Fonds SC37 - The Hitopadesha in the Hindi Braj Bhasha dialect

Zone d'identification

Cote

GB 891 SC37

Titre

The Hitopadesha in the Hindi Braj Bhasha dialect

Date(s)

  • 1802 - 1804 (Création/Production)

Niveau de description

Fonds

Étendue matérielle et support

1 bound volume handwritten

Zone du contexte

Nom du producteur

Notice biographique

Lallūjī Lāl Kavi was active at Fort William College.

Nom du producteur

Notice biographique

It is presumed that Siva Prasanna Diivedi was associated with Fort William College.

Nom du producteur

Notice biographique

John Gilchrist, a Scottish surgeon, linguist, philologist and Indologist, was Fort William College's first principal from 1800-1804.

Nom du producteur

Notice biographique

John Romer was born in 1780 at Ancroft, County Durham, England. Romer held the office of Magistrate of Surat in 1816 and was Acting Governor of Bombay in 1831.He was vice-president of the British Empire Life Assurance Company Ltd in 1839. He wrote articles on Persian and Zand in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay and the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

Histoire archivistique

The work was commissioned by John Gilchrist but came into the possession of John Romer.

Source immédiate d'acquisition ou de transfert

The volume was acquired as part of a large donation given to the Society by John Romer on 18 November 1848.

Zone du contenu et de la structure

Portée et contenu

A translation into the Braj Bhasha dialect of Hindi of Raja Niti, a version of the Hitopadesha, a series of fables. The translation was undertaken for John Gilchrist by Lallūjī Lāl Kavi and the scribe was Siva Prasanna Diivedi. it is dated to V.S. 1858/ Sāka 1825 which equates to 1802-3. The work was made for John Gilchrist when he was principal of Fort William College, Kolkata.

Pasted inside the front cover is a handwritten explanation of the Hitopadesha taken from 'Colebrooke's Preface to the "Hitopadesa" in the original Sanscrit'. The last front paper bears an English description of the work, the signature of John Romer, dated 1804, the Royal Asiatic Society stamp, and that the work was presented to the Society by John Romer. Also within the volume is a more modern label giving identification details and where it is noted as being a very early edition of the work.

Please note that the boards and some pages are loose from the binding and the book spine is no longer present. The boards are covered in red leather.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Zone des conditions d'accès et d'utilisation

Conditions d’accès

Open. Please contact the archivist. Details can be found here : https://royalasiaticarchives.org/. The archive is open on Tuesdays and Fridays 10-5, and Thursdays 2-5. Access is to any researcher without appointment but it will help if an appointment is made via phone or email. Please bring photo ID.

Conditions governing reproduction

Digital photography (without flash) for research purposes may be permitted upon completion of a copyright declaration form, and with respect to current UK copyright law.

Language of material

  • anglais
  • braj

Script of material

    Language and script notes

    Caractéristiques matérielle et contraintes techniques

    Finding aids

    Zone des sources complémentaires

    Existence and location of originals

    Existence and location of copies

    Related units of description

    John Romer donated manuscripts and books to the Society on 1 April 1837 and 18 November 1848. Details of those still in the collections can be found in our Library catalogue: https://ras.koha-ptfs.co.uk/.

    The Donations Register Nov 1843 to Dec 1857 ( RAS COLL3/3/1 ) records the donation of this volume on p.115. The guard book, available in the Reading Room, gives details of this volume on pp.66 & 88.

    Descriptions associées

    Zone des notes

    Identifiant(s) alternatif(s)

    Mots-clés

    Mots-clés - Genre

    Zone du contrôle de la description

    Identifiant de la description

    gb891-sc37

    Identifiant du service d'archives

    Rules and/or conventions used

    Statut

    Niveau de détail

    Dates of creation revision deletion

    Langue(s)

      Écriture(s)

        Sources

        Archivist's note

        The material was catalogued by Nancy Charley, RAS Archivist, in 2022.

        Accession area