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 THE

PENNSYLVANIA

STATE UNIVERSITY

LIBRARY
1 U
» - • " ' * / -) 1 t
ASIATIC RESEARCHES;

OR,

TRANSACTIONS

OF THE

SOCIETY INSTITUTED IN BENGAL,

For inquiring into the

History and Antiquities,

ARTS, SCIENCES, AND LITERATURE,

ASIA.

VOLUME THE FOURTH.

FOURTH EDITION.

PRINTED VERBATIM FROM THE CALCUTTA EDITION.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR VERNOR, HOOD, AND SHARPE; CUTHELL AND MARTIN;
J. WALKER J LACKINGTON, ALLEN, AND CO, ; OTRIDGE AND SON J
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, AND ORME; R. FAULDER;
SCATCHERD AND LETTERMAN ; R. LEAJ
J. MAWMAN ; AND J. ASPERNE;
AC the Union Printing-Qgicc, St. John's Sguare.ty W. Wilsor..
1807-
 fella

THE PENNSYLVANIA STAT^

UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
 ADVERTISEMENT.

THE unfortunate death of Sir William Jones,

on the 27th of April, 1794, having deprived
the Society of their Founder and President, a
meeting of the Members was convened on the 1st
of May following, when it was unanimously
agreed to appoint a Committee, consisting of Sir
Robert Chambers, Mr. Justice Hyde, Colonel John
Murray, John Briston,. and Thomas Graham,
Esquires, to wait on Sir John Shore, and, in the
Name of the Society, request his acceptance of
the office of their President, With this request
he, in terms highly flattering to the Society,
agreed to comply; and on the 22d of May, 1794,
took his seat as President, and delivered the Dis
course, No. 12, of this Volume.

EDMUND MORRIS, Secretary.

 DIRECTIONS TO BINDERS.

^Village of Nancmry . - - page 121 \

—Slow-paced Lemur, and Yak of Tartary - - 127
—No. XI. Durva Agrostis of Dr. Kaznig - - 242 , f
^Ground Plan ofthe Cuttub Minar, with Delineation) 305
^-Cuttub Minar in April 1794 - - - •-J ib. '-'
Description of the Jonesia - -. - ~%^^^
'—View of the Volcano on Barren Island f. - 395
^ElephantaCave - - - - - 407
;— Plan of - - - - - ib. .
^Spikenard of the Ancients, and Prpsopis Aculeata,
Kcenig <- - - - 433
 CONTENTS

THE FOURTH VOLUME*.

I. DISCOURSE the Tenth.~-On Asiatic

History, civil and natural
II. On three naturalproductions ofSumatra p. i.
III. On theplant Morinda, and its uses - -21
IV. On the inhabitants of the hills near Raja-
mahall ----- 31
V. Additional remarks on the Spikenard of the
Ancierits - - - - -97
VI. On the Dhanesa, or Indian Buceros - 109
VII. On the Islands Nancowry and Comarty - 121
VIII. On the Loris, or slow-paced Lemur - 127
IX. Astronomical observations made in the upper
part of Hindostan, and on a journey
thence to Oujein - - ± - - 133
viii CONTENTS.

X. Questions and remarks on the astronomy of

the Hindus - page 151
XI. Discourse the Eleventh. —On the philosophy
of the Asiatics - - - - 157
XII. Discourse delivered by Sir John Shore,
Bart. President - ,- - - 175
XIII. Treatise on the Barometer - - - 189
XIV. On the duties of a faithful Hindu Widow 205
XV. On the traces of the Hindu language and
literature extant amongst the Malays 217
XVI. A catalogue of Indian plants - - 225
XVII. Botanical observations on select Indian
plants 231
XVIII..4 description of the Cuttub Minar - 305
XIX. Astronomical observations made on a voyage
to the Andaman andNicobar Islands 311
XX. Astronomical observations made on a sur
vey through the Carnatic and Mysore
country 3l6
XXI. Table of latitudes and longitudes of some
principalplaces in India - - - 321
XXII. On some extraordinaryfacts, customs, and
practices of the Hindus - - - 329
XXIII. Description of the Yak of Tartary - - 349
XXIV. A description of the Jonesia 4 - - - 353
XXV. Astronomical observations in Hindostan - 357
XXVI. A dissertation on Semiramis, &;c.from the .
Hindu sacred book - - * S6i
XXVII. On the Andaman Islands - - - 385
XXVIII. Ora Barren Island, and its Vokdno - ?^
 CONTENTS. ix

XXIX. Extractfrom a diary of ajourney over the

Great Desart, from Aleppo to Bus-
sora page 399
XXX. On the Tshamie of the Hindus - - 403
XXXI. Some account of the Cave in the Island
of Elephanta - - - - 407
XXXII. An account ofthe present state of Delhi 417
XXXIII. Bofrmcfl/ observations on the Spikenard
ofthe Ancients .... 433
 I.

THE TENTH

ANNIVERSARY DISCOURSE,

Delivered 28 February, 1793,

BY THE PRESIDENT,

ON

ASIATIC HISTORY,

CIVIL AND NATURAL.

Before our entrance, Gentlemen, into the

Disquisition promised at the close of my Ninth
Annual Discourse, on the particular Advantages
which may be derived from our concurrent Re
searches in Asia, it seems necessary to fix, with
precision, the sense in which we mean to speak
of advantage or utility. Now, as we have de-
scribed the five Asiatic regions on their largest
scale, and have expanded our conceptions in pro
portion to the magnitude of that wide field, we
should use those words which comprehend the
fruit of all our inquiries, in their most extensive
acceptation ; including not only the solid con
 Xii ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
veniences and comforts of social life, but its ele
gances and innocent pleasures, and even the gra
tification of a natural and laudable curiosity ;
for, though labour be clearly the lot of man in
this world, yet, in the midst of his most active
exertions, he cannot but feel the substantial
benefit of every liberal amusement which may lull
his passions to rest, and afford him a sort of re
pose without the pain of total inaction, and the
real usefulness of every pursuit which may
enlarge and diversify his ideas, without inter
fering with the principal objects of his civil station
or economical duties ; nor should we wholly
exclude even the trivial and worldly sense of uti
lity, which too man}r consider as merely synony
mous with lucre, but should reckon among useful
objects those practical, and by no means illiberal
arts, which may eventually conduce both to na
tional and to private emolument. With a view
then to advantages thus explained, let us examine
every point in the whole circle of arts and sciences,
'according to the received order of their depen
dence on the faculties of the mind, their mutual
connexion, and the different subjects with Avhich
they are conversant : our inquiries indeed, of
which Nature and Man are the primary objects,
must of course be chiefly Historical; but since we
propose to investigate the actions of the several
 CIVIL AND STATURAL. xiH
Asiatic nations, together with their respective pro
gress in science and art, we may arrange our inves
tigations under the same three heads to which our
European analysis has ingeniously reduced all the
branches of human knowledge ; and my present
Address to the Society shall be confined to History,
civil and natural, or the observation and remem
brance of mere facts independently of ratiocina
tion, which belongs to philosophy; or of imitations
and substitutions, which are the province of art.

Were a superior created intelligence to delineate

a map of general knowledge (exclusively of that
sublime and stupendous theology, which himself
could only hope humbly to know by an infinite
approximation) he would probably begin by trac
ing with Newton the system of the universe, in
which he would assign the true place to our little
globe ; and having enumerated its various inhabi
tants, contents, and productions, would proceed
to man in his natural station among animals, ex
hibiting a detail of all the knowledge attained or
attainable by the human race ; and thus observing
perhaps the same order in which he had before
described other beings in other inhabited worlds ;
but though Bacon seems to have had a similar
reason for placing the History of Nature before
that of Man, or the whole before one of its parts,
xiv ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
yet, consistently with our chief object already
mentioned, we may properly begin with the Civil
History of the Five Asiatic Nations, which neces
sarily comprizes their geography, or a description
of the places where they have acted, and their
astronomy, which may enable us to fix with some
accuracy the time of their actions: we shall thence
be led to the history of such other animals, of
such minerals, and of such vegetables as they may
be supposed to have found in their several migra-*
tions and settlements, and shall end with the
uses to which they have applied, or may apply,
the rich assemblage of natural substances.

I. In the first place, we cannot surely deem it

an inconsiderable1 advantage that all our historical
researches have confirmed the Mosaic accounts of
the primitive world ; and our testimony on that
subject ought to have the greater weight, because,
if the result of our observations had been totally
different, Ave should nevertheless have published
them, not indeed with equal pleasure, but with
equal confidence; for truth is mighty, and, what
ever be its consequences, must always prevail :
but, independently ofour interest in corroborating
the multiplied evidences of revealed religion, we
conld scarce gratify our minds with a more useful
andrationalentcrtainmentthanthecontemplation
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. XV
of those wonderful revolutions in kingdoms and
states, which have happened within little more
than four thousand years ; revolutions almost as
fully demonstrative of an all-rulingProvidence as
the structure of the universe, and the final causes
which are discernible in its whole extent, and
even in its minutest parts. Figure to your ima-
ginationsamovingpicture of that eventful period,
or rather a succession of crowded scenes rapidly
changed. Three families migrate in different
courses from one region, and, in about four cen
turies, establish very distant governments and va
rious modes ofsociety : Egyptians, Indians, Goths,
Phenicians, Celts, Greeks, Latians, Chinese, Peru-
vians, Mexicans, all sprung from the same imme
diate stem, appear to start nearly at one time,
and occupy at length those countries, to which
they have given, or from which they have de
rived, their names. In twelve or thirteen hun
dred years more, the Greeks overrun the land of
their forefathers, invade India, conquer Egypt,
and aim at universal dominion; but the Romans
appropriate to themselves the whole empire of
Greece, and carry their arms into Britain, of
which they speak with haughty contempt. The
Goths, in the fulness of time, break to pieces the
unwieldly Colossus of Roman power, andseizeon
the whole of Britain, except its wild mountains;
 XVI ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
but even those wilds become subject to other in
vaders of the same Gothic lineage. During all
those transactions the Arabs possess both coasts of
the Red Sea, subdue the old seat of their first pro
genitors, and extend their conquests, on one side,
through Africa, into Europe itself; on another,
beyond the borders of India, part of which they
annex to their flourishing empire. In the same
interval the Tartars, widely diffused over the rest
of the globe, swarm in the north-east, whence
they rush to complete the reduction of Constan-
tine's beautiful domains, to subjugate China, to
raise in these Indian realms a dynasty splendid and
powerful, and to ravage, like the two other fami
lies, the devoted regions of Iran. By this time
the Mexicans and Peruvians, with many races of
adventurers variously intermixed, have peopled
the continent and isles of America, which the
Spaniards, having restored their old government
in Europe, discover and in part overcome: but a
colony from Britain, of which Cicero ignorantly
declared that it contained nothing valuable, ob
tain the possession, and finally the sovereign do
minion of extensive American districts; whilst
other British subjects acquire a subordinate em
pire in the finest provinces of India, which the
victorious troops of Alexander were unwilling to
attack. This outline of human transactions, as
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. XVU
far as it includes the limits of Asia, we can only
hope to fill up, to strengthen, and to colour by the
help of Asiatic literature ; for in history, as inlaw,
we must not follow streams when we may inves
tigate fountains, nor admit any secondary proof
where primary evidence is attainable: I should,
nevertheless, make a bad return for your indul
gent attention, were I to repeat a dry list of all
the Musselman histories whose works are pre
served in Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, or expa
tiate on the histories and medals of China and Ja
pan, which may in time be accessible to Mem
bers of our Society, and from which alone we can
expect information concerning the ancient state
of the Tartars; but on the history of India, which
we naturally consider as the centre of our inqui
ries, it may not be superfluous to present you with
a few particular observations.

Our knowledge of Civil Asiatic History (I al

ways except that of the Hebrews) exhibits a short
evening twilight in the venerable introduction to
the first book of Moses, followed by a gloomy
night, in which different watches are faintly dis
cernible, and at length we see a dawn succeeded
by a sun-rise, more or less early according to the
diversity of regions. That no Hindu nation, but
the Cashmirians, have left us regular histories in
Vol. IV. b
XViii OH ASIATIC HISTORY,
their ancient language, we must ever lament;
but from the Sanscrit literature, which our coun
try has the honour of having unveiled, we may
still collect some rays of historical truth, though
time and a series of revolutions have obscured
that light which we might reasonably have, ex
pected from so diligent and ingenious a people.
The numerous Puranas and Itihasas, or poems
mythological and heroic, are completely in our
power; and from them we msy recover some
disfigured but valuable pictures of ancient man
ners and governments ; Awhile the popular tales of
the Hindus, in prose and in verse, contain frag
ments ofhistory ; and even in their dramas we may
find as many real characters and events as a fu
ture age might find in our own plays, if all his
tories of England Avere, like those of India, to be
irrecoverably lost. For example, A most beau
tiful poem by Somadeva, comprising a \rery long

chain of instructive and agreeable stories, begins

Avith the famed revolution at Pataliputra, by the
murder of king Nanda Avith his eight sons, and
the usurpation of Chandragupta ; and the same
revolution is the subject of a tragedy in Sanscrit,
entitled the Coronation of Chandra, the abbre
viated name of that able and adventurous usurper.
From these once concealed, but noAv accessible
compositions, Ave are enabled to exhibit a more
3
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. Xix
accurate sketch of old Indian history than the
world has jet seen, especially with the aid of
well-attested observations on the places of the
colures. It is now clearly proved, that the first
Purana contains an account of the deluge ; be
tween which and the Mohammedan conquests
the history of genuine Hindu government must
of course be comprehended : but we know from
an arrangement of the seasons in the astronomi
cal work of Parasara, that the war of the Pandavas
could not have happened earlier than the close
of the twelfth century before Christ ; and Seleu-
cus must, therefore, have reigned about nine cen
turies after that war. Now the age of Vicrama-
ditya is given ; and, if We can fix on an Indian
prince contemporary with Seleucus, we shall have
three given points in the line of time between
Rama, or the first Indian colony, and Chandra-
bija, the last Hindu monarch, who reigned in
Behar ; so that only eight hundred or a thousand
years will remain almost wholly dark ; and they
must have been employed in raising empires or
states, in framing laws, improving languages and
arts, and in observing the apparent motions of
the celestial bodies. A Sanscrit history of the
celebrated Vicramaditya was inspected at Be
nares by a Pandit, who would not have deceived
me, and could not himself have been deceived ;
b 2
XX ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
but the owner of the book is dead, and his family
dispersed ; nor have my friends in that city been
able, with all their exertions^- to procure a copy
of it. As to the Mogul conquests, Avith which
modern Indian history begins, we have ample ac
counts of them in Persian, from Ali of Yezd,
and the translations of Turkish books composed
even by some of the conquerors, to Ghulam
Husain, whom many of us personally know,
and whose impartiality deserves the highest ap
plause, though his unrewarded merit will give
no encouragement to other contemporary his
torians, who, to use his own phrase in a let
ter to nrvself, may, like him, consider plain truth
as the beauty of historical composition. From
all these materials, and from these alone, a per
fect history of India (if a mere compilation, how
ever elegant, could deserve such a title) might be
collected by any studious man who had a compe
tent knowledge of Sanscrit, Persian, and Arabic ;
but even in the work of a writer so qualified, we
could only give absolute credence to the general
outline ; for, while the abstract sciences are all
truth, and the fine arts all fiction, we cannot
but own, that, in the details of history, truth
and fiction are so blended as to be scarce dis
tinguishable.
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. XXi
The practical use of history, in affording par
ticular examples of civil and military wisdom,
has been greatly exaggerated ; but principles of
action may certainly be collected from it ; and
even the narrative of wars and revolutions may
serve as a lesson to nations, and an admonition to
sovereigns. A desire, indeed, of knowing past
events, (while the future cannot be known, and a
view of the present gives often more pain than
delight,) seems natural to the human mind : and
a happy propensity would it be, if every reader of
history would open his eyes to some very im
portant corollaries, which flow from the whole
extent of it. He could not but remark the con
stant effect of despotism in benumbing and de
basing all those faculties which distinguish men
from the herd that grazes ; and to that cause he
would impute the decided inferiority of most
Asiatic nations, ancient and modern, to those in
Europe who are blest with happier governments ;
he would see the Arabs rising to glory, while
they adhered to the free maxims of their bold an
cestors, and sinking to misery from the moment
when those maxims were abandoned. On the
other hand, he would observe with regret, that
such republican governments as tend to produce
virtue and happiness, cannot in their nature be
permanent, but are generally succeeded by oligar
b3
XXli ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
chies, which no good man would wish to be dur
able. He would then, like the king of Lydia,
remember Solon, the Mdsest, bravest, and most
accomplished of men, who asserts in four nervous
lines, that " as hail and snow, which mar the
" labours of husbandmen, proceed from elevated
M clouds, and as the destructive thunderbolt fol-
" lows the brilliant flash, thus is a free state ruin-
" ed by men exalted in power and splendid in
" wealth, while the people, from gross ignorance,
" chuse rather to become the slaves of one tyrant,
" that they may escape from the domination
u of many, than to preserve themselves from ty-
ft ranny of any kind by their union and their vir-
" tues." Since, therefore, no unmixed form of
government could both deserve permanence and
enjoy it, and since changes, even from the worst
to the best, are always attended with much tem
porary mischief, he would fix on our British con
stitution (I mean our public law, not the actual
state of things in any given period) as the best
form ever established, though we can only make
distant approaches to its theoretical perfection.
In these Indian territories, which Providence has
thrown into the arms of Britain for their protec
tion and welfare, the religion, manners, and laws
of the natives preclude even the idea of political
freedom; but their histories may possibly suggest
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. Xxtii
hints for their prosperity, while our country derives
essential benefit from the diligence of a placid
and submissive people, who multiply with such
increase, even after the ravages of famine, that in
one collectorship out of twenty-four, and that by
no means the largest or best cultivated (I mean
Crishna-nagar) there have lately been found, by
an actual enumeration, a million and three hun
dred thousand native inhabitants; whence it
should seem, that in all India there cannot be
fewer than thirty millions of black British
subjects.

Let us proceed to geography, and chronology,

without which history would be no certain guide,
but would resemble a kindled vapour without
either a settled place or a steady light. For a
reason before intimated, I shall not name the va
rious cosmographical books which are extant in
Arabic and Persian, nor give an account of
those which the Turks have beautifully printed
in their own improved language, but shall expa
tiate a little on the geography and astronomy of
India; having first observed generally, that all the
Asiatic nations must be far better acquainted with
their several countries than mere European scho
lars and travellers; that, consequently, we must
learn their geography from their own writings :
b 4
XXIV . ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
and that, by collating many copies of the same
work, we may correct blunders of transcribers in
tables, names, and descriptions.

Geography, astronomy, and chronology have,

in this part of Asia, shared the fate of authentic
history; and, like that, have been so masked and
bedecked in the fantastic robes of mythology and
metaphor, that the real system of India n philoso
phers and mathematicians can scarce be distin
guished : an accurate knowledge of Sanscrit and
a confidential intercourse with learned Brahmins,
are the only means of separating truth from fable;
and we may expect the most important discoveries
from two of our members; concerning whom it
may be safely asserted, that if our Society should
have produced no other advantage than the invi
tation given to them for the public display of
their talents, we should have a claim to the thanks
of our country and of all Europe. Lieutenant
Wilford has exhibited an interesting specimen of
the geographical knowledge deducible from the
Puranas, and will in time present you with so
complete a treatise on the ancient world known
to the Hindus, that the light acquired by the
Greeks will appear but a glimmering in compa
rison of that which he will diffuse; while Mr.
Davis, who has given us a distinct idea of Indian
 .

CIVIL AND NATURAL. XXV

computations and Cycles, and ascertained the
place of thecolures at a time of great importance
in history, will hereafter disclose the systems of
Hindu astronomers, from Nared and Parasar to
Meya, Varahamihir, and Bhascar ; and will soon,
I trust, lay before you a perfect delineation of all
the Indian asterisms in both hemispheres, where
you will perceive so strong a general resemblance
to the constellations of the Greeks, as to prove
that the two s\Tstems were originally one and the

same, yet with such a diversity in parts, as to

show incontestibly, that neither system was co
pied from the other; whence it will follow, that
they must have had some common source.

The jurisprudence of the Hindus and Arabs

being the field which I have chosen for my pecu
liar toil, you cannot expect that I should greatly
enlargeyour collection ofhistorical knowledge; but
I may be able to offer you some occasional tribute ;
and I cannot help mentioning a discovery which
accident threw in my way, though my proofs
must be reserved for an essay which I have destined
for the fourth volume of your Transactions. To
fix the situation of that Palybothra (for there may
have been several of the name) which was visited
and described by Megasthencs, had always ap
peared a very difficult problem ; for though it
 XXvi ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
could not have been Prayaga, where no ancient
metropolis ever stood, norCanyacubja, which has
no epithet at all resembling the word used by the
Greeks ; nor Gaur, otherwise called Lacshmana-
vati, which all know to be a toAvn comparatively
modern, yet we could not confidently decide that
it was Pataliputra, though names and most cir
cumstances nearly correspond, because that re
nowned capital extended from the confluence of
the Sone and the Ganges to the scite of Patna,
while Palibothra stood at the junction of the
G anges and Erannoboas, which the accurate M.
D'Anville had pronounced to be the Yamuna;
but this only difficulty was removed, when I
found ina classical Sanscrit book, near2000years
old, that Hiranyabahu, or golden-armed, which
the Greeks changed into Erannoboas, or the river
with a lovely murmur, was in fact another name
for the Sona itself; though Megasthenes, from
ignorance or inattention, has named them sepa-
rateljr. This discovery led to another of greater
moment; for Chandragupta, who, from a mili
tary adventurer, became, like Sandracottus, the
. sovereign of Upper Hindostan, actually fixed the
seat of his empire at Pataliputra, where he receiv
ed ambassadors from foreign princes; and was no
other than that very Sandracottus who concluded
a treaty with Seleucus Nicator; so that we have
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. XXVU
solved another problem, to which we before al
luded, and may in round numbers consider the
twelve and three hundredth years before Christ,
as two certain epochs between Rama, who con
quered Silan a few centuries after the flood, and
Vicramaditya, who died at Ujjayini fifty-seven
years before the beginning of our era.

II. Since these discussions would lead us too

far, I proceed to the History of Nature, distin
guished, for our present purpose, from that of
Man; and divided into that of other animals
who inhabit this globe, of the mineral substances
which it contains, and of the vegetables which
so luxuriantly and so beautifully adorn it.

1. Could the figure, instincts, and qualities ot

birds, beasts, insects, reptiles, and fishes, be ascer
tained, either on the plan of Buffon,or on that of
Linnams, without giving pain to the objects of
our examination, few studies would afford us
more solid instruction, or more exquisite delight;
but I never could learn by what right, nor con
ceive with what feelings a naturalist can occasion
the misery of an innocent bird, and leave its
young, perhaps, to perish in a cold nest, because
it has gay plumage, and has never been accurately
delineated; or deprive even a butterfly of its na
tural enjoyments, because it has the misfortune
XXviii ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
to be rare or beautiful; nor shall lever forget the
couplet of Firdausi, for which Sadi, who cites it
with applause, pours blessings on his departed
spirit:—

Ah ! spare yon emmet, rich in hoarded grain ;

He lives with pleasure, and he dies with pain.

This may be only a confession ofweakness, and

it certainly is not meant as a boast of peculiar
sensibility ; but whatever name may be given to
my opinion, it has such an effect on my conduct,
that I never would suffer the Cocila, whose wild
native wood-notes announce the approach of
spring, to be caught in my garden, for the sake
of comparing it with Buffon's description ; though
I have often examined the domestic and engaging
Mayana, which bids us good-morrow at our win
dows, and expects, as its reward, little more than
security : even when a fine young Manis or Pan
golin was brought me, against my wish, from the
mountains, I solicited his restoration to his belov
ed rocks, because I found it impossible to preserve
him in comfort at a distance from them. There
are several treatises on Animals in Arabic, and ver}T

particular accounts of them in Chinese, with ele

gant outlines of their external appearance ; but I
met with nothing valuable concerning them in
Persian, except what may be gleaned from the
medical dictionaries; nor have I yet seen a book
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. Xxix
in Sanscrit that expressly treats of them. On the
whole, though rare animals may be found in all
Asia, yet I can only recommend an examination
of them with this condition, that they be left, as
much as possible, in a state of natural freedom ;
or made as happy as possible, if it be necessary
to keep them confined.

