A Note on the Genesis and Character of Srivara's So-Called "Jaina-Rajatarangini"‪.‬

Of the Kashmiri Sanskrit chroniclers, four are available in published form (1) at present: Kalhana, Jonaraja, Srivara, and Suka. (2) With the exception of Kalhana, the received texts each display a peculiar feature. In the case of Jonaraja ([dagger] A.D. 1459), one recension in the textual transmission of his work incorporates historical accounts of a considerably later period ("Pseudo-Jonaraja"), in some 350 verses, interpolated in the second half of the sixteenth century. (3) As regards Suka, he starts his own account (4) with Prajyabhatta's (now lost) chronicle (A.D. 1486-1513), consulted and adapted by him for the purpose of continuing the preceding chronicles. The present paper will be concerned with Srivara's account, which, too, shows peculiarities of composition. Srivara's ([dagger] A.D. 1486) chronicle is reckoned as the third (trtiya) after Kalhana and Jonaraja. There is reason to assume its shape as edited does not reflect the structure of the composition as originally arranged and intended by its author. So far, his chronicle (SRT) has seen three independent publications (editio princeps Calcutta 1835 [C], editio se-cunda Bombay 1896 [B], editio critica Hoshiarpur 1966 [H]) and a fourth, dependent one, reedited by Raghunath Singh (Varanasi 1972 [V]) from the previous editions. Kashi Nath Dhar reproduced Kaul's critical text (H), though distorted by quite a number of printing errors, together with his own English translation based on it. Dhar's publication may be taken as a fifth edition (New Delhi 1994). Unfortunately, it is clear that such editorial zeal, which found expression in a remarkable number of editions, is in inverse proportion to the standards of the textual criticism applied to them. By this uncritical attitude of the editors essential facts relating to the genesis and character of Srivara's Rajatarangini have been concealed.