lviii Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. QJune, 1844. 



statement sufficiently definite as to the business part of the matter to 

 enable it to consider his application at once, he had referred him to Dr. 

 Haeberlin, who had kindly examined the work, whose opinion and letter on 

 the subject was as follows : — 



H. Piddington, Esa. Sub-S 'ccr etary of the Asiatic Society. 



My dear Sir, — I have examined the MSS. of the Sanscrit Dictionary in Bengali characters, 

 compiled by Babii Guruprasad Roy, which you sent for my inspection; and I am of opinion that 

 the work, if printed, would be of great use to Bengalee (Native) Students of Sanscrit, although in a 

 critical point of view, and for European Scholars, its value can of course not be compared with 

 Wilson's 2d edition. This Dictionary of Guruprasad's appears, however, to have been compiled 

 with much care, and great labour has evidently been bestowed upon it. There are many more words 

 in it than in Wilson's, and some really of importance; the explanations, too, are pretty full, and 

 under each principal vocable all Sanscrit Synonymes are given in alphabetical order. Hence the 

 work seems well adapted to Native (Bengali) Students, inasmuch they are accustomed to the 

 mode observed in this work. 



A similar work to this is in course of publication by R. Radhukanta, but the latter will fill 6 

 large 4to. volumes, and even then is not accessible to the public ; and contains scarcely one-half 

 of the vocables given in Guruprasad's ; the former will when completed, be more for advanced 

 scholars, the latter is adapted to students in general. 



I think therefore, I might safely recommend the work in question to the favorable consideration 

 of the Asiatic Society, not however for their adoption, but simply to assist the author in pub- 

 lishing the work. Indeed I think this belongs rather to the province of Government and the 

 Council of Education, than the Asiatic Society. The Dictionary is not so much for the learned, as 

 for the people of Bengal ; it is for the educated Natives of this country, whether acquainted with 

 English or not. 



To print this Dictionary would require a considerable outlay. As far as I can judge, the work 

 could not be sold under rupees 50, and if 150 copies were subscribed for by Government, the 

 Council of Education, the School Book Society, and the Asiatic Society, there is no doubt that 

 a Printer might be found to undertake the work. I hope something will be done towards the 

 accomplishing of this object. 



Believe me yours truly, 

 Calcutta, 8th May, 1844. (Signed) J. Hjeberlin. 



The Vice-President then addressed the meeting, stating, that while there 

 could be no doubt on the one hand that the work was likely to be one 

 of very considerable utility to Bengalee Students of Sanscrit, it was on the 

 other evidently not of that high classic order which the Society had been 

 hitherto wont to patronize to a large extent. He therefore suggested, that 

 the Society should subscribe for 25 copies (1,250 rupees,) and strongly 

 recommend the work as an educational one to the attention of Govern- 

 ment in that Department. 