2. The History of Minerals, to which no such

objection can be made, is extremely simple and
easy, if we merely consider their exterior look
and configuration, and their visible texture ; but
the analysis of their internal properties belongs
particularly to the sublime researches of Chemis
try, on which we may hope to find useful disqui
sitions in Sanscrit, since the old Hindus unques
tionably applied themselves to that enchanting
study : and even from their treatises on alchemy
we may possibly collect the results of actual ex
periment, as their ancient astrological works have
preserved many valuable facts relating to the
Indian sphere and the precession of the equinox.
Both in Persian and Sanscrit, there are books on
metals and minerals, particularly on gems, which
the Hindu philosophers considered (with an ex
ception of the diamond) as varieties of one crys
talline substance, either simple or compound :
but we must not expect from the chemists of
Asia those beautiful examples of analysis which
XXX ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
have but lately been displayed in the labora
tories of Europe.

3. We now come to Botany, the loveliest and

most copious division in the history of nature;
and all disputes on the comparative merit of sys
tems being at length, I hope, condemned to one
perpetual night of undisturbed slumber, we can
not employ our leisure more delightfully than in
describing all new Asiatic plants in the Linnaean
style and method, or in correcting the descriptions
of those already known, but of which dry speci
mens onljr, or drawings, can have been seen by
most European botanists. In this part of natural
history we have an ample field yet unexplored ;
for, though many plants of Arabia have been
made known by Garcias, Prosper Alpinus, and
Forskoel; of Persia, by Garcin; of Tartary, by
Gmelin and Pallas; of China and Japan, by
Kcempfer, Osbeck, and Thunberg ; of India, by
RheedeandRumphius, the two Burmans,andthe
much lamented Koenig, yet none of those natura
lists were deeply versed in the literature of the
several countries from which their vegetable trea
sures had been procured; and the numerous
works in Sanscrit on medical substances, and
chiefly on plants, have never been inspected, or
never at least understood, by any European at
tached to the study of nature. Until the gar
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. XXXI
den of the India Company shall be fully stored
(as it will be, no doubt, in due time) with Ara
bian, Persian, and Chinese plants, we may well
be satisfied with examining the native flowers of
our own provinces ; but unless we can discover
the Sanscrit names of all celebrated vegetables,
we shall neither comprehend the allusions which
Indian Poets perpetually make to them, nor
(what is far worse) be able to find accounts of
their tried virtues in the writings of Indian phy
sicians ; and (what is worst of all) we shall miss
an opportunity, which never again may present
itself; for the Pandits themselves have almost
wholly forgotten their ancient appellations of
particular plants; and, with all my pains, I have
not yet ascertained more than two hundred out
of twice that number, which are named in their
medical or poetical compositions. It is much to
be deplored, that the illustrious Van Rheede had
no acquaintance with Sanscrit, which even his
three Brahmins, who composed the short preface
engraved in that language, appear to have under
stood very imperfectly, and certainly wrote with
disgraceful inaccuracy. In all his twelve volumes
I recollect only Bunarnava, in which the Nagari
letters are tolerably right; the Hindu words in
Arabian characters shamefully incorrect; and
the Malabar, I am credibly informed, is as bad
XXxii ON ASIATIC HISTORr,
as the rest. His delineations, indeed, are in
general excellent; and though Linnaeus himself
could not extract from his written descriptions
the natural character of every plant in the col
lection, yet we shall be able, I hope, to describe
them all from the life, and to add a considerable
number of new species, if not of new genera,
which Reede, with all his noble exertions could
never procure. Such of our learned members
as profess medicine, will, no doubt, cheerfully
assist in these researches, either by their own
observations, when they have leisure to make
any, or by communications from other observers
among their acquaintance, who may reside in
different parts of the country: and the mention
of their art leads me to the various uses of na
tural substances, in the three kingdoms or classes
to which they are generally reduced.

III. You cannot but have remarked, that al

most all the sciences, as the French call them,
which are distinguished by Greek names, and ar
ranged under the head of Philosophy, belong for
the most part to History; such as philology, che
mistry, physic, anatomy, and even metaphysics,
when we barely relate the phenomena of the
human mind; for, in all branches of knowledge,
we are only historians when we announce facts ;
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. XXXiii
and philosophers only when we reason on them:
the same may be confidently said of law and of
medicine, the first of which belongs principally
to civil, and the second chiefly to Natural History.
Here, therefore, I speak of medicine as far 01113'
as it is grounded on experiment; and, without
believing implicitly what Arabs^ Persians, Chi-
nese^ or Hindus may have written on the virtues
of medicinal subjects, we may, surely, hope to
find in their writings what our own experiments
may confirm or disprove, and what might never
have occurred to us without such intimations.

Europeans enumerate more than two hundred

and fifty mechanical arts, by which the produc
tions of nature may be variously prepared for th£
convenience and ornament of life ; and> though
the Silpasastra reduces them to sixty-four, yet
Abulfazl had been assured that the1 Hindus reck
oned three hundred arts and sciences : riow, their
sciences being comparatively few., we may con
clude that they anciently practised at least as
many useful arts as ourselves. Several Pandits
have informed me, that the treatises on art, which
they call Upavedas, and believe to have been in
spired* are not so entirely lost but that considerable
fragments of them may be found at Benares; and
they certainly possess- rriafly popular, but ancient
Vol. IV. c
XXXlV ON ASIATIC HISTORY,
works on that interesting subject. The manu
factures of sugar and indigo have been well
known in these provinces for more than two
thousand years ; and we cannot entertain a
doubt that their Sanscrit books on dyeing and
metallurgy, contain very curious facts, which
might, indeed, be discovered by accident, in a
long course of years, but which we may soon
bring to light, by the help of Indian literature,
for the benefit of manufacturers and artists, and
consequently of our nation, who are interested
in their prosperity, Piscoveries of the same
kind might be collected from the writings of
other Asiatic nations, especially of the Chinese ;
but, though Persian, Arabic, Turkish, and San
scrit, are languages now so accessible, that, in
order to attain a sufficient knowledge of them,
little more seems required than a strong inclina
tion to learn them, yet the supposed number and
intricacy of the Chinese characters have deterred
our most diligent students from attempting to
find their way through so vast a labyrinth. It
is certain, however, that the difficulty has been
magnified beyond the truth; for the perspicu
ous grammar by M. Fourmont, together with a
copious dictionary, which I possess, in Chinese
and Latin, would enable any man who pleased,
tQ compare the original works of Confucius,
 CIVIL AND NATURAL. XXXV
which are easily procured, Avith the literal trans
lation of them by Couplet; and having made
that first step with attention, he would probably
find, that he had traversed at least half of his ca
reer. But I should be led beyond the limits as
signed to me on this occasion, if I were to ex
patiate farther on the historical division of the
knowledge comprised in the literature of Asia;
and I must postpone till next year my remarks
on Asiatic Philosophy, and on those arts which
depend on imagination; promising you with
confidence, that in the course of the present
year your inquiries into the civil and natural
history of the eastern world, will be greatly
promoted by the learned labours of many
among our associates and correspondents.
 ASIATIC RESEARCHES.

ON

THREE NATURAL PRODUCTIONS

or

SUMATRA,

feY JOHN MACDONALD, ESQ.

• ON THE CAMPHOR OF SUMATRA.

..i
IN answer to some questions put to me by the Pre
sident of the Asiatic Society respecting camphor-
oil, I have the pleasure of giving the solution con
tained in the following short account :—Camphor-oil,
one of the essential oils, is actually camphor, before
the operations of nature on it have reduced it to the
concrete form in which it is found in the tree. When
Mr. Marsden composed his justly-admired History
of Sumatra^ the prevalent opinion on this subject
was, that the oil and the concreted camphor were
never found in the same tree. I have the authority
of a gentleman, Lieutenant Lewis, well informed
on this subject, from a residence of many years in
the country producing the camphor, to differ from
that generally accurate author, by saying, that he
has seen a tree three quarters of a mile from the sea,
near Tappanoolly, from which three catties (above
Vol. IV. B
2 ON THE CAMPHOR
three pounds) of camphor, and at the same time,
near two gallons of oil, had been procured. If a tree
be old, and yield oil plentifully, the natives esteem
these two circumstances sure indications of its con
taining a considerable quantity of camphor. Mr.
Macquer, in his chemical dictionary, has remarked,
that the nitrous acid dissolves camphor without com
motion, that the solution is clear and limpid, and
that it is called Camphor-Oil. This affords a proof
that the formed camphor is produced from the oil by
a natural operation of composition, the decomposition
by means of the above solvent reducing the substance
to its primary state, previous to concretion. The
Achinese are reckoned the best judges of camphor ;
and the oil they collect undergoes a process by di
stillation, leaving a residuum of inferior camphor.
Trees of a certain age only yield camphor. It would
seem that a certain time is requisite for maturing the
oil to that state, when its contained camphor becomes
fit for being concreted by the heat of the sun acting
on the tree and soil. The camphor-tree is one of the
Enneandria Monogynia of Linnaws, and differs in a
small variation in the form of the leaf, from the Arbor
Camphorifera Japonica, foliis laurinis, fructu parvo,
calyce brevissimo. The tree very much resembles the
Bay in leaves. The trunk is thick ; the bark of a
brownish appearance ; and the ramification strong,
close, and extended. It is fond of a rich red loam,
tending to a blackish clay, mixed with a crumbling
stone of the colour of marl. It grows principally
on the N. W. side of Sumatra, from the line 3° N.
nearly. The wood is useful for domestic purposes,
being soft and easily worked. It is by many imagin
ed, that camphor is produced by a chemical process.
This is a mistaken idea, farther than regards the in
ferior kind arising from the distillation of the oil. I
shall give a brief account of the mode of obtaining and
 OF SUMATRA. £
preparing it, as practised by the natives of Sumatra,
from the time of the establishment of the English on
the island. The Sumatrans, previous to their setting
out in quest of camphor, assemble on the confines ox
the country they intend exploring, and discharge a
variety of religious duties and ceremonies, calculated,
in their opinion, to promote the future success of their
undertaking. They enter the woods, and, from ex
perience, soon distinguish such trees as contain cam
phor. They pierce them ; and if they yield oil plen
tifully, it is presumed they contain concreted cam
phor, which is found in small whitish flakes, situated
perpendicularly, in irregular veins, in and near the
centres of the trees. The tree is cut down, divided
into junks, and carefully divested of its camphor.
When the oil has been drawn off from young trees,
the camphor which they afterwards afford, is of a
less valuable nature, and is termed belly or foot cam-
phor, in proportion to the degree of affinity it bears
to head, or the best sort. When brought for sale, it
is repeatedly soaked and washed in soapy water, to se
parate from it all heterogeneous and sandy particles
that may have adhered to it. When clean, it will
sink in water, and be of a white, glossy, smooth ap
pearance, tending to transparency. After it has been
washed, it is passed through three sieves of differing
textures, so as to be divided into head, belly, and foot
camphor : certain proportions of each compose the
chests made up for the China market, where they are
sold for 3501. sterling, nearly. The capoor* (a word
of Arabic origin) matee, or dead camphor, is carefully
separated from the three divisions, by an acuteness of
distinction, acquired by the eye and hand from habit
and attention, and, being mixed with the imperfect
. i i i . i .i —
* C&fur in Arabic, and Carpura in Sanscrit',
B2
4 ON THE CAMPHOR
kind mentioned above, is pounded in a mortar, and
distributed among proportional quantities of foot cam
phor. This capoor-matee is sometimes procured by
boiling down the thickest part of the oil, or by taking
the sediment of the best oil, after it has settled, at
least twenty-four hours. Camphor-oil is found to be
a sovereign remedy for strains, bruises, and other ex
ternal pains, from its penetrating quality in entering
the pores, and gently agitating the affected parts,
so as to quicken the stagnated circulation. The in
ternal, anodyne and diaphoretic, and the external,
antispasmodic and sedative virtues of camphor are
well known. The oil is found to possess these in a
certain degree, and to be useful in removing the
painful spasms of the nerves and tendons, by dissipat
ing the surrounding acrid humours. When the oil is
used, it must be formed into a liniment, as it would
alone occasion pain from its strength. The oil ap
plied to sores on horses has been found very bene
ficial. In this case it ought to be mixed with the
juice of the tobacco. Sumatra affords annually from
fifteen to twenty peculs (of 1 33f pounds each) of cam
phor, and more oil than there is at present a demand
for. The Chinese purchase it ; and it is not clearly
ascertained whether they use it all in China, or make
a factitious species of it, by admixture of Japanese
camphor, for the Europe market : the latter is ge
nerally supposed. It is highly probable, that the
price of camphor will, in process of time, rise to an
enormous degree, as one tree in three hundred is not
found to contain camphor, and, when found, is im
mediately cut down ; in consequence of which, the
plant must soon become scarce, and the produce pro-
portionably dear. It is to be hoped that the oil will,
m this event, be found by the faculty to possess all the
useful qualities of this valuable medicine. I have the
satisfaction of accompanying this paper with a speci-
i 2
 OF SUMATRA. 5
men, though a small one, of the camphor-wood, with
a small quantity of the substance in it, the rest having
evaporated from length of time. If this account
should afford any information to the President and
Members of the Asiatic Society, my intention will be
fully answered.

B3
 7

ON

THE CORAL

OP

SUMATRA.

IF this paper should be deemed worthy of a place in

the Transactions of' the Asiatic Society, the inser
tion I must still consider as an indulgence, and my
attempt, a proof that I am more anxious than able, to
increase the general stock of Eastern natural know
ledge, recorded in the useful annals of the Society.
Specimens of coral, for your acceptance, and for the
illustration of this subject, are now forwarded.

The appearance of Sumatran coral does not alto

gether correspond with the descriptions of the plant
hitherto given*. This induces me to describe such
parts as are imperfectly represented. The plant, to
which the various species of coral belong, is one of
the Cryptogamiat of Linnceus, and may be reckoned
one of the Herbce Marina; of Tourneforte ; of the Herbce
imperfecta; of Mr. Ray. It may be reduced to three
colours, red, black, and whitish-yellow : the last is
the most common in the Eastern seas. It is of a
fungous texture, equally hard out of and in its natu
ral element ; and its pores are charged with a juice of
a miiky appearance, in some degree acrid. The

* See the remark at the end of this paper.

B4

I
 8 ON THE CORAL
bark covers every part of the tree, and contains a
number of perforated papilla terminating in tubes,
having two or more holes in each, intended, I ima
gine, for the admission of the matter affording nutria
ment to the plant. The internal projections of the
papilla adhere to the particles of sand and stone on
which the coral grows, and are the only appearance
of roots it exhibits, On examining the internal ex
tremities of these papillce by means of glasses, some
very small ramifications are discovered. These are
very easily observed in the papillce, which are attach
ed to the bark of the root. The tree is said to grow
to the height of two feet: I have seen some as high
as ten feet. From these and other differences in ap
pearance, I am apt to think that some European and In
dian corals are not the same, but species of the same
genus. From the very rapid growth of coral on the
west coast of Sumatra, and in the Eastern seas in ge
neral, as will be shown in this paper, there can
subsist but little doubt that it is a vegetable sub
stance; though there have not been wanting some
who have supposed it a fossil formed like crystals and
, spars ; and others, eminent naturalists, who have
ranked it among the animal tribes. Boccone disco
vered that this plant encloses a nutritious juice under
its bark : and Count Marsigli remarked and observ
ed its flowers and seeds. I shall here insert Mar-
siglis accurate experiment, which affords the deci
sion of almost absolute demonstration in favour of coral
being a vegetating plant. " Having steeped some
coral, fresh-gathered, in sea-water, he perceived, in a
short time, that the little ruddy tubercles which ap
peared on the surface of the bark, began gradually to
unfold, and at length opened into white flowers
in the form of stars with eight points, which were
sustained by a little calyx, divided, in like manner,
into eight parts. Upon taking the coral out of the
water, the flowers immediately closed, and returned
 OF SUMATRA. 9
into red tubercles as before ; which tubercles, being
closely squeezed, yielded a sort of milky juice : and
upon returning the coral into the water as before, the
tubercles, in an hour's time, opened, or flowered
afresh ; and this was continued for six or eight days,
when the buds, or tubercles, ceased to blow any
more. In ten or twelve days they became detached
from the coral, and sunk to the bottom, in form of
little yellow balls. These tubercles then, according
to the analogy of plants, should be the flowers of
coral ; and the milky viscid juice contained therein
the pollen. Accordingly it is held, that when this
juice falls on a properly-disposed body or nidus, a
new coral arises therefrom; and the analysis of coral
answers precisely to that of other sea-plants, all of
them affording a volatile urinous salt, and a thick
blackish fetid oil."—Elementa Chemiae of Boer-
haave, page 135, Note, vol. 1. & Mem. de l'Acad.
An. 1703.

Whether, after all, the striated papillce, Which are

of a stellar figure, and the two or more apertures
of which are divided, generally, into twelve parts,
contain an animal whose labour produces the growth
of the coral, or who inhabits the coral for its own im
mediate satisfaction, is a question that has been much
agitated, without affording any certain conclusions.
Monsieur de Peyssonnel, after having inquired into,
and discussed, the various arguments for and against
coral's being a petrification or a congelation, con
cludes that it is the work of an insect, which he de
nominates an Urtica, Purpura, or Polype, that con
tracts in air, expands in water, and is sensible to the
touch, or the action of an acid. From Marsigtis
experiment, as recited above, I think we may safely
conclude, that Peyssotwel mistook the matter, and
supposed a flower an insect; for it is well known
that many flowers, on being plunged into an acid, will
10 ON THE CORAL
exhibit signs of contraction and movement. We ob
serve many growing substances, which are inhabited
by animals, or insects, merely for their convenience,
and not to promote the growth of such substances,
which they very frequently, on the contrary, retard.
If an animal can be supposed to produce such im
mense bodies of this substance, as I shall have occa
sion to mention, whence does it derive the prodigious
degree of nutriment requisite for the purpose, as it is
not found that it quits the centre of its striated habi
tation ? why do not these vermiculi marini leave cells
behind them, as they advance the growth of the
coral? We find none, but, on the contrary, the
surface uniformly smooth and even. As for the ex
ternal cells, they are the channels that convey nou
rishment, and correspond to the fibres of plants. It
must remain, however, in some degree, a doubt,
whether these marine productions are zoophytes,
produced by the labour of animals, or whether
they are produced on a vegetating principle. It
will be difficult to bring this matter to the test of
modern natural philosophy, viz. experiment : but till
such can be made, opinions must be various, though
the majority, and apparently (from Marsiglis ex
periment) the best founded, incline to the belief of
corals being produced by vegetation. Having slight
ly reviewed both sides of this curious question, and
having hazarded my Own opinion, which can be of
little weight, I come now to the intention of trou
bling the Asiatic Society with these remarks, imper
fect as they must appear.

The production of islands, on the west coast of

Sumatra, by the very rapid increase of this wonderful
plant, is a remarkable effect of the operations of
nature, hitherto unrecorded in the annals of natural
philosophy. Mr. Dalrymple alone has alleged , a
fact, to which this account will add the weight of
 OF SUMATRA. 11
convincing testimony. In the year 1784, I was di
rected to survey the coast of the Dutch districts on
the west side of the island of Sumatra. During the
course of this survey, I had occasion to lay down on
my charts several shoals, consisting of branched
coral, sand, and such heterogeneous matter as they
will resist and incorporate with themselves, when
impelled against them by the action of the seas,
winds, tide, or currents. The surfaces of these shoals
were at various depths, from one foot to three or
more fathoms. They are of a conical form, the
base, in proportion to the axis, being small. The
shape gives them, in general, the appearance of
trees of that figure, such as the poplar, &c. One
of the shoals I visited, to the south-west of Poofoo
Pinang, near Padang, was at that time covered
by two feet and an half of water, and could not be
distinguished by vessels passing at some distance, but
at such times as the winds produced a swell or agita
tion on it. I passed along this part of the coast in
February, 1789, very close to this shoal, just four
years and seven months after the period at which the
survey had been taken ; and was not a little astonished
to observe a small sandy island, about ten yards in
diameter, having a few bushes growing on it, formed
on the top of the shoal, which lies nearly in thirtv-
seven fathoms of water. I could not mistake the
shoal, as there was no other contiguous to it, and as
my chart, by which I suggested the safest course to
run in, then lay before me. In May and September
17&9, I had an opportunity, in going to and returning
from Tappanoolly-haibom "(which I had been directed
to survey) to be again on several of the shoals includ
ed in my chart of the coasts of the Dutch districts,
and, according to my expectations, found the depth
of the water on them considerably diminished since
the survey had been taken. In March 1790, I was
sent for by a gentleman at Fort Marlborough, whoso
 12 OX THE CORAL
house commanded a view of the sea, to observe the
water breaking on two shoals in the roads. This
gentleman had resided on the coast near fifteen years,
and frequently in this house, without having observ
ed these shoals, which, had they appeared at any
former period, must have been remarked, their situ
ation being clearly and distinctly exposed to the daily
and immediate observation of the settlement. At
the distance of seven miles from Fort Marlborough,.
nearly in a south-west direction, there is a small
island, having a few cocoa-nut trees in it. Thirty
miles (or it may be twenty-five) distant from this
island, one of the northern pepper settlements is situ
ated on a rising ground. The gentleman residing
there has informed me, that he has always been able
to distinguish the masts of vessels lying at anchor near
this island, and that he lately twice distinctly, in the
proper bearing, observed the trees of the island : but
that, afterwards, from hazy weather, or some other
affection of the atmosphere, he could not perceive the
island, or rather the trees on it. Former residents
of Laye, the place of observation, have, in vain,
when using the best glasses, looked for this island,
invisible till lately. Such are the stubborn facts
which may be adduced in proof, not only of the very
rapid growth of coral, but also of the formation of
islands from it, as a necessary and observed con
sequence. The growth of coral alone may not pro
duce this effect : other aiding circumstances may in
tervene. Boccone and Marsigli have remarked,
that, when coral meets with stones, coarse sand,
or any other substances, it seizes them firmly, and
speedily includes them within a strong extension of
its close ramifications. These collections in seas,
subject to frequent storms and agitations, must be con
siderable, and promote, in no small degree, the ele
vation of islands. Earthquakes are very frequently
felt on this island, and on the contiguous ones. Se
 OF SUMATRA. 13
veral shocks are sometimes experienced during the
course of a month. It is observable that this tremen
dous phenomenon, in its progress, undulates the space
it moves, or travels, under; and that the concave parts
of these undulations open into fissures when the
motion is violent. It is not improbable but that
such openings take place under shoals, or immediate
ly contiguous to them. In this case, to preserve the
equilibrium, it seems reasonable to suppose that the
surrounding sand and substances will rush in, hurried
along by the general movement, in a greater quan
tity, from the degree of momentum impelling them,
than what occupied the space of the fissure when at
rest. These hiatus take place only on the side of
the undulation from which the earthquake proceeds :
and the sand on that side, now inclining to rest, after
having experienced the shock, but still possessing a
tendency to move in the direction of the earthquake,
will naturally fall into the hiatus opened for its re
ception, before the undulation can reverberate into
its original position. Hence the shoal, or island,
will be in some degree raised, by an effect similar to
that of a lever, though by different means. These
islands and shoals, being further removed than other
parts exposed to the shock, from the subterraneous
or submarine crannies or channels in which the earth
quake acts, will, of course, resist its action more
than parts possessing less incumbent weight. The
undulations will, therefore, meet with more resist
ance, and deposit a greater quantity of sand than in
situations resisting less. In the formation of islands
from coral and sand, as soon as the sand appears
above the surface of the water, birds carry roots and
various seeds attached to them, for the construction
of nests : hence the speedy appearance of bushes and
trees. Instead of supposing with some, that the
numerous islands on this coast have been formed by
the violent commotions of nature, occasioned by
14 ON THE CORAL
earthquakes, which separated them from the con
tinent, it is more reasonable to suppose their for
mation on the above principles, and chiefly by
coral ; more especially, when we consider, that the
depth of water between many of these islands and
Sumatra, is unfathomable. The numerous clusters
of islands in the eastern seas, from 36 to 16 degrees
east longitude, are all supported by bases of coral,
and surrounded by shoals emerging from the surface,
or pushing their conical frusta into a new element.
Experience has ascertained the formation of islands
from coral : it is not altogether conjecture to suppose,
that various groups of islands, in the great Eastern
Archipelago, will, in process of time, become con
tinents, or insular tracks or spaces of land. On the
coast of Coromandel, in the immediate front of Madras,
exposed anchorage has produced, and produces an
nually, lamentable accidents, attended with much
public detriment. The position of a sheltering island
in that situation would be an object of national be
nefit, and private safety and advantage. To attempt
to effect this, a considerable quantity of coral might
be transported from this coast, at no great expense,
and sunk, with stones and other substances, in seven,
eight, or eleven fathoms of water. In the course,
probably, of forty or fifty years, an island might be
formed by the growth of this substance. This is a
long period to look forward to for the benefit of fu
turity ; but from what I have, from my own obser
vation, inserted in this paper, I am convinced of the
practicability and success of a scheme, which many
will treat as chimerical and visionary, while others,
more thinking, will see the utility of the design and
probability of success; but will be deterred by the
difficulty and tediousness which would attend the
execution.
 OF SUMATRA. 15

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT.

