The best mode to be adopted by merciful men for putting to death

destructive creatures, such as fowls, sparrows, and the like, is the

following: let them open a vein, so that it may die from the effusion

of blood: there are many precepts of this kind recorded in the _Jashen

Sudah_ of the _Móbed Hoshyár_: but philosophers, eminent doctors, and

durveshes who abandon the world, never commit such acts: it is however

indispensably necessary that a king, in the course of government,

should inflict on the evildoer the retaliation due to his conduct. The

Móbed _Hoshyár_ relates, in the _Sarud-i-Mastán_, that in the time of

Kaíomors and Siamak, no animal of any kind was slain, as they were all

obedient to the commands of these princes. So that one of the

_Farjúd_, or miraculous powers possessed by the Yezdanian chiefs of

Iran, from Kaíomors to Jemshíd, was their appointing a certain class

of officers to watch over the animal creation, so that they should not

attack each other. For instance, a lion was not permitted to destroy

any animal, and if he killed one in the chase, he met with due

punishment; consequently no creature was slain or destroyed, and

carnage fell into such disuse among noxious animals, that they were

all reckoned among the innoxious. However, the skins of animals which

had died a natural death were taken off, and in the beginning used as

clothing by Kaíomors and his subjects: but they were latterly

satisfied with the leaves of trees. Those who embrace the tenets of

this holy race attribute this result to the miraculous powers of these

monarchs, and some profound thinkers regard it as effected by a

_talisman_; whilst many skilled in interpretation hold it to be an

enigmatical mode of expression: thus, the animal creation submitting

to government implies, the justice of the sovereigns; their vigilance

in extirpating corruption and evil, and producing good. In short, when

in the course of succession the Gilsháíyán crown came to Húshang, he

enjoined the people to eat the superabundant eggs of ducks, domestic

fowls, and such like, but not to such a degree that, through their

partaking of such food, the race of these creatures should become

extinct. When the throne of sovereignty was adorned by the presence of

Tahmúras, he said, “It is lawful for carnivorous and noxious creatures

to eat dead bodies:” that is, if a lion find a lifeless stag, or a

sparrow a dead worm, they may partake of them. In the same manner,

when Jemshid assumed the crown, he enacted: “If men of low caste eat

the flesh of animals which die a natural death, they commit no sin.”

The reason why people do not at present eat of animals which died in

the course of nature, is, that their flesh engenders disease, as the

animal died of some distemper: otherwise there is no sin attached to

the eating of it. When Jemshid departed to the mansions of eternity,

_Deh Ak_,[301] the Arab, slew and partook of all animals

indifferently, whether destructive or harmless, so that the detestable

practice became general. When Faridún had purged the earth from the

pollution of Zohák’s tyranny, he saw that some creatures, hawks,

lions, wolves, and others of the destructive kind, gave themselves up

to the chase in violation of the original covenant: he therefore

enjoined the slaughter of these classes. After this, Jraj permitted

men of low caste, that is the mass of the people, to partake of

destructive creatures, such as domestic fowls (which prey upon worms),

also sparrows and such like, in killing which no sin is incurred: but

the holy Yezdanians never polluted their mouths with flesh, or killed

savage animals for themselves, although they slew them for others of

the same class. For example, the hawk, lion, and other rapacious

animals of prey were kept in the houses of the great, for the purpose

of inflicting punishment on other destructive animals, and not that

men should partake of them: for eating flesh is not an innate quality

in men, as whenever they slay animals for food, ferocity settles in

their nature, and that aliment introduces habits of rapacity: whereas

the true meaning of putting destructive animals to death, is the

extirpation of wickedness. The Yezdanians also have certain viands,

which people at present confound with animals and flesh: for instance,

they give the name of _barah_, “lamb,” to a dish composed of the

_zingú_, or egg-mushroom; _gaur_, or “onager” is a dish made out of

cheese: with many others of the same kind. Although they kill

destructive animals in the chase, they never eat of them; and if in

their houses they kill one destructive animal for the food of another,

such as a sparrow for a hawk, it is done by a man styled _Dazhkím_, or

executioner, who is lower than a _Milar_, called in _Hindi_, _Juharah_

or “sweeper,” and in modern language _Hallál Khúr_, or one to whom all

food is lawful. But the dynasty preceding Gilshah, from whom the

Yezdanians derive their tenets, afforded no protection whatever to

destructive animals, as they esteemed the protection of the oppressor

most reprehensible. In the time of the Gilsháíyán princes, they

nourished hawks and such like, for the purpose of retaliating on

destructive animals; for example, they let loose the hawk on the

sparrow, which is the emblem of _Ahriman_; and when the hawk grew old,

they cut off his head and killed him for his former evil deeds. The

first race never kept any destructive creatures, as they esteemed it

criminal to afford them protection; and even their destruction never

took place in the abodes of righteous and holy persons.

Among the Sipasíyan sect were many exemplary and pious personages, the

performers of praiseworthy discipline: with them, however, voluntary

austerity implies “religious practices” or _Saluk_, and consists not

in extreme suffering, which they hold to be an evil, and a retribution

inflicted for previous wicked deeds. According to this sect, the modes

of walking in the paths of God are manifold: such as seeking God; the

society of the wise; retirement and seclusion from the world; purity

of conduct; universal kindness; benevolence; reliance on God;

patience; endurance; contentedness; resignation; and many such like

qualities――as thus recorded in the _Sarúd-i-Mustán_ of the _Móbed

Hushyar_. The _Móbed Khodá Jáí_, in the “Cup of _Kái Khusró_,” a

commentary on the text of the poem of the venerable _Azar Kaivan_,

thus relates: “He who devotes himself to walking in the path of God,

must be well-skilled in the medical sciences, so that he may rectify

whatever predominates or exceeds in the bodily humours: in the next

place, he must banish from his mind all articles of faith, systems,

opinions, ceremonials, and be at peace with all: he is to seat himself

in a small and dark cell, and gradually diminish the quantity of his

food.” The rules for the diminution of food are thus laid down in the

_Sharistan_ of the holy doctor _Ferzanah Bahram_, the son of _Farhád_:

“From his usual food, the pious recluse is every day to subtract three

direms, until he reduces it to ten direms weight: he is to sit in

perfect solitude, and give himself up to meditation.” Many of this

sect have brought themselves to one direm weight of food: their

principal devotional practice turning on these five points: namely,

fasting, silence, waking, solitude, and meditation on God. Their modes

of invoking God are manifold, but the one most generally adopted by

them is that of the _Múk Zhúp_: now in the _Azanan_ or _Pehlevi_,

_Múk_ signifies “four,” and _Zhúp_ “a blow;” this state of meditation

is also called _Char Sang_, “the four weights,” and _Char Kúb_, “the

four blows.” The next in importance is the _siyá zhúp_, “the three

weights” or “three blows.” The sitting postures among these devotees

are numerous; but the more approved and choice are limited to

eighty-four; out of these they have selected fourteen; from the

fourteen they have taken five; and out of the five two are chosen by

way of eminence: with respect to these positions, many have been

described by the _Móbud Sarúsh_ in the _Zerdúsht Afshár_: of these

two, the choice position is the following: The devotee sits on his

hams, cross-legged, passing the outside of the right foot over the

left thigh, and that of the left foot over the right thigh; he then

passes his hands behind his back, and holds in his left hand the great

toe of the right foot, and in the right hand the great toe of the left

foot, fixing his eyes intently on the point of the nose: this position

they call _Farnishin_, “the splendid seat,” but by the Hindi Jogies it

is named the _Padma ásan_,[302] or “Lotus seat.” If he then repeat the

_Zekr-i-Mukzhub_, he either lays hold of the great toes with his

hands, or if he prefer, removes his feet off the thighs, seating

himself in the ordinary position, which is quite sufficient――then,

with closed eyes, the hands placed on the thighs, the armpits open,

the back erect, the head thrown forward, and fetching up from the

navel with all his force the word _Nist_, he raises his head up: next,

in reciting the word _Hésti_, he inclines the head towards the right

breast; on reciting the word _Magar_, he holds the head erect; after

which he utters _Yezdan_, bowing the head to the left breast, the seat

of the heart. The devotee makes no pause between the words thus

recited; nay, if possible, he utters several formularies in one

breath, gradually increasing their number. The words of the formulary

(_Nist hesti magar yezdan_, “there is no existence save God”) are thus

set forth: “Nothing exists but God;” or, “There is no God, but God;”

or, “There is no adoration except for what is adorable;” or this, “He

to whom worship is due is pure and necessarily existent;” or, “He who

is without equal, form, color, or model.” It is permitted to use this

formulary publicly, but the inward meditation is most generally

adopted by priests and holy persons; as the senses become disturbed by

exclamations and clamors, and the object of retirement is to keep them

collected. In the inward meditation, the worshipper regards three

objects as present: “God, the heart, and the spirit of his Teacher;”

whilst he revolves in his heart the purport of this formulary: “There

is nothing in existence but God.” But if he proceeds to the

suppression of breath, which is called the “knowledge of _Dam_ and

_Súmrad_,” or the science of breath and imagination, he closes not the

eyes, but directs them to the tip of the nose, as we have before

explained under the first mode of sitting: this institute has also

been recorded in the _Surud-i-Mastan_, but the present does not

include all the minute details.[303]

It is thus recorded in the _Zerdúsht Afshár_; the worshipper having

closed the right nostril, enumerates the names of God from once to

sixteen times, and whilst counting draws his breath upwards; after

which he repeats it twenty-two times, and lets the breath escape out

of the right nostril, and whilst counting propels the breath aloft;

thus passing from the six Kháns or stages to the seventh; until from

the intensity of imagination he arrives to a state in which he thinks

that his soul and breath bound like the jet of a fountain to the crown

of the head: they enumerate the seven stages, or the seven degrees, in

this order: 1st, the position of sitting; 2d, the hips; 3d, the navel;

4th, the pine-heart; 5th, the windpipe; 6th, the space between the

eyebrows; and 7th, the crown of the head. As causing the breath to

mount to the crown of the head is a power peculiar to the most eminent

persons; so, whoever can convey his breath and soul together to that

part, becomes the viceregent of God. According to another institute,

the worshipper withdraws from all senseless pursuits, sits down in

retirement, giving up his heart to his original world on high, and

without moving the tongue, repeats in his heart Yezdan! Yezdan! or

God! God! which address to the Lord may be made in any language, as

Hindi, Arabic, etc. Another rule is, the idea of the Instructor: the

worshipper imagines him to be present and is never separated from that

thought, until he attains to such a degree, that the image of his

spiritual guide is never absent from the mind’s eye, and he then turns

to contemplate his heart: or he has a mirror before his sight, and

beholds his own form, until, from long practice, it is never more

separated from the heart, to which he then directs himself: or he sits

down to contemplate his heart, and reflects on it as being in

continual movement. In all these cases he regards the practices of the

suppression of the breath as profitable for the abstraction of

thought: an object which may also be effected without having recourse

to it.

Another rule is, what they call _ázád áwá_, or the “free voice;” in

Hindi _Ánahid_; and in Arabic _Sáut Mutluk_, or “the absolute sound.”

Some of the followers of Mohammed relate, that it is recorded in the

traditions, that a revelation came to the venerable prophet of Arabia

resembling “the tones of a bell,” which means the “Sáut Mutluk:” which

Hafiz of Shiraz expresses thus:

“No person knows where my beloved dwells:

This much only is known, that the sound of the bell approaches.”

The mode of hearing it is after this manner: the devotees direct the

hearing and understanding to the brain, and whether in the gloom of

night, in the house, or in the desert, hear this voice, which they

esteem as their _Zikker_, or “address to God.” Azizi[304] thus

expresses himself:

“I recognise that playful sportiveness,

And well know that amount of blandishment:

The sound of footsteps comes to my ear at night;

It was thyself; I recognise the hallowed voice!”

