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yana,'1 which was repeated 2 on the initiation-ceremony. A revival of letters, too, is vouched for by the fact that lengthy Sanskrit inscriptions in prose and verse, which had disappeared for some five centuries or more, now re-appears and are continued in the reign of Jayasthiti's son.4

Unlike most Indian princes, Jayasthiti had, according to my conjecture, some appreciation of the value of history. When he enters on the scene there is a slight change in the style of the present chronicle. Newari words become much more frequent. It seems to me as though the chronicle VI had been finished off by a partisan of the king. In the case of the Vamśāvali preserved by Wright, traces of manipulation seem to me still clearer. After a rather jejune account of his (alleged) predecessors this chronicle bursts into sudden eloquence of detail on the doings of Jayasthiti. There seems no reason to doubt the accuracy of these particulars, though as Dr. Wright points out in his note (p. 183) there is a medley of inaccurate and accurate dates (p. 187). The king's literary proclivities are even exemplified by a specimen of his composition (ibid.)

So far so good. Where one seems to see the traces of deliberate falsification is in the total omission of the real kings of Nepal immediately preceding and following the invasion of Harisimhadeva, and the insertion of a string of ancestors for Jayasthiti with impossible reigns and dates. These are tabulated in the Historical Introduction to my Cambridge Catalogue, p. xv. There is no agreement in the lists of ancestors, except that all seem to show a tradition current at least in the XVIIth century 7 A.D. that the family of Jayasthiti was descended from Harisimha by the male line, though it should be observed that the inscription there cited ignores Jayasthiti and his immediate ancestors and goes, by a considerable mandūkapluti from Jayasthiti's grandson Yaksamalla back to 'Earayat'-simha. Even more suggestive of what I regard as the correct facts is the form of Inscription No. 16 of

1 A dramatized Rāmāyana appears in the present collection, p. 246. 2 See note 2 to preceding page.

3 'Journey in Nepal' pp. 12, 83. Bhagvanlal and Wright mention an inscripon a stone near Lalitapattan.'

tion of the king himself '

4 Ind. Ant. IX, 183.

5 This (N.S. 515), it should be observed, is the first date in that Vamśāvalī that is reconcileable with the testimony of MS.-colophons and inscriptions save only the memorable date of Harisimha's invasion (p. 175).

6 Wright's 'Anandamalla' (pp. 262-299) seems to be a mixture of Anantamalla and Jayānandadeva. He totally omits Jayabhīma, Jayaraja and Jayārjuna, alb mentioned in the present chronicle and confirmed by MSS.

7 The inscription and the play cited fall within this century.

Bhagvanlal's series which was issued by the son of Jayasthiti, Jyotirmalla in N.S. 533. Here there is a short genealogy (tabulated by Bhagvanlal), but no 'fancy' ancestry on his father's side. On the contrary, he mentions his father merely as 'belonging to the Süryavamsa' and then most significantly adds that he (Jayasthiti) was the 'husband of Rājalladevi. The reason is now clear. It was through his mother and not through his father that Jyotirmalla had any hereditary claim to the throne.

We may now turn back to a very important point in this part of the history of Nepal, around which a good deal of misapprehension has gathered, namely the invasion of Harisimha.

In spite of the boast of Candeśvara, Harisimha's minister that he was "victorious over all the kings of Nepal"," there seems to be at present no evidence beyond that of the Vamśāvali-tradition preserved by Wright and Bhagvanlal to show that Harisimha established himself in the valley of Nepal. Against this we may place the testimony of the new Vamśāvalī which was composed within about half a century of the event in question and (what is far more convincing) is confirmed by the colophons of several MSS. The precise nature of Harisimha's expedition may be further explained by the Newari extract forming fig. 10 of the Plate; but meanwhile one can see that the effect of his expedition could hardly have been permanent, as not many years after we find a representative of the old royal family (Jayadeva) on the throne. Until more evidence is forthcoming, it seems safer to regard Harisimha and his ancestors who reigned in Tirhut, Simraon and also possibly other parts of the Nepal-Tarai as at most titular kings of Nepal, even if they really claimed sovereignty over the valley of Nepal at all.

For Jayasthiti's reign MSS. are, as I have said, numerous. The earliest date (NS. 500) is taken from the Cat. p. 43, where, beside the epithet 'Rājalladevi-pati' already referred to, several additional details of interest are supplied. Among them is the name of the minister Jayata who figures also in the chronicle (V3) at f. 54 b, as Sriupādhyā [ya] in connection with the names of the king and queen.

