The Love of Krishna: The

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T H E LOVE O F K R I S H N A
The Fourteenth Publication in the Honey Foundation Series

University of Pennsylvania
THE LOVE OF KRISHNA
The Krsnakarnamrta of Liläsuka Bilvamañgala

Edited with an Introduction by

FRANCES WILSON

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA PRESS

PHILADELPHIA
Copyright © 1975 by The University of Pennsylvania Press

All rights reserved

Library of Congress catalog card number: 74-153426

ISBN: 0-8122-7655-8

Publication of this book has been made possible by a grant from the Haney Foundation
of the University of Pennsylvania

Printed in the United States of America

 PREFACE

T h e m e d i a e v a l religious m o v e m e n t s of I n d i a , w i t h t h e i r d e v o t i o n a l
S a n s k r i t texts a n d highly scholastic sectarian c o m m e n t a r i e s , d o n o t
a p p e a r t o have received as m u c h recognition in E u r o p e as they deserve.
In India they still constitute the basis of the living f a i t h s of the p e o p l e ;
b u t the texts themselves, always reverentially a c k n o w l e d g e d , a r e yet
h a r d l y accessible a n d seldom critically s t u d i e d . 1
Since P r o f e s s o r D e w r o t e this in 1938, t h e r e h a s b e e n serious a n d
p r o d u c t i v e a t t e n t i o n in the West to d e v o t i o n a l S a n s k r i t texts a n d t o the
mediaeval religious m o v e m e n t s of I n d i a . M u c h r e m a i n s to be critically
s t u d i e d . T h e w o r k p r e s e n t e d o n t h e f o l l o w i n g p a g e s is a n e f f o r t in s u c h
critical s t u d y : T h e Krsnakarnámrta, a d e v o t i o n a l a n t h o l o g y of m e d i a e v a l
V a i s h n a v a h y m n s , has been critically edited.
I h a v e been a b l e t o a c c o m p l i s h this critical e d i t i o n b e c a u s e of t h e
g u i d a n c e of m a n y t e a c h e r s of the University of C a l i f o r n i a a t B e r k e l e y ; t h e
s u p p o r t of t h e U n i t e d States F u l b r i g h t F o u n d a t i o n in I n d i a a n d t h e
A m e r i c a n I n s t i t u t e of I n d i a n S t u d i e s ; a n d aid f r o m t h e p e r s o n n e l a n d
facilities of s o m e fifty libraries in I n d i a , E u r o p e , a n d t h e U n i t e d States.
It is a pleasure t o express m y g r a t i t u d e to t h e n u m e r o u s p e o p l e of
t h e a b o v e scholarly i n s t i t u t i o n s w h o h a v e been i m p o r t a n t to a c c o m p l i s h -
i n g v a r i o u s p h a s e s of this critical e d i t i o n . Especially, it is a p l e a s u r e t o
express m y g r a t i t u d e to P r o f e s s o r M . B. E m e n e a u w h o h a s ever g u i d e d
m y S a n s k r i t studies a n d t o à r ï r a m a n a Ä c ä r y a w h o w a s m y first a n d m o s t
c o n s t a n t Sanskrit t e a c h e r in I n d i a .

1. The Krsna-karnämrta, ed. Sushil Kumar De, University of Dacca. Oriental

Publication Series No. 5 (Dacca, 1938), p. lxx.

V
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

G E N E R A L ABBREVIATIONS ix

INTRODUCTION 3
Text-Critical Problem 6
Identity of the Author 16

MANUSCRIPTS U S E D 29
Meanings of the Letters by Which the
Bilvamañgala Manuscripts Are Identified 29
System of Numbering by Which the Verse Sequence of
Krsnakarnämrta Manuscripts Is Described 30
Description of the Manuscripts 32
Interrelationships of the Manuscripts 86
Diagram of the Manuscript Relationships 90
Methodological Principles for the Text Criticism of the
Krsnakarnämrta 91

T H E KRSNAKARNÄMRTA T E X T AND TRANSLATION 94

Century I 94
Century II 140
Century III 184
Additional Verses 226

APPENDIX 235
Critical Apparatus 235
Abbreviations Used in the "Critical Apparatus" 235
Sataka I 236
áatakall 261
áataka III 285
Additional Verses 314
Synoptic Charts of Verse Sequences 319
Guide to Reading "Chart of Standard Verse Sequences" . . 319
Chart of Standard Verse Sequences 324

vii
vili

Notes to Chart of Standard Verse Sequences 416

Guide to Reading "Chart of Additional Verse Sequences" . 418
Chart of Additional Verse Sequences 422
Notes on the Additional Verses 433
Abbreviations Used in "First Line Index of 66 Additional
Verses with Notes" 433
First Line Index of 66 Additional Verses with Notes 434

LIST OF W O R K S CITED 447

INDEX OF METERS 453

INDEX OF S T A N D A R D VERSES 459

 GENERAL ABBREVIATIONS

KK Krsnakarnämrta
° The degree sign is used to indicate that only a part of a word—the
first, last, or middle part—is noted,
st. standard. When prefixed to a century number (e.g. K K st. 1) or a
verse number (e.g. K K st. 1.1), st. indicates that this is the usual
position of the century or verse in the mainstream (2 = ) tradition.
See p. 90 for a description of the mainstream tradition.
* If the aberrant tradition ( 3 ^ ) does not include a st. verse, or in-
cludes the st. verse in an unusual position, thus indicating some
doubt as to the validity of the verse or its position for a critical
text, the verse in question is marked with an asterisk, (e.g. st. 1.1*)
In two sections in the Appendix the asterisk is used otherwise. The
other uses are described in the appropriate places: "Guide to
Reading 'Chart of Standard Verse Sequences'" and "Notes on
Additional Verses."
add. additional. In addition to the 330 st. vss. found in the K K , some
66 other verses are found in one or more of the mss. used for the
text in this dissertation. These verses are designated by add. plus
their pratika (e.g. add. ättam padavyäip). See "Notes on Additional
Verses" for further information.
Φ This sign indicates that the ms. versions, to which it is appended,
is a hypothetical, reconstructed version.
INTRODUCTION
The Krsnakarnämrta ( K K ) is a collection of four line verses which have
as their theme the loving adoration (bhakti) of the Lord Krsna. Every
verse expresses this bhakti, and whatever the manner of expression—nar-
rative, lyric, dramatic—it is rarely accomplished without a vivid pictorial
reminder of Krsna. Over and over again the following characteristics and
others like them are described: His body is cloud dark and clothed with
shimmering yellow garments like streaks of lightning; his cherry lips are
anointed with the nectar of smiles and flute music; his breath is honey;
his face and eyes are lotuses; his feet are sunbeams; circlets of bells sound
on his hands and feet; a golden thread is hung around his hips; a peacock
plume is on his head ; he is the Ocean of Mercy, the Lake of the Oversoul,
and the Splendour which is the home of Laksmï.
Along with this descriptive material, then, we have dramatic and
narrative fragments f r o m the Krsna story or lyric expression of the soul's
love and longing for Krsna. Whatever the material the whole of the com-
position must be accomplished within a four line verse, for every verse is
a unit and unrelated to the next except as each relates to Krsna bhakti.
The K K collection of verses gives expression to almost every sort of
Krsna bhakti. All the sentiments (rasas) associated with bhakti are evoked :
There is the loving adoration of the mother, friend, lover, and slave. These
are the metaphors used by the poet to tell of the soul's longing for the
Lord Krsna. Perhaps the dominant rasa is that of erotic love. The Bengali
Vaishnava commentators on the K K , especially Krsnadäsa Kaviräja,
have construed all the verses of the short Bengali version (see A and Β
mss. in the "Description of Manuscripts" section) as expressions of a
woman in love, but, on the face of it, it seems easier to construe those
verses which have reference to the child Krçna, e.g. K K st. 1.24, as ex-
pressions of a mother. Actually, the poet does not seem overly concerned
that the metaphors, which he uses to express the soul's inexpressible love
and longing, be consistent. There are verses in which words appro-
priate to the adoration of the child Krsna and words appropriate for the
adoration of the lover Krsna are surrealistically combined, e.g. K K st.
1.31.
In other ways the K K is a comprehensive collection of Krçna hymns
(stotras). The stotras refer to the whole range of Krçna stories, and all of
Krsna's principal wives and paramours are mentioned one by one in the
verses throughout the collection. The fact that àrï, Laksmï, the milkmaids
(gopis), Rädhä, and Rukminï are all present has been used by those who

3
4 INTRODUCTION

are interested in the identity of the author, Lílásuka Bilvamañgala to

define his date and doctrine.
Aside from the above description of the content of the K K there are
some features of meter, prosody, and arrangement of verses which are
described below because they are basic to a description of the K K suf-
ficient for a discussion of the text-critical problem.
Like many other collections of Sanskrit stotras and eloquent verses
(subhäfitas) the verses are written in a great variety of meters. Some
thirty-four are used. The Vasantatilaka is the most frequent in the first
century of the standard version (st. 1). The àârdulavikrïdita is overall the
most frequent meter. Its greater length provides space for elaborate
descriptions or for dramatic episodes with lively dialogues.
Although the various versions of the K K collection of verses are
markedly different in the number and sequence of verses which they
include, all the versions arrange the verses in one or more centuries
(satakas) which, in fact, usually included 101 to 112 verses.
The Bengali version (see A and Β mss. in the "Manuscripts Used"
section) contains a single century of verses. This century, which is the
first century of the standard version (st. 1), was brought back to Bengal
by Caitanya. He obtained it while on a pilgrimage in South India. 1
The K K is a South Indian text (see p. 6). There has been much dis-
cussion (see "The Text-Critical Problem" section) as to whether Caitanya,
c. 1510, made a partial or a complete copy of the South Indian version
of the K K (see C through V mss. in the "Description of the Mss."
section). If he made a complete copy, then two centuries (st. 2. and 3) of
the present South Indian version, which has three centuries, are later
additions to the century (st. 1) current in South India c. 1510.
Whatever the form of the K K c. 1510 A.D., today the first century of
the standard version of the K K ( K K st. 1) is an authoritative work for
the followers of Caitanya in Bengal. 2 In South India the work includes
three centuries and is not an authoritative work for any sect.
Although the work includes three centuries in South India, it is
only the verses of the second century (st. 2) which are quoted. Many
K K st. 2 verses can be quoted even by those with just the usual store of

1. The Kffna-karnämrta, ed. Sushil Kumar De, University of Dacca Oriental

Publication Series N o . 5 (Dacca, 1938), p. ix.
2. Ibid., p. χ.
 INTRODUCTION 5

Sanskrit verses remembered f r o m childhood. On the other hand, even

those South Indians whose professional life is connected with Sanskrit
quote only from K K st. 2.
My pandit from Tuluva, A. S. Acharya, told me that fond fathers
repeat K K st. 2.57 over the cribs of their baby sons. This verse and the
name M u k u n d a are thought to be connected with the increased pos-
sibility of further sons.
Professor V. Raghavan told me that K K st. 2.2, 2.65, 2.71, 2.82,
and 2.106 used to be part of a Bhäratanätyam dancer's repertoire.
He mentioned add. govälamüle also which he considers part of the
KK.
In other parts of India—in Maharashtra, West India, Madhyadesa—
one gets the inpression that the K K collection is not a popular, often
quoted text. Some of the verses, e.g. st. 2.57 and st. 2.108, might be very
well known but not their occurrence in the K K . Northern pandits may
know and write about the K K , but they do not remember it as part of
their childhood home life. It is not part of their domestic or religious
life. For example, Svämi Sriämadäsa Jï àâstrï, head of Cär Sampradäya
Äsrama in Vrndävana, has written an extensive Hindi commentary on
the Bengal version of the K K . 3 The Svämi told me that he worked on
this commentary as a scholarly endeavour while in Benares. At his
Äsrama in Vrndävana K K verses were never used for samkirtanas.
The Y version (Northern mss.) shows that the K K collection reached
West India and Madhyadesa and was popular there from c. 1400-1700
A.D. F r o m a descriptive point of view the Y version is not a version of the
K K : Except for Y50 mss. the mss. of the Y version do not arrange the
verses into centuries; no Y version is named Krfriakarnämrta-, finally,
about one half the verses in any Y ms. are not found in the mss. named
K K . and about one half the verses in the mss. named K K are not found
in any Y ms. The K K mss. and the Y mss. share about 150 verses. It is
only a close study of the Y sub-versions and the various K K sub-versions
which show that the Y version, its verses and varying sequences, developed
organically from the K K tradition and is an aberrant version of the K K .
For further description of the "evolution" of the Y version, see the
"Interrelationships of Manuscripts" section.

3. Kj-fnakarnämfta, Hindi commentator Srirämadäsa Castri (Vrndävana: Cär

Sarnprädaya Äsrama, n.d.), 336 pp.
6 INTRODUCTION

Although the Y version of the KK about 1700 A.D. ceased to be a

popular source for expression of Krçna bhakli in North India, the author
is well-known there today. Around Ujjain, according to Vyäkaranäcärya
Gopïnâthasâstrî 4 of that city, Bilvamañgala is identified with the Braj
poet, Sûrdâs, a devotee of Kfsna who lived about 1550 A.D. in Agra. 5
Almost every part of India has some tradition which presents Bilvamañ-
gala as a native of that part. These traditions are more prevalent in South
India. It is almost certain that the author of the KK was a South Indian,
because about 25 per cent of the verses in all versions of the KK demon-
strate the initial assonance of Dravidian poetry 6 (See Y mss. in the
"Description of Manuscripts" section).

