Dear All,

This is basically just to confirm the information that Christophe Vielle has already given.  This is clearly the Rāmakathā section of the Vahni Purāṇā, on which Anasuya Bhaumik has been working for some time. I add next some notes from the first volume of her edn of the Purāṇa and from her as yet unpublished paper delivered at DICSEP 5 (2008), “Rāma episode in an unpublished Purāṇa manuscript”:

4 mss of Vahni Purāṇa used by Bhowmik in edn: 2 in India Office (one dated 1589 A.D., the other 1804 [saṃvat 1861]), a third in Calcutta (one in Asiatic Society, undated?), which lacks the Rāmakathā in second part (found in both I.O. mss), and a fourth in Sanskit Parishad (? - check).

Bhowmik notes (Vahnipurāṇa 2012: cxxiv) that there are references to the VR in the main text, at 36.73 (to be read regularly, as it dispels and demolishes all sins) and at 61.43.  “From above quotations, it can be concluded that Rāmakathā is not an interpolation but was included in the second phase of its transformation.  The Rāmakathā is also getting published from The Asiatic Society, Kolkata in near further.” [sic]

Yours

John Brockington
  
Professor J.L. Brockington
113 Rutten Lane
Yarnton
Kidlington 0X5 1LT
tel: 01865 849438
On 21/12/2015 13:00, Christophe Vielle wrote:
From the Time of India article, which is the source of the other (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/6th-century-Ramayana-found-in-Kolkata-stuns-scholars/articleshow/50227724.cms ), I am tempted to conclude (but maybe I am wrong) that this Râma-kathâ version is the one... of the Vahnipuraa.na.
The latter work was once in details studied by Hazra (who listed 4 mss. of the work, cf. ref. below [1985] p. 70 n. 14, 72 n. 18, 138 n. 40), at the time it was not yet edited.
Hazra tells us that the Râma legend "constitutes almost the half of the present extensive text" of this purâ.na. And he presents it (pp. 138-150) on the basis of one of the two IO ms. (no. 1001) mainly because the Asiatic Society ms. was incomplete ("has lost more than half [of Râma legend chapters] from the end", p. 138 n. 40).
I fear (it should be checked) that the editio princeps of the VahniP which was published by Anasuya Bhowmick in 2012 (see ref. below), was based on the Kolkata AS manuscript only. I understand that they now have found a new (more complete) ms. in the Samskrita Sahitya Parishad. The episode referred to of the killing of the Bhârgava Kavi Uzanas (Zukra)'s wife during the deva-asura war and the subsequent curse on Vi.s.nu (the killer) to be reborn as Raama is given in Hazra's account of the VahniP (cf. p. 144).
The 6th century dating would be based on the (Hazra's) 6th century dating... of the Vahnipuraa.na, not on the manuscript itself.

• Hazra 1953-1954 « Studies in the genuine Āgneya-purāṇa alias Vahni-purāṇa », Our Heritage 1/2, pp. 209-245, and 2/1, p. 77-110, re-issued in Dr. R.C. Hazra Commemoration Volume (Selected Articles of the Late Dr. R.C. Hazra), Part I, Varanasi, All-India Kashiraj Trust (= Purāṇa 27/1), 1985, pp. 67-122, 122-171.

• Vahnipurāṇam tathā Āgneyapurāṇam / sampādikā, Anasūyā Bhaumika. -- Kalakātā : Di Eśiyāṭika Sosāiṭi, 2012. cxlii, 610 p. ; 24 cm. -- (Bibliotheca Indica series ; no. 336) ISBN 9788192219585



Le 20 déc. 2015 à 19:48, Dominik Wujastyk <wujastyk@gmail.com> a écrit :

I'd be interested to know more (indologically) about this report:

Does anyone have the inside track?

--
Professor Dominik Wujastyk*
Singhmar Chair in Classical Indian Society and Polity
 University of Alberta, Canada
_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
INDOLOGY@list.indology.info
indology-owner@list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing committee)
http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)

–––––––––––––––––––
Louvain-la-Neuve



_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
INDOLOGY@list.indology.info
indology-owner@list.indology.info (messages to the list's managing committee)
http://listinfo.indology.info (where you can change your list options or unsubscribe)