Reviews Of Studies In Indology

Author(s): J S Jetly
Publisher: J S Jetly
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/269257/1

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REVIEWS Studies in Indology, by Dr. V. V. MIRASHI, published by Vidarbha Samshodhan Mandal, Nagpur, Vol.1, Second Edition, 1968, pp. xvi + 304, price Rs. 30/-, Volume under review is the second revised edition of Studies in Indology, Vol. I, which first appeared in print about eight years ago. It is rather rare for a book of academic research to appear in print again within such a short span of time. It therefore speaks volumes for the scholarship and logical presentation of Dr. Mirashi. These indeed have contributed to the lasting value of the research 'articles incorporated by him in this volume. It is needless to take a detailed review of the matter incorporated in this volume, for it has already met with approbation at the hands of scholars and research students alike. However, the value of this second edition lies in the uptodateness of the material added in it and the equally erudite five more articles which enhance the value of this edition. This review will, therefore, briefly cover the opinions expressed in this new material. For instance, in the section dealing with Sanskrit literature, there is a very refreshing article on the much discussed author and date of the Kundamala. After presenting his arguments, Mirashi tells us that the author's name could be Dhiranaga only and that he can be placed somewhere between the 7th and the 11th cent., and not in any case earlier than the 6th. In the article on the birthplace of Bhavabhuti, Mirashi has added the sculptural evidence in support of his identification of Padampur in Bhandara district with Padmapura, the birthplace of the poet. It may be stated, however, that sculptures of the 10th-12th cent. fail to have any bearing on the times of Bhavabhuti. The fresh additions are grouped in the Miscellaneous Section. These are four articles, one dealing with a reading in the Meghaduta and the other three suggesting possible locations of the hermitages of Valmiki and Agastya and that of the Naimisa forest. In the first, Prof. Mirashi is exuberant in details and would like us to agree that the reading "asadhasya prathamadivase" means " on the first day of the bright fortnight of) the lunar asadha ", and that even with this meaning the date of Kalidasa could not be 6th cent. After copious Sanskrit citations, the author further tells us that the location of Valmiki's asrama could be only near the confluence of the Ganga and the southern Tamasa. His article on the location of Agastya's asrama is indeed enlightening. He identifies the river Murala with Mula in Ahmadnagar district and comes to the conclusion that the asrama was probably situated on the river Mula not far away from

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168 REVIEWS Nevasa. Similarly he dismisses the identification of the Naimisaranya with Nimsar near Lucknow and proposes that it could be somewhere in the Sultanpur district of U.P. Rest of the articles have already been well received. It could have been better, however, had this revised edition rectified some misprints in the text. S. B. DEO Society at the time of the Buddha-by NARENDRA WAGLE, published by Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1966, pages 314. Price-not mentioned. This work throws good light on the social structure of the Buddha's period. Dr. Wagle's sources consist of literary material which is mainly religious in character. The author has drawn his material from such works as the Vinaya and the Sutta Nipata and the Nikayas-Digha Nikaya, Anguttara Nikaya, Majjhima Nikaya and Samyutta Nikaya and this has been supported by the help of archaeological finds. His work deals with the behaviour of groups and individuals who were associates of the Buddha. It also gives the descriptions of groups and life stories of individuals and also the discourses they had with the Buddha and with one another. CHAPTER I explains his method of study. He writes, "We are fully aware that, unlike some social scientists, we do not aim to draw from our studies any laws either of the society or human behaviour. We must be content, at least for the time being, with a description of Society as depicted in the Pali Canon, which helps us and others to understand it". CHAPTER II discusses the patterns of settlements with the help of references found in the Pali texts concerning cities, towns, villages where the Buddha or his disciples stayed for a while and preached to the people. Wherever possible the author has tried to show the economic aspect of the local groupings. CHAPTER III gives the descriptions of instances of mutual behaviour of various persons. These inter-personal relationships are given in three main categories -(1) Forms of Salutation, (2) the terms of address and (3) the terms of reference used for the persons involved. CHAPTER IV gives the study of kinship and marriage as reflected in the Pali Texts. CHAPTER V is devoted to demonstrating the fact that kinship plays a vital part in the ordering of social relationships in the Buddhist society and the extended family is an important social group within the kinship-system. Thus the kin relationships influence the ordering of economic relationships.

