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Title: Life and works of Alexander Csoma de Körös
A biography compiled chiefly from hitherto unpublished data
Author: Tivadar Duka
Release date: July 16, 2024 [eBook #74056]
Language: English
Original publication: London: Trübner and Co, 1885
Credits: Jeroen Hellingman and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net/ for Project Gutenberg (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIFE AND WORKS OF ALEXANDER CSOMA DE KÖRÖS ***
LIFE AND WORKS
OF
ALEXANDER CSOMA DE KÖRÖS.
A Biography compiled chiefly from hitherto
Unpublished Data;
WITH
A BRIEF NOTICE OF EACH OF HIS PUBLISHED WORKS AND ESSAYS,
AS WELL AS OF HIS STILL EXTANT MANUSCRIPTS.
BY
THEODORE DUKA, M.D.
FELLOW OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS OF ENGLAND;
SURGEON-MAJOR HER MAJESTY’S BENGAL MEDICAL SERVICE, RETIRED;
KNIGHT OF THE ORDER OF THE IRON CROWN;
CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF HUNGARY
LONDON:
TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
1885.
[All rights reserved.]
Ballantyne Press
BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO.
EDINBURGH AND LONDON
PREFACE.
Scanty as are the authentic data from which this biography was
compiled, they form, nevertheless, a connected narrative of the chief
events in the life of a remarkable man of science, who, although a
foreigner, never published anything but in the English tongue. Few, if
any, foreign savants have been honoured by Englishmen as he was; a fact
to which the memorial standing over his grave bears ample testimony.
It is hoped that the reader will follow with sympathy the details of an
arduous scientific career, the best years of which were offered to the
service of the British Government, and will agree with us also in
thinking that Alexander Csoma de Körös attained in some measure the
reward he looked for, in so far that his name will never be omitted
from any work bearing upon Tibetan literature or Buddhistic learning.
This biography is herewith presented to the reader in the sincere hope
of a generous indulgence for its many shortcomings, although the
production of it, imperfect as it is, has, in the circumstances under
which it was prepared, necessitated the attention of many years before
it could be brought to its present state of completion.
When the late Mr. Nicholas Trübner first saw the manuscript of this
book, he at once kindly expressed his readiness to undertake its
publication, and even suggested the desirability of editing a complete
collection of all the works and essays of Csoma de Körös, which, at the
present time, are only to be found scattered over many volumes of
publications, extending over a period of more than thirty years.
Perhaps Mr. Trübner’s successors may see their way to carry out the
project he had in view, and to rescue, for the benefit of European
students, the important work in manuscript which is noticed in the
Appendix xvi. at page 207 of this volume.
The reader will observe that a certain latitude has been permitted in
the spelling of Indian names and Tibetan words occurring in this work.
In the text Dr. Hunter’s system has been generally followed, but in the
quotations, both from print and manuscripts, the ancient forms of
spelling have in most cases been retained. As to the Tibetan words
Csoma’s authority was decisive; moreover, instead of adhering
invariably to the strict rules of Tibetan orthography, with its
frequent use of mute letters, the abbreviated forms have been
preferred. The strict rendering of accents and diacritical marks seemed
hardly requisite in a work like this.
The author desires to express his acknowledgments to Mr. Frederic
Pincott, M.R.A.S., for important assistance rendered by him in
reviewing and passing through the press the Sanskrit and Hindi part of
the vocabulary at the end of the volume.
London, 55 Nevern Square,
South Kensington, February 1885.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
PAGES
Introduction—Csoma’s birthplace, parentage, and early
childhood—Studies at Nagy Enyed in Transylvania, and at the
University of Göttingen in Hanover—Plans and preparations
for the journey—Departure for the East 1–14
CHAPTER II.
Biographical sources—English and French authorities—Baron
von Hügel’s data examined—First news of Csoma in India—His
appearance at the frontier—Detained at Sabathú—Csoma’s first
letter to Captain Kennedy—Moorcroft’s introduction 15–38
CHAPTER III.
Government orders respecting Csoma’s stipend—His report
regarding his past studies in Hungary, Germany, and at the
Buddhist Monastery of Yangla in Zanskar—Account of his
journey across Central Asia—Plans for the future 39–66
CHAPTER IV.
Second journey into Tibet—Sojourn at Pukdal in Zanskar—
Csoma’s position as to the Asiatic Society of Bengal—
Return to Sabathú 67–72
CHAPTER V.
Embarrassing situation—Csoma petitions Government to be
allowed to visit Calcutta, or to go to Tibet for three
years more to complete his studies 73–78
CHAPTER VI.
Government orders on Csoma’s last application—Third journey
into Tibet to Upper Besarh—Dr. Gerard’s visit to Kanum, and
his letter to Mr. W. Fraser on the subject 79–98
CHAPTER VII.
Csoma completes his Tibetan studies at Kanum—Correspondence
with Dr. Horace Hayman Wilson, Captain Kennedy, and Mr. Brian
H. Hodgson 99–111
CHAPTER VIII.
Csoma’s arrival in Calcutta—Resolution of Government of India
as to the publication of his works—Was elected Honorary Member
of the Asiatic Society of Bengal 112–118
CHAPTER IX.
The Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary are published at Government
expense—Mr. Prinsep’s letter to Government on the subject—
Prince Eszterházy to Mr. James Prinsep—Mr. Döbrentei, of Pest,
to the same 119–130
CHAPTER X.
Csoma applies for a passport in November 1835 to enable him to
travel in Hindustan—Leaves Calcutta—His last letters to Mr.
Prinsep—Return to Calcutta in 1837—Dr. Malan, Secretary of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal 131–142
CHAPTER XI.
Csoma’s stay in Calcutta as Librarian to the Asiatic Society
of Bengal from 1837–1842—Last arrangements—His bequest to the
Asiatic Society of Bengal—Leaves Calcutta for the last time
—Sets out on his journey to Lassa—Death at Darjeeling—
Dr. Archibald Campbell’s report to the Secretary of Government
—Csoma’s grave and tombstone 143–162
CHAPTER XII.
Prince Eszterházy’s inquiries regarding Csoma’s papers—List of
some of them—Renewal of his tombstone at Darjeeling, which is
placed on the list of public monuments by Government—His
portrait—Conclusion 163–167
APPENDIX.
PAGE
List of Csoma’s works 169
I. Analysis of the Kahgyur and Stangyur 170
II. Geographical notice of Tibet 176
III. Translation of a Tibetan fragment 179
IV. Note on Kála-Chakra and Adi-Buddha Systems 181
V. Translation of a Tibetan passport 182
VI. Origin of the Shakya race 182
VII. Mode of expressing numerals in Tibetan 186
VIII. Extracts from Tibetan works 189
IX. Interpretation of the Tibetan inscription on a Bhotian
banner taken in Assam 193
X. Note on the white satin-embroidered scarfs of the
Tibetan priests 194
XI. Notices on different systems of Buddhism extracted from
Tibetan authorities 195
XII. Enumeration of historical and grammatical works to be
met with in Tibet 198
XIII. Remarks on amulets in use by the Trans-Himalayan
Buddhists 199
XIV. Review of a Tibetan medical work 201
XV. Brief notice of Subháshita Ratna Nidhi of Saskya Pandita 205
XVI. A Manuscript Dictionary of Sanskrit and Tibetan words,
phrases, and technical terms 207
XVII. A Comparative Vocabulary of Sanskrit, Hindi, Hungarian,
&c., words and names. A fragment 217
LIFE OF ALEXANDER CSOMA DE KÖRÖS.
CHAPTER I.
Introduction—Csoma’s birthplace, parentage, and early
childhood—Studies at Nagy Enyed in Transylvania, and at the
University of Göttingen in Hanover—Plans and preparations for the
journey—Departure for the East.
Towards the end of 1843 Dr. Archibald Campbell, the Government Agent of
British Sikkim, wrote as follows:—“Since the death of Csoma de Körös I
have not ceased to hope that some member of the Asiatic Society (of
Bengal) would furnish a connected account of his career in the East. It
is now more than a year and a half since we lost him, but we are as yet
without any such record in the Journal of the Society, to show, that
his labours were valuable to the literary Association, he so earnestly
studied to assist in its most important objects.”
It was Dr. Campbell who, in April 1842, watched the closing scenes of
Csoma’s life at Darjeeling, and his was the friendly hand, which
performed the last services at his grave.
The 4th of April 1884 was the hundredth anniversary of Csoma’s
birthday, and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences thought this a fitting
occasion to render homage to that distinguished man of science, who was
a Fellow of their Society. The method of commemoration which suggested
itself was the publication of a collected edition of his scattered
works and essays, translated into the Hungarian language, and
accompanied by a biographical sketch. In the compilation of this
sketch, advantage has been taken of the disjointed and imperfect data
which have as yet appeared on the subject; and at the same time
important facts have been brought forward which had previously remained
unknown.
In the archives of the Foreign Office in Calcutta, many letters are to
be found which refer to Csoma de Körös and to his Tibetan labours,
during the prosecution of which he enjoyed the support of the Supreme
Government of India. Copies of these letters have been placed at the
writer’s service by the courtesy of Mr. Durand, under-secretary of that
department. Six original letters of Csoma have also been found in the
library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, which will be noticed in due
course.
The narrative as it now stands will, it is hoped, make those interested
in philological science better acquainted with the details of Csoma’s
early years, and enable them to follow without interruption the steps
of his long and arduous wanderings. These were for the most part
accomplished on foot, and extended from Europe across Central Asia,
Bokhara, through Afghanistan, the Panjab, and Kashmir towards the
borders of China, and afterwards into Tibet and Hindustan down to
Calcutta.
The motives which led him to devote himself to these literary and
historical researches, and the causes which induced him to sacrifice so
many years of his life to the study of the Tibetan language and
literature, will be set forth on the authority of hitherto unpublished
data; and it is confidently expected, that they will clear up many
still obscure points in the career of this remarkable student, and
dispel the erroneous, and sometimes even unjust, judgments which have
been formed regarding his works and merits.
Of Alexander Csoma’s early years but few data exist. According to the
parish register he was born on the 4th of April 1784, in the village of
Körös, in the county of Háromszék, in Transylvania. Körös is situated
in a beautiful valley below the town of Kovászna, and its inhabitants
carry on a flourishing trade in the manufacture of sieves (for which
there is a special demand), and various articles of fancy woodwork.
Körös is a pure Székely village, where the occupier and the proprietor
are one and the same, where landlords and subject-cultivators of the
soil were never known. It is the only frontier community in which no
Wallachian ever settled. [1] The house in which Alexander first saw the
light was destroyed by fire, but it is known that the dwelling which at
present bears the number 143 on the village register, was built on the
same plot of ground as the house stood in which Csoma was born. [2] His
father’s name was Andrew, and the mother’s Ilona Göcz. His family was
poor, but belonged to the military nobles called Széklers, a tribe
which had for centuries guarded the frontiers of Transylvania against
the invasions of the Turks. Csoma’s family is still known there; one of
his nephews, also called Alexander, fell as a Honvéd in the War of
Independence during a street fight at Nagy Szeben [3] in 1849. Gabriel,
his only brother, left a son, also Alexander by name, who survives. A
cousin, Joseph Csoma, was Protestant pastor in the small village of
Mono, in the county of Middle Szolnok. The proprietor of the village,
Baron Horváth, whilst residing there, met him almost daily. We learn
from this source, that our Csoma’s near relations, and those friends
who knew him in early life, are all dead, and we are therefore unable
to gather much information of the incidents of his boyhood. Baron
Horváth, however, tells us, on the authority of Joseph Csoma, [4] that
Alexander, even as a boy, showed a keen desire for knowledge, and was
of a restless disposition, which, “like a swallow, is impelled on a
distant journey when the autumn arrives.” He was endowed with a strong
body and a sound constitution, and by continual exercise became fitted
for extraordinary feats of endurance, such as we witness in the course
of his life.
“He was of an elastic nature, and a Székler of powerful frame,
resembling me to a certain extent,” was the remark of Joseph Csoma, a
remark which he made with evident satisfaction; “but yet we were not
quite alike,” the pastor added with a smile, “because if I walk much, I
like to rest betimes, but my cousin Alexander, if once started off, did
not stop till the end of his journey was attained. As boys, we could
never compete with him in walking, because when he happened to reach
the top of a hill, that did not satisfy him, but he wished to know what
was beyond it, and beyond that again, and thus he often trotted on for
immense distances.”
Alexander Csoma’s early education began at the school of his native
village, and it appears, that in or about the year 1799 he entered the
College of Nagy Enyed as a student. One of his masters, afterwards a
faithful friend, Professor Samuel Hegedüs, always took a warm and
kindly interest in the lad; and the memoir which he has left regarding
Csoma, being based on personal knowledge, will ever remain a valuable
source of information respecting Csoma’s early career. Professor
Hegedüs has described in vivid terms the parting scene when Csoma set
out on his life’s destiny. “I knew him,” the Professor said, “from his
childhood, and I may say I lived in most intimate friendship with him.
We held a long conversation up to the moment of his departure; and I
can therefore conscientiously say, from all I know of him, I do not
recollect, that he ever gave his superiors or teachers cause for
reproof, or his fellow-pupils an occasion for a complaint. I include
Csoma among those fortunate and rare individuals, against whom nobody
has ever had a grievance, nor have I heard him make a complaint about
others. He bore work and fatigue to a wonderful degree, a power which
he owed to temperate habits and purity of life and conduct.
“He was of middle stature, with dark hair and complexion; his face was
oblong, the expression of his countenance full of sympathy, his eyes
replete with thoughtful melancholy. He spoke little. If he happened to
be of a contrary opinion to those around him, he never pressed his own
point obstinately. I do not believe,” says Hegedüs, “he could ever be
very angry with anybody, a trait in his character which secured him
friends and sympathy everywhere.”
In dress he was neat and simple, easily satisfied, and economical; and
he was particularly careful in money matters. The small savings, which
as a senior student he was enabled to effect, from fees paid to him by
his juniors for private tuition, he stored so carefully, that he was
considered one of the richest in the school.
The generality of Székler students, except the higher and well-to-do
nobles, have to undergo many hardships during their years of public
school-life. The College of Nagy Enyed has, however, always lent a
helping hand to the sons of this nationality. Some of the Székler boys
perform menial services for their richer fellow-pupils, and in return
obtain food and lodging; others are employed to keep the lecture and
public rooms clean and tidy, for which food is given them at the
college-board. For others again, if there are sufficient funds,
provision is made free of all payment. The number of such poor students
amounts often to two hundred and more.
Csoma’s education at the College of Nagy Enyed was obtained under the
arrangements here described. Hegedüs knew him first as a pupil-servant
[5] in the lower form, and afterwards in the upper school, when he gave
Csoma private lessons in ancient literature and mathematics, and was in
the habit of correcting his Latin and Hungarian compositions. As
regards intellectual powers, Csoma was not considered in any way a
genius, but rather looked upon as an example of industry and
perseverance.
In 1807, Csoma finished his career at the Gymnasium, and was promoted
to the higher course of academical studies. At this time the desire to
travel in Asia was kindled in him. As, while attending lectures at the
college, history happened to be a favourite branch of study, owing to
the popularity of Professor Adam Herepei, the teacher of this subject,
it was natural that frequent and interesting debates and conversations
should arise among the students regarding the ancient history and
origin of the Hungarian people. It is recorded that Csoma and two of
his fellow-pupils had made a vow, to undertake a scientific journey,
with the object of discovering some trace of the origin of their
nation. Ten years later, we find Csoma at the German University of
Göttingen animated by the same desire. Here he came under the influence
of Professor Eichhorn, the celebrated historian and oriental scholar,
and under him, the student’s long-cherished design was fully matured.
Csoma used to say that he heard from Eichhorn statements about certain
Arabic manuscripts which must contain very important information
regarding the history of the Middle Ages and of the Hungarian nation
when still in Asia, and that much of these data remained unknown to
European historians. This induced Csoma to devote himself to the study
of Arabic under Eichhorn’s guidance, and made him resolve not to
proceed on his travels until he had studied at Constantinople all the
available Arabic authors on the subject.
Theophylaktes Simocatta, the Greek historian under the Emperor
Mauritius, declares, in the course of his annals of the war against
Persia, that, after dispersing the Avar hordes, in A.D. 597, the
victorious Turks subdued the Ugars, a brave and numerous nation. On
this supposition, certain writers have come to the conclusion that, as
there is a similarity in the sound of the words Ugor, Ungri, Hungar,
Unger, Hongrois, &c., this long-forgotten tribe might possibly be the
ancestors of the Hungarians of the present day. Other writers, again,
according to Pavie, have maintained that the Hungarians are an offshoot
of the ancient nation of Kiang, which took its wandering steps
westward. [6]
We shall find, in Csoma’s own account, the special reasons which
induced him to decide on prosecuting his specific object. He was made
of the right stuff for such an enterprise, for, having once taken the
resolution, he was ready to face all the trials and struggles in the
way, of the magnitude of which he was duly warned. He deliberately
prepared himself for the task, by systematic scientific studies
continued over many years, without patronage or pecuniary aid of any
kind, beyond Councillor Kenderessy’s promise of support, amounting to
one hundred florins a-year. The entire sum of his other resources
amounted to little more than two hundred florins. “Relying solely,” as
Hegedüs says, “on Divine Providence and on the unalterable desire to
sacrifice his life in the service of his country, he started towards
the distant goal,” regarding which Csoma pointedly remarks that he
“cannot be accounted of the number of those wealthy European gentlemen
who travel at their own expense for pleasure and curiosity; being
rather only a poor student, who was very desirous to see the different
countries of Asia, as the scene of so many memorable transactions of
former ages; to observe the manners of several peoples, and to learn
their languages, ... and such a man was he, who, during his
peregrinations, depended for his subsistence on the benevolence of
others.” [7]
But we have still to add a few details to the history of his life at
Nagy Enyed. After completing his studies there, he was elected Lecturer
on Poetry, in which appointment he acquitted himself with credit, to
the entire satisfaction of his superiors. On the pages of a manuscript
Vocabulary in the library of the Academy of Sciences at Budapest
(Appendix XVII.) there are some verses in Hungarian, which tend to show
how versification remained always a favourite occupation with him; and
his skill therein doubtless cheered the dreary hours during his long
sojourn in the Buddhistic monasteries.
We find similar relics of Csoma in the shape of several Greek and Latin
distichs, and a French quotation. They are in his handwriting, and
found on the back of a portrait of Professor Mitscherlich of Göttingen.
This picture, now in the possession of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences, he gave as a memento to his friend, Szabó de Borgáta, who, it
is said, was instrumental in inducing Csoma to undertake a journey to
the East.
The characteristic quotations are as follows:—
I.
Felix, qui potuit rerum cognoscere causas.—Virgilius.
II.
Συν Μουσαις [8] τὰ τερπνὰ καὶ τὰ γλυκέα Γίνεται πάντα Βροτοῖς
Εἰ σοφὸς, εἰ καλὸς, εἴ τις ἀγλαὸς Ἀνήρ.
—Pind. Od. xiv.
III.
Σμικρὸς ἐν σμικροῖς, μεγας ἐν μεγάλοις Εστι.
—Pind. Pyth. iii.
IV.
C’est par le plaisir et par la vertu que la nature nous invite au
bonheur.
V.
Omne tulit punctum qui miscuit utile dulci.—Horatius.
VI.
Omnia deficiant, virtus tamen omnia vincit
Per quodvis praeceps ardua vadit iter.
—Ovidius.
VII.
Sit tibi, quod nunc est, etiam minus; at tibi vive,
Quod superest sevi, si quid superesse volunt Di.
—Horatius.
Scribebam dulcis recordationis ergo,
Göttingae, die 10o Aprilis, anni 1817.
Alexander Körösi, [9]
Transylvano—Siculus. [10]
Part of his holidays Csoma was wont to spend as a private tutor. In
1806 his friend Hegedüs left Nagy Enyed to take up clerical duties
elsewhere; but after an absence of eight years, on returning to his
former professorial chair at the old College, he was greeted, on the
part of the students, by Csoma, who then held the position of Senior
Collegian. Hegedüs noticed then, with much satisfaction, that besides
an acquaintance with general literature, Csoma had made marked progress
in the Latin and Greek classics, and had become familiar with the best
works of French and German authors. In 1815 he passed the public
“rigorosum” in the presence of Professor Hegedüs, by which Csoma became
qualified to continue his studies at a University abroad.
This is a fitting place to mention a circumstance, of which probably
few Englishmen are aware. It may be looked upon as another link in the
bond of sympathy which still exists between Hungary and England.
History tells us, that in the year 1704, during the Hungarian civil
wars, the town of Nagy Enyed and its flourishing college were almost
razed to the ground, the students were cut down, and one of the
professors was mortally wounded. Not merely the public exchequer but
private individuals and the municipal corporations became completely
exhausted and ruined, by the long-continued struggle against the
Imperialists, under the national leader, Rákóczy, between the years
1703 and 1711. This calamity was the reason why nothing could be done
at that time by the Hungarians themselves for Nagy Enyed, and yet the
necessity of taking some steps became more urgent day by day. Students
in large numbers were applying for admission, but the College
authorities were not even in a position to put a roof over the ruins
which remained standing, still less to afford that assistance which is
so much needed by the Székler youths. The prevailing distress was
brought to the knowledge of Queen Anne of England and of the Archbishop
of Canterbury, and through them to the English nation. And the cry for
help was not in vain. The aristocracy and the citizens of London came
forward most liberally, the Archbishop caused collections to be made in
the churches for the relief of the distressed; and the result was that
a sum, exceeding eleven thousand pounds, was collected and deposited in
the Bank of England. A great part of the money remains to this day
invested in the 3 per cent. Consols for the benefit of the college, and
is managed by the banking firm of Messrs. Herries, Farquhar & Co.
This contribution from England was the basis on which the future
material prosperity and intellectual progress of the College of Nagy
Enyed was reconstructed after the great national disaster which befell
Hungary at the commencement of the eighteenth century. We may add, that
the funds have been most conscientiously administered, enabling the
managers of the College to found two travelling scholarships in 1816.
Csoma de Körös was one of the first scholars to whom an annual subsidy
of fifteen pounds sterling was allotted, to assist him whilst studying
at the University of Göttingen. The director of the university
boarding-house—the Alumneum—was then the above-named Professor
Eichhorn, and it was from this gentleman’s hands that Csoma used to
receive his modest stipend. In that manner, Csoma was brought into
nearer acquaintance with Eichhorn, and this doubtless had considerable
influence over the future career of the enthusiastic student.
Josef Szabó de Borgáta was a fellow-undergraduate of Körösi in
Göttingen, and the two students lived in intimate friendship with each
other. This gentleman is still alive (May 1884), and from him we learn
that they frequently interchanged ideas on their favourite subject. He
recollects that on one occasion Csoma declared before him, that he
longed to attain celebrity and renown.
In the course of this biography we shall repeatedly have occasion to
notice his striving after this worthy aim, but nowhere more pointedly
is it expressed, than in the lines we find jotted down, in his
manuscript Vocabulary already alluded to, where we read as follows:—
“Ardeo cupiditate incredibili, neque enim, ut ego arbitror, reprehendum
est, nomen ut nostrum illustretur atque celebretur literis Tuis.
“A viro laudato laudari pulchrum est,” &c.
We can never hope to discover what particular incident suggested the
above characteristic quotation; it seems to refer to circumstances
which occurred in later years of his life, and it is probable that a
correspondence with Wilson, Rémusat, or Klaproth, may have furnished
the occasion.
The study of the English language Csoma began at Göttingen under
Professor Fiorillo. “On leaving the German University,” says Szabó, “I
made over to Körösi my English Grammar, Chatham’s Letters, and even my
hat, because his was getting rather worse for wear; but as he would
accept nothing gratis, I sold it to him for ten kreuzers.” What Szabó
tells us is an illustration of Csoma’s studious habits and his spirit
of independence.
This occurred in the summer of 1818. Towards the latter part of 1818,
Csoma returned from Germany to Transylvania. On the last Saturday of
that year he met his late master and faithful friend, Professor
Hegedüs, at Nagy Enyed. Here two appointments were waiting for
him,—one, a private tutorship in a nobleman’s family, and the other, a
professorial chair at the school of Sziget, to which he was appointed
by unanimity of votes. But he declined both.
On the 7th of February 1819, Csoma made known his final determination
to Professor Hegedüs, and at the same time informed him that he meant
to leave for Croatia, to learn first the Slavonic language. Hegedüs
tried in vain to dissuade him from this purpose, by placing before his
young friend, not only the promise of the useful services he would be
able to render to the cause of science and education in his native
country, but the sure prospect of obtaining a first-rate professorial
chair in the College, and securing for himself fame and reputation
similar to that which his own celebrated uncle had earned at Nagy Enyed
before him. “But when I saw,” says Hegedüs, “that he would not yield to
arguments, I placed before him the obstacles and inevitable dangers of
the intended journey.” “If I wished to start for London,” were the
Professor’s words, “I could do so with safety with a walking-stick in
my hand, and nobody would hurt me; but to travel in Central Asia is
hardly a problem for a single individual to solve. But when I noticed
that my remarks were displeasing to him, I ceased to bring forward any
further objections.” “I mention this,” says Hegedüs, “to show how
determined Csoma was in his purpose. Neither the alluring prospects at
home, nor the almost certain dangers of a long journey, nor friendly
remonstrances, were able to turn him aside from his path.” Seeing this,
his friends refrained from further disturbing him by their well-meant
objections. The friendly feelings, however, continued as before, and
they went so far on the part of Körösi as to ask the Professor, to
favour him with certain written instructions for the journey; but
Hegedüs’ answer was, that he needed them not, his knowledge being
already equal to that of his Teacher, on matters connected with Central
Asia, and when once those countries were reached by him, he would know
more than anybody else on the subject.
Csoma’s first plan was to travel viâ Odessa, and thence through Moscow,
where he might find a favourable opportunity to join a caravan for
Irkutsk, and from that place endeavour to reach the northern border of
China. With this view, therefore, he undertook, during the early spring
of 1819, a journey on foot to Agram, in Croatia, to study the Slavonic
language, and he remained several months there. For this Croatian
journey, Councillor Michael de Kenderessy gave Csoma one hundred
florins, and, as was mentioned already, promised the traveller a
similar sum every year, till he should return from Asia. Csoma’s
grateful heart never forgot this unsolicited help. Money was
subsequently raised for him by public subscription in Transylvania in
1836, but this he returned to found at Nagy Enyed a scholarship, which
to this day goes by the name of Kenderessy-Csoma Scholarship.
The circumstances of the farewell, Professor Hegedüs has minutely
recorded as follows:—“It was Sunday afternoon, that Csoma came to see
me saying, ‘Well, with God’s help, I am leaving to-morrow.’ The distant
time has not effaced from my memory that expression of joyful serenity
which shone from his eyes; it seemed like a beam of delight, which
pervaded his soul, seeing he was wending his steps towards a
long-desired goal. We spent some time in friendly conversation, and
drank our parting glass in some old tokaji. Next day, that is Monday,
he again stepped into my room, lightly clad, as if he intended merely
taking a walk. He did not even sit down, but said, ‘I merely wished to
see you once more.’ We then started along the Szentkirályi road, which
leads towards Nagy Szeben. Here, in the country—among the fields—we
parted for ever. I looked a long time after him, as he was approaching
the banks of the Maros, and feelings roused by the words, ‘Mentem
mortalia tangunt,’ filled my anxious heart.”
In the thirty-sixth year of his age, not in a fit of excitement, but
armed with the result of special scientific preparatory studies,
pursued over a period of ten years, Csoma entered on the memorable
journey of his life. He saw clearly his object, and knew what he meant
to attain. We may well say that Csoma belongs to the rank of those
noble minds who devote their lives unselfishly to a worthy, though
apparently thankless object, yet in the pursuit of which nothing but
death will stop their efforts. And if a pioneer on the unbeaten track
meets his fate, as Csoma did, before reaching the end of his arduous
path, what is due to him from posterity is the laurel wreath, and not
commiseration, for which a man of his stamp always entertains a noble
disdain.
CHAPTER II.
Biographical sources—English and French authorities—Baron Hügel’s
data examined—First news of Csoma in India—His appearance at the
frontier—Detained at Sabathú—Csoma’s first letter to Captain
Kennedy—Moorcroft’s introduction.
We have two main sources on which to rely for data referring to the
details of our traveller’s career, after he started for the East, apart
from what he wrote himself on the subject.
The first source of information comprises the notices published by his
English friends and by Monsieur Pavie in the “Revue des deux Mondes”
for 1849. The most important among them is doubtless that, which we owe
to Dr. Horace Hayman Wilson. It appeared in the “Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society” in 1834, and consists of an abridgment of the letter
which Csoma addressed to Captain Kennedy in January 1825. This
communication was frequently cited by his own countrymen as the
earliest authentic source of information from India, concerning the
Tibetan scholar, and has again recently been noticed (conjointly with
Dr. Archibald Campbell’s report of 1842) in one of the leading weekly
journals, “The Vasárnapi Ujság” of Budapest, when reviewing Mr.
Ralston’s “Tibetan Tales.” [11] The preface of this book contains a
letter from the celebrated orientalist, Professor Arminius Vámbéry,
dated 20th February 1882, addressed to that author, to which we shall
have occasion to refer at a later period.
With regard to Dr. Wilson’s above-quoted article in the “Royal Asiatic
Society’s Journal,” Dr. Archibald Campbell wrote in 1843 as follows:—
“The autobiographical sketch of the deceased which appeared in the
‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society’ many years ago, was corrected by
the subject of it shortly before his death. The number of the journal
containing the sketch, with the author’s manuscript corrections, was
made over to me, according to the intentions of the deceased, as
expressed previous to his illness.” The volume referred to, we regret
to say, is no longer available, but we shall give the original letter
of Csoma, from which that sketch was compiled, without abbreviations.
The second source of information is of a more recent date, and
originates from the celebrated Austrian traveller, Baron Charles Hügel,
who, starting from Calcutta for Mussurie, arrived at the latter place
on the 21st of June 1835. On the 25th of September the Baron visited
Simla, where, on the 6th of the following month, the Maharajah Ranjit
Singh’s permission to travel in the Panjab reached him. We find that a
reference is made on three different occasions to the Tibetan scholar,
in connection with Baron Hügel’s name, from which it appears, that
Csoma and the Baron were in Calcutta at the same time; but we have no
record stating how often they met, if at all. Hügel mentions Csoma’s
name twice in his book which he wrote on Kashmir, and we also find the
Baron’s name appear in a speech on Csoma, delivered by Baron Eötvös
before the Scientific Society of Hungary, in Pest, in 1843. Judging
from these it seems, that Hügel possessed but a very imperfect
knowledge of Csoma’s life, circumstances and labours; and owing to the
erroneous and imperfect information furnished by Baron Hügel, mistaken
conclusions have been arrived at regarding Csoma. For the sake of the
latter’s memory, therefore, we propose to examine those records as they
are presented to us, hoping for the reader’s indulgence, if we appear
to dwell longer on this particular subject than would otherwise seem to
be necessary. We shall quote Baron Hügel’s data seriatim. [12]
First, in the original German edition of his book, published at
Stuttgart, 1848, part ii. p. 165, that author writes as follows:—
“Czoma de Körös, a Transylvanian, who spent eleven years in a Buddhist
monastery, in the province of Kanaur, in the Himalaya, with the view of
learning Tibetan, in which he perfectly succeeded. But when, later, he
arrived in Calcutta, and then became aware that he had studied a
dialect only (untergeordnete Sprache), he afterwards devoted himself to
its primary source (Ursprache), the Sanskrit.” (!!)
Secondly, the following quotation from Baron Eötvös’s speech contains
the second allegation made by Baron Hügel:—
“After finishing these works (the Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary), in
order to publish them, and also that he might consult other savants,
Csoma left at last his sombre abode in the Monastery, and commenced his
journey to Calcutta via Simla and Sabathú. This is the period,” remarks
Eötvös, “from which I have some more details of information of our
Fellow; although scanty still, the perfect authenticity thereof is
guaranteed by the celebrated traveller, Baron Charles Hügel, who,
having travelled in India, was well acquainted with Csoma, and has been
kind enough to communicate these data to me.”
Eötvös goes on to explain how Csoma, on his first arrival in British
India, was detained at Sabathú, but afterwards received permission to
continue his travels; that the “Governor had put him up in his own
house, and at his host’s request, Csoma discarded the Indian dress he
wore, and appeared instead in the costume of his native country,
namely, with Hungarian trousers, waistcoat, and a tailcoat, which
costume he wore at Sabathú, and ever afterwards, the hot Indian sun
notwithstanding.”
Eötvös continues to communicate other details on the strength of his
information, and concludes:
“A great trial, however, was in store for Csoma in his new sphere of
action at Calcutta. After having communicated the result of his labours
to others, and heard from them that the Tibetan language, to the study
of which he had sacrificed the best part of his life, was but a corrupt
dialect of the Sanskrit, his heart was filled with undescribable
anguish, and the strong man, who suffered so many privations cheerfully
and without complaining, was prostrated on a bed of sickness by this
new discovery.”
It will be our duty to show that these allegations have no foundation
whatever in fact. The same must be said of what we read further on in
Eötvös’s speech, namely, “that Csoma had prepared his extracts from
Tibetan works in Latin.”
Baron Hügel, we know, was in Calcutta in 1835. Csoma’s Dictionary and
Grammar were published in 1834; if, therefore, Baron Hügel had thought
of it, he might easily have gathered correct information regarding the
progress of Oriental literature. Csoma’s merits were then fully
acknowledged by the Government and by the learned world.
The statement that Csoma spent eleven years in a Buddhistic monastery
at Kanaur is quite inaccurate, as appears from the following data:—
In the monastery at Yangla in Zanskar, Csoma lived from 20th June 1823
to 22d October 1824.
In the monastery at Pukdal or Pukhtar, also in Zanskar, he remained
from 12th August 1825 to November 1826.
At Kanum, in Upper Besarh, also written Bussahir, Besahir, from August
1827 to October 1830.
It is also an error to say that Tibetan is a subordinate dialect of
Sanskrit. It belongs to the Chinese group of languages. This has been
pointed out already by Giorgi, about the middle of the last century, in
his work the “Alphabetum Tibetanum,” [13] and this was precisely the
book which Moorcroft gave into the hands of the Hungarian traveller in
1823, from which Csoma obtained his first glimpses of that language.
Csoma arrived in Calcutta at the end of April 1831. In his letter to
Captain Kennedy, which will be found further on, dated 25th January
1825, para. 17, we find in regard to the Tibetan works and literature
the following remark: “They ALL are taken from Indian Sanskrit, and
were translated into Tibetan.” This disposes of the charge against
Csoma and his alleged ignorance as to the linguistic relationship
between Tibetan and Sanskrit, the discovery of which, eight years
later, is said to have caused him a “dangerous illness in Calcutta.”
The mere mention of Csoma’s dressing himself up at Sabathú, at the
“Governor’s” request, in his national costume, will elicit a smile, and
we may well ask how a poor wanderer through the immense distances of
Central Asia and Tibet was able to carry with him on a journey, already
of five years’ duration, his Hungarian costume, in which to appear on
festive occasions?
But on the matter of Csoma’s dress we have the following statements:—
In the oft-quoted letter to Captain Kennedy, para. 7, he writes, “From
Teheran I travelled as an Armenian” (in 1821). Moorcroft, in his Diary,
edited by Dr. Wilson, mentions on the 16th July 1823, “On my journey to
Dras, I was met by Alexander Csoma de Körös, an European, in the garb
of an Armenian, who had travelled from Hungary to Tibet.” Dr. Gerard,
writing from Kanum in September 1829, says, “Csoma is poor and humbly
clad, and dresses in the coarse blanket of the country.” See also
letter from Captain Stacy to Dr. Wilson, dated 3d August 1829. In Dr.
Campbell’s report on Csoma’s death, we read that he had “a suit of blue
clothes, which he always wore, and in which he died.” Dr. Malan writes
as follows, dated 8th December 1883: “I remember Csoma’s dress quite
well. I never saw him in his best (if he had one), but I always met him
in the Library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, of which I was
Secretary during my stay in Calcutta. He wore a jacket very much like a
loose shooting-jacket with outside pockets, of the common blue cotton
cloth of India; he wore a waistcoat of figured red, brown, black, or
yellow stuff of Indian manufacture, and trousers of a kind of
light-brown stuff, cotton stockings, and shoes.”
This disposes of the question of Csoma’s dress.
Now as regards his studies. The reason which induced Csoma to devote
his best talents for so many years to Tibetan will become evident in
due course, but it was certainly not the mistaken fancy attributed to
him of having discovered a resemblance between it and the Magyar
tongue.
Thirdly, we have the statement contained in Part II. of Baron Hügel’s
work, p. 165, where we find Csoma’s name mentioned in a foot-note.
Hügel calls him there his “friend;” but if we understand the Baron
rightly, his remark will be taken rather as a reproach against Csoma
for not furnishing the Baron with information regarding the names of
the two Tibetan mountains Mer and Ser, which Csoma, always ready to
impart all he knew, must have found himself unable to supply.
There is an incident described in Baron Hügel’s work (vol. i. p. 303)
which appears to us strange. It refers to the occurrence of the 18th of
November 1835, when the Baron was at Srinaggur and met two Englishmen
there. The Baron writes thus:—
“I proposed to my English friends that we should erect something like a
monument in memory of the travellers who preceded us in Kashmir.... The
following inscription was proposed by me:—
“‘Three travellers in Kashmir, the Baron Charles Hügel, T. G. Vigne,
and Dr. Henderson, have caused the names of all the travellers who
preceded them in Kashmir to be engraved on this black stone, namely,
Bernier, 1663; Forster, 1786; Moorcroft, Trebeck, Guthrie, 1823; Victor
Jacquemont, 1831; Joseph Wolff, 1832.’”
Csoma’s name is not mentioned here; yet we have proofs that Csoma
travelled in and through Kashmir on three different occasions before
Hügel: first, immediately after he overcame the dangerous route through
Central Asia and Afghanistan to the Punjab, namely, in 1822, in April
and May; and again, on returning from Leh in July; and, for the third
time, in the winter of 1822–23. Csoma reports in the letter to Captain
Kennedy (para. 12), “I left Kashmir on the 2d May 1823, after I had
passed five months and six days with Mr. Moorcroft.”
These details give an account of Csoma’s travels in 1822 and 1823,
showing that he spent very much more time in Kashmir than the Baron
ever did, who devoted three months only to his journey in that country,
twelve years after Csoma. Yet Csoma’s name does not appear in Baron
Hügel’s list. We bring this forward for no other reason but that of
adding another proof of the defective nature of Baron Hügel’s data.
We have, therefore, been compelled to treat with suspicion the
statements made by this author, there being much evidence to show that
they are not made with the necessary exactitude. Corroborated
statements, which happen to be found in the Baron’s notices of Csoma,
including those contained in the Spicker’sche Zeitung, cited by the
“Chronick der gebildeten Welt,” Band. III. (Carlsruhe, 1842), have been
taken from the original English, and probably also French sources, by
which alone we have been guided in this part of the biography.
Critics do not omit to mention, that Csoma was quite ignorant of
Sanskrit whilst engaged in his Tibetan studies. It is quite true that
when, in 1822, he travelled through Kashmir, and reached Leh, intending
to penetrate by way of Yarkand to the borders of China, and there to
become acquainted with the Mongolian languages, he thought that these
latter would serve his purpose better than any other. He certainly was
not then a master of Sanskrit, his original or final aim of research
not being India, but China, especially Mongolia. But when he seriously
commenced the study of Tibetan, and had also come across numerous
elementary Sanskrit and Tibetan works, of which we find special mention
in his writings, can it be reasonably supposed, that the ever-eager and
indefatigable student, would have neglected such opportunities as
presented themselves to him, and have remained entirely ignorant of the
Sanskrit language for so many years, which, as he tells us at the
outset of his new study, was the basis of all Tibetan learning? So far
from this being the case, his letters to Captain Kennedy furnish ample
proofs to the contrary. For instance, in his second letter to Captain
Kennedy, para. 12, we read as follows:—“Besides the vocabulary which I
have now by me, ... I have another large collection of words in
Sanskrit and Tibetan.” This clearly establishes our surmise, that long
before 1825 Csoma devoted serious attention to Sanskrit; indeed, how
otherwise could he have written his report of 1825 to Government,
through Captain Kennedy?
Csoma’s principal trait of character was his regrettable
diffidence—almost, we might say, an overstrained vaunting of
ignorance—and his own too modest estimate of himself. This has often
served as justification for disparaging his unique accomplishments. Of
this, Prinsep, Gerard, and Campbell bear frequent testimony; and even
Henry Torrens, who knew him less than those just mentioned, notices
that “Csoma’s exceeding diffidence, on subjects on which he might have
dictated to the learned world of Europe and Asia, was the most
surprising trait in him.” [14] Under these circumstances, to avoid
misunderstanding and to correct false impressions which have prevailed,
it seems necessary that, instead of mere extracts, we should lay before
our readers some of the correspondence and other documents without
curtailment.
In November 1824, our traveller appeared on the north-west frontier of
the British possessions, and reported his arrival to Captain Kennedy,
the commanding officer at Sabathú. The correspondence which passed at
that time between the authorities and the traveller is of much
interest.
Captain Kennedy wrote to the Assistant Political Agent at Umbála, on
the 28th of November, reporting that “an European traveller, who gives
his name as Alexander Csoma de Körös, a subject of Hungary, has arrived
at this post. He is particularly introduced to my notice by Mr.
Moorcroft, whose letter I herewith enclose. Mr. Csoma de Körös remains
here at present, and waits the arrival of a Lama, whom he expects in a
few days, to proceed with him towards Tibet. I request your
instructions regarding this gentleman’s movements.”
To this the following answer was received the next day:—
“Be good enough to detain the European traveller at Sabathú until
instructions of the agent to the Governor-General at Delhi can be
received regarding him.”
From the following it will appear that Lord Amherst gave orders that
Csoma be requested to give a complete account of himself and of his
plans, and to submit the same through Captain Kennedy.
Csoma’s letter, dated Sabathú, 28th January 1825, will be found below;
it is the same as that which, in an abridged form and in a different
shape, was published in the first number of the “Journal of the Royal
Asiatic Society of London” in 1834, to which allusion has already been
made:
“To Captain C. P. Kennedy, Assistant Political Agent and Commanding
Subathoo.
“Sir,—I beg leave to acknowledge your communication of the
Secretary to Government’s answer to your letter reporting my
arrival at Subathoo, through the Governor-General’s agent at Delhi,
dated Fort William, 24th December 1824; and since, by the
Government’s order, it is required from me to give in writing a
full and intelligible account of my history and past proceedings,
and of my objects and plans for the future, as also of the length
to which I propose to carry my Travels and Researches, I have the
honour to state, for the information of the Governor-General of
India, as follows:—
2. “I am a native of the Siculian [15] nation (a tribe of those
Hungarians who settled in ancient Dacia in the fourth century of
the Christian era) in the great principality of Transylvania,
subject to his Majesty the Emperor of Austria.
3. “Having finished my philological and theological studies in the
Bethlen College at N. Enyed in the course of three years, from 1st
August 1815 to 5th September 1818, I visited Germany, and by his
Imperial Majesty’s permission, at the University of Göttingen in
Hanover, I frequented several lectures from 11th April 1816 to the
last of July 1818; and on my request to the Government of Hanover,
I was also for one year favoured there with Libera mensa regia.
4. “As in Transylvania there are no Sclavonick people, and the
learned men of that country are generally unacquainted with that
language, although it would be necessary for consulting Sclavonian
authors on the ancient history of the Hungarians that are
surrounded from all parts by nations of Sclavonick extraction—after
being acquainted with several ancient and modern languages, I was
desirous to learn the Sclavonick also. For this purpose, after my
return from Germany, I went to Temeswár, in Lower Hungary; where,
from 20th February to 1st November 1819, I was occupied with this
language, making also a journey to Agram, in Croatia, for the
acquirement of the different dialects.
5. “Among other liberal disciplines, my favourite studies were
philology, geography, and history. Although my ecclesiastical
studies had prepared me for an honourable employment in my native
country, yet my inclinations for the studies mentioned above,
induced me to seek for a wider field for their further cultivation.
As my parents were dead, and my only brother did not want my
assistance, I resolved to leave my native country and to come
towards the East, and by some means or other procuring subsistence,
to devote my whole life to researches which may be afterwards
useful to the learned world of Europe in general, and, in
particular, may illustrate some obscure facts in our own history.
But as I could not hope to obtain, for this purpose, an Imperial
passport, I did also not beg for it. I took a printed Hungarian
passport at N. Enyed to come on some pretended business to
Bucharest, in Wallachia, and having caused it to be signed by the
General Commandant in Hermanstadt, in the last days of November
1819, passing the frontier mountains, entered Wallachia. My
intention in going to Bucharest was, after some acquaintance with
the Turkish language, to proceed to Constantinople. There was no
opportunity for my instruction, nor could I procure any mode, to go
directly to Constantinople, therefore:
6. “The 1st of January, 1820, I left Bucharest, and on the 3d,
passing the Danube by Rustchuk, I travelled with some Bulgarians,
who having brought cotton from Macedonia to that place, returned
with unladen horses. After travelling for eight days in rapid
marches, we reached Sophia, the capital of Bulgaria, whence, with
other Bulgarians, I came in five days to Philippopolis, in
Roumelia, or Thrace. I wished now to proceed by Adrianople to
Constantinople, but the plague in that place forced me to descend
to Enos, on the coast of the Archipelago. Leaving that place on the
7th of February, I passed in a Greek ship by Chios and Rhodes, and
on the last day of February I arrived at Alexandria, in Egypt. My
plan was to stop for a certain time either at Alexandria or in
Cairo, and to improve myself in the Arabic, with which I was
already acquainted in Europe, but on a sudden eruption of the
plague I left Egypt, and proceeding on a Syrian ship I came to
Larnica, in Cyprus, thence to Sidon, Beyruth, and then, on another
vessel, to Tripoli and Latakia, whence, travelling on foot, on the
13th of April I reached Aleppo in Syria. I left that place on the
19th of May, and travelling with various caravans in a simple
Asiatic dress, on foot, by Orfa, Merdin, and Mosul, whence by water
on a raft. On the 22d July I reached Baghdad. Thence, in August, I
addressed a letter, written in Latin, to Mr. Rich, the English
resident, who was at that time in Kurdistan, about eight days’
journey from Baghdad, giving him intelligence of my arrival and
design, and begging his protection. His secretary, Mr. Bellino,
assisted me with a dress and with some money, through his friend,
Mr. Swoboda, a native of Hungary, with whom I was then lodging, and
to whom I was recommended from Aleppo. I left Baghdad on 4th
September, and travelling in European costume, on horseback, with a
caravan, passing by Kermanshah (where, in the service of Mahomed
Ali Mirza, the eldest son of Fateh Ali Shah, king of Persia, were
several European military officers), by Hamadan, on 14th October
1820, I arrived at Teheran, the present capital of Persia.