THE TEXT-CRITICAL PROBLEM

In 1938 S. K. De's critical edition of the Bengal version (see Β mss).

was published from Dacca. 7 In this edition he sought to establish the
precedence of this version, which he designates by the term 'recension',
over the South Indian version (or recension). C through V mss., described
in the "Manuscripts Used" section, are the mss. which give the evidence
for this version.
In 1935 Professor De had written an article in the ABORI 8 of which
the introduction to his critical edition was a restatement. His argument
for the precedence of the Bengal version included the following points.
(1) The testimony for the Bengal version is uniform; the testimony for
the Southern version is not.

It is clear that most of the Bengal Mss, as well as the printed

Bengal edition, agree in giving definitely one section, viz, the first,
with 112 verses; but there is no agreement in the respective number of

4. Professor S. L. Katre relayed this information from Gopïnâthasâstrî in a

conversation at Nagpur University in December of 1964.
5. J. N. Farquhar, An Outline of the Religious Literature of India (Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1920), p. 316.
6. Amar Nath Raya, "Reviews: The Kr$ijakargämrtam," The Indian Historical
Quarterly, Vol. XV, No. 1 (March, 1939), p. 150.
7. De, op. cit., 451 pp.
8. S. K. De, " A Note on the Text of Krçna-kanjâmrta," Annals of the Bhandarkar
Oriental Research Institute, Vol. XVI, Parts 3-4 (April-July, 1935), pp. 173-188.
 INTRODUCTION 7

verses in the so-called three áatakas or Äsväsas of the South Indian

Mss and printed edition. 9

To establish the above De has cited Bengali mss. (B), South Indian mss.
(C21 D l P71 VI), and a very anomalous Maharasthrian ms. (Y38). 10 De
also considers difficult the designation, sataka (century), which occurs in
the colophons found in P71, the printed edition with the commentary of
Päpayallaya Süri. P7I, like all other K K mss., does not have exactly
100 vss. in a century, but many more. Some mss. have several less. (2) The
second and third centuries of the Southern version, which are not found
in the Bengal version, were added to the first century sometime after
Caitanya procured his copy of the Bengal version in South India c. 1510.
T o establish the above De gives the information about Caitanya
presented above on page 4. He concludes:

It would thus appear that the tradition regarding the K K ob-

taining in Bengal from the beginning of the 16th century is not alto-
gether negligible. [He goes on to say:] The date of Päpayallaya Süri,
on the other hand, is not known, but he could not have been a very
early writer. As he refers to the well known commentator Malli-
nätha (Peddibhatta), who flourished in the 14th century, he must have
lived considerably after that date. But if he flourished in the 15th
century and if at that time the text of the K K was known in three
Äsväsas as he presents it, it is not likely that Caitanya would have
brought back to Bengal the tradition of only one ¡Sataka of the work,
on which his immediate disciples and followers wrote commentaries.
It would, therefore, be reasonable to assume that the two other
áatakas apparently unknown to him but known to Päpayallaya Süri
and to comparatively recent South Indian and Western Mss, arose
at a somewhat later date. 1 1

(3) Rüpa Gosvämin, a contemporary and disciple of Caitanya,

lived towards the end of the 15th and the first half of the 16th century.
He knew only the first century of the K K and did not accept the other
two centuries as part of the poem.

9. D e , K K , p. vii.
10. Ibid., pp. i-ix.
11. Ibid., pp. xi-xii.
g INTRODUCTION

T o establish the above D e examines the works of Rüpa Gosvämin.

Rüpa Gosvämin... compiled a Sanskrit anthology, entitled Padyä-

vall [ZI 1], of Krçnaite devotional verses. In the concluding verse of
this work he tells us (no. 387) that in compiling his anthology he has
deliberately refrained from including the verses of Jayadeva and
Bilvamangala.... That Rüpa Gosvämin has strictly fulfilled his
undertaking is obvious from the fact that in his anthology not a
single verse occurs which can be traced to the first áataka of the K K
(in either recension), which alone was apparently known to him as
genuine. On the other hand, some of the verses occurring in Päpayal-
laya Súri's second and third Äsväsas are given in Rüpa Gosvämin's
anthology, not with Bilvamañgala's name but ascribed to different
authors or cited anonymously. 12
That Rüpa Gosvämin knew only the first áataka of the K K and
did not accept the other two Satakas as parts of the poem is also
confirmed by the way in which he cites Bilvamangala and his works
in his Bhakti-rasämrta-sindhu [Ζ 12] and its supplement Ujjvala-
nila-mani [Z14], In the Bhakti-rasämrta° (ed. Murshidabad 1924)
there are six quotations with the direct superscription yathä kar-
nämrte. These are: änamräm asita0 (p. 202), mädhuryäd api mad-
huram (p. 203), akhanda-nirväna-rasa° (p. 379), amünyadhanyäni
(p. 670), nibaddha-mürdhänjali0 (p. 671), tvacchaisavam (p. 674).
All these verses occur in the first áataka of the K K respectively
as: i, 54; i, 64 ( = Bengal Text i, 65); i, 96 ( = BengaI Text i, 99);
i, 41 ; i, 30 and i, 32. But in the Bhakti-rasâmrta0, again, Rüpa
Gosvämin cites some other verses with yathá bilvamañgale or with
yathá bilvamañgala-stave. These are: Bilvamangala:
P. 296 cintámanis carona0 [ Y 2 vs. 189, Y l l vs. 87, Y21 vs. 83,
Y31 vs. 255]
P. 386 ayipañkaja-netra [ Y 2 vs. 239, Y l l vs. 241, Y21 vss. 189
and 318, Y31 vs. 305]
P. 456 hastam utkfipya yáto,si= KK iii, 94 [ K K st. 3. 97]
P. 472 rädhä punátu = KK ii, 25 Bilvamañgala-stava:
P. 626 advaita vithi-pathikaih. [Y21 vs. 489, Y31 vs. 245]

12. Ibid., p. xiii. De lists the verses which occur in K K centuries 2 and 3 and Z I 1.
For these verses see Z I 1 in the "Description of the Mss." section.
 INTRODUCTION 9

None of these verses occur in the first áataka of the K K ; but two
of them, as noted above, are found respectively in the second and
third áatakas. Eggeling notes (op. cit. p. 1475) that four of these
verses occur in the Sumañgala-Stotra [Y33]... ascribed to Bil-
vamañgala. In the Ujjvala-nila-mani (ed. Kävyamälä 95, Bombay
1913), again, Rüpa Gosvämin cites only one verse (p. 493, stoka-
stoka-nirudhyamâna°) with yathá karnámrte, and this verse occurs in
the first áataka as verse no. 21. There are three other quotations with
yathá bilvamañgale:
P. 277 rädhe'parädhena vinaiva [Y21 vs. 484]
P. 285 ayi murali mukunda° = K K ii, 11.
P. 435 rädhä-mohana-mandirät [add. rädhämohana°]
None of these verses can be traced in the first áataka of K K ;
and only one, as noted above, is found in the second. 1 3
(4) The anthologies indicate that the second and third centuries,
but not the first century, have many verses which are probably original
to other sources.
To establish the above De examines some of the major anthologies.
The S K M [Z5], which was compiled in Bengal in 1205 A.D., does
not cite Bilvamañgala at all, an omission which probably confirms
the story of Caitanya's discovery of the work in the South and
its introduction into Bengal. Nor does the Sbhv [Z2] or SML [Z7]
quote Bilvamañgala. On the other hand, some verses occurring in
the second and third Äsväsas of the Southern recension are ascribed
to other authors or cited anonymously. 1 4

(5) Gopäla Bhatja was a Vaisnava who is said to have come from
Southern India; yet the authorship of the third áataka... seems to
have been unknown to him or not recognised by him. [To establish
the above De points out] that KK iii, 82 [st. 3.84] , which is
assigned to Säradäkära in the Padyäval, is cited anonymously by
Gopäla Bhatta in his Hari-bhakti-vilása [ZI3]. 1 5
From these five considerations or arguments, De concludes that it is

very doubtful whether the second and third Äsväsas given in the
13. Ibid., p p . xvi-xvii.
14. Ibid., p. xviii.
15. Ibid.
10 INTRODUCTION

South Indian recension originally belonged to the poem itself. These

two áatakas are unknown as a part of the poem to the Bengal tradi-
tion. One cannot be absolutely sure about the question of genuineness
or interpolation in a mediaeval Sanskrit text; but it seems probable
that in Bengal, where the work was studied at a distance f r o m its
reputed place of origin and where it acquired a certain sanctity, the
tradition of the text was better preserved and less modified. It is
undoubted that verses of other authors, some known and some
unknown, went into the making of the last two áatakas and swelled
their bulk. But it is also possible that these two Satakas prevailing in
Southern India were not mere imitative supplements deliberately
composed in their entirety by some later suthors and tacked on to
the original first áataka. Their nucleus might have been drawn f r o m
verses occurring in other Stotra-like works composed by or ascribed
to Bilvamañgala; and around this might have been woven verses of
less known writers which, with their authorship forgotten, came to
be confused with the genuine verses of Bilvamañgala.
On this point, however, it is difficult to arrive at a definite
conclusion without examining in detail other works attributed to Bil-
vamañgala. With regard to such other works the items of information
are too vague or meagre in the different catalogues of Mss in which
they are noticed, and few of them are accessible or available in
print. 1 6

At this point De examines the only Bilvamañgala mss., which are

not obviously K K mss., available to him. These mss. were Y51, Y52,
and part of Y33. N o n e of these mss. contains verses from the K K st. 1,
except that in Y33
the first Mañgala-sloka, is found to be identical with
the first Mañgala-sloka of the first Sataka of the KK. 1 7

F r o m the examination of this evidence De makes his final con-

clusion :

It would appear f r o m the above discussion of available

materials that we can trace a considerable number of verses of the
second and third áatakas of Päpayallaya's text in other works at-

16. Ibid., pp. xviii-xix.

17. Ibid., p. xxi
 INTRODUCTION 11

tributed to Bilvamañgala, while the citations in the anthologies

(including the Padyävali) assign some of the verses of these Satakas
to other authors. We can thus account for more than 30 out of 110
verses in the second áataka and more than 40 out of 102 verses in the
third áataka, which are for the most part derived f r o m the Bilva-
mañgala Kosa-kävya [Y51 ], the Kr$na-Stotra [Y52], the Sumangala-
Stotra, or f r o m other unknown works of Bilvamañgala, f r o m which
the Bhakti-rasämrta0 and Ujjvala-nlla-mani cite some verses. We
should be able to trace also other verses if we could examine in
detail all the works assigned by tradition to Bilvamañgala. But these
instances are enough to raise the presumption that the nucleus of the
second and third áatakas, which probably arose in later times, was
made up by verses culled f r o m other poems ascribed to Bilvamañgala,
but into its sewlling bulk verses of a similar character by other poets
also found their way. 1 8

In a footnote De cites Y15 (for description see "Description of

Manuscripts" section) as evidence to further substantiate the statement
of the last sentence quoted above :
T h a t independent collections of Krsnaite Stotras were made in
later times and ascribed to Bilvamañgala is clear f r o m a curious
Devanagari Ms which exists in the Bhandarkar Institute collection
(no. 429 of 1887-91 [VI5]). It consists of 29 folios comprising 379
verses, being a collection of miscellaneous devotional poems similar
to those described above (some of the verses being common). The
work is called simply Bilvamañgala in the colophon; but the author-
ship is ascribed to àrl-paramahamsa-parivrâjakâcârya-pandita
Vopadeva, who was apparently its compiler. The date of the Ms is
given as Samvat 1681 ( = A.D. 1625).
In the Addenda to his critical edition De adds further material to this
footnote. He cites Y l l and describes it at length f r o m Brown's presen-
tation of Y l l (see "Description of M s s . " section) in Eastern Art.20
De finds f o u r verses in Y11 which occur also in the Bengal version of the
KK.21

18. Ibid., p. xxiv-xxv.

19. Ibid., p. XXV, n. 1.
20. Ibid., pp. 371-378.
21. Ibid., p. 373.
12 INTRODUCTION

He also cites here 2 2 the poem Kâlavadha of Krsnallläsuka, which

is the ninth entry in the YY10 codes (see "Description of the Mss."
section), but does not note the half verse ( K K st. 1.31 ab) in the Kâlavadha
which is also found in the Bengal version of the K K .
Before evaluating De's consideration of the text-critical problem of
the K K according to the findings of this present research, a résumé of
some articles, which deal with this problem, is presented.
In a February, 1944, issue of the Adyar Library Bulletin, H. G. Nara-
hari summarises De's consideration of the text critical problem and goes
on to say:

All this reasoning could have been accepted had it not been
for the discovery of the Adyar Library MS. described above. [This
ms. is Y l . 2 3 F o r its description see Y1 in "Description of Mss."
section.] It was copied in A.D. 1418, and includes in its text verses
grouped as Cantos II and III in all editions of the KK. which do not
claim to represent what has been called the Bengal recension. This
silences once and for all the assumption that the KK. originally
contained only Canto I. It also proves beyond doubt that at least 68
years before Caitanya, tradition accepted the genuineness of Cantos
II and III of the K K . Päpayallayasüri and others who came after him
originated no new school, but only followed this old tradition
regarding the text of the Krçnakarnàmrta. If Caitanya took back with
him to Bengal only Canto I of the KK., it should be because only
so much was available to him. 2 4

