116 DR. BABASAHEB AMBEDKAR : WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
of the collation [1] of the text of Shloka 38 of the 60th chapter of the Shanti Parvan of the Mahabharata with which we are primarily concerned from different manuscripts is presented below :
शूद्र: पैजवनो नाम (K) S Shudrah Paijavano nama
शूद्र: पैलवनो नाम (M/1:M/2) S Shudrah Pailavano nama
शूद्रः यैलननो नाम (M/3 : M/4) S Shudrah Yailanano nama
शूद्रः यैजननो नाम (F) Shudrah Yaijanano nama
शूद्रोपि यजने नाम (L) Shudropi Yajane nama
शूद्रः पौंजलक नाम (TC) S Shudrah Paunjalka nama
शूद्धो वैभवनो नाम (G) N Shuddho Vaibhavano nama
पुरा वैजवनो नाम (A, D/2) Pura Vaijavano nama
पुरा वैजननो नाम (M) N Pura Vaijanano nama
Here is the result of the collation of nine manuscripts. Are nine manuscripts enough for constituting a text which has a number of variant readings? It is true that the number of manuscripts taken for the critical edition of the different Parvans of the Mahabharata exceeds nine. For the entire Mahabharata the minimum number of manuscripts taken for constituting the text is only ten. [2] It cannot therefore be contended that nine is an insufficient number. The nine manuscripts fall into two geographical divisions, Northern and Southern. M1, M2, M3, M4 and TC belong to the Southern recension. A, M, G, D2 belong to the Northern recension. The selections of the manuscripts therefore satisfy the two tests which experts have laid down.
1 I am grateful to the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute for allowing me to use their collation sheet. Letters in brackets indicate the index number given by the Institute to the manuscript. N or S indicate whether the manuscript comes from the North or South. K is Kumbhakonam.
2 Sukthankar, Vol. I, p. 14.