It seems at length to be settled among naturalists,

that corals and corallines are the cretaceous habita
tions of animals, and one of the links in the great
chain of nature. The idea of making islands for the
protection of ships at anchor, is very sublime ; but it
might be feared, that very dangerous reefs of coral
would be formed, before an isle could appear above
the water : an artificial embankment of coral might,
perhaps, on some coasts, be a powerful barrier against
an encroachment of the sea.
 17

OK

THE COPPER OF SUMATRA.

I HAVE the satisfaction of laying before the

Asiatic Society a specimen of copper-ore, the
production of the island of Sumatra. It is found on
and in the hills of Mucchy near the sea, between
Annalaboo and Soossoo, to the north extreme of our
English settlement of Tappanooly. The soil, which
generates the ore is a mixed loam, consisting of clay,
small stones, and red sand, founded on an under
soil of soft rock, intersected with veins of this useful
substance. The space affording the ore is consider
able ; extending above a degree in length, and fur
ther east, or into the country, than has been yet
ascertained. A considerable quantity of ore is an
nually collected on the surface of the hills ; to which
the indolence or ignorance of the inhabitants, at
present, confines their search. Its being found on
the surface, may probably be ascribed to the efforts
of earthquakes, which are very prevalent on this
coast, and over the island in general. The natives,
from inexperience, are incapable of conducting a
mine, and pursuing a metallic vein. They are
content with excavating the ore, till their labour is
interrupted by the flowing of the water, which soon
takes place in a country subject to heavy rains
throughout the year. As many of these veins
widen as far as they have yet been traced, it is more
Vol. IV. C
18 ON THE COPPER
than probable that these hills contain inexhaustible
mines of this metal. The ore, by repeated smelt-
ings, and other operations to free it from its sulphur,
has been reduced to a metal, and then found to in
clude a considerable proportion of gold. As no part
of the world contains a greater quantity of this
latter metal than Sumatra, in proportion to the area
it occupies on the globe, it is probable that the dis
covery of gold mines would attend the establishment
of copper ones in the hills of Annalaboo. This is
so much the more probable, as metalline stones, of
various kinds, and which the Malays regard as sure
Indications of a soil affording gold, are found on
these hills ; independently of the consideration, that
gold-dust is collected in the immediate neighbour
hood, and in the interior country, contiguous to the
hills yielding the copper-ore. It is singular, that the
same method of rough smelting, which is practised
at Goslaw in Germany, should be in use among the
uncivilized inhabitants of Sumatra. The Sumatran
method possesses more ingenuity, and is, at the same
time, more simple. An undemonstrated knowledge
of the plainest and most obvious principles of
science, is congenial to the most rude as well as to
the most civilized conceptions ; and the advantages
which the talents of born genius have conferred on
Europe, are by no means a conclusive proof of
the inferiority of intellect which the fortunate in
habitants of Europe liberally bestow on their less
enlightened brethren of the East and West. That
" time and chance happen unto all things under the
sun," is a truth that amounts to a voluminous dis
quisition on this subject. But to return. The ore-
gatherers chuse a level spot of hard clay, which
they divide into equidistant points, by lines inter
secting each other, and laid off equally on two sides
of a square. These points, included in the square
space, they surround with circles, of which the
 OF SUMATRA. 19
points are the centres. The circles are inverted
bases of cones, excavated to receive the fused
metal. The smelting space is now covered with
Avood, charcoal, and other combustible matters;
and the ore is distributed among these admixtures.
The melted ore is received into the formed holes,
leaving the scoria? or recrement above. The metal,
still requiring many smeltings to render it fit for
Use, or perfectly malleable and ductile, is taken out
in the form of pointed Cakes, and sold for twenty
Spanish dollars per pecul, or five pounds sterling for
133$ pounds avoirdupois weight. The natives are
particularly careful in preventing accidents; for, pre
viously to fusing the ore, they heat the ground to a
great degree, in order that all the water near the '
surface may be absorbed, or made to exhale ; having
experienced, I imagine, that copper when in a state
of fusion, meeting the smallest quantity of water,
will fly in all directions, with a force destructive of
every vulnerable substance within the sphere of its
action. I have been informed, that the metal has
been eliquated at Madras lately, and found to con
tain very little appearance of any other but of gold.
The usual solvents, aquafortis, aqua regia, and spi
rit of salts, readily dissolve the Sumatran copper.
A deep green solution is produced in a very short
time, by the action of the weaker acids on the rough
ore. The above method of smelting will separate all
coarse, mineral, and heterogeneous substances from
the metal ; but will still leave it strongly impregnated
with its peculiar mineral earth. The detaching of
this mineral earth is the most difficult and expensive
operation attending the refinement and purification
of copper; it being frequently necessary to add a
proportion of another metal to effect it. This con
sideration will, probably, prevent a private company
from applying for public permission to work these
mines; and, therefore, they must remain in their
C 2
20 ON THE COPPER OF SUMATRA.
present state, unless the East India Company will
order the experiment to be made, from the reports
and opinions of such as may be qualified to give them,
on so interesting a subject. By submitting this short
account to the gentlemen Of our Society, whose useful
researches will, I hope, produce permanent national
benefit, by advancing the knowledge of nature, of
science, and of literature, opinions properly weighed
will be diffused among the public, of the advantages
that may result from an establishment for working
copper-mines on the west coast of Sumatra.
 21

ON

THE PLANT MORINDA,

AND ITS USES.

BY WILLIAM HUNTER, ESQ.

ALTHOUGH the plant, which is the subject of

this essay, be not a new species, yet, as it is
cultivated to a great extent in Malava, and forms an
important branch of the commerce of that province, I
hope a particular description of it, with some account
of its culture and use, will not be unacceptable to the
Asiatic Society,

It is the Morinda of Linnceus: It belongs to the

order Pentandria Monogynia in his system, and is re
ferred by him to the natural order of Aggregate.
Here (though it may seem a digression from the
subject) I cannot help observing, that Linn&us is
not altogether consistent in the distinction, which he
endeavours to establish, between the aggregates (pro
perly so called) and the compound flowers. In his
Philosophic, Botanica, \ 116, he defines a compound
flower to be " that which has a broad entire re*
" ceptacle, and sessile florets ;" and an aggregatai
flower, " that which has a broad receptacle, and
florets supported on peduncles." According to these
definitions, the Morinda ought to be placed among
the compound flowers; but in the following section,
C 3
 22 ON THE PLANT MORINDA,
Linnteus makes the essential character of the compound
flowers to consist in having all the anthers united :
thus restricting it to his class of Syngenesia. This
not only excludes the Morinda, but ought perhaps to
have, strictly speaking, excluded the Kuhnia, Iva, and
Ambrosia; and even, allowing the approximated an
thers in these genera to come within the meaning of
the definition, it seems unaccountable that the Nau-
clea*, which appears so well entitled to a place in
one of these orders, should be excluded from both.

The Aal is a tree of middling size ; the root

branchy; the trunk columnar, erect, covered with a
scabrous bark.

Branches from the upper part of the trunk, scattered ;

of the structure of the trunk.
Leaves (seminal) oval, obtuse, entire.
(mature) opposite, decussated, ovate, pointed
at both ends, smooth, with very short
petioles.
Stipules lanced very small, withering. .
Peduncles, from the axils of the leaves, solitary, bear
ing an aggregate flower. Calyx: common recep
tacle roundish, collecting the sessile flowers into
an irregular head.
Perianth most entire, scarce observable above.
Coral, one-petaled, funnel-form; Tube cylindric;
Border five cleft ; the divisions lanced.
Stamen: Filaments five, thread-form, arising from
the tube, and adhering to it through two thirds of
their length, a little shorter than the tube.
Anthers linear, erect.
Pistil: Germ beneath f. Style thread-form, longer
than the stamens. Stigma two-cleft, thickish.
* The Cadam of the Hindoos.
+ The Germ is four-celled, and contains the rudiments of four
seeds.
 AND ITS USES. 23
Pericarp : common, irregular, divided on the surface
into irregular angular spaces ; composed of berries
pyramidal, compressed on all sides by the adjacent
ones, and concreted with them, lopped, containing,
towards the base, a fleshy pulp.
Seeds in each berry four, towards the point oblong,
externally convex, internally angular.

The species here described is called by Linnceus,

Morinda arborea pedunculis solitariis ; and he gives it
the trivial name of citrifolia ; but the form of the
leaves, in all the specimens I have seen, does not exhi
bit this similtude, as will appear by the inspection of
the accompanying figure, which was drawn from na
ture. There are figures of it given by Rumphius
(Herb. Amboin. vol. 3. tab. 99) who calls it Bancu-
dus latifolia ; and by Rheede (Hort. Malab. vol. J.
tab. 52) who calls it Cada-pilava. In Malava it is
called Aal; and in Oude it has the name of Atchy.

The plant grows best in a black rich soil, free from

stones, in situations moderately moist, not too high,
yet sufficiently elevated to prevent the water of the
rains from stagnating ; and where there is near at
hand a supply of water for the dry months. It is
sown about the middle or end of June, after the rain
has begun to fall. The ground requires no manure,
it is ploughed twice, or, if tough and hard, three
times. The seed is sown, either broad-cast, or in
drills, according to the fancy of the cultivator. The
ground is then ploughed over again, and harrowed.
In one beegah* of ground are sown, from li to 2 i
mum .\ of seed. In fifteen or twenty days the young
plants spring up. The field is then carefully weed
ed, and the grounds stirred with an iron instrument.
* A measure of one hundred cubits square,
f The mm of this country is sixteen seers, of eighty rupees
weight each.
C4
24 ON THE PLANT MORINDA,
This operation is repeated, at proper intervals, during
the first year ; and in the dry months of that year
(that is, from January till June) the ground is three or
four times laid under water. After the first year, it
requires no farther care. In a year the plant grows to
the height of one or two feet, according to the qua
lity of the soil. In the third year, sometimes in the
second, it bears flowers and fruit. The flowers appear-
in June, and the fruit ripens in September or October:
but the fruit of those young trees is not used for seed,
as it is said not to produce vigorous plants. In the
months of February and March following the third
year, the plants are dug up. They dig to the depth
of three or four feet ; the root, which is the only
valuable part, extending so far into the ground.
The wood of the plant is only used for fuel. Some
times the necessities of the husbandman oblige him to
dig the crop in the second, or even at the end of the
first year ; but the root is obtained in much smaller
quantity, and less rich in colouring matter, than if it
had remained the regular time. The crop is' not
much affected by the excess or defect of the periodi
cal rains. When it is dug at the end of the third year,
one beegah yields from four to six maunies* of the root
in a wet state. These are spread on cloths, and dried
in the sun for three or four days ; at the end of
which time there remains of dried root, one third or
one fourth part of the original weight.

As the colouring matter resides chiefly in the bark

of the root, the small twigs, which contain little
wood, bear a higher price than the larger pieces.
Therefore the roots, when dug up, are separated into
three kinds, ccasse, medium, and fine. The coarse
sells for one rupee per ntun, the medium two or three
rupees, and the fine four rupees per man, or four seers
for a rupee.
* The mauny contains twelye n\uns of this country's weight.
 AXD ITS USE5. £5
In particular fields they leave trees for seed at the
distance of four, five, or six cubits. In six years
they yield fertile and vigorous seeds. The trees,
when of that age, are about six inches in diameter,
and twelve feet high (brandies included); but they
continue fruitful for many years, and are said to grow
to a size not much inferior to that of a Mango-tree.
When the fruit is ripe, it is gathered, laid in heaps on
the ground, and covered up Avith straw, or other
rubbish, for fifteen or twenty days, in which time the
pulp rots, and is consumed. It is then put into a
basket, and washed, by repeated effusions of water,
to separate the seeds and free them from the remains
of the pulpy matter. The husbandman, who culti
vates the plant, generally takes care to have on his
ground a sufficient number of trees for seed. If he
is unprovided with those, he may purchase the seed,
immediately after it is'prepared, for four or five rupees
the mun ; but if he neglects to purchase till the season
of sowing arrives, he may be obliged to pay at the
rate of two seers per rupee.

In the ground on which Aal has grown, they sow

wheat, or other grain, for five or six years ; and it is
observed, that the grain sown on this ground thrives
remarkably : and while the trees left for seed con
tinue small, grain of any kind may be sown in their
interstices ; but Aal would not thrive there.

The expense to the cultivator varies considerably

in different villages. In one, where the plant is cul
tivated to considerable extent*, the pateil, or zemin
dar, gave me the following account of the expense
attending the cultivation of one beegah.

* Khtlana, 7J miles from Oujein.

 26 ON THE PLANT MORINDA,
To the Collector of the District Rs. 10
To the Pateil - 1
To Writers, &c. Servants of the Pateil 0 10
To digging up the Root* - - 15

Total 26 10

Now supposing, agreeably to the foregoing ac

count, that a good crop is six, and a bad one four,
maunies ; that each viauny yields, when dried, 3&
mum, and that in this dried root, the coarse at one
rupee, the medium at two, and the fine at four,
are in equal quantities ; then, the value of the
good crop will be 49 rupees, and that of the bad
one 32, 10, 8. The first of these leaves Rs.
22, 6, the other Rs. 6, 0, 8, from each beega//.
The medium, Rs. 14, 3, 4, we may estimate as
the profit of the husbandman, out of which he is to
maintain himself and his cattle for three years. In
this account I have not included the expense of
seed, as the cultivator is generally supplied with it
from his own trees. Had he been obliged to pur
chase it, we must have added eight rupees to the
expense of cultivation : but, as the crop sustains no
damage by remaining in the ground, the cultivator
can dig it up at his leisure ; and therefore he gene
rally saves by his own labour, great part of the expense
above stated for digging.

In another villagef, the cultivator has the land'

on much easier terms ; only paying three rupees for
the crop, or one rupee yearly, to the collector.
Therefore, the other expenses being supposed the
same, the crop only costs him Rs. 19, 10, besides
his own maintenance and that of his cattle.

* For digging a space 16 cubits, long, and 3 J cubits broad, the

labourers are paid 4j pice, at fifty to the rupee.
f Rindwasa, about the same distance from Oujein as the former.
 AXD ITS USES. 27
Besides the consumption of the root in the manu
factures of this province, large quantities of it are ex
ported to Guzerat and the northern part of Hindostan.
% have not been able to learn the exact value of this
exportation, but have reason to believe that it
amounts, annually, to some lacs of rupees. The
dealers, who come from those places (especially
Quzerat) to purchase, advance money to the culti
vator, and, when the crop is ready, buy it, either
on the ground, or after it is dug up. In the first
case, they dig a small portion of the field, and, accord
ing to the quantity it yields, form a judgment on the
value of the whole.

The method of dying with this root is as follows :

The cloth to be dyed is thoroughly washed and
scoured, with an extemporaneous kind of soap-lie,
made by mixing the oil of sesamum with the fossil
alkali. Then, supposing the cloth (which is generally
of a thin texture) to be twenty-six cubits long, and
one cubit broad, the quantities of ingredients will be
as follow :

Take of large Her* in powder, three ounces.

Mix it well with four pounds of water. In this the
cloth is to be thoroughly wetted, so that the absorp
tion of Her may be as equal as possible. It is then
to be squeezed, and spread in the sun for about
forty-eight minutes, to dry, taking care that no drops
of water fall upon it. The cloth, when dried, is of
a cream-colour. It is kept in this state for four or
five days, that the particles of the Myrobalan may be
more firmly attached.
Then take of powdered alum, two ounces; dis
solve it in lb ij of water. Wet the cloth thoroughly

* The Chehule; Myrobalani maxima, oblonga, anguloste. C. B.

£8 ON THE PLANT MORINDA,
and equally in this solution. Wring it, and strike
it gently on a smooth stone, then spread it, for
twenty-four minutes, in the sun, to dry. When
dried, it is of a pea-green colour. When perfectly
dry, it is kept for four days, and then washed in cold
water. To the manner and degree of washing, we
are told, great attention is to be paid ; as an error,
either in excess or defect, would spoil the colour.
When washed, it is dried in the sun.

The cloth thus prepared, is ready to receive the

colour, which is prepared in the following manner :
Put 3k gallons of water into an uncovered copper-
vessel, and set it on a gentle fire. When it is some
thing more than lukewarm, put in the cloth, along with
the colouring ingredients, which have previously
been thus prepared. Take of Aal, from one to two
seers, according to its quality, powder it, and rub it
with two ounces of oil of Stsamum to each seer. Add
of the flowers of Uhawry*, one eighth of a seer

* A shrub, which grows wild on the hills, and on the banks of

the rivulets, where they are formed of a grassy sod. The flowers
are of a beautiful red colour, and are gathered both for the use of
the dyers and of the apothecaries, who give an infusion of them
as a cooling medicine. They lose their colour in drying, and only
yield a slight brownish tincture to water ; so that the benefit deriv
ed from them in dying with Aal, seems to depend merely on
their action as an astringent ; which is confirmed by the substitu
tion of' Purwas, a strong astringent, as an equivalent to D'hatory.
The natural character of the D'haicry is as follows :
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, persistent ; Tube, bellied ; Border,
six cleft ; the divisions lanced, erect.
Cor. Petals six, lanced, acute, erect ; a little longer than the
calyx,, arising from the edge of the tube, between the divisions of
the calyx.
Stain. Filaments twelve (in some ten or eleven) awled, erect,
longer than the calyx, and arising from it. Anthers kidney form,
incumbent.
Pkt. Gernp oblong, two-furrowed. Style awled, ascending, the
length of the stamina. Stigma obtuse.
 AND ITS USES. 29
to each seer of Aal ; or, instead of Dilatory, one
ounce and a half of Purzcets*, in powder.

The cloth and colouring ingredients are continued

on the fire, with a gentle heat, gradually increased,
for about three hours. Towards the end, the water
By taking up a little of
the water, and examining its colour as it is dropped
in the vessel, they judge of the success of the pro
cess. It ought to be of a clay-colour, or a little
deeper. If it proves very red, the colour would
be spoiled ; and the remedy is, to add a larger pro
portion of Dhatvry. During this process, the cloth
is continually moved, by lifting a part of it with a stick
out of a vessel, beginning at one end and proceeding
to the other. It is now taken out, wrung, and dried :
after which, being washed in river-water, the red
colour is complete. No. 1 is a specimen of this
colour, which is valued more for its durability than
its beauty.

Perk. Capsule, ovate, acute, two-furrowed, two-celled, four-

valved.
Seeds numerous, very small : receptacle oblong.
Leaves opposite, lanced.
Here the oblong shape of the capsule and its two cells agree with
the Lythrum ; the divisions of the calyx with the Ginorn. Linnmts
(Ph. Bot. § 177, 182, 183.) alleges that the calyx is more to be de
pended on than the Pericarpium in ascertaining the genera of plants.
Therefore, agreeably to these aphorisms, I should be inclined to refer
the D'hawry to the genus Ginora ; but it may perhaps be considered
as a new genus to be placed in the system between the Lythrum and
Ginora.
* A kind of gall-nut, containing the exuviae of a small insect,
found on a species of the Mimosa. In Malava it is called Purw&s ;
in Marwar, Succour; and in the country about Mongheei; Purwan.
This being a stronger astringent, we are told that an exact atten
tion to the proportion of it is more necessary than to that of the
miiaviry.

.
SO ON THE PLANT MORIVDA, AND ITS USES.

To make a Dark Purple, or Chocolate Colour.

Take of martial vitriol one ounce, dissolve it in

two pounds of water, and clear the solution by de-
cantation. Mix, with a quantity of the above-de
scribed colouring decoction, sufficient to wet the
cloth, such a proportion of this martial solution as
will give the tint required. This is judged by in
spection, as the cloth will be of the same colour with
the mixture. , The cloth being taken out of the co
louring decoction and wrung, is to be dipped into
this mixture, and thoroughly wetted, so as to absorb
the colour equally and completely. Then, being
dyed, and washed, its appearance resembles that of
the specimen No 2 and 3; but the tints admit of a
great variety, according to the proportions of the
martial solution. Both these colours are very dura
ble, being little affected by washing. One of the
quarters of Oujein, named Jeysingpoorah, is inhabited
by dyers, who consume great quantities of this root.
Their printed and stained cloths, besides supplying
the domestic consumption, are exported to Guzerat,
and other provinces.
 °1

ON

THE INHABITANTS

OF

THE HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL.

BY LIEUTENANT THOMAS SHAW.

A SLIGHT knowledge of the language of the

natives of the hills, in the districts of Bhdgal-
pur and Rqjamahall, having brought to my observa
tion that their customs and manners, as well as their
language, differed from those of the inhabitants of
the neighbouring plains, I have, for some time, en
deavoured to acquire a good account of them, from
the belief that, notwithstanding their connexion with,
and dependance on, our government, they have been
little known beyond the limits of the hills. The fol
lowing description does not contain much more than
a bare translation of what was written by the best in
formed mountaineer whom I have met with. I
have spared no pains to render it faithful ; for there
alone it can have any merit. My information has
been derived through a Soubadar of the Rangers
(whom the late Mr. Cleveland had instructed in
writing Nagree) as far as relates to the inhabitants of
the hills in the three Tuppahs of Mudjezcay, Ghurry,
and Munnuary. The first is to the south-Avest of Ra-
jamahiill, extending as far as Sicrigully ; the second is
3
 32 OST THE INHABITANTS OF THE
thence in a westerly direction, as far as Shawhabad ;
and the third lies to the south of Ghurry, from whose
people those on the borders of Bhecrboom, and south
east of Rdjamahall, differ in many respects. What
ever was material in these latter Tuppahs, was related
by a Soubadar from that quarter to the one who
can write ; and both attended me in translating them.
The Tuppahs of Mudbun, Pyer, Chitoleah, Barcope,
Putsundaw, Jumnee, Hurnah Par, Dumsai, Kuneeallah,
and others, have customs also peculiar to themselves.
These I shall endeavour to ascertain.

The following relates immediately to the Tuppahs

of Mudjeway, Ghurry, and Munnudry, from which
may be collected what ideas the inhabitants have of
one Supreme Being, of a future state, and of trans
migration. It is true they worship many gods, but
these are considered inferior to, and the medium of
adoration of, one all powerful and omniscient Being ;
whom they call Bedo Gossaih, or the Great God.
Their opinions on the metempsychosis, it is probable,
have been borrowed from the Hindus, though they
profess no particular veneration for the cow, or any
other animal ; for they believe it a punishment when
God ordains a human soul, to transmigrate into any
of the brute creation ; and it is also a received opinion,
that for certain crimes in this life, souls are condemned
to the vegetable world.

