Gardīzī on India

V. Minorsky

doi:10.1017/S0041977X00083191

Gardīzī on India

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 December 2009

V. Minorsky

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On several occasions, when my Persian coaster ventured into the Indian Ocean and was battered by too heavy seas, and I was murmuring the verse of Hafiz:– Dr. L. D. Barnett, like the expert pilot he is, came to the rescue. As a token of gratitude I wish him to accept my translation of the chapter on India extracted from the unpublished part of Gardīzī′s historical work.

Type: Articles
Information: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 12 , Issue 3-4 , October 1948 , pp. 625 - 640

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0041977X00083191 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 1948

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^{page 625 note 1} Barthold, Otchot, 78–80; Turkestan, 20–s1; C. A. Storey, Persian Literature, ii/1, 63

^{page 625 note 2} C, f. 175α: chunīn shanīdam az Khwāja Abu Rayhān Muhammad b. Ahmad al-Bīruni. Gardīzī′s chapter on Indian festivals (C, 172α–177α) is based on Blruni, see Sachau′s transl., ii, 178–184, and 346. Gardīzī′s text has a few additions.

^{page 625 note 3} This dot may belong to min preceding sana

^{page 626 note 1} Bīst-māqala, ii, Tehran, 1313, pp. 196–201.

^{page 626 note 2} Turkestan, 21, note

^{page 626 note 3} Royal Asiatic Society, 1942. The present article must be regarded as an Annex to Marvazi.

^{page 626 note 4} Al-Fihrist, Mutahhar ibn Tahir Maqdisi, the Hudud al-′Alam, Sharaf al-din Marvazi, Shahristani, etc. References to all these books are given in my edition of Marvazi′s text.

^{page 627 note 1} In my edition of Marvazi, p. 124,1 have followed the explanation of this term as *Chakravarti (H. W. Bailey), but the late Sir R. Burn drew my attention to the new interpretation offered by S. H. Hodivala as Sakyaputra, the term applied to medieval Buddhist priests [but what about the kingdom (mulh) belonging to them ?]. The whole paragraph 2 is out of order and has lacunae. If S. H. Hodivala′s hypothesis is right the original source of the report must have been Buddhist, which has some obvious chronological importance. See below, point 10.

^{page 627 note 2} TH: wa fihim al-mulk.

^{page 627 note 3} Either the Buddhists have wrongly got into the system of Indian castes, or some distinction should be made between the S.mnān and the Buddhist shamani, see below, § 10b. Cf. Tanbīh, 161

^{page 628 note 1} On the use of zhāla instead of tagarg in Afghanistan see Bogdanov, “ Stray Notes”, JASB., xxvi, 1930, No. 1, p. 123.Google Scholar

^{page 628 note 2} C. tadbīrī-yī bimārī(?): O. b.rbM (*bihbūdi ? or burīdan ?).

^{page 629 note 1} I.e. Assam. Mis-spelt Kāmrīt in C. and O.

^{page 629 note 2} Spelt dār-i khāshāk. W. Henning has pointed to the Ssk. jāsaka-wood, “ a kind of yellow fragrant wood ” (letter 24.xii.1947).

^{page 629 note 3} Srāvastī was not the birth-place of Buddha but the reputed scene of many of his exploits.

^{page 629 note 4} Chitrakot, perhaps “ the Chitra-kūta in the Dandaka forest”, whither Rama repaired during his exile. In Bohtlingk′s dictionary the name is explained as a mountain in Bandalkhanda, now called Kāmtā.

^{page 629 note 5} Rather shītaraj “ lepidium latifolium ” than shāh′tarraj “ fumaria officinalis ”. Cf. Abu Mansīr Muwafiaq, tr. Achundow, nos. 351 and 348.

^{page 629 note 6} L.e. Brahmagupta′s Khānda-khadyaka from which Biruni derived his knowledge of Indian astronomy.

^{page 630 note 1} The name left out in the text. In TH, sh.ku, read *sh.h.r, i.e. chakra. MS. C. 205a has a marginal note: ″bajjar (*vajra) and chakkar (*chakra), are both names of Indian weapons

^{page 630 note 2} TH: ′anqā, i.e. the divine carrier Garūdā.

^{page 630 note 3} Nar, or of a goat (fruit) ?

^{page 630 note 4} Or of these heads

^{page 630 note 5} The text is not quite clear.

^{page 630 note 6} Perhaps only repeated from the preceding line.

^{page 630 note 7} Or jnyw (*janeū?) “ guna thread ”.

^{page 630 note 8} *Dukhna. C. and O. rukhna “ paper ”.

^{page 631 note 1} Read: *rīzand, for C. and O. āvīzand, “ they suspend ” (?).

^{page 631 note 2} Ssk. bharataka “ a devotee of Siva ” (H. W. Bailey). The Muslims usually render the Indian cerebrals 4 and t by r.

