Page:Narratives of the mission of George Bogle to Tibet.djvu/96

lxxxviii thirty-one of the most influential chiefs in Nepal, paved the way to the rise of Jang Bahadar, a nephew of Mataber Sing, to the office of Prime Minister in 1846, with Surundra Bikram Sah as Maharajah of Nepal.

Except for a few months in 1856, Jang Bahadar has retained power ever since, and the bearing of the Nepal Durbar has been more friendly to the British Government, especially since the visit of the powerful minister to Europe in 1850. But the passes remain closed, and Europeans are not allowed to visit any part of Nepal, except the valley round Kathmandu. Alexander Csoma de Körös, the eminent Tibetan scholar, worked in the same field of research as Mr. Hodgson, and at the same time. A Siculo-Hungarian of Transylvania, and without means, this devoted student made his way to India by land, with the object of investigating Eastern languages and literature, and of ascertaining their relation to his own Magyar tongue. It is much to the credit of the Government and officials of British India that Csoma de Körös should have been cordially welcomed and liberally assisted. He first went to Ladak and Zanskar, and studied the Tibetan language and literature in the Buddhist monastery of Pugdal, from 1827 to 1830; and he then proceeded to Calcutta, for the purpose of giving some of the results of his labours to the world, where he was very kindly received by Mr. Wilson and Mr. James Prinsep.

Csoma de Körös ascertained that the literature of Tibet was entirely of Indian origin, the immense volumes being translations from Sanscrit. His teacher in the Tibetan language was a learned Lama of Zanskar, named Bandé Sangs-rgyas Phun-tshogs; and when his grammar and dictionary were completed, the Government of India very properly sanctioned its being brought out at the public expense. He also published several