114 See _Sacred Books of the East_, vol. i., Upanishads, Introduction,
p. lxxviii.
115 Dr. Bühler (_Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Bombay,_ 1877, p.
29) has the following interesting remarks: “The Bhûrga MSS. are
written on specially-prepared thin sheets of the inner bark of the
Himalayan birch (_Bœtula Bhojpatr._ Wallich), and invariably in
Sâradâ characters. The lines run always parallel to the narrow side
of the leaf, and the MSS. present, therefore, the appearance of
European books, not of Indian MSS., which owe their form to an
imitation of the Tâlapatras. The Himâlaya seems to contain an
inexhaustible supply of birch bark, which in Kasmîr and other hill
countries is used both instead of paper by the shopkeepers in the
bazaars, and for lining the roofs of houses in order to make them
water-tight. It is also exported to India, where in many places it
is likewise used for wrapping up parcels, and plays an important
part in the manufacture of the flexible pipe-stems used by hukâ
smokers. To give an idea of the quantities which are brought into
Srînagar, I may mention that on one single day I counted fourteen
large barges with birch bark on the river.... The use of birch bark
for literary purposes is attested by the earliest classical Sanskrit
writers. Kâlidâsa mentions it in his dramas and epics; Sustuta,
Varâhamihira (_circa_ 500-550 A. D.) know it likewise. As is the
case with nearly all old customs, the use of birch bark for writing
still survives in India, though the fact is little known. Mantras,
which are worn as amulets, are written on pieces of Bhûrga with
ash_t_au gandbâ_h_, a mixture of eight odoriferous substances—_e.
g._ camphor, sandal, tumeric—which vary according to the deity to
which the writing is dedicated. The custom prevails in Bengal as
well as in Gujarât. Birch-bark MSS. occur in Orissa. The Petersburg
Dictionary refers to a passage in the Kâ_th_aka, the redaction of
the Yajurveda formerly current in Kasmîr, where the word Bhûr_g_a
occurs, though it is not clear if it is mentioned there too as
material for writing on. The Kasmirian Pandits assert, and
apparently with good reason, that in Kasmîr all books were written
on bhûrgapattras from the earliest times until after the conquest of
the Valley by Akbar, about 200-250 years ago. Akbar introduced the
manufacture of paper, and thus created an industry for which Kasmîr
is now famous in India.”
116 Dr. Burnell, _Indian Antiquary_, 1880, p. 234, shows that
Koṅka_n_apura is Koṅka_n_ah_ll_i in the Mysore territory.