Then having opened the eyes and looking between the eyebrows, a form

appears. Some of those who walk in the path of religious poverty among

the followers of Mohammed (on whom be benedictions!) assert that the

expression _Kab Kausain_, “I was near two bows’ length,” alludes to

this vision. Finally, if they prefer it, having closed the eyes for

some time, they reflect on the form which appeared to them on looking

between the eyebrows; after which they meditate on the heart; or

without contemplating the form, they commence by looking into the

heart; and closing both eyes and ears, give themselves up entirely to

meditation on the heart, abandoning the external for the internal:

whoever can thus contemplate obtains all that he wants; but

“The anguish of my friend strikes at the portal of the heart;

Command them, O, Sháni! to purify the dwelling of the heart.”

Finally the searcher after the Being who is without equal or form,

without color or pattern, whom they know and comprehend in the Parsi

under the name of “_Izad_,” in Arabic by the blessed name of

“_Allah_,” and in Hindi as “_Para Brahma Náráyaran a_,”[305]

contemplates him without the intervention of Arabic, Persian, Hindi,

or any other language, keeping the heart in his presence, until he,

being rescued from the shadows of doubt, is identified with God. The

venerable _Maulaví Jami_ says on this head:

“Thou art but an atom, He, the great whole; but if for a few days

Thou meditate with care on the whole, thou becomest one with it.”

They hold that reunion with the first principle, which the Sufees

interpret by evanescence and permanence, means not, according to the

distinguished Ishrakian[306] or Platonists of Persia, that the beings

of accident or creation are blended with him whose existence is

necessary, or that created beings cease to exist; but that when the

sun of the first cause manifests himself, then apparently all created

beings, like the stars in the sun’s light, are absorbed in his divine

effulgence; and if the searcher after God should continue in this

state, he will comprehend how they become shrouded through the sun’s

overpowering splendor, or like the ecstatic Sufees he will regard them

as annihilated: but the number of Sufís who attain to this state is

exceedingly small, and the individuals themselves are but little known

to fame. This volume would not be sufficient to enumerate the amount

of those lights (precepts) which direct the pilgrim on his course, but

the venerable _Azur Kaiván_ has treated at large on this head in the

_Jám-i-Kai Khusró_.

It is, however, necessary to mention that there are four states of

vision; the first, _Núníar_,[307] or that which is seen during sleep:

by sleep is meant that state when the subtile fumes arising from the

food taken into the stomach mounting up to the brain, overpower

external perceptions at the time of repose: whatever is then beheld is

called in Farsi _Tínáb_, in Arabic _Rúyá_, and in Hindi _Svapna_.[308]

The state beyond this dignity is _Susvapna_,[309] in Arabic _Ghaib_ or

“mysterious,” and in the popular language of the Hindoos

_Sukhásváda_[310] or _Samádhi_[311] (suspending the connexion between

soul and body), which is as follows: when divine grace is communicated

from the worlds on high, and the transport arising from that grace

locks up external perceptions, whatever is beheld during that state is

called _Binab_ or “revelation:” but that state into which the senses

enter, or _Hóshwázhen_, “a trance,” which is expressed in Arabic by

_Sahú_ or “recovering from ebriety,” and in Hindi by _Jagrat_,[312]

“awaking,” and _Pratyaya_ “evidence,”[313] means that state in which

divine grace being communicated, without the senses being overpowered,

it transports the person for the time being to the world of reality:

whatever he beholds in this state is called _Bínáb_ or _Mâainah_

“reality.” The state higher than this is the power of the soul to quit

the body and to return to it, which is called in Farsi

_Nívah-i-chaminah_, in Arabic _Melkát Khalâ-baden_, and in Hindu

_prapura paroksha_.[314]

They affirm that the bodies occupied by some souls resemble a loose

garment, which may be put off at pleasure; so that they can ascend to

the world of light, and on their return become reunited with the

material elements. The difference between _Sahú_ and _Khalâ_ is this:

_Sahú_ means, being absorbed in meditation on the communication of

divine grace, so that, without a relaxation of the senses, the person

may, for the time being, actually abide in the invisible world:

whereas _Khalâ_ means, that the individual, whenever he pleases,

separates himself from the body and returns to it when he thinks

fitting. The spiritual Maulavi thus says:

“Shout aloud, my friends! for one person has separated himself

from the body;

Out of a hundred thousand bodies, one person has become

identified with God.”

According to this sect there are seven worlds: the first is absolute

existence and pure being, which they call _Arang_[315] or “divinity;”

the second is the world of intelligences, which they call _Birang_ or

“the empyreal;” the third is that of souls, called _Alrang_ or the

angelic; the fourth that of the superior bodies, or _Nirang_; the

fifth, the elementary or _Rang_; the sixth the compounds of the four

elements, or _Rang-a-Rang_: but according to the Sufís all bodies,

whether superior or inferior, are named _Málk_ or region; the seventh

is _Sarang_, which is that of man or of human beings: but in some

Parsi treatises they term these seven regions the seven true

realities: however, if the author were to describe minutely the

articles and ceremonies of this sect, their details would require so

many volumes, that contenting himself with what has been stated, he

now proceeds to describe some of their most distinguished followers of

later times.

[228] Here begins the translation of David Shea.

[229] _Serúsh_ or _Serósh_, is derived from the Zend, and

signifies properly _sí-roz_, that is “thirty days, a month.”

To the adorers of the stars, Serósh is the name of an angel

who presides over the 17th day of the month; according to

their religion, he is moreover the most active of the

celestial spirits; as king of the earth, he passes every day

and every night three times through his empire; his throne

is the summit of the world; all light, all intelligence, he

purifies and fertilizes the earth, blesses and protects

mankind, strikes the evil spirits; in short, he is adored

equal to the supreme being. (_See Zend Avesta, par Anquetil

du Perron_, _I._ 2. P. _pp._ 80, 156, 228, 404, 415; _II._

320, 330, 223, 235, 237).――A. T.

[230] The text given by Gladwin (_see the New Asiatic

Miscellany_, _vol. I. p._ 93), and the manuscript of Oude,

have no negative before خجسته; the sense would

therefore be: “if his words had been plausible, but the

deeds bad.” The edit. of Calcutta gives the sense as

above.――A. T.

[231] Gladwin translates this passage as follows (_ibid._,

_p._ 94): “If a deserving soul produces good words and

deeds,” which is in accordance with the text he followed,

and with that of the edit. of Calcutta; but Shea’s

translation is justified by the manuscript of Oude, which

has: بي پسنديده اقوال فرّخی افعال.――A. T.

[232] According to Gladwin, after باره once followed in a

series by هزار the same word is to be always understood――thus

يک هزار باره فردرا is not a thousand _fard_, but one million

_fard_. This word is not in the Burhan:――I have therefore

followed Gladwin’s authority. But in the Desátir, or “Sacred

Writings of the ancient Persian Prophets in the original

tongue,” published at Bombay in 1818, the following passage

occurs in the commentary of the Vth Sasan (English transl.

p. 36): “They call a thousand times a thousand years a

_ferd_; and a thousand _ferds_, a _werd_; and a thousand

_werds_, a _merd_; and a thousand _werds_, a _jád_; and

three thousand _jáds_, a _wád_; and two thousand _wads_, a

_zád_;” etc.――D. S.

[233] هيربد “Hirbed” (see Thomas Hyde, _Veterum Persarum et

Parthorum et Medorum Religionis Historia, Oxon ii._ 1760, p.

369-372) was called a priest of the fire-worship; according

to oriental authors, a priest of the ancient Persians was in

general, called formerly مغ, ‘magh,’ or موغ ‘mogh,’ that is

“excellent,” hence Magus, a Magian. The Magi are mentioned

by Herodotus, and, according to Aristotle, were more ancient

than the Egyptian priests. Clitarchus and Strabo, contemporaries,

the one of Alexander, the other of Augustus, speak of the

Magi. The latter says (lib. XV.): Εν δε τη Καππαδοκία, πολύ

ἐστι το τῶν Μάγων φῦλον οἱ καὶ Πύρεθοι καλοῦνται· “In

Kappadocia is a great multitude of Magi, called also

Pyrethi.” (See Selden, De Dis Syris syntagma, Lipsiæ, 1662,

p. 317, 318). An order superior to this class of priests was

the بد, ‘mógh bed,’ or وبد, ‘mobed,’ a ‘prefect, or judge of

the Magi,’ of the learned priests, or of the worshippers of

the sun, in a general sense, a wise man, adorer of the sun.

A third order of Persian priests was called تور, ‘dastur,’

or ‘superintendant.’ (See also _Zend-Avesta_, translated by

Anquetil du Perron, t. II, pp. 516, 517, 553, 555.)――A. T.

[234] ब्रह्मन् “Brahman.”

[235] Gladwin “Mahuristar.” We read in the Commentary upon

article 145 of the Desatir, English translation, p. 27: “In

Pehlevi the Huristars are called _Athurnâns_――They are the

Mobeds and Hirbuds whose duty is to guard the faith, to

confirm the knowledge and precepts of religion, and to

establish justice.”――A. T.

[236] क्षत्त्रः, क्षत्त्रियः, क्षत्त्री, ‘kshatra, kshatriya, kshatri,’

a man of the military class, from क्षद् to divide, or eat,

rather from क्षेत्रं, _kshétram_, ‘field,’ which they are to

protect. This last from क्षि, _kshi_, ‘to dwell.’

[237] छत्रं, ‘_chhatraḿ_,’ a parasol, an umbrella, from छद

‘chhada,’ to cover.――A. T.

[238] “The Núristárs in Pehlevi are named _Rehtishtáran_,

and are the princes and warriors who are called to grandeur

and superiority, and command, and worldly sway.” _Comment.

upon art. 145 of the Desatir_, p. 27.――A. T.

[239] विश, वैश्य, ‘_viś_, _vaiśya_, ‘a man of the mercantile

tribe,’ from विश, ‘viś,’ to enter.――A. T.

[240] “The Suristars in Pehlevi are denominated _Washteryû´shán_,

and are devoted to every kind of business and employment.”

_Comment. upon the Desatir_, p. 27.

[241] शुद्र, _śudra_, a man of the fourth or servile class,

from शुच, _such_, to purify.――A. T.

[242] “The Ruzistars are in Pehlevi styled Hotukhshan, and

are artisans and husbandmen.”――_Comm. upon the Des._

[243] The names _Huristar_, _Nuristar_, _Suristar_, and

_Ruzistar_, of the four classes of the people, are to be

found in the Desatir (artic. 145, English translation, p.

27), from which work the author of the Dabistan is likely to

have taken them, as various other information. As this

division of a nation is undoubtedly suggested by the natural

state of things, it has been attributed to more than one

ancient king, and by Ferdúsi, in his Shah-namah, to Jemshid,

under four denominations belonging to the ancient Persian

language. These are as follows: 1ᵒ ان, _Amuzian_; 2ᵒ

يساريان, _Nisarian_; 3ᵒ دی, _Nasudi_; 4ᵒ خوشی, _Ahnu

khushi_, corresponding to the learned, the warriors, the

husbandmen, and the mechanics. The first of these names,

_Amuzian_, is easily recognised in the Persian ختن,

_amokhten_ (Imp. اموز _amuz_), “to teach, to learn;” the

second _nisarian_ is the same with ساری, _nisari_, the

common Persian word for a warrior; the third, _nasudi_, is a

Pehlevi noun (see Hyde, p. 437); the fourth, _Ahnúkhúshí_,

appears composed of [اهنو, _ahnu_, “provisions, meat” (to be

traced to आह्निक, _ahnika_, “daily work, food”), and of

خوشی, _khushi_, “good, content,” or from ستن _khástan_, “to

ask.” Upon the four classes of the people see also _History

of the early kings of Persia, translated from the Persian of

Mirkhond, entitled the Rauza-us-safa”_ by David Shea, p.