7. “On my arrival I found no Europeans in Teheran, but in the
English residence a Persian servant received me with kindness, gave
me lodging and some other things that I required. On the 3d of
November 1820, in a letter, written in English, addressed to Mr.,
afterwards Sir Henry Willock, on his return from Tauris, or Tebriz,
I represented to him my situation, and acquainted him with my
circumstances and intentions. I begged him also for assistance. I
am infinitely indebted to Messrs. Henry and George Willock for
their kind reception and generosity at my departure (and to them I
beg to refer for my character). Through their complaisance I
sojourned four months in the capital of Persia, became acquainted
grammatically with the Persian, improved myself a little in
English, perused several treatises for my purpose, examined many
ancient silver coins of the Parthian dynasty. When I left Teheran I
left also the European dress, and took the Persian. I deposited
there all my books and papers, among others, my testimonial from
the University of Göttingen, my passport from Transylvania, and a
certificate in Sclavonick on my progress in that language. I gave
also to those gentlemen a letter written in Hungarian, addressed to
N. Enyed, in Transylvania, for Mr. Joseph Kováts, Professor of
Mathematics and Physics, with my humblest request, in case I should
die or perish on my road to Bokhara, to be transmitted. Mr. Willock
favoured me with Johnson’s Dictionary in miniature, and I travelled
hereafter as an Armenian.
8. “The 1st of March 1821, I bid adieu to my noble benefactors, and
the 18th of April arrived at Meshed, in Khorassan. On account of
warlike disturbances in the neighbouring countries, it was the 20th
of October ere I could leave that place to proceed in safety, and
on the 18th of November I reached safely Bokhara, but, affrighted
by frequent exaggerated reports of the approach of a numerous
Russian army, after a residence of five days I left Bokhara, where
I intended to pass the winter, and with a caravan I came to Balk,
Kulm, and thence by Bamian; on 6th of January, 1822, I arrived at
Kabool.
9. “As that was not a place for my purpose, and being informed by
the Armenians that two European gentlemen were with Mahomed Azim
Khan, between Kabool and Peshawur, and in the same time finding an
opportunity to travel securely with a caravan, I left Kabool 19th
January, and came towards Peshawur. At Daka, the 26th January, I
met two French gentlemen, Messrs. Allard and Ventura, whom
afterwards I accompanied to Lahore, because it was not the proper
season to go to Kashmir and to cross the mountains into Tibet. We
arrived at Lahore the 11th of March 1822, and on the 23d of the
same I left it, and going by Amritsir, Jamoo, I reached Kashmir the
17th of April, where I stopped, waiting for proper season and
companions, till 9th May; when leaving that place, and travelling
with four other persons, on the 9th June I arrived at Leh, the
capital of Ladak; but I ascertained the road to go to Yarkand was
very difficult, expensive, and dangerous for a Christian. After a
sojourn of twenty-five days I resolved to return to Lahore.
10. “I was, on my return, near the frontier of Cashmere when, on
the 16th of July 1822, I was agreeably surprised to find Mr.
Moorcroft at Himbabs. He was alone. I acquainted him with all my
circumstances and designs, and by his permission remained with him.
I accompanied him on his return to Leh, where we arrived on the
26th August. In September, after Mr. Trebeck’s arrival from Piti,
Mr. Moorcroft gave me to peruse the large volume of the Alphabetum
Tibetanum, wherein I found much respecting Tibet and the Tibetan
literature, and being desirous to be acquainted with the structure
of that curious tongue, at the departure of Mr. Moorcroft from Leh
to proceed to Cashmere, in the last days of September, I begged
leave to remain with Mr. Trebeck, who obtained for me the
conversation and instruction of an intelligent person, who was well
acquainted with the Tibetan and Persian languages; and by this
medium I obtained considerable insight in the Tibetan.
11. “At Mr. Moorcroft’s request, before his departure from Leh, I
translated into Latin a letter written in Russian characters and
language, procured by Meer Izzut Oollah of Delhi, the companion of
Mr. Moorcroft, dated Petersburgh, 17th January 1820, and addressed
to the chief prince of the Panjab (Runjeet Singh), which, as Mr.
Moorcroft informed me after his arrival at Kashmir, he sent to
Calcutta.”
N.B.—This was the letter of Count Nesselrode; sent through the
Russian Emissary, Aga Mahdi Rafael.
12. “During the winter in Kashmir, after my return with Mr.
Trebeck, considering what I had read and learned on the Tibetan
language, I became desirous to apply myself, if assisted to it, to
learn it grammatically, so as to penetrate into the contents of
those numerous and highly interesting volumes which are to be found
in every large monastery. I communicated my ideas respecting this
matter to Mr. Moorcroft, who, after a mature consideration, gave me
his approbation, favoured me with money for my necessary
subsistence, and permitted me to return to Ladak; nay, he
recommended me to the chief officer at Leh, and to the Lama of
Yangla, in Zanskar. Being prepared for the journey, I left Kashmir
on the 2d May 1823, after I had passed five months and six days
with Mr. Moorcroft.
13. “After my return to Ladak I arrived at Leh on the 1st of June
1823, delivered Mr. Moorcroft’s and Meer Izzut Oollah’s letters and
presents to the Khalon. This Prime Minister recommended me in a
letter to the Lama of Yangla; gave me a passport, and favoured me
with about eight pounds of tea. From Leh, travelling in a
south-westerly direction, on the ninth day I arrived at Yangla, and
from 20th June 1823 to 22d October 1824 I sojourned in Zanskar (the
most south-western province of Ladak), where I applied myself to
the Tibetan literature, assisted by the Lama.
14. “During my residence in Zanskar, by the able assistance of that
intelligent man, I learned grammatically the language, and became
acquainted with many literary treasures shut up in 320 large
printed volumes, which are the basis of all Tibetan learning and
religion. These volumes, divided in two classes, and each class
containing other subdivisions, are all taken from Indian Sanskrit,
and were translated into Tibetan. I caused to be copied the
contents of these immense works and treatises in the same order as
they stand in the printed indexes. Each work or treatise begins
with the title in Sanskrit and Tibetan, and ends with the names of
the author, translators, and place wherein the author has written
or the translation was performed. As there are several collections
of Sanskrit and Tibetan words among my other Tibetan writings, I
brought with me a copy of the largest, taken out of one of the
above-mentioned volumes, consisting of 154 leaves, every page of
six lines.
15. “As I could not remain longer in that country with advantage to
myself I left it, having agreed with the Lama to pass the winter,
1824–25, with him at Sultanpore, in Coolloo [16] (whereto his
relations, also the wives of two chiefs of Lahool, commonly descend
for every winter, and whom he was desirous to visit there), and to
arrange the collected materials for a vocabulary in Tibetan and
English. The Lama was detained by some business, and prevented for
some days leaving Zanskar.
16. “As the winter was daily approaching, by his counsel I
continued my march to pass the snowy mountains before the passage
would be obstructed by the fall of any heavy snow. I arrived at
Sultanpore, in Coolloo, without any danger, and from thence,
passing to Mendee, Suketee, Belaspore, on the 26th of November of
the last year I reached Subathoo. On my arrival I expected the Lama
would follow me in about ten days. He came not, and at present I
have no hope he will join me, as the pass in the Himalaya is now
closed against him.
17. “At my first entrance to the British Indian territory I was
fully persuaded that I should be received as a friend by the
Government, because I supposed that my name, my purpose, and my
engagement for searching after Tibetan literature, were well known
in consequence of Mr. Moorcroft’s introductions, to whom, before my
return to Tibet in the last half of April 1823, when I was in
Cashmere, on his writing and recommending me to the secretary of
the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, and requesting him also to forward
me some compendious works on the stated subjects, I promised by my
hand-writing in the same letter, which I beg to refer to, that I
would stand faithful to my engagements, to study and to be diligent
in my researches.
18. “I think I have given, as it was required from me, an
intelligible account of my history and past proceedings. For the
future, as also the length to which I propose to carry my travels
and researches, I beg leave to add, the civilised and learned world
is indebted to Great Britain in many respects for useful
discoveries, inventions, and improvements in arts and sciences.
There is yet in Asia a vast terra incognita for oriental
literature. If the Asiatic Society in Calcutta would engage for the
illuminating the map of this terra incognita, as in the last four
years of my travelling in Asia I depended for my necessary
subsistence entirely upon British generosity, I shall be happy if I
can serve that honourable Society with the first sketches of my
researches. If this should not meet with the approbation of
Government, I beg to be allowed to return to Mr. Moorcroft, to
whose liberality and kindness I am at present entirely indebted for
my subsistence; or, if it pleases the Governor-General of India,
that I shall be permitted to remain under your protection until my
patron’s return from his present tour to Bokhara.
19. “After my arrival at this place, notwithstanding the kind
reception and civil treatment with which I was honoured, I passed
my time, although in much doubt as to a favourable answer from
Government to your report, yet with great tranquillity, till 23d
inst., when, on your communication of the Government’s resolution
on the report of my arrival, I was deeply affected, and not little
troubled in mind, fearing that I was likely to be frustrated in my
expectations. However, recollecting myself, I have arranged my
ideas as well as my knowledge of the English language will admit,
and I humbly beseech you to receive these sincere accounts of my
circumstances, and if you will be pleased to forward them for the
better information’s sake and satisfaction of His Excellency the
Governor-General in Council, and with my humblest acknowledgments
for his lordship’s regard respecting the manner in which I should
be treated.
20. “I beg leave for my tardiness in writing, for the rudeness of
my characters, and for my unpolite expressions, if sometimes I used
not the proper terms.—I have, &c.
(Sd.) “Alexander Csoma de Körös.
“Subathoo, 28th January 1825.”
From the above we gather that our traveller started from Transylvania
on November 1, 1819, and at the end of that month crossed the frontier
into Wallachia, the present Roumania, and reached Bucharest.
1820, on the 1st of January, he left that capital, and on the
3d of January, crossed the Danube into Macedonia.
11th January, he arrived at Sophia.
16th January, he reached Philippopolis, and thence proceeded to Enos.
February 7th. Left Enos in a Greek ship, and sailing by Chios and
Rhodes, on
February 28th, he arrived at Alexandria, in Egypt.
In March, he took passage in a Syrian ship to Cyprus, thence to Sidon
and Beyrut, and thence on another raft by way of Tripolis he arrived in
Latakia.
In April, at the beginning, he left on foot for Aleppo, where he
arrived on the 13th of that month.
On May 19th, he left Aleppo, again on foot, and travelled by way of
Orfa, Mardin, Mosul, arriving on July 22d at Baghdad.
September 4th, he left Baghdad, travelling on horseback through
Kermanshah and Hamadan, reaching on
October 14th Teheran.
1821, March 1st, left Teheran, and arrived April 18th at Meshed, in
Khorassan, whence, owing to rumours of war, he started on October 20th,
and reached Bokhara on November 18th.
November 23d, he left Bokhara, and, travelling viâ Balkh, Kulum, and
the Bamian Pass, arrived
1822, January 6th, at Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan.
January 19th, he left Kabul.
January 20th, at Daka, met Generals Allard and Ventura, French officers
in the service of Ranjit Singh.
March 12th, he arrived at Lahore.
March 23d, he started viâ Amritsir and Jamu, and on April 14th arrived
at Kashmir.
May 19th, he left Kashmir, and on June 9th arrived at Leh, the capital
of Ladak.
July 3d, he left Leh on a return journey to Kashmir.
On July 16th, he met Mr. Moorcroft on the banks of the river Himbabs,
in the Dras Valley, and retraced his steps towards Leh with Mr.
Moorcroft.
On August 26th, he reached Leh a second time. At the end of September
Moorcroft returned to Kashmir, and Csoma remained at Leh with Mr.
Trebeck, whom he afterwards accompanied to Srinaggur, where they
arrived on November 26th, and Csoma joined Moorcroft and remained with
him for five months and six days.
1823, May 22d, he took leave of Moorcroft in Kashmir, and on June 1st
he arrived at Leh for the third time.
June 17th, he left Leh, and
On June 26th, he arrived at the Monastery of Yangla, in the province of
Zanskar, where he spent sixteen months. This is the place where, as we
shall find more fully described later on, Csoma laid the foundation of
his acquaintance with the language and literature of Tibet; it was here
that he resided, being confined (with the Lama, his teacher, and an
attendant) to an apartment nine feet square. For more than four months
they were precluded from stirring out by the state of the weather. Here
he read from morning till night, sitting enveloped in a sheep-skin
cloak, with his arms folded, and without a fire. After dark he was
without a light; the ground forming his bed, and the walls of the
building his protection against the rigours of the climate. He was
exposed here to “privations such as have been seldom endured” without
complaining.
1824, October 22d, he left Yangla, and on November 20th arrived at
Sabathú.
If we glance at the map we shall find that Csoma’s route was the same
which, forty-two years later, was followed as far as Bokhara by his
famous and enterprising countryman, Arminius Vámbéry. Csoma left no
record of the hardships which he necessarily had to overcome in Central
Asia; but if we scan the interesting pages of Vámbéry’s autobiography,
we may surmise in some degree what sufferings, dangers, and hairbreadth
escapes were the accompaniments of travelling in those inhospitable
regions. Csoma’s lamentable reticence on the subject of his exploits
and of what he experienced, deprives his biography of much that would
have been most attractive. The still available correspondence, and the
casual remarks of his friends and admirers, give us sufficient
information as to the character of the man; but the full details, which
otherwise make up the charm of the story of a life like his, are lost,
and can never be made good.
In his letter to the political agent at Umbála, dated the 28th of
November, quoted above, we find Captain Kennedy stating that a special
introduction was brought by Csoma from Mr. Moorcroft. That letter was
forwarded to the Government, and is dated Kashmir, the 21st of April
1823. This letter is worthy of being preserved, if only as a memento of
the ill-fated writer. Mr. Moorcroft writes thus:—
“To the Commandant at Sabathú.
“Sir,—The object of this address is to bespeak your good offices
for Mr. Alexander Csoma, or Sekunder Beg, of Transylvania, whom I
now take the liberty to introduce.
“2. I have known this gentleman for five months most intimately,
and can give the strongest testimony to his integrity, prudence,
and devotedness to the cause of science, which, if fully explained,
might, in the opinion of many, be conceived to border on
enthusiasm.
“3. As well in pursuance of original plans of his own for the
development of some obscure points of Asiatic and of European
history, as of some suggestions stated by me, Mr. Csoma will
endeavour to remain in Tibet until he shall have become master of
the language of that country, and be completely acquainted with the
subjects its literature contains, which is likely, on many
accounts, to prove interesting to the European world.
“4. Although no substantial grounds exist for suspecting that he
will not succeed in accomplishing the object above stated, the
recent date of European intercourse with the country of Ladakh may
justify the adoption of substituting other measures, should the
result of the plans contemplated not meet the present sanguine
expectations of success.
“5. If, therefore, events should arise to prevent Mr. Csoma
continuing in Ladakh until he may have effected the matter alluded
to, I beg leave respectfully to request that you will so far oblige
me as to afford him such assistance as may be required to
facilitate the prosecution of his studies, along with some
well-informed Lama in the northern part of Besarh, as the Superior
of the Gompa or Monastery of Palso, near Leh.
“6. It is possible that the contingency of my death, or of delay of
the present expedition beyond a certain period mentioned to Mr.
Csoma, may induce the Government to desire him to proceed to
Calcutta, in which case I shall feel myself personally obliged if
you will be kind enough to furnish him with two hundred rupees, to
meet which I now enclose my draft at sight on my agents at
Calcutta.”
This letter furnishes very important information in respect to
circumstances which matured into a formal compact between these two
travellers. Csoma makes mention of the first meeting between them in
his letter to Captain Kennedy (para. 10). Mr. Moorcroft refers to it in
his journal, and adds, [17] “Csoma remained with me some time, and
after I had quitted Ladakh, I obtained permission from the Khalon for
him to reside in the Monastery of Yangla, in Zanskar, for the purpose
of acquiring a knowledge of the Tibetan language,” &c.
The two preceding letters settle, therefore, those points regarding
which so much uncertainty and so many mistaken ideas have prevailed.
We know now that Csoma’s original plan “for the development of some
obscure points of Asiatic and European history,” conceived in Hungary,
was to proceed through the northern regions of Central Asia, as Hegedüs
pointedly remarks, towards the “borders of the Chinese Empire and
towards Mongolia;” and we can trace his steps from Persia to Khorassan
and Bokhara, through Balkh, Kulm, Bamian, across the Hindu Kush, in
that direction, till he reached Kabul on the 6th of January 1822.
Thence, viâ Lahore, he travelled into Kashmir, where he arrived on the
14th of April. The journey towards China led viâ Turkestan, and he
travelled as far as Leh on his way thither; but having ascertained,
when at Leh, that the road to Yarkand was “very difficult, expensive,
and very dangerous for a Christian,” as he did not attempt to travel in
disguise, he resolved to return towards Lahore. On this journey he met
Moorcroft, who entertained him hospitably, and lent him Giorgi’s
“Alphabetum Tibetanum.” This book Csoma studied through, and was thus
induced to propose to Moorcroft that he would thoroughly master that
language, if, during his studies, his daily wants could be provided
for. The supposed reason, therefore, that Csoma devoted himself to
Tibetan merely because he had observed a similarity between the Magyar
and the Tibetan languages, is not supported by any proofs. At the time
we speak of, the British power was feeling its way slowly and extending
its influence towards Central Asia: doubtless the Government officers
on the frontier perceived the advantages that could be gained by a
thorough acquaintance with the language of Tibet, which then indeed was
a real terra incognita to Europeans. Dr. H. H. Wilson points out
clearly this aim when he says: “To establish an accurate knowledge of
the nations around us, and to promote a friendly intercourse with them.
This will not only promote the commercial and political prosperity of
Great Britain and her Indian possessions, but may effect the still more
important end of teaching to yet semi-barbarous tribes the advantages
of industry and civilisation.” [18]
Csoma was ready to become a pioneer on this difficult road, IF his
terms were accepted. A solemn agreement, therefore, was entered into
between Moorcroft and Csoma: the former supplied the requisite funds,
of which he gave an account to the Government, [19] and Csoma promised,
by “his own handwriting,” that he would faithfully abide by his
engagement. No proof whatever exists in corroboration of the opinion
that, previous to his meeting with Moorcroft, Csoma ever contemplated
making Tibetan the study of his life. Nor is there any authentic proof
to warrant the assertion that Csoma ever declared himself to be a
believer in any special affinity between his mother-tongue and the
Tibetan.
The concluding paragraphs of Csoma’s letter will be read with sympathy
even at this distant time; great was his anxiety as to how his fate
would be decided by Government. The power of Ranjit Singh was still
paramount in the Punjab. Csoma’s detention at Sabathú was but a natural
precaution on the part of the English that any European stranger
should, as a matter of prudence, be watched; especially after the proof
the Indian Government had in their hands of the intrigues of the
Russian Government, through emissaries like Aga Mahdi Rafael. [20]
Csoma’s pride and highly honourable feelings were nevertheless deeply
touched on finding that he had been suspected, which to the end of his
life he never forgot. He had to wait for three long months before an
answer reached him, as will be seen from his second letter, written in
May. That letter touches on some points now out of date, but its
general contents will doubtless be read with much interest. It
furnishes proofs also in several passages of the fact, that Csoma was
not altogether ignorant of the Sanskrit tongue when, in accordance with
the order of the Governor-General, he wrote his second letter,
addressed to Captain Kennedy.
CHAPTER III.
Government orders respecting Csoma’s stipend—Report as to his
Tibetan studies in the past and plans for the future.
Csoma’s first letter to Captain Kennedy was dated the 28th of January
1825. Owing to the distance and other incidental delays, it was not
till the month of May following that an answer to it, from the Calcutta
Government, reached Sabathú. This decided Csoma’s fate. The Government
granted a regular stipend of fifty rupees a month, which enabled him to
prosecute the Tibetan studies, and, as regards his own position, to
perpetuate his name in the domain of science and literary research.
In the second letter, addressed to Captain Kennedy, Csoma made known in
detail all he had already learnt of the language of Tibet, and of the
religion of Buddha, and explained his future plans, particularly in
paragraphs 27 and 28. He gave a promise that he would devote himself
entirely to that special study; he kept to the determination, and spent
some of the best years of his life (between 1825 and 1834) in the
attainment of his object. When once his task was finished, he remarked
with melancholy emphasis to Dr. Gerard, as they met at the Buddhist
monastery, he would then be “the happiest man on earth, and could die
with pleasure, seeing that he had redeemed his pledge.” On examining
what Csoma has written, we nowhere find the slightest trace to justify
the assumption that he believed in any particular resemblance between
the Tibetan language and his native tongue. This, therefore, could not
be the reason that urged him to study it. Except in the case of one
Tibetan word,—khyöd, anglice, you; in Hungarian, kend, kegyelmed,—we
find no other marked out by Csoma for comparison as to any supposed
similarity between these two languages. There were, however, weighty
motives which induced him to devote himself to the literature of Tibet.
The first was doubtless the wish of a grateful heart to do some
service, if he could, to his English patrons. He felt that already, at
the University of Göttingen, he was supported from the scholarship
founded by English benevolence; and it was there, we may add also, that
he first began to study English under Professor Fiorillo. When Csoma
set out on his venturesome journey, he always found help and patronage,
when in need, from Englishmen; and now again, when at Sabathú, he saw
clearly that without English protection and liberality he could never
hope to succeed.
Secondly. He believed, no doubt, to be some day in a position to
furnish a key to the learned of Europe for further exploration of an
almost terra incognita, and this, indeed, he subsequently accomplished.
Moreover, he hoped to promote his original objects, if, fortified with
newly-acquired knowledge, he could reach Lassa, where the library of
the Grand Lama would be accessible to him, and where he would be in a
position to explore thoroughly those Tibetan works which elsewhere he
sought for in vain, and which, according to his information and belief,
contained the early history of the Mongols and the Huns.
The Tibetan tongue, moreover, is the most generally known among nations
professing the Buddhist faith. [21] It is the channel of communication
between the educated and influential classes in the state and society,
especially where the Dalai Lama of Lassa is the acknowledged head of
the faith. This, therefore, is evidently the channel through which the
civilisation of the West could most easily penetrate into those distant
regions.
Csoma’s second letter is dated the 25th of May 1825. In the previous
one, we possess already a sketch of his personal history and earlier
studies. Many interesting points are touched upon in his second letter,
throwing a light on the discoveries and progress of that department of
Oriental literature which Csoma was exploring. Paragraphs 29, 32, and
34 will be especially interesting to his countrymen, even at the
present day, and the letter will not, it is hoped, be unacceptable to
the general reader as well, who will generously make allowance for the
somewhat imperfect English of the writer.
“Sir,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of a copy of a letter to the
address of the Governor-General’s Acting Agent at Delhi, C.
Elliott, Esq., dated Fort William, 25th March 1825, communicated to
me by you, containing the Government’s orders respecting my further
proceedings; and since his Lordship in Council has vouchsafed to
absolve me from the suspicion I imagined I was under at my arrival
at this place, and to approve my research for Tibetan language and
literature, and to grant me generously pecuniary aid, I accept with
the highest respect and acknowledgment the offered assistance, and
in obedience to Government’s request for a summary report of the
contents of the Tibetan works in my possession, I have the honour
to state as follows:—
2. “I am very sensible that during the last six months I could make
no further progress in the Tibetan, being separated from that
intelligent Lama, by whom, while in Zanskar, I was assisted,
through Mr. Moorcroft’s liberality to him, in my literary pursuit,
he remaining behind for the arrangement of his affairs, and
afterwards not following me. In this manner, left alone, as I have
not yet the practice of Tibetan writing, and sometimes, in dubious
cases, I ought to consult an intelligent man for that language, I
was not able to arrange the collected materials as I had planned.
3. “At my first application to this language I proposed in myself
to collect whatever is required for the preparation of a grammar, a
vocabulary, and a general account of Tibetan learning and
literature. How far I succeeded in my purpose, I beg leave first to
give a short enumeration of the materials which I have now in my
possession; secondly, of the insight I acquired into the Tibetan;
and, lastly, of my intention for the future. Then, firstly,
4. “It was by the medium of the Persian language that I learned so
much from the Tibetan, that, after my return to Ladak, I could
communicate my ideas to the Lama, and engage him to assist me in my
undertaking. He writes very well both the capital and the small
characters, is acquainted with the grammatical structure of the
Tibetan language, with arithmetic, rhetoric, poesy, and dialectic.
Medicine, astronomy, and astrology are his professions; about
twenty years ago, in searching after knowledge, he visited in six
years many parts of Tibet, Teshi Lhunpo, Lassa, Bootan, &c., and
also Nepal. He knows the whole system of their religion, has a
general knowledge of everything that is contained in their books,
and of customs, manners, economy, and of the polite language used
among the nobility, and in the sacred volumes; speaking
respectfully to superiors. He acquired a great deal of geography
and history respecting the Tibetan countries. He is now about
fifty-two years old; he is not a resident in a monastery, having
married about twelve years ago the widow of the Yangla Raja. He is
the chief physician of Ladak, and sometimes the chief secretary
employed by Government in writing to Teshi Lhunpo, and Lassa.
5. “It was this man I spoke of who, in the course of three months
after my arrival at that place, wrote down, at my request, some
thousand words arranged after certain heads, and since he had many
books with him containing collections of words, and could easily
procure others from the neighbouring monasteries, he gave me such
account of technical terms used in arts and sciences, that I
acquired sufficient information to be interested in the Tibetan
literature, and to pursue in certain order the study I was engaged
in.
6. “In the first place, he enumerated the names or attributes of
the Supreme Intelligence, the first person in the Tibetan Trinity,
in more than one hundred and ten terms, which frequently occur in
their religious books, and are highly expressive of the Supreme
Being respecting His perfections, and are the same as we have in
our own theological systems, or in the works of the ancient Greek
and Roman poets. There are, besides many others, seven chief
emanations or incarnations (Nirmankaya, in Sanskrit) of this
Supreme Being, called commonly Buddhas, of whom Sakya (who has more
than twelve names, is addressed in the sacred volumes frequently as
Gotama, principally by Brahmins), which is a very ancient family
name of his ancestors, was the last in appearing in the world, and
probably was the same with the most ancient Zoroaster, and must
have lived some centuries before the age of Ninus, the great king
of Assyria. Champa (the Clemency), Maitreya in Sanskrit, is to come
hereafter.
7. “The Lama proceeded afterwards on the Second Person of the
Trinity, which is called the ‘Chief of Morality,’ and gave me
thirty names of the moral doctrine, upon which there are many
treatises in the sacred volumes.
8. “The Third Person of the Trinity is called ‘the Chief Collector
or Promoter of Virtue’ (the Holy Ghost, agreeably to our faith);
such promoters of virtue are all the teachers of moral doctrine or
religion. Among these the most perfect are styled in Tibetan
‘Byang-chhub Sems-d’pah’; in Sanskrit, Bodhisatva, a saint. They
are represented to be of ten different degrees of perfection; to be
immortal; free from passive metempsychosis; and to possess great
powers or faculties of mind for the promotion of universal
happiness in the world. There are many appellative or common names,
as also proper or peculiar ones, to express such imagined or
supposed beings, which all have the signification of excellent
qualities or virtues. There is also a list of other saints of
inferior abilities.
9. “After these follows a full register of all the gods, goddesses,
and their families, heroes, good and bad spirits in the upper and
lower regions, with names of their habitations, of their offices,
&c. There are many appellative names for the expression of a god or
angel; also many attributes or names of every peculiar divinity in
their mythology. The Brahma of the Indians (Uranos, Cœlum of the
Greeks and Romans) in the Tibetan has more than twenty names.
Vishnoo (Chronos, Saturn), twenty-five, among which is Narayana,
the most beloved son; Titan, his brother, has ten. For Iswar or
Iswara (Zeus, Jupiter), thirty; and so on for Indra and the other
imagined guardians of the ten corners of the world. For the Rirap
(Sumeru, Olympus) and the whole system of the ancient mythology
there are hundreds of names; also for the phenomena or meteors in
the atmosphere; among the planets, the sun has more than one
hundred and twenty names or attributes; and so on; the others also
have many appellations, which in poetical works and astronomy are
often introduced. There is also an exact description of the twelve
zodiacal signs, of twenty-eight constellations, and of everything
belonging to astronomy. Further—
10. “He has given a complete account of the human body, specifying
every member, articulation, fluid substances and distempers
thereof, so fully as it is required for an intelligent physician to
know the structure of our body. There is a full enumeration of all
the good qualities, as also of all the defects and diseases.
Afterwards follow the faculties or powers of our mind, with their
opposite defects; then are classified the virtues and vices. There
is also a very copious enumeration of everything relating to our
dresses, furniture, victuals, family, parentage, &c., &c.
11. “Then follows the enumeration of all quadrupeds, birds,
amphibious animals, fishes, conchs or shells, insects, and worms,
with several designations. Vegetables and trees, shrubs, plants,
all sorts of corn, pulse, flowers, herbs, &c. Minerals, and
different kinds of earth or soil, stones (common and precious),
salts, metals, &c. &c. Words for all sorts of instruments employed
in farming, manufactures, and every kind of workmanship; arms and
everything relating to war. All sorts of pronouns, numbers,
adjectives, with their opposites. Inward and outward properties of
bodies, colours, figures, technical terms, with several
distinctions in arts and sciences. Names of officers, civil and
military. Ecclesiastical persons, orders, dignities, and different
sects in Tibet; their great names and their titles; monasteries or
convents, and their buildings; respecting religion and
superstition. Verbs, participles. In a word, there is a full
enumeration of whatever we can meet within the region of the
elements, as they are called, namely, the earth, water, fire, air,
ether, and in the intellectual kingdom. These all were arranged
after my direction and plan.
12. “Besides this vocabulary of the most necessary words which I
have now with me, written all by the same Lama in the Tibetan
capital character, I have another large collection in Sanskrit and
Tibetan (the Sanskrit also being written in the Tibetan capital
character, as they early adapted their alphabet to express properly
every Sanskrit word), copied from the Stangyur Do division, 90
volumes, from the 223d leaf to the 377th, consisting of 60 sheets
of common Cashmerian paper, having writing but on one side, and
having on every page 32 lines. This vocabulary, arranged after
certain matters or subjects under general heads, contains many
thousand words of every description; several distinctions and
divisions highly interesting in order to understand better the
whole system and principles of the Buddhistic doctrine.
13. “As there is frequent mention made both in the ‘Kahgyur’ and
‘Stangyur’ of the five sciences of the greater class as:
sgra-rigpa, gtantziks-rigpa, ḇzo-rigpa, sman-rigpa, and
nangdon-rigpa, corresponding to our philology or grammar, sabda in
Sanskrit; philosophy or logic, hetu in Sanskrit; technology, silpa
in Sanskrit; medicine, vaidya in Sanskrit, and divinity; the five
small ones of the lesser class, as s̱nyanṅak, sdebsbyor, nonthol,
dasgar and skar-rtsis (rhetoric, poesy, lexicography, dance music,
and astronomy). The same person, at my request, wrote me a short
account on grammar, and on the five sciences mentioned in the last
place. On about five sheets the history of medicine, and the
contents of its eight branches, arranged in chapters after the
system of the most celebrated physicians, also in two sheets an
account on astronomy, to find the places of the sun, moon, and
planets, and to calculate eclipses. I have also in about ten sheets
an account of the whole religious system of the Buddhists, written,
at my request, in fine capital characters by a Lama of great
reputation, a relative and friend of the Lama whose pupil I was.
For an account respecting learning in general, and logic in
particular, I have the answer of a celebrated Rab-hbyams-pa (doctor
of philosophy), who was twenty-five years at Lassa, and now is
sixty-five years old.
14. “Although in modern times, in Tibetan countries, there are
several works on different branches of science, but the bases of
them all are the ‘Kahgyur’ and ‘Stangyur’ (Commandment’s version,
and Instruction’s version, on account of their being a version or
translation from the Sanskrit); they correspond in signification to
Bed and Shastra in Sanskrit. The first contains the doctrine and
moral precepts of Shakya, in accordance as after his death his
principal disciples arranged them. The second, written by ancient
Indians and a few Chinese learned men or Pundits, is filled with
treatises containing commentaries on the first, many original works
on religious rites, ceremonies, arts, and sciences.
15. “The ‘Kahgyur’ family, in manuscript exemplars (copies), were
divided according to the size of paper, characters employed in
copying, into more or less, but generally in 100 volumes. They form
now in printed exemplars 90 volumes, with an additional one,
containing, on 124 leaves, a prolix and historical account on
several subjects, not reducible under one general head. I have now
in my possession an exact copy, word for word, of the last 42
leaves, specifying the contents of the above-mentioned 90 volumes,
with all their divisions and subdivisions, mentioning the names of
the translators, the number of chapters and leaves in every volume,
written in capital characters by a good writer, on common
Kashmirian paper, bearing ink but on one side, in 30 sheets. It is
impossible for me to give now a detailed account of the contents. I
shall mention, therefore, the principal parts.
16. “According to this Register, the ‘Dulva’ (education, Vinaya in
Sanskrit), in 13 volumes, in a very easy and agreeable style, gives
interesting historical accounts on wars, particularly between the
kings of Magadha and Anga, in Paks-yul (arya in Sanskrit, the
highland); and for moral instruction relates many hundred fables,
apologues, and parables. The She’s-rab-kyi-p’ha-rol-tu-p’hyin pa,
by contraction ‘Shér-p’hyin’ (evergoing or everlasting wisdom;
Prajna’ pàramità in Sanskrit), written on moral subjects, contains,
in 12 volumes, many excellent moral precepts.
17. “The ‘Do-de,’ or merely ‘Do’ (rule, treatise, &c.; sútra in
Sanskrit), in 30 vols., contains much from natural philosophy,
divinity, and astronomy. I have with me two specimens of this class
on thirty pages, elegantly copied by the Lama himself. The first is
taken from the 30th volume of the ‘Do,’ signed with the A, the last
letter of the Tibetan alphabet, beginning on the 364th leaf. This
is against the holding so scrupulously on castes. When, on a
certain occasion, the King of Kosala and a chief Brahmin, who
frequented the meetings of Shakya, in a great assembly had
expressed their disapproval, that his (Shakya’s) nephew, Kungavo,
although of royal family, should marry the daughter of a common
man. Shakya tells a story how, anciently in India, such and such a
chief of the Sudra caste, by his learning and address, obtained the
beautiful daughter of a Brahmin of high rank, for his well-educated
son. This story, in the above-mentioned volume, consists of sixty
leaves, and gives interesting accounts of the four castes, their
origin, and a summary report on the arts and sciences. The second
specimen is taken from the 2d volume of the ‘Do,’ signed by ‘Kh,’
beginning on the 120th leaf, and is against the covering of the
face of women. The principal, newly-married wife of Shakya,
‘Satsuma,’ being solicited by her maid-servants to keep her face
covered while sitting with others, expresses her sentiments against
the veil in a few elegant verses, with which her father-in-law was
so well pleased, that he bestowed on her a great quantity of
precious stones of all sorts.
18. “The ‘Gyud-de,’ or ‘Gyud’ (line, canon, original work, &c.;
Tantra in Sanskrit), in 21 vols., treats on different
subjects,—natural philosophy, medicine, astronomy, astrology,
charms, secret praises (snyags) to imaginary spirits, prayers, &c.
For a specimen of this class I have a correct copy of that same
piece which, in 1722, in the last century, excited the curiosity of
the learned in Europe. It is taken from the ninth volume, signed by
T., beginning on the 336th leaf.—Vide P. Giorgi, Alphab. Tibet., p.
665.
19. “I will not go further in specifying the other divisions of
works or treatises in the remaining twenty-two volumes. It is
enough to state: they contain, collectively, ample stores on the
political state and genius of the ancient Indians, from the Sita
(Sihon, Jaxartes), on this side of the great snowy mountains,
downwards to Ceylon.
20. “There is frequent mention made, almost in every volume of the
‘Kahgyur’ and ‘Stangyur,’ of an opposite religious sect, styled in
Tibetan ‘Mo-stegs-chan,’ Tirthika in Sanskrit, of which there are
many different branches. Judging from the proper meaning in the
Tibetan, and according to their principles, they were Determinists
or Fatalists, and the Buddhists Indeterminists or Libertinists,
which distinction we find also among the ancient Greek and Roman
philosophers. We know very well at present that the Mohammedans are
generally addicted to the doctrine of Fatalism. The Buddhists
declare we have free-will in our actions, and, consequently, we can
be punished or rewarded for our bad or good deeds. Hence the Hell
and the Paradise, the place of punishment and reward after death,
and the good and bad metempsychosis, with their several
distinctions in their religious system. They are all ignorant of
our principles and religion, and think we are all of the same
principles as the Mohammedans (vide P. Giorgi, Alph. Tib., p. 501,
the letter of the Pro Lama, at Lassa, while the Dalai Lama,
Bezah-zar-boba, was exiled in China, written 1730, to P. Horatius,
to be transmitted to Rome to the Pope).
21. “The ‘Stangyur’ (in 224 vols., 76,409 leaves, of about two feet
long, on each side seven lines of middle-sized characters) contains
the works of several ancient pundits in Asia, Kashmir, Sindhu,
Ujain, Bengal, Nepal, and other countries. According to the
register (which in 144 leaves makes the last volume), one volume,
signed by the letter K, contains many praises and hymns to several
divinities and saints.
22. “The ‘Gyud Class,’ in 36 volumes, contains more than 2600
treatises on several subjects, such as natural philosophy,
astronomy, religious rites, ceremonies, prayers, charms,
superstitious sentences, &c.
23. “The ‘Do’ Class, in 136 volumes, contains science after certain
divisions. Ninety-four volumes are filled up with theological
subjects, dogmatic, polemic, or controversial and moral. The
following 21 volumes treat on philosophy, theoretical and
practical, on logic, dialectic, metaphysics, and ethics. It is very
probable that, whatever exercised the speculative mind of the
ancient philosophers in Greece and Rome, respecting the origin and
end of the world, or of the human soul: we meet with all those or
like subtleties in these 115 volumes last mentioned.
24. “The next two volumes contain grammar, rhetoric, poesy, and
synonymy, afterwards five volumes, medicine. In the next volume
there are several treatises on different arts—on alchemy, the mode
of preparing quicksilver, ether, &c. The rest, mostly written by
ancient Tibetan scholars, contain treatises on grammar, collections
of vocabularies in Sanskrit and Tibetan, of which I have now with
me a copy of the largest mentioned above.
25. “As I have copied specimens for the style and contents of the
‘Kahgyur,’ I have taken also from the ‘Stangyur’ some
pattern-pieces. The first is on divinity, and gives an explanation
of the ten moral precepts. The second is taken from technology, and
enumerates what must be the proportion in feet, inches, lines of a
statue representing Buddha or Shakya. The third, from medicine, is
written on temperaments, viz., sanguine, choleric, and phlegmatic,
&c. The fourth is from philosophy, on the elements of right
knowledge. The fifth, from ethics (niti shastra), a collection of
apophthegms, prudential and moral. From grammar, a treatise on
twenty Sanskrit particles, which, if compounded with nouns and
verbs, change their signification in several manners. Every
particle is illustrated by examples in Tibetan. The twenty Sanskrit
particles are the following:—Pră, pará, á, sam, anu, apa, nir,
antar, vi, ava, ni, adhi, api, ati, su, ut, abhi, prati, pari, upa.
It was written by a celebrated ancient pundit or professor, Chandra
Komi, in Bengal, from whom, according to historical accounts
contained in the ‘Stangyur,’ the modern city of Chandernagore (near
Calcutta) obtained its name. From this learned man there are in the
‘Stangyur’ principally, many excellent treatises on grammar. All
these specimens here enumerated fill thirty-two pages, written in
large capital characters. The volumes and pages are quoted.
26. “The whole contents of the ‘Kahgyur’ and ‘Stangyur,’ with the
pattern pieces copied by the Lama and by another good writer, make
a volume of 277 pages, in folio, on Kashmirian common paper, bound
in leather at Kashmir, which Mr. Moorcroft had the kindness to give
me on my return to Tibet. This and all other papers on Tibetan
literature now in my hands belong to Mr. Moorcroft (consequently to
the British Government), to whose liberality I am infinitely
obliged.
27. “But since the Governor-General in Council favoured me with
pecuniary aid, I beg leave to communicate my wish and plan for the
future. The Tibetan literature merits, without doubt, to be fully
explored. In return of my acknowledgment for the received liberal
assistance, if Government pleases to permit me to be under the
protection of the commanding officer at Sabathoo, and to devote
myself again to the Tibetan, I hope that if I could join either the
same Lama, to whose intelligence I owe now my insight into this
class of Asiatic literature, or be able to procure another
intelligent person, I shall be able to finish what I have commenced
in the course of one year; and then
28. “I shall have the honour to present to the Government in
English (a.) a large theoretical and practical grammar of the
Tibetan language, on the five principal parts of the grammar, viz.,
Orthography (very difficult in the Tibetan, but sufficiently
regulated by the best grammarians, in their collections of many
words for the same purpose), Orthoepy (variable according to
different provinces—can be fixed for the European students),
Etymology (very simple and copious), Syntax, and Prosody (will not
take much room). Specifying in etymology every part of speech,
giving perfect patterns of declensions for personal, possessive,
demonstrative, interrogative, relative, and reciprocal pronouns;
for numbers, cardinal, ordinal, and adverbial; for adjectives and
nouns of every kind; patterns of conjugations for verbs, neuter,
active, intransitive, transitive, passive, causal, &c.; a complete
catalogue of adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions, and
interjections, and the proper use of them in the syntax. (b.) A
vocabulary of more than 30,000 words in Tibetan and English,
introducing all technical terms used in arts and sciences, leaving
alone every conjecture respecting the relation of Tibetan words to
any other language. (c.) A short account on the Tibetan literature.
(d.) A succinct history of Tibet, in Tibetan language, taken from
the works of native historians, word for word, accompanied by a
short geography and chronology in Tibetan. (e.) Selected specimens
of every kind in Tibetan.
29. “If there is no objection, I beg you will do me the favour to
obtain the Government’s leave for me, to proceed with my literary
labours to Calcutta, as soon as I have completed them.
30. “In support of the possibility to accomplish my engagement, I
beg leave to state that I am acquainted with several ancient and
modern European and Asiatic languages, and that my mother-tongue,
the Hungarian idiom, is nearly related, not in words, but in
structure, with the Turkish, Indian, Chinese, Mogul, and Tibetan
languages. In every language of Europe, except the Hungarian,
Turkish, and those of Finnish origin, there are prepositions like
in the languages of Hebrew or Arabic origin, but in our tongue,
like in the Indian, Chinese, and Tibetan, we have postpositions,
and for the formation of different cases in declension, we have
affixes with which to form from the same root several sorts of
verbs. Our idiom [22] is not inferior either to the Sanskrit or
Arabic, and I beg leave to confess that I am not merely a
linguist—I have learnt several languages to learn polite
literature, to enter into the cabinet of curiosity of remote ages,
to acquire useful knowledge, and to live in every age and with
every celebrated nation, as I do now with the British.
31. “It is recorded in Tibetan books that the ruin of the ancient
Buddhists in the kingdom of Magadha, happened by the Turks, who,
taking the city of Otantrapur, destroyed their colleges, killed
many priests, and that those who escaped from the common peril fled
southwards to India. I cannot now say in what year. There is
frequent mention made of Magadha in Asia, the scene (according to
what is related) of the most illustrious actions and the home of
the most celebrated learned men. I have not yet had sufficient time
to search after curiosities: I must first learn the language. I
have read but few volumes as yet from the ‘Kahgyur’ and ‘Stangyur’;
but if we consider the words of a prophecy by Shakya recorded in
the ‘Kahgyur’ (probably introduced thither in modern ages from
historical evidences), that ‘his religion or doctrine shall advance
from north to south, from south towards the north, and from north
to north,’ as it verily happened, since historians mention the
Buddhists in Asia, Kashmir, Sindh, Malwa, Ujain, Singhala,
Kalingah, Malabar, Ceylon, Bengal, Burmah, Bhutan, Tibet, and the
Mogul countries in recent times: we have every reason to suppose
that this Asia [eminence, the high country, which is a Sanskrit
word, and its literal translation in Tibetan is Pakspa; this also
is a title of honour for persons of high dignity, spiritual and
secular, in the same manner as we use the words ‘highness,’
‘eminence,’ ‘excellency’] is the same as the Asia of Ptolemy and of
other ancient geographers and historians, and is an appellative
name for high countries in general, and comprehends all the ancient
Scythia on this side of the Imaus, consequently includes the
Transoxiana, Khorassan, and Bactria. In the same manner India or
Hindia (from hin, hon, hinta = lowness, or Hindes, low countries)
must have been a common or appellative name for many countries;
which appellation the ancients extended so far as Arabia and Egypt,
and mentioned sometimes three Indias.