1 Jayasthiti has the very same epithet (Rajalladevi-pati) during his lifetime in N.S. 500. See Cat, p. 431. 23.

2 Dānaratnākara, stanza 3 ap. Eggeling, Cat 1.0. p. 412.

3 As to Jayadeva, Pandit Haraprasad has very kindly furnished me with a tracing of the colophon of the Soclety's MS. first described by him in J. A. S. B., LXII. i., p. 250. From this it is now clear that Jayadeva (the reading 'vijayadeva cannot stand) reigned on till N.S. 476, Phālguna.

4 It should be noted that the Wright-Bhagvanlal tradition brings in a long line of ancestors for Harisimha and has to stretch out the true chronology of the kingdom to work them in. Once regard them as merely kings of the Nepal-Tarni and all becomes simple. As to Nānya-deva the reputed founder of the Simraon dynasty, see Duff, Chronology, p. 134 and add a reference to Ep. Indica, I, 313.

5 Candeśvara in the Kriyāratnākara, st. 4 merely says that his master ruled over all Mithila' (Cat. Skt. MSS. I.O. p. 410).

The next king was Jayasimharāma who may well have been a regent, as in the year mentioned (516) the eldest son was only 19 years of age.1

I have elsewhere called attention to the curious triple regency of the three sons of Jayasthiti, confirmed as it is by two contemporary MSS. It is worth noting that the three princes did not divide the kingdom, but all ruled together in the little town of Bhatgāon which then was the capital. Three years later Jayadharmamalla is said in an inscription at Patan to be reigning as yuvarāj, an expression which would imply that Jayasthiti was still alive, in retirement. I give the text of the documents below.2

Of Jayadharma as actual king we have no trace. The second son Jyotirmalla is recorded in the inscription (Bhagvanlal No. 16) already quoted to have been reigning in N.S. 533 apparently as sole king, though his brothers are mentioned. As he restored the Hindu shrine of Pasupati and the Buddhist shrines on the Svayambhū hill we may perhaps conclude that he reigned over the whole valley. In the three MSS. given in the Table Jyotirmalla is mentioned as reigning alone

1 Born 487, Prathamāsādha, V3 54 b. Jayasimhar is mentioned with Jayarjuna (as being at Kathmandu ;) 54 6 : नं ४८३ कात्तिका शुदि १० थ्व कोड श्रीजयाजेनदेव स वो जयसिंहराम महाथ स वो चपनाह था ङ ङ वो चाल कंतिपुर [sic] दुम्वियादिन ॥ In N.S. 507 he joined Jayasthiti and his family at the yatra at Bugama (63, b.). With mahāth Dr. Grierson compares the forms mahathā, mahantha 'great person.'

2 Compare Cambridge Cat., p. ix., "Journey" pp., 15, 16, and Table. The verse written in Camb. MSS. Add. 1664, 2197 runs thus :

भक्तापुरी नगयां च चयो राजा [sic] विराजते ।

धर्म योतिष (जो 2197) कोर्तिस जेष्ठ [sic] मध्यकनिष्ठके ॥

The opening of the inscription found by me in 1884, as described, but not published,- (for it is chiefly in Newari and much damaged in the lower part), runs thus (I print it with all its characteristic errors of spelling, etc.) :

संवत् ५१३ बैशाख कृष्ण दशम्यायां तिथौ । रेवतिनक्षचे आयुष्मानयोगे बुद्धवसरे कृषराशि गते सवितरि मानरशिगते चन्द्रे ॥ जुवराजराज श्रऔश्रीजयधर्म्ममादेवस्य विजयराज्ये ॥ The inscription records the repair of a well connected with Mauīgalādhipa-Sridakşiņavihāra' and setting up of images.

(N. S. 540-547).1 Early in the next year Yaksamalla, the eldest son of Jayajyotih, as we find from the above-cited inscription, has succeeded to the throne; and dated MSS. are fairly plentiful for the long reign (43 years) assigned to him. by the Vamśāvali of Wright.

As to the history of this time some information is given by the interesting MS. described at pp. 107-9 of the present Catalogue. The author is king Jagajjyotimalla of Bhatgāon, sixth in succession after Yaksa. According to this work Yaksa 'went as far as Magadha, conquering Mithila and set in order all Nepal, subduing the rājas of the mountains.' The triple division of the kingdom, already known to us, is then mentioned, including the assignment to the eldest son Rāyamalla of the country east of the Vanmati (Bagmati) river with Bhatgāon as capital.

