  There  can  be  no  doubt  therefore  that 
according  to  the  original  Surya  Siddhanta  the  first 
point  of  Asvini  lay  43'  to  the  East  of  the  Star  (i  picium 
which  was  therefore  the  junction  star  of  Revati,  and 
not  £  picium  as  hitherto  supposed.  The  longitudes 
of  the  remaining  5  stars  (^excepted)  are  in  error 
of  less  than  2  degrees  and  therefore  can  not  modify 
the   above  conclusion. 

It  is  rather  strange  that  a  stanza  giving  such 
valuable  information  should  be  passed  over  by  so  many 
able  scholars.  Mr.  N.V.  Kolhatkar  therefore  deserves  high 
praise  for  his  happy  discovery.  Dr.  Thibaut's  failure 
can  be  partly  attributed  to  the  faulty  emendation  of 
the  original  Stanza,  made  by  his  collaborator  Pandita 
Mahamahopadhyaya  Sudhakar  Dwivedi  of  Benares. 
The  discovery  carries  back  the  probable  time  of  the 
composition  of  the  five  Siddhantas  to  a  date  not  later 
than  300  A.  D.  which  is  earlier  by  a  century  assigned 
to  it  by  Dr.  Thibaut. 


THE  USE  OF  ASTRONOMICAL  PHENOMENA  459 

The  conclusion. 

16.  I  have  tried  in  this  paper  to  refer  to  a  few 
of  the  pre-historic  facts  and  to  determine  their  dates 
in  the  light  of  modern  science  but  on  quite  new  lines 
of  procedure,  calling  in  the  help  of  the  unerring 
celestial  eras  of  gigantic  durations.  I  have  also 
explained  the  method  of  calculating  them.  Should 
any  future  antiquarian  be  fortunate  enough  to  meet 
with  similar  reference  to  the  star  Canopus  in  the 
Assyrian  and  Egyptain  inscriptions,  my  table  given 
in  Section  7  will,  I  hope,  help  him  at  once  in  the 
determination  of  their  date.  The  dates  in  the  table 
may  be  compared  to  colossal  light-houses  set  up  by 
God  to  help  men  in  their  navigation,  over  the  ocean 
of  Time. 


PERSIAN 


PERSIAN  AND  ARABIC  WORDS   IN  MARATHI. 

BY 

M.  T.  Patwardhan  m.  a. 

The  number  of  words  of  Persian  and  Arabic  origin 
in  use  in  the  literary  Modern  Marathi  is  slowly 
dwindling  down.  Most  of  our  educated  men  are  well 
acquainted  with  Sanskrit  ;  and  the  effect  of  this 
knowledge  on  the  development  of  Marathi  has  been 
conservative  and  to  some  extent  unfortunate.  Many 
words  of  Sanskrit  origin  that  in  course  of  centuries 
went  through  changes  suitable  to  the  genius  of  Marathi 
were  roughly  and  ruthlessly  restored  to  their  original 
purity,  and  their  naturalised  forms  were  relegated  to  be 
used  by  women  and  by  the  uneducated.  Ignorance  of 
the  historic  development  of  the  language  and  literature 
of  Marathi  has  rendered  a  host  of  noble  vigorous  words 
of  the  17th,  18th,  and  the  first  half  of  the  19th.  centuries 
obsolete  and  dead.  Thus  while  the  natural  resources 
of  Marathi  are  lying  unexplored  and  unutilised,  the 
tendency  of  borrowing  from  Sanskrit  is  on  the  increase 
and  is  a  sure  sign  of  our  linguistic   bankruptcy. 