108-113.――A. T.

[244] The text of Gladwin has انير, _destânir_, the edition

of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have _Dasátir_. The

single volume published under that name at Bombay (see note

page 14), if genuine at all, can be considered but as a very

small part of the great work, said to comprehend all

languages and sciences.――A. T.

[245] This faith is also called _Fersendáj_, and the great

Ábád himself _Ferzábád_, and _Búzúgábad_, (Dasát., Engl.

Transl., p. 27, 58, 187).――A. T.

[246] _Burz_, with the Arabic article _Al-burz_, is a

mountain in Jebal or Irak Ajemi, not far distant from, and

to the north of, the town Yezd in the province of Fars,

where, from very remote times to our days, a great number of

fire-temples existed. Alburz belongs to a fabulous region;

this name is given to several mountains, among which the

great Caucasus is distinguished from the _tirah_, or

“little,” Alburz.――A. T.

[247] This word reminds of जिन, _jina_, or जैन, _jaina_,

from जि, _ji_, ‘to conquer’ or ‘excel,’ a generic name of

distinguished persons, belonging to the Jaina sect of

Hindus.――A. T.

[248] This is evidently the Sanskrit word यशस्, _yaśas_,

“fame, glory, celebrity, splendor,” and यशस्वान, _yaśasvan_,

“famous, celebrated.”――A. T.

[249] Gladwin has مور, _nimur_; the edition of Calcutta and

the manuscript of Oude have تيمور _timur_.――A. T.

[250] Gil-shah, “Earth-King,” also “the King formed of

clay.” According to the _Mojmil-al-Tavarikh_ (see Extracts

from this work by Julius Mohl, Esq., Journ. Asiat., February

1841, p. 146), he was so called, because he governed the

then not inhabited earth. Gil-shah is one of the names given

to the first man or King; in the _Desátir_ (pp. 70, 131) he

is called Giomert, Gilshadeng; by others Kaiomars (see also

_Rauzat-us-Safa_ of Mirkhond, translated by D. Shea, p.

50).――A. T.

[251] This number differs considerably from the chronology

of other Asiatics. Here follow the periods enumerated in the

_Epitome of the ancient History of Persia, extracted and

translated from the Jehan Ara_, by Sir Wil. Ouseley (p.

71-74).

The Peshádian ruled (the mean of 4 different data) 2531 years.

Kaiánián ―― ( ―― 4 ―― ) 704 ――

Ashkánián ―― ( ―― 11 ―― ) 352 ――

Sásánian ―― ( ―― 7 ―― ) 500 ――

――――――――――――

TOTAL 4087 years.

――――――――――――

As Yezdejird’s reign terminated 651 or 653 years of our era,

the beginning of the Peshdádíán, according to the Dabistan,

is placed 6024-651=5373 years before J. C.――A. T.

[252] Adopting the just computed period of 4087 years

between Yezdegird and the 1st of the Péshdadíán, Kaiomars

would have begun to reign 3436 years before Christ;

according to the Shahnamah, it was 3529 years before our

era; Sir W. Jones places him 890 years B. C. (see his Works,

vol. XII, 8vo edit. p. 399).

[253] Síyamak the son of Gilshah or Kaiomors, was killed in

a battle against the Divs.

ACCORDING ACCORDING

TO FERDUSI: TO SIR W. JONES:

[254] Húshang began to reign 3499 years B. C.; 865 years B. C.

[255] Tehmúras ―― 3469 ―― ; 835 ――

[256] Jemshíd ―― 3429 ―― ; 800 ――

Jemshíd, also called Jermshár in the _Desátir_ (pp. 88,

89), according to Ferdusi the son of Tehmúras, according to

the _Zend-Avesta_ the son of Viverghám, brother or son of

Tahmúras. He, or rather his dynasty, ruled 700 years the

Persian empire. He is believed to have been the first who

amongst the Persians regulated the solar year, the

commencement of which he fixed at the vernal equinox, about

the 5th of April (see _Zend-Avesta_, by Anquetil du Perron,

vol. II, p. 82). He is also distinguished by the epithet

_Sad-wakhshur_, which signifies “hundred prophets;” to him

is ascribed the book _Javedan Khirad_, “eternal intelligence,”

which is said to have been translated into Greek, with other

books, by order of Alexander (see _Desátir_, English transl.

pp. 79, 153, 163).――A. T.

[257] Zohak, the son of a sister of Jemshíd, usurped the

throne of his uncle and sovereign, according to Ferdusi,

2729 years B. C.; according to Helvicus, 2248; according to

Jackson, 1964; but only 780 years B. C., according to Sir W.

Jones who, in general, fixes the ancient Persian reigns much

lower than other chronologers. Zohak is also called

_Pivar-asp_, or _Bivar-asp_, from the circumstance of his

always keeping ten thousand Arabian horses in his stables,

for _Bivar_, says Ferdusi, from the Pehlevi, in counting

means in the Dárí tongue, ten thousand (see Rauzat-us-safá,

Translat., p. 123; and also Mojmel-al-Tavarikh). The empire

which Zokah founded is identified by some historians with

the Assyrian monarchy of Semiramis, or with a Semitic

domination in general. It lasted, according to the Orientals,

1000 years; according to Ctesias, Diodorus Siculus, Justin

and Syncellus 13 or 1400, according to Herodotus only 520

years.――A. T.

[258] Kiblah signifies that part to which people direct

their face in prayer, the temple of Mecca to the devout

Muhammedans; in a general sense, it means the object of our

views or wishes.――A. T.

[259] The text has گس, _Kerges_, a bird, feeding on

carcasses, and living one hundred years.――A. T.

[260] Bahram is also called _Manishram_ (Desátir, Engl.

transl. p. 79).

[261] Nahid appears also under the name of _Ferehengíram_

(ibid., p. 90).

[262] Tir, also _Temirám_ (ibid., p. 102).――A. T.

[263] It was from time immemorial to our days the practice

of the Asiatics to refer the common affairs of life to the

stars, to which they attribute a constant and powerful

influence over the nether world. Thus Húmaiun the son of

Baber, emperor of India (see the History of Ferishta,

translated by general John Briggs, vol. II, p. 71) “caused

seven halls of audience to be built, in which he received

persons according to their rank. The first, called the

palace of the Moon, was set apart for ambassadors, messengers

and travellers. In the second, called the palace of _Utarid_

(Venus), civil officers, and persons of that description,

were received; and there were five other palaces for the

remaining five planets. In each of these buildings he gave

public audience, according to the planet of the day. The

furniture and paintings of each, as also the dresses of the

household attendants, bore some symbol emblematical of the

planet. In each of these palaces he transacted business one

day in the week.”――A. T.

[264] Gladwin has وساتير _timar Vasátir_, the manuscript of

Oude ر دسيتير _tímár dasyátir_, the edition of Calcutta ار

دساتير, _tímsár dasatir_, which is the right reading, as the

word “_timsar_” is explained in the index of obsolete or

little known terms by these words: لمهٔ تعظيم بمعنی “a word

expressing respect.”――A. T.

[265] Cicacole, a town in the northern districts of the

Coromandel coast, anciently named Kalinga, the ancient

capital of an extensive district of the same name, lat. 18°

21′ N., long. 83° 57′ E.――A. T.

[266] The Muhammedans distinguish particularly two temples,

or mosques: the first, the principal object of their

veneration, is the _Masjed al Haram_, or “the Sacred

mosque,” that is to say, the temple of Mecca, where is also

the _Kâbah_, or “the Square-edifice,” built, as they say, by

Abraham and his son Ismael. The second of the temples is the

_Masjed al Nabí_, “the mosque of the Prophet,” who preached

and is buried in it.――(_Herbelot._)――A. T.

[267] Ali, the son of _Abu Taleb_, the cousin and son in law

of Muhammed. Ali was assassinated in the mosque of Kufa, and

buried near this town, in the province of Irak, the

Babylonian, on the right bank of the Euphrates.――A. T.

[268] Kerbela is a district of Irak, the Babylonian, or of

Chaldæa, not far from Kufa, and west of the town called

Kaser Ben Hóbeirah. It is famous on account of the death and

sepulchre of Hóssáin, the son of Ali, who was killed there,

fighting against the troops of Yezid, son of Moavia, who

disputed the khalifat with him.――A. T.

[269] Músa was the seventh of the twelve Imams whom the

Shiites revere. He was born in the year of the Hegira 128

(745 A. D.), and died in 183 (799 A. D.).――A. T.

[270] Baghdad, a town in the province Irak Arabí.

[271] The Imam Reza was the eighth Imam of the race of Alí;

he was called Alí Ben Mússa al Kadhem, before he received

the title Reza or Redha (one in whom God is pleased) from

the Khalif Almamúm, when the latter appointed him his

successor, but survived the Imam, who died A. D. 818.――A. T.

[272] Balkh, a town in Khorasan, situated towards the head

of the river Oxus, in lat. N. 36° 28′; long. 65° 16′.

[273] Persepolis, in Persia proper.

[274] For the black stone, consult Dart’s Antiquities of

Westminster, vol. II, p. 12; Matthew of Westminster, p.

430.――D. S.

Stones, especially when distinguished by some particular

form or colour, were in the most ancient times venerated as

the only then possible monuments, consecrated to some

respected person, or to some Divinity. Thus the ancient

Arabians venerated a square stone as sacred (see Selden de

Dis Syris, p. 291, 292). It is known that the Muhammedans

bestow a particular veneration upon a black stone, which is

attached to the gate of their mosque at Mecca (Herbelot,

Bibl. orient. sub voce). It is evident that the followers of

Muhammed, who is the prophet of a comparatively recent

religion, appropriated to themselves more than one object

and place of the most ancient veneration by merely changing

its name, and attaching to it a legend in accordance to

their own belief.――A. T.

[275] According to Ferdusi in his Shah-namah, Gushtasp

(Darius, son of Hystaspes, 519 B. C.) was induced by

Zerdusht to adopt a reformed doctrine which prescribed the

adoration of fire, and was probably a purer sort of Sabæism,

as practised by the most enlightened magi of very ancient

times. Isfendiar, Gushtasp’s son, a zealous promoter of this

religion, erected fire-temples in all parts of his empire

(see also Rauzat-us-safa, Shea’s transl., p. 285).――A. T.

[276] The Persian text of Gladwin reads: کنکدژ “_Gangdezh._”

[277] Faridun, the son of Abtin, restored the power of the

Péshdádían according to Ferdusi, 1729 years B. C.; according

to Sir W. Jones and other chronologers, 750 years before our

era. Faridun, or rather his dynasty, reigned 500 years;

according to the Boundehesh and the Mujmel-ul-tavárikh

during the 500 years of Feridun, twelve generations intervened

between Faridun, and Manutcheher, his grandson.――A. T.

[278] Medina signifies a town in general, but in particular

that of Jatreb, in Arabia, in the province of Hajiaz, to

which town Muhammed fled when obliged to abandon Mecca, on

the 16th July, 622 of our era, which is the first year of

the _Hejira_, “flight.”――A. T.

[279] The text of Gladwin reads. تازسوز علم “_Mahtársúz

ilm._”

[280] Názar is the eighth king of the Péshdadíán, placed by

Ferdusi 1109 years B. C.; by the modern chronologers 715-708

B. C. He had two sons, Tús and Gustaham.

[281] The foundation of the town Tus, in Khorasan, is also

attributed to Jemshíd.

[282] Ardebil, a town in the province called Azerbijan,

which is a part of the ancient Media.

[283] Bahman, son of Isfendiar.

[284] Káus, the second king of the Kaían dynasty, whose

reign began, according to Ferdusi, 955 years B. C.; he is

supposed by western historians, to be Darius, the Mede, of

the Greeks, and placed by them 600, 634-594 years B. C.――A.

