Kansvaho

Author(s): Rama Paniwada, A N Upadhye
Publisher: Motilal Banarasidas

Page 10

INTRODUCTION
1. CRITICAL APPARATUS
This editio princeps of Kassavaho is based on the following Ms. material :
M—This is a Devanāgari transcript on bluish ledger paper, 81 X 13" in size, and belongs to the Rajaram College Library, Kolhapur (R. No. 19201). It is a recent copy made from a Ms. in the Government Oriental Mss. Library, Madras. In the Triennial Catalogue (Madras 1935), Vol. VI, Part I, Sanskrit, the Madras Ms. (R. No. 5190) is thus described : Paper. 104 X 94 inches. Foll. 38. Lines 20 in a page. Devanāgarī. Good. Transcribed in 1925-26 from a Ms. of M. R. Ry. Kļşņa Variyar, Nelinattur Variyam, Shoranore, Malabar District.' It is complete in four Sargas and contains both text and Chāyā. I have personally seen this Ms. Though written in Devanāgari characters, the double consonants are represented by nõlli, i.e., a fat zero the following consonant of which is to be pronounced as a double consonant. I learn from the Curator that the original of it was a palm-leaf Ms. My conjecture is that it might have been written either in Malayālam or Grantha characters. I tried to put myself in communication with the owner of the Ms., but I was not successful. All my readings are taken from the transcript (in the Rajaram College Library) which contains both the Prākrit Text and the Sanskrit Chāyā. There are certain lacunae in the text, and the Ms. bristles with scribal errors here and there. On the whole the Sk. Chāyā is better preserved.