32. “This opinion is confirmed by the splendid accounts of almost
all the historians of antiquity who had mentioned these countries;
and among other Asiatic authors by two Syrian historians,
Abulferagius and Abulfida, in their ‘Dynasties and Annals,’ and
consequently must have been the same central country, whence,
according to Sir William Jones’s opinion, the Chinese, Tartars,
Indians, Persians, Syrians, Arabians, Egyptians, Greeks, Romans,
Gauls, Goths, Germans, and the Sclavonians derived their
civilisation or culture in their arts and sciences. There is also,
according to Niebuhr, existing in the inland countries of Arabia,
an ancient tradition, that they were civilised by a people which
descended from the environs of Samarcund.
33. “In the eastern and north-western parts of Europe there are
many vestiges of the ancient Buddhism and of Sanskrit words among
all the peoples, who but of late (after the time of Charlemagne)
were converted to the Christian faith by means of the sword. But
the most numerous monuments thereof are Sanskrit words used by
Greek and Roman writers in their accounts relating to ancient
Thrace (Rumelia), Macedonia, and the countries on both sides of the
Danube, Servia, Pannonia, and Dacia.
34. “I beg leave to give a few instances of my assertion. Pannonia
is a literal translation of the Sanskrit word ‘sarbiya,’ now
applied to a province on the south side of the Danube, of which
Belgrade is the capital, formerly belonging to Hungary, now [23]
under Turkish dominion. Dacia, or, after Greek orthography, Dakia
(the modern Lower Hungary, Transylvania, Moldavia, Wallachia,
Bessarabia), was probably an appellative name for those countries,
on account of their being abundant in grapes, from the Sanskrit
word ‘dakh’ or ‘dak,’ [24] signifying ‘the grape,’ in the form of
the adjective ‘dakhia,’ or ‘dakia,’ ‘the graped.’ This is confirmed
by other historical facts. Ancient geographers and historians
mention the Agathyrsi (in the same countries probably I enumerated
above). Thyrsus is Bacchus’ rod with the winded vines, and was an
emblem of wine. The great river Dnieper, in the south-western part
of modern Russia, is called by the ancients Borysthenes. This is a
Hungarian name signifying ‘the wine—godded’ (the river being taken
for the country), from ‘bor,’ ‘wine,’ and ‘isten,’ ‘god,’ with the
adjective affix ‘es,’ equivalent to the English ‘ed.’
35. “Among the many names, in different languages, designating
wandering people, as, e.g., Scytha (probably from the Sclavonian:
Skitati, ‘to wander’), Heber, or Eber, Aavor, Bunger (all from the
Hebrew or Arabic, Vandal, &c., there is also a Sanskrit word,
‘Geta,’ signifying walking, going, wandering, the English ‘to go,’
the German ‘gehen,’ are derived probably from the same source). The
Getæ are mentioned and described by ancient writers in Central
Asia, the modern Chinese Tartary, near the Oxus and the Caspian
Sea, the Massagetæ, farther on the north-western shores of the
Black Sea, in Thrace (now Rumelia), on both sides of the Danube.
Hence Ovid, in his banishment at Tomi, near the Black Sea, in
modern Bulgaria, says, ‘Jam didici getice sarmaticeque loqui!’ ‘I
have already learnt to speak the Getic and the Sarmatic
(Sclavonian) languages.’ The modern Indians do not use the word
‘geta’ as a participle noun; they have changed it into ‘jata;’ but
they form the preterite of the same verb, ‘giya,’ regularly from
‘jata’ (the jat tribes in India). Among the attributes of the
Supreme Being, or his representative, the Buddha, the first name is
‘Bhagvan’ (overcomer, a Sanskrit word), the second ‘Tatha-gata,’
walking on the same road, i.e., the ‘Just.’ Both these names also
highly confirm every adopted opinion respecting Buddhism and the
Sanskrit words in Europe. From the frequent mention of the Bhagvan
(God) by the Buddhists, I think bigoted Christians, by way of
contempt, called them Pagans, and the second word, ‘Tathagata,’
confirms the proper signification of ‘geta,’ mentioned above. [25]
36. “We know very little of the Parthians, the rivals of the Romans
for empire through more than four hundred years. But since Justin,
the Roman historian, calls them the banished Scythians (exules
Scytharum), and since, on public monuments and coins, there are
many evidences of their being friends, admirers, and patrons of the
Greeks, we may take them to be the same leading people as the Getæ
in Europe and in Asia. Historians mention several princes of
Parthian dynasty in Asia Minor (Mithridates, in the Greek empire,
at Constantinople, in Macedonia; vide Gibbon’s History). After the
conquest of Macedonia by the Romans, it is probable that the
Parthian chiefs retired towards the Danube to their relatives, and
from animosity and the great hatred they conceived against the
Romans, never afterwards ceased to infest the Roman empire with all
their auxiliaries. Hence Virgil in the Eclogue: ‘Aut Ararim parthus
bibet aut Germania Tigrim.’ If we suppose that Alexander himself
was of Parthian extraction, we can easily explain his successes in
conquering Asia, and the subsisting for so long a time of the
empire of the Greeks in Bœotia.
37. “We must not wonder that in the ancient Greek and Roman authors
we find but slender accounts respecting Pannonia, Dacia, and the
other countries on the Danube. Carthage was before the sight of
Rome, yet very little is known now of its internal state. The Getæ
probably descended successively from Asia (forced by Asiatic
revolutions) towards Assyria and Egypt, on one side, in a very
remote age, called by these people, from their passing the great
rivers Tigris and Euphrates, ‘Heber’ (an appellative name for
wandering people), whence, about the time of Moses, several
principal persons, forced to leave Phœnicia and Egypt, fled to the
islands of Archipelago, Rhodes, Crete, &c.—hence the Pelasgi,—and
on the other side, by Persia, Asia Minor, and so on to Thrace,
Macedonia, and Thessaly. The modern language of Thessaly, and of
some districts in Macedonia, blended with many Latin words, is the
same as that of the Wallachians in Lower Hungary, Transylvania,
Moldavia, Wallachia, and contains many Sanskrit words. It is
totally different from the Hungarian idiom both in words and
structure. There is a peculiarity of that language in the use of
definite articles. For instance, ‘Domnu,’ ‘Dominus’ in Latin, ‘a
lord’ in English; with the affixed definite article ul we have
‘domnul,’ ‘the lord’ in English. The feminine is ‘domna,’ ‘domina’
in Latin; ‘a lady,’ or ‘the lady,’ in English.
38. “In the Hungarian language the definite article a (or az before
words beginning with a vowel, like the Hebrew ha, Arabic el,
English the) is invariably put before every case and number. The
Greek, German, French, Italian, Spanish, &c., languages also have
definite articles put before nouns, but they vary according to the
different genders, cases, and numbers. The Latin, Sclavonic, and
Turkish languages have no distinct signs for the expression of a
definitive or emphatic locution, like the ‘the’ in English. There
are also in the Tibetan, Sanskrit, Indian, Syrian, Wallachian, and
Swedish languages certain signs denoting distinction in gender,
marking a definitive and emphatic locution, but all these languages
have the peculiarity of such particles being affixed to the nouns.
Such affixes in the Tibetan are for masculines, pa, po, va, vo; for
feminine, ma, mo, e.g., philingpa, European man; philingma, a
European woman; rgyelpo, the prince, king; rgyelmo, the princess,
the queen; lavo, the god; lamo, the goddess; zlaba, the moon;
nyima, the sun; contrary, nya-rgyas, full moon. In Sanskrit, deo, a
god; deva, the god; devi, the goddess; raj, a prince, king; raja,
the king; gang, a river; ganga, the river. The sign for such an
affix in the Syrian is the same as in the Sanskrit; for the
Wallachian I refer to the above-mentioned example; for the Swedish
I cannot now cite an example. As in the Indian, Persian, Sanskrit,
the word sived or sifed signifies white, fair. I may conjecture
that the Swedes have taken their name from those Scythian people
who spoke the Sanskrit language (the Getæ) when they mixed with
them in Asia Minor and in the south-eastern parts of Europe, and
passed many centuries together, like the Gauls, Germans, and
Saxons; and it was in that time and in those regions that they all
adopted many Sanskrit words, and that peculiarity mentioned above
respecting the definitive article affix, like the Wallachians and
Syrians, who have taken all these peculiarities in their language
from those Scythians with whom they lived long since and formed a
people under one government.
39. “The ancient Greek and Sclavonic languages, by their structure,
particularly by the use of many particles, and of duals, both in
the declensions of nouns and in the conjugations of verbs, show
sufficiently that they were formed after the ancient Sanskrit.
Those Scythians (Getæ) whose idiom was the Sanskrit, were few in
number, like the Europeans in modern times in America and Asia; but
as they were learned, well disciplined, possessing wealth, and
being expert in warfaring with elephants, chariots (retha in
Sanskrit, reda in Latin), and on horseback, with a few people
displayed wonderful actions, in the same manner as the first
Europeans in America and Asia with their artillery. I return now to
Buddha.
40. “In the same manner as Europeans, Christians formed the word
Pagan from Bhágván (the contemptuous name to design a Buddhist); so
also did the Asiatics, principally the Mohammedans. They call both
the Buddhists and the Hindoos Bud or Budparast, derived from the
noun Buddh, or with the affix a, Buddha, and from the Persian verb
perishten, to worship, which, therefore, signifies a worshipper of
Buddha, and is no contemptuous name by itself. But the Mohammedans
generally use it so by way of contempt, and mean by it an idolater.
41. “There were in ancient times in many countries of Europe and
Asia several representations of Buddha (Oden or Woden of the Goths
and Germans, &c.) by statues; but afterwards, owing to religious
hatred, they were all thrown down by the Christians and the
Mohammedans. There is yet in ancient Bactria, at Bamian, on the
road between Cabool and Balk, a large colossal statue, with two
others of smaller size at a certain distance from the first, hewn
in the mountain-rock. It is very probable this was a representation
of Buddha, or Shakya, with his disciples represented in painting on
both sides of the wall. The painting is in the same style as is
usual amongst Tibetans or amongst the Christians of the Greek
Church, to represent saints, with the radiant or solar circle round
the head. In a vocabulary, entitled ‘Amara Kosha’ (Immortal
Treasure), written by Amara Sinha (Immortal Lion), translated into
Tibetan at Yampu (Katmandú), in Nepaul, there is in a single line a
short and exact explanation in Tibetan of the word ‘Buddha’—‘Buddha
rgad dang mkhas-pa yin;’ literally in English, ‘Buddha, an old and
wise man’ (Buddha, senex sapiens). It was so indeed, as he lived
eighty years, and was a genius of his age; but afterwards, his
moral principles and his doctrine being formed into an ideal system
by his disciples, his followers worshipped him like Christians do
Jesus. That the doctrine of Buddha must have been diffused among
many people, is evident from a similarity of terms in denomination
in many languages of a spiritual head or chief ecclesiastic; thus
‘Buddha’ in Sanskrit, ‘peer’ in Persian, ‘sheik’ in Arabic,
‘presbyter’ in Greek and other European languages. I mention all
these facts to excite the curiosity of the learned to search after
the ancient state of the Buddhists, and to respect a religion which
is founded on the same moral principles with our own, namely, on
the love of all men. I beg leave to communicate here a verse in
four lines, each of seven syllables, containing a moral maxim taken
from the ‘Stangyur.’
“In Tibetan—
“hTams tsad chhos ni mnyan par-bya,
hTos nas rab tu gsung-bya ste:
‘Kang zhig bdak nyid mi hdöd pa,
De dak kzhan la mi baho.’”
“Literally in English—
“Hear ye all this precept, hear,
Having heard do not forget—
‘Whatever I wish not to myself,
I never do it to another.’”
“The Mongols, a great and mighty nation in Central Asia, whose
ancestors were the companions of Gengiz Khan in desolating the
world, since the last four or five centuries, after being converted
to Buddha, are a quiet and religious people, and faithful followers
of Shakya.
42. “Although ignorance and barbarism have destroyed the ancient
favourite seats of learning and civilisation, yet before this had
happened: for the benefit of mankind, many works of learned
men—which so conspicuously contribute in every country to public
happiness, by forming the heart, illuminating the mind, and
exciting to industry—were rescued from the deluge of destruction,
by being transported to Tibet. This was the effect of the conquest
of Persia by the Mohammedans in the year 636 after Christ.
43. “According to M. de Guignes’ account (vide P. Giorgi,
‘Alphabetum Tibetanum,’ p. 417), Fo-a-Xaca (Shakya) was born 1027
years before Christ. A Tibetan annalist, the author of ‘rGyel rabs
gsal-vahi mé-long’ (a clear mirror of royal pedigree), tells us
that it is recorded in the Chinese Great Depter (memoir), called
‘Zhu-Hu-hou,’ that, till the Emperor Thang and his contemporary in
Tibet, [26] there elapsed, since Shakya, 1566 years. Taikún, the
son and successor of Thang, was contemporary of Srongtsan Gambo,
the son and successor of Nami Srongtsan (in Tibet). After the
concurrent testimonies of all historians in Tibet, it was Srongtsan
Gambo who, through his two wives, married from Nepaul and China,
and by the ability of his minister (who was educated in India),
Sembhota (which name was given to him by the Indians, signifying a
good or excellent Tibetan), introduced into Tibet the doctrine of
Buddha or Shakya, and encouraged learning. Mr. Gibbon, in his
History, mentioned the king of Persia, [27] who, after the conquest
of Seleucia, the capital of Persia, 636 after Christ, retired to
the Emperor Katai Taikun, of the Thong dynasty. In the Chinese
history of P. du Halde, Thong commenced a new dynasty about the end
of the sixth century, succeeded by Taikun, his son, who favoured
the Christians. Now, from these data, we can say with certainty
that Srongtsan Gambo (the twenty-fourth in the order of the Tibetan
kings, and who is supposed to have lived in the first century of
our era, according to the ‘Alph. Tib.’ of Giorgi, &c.) reigned in
the seventh century after Christ; consequently there are many
mistakes in the above-mentioned ‘Alphabetum Tibetanum.’ With this
now fixed epoch agree very well both M. de Guignes and the
‘Zhu-Hu-hou,’ already alluded to; consequently, Nami Srongtsan, the
contemporary of Thang, was reigning in Tibet about 539 after
Christ, but it is uncertain how long afterwards he reigned. It is
enough his son and successor, Srongtsan Gambo, succeeding in the
thirteenth year of his age, lived eighty-three years. The sixth
after Srongtsan Gambo, in the ninth century, was Khri Srong déhu
tsan. He favoured learning and learned men, and contributed much to
the establishment of the Buddhistic religion in Tibet.
44. “Many works in the Tibetan volumes end with this wish of the
author or translator (Sahi steng ma nyi-zal ltargyur chik), “Be it
on the earth like the sun and moon.” They were a long time hidden
from the curiosity of Europe, and it is but of late that we have
received some accounts respecting the literary treasures in Tibet.
For an easy and agreeable way to the storehouse of this interesting
ancient literature, we are indebted to the public-spirited zeal and
liberality of Mivang, a regent or king at Lassa, from 1729 till
1746 of the last century. According to his order, whatever time has
spared from the works of antiquity of foreign countries, were
collected, arranged in registers, and printed by types engraved in
wooden tables of birch tree.
45. “The Kahgyur (in 98 volumes, with separate index, every volume
being 2 feet long and 8 inches broad; on each side of the leaves
are seven lines in large capital characters; in every volume, taken
on an average, are more than 300 leaves) was finished in 1731
before Christ, in about fifteen months.
“The Stangyur (consisting of 224 volumes, the whole making 76,409
leaves, having on each side seven lines in somewhat closer and
smaller capital characters than those of the ‘Kahgyur’) was
finished in one year, in 1742 after Christ. There is at the
beginning of each work an index or register (karchak, in Tibetan),
giving a detailed account of the expenses, both in kind and cash,
names of people of every description (more than 3000) who were
employed on the work, and of the gratuities and contributions
towards it, both of secular and ecclesiastical persons of high rank
and wealth.
46. “The wooden typical tables yet in continual use, deposited in
Narthang, a large building or monastery near Teshi Lhunpo, are in
the possession and disposition of Panchen Rin-po chhe, the great
Lama residing at Teshi Lhunpo.
47. “In Derghe, the capital of Kham-yul, or Potchenpo, Great Tibet,
about forty days’ journey eastward from Lassa, there is another
recent and more correct edition of the ‘Kahgyur,’ which, I am
informed, is highly esteemed. Besides these two great works, there
are many other printed volumes written by Tibetan learned men.
48. “There are in the ‘Stangyur,’ on about 18 leaves, passports for
such pious men who desire to visit Kalapsa in Shambhála. The
mentioning of a great desert of twenty days’ journey, and of white
sandy plains on both sides of the Sita (Sihon, Yaxartes), render it
very probable that the Buddhist Jerusalem (I call it so), in the
most ancient times, must have been beyond the Yaxartes, and
probably in the country of the Yugurs.
49. “Kun-dgah Snying-po, the author of the above-mentioned ‘rGyel
rabs gsal-vahi mé-long’ (sec. 43), who wrote in the monastery of
Sa-skya (two days’ journey westwards from Teshi Lhunpo, a very
celebrated place for all sorts of manuscripts), about 800 years
ago, says: ‘We have received from the East, from China (Gya-nak,
the black plain), medicine, astronomy, and astrology; from the
South, from India (Gya-kan, the white plain), orthodox religion;
from the West, from Nepaul and Sokyul, goods and victuals (Sok-po
is the common name in Tibet for Moguls, Kalkas, Kalmucks, &c.);
from the North (from the countries of the Hors and Yugurs), books
of laws and of workmanship.’ All those people in Central Asia who
speak the Turkish language are called in Tibet the Hor; and Gengiz
Khan, according to this and other authors, was of this race.
50. “From the same author, there is another historical work,
entitled ‘Depter Ningpo’ (ancient memoir). I was not able to
procure it, but I am informed it is a very interesting work,
particularly for the history of Gengiz Khan. His apophthegms, from
another work I am acquainted with, are very judicious and elegant.
51. “In the Tibetan books the name of the Yugurs is written
Yoogoor, and their country sometimes is called Yoogera. I could not
learn further any other interesting things on the Yoogoors, except
that in the ‘Stangyur’s’ register is mentioned a small treatise
translated from the Yoogoor language, containing a short account on
the wandering from one country to another of an original statue
representing Shakya, and which is now kept at Lassa, brought
thither from China by Kongcho, the wife of Srongtsan Gambo.
52. “The most ancient Buddha on record, I believe, was the same as
Zoroaster, who, according to an ancient author, lived in about the
same age with Ninus, the great king of Assyria. In support of this
opinion the following æras, being the times in which Shakya is
supposed to have lived, speak for themselves. The first four æras
are, according to the opinions of the most learned men in Tibet and
Nepal, in Srongtsan Gambo’s time, in the seventh century after
Christ. The tenth æra or opinion is that which in modern times has
most authority at Lassa.
53. “In the present year of the Christian æra (1825) the Tibetans
count the nineteenth year (shingmocha) of the fourteenth cycle of
sixty years, which commenced with the new moon in February last.
But this mode of counting years is of very recent date, commenced
about eight hundred years since, and probably was adopted from the
Chinese. As with respect to more ancient times, there is a great
uncertainty in chronology: Padma Karpo, a celebrated Lama in the
Bhutan country of Tibet, in the twenty-sixth year of the tenth
cycle of sixty years, in 1592 after Christ, collected a short
disquisition (now extant, in nicely printed copies of thirty-one
leaves each), containing the different opinions of learned men in
ancient times of Tibet, Nepal, and Kashmere, on the æra of Shakya
or Buddha, the great prophet of the Buddhists. These opinions or
æras were found to be twelve in number, to which he added his own.
54. “According to these thirteen opinions, the numbers of years
which elapsed from the death of Shakya till the author’s time, in
which he wrote, viz., 1592 A.D., and then the total number of years
from Shakya till the present year, 1825 after Christ, would be as
follows:—
The Numbers
Of Opinion. Of years till 1592. Till 1825 after Christ.
1st 4012 4245
2d 3738 3971
3d 3725 3958
4th 3729 3962
5th 2900 3133
6th 2342 2575
7th 2243 2476
8th 2136 2369
9th 2470 2703
10th 2427 2660
11th 2166 2399
12th 2474 2707
13th 2650 2883
55. “Thus I have endeavoured, to the best of my abilities, to give
a summary report of the contents of the Tibetan books and papers in
my possession as Government required from me. Both the Sanskrit and
the Tibetan literature open a wide field before me, for future
speculation on the history of mankind. I possess the same ardour as
I felt at the beginning, when I planned and determined to come to
the East. Should these first rough drafts of my labours, arguments,
and sentiments have the Government’s approbation, I shall be happy
if I can serve them with my ulterior literary researches.”
Notwithstanding the change of circumstances and the great progress
which has been effected in Oriental literature, and especially in the
studies to which Csoma devoted his energies, the above paper, written
though it be in imperfect English, will still command respectful
consideration at the hands of those who take an interest in what Csoma
has done. This is his first important essay on Tibetan learning, then
so little known; many eminent scholars have since followed in the same
direction; Rajendrolála Mitra, one of the greatest living Orientalists,
declares “that no European has studied Tibetan with greater success
than Csoma did;” [28] while Dr. Malan remarks, “Csoma laid down the
foundation, and others merely built upon it.” [29]
CHAPTER IV.
Second journey into Tibet—Csoma’s position as to the Asiatic
Society of Bengal—Return to Sabathú.
The favourable view which the Government had taken of Csoma’s
intentions, and the resolution which followed, that he should be
assisted with a monthly allowance of fifty rupees from the public
treasury, dissipated the heavy clouds of uncertainty which hung so long
over his fate. He was ready to start on his second journey into Tibet,
and actually did so in June 1825.
Mr. Stirling, the Government secretary, in his letter of the 29th of
July, made known to Dr. Wilson of the Asiatic Society the intentions of
Government, by informing him that the Hungarian traveller, Csoma de
Körös, had arrived in the previous November at Sabathú, with a letter
of recommendation from Mr. Moorcroft, and that, as the Government and
the local authorities had become satisfied that the object which he had
in view was the study of the language, literature, and history of
Tibet, he had been granted permission to continue his journey, and
should, moreover, receive pecuniary assistance whilst so engaged.
“In return for this,” says Mr. Stirling, “Mr. de Körös has expressed
his wish to place the results of his literary labours and inquiries at
the disposal of the British Government. It appears the Government
desirable that we should take advantage of this opportunity for
procuring a good grammar and vocabulary of the Tibetan language, and
also translations of some of the historical tracts which Mr. de Körös
states himself to have collected, and the best way of turning his
services to account will obviously be through the medium of the Asiatic
Society.
“I have been directed, therefore, to transmit to you the accompanying
copies of the reports (addressed to Captain Kennedy as above), and to
invite the Society to open a communication with him on the subject of
his present researches. He will also be requested ... to be guided by
any advice and suggestions that may be offered by you.”
Csoma de Körös left Sabathú in June on his second visit to Tibet, and
after a prolonged journey, of which he gives us some details in the
letter below, he settled at the Gonpa or Monastery of Pukdal or
Pukhtar, or rather at the adjoining village of Teesa, in the province
of Zanskar. On leaving Sabathú he passed through Simla and Kotgurh into
the valley of the Sutlej, and was afterwards accompanied by a hill
servant named Padma to his destination.
Csoma’s letter to Captain Kennedy is dated the 16th of October. By
glancing over the map we can trace the direction which he followed in
those hilly tracts. Csoma writes that on this second journey into
Zanskar he was anxious to arrive early at Pukdal for the purpose of
ascertaining whether the Lama was inclined to make an arrangement for
finishing “those elementary works of the Tibetan language for which I
have collected materials during my former residence in this country. I
had promised, so soon as I should reach this place, and have the Lama’s
consent to assist me diligently in my undertaking, to acquaint you with
my circumstances. There have elapsed four months since I recommenced my
journey, and yet I was not able till now to write with certainty. I beg
leave for my tardiness, and shall excuse myself in the following lines
for my negligence.
2. “On leaving Sabathú, on the 6th of June, I was not yet decided
which route of the two I should take, whether that by Kulu or by
Besarh; but being furnished by your kindness with recommendatory
passports for either case, and being informed that in the upper
part of the Besarh there are some villages in which the language is
Tibetan, and that there are also some monasteries,—in hope to find
an intelligent person in that part for my purpose,—I resolved at
Kotgarh to take my journey along the Sutlej by Besarh.
3. “Dr. Gerard had the kindness to give me a note to the officers
in the Court of Besarh Raja, to procure me among the Tibetans in
the upper part of their country, three persons as bearers for my
boxes for a certain pay, and who will come with me to Zanskar. The
officers at Sruan gave me a man with a written order to the
Basuntram at Kanum, to fulfil my desire if possible respecting the
bearers. I found him at Naho, but he could procure me no bearers,
and his letter to the Kharpon at Piti with regard to bearers was of
no use. Hence my slowness in proceeding.
4. “The Basuntram at Naho, on my request, gave me for my companion
an old man, a native of Hang, Padma by name, who from the 26th of
June till now was with me, and to whom for the said time I have
paid besides nourishment twelve rupees. Should it be necessary to
communicate to me any important matter either from Government or
from the Asiatic Society, in that case this Padma of Hang is
willing to return again and to remain with me during the winter.
5. “In the Besarh countries I have no difficulty in travelling, my
boxes being carried for small pay from village to village as
rapidly as I desire. But I found that way to come to Zanskar very
circuitous. The most direct road is that by Kulu and Lahoul, Pukdal
being four days’ journey from the upper part of Lahoul.
6. “On my arrival at Kanum in Upper Besarh, being informed that,
besides other Tibetan books, there are also the ‘Kahgyur’ and
‘Stangyur,’ the printed volumes mentioned by me in my last report
to you, para. 14 and elsewhere, I have inspected them. They are
deposited in an apartment belonging to Balee Ram, whose grandfather
is said to have procured them from Tibet, near Teshi Lhunpo. The
religious persons at Kanam and Sungnam are half Hindus; they detest
and hate the Tibetans on account of their eating beef. In general
they are very ignorant, nor can they speak the Tibetan language
properly.
7. “As I could not procure in that country an intelligent person
for the Tibetan language, nor find those grammatical works which I
lay down for the foundation of my grammar and vocabulary, I left
Besarh to proceed to Zanskar by Piti and Lahoul. In both countries
I was for some time hindered by the rainy weather and the want of
bearers. On my whole journey I have met with no hindrance or
incommodity, except that I could not procure bearers as quickly as
I required them.
8. “I reached Teesa in Zanskar, the village of the Lama, on the
12th of August. He was then absent on some mercantile affairs in
the deserts of Tibet. I looked every day for his return. He arrived
on the 26th of September. Now I have made arrangements with him for
finishing the works I have planned. He has engaged to dwell and
labour with me from the 10th of November till the summer solstice
of next year, in an apartment belonging to his own family.
9. “I have calculated my future expenses. The money which I have
now with me will, I think, be sufficient till my return to Sabathú,
which I propose to do in October next year. And as the Lama, who
wishes to accompany me to that place, to whom I have promised to
pay yet more if he will be diligent in assisting me, I beg you to
give me permission to bring him with me. We will descend from Piti
by the nearest way to Sruan in Besarh.
10. “I remember every day the great obligations laid upon me by the
Government at Calcutta, by Major Willock and his brother, by Mr.
Moorcroft, by yourself, by Dr. Gerard, Adjutant Nicolson, and by
other gentlemen whom I have the honour to know, and to whom I
express, on this occasion also, my humble respects and
acknowledgments. Continue, my dear gentlemen, your benevolence to a
stranger, whose chief care is to merit your favour and to extol
your kindness.”
This communication was transmitted by Captain Kennedy to the Supreme
Government, and is to be found among the records of the Foreign Office
in Calcutta.
The next letter from Csoma is in the possession of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal. It was forwarded, as usual, by Captain Kennedy, who wrote in
very kind terms on this occasion to Dr. Wilson, and also to the
Assistant-Political Agent at Umbála, concerning his protégé, pleading
his cause, and requesting substantial support for him.
Csoma’s letter to the Secretary of the Society is dated the 21st of
August 1826. He gives an important, though not a satisfactory account
of his studies. After acknowledging Dr. Wilson’s communication of the
10th of August 1825, and mentioning some details about himself, he
continues thus:—
“I received the pamphlets, which contained some interesting
articles on the subject on which I am employed. But since they came
too late to me, namely, on the 26th of June, and the man who
brought them was very idle and vagrant, I trusted not to send a
letter by him. I beg leave that I delayed so long to write to you.
“I was not successful after my return to this place as I imagined
on leaving Sabathú that I should be, the Lama being very negligent
in assisting me as I desired.
“He passed but a few months with me, and I could find and employ no
other person able for my purpose. I am still uncertain what will be
the issue of my works, or how far I can bring them, according to my
promises. Should I fail, for the present, in fulfilling in all
respects my engagement, you shall have, I assure you, if not the
whole, at least the grammar, and such views on the language and
literature of Tibet, that will be sufficient to induce future
inquirers to engage in this branch of Asiatic literature.
“I am very much obliged to you for the review of my letters, the
remarks made upon them, and the hints given me. Whatever I found on
the Tibetan language in the Quarterly was very incorrect. I will
not now enumerate the defects. I hope I shall be able to fix a
standard for this curious language, founded on indubitable
authorities.
“I beg leave for tardiness and brevity in writing. After my return
I shall be happy if I can serve you with all my acquirements,” &c.,
&c.
Csoma returned from Pukdal to Sabathú in January 1827, loaded with
literary treasures, but greatly dissatisfied with the result of the
journey. The negligence of his instructor, the Lama, was a cause of
keen disappointment to him, and we may well understand that this
unlooked-for misfortune intensified the mortification of his sensitive
and enthusiastic spirit.
CHAPTER V.
Embarrassing position—Csoma petitions Government to be allowed to
visit Calcutta, or to go to Tibet for three more years to complete
his studies.
Csoma’s arrival at Sabathú from Pukdal was notified by Captain Kennedy
on the 17th January 1827, when he wrote to Dr. Wilson, stating that he
was shown by Csoma “an immense mass of manuscripts and many printed
volumes, and that he appeared to have attained a thorough familiarity
with the language and literature of Tibet. He bids me say,” continues
Captain Kennedy, “that it will afford him pleasure to correspond with
you upon any literary subject you may please to propound to him. He is
in no immediate need of money, having about one hundred and fifty
rupees left out of the five hundred which the Government advanced to
him upwards of two years ago. He declines any attention that I would be
most happy to show him, and he lives in the most retired manner. Out of
nine Tibetan words which you sent to him, printed at Serampore, he says
there are five errors. I shall introduce him to Mr. Stirling when the
Governor-General arrives.”
Immediately after returning to Sabathú, Csoma felt it his duty to
inform Captain Kennedy, for the information of Government, of the
disappointing result of his second visit to Tibet. This he did in a
report, of which the original, bearing the date of the 18th January
1827, is still extant, in the possession of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal. After expressing his acknowledgments for many kindnesses
received at Captain Kennedy’s hands, he writes as follows:—
“Since my former reports [30] addressed to you I have developed the
contents of the Tibetan library works, and have specified some
papers in my possession, and also given a scheme of a grammar, a
vocabulary, and other works which I am about to prepare. Now, I
will not expatiate again on Tibetan literature; I think it
sufficient to state, that I was disappointed in my intentions by
the indolence and negligence of that Lama to whom I returned. I
could not finish my planned works as I had proposed and promised. I
have lost my time and cost. But I have brought now with me many
small printed columns of good authority treating on grammar,
chronology, astronomy, and on moral subjects. I have sufficient
materials for a grammar, and being acquainted with the grammatical
structure of the language, now I am able to prepare the elementary
work, so large as they will require.
“The dictionary is too large: it is yet in pure Tibetan, written by
a good hand in fine capital characters of small size, arranged
alphabetically. I had not yet leisure to add the signification of
each word in English. I can translate the greatest part without
mistake, but for the explanation of many words I must get the
assistance of an intelligent Tibetan. I have also extracts of
chronology, geography, and literary history, written by the Lama
according to my direction.
“From Dr. Wilson’s letter and the Quarterly [31] sent to me I
observe, there is nothing yet known of the Tibetan language and
literature, and they seem also to be not much interested for them.
It is certain that the Tibetan books mentioned in my former reports
have been taken in the seventh century after Christ from India,
especially from Nepal, Central India, Kashmir, and other countries.
They contain both materially and formally (sic) more than the
literature of any country in Asia.
“I will not make any application to Government, as Dr. Wilson
advises me. I am already under heavy obligations to Government and
to some gentlemen. I never meant to take money, under whatever
form, for the editing of my works. I will prepare them to the best
of my ability, and afterwards I wish to convince some qualified
Oriental scholars of the authenticity and correctness of my
communications. And I shall be happy to deliver to your Government
all my papers on Tibetan literature, for the received assistance
from his lordship in Council and from other gentlemen. My honour is
dearer to me than the making, as they say, of my fortune.
“I have resolved not to return again to any part of Tibet, until I
have delivered to the Government my present materials. I humbly
beseech you to have the kindness to take me under your protection
and patronage this year, and be pledge or security before
Government, if it be necessary, for my conduct. I shall endeavour
to be worthy of your patronage.
“I wish to live a retired life till October next, either at this
place or in the neighbourhood, wherever you please to permit me to
reside.”
The tone of this epistle is vividly suggestive of Csoma’s position; he
was disappointed in his instructor and unable to find another in the
Monastery of Pukdal, to render him the requisite assistance. “I have
lost my time and money,” was his complaint, although he did all he
could, and had collected Tibetan books in large numbers, with which,
after an absence of eighteen months, he returned to Sabathú at the
beginning of 1827. He made a truthful report to Captain Kennedy, and
through him to the Asiatic Society. His best and first friend, Mr.
Moorcroft, was already in his grave; the circumstances had altered
since; Csoma found that the Calcutta savants knew little of the Tibetan
language and literature; and he, moreover, suspected that they did not
take any particular interest in these subjects.
This was not an encouraging position for a zealous investigator, and
though he could not blame himself in being unable to fulfil engagements
which he so earnestly strove to accomplish, he felt, nevertheless, that
he could make no further claim for support from Government, and
therefore declined asking for it. He was most desirous, however, to
make over to the authorities his literary collections and the grammar,
which he had already completed, as a slight acknowledgment for the
generous help he received at “His Lordship’s and other private English
gentlemen’s hands.”
The correspondence which passed between the parties concerned, does
credit to all, as indeed does almost every letter which this memoir
contains, bearing testimony to the liberality of Government on the one
hand, or to the merits and deep gratitude of its object on the other.
On the 3d of April, that is, two months and a half after his last
letter, Captain Kennedy wrote to inquire of Dr. Wilson the result of
his communication as to the fate of the Tibetan scholar, his protégé,
and says:—
“Csoma is very anxious to hear from you. I have just introduced him to
Lord Amherst. He proposes to remain here and compile his grammar and
dictionary until next October. I rather suspect that Mr. Csoma’s
finances are at a low ebb, and how we shall be able to approach the
Government for a further grant to him I am not very certain. Perhaps a
letter from the Asiatic Society would be the most proper channel to
solicit a further sanction of a few hundred rupees for him.”
It is evident that a good deal of correspondence had passed between the
Government officers, the Asiatic Society, and Dr. Gerard, as to what
steps should be taken with respect to the further prosecution of
Csoma’s labours; doubtless the question was seriously discussed as to
the advisability of remaining content with what had been already
attained, before sanctioning further expenditure of money, which a
third journey into Tibet must necessarily entail upon the public
treasury.
We find that his friend Dr. Gerard wrote to Csoma asking for copies of
reports he had already furnished to Government. With reference to
these, Csoma wrote to Captain Kennedy on the 5th of May 1827, as
follows:—
1. “Dr. Gerard desired to obtain from me a copy of my former
letters and communications to you, for the purpose of showing them
to Mr. Mackenzie. I am a very bad writer; I could not copy them in
a more proper manner. I thought it my duty to send them direct into
your hands. If it may be your pleasure, I beg you to permit Dr.
Gerard to show them.
2. “I was much perplexed by that gentleman’s letter to me. In my
answer to the stated subjects, I would not enter into the wide
field of speculation as I was directed. My objects of research are
a comprehensive grammar, vocabulary, and an account upon Tibetan
books and learning. The grammar and literary history I can give
whenever I shall be desired to furnish them, and will accompany
them with a short geography and a succinct chronological history of
Tibet, in Tibetan and English. But, as there is yet nothing fixed
with respect to Tibetan orthography, I fear if I should send my
papers, without going myself to Calcutta, they could not make
proper use of them there, and it would give again rise to many
mistakes, which, as I observe in every publication on the Tibetan
language, are now also too much multiplied. The completion of the
vocabulary or dictionary, since I missed my aim on my second return
to Ladak, must be the fruit of some years’ industry.
3. “If, then, there is no objection, I beg you will do me the
favour to obtain for me the Government’s permission to go to
Calcutta next November, for the purpose of communicating my papers;
or, if Government would yet delay my visiting Calcutta, as I
observe from Dr. Wilson’s letter to you: to give me leave for three
years to go to Upper Besarh, where the language is Tibetan, and to
direct the Rajah of Besarh, that I should have leave to read such
of the Tibetan volumes deposited in the Monastery at Kanam, in Bali
Ram’s possession, as I should find interesting for my purpose; and
if Government will please to approve my further application to the
Tibetan, and accept afterwards the results and fruits of my
labours, I beg that you will have the kindness to obtain some
assistance for my necessary expenses.
4. “If neither of my wishes can meet with Government’s approbation,
as uncertainty and fluctuation is the most cruel and oppressive
thing for a feeling heart, I beg you to favour me with the
Government’s resolutions when obtained.”
This was doubtless the most critical point in Csoma’s literary career.
He saw that time was going by, and his work still unfinished, and
withal he felt quite powerless to complete his labours, without further
help and encouragement. Everybody will sympathise when he reads at the
end of his letter forebodings full of uncertainty and apprehension.
CHAPTER VI.
Government orders on Csoma’s last application—Dr. Gerard’s visit to
Kanum, and his letter to Mr. Fraser.
On the 14th of June 1827 Mr. Stirling, Government Secretary, wrote to
Captain Kennedy, commanding at Sabathú, to inform him that “the
Governor-General was pleased to allow Csoma de Körös leave to proceed
to Upper Besarh for a period of three years, for the purpose and on
conditions specified in his letter of the 5th of May, and that his
lordship had given authority to pay that gentleman fifty rupees a month
for his support, and perhaps enable him to purchase Tibetan
manuscripts.” The same was notified in the Government Gazette of the
10th of September following, with the remark that “these objects are
the more desirable, as we understand Mr. de Körös considers the recent
labours of Klaproth and Rémusat, with regard to the language and
literature of Tibet, as altogether erroneous.” “Monsieur Rémusat,
indeed,” proceeds the article, “admits the imperfections of his
materials, but Klaproth pronounces ex cathedrâ, and treats the notion
of any successful study of Tibetan, by the English in India, with
ineffable contempt.”
We know not exactly the date on which Csoma left Sabathú, when he set
out on his third journey into Tibet, for we find him always most
reticent in everything that concerned merely his own person. The
permission of Government to spend three more years in Upper Besarh,
doubtless lessened the heavy load from his anxious mind. He travelled
presumably viâ Simla to Kotgarh, and thence along the valley of the
Sutlej to the Monastery of Kanum. At this place he was visited by his
devoted friend, Dr. Gerard, whose graphic pen has placed on record a
most interesting episode in Csoma’s life.
Dr. Gerard, of the Bengal Medical Service, was travelling in the
Himalayan countries, for the purpose of introducing vaccination there,
with the humane object of putting a stop to the ravages of smallpox,
which usually caused such devastation among the scantily peopled
districts of the highlands. In this beneficent errand he was
efficiently seconded by the presence of the Hungarian traveller at
Kanum, and of his teacher, the learned Lama, to whose kindly influence
Dr. Gerard pays a warm tribute. Dr. Gerard addressed his interesting
report to Mr. W. Fraser, Agent to the Governor-General, and Revenue
Commissioner of Delhi. Chiefly upon the few extracts of this report, is
based what is at present known, of the details of Csoma’s industry and
wonderful perseverance in the Buddhist monasteries, which, as we know,
are situated in most inhospitable regions. The Government Gazette of
the 9th of July 1829, gives some interesting extracts from Gerard’s
paper, but the document is of such importance to the memory of the
subject of this biography, that we do not hesitate to give a place for
it here in extenso. It alludes also to the hardships and privations
Csoma suffered at the Monastery of Yangla, in Zanskar, in 1827,
“privations such as have been seldom endured;” and gives some other
details of Dr. Gerard’s own journey, which are worthy of being rescued
from oblivion. A copy of the document has been obtained from the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, and bears date, Sabathú, 21st January 1829:—
“Having lately returned from a tour through Kunawar, where I saw
Mr. Csoma, in the midst of his studies, I imagine I shall not be
tiring you by some account of his requirements, and the progress he
has made with his literary works. He has lost none of his ardour in
that secluded region, and the deeper he penetrates into those mines
of learning by which he is surrounded, he finds himself impelled to
further research; but I have to regret the circumstances which
afforded me so short a time to profit by his conversation. Besides
this interesting interview, my present journey has likewise been
remarkable for some new discoveries, which have in a degree proved
a consoling recompense for the sacrifices it entailed and my
disappointment in the chief object that urged me to visit a country
I had so frequently traversed. I have returned to Sabathú amply
gratified, only to look towards the period when I may myself meet
with better success; in the meantime, I should hope that my notice
of Mr. Csoma’s labours would be satisfactory to those who have
already interested themselves in his behalf, and that any facts
connected with his researches, or that have come to my own view in
the course of my travels, would be sufficiently strong to awaken
curiosity towards a field of such varied resources, and ultimately
to details alike interesting and beneficial. If the physical
character of those mighty regions is likely to receive illustration
by specimens of organic remains, productions, &c., I should not
consider myself unremunerated for the exertions I have made for an
object which may still prove but an illusory advantage; and though
I have been extremely anxious to make another journey, under the
prospects which the Chinese have tantalised me to rely upon, in an
invitation next season to Lake Mansarowur, I shall be unwilling to
attempt it except I receive some little encouragement in the
prosecution of objects which, if not of actual public benefit, are
at least of public interest.
“The presence of Mr. Csoma in Kunawar and his learned associate the
Lama opens a field to my view, which no exertions on my part could
give me a hope of approaching. The example and influence of such a
man as the Lama, who is so much respected in those regions for his
learning and wisdom, could not fail to advance my object of
utility, especially vaccination, as he himself offered to try the
experiment, could it have been effected under favourable
circumstances; and should the Chinese invite me to their country,
Mr. Csoma’s literary pursuits will eventually derive a more
extended solicitude, through the medium of a friendship established
upon philanthropy.
“In this tour I have made a very curious collection of fossil
shells (Ichthyolites), ammonites, and other petrifactions, which
are chiefly valuable from the vast elevation at which they
occurred, and from having myself found them in situ. I observed
nothing very remarkable upon the nether side, except the cholera at
Chepaul, in Joobul, at a height of almost 8000 feet, in spite of
those theorists who would have restricted it to a lower limit, and
a deodar 29½ feet in girth, and this is surely a prodigy in nature
peculiar to those mountains. I never beheld such a sight as this
enormous trunk, springing up like a mound to the height of almost
200 feet. The barometer afforded me the only practicable means of
ascertaining this, and I imagine there are no others in such
situations except to cut the tree down. On the northern frontiers
of Kunawar I obtained an elevation of 20,000 feet without closing
snow, and beheld, if not China itself, its frontier,—a scene of
desolation and grandeur beyond my power to describe, for here
language altogether fails. The country continued peaked, arid, and
free from snow, yet every point had an altitude above my own level.
The thermometer stood at 27°, but I was scorched by the sun’s rays.
“I now turn to the Hungarian, who is far from the least remarkable
of the many objects which have passed before me in this journey,
and on whose account chiefly I trouble you with so long a letter. I
found him at the village of Kanum, in his small but romantic
hamlet, surrounded by books, and in the best health. He had not
forgotten his reception at Sabathú, and was eager to manifest a
feeling springing from gratitude. A year and more had passed since
we met, and he seemed glad and proud to show me the fruits of his
labours. He has been most persevering and successful, and were not
his mind entirely absorbed in his studies, he would find a strong
check to his exertions in the climate, situated as he is and has
been for four months. The cold is very intense, and all last winter
he sat at his desk wrapped up in woollens from head to foot, and
from morning to night, without an interval of recreation or warmth,
except that of his frugal meals, which are one universal routine of
greasy tea; but the winters at Kanum dwindle to insignificance
compared with the severity of those at the monastery of Yangla,
[32] where Mr. Csoma passed a whole year. At that spot he, the
Lama, and an attendant, were circumscribed in an apartment nine
feet square for three or four months; they durst not stir out, the
ground being covered with snow, and the temperature below the zero
of the scale. There he sat, enveloped in a sheep-skin cloak, with
his arms folded, and in this situation he read from morning till
evening without fire, or light after dusk, the ground to sleep
upon, and the bare walls of the building for protection against the
rigours of the climate.
“The cold was so intense as to make it a task of severity to
extricate the hands from their fleecy resort to turn over the
pages. Some idea may be formed of the climate of Zanskar from the
fact, that on the day of the summer solstice, a fall of snow
covered the ground; and so early as the 10th September following,
when the crops were yet uncut, the soil was again sheeted in snow;
such is the horrid aspect of the country and its eternal winter.
“I have mentioned the above as a proof of the assiduity of Mr.
Csoma, who collected and arranged 40,000 words of the Tibetan
language in a situation that would have driven most men to despair.