The natives of the hills in these Tuppahs, having

no knowledge of letters, or of any character, have a
traditional story, brought down from father to son
(but in what age it was received, is not now known)
that the Bedo Gossaih made heaven and earth, and
all that is therein. To people the latter, seven brothers
were sent from Heaven. At first they remained to-
, gether; when the eldest brother was sick, the six
younger collected all manner of eatables, which they
 HILLS NEAR KA'JAMAHALL. 33
agreed to divide, and to separate to go into dif»
ferent countries ; one, a Hindu, got fish and goat's
flesh in a new dish, for his share ; a second, a Mus
sulman, was allotted fish, fowl, and every sort of
flesh, except hogs, for his portion, in a new dish
also ; a third, Kirwary ; a fourth, Kirrateer, got
hog's flesh also in a new dish; a fifth, Kaudeer,
got all sorts of flesh, fish, and fowl, in a new dish ;
a sixth, who was destined for a foreign country, got
some of every sort of food, in a new dish ; and after
his departure, it was not known what had become of
him, till Europeans made their appearance, when,
from their manner of living, it was concluded that
they were the descendants of the sixth brother ; the
seventh, Mullare, who was the oldest, and sick
brother, got some of every kind of food, but put
them in an old dish, for which he was considered an
outcast, and ordered to inhabit these hills, where,
finding neither clothes nor subsistence, he and his
descendants necessarily became thieves, in which
practice they continued, till such time as Mr. Cleve*
land wisely conciliated their attachment to the
English government, by a liberal generosity and mu*
nificence, while he entered their hills unattended,
putting the utmost confidence in their faith ; and
made engagements to settle on their chiefs an incon
siderable monthly sum, in consideration of their good
and peaceable behaviour and obedience, to which
they have rigidly adhered; and this, it is related,
put an end to their predatory incursions and maraud
ing. The Kirwary cast crossed the Ganges and lived
in tents, having no settled habitation. The Hindu
and Mussulman remained in this country. Th$
Kawdeer went to the south ; and this remained doubt
ful, till a party of them came to dig a tank for Mr,,
Cleveland. The Kirrateer went to the hills north
of the Ganges. I cannot learn what names the bro
thers had, nor how they were provided with wives,
Vol. IV. D
34 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
to increase and multiply : the creation of women
does not bear any part in this defective account,
which proceeds to relate, that God the Creator di
rected certain wombs to be fruitful. His command
ments are, that men should give to such as will re
ceive; and that, in like manner, others would give
to them. By labour men must live; for this their
hands were made ; eyes were given to see with, the
mouth to speak good and bad, as well as to eat sweet
and sour, and the feet to walk. Abuse nobody with
out cause ; neither kill nor punish, without a crime,
or God will destroy you. These commands being
sent, certain wombs were fruitful. But some, men
■forgetting these divine ordinances, abused, beat, and
oppressed each other without cause ; when, the mea
sure of their crimes being full, he summons them to
his presence; the messenger carries sickness and
death : On the sinner's appearing before God, being
charged with forgetting his commandments, he is
bound and cast into pits of maggots, or pits of fire,
where he is to remain eternally.

Whoever keeps God's commandments, behaves

well in all respects : he will neither injure, abuse,
beat, nor kill, any person, nor seize their effects,
nor plunder them, nor waste their grain, nor their
money, nor their clothes, nor quarrel with any one ;
but praises God morning and evening ; which last,
the women also do. He will be charitable, clothe
and feed the poor, and observe fhefestivals in God's
name, with the proper expense of grain, money, and
clothes. God, for the just disposal of the goods
he had granted for keeping his commandments, and
praying, summons the righteous person into his pre
sence, on his having enjoyed this world long enough.
On his he is asked how he dealt with
men, and how they behaved to him. Having render
ed his account, as well of what he bestowed and re-
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL 33
ceived as of what he ate ; that he injured nobody,
but praised God morning and evening,—God an
swers, " I saw that you behaved well, and kept my
commandments ; I will exalt you ; in the mean time
remain with me." After a short sojourn, he is sent
to earth, to be born of a woman again, and to be a
Raja, Dewan, or Cutzeall, with abundance of worldly
goods and territory. Should he forget to praise God
in his exaltation, and give not meat to the hungry,
but oppress the poor, God, in his wrath, will destroy
him, snatch him away, and accuse him of neglecting
his commandments, and forgetting to praise him.
He will then cast him into a pit of fire, where, should
not his punishment be eternal, he will not allow him
to be born again of woman, but to be regenerated in
the shape of a dog or cat.

Whoever offends in the presence of God, is dismiss

ed to this earth, to be born of women, either blind,
lame, or in poverty, never to have house, clothes,
or victuals, nor any thing but what is begged from
door to doon Should a person possessed of rank, grain,
clothes, land, and every thing he could want, forget
God's commandments, seize and plunder from others,
~God, in his wrath for the abuse of the good
things which he had bestowed, will make him poor
and a beggar ; and having decreed that he shall re
main a certain time on earth for his punishment, this
being fulfilled, death snatches him away, and he ap
pears in the presence of God. God orders a man to
kill another, and he kills him, yet lives happily and
content; but no one must, from his own will and
pleasure, destroy a fellow-creature, or God will de
stroy him. God orders a man to beat another, and
he beats him \ but whoever punishes a fellow-creature,
without divine commands, the Supreme Being will
direct a third person to punish the offender. No per
son shall abuse another without God's commands :
D 2
36 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
whoever disobeys, will in like manner be abused by a
third person.

Whoever without God's commands injures his

neighbour, may expect divine retaliation. Should a
man, seeing his neighbour's property, plunder or steal
it, the Bedo Gossaih will either order him to he
punished in like manner, or some of his family to die.
Should you see a man lame, mock not at his misfor
tune, lest God should make you lame, or punish you
in some other manner. Laugh not at a man who has
the misfortune to be blind, or God will afflict you in
like manner, or some other way. It has pleased Pro
vidence that a man should have his back broken ;
whoever laughs at or mocks him, will be afflicted in
like manner; God will make him blind, or lame, or
poor; therefore mock not the unfortunate. If God
had made the lame, the blind, the broken-backed or
poor, to be laughed at, he would have pardoned such .
as mocked them ; but as their defects are punish
ments, those who are perfect should not deride their
misfortunes. Those on whom God bestows grain,
riches, land, and power, ought to be charitable, and
to cherish the unfortunate. Should they, notwith
standing their wealth, be uncharitable, Providence
will punish them, by rendering them poor, and lCr
duciug them to the necessity of working for their
bread. When great men are charitable, God will
protect them.

God directs the poor to the rich man's door to

beg; should the latter uncharitably refuse to relieve
their wants, Providence will be displeased at tho
abuse of the good things which he had bestowed,
and will render the rich man poor, helpless, and de
stroy his family. God can exalt the poor man.
Such are the dispensations and power of Providence.
A man robs and kills another, and casts the body
 HILLS NEAR RAJAMAHALL. 37
away to conceal the murder from the relations of the
deceased, who conceive their kinsman to have been
killed by a snake or tiger; but God cannot be de
ceived : vengeance will fall on the murderer, or his
relations ; he, or some of them, will fall a sacrifice to
a tiger or a snake; divine vengeance will surely await
him. Whoever kills a tiger without divine orders,
will either himself, or some of his relations, fall a sa
crifice to a tiger.

From such superstition, the natives of the hills are

averse to killing a tiger, unless one of their relations
has been carried oft' by one ; when they go out for
that purpose, and having succeeded, their bows and
arrows are laid on the body of the animal, they in
voke God, and declare that they killed it to retaliate
for the loss of a relation. Vengeance thus satisfied,
the)' vow not to attack a tiger, without the provoca
tion of losing a kinsman.

Goo sends a messenger to summon a person to his

presence : Should the messenger mistake his object,
and carry off another, he is desired by the Deity to
take him away ; but as the earthly mansion of this
soul must be decayed, it is destined to remain mid
way between heaven and earth, and never can return
to the presence of God. Whoever commits homicide
without divine orders, can never appear in the pre
sence of the Deity ; his soul is destined to remain
mid-way between heaven and earth. Whoever is
killed by a snake, as a punishment for some conceal
ed crime, can never appear in the presence of the
Deity ; his soul is doomed to remain mid-way between
heaven and earth ; yet God will destroy the snake :
but, if it acted by divine orders, Providence spares
it. Should a rich man call the poor, with promises ol
giving them alms, and not perform them, and should
the poor0 exhort God to make him poor too, for his
38 OF THE INHABITANTS OF THE
uncharitable deceit, Providence will either punish
him in this way, or some other ; but by penance and
prayer he may be pardoned. As a man marries a
woman at a great expense, should she be guilty of
infidelity, and conceal the sin she had committed,
which is the greatest aggravation of it, God will be
incensed and punish her, by making her sick, lame,
or blind. Whoever commits fornication, and conceals
it, may dread divine vengeance. To avert falling
sick, or being otherwise punished for his crime, he
must avow it, pray to be forgiven, and sacrifice a
goat at Dexvarry Nad, the shrine of their household
God, the blood of which is to be sprinkled over the
linen, to purify him. If a man casts a lustful eye on
his neighbour's wife, God will punish him ; for it is
forbidden. Whoever takes poison and dies, can never
go to Heaven j his soul will be doomed to wander
eternally 5 he will be convulsed and vomit, with no
more than the daily allowance of as much rice as can
be put on an aura-leaf (which is smaller than the
tamarind-leaf) and as much water. Whoever hangs
himself, shall never appear in the presence of God ;
his soul will have no place assigned it ; but he will
be doomed to wander eternally with a rope about his
neck. Whoever drowns himself, shall never appear
in the presence of God ; his soul shall remain mid*
way between heaven and earth; and God has.ordain?
ed, that whoever drowns himself, shall be doomed to
work eternally, day and night, without intermission,
to make the crooked banks of a river straight, where
the stream ever undermines, as fast as the labourers
incessantly work. Whoever, undirected by the Deity,
has the misfortune of being killed by a fall from a
tree, his soul is received into the kingdom of heaven,
but not admitted into the presence of the Almighty:
it is, however, served with such things as are pror
vided for the righteous. Whoever receives favours,
and is guilty of the ingratitude of abusing his bene?
 HILLS NEAR RAJ AMAHALL. 39
*
factor, will not be well treated in other places ; Goo
will expose Kim to misery for his ingratitude. Who
ever falls in battle, is well received by Goo, and fares
sumptuously ; for the Deity is pleased with his fate.
Whoever is lost travelling by water, is well received
in Heaven : the Deity will take him unto himself.

The Deniauno, or Dewassy, seems to be more of an

oracle than a priest. Those who wish to initiate
themselves, represent that, by dreaming, they can
foretel what will happen; that the Bedo Gossaih
appears to them nightly, and braids their hair, from
which it grows remarkably long ; they must never
cut it ; as it is believed, if such an act did not prove
fatal to them, that, at least, their dreams would no
longer be prophetic. This oracle foretels to one per
son, that he shall have a plentiful harvest; to ano
ther, that he shall become rich ; a third is told, that
he is to fall sick ; a fourth, that he shall die ; a fifth,
that he shall be successful in hunting. A family is
admonished to sacrifice and pray at a certain shrine,
to appease an offended God ; he prophecies when
there will be a scarcity, and when it will rain. Thus,
his predictions being verified, the people have faith in
them ; and one, who is sick, attends him for advice,
which is afforded the following morning, when the
Deniauno has dreamt of the case, or God, having ap
peared to him in his vision, informed him what will
be the fate of the patient, and what he must do to
get well. Another informs him, his crops are not so
good as usual, and desires to know which God is of
fended, and what he must do to appease him. A
sportsman informs him, that he is not so fortunate as
usual, and seeks to know what he must do to be so.
Some ask, at what shrine they must make their of
ferings. All who consult this oracle must make a
present, and return the following day for an answer,
D4
40 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
On the first full moon of January, after his inspira
tion, he sallies out of his house, runs about, and pre
tends to be frantic : but neither injures nor speaks to
any one. He approaches the door of his chief, and
makes signs to have a cock, and a hen's egg, brought
to him : the latter he immediately eats, and wringing
off the head of the cock, sucks the reeking blood, and
throws away the body ; whence he proceeds to un
frequented rivers and jungles, where he remains
seven, or nine days, and is supposed to be fed by the
Peity, whom he represents on his return, and when
his reason is restored, to have treated him sumptu
ously ; that God had sometimes seated him on a large
snake, and, at others, made him put his hand into the
mouth of a large tiger ; but without fear of any dan
ger, On the Demauno's emerging from his retreat,
he brings with him a large plantain-tree, which he
had torn up by the roots, and places it on the roof
of his house; then returns, and brings in a large
setdee*tvee ; again, brings in a muckmun-tree ; and
lastly, a seege-tree; all of which, to the astonishment
of the people, he, without human assistance, places,
in like manner, on the roof of his house. It is to
be understood that these trees are too large for one
man to pluck from their roots and carry ; and that
the seege-tyee is full of thorns, which cannot be
touched with impunity; but, by divine aid, he effects
these wonders. On the night of his return, he repre
sents, that the Bedo Gossaih appears to him m a
vision, and desires him to sacrifice a pigeon or a cock
to him, with prayers. Accordingly, in the morning,
having recovered his senses, he takes some oil to be
smear the trees he had deposited on the roof of his
house, and some red paint to make streaks on them ;
over this he scatters some undressed rice, and lastly,
sacrifices the pigeon, so that the blood may fall on
the trees ; and, during this ceremony, he prays.
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHAXL. 41
Henceforward he must never sit with or touch any
woman but his wife; should any other woman even
touch him by accident, it is supposed his predictions
would fail ; or should he marry more than one wife
at a time, the people would have no faith in him.
Having thus passed his novitiate, and obtained the
reputation of a good Demauno, he is invited by his
chief to the buffalo-festival, who puts round his neck
a red silk thread, with five cowries Strang on it, and
binds a turban on his head, beseeching God that he
may have power of restoring health to the sick, exor
cising such as are possessed of devils, and that all his
predictions may prove true. In this manner he is
ordained, and officiates at the festival. A Demauno
drinks of the reeking: blood of all offerings sacrificed
while he is present. He must never cat beef, or (thai,
nor drink milk; for, in doing so, his prophecies would
fail. There is no fixed number of Demaunos for the
duty of a village : some have several, while others
have none. The Maungy of every village sacrifices
a buffalo in cither the month of Maug or Phagun,
annually : he fixes a day, and desires his vassals to
attend, each of whom contributes a portion of grain,
oiL or spirits for the festival : provisions being col
lected on the day appointed, the Maungy directs his
followers what to do. Some cook, others go and cut
a large branch of the muckmun (or siczoa) tree, which
is brought, and planted before the Maungy s door,
one of whose family carries out the kuiidom (a sacred
stooL with four feet) and places it under the shade of
the muckmun-branch, washes it, rubs it with oil, spots
it with (sowndra) red paint, and binds it with a thread
of red silk ; the Maungy, having made his salam to
the stool, sits on it ; the Demauno, or priest, sits on
the ground to his left, and prays first; after which
he gives the Maungy a handful of unboiled rice,
which he scatters close to the muckmun-braxich, ad
dressing himself to God, to protect him and his de
42 ON TH,E INHABITANTS OF THE
pendents, and to be propitious to them, adding a vow
to perform and hold this festival annually. During
the time of praying, the Maungy s drums are beating,
that all within hearing, who are possessed of devils,
may run, and pick up the rice to eat : having gather
ed it all, they are seized, bound, and taken to a small
distance from the altar, when the buffalo, with ropes
on all his legs well secured, is hamstrung by the
Maungy, to entertain his barbarous followers, in order
that they may be diverted by his struggles and exer
tions, in forcing him to the mitckmun-bva.nch, where
his head is cut off; -and the persons possessed of de
vils, who were bound, are set at liberty, and imme
diately rush forward to take up the buffalo's blood,
and lick it while reeking. When they are supposed
to have enough, they are besprinkled with water,
which renders them completely exorcised, and they
retire to a stream to bathe : the adherents come for
ward Avith their offerings of rice, oil, and spirits, and
receive a blessing from their chief, who has the buf
falo's head dressed, and eats it with the priest and
musicians : the kunclone being taken into the house,
puts an end to the ceremony of the day. The next
morning the adherents assemble to feast on the buf
falo and other things which the Maungy furnishes.
At the expiration of five days a fowl is immolated,
and the blood sprinkled on the muckmun-hr&Tich,
which is taken up, and with the horns and some of
the. bones of the buffalo, is fastened on the roof of
the Maungy -i house, where they are left to decay. In
Home places stages are erected for these sacred frag
ments, at the north-east angle of the Maungy s house.
The chief Maungy of a tuppah (which is a number of
hills that have villages on them) whose authority is
acknowledged by the Maungies of the several villages in
his limits, appoints.a time annually to pray, that they
may have rain enough for their crops. This festival
may be held in any month in the year, except Poos,
 HILLS NEAR RAJAMAHALL. 43
in which they neither marry, build a house, nor un
dertake any thing of consequence, considering it an
unlucky month. The chief of the tuppah having de
termined on a day, sends an arra to the Maungy of
each village, desiring him to attend with twenty or
thirty of his men by the day fixed on : when assem
bled, they all repair to the place established without
the village, for the ceremony of the Satane : having
planted a small branch of the chagulno {bale-tree) the
head of a goat is severed with a sword, that the blood
may fall on the leaves of the chagulno: the Satane
is then resorted to, to ascertain what chief will be
most acceptable to the God of Rain, to pray on this
occasion; this being settled, a day is named for
prayer, upon which all the Maungies, with their vas
sals, assemble at their chief's, before whose door the
Demauno and the Maungy, on whom the Satane elec»
tion had fallen, pray : after which a buffalo is sacri
ficed, and the same forms observed as described in
the buffalo-festival: it continues as long as the provi
sions which were presented by the several Maungks
last. The danger of a scarcity is thus supposed to
be averted, and that their crops will flourish.

When a Maungy has established a village, should

a tiger infest it, or the small-pox, or any plague prove
fatal to its inhabitants, it is supposed that Huxey
Gossaih is desirous of having a shrine raised. The
Satane is resorted to, to confirm the supposition, and
the Demauno consulted. On both agreeing, these
steps are sufficient to stop the ravages of any beast
of prey, and to avert any further fatality from the
small-pox. Thus relieved, the Maungy calls the De
mauno to get ruxey (a sacred black stone) for him ; in
compliance with which the Demauno has a vision, in
which the Deity appears to him, and informs him
where the god Rixey is to be found, directs him to
44 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
the spot, and desires him to raise him with his own
hands, and to present him to the Maungy in the
morning. The Demaiino gets a branch of the seeedee
(a tree peculiar to the hills); benjamin is burned be
fore the Maungy s door, which he smells, and pro
ceeds, followed by some men to the spot where
Ruxey is to be found; having smelt the godhead,
he directs the persons who were in attendance to dig
for him : to facilitate their work, water is thrown, to
soften the earth; and when Ruxey is discovered, the
Demauno takes him up, and carries him to the
Maungy, who immediately sets out, with his divine
present, in search of a large tree, about half a mile, or
less, from the village, under the shade of which he
places it, and encloses it by a fence of stones, and a
hedge of seege: a fowl and a goat, are sacrificed to
the god, whom the Maungy, or some other accepta
ble person (and it is the object of the Satane to find
out who is most virtuous and most worthy to address
the god) worships and retires.

At any other time when this god is worshipped, a

fowl and goat are sacrificed ; and the Maungy, or
person who prays, is attended by two drummers and
an old man, who has no wife, and, from age, has no
connexion with women, to partake of the offerings
with the preacher ; of which others, who have for
sworn all connexion with women and drinking in
toxicating liquors, may share. Whoever violates this
vow by drinking or cohabiting with women, it is be
lieved, will become foolish, yet he may recover his
reason by asking pardon of the god, and by offering
a fowl and goat, with prayer in sacrifice at the shrine;
but he can never be a Hook Moko, or an elect eater, again.

Idle men and women must not approach or pro

fane the place where Ruxey is deposited, by spitting
 HILLS NEAR RAJAMAHALL. 45
towards him, or by doing any uncleanly act near it :
should any person, through forgetfulness, or igno
rance, be guilty of any such acts, by spitting, he will
get a sore mouth ; and other more offensive trans
gressions are productive of a strangury, or flux, re
spectively ; and these diseases are often considered as
the effects of some heedless transgression of the above
nature, which is discovered by the Satane, or such like
proof : their remedy is to give a fowl to the Maungy,
who makes an offering of it to the god, who is thus
appeased. If the patient recovers, well ; if not, the
friends go to a neighbouring village, to find out, by
the Satane, the cause of their relation's illness : if he
is not thus relieved, they go to a second ; and, on
failing, they consider it as an affliction by the dispen
sation of the Supreme Being, who will either spare,
shorten, or prolong the life of the offending patient,
according to his will.

The OuVarw-festival is held but once in three

years. The celebration of it so seldom is, probably,
from its being very expensive to the Maungy, who
bears the charge. It is not every village that has a
Chalnad, though he is considered as the God that
presides over the welfare of villages ; but, like Ruxev
Nad, he is not supposed to be essential to their hap
piness till the inhabitants are harassed by some plague
or pestilence ; when the Deniauno, on being consult
ed, informs the Maungy that this Deity is desirous of
having a Nad raised ; that, effecting this, and wor
shipping him, will put an end to their misfortunes.
The Demauno then dreams of the place where this
shrine is to be found, in the shape of a black stone ;
he proceeds in the morning to discover it, observing
the same forms as are described in obtaining Ruxkv
Nad; when found, the stone is placed under the
shade of a muc/cmioi-tree contiguous to the village,
and undergoes no alteration in its form from the
chissel.
46 OH TH£ INHABITANTS OF THi
Among the preparations for the Chitaria-festivati
the Maungy must provide a cow and a piece of red
silk, previous to the day fixed for prayer. The Sa->
tane, as usual, is performed, to find out what two of
the Maungy s vassals will be most acceptable to the
godhead, to pray. This point being settled, and every
thing ready, a day is fixed : on the eve of this holi
day, the piece of silk is cut in two, and one part
given to one of the wives of each of the preachers,
with whom their husbands have not cohabited for
ten or fifteen days previously. The Demauno, Maun*
gy, Cutwal, Phqjedar, Jemmadars, and Bundareens,
having been invited into one of the preachers houses,
the Demauno gives water to two Kalewars, one Dole-
war, one Mangeera, and one Jelaum, to wash their
hands ; and these musicians are taken into the house ;
a feast is served, of which all present partake, as soon
as the chiefs have thrown a little of each dish away,
in the name of Chalnad. I must here digress, to
observe, that it is a custom through all the hills, to
throw a little of their meat away at every meal, pre^
vious to their eating; and the same rule is observed
in drinking; the intention of which is, to avert any
bad consequence from any devil or evil spirit having
defiled it. The Bandareens, whose particular province
it is at all festivals to serve out the toddy, or spirits,
perform that office; and the chiefs, having spilled a
little also in the name of Chalnad for a libation,
the party drink and sing all night, in praise of Chi-
tariah Gossaih, invoking his protection, the musi
cians, or rather drummers, beating at the same time.
Should any person sing a different song, he is fined a
fowl, which is sacrificed, and the blood sprinkled
over the whole party. During the course of the night,
they patrole the village five times, leading a cow with
them ; in the morning, the Demauno, the two preachers
and drummers, proceed to Chalnad with the cow.
Having finished their prayers, the cow is sacrificed by
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL. 47
one of the preachers, in such a manner that the blood
may fall on the shrine : a feast is immediately made
of the flesh, and all the men who accompanied them
from the village, except such as may be disqualified
from domestic causes, partake of it. On their
return to the village, they send notice of their ap
proach, that the two wives of the preachers, between
whom the piece of silk was divided, may take oft-
their clothes and ornaments, and tie the silk round
their middles, covering them from their waists to their
knees : their hair is fastened in a knot on the crown
of their heads ; and every part of their body which is
exposed, is spotted with a mixture made of turmeric,
powdered, and the heart, or white part, of Indian
corn, which is finely ground for that purpose : part
of this is also sent to the preachers, that they may be
spotted in the same manner, and with it the halves of
four mats thus prepared. The two women (the whole
village, men, women, and children, being assembled to
see the procession) set out, one following the other,
and taking care not to advance the foot which is up
beyond the toe of that on the ground, to meet the
preachers, who observe the same pace as their wives ;
and the mats, as the parties pass over them, are always
taken up and placed again before. Having passed
each other, the women take place behind the men, and
follow them by the same step at which they first set
out, to the house of one of the preachers : when ar
rived, the men taking one side, and the women the
other, they wash and change their clothes. Here the
ceremony ends ; and the preachers, with their wives,
are invited to a feast at the Maangy's.

