Page:Kalhana's Rajatarangini Vol 1.djvu/15

 PREFACE. XVI

has often proved a most welcome help for the interpretation of the Chronicle. In evidence of the value of this source of information it will suffice to refer here only to my inquiry into the ancient monetary system of Kaémir, and to the numerous instances where local tradition has assisted me materially in tracing interesting ancient sites? I need scarcely add that in collecting traditions of this kind T have always endeavoured to exercise «ue critical caution.

Tt was fortunate that I was able to conduct many of these inquiries, and in particular those connected with Pandit traditions and the customs and manners of the Brahman population, with the of roy lamented friend, Pandit Govinp Kaur, of S'rinagar. Thoroughly imbued biwself with the traditional spirit of his class and country, and at the sane time, | other distinguished Kasmirian scholars of earlier days, possessed of a keon eye for the realities of life, Pandit Govind Kaul held his store-house of old-world lore and learning ever open to me. The advantages I derived from it were not restricted to the ample information on traditions and customs I gathered through him. They were equally great in another direction. All those who have had opportunities to study more closely Hindu thought in its products, as well as in its living inheritors, know how deep the differences reach that separate it from Western thought, whether classic or modern, It is a direct result of these differences that the Western interpreter of a text like the Rajatarangini, which treats of so many aspects and relations of life, is only too frequently liable to misopprehend the drift of the author's thought, even where his words are plain, and the subject-matter sufficiently elucidated. Th the absence of an indigenous commentary on the work it was no small assurance to me that I was able to test my interpretation wherever such doubts could arise, by consulting a scholar so thoroughly versed in the traditional notions of Kalhane’s country.

If a Sanskrit commentary on the Chronicle had ever been written by a country- mean of Kalhana, not too far removed from his own time, it would in all probability have made the task of proving the exact significance of many local terms and references far more simple. In the absence of such a convenient guide their meaning had only too frequently to be established in my notes by an exhaustive comparison of parallel passages, references to other Keémirian texts, and other independent evidence. A very great portion of the materials used was obtained from texts hitherto unpublished, and scarcely any of the questions raised had previously formed the subject of systematic inquiry. These con- siderations have rendered it necessary to make in each case the exposition of the available evidence detailed and exhaustive; they must mainly be held to account if

® See Note H, §§ 8, 9, 85, 8qq.; Memoir on the Ancient Geography of Kasnir, § 35. b