In  the  department  of  philology  there  is  a  foolishly 
patriotic  attempt  made  to  trace  every  Marathi  word 
through  a  real  or  an  imaginary  pedigree  to  its  presumed 
Sanskrit  ancestor.  It  was  with  a  view  to  lodge 
emphatic  protest  against  this  activity  that  the  study  of 
Persian  and  Arabic  words  in  Marathi  was  begun.  It  was 
gradually  discovered  that  a  good  many  of  the  changes 
were  uniform  and  regulated  by    certain    fixed  rule 


462  M.  T.  PATWARDHAN 

naturalization.  Some  of  these  rules  may  have  to  be 
modified  in  the  light  of  further  knowledge.  Some  new 
rules  might  be  found  out  governing  the  changes  of  a 
few  words  which  to-day  appear  to  be  arbitrary  and  un- 
accountable. It  is  with  a  hope  that  my  efforts  will 
inspire  others  to  undertake  to  study  the  genius  of 
Marathi,  that  a  few  of  the  results  arrived  at  by  me  are 
placed  here  for  sympathetic   criticism. 

1  3T  preceded  by  an  ( i )  is  changed  to   q  : 

( ii )    or  it  is    dropped ;    arr^r  <  ari^r ;   apun^  < 

2  There  are  a  number  of  words  in  which  an- 
followed  by  long  an,  |  or  $  came  to  be  pronounced 
short.  There  being  no  separate  letter  to  represent 
this  short  aft  sound,  it  was  represented  by  ar 
or  off  ;  and  when  represented  by  ar  it  came  to  be 
pronounced   in  course   of  time   as   such :    3i*wra,  ar^r  ; 

3T^TT  <  3TRI7;  aTWT^<  arrW^;    =^5I^<  ^R5T^F  ;    <T55T^<  <TT55T^; 

*5P{  <  ^th.  ;  ^3t  <  ^T^r ;  qam  <  <et<»  7T3H.  [cp.  %.  ^^Rot;] 
3^  <  en|^:  (  rule  ) ;  artor  <  an^riw  ;  fgr  <  %rft ;  i$t&  < 
*n%3  ;  3Tf  <  3n^  ;  3T$  <  a^ ;  ^mi  <  ^TW. 

3  Penultimate  an  is  ( i )  changed  in  a  few  words 
to  3T  :  513^  <  5T3T^ ;  ^  <  ^l^  ;  Wldfcfl  <  T^T^T  +  %  ;  fas*5  < 
fa^IS  ;  H<Al^ri  <  5?5T^l^  ;  g^R^  <  g^PJ^  ;  ^  <  $U$t  ;     qPW# 

<  qp{Wcfr  ( ii )  and  in  a  few  others  is  so  drawled  out 
that  it  is  represented  by  an?  or  anq  :  sTin^r  <  srera; ;  ft^T 


PERSIAN  &  ARABIC  WORDS  IN  MARATHI      463 

4  Short  %  preceded  by  an"  is  changed  ( i )  to  §r  : 
anRT?T;  3T^T;  sn^TTf;  3TRT^;  anw  <  auftr^;  ^n>^<  *lftwv ;   ^RJ?; 

^Tl^c^;  5TT5R^<  Jffl§\;  JTl^;  ^TC^  ;  <?rm^  ;   3RT^  <  Wfl%<*  ;  qiTTcW 

<  *nirf^ ;  jt<ri^  <  *r<rfcr^ ;    m^\  <  *&\fa\ ;  m&$  <  *nte$  ; 
gwfi^<  gnrt%^;  ar^;  <hmhi<  <^n%^;  ^r^<  ^n%$  ;  ^ntff< 

( ii )  or  being  penultimate  is  made  long^tfr*<*jn%3^; 
^^<^Tf^;  sntftaXinft^;  5TT^N<?nf|^;  5r^r^<5RTf^:; 
3nc>i^<sm%^ ;  <£Fsfte<4>irsH<A ;  3n*rr><*ni%Tx ;  3rrCiT<5rnK ;  anii^ 

5  5  followed  by  *rr  is  dropped:  3T^Trc<^ft4i^; 
<ztf&\ < fairer ;  c^iT^r<f^n^T;  '^n^<f^T^.;  or  (ii)  an  is 
substituted  for   both:    ^wr  <  ajifrcT  ;   Trerr<wiftl«i  ;   sn^T< 

