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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[JANUARY 5, 1872.
MISCELLANEA. MR. RAVENSHAW'S HISTORY OF GAUR. Rajasekhara's account of the age of the Shri Harsha In reply to a letter from the Government of India is confirmed by the fact, that the latter states, at the to the Director-General of the Archæological Sur- end of his Naishadhiyakavya, that he was honoured vey of India, asking him to state whether he was
by a king of Kanyakubya. prepared to revise and edit Mr. Ravenshaw's historical sketch of the kingdom of Gaur, General Cun
THE SELONS. ningham wrote as follows:
COLONEL BROWNE, the Deputy Commissioner of "I beg to state that I feel some delicacy about
the Mergui district, British Burmah, gives a very meddling with Mr. Ravenshaw's historical sketch interesting account of the Selons, a peculiar race of without his permission, as he states that he spent
people living under our rule. This they have been much time and labour upon it, and evidently be
doing ever since Mergui became ours, some fifty lieves that he has made a very good job of it. But
years ago, and yet they are described as perfectly if he has no objection to my revision of his sketch,
uncivilized, and not a bit the better for our rule. I would undertake to edit the work, merely making
The number of this race living in British territory the necessary corrections in his text, and adding
is about 1,000. They have no written language, such notes as are absolutely necessary to illustrate
nor have they any traditions regarding their origin.
Dr. Mason, the well known American Missionary the subject. I woull, however, give an introduc
of the Karens, is of opinion that they have a Polytory chapter, treating of the style of architecture
nesian origin, but their Mongolian cast of features compared with that of Northern India, as shown in the existing buildings at Delhi and Jounpur.
completely upsets this theory. Their spoken lan"I should like also, if possible, to obtain some
guage is quite distinct from the Burmese. They further illustrations of the Muhammadan architecture
are divided into families; these we are told, of Bengal from the eastern capital of Sonårgaon,
are free to intermarry with each other, but the which still exists about 20 miles from Dacca."
bride becomes a part of her husband's family. The
wealth consists of boats and fishing apparatus. General Cunningham has been asked to place
Each family appears to understand its own boundhimself in communication with Mr. Ravenshaw with reference to the proposed editing of the sketch.
aries, and no encroachment is allowed by one into the We have been favoured with a copy of a letter,
preserves of another. The race is described as
strong and well-built but very ugly. They go about dated 6th September, from the Bengal Governinent
almost naked. They live in small huts of a most to the Commissioner of Dacca, asking that official to be so good as to report, for the Lieutenant
primitive closcription, in which the whole fainily is
huddled together. Their principal weapon appears Governor's information, whether there is any one in
to be the spear, with which they capture fish and Dacca or its neighbourhood who is willing to tako
wild pigs, which constitute their principal articles photographs of the Muhammadan architectural ruins
of fool. Turtles and shell-fislı also afford them of Sonärgnon, and to supply Government with
subsistence, together with yams, which grow on the copies of those views at a moderate cost."-English islands, and are sometimes found of 30 pounds man, Oct. 20.
weight. They are very fond, wo are told, of opium,
arrak and tobacco. Weaving cloth is unknown to SHRI HARSHA.
them, but they manufacture neat sleeping mats of a At the monthly meeting of the Bombay B. R.
certain kind of leaf, and the sails of their boats are Asiatic Society, on the 9th Nov. Dr. George Bühler
constructed of the same material. They are without read A paper entitled "A Note on the History
religion of any sort, and have no idea of a future of the Sanskrit Literature," of which the following
existence. Like the Dyaks of Borneo they believe is a brief abstract:
in the existence of spirits, which haunt streams, A Jaina writer, Rajasekhara, gives in his Prabhan
forests, &c. When a Selon dies, his body, with his dakoshin, composed A.D. 1348, a life of Shri Harelua.
spear, &c., is placed on a mat on the sea beach. IIis Ile states that Shri Harsha, the son of Hira, was born
friends then vacate the spot, and return after a year in Benares, and composed the Naishadha-charita at
to bury the bones and the weapons. They are said the request of a king at that town, named Jayanta
to be very truthful, and polygamy and conjugal chandra the son of Govinda Chandra. Various
infidelity are unknown among them. They are details which Rajasekhara gives regarding Jayanta
Moreover of a mild and peaceable nature, and offer chandra, especially the statement that he had the
no resistance to the attacks frequently made upon surnaine Panjula, that he was contemporary of
them by Malay pirates.-Delhi Gazette. Kumarapala of Anahillapattan, and that lie and his dynasty were destroyed by the Musalmany, show that
ROCK TEMPLE AT HARCHOKA. Rajn Sekhara's Jayantachandra is nobody else than Ar the last meeting of the Asiatic Society at Calthe Kashtrakuta princo, Jayachandra, who reigned cutta, an interesting letter was read from Captain over Kanyakubya and Benares, in the latter half of W. L. Samuells, Assistant Commissioner, Parhumba, the 12th century, probably fronı 1168-1194.
Chord Line, regarding a rock-cut temple which he
