The second part of this holiday trip was a visit to the private library of Sanskrit manuscripts of Maharaja Ranbir Singh in the Raghunath Temple, Jammu.
Stein owed acquaintance to this collection of manuscripts from the reference of his illustrious teacher Georg Buhler. On arrival at Jammu, Stein was cordially received by Maharaja Pratap Singh and his brother Raja Amar Singh.
He was put up in the Jammu Dak Bungalow as the guest of the court. The grace and decorum allowed Stein an elephant as a part of the Royal transportation. Next, Stein had an audience with the Maharaja who received him in the open Durbar in the presence of his councilors and the other officials of the court. |
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Raja Amar Singh |
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"The Maharaja asked him to describe his father’s treasures and the state of European Sanskrit studies. In the Durbar, Stein was seated to the right of the Maharaja and flanked by Prince Amar Singh to the left and on the carpet before them the entire Durbar sat. Stein was desired to discourse in Sanskrit and then also to recite Vedic verses from books printed in Europe. Later he presented these books to the Maharaja as a token of gratitude and respect. In half an hour the audience was over. Guards fired a salute to Stein. Overwhelmed, Stein felt it was undeserved, as his elephant became restless by the boom.”
(from Aurel Stein - The Archaeological Explorer, by Jeannette Mirsky.)
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