CHAPTER XIV.
CHAPTER XIV.
The River Sinde — Multan — Jarai—El Samira a Hindu Sect — Sivastan~Natural Productions
—Description of Couriers — Lahari — Bakar — Uja — The Bow a measure of Strength —
Abuhar — Natural Productions of Hindustan — Passes a Desert infested by Hindu Robbers —
Ajudahan — The Custom of burning Widows — Drowning in the Ganges— Sarsati — Masud Abad
— Dehli, description of.
The river (just mentioned) is the Sinde : it is the greatest river in the
world, and overflows during the hot weather just as the Nile does ; and
at this time they sow the lands. Here also commence the territories of the
Emperor of Sindia and India, who was at this time Mohammed Shah.
From this place also is the description of persons arriving sent in writing to
the Emir of ‘^Sindia to Multan. Their Emir, at this time, was one of the
Mamluks of the Sultan ‘^Mohammed Sar Tiz Shah, i.e. sharp-head, by
name ; who reviews the armies of the Emperor. I next proceeded to the
city of ® Janai,* in which is a people called El Samira. f They never eat
. . I ^ ■ )bbc cll. ^
* I do not find any place in the geographers corresponding sufficiently near to this in name and
situation to determine where it is.
•j- The name of a sect of Hindoos, of which we find occasional mention in the Dahistan. They
are perhaps called Samira, as being a sort of legalists, samarat ( t •• ) according to the
Dabistan, signifying law . We are told by the author of that work, that he saw one of
them, and him he describes very nearly in the words of Ibn Batuta :
D 1 ^ ^ a.viilc.C.1, . Uf
this sect, the writer saw Sri ManI Rama the Brahman in the capital of Lahore, who would
take no eatable from a Mohammedan, nor would associate with any of another persuasion. They
said too, that one of the Mussulman Emirs ofiered him three lacks of rupees, which, however,
he would not accept of.
HINDUSTAN.
101
with strangers, nor are seen eating by them : nor do they contract affinities,
or suffer any one to contract affinities with them. It was here I met the
Sheikh ^E1 Salih El Aabid the religious Baha Oddin El Korashi (see p. 7),
one of the three, of whom the Sheikh El Wall Borhan Oddin El Aahraj said
in Alexandria, that I should meet them in my travels : and I certainly did
meet them. May God be praised.
I then proceeded to the city of Sivastan, which is large. Without it is
a desert, and in this is there no tree except the * Egyptian thorn, nor do
they sow any thing on the banks of its river except the melon. They
generally live upon a sort of '"millet, 'peas, fish, and milk of the buffalo :
for the buffalo is here in great abundance. The place is exceedingly
hot : from Multan, the capital of Sindia, it is at a distance of ten days ; but
from Multan to Dehli, the residence of the Emperor of Hindustan, is a
distance of fifty ; which, however, will be traversed by the courier with his
despatches in five.
There are in Hindustan two kinds of couriers ; horse and foot : these they
generally term ™E1 Wolak.^ The horse courier, which is part of the Sul-
tan’s cavalry, is stationed at the distance of every four miles. As to the
foot couriers, there will be one at the distance of every mile, occupying three
(consecutive) stations, which they term ”E1 Davah, and making (in the
. al.
* i, e. Quick, hasting, &c. from the Arabic root properavit, &c. The Eastern couriers
are generally some part of the King’s forces, and when the despatches are important are officers
of distinction, as it is the case in our own military affairs. These among the ancient
Hebrews were generally termed runners, a term perfectly synonymous with that
I* T
used here, or (which is perhaps an erroneous reading for the Persian word for
runner.) This will elucidate an obscure passage in the 19th Psalm, v. 5. where we have “ rejoiceth
as a strong man to run a race.” The word answering to strong man, is in the original "liAil, which
means hero. In the translation too we have a race ; but, as we know of no races among the
Hebrews, we are reduced to some difficulty as to what could here have been intended by the
writer. In the original, however, we have n*li< which means nothing more than a way, road,
or path : and the sense is, rejoiceth as a hero to run the road ; i. e., to bear the^espatches of his
master with the greatest possible celerity and safety. This makes the whole passage easy and
plain : it exhibits the sun as an officer honoured by the Almighty to bear the announcement
of his powers, through every clime of his dominion, in a language silent but expressive, and
equally intelligible to all.