De in the Indian Historical Quarterly of June, 1944, replies:

It should be understood at the outset that although ascribed to

Bilvamañgala, the work described by Mr. Narahari is called Visnu-
stuti, and not Kr$na-karnämrta. The two works, on his showing, are
not co-extensive in content and arrangement; nor can the one, as we

22. Ibid., p. 378

23. My description of Y l varies in insignificant details from the description by
H . G. Narahari. Because I was able to compare my copy of Y l with H. G. Narahari's
description and the original ms., I believe my description is the more accurate.
24. H. G. Narahari, "Manuscript Notes: An Early Manuscript of the Krjna-
karnämrta of Bilvamañgala," The Adyar Library Bulletin, Vol. VIII, Pt. 1 (February,
1944), p. 44.
 INTRODUCTION 13

shall see presently, be regarded as a version of the other. His claim,

therefore, that his manuscript is one of Kf$na-karnämrta is as unwar-
ranted as the heading, "An Early Manuscript of the Kr$na-karnämrta
of Bilvamangala," of his article is surprising and misleading. In
reality his article gives an account of another interesting but in-
dependent work ascribed to Bilvamangala, which is of the same type
as the similarly ascribed Sumañgala-stotra, Bilvamangala-stotra,
Krsna-stotra, and Bilvamangala-kosa-kävya, discussed in the Intro-
duction to my edition of the Krwa-karnämrta (Dacca University,
1938) pp. xxi-xxiv, and the Bála-gopála-stuti [Y 11] considered in the
Addenda at pp. 371-78. Eggeling and Bendall noticed the manu-
scripts of the first two works respectively, while O. C. Gangoly
and W. Norman Brown gave an account of the last work; but none
of them claimed, as they could not indeed claim, that these works
are identical with the Krsna-karnámrta or even represent a version
of it. I have already discussed the question at some length and have
tried to show that these apocryphal works are independent collec-
tions of miscellaneous Krsnaite verses ascribed to Bilvamangala,
which supply the nucleus of the Second and Third Äsväsas of the
South Indian recension. We can, therefore, trace a good number of
the verses of these two Äsväsas in all of them, but no verse of the
First Äsväsa occurs in any of them. This conclusion is not assailed
in the least by material revealed by Mr. Narahari's discovery. On the
contrary, it only confirms what I anticipated when I said that "we
should be able to trace also other verses if we could examine in
detail all the works assigned by tradition to Bilvamangala."
Much has been made of the date 1418 A.D. of the manuscript,
Viwu-stuti. But this date does not prove that the Second and the
Third Äsväsas of the K K existed before it, but only confirms that
such independent collections existed at that date and supplied
material for the making of these later Äsväsas. 25

In rebuttal of De's reply to Narahari, K. Kunjunni Raja wrote in the

March, 1946, issue of The Indian Historical Quarterly.2e He repeated this

25. S. K. De, "Miscellany: The Viçnu-stuti and Kr?na-karriämrta," The Indian

Historical Quarterly, Vol. X X , N o . 2 (June, 1944), pp. 179-180.
26. K. Kunjunni Raja, "The Text-Problem of the Krsijakarnämrta," The Indian
Historical Quarterly, Vol. XXII, N o . 1 (March, 1946), pp. 66-71.
14 INTRODUCTION

rebuttal in his b o o k , The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature,27

K u n j u n n i R a j a directs his argument against De's statement given
above. H e quotes, " I have already discussed... [through]... but n o verse
of the First Äsväsa occurs in any of t h e m . " Against this statement
K u n j u n n i R a j a cites the 12 K K st. 1 verses f o u n d in Y2, Y11, and Y14. 2 8
These 12 K K st. 1 vss. are given in the appropriate columns in the
" S y n o p t i c C h a r t of S t a n d a r d Verse Sequences".
K u n j u n n i R a j a goes o n :

If the presence of some verses f r o m the second and third cantos

of the K K . in other works attributed to Bilvamañgala is accepted
as sufficient evidence to indicate that the nucleus of these cantos
" w a s supplied by verses taken from the genuine or spurious works
of Bilvamañgala", we will have to accept that same is the case with
the first canto also, since verses f r o m that are found in some of the
w o r k s attributed to Bilvamañgala.
D r . D e ' s suggestion about the Stotra works attributed to
Bilvamañgala being the nucleus of the last two cantos of the K K .
presupposes the assumption that those collectanea of verses are
earlier t h a n the two cantos of the K K . N o w since verses f r o m such
works are f o u n d even in the first canto, we will have to assume, if
we accept D r . D e ' s argument, that all the three cantos of the K K .
are later t h a n these apocryphal works. But this does not seem to be
the case. A close study of some of these Stotra works attributed to
Bilvamañgala shows that they are later compilations f r o m various
sources and c a n n o t claim to be the nucleus of the K K . 2 9

T h e various sources 3 0 , which Raja goes on to cite, are much the

same cited under Y mss. in the "Description of the Manuscripts" section.
R a j a concludes:

27. K. Kunjunni Raja, The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature (Madras:

University of Madras, 1958), 310 pp.
28 The numbers, which K. Kunjunni Raja assigns to the KK st. 1 verses found in
Y14, are different than those given in the "Synoptic Chart of Standard Verse Sequences."
Since those given in the "Synoptic Chart" are from a copy of the Y14 ms. and those
in Raja's book are taken from the original ms., it is to be assumed that Raja's numbers
are the correct ones.
29. Raja, The Contribution of Kerala, p. 38.
30. Ibid., pp. 38-39.
 INTRODUCTION 15

"It is quite possible that the text of the K K . was not entirely free
from interpolations. It was also subject to the fate of all the popular
works like the Bhartrharisatakas and the Amarukasataka. The
presence of some interpolated verses is no evidence to the spurious
nature of a poem." 3 1

The above statements by De, Narahari, and Raja give the most
careful and cogent expressions to the text critical problem and the resul-
tant controversy about its proper resolution.
The analysis given in the "Interrelationships of the M s s . " section in
this work supports Narahari's position that the South Indian K K and the
Visnu-stuti are versions of the same work. De, however, is quite right
when he maintains that Narahari has in no way demonstrated their
identity. A description of the present day South Indian K K and the
Visnua-stuti gives no basis for asserting their identity. It is the Vijayana-
gara version (represented by the D G , G l , G2, N I , and N21 mss.) with
some evidence that it dates from before 1535 A. D. which is the "missing
link" which reveals their relationship. For the full argument that all
the Y versions are versions of the K K , see the "Interrelationships of
the Mss." section and the "Diagram of the Manuscript Relation-
ships".
Since my findings and interpretations of them conflict with those of
Professor De, I must examine his arguments which are presented above
on pp. 6-10. Arguments one, two, and three give good evidence that
Caitanya obtained the K K as a text with but one century ( K K st. 1) in
South India c. 1510. These three arguments establish the strongest point
in favor of the authority of the Bengal version. The only real objections
to these arguments is that De seems to believe that he has established
more than the great probability that Caitanya obtained the K K as a text
with but one century ( K K st. 1) in South India c. 1510. For example, the
fact that Rüpa Gosvämin did not know of the South Indian version of
the K K (see argument 3) means only that this version of the K K was
probably not known in Bengali Vaishnava circles during the last part of
the 16th century. It does not mean that this version of the K K was probably
unknown throughout the whole of India.
The evidence which De gives for the fourth argument is faulty.

31. Ibid., p. 39.

16 INTRODUCTION

The S K M [Z5] includes a verse, K K st. 1.106, from the Bengal version.
It is cited anonymously. Therefore, the second and third äsväsas of the
Southern recension are not the only ones to include an anonymous verse
f r o m an anthology. Of course the second and third centuries (or äsväsas)
contain several such anthology verses; the first century contains but one.
The fifth argument and the evidence for it are valid. The point
established is not a major one.
De concludes from these arguments or considerations that the second
and third centuries of the K K are later additions adapted from other
works ascribed to Bilvamañgala. Accordingly, he predicts and finds
many works (Y51, Y52, Y53), ascribed to Bilvamañgala, which include
vss. from the second and third centuries. Unfortunately, he also finds such
a work (Y11) with four verses from the first century. Mention of this work
is made in the Addenda. Evidently it came to this notice after publica-
tion was under way. Also he must have forgotten these four verses when
some years later he asserts that no verse from the first century occurs in
any of the

collections of miscellaneous Krsnaite verses ascribed to Bilvamañ-

gaña, which supply the nucleus of the Second and Third Äsväsas
of the South Indian recension.

Aside from the four verses from the first century noted in the Ad-
denda, Raja finds 8 verses. In favor of the authority of the Bengal version
and De's prediction is the fact that compared with the second and third
centuries few verses from century one are found in the collections of
miscellaneous Krsnaite verses ascribed to Bilvamañgala.

T H E IDENTITY OF THE A U T H O R

There are many legends about Lïlâsuka Bilvamañgala and many

elaborate scholarly conjectures about his identity. The following will
not be a comprehensive presentation of these although the great number
and variety of legends about Bilvamañgala are interesting and delightful.
A selection of the most telling information and theories will be given
below.

Date. First of all the date of the author and of the K K text, which
is ascribed to him, will be considered. The earliest firm date for the K K is
 INTRODUCTION 17

provided by its mention by Gañgadeví in her Madhurâvijaya.32 The

author was a wife of Kampana who ruled at Conjeevaram about
1367 A.D. K a m p a n a was a prince of the Vijayanagara empire who
defeated the sultan at Madurai (Madhurà). Madhurâvijaya celebrates
this event. 3 3 In the introduction to her work Gangädevi salutes, a m o n g
others, the poet who wrote the Karnämrta:

mandâramafijarïsyandi-
makarandarasäbdhayah /
kasya nä 'hlädanäyä 'lam
karnämrtakaver girah // (Sarga I, verse 12)
For whom are the words of the Karriâmrta poet
not adequate for refreshing?—
the words which are like an ocean of elixir
of the honey which oozes from the
blossoming clusters of a tree of
paradise.

The earliest possible mention of the author, Bilvamañgala, is at the

end of the Sarvamüla of Madhväcärya. 3 4 The text ends:

iti srimadänandatirthabhagavatpädäcäryaviracitä
krsnastutih sampürnä. bilvamañgalah sädhuh.
srïkrsftârpanam astu. sarvamûlam sampürnam. 3 5

There has been some discussion as to what "bilvamañgalah s ä d h u h "

might mean here. It is possible that it is an auspicious saying. My Madh-
vaite pandit, A.S. Acharya, who pointed out the above text to me,
explained that, in appending "bilvamañgalah sädhuh", Madhva might
have been calling attention to a good and saintly if simple person, named
Bilvamañgala, who was a member of Madhva's circle of students and
devotees. B. N. K. Sharma, the Madhvaite scholar, told me that, ac-
cording to tradition, "bilvamañgalah s ä d h u h " is supposed to have been
spoken by Madhva. Professor Sharma felt that to understand it as a

32. Madhura Vijaya or Virakamparaya Charita: An Historical Kavya by Ganga

Devi, ed. G. Harihara Sastri and V. Srinivasa Sastri (Trivandrum, 1924).
33. Ibid., p. i.
34. Srimat Sarvamûlam; The Collected Works of Madhväcärya, Vol. Ill, ed.
R. Kr?näcärya and Râmâcârya (Bombay: Nirnaya Sagar Press, 1892), folio 1149.
35. Ibid.
18 INTRODUCTION

mantra would be questionable. He offered no opinion about interpretting

"bilvamañgalah s ä d h u h " as a reference to the poet. There is no traditio-
nal meaning assigned to these words. A modern Madhvaite pandit,
P. Hayagriväcärya Guttal of Deccan College, has written an article on the
possible meanings of these words as a mantra or as a reference to the poet. 3 6
Whether "bilvamañgalah s ä d h u h " is found in the manuscript of
the Sarvamüla, which dates from the time of Madhva, is not known.
The date of M a d h v a has been estimated to be 1199-1294 or 1238-1317
A.D. Professor Sharma prefers the later. 37 Neither date conflicts with the
evidence of the Madhurávijaya.
Many Malayalï Sanskritists have concerned themselves with the
date of Bilvamañgala, whom they consider to be a Malayalï.
A. Govinda Wariyar 3 8 and K. Rama Pisharoti 3 9 believe that there
are three Bilvamañgalas, whom they call the Villamañgalam Svämiyärs,
Villañgalam Svämiyärs, or the Vilvamañgalam Svämiyärs. Pisharoti 4 0
says that Villamañgala is correct, for the second Villamañgala Svämiyär
refers to his family as Kodandamañgalam or Cápamañgalam which
corresponds to Villumañgalam. kodanda and capa mean " b o w " in
Sanskrit; villu means " b o w " in Malayalam. These references are from
the Siricindhakavva [see YY10 (14)], a Präkrit kävya which illustrates the
Präkrta Prakäsa of Vararuci. I quote them from Raja's chapter on Bil-
vamañgala in his book, The Contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature.
kodañdamañgalavacogadite hi dhämni
srikrsnadarsanaparah kila karnabhrtyah (?)/(Canto 1)
cava (Skt. cäpa-) mamgaladharo jalsaro
villamamgaladharo vahoi jo / (Canto XII) 4 1

