Indian Antiquary Vol 04

Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 72

62
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
प्रगुणिता पुरुषोत्तमाय, where it evidently means tired" or "got ready." In the form
66
वापीकूपतडागानां देवालयकुजन्मनाम् उत्सर्गात्परतः स्वाम्यमपिकर्तुं न शक्यते.
at
it
is found also in Tantra ii. page 12, and means "spread out," "arranged." Passing on to page 52, where we are introduced to some young Brahmans who are lamenting their poverty, the following line occurs- - अर्थोमणा विरहित: पुरुष: सएव बाह्य: क्षणेन भवतीति विचित्रमेतत्, "man forsaken by wealth immediately becomes (is looked upon as) a stranger (or outcaste)," but, strange to say, the word art: has been translated "a corpse"! Possibly the learned annotator had in mind the word "to be carried away," and concluded that the poverty-stricken wretch was only fit to be taken away to the burning-ground! We are inclined to think that the words मूर्च्छना and तान on p. 63 are mistranslated, but this is a difficult point. The music of India and Europe are so dissimilar that it is hard to say what terms in the one are exactly represented by those of the other. Turning now to No. III. (Tantras ii. and iii.) we find on page 17 the expression rendered "with the help of the fire imparted by the treasure," but more correctly it should be "by means of the warmth of the treasure." Again, instead of the note on page 50, line 15, we would suggest the words "in order that we may fix upon a plan and the means of carrying it out." On page 66, the following verse
occurs :
is translated "slaves," but we should like some authority for it. Its literal meaning is "low-born," but such a one is not necessarily a slave, and we have never met with a passage in which the word required that interpretation. In the Bhagavata Purána, IV. 4, 22, it is used in its literal sense as an epithet of . In the passage quoted above, however, it would be infinitely better to derive the word from, the ground, the whole compound thus meaning "ground-produced," i.e. "a tree." The vocable, a tree, is met with in the Kirátárjunkya, XV. 18, and is merely another form of it, on the same principle as and . If rendered "ponds, wells, tanks, temples, and trees," the passage presents a more homogeneous whole than it does if "slaveR" are introduced.
[FEBRUARY, 1875.
offered. What authority is there, for instance, for translating (page 16, line 9) by "appellation;" or a (page 18, line 21) by "after great consideration," when it evidently means "as a special favour"? We cannot uphold either "one who is a stranger to noble conduct (but) possesses manifold wealth" as the interpretation of the compound दूरीदारचरित्र चित्रविभवं, which really means " having wonderful dignity on account of his very magnanimous actions." is here equivalent to af, and is used adverbially. It is used in a similar sense in Bala Bharata, i. 4, 183. Then too T: (page 38, line 14) means "convinced by what he had seen," rather than "one who has seen conviction"! On page 45, line 12, the annotator suggests that should there be considered a noun. There is not the slightest need, however, of so taking it. The word in the sentence is equivalent to तस्मिन् (देवायतने ), and the compounds which follow are adjectives qualifying it. The meaning of the word in question will thus be "filled with" or "thronged by." Doubtless the meaning wick admirably suits the word T on page 57, line 10, but some authority should have been cited for it. It is not countenanced by Amara, Medini, or any other dictionary consulted by us. Could the wick be rightly termed, however? Those submerged in the oil of a regular diwá are anything but bright! It would be almost better not to carry the analogy beyond the first line, and so confine the : to the king. (page 74, line 21) does not mean "one who requires some nourishing food," but "one who is going through a course of diet;" similarly f (on the next page) is improperly translated "the suppression of hunger, i.e. the inability to satisfy one's hunger." It means rather " the check (to your recovery) caused by hunger." The lion was being dieted after an illness, and the want of his usual diet would retard his recovery. We will close with one more instance, taken from page 76. We find there this obscure sentence, गतं चानृण्यं भर्तृपिण्डस्य, which Dr. Kielhorn renders "you are not guilty of his majesty's fq, i.e. you are not guilty of his death." This is scarcely satisfactory, and we suggest instead, "you have done your duty as regards our master's person." These, then, are the chief points on which we differ from the editors, and they are as nothing in comparison of those of agreement.
We proceed now to No. IV. (Tantra i.), which was edited by Dr. Kielhorn. There are many difficult and doubtful passages in this Tantra, which have generally been elucidated, though we cannot but demur to some of the explanations
THE HISTORY of INDIA from the earliest ages, by J. Talboys Wheeler: Vol. III.-Hindu, Buddhist, Brahmanical Revival. (London: Trübner & Co. 1874.)
"The present volume," says the author, "opens