20 
C. Das— Note on the Buddhist Golden Book . 
[No. 1, 
A Note on the Buddhist Golden Book exhibited by the President , the 
Honourable Sir Charles Elliott , K. C. I. E. By Qarat Candra Das, 
C. I. E. 
(Read January, 1894.) 
In February last the President exhibited a Manuscript called the 
Buddhist Golden Book containing the Kamma-vdcd written on thick 
gilt lacquer leaves which he had brought from Cox’s Bazar, Chitta¬ 
gong. On that occasion Dr. Hoernle gave an account of its contents 
based on a Latin translation of the Kamma-vdcd , published by Spiegel 
in 1841. As both the text and translation of the Kamma-vdcds had 
been published by Dickson in 1883 and by Dr. Frankfurter in 1883, 
and lastly by Mr. Herbert Baynes in the Journal of the Royal Asiatic 
Society, the Golden Book which possessed such an attractive and glitter¬ 
ing appearance, seemed to be of little value. In page 53, of the Journal 
of the Royal Asiatic Society for January 1892, Mr. Herbert Baynes 
wrote as follows:— 
“ Having recently received from Mandalay through the kindness of an uncle, 
several interesting and important Buddhist MSS. in Pali, Burmese and Shan, I 
venture to lay before the Society a collection of Kamma-vdcds, some of which, 
though known to European scholars, have hitherto remained unedited. The first 
Manuscript is a very handsome copy of the Kamma-vdcam in Burmese ritual, or 
‘ tamarind-seed ’ letters, printed with a thick black resinous gum on 16 leaves of 
royal discarded pasohs , each leaf containing 6 lines each side.” 
This announcement and the translations of the different editions 
of the text, including that made by Mr. Clough in 1834, impressed me 
with the importance of the subject. It seemed to me unlikely that a 
book which was held in unlimited veneration by the entire Buddhist 
clergy of Burma, Siam, and Ceylon could be an object only of passing 
notice to the literary world. Shortly after the meeting, Sir Charles 
Elliott handed over to me the Manuscript for further examina¬ 
tion of its contents. In obedience to his wish I have made minute 
inquiries regarding the contents of the Kamma-vdcds and language, 
and the character used in the Manuscript. I am glad to be able to say that 
