СНАР, Х. watchers, and story-tellers; and the Nawab again retired to his couch, and was lulled to sleep by stories. He generally awoke three or four times in the course of the night, but was always awake about two hours before dawn."11 Such was the condition of Bengal, and of India generally, immediately before the rise of the British empire. The people were groaning under Oriental despotism, without security of life or property, but ignorant of anything better, and regarding their lot as the decree of the gods. So long as they were left in peace, and were not troubled by famine or pestilence, they were probably contented; but the invasions of Mahrattas and outbreaks of Afghans were the agony of India. In Bengal especially the people fled before the Mahrattas like sheep before wolves. They were too powerless and timid to resist, and abandoned their homes and fields to the destroyer, seeking only to hide themselves in the jungle with their panicstricken wives and families, until the storm should have passed away. 11 "Siyar-ul-Mutaqherin," by Gholam Husain Ali. Calcutta, 1786. APPENDIX I. THE SHAH NÁMEH OF FIRDUSI. THE Shah Námeh of Firdusi is a famous Persian poem of interminable length. It was the outcome of the Persian revolt against the Arab conquest. It was written in the purest Persian, without any admixture of Arabic worth mentioning, although Arabic had long been regarded as the sacred language of the Koran. It purports to be a history of the ancient kings and heroes of Persia, but it is crowded with supernatural details of demigods, griffins, and nondescript monsters. In bulk and character the Sháh Námeh bears some resemblance to the Sanskrit epics of the Mahá Bhárata and Rámáyana; but there is a marked difference in the subject-matter. Fabulous details are inserted in the Sanskrit epics for the purpose of glorifying the Bráhmans or enforcing the observance of Brahmanical laws or institutions. The fabulous details in the Sháh Námeh seem to have been inserted for no other object than to amuse Oriental readers, who never appear to be wearied with details of extravagant amours, miraculous weapons, and impossible battles. There is one story told of the author of the Sháh Námeh which is somewhat significant. The poet Firdusi professed to be a Muhammadan and a Sunní. The poem is duly prefaced with a declaration of the Muhammadan faith, and the praises of the four Khalifs who succeeded the Prophet. The poem itself was written at the request of Mahmúd of Ghazní, who promised to pay a dirhem for every couplet. Firdusi finished the poem in sixty thousand couplets. He expected to be paid in gold dirhems, but was offered silver dirhems. He refused to take the money, and returned to Persia, where he wrote a bitter satire against Mahmúd. An examination of the poem seems to indicate that Mahmúd had reason to be angry with Firdusi. The Sháh Námeh teems with legends of idolaters, and has little to say of Muhammad or the Koran. The legend of the conquest of Persia by Zohak the Arab reads like a covert satire on the conquest of Persia by the Arab Khalifs. Zohak is described as a polygamous and flesh-eating monster, just as a Muhammadan would have been described by a Parsi or Bráhman of bygone times. It is possible that some of the legends in the Sháh Námeh may be relics of authentic tradition. The wars between the old Persian kings and the Devas may refer to ancient antagonisms between the fire-worshippers of Persia and the worshippers of the Vedic deities. It is curious to note that in the Shah Námeh the Devas are located in the Elburz mountains and neighbourhood of the Caspian-the very region which the Vedic Aryans are supposed to have occupied before they migrated to the Punjab and Hindustan. Some of the details in the Sháh Námeh respecting the earliest kings of Persia may perhaps be accepted as allegorical representations of the origin of civilisation and religion. Kaiumárs, the first king, introduced the use of clothing among the human race. Husheng, his successor, produced fire from a stone for the first time. He called it the light of the Divinity, and introduced the worship of fire. He taught the art of forging metals, irrigating lands, baking bread, and cooking in general. Both kings carried on wars against the Devas. Tahumars, the third king, conquered the Devas; he spared their lives on the condition that they taught him to read and write. Jemshíd, the fourth king, invented arms, armour, and silk garments. He compelled the Devas to build him a palace; he also obliged them to construct a throne of jewels, which could be carried by enchantment through the air. It is certainly suggestive that the Sháh Námeh should represent the old Persian kings as deriving their civilisation from the Devas. It is well known that the Vedic Aryans, who represent the Devas, were distinguished by their literature from a very remote period; they indulged in a taste for architecture and jewellery, and were currently believed to be practised in the arts of magic and enchantment, like the Brahmans of later times. A great part of the Sháh Námeh is occupied with amours, which appear to gratify Orientals, but have few attractions. for European readers. A beautiful princess on a balcony falls in love with a hero whose hair is white as silver. She unloosens her own long tresses to enable him to climb up and join her. The details of their passion are told in innumerable couplets. At last the lady gave birth to the hero Rustam, a huge child that drank the milk of ten cows. When Rustam was born he was as big as a child a twelvemonth old; when he was three years of age he rode on horseback; when he was five, he consumed as much food as a full-grown man. Such details may be interesting to Oriental readers, but for purposes of history it is needless to dwell further on the legends of the Sháh Námeh. APPENDIX II. HINDU ANNALS COMPILED FROM THE I. EARLY CONFLICTS BETWEEN JAINS AND BRAHMANS. War of Maha Bhárata; migrations to the eastward.-Advent of Vikramaditya at Ujain, 56 B.C.—Advent of Saliváháná, born of a virgin, 77 A.D.-Growing power of the Jain Princes of the Dekhan.-Jain Princes at Kalyán in the Dekhan and Kanchipuram in the Peninsula.-Advent of Sankara Achárya as an incarnation of Siva.-Advent of Basava Iswara to teach the worship of the Linga.-Advent of Rámánuja Achárya as an incarnation of Vishnu.-Reign of Raja Bhoja in the Ghond country; a patron of letters.—Death of Kálidása the poet. II. BELAL EMPIRE OF KARNATA. Foundation of the Belál empire of Karnata. I. Hayasala Belál Rai, 984-1043-Founds the city of Dhúr-samundar -Supports both Bráhmans and Jains. II. Vináditya Belál Rai, 1043-1073-Clears the jungle. III. Yareyanga Belál Rai, 1073-1113-Prevalence of Jains. IV. Bala Deva Rai, 1113-1164-Mussulman conquest-Rámánuja Acharya converts the Raja to the Vaishnava religion. V. Vijaya Narasinha Belál, 1165–1187-Vaishnava religion flourishes. VI. Vira Belál Rai, 1188-1232-He marries the daughter of the Sultan of Delhi. VII. Vira Narasinha Belál, 1233-1248. VIII. Saya Belál Rai, 1249–1267. IX. Vira Narasinha Deva, 1267-1308. X. Belál Rai, 1308-1355-Mussulman conquest of Karnata. |