36. P. Hayagriväcärya Guttal, "srimadänandatirthabhagavatpädäcäryänäm

sarvamülagranthäntyaväkyam idam. bilvamañgalah sädhuh iti", Samskfti (Poona,
I960?).
(The text was available to m e from an offprint which provided little bibliographi-
cal information.)
37. B. N . K. Sharma, A History of the Dvaita School of Vedänta and ils Literature,
Vol. I ( B o m b a y : Booksellers' Publishing Co., 1960), pp. 101-103.
38. A . G o v i n d a Wariyar, "Vilvamañgalam Svämiyärs," The Indian Historical
Quarterly, Vol. VII, N o . 2 (June, 1931), pp. 334-358.
39. K. R a m a Pisharoti, "Krsnas of Kerala," Bulletin of the Rama Varma Research
Institute, Vol. VI, Part 2 (July, 1938), pp. 69-86.
40. Ibid., pp. 7 0 - 7 1 , n. 3.
41. Raja, The Contribution of Kerala, p. 45.
 INTRODUCTION 19

Pisharoti 4 2 believes this confusion of names existed at the time of the

first Villamañgala Svämiyär.
According to Wariyar and to Pisharoti the first Bilvamañgala was
the author of the KK and lived in the ninth century A.D. The second was
the grammarian, Krsnalllâsuka, who lived about 1200 A.D. He wrote the
Puru$akñra commentary on Daiva.i3 The third was the court poet of
Mänavada, prince of Calicut in the 17th century.
The third Bilvamañgala need not be dicussed. About the first
Bilvamañgala, Pisharoti 4 4 and Wariyar 4 5 point out that there is a
tradition in Kerala that Villamañgalam Svämiyär founded the Padmanäb-
ha temple in Trivandrum. The date for founding the temple is 827 A.D.
according to Pisharoti. 4 6 In refutation of the above Ullur S. Paramesvara
Aiyar 4 7 cites the Anantasayanaksetramähätmya which gives Diväkara,
a Tulu brahmin, as the founder of the temple. R a j a 4 8 says that Pisharoti's
method of arriving at the date of 827 A.D. is incorrect.
Both Raja and K. Raghavan Pillai, present day Sanskritists from
Kerala, seem to believe that the first and second Bilvamañgalas of Pisharoti
and Wariyar are one and the same. His date is about 1300 A.D. Raja writes :
It may be safely assumed that Krsnalïlâsuka, author of the
Purusakära, is identical with the author of the Éricihnakávya [Pkt.
Siricindhakavva YY10 (14)] and that he flourished towards the
beginning of the fourteenth century Since even the KK shows
the deliberate art of a scholar devotee, there is nothing against
identifying its author Lllâsuka with the grammarian Llläsuka. If this
identification is accepted, his date can be fixed by about 1300 A.D.,
since he quotes Vopadeva [in the Purufakära*9] who lived in the
second half of the thirteenth century, and since Gañgadeví refers to
him in the second half of the fourteenth century A . D . 5 0

42. Pisharoti, op. cit., p. 71, n. 3.

43. The Daiva of Deva with the Purusakära commentary of Kfsnaliläsuka, ed.
T. Ganapato Sastri, Trivandrum Sanskrit Series N o . 1 (Trivandrum, 1904?).
44. Pisharoti, op. cit., pp. 77-78.
45. Wariyar, op. cit., p. 335.
46. Pisharoti, op. cit., p. 71-72.
47. Ullur S. Paramesvara Aiyar, "Saint Vilvamañgala", Proceedings ai.d Trans-
actions of the All-India Oriental Conference, Trivandrum, 1937 ( P o o n a , 1938), p. 473.
48. Raja, The Contribution of Kerala, p. 41
49. Ibid., p. 44.
50. Ibid., p. 47
20 INTRODUCTION

Phillai has very kindly given me an English translation of an article

of his written in Malayalam. 5 1 He presents the grammarian and poet,
Lïlâsuka, as the probable author of the anonymous Lilátilaka, a 14th
century work on Malayalam grammar. Thus, Lïlâsuka would have
written grammars on Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Malayalam.
If Lïlâsuka Bilvamañgala does belong to the 14th century, then we
must account f o r verses f r o m the K K which are quoted by earlier poets.
Since all Southern versions of the K K include K K st. 2.65 quoted by
Ksemendra (see Z22) and K K st. 2.70 quoted by Hemacandra and
Vidyäkara (see Z23 and Z25) and since all these authors were consider-
ably prior to 1300 A.D., it is necessary to account for the appearance of
verses quoted by them.
There are several other verses (see those found in Z5) like st. 2.65
and st. 2.70, but these two verses are the earliest and evidence of their
early occurrence is best.
One way to account for verses which are original to collections such
as the K K but which are not original to the author to whom the verses
of the collection are attributed is to assume that the author of the verses
did not put the collection together. Those that did assemble and arrange
the verses inadvertently included verses not written by the author. It
seems to me that this is a fair assumption although my impression of the
authorship of the K K is not that of Raja and Pillai.
My imagination, instructed first hand by the myriad Kerala and all-
India traditions about Bilvamañgala—and by the Madhvaite evidence
as well as by textual studies, conjures a very popular poet-saint, a pari-
vrâjaka who wandered over the whole of India composing Krsñaite
verses about the time of Madhva. These verses were much admired by
the 14th century grammarian Krsnalïlâsuka who incorporated fragments
in some stotras and a kävya he wrote (see Y Y10, especially on p. 72 of
the "Mss. U s e d " section). Of course it has to be assumed that the writer
of the stotras in Y Y10 is the 14th century grammarian who wrote the
Purufakära commentary on Daiva. This assumption is made on two other
assumptions; 1) T h e grammarian who wrote the Puru$akära and the
grammarian who wrote the Sricihnakävya are identical because they are
both grammarians with the same name Krsnalïlâsuka. 2) The writer of the

51. K . R a g h a v a n Pillai, " O n the Lilátilaka" [an English translation by Pillai of the
original in M a l a y a l a m published in the Matfbhümi (June 10 and 17, 1962)].
 INTRODUCTION 21

Kälavadhakävya etc. and the Sricihnakávya are the same, because the
colophon of YY10, wherein they are both found, indicates this.
If the 14th century grammarian was the admirer—or writer—of
Bilvamañgala verses, it is pertinent to the history of the K K that in his
poetic composition, the Kâlavadha, he juxtaposed lines found only in
KK st. 1 and lines found only in the Y version. If the 14th century gram-
marian did juxtapose the lines, it would agree with the history, given on
p. 87 ff. of the "Mss. Used" section, which is derived from the textual
evidence of the KK versions.
Before going on to the legends associated with Bilvamañgala, it
should be noted here that since Rädhä is frequently mentioned in the KK,
she has to be reckoned with when calculating the dates possible for the
KK. This calculation is doubly difficult for there is much dispute as to the
date of her arrival on the literary scene in North India, on the one hand,
and in South India, on the other. 52

Legends. In the first verse of the KK is the line

cintâmanir jayati somagirir gurur me

which has been interpreted by the commentators in many ways.

Päpayallaya Süri, as do many of the other commentators, gives two
possible readings. 1) Somagiri is the guru of Lïlâsuka and cintámani
(jewel of wishes) is an epithet of Somagiri. Krsnadäsa Kaviräja identifies
Somagiri mentioned in K K st. 1.1 with Isänadeva mentioned in KK st.
1.1 IO.53 2) Cintämani is the name of a courtesan who was the first guru

52. S. L. Katre, "Kr$na, Gopas, Gopis, and R ä d h ä " (offprint of an article from
the P. K. Gode Commemoration Volume) 10 pp.
53. V. Raghavan of Madras states and most of the past and present day Sans-
kritists from Kerala believe that K K st. 1.110 gives further biographical information
about Lïlâsuka. They believe the correct reading for nivi- in line a to be nili-. This is a
popular name for girls in Kerala. I have found n o textual evidence for reading nili-
in any K K ms. which I have seen. Nili would be the name of Liläsuka's mother and
Dámodara, the name of his father.
The textual evidence for Nili is found in the "Vrttiratna," a biographical group
of verses found in Y Y 1 0 and Y Y I 1 mss. Y Y 1 0 ms. is the ms. with the Sricihnakävya.
It includes many stoiras besides the grammatical commentary. Everything in the ms.,
according to the colophon, is attributed to Kr$nalilâsuka. The "Vrttiratna." which is
called "Gopälastotra" in YY10, is quoted in its entirety in the "Description of M s s . "
section under Y Y 1 0 (4). (It is probably called "Gopälastotra" in Y Y 1 0 because of the
22 INTRODUCTION

of Lîlâsuka. There is a long story connected with this reading. The story,
I hear, has been dramatised and produced on the Bengali and the A n d h r a
stage. I have seen the play done in Tamil by the Ramakrishna Kripa
Amateurs on October 10, 1964, in Mylapore. Dr. (Miss) S. S. Janaki
kindly interpreted for me. The Tamil play I saw had very much the same
story told by Swami Vivekananda when he was in America. 5 4 This story
is told briefly in Näbhädäsaji's Bhaktamälä55 which was written about
1600 A.D.59 The story often includes a passage wherein Bilvamañgala
blinds himself with needles or thorns. His motives and actions are the
same as those told of Sürdäs.
The story of Bilvamañgala and Cintámañi is set on the banks of the
Krsnavena River, the Ganges, at Kakkatturuttu near Trkkanämatilakam
in Kerla, or at Puttancira in North Parur also in Kerala 5 7 , etc., according,
very often, to the nativity of the teller.
The earliest datable telling of the Cintámañi story is by Krsnadäsa
Kaviräja 5 8 towards the end of the 16th century. There are two other
early stories about Bilvamañgala. In the Vallabhaite Sampraddyakula-
dlpikä, written by Gada in 1554, it is told that Bilvamañgala, when reborn
become Jayadeva. Seshagiri Sastri says that this might suggest that
Bilvamañgala was earlier than Jayadeva. 5 9
The following is the report given by Dasgupta of a tradition reported
in the Vallabhadigvijaya by Jadunâthajï Maharaja.

According to the Vallabha-dig-vijaya there was a king called,

Vijaya of the Pändya kingdom in the south. He had a priest De-
vasvämin, whose son was Visnusvämin. Sukasvämin, a great reli-
gious reformer of North India, was his fellow-student in the Vedänta ;
it is difficult to identify him in any way. Visnusvämin went to Dvära-
kä, to Brndàvana, then to Puri, and then returned home. At an

first of the three initial verses which are not closely connected with the main body of
the "stotra."). Vss. 11 and 12 give the information that Nili was the mother of Lîlâsuka
and Dämodara, his father.
54. The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, Vol. I (Calcutta, 1957), pp.
485-488.
55. Srinäbhädäsajiviracitä Éribhaktamâlâ (Bombay: Vaibhav Press, 1924), p. 46.
56. Farquhar, op. cit., p. 317.
57. Raja, The Contribution of Kerala, pp. 32-33.
58. De, KK, p. 8.
59. Raja, The Contribution of Kerala, p. 43.
 INTRODUCTION 23

advanced age he left his household deities to his son, and having
renounced the world in the Vaisnava fashion, came to Kañcí. He
had many pupils there, e.g., árídevadarsana, árikan{ha, Sahasräci,
áatadhrti, Kumärapada, Parabhüti, and others. Before his death
he left the charge of teaching his views to árídevadarsaña. He had
seven hundred principal followers teaching his views; one of them,
Räjavisnusvämin, became a teacher in the Andhra country.
Visñusvamin's temples and books were said to have been burnt at
this time by the Buddhists. Vilva-mangala, a Tamil saint, succeeded
to the pontifical chair at árirañgam, Vilva-mangala left the pontifical
chair at Kâncï to Deva-mangala and went to Brndävana. Prabhä-
visnusvämin succeeded to the pontifical chair; he had many disciples,
e.g., árlkanthagarbha, Satyavatï Pandita, Somagiri, Narahari,
árantanidhi and others. He installed àràntanidhi in his pontifical
chair before his death. Among the Visnusvämin teachers was one
Govindäcärya, whose disciple Vallabhäcärya is said to have been.
It is difficult to guess the date of Visnusvämin; it is not unlikely,
however, that he lived in the twelfth or the thirteenth century. 6 0

Another literary source of Bilvamañgala legends is, according to

Kavi, the 13th Skandha of the Uriya Bhägavata Puräna. This Skandha is
devoted to

the glorification of Bilvamañgala, whose name is accounted for by

the presence of a bilva tree [woodapple tree] in the front of the house
of his nativity. 61

Works. Works attributed to Lílaáuka Bilvamañgala and discussed

elsewhere will not be mentioned here. Unlike the works discussed
elsewhere—for the most part in the "Mss. Used" section—the following
works have no verses in common with the K K .
Most of the stotras attributed to Krsnallläsuka and written in the
Malayalï script are included in the YY10 and the YY11 codices. See
YY10 and YY11 in the "Description of the M s s . " section. T w o other
such stotras are deposited in the University of Kerala Mss. Library.

