APRIL, 1873.]

CORRESPONDENCE, &c.

121

dimensions and a hundred tanks in its vicinity, and

time all castes of natives have continued to

should offer a black kid at her shrine. The fort was

worship Maheśvari there, under the name of

made, ninety-nine tanks were dug, and the hun dredth tank was nearly completed; the kid was being led towards that shrine, in order to be ready to be offered on the completion of the hundredth tank, when the goddess, transforming herself into a cock, crew. The conditions not having been completed, the marriage was not performed. The Mughuls, however, frightened at her power, fled” from this portion of the country. The fort allud ed to I have seen, as also the tanks; the fort is

situated near the village of Uti. The tanks, although I have not counted ninety-nine, exist in

great numbers, but appear to have been dug mere ly to obtain earth for making the earthwork of the fort, which extends over about one square mile of ground. About the centre of the oblong-shaped site is a spot very much higher than any other portion of the fort. There are no legends which explain when or why this shrine was neglected as a place of worship, but it is quite clear that for a long time such was the case; for comparatively lately the stones I have described were dug up, and a Goâla built a shed over them, and from this

CORRESPONDENCE

ON PROF HOERNLE's THEORY OF THE GENITIVE POST-POSITIONS.

SIR,--The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Ben

gol (Part I. No. 2–1872) contains four essays of Prof. Hoernle’s “in aid of a Comparative Grammar

of the Gaurian languages.” The greatest interest attaches to the second essay (pp. 124-144), in which Prof. Hoernle endeavours to prove that the Sanskrit participle krita is, in one form or other, the original of the genitive post-positions in the modern Aryan languages of India. Prof.

Chāndi. From the first Goâla family which looked after this shrine, sixteen hundred families now exist in the villages adjacent to Barantpur.

These Goâlas are called Debahar, the exact meaning of which is not known, but it is only a man of this class who can attend to the duties of this shrine. This class of Goâla did not exist till the stones

were discovered, nor do they exist, as far as I know, in any other part of India. I should here tell you that the goddess or figure of the woman

is only half visible, the natives being afraid to unearth it. To the south-west of the place where the goddess stands is an immensely deep, per fectly round tank, from which, rumour says, all the water used for the shrine was taken.

The whole

of the land round is high, but the natives decline to allow it to be dug. Inscription on a granite door-frame found in Barantpur, March 1872:— “The conquering Sarba Singha Deba, who is adorned with all good qualities, the blessed of Maheśvari, the joy-bestowing moon of the lotus lineage of Budhesa.’

AND MISCELLANEA. page of any drama which does not clearly prove this. In my opinion it is not possible to weld into one all post-positions of the modern languages, as Prof. Hoernle does. As for the genitive post positions in the Bangāli and Oriya languages, it is easy to prove that Prof. Hoernle is in error. He derives them from a Prākrit word kerakā or kerika,

which he asserts to be only found in the Mrichchha kafikd, and even there only about fourteen

times. This sweeping assertion, twice repeated, is at variance with fact. I have noticed thirty

Hoernle no doubt shows a considerable amount of

eight passages where this word occurs in the

acumen, but it is unfortunate that his acumen is

Mrichchhakatikd, viz. (ed. Stenzler) p. 4, 3, mama. kerakena; p. 21, 21, attanakelikäe; 37, 13, palake laarn', 88, 3, attakerakan; 53, 20, vessājamakerako;

not supported by a more thorough knowledge of the Prākrit language. Thus (at p. 154) he in stances several times a Prākrit word “bhramarako',

63, 16,aijuākerao;64, 19,ajjassa kerako;65, 10, tassa

and apparently is unaware that some of his inter

kerao; 65, 11, attakeraan; 68, 11, amhakerakarh;74, 8, attanakeraketti; 88, 27, attamakeraketti; 90, 14, mama keriá; 95, 6,-keriàe; 96, 21, kašša kelake; 96, 22,-kelake; 97, 3,-kelake; 100, 18, kassa kerakamin 100, 20, aijachâludattāha kelake; 104, 9, appano kerikarn; 112, 10, kelake; 118, 17, attanakelake; 119, 5, bappakelake; 122, 14, mama kelakädo; 122, 15, mama kelikäim; 130, 10, attanakelakehirn ; 132, 4, mama kelake; 132, 16, mama kelakāe; 133,2,

pretations, which he believes to be new, are very old and have been refuted long ago. Every Prä krit scholar will be struck by the assertion (at p. 141) that the Prākrit of the plays is founded upon the Sūtras of Vararuchi. On the contrary, it is a well known and often discussed fact that the

Prākrit of the plays is far from being the same as that taught by Wararuchi, and there is scarcely a

• The name of this general is said to have been 'Ali Khān, and his speedy retreat has given rise to a proverb used

in this part of the country. If a person is unsuccessful in an undertaking, people say, “Wah, 'Alt Khan ki karni hat.” "