102
HINDUSTAN.
whole) three miles : so that there is, at the distance of every three miles,
an inhabited village ; and without this, three sentry-boxes, in which the
couriers sit, prepared for motion, with their loins girded. In the hand of
each is a whip about two cubits long, and upon the head of this are small
bells. Whenever, therefore, one of the couriers leaves any city, he takes
his despatches in the one hand, and the whip which he constantly
keeps shaking in the other. In this manner he proceeds to the
nearest foot-courier ; and, as he approaches, he shakes his whip. Upon
this out comes another, who takes the despatches, and so proceeds to the
next. For this reason it is, that the Sultan receives his despatches in so
short a time. In Sivastan I met the aged Sheikh Mohammed of "Bagdad,*
who told me, that his age was then one hundred and forty years ; and, that
he was present when the Calif ^E1 Mostaasem was killed by the Tatars in
the environs of Bagdad.
I then proceeded by the Sinde to the city of '^Urdiari,']' which is situated
upon the shores of the Indian sea, where the Sinde joins it. It has a large
harbour, into which ships from Persia, Yemen, and other places put. At
the distance of a few miles from this city, are the ruins of another, in which
stones in the shape of men and beasts almost innumerable are to be found.
The people of this place think, that it is the opinion of their historians, that
there was a city formerly in this place, the greater part of the inhabitants
of which were so base, that God transformed them, their beasts, their herbs,
even to the very seeds, into stones ; and indeed stones in the shape of seeds
are here almost innumerable.
I next proceeded to ’’Bakar,,]: which is a handsome city, divided by an
■jIXj al. al. "
* Instead of this we have in Mr. Kosegarten, “ Et in ea incidi in illius loci concionatorem
cui uomen Esscheibani. Exhibuit mihi litteras quibus fidelium princeps Omar ben abd el asis
Ommavida, quodam illius ab avo concionatoris Sseiwestanici munus contulit. Poster! hereditario
jure munus retinent, litteras servant faustaque sibi ex iis augurantur.”
f This is, no doubt, the Larry Bundur of Major Rennell, see bis map of Hindustan, with
the Memoir, pp. 285, &c. Mr. Kosegarten has h ybi Lahariat.
t Of this place we have no notice in Major Rennell, either in the Memoir or the map.
It may have been destroyed, however, since the times of Ibn Batuta, and the name only survive
in the Puckar river, one of the arms of the Sinde which meets the sea in those parts, and
which may have run through the town when our traveller was there.
HINDUSTAN.
103
arm of the river Sinde. Here I met the religious and pious Sheikh * Shams
Oddin Mohammed of Shiraz. This was one of the men remarkable for
age. He told me that he was something more than one hundred and twenty
years old. I then proceeded on to the city of *Uja,^ which is a large city,
situated on the Sinde. The governing Emir, at the time of my arrival,
was “ El Malik El Fazil El Sharif Jalal Oddin El Kabjl, a very brave
and generous prince. Between myself and him a friendship arose and was
confirmed. After this we met in Dehli. I next travelled on to ’'Multan,
which is the principal city of Sindia, before the Emir of which the Sultan’s
soldiers are obliged to appear.
This Emir had always before him a number of bows of various sizes, and
when any one, who wished to enlist as a bowman, presented himself, the
Emir threw one of these bows to him, which he drew with all his might. "!■
Then, as his strength proved to be, so was his situation appointed. But
when any one wished to enlist as a horseman, a drum was fixed, and the
man ran with his horse at full speed, and struck the drum with his spear.
Then, according to the effect of the stroke, was his place determined.
There were many persons, Emirs, nobles, and learned men, who
came to this place before us, and with us, all intending to be presented to
al. ’’
* The Outch of Major Rennell, probably; Mr. Kosegarten has Aja.
f We find an allusion to this custom In the 18th Psalm, where David says that his
arms can break a bow of steel. The word, however, rendered steel, means in the original
copper and, probably, should be understood only as a part of the bow, either the mid-
dle limb, to which pieces of horn, or of any other elastic substances were fastened, or the firula,
or clasps, by which this and the horn, &c. were combined.
The bow was among our own ancestors considered as a criterion of strength, as we find in
one of the songs in Robin Hood’s Garland : vol. ii. London, 1795, p. 13.
That ever a boy so young.
Should bear a bow before our king.
That’s not able to draw one string.
See also Bishop Hall’s preface to his “ Revelation unrevealed.”
That the strength of a man was thus measured among the ancient Arabians, may be seen
in the “ Historia imperii vetustissimi Joctanidarum in Arabia Eelice,” by A. Schultens, pp. 133-5.