60. Surendranath Dasgupta, A History of Indian Philosophy, Vol. IV (Cambridge:

University Press, 1949), p. 383.
24 INTRODUCTION

Durgästava. This has been published as the Durgästutih by Ullur

S. Paramesvara Aiyar. 6 2 The ms., which contains this stotra was formerly
deposited in the Trivandrum Palace Library. The ms. is Trivandrum
Palace Library No. 1172 G. Malayalam script, palm leaf, folios 2, 12
inches by inches, 20 lines to a side. The Palace Library Catalogue 6 3
remarks that the work is about the deity in the temple at Harikanyäpura.
The concluding portion indicates that it is also known by the titles,
Máiinlstuti (from the meter in which it is composed) and Mülakanyästuti
and that the author had written another work, Stotraratna by name.

Dakçinâmûrtistava. This has been published by T. Ganapati

Sastri. 64 It is from the same codex as the above Durgästava. The ms.
no. is 1172 Q.

Sarasvatlnakfatramälä. All information on this stotra is from the

Stotrasamähära·.

This stotra in praise of goddess Sarasvatï probably derives the name

naksatramälä from the fact that the stotra alone consists only of
27 stanzas. The colophon mentions the work as consisting of 32
stanzas but the manuscript contains only 31. The edition is based on
a manuscript (No. L. 722) kindly lent to us [University of Kerala
Manuscripts Library] by Sri Raman Vasudevan Nambuthiry,
Patinjattiye{attu Mana, Kanayannoor. 6 5

Süryastotram. Baroda Oriental Institute No. 13091 (a).

Malayalam script, palm leaf, folios 1, size and lines to a side not
known. Begins: svasti.

61. M . R a m a k r i s h n a Kavi, " L i t e r a r y Gleanings: N o . 9 Bilvamañgalasvamin,"

The Quarterly Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society, Vol. I l l , Part 1
(July, 1928), p. 67.
62. Aiyar, op. cit., pp. 481-482.
63. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Sanskrit Manuscripts in H.H. The Maharajah's
Palace Library Trivandrum, Vol. V, ed. Κ . Sämbasiva Castri (Trivandrum, 1938), p.
1795.
64. Abhinavakaustubhamala and Dakshinamurtistava of Krishnalilasukamuni, ed.
T . G a n a p a t i Sastri, T r i v a n d r u m Sanskrit Series N o . 2 (Trivandrum, 1905).
65. Stotrasamähära, Part 1, ed. Κ . R a g h a v a n Pillai, University of Kerala Sanskrit
Series N o . 211 (Trivandrum, 1964), p. iii.
 INTRODUCTION 25

kämam dhämäni tattatsuravaraparisadgätranityädhiväsä-

nnäsiranaitihäsänyapahasanapadam vlramlmämsakänäm /
kim taccintäbhiräbhistribhuvana... bhogasâkçlyadïyam
tejassämräjyametattapanavijayate sarvato nirvivädam //1 //
Ends:
iti bhagavati bhävanänatäbhl${avarsa
vyasanikarasahasre ko vibhakteh pravähah /
jayatu jayatu jaitrastotramürtyävatirnah
katihrdayavilañghyah krçnalïlâsukïyah //14//
iti krsnalïlâsukakavimuninà viracitam trayodasasloka-
samkhyam süryastotram samäptam.

Collated from hand copy by Adyar Library copyist. Adyar Library had
the ms. on loan from Baroda Oriental Institute.

Krsnähnikakaumudi. Universitäts Bibliothek Tübingen No. Ma I

230. Bengali script, paper, folios 28 (incomplete), size not known, 12 lines
to a side.
Begins: srirädhäkrsnau jayatäm.

rajanicaramayäme stokatäräbhiräme
kimapi kimapi vrndädesajätäbhinandä /
vitatirakrta rädhäkrsnayoh sväpabädhä-
matimrduvacanänäm särikänäm sukänäm //!//

Final folios are missing.

Collated from photographic copy.
M i t r a 6 6 describes a ms. of the same text. He describes the text as
"Poetical descriptions of Krsna's amatory career in Vrndavana." 6 7 He
gives the end:

tanträsliste sati madhumade kiñcidarddhavisiste /

pratyäsannah samadanamado yah samstah pariste //

To Krsnalïlàsuka, the grammarian, is ascribed a commentary

Krsnalilävinoda on Bhoja's Sarasvatikanthábharana,68 M. Ramakrishna

66. Räjendraläla Mitra, Notices of Sanskrit Mss., Series I, Volume IX (Calcutta,

1888), pp. 60-61.
67. Ibid.
68. Kavi, loc. cit.
26 INTRODUCTION

Kavi was evidently the first to note this commentary. I have been unable
to trace its whereabouts. Kavi 6 9 mentions two other grammars by
Lïlâsuka: the Subantasámrájya and the Tinantasämräjya. These could not
be traced, but there is a helpful note in the preface to the Trivandrum
Curator's Library Catalogue:

Purusakâra (Vide page 1189.) From the verse

"etat subantasämräjyamedhitam nayasampadä /
krsnacandräjfiayä guptam krtärthayatu sajjanän / / " we gather that
the title of the work is Subantasämräjya. The subsequent portion
dealing with Tinantaprakriya may be Tinantasämräjya. The passage:
"yad uktam purusakâre bahayatïtyudâhrtya—isthani yat phisah,
käryam, tannävapyatidisyate. na cesthani yi{ phiso bhü bhävasca'
bhuvo yit sanniyogasistatvät. tena nyäse/bhävayatiti cintyä präptih.'
occurring in Mâdhavïya Dhätuvrtti is a quotation taken from the
commentary on the Sütra isthe yuk ca in Tinantasämräjya. So on
the authority of Mädhava, we may believe that Tinantasämräjya
was also known as Purusakâra. 70

Krsnalïlâsuka has written a commentary on the Kenopanifad called

¿añkarahrdayañgamá. Raja accepts it as a work of the grammarian and
the poet. 71 He describes it.

There are two Bhäfyas on the Upanisad both ascribed to áañkara ;

Lïlâsuka tries to effect a reconciliation between the two, and show
what was really intended by the Bhäsyakära; at times he gives
original interpretations also. 72

There are three mss. of this commentary: Madras Government Oriental

Library No. 2962 and University of Kerala Manuscripts Library Nos.
L. 1246B and T. 1255. The last mentioned ms. is a copy of the first. It
has been published in the Annals of Oriental Research.™

69. Kavi, loc. cit.

70. A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in the Curator's Office Library,
Trivandrum, Vol III, ed. Κ . Sämbasiva Sästri (Trivandrum, 1938), pp. i-ii.
71. Raja, The Contribution of Kerala, p, 47
72. Ibid., p. 48.
73. This i n f o r m a t i o n is f r o m R a j a , The Contribution of Kerla, p. 48, n. 101. (Edited
by S. S u b r a h m a n y a Sastri, Annals of Oriental Research, M a d r a s University, 1952.)
M A N U S C R I P T S USED
This section includes both manuscripts and printed editions used to
prepare the Krsnakarnämrta text in this edition.
Colophons and verses quoted from these manuscripts are markedly
corrupt. They appear in the following pages as they are in the manuscript.
They are without correction or emendation.

M E A N I N G S OF THE L E T T E R S BY W H I C H THE
B I L V A M A Ñ G A L A M A N U S C R I P T S ARE I D E N T I F I E D

Bengal version of the K K written in both the Devanägari and Bengali

scripts
A ms. not reported by S. K. De and without a commentary (c)
Β Bengal version as reported by S. K. De, K K
Southern version of the K K written in the Devanägari script
C mss. with the Päpayallaya Süri c (P. Süri c)
D mss. without a c
E mss. with the Krsna Pandita c (sataka 2 only)
F printed edition with old Marâthï c (sataka 1 only)
Southern version of the K K written in the G r a n t h a script
G mss. without a commentary
H mss. with the P. Süri c
Southern version of the K K in the K a n n a d a script
Κ mss! without a c
Southern version of the K K written in the Malayalam script
M mss. without a c
Southern version of the K K written in the Nandinägarl script
Ν mss. without a c
Southern version of the K K written in the Telugu script
Ρ mss. with the P. Süri c
Q ms. with the Bälagopäla slokavártika
R mss. with the R ä m a c a n d r a c
S mss. with the Brahmäbhatta c
Τ mss. without a c
U mss. with an old Telugu verse translation
V printed editions with a modern Telugu gloss and the above verse
translation

29
30 MANUSCRIPTS USED

Bengal recension associated with the Northern anthologies of Bilvamañ-

gala verses
W mss. with the Vanamälin c
X mss. with a Vallabhaite c
Northern anthologies of Bilvamañgala verses
Y
Stotras, anthologies, kävyas of Krsnaliläsuka written in Dravidian scripts.
YYO
Collections of refrain vss. which have the same line d or a (or part of
same) as a vs. (or vss.) which appears in the K K
YY50
Anthologies and other works in which K K vss. are found
Ζ

SYSTEM OF NUMBERING BY WHICH THE VERSE SEQUENCE OF

THE K K M s s . Is DESCRIBED

(This system does not apply to Y and Ζ mss.)

Numbers are according to and

assigned to mss. verse sequence 1 sataka 3.
in both sataka 1
a b c d a d

0-9 a a
10-19 a d
20-29 b a
30-39 b d
40-49 c a
50-59 c d
60-69 d a
70-79 d d
1
Verse sequences a b c d in iataka 1 :
a Sequence is as in standard (or critical) version,
b Sequence of vss. 66 and 67 of the standard version is reversed,
c Vs. 57 of the standard version is omitted,
d Both b and c sequence of a are present.
Verse sequences a d in sataka 3:
a Sequence is as in standard (or critical) version,
d Sequence of vss. 79 and 80 of the standard version is reversed.
 MANUSCRIPTS USED 31

Sequence aa (Numbers 1-9 are assigned to mss. with this sequence.

N u m b e r 0 designates the group or part of the group of mss. with
this sequence.) is found in the standard (or critical) version and,
most characteristically, in mss. which provide the oldest testimony.
These mss. are A, B, and W of the Bengal or Caitanyaite tradition
and D G , G l , G2 and N1 of the Vijayanagara (see D G ) tradition.
These latter mss. have otherwise a very atypical organization of
verses.
Sequence ba (Numbers 21-29 are assigned to mss. with this sequence.
N u m b e r 20 designates the group or part of the group of mss. with
this sequence.) is found, most characteristically, with the Brahma-
bhatta commentary (S mss.), the Rämacandra commentary (R mss.),
and the short version of the P. Suri commentary (C21, C22, H21,
and H31). It should be noted here that N21 has an atypical verse
sequence which places it with the Vijayanagara tradition. N21 is
exceptional.
Sequence ca (Numbers 41-49 are assigned to mss. with this sequence.
N u m b e r 40 designates the group or part of the group of mss. with
this sequence.) is found only in Maharashtrian mss. The reverse is
not true: Some Maharashtrian mss. have other verse sequences.
Sequence dd (Numbers 71-79 are assigned to mss. with this sequence.
N u m b e r 70 designates the group or part of the group of mss. with
this sequence.) is found, most characteristically, with the long version
of the P. Süri commentary (P71, P72).
Sequences ad (Numbers 11-19 are assigned to mss. with this sequence.
N u m b e r 10 designates the group or part of the group of mss. with
this sequence.); bd (Numbers 31-39 are assigned to mss. with this
sequence. Number 30 designates the group or part of the group of
mss. with this sequence.); cd (Numbers 51-59 are assigned to mss.
with this sequence. Number 50 designates the group or part of the
group of mss. with this sequence.); da (Numbers 6Î-69 are assigned
to mss. with this sequence. Number 60 designates the group or part
of the group of mss. with this sequence.) are considered to result
from mixing of the centuries of the different versions.

About the variant readings which are reported in the mss. with the
various sequences aa, ba, ca, and d d :
The readings of aa and dd vary most markedly from each other.
32 MANUSCRIPTS USED

The number of non aa mss. recording an aa variant is usually very

small.
ba mss. are more frequently found a m o n g this small number than
are the ca mss.
As one would expect, however, both ba and ca mss. read much more
frequently with the aa mss. in sataka 3.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MANUSCRIPTS

T w o signs are used in the following section.

χ placed before a manuscript indicates that it was only partially

collated.
o placed before a verse or a manuscript indicates that the vs. or the
ms. was not collated.

A and Β mss. represent the Bengal and Caitanya version of the K K .