T.

[285] The Safavean dynasty began in 1499 A. D. by Shah-Ismail,

who derives his origin from Musa, already mentioned as the

seventh imam of the Muselmans. All his ancestors were

considered as pious men and some as saints. The first of

this family who gained a great reputation was Shaik Sufi

Ud-din, from whom this dynasty takes the name of Sufaviah.

His son was Sudder Ud-din. The monarchs of that time used to

visit his cell. Timur asked him what favour he could bestow

on him. The saint answered: “Set free all the prisoners whom

thou hast brought from Turkey.” The conqueror granted this

request, and the grateful tribes declared themselves the

disciples of the man to whom they owed their liberty. Their

children preserved the sacred obligation of their ancestors,

and placed the son of the pious Eremite upon the throne of

Persia. (_Malcolm’s Hist. of Persia._)――A. T.

[286] Dwaraka, an ancient town, built by Krichna, destroyed

by a revolution of nature; actually exists a town and

celebrated temple of that name, in the province of Guzrat,

situated at the S. W. extremity of the peninsula, lat. 22°

21′ N.; long. 69° 15′ E.

[287] “The true name is _Gáyá_, a town in the province of

Bahar, 55 miles south from Patna, lat. 24° 49′ N.; long. 85°

5′ E. It is one of the holy places of the Hindus, to which

pilgrimages are performed. It was made holy by the benediction

of Vichnu, who granted its sanctity to the piety of Gáyá the

Rájarchi; or according to another legend, to Gáyá, the

Asura, who was overwhelmed here by the deities, with rocks.

This place is also considered by some Hindus either as the

birthplace or as the residence of Buddha, from which

circumstance it is usually termed Buddha-Gáyá (Hamilt. E. I.

Gazetteer. Wilson’s Dict. sub voce).――A. T.

[288] Mathura, a town in the province of Agra, situated on

the east side of the Jumna, 30 miles N. E. by N. from the

city of Agra, lat. 27° 32′; long. 77° 37′ E. This place is

much celebrated and venerated by the Hindus, as the scene of

the birth and early adventures of Krichna (Hamilt.

Gazet.).――A. T.

[289] This is an entirely Indian name: Gópínath, “the lord

of the cowherds’ wives,” a name of Krichna.――A. T.

[290] According to oriental Romance, the Si-murgh, or Enka,

is endowed with reason. He acts a considerable part in the

Shah-namah, as tutor to Zál, the father of Rustam. In the

Kahermán Námah, this bird in a conversation with Kaherman,

the hero, states that it has existed during many revolutions

of ages and beings prior to the creation of Adam. It is

called Si-murgh, as being equal in magnitude to thirty

birds.――A. T.

[291] Rustam appears to be a personification of the heroic

times of the Persians, the Medes and the Scythes. He was

born under the reign of Manucheher, after the year 1299 B.

C., and died under that of Gústasp, after the year 625

before our era; his existence comprises therefore 604 years.

He was the lord of Sejestan, and extended his domination

over Zabulistan and Kabul; but the circle of his actions

comprehends a great part of Asia between the Indus, the

Indian and the Caspian seas.

[292] Khizar is confounded by many with the prophet Elias,

who is supposed to dwell in the Terrestrial Paradise, in the

enjoyment of immortality. According to Eastern traditions,

Khizr was the companion, vizir or general of the ancient

monarch, named _Zu-al-Kurnain_, or “the Two-horned;” a title

which was also assumed by Alexander the Great. According to

the Tárikh Muntakhab, this prophet was Abraham’s nephew, and

served as guide to Moses and the children of Israel, in

their passage of the Red sea and the desert. The same author

tells us, that Khizr lived in the time of Kai Kobad, at

which time he discovered the fountain of life.

(Herbelot).――A. T.

[293] Ferdusi in his Shah-namah narrates that: Secander was

in search of the water of life, accompanied by Khizr. The

prophet attained his purpose, but the king lost his way in

the dark. The troops of the latter followed a mare running

after her foal, until they found themselves in a place full

of pebbles sounding beneath their feet, and heard a voice

from heaven, saying: “Take, or leave, the stones; sorrow of

the heart “awaits you in any case.” And so it happened. At

day-break, the stones picked up were found to be precious

rubies; all were grieved: the one for not having taken more,

the others for not having taken any, of them.――A. T.

[294] Farvardin presides over the 19th day of the month, and

over the first month of the year (Zend-Avesta, by Anquetil

du Perron, II, p. 320-337). Hyde (p. 239) says: the first

month, March, in the Jeláli-year (or the new Persian era of

Jelaluddin) which first month was July in the old year, is

called _Farvardin_, and he endeavours to derive this word

from the modern Persian. Anquetil du Perron (I, 1^{re} part. p.

493) rejects Hyde’s etymology, and says that Farvardin

signifies in Zend “the Fervers (the souls) of the law.” Hyde

himself seems to enter into this sense, in saying (p. 240):

“Iste Angelus (Farvardin) creditur præesse Animabus quæ in

Paradiso” (this angel is believed to preside over the souls

who are in Paradise).――A. T.

[295] The Calcutta manuscript, translated by Gladwin,

differs in this passage from the printed copy of Calcutta,

1224 of the _Hejirah_, A. D. 1809, and also from two

excellent manuscripts: the Calcutta copy has been

followed.――D. S.

[296] The most ancient year of the Persians (Hyde, p. 188,

189) appears to have been vague or erratic, its commencement

varying through all the different seasons, or at least soon

gave room to the vague Persian-Median civil year, to which

was joined afterwards the fixed ecclesiastic year of

Jemshed. Both these years lasted to the time of Yezdejerd,

who made some considerable changes in the Persian calendar.

This king being killed, after an interval of time, the fixed

solar year, beginning in the middle of “pisces,” was

introduced into Persia. The names of the ancient months and

days appear to have come from the Medes, with their

denomination, to the Persians; and even those invented by

Yezdejerd were of Median origin. Here follows the order of

months called _Jelali_ (Hyde, p. 180).

I. Farvardin March.

II. Ardíbehist April.

III. Khordád May.

IV. Tir June.

V. Mardád (_Amardad_. _Anquetil du Perron_) July.

VI. Shahrívar August.

VII. Miher September.

VIII. Abán October.

IX. Azar November.

X. Dái December.

XI. Bahman January.

XII. Isfandármend February.

The old Persian month was not divided into weeks, but every

day had its particular name from the angel who presided over

that day. Here follows the order of their names, according

to Olugh Beigh (Hyde, p. 190):

I. Hormuzd.

II. Bahman.

III. Ardíbehist.

IV. Shahrívar.

V. Isfandármend.

VI. Khurdád.

VII. Murdád.

VIII. Dáíbáder.

IX. Azur.

X. Abán.

XI. Khur.

XII. Máh.

XIII. Tír.

XIV. Júsh or Gúsh.

XV. Dáíbamiher.

XVI. Miher.

XVII. Surúsh.

XVIII. Resh.

XIX. Farvardin.

XX. Bahrám.

XXI. Rám.

XXII. Bád.

XXIII. Dáíbadín.

XXIV. Din.

XXV. Ird, or Ard.

XXVI. Ashtád.

XXVII. Asamán.

XXVIII. Zámíád.

XXIX. Márásfand.

XXX. Anírán.

The names of the five additional days were as follows:

I. Ahnud-jah.

II. Ashnud-jah.

III. Isfandamaz-jah.

IV. Akhshater-jah.

V. Vahashtusht-jah.

Room is wanted for entering into further developments of

this extensive subject.――A. T.

[297] The text of Gladwin has نيديار which has the same

meaning.――A. T.

[298] The text of Gladwin has اورام _Orám_. The name is

properly Uráman, a peculiar manner of chanting or reading

Pahlavi poetry, which derives its name from a village in the

dependencies of Kushgun, where its inventor lived.――D. S.

[299] Gladwin and Shea read Wasatir, but I cannot forbear

from thinking, the right reading is dasátir; the و and the د

being easily confounded with each other. The simile above

quoted is not to be found in the Bombay edition of the

Desátír, although the same precepts are stated therein (pp.

12, 13, 14). Here follows the passage (English transl.

Comment. p. 45) about the Desátír itself: “There are two

books of Yezdán. The name of the first is _Dógítí_, ‘two

worlds,’ and this they call the ‘Great Book,’ or in the

language of Heaven _Ferz-Desatir_, or the ‘Great Desátir,’

which is the great volume of Yezdán. And the other book

is called Desátir, the doctrines of which Máhábád, and

the other prophets from Màhábád down to me, have revealed.

* * * * And in the heavenly tongue this is called _Derick

Desatir_, ‘the Little Desátir,’ as being the Little Book of

God.”――A. T.

[300] Zanar is called in India the brahminical, or in

general, a religious thread; here is meant the mark of any

unbeliever.――A. T.

[301] Zohak.

[302] पद्मासन

[303] These practices are evidently the same as those used

among the Hindu devotees. The chapter upon the Hindus, which

follows, will set forth the great conformity, nay, identity

of Indian religions with the tenets and customs here

ascribed to Persian sects. In the Desátir (English transl.

Comment. pp. 66, 67) is a curious account of the postures to

be taken standing, or lying, or sitting, on the ground

before any thing that burns, and reciting the _Ferz-zemiar_,

“great prayer,” to Yezdán, or another to _Shesh-kákh_, that

is to say, to the stars and to the fire which yield

light.”――A. T.

[304] عزيزی Azizi is supposed, by Mr. Tholuck (Sufismus,

sive Theosophia Persarum Pantheistica) to be the name of the

so long unknown author of Gulshen-raz, “the rose-bower of

mystery.” Silvestre de Sacy (see Journal des Savants,

décembre 1821, p. 719, 720), without absolutely rejecting

this supposition, explains the word Azizi by “homme

vertueux” in the verse upon which Mr. Tholuck founded his

opinion. The true author of Gulshen-raz is now known to be

Mahmud Shabisterí. See the Persian text with a German

metrical translation of this poem, published in 1838 by the

baron Hammer-Purgstall.――A. T.

[305] पर ब्रह्म नारायणः

[306] For Ishrakian, see pages 31 and 86 ad refutationem

Alcorani.――D. S.

[307] In Gladwin’s Persian text, it is توتيار _Tutiar_; in

the manuscripts consulted by Shea, in the edition of

Calcutta, and in the manuscript of Oude نونيار _nuniar_.

[308] स्वप्न.

[309] सुस्वप्न, “good sleep.”

[310] सुखास्वाद, _sukhásváda_, “enjoyment.”

[311] समाधि, _samádhi_, “deep and devout meditation.”

[312] जाग्रत्, _jagrat_, “watching, being awake.”――A. T.

[313] प्रत्यय, _pratyaya_, “certainty.”――A. T.

[314] प्रपुरपरोक्ष, _prapura-paròksha_, “absent from the

former body.”――A. T.

[315] The text of Gladwin has زارک “_záreng_;” the edition

of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude ارنک _Arang_; in the

Desatir we find _Lareng_ for the name of a divinity.――A. T.

SECTION II.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SÍPÁSIÁN SECT.

