the name of Bengal, yet the Brahmanas, who bear that appellation, are not inhabitants of Bengal but of Hindustan proper. They reside chiefly in the Suba of Delhi; while the Brahmanas of Bengal are avowed colonists from Canoj. It is difficult to account for this contradiction. The Gaura Brahmanas allege a tradition, that their ancestors migrated in the days of the Pandavas, at the commencement of the present Cali Yuga."*

Maithila, or Tirhutiya, is the language used in Mithila, that is, in the Sircar of Tirhut, and in some adjoining districts, limited however by the rivers Cusi and

* "Great affinity appears between the manners and practices of the Brahminas and those Gymnosophists of Ethiopia, who settled near the sources of the Nile; and, according to Philostrates, they were descended from the Brahmins. He says, the Gymnosophists of Ethiopia came from India, having been driven from thence for the murder of their king near the Ganges."-Philost. Vit. Apol. c. 6.-" Sketches of the Hindus," by the author of the present work, vol. i. Sketch x. p. 255.

Gandhac, and by the mountains of Nepal: it has great affinity with Bengali; and the character in which it is written differs little from that which is employed throughout Bengal. In Tirhut too, the learned write Sanscrit in the Tirhutiya character, and pronounce it after their own inelegant manner. The dialect of Mithila has no extensive use, and does not appear to have been at any time cultivated by elegant poets."

66

Utcala, or Odradesa, is co-extensive with the Suba of Oresa, extending from Medinipur to Manacapattana, and from the sea to Sammall-pur. The language of this province, and the character in which it is written, are both called Uriya.* So far as a judgment can be formed from imperfect specimens of this language, it contains many Sanscrit words variously corrupted.”

The five Hindu nations, whose pecu

* From the name of the province of Orisa, or as it is generally called, Orixa.

liar dialects have been thus briefly noticed, occupy the northern and eastern portions of India; they are denominated the five Gaurs. The rest, called the five Dravirs inhabit the southern and western parts of the peninsula. Some Pandits indeed exclude Carnata, and substitute Casmira; but others, with more propriety, omit the Cashmirian tribe; and, by adding the Canaras to the list of Dravirs, avoid the inconsistency of placing a northern tribe among southern nations. There is reason too for doubting whether Cashmira be occupied by a distinct nation, and whether the inhabitants of it be not rather a tribe of Canyacubjas.

66

Dravira is the country which terminates the peninsula of India. Its northern limits appear to lie between the twelfth and thirteenth degrees of north latitude. The language of the province is the Tamul, to which Europeans have given the name of Malabar, from Malay-war, a province of Dravira. They have similarly corrupted the true name of the dialect into Tamul,

Tamulic, and Tamulian:* but the word, as pronounced by the natives, is Tamla, or Tamalah; and this seems to indicate a derivation from Tamra, or Tamraparni, a river of note, which waters the southern Mathura, situated within the limits of Dravir. The provincial dialect is written in a character which is greatly corrupted from the parent Devanagari, but which nevertheless is used by the Brahmins of Dravir in writing the Sanscrit language. After carefully inspecting a grammar published by Mr. Drummond at Bombay, and a dictionary by the missionaries at Madras, I can venture to pronounce that the Tamla contains many Sanscrit words, either unaltered or little changed, with others more corrupted, and a still greater number of doubtful origin.

* "The Romish and Protestant missionaries, who have published dictionaries and grammars of this dialect, refer to another language, which they denominate Grandam, and Grandonicum. It appears that Sanscrit is meant, and the term thus corrupted by them is, Grant'ha, a volume or book.”

"The Maharashtra, or Mahratta, is the language of a nation which has in the present century* greatly enlarged its ancient limits. If any inference may be drawn from the name of the character in which the language is written, the country occupied by this people was formerly called Muru; for the peculiar corruption of the Devanagari, which is employed by the Maharashtras in common transactions, is denominated by them Mur. Their books, it must be remarked, are commonly written in Devanagari. The Mahratta nation was formerly confined to a mountainous tract, situated south of the river Nermada, and extending to the province of Cocan. Their language is now more widely spread, but is not yet become the vernacular dialect of provinces situated far beyond the ancient bounds of their country. Like other Indian tongues, it contains much pure Sanscrit.+

* Meaning the 18th century.

+ See grammar and dictionary of the Mahratta lan