6  Short  ?  followed  by  5  is  changed  to  tr  ;  %^r  < 
f^JT  ;  f$ft<ftnX;  %fa<T<fa*[f^;  *ttTC<fa^;  TOR*  <  JT$m%s; 

7  Long  f  followed  by  an-  is  generally  shortened  to 
%:  3{f&jrT;  ^rr^<t^H:;  5?r»r<fei^;  ^faaK^rer;  *sn%*T<^?frrr; 
f&sK^ST ;  ^n;r<iT5ft^  ;  im^KJn^  ;  fSrcr<sffar  ;  f^*re< 
<tar^;  frsT^<qften^;  /^rRK^ra;  faTR<5fcn\;  fasn^jfrsTH: ; 

( ii)  but  is  changed  to  ^  in   <T#3T<<nfteT. 

8  3  followed  by  5  is  changed  to  aft  :  <fns*fiT<3?*Tri; ; 
*rtar^<ti^H  ;  jfn^<gs^ ;  ^tq-<gf^ ;  »ter<g^T  ;  «r*ft 

9  3  followed  by  an  is  dropped  :  *TN><g3TT$  ;  *tnj^< 
g^rft^;;  *iwcH<g3im<H ;  »rw3T<gaim3T ;  jn^T<ganr^. 


464  M.  T.  PATWARDHAN 

10  Penultimate  3  like  penultimate  ^  is  lengthened 

11  &  followed  by  3?t  is  shortened  to  3  :  §55t^<^t^; 
f3rr<iarr;g«ni<^TT^;  ^;  3^RL<?CFra:;  ^5^t<^tt  ;  sur 

12  The  second  conjunct  in  monosyllabic  words 
is  split  up  (i)  by  ^  :  f^;  Wl]  ***;  **^l  ^5  **^;  ^; 
«^;  T^;  5ra^<|?^  ;  5R^<IT^;  ^<5T^;  ^>^<5[q^  ;  ^< 
^;  ^T^<5Tf^;  ira^^;  ***  ;  *^;  *^;  'E^;  'W^;  1J^<^  ; 

( ii )  by  long  I  if  the  preceding  vowel  is  short  5  : 
f^t?<%^;  fW*<fa^;  %^<%^;  f|fnr<ft^; 

( iii )  by  long  &  if  the  preceding  vowel  is  short  3  : 
3oR<3^;   3^<3^;  $3jr<$755j  5^<^ ;  ^R<&H;   1^ 

13  The  conjunct  ^  alone  was  kept  unsplit:  ts^< 
t^  ;  <rerx<T^. ;  T?>^iL<cr^. ;  s^)^;  *TC3;;  3^-  Then  the  edu- 
cated began  to  keep  ^and  ^  unsplit  :  ^;  *rt<3r^;  ^> 
«^j  t£  ;  3^ ;  3^<rT^  (note  however  ^ss  derived  from  the 
same  word  )  5T¥^<;t^;  3^;  s^;  and  lastly  the  conjunct 
is  retained  in  the  following  words  :  %$$  (  W$  was  used  ) 
3Tit<3^;  ^%<^;^;  q^<^ ;  51^;  3^  and  *r§.  This 
tendency  to  stun  over  3T  between  ^  and  <*.  and  between 
*  and  ^or  ^  is  responsible  for  the  forms  3T%,  ^  and 
<tft\  which  were  originally  ot^f,  m% and  <?^  respectively. 