104
HINDUSTAN.
the Emperor. After a few days, therefore, one of the chamberlains of the
Sultan arrived here, in order to conduct these persons to the presence. We
then hasted on to Dehli, between which and Multan there is a distance of
forty days ; throughout which, however, are many contiguous houses, and
at these we were honoured by being invited every morning and evening to
feasts, prepared by those who came out to meet such as were proceeding
to be presented to the Emperor. The first city we entered belonging to
Hindustan was ^Abuhar, which is the first Indian city (in this direction).
It is small and closely built, and abounds with water and plantations.
There are not in Hindustan any of the trees peculiar to our country, if
we except the "lote tree, which, however, is larger in the trunk than it is
with us ; and, its seeds are like those of a great “ gall apple, exceedingly
sweet. They have likewise large trees not known among us. Of their
fruit trees, the grape* is one, which resembles the orange tree, except that
its stem is larger, and its leaves more numerous. Its shade, too, is exten-
sive and very dense, and is apt to alfect with fever those who sleep under it.
The fruit is about the size of the large ^ Damask prunef, which when green
and not quite ripe they take, of those which happen to fall, and salt and
thus preserve them, just as the lemon is preserved with us. In the same
manner they preserve the ginger while green, as also the pods of pepper :
and this they eat with their meals. When the grape is ripe, which is in
the autumn, its seed becomes yellow, and this they eat like the apple : it
is sweet, but during mastication acquires some acidity. It has rather a
large stone, which they sow like the orange seed, and from this a tree
grows up.
Of their fruits are those termed the ‘'Shakij: and Barki, the trees of which
. jyi,
* (l^H) This is probably the mango. f So Mr. Kosegarten.
:j: This is commonly called the jack, or bread-fruit. Crawfurd says, in his History of the
Indian Archipelago, vol. i. p. 422 : “ of the jack fruit (autocarpus integrifolia) two species
occur in the Indian islands, the common jack and the ChampSdak. These two fruits of
monstrous size grow, unlike most others, from the trunk and larger branches of the tree.
The first grows often to an enormous size : the taste, though too strong to be agreeable to
Europeans, is remarkably suited to the native palate. Containing a large quantity of saccharine
and glutinous matter, the jack is highly nutritious.” He tells us a little lower down, that its
HINDUSTAN.
105
are high, and their leaves are like the Jawz (or Indian nut): the fruit
grows out from the bottom of the tree, and that which grows nearest to the
earth is called the Barki ; it is extremely sweet and well flavoured in taste ;
what grows above this is the ®Shaki. Its fruit resembles that of the -^great
gourd, its rind the skin of an ox (leather ?) When it grows yellow in the
autumn, they gather and divide it : and in the inside of each is from one to
two hundred seeds. Its seed resembles that of a cucumber, and has a
stone something like a large bean. When the stone is roasted, it tastes like
a dried bean. These, i. e. the ShakI and Barki, are the best fruits found in
Hindustan.
They have another sort of fruit, which they call ^E1 Tand : this is the
fruit of the ^Pipercula. Its * *seed is the size of that of an ■^ Armenian peach, to
which its colour may also be compared ; it is exceedingly sweet. They
also have the ^Jummun,')' which is a high tree: the fruit resembles that of
the olive, and is black ; as does likewise its stone. They have also the
sweet orange in great abundance ; but the acid orange is more esteemed
They also have one between the sweet and sour, which is exceedingly good.
They have too the fruit called the ^Mahwa : the tree is tall, and the leaves
. al. al. ^ or
name in the archipelago is probably a corruption of the Telinga jaka : our word ShakI (or
shaka, perhaps) seems to be another corruption of the same word. Mr. Kosegarten has
Shaki. Mr. Marsden adds, in his History of Sumatra, p. 99: “ The outer coat is rough,
containing a number of seeds or , kernels (which, when roasted, have the taste of chesnuts)
inclosed in a fleshy substance of a rich, and to strangers, too strong a smell and flavour, but
which gains upon the palate.” The Champadak of Mr. Crawfurd is, probably, the Bark! (^j^)
of our traveller : the name, however, is preserved in Knox’s Ceylon, in the word Warracha.
“ Before they be full ripe,” says he, “ the inhabitants call them Cose; and when ripe Warracha
or Kellas : but with this difference, that the Warracha is hard, but the Kellas as soft as pap,
both looking alike to the eye, but they are distinct trees,” p. 26, edit. 1817.
