RECENT ACQUISITIONS

Department of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books

Manuscript Acquisitions, 1975

AMHARIC

Traditional Amharic commentary on Biblicalbooks. Copied at Gondar; c. 1975. Or. 1368^A-F.

AMHARIC and ETHIOPIC

The Andam commentary in Amharic on theEthiopic Biblical texts. Anonymous oral com-mentary, transcribed at Gondar; 1976-7. Or.13683 G-L

The Andam commentary in Amharic on theEthiopic text of the Qer a I los (writings of Cyrilof Alexandria). Anonymous oral commentary,transcribed at Gondar; 1976-7. Or. 13683 J.

A R A B I C

Abu Muhammad al-Husayn ibn Mas'ud al-Farra al-Bagawi, MasabTh as-Sunnah. A col-lection of authentic traditions; 1169 (1755);probably Turkey. Or. 13661.

as-Sifa bt-ta'rif huquq al-Must_afa by Abu1-Fadi 'Iyad ibn al-Yahsubl. A compilation oftraditions in praise of the Prophet Muham-mad; dated 855 (1451). Or. 13676.

ar-Risaliih ad-damigah. The second volume ofthe sacred books of the Druzes. Or. 13677.

Muzhir ad-Din al-Husayn ibn IVlahmud ibnal-Hasan az-Zaydani (d. 727/1327), al-MafHtTh fi hall al~AiasabJh. A commentaryupon MiisahTh as-sunan of Abij Muhammadal-Husayn ibn xMas'iJd al-Farra' al-BagawT(d. 516/1122); 17th century; probably Syria.Or. 13707.

ARABIC a n d URDU

Aluzth al-Qur^an. An Urdu translation of theQur^an, with notes, by Shah 'Abd al-Qadir ofDelhi. Accompanied by the Arabic text; 19thcentury. Or. 13664.

Qaul al-jamJl. Rules for leading a holy life, byShah Wall AUab ibn 'Abd al-Rahim DihlawT.Accompanied by an Urdu version; 1260(1844). Or. 13672.

ARMENIAN

The Four Gospels, preceded by the Letter ofEusebius to Carpianus and the Eusebian Con-cordance Tables. Copied by Vardan in theArmenian year 649 (1200) at the Avag Vank'

77

monastery on Mouni Sepub near Krzincan (ineasicrn Turkey). Illumtmittinis: fols. ib 2:1, theLetter to Carpianus is contained in twodecorated quatrefoils; fols. 3b-4a, 5b-6a con-tain four of the ten tables arranged in doublecolumns bene:ith rectangular headpieces incolours and gold, and surrounded by birds,particularly peacocks, and stylized plants; fols.7a, 117a, 182a, and 299a, the opening pages ofthe Gospels, with large decorated initial lettersbeneath headpieces surrounded by plants andpeacocks, the symbols of the evangelists (angel,lion, ox, and eagle), and with the rest of thetext in gold; the initial letter of each chapter isusually decorated in colours and gold andthere are numerous marginal ornaments,384 fols. \ellum. Binding: seventeenth-century blind-tooled brown calf over woodenboards; on the upper cover a silver crucifixwithin a quatretbi! in the centre, surroundedby five crosses riveted to the cover with holesfor a sixth, all but one with inscriptions record-ing the names of various deceased faithful; onthe lower cover a silver roundel with insetcross, from which the figure of Christ has dis-appeared. Or. 13654.

See: The British Library Journal, iii, no. 2.

neath, Burmese script. Blind-tooled redleather binding; 19th century. Or. 13681.

CHINESE and ENGLISH

Notices of Buddhism in China, By the Revd.J. Edkins. Abstracts. Notes on Edkins's workmade by the Revd. Silvester Whitehead, in hishand; 19th century. Or. 13687.

Taotst words and phrasesAn English-Chinese vocabulary of Taoistterms, compiled by the Revd. Silvester White-head, in his hand; 19th century. Or. 13688.