14  Islamic  words  in  being  naturalised  in 
Marathi  appear  to  have  dropped  all  doubling  of  con- 
sonants. ^9R<+^|^;  ^3T^<^5I^s;  ^T^<^5^j5[  ;  W^<<^I^T; 

W§<S*H;    3T*5^<aT^5rTTj    3T^<3Ts^5.     ^^;  355^<3^T^  ; 


PERSIAN  &  ARABIC  WORDS  IN  MARATHI     465 

15  But  Marathi  developed  certain  double  con- 
sonants ( i )  In  all  monosyllabic  words  if  the  conjunct 
ended  in  **  the  first  consonant  of  the  conjunct  became 
double   before   taking   the   separating  a?    :  erqR5<3i^ 

( ii )  If  55T  or  5ft  in  words  of  two  syllables  is  preceded 
by  ar  or  short  ^  the  s  becomes  double  :  an^K^;  ararsfR; 
<3f55T3fl^;  teT;  fo#<ft«fi^;  frT8T<ft5ST;  f*r?^T<ftr$r<fir55T; 
<TRW$r<TT^re$r;  %SET<^flc5r;  flBKsafi^;  ^r<fT5?T;  PJT<5^; 
ftET<^tc5T;  ^M<^I%3T; 

( iii )  In  a  few  words  of  two  syllables  when  the 
second  letter  has  long  an  or  5  and  the  first  has  short  a?  or 
f  the  consonant  of  the   second  letter  becomes  double  : 

?mr<^rr3j;;  w<<CTr;  *z$t<x$;  f%*tf  <*tft. 

16  The  following  are  examples   of   metathesis  : 

a^.^^;   arwft  <  arrets ;  3rtjr<3WR^;  3T*T^fr<arw^ft; 

SS^SS't;  H3&<wm;  mK<*n$^;  5rfi^T<mgt ; 

Changes 

17  Consonant  changes  are  not  discovered  to  be 
quite  regular;  and  so  I  shall  in  many  cases  content 
myself  with  only  noting  them. 

[F.  O.  C.  II.  59-1 


466  M.  T.  PATWARDHAN 

( i )  ^  is  changed  to  ^  in   the   following  :  ^5MT< 
^sr^T;  ^c5T^<^T^I^;    f*PS^<fa?^;     g*5T^<*J<*l+Ic*. ;    ^$< 

f^m^<R>^r^  ;  ^rr<^rr;  ^fKftff;  ^ff^<^tf^  ;  \&m  is 
derived  from  f%*n\  and  %i%*re<sftf%*T*T. 

(ii)  ^is  changed   to  tjn   the   following  :    <FTT^t< 

18  ^  is  changed  to  ^in   the   following: — ft*TR< 
( ii )    ^  preceding  ^  or  ^r  is  changed  to  \  ;  %^t< 

19  ^is  changed  to  <^in  the  following:— ^m^<^N^; 
35«ft<3^T;  ^«TT^r<^^TiTr;   H^^I^;   *fon^<gS3T^;  ^< 

20  ^  is  changed  to  ^  in   the   following: — fa^a. ; 

21  ^  final  is  changed  ^  in  the   following: — 3**^i 

22  6^  is  uniformally  changed  to  ^  but  it  remains 
to  be  seen  where  this  ^  is  palatal  and  where  dento- 
palatal. 

( i )     Final  ^  is  dento-palatal   except  in  <*>i=ii^  ; 

(1)  from  *r — ^55T^r ;  ^r ;  qfcjf  •  f^sr ;  f&rx. 

(2)  from  ^-3T^;   ^T^ ;   ^F^;     Mr;    t^;   if*  ; 

N.  B. — *{  and  ^  are  uniformally  changed  to  i  and  ^ 
respectively. 


PERSIAN  &  ARABIC  WORDS  IN  MARATHI     467 

( ii )  Initial  *r  is  similarly  dentopalatal  except 
in  *^tfr;  and  in  ^rinfa,  srsfa^r  when  it  is 
occasionally  dentopalatal. 

