_Division of Time--Festivals--Calendar of the Indians._
In the reckoning of time the Indians employ partly solar years, and
partly lunar. A solar year is called _Sura_, or _Surya Valsara_;
a lunar year, _Somanda_, or _Ciandra Valsara_. A _Suraya Valsara_
contains twelve months, during which the _Sura_ or _Surya_ (the sun)
passes through the _Rashiciacra_ (zodiac). The _Rashi_, or signs of
the zodiac, are:
1. _Mèsza_, a horned animal, that is, Aries. It corresponds with
April, called _Mèsza-mòsa_.
2. _Idava_, _Vrsha_, or _Mahisha_, that is, Taurus. It corresponds
with _Idavamasa_, or _Vrshamasa_, May.
3. _Mithuna_, Gemini, couple, or man and wife, as seen represented
on an Indo-Thibetian painting preserved in the Borgian Museum. It
corresponds with _Mithunamòsa_, or June.
4. _Carkidaga_, and not _Carcata_, as it is called very improperly by
Sir William Jones, Cancer. It corresponds with July.
5. _Sinha_, Leo, an animal which not only existed in India in the
remotest ages, but is still found there; as Zimmerman has observed,
with great propriety, in his Zoology. _Sinhamasa_, the sun in the
sign Leo; August.
6. _Cani_, or _Canya_, Virgo; _Canimasa_, the sun in the sign Virgo,
September.
7. _Tula_, Libra; _Tulimasa_, the sun in the sign Libra, October.
8. _Vrshvica_, Scorpio; _Vrshvicamasa_, November.
9. _Dhanu_, or _Dhanussa_, the Bow (not the bowman); _Dhanumasa_,
December.
10. _Magara_, or _Macara_, the Whale (_Souffleur_); _Magaramàsa_,
January.
11. _Cumbha_, a Water-pitcher, a vessel with a narrow neck, the sign
Aquarius; _Cumbhamasa_, February.
12. _Mina_, or _Malsya_, Two Fish; _Minamasa_, March.
Anquetil du Perron believes that the Indians adopted this zodiac
from the Arabs; but Bayer and Montucla are of opinion that they
borrowed it from the Greeks. Sir William Jones, however, maintains
that all nations of the earth were acquainted with the zodiac before
their dispersion; and this conjecture appears to me to be the most
probable[192].
The days of the week have also significative appellations, as follows:
1. _Aadityanàl_, _Suryanàl_ or _Suryavàra_, the day of the sun,
Sunday.
2. _Sòmanàl_, _Sòmavàra_, _Tinguelashicia_, _Tinguelkelami_, the day
of the moon, Monday. The three first names are Malabar; the last
Tamulic.
3. _Mangalanàl_, _Ciovanàl_, _Ciovavàra_, _Ciovashicia_, is, in
Malabar, the day of Mars, Tuesday. This Mars, however, was not a
warrior, but a priest and counsellor of the sun.
4. _Budhanàl_, _Budhavàra_, _Budhanashicia_, _Budhakelami_, the day
of Mercury, Wednesday. By Mercury the Indians understand also a
priest and counsellor of the Sun.
5. _Brhaspadinal_, _Brhaspadivàra_, _Vyashicianàl_, _Vyashakelami_,
the day of Jupiter, Thursday. The Indian Jupiter was also a priest
and a poet.
6. _Shukranàl_, _Shukravàra_, _Vishnavàra_, _Velliashicia_,
_Villikelami_, the day of Venus, Friday. The genius of this planet is
of the male sex; and is a priest, poet, and contemplative philosopher.
7. _Shaninàl_, _Shanivàra_, _Pangunal_, _Shaniashicia_, _Shanikelami_,
is the day of Saturn, Saturday. The genius of this star is supposed,
by the Indians to be an old man invested with the priesthood, who
presides over the course of time, and devours children. According to
every conjecture, this is merely an allegorical allusion, by which
they mean to shew that a great many men always die before it has
completed its revolution, which, as is said, continues thirty-nine
years six months[193].
The Indians believe that the world was created under the sign of
Aries; and therefore they begin, every year, on the commencement of
April, when the sun enters into that sign, a new period, according to
which they determine the course of the sun and the other planets. On
this occasion they always hold their great and celebrated festival
of offering known under the name of _Yaga_. A great many Brahmans
assemble in a tent in the open fields, and, amidst a variety
of ceremonies and religious practices, strangle a ram which is
consecrated to the sun and the planets. The object of this sacrifice
is, that the genii of these stars may confer good fortune and
happiness on their worshippers during the course of the new year. In
my _Systema Brahmanicum_ I have given a particular description of
this festival.
