1
OR
The second chapter of the Dabistan describes in
twelve sections the religious systems of the Hindus:
Section 1. Concerning the tenets of the Búdah-Mímánsa,
the followers of which are also called
Samártikan (Smártís), or “legalists,” and are orthodox
Hindus.
Sect. 2. Records some of their opinions relative
to the creation: their Purans (Tarikhs), or “histories,”
treat of the same subject.
Sect. 3. The religious ceremonies and acts of the
Smártís, and their orthodoxy.
Sect. 4. Treats of the followers of the Vedanta,
who form the philosophers and Súfís of this sect.
2
Sect. 5. Concerning those who profess the Sankhya
doctrines.
Sect. 6. Treats of the Jogís and their doctrines.
Sect. 7. Describes the tenets of the Saktíán.
Sect. 8. The opinions and ceremonies of the worshippers
of Vishnú.
Sect. 9. Treats of the Chárvákián.
Sect. 10. Describes the system of the Tárkikán,
who are profound investigators and deep thinkers
in theology.
Sect. 11. On the tenets held by the followers of
Búdah (Buddha).
Sect. 12. On various religious systems professed
by the people of India.
Section the first—concerning the orthodox Hindoo
system. As inconstant fortune had torn away
the author from the shores of Persia, and made him
the associate of the believers in transmigration and
those who addressed their prayers to idols and
images and worshipped demons, therefore the tenets
held by this most subtle class of reasoners come to
be considered next after those of the Parsees. It is
however necessary to premise, that among the Hindus
there are many systems of religion, and innumerable
3
creeds and ceremonies: but there is one
principal class of this people (as will be shown in
the tenth chapter), and its rank and dignity will be
brought into evidence.
Like Zardusht and the sages of antiquity, they
have recourse to metaphorical and enigmatical
figures of speech, as will appear evident in the
course of this narration. Long before the present
work, the author had from books ascertained their
various systems, according to a plan which he now
voluntarily abandons; as in the year of the Hejirah
1063 (A. D. 1653), whilst sojourning at Srikakul,
the capital of Kalinga,[1]
certain eminent persons who
were the author’s intimate friends, had travelled in
that direction for the purpose of visiting their holy
stations; one day a conference took place, on which
the author reviewed anew what he had before heard,
and with the pen of accuracy drew the line of erasure
over all that was doubtful; so that there was
found a wide difference between the first and second
work on these points.
Summary of the doctrines contained in the Budah
Mimansa.[2]
The whole world is not governed by
4
the orders of a real Lord, and there is in truth no
reality in his actual existence. Whatever of good or
evil, reward or punishment, attaches to created
beings, is entirely the result of their acts, deeds, and
words; mortals are altogether captive in the trammels
of their own works, and confined in the chains
of their own deeds: without previous acts they are
liable to no consequences. The sovereign, Brahma,
the creator of all things; the angelic Víshnu, their
preserver; and Mahesh, or Siva, the destroyer of existences,
attained to this exalted eminence through
means of righteous acts and holy deeds; nay, Brahma,
through the efficacy of worship, the power of
5
obedience, the might of his religious austerities, and
by his good actions, created the world; agreeably
to the express declaration of the Véda,[3]
which according
to the belief of the Hindus is a celestial revelation,
every dignity of the celestial orders is inseparably
connected with meritorious works and holy
deeds; and as the intellectual soul is of the same
nature as the angelic essence, the possessor may, by
the exercise of angelic qualities, become one of those
exalted dignities, and during a lengthened but definite
period, be invested with power and glory. For
instance, the human spirit, which in knowledge and
good works has attained to a degree accounted
worthy of the rank of Brahma, is, on the termination
of the period of sovereignty assigned to the
present Brahma, appointed to that predestined dignity:
the same principle also applying to the other
angelic degrees.
This tenet therefore leads to the same inference
as the opinions entertained by the distinguished
Parsee sages, namely: that the spirits of men, on
attaining complete perfection, become united to the
heavenly bodies, and after many revolutions, the
celestial souls are blended with the divine intelligences.
According to the Mobed:
“The cup-bearer poured into the goblet the wine of the celestial soul,
6
And filled the nine empyreal domes with the beverage of human spirit.”
The world has neither beginning nor ending;
moreover all spirits are enchained in the bonds of
their own acts and deeds; so that the spirit of high
rank which adopts the practices of the inferior, cannot
attain to the sublime rank peculiarly assigned
to exalted conduct; and the inferior spirit, sedulously
given up to the works of those eminent in
dignity, is enabled to obtain that glorious pre-eminence;
so that their meritorious works confer on
them knowledge; and the purity of their intellects,
in proportion to their elevation, conducts them to
high degrees and praiseworthy deeds. The dominion
obtained by an animal body over the human
soul arises from works; as in their members, physical
structure, and senses, all men are fashioned
after one model; but through the cause of becoming
or unbecoming deeds, one is a sovereign ruler, and
another a destitute dependent. Thus, through the
influence of praiseworthy acts, one is honored and
opulent; and owing to a subservience to foul deeds,
another lives degraded and indigent; the high and
dignified agent of opulence and honor falls not into
the depths of poverty, nor does the wretched slave
to acts of covetousness and avarice ever attain the
dignity of honor and riches. The world is the root
and productive soil of works, and time is their developer;
7
because, when their time comes, it brings
the fruit, just as every season produces the flowers,
sweet-scented plants, and fruits suitable to the
period; in like manner, the result of every act, whether
deserving of praise or censure, is made to adhere
to its agent, in whatever revolution that may
be proper for it. Works are divided into two kinds:
those which are to be performed; the other, those
which are to be avoided: under the first, come
those acts, the performance of which is enjoined in
the Vedas, or the celestial revelation, such as the established
worship and the requisite acts of obedience
which prevail among the Hindoos; under the second
head come those acts, the committing of which is forbidden
by the text of the celestial code; such as shedding
blood, theft, immoral practices, and other similar
acts there enumerated. The supreme Lord stands
not in need of our adoration and obedience, nor is
he in any want of us for the performance of the
above-mentioned duties at our hands; but the results
of our acts and deeds, in reference to rewards and
punishments, accrue and adhere to us. For instance,
if the invalid should adopt habitual moderation, he
obtains that health which is the object of his wishes,
and his existence is thereby rendered happy; but
should he, from a bias to reprehensible pleasures,
the concomitants of disease, withdraw from the
restraints of abstinence, his life becomes embittered;
8
the physician, in either case, being totally independent
of the patient’s welfare and sufferings. Moreover,
the world is the abode of disease, and human
beings are the patients: if they acquit themselves in
the most perfect manner of their prescribed duties,
and strenuously avoiding what ought not to be done,
they attain the state of health, the most elevated
degree of which is liberation from this degraded
body, and union with the ambrosial sweets of paradise;
which state is called Mukti by this sect; and
the mode of attaining the highest degree of Mukti is
not being immersed in the pleasures of this world,
plucking away the heart from the gratifications of
sense, being content with mere necessaries, abstaining
from food, breaking the fast with viands not
relished by the vile appetite, and such like: just as
in sickness, for the sake of dissolving the morbid
matter, it becomes necessary to fast one day, and to
swallow bitter draughts.
Such is the substance of the tenets professed by
the sect entitled Budah-Mimansá, which coincide
exactly with those of the Yezdáníáns, except that
the latter admit the being of the self-existent God,
the sole and true object of adoration; regarding
the acts and deeds performed in this world as the
means of elevation and degradation in the next;
holding the angelic dignities to be imperishable;
and esteeming human perfection to consist in attaining
9
to the society and service of the sublime assembly
in the court of heaven; whilst the followers of
the Budah Mimansa do not admit the existence of
the eternal and infinite Lord; but according to them,
the term “Almighty” signifies the human soul, acts,
and deeds. They also assert, that the blessings of
paradise are transitory, and that the angelic dignities
are liable to perish. However, the orthodox opinion,
which is most prevalent at this time, is this:
they admit the being of the truly-existing God, by
whom the world subsists; but account his holy
essence altogether exalted, and exempt from whatever
effects created beings. They also believe that
human beings are confined by the yokes of their own
works, and enchained by their deeds, in the manner
before stated.
Section the second treats of certain opinions
entertained by this sect concerning the creation:
a subject which is also discussed in their puranas
or histories.—In the second part of the Bhagavat,
one of their most esteemed Puránás, it is recorded
that the Almighty Creator, in the beginning, first
placed the mantle of existence on the bosom of Prakriti,[4]
or “nature,” and produced the fourteen Bhuvanas,[5]
10
or “worlds.” The first sphere is that of the
earth, which has been estimated by some of the
ancients at five Kotes (50 millions) of Yojans,[6]
each
Kote being equal to one hundred Lakhs (10 millions)
and each Jojun to one Parasang and one-third;
above the terrestrial is the aqueous sphere; above
which is that of fire; beyond which is the aërial, over
the celestial; beyond which is the Ahankar,[7]
or that
of “consciousness;” and higher than this is the
Mahat-tat (Mahat-tatwam)[8]
or “essence,” which is
11
equal to ten of those below it; and Prakrit having
enveloped it, intelligence penetrating through all
the things before said, rises above: on earth it
becomes knowledge; by means of water, there is
taste; by means of fire, form; by means of air, the
touch of cold and dry; by means of the heavens,
there is the perception of sound; and the organs of
perception, are the exterior senses; and the internal
sense is the seat of consciousness. In the same part
of the Bhagavat it is stated that, by nature, the heavens
are the vehicle of sounds; and consequently,
the nature of the air gives the perception of sound
and touch; in all other bodies the air is spirit, and
from it arises the energy of the senses. To the
nature of fire belongs the perception of sound,
touch and form; to the nature of water, that of
sound, touch, form, and savor; and to the nature
of earth, that of sound, touch, form, savor, and
odor.
Of the fourteen created spheres, seven rise above
the waist of the Almighty, and the remaining seven
correspond with the lower part of his body; according
12
to which enumeration the Bhú-lok,[9]
or the earth
and terrestrial beings form “his waist;” the Bhúvanlok,[10]
or the space between the earth and sun,
“his navel;” the Surlok,[11]
“his heart;” the Mehrlok,[12]
“his breast;” the Jonlok,[13]
“his neck;” the
Tapalok,[14]
“his forehead;” the Satyolok,[15]
“his head;”
the Atellok,[16]
“his navel and podex;” the Batellok,[17]
“his thigh;” the Sotollok,[18]
“his knee;” the Talátellok,[19]
“the calf of the leg;” the Mahátollok,[20]
“the
13
heel;” the Rasatollok,[21]
“the upper part of the
foot;” the Pátállok,[22]
“the sole of the foot.”
There is another division limited to three spheres:
the Bhúlok, “the sole of the Almighty’s foot;” the
Bhuvarlok, “his navel;” the Súrlók, “his head;” the
whole fourteen gradations in detail are thus reduced
to three, signifying a mighty personage, the same as
the Deity.
In the same section of that volume it is also stated,
that from the Almighty sprang Svabhávah,[23]
“the
self-existing;” that is, Nature and Time; from
Nature and Time proceeded forth Prakrit, which
signifies Símáí, “universe;”[24]
from Prakrit came
forth Mahat-tat;[25]
and from this latter, which is the
same as Mádah, “mental exaltation,” issued the
three Ahankárs, or modes of consciousness, “personality,
14
egotism,” Satek, Rajas, Tamas.[26]
Satek,
“goodness,” means “the intellectual energy;”
Rajas, or passion, “the attraction of vile propensities,”
or “sensual pursuits;” and Tamas (darkness),
“the repelling of what repugns,” in Arabic,
Ghazab, or “wrath.” From Rajas issued forth the
senses; from Satek, the lords of nature and the servants
of the existing beings; and from Tamas came
forth Shaid, “enchantment;” Shuresh, “confusion;”
Rup, “form;” Darsan, “sight;” and Gandah,
“smell;”[27]
that is, hearing, touch, sight, taste, and
smell; from which five were produced the heavens,
air, fire, water, and earth. Also from the three
above-mentioned properties (gunás) the three mighty
angels, Vishna, Brahma, and Mahísh, came into the
area of the creation.[28]
Moreover, for the purpose of
creation, eight other Brahmas were also impressed
by the first Brahma with the characters of existence,
and these became the various gradations of the spiritual,
15
corporeal, the high, the low, the mineral,
vegetable, and animal kingdoms.
In some of their treatises, God is the same as
time, works, and nature; whilst, according to
others, these are regarded as the instruments of his
majesty.
In other treatises, the Almighty is held to be light,
surpassingly great and splendid, of exceeding brilliancy
and radiance, corporeal, invested with members.
Other descriptions represent him as pure light,
abstract being, simple existence, unconfined by
place, exempt from transmigration, free of matter,
without parts, uncompounded, divested of the
attributes of accidents, and the creator of the
world, and all therein contained. According to other
dissertations, God is the producer of beginning and
end, exhibiting himself in the mirror of pure space,
containing the higher and lower, the heavenly and
terrestrial bodies.
It is stated in the first part of the Bhagavat, that
the truly-existing is an abstract being, one without
equal or opposite, who in the various languages
amongst the human race has denominations suited
to the belief of his worshippers, and that the mode
of attaining union with him depends on eradicating
wrath, extirpating bodily gratifications, and banishing
the influence of the senses. This holy essence
16
is called Naráyan,[29]
whose heads, hands, and feet
exceed all number.
At the period when this world and all it contains
were buried under the waters, Tot, or “intellect”
lay reclined in the sleep of unity, on the head of
Adsesh,[30]
the supporter of the earth. From the navel
of this exalted being appeared the lotus flower, called
by the Hindoos Kawal;[31]
out of which arose Brahma,
from the members of whose mighty existence all
created beings hastened into the area of visibility.
It is recorded in other treatises of this sect, that
they give the name of Naráyan, or “the majesty
without color,”[32]
that is, “without the qualities of
accidents,” to the absolute essence and abstract
being of God, who is in pure space. They say,
moreover, that his essence, which is devoid of all
forms, made a personage called Brahma, who was
constituted the medium of creation, so that he
17
brought all other existences from behind the curtain
of nonentity into the luminous area of being. In
like manner that sublime essence manifested itself
in the soul of Vishnu, so that he became an Avatár,
and to him is confided the preservation of whatever
Brahma created. That glorious essence next
called up Mahadeo, for the purpose of destroying
Brahma’s creation, whenever infinite wisdom requires
the transformation of the visible into the
invisible world; from which three agents arises the
arrangement of all things in the universe.[33]
They
say that Brahma is an aged man with four heads;
Naráyan, or Vishnu, holds in his hand the Chakra,
or Disk, “a sort of weapon;” he always assumes
the Avatárs, or “incarnations;” of which ten are
greatly celebrated. Avatár[34]
means appearance or
manifestation; Karan[35]
signifies cause; Brahma,
Vishnu, and Mahadeo are called Trikaran, or the
three causes.
In the Satya-Jog there was a Rakshas[36], named
18
Sámak Asur, who performed such great religious
austerities, that he became enabled to work miracles;
he having taken the Anant-Ved[37]
which was in
Brahma’s possession, and from which are derived
the four Vedas given to mankind, fled into the
water; on this, Vishnu, on the fifth day of the fifth
month, Chét,[38]
“March-April,”[39]
in the Kishn Bichah,
having assumed the Matsyávátar, or “the form of a
fish,” plunged into the water, slew the Rakshas, and
recovered the Veda: this was the first Avatar.
The second was the Kurmávátar, or “that of the
tortoise.” Anant Ved signifies “the numberless
Vedas;” Matsya, “a fish;” Avatár, “descent,” or
“manifestation;” Chét, “the fifth solar month;”
Kishn Bicheh, “that portion of the month which is
without moonlight and when the nights are
dark.”
On the twelfth of Chét, in the Kishn Bicheh, he
19
assumed the Kurmávátár, or “that of the tortoise.”
They say that the Angels and Deeves (Asurs), taking
the serpent Vásukir,[40]
formed with him a cord, and
fastening this to a lofty mountain called Mandára,[41]
made with it a churn-staff, which they moved about
in the mighty ocean, whilst Naráyan remained
under the mountain to prevent it from falling; and
by this agitation they procured the water of life.
In the kingdom of Kalinga, they have formed the
image of a tortoise, and among the wonderful sights
of that region is the following miraculous event: if
they cast the bones of a Brahman or a cow into the
adjacent reservoir, in the course of a year one half
of it becomes stone, and the other half remains
unchanged. It is worthy of remark, that some
Persian astronomers represent the constellation
Cancer by a tortoise, nay call it by that name, instead
of Kharchang, or “crab.” Ferdúsi, the sage,
thus expresses himself:
“The lunar lord beheld the ascendancy of the tortoise.”
And as they account Cancer the ascendant sign of
the world, it is therefore likely that the ancient
20
Hindú philosophers represented this constellation[42]
under the figure of the Kurma, or “tortoise;” also
by the Matsya, or “fish,” is meant the constellation
Hút, or “Pisces.”
The third was the Baráh, or “boar Avátar,” when
a Rakshas, named Karanyáksha, having taken away
the earth and carried it under the water, Vishnu, on
the sixteenth of Chet in the Shakl Pacheh,[43]
or “bright
half of the moon,” assumed the form of a boar,
21
slew the demon with his tusks and brought out the
earth.
The fourth was the Narsinha, or “man-lion Avátar.”
There was a Rakshas named Kiranya Kashípú,
whose son, Prahláda, worshipped Vishnu, and as his
father persecuted him on that account, Vishnu, therefore,
on the fourteenth of Baisakh,[44]
in the Shakl
Pacha, or “bright half of the moon,” having assumed
the form of the Narsingh, whose head and claws
were those of a lion joined to a human body, slew
the demon Kiranya Kashipú.
The fifth was the Vá-mana, or “dwarf Avatar.”
When the Rakshas, Bali daitya, through his religious
exercises and austerities had become lord of
the three worlds, that is, of all above the earth and
below it and the heavens, so that the angels were
hard pressed and deprived of their power; Vishnu,
therefore, on the twelfth of Bhadun[45]
in the Shakl
Pachah, descended in the Vámanah Avátár, and coming
into the presence of Bali, requested as much of the
earth as he could traverse in three steps: to this
Bali consented, although Sukra, or “the planet Venus,”
the director and guardian of the demons, exhorted
22
him not to grant the request, saying: “This
is Vishnu, who will deceive thee.” Bali replied:
“If he come to me as a suitor, what can answer
my purpose better?” Vishnu, on this, included
the whole earth in one step, the heavens in the
second, and in the third, rising up to his navel,
said to Bali, “Whither can I pass?” Bali, on this,
presented his head; on which Vishnu, who saw
this, having placed his foot, sent Bali[46]
below the
earth, where he has ever since continued to reign
with sovereign power, during many hundred thousands
of years. It is to be noted, that Vá-mana
means a dwarf, as he was a diminutive Brahman.
23
The sixth Avátar was Paras u Rama.[47]
The Chatri,
or “military caste,” having become evil doers, in
consequence of this, Vishnu, on the seventh of Bhadun,
in the Shakl pachah, or “bright half of the moon,”
assumed the Avátar of Parasúram, who was of the
seed of the Brahmans. In this incarnation he exterminated
the Chettri class so utterly, that he even
ripped open their females and slew the fœtus. According
to the Hindus, Parasuram is always living;
they call him Chirangivah, or “long-lived.”
The seventh is the Ram Avátar:[48]
when the tyranny
of the Rakshas Rávana, sovereign of the demons,
had exceeded all bounds, Vishnu, on the ninth of
Chet in the Shaklpachah, becoming incarnate in
Rama, who was of the Chettri caste, overthrew at
that time Rávána, chief of the demons of Lanka,
(Ceylon). Now Lanka is a fort built of golden
ingots, situated in the midst of the salt ocean. He
also recovered Sita,[49]
the wife of Rama, who had
24
had been taken away by the Rokshas, which is a
name given by the Hindoos to a frightful demon.
The eighth was the Krishn Avátar. When Vishnu,
in the Dwapar-Jog, on the eighth of Bhádún, in the
Kishn pachah, having assumed the Avátar of Krishna,
slew Kansá. Krishna was also of the Chettri or
“military caste.”
The ninth was the Budh avatar. When ten years
only of the Dwapar-Jog remained,[50]
Vishnu, in order
to destroy the demons and evil genii, the causers of
night, assumed the Avátar of Buddha, on the third
of Baisakh, in the Shakl pacheh.
The tenth Avátar is to occur at the expiration of
the Kali-jug, for the purpose of destroying the Mlechas,
or “enemies of the Hindoos.” The Kalki Avátar
is to take place on the third of Bhádún, in the
Shakl Pachah, in the city of Sumbul, in the house
of a Brahman named Jasa. Kalki is also to be of
the Brahman caste. He will destroy the corruptions
of the world, and all the Mlechas, that is,
Muhammedans, Christians, Jews, and such like,
25
are to be entirely extirpated: after which the Satyog,
or “golden age,” is to return.
They moreover maintain, that the contingently-existing
inhabitants and beings of earth are unable
to penetrate into the presence of the necessarily-existing
sovereign, and that the essence of the
Creator is too exalted for any created beings to
attain to an acquaintance with it, notwithstanding
the high knowledge and piety with which they may
be adorned: it therefore seemed necessary to the
Almighty God to descend from the majesty of abstractedness
and absolute existence, and exhibit
himself in the various species of angels, animals,
man, and such like, so as to enable them to attain
to some knowledge of himself. They therefore
assert, that for the purpose of satisfying the wishes
of his faithful servants, and tranquillizing their
minds, he has vouchsafed to manifest himself in this
abode, which manifestation they call an Avátar and
hold this to be no degradation to his essence.
This tenet has been thus interpreted by Shidosh,
the son of Anosh: According to the Súfís, the
first wisdom is the knowledge of God, and of the
universal soul, his life; and in this place they have
expatiated upon the attributes of the Almighty;
thus by Brahma they mean his creative power; and
by the old age of Brahma is implied his perfection:
philosophers also call the first intelligence, the intellectual
26
Adam, and the universal soul, the intellectual
Eve. The sage Sunai has said:
“The father and the mother of this gratifying world,
Know, is the soul of the word,
[51]
and the sublime wisdom.”
By Vishnu is meant his attribute of divine love,
and also the universal soul; and they give the name
of Avátar to the spirit derived from the soul of the
first heaven; in which sense they have said: “Avátars
are rays issuing from Vishnu’s essence.”
But these sectaries do not mean that the identical
spirit of Rám, on the dissolution of its connection
with his body, becomes attached to the body of
Krishna; for they themselves assert that Parsurám
(the sixth Avátar) is immortal, and his body everlasting.
When Rámachandra became incarnate, he encountered
the other; and Parsurám, having posted
himself on the road with hostile intentions, Rámachandra
said: “Thou art a Brahman and I a Chettri:
it is incumbent on me to show thee respect:”
then applying the horn of his bow to Parsurám’s
foot, he deprived him of all power. When Parsurám
27
who is now along with his wife in the heavens,
enrolled among the stars: he was the instructor of
Rama, and brought him to the knowledge of himself;
and his counsels to Ráma have been collected
by the Rishi Valmiki in the History of Ráma, called
the Ramáyana, and the name of Jog-Vashishta, given
to them, which they call Indrazaharájóg Vashishta.[54]
Some parts of these tales were selected by a Brahman
of Kashmir, and afterwards translated into
Persian by Mulla Muhammed, a Súfí. To resume:
Ráma, on hearing this expression from Parsurám,
said: “My arrow, however, errs not:” he then
discharged some arrows which have become the
janitors of paradise, and do not permit Parsurám to
enter therein. This parable proves that they are
by no means taken for Avátars of Naryáan; as, although
Pursurám and Rám were two Avátárs of
Vishnu, yet they knew not each other. Again, it
is an established maxim among philosophers, that
one soul cannot be united in one place with two
distinct bodies. Besides, it is certain that they give
the name “Avatárs of Naráyan” to the souls which
emanate from the universal soul; and that they call
Naráyan the soul of the empyreal, or the fourth heaven.
As to their assertions that Naráyan is God,
28
found himself destitute of strength, he asked
his name, and on learning that it was Ramachandra,
he was greatly astonished, and said: “Has Rámachandra’s
Avátar taken place?” and Rámachandra
having replied “Certainly,” Parsurám said:
“My blow is not mortal, I have taken away thy
understanding.” On this account it happened
that Rámachandra possessed not intelligence in his
essence, and was unacquainted with his true state,
wherefore they style him the Mudgha, or stupid
Avátar.[52]
Vasishta, one of the Rishies,[53]
or “holy sages,”
29
and their acknowledging his Avátars as God, and
their saying that the Almighty has deigned to appear
under certain forms, all this means that a Naráyan
is the same with the universal soul, which the Súfees
entitle “the life of God.” As life is an attribute of
the Almighty, and the perfection of attributes constitutes
his holy essence, consequently the souls
which emanate from the universal soul, or that of
the empyreal heaven, which is the life of God, know
themselves, and acquire the ornaments of pure
faith and good works; and also, on being liberated
from body, they become identified with the universal
soul, which is Vishnu, or the life of God, agreeably
to this saying: “He who knows his own soul, knows
God:” that is, he becomes God.
As to their acknowledging the fish, tortoise, and
boar to be incarnations of the divinity, by this they
mean, that all beings are rays emanating from the
essence of the Almighty, and that no degradation
results to him therefrom, according to this narration
of the Mir Sáíd Sharif, of Jarjan (Georgia).
As a Súfí and rhetorician were one day disputing,
the latter said: “I feel pain at the idea of a God
who manifests himself in a dog or hog:” to which
the Súfee replied: “I appeal from the God who
displays not himself in the dog.” On this, all
present exclaimed: “One of these two must be an
infidel.” A man of enlightened piety drew near,
30
and showing them the exact import of these expressions,
said: “According to the belief of the rhetorician,
the dignity of God is impaired by his manifesting
himself in the dog; he is therefore distressed
at the idea of a God thus deficient. But,
according to the Súfee, the non-appearance of
God in that animal would be a diminution of his
dignity, he therefore appeals against a God deficient
in this point: consequently, neither of them
is an infidel.” So that, in fact, the Súfís and
these sectaries entertain the same opinions.
The author of this work once said to Shídósh:
“We may affirm that by the fish is meant the lord,
or conservative angel, of water;” as, according
to their mythology, a demon having taken the Vedas
under that element, was pursued and slain by Vishnu,
and the Vedas brought back: thus their mention of
a fish originated from its inseparable connection
with water. By the tortoise is meant the lord, or
conservative angel, of earth; as their mythology
relates, that the Avátar of the tortoise occurred for
the purpose of the earth being supported on its back,
as is actually the case; they have also especially
mentioned the tortoise, as it is both a land and aquatic
creature, and that after water comes earth. By
the boar are meant the passions and the propagation
of living creatures; and as to the tradition of a
demon having stolen away the earth and taken it
31
under the water, and of his being pursued by Vishnu
under the form of a boar, and slain by his tusks, its
import is as follows: the demon means dissolute
manners, which destroyed the earth with the deluge
of sensuality; but on the aid of the spirit coming,
the demon of dissoluteness was overthrown by the
tusks of continence: the boar is particularly mentioned,
because its attribute is sensuality; and it was
reckoned an Avátár, because continence is virtue.
The Narsinh, or “man-lion,” is the lord, or conservative
angel of heroism; and as this constitutes a most
praiseworthy quality, they said, that the Narsinh
was a form with a lion’s head and a human body,
for when they spoke of impetuous bravery in a
man, they made use of the term “lion.” By Vámana,
or “dwarfish stature,” they meant, the lord of
reason, strength of reflection, and an intellectual
being; the dwarfish stature implying that, notwithstanding
a diminutive person, important results may
be obtained through him; as in almost a direct allusion
to this, people say: “An intelligent man of
small stature is far superior to the tall blockhead.”
By Rajah Bali, they typify generosity
and liberality.
Shidósh was delighted at this interpretation, and
said: “They have also recorded that Krishna had
sixteen thousand wives; and when one of his
friends who thought it impossible for Krishna to
32
visit all of them, said to try him: ‘Bestow on me
one of thy wives,’ Krishna answered: ‘In whatever
female’s apartment thou findest me not, she
is thine.’ His friend went into the different
apartments, but in every one of them he beheld
the god engaged in conversation with its mistress.”
This story implies, that the love of Krishna
was so rooted in their hearts, that they cared for
none besides, having his image present to their eyes,
and dwelling every moment on his beloved idea.
The tradition of Vishnu’s always bearing the
Chakra in his hand (a kind of military weapon),
alludes to the knowledge and decisive demonstration
which are unattainable without the aid of soul.
In Mahadeo, they allude to our elementary nature
by the serpent twined round his neck; they mean
anger, and the other reprehensible qualities which
result from corporeity; by his being mounted on
a bull, the animal propensities; by the tradition of
his place of repose being the site for burning the
dead, is signified, the total dispersion of the particles
of bodies and the perishable nature of things.
Mahadeo’s drinking poison is also to the same purport.
In this sense they also say that Mahadeo is
the destroyer of all worldly things; that is, elemental
nature imperatively requires the dissolution of combination
(connection), and that ultimately death
comes in the natural course.
33
They also hold that every angel has a wife (female
energy), of a similar generic constitution, and
originally derived from Brahma; and as we have
before stated, the philosophers call the first intelligence
the True Sire, and the universal soul, Eve;
and thus he is the head and the wife the shoulder;
the universal soul is the body of the empyreal heaven;
and in like manner the other celestial souls and
bodies have wives of the elementary nature; as they
give the appellation of wife, or energy, to whatever
is the manifest source of action.
Moreover the established doctrine held by these
sectaries is, that each class should worship a particular
angel, and the wife or female energy of that
angel; the worshipper regarding the object of his
adoration as God, and all others, as created beings;
for example, many believe Naráyan to be the supreme
God; several others, look up to Mahadéo, and
many to the other male and female divinities; and
thus, pursuant to the four Védas, which according
to their common belief are a celestial revelation,
they do not hold any angel who is the object of
their praise as distinct from God: by which they
mean that God, who is without equal, having
manifested himself under innumerable modes of
appearance, contemplates the glorious perfection
of his essence in the mirrors of his attributes; so
that, from the most minute atom to the solar orb,
34
his holy and divine essence is the source of all that
exists.
“To whatever quarter I directed my sight, thou appearedst there;
How widely art thou multiplied, even when thy features are unseen!”
The Fakir Arzú says: the above interpretation
is confirmed by this tradition of the Hindus, that
Agasti,[55]
a star, was formerly a holy man, who once
collected all the waters in the palm of his hand, and
swallowed the whole; which means that Agasti is
the same as Sohail, a star adjacent to the south pole,
on the rising of which, all the water that has fallen
from heaven is dried up, agreeably to the Arabic
saying:
“When Suhail ascends, the torrents subside.”
Many enigmatical and figurative expressions of
a similar description occur in their writings; for
example, Mahésh or Mahadeo, is an angel with matted
locks and three eyes, which are the sun, moon, and
fire; he has also five heads; his necklace is formed
of a serpent, and his mantle of an elephant’s hide.
There are nine Brahmas, eleven Rudras or Mahadeos,
35
twelve suns, and ten regions, viz.: east, west,
south, north, zenith, Nadir, Akni, “between east
and south;” Níreti, “between south and west;”
Dayab, “between west and north;” and Isan,
“between north and east.” The angels are in
number thirty-three Kotes, or three hundred and
thirty millions, each Kote consisting of one hundred
Laks, or ten millions. These angels have
spiritual wives, who produce a spiritual offspring.
They likewise hold human spirits to be an effulgence
proceeding from the divine essence; if to
knowledge they add good works, with a clear perception
of themselves and of God, they return to
their original source; but should they not know
themselves and God, and yet perform praiseworthy
acts, they dwell in Paradise, where they
remain during a period of time proportioned to their
meritorious works; on the expiration of which
period they are again sent down to this lower world,
and again to receive a recompense proportioned to
their deeds.
The actions even of the inhabitants of Paradise
undergo an investigation, and are attended with
reward or punishments duly graduated. They also
hold that all those persons who are not sufficiently
worthy of entering into paradise, but who have
observed religious ordinances in order to obtain
dominion and worldly enjoyments, shall acquire
36
their object in a future generation. They also say,
in respect to any great personage, in whose presence
the people stand girt with the cincture of obedience,
that the rewards and results are, that this
person continues in a suppliant attitude devoted to
the service of God and those individuals who prostrate
themselves before him, are in fact humbling
themselves in adoration of the Almighty; in short,
they hold all splendor and greatness as the rewards
of alms and good works; thus they relate that whilst
the incarnation of Rámchandra abode in the desert,
he sent his brother Lachman to bring some roots of
herbs in order to break his fast; but, notwithstanding
a diligent search, he being unable to find any,
returned and represented this to Rámchand, who
replied: “The earth abounds in food and drink;
but in a former generation, on this very day, I
omitted the performance of an act which would
have been well pleasing in the sight of God,
namely, that of contributing to the sustenance of
indigent Brahmans.”
They moreover believe that evil-doers, after death,
become united to the bodies of lions, tigers, wolves,
dogs, swine, bears, reptiles, plants, and minerals,
in this world, and receive under these forms their
well merited punishment; but that those who have
been guilty of aggravated crimes are hurried off to
the infernal regions, where they remain suffering
37
torture during a period of time proportioned to
their evil deeds; and when they have undergone the
destined punishment, they again return to this world.
They also believe that there is in paradise a sovereign,
named Indra, and that whoever offers up a
hundred Aswamédas,[56]
becomes Indra. When his
appointed time in paradise, in the full enjoyment
of sovereign power has passed, he is on the expiration
of that period to descend to the lower world,
and there obtains a recompense proportioned to his
38
acts. Moreover, Indra’s spouse is named Sachí
Devi, and falls to the share of the person who
attains the rank of Indra. Note: by Aswaméda is
meant the sacrifice of a horse of a certain color, and
according to certain established rites. However,
by Aswaméd, their learned doctors understand
“abnegation of the mind:” for imagination is a
fierce charger, the sacrifice of which is an imperative
duty on the religious ascetic; or it may allude to the
destruction of the animal passions.
They also believe that angelic beings are subject
to concupiscence, and wrath, and the cravings of
hunger and thirst; their food consisting of perfumes
and incense, sacrifices, meat and drink offerings,
with the alms and oblations made by mankind; and
their beverage, the water of life.
