A catalogue of South Asian Manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries

OR BROWSE BY

MANUSCRIPTS
WORKS
PEOPLE

MS. Sansk. c. 37

MSS. Sansk. c.

Contents

Summary of Contents: A paper manuscript of Kālidāsa’s Abhijñānaśakuntala, with an interlinear Latin translation, complete English translation, and various notes by William Jones.
F. i-ix:
Various notes in English, Sanskrit, and Greek in William Jones' hand. William Jones
Language(s): English with Sanskrit and Greek.
Ff. 1r-109r:
Abhijñānaśakuntala Kālidāsa
Rubric: F. 1r: śrī gaṇeśāya namaḥ
Incipit: F. 1r: yā sṛṣṭiḥ sraṣṭur ādyā vahati vidhihutaṁ yā havir yā ca hotrī adve kālaṃ vidhattaḥ śrutiviṣyaguṇā yā sthitā vyāpya viśvaṃ |
Colophon: F. 109r: iti kavirāja śrī kālidāsaviracitābhijñānaśakuṃtalākhyanādakaḥ saptamoṃkaḥ || samāpto yaṁ graṃthaḥ || śubham astu ||
Language(s): Sanskrit.
Class: mūla
Ff. 1r-109r
Interlinear translation in Latin, with occassional English and Sanskrit notes. William Jones
Rubric: F. 1r: The Fatal Ring, or Sacontalám an Indian Drama. Divo JANO laus!
Incipit: F. 1r: Aqua creatio Creations prima,
Language(s): Latin with Sanskrit and English notes.
Class: translation
Ff. 110r-167r
The complete English translation. William Jones
Rubric: F. 110r: SACONTALÁ, or THE FATAL RING: an INDIAN DRAMA written by CÁLIDÁSA in the first Century before CHRIST, and translated from the original Sanscrit and Pracrit by
Incipit: F. 110v: The Persons of the Drama. Dushmanta, Emperor of India.
Colophon: F. 166v: This translation was finished at my gardens on the Ganges 17 Aug. 1788. W. Jones
Language(s): English.
Class: translation
F. 167r:
A Sanskrit verse omitted in the main text (p. 57), with English translation. William Jones
Language(s): Sanskrit with English.

Physical Description

Form: codex
Support:

Paper. Three different watermarks: Posthorn, in crowned shield; below monogram ‘GR’ and a bell; Monogram, WJ; and Figure of a woman, sitting on a chariot, holding a three-petalled flower in her right hand and a spear in her left, within three concentric ovals surmounted by a crown..

Extent: ix + 167 + xxi
Dimensions (binding): 34 × 21 cm.
Foliation: Devanāgarī numerals in black and red ink, top-middle margin, verso.
Foliation: Arabic numerals in pencil, top-right margin, recto.

Condition

Complete.

In good condition.

Hand(s)

Devanāgarī in black ink. Adhyāya headings and daṇḍas in red ink.

Scribe: ‘As the Sanskrit text is written in the same beautiful handwriting as the texts in MSS. Sansk. c. 32 and c. 34, it must have been written by the same Lālā Mahatābarāya .’

William Jones ' handwriting in black ink.

Binding

A late 18th or early 19th-century brown leather binding over pasteboard, with shelfmark number tooled in gold on the spine. Cardboard cover box.

History

Origin: 1788 CE. ‘The text was probably written in the same year in which the English translation was finished, i. e. 1788.’

Provenance and Acquisition

Given in 1833 by Julius Hare and Augustus Hare from William Jones' personal library.

Record Sources

Description by Barbora Sojkova, based on observation of the manuscript and the following sources:
Winternitz and Keith, Catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts, no. 1244 (1–4), p. 174

Availability

Entry to read in the Library is permitted only on presentation of a valid reader's card (for admissions procedures contact Bodleian Admissions). Contact specialcollections.enquiries@bodleian.ox.ac.uk for further information on the availability of this manuscript.

Digital Images

Digital Bodleian (full digital facsimile)

Bibliography

    Printed descriptions:

    Moriz Winternitz and Arthur Berriedale Keith, Catalogue of Sanskrit manuscripts in the Bodleian Library (Oxford, 1905), no. 1244 (1–4), p. 174

Funding of Cataloguing

The cataloguing of this item was made possible through a benefaction from the late John P. Clay, founder and benefactor of the Clay Sanskrit Library.