According to the assertion of Le Gentil, Bailly, De la Lande, and
Sonnerat, the Brahmans use a cycle of sixty years, reckoned according
to the method of the Chaldæans. A period of 24,000 years, they say,
is necessary before the whole host of the heavens, together will all
the fixed stars belonging to them, can perform their revolution from
east to west. Now, as the motion of the celestial sphere, in the
course of sixty years, advances fifty-four minutes in longitude, it
thus produces the above-mentioned cycle of sixty years, which forms a
part of the 24,000 years which must elapse before the whole rotation
of the heaven is completed.
Mr. S. Davis, however, is of opinion, that this cycle of the Brahmans
relates merely to the revolution of _Rasha_ (Jupiter.) This much
at any rate is certain, that this cycle actually occurs in the
astronomy of the Brahmans. Walther, Sonnerat, and Father Beschi have
mentioned the different appellations of the sixty years, of which
this cycle consists, in the order as they follow each other; and it
appears, that such years are expressly quoted in the horoscopes and
descriptions of the nativities of the Indian princes. It is equally
certain, that this cycle existed in the _Pancianga_ of the _Brahmans_
at _Carnate_, _Malayala_, _Madura_, and _Tanjaur_. This _Pancianga_
is the calendar used by all the Brahmans who live towards the East.
It consists of five divisions, as appears by its name, which is
compounded of _pancia_ five, and _angia_ a part. The first contains
the days of the moon’s increase and decrease; the second, the usual
days of the week; the third, the constellations, with an account of
the moon’s daily position; the fourth, those days which announce good
or bad fortune; and the fifth, auguries and horoscopes, together with
the current year of the above-mentioned cycle of sixty years.
The Brahmans employ also another period called _Mahayuga_, which
they determine by an anomalistic movement of the whole stars, which
ends when the moon together with her apogeum and ascending nodes
are in conjunction with the sun on the first day of April. Repeated
observation of the starry heavens gave the Brahmans an opportunity
of remarking that the course of the stars was in a certain measure
retarded by their ascension and distance from the earth. They
calculated, therefore, this retardation, and found, that, since
the time when the above position of all the stars took place,
1,955,884,890 years must have elapsed; and that 2,364,115,110 years
were necessary to produce it again. This great anomalistic period of
the revolution of the stars, which they call _Calpa_, is divided into
four epochs. The first is called _Satayayuga_, the age of truth and
justice, or the golden age; _Tredayuga_, the second, we should call
the silver age; the third, _Duabarayuga_, is the brazen age; and the
fourth, _Caliyuga_, the iron age.
Years.
The _Satyayuga_ contains 1,728,000
The _Tredayuga_ 1,296,000
The _Duabarayuga_ 864,000
The _Caliyuga_ 432,000
The whole _Calpa_, comprehending the _Sandhi_[194], lasts
4,320,000,000 years.
* * * * *
Of all the Europeans, no one, as far as I know, has placed in a
clearer light this subject, as well as the whole Brahmanic astronomy,
so difficult to be explained, than Mr. Samuel Davis[195]. From his
explanation, founded upon Indian manuscripts, it evidently appears
that the above periods, as well as the division of the different ages
into a certain number of years, is not a poetical fiction, but a
real astronomical period, founded upon the hypothesis, that so many
thousands of years, which form the _Calpa_, are requisite before all
the celestial bodies can be found together in the above position;
which however has never yet existed. M. Bailly was therefore in a
great error when he endeavoured to prove, from the astronomical
calculations of the Brahmans, that the world is much older than it is
according to the chronology of Moses[196].