The above is the only festival where women can as

sist or bear any part, as a woman never prays in public
on these hills. It has before been said, that they are
to recommend themselves to the protection of the Su
48 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
preme Being, morning and night. During the time
of the above festival, the compliment of a salam is not
paid to any person.

Pow Gossaih, or the God of the Road, or High

way, is the first worship young men perform ; though
it is not undertaken till some accident has induced
the person to consult the Cherreen, or Satane, whether
his praying and making an offering will be acceptable.
This trial is perhaps of itself sufficient to confirm the
opinion, that Pow Gossaih is offended ; there
fore the young suppliant vows to worship him.
On the day of thanksgiving, on which the new Ta-
kalloo is first eaten of, or on the day appointed for the
new 7iL(Wtf?Yrae-harvest, he proceeds to a high road,
and cleans and washes a small space under the shade
of a young bale-tree: in the centre of this he plants a
oranch of the muckmun-trzt ; round it he makes
marks and spots with red paint, and with a handful
of rice, which he lays close to the branch, placing a
hens egg on it, on which three streaks of red paint
were drawn, he invokes the Supreme Being, and God
of the Road, to protect him while travelling, and sa
crifices a cock, the blood of which is thrown on the
??iuchnun-bYanch : the offering, being dressed with
rice, is eaten by the suppliant, and such as may
have attended him. The ceremony ends by breaking
the hen's egg ; and is never repeated by him unless
he should again meet with some accident while tra
velling ; on which the Cherreen, or Satane, is resorted
to, for a confirmation of the apprehension that it was
caused by Pow Gossaih's resentment, and h;s desire
of being worshipped.

Dewary Gossaih, or the God who is supposed to

preside over the welfare of families, is the second
worship which men perform : there is no fixed time
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL. 49
for it. He who discovers by the Cherreen, or Sa-
tane, that the welfare of himself and family depends on
his holding this festival, distils spirits, purchases a
hog, rice, red paint, and oil ; and, having fixed on
a day, invites his Maungy and friends on the day
appointed : a small space before the threshold is
brushed and washed, and a branch of the muckmun
planted on it : on this some red paint is put, as well
as marks made round it. The Maungy and his offi
cers are taken into the suppliant's house, when pots
of spirits and provisions are given to the former,
as well as meat and drink to all the company. After
a short repast, the suppliant, with a hen's egg and a
handful
close to which .the former is deposited on the latter.
During this ceremony he implores the Supreme Being
and Dewary Gossaih, to be propitious to him and
family. The hog is sacrificed by a relation, as an
offering to Dewary Gossaih, with professions of again
observing the festival whenever Dewary Gossaih
may desire it. A feast is made with the oblation ; and,
at the conclusion, the suppliant breaks the egg, and
pulls up the muckmun-'branch, which he places on the
roof of his house.

Kull Gossaih, or the Ceres of the mountaineers,

is worshipped annually by cultivators, in the season
of sowing their fields i the proper time is ascertained
by consulting the Demauno, and confirmed by either
the Cherreen, or Satane ; and is attended with
more or less expense, according to the means of the
suppliant. If poor, it is deemed sufficient to make
an offering of a cock ; those who can afford it, pur
chase a cut hog and a cut goat, distil spirits, buy
rice, red paint, and oil, and invite the Demauno to
assist them in praying, as well as their friends, chiefs,
and neighbours, to a feast. On the day appointed,
the Demauno goes early to aid in distilling spirits,
Vol. IV. E

I
50 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
and in other preparations for the feast: the chiefs
and others, having entered the suppliant s house, are
presented with meat and spirituous liquors to drink :
the Demauno is also introduced with two Kakxvars
and one Dolewar: he, and the suppliant, and the
Maungy, facing the middle supporter of the house,
pray for the welfare of the master, making a libation,
and throwing down some meat, in the name of Goomo
Gossaih, and of Kull Gossaih : the Demauno and
suppliant burn incense, while the Kalewars and
Dolewar beat, and the Maungy and chiefs eat and
drink. After this, the suppliant proceeds, with the
Demauno, musicians, and all who may be disposed to
join in the procession, to his field, where, at the
stump of a tree, having cleared a small space, and
planted a branch of the muckmun, and prayed with
the forms already described, burning incense, —the
goat and hog are sacrificed by a relation of the sup
pliant's (who gets ,a rupee and a turban for this sa
cred office) so that some of the blood may fall on the
muckmun-braxiob., and of which the Demauno pretends
to drink a considerable quantity. He gives out that
the blood digests in his throat, and does not pass into
his stomach.

- Of each of these offerings, the Maungy is presented

with a fore-quarter for his family ; and of the re
mainder all,, except such whose wives are in their
separation, partake. At the conclusion, the Demauno
gives water to the musicians and the suppliant, to
. wash their hands, who return with the latter, and feast
and drink at his house as long as any fragment of the
provisions which had been prepared for the festival
remains.

• The Demauno having desired any person to wor-

8hip Goomo Gossaih, and the Cherrcen, or Satane,
havjng cftfifinjjedihis ordinance, the. suppliant must
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL. 51
rear a cut kid and a cut pig for that express purpose,
about two years, lriore or less. Having acquired
property enough to perform this promise, for it is at
tended with considerable expense, he sends invita-«
tions to his chiefs and vassals, to those also in the
neighbourhood, and to his relations; and, to mark
the time for the festival, a string, with a number of
knots equal to the number of days that will inter-1
vene, is sent to each. From these strings, to avert
mistakes, one knot is daily cut : in the interval the
suppliant is employed in distilling spirits, and col
lecting materials, such as rice, oil, red paint, &c.
when one knot remains, the guests assemble, and
on the morning of the day appointed, some of the
suppliant's neighbours, or relations, proceed to the
jungles to cut three small muckmun-trees. Before the
first is hewn, a cock is sacrificed, that the blood may
fall on it, and some spirits thrown on it, as a libation
to G#omo. As soon as the branches and bark are
sufficient to carry each
tree, and lay them without the village, where it is
their business to prevent men, goats, or fowls, from
touching them ; and the suppliant, informed of their
arrival, sends them drink for their trouble. In the
mean time he takes the chiefs and their Officers,
with the two men who had prayed at the Chitaria-
festival, into his house, and presents the Maungy
With two pots of spirits and a hog : the Demauno^ two
KalewarSj and a Dolewar also go in. At their en
trance, the Demauno gives water to the musicians, to
wash their hands ; he takes a small wicker-basket,
containing about a seer of rice, on which he puts red
paintj and places it with two pans near the middle
supporter. During this the Kalercars and Dolewar
beat, and incense is burning ; the Maungy having
made a libation, thrown out some meat, and sacrificed
the hog in the name of the gods, he and the chiefs
eat and drink. , .
E2
 ON THE INHABITANTS 0,F THE
The Demauno, suppliant, and musicians, repair to
where the trees are ; whence the trees are brought
home, laid lengthwise, east and west, cut the pro
per length, and the suppliant and his wife sprinkle
turmeric-water on them ; the Demauno, mounting
astride on the one which had been first cut, is car
ried five times round the house, when they are taken
in, and, some earth being dug, are united to the
middle supporter (which is called Goomo) being first
spotted with red paint, and bound with a red silk
thread. Incense is burned ; and the Demauno, with
a handful of rice, prays, laying the rice down, and
placing a hen's egg on it, which has been previously
thrice streaked with red paint: the suppliant, re
ceiving a handful of rice from the Demauno, also
prays, throwing it on the egg, when one of his rela
tions brings up the fat goat, and sacrifices it so that
the blood may fall on the Goomo. For this sacred
office he gets a rupee and a turban. The Demauno,
suppliant, and musicians, and all who may be dis-
posed to be of the proceed to a field,
where, sweeping and washing near the stump of a
tree, they plant the branch of a muckmun, and round
it and on it make streaks of red paint : incense is then
burned, and with a handful of rice and a hen's egg,
the Demauno and suppliant repeat the prayers and
ceremony which had been observed in the house,
when the fat hog and another goat are sacrificed
by a relation. Some of the blood of these animals
must fall on the muckmun, and the Demauno drinks
of it.

v' A fore quarter of each of the offerings being sent

to the Maungy, they feast and return : previous to
entering the suppliant's house, the Demauno gives
him and the musicians water to wash their hands.
The jelations of. -the suppliant attend him, present
him with spirits and a cock each, and anoint him,
 HILLS NEAR BA'jAMAHALL. 53
his wives, and children with oil : he sacrifices the
cocks, makes a libation, and throws away some
meat in the name of Goomo : they feast and drink
for two or three days, and then repair to their homes.
On the fifth day the ceremony concludes, by the sup
pliant sacrificing a cock to Goomo Gossaih, and ano
ther to Kull Gossaih.

Goomo Gossaih is also worshipped as above, with

this difference, that the suppliant does not eat, drink,
or smoke in his house, or partake of any thing that
had been in his house, for several days before the
festival ; nor is he allowed to partake of the offer
ings : and this prohibition continues for five days after
the festival, which is called Oogoss Goomo Gossaih.

The worship of Chumdah Gossaih is so expen

sive, that none but chiefs, or men of property,
can ever afford it, and these not oftener than once
in three years; and therefore the votaries to this
shrine most frequently exceed that period for so ex
pensive a ceremony. They first consult the De-
mauno, and have recourse to the Cherreen and
Satane ; both of which must agree with what the
Demauno prescribes, before this festival can be held :
when thus ordained, the suppliant must provide
about a dozen hogs, as many goats, about three
score seers of rice, two of red paint, fifteen of oil ;
about twelve rupees must be expended in spirits,
and some scores of cooking-pots, dishes, and cups
for drinking, laid in, as well as a few peacock's tails,
a fan, three bamboos, nine score nataria-trecs, and
some red stones, which are ground for paint, and
also some charcoal. Thus prepared, the suppliant
sends strings, with knots numbering the intervening
days, with invitations to his relations and neigh
bouring chiefs. On the day appointed, some thou- .
sands assemble, and are variously employed. Some
E 3
,54 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
grind the red stone for paint, others charcoal to mix
with oil, while a great number are occupied in
stripping the bark off the nataria, which is effected
in one piece of four cubits long, by bruising it ; three
bamboos are then made straight by oil and fire, and
are of the same length with the natdria-h&rk : a fat
hog, grain, and several pots of spirits, are sent to the
workers. The red stone and charcoal being ground,
are mixed separately with oil, and a quantity of
hog's blood added to both : the barks of the nataria
have about a cubit of the lower end of each black
ened with the charcoal, another cubit is left of the
natural colour, and above it one cubit is painted red ;
caps of wood are fitted on the bamboos, and necks
made in them : on one of these, four score and an
half of barks are bound with twine dipped in oil ; on
the second, three score are bound, and on the third,
one score and a half ; the heads of these three are
ornamented with a profusion of peacock's tail-fear
thers, thus prepared ; they are called Chumdah Gos^
saih, and carried to the suppliant's house, where,
for the workmen, a hog is dressed with grain, that
they may be feasted for their trouble : a hog, two
pots of spirits, grain, and salt, are presented to every
chief, for himself, and vassals, who honours the sup
pliant with his company; as much is also given to
his own relations, and a like quantity to the relations
of his wives, and meat and drink is distributed to all
assembled. The women, who dress these provisions,
exclusive of their daily hire, have a hog given to them,
that they may eat together, as they are not allowed tp
feast with the men.

The Ckumtlah-hambooa having been brought about

evening, and placed against the suppliant's house, he
and the Demauno rub the ends on the ground with oil,
and mark them with red paint; when the latter, with
a hen's egg and a handful of rice, prays, observing
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL. 55
the usual ceremony, that Chumdah Gossaih may be
propitious to the suppliant, who follows, his exam
ple, and also makes an offering of a cut hog, which
he sacrifices so that the blood may fall on the bam
boos ; the largest of which, or one with the greatest
number of barks pendant to it, he presents to one of
his relations ; the second in size to one of his wives'
relations ; and the third to any volunteer. The
three persons thus favoured, support the Chumdah
by cloth tied round their waists, and balance them
with their hands, dancing as long as they can : when
fatigued, they are relieved indiscriminately, without
any distinction ; and this amusement, with music,
continues all night. In the morning the Demauno and
suppliant pray at the middle supporter of the latter's
house, with the usual forms, when a cut goat is
brought as an offering, and sacrificed by a relation :
hence they repair to his field, taking with them the
Chumdah, and again pray near the stump of a tree,
where a small space is brushed and washed for the
purpose, and a branch of the muckmun planted, in
addition to the egg and rice deposited there by the
Demauno and suppliant : a shrine for Kull Gossaih is
washed, rubbed with [oil, and paint put on it, and
bound with a red silk thread, and placed close to the
muckmun-hxa\\c\\, when a goat and two hogs are sa
crificed by a relation, that the blood may fall or be
sprinkled on the shrine Chumdah and branch. For this
office he gets a rupee and a turban ; the offerings
being dressed, are eaten with grain : the party having
feasted, return, bringing with them the Chumdahs,
which are carried five times round the suppliants
house, and then placed against eaves, where they
remain five days, at the expiration of which, a seer
of takallone is served out to every person who applies
for it at the suppliant's house ; but four men are sta
tioned at each of the four doors, that every person
who goes out with the takallone, may receive a blow
E 4
56 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
with the open hand from each of the four men sta
tioned at tlje door he passes out of. At the conclusion
of this ceremony the Chtimdah-bamboos are taken into
the house, and suspended from the roof ; the suppliant
repairs to the field, and makes an offering of a hog,
and prays at the shrine of Kull Gossaih, whence he
returns and sacrifices a goat at the middle supporter
of his house, with prayer : these offerings are dressed,
and, as is customary, they feast on them.

When the kosarane (a small grain like what the

lowlanders call collye) is reaping in November, or the
beginning of December, a festival is held as a thanks
giving before the new grain is eaten of. Materials for
a feast being prepared, a day is fixed by the Maungy,
who invites the chiefs of the neighbouring villages.
On the day appointed, the two men who prayed at
thf Chitaria-iesthai, proceed to Chalnad to pray, and
sacrifice a goat, which, Ayith some kosarane, is an
offering at the Nad to Chitariah Gossaih. On their
return to the village, the Maungy has his kondone
brought out, on which he prays and immolates a
fowl. During this, the dungareahar, or vassals, repair
to their fields, offer thanksgiving, make an obla
tion to Kull Gossaih, and return to their houses to
eat of the new kosarane. As soon as the inhabitants
assemble at the Maungys house, the men sitting
on one side, and the women on thp other, the
Phqjedar presents a hog, a measure of kosarane,
and a pot of spirits, to the Maungy, in the name of
his vassals, by whom these had been contributed.
On receiving them, he blesses his vassals, and exhorts
them to industry and good behaviour ; after which,
making a libation in the names of all their gods, and
of their dead, he drinks, and also throws a little of
the kosarane away, repeating the same pious exclama
tions ; which ceremony is the commencement of the
festivity and drinking that lasts for several days.
 HILLS NEAR RA'jAMAHALL. 57
On reaping the takallone (Indian corn) in August
or September, there is also a festival. Each man re
pairs to his fields, with either a hog, goat, or fowl, to
sacrifice to Kull Gossaih, to whom he prays ; and,
having feasted, returns home, where another repast is
prepared ; and on this day it is customary for every
family in the village to distribute a little of what they
have prepared for their feast to every house.

Should any person eat of new kosarane or takal

lone before the festival and public thanksgiving at the
reaping of these crops, the Maungy fines the offenders
a cock; which is sacrificed by the two preachers at
the shrine of Chitdriah.

The mountaineers are represented to have in ge

neral an amorous disposition ; their solicitude and
attentions, when in love, are said to be unceasing.
If separated but for an hour, the lovers are misera
ble ; they conceal their meat to present to each
other privately. The lady dresses whatever nice
things she can secrete from her parents, to treat her
lover with ; and he presents her with rings and
beads, and treats her with toddy. They go to mar
ket, and exchange paun and tobacco ; and, on their
return, should they perceive an acquaintance, they
separate, to avoid being seen in company ; but by
assignation soon meet again. They retire to sleep
together ; but seldom are guilty of that indiscretion
which is irreparable, though the fine for such impru
dent conduct, which the parties are afraid to con
ceal, is a hog and a goat to the Maungy, who sa
crifices them on the spot where frailty made them
transgress, and sprinkles some of the blood on them,
to wash out the stain from his land, or rather to ap
pease an incensed deity, who fails not to .punish for
such abominations. Thus when a virgin is deflowered
with her consent, the blood of the offering is sup
 ,58 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
posed to atone for their sin. Should the couple agree
to come together as man and wife, the Maungy pro
claims it ; and they are immediately considered to be
married, without any farther ceremony or expense.
The man has the option of taking her for his wife :
she however has the privilege of demanding a regu
lar marriage, which implies the usual presents, and the
time for the wedding is fixed.

Polygamy is allowed. A man may marry as

many wives as his circumstances will admit of; that
is, as often as he can defray the expenses of the
nuptials. When he sees a girl whom he wishes to
espouse, he sends a friend to her parents to ask her
in marriage ; they refer him to the lady. Should he
obtain her consent, he acquaints the parents, who
desire him to return to the suitor, to advise him of
their acquiescence, and that he may prepare the
usual presents of poonate (beads) and tubacane (a ring
for the neck) to present to the lady ; which being
accepted, she is considered as betrothed to him ; and
he, as soon as he can procure money for the ex
pense of the nuptials, must provide a turban for the
lady's father, with one rupee; also a rupee and a
piece of cloth for her mother; and a rupee and a
piece of cloth for several of the nearest relations.
These and the materials for the marriage-feast beino*
provided, a day is fixed, on which th,e bridegroom,
with his relations, proceeds to the bride's father's
house, where they are seated on cots and mats, and
after a repast, the bride's father taking his daughter's
hand, and giving it to the bridegroom, he pub
licly admonishes him to use her well and kindly, and
not to murder her; threatening to retaliate: but
if she should die a natural death, or by means of the
devil, it cannot be helped. On the conclusion of this
exhortation, the bridegroom, with the little finger of
big right hand, marks the bride's forehead with red
 HILLS NEAR RA'J AMAIIALL. 59
faint; and the same little finger being linked with
the little finger of the bride's right hand, he leads her
out of the house to his own. At the expiration of five
day6, the bridegroom, with the bride, returns to her
father's, well stocked with provision for feasting, and
having passed two or three days with their parents,
they go home, and the ceremony concludes.

A man dying and leaving widows, his younger

brothers, or younger cousins of the first and second
degrees, or nephews, may receive the widows as
wives. If the parties agree on these occasions, the
children go with their mother : if the widow prefers
returning to her relations, the children under ten
years of age go with her, and she is entitled to a
•rupee and a piece of cloth annually, for bringing
them up. When arrived at that period of life, they
are sent to the relation of their father who paid
their mother for taking care of them. When a wo
man has ten children, h«r eldest brother may claim
one ; the right is acknowledged from custom, though
it cannot be enforced. The child thus adopted by an
uncle, is treated as, and has every privilege of, his
own children. Should this son by adoption arrive at
manhood, die, and leave property, it is equally di
vided between the adopter and the father of the
^deceased.

A man desirous of marrying a widow, deputes a

friend to ask her in marriage. Should she consent,
she refers him to her late husband's relations, the
nearest of whom, for his acquiescence, is entitled to
two rupees and a tufban. The parents of the widow
are next consulted. Should they approve, they are
entitled to some trifling presents ; on which the fa
ther gives his daughter's hand, exhorting the brider
groom, as related in the description of a marriage.
60 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
The red paint is not used on a second marriage : a
feast concludes the whole.

A man cannot marry a relation, though he may

marry his wife's sisters, except in the instance of
younger brothers, cousins, and nephews, receiving
one each, or more, of their senior kinsman's widows,
who are treated and considered as, wives, though
there is no expense nor ceremony attending their
union.

Should a girl be compelled by her parents to

marry a man whom she dislikes, and should she be
unhappy, and leave her husband, and in despair put
an end to herself, the parents get a court appointed,
to inquire how their son-in-law behaved to their
daughter. If it should appear that he treated her
cruelly, he is considered guilty of murder, and fined,
but not so heavily as is common for the commuta
tion of blood. If, on the contrary, it should appear
that he behaved well to her, it is deemed suicide.

Should a married woman elope Avith a man, and

the party be pursued, seized, and brought back,
judges are appointed to try the man ; who is generally
fined one or two score of rupees. The husband may
or may not receive his wife ; and the seducer has to
pay the fine.

A man convicted of having committed adultery,

is fined twenty or thirty rupees : he is also obliged
to furnish a hog, the blood of which, being sprinkled
on the adulterer and adulteress, washes away their
sin, and, it is believed, will avert divine vengeance :
the ceremony ends with a feast, and, the parties thus
purified, the husband and friends are reconciled.
The adulteress in general reveals the secret; as a
superstitious idea, is entertained, that, if concealed,
 ' MILLS NEAR .KAJAMAHALL. 61
the inhabitants of the village will be visited by a
plague, or that a tiger or venomous animal will de
stroy them. When any of these happens, it is re
ligiously believed to proceed from the immorality
and evil doings of some individual, and as a punish
ment for some concealed sin ; to discover which they
have practices, in which they place implicit faith :
one is called Satane, and is as follows :—A place
large enough for a man to sit in, is brushed and
washed, in the middle of which a small branch of
the bale-tree is planted, and a person sits opposite
to it; another supplies him with a few grains of rice,
on a bale-leaf, some of which he throws on the
branch, the remainder he is to eat ; the person who
gave it to him repeating, that he is to swallow it in the
names of all the inhabitants of the village ; in which
should the sinner be, it is believed God will make
him throw up the rice. Should this happen, he is
next to eat some in the names of families, and again
in the name of all the individuals who compose that
on which the Satane proof falls. Another is called
Cherrcen, and is thus :—A stone is suspended to a
string, which, it is believed, will be tossed to and fro, on
the name of the village, family, and offender. The
third is called Gobereen, and is of a more serious na
ture than the two former. A pot with some cow-dung,
oil, 1and water, is put on the fire; when boiling, a
ring is thrown in ; each person approaches to take
out the ring, calling on God to protect him if inno
cent, and to burn him if guilty. On this trial, it is
believed the innocent will escape unhurt in taking
out the ring, and that the guilty person will be se
verely burned, without being able to put his hand
into the pot, as the mixture, it is said, will boil up to
meet his hand.-
, 4
When a married man has been detected in com
mitting fornication, his wife or wives may insist on a
$2 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
hog of goat being sacrificed, to sprinkle the blood
over him. Being thus purified, it is believed this ce*
remony expiates divine vengeance, Avhich would
sooner or later alight on him or some of his family/
for this sin.