^{page 631 note 3} C. brdwdwkwsry āvīkhta: O. prdwdwkwsri ? In Persian gusari would mean “ cow-headed ” (!), but it may be some Indian term kūsrī, or dūkūsrī ?

^{page 632 note 1} Or, the inhabitants (sukkān ?) begin to shout.

^{page 632 note 2} O. pāra

^{page 632 note 3} Bryān read ba-zabān

^{page 632 note 4} C. and O. knd.

^{page 632 note 5} See TH., p. 133. I had taken D.kshāyt for *Dakshāpat “ Deccan ”, but Dr. Barnett suggests for Bāznāy.n *Bārāmsī, i.e. Benares, and for D.kshayt *deh-i Kāshī, as the district is called.

^{page 632 note 6} Spelt: v.jva-shym.n. In Arabic, d ought to have given r.

^{page 633 note 1} *harn-dāstān na-būdan (for na-būdand).

^{page 633 note 2} Az bihtarin, read: *az bahr-i tan.

^{page 633 note 3} Sarhā-yi kūh sākhta-and. Perhaps *sarāha-yi kūh “ mountain abodes ”. [This obscure passage may be connected with the mythical Mt. Meru, cf. Blriini, India, tr. i, 247.]

^{page 633 note 4} Zūd-yāb-tar; TH: sarī al-idrāk.

^{page 634 note 1} Tā sīna bar dast-i ū biravad, read: *yā sayy′ia. Cf. TH, p. *30: ijtarafra sayy′iatan

^{page 634 note 2} *Rāja-nara “ King′s man ”, or rājanya- “ man of Ksatriya caste ” ? (H. W. Bailey).

^{page 635 note 1} Va sar-rā mījunbānand, unless this is some circumlocution for “ deceiving, playing a hoax ”

^{page 635 note 2} Ashk-hā-yī ū bīrūn Ichazīda. TH.: kāshir al-nāb “ with grinning teeth ”. Cf. the name of a peak in Ghor Ask (*Ashk) “ tooth ” in fabaqāt, 39 (tr. 310). The more usual form is yashk, cf. Vās-u-Rāmīn: a wild boar gores Mobad with its yashk

^{page 635 note 3} Bar-āmada, perhaps *bircAna “ naked ”.

^{page 635 note 4} C. banāiī; O. butān, which is obviously right

^{page 636 note 1} Probably *Dahkīnī, as in Shahristanl

^{page 636 note 2} I.e. the club and the disk. Both terms are separately spelt out in the margin.

^{page 636 note 3} al-Fihrist: “ four ducks ” (rab′at al-butūt

^{page 637 note 1} Ba-rū′ī nīkū nihand, perhaps ast;bīnamd; cf. TH.: wa nazarū ilayhi bi-wajhin hasanin

^{page 637 note 2} bar-vay sakhi Icarda

^{page 637 note 3} Sir R. Burn thought the name might be *Maha-brahmanān “ a despised section of Brahmans who deal in funerary rites ”, which is somewhat doubtful.

^{page 637 note 4} Ba-hīch chiz *ba-kīr naydyand (O. kār nay ay and). TH.: lā yasta′miluna hālatan fi daf iarr. Perhaps instead of chīz one should read jarr

^{page 637 note 5} Dr. Barnett suggests *mumukshi “ seekers of salvation (molcsa) ”.

^{page 638 note 1} Dr. Barnett suggests *kesa-kartī “ cutting hair ” (or keia-luncī “ plucking out hair ”), and and for <vijanadhara) “fan-bearer”.

^{page 638 note 2} I.e. the declaration: “ o comfort”.

^{page 638 note 3} Bos tabdn, read: *tābān.

^{page 639 note 1} *Anāia “ not eating ”.

^{page 639 note 2} Vata “ banyan tree ”. Spelt: tāb.r.

^{page 639 note 3} G. and O.: tā quwatī bīshtar gardad?

^{page 639 note 4} On the Prayaga tree see Biruni ii, 284 (tr. ii, 170).

^{page 639 note 5} Va sitabrī-yi ū chūn chūbī har-chi sifabrtar

^{page 639 note 6} Possibly here too yā...yā represent exclamations: “ o return, o show ”

^{page 640 note 1} Milvus govinda “ the pariah kite ”.

^{page 640 note 2} Contrary to the legendary auspiciousness of the humāy, this bird, in its private capacity, is only an ustukhwān-hhwār “ bone-eater ”. W. Henning identifies it with “ osprey < ossifrage ”, BSOAB., 1947, XII/1, p. 42.

^{page 640 note 3} Va mirā′ na-mīlcunad ? 0. mir′āh ?

^{page 640 note 4} See Preface. O. has “ on the 21 Dhul-Hijja 1196 H. (27 November 1781)”.

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