They also assert that the stars were holy personages,
who, on leaving this world of gloom, through
the efficacy of religious mortifications became luminous
bodies, ascending from the lower depths of
this abode of the elements to the zenith of the crystalline
sphere; nay, their birth-place, name, family,
with the names of their fathers and grandfathers,
are carefully enumerated in the sacred volumes of
this sect. Thus they say that Sanicher (the slow-traveller)
or Saturn, is the son of the glorious Luminary;
and Mirrikh or Mars, the son of the Earth;
the world-enlightening sun, the issue of Kashyapa,
39
the son of Maríchí, the son of Brahma; Zóhrah (or
the regent of Venus) the son of Bhrigu; and Utáred
(Mercury) the son of Kamer (the regent of the moon).
Some however maintain the moon to be the son of
Attri the Holy, but, according to others he is sprung
from the sea of milk.
[57]
*These opinions contain a marked allusion to
the tenets held by the distinguished Parsi sages,
namely, that the intellectual soul has a relation to
that sphere with which its good actions are connected:
they consequently apply the denomination
of Sun to the spirit of one united to the sun,
and his father is entitled “the father of the Sun.”*
The writer of this work once observed to Shídósh,
the son of Anosh: “Perhaps they mean by the sires
of the stars, their presiding intelligences, as in
the technical language of philosophers, the name
of sires is also given to the intelligences, on which
account Jesus called the Almighty ‘Father.’”
According to them the elements are five in number,
the fifth being the Akas (or ether), which word in
its common acceptation means “the heavens;” but
according to the learned it implies empty space, or
space void of matter. One of their distinguished
doctors, Sumitra, son of the Ray of Kalinga, holds
that Akas, which the Greek Platonists call space, is
40
simple and uncompounded. Damudar Das Kaul,
a learned Brahman of Kashmir, also holds Akas to
signify space; and space is understood by the Platonists
among the Yonian to be an extent void of any
substance (a vacuum), which may be divided into
parts, the totality of which parts may be equivalent
to that extent of the general vacuum which is congruous
and equal to it, in such a manner as to comprise
every particle of that extent which is the space
in every particular division of the general space.
There is an extent interposed between two things,
and this extent is void and free of matter. According
to their account, no better interpretation of Akas
than that which is conveyed by the word space, can
be offered.[58]
41
They moreover assert that the heavens have no
existence, and that the constellations and stars are
fixed in the air. According to them there are seven
samudras, that is oceans, on this earth: the salt sea,
that of sugar-cane juice, the sea of spirituous liquors,
that of clarified butter, the sea of curds, the
lacteal, and lastly, that of sweet waters. They also
say that there rises above the earth a mountain
called Su-Meru[59]
entirely formed of the purest gold,
on which the angelic beings reside, and around
which the stars revolve. There are nine spheres,
namely: those of the seven planets, with those of
Rás and Zanab (the head and tail of the dragon),
which are also borne along in their celestial vehicles.
Rás and Zanab are two demons who drank the water
42
of life, whom Vishnu, at the suggestion of the sun
and moon, smote with a weapon called the Chákra,
or disk, and rent open their throats; in revenge for
which, the moon is devoured by Rás, and the sun by
Zanab; but as their throats are rent open, whatever
is taken in at the mouth issues at the aperture in
the throat: by this allegory they allude to the lunar
and solar eclipses.[60]
Brahma dwells in a city called Rást Lok;[61]
Vishnu
in a region called Vaikanth; and Mahadeo on a mountain
of silver named Káilasa. They also maintain
that the fixed stars have no actual existence, but
that the objects which shine by night are couches of
gold set with diamonds and rubies, on which the
inhabitants of paradise repose. [62]*On this Shidosh
remarks: “It is agreed that paradise means the
heavens, and also that the fixed stars are in the
43
eighth heaven; so that, consequently, the heavens
constitute the couches of the souls.”*[63]
They esteem the majesty of the great light as the
supreme of angelic beings, and on a careful investigation
of their books, acknowledge no existence as
superior to him in dignity; as the constitution of
elemental compounds, and the existence of all beings
is dependent on and connected with his auspicious
essence. They moreover regard Brahma, Vishnu,
and Mahesh, the radiance and reflexion of his light;
saying, it is his majesty alone which, by its acts and
operations, is called by these three names. They
represent him as a sovereign, in the human form,
seated in a chariot which signifies the fourth heaven,
to which are attached seven horses, with angels and
spiritual beings, accompanied by royal trains and
gorgeous pomp, continually passing before his majesty.
They also esteem him as the source of existence
and as universal existence. *They also believe
the earth to be the skin of a Raksh or evil genius,
who was put to death, and his skin stretched out:
the mountains are his bones; the waters his blood;
the trees and vegetables his hair. By Raksh they
mean a demon, which here implies the material
elements on this earth, which according to them
is supported on four legs; alluding in this to the
44
nature and number of the elements, each of which
rests on its own centre.
According to them Saturn limps, which typifies
his long period of revolution; and Bhúm, or
Maríkh, “Mars,” is a demon, on which account
they ascribe to him a malignant influence.* Zoharah,
or “the regent of Venus,” is the director
of the demons, and to this planetary spirit they
ascribe the sciences and religions of the barbarians,
and the creeds of foreign nations.
The Muhammedan doctors say, that Islamism is
connected with this planet, from which source proceeds
the veneration paid by them to Friday, or the
day of Venus. Múshteri, “Jupiter,” is accounted
the director of the angels, and the teacher of the
system of Brahma, which is conveyed in a celestial
language, not used at present by any beings of elemental
formation: thus, although the Koran is a
divine revelation, the language of it is in general
use among the Arabs; but the four Véds which the
Hindus account a celestial volume, is written in
Sanskrit, a language spoken in no city whatever,
and found in no book, save those of a particular sect:
it is called by them “the speech of angelic beings.”
The Véda was given to them by Brahma, for the
due arrangement of human concerns. By angels
or divine beings, they mean eloquent speakers, and
learned authors, who, being illuminated by the
45
effulgence of primitive wisdom, interpreted whatever
was revealed to them. It is to be remarked,
that every one who pleases may derive from the
Védas arguments in favour of his particular creed,
to such a degree, that they can support by clear proofs
the philosophical, mystical, unitarian, and atheistical
systems, faith, and religion; Hinduism,
Judaism, Christianity, fire-worship, the tenets of
the Sonites, or those of the Shíâs, etc.; in short,
these volumes consist of such ingenious parables
and sublime meanings, that all who seek may have
their wishes fulfilled.
They say that the Almighty is a great body, and
that all other beings are in his belly; which resembles
the opinions maintained by the venerable Shaikh
Shahbáb ud deen Maktúl, whose tomb may God sanctify!
namely, that the universe is one body, which
contains all others in existence, and is called the
universal body. It has one spirit, which comprehends
all others, and is called the universal soul;
and one single object of intelligence, from which
they derive all intelligences, calling it the universal
intelligence. It is stated in the Mujmal al Hikmat,
or Compendium of Philosophy, that the Almighty
is the spirit of spirit; and according to Azar Húshangian,
“the intellect of intellect.” Shaikh Bó Ali[64]
46
(whose place of repose may God illuminate!) thus
speaks:
“The Almighty is the soul of the universe, and the universe the reunion of all bodies;
The different angelic hosts are the senses of this frame;
The bodies, the elements, and the three kingdoms are its members;
All these are comprehended in the divine unity; all other things are illusion.”
This sect gives the appellation of Rakshas, which
means evil genii or demons, to all those who do not
profess their faith, and who perform not good
works.
Time, in Hindawi Kal, is a measure of the movement
of the great sphere, according to the philosophers
of Greece and Persia. The author has also
heard from the Brahmans, and in conformity to the
opinions ascribed to the most distinguished persons
of their caste, it is stated in the work entitled Muadan
Ushshaffai Iskandari (a selection taken from several
Hindi medical treatises), that time, according to the
Hindu philosophers, is a necessarily-subsisting immaterial
substance, durable, incorporeal, that will ever
last, and admits not of annihilation. Time has been
divided into three kinds, namely, past, present, and
future; but, as in their opinion time admits neither
of alteration nor extinction, these divisions are not
in reality its attributes, although correctly used
when applied to acts performed in time. According
to the succession of acts, they figuratively describe
47
time as past, present, and future; as in reference to
the solar revolutions and phases, they call it by the
names of days, nights, months, years, and seasons:
in short, they have so many intricate distinctions of
this same nature, that the mere attempt to enumerate
them would fill several volumes. They all
agree that this world is to continue for four ages:
the first, the Rast yug, “the righteous,”[65]
which lasted
one million seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand
common years; during which, all human beings,
high and low, exalted and humble, princes
and servants, adhered to the practice of righteousness
and truth, passing their glorious existence in a
manner conformable to the divine will, and devoted
to the worship of the Almighty; the duration of
human life in this age extended to one hundred
thousand common years. The second, the Treta
Yug,[66]
which lasted one million two hundred and
ninety-six thousand common years: during this
period, three-fourths of the human race conformed
to the divine will, and the natural duration of life
extended to ten thousand years. The third was
the Dwapar Yug,[67]
which lasted eight hundred and
48
sixty-four thousand ordinary years, during which
one half the human race performed good works and
their life was limited to a thousand years. The
fourth is the Kali Yug,[68]
or “iron age,” which is to
last four hundred and thirty-two thousand years,
during which three-fourths of the human race will
be immersed in sin, infatuation, and evil works, and
the term of human life reduced to a hundred and
twenty ordinary years. These four ages (4,320,000
years) they call a Chakra, and seventy-one Chakras
a Manwantar; on the expiration of seventy-one Chakras,
there elapses one day of the life of India, the
ruler of the upper world; and on the expiration of
fourteen Manwantars, reckoned according to the
preceding calculation, one day of Brahma’s life is
terminated.
They say, that the Almighty, having united himself
with Brahma’s body, created the world through
his medium: Brahma thus became the Creator, and
brought mankind into existence, making them of
four classes, namely: the Brahman, Chattriya, Vaisya,
and Sùdra. To the first were assigned the
custody of laws and the establishment of religious
ordinances; the second class was formed for the
purposes of government and external authority,
being appointed the medium for introducing order
49
into human affairs; the third was composed of husbandmen,
cultivators, artisans, and tradesmen; and
the fourth for every description of service and
attendance. All races not comprised in one of these
four divisions are not accounted of human origin
but of demoniacal descent: however the demons or
Rakshas, through the practice of religious austerities,
attained to such dignity that Brahma, Vishnu,
and Mahesh (Siva) became their attendants. Thus
Rávan,[69]
through the efficacy of religious mortification,
became lord of the world and its inhabitants;
Brahma was reader of the Vedas at his court; the
sun filled the office of cook; the clouds were his
cup-bearers, and the wind his chamberlain.
[70]Finally, according to the sectaries, the life of
Brahma lasts a hundred extraordinary years of three
hundred and sixty days, with nights corresponding
to the days,[71]
so that up to the present time, that is,
50
the period of composing this work, in the year of the
Hejira 1055 (A. D. 1645), there have elapsed four
thousand seven hundred and forty-six years of the
Kali-Yug. So many Brahmas have appeared, that
the sums of their years exceed the limits of human
comprehension; they have merely a tradition that
one thousand Brahmas have successively appeared
and been annihilated; so that the present is the
thousand and first, of whose life fifty years and
half a day are expired, which commences the half-day
of the fifty-first year. As soon as the age of
Brahma terminates, according to the preceding calculation,
or amounts to the destined number, he
then forms twelve blazing suns, whose heat and
splendor consume alike both earth and water, so
51
that there remains not a vestige of this world or its
productions, and mankind plunge beneath the waters,
which catastrophe is called Pralaya, in Hindawi:
after this event, another Brahma appears and creates
the world anew, which process of dissolution
and reproduction continues to all eternity. The
Hakim Umr Khakani says:
“Those who adorn the heavens, which are a particle of time,
Come, and depart again, re-appear on the same stage—
For, in the skirts of heaven and the robe of earth, there is
A creation which is successively born as long as God exists.”
By the prolonged periods of duration ascribed to
these celestial personages, they allude to the antiquity
of the world, which is so immensely great that
it cannot be comprised in numbers. The man of
spiritual attributes, Shídosh, the son of Anosh,
says: “On the termination of the great cycle, human
creatures reappear, and the water enveloping the
terrestrial globe becomes of the same radical
constitution as the waters on high; again, through
the intense heat of the luminary, the water disappears,
and twelve suns are formed: from the
ascent of vapors and the blending of exhalations,
the celestial disks are enveloped, when the tailed
comets, which the Persians call ‘minor suns,’ and
the Arabs Shamseyat, or ‘smaller solar bodies,’[72]
52
* consume alike the humid and the dry: such is
the necessary termination of that cycle: the
world and its inhabitants will be created anew.” *
Mulla Ismail Suffi, of Isfahan, says:
“The world which is one, the creator, and the creation,
Both these worlds are like the scum of his cup;
This revolution of time resembles a painted lantern,
Which, notwithstanding its motion, remains in the same position.”
The assertion “that only the four classes above
enumerated are of human race,” implies that this
denomination is attached to the professors of humanity,
virtue, and discrimination; superior to
which is showing mercy to the animal creation;
also the knowledge of one’s self and of the Creator;
nay, the person destitute of these characteristics has
no share of the nature of man. Thus the sage
Ferdusi says:
“Whoever deviates from the path of humanity
Is to be accounted a demon, and not of human race.”
According to these sectaries, the worship offered
to the forms of Mahadeo and Naráyan, and to the
statues of the other spiritual beings, is highly to be
commended. Strangers to their faith suppose them
to look upon the idol as God, which is by no means
the case, their belief being as follows: “The idol is
merely a Kiblah, and they adore under that particular
form, the Being who has neither accident
nor form.”
53
Moreover, as mankind is an assemblage composed
of superiors and inferiors, they have made images of
the directors of the people, and constituted them
their Kiblah: besides, as all things exhibit the
power of the Almighty, they form images according
to their similitude. They also say, that as the Avátars
are radiant emanations of the divine essence,
they therefore make images on their likeness, and
pay them worship: so that, whatever is excellent in
its kind, in the mineral, vegetable, or animal world,
is regarded with veneration, as well as the uncompounded
elementary substances, and the starry
spheres. Rai Manuhar Kuchwáhhah has said:
“O Moslem! if the Kâbah be the object of thy worship,
Why dost thou reproach the adorers of idols?”
Section the third, concerning the religious observances
and ceremonies of the Samartagans (Smartas),
or orthodox of the Hindus.—According to this class,
there are two kinds of birth: the first, on quitting
the maternal womb; the second, on the day of assuming
the Munji[73]
or Zanar, and repeating the established
forms of prayer; as, until a person has scrupulously
performed both these rites, he is not regarded as
54
orthodox, nor an observer of their institutes. Under
this are contained the Shodásán-Karmáni,[74]
“sixteen
heads,” commencing with the woman being purified
from periodical illness; her attachment to her
husband; the forms of prayer necessary to be used
on the occasion, and observed until the moment of
death; and the acts of charity enjoined to be performed
after the person’s decease.
Of their laudable customs are the following:
1. the Garbh-ádhána-karma,[75]
or delivering the likeness
of a son, that is, giving up a daughter to her
husband; 2. the Pungsavana,[76]
or reciting at the proper
55
season the prayers enjoined to be said, that a
virtuous offspring may be born; 3. the Símantonnayana,[77]
that is, in the sixth month of a woman’s pregnancy,
the recitation of the proper forms of prayer
and giving a feast to Brahmans; 4. the Játakarma,[78]
or the rites to be practised by the father on the birth
of a son, in regard to ablution; Hóm, or burnt
offerings; Jap, or devout meditation and acts of
charity; 5. the Náma-karana,[79]
when, on the eleventh
day after the child’s birth, they give it a name and
repeat the necessary forms of prayer; 6. on the
56
fourth month they bring out the child, which they
call the Nish-kramana;[80]
7. giving the child suitable
food and at a propitious moment, which they call
Anna-prásanna;[81]
8. at the age of three years they
shave the child’s head and bore its ears, which rite
they call Chúd´á-karana,[82]
or the ceremony of forming
the crest at the first tonsure of a Hindu. They are
strictly enjoined to observe the above eight ceremonies;
and if the child be of the female sex, they
practise the same rites, but without the stated forms
of prayer; excepting at the time of her marriage,
when they are bound to recite the forms appropriated
to that ceremony. 9. In his fifth year, they
bind around the child’s waist a string which they
call Sútram;[83]
this rite they call Mungi;[84]
the string is
57
to be made of the bark of the Darbha;[85]
10. three
days after investing the boy with the Sutra, they
should put the Zanar, or “sacrificial thread,”[86]
about
his neck, which they call the Yajnópavíta;[87]
11. on
assuming the Brahmanical thread they are, by way
of charity, to bestow a cow on the Brahmans, which
act they call Gódán;[88]
12. is the ablution of the body
with milk, curds, clarified butter, honey, and sugar,
which they call the Ashnan-panjah and Paraish-chat;[89]
13. when the boy reaches his fifteenth year, they
make him master of a household; this they call
Viváhah,[90]
or “matrimony;” 14. the son, after the decease
58
of his father, performs the requisite charities
and donations, which they call Pind-pradán;[91]
15. on
the 7th of the month Mágha,[92]
when the majesty of the
great luminary is in Aquarius, they are to present
the Brahmans with pulse, barley, wheat, black rice,
sesamé, gold, and suchlike; this is called Dán-phal;[93]
16. on the Shiva-rátri,[94]
or “night of Siva,” the 21st
of the Bhágan (Phágan, or Phálgun) they present to
the Brahmans a serpent of silver, with red rice,
which they call Phani.[95]
The above are the sixteen ceremonies. It is moreover
necessary that a Brahman’s son should be
invested with the Munji at the age of eight, the Chatriyas
at eleven, and the Vaisyas at twelve, after which
ceremony the boy is to be sent to school.
A Brahman must, whilst performing the offices of
59
nature, fasten the Munji securely on the right ear,
turning his face to the north, but at night to the
south. After performing these offices, he is to take
his instrument, and going three paces farther he
is to apply to his hands water, which is to be in
a vessel, and with which earth has been blended,
and this is to be continued until there remains
no disagreeable odour. He is after this to perform
his ablution in a clean place,[96]
and seat himself
in such a manner that his hands should be under
his knees, with his face to the north or east; next,
whilst repeating the prescribed forms of prayer, he
is to put a little water three times successively into
60
the palm of the right hand,[97]
which he is to swallow
without reciting any prayers; he is then to cleanse
the mouth with the back of the left hand, and having
taken into the palm of his hand other water, and
dipped the other fingers into it, he is to apply them
to his nose, eyes, and ears; the water must be pure,
without foam or bubble. On this occasion the Brahman
is to swallow so much water that the moisture
may extend to his breast; the Chattri such a quantity
as to extend to his throat; the Vaisya sufficient
to moisten the inside of his mouth; the cultivator,
women, and children who have not assumed the
Munji, are to apply a little water to the lips, then
immerse the head, and having repeated the proper
forms of prayer, to sprinkle the head several times.
61
The Brahman is next to compress the nostrils, so
that the passage of inhalation and exhalation should
be closed up, and recite the prayers prescribed on
the occasion; then he is to stand for some time,
turning his face towards the great luminary, and
repeat the necessary formulæ. Every morning, on
rising up and performing duly the offices of nature,
he is to go through the necessary rites which they
call Sandhya,[98]
the observance of which, three times
every day, is equally imperative on both Brahman
and Chattriya: 1. every morning, or from the dawn
of day until the rise of the world-illuminating solar
orb; 2. at midday, from the sun’s meridian altitude
to his declination; 3. at evening, or from one hour
before the setting of the world-enlightening sun until
the rising of the stars. These rites are to be accompanied
by Ghasal, or “ablution,” except on the
62
Sandhya of the latter part of the day, when, if it
be impossible, the established prayers only are to be
recited. On performing this ablution, the head is
to be several times sprinkled with water in such a
manner that it may fall in drops on it; after which,
having gone through the indispensable forms of
prayer, he is to make the Homa, that is, he is to light
the holy fire on a pure spot, and place on it thin and
fine pieces of wood, and having chosen the still more
delicate splinters of it, and moistened them with
water, he drops pure rice upon them. The fire
being thus lighted, he addresses prayers to his spiritual
guide or his instructor, father, and elders, and
laying his head on the ground, solicits their benedictions;
pronouncing during this adoration his own
name, so that it may be heard by them, after this
manner: “I, who am such a one, in profound
adoration address my prayers to you, and prostrate
myself in your presence:” the same prostration
must also be performed to his mother.
He then repairs to his master, before whom he
stands in an humble attitude and receives instruction:
but after this form, that the instructor should say of
himself, “I am now at leisure:” he is not to command
him, which would be accounted great rudeness.
When the pupil waits on his master, he is
to appear before him dressed in costly clothing; but
if both master and pupil should be in indigent circumstances,
63
the latter is to solicit alms, and thus
procure subsistence for his master and himself: he
is moreover to remain silent at table.
The boy, when invested with the Brahminical
thread, is called a Brahmachari, until he enters into
the marriage state; after which, if through the necessity
of his own family he derives his daily support
from another quarter, he is not to eat at one place
only, but go round to several doors, and receiving
something at each, convey the whole to its proper
destination; but the person, whose father and mother
charge themselves with his annual support,
and who can discover no other Brahman beside himself
in that district, is allowed to satisfy his appetite
at one place. Until the time of his marriage, the
Brahmachari eats not honey, never applies collyrium
to the eyes, nor oil nor perfumes to the body; and
never eats the viands left at table, except his master’s;
he never utters a rejoinder with harshness or
severity; avoids female intercourse; and never looks
at the great luminary when rising or setting; he is
a stranger to falsehood, and never uses an expression
of ill omen; nor holds any one in detestation,
or regards him as an object of reproach; above all,
he shows exceeding veneration to his preceptor.
The ancients commanded that boys should be
engaged in the study of the Veds, or “religious
sciences,” from five years of age to twelve. They
64
have also said: “A Brahman should study the four
Védas;” but as the acquisition of the whole is
impossible, their learned men are consequently
satisfied with the knowledge of small portions of
each. The first is the Rigvéda, which treats concerning
the knowledge of the Divine essence and
attributes; the mode of creation; the path of righteousness;
of life and death. The second, or Yajúsh-véda,
treats of the rules prescribed for religious ceremonies,
faith, burnt offerings, and prayers. The
third is the Sámavéda, which treats of the science of
music, the proper mode of reading the Védas, and
the portions selected from them; from this source
are also derived vocal and instrumental harmony.
The fourth is the Atharva-véda, which includes the
rules of archery, the prayers proper to be recited
when encountering the foe and discharging arrows
against them. If a person acquainted with this
system and form of prayer discharge a single arrow,
it becomes a hundred thousand arrows, some of
which contain fire, others wind, storm, dust, and
rain; others vomit forth golden stones and huge
bricks; whilst some assume the forms of tremendous
wild beasts and ferocious animals, which strike
terror into the boldest hearts. Many are the extraordinary
modes and wonderful devices unfolded in
this Véda for the total destruction of one’s enemies.
Such is the Atharva Véda, and such the artifices,
65
magic practices, incantations, spells, and devices
contained in it.[99]
66
The Brahmachárí is of two kinds: one as already
described, whom the Brahmans call Brahmachari,
until the period of his becoming a householder and
taking a wife; the second is he who in the course of
this life never enters into the married state, pays no
attention to worldly cares, and continues the devoted
servant of his instructor, on whose death he pays
the same attention to his survivors. If the disciple
should happen to die in his master’s house or that
of his successor, it is accounted far more meritorious
than in any other place; and if his decease should
not occur, he is carefully to worship the fire which
is made for the purpose of the Hom, or “burnt-offering,”
and diminishing every day the quantity
of his food.
Having thus given some statements concerning
the Brahmachárí, it now becomes proper to mention
the various modes of contracting marriage
among the Hindus: thus it is related in the first part
of the Mahábhárat, that a woman who has lost her
husband may lawfully take another; for when Parasu-Rama
had exterminated the Chattris, their wives
held intercourse with the Brahmans and bare them
67
children. It is also permitted to a wife deprived of
her husband, to attach herself to another; thus
Yojanagandhá[100]
was first the wife of Paraśara, by
whom she had a son, the celebrated sage Vyása,[101]
and she afterwards became the wife of a king named
Santana.[102]
In the same work it is also recorded, that
a woman may, by her husband’s consent, maintain
intercourse with another; thus, on the arrival of
Raja Bali, a Brahman named Tamma, sent him his
wife and obtained a son. In like manner, Raja
Pándu, who abstained from all intercourse with
woman, permitted his wife Kuntí[103]
to keep company
68
with others, and she, by force of his prayers, mixing
with angels, had sons. In like manner it is permitted
that the son be separated from the father,
but remain with the mother, and that, on the decease
of a brother, another brother by a different
father but the same mother, may marry the widow
of the deceased: thus Vyása, the son of Yojangandha
by Párasaru,[104]
visited the wives of Vichitra-Virya,
who was born of the same mother, Yojangandha,
by king Santanu, and there was born to him
Dhritaráshtra, Raja Pándu, and Vidúra. It is also
allowed that several individuals of the same race
and religion may among them espouse one wife:
thus Draupadí, daughter of Drúpada, Rája of Pánchála,[105]
was married to the five Pandava princes;
and Ahalyá,[106]
the daughter of Gautama, to seven persons;
and the daughter of another holy person,
was married to ten husbands. The Yezdanians
ascribe the seclusion of women, and their not choosing
husbands for themselves, to litigation, corruption,
69
and the family perplexities. It is recorded
also in the Mahábhárat, that in ancient times there
was no such practice as the appropriation of husband
and wife; every woman being allowed to cohabit
with whomsoever she thought proper, until
once the wife of a holy personage being in the society
of another, Swétakéta, the holy man’s son, feeling
indignant at such conduct, pronounced this imprecation:
“Let the woman who approaches a stranger
be regarded as a spirit of hell!” and at present
the brute creation, which possess in common with
us, immaterial souls, act according to the ancient
law: many, also, of the northern nations follow the
same practice. In the same work it is also stated,
that the sage Vyása was born of the daughter of a
fisherman, whom the sage Paraśara espoused, from
which it follows that the issue of such a low connection
is not to be held as a low or degraded character.
Thus far has been extracted from the Mahábhárat.
According to the Smarttas, there are two kinds
of wives: the first is the legitimate wife, who is
degraded by holding intercourse with any man save
her husband: the second are those on whom no
restraints are imposed; of whom there are numbers
at the disposition of their chief men. The princes
of ancient times, to all appearance, established this
description of females for the purpose of receiving
70
travellers and pilgrims, an act which they regarded
as productive of great blessings.
Moreover, on account of the increase of the male
population, they held not as a criminal act the
holding an intercourse with these females; but
regarded guilt to consist in being intimate with a
woman who has a husband: they moreover esteemed
it a base act to defraud the licensed class of their
hire. Tradition records that, in former times, the
Lulees, or “dancing women,” who inhabited the
temple of the Tortoise in the city of Kalinga, at first
gave their daughters to a Brahman, in order to conciliate
the favor of the Almighty and insure future
happiness; but that afterwards they gave them from
selfish purposes, and exposed them from mercenary
motives; even at present, although they have entirely
given up every pious purpose, yet they do not associate
with any save those of their own religion.
However, Shir Muhammed Khan, who was appointed
military governor of that province under the first
sovereign, Abdálláh Kuteb Shah, forced them to
repair to the houses of the Moslem: notwithstanding
which, the Lulees of the temple of Jagganath, to this
very day hold no intercourse with the Muhammedans.
In Gaya and Soram, when they take a wife,
she must be of noble and honorable descent, and of
graceful carriage; and must not previously have been
affianced to any other person; she is not to be related,
71
in the remotest degree, to the stock or family
of her husband, she ought to have brothers, and her
lineage and family for ten generations are to be publicly
known among her contemporaries. Her relations
also make strict inquiries into the merits and
demerits of the bridegroom, particularly as to the
state of his health and stamina. Some writers assert,
that a Brahman may occasionally demand in
marriage the daughter of a Chattri, merchant, or
cultivator, but on this condition, that they do not join
their husband in partaking of food or drink.
Among the Hindus there are five modes of contracting
marriage;[107]
the first, or Viváha, after this
form: the damsel’s father looks out for a son-in-law,
to whom he presents money and goods in proportion
to his means, and gives him his daughter, which
is the most legitimate mode.[108]
The second is the
72
Asurvívahah, when without the consent of the father
or mother, by employing force and violence, or the
influence of money, the damsel is forcibly taken by
the bridegroom from her parents’ house to his own,
and there married to him. The third is the Gandharviváhah,
when the bridegroom takes the damsel
away with her consent, but without the approbation
of her parents, and espouses her at his own
house. The fourth is the Rákshasa-viváha, when the
parties on both sides are at the head of armies, and
the damsel, being taken away by force, becomes the
victor’s bride.
The fifth is the Písácha-viváha, when the lover,
without obtaining the sanction of the girl’s parents,
takes her home by means of talismans, incantations,
and such like magical practices, and then
marries her. Písách, in Sanscrit, is the name of
a demon, which takes whatever person it fixes
on, and as the above kind of marriage takes place
73
after the same manner, it has been called by this
name.
On espousing a damsel, the intelligent Brahman,
having taken the bride’s hand into his own, must
go through the established forms prescribed by his
faith, and move seven steps in advance.[109]
When he
espouses the daughter of a Chattrí, at the time of
solemnizing the marriage, an arrow is to be held at
one extremity by the bridegroom, and at the other
by the bride; on contracting an alliance with a
merchant’s daughter, the bride and bridegroom are
to hold a scourge or some similar object in the same
manner; on his marriage with the virgin daughter of
a cultivator, the parties mark their union by a token
of secret intimacy. When they deliver the bride
to her husband, if her father be not alive, or her
paternal grandfather, or if her brothers be not forthcoming
on the occasion, then the most respectable
person of the tribe or family is to perform the necessary
ceremonies; and if the relations be not intelligent,
then the damsel’s mother.
It is to be remarked, that when a girl attains the
proper age for entering into the married state,
74
if her parents, notwithstanding their ability, do not
provide a husband for her, they commit a great sin.
If a distinguished suitor should not present himself,
they are however to provide a husband of a good
family; this they are to perform only once in their
lives, as on the husband’s death it is unlawful for
the widow to become the wife of another person:
after her husband’s decease, she is obliged to pass
the rest of her life in his house. If, previous to advancing
the seven steps prescribed at the time of contracting
the marriage, there should present himself
a more distinguished suitor than the former, it is
allowed to take the damsel from the former and
give her to the latter, as before advancing the seven
paces, the matrimonial contract is not binding.
Should a wife prove to be immoral, all intercourse
with her must terminate; but putting her to death
or turning her out of doors, are also forbidden: she
is to be confined to a small and dark chamber,
clad in a coarse dress, and to receive food but
once a day.
The period of a woman’s illness, according to the
Brahmans, extends to sixteen days: on the four
days following the first day of the symptoms, all
intercourse with her is forbidden. Women are
strictly enjoined to show the greatest respect to their
husbands, parents, brothers, and relations, and to
use every possible exertion for the preservation of
75
their husbands’ property. When he goes on a journey,
she is not to deck her person, nor appear cheerful
and smiling; she is not to go to entertainments,
to the houses of her acquaintances or relations, nor
invite them to hers.
As long as a girl is unmarried, it is necessary to
guard her with the closest attention; but, when
married, this would be highly improper, with this
restriction however, that it is by no means fitting
that a female, from her tenderest years to the period
of her maturity, should be allowed unlimited liberty:
on the contrary, she is to be ever submissive and
obedient to her father, husband, and relations: but
if these should not be in existence, the actual rulers
are to take care of her state.
When the husband is on a journey, the wife is
not to remain alone in the house, but is to repair to
the dwelling of her parents, brethren, or relations;
and if, on her husband’s death, she become not a
Sattee, that is, burn herself with the deceased, she
is then to reside with his relations, devoting herself
to rigid abstinence and the worship of the Almighty.
They say that when a woman becomes a Sattee, the
Almighty pardons all the sins committed by the
wife and husband, and that they remain a long
time in paradise:[110]
nay, if the husband were in the
76
infernal regions, the wife by this means draws him
from thence and takes him to paradise; just as the
serpent-catcher charms the serpent out of his hole.
Moreover the Sattee, in a future birth, returns not
to the female sex; but should she reassume the
human nature, she appears as a man; but she who
becomes not a Sattee, and passes her life in widowhood,
is never emancipated from the female state.
It is therefore the duty of every woman, excepting
one that is pregnant, to enter into the blazing fire
along with her deceased husband; a Brahman’s wife
in particular is to devote herself in the same fire with
her husband; but others are allowed to perform the
rite in a separate place. It is however criminal to
force the woman into the fire, and equally so to prevent
her who voluntarily devotes herself.[111]
77
The enlightened doctors say, that by a woman’s
becoming a Sattee is meant that, on her husband’s
decease, she should consume in the fire along with
him all her desires, and thus die before the period
assigned by nature; as in metaphysical language
woman signifies “passion,” or in other words, she
is to cast all her passions into the fire; but not throw
herself into it along with the deceased, which is
far from being praiseworthy. A respectable woman
must not from vanity expose herself to the gaze of
a stranger, but she is to wear a dress which will
completely cover her to the sole of the foot.
It is to be noted, that the son of a Brahman by a
Chattri female is not of the father’s caste, but a
superior Chattri. It is moreover laid down as a rule
that a Brahman, on becoming a Brahmachárí, should
regularly worship the fire, which fire he is to discontinue
at the time of the marriage contract; but
on that occasion he is bound to light another fire
and to recite the prescribed prayers, so that it may
be as a witness of the compact entered into between
husband and wife: also, after the celebration of the
marriage, they are to repeat the prayers prescribed
at the time of lighting the fire which they are ever
after to worship daily.
The Brahman is moreover to offer up Hóma, or
burnt offerings, at the rising and setting of the great
luminary, and to partake of food twice; once during
78
the day on the expiration of two watches (midday);
the second time at night, on the expiration of one
watch: he is also to assist with food and clothing,
to the utmost of his power, the indigent, and friends
who come to his house.
The Chattri is to learn the Védas and Shasters,
or the divine revelations and sciences, but he is not
to teach them to another; he is likewise to perform
Hóma, or “burnt-offerings.” His occupation consists
in governing and protecting the human race,
for which reason all monarchs were anciently of
the Chattri class, the more effectually to establish
the righteous decrees of Brahma, and the institutions
of the Brahmans.
