Essay name: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
Author: A. D. Pusalker
This book studies Bhasa, the author of thirteen plays ascribed found in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. These works largely adhere to the rules of traditional Indian theatrics known as Natya-Shastra.
Page 340 of: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
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External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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8 320
Dr. Jayaswal, Dr. N. N. Law, Prof. P. V. Kane and
other orientalists and we need not traverse the same
ground here. It is interesting to note in this connection
that Dr. Fleet, Dr. Jacobi, Dr. F. W. Thomas and
Dr. Vincent Smith are, perhaps, the only European
scholars accepting the antiquity of the work." The
Artha艣astra, thus, is the work of Kautilya or Canakya
and naturally belongs to
belongs to
the fourth century B. C.
Dr. D. R. Bhandarkar, however, states that the
Arthas盲stra as we have it at present cannot go back
beyond the first century A. D., the original work of
Kautilya, according to him, underwent some change of
form during the early centuries of the Christian era; he
further states that many customs and practices mentioned
in the Artha艣膩stra carry us at least to the fourth century
B. C. Dr. Shama Sastri has recently adduced an
argument based on astronomical grounds to prove the
antiquity of the Artha艣膩stra. Attention may also be
drawn to the Presidential Address of Dr. Jayaswal at
the annual meeting of the Numismatic Society of India
in 1935, where he has shown how numismatics helps to
settle chronology. The antiquity of the Artha艣膩stra may
be proved by reference to the punch-marked coins which
conform to the proportion of alloy (viz. one-fourth)
prescribed by Kautilya. The reverse-marks of some
4000 coins examined by Dr. Jayaswal show that the
marks were not made in the mint by the Superintendent
(Lak峁峁嚹乨hyak峁) but were impressed subsequently,
probably by the examiner of coins (R奴padar艣aka) of the
Treasury Department after examining the currency-
worthiness" of the coins as enjoined by Kautilya; some
of the coins, further, have the initial of royal names or
the royal monogram (narendr膩nka, r膩j膩nka) as laid
down by Kautilya, beside the imperial Maurya mark,-
5 66
1 Shama Sastri, Arthasastra, 1919, Intr., Preface to Eng. trans., 1929,
pp. vii-xxxiii; Bhandarkar, ABI, VII. pp. 65-84; Jayaswal, Hindu Polity, App. I;
R. Mookerji, Intr. Essay to Studies in Ancient Hindu Polity, pp. x-xxXV;
N. N. Law, Studies in Indian History and Culture, pp. 209-266; Kane, ABI,
VII, pp. 85-100; Dikshitar, Mauryan Polity, p. 19; Ganapati Sastri, Critical
Study, p. 25. 2 Fleet, Introductory Note to Shama Sastri's trans., pp. v-vi; Jacobi,
SPAW, xxxviii, pp. 832-849; Thomas, CHI, I pp. 467 ff; Smith, EHI, 4th Ed.,
P. 145.
3 ABI, VII, p. 76. 4 Krishnaswami Aiyangar Com. Vol., pp. 122鈥�126.
5 Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Numismatic Society of India,
1935, p. 8. Dr. Jayaswal states that his analysis of a Pataliputra coin showed that
it was composed of over 74% of copper, and the rest was iron and lead. The
Arthas膩stra says it as (p. 84) i. e. the copper coins shall contain one-
啶ぞ啶︵ぞ啶溹啶�
[辫腻诲腻箩墨惫补
] fourth alloy.
