Indian Antiquary Vol 17

SR No.: 032509
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 430
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[APRIL, 1888.
position to continue their depredations, and deprived him in St. 1905 (A.D. 1848) of his even their Afghan allies fled in dismay to their kingdom and his wealth. Being young and own cuantry, whilst numbers of fugitive Sikhs, friendless, the nobles of his court quickly whose lives had been spared, left the Paõjáb severed all connection with Dalip Singh, who and found a new home in British India. After was henceforth left alone. He remained a the English had thus for the second time restored few years more in India, and was afterwards at peace in the Pañjáb, the Governor-General, who his own request taken to England, where he is found it nevertheless impossible to trust the now established," enjoying wealth and dignity Sikhs with an independent government, decided by the favour of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, on dethroning Dalîp Singh, and accordingly! who is as kind to him as a mother.
THE VICISSITUDES OF THE BUDDHIST LITERATURE OF CEYLON.
BY THE REV. T. FOULKES. The great influence which the historical a work of a considerably later period. Turbooks of Ceylon have had in the formation nour erroneously regarded these two books as of the prevailing views of some portions of the identical, and was unable to throw off the idea, ancient history of India, and especially of its although he subsequently had the Dipavmisa chronology, makes it very desirable that as in his hands, and made an analysis of its much as is possible should be known of the contents. The text and an English translahistory of the literature to which they belong. tion of the Dépavasása were published in 1879 The recent rapidly accumulating additions by Professor Oldenberg; and a retranslation from other Buddhist literatures have taken the of a portion of it by Mr. Donald Ferguson books of Ceylon out of the isolation in which appeared in this journal, ante, Vol. XIII. p. they formerly stood, and help to throw light 33ff. Oldenbergo has shown that the Dipaupon the legends of the Sinhalese; and they vansa quoted by Buddhaghosha in the 5th themselves contain an incidental record of the century, A.D., differed in some details from many vicissitudes to which this particular the existing work of that name; still there is literature was exposed in the midst of the sufficient probability on the side of the supposipolitical and religious changes which mark the tion that the existing recension is at least a history of the island. The object of this paper close recast of the original work. We have is to bring together that scattered information, the Mahdvarlsa in two different recensions; and to gather from it whatever it may teach us one of them is an English translation edited of the history of'this interesting literature. by Upham in 1833, and made for Sir Alexan
The authorities here referred to are the der Johnston, a former Chief Justice of Ceylon; Dipavamsa, the Mahavamsa, the Rajaratna- and the other, published in 1837, by the Hon. kari, the Rajavali, and some other works which George Turnour, of the Ceylon Civil Service. are occasionally quoted below, but need not be Turnour's translation has the great advantage of separately named here. Of these the Rajarat.
being accompanied by the Pali text; but it nákari and the Rájávali are written in the extends only as far as the 38th chapter, bringing Sinhalese language, and are of comparatively the history down no later than A.D. 477 ; while recent date.' The Dipavasisa and the Mahá- the Upham recension contains eighty-eight out varsa are in the Pâli language, and have both of the hundred chapters of which the work been supposed to belong to the 5th century, consists, and brings the history down to A.D. A.D.' But while there is good evidence in 1319. The unpublished chapters' continue the sopport of the claim of the Dipavashsa, in its history down to the latter half of the 18th original form, to that early date, there are century. strong reasons for regarding the Mahávarhsa as The traditions to be considered in this
See Journal of the Bengal Asiatic Society for 1888,
i.e. when this book was written.
Upham's Sacred and Historical Books of Ceylon, Introd. pp. viii. xvi. : Turnour's Mahawanso, Introd. P. ii. : Hardy's Manual of Buddhism, 519.
Turnour, op. cit. Introd. p. liv., and notes on pp. xci. and 257
• Introd. p. 9.
Turnour's Synopris, Introd. p. xcii.