Witchcraft and sorcery are most firmly believed ;

and accidents or diseases which elude their little
skill in medicine, are attributed to some person sup
posed to be skilled in these arts, who has bewitch-1
ed them. When such a conviction is admitted, the
Chtrrcm is consulted, and again the Satane, both
repeatedly, till some person be named. To confirm
this ideal proof, which is received as infallible, an or
deal is undertaken ; and on the part of such persons
(supposed to be bewitched) five men are employed
who are qualified and acquainted with this mode of
trial. Such as are boni immaturely cannot be en
gaged in it. These five proceed to a retired place on
the banks of a river, before day-light^ taking with
them wood of a particular kind, and make a fire to
heat an iron : one of these is to touch the iron when
red hot with his tongue, but is first to bathe. While
he is performing his ablution, the others heat the
iron : when red hot, a little rice is thrown on it, in
the11 name of the person accused of witchcraft, and
Birmah, the God of Fire, exhorted to do justice*
If it consumes, he is considered guilty; if not, not;
The Tatoo, or person who touches the iron, keeping
one foot in the water, puts the iron to his tongue, and
must repeat it as often as nine times, if the first and
second touch does not burn • which however cannot
happen. On the Tatoo being burned the party re
turn before sun-rise ; and, on their approach to their,
village, the friends of the sick person are called out
to see the Tatoo's tongue. The person accused may
object to the trial, and insist on its being held over
again, that two persons may go, on his part, to wit
 HILLS NEAR KA'jAMAIIALL. . 63
lless rfc On this proof, the unfortunate person is
seized and punished, till he or she acknowledges the
crime. It must be also told who instructed him, or
her, in the practice of this evil art. The Chonraga, or
warlock, is now brought to the sick person, to exor4-
cise him from his spell. Should he recover, the Ciwu-
raga is compelled to pay one rupee to him, one to the
Maungy of the village, one to the four persons who
witnessed the ordeal, and eight annas to the Tutoo.
On the other hand, should he, die, the Clwumga must
either suffer death, or redeem his life (at the option
of the friends of the deceased) at the price esta
blished for the commutation of blood. Again, the
friends of the Chouraga may retaliate on the person
whom their relation accused of having instructed him
in sorcery.

It is not uncommon for two neighbours to agree,

when their respective wives are pregnant, that the
offspring, in the event of there being a boy and a
girl, shall be married to each other. On these occa
sions, the ceremony may be performed when the par
ties are about eight or ten years old. Should the
father of the girl violate the engagement, and give
his daughter to another person, the father of the
boy will obtain a fine equal to the expense of., a
marriage, which is rated according to their circum
stances : whereas, should the father of the boy, not
withstanding his contract, marry his son before he has
performed his part, the father of the girl is entitled
to a fine of a turban and one rupee : after which it
may still be performed or not, as the parties mutually
agree.

When a woman is in labour, four or five of her

.relations and neighbours assemble to attend her :
among these, the most experienced ,does the duty of a
midwife. The woman keeps her house for five days,
64 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
and her husband attends her ; during which he must
not enter any person's house or field, nor until he and
his wife have washed their clothes and bathed. On
this day the child is named by the father ; but, if he
be not present, the mother gives a name ; however,
this name may be changed before the child is weaned.
After this they go out as usual. The women who
attended her in child-bed are entitled to a feast, are
anointed with oil, and their foreheads painted red.
A piece of cloth is given to the one who performed
the office of a midwife ; and a little grain, or some
other trifling acknowledgment, to the others for their
friendly assis tance.

When a child dies that is not weaned, the father

sends a friend to his Maungy, to solicit ground to
bury the body; which being complied with, the
corpse is carried to the grave, in a place allotted for
public burial, and interred with its head to the north.
Por infants of this description, no further ceremony
is observed ; but when a child dies that has been
weaned, at the expiration of five days, the relations
and neighbours are invited to a feast called Boge,
which being prepared, the father, or nearest male
relation, takes a little of every thing that may be
dressed, and proceeds to the road leading to the bu-
rying-ground, where he throws them away, in the
name of God and the deceased ; the intention of
which is, to avert the like misfortune in future : and,
returning to his house, the company are feasted, all
observing the same custom of throwing away a little,
in the name of God and the deceased, previous to
eating. Another entertainment, similar to this, is
given at the expiration of a year, and, annually, at
the thanksgiving for reaping the takallone and kosarane.
Some of each of these grains are thrown awav, in the
name of God and of the deceased.
 HILLS -NEAR RA'JAMAHALL. 65
When a child is still-born, the body is put into an
earthen pot by the women who attend, and covered
with leaves ; the father carries the pot into the jungles,
places it near the stem of a tree, and covers it with some
brush-wood, where he leaves it; and there is no
further ceremony.

The corpse of a person dying of the small-pox or

measles, is taken with the bedstead into a jungle
about a mile from the village, and placed under the
shade of a tree, where the body, the bedstead, and
clothes, are covered with leaves and branches, and left.
Those who attend the funeral, bathe before they re
turn to their homes. At the expiration of a year, the
relations, being prepared f6r a festival, proceed out of
the village on the road leading to where the body was
placed, with all whom they invite ; where one of the
kinsmen having prayed, and thrown away a small
portion of the feast, and made a libation in the name
of the deceased, the party assembled partake of it, and
return. The bodies of most others, dying a natural
death, are buried ; and the cause assigned for disposing
of the bodies of those who die of the small-pox, as
described above, is a superstitious idea, that such an
act will avert any further fatality -f whereas, if buried,
it will continue to rage, and carry off every inhabitant
of the village, which is reported to have happened
formerly.

When a young man, or virgin, who is marriage

able, dies, the .father, or nearest relation, sends a
friend to solicit four cubits of ground, to bury the
deceased, from the Maungy ; who asks if the relations
(>ropose putting the bedstead into the grave with the
jody ; in which case a rupee is paid to him for the
purchase of a hog. No time is lost in carrying the
body to the burying-ground, where a grave of a foot
and a half, or two feet deep, being dug north and
Vol, IV. F
66 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
south, the head is placed towards the former point ;
the body is covered with pieces of green wood laid
across it ; after this some long grass, and then the
earth which had been taken out, is thrown over the
grass : to conclude, small stones are laid to encompass
the grave, and a few over the middle of the body.
No women or girls are allowed to go to funerals, nor
are prayers said. On the return of the party, it is
customary for the whole to wash their legs and arms
previous to entering their houses.

The hog which the Manngy had purchased with

the rupee that was paid for permission to deposit the
bedstead with the corpse, is sacrificed by him. The
liver being taken out and roasted, the Maungy takes a
small bit, and casting it away Avith some of the blood,
in the name of GWand of the deceased, the remainder
is divided among such men as may be present, who
repeat what the Maungy had said, throwing a little
away before they eat. After this repast, the carcase is
divided ; the Maungy separating a fore-quarter for his
family, shares of the remainder in proportion with
every inhabitant in the village. At the expiration of
five days the Boge is observed; and every family in
the village, or as many as the relations can entertain,
are invited. When the father has performed the cere
mony of carrying a little of every thing that is dressed,
with some spirits, provided solely for the purpose of a
libation, to the road leading to the burying-ground,
and there cast them away in the name of God and of
the deceased, the company assembled are, all served,
whether male or female, old or young, on separate
leaves ; and each, previous to eating, observes the
ceremony of throwing some away, as already related.
Another Boge is held at the expiration of a year,
differing only from the former in the free use of
liquors. At the annual thanksgiving for the reaping
of the takal and kosar, some of each is thrown away,
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL. 67
in the names of the deceased kinsmen, for dne or more
years, according to the degree of propinquity and es
timation in which each was held : it however ceases
at any time that the survivors remove from the viU
lage in which their kinsmen died.

When a chief of Opulence and high rank is dan

gerously ill, he orders his relations, male or female,
and vassals, to be assembled : as soon as they attend
him, he informs them Of his situation ; and, as they
will observe he has not long to live, he desires them
not to grieve, but to be comforted, and points out
the son whom he wills to be his successor. Here
primogeniture has no preference : if he be a son, he
must succeed*, a daughter cannot ; though an idiot,
it is to be understood his right; and some near kins
man is named by the dying man to be his son's
guardian : to him he bequeaths his territories and
fortune (though certain sums or parts are to be dis
tributed) and desires them to look to him for pro
tection. On his death a drum is beat, to announce
it to such as are at a distance, that they may attend
to see the body ; which is not removed before the
vassals collect together, to be witnesses of the fact ;
it is then carried without the village, close to which
it is interred on the bedstead, in the same manner as
related of a young man's or virgin's funeral. A piece
of silk is spread over the grave, and stones placed so
as to prevent the wind blowing it off : a hut is
erected to shelter it, and, round the whole, a fence
. of bamboos or stones. The mourners, on their return,

* In some of the Tuppahs, a son may be set aside, and the suc
cession may be bequeathed to a brother, as is now the case in Mun-
necarry, the present chief, brother to the late Mawngy, who left a
son a minor, succeeded by desire of the deceased, and received his
brother's widows as wives.
F 2
 68 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
observe the usual oblation, and are feasted ; but throw
away some of whatever they have to eat or drink, in the
name of God and of the deceased, previous to tasting
it. All who come are thus treated in succession
for five days, when the first Boge is kept ; when the
only difference between it and that of a Dungarria,

relations and adherents assembling, and that spirits

are provided for them. At the festivals for reaping
. the takdl and kowr, some of each is thrown away on
the road leading to the grave, as already described.
At the expiration of a year, the chief's relations and
vassals being invited for their second Boge, the
Demauno and the heir pray at his door for the de
ceased, when all assembled partake of the feast, with
the usual ceremony: at the conclusion of this the
fortune and goods of the deceased are divided ; the
heir taking one half, the other is equally divided
among the sons, brothers, and nephews by the bro
thers side. Nephews by sisters do not share ; the wi
dows may, if the parties agree, or go with any of their
late husband's younger brothers, or nephews by the
brother's side, as wives. If however the parties do not
a.gree to come together, the mother of the heir has
the option of remaining with her son, or of return
ing to her relations ; the other widows must do the
latter.

When a married woman dies, the widow ob

serves the usual Boge at the two stated periods : he
is not allowed to marry before the performance of
the second, or at the expiration of a year ; and it is
customary to present the nearest kinsman of his de
feased wife with one rupee and a turban ; after which
he may espouse as many wives as he pleases, or has
fortune to maintain.
 HILLS XEAR fcA'JAMAHALL. 69
The body of a person who dies of a dropsy
(Narat) is carried arid t-hrowri into a fiver ; if buried',
it is apprehended the same disorder would return, and
infect and carry off the' other inhabitants. Th<fe
funeral party having cast the body into the water,
proceed to another part of the river to bathe, and
there, having brought a fowl and some takM, or rice,
some of each is thrown into the water, in the name of
God and of the deceased, by all who are present;
before they eat. This is the only Boge which is ob
served for persons dying of a dropsy, though, at the
thanksgiving for reaping the takallone or kosai\ some
of each is thrown away in their names.

When a person has been killed by a tiger, the

body or any part of it that is found, is covered
with the branches of trees. On the fifth day the re-
lations of the deceased, with a large party, proceed to
the place where the remains of their kinsman lay,
taking with them a new earthen vessel, a goat,
and ten or fifteen seers of takdl, or rice. Being ar
rived at the spot, one of the nearest relations prays,
for the deceased, in which he is accompanied by the
Demauno ; at the end of their prayers, the former
scatters some grains of rice, and cuts off the head of
the goat, naming God and the deceased. The mo
ment he severs the head, he rushes into the midst of
the party, who surround him; the Dcrhaum at the
same time seizes1 the head of the goat, sucks the
reeking blood, and is supposed to become frantic :
he casts the head from hitri and springs after it,' en
deavouring to imitate the tiger, and making a hideouS
noise as like that beast as he can : he looks about
for the preacher, whom if is the business of the party
to conceal, arid prevent hid touching. Should he in
his exertions accomplish this, a superstitious opinion
is entertained that the p'oor preacher will infallibly
fall a sacrifice to a tiger. When the Demauno is weii
70 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
wearied by his pranks, the head of the goat is put
under ground in the earthen vessel; this speedily
restores his reason, and the preacher conies out in
safety. The party thence retire to a small distance,
have a feast, and return to their homes. At the expi-t
ration of a year, the second Boge is held for the de-»
ceased in the same manner as for any other relation,
and the same attention is paid to his memory on
reaping the takallone and kosar,

When any person dies of the Moogdo, or Kory, a

djsease in which the extremities decay and drop off,
the body is buried with the usual ceremony, and the.
Boge is twice observed as usual, at which every sort
of flesh, except goats, may be eaten : fish is also
forbidden. In that disease goats flesh and fish are not
allowed to the patient, which is the cause of their
being forbidden at the Boge.

Such as die of an epilepsy, are buried with the

usual ceremonies ; at their Boge hog's flesh is for-r
bidden, because those who are subject to the epilepsy
are riot allowed to eat it.

I Persons who are killed, and suicides, are buried

with the usual ceremony above recited,

When a Demauno dies, his body is carried into the

jungles and placed under the shade of a tree, where
it is covered with leaves and branches, and left on
the bedstead on which he died, The objection to in
terring his remains is a superstitious idea, that he
becomes a devil, and that, if buried, he would re
turn and destroy the inhabitants of the village;
whereas, by placing the body under a tree, he is
thus compelled to play the devil in some other. The
usual Boge ceremonies are observed, but cow's flesh
fjorbidden, be eaten at them. Should a Demauno ea$
 HILLS NEAR RA'J AMAHALL. 71
of it, God in his wrath would cause all his functions
to fail in their effect.

It sometimes happens that very old men, when

they are very dangerously ill, desire their descend
ants and relations to be assembled, to whom they
give directions about the disposal of their body; that
is, if they wish not to be buried, some direct their
remains to be placed under the shade of a tree, while
others order them to be thrown into a river. Their
will in this respect is strictly attended to, and the two
Boge ceremonies are observed.

Before the chiefs of the hills put themselves under

the protection of the English government, wrongs
and injuries committed by the inhabitants of one
village on that of another, were in general decided
by the sword ; but disputes and differences, whether
with regard to property or otherwise, between inha
bitants of the same town, were always settled by the
Maitngy and his officers : the first of them in rank is
the Cutwal (who is the chief's deputy) next the Pho-
jedar, and lastly the Jemmadars, who have a certain
number of men under their authority, to inspect the
conduct of the inhabitants, and report it to the Pho-
iedar; to these, old and experienced men were added,
and usually called in to assist, when the subject of
litigation was of importance : at present, none but
trifling disputes are settled by those officers ; for
murder and all capital crimes, the delinquents are
brought to BhAgalpore or Rqjamahall, to be tried by
an assembly of the chiefs, agreeably to the engage^
ments entered into by Mr, Cleveland with the head
Maungies. Though the Maungies of all the villages
also assemble on these occasions, none but the Sir*
dar Maungies, or chiefs of Tuppaht, and their Naibs,
or deputies, sit in judgment. On passing sentence, it
is customary for them to ask the inferior Maungies if
72 OK THE INHABrTAKTS OF THE
the decree be not just. Should these question it, anr>
ther examination takes place, when the decision may
be the same, or amended.

I have been present at several of these trials. The

forms observed, were first to swear in the judges ac
cording to their faith : this being peculiar, their va-«
rious ways of taking an oath may not be thought
unworthy of description. The hill-word Deeben, H
an oath. There is no particular officer for administer
ing oaths ; any person may do it. The form in general
use at these trials, is, for a mountaineer to put a lit
tle salt on the blade of a Tnkoar, or scimitar, when
he says, " if you decide contrary to your judgment,
and falsely, may this salt be your death." The per
son swearing having repeated this imprecation, and
applied it to himself, the part of the blade where the
salt is, is held above his mouth, which he opens, and
it is washed off into his mouth with some water, that
he may swallow it. Those who, from indisposition or
infirmity, do not like to swallow the salt, repeat the
oath, putting their hand on two arrows fixed trans
versely in the ground, at about a cubit's distance,
with some salt between them. On some occasions, a
man swearing, repeats the oath with his hand on a
sword ; while others repeat it, laying hold of any
person's hand : and all these forms are considered
equally binding. Next, the commitment and charge
are read and explained by the collector's officer in
his, the collector's presence ; then the delinquent
must state his defence or confess his crime, sitting
on his hams; after which the Maungy and Pkqjedar
of the village where it was committed, declare
what they know of it. Here the criminal is appa
rently his own accuser, by never deviating from
truth ; the vice of lying being considered an ag^
gravation of any crime ; but I have known the ac^
cused refuse to speak ; for lying has not obtained
 ftfLli NEAR KA'JAMAHALL. 73
much among these highlanders. A man convicted of
falsehood, or who violates a promise, is called pas-
iiafy ; the meaning of which is, a person to whom
no credit is doe, though he should even speak truth,
and whose professions or promises are not to be de
pended on. Such a person is not admitted on any
arbitration, or on any committee to settle trivial dif
ferences.
Formerly, when a man of one village had a claim
upon an inhabitant of another, it was not uncom
mon, if the latter denied it, and refused to have the
matter brought to trial, for the complainant to ap
ply to the chief of his village, to unite with the
heads of one or two others, to whom presents were
made in proportion to the nature of the dispute, to
form a junction with all their vassals to plunder
the village where justice was denied, and to cany
off the offender: the division of the booty was ac
cording to the rates allowed the Maungks, their
officers, and vassals. In such troublesome times much
was not taken, as all property, not ' of immediate
use for domestic purposes, was usually concealed ;
the chiefs could therefore only have the first choice
of the utensils and apparel which fell into their
hands. The relations and chief of the village from
which the captive was taken, after some time were
wont to send a present to the complainant, acknow
ledging the demand, and promising to abide by the
award which arbitrators should give, on his being
released; these conditions were complied with, the
prisoner was enlarged, and he and his relations had to
make good the loss sustained by the inhabitants of
the plundered village, as well as to pay the costs of
the arbitration.

It sometimes happened on such occasions as the

above, that the inhabitants of the village intended
74 OS THE INHABITANTS OF THE
to be plundered, got intelligence of the design, and
the cause of it ; on which it was usual for the Maungy
to call on his vassals, to answer the accusation : if
he acknowledged it, an ambassador was dispatched to
the complainant, desiring him to desist from his in
tention, and to name arbitrators, that justice might be
done : on the other hand, if the charge was denied,
and the accused exhorted his chief to stand on the
defensive, with an assurance that he would either
prove his innocence, after the invasion, or make
good the loss sustained on both sides, the vassals were
assembled and stationed to guard every avenue lead
ing to the village. Night attacks were most com
mon ; but these precautions were in general sufficient
to induce the assailants to defer a scheme which was
merely to plunder, and, as long as the defendants
were alert, nothing was attempted ; the invaders
therefore kept in their neighbourhood, and, when
they were harassed by watching, the party advanced,
and a man was sent forward to scatter a soporific
dust to windward of the village, which, it was be
lieved, would put every inhabitant in it to sleep in
less than an hour after dark. In this persuasion they
rushed on to plunder, and, carrying oft' all that was
valuable, retreated ; soon after which a deputation
was sent from the despoiled village, desiring an arbi
tration to be appointed, to try whether the accusa
tion was just which was alleged against the inha
bitant of it : if proved, he was bound to make good
the loss sustained, as well as to commute the lives
that might have been lost on both sides : on the other
hand, if acquitted, all this fell on the accusers,

When a man by accident killed one of his bro

ther sportsmen in hunting, it was customary for the
party to carry the body to the village ; where the
relations of the deceased, having declared the party
had no right to slay their kinsman, set out and ini
 HILLS NEAR EA'JAMAHALL. 75
plored the assistance of a neighbouring Maungy
with his adherents, to obtain justice : having suc
ceeded, they returned in force to plunder the homi
cide's houses, and took eatables from every house in
the village : at the conclusion of this violence, the
serdars of the village assembled to sit in judgment
on the part of the hunters, whilst those of the assail
ants met them, on the part of the kinsman of the
deceased. The sentences on such occasions were sel
dom less than ten or twelve scores of rupees, as a com
mutation for the blood of the manslayer, two-thirds
of which ransom he had to pay, and the remainder
was recovered from the party of hunters. When the
above fine was realized, another complaint was made
by the relations of the deceased to the Maungy of
which he belonged, claiming some
consideration for the children which he might
have begotten had he lived. Judges being appoint
ed to examine the second demand, the fine wa»
about two or three scores of rupees from the homi
cide.

When a woman had poisoned her husband, and

confessed the fact, judges were appointed to settle
a just retribution ; ten or twelve scores of rupees
were commonly adjudged, and the sum was recovered
from the woman and her relations, to whom she was
returned.

A person convicted of stealing cloth, was not

fined more than five or six rupees, and a turban ;
yet the thief, by praying for an abatement of this,
was in general let oft', on paying one rupee, and pro
ducing one hog and a turban.
WThen an orphan, who had no relations or pror
perty, was convicted of stealing money, grain, or cloth,
lie was compelled to restore the stolen goods, and
76 ON fft£ INflABlTANfS OF *rfE
flogged and discharged. Judges ,Were not appointed
for such a trial, as the accused was supposed neither
to have property nor friends to pay the fine for'
him.

When g>ain had been stolen, and the thief un

known, th& Cherrcen was first resorted to : whether1
this was successful or nots the Satam was next tried
to confirm the discovery which might have beef*
made by the Cherreen, or to find the thief by it, if
the Ckerreen had been unsuccessful. In the event of
both failing, or on their being firmly denied by the?
accused, he was compelled to attempt the Gobereeri,
which Was deemed unerring. On such slender proof
the accused was seized and punished, till he ac
knowledged the theft, and declared whether any
person advised him, or was an accomplice : he wa^
then set at liberty, and judges were appointed by
the Maungy of the village to inquire what damage1
had been sustained; which the accused was obliged to
make good, and to fine him according to the nature
and extent of his crime. On these occasions the fines
Were heavy, to deter others from committing similar
offences.
*
When a chief had killed a poor man, the officers'
of his own village, and those of a neighbouring vil
lage, were assembled, with some sage old men for
the trial. Should the fact be established, the rela
tions of the deceased might refuse a commutation
for the blood of the murderer ; in Avhich case he was
delivered up to them to be put to death, and his
kinsmen had to pay the expenses of the trial. The
ransom was in general ten or twelve score of ru
pees ; but the relations of the deceased had the op
tion of remitting the fi»e, and of pardoning the mur
derer.
 HiLl* NEAR RA'JAM AUALU 77
All applications to a chief to apprehend any person
in a civil cause, and to appoint judges for a trial, are
accompanied with a fee ; and any person borrowing
money for that purpose, is compelled to pay two ru
pees for every one ' so borrowed, at the issue of the
suit, whether he gains it or not.

A chief has no more right to strike a poor man

than the latter has to strike him : the crime and pu
nishment in either case is equal. Should a chief
without provocation strike a poor man and draw
blood, the latter complains to the Cufoeal, who with
the Phqjed(ir, and some old men, being assembled,
and having heard the complaint, they depute an agent
to their chief, to require him to answer the charge:
which being acknowledged, the agent returns, and
informs the court that the offender confesses his
crime : the complainant then demands a certain sum
for reparation, and the agent sets out to the offender,
who, on begging a remission of the fine, in general
gets off by furnishing a hog; which being killed, the
blood is sprinkled on the wounded person. A simi
lar misfortune is thus supposed to be averted, and
the parties reconciled, the aggressor paying the ex
penses of the trial.

Should a man borrow some kosarane for seed from

another, and refuse to pay for eight or ten years, and
till he is compelled, the lender, on establishing the
loan before judges, will receive three rupees for each
seer that is due to him.

The same penalty is levied from those who refuse

to repay a loan of takallone.

Whoever accuses a man of committing incest with

his mother, on proof of such abuse before a jury, hq
will be fined a rupee for the complainant, and a hog
for a feast to the judges.
78 OK THE INHABITANTS OF THE
Should a man, who is sober and walking about,
touch another who is asleep, or sitting, with his foot,
the aggressor will be fined a rupee for the complain
ant, and a hog for a feast.

A person committing the same offence while

drunk, is let off on giving a fowl to the complain
ant.

Should a man who is intoxicated, by day-light,

and willingly, vomit on another, on conviction be
fore judges, he will be fined a turban and one rupee :
should he, however, from its being dark or otherwise,
not see the person, he is forgiven.

Should a man seize and cultivate a field which

his neighbour had begun to clear, this offence not
being cognizable before judges, the latter imprecates
divine wrath, that nothing may grow on it. It is
believed that his prayers will be attended to, and that
the produce will be small, comparatively with former
years.

