1838.] 



Beport on the Mackenzie Manuscripts, 



335 



other poets or learned men ; and being adapted to aid as a guide to an 

 outline acquaintance with the originals. 



9. The Bana class of books. 



These are explained to be erotic treatises : teaching the art of fas- 

 cinating the eye, according to the common fable of arrows. 



10. Upa-jnana — books of adventures. 



These describe the great sufferings of certain personages, and the 

 happiness which followed. They refer to Harischandra ; Nala ; Cu' 

 sula, son of Rama ; and Sifa, wife of Rama. 



11. The iV^■^a?^rfa^, seven are mentioned. They are of the diction- 

 ary kind; containing words with synonimes, or explanations. 



12. The RamayanaSf or various Tamil versions of this poem- 

 four are mentioned. 



13. The Barathams, or versions of the Mahahharata, various other 

 'tales , fables, and the like kind of works. 



14. Books peculiar to the Vaishnava system ; a considerable list of 

 these is given, thirty eight in number, several of them have the w'ord 

 mystery^ added to the specific name. According to the explanation, 

 they relate to the spiritual interpretation of the symbols employed by 

 the sect, or to the esoteric doctrines 5 and much of the contents apper- 

 tain to a future state of being. 



15. The Vedanta-sastras. 



The Pui'va-miinansa oi Jaimini —comments of Battacharya, Vyasa^ 

 Sancaracharya, and some others. 



16. The Jyotisha system, or astrological works. 



These blend, what we term, astronomy and astrology together : they 

 are ascribed to eighteen rishis, whose names were probably attached 

 to them by later writers. The amount of the whole is stated at four 

 lacs of slocas, or four hundred thousand poetical stanzas, in the 

 Grant'' ha, or Pr aerify of the south. 



17. Epitomes of the foregoing systems. 



18. The Cali-jnana systems. 



These relate chiefly to magic, with a few exceptions, such as the 

 Baratha sastra^ relating to dancing, and such as relate to ceremonies. 

 Others profess to teach such arts as flying in the air, stupifying ene- 

 mies, casting arrows, neutralizing the effects of fire, and a variety of 

 similar matters : the total amounts to sixty-four kinds of such arts. 



19. Sl'hala Pur anas of the Chola desam. 



Forty six of these are mentioned, relating to various places, within 

 the twenly-four Kadams of the C/io/« country ; of which the bounda- 