He has already nearly completed the Dictionary, and the Vocabulary
is far advanced, and both, as well as I may venture to judge,
exhibit singular industry and research. He told me with vivacity
that he has acquired a sufficient knowledge of Tibetan, to enable
him to accomplish his objects, even should he be deprived of the
Lama’s services by sickness or other causes. He (the Lama) has,
however, engaged to remain for two years longer, and from his great
erudition, being acquainted with the refined and court languages,
and learned in history: his resources will long prove an
acquisition to Mr. Csoma. He exhibits a singular union of learning,
modesty, and greasy habits; and Mr. Csoma in this last respect vies
with his learned companion, which is not very strange in such a
country. The Lama is a man of vast acquirements, strangely
disguised under modest confidence of superiority, the mildest and
most unassuming address, and a countenance seldom disturbed by a
smile. His learning has not made him bigoted or self-sufficient,
but it is singularly contrasted with his person and appearance,
which are humble and dignified and greasy. Mr. Csoma himself
appears like one of the sages of antiquity, living in the most
frugal manner, and taking no interest in any object around him,
except his literary avocations, which, however, embrace the
religions of the countries around him. He showed me his labours
with lively satisfaction. He has read through 44 volumes of one of
the Tibetan works, and he finds unceasing interest in their
contents. He seems highly pleased with the prospects of unfolding
to the world those vast mines of literary riches, and I should say
that he is flattered by his own ability to illustrate the objects
which daily come to his view, but I am almost afraid to risk making
known, from mere recollection, the attainments he has already
arrived at, and the discoveries he has made, because he is so
scrupulously tenacious of correctness in everything relating to and
said of him, and carries his high feeling and independence to a
degree which may be the custom of his country, but I am inclined to
consider a fault in one so situated. In his conversation and
expressions he is frequently disconsolate, and betrays it in
involuntary sentiment, as if he thought himself forlorn and
neglected. He can form no idea of the spirit in which Government
will receive his works, and almost fears they may not be considered
with that indulgence which is due to his research. Yet he told me,
with melancholy emphasis, that on his delivering up the Grammar and
Dictionary of the Tibetan language, and other illustrations of the
literature of that country, he would be the happiest man on earth,
AND COULD DIE WITH PLEASURE ON REDEEMING HIS PLEDGE. He showed me
with great animation a printed work upon poesy, in which he pointed
out the original of a translation from the Mahabharut, written in a
number of the Oriental Quarterly; a great part of that work (the
Sanskrit edition) is supposed to be lost, and the discovery of Mr.
Csoma in the Tibetan books leads to the conclusion, that the whole
of the Mahabharut may yet be preserved in the monasteries of that
country, which seem to have afforded an asylum to literature at a
very early period, even before its retrogression in India. In a
small pocket abridgment of (I think Robertson’s) ‘India,’ Mr. Csoma
showed me an extract of a poem from the Sanskrit, at the same time
holding in his hands the original passage in the Tibetan. [33] The
systems of philosophy contained in those immense compilations he
says are very numerous, and he thinks will astonish the learned in
Europe; some of them are sublime in conception. I was naturally
anxious to know the contents of the books of medicine, of which
there are five volumes, and characters of 400 diseases he had
collected and arranged. They treat copiously on physiology; and, in
fact, there is no knowing yet what they do not contain. In his
brief memoir to Government, [34] the five volumes upon medicine
were alluded to, but in Mr. Wilson’s observations on that paper
they are not noticed, at which Mr. Csoma seems disappointed, and
has strangely concluded that his assertion was discredited, but
consoles himself with the prospect of disclosing many facts even
much more unexpected. The Lama has informed him that at Teshi
Lhunpo the anatomy of the human body is represented in wooden cuts
or prints (for I forget which) in so many different attitudes. He
also observes, that the art of lithography has long prevailed in
that city and at Lassa, where learning has flourished from a very
remote period.
“Mr. Csoma’s objects embrace a wide expanse, of which he justly
considers a grammar and dictionary of the language they relate to,
as the first desideratum, and none of the specimens of words which
he has occasionally gleaned from books, or those sent to him by Mr.
Wilson, are correct in orthography. The works in which Mr. Csoma is
now engaged will only form a prelude to their further extension and
copiousness, and they cannot, I should imagine, fail to excite
interest towards that end; but, poor man, his means are limited,
and far from adequate to accomplish the vast objects which his mind
surveys. The Lama receives twenty-five rupees a month, a servant
costs him four, his house-rent one, and writing materials consume a
proportion which leaves him less than twenty rupees to provide the
necessaries of life, which in that remote and secluded region are
very expensive, and must frequently be supplied from Sabathú, or
from a distance of two hundred miles. He lives in the most
economical manner; his resources would compel him to this if his
inclination did not. He enjoys the best of health, perhaps in
consequence; for though residing at a spot abounding with grapes,
apricots, and many other fruits, he assured me he had this season
abstained from everything of the sort from a prudent conviction
that they could not make him happier, and might injure him. His
chief and almost only meal is tea, in the Tartar fashion, which is
indeed more like soup, the butter and salt mixed in its preparation
leaving no flavour of tea. It is a repast at once greasy and
nourishing, and being easily made, is very convenient in such a
country.
“Mr. Csoma’s hamlet is at the extreme upper limit of the village of
Kanum, at an absolute elevation of 9500 feet. Around him are the
romantic abodes of monks, whose religious ceremonies, their pious
incantations, &c., have a singular affinity to Romish customs.
Below is the monastery, containing the Encyclopædia, but it is also
converted into what seems a more substantial purpose with the
people, for on my return to Kanum in the beginning of November I
found it filled with grapes, and about thirty whole sheep hung up
for winter consumption, yet poor Mr. Csoma can hardly afford to
taste even a piece of one. The climate here, though warm in summer,
is singularly dry, and to this circumstance more than temperature
is owing the preservation of animal food for months. There are
several convents at this village, but the exactions are far from
rigorous, and Mr. Csoma told me, with an air of derision, that many
of the nuns became mothers, and in fact enter the convents if they
cannot get married or do better; their choice is therefore a
prudential measure when they are liable to fare worse: there is
much sense though no merit in this. Mr. Csoma showed me some
improvements he had made to his cottage; one was a fireplace, which
has cost him twelve rupees, and here I could not help feeling with
sympathy the value of such a sum to a man, whose whole earthly
happiness consists in being merely able to live and devote himself
to mankind, with no other reward than a just appreciation and
honest fame, while I was at the same time daily and no doubt
foolishly expending more than enough to give comfort and effect to
a mind so noble; feeling, as I did, how little he wanted for
himself and how little I valued that which to him provided food for
body and mind. Two rustic benches and a couple of ruder chairs are
all the furniture in his small abode; but the place looks
comfortable and the volumes of the Tibetan works, the ‘Kahgyur’ and
‘Stangyur,’ his manuscripts, and papers are neatly piled up around
him. Had Mr. Csoma greater pecuniary resources, he would invite
learned men from Teshi Lhunpo, Lassa, and with their assistance
study the Mongol language, which he considers the key to Chinese
literature. There are many valuable works in the libraries of those
ancient cities which are likely never to become an acquisition to
our knowledge but through the labours of such a genius as Mr.
Csoma. His great aim and unceasing anxiety is to get access to
Mongolia and make himself acquainted with the language and people
of that strange and very ancient country. The study of dialects to
him is no labour, grounded as he is in a perfect knowledge of
classical literature and more or less familiar with the structure
of every spoken language; but he wants books to revive his early
impressions. With a knowledge of the Mongols, their literature,
history, and customs, his hopes of new discoveries would never
cease to occupy his mind, and on the completion of his present
studies he will direct his views to those higher objects.
“Though residing within the British dominions in a country where
the inhabitants are morally good, nevertheless Mr. Csoma has to
combat against several irksome restraints. The bigotry of the Lamas
attached to the monastery, arising from their ignorance of their
own faith and of the contents of their beautifully printed works,
is a source of much disquietude; while the Wuzeers of the Besarh
frontier (Hindoos), under whose care the building is placed, having
themselves little interest in an institution which emanates from a
region where the cow is killed and eaten, but still keeping up the
mummery and superstitious reverence of regard, and protecting and
in some degree respecting the house of learning, are very
intolerant. Mr. Csoma, it is true, has access to the works in the
monastery, but this is not without some suspicious vigilance on the
part of both Lamas and Hindoos, who allow but two or three volumes
to leave the monastery at a time, while his labours require
simultaneous resolution, and wound that self-esteem and independent
feeling with which he used so frequently to provoke us at Sabathú.
His motives are no doubt the best, but they are too refined for
society, and certainly would not be always tolerated with patience,
especially amongst strangers. He still refuses every offer of
assistance, and will not accept of the most trifling article,
though in a situation which ought not to admit of such ceremonious
policy. I imagined that the late English papers would afford him
amusement, but after a few days, he desired me not to send them,
adding, that he would not throw himself open to the imputation of
suspicion by attending to anything but that which he had pledged
himself to prosecute; he then with great emphasis revived his old
and strange ideas of his having been taken for a spy, treated at
Sabathú as a fool, caressed and ridiculed at the same time, adding,
with much self-complacency, that the world would soon see what he
was. The same singular feeling regulates his conduct on every
occasion. He is jealous of the least suspicion, even of his habits
of life. I asked him if he ever used the spirits made from the
grape (which are nearly as good as Scotch whisky). He told me that
on one occasion of sickness he had procured a little, but
afterwards, conceiving that the people of the country might give
him the repute of drinking instead of studying, he resolved never
again to touch spirits.
“On leaving Kanum, I thought I might venture to ask his acceptance
of a cloak which was well adapted for so cold a climate. I sent him
also some rice and sugar, but he returned the whole, and out of his
scanty resources sent me sixteen rupees to purchase a few articles
at Sabathú, which I have despatched since my arrival. All this is
no doubt commendable, but I cannot think it very wise. Yet though
thus extremely tenacious of his own independence, Mr. Csoma would
accept of assistance only from a public source, because he seems
confident of his ability to return a remunerating advantage; but to
private individuals he says he has nothing to give. The only things
he would receive from me on his first arrival at Sabathú were a few
books to read, and the first he asked for, was the Bible, as best
calculated to revive his English, which he had studied
grammatically on getting here. This he read through in eight days,
and on his journey from Zanskar he accepted of a Latin Dictionary,
and on my late tour I left with him a Greek Lexicon. These last are
useful to his present studies. He is greatly in want of books of
reference, and particularly anxious to see some of the numbers of
the Oriental Quarterly Magazine relating to his avocations, two
having been sent to him by Mr. Wilson, which from their
inaccuracies and references to other numbers excited his curiosity
to see more. He would be glad to see some authors on ancient
Geography, such as Quintus Curtius, Ptolemy, Diodorus Siculus, and
Pliny. Mr. Csoma’s researches are not merely confined to the
compilation of the Grammar and Dictionary of the Tibetan language;
they embrace many objects of remote ages, illustrative of ancient
geography and history, to which the old authors would contribute
identity and explanation. He has collected from the printed works
and manuscripts in the possession of the Lama much curious
information on the geographical and physical features of Tibet.
Those records treat fully, and, I should say, sensibly, of the
route and sources of rivers, remarkable mountains, mines,
statistics, religions, creeds and institutions, chronology and
historical events. For instance, Lake Mansarowur has always been
considered by Eastern geographers as the central source of the
great rivers of India, Brahmapootra, Gogra, Sutlej, and Indus, and
the highest table-level there, because the waters are thrown off in
every direction from that point; but our over-scrupulous
exactitude, in literally deriving those rivers from the same lake
because the Hindoos had assigned a common origin to them, has led
us to tax their ancient traditions with vagueness, incorrectness,
and falsehood. Mansarowur being the reputed or even veritable
source of these rivers, was a mere figurative position: it was also
celebrated on account of Kylas, the throne of Mahadeo, which spires
up from that lofty base in the form of a cone, sheeted in snow, and
is, without a doubt, the highest point of the earth’s surface. The
Hindoos knew as well as we did, that two rivers in so rugged a
country could not flow out of the same lake in opposite directions,
but there is no question about the proximate conjunction of the
whole four. We have yet to learn the Tibetan accounts, and as they
promise to be free of much of the theological tincture of the
Hindoos, we have still before us an unexplored field of interesting
prospects.
“Mr. Csoma is anxious that some British officer who has studied
Sanskrit, should make himself also acquainted with Tibetan, as he
says they would give reciprocal light to each other, and to a just
estimation of the value of the latter language. He himself, though
ardent in his researches, is at the same time careful and cautious
in his deductions, though these may appear extravagant to others
who have no access to the sources of his knowledge, and on this
account he is reserved and diffident in communicating all he has
acquired; but he only wants encouragement to give full effect to
his varied and comprehensive resources. He is deeply sensible of
the liberality of Government towards him; but at the same time
feels his own ability to make a suitable return. For my own part, I
should say that the works he is now engaged in (if justly
appreciated) will far exceed in actual value and ulterior
importance the support he has received from our Government for
their accomplishment, though without it he might certainly still
have remained in obscurity; and with such men as Mr. Wilson, Mr.
MʻKenzie, and Mr. Stirling—all of whom are acquainted with his
situation and objects,—I can anticipate nothing but a reward worthy
of the individual, and he looks to the future with no small degree
of concern. He wants but the means of subsistence, and has only to
speak for himself to gain sympathy and respect; but he is poor,
humbly clad, and reserved, unless stimulated to animation by some
temporary interest; and to see him, as I have seen him, wrapped in
sheep-skin, and measuring his wants by his means, one would little
suppose him to be the man destined under good fortune to perform
the great works he has now in progress. Nothing pleases him so much
as to appear interested in his conversation; but he has evidently
not been accustomed to the society of the world, and from not
knowing the idiom of the English language, he often puts a
misconstruction upon words, and breaks forth into singular and
dignified irritation at times; he is full of vivacity, but this is
often interrupted by the anxiety most natural to him, and he lapses
into gloom without a visible cause. When he spoke of his want of
books, he remarked that these were few and easily supplied, but
that they had not been considered. He particularly dwelt upon the
resources of the Asiatic Society—forgetting, however, that he had
never solicited their aid. He is too diffident to appeal in his own
behalf, and too independent to seek the means through the hands of
others. When I offered to make known his situation and the progress
he had made with his literary works, he thanked me, and perhaps
felt more than he wished to express, though in doing so I but do
justice to merit in one so situate; and being myself almost the
only person who has visited his sequestered retreat, and knowing
what is expected from him, any observations may be satisfactory;
and I can only add that, if means could be devised to increase his
small allowance even to 100 rupees a month, it would be liberality
well conferred, and must eventually be well repaid. Mr. Csoma has
no selfish gratification; the tribute of honest fame is his only
ambition. There are no doubt many in India who would afford him the
aid he requires; he peremptorily refuses to accept of anything, but
from a public and recognised source. I cannot myself venture to
seek the aid of the Asiatic Society in behalf of so bright an
object of their patronage, but I should hope that the merits of so
highly-gifted and modest an individual will not be long unnoticed.
Mr. Csoma will give a most satisfactory explanation of his views,
but he would like to be addressed by some one either on the part of
the Asiatic Society or Government. He would be flattered and
stimulated by such a recognition. The Society, in supporting such a
man, would receive their fullest reward in his contributions of
literary knowledge of the highest order, and belonging to countries
which are yet only known to us as vast terra incognita both in
regard to physical configuration, mankind, and learning, and Mr.
Csoma would in his turn derive his best gratification from his
alliance with an institution so highly established.
“As I was residing in the Monastery at Kanum, I took an opportunity
of getting access to the Tibetan Encyclopædia, by stepping in
behind the officiating Lama when he came to worship. On discovering
me he made some civil remonstrance, and then allowed me to stand
behind the door when he slowly opened the folding leaves of the
library, and in the interval I stepped up and looked over his
shoulders. The works, being distinct, are arranged in separate
places. These resemble large chests or cisterns, standing on end,
and partitioned into cells, each containing a volume, which is
carefully wrapped within many folds, laced with cord, and bound
tightly between boards of cypress or cedar. The ‘Kahgyur’ is a work
of morality, and is, in fact, the Bible, and consists, I believe,
of 104 folio volumes, each containing from 500 to 700 pages, all
beautifully printed from wooden types. The ‘Stangyur’ is more
copious, comprising 240 volumes, and treats upon arts and science.
Five volumes are devoted to medicine; the others comprehend
astronomy, astrology, rhetoric, poesy, philosophy, history, and a
vast variety of subjects. Some of the volumes were opened before
me, and I gazed with a sort of reverential feeling upon such
gigantic compilations yet unfolded to the world, and thought of the
humble individual in the hamlet who was occupied in illustrating
their unexplored contents. It is rather singular that those works
should be found planted in a Hindoo village, or, at least,
established amongst people who are not alienated from Hindoo
tenets, though tinctured with Buddhist principles; but poor
Moorcroft mentions, in his tour to Mansarowur, having seen a
greater number of Hindoo images in the Tartar village of Dala, than
he ever recollected meeting with before in India, at any one spot.
The contrast is, however, great, though there is both identity and
unity in their divinity and chief duties, for Mr. Csoma affirms
that the Tibetan faith, both in precept and practice, approaches
nearer to the Christian religion than that of any Asiatic nation
whatever. The Tibetan works appear to have been very widely
disseminated throughout that country, and we may safely ascribe
this multiplicity of books to the facility which the art of
printing afforded. We find fragments and manuscripts of great
antiquity scattered about and deposited in situations which are now
almost deserted by man. At the village of Skuno, which lay in my
route, and is planted upon the eastern frontier of Kunawur, near
the confines of China, at a height of 12,000 feet, is a labrung or
monastery, a melancholy record of better times. Here the traveller
beholds files of printed papers full of learning, bound up in
cypress boards, as if shut for the last time. I had a Chinese
interpreter with me, who dipped into one of the books and read some
passages relating to science. I could not but gaze with wonder and
reverence upon those relics of learning now no longer useful, but
as dead records: nobody turns over the fine pages of those ancient
and extraordinary works, upon which time has made but little
change, and in so cold and arid a climate will remain when the
temple itself falls to ruin, and this is going on gradually; but
two hundred years have effected little decay. The type of the
printing is very beautiful, and looks fresh; bound as they are
closely together, in an atmosphere without insects or moisture, in
a climate rude even in summer, they seem calculated to defy time
itself. In former days those books were read and people attended
here at prayers, but now there is nothing left of what has once
been. The masters are gone for ever, but the temple and books stand
still, like the pyramids, pointing to times which have no other
record. I was much tempted to commit sacrilege here, and steal away
some of the scientific volumes, but I had not a good opportunity.
“The edition of the ‘Kahgyur’ and ‘Stangyur’ at Kanum was sent from
Teshi Lhunpo only about nine years ago; the printing bears a date
of ninety years, yet the ink and type look as perfect and fresh as
ever. No insects attack them, though the climate here is varying in
summer. The book-cases being made of cedar are indestructible. The
fact of printing in Tibet, however curious, can no longer be
questioned, for I myself have brought down a specimen of it from
Sungnam. The types are not movable, but cut in wooden frames, which
must be productive of great labour and bulkiness, if used to any
extent; but I suspected that at Teshi Lhunpo and Lassa the types
are alphabetical, and like our own are movable. Should this not be
the case, the only other substitute instead of frames would be
lithography, which is known to prevail there; but Mr. Csoma says
that the art of printing dates a little posterior to the era which
discovered it in Europe. There are no images in the temple at
Kanum, and worship seems to be performed out of pure respect for
the house of learning. Kanum is the only spot of Kunawur which
possesses those works entire.
“We find indeed detached volumes and piles of papers in many of the
other villages, as Sungnam, Skuno, and Nissung; and in Piti, in
Ladak, where those works are sheltered, beautiful paintings and
casts as large as life adorn the monasteries, leaving us wondering
at the origin and antiquity of such remains in regions wild in
aspect and sterile in production. Additional interest is thrown
over those mighty scenes of the Himalayas in the curious fact,
which has recently come to my knowledge, of the discovery in an
obscure spot of Kunawur of a relic of the Romish missionaries’ work
on Tibet, the Speculum Veritatis, bearing a date of 1678. This
curious record was picked up by the Rev. Mr. W., whom I met with in
my travels, and then little thought that so precious a fragment
would have found its way into his hands, judging from an
observation on first meeting him on the northern face of the
Himalaya. The fragment of literature acquired by Mr. W. (which I
suspect is part of Andrada’s mission) has been sent to Mr. Csoma
for elucidation, and I expect soon to hear of its contents.
“In all this, I have only been able to trace a margin of a new and
gigantic map; we must look to the central plateau of Tartary for
that knowledge which we have seen indicated elsewhere, and a
grander field as regards natural aspect and configuration could not
be selected, an aspect barren, it is true, but interesting from the
grandeur of its barrenness, and concealing under its rugged and
forbidding features, resources the most varied and estimable to
science, literature, and art. To speak of those positive advantages
in respect of climate and production even within our territory:
such is the aridity of the interior of Kunawar that the roots of
the rheum palmatum, which I dug up from amidst patches of snow on
the slope of the pass in the Himalayan chain in the end of June,
were already dry and pulverisable the following month, and moist
opium received from Kotgarh in July became brittle and fit to be
powdered in August, while in Calcutta this is impracticable in the
driest season without the aid of adventitious heat.
“It was now the end of September, and the climate was highly
agreeable, the grapes being already ripe. Here, at an elevation of
nine thousand feet, the vine finds a temperature congenial to its
perfect maturity; but it is to the summer heat of those spots that
its successful culture is indebted, since in winter reigns a keen
and protracted frost, and the snow falls from four to five feet
deep, lying in the fields till April. The vines are left
unprotected, and remain buried under their congealed clothing.
Fruits of various kinds, as apples, apricots, and nectarines, come
to high perfection in a climate free from periodical rains and
exposed to intense solar radiation. Thus a region which produces
the finest grapes if in insolated exposure, or lying on the Indian
aspect of Himalaya, will hardly yield a crop of grain, owing to the
want of a stronger ephemeral heat. For the same reason grain
succeeds in the valley of the Sutlej, and in spots within the
Chinese dominions, at elevations which, on the southern side of the
Himalayas, are loaded with ice; but the winters of the interior, on
the other hand, teem with rigours which we can form but little idea
of. It is true, the sky is mostly clear, and the sun’s rays at the
loftiest spots are sufficient to keep the people, or rather one
side of them, warm in the dead of winter. During my stay at Kanum
the extremes of the thermometer were 33° to 77°; but when I
returned, only one month later, I found them 30° and 52°, and snow
had fallen. So sudden is the vicissitude in an atmosphere deriving
its heat from solar radiation. I left a thermometer with Mr. Csoma,
being desirous of ascertaining the winter climate of the spot which
rears the vine so abundantly. But Mr. Csoma has little or no
interest in anything beyond his literary studies, and I was often
provoked at his indifference to objects calculated to illustrate
the physical character of the countries he resides in and add to
the value of his own pursuits.
“He has promised to keep a register of the temperature for me.
“On the 30th of September I took leave of the Hungarian and his
intelligent companion the Lama.”
Csoma’s aversion to occupy himself with anything outside the range of
his studies has been noticed already; but to please his friend Dr.
Gerard he was induced to make meteorological observations, and did
furnish valuable records from Kanum, extending over a period of two
years. These came ultimately into General Cunningham’s hands, and were
embodied by him into his own work on “Ladak,” at page 184.
CHAPTER VII.
Csoma completes his Tibetan studies at Kanum; Correspondence with
Dr. Wilson, Captain Kennedy, and Mr. B. H. Hodgson.
The perusal of Dr. Gerard’s almost forgotten letter gives a vivid
picture of the strange surroundings in the midst of which Csoma was
placed whilst studying at the Buddhist Monastery among the Himalayan
Mountains. In the truthfulness of the description, Gerard’s pen
surpasses almost the fancies of imagination. The devoted student spent
four winter seasons exposed to the rigorous climates of Yangla and
Kanum in the pursuit, not of imaginary theories, as has been so often
stated of him, but in the fulfilment of engagements which he undertook
for the Government.
“He is frequently disconsolate, and betrays it in involuntary
sentiment, as if he thought himself forlorn and neglected.... He told
me with melancholy emphasis,” continues Dr. Gerard, “that on his
delivering up the Grammar and Dictionary to the Government, he would be
the happiest man on earth, and could die with pleasure on redeeming his
pledge.”
Dr. Gerard has given expression in another place of the deep interest
he felt for Csoma’s studies and in his personal concerns. On the 22d of
January he wrote a private letter also to Mr. Fraser; a fragment only
of it is extant, in the Library of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta.
Even this fragment, however, is worth preserving, as it relates to
Moorcroft’s papers, and shows the attempts made and the anxiety
displayed by the Government to recover them after his death, and also
bears witness to the confidence felt in the ability and in the spirit
of enterprise of the Hungarian traveller, when there were thoughts of
entrusting him with the mission to Andkhoi in Bokhara, where Moorcroft
died.
This is the fragment, dated Sabathú, 22d of January 1829:—
“My dear Fraser,—Since my return from Kunawar I often thought that I
might be doing a service to the Hungarian traveller by just making
known a few facts connected with his pursuits and situation in that
sequestered region. I am anxious enough to believe that I shall not be
imposing a tax on your patience, and I am sure I shall not be deceived
in anticipating your views and estimation of an object so deserving of
encouragement. It is natural in me to interest myself in Mr. Csoma’s
welfare, since I was the first who received him at Sabathú, and I am
now the last who has seen him amongst his researches, and on this
account I perhaps have the best knowledge of his situation and the
objects that can be obtained.
“In sending you the accompanying remarks, [35] I have a conviction that
your own high and liberal mind may suggest some means calculated to
bring Mr. Csoma into notice, for where merit is the appeal, I need not
stay to consider the effect with you. I have a strong idea that Sir
Charles Metcalfe would not be an unmoved spectator of zeal and talent
so remarkable as that which characterises the individual who is now
devoting himself to researches so interesting amidst the rigours of
climate and the restraints of poverty. Sir Charles took sufficient
interest in him from Moorcroft’s fate, when he forwarded my application
to go to Ladak, for the purpose of requesting the Hungarian to
undertake the trip for the recovery of his papers, to excite me to rely
upon one so generous. And I am an” —— The fragment ends here.
What splendid testimony is this to the confidence which was reposed in
the unselfishness and ready self-sacrifice of the Hungarian scholar,
who at that time was engaged in his studies at the Monastery of Pukdal!
Moorcroft’s papers had been secured, before Csoma was made aware of the
important project regarding himself.
William Moorcroft, the ill-fated traveller whose name is so intimately
connected with the Hungarian philologist, was director of the
Government studs in India. Attached to the cavalry, he arrived in
Bengal in 1808, and was soon afterwards selected for employment as
Government Agent in Western Asia; during his journey he suffered much
hardship, and was more than once in danger of his life. In 1819 he
started on a fresh expedition, accompanied by his relative, George
Trebeck, and visited the Panjáb, Kashmir, Tibet, and Bokhara. Having
faced many obstacles and escaped imminent perils, he was seized with
fever and died on the 27th August 1825. His tomb is at Andkhoi in
Bokhara, to which place he went for the purpose of buying horses for
Government. Moorcroft’s diary was arranged and edited in two volumes by
Dr. H. H. Wilson, under the title, “Travels in the Himalayan Provinces,
by William Moorcroft and George Trebeck, in 1819–1825. London, 1841.”
At page 338 of vol. i. is described the first meeting between Moorcroft
and the Hungarian traveller in the valley of Dras in Ladak.
Gerard’s friendly pleading for Csoma was not without effect. We find
extracts from his letter cited in the Government Gazette of 9th July
1829, with the following prefatory remarks:—
“The extracts read from Dr. Gerard’s paper respecting the labours of
Mr. Csoma de Körös were of a most interesting nature, not only as
giving a vivid idea of the admirable, we may say heroic devotion, of
that singularly disinterested and enterprising person to the cause of
literature, in spite of difficulties that would confound a less
determined spirit, but as referring to depositories of learning, which
for ages have been confined to a peculiar people, of whose language and
institutions but little is known to Europeans, but which, through the
fortunate instrumentality of Mr. Csoma de Körös and his learned
associate the Lama, it is hoped, will not long remain a fountain sealed
to the literary world.”
In the same article occurs a paragraph which shows the ultimate aim of
Csoma as to his researches:
“In the libraries of the ancient cities of Teshi Lhunpo and Lassa there
are said to be many valuable works, which the world is likely to become
acquainted with only through the instrumentality of such a genius as
Mr. Csoma. He is very anxious to get to the country of the Mongols, and
make every possible research into the history and institutions of that
ancient people.”
The Council of the Asiatic Society of Bengal resolved to grant Csoma a
monthly allowance, equal to that he was receiving already from
Government. This step was due to the exertions of Sir Charles Metcalfe,
Mr. Simon Fraser, Mr. Calder, Mr. Mackenzie, and Captain Stacy, all of
whom strongly urged that Csoma should be more liberally provided for
while studying at Kanum. Captain Stacy, in a letter dated 3d May 1829,
to the address of Dr. Wilson, says: “Csoma expends very little upon
himself; he dresses in the coarse blanket of the country, and eats with
the natives.”
There is no doubt, therefore, that Csoma had to suffer many privations,
but he never uttered a word of complaint on that account; what affected
him deeply, however, was the thought of his being neglected and
forgotten in the far-off monastery. We know, however, that such was not
the case. A stranger and foreigner could never wish to find warmer
friends than Csoma found in Captain Kennedy and Dr. Gerard. The former
was always a faithful exponent of his wishes before Government and
private friends, and Dr. Gerard’s letters testify to the sincere
interest he took in him. Dr. Wilson, on behalf of the Asiatic Society,
wrote on the 15th July 1829, informing Csoma of the Society’s
resolution as to the increase of his stipend, part of which was at once
forwarded to him through Captain Kennedy. Dr. Wilson added, “I have
been also instructed to procure for you such books as you may think
serviceable to your inquiries.”
Csoma’s character showed traits of a quiet melancholy and desponding
tendency. The following original letter, the paper of which is already
much damaged by age, shows with what anxieties his mind was beset; but,
when his isolated position is considered, and the other depressing
circumstances under which he lived, nobody will feel surprise at them.
This letter of Csoma’s to the secretary of the Asiatic Society, is
dated 21st August 1829 [36] from Kanum, and reads as follows:—
“I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, together with a
draft, dated Calcutta, 15th July 1829, which reached me this day. I
feel much obliged to the Asiatic Society for the interest they have
been pleased to take with respect to my literary inquiries in Tibet,
and for the kind resolution they came to in granting me 50 rupees a
month for my support. But since I found their resolution to be of very
indefinite character, which leaves me for the future as uncertain as I
ever was, since my first study of the Tibetan, and since I cannot
employ with advantage the offered money during the short period I have
still to stay here: I beg leave for declining to accept the offered
allowance and of returning the draft.
“In 1823, in April, when I was in Kashmir, in the beginning of my
engagement with the late Mr. Moorcroft, being destitute of books, Mr.
Moorcroft, on my behalf, had requested you to send me certain necessary
works. I have never received any. I was neglected for six years. Now,
under such circumstances and prospects, I shall want no books. If not
prevented by some unforeseen event, next year I shall be ready with my
papers. Then, if you please, you shall see what I have done and what I
could yet do.
“If the Asiatic Society will then earnestly be desirous to get further
information respecting Tibetan literature both in India and Tibet, I
shall be happy to enter into an engagement with them or with the
Government on proper terms.”
Reasons were especially given for his refusing to accept the Society’s
proffered aid, but it was nevertheless considered by Csoma’s
well-wishers a mistake to push his spirit of independence so far. This
disapproval may be guessed at from Captain Kennedy’s letter also,
addressed to Dr. Wilson. It should be borne in mind, however, on the
other hand, that Csoma was not aware of the steps taken on his behalf,
and the endeavour made by his friends to improve his position was
entirely unknown to him at Kanum. No doubt Csoma need not have held so
tenaciously to his ideas of independence; such policy was of no
advantage to either of the parties concerned.
Captain Kennedy, on forwarding Csoma’s last letter of refusal, writes
to the secretary of the Asiatic Society on the 3d of September 1829:
“I am disposed to think that, on a better acquaintance with Mr. Csoma,
you will find him a most eccentric character. He is enthusiastic in the
object of forming a grammar and lexicon of the Tibetan language, and
appears anxious to avoid the society and attentions of Europeans,
chiefly, in my opinion, to retain the incognito he lives in at the
Monastery of Kanum in Upper Besarh. He is a man of most sanguine,
hasty, and suspicious disposition. I have left no act undone to
accommodate and to meet his wishes, and I think that he feels grateful
to me; but on some occasions he has received my advances, to be
obliging, with a meanness not to be accounted for. There can be no
doubt but that he is a man of eminent talents, possessing a most
retentive memory, and apparently much versed on subjects of general
literature. He considers himself acting under a solemn pledge to
Government to furnish the grammar and lexicon by the end of the ensuing
year, at which period he proposes to proceed to Calcutta to superintend
their publication. His wants are few, and I am informed his expenses on
diet, &c., are of the most moderate description, in fact, not more than
of one of the inhabitants of the village in which he resides.
“Should you wish to have any further communications with Mr. Csoma, I
shall be most happy to be the medium of it; and I beg you will command
my best services whenever there may be occasion for them.”
Csoma’s studies among the Buddhist monks were now drawing towards
completion. On the 26th March 1830, Csoma applied for permission from
Government to remain at Kanum till after the rainy season should cease.
Captain Kennedy notified this request to the Resident at Delhi on the
9th of June, asking at the same time for a grant to Csoma of a sum, by
way of travelling expenses, to enable him to visit Calcutta, and to
take his Tibetan books and manuscripts with him. Captain Kennedy
observes, in the course of his letter:
“I deem it my duty to mention that Mr. Csoma’s conduct has been
exemplary during the three years he has resided within the protected
British territory, and, as I have reason to believe, he has achieved
the object he had in view by visiting these states, of forming a
grammar and lexicon of the Tibetan language. I beg to submit for your
consideration, and eventually for that of Government, the propriety of
advancing this learned and enterprising individual a small sum of money
to enable him to reach Calcutta, the amount of which I do not apprehend
would exceed 500 rupees.”
This was sanctioned on the recommendation of the Resident at Delhi,
dated 14th June 1829.
Two more original letters in Csoma’s handwriting are extant, written by
him at Kanum, and addressed to Mr. B. H. Hodgson, resident at Katmandú,
in answer to certain questions which that gentleman addressed to Csoma.
These documents also are now in the possession of the Hungarian Academy
of Sciences. They were generously presented by Mr. Hodgson in 1882,
with a request for them to be preserved among the relics of the late
Tibetan scholar, in the archives at Budapest. These letters refer to
questions of much scientific interest at the period when they were
written, and throw light upon the history of Buddhistic literature,
when Hodgson and Csoma were fellow-labourers in the same field of
Oriental learning. They have not been published before, and deserve,
therefore, to find a place in this biography.
The first letter is dated 30th December 1829, and reads thus:
“Sir,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of the volume you have favoured
me with, which reached me on the 21st instant. I feel much obliged for
the kindness you have done me, in making me acquainted with the names
and contents of so many valuable works you have brought to public
notice, and with many other things respecting Buddhism in Nepal. Since
you desired me that I should make any remarks on the twelfth article of
the volume, I beg you will kindly accept of some observations I take
the liberty to make on the subject. And I beg to have me excused for my
not having been more particular, as perhaps you had expected from me;
my circumstances have not permitted me to do otherwise.
2. “(With reference to p. 410, &c.) Tibetan words, if written properly,
are very distinct for the eye, but very confused for the ear, as they
are generally uttered. In the whole of Tibet there is but one mode of
writing, with respect to orthography; there are several ways of
pronunciation, according to the several distant provinces. Hence that
great discrepancy in the catalogues of Tibetan words furnished by
several Europeans. There are to be found in Tibet several examples of
alphabets used anciently in India. The late Mr. Moorcroft had sent to
Calcutta a copy of the same set that have been exhibited in the plates.
The Lantsa letters and their skeletons (that have been likewise
represented on the same plate) are used sometimes by the Tibetans now
too for inscriptions. They generally use their own characters, either
the capital or the small. Their literature in general is contained in
books written in any of these two. When one is acquainted with the
principles of the Tibetan language, he can read easily both.
3. “Many of the works enumerated, pp. 424, 427, 431, are to be found
also in the Tibetan translations. Since I shall give the names or
titles of all the several works contained both in the Kah-gyur and the
Stan-gyur divisions of the Tibetan collection, I thought not necessary
to specify those now I have found in the mentioned pages. The Lalita
Vistára, as has been observed on page 424, is in Tibet also one of the
chief authorities for the life and history of the Shakya. Likewise, in
Tibet, too, the Buddha Scriptures are of the same twelve kinds as have
been described on p. 426, the twelve Tibetan names being exactly
translated from Sanskrit.
4. “In general the whole information given of Buddhism, of the
character of Buddhistic works, and the lists of the Tathagatas, is
mostly in the same tenor or spirit as it is taken in Tibet. During my
reading of the Tibetan volumes, I have met frequently with these and
other fancied Buddhas, Bodhisatwas, &c. At the beginning of some
lectures, it is sometimes too tedious to read over all the names of
such supposed hearers. And it is especially at this occasion, that the
author of the Sútras terribly mixes divine and human things together.
The Buddhas, Bodhisatwas, and many other pretended divinities, good and
evil spirits, are, in general, fancied or metaphysical beings, which in
the Buddhistic Pantheon have been multiplied to an incredible number.
It is impossible, therefore, and unnecessary too, to labour to describe
them with any precision. Their names, epithets, or attributes being
taken sometimes in a general, sometimes in a particular sense, many
times as symbolical names, or as so many models of virtue, vice, mercy,
wisdom, power, &c. Since the Buddhistic works consist not merely of
wild metaphysical speculations, but contain several volumes of
practical topics also, we should be acquainted with the whole, and
judge accordingly. When Europeans shall have been acquainted with the
practical part of the Buddhistic doctrine, with the language of Tibet,
and with the several useful popular works it contains, then I think
they will excuse them in some degree for the extravagance in the
dogmatical part of their religion.
5. “(With respect to p. 434.) According to the testimony of several
Tibetan writers, the Tibetans have derived their religion and
literature in general from India, commencing about the middle of the
seventh century after Christ, and have formed their alphabet in
imitation of the Devanagari letters. Several Tibetan scholars resided
for many years in India, and became well acquainted with the Sanskrit
literature of the Buddhists of that country. Learned pandits were
invited many times to Tibet to assist the Tibetans in the translation
of the Sanskrit works. Many translations have been made in concert, and
according to certain plans. By these means they have wonderfully
improved and enriched the Tibetan language. They have formed, with a
few exceptions, words for the expression of everything that occurred in
Sanskrit. Now the Tibetan language, if well understood, may be
consulted with advantage for the explanation of many technical terms in
the whole complicated system of the Buddhistic doctrine, there being
extant several collections of Sanskrit and Tibetan words and phrases
for this purpose.
6. “(With respect to the 422d page.) The doctrine taught by Shakya,
according to many Tibetan authorities, was collected at three different
times after his death. It was first collected immediately after his
decease, by three of his principal disciples, whose names are
mentioned. The second collection was made one hundred and ten years
after the death of Shakya, in the time of the King Ashoka or Asoka. The
third in the time of Kaniska, the king, four hundred years after the
death of Shakya, when the followers of Buddha had separated themselves
into eighteen different classes or sects. After that time, it is
probable the Buddhistic doctrine in India itself has undergone several
modifications, and the more so in the countries into which it was
afterwards propagated. It was commenced to be introduced into Tibet in
the seventh century after Christ, was very flourishing in the ninth, it
was greatly persecuted and almost suppressed in the beginning of the
tenth, it was again firmly re-established in the eleventh century. What
progress it made afterwards in Tibet and in the Mongol countries, there
are many historical documents thereof extant in the Tibetan books.
7. “Thus I have endeavoured to express my sentiments, with respect to
some pages of the twelfth article of the volume, without touching the
topics of higher speculation.
“I beg you will kindly excuse me for any defect. I shall do all in my
power, in my further studies, to merit the continuance of your favour.
I have the honour to remain, with much respect,” &c.
The second letter, dated 29th April 1830, is an answer to Mr. Hodgson’s
strictures on subjects contained in Csoma’s preceding communication. We
find in what follows another proof of the writer’s diffidence and
modesty, which Mr. Torrens so forcibly points out as “the surprising
trait of Csoma’s character.” In this letter Csoma postpones his full
reply to a more favourable opportunity, because, he adds, “I know not
how to write Sanskrit and Tibetan words in Roman characters,” and that
he was “unacquainted with the Sanskrit,” nor had he the “command of the
English language.”
“Sir,—I beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of the pamphlet, together
with your letter of the 15th of February last, which reached this place
on the 14th instant. I am much obliged for your kindness.
2. “I have seen with much satisfaction the great coincidence of the
Buddhistic faith in Nepal with that of Tibet. The figures on the Plates
I., II., IV., the list of the Buddha Scriptures on p. 4, &c., and the
whole sketch of Buddhism, exhibit a wonderful agreement, with a few
exceptions. Since I am unacquainted with Sanskrit, neither know I how
to write the Sanskrit and Tibetan in Roman characters to be
intelligible, nor have I the command of the English language, I beg you
will kindly excuse me for my not having entered upon particulars on the
subject. I shall find opportunity, perhaps, hereafter to supply the
defect of my present communication.
3. “I beg you will pardon me; I have never said that the Tibetans have
only one alphabet of their own. If you will inspect the second
paragraph of my former letter to you, you will find that I have stated
there, ‘In the whole of Tibet there is but one mode of writing, with
respect to orthography, &c.’ But since you seem to have been offended
at my expression, I beg now to state: out of the four alphabets printed
opposite page 418 of the volume formerly sent to me, the three first
are Tibetan, called capital, small, and running hand; the fourth, or
Lantsa (Lanja), is of India, but used sometimes in Tibet too for
inscriptions in Sanskrit. And the infinite variety of letters given
opposite to page 420 of the volume referred to are not Tibetan, neither
are used by Tibetans, but belong to different parts of India, whence
they were brought to Tibet in ancient times.
4. “The six predecessors of Shakya, occasionally mentioned in the
Tibetan volumes too, I think are imaginary Buddhas, like those one
thousand others (among whom Shakya also is described with his
predecessors) that are to appear hereafter, and that are particularly
in the Bhadra Kalpika, the first volume of the Door Sútra class of the
‘Kah-gyur.’
5. “Buddhism was unknown in Tibet till the seventh century of our era.
It was derived from India. The Buddhistic doctrine is contained now in
Tibet in many hundred volumes. It is no easy task to ascertain how many
books or treatises were borrowed from Sanskrit, and how many are
original. It would require a perfect knowledge both of the Sanskrit and
the Tibetan languages. The volumes of the ‘Kahgyur’ are generally
attributed to Shakya; those of the ‘Stan-gyur’ to some fancied
Bodhisatwas and to several Indian pandits. Besides these, there are
many composed in Tibet in imitation of the former. I beg you will
kindly excuse me for my defect in answering to the desired points.”
CHAPTER VIII.
Csoma arrives in Calcutta—Resolution of Government of India as
to the publication of his works—Was elected Honorary Member of
Asiatic Society.
Csoma’s long-cherished desire of visiting Calcutta was at last realised
in April 1831. He remained at Kanum till the commencement of the
previous cold weather. After arrival at Sabathú, the Government having
supplied him with funds for the journey, he was enabled to take with
him, to the Presidency, the manuscripts and books which he had so
eagerly collected. On 5th of May he reported himself to Mr. Swinton,
the Secretary to Government, and placed all the literary treasures in
his possession at the disposal of the authorities.
Dr. Wilson at the same time reminded the members of the Council of the
Asiatic Society, in a memo, dated 21st May 1831, that they were under a
promise to Csoma to grant him 50 rupees a month from the 15th of April
1830 to date, which sum, however, he refused to accept. But the
Government sanctioned 100 rupees a month, on condition that Csoma would
prepare a catalogue raisonné of the Tibetan works Mr. Hodgson had
forwarded from Nepal.
A letter from Dr. Wilson to the Secretary of Government refers to the
arrangements which had been made with regard to Csoma. It bears the
date 15th July 1831, and states that the Society were willing to avail
themselves of Csoma’s services for two years, on the salary which the
Government had already sanctioned to him.
Eighteen months after the date of the above, Dr. Wilson wrote another
letter, announcing to Government the completion of Csoma’s works for
the press, and suggesting, at the same time, how they should be dealt
with.
On the 26th of December 1832, Dr. Wilson writes that, besides the
Dictionary and the Grammar, a translation of a Tibetan vocabulary,
containing “a summary of the Buddha system,” [37] was ready for
publication and at the disposal of Government, “to whom the author
considered his works to belong, in return for the patronage it had been
pleased to afford him. Should it be the pleasure of Government to
defray the cost of publication, which has been estimated at from 3000
to 4000 rupees, Mr. Csoma will be happy to conduct them through the
press in Calcutta; or he is willing, should the Government think
proper, to send them, through me, to England, where, perhaps, the
Honourable Court of Directors or some literary association may
undertake their publication.”
Dr. Wilson was preparing to leave India, and he was ready to take
charge of the manuscripts, with a view to their being published in
Europe.
The following was the resolution of the Government as to the
publication of the Grammar and Dictionary, and this finally decided the
hitherto pending question. The order was, that the works should be
printed in Calcutta at the expense of Government, which had certainly
the very great advantage of the author’s immediate supervision whilst
issuing from the press.
The Government Secretary’s letter to Dr. Wilson is dated the 27th of
December; it alludes to circumstances of some interest, and pays a
deserved tribute to his remarkable merits as a man of science, on the
eve of his departure for Europe.
“The Vice-President in Council is disposed to think it most desirable
that the Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary prepared by A. Csoma de Körös
should be published in Calcutta, at the cost of the Government, India
being the most appropriate place for the publication, and the
Government being the only party likely to incur the expense.
