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SEARCH OP HINDI MANUSCRIPTS.
6) Didactic (3997) (k) Political (TTFatra)
(1) Lexicon (ATT) (m) Astronomical and Astrological (Fatfara) (n) Palmistry (agf ) (0) Medicine (@27) (p) Veterinary (STEET) (q) Cookery (TTO TIE) (r) Sexual (7 12) (s) Historical (Ofaatfalet) (t) Stories (PPT parat) (u) Witchcraft (97) (0) Miscellaneous (fafay)
It will be seen that more than half the manuscripts found deal with religious subjects, numbering as they do 287 including 38 works on Philosophy, which is generally wedded to religion in Hindi and Jaina literaturo, both of which are mixed up in the figures quoted above. It may be noted here that religion includos prayers to and eulogies of gods and goddesses, their sports and diversions, mythological stories, modes of worship by various sects, and the sayings of religious teachers and reformers. The super-abundance of religious literature is an index of the Indian mind and was much augmented by the belief that it brought religious merit, while it absolved the author from the consequences of defective versification, which was believed to bring ruin to him if the subject dealt with by him was of a temporal nature. The favourite themes were translations of Bhāgavata and the Rāmāyaṇa in a variety of metros, of which Dohiīs aud Chaupūis became very popular during Tulasi period. Some books were written with a double purpose ; while they eulogised some god or goddess, they at the same time developed some literary theme like rhetoric and prosody. These latter come next in point of popularity as exhibited by the number of books written on