* Mr. Kosegarten also reads El Tand jcd) p. 18.
t This is, probably, the Jambu (Eugenia) of Mr. Crawfurd. See History of the Indian
Archipelago, vol. i. pp. 428-9. See also Marsden’s Hist. Sumat. p. 99. Mr. Kosegarten has here
which he gives Dschauk, It is, no doubt, an error.
P
106
HINDUSTAN.
are like those of the Jawz, except that there is a mixture of yellow and red in
them. The fruit resembles the small "prune, and is very sweet. Upon the
head of each of its berries is a small seed, not unlike the grape both in shape
and taste ; but they who eat it generally experience the head-ache. When
dried in the sun, its taste is like that of the fig. This berry they call “El
Angur. The grape, however, is seldom found in Hindustan, and then only
in Dehli and a few other places. It produces fruit twice in the year. The
fig is not found in Hindustan.
They also have a fruit, which they call ^Kosaf,^' which is round and very
sweet. About the tree they dig (and heap) the earth, just as they do about
the chesnut. They also have in India fruit common with us which is the
pomegranate, and which bears fruit twice in the year. The grain which
they sow for subsistence, is sown twice in the year ; and, that which is for
the autumn, about Midsummer when the rains fall, which they reap in sixty
days from the time of sowing it. Of this grain one is termed the ^Kodru,
which is a sort of ’’ millet. This is the most plentiful grain in use among
them ; and of it are the * Kal and the ^ Shamakh, the latter of which is
smaller than a bean. The Shamakh however often grows without culture,
and is the food of the religious, the abstemious, the fakeers, and the poor
generally, who go out and gather what thus grows spontaneously, and live
upon it the year round. When this is beaten in a wooden mortar, the rind
falls off, and then the kernel, which is white, comes out. This they boil in
the milk of the buffalo, and make it into a stew, which is much better than
when baked. Of their grain, one is the ” Mash, j' which is a sort of pea ;
m
* Mr. Kosegarten has here kasira, which he writes kessira doubling the s.
f To the valuable note of M. de Sacy on this vegetable (Relat. de I’Egypte, p. ] 19), the follow-
ing may be added from the medicinal dictionary of Hosain. j ^ jj-bc
^ib bAc! . The mash they also call maj,
but in the Shirazi (dialect) hitumash, and bitusiyah. They say that its matter is nearly allied to
HINDUSTAN.
107
and of this the ""Munjam* is a species. The seed is oblong, and of a clear
green colour. This they cook with rice, and then eat it with oil. It is
called ^ El Koshira and taken daily for breakfast. Another species of this
is the 'Lubia,f and another the “Murut, which resembles the Kodru, ex-
cept that its seed is smaller, and is used for fodder for cattle : it is pulse.
They also feed the beasts with the leaves of the mash, instead of green corn.
All these are their autumnal grains. And when they cut these, they sow
the spring grain, which consists of ^ wheat, ^ barley, '^lentiles, and^pulse,:}:
.bjUr -pii"
that of the bakila (bean) but is less flatulent. The best time to use it is the summer : and the
best of it, are those which are large, green, and plump. Its nature is cold at first, but moderate.
Of its skin they make the chicn mukashshar, and say that it is dry at first. The chyle produced by
it is good ; and it digests sooner than the bakila (or bean). The property of its churi mukashshar
is, to be advantageous in poulticing for pains in the limbs, &c. The term chun mukashshar, means
like something barked or peeled : but here seems to be applied as a compound word, as the name
of something, but what it is I have not been able to discover. Nor am I quite certain about the
syllables bitu, in bitusiyah, as the diacritical points in the MS. are not very plainly written : but
as I could find nothing else so suitable, I have taken that, which according to Meninski means
exposed to the sun, &c.
* We find in Golius, under ^ Pers. .... Lusitanis mungo. Is not this mungo the
munjam of Ibn Batuta ?
f To M. de Sacy’s notes on the Loubia (Relat, de I’Egypte, p. 38, &c.) may be added the
following from the dictionary of Hosain. y jJg-J jjlj jp
lSj ... djui i_jj
^l3 \jJ^^ Jci' cJb ijAso . The lubia, which they
also call luba and thamar, is easier of digestion and ejection than the mash. It is less productive
of flatulency than the bakila (bean). The best of it is that which is red, but is not eaten. Its
nature is warm at the first, but in moisture and dryness is moderate. They also say, that it is cold
and dry .... The second property of the red sort is, that it assists in puerperal complaints,
expels the urine and makes the body plump. It is also valuable in pulmonary diseases.