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REVIEWS 169 Dr. Wagle's study gives an account of Society of Northern India in the fifth Century B.C. based upon the Pali Canon. It might be pointed out here that the Mahabharata, the Ramayana and the Puranas as well as the Jaina Agamas give similar data for this period. In my opinion Dr. Wagle should have drawn upon this material for confirmation and additional light that these might throw on the various topics. It would have made his work more interesting and useful. Inspite of this, Dr. Wagle's work is an important addition to the works of Mr. and Mrs. Rhys Davids and Dr. Ficks. References, Appendix, Bibliography and Index add considerably to the value of this book for further study of the society at the time of the Buddha. PRIYABALA SHAH Ajmer Through Inscriptions ( 1532-1852 A.D.) by S.A.I.TIRMIZI; Indian Institute of Islamic Studies, New Delhi, 1968; Pages 88; Price: Rs. 15.00. The book under review deals with the Arabic and Persian inscriptions of Ajmer of the post-Sultanat period, which were earlier published in two instalments in the Epigraphia Indica, Arabic and Persian Supplement for 1957-and1958 and 1959-and-1960, and have been now presented in a book form with an Introduction and an useful Index-cum-Glossary. The Introduction traces a brief history of the city of Ajmer and its buildings in the Muslim period, and the Index is quite exhaustive. But the matter itself is not presented in a revised and developed form as is claimed by the author in the preface. In so much as Muslim Epigraphy has not been receiving any, leave alone due, attention from the scholars, this is indeed a welcome publication. In its present form, the material is bound to come to the notice of a large number of readers, for which the author as well as the enterprising publishers deserve our most sincere thanks. However, as one who was closely associated with the original article in his capacity as the editor of the said journal, this reviewer finds to his dismay that Shri Tirmizi has not taken advantage of this opportunity to present the material in a revised and developed form which could have been done without much extra care or effort. A couple of inscriptions of Ajmer which were left out from the original study could have been included (cf. Annual Report on Indian Epigraphy, 1958-59, Nos. C, 160-61). He could have also made, in the introduction, a brief reference to the history of Ajmer in the pre-Muslim times, and even for the Muslim period, too, he could have traced some more material. For example, OJ22

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170 REVIEWS an inscription mentions a noble of Muhammad bin Tughluq Shah as the governor of Ajmer (A.R.Ep., 1962-63, No.D, 198 ). Similarly, definite or more information could have been given about some of the personages mentioned in the epigraphs. For example, definite identification of Khusraw Khan (p.35) could have been made in view of references to him in contemporary historical works ( Akbar Nama, Vol. III, Calcutta, 1887, pp. 602-03, 608, 609, 634, etc.; Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, Allygurh, 1864, pp.117, 304, 358, etc.; also see MaathirulUmara, Vol. III, Calcutta, 1891, pp. 309, 346-47, 438, 486, etc. ). Or th on the history of Tonk would have furnished information about Muhammad Shah Khan (P.69) whose full name and titles were Nawwab MukhtiyarudDaula Muhammad Shah Khan Bahadur Dargham Jang (Cf. A.R.Ep., 1962-63, Nos.D, 231, 242). . In the Introduction there are a few statements which one would hesitate to ascribe to the pen of a person of Shri Tirmizi's scholarship and brilliance. For example, "This Ajmer has been a melting-pot of civilizations and empires--the Turks, the Afghans, the Mughals, the Rathods, the Marathas and the British" (p.9) or" .... the political revolutions ( at Ajmer ) that once altered the course of Indian history" (p.11 ). Such statements do not reflect correct historical sense or perspective. Also, due care has not been taken in the matter of expression and language, particularly in the portion comprising Introduction and Index: The article is in quite a few cases omitted. At times, the sentences are grammatically incorrect or the expression is loose or clumsy. To quote a few examples: "This Ajmer has been a melting pot of civilizations and empires ... the Turks, the Afghans, the Mughals, the Rathods, the Marathas and the British " (p. 9); "it was with a view to fill this gap that I contributed two articles on the subject to Epigraphia Indica ( Arabic & Persian Supplement) 1957-58, 1959-60 and are now presented in this book" (p. 9); "two tanks, one 30 steps above another" (p. 19); " all the twenty-four being identical to one another" (p. 19); "as far as purity of design and delicacy of workmanship is concerned" (p. 20); " quadrangular mausoleum " (p. 20); "and among inscriptions carved by him are, apart from ......., two are at Nagaur " (p. 26); "in the absence of any epigraphical evidence, it would not be wrong to conjecture that the construction of the red sandstone mosque ...... might have commenced about that time (p. 18-- instead of though there is no epigraphical evidence etc.); " ...... the garden called Chishti Chaman laid out in 1769 A.D....... by Santooji...... who presented it to the Mausoleum of Khwajah Muin al-Din Chishti. The Chishti Chaman was subsequently transformed into a sarai and is now situated opposite the Railway Station" (p. 20); " Jahangir was very much fond of elephants and is credited with carving elephants with masterly skill and true to nature" (p. 32 -what is perhaps meant is that Jahangir got them carved and not that he