To the Bakkál, or “merchant caste,” appertains
the profession of buying, selling, and commercial
transactions, the protection of animals, and agriculture,
which is attended with profit.
The cultivator, who is called Dalmah, or Kumbí,
is enjoined to engage in service, to practise tillage,
or any employment within his capacity by which he
can gain a maintenance; there are in fact no limits
prescribed as to the nature of his occupations.
All four classes are strictly enjoined not to injure
any living being whatever, especially not to deprive
any one arbitrarily of life; to speak the truth, to act
uprightly, and as long as they live not to defraud a
fellow-creature of his wealth.
79
Every Brahman is obliged once a year to celebrate
the established rite of Yajna, or “sacrifice:” if he be
in indigent circumstances, he is to go round to his
brethren, and expend whatever he collects in the
Yajna, which is thus performed: there are three
Kundams,[112]
or “fire-pits” to be formed, in front of
which is fixed a wooden post; then a rope made of
Durva grass (in Sanskrit, Kúsá) is thrown around
the neck of a black he-goat, and fastened to that
post; Hóm is then offered up during five days; on
the first day, the sacrificer and his wife both perform
their ablutions, nine Brahmans at the same time
going through the rite of washing their heads and
persons; of these nine, one is looked upon as Brahma
himself, all present obeying his commands, and the
remaining eight Brahmans waiting obsequiously on
him. In addition to these, sixteen more Brahmans
are required, who are to recite by themselves the
Mantra, or “forms of prayer,” at the moment of the
Hóm, or “burnt-offering.” In order to light the
80
fire, they bring small pieces of a wood which in
Sanscrit they call Arana,[113]
in Hindi, Ak (asclepias
gigantea); and also for the same purpose another
kind, in Sanskrit, Khandíra,[114]
in Telinga, Chandaru;
for the Homa, a wood in Sanskrit called Pámárak, in
Telinga, Utarini, in Dakhani Akhárah, of which they
make tooth-picks; also a wood, in Sanskrit Udámvarah[115]
(ficus racemosa), in Telinga, Miri, in Dakhani,
Kular, in Parsi Anjir dasti, or “wild fig;” and another
wood, in Sanskrit samí,[116]
and in Telinga, Khammi;
also a grass, named in Sanskrit Dúrvá,[117]
in Telinga,
Kargi, in Dakhani, Haryálí; also another sort, called
Darbas: altogether nine are required. The eight
Brahmans first mentioned having repeated the proper
incantation, lay hold of the goat in such a manner
that they make it lie down on a bed formed of
the leaves and branches of the tree Khartarhari, or
Karshartari, in Sanskrit, Kaliśakha,[118]
in Telinga, Balsúkúma,
and in Dakhani Karankabánta. In the next
place, the sixteen Brahmans, having recited the
81
formula, or appropriate Mantra, stop up all the animal’s
orifices, so that he can neither exhale nor
inhale, and keep him in that position until he dies.
Then one of the sixteen Brahmans, cutting off the
head at one blow, flays the carcase and cuts it up
into small pieces, throwing away all the bones to
some distance, and then mixes up clarified butter
with the flesh. The eight Brahmans next lay it
piece by piece on the fire, whilst the other sixteen
are employed in throwing on the above mentioned
kinds of wood, and pouring clarified butter on
them. The eight Brahmans eat of the meat thus
roasted; the person who offers the sacrifice also partakes
of it; after which he gives among all the officiating
Brahmans one hundred and one cows with
their calves, along with a dakshinah, or “presents of
money.” Hóma must also be performed on the
second day, and gifts presented to the Brahmans;
on the three following days, they recite the appropriate
Mantras, and light up the fire in the manner
before described, but lay no meat upon it; in short,
during the whole five days, they entertain all Brahmans
who present themselves, offering up perfumes
and giving presents to each of them. On the expiration
of the five days, they completely fill and stop up
two of the fire-receptacles, leaving the third, which
they do not close up until they have removed the fire
it contains to their dwelling: as the fire on this
82
occasion had been made outside the city, they erect
there a house which they burn down on the completion
of the ceremony. When they have taken the
fire to their dwelling, they deposit it in a peculiar
receptacle excavated for the purpose; they offer up
the Hóma daily, never suffering this fire to go out:
they also make a covering for it, which they remove
at the time of offering up the Hóma.
The manner of offering the Hóma is as follows:
the sacrificer having performed his ablution and
made the tilek, or “inaugural mark,” on the forehead
with ashes from the fire receptacle, then celebrates
the Hóma; the rites must be performed by a
Brahman, as it is of no avail when performed by
any other. If the officiating Brahman be a Vaishnavah,
“worshipper of Vishnu,” he performs the Yajna,
or “sacrifice,” in the same manner, excepting that,
instead of a goat, he employs the figure of a goat
formed of flour, over which he goes through the
established ceremonies. When one goat is sacrificed,
it is called Agnishtóma, or “sacrifice to Agni;”[119]
where two are offered, Yúnyíkam;[120]
the sacrifice of
three is called Wajpéya;[121]
the sacrifice of four is
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called Jyotishtóma;[122]
and the sacrifice of five is named
Panjáham.[123]
When they sacrifice a cow after this
manner, it is called the Gomédha; the sacrifice of a
horse, Aswamédha; that of a man, Narmédha.
The Yajna, or “sacrifice” is to be offered in the
months of Mágha, “January,” Váisháka, “April,”
or Márga-sirsha,[124]
“August.” Every person performs
the Yajna once; but he sacrifices a goat
every year; or, if in indigent circumstances, the
figure of a goat formed of flour; and if he be a
follower of Vishnu, the goat is to be a figure formed
of the same materials, as among that sect cruelty
towards the animal creation is reckoned as impiety.
In their Smriti, or “sacred writing,” it is thus laid
down: “Let that person put animals to death who
has the power of reanimating them, as the victim
thus sacrificed must be restored to life.” Moreover,
their pious doctors have said that, by the
sacrifice of a sheep, is meant the removal of ignorance;
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by that of a cow, the abandoning low pursuits;
by that of the horse, the curbing of the mind;
as according to the Hindus, Manah, or “the heart,”
from which proceed all phantasies and internal
sense, is a fiery and unbroken steed; finally, shedding
man’s blood in sacrifice, implies the eradication
of all reprehensible human qualities. It is also
to be highly commended in a Brahman not to devote
himself to lucrative pursuits, but to repair to
the abode of his co-religionists, and being satisfied
and grateful for the portion of grain he receives
from them, to give up the rest of his time to devotion;
nor is he to collect so much food as to have
any remaining for the next day. Vessels of gold
are esteemed more pure than those of any other
metal. Whenever a Brahman sees an idol-temple,
a cow, or a holy personage, he is to walk reverentially
round each. He is not to perform the offices
of nature in running water, nor in a cow-shed, nor
in ashes; before a Brahman, or a cow, or in sight of
the great luminary; when he retires to any place for
this purpose, he is not in that state of nudity to look
towards the stars; neither is he to go out naked in
rain, nor sleep with his head to the west; he is not
to cast saliva, blood, nor semen into water, nor
extend his feet towards the fire for the purpose of
warming them; he is not to leap on fire, nor drink
water with both hands. It is also wrong to awake,
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unless in case of necessity, one who is in a profound
sleep; nor is it allowed to sit on the same couch
with a sick person. It is not right to enter upon
any undertaking to which a suspicion of evil consequences
is attached. Great care must also be taken
to remove to a distance from the smoke of a dead
body on the funeral pile. No one is to return to
his home, whether in a city or village, except by
the public gate. A Brahman must not receive a
gift from a mean and sordid monarch, or from an
avaricious person of degrading pursuits, as in the
future investigation, punishment certainly awaits
such conduct: in short, he never accepts any thing
from the impure or base. He is not to look at his
wife when sneezing, yawning, or gaping; when she
is seated in privacy at her ease; or when applying
collyrium to her eyes, or anointing her hair.[125]
He ought not to sleep naked in his bed-room, nor
in an empty house without a companion; he ought
not to throw water about in play, with the palm
of his hand or with his foot, nor to blow out fire
with his breath, without using any instrument.
It is to be known, that the astronomers among
the Brahmans, in their computation, divide the
month into two parts; from the beginning to the
fifteenth day they reckon one part, and call the sixteenth
86
day Púrva, that is, one entire part; and the
rest, to the end of the month, is the other part; in
like manner, they have in each month twice twelve
and six days; which they distinguish by the denomination
dvádásí, “the twelfth,” and chachtí, “the
sixth, day” of the lunar fortnight.
Nobody ought to put his feet upon the shade of a
Dív, that is, of the image of a celestial being, of a
king, a preceptor, a saint, and a married wife of
another. It is not right to look with contempt
upon a Brahman. One may beat a delinquent on
account of a fault, or a pupil by way of chastisement,
but his blows must not hurt the upper parts of the
body. No man ought to dispute or wrangle with
one higher in rank than himself, nor with a widow,
nor with a man without connexion, an old woman,
a beggar, nor with children. Let him feign ignorance
with respect to a mandate upon a woman,
and towards a person who should be aware of the
bad conduct of his wife. He is never to take his
meal upon the same table-cloth with a man without
religion, a butcher, and one who sells his wife.
The master of the house ought never, with a loud
voice, to invite another to his board, because this
looks like ostentation.
Nine stars are to be worshipped for the increase
of wealth, the accomplishment of our wishes, and
the union with the divinity; namely, Saturn, Jupiter,
87
Mars, the sun, Venus, Mercury, the solstice,
and the descending node. Let the pious distribute
to the Brahmans and to the wise men what is prescribed
of corn, raiment, and jewels that may suit
them. The king is to possess dignity, wisdom, and
affability towards young and old; he is to be just
towards the complainants; at court, condescending
to all, mild and liberal, knowing the truth, understanding
the wishes of men, respectful to the pious
and the saints, and showing deference to the lords
of the faith, and the secluded from the world; he is
to be humble and command his ambition; and in
whatever may occur, pleasure and pain, fortune and
misfortune, let his conduct never be mutable and
inconsistent.
Whoever runs away in battle, renders himself
highly guilty, and all the merit which he might have
acquired before, falls to the share of another who
stood firm in the field of battle.[126]
A king who, with
the laudable qualities before described, exerts himself
in the maintenance of his laws, the distribution
of justice, and the welfare of the cultivators, shares
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the recompense of all the good actions which the
inhabitants of the country have performed.[127]
The
exercise of justice is imposed as a necessity upon a
king; in order that, if a son, brother, uncle, brother-in-law,
preceptor, or any other friend, commit a
crime, he may immediately, according to the established
code of laws, order their chastisement, terrify,
reprimand, or subject them to retaliation.
In the Hindu Institutes which are called Smriti,
it is said to be established that, after the worship of
the Supreme God, they ought to venerate the subordinate
divinities, and perform the prescribed rites.
To eat flesh, and to put to death some animals, is
therein not prohibited, excepting the cow; he who
kills, or even hurts, this animal, shall never enjoy
the sight of heaven; and they say that he only who
can restore to life, may put to death, an animal; this
is necessary: who destroys a living being must vivify
it again; if he be not able to do this, he ought to
forbear from that act, because he shall not escape
89
punishment for it. According to their learned interpreters,
the killing of certain animals which is permitted
in their sacred books, signifies the eradicating
and destroying of such blameable qualities as are
proper to these animals.
In ancient times, it was the custom among the
Brahmans and the wise among them, when they had
become householders and begotten a son, to withdraw
from society, and when they had established
their sons, to separate from them, and having retired
into a desert, to devote themselves to the worship
of God; and when the sons had children in their
house, their father and mother did not visit each
other in the desert, but lived separate from each
other, at the distance of several farsangs.
The religious austerity of this people is very great;
thus they practise perpetual standing upon their
legs, hanging themselves up, abstaining from conversation,
keeping silence, cutting themselves asunder,
leaping down from a rock, and such like.
Women used to burn themselves alive with their
dead husbands: this is according to the Smriti,[128]
which is ascribed to Brahma, and believed to be
eternal truth.
Of this people, the author of this book saw in
Lahor, the capital of the sultan, a Brahman, called
90
Sri Manu Rama, who would not accept any nourishment
from the Musulmans, nor keep society with
strangers. It was said, that an Umra of the Mahommedans
had offered him three lacs of rupees, which
he refused to take. Pursuant to his religion, he
abstained from animal food. Kesayi Tívárí is one of
the Brahmans of Benáres, and well conversant with
the science of his class. Having left his house, he
settled on the bank of the river Ravi, which passes
near the garden Kamran, at Lahór: given up to
devotion, he seeks no protection against rain and
sun; he lives upon a little milk; and whatever he
has collcted during several months, he spends in
the entertainment of the pious Brahmans whom he
invites.
“Three crores and a half are the hairs on a man;
So long a time shall she live in paradise who follows her lord.
As a snake-catcher forcibly draws up a snake from his hole,
In the same manner she, having taken her husband, is exalted to heaven.
The affectionate wife, who on the funeral pile has embraced her inanimate
Husband, abandons indeed her own body:
But taking up her husband, who has committed many sins—even a hundred times
A hundred thousand—she shall obtain the mansions of the gods.”
Section the fourth, of the followers of the
Vedanta (the Vedantians).—This sect belongs to the
most learned and wise of this people. We shall
give the substance of their creed. They say: The
explanation regarding the only really existing Being
(God) resembles a science from which a faint likeness
of his grandeur may be perceived; this being and
his qualities are pure of all imperfections and contradictions;
he oversees all beings; he discovers all
that is hidden; his existence comprehends all things;
decay and deficiency have no access to the boundless
91
area of his existence; he is the lord of life, the greatest
of spirits endowed with pure qualities, and this holy
Being, this sublime object, they call Brahma uttama,[129]
“the most excellent Brahma,” that is, the supreme
soul and the most exalted spirit; and the evidence
of this meaning, that is, of his existence, is the created
world; because a creation without a creator will not
come forth from the veil of non-entity into the field
of evidence, and the maker of this work is he, the
Lord. This explanation is to be supported in the
field of certainty by the wise arguments of sagacious
people, and by the testimonies of the text of the
Véda, that is, of the heavenly book. The truly
existing Being (God) has exhibited this world and
the heavens in the field of existence, but he has nothing
like an odor of being, nor has he taken a
color of reality; and this manifestation they call
Máyá[130], that is, “the magic of God;” because the
universe is “his playful deceit,” and he is the bestower
of the imitative existence, himself the unity
of reality. With his pure substance, like an imitative
actor, he passes every moment into another
form, and having again left this, appears in another
dress. It is he alone who, coming forth in the
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forms of Brahma, Vishnu, and Mahadeva, exhibits
the true unity in a trinity of persons, and who,
manifesting his being and unity in three persons,
separate from each other, formed this universe.
The connexion of the spirits with the holy Being
(God), is like the connexion of the billows with the
ocean, or that of sparks with fire; on that account,
they call the soul and the spirits jívátmá.[131]
The soul
is uncompounded and distinct from the body and
from the material senses; but by the power of selfishness
it fell into a captivity from which the soul
strives to be liberated.[132]
The soul has three conditions
or states: the first is the state of being awake,
which they call jágaravast´ha,[133]
and in this state the
soul enjoys quietly the pleasures of nature and bodily
delights, such as eating and drinking, and the like;
and it suffers from the privation of these just-mentioned
enjoyments; that is, it suffers from hunger
and thirst, and similar pains; the second state is
that of sleep, called svapna avast´ha,[134]
and in this state
the soul is happy in the possession of what it wishes
and desires, such as collecting in dreams gold and
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silver, and similar things; it is distressed by the
want of them; the third state is known by the name
of Su svapna avast´ha,[135]
that is, “the state of good
sleep,” and in this state there is neither gladness
nor sadness from possession or privation of what is
desired, but freedom from pleasure and pain. It
is to be known that they hold sleep to bestow a prophetic
sight of events, and the vision is called rúyá
in Arabic: in this third state however, which they
call sleep by excellence, no events are seen, but it is
being plunged in a profound sleep, and this people
do not take it simply for sleep, but they distinguish
it as a sort of lethargy, which they call su svapna.
They believe the souls to be imprisoned in these
three states, and wandering about in a circle. The
soul in these conditions, although united with a
body, yet, by a number of meritorious deeds, and a
virtuous conduct, attains to the station of knowing
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itself and God: it then breaks the net of illusion,[136]
and it is the characteristic of saints whom they call
Jnání;[137]
that, whatever they see in the state of being
awake, they reckon to be a vain illusion, as if presenting
itself to men in a dream. The saint thinks
even a man awake to be deceived by a dream; like
one who, from inadvertency, takes a rope for a snake;
but it is a rope, not a snake: he knows the world to
be a delusion, which, from want of knowledge, is
thought to be the universe, although, in truth, it
has no reality. This state is called by them Tarbá
avast´há.[138]
When the saint becomes free from the ties and
impediments of the world, and from the chains of
its accidents, then he enters into the region of freedom,
which they call mukt.[139]
This mukt, according
to them, is divided into five parts: the first is, when
the sanctified man, having attained the dignity of
freedom, in the city of the subordinate divinities
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(angels), becomes one of them; as in this city are
the residences of the deities, such as the city of
Brahma, of Vishnu, of Mahadéva, and this part is
called “the mukt of the pious.” The second part
is, when the devotee, a neighbour and companion of
the gods, is surrounded by an abundance of favor,
and the society of the celestial beings; and this
division of the mukt they call Svámi prémá.[140]
The
third part is, when the pious assumes the form of
the inferior divinities without union with their persons,
that is, whichever of the gods he chooses, it is
his shape which he appropriates to himself, and this
part they name Sára préma.[141]
The fourth part of the
mukt is, when the pious becomes united with one of
the gods, like water with water, that is, when he
coalesces with whichever of the gods he chooses,
and this is entitled svayukti.[142]
The fifth part is, when
the soul of the pious, called jívátma, becomes one
with the great spirit whom they call paramátmá,[143]
and
recognise as the only real being, in such a manner
that there remains no room for a second to rise between,
and this they distinguish by the name of
Jnánam uttamam.[144]
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This is the substance of the creed of the Védantian:
whoever possesses this science is called Inání
by the Hindus, and all the principal men among
them are conversant with the doctrine of this sect.
The sublime discourses and wise histories delivered
by Vasishta for the instruction of Rama chandra, are
entitled Vasíshta yog; and the speeches which fell
from the tongue of Krishna, when he was bestowing
advice upon Arjuna, who was one of the Pandus,
go under the name of kathá. Sankara Acharya,
who ranks highest among the later learned men of
India, has written much about this doctrine. The
dogmas of this class are as follow: the world and
its inhabitants are appearances without reality, and
God is but one necessary and self-existing being,
whom they call Parama atma; they say, this appearance
and diversity of form, this order and aspect of
heavens, are like the vapor resembling the sea upon
the surface of sandy plains, and like the vision of a
dream; good and bad, pleasure and pain, adoration
and worship of God, are but objects of imagination,
and these various images are illusions;—the deepest
pits of hell, the vaults of heaven, the return to earth
after death, transmigration, and the retribution of
actions, all that is but imagination, and variety of
imagination.
Query Should one say, a principle of life acts in
us; there is no doubt of it; consequently the one
97
is learned, the other ignorant; the one is happy, the
other distressed. How can that be mere imagination,
and appearance?
The answer they give to it is—If not in a dream,
thou wouldst not see thyself a king issuing mandates,
a servant, submissive, imprisoned, free, a
slave, a master, sick, healthy, distressed, merry,
melancholy, and so on. How often in a dream didst
thou not feel pleasure and happiness, or wast overwhelmed
by fear, and terror, and anguish? there is
no doubt but all this is mere illusion and empty
appearance, although the dreamer holds it all to be
real truth.
Rayi-Rup, who is reckoned among the learned Rajahs,
asked the author of this book: “After having
dreamt to have received any wound whatsoever
upon my body, if, as soon as I rise from sleep, I
do not find the least mark of it, I know that it
was an illusion; but if in a dream I converse with
a woman, at my waking, I may perhaps not be
able to deny the visible effect of it: why should
this happen in the second case?”
To this question the following answer was given:
“What thou thinkest the state of being awake, this,
in the opinion of the enlightened, is also dreaming;
and as it often happens that, thinking in a
dream to be awake, I perceive whatever appears
as if I were really awake, whilst I see it in a dream:
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in like manner, the usual state of being awake is
held by the wise to be nothing else but a dream.
Hast thou not heard what Kámyáb Samrádí has
said in the Samrád námeh? A man had seven noble
sons, each of whom felt the ambition to command
in the six parts of the world. With such a desire,
they addressed their devotion to God. One day
they laid their head upon the pillow of repose,
and each had a bright dream. It appeared to
each, that he had left his body, and was born
again in a king’s house; after the death of the
father, each placed the crown upon his head, and
bore dominion from east to west; in the seven
regions there was no king equal to him, and the
reign of each lasted one hundred thousand years;
at the time of his passing to the other world, he
delivered the empire to his son, and, leaving the
body, took his flight to heaven. When they
awoke, the dinner which they had been preparing
was not yet ready. Afterwards, each of them
related what happened to him; each of them pretended
to have possessed the seven regions during
one hundred thousand years, and each named
such and such a town as the capital of his empire.
Although awake, they resolved then to go
each to his kingdom, and to see that capital, whether
true or not. They went first to the town
which was the residence of the eldest brother;
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there they found his son king, and the father
knew his palace; in this manner they visited the
kingdoms of the other brothers, and saw their
sons. Afterwards, the seven returned to their
native-place, and said to each other: ‘Each of
us was in his dream king of the seven regions,
and had no other above himself; being awakened,
we heard the same from the men of those towns
which we have visited for ascertaining that we
had possessed such rank and power in the
world.’ Thus it is certain that we are even now
in a dream, and that the world is nothing else
but an illusive vision.”
This sect interpret the whole religion of the Hindus
according to their own belief, and they state
that, pursuant to the Védas, to confound during the
worship all the subordinate divinities with the one
whose existence is necessary, means nothing else
but that, in truth, they all emanate from this one;
further that it is but he who manifests himself in
the form of any deity, and that no Serosh has an
existence of his own, but that in Brahma, Vishnu,
and Mahadéva, who appeared above, are evidenced
the three attributes of God, namely, in Brahma, the
creator; in Vishnu, the preserver; and in Mahadéo,
the destroyer. Moreover they say, that these three
attributes are the mind or intellect, which they call
manas, and it is the action of the interior sense which
100
they distinguish particularly by the name of manas.[145]
Besides they entertain this belief about the interior
sense, that, if the mind wishes, it forms the image
of a town; it becomes then Brahma, who has as much
as created it; as long as the mind wishes, it preserves
its work, on which account it becomes Vishnu,
who is its guardian; further, if it wishes, it throws
it off, in which sense the mind becomes Mahadeo.
Their belief is also, that religious austerity consists
in the conviction of the pious, that the world is an
appearance without reality, and that, what exists, is
in truth God; and that, except him, every thing is
but an illusion which comes from him, but in truth
has no reality. In their opinion, whoever is desirous
of this faith, and does not possess the required
knowledge, may by self-application, or by the lessons
of a master, or by the instruction of a book,
become a proficient in it. The conviction that the
world does not exist, may also be acquired by pious
exercise; and the perfect therein know, that by
means of religious austerity one may acquire what
he wishes to learn, and as long as he tends towards
it, he has not yet known himself, as he is himself a
choice part of the divine being. The pious man, who
by dint of austerity renders himself perfect, they call
a Yogí,[146]
that is, one who by self-mortification attains
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his aim. The pious, who by mental application, by
the instruction of a master, by the study of books,
or by any effort not appertaining to religious exercises,
raises himself to any perfection, him they
name Rája-yogí, that is, one who attains sovereignty.
Among the Hindus are recommended as pious
exercises, Mantra,[147]
Homa,[148]
and Dandavat.[149]
Mantra
signifies prayer; Homa is throwing clarified butter
and like things into the fire, and reciting prayers, in
order to render propitious a certain divinity; Dandavat
is, when one prostrates himself like a stick
before the object of adoration, and touches the
ground with the forehead. A person asked Bhartari,[150]
who was one of those adepts whom they call
Jnánis: “Dost thou recite mantras?” He replied:
“I do.” That person asked again: “What mantra?”
He answered: “My breath, going out and
in, is my mantra.” That man continued to ask:
“Dost thou perform Hóm?” The answer was:
“I do.” To the question, “And how?” the reply
followed: “By what I eat.” That person further
inquired: “Dost thou practise the Dańdavat?”
After affirmation, being asked “At what time?” he
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said, “When I sleep, stretched out to rest.” And
this speech reminds me of this sentence:
“The sleep of the wise is preferable to the adoration
of the ignorant.”
The Hindus call Déva árcháká[151]
the worshipper of
an idol, that is, one who is devoted to a divinity:
which this people interpret to be performing whatever
rite a man himself chooses; because the deity
is the intellectual soul; to render it obsequious, is
to perform the act which it commands, that is,
whenever it wills, to see with the eyes, to hear with
the ears, to smell with the nose, and so on, in order
to please one’s self. According to their account of
the revealed unity of God, all is HE. To say so
is liable to censure; but it is permitted to assert:
“all is I.” Should one not attain to this height of
philosophy, he may choose the former thesis. The
author of the Gulchén raz, “the rose-garden of mystery,”
says:
“Egotism belongs to God alone,
For he is the mystery; think him also the hidden source of illusion.”
This people are masters of themselves in their
speeches and actions; they know their origin and
their end; and, occupied with themselves, they are
imprisoned in the gaol of the world. Sankara Atcharya,
who is distinguished among the Brahmans
103
and the Sanyasis, professed this doctrine, and to
whatever side he turned his face, contentment followed
him. One day the adversaries and deniers
of this creed resolved to drive an elephant against
him; if he do not fly but remain firm, he is a saint;
if otherwise, a bad man. When they had impelled
the animal against him, Sankara fled; then they said
to him: “Why didst thou fly before an illusion?”
He replied: “There is no elephant, nor I; and there
was no flight: you saw it in a dream.” All the
great men among the Hindus are of this creed, and
they agree that, in truth, there is no faith but this,
without regard to Avátars and Rakshasas: all the
enlightened Pandits have ranged themselves upon
this side.
A Jnaníndra is called one of the Brahmans of Kachmir;[152]
this class is, in the language of Kachmir, entitled
Guruvagurinah, and said to be the fathers of the
Jnanían. One whose name was Chívarína, knew
well how to keep in his breath; one day he informed
the inhabitants of Náu chaher, which is upon the
road of Kashmír, that on the morrow he intended to
leave his human frame. The next day, the people
assembled; Shívarina conversed with them until he
arrived at the place where wood had been piled up,
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on the top of which he sat down with his legs crossed
under him (which in the Persian language is called
bahín neshisten, and the description of which I gave
in the chapter about the imprisonment of breath
practised by the Yezdaníán); he left then the human
body, and when the people saw that the bird of life
had taken his flight from the cage of the body, they
set the wood on fire.
Another Jnani practised the subduing of the breath
in his youth, and, mastering his soul by means of
religious austerity, he attained to that point that,
although possessed of little natural capacity, he
undertook to read all the books of the Hindus, and
understood all their sciences better than the other
Pandits, as they all agreed. He now holds the first
rank among the learned of his town, and acquired
such an independent manner of thinking, that he
feels neither pain from the loss, nor pleasure from
the increase, of wealth, and holds alike friend, enemy,
stranger, and relation; he is not depressed by the
insult, nor elated by the praise of whomsoever;
wherever he hears the name of a Durvísh, he calls
on him, and, if he conceives a good opinion of him,
he then frequents him and cultivates his friendship,
and never lets him be afflicted and sorrowful; he
converses about God’s unity, and cares about nothing
else nor busies himself about any other concern, and
he visits no other persons but Durvishes. Sodarshan
105
is the name of his sister’s son, who is also connected
with him as his pupil; he left wife, son, and
the house of this friend, and lives on the little which
his disciples bring to him. When the Jnaní wishes
to go out, the disciple puts his coat on him: because,
inattentive to every thing exterior and to
what may be grateful about him, he is never occupied
with any thing else but with books.
It is known that the Hindus, that is, the legalists
attached to the Smriti (holy scripture), light up a fire,
and with it sacrifice a sheep, not without reciting
spells and prayers; which they call performing
Hóm. The Jnánindra says: “Our fire is piety, and
in it I burn the wood of duality; instead of a
sheep, I sacrifice egotism: this is my Hóm.”
Thus he interprets the whole religion of the Hindus,
and a great number of men became his disciples.
He has a nephew, called Gangu, ten years
old, and younger than Sádarshan. One day, Gangu
was crying from anger; the author of this book
said to him: “Yesterday thou saidst: ‘The world
and what it contains are but illusion;’ now, why
dost thou cry?” He replied: “If the world
is nothing, then my crying has no reality; I am
not in contradiction with myself.” So saying,
he continued to cry.
“The socíety of good men renders good.”
Jaganath, eight years old, is the son of a Jnáníndra;
106
he brought a puppy into a house where an idol
was worshipped, put him there in the idol’s place,
and drew the mark of cast on his head. The boy
was asked: “What art thou doing?” He answered:
“The stone has no life; why should you not rather
worship the puppy than this idol? Besides, each
person worships what he finds agreeable. Because
this worship is a play, I play with this dog.”
And none of the people of the house raised a hand
on account of the boy’s liberty, but uttered blessings
upon him.
In the year 1049 of the Hejira (1639 A. D.) the
author of these pages visited in Kachmir a Jnáníndra,
and was delighted with his society. He
called him his atma, that is, his “intellectual soul.”
The Jnáníndra was asked: “Who is thy disciple?”
He answered: “It is he who, having arrived to the
self-existent God, knows and sees himself to be
nothing else but God.”
At the time when the writer of this book was
walking with a Hindu pious man on the border of
the lake of Kashmir, a Sanyási who had pretensions
to independence, joined us. There, a meal was
brought to us, and the Sanyási eat with that pious
man. After this, he began to boast: “Hitherto I
have not eat any flesh: it is but now that I have
tasted some.” The Jnání offered a cup of wine
to him, who drank it for the sake of discarding care.
107
He then reassumed the theme of self-praise. The
pious philosopher had some bread of the bazar,
which according to the Hindu faith is still more
prohibited than wine, brought upon the table-cloth.
The Sanyási broke a bit of the bread, eat it, and
again praised himself without measure: “Now,”
said he, “am I free of all bonds.” The wise smiled,
and said: “Nothing remains but to eat cow-flesh.”
The Sanyási, as soon as he heard this, left the
company.
Of the distinguished disciples of the Jnáníndrás,
whom the author of this work saw, are: Shankar
bhat, Kanésh bhat, Sudarshan Kal, Adab bhat, Máhatápindra,
and Avat, known under the name of Kopál
Kúl. A goldsmith asked Shankar bhat, one of the
disciples just mentioned: “Why do the Jnáníndras,
with all their pretensions to independence, still
worship idols?” Shankar said: “Why dost thou
work in gold?” The goldsmith replied: “This
is my profession for gaining my livelihood.” The
answer to this was: “And worship too is a trade
and a means to procure food.”
Mulla Shídáyi, a Hindu, who has a name amongst
the poets, and possessed a very impressive eloquence,
went one day with the author of this book to the
house of a Jnáníndra, and conversed with him;
he saw his disciples, and having observed the manners
of the people of the house, he was struck with
108
astonishment, and said: “My whole life passed in
devotedness to pious persons; but my eyes never
beheld such independence, and my ears never
heard any thing comparable to the speeches of
those emancipated men.”
Hara Ráma púrí was a Sanyási, and one of the
Jnánís possessing the perfection of independence.
When he came to Kashmír, being vexed by the
length of his hair, which was like ropes, he cut it
off, on the bank of a river near a house called Bhat
jatáyi. Sri Kant Bhat, a Pandit and Hindu judge,
saw it and said: “Whenever thou cuttest off thy
hair, thou shouldst do it in a tirth, that is, in ‘a
house of worship.’” Hara answered: “There
is a place in the most holy of mansions, where the
heart gets delighted, and on the spot where the
dead are burnt, all obscure points are terminated.”
In the year 1051 of the Hejira (1641
A. D.) he went to Kichtovar,[153]
and settled in a plain
called chawgan, where they played at ball, practised
equitation, and burnt the dead. Maha Singh, the
son of Baháder Singh, Rája of Kishtovár, became his
disciple, and by devotion he rendered himself free of
the bonds of exterior things; now he likes the society
109
of the pious; he is young and conversant with
poetry. In the year 1052 of the Hejira (1642 A. D.)
a war broke out in Kishtovar, between the Rája and
the rebels of this country. When they made resound
the drum of battle, a general carnage began
on both sides of the combatants; Hara Rámapúrí,
having got upon the top of an elevated ground, was
occupied with the sight of it, and at the uproar of
the warriors and the sound of pipes, and clarions,
and kettle-drums, he began to dance, and in the
midst of his transport his foot stumbled; he fell headlong
from the mountain, and in rolling down received
from a great stone a head-wound, of which
he died. Mirza Rafíah says:
“When the darkness of my heart became enlightened by the knowledge of wisdom,
Whatever speeches were proffered as her arguments,
They bore upon some errors of my desires;
Thus the whole road was rendered winding from my stumblings.”
Sathrah and Jadú were two fakírs. Sathrah drew
in Nagarikot[154]
the mark of the cast on his forehead,
and threw the zunar on his neck; he ate however
roasted cow-flesh, with bread of the bazar, and
indulged himself in pleasure-walks. Some Hindus
arrested him by force, and brought him before the
110
judge. The judge said to him: “If thou art a
Hindu, it becomes thee not to eat cow-flesh and
bread of the bazar; and, if thou art a Muselman,
wherefore the mark of the cast and the zunar?”
The answer was: “The mark of the cast is of safran
and sandal-wood; the zunar is a woven thread;
the cow-flesh comes from grass and barley; bread
from corn, and the oven from earth and water:
if thou considerest things according to truth, thou
wilt find that all is composed of four elements,
which are neither Muselmans nor Hindus; as to
the rest, let thy commands be conformable to
law.” The judge set him at liberty. Jadú was
one of his disciples, and went to Balkh, the dome
of Islam. He appeared in the mosque with the
mark of the Hindu cast, and with the zúnar, and,
arrested, was brought before the judge, who saluted
him as a Muselman. Jadú replied: “If thou givest
me a wife and settlest me in a house, I will be a
Muselman.” The judge gave him a beautiful
widow for a wife, and Jadú, having become a
Muselman, went into her house. After the lapse of
a few days, he said to the woman: “Give me the
daughter whom thou hast had with thy late husband,
in order that I may sell her, and spend the
price that I receive for her for my subsistence.