We are told by Strabo, in the fifteenth book of his Geography, that
the Brahmans admitted, as a thing well known, that the earth was of a
spherical figure; and indeed they are actually convinced of the truth
of this principle. They divide the diameter of it into a hundred
and sixty equal parts, which they call _Yogiana_. When they wish
to determine the degree of latitude under which a place lies, they
employ the _Palabhá_, that is, the shadow projected by the gnomon of
a dial, placed in a perpendicular direction, exactly at the time when
the sun is on the equator. The longitude, called _Deshándara_, they
determine by eclipses of the moon; and it is reckoned from the first
meridian, which most of the Brahmans make to pass through the western
extremity of the island _Lanca_ or _Ceylon_. The place where it does
so is called _Salmala_, and is probably a mountain on the coast of
_Pescaria_, which is adjacent to that island; at least we have reason
to conclude so from this circumstance, that the coast of _Pescaria_
is called in the Samscred language _Salàbhabu_. We know from the
Indian mythology, that _Rama_ (the Indian Bacchus, or the Sun,) went
to the first meridian in _Lanca_, when he wished to expel _Ravana_
the king of the night; and that, for this purpose, he passed over
the bridge _Ràma_, which is properly nothing else than a sand-bank,
that affords a passage from _Pescaria_ to _Lanca_. Here then in the
island of _Lanca_ is the first meridian, where, according to the idea
of the Brahmans, immediately after midnight the natural day begins to
appear, and then diffuses itself earlier or later over all the other
places towards the east or the west, according as they lie under
a nearer or more remote degree of longitude. There are, however,
various other places which the Brahmans make their first meridian to
pass through: such, for example, as _Avanti_, a town in the country
of the Marattas.
The inhabitants of the coast of Malabar reckon the hours of the day
and the night from the rising and setting of the sun. Thus they say,
in the first _Nàliga_ (hour) of the day; in the second _Nàliga_ of
the night, &c. Few of the Indians reckon the hours from noon. The
duration of time, called _Ràla_, or _Muhurta_, is reckoned by the
breathings of a person in health. Six breathings make a _Vinàlica_,
or minute; sixty _Vinàlica_ make a _Danda_; and sixty _Danda_,
_Dina_, or _Nàliga_, form one _Nakshatranàl_, that is, a natural day;
and thirty such _Nakshatranàl_ make a _Masà_, or astronomical month.
In Malabar the day and night consist of sixty _Nàliga_, which
together, according to the Italian method of reckoning time, amount
to twenty-four hours. The night is divided into four _Yama_, or
watches; so that the two first last till midnight, and the other two
till morning. There is a similar division of the day. These watches
have not been borrowed from military regulations; but were first
established by the Brahmans employed in celestial observations.
The hours in the Samscred language are called _Shalkshana_; in
the Tamulic and Malabar, _Nàliga_; in the Nepalic, _Ghahu_; and
in Hindostan, _Palà_. They are announced from the summits of the
pagodas, or heathen temples, by beating upon copper basons, the sound
of which can be heard at a great distance. Is it not possible that
these basons or copper vessels, which were employed for this purpose
in the earliest ages, may have given rise to the invention of our
bells? On some pagodas the hours are announced by means of a large
cow’s horn, which emits a strong and penetrating sound. Some reckon
the time by water-clocks, and others by lamps; some by the position
of the sun, and others by the flux and reflux of the sea, which, when
the moon is visible, they can determine with wonderful accuracy. Here
and there may be found a few Indians who make use of the Berosian
clocks.
The astronomical year of the Indians consists of 365 days, six
hours, twelve minutes and thirty seconds. When this division and the
astronomical tables of the Brahmans are closely examined, it appears
that they agree perfectly with the Egyptian, Chaldean and Babylonian;
and that they were long known among them before the origin of the
Alexandrian school, from which Anquetil du Perron deduces the
astronomical knowledge of the Brahmans.
* * * * *
The Indian books which treat of astronomy are:
1. The _Sùrya Sidhànda_, that is, observations of the sun.
2. _Sòma Sidhànda_, observations of the moon.
3. _Vashista Sidhànda_, observations of _Vashista_.
4. _Graha làghava_, observations of the stars.
5. _Grahanamala_, or a catalogue of eclipses.
* * * * *
The astrological books of the Indians are:
1. _Giodisha Shástra_, that is, the science of casting horoscopes,
and observing the constellations.
2. _Giadagàrnava_, that is, the light by the help of which one can
discover what is good or bad in the hour of a person’s nativity.
3. _Kramadìpiga_: Instructions for the knowledge of good or bad
actions; the production of which depends on the constellations.
4. _Suhudidìpiga_: Instructions how to perform ablutions and
purifications by observing the revolution of the heavens.
In the scientific writings of the Brahmans, astronomy is treated in
a manner entirely different from that of the so-called _Purana_,
or ancient histories. The latter contain nothing but a multitude
of insipid fables, the foundation of which is astronomy; but which
are entirely destitute of probability. Anquetil, Bailly, and other
learned men have however suffered themselves to be so far misled
by them, as to consider the astronomy of the Brahmans in a very
erroneous point of view.
