[South Indian Sanskrit MS 050, Whish MS 51] Mahābhārata
Mahābhārata
Language – Sanskrit
Date – [1800?]
Palm leaf; with boards painted on outer side, with double black border, coloured green inside border with black circle filled in red round each hole for strings, and three black crosses, either side of and in between the string holes; 10 lines on a folio.
Manuscript consists of Parvans 14-18 of the Mahābhārata, i.e. the Āśvamedhika Parvan (f.1-97); the Āśramavāsika Parvan (f.98-136); the Mausala Parvan (f.136-145b); the Mahāprasthānika Parvan (f.146-149b); the Svargārohaṇika Parvan (f.149b-155b).
The Āśvamedhika Parvan begins: kṛtodakan tu rājānaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭraṃ yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | puraskṛtya mahābāhur uttatārākulendriyaḥ | etc.
It ends (f.97): iti śrīman-mahābhārate śatasahasrikāyāṃ saṃhitāyām āśvamedhike parvaṇy aṣṭasaptatitamoddhyāyaḥ || … || vatse dhātāv avāgvartmany atha varṣarttubhāsvati | śrāvaṇe māsy acchapakṣe pañcamyāṃ tvāṣṭrabhe tithau | vāsare vaniputrasya likhitaṃ pustakan tv idam | āśvamedhikaparvan tu mudā Śeṣādrisūnunā || hariḥ om śubham astu om || śrīgurucaraṇāravindābhyān namaḥ ||
The Āśramavāsika Parvan begins (f.98): Janamejayaḥ | rājyaṃ prāpya naravyāghrāḥ pitṛpaitāmaham mahat | katham āsan mahārāje dhṛtarāṣṭre mahātmani | etc.
It ends (f.134b): yudhiṣṭhiras tu nṛpatir nnātiprītamanās tadā | dhārayām āsa tad rājyaṃ nihatajñātibāndhavaḥ || (f.135b) iti śrīmahābhārate śatasahasrikāyāṃ saṃhitāyām āśramavāsike parvaṇi ṣaṭcatvāriṃśoddhyāyaḥ || … || om āśramavāsikaṃ pūrṇam || śubham astu
The Mausala Parvan begins (f.136): om ṣaṭtriṃśeṣv atha saṃprāpte varṣe kauravanandana | dadarśa viparītāni nimittāni yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | etc.
It ends (f.145b): iti śrīmahābhārate śatasahasrikāyāṃ saṃhitāyām mausale parvaṇi navamoddhyāyaḥ || mausalaparvaṃ samāptam || … | mausalaṃ parvam etad dhi likhitaṃ Vyāsasaṃkṛtaṃ | mudā Veṃkaṭapadayuk-Subrahmaṇyavipaścitā || hariḥ om etc.
The Mahāprasthānika Parvan begins (f.146): hariḥ om | Janamejayaḥ | evaṃ vṛṣṇyandhakakule śrutvā maulasam [sic] āhavaṃ | pāṇḍavāḥ kim akurvanta tathā kṛṣṇe divaṃgate | etc.
It ends (f.149b): śrīmahābhārate śatasahasrikāyāṃ saṃhitāyām mahāprasthānike parvaṇi tṛtīyoddhyāyaḥ || … mahāprasthānikaṃ parvaṃ samāptaṃ Śeṣasūnunā || hariḥ om ||
The Svargārohaṇika Parvan begins (f.149b): Janamejayaḥ | svargaṃ triviṣṭapaṃ prāpya mama pūrvapitāmahāḥ | pāṇḍavā dhārttarāṣṭrāś ca kāni sthānāni bhejire | etc.
It ends (f.155b): iti śrīmanmahābhārate śatasahasrikāyāṃ saṃhitāyām svargārohaṇike parvaṇi pañcamoddhyāyaḥ || svargarohaṇikaṃ samāptaṃ || ….. svargarohaṇikaṃ parvaṃ Vyāsena racitaṃ śubham | idaṃ Veṃkaḍapadayuk-Subrahmaṇyavipaścitā || hariḥ om || śrīkṛṣṇāya namaḥ || śrīgurubhyo namaḥ || om ||
Winternitz catalogue entries include more extensive quotations from beginning and end of each Parvan.
Winternitz notes that there are entries on the manuscripts by C. M. Whish dated ‘Calicut 1826’, and that the Dhātu or Dhātṛ year (see colophons) preceding 1826 is 1816/17 CE, but that the manuscripts probably written 1756/57 CE.
South Indian Sanskrit / Whish Manuscript Collection.
See ’A catalogue of South Indian Sanskrit manuscripts (especially those of the Whish Collection) belonging to the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland’ by M. Winternitz, with an appendix by F. W. Thomas (London: RAS, 1902) p.60-62. Go to http://tinyurl.com/j3tkdwj for a digital copy of this catalogue.
J. L. Whish, gift of manuscripts collected by his brother C. M. Whish, July 1836.
Text in Sanskrit; Grantha script.