In Table II. I summarize the chronology of the reigns then ensuing.

Dated MSS. are not at first numerous; but for the Bhatgāon line the MS. at Cat., p. 107, just referred to, is valuable, especially as royal authorship is attributed to it. The joint-regency of Jita and Prāna given in the Table is stated in the Catalogue at p. 102 and confirmed by an inscription copied by me at Thaiba (olim Thasiba). 2 That the later king Trailokya should have been also known by the synonymous name Tribhurana seems at first sight improbable; but the inscription on which I base the statement was found by me at Thimi, which is east of the Bagmati and not far from Bhatgāon. After the beginning of the XVII century dates from coins become fairly plentiful, see the Table II in my "Journey."

For the line of Kathmandu, dated documents are at first still more scarce; but later on dates are quite numerous.

I have added in Table II appended to the present article a third column for the Banepa dynasty, because the first king at least was a real person and from the Cat. p. 115 seems to have been a literary man. In any case the separate dynasty of Banepa did not last much more than a century, as I find from copies of inscriptions recently received by me from Panauti a place in the Banepa valley somewhat east of

1 Cam. Add. 1649 a work on astrology attributed to the king himself and copied N.S. 532 makes a fourth if the retouched colophon (see my Cat. p. 155) be correct, as there seems little reason to doubt.

2 In a part of the village called Antal tol and near a caitya. The village lies E. from Patan towards Harsiddhi and Bañregion. The date runs thus: স্ত্রী স্বী जित्मत्त प्रभु ठाकुरस्य श्री श्री प्राणमा देवठाकुरस [य] यो [र्] विजयाराजे [sic] वत् ६४४ नष्ट भाद्रपद.

3 Through the kindness of Colonel Pears, the present Resident.

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Banepa, that the kings of Bhatgāon, Jagatprakāśa and his success of Jitāmitra (1642-16891) were acknowledged there.

II.-WESTERN NEPAL.

The town of Noakot or Nayakot (which I visited in my recent tour) seems to have been a kind of frontier between the valley of Nepal or Nepal proper and the Western districts. Wright's History (pp. 223-5) mentions the seizure of the place by a Gorkha sovereign previous to the general Gorkha Conquest.

The MS. in the Wright-collection numbered 1108 seems to have been written hére. For नवकोष्ट is doubtless (though the identification escaped me when I wrote my Cambridge Catalogue, p. 30) a Sanskritized form of the town's name. The date of the king (Ratnajyotiḥ) has been verified by Dr. Kielhorn and corresponds to January 14th,

1392.

During the following century no chronological data are forthcoming. I may note in passing that an educated Nepalese told me that inscribed stones, which he thought resembled those published by Pandit Bhagvanlal and myself, existed in the valleys of Western Nepal.

Dr. Wright published (History, Chapter XII) an account of the reigning (Gorkha) dynasty from Dravya Sah (A. D. 1559) to the present time.

P

It is interesting to find in the present collection (pp. 242-4) a MS. giving confirmation of this record. It was composed by Rajendravikrama Sah, who reigned 1816-1847. It might be worthwhile to publish extracts from this MS., when further confirmatory material (from old MSS. or inscriptions) comes to light. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Wright's date, 1559, founded on a Vikrama-date, is curiously corroborated by a chronogram (vidhu-vasu-nigama-glau 2), which gives the corresponding Saka year (1481). At p. 213 of the Catalogue we find a MS. written during the reign of Varavira Sāhī, in 1614, at Jatāpattana. This looks like Saka 1614 (A.D. 1692), when Virabhadra Sahi was alive, though, according to Wright, he was only yuvarāj and never mahārāja.

1. For the latter date see Cat. p. 150. N.S. 810, Pausa. One of the new in. scriptions is dated some six years later : 816, Jyestha.

* Read thus p. 242 1. 25. I was much troubled by the reading नौ gnau. But on referring to the MS., through the kind intermediary of the Resident, I found that the tracing read glau. This rare word has hitherto been found, in lexicons only, in the sense of 'moon' or 'earth' (= 1). .

3 Bhagvanlal's Inscr. No. 18 fixes the date of another Gorkha sovereign in recording the defeat of Dambaraśāh by Pratāpamalla, N.S. 769 (A.D. 1649). J. 1. 3

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