Indian Antiquary Vol 03

SR No.: 032495
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 420
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
be impossible to know what the number means without an explanation; but the present owner of the inkstand states that he inherited it from his father, who was the Vazir of Maskat, and that the number 110 stands as a chronogram of his father's name, which was 'Ali, because we get, according to the Abujad = 70, J= 30, and = 10, and the sum of the three, 110 Hence the two spaces contain the words "The property of 'Ali." 2. The inkstand, with two holes for ink, into which the pen is to be dipped. One of these holes is shown on the figure, and the other is covered by a leaf. Both these leaves move on hinges.
Asiatic Society of Bengal. The parent Society at Calcutta has, as usual, contributed an ample share to the cultivation of the various fields of Oriental research,-thanks to the liberal patronage of the Government of India, to the ability and zeal of many of the members of that Institution, and to the unrivalled facilities it enjoys for obtaining new materials of literary and antiquarian interest. Among the numerous original papers in its Journal, the excellent contributions of the learned Honorary Secretary of the Society, Dr. H. Blochmann, deserve especially to be mentioned, viz. his essay on "Koch Bihâr and Asâm in the 16th and 17th Centuries," and two papers by him "On the Geography and History of Bengal." Scarcely less valuable are Mr. A. M. Broadley's detailed descriptions of the Buddhistic remains in Bihar; Sir Arthur Phayre's sketch of the history of Pegu, chiefly based on the narrative of a Buddhist monk, written in the Mun language, and Babu Râjendralâla Mitra's papers on the consumption of Beef and Spirituous Liquors in Ancient India.
[NOVEMBER, 1874.
There is a partition in this little inkbox, so that, if required, one of the holes may be filled with black, and the other with red ink.
Branch Societies.-A number of the Journal of the Bombay Branch which has been recently received contains some valuable archæological contributions by Prof. R. G. Bhandarkar and Dr. Bhâu Dâji, consisting of copies and translations of ancient inscriptions. The former scholar has also contributed to it a paper on the Mahabhárata, which contains an admirable summary of the evidence found in Sanskrit works regarding the age of that epic; whilst Dr. Bhâu has also given an analysis of the Harsha-charitam of the poet Bâna, from the first complete MS., which a former pandit of his has had the good fortune to discover in Kâśmir. It had been hitherto supposed that the writer did not live to finish
3. The whole box, the top of which alone is shown in Fig. 1. It may be seen that the small space on the left side is to receive the inkstand shown in Fig. 2. The larger space serves as a receptacle for the sandbox, penknife, and kalam or reed-pen.
PROGRESS OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH IN 1872-73.* [Abridged from the Report of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1874.]
4.-A small silver ladle, nearly like a saltspoon, for sanding any particular spot of the writing. 5.-Cover for the sandbox; but the top is also used as a seal. 6.-Cylindrical sandbox.
this work; but the copy now brought to light shows it to be complete in eight books. Mr. Viśvanâth N. Mandlik has given an account of the shrine of Mahabales vara, on the Sahyadri mountains, near the source of the river Krishna, together with a legendary text on the origin and history of that temple, forming part of the Skandapurâna. On the authority of the Prabandhakosha, the work of the Jain Rajasekharasûri, containing biographical notices of twenty-four celebrated men, which Dr. G. Bühler has lately acquired for the Government of Bombay, that scholar discusses the age of the Naishadha-charitam of Sri Harsha. The conclusion at which he arrives is that the work was composed between A.D. 1163 and 1174. Some further discussion regarding the date of this writer has since taken place, with reference to Dr. Bühler's paper, in the Indian Antiquary. +
The last number (No. VI. of the New Series) of the Journal of the North China Branch is also full of valuable and interesting information on subjects connected with the history and geography, the manners and literature, of China. Of especial interest are the contributions of Mr. E. J. Eitel, on the fabulous source of the Hoangho, which the Buddhists believe to spring from a Himalayan lake; of Mr. W. F. Mayers, on the Chinese God of Literature; of Mr. K. Himly, on the Chinese game of chess; the Journals of Mr. J. Markham and Dr. S. W. Williams; and a retrospect, by Mr. J. M. Canny, of events in China and Japan during the years 1869 and 1870. The Journal of the Ceylon Branch for 1872 also contains some very valuable contributions . . . ‡
Ceylon.-Some papers recently submitted to our Society by Mr. Rhys Davids show that the exploration of the archæological and literary re
Vide ante, p. 56. †See vol. I. pp. 30, 298, 299; 352, 353; vol. II. pp. 71 ff. 127, 128; 213, 240, 306; vol. III. pp. 29, 31, 81. I See Ind. Ant. vol. II. p. 229.