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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
NOVEMBER, 1882.
inconstancy (just as the goddess Sri produced original will generally appear in a new light from the churning of the ocean became the and easily dissolve themselves into distinct faithful wife of divine Vishņu).
elements. But the greatest attention and care 4. Standing amongst kings he resembled cannot guard against misreadings, nor clear up the moon who is surrounded by the stars; for- all doubtful ones. For this reason it has been Booth, Yudhishthira, Sada śiva, and a good rule with the Indian Antiquary to add Ramachandra had entered his body which mechanical copies of the originals even with seemed to be composed of the gem-like ac- the readings of the most eminent Sanskrit complishments of all of them, and to be an scholars and palæographists; and it would be ocean of pearl-like gracious faces.'
a great boon to scholars if General Cunningham 5. His chief counsellor and minister was a and others who copy or translate such inscripnative of Ra manipu r, celebrated by the name tions would give photographs or mechanical of Vatsarà ja, the illustrious son of Mahid hara. facsimiles rather than eye-copies. The two
6. He was called (a second) V â cha s- lists of various readings given above will pati in his office as sole minister who, having show how far this demand is well-founded. It wrested quickly from the enemy's hands this seems highly probable that most of the omiswhole province here by his policy and his noble sions of the 18 vowel signs, 3 anusváras" and valour, built this fort of Kirtigiri.
rephas and most of the 21 misshapen aksharas 7. This is the flight of steps of the illus- are not the fault of the engravers of the trious Vatsar a ja which he forsooth caused originals, but of the copyist of the facsimiles. to be constructed in order to spread his brilliant I may be allowed to point also to the last fame over the world.
line of the mutilated inscription of ChandraSamvat 1154, on Sunday the 2nd day of the gupta which is contained in the same volume of dark half of Chaitra."
the Reports for further examples. The first I need not dwell at length on General
word of that line is Kutssa in the transcript Cunningham's two transcripts. It will be seen
(p. 51), Kútssa in the facsimile (plate XIX), at a glance that they contain words which are
whilst the original must surely read leitena, not met with in the dictionaries, that in many
and guhdlatam cave-creeper') in the traninstances the spelling of genuine Sanskrit script and the facsimile is misread for guham words is inaccurate and the division of the
etám ('this cave'); Raja Sivaprasad has words wrong, and that grammar and metre
found the correct readings in the original as have been disregarded.
his translation (p. 52) shows. But how is it to The question then arises-how far these be explained that in the same line the facsimile misreadings have influenced the two so-called
reads only ktyás, while the transcript has the facsimiles ?
right reading, bhaktyd? Is the latter a conThose accustomed to decipher inscriptions, jecture of General Cunningham's or of Raja know that interpretation and criticism have to Sivaprasad's, or has bha simply been left out in proceed hand in hand, i.e. it is of no use to the eye-copy? transcribe an inscription before understanding General Cunningham will be entitled to the it. Even in a well-written Sanskrit inscription warmest thanks of all Sanskritists if the second the intelligent copyist will almost certainly volume of his Corpus Inscriptionum should be overlook and misread some vowel signs, accompanied by reliable photographs of the anusváras, and rephas, if he do not attend to the originals. context, to grammar, and to metre. With To sum up-So long as General Cunningham regard to doubtful aksharas, it is not sufficient does not adopt the practice of giving photolithoto transcribe them by what they most resemble, graphs or other mechanical copies of the whereas after a careful consideration of the originals, his publications will be useless for context the most doubtful groups of the the Sanskritist and the historian, and the 11.e. his face was always gracious.
18th March 1097 A.D., and Chaitra sudi 2, on Wednesday • Mantripadaikamatram seems to be a karmadharaya : Ist April. In Sam, 1155 the same dates would fall on mantripadam tad ekamatran cha.
Sundays, viz., 7 March and 21 March, 1098, A.D.. General Cunningham saye (p. 102) the 2nd of Chaitra ED. I A. fell on a Tuesday in Sam. 1154, and suggests that we 10 Besides, 2 vowel signs and 1 anusvdra are found in Bhould read sudi 2, but Chaitra vadi 2 fell on Wednesday "wrong places.