When we shall have another child, I will dispose
of it in the same manner, by selling; for this is
111
my profession, and except this I know no trade.”
The woman dismissed him. Jadú, being at liberty,
went to Kabul;[155]
he put a feather on his head, as messengers
used to do, fastened a bell round his waist,
and, with a loose belt on his shoulder and a striped
coat, he appeared in the bazar. The messengers
arrested him, and said: “Why hast thou taken our
dress?” Jadú answered: “The crown and feather
are upon the head of the nightingale and of other
birds, and the bell hangs upon the neck of the
sheep and of the cow; reckon me too one of them.”
The messengers began to handle him roughly; Jadú
asked: “What is your desire?” They said: “Thou
art now to exercise with us the nimble pace of
a courier.” Jadú did not refuse: he ran with
them, and gained so much over them that at the
morning dawn not one of the couriers remained near
him. During seven days and nights he neither ate
nor drank any thing, practising running. Jadú
acquired the habit of religious austerity; in the
year 1052 of the Hejira (1642 A. D.), having convoked
his friends in Jelálabad,[156]
between Peshaver[157]
112
and Kabul, he took leave from them and resigned
his life.
Pertábmal Chadah (Chadah is a tribe of Kshatriyas)
is a Jnání, that is a pious man; his native
country is Síál kut; he attained to perfection in the
exercise of virtue; he is not confined to any faith or
religion; but knows that every religion is a road
leading towards God; he sees in every face a friend
revealed. One day he joined, on account of an
affair, Davárah, a man who was one of the chiefs
appointed by the government of Hargovínd, a successor
of Nanak;[158]
he became his disciple, and declared
himself as his adherent. Davárah washed
his feet, and the water thereof was drank by all the
present followers of the faith, which they did to
every body whom they had gained over to their religion.
At last, a dispute arose between Pertábmal
and Davárah; the latter said to the other: “But yesterday
I washed thy feet (that is, made thee my
disciple), and to-day thou makest war upon me?”
Pertábmal answered: “Oh weak-minded man! the
Jats always wash my feet as thou hast done: my
own hand never touches my feet.” [The Jats are
a low class of the Hindus.]
It is an established custom among the followers
of Nának to present, when they pursue a desire,
113
a few direms to the chief of their master, or to
their master, and solicit his favor. Pertábmal
offered some dírems to Kábelí, who was a religious
chief appointed by Harigovind, and then in Kabul;
he said with his hands joined: “I wish to convoke
for prayer, according to their custom, all the followers
of Nának; let that be granted.” Kabeli,
before giving his agreement, asked: “Thou wishest
perhaps to see Haragovind?” Pertábmal said: “I
wish something more precious.” Kabeli asked:
“What is this?” The answer was: “I wish the
arrival of all the buffoons, dancers, and musicians
from Péshawar to Kabul, that we may see
their actions, arts, and tricks.”
In the house of Pertábmal was an idol which the
Hindus worship. A mouse having made a hole in
his furniture, he put the whole idol, instead of a
lump of earth, into the mouse-hole, in order to shut
the passage. The Hindus said: “What art thou
about?” He answered: “The deity who cannot
obstruct the road of a mouse, and settle any thing
with a mouse, how will he protect me, and preserve
me from the tyranny of the Muselmans?”
In like manner Pertábmal had in his house a Sivalingam,
which is a post of stone which the Hindus
venerate: having carried this lingam out of his
house, like a post, he tied a dog to it.
A Muselman said to him: “Two persons only of
114
all unbelievers, namely, Nushirvan and Hatam,
will go to heaven.” Pertábmal replied: “According
to your faith, two persons only of the
unbelievers will go to heaven; but our belief is
that not one of the Muselmans will go to
heaven.”
Azadah (this was his adopted title) is a Brahman.
One day he ate at table with some Muselmans and
drank wine. They said to him: “Thou art a Hindu,
and thou takest thy meal in common with
Muselmans? Your people never eat but with
persons of their religion.” Azádah replied: “I
did not suppose that you were Muselmans; hereafter
I will at eating and drinking keep myself
separate from you.” Another day he found himself
again drinking wine in company with them,
and did not turn his head from the meal; during
the repast they said to Azádah: “Yesterday we
made ourselves known to thee as Muselmans.”
He answered: “I knew that you were joking with
me. God forbid that you should be Muselmans.”
Binaváli is the son of Híráman, a Káyastha.[159]
The
Káyasthas are a tribe of the fourth cast which Brahma
has created; among the illustrious poets his name
was Walí;[160]
from his childhood he liked very much the
115
society of durvishes; and in his tender age he was
with the religious chief, named Ularváh, a great durvish,
whose continual exclamation was: “God, thou
art present, thou art one, God, I attest this.” In
the year of the Hejirah 1045 (A. D. 1634) he associated
with the durvishes of India, and enjoyed the fruit of
it; he came to Kashmir in the service of Mulla Shah
Budakhshí, and acquired the desired knowledge.
The Sufí is by no necessity bound to a creed; no faith
nor religion fetters his choice; he befriends the idol
and the temple of the idol, and is no stranger to the
mosque; by the power of ecstacy, not by any external
knowledge, he utters loud sublime speeches.
In the year 1050 of the Hejira (1640 A. D.) the doors
of friendship opened between him and the author of
this work; from the refulgencies of his mind are
the following lines:
“We are not ourselves that what we are; we are that what thou art;
Thou art without a mark; we are thy mark.
These marks are the marks of thy being;
They are the manifestations and the splendor of thy qualities,
Thou art pure of our care, and of our imagination;
116
O thou, who art manifest in this our garment;
Manifestations of thee are all things.
Thou art independent of the relation of ‘thou and we,’ and thyself art ‘thou and we.’
Thy being comes forth in thy qualities,
Thy nature is the spring of thy being, O Lord!
We are all nothing; whatever is, is thou!
O thou! who art free of notion, imagination, and duality,
We are all billows in the ocean of thy being;
We are a small compass of the manifestations of thy nature.”
Azadah and Binaválí appear in the dress of Hindus,
and profess the belief of the Jnánís, to which
they are reckoned to belong.
Mehir chand is a native of the Panjab, and belongs
to the class of the goldsmiths of Guzerat; he comes
from the school of the disciples of Akamnath, whose
opinions he adopted. Akamnath is a Yógí, “a
saint,” and possessed of inspiration; according to
the belief of his followers, two thousand years of
his life have elapsed.
“Like the azure heavens, a sage never dies;
The intellectual principle is free from storms, and from all that is perishable.”
One day Akamnath came before the great emperor
Jehangír, who is in heaven; the celebrated
monarch asked him: “What is thy name?” The
sage answered Sarvat anga, that is, “All the beings
are my members.” In the assembly, before the
117
sovereign, a book was read; the king, having taken
the book from the reader, gave it into the hand of
Akamnath, saying: “This is thy saying, read it;”
Akamnath returned the book to the reader, bidding
him to read on; but when this man began, the king
addressed Akamnath: “To thee have I said, read.”
His answer was: “I have at the beginning declared,
that all things in the world are my members;
I am therefore reading by the tongue of
that man.” Vásúl Khaznúyi says:
“So free is my spirit that the creation is my body,
And that fire, and air, and earth, are my dwelling.
This celestial sphere, with all its globes,
Revolves only because it is my wish.”
Soon after a sparrow passed, flying from the
water. Akamnath declared before the king: “If
with this body, which is near thy majesty, I
should attempt to go upon the water, I could
but sink, but under the form of a bird I passed.”
The great Mouláná Jamí says:
“The world, with all spirits and bodies,
Is a certain person whose name is ‘World.’”
They say, that Akamnath went to the Kâbah (of
Mecca) and saw the house; he asked somebody:
“Where is the master of the house?” That person
remained astonished. They opened the door
of the house of God; Akamnath repeated the question
118
without receiving an answer from them; he then
called out: “There is no master of the house in
this edifice: this place is unsafe.” Finally, he inquired
from the people, why the images which had
been in this house, have been thrown out; one
answered: “Because an idol is the work of the
hand of a man; and because the forms of men,
who are created, ought not to be worshipped.”
Akamnath observed: “This house, too, is the
work of men, and any form therein is that of a
man, and the work of men who are created;
should it be worshipped?” Having heard this
speech, they imprisoned him; but the next morning
they found no prisoner: Akamnath was gone. At
last, those who returned from the pilgrimage saw
him in Hindostan.
“Perhaps shall we find him there in an idol-temple,
That friend whom we missed in a monastery.”
Section the fifth: concerning those who profess
the Sánk’hyá[161]
doctrines.—They say that there are
119
two things in the existence, or that the existence is
divided into two parts: the one is truth, which they
interpret by purusha;[162]
the other is illusion, named
by them Prakrit.[163]
Prakrit is the cause of the world,
and purusha, being from want of knowledge and
confusion of the intellect mixed with Prakrit, is in
the world encircled, and penetrated by this incongruity.
120
Five imperfections are held to adhere to
the purusha, which they call pancha kalusháni,[164]
“the
five failings, or sins.” These are: 1. avidya;[165]
2. ishmatá;[166]
3. rága;[167]
4. dvésha;[168]
5. avivèchaná.[169]
Avidya signifies with them that they believe the body
and the senses to be the soul; avidya knows of no
beginning nor origin; ishmata means personality,
individuality, and selfishness; rága is the propensity
to what is agreeable; dvésha, “hatred,” consists in
adhering to one’s own opinion, and condemning
that of others as vicious; avivèchaná relates to acting
or not acting with passion. The five failings just
enumerated keep Purusha, “the embodied soul,” in
distress: but when the mind becomes pure, these
five pains are banished. After the purification of
the heart, all the qualities which are bad and wicked
acquire purity, and the qualities, called by them
121
vrittaya,[170]
are of four different kinds: the first, mitrata;[171]
the second, karuna;[172]
the third, mada;[173]
the
fourth upèkshá.[174]
Mitrata is friendship for the well
doers, and benevolence for the men of probity;
karuna means to be anxious for the good of the
friendly-minded, and to relieve the oppressed; mada
consists in enjoying the quiet happiness of all the
creatures of God; upèksha signifies, not to use harsh
words against those who do ill. These are called
chatur vrittayá, or “four qualities,” which keep the
heart under subjection, and prevent it from seeing
any thing else; and it is from the existence of these
four manners that the five pains before mentioned
are annihilated, as well as every thing that attracts
them, and the fortunate man who is liberated from
these five sicknesses, attains the satya loka. And
thus is interpreted the appearance of the forms of
Prakrit and Purusha in the heart; the professor of
this condition knows how to separate them from
each other, and becomes wise: by this knowledge
Prakrit disappears, after which, having found Purusha,
or the true knowledge of himself, which is
understood of the soul, man becomes satisfied and
happy. According to the opinion of this sect, the
five elements are deduced from Prakrit.
122
This is the substance of the belief of the Sánkhyán.[175]
In Little Guzerat, a district of the Panjab,
123
the author of this work saw Atmáchand, and
Máhádéo, who said to belong to the Sánk’hyán.
According to their opinion, Prakrit is nature, and
God is the manifestation of nature, and all the terrestrial
and heavenly bodies exist by him, and they
said: “What affords verdure to the heads of thorns,
is it not nature?”
| Mula-prakritti |
1 |
| “Nature,” the root of all, no production. |
Principles |
Productions: |
| Which are productions and productive: |
Productions of Ahankára are: |
|
The 11 organs: |
| Produced by nature is: |
The 5 organs of perception: |
| Buddhi, or Mahat, “intellect.” |
The ear. |
|
— skin, |
|
— eye, |
|
— tongue, |
|
— nose. |
| Produced by Buddhi: |
The 5 organs of action: |
| Ahankára, “egotism.” |
The voice, |
|
— hand, |
|
— foot, |
|
— organs of excretion, |
|
— — — generation. |
|
The mind. |
| The five subtile elements, producing |
The 5 gross elements: |
| Sound — — |
Ether, |
| Touch — — |
Air, |
| Form — — |
Light, or Fire, |
| Flavor — — |
Water, |
| Odor — — |
Earth. |
| 7 Principles |
+ 16 Productions = |
23 |
Categories. |
| Purusha, “the soul,” neither a production nor productive |
1 |
| Total |
25 |
Tatwas, |
| That is, physical and metaphysical categories of the Sánk’hyá philosophy. |
Section the sixth: on the Jogís and their doctrines.—This
sect believe that Isvára, or the necessary
being exists, one, the principle of intellect,
without an equal, without decrease nor increase.
In the language of the Hindus Is a[176]
signifies “lord,”
and without Iśa all is but jíva,[177]
that is “casualties;”
in their language jiva means “life;” they hold Is a
to be the maker of the whole world, and the creator
of all the elements; his holy being is free from care,
sickness, and want, and placed out of the circle of
work and agency; that is, that this holy being neither
wants nor urges any religious rites, such as
ablution and the like; his knowledge soars above and
comprehends all being; he is the Lord, and none
besides him invested with supreme power; death
and pain never approach his existence, which has
124
no limits. Jíva, “life,” they call what is in the
fetters of cares, in the bonds of infirmities, under
the pressure of pain, and in the prison of works
and doings, and subjected to the control of others,
without command over itself. This life is in truth
not material nor corporeal; it is by ignorance only
that it is thought to be one with the body; and the
body is supposed by them to be revolving in the
circle of material forms: by the necessity of times
and seasons, life abandons the works of the body,
and passes into another frame: and in this manner
it migrates. Without the abhásayóga,[178]
the soul
cannot be freed of the bonds of the material world,
and from the prison of what is corporeal, and yóga,[179]
in the language of the learned Hindus, signifies
“union,” or “acquisition;” and abhyása,[180]
“the
dominion of the eternal sphere,” that is, possessing
the enjoyment of a desired object; and the purport
of the yóga is, that the heart be constantly kept
in the remembrance of God, and that no foreign
object be permitted to enter into that Jerusalem, that
is, the house of God. The professor of this union
with the desired object reckons eight parts, which
125
are: 1. yama;[181]
2. niyáma;[182]
3. ásana;[183]
4. pránáyáma;[184]
5. pratyáhára;[185]
6. dháraná;[186]
7. dhyána;[187]
8. samadháraná.[188]
Yama is composed of five parts: the first
is Ahinsá,[189]
that is, doing injury to nothing, and to
kill no other but the great wild beasts; 2. Satyam,[190]
or “truth;” 3. Astéyam,[191]
that is, not stealing nor
robbing; 4. Brahma tchárí,[192]
or to keep away from
women, and all intercourse with them, and to sleep
upon the bare ground; 5. Apragraha,[193]
which is, not
to ask any thing from any body, and never to take
but what is brought unasked. Niyáma, the second
126
of the eight parts, is divided also into five kinds:
the first, tápasa,[194]
that is, “devout austerity;” 2.
japa,[195]
or “devotion by means of beads, stripes of
cloth, ejaculations, mental or loud repetition of the
names and attributes of God;” 3. Sama,[196]
which
is, “tranquillity and satisfaction;” 4. Suchi,[197]
or
“purity, sanctity, perfection;” 5. Iśa-pútcha,[198]
“worshipping and praising God.” Asana, the third
of the eight parts of the yoga, means “sitting in
some particular posture,” various kinds of which
are used among them. Pránáyama, the fourth part,
consists in “drawing in and letting out the breath,
according to an established mode and fixed rule.”
Pratyá hára, the fifth part, signifies “withdrawing
the heart from all the desires and attractions of
the five senses; and keeping away from all sorts
of lust, the sight of beauty, the odor of the rose
and of sandal, and from all material and exterior
enjoyments.” Dhárana,[199]
the sixth part, implies
that, “in the heart of the cone-bearing tree, which
is the centre of the bosom, and which the people
127
of India have compared to the flower of a pond
(lotus), the heart holds a fixed habitation; that is,
they guard it in that place.”
Dhyána, the seventh part, is the remembrance of
God the Almighty. Samadhárana, the eighth part,
signifies that the heart, attached to the work of God,
forgets the work of the world, in such a manner
that in his presence, turned towards him, it remains
absorbed in him, and feels itself lightened of all
exterior sense and satisfied. The wise, who carries
these eight parts to a high degree of perfection,
hears and sees from afar; his pure knowledge elevates
him; and he becomes strong in the science of
Yog, which is the science of the union with the
desired object; the all-bounteous God regards him
with pity, and discards all pains, all sicknesses, all
wants, and all deficiencies from his existence. According
to this sect, it is by attaining to these eight
conditions, that Mukt, which signifies “emancipation,”
is acquired.
This is the substance of the doctrine of the Yogís;
now, I will relate something of the opinions and
actions of these sectaries, who have been noticed in
this time as professing the doctrine of the Yog. The
Yogís are a class well known in India, and yóga, in
the Sanskrit language, means “union;” they believe
that they unite with God, whom they call Alíka,[200]
and
128
according to their creed he is the divinity by excellence;
moreover his being is to be venerated under
the name of Gorakhnáth;[201]
in like manner, Mach’henáernáth[202]
and Chórengínáth[203]
are great personages or
saints.
They believe Brahma, Vichnu, and Mahadeva to be
subordinate divinities, but they are, as followers and
disciples, addicted to Gorakhnath; thus, some devote
themselves to the one or the other of the deities.
This sect is divided into twelve classes, which are
as follow:[204]
Satyanath, Ayípanthi, Kaśyapa, Vairag,
Nátírí, Ardhanarí, Náyari, Amara nath, Kam-híbdás,
Jóli handi, Tarnaknath, Jágar prarág: these are called
panthi nék, “good sects,” and panthi signifies “a tribe,
129
a sect.”[205]
According to their opinion, the chiefs of
all religions, sects, and creeds proceed as disciples
from the prophet and saint Gorakhnath, and what
they found, they have found it from him. Their
belief is that Muhammed (to whom be peace) was
also a pupil and disciple of Gorakhnath, but, from
fear of the Muselmans, they dare not declare it;
they say, that Bábá Rin Háji, that is, Gorakhnath,
was the foster-father of the prophet, who, having
received the august mission, took the mode of Yog
from the sublime road of true faith; and a great
many of them agree with the Muselmans in fasting
and in prayers, and perform several acts according
to the religion of that people. The sect of Yogís
know no prohibited food; they eat pork as the
Hindus and the Naźárains, and cow-flesh, like the
Muselmans, and so on; they also kill and eat men,
according to the custom of the Akmían, as will be
related hereafter; and they drink wine like the Guébers.
There are some of this sect, who, having
mixed their excretions and filtered them through a
piece of cloth, drink them and say, that such an act
renders a man capable of great affairs, and they pretend
to know strange things. They call the performer
of this act Atílía and also Akhórí. Although
130
they have all originated from Gorakhnath, and adhere
to him in the generality of their faith, yet some follow
the road of those who attached themselves to the
twelve divisions of the Yoga.
Among them, the restraining of the breath is held
in great esteem, such as it was practised among the
Parsian by Azar Hushang, and by the kings of that
people. It is stated in the Bastán namah, that Afrasíab,
the son of Pashang, was strong in restraining
his breath, and it was on account of this qualification
that, when he had escaped from the sling of
Aâbid, he kept himself concealed in the water. This
history is known.[206]
Among the Hindus and the
Parsian Yezdanián, nothing is esteemed higher than
this. I have said something of this custom in the
131
article upon the Parsian Sipasían: in this place I
shall state more of it.
This science of the breath is an imaginary one.
The Yogis, the Sanyásies, the Hindus, and the
Tapasís, say that, when one has the intention of
mastering his breath, he most strictly abstains from
intercourse with women, from eating salt and any
thing bitter and sour, as well as from toil; then,
tending towards this purpose, he will know that
from the place of sitting to the summit of the head
there are seven divisions of the body, which the
Azarián call haft khán amèkhi, “the seven places of
union,” and the Yogís, sapta chakra,[207]
“seven circles.”
The first is the region about the pubis,
similar to a flower with four leaves; the Hindus call
it muládhára.[208]
In the middle of this originates a
member, which the Hindus call manthar,[209]
and the
Arabians ذكر zicker, and this is the second region.
The third is the navel, from the centre of which proceeds
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a fire-colored vein, entitled by the Hindus
nábhi chakra.[210]
The fourth region is that of the heart,
called by the Hindus manipuram,[211]
and that is like a
flower with twelve leaves. The fifth is the windpipe,
in the language of the Hindus kant´a.[212]
The
sixth comprehends the interval between the two
eyebrows, in Sanskrit bhruva.[213]
The seventh region
is that of the head, which is called by the Hindus
brahmanda.[214]
It is to be known that in these regions
there are many veins, among which three, as the
principal, are to be distinguished: the one is on
the right side, “the solar vein;” the other in the
middle, “the earthen;” the third on the left side,
“the lunar;” these veins are named in the language
of the Hindus áditya, pankila, and somana;[215]
in the
Persian language, mahna, míná, and máná.[216]
One
of the three veins is the greatest, that, namely, which
running from the middle of the back to the right of
the back bone, divides beyond it into two branches,
133
the one of which attains to the right, the other to
the left of the nostrils; the breath and the wind comes
from them, and the air which proceeds from these
veins extends, during a man’s being awake, to twelve,
during sleep to thirty-two, and during coition to
sixty-four fingers: this air and breath they hold to
be the foundation of life, and a great importance is
attached to this subject by the learned Sipásian and
Hindus. They believe the wind to be of ten kinds;
but what according to them is essential to know, is
the superior and inferior winds, which by the Hindus
are called Prána and Apána;[217]
by the Persians,
Alayi and Pásáyi. These two winds attract each
other mutually, and in pronouncing “han,” the
breath goes out, in pronouncing “sa,” it goes within;
and this takes place during prayers, without the aid
and the motion of the tongue; when they fix upon a
name, it becomes hansa, and they say also hamsa:
the Hindus call it ajapa,[218]
that is, it is pronounced
134
without the aid of the tongue; and in Persian it has
the name of damáníbád, or “sound of the wind.”
Thus there is, above the channel of the region of the
pubis, a most subtile vein; from the summit of the
shank a flower, bright and similar to gold in
redness, expands itself from eight roots, and after
having from this origin raised its head, and taken
the high direction to the top of the head, it is there
closed: this the Hindus call Kundelí,[219]
“a snake;”
and the Persians Ruhen mar, and Ráushibár: and
the path of the vein of the head is a middle one.
When the Kundeli awakes to draw breath from a
high feeling, it rises to the summit of the head; in
like manner as a thread passes through the eye of a
needle, it goes through the said opening to the top
of the head. If thou knowest this mode well, thou
understandest the modes of sitting; of these we
mentioned one in the section upon the Sipasián; in
this place we shall give a further account of this
subject. The most approved mode of sitting is that
which in the Hindu language is called Maha ásana,[220]
and Sáda ásana,[221]
that is “sitting as the High, the
mature of age, and the accomplished,” which in
135
Persian is termed sánishín. The mode of this is as
follows: the heel of the left foot is placed at the orifice
of the anus, and the heel of the other foot raised
up straight to the pubis, and to the bust; the eyes,
without twinkling, are directed to the middle of the
eyebrows, then the part about the pubis is put in
motion; the inferior wind is drawn with the superior
towards the upper parts, and raised by degrees until
it reaches the head. We have explained the mode
of drawing up the breath in the section upon the
Sipasían. At the time of drawing it up, the beginning
is made on the side of the left, for emission
through the right, of the nostrils; when drawn up
on the right it is also passing through the right, and
the inferior wind emitted: this performance is called
Pránáyama,[222]
by the Hindus, and Aferasdam, that is,
“raising of the breath,” by the Persians. The
devotee, on drawing up the breath at the left side,
forms the image of the moon; that is, he places the
disk of the moon to the left, and to the right that of
the sun. Some of the Sipásian place the image of
one of the seven planets at every stage of their devotion.
This mode is held in great esteem among the
Hindus at all prayers and religious exercises; they
say, the adept in it has the power of flying; he never
falls sick, is exempt from death, and from hunger
136
and thirst; it is stated in the Ramzsitán of the Persian,
that by means of this power Kái Khusro is
still alive. The Sipásían and the historians relate,
that whoever carries this process to perfection, rises
above death; as long as he remains in the body, he
can put it off and be again reunited to it; he never
suffers from sickness, and is fit for all business.
They say that Kaí Khusró, when he had acquired
perfection in this devotion, felt his heart estranged
from existence in this world; he chose retirement
from men, and having separated from this body,
he associated with the incorporeal beings, and
found eternal life. The Hindus hold that, whenever
a man has perfected himself in this act, Brahma,
Vichnu, and Mahadéva have no command over him,
but he rules over them. According to a great number
of the Hindus, it is this perfection which is personified
in the three deities, namely, Brahma, Vichnu,
and Mahadéva; and it is the belief of many,
that whoever becomes master of this process of
devotion, coalesces with God himself. Much has
been said and written upon this subject by the
Hindus and by the Persians. The Sipásíans have a
book entitled Sányal, which contains a great deal
on this subject, and there exists no better book
about it. Other writings are those of Zardúsht, as
well as the Sarud i-mastan, and the like, in great numbers,
which I have seen. Among the Hindus similar
137
works abound, such as that composed by Atmá
Ráma, a Yogí, who is known under the name of
Bahet Barváng, and the book of Gorakh Singh, which
has been composed by Gorakhnath, and that of Ambaret
Kant. The author of the Dabistán says: “I
saw Ambaret Kant, who has also translated his
work into Persian, under the title Huz ul Hayat.
Therein are the sayings of Gorakhnath, supposed
to proceed from the prophet Khizar, and Machinder
Yónas; but these speeches, pursuant to Ambarat
Kant, are not original; they are in fact those
of Gorakhnath; as, according to the Yogís, Brahma
came and went some hundred thousand times, but
Gorakhnath remained.” Relatively to the Yoga,
this book gives no further explanation.
Balik Nátha, they say, a penitent, was of royal
extraction, and attained great perfection in the Yoga;
he restrained his breath during one week, and
after having passed one hundred and twenty years
of his life, he had not lost his strength. I have
heard from the Mobéd Hushíar, the author of several
books, that in the year 1028 of the Hejira
(1618 A. D.), he brought me to him, and requested
him to bless me; Balik nath pronounced then
upon me: “This boy shall acquire the knowledge
of God.”
Serud nath, descending from Humayún, was of a
noble origin. Having in his youth attained to the
138
mastership of that sect, he could restrain his breath
for two days. In the year 1048 of the Hejira
(1638 A. D.), the author of this work saw him in
Lahore.
Sanjá náth, of the sect of Ayí, was a man accomplished
in restraining the breath; the people numbered
him among the saints, and said, that seven
hundred years of his life had elapsed without his
hair having yet become white: he was, in the last
mentioned year, seen in Lahore.
Súraj nath made great proficiency in mastering the
breath; for several years, he has chosen his retirement
in Pesháver, and is occupied with his own
concern. The people think his age scarce less than
that just before stated. The writer of this work
visited him in the year 1055 of the Hejira (1645 A. D.),
and saw several of the Yogies, an account of whom
cannot find place in this book.
It is an established custom among the Yogís that,
when malady overpowers them, they bury themselves
alive. They are wont also, with open eyes, to
force their looks towards the middle of their eyebrows,
until so looking they perceive the figure of a
man; if this should appear without hands, feet, or
any member, for each case they have determined
that the boundaries of their existence would be within
so many years, months, or days. When they see
the figure without a head, they know that there certainly
139
remains very little of their life; on that account,
having seen the prognostic, they bury themselves.
However the Jnánís of India hold this figure to be
an illusion, and an appearance without a trace of
reality.
As the Sanyásis are also pious men, I will join an
account of them to that of the Yogís. The Sanyásis
make choice of abnegation and solitude; they
renounce all bodily enjoyments; some, in order that
they may not be invested with another body, and
migrate from body to body; a great number, in
order to go to heaven; and a multitude, in order to
acquire dominion, that is, to become kings, or very
rich men. When a man becomes a Sanyási, he must
give up all desire to return again into the world.
They are distinguished by names, and divided into
ten classes, namely: Ban, Áran, Tírthah, Áshram,
Kar, Parbatah, Sákar, Bhárthy, Perí, and Sarsatí.
They are frequently holy men, and abstain from
eating flesh, and renounce all intercourse with
women. This class follow the dictates of Datáteri,
whom they also venerate as a deity, and say that he
is an incarnation of Naráyan, and in the retaining of
breath attained to such a degree that he is exempted
from death. When he came into the presence of
Gorakhnath, who is the chief of the Yogís, and
according to the opinion of the Sanyásis, an incarnation
of Mahádéo, Datáterí, for the sake of trial,
140
smote Gorakhnath on the head, who took the appearance
of iron. Datáteri told him: “Thou hast not
done well; there is no striking iron.” When
Gorakhnath himself bade him to combat, Datáteri
glided off from the body, in the same manner as
water glides off, and reunited safely again. In this
sense Śabur Mashedi says:
“The whole body became water, withhold thy hand from killing me,
As often as thou strikest a blow, my body reunites.”
Afterwards, Gorakhnath disappeared in the water;
Datáteri, having found and recognised him in the
shape of a frog, brought him forth. When Datáteri
concealed himself in the water, Gorakhnath, in spite
of all his searching, could not succeed in discovering
him, because he was mixed with the water, and
water cannot be distinguished from water. Mirzá
Baki Alí says:
“When a drop is united with the sea, it becomes sea,
In substance, the bubble and billow are water: solve this riddle.”
Another says:
“From apprehension I became water: it is useless to strike water:
I am astonished that he assailed my fortune.”
There are two classes of Sanyásis: the one, the
Dandaheri,[223]
do not wear long hair, and are attached
to the precepts and regulations of the smriti, or of
141
the law: the second are the Avadhútas;[224]
they are like
the other class; they wear the zunar, and drink water
mixed with ashes; but, contrary to the Dandahar,
they let their hair grow so that it becomes like
ropes, and this they call juta;[225]
they do not bathe
every day, and rub their head and body with ashes,
which they call bhabút;[226]
at the time of death, the
two classes, having tied the body in a bag full of
salt, throw it into the water, where, by its weight
and that attached to it, it remains a few days sunk in
the bottom, until they bury it in the earth.
The head of the second class is Sankara acharya;
Saha dèva, the rája of Kachmir, who in the year
750 of the Hejira (1349 A. D.) pulled off the garment
of the world, chose him for his teacher. Sankara
acharya was a learned Brahman, of a very
independent mind; the Hindus say that when the
learned did not understand the Vedanta-śastra,
Mahádéva, having incarnated himself, appeared in
the shape of Sankara acharya, for the purpose of
interpreting the Vedanta doctrine, upon which subject
many books have been written. Sastra[227]
signifies,
142
in the Sankrit language, “science,” and Véda,
the “heavenly book,” as has been said; anta,[228]
is
“end, the accomplishment;” that is, “the accomplishment
of the intended object;” and the intent
of the Veda is the knowledge of God and of one’s
self. On that account this science, which consists
in the knowledge of the union of God, as it is to be
derived from the text of the Veda, has been entitled
Veda-anta, “the accomplishment of the Veda.”
Sankara acharya was a Jnáni, “a saint, a divine,”
professing the unity of God; his speeches and actions
became the code of the Jnánis.
One of these, called Chatúr Vapah, belongs to the
class of the Dandahars; he descends from the Brahmans
of Guzerat, whom they call Nága-Brahmans;
his father, of the order of jewellers, enjoyed great
consideration and opulence. Chatúr Vapah, having
acquired great perfection in the worship of God,
abandoned wife, father, mother, and children; and
chose the condition of a Sanyási; he devoted himself
to the practice of restraining the breath, and at last
attained great reputation, but never relaxed in his
religious austerity; he ate no more than three handsful;
they say that sometimes he tasted nothing but
salt, and contented himself with three pinches of it;
the nature of his manners is so well known among
143
the Sanyásis, that it is not required to say more of
it in this book. They say besides that, on account
of his perseverance in the beforesaid practice, and
on hearing the voice of God, a sound similar to that
of a harp issued from his veins. A Durvish, native
of Persia, gave the following information: “In the
year 1045 of the Hejira (1635 A. D.), one night
Chatur Vapah came to me, and said: ‘Rise, that
we may take a walk together;’ I went with him
and arrived at a deep water. Chatur Vapah,
having put his feet upon the surface of the water,
walked upon it so as not to raise a sprinkling;
he then called me; going along the border of the
pond, I joined him, who until my arrival awaited
me upon an elevated block of stone which was
near the pond. When I had seated myself near
him, he pointed to the block, and said: ‘Dost
thou guess whose work this is?’ Having considered
the bulk of the stone, which was not less
than ten cubits in length, I was struck with astonishment,
and said: ‘This may be the work of a
deity.’ Chatur Vapah replied: ‘One of my friends
dwelt here, and endeavored to shape this block
into his habitation, and having brought the huge
stone upon his shoulder from the high mountain,
began to work it. The people, astonished at
the bulk of the stone, sat down at night in a
lurking-place, so that they saw the Sanyásí with
144
the great stone on his shoulder. On that account
they represented to him: What is the reason of
undergoing such labour? Command, and we
will bring the stone down from the mountain,
and shape it right, provided the block be not
too large. The Sanyási got angry, and left the
village.’ Chatúr Vapah afterwards added: ‘Rise,
and let us go to see him:’ we went there. Sitting
cross-legged, he was occupied with himself. Chatúr
Vapah said to him: ‘This Durvish is my
friend; call the musician.’ He replied: ‘Raise
thou the light up.’ At these words, Chatur Vapah
directed his looks to the field, and an immense
torch burst forth, lighted from the mysterious
region, and threw its scattered refulgence wide
about, and the sound of many musical instruments
came upon the ear. At day-break we took leave
of him, and returned by the road which we came
to our resting place.” Khája Hafiz says right:
“When the chief of the wine-cellar became my preceptor, what disparity is there in it?
There is no place which is not the place of God.
In the cell of the hermit, in the circle of the Sufís,
There is no principal place of the worshipper but
The extremity of the arch of thy two eyebrows.”
The Hakim Kamrán of Shíraz says: “We were
in Benares with Chatúr Vapah. One of the principal
Muselmans who visited him asked him:
‘What dost thou say of the truth of our prophet?’
