Book Title: Indian Antiquary Vol 11
Author(s): Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications

Previous | Next

Page 370
________________ 340 THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. place), the Mehara king Jaga malla will gain the spiritual merit which that man has acquired in three births. And the merchant (éreshthin) Valahala and all the other merchants of Tim banaka gave to these gods rú. 1-one Rapaka-yearly on each shop for the spiritual merit of the Mehara king Sri-Jagamalla. From (this) donation these same trustees have to pay to this god an allowance similar to (that enjoyed by the temples of) Sri-Vardhamânesvara, and Suïsaresvara, Sohinesvara, Sitesvara (which are situated) behind (the temple of the two gods Śri-Cha ünḍareévara and Prithividevi vara. And every merchant in Timbânaka has to give to the gods one Dramma yearly. FOLKLORE FROM KASHMIR. COLLECTED BY MRS. F. A. STEEL. WITH NOTES BY LIEUT. R. C. TEMPLE, B.S.C., F.R.G.S., M.B.A.S., &c. (Concluded from p. 321.) No. 8.-FOLKTALE. The Bear's Bargain.1 Once upon a time a very old woodman with his very old wife lived in a hut close to the Lambardár's orchard, so that the boughs of the fruit trees hung over the cottage yard, and if any of the ripe fruit fell into it, the old couple were allowed to eat it. Now one day the old woman cooked some khichri, and the khichṛi smelt so good that the old man wanted to eat his dinner at once. "Not till you've brought me a load of wood," said the old woman shaking her head, "after that we shall see." [DECEMBER, 1882. This has been written by the assistants Punapaka. As long as sun and moon will rise, as long as mount Meru will stand, as long as the earth will be encircled by the ocean, so long may (this) edict be valid. And each of the shops in Talâ jh â and the two other places has to give one Dramma yearly. And the superintendent (?) of the worship to be performed in the province of Timbâņa ka has to give one Dramma yearly. Many kings have enjoyed the earth, like Sagara. Whose is the earth his is the produce. Let there be prosperity. This has been engraved by Sau° Alaḍa. Sobhârka the son of A° Chân dapa" is the only authority among the trustees." So the old man set off to the forest and began to hack and to hew with such a will, that he soon had quite a large bundle, and 33 Mahajana means in Hindi 'a banker, a merchant.' 3 Perhaps these four temples and the temple of Chaündaresvara and Prithividevisvara form together the Pañchanatha mentioned by Dr. Burgess in his Archaeological Report, vol. II, (1874-75) p. 147. 33 Piri parivika]' assistant secretary occurs also in the 9th line of Arjunadeva's grant. 36 The same name is borne by a different person, plate I, 1. 15. 37 This seems to imply that Sobhárka was the officer who had to control the Goshthikas. Told by a Kashmiri boy amid roars of laughter round the camp fire at the Tar Sar Lake.-F.A.S. The Tar Sar is one of several lakes in Liderwat below Jaji Marg to the N. E. of Srinagar on the road between Gwashbrår (Kolahoi) and Westarwin. See tale No. 2, ante, p. 259. The other lakes are the SonA Sar, Hok& Sar, Chinda Sar, and Mar Sa Sar, lake or tank (pool) is not unfrequently already seemed to smell the khichṛi. Just then a bear happened to pass by. Now, as a rule, bears are good enough fellows, but dreadfully inquisitive; so after saying "As salám 'alaikum" the bear asked the woodman what he was doing with such a very big bundle of wood. "Oh, it is for my wife," said the woodman. "The fact is," he added confidentially, smacking his lips, "she has made such a khichri, and if I bring a large bundle of wood, she is sure to give me a large share of it. Oh, you should just smell it or taste it." At this the bear's mouth began to water. "Would she give me any if I brought a load of wood ?" asked he. "Perhaps if you brought a very big one," answered the woodman. seen in place names in the Panjab, e. g. Amritsar, the Ambrosial Lake; Mukatsar, the Lake of Salvation, etc. Like the previous tales told by Habib, this, one, has a Musalman cast.-R. C. T. Lambardar: lambar is a common corruption of number in modern use in India in many ways; lambardar literally is a man with a number, one who is registered, a man of rank, ordinarily a village headman. He is an English institution, connected principally with the collection of revenue. Fallon, New Hind. Dict. calls him "the registered representative of a coparcenary community, who is responsible for the Government revenue." Shortly, however, he is the village headman, and now-a-days is as much an institution in Northern Indian Native States as in the British Territory.-R. C. T. Khichrt: see ante Vol. IX, p. 207. A dish of rice and pulse.-R. C. T. See preceding tale, p. 319.-R. C. T.

Loading...

Page Navigation
1 ... 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