कान्हड़दे प्रबन्ध (कवि पद्मनाभ - जालोर चौहान वीरगाथा, अलाउद्दीन खिलजी से युद्ध व जौहर इतिहास)

INTRODUCTION 29 V These manuscripts arrange themselves in three distinct groups according to their common readings, omissions, interpolations, verse order, etc. Mss CDJ are allied, and very different from the rest; but amongst them DJ show a greater mutual affinity. Of the remaining Mss B, G (H) and L show enough mutual affinity to be classed as one group, descended from a common source. A and K are alike, but are not copies of the same ms. E definitely belongs to the B G H L group. F is a very short fragment coming only up to I 181; yet its relationship with the CDJ group is clear. I can be safely regarded as a conflation of B and D. The geneology of the various manuscripts can be stated in the following stemma: Archetype ┌──────────┴───────────────┐ ┌───┴───┐ ┌────────┴────────┐ ┌──────┴──────┐ │ │ ┌───┴───┐ │ │ │ ┌───┴───┐ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ┌─┴─┐ │ │ A K B G E L C D J F (H) \ / \ / I The summary of omissions and readings common to the different manuscripts given in Appendix I will show in detail how this geneology is determined. Of the foregoing manuscripts A is, according to the date of copying, the oldest MS. It is copied in v. s. 1598, 86 years after the date of composition, in Jhalor, the native-place of the poet. It is probable that the copyist had access to the poet's autograph or a direct copy of it. I have, naturally, given more importance to this manuscript (MS A). Ms K also comes from Rājasthān, is equally accurate, and appears quite old. I have, therefore, given the same importance to it is as to A.