Showing 307 results

The material contains correspondence and bulletins the All-India Oriental Conferences from 1933-1939 (7th, 8th and 10th conferences), sent to and by the Royal Asiatic Society.

Correspondence and printed material concerned with the "Conference on Official and Non-Official Co-operative Action as suggested by League of Nations Enquiry in the East". These are:

• Letter from the Joint Standing Committee, British Social Hygiene Council and Conference of British Missionaries, to the Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to enclose particulars of a preliminary conference to be held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 25 July 1934. It is designed to bring before those organisations concerned with social work in the Far East, the problem of the traffic in women and their rehabilitation. It is suggested that the Royal Asiatic Society might wish to send a delegate to the conference. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 4 July 1934.
• "Conference on Official and Non-Official Co-operative Action". Printed leaflet concerning the conference stating its Objects, resolutions to be considered, the Agenda, and listing members of the Joint Standing Committee.
• Letter from Professor D.S. Margoliouth, President, Royal Asiatic Society, to Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to state that a representative cannot be appointed by the Council since the Society's aims are not philanthropic. However the subject is of interest and therefore he suggests that Hoysted send a list of the addresses of the Council to the Committee so they can be contacted directly. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 7 July 1934. On the reverse he has added a handwritten note concerning exchange of Journals with Professor Braumlich of Leipzig.
• Letter from Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to the Joint Standing Committee, British Social Hygiene Council and Conference of British Missionaries, to send the Society's regrets that it will not be able to nominate a representative due to the end of the Session, but that he encloses a list of Members of the Society so they can be contacted directly. Typed, dated 9 July 1934.
• Letter from the Joint Standing Committee, British Social Hygiene Council and Conference of British Missionaries, to Col. Hoysted, Secretary, Royal Asiatic Society, to thank him for the list of addresses and to state that all members of the Council will receive a personal invitation. Typed with printed letterhead, dated 10 July 1934.

The first minutes for the Committee of Correspondence are for 19 May 1831. However before this time items communicated to the Society were being recorded. Thus these two volumes are both connected with the administration of correspondence. These are:

Register of Communications, April 1823 To February 1846
This volume lists papers and correspondence sent to the Society, including their date and correspondent. Many of the entries also detail the outcome of the correspondence at the Society - whether read at a General Meeting or published within the Society's Transactions or Journal.

Minutes of the Committee of Correspondence May 1831 To July 1842
The Minutes for the Committee of Correspondence cover the time period 19 May 1831 - 9 July 1942 when the 'Committee resolved themselves into a Meeting of the Council'. In the meetings correspondence to the Society was read and decisions made how best to respond. This volume also contains a copy of the 'Memorandum on the Babylonian Inscriptions forwarded by Mr. Norris to Professor Wilson for transmission to Major Rawlinson. Dated, 15th May 1846'. The copy fills 5.5 pages of the book.

The Royal Asiatic Society has produced a Journal from the early years of its formation and continues to do so. This material covers the records made in the production, administration and distribution of the Journal.

A facsimile of a monumental inscription at the Fa-hsing Temple, Canton (Guangzhou), acquired by Sir John Bowring, whilst Governor of Hong Kong. The facsimile measures 155cm x 90cm and is black ink on white paper, probably created from a squeeze impression. It is in fragile condition, with some previous repairs.

With the inscription is a translation, made by J. Gibson, entitled "Renovation of the monumental Inscription of the Buddhist Gods", dated 14 October 1858. This is handwritten in ink with further annotations in both ink and pencil to give further details regarding dates and allusions.

A Collection of Dharanis transcribed in Sanskrit, Chinese and Korean is a woodblock printed book with side-stitched binding comprising of wrapped-back sheets of paper and a plain outer cover. The title of the volume is written on the front cover along with a Royal Asiatic Society stamp. No other identifiers in English are available. The place and date of production are unknown but presumably precedes the common adoption of western binding techniques in the 1920-1930s.

An imperfect copy of the Puthen Pana or the Misiha Charitham of Johann Ernst Hanxelden. A letter inserted into the book, dated 26 January 1934, sent from L.D. Barnett to Mrs Cardew, identifies the volume and dates it as 18th century. The Puthen Pana is a poem written by Hanxleden about the life of Jesus Christ. On the front papers there is a note to state that the manuscript was given to the Society by Sir Alexander Johnston and that it is in Malayalam.

The poem consists of 14 padams. The first padam informs readers that the poem is written at the request of Antonio Pimental, Archbishop of Cranganore. The second padam focuses on the Fall of Man, fourth - the Annunciation, fifth - the Nativity, seventh - the Sermon on the Mount, tenth - the Last Supper, eleventh - the Trial and Crucifixion, the twelfth padam portrays the lament of Virgin Mary at the Crucifixion and Death of Jesus, thirteenth - the Resurrection, and the fourteenth portrays the Ascension. The 12th padam is considered the most important in the poem. But for the 12th, which is written in the metre, Nathonatha, the rest of the couplets are written in the metre, Sarpini.

Some of the pages are fragile and a few have had historic conservation repairs.

The second volume of two containing a handwritten copy of the Daśabhūmīśvara transcribed from a Calcutta manuscript under the supervision of Harinōhana Vidyābhūsana for Samuel G.T. Heatly (Heatley). Unfortunately the first volume is now missing from the collections. The volume has brown marbled cover and is in good condition.

Translations of Sections 5 and 8 of the Prabhu Linga Leelai named as the 'Prabhu Linga Lila' within the volumes. The translations are contained within bound volumes, the one containing section 8 has 'Brown's P.L. Lila' embossed on the spine. The translator states at the beginning of each volume 'Began reading 22nd April 1839, Began Translation 5th June 1839'. The translation is in prose rather than the verse form of the original though the verses are numbered within the margins. The volume containing section 5 also contains 'Notes on Prabhu Lingua Lila Section 3'.

"Prabhu Linga Leelai" is a 15th-century Lingayata work, written in Kannada, by Chamarasa. The poet had a dream in which Virabhadra, the son of Siva, asked him to write a long poem on the Lingayata saints of the 12th century. Chamarasa subsequently composed the entire Prabhulinga Leelai in eleven days. The book is based on the life and spiritual experiences of Allama Prabhu, a 12th century Virasaiva saint and teacher. The poet presented his poem to the court of his king Deva Raya II. This Kannada work was translated into Tamil verse by Sivaprakasa Swamigal, a Virasaiva poet and scholar, in the seventeenth century.

'A copy of the Report from the Madras Government to the Court of Directors on the importance of the Study of Sanscrit (Sanskrit) and the vernacular languages of the South of India to their civil servants. Dated January 1812. Also other documents relating to the same object.' This description is written on the internal front cover. Documents include:

• 'Extract Public Letter from Fort St George, Dated 10th January 1812'
• 'Extract Fort St. George Consultations in the General, Commercial and Law Departments dated the 10th December 1811'

These reports include findings of the committee set up to investigate the effectiveness of the teaching of languages and include letters from W. Thackeray, D. Hill and named Committee members.