Select Contents of Oriental Journals
Summary
This section of the Indian Historical Quarterly summarises articles from several scholarly journals, providing readers with a panorama of current research. It begins with Brahmavidya (Vol. XXI, May 1957), where G. Harshe examines Vedic names found in Assyrian records. The vast library of Assurbanipal (ca. 3000–600 B.C.) preserves names that do not appear in later Vedic literature; Harshe argues that terms such as Apisala and the Bṛgus may have Western Asiatic origins and includes an appendix listing Vedic names in Assyrian inscriptions. George T. Artola surveys forty‑nine Arabic, Persian and Turkish manuscripts of the Bidpai (Panchatantra) cycle preserved in Istanbul and Tehran; he explains how the Pahlavi translation under Anushirvan made Visnusharma’s fables famous in the Islamic world. Sreekrishna Sarma analyses the technical terms akṛti (structural pattern) and jāti (class) in Patañjali’s Mahābhāṣya, showing that akṛti refers to morphological structure while jāti denotes conceptual class. Sivaprasad Bhattacharya’s paper on Moksalaya (Yogavāsiṣṭha) emphasises the equal importance of knowledge and action in attaining an ideal life. The summary next reviews the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bombay (New Series, Vol. 30, Pt 1, 1955). P. V. Kane announces that verses quoted from Yavanesvara in Utpala’s commentary on the Bṛhajjātaka also appear in the Vrddha‑yavana‑jātaka, demonstrating that the latter work was composed by the astrologer Yavana‑ācārya Mañjarī. D. C. Law discusses the ancient cities of Hastinapura and Indraprastha, while R. C. Agrawala examines professions in the Niya society using Kharosthi documents. K. D. Swaminathan deciphers a Tamil‑language inscription from Melpadi dated 17 April 1518 A.D., which mentions the poet Peddu‑Raja in the court of Krishnadevaraya. Additional papers summarised include G. C. Jhala’s study of aspirate consonant shifts, S. N. Gajendragadkar’s exploration of roving mendicants in the Mahābhārata, Parameshwar Lal Gupta’s numismatic note identifying Western Ksatrapa Īśvaradatta’s coinage, and Bhagwan Singh Suryavanshi’s archaeological report on Bilsad, which unearthed Bodhisattva and Yakṣa images. Heramba Chatterjee contributes a critical study of pratītyasamutpāda, R. S. Peravia offers a new interpretation of the Nataraja theme, and Umakanta Premanand Shah publishes an epigraph from Mount Śatruñjaya recording resolutions of the Śvetāmbara Jaina community. This digest thus provides scholars with concise updates across philology, epigraphy, archaeology and philosophy.
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Conclusion
The ‘Select Contents’ section functions as a bibliographical service, alerting readers to notable research in Indology and related fields. By summarising studies ranging from Assyrian parallels to Vedic names and the transmission of the Panchatantra to analyses of inscriptions and philosophical doctrines, it highlights the interdisciplinary breadth of contemporary scholarship. Such digests encourage cross‑fertilisation between fields and help researchers stay informed about discoveries outside their immediate specialisms.