Indian Antiquary Vol 18

Author(s): John Faithfull Fleet, Richard Carnac Temple
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 40

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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
This is followed by a short notice from the pen of Herr H. G. Schils of a new translation of the Man-yo-siu, an ancient Japanese poem. The translation is in course of publication in the Journal of the French Société des Etudes Japonaises et Indo-Chinoises (Paris, Maisonneuve).
Dr. J. Barth next contributes some essays on Semitic philology, the most important of which deals with biliteral nouns.
In a former number of the Zeitschrift (xl. 412) Dr. Morales, translating from BarHebräus, gave the peculiar properties of wine according to Indian writers. It had the properties of a peacock, an ape, a lion, and a pig. Dr. M. Grünbaum now gives a number of similar legends from Semitic sources. Thus, according to Damiri, when Adam planted the vine, Iblis slew a peacock over it, and the earth drank up the blood. When the leaves showed themselves, he slew an ape, when the fruit appeared, a lion, and when the vine came to maturity, a pig. The vine drank the blood of the four animals, and hence their peculiarities appear in the various phases of drunkenness.
Prof. O. von Böhtlingk contributes some notes on the Kátantra' and laments the unfinished condition in which Dr. Eggeling is leaving the Bibliotheca Indica Edition. He also
gives us some miscellaneous critical notes on
various points of ancient Sanskrit literature.
Prof. R. von Roth contributes an interesting paper on Wehrgeld or Blood-money in the Veda. He shows from a quotation from the Tándya-Brahmana, that the Vêdio vaira (cf. the Anglo-Saxon vere) can only mean 'blood-money,' and that the amount was paid in cows, in the Vêdic period, just as Tacitus relates of the Germans. According to the Tándya-Brahmana the number of cows was a hundred, probably in the case of the honestiores and optimates as mentioned by the Latin author.
In Apastamba the vaira-yatana which Prof. Roth translates as payment of blood-money,'
I may note that this grammar has great authority amongst the Pandits of Dhaka (Dacoa) and Eastern Bengal.-G. A. G.
i.e. Lakshmanasena-samvat.-I have taken a liberty with the published text, which gives the number of the year here as 288; though the translation gives 293. But, as the Lakshmanasena era commenced in or about A.D. 1106 (see Indian Eras, p. 76 f.), the Vikrama and Baks years that are quoted show that the figure in the tens place must be 9, not 8. Also, the real number of
(JANUARY, 1889.
is assessed at 1000 for a Kshattriya, 100 for a Vaisya, and 10 for a Sadra.
The volume concludes with reviews of the following works:
Codrington's Melanesian Languages, by Dr. W. Grube.
Winkler's Das Uralaltaische und seine Gruppen. (On the Ural-altaic and the groups composing it), by Dr. O. Donnes.
Schreiber's Manual of the Tigraic language, spoken in Central and Northern Abyssinia, by Dr. F. Prætorius.
Hirschfield's edition of the Al Khazari of Abu'l-Hasan, Text and Hebrew translation of Jehnda ibn Tibbon, by Dr. J. Goldziher.
Wellhausen's Essays on Relics of Arabic Heathenism, by Prof. Th. Noldeke.
Cornill's edition of The Book of the Prophet Esekiel, by Prof. Augustas Müller.
Hoberg's Edition of Ibn Jinnii on Declension, (Text and Latin translation) by Prof. Thorbecke.
Bondi's Hebraic and Phoenician loan-words in Hieroglyphic and Hieratic Texts, by Dr. Steindorff.
G. A. GRIERSON.
CALCULATIONS OF HINDU DATES. No. 21.
In the copper-plate grant of king Biva
simha, from somewhere in the direction of Bihar Grierson in this Journal, Vol. XIV. p. 190 f., the in the Bengal Presidency, published by Mr. date (from the published text) is-La-sam 293 Sravana éu di 7 Gurau Abdê Lakshmanasenabhupati-matê vahni-graha-dvy-ankitê másê Śravana-samjakê muni-tithau paksha valakshe Gurau... 1455 Bake 1321,-" the year of Lakshmanasena 293, (the month) Sravana, the bright fortnight, the (civil) day 7, on Thursday; in the year, (of the era) that was sanctioned by king Lakshmanasena, numbered by the (three) fires, the (nine) planets, and (the numeral) two, in the month
.... San 801 Samvat
that has the appellation of Sravana, on the tithi (that has the number) of the (seven) Seers, in the
the year is made quite clear by the immediately following repetition of the date in words.
Here, again, I have taken a liberty with) the publi shed text, which gives the number of the year as 807. But it is not difficult sometimes to make a mistake between 1 and 7, in reading the older Devanagari figures. And the year referred to is evidently the Hijra year 801, which commenced (see Indian Eras, p. 127) on the 18th September, A.D. 1899, and ended with the 2nd September, A.D. 1399.