250

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.

his Prach and a p in d a va (Aufrecht, Catal. p. 140a.), by Dh an a mjay a, who belongs

to the same period,” in his D as a rú p a, I. 61 (Rāmāyanādi cha vibhāvya Brihatkhatām cha), —by Go v ard h a na, who also lived some where in the tenth or twelfth century,t in the opening of his Sapt a § a ti (v. 32, Šri-Rămă yana-Bhārata-Brihatkathânăm kavin namas kurmah ; v. 33, sati kākutsthakulonnatikārini R à m fi y a n e kim anyakāvyena 2), by Tri v i kr a m a b h a t t a in the opening of his Dam a y a n tik at h fi (v. 11, namas tasmai krità yena ramyā Ram fly a n if kathá), by the Rāja-tarañgini (I. 166, vide supra p. 239) —finally, by Sir à g a d h a r a $ (kavinduſ naumi Välm i ki i yasya Rāmāyaniſi ka thám chandrikām iva chinvanti chakora iva sādhavah || see Böhtlingk, Ind. Sprüche, 3885; and Aufrecht, Catal. p. 124°). In the Brahma va i v art a pur à n a also : “itihāso Bhāratañ cha V film i k a fi kāvyameva cha’ are mentioned

after the eighteen Upapuranas, (see Burnouf, Introduction to the Bhagavata Purána, I. 23.)

In the Vishnupurána, III. 3 “Riksha, the descendant of Bhrig u, who is also known by the name V film i ki” appears as the Vyāsa (reviser) of the twenty-fourth dvápara—which unquestionably refers to Vālmīki's authorship

of the Rāmāyana : (see Wilson, p. 273; Hall, III. 35.) In the latter class, we have first of all to con sider the later epic literature to which the two great epics gave rise. The literature of the Pur à I, as , however, which calls for the earli est attention here, yields comparatively little

that bears on our subject (see my Abh. Iber die Edma Tãp. Up. p. 281). I take from Aufrecht's

Catalogus the statement that the Agnipurán a Dhanika, see Hall, Introduction to the Das'ariipa p. 2. The verse in the opening of the Prachandapſindara, which has in view the self-laudation of the poet, occurs again, in precisely the same words, in the beginning of another drama by the same author, the Bālarāmāyana namely (I, 16 p. 9, vide infra p. 251), and reads thus:– babhāva Val m i kabhavah purä kavis, tatah prapede bhuvi Bhartrimenthatām sthitah punar yo Bhava bhā tirekhayā, sa vartate samprati Rajã sº e k h a rah ||

• See Hall in his edition (Calc. 1865) Introd. p. 2. 3.

f See my Abh. iiber Hāla's Saptas'ataka, p. 9. 10. 1 Vyāsa with the Bhārata, Băna and Gunadhya are men tioned further on.

According to Hall, Introd. to the Văsaradattá p. 48 A. D. 1363.

| And before that of the Harivans'a and the Mahā bhārata.

In a passage quoted in the Sarradars'anasamgraha, LXXII. 15 from the Skånda, the müla-Rá m fiy an a “Original Rāmāyana,” is designated, after the four Vedas, the B h a rat a and the Pāi, ch a rā tra ka, as also possessing the character of a sº as tra. And this evident

[AUGUST 2, 1872.

in seven chapters, quae singulorum Rāmāyana librorum nomina gerunt, contains an epitome of the seven books of the Rāmāyana (Aufrecht, p. 7a); and that in the Padm a purána several sections are occupied with the history of Rāma (ibid. p. 13, 14). The Skandapurána too appears to contain a short section on the same, introduced in connection with the account of the Rāmanava

mivrata." Regarding the section of the Vish n u purána that relates to this matter (IV. 4), see Wilson, p. 385, and Hall, in his edition of Wilson's translation, III. 317.

In addition

to these, I have only been able to get from the Brahmān dapurána a Rāmāyanamáhátmya Aufrecht, l.c. 30a), and the Adhyátmarāmāyana.” But we have still to mention here that singular work which bears the name: ärsham (or firshe yarachitam) väsishtham mahārāmāyana (see Verz. der Berl. S. H. p. 187—194; Aufrecht, Catalogus, p. 354ab.), which is placed in the mouth of Wal miki, and which against the 24,000 verses of

the ordinary Rāmāyana, seems to represent a redaction in 100,000 verses,f but really contains only an exhortation addressed by Vasishtha to the youthful Râm a regarding true blessedness and the means of attaining to it, accompanied by numerous narratives, that are quoted as illus trative examples.f We have next, directly con nected herewith, the artificial-epic (dating per even from the eleventh centuryS), Rāghava pándariya of Kavir àja, which sums up at the same time and in the same words the

contents of the Rāmāyana and of the Mahā bhārata, and which has served as a model

for a whole series of similar artificial works.] And lastly, as occupying the same ground, though quite modern, we have to mention also : —the Rāmachandracharitrastira of Agni ve Ša, ly presumes the existence of various later versions of the Rāmāyana.

• On this work see Wheeler, in vol. II. We alread

know. from Friederich (/nd. Stud. II. 131, 132), that this Purana is found in Java, on the island Bali, and it would be interesting to learn whether the Javanese text contains also these two pieces. + When Tāranātha (Schiefner, p. 6) speaks of a Rāmā

yana in 100,000 verses, as little weight, is to be attached to the statement as when (ibid.) he ascribes 80,000 verses

to the Raghuvans'a † For the sake of these stories, a more thorough investi gation of the work would certainly be very desirable. . It is quoted so early as by S'arngadhara (see Aufrecht, Catalogus, p. 125a), and it was probably composed in Kashmir. § See Ind. Streifºn, I. 352, 269, 271 and my Abh. uber das saptasatakam des Hálo, p. 6. | Thus Chidambarakavi in his Bhārata-Ramayana-Bhdga ratasara treats of the history of these three works at the

same time and in the same words : see Taylor, Catalogue, . 175, 176 (each verse is therefore “capable of three render ings"). An analogous literary conceit is the Rāmakrishna kārya, probably composed by Sūryadāsa whose date falls about 1540; see Aufrecht, Catalogus, 13.2a.