1837.—"Buddhists are impressed with the conviction that their sacred and classical language, the Mágadhi or Páli, is of greater antiquity than the Sanscrit; and that it had attained also a higher state of refinement than its rival tongue had acquired. In support of this belief they adduce various arguments, which, in their judgment, are quite conclusive. They observe that the very word Páli signifies original, text, regularity; and there is scarcely a Buddhist scholar in Ceylon, who, in the discussion of this question, will not quote, with an air of triumph, their favourite verse,—
Sá Mágadhi; múla bhásá (&c.).
'There is a language which is the root; ... men and bráhmans at the commencement of the creation, who never before heard nor uttered a human accent, and even the Supreme Buddhos, spoke it: it is Mágadhi.'
"This verse is a quotation from Kachcháyanó's grammar, the oldest referred to in the Páli literature of Ceylon.... Let me ... at once avow, that, exclusive of all philological considerations, I am inclined, on primâ facie evidence—external as well as internal—to entertain an opinion adverse to the claims of the Buddhists on this particular point."—George Turnour, Introd. to Maháwanso, p. xxii.
1874.—"The spoken language of Italy was to be found in a number of provincial dialects, each with its own characteristics, the Piedmontese harsh, the Neapolitan nasal, the Tuscan soft and flowing. These dialects had been rising in importance as Latin declined; the birth-time of a new literary language was imminent. Then came Dante, and choosing for his immortal Commedia the finest and most cultivated of the vernaculars, raised it at once to the position of dignity which it still retains. Read Sanskrit for Latin, Magadhese for Tuscan, and the Three Baskets for the Divina Commedia, and the parallel is complete.... Like Italian Pali is at once flowing and sonorous; it is a characteristic of both languages that nearly every word ends in a vowel, and that all harsh conjunctions are softened down by assimilation, elision, or crasis, while on the other hand both lend themselves easily to the expression of sublime and vigorous thought."—Childers, Preface to Pali Dict. pp. xiii-xiv.
PALKEE-GARRY, s. A 'palankin-coach,' as it is termed in India; i.e. a carriage shaped somewhat like a palankin on wheels; Hind. pālkī-gāṛī. The word is however one formed under European influences. ["The system of conveying passengers by palkee carriages and trucks was first established between Cawnpore and Allahabad in May 1843, and extended to Allyghur in November of the same year; Delhi was included in June 1845, Agra and Meerut about the same time; the now-going line not being, however, ready till January 1846" (Carey, Good Old Days, ii. 91).]
1878.—"The Governor-General's carriage ... may be jostled by the hired 'palki-gharry,' with its two wretched ponies, rope harness, nearly naked driver, and wheels whose sinuous motions impress one with the idea that they must come off at the next revolution."—Life in the Mofussil, i. 38.
This description applies rather to the [cranchee] (q.v.) than to the palkee-garry, which is (or used to be) seldom so sordidly equipt. [Mr. Kipling's account of the Calcutta palki gari (Beast and Man, 192) is equally uncomplimentary.]
PALMYRA, s. The fan-palm (Borassus flabelliformis), which is very commonly cultivated in S. India and Ceylon (as it is also indeed in the Ganges valley from Farrukhābād down to the head of the Delta), and hence was called by the Portuguese par excellence, palmeira or 'the palm-tree.' Sir J. Hooker writes: "I believe this palm is nowhere wild in India; and have always suspected that it, like the tamarind, was introduced from Africa." [So Watt, Econ. Dict. i. 504.] It is an important tree in the economy of S. India, Ceylon, and parts of the Archipelago as producing [jaggery] (q.v.) or 'palm-sugar'; whilst the wood affords rafters and laths, and the leaf gives a material for thatch, mats, umbrellas, fans, and a substitute for paper. Its minor uses are many: indeed it is supposed to supply nearly all the wants of man, and a Tamil proverb ascribes to it 801 uses (see Ferguson's Palmyra-Palm of Ceylon, and Tennent's Ceylon, i. 111, ii. 519 seqq.; also see [BRAB]).
1563.—"... A ilha de Ceilão ... ha muitas palmeiras."—Garcia, ff. 65v-66.