(1)  from    3T:-3re^[  ;    3W;    ^W^;      5RT^;      4414^; 

(2)  from  3T:-5TH;    ^r^ir^;    ST*^;    3T^  ;     ZRl  ;    **f\^; 

iii )  Medial  *r  is  similarly  dentopalatal  except 
in  JT^TJft  the  pronunciation  of  which  is 
modelled  upon  that  of  sr^ft  and  in  arsrar. 

From    5^: — § ^l;    JTf3T^  ;    IflU  ;     ^T3T^  ;     $*?;  ; 

( iv )  3TT  appears  to  be  very  arbitrarily  pronounced 
one  way  or  the  other  ;  Palatal  from  *tt;  ^fr 
S^ttjt;  *iihiPwi;    from  §TT;  ^«tt;  f^fT;  ^w^tt;  g^^T^; 

Dentopalatal  <*tt;  ^nn,  *n»ir,  srre,   ^tt^,  stto^r  , 

(  v  )  fa,  sfr  are  never  dentopalatal: — 
From  5T;  arsfa;  ^tsfft;  *'i*iKi  ; 

„  5T;  3pff,  ^TTTjft;  t^sft;  «Fnft;  *TT3ft;  ^nfcTT;  fa^K 
fo»n;  farm.;  fac^T;  fa^rtft;  tffa:;  ffntfJI;  ^ff 
snfre;  <fijft;  ^TjfRft;  H>i>>fl<r»;    *Pff;    *nft;    *m*t^T 

( vi )  =3,  ^are  dentopalatal : — From  <r  Jrnpr ; 
From  ?r;  ^R  ;  <ro^  ;  *r\ ;  *r^;  §^. 

( vii )  In  compounds  ^  is  dentopalatal;  as  in 
*^<a«;  JTjt^;  ♦Mia;  *p^;  5^T- 


468  M.  T.  PATWARDHAN 

23  ^  is  changed  to  ^in  ^<srp^;  atefl^fllwi ; 

( ii )  Final  ^  is  indifferently  changed  to  ^  or 
retained,    <n^-^;  <nf^-^;   sn^-^n^; 

(iii)  Finals  is   changed  to  a:  in   ^tt*R,  *t^, 
<TO.  and  ^fjt. 

24  ^  is  changed  to  ^  in  ^  and  «ft. 

25  ( i  )  ^  after  ^becomes  °r  :-^T\;  ^°JT;  ^tw  ;  3*r*m  ; 

^rwr;  %€\\;  «i*ki«ii;  ^=^I«I4^;  WW;  1^;  tu°T. 
( ii )  ^  is  changed  \  in  the  following  : — wit, 
CF«5T<JIT,  *Jc4|U||,  i^ioit,  f^RTFT, — ^F*fT;  ^MT;  <PTO, 
f^TT,  ^r&iT;  m^T;  and  in  *$&{,  ^  is  changed 
to  ^. 

26  ijs  changed  to  <§  in  tt^T;  but  <^is  changed  to 
^in  amr^,  f^,  <Pisfa5,  5H^; 

27  ^is  changed  to  %  in  f^rnfr  and  in  ^5^<^3^ 
but  to  \m  the  following  : — 3f^<3^  ;   <^;   ^r^  ;  3rr^RT; 

28  ^  is  changed  to  ^  in  the  following  : — fimm; 
flr^^;  cRsr^;  «mwk ;  Shranrr;  q*T^;  ^rjatfr;  and  *  is  changed 
to  *  in  the  following  ^5^  ;  srsnrj  ^nfl;  3%55T;  rrcjjfrc;  jtstt^; 

29  ^joined  to  ?;  becomes  W;  as  ar^,  a^T,  s^, 
^w^r,  ^stctttc.  In  m^Kfai^fr  the  ^  coalesces  with  s 
and  5^<^tt  is  perhaps  so  by  way  of  analogy  with  g*TT. 

