on the Sanskrit Manuscripts in Madras. 73 



them are written in the interest of sects and are consequent- 

 ly of comparatively modern origin. But though this be the 

 case, and though we already possess good editions and trans- 

 lations of the old Upanishads, the value of the Madras collec- 

 tion still remains very great. It will furnish materials for the 

 further restitution of the texts and commentaries of the 

 edited Upanishads and most important contributions to 

 the history of the religious development of India. 



Among the other works forming part of the Veda we 

 meet with the two unknown names, of Brahmanas, Ashta and 

 Chard i(a). But we do not learn from the Catalogues to 

 which Veda and cakha they belong. 



The number of books belonging to the Vedangas seems 

 to be comparatively small. There are however some in- 

 teresting works. The copy of a Yajurveda-prati^akirya, 

 whether it belong to the White or Black portion of this Veda, 

 will be a welcome addition to the exceedingly scanty stock 

 of compositions of this class. Two other books, the Qixk- 

 chandamsi(?) and the Udochhadara(?) vyakhyana likewise 

 seem to refer to Vedic grammar and may furnish new infor- 

 mation on this difficult subject. 



Amongst the Smartasutras, the Apastambha-grihya and 

 dharma deserve to be noticed, as MSS. of the former^ 

 have not been found elsewhere, and only very few copies 

 of the latter are known. 



In post-Vedic literature nearly all branches, with the ex- 

 ception of the Sarikhya and Yoga philosophy, are well re- 

 presented. There are good collections of MSS. of the Epic 

 poems, the Kavyas, the Puranas, Dharmacastras, tales and 

 fables, as well of the works on science and Mimamsa and 

 Nyaya philosophy. 



0) Vol. I, p. 197., II, p. 312. 

 (b) Since I wrote this two copies of this work have been obtained in 

 the Dekhan. 



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