Caitanya (1486-1533 A.D.) brought back a copy of the K K st. 1
only f r o m his pilgrimage in Southern a n d Western India. 1 In
Bengal it is only this century ( K K st. 1) which is considered to be
the K K .
Al Staatsbibliothek ( M a r b u r g ) No. or. oct. 466. Devanâgarï script,
paper, folios 17 (1-5, 6 r , 7 r are missing), 18-23 cm by 7 - 1 0 cm.
Ms. includes first century only. Begins: First folios are missing.
E n d s : iti srilílásukabilvamañgalaviracitam srïkarnâmrtastotram
s a m p ü r n a m . srikrsnäya n a m a h . srï. srï. srï. srï. samvat 1629 varse
äsädhasudi 9 guruväsare leçitam vrä° jagannäthadäsavaisnavakä-
sidäsapathanärtham. vrndävanamadhye. A medical prescription,
which is written in the same hand, follows. (1573 A.D.,
Vrndävana)
B1 refers to a g r o u p of Devanâgarï manuscripts with the commentary
of G o p ä l a b h a f t a which have been edited by S.K. De f o r his critical
edition of the K K . De discusses this commentary and c o m m e n t a t o r
in the introduction. 2

1. The Krçna-karnâmrta, cd. Sushil Kumar De, University of Dacca Oriental

Publications Series No. 5 (Dacca, 1938), p. ix.
2. Ibid., pp. xxx-li.
 MANUSCRIPTS USED 33

Of the Bengal commentaries the earliest appears to have

been the Kr$na-vallabhä of Gopäla Bhatta, son of Harivamsa
3
B h a f t a and grandson of Nrsimha of the Drävida country.

De considers at length the identity of the commentator and Cai-

tanya's disciple of the same name. The evidence is equivocal. In
his consideration he has noted the following about the commentary.

As the commentary quotes directly from the Bhaktirasämrta-

sindhu and Ujjvala-nlla-mani of Rüpa Gosvàmin, the former
of which work is dated expressly in áaka 1463 ( = 1541 A . D . ) ,
it could not have been composed before this date. 4

B l - G A ms. (description from the K K edited by De) Benares Sanskrit

College Library (Sanskrit University Sarasvati Bhavana) N o . 4 2
described in the Sùci-patram. Paper, folios (42, 8-14 are missing),
141 in., 11-17 lines to a side. (1605 A.D.)
Collated from the critical text of De who collated from a hand copy
of the ms.
B l - G B ms. (description from the K K edited by De) Asiatic Society of
Bengal No. 1II.C.107. Paper, folios 45, 11 in. by 43 in., 15 lines to
a side.
Collated f r o m the text of De who collated from the ms.

B l - G C ms. (description from the K K edited by De) Vañgíya Sähitya

Parisad No. 280. Modern paper, folios 30 (incomplete, ends with
st. 1.59), 12¿ in. by 6 in., 14-15 lines to a side.
Collated from the text of De who collated from the ms.
B2 refers to a group of manuscripts with the commentary, Subodhanl,
of Caitanyadäsa which have been edited by S. K. De for his
critical edition of the KK. De discusses this commentary and
commentator in the introduction. Nothing definite can be de-
termined about the commentator. De notes the following about
the commentary.

This commentary... often suggests interpretations which

were appropriated and developed further by Krsnadäsa. 5

3. Ibid., p. XXX.
4. Ibid., p. xli.
5. Ibid., pp. lii-iii.
34 MANUSCRIPTS USED

If... Caitanyadäsa directed Krçnadâsa's literary activity, then

he must have been a contemporary of Rüpa Gosvämin, whose
works were accepted by all Bengal Vaiçnava writers as
authoritative. As such, the work would be almost contem-
poraneous with Gopäla Bhafta's Krsna-vallabhá, which also
quotes from the Ujjvala-nila-mani.6

B2-CA (description from the K K edition by De) Dacca University

Manuscript Library No. 2464. Bengali script, paper, folios 13,
1 6 | in. by in., 12-18 lines to a side.
Collated from the text of De who collated f r o m the ms.
B2-CB (description from the K K edition by De) Vañgíya Sähitya Parisad
No. 21. Bengali script, paper, folios 26, 9$ in. by 4$ in., 8-12 lines
to a side. (1668 A.D.)
Collated from text of De who collated from the ms.
B2-CC (description from the K K edition by De) Bhandarkar Oriental
Research Institute No. 326. Devanägari script, paper, folios 18,
11^ in. by 4J in., 14-15 lines to a side. (1757 A.D.)
Collated from text of De who collated from the ms.
B2-CD (description from the K K edition by De) Bodleian Library
No. 230. Bengali script, paper, folios 16, 1 3 | in., by 5 in., 12 lines
to a side.
Collated from text of De who collated from rotograph copy.
B3 refers to a group of manuscripts and a printed edition with the
commentary Sárañga-rañgadá by Krsnadäsa Kaviräja.
This commentary, according to De,

is more well k n o w n . . . From the theological point of view

this commentary possesses some importance, for Krsnadäsa
was one of the most important theologians of the Bengal sect,
who was trained in the authoritative school of the Vrndävana
Gosvämins... Although Krsnadäsa refers to Gopäla Bhatja
as one of his àiksâ-gurus..., it is remarkable that in his com-
mentary he prefers to follow and develop the indications of
Caitanyadäsa. 7

B3-KA (description from the K K edition by De) Dacca University

6. Ibid., pp. liv-v.

7. Ibid., pp. lv-vi.
 MANUSCRIPTS USED 35

Manuscript Library No. 2358. Bengali script, paper, folios 30

(1-6 are missing), 15| in. by 3^ in., 6-14 lines to a side. (1743 A.D.)
Collated from text of De who collated from the ms.
B3-KB (description from KK edition by De) Dacca University Manu-
script Library No. 2454. Bengali script, paper, 12 in. by in.,
folios 30, 10-16 lines to a side.
Collated from text of De who collated from the ms.
B3-KC (description from K K edition of De) Dacca University Manu-
script Library No. 3525. Bengali script, paper, folios 29 (1 missing
at the end), 13^ in. by 6£ in., 15-17 lines to a side.
Collated from text of De who collated from the ms.
B3-KD (description from the KK edition of De) Dacca University M a n u -
script Library No. 2415. Bengali script, paper, folios 56 (one folio
missing at end), 11 ¿ in. by 5 in., 6-14 lines to a side.
Collated from text of De who collated from the ms.
B3-KP (description of this printed edition is from the K K edition of De)
Sárañga-rañgadá of Krsnadäsa Kaviräja, Murshidabad: Radhara-
man Press, Berhampore, 1916 A.D., 242 pp.
Collated from text of De who collated from printed edition.
C mss. with the Päpayallaya Suri commentary (P. Suri c).
H and Ρ mss. also have the P. Suri c. Colophon to the commentary
to each of the three satakas: iti srlpadaväkyapramänapärävära-
pârïnavasumatitirumalabhattopâdhyâyaputrena kodandamämbä-
garbhasuktimuktämaninä päpayallayasürinä viracitäyäm srikrsna-
karnämrtavyäkhyäyäm suvarnacasakam samäkhyäyäm pratha-
mo 'dhyäyah (dvitïyo 'dhyäyah, trtïyo 'dhyäyah).
From the introductory verses to P. Süri's commentary Seshagiri
Sastri concludes that P. Süri

...refers to a hermit, named Yajñesa, who performed the

sacrifice called Väjapeya, and also to an ascetic, named
Mukunda, who seemed to have been his preceptor... He
does not aspire, he says, to such fame as was acquired by
Peddibhafta, that is Mallinätha... 8

Mallinätha lived c. 1400 A.D.9 Other authors quoted by P. Süri

8. M. Seshagiri Sastri, Report on a Search for Sanskrit and Tamil Manuscripts for
the Year 1893-94, No. 2, Madras, 1899, p. 51.
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working the material in the smithy. The Tasmanian proved one of the
fastest screw steamers built up to that time, having easily attained
over 14¹⁄₂ knots at Stokes Bay. Her consumption of coal, about three
pounds per indicated horse-power, was for that day extremely
moderate. The engines were constructed with three cylinders, had a
built crank-shaft, valves at the side, variable expansion, steam
reversing gear, a built propeller, and other fittings which are still
reckoned in that comprehensive term, ‘all modern improvements.’
The engines worked most successfully until the general adoption of
the compound engine made so many admirable contrivances
obsolete.”[75] Shortly after building the Tasmanian, Messrs. A. and J.
Inglis began to build for the British India Company with excellent
results to all concerned, and since then they have constructed many
vessels for this famous company.
[75] Engineering, July 30, 1897.

In July 1858, owing to the failure of the European and Australian

Mail Company, the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company agreed with
the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to continue the Australian
mail service, and entered into a mail contract for eight months for a
subsidy at the rate of £185,000 per annum, giving a monthly sailing,
with Government guarantee of £6000 a month under certain
circumstances if there were loss in the working.
The line of mail packets between Panama, New Zealand, and
Sydney was maintained in connection with the R.M.S.P. service to
the West Indies and Panama with the mails, and was regarded as a
useful alternative to the line from Point de Galle to King George’s
Sound and other Australian ports. The Panama, New Zealand, and
Australian Royal Mail Company was granted a yearly subsidy of
£9000 for the main line, excluding the intercolonial services, the
amount to be increased to £110,000 if the New Zealand Government
should afterwards stipulate for a higher rate of speed. The Ruahine,
the second vessel laid down, but the first completed for this line, was
constructed by Messrs. Dudgeon, and was a brig-rigged steamer of
1500 tons, and was 265 feet long, 34 feet beam, and 25 feet 7
inches deep, and had engines of 354 nominal horse-power, driving
Dudgeon’s double screws. She had accommodation for 100 cabin
passengers, 40 second cabin, and 65 in the steerage. She left
London on her maiden voyage in April 1865, and made the voyage
to her final Australian port in 63 days, of which she was only 55 days
actually at sea, the other days being accounted for by calls en route.
She was expected to make the passage between Panama and
Wellington in 25 days.
The Pacific Steam Navigation Company, which celebrated the
seventieth anniversary of its foundation in February 1910, owes its
inception to the enterprise of William Wheelwright, an American, who
was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts, in 1794, and died in
London while visiting England in September 1873. He began his
business life as a printer’s apprentice, but soon went to sea, and by
the time he was nineteen years old he was in command of a ship. He
was captain of the Rising Empire when she was wrecked in 1823 off
the Plate, and then shipped as supercargo on a vessel bound from
Buenos Ayres to Valparaiso. The following year he was appointed
United States Consul at Guayaquil and five years later removed to
Valparaiso. With the view of extending American commerce and
supplying better communication than then existed on the coast, he
established in 1829 a line of passenger vessels between Valparaiso
and Cobija, and in 1835 decided to place steamers on the west
coast. It took him three years to obtain the necessary concessions
from the South American countries concerned. American capitalists
fought shy of his proposals, so in 1838 he came to England, where
he was well received. His plan included the adoption of the route
across the Isthmus of Panama, though many years passed before
this portion of it was realised. The necessary capital, £250,000, was
raised in 5000 shares of £50 each, and a Royal Charter was granted
on February 17, 1840. The two wooden paddle-steamers, Chili and
Peru, were built for the line by Messrs. Curling, Young and Co. of
London in 1839; they were sister vessels and were each about 198
feet long by about 50 feet over the paddle-boxes and were brig-
rigged, of about 700 tons gross, and had side-lever engines of about
150 horse-power by Miller and Ravenhill. In 1840 they passed
through the Straits of Magellan, Mr. Wheelwright being on board one
of them, and received a series of national welcomes along the west
coast. Coaling difficulties were serious, and at one time the boats
were laid up for three months. At last, in order to secure a sufficient
supply, Mr. Wheelwright began to operate mines in Chili. These
vessels were not, as has often been stated, the first steamers to
enter the Pacific, for in 1825 a small steamer, the Telica, belonging
to a Spaniard, tried to trade on the coast, but was a financial failure
and the owner blew up his vessel and himself with gunpowder at
Guayaquil.
The Pacific Steam Navigation Company came near to being a
failure, but held on, and in 1852, having secured a further postal
contract, the company added four larger vessels of about 1000 tons
each to its fleet, all of them being employed on the purely local
service.
In 1852 there was a bimonthly service from Valparaiso to Panama,
where the line had a connection across the isthmus with the Atlantic
navigation. In 1855 the Panama Railway was opened, and the
company’s activity was greatly increased. In the following year also
the company adopted the compound type of engines, which was
only just brought out, being, it is stated, the first steam-ship
proprietary to do so for ocean traffic, and influenced probably by the
immense saving thereby made in fuel consumption.
Contracts were made in 1848 by the United States Government
with George Law, an American financier and shipowner, and his
associates, to carry the American mails from New York to Aspinwall
on the Isthmus of Panama, and with C. H. Aspinwall to convey the
mails on the Pacific side from Panama to San Francisco and ports
beyond. This was the inauguration of the Pacific Mail Line, and its
first steamer, the California, sailed from New York in October of that
year for San Francisco. The gold rush was at its height and the
demand for the steam-ships was so great that she was quickly
followed by the Pacific and Oregon, the latter built in 1845. All three
were wooden paddle-steamers about 200 feet long and of nearly
1060 tonnage, and made good passages round Cape Horn.
With the arrival of the three steamers on the west coast, the
transisthmian route was adopted for passengers and light
merchandise, and the Ohio and Georgia, which Law had built,
carried, in 1849, the first passengers by steam-ship to the isthmus
from New York.[76]
 [76] Marvin’s “American Merchant Marine.”

