Introduction by Aurel Stein
My acquaintance with the collection of manuscripts described in these pages dates back to the autumn of 1888, when, on returning from a journey to Kashmir, I visited the Dogra capital and inspected its Sanskrit library, to which Prof. Bühler had called my attention soon after my arrival in India.
The kind reception accorded to me by His Highness the Maharaja, and the courteous services of several of his high officials, soon secured me access to the Raghunatha Temple, in which the Sanskrit manuscripts collected by the late Maharaja Ranbir Singh had been deposited. The rapid survey which I was able to make during my short stay sufficed to convince me of the great extent and importance of the Jammu collection. The liberal feeling exhibited in my own case gave me reason to hope that proposals to make the contents of the library generally accessible for research would be received in the same enlightened spirit.
In the following year, the assurance of ready support on the part of the newly appointed Resident, Colonel R. Parry Nisbet, enabled me to take practical steps in this direction by submitting a plan for the preparation of a systematic catalogue of the manuscripts. On the recommendation of that energetic officer, the State Council, by a resolution dated 19 October 1889, approved this plan and entrusted the work to me.
In laying down the lines followed in the preparation of the catalogue, and restricting it mainly to a classified list of the manuscripts with extracts from the more important texts, I was necessarily guided by practical considerations. My duties at Lahore, connected with the Oriental College and the University, excluded the possibility of preparing a full catalogue raisonné of nearly 4,500 manuscripts. Yet the admirable examples offered by the reports of Professors Bühler, Bhandarkar and Peterson justified the hope that, with careful arrangement and accuracy, even a work within these limits might prove useful for philological research.
The special difficulty lay in the distance between my residence and the library. Visits to Jammu could only be made during the few holidays available in the academic terms, while the transfer of the collection, or large portions of it, to Lahore was impracticable. The liberal provisions made by the State Council enabled me to overcome this difficulty.
On my recommendation, two assistants for the catalogue work were engaged: Pandit Govind Kaul and Pandit Sahajabhatta of Srinagar, whose knowledge and scholarly qualifications I had already learned to value. After continued training in the method of collating and copying manuscripts according to western standards of philological accuracy, I entrusted to them the task of preparing carefully revised extracts of every manuscript at Jammu. Six selected copyists were placed at their disposal.
The preparation of these extracts began in December 1889. For each manuscript they contained the beginning and conclusion of the text, so far as required for ascertaining the character, title and author of the work, and the complete colophons throughout the manuscript. The assistants were also required to number the manuscripts and furnish exact statements regarding their size, number of folios and condition.
The slips thus prepared were transmitted to Lahore at regular intervals and examined by me to ascertain the data required for the classified list. In selected cases the original manuscripts were sent to Lahore so that I could test the accuracy of the extracts. Similarly, I obtained for direct examination all manuscripts for which the extracts failed to supply the necessary data clearly, or which seemed to deserve special investigation. This system of revision, supplemented by inspections during my visits to Jammu, brought a considerable portion of the collection, and certainly most of the important manuscripts, under my personal examination.
In almost all cases I had the satisfaction of convincing myself that the collation and revision had been carried out by my assistants with an accuracy that would have done credit to a European philologist. The methods adopted, though elaborate and to some extent expensive, fully answered their purpose. The fact that I had reliable extracts from the whole body of manuscripts at my disposal was of great value in the final revision of the catalogue.
The preparation of the extract slips occupied the whole of 1890 and the first half of 1891. During this time I devoted such leisure as I could spare to their examination and arrangement. After a pause required by my work on Kalhana's Chronicle of Kashmir, I resumed the task and prepared the classified list from the collected materials, comparing them with information scattered across many published catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts.
Professor Aufrecht's newly published Catalogus Catalogorum was of inestimable help. Owing largely to this work, a monument of industry and critical insight, I was able to complete the manuscript of the classified list before my departure on furlough in July 1893. The months spent in Europe were used for passing this main portion through the press, and after my return to Lahore I added the selected extracts, indices and introduction.
In the classified list my aim has been to give exact notices, in a condensed and convenient form, regarding the Sanskrit manuscripts of the Raghunatha Temple Library. Its arrangement is based on a classification of the branches of literature, and within each branch on the alphabetical order of titles.
