Book Reviews

Author(s): J W De Jong
Publisher: J W De Jong

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REVIEWS
139
district about 40 miles from Hyderabad. In his introduction Venkatacharya gives a history of the Recarla family, quoting from N. Venkataramaniah's introduction to his edition of the Velugötivārivamsävali (Madras University, 1939). Venkatacharya explains the name Recarla as being a regionalized form of the word rājācala (p. lxvi). According to Venkataramaniah, Simhabhūpāla must have ascended the throne some time after 1381 AD, the date of the latest inscription of his father Anapota (p. Lxxvi).
For his edition Venkatacharya has consulted eleven manuscripts, seven of which are in Telugu characters and four in Grantha characters (cf. pp. xii-xiv and xxxvii-xlii). In his lengthy introduction he deals with many topics related to the RAS (= Rasārņavasudhakara]: IV. Some Telugu and Sanskrit titles (hirudas) found in the RAS (pp. lxxviii-Lxxxiii); V. The five arthopaksepaka-s (introductory scenes) and the question of ankabahirbhāva of the viskambhaka and the praveśaka (pp. lxxxii-xciii); VI. The samdhiniyama and kramaniyama of the samdhyanga-s and the position of the samdhyantara-s (pp. xciii-xcix); VII. The type of prahasana to which the Bhagavadajjuka belongs (pp. xcix--ciii); VIII. On Rudrata mentioned in the Rasärnavasudhakara (pp. ciii-cxi); IX. Is Bahurūpamiśra later than Simhabhūpāla? (pp. cxi--cxix); X. The meaning of the word vāsaka in Vāsakasajjā or Vāsakasajjikā; XI. The rangaprasādana or the rangaprasādhana (pp. cxix-cxxiv); XII. Correct readings in the new manuscripts of the RAS, and the incorrect ones in TSS edition (pp. cxxiv-cxxvi); XIII. Names of authors and works mentioned in the RAS (pp. cxxvi-cxxix); XIV. Some works and writers quoted in the RAS without mentioning the names (pp. cxxix-xxx); XV. RAS quoted by others (p. cxxx). The RAS quotes many verses which have almost all been identified by the editor. They are listed in the index of illustrative and other verses (pp. 491-515).
The edition of the text is accompanied by many notes which not only list variant readings but also contain explanations and references to other works on dramaturgy. The work consists of four vilāsa-s, the contents of which are listed in detail in the vişayanukramaņi (pp. xv-xxxvi).
In 1969, T. Venkatacharya published an edition of the Dasarūpaka with Dhanika's Avaloka and Bhattanssimha's Laghutikā (The Adyar Library Series, vol. 97). The edition of the RAS could not have been entrusted to better hands. It is a great pleasure to welcome this excellent edition which has been beautifully printed by the Adyar Library. The RAS has not yet been translated into English. The only translation available at present is a Telugu translation published by Bulusu Venkataramaniah in 1950 (cf. p. xi). Professor Venkatacharya would oblige the world of scholarship greatly by translating this text which he knows better than anybody else.
Australian National University
J. W. DE JONG
Monika Jordan Horstmann, Sadani. A Bhojpuri Dialect Spoken in Chotanagpur. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden, 1969. XX, 196 pages, bibliography, maps.
One of the most promising areas of research in New Indo-Aryan linguistics at the present time is that of the four language) -Maithilī, Magahī, Bhojpurī, and Sadānī - that belong to the Bihari subdivision of the Hindi group of languages. Several fascinating and as yet little-investigated features of these forms of speech will have to be thoroughly looked into before a satisfactory understanding of the grammatical evolution of the contemporary Indo-Aryan languages of northern India can be reached. Among these features are: the presence of a numeral classifier - which is a trait of all the Bihari and Eastern Hindi languages east of a line running from north to south through the districts of Kheri, Unnao, and Fatehpur in Uttar Pradesh; the use of as many as three alternate forms for nouns and adjectives; a weakened distinction of number and gender; and an interesting verbal system.
The obvious linguistic importance of the Bihari languages did not pass unnoticed in the