Page:The Indian Antiquary, Vol. 4-1875.djvu/268

 isn", 1875.] BOOK NOTICES. 2-'.:. readings, or are interesting tor their great anti- quity. In a minute recorded by the Honourable Mr. Gibbs on the tth June last, it is proposed thai the work be divided into two portions — (1) tlu: copying the inscriptions; (2) their decipherment and publication. As regards the first portion it is considered that the best, plan is to have copi estampages) taken by means of the stout unsized !■ used by those savanU who have been en- gaged on similar duty in Egypt. It is recom- mended that the second part uf the duty should be entrusted to Mr. Fleet." W. F. Sinclair. icit.i:.ot. or &£ Practice of Malabar. — Calieut, Collectorate Press (19 pp-4to), I860. This small pamphlet contains the sixty-four Anacharams, also called the sixty-four Achfirams ; for although they are Anacharams in the larger portion of the Presidency, they are considered Acharams in the land of Kerala or Malabar— origin- ally the country now comprised under the names of Kanara, Malabar, Cochin, and Travankor — the narrow strip between the "Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, stretching from Gokarra in North Ka nara to C ape Ku m a ri. Th ey are precep ts gi ven I Sankaracliarya of Sririguri— one of the most celebrated teachers of the Yedanta philosophy- after consulting the NumnaMetra. They are em- bodied iu twenty-six Sanskrit slokas. These every Malayali considers bimseli Strictly bound toattend to and revere. In the pamphlet — printed, ns the title-page and preface tell us. for the edification of io— are also given Malayalam equivalents for the Sanskrit words in the slokas, with a rendering in Malayalam in parallel columns. Before, however, giving an abstract translation of the A ' something regarding the author may be interesting. Sankaracharya wai of ^hihadcva, or by a Brahman widow. From his very boyhood he was well instructed, so that in time he became the moat learned man of his day, to whom all looked up for instruction and advice. As he wuslioru of B I'.iAlunan widow, the Bra hmans of the village refused to join in the ceremonies attending hie mother's death. On this occasion ho therefore dug the pit I '■"), out tho body of his inothor into pieces and burnt them. Tho cere- monies that ought to be performed by a junior member of the family were done by Sildras, so that from this period began the custom of "no cere- mony for Brahmar.s without the as si stan c e of a Sudni," and vice versd. By order of the sage Govinda Sanyusi, Sanka- ya wrote a history of Kerala in 24,000 He divided the Malayans into ti8 or 72 ( ?) a assembled the sixty -four village Brahman- i their particular duty to each elm as to other castes, laid down roles for the daily observance of each and every class of his division, and fixed penalties on those who infringe caste privilr This great man was noted even during his day. There is a large and celebrated pagoda at Tirnvet- thtti '. four miles to the north of Madras, built by his followers, where worship is still offered to the gods by Malabar or JSamburi Brahmans. Buchanan notices the three appearances of Sah- kariieharya in his Journey through Mysore Malabar, vol. IIL 91 (edition of 1807). Being the offspring of a god, he is considered an incarnation of the deity hiuiself, and several wonders are attributed to him. The following la an abstract translation of each of the precepts, embodied in twenty-six slokas : — I. Do not clean your teeth with a stick. _. Do not bathe (in a tank) with the clothe? you Wear. 3. Do not wipe your body with the cloth you have worn. 4. Do not bathe before sunrise. 5. Do i ice, &o. before bathing. 0. Do not use the previous day's water— liter- ally, the water drawn and kept (in a vessel} the previous day. 7. Do not think of tho attainment of any parti- cular object when bathing. 8. Do not use the remainder of the water in the vessel kept for one purpose for another. 9. Bathe if you touch certain low castes— Su- dras, — lit. He who desires holiness, or not to be polluted, should bath§ whenever he touches low- caste i 10. Bathe if you approach certain lower castes — dalas (pariahs). II. Bathe if you touch wells and tanks touched by the Chandalas. 12. Do DOt tread with your foot on ti; cleaned with a broom before water is sprinkled on it. 18. This is the mode of putting holy a on tho forehead :— A Brahman, should make a figure in the form of a long g6pi, aalj; ;■ Kshatriya a semi-circle. M *u > S way* " circular figure, as # ; and a Sudra three parallel lines, as = . M- Repeat to yourself the when per- forming any ceremony of which a mantra is an .«■- companiment. 15, Do not eat stale rice, i.e. do not eat in the morning what has been prepared the previous day.