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THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
irresistible everywhere, enduring, experienced in many battles, trained in all modes of fighting and skilful in the use of all sorts of weapons, never failing in adversity 19 (sharing equally as they do the weal and woe of the king) and composed mostly of Kshattriyas.
(7) The excellences of a friendly state are:-Friendly from generation to generation, unchanging, devoted, liberal, and responding promptly to call for help. 20
(To be continued.)
MISCELLANEA.
"CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF THE ANCIENT GEOGRAPHY OF INDIA."
A NOTEWORTHY OMISSION,
Our thanks are due to Mr. Surendranath Majum dar Sastri, M.A., for publishing in the Indian Antiquary of February 1919, a bibliography on the Ancient geography of India. While Mr. Majumdar has included such books 88 Babu Nabin
Chandra Das's Geography of Asia Compiled from the Ramayana, which he himself styles as of 'no importance,' it is extremely regrettable that he has omitted from the list by far the most important contribution on the subject made by an Indian. We cannot point to a more devoted scholar in the field of Sanskrit research than the late Mr. Anundoram Barooah, B.A., I.C.S., Barrister-at-Law, of Assam. His English-Sanskrit Dictionary written in the late 'seventies was for a long time the only book of that type by an Indian. To the third volume of this Dictionary Mr. Baroosh prefixed a long introduction on "The Ancient Geography of India" and an appendix of "Geographical names rendered in Sanskrit." Along with Sir Alexander Cunningham's monu. mental work on the subject, Mr. Barooah's is regarded as the most valuable; and I have seen editors and commentators of Sanskrit texts quote Mr. Barooah's authority in tracing the identity of places mentioned in our ancient classics. The well-known editor of Sanskrit Classics, Rai Sahib Bidhu Bhusan Goswami, M.A., has added a summary of Mr. Barooah's "Ancient Geography of India" to his excellent edition of Kalidasa's Meghaditam. Prof. Max Müller has said about Mr. Barooah's work in the Academy of the 13th August 1881:-"Mr. Baroosh has added to the third volume of his English-Sanskrit Dictionary a long and important introduction on the Ancient
JULY, 1920
Geography of India," and an appendix of Geographical names rendered in Sanskrit both of which will be gratefully received by Sanskrit scholars in Europe." Prof. Cecil Bendall has remarked in Trübner's Record No. 245, 1889,"Not content with commencing such a magnum opus as a dictionary, he added to its d and third volumes two new and original works, his Higher Sanskrit Grammar,' and a Sanskrit geographical names illustrated by a valuable prefatory essay. Both are thoroughly original works, and rather suffer by being united with the dictionary. The latter is, I believe, still a unique contribution to Indian research."
It is to be regretted that the existence of such a book on the ancient geography of India has not come to the knowledge of Mr. Majumdar, deeply read as he is in Indian antiquities. We hope in future discussions he will not omit Mr. Barooah's most noteworthy contribution on the subject.
Here we may add that we agree with Prof. Bendall when he says that the value of Mr. Barooah's - "Geography of Ancient India" has suffered by being united with the dictionary. His Higher Sanskrit Grammar was published separately during Mr. Barooah's life-time. Could not the lovers of Sanskrit learning, and the various organizations existing all over the country for its promotion and research, see their way to reprint and pablish separately Mr. Barooah's "Geography of Ancient India" and thus rescue from oblivion this most valuable contribution by an Indian to the ancient geography of the land of his ancestors? 8. K. BHUYAN.
Cotton College, Gauhati, Assam.
19 For the meaning of advaidhya, of. Kauiliya, Bk. VII, ch. 9, p. 289.
20 These attributes of the friendly state have been dealt with at length at p. 289 of the Kautilya, Bk. VII, ch. 9. The Kamandakiya dwells on the excellences of the state-olements in sarga 4 and offers many parallels to the statements in the Kautilya.