30  ^  is  changed  to  ^  in  the  following  f*t;  31^; 
m$;  afr^T;  q^T;  *re<r£;  g*^r.  ^  is  changed  to  <3  in  the 
following;  snaw-ft;  f^TR5;  JT^;  ^R5^fT;  §55T^;  ^5^;  =iaf^Rrr. 

31  ( i )  ^  joined  to  ^  is  changed  to  ^  :-$sfr;   i^  ; 

3^;  g*rrerr;  <tc^;  j^ft;  %ft^n;  ftrcscrr. 


PERSIAN  &  ARABIC  WORDS  IN  MARATHI     469 

( ii )  Final  y  is  changed  to  ^ : — shwft  ;  arrcr^  ; 
fercTftrcT ;  ^ft^;  ?T55i^;   ^rtfrc^;   ^Rf ;  qnrmr ; 

( iii )  Initial  ^r  is  changed  to  ^  in  the  following 
( iv )  ^  is  changed  to  3  in  the  following  words 

3^^;  3^t;  tffal;    3H^ft;     fajT^T    however    is 

from  fam<\. 

32  ( i )  ^  followed  by  f  or  £   becomes  ^  : — %*T; 

ftlT^n;  %^TC;  %3TO;  ^T^fr;  l|#;  ETo5T5fT;  d<«fl«4: 
<Tltftc5;  <RfR5T;  5Sflc5;  W$t\;  ^T^t^ ;  JTtffa  ;  IRft^ . 

( ii )  ^is  changed  to  ^  in  sntfta;;  snf;  fcVOTTs  <ttctt; 

(iii)  3"  followed  by  ^  is  changed  to  ^  as  in 
flsnft^,  ^i^jt,  enreT^,  foira^. 

33  Final   consonants    after  an,  i    or  s     being 
indistinctly  pronounced  are  dropped. 

(i)  ^ is  dropped  in:-3Tf&*TT;   *WMi;  arW;  *rrcT; 

fll<ai;  ^Tt;  ft^TT;  ft*TT;  TFTT;  ^WTT;  SE5T;    ^T?^T;  3^t; 

^;  *nfr;  1;  f*ft;  *rer&. 
( ii )  ^  is  dropped  in  :-%^; 
( iii )  K.  is  dropped  in  :-^sr?i  ;  ^r^;  i*ft;  ^ft. 
( iv )  ^is  dropped  in  :-fasft. 
(  v  )  \  is  dropped  in  ^<5N?rc<*r^K. 
(  vi )   ^is  dropped  in  :-^T3T;  §n$;  ft^TT. 

34  ( i )  Final  #  is  often  changed  to  t  as  in  *t**tts, 

(  ii )  5  is  dropped  in  the  following  words  : — 
dKWslMT;  ^:  $«4<ll<;  4>UW;  <fi3*T;  ^jfTcft;  *J«tH; 
»Jc5RT;  fCTTCT;  jffaT^ ;  *fta*T;  St*^ . 


470  M.  T.  PATWARDHAN 

• 

35  ^  coalesces  with  the  previous  syllable  in  ?FfT, 
*f$t,  *i$N^i,  ipm,  and  sft^K^jKi^;  ^  appears  to  be 
inserted  in  the  following  words  *Tpre<*T3*\;   f^|<5rc5Tf; 

36  (a)  In  sfartK^rnfr;  ^<^nc;  3^<3*rc;  *sNfrc<*=r*fK.; 

a  ^  is  inserted. 

{b)  In  f^<f^;  %<?<^;  and  j*r<f^  a  ^  is 
added  to  ^ . 

(c)  §t^r<5^^r  is  so  formed  because  of  its 
connection  with  afar;  $i+<m«&i  is  derived 
from  ^f^m^r   cf.  the  other  form  srer^rrcr. 

The  final  ^  in  3WT  and  ftrcrre  is  due  to  popular 
etymology  which  connects  the  words  with  m  and  m 
(  Hindi  for  foot  )  respectively. 


BIN  Vi  w " 


pj 

21 
A5 
1919 


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