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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
Again in the Antakriddadd the conversion and beatification of the wives, etc., of Krishna is narrated in the typical style of the Angas; and it is also stated there, that Krishna, after his death, had to undergo severe punishment in hell, but is, in a very distant future, to become a Tirthakara called Amama. All this shows that the Jains, though fully admitting the divine dignity of Krishna, made him appear as decidedly inferior to their own saints, but used his legend as the keystone, on which to build their phantastical cosmogony; for they have invented after the model of the Legend of Krishna 9 Vasudevas, 9 Vásudévas, and 9 Prativdsudévas, which make up, together with the 24 Tirthakaras and 12 Chakra. vartins, the 63 great personages of their cosmogony, the Trishashtisalakapurusha. As the worship of Krishna did not prevail in Bihar, the land in which Buddhism and Jainism took their origin, the influence exercised by the Krishna Legend upon the development of Jain mythology, proves the spread of that creed in countries where Krishna was worshipped as a national hero. It proves, besides, that converts to Jainism continued then, just as in modern times, to worship the gods whom they had worshipped before their conversion. In the discussion which followed, Mr. Grierson drew the writer's attention to the fact that in Eastern Hindustan, the popular division of Jains was into Vaishnavas and non-Vaishnavas. The former worshipped Krishna, while the latter did not, and each division claimed itself as orthodox, and stigmatised the other as heretical. Prof. Weber stated, as his opinion, that the Jain creed has grown up under the influence of the heroic stage of the Krishna Legend and worship, which the Jain priests were obliged to amalgamate with their own tenets, in order to win the people over while the origin of the Krishna myth, especially in relation to the name Vasudeva, is still involved in obscurity. Prof. Weber also directed attention to the fact, that Panini (iv. 3, 98) mentions worshippers both of Vasudeva and Arjuna."
Next followed a very learned paper, by Mr. G. A. Grierson, on the Medieval Vernacular Literature of Hindustan, with special reference to Tulsi Das. The author first desired to draw. attention to the enormous mass of Hindi Litera ture which exists at the present time, much of it at least three hundred years old, and all of it unedited. To this end he exhibited a list, which he had compiled, of over nine hundred authors, with more or less details concerning their works. This mere list covered more than two thousand
manuscript pages! The subjects dealt with by
[MAT, 1887.
these authors included commentaries on grammatical works, and histories with dates: and owing to a custom which Hindi writers had of dating their works and naming their patrons, many MSS., which would otherwise be of small value, would be found useful by the historical student. After briefly noticing the earlier vernacular poets down to Chand Bardát, Mr. Grierson stated that the first solid ground we come upon, is the great upheaval caused by the rise of the Vaishnava sects at the end of the fourteenth century. Thereafter we can be pretty certain as to the steps of our research. The author then gave a history of the Vernacular Literature of Hindustan during the 15th and 16th centuries. He dealt specially with Malik Muhammad Jayasi, author of the Padmavati, Sar Das, and Tulsi Das. The Padmavati heshowed to be found. ed on the historical facts of the Siege of Chitaur by Alâu'ddin Khilji in the 13th century, but Malik Muhammad had changed the hero's name, and had also borrowed largely from the Story of Udayana and the Ratndvalt. With regard to Sûr Das, Mr. Grierson was able to prove, that the current accounts were legendary, and to give for the first time the poet's autobiography. The influence of Tulsi Das over the daily life of the masses of India was very great, as he had saved Hindustan from the Tantrik obscenities of Saivism. A complete list of this poet's works, and a description of his style was then given. The modern editions of his works were declared to be very corrupt, and a critical edition to be most desirable. After the reading of the paper, photographs of autograph pages of the Ramayana, and of a deed of arbitration in Tulsi Das's own handwriting, were exhibited.
Mr. Grierson's note, which has been already mentioned, suggesting a survey of the various dialects of India, was then again brought forward, and a resolution was proposed by Prof Bühler, and seconded by Prof. Weber, urging on the Government of British India the propriety of commencing this most important work. It was stated that in India at this moment many specialists could be found, who would give voluntary assistance. The officials employed by Government to search for Sanskrit Manuscripts could, at the same time, search for equally important works in the Mediseval Vernaculars. The resolution was carried by acclamation and signed by all the scholars present.
The sitting fittingly terminated with a further contribution to the Literature of Jainism, an
Etude sur le Mythe de Vrishabha, le premier
See Indische Studien, Vol. II. p. 410.