Among the moderns, the chief of the Abadian and _Azúrhúshangíán_ sects

was _Azar Kaiván_, whose lineage is as follows: _Azar Kaívan_, the son

of _Azar Zerdusht_, the son of _Azar Barzín_, the son of _Azar

Khurín_, the son of _Azar Ayin_, the son of _Azar Bahram_, the son of

_Azar Nosh_, the son of _Azar Mihtar_, the younger son of _Azar

Sásán_, styled the fifth _Sásán_, the elder son of _Azar Sásán_, the

fourth of that name, the younger son of _Azar Sásán_, the third of

that name, the eldest son of _Azar Sásán_, or the second _Sásán_, the

mighty son of _Azar Sásán_, or the first _Sásán_, the son of _Darab_

the less, the son of _Darab_ the great, the son of _Bahmán_, the son

of _Isfendiar_, the son of _Gushtasp_, the son of _Lohrasp_, the son

of _Arvand_, the son of _Kai Nishin_, the son of _Kai Kobad_, the son

of _Zab_, the son of _Nauder_, the son of _Minuchehr_, the son of

_Iraj_, who was of the lineage of Feridun, the son of _Abtin_, who was

of the lineage of _Jamshid_, the son of _Tahmúras_, the son of

_Húsheng_, the son of _Siamak_, the son of _Kaiomors_, the son of

_Yásán Ajam_, of the lineage of _Yásán_, the son of _Shai Mohbul_, of

the lineage _Shai Giliv_, the son of _Jaí Alad_, of the lineage of

_Jai Afram_, the son of _Abád Azád_, of the lineage of _Mah Abád_, who

appeared with splendor in the beginning of the great cycle. The mother

of _Kaiván_ was named _Shirín_, a fortunate and illustrious dame

descended from the lineage of the just monarch Nushirvan. Through

eternal aid and almighty grace _Azar Kaiván_, from his fifth year,

devoted himself to great abstinence in food, and watching by night.

_Salím_ thus expresses himself:

“Innate essence has no need of instruction;

How could an artist produce the image in the mirror?”

In the progress of his admirable voluntary mortification, the quantity

of his daily food was reduced to one direm weight. On this point, the

divine sage Sunái observes:

“If thou eat to excess, thou becomest an unwieldy elephant;

But if with moderation, thou becomest another Gabriel;

If any person should give way to excess in eating,

Rest assured that he is also vile to excess.”

He abode in Khum during twenty-eight years, but removed in his latter

days from the land of Iran into India: he remained some time in Patna,

where, in the year of the Hegira 1027 (A. D. 1673), he took his flight

from this lower elementary abode to the sphere of the mansions on

high. Azízí observes:

“Whoever is wise, esteems this mortal coil the obstacle to union

with God:

This life is the death of Durvishes: look on (the world of) reality

as a friend.”

He continued eighty-five years united to the elements of body, during

which time he never desisted from the practice of austerities. On this

subject Hafiz of Shiraz observes:

“O! my heart, if thou once become acquainted with the lustre of

austerity,

Like those who strike the smiling taper, thou canst give up thy

head――

But thou longest after thy beloved and sparkling wine-bowl:

Abstain from such desire, for thou canst accomplish better things.”

_Farzánah Bahrám_ relates in the _Sharistan_, that from the very

commencement of his religious career, Azar Kaiván, having resolved on

learning thoroughly the science and systems of the eminent sages of

antiquity, on this, the distinguished philosophers of Hindustan,

Greece, and Persia, having appeared to him in a vision, communicated

all kinds of knowledge. He went one day to a college, where he

answered every question that was proposed, and gave the solution of

every difficulty: he was therefore entitled _Zu-l-ulum_, or “the

Master of Sciences.” Ali Sani Amir Saiyid Ali of Hamadan observes:

“If thou advance even one step from this abode of vain desire,

Thou mayest repose in the sanctuary of omnipotence;

And if thou perform ablution with the water of religious austerity,

Thou canst convert all the uncleanness of thy heart into purity;

This path however is only traversed by the active pilgrim,

How canst thou, the world’s idol, perform such a task?”

It is reported that Saiyid Hasan of Shiraz, who was styled “the sage,

the embellishment of pure faith and works,” one day said thus: “On a

certain day, two followers of the Sufís came into the presence of Azar

Kaiván, and pursuing the path of opposition to the Master of Sciences,

treated him not as one possessed of perfection. Their teacher, a man

equally eminent in theoretical and practical science, who by dominion

over the external world had established the relation of spiritual

intercourse with the holy prophet, fell one night into a state of

ecstasy, and beheld in his trance the effulgent perfection of the

prophet, who said to him: ‘My son! tell thy disciples that through the

assistance of the Only Wise and the Omnipotent, who is independent of

all, Ali Kaiván is a completely perfect man, who has attained to the

different degrees of spiritual dominion, by the practice of the seven

cordial ejaculations, and varied mysterious illuminations, visions,

revelations, spiritual realities in his acts and attributes: moreover

his evanescent existence, through grace predestined from eternity, has

received the boon of divine nature; equally versed in special and

general providence; unique in the true knowledge of things from

inspection, not contented with the illumination of tradition; the most

perfect master of the seekers after truth in matters of worship,

seclusion, social intercourse, and whatever is meet and suitable to

their state in all kinds of institutes and religious austerities. He

is the true philosopher; the physician of the human race; the

discipline of religion; the institute of the devout; the interpreter

of events; the instructor of worship; the director of those who seek

God, labouring diligently in the purification of souls; co-operating

in the cleansing of hearts; the spiritual champion of the law;

fighting the good fight of faith; the principle of truth; confirmed in

the knowledge, source, and evidence of certainty; supported by divine

aid in the fundamental points and collateral inductions. Let not thy

disciples calumniate him, but esteem him a holy personage, and regard

attendance on him as pregnant with happiness: do thou also approach

his presence, and use every effort to conciliate his affection.’ The

teacher having during his ecstacy repeated this panegyric several

times, I committed the words to writing, and on the holy man’s arising

from his ecstatic trance, he summoned me and said: ‘Who in this city

is Azar Kaiván? The prophet hath praised him exceedingly, and ordered

me to go into his presence.’ I answered: ‘He has lately come hither

from the direction of Istakhar:’ on which he replied: ‘Conduct me near

him.’ I therefore accompanied him, but was ignorant of Kaiván’s

residence. When we had proceeded some time, one of Kaiván’s disciples,

by name Farhad, came near him and said: ‘The master (that is Kaiván)

invites you, and has sent me to be your guide.’ When we came into his

presence, my teacher had determined in his mind to salute him first,

but was unable to obtain the priority, as Azar Kaiván had much sooner

anticipated him in salutations in the Persian language, and afterwards

addressed him in Arabic. We were struck with astonishment. My teacher

then repeated what he had communicated to me concerning the vision, on

which Kaiván commanded him ‘not to remove the veil of this mystery.’”

The teacher, on his return, having called before him his two misguided

disciples, recounted the perfections of Kaiván, and enjoined them to

abstain from censuring the holy man. For as Sadi says:

“Respecting the thicket, imagine it not unoccupied,

A tiger may probably be couched there.”

Azar Kaiván mixed little with the people of the world; he shunned with

horror all public admirers; and seldom gave audience to any but his

disciples and the searchers after truth; never exposing himself to the

public gaze. According to Shaikh Baha Uddin Muhammad of Amil,

“If thou have not guards in front and rear to keep off the crowd,

Aversion to mixing with crowds will be a sufficient safeguard to thee.”

Farzanah Bahrám relates in the _Sharistan_, that Kaiván expressed

himself after this manner: “The connexion of my spirit with this body,

formed of the elements, resembles the relation of the body to a loose

robe; whenever I wish I can separate myself from it, and resume it at

my desire.” The same author also thus relates of him, in the text of

the _Jam-i-Kai Khusró_, wherein are recounted some of his revelations

and spiritual communications:

“When I passed in rapid flight from material bodies,

I drew near a pure and happy spirit;

With the eye of spirit I beheld spirits:

My spirit was moving amidst kindred spirits:

In every sphere and star I beheld a spirit;

Each sphere and star possessed its peculiar spirit;

Thus in the three kingdoms of nature I beheld a common spirit,

As their spirit was mutually communicated to each other.

I attained the knowledge of all existences.

And was associated with the great Serósh Ramah.

[316]But when I reached a great elevation,

Splendor from the Almighty gave me light;

As the radiance increased this individuality departed;

[317]Even the angelic nature and the principle of evil disappeared:

God only existed, there was no sign of me

(or of my individual existence):

[318]I no longer retained intellect or recollection of spirit:

[319]I discovered all my secrets to be but shadows;

I then returned to the angelic intelligences,

And from these intelligences I came back to the spirit;

And thus at last to bodies also summoning me.

In this manner I became powerful, wise, and sublime,

Until I descended from that high degree――

Upon the road by which I had gone up, I returned to my body

With a hundred divine favours[320] deriving splendor from that

assemblage;

The dignity of the Supreme Lord is too exalted

For intercourse with his servants to be worthy of him.

By his effulgence intellect becomes (illumined) like the earth or sun;

He is elevated too high for his servants to hold intercourse with him:

If the spirit receives illumination from him,

It becomes beside itself, and its speech is ‘I am without intellect’――

The world is a drop which proceeds from the ocean of his existence;[321]

What is the dropping dew? it is Himself (God);

Thou art not the dropping dew, but only a drop among the drops of it.

I know not what to say, as the result of all is deficiency:

Through love he confers bounties on his servants;

As it is proper to raise up the down-fallen

His love renders the mendicant a man of power.

The world is but a ray emanating from the sun of his face:

The just Creator addressed me in kind words,

And conferred on me the splendor of an Ized;

None but He can duly praise Himself,

As He cannot become the object of speech or hearing.”

Kaivan was master of noble demonstrations and subtile distinctions:

one of the Moslem lawyers having asked him: “Why dost thou forbid thy

followers from eating flesh, slaying animals, and injuring living

creatures?” He thus replied: “The seekers of God are named the

peculiar people of the heart; and the heart itself, the true Kâabah:

therefore, what is an abomination in the sanctuary formed of water and

clay cannot a fortiori be suitable to the true Kâabah: that is, the

eating of animals and the slaughter of living creatures. A great man

says:

“I have heard that a sheep once thus addressed the butcher,

At the moment he prepared to cut off her head with his sword:

‘I now behold the retribution of every bush and bramble of which I

tasted;

What then shall that person not experience who eats my fatted loin?’”

Kaivan also said: “If you think proper, keep your tenets secret

wherever you happen to be, concealing them even from your brethren in

the faith; as they, for the confirmation of their system, will make

you publicly known.” Azizi also says:

“As long as thou canst, communicate not thy secret to thy friend;

For that friend has another; beware therefore of thy friend’s

friend?”

Some one asked him: “In the schism of Abad Ansari, which faith shall I

adopt, and whose arguments must I regard as true?” Azar Kaiván

replied: “Remain in the same faith that, until the present time, God

doeth as seemeth good to him; and for the time to come he will do

whatever he thinks proper.” Urfi of Shiraz says,[322]

“Thy essence is able to call into being all that is impossible,

Except to create one like thyself!”

He once said to a holy man: “The knowledge of evanescent objects is

not properly knowledge, but bears the same relation to reality as the

mirage of the desert to water: the searcher after which obtains

nothing but an increase of thirst.” Shah Subhan says:

“Men favoured by fortune drink the wine of true knowledge;

They do not, like fools, quaff the dregs of infidelity;

The science acquired in colleges and by human capacity

Is like water drawn out of the well by a sieve.”

They once observed to Kaivan: “Notwithstanding the great exertions

made by his highness the sincere and faithful Akbar, and the grand

justiciary, the caliph Omar, and the possessor of the two lights,

Osman, in the way of the faith proved by miracles, and their mighty

labors in diffusing its institutes, the Shee-ites are opposed to these

great personages?” He replied: “The mass of mankind are acted upon by

time and place, in opposition to the seekers after truth. It is also

to be observed that the people of Iran have adopted the Shee-ite

faith; and as the above-mentioned great personages destroyed the

fire-temples of that nation, and overturned their ancient religion,

therefore rebellion and envy have remained in their hearts.”

