128 A. F. R. Hoernle — Epigraphical Note on Palm-leaf, etc. [No. 2, 
time of Alberani himself. Its form is peculiar. It resembles the 
Indian Pothl, in consisting of separate leaves, not “ bound ” in a book, 
but tied together in a bundle : but it differs from the Pothl in not having 
any string-hole for the passage of the tying string. The string-hole vsras 
probably omitted as being too risky for the material. It also differs 
in its shape, being squarish (7 x4"), and not so distinctly oblong as the 
common Indian Pothl, made with the long narrow palm-leaves. Now it 
is noteworthy that the two oldest paper manuscripts known to us point to 
their having been made in imitation of such a birch-bark prototype as the 
Bakhshali MS, The oldest paper manuscript, dated 1231 A.D. (supra, 
p. 121) has exactly the same squarish shape; it measures 6x4 inches. 
The next oldest paper manuscript, dated A.D. 1343, is rather more oblong, 
measuring I3| x>6 inches, but it has no string-hole. Both these manu- 
scripts come from that part of India which Alberuni calls “ Central India 
as above explained.” It seems permissible to conclude that when paper 
came into use, its leaves were cut and treated in imitation of birch-bark 
book-leaves in those parts of India where birch-bark was the common 
writing material, and that it was cut and treated in imitation of palm- 
leaf, wherever the latter material was used for book- writing. In this 
connection it is worth noting that no old palm-leaf manuscripts are 
known to come from Alberuni’s “ Northern and Central India,” though, 
considering the scanty survival of birch-bark manuscripts, too great 
importance may not be attached to this point.*^ Regarding this point 
of survival, it may be noted that it applies equally to all kinds of 
manuscripts, whether of paper or of birch-bark or of palm-leaf. This 
circumstance shows that the cause of the non-survival is not to be 
sought in the climatic conditions of Alberuni’s “ Northern and Central 
India.” These need not have prevented a reasonable amount of 
survival. The cause is probably rather to be sought in the political 
and religious troubles which so frequently convulsed those portions of 
India. During the Muhammadan conquest, for example, large destruc- 
tions of Hindu literary works are reported to have taken place. 
In this connection there is another interesting point to be noted. 
The Bower MS., which is written on birch-bark and is certainly as 
There are a few very old palm-leaf matmscripts, but they all come from 
Western India ; at least there is no reason to assume any other place of origin for 
them. They are enumerated in Table I, Nos. 1-5. No. 5 is dated by Mr. Bendall 
in the Harsa era, and tbis might seem to suggest the “Centre ” of Northern India 
as its place of origin. But, in the first place, the date may be, and as I believe is, 
more probably, referable to the Gupta era, in which case the date of the manuscript 
is A.D. 571-2. In tlie second place, considering the wide extension of the Harsa 
empire, even a Harsa date is not incompatible with a Western Indian origin which 
on general grounds is far more probable. 
