20 also received from some other gentlemen a few notes concerning a few wolks that were either in their possession or came under their notice My acknowledgiments are due to all the gentlemen mentioned above This volunme (ontains the lives of about 350 poeis Ivho flourished from the beginning of the 15th century to the end of the 17th. Among these, ihnut 160 are Virasaivas, 75 Jainas, 60 Brahmanas, and 50 others. It is not to be supposed that every one of them was a gi eat poet. I have deemed it proper to include in the work every poet that came under my notice, as otherVise thei ( is every likelihood of the names of many ordinary poets being quite forgotten This volume includes many poets and u oihs not known before it may be roughly stated that nearly one half of the poets and works dealt with here are either (quite new or very little known. A careful study of the work will make this quite clear The first forty-two pages contain matter in the shape of additions anl correr tions belonging to the period treated of in the first volume A noticeable feature in Virasaiva literature is the number of oll works known as Vachanas written in simple lucid vigorous prose, with the object of popularising i eligious and philosophical truths I have put together in one place all the available information about these prose writers and given extracts from their works (pp. 105-124) Sunilarly I lave dealt with some of the titles of poets met with un literature (pp 175--178) Three appendixes are given at the end of the work. The first contains accounts of a few ports left out in the volume though belonging to the period dealt with in it, the second gives corrections and some items of additional information; and the third deals with an arcient poet that came under notice but I el ently At the beginning are given for convenience of reference tvo alphabetical lists, one, of the poets, and the other, of the works, treated of in the volume I do not venture 10 assert that this volume includes all the poets that flourished in the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries. I can however say this much, that no poei that has come under
