ABSTRACT
D with the stone on which it was incised. That the dic tionary belongs, in any case, to a period considerably later than the first century B.C.— the date commonly assigned to it-is sufficiently indicated by data furnished by the work itself. For, in the first place, it enumerates the signs of the zodiac, which were unquestionably borrowed by the Hindus from the Greeks; and, according to Letronne’s investigations, the completion of the zodiac did not take place among the Greeks themselves before the first century a .d . ; so that, of course, it cannot have become known to the Hindus till one or several centuries later. Again, in the Amara-kosha, the lunar mansions are enu merated in their new order, the fixing of which was due to the fresh life infused into Indian astronomy under Greek influence, the exact date being uncertain, but hardly earlier than a .d . 400. Lastly, the word dindra occurs here * which, as pointed out by Prinsep, is simply the Latin denarius (see Lassen, I. A K ., ii. 261, 348). The use of the term tantra in the sense of ‘ text-book ’ may perhaps also be cited in this connection, as it belongs only to a definite period, which is probably the fifth or sixth cen tury, the Hindus who emigrated to Java having taken the word with them in this sense.241-A ll this, of course, yields us no direct date. If it be correct, as stated by Keinaud (M4m. sur VInde, p. 114), that there existed a Chinese translation of the work, “ redigfe au vie sikcle,” this would give us something tolerably definite to go by. But Stan. Julien does not, it would seem, in the passage cited by Keinaud as his authority, express himself in quite such definite terms; as he merely speaks of the “ traduction chinoise de TAmarakocha, qui parait avoir ete publiee . . . ” :*)• nor are the positive grounds he adduces in sup port of this view directly before us, so that we might test
* I t also occurs in the Pancha-5, cited by Colebrooke, Misc. jEss., tantra, in a legend of Buddhistic i. 3141 (3392) ; Gildem eister in origin.— I m ay here also rem ark in Z . D . M. G . , xxviii. 697. passing, th at the word dramma, i.e., f The meaning of paraitre, howhpaXjx'f), is em ployed in the tw elfth ever, is doubtful ; it can signify century b y Bhdskara, as well as in in-either ‘ seem ’ or ‘ be clenr’ (acscriptions [cf. Z . D . M. G., vi. 420]. cording to all evidence),— in the
243 Of special interest also is the latter sense like the Latin apparere, Arabico-Persian word pilu for ele-and the English ‘ appear,’ being in'1 p h a n t; cf. Kum arila on Jaim., i. 3. deed derived from apjparcscere,.
