PREFACE
The original version of this study was accepted as a doctoral thesis by the Uni-versity of London in 1982. Early in the following year the Institute of Indian Studies, University of Groningen, published a few dozen photocopies of the orig-inal typescript, which did not circulate far beyond my immediate colleagues and others who had helped me in my research. The emergence of the Groningen Ori-ental Studies, and the appeal of Devanagari fonts developed by Frans Velthuis, gave the impetus for producing this revised edition. The only major change has been the transformation of the original romanized transcription back into Devanagari. The rest of my text remains the same, apart from a few stylistic changes, modifications, and minor additions.
Sanskrit and Hindi terms have been transcribed according to the system used by J.T. Platts in his Dictionary of Urdū, Classical Hindi and English. Anglicized spellings are given for names of places, languages, scripts and contemporary persons (apart from names of authors when they appear in the bibliography). Dates are given according to the Gregorian calendar unless otherwise indicated (viz. 'Hijri,' and 'VS' for Vikram Samvat). Manuscripts are referred to by the sigla given in the descriptive list that forms the first section of the bibliography. A few titles of publications frequently cited are referred to by abbreviations given at the beginning of the fourth section of the bibliography.
Research for this study would not have been possible without the assistance of Goswamis of the Eighth Gaddi. I am especially grateful to Goswami Shravan Lal, and above all to the late Goswami Ratan Lal, for their encouragement and the loan of manuscripts and other materials. I am also happy to thank Shri Devi Dayal, President of the Goswami Sati Kewalramji Memorial Society, for the hospitality extended to me during visits to Bohrianwala Thalla (New Delhi). While I was studying at the School of Oriental and African Studies my work was supervised by Professor J.C. Wright and Dr R.D. Gupta, to whom I am greatly indebted for their valuable guidance. I should also like to record my gratitude to Dr R.S. McGregor and Dr R. Snell for some suggested emendations, and to Professor C. Shackle for his helpful comments on the Panjabi poems that are included in the text. I am happy to acknowledge the Faculty of Letters, University of Groningen, for its financial support during the last two years of my research, and the Graduate School, University of Washington, for a substantial grant toward the cost of preparing this edition. Lastly, I should like to thank Dr Hans Bakker for his cooperation in bringing this study to press.
Alan W. Entwistle
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