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171 himself carved them); "Excellent and beautiful Holy House (Jerusalem) is erected" (p.56); etc. REVIEWS Likewise, one comes across a few incorrect statements or translations: The cognomen Tahir' (p. 16, f.n. 5) instead of Salim'; the name of Kami does not occur in any of the inscriptions studied here as implied (p. 21); Jahangir presented the cauldron after and not before sending prince Khurram against the Rana of Mewar (p. 21-cf. Tuzuk, p. 125); "Singhdilan (lionhearted)" (p. 19) should be Singhdalan (lion crushing)-cf. Tuzuk, p. 90; the correct translation of lines 5-6 on p. 27 is "in this mausoleum whose environs are, like Kaba, a fountain of light.."; only the first and not four of the six lines comprises the phrase Allah-u-Akbar (p. 43); the style of writing is Nastaliq and not Naskh (p. 51); the language of the inscription is Persian prose and not verse (p. 52); the date is 1063 in the text and 1062/1651 in the translation (p. 52); "unitranianism" (p. 63) should be "unitarianism"; "Walah Jah" occurring at not less than five places on pp. 64-65, should be "Wala Jah"; the inscription on p. 69 calls the deceased Muhammad Shah and not Muhammad Shah Khan. The volume II of Badauni's history was not translated by Ranking and Lane (p. 73-Lane here is apparently a misprint for Lowe) but by Lowe, Ranking having translated the first volume only; Bhakkar is not a town and tahsil in Minanwali district of Punjab (p. 79) but it was an important town now known as old Sukkur in Sind (Tarikh-i-Sind, ed. U. M. Daudpota, Bombay, 1938, introduction); to suggest that Zabulistan in Kabul (p. 87) is wrong; the Persian words Hazari, Himmat Jang (p. 81), Mir Munshi (p. 83), Mumtaz Khan Pinjara (p. 84), Sajjada-Nishin (p. 85), Wala Jah (p. 87) have been stated to be Arabic. On the printing side too, there are quite a few shortcomings which could have been avoided with a little attention. To indicate every illustration on a single sheet (i.e. plate) with the term Plate is perhaps not correct. The diacritical marks are not used, except to differentiate the letters ain and alif, but lack of care in transliteration as also in proof-reading of words containing these has resulted in curious forms in many places (cf. pp. 13, 17, 27-29, 32-37, 40, 53, 57, 67, 73-74, etc.). There are also names of which different spellings occur in the main body of the work and in the Index, and also spellings like meter' for 'metre' which occur en passim. Likewise, no uniformity has been observed in the use of italics (e.g. dalan on page 33 is in italics but in roman on page 67 ; or Masjid on page 43 is in italics but in roman on page 44), nor is the basis of such use clear: words like Masjid or Dalan are italicised, but similar words like Idgah, Chilla, etc. are not. The Standard spellings of place-names have not been adhered to: we have, for example, Juner (p. 13) for Junnar, or Mirtha (pp. 26, 61) and Mertah (p. 83) for Merta. For Nagaur, we have Nagaur (pp. 16, 29), Nagor (pp. 38, 82, 84) and Nagour (p. 43). Shri Tirmizi prefers

