Archaeology in Mysore Annual Reports (1906-1911) Vol - I By Maha Mahopadhyaya Rao Bahadur R. Narasimhachar (Only 1 Quantity Available - An Old and Rare Book)

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consider it a great privilege to be asked to write a fore word to the monumental Reports on Archaeology in the Mysore State (vol. 1) by the late Mahamahopadhyaya Rao Bahadur R. Narasimhachar, one of the greatest scholars of India. Sri Narasimhachar's erudition, profound knowledge of all the Dravidian extra-languages which was unparallelled. ordinary proficiency in Sanskrit, critical acumen and inde-pendent judgement on matters dealt with in these Reports and elsewhere, won him the admiration of eminent scholars all over the world. These Reports contain a wealth of material on epigraphy, numismatics, art, architecture, excavation and manuscripts which is highly valuable for the reconstruction of the history of our country from the time of Chandragupta Maurya and Asoka down to Haidar Ali and Tippu Sultan. They also throw a flood of light on the religious, social and cultural aspects of the former Mysore State. Starting with epigraphy. I may say that the contribution that these Reports have made to the history of the various dynasties that held sway over this part of the land especially the Gangas of Talakad-is immense. The late Dr. J. F. Fleet had pronounced all the copper-plate inscriptions of the Ganga dynasty as spurious. He went so far as to say that the rulers of this dynasty prior to those figuring in stone inscriptions (i. e.. Sivamara I and his successors) never existed! He was so obsessed with the idea of the spuriousness of these copper-plates that he did not consider it even indecorous to write to Mr. Lewis Rice (Sri Narasimhachar's predecessor), "If you will only give up the Gangas, I will do anything you like for you."! But after the discovery and masterly review by Sri Narasimhachar of many genuine copper-plate grants of this family, Dr. Flees ultimately had to admit that even the rulers mentioned in the copper-plate records were real and not fictitious! Another important elucidation of a great historical event concerning a chief of this family named Bütuga stands to the The charge of treacherously credit of Sri Narasimhachar. killing his opponent, the Choja prince Räjäditya had been levelled against Bütuga by an incorrect understanding of a passage in a Kannada inscription. Sri Narasimhachar pointed out that the correct reading and interpretation of the passage would show that, "Būtuga undauntedly mounted the elephant on which Räjäditya was seated and by engaging him in hand to hand fight in the howdah itself stabbed him with a dagger and thus killed him." In the field of numismatics, Sri Narasimhachar's discovery and decipherment of the coins of the chiefs of Chutukula, whose few inscriptions are found in North Kanara and Shimoga districts, add much to our knowledge of this little known dynasty. Coming to art and architecture, Sri Narasimhachar's Reports are a rich mine of information on the magnificent temples in the old Mysore State like the ones at Somanathapur, Belur and Halebid. Fergusson had called this style of temple architecture the Chalukyan style. But it was Sri Narasimhachar who said that this style should be more correctly designated as the Hoysala style of architecture. The Reports contain an exhaustive description of the plan and structure of these numerous temples, as also a brilliant depiction of the beautiful and lifelike sculptures that adorn the walls of these temples, highlighting the consummate skill with which these were carved by the master craftsmen of the Hoysala period. Sri Narasimha-char has also given a masterly account of the iconographic features of the various idols found in these temples, thereby revealing his astounding knowledge of iconography. Besides his description of the Hoysaļa style of temple architecture, these Reports also carry a detailed account of the structures of the Dravidian style.