Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 08
Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Previous | Next

Page 122
________________ 100 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. some Hindu rites and customs, the following words occur:-ritus omnes et ceremoniae ac preces quæ, ut fertur, Haiteres et Tandice vocantur." It is hardly possible to doubt that Aitareya and Tandya are the words here intended, and that, therefore, a considerable knowledge of the Vedic literature must have been current at Rome in ecclesiastical circles, for some time before the XVIIth century, for ecclesiastical processes took a long time in those days, especially when they related to so distant a country as India. There is, then, no reason to suppose that the author of the De tribus impostoribus antedated his book; and there is every reason to suppose that information regarding the Vedas was available before 1598. He alone, however, saw what use could be made of it. A carious notice of the Vedas, but in com [APRIL, 1879. paratively recent times, occurs in the Encyclopédie of Diderot and Dalembert, vol. XXX. p. 32 of the Swiss edition of 1781 (Berne). As it has not, I believe, been noticed, I may say that it states that the Vedas are written in a language more ancient than Sanskrit, and that the first copy received in Europe was sent by a missionary who got it from a convert. The earlier missionaries did not, however, disdain to abet theft in order to get Hindu books, as the curious story of such a deed in 1559, told by Sousa (Oriente Conquistado, 1. pp. 151-2) proves; but the converts furnished many such (San Roman, Historia de la India Oriental, p. 47, 1603). What the earlier missionaries really knew of Hinduism it would be hard now to discover, for the libraries of the great religious houses have been broken up and lost, but their knowledge must have been very.considerable. ARCHEOLOGICAL NOTES ON A MARCH BETWEEN CAWNPORE AND MAINPURI, N. W. PROVINCES, DURING THE CAMPING SEASON OF 1879. BY H. RIVETT-CARNAC, Esq., B.C.S., C.I.E., F.S.A., M.R.A.S., &c. This year my tour has taken me through the Doab, and the inspection of opium cultivation has afforded some opportunities for antiquarian enquiry. My rough notes are now sent in the hope that they may be of some use to those who have to travel over the same ground, and who may be glad of some hints of what to look for. Kanauj was the first place of any considerable interest that we passed on our journey north. It is just within the limits of the Fatehgarh district, at 50 miles from Cawnpore, and about a mile and a-half from the camping ground of Mira-ka-Serai, a good-sized bazaar with a large serai of the Muhammadan Emperors, and a tehsil, munsifi, and other institutions of British rule. The line of country on either side of the grand trunk road lying between Cawnpore and Fatehgarh is perhaps one of the best known in India, and has doubtless been described by many writers. For many years before the opening of the railway, and even since the completion of the line from Calcutta to Lahor, thousands of European travellers have made the journey along the high road which passes within a mile and a-half of the once celebrated city of Kanauj. Since Conolly delighted James Prinsep with the result of his finds there, not only coin hunting, but I fear also coin manufacturing, has become a trade with the inhabitants of the old city, and many a traveller, who might have passed by in ignorance of the existence of the ruins, has had his attention called to them by the brokers who besiege dak gharis and camps, with collections of coins, genuine and spurious, which are still found or fabricated at Kanauj. As all of our party were more or less interested in Kanauj and its remains, we had purposed camping at Kanauj itself, knowing from experience that to see a place really well, and to collect and purchase what really is to be found. there, one must be actually on the spot. But we found that at Kananj itself there was no shade and no camping ground, and we were reluctantly obliged to make the journey backwards and forwards along the track which leads from Mira-ka-Serai to the old city. What yet remains of old Kanauj will not take the visitor long to see. From the camping ground to the bazaar, the route passes between ranges of mounds of brick and fragments of pottery, marking old building sites long deserted. Numerous narrow deep wells still remain, and these are fully utilised by the cultivators for the rich crops of potatoes and tobacco which This information was, probably, copied from a letter by P. Calmette (1737), "Lettres E'difiantes," XIV. p. 6.

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404