“I am instructed to observe,” continues Mr. Swinton, “that the
Government is sensible of the advantage which would be derived from
your taking charge of these works and superintending their publication
in England, if it were proposed to transmit them for that purpose; and
recognises in your offer the same disinterested zeal which has ever
distinguished your devotion to the advancement of literature.
“The Vice-President in Council has perused with much gratification the
report of the meritorious labours of Mr. Csoma.”
In January 1833, Dr. Wilson, having spent many years in the study of
Oriental literature, left Calcutta for England, to devote the remainder
of his days to the same cause, as Professor of Sanskrit in the
University of Oxford. Other and more worthy pens have done justice to
the brilliant talents and meritorious accomplishments of Horace Hayman
Wilson. A grateful remembrance of him is due also from the biographer
of Körösi Csoma Sándor, for the interest he took, when in Calcutta, in
the Hungarian traveller, and for his kindness afterwards in publishing
a biographical sketch of him in the “Journal of the Royal Asiatic
Society” in 1834. The sketch, so far as it went, has hitherto served as
the basis of all notices of Csoma’s earlier life.
Dr. Wilson was succeeded by Mr. James Prinsep as Secretary to the
Asiatic Society of Bengal, who considered it as one of his most
important duties to urge that Csoma’s works should be pushed through
the press as rapidly as possible. Mr. Prinsep’s letter on the subject
is dated the 30th of January, and is addressed to the Secretary of the
Government, giving full details as to expenses connected with the
publication, and mentioning other arrangements also. Mr. Prinsep,
writing in the name of the Asiatic Society, “trusts that the Government
regard Csoma’s labours of national interest.”
“Previous to the departure of Dr. H. H. Wilson for England, that
gentleman placed in my hands a copy of the letter which he addressed to
the Government on the 26th ultimo, relative to the Tibetan manuscripts
of Mr. Csoma de Körös, and your reply of the 27th of the same month,
conveying the sentiments of the Honourable the Vice-President in
Council upon the best mode of publishing them, in order that I might
submit the whole to the Asiatic Society, to whom the responsibility and
honour of superintending the publication of Mr. Csoma’s Tibetan Grammar
and Dictionary naturally devolves: upon the determination of the
Government in favour of printing the work in this country, in lieu of
committing it to the care of Dr. Wilson for publication in Europe.
2. “The President and Committee of Papers of the Asiatic Society now
direct me to report, for the consideration of the Honourable the
Vice-President in Council, that they have made the requisite inquiries
as to the probable expense of printing the manuscripts in Calcutta, and
they are happy to assure his Honour in Council, that the cost will be
trifling compared with the importance of the work to literature, and
considering the necessity of preparing an entirely new fount of type in
a character as complicated, from the number and form of its compounds,
as the Sanskrita itself.
3. “Mr. Pearce, of the Baptist Mission Press, states that the Grammar
and Dictionary together may be comprised in one neat quarto volume of
about 600 pages in typography and 32 in lithography. Supposing the work
to be included within these limits, and 500 copies to be struck off, he
engages to execute it at the rate of 8 rupees per page, or about 5000
rupees for the whole, exclusive of all extra charge for the new fount
of type. The expenses per copy, on superfine English paper, will thus
be about 10 rupees, besides a trifle more, say one rupee, for binding.
4. “Mr. Csoma de Körös has expressed to the Society his entire
readiness to undertake the superintendence and correction of the press,
provided the work be commenced immediately, so as not to detain him in
Calcutta much beyond the current year. On the part of the Society I beg
also to tender my own services, in inspecting and correcting the
English portion of the volume, and in otherwise co-operating with Mr.
Csoma, to the utmost, in expediting the appearance of the volume.
5. “The Asiatic Society’s funds, owing to the recent untoward pressure
in commercial affairs, are not in a condition to enable it to bear the
whole, or even any part, of the expense of publication, however
desirous it would have been to do so under other circumstances; but the
Society trusts that the Honourable the Vice-President in Council will
regard the matter as one of national interest, and will coincide with
itself in thinking that the support already given to Mr. Csoma, while
prosecuting his studies, will have been misapplied, unless followed up
by the immediate diffusion of the knowledge gained through his
unwearied labours, and now so honourably tendered by him to the nation
from whom he first received assistance, although the learned of his own
and of other countries of Europe would do much to induce him to
transfer its possession to them.”
The only reward which Csoma ever looked for was an appreciation of his
labours by his contemporaries and posterity. The esteem which he had
won, even at that time, from his fellow-labourers, will be best
understood when we look at the opinion of the Council of the Asiatic
Society, given previous to his election as an Honorary member of that
Society. That opinion is thus recorded in the Minutes of the
Proceedings of the meeting held on the 30th January 1834:—
“Mr. Alexander Csoma de Körös was proposed as an Honorary Member by
Mr. Trevelyan, seconded by Mr. Prinsep.
“The nomination was referred to the Committee of Papers.
“Remarks by Mr. Prinsep.—The Committee of Papers are aware of Mr.
Csoma’s qualifications as a Tibetan, Sanskrit, and general
linguist, and I need say nothing in recommending him to the honour
proposed to be conferred on him further, unless it be to remind the
members that he has spent the last two years in preparing
catalogues, translations, and superintending the printing of his
Dictionary, without accepting any remuneration from the Society or
the Government.
“By Rev. Dr. W. H. Mill.—I heartily concur in this nomination, as
strictly due to the extraordinary merits of M. De Körös.
“By Dr. A. Wallich.—I am most happy in concurring entirely with the
sentiments expressed by the Secretary and by Dr. Mill.
(Signed) “C. T. Metcalfe, B.S. Sen, R. W. Forbes, C. E. Trevelyan,
J. Tytler, John Franks, C. Crozier.”
It is unnecessary to add that Csoma was unanimously elected Honorary
member of the Society, on the 6th of February 1834.
The individual opinions of his fellow-labourers recorded here testify
to the sincere appreciation entertained of his merits, and doubtless
Csoma felt great satisfaction at the honour thus conferred on him. He
probably thought of the lines which he once wrote for his friend, Szabó
de Borgáta, when a fellow-student at Göttingen:
“A viro laudato laudari pulchrum est,” &c.
Beyond this solitary honour Csoma declined all others which the
Societies of Europe and Asia sought to confer on him. He cannot,
however, deny himself the title, so says a writer, “of an indefatigable
student, a profound linguist, and of a man who devoted his life to the
cause of learning, regardless of any of its popular and attractive
rewards, and anxious only for the approbation of posterity.” [38]
CHAPTER IX.
The Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary are published at Government
expense—Mr. Prinsep’s letter to Government—Prince Eszterházy to Mr.
Prinsep—Mr. Döbrentei of Pest to the same.
Csoma’s principal effort was now directed towards the issuing of his
Grammar and Dictionary from the press. This was finally accomplished in
January 1834, and the fact was notified to Mr. Macnaughtan, the
Secretary to Government, on the 5th of that month by Mr. Prinsep giving
a detailed account of all the circumstances connected with these works.
In that letter is found a summary of the pecuniary aid which the author
had received from the Indian Government for the previous fourteen
years, that is, since the 14th of October 1820, when, on his arrival at
Teheran, Csoma applied to Major, afterwards Sir Henry Willock, for help
and protection. This the recipient gratefully acknowledges in the
Preface to the Tibetan Dictionary. The flattering distinction which
Csoma had just obtained from the Asiatic Society by being elected an
Honorary member, was doubtless highly gratifying to such highly
sensitive feelings as his; but his systematic silence and reserve in
regard to everything that concerned himself deprive us of the
opportunity of being partakers of such pleasures as occasionally
cheered his toilsome career. We miss also many details of events and
incidents such as always constitute an attractive charm in a
biographical sketch like the present.
The above-mentioned letter of Mr. Prinsep’s, announcing to Government
the completion of Csoma’s works, reflects honour, not only on the
achievements of the indefatigable scholar, but also on the authorities
for their long-continued generosity. It likewise does credit to Mr.
Prinsep himself from the graphic description his report contains of the
various details and of the difficulties that had to be overcome.
“I have the honour to report,” says Mr. Prinsep, “that the work
sanctioned by Government has been completed, and beg to forward a
copy for the inspection, and I trust approbation, of the
Governor-General.
“The original estimate supposed that both the Dictionary and the
Grammar might occupy 600 pages, which Mr. Pearce of the Baptist
Mission Press undertook to print at 8 rupees per page, casting a
new fount of type for the purpose.
“It will be seen by the bill that the actual expense of printing
has fallen within that sum, the number of pages being 588, and the
cost Rs.4985, As.4. There is, however, a separate charge for
lithographing 40 pages of alphabetical matter, which it was found
indispensable to execute in this manner, to furnish a proper model
of the Tibetan characters, which were not very well formed in the
Serampore fount, whence the types were cast for the body of the
work. Mr. Tassin (as will be seen by his note) has charged 32
rupees per page for drawing and printing, which, for 500 copies of
each, appears very reasonable, the cost of striking off being one
half of the amount.
“The whole cost of the two volumes, therefore, including stitching
and covering the copies, has been Rs.6412, As.4, for which, if it
meet with the sanction of his Lordship in Council, I have to
request an assignment on the Treasury.
“From the delay of constructing new type, and the repeated
corrections which were required to ensure accuracy in the Tibetan
portion of the text, the time occupied in passing the work through
the press has been prolonged to two years, in lieu of one, as
stipulated by the author. Mr. Csoma has, however, with unwearied
patience and application, devoted himself, to the revision of the
proofs through this lengthened period, and he is now rewarded with
the satisfaction of seeing his labours ushered to the world in so
creditable a manner, only through the liberal patronage of
Government. He has expressed his acknowledgments publicly, in the
preface to both volumes, but his extreme modesty will neither
permit him to address his patrons in his own name, nor will it
permit me, while writing on his behalf, to indulge in any eulogium
on his learning and accuracy. He is contented to leave the merits
of his Dictionary and Grammar to be appreciated by the learned and
by posterity.
“I must, however, venture to break the silence he would enjoin, for
the purpose of representing the pecuniary situation of Mr. Csoma,
and the claims which he has hitherto allowed to lie dormant.
“The Right Honourable the Governor-General in Council was pleased
to authorise an allowance of 50 rupees a month to the Hungarian
student in June 1827 for the prosecution of his Tibetan researches.
On his arrival in Calcutta this allowance was increased [39] to 100
rupees, with an anticipation of its continuance at that rate for
two years, after which a report was to be made of the progress of
his labours.
“With exception, however, of the first two months (July and
August), Mr. Csoma has never drawn any part of this allowance, and
he has continued to live upon the slender savings he had previously
to that date lodged with the treasurer of the Asiatic Society,
which are now in consequence nearly exhausted.
“It may, perhaps, be known to Government that Prince Eszterházy and
some Hungarian Nobles remitted a donation of £142 through the
Secretary of the Austrian Legation in London, the Baron Neumann,
to Mr. Csoma in 1832. This money was unfortunately lodged by my
predecessor in Messrs. Alexander & Co.’s house, [40] and was
consequently lost by their failure. Mr. Csoma has frequently
alluded to this loss, with an apparent impression that the honour
of the British nation is concerned in replacing this sum, intrusted
as it was to its care by a foreign power for a specific object: not
that he himself had contemplated applying for it to his own
support, this he had from the first refused, but that he desired to
expend it in purchasing Sanskrit manuscripts for the learned
institutions of his country, and otherwise prosecuting the
researches he would now pursue relatively to the connection of the
Hungarian with the ancient languages of India.
“It would therefore be more agreeable to Mr. Csoma to receive a
part of the remuneration to which he is now entitled in the shape
of a compensation for the loss sustained by the failure of his
agents. Of any further receipt of money he expresses indifference,
and he protests that he will remit whatever sum may be granted him
direct to Hungary to found scholarships, &c. Still I imagine the
Government will not allow the peculiar sentiments of the
meritorious scholar to interfere with his just expectations,
although the form of donation may be varied to make it more
acceptable to him. I beg leave, therefore, to recommend that the
former rate of salary, 50 rupees a month, should be made good up to
the 31st December 1834,—
Rupees.
Being 3 years 4 months at 50 rupees 2000
And that the sum lost by the failure be replaced, viz. 1400
------
Making a total of 3400
which is little more than would have been granted by the 100 rupees
salary for two years and a reduction afterwards to 50 rupees.
“I venture humbly to make these suggestions, leaving the Government
to determine as to their propriety, and as to the continuance of
its patronage to Mr. Csoma during the travels he now projects into
Tirhut, Nepal, and Ladak for the further prosecution of his
studies, particularly in the Sanskrit literature of the ninth and
tenth centuries. The very moderate scale of his habits and wants
cannot be placed in a more conspicuous point of view, than by
summing up the money upon which he has lived during the last
fourteen years. The marginal statement [41] shows that in this
period he has received 4226 rupees, of which he has expended 4000
rupees, being little more than 20 rupees per mensem for food,
travelling, clothes, and wages of servants and pandits, while in
Tibet.
“The Dictionary and Grammar now submitted form but a small part of
the works Mr. Csoma has executed while in Calcutta. A catalogue and
analysis of the voluminous manuscripts received from Mr. B. H.
Hodgson of Nepal, and a valuable and most extensive polyglot
vocabulary [42] (of which M. Rémusat attempted a small portion in
Paris from Chinese works), and several minor translations are
deposited with the Asiatic Society. The vocabulary would merit well
to be printed, but the expense would be considerable, and the
author is averse to the further detention, which its publication
would entail on him at the present moment.
“It remains for me to request the orders of Government as to the
distribution of the five hundred copies of the Grammar and
Dictionary.
“The author solicits for himself one hundred copies that he may
send them to the Universities of Austria, Italy, and Germany.
“The Asiatic Society will in the same way, if permitted, undertake
to distribute to the learned societies of England, France, and
other countries with which it is in literary communication; it
would, of course, make known that the presentation was made on the
part of the Government of India, under whose auspices the works
have appeared.
“A portion may be sent to the Society’s booksellers in Calcutta and
London for sale, and perhaps the Government may desire to forward
fifty copies or more to the Honourable the Court of Directors.
“Copies may also be properly deposited in the libraries of the
colleges in the several Presidencies of the Indian Government.
“For all the details of these arrangements, I beg leave, on the
part of the Asiatic Society, to tender my services, happy in having
already been able to assist in the publication of a work which I
feel confident will do honour to the author, and the Government of
India as his patrons.”
The epitaph engraved on the tombstone at Darjeeling, referring to these
works, truly says that “these are his best and real monuments.”
Jäschke, whose dictionary is based on Csoma’s, acknowledges that it is
the work of an “original investigator, and the fruit of almost
unparalleled determination and patience.”
The Dictionary was ready some months before the Grammar. It contains
345 quarto pages; the Grammar is smaller, of 204 pages, with 40 pages
of lithography.
In the preface to the first-named book Mr. Csoma states the scope of
his work, with the plan he was induced to follow in its preparation,
and explains his views as to the remarkable similarity of linguistic
structure he had discovered between the Indian, including the Sanskrit
languages, and his mother tongue, the Hungarian. This we find mentioned
already in his letter to Captain Kennedy in 1825. It is presumed that
Csoma’s suggestion will hardly find favour with many philologists,
because the scientific theories of the present day have established
distinctive lines of demarcation between the Arian and Turanian group
of languages, the Hungarian being assigned to the latter; yet Csoma
gave reasons for maintaining such opinion, and adduces examples for its
support. [43]
“The Tibetan Dictionary now presented to the world,” says Mr. Csoma,
“is indebted for its appearance to the liberality of the two successive
Governors-General, Lord Amherst and Lord William Cavendish Bentinck.
It is with profound respect that he offers his performance as a small
tribute of grateful acknowledgment for favours conferred upon him, not
only by Government, but by the liberal assistance and kindness of
several English gentlemen whose names are already familiar to the
readers of these memoirs. Besides the names of his English friends and
others already mentioned, he does not forget two humble citizens who
had been kind to him, namely, a merchant at Aleppo, a native of
Bohemia, Ignatz Pohle, and Joseph Schaefer of Tyrol, a blacksmith at
Alexandria, in Egypt.
“He begs to inform the public that he has not been sent by any
Government to gather political information, neither can he be counted
of the number of those wealthy European gentlemen who travel at their
own expense for their pleasure or curiosity, but is only a poor
student, who was very desirous to see the different countries of Asia,
as the scene of so many memorable transactions of former ages, to
observe the manners of several people, and to learn their languages.”
“Though the study of the Tibetan language,” proceeds Csoma, “did not
form part of my original plan, but was only suggested after I had been
by Providence led into Tibet, and had enjoyed an opportunity, through
Mr. Moorcroft’s liberal assistance, of learning of what sort and origin
the Tibetan literature was, I cheerfully engaged in the study of it,
hoping that it might serve me as a vehicle to my immediate purpose,
namely, my researches respecting the origin and language of the
Hungarians. The result of my investigation is that the literature of
Tibet is entirely of Indian origin, the immense volumes, on different
branches of science, being exact and faithful translations from
Sanskrit works. Many of these works have again been translated from
Tibetan into Mongol, Mantchu, and Chinese languages, so that by this
means the Tibetan became in Chinese Tartary the language of the
learned, as the Latin is in Europe.
“After thus being familiarised with the language and general contents
of the Buddhistic works of Tibet, the author thought himself happy in
having found an easy access to the whole Sanskrit literature. To his
own nation he felt a pride in announcing that the study of Sanskrit
would be more satisfactory to it than to any other people in Europe.
“The Hungarians,” he declares, “would find a fund of information from
the study of the Sanskrit respecting their origin, manners, customs,
and language, since the structure of the Sanskrit, and also of other
Indian dialects, is most analogous. As an example of this close
analogy, in Hungarian postpositions are used instead of prepositions;
by a simple syllabic addition to the verbal root, and without any
auxiliary verb, the several kinds of verbs, namely, the active,
passive, causal, desiderative, frequentative, and reciprocal, are
formed in the same manner as in Sanskrit.”
The author further informs us that the Grammar and Dictionary had been
compiled from authentic sources, with the assistance of an intelligent
Lama of Zanskar, who resided with Csoma at the Monastery of Kanum from
1827 to 1830. His name is mentioned on the title-page as: Bandé
Sangs-RGyas PHun-Tsogs.
At first, the author had naturally to contend with many difficulties,
as, beyond the “Alphabetum Tibetanum” of Father Giorgi, he had no
elementary works to assist him, and his teacher the Lama, “at whose
feet,” as Pavie says, “the pupil of Blumenbach, and a graduate of the
University of Göttingen, learned how to spell Tibetan like a child,”
knew no other tongue but his own.
Sanskrit terms seldom occur in Tibetan books, Csoma tells us, with the
exception of a few proper names of men, places, precious stones,
flowers, and plants; but the technical terms in the arts and sciences
found in Sanskrit have been rendered by their precise syllabic
equivalents in Tibetan, according to a system framed expressly for the
purpose, by the pandits who engaged in the translation of the sacred
works of the Buddhists into Tibetan, as may be seen in several
vocabularies of Sanskrit and Tibetan terms, [44] of which a large one
has been translated into English, and presented to the Asiatic Society
by Csoma; the same, he afterwards found, had been previously made known
to the learned of Europe by Monsieur Abel Rémusat, as stated above.
The Grammar was the second of Csoma’s great works, published a few
months after the Dictionary. Some of the remarks prefacing it will be
read with interest.
“Tibet being the headquarters of Buddhism in the present age, the
elementary works herewith published,” says Csoma, “may serve as a key
to unlock the immense volumes, faithful translations of the Sanskrit
text, which are still to be found in that country, on the manners,
customs, opinions, knowledge, ignorance, superstitions, hopes and fears
of great part of Asia, especially India, in former ages.
“It is not uninteresting to observe the coincidence of time with
respect to the great exertions made by several princes on behalf of the
literature of the three great religions, Christianity, Islamism, and
Buddhism, in the Latin, in the Arabic, and in the Sanskrit languages,
the epoch being the eighth and ninth centuries of our era—in Germany
and France by Charlemagne; at Baghdad by the Khalifs Al-Mansur, Harun
al-Rashid and Al Mamun; in India by the kings of Magadha; in Tibet by
Khrisrong De’hu tsan, Khri De’srong tsan, and Ralpachen; in China by
the Emperors of the Thang dynasty. But whilst learning has continually
decreased among the Buddhists and Mohammedans, it has developed
immensely in countries professing the religion of Christ, and the two
rival religions are studied in their original languages by the learned
of Europe.
“The students of Tibetan have been most rare, if they existed at all.
Isolated among inaccessible mountains, the convents of Tibet have
remained unregarded and almost unvisited by the scholar and traveller;
nor was it until within these few years conjectured, that in the
undisturbed shelter of this region, in a climate proof against decay
and the destructive influences of the tropical plains, were to be
found, in complete preservation the volumes of the Buddhist faith in
their original Sanskrit, as well as in faithful translations, which
might be sought for in vain on the continent of India.
“I hope that my sojourn in this inhospitable country, for the express
purpose of mastering its language and examining its literary stores,
will not have been time unprofitably spent, and that the Grammar and
Dictionary may attest the sincerity of my endeavours to attain the
object I have determined to prosecute.
“The structure of the Tibetan language is very simple. There is only
one general form for all sorts of declinable words. In the verbs there
is no variation in respect to person or number. The orthography is
uniform throughout Tibet, but the pronunciation differs, especially
with reference to the compound consonants.
“My selection of the English language,” remarks Csoma, “as the medium
of the introduction of my labours, will sufficiently evince to the
learned of Europe at large the obligations I consider myself under to
the English nation.”
We have two more letters which reflect on the events of this epoch in
Csoma’s life—one from Prince Eszterházy, the Austrian Ambassador at the
Court of St. James’s, and the other from Mr. Döbrentei, secretary to
the Hungarian Literary Society at Pest; both are addressed to Mr.
Prinsep, expressive of acknowledgments for the kindness and protection
shown to their distinguished countryman.
The Prince’s letter is dated the 4th of August 1835, and will be read
with interest. One more act of generosity of the Indian Government
towards Csoma de Körös is acknowledged here by the Ambassador, and it
is but justice that the same should be recorded.
The Prince writes:—
“Sir,—In reply to the letter you addressed to me of the 25th
January last, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of the
two boxes, containing each twenty-five copies of the Tibetan
Dictionary and Grammar, prepared for publication by the Hungarian
traveller, Mr. Alexander Csoma de Körös, and printed at the expense
of the British Indian Government under the auspices of the Asiatic
Society.
“These fifty copies being destined by Mr. Körösi to be presented to
the different public institutions of His Imperial Majesty’s
dominions, I lose no time in assuring you that the learned author’s
intentions shall be faithfully fulfilled.
“The enclosed letters and the Oriental works you have sent to the
Aulic Councillor von Hammer have also been forwarded to their
destination.
“I have not failed to inform my Government of the liberality with
which the Indian Government has replaced the sum of 300 ducats
transmitted through this Embassy to Mr. Csoma de Körös, which had
been lost by the failure of Messrs. Alexander & Co.; and
anticipating its intentions, I seize with great pleasure this
opportunity to express to you, and through you to the Indian
Government, as well as to the Asiatic Society, the high sense I
entertain of the kind protection afforded to my learned countryman
in His Britannic Majesty’s dominions in India.
“Allow me to offer my sincerest thanks for such generous conduct.—I
have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
(Sgd.) “Eszterházy.”
Mr. Döbrentei’s letter to Mr. Prinsep is dated the 30th of September
1835, and, like the preceding, is extant among the papers in the
Library of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta. Döbrentei states that Mr.
Prinsep’s letter excited the greatest attention when its contents were
made known to the meeting of the Literary Society at Pest, because
there was no reliable news of Csoma since he wrote from Teheran to his
friends at Nagy Enyed in 1820. Mr. Döbrentei expresses gratitude for
the protection his countryman enjoyed in India, and mentions the
willingness on the part of Hungarians to send pecuniary aid to him if
required.
CHAPTER X.
Csoma asks for a passport in November 1835, enabling him to travel
in Hindustan—Leaves Calcutta—His last letters to Mr. Prinsep—Return
to Calcutta in 1837.
We have noticed already that four and a half years had passed since his
arrival in Calcutta, before the result of Csoma’s literary labours
could be brought to completion and published. This done, he made fresh
plans for the further prosecution of his studies.
In answer to letters of Prince Eszterházy and of Mr. Döbrentei, he
wrote in Latin, having made a spontaneous promise to Government,
through Mr. Prinsep, to correspond with Europe in that language only;
and in order to avoid every suspicion (remembering what had happened at
Sabathú in 1825, which he had never forgotten), he sent all his letters
open, to be forwarded by the secretary of the Asiatic Society to their
destination.
On the 30th of September 1835 Mr. Döbrentei wrote to Csoma as follows:
“Be so good as to inform us, in all sincerity, whether it is your wish
that a public subscription be opened on your behalf. This would at
least give an opportunity to the Hungarian nation to provide in a
suitable manner for one of her sons, who, for the sake of her ancient
history, is sacrificing himself on such a thorny path.”
Judging from Csoma’s ideas and general conduct in such matters, there
can be no doubt that he declined to sanction Döbrentei’s proposal.
On the 30th of November Csoma wrote to Mr. James Prinsep, asking for a
passport from Government. His letter (now in the possession of the
Hungarian Academy of Sciences), so characteristic of the man, runs as
follows:—
“At my first arrival in British India, though furnished with an
introductory letter from the late Mr. W. Moorcroft, I was received
with some suspicion by the authorities in the Upper Provinces. But
afterwards, having given in writing, accordingly as Government
desired from me, the history of my past proceedings and a sketch of
my future plans, I was not only absolved by Government from every
suspicion I was under, and allowed to go to whatever place I liked
for the prosecution of my studies, but Government generously
granted me also pecuniary aid for the same purpose. Thus, during
the course of several years, I have enjoyed a favourable
opportunity of improving in knowledge, especially in the
philological part, for my purpose.
2. “I beg leave, sir, to offer and express herewith, through you,
my respectful thanks to the Government and to the Asiatic Society,
for their patronage, protection, and liberality in granting me
every means for my study at their library. But since I have not yet
reached my aim, for which I came to the East, I beg you will obtain
for me the permission of Government to remain yet for three years
in India, for the purpose of improving myself in Sanskrit and in
the different dialects; and, if Government will not object, to
furnish me with a passport in duplicate, one in English and one in
Persian, that I may visit the north-western parts of India. For my
own part, I promise that my conduct will not offend the Government
in whatever respect, and that I shall not have any correspondence
to Europe, but only through you, and that in Latin, which I will
send to you, without being closed, whenever I want to write to my
own country.—I remain, with much respect, Sir, your most obliged
humble servant,
A. Csoma.
“Calcutta, 30th November 1835.”
Mr. Prinsep, as on so many former occasions, took this opportunity,
unsolicited, to plead Csoma’s cause, in a letter addressed to Mr.
Macnaughten, the secretary to Government. From this we learn, also,
that of the money which was received on Csoma’s behalf from Hungary, he
would retain nothing for himself, but it had to be sent back, at his
request, to found scholarships with, and also for the benefit of his
relatives in Transylvania.
“Sir,—I have been requested,” writes Mr. Prinsep, “by Mr. Alexander
Csoma de Körös to report for the information of the Honourable the
Governor-General of India in Council, that he is desirous of
terminating his residence in Calcutta, and of proceeding to the
interior, for the purpose of further prosecuting his studies in the
Oriental languages. He begs me, accordingly, to solicit permission
for his continuing for three more years within the British Indian
territories, and, further, to request that he may be furnished with
two passports, to be produced when occasion may require—one in the
English language, in which he would wish to be designated by the
simple title of ‘Mr. Alexander Csoma, a Hungarian philologer,
native of Transylvania,’ and one in the Persian language,
describing him as ‘Molla Eskander Csoma az Mulk-i Rúm.’
2. “It is Mr. Csoma’s present intention, after having pursued his
researches into the dialects of Mithila, &c., to return to the
Presidency, and then to prepare the results of his studies for the
press.
3. “As he does not consider himself for the last year to have been
labouring in any way for the British Government, Mr. Csoma has
prevented me from making any application for pecuniary assistance.
I cannot, however, forbear from bringing to the notice of the
Honourable the Governor-General that the means at the disposal of
this indefatigable and unpresuming student are by no means equal to
meet the expense of a journey of three years, even on his very
moderate scale of expenditure.
4. “I hold in my hands a balance of five hundred rupees at his
disposal. The money granted by Government on the 12th January 1835,
as arrears of the salary of 50 rupees per mensem, due to Mr. Csoma
while employed on the Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary, and as
compensation for loss of the boon from the Hungarian nobleman, was
for the greater part remitted home by myself, at his express
desire, for the benefit of his relations in Hungary and of the
Hungarian Literary Society jointly, nor could I persuade him that
justice to himself required him to retain at least enough to meet
his own wants and comfort.
5. “I would respectfully submit, that however unwilling Mr. Csoma
may be to place himself under obligations, where, as he asserts, he
has done no service, the nature and bent of his studies into the
antiquities of India would amply justify the liberality of
Government towards so meritorious an individual. Many of his
publications on Buddha literature, in the pages of the Asiatic
Society’s Journal, are of the highest interest. A portion of his
Analysis of the Tibetan works (for which, at the time, he was
promised a salary of 200 rupees a month for two years) has just
been printed in the Asiatic Researches, and I have the honour to
enclose a copy of the article, from which the Government may
appreciate the labour it must have cost him to go through the 100
volumes of the ‘Kahgyur’ in the same careful manner.
6. “Under these considerations, I trust it will not be deemed
presumptuous in me to recommend that the allowance of 50 rupees per
mensem may be continued to Mr. Csoma as long as he may remain
prosecuting studies from which the Government or the learned of our
country may derive benefit, and that I may be permitted to draw it
on honour on his account from the expiration of the last payment,
or the 31st December 1834.
7. “It will be understood that his services will be at all times
available to examine and report on Tibetan works, of which the
Resident at Nepal has recently despatched a large supply for
presentation to the Honourable the Court of Directors. The Court
will doubtless be well pleased that these should be examined in
this way by almost the only scholar capable of reading and
explaining their contents.”
Csoma’s passport, issued by Government, is of interest in his
biography; the text was in English and Persian, and was worded thus:—
“Mr. Alexander Csoma de Körös, a Hungarian philologer, native of
Transylvania, having obtained the permission of the Honourable the
Governor-General of India in Council, to prosecute his studies in
Oriental languages in Hindustan for three years, I am directed by
his Honour in Council to desire all officers of the British
Government, whether civil or military, and to request all chiefs of
Hindustan in alliance and amity with the British Government, to
afford such protection to Mr. Csoma as may be necessary to
facilitate the object of his researches.
“By command of the Honourable the Governor-General of India in
Council.
“Fort William,
The 14th December 1835.”
Wafer Seal.
(Sgd.) W. H. Macnaughten,
Sec. to Government of India.
Having provided himself with the necessaries for the voyage, Csoma did
not delay his departure from Calcutta; he travelled by boat, and we
hear of him at Maldah, which place he reached on the 20th January 1836:
we learn this from a letter to Mr. Prinsep, in possession of the
Asiatic Society of Calcutta.
“Sir,—I beg leave to acquaint you that I have safely reached this
place yesterday in the morning. The cold north wind has somewhat
retarded our progress, but in other respects I have suffered
nothing of which I should complain. These men have been honest and
active enough during the whole time, since we left Calcutta, and I
feel much obliged for the kindness and good service done to me by
you, and by those whom you had employed to procure me this boat
with such men.
“According to the agreement made with the Manji, which I have
enclosed here, I had paid him 8 rupees in Calcutta, besides one for
oil and Masul or duty, and of the remaining 6, I have given him
here again 3 rupees, and I beg, sir, you will order the other 3
rupees also to be paid him, and to be put on my account. Besides
the above specified 12 rupees, I have given yet to these five men
in common, 3 rupees as a reward for the service done me by them.
“To-morrow I shall leave this place, having hired again a small
boat for 8 rupees to carry me up to Kissenganj. When I shall have
fixed myself at any place in the upper part of this country, for a
certain time, and have visited the Sikkim Raja, I shall be happy to
acquaint you with what I shall have learned. My earnest desire is
to merit the continuation of your favour.”
Early in March we find Csoma at Julpigori, where he met a sympathising
friend in Major Lloyd, commanding the frontier station. This gentleman
offered him every attention and hospitality, but they were declined by
Mr. Csoma, on the ground that his staying with Government officers of
high position would deprive him of the intercourse with natives, whose
familiarity it was his chief endeavour to cultivate. There is only one
more autograph letter still extant from Csoma, and this he wrote to Mr.
Prinsep on the 7th of March 1836 from Julpigori. The original is in the
possession of the Academy of Sciences at Budapest:—
“Sir,—I beg leave to acknowledge that the packet containing some
papers, which by the Asiatic Society’s direction you had addressed
to me, on the 8th of February last, safely reached me on the 19th
of the same month, having been forwarded to me by Major Lloyd’s
kindness. I would have immediately acknowledged the receipt of
those papers, but as I was yet at that time very unsettled,
respecting my remaining here or moving from this place, I have
delayed till now to write to you. I beg you will excuse me for my
tardiness.
“I feel greatly obliged to you for the kind communication of a copy
of His Excellency Prince Eszterházy’s reply to your letter of the
5th January last year. I am glad to know that the 50 copies of my
Tib. Grammar and Dictionary have safely reached London, and that
they have been also forwarded to their farther destination. I was
also happy to see how His Excellency has expressed his thanks,
through you, to the British Indian Government and to the Asiatic
Society, for their kind protection and liberality to me.
“While I gratefully acknowledge the favours thus conferred on me
through this kind communication, I am sorry that, for my own part,
I can send nothing to you, not having been able, as yet, to learn
anything interesting. Together with your note, I have received also
the two facsimiles of inscriptions, but I am unable to give any
satisfactory explanation of them. Though I admit the one to be in
the Tib. character and language, I dare not say anything about its
contents.
“According to your direction, I take now the liberty of addressing
my letter to you through W. H. Macnaughten, Esq., chief secretary
to Government, knowing that it will be afterwards sent to you.
Though I feel much obliged for the favours thus conferred on me by
this kind arrangement with Mr. Macnaughten respecting my future
communications to you, I am sorry that I shall not be able to send
any interesting information, since I shall perhaps not visit
Sikkim, Nepaul, and the other hilly tracts, being informed that the
travelling in those parts would be dangerous, difficult, very
expensive, and of little advantage to my purpose; but after
remaining in these parts for a certain period, to study the
Bengalee and Sanskrit, afterwards I shall go by water to Patna,
whenever, successively, I shall visit again by water the upper
provinces, devoting my whole time to the study of the Sanskrit
language and to the acquirement of the principal dialects.
“Since I intend to prosecute only my philological researches, and
will abstain from every statistical, political, or even
geographical inquiry, if I shall write but seldom to you, and at
that time also shortly, I beg you will excuse me. I hope, if I
survive, and can again safely return to Calcutta, I shall be able
to communicate to you the results of my studies and Indian tours. I
shall want but little for my expenses, and I hope that the five
hundred sicca rupees, left in your hand at my leaving Calcutta,
will be sufficient during the time I intend to make my
peregrination in India. Should I fail in making any useful progress
in my studies worthy of the Government’s patronage, the Asiatic
Society may always dispose of that money for literary purposes
which you successively receive from Government on my behalf.
“Should you wish to communicate to me any papers, I beg you will
address them to the care of Major Lloyd at Titalya, who will have
the kindness to forward them to me. Pray not to send me the numbers
of the ‘Asiatic Society’s Journal’ or any other book until I shall
write to you, or shall go to Patna; but I shall be much obliged if
you will favour me with any letters received from my own country.”
As Csoma wrote, so probably he acted. His object being exclusively
literary researches, he seldom wrote letters to anybody, and to this
fact is attributable the circumstance that, after the last-mentioned
date, we meet with but few records of Csoma’s doings, which otherwise
would have enriched the narrative of his life.
Major Lloyd writes about him as follows:—
“At the beginning of 1836, when Csoma quitted his apartments he had in
the Asiatic Society’s house, he wished to study Bengalee, and I sent
him to Julpigori, where he remained about three months; but being
dissatisfied there, he returned to Titalya, I think, in March. He would
not remain in my house, as he thought his eating and living with me
would cause him to be deprived of the familiarity and society of
natives, with whom it was his wish to be colloquially intimate; I
therefore got him a common native hut, and made it as comfortable as I
could for him, but still he seemed to me to be miserably off. I also
got him a servant, to whom he paid three or four rupees a month, and
his living did not cost him more than four more. He did not quit
Titalya, I think, till the end of November 1837, and all the time he
was there he was absorbed in the study of the Sanskrit, Mahratta, and
Bengali languages. I think it was in November that he left, purposing
to go to Calcutta. At one time he was intending to travel through the
mountains to Katmandú, ... but he seemed to have a great dread of
trusting himself into Tibet, for I repeatedly urged him to try to reach
Lassa through Sikkim, but he always said such an attempt could only be
made at the risk of his life. I was therefore surprised at his coming
here (in 1842) apparently with that intention.”
After a sojourn of nearly two years in the east of Bengal, in the
neighbourhood of Sikkim, Csoma returned to Calcutta, as surmised by
Major Lloyd.
Towards the latter part of 1837, Dr. Malan succeeded Mr. James Prinsep
as secretary of the Asiatic Society, and he then found our scholar in
Calcutta. In 1838, Captain Pemberton invited him to join the Government
mission to Bhútan, but the offer was not accepted, because there was no
prospect of reaching Tibet by that route; Csoma therefore continued to
live in the Asiatic Society’s rooms in his capacity as librarian.
Whilst at Titalya (in 1837) a correspondence passed between himself and
Mr. Hodgson; this gentleman invited Csoma to Katmandú, but when the
latter found that he could not pass into Tibet viâ Nepal, the proposed
visit was abandoned.
From the end of 1837 till the early part of 1842, Csoma remained in
Calcutta, arranging the Tibetan works of the Asiatic Society, as its
librarian. He published several scientific treatises and articles, and
was engaged by Dr. Yates and other missionaries in the translation of
the Liturgy, the Psalms, and the Prayer-book into Tibetan. M. Pavie
writes thus: [45] “I saw him often during my stay in Calcutta, absorbed
in phantastic thoughts, smiling at the course of his own ideas,
taciturn like the Brahmins, who, bending over their writing-desks, are
employed in copying texts of Sanskrit. His room had the appearance of a
cell, which he never left except for short walks in the corridors of
the building. What a pity it is,” continues Pavie, “that a scientific
mind like his was so little given to writing except on his special
study; but under the influence of ideas of a peculiar kind he
accomplished that laborious and useful task which constitutes his
glory.”
A member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Mr. Emil Thewrewk de
Ponor, made an interesting communication to a Budapest journal, the
“Nemzet,” on the 31st of March 1883, according to which it would appear
that Josef Szabó de Borgáta, a fellow-student at Göttingen, and
afterwards professor of the Lycæum of Sopron, was the first who induced
Csoma to undertake a journey to the East. This Professor Szabó was
still alive, and in his ninety-fourth year in 1883.
Mr. Thewrewk refers further to a letter of a Hungarian artist, Mr.
Schoefft, from Pest, who lived in India and knew Csoma well. The letter
was written in March 1842. An extract of it is appended:—
“I was on very friendly terms with Csoma during my stay in Calcutta,
where I found to my satisfaction that the people of that city had much
clearer ideas about Hungary than before, for which, doubtless, we are
indebted to Csoma. Nevertheless, the truth must be told, that I never
saw a more strange man than him. He lives like a hermit among his
Tibetan and other works, in the house of the Asiatic Society, which he
seldom leaves. Of an evening he takes slight exercise in the grounds,
and then he causes himself to be locked up in his apartment; it
therefore invariably happened that when, during my evening rides, I
called on him, it was necessary for me always to wait a while till the
servants produced the keys to unlock the door of his apartment. He was
cheerful; often merry, his spirits rose very considerably when we took
the opportunity of talking about Hungary. Altogether, I found him very
talkative, and if he once started on this strain there was no getting
to the end of it. Often, when speaking of our native land, or
discussing the subject concerning the origin of the Hungarians, our
pleasant conversation was protracted till after 10 o’clock. I began to
suspect, however, that he would never see his native land again, being
then already advanced in age, and yet he proposed remaining for ten
years longer in the country, to enable him to glean whatever he could
find in the old writings, and such a secluded, one would almost call it
a prison life, might soon undermine the powers of any constitution and
leave but a mere shadow of an existence.”
Besides the aged Professor Szabó, there is yet another living witness
who knew Csoma face to face, namely, the Rev. S. C. Malan, D.D.,
Oxford, now Rector of Broadwindsor, Dorset. He was connected with the
Bishops’ College of Calcutta, and during his short stay there, as
secretary of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, was on intimate terms with
the subject of this memoir.
Dr. Malan says [46] as to Körösi, “I never think of him without
interest and gratitude. I had heard of him and seen his Tibetan Grammar
and Dictionary before leaving England.
“One of my early visits was to the Asiatic Society’s house, Calcutta,
where Csoma lived as under-librarian. I found him a man of middle
stature, much weather-beaten from his travels, but kind, amiable, and
willing to impart all he knew....
“I happened to be the only person who was troubling himself about
Tibetan; he and I became very good friends during the whole, alas! too
short, stay in India. And when we parted he gave me the whole of his
Tibetan books, some thirty volumes. I value such relics highly, and
still use the same volume which I used to turn over with him.”
These volumes, forty in number, are now the property of the Royal
Hungarian Academy of Sciences, through the kindness of Dr. Malan, the
donor. [47]
There is a more recent letter from Dr. Malan to the writer, giving his
opinion about a likeness of Csoma, and which is quoted at the end.
CHAPTER XI.
Csoma’s stay in Calcutta from 1837 to 1842—Last arrangements—Leaves
Calcutta for the last time—Sets out on his journey to Lassa—Death
at Darjeeling—Dr. Campbell’s report—His grave and tombstone.
In April 1842, Csoma reached the fifty-eighth year of his age; but his
ardour in his favourite studies and his power of hard work continued
the same as in earlier days. In the early spring of that year he was
planning to resume his researches and to labour for ten years longer in
the East before returning to his native land. The contemplation of
these plans induced him to start once more towards Tibet on a journey
to Lassa.
His first knowledge of the Tibetan tongue was acquired in Ladak in the
west; he now purposed visiting the north-easterly parts of Tibet
proper. During the latter years he displayed great eagerness in the
study of the Mahratta, Bengali, and Sanskrit languages.
On the 9th of February a letter, addressed by Csoma to the Secretary of
the Asiatic Society, Mr. Torrens, may well be regarded as his
testamentary disposition:—
“Sir,—Since I am about to leave Calcutta for a certain period to
make a tour in Central Asia, if possible, I beg you will receive
and keep this memorandum after you have communicated it to the
Society.
“I respectfully acknowledge that I have received many benefits from
the Asiatic Society, although I have declined always to accept the
allowance of 50 rupees which they generously granted me in 1829,
1831, and 1841, since the Government allowance to me during several
years was sufficient for my support.
“I intend again to return to Calcutta and to acquaint the Society
with the results of my travels. But in case of my death on my
intended journey, since I sincerely wish the prosperity and pray
for the long continuance of this noble establishment, I beg to
leave my Government securities, as also the books and other things
now taken with me, at the disposal of the Asiatic Society,
delivering herewith to you my last account of the 31st January
1842, with the Government agent, who is my attorney, and with whom
the Pro Notes are kept, and who will favour me once a year with
interest on those papers.
“Since I purposely decline any correspondence with those in Europe,
I beg you will kindly excuse me, if any letter or packet should be
sent to me, to do with it as you think best.” [48]
The secretary was requested to reply to Mr. Csoma, expressing the
Society’s willingness to accept the trusteeship of his funds for his
benefit, assuring him of its earnest desire to forward his views in
India in every possible way, and to render him any assistance, as well
as of its willingness to receive any further directions as to his
funds, and expressing its best wishes for his welfare and safe return
from his enterprising expedition into Bhútan and Tartary. It was also
determined that a copy of Mr. Csoma’s letter should be transmitted to
the Government Agent.
It will always remain a matter of regret that Csoma’s determined wish
was not secured in a legal manner, for the benefit of the Asiatic
Society, to which he desired to bequeath all he possessed, as a token
of gratitude for the benefits he received. It could hardly be expected
that Csoma should be versed in legal technicalities, but these
doubtless he would have been ready to attend to had he received any
suggestion on the subject.
The exact date is not recorded on which Csoma left the Presidency, nor
do we know the details of his journey towards Sikkim. Most probably he
travelled as he was wont, in a native boat up the river Hugly to reach
the opposite shore of the Ganges, and afterwards by land, and through
the Terai, in the direction of the Darjeeling range of hills. In the
vicinity of Titalya, in the district of Rungpore, the level begins to
rise, and the malarious sub-Himalayan belt of dense jungle has to be
crossed before ascending the hills.
The Terai of the present day cannot bear comparison to what it was in
Csoma’s time. To a great extent it is now laid out in carefully
cultivated tea-gardens; the danger which formerly beset every traveller
through that district has almost disappeared. Not many years ago the
crossing of the Terai for a European was accompanied by great risk to
health, and had to be performed as expeditiously as was practicable in
the day-time, whilst the sun was up; and to spend a night there was
certain to be followed by dangerous paroxysms of fever.
Csoma reached Darjeeling on the 24th of March. He travelled slowly and
inexpensively, probably on foot. There is every reason to suspect that
a night was spent by him in the Terai. Campbell says that on the 6th of
April he was ill with fever, which in six days terminated fatally.
Dr. Archibald Campbell, the Superintendent and Government Agent, was
the chief officer at that station. He knew Csoma by reputation for many
years, and personally since they met at Captain Kennedy’s house at
Simla. Every attention, therefore, that was possible was bestowed upon
the patient.
The report of Csoma’s death is addressed to Mr. Bushby, secretary to
Government.