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172 REVIEWS Iletmish (pp. 11, 15, 78, 86) to the commonly accepted Iltutmish. Also we have such word-forms: Anasagar (pp. 42, 61, 69 ) and Ana Sagar (pp. 20, 58); Abdallah (p. 20 ) and Abd Allah (pp. 21, 36), Mirkhurd (p. 11 ) and Mir Khurd (p. 73), etc. There are a few omissions, e.g. translation of the last couplet (p. 17), one foot-note (p. 49 ), etc. The matter is wrongly punctuated in a considerable number of places, particularly in the foot-notes and translations. In the reprint of the published material, a few mistakes of the original article could have been corrected: for example, the script described as naskh (p. 51 ) is nastaliq, or the language stated to be Persian verse (p. 52), is prose. On the other hand in some places, changes, mostly in expressions of the original do not indicate improvement. For example, the unwarranted insertion of alif in square brackets in the text on p.41 (cf. Epigraphia Indica Arabic and Persian Supplement, 1957-and-1958, p. 60); handle (p. 47) instead of bundle (p: 65 ); " he belonged to shiite creed " (p. 54) instead of " he professed the shiite creed " (EIAPS, 1959-and-1960, p. 42); or "Hindun Bayana" (p. 60) instead of Hindaun near Bayana" (p. 48), or "Walah Jah" (pp. 64-65 -five times) instead of " Wala Jah" (p. 50 ). A more disappointing example of such a change is the spelling of Ghalib's work Sabad-Chin. In this book, Shri Tirmizi has reverted to his original spelling Sabad-i-Chin (pp.69 f.n.4, 74), which was corrected by this reviewer as editor of the journal to Sabad-Chin (p. 56 of the original article). Even a more serious lapse or rather reversion to an error which baffles this reviewer, is Shri Tirmizi's repeated reference to Akbar's having presented a brazen cauldron to the shrine of Khwaja Muinud-Din (pp. 17, 21, 80 ), in support of which he also quotes a chronogram of three Persian couplets allegedly commemorating that event and engraved on the vessel and the disappearance of the cauldron and its inscription (p. 17). But Badauni, whose history he quotes for this (Vol. II, text, p. 105, translation, p. 108 ) not only does not make any mention of any such offering, but he does not even refer to the chronogram as being composed for a cauldron. In fact Badauni does not refer to any cauldron at all. Shri Tirmizi has misunderstood--as was pointed out to him by this reviewer at the time of the publication of his article and the passage was at that time omitted-the word Dig' used in the text which means (as correctly understood by Lowe as seen from his translation which has been largely depended upon by Shri Tirmizi) 'a mortar'-retained in his translation by Shri Tirmizi (p. 17). A proper study of the chronogram would have made it clear that it merely seeks to give the year of the manufacture of the 'gun' or' mortar' for the conquest of Chitor. As a matter of fact, while Badauni mentions Akbar's visit to the holy shrine (by way of fulfilment of a vow ) on his return from Chitor, etc., he does make mention of the offering of any cauldron. Also Shri Tirmizi while correctly referring to Lowe's wrong calculation, has himself erred in suggesting 1 to be

