VOLUME 33 1958 JOURNAL OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF ·BOMBAY (New Series) Edited py P. V. KANE H.D.VELANKAR J.M. UNVALA G. C. JHALA Managing Editor GEORGE M. MORAES C 0 N T EN T S : Page S. P. TOL&:TOV : Results of the work of the Khoresmian Archaeological and Ethnographic Expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences-191H-56 1 H. D. VELANI-$'.AR : Vrttarainii.kara-tiitparya-t1ka of TrivilU"ama : Intro- duction 25 B. G. GOKHALE : Bombay and ~hivaji 69 H. S. URSEKAR : The Moon in the I;tgveda 80 .M. K. DHAVLIKAR : Identification· of the Musikanagara 97 S. L. MALURKAR: Determination of seasons and equinoxes in old India and related festivals ·· 101 . N. G. CHAPEK!AR: Subandhu and Asamati 106 K. H. V. SARMA : Note on Ivlelpadi Inscription of Krishi;iadevarii.ya 112 V. S. PATHAK : Vows and Festivals in Early Medieval Inscriptions of Northern India 116 S. L. MALHOTRA : Commercial Rivalry in the Indian Ocean in Ancient Tim~ 1~ NOTES AND QUERIES : P. V. KANE: Date of Utpala 147 REVIEWS OF BOOKS : Der J;tgveda (H. D. Velankar); The Subh~ita­ Ratnako.~a (H. D. Velankar) ; Chcindogya-Brcihma1.i.am (H. D. Velankar) ; Kadambari: A Cultural Stud11 (H. D. Velankar) ; Development of Hindu Iconography (A. D. Pusalkar); The Evolution of Man (H. D. Sankalia); A Source Book in Indian Philosophy (A. D. Pusalkar); On the Meaning of the Mq.habhtirata (S. S. Bhawe); The Inda-Greeks (P. C. Divanji); Grammar of the Marathi Language (R. K. Lagu); The Pre­ historic Baclcg1·ound of Indian· Culture (A. D. Pusalkar); Priicina Phiig1i Samgraha (G. C. Jhala); VaT1J.aka-Siimnccaya, Part II (G. C. Jhala); A New Approacli to the Riimdvatia (G. C. Jhala) 150 Published by the Society 1960 London Agents ARTHUR PROBSTHAIN 41, Great Russell Street, London W. C. 1. THE ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BOMBAY Commllh.•e of Management ror the yeors 1959·60 nnd 1960·61 Patron SHRI SRI PRAKASHA, Governor of Mahnrnshtra President THE JION'BLE MR .•JUSTICE H. K. CHAINANI, I.C.S. Vice-Presidents SHRI R. 5. DAVDEKAR. l.C.S. iRetd.1 SHR-1 P. G. SHAii. M.A. DR. G. M. MOHAES. M.A .. Ph D. FRIN. 'f. K. TOPE. M.A .. I.LB. Hon. Secl'clary SHRJ B. K. WAGLE, B.A. (Cantab.) Honorary F'i11a11cc Secretary SHRI V. D. MUZUMDAR. M.A . .Tniur Honornry Finctnce Secrctaricr. SHRI C. J. SHAH, :M.A. rrn. S. N. C:J\,Jr:NDRAGADKAR. M.A .. Ph.D. Members SHRI C. B. AKKAD, M.A. 'PROF. Y. G. NAIK, M.A. DR. S. N. GAJENDRAGADKAR, M.A .. Ph.D. DR. V. R. PANDIT. M.A., LL.B .. Ph.D. SHRY K. R. GUNJIKAR, M.A. SHRY N. J. PANDYA, M.A. DR. V. V. GUPTE, M.B .. B.S .. D.O.M.S. (Lond.) DR. V. D. RAO, M.A .. Ph.D. Sl-IRI V. K. IYER. M.A. SHRI S. S. REGE, B.A. (Hons.) PROF. G. C. Jl-JALA, M.A. PROF. D. R. SARDESAI, M.A. •Ml\t. DR. P. V. KANE, M.A .. LL.B.. D. Litt. SHRI C. J. SHAH. M.A. PROF. S. L. KHOT. 1\1.A. •sHRI D. K. KUNTE, B.A., LL.B. SHRY P. VENKATRAM 'Sl-IRI B. D. MIRCHANDANI, I.C.S. DR. K. C. VY AS. M.A., Ph.D. • Co-opted. Government Nominees : '!HE :\"IAYOR OF BOMBAY (SHRY V. N. DESAI) 'l'HE PRINCIPAL. ELPHINSTONE COLLEGE (PRIN. G. C. BANERJEE) 'THE CURATOR OF LIBRARIES, STATE OF MAHARASHTRA (SHRI K. D. PURANJK) Honorary Audi!ors ; V. H. DESHPANDE, ESQR .. F.C.A., Chartered Accountant BHOGILAL C. SHAH. ESQR., F.C.A., Chnrtercd Accountant Trustees; SHRl R. G. SARAIVA, B.A .• B.Sc. PROF. R. D. CHOKSI, M.A. SHRI M. D. BHAT, T.C.S. CRetd.) VOL. 33 1958 JOURNAL OF THE ASIA TIC SOCIETY OF BC)NlBA Y (New Series) Edited By P. V. KANE H. D. VELANKAR J.M. UNVALA G. C. JHALA Managing EditOT GEORGE M. MORAES VOLUME 33 1958 Published by the Society 1960 London Agents ARTHUR PROBSTHAIN 41, Great Russell Street, London, W.C. 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS NEW SERIES, VoL. 33 ARTICLES S. P. TOLSTOY : Results of the work of the Khoresmian Archaeological and Ethnographic Expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences-19!il-56 1 H. D. VELANKAR : Vrttaratnakara-tatparya-tika of Trivikrama : Intro- duction 25 B. G. GOKHALE : Bombay and Shivaji 69 H. S. URSEKAR : The Moon in the ~gveda 80 M. K. DHAVLIKAR : Identification of the Musikanagara 97 S. L. MALURKAR: Determination of seasons and equinoxes in old India and related festivals ... 