PEEFACE. 



5 



modern times. Under these circumstances it may perhaps 

 he preferahle to confine oneself to draw with critical intuition 

 the rough outlines of a sketch, and to leave to future 

 investigations the final execution of the historical picture, 

 rather than to try to compose at once a lengthy historical 

 work. 



South India preserves on the whole very few antiquities 

 which guide us safely back to ancient times, but it is possible 

 that we may find in the vernacular names of persons, coun- 

 tries, rivers, mountains, &c, historical relics which will claim 

 our attention and explain many apparent mysteries. I 

 have begun to collect such names in the four principal 

 vernaculars of Southern India, and hope to submit them 

 some day to the critical view of the public. 



Meanwhile I shall be thankful for any assistance and 

 suggestion which may be offered to me on this particular 

 topic. 



It remains to me now to thank my native friends for the 

 kind manner, in which they assisted me while compiling this 

 Index. I desire especially to mention A. Varadacarya, my 

 first Telugu Master, who helped me as much as he could up 

 to the time of his sudden death. I am also much beholden 

 to the Pandits Siddhanti Subramanya Sastri of the Presi- 

 dency College, and M. J. Tirumalacarya, for the readiness 

 which they exhibited in explaining doubtful passages in 

 the Canarese part of the collection. 