ETHIOPIC

Psalter. The Psalms, Biblical Odes or Canticles,Song of Solomon, and W'dasse Maryam. Vel-lum. In double leather mahdar; 19th century.Or. 13595.

Psalter. Psalms, Biblical Odes or Canticles andW^dasse Maryam. Coloured picture of tbeVirgin and Child inserted. Vellum. In doubleleather mahdar \ 20th century. Or. 13596.

Bl RMESE

CuLi Dhammu Dcsana Lahkara. Preaching andInstruction. Buddhist text. Copied in B.E.1179 Nayon (1817). Palm-leaf (with some Paligatha). Or. 13656.

Representations of royal donations at variousplaces beginning in the year 121$

Seven scenes of Buddhist donations made inthe years 1215-19 (1853-7). The donationswere probably made by Queen Tharaseinwhose name appears on a label stuck on theback cover of the manuscript; this queen waspossibly a minor queen of King Min-don(ruled 1853-78). Paper folding book of thirty-six folds, with painted scenes on thirty-toursides, explanatory text in yellow border under-

GUJARATI

^rJpald-Rasa of Vinayavijaya and Jasavijaya.The Jain legend of ^rlpala. King of Malwa.The first and last folios are decorated withfloral designs and the text contains seven illus-trations, quarter—or one-third—page size;i8th century. Or. 13622.

Dhala-Sagara (otherwise known as the Hari-vamsa-rasa) of Gunasagara Suri. A Gujarativersion of the Sanskrit Harivamsa. Or. 13624.

Dana-STla-Tapa-Bhavana-CJta of Samaya-sundara. A short Jain treatise on the merits ofcharity, piety, and austerity; dated 1683(1626). Or. 13627.

IkavTsa-Thana. A gloss on the Ekavlsathdna-prakarana of Siddhasena Suri; dated 1695(1638). Or. 13629.

Madana-Mohanani Kathd of 5amala Bhata, the18th-century Gujarati poet; dated 1899(1842). Or. 13632.

Okhd-Haran and Rana-Jagna of Premanand.Two poems, being Gujarati versions of San-skrit stories—the first taken from the Puranasand the second from the Yuddhakanda of theRamdyana. The Okhd-haran is illustrated withthirty-eight coloured drawings half-page toalmost full-page size in a vigorous Gujaratifolk style. The Rana-jagna is not illustrated.Tbe Okhd-haran s colophon gives the date ofcopying as 1823 (1766). Or. 13634.

See also PRAKRIT and GUJARATI; SAN-

SKRIT; SANSKRIT and GUJARATI

HEBREW

Shibbole hal-leket A code of Jewish ritual law.Compiled by Zedekiah ben Abraham 'Anav.Copied on vellum in a semi-cursive Italianhand by Zedekiah ben Moses; dated 1260. Or.13705-

See also PERSIAN

HINDI

Rdma-Caritra. The story of Rama, being anabridgement in Hindi verse of the Rdmdyanaepic; dated 1863 (1806). Or. 13625.

Cuna-Hari-Rasa of Tsar ( = Tsvara) Das. Themanuscript calls itself'SrTHara-rasa' but it isnot the well-known work of that name of TsarDas but this abridged version of it which he alsocomposed; dated 1813 (1756). [Rajasthani].Or. 13628.

Bheda-Sdra. A short Kabir-panthT work inthe form of an imaginary dialogue betweenthe master Kabir and his trusted discipleDharmadasa; dated 1889 (1832). Or. 13630.

Collection of Hindi verses {Padas). A miscel-laneous assortment of verses, mostly con-nected with the stories of Rama and Krsna;probably 19th century. Or. 13631.

Sdlotara, i.e. ̂ dlihotra [}]. A treatise on farriery;probably i8th century, from West India.Or. 13633.

