Notes on Important Arabic and Persian MSS. found in 



various Libraries in India* — L 



INTRODUCTION. 



In 1904 the Government of India accepted ' the proposal 

 of the President of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, made at the 

 instance of Dr. E. D. Ross, CLE., to create a special Depart- 

 ment for the institution of a systematic search for MSS. of 

 Persian and Arabic works on behalf of Government, and 

 indicated the two-fold object to which the efforts of this De- 

 partment should be directed — viz. (a) the purchase of Arabic 

 and Persian MSS., and (b) the search for and cataloguing of 

 MSS. Large sums of money have been spent on the purchase 

 of MSS. and a catalogue of MSS. acquired up to date is in the 

 course of preparation under my supervision. Two Hand-lists of 

 1,646 MSS. have already been published. The first Hand-list 

 is arranged alphabetically and deals with 1,106 MSS. acquired 

 during 1904-7, while the second list deals with 540 MSS. pur- 

 chased during 1908-10 and is grouped according to subjects. 

 The catalogue under preparation is on the lines of the Cata- 

 logue of Persian and Arabic MSS. in the India Office Library by 

 Dr. E D. Ross and Professor E. G. Browne and supersedes the 

 two Hand-lists just mentioned. 



In 1912, at the instance of Major C. L. Peart who adopted 

 the suggestion of his predecessor Col. D. C. Phillott, the then 

 Officer-in-charge of the Search for the Arabic and Persian MSS., 

 it was decided to apply the Search Fund rather to ascertaining 

 the existence and whereabouts of rare and interesting MSS. 

 than to purchasing them if in good keeping. In pursuance of 

 this decision, Hafiz Nazlr Ahmad, the First Travelling Mawlavi, 

 was directed to visit various libraries, book-stores, etc., scat- 

 tered throughout India, and to prepare notices of MSS. The 

 Mawlavi accordingly visited a number of libraries a list of 

 which, with short description of each, is subjoined herewith. 



The notices published in the following pages, which repre- 

 sent only in a small degree the labours of the Mawlavi in this 

 direction, are prepared under my supervision from the notes 

 made by him during his visits to the libraries. The whole work 

 is divided into three sections, A, B and C, dealing respectively 

 with Libraries, Arabic MSS. and Persian MSS. The notices are 

 grouped according to subjects and arranged alphabetically 

 under each subject, the Arabic MSS. coming first. The notices 

 of Persian MSS., however, will be published in subsequent 

 numbers of the proceedings of the Society. 



1 Government of India letter No. 88 0, dated the 14th June, 190*. 



