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MAY, 1879.)
A PARTICULAR USE OF THE WORD SAMVAT.
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and roll them up into slender balls, through which they pass the fibres extracted from the reeds. Three kinds of Malabathrum are thus made--that of the large ball, that of the middle, and that of the small, according to the size of the leaf of which the balls are formed. Hence there are three kinds of Malabathrum, which after being made up are forwarded to India by
appearance resemble wild animals. They come with their wives and children to this fair, bring ing heavy loads of goods wrapped up in mats resembling in outward appearance the early leaves of the vine. Their place of assembly is where their own territory borders with that of Thinai; and here, squatted on the mats on which they exhibit their wares, they feast for several days, after which they return to their homes in the interior. On observing their retreat the people of Thinai, repairing to the spot, collect the mats on which they had been sitting, and taking out the fibres, which are called petroi, from the reeds, they put the leaves two and two together, was probably the city described by Marco Polo under the name of Kenjan-fu (that is Si- ngan-fu or Chauggan,) the most celebrated city in Chinese history, and the capital of several of the most potent dynasties. It was the metro-
66. All the regions beyond this are unexplored, being difficult of access by reason of the extreme rigour of the climate and the severe frosts, or perhaps because such is the will of the divine power. polis of Shi Hwengti of the T'Sin dynasty, properly the first emperor, and whose conquests almost intersected those of his contemporary Ptolemy Euergetés---(vide Yule's Travels of Marco Polo, vol. II. p. 21).
A PARTICULAR USE OF THE WORD SAMVAT.
BY J. F. FLEET, BO. C.S., M.R.A.S. Saravat is an abbreviation of saivatsaránám, ) Sastri has misinterpreted Sir Walter Elliot, the genitive plural of the Sanskpit word sain- who makes no allusion at all to the Vikramavatsara, 'a year', and when used without any Samvat, but only speaks of grants which are qualificatory term, is generally understood to dated in the Saka era, coupled with the name indicate what is popularly and conveniently of the saivatsara, or year of the sixty-year called the Vikrama-Samvat, or era of Vikra- cycle of Vrihaspati, which corresponded ma', the initial date of which is the new-moon to the Saka date given. of March, B.c. 57. It was probably this custom | I have the Såmangad or Sômångad plates which led the late Bål Gangadhar Sastri - 1 now before me.' In respect of the figures when, in editing the Sâmangad or Sômångad following the word Saiwat, the Sastri's faccopper-plate grant of the Rashtra kûta king simile is faulty, as well as his transcription and Dan tidurga-Khadgåva lô ka', he found translation. The first two figures are approxithe date to be expressed in words meaning mately of correct form, and mean, not 8 and 1, "when the Saka year 675 had expired", fol. as read by him, but 6 and 7. But, whereas lowed by the word Sarvat, with three figures in his facsimile the third figure is represented after it-to conclude that the date was given as identical in form with the second, and, like in the Vikrama-Samvat, as well as in the Saka the second, is taken by him to mean 1,-- in the era, and to read those figures as 811. And, original there is a very important difference, in support of this reading, he quotes Sir consisting of a prolongation of the left downWalter Elliot as an authority for the statement stroke and then a curve up to the left, which that "the mention of these two dates" (80. eras) makes it 5, not 7 as it is as it stands. The whole "is not uncommon in the grants of Southern passage containing the date is in ll. 30 to 31, India." This is not at all according to my and runs - Paricha-saptaty-adhikz-Sala-kalaexperience, and, on turning to the remarks re- samvatsara-sata-shatké vyatité saivata(t) 675 pai ferred to in paras. 5 and 6 of Sir Walter Elliot's (? pô or pau) hachchhikaya (yári ?) Mágha-másupaper on Hindu Inscriptions', I find that the ratha-saptamyd(myam) Tuld-Purusha-sthité. Jour. Bo. Br. R. As. Soc., vol. II, p. 37!..
I shall hereafter publish this grant in full, with me Jour. R. As. Soc., 0. 8., vol. 1V. p. 1; and Madras simile, in this journal. Jour. of Lit. and Science, vol. VII, p. 193.
