1837.] Alphabets of the Tai language. 17 



The words ^I«TJf JIUffTSRjfq are explained here by the scholiast to de- 

 scribe the situation of the king's metropolis Padmdvati, as being situ- 

 ated in the Ganges above Praydga, or, as he words it, between Allahabad 

 and Haridvdr. But this explanation is quite inapplicable to the same 

 words as they stand in the Vishnu-Purana, where they immediately 

 follow tbe mention of Mathurd, and where the mention of Magadha 

 following induces me to interpret the words " on the Ganges below 

 Praydga" or between Allahabad and the sea. 



II. — Alphabets of the Tai language. By the Rev. N. Brown, Mis- 

 sionary in Assam. 



[We are indebted to Capt. F. Jenkins, Political Agent in Assam, 

 for kindly engaging Mr. Brown to throw light upon the Ahom and 

 Khamti alphabets, of which it may be remembered Capt. Jenkins 

 two years ago presented to the Society some manuscript volumes then 

 undecipherable for the want of this indispensable key. The Ahom let- 

 ters are stated to be copied from an old book in the author's possession. 

 The brief notice of the language itself, (Mr. Brown writes to Capt. J.) 

 was gathered from a pandit of the Jorhdth Raja, whom he employed 

 as teacher for a few months. He did not seem to possess a very 

 perfect knowledge of the Ahom language, and he stated that the 

 same was true of the Ahoms in general, who for the most part have 

 lost all knowledge of their original tongue. 



Captain Jenkins thinks there can be little doubt that the Ahom 

 rajas came into Assam from the eastward about the beginning of the 

 thirteenth century ; and that the immediate cause of their emigra- 

 tion is to be sought for in the breaking up of the Chinese empire by 

 the Moguls, — for at the epoch when Chukapha had fixed himself in 

 Assam, Kublai Khan had just established himself in China. We may 

 confidently hope that after a little longer residence at Sadiyd, Mr. 

 Brown, w T ho is rapidly extending his acquaintance with the different 

 branches of the Shydn language will be induced to favor us with a 

 sketch of the contents of the old Ahom chronicles, which, we are given 

 to understand, certainly exist in Assam, and of which the volume 

 transmitted by Capt. Jenkins may be a portion. 



Capt. Jenkins alludes to a curious fact, communicated by Mr. 

 Brown, which should be a further inducement to examine their books ; 

 namely, that no trace of Buddhism is to be found in the religion of 

 the Ahoms. This is a remarkable deviation from the circumstances 



D 



