February, 1910.] Annual Report. , x x v 



father and son, containing 1,000,000 words is to be found at 

 Jodhpur. 



It would be a serious omission not to mention the name of 

 Kev. Dr. Macalister of Jaipur who most generously gave, in 

 perpetual loan, the collection he had made of Hindi MSS.' to 

 the Society. It contains one very valuable Bardic MS., 

 namely, a collection of Vats. The historical literature of 

 Rajputana is classified according to its degree of credibility 

 into (I) Khyats, well known, historical (II) Vats, known as 

 facts, may be historical or not (III) Danta-katha, legends of 

 uncertain credibility (IV) Gup, story- telling, known to be 

 incredible. 



Though it is an Ungad bhasa or an unpolished language the 

 gifted Brahmana of the historical Duftar, Ramkaran, has pre- 

 pared a very useful grammar of the Marubhasa which forms the 

 substratum of the Dingal. 



The importance of these Bardic chronicles lies in the his- 

 torical information they afford. Dates are often given, but 

 oftener not given. But they can always be ascertained, and 

 sometimes very accurately, from Persian sources. The histori- 

 cal information shows the Hindu side of the question, and unless 

 the Hindu and the Muhammadan side of every historical prob- 

 lem is carefully weighed, a true history of India cannot be 

 written. For the history of Rajputana these chronicles very 

 often afford the only reliable information. 



But the editing of these songs and these chronicles is a 

 work of great difficulty. Each song should be preceded by 

 the historical incident which gives rise to the song, and should 

 be followed by a literary commentary, as the Dingal is a ver y 

 difficult language, and as sometimes words, current when the 

 songs were written, have become obsolete or obsolescent. In 

 the current language of Rajputana the songs should have two 

 commentaries, the Vatartha and the Aksarartha, i.e., the histori- 

 cal commentary and the word-for-word commentary. The diffi- 

 culty of making these commentaries is enhanced by the fact 

 that similar and same names are often found in Rajput history. 

 But fortunately Thakur Sahib Bhursimgji of Malsisar has 

 set an example how these difficulties are to be overcome. He 

 has published a work entitled Vividhasamgraha containing much 

 Bardic matter with well-ascertained historic incident for each 

 song. It is very useful. It is sure to be a guide to future 

 editors, but it wanted a literary commentary, and he has prin 

 ed off, and is about to publish, a real Bardic work entitled the 

 Maharana Yasahprakasa with both historical and literary com- 

 mentary in easy Hindi. 



The collection of Bardic chronicles, written and oral, and 

 their publication in critical editions is, what is thought of in the 

 present report. Their translation into English would be a ques- 

 tion of time. 



