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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[AUGUST 2, 1872.
his Prachanda pandava (Aufrecht, Catal. in seven chapters, quae singulorum Ramayana p. 140a.), -by Dhanamjaya, who belongs librorum nomina gerunt, contains an epitome of to the same period, in his Dabar û pa, I. 61 the seven books of the Ramayana (Aufrecht, (Ramayanadi cha vibhavya Bțihatkhatam cha), p. 7a); and that in the Padma purâņa several --by Govardhana, who also lived some- sections are occupied with the history of Rama where in the tenth or twelfth century, in the (ibid. p. 13, 14). The Skanda ruraņa too appears opening of his Saptasa ti(v. 32, sri-Râmi- to contain a short section on the same, introduced yana-Bhårata-Brihatkath&nam kavîn namas- in connection with the account of the Râmanavakurmaḥ; v. 83, sati kákutsthakulonnatikariri mívrata. Regarding the section of the VishRa mAyane kim anyakávyena?),-hy Triņu purâņa that relates to this matter (IV. 4). vikram a bhatta in the opening of his see Wilson, p. 385, and Hall, in his edition Damayantikatha (v. 11, namas tasmai of Wilson's translation, III. 317. In addition kțite yena ramya Ramayan it katha),-by to these, I have only been able to get from the Raja-tarangini (I. 166, vide supra p. 239) the Brahmând a purana a Rámdyanamáhatmya -finally, by Sargadhara (kavindun Aufrecht, l. c. 80a), and the Adhyatmaramdyana. naumi Valmikio yasya Ramayanin ka But we have still to mention here that singular thâm chandrikam iva chinvanti chakora iva work which bears the name: Arsham (or årshesadhavab see Böhtlinyk, Ind. Sprüche, 3885; yarachitam) vasishţbam maharamayana (see Verz. and Aufrecht, Catal. p. 1246). In the Brahma- der Berl. S. H. p. 187-194; Aufrecht, Catalogus, Vaivartapura na also :'itihâso Bharatan p. 354ab.), which is placed in the mouth of Valcha Valmikan karyam eva cha' are mentioned miki, and which against the 24,000 verses of after the eighteen Upapuranas, (see Burnouf, the ordinary Ramayana, seems to represent a Introduction to the Bhagavata Purdna, I. 23.) redaction in 100,000 verses, but really contains In the Vishnupurána, III. 3. “Riksha, the only an exhortation addressed by Vasishtha to descendant of Bhrigu, who is also known by the youthful Rama regarding true blessedness the name Valmiki" appears as the Vyasa and the means of attaining to it, accompanied (reviser) of the twenty-fourth dv&pars—which by numerous narratives, that are quoted as illusunquestionably refers to Válmski's authorship trative examples. We have next, directly conof the Ramayana: (see Wilson, p. 273; Hall, nected herewith, the artificial-epic (dating perIII. 35.)
even from the eleventh century), RaghavaIn the latter class, we have first of all to con- påndaviya of Kaviraja, which sums up sider the later epic literature to which the two at the same time and in the same words the great epics gave rise. The literature of the contents of the Râmâyaņa and of the MahdPuriņas, however, which calls for the earli- bharata, and which has served as a model est attention here, yields comparatively little for a whole series of similar artificial works. that bears on our subject (see my Abh. über die And lastly, as occupying the same ground, Rrima Táp. Un. p. 281). I take from Aufrecht's though quite modern, we have to mention also : Catalogus the statement that the Agnipurana --the Ramachandracharitrasára of Agnivea,
Dhanika, see Hall, Introduction to the Dasarúpa p. 2. The verse in the opening of the Prachandapdndara, which has in view the self-laadation of the poet, occurs again, in precisely the same words, in the beginning of another drams by the same author, the Balaramayang namely (I. 16 p. 9, vide infra p. 251), and reads thus :babbva Valmi kabhavah purs kavis, tatah prapede
bhavi Bharti menthatam sthitah punar o Bhavabh & tirekhay, s vartate
samprati Rajasekharabl * See Hall in his edition (Calc. 1865) Introd. p. 2. 8.
See my Abh. über Hala'. Saptas' atakn, p. 9. 10.
Vyses with the Bharata, Bana and Gandhya are meationed further on
$According to Hall, Introd. to the Vasaradatta p. 48 A. B. 1863.
| And before that of the Harivans's and the Mahibharata.
ID a passage quoted in the Sarvadlarsinna.imgraha, LXXII. 16 from the skanda, the mla-Ramayana "Original Ramayana," is designated, after the four Vedas, the Bharata and he P&ichardtrak , As also possessing the character of BASTA. And this evident-
ly presumes the existence of various later versions of the Ramayana.
On this work see Wheeler, in vol. II. We already know. from Friederich (Ind. Stud. II. 181, 182), that this Purana is found in Java, on the island Bali, and it would be interesting to learn whether the Javanese text contains also these two pieces.
+ When Taranátha (Schiefoer, p. 6) speaks of a Ramiyada in 100,000 verses, as little weight is to be attached to the statement as when (ibid.) he ascribes 80,000 verses to the Raghupans'a!
For the sake of these stories, a more thorough investigation of the work would certainly be very desirable. It is quoted so early as by Sarngadhara (see Aufrecht, Catalogu, p. 125a), and it was probably composed in Kashmir.
$ See Ind. Streifen, I. 352, 269, 271 and my Abh. uber das saptanatakam des Hdin, p. 6.
| Thus Chidambarakavi in his Bharata-Ramdyana-Bhagatatuadra treats of the history of these three works at the same time and in the same words; Nee Taylor, Catalogue, p. 175, 176 (each verse is therefore "capable of three renderinge"). An analogous literary conceit is the Ramakrishnakdeya, probably composed by Saryadass whose date falls about 1610 Nee Aufrecht, Catalogus, 1324.