Two learned men having a dispute concerning the superiority of the

chosen Alí, “the Elect” (whose face may God honor), over the two

Shaikhs and the _Lord of the two lights_ (Osmar), (upon all of whom be

the mercy of the Almighty) having referred the dispute to Kaivan, he

observed:

“All four are the four perfections of the prophetic edifice;

All four are the four elements of the prophets’ souls.”

“The distinction between the two exalted parties is difficult, as two

of them claim supremacy on the celebrity (drum) of being

fathers-in-law to the Arab founder of religion; and the other two are

fitted for dignity, by being sons-in-law to the apostle of the Arabs.

But whereas all things are objects of the Almighty’s regard, the

excellent Alí, ‘the Lion of God,’ was esteemed so pre-eminent an

object of divine favor among the Moslems, that want of faith and

ignorance induced many to worship him as the true God, until this

great personage openly disclaimed such a pretension. Also during the

pontificate and caliphat of _Sadik_, ‘the faithful witness,’ the

powerful _Abubeker_, ‘the separator,’ the grand _Omar_, and that of

_Zu-l-Narain_, ‘the Lord of the two Lights,’ error misled many to such

a degree, that they denied their authority, until these legitimate

directors asserted their claims to that dignity.”[323]

He returned an answer of a similar description in a dispute between a

Jew, a Christian, and a Muselman, who were arguing about the

superiority of their respective prophets; some acknowledging Jesus as

God, the others as the Son of God. One day as a Christian and Muselman

were disputing with each other, the former allowing the death of

Jesus, and the latter believing him to be alive, Azar Kaivan said: “If

a person who knew not the direction of a road which formed his

destination, should in the course of his journey come to a dead body

lying down, and a living person seated, from which of the two ought he

to inquire his way?” As the disputants both replied, “from the living

person;” he then said to the Muselman: “Adopt thou the faith of Jesus,

as according to thy belief he is living.” He then added: “By life is

meant the life of the rational soul: in this Mohammed and Jesus are on

an equality; call your prophets the ‘eternal living:’ for life means

not the perpetuity of this body fashioned out of the elements, which

cannot accompany us beyond a hundred or a hundred and twenty natural

stages (years).” Azizi says:

“If the domestic fowl should fly along with the fowls of the air,

It could not proceed in flight beyond the summit of the wall.”

A hermit once came into _Zu-l-Ulum_’s[324] presence; he pronounced a

panegyric on the opposition to sensual passions exhibited by pious

Moslem believers: and then added: “There is no limit to the opposition

to these passions: even the unbeliever through the practice of

austerities finally becomes a Moslem.” He also added: “An exemplary

unbeliever had become able to work miracles: a Shaikh went to him one

day and asked: ‘By what route hast thou attained to this dignity?’ He

replied, ‘By opposing the suggestions of the passions.’ On which the

Shaikh answered: ‘Now turn to Islamism, as thy soul has admitted

infidelity.’ On hearing which the unbeliever became a follower of

Islamism.” Kaivan observed: “The Shaikh must have been an infidel, as

his soul was still seeking after Islamism, or the true religion.” Urfi

says:

“Lay aside the recollection of (these words) belief and unbelief,

as they excite great disputes;

For according to our (supposed) bad doctrines, all persons think

aright.”

A person once came to Zu-l-Ulum, and said: “I propose embracing the

profession of a durvesh, and breaking asunder the chains which bind me

to the world.” Kaivan replied, “It is well.” Some days after, he

returned to Kaivan, and said: “I am at present engaged in procuring

the patched tunic, cap, wallet, and other things necessary for my

profession.” Zu-l-Ulum observed: “The profession of a durvesh consists

in resigning every thing and abandoning all manner of preparations,

and not in accumulation of any kind.”

A merchant through penury having assumed the dress of hypocrisy,

appeared in a Shaikh’s garb, and many persons devoutly regarded him as

a holy man. He one day came before Kaivan and said: “Often have

wretches plundered me on the road: it was however for a good purpose,

in order that by embracing the life of a durvesh I might attain the

great object of salvation.” Azar Kaivan replied: “Be not grieved, as

thou art now plundering mankind by way of retaliation.”

“The society of Urfi pleases not the superior of our monastery;

Because the superior is a foe to the intelligent and Urfi to the

stupid.”

At present some of Kaivan’s disciples, as far as the author’s

acquaintance extends, are about to be enumerated.

_Farzanah Kharrád_, of the family of Mahbud, who had been the _khan

salar_ (royal table-decker or taster) to the equitable monarch

_Nushirvan_,[325] and put to death through the sorcery of a Jew and

the calumnies of a chamberlain, as recorded in the Shah Namah of the

king of poets, Ferdúsi, and in other histories: Kharrad joined himself

to Kaivan in the bazar of Shiraz, and practised religious austerities

for many years. Farzanah Khushi has often mentioned in conversation,

and has also frequently repeated in the _Bazm-gah-i-Durvéshán_, “the

Durvesh’s banquetting-room,” the following circumstance: “I one day

beheld _Kharrad_ and _Ardeshir_ (a descendant of _Ardeshir

Babegan_,[326] and one of Kaivan’s disciples), standing face to face

and mutually opposing each other: whenever Ardeshir wished to smite

Kharrád with a sword, he appeared like a stone, so that when the sword

came into contact with his body, it was instantly broken to

pieces.”――In the year 1029 of the Hejirah (1620 A. D.) he became

reunited to the pure uncompounded spirit. _Buzurgi_ says:

“What is the soul? the seminal principle from the loins of destiny:

This world is the womb: the body its enveloping membrane:

The bitterness of dissolution, dame Fortune’s pangs of childbirth.

What is death? to be born again an angel of eternity.”

_Farzanah Farshid wird_ was one of the Parsi village chieftains: his

pedigree ascended to _Farzanah Shedosh_, who was one of the fifth

_Sassan_’s[327] disciples. He also became attached to Azar Kaivan in

the same place as Kharrad, and devoted himself to the service of the

Almighty. Khushi relates as follows: “Farshid wird and Bahman used to

stand facing each other; every arrow which Bahman discharged against

Farshid wird, he used to cut in two with his sword: and whenever the

latter let fly an arrow, Bahman with activity and address threw

himself to one side and avoided it. But this is still more wonderful:

whenever Bahman shot off a musket, Farshid let fly one at the same

instant, and ball met ball, so that they both remained unhurt:

sometimes also when Farshid Wird shot off his musket, Bahman used to

move rapidly on one side.” In the year 1029 of the Hejirah (A. D.

1619) he hurried away from this abode of the elements to the skies.

The Khajah Hafiz speaking on this subject, says:

“He never dies whose heart is quickened with love divine;

But remains for ever stamped on the records of our eternal world.”

_Farzanah Khíradmand_ was descended from Sám, the son of Narimán: he

joined _Zu-l-Ulum_ and gave himself up to religious austerities.

Khushi thus relates: “I once beheld Khiradmand while standing face to

face to _Rustam_ (who was descended from _Bahram Gur_,[328] and was

one of Kaivan’s distinguished disciples), assume the form of a dragon,

and shower out fire from his mouth, to such a degree that a strong

palm was consumed by its violence.”

In three months after Bahman’s death, Khiradmand was restored to his

original place. _Buzurgi_ says:

The skilful and intelligent artist

Should have in this world two successive lives:

So that in one he might acquire experience,

Which he could carry into effect by another experiment.

Of these illustrious personages they have recorded many miraculous and

mysterious deeds; such as, in the upper world, hiding the sun’s disk;

causing him to appear at night; making the stars visible in the

day-time: and in this lower world, walking on the surface of water;

making trees productive out of season; restoring verdure to dried-up

wood; causing trees to bow down their heads; also showing themselves

between heaven and earth in the form of lightning; and such like: and,

in the animated world, metamorphosing animals; rendering themselves

invisible to men; appearing under various shapes and forms: some of

which wonders have been recorded in the _Bazmgah-i-Durveshi Khushí_.

They relate that these great personages were to such a degree enabled

to divest themselves of corporeal elements, that they quitted the body

at pleasure: also that they had acquired from the court of Heaven the

knowledge of all sciences whether known or occult, and _consequently_

had the power of exhibiting such wonderful works; having rendered, by

the efficacy of their austerities, elementary matter subject to

themselves. The author of these pages beheld these four holy

personages, Kharrad, Farshid wird, Bahman, and Khiradmand, in Patna,

on which occasion they bestowed their benedictions, and imparted to

him the glad tidings of the means of obtaining the great object, or

final salvation. Shaikh Saadi says:

“It becomes the truly wise to pass every day in the exercise of

holy zeal,

And to offer up prayers for the prosperity of durveshes.”

_Farzanah Bahram_, the son of Farhad, was descended from _Gudarz_, the

son of Hashwád. When Azar Kaivan had proceeded to Patna, in this

sage’s latter days, Farzanah Bahram came from Shiraz and devoted

himself to the practice of religious austerities. He was a man who had

attained the highest degree of knowledge in logic, natural philosophy,

the abstract sciences, and theology, which he had most attentively

studied as far as set forth and expounded by sound reasoning in the

Parsi, Pehlevi, and Arabic: in practical and theoretical science he

was unequalled; being profoundly skilled and a perfect philosopher in

all the objects of science and morality: among the Moslem doctors, he

had established the relations of external tuition with _Khajah

Jumál-Uddin Mahmúd_, one of the disciples of the _Mulla Jalál Dawani_.

Farzánah Bahrám is the polished author and compiler of the book

entitled _Sharístán-í-Dánish, wa Gulístán-í-Binish_, “the pavilion of

knowledge and the rose-garden of vision.” In the _Sharistan_, he thus

tells us: “Through the aid of Azar Kaivan, I reached the invisible,

the angelic, the empyrean worlds, and the seat of the Divinity, and

attained to union with him through revelations of the fourfold

kind――_impressive_, _operative_, _attributive_, and _essential_.” The

Mobed _Hoshyar_ relates: “I have heard Farzánah Bahrám relate as

follows: I was one day standing in the presence of Azar Kaivan, and

conceived in my heart the wish that he should tell me what occupied my

secret thoughts. The venerable personage unfolded the secret thoughts

of my heart, and afterwards said: ‘O, Farzanah! it is an easy matter

for me to know the secrets of the soul; but then what purpose does thy

tongue answer? in order that thy tongue may not be useless, I shall

for the future suffer thee to speak.’” He assumed the dress of a

merchant, but people imagined it was for the purpose of concealment,

and that he gave himself up to alchymy. In the year of the Hejirah

1034 (A. D. 1624), he ascended from this lower abode of darkness to

the pavilions of light. The sage Sunái says:

“Wherever intellect and divine knowledge are found,

The death of body is the birth of soul.”

The Mobed Hoshyar is the author of the _Sarúd-i-Mastán_, “the songs of

the intoxicated.” He was born at the port of Surat; he traced his

pedigree to the invincible champion Rustam, the son of Zál, and was a

man of exceeding bravery, heroism, and experience; perfect in

generosity, sagacity, the termination of disputes, right reason, and

sound experience. If his history were detailed at full length, it

would become necessary to write another Shah Namah concerning his

victory at Girdun, his defeat of Alí Yakah, and such like.[329]

In short he entered the service of the great philosopher Azar Kaivan

and his eminent disciples, being associated with them in the doctrine

of self-knowledge; from the commencement of night to the rise of the

world-illuminating sun, he slept in the attitude of _Murdah Khasp_.

Now the terms _Muráah Khab_, _Murdap Khasp_, and _Sáónós_, are terms

applied by the Sipásían to the following mode of sleeping: the devotee

rests (having thrown his legs beneath him) on his knees, pressing to

the ground both heels as far as the great toe: and applying the

extremities of the knees to the earth, he keeps his seat on the same;

he is then to lie on his back, keeping the points of his fingers on

his head; after this, he is to look intently between the eye-brows,

and carry into practice the _Habs-i-dam_, or imprisonment of the

breath. The Durvesh Subahani, one of the great Sufees, used to say:

“Such was the sleep of the prophets.” They also say: “The prophets of

old used to sleep on their backs, with their faces directed towards

the Heavens:” which is the same as the position before described.

