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SEPT. 6, 1872.]
THE PRITHIRAJA RASAU.
269
interesting language. The pronunciation of Kash- mîri is different in different parts of Kashmir, but on the whole, the above attempt, which was made in 1865, to commit to Roman letters a connected specimen of the Kashmiri language, may be consi-
dered as fairly successful. At any rate, the readers of the “ Antiquary" are now offered the first instalment of Kashmiri Literature, no portion of which has been hitherto published in Kashmiri for European readers.
TRANSLATION FROM THE FIRST BOOK OF THE PRITHIRÁJA RÁSAU.
BY KAVI CHAND BARDÁI.
The following pages are a paraphrase of the short. Here and there descriptions of scenery or whole of the first book of Chand's vast poem, with of festivals are omitted. In all narrative parts, the exception of the introductory portion, that is however, the paraphrase is close and exact, almost the first 136 stanzas containing about 1,500 lines. approaching to a literal translation.
The book opens with invocation to Vishnu and I have compared it with the original as conSiva and their wives. Then Chand holds a long tained in a fairly correct manuscript in my possesconversation with his wife, in which he recites the sion, and made such alterations as were necessary names and number of verses in the eighteen Purâns, to bring it into more accurate correspondence with then follow some more hymns to gods.
the original.
J. BEAMES. . At stanza 48 begins the well known legend of Parikshita, and the serpent sacrifice of his son
PRITHIRÁJA RASAU. Janarejayn, after which comes the story of the foundation of Mount Abu by the Rishi Vasishtha, The causer of calamity to the world was and the celebrated sacrifice thereon, which led to Bisal Rai [the son of Balan Rai],-a great the preparation of the fire-fountain (97 Anal
sinner, fond of riches : he did things that ought kund), from which sprung in succession the Prati
not to be done and things that ought to be done ; hâr, Chalukya, and Panwar, and finally, as these
terrible as an Asura, from mines he dug up were unable to cope with the demons, the Chahuvans.t The first of the race was called Anal because he
wealth, he was blinded by lust (kam), he recolsprung from the fire ; and after recording his vic
lected not death (kcal); right and unright he tories over the Daityas, Dånavas, Rakshasas and
regarded as equal; he acted not according to objectionable beings in general, the bard briefly Râjniti, in many places, though a king he fixed recounts the list of his descendants, saying nothing customs not sanctioned; he paid no respect to particular about any of them until he comes to religion; he abandoned the Vedas and followed Bisal Del, the twenty-third in descent from
the Tantras. Abandoning the bounds of right Anal.
he abandoned also the bounds of good fame. He Here the present version begins, and I leave it to tell its own tale. It is not in all cases a literal word
abandoned justice and followed injustice. No for word translation. To those who read Chand for
Atith (mendicant) was to be seen in his darbâr. the sake of the historical, legendary, and geogra
He heard his own ill name among men. For phical information which his poem contains, the sixty-four years he ruled. He enjoyed not the following rendering will be highly useful and happiness of a son. His body was subjected to satisfactory ; on the other hand, it is much less
age; he became like a stalk of poison. All useful to the philologist, who, while caring com
his life was devoted to the desire of wealth and paratively little for the facts related, scrutinizes
to kam. He was possessed by an evil spirit, he minutely every noun and verb in order to detect the ancient forms of inflexion, and the archaic pho
became Dhundhå the Asura. The Yoginis nesis of the language.
worshipped him, riding in a lofty chariot with It is properly speaking a paraphrase. All Chand's
four wheels, he had swords in both hands, fire repetitions, his long-winded and rambling style, his issued from his mouth. Stamping on the earth unnecessary heaps of epithets are ruthlessly cut he shook it. His shout was like the shout of
Most of the explanatory words and phrases have been omitted in the interlinear translation, in order to bring each line of the original within the width of our column and thus present a complete specimen of rhymed Kashmiri-ED.
The version is taken partly from the Rds Mald of the late Hon. A. K. Forbes, (vol. I. pp. 92-99), and partly from his notes written down from a viva voce translation into Gujarati, read off from the Hindi by the well-known Dalpatram Dayabhai, the Kaveshwar, who was five years in his service. Some verbal changes were made in copying the notes five years ago.ED.
+ Conf. Tod, Rajasthan, vol. I. pp. 94, 95, where an extract from this part of the book is given.-ED.
