1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 163 



efforts to procure a copy of the Pseudo-Yajur Veda composed by the 

 Roman Catholic Missionaries, to facilitate the reception of Christian 

 doctrines in India. 



To the Secretaries of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 



Gentlemen, — With reference to the contents of pp. 1268 — '69 of the No. 

 of the Society's Journal for December last, relative to the parts of the Vedas 

 which should be published by the Society, I would take the liberty of offering 

 the following suggestions for the consideration of the Oriental Section. 



First. — It appears from Professor Wilson's letter of 17th September last, that 

 only three out of the four Vedas are about to be printed in Europe. The fourth, 

 or Atharva Veda, has not been taken in hand. Might not our Society undertake 

 its publication? An account of the contents of this Veda may be found in the 

 first of Dr. Roth's treatises on the flistory and Literature of the Vedas, trans- 

 lated in the Journal for August last, to which I have not at this moment the 

 means of referring more particularly. 



Second. — I think it appears from the same work that Dr. Roth was publishing 

 an edition of the Nirukta, and that another scholar was bringing out in Germany 

 the Aitareya Brahmana. It would therefore appear adviseable that the publica- 

 tion here of these and any other parts or appendages of the Vedas which are 

 reported to be likely to be printed in Europe, should be allowed to lie over, at 

 least till other portions, for the printing of which no provision has been made in 

 Europe, shall have been brought out. If indeed any of these Upanishads are 

 of no great length (a point on which I am not informed) a reprint here of one 

 or more which have already been printed in Europe would be of no great conse- 

 quence, and would certainly render our edition complete. 



I observe in Messrs. Smith, Elder ScCo.'s Literary Circular from July to 

 November 1847, a new work on the Vedas advertised, with the following title, 

 which I beg to suggest may be added to the Society's Library : 



" Essai sur le mythe des Ribhaus, premier vestige de l'apotheose dans le Veda, 

 avec le texte Sanskrit par F. Neve." 8vo. sewed, price 11. Paris. 



I suggested to the Society several years ago that an attempt should be made 

 to procure for the Library the original Sanskrit text of that curious work the 

 Pseudo-Yajur- Veda, (of which some account is given in a paper by Mr. Ellis 

 in one of the earlier Vols, of the Society's Researches, as well as in the English 

 preface to Dr. Mill's Sanskrit poem, the Christa Sangita) which the Roman 

 Catholic missionaries composed several centuries ago to promote the reception 

 of Christian doctrines. A French translation of this Pseudo-Veda or part of it, 

 appeared at Yverdun towards the close of last century, which is perhaps in the 

 Society's Library ; but it appears very desirable that we should possess the 

 original of so curious a work. In consequence of my former suggestion, Dr, 



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