[Preliminary Entry] Bhopāl śāstra, translated from the original Indian Bhopāl wa labh śāstra, is an encyclopedic work of general information and "a collection of Hindu name codes" (Hukk - Ethé - Robertson 1925, pp. 291-292) intended for the use of kings. It includes instructions for kings and rules for right conduct, statesmanship and administration according to Hindu traditions and may belong to the 10th/16th century. Bhopāl śāstra was translated from Sanskrit into Persian by an unknown Muslim. The author of the original, Parašurām, was a native of Niṣpāpa and the son of Deva Kṛṣṇa, who was said to be the foremost in knowledge among the Brahmins of his time. Parašurām was a pupil of Gītā Kṛṣṇa and, according to the translator of Bhopāl śāstra, specialized in astronomy and was well acquainted with arithmetic. He wrote and styled the present work at the request of his own pupils, who asked him to write a work full of instructions for the kings.
S. Kh.
v) Information on colophon; vi) Description of miniatures/illustrations; vii) Other remarks; viii) Information on catalogue(s)
Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Library, 326, 597 ff.
, ii)10th/16th century
, vi)In the manuscript there are a few blank spaces intended for diagrams and illustrations. On f. 244b, an illustration has been painted which shows a tortoise on the back of which the position of the hemisphere is marked with subdivisions of land
, vii)The manuscript might be the autograph, since it contains numerous corrections and additions
, viii)Hukk - et. al. 1925, pp. 291-292
.Hukk, Mohammed Ashraful - Ethé, Hermann - Robertson, Edward, 1925, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Arabic and Persian Manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library, Hertford.
Mujtabai, Fathullah, 1978, Aspects of Hindu-Muslim Cultural Relations, New Delhi, National Book Bureau, p. 86.
| Main Persian Title: | Bhopāl śāstra |
| English Translation of Main Persian Title: | Instructions for kings |
| Incipit: | بسم الله...چنین می گوید مصنف کتاب که اول خدا را بندگی می کنم-الخ |
| Dedicatee: | Parašurām's pupils |