Select Contents of Oriental Journals

Summary

The *Select Contents of Oriental Journals* includes studies on Indian history, linguistics, and religious texts. A key focus is the Gupta Temple of Deogad, where a relief sculpture’s identification remains debated among scholars, with claims it depicts Nara and Narayana from Puranic literature. Another article examines a pre-Nagari inscription in Old Balinese and Sanskrit, likely commissioned by King Kesarivarman, suggesting diplomatic interests in Bali. The use of dual scripts highlights cultural engagement between Hindu traders and Balinese elites. The inscription’s date is tentatively assigned to 839 CE by Prof. Sten Konow. Research on the Javanese king Jayanagara (1309–1328) links him to Southern India through inscriptions. A fragmentary Sanskrit inscription addressed to Vishnu Pundarikaksa is analyzed, with connections drawn to other Vishnuite fragments. A palaeographic study of Champa script challenges earlier theories, proposing northern India as the origin of Indian colonizers rather than the south. Comparative analysis of Buddhism and Upanishads reveals shared early karma-centric teachings and tripartite cosmic zones, diverging later into complex systems with distinct stages toward nirvana. A critique of the *Yogāśāstra* argues its current form likely originated in 10th-century Kashmir, influenced by earlier philosophers like Katyayana and Patanjali. Other notes address Pali etymology, Sanskrit cognates, and the dating of the *Uttararāmavṛtta-kāvyā* to the 10th century. A commentary identifies the author Nemasaha with a 17th-century Bengali figure. The Jain Canon provides insights into