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208 M. D. PARAD KAR

Telang’s motto had been ‘drink deep or taste not from the Piarian spring.’ He was equally at home in Bibie as well as in GltS and couid authoritatively bring out that the similarities between the two are a matter of coincindences with only negligible similarity. He rightly pointed out that Dr. Lorinser has not even followed the ordinary practice of giving in a notę the references to the authorities on which he relies. He boldly pointed out that it is the reserve of ‘likings’ and ‘satisfactions’ and ‘foregone conclusions’ lying in the background of most of the logical artillery which European scholars have brought to bear upon the chronology of our ancient literaturę that is temporarily doing damage to antiquity. In Chillingworth’s language — ‘They dream what the desire and believe their own dreams.’ Telang lodged very humble but very emphatic protest against this frame of mind against the often ‘moist lighl’ of European scholarship of his days. One can easily appreciate the quality of his English from these words as well as his excellent blank verse translation of poetic verses like the famous GUS verse    etc.

(n).

He inlo whom

Ali things of sense enter as waters do

The Ocean, which slill filled still keeps its bounds unmoved obtains tranquillity; not he

Who wishcs for these things of sense, that man

Who all desires abandons and remains

Frec from affections and from "1" and “Minę"

Obtains tranquillity.

This is not merc translation, it has a poetic ring about it.

Finally I come to Volume VIII of the Sacred Books of the East Series, Dhaga vad gTta with the SanatsujStTya and the AnugTtS with translation and critical notes from this erudite scholar. In the Introduction, he has referred to the views of Mr. Talboys Wheeler, Freeman, Professor Goldstucker, Weber discussed the authorship of the GTtS which in his opinion had no tracę of a scctarian or ‘Brahamnizing’ spirit, that it is morę Upanisadic in character leaving no philosophical dogma or system explaining the difficulty in reconciling many passages allowing room for dilTcrcnt interprelations and has also spoken of the plain and direct style of natural simplicity visible in the work allhough by no mcans dcvoid of acsthetic merit. His introductions to the episodes in the MahabhSrata of the SanatsujStTya as well as AnugTtS running into 14 and 40 printed pages respectively reveal his skill in arriving at conclusion on the basis of extcrnal and interna! evidence as well as acumen in comparative study. His endeavour ‘to keep the translation as close and faithful to the text as the exigencies of the English language permitted’ is really worth emulating.

A word about his approach to GTtS will be opportune. There has been