Dr. Campbell wrote as follows: [49]—
“It is with much regret that I report the death at this place, on the
11th instant (April 1842), of Csoma de Körös, the Hungarian traveller
and Tibetan scholar. He fell a victim to fever, contracted on his
journey hitherto, for the cure of which he would not be persuaded to
take any medicines until it was too late to be of any avail.
“M. de Körös arrived here on the 24th ult. (March 1842), and
communicated to me his desire of proceeding to the residence of the
Sikkim Raja, and thence to Lassa, for the purpose of procuring access
to stores of Tibetan literature, which he had been taught to believe,
from his reading in Ladak and Kanum, were still extant in the capital
of Eastern Tibet (Lassa), and might have thence found their way into
Sikkim.
“As the eldest son of the Sikkim Raja is by the usage of the family a
Lama, and as the present Tubgani Lama is a learned priest, and said to
be in possession of an extensive library, I had some hopes that by
making the Raja acquainted with M. de Körös’ unobtrusive character and
known avoidance of political and religious subjects in his intercourse
with the people of the countries he has visited, I might have
contributed to procuring him permission to proceed into Tibet, and to
this end I sent the Raja’s Vakeel to visit M. de Körös, that he might
satisfy himself as to the extent to which he had prosecuted his studies
into the language and literature of Tibet, as well as of the objects he
had in view in desiring to visit the Tubgani Lama and the city of
Lassa. The Vakeel, who is a man of intelligence and some learning, was
altogether amazed at finding a Feringhee a complete master of the
colloquial language of Tibet, and so much his own superior in
acquaintance with the religion and literature of that country. I
endeavoured to answer his numerous questions about M. de Körös by
detailing the particulars of his early life and later travels in Asia,
with which I was acquainted; by stating his devotion to the prosecution
of his lingual and literary studies; my certain knowledge that in
permitting him to visit Sikkim and Lassa the Raja would have nothing to
apprehend from ignorance of the usages and religion of the people, nor
an indiscreet zeal in the attainment of his objects; that he was not at
all connected with the service of our Government, or any other power in
India, but that the Governor-General had granted him his permission to
travel through India, and that any facilities afforded him by the Raja
would be noted approvingly by his lordship and myself.
“The Vakeel at my desire addressed the Rajah, explaining fully my
wishes, and M. de Körös resolved to remain here, pending a reply from
Sikkim. He was full of hope as to the favourable result of the
reference, and in the most enthusiastic manner would dilate on the
delight he expected to derive from coming in contact with some of the
learned men of the East (Lassa), as the Lamas of Ladak and Kanum, with
whom alone he had previous communion, were confessedly inferior in
learning to those of Eastern Tibet. He was modest and almost silent on
the benefits which might accrue to general knowledge from the results
of his contemplated journey; but ‘what would Hodgson, Turnour, and some
of the philosophers of Europe not give to be in my place when I get to
Lassa?’ was a frequent exclamation of his during the conversations I
had with him previous to his illness. He had arranged, in the event of
his getting permission to proceed, to leave with me all his books,
papers, and bank-notes to the amount of 300 rupees, to be cared for on
his behalf; and a complete copy of the ‘Journal of the Asiatic
Society,’ which he had received from the Society, he said he should ask
me to keep, in the event of his never returning. How soon were all his
enthusiastic anticipations clouded, and his journeyings stopped for
ever!
“On the 6th instant I called on him, and found him feverish, with foul
tongue, dry skin, and headache. I urged him to take some medicine, but
in vain. He said he had suffered often from fever and other ailments,
from which he had recovered without physic; that rhubarb was the only
thing of the sort he had ever used, except tartar emetic. The former
had been recommended to him by Moorcroft, and the latter by a Persian
doctor. He took out of his box a small bit of decayed rhubarb and a
phial of tartar emetic, and said, with apparent distrust in their
virtues, ‘As you wish it, I will take some to-morrow, if I am not
better; it is too late to-day, the sun is going down.’ I sent him some
weak soup, and returned to see him on the 7th. He was then much better,
got off his pallet, entered into conversation, chatted animatedly with
me for an hour on his favourite subjects of thought and inquiry. For
the first time since I had seen him, he this day showed how sensitive
he was to the applause of the world as a reward to his labours and
privations. He went over the whole of his travels in Tibet with fluent
rapidity; and in noticing each stage of the results of his studies, he
mentioned the distinguished notice that had been accorded in Europe and
India to the facts and doctrines brought to light by him. He seemed
especially gratified with an editorial article by Prof. Wilson in the
supplement to the ‘Government Gazette’ of 9th July 1829, which he
produced, and bid me read; it related to the extreme hardships he had
undergone while at the monastery of Zanskar, where, with the
thermometer below zero, for more than four months he was precluded by
the severity of the weather from stirring out of a room nine feet
square; yet in this situation he read from morning till evening without
a fire, the ground forming his bed, and the walls of the building his
protection against the rigours of the climate, and still he collected
and arranged forty thousand words of the language of Tibet, and nearly
completed his Dictionary and Grammar. [50] Passing from this subject,
he said, in a playful mood, ‘I will show you something very curious,’
and he produced another number of Wilson’s paper of September 10, 1827,
and pointing to one editorial paragraph, desired me to read it first,
and then hear the explanation. [51] It runs thus (after noticing some
communications to the Asiatic Society from Mr Hodgson): ‘In connection
with the literature and religion of Tibet, and indeed of the whole of
the Bhoti countries, we are happy to learn that the patronage of the
Government has enabled the Hungarian traveller, Csoma de Körös, to
proceed to Upper Besarh to prosecute his Tibetan studies for three
years, in which period he engages to prepare a comprehensive Grammar
and Vocabulary of the language, with an account of the history and
literature of the country.
“‘These objects are the more desirable, as we understand M. de Körös
considers the recent labours of Klaproth and Rémusat, with regard to
the language and literature of Tibet, as altogether erroneous. Monsieur
Rémusat, indeed, admits the imperfectness of his materials, but
Klaproth, as usual, pronounces ex cathedrâ, and treats the notion of
any successful study of Tibetan by the English in India with ineffable
contempt.’ ‘Now, I do not recollect,’ said M. de Körös, ‘that I gave my
opinion of Klaproth as it is given here, but, oh! Wilson was very,
very,’ and he shook his head significantly, ‘against Klaproth, and he
took this opportunity to pull him down, and favour Rémusat. It is very
curious;’ and he laughed heartily. Not being of the initiated in the
curiosities of Tibetan literature, I did not fully appreciate the jest,
but others probably will; and I was greatly interested with the keen
enjoyment produced in the mind of the Ascetic by this subject.
“At the same visit he produced Hodgson’s ‘Illustrations of the
Literature and Religion of the Buddhists,’ and asked me if I had seen
it. On being told that I had a copy, and had been familiar with its
contents in progress of collection, although unversed in the subject,
he said, ‘He sent me this copy; it is a wonderful combination of
knowledge on a new subject, with the deepest philosophical
speculations, and will astonish the people of Europe. There are,
however, some mistakes in it.’ I think he then said: ‘In your paper on
the Limboos you asked if the appellation “Hung,” distinctive of
families of that tribe, had any reference to the original “Huns,” the
objects of my search in Asia. It is a curious similarity, but your
“Hungs” are a small tribe, and the people who passed from Asia, as the
progenitors of the Hungarians, were a great nation.’ I replied, that as
the original country of the Limboo ‘Hungs’ was undoubtedly north of the
Himalaya, and as he believed the same to be the case as regarded the
‘Huns,’ it was at all events possible that the ‘Hungs’ of this
neighbourhood might have been an offshoot from the same nation. ‘Yes,
yes,’ he rejoined, ‘it is very possible; but I do not think it is the
case.’ And then, as if preferring to luxuriate in remote speculations
on his beloved subjects rather than in attempting to put an end to them
by a discovery at hand, he gave a rapid summary of the manner in which
he believed his native land was possessed by the original ‘Huns,’ and
his reasons for tracing them to Central or Eastern Asia. This was all
done in the most enthusiastic strain; but the texture of the story was
too complicated for me to take connected note of it. I gathered,
however, from his conversation of this day, and of the previous ones
since our acquaintance, that all his hopes of attaining the object of
the long and laborious search were centered in the discovery of the
country of the ‘Yoogars.’ This land he believed to be to the east and
north of Lassa and the province of Kham, and on the western confines of
China. To reach it was the goal of his most ardent wishes, and there he
fully expected to find the tribes he had hitherto sought in vain. The
foundation of his hopes, to any one not deeply imbued with enthusiasm,
or accustomed to put faith in philological affinities, will probably
appear vague and insecure. It was as follows, in so far as I could
gather from his repeated conversations:—In the dialects of Europe—the
Sclavonic, Celtic, Saxon, and German—I believe the people who gave
their name to the country now called Hungary, were styled ‘Hunger’ or
‘Ungur,’ ‘Oongar’ or ‘Yoongar,’ and in Arabic, Turkish, and Persian
works there are notices of a nation in Central Asia resembling in many
respects the people who came from the East into Hungary. In these
languages they are styled ‘Oogur,’ ‘Woogur,’ ‘Voogur,’ or ‘Yoogur,’
according to the pronunciation of the Persian letter; and from the same
works it might be inferred, he said, that the country of the ‘Yoogurs’
was situated as above noted. There were collateral reasons which led
him to this conclusion, but he did not lay much stress on them, and
they have escaped my memory. It has since occurred to me, that at the
time of the conversations now detailed, M. de Körös had some
presentiment that death was near him, for on no former occasion was he
so communicative, nor did he express opinions as if he was very anxious
they should be remembered. On this day he certainly did so, and I feel
it due to his memory to record them, even in this imperfect manner. To
give his opinions point, it would require a knowledge of the subjects
on which he discoursed, to which I cannot pretend; yet such as they
are, they may, as the last words of an extraordinary man, be prized by
those who honoured him for his acquirements, and admired him for his
unwearied exertions in the cause of literature, languages, and history.
“Although so much better on the 7th than on the previous day, I dreaded
that a return of fever was impending, and I again urged him to take
medicine, but in vain. On the 8th I did not see him, but on the morning
of the 9th, on visiting him with Dr. Griffith, I found that fever had
returned; he was confused and slightly delirious, his countenance was
sunken, anxious, and yellow, and altogether his state was bad and
dangerous. After much trouble, we got him to swallow some medicine, and
had his temples rubbed with blistering fluid. On the morning of the
10th he was somewhat better, but still unable to talk connectedly or
distinctly; towards evening he became comatose, and continued so until
5 A.M. of the 11th, when he expired without a groan or struggle. On the
12th, at 8 A.M., his remains were interred in the burial-ground of this
station. I read the funeral service over him in the presence of almost
all the gentlemen at the place.
“The effects consisted of four boxes of books and papers, the suit of
blue clothes which he always wore, and in which he died, a few sheets,
and one cooking-pot. His food was confined to tea, of which he was very
fond, and plain boiled rice, of which he ate very little. On a mat on
the floor, with a box of books on the four sides, he sat, ate, slept,
and studied, never undressed at night, and rarely went out during the
day. He never drank wine or spirits, or used tobacco or other
stimulants.
“Annexed is a detailed list of the contents of the boxes. Among his
papers were found the bank-notes for 300 rupees, to which he alluded
before his death, and a memorandum regarding Government papers for 5000
rupees, which is stated in transcript of a letter to the Government,
dated 8th February 1842, it was his wish to leave at his death to the
Asiatic Society of Bengal for any literary purpose. Cash to the number
of 224 rupees of various coinage, and a waist-belt containing 26 gold
pieces (Dutch ducats, I believe), complete the money part of his
effects. From this I shall deduct the funeral expenses and wages due to
his Lepcha servant, and retain the remainder, along with the books and
papers, until I receive the orders of Government for disposing of them.
As the deceased was not a British subject, I have not made the usual
advertisement of the possession of his effects, nor have I taken charge
of them in the civil court, but in my capacity of political officer in
this direction.
“From a letter of James Prinsep’s among the papers, I gather that he
was a native of the town of Pest, or Pesth, in the province of
Transylvania, [52] and I have found transcript of a letter addressed by
him to the Austrian Ambassador in London, apparently on matters
connected with his native country; I presume, therefore, that the
proper mode of making his death known to his relations, if such there
be, and of disposing of the money not willed by him, will be through
the Austrian Ambassador at the British Court. In some documents I found
his address to be Körösi Csoma Sandor.”
In a footnote Mr. Henry Torrens remarks as follows: “I may add to Mr.
Campbell’s interesting paper such information as my memory enables me
to give of the opinion held by the deceased philologist on the origin
of the Huns, which, with singular opinions on the Buddhist faith,
constituted his most favourite speculations. He, on more than one
occasion entered on the subject with me at great length, detailing in
particular the Sanskrit origin of existing names of places and
hill-ranges in Hungary. My constant request at the close of these
conversations used to be that he would record these speculations. He
invariably refused, alluding darkly to the possibility of his one day
having it in his power to publish to the world something sounder than
speculation. In proportion as I pressed him on the subject, he became
more reserved with me on these particular questions. He seemed to have
an antipathy to his opinions being published. I remember his giving me
one day a quantity of curious speculation on the derivation of
geographical names in Central Asia. Some months afterwards I had
occasion to annotate on a theory of the nomenclature of the Oxus, and,
writing to him, recapitulated his opinion on the subject, and begged to
be allowed to publish it. His answer was that ‘he did not remember.’
“His exceeding diffidence on the subjects on which he might have
dictated to the learned world of Europe and Asia was the most
surprising trait in him. He was very deeply read in general literature
independently of his Tibetan lore, but never did such acquirements
centre in one who made such modest use of them.”
The contents of this report were communicated to the Asiatic Society,
by whom one thousand rupees was voted for the purpose of being placed
into the hands of Major Lloyd that a suitable monument be erected over
the grave. The inscription was approved by the Society at their meeting
in February 1845, which the Secretary, Mr. H. Torrens, introduced with
the following words:—
“I beg to submit the epitaph to be placed on the tomb of our lamented
friend, Csoma de Körös, as approved by the committee.”
H. J.
Alexander Csoma de Körösi, [53]
A Native of Hungary,
Who, to follow out Philological Researches,
Resorted to the East;
And after years passed under privations,
Such as have been seldom endured,
And patient labour in the cause of Science,
Compiled a Dictionary and Grammar
Of the Tibetan Language,
His best and real monument.
On his road to H’Lassa,
To resume his labours,
He died at this place, [54]
On the 11th April 1842,
Aged 44 years. [55]
His fellow-labourers,
The Asiatic Society of Bengal,
Inscribe this tablet to his memory.
Requiescat in Pace.
Dr. Archibald Campbell’s report on Csoma’s closing days, and his
subsequent memorandum, [56] will always be read with deep interest, the
contents of which have been quoted already. Dr. Campbell again mentions
in it Csoma’s ardent wish to reach Lassa, where, strengthened with his
linguistic attainments, he formed enthusiastic hopes of realising the
objects of his research. “Could he reach Lassa, he felt that Sanskrit
would have quickly enabled him to master the contents of its libraries,
and in them he believed was to be found all that was wanting to give
him the real history of the Huns in their original condition and
migrations. The power of acquiring languages was the extraordinary
talent of Csoma. He had studied the following ancient and modern
tongues, and was proficient in many of them: Hebrew, Arabic, Sanskrit,
Pushtu, Greek, Latin, Sclavonic, German, English, Turkish, Persian,
French, Russian, Tibetan, with the addition of Hindustani, Mahratta,
and Bengali. His library at his death had a dictionary of each of the
languages he was acquainted with, and on all were his manuscript
annotations.”
These remarks, recorded by a kind friend under the influence of
sorrowful sympathy, have been looked upon by many, in the absence of
any other information, as the chief if not the sole clue to the proper
understanding of Csoma’s whole career and aspirations. Relying on
imperfect data, Csoma’s aims appeared to his critics as very illusory,
if not altogether erroneous. But by any one, wishing to do justice to
the memory and labours of this extraordinary man, and keeping in view
his long scientific preparation, both in his own country and in
Germany, to enable him to attain a special and well-defined object, Dr.
Campbell’s remarks will not be regarded in any other light than what
they are, and as he doubtless wished them to be regarded, namely, a
graphic description of the incidents of the last scenes of a dying man.
Words which were uttered by the patient between the paroxysms of his
fatal disease will not be taken as a legitimate basis upon which alone
to pronounce a satisfactory judgment of a life-long career,
particularly after what Dr. Campbell tells us, that “the context of the
story was too complicated for me to take connected note of it.”
In the oft-mentioned letters to Captain Kennedy in 1825, Csoma
expressed his opinion as to the coincidence of certain geographical
names and words derived from the Sanskrit, which live to this day in
the countries bordering on the Lower Danube. He spoke likewise of the
country of the Huns and Yugurs on the western border of China, which,
if possible, he desired to visit that he might become acquainted with
the Mongol people. But he nowhere insists on any special linguistic
affinity between the Magyar and the Tibetan tongues, which affinity, by
itself, would have induced him to devote so much precious time to this
language.
In the course of his Tibetan studies, pursued, as so often mentioned,
in fulfilment of a solemn engagement towards the Indian Government,
Csoma discovered, as he tells us in his second letter to Captain
Kennedy, paragraph 50 and 51, that among the contents of the libraries
in Tibet was to be found all that was wanting to give the real history
of the Huns in their original condition and migrations. “What would
Hodgson, Turnour, and some of the philosophers of Europe not give to be
in my place when I get to Lassa!” was a frequent exclamation of Csoma’s
during his fatal illness. [57]
To reach Lassa, therefore, and to examine the contents of the libraries
there, was the proximate aim of the journey during which he died.
There can be little doubt as to what would have been the direction of
his ulterior steps, supposing him to have safely reached Lassa, and
there obtained what he hoped for. He would most likely have endeavored
to penetrate into Mongolia and the country around it.
No unprejudiced person, therefore, who had the opportunity of weighing
all the circumstances and the actual facts, will assuredly feel
justified in pronouncing a condemnation, and in showing up Csoma as one
who had wandered in search of fantastic ideas, and sacrificed the
labours of a long life in vain.
A few words will explain our meaning.
In a book recently published [58] we find it stated that Professor
Hunfalvy, a great authority on Finnish philology, had declared that
“Körösi, during his stay in Calcutta, experienced the bitterest moments
of his life, being conscious (?) that up to that time he had
fruitlessly looked for the origin of the Hungarians.”
Such disappointment we find nowhere alluded to by Csoma; he spoke
nowhere of any bitter sorrow at the uselessness of his labours, yet
such an opinion seems to have been shaped after his death.
Another great authority, Arminius Vámbéry, in a letter to Mr. Ralston,
draws the conclusion that “Körösi was a victim to ‘unripe’ philological
speculation, because he was looking for a nation speaking the Magyar
tongue, and suffered much disappointment at not finding the looked-for
relatives.”
Professor Vámbéry continues—
“And this (viz., finding Magyar-speaking relatives) was impossible for
Körösi to attain, because the Magyar tongue is a mixture of an Ugrian
and Turko-tatar dialect. This knowledge, however,” says Vámbéry, “is
the result of recent (principally his own) investigations, and poor
Körösi could have had hardly any notion of it!”
Such is the learned Professor’s judgment on Csoma in 1882.
We may mention that the Ugric and the Turko-tatar theory was strongly
advocated by Vámbéry in his last great philological work.
Summing up the preceding remarks, it may be stated that—
Firstly, we have already adduced proofs to show how scrupulously
careful Csoma’s critical mind was not to run into philological or any
other speculations. He guards himself very distinctly against such when
he says, “I was much perplexed by Dr. Gerard’s letter to me. In my
answer I would not enter into the wide field of speculation.” [59]
Henry Torrens speaks of it, [60] and Dr. Malan is very positive on the
subject [61] when he says, “Csoma did not scrutinise the intricacies of
hypotheses; he had too much sense for that.”
Secondly, no proof can be found anywhere among Csoma’s writings of his
having searched after a people in Asia “speaking the Magyar tongue.”
Such a theory may have been propounded by idle literary speculators or
elated enthusiasts on his behalf, as was recently done in Count Béla
Széchényi’s case, but a childlike chimera of the sort cannot be laid to
his charge unless proof positive exists that he enunciated such an
opinion and design, and persevered in it to the end.
Thirdly, the position of the Hungarian tongue in reference to the
Finnish, the Ugric, and the Turko-tatar dialects is far from being
settled yet by the philologists. Moreover, Csoma’s studies and labours
moved in an entirely different philological and ethnographical sphere
from that to which these several dialects belong. No critic who was not
able to pay due attention to a field of research on which Csoma
laboured, namely, the Indian, the Sanskrit, and the Tibetan languages,
could be expected to understand and to appreciate his ideas, motives,
and conclusions as they deserve, nor yet claim the right to pronounce
final judgment upon his merits. Nevertheless, an opinion stands on
record that Csoma’s philological views are not considered by his
countrymen as “deserving serious consideration.” [62] But this is only
in the Finnish and Turko-tatar direction, in which the special studies
of these critics lay, being quite distinct from those of Csoma, which,
by the way, have not as yet been inquired into by them. It is not fair
towards a thoroughgoing student such as Csoma was to treat his labours
in an off-hand manner, and to misinterpret the tendency of his
thoughtful conclusions.
Csoma was filled, as every earnest investigator should be, with a
never-flagging devotion to his object; but he was not a dreamer, as
some of his least-informed critics seem to wish to suggest that he was.
All his philological deductions were based on carefully selected data,
which he always adduced.
Impelled by a noble devotion to historical and philological science, he
set out unaided on his solitary journey to the East, endeavouring to
penetrate into the northern parts of the Chinese Empire, especially
into Mongolia and the surrounding countries, his sole object being to
study, from a Hungarian point of view, several yet unsolved
ethnological and historical problems, hoping that his labours generally
might be found useful by posterity, whose appreciation he looked for as
his only reward. As long as life was spared him he remained faithful to
this purpose, worthy to be followed up still by any one really
competent for the task.
Step by step, cautiously and with deliberation for two-and-twenty
years, he directed his efforts among difficulties which would have
driven a less heroic mind to despair, and yet with a modesty and ready
self-sacrifice quite exceptional. When we consider the physical
difficulties alone, we find that Csoma traversed greater distances than
did any other traveller before him or since under similar
circumstances.
The memory of Körösi’s uncomplaining endurance, unselfishness, and
modesty will ever remain recorded among the pioneers of philology, and
be cherished with gratitude in his native land.
What other tribute indeed but that of admiration and reverence could be
rendered to such a labourer!
Even among the people and the high ecclesiastics of Tibet the fame of
the Hungarian scholar lived for many years after him. The name of
“Philangi Dàsa,” the European disciple, as he was affectionately called
there, has been mentioned with appreciation to Dr. Leitner, who in 1866
had an interview at Pukdal with the Abbot of the Monastery in which
Csoma lived. Judging from Dr. Leitner’s report, we find that Csoma’s
sympathetic individuality left a lasting impression behind him, and
when the Tibetans heard that Leitner was a fellow-countryman of
Csoma’s, he was received with every mark of attention, and the Abbot
offered to conduct Dr. Leitner safely to Lassa, leaving, if desired,
his two sons as hostages in the hands of the Government. As, however,
Dr. Leitner was not prepared to accept the unlooked-for offer, the
Abbot was willing to extend it to any other European who may be
actuated by the same love and devotion to philological researches as
Csoma had been.
This circumstance was repeatedly brought to public notice by Dr.
Leitner, but no advantage has as yet been taken of an opportunity so
favourable to linguistic and perhaps political objects.
In the Székler land, his native province, Csoma’s memory lives in
affectionate remembrance.
The Kenderessy-Csoma Scholarship, founded by him at the College of Nagy
Enyed, is administered in accordance with his wishes. Csoma’s relations
made an endowment at the village school of Körös, at which, as a child,
he learned his first lessons. The yearly proceeds of this sum are
devoted partly to purchasing of books, and partly to improve the
stipend of the schoolmaster. There is a third memorial also, namely,
the donation made by Csoma in 1836 to the Military Institute of
Kézdi-Vásárhely. After the historical events of 1849 the funds of this
Institute were amalgamated with those of the College of Szent György;
towards this the Emperor-King, Francis-Joseph, contributed ten thousand
florins. Csoma’s money is administered in a separate account there, and
the yearly proceeds are divided among the most industrious scholars,
each prize-book being marked with the founder’s name.
“I have no doubt,” adds Baron Orbán Balázs, “that a day will come when
a better future dawns upon our country, and when past omissions and
neglect will be made good, and then a substantial monument will rise to
the imperishable memory of Alexander Csoma de Körös.”
We heartily add our Amen. May it be so!
The contents of the four boxes mentioned by Dr. Campbell, constituting
Csoma’s travelling library, were as follows:—
1st Box.
1. Grammar and dictionaries of Bengali, Turkish, Tibetan, Greek,
Latin, French, and English languages. 7 volumes.
2. New Testament in Russian.
3. Hodgson, on Buddhism in Nepal.
4. Index of the Asiatic Society’s Transactions.
5. The twentieth volume, Part I., of Asiatic Researches.
Total 13 volumes.
A medicine-box.
2d Box.
1. Grammars and dictionaries:—
Wilson’s Sanskrit Dictionary; Sanskrit Grammar; Bengali and
English Dictionary; Bengali, Turkish, and English grammars;
Sanskrit Dictionary; Greek Exercises; English, Bengali, and
Manipuri Grammar and Dictionary.
2. Alphabetum Tibetanum of Giorgi.
3. Bible in English; New Testament in Sanskrit; St. Matthew’s
Gospel in Bengali; Genesis in English.
4. Raja Tarangini, 2 volumes; Mahavansa; eight Bengali pamphlets.
5. Journal Asiatic Society, 9 volumes; Asiatic Researches,
twentieth volume, Part I.; foreign books, 6 volumes.
3d Box.
Tibetan Grammar; Mahabharata, 4 volumes; Raja Tarangini; Susrita;
Naishada Charita; four Bengali pamphlets.
4th Box.
1. Grammars and dictionaries:—
English Grammar and Exercises; English and French Dictionary;
English pocket-dictionary; English and Bengali Dictionary and
Exercises; Yates’ Sanskrit Grammar; Bhutia Vocabulary; Tibetan
Grammar and Dictionary, 3 copies; Russian Grammar; two Latin
and one Dutch Dictionaries; Latin Selections; Greek Grammar.
2. New Testament in Greek and Latin; Prayer-Book in Bengali.
3. Æsop’s Fables in German; 2 volumes Cicero’s Orationes;
Quintilianus; Homer; Horace; Cæsar’s Commentaries, Livy, Ovid,
Tacitus, Virgil, Sallust, Juvenal, Xenophon, altogether 13
volumes.
4. Robertson’s History of India; Klaproth’s Tibet; Dickens’
Pickwick; Journal Royal Asiatic Society; Prinsep’s Useful
Tables, 1 volume.
5. Small Atlas; Map of Chinese Empire; Map of Western Asia; a
memorandum book.
6. Inkstand, ruler, bundle of pencils, wafers, slate, a small
glass.
N.B.—The blue dress was given to his Lepcha servant.
CHAPTER XII.
Prince Eszterházy’s inquiry regarding Csoma’s papers—List of some
of them—Renewal of his tombstone at Darjeeling—Placed on the list
of public monuments by the Government of India—His
portrait—Conclusion.
Through the Indian Government Csoma’s death was notified to the
authorities in England, and we find that Prince Eszterházy wrote to the
directors of the East India Company thanking them for their
communication of the sad event, and inquiring at the same time whether
the Asiatic Society of Bengal would feel disposed to put the
Transylvanian authorities in possession of any papers that may have
been found among Csoma’s writings relating to special researches
concerning the history of the Hungarians in ancient times.
This letter of the Ambassador was transmitted to Calcutta, but led to
no result. Csoma left no formal will. His memorandum of the 9th of
February, by which he appointed the Asiatic Society the sole heir of
all his money, books, &c., was not admitted as a valid testamentary
document. The Administrator-General, therefore, submitted a statement
on the 8th of June 1843, according to which the estate appears to have
consisted of 3000 sicca and 2000 Government rupees, besides 26 Dutch
ducats; the Administrator-General adding, “I shall be obliged by your
forwarding the money to the Government for transmission to the
Honourable Court of Directors for information of the next kin of the
deceased.”
On his first arrival in Calcutta, in February 1854, as medical officer
on the Bengal Establishment of the Honourable East India Company, the
writer, through the introduction of Mr. Arthur Grote of the Bengal
Civil Service, obtained admission to the Administrator-General’s
office, where a small iron box, with the name of Alexander Csoma de
Körös painted on, was placed before him, containing papers of the late
Tibetan traveller. He prepared a list of its contents at that time,
being fortunate enough not to have neglected the opportunity that
offered, as three years later, on renewing his inquiry, he learnt that
the box in question could not again be found; its contents had been
destroyed with other similar unclaimed documents. The following is the
list prepared in 1854:—
1. Government Gazette, dated 10th September 1827, in which it is
announced that Csoma had obtained permission from Government to reside
in Upper Besarh for three years for the study of the Tibetan language
and literature. See chapter vi.
2. Government Gazette of 9th July 1829, containing a report of the
meeting of the Asiatic Society under the presidency of Sir Charles
Grey, when a monthly allowance of 50 rupees was voted to Csoma, in
consequence of Dr. Gerard’s letter to Mr. Fraser.
3. Bengal Hurkaru, dated 13th November 1829, containing a report of the
Asiatic Society’s meeting, when Csoma’s letter was read declining to
accept the proffered pecuniary assistance till he arrived in Calcutta.
4. Copy of a letter (Latin) to Prince Eszterházy, forwarding 50 copies
of the Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary for the learned societies of
Hungary and of the Austrian Empire, dated 1st July 1835.
5. A diploma of membership of the Hungarian Scientific Society, dated
15th November 1833.
6. Copy of letter to Mr. Döbrentei, secretary to the Hungarian Society,
dated 1st July 1838.
7. Two letters from Mr. Döbrentei, dated 1838. Already alluded to.
8. Mr. James Prinsep’s letter, with duplicates of two cheques, one of
200, the other for 450 ducats, dated 8th and 10th of February 1836
respectively.
9. Copy of Csoma’s letter to the College of Nagy Enyed, forwarding 450
ducats and founding a scholarship under the name of the
Kenderessy-Csoma Scholarship.
10. Klaproth’s letter in German, dated Paris, 26th August 1836,
thanking him for the Tibetan works and expressing opinion on subjects
of Oriental literature.
11. Mr. James Prinsep’s letter enclosing Bhote alphabet, 26th June
1837.
12. Dr. Wilson’s letter, in which he asks for assistance in translating
the Liturgy into Tibetan, 14th September 1840.
13. Mr. Yates’ letter about the Psalms in Tibetan, dated 5th October
1841.
14. Mr. Worsdale’s letter about a Tibetan prayer-book.
15. A friendly letter from Mr. John Barits, dated Kolosvar, 1st May
1840.
16. Copies of two letters to Mr. Boucher of Chandernagore, dated 7th
November 1841.
17. Copy of letter to Mr. MʻClintock, dated 8th February 1872.
19. Two passports from Supreme Government in Persian. The last dated
27th September 1841.
20. Three Tibetan manuscripts of 60, 30, and 26 pages respectively. The
latter was marked thus: “Specimens of letters in Tibetan.”
21. Dr. Campbell’s letter, forwarding one from the Lama of Kanum.
22. Two pieces of paper with Tibetan characters.
23. Mr. Grenolly’s letter on money matters, 7th February 1842.
24. A fragment.
Only a few more words remain to be added. Before all, an apology is due
from the writer of this biography for mentioning incidents which refer
to himself alone.
In the year 1856, and as long as Dr. Collins remained civil surgeon of
Darjeeling, he took a kindly interest in Csoma’s monument in the
station cemetery; and later, when the writer was fortunate enough to be
appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor, Sir William Grey, to the medical
charge of the Sanatorium, it was a special delight to him to have the
privilege of being able to look after his illustrious compatriot’s
tombstone.
In February 1883 he again visited Darjeeling during his short temporary
sojourn in Bengal, and was agreeably surprised to find that the
monument over Csoma’s grave had been entirely rebuilt. A few seasons
back the heavy rains in the hills caused a landslip on the
mountain-side on which the station cemetery stands, and Csoma’s
monument sustained damage. This was soon restored by order of the
Lieutenant-Governor, Sir Ashley Eden, and the grave is now placed on
the list of those public monuments in India which are under the
immediate care of the Public Works Department.
The writer begs to express again his sincere acknowledgments to the
Council of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and to the Under-secretary of
the Foreign Department, Mr. Durand, for placing copies of several
documents at his disposal, without which it would have been impossible
to fill up the gaps hitherto existing in the biography of the Hungarian
traveller. In the library of the Asiatic Society there were six
original letters in Csoma’s handwriting; three of these have been most
courteously transmitted, through the late lamented Dr. MʻCann, [63] to
the Royal Academy of Sciences in Hungary, to be preserved as relics in
the archives at Budapest. A similar magnanimity towards the same
learned body was manifested a year earlier by Mr. B. H. Hodgson, whose
name so often occurs in these pages, by sending him two original
letters of Csoma, which are published in chapter vii. Besides these his
thanks are due to Mr. Arthur Grote, to Dr. Rajendrolála Mitra, and to
his friend Dr. George King, for kind assistance. In Hungary, Mr. Paul
Gyulai, Emil Thewrewk de Ponor, Bishop Szász, Madame Szabó de Borgáta,
Baron Nicholas Horváth, Professor Budenz, and others furnished valuable
data for the preparation of this memoir, all of whom have placed the
writer under deep obligation.
Regarding the portrait which faces the title-page, the Reverend Dr.
Malan wrote as follows on the 15th of October 1883:—
“I thank you for giving me the pleasure of seeing Csoma’s likeness. It
reminds me very well of him, although it is younger than when I saw
him; he was then weather-beaten, and looked older than this picture,
but he wore no beard when I knew him. [64] I hope you will have the
likeness photographed, then may I beg a copy of it, for I always
remember him with gratitude and pleasure; I used to delight in his
company, he was so kind and so obliging, and always willing to impart
all he knew. He was altogether one of the most interesting men I ever
met.”
Dr. Malan is presumably the only witness still living who knew Csoma
face to face so well. Mr. Hodgson was in correspondence with him, but,
as far as is known, they never met.
This memoir would be incomplete without a respectful mention of the
names of Mr. Hodgson, and particularly of Dr. Malan. This latter
gentleman, with great generosity, recently presented Csoma’s Tibetan
books and MSS., as a spontaneous gift, to the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences, [65] in whose library at Budapest they will in the future be
carefully preserved.
APPENDIX.
Csoma’s writings may be divided into two categories. To the first
belong his Tibetan Grammar and Dictionary, and the essays which were
published in various periodicals of Calcutta. To the second belong his
manuscripts.
The first class consists of the following:—
1. Analysis of the Kahgyur and Stangyur. “Bengal Asiatic Researches,”
vol. xx.
2. Geographical notice of Tibet. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s Journal,”
vol. i., p. 122.
3. Translation of a Tibetan fragment. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s
Journal,” vol. i., p. 269.
4. Note on Kála-Chakra and Adi-Buddha systems. “Bengal Asiatic
Society’s Journal,” vol. ii., p. 57.
5. Translation of a Tibetan passport, dated 1688. “Bengal Asiatic
Society’s Journal,” vol. ii, p. 201.
6. Origin of the Shakya race, translated from Kahgyur. “Bengal Asiatic
Society’s Journal,” vol. ii. p. 385.
7. Mode of expressing numerals in the Tibetan language. “Bengal Asiatic
Society’s Journal,” vol. iii., p. 6.
8. Extracts from Tibetan works. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s Journal,”
vol. iii., p. 57.
9. Grammar and Dictionary of the Tibetan language in two volumes.
Calcutta, 1834.
10. Interpretation of the Tibetan inscription on a Bhotan banner taken
in Assam. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s Journal,” vol. v., p, 264.
11. Translation of the motto on the margin of a white satin scarf of
Tibetan priests. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s Journal,” vol. v., p. 383.
12. Notices on the different systems of Buddhism. “Bengal Asiatic
Society’s Journal,” vol. vii., p. 142.
13. Enumeration of historical and grammatical works which are to be
found in Tibet. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s Journal,” vol. vii., p. 147.
14. On Buddhist Amulettes. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s Journal,” vol.
ix., Part II., p. 905.
15. The aphorisms of Sa-Skya Pandita. “Bengal Asiatic Society’s
Journal,” vol. xxiv., p. 141.
In the second category are—
16. A collection of Buddhist terms in Tibetan and English, and
17. A collection of Sanskrit, Hindi, and Hungarian words. A fragment.
A brief notice will be given of each in the form of appendices.
I.
Analysis of the BKahgyur and the BStangyur.
This is contained in the twentieth volume of the “Asiatic Researches,”
which volume consists of two parts.
The analysis of the Kahgyur is divided by Csoma into three articles—
a. The analysis of the Dulva. As. Res., Part I., p. 41–94.
b. Notices on the “Life of Shakya” from the MDo part. As. Res., Part
II., pp. 285–318.
c. Analysis of Sher-chin. As. Res., Part II., pp. 393–553.
The analysis of the Stangyur. Its abstract contents, divided into two
classes, RGyud and MDo. As. Res., Part II., pp. 553–585.
A. The Kahgyur.
a. The analysis of the Dulva.
The Dulva is the first division of the Kahgyur. The whole of the
Kahgyur consists of one hundred volumes, of which thirteen are allotted
to the Dulva, in Sanskrit, called Vinaya or Discipline, being the
introduction to the whole Buddhist Encyclopædia, containing
descriptions of observances to be practised by the votaries of
Buddhism, but more especially by those persons, whether male or female,
who adopt a religious life. These observances are of a very
comprehensive description, extending not only to moral and ceremonial
duties, but to modes of personal deportment, and to the different
articles of food and attire. The precepts are interspersed with
legendary accounts, recording the occasions on which Shakya thought it
necessary to communicate his particular instructions to his disciples.
The Dulva comprises seven portions; some authorities divide it into
four.
The first of the seven portions, the Vinaya vastu in Sanskrit,
Dul-va-zhi in Tibetan, treats of the circumstances under which the
religious profession may be adopted. It opens with an account of the
hostilities that prevailed between the kings of Anga and Magadha, until
the latter was overpowered and made tributary to the former.
The particulars of Shakya’s birth are not enumerated at this place, but
we find here an account of his two first disciples, viz., Sariputra and
Magalyana, two young philosophical Brahmans, who, being attracted by
his teaching, attached themselves to his person.
The doctrine of Shakya was patronised by the King Vimbasara; at
Rajagriha he enjoyed great fame and made numerous converts. The mode in
which his converts were received into the order of monks, either by
himself or by his disciples, is described. Two presidents are
appointed, and five classes of teachers ordained. Questions to be
discussed are given, and a description is given of persons who are from
bodily imperfections or disease inadmissible. A variety of rules on the
subject of admission is laid down.
The conduct of the person after admission is regulated, various moral
obligations are prescribed; resignation and forbearance under
maltreatment or when reviled are particularly inculcated.
Stories are related of improprieties committed by some of the juvenile
members of the community, and, in consequence, Shakya rules that none
shall be admitted who are under fifteen, and that no priest be ordained
under twenty years of age. He prohibits the admission of slaves,
debtors, runaways, hermaphrodites, diseased or maimed persons, of young
men without consent of their parents, and of individuals who have
families dependent on them. No person is to be admitted except in a
full conclave, and no one is allowed to reside among the monks without
ordination; no thieves, parricides, matricides, or murderers are to be
admitted.
The next subject is the performance of the great Buddhist rite, the
“Confession and Expiation,” which should be observed every new and full
moon in a public place, and before the whole congregation of monks. The
ceremony is fully detailed.
The rest of the volume contains a number of precepts and prohibitions;
some of them are of a whimsical character.
The second volume treats on matters of dress, fitness of leather or
hides for shoes to be worn by the priests. There is a treatise on such
drugs as the disciples are permitted to use and to carry about them.
There is also an account of how the King of Magadha entertained Shakya
for three months. Various legends are told, and in the course of them
the six chief cities of India are mentioned, namely, Sravasti and
Saketana in Oude, Varanasi (the Benares of to-day), Vaisali (now
Allahabad), Champa (Bhagulpore), and Rajagriha (Behar, Gaya).
From Magadha Shakya went to Vaisali upon invitation of the Lichchavi
inhabitants of that city, who appear to have been republicans and very
wealthy. The peregrinations of Shakya are continued, in which he made
many converts, relating the events of their present and previous lives,
as well as those of his own, and how he became a Bodhisatvan or a sage.
The conclusion of the second volume leaves him, with thirty-six of his
principal disciples, at the lake Mansarowar, or Manassarovara, in the
northern Himalayas, near the source of the Ganges and the Indus.
The third volume continues in the same strain. At a place in Kosala,
Shakya and his followers were entertained by certain people with the
view of ascertaining the habits of the Buddhist monks; they were found
moderate in their enjoyments and easily satisfied. Their opponents, the
Brahmans, on the contrary, showed greediness and insatiability.
Special lessons are given to the priests, as in the preceding volumes.
They are permitted to eat treacle, to cook for themselves in time of
famine, to eat meat under certain restrictions, and to accept gifts
from the laity. These lessons are interspersed with notices on
medicines and on the mode of administering them; the employment of
charms and incantations is inculcated.
Next are laid down rules for the proper attire to be worn by the
disciples of Shakya. They are directed to wear not more than three
pieces of cloth of a red colour, to use cotton garments when bathing,
to be clean in their dress and in their bedding, and never to go about
naked as the Brahmin fakirs do. The subject of dress is followed up by
directions as to the use of mats or sheets to lie upon.
Important injunctions are given regarding the conduct to be observed
towards refractory and quarrelsome brethren. They are first to be
admonished in the congregation, and if still impenitent, to be expelled
from the community. The mode in which confession, repentance, and
absolution are to be practised is explained and illustrated by
examples.
The residences and furniture of the monks are next described, and the
dissensions of religious communities considered; other miscellaneous
matters are discussed, and a historical account is given of the origin
of the Shakya race, and of the master’s birth and education.
The fourth volume continues the story of Shakya’s life, and mentions
the circumstances which led to his becoming an ascetic. In this book
the Shakyas are called inhabitants of Kosala (a country bordering on
the Kailas mountains), and are said to be descendants of the Hindú king
Ikshwaku. The birthplace of Shakya is declared to be Kapila-vastu, near
the Himalayas, on the banks of the river Bhagirathi.
The last pages of the book treat on the evils of causing schisms; the
inveterate hostility of his nephew, Lhas-Kyim, towards himself, is
mentioned.
The fifth volume commences with Pratimoksha Sútra, that is, short
precepts for securing final felicity, the sum of which is, that “vice
is to be diligently avoided, virtue invariably practised, and the
passions kept under entire subjection.”
Then follows a code of laws for the monks. The subject is enlarged more
in the sixth, seventh, and eighth volumes, which comprehend 253 rules.
Each of these arises, in general, from some improper conduct of a
religious person. The offence comes to Shakya’s knowledge, who summons
the culprit into the congregation and reproves him publicly. On his
confession and penitence he is pardoned; then Shakya pronounces the law
with a view of preventing a like transgression in future.
The ninth volume is of the same general tenor as the preceding four,
but it is addressed to the female followers of Buddha, the priestesses
or nuns, “Gélong-má,” or “Bhikshuni” in Sanskrit. Many of the rules are
repeated from the foregoing volumes, and almost in identical terms.
The tenth and eleventh volumes relate to matters and rules of minor
importance, such as, that the monks shall not use vitrified bricks as a
flesh-brush, nor fragrant ointments, nor wear rings or seal-rings made
of precious metals, nor eat garlic, nor learn music and dancing. There
are directions for the building of chaityas or religious edifices to
deposit relics in, such as the hair, nails, &c. of Buddha, which he
gave to various persons during his lifetime. There are also to be found
some tales of a political and historical character, an account of the
destruction of Kapila, the metropolis of the Shakyas, the murder or
expulsion of its inhabitants, many of whom are said to have fled into
Nepal.
The eleventh volume closes with an account of the “Nirvaná,” or
emancipation and death of Shakya in Kamrup, in Western Assam. Eight
cities contend for his remains, which are consequently divided among
them and deposited in chaityas built for that purpose.
On the death of Shakya, Kasyapa, the head of the Buddhas, directs five
hundred superior monks to make a compilation of the doctrines of their
master. Thus: the Do was compiled by Ananda, the Dul-va by Upali; the
Ma-mom, Abhi-dharma, and Prájná-páramita by Kasyapa himself. He
presides over the sects at Rajagriha till his death. Ananda succeeds
him, as Buddha. On Ananda’s death his relics are divided between the
Lichchavis, the republican inhabitants of Vaisali, and the King of
Magadha, and two chaityas are built for their reception, one at Vaisali
(in Tibetan Yangs-pa-chen, Allahabad), and the other at Pataliputra
(Patna).
One hundred years after Shakya’s Nirvana, his religion is carried into
Kashmir. After a further period of one hundred and ten years, in the
reign of Asoka, a king of Pataliputra, a new compilation of the laws of
Buddha was prepared by 700 monks at Yangs-pa-chen.
The twelfth and thirteenth volumes of the Dulva contain supplementary
rules, as communicated by Shakya to Upali his disciple in answer to
certain inquiries.
