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150
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
[MAY, 1891.
A. D. 1793), Mahran 1 ; and before Bhi suti Ä. tři. (i. e., Sunday, the 3rd of the bright half of Bhadrapada, corresponding to the 8th September, A. D. 1793), Saphar 1.5
In the introductory remarks at the top of the roll, the year for which this calendar is intended is described thus :
Sri-Saptarshi-char-anumatona samvat 4869 tatha cha sam vat 69 Chaitra-suti 1 sri Sakah 1715 karana-gat-&vda(bda) h 1128 dina-ganah 412 010 Bri-Vikramaditya-samvat 1850 Kalpa-gat-âvdA (bda) h 1 972 948 8948 śésh-avda (bda)b 2 347 051 106 ....... Kalbregatavarshani 4894 śêsha-varshani 427 106.
Accordingly, the year with which we are here concerned is the luni-solar year 4894 of the Kaliyuga, distinctly described as an expired year, and, consequently, the expired northern Vikrama year 1850 and the expired Saka year 1715, called simply the Vikrama year 1850 and the Saka year 1715, respectively. The number of years, elapsed since the epoch of the Karaņa up to the commencement of the calendar-year, is stated to be 1128, which for the epoch of the Karaña gives us Saka 587 expired, the epoch-year of the Khandakhádya. And the number of days, elapsed since the same epoch, is put down as 412 010. By Dr. Schram's Tables the lani-solar Saka year 1715 current ended on the day of the Julian period 2376 011, and Saka 587 current ended on the day of the Julian period 1964 001; and deducting the latter set of figures from the former, we obtain a remainder of 412 010, being the number of days of the 1128 luni-solar years elapsed since the epoch of the Karana, exactly as given in the calendar. But for my present purpose the interesting part of the introductory statement is this, that the year of the calendar is primarily described as “the year 4869, in agreement with the course of the Saptarshayah, and therefore the year 69," as I take it, of ordinary usage. For this shews us that our calendar, in the first instance, was intended for people who followed the Saptarshi era.
The Saptarshi era has been treated of by Sir A. Cunningham in the Book of Indian Eras, and its epoch has been incidentally discussed by Professor Bühler in his Kasmir Reports and by Professor Bhâņdarkar in his Report on Sanskrit MSS. for 1883-84. But little attention has as yet been paid to date recorded in that era. Starting from the data which are furnished by the calendar described above, I propose therefore to collect here those Saptarshi dates of inscriptions and MSS. which have come hitherto under my observation. The number of these dates is small, and all belong to comparatively modern times. But I hope that, by publishing what has been ready for some time, I may induce scholars in India to make known other Saptarshi dates, or to furnish me with reliable materials for enlarging this list.
From our calendar, which makes the Saptarshi year 4869 equivalent to Kaliyuga 4894 expired, it is clear that, assuming the Saptarshi years to be current years, and to commence with the month Chaitra, Saptarshi 0 = Kaliyuga 25 expired, Saptarshi 1 current = Kaliyuga 26 expired, Saptarshi 2 current = Kaliyuga 27 expired, and so on; and generally, that by the addition of 25 a current Saptarshi year is converted into the corresponding expired year of the Kaliyuga. Thus the current Saptarshi year 4300 would be the expired year 4325 of
• According to Wüstenfeld's Vergleichungs-Tabellen der Muhammed. und Christl. Zeitrechnung, these equivalents are correct.
The original has 19729488 at the end of one line, and at the commencement of the next line 894, 1. e. 19 729 438 894, clearly a mistake of the writer.
"Long after the above was first written, I received, through the kindness of Dr. Stein, from Pandit Govinda Kaula MS. Pabchanga (or Nakshatrapattra) for the year which ended on the 20th Maroh, A. D. 1890, which is very similar to the calendar of the Berlin Library, but gives also (often wrongly) the day of the European calendar. In this calendar the year treated of is described thus: -Sri-Saptarshi-chår-Anumatêns sathyat 1965 (clearly a mistake for 4965) érl-rajadhirja-Prat&pasirnba-rajyabhishekat-sahvat 3 tathi che sphuţa-prakArena SriSubha-samvat 65 Chaitra-futi 1 6r1- SAkah 1811 karana-gat-AbdAh 1224 dina-ganah 447 003 (according to my calculations a mistak for 417 092) Art-Vikram Aditya-samvat 1946 Kalpagat-abdáb 1972 948 990 $ésh-AbdAh 2347 051 011 (wrongly for 2847 051 010) .... Kalêr-gata-varshini 4991 (wrongly for 1990) Sésha-varsb&pi 497 010. $ Page 60.
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