The following short disquisition endeavours to show that, taking them all in all, the Chronicles of the ‘Southern’ Buddhists are, on the whole, sufficiently consistent to justify historical conclusions being deduced from their evidence. It is, of course, quite palpable that the earlier part of the Chronicles is inserted to furnish an historical prelude to the appearance of Mahinda, the principal actor in the conversion of Ceylon; but in spite of the great temptation to exaggeration and overstatement, the ancient authors of the Chronicles have done their work conscientiously, if not critically. Putting aside the mythological elements, which are always easily detected and may be as easily discounted, it may be said that in matters of historical detail they are surprisingly accurate, and have shown a power of restraint which does them credit when we compare their sober statements with the hyperbolic annals of the Puranic school of mythologizing historians.

The Jámi‘u’t-Tawáríkh is unquestionably one of the most important historical works in the Persian language, not only by reason of the singularly full and authentic account of the history and antiquities of the Mongols for which it is chiefly celebrated, but also by virtue of the general history, especially the history of the independent or semi-independent post-Muhammadan dynasties which held sway in Persia immediately before the rise of the Mongol dominion (i.e. between the ninth or tenth and the thirteenth centuries of the Christian era), wherewith the author, Rashídu'd-Dín Faḍlu'lláh, or ‘Rashíd the physician’ as he sometimes calls himself, supplemented his original work.

To those (Supreme Persons) do I sacrifice; to them do I come on for friendly aid, who are the Amešaspentas, who rule aright, who establish (all things) well; (2) and to that Chief would I take up (or ‘celebrate’ my song), to that God and ritual Chief do I sacrifice who is Auharmazd, (3) the Creator, the Rejoicer, the Producer of every benefit. (4) And I sacrifice to the Chief who is Zartušt, the Spitāmān.

C'est à l'ingénieuse patience d'un ami désintéressé que je dois de pouvoir présenter ici une transcription complète de ces fragments; les notes aussi, dans l'ensemble, lui appartiennent.

Le premier morceau (A), quatre feuillets numérotés 26–29, met en scène les Bouddhas de tout le cosmos, avec leurs Bodhisattvas et leurs Śrāvakas. Ces saints personnages vont se rendre dans notre univers (Sahā) où Śākyamuni leur révélera la dhāraṇī Dharmahṛdayasamucchrayavidhvaṁsaṇī. “Ne craignez pas de ne pas trouver place dans la Sahā”, expliquent les Bouddhas à leurs auditeurs, “car Sākyamuni possēde le pouvoir de faire tenir sur un grain de poussière tout l'élément ‘terre’ de tous les univers”, etc. Nous ne sommes pas, que je sache, renseignés ailleurs sur ce pouvoir magique de praveśa.

The illustration A. at page 58 below shews a coin of Huvishka, the reverse of which has been presented by Thomas in this Journal, 1877. 212, plate, fig. 7; by Gardner in his Catalogue of the Coins of the Greek and Scythic Kings of Bactria and India, plate 28, fig. 7; and by Cunningham in his Coins of the Kushāns, plate 22, fig. 17. For the casts from which I illustrate this coin and two others which have to be noticed along with it, I am indebted to Mr. Allan, of the British Museum.

This is a unique rhetorical work in Sanskrit literature, quoted by such eminent authors as Mammaṭa-Bhaṭṭa. In point of singular outspokenness, fearless criticism, and utter disregard of contemporary opinion, few rhetoricians can compare with Mahima-Bhaṭṭa. He wrote his wellknown work at a time when the critical spirit was at the highest pitch, and his courageous exposure of the prevailing schools of thought and his daring attempt to set up an original school in their stead are commendable. Though often referred to by later authors and quoted piecemeal, the Vyakti-vivēka, as a whole, has till now remained a sealed book to the public at large. A paper manuscript of the work that was available to me, as well as the Mysore Oriental Library copy to which I had access through the courtesy of the Curator, supplied the materials for this brief sketch.

At the end of an article on the Elphinstone Codex which appeared in this Journal in January, 1907, I expressed the hope of being able later to offer information from which to judge how it compares in wording with the Haydarābād Codex, the ultimate aim of the whole investigation being the establishment of a definitive text of the Bābār-nāma. Since writing that article I have ascertained, by collating the two manuscripts, that in the matter of wording one cannot be ranked higher than the other because, trifling divergence excepted, they are verbally identical.

The inscriptions from the Buddhist Stūpa at Bhaṭṭiprōlu in the Kistna District, Madras, were discovered by Mr. Rea, Superintendent of the Archaeological Survey, whose account, with excellent illustrations, of the relicchambers, the relics found in them, and other interesting details, may be read in his volume entitled South Indian Buddhist Antiquities which was published in 1894,—ASSI, 6. 1–16, plates 1 to 10.

O ye men of knowledge and who understand riddles, who search by means thereof for precious object; lift up your eyes on high and read the book that is called the “Privy of Privies”, wherein there is contained the direction in the governance of the kingdom which Aristotle wrote for the great king Alexander.