145
He answered: ‘You say that he is a legate of God,
and a leader of the way to the people to which the
King of truth has sent him; but it is not becoming
for those who are companions of the Monarch
of the world to take orders from him.’” The
inhabitant of heaven, Nuraddin Jehangír (may the
light of God illume his grave!) believed and placed a
suitable confidence in him. Abdár rahim of the
Khánkhan prostrated himself before him. In the
year 1033 of the Hejira (1623 A. D.), the author of
this work, then in his infancy, came with his friends
and relations from Patna to the capital, Akbár abad,
and was brought in the arms of the Mobéd Hushíar,
the odor of whose excellent qualities is diffused
about, to Chatur Vapah. The pious man rejoiced
at it, and bestowed his blessing on me, the writer
of this work; he taught me the mantra of Súrya,
that is, of the sun; he then enjoined Ganéśa-man,
one of his disciples who were present on this day,
that he should remain with me until the age of
manhood, when I should be able to manage my
affairs myself. Ganéśa-man remained attached to
me: he was a pupil of Chatur Vapah, and practised
the restraining of the breath assiduously. The
Mobéd Hushíar says, he once saw him when, sitting
cross-legged, he restrained his breath so that
his belly, filled with wind, extended beyond his
knees. The Gosáin Chatur Vapah travelled to the
146
everlasting kingdom in the year 1047 of the Hejira
(1637 A. D.).
The author of this book saw, in the year 1053 of
the Hejira (1643 A. D.), Kalían Bharatí in Karitpúr in
the Kohistan of the Panjab, which was the country
of the rája Tarachandra. Kalían was a religious
man, and kept his breath for two watches, or six
hours. The Bháratís are a class of Sanyásis. From
Ferzánah Khushí, who is a pious man of the Yezdanían,
was received the information, that Kalíán
Bhárati used to drink, first, oil of lamps, and then
milk, both which he emitted again in such a manner
that the color of each was preserved, and no mixture
had taken place. Kalin Bhárati always praised
Persia; the author of this work told him: “You
have no connection in India; you should go there.”
He answered: “I went to Iran, but when I saw the
king of the country, Shah Abas Ibne Sultan,[229]
who
ought to be a servant of God, I found him to be
full of years, and although highly intelligent, yet
147
merciless, a shedder of blood, covetous, a word-breaker,
a friend to jesting, and admirer of buffoonery.
In his country it was promulgated that
wherever a boy or girl gifted with beauty could
be found, they should be brought before the king.
The Sufís of the tribe Kazelbásh brought boys
and girls to the king, that he might indulge himself
in any shameful act of his liking. I asked
myself whether, if such a behaviour were conformable
to their religion, I could remain in this
town? When I inquired about it from their
learned men, they denied it. I further asked,
whether the king approves of such deeds? They
said: ‘These are deeds, customary with men of
our faith.’ I then again said to myself: the king
is the substitute of God; if he himself goes astray,
is not firm in his faith, and does not disavow any
part of this religion, then it is not advisable to
remain in this town.” Kalin Bharati also said:
“I cannot bear seeing a man who is not firm in his
faith; one who professes no religion at all is, at
least, his own guide; the professor of any faith
who does what he says, and is fixed in it, deserves
not to be blamed.”
The writer of this book found, in the year 1048
of the Hejira (1638 A. D.), Aisha Girda, in Kashmir.
Ferzanah Khushí says, that he kept his breath during
three watches, or nine hours, and he found Maden
148
Kir equal to him. This was a man skilled in all
sorts of magic and sleight of hand: whenever well
disposed, he scattered bread and salt about, brought
milk forth from bones, cut bones in two with a hair,
and passed birds’ eggs through the narrow neck of
a bottle, and exhibited such like tricks.
Other Sanyásis remain twelve years standing upon
one leg, and this class is called Thávésar.[230]
Those
who keep continual silence are called Máunínas.[231]
Many other, like these, are mentioned in Hindu
books, which the author of this work perused, but
has no room for describing them all in these pages;
some of this class are men of consideration and opulence,
and are escorted by files of elephants; they
have carriages, fine apparel, courtiers, servants, on
foot and horseback.
Section the seventh describes the tenets of the
Sáktían.—The belief of this sect is as follows:
Síva, that is Mahádeva, who in their opinion with
little exception is the highest of the deities, and the
greatest of the spirits, has a spouse whom they call
149
Máyá saktí;[232]
this spouse shows first one color, and
then another, that is, something else than what
really exists: for instance, water like wine. This
spiritual and material principle has three natures
and three qualities, namely: rajas,[233]
that is, “dominion
and desire;” sattva,[234]
which is “rectitude
and wisdom, and the power to control the senses,
not to be subject to them;” and tamas,[235]
or “violence,
passion, besides eating, gluttony, and sleeping.”
With the Hindus, Brahma, Vichnu, and
Mahadeva are personified as proceeding from these
three conditions,[236]
or as the powers of the three
qualities mentioned. This Máyá is the maker of the
productions of this world and of its inhabitants, and
the creator of the spirits and of the bodies; the universe
and its contents are born from her: from
respect of the said productions and of the mentioned
150
effects, she is entitled Jagat-ambá,[237]
or “mother of
the universe;” non-entity finds no access to this
creator; the garment of perishableness does not sit
right upon the body of this fascinating empress;
the dust of nothingness does not move round the
circle of her dominion; the real beings of heaven,
and the accidental creations of the nether world, are
equally enamoured and intoxicated of desire before
her; bound by these ties of deceit in this revolving
world, whoever rebels feels the desire of mukt, that
is, of emancipation, independence, and happiness;
nevertheless, from carelessness, he pays obedience
and worship to this world-deceiving queen, and
never abandons the path of adoration of this bewitching
lady. This goddess, that is the spiritual
principle, exists in all living beings in six circles,
which they call shat chakras,[238]
as the fibres in the stalk
of a water-lily, in which there are six divisions: 1.
the Muládhára, or “the sitting-place;” 2. the Manipúram,
that is, “the navel;” 3. the Swadhishtanam,[239]
“the firm place, and which commands the upper
region of the navel;” 4. Hrid,[240]
or “the heart;”
151
5. Sáda,[241]
that is, “the purified mansion and the place
of purification,” and this proceeds from the upmost
part of the breast; 6. Agni tchakra,[242]
or “the circle
of the fire,” and this is that of the eye-brows.
These are the six circles, and above them is Indra,
that is the window of life, and the passage of the
soul, which is the top and middle of the head; and
in that place is the flower of the back of one thousand
leaves: this is the residence of the glorious
divinity, that is, of the world-deceiving queen, and
in this beautiful site reposes her origin. With the
splendour of one hundred thousand world-illuminating
suns, she wears, at the time of rising, manifold
odoriferous herbs and various flowers upon her
head and around her neck: her resplendent body is
penetrated with perfumes of various precious ingredients,
such as musk, safran, sandal and amber, and
bedecked with magnificent garments: in this manner,
as was just described, she is to be represented.
The worship of her form and appearance, the adoration
and submission, ought to be internal and true;
and the exterior veneration, to be paid before her
image; moreover, all that has been divided into five
sections and explained in the Yoga śastra, is to be
performed with assiduity. The interior worship
152
consists in representing her image, and in keeping
her remembrance every where; the possessor of
such an imaginative faculty and devotedness is called
bhakta,[243]
that is, “a possessor of gladness and of the
mansion of perfect delight, and of mukt, or ‘liberation’
to be enjoyed in this mansion of a permanent
happy existence.” The mode of this worship
is contained in the Agama,[244]
and the whole sect
conform themselves to it. With them, the power
of Mahadeva’s wife, who is Bhávání, surpasses that
of the husband. The zealous of this sect worship
the Síva-linga, although other Hindus also venerate
it. Linga[245]
is called the virile organ, and they say on
behalf of this worship that, as men and all living
beings derive their existence from it, adoration is
duly bestowed on it. As the linga of Mahadeva, so
do they venerate the bhaga,[246]
that is, the female
organ. A man very familiar with them gave the
information that, according to their belief, the high
altar, or principal place in a mosque of the Muselmans,
is an emblem of the bhaga. Another man
153
among them said that, as the just-named place
emblems the bhaga, the minar, or turret of the
mosque represents the linga: on which account both
are found together. In many places and among a
great number of the Hindus, this worship exists: a
great many follow the Agama, in which wine drinking
is approved, and if, instead of a common cup, a man’s
skull (which they call kapála[247]) be used, the beverage
is much more agreeable. They hold the killing of
all animals, even of man, to be permitted, and call
it bala.[248]
At night they go to the places which they
call śmaśána,[249]
and where the dead bodies are burnt;
there they intoxicate themselves, eat the flesh of the
corpses burnt, and copulate before the eyes of others
with women, which they name śakti púja:[250]
and if
the devoted woman be that of another, the good
work is so much the more valuable, and it is certain
that they offer their wives to each other; the disciples
bring their wives and daughters to their preceptor;
they unite with their mothers, sisters, paternal
and maternal aunts, which is against the custom
of the Hindus, who do not take daughters of their
near relations. The author of this work saw one of
154
the learned men of this sect, who read to him a book
of modern composition upon their customs, and
therein was stated that it is permitted to mix with
every woman except one’s daughter. This man
began to abuse the work, saying that the text was
contrary to the old customs of this class, and that
no such thing is to be found in the ancient books,
and declared it at last to be a mistake of the copyist.
They say that the woman exists for the sake of being
desired; she may be a mother or a daughter. In
their opinion, there is no enjoyment higher that that
of love; the Hindus call it kámada;[251]
and say that,
when a woman and a man are in close conversation,
whoever disturbs them is worthy of God’s malediction,
because they both therein share a state of happiness.
The Agama favors both sexes equally, and
makes no distinction between women; they may
belong to whomsoever: men and women compose
equally humankind, and whatever they bring forth
makes part of it. This sect hold women in great
esteem, and call them śaktis (powers); and to ill treat
a śakti, that is, a woman, is held a crime. The high
and low value the Lulís (public girls) very high, and
call them deva kanya,[252]
“daughters of the gods.”
Among them, it is a meritorious act to sacrifice
155
a man, which they call naramédha;[253]
then the gómédha,[254]
or sacrifice of a cow; further, the asvaméda,[255]
and finally, any other animal. When they perform
a sacrificial ceremony, which they call Kála-dek (kaladéya)[256],
they unite the blood of as many animals as
possible in a large vase, and place therein the man
whom they bring over to their creed, and they drink
with him from that blood. Whenever the worship
of a god, or of the wife of a god is performed, the
ceremony is called ishtam,[257]
and the master of the
ceremony ishta. The creed of this sect is, that any
god or wife of a god may be worshipped in two ways:
the one is called bhadram,[258]
which consists in abstaining
from shedding blood, and in being pure; the
other, termed vakam,[259]
which admits spilling blood,
commerce with women, and neglect of purity; but
they think this second preferable, and say that each
deity, male or female, has a form under which he
or she is to be represented; but that the worship of
a female divinity affords a greater recompense.
156
When they have an intimate connection with their
own or another’s wife, they behold in her the image
of the goddess, and think to personate the god, her
husband, and at this time they sing a prescribed
song, which to entune at the very moment of the
closest junction, they believe to be most recommendable.
There is a deity whose praise they
sing with unwashed hands;[260]
and another whom they
worship with the mark of their cast drawn with dirt
on their forehead. Some of these goddesses are by
them called “queens,” and others “servants;” and
the worshipper of a woman is also termed “servant.”
The author of this work saw a man who, singing
the customary song, sat upon a corpse which he
kept unburied until it came to a state of dissolution,
and then ate the flesh of it; this act they hold
extremely meritorious. They say that the desires of
this and of the other world attain their accomplishment
by means of the worship of a god or of a goddess.
The followers of this sect send their barren
wives, in order that they may become pregnant, to
the performers of such acts, and these men use the
women before the eyes of their husbands: whoever
does not send his wife to his master, renders in their
opinion the purity of his faith very doubtful.
157
The Gossain Tara lochana, a Brahman, was of
this sect, and devoted to the worship of Káli, a
female deity. Having gone to Kachmir in the year
1048 of the Hejira (1638 A. D.), he practised pious
austerity; at last, as is usual, he chose a concubine,
for which, they say, five things are requisite: fish,
wine, the wife of another man, flesh (if human flesh
so much the better) and a mantra, that is, a song.
The Hindus used to distinguish fish from flesh.
Finally, having accomplished the act of a Gosain,
Tara lochana became the friend of Ahsen Ulla, named
Zafer Khán ibne Khájá, Abul hasen Taramzi, who
was the governor of Kachmir: this took place by
the interest of the confidential servants of the lord’s
house, who were well disposed to be directed by a
perfect Gósain. The said lord wished Taralochana
to procure him victory over the Tibetans; the Gosain
promised it to him, provided he should conform himself
to his directions: Zafer Khan consented to it,
and a convention was concluded between them.
Tara lochana said: “Appoint a great number of
Lúlían who are never to separate from me, because
in our religion the intercourse with these is
preferable to that with other women, on which
account they are entitled Déva-Kanyá, ‘the daughters
of the gods;’ my meal must never be destitute
of wine and other intoxicating liquors; to begin,
let a sheep be killed for me, and the necessaries
158
and materials of repast be prepared.” Zafer Khan
did all the Gosain demanded; when he made his
expedition to Tibet, he obtained a remarkable victory,
and returned triumphant. At last, a disagreement
took place between the Gosain and Zafer Khan;
the former quitted the latter, who soon after, on
account of a dispute between the Sonní and the Shiâh
of Kachmir, lost his consideration, and being obliged
to retire, went to Kabul; there Muhammed Tafer,
one of his relations, gave him some fatal stabs with
a poniard, in consequence of which he lay sick for
some time. Soon after he lost his office and property,
and remained long in Lahore without a situation.
The author of this book saw in the year 1055
of the Hejira (1645 A. D.) in Gujerat, a district of
the Panjab, Tara lochana, who told him “It was
on account of his difference with me that so
great a misfortune befel Zafer Khan.” Urfi of
Shiraz says:
“The bounty of the Eternal does not reject the unbeliever,
Provided he acquire perfection in the adoration of his idol.”
Shédosh, the son of Anosh declared: that, according
to the explainers of the law, there must be
observed in any pursuit a due relation and correspondence
to the intended purpose: further, in the
pursuit of a virtuous spirit, sanctity and purity are
required; but in the pursuit of a base spirit, nothing
of purity enters, and may be dispensed with. This
159
subject has been treated in the second section of the
work thereupon.
The writer of this book saw in the same year,
and in the place beforesaid of Guzerat, a man called
Mahadéo, who at night was always sitting upon a
dead body. I also saw Sadánand, of the same sect,
who said to one of his disciples: “I wish to perform
a rite, called the worship of the hair.”
The disciple brought his own daughter, and Sadánanda
gazed at her hair, kissed her face, and in
that way enjoyed her before the eyes of her father.
I saw besides a person who brought his wife to
him, saying: “I have no son in my house.” It
is the belief of this class that, if in such a manner
any one has intercourse with a barren woman, she
obtains whatever she desires; on that account, some
of the women, at the moment of intimate junction,
demand from the perfect man the gift of mukt, that is,
union with God Almighty, and emancipation from
this body. It was for that reason, that Sadánanda
used the woman before the eyes of her husband.
One day, Sadánanda sat in a burying place, naked,
with one of his friends, and drank wine, when one
of the orthodox Brahmans passed that way, and
saw these men. The disciples said: “This Brahman
will tell the people what he saw, and expose
us to ridicule.” Sadánanda replied: “It does not
matter.” When the Brahman came home, he died.
160
When in the year 1059 of the Hejira (1649 A. D.)
the author of this work happened to be in the district
of Kalinga, he saw in every village of this country
the image of a god, or of a spirit called by some
particular name, and each of these spirits is supposed
to be the author of some sickness or misfortune,
for the removing of which they offer their
prayers to him. One of these spirits is Anamberam;
and when a person gets a pimple, he brings
an animal, commonly a domestic bird, to the chapel,
and sacrifices it. In the work Khálasa al hayat, “the
essence of life,” composed by Mulla Ahmed Tatvi,
is stated, that upon the sepulchre of Asefnívas,[261]
a sage of Greece, they used to sacrifice a bird,
and they say that, in the book which treats of
the ceremonies of pilgrimage to the before-named
deities, three kinds of sacrifices are enumerated:
agreeable perfumes, sweet cakes, and beverages;
besides Mulla Ahmed Tatvi mentions in his work
just before quoted, that Herámes (that is Idris)[262]
has
established fumigations and wine of grapes for the
use of sacrifices.
161
Among the great idols of the country or Kaling is
Gang-Durgá.[263]
They say, Ramachandra déo, one of
their great Rájas, descendant of the celebrated family
of Kaśyapa, ruled in Orissa. This Rája, having
called a goldsmith, gave him the mass of gold which
he demanded for making an image of Durga. The
goldsmith, having carried the gold home, intended
to form the goddess of copper and to purloin the
gold, thinking that, as to break into pieces an idol is
not permitted among the Hindus, he could keep the
gold without fear of discovery. With this project
he went to sleep. When he awoke, he saw that
one half of the gold remained on the spot, and that
the other half was formed into the image of Durgá;
having carried this with the remaining gold to Ramachandra
déo, and told the story, the Rája gave him
the residue of gold, and carried the idol, in his house
and in his travels, constantly with him. They say
that, after the death of Kaśyapa the Great, Makandéo
assembled under his sceptre the nations of this
country, and that Vichnunath déo Sukra conquered
the town Sri Kakul,[264]
from the Rája Nanda. Ramchandra
déo moved his army towards Sri Kakul,
162
and took the fort; Vichnu-náth, being informed of
it, marched against him; Ramchandra déo, unable
to resist his force, fled; Ganga Durga was by her
guardians thrown away in a village, from whence
she fell into the hands of a Brahman, who flung her
into the barn of a villager. This man, having taken
her up, carried her to his house. The goddess appeared
to him in a dream, and said: “Offer me in
sacrifice thy eldest son, and I will make thee Rája.”
After a certain time, the villager told this secret to
Vishnu-náth déo, who, having taken the idol from
him, gave him a horse ornamented with gold, and a
magnificent dress, and carried the goddess to Naránya
púr, his residence. As she demanded from him also
the sacrifice of a man, Vichnu-náth déo killed every
year one of the thieves and like sorts of men before
her altar. After the death of Vichnu náth déo, his
sons did the same. When Vikramajet déo, who descended
from Vichna nath déo, was killed, and the
country disturbed by insurrections, then Dasvent-ráu,
who was one of the grand-children of Vichnu-náth
déo, having taken up Durga, fled from fear of
the army, commanded by Jalil ul Khader Tulají
Khan Bég, to Márkúl. Bhúpati, the Rája of Márkul,
being also afraid of the attack of the famous
general, sent him the goddess Durga, on Monday,
the ninth day of the month Rabish ul avel, of the
year 1062 of the Hejira (September, 1651, A. D.).
163
The idol was of gold, in the form of a female, with
limbs very well proportioned, four arms, in two of
her right hands carrying a three-pointed pike, which
the Hindus call Trisúla,[265]
and with which the goddess
was striking Mahisha Asura, a demon under the form
of a buffalo; he was beneath her right foot; in another
hand she had a white ball, and in the fourth, the
chakra, or discus, which is a circular weapon peculiar
to the Hindus; under her left foot was a lion,
and beneath him a throne. When they weighed
the image, they found it equal to four panchiri, measure
of the Dekhan. Even now, they sacrifice in
every village of the Kohistan of Nanda-púr, and
country adjacent, a man of good family.
Another idol, called Mávelí,[266]
is in the town of Bister.[267]
The belief of the people there is that, when an
hostile army comes to attack them, the divinity, under
the form of a woman selling vegetables, goes into
the camp of the enemy, and whoever eats what she
offers, dies; and during the night she appears like
one of the public girls, and whoever finds her charming,
and calls her, meets with death. They relate
164
many strange and wonderful things about her.
When in the year of the Hejira 1069, A. D. 1658-9,
the famous general Tavaljí Khan Beg besieged and
took the fort Kot Bahar, which is stronger than the
fort of Bister, there died so many men and beasts
of various maladies and the particular effects of climate,
that their number exceeds all computation;
and this the inhabitants of the fort of Bister attributed
to the power of the goddess.
There is another class of followers of Síva, that
is, of Sáktían, whose creed is quite different from
that just before stated: they never have intercourse
with the wife of another; they drink no wine. The
adorers of Síva are obliged to drink wine in the
Síva-ratra,[268]
which is a sacred night: because it is
written in their books that they ought then to fill a
cup with wine and to drink it; as, according to the
rule of this sect, it is not a matter of choice to drink
wine; many who cannot get it, having procured a
draught of syrup, mix a little of a fermented liquor
with it to render it like wine, and take it for such,
calling it pána.[269]
Sri Kanta, a Kachmirian, is conversant with
many sciences of the Hindus; he knows the sástras,
165
that is, the sástras of the Pandits, namely,
the Smríti sastra,[270]
or “the written law;” the Kavi-sástra,[271]
“poetics;” the Tarka-sástra,[272]
“logic and
dialectics;” the Váidyá vidyá,[273]
“the medical science;”
the Jyótisha,[274]
“astronomy;” and the
Pátanjala,[275]
that is, the restraining of the breath; he
knows besides very well the Vedanta, or metaphysics,
etc. In the year 1049 of the Hejira (1639 A. D.)
the author of this book saw him in Kachmir; he is
one of the saints of the Hindus. Sri Kant was
invested by the inhabitant of heaven, Núr-ed-din
Mahommed Jehangír Pádshah, with the dignity of
a judge of the Hindus, in order that they may be
tranquillised, and in every concern have nothing to
demand from the Muselmans: as it has been established
in the code of Akbar, that the tribes of mankind,
high and low, with the existing diversity of
creeds and difference of customs, which are all
under the trust of a beneficent lord, ought to dwell
in the shade of protection of a just king, and persevere
in the performance of their worship and the
166
exigencies of their devotion, so that, by the authority
derived from the chiefs, the sons of the age may not
stretch the hand of oppression over the condition of
the people.
The belief of the Hindus is as follows: all the
tírths,[276]
that is, “places of pilgrimage,” which are
in the world are in imitation of the fixed model Haratírth,
which is in Kachmir; for, after having visited
the holy place of Kachmir, there is no desire to see
that of any other country; and they call it the great
place of pilgrimage, likewise prayága,[277]
which is celebrated
at Máhábád; there are Shah abad ed-din púr,
and Gangavara, Lárasún, and Kisâlíhazra. There
are many miraculous things in Kachmir; one of them
is Sandebár, and they relate: In ancient times, a holy
Brahman dwelt in a cavern of the mountain, where
he devoted himself to the worship of the Almighty
God. Once every year, he went to the Ganges to
bathe. After having passed several years in that
way, Gangá said to the Brahman: “Thou measurest
always such a length of road, on which thou dost
set aside the worship of God: my convention with
167
thee is this: that, when the sun reaches the constellation
of the Bull, I will three times a-day come
to thy resting-place.” From this time, when the
great luminary throws his effulgence towards the
constellation of the Bull, the water of the river springs
up boiling from the basin of the fountain, which is
near the place of his devotion. Sundeberari, in the
cavern of the mountain, became celebrated: it is a
square basin, and has on its eastern wall an open
cavity, from which, as well as from several other
vents and holes in the sides of the basin, the water
springs up. However steadfastly one may look, the
bottom cannot be discovered. And in the middle of
the eastern side, there are seven holes, which the
people of Kachmir call Saptarshi,[278]
“the seven Rishis;”
on the northern side is an issue, which they
call dama bhaváni;[279]
when the world-illuminating sun
begins to enter the constellation of the Bull, the
water appears there in the following manner: it
springs up first from the large cavity, then from the
Saptarshi: so the Hindus call seven rakshasas, and
give their name to the constellation of the Great
Bear. Further, the water comes up from the dama
bhaváni, that is “the mansion of Bhaváni, the wife
of Mahadéo.” When the cavity is filled, then the
168
water, passing over the borders, runs out; the
Sanyásis and other Hindus, who had come from
distant places, throw themselves into it, and the
people who find no room, carry water from it.
Afterwards, the ebullition declines in such a manner,
that there remains not the least trace of the
water. In this month the water boils up three times
a-day, namely, in the morning, at mid-day, and in
the afternoon, at the hour of prayer. After the lapse
of this month, no more water is seen, until the sun
enters again into the sign of the Bull.
“Certainly, every thing announces God,
And offers the proof that there is but He.”
[280]
The historians of the times know Sandeberarí
among the wonders described by the ancient learned
men of Kachmir. The ignorant among the Muselmans
of Kachmir say, that Sandeberari is the well of
Abu Ali, and believe it to be the work of shaikh Arráis;
the truth is, that Hajet ul hak never came to Kachmir:
as it is evident from the concurring testimony
of history.
History of the illustrious Shaikh Abu Alí Hussain,
the son of Abdullah Sina (God bless his grave!)[281]—The
169
father of Abu Alí was a native of the environs
of Balkh, and his mother was Sitára. Abu Alí was
born in the year 333 of the Hejira (944 A. D.)[282]
When he had attained his eighteenth year, he was
conversant with all the liberal sciences. They relate,
that Amír Nuh, the son of Manzur Sámáni,[283]
in a
grave malady, when the doctors knew no remedy,
was restored to health by the salutary power of the
songs of Abu Ali. When the Sámánían were in
distress, he directed himself towards Khórasan, the
king of which country, Alí, the son of Mámun Massar,
received Abu Ali with perfect favour. When
170
Abu Ali was accused before the Sultan Mahmud
Sabak tegín,[284]
of being opposed to the religion and
creed of the ancient wise men, and when the Sultan
showed a disposition to apprehend him, the
Shaikh was alarmed and fled to Abyúverd; the satellites
of the Sultan followed him with pictures and
descriptions of his person, which were well drawn,
and sent by the Sultan to all parts of the kingdom,
in order that the magistrates and head men of office,
by means of this picture might bring the fugitive
before the Sultan. The Shaikh, informed of it, fled
towards Jorjan (Georgia). By means of the remedies
of the Shaikh, many sick were cured. Shamsen
ul mâlí Kábús, the son of Vashamger,[285]
had a
nephew on his sister’s side on a sick-bed, all the
remedies applied by the physicians proved useless;
by order of Kabus, they brought the Shaikh to the
pillow of the sick; but, in spite of all his cares and
observations, the learned physician could not discover
the cause of his illness. The Shaikh said
to himself: “This young man may be in love, and
from exceeding pudicity keep his secret unclosed.”
171
On that account he ordered the names of all the
places and towns to be written, and one after another
to be read before the patient, whilst the Shaikh
held his finger upon the pulse of the young man.
When they pronounced the name of the abode of
the beloved, the motion of the pulse of the enamoured
was perceptible; the Shaikh ordered also the
names of all the private houses to be read; at that of
the object of his desires, the pulse of the desirous
became disturbed; moreover they began to read the
names of the inhabitants of the houses; when they
arrived at that of his idol, the pulse of the adorer
again beat higher. Mazheri of Kashmir says:
“The pulse of the loving beats higher, agitated only at the name of the
beloved.”
Thus, the perfect science of Abu Alí found the
true remedy: he said to one of the head men near
Shams ul mâlí: “This young man is in love with
such a girl, in such a house, and there is no
remedy but the gratification of his desire.” After
trial, the truth of these words was found.[286]
When the Umras and the ministers of state withdrew
from the obedience of Kábus, whom they imprisoned,
172
the Shaikh retired into the country. Some
time after, he betook himself to Ráí.[287]
Majed-dóulah
Abu Táleb Rustam, the son of Fakher ed dóulah
Dalímí, the Hakim (governor) of Rái,[288]
showed him
great regard and honor; the Shaikh restored Majed
ud-dóulah from the malady of melancholy to good
health.
When Shams ed-dóulah made war upon Helál,[289]
son of Bader, son of Hasnávíah, who came from
the capital of the right faith (Mecca), he defeated
the army of Bâghdad. The Shaikh went from Rái
to Kazvín,[290]
and from thence to Hamdan.[291]
Shams
ed-dóulah was cured of a colic by the remedies of
the Shaikh, whom he then raised to the dignity of a
Vizír. The chiefs of the army conspired against
the life of Abu Ali; he fled, and remained concealed
173
during forty days. Meanwhile, the malady of Shams
ed-doulahreturned; the Shaikh, having come forth
from his place of concealment, delivered the Sultan
from his illness, and was again raised to the Vizirat.
After the death of Shams ed-doulah, the throne was
filled by Bahá ed-dóulah, the son of Táj ed dóulah.[292]
The Umrahs requested Abu Alí to accept the Vizírat,
but he refused his consent. About this time, Aláded-dóulah,
the son of Jâfer Kakyuah,[293]
sent from
Iśfahan an invitation to the venerable Shaikh to join
him; but the Shaikh declined to come, and concealed
himself in the house of Abu Táleb, a dealer
in perfumes. Without the example of any other
work before his eyes, he composed his work, entitled
Shafá, “remedy,” treating the whole of physics
and metaphysics.[294]
Tájed doulah, having assumed the name of Alaved-dóulah,
kept the Shaikh, by this assumption,
employed in a continual succession of affairs. When
Alawed dóulah conquered the country of Tájed ud
174
dóulah, he brought the Shaikh to Iśfahán.[295]
Towards
the end of his life, a disease of the bowels seized
the Shaikh, and gained strength, on account of his
active life in the service of Alawed dóulah, and of the
expeditions of his enemies. The patient was carried
in a covered chair. When Aladed-dóulah came to
Hamdán, the Shaikh felt that nature had exhausted
her strength, and could not resist the force of the
malady; on that account, having desisted from applying
any remedy, he took a bath, and having distributed
his property in alms to the poor, the indigent,
and the necessitous, he turned his mind to God and
the elect of the divinity; at last, on a Friday, in the
month of Ramzán, of the year 427 of the Hejira (1035
A. D.), he passed from this deceitful world to the
residence of happiness.[296]
A great man said:
“From the globe of black clay to the summit of Venus,
I traversed all the difficulties of the world;
Every tie which was fastened around me, on account of deceit and illusion,
Was loosened—except that of death.”
175
The extraordinary and astonishing actions performed
by Abu Alí have been described in the book
about the application of remedies in several histories[297],
few of which are reproduced in these pages;
and so much only with the intention to prove shortly
to the candid reader, that Shaikh Abu Alí never
came to Kachmir, about which intelligent and ingenious
men in all countries agree.
“There is no house which may not be the house of God.”
Section the eighth: of the Vichnuian (Va ishnavas)
worshippers of Vichnu.—Vichnu, who, according to
the belief of the followers of the Smriti, is a subordinate
divinity, is held by the Vichnuian to be the
preserver of all things. The Vedantían maintain
him to possess the qualities of virtue and of order,
and to be the lord of the five senses; not subject
however to the said senses, nor to their influence
in any way. According to the Vichnuían, he is the
first cause and author of the universe; they believe
him endowed with a body, like mankind; he has a
wife. Brahma, a deity, is the creator of things; and
176
Mahádéo, another divinity, the annihilator of beings;
both are creators of Vichnu, and distinct from his
holy being, because the path of union is closed between
the creature and the creator; they say, that
every body has a soul, but that the soul is not distinct
from, but a part of, the body; the body has
two forms, the male and female, and the creator
and author of their being is the holy nature of
Vichnu; the body is composed of five elements;
men, conformably with their actions and works, are
invested either with animal or human forms; the
soul is always confined in the gaol of ignorance and
in the fetters of avidity. Further, the spirits are
divided according to three qualities, which are: 1.
sattvam; 2. rájas; and 3. tamas: the explanation of
these three qualities has been before given. The
Satya (virtuous) tends towards mukt, that is, “emancipation;”
for by the power of this laudable quality,
he makes the bakhti, that is, “the worship of
Vichnu,” his pursuit; and this bakhti raises him to
the highest state, that is, to that of “emancipation;”
according to the interpretation of this sect, mukt consists
in this: that, after having left the sthúla sarira,[298]
or “elementary body,” and the linga sarira,[299]
that
177
is, “the visional body,” which has fallen into a vision
of appearances, and after having been transformed
into the primitive shape, which is either male or
178
female, one enters the Váikunt,[300]
that is, “the heaven
of beatitude of the Gods,” and the mansion of real
life. Rájas, that is, the possessor of this quality, is
liable to recompense or punishment; to the consequence
of virtue or crime, according to an impartial
appreciation of both. Now he holds the price
of virtue, another time that of crime; and conformably
to his merits or demerits, he migrates invested
with a body, and for reward is associated with
the blessed, or for punishment suffers witth the
damned. Whoever does not, from the circle of the
world, reach the shore of those who are united with
salvation, he shall certainly never attain to the state
of the desired emancipation. Tamas, that is, the
possessor of this quality, is an adversary to mukt, and
an enemy to liberation; his present and future condition
is this: that, having left the sthúla saríra,
that is, “his elemental body,” and the linga purusha,[301]
or “his visional body,” and having returned to his
primitive form, either male or female, he will be
tormented in the world of darkness, which they call
179
andhatamasa;[302]
from this place of manifold torments
he never returns. This is the substance of the creed
of the worshippers of Vichnu, called Madhu Acháris.[303]
The belief of another sect of the Vichnavas, called
180
Rámánandis,[304]
is in substance as follows: the quality of
Satwa tends towards the attainment of the high state
of mukt, or “emancipation;” the way of acquiring
it is, to lay aside all praises of another divinity;
to abstain from the rites of any other sect; and to
shun any other worship except that of the holy being
of Vichnu, to whom alone all thoughts, all prayers,
are to be directed, and whose remembrance is always
to be kept. In the same manner as it is not permitted
to a husband to desire the wife of another, in
the same way they hold it wrong to think of any
181
other deity but of Vichnu. The difference between
the beforesaid and this sect is, that the former associates
to the worship of Vichnu that of other angels,
of the creatures, servants, and companions of this
God, which they maintain as meritorious, and perform
with magnificence; whilst the latter sect considers
the other deities as deformed and hideous.
The characteristical mark of the Rámánandis is a
triangle drawn upon their forehead;[305]
they never eat
their meal before persons of another sect. The
Madhu Achárís[306]
wear two short strokes of red clay
near each other upon the forehead; they do not
associate with persons of another creed, but they
eat before Brahmans who are not of their own peruasion.