/,/7a7;flrrof Lalchand. A vernacular (bhasa) ver-sion of the Sanskrit treatise on arithmetic andgeometry by Bhaskaracarya. Like Add. MS.26373, '^is copy is complete in sixteen chap-ters and also has the same epilogue of twenty-eight verses in which Lalchand gives hispedigree, naming his guru as Jinacandra Suri,and states that he made this translation at therequest of Jait Singh. Or. 13639.

MadhumdltJ-Vdrtd and other Rajasthani versetales. Eighty-eight illustrations, in a sub-styleof Mewar. Copied 1829-32 (1772-5). [Rajas-thani]. Or. 13682.

See also SANSKRIT and HINDI

ORI YA

Bicitra-Bhdrata, very probably the poem oftbat name by Visvambhara Kavi, being anOriya metrical version of the Mahdbhdratawith an elaborate commentary to each parva.Incomplete; probably 19th century, fromOrissa. Palm-leaf. Or. 13653.

PALI and THAI

Phra Malai illustrations, and Vinaya Pttakaextracts. Paper folding book, white. Illustra-tions in twenty-one pairs on either side ofopenings; black laquered covers with gildedborder; mid-i9th century. Or. 13703.

PERSIAN

Zafarndma, the history of Timur by Saraf ad-Dm 'AIT Yazdl, preceded by the same author'sMuqaddima. Probably copied in Iran; dated3 Ramazan 995 (1587). Or. 13663.

Barahin al-ajam. A treatise on prosody andrhyme by Muhammad Taql Mustawfi, Lisan

79

al-Mulk, called Sipihr; dated 1284 (1867). Or.13681).

NabiT al-iinbiyii nijannat itl-mti\'a jTsiyur huyral-vard. An iiccount of the lives and qualitiesof the Prophet Muhammad and others, byAbu Ibrahim AUiihyar ibn MuhammadyarBalhT. No other manuscript of the work re-corded in published catalogues. Illuminatedmedallions; 19th century. North India. Or.

anSajTis mm al-Qfinun |Book I]. A Persiantranslation, with some modifications of al-Qtlnrin fT t-tibb. The .Arabic treatise on tbemedical sciences b\ Ibn STnii. Not found inpublished catalogues of manuscript collec-tions. According to the colophon of the manu-script, the translation of Book I was completedat Fayzdbad (in India) on 30 November 1717;copied early 19th century. India. Or. 13691.

PERSi.\N (in Hebrew characters)

Fathndmd ('Book of the Conquest'). A poeticalparaphrase of the biblical narrative in thebooks of Joshua, Ruth, and Samuel composedh\ .Maulanii 'imranT of ShTraz in Judaeo-Persian. W itb miniatures in the Persian(Isfahan) style illustrating episodes from theBook of Joshua; 17th century. Or. 13704.

P E R S I A N a n d L RDL

DTirJn-t-Khawdjah .Mir Dard. The poeticalworks of Khawajah MTr Dard; dated 1259-60(1843-4). Or. 13671.

PRAKRIT

Suriyapannatti. The fifth Lpahga of theJ^vetambara Jaina Canon; dated 1607(1551/2). Or. 13608.

Sangrahaniratna, by Maladhari Candra Suri,the same work as the Laghusangrahanisutra;

279 verses on Jaina cosmology; i6th century.Or. 13611.

Kalpasutra, the traditional life of MahavTra, thelast founder of the Jain religion; dated 1502(1445/6). Twenty-seven very fine miniaturesin the early Western Indian style. Or. 13700.

PRAKRIT and GUJARATI

Anuttarovavdtyasutta. The ninth Aiiga of the^vetambara Jaina Canon, with a Gujaratitaba; dated 1862(1805/6). Part of a set includ-ing also Or. 13599-600. Or. 13598.

Niraydvalikd'srutaskandha, comprising Up-ahgasS to i2of the Canon, with Gujarati taba;dated 1865 (1808/9). Or. 13599-

Ntsihasutta. The first Chedasutra of the Canon,with Gujarati taba; dated 1865 (1808/9). Or.13600.