If two men quarrel in their cups, and blood be

shed, —when sober, judges are appointed, and the
person who cuts his antagonist is fined a hog or a
fowl, the blood of which is sprinkled over the wound
ed person, to purify him, and to prevent his being
possessed by a devil : the flesh of whatever has been
sacrificed is eaten, and a feast reconciles the combat
ants ; but, if the men quarrel while sober, and one
be wounded, judges are appointed, and, exclusive of
a hog or fowl for the purpose above described, the
person who drew blood from his antagonist is fined
one rupee, and a hog for the Maungy of the village,
and, at the discretion of the judges, is compelled to
pay a fine to his wounded antagonist.
 HILLS NEAR RA'jASlAtlALL, 79
Should a man, by design or accident (in carrying
fire) set fire to a jungle, whatever loss is sustained by
the flames spreading and burning grain, or men's pro
perty, he must make it good. If a town should be
set on fire by accident, and the whole be burned, the
person who accidentally caused the loss is not fined,
because the loss sustained would be too great for one
{>erson or family to defray ; but, if only one or two
louses should be burned, "the offender and family are
obliged to make entire restitution.

If a man be detected by a woman sitting on her

cot, and she complains of the impropriety, and de
mands a fowl as a forfeit, he complies ; but she re
turns it : on the other hand, if a man detects a wo
man sitting on his cot, and he complains and demands
a fowl, she must produce it, and he kills the fowl,
sprinkling the blood on the cot to purify it : the wo
man is then pardoned.

Women at certain times are considered impure :

should one in such a condition touch a man by acci
dent, even with her garment, he is defiled ; and for
this offence she is fined a fowl, which is sacrificed,
and the blood is sprinkled on the man to purify him.
Women at such times may talk to men, but not
touch them. A man, whose wife has that impurity,
must not himself during that period sit on a chief's
cot: for so doing, the fine is a fowl, and the blood is
sprinkled on the cot to purify it. He must not even
eat or partake of any thing at a festival during such
period of separation ; and any person detected in this
offence, must pay the expense of purification from
this pollution by another festival, to be held for that
purpose at his expense.

When a party are assembled to go a hunting,

and have arrived at their ground, the Cherreeti is
 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
held to ascertain which of the party will be most ac
ceptable to the God of Hunting-, to return thanks for
the success they may have ; two hens' eggs are given
to the persons named. This ceremony over, some
are stationed at the skirts of the wood, while others
scour to drive the game to them. On their killing
either a hog or a deer, the preacher breaks one of
the eggs on the tooth of the animal, and throws the
contents on its head, at the same time returning
thanks to Autgha, the God of Hunting. This is ob-.
served on the death of all large game. On their re
turn home with their game, the heads, the tails, and
flesh on the inside of the loins, being separated, are
considered sacred ; and women are not allowed to
taste of these parts ; but the hunters feast on them,
and the rest (one hind quarter being first given to
the fortunate sportsman for his share) is equally
divided among the party for their families. When the
hunters have finished their repast, the one who killed
the game sacrifices a fowl to Autgha, the blood of
which is shed on the fore-teeth of the game, with
thanksgiving to the God; and the preacher, having
cut up the heart, that the blood of it may fall on his
bow and arrow, breaks an egg on it, praying again
to Autgha.

Should a woman privately eat of those parts of

which they are forbidden to taste, the mountaineers
believe that Autgha will be offended, and prevent
their having any success in hunting on any future
excursion; and, if they do not happen to kill some
game, the failure is attributed to the above cause :
and the Ckerreen, or suspending a stone to a string,
is resorted to, to discover the offender, who, on such
doubtful proof, is fined a fowl ; Avhich, being sa
crificed to Autgha, the God is thus supposed to be
appeased, and will be propitious to them on the next
hunting party.
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAIIALL. 81
If a hunter goes out alone, and wounds some
game, and returns for assistance to find and bring it
home, those who go with him are entitled to one
half.

When it is found that wild boars or other game

have been in a cultivated field, the owner leaves a
road for the beasts to return, and erects a stage to
watch their coming at night. Should he wound any,
he repairs to his village to announce his success, and
to beat up for volunteers to assist him in ascertain
ing which way the game went, that they may know
where to find it in the morning. They arc directed in
this by the groaning of the animal, which cannot
run far, the poison which they use on their arrows
being of a most subtile nature ; yet its being of so
fatal and noxious a quality does not prevent their
eating the game, after cutting out a large piece of
the flesh round the arrow, which is thrown away. I
heard an instance of a man's eating that part, and dy
ing soon after. A sportsman who goes out alone,
keeps half of whatever game he kills ; the remainder
(after the Maungy has taken several joints of the
chine) is divided among the inhabitants of the
village.

A skilful and fortunate sportsman, who gives

up' all his time to hunting, daily kills more or
less. When ten or twelve score heads of game have
fallen by his skill, it is customary for him to take
all the teeth and horns to a convenient place for
prayer, and to sacrifice a hog over them to Aut'
gha, the God of Hunting, who sometimes favours
the huntsman, by drawing some game within view
of the festival, that he may sally forth to kill it ; and
whatever his success may be on this occasion, it is con
sidered as an addition to his offering, and accordingly
Vol, IV. G
82 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE -
eaten on the same altar. It is to be observed, that
every sacrifice to their God is eaten.

When a hunter wounds game which he cannot

find, he returns home to collect his friends to go in
search of it : in the interim, should any person or per
sons pick it up, cany it off, and eat it,—on detection,
they will be fined by the judges five rupees and as
many hogs ; though the complainants in general let
such offenders off, on their delivering one rupee and
one hog.

Dogs that will hunt are held in estimation by the

mountaineers ; and any person killing one is fined ten
or twelve rupees.

The penalty for killing a cat is whimsical : a per

son guilty of it must collect all the children of the
village, and distribute salt among them, that he may
avert divine vengeance.

It is related that a man, sitting with another, ob

served his companion's clothes on fire, and that, for
informing him of it, the latter demanded a fowl, to
shed the blood of it on his burned clothes for his
friend's officious kindness, observing also that the
clothes were his ; and that he had no business to say any
thing about them. This practice is now obsolete as
far as regards the exaction of a fowl ; but the circum
stance is related to this day.

Hospitality is considered as a virtue ; and when a

relation or man of rank comes to see his friend,
he is kindly received, and treated as sumptuously as
the ability of the host will admit of. Strangers tra
velling are well received; a house and bedding is
allotted them, and the inhabitants contribute to
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL; 83
furnish them with as much provisions as they can
eat.

When a peasant waits on his chief to represent

any grievance, having made his salam, he is not of
himself to enter on the subject of it, unless he is de
sired, as his chief may be then thinking of business of
importance, when it would be improper and disre
spectful to interrupt him ; but due attention is always
paid to the complainant.

A peasant does not sit in the presence of his chief

without being desired to do so ; and respect requires
that he should decline it two or three times before
he obeys, taking care to sit at a good distance. When
business leads them to their chief, it is customary to
have him previously advised of it. A man who has
business, if he has any penetration, will observe at a
distance what humour his chief is in, before he ap
proaches him. If he should seem pleased, they think
it right to embrace the moment, keeping at a re-1
spectful distance, and advancing but a step or two as
desired; but if he is in an ill-humour, the com
plainant generally defers his suit. It is considered
disrespectful in an inferior, even to enter a chief's
house without being invited. When a chief visits
another chief, the guest is always desired to seat him
self first.

In addition to the foregoing account, a few gene

ral remarks may neither be deemed superfluous nor
unnecessary. The natives of these hills are mostly
very low in stature, but stout and well-proportioned.
To find a man sis feet high, would, I believe, be a
phenomenon : there are many less than four feet
ten inches, and perhaps more under five feet three
inches than above that standard. It may not, how
ever, be far from the truth to consider that as the
G 2
84 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
medium size of their men. A flat nose seems the
most characteristic feature ; but it is not so flat as
the Caffres of Africa, nor are their lips so thick,
though they are in general thicker than the inhabit
ants of the neighbouring plains. I shall not pre,-
tend to say whether they ought to be considered the
aborigines or not , as they have no letter, figure, or
hieroglyphic; all accounts of their ancestors are
oral. It will however be remembered that they
consider themselves descended from the eldest of the
seven brothers who, according to their tradition,
peopled this earth, and who was an outcast for re
ceiving his portion of every thing eatable on an old
dish ; that the hills in the districts of Bhaugulpore and
RAjamahall were allotted for him and his descendants :
these being rather unproductive, and their wealthy
neighbours refusing to associate with them, they had
no alternative but that of plundering. These causes
are assigned for their remaining in barbarous igno
rance. In numbers, the hill-language has only words
for one and two, which are variously expressed, aa
applied to different subjects : they however use the
Hindu words in counting from two to twenty ; and,
when reckoning any thing which exceeds that
quantity, they begin again at one, numbering by
scores. Of their manufacture and commerce little
can be said. The small and common Hindostany bed
steads are made by the Highlanders, and brought
down for sale, with the wood-work of ploughs rudely
shaped. Wood for various purposes, as well as for
fire, with charcoal, and planks shaped with a hat
chet (probably that they may be more portable)
are also brought down for sale ; to these, bamboos,
cotton, honey, plantains, sweet potatoes, and occa
sionally smalt quantities of grain, may be added,
and will, I believe, include all the articles, which
they bai ter for their few wants from the plains ; such
as salt, tobacco, rice for the purpose of their worship,
 7HILLS NEAR RA'jAMAHALL. 85
cloth, iron heads for arrows, hatchets, crooks, and
such iron implements as they may have occasion
for. I may add, that they have no manufactures:
except the bedsteads, there is nothing made in the
hills : they are even indebted to their neighbours on
the plains for earthen pots. Salt and tobacco are their
principal wants ; for, in describing such hill-villages
as are nearest market-towns, or such as have hauts on
the plains., it is common to say, such a hill-village is
supplied with these articles by such a town on the
plains. Thus their trade is confined to a very narrow
compass. Cultivation is in as unimproved and rude
a state as it well can be, and seldom more extensive
than for the immediate consumption of the cultivator
and his family. The women as well as men work in
their fields. The bringing of wood and water for all
domestic purposes, cooking, cleaning, arranging all
house-affairs, belong to the former ; and they are also
employed in carrying wood, bamboos, and other things
to market on the plains, to exchange for salt and to
bacco. Hence it appears that the greatest share of
labour falls to the women ; and a man is rich in pro
portion to the number of his wives, who are so many
labourers. There are two sorts of soil which the moun
taineers cultivate, the one a black earth, which is es
teemed the best ; the inferior, called red, is stiff, and
of the nature of clay. Where there is earth sufficient
for the purpose of cultivation on the sides and tops of
hills, the trees, with which these hills are well covered,
are cut, leaving pretty large stumps ; and such as can
not be conveniently moved, or are Wanted, are burned
where they fall, in the places so cleared. Holes are
made from' three to four inches deep, Avith a piece of
hard wood pointed, in the middle of June, or setting
in of the rains : in each of these, two grains of takat-
lone, two of Iwsaranc, two or three of lahary, and from
five to seven of naito, are thrown in, when they are
filled with earth. These holes arc not made nearer
fi 3
 86 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
than a cubit and a half • if less space were left, the
grain would be too thick, and not so productive.—
Koppai, gungarea, mooto, and koodama, are scattered
in the same field, with massee, which is sometimes
scattered, and at others, put into separate small holes.
In this field kuldee is also planted, and slips of the
marallee ; bareally, or yams, are cultivated, and grow
wild likewise : takallone, or Indian corn, is the same as
what is variously named in the plains bootah,janeara,
jezcar, muckai ; but is larger and better on the hills,
and is reaped in November, Kcmrane is like the callye
grain of the plains in taste, but is white, and rather
larger ; it is reaped at the latter end of November and
beginning of December ; lahary is a large pea, reaped
in December ; naito is a round seed, reaped in Decem
ber ; koppai is cotton, and does not flower before the
third year, when it,is gathered in March, April, and
May, and sells for as much as cotton produced in the
plains ; g ungarea is a grain smaller than the cheennce
of the plains, and is reaped in September and October ;
vwoto is somewhat like the gungarea, and reaped at
the same time ; koodama is also very small grain, and
reaped as the two former; mossee is the same as the
bhattmoss of the plains, but a smaller grain, and is
reaped in September and October; kuldee is a large
plantain, bears some fruit the second year, but more
plentifully the third and fourth, after which it de
clines ; marallee is the same as the sakkerkund, or sweet
potatoe of the plains, but much larger, is taken out
of the ground in November, December, and January.
The foregoing includes all the cultivated productions
of the hills : they are, as may be supposed, of a hardy
nature, and are plentiful or scanty in proportion to
their having enough or too little rain, for they trust
entirely to the monsoon for water, having neither re
servoirs, nor any method of watering their fields ;
- which in fact might not be possible from their situa
tion. This last season their crops in general failed,
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL, 87
from want of rain : on these occasions, the mountain
eers cut more wood and bamboos, and make greater
quantities of charcoal, for which they find a ready
mart in the lowlands, and exchange it for grain. —
From this resource, and the thriftiness of some among
themselves, who are provident, they' averted a famine
during the great scarcity in 1769 and 1770 : many of
the inhabitants of the plains retired to the hills, where
they got a subsistence ; but having associated and
mixed with the highlanders, they of course lost their
casts, and therefore many remained with them. The
takallone is the most productive of any of their grain,
and is their chief subsistence. There are no esculent
herbs nor garden-stuff on the hills. Pungdoallee, the
same as sootnee in the lowlands, grows wild, and is
larger than the sootnee. In times of scarcity, singlah
(in Moors. Jingoor) is found in the jungles ; but
it must be boiled in several waters, or well roasted,
and is a dangerous unwholesome food : of much the
same nature is kindallce, which is sliced thin and boiled
in sour waters, otherwise it is poisonous. The mango-
tree, tamarind, kuthul, bale, burrel, baycr, mowxeah,
jamort, phulsah, dwarf cudjoor, that yields a kind of
date, and keand, with others peculiar to the hills,
grow wild. Their domestic animals are hogs, goats,
and fowls ; they have also some dogs and cats ; the
wild animals are in general the same that are met
with in the plains, except a species of large deer, and
another remarkably small ; the former are called mauk,
and the latter illarroo.

The internal government of the hills, or the con

nection between the Maungy and his Dungarear (ad
herents) is a simple engagement for mutual protection.
The Maungy swears to do them justice in disputes
among themselves, and not to sutler them to be op
pressed by others ; and they, on their part,' swear
fidelity to him as long as he shall protect them and
G 4
88 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
do them justice : a failure on either part dissolves the
contract : in fine, the Maungy is no more than a primus
inter pares. The Dungarear apply to him for land
to cultivate, and he allots it: when the crops are
ripe, the Cittwal and Phojedar, on the part of the
Maungy, prepare with the proprietor of each field to
estimate what portion he can afford to give his
Maungy: thus an easy and amicable contribution is
levied by the consent of the cultivator, who has no
fixed proportion to yield to his chief. If the crops
be luxuriant, he willingly gives what he can spare ;
if scanty, very little is demanded ; if obstinately re
fused (a case which seldom or never happens) the
Maungy cannot forcibly take any part : but, as a
punishment, he can prevent this refractory Dun
garear from cultivating in his territory again. The
Cutwal and Phojedar receive a little grain for their
trouble, or perhaps the Maungy remits their contri
bution ; for these officers, as well as the Maungy
himself, cultivate their fields : they have no salary;
their stations perhaps give them some degree of conse
quence; and on all trials they either receive some
compensation, or are feasted; the latter however,
from their disputes in general being trivial, is most
common. The appointment of Cutwals, Phojedars,
and Jemmadars, belong to the Maungies ; and he can
dismiss from office when any of them offend; the
Jemmadar is merely an honorary officer. I cannot
now learn at what period the hill-villages were formed
into Tuppahs. It seems however to have been an as
sociation for mutual protection; for the Sirdar Maun-\
gy, or chief of a Tappak, receives no contribution
from any village but his own, or one in which he
resides : when appealed to, or applied to for justice,
he is paid in proportion to the amount or magnitude
of the cause. He could assemble the several Maun
gies with their adherents on any offensive or defensive
operations, but could not compel those to act who
 HILLS NEAR RA'jAMAHALL. 89
disapproved of the motives. In their wars, when
highlanders were made prisoners, they were either set
at liberty, or were ransomed. In their descents into
the plains they were not however so merciful : all
who opposed them were put to death ; those who
made no defence, women and children, were stripped
of such valuables as they might have, but neither
punished nor made prisoners. On such occasions, the
chastity of women was held inviolable ; for it was
believed, if any of the assailants committed violence
on the persons of .females, that he would infallibly
lose his reason and die. The bow and arrow is the only
arms peculiar to these mountaineers ; some few have
swords, and still fewer have match-locks ; but these,
probably, were collected in their predatory incursions
into the plains, either in war or hunting. In gene
ral, they use the bow and arrow in the former, but
always in the latter, though I do not think they are
expert archers, when it is considered they are all hun
ters from the time they can carry these aims ; and
are so fond of that diversion, that they go out at all
seasons, and undergo great fatigue for the gratifica
tion which it affords them. A poisoned arrow is al
ways used in hunting, but never in war, though
they generally had them, as it is said, to be prepared
for any game that might start. . .

There are no slaves on the hills ; slavery can nei

ther be said to have been tolerated nor forbidden.
Parents never sell their children : and those who hire
themselves as servants, stay no longer than they agree
with or like their masters.

Enough may have been said of their modes of

worship : they are not the first race of people who,
we are taught, believed that the chief means of
pleasing the Gods, and of pacifying them when they
were angry, consisted in certain ceremonies, sacn
 90 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
fices, and feasts, in the due observance of which they
conceive their welfare depends ; for, in praying, the
suppliant says little more than to recommend himself
and family to the Supreme Being and subordinate
deities, and to promise oblations at the shrine of
the God he then worships, provided he is fortunate,
and enabled so to do by his prosperity. Their ex
piatory sacrifices are however confined to the brute cre
ation ; there is no instance of their offering up any
of the human species to appease the Gods, who are
supposed to be abundantly pleased by the votaries
feasting as large congregations of men as they can
afford to maintain; for, in proportion to the ex
pense in meat and spirituous drink, the piety of the
votary is measured. The part which the Demauno,
their oracle, " dreamer of dreams," bears in their
ceremonies and forms of worship, has already been
described. Before a man vows to sacrifice at any
shrine, he consults the Cherreen and Satane: when
these agree, he repairs to the Demauno, without in
forming him of the result of those two processes,
but explains to him the cause of waiting on him :
the Demauno is allowed one, two, and even three
nights to confer with the Deity in a vision, to pre
scribe what the suppliant ought to do ; and, as it is
believed he has familiar intercourse with God in his
dreams, his decrees are obeyed, though, when they
differ from what was discovered by the Cherreen and
Satane, these are held over again to reconcile them.
The women neither offer sacrifices, nor approach the
shrines of their Gods ; even husbands are forbidden
to partake of festivals, during the separation of their
wives. These prohibitory laws regarding women
are of an old date, and their origin perhaps not well
known.

Colonel Brown, in his account of these hills, for

warded to government in 177.9, observes, that it. was
 HILLS NEAR RA'jAMAHALL. 91
about fifteen years since the hill-people had any
government among themselves of a general nature ;
during which period they had become dangerous and
troublesome to the low country ; that their ravages
had been the more violent, as they were stimulated
by hatred against the Zemindars, for having cut off
several of their chiefs by treachery. The Colonel
might have added, that, during that interregnum or
dissolution of government, it was a common practice
for the Zemindars on the skirts of the hills to invite
the chiefs in their vicinity, with their adherents, to
descend and plunder the neighbouring Zemindaries ;
for which, and for the passage through their lands,
the mountaineers divided the booty with them. Thus,
at one time, from repeated acts of treachery in the
Zemindars, the mountaineers were provoked to take
ample vengeance on them, and their unhappy Ryots ;
and at other times from their engaging the chiefs to
rnake predatory incursions, to which they were
strongly incited, no less from a desire of plundering
their more opulent neighbours, than from the dirh-
culty of obtaining salt and tobacco from the hauts,
all friendly intercourse was at a stand ; the low coun
try bordering on the hills was almost depopulated,
and travellers could not pass with safety between
Bhaugulpore and Furruckabad, nor could boats, with
out danger of being plundered, put to for the night
on the south side of the Ganges between the before-
named places. It was at this period of double treach
ery on the part of the Zemindars, and predatory hos
tilities on the part of the mountaineers (from which
it may not be a strained inference, that the machina
tions of the former were in a great measure the
cause of that necessity which compelled the latter to
such frequent and fatal descents, when these public
and private incendiaries were making large strides in
ruining these once fertile districts) that Captain
Brooke was stationed Avirh a corps of light infai>
92 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
try, to avert their utter destruction. On this duty-
it is well known that he acquitted himself with great
credit, from his uncommon exertions and success
in pursuing the unfortunate mountaineers unto their
hills, where numbers must have unavoidably fallen ;
for it became unquestionably necessary to impress
them with a dreadful awe of our prowess : and in
this harassing and unpleasant warfare, I have been
well informed by officers who were with Captain
Brooke, that his gallant conduct could not be too
much commended. He made them sensible of the
inefficacy of opposing him in the field, and invited
the chiefs to wait upon him, and negociate ; when he
gave a feast to those who came, and made them pre
sents of turbans ; but before any permanent establish
ment took place, he was succeeded in the command
of the light infantry by Captain Browne, who made
further progress in conciliating the minds of the
discomfited mountaineers. He placed them on
the road from Furruckabad, near Colgong, to protect
the Dwarks, on which duty they still continue. From
this and other measures of his, Captain Brooke
and he, it will be allowed, laid the. foundation for the
most permanent and happy settlement concluded
with the hill-chiefs by the late Mr. Augustus
Cleveland, that could possibly be attained. He was
sensible, from the rapine and decay of these districts,
that the peaceable deportment of the mountaineers
ought to be purchased ; and, while he was recon
ciling them to become subjects to the British go
vernment, he bestowed liberal presents in money and
clothes to the chiefs, and to all the men and wo
men who came down to him. Of his generosity,
they speak with gratitude : and for the blessings
and benefit which they derive from the wise and ju
dicious conditions which he granted, and which were
.confirmed by government, I hope they will ever
have reason to be thankful. As long as that govern
 HILLS NEAR RAJAMAHALL. 93
ment lasts, the comforts and happiness which they
derive from them, must ever insure their obedience.
To engage their confidence, Mr. Cleveland, in the
early part of his intercourse with the mountaineers,
entertained all who offered their services as archers,
and appointed many of the relations of the chiefs
as officers : they were not (nor arc they as rangers,
though they very seldom now ask their discharges)
bound to serve for any limited time ; the corps, of
course, constantly fluctuated, and was frequently, I
understand, above a thousand strong. He clothed
them ; and m less than two years after they were
formed, from the confidence he had in their attach
ment and fidelity, obtained fire-arms for them ; in the
use of which, I may venture to observe, ' that they
are expert, and have address ; and I can also with
out hesitation assert, that they are capable of as
high a degree of discipline as any native corps in the
service; and I trust I shall have the happiness to
prove this in due time. Exclusive of having thus
employed so many of the mountaineers, Mr. Cleve
land fixed the salary of ten rupees per month for
each chief of a Tuppah, three rupees ditto for each of
his NaibSy and two for the Maungy of each village,
from which there shall be a man enrolled in the lull-
rangers; but from such as supply not a man, the infe
rior Maungy receives no monthly allowance. In consi
deration of these establishments, I understand, the
chiefs are not only responsible for the peaceable deport
ment of their own adherents, but bound to deliver
over all delinquents and disturbers of the public peace
within their own limits to the collector, to be tried by
an assembly of the chiefs, either at Bhaugulpore or
RAjamahall, as already related. It has ever been cus
tomary, on these occasions, to feast the chiefs so assem
bled. When any report is to be made to the collector,
it is the duty of a Naib to wait on him with it, should
the chief be indisposed, or otherwise prevented.
94 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE
From these happy and admirable arrangements,
digested by Mr. Cleveland, whose name ought to
be dear both to the natives of the hills and lowlands,
the ease, comfort, and happiness of the former is insu
red (for which they are grateful, and speak of him with
reverential sorrow) and peace and safety secured to
the latter ; and if they have any goodness, they ought
not to be less thankful. These solid and essential
benefits are attended comparatively with but a trivial
expense, and must ultimately be an advantage to
government. I have been led to say more on this
subject than I intended ; yet it may not be thought
foreign to it to add, that the Aumlah and Zemindars
erected a monument to the memory of Mr. Cleve
land, nearly in the form of a pagoda, and that another
was also erected at the expense of government, by the
order of the Honourable the Governor General and
Council ; on which is the following inscription :
To the memory of Augustus Cleveland, Esq.
Late collector of the districts ot Bhaugulpore and Rdiamahall,
Who, without bloodshed or the terrors of authority,
Employing only the means ofconciliation, confidence, and benevolence,
Attempted and accomplished
The entire subjection of the lawless and savage inhabitants of thejun-
gleterry of Rujamakall,
Who had long infested the neighbouring lands by their predatory incursions,
Inspired them with a taste for the arts of civilized life,
And attacked them to the British Government by a conquest over their minds :
The most permanent, as the most rational, mode of dominion.
The Governor General and Council of Bengal,
In honour of his character, and for an example to others,
Have ordered this Monument to be erected.
He departed this life on the 13th day of January, 1784, aged 2f).
Before I conclude, I must do the mountaineers
the justice to mention, that they have as great a re
gard for truth as any people on earth, and will
sooner die than deliberately tell a falsehood. In this
I must confine myself to those who have not associ
 HILLS NEAR RA'JAMAHALL.
ated or mixed in conversation with their neighbours,
the Hindu and Mussulman of the plains : where it is well
known, lie and interest are synonimous terms : and
what change in this respect a more familiar intercourse
will occasion, I shall not pretend to premise.

