History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c5: Preface
History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c5
- Language
- English
Preface
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The first suggestion for writing a History of Orissa was made to me twenty years ago by Sj. Rama Prasad Chanda, B. A. (now Rai Bahadur Rama Prasad Chanda, B.A., F.A.S.B., Superintendent of the Archæological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta), when he came to Calcutta on special leave to collect materials for his epoch-making work, "*The Indo-Aryan Races*". Eighteen years afterwards the same scholar made arrangements for the publication of this work in consultation with Sj. Ramananda Chatterjee, M. A.
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During the course of the compilation of this work I have received very great help from Pandit Tarakeswara Ganguli of the Mayurbhanja State in the shape of copies of important records in the Records Departments of various local Governments and the Government of India, original and unpublished copper plate grants from the States of Dhenkanal and Baudh and arrangements for facilities for my short tour in the Baudh State. Without his help it would have been impossible for me to complete this work within a short time. I am also very much indebted to Mr. G. S. Sardesai, B. A., formerly of Baroda, and at present of Poona, for much valuable help, the principal of which is the loan of two copies of the very rare *Bakhar* of the Nagpur Bhonsles by Kashinath Rajesvar Gupte. At first Mr. Sardesai sent me an incomplete copy of this *Bakhar* belonging to Mr. Ganesh Gopal Khandekar of Harasiddhi Gate, Ujjain; but later on at my request he sent a complete copy from his own library, along with a set of exceedingly rare printed letters of Yasovant Rao Holkar, written to Raghuji Bhonsle II on the eve of the Third Maratha War. Without Mr. Sardesai's help it would not have been possible for me to utilize all known sources of the History of Orissa during the Maratha period. I understand from my friend Nawabzada A. F. M. Abdul Ali, Keeper of Records of the Government of India that a fifth Volume of the Calendar of Persian correspondence is almost ready for publication, and I regret very much to state that I cannot utilize the mass of material regarding the condition of Orissa during the latter part of the Maratha period which it must contain. Throughout the compilation of this work I have received many valuable suggestions from Mr. Paramananda Acharya, B. Sc., Archæological Scholar, Mayurbhanja State, the real discoverer of the Neolithic site of Baidyapur. It was possible for me to examine the important temples at Gandharadi and other antiquities in the Baudh State on account of the very great interest in the History and the antiquities of the country of Rajah Narayan Prasad Dev, Chief of Baudh. The photographs of the Gandharadi temples and that of the colossal image of Buddha in Baudh town were supplied by Raja Narayan Prasad Dev, for which I am very much indebted to him. I owe a deep debt of gratitude to Sj. Ramananda Chatterjee for going through the final manuscript of this voluminous work before it was sent to the press. Finally, I must thank my friend Sj. Kedarnath Chatterjee, B. Sc., for taking infinite trouble about the printing, illustration and publication of this work. He has helped me at every stage, helping me whenever my physical incapacity made it impossible for me to expedite this work.
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R. D. BANERJI
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BENARES HINDU UNIVERSITY The 26th September, 1929.