A third sect is that of the Harbayántís.[307]
They drink
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with Brahmans of another persuasion from the same
cup, and wear a circle as a mark on their foreheads.
A fourth sect is that of the Rádhá-Vallabhis;[308]
these
are bound by nothing; they observe no fast on the
eleventh day of the month; they deliver their wives
to the disposition of their preceptors and masters,
and hold this praiseworthy.
In Hindostan it is known that whoever abstains
from eating meat and hurting living animals, is
183
esteemed a Vaishnava, without regard to the doctrine
beforesaid. Some of them take the name of Rama,
who is also a manifestation of Vichnu; others choose
the title of Kishen (Krichna), another incarnation of
Vichnu. The reputation of continence and purity
prevails in favor of those who are called after Rama;
whilst those who take their title from Krishna are
ill-famed for sensuality and libidinousness. It happened
one day that a worshipper of Rama met with
an adorer of Krishna; the former repeated perpetually
“Ram, Ram;” the latter was occupied with the
praise of Krichna, to whom the worshipper of Rama
said: “Why dost thou repeat without end the name
of a man who was devoted to sensuality, the name
of Krichna?” He answered: “Because this name
is better than that of a man who knew not even
how to be certain of the honor of one woman.”
This was said in allusion to Râma’s having banished
his wife, named Sitâ, at the end of the fire-ordeal
which she underwent to prove her purity.[309]
Some
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of the pious of this sect eat no sort of turnips or
carrots which in eating, by taste or color, may
remind of flesh. The writer of this work heard from
Hansa rádja, a Brahman, that it is written in ancient
books of this class, that Brahmans used to fly in the
air and to walk upon the water, when, on account
of having polluted their lips by eating flesh, they lost
this power. As the Vairágis, too, profess to be Váishnavas,
I will treat of them in the following article.
Of the Vairágis.—Virág is in the dictionary interpreted
“aspiring.”[310]
This sect renounces the world;
their liturgy is in verse, and comprehends the worship
of Vichnu and his incarnations, as Rama, Krichna,
and the like, and these verses they call Vichnu padam.
They make pilgrimages to the holy places dedicated
to Vichnu, and wear around their necks rosaries of
tutasí,[311]
which they call malá-tulasí. Tulasí is an Indian
185
shrub. Whoever among the Hindus, Muselmans, or
others, wishes, is received into their religion; none are
rejected, but, on the contrary, all are invited. It is
said that some Muselmans also worship Vichnu, because
in “Bismilla,” they confound Bisem with Bishen
(or Vichnu), and most of them agree about the purity
and infinity of Vichnu’s being; in truth, they think
he is incorporeal; the spirits proceed like rays from
the light of his being, and all bodies from the shadow
of his existence; but they say that when he wills he
shows himself, as it happened, with four arms, and
they agree about his having manifested himself in
ten incarnations. They abstain from eating flesh.
They are divided into four classes: Rámánujas, Nimánujas,
Madhuacháris, and Radha Vallabhis, as before said:[312]
186
these four classes they call chár sampardá (sampradáya).[313]
Kabir,[314]
a weaver by birth, celebrated among those
187
Hindus who professed their belief in the unity of
God, was a Váiragi. They say that, at the time
when he was in search of a spiritual guide, he visited
the best of the Muselmans and Hindus, but did not
find what he sought. At last, somebody gave him
direction to an old man of bright genius, the Brahman
Rámánanda. This sage never saw the face of a
Muselman, nor of any other religionist. Kabir,
knowing that Rámánand would not converse with a
weaver, dug a hole upon the accustomed road of the
Brahman, and placed himself therein. Towards the
night Rámánand used to go to bathe on the border
of a river, and at the time when, to wash his body
and purify his soul with the water of sanctity, he
bent his steps towards a house of prayer, he arrived
on the border of the hole made by Kabir, who, coming
forth, clasped the feet of Rámánanda. As the Brahman
harboured in his mind no other thought but
that of God the highest, under the name of Rámá,
he called out: “Rám!” When Kabir heard “Rám”
from the tongue of Rámánand, he withdrew his
hands from the Brahman’s feet, and ceased not to
188
repeat the word “Rám, Rám!” so that no other
object but that was hovering before his eyes, as
before those of Rámánanda; and he discoursed about
the unity of God in sublime speeches, such as are
heard only from the most learned men. Kabir,
having acquired reputation, people said to Rámánand:
“There is a weaver in this town who wishes
to be your disciple; it is to be regretted that you
cannot be connected with a weaver, who is a man
of a low caste.” Rámánand answered: “Call him
to me,” which was done. When Kabir’s eye fell
upon that of Rámánanda, the former exclaimed:
“Rám, Rám!” the latter repeated “Rám, Rám!”
and clasped Kabir fast in his arms, to the great astonishment
and wonder of the people around, who
asked the reason of such a favor. Rámánand replied:
“Now Kabir is a Brahman, because he
knows Brahma, that is, the supreme Being.”
It is said, that a class of learned Brahmans, sitting
on the border of the river Ganga, praised its water,
because it washes away all sins. Whilst so speaking,
one of the Brahmans wanted water; Kabir, who had
heard their speeches, jumped up from his place, and
having filled a wooden cup which he carried with
water, brought it to the Brahman. Kabir, a weaver
by birth, being of a low caste, from the hands of
whom Brahmans can neither eat nor drink, the
water was not accepted, upon which Kabir observed:
189
“You have just now declared, that the water of the
Ganga purifies the body and the soul from the
pollution of sins, and from the foulness of evil actions,
and makes them all disappear; but if this
water does not render pure this wooden vase, it
certainly does not deserve your praises.”
Among the Hindus it is an establised custom to
bring flowers to God at the time of worship. One
day Kabir saw a gardener’s wife who collected flowers
for the image of a deity; he said to her: “In the
leaves of the flower lives the soul of vegetation,
and the idol to whom thou offerest flowers is without
feeling, dead, without consciousness, in the
sleep of inertness, and has no life; the condition
of the vegetable is superior to that of the mineral.
If the idol possessed a soul, he would chastise the
cutter, who, when dividing the matter of which
the image is formed, placed his foot upon the
idol’s breast: go, and venerate a wise, intelligent,
and perfect man, who is a manifestation of
Vichnu.”
Kabir showed always great regard for the Fakírs.
One day, a number of Durvishes came to him; he
received them with respect in his house; as he possessed
nothing to show his generosity and munificence
to them, he went from door to door to procure
something, but having found nothing, he said to his
wife: “Hast thou no friend from whom thou mayst
190
borrow something?” She answered: “There is
a grocer in this street who threw an eye of bad
desire upon me; would I from this sinner demand
something, I should obtain it.” Kabir said: “Go
immediately to him, grant him what he desires,
and bring something for the durvishes.” The
woman went to the lewd grocer, and requested the
loan of what she required; he replied: “If thou
comest this night to me, thy request is granted;”
the woman consented, and swore the oath which he
imposed upon her to come; after which the grocer
gave her rice, oil, and whatever these men might
like. When the Fakírs, well satisfied, went to rest,
a heavy rain began to fall, and the woman wished
to break her engagement; but Kabir, in order to
keep her true to her word, having taken her upon
his shoulder, carried her in the dark and rainy
night, through the deep mud, to the shop of the
bad grocer, and placed himself there in a corner.
When the woman had entered into the interior part
of the house, and the man found her feet unsullied,
he said to her: “How didst thou arrive without thy
feet being dirty?” The woman concealed the fact.
The grocer conjured her by the holy name of God to
reveal the truth; the woman, unable to refuse, said
what had taken place. The grocer, on hearing this,
shrieked and was senseless. When he had recovered
his senses, he ran out and threw himself at
191
Kabir’s feet. Afterwards, having distributed among
the poor whatever he had in his shop, he became a
Virágí. Shaikh Mahmud said:
“When lust seizes the heart of man, God now and then renders vain
his intent.”
It is said that when Kabir left his elemental body,
the Muselmans assembled in order to give him a
burial, because they supposed him to have been of
the right faith; and the Hindus too crowded in order
to burn his body, because they thought him to have
professed their religion. At last a Fakír stept in
the midst of them, and said: “Kabir was a holy
man, independent of both religions; but having
during his life satisfied you, he will also, after
death, meet with your approbation.” Having then
opened the door, they did not find Kabir’s body, and
both parties remained astonished and bewildered.
“O friend, live so that, after thy death,
Thy friends may bite their finger (from joyous astonishment).”
In Jagernath, at the place where they burn the
dead, is the form and simulacre of a tomb which
they call Kabir’s.[315]
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“Live so with good and bad that, after thy death,
The Muselman may wish to bury, and the Hindu to burn thee (according to their rites).”
Another of the celebrated Virágis was Dáyú. One
day, when Brahmans and Bánians (that is, traders)
were assembled in a temple of Vichnu, they drove
Dáyú out of it, as not worthy of being among their
congregation. Dáyú, having gone out, sat down at
the back of the temple, which soon after turned
about towards the side where Dáyú was.
Perah Káivan, a Yezdánian, is one of the accomplished
saints, and shows himself in the dress of
every sect. When in that of a Vairági, he was in
Guzerat for the sake of a pleasure-walk, he saw some
of the Váirágis who came from a place of pilgrimage,
and had a mark impressed upon their hand and
arm: because, whoever makes a pilgrimage to the
holy place of Krichna, gets the form of the God’s
weapon (the diskus) imprinted upon his body by
means of a hot iron. Kaivan Perah said to the Vairágis:
“Why this wound?” they answered: “This
is the mark of Vichnu; whoever has it is by the
God recognised as being his.” Kaivan Perah
observed: “When the soul is separated from the
body, they burn the corpse; no mark of it remains;
whilst the soul is not perishable, and has
no mark: how will then Vichnu recognise it?”—When
he came to Ahmed-abad, which is the capital
193
of Guzerat, he saw a crier who, from the top of a
mosque, chanted his prayer; when he had come
down, Káivan Perah asked him: “Hast thou received
an answer?” the crier said: “From whom?”
Kaivan replied: “From him to whom thou hast
been calling.” Lubhaní says:
“They call loud to God seeking him,
This people think him, perhaps, to be far off.”
When he came to the harbour of Surat, which is
one of the principal ports of Hindostán, he met with
a Háji (a pilgrim from Mecca) who had come by sea
to the harbour; Kaiván Perah asked him: “Whence
dost thou come?” He answered: “From the
house of God.” Kaiván said further: “Hast
thou seen God?” The reply was “No.” “He was
perhaps not at home,” rejoined Kaiván, and the
Háji remained astonished.
The Vairágis are not devoted to a particular worship;
they say, the name of Vishnu suffices for the
acquisition of mukt, or “the union with God.” This
sect was formed during the Káli yúg, and call themselves
also Váichnavas: they renounce the world,
and say: “Our way is opposite to that of the Vêdas
and of the Koran: that is, we have nothing to do
either with Muselmans or Hindus.” A great
number of Muselmans adopted their creed, such as
Mirza Salah, and Mirza Háider, two noble Muselmans
who became Vaíragis. Of this sect was Naráin
194
Dásí, who sided with Rámánandis, which is one of
the Sampradayas, that is the first of the four classes
before mentioned. The author of this book saw
him in the year 1052 of the Hejira (1642 A. D.) in
Lahore. He was one of those who are freed from
the affections of the world; he honored whomever
he saw, and said: “Every body belongs to the
divinity; that is, every body is the house of God.”
“Without thee there is nothing that is in the world:
From thyself demand whatever thou wishest: for it is thyself.”
Píránah Kohely was of the sect of Vairagis, and
Kohelí is a tribe of Kshatriyas; he withdrew from
all the affections and troubles of the world. Having
left the Guzerat of Panjab, which is his native place
and the seat of his ancestors, he went to Vizírábád, a
city built by Hakím Ilam eddín, named Buzín khan,
and chose to settle not far from the above mentioned
Guzerat. He had no faith in pious austerity. He
said, the saints are men who, in a former existence,
have brought affliction upon other men, and on that
account do penance in this world; every pious act
joined to some austerity is a requital of their
deeds; those who are fasting have, in a former
state, let hunger and thirst afflict the low and feeble;
those who watch at night have, in his opinion, prevented
the servants from sleeping; the Sanyásis,
called Thádéser, who remain years standing upon
195
one leg, he thinks to be a class of spirits who have
not permitted the servants to sit down; and those
who suspend themselves, and others who perform
their devotion in an inverted or strained posture,
are a class who used to suspend their inferiors; and
those who visit celebrated places and sacred mansions
of pilgrimage, are a set who, for trifling reasons,
have without pity sent about couriers to different
places, without paying them their hire; the
játis,[316]
that is, those who abstain from intercourse
with women, and from sensual indulgence, are an
order of spirits, who have not provided for their
sons and daughters the subsistence and furniture
requisite for the marriage state, and prohibited to
them this enjoyment, for which reason they now are
subjected to retaliating penance.
This sect do no harm to any living being; which
is common to all Vairágis, as well as to neglect devotion;
but, in opposition to the creed of the Vairágis,
they do not admit the Avatars, and say that God is
exempt from transmigration and union; and, according
to those who profess the belief in the unity and
solitariness of the supreme being, he is not susceptible
196
of (what we call) intimate friendship. Being
asked about the history of Krichna, Píránah said:
“He was a Rája, devoted to licentiousness, and
oppressing mankind.” The writer of these pages
saw Píranah in the year 1050 of the Hejira (1640
A. D.), in Vizirábád, and in the same year and in
the same place he saw Ananta, who was of the same
creed as Píránah, but particularly addicted to the
belief of the singleness of God.
Ananta did not advise abstinence to the sick. One
of his friends being attacked by a diarrhœa, Ananta
gave him substantial and sweet food, until he left
this elemental body. One of his disciples wanted to
have a vein opened; Ananda, having been informed
of it, expressed himself strongly against this operation
and prevented it. Thus, the author of these
pages saw, in the year of the Hejira 1050 (A. D. 1640)
in Guzerat of the Panjab, another of this sect, called
Mían Lál, who was venerated by a great number of
his sectaries; he abstained from eating any sort of
animal food, and showed politeness to every body;
like Píránah, he never cleansed his patched garment
from vermin, and used to say: “These insects have
an assignment for their daily subsistence written
upon my body.” Váirágis are also called Mundís;[317]
because they shave four parts of their bodies,
and one shaved is called Mundí.[317] There arose a dissension
197
between this sect and the Sanyásis; in the
year 1050 of the Hejira (1640 A. D.) a battle was
fought at Hardwar,[318]
which is a holy place of the
Hindus, between the Mundís and the Sanyásis, in
which the latter were victorious and killed a great
number of the Mundís: these men threw away their
rosaries of Tulasi wood which they wear about their
necks, and hung on their perforated ears the rings
of the Jógís, in order to be taken for these sectaries.
Section the ninth: on the creed of the Cha rvak.[319]—This
sect call rupa skandha[320]
whatever is perceived
and understood by means of the senses.
What is ascertained by the perception of the senses
is named vidy[321]
skandha. Personality, consciousness,
egotism, have the denomination of jnaná skandha.[322]
198
The knowledge of animal nature is termed
jnapti skandha.[323]
Whatever enters the interior part,
that is, the mind, is entitled sanskára skandha.[324]
They
say, out of these five skandhas just mentioned, there
is no other living principle, neither in man nor
brutes;[325]
the world and its inhabitants have no
199
creator, and there is no maker: this is clear: because
whatever has not entered into the field of
manifestation, and has not broken into daylight,
cannot have the color of reality, and to be high or
low, proceeds from the nature of the universe;
whatever is written in the Vedas is not made public,
and besides may be a lie which rests upon no foundation;
and a lie certainly proceeds from the Vedas,
inasmuch as they perform hóm, which is a ceremony
in which they throw rice and like matters into the
fire, and recite prescribed prayers, saying that this
goes to the gods: now, whatever we throw into the
fire, after cremation, becomes ashes—how do these
go to the gods? It is also written in the Vedas, that
they are to make an offering of cooked meal to a
dead man—who is to enjoy it? For instance, when
a person is gone from village to village, from one
town to another, and in his absence a meal destined
for him is presented to another person, the stomach
of the former will not be filled. In the same manner,
when any thing is offered to a dead person, who,
according to the assumption of the followers of the
Vedas, has been translated to another world, what
honor and profit will accrue from it to him?
Thus is it also among the revelations of the Vedas,
200
that the depraved and criminal will be punished,
and the virtuous and holy associated to quietness
and satiated with prosperity: the one and the other
is a lie: because the vicious man is freed and alleviated
from the hardship of fasting, of bathing in
cold water, of subjection to pious practices, and
other inconveniences; whilst the virtuous, according
to the Vedas, is bound to all these troubles; further,
the wise ought to take his share of all the pleasures
and cultivate his happiness, because, once reunited
with earth, he will no more return.
“There is no return for thee; once gone, thou art gone.”
However, nobody is to hurt living beings, as by it
he is liable to cause some harm to himself. It is
agreed by the wise that no injury is to be done to
another; by the observance of which men may be
set at ease, their numbers increased, and cultivation
be promoted. This is the substance of the belief of
the Charvák.
We will explain it more clearly; their creed
is as follows: As the creator is not manifest, and
the comprehension of mankind cannot attain to
any certain knowledge about him, why should we
submit to the bondage of an object doubtful, imaginary,
if even wished for, yet not found; and why
should we, in temples and monasteries, rub our
foreheads on the ground, and present offerings to
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deities whose reality, as all agree, will not stand
trial? And why, for the promise of heaven and
of future beatitude should we, like blockheads, abstain
from the abundance of desirable things, from
conveniences and blandishments? A wise man will
not give ready money for an adjourned good, and
deliver up place and power upon the lying accounts
of books, which eloquent men call Vedas, or heavenly
books; it is upon their authority that they extinguish
all desires in themselves, and press the necks of
men, like those of animals, in halters. We ought
not to be deceived; we ought not to believe what is
not evident. The frame of the body is composed of
four elements, which by the necessity of nature are
united harmoniously together; as long as the constitution
is firm and health flourishing, it is proper to
enjoy whatever is desirable by its nature, provided
no harm to living creatures arises from it; when the
frame falls asunder, the state to which the element
returns can only be the element; after the disjunction
of the bodily structure, there is no ascent to a
higher mansion, no beatitude or quietness, no descent,
or fire, or hell. These sectaries, when they
hear the Vedas recited, say jokingly: “These are
sick persons in a painful fit, or hired journeymen
in an uproar.” When they behold the zunar
(sacred thread) upon the neck of a Brahman, they
say: “A cow will not be without a rope.” When
202
they find a pious person watching by night, they say:
“He aspires to the dignity of an owl.” When they
encounter a hermit upon a mountain, they remark:
“He strives to outdo a bear.” When a person practises
the restraining of breath, they observe: “He
wishes to imitate a snake.” Of a person in a bath,
they say: “He chooses the dwelling of a fish or a
frog.” Moreover, when the Hindus relate that
Brahma, Vichnu, and Mahadéo, their three great
divinities, are the creator, the preserver, and the
destroyer of the world, they reply: “They represent
nothing else than the sexual organs.”[326]
Upon
Vichnu’s having four arms, they gloss: “At the time
of sexual intercourse, each man and woman has as
many.” To the praise of Mahadéo, from whose
head the river Ganges flowed, they subjoin the interpretation,
that “this means the virile organ in its
natural functions.”[327]
They meet the statement of
Brahma’s being the creator of things, with the reply:
“That this is an emblem of the birth of children:”
and they proffer many other speeches of a similar
import.
203
Section the tenth: on the system of those who
profess the doctrine of Tark.[328]—Tark śastra is the
science of dialectics; it is divided into sixteen parts,
as follow: The first, Pramána;[329]
this is the application
of the science, which is subdivided into four
parts: 1. Paríkshá;[330]
that is, evidence, which with
them is the sense of discriminating what is particular
and well defined; 2. Anumána;[331]
that is, after having
perceived the mark of an object, to infer its existence;
thus shall I call a mountain igni-vomous, on account
of the smoke which proceeds from it; 3. Apamána;[332]
that is “resemblance;” thus I shall say: such as is
a cow, such is also an elk (or gayal);[333]
although I may
not have seen an elk, but only heard that it is like a
cow; 4. Sabda;[334]
that is, “sound:” by these they
mean speeches which people adopt as sacred; such
“as the Hindus have the Vedas, and the Muselmans
the Koran.” These are the four parts which
constitute the Pramána.
The second of the sixteen divisions of the Tark
204
sastra is Pramiti,[335]
that is, the comprehension of
what is conjoint and concomitant. This division is
subdivided into twelve parts, namely, 1. Atmá,[336]
that is “spirit;” and means something which is
distinct from what is material and sentient; something
everlasting, eternal, very subtile in all bodies;
2. Sarírá,[337]
that is “body;” and this they define
to be the seat of sensuality and of maladies; 3. Indriya,[338]
“the exterior senses;” and these they call
the organs of perception; 4. Artha,[339]
and this they
declare to be “the earthly existences;” 5. Buddhi,[340]
which they term “knowledge;” 6. Manas,[341]
“or the interior sense, which with the Hindus is
the heart,” and that is enough; 7. Pravritti,[342]
and
205
this consists in justice or injustice; 8. Dósha,[343]
that
is “sinful error,” and this is subdivided into three
parts, viz.: Rága, and this is “sensual lust;” Dvèsha,
that is, “hate, enmity;” Muha,[344]
and this is “gross
ignorance;” 9. the ninth of the twelve subdivisions
is Prétyabháva,[345]
which is “the reproduction
either of the tree from the seed, or of the animal
from the sperma;” 10. Phal,[346]
or “the good consequence
of the good, or the bad consequence of
the bad,” which means “retribution;” 11. Dukh,[347]
or “pain;” and 12. Apavarga,[348]
that is, “delight,”
or the satisfaction of truth, from which they derive
emancipation, or mukt, in the language of their
learned men. Whoever is in full possession of it
banishes far from himself twenty-one maladies which
they enumerate, namely: 1. Saríra,[349]
or “the body;”
206
2. Shadindriya,[350]
that is, “the six senses,” five of
which are exterior, and the sixth is, according to
the Hindus, the interior sense, except which they
know of no other; they say, the mind is the lord of
the exterior senses; 3. Shad-darsa,[351]
that is, “the six
particular objects of the six senses;” so as seeing
with the eye, hearing with the ear, smelling with the
nose, tasting with the tongue, touching with the
hand, and perceiving with the mind; he who sees
is one, and that which is seen is another; so that
there is a seeing eye and a seen object, whatever is
seen, heard, smelled, tasted, touched, and impressed
upon the mind, corresponds respectively to each of
the six senses; and whatever is found by these six
senses, or the six objects, are called Shad-darsas;
these six, with the six former senses, and the saríra,
or “body,” make thirteen; add to these six buddhaya,
or “powers of comprehension;” further, sukhá,[352]
or “sensual delight;” and finally, dukh, or “pain,”
and you have the twenty-one affections before mentioned.
The third of the sixteen parts of the Tarka is the
sanśaya:[353]
this consists in pondering whether a certain
207
object be such a thing or another, as when a
person sees from a distance an object and is not certain
what it is, whether it be a mineral or a man.
The fourth part is the Prayójana,[354]
that is, “motive,”
which they explain thus: as when one by
order goes to find something either good or bad.
The fifth part is the Drishtánta;[355]
that is, “comparison
by way of illustration;” so when they
compare a mountain and a kitchen, that is: the
mountain contains fire, and so does the kitchen, and
both indicate it by the smoke which they emit.
The sixth part is the Siddhanta;[356]
and this is knowing
something with certainty.
The seventh part is Avayava,[357]
“dividing a subject
into minute parts;” for instance, when they say:
208
“he mountain contains fire on account of smoke,”
so is, in this question, the first part termed pratijnya,
or “proposition,” the mountain contains fire;
the second part, called hètu, or “cause, reason;”
in this thesis is: on account of the smoke which it
emits.
The eighth part is Tarka,[358]
that is, “arguing:” so
when they say: “the mountain contains no fire,”
it may be replied: “consequently it also emits no
smoke.”
The ninth part is Nirnéya;[359]
which is to find the
truth immediately.
The tenth is Váda,[360]
or “discussion;” that is, to
raise questions about God and the saints.
The eleventh is Jalpa:[361]
that is, “wrangling;”
when one, in the establishment of what is right,
endeavors to conquer his adversary.
The twelth part is Vitandá;[362]
which means that
209
one pays no attention to his own position, but combats
that of other persons.
The thirteenth part is hètwàbhása;[363]
or “fallacious
argument;” so when one says: “sound is eternal;”
because what may be seen by the eye is
like the sky, and just as the sky is perceived by
sight, so is sound the perception of the ear.
The fourteenth part is Ch’hala,[364]
“deceit;” this is
when one substitutes one meaning for another: so
as the Persian word náu kambil[365]
means “a new
cover,” or “nine covers,” it may give occasion
to equivocation.
The fifteenth part is Játi[366]
“futile argument;”
and this may be applied to a lying purpose: so
when one says that “sound is eternal,” because it
is created, as is the sky; both are the works of a
divinity; and whereas the sky is eternal, sound is
everlasting.
The sixteenth part is Nigraha,[367]
or “subjugation;”
210
that is, when one wishes to be a conqueror at the
end of a dispute with another.
These are the sixteen parts of the Tarka.[368]
The
followers of this doctrine judge and affirm that, as
this world is created, there must be a Creator; the
mukt or “emancipation,” in their opinion means
striving to approach the origin of beings, not uniting
like the warp and the web, the threads of which,
although near, are nevertheless separate from each
other. This was related to me by the Imám Arastú,
who was a chief of the learned and said to me
that he had derived it from an old treatise upon
logic, the precepts of which were without explanation,
and to have bestowed on it that arrangement
under which it now exists amongst the learned: he
meant, probably, that the maxims are the same as
those extracted from the Tarka. The same doctrine
was taught in Greece: in confirmation of this, the
Persians say, that the science of logic which was
diffused among them was, with other sciences,
translated into the language of Yonia and Rumi, by
order of king Secander, the worshipper of science,
in the time of his conquest, and sent to Rúmi.
Section the eleventh: on the tenets held by the
followers of Buddha.—These sectaries are also
211
called Jatis.[369]
They have no belief in incarnations
or Avatárs of the Deity, but they admit the transmigration
of the soul into different bodies; they deny
several other dogmas of the Hindus; in their opinion,
nothing is more detestable than the doctrine of the
Brahmans, and when a misfortune befals any one of
them, they say: “Hast thou perchance done some
good to a Brahman,” or drunk some water of the
bone devourer: so they call the Ganges, because the
Hindus, after the burning of the dead, throw their
bones into that river, and think it a meritorious act.
The Jatis take the greatest care of not hurting a living
being; on which account they do not like to pass
through water, for fear that an animal might come
under their feet. They eat no animal food, never
put their feet upon grass, and when they drink
water, they filter it first through a handkerchief or
a piece of cloth, that no living animal may remain in
it, and then steep this piece of cloth awhile in water,
in order that, if a living being stick thereto, it may
be separated, and take its place in the liquid. A
great number of the Baníans or traders are of this
sect; for the most part they sell corn, and some
get a livelihood as servants. The durvishes of this
212
class are called Srivaras and Jatís.[370]
They pluck the
hair of their head and beard by means of tweezers.[371]
When they travel, they carry a besom of the bark
of a soft tree with them, and out of regard for the
life of animals, they sweep the road with it before
they put down their feet, that no living insect may
be destroyed. When they speak, they hold a handkerchief
before their mouth, not to swallow a fly or
other insect.
They are frequently learned, and pass their life
in celibacy and sanctity; these they call Jatis, who
never behold the face of a woman. Those of this
sect who are married, called Grihast’ha,[372]
show great
regard for the Jatis, before whom, by a refinement
213
of respect, they scarce dare bend their body. Whenever
they receive a Jati in their house, they do whatever
he orders, according to their power. They
are divided into two classes: the Lunugí and Pujáris.
The first are those who adore God as one, and
think him free from all imperfections and contradictions,
descents and conjunctions, and who worship
no idol. The Pujáris venerate the image of a
deity, and have temples for it. The durvishes of
both classes, called Jatis, at the time of taking meals,
go into the houses of friends, and take only as much
food as may not cause a privation to the people of
the house: thus they visit several houses until they
get satiated. They drink no cold water, but go
from place to place, and wherever any body has
warm water for bathing, they take a little of it, and
having thus collected sufficient water, they let it
cool and then drink it.
Similar to the durvi hes of both classes is a third
sect, called Mahá-átma; they have the dress and
appearance of Jatis; only they do not pluck their
hair with tweezers, but cut it. They accumulate
money, cook their meal in their houses, drink cold
water, and take to them a wife. Farzánah Khushí
says: I saw, in Guzerat of the Panjab, a Śrivara, and
requested him to give me a full account, which may
be deemed true beyond any doubt, of the people of his
sect. He related as follows: “The men of my faith
214
may live retired from the world, or devoted to business;
they do no harm to any body; but there
are many of them eager for science, and as many
bereft of knowledge.” One of the Maha-átmas was
a learned man; the wife of a rich man devoted herself
to his service; one day she complained to him of
the unkindness of her husband; the Śrivara gave no
answer; wherefore the woman said: “Another time
I will not wait on thee, because thou takest no
interest in me.” The Śrivara rejoined: “If
even thy visit were agreeable to me, it would be
of no service to thee.” He then took up a bit of
grass, and having breathed upon it, gave it to the
woman, saying: “Put on a clean garment, and
having ground the grass, rub it upon thy garment
until thy husband becomes kind to thee.”
The woman returned to her house, and having
ground the grass upon a stone, intended to rub it
upon her garment, when the husband entered into
the room, therefore the grass she had ground remained
upon the stone. When night fell in, they shut
the door of the house. The stone at every moment
jumped from its place, knocked against the board of
the door, and fell back: the woman and her husband
were astonished. The man asked his wife the
reason of it, and she, from fear, told him what had
taken place. The man rose and opened the door of
the house; the stone was set in motion, and rolled
215
on until it reached the house of the Mahá-átma.
Many other similar stories are told of the Srívaras.
Khushi said that he had seen the Jati
just mentioned, who by the power of incantation
put stones into motion; he praised him, but declared
that this man was really a Jati, but not a
Mahá-átma.
The author of this book affirms he has seen a great
number of Srivaras and their followers. From them
he knew Meher chand, a Lúnú, in the year 1056 of the
Hejira (1646 A. D.), in Dotárah, which is under the
dominion of Jodpur Márawár, he found also Síva
rama, a Pujári, in Mírta, which place belongs to Marawar,
and one named Jagna, a Banian, in Ráwel Pandi:
he was adorned with all the good qualities of Jatis.
When he saw a bird in the hands of a fowler, he
bought it of him and set it free. This sect do whatever
they can for the liberation of living beings.
Many of them are rájas in several places and countries.
When one brings a goat which he has bought
somewhere, and is disposed to kill it, they come
from their shops and buy the animal at a high price;
thus it has been seen that, having assembled from
all hands a great number of sheep, they appointed a
person to take care of them. It is said, that in Guzerat
lived a Banian who was a Jati; one day, a Muselman
Durvish sat down before his shop, and having
picked vermin from his coat, was about to kill it;
216
the Banian interposed; the Durvish said: “If thou
wilt give me something, I may spare it;” the
Banian offered a pie;[373]
the other wanted more and
more, until the bargain closed with the sum of one
hundred rupees, which the Banian paid for the
liberation of the offensive insect. Hafiz Shirázi says:
“Avoid hurting any living animal, and do whatever thou likest,
For in my book of laws there is no crime but this.”
Section the twelfth: on various religious systems
professed by the people of India.—It is to be
recollected that, as has been stated, there are Samradíán,
Khodaníán, Radián, Shíderangíán, Pâikeríán,
Mílánían, Aláríán, Shídábíán, Akhshían, and Mazdakían,
who are dispersed in Iran and Turan, and
all appear in the dress of Muselmans, although in
secret they follow each the path of their own chosen
faith; in the same manner various sects are also
established in India, but they do not appear in the
dress of Muselmans. It is to be known, that the
fundamental rule in the creed of the Hindus is the
Smriti, that is, the “law,” and that all Rakshasas,
that is, “devotees,” follow this way; the Véda,
to them the heavenly book, prescribes the acts, and
217
is a text, from which every sect may derive proofs
of its particular belief, and all may agree in some
points.
I have already given an account of their religion,
but I must here remind the reader of some points.
They say Naránaya, that is, “the deity,” in the origin
was alone; a flower, namely, the lotus, having
a thousand leaves, rose from his navel, from which
Brahma came forth, Brahma chatur mukha,[374]
or “four
faced;” one of these faces was cut off by Máhadéo;
Brahma is also ashta báhu,[375]
that is “eight
armed;” in his navel was also a flower of five hundred
leaves, from which Vichnu proceeded; Vichnu
chatur báhu, or “four armed;” he carries in one hand
a spear; in the other, the chakra, “the discus,” a
weapon peculiar to the Hindus; in the third hand,
the gadá, or “club;” and, in the fourth, the lotus
flower. In the navel of Vichnu was a lotus of one
hundred leaves, from which sprang Mahadéo, who
is ashtamukha, or “eight faced” and “eight armed;”
he rides upon a bull, his neck is surrounded by a
snake, the hide of an elephant envelops him, and
his body is rubbed with ashes; chandra, “the moon,”
surya, “the sun,” and agni, or “fire,” are his three
eyes. The sect of Sáivas adore Mahadéo, and his
218
wife is worshipped by the Akmían and Ashnían, as
before shown.
Another sect is that of the Sanyásis, who are
praised in the Smriti; they distinguish themselves
by long and entangled hair, which is called jata.[376]
The Saiva-Sanyásis are also called Avadutas; their
numbers increased during the Kaliyug; they are
very pious, intrepid, and charitable. At one time,
a war broke out between them and the Sófís: the
former were victorious.
Another sect is that of the Jangaman; these also
cut the hair off their heads, they rub dust upon their
bodies, and praise Mahadéo, to whom they attribute
a real existence. They are divided into several
classes. They say, among the celestial spirits are
nine Brahmas, who are the anśus,[377]
that is, “the
rays” of Brahma. There are one thousand
Vichnus, rays of Vichnu, who is also called Naráyana;
there are eleven Rudras, rays of Rudra, which
is a name of Mahádeo; they reckon twelve suns,[378]
rays of the great luminary; sixteen kalas,[379]
that is,
219
parts or rays of the moon; and they divide the effulgence
of that body into sixteen parts, and enumerate
eight and twenty of its mansions, or nakshatras,[380]
and
seven planets, besides the head and tail of the dragon.
