516 Report on the " Fedas." 



3rd. The fact of there being no Vedaic school in all Bengal is well 

 known, and therefore it cannot he expected that men educated in the 

 Sanscrita schools of Bengal shall possess competency for the creditable 

 execution of this important undertaking. 



4th. All the Vedaic MSS. that I have seen are more or less 

 defective, and it is impossible to produce a good edition of the work by 

 the mere collation of those manuscripts, and by adopting such expres- 

 sions out of the different " readings" that will occur in the various 

 manuscripts that may be consulted, and deciding in all other questions 

 of doubt, by the impulse of our own taste and predilections without 

 consulting those who are best able to pass opinions on the subject. 



5th. There being no difficulty about getting aid from Benares, I 

 see no reason why the work should be entrusted to parties, who possess 

 no special knowledge of the Vedas in preference to those who have 

 devoted their lives to their study. I take this opportunity, further 

 most respectfully to suggest that it is desireable that there should be a 

 Committee appointed of men well conversant with the Sanscrita litera- 

 ture, to superintend the publication and co-operate with the Pundits 

 who are to edit the Vedas, in collating and revising the manuscripts, so 

 that there be sufficient guarantee for the authenticity, correctness and 

 faithful execution of the task. 



I am, Sir, 



Your most Obedt. Servt. 



Rajendralal Mittra, 

 Assist. Sec. fy Librarian, Asiatic Society. 



April 7th, 1847. 



As four complete manuscripts of the Rigveda Sunghita have been 

 procured, I think there exists no objection as to the commencement of 

 the undertaking as proposed. With a view however to the satisfactory 

 execution of the task, I would propose that no time should be lost in 

 taking measures for the purpose of obtaining the services of a Pundit 

 thoroughly versed in the Vedaic literature. 



D. N. Tagore. 



Agreed. J. Long. 