When the Pacific Mail Company established a competing line

between New York and Chagres, Law placed an opposition line of
four steamers on the Pacific. In 1851 the rivalry was ended by his
purchasing their steamers on the Atlantic side, and selling to them
his new line from Panama to San Francisco.
Twenty-nine fine steamers, of a total of 38,000 tons, were built in
ten years for the two branches of the Californian trade, and the
Pacific Mail Company, representing an amalgamation of the Law and
Aspinwall interests, assumed the position, which it has retained ever
since, of the leading American steam-ship company in the Pacific.
The company is asserted to have carried 175,000 passengers to the
“golden west” in that decade and to have brought back gold to the
value of forty million pounds sterling.
“The Administration, which was so liberal in helping the Collins
Line to beat the British, contracted with the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company, formed in 1847, for a service from Panama to Astoria, and
from New York, Charleston, and New Orleans to Havana, from which
port the company already had a connecting line to Chagres (Colon),
thus completing the connection between the coasts.... The speed
from Panama to San Francisco was more than ten miles an hour.
Thus the United States had line traffic of first-class character
connecting its remote coasts before it had an American line to
Europe. At Panama it connected with the Pacific Steam Navigation
Company, giving service to Peru and Chili, so that before the middle
of the century the Pacific had at least 5000 miles continuous steam
line traffic.”[77]
[77] “The Ocean Carrier,” by J. Russell Smith.

The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company in the seventy years of its
existence has played an eventful part in the history of the mercantile
marine. Its earliest steamers were wooden paddle-boats, and were
among the best, but in spite of their excellence they experienced an
extraordinary run of misfortunes, and losses by fire and wreck
marred the records of the company for several years after its
incorporation in 1839. Its charter has been revised and extended
from time to time, one clause being that the whole of the share
capital must be British owned, and the management British. In its
long career it has served almost every port in the West Indies with
the mails, and has had no less than fifty-three contracts. At one
stage its management was subjected to some strong criticism, but
under its present management the company has prospered by leaps
and bounds, affording an excellent illustration of the value of well-
directed energy and enterprise.
The history of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Company is the record
of the development of the steamship connection between this
country and the West Indian Colonies. In 1840 the original contract
was entered into with the Admiralty Commissioners for executing the
office of Lord High Admiral for the commencement of the mail
service to the West India Colonies, the Spanish Main, New York,
Halifax, Mexico, Cuba, &c.
The conditions under which the mail contract was to be carried out
were somewhat onerous. One was that the company should receive
on board every vessel a naval officer or other person and his servant
to take charge of the mails, and that every such person should be
recognised and considered by the company as the agent of the
Commissioners in charge of the mails. He was empowered to
require a strict observance of the contract and “to determine every
question whenever arising relative to proceeding to sea, or putting
into harbour, or to the necessity of stopping to assist any vessel in
distress, or to save human life.” A suitable first-class cabin was to be
furnished at the company’s expense, and appropriated to the
officer’s use; he was to be victualled by the company as a first-cabin
passenger without charge, and should he require a servant, such
servant, “and also any person appointed to take charge of the mails
on board,” should also be carried at the company’s cost. From which
it would appear that some very comfortable places were at the
disposal of the Admiralty. The Admiralty representative was also to
be allowed a properly manned four-oared boat to take him ashore
whenever he felt inclined to go. Various penalties were applicable for
breaches of the contract, the fines ranging from £100 for doing
something of which the official did not approve to £500 for a delay of
twelve hours, and a further £500 for every twelve hours “which shall
elapse until such vessel shall proceed direct on her voyage in the
performance of this contract,” so far as the Barbadoes mails were
concerned, and of £200 for mails for other places. Another
stipulation was that naval officers were to be charged only two-thirds
of the ordinary fares as passengers. The company’s subsidy was to
be £240,000 per annum.
The company’s first steamer, the Forth, was launched at Leith in
1841, and on January 1, 1842, the West Indian mail service was
established by the sailing of the steamer Thames from Falmouth. On
completion of her voyage she proceeded to Southampton, which has
been the terminal port of the company ever since. The company
organised transit by mules and canoes across the Isthmus of
Panama in 1846, opening up the route via Colon and Panama to the
Pacific ports.
In the same year the Admiralty, in order to make a through mail
communication between England and the West Coast of South
America, contracted with the Pacific Steam Navigation Company for
the carrying of mails from Panama in connection with the R.M.S.P.
service to Colon, and the next year the latter company made through
arrangements with the Pacific Steam Navigation Company and the
Panama Railroad Company for traffic from Southampton (via
Panama) to the South Pacific Ports.
Enough has been written to indicate in some detail the progress
made in steam-ship construction. Wood was the material chiefly
used until near the middle of the nineteenth century. Iron then began
to take its place and the screw-propeller to supersede the paddle-
wheel. Some iron screw steamers have already been mentioned, but
this was inevitable, as no hard and fast line can be drawn across the
history of invention and commercial enterprise, to separate iron from
wood and screw from paddle. The screw propeller had actually been
tried by Stevens in 1802, and iron boats for inland waters were built
as early as 1787.
But the general adoption of iron for building steam-ships and of the
screw for the propulsion of ocean-going ships marks a new era in the
history of steam-ship building.
 CHAPTER VIII
EXPERIMENTAL IRON SHIPBUILDING

he suitability of iron for shipbuilding purposes had

been admitted long before the construction of
wooden vessels reached its limit as a profitable
undertaking. The first experiments with iron were on
a small scale, but they demonstrated the theory of
displacement, so that observant marine builders had
it borne in upon them that flotation depended rather
upon the displacement of the floating body than upon the specific
gravity of the material for which the floating body was constructed.
But the general public was unconvinced, and making deductions
from a limited knowledge of the subject, cried: “Put a piece of iron on
the water and see if it will float.” With the increase in the size of
wooden steamers and sailing vessels there came the demand for
stronger, heavier, and thicker timbers for all parts. This meant so
much more unremunerative weight of hull to be carried and so much
less space available in proportion to the size of the vessel; so that in
time the limit of carrying cargo at a profit and of staunchness of
construction was bound to be reached.
In wooden steam-ships the limit of length was about 275 feet over
all; the Great Eastern, built in 1858, proved that there was apparently
no limit to the length of the iron ship.[78]
[78] Mr. John Ward’s Presidential Address to the Institution of
Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland, 1907.

This length has been exceeded by a few American wooden sailing

vessels. The largest square-rigged vessel ever built in America, the
shipentine Shenandoah, was of wood; her dimensions being 299·7
feet, beam 49·1 feet, and depth 19·9 feet; 3407 tons gross and 3154
net. She was built at Bath (Maine) in 1890 for Messrs. A. Sewall and
Co., and was acquired a couple of years ago by the United States
Government for a hulk at San Francisco, but has since been
recommissioned. Though not a clipper in the strict sense of the word,
she was a fast sailer and is sometimes called the last of the Yankee
wooden clippers.
As wooden hulls were made larger they displayed a tendency,
especially when they were built to carry propelling engines, to sag or
hog, that is to say, to droop amidships or at the ends. This difficulty
was ingeniously overcome in America, where wooden steamers
were built longer and lighter and shallower than in Great Britain to
suit the vast rivers of that country, by Stevens, who introduced his
hogging frame, to which fuller reference has been made in Chapter
II. But in the steamers of Great Britain, which were entirely for deep
sea, this arrangement was impossible, and the solution of the
difficulty had to be found in the use of a material other than wood.
The only substitute was iron. The change from wood to iron meant
a saving in weight of hull of about thirty to forty per cent., while it is
asserted that in a few cases there has been an even greater
difference. The saving also meant that the difference in weight could
be added to the weight of the cargo, without increasing the
displacement; while another advantage was that the beams and ribs
and stringers were of smaller dimensions, and the space thus
gained, added to that obtained by the substitution of thin iron plates
for wooden planking several inches thick, also very considerably
increased the space available for the stowage of cargo. Practically
every part of a ship was of wood until 1810, in which year the
scarcity of oak resulting from the extensive felling of trees in the
English forests compelled the use of iron for the knees or
connections between the deck-houses and the ribs, and for the
breast-hooks and pillars of ships.
An experimental iron barge was made in 1787 by J. Wilkinson the
ironmaster.
As early as 1809 it was proposed by Richard Trevithick and Robert
Dickenson that ships should be built of iron, but the proposal was
received with derision. The Vulcan, built in 1818 at Faskine near
Glasgow, is, so far as is known, the first iron vessel constructed for
commercial purposes, and so well was she built that as recently as
1875 she was engaged in transporting coal on the Forth and Clyde
Canal, and looked little the worse for wear. Her builder was one
Thomas Wilson.
The first iron steamer, however, was the Aaron Manby, built in
1821 at the Horseley Iron Works near Birmingham, to the order of
Captain Napier, afterwards Admiral Sir Charles Napier, and Mr.
Manby. She was put together at Rotherhithe, and in May 1822 at
Parliament Stairs took on board a distinguished party of naval
officers and engineers, whom she conveyed for a trip of several
hours up and down the river between Blackfriars and Battersea. A
contemporary newspaper described her as “the most complete
specimen of workmanship in the iron way that has ever been
witnessed.” This little vessel was 106 feet long and 17 feet broad,
and carried a 30-horse-power engine. Her wheels were of the type
known as Oldham’s revolving bars. Her only sea voyage was to
France under the command of Captain Napier. Upon arrival she was
employed on the Seine or Loire. Another iron vessel intended for
navigation on the Seine was shortly afterwards made in this country,
and the parts sent to France to be put together.
Little appears to have been attempted in this country for some
years in the way of iron shipbuilding, although in Ireland three or four
small iron sailers or steamers were constructed for inland navigation
purposes. But in 1828 John Laird of Birkenhead had his attention
directed to iron shipbuilding, and completed his first iron vessel there
the following year. Other builders followed where he showed the
way, and in less than three years there were shipbuilders on the
Thames, Clyde, and east coast of Scotland who were launching iron
vessels, the great majority of which were sailing ships. The famous
yards on the Cheshire side of the Mersey remained for some time
the headquarters of the new industry. The first iron vessels for the
United States—not the first iron-plated vessels, and this is a
distinction which should be noted—were launched there, and so
immediate was the recognition of the advantages of iron ships over
wooden ones that by 1835 there had been built at Laird’s the first
iron vessels for use on the rivers Euphrates, Indus, Nile, Vistula, and
Don. They were small compared with the wooden vessels afloat.
The Garry Owen, built in 1834 by MacGregor, Laird and Co. of
iron, was only 125 feet in length, 21 feet 6 inches beam, with two
engines totalling 90 horse-power. There were no Lloyd’s rules as to
scantlings for iron steamers in those days, and builders put in as
much material as they thought necessary for the strength of the
vessel, which usually meant a liberal allowance. The Garry Owen
was not much to look at, but she was very strongly built, a
circumstance which had a great deal to do with the development of
iron steam-ship building. She nearly came to grief on her first
voyage, for she was overtaken by a violent storm, which drove her
and several other vessels ashore. These others were of wood. Some
of them were soon pounded to pieces by the heavy seas, and those
that escaped total loss were badly damaged; but the Garry Owen,
though bumped and dented somewhat, was able to get afloat again
little the worse and return under her own steam.
If a steamer strongly built of iron could survive a storm and
stranding which ended the careers of several wooden ships of larger
dimensions, it was admitted that there was no valid reason why other
iron vessels should not prove equally safe, especially if they were
larger. It was considered that iron steamers might find useful
employment in short voyages, and several were built.
One of the chief of these vessels was the Rainbow, launched in
1837 for the London and coastal trade. She was 185 feet long by 25
feet beam, and of 600 tons, with engines of 180 horse-power.
The use of iron in construction was not the only factor in the
tremendous change which was coming in shipbuilding. A new form
of propulsion was necessary, and it was found in the screw propeller.
Before considering this, however, the development in the
construction of paddle-wheels and of the engines designed for
paddle-boats may be noticed.
The ordinary paddle-wheel had the floats fixed upon the radial
arms, but it was soon found that an improvement could be made by
causing the floats to assume a position vertical, or nearly so, at the
moment of contact with the surface of the water, and to retain that
position until the float had left the water. To effect this the floats are
not bolted to the arms but pivoted, and are retained in the required
position by means of levers operated by an eccentric pin. By this
means a much greater propulsive force was exerted. The old style of
paddle-wheel with fixed floats is now very seldom employed. These
wheels are now only to be found in vessels in which the expense of
construction has to be cut down to a minimum, or in a certain type of
steamer plying in shallow rivers, where the wheel is rather large, and
the dip of the float slight; but here again economy of construction
may count for more with the proprietor of the boat than the increased
speed he could obtain with the more expensive feathering wheels.
Many of the modern wheeled vessels have floats of steel, but in the
great majority of cases wood is employed, elm being largely used for
this purpose. The floats are usually about four times as long as they
are broad. Various forms are used, some being left square at the
corners, others are rounded, others again have the outer edge
elliptical in shape, and the experiment has also been tried with a fair
measure of success of inclining the floats to the axis of the wheel,
instead of having them parallel to it. The advantages claimed for this
last method are that the stream of water formed by the rotatory
motion of the paddles is driven slightly away from the sides of the
vessel, instead of in a direction parallel with her length. Wheels of
this type, however, lose much of their effectiveness when the
engines are reversed. Radial wheels are sometimes made with the
floats adjusted so that they enter the water almost perpendicularly,
but they are much more oblique under this arrangement when
leaving the water.
A difficulty which paddle-vessels have to contend with is that of
securing a proper immersion of the floats. For a vessel in smooth
water the immersion of the top edge is usually calculated at about
one-eighth of the breadth of the float; but for a vessel intended for
general sea service, an immersion of not less than half the breadth
of the float is allowed, that is to say, the float at its moment of
deepest immersion has a height of water above it equal to half its
diameter. If the float goes much deeper the efficiency of the wheel
becomes impaired. This is a point which has to be taken into
consideration in designing paddle-boats, so that the maximum power
shall be available when the vessel is fully laden, and shall not be
much lessened when the vessel is running light. The earliest
steamers suffered greatly in this respect as their designers had not
discovered the right size of wheels or floats to suit the hulls. A
loaded vessel consequently went very slowly owing to the great
depth to which her floats were immersed. To overcome this difficulty
an ingenious system of what can best be called reefing was
invented. Affixed to the axle of the wheel was a rod with an
arrangement of cogs at the end, and these fitted into a series of
teeth in rods affixed to the floats, so that it was a simple matter to
expand or contract the effective diameter of the wheel by altering the
position of the floats as required. The same result has sometimes
been obtained by a system of levers, but the toothed wheel business
was the older. It was tried on a few of the earlier boats on the Clyde,
not always, however, with success.
A peculiarity of some of the larger paddle-wheels in use in
America is that they are not only of much greater size than those in
use in Great Britain in proportion to the size of the boat, but they
have a proportionately less immersion and the wheel is constructed
in a very different fashion. The floats, instead of being of one piece,
as here, are constructed of three narrow fixed strips, two of which
are on the same radius but have a space between them equal to the
breadth of the third strip, which is placed a few inches behind the
vacant space. It is contended that this method disturbs the water
less than the broad float and increases the propelling efficiency.
Probably the most notable instance is the great wheel of the
Sprague.
Referring now to the construction of the engines of the earliest
boats, Symington’s Charlotte Dundas used a horizontal direct-acting
engine, and the general arrangement of her machinery would be
considered creditable even at the present day.[79] The engine of the
Savannah was of the inclined direct-acting type. The type of engine
which Newcomen invented has been retained for many years, but
the oscillating or walking beam which is such a conspicuous feature
of nearly all the American river craft has been placed by engineers in
this country below the crank axle instead of above. The type of
engine with the beam below the crank axle is known as the side
lever. It is a type peculiarly suitable to paddle-wheels, and this being
the only method of propulsion adopted on this side of the Atlantic for
many years, there was little change for a considerable period in the
shape of the engines, which therefore attained to a high stage of
perfection until the limit of their profitable employment was reached.
When larger engines became necessary, in consequence of the
rapidly increasing size of vessels, the great weight of the side-lever
engines proved a serious drawback.
[79] Sennet and Oram’s “The Marine Steam-Engine,” 1898.