Ganesa is to them a god with the head of an
elephant. They distinguish eight quarters of the
world, besides the zenith and nadir, and call them
asht dísa,[381]
in the following order: purva, “east;”
paśchima, “west;” dakchina, “south;” and uttara,
“north;” between south and east, agni; between
south and west, náirrita; between north and west,
váyu, between north and east, íśána. Among the
deities are Bhaírava[382]
and Hanuman, and among
220
female spirits asht Durgás, or “eight Durgás,” in
the following order: Kálaká, Chandra Kálanjarí, Káumarí,
Váichnaví, Bábhraví, Chamundá,[383]
Bhavání, and
Parvati.[384]
Maha Lakchmî Sarasvatí is the wife of
Brahma. Rakshasas are termed the pious men of
the Satya yug; Kaśyapa is the father of the sun;
Vaśishta, the preceptor of Ram-avatár; Viśvamitra,
a Kshatría, who by dint of pious austerity became a
Brahman; Valmiki is the author of the poem Ramayána,
which contains the history of Ráma; Angirasah
Ihr Vyása composed the historical poem Mahabharata;
Bhazadvája Jamadagni existed in the Dwapara
yug; Gotama, Kapah, (Kapila?) Parására, Narada, in
the Kali yug; Chonah, Apravanah, Aurdah, Jamed Kapeh,
these are for ever living;[385]
Saptarchaya, that is, seven
Richis, or “saints,” are: Kaśyapa, Uttara, Bhardvája,
Viśvamitra, Gotama, Jamadagni, and Vaśis’hta.[386]
It is to be known that there is a class among the
Hindus who give themselves the term of Muselman-sofis,
221
and really agree in several tenets and
opinions with the Sufís. Thus, in the first place,
they devote themselves to celibacy. As they have
heard that there are ten classes of Sanyásís, and
twelve of Yogís, they also pretend to be divided into
fourteen classes; when they meet together, the questions
which they ask are: Who are the four sages,
and which are the fourteen noble families? and they
impose upon their disciples many years of service,
before they reveal to them the four sages and the
fourteen families; they say: The sage of sages is the
illustrious Muhammed (may the peace of God be
upon him!); after him, devoted to godliness, Ali (may
the blessing of God be upon him!); from him the
khalifat devolved upon Imam Hossain; then Khaja
Hossen, of Basora, also was his disciple and a khalif:
these four personages are the four sages. They
say besides, from Khaja Hossen, of Basora, sprang
two branches: the first was that of the khalif Hossen
Basorí Habíb Ajemí, from whom nine families
proceeded, named as follows: the Jíbíán, Táikeríán,
Kerkhíán, Sikatíán, Jenídíán, Gazrúníán, Túsíán, Ferdusíán,
and Soherwardíán. From the second khalifat
of Hossen Basori, which was that of the Shaikh
Abdul Wahid Zaid, came forth five families with
the following titles: the Zebírían, Aiáśían, Adhamían,
Habírían, and Cheshtíán: and these are the
fourteen noble families. It is said, that there exists
222
a congregation of pious sectaries, who do not adhere
to the prophet Muhammed, although they acknowledge
him to be a blessed gatherer of the harvest of
virtuous perfection: they relate, that one day the
prophet was taking a pleasure-walk under the guidance
of Jabríl, and came to a place where a great
tumult was heard. Jabril said: “This is the
threshold of pleasure: enter into the house.”
The prophet consented to go in, and there he saw
sitting forty persons as naked as they came from
their mother, and a band busy serving; but whatever
service the prophet requested them to command
him to do, they did not comply, until the moment to
grind bang[387]
arrived. When they had ground it,
they had no cloth through which they could strain
and purify it; then the prophet, having taken his
turban from his head, purified through it the juice of
the bang, the color of which remained on the turban;
whence the garment of the Biní Hashem is green.
When the prophet rendered them this service, they
were glad, and said among themselves: “Let us
give to this messenger of God, who is always
running to the door of the ignorant, a little of
the bang, that he may obtain the secrets of the
Almighty power:” so they gave the remains of the
juice to the prophet. When he had drunk it, he
223
became possessed of the secrets of the angel of destiny,
and whatever men heard from him, came
through the means of this bounty.
There is a great number of this sect in Hindostan,
and among the most celebrated of them are, in the
first line, the Madárían, who, like the Sanyásís
Avadhuts, wear the hair entangled; and the ashes
which they and the Sanyásis rub upon their bodies
are called bhasma;[388]
besides, they carry iron chains
on their heads and necks, and have black flags
and black turbans; they know neither prayers nor
fasts; they are always sitting at a fire; they drink a
great deal of bang; and the most perfect among
them go about without any dress, in severe cold, in
Kabul, and Kachmir, and such places. These also
consume much bang, and to the praise of one of their
sect they say: “Such a one takes two or three seers[389]
of bang.” When they sit together, they relate, that
in the night, when the prophet ascended through
224
the seven stages of heaven, he received the command
of God to wander through the heavens. When he
arrived at the door of paradise, he found the entrance
as narrow as the eye of a needle; the porter
made him a sign to enter; the prophet said: “With
this body, how shall I enter through this passage?”
Jabríl replied: “Say: dam madar,” (“the
breath of Madar,” a particular ejaculation of
this sect). The prophet said so, upon which the
narrow door opened, and he entered heaven.
They say, when Badih eddin Madar[390]
came to Hindostan,
he became a Yogi, whom the Hindus held in
great esteem, and who had a great number of followers.
Madar took a house; he sent a little boy,
whose name was Jamen, with the order to fetch
some dry cowdung with which he wanted to kindle
a fire. It so happened that Jamen fell in with an
assembly of Yogis, who, supposing him a Muselman,
225
killed, cut into pieces, and devoured the boy.
Some time after, not receiving any thing to light up
his fire, Madár went in search of Jamen, and found
the assembly of Yogis, to whom he said: “What
have you done with my good little boy?” They
answered: “We have not seen him.” Madár called
him loud by his name, and the members of Jamen,
from within the bodies of the assembled Yogis,
answered “Dam madar.” Madár then said to the
Yogis: “Shall I bring forth Jamen from you all, or
from one only of you?” They replied: “From
one body only.” By the power of Madár, the
limbs of the boy having united, in a manner that no
body perceived any thing of it, in the belly of the
principal Yogi, Jamen fell out from the nose of the
same, so that neither the nostril of the Yogi’s nose
was enlarged, nor the boy’s limbs diminished:[391]
whereupon the Yogis chose to run away. Madár
settled at this place, which till now is known by the
name of Makanpúr.[392]
The Madarían come, as many
as possible, from all parts of the world, once a year,
226
on a fixed day, to Makanpur, and say that the blind
and lame find their cure in that place.
They relate also, that Chistápá, the wife of Baharam
Gul, in order to put to the test the Muhammedan
and Indian durvishes and saints, came once
among them who were assembled, and said: “Whoever
will loosen the bracelet of beads (called Sámran)
upon my arm, without betraying the least
symptom of lust, he is a perfect saint.” All the
pretenders to perfect sanctity, Muselmans and Hindus,
presented themselves, but at the sight of Chistapa,
they all were maddened with love, such was
the beauty of her face: at last the turn came to
Jamen, who approached her, and loosened the bracelet
in a manner which, at the same time, evinced
his manly strength, and his complete command over
himself.[393]
On that account, Jamen was proclaimed
victorious over all the Muselmans and Hindus. And
they have a great number of other similar stories.
Another sect, the Jelalían, are disciples of Said
Jelal, of Bokhára;[394]
his sepulchre is in the village
Auch, in the district of Sind; these sectaries profess
to be Shíáhs, whilst the Medárían are Sunís, on
227
which account they revile each other. The former
know of neither prayers nor fasts, nor any other
practices of piety with which the Sufís are occupied;
they take a great deal of bang, and used to eat snakes
and scorpions. When the adepts among them see
a snake, they put it whole into their mouth and
swallow it, saying: “This is a fish of the holy Alí;”
in eating a scorpion they remark: “This is a prawn
of Alí:” and the worms which are found in the
water, they call the little crabs of Alí. Like the Medárian,
the Jelalían go naked, and even in the severely
cold season, wear no garment; they sit before the
fire like the Medárian, but do not wear matted hair;
frequently they shave four parts of their body, and
lead a wandering life in the world. Some of them
bring every thing that they gain to their master, and
when they go for instruction to a preceptor, they
deliver to him whatever they possess in ready money
and other property; after which he presents them
with a turban, and his list of saints; they wear that
on their heads, and hang this on their necks. They
believe that, when Jzráíl comes to take their soul,
the turban, descending, covers their eyes so that
they may not behold the face of the angel of death,
which is exceedingly terrific. Their master looks
every day for a new connexion with a woman;
whenever he knows of a fine girl among his disciples,
he orders trumpets to be blown, goes on
228
horseback, and betaking himself to their house,
uses his own discretion with the girl, whom he now
and then takes to his own house, but never marries.
The author of this book asked one of the Jelális:
“Hámed Mahommed, your master, does he take
the daughter of one of his disciples without marrying
her?” He answered: “The Safavian kings
too take wives, daughters, and sons of their disciples,
who are highly pleased with it, why should
not Hámed Mahommed, who is truly the Khalif
(substitute) of Alí, do the same?” This act is a
sign of sovereignty, and a prerogative of the family
of the prophet. In this country are many of his
disciples, and he is a very great friend to hunting.
There is another sect who call themselves without
tie and food; it is a laudable conduct with them to
take nothing from any body beyond the required
food and drink; and for their indispensable clothing,
from the shreds which they find in the streets to
stick together a coat, which they call kherka; and
when they ask something from any body, they first
revile him and call him bad names, wherefore they
often receive bad treatment from the people. They
say, God is a spirit, and Muhammed his body; his
four friends are his two arms and two feet; dam
mádar, that is, Mádar, is the breath and the spirit of
God. They drink many sorts of spirituous and
intoxicating liquors. They believe the unity of the
229
divine being, and some of them are also pious men.
Their master was Gada Naráyana. The three just
mentioned sects never shed the blood of animated
beings.
Another sect, called Kakan, is in Kachmir; celibacy
is their law, and their belief the unity of the
divine being. They use much bang; a number of
them is devoted to piety; their name of “Kakan” is
derived from that of their master, who was Ibrahim
Kakak. He lived, they say, in the time of the Pádshah
Jehangír, who inhabits heaven, and drew to
him whomever he chose; his very sight was such
an attraction, that he on whom it fixed was irresistibly
thrown at his feet; thus he attached to himself
a great number of disciples, Hindus and Muselmans,
none of whom he induced to change his
religion; that is to say, to the Hindu he did not
expound the Koran, nor propose circumcision; and
to the Muselman he did not make an obligation of
the Zunar, and of the mark of caste upon the forehead;
neither the praise of Muselmans nor the blame
of Hindus came ever upon his tongue; he never
pronounced either the name of the prophet or that
of an Avatar, which are the great objects of veneration
to the Muselmans and to the Hindus; but he
uttered Ruma, or Alla, or Khoda. He did not sleep
at night, nor did his disciples, who sat back to back
until morning before him. At a place of Kachmir,
230
he said to his followers: “A great number of men
laid down; let us do the same.” The followers
answered: “Let it be as you say:” he then first
laid himself down to sleep, and the friends did the
same. One day he heard the voice of a crier from
the top of a minaret, and said: “This is the voice
of God;” at this moment one of his companions
broke wind; he subjoined: “This too is God; this
too the divine tongue.” A student present said
to him: “Do not blaspheme.” He replied: “The
one and the other is an undulation of the air, and
the air is subject to God.” The student reassumed:
“But the bad smell, with the noise, what
is it?” The answer was: “This proceeds from
the association of ‘thou and I.’” The student
said farther: “Drink no bang, because the bang-drinkers
shall not pass over the bridge of judgment
(sarat´h).” Kakak replied: “Great is the
number of bang-drinkers; let us, on this side of
the bridge, build a town and call it Bang pur, and
not think of passing the bridge.” Goya Kásem
composed a ludicrous account of these drunken
sectaries. When the king Kásem Anwar (distributor
of splendors) was near the habitation of excellence,
he recited the following verses:
“He (God) distributes the light; I distribute bang,
He is the distributor of splendors; I, the distributor of secrets.”
A great number of men in India think as these
231
sectaries. The Sanyásis assembled once in one of
the sacred places of pilgrimage revered by the Hindus;
by accident, an army of naked Jelális and
Madáris came there at the same time, and having
brought a cow, wanted to kill it; the Sanyásis bought
the cow from them; they came a second time, with
another cow, which the Sanyásis again, not without
entreaties, purchased. These men, barefoot and
bareheaded, having become insolent by their numbers,
brought a third cow and killed it; the Sanyásis,
indignant at this, attacked them, and a battle ensued,
in which the Sanyásis at last obtained the victory,
and killed seven hundred of the naked Jelális and
Madáris; they educated the boys of these fanatics,
whom they made prisoners on this occasion, in their
own religion. The Sanyásis were frequently seen
engaged in war.
Another class of the Hindus are the Yógis, who
pretend to a high antiquity; an account of them has
already been given.
Other sects, such as the Sankhyan, and the Patanjálís,[395]
are devoted to piety, and practise the yóga,
232
and other pious austerities; also the Charvakíán, who
believe the four classes of their sect to be very
ancient: we have already treated of them, as well as
of the Játis and Vairágis; the Nanak Panthíán will be
introduced hereafter.
The Narayaníán are a sect of the Hindus, which
holds its creed from Gosáin Haridas. He was of the
tribe of Játs, from the village Kaníra, in the district
of Saválik; he was a servant of Nabidás Sanyálá;
which last name is that of a tribe of the numerous
Rájaputs. Haridas, when hunting, shot an arrow at
a deer which was with young, and brought down a
fawn, which had also been pierced by the arrow.
At the sight of this event, Haridas broke his bow
and arrows, tore his garment into pieces, weeping
and bewailing, and during twelve years had no intercourse
with the society of men. Afterwards, he
assembled many disciples about him. He died in
the year 1055 of the Hejira (1645 A. D.). This sect
know nothing of idols, nor of temples, nor of the
Kâbah, nor of any sort of worship; they do nothing
towards obtaining the knowledge of, or union with,
God; they confine themselves to the veneration of
Naráyan, or “the supreme Being,” from which they
derive the name of Naráyanían. They do not occupy
233
themselves with the affairs of the world; abnegation
and solitude is their law. Some have an earthen
cup to drink water in; some dispense even with
this; they hurt no living being; they never pull up
any grass or green herbs; they burn nothing; cook
no meal; and when hungry, they go into the houses
of the Hindus, and accept some food, but no flesh
of any sort of animal. When one of them is about
to die, he is asked: “Shall we burn thy body, or
throw it into the water, or bury it in the earth?”
Whichever he desires is done.
Another sect is that of the Dádu Panthians. Dádu
was one of the cotton carders in the village Naráina,
in the district of Marwar. In the time of the
Padshah Akbár (who inhabits heaven!) Dádu devoted
himself to the state of a Durvesh, and assembled
many disciples about him. He prohibited his
followers to worship idols, to eat the flesh of any
animal, or to hurt any living being; but he did not
order them to abandon woman and wife, or to withdraw
from all business of the world; but he left it
free to any one to give up, or to cultivate, the connection
and intercourse with men. When one of
them dies, they place his corpse upon the back of a
quadruped, and send it into the desert, saying: “It
is now better that rapacious and other animals
may be satiated with it.”
The Píára panthíán hold their creed from Bábá
234
Píára; at the time of begging, they stand before the
shops and houses, without looking at any body
or saying any thing; they demand nothing with the
tongue; they accept what is given, and go away
when nothing is offered. The Mobed says:
“The demand without the tongue is made by the eyes;
How can that which is heard be equivalent to what is seen?”
They take no notice of the Muselmans, although
they so call themselves.
The sect of the Vishnavas follow the doctrine of
Gosáin Jáni. We hold the information from Jogendas,
that they called their master Jehan, and his followers,
composed of Hindus and Muselmans, adopted
the creed of Vishnavi. This is as follows: they
hurt no living being; they avoid fellowship with
men of another creed among the Hindus and Muselmans;
they pray five times a-day, with their face
towards the east; they have the names of God, of
the divinities, of the prophet upon their lips, such
as Allah, Míkáíl, Jzráíl, Jibrail, Muhammed, Jl, and
others; they bury their dead; they confer benefits
upon others to the extent of their power; a number
of their Durvishes pretend to be afflicted with
maladies and beg alms, and whatever they so collect
they distribute to the blind and lame, and to
people of that description.
Further to be noticed is the sect of the Surya-mak-han,[396]
235
that is, of “the worshippers of the sun.”
These derive their origin from an ancient nation of
Hindus, and are divided into two classes. The one
of them says: The great luminary is one of the
divinities of the first rank; he has átmá and buddhi,
that is, “soul and intellect;” the light of the stars
and the splendor of the universe proceeds from
him; he is the asht bhuvana loka,[397]
that is, “the origin
of the eight worlds,” and of all earthly beings;
the sarva prabhá deva,[398]
“the God of all radiance,”
the chief and ruler of all divinities, the deity of heavens,
the king of the stars; the Mahajyóti,[399]
or “the
great light,” worthy of praise; and of namaskara,[400]
that is “respectful salutation,” and of adoration;
and of hóm, or “sacrificial perfumes.” When the
sun rises with his pure body, they stand opposite
to him, and after adoration recite a Sanskrit prayer,
the paraphrase of which is as follows:[401]
“Whatever
236
beautiful light and high splendor thou possessest
overflows the eyes from the excessive bounty of
thy manifestation; thou art that light which is
not surpassed by any other in the display of
splendors; thine is the first prayer, for thou art
the substitute of God, and we place our hope in
thy bounty; to thee we address the prayers of our
wants, that we may experience and loudly proclaim
thy mercy. When this light is thy face,
whatever we can say of the splendor, the beauty,
and perfection of the supreme intellectual soul and
of the pure wisdom, is but that one light which
we recognise above in thy bountiful being, which
thou temperest and displayest; this light derives
its glory from thee, and supplication is due to this
light. Give us thy assistance in the abnegation
237
of worldly pleasures; render us equal to thyself
in the purity of light, and by thy knowledge
grant us union with thee; the wish of all virtuous
hearts is, that they may, far removed from
all sensual delights, be made happy in the communion
with those who are like thee: we abandon
all worldly delights, that we may become
similar to thee in splendor, and arrive to thee, and
remain with thee.”
The other class of the Suryamakhan say: Whatever
exists in the Swargaloka[402]
and in the Bhúloka,[403]
that is, in the upper and lower world, draws its
origin from the sovereign great luminary; by his
glorious appearance we fill our lojáni,[404]
or “eyes,”
with kalyanum,[405]
or “auspicious light;” and we hear
the Sanákáras,[406]
that is, “the incorporeal beings;” by
him we acquire buddhi, that is “intellect,” the professor
of which attaches his heart to nothing exterior:
on that account they call the sun natha, “a
sovereign, or divine being,” and pay worship to
him. Both classes abstain from hurting living
238
beings, and are on that account called jiva dayá,[407]
“compassionate of life;” they do good to others as
much as they can, wherefore they are termed punyavantas,[408]
“virtuous;” they keep far away from falsehood
and iniquity, for which they are entitled dharmamayás,[409]
“righteous.” The gríhastha, or “householder,”
contents himself with one strí,[410]
or “wife.”
They divide the sun into several parts, which they
call dyuvá murtayas,[411]
“figures of the sun;” but the
first class reckons among the Pandits, or “learned,”
an order of men who have a system about ákása,[412]
“ether,” girayas,[413]
“mountains,” tárá phal,[414]
“starry
firmament;” about the rising of heavenly bodies
and the prognostics which are connected with them;
they possess perfectly the canons of the Véda anga,
“sacred science,” in which the medical is comprised;
and they set a great value upon buddhí,
“intellect;” and áharanam,[415]
that is, “the application
239
of the thinking faculty;” and they say, that
this is the mediator between what is sankhyanam,[416]
“rational,” or probable, and sadhanam,[417]
“substantiated,”
which last is the form of things perceived;
and the right appreciation of probabilities is
attained by dint of buddhi and aharanam, that is, by
high intelligence; this is fixing the thought of contemplation;
or arriving at the science of what is
perceived and what is probable or rational; this
comprehends properly two sciences which are possessed
by the jitèndriya loka,[418]
that is, “by those
sages who have subdued the senses.”
There is a class of durvishes who practise tapasya,[419]
or “devout austerity,” and who, by great and difficult
penances, banish every illusion from them, so
that in their sleep they may not have unbecoming
240
dreams, which they say are produced by the influence
of the imagination; and they guard their eyes
from the wounds and impressions which also proceed
from the imagination. They climb up to the
tops of walls, without fear of falling down, and go
to such places as are not easily accessible, which
they say is a triumph over illusion; they pretend to
have the power to cause rain to fall or to cease; to
attract whomever they like, and to render him obedient
to their will; to give information of whatever
is concealed, and to reveal the secrets of the heart;
to possess the knowledge of the good and the bad
hidden in the minds; as well as that of the relations
and history of the world; and upon the
mirror of their hearts are reflected the lights of
secrets, the djoti mandalam,[420]
“the splendor of the
universe.” When a misfortune happens, all the
pious men assemble and hold council about the
removal of it; they investigate the strange and astonishing
events; they keep day and night their eyes
shut, and, pondering, exercise their sagacity: these
are called Dhyani.[421]
Those who are not occupied
with exterior things are called tyagî,[422]
and others
who shun all intercourse with women and have no
241
wife, take the title of Yatis; and there is a class who,
with the same abnegation as the former, never mix
with the people of the world, and never ask more
from them than a small quantity of food: these are
called Vaíragîs,[423]
or Udasîs.[424]
Others live in deserts
and upon mountains, satisfied with fruits; the savage
animals do them no harm; they are named Vanyasîs.[425]
When, among them, a child is born or a marriage
takes place in the house of a family-man, they
do not offer him their congratulation; and when a
misfortune occurs, such as the death of a friend,
they do not grieve or take mourning. A desire for
generation, and a relish for meat and drink, inasmuch
as may be requisite, is permitted, but beyond
this prohibited; and whoever desires more is excluded
from their society. This order of men among
them is called Grihasta; another division of them is
formed by the Avach’háta,[426]
“emaciated by abstinence,”
who are the adepts of this sect; if I were
to relate every thing of them, several volumes would
not be sufficient to contain my account.
In the Nababship of Kalinga exists a sect called
Sûrwar (Sûryar), and another entitled Gundwar.
242
They pay no tribute to any body; they worship the
sun; from simplicity, they prefer brass and copper
to gold, on account of bad smell. When one of
them dies, they seize a stranger and kill him. They
say that, as the Rái (prince) of Gund sits upon the
ground, the lower people sit upon chairs, he being
the lord of the earth and the others are not so.
The Chandra bakta,[427]
or “worshippers of the
moon,” call this planet one of the principal divinities,
worthy of adoration and of worship; the
regulation of the nether world is committed to his
care; by the increase and decrease of the light of
this heavenly body, the hours of night and day may
be known; after the sun it is the greatest, and borrows
its light from this great luminary, the access
to which may also be obtained by the moon’s mediation.[428]
These sectaries form an image of the moon,
and worship it as an object of their devotion: they
never hurt a sentient being.
Another sect venerates other stars. There is one
who pays homage to Agni, or fire, and says that
243
fire is the pure essence of God, who is the sun himself:
these are called Agni Pramána;[429]
“the professors
of fire.” They believe also the other stars
proceed from its radiance, and that the earthly fire
is an emanation of its rays; they venerate every sort
of fire, through the mediation of which they think
access to the sun may be obtained.
Another sect, the Pavana bhakta,[430]
or “worshippers
of the wind,” believe that the substance of
God is air, and this also the intellectual soul.
The Jala bhakta,[431]
or “worshippers of water,”
hold water to be the representative of the being of
God, on which account they pay veneration to the
rivers and flowing streams.
The Prithivi bhakta[432]
are “worshippers of the
earth,” which they believe to be the substance of
God worthy of their adoration.
Another sect, called Tripújas,[433]
worship the three
kingdoms of nature, in which every place and whatever
presents itself to their view, becomes an object
of their veneration.
244
The Manushya bhakta,[434]
or “worshippers of mankind,”
recognise the being of God in man; they
know no being more perfect than mankind, and
think that it contains nothing of a bad nature.
A particular sect is to be found in Kashíal, a place
in the mountainous province of Kachmir. They
worship idols; the son takes the property acquired
by his father to himself; but leaves whatever he
gains to his sons, so that it may be the firewood
belonging to his father that may burn his body.
When one of them dies, a barber from without the
house goes before the dead, and then brings the
message that such a one wants something for a
meal, upon which they go to work to prepare it;
and this society is kept up for some days; then, they
burn the dead; after cremation, they erect over his
ashes an image of stone, one half of which is male,
and the other female; and when no son of his remains,
they marry his wife with a column of the
house, and whoever comes upon a visit of condolence,
has intercourse with the woman until a son be
produced, and to him the inheritance is bestowed.
This sect have no regard for the life of animals.
Another sect exists in the mountains of Kachmir,
with the name of Durds. Among them it is customary
for brothers to have but one wife; occasionally they
245
sell house, land, wife, and children; whoever buys
the house owns all these; they also pawn their wife.
Some of them, even when they become Muselmans,
still adhere to this custom. They also do not spare
animals.
Further to be noticed in Hindostan is the tribe of
Dhaids, one of the lowest classes of men; they eat
every thing but men; they worship the sun. The
author of this book met one day in Sikakul, in the
district of Kalinga, one of these men, whose name
was Nága, and asked him: “Who are the best men
among all the tribes?” The man answered: “The
Dhaids,” and subjoined: “When they leave the
body, they unite with God; when a Brahman dies,
he becomes a cow; when a Muselman expires,
he is transformed into a plant.” I enquired further:
“If the Dhaids be so highly favoured by
God, why should they eat every thing which they
find, the flesh of cows, horses, mice, and the like?”
The man replied: “It is because God loves this tribe
that he gave them this command: ‘Eat whatever
you like.’”
The Choharas are now to be mentioned, known in
Hindostan as cleaners of privies and sweepers of
the ground; and in the exercise of this profession
they visit the houses. They say, their master was
Shah Jhuna; he, in one hand a besom of gold, and
in the other a basket of silver, cleans now in the
246
fourth heaven the house of God, and sweeps the
apartments of the Highest. This tribe too eat every
thing as the Dhaids.
The Nânac-Panthians,[435]
who are known as composing
the nation of the Sikhs, have neither idols
nor temples of idols. Nânac belonged to the tribe
of Bédíans, who are Kshatriyas. His reputation
rose in the time of Zehir-ed-din Baber Padshah[436]
247
(who inhabits heaven). Before the victory of this
king over the Afghans, Nânac was a grain-factor[437]
of Daulet khan Lodi,[438]
who ranked among the distinguished
Umras of Ibrahim Khan, the sovereign of
Hindostan.
A durvish came to Nânac, and subdued his
mind in such a manner that he, Nânac, having
entered the granary, gave away the property of
Daulet-Khan, and his own, whatever he found
there and in his house, and abandoned his wife and
children. Daulet Khan was struck with astonishment
248
at hearing this, but, recognising in Nânac the
mark of a durvish, he withheld his hand from hurting
him.[439]
In a short time Nanac made a great progress
in piety; at first he took little nourishment;
afterwards he allowed himself but to taste a little
cow-milk; next a little oil; then nothing but water,
and at last he took nothing but air: such men
the Hindus call pavana haris.[440]
Nanac had a great number of disciples. He professed
the unity of God, which is called the law of
Muhammed, and believed the metempsychosis, or
transmigration of the soul from one body to another.
Having prohibited his disciples to drink wine and to
eat pork, he himself abstained from eating flesh, and
ordered not to hurt any living being. After him, this
precept was neglected by his followers; but Arjun
mal, one of the substitutes of his faith, as soon as he
found that it was wrong, renewed the prohibition to
eat flesh, and said: “This has not been approved
by Nânac.” Afterwards, Hargovind, son of Arjunmal,
eat flesh, and went to hunt, and his followers
imitated his example.
Nanac praised the religion of the Muselmans, as
well as the Avatars and the divinities of the Hindus;
249
but he knew that these objects of veneration were
created and not creators, and he denied their real
descent from heaven, and their union with mankind.
It is said that he wore the rosary of the Muselmans
in his hand, and the Zunar, or the religious thread
of the Hindus, around his neck.[441]
Some of his distinguished
disciples report of him more than can
here find room.
One of these reports is, that Nanac, being dissatisfied
with the Afghans, called the Moghuls into the
country, so that in the year 932 of the Hejira (A. D.
1525) Zehir ed-din Baber padshah (who is in heaven)
gained the victory over Ibrahim, the king of the
Afghans.[442]
They say also that Nanac, during one
250
of his journeys,[443]
finding himself one night in a fort,
was absorbed in a vision of God. Children played
around him, and some put their hands upon his
body, without any motion being perceived in him;
they sewed his eye-lids, his nostrils, and his flesh
together, and tied his hands fast. When Nanac
recovered his senses, he found himself in this state,
and went to a neighbouring house, at the threshold
of which he called out: “Ho! is there any body in
the house who may free my eye-lids sewed together
and my hands?” A handsome woman, having
conducted him into the house, untied his hands
and tore the threads by which his eye-lids were
sewed together with her teeth asunder, on which
account the color of the mark of the woman’s caste
remained upon Nanac’s forehead. After his having
left the house, the neighbours saw the mark, and
supposed his having had an intimate connexion with
the woman; wherefore she was abused by the people
and repudiated by her husband.
This woman came one day to Nanac, and said: “I
251
have, upon the way of God, rendered thee a service,
and now they revile me for it.” Nanac
answered: “To-morrow will the gate of the fort
be shut, but shall not be opened unless thou
appliest thy hand to it.” The next day, in spite
of all efforts to open the gate, they could not succeed,
and remained in great consternation. Men
and beasts, far from water, could not go out to fetch
it. The inhabitants addressed themselves to all men
who had a reputation for sanctity, but their prayers
were in vain. At last they had recourse to Nanac,
and said: “O durvish, what is there to be done?”
He answered: “The gate shall not be opened except
by the hand of a woman who never lost her virtue
with a stranger.” The inhabitants brought all
the women who had a reputation for chastity to
the gate of the fort, but it remained shut: on that
account they sat down hopeless. At the time of
evening prayer came at last the friend of Baba Nanac
to the gate. The people laughed at her; her husband
and her relations were ashamed and abused
her. The woman, without listening to the speeches
of the people, struck the gate with her hand and it
opened. All men were astonished and ashamed:
they fell at the feet of the woman.
The báni,[444]
that is to say the poems, of Nânac, are,
252
as it were, perfumed with devotion and wisdom,
still more can this be said of his speeches about the
grandeur and sanctity of God. All is in the language
of the Jats of the Panjab, and Jat in the dialect
of the Penjab, means a villager or a rustic.
Nânac’s disciples are not conversant with the
Sanscrit language. The precepts and regulations
which Nânac established among them will be explained
hereafter.
Nânac said in his poems that there are several
heavens and earths; and that prophets, and saints,
and those that are supposed to have descended from
above (avatárs), and persons distinguished by piety,
obtain perfection by zeal in the service of God; that
whoever devotes himself to the veneration of God,
whatever road he may choose, will come to God,
and that the means to this is, to avoid hurting any
living being.
“Be true and thou shalt be free;
Truth belongs to thee, and thy success to the Creator.”
[445]
Nánac left children in the Penj-ab,[446]
they are called
253
Kartaris; but according to the opinion of some, he
had no offspring. They say that, after Nánac’s decease,
his place was by his order occupied by the
Guru Angad, of the Srín tribe of Kshatriyas; next
succeeded the Guru Amaradas, of the tribe of the
Bholáyí-Kshatriyas; after him came the Guru Ráma-das,
who was of the Sódahí-Kshatriyas, and also
called the Srí-guru. Ráma-das, dying, left his dignity
to his son Arjunmal. During the life of this Guru,
the Sikhs, that is to say, his followers grew great in
number and in faith. They said, Bábá Nânac is a
god, and the world his creation; but Nánac in his
poems reckons himself a servant of God, and he calls
God Naránjen (Naráyana), Parabrahma, and Permaisher
(Paramésvara), who is without a body, and has
nothing corporeal, nor deigns to be united with a
bodily frame. The Sikhs say that Nánac, in the
same manner, had been without a real body, but
visible by the power of his individuality,[447]
and they
believe that, when Nânac expired,[448]
his spirit became
254
incarnate in the person of Angad,[449]
who attended him
as his confidential servant. Angad, at his death,
transmitted his soul into the body of Amara das;[450]
and thus Guru, in the same manner, conveyed his
spirit into the body of Ráma-das;[451]
whose soul transmigrated
into the person of Arjunmal;[452]
in short,
they believe that, with a mere change of name, Nânac
the First became Nânac the Second, and so on,
to the Fifth, in the person of Arjunmal. They say,
that whoever does not recognise in Arjunmal the
255
true Bábá Nânac, is an unbeliever; they have a
number of tales about the founder of their sect, and
assert that Bábá Nânac, in a former world, was the
radja Janak.[453]
When Sakha-daiv (Saha déva),[454]
the son of Baiás
(Vyasa), a rakhaisher (rakshasa), came to Janak, in
order to learn from him the path of God, he found
the rája, who had thrown one of his feet into the
fire; men on foot and on horseback formed a file;
Nawabs and Vizirs were busy about the affairs of the
state; elephants and horses presented themselves
to the view. Saha dév thought in his mind that
such occupations and worldly concerns were unbecoming
so pious a man. The rája, who was skilled
in penetrating the hearts of others, found it out, and
employing the power of magic, he caused fire to
fall upon the houses, so that at last all the horses and
fine palaces were burnt. The rája seemed neither
to hear, nor to see, nor to care any thing about what
happened, until the fire reached the house where he
and Saha dév were. Janak did not throw one look
upon it. The fire fell upon the wooden cup, which
256
they call there kermandel,[455]
and which Saha dév
used for drinking water. He now, senseless, jumped
from his place, and took hold of his kermandel.