Besides the solar year, the Indians have also a particular lunar
year, which, according to the testimony of Curtius[197], was
introduced in the earliest periods, and by which most of them at
present are accustomed to form their computations. Some of the
inhabitants of the coast of Malabar reckon, as we do in Europe, by
solar years; and adopt our _Annum expunctionis_, or leap-year, which
they call _Kuttucàla_. Others reckon as we do, but differ from us
in regard to the days of the month; as they increase or lessen them
without making any variation in the number of the months. Their month
begins after the seventh and before the twelfth day of ours, and
consequently ends some days later. This difference, however, is not
confirmed by the authority of the king or government, but depends
merely on the astronomical observations of this or that astronomical
sect and school, one of which reckons one way, and another in a
different.
* * * * *
That the reader may form some idea of the lunar months of
the Indians, I shall here give the names of the twenty-seven
constellations which the moon passes through every month, and to
which particular regard has been paid in this division of time. Sir
William Jones has transcribed them in the Bengal language; but I
shall employ the Malabar and Tamulic.
1. _Ashvadi_,
2. _Bharanì_,
3. _Kártiga_,
4. _Rohanì_,
5. _Magaira_,
6. _Tiruvádira_,
7. _Punarda_,
8. _Aylya_,
9. _Magha_,
10. _Pura_,
11. _Puya_,
12. _Uttara_,
13. _Atta_,
14. _Cittra_,
15. _Ciodi_,
16. _Vishággha_,
17. _Anila_,
18. _Trketta_,
19. _Mula_,
20. _Puráda_,
21. _Uttaráda_,
22. _Tiruvonna_,
23. _Avitta_,
24. _Ciadèya_,
25. _Puraviruttàdi_,
26. _Uttaraviruttàdi_,
27. _Irabadi_.
Some add also the twenty-eighth, _Abhijit_. Mr. Sonnerat has totally
mutilated these names, which may be found in the second volume of
his Voyages. I have written them exactly as they are pronounced in
Italian. Whoever will take the trouble to compare them with the
Bengalo-Samscredamic appellations, which Sir William Jones has
published, will find that they entirely correspond with them, and
that the Brahmans on the coast of Malabar understand the Samscred as
well as the Brahmans of Bengal and at Benares[198].
According to the principles of the Indians, the moon continues in
each of these constellations during the period of sixty Malabar
_Naligas_, or twenty-four hours. In their calculations the Indians
do not take into account the days of new and full moon, but reckon
only those of her increase and decrease. Full moon is called in
the Samscred language _Pùrmimà_, or _Velutavà_, the white moon.
New moon is called _Amàva_ or _Carttavàva_, that is, the new, the
black moon; because at that time she is not quite visible. As soon
as full or new moon is past, they begin to reckon in the following
manner: _Prathema_, the first day after new or full moon; _Duidia_,
the second; _Tridia_, the third; _Ciadrtti_, the fourth; _Penciami_,
the fifth; _Shasdi_, the sixth; _Saptami_, the seventh; _Ashdami_,
the eighth; _Navamì_, the ninth; _Dashamì_, the tenth; _Egadashi_,
the eleventh; _Dvàdashi_, the twelfth; _Trayodashi_, the thirteenth;
_Ciadurdashi_, the fourteenth. Her increase is called _Purvapaksha_,
and her decrease _Abaraksha_, that is, the fore-part and hind-part of
the moon. According to the above method of reckoning, a lunar month
seems to consist of fourteen days: two such lunar months and two days
make a solar[199].
The festivals of the Indians, according to the lunar calendar, are
established in the following order:
I. In _Purnima_, the month of March, the festival of the goddess
_Bhagavadi_ is celebrated, which, next to that of the sun, when a ram
is sacrificed, is the most celebrated of all. The principal part of
the solemnity is, that the Brahmans, in honour of the moon, present
a large offering, which, they call _Sòmayàga_ (the moon-offering).
On this occasion they bruise certain aromatic herbs, and prepare
from their juice a particular kind of beverage, which they partake
of, repeating at the same time a great number of private forms of
prayer, called _Mandra_. These _Mandras_ always end with the words
Om or _Sváha_, which signify, Be it so, or Amen! Happiness, health,
and prosperity, be thine! For example: _Pranane Svàha_; _Abàne
Svàha_; _Samane Svàha_; _Vyana Svàha_:--that is: _Prosit_, May it do
thee good, Spirit of Life (_Pràna_)! _Prosit_, &c. Spirit of those
below (_Abàna_)! _Prosit_, &c. Spirit of Breathing! _Prosit_, &c.