Aydrangasutta. The first Ahga of the Canon,first ^rutaskandha, with a Gujarati taba byJinadhammasiha Muni; dated 1802 (1745/6).Or. 13601.

Uvdsagadasangasutta. The seventh Anga, withGujarati taba; dated 1802 (1745/6). Or. 13602.

Suyngadangdsutta. The second Ahga, firstSrutaskandha, with Gujarati taba; i8tbcentury. Or. 13603.

Samavaydngasutta, the fourth Ariga, with aGujarati taba; dated 184- (the last number ismissing, i.e. A.D. 1783-93). Or. 13604.

Panhdvdgaranangasutta. The tenth Ahga, witha Gujarati taba based on Parsvacandra'sBdldbodha; early i8th century. Or. 13606.

Vivdgangasutta. The eleventh Ahga, with aGujarati gloss; dated 1766 (1709/10), andcopied at Patan. Or. 13607.

Jambuddivapannatti. The sixth Upahga of theCanon, with a Gujarati taba by jTvavijayaGarii. Incomplete; dated 1850 (1793/4), ^^^copied at Surat. Or. 13609.

Dasaveydliyasutta. The second Mulasutra ofthe Canon, with Gujarati Bdldvabodha; i8thcentury. Or. 13610.

SangrahanisHtra. Candra Suri's work on Jain

80

Fathndmd. Or. 13704

cosmology in 346 verses, with A Gujarati gloss;dated i8(u (1805/6). Or. 13612.

Laghusahgrahani, on Jain cosmology, by CandraSuri, with the Gujarati Bdldvabodha oiSivanidhana Gani; dated 1721 (1664/5). Or.

Laghusatigrahani of Candra Suri, with theGujarati Bdldvabodha of Sivanidhana Gani;17th century. Or. 13614.

Jambuiiirttra, the life of Jambusvami, byPadmasundara, with a Gujarati gloss; c. A.D.1800. Or. 13615.

Kalpiistllra^ with a Gujarati taba. Incomplete;18th century. The gloss contains frequentlengthy passages, usually illustrative stories.Or. 13616.

Panhdvdgarana. The tenth An^a ot theSvetambara Jaina Canon, with Gujarati taba.The first five ajjhayanas only; i8th century.Or. 13617.

Cauvisadandakd, by Gajasara. Forty-six verseson the twenty-four phases of existence accord-ing to Jain doctrine, with a Gujarati gloss;dated 1794 (1737/8), and copied at Surat. Or.13618.

\ ndrasatjrimsikasutra, by Gajasara, with anextensive Gujarati commentary; 18th century.The same text as the preceding. Or. 13619.

Dravyasahgrahd, by Nemicandra, a Digambarawork in sixty-one ary as, on the Jain doctrine ofmateriality, with a Gujarati taba by Mati-batpsa .Muni; dated 1790 (i733/4)- Or. 13620.

KalpasUtra, with an elaborate Gujarati gloss;18 19th century. Or. 13626.

Sattarisayathdna, by Dharmaghosa and hispupil Somatilaka, on the 170 Jinasthana; dated1971 (1914/15). One miniature. Or. 13696.Cift of A. Wanters, Esq.

KalpasHtra. With an elaborate Gujarati com-mentary. Incomplete; mid-i8th century, withseventy miniatures in a vigorous folk style. Or.13701.

PRAKRIT and SANSKRIT

Karmakdnda, being the second part of Nemi-candra Siddhantajhanacakravarti's Comma(a-

sdra, with the Sanskrit t:Tka of SumatikTrti,styled Jndnabhusand; dated 1623 (1566/7).Or. 13621.

SANSKRIT

Jiidtadharmakathdngasiitravivrti. AbhayadevaSuri's commentary on Ndyddhammakahanga-sutta, the sixth Ahga of the Svetambara JainaCanon; r6th century. Or. 13605.

