Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 02
Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

View full book text
Previous | Next

Page 203
________________ JULY, 1873.] ON COPYING INSCRIPTIONS. ON COPYING INSCRIPTIONS. HE two great desiderata in Indian ArcheTHE ology at the present time are-a connected history of Indian art, and a collection of the Inscriptions. So far as Architecture at least is concerned, the want, we believe, would soon be supplied by the only writer able to do full justice to the subject to interpret correctly its history and development, and to read therein the record of the past-were the materials only available. But they are not: nor is there much promise at present of their soon being forthcoming. To the inscriptions, on the other hand, the attention of many labourers has been directed. Our knowledge of the early history of India is so extremely meagre, that those interested in it long since naturally gave their attention to the numerous existing records of this kind. Thus Lassen rote fully twenty years ago,-"the only hop perhaps of replacing the want of documents and annals... and of filling up the many lacunae in the history centres in the Inscriptions. Their high importance as a supplement to the history imperfectly transmitted to us, and as a means of fixing the eras of dynasties, was recognized and called attention to by him who laid the foundation of the knowledge of most branches of Indian Antiquities,-namely, Colebrooke, who himself also edited and translated several inscriptions with his usual accuracy. The learned Society, one of whose greatest ornaments he was, possesses in its Transactions most of the communications of this sortt; and several of its members have by these acquired imperishable merit in the investigation of Indian Antiquities. It is no slight to others if here I only specialize James Prinsep, who not only himself deciphered the oldest forms of writing, and edited more inscriptions than any one else, but who knew also how to incite his fellows to search for and communicate them." After enumerating some of the more remarkable, he justly adds, "as to the inscriptions collected, we are indebted for the knowledge and preservation of these ancient monuments of the country not so much to the care of Go p. 238. See Asiat. Res. vol. IX. p. 398, or Misc. Essays, vol. II. In the Asiat. Res. vol. I. printed at Calcutta in 1788, five inscriptions are given, three of them translated by C. Wil kins; and the first mention is made of the Asoka inscriptions, at p. 879. Lassen, Indische Alterthumskunde, vol. II. pp. 42 to 45. 183 vernment as to the zeal and care of isolated individuals; who have hence acquired the merit of securing them from the destruction to which so many others have fallen a prey, and have thus contributed as far as they were able to their preservation. In order to utilize those collected for the purposes of science, it would be necessary that a scholar qualified by requisite knowledge should arrange and edit them, which however could only be accomplished were the Indian Government to allow a subsidy for the labour. That, however, will probably remain a pium desiderium, though such an obligation is much more incumbent on it than editing the cuneiform inscriptions was on the French Government, or the collecting and elaborating the Greek and Latin inscriptions on the Prussian Academy of Sciences."+ The list of workers in this department is thus briefly summarized by Mr. A. C. Burnell§: "The Portuguese at Goa took some inscriptions on stone to their native country, but Sir Chas. Wilkins was the first to explain one (at Cintra), about the end of the last century. The earlier volumes of the Asiatic Researches contain several interpreted by Wilkins, Jones, and Colebrooke, and in the later volumes H. H. Wilson contributed many valuable articles on this subject. The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal about forty years ago made (by the articles by J. Prinsep, Dr. Mill, and others) immense progress, and of later years the same Journal, the Journals of the Royal Asiatic Society and of the Bombay Society, have often done much to advance the study of the Sanskrit inscriptions of India, and the names of Mr. Norris, Professor Dowson, Mr. Thomas, Mr. Bayley, Dr. Bhâu Dâjî, and Babu Rajendralâl Mittra need scarcely be mentioned as most diligent and successful decipherers. In the South of India an immense number of inscriptions xist in the socalled Dravidian languages, many of which are not inferior in antiquity or interest to most of the Sanskrit and Prakrit inscriptions of the SA few suggestions as to the best way of making and utilising copies of Indian Inscriptions. By A. C. Burnell, M.C.S., M.R.A.S., Madras, 1870. The contents of this well-considered little pamphlet are so deserving of attention, and of being made more widely known than they as yet seem to be, that the greater portion of it is now reproduced in these columns.

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428