82 Conservation of Sanskrit Literature. [March, 



places visited the objects and importance of the mission, to purchase such 

 manuscripts as the possessors were willing to sell at a reasonable rate, and to 

 employ copyists to transcribe codices which were unique, extremely old or 

 otherwise desirable, but which the possessors might refuse to part with. 

 The gentlemen sent on tours were to make reports to their respective Local 

 Governments, and such reports to be transmitted to the Government of 

 India in the Home Department ; scholars, both in India and in Europe, to 

 be invited to transmit lists of desiderata ; those in Europe to be requested 

 to communicate with the Government of India through the Secretary of 

 State, those in India through the Local Governments. From the sugges- 

 tions so received general lists of desiderata were to be prepared and circu- 

 lated annually, and the notice of Local Governments and Administrations 

 would be drawn to entries in the catalogues received from them which 

 seemed to refer to any work in the lists of desiderata. 



Quarterly lists* of the manuscripts found during the previous 

 quarter were directed to be submitted in the prescribed form to the 

 Government of India in the Home Department. 



Local Governments and Administrations were to use their discretion 

 in purchasing or having copies made of the manuscripts existing within 

 their jurisdiction. Local Governments were however reminded of the 

 desirability of bearing in mind the subjects which European scholars should 

 deem most valuable, and that manuscripts of the Vedas and Vedangas and 

 of their commentaries, law books, grammars, vocabularies and philosophical 

 treatises should be regarded as of primary importance. When transcripts 

 were made, these should be in the modern Devanagari character. Copies 

 of the Sanscrit manuscripts existing in Southern India, if made in the 

 Telugu or other Dravidian character, would be of little use to European 

 Sanscritists and to the large majority of Native scholars. 



These instructions have been carried out as follows : 



Bengal. 



In Bengal the task of collecting the lists and purchasing and tran- 

 scribing manuscripts was entrusted to the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Dr. 

 Kajendralala Mitra, aided by two Pundits or Sanscrit scholars, has been 

 engaged by the Asiatic Society in carrying out the scheme. 



He has already published twelve pamphlets containing notices of 

 Sanscrit manuscripts extant in Bengal. 



His report dated 15th February 1875, on the operations carried on by 

 him to the close of 1874 for collecting information regarding Sanscrit 

 manuscripts in Native libraries, is very interesting. 



* These Hsts are now annually prepared. 



