18S2.] 
G. A. Grierson —JSlanbodlds Haribans* 
129 
JHaiibodhds Haribans,—By G. A. Grierson, C. S. 
PABT I.—Text. 
The following poem is in the Maithili dialect of the Bihari Language. 
It was written by a poet named Man’bodh, or Bholan Jha, the four¬ 
teenth and last of his race. He lived at Jam’sam, close to the well-known 
village of Pandaul in the Madhubani subdivision of the Darbhanga- 
District. He married a daughter of one Bhikhari Jha, and died without 
issue about the year 1195 F. S. (circ. A. D. 1788), This date is borne 
out by the fact that a grandson of this same Bhikhari Jha died only four 
years ago, a very old man. Beyond the details of the names of his 
ancestors, which are kept by the Maithil genealogists, I have obtained no 
further information concerning him. He is said by tradition, to have 
translated the whole of the Harivamsa into Maithil verse, and extracts 
from the translation are current and extremely popular throughout north¬ 
ern Mithila. I have never met with a complete copy of the whole work, 
and I fear the latter portion of it is lost beyond recovery. After some 
years’ search I have been able, through the kind assistance of Babu STi 
Harayana Simha of Jogiyara, to obtain accurate copies of two MSS,, 
which I shall designate as A and B, A, which I have taken as the 
foundation of my text, is much the more correct of the two, and contains 
the first ten adJiydyas. B is not so carefully written, has one or two 
lacunce, and only contains nine adliydyas , the tenth being missing. A is 
therefore, my only authority for that portion of the text. With the 
exception of the lacunoe above-mentioned, the two MSS. agree very closely. 
Any important differences will, however, be duly noted. 
The poem is deserving of special attention, as an example of the 
Maithili of the last century, affording a connecting link between the old 
Maithili of Vidyapati, and the modern Maithili of Harkh’nath and other 
writers of the present day. It contains some forms which have survived 
from times prior even to Vidyapati, and which hence have especial interest. 
I purpose at an early date to publish a translation, with notes illustra¬ 
ting and explaining the many grammatical difficulties which are found in 
it. I shall, therefore, not deal with the subject of Manbodh’s Grammar at 
present, and, with regard to the subject matter of the text, it will be 
sufficient now to say that it contains the usual familiar legends of the 
incarnation and life of Krishna, from the first promise of Vishnu to be¬ 
come incarnate, to the first defeat of Jarasandha. It thus corresponds 
roughly with a little more than the first half of the tenth book of the 
Bhagavata, or with chapters 57 to 93 of the Harivamsa. 
R 