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REVIEWS 173 added to the value obtained to make it conform to 975, the Hijra year in which Chitor was conquered (p. 17 f.n. 3). The fact is that the date intended to be given in the chronogram is not 975 as both Lowe and Shri Tirmizi have taken for granted, but only 974, actually afforded by the chronogram. It has escaped Shri Tirmizi's notice that the chronogram is not for the conquest of Chitor but for the manufacture of the cannon for the Chitor expedition, as is clear from his own translation : 'made, without doubt, for the conquest of Chittor, a mortar...' (p. 17). We have indicated above some of the mistakes in the hope that these will be corrected in the next edition. The printing and get up of the book are fairly good, but the price is perhaps a little on the high side, as the blocks were made available free of cost. Nevertheless, the author and the publishers have rendered valuable services to the cause of epigraphical research. Z. A. Desai Dvadasaram Nayacakram of Acarya Sri Mallavadi Ksamasramana with the commentary Nyayagamanusarini of Sri Simhasuri Gani Vadi Ksamasramana Part I ( 1-3 Aras ) : Edited with critical notes by Muni Sri Jambuvijayaji and published by Sri Jaina Atmananda Sabha-Bhavnagar. Price: Rs. 25/-. The name of Muni Sri Jambuvijayaji is by this time very well known in the realm of the oriental scholars by his editing of Vaisesika Sutravstti with the commentary of Candrananda. One can easily see his critical faculty and scientific methods of critically editing the text. It surpasses in many ways even the method of Western scholars who are the masters of scientific ways of critically editing the text. Still however, one would be amazed to know that this critical edition of Vaisesika Sutravstti by Muni Sri Jambuvijayaji is in a way a by-product of his critical edition of this book which is the result of the constant labour of nineteen years of Muniji. The MS. of this Nayacakra is nowhere available till to-day, so it is a giant task to reconstruct the text with the help of the Pratikas of the commentator Sri Sinhasurigami in his Nyayagamanusarini. The measure of the original text of Nayacakra is 10000 slokas and that of the commentary is of 18000 slokas. How much labour and pain he has taken after this reconstruction is described in detail by the editor himself in his Gujarati introduction. In this way he has " . 1 Vide Gujarati introduction, pp. 70-73.

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174 REVIEWS tried his level best to reconstruct the original texts and has brought to the nearest reading of the original text. Of course, the MS of the original text being not available one cannot boast that this particular reading was an original one but at the same time the reading of the text also inspires the reader to congratulate the learned editor for his imagination to put the text to the nearest original reading. It is also the credit of Sri Jaina Atmananda Sabha to publish it as the 92nd book of its Sri atmananda Jaina Granthamala. To facilitate the understanding of this work, the editor has adorned the work with his valuable and learned notes with equally useful foot-notes on the same. These notes and foot-notes are quite helpful to understand not only the trend of the commentator but also that of Mallavadi, the author of Nayacakra. The editor has further adorned this edition by giving a specimen of a Tibetan text in Nagari script of a portion of the 1st Pariccheda of the Pramanasamuccaya of Dinnaga with his own commentary. Here also he has made the appendix quite useful with his learned foot-notes. We also cannot but join with the learned introduction of Prof. Erich Frauwallner and our warmest thanks on behalf of all interested in the original works of Indian Philosophy and especially in Jaina doctrines are due to the editor who has taken such a tremendous amount of work upon himself. We also congratulate the trustees of Sri Jaina atmananda Sabha to publish such a jewel with low price that learned persons can afford to purchase. We hope that the other part of this book will soon be out. J. S. JETLY Pramana-Naya-Tattvalokalankara of Vadidevasuri....... Rendered into English with a commentary by Dr. Hari Satya Bhattacharya. Published by Jaina Sahitya Vikasa Mandala-Bombay 56. Pages 677; price Rs. 20/- (Inland / 226; Sh. 19 (Foreign ). This is the English translation of Vadidevsuri's Pramana-Naya-Tattvalokalankara with Ratnaprabha's commentary thereon. This translation was done by Dr. Hari Satya Bhattacharya long ago and was once published parts by parts in the Jaina gazette which was then published from Madras. After the translation was fully published the attention of the famous scholar late H. Jacobi was drawn towards it and he wrote a Foreword to it. The Foreword of H. Jacobi was lost and whether the whole translation with H. Jacobi's Foreword was published in Jaina gazette or not is again a matter of research. However, this learned and useful translation of such a difficult book like Pramana-Naya-Tattvalokalankara with Ratnaprabha's commentary by a learned

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REVIEWS 175 scholar like Hari Satya Bhattacharya temporarily went to darkness. We therefore congratulate the trustees of Jaina Sahitya Vikasa Mandala for showing the light of the day to such a good work by taking keen interest into it. The translation is a lucid one and is in such an easy language that even an ordinary person having knowledge of English and having interest in Indian philosophy and logic can easily follow it. Thus the translation has made such a difficult subject easily approachable and intelligible. The only thing which hurts us is a long list of errata. This list contains about 396 mistakes in a book of 677 pages. We do not know who is responsible for such a long list of mistakes but the proofs of such a fine work should have been read carefully. So at least it should not have made such a long list ot printing errors. J. S. JETLY