2 C. Bendall— History oj Nepal and surrounding Kingdoms . [No. t, 
lection in 1884 led to the first definite account published. 1 Since then 
Pandit Haraprasad visited the Library, and gave some notes on it in the 
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXYI, Pt. I (1897), pp. 
310 sqq. Some further notes were made by Prof. S. Levi 2 of Paris in 1897, 
giving attention “surtout aux colophons des manuscrits, si importants 
pour rhistoire.” As, however, Monsieur Levi subsequently informed me 
that his examination of the Library was far from complete, I felt all 
the greater pleasure in seeing the more exhaustive examination taken 
in hand of which the present Catalogue is the result. My own share 
in it was chiefly in helping the Pandits to decipher the figures and 
other chronological data with which acquaintance of nearly 25 years with 
ancient Nepalese MSS. has given me some familiarity. When I was 
at work in the Library, I requested the Pandits always to show me colo¬ 
phons of MSS. containing kings’ names and dates. A considerable 
portion, however, of the present Catalogue had to be compiled by the 
junior Pandit after my departure, and consequently I have been led 
to adopt another method of verification, which, thanks to the kind co¬ 
operation of the Residents in Nepal, Lieutenant-Colonel W. Loch and 
his successor, Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. Pears, has given excellent results. 
This method was to send to the Resident a series of copies made on 
tracing-paper of all the important colophons containing points, numerals 
and the like, requiring verification. No clue was of course given to the 
words or figures expected to be filled in on the blank spaces left; and the 
fidelity of the tracing was vouohed for in each case by the correspondence 
of paleeographic peculiarities with the date assigned. 
In my previous attempts 8 to adjust Nepalese chronology by means 
of MS.-colophons, I always endeavoured, as far as possible, to use 
and harmonise the data furnished (1) by formal histories and chroni¬ 
cles, and (2) by the historical notices furnished by the scribes of 
MSS. in their colophons (brief, but valuable as contemporary evidence), 
and also incidental notices given in the body Of works like dramas. 
Of the latter class a good example is the drama Mudita-Kuvalayasvana- 
taka from which copious extracts are given by Dr. Pischel in his Cata¬ 
logue of the German Oriental Society’s MSS., pp. 7-8. The present 
Catalogue f urnishes several more instances of this kind. 
1 See the present writer’s “ Journey in Nepal and Northern India,” pp. 16—20, 
where the previous notices by B. Lawrence and D. Wright are referred to. 
* Rapport, p. 16 [84] (Acad, des Inscrr.Seance du 27 Janr. 1 899). 
8 Transactions of Fifth Congress Orientalists (Berlin, 1881) Verhandlungen II. 
Halfte ii, pp. 189 sqq. (1882) 5 Catalogue of the Buddhist Skt. MSS., Cambridge, 
1883 (Historical Introd.) ; Journey in Nepal ” Ibid.,...1886 (Tables). To these last 
two I hereinafter refer as ‘ Camb. Cat.’ (distinguished from ‘ Cat.’, which refers to 
the new Catalogue) and ‘ Journey,’ respectively. 