Spirit of Sight! _Prosit_, &c. Spirit of Hearing!--These, in all
probability, are the five spirits which the Egyptians worshipped, as
we are informed by Origen in his fifth book against Celsus; and to
which they added, besides others, _Crepitus Ventris_. This festival
is always celebrated in the month of March, on the first Monday
after the equinox. I had an opportunity of seeing it at _Muttam_,
_Tiruvandaram_, and _Craganor_. The concourse of people on these
occasions is immense. Through religious zeal, the Indians bring with
them a great many cocks, and give them to the Brahmans, who slaughter
these animals before the door of the temple of _Bhagavadì_, and
besprinkle the earth with their blood. The attributes of this deity
have been fully explained already.
II. The second lunar feast is called _Egadashi_, or _Egashì_,
because it always falls on the eleventh day on which the moon
either increases or decreases. On this day, all women who have
been delivered in the course of the week, or who approach the time
of their delivery; all barren females, or those who suffer from a
suppression of the menses; likewise all patients who have been cured
of the small-pox, and all fishermen and farmers, must observe a
strict fast in honour of the goddess _Bhagavadi_. All these people
are fully convinced that the moon assists women in labour, expels
the fever of the small-pox, promotes the growth of the fruits of
the earth, is propitious to fishing, and has an effect on menstrual
purification. They repair, therefore, very early, as I had an
opportunity of seeing several times at _Feira d’Alva_ and _Barcale_,
either to the sea, or, as circumstances may serve, to some river or
pond, where they perform their usual ablutions, and then cause a
half-moon, or some other sacred mark which has a symbolical relation
to the moon, to be painted on their foreheads. When this is done,
they hasten to the temple of _Bhagavadi_; bring her an offering of
coco-nuts, rice, butter, pepper, flowers, and other vegetables;
deposit all these before the door of the temple, and pray to the
goddess with uplifted hands. On this day they are not allowed to take
the least nourishment before sun-set; and even then they must use
nothing but boiled rice, fruit, pulse, and water. Milk, fish, and
betel, are strictly forbidden during these fasts.
These devotees, and particularly the philosophers among them, have an
uncommon dexterity in observing the phases and aspects of the moon,
and of foretelling from them the changes of the weather. When the
moon is obscured by a cloud, and it begins to lighten, they regulate
their predictions by the following rule:
_Vadàya cabilà vidyul atabáyádi lohini_
_Pìda vrshàya vigneyà._
That is: “When the lightning appears of a dark blue colour, it
prognosticates wind: if it be very red, drought will follow: if it
has a yellow appearance, it denotes rain.” All the physical and
astronomical observations commonly ascribed to _Zoroaster_, or
_Zera-Thust_, have originated properly from the Indian _Shamanæi_,
and agree perfectly with the observations of the modern Brahmans.
III. The third festival is celebrated merely by females, at the time
when the moon is in the constellation _Tiruvàdira_, which always
happens in the sixth lunar month. The origin of this festival
is thus related in the Indian mythology:--_Shiva_, that is, _the
good_, (a sacred name given to the solar deity,) once burnt the god
_Ramadèva_, (the Cupid of the Indians,) and deprived him of life.
The death of this beautiful boy made a deep impression of grief on
the heart of the goddess _Parvadi_, the lunar deity, or wife of
_Shiva_. She requested, therefore, in the most earnest manner, that
her husband would restore him to life; which he at length did. In
remembrance of this remarkable event, the principal Indian women
subject themselves to strict fasting; and at the same time offer
to _Parvadi_ milk, fruit, rice, flowers, and bananas, to give her
to understand that they entertain a grateful remembrance of her
intercession, by which _Ramadèva_ was again restored to life. On
this day the Indian women perform a peculiar kind of dance called
_Tiruvàdiraattam_. Many of them also are accustomed to amuse
themselves in a swing; and this practice seems to have a particular
relation to the divine worship of the sun and the moon. The elements
which were animated by these two planets are: _Aghni_[200], fire;
_Bhu_, or _Bhumi_, the earth; _Gela_, water; _Vayu_, air; and
_Agàsha_, the æther.--Some of the Pagans form such grovelling ideas
of the Deity, that they consider the earth as his body, the air as
his skin, water as his tongue, fire as his eyes, and the æther as his
ears[201].