J Of this, according to Hosain, there is, the white, the black, the karsani, the wild, and the
garden, pulse. The wild is the most scarce, and the garden pulse is eaten. Jjar
&c. Then follow its medicinal properties.
P 2
108
HINDUSTAN.
on the ground from which the autumnal grain had been gathered. The soil
of the country is exceedingly good.
As to the rice, they sow it three times during the year on the same
ground : it is much in use among them. The sesam^ and sugar-cane they
cultivate along with the autumnal grain.
I at length left the town of Abuhar, and proceeded for one day through
a desert enclosed on both sides by mountains upon which were infidel and
rebel Hindoos. The inhabitants of India are in general infidels ; some
of them live under the protection of the Mohammedans, and reside either
in the villages or cities : others, however, infest the mountains and rob by
the highways. I happened to be of a party of two and twenty men, when
a number of these Hindoos, consisting of two horsemen and eighty foot, made
an attack upon us. We, however, engaged them, and by God’s help put
them to flight, having killed one horseman and twelve of the foot.
After this we arrived at a fortress, and proceeding on from it, came at
length to the city of Ajudahan* which is small. Here I met the holy Sheikh
^ Farid Oddln El Bodhawondl, of whom the Sheikh El Wall Borhiin Oddin
El Aaraj had spoken to me in the port of Alexandria, telling me that I
should meet him. I therefore did meet him, and presented him with the
Sheikh’s salutation, which surprised him ; He said, I am unworthy of
this. The Sheikh was very much broken by the temptations of the Devil.
He allowed no one to touch his hand or to approach him ; and, whenever
the clothes of any one happened to touch his, he washed them immediately.
His patronymic is referred to ^Bodhawond, a town of * El Sambal.
In this part, I also saw those women who burn themselves when their
husbands die.^ The woman adorns herself, and is accompanied by a
L,9 O ^9 / ^ 9 y-
* The Adjodin of Major Rennell.
f It will not be necessary here to notice what has been written on this inhuman practice by
more modern travellers, or by our own countrymen resident in Hindustan ; but, as some curious
matter is found in the Dabistan, a Persian book not yet translated, it may not be amiss here to
give an extract on this subject : jyi, ^ ^
u' 7^
HINDUSTAN.
109
cavalcade of the infidel Hindoos and ^Brahmans, with drums, trumpets,
and men, following her, both Moslems and Infidels for mere pastime. The
fire had been already kindled, and into it they threw the dead husband.
The wife then threw herself upon him, and both were entirely burnt. A
woman’s burning herself, however, with her husband is not considered as
absolutely necessary among them, but it is encouraged ; and when a woman
burns herself "with her husband, her family is considered as being ennobled,
and supposed to be worthy of trust. But when she does not burn herself,
she is ever after clothed coarsely, and remains in constraint among her rela-
tions, on account of her want of fidelity to her husband.
The woman who burns herself with her husband is generally surrounded
by women, who bid her farewell, and commission her with salutations for
^.3 '^3^ Ij33^3 (,^3^ 3^^
1 iSj] ^(3 1 ^ (33^ ji\ i3^
^‘^^'’^33 ^ j3 j*^*~*^J i3y3> J^3^ ^
j\ 3>\j^ Jul Cl— JjU- j\j> \j^ t3y3i 33b\ji- 4^ d,j
~ 4^1 43
. l^l3j:^\l ^^1 “ They say, that the woman who becomes a Sattee after the death of her
husband, obtains pardon both for her own and her husband’s sins, so that they may both remain
long in paradise : and even if the husband should have gone to hell, just as a snake-catcher draws
out a snake from his hole, so would the woman draw her husband out of hell, and place him in
paradise. Every woman, too, who becomes a Sattee, should she again have a body, would
have that of a man, not that of a woman. But, if she did not become a Sattee, but remain a
widow, she would never in the metempsychosis have any other body but that of a woman. It
is considered the duty of a woman to enter the fire in which her husband is burning, unless she
be pregnant. A Brahman’s wife must burn with her husband in the same fire, and so become a
Sattee : others may burn elsewhere. It is not considered right, however, to force a woman into
the fire : and, in like manner, a woman desiring to become a Sattee, is not to be kept back from
her purpose. The doctors have said, that the original intention of becoming a Sattee was this :
that a woman should, after the death of her husband, consume all her desires, and thus die (to
the world) before her natural death : for in the language of mysticism taoman means desire ;
and the intention is, that she should cast away her desire, not that she should throw herself as a
dead carcase into the fire, which is abominable,” The word Sattee (in the Sanscrit
means saint, &c.
