Notices of Sanskrit Manuscripts
by Rajendralala Mitra | 1871 | 921,688 words
These pages represent a detailed description of Sanskrit manuscripts housed in various libraries and collections around the world. Each notice typically includes the physical characteristics, provenance, script, and sometimes even summaries of the content of the Sanskrit manuscripts. The collection helps preserve and make accessible the vast herit...
Page 351
PREFACE. XV Smartavagica, No. 243, by Yadavendra Vidyabuhusana, and No. 241 by Mohanacandra Vidyavacaspati relate to the atonement of sins. The last author has a work, No. 366, on purification, in the form of Karikas. He was a Banerji. Numbers 160 to 162 by Harinatha Micra, Ananta Bhatta and Vardhamana, respectively, are on adoption. Numbers 166 to 168 by Mohanacandra, Acyuta Cakravarti and Raghurama Ciromani, respectively, are on inheritance. Numbers 15 and 16 by Cyamasundara and Caturbhuja are on acauca or impurity owing to births and deaths in the family. Numbers 415 and 416 by Ramabhadra and Narottama, respectively, are short abstracts of Smrti in general. Kacitattvaprakacika, No. 65, by Raghunathendra Civayogi deals with the sanctity of various holy spots in the city of Benares, and quotes various Puranas, Upanisads and Tantras as his authority. Ramaratna Banerji of Catra, near Serampur, retired in his old age to Benares. He was one of the companions of Cyamacarana Banerji, a retired zemindar, who took delight in talking about the sanctity of Kaci. To please him, Ramaratna collected together a large number of facts about Kaci, which was put into Sanskrit by one Kalacandra. This work is entitled Kacibhasyamrta, No. 66. This is a very modern work, and it extends to eight thousand five hundred Clokas. Number 38 is a treatise on the process of making the gift of a cow. Number 88 treats of the religious ceremonies to be performed at Gaya. It is by Raghunatha Bhatta, the son of Madhava. Number 107 treats of the propitiation of the planetary deities. For the deliverance of the soul of the deceased, a bull is branded at his Craddha with a certain mark and allowed to roam at large. This is known as the Brahmini bull, which is held sacred in almost all Hindu cities. In the case of the death of a woman leaving her husband and children behind her, the gift of a cow marked with sandal-paste is regarded as conferring great merit on the deceased, and the branding of the bull is discarded. Numbers 110 and 111 by Vacaspati Micra and Ratnanatha Bhattacaryya