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OCTOBER, 1979
tāla or rythm of music and dance. There are four somewhat scrappy appendices on Indian and Western music, influence of Indian music abroad, influence of tantra on music and non-Aryan elements in Indian music. Even within the limited scope of an appendix, the standard of discussion on these items has considerable scope for improvement. It should be done if the monograph is reprinted.
More important is, however, appendix and which reprints two texts of Pañcamasārasamhitā ascribed to Narada. One text is drawn from the mss lodged at the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, bearing Number 5040, which has only the third chapter. Fuller is the other text, whether complete or not being left to guess, lodged at the Bangiya Sahitya Parisad, Calcutta, being Number 716, which has four chapters as follows :
Chapter one, incomplete in the beginning, traces the origin of music to Bharata. Chapter two is an eulogy of dramatic art. Chapter three is devoted to Rāganirraya. Chapter four deals with tāla.
Apparently, the most important is Chapter three which is extant in both the text. But there is a wide divergence between the two which may be attributed not to the author but to the copyists who re-wrote the mss in long hand. Though of little use to the professional musicians, the work should undoubtedly find a place in the literature on Indian music, the more so now that the work is available in print in so far as it has been possible to decipher it.
Bhuvanabhanu-Kevali-Cariyam by Indrahamsa Gani, ed. by Munishri Ramanik Vijayji, L D Series 54, L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, May 1976, Pages 150, Price Rs. 16.00
This is a single work in Prakrit verse, in all-2100 verses by Vacaka Indrahamsa Gani, the date of composition being V. S. 1554. The inspiration had evidently come from Acarya Hemachandrasuri Maladhari who for the first time composed Bhuvanabhānu-Kevali-Caritra, in Sanskrit prose in the 12th century. Since its publication, Hemacandra's work has inspired others to write under a similar title and about half a dozen such texts have been noticed by the General Editor in his preface.
Vacaka Indrahamsa Gani belonged to the Kutubpura branch of Tapagachha. He was 12th in the spiritual line which was started by the Yugapradhan Somasundara Suri. The present text has been edited on the basis of two manuscripts, one belonging to the Pt. Kirti Muni Jnanakosa, Godhari and the other belonging to Samvegi Upasraya, Ahmedabad.
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