1867.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 79 



" He was a Hindu, and lived and died in firm faith in his Maker 

 as taught in the religion of his forefathers. This may have made 

 him appear as an obstructive in the way of those of his countrymen 

 who yearned for speedy reformation in matters relating to religion 

 and caste ; hut he never opposed any measure with the bigotry of 

 a partisan, and if sincerity be a virtue, he had it to perfection. 



" It is, however, not by reference to his social and moral qualities 

 that I wish to support his claim to our respect. It is as the author 

 of the great Sanskrit Encyclopaedia, the Sabdahaljoadruma, that he 

 distinguished himself most, and claims our regard. In bulk that 

 work extends to eight folio volumes of about a thousand pages each, 

 and it took up the best portion of the .Raja's life for its completion. 

 When Ferdusi completed his Shahnamah, he said : Basi sal burdam 

 basar nam ranj, * for thirty years have I borne labours innumerable 

 to complete my work.' But Ferdusi was born in poverty, and 

 depended on his song for his bread ; Raja Radhakanta was the son of 

 one of the richest men in the town, and was surrounded by wealth 

 and luxury on every side. He had, therefore, to Overcome the in- 

 fluence which great wealth, high position, and want of official occu- 

 pation exercise on young men just entering life in this country. But 

 he possessed a strength of mind not unequal to the task he had set 

 before him, and he devoted near forty years of his life in compiling 

 his great work. In Europe where all works of reference are easily 

 procured and in print, and every assistance is at hand, such a lexicon 

 as the Sabdakalpadruma would have secured the highest honours to 

 its author. In India fifty years ago no such advantages were avail- 

 able • the Raja had to collect his materials from the most inaccessible 

 sources ; he had to pore over musty manuscripts and illegible scribblings 

 on palm leaves, which alone contained his text, and he had to 

 become his own type-founder, printer, and press-reader, before he 

 could send forth a single page of his work to the public. The labour 

 he had to undergo in these occupations was immense, and that it 

 bore good fruit is evident from the manner in which it was received 

 by scholars in Europe, and the honours which were showered on him 

 by princes and learned bodies to mark their high sense of its value. 

 The Czar of Russia and the King of Denmark sent him medals, and 

 the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg!), the Royal Academy of 



