A Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts in Mithila (Vol-II) (An Old and Rare Book)

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This is the second volume of our Descriptive Catalogue of Manuscripts in Mithils. The first volume which contained notices of Smrti MSS. was published in 1927. The present volume is on literature manuscripts. It has been divided in three sections-Chhandas, Alankara and Sahitya. It deals with the results of the search from 1918 to 1927, carried on under my direction at the cost provided by the Government of Bihar and Orissa through the medium of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society. This volume, like volume I, is printed with the funds generously placed at the disposal of the Society for the purpose by the late Mahārājādhiraja of Darbhanga, to whose memory the volume is gratefully dedicated.

Chhandas.

The earliest manuscript in this section is of the Srutabodha (Cat No. 25 A Chh. Palm-leaf) of the Maithila Kalidasa Mahamahopadhyaya and Deviputra. It was copied in 525 L.S; another manuscript of the same is dated 1764 S. This manual was a popular book in recent centuries as attested by its copies e.g. nos. 25A to 25 D. The Vidvanmanorama by Vidyānanda Miśra (Cat. 16 Chh.), a paper manus- cript, was copied in 1574 S. (1652 A.D.) It is a commentary on Prākṛta Pingala. The writer was a resident of Kāmarūpa. Another copy of this work has been acquired for the Society. The original Prākṛta Pingala is printed in the Bibliotheca Indica Series, but this commentary is yet unpublished. The Vittasāra by Ramāpati Upadhyāya, a palm-leaf MS. (Cat. no. 23 Chh.), was copied in 1626 S. (1704 A. D.)