History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c12.20

v1.c12.20

The appointment of officers and of courts requires the maintenance of records as we have already stated and that such records were maintained is proved by the testimony of Hiuen Tsang. He says (Watters' Vol. I page 154) “As to their archives and records, there are separate custodians of these. The official annals and state papers are called collectively ‘nīlapītha.’ In these good and bad are recorded and instances of public calamity and good fortune are set forth in detail.” The name nīlapītha reminds one of the blue state publications of the British government. The historian of Kashmir, Kalhana states that he wrote his history from the nīlamata. The existence and maintenance of such records should dispel the common notion that India had no historical records. Unfortunately these have been lost in the convulsions attending the conquest of India by the Mahomedans.