Crahabhdvanaprakdsa, or Bhuvanadipikd, anastrological treatise in 179 verses by Padma-prabha Suri; dated 1711 (1655/6). Or.

13635-Bdlabodhaprakararia, a manual of Hindu astro-logy for the young, by Munjaditya; dated i860(1804/5). Or. 13637.

Narapatijayacarydsvarodaya, a manual of prog-nostications, etc., by Narapati, son of Amra-deva; dated 5aka 1691 (1768/9). Or. 13638.

Siddhdntabmdu, Madhusudana SarasvatTscommentary on Sahkaracarya's Dasasloki,with the text of the latter; dated 1778 (1721/2).Or. 13640.

Antyestjpaddhati. A manual of funerary rites,by ^atrughna; dated 1731 (1674/5). Or. 13644.

As{ddhydyirudri, a compilation in eight chap-ters of Vedic mantras on Rudra, including asthe fifth chapter the Satarudriya; dated 1915(1848/9). Or. i36_45.

Nityasandhyavidhdnapujd, a manual of rites forthe worship of the goddess BhuvanesvarT;dated 1795 (i735/6)- Or. 13646.

Bhuvanesvaristotra, by PrthvTdhara, disciple ofSambhunatha. A Tantric hymn to the goddessSarasvatT; i8th century. Or. 13647.

Bhdgavatapurdna, with the commentaryBhavarthadTpika of Sridharasvami. Fragmentsof the first two Skandhas. Four miniatures;18th century. Or. 13648.

Pancaraksd. Five dharanls, to the five Buddhistprotective goddesses. Nepalese blue-blackpaper, with gold ink. Copied in N.S. 632 (1512),in Kathmandu. Five miniatures of the god-desses mostly in gold. Or. 13651.

82

Sanskrit Paradigms. A manual of the morpho-logy of the Sanskrit language; 19th century.Or. 13655.

Mahdvtdydrdjrii Dhdrani. A hymn to the Bud-dhist goddess Mabapratyahgira. Copied inN.S. 997 (1877) in Kathmandu. One miniature.Or. 13684.

GanitasighrabodhasdranJ, a set of astronomicaltables, composed and written by RupacandaDayarama at Karachi in A.D. 1895. Or. 13698.Cift of A. Wanters, Esq.

Sdrani, a set of astronomical tables, incomplete;19th century. Or. 13699. Cift of A. Wanters,Esq.

SANSKRIT and GUJARATI

A collection of poetical works in Sanskrit andGujarati. A. Citagovinda of Jayadeva. B.Various Jain works in Gujarati; i8th century.Or. 13642.

Two collections of maxims on ethics and polityascribed to Canakya, with Gujarati glosses.A. Laghucdnakya; B. Vrddhacdnakya\ dated1924 (1867/8). Or. 13643.

SYRIAC and NEO-SYRIAC

Lexicon. A selective lexicon of classical Syriacroots in the Solduz dialect of Neo-Syriac;dated 1903. Or. 13597.

TAMIL

Nitikkasukal. Moral stories for children. Trans-lated from the Sanskrit into Tamil by Cup-piramaniya Parati; 19th century. Or. 13658.

Pu{papantam. Work on astrology translatedfrom the Sanskrit into Tamil. The translationwas done by M. Canmuka Mutaliyar in 1910.Or. 13659.

Sri Tanvantari pUja viti. A work on indigenous(mainly Ayurvedic) medicine. Compiled byM. Canmuka Mutaliyar in 1862. Or. 13660.

Jndnasdtam and Premayacdram. Vaisnavaliterature; 19th century. Or. 13693.

Nanasivavathakattalai or The elements of thecontroversy respecting the plurality of souls. ByScshattrisiva Desikar. English translation bythe Revd. Thomas Foulkes; 19th century. Or.'3694-

Matalayattiruppani. Management of charitablemutt. Or. 13695.