Hoshyar had attained to the power of suppressing the breath for one

watch (three hours). Shaikh Saadi says:

“They who restrain the soul from sensual pleasures

Surpass in heroism both Rustam and Zál.”

Hoshyar was not scrupulous about what he ate; never turning away his

face from whatever was set before him: he however most diligently

shunned the practice of cruelty to living creatures, and avoided

superfluities and excess of every description. Hafiz of Shiraz on this

head says:

“Addict not thyself to cruel pursuits, and do whatever else thou

pleasest;

As in our law there is no sin except that of cruelty.”

In the year of the Hejirah 1050 (A. D. 1640) he was delivered from the

bondage of body in the capital named _Akbar Abad_.[330] The Mobed says:

“Truly the body is a narrow sepulchre which entombs every spirit,

When that tomb is entombed, thou beholdest a wall, that _really_

is no wall;

When the tomb is entombed, the living spirit is freed from its

prison.

Alas! O Mobed, the sovereign of the body knows of no restriction.”

The Mobed Hoshyar, who was conversant with the visible and invisible

worlds, master of the esoteric and exoteric doctrines, was the

interpreter of the _Jashn-i-Sadah_ (the festival of Sadah),[331] from

which work his superior talents are evident: he derived his descent

from the sage _Jamasp_.[332] In the year of the Hejirah 1036 (A. D.

1626) the author of this work met him in the delightful region of

Kashnim. He used to support himself on the extremities of his fingers,

so that his body came not into contact with the ground, in which

position he continued from midnight until dawn. On the subject of

penance Hafiz says:

“O, my heart! couldst thou but acquire a knowledge of religious

austerity,

Thou wouldst be able to abandon women like smiling torches.”

The Mobed _Sarósh_, the son of Kaiván, the son of Kamkar, who was

styled _Namdár_, or “the illustrious,” on account of the celebrity of

his knowledge. The Mobed carried his lineage on the father’s side to

the venerable prophet _Zardúsht_, and on his mother’s, to _Jamásp_ the

Sage. He was equally conversant with the theoretical and practical

sciences; and was master of the languages of Arabia, Persia, and

Hindustan; he had travelled over most of the habitable world; his

nights were passed in prayer; his conduct was always pure. On coming

into attendance on Kaiván, he was illuminated by the sun of his

knowledge, and during his attendance on Farzanah Bahrám, the son of

Farhád, he acquired the Arabic language. His age reached to sixty

years; in short he was a saint elect, who in the course of his life

never looked on a woman; his mouth was never polluted with animal food

of any description; he sought seclusion from the world, and limited

himself to a small quantity of food.

“If thou didst but know the pleasure of abandoning pleasure,

Thou wouldst never more talk about the pleasures of sense.”

He is the author of many admired literary works and compilations; such

as the _Nosh Dárú_, “sweet medicine;” the _Sagangubín_, “dog’s honey,”

and the _Zerdúsht Afshar_, “the companion of Zerdúsht,” and such like.

It was heard from an eminent doctor, named _Muhammed Mahsan_, who said

thus: “I heard from him (Kaiván) three hundred and sixty proofs

confirmatory of the existence of the Deity: but when I wished to

commit them to writing, it was no longer in my power.” People relate

all manner of miraculous stories about him; such as his creating what

was not previously in existence; revealing secret matters, and

concealing what was evident; the acceptance or fulfilment of his

prayers; his performing a long journey in a short space of time; his

knowledge of things hidden from the senses; and his giving a

description of the same; his appearing at the same time in places far

distant from each other; bringing the dead to life, and depriving the

living of vitality; his being enabled to hear and understand the

language of animals, vegetables, minerals, etc.; to produce food and

wine without any visible means; to walk on the surface of water, also

through fire and air; and such like. The author met him in Kashmir in

the year of the Hejirah 1036 (A. D. 1627).

_Firrah Kárí_, the attendant on the venerable _Shídósh_ (an account of

whom shall be soon given) was a person, whose essence was adorned with

science and decorated by purity; the possessor of extraordinary

probity and sound understanding, said thus: “I once received some

injury from the peasantry of Achán, a district bordering on the public

and sacred place of Kashmír: speaking of this to _Yazdán Silái_, a

disciple attached to the Móbed Sarósh, I said ‘the people of Achán

have grievously afflicted me,’ and stated to him the criminal conduct

of this wicked set of men. He answered: ‘Do you wish that the Almighty

should overwhelm with floods the cultivated grounds of these

wretches?’ I replied ‘Certainly.’ It then began to rain so

exceedingly, the loftiest and strongest-built houses were overthrown;

from the overwhelming deluge ruin fell on their buildings and tilled

grounds; and the fields of these men themselves were nearly destroyed

by the waters at the very commencement.” The Maulavi Mânevi says:

“As long as the heart of the righteous comes not to affliction,

God never brings calamity on any people.”

The rains still continued, which Sarósh having observed, he was

exceedingly wroth with his disciple and reproved him; and that same

day the rain ceased. Firrah-Kári used to say, “Mobed Sarósh was

acquainted with the desires of my heart, and possessed power over

men’s minds.” He also related the following story concerning him: “At

the time of arriving in the caravanserai of Bálik, in the city of

Tarkhan, the men of that place wished to act wickedly towards us, and

practise oppression. I explained the nature of their conduct to the

Mobed, on which he retired into a corner. That same night there

appeared in the air men whose heads reached to the heavens, whilst

their feet touched the earth. The people of the city were seized with

consternation and desisted from oppressing us, and the merchants at

the same time bestowed freedom on those who had been captives for many

years.” The Mobed Húshyár relates: “Being in want of a few direms, I

went to Yazdán Sitái, the disciple of the Mobed Sarósh; on this he

stretched forth his hand, and taking up some broken pottery, formed

twenty heaps of it: having breathed on these a few times, they all

became gold Mohurs: these he put into my hands, and I disbursed them

in the course of my ordinary expenses.” He also relates: “Yazdán Sitái

constructed a house of such a kind that, when any one entered, he

beheld the sun; and when the holy man sat with his friends, he

appeared as a crocodile coming to the river-bank, which was about to

snatch away all present. He sometimes threw into the fire towels on

which the flames had no effect: he frequently repeated something,

stirring his lips, and so rendered himself invisible; he used

sometimes to appear in the air, and used to say: ‘I am actually at

rest, although I appear otherwise.’” _Shidosh_, the son of _Anosh_,

said: “We were once seated near him when he placed a taper in a basin

of water; there immediately appeared some peacocks turning towards the

water, plunging their heads into it, and displaying all their beauty,

whilst we remained in utter astonishment.” Shidosh also says: “I once

beheld him disporting in the midst of a blazing fire.” Nay, the writer

of these pages has seen him swallow fire. The Mobed Húshyár says: “He

once exhibited a sight, so as to make a house appear filled with

serpents and scorpions.” He used also to lay on the breast of a person

plunged in sleep, something of such a nature as to make him return an

answer to every question proposed to him. The Mobed Húshyár also

relates: “I once beheld the Hakim (the Sage) Kamran of Shiraz, in the

feast of joy and hospitality made for the reception of an Iraki

friend, light a match: on this, all the Lulees[333] then in the house

stripped themselves naked and began to dance, whilst we looked on at a

distance. The sage said: ‘This we have learnt from Yazdan Sitái: as I

give no invitation to Lulees, and no others can be prevailed on to

commit such indecency, I therefore tried the experiment on the party

of them assembled in this place.’” Many other things of a similar

nature are related concerning Yazdan Sitái.

_Khoda Jói_ was a native of Herat, who had passed many years in the

service of exemplary and holy men; he relates: “I once saw in a vision

holy personages come around me and say: ‘Depart and seek a spiritual

guide free from prejudice.’ During many years’ search I was unable to

discover such a character; but having once seen in a dream, ‘that Azar

Kaiván of Istakhar was one of that description:’ I went near him in

company with _Farzanah Khushi_.”

Khoda Jói excelled in the knowledge of Parsi and Arabic; he avoided

altogether animal food of every description; he could suppress his

breath during four watches (twelve hours), and was in the habit of

practising the Hubs-i-dam; he never slept at night, nor ate more than

fifty direms weight of food. He never gave utterance to a lie, and

whatever he stated had reference to exalted objects and pursuits: even

these were uttered only at the solicitation of his friends. He is the

author of the volume entitled _Jám-i-Kai Khusró_, “the cup of Kai

Khusró,” an admirable commentary on the poetic compositions of Azar

Kaiván, and also containing his visions. He arrived in the delightful

regions of Kashmir in the year of the Hejirah 1040 (A. D. 1631), where

the author met him: in that same year this distinguished personage

hastened from this abode of evanescence to the mansions of eternity.

Hafiz of Shiraz says:

“O joyous day, when I depart from this abode of desolation;

I then seek my soul’s repose and follow the adored object:[334]

Fluttering about like a solar mote in the _atmosphere_ of that lip,

Until I attain at last to the fountain-head of the radiant sun.”

The Mobed Khushi is the author of the _Bazm-Gah_ (or “banqueting

house”), in which treatise when describing the stations of Azar

Kaiván’s illustrious disciples and most eminent followers, who are

twelve in number; he enumerates them in this order: _Ardashír_,

_Kharad_, _Shiroíyah_, _Khiradmand_, _Farhad_, _Suhrab_, _Azádah_,

_Bizhen_, _Isfendiar_, _Farshidwird_, _Bahman_ and _Rustam_: the daily

food of each of these individuals was much below ten direms weight:

and they carried the austerities recommended by Kaiván to the utmost

limit, so that no others of his disciples attained to the same rank as

these twelve persons. Of Farhád, Farshídwird, and Bahman, some account

has been given in the preceding part of this work.

In the _Bazm-gah_, Khushi thus states respecting himself: “In the days

of my youth, it was my anxious desire to find _a spiritual guide_. I

therefore had recourse to the eminent doctors of Iran, Turan, Room,

and Hindustan; that is, to Moslems, Hindoos, Guebers, Christians, and

Jews. They all said to me: ‘Quit thy present faith and pass over to

us:’ but my heart felt no inclination to change of religion, to

adopting another, and abandoning opinions, as they did not afford me

sufficient light in the object of my pursuit.

“Whilst a person beholds not the water, why pull off his slippers?”

“Such is the language of the prejudiced; although each of these

doctors praised himself as being free from its influence: I afterwards

beheld, in a vision, a mighty river from which streams and canals

issued forth, all of which after many windings returned back into the

same great river, and were confined within its two banks. I abandoned

the great water, and in order to allay my thirst, directed my steps

towards the rivulets in search of water: but as the banks of their

channels were difficult of access through slime and mud, and carrying

a bowl,[335] I could not reach the stream, and remained in great

perplexity. At length my father came up and said: ‘Entreat God to

conduct thee to the water.’ A voice then reached my ear: ‘This man has

abandoned the river, and directed his face towards the rivulets.’ On

my directing my steps towards the river, a blessed Angel said to me:

‘The great river is Azar Kaiván; the small rivulets are the doctors.’

I then knew that the slime and mud of the banks, the bowl, and the

rivulets refer to prejudice and envy: therefore, being accompanied by

Khoda Jói, I joined myself to Azar Kaiván, and discovered the object

of my inquiries.” Hafiz of Shiraz observes:

“Whither can we turn our face from the high-priest’s threshold?

Happiness dwells in his abode, and salvation within that portal.”

