1871. ] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 281 
about 250 pages, containing notices of 317 manuscripts. These, 
with the first number which has been reprinted (the first edition 
having been exhausted), constitute a volume of 360 pages, contain- 
ing notices of 519 works, of which 40 are on rituals, phonetics and 
other Vedic subjects, 32 on the Nyaya, 17 on the Vedanta, 20 on 
astronomy and astrology, 14 grammars, 23 Kavyas, 14 Natakas and 
38 Smriti treatises. The body of the Vedas are represented by 
only two works, the Rudrakanda of the Yajur Veda and the Chhén- 
dogya Brahmana of the Sama Veda. This paucity is, however, 
nota subject of wonder, considering that the study of the Vedas 
had fallen into disuse in Bengal long before the reign of the Sena 
rajas, and the founder of their dynasty, nine hundred years ago 
had to obtain five Brahmans versed in Vedic rites from the King 
of Kanauj to officiate at a sacrifice. The descendants of those 
priests, who now constitute the bulk of the Brahmans of this pro- 
vince, have nowhere kept up the learning of their ancestors, and 
not a single native of Bengal is to be now met with who has sys- 
tematically studied the Vedas. The Vedic Sttras are also ill-re- 
presented, and the few that have been noticed were obtained from 
Benares. The philosophical and theological portions of the Vedas, 
the Upanishads, have, however, been represented by no less than 75 
treatises, most of which will be new to European scholars. The 
Puranas are met with in considerable numbers in Bengal, but as 
most of them are contained in the Library of the Asiatic Society, 
I have not deemed it expedient to notice them at length, On the 
completion of the Society’s catalogue, which is now in a forward 
state, full information regarding them will be rendered accessible 
to scholars. 
13. Annexed is a list of the MSS. which have been purchased 
for Government. Most of them, it is believed, will be new to the In- 
dia House Library, though some of them are of little interest. 
They had to be bought as they formed parts of a collection which 
could not be broken up. Owing to the owner not having called for 
their price, most of them have not yet been paid for. Three of the 
works in the list, vz. the 2nd part of the Sankhayana Sutra, 
the Vivarana Bhashya and the Chhandogaparis’‘ishta, were copied 
from codices in the possession of pandits at Benares. 