110
HINDUSTAN.
their former friends, while she laughs, plays, or dances, to the very time in
which she is to be burnt.
Some of the Hindoos, moreover, drown themselves in the river Ganges,
to which they perform pilgrimages ; and into which they pour the ashes of
those who have been burnt. When any one intends to drown himself, he
opens his mind on the subject to one of his companions, and says: You are
not to suppose that I do this for the sake of any thing worldly ; my only
motive is to draw near to ™KisaI, which is a name of God with them.
And when he is drowned, they draw him out of the water, burn the body,
and pour the ashes into the Ganges.
After four day’s journey, I arrived at the city of “Sarsati* * * §. It is large
and abounds with rice, which they carry hence to Delhi. And after this at
"Hansl,t which is a very beautiful and closely built city, with extensive
fortifications. I next came to ^’Masud Abad,j; after two days travelling,
and remained there three days. The Emperor Mohammed, whom it was
our object to see, had at this time left his residence in Dehli, and gone to
Kinnoje,§ which is at the distance of ten days from that place. He sent
his Vizier, however, Khaja Jahanjl Ahmed Ibn Ayas, a native of Room,
with a number of kings, doctors, and grandees, to receive the travellers,
(an Emir is with them termed king.) The Vizier then so arranged the pro-
cession, that each one had a place according to his rank.
We then proceeded on from Masud Abad till we came to Dehli, the capi-
ai.
. ^
* The Suruste of Major Rennell.
f Perhaps the Hassengur of Rennell, or the of Ferlshta, which is certainly near the
river Suruste, mentioned in the account of the battle between Shahab OddTn and the Hindoo
chiefs, A. H. 588. Dow writes it Hafsi, p. 169 : (A. H. 752).
J This place I do not find in the maps.
§ This is, probably, the expedition noticed by Dow, Hindustan, vol. i. p. 322.
II Chaja Jehan was, according to Dow, high in power with Mohammed Shah at this time.
Hindustan, vol. i. p. 318 ; and Ferishta says, that Ahmed Ayaz received the title of Khaja Jahan,
and was made commander of the forces of Guzerat upon the king’s accession, j jj\j\
HINDUSTAN.
Ill
tal of the empire. It is a most magnificent city, combining at once both
beauty and strength. Its walls are such as to have no equal in the whole
world. This is the greatest city of Hindustan ; and indeed of all Islamism in
the East. It now consists of four cities, which becoming contiguous have
formed one. This city was conquered in the year of the Hejira 584 (A.D.
1188).* * * § The thickness of its walls is eleven ’’cubits. They keep grain in
this city for a very long time without its undergoing any change whatever.
I myself saw rice brought out of the treasury, which was quite black, but,
nevertheless, had lost none of the goodness of its taste. The same was the
case with the kodru, which had been in the treasury for ninety years.
Flowers, too, are in continual blossom in this place. Its mosque is very
large ; and, in the beauty and extent of its building, it has no equal.
Before the taking of Dehli it had been a Hindoo temple, which the Hindoos
call *E1 Bur Khana (But Khanaf) ; but, after that event, it was used as a
mosque. In its court-yard is a *cell, to which there is no equal in the cities
of the Mohammedans ; its height is such, that men appear from the top of
it like little children. In its court, too, there is an immense pillar, which
they say, is composed of stones from seven different quarries. Its length is
" thirty cubits ; its circumference eight : which is truly miraculous. J With-
out the city is a reservoir for the rain-water ; and out of this the inhabitants
have their water for drinking. § It is two miles in length, and one in width.
. * . iOlrs- j^\ al. ’’
* According to Ferishta, however, it was not conquered by the Mohammedans before A. H.
388. His words, which I do not find in Dow, are these: jd
JoU
... cJjU aj y>- . When Pithura was slain in the
field of battle of Shahab Oddin, Dehli, as will hereafter appear, in the latter part of the year 388
passing from the power of infidels, went into the government of the kings of Ghaur and their
followers. According to the Aini Akbarl, however, Dehli was first taken by Mahmood of
Ghizna :
f This sort of temple is constantly termed But khana ? abut house or house of
Budda) by Ferishta.
J Is it the pillar of Firozshah ?
§ The waters of the Jumna, it should seem, are so impregnated with natron as to be unfit for
drinking. Col. Fitzclarence tells us, in his “ Journal or Route across India, through Egypt to
112
HINDUSTAN.
About it are pleasure-gardens to which the people resort, (al. the nobles of
the city.)