Engineers were not long in devising a more compact form of

machinery, and direct-acting engines were introduced, these
involving the abandonment of the use of the heavy side levers. As
the side-lever engines were made larger it became customary to use
two beams, one on each side, and a rod from one end of each of
these connected with a cross-piece at the top of the piston-rod. The
other ends of the double beam were united by a cross-piece which
carried from its centre the rod or lever which worked the crank of the
paddle-shaft. Where it became necessary to use two engines in one
vessel, they were so arranged that while one rod and crank were at
their period of least activity, the other pair were exerting their
greatest effort. The system of condensation of steam, which it would
take too much space to describe in detail, is also a matter of great
importance in determining the power of the engine, but the principle
upon which the condensation is effected is well known, and the
various methods of condensation can easily be ascertained from the
numerous handbooks on engineering.
 Maudslay’s Oscillating Engine.

Another early form of marine engine was that in which the side
levers were arranged as levers of the third order, the fulcrum being
at one end and the steam cylinder placed between it and the
connecting-rod. The peculiar motion thereby given to the machinery
caused this type to be known as the grasshopper engine, from a
fancied resemblance to the long legs of a grasshopper. The direct-
acting engines were much more compact, more powerful, and lighter
than the old side levers. The necessity of providing a connecting-rod
of sufficient length was met by Messrs. Maudslay by the provision of
two cylinders. The cross-head was not unlike the letter T, the foot of
which passed down between the cylinders, and the lower end of this
was fitted with a journal from which the connecting-rod extended to
the crank in the axle. A still further improvement was made when the
oscillating engines were invented, which form an even more compact
and simple type. Messrs. Maudslay fitted a pair of oscillating engines
in 1828 into the paddle-steamer Endeavour, and subsequently into
several ships. This form of engine was improved upon by Mr. John
Penn, the famous engineer at Blackwall, and the perfection which he
gave it has not been surpassed.
The great feature of this method is that the trunnions are hollow,
and the steam is admitted to and exhausted from the cylinders
through them. The connecting-rod is dispensed with and the upper
end of the piston-rod acts directly on the crank pin. This type of
engine is the most economical for space and weight that has yet
been provided for paddle-wheel engines, the majority of which of late
years have been made on this system.
Its adaptability for certain classes of work has given the paddle-
wheel a long lease of life. Paddles are peculiarly suitable for certain
conditions, such as smooth waters and shallow rivers, where speed
and light draught combined with considerable carrying power are
essential. The Indian rivers, for instance, early demanded suitable
steamers, and the paddle-steamers Lord W. Bentinck, Thames,
Megna, and Jumna were built of iron in 1832 for the East India
Company for the navigation of the Ganges. They were designed and
constructed by Maudslay, Sons, and Field, and fitted with oscillating
cylinder engines of 30 nominal horse-power. They were flat-
bottomed and were shipped to India in pieces. They were 120 feet in
length, 22 feet beam, and had a draught of 2 feet. Their tonnage was
275, builders’ measurement.
The steamers sent to India, however, from over sea were not the
only ones in that country.
As far back as 1820 there was launched at Bombay the first
steamer built in India; she was intended for service on the River
Indus. Her engines were designed by a Parsee. She must have been
a familiar object to many hundreds of Anglo-Indians during her long
career. She was only broken up as recently as 1880, and her end
came not through weakness but through her supersession by more
modern and commodious boats.
There is a custom peculiar to Bombay, and stated to be of Parsee
origin,[80] of driving a silver spike into the stern of a vessel at its
launch. This is said to be analogous to the placing of coins under the
foundation-stone. The ceremony was observed at the launching of a
paddle-steamer at Bombay in 1875, when a nail some seven inches
in length and three-quarters of an inch in diameter was used, but
whether such a ceremony took place at the launch in 1820 is not
recorded. If it is a Parsee ceremony, however, it is quite likely to
have been observed, for the East clings faithfully to its traditions.
[80] Notes and Queries.

A paddle-wheel steamer built in 1859 for service on the Indus had

a draught of only 20 inches. The hull was a frameless cellular raft,
but the walls of the deck cabin were worked into the depth of the
vessel, which was thus made a girder 200 feet in length, and by this
contrivance the engine and boilers, weighing 150 tons, were
supported. A couple of plate girders having a run of 115 feet were
included in her middle length. These were 15 feet deep and formed
the sides of the cabins, and they also projected under the deck for a
distance of 35 feet. The hull of the vessel was practically a long, flat,
shallow box; the stern was rounded and the keel was turned up
about 2 feet to allow of the water rising easily. The bow was rather
fine and designed on the wave-line principle. The engines were of
688 horse-power and the boilers had a pressure of 25 lb. The
paddle-wheels were 14¹⁄₄ feet in diameter. Her load displacement
was 331 tons and her draught when laden was only 24 inches.
The Ly-ee-moon, launched in 1860 by the Thames Iron and
Shipbuilding Company, resembled in some respects the steam-yacht
of the Queen. She was built for Messrs. Dent and Co. for service
between Hong-Kong and Shanghai, and was 270 feet in length and
27 feet 3 inches beam with a draught of 12 feet 6 inches. She was of
1003 tons register and 1394 tons displacement; her oscillating
engines had cylinders of 70 inches diameter, with a stroke of 5¹⁄₂
feet. She was the first merchant vessel fitted with Lindsay’s
apparatus for scaling the boilers with superheated steam. The
paddles were 22 feet diameter. She had two masts, the foremast
carrying lower yard, topsail yard and topgallant yard, and the trysails
reached to the topmast head and gave her a good spread of canvas.
She also carried several guns, and the sponsons were so fitted that
the guns could be worked on them in case of need. Her speed was
from 18 to 19 miles an hour. She afterwards passed into the
possession of the Japanese; the story goes that when she was
making her first run with Japanese only on board, the Japanese
engineers, being unable to stop the engines, put the helm hard over
and sat down to wait with true Oriental patience until the steam gave
out and she stopped of her own accord. The Ly-ee-moon afterwards
passed into Australian ownership and she ran for a long time in the
excursion and coastal trade, and was finally wrecked in March 1886,
when seventy persons lost their lives.
The paddle-steamer Leinster was one of four constructed of iron
for the mail service between Holyhead and Kingstown in 1860 by
Samuda Bros. She had nine water-tight bulkheads. A vessel
intended for this service, on which exceedingly rough weather is at
times encountered, through which the vessels are driven at full
speed in order to ensure the punctual delivery of the mails, has to be
built very strongly to stand the strain of the rough seas. For this
purpose the paddle-boxes were formed of iron plates internally,
continued from the sides and bulwarks of the vessel together with a
strong girder extending from each bow. Two of the four, the Ulster
and Munster, were withdrawn from the service in 1896-7 and turned
into barquentines, their places being taken by larger vessels of the
same names. The present bearers of the names are twin-screws and
have triple-expansion engines. The engines of the former boats had
each two oscillating cylinders, 98 inches in diameter and having a
stroke of 78 inches, situated immediately below the paddle-shaft.
They had each eight multitubular boilers bearing steam at 20 lb.
pressure, arranged in pairs, four before and four abaft the engines,
and with their ends backed to the sides of the vessel so as to allow
of the stoking of the furnaces from a middle gangway. The paddle-
wheels, 32 feet diameter, had fourteen floats 12 feet in length by 5
feet in width. The indicated horse-power was 4751, and the average
speed in all weathers was 15¹⁄₂ knots.
 Model of the Engines of the “Leinster.”

Messrs. Scott, Russell and Co. launched at Millwall in September

1854, for a Sydney company, the steamer Pacific, which was
expected to prove one of the fastest vessels afloat. She was 270 feet
in length over all, breadth 82 feet, depth 34 feet, and tonnage 1200.
She had oscillating engines of 450 horse-power nominal and over
1000 effective, four independent boilers, and her feathering paddle-
wheels were of exceptional strength. She was estimated to steam
sixteen miles an hour.
 The “Pacific.”

There was launched in the beginning of 1861 by Messrs. Pearse

and Co. of Stockton-on-Tees, for the conveyance of troops on the
lower Indus, a vessel which fulfilled the rather unusual requirements
of a Government Commission appointed to discover the best means
of navigating the Indian rivers which, though broad, are often shallow
in places, and abounding in sandbanks. This vessel was 377 feet
over all, beam 46 feet, breadth over paddle-boxes 74 feet, depth 5
feet, with a displacement at 2 feet draught of 730 tons. Her tonnage
was 3991 under the old system of measurement. Her engines, by
Messrs. James Watt and Co., were of 220 nominal horse-power, with
horizontal cylinders of 55 inches diameter and 6 feet stroke. The
paddle-wheels were 26 feet in diameter. The hull was of steel
strengthened longitudinally by four arched girders, two of which
carried the paddle-wheels, and the other two extended nearly the full
length of the ship. Other girders strengthened her athwartships. She
had no rudders in the ordinary sense, but was steered at each end
by blades, which were raised from or lowered into the water at the
required angle. The vessel had two tiers of cabins, and could
accommodate 800 troops and their officers.
The paddle-steamer Athole, built by Messrs. Barclay, Curle and
Co., Ltd., in the year 1866, was the first steamer to be fitted with the
saloon above the upper deck. The credit for this improvement rests
entirely with the late Mr. John Ferguson, who was then manager of
the shipbuilding yard. So impressed were Lloyd’s that they desired
Mr. Ferguson to patent his improvement, but this he refused to do as
he considered it ought to be given to the shipbuilding world free of
royalty.
Messrs. A. and J. Inglis were the builders in 1882 of the steel
paddle-steamer Ho-nam, which has the distinction of being one of
the few, and probably the first, English-built vessels constructed on
the American plan. She was rigged as a two-master carrying fore
and aft sails only. Her paddles were placed very far aft, and she was
fitted with a walking beam-engine. She was constructed for the
Chinese coastal trade and was of 2364 tons gross register, and was
so successful that others of the same type followed.
These necessarily brief notices of some of the more remarkable
paddle-boats of modern times, together with references in other
chapters to paddle-steamers of still more recent years, are sufficient
to show that the earlier form of propulsion has never been entirely
superseded by the screw.
Possibly the earliest definite attempt to apply the screw for
propelling purposes was made by David Bushnell in his abortive
submarine exploit, an account of which appears in Chapter XII.
hereafter;[81] but the propeller seems to have been very primitive.
The screw propeller was also proposed in 1752 by the
mathematician Daniel Bernoulli. A patent was granted in 1794 to
William Lyttleton for a screw propeller which was caused to revolve
by an endless rope passing round a wheel at the end of the axle. It
was a distinct attempt to solve the problem and nearly succeeded,
but it failed because there was too much of it. Had he been
contented to use one pair of blades he would have obtained better
results than by using two pairs of wide blades and two odd blades,
arranged with three blades on either side of the axle so that his