At the end of the analysis of this part of the Kahgyur, in the
twentieth volume of the “Asiatic Researches,” Part I., p. 94, Csoma
placed the following note:—“I may here close my analysis of the Dulva
collection; from the tenor of which it may in some measure be judged
what is to be found in the remaining eighty-seven volumes of the
Kahgyur. Of the whole of the voluminous compilation, I have prepared a
detailed analysis with occasional translations of such passages as
excited curiosity, particularly the relation of the life and death of
Shakya. The whole are deposited in manuscript, among the archives of
the Asiatic Society, and will at any time be available to the scholar,
who may consult the first volume of the Asiatic Society’s Journal, page
375, for a general view of their contents, by Professor Wilson. For
further information and details of the Kahgyur, a reference may be made
to the publication indicated above.”
b. Notices on Shakya’s life are contained in two principal Tibetan
works, namely, the Gya-ch’her-rol-pa and the Non-par-byung-va.
c. Sher-ch’hin or Shes-rab-kyi-pha-rol-tu-p’hyin-pa (Prajna paramita in
Sanskrit, transcendental wisdom), fills twenty-one volumes.
B. The Stangyur.
The second part of the great Tibetan encyclopædia, the Stangyur,
consists of two principal divisions, with a third one, consisting of a
collection of hymns and prayers. The whole makes 225 volumes, namely:—
The Gyud treats on ritual and ceremonies, and extends over eighty-seven
volumes.
The Do treats on science and literature, and occupies 136 volumes.
The hymns and praises are contained in one volume, and there is one
volume more representing the index of the whole compilation.
II.
Geographical Notice of Tibet from Native Sources.
The vast mountainous country between 73° and 98° E. long. from
Greenwich, and 27° and 38° N. latitude may be assigned to Tibet, since
the Tibetan language is generally understood there, from Baltistan or
little Tibet to the frontier of China, although there are various
dialects; but the inhabitants of those countries have the same manners,
customs, and faith, viz., Buddhism; have the same religious books,
written or printed in characters common to all the provinces.
The native name of Tibet is Pot or Bod: Bod-yul, the country of Tibet;
Bod-pa, a native man of Tibet; Bod-mo, a Tibetan woman. The Indian name
for Tibet is Bhot.
Bod-yul, par excellence, is Middle Tibet, namely, the provinces of U
and Tsang, with the capital of Lassa and Zhikátsé. Eastern Tibet or
Great Tibet is called Kham or Kham-yul, the north-western part towards
Ladak is Nári, and the southern part Bhutan; Lhopato or simply Lho,
meaning south.
The whole of Tibet is highland, and lies among snowy mountains. In
Tibetan books it is called by various poetical names, in allusion to
snow, ice, glaciers, cold, and high elevation. The highest plateau is
in Nari; the most elevated peak is Tisé or Tésé, called in Sanskrit
Kailasa, about 80° E. longitude, and 34° N. latitude. The sources of
the Indus, Sutlej, Gogra, and Brahmaputra are in Nári. Tibetan writers,
in describing the situation of Tibet, have likened Nari to a
water-pond, the provinces U and Tsang to four canals, and Kham-yul to a
field of crops.
On the north, Tibet is bounded by the countries of the Turks and
Mongols, called by Tibetans Hor and Sok.
On the east by China (Gyanak); on the south by India (Gyagar); and on
the west by India, Kashmir, Afghanistan, and Turkestan.
The neighbouring hill people are called by Tibetans “Mon,” their
country Mon-yul; the males Mon-pa, and the females Mon-mo.
From the first range of the Himalayas on the Indian side to the plains
of Tartary, they count six chains of mountains, running in the
north-western and south-eastern direction, viewed from the lofty
mountain Kangri in Nari.
In the spacious valley between the third and fourth range is the main
road between Ladak and U-tsang. The three great divisions of Tibet
described are—
1. U-tsang or Tibet proper, divided into several districts. The
capital, Lassa, situated in the district U, is the residence of the
Great Lama, the government of Tibet, and of the Amban, the Chinese
Ambassador. The number of the inhabitants of this part of Tibet is
reckoned at 130,000 families, who are, of all the Tibetan races, the
most industrious, skilful, and polite.
2. The second or Eastern Division of Tibet is Kham-yul or Great Tibet;
the east is bordered by China and subdivided into many small
principalities. Its inhabitants differ much from other Tibetans in
their stature, features, dress, and customs, as well as in the
pronunciation of Tibetan. In physique they are very robust and simple,
but very passionate; not fond of ornaments of any kind. The sect called
Pon or Bon, very numerous here, still practise the ancient religion of
Tibet; have a literature of their own, religious orders, monasteries,
and many superstitious rites. They kill several animals for sacrifice.
3. The third great division is Nári, extending from Tsang to Ladak. The
area of this is very extensive, containing many deserts, and is
sparsely inhabited. The number of families, including Ladak and
Baltistan, does not exceed 50,000. They dwell in tents made of
haircloth, and lead a pastoral life, eschewing agriculture.
The more north-westerly part of Tibet is Belti-yul—Baltistan or little
Tibet—divided among several chiefs. In the mountain defiles on the
south live the predatory people known as the Dardús; they are
barbarians of Afghan or Hindu origin. The inhabitants for the most part
are Shiah Mohammedans. Their language is a dialect of the Tibetan, but
what literature there is, is Persian. The climate is warm; in the lower
part snow never falls.
Lakes in Tibet are few. The principal one is Ma-pham-yu-tsho
(Mansarovara), in Nari; its circumference is one and a half day’s
journey (i.e., about thirty miles).
Medicinal and hot springs are in the provinces of U and Tsang, and to
the east of the Mapham lake.
Four glaciers are enumerated, and called mountains of frozen snow,
namely, the Tisé, Havo, Shámpo, and Pulé.
There are mines in Tibet, but they are not worked. Some gold-dust is
gathered in Nári, Gugé, and Zanskar.
In Tibet there is a great deficiency of wood. In Baltistan and Bhutan
fruit-trees are cultivated. In Khamyul some forests are found. In the
western parts of Ladak and Baltistan grapes come to maturity.
The slopes of the mountains are mostly bare. In the valleys, where
irrigation is practised, some cereals, such as wheat, barley,
buckwheat, millet and pease, are sown. Tibet has no ricefields, but
beans and lentils, turnips, cabbages, onions, &c., are cultivated.
The daily food of a Tibetan consists of gruel prepared from the meal of
parched barley; meat, bread, sour-milk, curds; and tea, prepared in the
Tartar fashion in a churn with butter and milk.
The origin of the Tibetan race is attributed to a fabulous union
between a she-demon and an ape. Some refer their origin to India,
others to China, others again to the Mongols or Turks. They admit five
races among themselves, according to the countries they live in; their
pronunciation differs much, but they all understand each other. Except
the Mohammedans of Ladak and Baltistan, they all profess the religion
of Buddha, whose records are written in the same language and
character.
III.
Translation of a Tibetan Fragment, with Remarks by Dr. Wilson.
In the ninth volume of the Gyut class of the Kahgyur occurs the
original of a Tibetan fragment which created in the beginning of the
last century a lively sensation amongst the learned men of Europe, and
the history of which furnishes an amusing instance of the vanity of
literary pretensions, and of the patience and pain with which men of
talent and erudition have imposed upon themselves and upon the world.
In the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th century the Russians,
in their incursions into Siberia, came upon various deserted temples
and monasteries, in some of which considerable collections of books
were deposited. These were in general destroyed or mutilated by the
ignorant rapacity of the soldiery; but fragments of them were
preserved, and found their way as curiosities into Europe.
Among these some loose leaves, supposed to have been obtained at the
ruins of Ablakit, a monastery near the source of the Irtish, were
presented to the Emperor Peter the Great. Literature being then at a
low ebb in Russia, no attempt was made to decipher these fragments, and
they were sent by the Czar to the French Academy, whose sittings he had
attended when in Paris, and who deservedly enjoyed the reputation of
being the most learned body in Europe. In 1720 the Abbé Bignon, on the
part of the Academy, communicated to the Czar the result of their
labour, apprising him that the fragments sent were portions of a work
in the Tibetan language, and sending a translation of one page made by
Abbé Fourmont with the help of a Latin and Tibetan Dictionary. The
letter was published in the “Transactions of the Academy of St.
Petersburg,” and the text and translation reprinted by Bayer in his
“Museum Sinicum.” Müller, in 1747, criticised Fourmont’s translation,
and gave a new one of the first lines, prepared with the double aid of
a Tangutan priest, who rendered it into Mongol, and a Mongol student,
who interpreted it to Müller. It was afterwards reprinted, with
corrections and additions, and a new translation, by Giorgi in his
“Alphabetum Tibetanum,” and was at the beginning of the present century
made the subject of animadversion by M. Rémusat in his “Recherches sur
les Langues Tartares.”
Of the previous performances M. Rémusat thus speaks: “On avait d’abord
admiré la profonde érudition qui avait permis à Fourmont de reconnaître
seulement la langue dans laquelle le volume était écrit; on a vanté
depuis celle de Giorgi, qui avait rectifié le texte et la traduction.
Je ne sais comment on peut traduire ou corriger un texte qu’on n’est
pas même capable de lire. Il n’y avait rien à admirer dans tout cela;
interprètes et commentateurs, panégyristes, et critiques, tous étaient
presque également hors d’état, je ne dis pas d’entendre une ligne, mais
d’épeler une syllable du passage sur lequel ils dissertaient.”
The consequence was what might have been expected, and the attempts at
translation and correction were most ludicrously erroneous. The
greatest liberties possible were taken with the words, letters were
omitted or inserted at pleasure, and the translation was not only
unlike the original, but unlike common sense, and the Latin was quite
as unintelligible as the Tangutan.
The three translations are given—namely, that of Fourmont, of Müller,
and of Giorgi. Regarding the last, Dr. Wilson remarks, “This display of
unprofitable erudition is in fact only a shelter for his ignorance, and
Giorgi knows no more about the matter than did Fourmont, without having
the merit of his blundering simplicity.”
After this follows Csoma’s exact translation of the whole passage with
the original text in Tibetan, and its translation in Roman characters,
from which those to whom this object is of interest will readily
estimate for themselves the superiority of Csoma’s labours if they
compare them with the text and the previous translations.
IV.
Note on Kála-Chakra and Adi-Buddha Systems.
The peculiar religious system entitled the Kála-Chakra is supposed to
have been derived from Shambála, a fabulous country in the North. Its
capital was Kalapa, a splendid city, the residence of many illustrious
kings, situated beyond the river Sita or Yaxartes, where the increase
of the days from vernal equinox till the summer solstice amounts to
twelve Indian hours—that is, four hours and forty-eight minutes of our
reckoning.
This system was introduced into Central India in the latter half of the
tenth century A.D., and afterwards, viâ Kashmir, found its way into
Tibet, where, in the course of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth
centuries several works were published on it.
Padmo Carpo thus describes its introduction into Nalanda in Central
India by a certain pandit called Chilu. Having designed over the door
of the Vihar the ten guardians of the world, he wrote underneath the
pictures thus:—
“He that does not know the chief first Buddha (Adi-Buddha) knows not
the circle of time (Kala, time; Chakra, a wheel, a circle).
“He that does not know the circle of time knows not the exact
enumeration of the divine attributes.
“He that does not know the exact enumeration of the divine attributes,
knows not the Supreme Intelligence.
“He that does not know the supreme intelligence knows not the Tantrika
principles.
“He that does not know these, and creatures like him, are wanderers in
the orb of transmigration, and are out of the path of the Supreme
Conqueror.
“Therefore, Adi-Buddha must be taught by every true Lama, and every
true disciple who aspires to liberation is bound to hear him.”
V.
Translation of a Tibetan Passport, dated A.D. 1688.
In Hyde’s “Historia Veterum Persarum” is an engraving of a passport
granted by the Grand Lama of Lassa to an Armenian, which at the time of
its publication could not be deciphered by any European; and the
learned author was nearly as much misled regarding its character and
the manner of reading it, as was Monsieur Fourmont of the French
Academy on another occasion. It informs us also of the insecurity in
travelling in the countries to which it refers.
The translation of the curious text follows:—
“From the noble city of Lassa, the circumambulating race of
religion.
“To those that are on the road as far as Arya Désa (country of
Aryans, India); to clerical, laical, noble, and not noble lords or
masters of men; to residents in the forts; to stewards, managers;
to Mongols, Tibetans, Turks; to dwellers in tents in the desert; to
envoys and ambassadors going to and fro; to keepers of bye-ways; to
headmen charged to perform any business of small or great
importance;—to all these it is ordered, respecting the four persons
named in the passport, not to hinder, rob, or plunder them, but let
them go to and fro in peace.”
The document is provided with a square seal Seal.
VI.
The Origin of the Shakya Race.
On a certain occasion when Shakya (Sansrgyas, bChom-ldan-hdas, Buddha
Bhagaván) was in Nyagrodha (Árama) grove, near Kapilavastu, many of
the Shakyas who inhabited Kapilavastu being gathered together in their
council-house, questioned one another, saying, “Shes-dan-tak!
(intelligent brethren) whence did the Shakya race spring?
“What is their origin?
“What is the cause or reason thereof?
“What is their ancient descent as a nation? If any one should come and
ask us about these points, we could not tell him whence the Shakyas
originated. Come, let us go to the Bhagaván and ask him to enlighten us
on the subject, that we may abide by his advice.”
Thereupon a very great number of Shakyas, inhabitants of Kapilavastu,
went to the Bhagaván, and after having made their salutation by
prostrating themselves at his feet, sat aside.
In addressing him they explained the cause of their errand, and begged
him to enlighten them.
Bhagaván thought that, should he himself tell the story, his opponents
the Tirthikas and others might say that he was telling only what was
pleasing to himself. Not to give, therefore, an opportunity for such
remarks, he intrusted his disciple Mongalyana to impart the required
information, to which Mongalyana assented.
Shakya seeing that he was obeyed, folded up his cloak and composed
himself to sleep.
Mongalyana, in order to collect his ideas on the subject, entered into
deep meditation. Recovering from his ecstasy, he sat down on a carpet,
surrounded by his priests, and addressed them at length.
Mongalyana’s story was that, after the world was destroyed, men were
born in heaven among gods; they walked in the air, and their food
consisted of pleasures only. Afterwards the earth turned into water,
and there was nothing but one ocean, which covered all. On this a thin
film like milk was visible, which became thicker and thicker, and thus
was formed the present earth.
Then some animated beings inhabiting the heavens, having finished their
lives there, were born again to taste the condition of manhood, and
came to the earth. They were perfect animal beings, and lived for a
long period. At that time there was no sun, no moon, and no stars, no
time, no night, and no day. No distinction between male and female.
They were all called animals.
Afterwards an animal, being of a covetous nature, tasted the earthly
essence; the more he tasted it the more he liked it. Other animal
beings did the same.
When they all had eaten a mouthful of the earthly substance, as a
consequence solidity and weight entered into their bodies. The
brightness of their colour vanished, and darkness set in in the world.
When darkness was thus established, the sun and moon appeared, the
stars, and the division into night and day.
Their food continued as before; those that had eaten little of that
food acquired a fine complexion and colour; those that had eaten much,
on the contrary, became of a bad colour. Then they began to reproach
each other and to dispute.
On account of the sin of such vainglorious talk the earthly essence
disappeared.
This was the cause of much lamentation, and there arose from the earth
a fatty substance. It was enjoyable as food; but the same happened
regarding its use and effect as in the former case, and owing to the
sin of pride and division among themselves this substance also
disappeared.
The greasy substance was then replaced by sugar-cane plantations, and
these again, for similar reasons, by pure rice (salu), without
ploughing or sowing the fields. If cut in the evening, the harvest
ripened over night and was ready for next morning, and so it continued
for a long time.
From the use of rice arose the distinction of sexes. At first the
different sexes regarded each other with fixed eyes, and were drawn
towards each other. Such as have loved each other had pieces of stone
or clods of earth thrown at them by those who had not acted like them.
The custom, therefore, of throwing rice, shoes, &c., at newly-married
couples in our own day seems to have been derived from Buddhistic
cosmogony. The couples afterwards searched after hiding-places, calling
out, “Khyim, Khyim,” [66] and built themselves houses.
Then there arose the necessity of laying in stores of food for their
wants; but on cutting down their rice-fields this time they perceived
that the crops did not grow again, as was the case before. The animal
beings—mankind—therefore gathered together to reflect on their former
state. Some amongst them said, “We must mete out the land and assign a
boundary to every man’s property, saying, ‘This is mine, and that is
thine.’” It was done accordingly.
It happened afterwards that a certain individual took the salu (rice)
of another without its being given to him; that is to say, he stole his
brother’s share. On this he was seized and dragged before the assembly,
and was publicly reproved. Such instances occurred repeatedly.
Then they all assembled for the purpose of deliberation, and agreed to
elect one who had a better complexion than themselves, more beautiful,
was more fortunate and more renowned, and made him master and
proprietor of all their fields.
They said, “He shall punish those who deserve punishment, and reward
those to whom a reward is due. From the produce of the land he shall
receive a certain portion.”
They accordingly chose one and called him Maha Sammata, the Honoured by
Men! Maha Sammata’s family reigned for a long period. The last
descendant was called Ikshwaku Virudhaka.
He had four sons. After his first wife’s death he married again, this
time a princess, his father-in-law insisting that his daughter’s son
should become heir to the throne.
The king agreed to this, and expelled his four sons from the kingdom.
The four brothers, taking their half-sisters with them, and accompanied
by many followers, left the ancient capital, Potala, went towards
Himalaya to settle on the banks of Bhagirathi, not far from the
hermitage where Kapila the Rishi lived. By the advice and with the
sanction of this hermit, they married their half-sisters and begat many
children. The Rishi afterwards marked out a place for them, where a
city was built, and in honour of this sainted man it was called
Kapilavastu.
At Potala the king, thinking of his four sons, inquired on one occasion
from his courtiers what had become of the princes, his sons? On this he
was informed that after he had banished them they settled in the
neighbourhood of the Himalaya, took their half-sisters for wives, and
multiplied exceedingly.
The king, being much surprised on hearing this, exclaimed, “Shakya!
Shakya! is it possible! is it possible!” And this is the origin of the
Shakya name.
Thus ends the narration of Mongalyana. Shakya, the Bhagaván, approved
of it, and recommended it to his followers.
VII.
Mode of Expressing Numerals in Tibetan.
Here the same system prevails as in Sanskrit. The printed Tibetan text
has the dates in figure above, and then they are written in the body of
the text, in symbolical words, so as to secure them against the danger
of alteration. This system, in fact, gives the sane safeguard against
incertitude of figures that the mode of writing values and sums at
length in European documents is intended to secure.
There are many astronomical and astrological treatises to be found in
Tibet, which have not been embodied into the Kahgyur or Stangyur
collections. Of these the most celebrated was written by a Viceroy at
Lassa in the latter half of the seventeenth century A.D. In all works
of this description symbolical names are used instead of numerals; as,
for instance, lag, hand, for + 2; - mé, fire, for - 3; × chhu, water,
for × 4; ÷ so, a tooth, for ÷ 32.
Besides the nine units and the zero, the following numerals have
special expressions, namely, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 24, 25,
27, and 32.
When dictating to an assistant in symbolical names what to write in
characters, the pandit commences the operation from right to left,
thus, if you say Nyima, sun, that means = 12; mkhah, void, means = 0;
mtsho, a lake = 4, the copyist writes 4012. The very same method has
been adopted in the Shastras.
As examples the following are cited:—
zla, the moon, stands for Number 1.
lag, the hand, ,, for ,, 2.
mé, fire, ,, for ,, 3.
chhu, water, ,, for ,, 4.
mdah, an arrow, ,, for ,, 5.
dus, time, ,, for ,, 6.
ri, a hill, ,, for ,, 7.
sbrul, a serpent, ,, for ,, 8.
srin-po, a goblin, ,, for ,, 9.
phyogs, a corner (of the world), ,, for ,, 10.
Dragpo, the brave (Rudra), ,, for ,, 11.
Nyima, sun, ,, for ,, 12.
hdod-pa, lust, desire, ,, for ,, 13.
yid, the mind, ,, for ,, 14.
tshes, nyin-zhag, the 15th day of the lunar
month, ,, for ,, 15.
Rgyalpo, a king, ,, for ,, 16.
nyes-pa, a blemish, ,, for ,, 18.
Rgyalva, a Buddha, ,, for ,, 24.
de-nyid, same self, ,, for ,, 25.
skar-ma, a star, ,, for ,, 27.
so, a tooth, ,, for ,, 32.
for zero, mkhah, void space, or: thig, a spot or stain, or: Stongpa,
the vacuum, a zero.
It may be fitting to add here a few notes on the systems of reckoning
time in use among the Tibetans, which the author noticed at page 147 of
the appendix to his Grammar.
The Tibetans derived their astronomical and astrological knowledge, not
from India only, but also from the Chinese people.
The mode of reckoning, according to the Indian system, is called by
them “Karçis,” that derived from China, “Nakçis.” On both these systems
are to be found numerous works in the Tibetan language.
The most common mode of reckoning time, especially in calculating the
years of the present generation, or of determining the age of an
individual, is that by the cycle of twelve years, in which each year is
designated by the name of an animal, in this manner:—
Tibetan. English.
1. byi-lo the mouse-year.
2. glang-lo ,, ox-year.
3. stag-lo ,, tiger-year.
4. yos-lo ,, hare-year.
5. hbrug-lo ,, dragon-year.
6. sbrul-lo ,, serpent-year.
7. rta-lo ,, horse-year.
8. lug-lo ,, sheep-year.
9. spré-lo ,, ape-year.
10. bya-lo ,, bird-year.
11. khyi-lo ,, dog-year.
12. phag-lo ,, hog-year.
But in books, in correspondence, and in every transaction of greater
importance, the use of the cycle of sixty years has been adopted; and
this system is twofold, the Indian and the Chinese.
The years of the Indian cycle, prevalent south of the Nermada river,
exactly coincide with the Tibetan era, the Sanskrit names having been
translated literally, but the Tibetans count the commencement of their
first cycle from A.D. 1026; the Indians, on the contrary, date theirs
from the Kaliyuga, and sometimes from the reign of Salivahana.
The Tibetans, like the Chinese, divide each year into lunar months,
calling them first, second, third month, &c. During the period of each
lunar cycle, which corresponds to nineteen solar years, they insert
seven intercalary months, generally one in every third year, to make
them agree with the solar years. In this manner the calculation exactly
corresponds with the luni-solar system of the Hindus.
The Indian system differs from the Chinese in the mode of naming years.
The Chinese nomenclature is made up by the names of five elements, and
made ten by affixing the male and female termination to each, and this
series is repeated six times; therefore 6 × 10 = 60.
The second series is made up of twelve zodiacal constellations, and is
repeated five times, 5 × 12 = 60, thus making the cycle of sixty years.
The names of the five elements are as follows:—
Chinese. Tibetan. English.
1. kya. shing pho. wood, masculine.
2. yi. shing mo. wood, feminine.
3. ping. mé pho. fire, masculine.
4. ting. mé mo. fire, feminine.
5. vou. sa pho. earth, masculine.
6. kyi. sa mo. earth, feminine.
7. king. lchags pho. iron, masculine.
8. zin. lchags mo. iron, feminine.
9. zhin. chhu po. water, masculine.
10. kuhi. chu mo. water, feminine.
The names of the twelve animals of the zodiac are these—
Chinese. Tibetan. English.
1. Tsi. byi. Mouse.
2. Tshihu. glang. Ox.
3. Yin. stag. Tiger.
4. Mahu. yos. Hare.
5. Shin (Tshin ?). hbrug. Dragon.
6. Zi. sbrul. Serpent.
7. Hu (n). rta. Horse.
8. Wuhi. lug. Sheep.
9. Shing. spré. Ape.
10. Yéhu. bya. Bird.
11. Zuhi. khyi. Dog.
12. Hahi. phag. Hog.
Thus the first cycle, consisting of ten years, is repeated six times.
The second cycle of twelve years is repeated five times, to make up the
whole cycle of sixty years.
The list of the names of animals for each of the sixty years in a
cycle, arranged in Chinese, Sanskrit, Tibetan, and English, is given in
the text. See op. cit., p. 151–154.
VIII.
Extracts from Tibetan Works Translated.
1. Tibetan Beau-ideal of a Wife. (Kahgyur, MDo Kha, p. 106–7.)
The required qualities in a maiden who may aspire to be united in
marriage with Shakya are thus defined by himself:
“No ordinary woman is suitable to my taste and habits, none who is
incorrect in her behaviour, who has bad qualities, or who does not
speak the truth. But such one alone will be pleasing and fit for me,
who, exhilarating my mind, is chaste, young, of good complexion, and of
a pure family and descent.”
He indited a catalogue of these qualifications in verse, and said:—
“If there shall be found any girl with the virtues I have described,
since I like not an unrestrained woman, let her be given to me in
marriage. She who is young, well-proportioned, and elegant, yet not
boastful of her beauty; who is affectionate towards her brother,
sister, and mother; who, always rejoicing in giving alms, knoweth the
proper manner how to bestow them on the priests and Brahmans; if there
be found any such damsel, father! let her be brought to me. One who,
being without arrogance, pride, and passion, has left off artifice,
envy, and deceit, and is of an upright nature; who even in her dreams
hath not lusted after any other man; who resteth content with her own
husband, and is always submissive and chaste; who is firm and not
wavering, who is not proud or haughty, but full of humility like a
female slave; who has no excessive fondness of the vanity of sound,
smell, taste (music, perfumes, and exquisite viands), nor for wine; who
is void of cupidity, who has not a covetous heart, but is content with
her own possessions; who, being upright, goeth not astray, is not
fluctuating; is modest in her dress, and does not indulge in laughing
and boasting; who is diligent in her moral duties without being
righteous overmuch. Who is very clean and pure in her body, her speech,
and her mind; who is not drowsy nor dull, proud nor stupid, but of good
judgment, doth everything with due reflection; who hath for her father-
and mother-in-law equal reverence as for a spiritual teacher; who
treateth her servants both male and female with constant mildness; who
is as well versed as any courtesan in the rites and ceremonies
described in the Shastras; who goeth last to sleep and riseth earliest
from her couch; who maketh every endeavour with mildness, like a
mother, without affectation. If there be any such maiden to be found,
father! give her unto me as a wife.”
Afterwards the King Shuddhodana directs his Brahman minister to go into
the great city of Kapilavastu, and to inquire there in every house
after a girl possessed with these good qualities, showing at the same
time Shakya’s letter, and uttering two verses of the following
meaning:—“Bring hither that maiden who has the required qualities,
whether she be of the royal tribe or of the Brahman caste, of the
gentry or of the plebeian class. My son regardeth not tribe nor family
extraction; his delight is in good qualities, truth and virtue alone.”
The objections of the Buddhists to the seclusion of women may be
gathered from the following imaginary conversation of Shakya’s wife
(extracted from Kahgyur, Do, Kha, vol. i, p. 120, 121). Sa-tsho-ma
(Gopa), the wife of Shakya, upon hearing of her being upbraided by the
domestics for not concealing her face when in company with others,
expresses herself in some verses against the veil, the meaning of which
is as follows:—
“Sitting, standing, and walking, those that are venerable are pleasing
when not concealed. A bright gem will give more lustre if put on the
top of the standard.
“The venerable are pleasing when they go; they are agreeable also when
they come. They are so, whether they stand or whether they are sitting.
In every manner the venerable are pleasing.
“They who put off all vices are venerable. Fools committing vices, how
much soever they be adorned, are never pleasing.
“The venerable are always like a bowl full of milk and curd. It is a
great happiness to see human nature capable of such purity.
“For such as have restrained their body, have suppressed the several
defects of it, have refrained their speech and never used deceitful
language, and having subdued the flesh are held in restraint by a pure
conscience; for such, to what purpose is the veiling of the face?
“Moreover the great Lord (God), who is wise in knowing the hearts of
others, yea, also the whole company of the gods, know my thoughts, my
good morals, my virtues, my vows, chastity. Therefore why should I
conceal my face?”
Shuddhodana, the father of Shakya, her father-in-law, was much pleased
with these expressions, and presented her with several precious things.
He uttered at the same time a sloka, the meaning of which is this:—
“My son being adorned with such qualities as he has, and my
daughter-in-law having such virtuous qualifications as she describes:
to see two such pure persons united, is like when butter and ghee are
mixed together.”
As breathing in accordance with the virtuous sentiments of the above
favourable specimen of the Tibetan sacred works, we may here extract a
curious correspondence (but whether imaginary or real we will not
pretend to say), stated to have taken place between a princess of
Ceylon and the Buddhist Saint. This letter is very generally known and
admired throughout Tibet, being introduced in every collection of
epistolary forms for the instruction of youth.
Ratnavali’s Letter to Shakya.
Ratnavali, a young princess of Ceylon, the daughter of King Singala,
having been informed by some merchants from Central India of Buddha and
of his doctrine, was much pleased with it; and as those merchants were
about to return home, she sent some presents to Shakya (Chom-dan-dás),
with a letter of the following contents:—
“Reverenced by Suras, Asuras, and men! really delivered from birth,
sickness, and fear! Lord, who art greatly celebrated by thy
far-extending renown from the sage’s ambrosial portion, kindly grant me
religious instruction and wisdom.”
Shakya received this letter, and sent to the princess a picture of
Buddha on cotton cloth, with some verses written above and below the
image, containing the terms upon which refuge is obtained with Buddha,
Dharma, and Sangha, and a few fundamental articles of the faith,
together with two stanzas recommending Buddhism. The two stanzas are
these:—
1. Arise, commence a new course of life,
Turn to the religion of Buddha;
Conquer the host of the lord of death, the passions,
As an elephant subdues everything under his feet in a muddy lake.
2. Whoever has lived a pure life,
According to the precept of this law,
Shall be free from transmigration,
And shall put an end to all his miseries.
In Tibetan, according to the pronunciation of the Lamas of Sikkim.
1. Tsampar chashing jungwar cha,
Sangye tenla suppar cha;
Dampü chimna longchen zhin,
Chida deni zhonpar cha.
2. Kanshik raptu payö par
Chödul dela dögyur pa
Tyeove khorua rappan sa
Dugnal ṭḥamar cḥopar gyur.
The compendium of the doctrine of Buddha in one sloka:—
In Tibetan.
Digpa chiyan minja te
Geba pünsum tsopa tsán
Rangi sempa yonsu dul
Ṭḥéni sangye tempa yin.
In English.
No vice is to be committed;
Virtue must be perfectly practised;
Subdue entirely your desires.
This is the doctrine of Buddha.
IX.
Interpretation of the Tibetan Inscription on a Bhotian Banner taken in
Assam.
The following is the description of this trophy:—
It is a bit of plank, mounted on a staff, painted red, with an image of
Buddha on one side and a Tibetan inscription on the other. The
Demangiri Rajah always had it carried before him with great solemnity
and under the special charge of a large guard of honour, who, however,
in the affair of Subang-Kotta ran away without it, and it fell into our
hands. A copy of the inscription was forwarded to Csoma for
translation. With the exception of the salutation at the beginning and
the conclusion and a few terms in the middle, the whole is in the
Tibetan language. The purport of it was to obtain the favour and
protection of several inferior divinities for the person and family for
whom the ceremony had been performed and this magic emblem set up.
It may be that this flagstaff was carried before the Tibetan chief in
his march and so used as an ensign in war; but it is more probable that
it may have belonged originally to the house-top or terrace of the
Prince of Bhotan; because the houses of great personages in that
country are generally decorated with such ensigns of victory.
The inscription, as already mentioned, is an invocation to several
deities, and concludes thus: “Ye all! look on this emblem of Hu, the
regent or governor (by whom, namely, it was set up). Ye divine
principal Rakshákas, rulers of the world, I beseech you, that you will
make this patron, the bestower of charitable gifts, obtain the fruit of
his work and actions, who is very faithful to the doctrine of Shakya.
May he, with his household and family, prosper more and more, and
abound in life, fortune, honour, wealth—like the increasing face of the
moon.”
The text is given in the original with a literal translation.
X.
Note on the White Satin Embroidered Scarfs of the Tibetan Priests.
(Translated by Csoma at Mayor Lloyd’s request.)
These scarfs are almost indispensable in all religious offerings, and
when distinguished strangers are presented at court, the master of
ceremonies throws one of them across the shoulders of the visitor.
An inferior, on approaching a superior in rank, presents a white silk
scarf, and when dismissed has in return one thrown over his neck.
Equals exchange scarfs on meeting, bending towards each other. No
intercourse whatever takes place without the intervention of a scarf.
It always accompanies every letter sent by a messenger. Two colours are
used for the manufacture, which is done in China; white and red. The
latter is rather confined to the lower orders, the white is respectful
in proportion to the purity and fineness of its material. There are
various degrees in both.
This is the Tibetan text of the inscription in Roman Characters:—
Nyin-mo bde-legs mts’han bde-legs
Nyin-mahi gung yang bde-legs shing
Nyin mts-han rag-tu brda-legs-pahi
Dkon-chag gsum-gyi bkrashis shog.
Translation.
Blessed the day, blessed the night,
The mid-day also being blessed;
May the day and night always return (to us),
The special favour of the three holy ones.
XI.
Notices on Different Systems of Buddhism Extracted from Tibetan
Authorities.
Sángye is the generic name for expressing the Supreme Being or the
Supreme Intelligence in the Buddhistic system. This word signifies “the
most perfect Being,” that is, pure and clean and free from all
imperfections and abounding in all good qualities.
There are three distinctions with respect to the essence, the
substance, or the body of Buddha, namely—
1. Dharma-Kaya. This is the primary essence of all things, and is
designated by the names of: Adi Buddha, Samanta Buddha, the Swabhàva,
or the self-produced, self-existing. Dharmadhàtu, the root of all
things, the Jina of Jinas; the origin of all things, existing without
the three epochs, that is, without beginning, duration, and end.
2. Sambhoga-Kaya. To this class or distinction belong the attendants of
the Dharma-Kaya (the Adi Buddha); they are the Dhyani Buddhas, the
chief of whom is Vairochana the Illuminator.
3. Nirmankaya. To this distinction or class belong the several
incarnations of Buddha. Immense is the number of incarnations in past
ages. The present age is called the happy one, and the number of
incarnations is to amount to one thousand. The first four incarnations
have already appeared, the rest are to follow. In the modern Buddhistic
system Shakya is the last incarnate Buddha.
The systems of Buddhism known in Tibet are the following four, each
having again a number of subdivisions.
The first is called Vaibhashika, with four subdivisions, taken from the
names of Shakya’s four principal disciples. The followers of this
system stand on the lowest degree of merit. They accept everything that
is contained in the Scriptures, believe everything, and will not
dispute.
The second system or school is Sautrántika, followers of the Sútras,
with two subdivisions. The one will prove everything by scriptural
authority, the other by argument.
The third system or school is the Yogáchárya, with nine subdivisions.
Arya Sangha was its founder, in the seventh century A.D.
The fourth is the Madhyamika school; they keep the middle faith. This
is the true philosophical school, formulated 700 years after Shakya’s
death, by Nagarjuna.
The two first systems are dogmatical; the two latter are philosophical,
and are studied by the learned few.
There is another classification of Shakya’s followers, namely, the
Tri-yánam or the three vehicles; because all Buddhistic Scriptures are
destined for the lowest, the middle, and the highest capacities. Some
authors use the name of Lám-rim, classifying men under three degrees of
intellectual capacity, according to this:
1. Men of a common capacity must believe that there is a God, that
there is a future life, and that all will obtain, according to their
deeds in this life, a reward hereafter.
2. Men of a middle degree of intellectual or moral capacity, in
addition to the above doctrines, must understand that every compound
thing is perishable; that there is no reality in things; that every
imperfection causes suffering, and that deliverance from suffering, and
eventually from bodily existence, is final beatitude.
3. Men of the highest capacities will know that between the body and
the supreme soul nothing exists by itself, nor can we prove whether the
supreme soul will continue for ever, or absolutely cease; because
everything exists by a casual concatenation.
Concerning the Course of Life.
Those of common capacity are content with the observance of the Ten
Commandments.
Those of the middle degree also endeavour to excel in morality,
meditation, and wisdom.
Those of the highest capacities practise, besides the above, the six
transcendental virtues as well.
Regarding Salvation.
Those of the first degree, seeing the miseries of those who, by virtue
of the metempsychosis, suffer in the bad places of transmigration as
beasts, &c., desire to be born again among men, or among angels
(asuras), or among gods.
Those of the second class are not content with the lot of the former,
and wish to be entirely delivered from all bodily existence.
The highest class, regarding existence, under whatever form, as
suffering, crave for final emancipation, and by arriving at the supreme
perfection, are enabled to assist others out of their miseries.
Several philosophical sects are mentioned, but the general principles
of practical Buddhism are these:—
1. To take refuge only with Buddha.
2. To endeavour to arrive at the highest degree of perfection, and to
be united with the Supreme Intelligence.
3. To adore Buddha.
4. To bring such offerings to Buddha’s image as are pleasing to any of
the six senses. Such offerings are: flowers, garlands, incense,
perfume, eatables and drinkables raw or prepared, cloths for
garments or ornamentation, curtains, etc.
5. To practise music or singing, and to utter praises to Buddha,
extolling his person, or his love and mercy towards all.
6. To confess one’s sins with a contrite heart, to ask forgiveness, and
to repent sincerely.
7. To rejoice in the moral merits of all living beings.
8. To pray to those Buddhas who are now in the world, that they should
teach religion and not leave the earth but remain here for many
Kalpas, i.e., ages, to come.
XII.
Enumeration of Historical and Grammatical Works to be met with in
Tibet.
The historical works are enumerated under seven classes:—
1. Lo-gyus.—Annals, chronicles, history; fourteen works are classed
under this head.
2. Tam-Gyut.—Tradition, oral history.
3. Ch’Los-jung.—Origin and progress of Buddhism; several works are
named.
4. Tokzhot.—Means a judicious saying; memoir, biography containing many
historical fragments and legends; description of the fabulous
country Shambhala.
5. Nám-thár.—Emancipation, biographical and legendary. Many historical
works are noticed under this head referring to Shakya and to many of
his disciples, how they were emancipated and acquired preternatural
faculties. In the Dulva there are notices of several princes,
citizens, and illustrious persons.
6. Grung.—A fable, fabulous history, contains the history of Kesar, a
fabulous king.
7. Stan-çis.—Chronology or astronomical calculation of some events
occurring in the sacred volumes.
The Grammatical Works.
The Sanskrit grammatical works were known to ancient Tibetans, and were
partially translated into their tongue.
The names of such works have been given in the last volume of Stangyur.
The principal ones are Pánini-vyákarana in two thousand slokas.
Maha-bhána, a commentary on the previous work, in one hundred thousand
slokas.
A commentary on chandrapá, by Pandita Ratna Mali, in twelve thousand
slokas, and many others are named besides. There are likewise in Tibet
several works teaching how to read the Sanskrit texts, the Mantras, &c.
The most ancient grammatical work extant in the Tibetan tongue is that
by Sambhota of the seventh century. Names of many authors are given;
but there are yet other grammatical works of which no special mention
is made in the essay under review.
XIII.
Remarks on Amulets in Use by the Trans-Himalayan Buddhists.
The two scrolls procured at Rampúr, near Kotgarh, by Surgeon W. C.
Carte of the 69th Regiment N.I., were forwarded to the Asiatic Society
of Calcutta, where, at the request of the secretary, an explanation of
them was furnished by the librarian, Mr. Alexander Csoma, who stated
that they contained abstracts of some larger Tantrika or religious
works in Tibetan, interspersed with Mantras in Sanskrit.
The first scroll, eight feet and a half long, is covered with figures
to the extent of two feet. The rest of the paper bears printed text,
containing 244 lines in Tibetan, each line being three and a half
inches long. The figures are roughly traced, representing a victorious
king, a tortoise with nine spots on the belly, showing the lucky and
the unlucky periods, according as the moon is affected by the planets
in her path. Afterwards come the twelve animals representing the twelve
years of a cycle; then the zodiacal signs, the planets, sun and moon,
&c., then the representations of the four, eight, and ten corners of
the world. There is also seen the picture of a king with his minister,
a horse, an elephant, a soldier, an eye, &c., then the head of a bird,
and also certain Chinese symbolical figures, which appear to have been
used under the Han dynasty 200 years before Christ. The Tibetans still
use them extensively. After these symbolical representations follows
the text, containing abridgments of five different Tantrika works.
The first is the salutation to the “Circle of Time,” the Kalachakraya.
Then come the regents of the year, month, day, and hour, and those of
the planets and stars. The Nagas, imps, &c., are requested to be
favourable to the person who wears these symbols and to the mystical
prayers, that he may succeed in all his undertakings. All classes of
divinities are requested not to hinder him in any of his occupations,
but to give assistance that he may increase in prosperity.
The abstract of the second Tantrika work contains in Sanskrit short
addresses to Shakya, Vagishwari, Manipadme, and others.
The third contains a sloka and a half in Tibetan to Manju Sri, the god
of wisdom.
The fourth is called the venerable Sutra dispelling the darkness. The
salutation is addressed to the God of Wisdom, to the ten Buddhas in the
ten corners of the world. To each is addressed a short prayer thus: “If
I go towards that corner over which you preside, after having obtained
my aim, grant that I may quickly return.”
The fifth is styled the Sutra of eight lights. The salutation is
addressed to Buddha, to religion, and to the holy priests. There are
several prayers in Sanskrit, asking to avert any unlucky year, month,
day, and hour, and to counteract the influence of a malignant planet or
star. Other mantras are written down, having the object of preventing
any unlucky accident in the morning or in the afternoon, &c.
The second scroll, four feet eight inches long, contains twelve figures
of animals representing the cycle of twelve years. The text covers 121
lines, each three inches in length. There are, besides, rough sketches
of a tortoise with the nine mystical spots in a square, and the twelve
animals of a cycle of twelve years.
This is the sum of the general contents of these two scrolls.
XIV.
Review of a Tibetan Medical Work.
The principal work on medicine in the Tibetan language is called rGyud
bZhi, in four parts. Its authorship is attributed to Shakya himself.
The materials of the Tibetan treatise are derived from Sanskrit works.
The learned Lama who made the analysis gave the following account of it
to Csoma.
In the time of King Khri-srong Dehutsán, in the eighth or ninth century
after Christ, a Tibetan interpreter, during his residence in Kashmir,
with the assistance of a pandit who was himself a physician, made the
translation into his native tongue, and presented the work to the said
king. The treatise was subsequently revised and augmented by other
learned men, and generally accepted as an authority. It is stated that
besides this there are about forty other works on medicine in Tibet,
not counting the five volumes embodied in the great encyclopædia, the
Stangyur.
The principal medical school of Tibet is in Chák-phuri, a monastery
near Lassa. Two smaller ones, called Chák-Zúr, are in the interior of
the country.
A. The First Part
is called the root or basis of the medical treatise, and is divided
into six chapters.
I. The first chapter describes how, in a forest abounding in medicinal
plants, Shakya transformed himself into a chief physician, and there,
in a magnificent palace, delivered his instructions, having for his
pupils the gods, the sages, and a large number of orthodox men and also
heretics.
II. In the second chapter Shakya speaks thus:—
Friends! be it known to you that every human creature who wishes to
remain in health, and such also as desire to cure disease and to
prolong life, must be instructed in the science of medicine. So also he
that seeks after morality, virtue, wealth or happiness, and seeks to be
delivered from the miseries of sickness, as also such a one as wishes
to be honoured and respected by others, must be taught the art of
healing. He must be instructed on the four parts of the medical
science, which are as follows:—
The theory, the explanation, the instruction, and the manual operation
requisite for the practice. He must likewise be specially instructed in
the eight branches of healing, namely:—
1. The treatment of the body as a whole.
2. The treatment of diseases of childhood.
3. Of diseases of women.
4. Of diseases caused by evil spirits (mental diseases).
5. Of wounds inflicted with a knife or spear.
6. Of venomous or poisonous infections.
7. Of the infirmities of old age.
8. How to increase the power of manhood.
The number of chapters in the whole treatise amounts to 156.
III. In the third chapter the human constitution is illustrated by a
simile taken from the Indian fig-tree; thus, there are to be considered
three roots or trunks, nine stems, forty-seven branches, 224 leaves,
two blossoms, and three fruits.
The seven fundamental supports of the body are described as those on
which life depends, namely: the chyle, the blood, the flesh, the fat,
bone, the marrow, and the semen.
The excretions are three: fæces, urine, and sweat.
The principal causes of disease are these three: lust, anger, and
ignorance.
The accessory causes are four: a. the seasons, hot or cold; b. evil
spirits; c. abuse of food; d. indiscreet or bad conduct.
The parts of the body capable of being affected by disease are said to
be six: the skin, the flesh, the veins, the bones, the internal
viscera, and the alimentary canal.
There are three humours: the phlegm, the bile, and the wind.
The fourth chapter treats of symptoms of diseases. Examination of the
tongue and urine. Feeling of the pulse. Inquiry into the origin of the
disease, and its progress; what food has agreed or disagreed? what pain
is felt? The physician’s twenty-nine questions, which are to be put to
the patient, regarding food, exercise, previous history of the disease,
&c., are here detailed.
The fifth chapter enumerates the means of curing diseases, and these
are to be considered—
a. With respect to food.
b. The patient’s mode of life, such as exercise, &c.
c. The therapeutics adapted to the three offending humours, viz., the
phlegm, the bile, and the wind, which are fully discussed.
The varieties of medicines are such as assuage pain, or purge the
bowels, or cause vomiting. Then there are remedies for flatulence, for
anointing the body, embrocations, &c. Against bile, phlebotomy and
bathing in cold water; against phlegm, warm applications are
prescribed.
The sixth chapter contains recapitulation of subjects contained in the
last three chapters.
Carrying on the metaphor of the Indian fig-tree, the two blossoms are,
health and longevity; the three fruits, good morals, wealth, and
happiness.
B. In the Second Part
four things are considered as to treatment of maladies, namely:—
1. What is to be treated?
2. What are the proper remedies?
3. In what manner the remedies are to be applied?
4. By whom are they to be applied?
The means of curing disease are enumerated thus: diet, exercise,
medicine, and surgical operations. A chapter on the conception and the
growth of the embryo is added, one chapter on bones, and another on
nerves. Then the humours are fully considered. And the last chapter
describes the requisite qualities of a physician, namely, that he
should be well acquainted with the theory and practice of medicine, and
be an unselfish, an upright, and a good-hearted man.