_Farzanah Bahram_, the son of Farhád, was called Bahram the Less: the

_Arzhang Máni_ (the gallery of Máni) is the production of his genius:

he was in attendance on Zu-al-Ulum, but attained to communion with God

and to perfection, in the service of Farzanah Bahram, the son of

Farhad. In the year of the Hejirah 1048 (A. D. 1638) the compiler of

these pages met with Bahram the Less, the son of Farhad, in the

imperial city of Lahore, in perfect health, but in the same year that

sage bade adieu to this world. He was a man who found repose in God,

and avoided all intercourse with society: he was learned in all the

theoretical and practical sciences, and eminently conversant with the

languages of Arabia, Persia, Hindustan, and Europe: by him were

translated into Persian, that is, into Parsi mixed with Arabic, the

works of the Shaikh _Ishrák Shuháb ud dín Maktúl_, which treated of

the Ishrakian tenets; his time was employed in transcribing books,

from which source he was obliged to derive his scanty support. He

never slept at night; in the year of the Hejirah 1048 (A. D. 1638) the

author beheld him with Húshyár at Lahore; during the entire night, the

writer of these pages sat in his presence, and from morn until evening

Húshyár remained before him; whilst the above-mentioned Farzanah,

seated on both knees, with his face to the east, never moved: people

have witnessed in him many things of this description. They say that

he used to remain seated two or three days after this fashion, neither

eating bread nor drinking water; he never laid his back on the ground;

his food consisted of a small quantity of cow’s milk; his lips were

never polluted with any other substance, and even this he swallowed at

intervals of two or three days.

“Be thou as a goblet, free from the contamination of body,

Be thou earth in the footsteps of the pure.

As from this earth thou mayst come to dust,

Break through the dust, and attain the human nature.”

The Mobed Paristár, the son of Khurshíd, who was originally of

Isfashán, assumed the elements of body in Patna; the Mobed, when a

youth, was accepted by divine favour, and through the aid of the

Almighty became one of the _Yekánah Bín_, or “seers of unity.” Having

in his early years entered into the service of Azar Kaiván, he

obtained a perfect sanctity through the society of his holy master’s

disciples. He however devoted himself chiefly to the Mobed Sarósh: he

was the author of the _Taprah-i-Mobedi_, or “the Sacerdotal

Kettledrum.” In the year of the Hejirah 1049 (A. D. 1640) he came to

Kashmir, where the author of this work was admitted into his society.

From the nightfal until sunrise, the Mobed Paristár gave himself up to

the Saráíst, which in the celestial language, or the _Desatir_, they

call _Faró_, or “downward:” this rite, according to them, consists in

elevating the feet in the air, and standing on the head; which

position is called in Hindi _Kapal Asan_[336] or “head-seat.” He of a

sudden quitted the body and entered the bowers of Paradise. A Mobed

has said:

“If thou be a wanderer upon the path of spirituality,

Fix not on the (external) robe, the motion of thy heart,

For nothingness will be the dwelling of thy body:

Although in reality thou continuest to move.”

The Mobed Peshkár, the son of Khurshíd, was also born in Patna, and

one year younger than Perishtar (his brother). He became unrivalled

during his age, in the Hindi chaunts and poems of that sect. He was

the _servant of the leader_ Azar Kaiván and his disciples, and whilst

in the service of the Mobed Sarósh he attained the knowledge of God,

and of himself, and he became eminently divested of prejudice and

exempted from human infirmities: being totally unfettered by the bonds

or chains of any sect whatever, and studiously shunning the polemic

domains of prejudice: in short, the eulogium of one creed and the

abhorrence of another, entered not into his system. He came to Kashmir

with his elder brother, with the purpose of departing from thence to

Kathay: he was noted for the imprisonment of the breath, concerning

which the Mobed Húshíyár said: “He once suppressed his breath and

plunged into the water, where he remained immersed during two watches

(six hours), after which interval he again raised his head above the

surface.”

HEMISTICH: “Wherever he may be, O God, guard him in safety!”

_Shídosh_, the son of Anosh, descended from the prophet Zardusht by

his father Anósh, who was styled _Farhosh_, “the splendor of

intellect,” was one of the sincerely devoted disciples of Azar Kaiván:

_Zarbád_ was also descended from the same divine apostle Zardúsht, and

finally became a man of opulence, although at the beginning of his

career he only possessed the pangs of destitution. They both came one

day into the presence of Azar Kaiván, and lamented the hardship of

their forlorn state; on this Azar replied: “Proceed with a small stock

to the quarter of sunrise, traverse the eastern borders, and dispose

of it with speed towards the descending sun, as your condition,

through this depressed site of difficulty will be changed into the

means of affluence.” Nearly at the period of giving these

instructions, Azar Kaiván having withdrawn from this earthly

tabernacle, hastened to the resting-place of the spheres, and these

two Jupiter-like stars, the unrivalled splendor of the world, set out

as directed. At length, through the efficacy of Kaiván’s enlightened

spirit, the state of these pilgrims continued to obtain an ascendancy,

until they became possessed of great opulence. Hafiz says thus:

“They who by a look convert clay into the philosopher’s stone,

What great matter if they bestow a single glance on me.”

After this, _Zarbádí_ sent to Patna an ancient servant, Farrah Kari by

name, to conduct his daughter to the musk-scented pavilion of Shídósh,

the illustrious son of Anósh. After this event, Farrah Kari and

Shídósh, proceeded from Patna on a commercial adventure, and formed

the plan of setting out from Kashmir to Kashgar: they were however

obliged to remain some time in Kashmir: but on the first moment of

moving from Patna, there arose in the breast of Shídósh an anxious

wish for attaining the knowledge of himself, the investigation of his

ancient abode, ascertaining his natural light, and exploring the march

of the invisible world: as from the very first, this bright Jupiter,

through the entreaty of Kaivan (Saturn) had directed his steps to the

region of atoms and the abode of elements of the celestial and

terrestrial parents: consequently, when Kaivan had abandoned this

bodily frame, he sat down with his disciples,

“Choose thou companions who are better than thyself,

In order that thy understanding and faith may increase.”

He consequently devoted himself to religious exercises, listening in

the first place to the voice called in Persian _âzád ává_ “the

independent voice,” in Arabic, _saut-i-mutluk_, or “the absolute

sound;” and in Hindi, _anáhid_. When he had duly practised this rite,

he directed his eyes, opened wide between the eyebrows, which in Hindi

they call _terátuk_, until the blessed form of Kaiván was clearly

manifested: he next contemplated that form, until it actually was

never more separated from him; he at last reached the region of

intellect, and having passed through the six worlds, arrived in the

seventh, and in this state of entrancement obtained admittance to the

Almighty presence; so that, during this abstraction from self, the

annihilation (of every thing human) and the eternity (of the

spiritual) was joined to his existence. Sâdi says:

“O youth! enter thou this very day into the path of obedience,

For to-morrow the vigor of youth comes not from the aged man.”

One morning at the dawn of day he said thus to the author of the

Dabistan: “Yesterday in the gloom of night, directed by the light of

spirit, I departed from this external body, and arrived at the

mysterious illumination ever replete with effulgence: the chamberlain

of truth removed from before me the curtains, so that on quitting this

mortal nature and leaving the visible world, I traversed the angelic

sphere. The supreme independently-existing light of lights became

revealed in all the impressive, operative, attributive, and essential

radiance of glory: this state of imaginary being disappeared, actual

existence was clearly witnessed.” Hafiz says:

“The perfect beauty of my beloved is not concealed by an interposing

veil;

O Hafiz, thou art the curtain of the road: remove away.”

Shidósh, though far removed from receiving pleasure by dainty food,

still appeared always in magnificent dresses: his audience always

diffused the fragrance of perfume; he even clad in handsome dresses

his head domestic servants, and other dependents, nay his very porter

and doorkeeper. He used to say: “My state proceeds from the splendor

of Azar Kaiván’s aid: to feel contempt for such a capital would be

highly improper; and not to make use of it would be an abomination

before my benefactor; for otherwise, I derive no pleasure from fine

raiment.” As to his abstinence in point of food, and his shunning of

female society, what has been mentioned is sufficient on these heads.

Shidosh Bihin was a youth of a finely proportioned person, and

beautiful countenance; the following was the rule observed by him: he

never attached merit to any strange creed, but endeavoured to divest

himself altogether of prejudice, and maintained very little

intercourse with the generality of mankind: when he formed an

intimacy, on the first day he testified only a small degree of warmth;

he exhibited greater attention on the second; so that he daily made

greater advances in the path of friendship; progressively increasing

his love and affection: as to what has been stated relative to his

displaying no great degree of warmth on the first interview, the same

proportion obtained when he shewed a decrease of warmth to some; that

same would be reckoned very great in any other. He always asserted,

that in the society of friends, their intercourse must not be

separated from meditation on God, as whatever is, is but a radiancy

emanating from the sun of his essence: the visible and invisible of

the world being only forms of that existence. Rafiah says:

“If angels and demons be formed from one principle,

The husbandman, the spring, the seed, and the field must be the

same:

What has his unity to dread from the plurality of the human race?

Although you tie the knot a hundred-fold, there is only a single

cord.”

Shidosh was seized with so severe an illness in Kashmir, that his case

surpassed the art of the physician: as Urfi says:

“What physician can there be, if the Messiah himself be taken ill?”

All the people about Shidosh were disconsolate, but he remained

cheerful of heart, and in proportion as the symptoms became more

aggravated, his cheerfulness increased, and he frequently recited

these couplets from Hafiz:

“O joyous day, when I depart from this abode of desolation,

Seeking the repose of my soul, and setting out in search of my

beloved:

Dancing like a solar mote around the atmosphere of her lips,

Until I reach the fountain-head of the radiant sun.”[337]

On the day of his departure from this temporary halting-place to the

eternal mansion of repose and the exalted seat of happiness, his

disconsolate friends and affectionate domestics were deeply afflicted;

but Shidosh retained his cheerfulness and thus addressed them with an

expression of delight: “I am not grieved at this disease of body, why

then do you grieve? nay ought you not to wish that I, having quitted

this gloomy abode of phantasy, should hasten to one beyond the

confines of space, and the mansions of intellect may become united to

the truly existent and independent (first cause).” The Maulavi Mânavi

says thus:

“If death be a human being, say to him, ‘draw near,’

That I may closely fold him in a fond embrace.

From him I extort by force eternal life,

Whilst he but snatches from me the Durvish’s party-colored dress.”

He then lifted up his hands and directing his face to heaven, the

Kiblah of prayer, recited the following blessed couplets front the

_Sahifah al Auliya_, “volume of the Saints,” written by the Imam

_Muhammed Nur Baksh_.

“Whether we are directors or guides[338]

Still do we want to be guided, on account of the infancy of our steps.

We are but solitary drops from the ocean of existence,

However much we possess of divine revelation and proof.

I am far from the great reservoir of drops,

Convey me, O God, to the boundless ocean of light!”

On reciting these lines he closed his eyes. The Shaikh Abúlfaiz

Faiyazi says on this subject:

“The drop became a fountain, and the fountain grew into a river,

Which river became reunited to the ocean of eternity.”

This event occurred in the year of the Hejirah 1040 (A. D. 1629): his

affectionate friends expressed their grief in the following manner:

“Thy brilliant hues still exist in the parterre,

Thy fragrance still survives in the jessamine;

The sight of thee is put off to the day of resurrection;

It is well: but it forms the theme of many a tale.”

The author also in his elegy on Shídósh thus expresses his grief:

“Since Shídósh departed from my sight

That which was a receptacle of eyes became a receptacle of rivers;

Had my eyes been a channel, they would have become a river-bed:

The resting place of the bird was the paradisian sphere:

From this lowly nest he departed to the nest on high.

He was truly free and sought no stores except those of holy freedom.

He abandoned his body to corporeal matter, and his spirit joined

the spiritual region.

His soul was united to the sublime being, the creator of souls,

Soaring beyond the limits of heaven, earth, and time.”