The rája smiled, and said to him: “All my people,
and all this, my property, were burnt; my heart
was not bound to them; wherefore I let them
be consumed, and feel no pain about them; but
thou, on account of thy kermandel, jumpedst
senseless from thy place. It is now clear whose
heart is bound to the things of this world.”
Saha dèv was ashamed of his having been disturbed.
This tale was heard from the followers of Nânac.
The history of Janak and of Saha dév is contained
in the Jog bashest,[456]
which is one of the principal
books of the Hindus, in the following manner:
Bisvámiter (Viśvamitra)[457]
in presence of the Rakshasas
addressed this speech to Ráma chander: “O
Rama chander, venerate thy father and mother;
thou who issuedst from them so beautiful, thou
hast accomplished thy task; by the goodness of
257
thy nature and by the purity of thy character,
thou hast polished the mirror of thy heart, and
given it such a brightness, that the perfection o
God is manifest in it; the success which a zealous
disciple obtains, after many difficulties and pious
exercises under the direction and instruction of a
Rakshasa, during a long period of time, that success
became thy share without trouble; thine
became the science to be acquired; and thine is,
even in this life, the emancipation in the form of
Saha dèv, the son of Vyása. He, thy father,
on account of the excellence of his pure form and
of his divine nature, having come forth wise from
the womb of his mother, without any assistance
manifested his perfection, and on account of the
clearness of his intellect, whatever on the way of
his journey, was accessible to wisdom and excellence,
was open to his looks, and no veil nor curtain
remained before him; nevertheless, even with
such advantages, he was inquisitive with Rakshasas
and wise men in matters of theology, so that
these personages, or pious penitents, gave him
directions and lessons, and offered him their advice
with alacrity. Thus am I ready to give thee some
instruction, and communicate some precepts of
wisdom to thee.” Therefore Rámachander inquired
of Visvámiter: “As Saha dèv brought the
full measure of wisdom from the body of his mother,
258
and as his nature was endowed with such
perfection, my prayer is, that you may favor me
with an explicit account of him, and explain to
me by what means he procured to himself the
advice of the wise, and in what manner the Rakshasas
imparted instruction to him.” Visvámiter
replied: “O Rama chander, thy condition is as
fortunate as that of Saha dèv; such was his
dignity and excellence, that men, by listening to
his tale, feel themselves emancipated, and are no
more subject to be born again. O Ramachander,
he too was impressed with the idea that in no
condition this world is permanent, but that all
that is seen changes every moment, and passes
from one state to another. One guest arrives and
comes into the world, another dies and goes out
of the world; the one is agitated with distress,
the other is quiet; the one exulting, the other
overcome with grief; in short, whoever and whatever
exists in this world is liable to change; there
is not the least hope of firmness and steadiness,
and nothing is worthy to bind our hearts. But
that which is firm and steady, deserves that we
attach our hearts to it, and that we perpetually
are mindful of, and fix our thoughts and meditate
upon it. Nothing however is firm and steady but
the pure being of Brahma, that is to say, the supreme
and true entity of God. Moreover, whoever
259
directs his mind solely towards the divinity,
will attain the knowledge of it, and render himself
perfectly free from the desires of the heart,
and from the pleasures of the body, which tend to
swell and to fetter the soul. And like the bird
Pápîhá,[458]
which is fond of the water which falls
from the cloud Náisán,[459]
and does not taste of any
other liquid from river or well, but thirsting only
for drops from the cloud Náisan, is taken up with
the search for them; thus Saha dév, having
made himself independent and free from all desires
and allurements, was always immersed in
the contemplation of Brahma, and having dissolved
his own being in the reality of God, he knew
Brahma, and attained the state of absolute repose
and quietness. When he thus became a master
of excellence, and as perfect as other rakshasas,
then he felt the desire of his heart accomplished,
260
and with a mind more splendid than the moon of
a fortnight, he passed through the troubles of
life, according to the words of the prophet:
‘With a heavenly mind upon the carpet of
eternity.’”
One day, during a pleasure excursion in this
world, he happened to reach the mountain Sumair,[460]
that is Alburz, which in Arabia, is called Káf.[461]
Upon
the top of this mountain, he saw his father Vyása,
who in a cavern was occupied with the contemplation
of Brahma. Having saluted his father according
to the custom of the Hindus, he asked him:
“My worthy father, you who possess the knowledge
of the supreme being, inform me in what manner
this knowledge of the unity of God is diffused in
the multitude, in what way the creatures of this
world obtain their forms, to what period their
existence is extended, what is the cause of their
duration, and how their existence happens to be
renewed several times, in order that I may possess
proper notions of the state of this world, and that
I may unravel this mystery to myself.”
Vyása, according to the desire of his son, explained
the original state of the creation in clear words; but
261
as the mind of the sage was involved in his own
thoughts, and occupied with the contemplation of
Brahma, he gave only a short account of the creation
and of the development of this world to Saha
dév, who did not derive an entire satisfaction from
it. Vyása knew his thoughts, and said: “O son,
my mind being immersed in the study and in the
contemplation of God, I cannot, for want of time,
impart to thee at present distinctly the account
which thou desirest; but I will put thee in the
way by which thou mayst arrive at the satisfaction
of thy heart, and I will send thee to a man
who will gratify thee. Know then, that in the
country of Tirhut[462]
is a town called Míthila, and
there resides Janaka, the Rája, who is an excellent
man, and possesses incomparable knowledge.
Go to him, and engage him to satisfy thy heart.
He will give thee an explicit account of the creation
of the world from beginning to end.” Saha
dév, according to the direction of his father, having
left him, went into Tirhut, to the town of Mithila.
He saw a city populous, and delightfully built; the
soldiers content with the Rája, and the rayots (country
people) happy and satisfied. Nobody complained
at that time of his lot: in the evening every one laid
down in his corner, and at day-break attended the
262
court of Rája Janaka. The guards at the door
observed Saha dév, tapasí, that is, a pious adorer
of God, the son of Vyása, who stood at the gate and
asked entrance. The rája Janaka, before he received
the report of it, knew from inward knowledge
and from the light of his mind, the purpose of Saha-dév’s
mind; but in order to try his character, and
to put his sincerity and his individuality to the test,
he took no notice of the appearance of the stranger.
Saha-dév, who had come near him, remained there
one day and one night. On the next day, Janaka
set about his business; the great and the vulgar
appeared before him. This day too, and the following
eight days and eight nights the rája did not
address any question to Saha dév, who remained
in his place without saying a word to any body.
The eighth day, the rája Janak, when he saw that
Saha-dév stood the test by shewing the mark of
excellence and betraying no unsteadiness, he ordered
that the stranger should be introduced into the interior
of the palace and into the private apartments.
Beforehand, he enjoined the maids of the bed-chamber
and all the people of the palace that, on Saha-dév’s
arrival, they should place before him all sorts
of exquisite viands and agreeable perfumes, and whatever
might allure the mind, and that they should
endeavour to fascinate and to madden him. When
Saha dév, by order of the rája Janaka, had entered
263
the private apartments, handsome women brought
before him from all sides delicious meats, and garments,
and every thing that was attracting, and
showed him great respect; after humble prostrations,
they placed him in an elegant apartment.
During other seven days and nights the rája did not
appear before him. The people of the inner apartments,
according to the rája’s orders, did what they
could in a thousand different ways to please him:
they approached him, clasped their hands with his,
rubbed his hands and feet; they served and tempted
him by four principal means, namely: first, by the
splendour of handsome maids; secondly, by offering
him whatever may charm the senses; thirdly, by
tokens of respect, and fourthly, by rubbing his
hands and feet. Their intent was, if there remained
any human feeling in him, to rouse it up. Saha dév,
like a mountain that is not moved by any wind,
stood firm; he took notice of nothing, and threw
not even a look upon the beautiful moon-faced damsels
about him. The rája Janaka, when informed
that not the least trace of human feeling, lust, or
desire had remained in the young man, and that he
had freed himself from the fetters of error and sensuality,
ran without hesitation from the place where
he was, and touched the feet of Saha dév, saying:
“Be thou happy, O rakshasa! who art united with
the supreme spirit, and in whom has remained
264
no trace of the qualities of water, earth, and of
human nature, thou, who hast acquired whatever
may be desirable to thy regeneration: for
thou possessest the knowledge of God. Now,
tell me, with what intention didst thou come to
me, and what dost thou expect from our meeting?”
Saha dév replied to the rája: “My intention in
coming here was to obtain from thee a true account
of the creation; in what manner this world
came forth from the unity of the divine being,
and how from him, the One, proceeded the duality
and multiplicity of forms. Explain this to me,
and impress it distinctly upon my mind. Although
I received from my father some true notion of the
creation of this world, and although, from the
interior light and from the purity of heart which
I have acquired by my devotion, the truth of the
great question presents itself to my mind, yet I
desire instruction from thee, and hope to receive
it from thy tongue.” The rája Janak revealed to
Saha dév, according to his wish, the history of the
creation of the world. After that Saha dév said
again to the rája: “O king! it is certain that between
steady, wise, and learned men there is no contradiction;
so does the account of the origin of the
world, which I have heard from my father Vyása,
and which I have well impressed upon my mind,
agree with that which thy tongue has communicated
265
to me. The substance of it is, that the creation
of the world and the existence of its inhabitants
took place by the will and by the disposition
of Brahma, and according to the purpose of the
supreme being, and that, when it is the desire of
Brahma, the world is created, and when the
supreme being finds it right to withdraw hímself
from the circle of beings, the world returns to
nothing, and its inhabitants are again enveloped
with the veil of nothingness and voidness, and
nothing remains but God. In like manner is the
existence of all bodies connected with the will of
the divine spirit, so that every being in dependence
upon this will, and in conformity with the principles
of its own nature, each time comes into,
and goes out of, the world, or is born and dies.
It is when the worldly desires, connections, and
concerns are annihilated, that a man no more
returns to nor leaves this world; birth and death
upon this earth no more concern him, because the
ties formed by his desires are broken.” Saha dév
continued: “O rája, what thou hast said, is impressed
upon my mind; but tell me, if there
remains any thing, however minute it may be, of
the account of this world; this too I wish to
hear.” The rája Janaka said: “The account of
the world is such as thou hast heard. That holy
being, without a name, without a mark, without
266
an equal, is pure and free from lust and desire,
and his providence brings forth this world. He,
the one perfect being, in what a multitude of
beings does he not manifest himself! And if he
removes from this creation the support of his will
and of his providence, nothing remains but himself,
the only being. O Saha dév, thou who hast
purified thy heart from the attachments of this
body, and liberated it from all desires and seductive
propensities, thou hast convinced thyself of
the trut that, whatever appears before our eyes,
is nothing, and has neither reality nor substance;
what was to be performed, thou hast accomplished
it; what was to be known, thou hast acquired it,
and thou hast proved thyself true; on that account
thou art, even in thy life-time, possessed of
mukt (emancipation); that is to say: as a person,
when the soul has left his body, is freed from the
want of aliment, so hast thou, although still in
the state of life and health, been liberated from all
bodily wants.[463]
Happy be thy life! blessed be thy
age, O Saha dév!”
Viśvamitra continued: “O Ramachander, thou
hast acquired the same knowledge as Saha dév;
267
in the same manner as he abandoned all desires,
subdued all the appetites of his five senses, and
possessed perfect freedom, in the same manner
thou must not permit any sort of desire to enter
in thy heart.[464]
There is no other means of mukt
but this: to this thou must tend.”[465]
After that he addressed the rakshasas and all those
who were present, in the following speech: “O
rakshasas! and you who seek the road of God,
know that, as Ramachander, by the purity of his
nature and by the goodness of his disposition,
raised himself to the highest dignity, not less
ought to be the excellence of all the wise who are
destined to the acquisition of mukt; thirsting for
the knowledge of the highest, they ought to listen
to the speeches of all those who devote themselves
to God; nay, the truth and the faith, which Ramachander
possessed, ought to be common, and
productive of the same consolation and tranquillity
to all those who, not in vain, aspire to wisdom
and sanctity. I have imparted to Ramachander
what I knew to be the best; now is the
time of Bashest (Vas ishta), who attained such a
perfection of a rakshasa, that nothing that is, was,
268
and will be, is concealed to him, and he has no
equal in the world.” So far goes the text of Jog
bahest.[466]
The Guru Nánac, according to the belief of his
followers, was in former times the rája called Janak,
and united the dignity of a king with that of a saint.
He called mankind to God. The author of this work
heard from distinguished Sikhs that, when Bába
Nánac appeared in the Sat-jog, a great number of
Sikhs assembled around him. He sent a cow into
the kitchen. When prepared, it was brought into
the assembly; some ate of it, others were afraid to
do so. The Guru prayed to God that the cow might
rise again, and all those who had been afraid, beholding
this miracle, approached him praying:
“Now we shall eat whatever you order.” Nánac
answered: “Not now be it so: mine and your
engagement prevails in the Trèta-Jog.” Afterwards,
at the revolution of the Trèta-jog, the Guru
appeared. The disciples assembled; then a slaughtered
horse was brought into the assembly in the
manner before said. Some ate of it; others abstained
from it. The Guru prayed, and the horse was brought
to life. Those who had been afraid prayed as before.
He replied again: “Your word and mine are engaged
269
for the Dwápar-jog.” In this age they brought
a slaughtered elephant into the assembly of his followers.
The same happened as I said before, and
he appointed them for the Kali-jog. In this age,
they say, a man was brought into the assembly;
whoever ate, became free; who abstained from it,
remained subject to durance, and some of the Sikhs
call Nánac the slave of God.
It is also related that, when Nânac died, in the
Sat-jog, two roads opened before his soul: the one
led to heaven, the other to hell. Nânac chose the
latter, and having descended below, he brought all
the inhabitants out of hell. The Lord God said to
him: “These sinners cannot enter heaven; you
must return into the world and liberate them.”
On that account Nânac came to this world, and his
followers are the former inhabitants of hell; the
Guru comes and goes, until that multitude shall have
found their salvation.
Except the zealots among the Sikhs, no man else
believes Bábá Nânac a god. As to the rest, Nânac’s
followers condemn idolatry, and believe that all their
Gurus are Nânacs, as was said before. They do not
recite the mantras of the Hindus, they do not venerate
their temples, nor do they esteem their Avatárs.
The Sanscrit language, which according to the Hindus
is the language of the gods, is not held in such
great estimation by the Sikhs. Whatever it be,
270
the number of these sectaries increased every where,
so that, in the time of the Guru Arjunmal it became
very considerable, and at last there was no place in
any country where Sikhs were not to be found.
They make no difference between Brahmans and
Kshatriyas, for Nânac was a Kshatriya, and none
of their Gurus was a Brahman, as stated above.
Thus they subjected the Kshatriyas to the tribe of
Jats,[467]
who are an inferior caste of Baisas (Viśas).
The deputies of the Gurus are besides frequently
Jats. They honour equally Brahmans and Kshatriyas.
271
The Guru is chosen at the discretion of his
followers. It should be known that, in the time of
the Afghan sultans, the Umras were called successors
or deputies of Ali; finally, for the sake of brevity,
the name of deputy (masnad) alone was used
by the Hindus. The Sikhs call masnad, and also
Rámadas, the Guru whom they esteem as a king of
the true faith.
Before the fifth period no tribute was exacted from
the Sikhs, but presents were given by them according
to their own discretion, to their Gurus. Arjunmal
sent in his time a person to the Sikhs of each
town in order to collect a tribute; in that manner,
the Sikhs accustomed themselves to the government
of a masnad, or deputy. Their principal deputies,
of whom there was a great number, elected on their
part deputies, so that such substitutes were to be
found in every place. The Sikhs created their
Gurus, and established that an audasi,[468]
or one that
has abandoned the world, is not to be esteemed
higher than any other man. On that account, some
of their Gurus are inclined to agriculture, others to
commerce, and to various trades and occupations.
Each of them brings every year something, according
272
to his means, to his Guru; the deputy receives a present
without exacting it; others collect what is destined
every year to the deputy, and deliver it to the
chief man of the Guru, who disposes of it for his
own maintenance and for other contingencies; no
body incurs blame on account of presents (or contributions):
being raised from all quarters, they are
forwarded to the Guru.
In the month of February, when the sun is in the
sign of the Bull, the subordinate Gurus come to
their chief with those of their followers who choose
to accompany them. At the time of taking leave,
each receives a turban as a present from the deputy.
Having recorded truly something of the Sikhs in
general, I will now give an account of the chiefs of
this tribe whom I have known myself. In the sixth
period lived Sri Guru Har-govind, the son of the
Guru Arjun mal. The Padshah Nur-ed-din Jehangir,[469]
now an inhabitant of heaven, called to his
court Arjun-mal, on account of his having offered
prayers for the king’s son Khusro, who had rebelled
against his father. Khusro having been taken, the
king ordered the imprisonment of Arjun-mal, and
wanted to extort a large sum of money from him.
The Guru was helpless; they kept him a prisoner
in the sandy country of Lahore, until he died of the
273
heat of the sun and of ill treatment. This happened
in the year 1015 of the Hejira (A. D. 1606).[470]
In like
manner the king banished from Hindostan the Shaikh
Nezam Thánasír, because he had been connected
with, and had prayed for, his son Khusro.
After Arjunmal followed his brother Baratha,[471]
whom his followers called “the benevolent Guru.”
Now, in the year 1055 of the Hejira (A. D. 1645),
the Guru Harjayi occupies his place. They both
professed the adoration of one God. The disciples
of the Guru Har-govind, son of Arjunmal, called
these Gurus Mainá (مينا)[472]
which among them is an مينا
oprobrious name. After the decease of Arjunmal,
his son, Har-govind, also made pretensions to the
khalifat (deputyship), and obtained the place of his
father.[473]
Hargovind was always attached to the
274
stirrup of the victorious Jehangir. He became
involved in many difficulties; one of them was,
that he appropriated to himself the pay due to the
soldiers in advance; he carried also the sword against
his father; he kept besides many servants, and was
addicted to hunting. Jehangir, on account of the
money due to the army, and of the mulet imposed
upon Arjunmal (as was said before), sent Har-govind
to the fort of Gwalior,[474]
where he remained
imprisoned twelve years. He was not permitted to
eat a good meal. During that time the deputies and
other Sikhs used to come and bow before the walls
of the fort. At last, moved by pity, the king granted
him liberty. After Jehangir’s death, Har-govind
entered the service of his majesty Amír-ul Múnenîn
Abu-ul-muzafer shaháb ed-din Muhammed saheb
Keran sani shah Jehan, the victorious king. When
the Guru returned to Batnesh, which is a district of
the Penjab, he attached himself to Yar Khan, the
eunuch, who held the office of a Foujdar[475]
in the
Nawabí of the Penjab, and whom he assisted in the
administration. Har-govind returned to Rámadaspúr,
275
where the Gurus Rámadas and Arjun-mal had
built great edifices and dug tanks. There he sustained
an attack of the army which Shah jehan, the
shadow of God, sent against him, and the Guru’s
property was then plundered. From thence he fled
to Kartarpúr; there too war reached him, and on
this occasion Mír Badherah, and Páindah Khan, the
son of Fattah Khan Ganáida, found their death.
Before and after this, he encountered great dangers
of war, but with the aid of God he escaped unhurt,
although he lost his property. It is related by one,
Sadah by name, that in this war a man aimed a blow
at the Guru, who parried it, and struck him with his
blade, saying: “Not in that manner, but so the
sword is used;” and with one blow he made an
end of his foe. One of the companions of the Guru
asked the author of this work: “What was the
purport of the words by which the Guru accompanied
his blow?” I said: “It was to give
instruction, as it belongs to a Guru to teach also
how to strike a blow with a sword; for a Guru is
called a teacher: he did not strike out of anger,
which would have been blameable.” At last he
retired from the war of Kartarpúr to Bhagwárah,
and because there, in the vicinity of Lahore, he met
with difficulties, he betook himself from thence in
haste to Gerait púr, which lies in the mountainous
district of the Penjab, and was then dependent upon
276
the rája Tárachand, who had never paid homage to
the pádsháh Shah Jehan. The inhabitants of this
country adore idols. Upon the summit of a fortified
mountain, they raised an image of the Déva, named
Nâina (Naráyana). Rájas and other eminent persons
made pilgrimages to this place. At the time
when the Guru came there, one of the Sikhs, called
Bhairo, who accompanied him, entered the temple
and struck off the nose of the idol. The rájas, having
been informed of it, came to the Guru to complain
of the act, and named the man who did it. The
Guru called Bhairo before him. The Sikh denied
the deed. The servants of the rájas declared: “We
know the man.” He replied: “O rájas, ask you
the god: if he tells you my name, kill me.” The
rájas said: “You blockhead! how shall the god
speak?” Bhairo laughed and answered: “Now
it is clear who is the blockhead: if the god cannot
defend his head, nor point out the man who struck
him, what benefit do you expect from him, and
why do you venerate his strength?” The rájas
remained silent and confounded. From this time,
the disciples of the Guru increased considerably, and
in this mountainous country, as far as the frontiers
of Thibet and Khota, the name of Muselman was
not heard.
The author of this work heard what follows from
the tongue of Guru Har-govind: “A mighty rája
277
exists in the north or this mountainous country.
One day he sent me an ambassador who asked
information, saying: ‘I have heard that there
is a town named Delhi; what is the name of its
rája, and whose son is he?’ I was astonished to
hear that he did not know even the name of Amír
ul Múmenín saheb Karan sáni (Jehangír).” The
Guru had eight hundred horses in his stable, three
hundred troopers on horseback, and sixty men with
fire-arms were always in his service. Among these
some carried on commerce, and other trades and
occupations. Whoever was a fugitive from his home
took refuge with him.
The Guru believed but one God. A person desired
from him some account of the creation and the constitution
of this world. The Guru said: “The
universe is an appearance without reality, and an
unsubstantial manifestation of God, the highest
being; and all bodies, as well as gods, are an
idle illusion. I will tell thee, said he, a story
of old times: There was a king who went to hunt
the hátah jori, which in the Turkish language
is called kamer ghah, and in Persian barah shikar,
‘a fawn of the chace.’ A deer came into the
circle of the hunting party. The king said: ‘On
whose side the deer will come forth, let him not
return before me until he has taken it with his
hand.’ By fate, the animal came out on the side
278
of the king. Khusro run after it until he was far
from the army, and reached a place where, on
account of thick wood, he could not find a path.
The king was glad to think the deer would now
return towards him; but when he came near it,
there was a small opening through which the
game escaped. The king sharply pushed on his
horse, which, contracting itself, passed through
the thicket; but the pádsháh was taken by two
branches, and his arms and feet fastened so as
if it had been purposely brought about. He
remained two days in such a state, until two
persons, a man and a woman, who were gathering
wood, arrived near him. The woman said
to her husband: ‘Look! the king has hanged
a thief.’ The man replied: ‘This is not a place
for hanging; we must examine it nearer.’
When they had approached, they saw and recognised
the king, and said to each other: ‘If we
release him, it will be of use to us.’ The woman
observed: ‘He is the king; once made free, what
advantage will he grant us for it? If he promises
to marry our daughter, we will release
him.’ They said so to the king, who promied
what they desired. After that, they liberated
him, brought him to their house, and gave him
their daughter. He remained there some time,
and then joined his army. When he wanted to
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enter his palace, the door-keeper struck him with
his stick; the king was seized with a trembling
and awoke. He saw the high throne and the
servants before him waiting for his orders. By
this dream he was aroused from the emptiness of
his illusion; he knew that the world is but an
appearance without reality; and that, whatever
we experience, being awake, is likewise nothing
more than a dream. He found that the diversity
of forms and of distinct bodies is but an image of
existence, and that in truth there is but one real
being, one praiseworthy, and raised above all
others by superlative excellence.”
One of the Brahmans was called Déva, and
counted himself among the wise. He visited the
Guru, and seated himself one day upon the bed of
Bába Jév, who was the son of a Guru. The people
said: “Do not sit there.” He asked: “Why not?”
They answered: “This is the place of the Guru.”
He said: “Is perhaps the figure of a Guru not that
of a man, or have I not a rational soul manifest in
me? or can I not enjoy what another eats or
drinks?” This speech came to the ears of the
Guru Hargovind. He called that man before him,
and said: “O Déva! it is not the whole world but
one being?” He replied: “It is.” The Guru
pointed to an ass, and asked: “Do you know what
this is?” Déva replied: “You are one with God,
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therefore you are also this.” The Guru laughed,
and was not at all angry. Déva wished to marry
his own sister; the people said: “This is forbidden.”
He answered: “If it were forbidden, the
junction of the sexual parts would be impossible.
Thus, because it is not God’s will that we should
rise up in the air, he withheld from us the faculty
of flying.”
The Sikhs venerated the Guru Har-govind as a
god, and believed that he has passed through six
incarnations. Perah Kaivan, a Yazdanian, was
moved by the reputatation of the Guru, and came
to visit him.
The Guru recognised him, and showed him great
respect. Upon that account Perah Kaivan left him.
A week had scarcely passed after he was gone, when
Har-govind died, on a Sunday, the third day of the
Moherram, in the year 1055 of the Hejirah (A. D.
1645). When they had placed his corpse upon the
pyre, and when the fire rose up in high flames, a
ràjapút called Rájarama, who had been his servant,
precipitated himself into the fire, and walked several
paces in the midst of the flames, until he reached the
feet of the corpse, and having laid his face upon the
soles of the Guru’s feet, he did not move until he
expired. After him, the son of a Jat, who was in
the service of Har-govind’s son-in-law, leaped into
the fire. Many other Sikhs wished to follow his
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example, but the Guru Har rayi forbade it. Dáulet
Khan Kaksal says:
“Of a hundred sayings of my master, I remember one:
The world never becomes a desert, nor the wine-house a prayer-house.
What can my soul give more than my heart can bear?
Whatever the soul gives, and whatever the heart bears, the one and the other is god-given.”
The Guru Har-govind, in a letter to the author
of this work, gave himself the title of Nânac, which
was his right distinction. I saw him in the year
1053 of the Hejirah (A. D. 1643) in Kirtpúr. The
Guru Har-ráyi was the grandson of the said Guru;[476]
his father was Garuta (or Guru daitya), who is
known under the name of Bábá Jév. The Guru
Har-govind wished first to transmit his place to his
son Garuta, or Bábá Jév; but the Guru Nághura,
one of the Sikhs, brought his daughter to Bábá Jév.
The Bábá wished to send her to his private apartments.
His wife, the mother of Har-ráyi, complained
of it to Har-govind, her father-in-law, who, having
heard her, said to Bábá Jév: “Having given to
Nághura the name of my son, I own him as such,
and his daughter cannot go to you, my son.”
Nághura refused to take back his daughter; nor
would Bábá Jév give her up. The Guru Har-govind
then said: “May neither happiness nor success ever
attend this husband and his wife!” Upon that,
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the same day, Bábá Jév threw away his nuptial
dress, and sent the daughter of the Guru Nághura
untouched back to her house. In consequence of
this event, Har-govind showed a more particular
esteem for his grandson Har-ráyi,[477]
the son of Bábá
Jév; he gave him the name of his father, Bábá Jév,
and appointed him his successor. Invested with
this dignity, Har-rayi remained one year in Kirtpúr.
When in the year of the Hejirah 1055 (A. D. 1645)
Najábet Khan, the son of Sharogh Mirza, by order
of the pádsháh Shah-jehan, invaded with an army
the land of the rája Tarachand, and made the rája
a prisoner, the Guru Har-ráyi betook himself to
Thapal, which town is situated in the district of the
rája Keramperkás, not far from Sirhind.
The Sikhs call Har-ráyi the seventh Guru. He
was a great friend of the author of this work. I
will therefore give an account of some among the
principal chiefs whom I knew, as well as of some
customs of this people. The Sikhs distinguish also
the deputies of their Gurus by the name of Rámdais,
that is to say, “servants of God, or of an idol.”
Jahandas was one of the pretenders to the dignity
of a Guru; he was a man high and proud in his
speeches, not agreeable to any, indifferent to good
and bad that might happen to him. One day he
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got a wound on his foot. Har-govind told him:
“Do not envelop too much, and raise your foot.”
According to this injunction, he suspended and
uncovered his foot during three months. When the
Guru was informed of it, he said to him: “Cover
your foot; what I told you was intended for the
healing of your wound: do not rest on your foot
for some days.” One day the Guru said to him:
“Tell the Sikhs to bring wood into the kitchen, that
they may gain some remuneration.” Jahandas did
not appear the next day, as if he had not during one
day and a half awoke from sleep. The people, suspecting
some derangement of his brain, thought he
had absented himself. When they, with the Guru,
looked after him, they found him with a bundle of
wood on his shoulder. The Guru said: “I have
not ordered you to bear that.” He replied:
“You gave your orders to the Sikhs; a Sikh am I,
and know not to be any thing higher than they
are.” Another day the Guru went into a garden,
and said to Jahandas: “Remain at the door.” By
accident, the Guru returned home by another door;
Jahandas remained three days on his feet, until Hargovind,
who was informed of it, called him away.
Har-govind had a disciple called Badhata, who
sent a person to bring corn from a field where it was
lying cut. This man gave every thing away, and
then said to Badhata who had sent him: “You
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distributed every thing, as a father, to the poor;
I did the same in imitation of your example, and
dispense you from the remuneration which I
should have gained by bringing the corn to you.”
Badhata was at first a thief, and his disciples exercised
later the profession of thieving; they showed
themselves very obedient to the orders of their master,
and believed that stealing for him deserved
praise and recompense. Har-govind, according to
the Sikhs, declared that on the day of the last judgment,
his disciples will not have to account for their
actions.
Sadah, a disciple of the Guru, went by his orders
to bring horses from Balkh to Irak. He had a son
who had fallen sick. They said to him: “You are
now in the town of Balkh, and but one day’s journey
from home: go to see your son.” He answered:
“If he should die, there is wood enough
in the house to burn him: I went about the
Guru’s business, and will not return.” The
son died, but he did not return. At last he bought
three capital horses of Irak; but Khalíl Bég, a
tyrant, took hold of them, which fell hard upon
him. In the same year, he lost his only son and
heir, and saw himself deprived of strength and
honor. Sadah was a man neither gladdened by
good nor afflicted by bad fortune. The author of
this work was once his companion on a journey from
285
Kabul to the Penjab. The belt of my coat broke;
Sadah gave me immediately his zunnar to serve me
as a belt. I said to him: “Why do you this?” He
answered: “To tie the zunnar purports an engagement
to serve another; as often as I render some
service to friends, may I resign my zunnar for it.”
“This thread serves to tie every thing:
In a cloister it is a rosary; in a temple of idols a zunnar.”
A Sikh asked the Guru Har-govind: “In the
absence of my Guru, what other shall I find?” He
replied: “Whichever of the Sikhs comes to your
house under the name of a Guru, him you may
take for yours.” It is the custom among the
Sikhs that, whatever demand they have, they can
state it in the assembly of the Sikhs to the Guru, to
whom they offer whatever present they have, or a
coin, and in so doing they join their hands together,
and proffer prayers to him, that he may be favorable
to them. The Guru states then his demand in
the Sangat (Sangátí),[478]
that is to say, in the assembly
of the Sikhs. This custom exists also among the
Sipásian, or Izedanian. The belief of this people is,
that an assembly is certainly capable of achieving
every thing, inasmuch as the minds act with their
united strength.
Among the Sikhs there is nothing of the religious
286
rites of the Hindús; they know of no check in eating
or drinking. When Pertábmal, a Jnání, “wise,”
Hindu, saw that his son wished to adopt the faith
of the Muselmans, he asked him: “Why dost thou
wish to become a Muselman? If thou likest to
eat every thing, become a Guru of the Sikhs, and
eat whatever thou desirest.”
The Sikhs believe that all the disciples of a Guru
go to heaven. Whoever takes the name of Guru is
received in the house of a Sikh. It is related, that
a thief introduced himself once under the title of
Guru, in the house of a Sikh, and was treated as
such. In the morning the Sikh went out to prepare
something better for his guest. The thief saw many
jewels worn by the wife of the Sikh, and having
killed her immediately, and taken the precious
things, he fled. Upon his way he met with the
master of the house, who by force brought him
back. The Sikh, when they returned to the house,
found his wife dead. The thief, seeing every thing
discovered, confessed the truth. The Sikh replied:
“You have done well.” He then shut the door of
the house, and said to his neighbours: “My wife
is sick: she ate nothing of the meal which she had
prepared.” Urging the thief to be gone, he did
not take the jewels from him, but made him a present
of them. He finally burnt his wife.
They also relate what follows: a kalender was in
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the house of a Sikh. One day the kalender said to
the wife of the Sikh: “For the sake of a Guru,
satisfy my desire.” The woman replied: “I am
the property of another; have patience.” The
kalender, out of fear, did not return to the house of
the Sikh, who asked: “Why does the durvish not
visit me any more?” The woman told him what
had happened. The Sikh said: “Why did you
refuse to yield to his desire?” The woman went
out, and having brought the kalender back, permitted
every thing to him. When, in the month of
February, the Sikhs assembled at the house of the
Guru (who lived before the time of Har-govind), he
threw an angry look at the kalender, and said:
“Him have I struck.” The kalender was stigmatised.
The following anecdote is moreover reported. A
Guru saw a speaking parrot, and praised him much.
A Sikh heard this, and went immediately to the
proprietor of the parrot, who was a soldier, and
asked him for the bird. The soldier said: “If you
give me your daughter, you may have the parrot.”
The Sikh consented. The soldier laughed, and
added: “Give me your wife too, and take the bird.”
The Sikh did not refuse; he conducted the soldier
to his house, and delivered his wife and daughter to
him. When the soldier came home, and told his
wife what had happened, she was so angry with
288
him that he left the parrot in the hands of the Sikh,
to whom he returned his wife and daughter. The
Sikh, joyful, lost no time to gratify the Guru. Such
customs prevailed among the Sikhs before the time
of Har-govind.[479]
| पूर्व |
its regent is |
Indra, |
इन्द्रः |
| पश्चिम |
— |
Varuna, |
वरुणः |
| दक्षिण |
— |
Yama, |
यमः |
| उत्तर |
— |
Kuvéra, |
कुवेरः |
| Between |
S. and E. |
the regent is |
अग्नि or वड्निः |
| — |
S. and W. |
— |
नैरॄतः |
| — |
N. and W. |
— |
वायुः |
| — |
N. and E. |
— |
ईशानः |