C. The Third Part
treats on separate diseases, and the following points are considered
under each head:—
a. Primary causes; b. accessory causes and effects; c. subdivisions; d.
symptoms; e. manner of treating disease.
The following is the list of maladies: swellings, dropsies, pulmonary
diseases, including phthisis, fevers, wounds, and inflammation;
epidemic diseases, smallpox, ulcers, catarrh; diseases of the eyes, of
the ear, of the nose, of the mouth, of lips, tongue, palate, of the
throat and teeth, with several distinctions under each; diseases of the
neck, of the chest, the heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, stomach, bowels;
diseases peculiar to women; hæmorrhoids, erysipelas. Then follows the
treatment of wounds, simple and poisoned. Diseases of old age are
treated of, and the subject of virility is discussed.
D. The Fourth Part
contains details of the practice of medicine, such as examination of
the pulse and urine; varieties of medicaments, mixtures, pills, syrups,
and powders. Nomenclature of medicinal plants. Description of
purgatives, emetics, extracts, or elixirs.
The conclusion is this:—
Though there be 1200 ways of examining the heat and the cold, &c., in
any given disease, they are all summed up in the following: examine the
tongue and the urine, feel the pulse, and inquire into the history of
the case. The remedies are said to be 1200 in number; but they are
reduced into the following four classes:—
a. Medicament; b. manual operation; c. diet; d. exercise.
Medicaments either assuage pain or are depuratory. Manual operations
are either gentle or violent. Food is either wholesome or noxious.
Exercise is either violent or gentle.
There are said to be 360 practical ways of curing disease; but they may
be reduced to these three:—
1. Examination of the patient.
2. Rules of treatment.
3. The manner of applying remedies.
Hints are given how a physician can keep himself safe from any
malignant or infectious disease.
XV.
A Brief Notice of Subháshita Ratna Nidhi of Saskya Pandita.
This paper was ready in 1833, but owing to the difficulties in the way
of bringing out the Tibetan text with the translation, it was not
published till eleven years after Csoma’s death, and then it was
accomplished through the kind assistance of Dr. A. Campbell.
This work was composed by the celebrated Sa-skya Pandita, who
flourished in the thirteenth century of our era, in the time of Gengiz
Khan and his successors. The author resided in the Sa-skya Monastery in
Middle Tibet, in the province of Ts’ang, and was the uncle of a Great
Lama. Many important Sanskrit books, brought thither from India, are
still to be found in the monastery. The work begins thus:—
To the ten commandments [67] are to be added the following rules, which
were enacted by a religious king of Tibet named Srong-b,tsán (apostolic
king, defender of faith, Dharma Raja). These rules are:—
1. Reverence God; this is the first.
2. Exercise true religion; this is the second.
3. Respect the learned.
4. Pay honour to your parents.
5. Show respect unto superiors and to the aged.
6. Show good-heartedness to a friend.
7. Be useful to your fellow-countrymen.
8. Be equitable and impartial.
9. Imitate excellent men.
10. Know how to enjoy rightly your worldly goods and wealth.
11. Return kindness for kindness.
12. Avoid fraud in measures and weights.
13. Be always impartial and without envy.
14. Do not listen to the advice of woman.
15. Be affable in speaking, and be prudent in discourse.
16. Be of high principles and of a generous mind.
These are the sixteen rules. Subáshíta Ratna Nidhinama Shastra is the
title of the work in Sanskrit.
Salutation to Manju Sri.
To the question: What is a “precious treasure of elegant sayings?” the
following answer is given:—
It is the exhibition of judicious reflections upon all sorts of worldly
affairs and upon the conduct of holy men, without offending against
good morals. The following are the chapters:—
I. Reflections on the wise, with ten aphorisms.
II. On the excellent, the virtuous, and the good, with thirty-three
sayings.
III. On the fool, the mean, and the wicked, with twenty-three
aphorisms.
IV. On the mixed character of the wise and the foolish, with
twenty-eight aphorisms.
V. On evil practices, with nineteen sayings.
VI. On good manners of men, with forty sayings.
VII. On unbecoming manners, with twenty-nine sayings.
VIII. On general conduct of men, with forty-four sayings.
The wealth of a man who is contented with little, is inexhaustible; he
who seeks always and is never satisfied, will have a continual rain of
sorrow.
As children are loved by their parents, to the same degree they are not
respected in return by their children.
He that is acquainted with the manners of the world, will exercise true
religion. He that practises good morals is the living biography of a
saint, &c.
This work contains 454 slókas in the original, but only 234 are given
in this paper.
XVI.
A Dictionary or Sanskrit and Tibetan Words, Phrases, and Technical
Terms.
We give the following résumé and index kindly furnished by Dr.
Rajendrolála Mitra, of an extensive and most important work, which has
already been referred to in these pages, but the existence of which is
known at present to only a few, because since Csoma’s decease Tibetan
learning in India seems to have received no special attention. With
some adaptation to the requirements of the present day and with the
addition of a special index, this compilation, if rescued, as it
deserves to be, from its manuscript condition, will form a most
valuable help to the study of Buddhist writings, to which so many
eminent and learned men in Europe are devoting their earnest attention.
The MS. is in the library of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Note by Dr. Rajendrolála Mitra, dated 14th February 1883.
“The volume is a foolscap folio of 686 pages, with 20 pages of index
and some blank pages, in a good state of preservation. Some sheets of
the paper bear the water-mark of “Snelgrove, 1828,” others of 1830. The
writing, therefore, was not undertaken until 1831, when Csoma de Körös
was in Calcutta, and he must have taken some time to complete it. The
whole is in the handwriting of Csoma. From the general appearance of
neatness and absence of erasures, corrections, and interlineations, it
is evident that the volume is a fair copy. The matter is arranged in
four columns, the first containing the serial number, next the Sanskrit
word in English letters, then the Tibetan equivalent in Tibetan
character, and lastly the English meaning. The words are grouped in
classes, as shown in the index. The arrangements being according to
classes and not alphabetical, it is difficult to use the volume for
reference.”
This is the index of the work, showing the several heads or titles
under which Sanskrit and Tibetan words, proper names, phrases,
technical terms, &c. &c., were collected or compiled by ancient learned
Indian pandits and Tibetan Lotsavas (interpreters) or translators.
Note.—The number of titles shows the regular series in the original
(though it has not been marked there); and the number of page indicates
where the chapter under that head or title commences in this
compilation.
Heads or Titles of Chapters.
No. PAGE
1. Names (epithets, attributes, &c. &c.) of Buddha (and
also of Shakya) 1
2. Names of different Tathagatas (or Buddhas) 6
3. Names of the mansions of Buddha (Buddha bhumi), of the
five bodies or aggregates of those that are equal and
of the unequalled (of Adi Buddha and the five Dhyani
Buddhas), and the names of the three persons or bodies
of Buddha (substances) 7
4. Names of the ten powers of Tathagata (of Buddha) 8
5. Names of those four things in which a Tathagata is
bold 495
6. Names of the eighteen pure religious articles of
Buddha 496
7. Names of the thirty-two kinds of mercy of Tathagata 499
8. Names of the three kinds of clear recollection 505
9. Names of four things in which a Tathagata is
inculpable 506
10. Names of the four kinds of discriminative knowledge 507
11. Names of the five kinds of eminent (special) knowledge 508
12. Names originating with the occasion of the six special
knowledges 508
13. Names of the three miraculous transformations 514
14. Names of the thirty-two characteristic signs of the
great man (Maha Purusha) 181
15. Names of the eighty points of beauty (on the body of a
Tathagata) 184
16. Names of the excellence of Tathagata according to the
Sutras 171
17. Names of the sixty branches (parts) of melody or
harmony 167
18. Names of deep meditations (or ecstasies) according to
the Sherchin or Prajna paramita system 290
19. General terms or names for a Bodhisatwa 10
20. Names of different Bodhisatwas 11
21. Names of the deep meditations (ecstasies) of a
Bodhisatwa 514
22. Names of the twelve dharanis (superhuman powers) of a
Bodhisatwa 515
23. Names of the ten powers of a Bodhisatwa 17
24. Names of those ten things which are in the power of a
Bodhisatwa 517
25. Names of those four things of which a Bodhisatwa is
not afraid 517
26. Names of the eighteen unmixed (pure) laws of a
Bodhisatwa 519
27. Names of the qualifications (or good qualities,
perfections) of Bodhisatwas, according to the Sutras 306
28. Names of the mansions (Bhumis) or the several degrees
of perfection of the Bodhisatwas 18
29. Names of the ten kinds of religious practices 19
30. Names of the ten transcendental (cardinal) virtues 19
31. Names of those four things by which moral merit is
acquired 523
32. Names of the three kinds of acquirement 523
33. Names of the eighteen kinds of voidness or
abstractedness (Shunyata) 20
34. Names of the four kinds of recollection 22
35. Names of those four things that must be entirely
avoided 524
36. Names of four supernatural modes or means 525
37. Names of the five organs 525
38. Names of the five faculties or powers 525
39. Names of the seven branches of perfect wisdom 23
40. Names of the eight branches of the sublime way 23
41. Names of the different degrees of self-sainted persons
(as are the Rishis or hermits) (Prentyak Buddhas) 527
42. Names of the several degrees of perfection of the
hearers or disciples of Buddha or Tathagata 24
43. Names of divers hearers or disciples (of Shakya) 26
44. Names of the qualifications of (Shakya’s) hearers or
disciples 29
45. Names of the twelve kinds of rigid qualifications 74
46. Names of the several Bhumis (degrees of perfection) of
the Hearers or disciples (of Buddha) 529
47. Names of six things that ought to be remembered 36
48. Names of unpleasant or disagreeable things 528
49. Names of the several degrees of respiration
(exhalation and inhalation) 529
50. Names of the four excellent truths divided into
sixteen minor truths 535
51. Names of the sixteen kinds of patience or forbearance
in making reflections on or thinking of patience 577
52. Names of the ten kinds of knowledge 579
53. Four kinds of ways (or moments of actions) 540
54. } Names of the different kinds of vehicles (or
principles) 36
54. } Names of the distinctions of mental organs (powers
or faculties) 541
55. Names of the five kinds of Buddhistic perfection 541
56. Enumeration of the several kinds of Buddhistic
scriptures 542
57. Names relating to the turning of the wheel of the law
(by Shakya) 546
58. Names (or list) of religious tracts (current among the
Buddhists) 152
59. Names of several terms relating to the doctrine of
Buddha, and the manner and form of delivering it to
the hearers 162
60. Names of the four kinds of meditation, &c. 549
61. Names of ecstasies 552
62. Names of the four immense things (in a Buddha) 555
63. Names of the eight kinds of liberation or emancipation 556
64. Names of the eight kinds of superior knowledge or
conception 560
65. Names of the twelve accomplished or perfect sentiments 567
66. Names of the three doors of liberation or emancipation 569
67. Names of those four things on which one may rely 569
68. Names of the three kinds of wit or knowledge 151
69. Names of the five classes of science 37
70. Names of four moral maxims 570
71. Names of the seven precious (or good) things 571
72. Names of the most excellent six things 572
73. Names of the six kinds of benediction 573
74. Names of the nine good actions accompanied by great
pleasure or delight 573
75. Names of those six bad things from which one should
come out 575
76. Names of the four circles or kinds of goods and men 577
77. Names of rigid practices of abstinence, &c. 577
78. Names of abstract meditation on God, and the
qualifications or perfections to be obtained by it 580
79. Names of the four kinds of thriving, that is,
speaking, teaching, and prophesying 582
80. Names of the three kinds of criteria or definitions 582
81. Names of the four kinds of thinking 583
82. Names of the nine kinds of ironical thought or
conception 583
83. Names of being at rest and of seeing more, that is,
the high degrees of fixed meditation 584
84. Names of the ten immoral actions 192
85. Names of the ten virtuous actions 192
86. Names of those things by which one may acquire moral
merit 193
87. Names of true or real meaning of the Holy and True One 194
88. Names of deliverance from pain 196
89. Names of the several kinds of refuge and protection 197
90. Names of the several kinds of respect to be paid to a
religious guide, &c. 198
91. Names of assiduity and diligent application 201
92. Names of the aggregate (the body), its regions and
sensation, &c. 204
93. Names of the division of the corporeal objects 204
94. Names of the division of the aggregate of sensation 211
95. Names of the division of the aggregate of
consciousness or perception 211
96. Names of notions or ideas formed of animate and of
inanimate existences or beings 211
97. Names of the division of the aggregate, of equation,
and of perfect knowledge 219
98. Names of the twelve senses or the vehicles of
perfection 219
99. Names of the eighteen regions (of senses) 220
100. Names of the twenty-two organs 222
101. Names of the several terms used on the occasion of
explaining the aggregate, its regions, and the senses 224
102. Names of affection, passion, lust, desire, and longing 585
103. Names of the three kinds of sorrow or trouble 588
104. Names of the eight kinds of sorrow 588
105. Names of the twelve branches of causal concatenation
or dependent contingency 39
106. Names of the six causes 589
107. Names of the four accessory causes or effects 590
108. Names of the five fruits, viz., consequences, effects 590
109. Names of the four plans or ways of coming forth or
being born 591
110. Names of the four kinds of food 591
111. Names of the nine places or abodes of animate
existences 591
112. Names of the eight undesirable things 593
113. Names of the consequences of moral actions or works,
of their coming to maturity 594
114. Names of the five boundless (most atrocious) acts 596
115. Names of other five crimes approaching to the former 597
116. Names of the five sorts of dregs or degenerations 597
117. Names of eight common maxims or sayings 598
118. Names of all sorts of good qualities 599
119. Names of imperfections or defects 608
120. Names expressive of the chief Head of the pure, the
liberated, or the emancipated 614
121. Names of being purified, liberated, or emancipated
(purification or emancipation) 616
122. Names of relinquishing all imperfections and of
becoming free 618
123. Names expressive of praise, blame, celebrity or renown 623
124. Names of opposite or contrary things 626
125. Names expressive of great, small, high, low, and
similar adjectives 629
126. Names of the several degrees of acquaintance or
familiarity 632
127. Names of virtue and blessings 634
128. Names expressive of speaking or hearing any religious
tract; names expressive of noise, sound, expression or
utterance 636
129. Names of several examples illustrative of illusion or
unreality 641
130. Names of charity or alms-giving, and of oblations and
sacrifices 644
131. Names of the several kinds of advantage and utility 647
132. Names of several terms expressive of the intellect,
the understanding, the discrimination 648
133. Names expressive of the enumeration of the several
sorts of learned men 649
134. Names of the enumeration of synonymous terms for
profound or deep learning 651
135. Names of the enumeration of synonymous terms for joy
or pleasure 652
136. Names expressive of anger of the several degrees of
mischief or injury 654
137. Names of the four kinds of moral men 656
138. Names expressive of the life in this world and in the
next; death and transmigration 656
139. Names expressive of solitude and retirement 658
140. Names of the four kinds of abiding, or the manner of
living 658
141. Names of the several degrees of shocks in an
earthquake 282
142. Names of brilliancy, light, or lustre 284
143. Names of great and small powers 275
144. Names of the four great fabulous continents 276
145. Names of the several degrees of elevation of the three
regions of the world 278
146. Names of the gods in the region of cupidity (or in the
realm of Cupid) 278
147. Names of the mansion of the 1st degree of meditation 279
148. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 2d degree of meditation 280
149. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 3d degree of meditation 280
150. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, 4th degree of meditation 280
151. Names of the pure (or holy) mansion 281
152. Names of the incorporeal mansions 281
153. Names of the gods inhabiting this or that world 317
154. Names of the nine planets 322
155. Names of the twenty moving stars (Nakshatras) 322
156. Names of gods, Nagas, &c. 324
157. Names of the Naga kings or princes 325
158. Names of common or ordinary Nagas 331
159. Names of the Yaksha king, or of the prince of the
Yakshas 335
160. Names of the prince of the Gandharvas 336
161. Names of the five gods, the Daityas, Titans, giants,
Asuras 337
162. Names of Vishnu’s bird, the Garuda, the prince of the
winged creation 338
163. Names of the Prince of the Kinnaras 339
164. Names of the prince of the Mahoragas 340
165. Names of the Prince of the Kumbhándas 342
166. Names of the great Rishis 40
167. Names of the ancient Buddhistic learned men in India 42
168. Names of curious philosophical systems and sects 44
169. Names of the six Tirthika teachers (in Tibetan,
Mu-stegs-pá-chen) 47
170. Names of the series of the universal monarchs 47
171. Names of the excellent qualities, and of the seven
precious things of an universal monarch 659
172. Names of the sons or children of whom each universal
monarch had a whole thousand 660
173. Names of the four divisions of troops 662
174. Names of ordinary kings 52
175. Names of the Pandavas 53
176. Names of the several classes or ranks, dignities,
occupations, and professions among men 53
177. Names of different castes or tribes 66
178. Names of parentage, consanguinity, &c. 68
179. Names of the several members and limbs of the body 71
180. Names of the several degrees of the formation of the
embryo and of several ages of men 79
181. Names of old age and sickness 81
182. Names of places, countries, cities, towns, &c.,
mentioned in Buddhistic works 82
183. Names of mountains, fabulous and real 85
184. Synonymous names for sea or ocean, rivers, &c. 86
185. Names of trees 135
186. Names of terms originating with the Tantrika system 110
187. Names of signs for prognostication 662
188. Names of dialectical and sophistical terms 664, 254
189. Names of terms originating with the Nyáya doctrine 262
190. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Sankhya doctrine 264
191. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Mimansa 267
192. ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, ,, Vaisheshika school 268
193. Terms of different dialectical systems 271, 667
194. Names of all sorts of theories 271
195. Names of fourteen theses that have not as yet been
demonstrated or proved 272
196. Names of several terms expressive of the soul
according to the Tirthika teachers 274
197. Names of twenty positions relating to annihilation 667
198. Names of grammatical terms 670
199. Inflections of a Sanskrit noun in the seven cases of
all the three numbers 672
200. Names of the bad transmigrations or places of
punishment after death 343
201. Names of several evil spirits (S. Preta, tib. Yidags,
a ghost) 343
202. Names of all sorts of beasts into which bad or wicked
men are supposed to transmigrate 344
203. Names of several Tartara, of the divisions of the hot
Tartarus 354
204. Names of the several divisions of the cold Tartarus 354
205. Names of the eighteen classes of science 37
206. Names of mechanical arts and handicrafts 356
207. Names of all sorts of musical instruments 359
208. Names of the several tunes or parts of harmony 368
209. Names of the several kinds of dances, and the manner
of dancing 361
210. Names of the literature and religious practices of the
Brahmans 39
211. Names of the six occupations of a Brahman 362
212. Names of all sorts of words and phrases for such as
wish to understand the Sanskrit language 362–382
213. Names of the dwelling-place or residence of the gods;
names of the best, &c. 382
214. Names of all sorts of indeclinable words 88
215. Names of castles, forts, and all sorts of
dwelling-places 94
216. Names of the implements belonging to a cart or chariot 100
217. Names of all sorts of corn and pulse 384
218. Names of festivals or solemn days 285
219. Names of curds, butter, and several kinds of food 286
220. Names of drugs for curing diseases 385
221. Names of clothes or garments 390
222. Names of utensils, instruments, &c. 393
223. Names of pigments, paint, colours for painting and for
dyeing stuffs 395
224. Names of precious things, as gems or jewels; gold,
silver, &c. 397
225. Names of conchs or shells 400
226. Names of several sorts of ornaments 401
227. Names of all sorts of armour and weapon 406
228. Names of all sorts of implements and ornamentations
used on the occasion of oblations or sacrifices 409
229. Names of all sorts of flowers 411
230. Names of the several parts of flowers 417
231. Names of the excellence of some flowers 419
232. Names of the incenses and perfumes 419
233. Names of all sorts of words, phrases (for the use of
those who wish to understand the Sanskrit text) 229–253
234. The names of numerals, the definite and indefinite
numbers, according to the Phal-chin division of the
Kahgyur 673
235. Names occurring in the Sherchin Treatise of the
Kahgyur 676
236. Names originating with the Lalita Vistara, in the
second vol. of the mDo class of the Kahgyur 680
237. Names occurring in the mkong-mdsod or Sanskrit
Abhidharma, of the Stangyur 684
238. Names of the common numerals, of the inhabitants of
the world 421
239. Names of all sorts of quantities and measures of
distances from an atom to a Yojanam; a measure of 4000
fathoms 426
240. Names of the proportion of strength in a decimal
progression 428
241. Names of time, and its subdivisions and seasons 101
242. Names of the corners and cardinal points or quarters,
and intermediate corners of the world 107
243. } Names of the ten advantages derived from learning
and discipline 429
243. } Names of the five classes of transgression, and of
those of an indefinite character 430
244. Names of the four defects, or of the four great
transgressions 431
245. Names of thirteen transgressions by which one is
rendered a residue or dregs of the priests 431
246. Names of thirty transgressions, committed by accepting
and using unlawful things, the wearing or carrying of
which should be avoided 432
247. Names of the ninety transgressions 435
248. Names of those four transgressions that must be
confessed to obtain forgiveness 445
249. Names of many things to be learned and observed 446
250. Names of seven terms for reconciling and settling
disputes or quarrels 460
251. Names of punishment, chastisement, and correction 460
252. Names of entreating, addressing, petitioning, praying
the priesthood, and of performing some ceremonies on
certain occasions 362
253. Names of taking refuge with the three Holy Ones 465
254. Names of the eight fundamental articles to be learned
and observed by those who enter into the religious
order 466
255. Names of those four moral maxims that are repeated to
him who will be made a Gelong (S. shramana) 122
256. Names of all sorts of religious persons 122
257. Names of several terms occurring in the Dulva, in the
text entitled “The adopting of the religious order, or
the taking of the religious character” 126
258. Names of the thirteen implements or utensils (of a
religious person) 468
259. Names of utensils or implements of a Gelong 469
260. Names of those twelve persons who perform several
assigned duties on behalf of others 477
261. Names of the four classes of the Buddhists, together
with their eighteen subdivisions 479
262. The seventeen subjects or matters of the Dulva 481
263. Names of the five sorts of water fit to be drunk by
the priests 483
264. Names of reproaching or rebuking a Buddhist priest (S.
Shramana; Tib. Gelong), or any other religious person 484
265. Names of a Bihar (sacred edifice), and several other
places and things belonging to it 486
266. Names of the material or stuff of which garments are
made 487
267. Some words and phrases taken or collected from the
Dulva 137
268. Names of those six persons among the disciples of
Sakya, who were known under the name of the six
Tribunes (in Sanskrit, Shadvargikah) 150
269. Names of the four kinds of nurses 151
270. Names of diseases 109
271. All sorts of distempers, diseases, or sickness 490
XVII.
A Comparative Vocabulary of Sanskrit, Hindi, Hungarian, &c., Words and
Names.
A Fragment.
Not only in several memoranda of his friends, but in the preface of his
Tibetan Dictionary, and also in the letters which Csoma addressed to
Captain Kennedy in 1825, we find that the learned Hungarian had
noticed, not merely a certain linguistic affinity between the Sanskrit
and Hindi with the Hungarian tongue, but he discovered the existence of
words and names, in the countries of South-East of Europe, which seem
to point in that direction. Csoma has repeatedly given expression to
such an opinion, the importance of which did not escape the notice of
men like Wilson, Prinsep, Torrens, Campbell, and others. Yet, with the
view to publication, he seemed always disinclined putting such
memoranda on record, because he had hoped, no doubt, that after
arriving at Lassa he would be able to present to the public something
more tangible and complete than what he could gather merely from
resources collected in India.
The ardent hope of his life, that of visiting Lassa and the country
beyond, was destined, however, never to be gratified.
A few pages of manuscript annotations in Csoma’s own handwriting are
now in the possession of the Academy of Sciences of Hungary. These
annotations are presented to the reader, however, it may be confessed,
with some diffidence. Desirous to do justice to Csoma’s memory, we wish
to guard against the supposition that he would ever have permitted this
apparently unimportant vocabulary to appear as we find it, because the
most cursory examination of it amply testifies that these memoranda are
but casual annotations of words as they struck him in the course of his
reading; still even so they will be considered as precious relics by
those who look with interest on Csoma’s life and labours, as the plank
of a sunken vessel would be that a wave chanced to throw upon a
friendly shore.
With these preliminary remarks, and only under conditions just
described, do we feel justified in bringing to light this hitherto
unknown collection.
[Transcriber note: due to the Devanagari script used, alignment
of the table below may be unsatisfactory.]
âtâ आता H. father atya.
annada अन्नद S. he who gives enni adó.
food
annadânam अन्नदानं S. the giving enni adás.
food
ashita अशित S. eaten ett, evett.
ash अश् S. to eat enni.
ashanam अशनं S. food ozsonya.
argha अर्घ S. price, value ár, becs.
astam अस्तं S. sunset este.
(?) astamatî अस्तमती S. getting esteledik.
towards
evening
amutra अमुत्र S. there amott.
agni अग्नि S. fire (tüz égni.)
âlasa आलस S. lazy aluszékony.
aswara अस्वर S. having szótalan.
deficient
voice
ardati अर्दति S. hurts árt.
alati अलति S. prevents elöz,
megelöz.
artha अर्थ S. price érték.
arthajna अर्थज्ञ S. understanding értelem.
aham अहं S. I, yes én, ám.
arthayate अर्थयते S. asks kérdez.
âm आम् S. indeed ám.
arha अर्ह S. value, price ár, becs.
arhati अर्हति S. values becaül.
artham अर्थं S. for —— ért.
e.g., gurvartham, guruért.
arthaka अर्थक S. wealth érték,
gazdagság.
arthavat अर्थवत् S. wealthy értékes,
gazdag.
âlasya आलस्य S. sleepy, aluszékony,
apathetic aluszom.
(?) akar he will akar.
ati अति S. above, upper felette.
lâ ला S. taking, foglaló.
occupying,
conquering
(?) Atila अतिला (?) Adi-la, elökelö,
successful, gyözelmes
great chief, foglaló.
conqueror
aṭala अटल S. firm, solid állandó.
angikâ अङ्गिका S. a shirt ümeg, ing.
argala अर्गल S. a bolt horgoló,
rekesz.
ativṛiddha अतिवृद्ध S. very old megvénült.
asti अस्ति S. is van, vagyon.
nâsti नास्ति S. is not nincsen.
tejas तेजस् S. fire, energy tüz, fény.
twish त्विष् S. light, fire tüz.
tâta तात S. father atya.
trâta त्रात S. preserved megtartott.
trâyate त्रायते S. preserves megtart.
tâḍayati ताडयति S. pushes taszit.
twam त्वं S. thou te.
thâl, thâlâ, थाल, थाला,
thâlî थाली H. a dish tál.
talati } तलति S. } to be full, { telni.
tâlayati } तालयति S. } complete { tölteni.
talapayati } तलपयति (?) S. } { töltetni.
tasyati तस्यति S. pushes, tosses taszit.
staryate स्तर्यते S. spreads terjed, terjeszkedik.
trâ, } त्रा, }
trâyate, } त्रायते, } to hold tartani.
trâpayate } त्रापयते S. }
râga राग S. anger harag.
râma राम S. joy öröm.
raktam रक्तं S. blood vér.
raktapa रक्तप S. blood-sucker, vérszopó.
a leech
rakta-vîja रक्तवीज S. pomegranate veres bélü,
veres magú.
râjati राजति S. shines ragyog.
loka लोक S. world világ.
loshṭa लोष्ट S. rust rozsda.
lankâ लङ्का S. a girl lyánka.
ghâs घास H. grass gaz, fü.
bol बोल H. speak thou szólj.
bolnâ बोल्ना H. to speak szólni.
bulânâ बुलाना H. to call szólitni.
bulwânâ बुलवाना H. to cause to szólittatni.
call
(?) bâlya बाल्य S. the family család.
N.B.—Magyar family names: Bala, Buda, Bodala, Barta, Bálya, Bod,
Bede, Binde, Vajna, Beder, Vida, Bardocz, Bihar, Hari, Csorja,
Sánta, Buja, Székely.
bandhu बन्धु S. a friend barát.
bhrâtâ भ्राता S. brother bátya.
bhrátá me भ्राता मे S. my brother bátyám.
bhogyâ भोग्या S. a whore buja, bujálkodó.
bheka भेक S. a frog béka.
bṛiksha, vṛiksha बृक्ष S. a tree bükkfa.
bhâshita भाषित S. a discourse beszéd.
bhayânak भयानक H. champion bajnok.
(terrific)
bṛikha, vṛisha बृख H. वृष S. a bull bika.
vichâraka, विचारक S. and
bichârak H. the judge biró.
balgati बल्गति S. to tramp (to ballagni.
jump)
Bharata भरत S. younger brother of Râma, son of
Dushmanta and Sakuntalâ.
—Magyar words: Barát, Barta, Bartos.
Budha बुध S. son of the moon, {
regent of the planet { bölcs.
Mercury {
Buda.
bhâshe भाषे S. I talk beszélek.
balavân बलवान् S. (?) an idol bálvany.
eka एक S. and H. one egy.
idam इदं S. this ez.
hinsâ हिंसा S. injury kinzás.
hinsati हिंसति S. injures kinoz,
kinzani.
hansa हंस S. a gander gantzi.
hâsya हास्य S. laughter kaczagás.
hazâr { हज़ार H. } one thousand ezer.
{ सहस्र S. }
Himavat हिमवत् S. Himālaya havas.
range
himâgama हिमागम S. cold season téli idöszak.
hikkati हिक्कति S. hiccoughs csuklik
(csuklani).
hûṇa हूण S. a barbarian hun.
hûnkâra हूङ्कार S. uttering the hun nyelven
sound of a beszélni.
hûn
ûna (Hún?) ऊन S. to decrease megfogyni,
kevesbedni.
hasati हसति S. laughs kaczag.
halabhṛit हलभृत् S. name of eke-tartó.
Balarâma
chashaka चषक S. a cup csésze.
chakra चक्र S. a wheel kerék.
chakra; circus, circulus, cherk, in Russian; in Magyar: kerek, kerék,
kör, kert, kerület, keritni, kerülni, kerités.
chhatra छत्र S. a parasol sátor, ernyö.
chhala छल S. deceit csalás.
chamû चमू S. multitude; an csomó,
army sokaság.
chîkayati चीकयति S. touches, csikland.
tickles
chyâvayati च्यावयति S. scorns csúfol.
chinoti चिनोति S. assembles, gyül.
v.n.
chayayati चययति S. assembles, gyüjt.
v.a.
chapayati चपयति S. assembles, gyüjtet.
v.c.
cheṭa, cheḍa चेट, चेड S. servant cseléd.
garta गर्त S. hole in the gödör.
ground
galhate गल्हते S. blames gyaláz.
gohannam गोहन्नं S. cow-dung ganéj.
ghagghati घग्घति S. derides kaczag.
ghâtayan घातयन् S. killer katona.
(îsh) îshṭe (ईश्) ईष्टे S. rules uralkodik.
Îsha ईश S. name of Siva Siva isten
neve.
îshîtâ ईशीता S. superiority uralkodás,
felsöbbség.
îshitṛi, îshitâ ईशितृ, ईशिता S. owner tulajdonos,
úr.
Sikandar सिकन्दर H. Alexander Sándor.
îḍ, îṭṭe ईड्, ईट्टे S. praises, üdvözöl.
greets
îrte } ईर्ते S. }
îrayati } ईरयति S. } goes jár.
îyate } ईयते S. }
yâti याति S. walks jár.
yâ, yâti या, याति S. to go jár.
itastatas इतस्ततः S. here and ide’s tova.
there
îrayati ईरयति S. lets go jártat.
iti इति S. thus igy.
îrshya ईर्श्य S. envy irigység.
îshṭe ईष्टे S. rules (to be uralkodni,
a god) Isten, lenni.
ishṭam इष्टं S. (the desired) Isten.
God
yazdân يزدان P. God Isten.
uru, vṛihat उरु, वृहत् S. great, a úr, hatalmas.
giant
urvîsha उर्वीश S. proprietor órias.
vahanam वहनं S. drawing, vinni, vonni.
carrying
vasanam, vastra वसनं, वस्त्र S. the cloth, vászon.
linen
varaṇa वरण S. defence óltalom.
Jegyz: Varna.
vâdayati वादयति S. accuses vádol.
vachaknu वचक्नु S. gossiping fecsegö.
-wâlâ ॰वाला H. belonging to hová való.
a place or
country
vyâdha व्याध S. a hunter vadász.
vṛika वृक S. a wolf farkas.
(?) utsa उत्स ? street utcza.
uras उरस् S. great nagy úr.
varyya वर्य्य S. the chief vajda.
(?) varabala वरबल S. powerful (?) verböltz.
jalnâ जल्ना H. to ignite, gyúlni.
v.n.
jalânâ जलाना H. to ignite, gyujtani.
v.a.
jalwânâ जलवाना H. to burn, v.c. gyujtatni.
jwalati ज्वलति S. shines, burns fénylik,
gyúl.
jwalana ज्वलन S. lighting meggyúl.
jayati जयति S. conquers, is gyöz,
victorious gyözelmes.
jaya जय S. name of Gyözö, Geyza.
Yudhishthira
yavana यवन S. a stranger jövevény.
yudh युध् S. war had, háború.
naḍa नड S. a reed nád.
naḍvat नड्वत् S. abounding in nádas.
reeds
na न S., H. no, not ne, nem.
nápi नापि S. not even nem éppen.
nâma नाम S. is it not? nem é?
nacha नच S. nor, neither nem is.
nanu ननु S. is it not? nem é?
nirarthaka निरर्थक S. unmeaning érthetetlen.
mâyate, mâti मायते, माति S. measures mér.
mushka मुष्क S. a strong man, erös ember,
a thief tolvaj.
N.B.—muszka.
mṛiga मृग S. deer szarvas, vad.
mṛigayati मृगयति S. sports vadász.
mṛigayâ मृगया S. a chase vadászat.
mṛigayu मृगयु S. a hunter vadász.
mṛiduromavat मृदुरोमवत् S. fine haired, finom szörü,
a hare nyúl.
măyănâ मयना H. a maina szajkó.
(Gracula
religiosa)
N.B.—majom, majmolni-
kansa कंस S. goblet kancsó.
kupatha कुपथ S. a hilly kárpát,
tract, a hegyes.
difficult
path
kinchit किञ्चित् S. little kicsi.
kara कर S. arm, hand kar, kéz.
kukkuṭa कुक्कुट S. a cock kakas.
kashâya कषाय S. bitter keserü.
kûpa कूप S. a well kút.
kilâsa किलास S. a boil kelés.
kiki किकि S. a blue jay kék szajkó.
kukara कुकर S. having a görbe karú.
crooked arm
kakkati कक्कति S. derides kaczag,
gunyol.
(?) kikkati to cough köhögni.
koṛh कोढ़ H. leprosy kór.
kim किम् S. who ki.
kshomam क्षोमं S. silk selyem.
kapha कफ S. phlegm, köp.
spittle
karpûra कर्पूर S. camphor kámfor.
kalasha कलश S. a goblet kulacs.
khara-nakhara खरनखर S. sharp-nailed köröm,
körmös.
khyöd ཁྱོད་ (Tibetan) you kend,
kegyelmed.
kashchit कश्चित् S. who? what? kicsoda?
micsoda?
kishora किशोर S. a youth kis úr.
kîrtita कीर्तित S. celebrated hirdetett
(megkürtölt).
kîrtti कीर्त्ति S. fame hir.
khatam खतं S. a pond gödör.
kis kâ किस का H. whose kié.
kis ko किस को H. to whom kinek.
kula कुल S. a family család.
sakula सकुल S. belonging to ugyan azon
the same családból
family való,
székely?
paṇa, dhana पण, धन S. money, coin pénz.
pachati पचति S. } to cook, { föni.
pachayati पचयति S. } to boil { fözni.
pachayat पचयत् S. } { fözetni.
patati पतति S. carries viszen, szál.
patayati पतयति S. makes over szálit.
(to)
pâtayati पातयति S. delivers szálittat.
patha पथ S. road út.
pathati पथति S. travels utazik.
pathayati पथयति S. causes to utaztat.
travel
panthati पन्थति S. } shows the way utasít.
panthayati पन्थयति S. }
pathin पथिन् S. } traveller { utas.
pathika पथिक S. } { utazó.
pathila पथिल S. wayfarer utazó.
pathika santati पथिकसन्तति S. a caravan utitársaság.
padika पदिक S. { a footman } gyalogos.
{ a pedestrian }
padâsanam पदासनं S. footstool lábszék,
zsámoly.
pachaka पचक S. a cook szakács.
pachaka strî पचकस्त्री S. a female cook fözö asszony.
(?) Pârthus पार्थुः S. a rebel pártütö,
pártos.
N.B.—Parthi exules Scytharum (Justinianus).
palâla पलाल S. straw, polyva,
stubble szalma.
pataka पतक S. that which a mi esik,
falls or patak.
descends, a
torrent
pachaka पचक S. earthen fazék.
vessel
pâṇḍu पाण्डु S. clothed in (?) pandúr.
yellowish
white
paṭa पट S. cloth posztó.
shîrshaka शीर्षक S. a helmet sisak.
suta सुत S. a son szülött,
szülni.
sû सू parturition szülés.
sauchika सौचिक S. a tailor szabó.
sûchi सूचि S. a needle tü (talán
szöcs?).
(sû) savanam (सू) सवनं S. to bring szülni.
forth
suhṛita सुहृत S. a lover szeretö.
sûta सूत S. born szülte,
szülött.
shakaṭa शकट S. a cart, szekér.
carriage
sabhâ सभा S. a gathering szoba.
of people, a
room
shobhâ शोभा S. beauty szépség.
sankaṭa सङ्कट S. narrow szük.
sevati सेवति S. serves szolgál.
sûshati सूषति S. brings forth szül.
skhadate स्खदते S. tears szakad.
(?) sabdati to destroy, leszabdalni.
to defeat
shwasati श्वसति S. breathes szuszog.
sahate सहते S. bears szül.
sau सौ H. one hundred száz.
sa स S. he az.
sabala सबल S. one with an (?) szabolcs.
army, with a
force or power
shikhâ शिखा S. a stack or (fedél)
covered heap asztag.
(?) sakti island sziget.
sukṛita सुकृत S. virtuous erényes.
suhṛida सुहृद S. } lover, tender, szeretö.
surata सुरत S. } compassionate
sûrya सूर्य्य S. the sun nap.
sûryâvartta सूर्य्यावर्त्त S. sunflower napraforgó.
sevaka सेवक S. servant szolga.
salavaṇa सलवण S. salted szalonna.
dwâram द्वारं S. a courtyard udvar.
dharati धरति S. holds tart.
dadâti ददाति S. gives, adakozik.
contributes
dasha दश S. ten tiz.
dhṛi धृ S. to hold, to tartani.
retain
N.B.—Examine these roots for all derivatives; e.g., “dhṛita-râshṭra,”
the holder of a kingdom, a sovereign, a ruler, országtartó.
N.B.—dhar, in Hungarian: tart; tartani, tartozni, tartózkodni, tartás,
tartomány, tartozó, tarlatik, &c.
dhwani ध्वनि S. a sound zaj, moraj.
(?) Duna Danube.
(?) lip लिप to stride lépni.
(Conjugate this verb.)
Loma-pâda लोमपाद S. King of Anga, Bhaugulpore
is its capital.
N.B.—Árpád.
Csoma affixed a remarkable note at the end of this paper, in the
following words: Materiam dedi, formam habetis, quærite gloriam si
placet!
NOTES
[1] The bulk of the people on that frontier are Wallachians.
[2] See Orbán Balázs: Székelyföld leírása.
[3] Hermanstadt, in German.
[4] Nemzet, 17th April 1884.
[5] Pupil-servants occupy a position similar to that of sizars at the
English colleges in past times.
[6] “Revue des deux Mondes,” vol. xix. p. 50 et seqq.
[7] Preface to the “Tibetan Dictionary.”
[8] γὰρ ὐμῖν. Recensione Heyne. Londini, 1823.
[9] The full name in Hungarian is Körösi Csoma Sándor, which means in
English, Alexander Csoma of Körös. The family name is Csoma, and the
word Körösi, meaning of Körös, stands as a designation, to show that he
is a noble of Körös.
Körösi, although an adjective, may be used either alone or as above,
after Alexander, but in that case Csoma must be omitted; that is to
say, Alexander Csoma Körösi would be a mistake.
The terminal i in Körösi means of, hence de cannot stand before Körösi.
When de is used, Körös must follow.
[10] Siculus in Latin, Székely in Hungarian, Székler in German and
other continental languages.
[11] “Tibetan Tales,” by W. R. S. Ralston, M.A. Trübner & Co., London,
1882.
[12] An abridged English edition of B. Hügel’s works, with Major
Jervis’s annotations, appeared in 1845.
[13] See “Alphabetum Tibetanum, studio et labore, Fr. Augustini Antonii
Georgii.” Romæ, 1762, pag. 820.
[14] “Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,” vol. ii., 1844, note
to Dr. Campbell’s paper.
[15] Székler, military nobles.
[16] Kulu.
[17] Moorcroft’s “Travels,” edited by H. H. Wilson, vol. i. p. 338.
[18] Preface to Moorcroft’s “Travels,” edited by H. H. Wilson.
[19] See Prinsep’s Report, dated 5th January 1834, in chap. ix.
[20] Moorcroft’s “Travels”, vol. ii. p. 383.
[21] See Yule’s “Marco Polo,” vol. i. p. 209, regarding Buddhist ritual
in China.
[22] The Hungarian.
[23] 1825.
[24] Drâkshâ.
[25] Deductions based upon the etymology and similarity in the
pronunciation of certain words, are not safe grounds upon which to
rest scientific conclusions. Csoma has frequently shown his distrust
of such. Yet such an objection need not preclude our noting down any
striking examples which we may have fallen in with.
What may have been the faith of the Magyar ancestors is not yet
decided; this subject demands yet further investigation, especially
in the direction in which Csoma laboured.
Csoma says, with reference to the study of Tibetan, and especially
of the Sanskrit, that his countrymen will find in it a fund of
information respecting their national origin, manners, customs, and
idiom.
Even among the early data of the ancient history of the Hungarians,
there are words and names which seem to point unmistakably to their
Buddhistic origin. Bihar is an important county in Lower Hungary.
Buda, the old capital of Hungary, sounds the same as the name which
is still worshipped by hundreds of millions of the human race. Why
should it be a far-fetched conclusion to assume that on the
neighbouring hills, rising on the banks of the Danube, there stood
in ancient times a temple of Buddha,—perhaps a Lama monastery?
Below it, on the opposite bank, stretching into the distant plain,
was built Pest. “Pest,” “past,” is a Persian word, and expresses
the topographical relation which exists between the ancient town of
Buda and the new town of Pest. Whether this suggestion is likely to
attract the attention of those, who are more competent to judge may
be questioned, but the coincidence is very striking, and it is
perhaps not out of place to put it on record here.
[26] Nami Srongtsan.
[27] Yezdegird, the last of the Sasanian Dynasty.
[28] Nepalese Buddhist Literature. Calcutta, 1882. Preface, p. xiii.
[29] “Journal Royal Asiatic Society,” vol. xvi., p. 493.
[30] See the two letters above, dated 28th January and 5th May 1825,
Chapters ii. and iii.
[31] Oriental Quarterly Magazine, 1825.
[32] In the district of Zanskar, in the province of Ladak.
[33] For a further explanation of this incident, see the author’s
Tibetan Grammar, at page 168.
[34] See letter to Captain Kennedy, at page 46.
[35] See preceding chapter.
[36] The original is in the possession of the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences in Budapest—a generous gift, with two other original letters
of Csoma’s, from the Council of the Asiatic Society of Bengal in 1883.
[37] See Appendix XVI.
[38] See “Journal of Asiatic Society of Bengal,” 1834, p. 655.
[39] 22d July 1831.
[41] It was remitted through them, and never drawn out of their hands.
Rupees.
From Mr. Willock 300
From Dr. Moorcroft 300
From Government, 14th June 1827 to 30th June 1830 2926
Two months at 100 rupees per month 200
For travelling expenses 500
-------
Total 4226
[42] See Appendix XVI.
[43] See Appendix XVII.
[44] See Appendix XVI.
[45] “Revue des Deux Mondes,” vol. xix.
[46] Ralston’s “Tibetan Tales.” London: Trübner and Co., 1882.
[47] See “Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,” 1884, vol. xvi., p.
492 et seq.
[48] See “Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,” 4th March
1842.
[49] See “Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal,” vol. xi.
[50] See page 80 et seq., ante.
[51] See Government Gazette of that date.
[52] This is evidently a mistake.
[53] This should be, de Körös, without the terminal i. See page 9,
ante.
[54] Darjeeling, in British Sikkim.
[55] This is a mistake, as he was born in April 1784.
[56] “Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal,” vol. xiv. p. 823.
[57] See Dr. Campbell’s Report, page 147, ante.
[58] Ralston’s “Tibetan Tales.” Trübner & Co., London, 1882.
Introduction, p. 21 et seq.
[59] See chap. v., p. 77.
[60] See chap. xi., p. 153.
[61] See “Journal Royal Asiatic Society,” vol. xvi., p. 493.
[62] Ralston, op. cit.
[63] To whose courtesy an especial tribute is due here, with the
expression of deep regret at his untimely death by cholera in May last.
[64] Dr. Archibald Campbell speaks of Csoma’s grizzly beard.
[65] See “Journal Royal Asiatic Society,” vol. xvi. p. 486.
[66] A shelter, a house; in Tibetan, Khyim.
[67] The ten commandments of Buddha are these:—
1. Not to kill. 2. Not to steal. 3. Not to commit adultery. 4. Not to
tell falsehood. 5. Not to use abusive language. 6. Not to speak
nonsense. 7. Not to slander. 8. Not to be covetous. 9. Not to bear
malice. 10. Not to be stubborn in a wrong principle.
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