SANSKRITandHINDI

Jyotisasdrasarigraha, a metrical summary ofHindu astrology attributed to Mahadeva, witha Hindi gloss; dated 1830 (1773/4). Or. 13636.

Vaidyajivana, Lolombaraja's Sanskrit treatiseon pathology, with a gloss in Sanskrit andHindi; dated 1792 (1735/6). Or. 13641.

SANSKRIT, PRAKRIT, and HINDI

Four folios from different manuscripts withminiatures in Western Indian styles; i8th

TELUGU

Parts of a Palm-leaf manuscript. Religious text.One leaf and covers are illustrated; 18th-19thcentury. Or. 13649.

THAI

Horoscope. Profusely illustrated in a vigorous,lively band, showing the twelve years of theanimal cycle calendar in two series (side i).Paper folding book, black; mid-i9th century.Or. 13650.

Elephant Manuscript. Text profusely illus-century. Or. 13697. Cift of A. Wanters, Esq. trated with twenty-three paintings of mythical

83

elephants, followed by ordinary elephants innatural settings. Paper folding book, white;mid-i9th century. Or. 13652, 13652A.

TURKISH

Aldfrdngd, ydhud \4vrupd dddb-i miuTsireti',An account of the manners and customs ofupper- and middle-class Western Europeansociety by a 19th-century Ottoman traveller;late 19th century. Or. 13657.

[Dtvdn-i Sirri-i EgribdzT\. The Divdn of SeyyidMehemmed SirrT of Egriboz (Euboea); mid-19th century. Or. 13662.

Kitdb't Biilkiyd veMelik Sdh-i cihdn ve hikdyet-iSdhimerdn. An anonymous Turkish version oftbe Arabian Nights story of tbe Queen of theSerpents; probably 17th century. Or. 13678.

Kdnunndme-i Cin ve Hi(d (Hitayname.) Thetranslation by Huseyn Hezarfenn of T^drih-iHitdy va Hutan, a description and history otChina in Persian by 'Ali Akbar called HitaT;dated 1641. Or. 13679.

[Cevdhirndme-i Sultdn Murdd]. A translation ofNasTr ad-Din T^sT's Persian treatise onminerals, gems, metals and perfumes entitledTansuqnama-yi Tlfidni; 15th or early i6th cen-tury. Or. 13680.

A register of the ^ulemd holding the variousofficial appointments in the Ottoman empire,from ^eyh el~isldm down to medrese professor;probably late 19th century. In the first sectionssome names have been embellished withpowdered gold or silver. Or. 13702.

URDU

Dita'-yi manzHm. A prayer; dated A.D. 1909.Or. 13665.

Masnawi-yi sitbh-i tajalli. A poem in praise ofthe Prophet Muhammad; dated 1289 (1872).Or. 13666.

A collection of fatawa, i.e. religious decrees;dated 1352-3 (i934-5)- Or. 13667.

Risdlat fi bahs baydn al-mubdrakat maulUdsharif al-maimunat; dated 1251 (1835). Or.13668.

Najdt-iQdsim. An account of the life, teachings,and virtues of'AH Murtaza Amir Abu al-'AlaAkbarabadi, by Muhammad C^sim AbiJal-*AlaT Danapun; dated 1283 (1866). Or.13670.

Tanbih al-ghdfilin. A treatise on the religiousduties and obligations of the followers ofIslam, based on the traditions of the ProphetMuhammad: dated 1263 (1847). Or. 13673.

URDU and PERSIAN

Diwdn-i Shdh Niydz Barehrri. The poeticalworks of Shah Niyaz BarelawT, in Persian andUrdu; dated 1280 (1863). Or. 13669.

MISCELLANEOUS

A pack of playing cards from Orissa/Bihar. Itstheme is the Ramayanam; probably 19thcentury. Or. 13692.