101 N. G. CHAPEKAR : Subandhu and Asamati 106 K. H. V. SARMA : Note on Melpadi Inscription of Krishi:iadevaraya 112 V. S. PATHAK: Vows and Festivals in Early Medieval Inscriptions of Northern India 116 S. L. MALHOTRA : Commercial Rivalry in the Indian Ocean in Ancient Times 129 NOTES AND QUERIES: P. V. KANE: Date of Utpala 147 REVIEWS OF BOOKS: Der ~gveda (H. D. Velankar); The Subhii~ita­ Ratnako~a (H. D. Velankar) ; Chcindogya-Brcihma7Jam (H. D. Velankar) ; Kcidambar'i : A Cultural Study (H. D. Velankar) ; Development of Hindu Iconography (A. D. Pusalkar); The Evolution of Man (H. D. Sankalia); A Source Boole in Indian Philosophy (A. D. Pusalkar); On the Meaning of the 1\Iahcibltcirata (S. S. Bhawe); The Indo-Greeks (P. C. Divanji); Grammar of the Marathi Language (R. K. Lagu); The Pre­ historic Background of Indian Culture (A. D. Pusalkar); Prcicina Phcigu Samgraha (G. C. Jhah1); Van,iaka-Scimuccaya, Part II (G. C. Jhala); A New Approach to the Rcimciya?Ja (G. C. Jhala) 150 RESULTS OF THE WORK OF THE KHORESMIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ETHNOGRAPHIC EXPEDITION OF THE USSR ACADEMY OF SCIENCES-1951-1956* By Prof. S. P. TOLSTOV, Corresponding member, Academy of Sciences, USSR. The year of 1951 was the turning point in the work of our expedition, which started, as is known, back in 1937. The central scientific problem of the pre-war and partially post-war periods, facing our expedition, as well as other large archaeological expe­ ditions, which were in other parts of Central Asia, was the problem of the social structure of pre-Moslem Central Asia.1 We faced that problem in the middle of the 1930's in connection with the task of writing the history of the peoples of the USSR, and particu­ larly that of the young Central Asian republics. These peoples created highly developed and very peculiar civilizations, the history of which, especially during the ancient period, was very poorly illuminated by written sources. The character of the social and economic set-up of these civilizations in the pre-Moslem epoch was not clear, and some scientists thought that there had been no considerable changes in their social set-up, beginning at least with the Akhaemenids. The rich material, accumulated by our expedition, has enabled us to consider this problem solved by the " Abbreviations used in this work: VDI-Vestnik drevnei Istorii; IAN-Izvestia Akademii Nauk SSSR, history and philosophy series ; KSIIMK-Kratkiye Soo­ bshcheniya Instituta Istorii Materialnoi Kultury AN SSSR. (Brief Communica­ tions of the Institute on Material cullure history, Academy of Sciences, USSR); KSIE-Kratkiye soobshchcniya instiluta etnografii AN SSSR (Brief Communi­ cations of the Ethnographical Institute, Academy of Sciences, USSR); MIA­ Materialy Issledovaniya po Arkheologii SSSR (Matericals and research on archaeo­ logy of the USSR); SE-Sovetskaya Etnografia (Soviet Ethnography); SV­ Sovctskoye Vostokoveclenie (Soviet Orientalistics); SA-Sovetskaya Arkhco­ logia (Soviet Archaeology); TKhE-Trudy Khorezmskoy arkheologo-ethnogrnfi­ cheskoi Ekspeditsii (Proceedings of Khwarizm Archaeological- ethnographic expedition). 1 See our works : "Drevnii Khorczm. Opyt istoriko-archaeologicheskogo issledova­ niya." Moscow, 1948, "Po sledam drevne-Khorezmiiskoy tsiyilizatsii" Moscow­ Leningrad, 1948. 2 S. P. TOLSTOY end of the 40's, and it was reflected in a number of monographs and summarizing records, published during the last few years in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenia, as well as in Moscow and Leningrad.2 It has been established now that the ancient history of the peoples of Central Asia, as well as other countries of the West and East is a long way of progressive development from the primitive commune through the ancient epoch of the slave system, which lasted from VII century B.C. upto V cen­ tury A.D. when in the conditions of a deep political crisis the medieval feudal system started its growth ; the latter one prevailed in Central Asia upto the recent time upto the end of the XIX century, and particularly upto the Great October Socialist Revolution. In 1945-1950 we concentrated our work on the remarkable monument of the late Khwarizm antiquity-the dead city of Toprak-kala, and mainly on the majestic building of the Khwarizm Shah's palace of the XII cen­ tury A.D. (figure 1). In 1950 the excavations of the palace were completed.3 'fhe excavations of this stately building of 80 X 80m. with three massive towers corning up at the height of 25m. over the surrounding plains have yielded very rich material to look into the late ancient Khwarizm culture. We should particularly mention the discovery of a number of halls richly adorned with marvellous clay sculptures and rich wall painting, having features of influence of the Gandhara school of art, -"the hall of kings", "the hall of victories", "the hall of deer", "the hall of dancing masks", "the hall with circles", "the hall of brown-skinned guardsmen", "the harem complex", and others; a store of armaments­ very well perserved bows and arrows-and, at last, the remains of the palace archives, unfortunately, very much fragmentary,-of about a hundred documents on leather and wood (figure 2), written in good hand· by professional scribes in the alphabet of Aramaic origin which is close to the script of the A vroman parchments and documents on pot-sherds from Nisa.