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INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[ MAY, 1917
NOTES AND QUERIES.
NOTES FROM OLD FACTORY RECORDS, many more of the same sort, the house being soe 4. Englishmen's Furniture and its Coat in 1682
bare since the removall of the late Chief [i.&, John 14. August 1682. Consultation in Masulipatam.
Field who had been transferred to Madapollar in
July 1682) that some of the roomos therein havo There being a great want of Household stuff for
not above 4 old Chaires in it, much to the Discred. this Factory, especially of Chaires, Tables and one or two Coutohes, and Mr. Field haveing belonging
it of our honoblo, Masters. (Faclory Records, Mas. to him one doren of Chaires and a Coutoh made of
ulipalam, vol. 4). Teake wood, it is ordered they be bought for the
Note.-The value of the rupee in Madras at this
period was about two shillings and four pence and Companyes Account, the Chaires at 2 rupees each
of the pagoda about eight shillings so that the and the Coutch 23 pagodas, which he affirmes to chairs fetched about five shillings a piece and the bee the true cost of them, and that Mr. Field is couch twelve shillings. desired to furnish us from Madapollam with as !
R.C.T.
BOOK NOTICE.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFERENT EXISTING SYSTEMS noticed at all. In order to make my meaning
OF SANSKRIT GRAMMAR, being the Vishwanath clearer I shall give just one instance. It would Narayan Mandalik Gold Medal prize-essay for have been, for example, interesting to know the 1909. By SHRIPAD KRISHNA BELVALKAR, M.A., views of the author with regard to the problem of Ph.D., pp. viii, 148. Poona, 1915.
the Dhatupatha. The well-known American In. In this little work the author seeks to provide
dologue, W. D. Whitney, alleged that the majority a brief resume of the total output in the shape of
of roots contained in the Dhalupdfha appended Indian literature bearing on Sanskrit Grammar
to our editions of Paņini's Ashiddhydyt is a purely from the earliest times upto the end of the eight.
fictitious product of the imagination of Indian eenth century. This is a long period : and within
Grammarians, who for some unknown reason took a the scope of 148 pages of the octavo volume Dr.
perverse delight in multiplying their number almost Belvalkar may be said to have achieved a great
ad infinitum. This is at best a very unsatisfactory doal. The “Chronological Conspectus" which is a
explanation of the undeniable fact that a very synohronistic table, showing at a glance the relative
large fraction of the roots of this list is not met positions in point of time of the various gramma
with again in the extant Sanskrit literature. rians, as well as a very exhaustive and carefully
Paragraph 38 of Dr. Belvalkar's book, which deals prepared Index, enhance the value of the work.
with the Dhalupáfha contains, however, no referThe book divides itself into short chapters dovot
ence to the question; nor do I find from the od to the individual schools, in each of which an at
Index any indication that it has been dealt with
elsewhere. tempt is made to put together the available historical information about the founder of the school,
The earliest history of Indian Grammar, like that characterise briefly the nature of the work and then of other Indian sciences, is for us shrouded in the follow the subsequent development through the impenetrable veil of antiquity. And Dr. Belvalkar maze of the out-growth of exegetical literature. does well perhaps not to lose himself in vague
Dr. Belvalkar does not claim any originality for speculations as to the origin of the science (regard. the views expressed in the book. The work is ing which there is bound to be a great divergence of a compact little summary-rich in bibliography- opinion) but to restrict himself mainly to the of the labours of previous workers in the field, and historical opoch. In the latter period the author serves the extremely useful purpose of collecting distinguishes twelve distinct schools, each of which together in a very handy form the widely soatter. has been the focus of further independent developod material bearing on the subject. It should be ment. The first grammarian on the list is natur indispensable to any one who intends writing a ally Pånini. A somewhat detailed treatment is more comprehensive work, discussing in extenso alloted to this school, which takes up nearly one the many controversial points which are either third of the whole volume. But even the short only touched upon lightly by Dr. Belvalkar or no | notices of the loss known schools, such as the