IV. The fourth grand festival, celebrated in _Maleyàla_, is called
_Onam_, and happens always in the month of September, on the day of
new moon.--About the 10th of September the rain ceases in Malabar.
All nature seems then as if renovated: the flowers again shoot up,
and the trees bloom: in a word, this season is the same as that
which the Europeans call spring. This festival seems, therefore, to
have been instituted for the purpose of soliciting from the gods a
happy and fruitful year. It continues eight days, and during that
time the Indians are accustomed to adorn their houses with flowers,
and to daub them over with cow’s dung; because the cow, as already
observed, is a sacred animal dedicated to the goddess _Lakshmi_, the
Ceres of the Indians. On this occasion they also put on new clothes,
throw aside all their old earthen ware, and supply its place by new.
The men, particularly those who are young, form themselves into
two parties, and shoot at each other with arrows. These arrows are
blunted, but exceedingly strong; and are discharged with such force,
that a considerable number are generally wounded on both sides. These
games have a great likeness to the _Cerealia_ and _Juvenalia_ of the
ancient Greeks and Romans.
About this time the god _Vishnu_ is accustomed, as the Pagans
pretend, to pay a visit to the earth, and to wander about under a
thousand forms, in order to observe in what state terrestrial affairs
are: whether, for example, there has been a good harvest; whether
princes rule their dominions properly; and other things of the like
kind. They prepare, therefore, in honour of _Vishnu_, a large wheel,
which is the symbol of this god, made of flowers, and place it in the
fore-court of their houses. During my residence at _Ràmapurata_ I had
several times an opportunity of seeing such wheels, which are called
_Ciacra_, in the habitations of the Brahmans. They thereby shew, in a
very ingenious manner, that, the rainy season being over, the sun is
again on the point of approaching, and about to resume his dominion
as it were anew.
Besides these grand festivals, there are several others; such as the
_Shivaratri_, or the night of _Shiva_; in which the _Phallophoria_
ceremonies, that relate to the worship of the _Lingam_, are
celebrated. This festival, on the coast of Malabar, is held always in
March, when the sun enters the last sign of the zodiac, or Pisces.
On this occasion all the inhabitants of both sexes hasten in great
numbers to the temple of _Shiva_, or _Mahadèva_; remain there the
whole night; sing all sorts of indecent songs in honour of the
_Lingam_; go a hundred times in solemn procession either around the
temple or around a tree, under which the _Lingam_ is placed; and
carry about with them, at the same time, a wooden representation
of the _Lingam_; amidst dancing and singing. These circular
perambulations have an allusion to the circle which the sun describes
in his course through the zodiac, and the _Lingam_ represents the
creative power of that luminary.
In the month of December is celebrated the festival of the five
brothers, _Pando_, whom the god _Krishna_ delivered from the
oppression of their uncle _Kaurava_, or _Kuru_, as he is called by
Mr. Wilkins.
_Màsu Ubavàsa_ is a festival observed by the devout every month, and
in which they use nothing but a little fruit, herbs, and roots. By
means of this festival they hope to obtain forgiveness of their sins,
and to pave the way for a tranquil and happy passage into the other
world.
The festival of _Sarasvadi_, who, as the goddess of music and the
sciences, is highly honoured by the Indians, I shall pass over in
silence, to avoid being too prolix; as well as several other small
festivals, which have been introduced only among a few casts or
classes[202].
It appears from these laws, which are in general use; from the
religious practices of the Brahmans, the origin and attributes
of their duties; from their division of time, their festivals,
and their calendar; from the many conical and pyramidal buildings
found in India; from the etymology of various Samscred words, and
from many other circumstances, that the Indians are a very old
people, whose character has a striking resemblance to that of the
Egyptians, Chaldeans, and Persian Magi. Sir William Jones was
induced, therefore, to conjecture that a great emigration must have
taken place in the twelfth century, before the birth of Christ, by
which the religion and religious practices, as well as the arts
and sciences, of foreign nations, were conveyed from Egypt to
India. According to my researches, and the testimony of the most
respectable authors, the origin of all these inventions is to be
deduced from the successors of the Noachites, who first settled in
the province of _Kurdistan_, and thence spread themselves to India
and other places.