I adopted Sanskrit for this part of the work because European Indologists would find it as easy to consult the list in Sanskrit as in English, while Jammu scholars, including the librarian, could use the catalogue only if it were prepared in their classical language. The compactness of Devanagari type also allowed more detailed notes within the tabular form.
I have spared no effort to make the entries relating to titles, authors and the extent of individual manuscripts as exact as the materials and time at my disposal permitted. Yet the examination of defective or corrupt copies, and the identification of obscure texts in little-known branches of Sanskrit literature, involve difficulties that make some errors unavoidable. I trust that those familiar with such work will judge these shortcomings with leniency.
Extracts from manuscripts of unknown or rare works have been added where they appeared to possess special interest. In connection with this portion of the work, I record my special obligation to Prof. Bühler, who indicated a number of additional manuscripts deserving illustration by extracts.
In the introduction prefixed to the classified list, I wished first to give an account of the history of the library, and secondly to draw attention to the new materials offered by the Jammu collection for the study of Sanskrit literature. The history of the library, I trust, has been sufficiently described. With regard to the literary value of the collection, I cannot claim the same completeness, since a full analysis of many works would have required far more time than was available.
I have therefore gathered brief notes on manuscripts that attracted my interest while preparing the classified list, adding some more detailed remarks on points connected with the history of Kashmirian Sanskrit literature, which is especially well represented in the Jammu collection.
I have already mentioned the help derived from Prof. Aufrecht's Catalogus Catalogorum. I also consulted most of the printed catalogues of Sanskrit manuscripts referred to therein, including works by Professors Weber, Aufrecht and Eggeling, Dr. Burnell's Classified Index of the Tanjore manuscripts, and the important reports prepared by Professors Bühler, Kielhorn, Peterson and Bhandarkar.
I must record the important services of my assistants, Pandit Govind Kaul and Pandit Sahajabhatta. Their conscientious and scholarly preparation of the extracts, their command of Indian methods of learning, and their knowledge of the Shastras traditionally cultivated in Kashmir were of great assistance to me. Pandit Sahajabhatta acted as my amanuensis during the preparation of the classified list, and Pandit Govind Kaul assisted later with the extracts and indices.
While acknowledging fully the assistance received from these two Pandit friends, I add that I have in no case considered myself absolved from personal revision and verification. I accept responsibility, subject to the limitations implied by the use of extract slips supplied from Jammu, for the statements made and the form in which they are presented.
There remains the pleasant duty of recording the encouragement I received during these labours. To His Highness Maharaja Pratap Singh, G.C.S.I., who readily assented to the proposal for making the great collection formed by his father accessible for research, I offer sincere respect and gratitude. His Highness also personally communicated much information relating to the history of the library and the scholars connected with its formation.
To His Highness Raja Sir Amar Singh, K.C.S.I., Prime Minister of the State, I offer sincere thanks for generous aid and encouragement. To the liberal view taken by him and the other members of the State Council I am indebted for the arrangements that enabled me to undertake the work and secure its publication.
I also gratefully acknowledge the support of the Residents in Kashmir, Colonel R. Parry Nisbet, Colonel W. F. Prideaux and Colonel D. W. K. Barr, whose appreciation of scientific research into Indian history and literature helped assure the progress and completion of the work.
I thank Rai Bahadur Pandit Suraj Kaur, C.I.S., Revenue Member of Council, for his kind help. The scholars attached to the Raghunatha Temple, with the venerable Pandit Gokulachandra at their head, constantly facilitated my enquiries. The services of the librarian, Pandit Ganaraja, were naturally taxed heavily, but the promptness and care with which requisitions for manuscripts were met would have been a credit to any public library of the West.
To my friend Mr. K. P. Parab, Joint Editor of the well-known Kavyamala Series, I am indebted for valuable assistance in connection with the printing of the catalogue. It was also a satisfaction to entrust the printing to the Nirnaya-sagara Press, whose Sanskrit typography in India has more than once earned deserved praise.
The work now concluded has absorbed my scanty leisure during many weary months at Lahore. Its burden followed me from the plains of Hungary to this Alpine valley. The labour grew far larger than expected and often drew me away from more attractive tasks. I shall not regret this if the publication, together with liberal rules regarding use of the manuscripts, helps open to scholars one of the great storehouses of Sanskrit literature in India.
M. A. Stein
Teisangam, Kashmir
18 August 1894