They are in general of a cheerful disposition, and

humane : both men and women are remarkably bash
ful. When asked to sing (their notes are wild and
drawling, having a slow cadence, from forte to
piano) or dance, they ever answer, that they can do
neither without drinking freely, for they are ashamed
until they are intoxicated. Like all people in so rude
and' uncultivated a state, they are passionately fond of
spirituous liquors, and, I am inclined to believe, pre
fer that which from its strength will inebriate them the
soonest. Hence it appears that they are not ashamed
of being drunk, and in fact their religion promotes it,
for a festival would not be much esteemed that was
unattended with a hearty carouse.

I conceive, instances of remarkable longevity are

very rare : I have heard of one man who was said to
be more than five score ; but, as I have never' met
with any of them that appeared so old, or that could
tell his age, for they keep no account of it, I am in
clined to doubt the fact. In a late excursion with
Mr. Grant into the hills, we saw an old woman,
who was said to be of a great age : she was a relation
to a chief, whose house we were at; and having
taken a cheerful glass, with his wives and daughter,
of liquors which Mr. Grant had carried up to give
them, she set him the example of singing and danc
ing to us ; in which she was followed by the chief
and two of his youngest wives, who were at the
time far from sober. When we had dined, the meat
that remained was given to them ; of which, the fa
mily being assembled, they thankfully partook, and
96 ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE HILLS, &C.
made indubitably a more luxurious meal than they
ever had before. We took a route in which no Eu
ropean had been ; and Mr. Grant, to reconcile them
to so novel a sight, as well as to conciliate their at
tachment, carried up a variety of presents of clothes,
beads, and looking-glasses, which he distributed with
money to every family in all the villages we passed,
and thus left them the most acceptable memorials of
their visitors.

Bhavgulpore, June 27, 17£)2.

 97

ADDITIONAL REMARKS

ON THE

SPIKENARD OF THE ANCIENTS.

BY THE PRESIDENT;

NEARLY at the time when the result of my first

inquiries concerning spikenard was published
in the second volume of our Asiatic Researches, there
appeared in the Philosophical Transactions an account
of the Andropogon Jwarancusa, the specimen of
which Dn Plane had received from Luckncnv, and
which he supposes to be the true Indick nard of Dios-
corides and Galen, Having more than once read his
arguments with pleasure, but not with conviction,
I feel it incumbent on me to state my reasons for dis-»
senting from the learned physician with all the free
dom of a searcher for truth, but without any diminu
tion of that respect to which his knowledge and can
dor justly entitle him*

In the first place, there is a passage in Dr.

Plane's paper, which I could not but read with sur«
prise ; not because it is erroneous or disputable (for
nothing can be more certain) but because it is deci
sive against the very proposition which the writer
Vol, IV. H
98 ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON THE
endeavours to support. " Dioscorides mentions the
" Syriack nard," says the Doctor, " as a species dif-
" ferentfrom the Indian, which was certainly brought
"from some of' the remote parts of India ; for both he
" and Galen, by way of fixing more precisely the
" country whence it came, call it also Gangites."
,We may add, that Ptolemy, who, though not a
professed naturalist, had opportunities in Egypt of
conversing with Indian merchants on every thing
remarkable in this country, distinguishes Rangantati
as producing the true spikenard ; and it is from the
borders of that very district, if we believe modem
Indians, that the people of Biitan bring it yearly into
Bengal*. Now, it is not contended that the new
species of Andropogon (if it be a new species) may
be the Indick nard of Dioscorides \, because it was
found by Mr. Blane in a remote part of India (for
that solitary fact would have proved nothing) ; but
it is learnedly and elaborately urged, that it must
be the true Indian spikenard, because it differs only
in the length of the stalks from the nard of
Garcias; which, according to him, is the only spe
cies of nardus exported from India, and which re
sembles a dried specimen seen by Rumphius, and
brought, he says, among other countries, from
Macran, or the ancient Gadrosia; the very country
where, according to Arrian, the true nard grew in
abundance : for " the Phenicians," he says, " collected
" a plentiful store of it ; and so much of it was tram-
" pled under foot by the army, that a strong per-
" fume was diffused on all sides of them." Now

* PtoUmie distingue le canton de Rhandamarcotta, en ce qu'il

fournit la plante, que nous appellons Spknard ce qui peut couvenir
k Rangamati ; et des differentes especes, YIndique est bien la plus
.estimee. JD'Anv. Antiq. Geogr. Ind. 81.
f Dr. Roxburgh, with great reason, supposes it to be the Muri-
cated Andropogon of Koenig, who mentions the roots as odoriferous
when sprinkled with water. See Retz. iii. Fascic. 43 and v. 21.
 SPIKENARD OF THE ANCIENTS* 99
there is a singular coincidence of circumstances ; for
our Andropogon was discovered by the scent of its
roots, when they were crushed by the horses and ele
phants in a hunting party of the Vazir Asufuddaulah ;
so that, on the whole, it must be the same with the
plant mentioned by Arrian: but it may be argued, I
think, more conclusively, that a plant, growing with
great luxuriance in Gadrosia, or Macron, which the
Doctor admits to be a maritime province of Persia,
could not possibly be the same with a plant confined
to remote parts of India ; so that, if Garcias, Rum-
phius, and Arrian be supposed to have meant the same
species of nard, it was evidently different from that
of Dioscorides and Galen. The respectable writer,
with whose opinions I make so free, but from no
other motive .than a love of truth, seems aware of a
little geographical difficulty from the western position
of Macron ; for he first makes it extend to the river
Indus, and then infers, from the long march westward
and the distress of Alexander's army, subsequent to
the discovery of the spikenard, that it must have
grown in the more eastern part of the desert, and con
sequently on the very borders of India ; but, even if
we allow Gadrosia, or Gadrosis, to have been the same
track of land with Macrdn (though the limits of all
the provinces in Persia have been considerably chang
ed) yet the frontier of India could never with any pro
priety be carried so far to the west ; for not only the
Oritce and Arabitce, but, according to Mela, the whole
province of Ariana were between Gadrosis and the In
dus; and, though Macrdn (for so the word should be
written) may have been annexed to India by such
whimsical geographers as the Turks, who give the
name of White Indians to the Persians of Arachosia,
and of Yellow Indians to the Arabs of Yemen, yet the
river Indus, with the countries of Sind and Midtan on
both sides of it, has ever been considered by the Per
sians and Arabs as the western limits of Hind or India;
H2
 I

100 ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON THE

and Arrian himself expressly names the Indus as its
known boundary. Let Gadrosis, however, be Macr&n,
and let Macran be an Indian province, yet it never
could have been a remote part of India in respect of
Europe or Egypt, and, consequently, was not meant
by Galen or Dioscoi'ide.s, when they described the true
spikenard. It must be admitted, that, if the Siree of
Rumphius, which differs little from the nardus of Gar-
cias, which corresponds for the most part with the new
Andropogon, was ever brought from the province of
Macrdn, they were all three probably the same plant
With the nard of Arrian : but, unfortunately, Rum
phius thought of no country less than of Persia, and
of no province less than of Macran; for he writes very
distinctly, both in his Latin and his Dutch columns,
that the plant in question grows in Mackidn, which
he well knew to be one of the Moluccas*. I am far
from intending to give pain, by detecting this trifling
mistake ; and, as I may have made many of greater
Consequence, I shall be truly obliged to any man who
will set me right with good manners, the sacred Jaws
of which ought never to be violated in a literary de
bate, except when some petulant aggressor has forfeit
ed all claim to respect.
■
Arrian himself can by no means be understood to
assert that the Indian spikenard grew in Persia ; for
his words are a fragrant root of' nard f, where the
omission of the definite articles implies rather a nard,
than the nard, or the most celebrated species of it ;
and it seems very clear, that the Greeks used that
foreign word generic-ally for odoriferous plants of dif-

* Hi ffores srepe, immo \ulgo fere, observantur in vetustis Siree

stipitibus, qui in Ternata, Motira, et Mackian crescunt. Vol. 5.
Lib. 8. Cap. 24. p. 1«2.
 SPIKENARD OF THE ANCIENTS. 101
ferent natural orders : but Arrian in truth was a
mere compiler; and his credit, even as a civil histo
rian, seems liable to so much doubt, that it cannot
be safe to rely on him for any fact in tbe history of
nature. " We cannot," says the judicious and accu
rate Strabo, " give easy credence to the generality
" even of cotemporary writers concerning Alexander,
" whose fame was astonishingly high, and whose his-
" torians, preferring wonders to truth, wrote with se-
" cure negligence ; well knowing, that, as the far-
" thest limits of Asia were the scene of his actions,
" their assertions could hardly be disproved." Now
Arrian s principal authority was Aristobulus of Cassan
dra, whose writings Avere little prized by the ancients,
and who not only asserted " that Gadrosis produced
" very tall myrrh-trees, with the gum of which the
" Phenicians loaded many beasts" (notwithstanding
the slaughter of them, from the distress of the whole
army) but, with the fancy of a poet describing the nest
of a phoenix, placed myrrh, incense, and cassia, with
cinnamon, and spikenard itself, even in the wilds of
Arabia. —" The fruitfulness of Arabia" says Arrian,
" tempted the king of Macedon to form a design of
" invading it; for he had been assured that myrrh and
" frankincense were collected from the trees of that
" country ; that cinnamon was procured from one of
" its shrubs ; and that its meadows produced sponta-
" neously abundance of spikenard" Herodotus, in
deed, had heard of cinnamon in Arabia, where the
laurus, to the bark of which we now give that
name, was, I verily believe, never seen ; even the
myrrh-tree does not seem to have been a native of
Arabia; and the public are now informed that it
was transplanted from Abyssinian forests, and has not
flourished on the opposite shore; but, whatever be
the countries of myrrh and cinnamon, we may be cer
tain that any learned Arab would laugh at us, if we
were to tell him that the Sumbulul Hind grew wild
H3
102 ADDITIONAL REMARKS ON THE
in abundance on the plains of Tahdmah. It seems a
bold allegation of Garcias, that he has exhibited
" the only species of nardus known in India, either
" for consumption by the natives, or for exportation
" to Persia and Arabia." If he meant that any
plant was either used in this country or exported
from it by the name of nard, he had been strangely
deceived ; and if he meant, that it was the only fra
grant grass used here as a medicine, or as a perfume,
his error was yet more gross. But, whatever his
meaning might have been, if the nard of Garcias and
of Arrian was one and the same plant, it is wonder
ful that it ever should have been exported to Persia
and Arabia, where it grew, we are told, in so great
abundance. The nard of Arabia was, probably, the
Andropogon Sckcenanthus, which is a native of that
country : but, even if we suppose that the spike
nard of India was a reed or a grass, we shall never be
able to distinguish it among the many Indian species
of Cypirus, Andropogon, Schmius, Carex, and other
genera of those natural orders, which here form a
wilderness of sweets ; and some of which have not
only fragrant roots, but even spikes to the ancient and
modern senses of that emphatical word ; one of them,
which I never have seen in blosom, but suppose from
its appearance to be a Sccenus, is even called G6-
narda, and its dry root has a most agreeable odour ;
another, which Rheede names Bdlaca, or Ramacciam,
or White Ir'wili, and which Barman thought a variety
of the Schamanthus, is a considerable article, it seems,
of Indian commerce, and therefore, cultivated with
diligence, but less esteemed than the black sort, or
Carabula, which has a morefragrant root, and affords
an extremely odoriferous oil*. All those plants would,

* 12 Hort. Malab. tab. 12 and p H. M. p. 14.5. Sec also the

Flora IiMfica, and a note from Herman on the valuable o\\ of
Seree,
 SPIKEXARD OF THE ANCIEXTS. 103
perhaps, have been called nards by the ancients ; and
all of them have stronger pretensions to the appella
tion of the true, spikenard, than the Febrifuge Andro-
pogon, which the Hindus of Behdr do not use as a
perfume. After ail, it is assuming a fact without
proof, to assert that Indian spikenard was evidently
gramineous ; and, surely, that fact is not proved by
the word arista, which is conceived to be of a Gre
cian origin, though never applied in the same sense
by the Greelcs themselves, who perfectly well knew
what was best for mankind in the vegetable system,
and for what gift they adored the goddess of Eleusis.
The Roman poets (and poets only cited by Dr.
Blane, though naturalists also are mentioned) were
fond of the word arista, because it was very conve
nient at the close of an hexameter, where we gene
rally, if not constantly, find it ; as Homer declares in
Lucian, that he began his Iliad with m?4», because it
was the first commodious word that presented itself,
and is introduced laughing at a profound critic, who
discovered in that single word an epitome of the
whole poem on the wrath of Achilles. Such poets
as Ovid and Lactantius, described plants which they
never had seen, as they described the nest of the
phoenix, which never existed, from their fancy alone;
and their descriptions ought not seriously to be ad
duced as authorities on a question merely botanical ;
but, if all the naturalists of Greece and Italy had con
curred in assuring us that the nard of India bore an
ear or spike, without naming the source of their own
information, they would have deserved no credit
whatever; because not one of them pretends to
have seen the fresh plant ; and they have not even
agreed among themselves, whether its virtues resi
ded in the root, or in the htishy leaves and stalks that
were united with it. Pietro della Valle, the most
learned and accomplished of eastern travellers, does
not seem to have known the Indian spikenard, though
H 4
 10-4 ADDITIONAL REMARKS OX THE
he mentions it more than once by the obsolete name
of Spigonardo ; but he introduces a Simbul from
Khatd, or a part of China, which he had seen dry,
and endeavours to account for the Arabic name in
the following manner :— " Since the Khataian Sum*
" bid" says he, " is not a spike, but a foot, it was
" probably so named, because the word Sumbul may
" signify, in a large acceptation, not only the spike,
" but the whole plant, whatever herb or grass may be
ft sown; as the Arabic dictionary*, entitled Kdmus,
" appears to indicate." The passage to which he
alludes is thus :—" Sumbul," says the author of the
Kamus, " is an odoriferous plant, the strongest of
fi which is the Surl, and the weakest the Hindi;
" but the Sumbul of Rum has the name of nardin"
I suggested in my former paper, and shall repeat in
this, that the Indian spikenard, as it is gathered for
use, is in fact the whole plant ; but there is a better
reason why the name Sumbul has been applied to it.
By the way, Delia Valle sailed, as he tells, along the
coast of Macrdn, which he too supposes to have been
a part of Gadrosia ; but he never had heard that it
produced Indian spikenard, though the Persians were
fully acquainted with that province ; for he would
not have omitted so curious a fact in his correspond^
ence with a learned physician of Naples, for whose
sake he was particularly inquisitive concerning the
drugs of Asia. It is much to be wished, that he had
been induced to make a short excursion into the
plains of Macrdn, where he might have found, that
the wonderful tree which Arrian places in them, with
flowers like violets, and with thorns of such force and

* Giacche il Sombol dpi Cataip 6 radice e non e Spiga, potremmo

dire, che cosi s'i chiami, perche forse la parola Symbol possa piu
Jargamente signifkare non solo la spiga, ma tuthi la piftvta di ogni
prba o biada, che si semiui ; come par, che il Camus, ypcabolario
Arabic?, ne dia Indizip. l*tt. 16 dj Bagha/uf.

•
 SPIKENARD OF THE ANCIENTS, 104
magnitude, as to keep wild beasts hi captivity, and to
transfix men on horseback who rode by them incautiously,
was no more, probably, than a Mimosa, the blossoms
of which resembled violets in nothing but in having
an agreeable scent.

Let us return to the Arabs, by whom Dioscorides

was translated with assistance (which the wealth of a
great prince will always purchase) from learned Greeks,
and who know the Indian spikenard better than any
European, by the name of Sumbulul Hind. It is no
wonder that they represent it as weaker in scent and
in power than the Sumbul of the Lower Asia, which,
•unless my smell be uncommonly defective, is a strong
Valerian ; especially as they could only have used the
dry nard of India, which loses much of its odour be
tween Ranpur and Calcutta. One question only re
mains (if it be a question) whether the Sumbulul Hind
be the true Indian spikenard? for in that case, we
know the plant to be of the natural order, which Lin
naeus calls aggregate. Since the publication of my
paper on this subject, I fair and plain question
severally to three or four Mussulman physicians ;
" What is the Indian name of the plant which the
" Arabs call Sumbulul Hind?" They all answered,
but some with more readiness than others, Jdtamansi.
After a .pretty long interval, I shewed them the spikes
(as they are called) of Jatdmansi, and asked, what
was the Arabic name of that Indian drug? They all
answered readily, Sumbulul Hind. The same evi
dence may be obtained in this country by any other
European who seeks it ; and if among twelve native
physicians, versed in Arabian and Indian philology, a
single man should, after due consideration, give dif
ferent answers, I will cheerfully submit to the Roman
judgment of non liquet; my own inquiries having
convinced me, that the Indian spikenard of Dioscorides
is the Sumbulul Hind; and that the Sumbulul Hincf
106 ADDITIONAL REMARKS OX THE
is the Jatamans'i of Amarsinh. I am persuaded, that
the true nard is a species of Valerian, produced in the
most remote and hilly parts of India; such as Nepal,
Morang, and Butan, near which Ptolemy fixes its na
tive soil. The commercial agents of the Devarqja
call it also Pampi ; and, by their account, the dried
specimens which look like the tails of ermines, rise
Jrom the ground, resembling ears of green wheat, both
in form and colour : a fact which perfectly accounts
for the names Stachys, Spica, Sumbul, and Khushah,
which Greeks, Romans, Arabs, and Persians have
given to the drug, though it is not properly a spike,
and not merely a root, but the whole plant, which the
natives gather for sale, before the radical leaves, of
which the fibres only remain after a few months, have
unfolded themselves from the base of the stem. It is
used, say the Butan agents, as a perfume, and in me
dicinal unguents, but with other fragrant substances,
the scent and power of which it is thought to increase :
as a medicine, they add, it is principally esteemed for
complaints in the bowels. Though considerable quan
tities of Jatamans'i are brought in the caravans from
Butan, yet the living plants, by a law of the country,
cannot be exported without a license from the sove
reign ; and the late Mr. Purling, on receiving this
intelligence, obligingly wrote, for my satisfaction, to
the Devarqja, requesting him to send eight or ten
of the plants to Ranpur : ten were accordingly
sent in pots from Tasisudan, with as many of the
natives to take care of them, under a chief, who
brought a written answer from the Raja of Butan;
but that prince made a great merit of having com
plied with such a request; and my friend had the
trouble of entertaining the messenger and his train for
several weeks in his own house, which they seem
to have left with reluctance. An account of this
transaction was contained in one of the last letters
 SPIKENARD OF THE ANCIENTS. 107
that Mr. Purling lived to write ; but, as all the plants
withered before they could reach Calcutta, and as
inquiries of greater importance engaged all my time,
there was an end of my endeavours to procure the
fresh Jatumansi, though not of my conviction, that
it is the true nard of the ancients.
 109

ON THE

DHANESA, OR INDIAN BUCEROS.

BY LIEUT. CHARLES WHITE.

COMMUNICATED BY LIEUT. FRASER.

THERE are two distinct species of this bird ; one

called Bagma Dunnase, and the other Putted
Dunnase.

I shall first treat of the Bcegma, which is divided

into two kinds ; the specific marks of which I shall
hereafter mention.

The Bcegma Dunnase is a very remarkable bird,

and, I believe, has not hitherto been described. As
far as lies in my power, I shall endeavour to rescue it
from a situation so unworthy the distinction it has a
strong claim to, among the curious productions of
nature.

It may be necessary to premise, that the names of

black-horned and white-horned are given by myself, the
natives not making any distinction between them. I
have bestowed upon them these names from the dif
ference of the bases of their horns.

Black-horned, Bcegma Dunnase, with a large double

beak, or a large beak surmounted by a horn shaped
110 Off THE DHANE'SA,
like the upper mandible, which gives it the appear
ance of a double beak. The horn is hollow ; at
the base brown, with a broad edging of black,
quite hard ; a black mark runs from about one inch
from the base to the point of the horn, very irregu
lar in its breadth, in the centre reaches to the junc
tion of the horn with the upper mandible; upper
and lower mandible serrated, and separate from each
other about three inches in the middle of the beak
longitudinally ; upper mandible marked with black at
its junction with the head, which part is quite hard ;
immediately below this the lower mandible has a
large black mark, which appears on both sides, and
joins at the bottom ; joining to this, and covering the
base of the lower mandible, is about an inch of white
shrivelled skin ; between these, at the edge of the
mandible, is a small brown spot covered slightly
with feathers ; the rest of the beak and horn cream-
colour, patched with yellow, except the point, which
is much whiter; the nostril placed at a small distance
from the head, in the junction of the horn with the
beak : head, neck, back, and coverts of the tail,
black ; breast, belly, thighs, and coverts of the
vent, white ; scapulas, greater and lesser coverts of
the wings, black, varying to a greenish tinge ; under
coverts of the wings, white; primaries, white at
their base, then black, with three inches of white at
their ends ; secondaries, nearly the same ; tertials
black ; a few white feathers on the outward edge of
the wing, just below the shoulder; tail cuneiform, ,
two middle feathers black, longer than the rest,
which are white, four on each side crested, close ;
the feathers extending a little way down the neck ;
eye, speculum black, irides reddish brown; the
cheek immediately round the eye, and extending
from the beak to the ear, devoid of feathers, con
sisting of a shrivelled skin, which is nearly black;
ear-feathers about an inch long, extending partly
 OR INDIAN BUCER06. Ill
across the head; tongue short, formed like a dart,
with the ears of the barb raised above the shaft ; near
the epiglottis it swells to the size of a small nutmeg,
which part is perforated ; when the mouth is open,
a black and brown knob appears below the upper
mandible, rising from its base to an inch be
yond its apparent junction with the head ; legs and
feet black, tinged with brown and dirty white;
claws large and strong, three in front, and one be
hind ; length, upon an average, from the forehead to
the tip of the tail, two feet eight inches ; extent, three
feet two inches.

White-horned Bcegma Duniidsc, agreeing with the

former in description, except in the following par
ticulars : the horn in these is generally smaller, and
blunter at the point, and at the base it is soft, consist
ing of a membraneous substance ; the ground white,
marked with crimson ; the skin, which covers the
base of the lower mandible, is very differently shaped,
and is much stained with crimson ; only a small spot
of black upon the upper mandible, where it, joins the
head, which junction is soft ; eye black, the skin round
the eye, extending to the ear, white, marked with
crimson : the ear-feathers form a curve, beginning
in the centre of the black mark of the lower mandi
ble, running along it, and rising above the ear, where
it joins the crest. In some I have observed the
white tail-feathers marked in the web with black at
their base. These birds in size are rather smaller than
the first.

Putteal Dunnase, with a double beak, or horn,

upon the upper mandible, over which it curves about
half way, base hid in feathers ; horn black, except at
the lower edge, near the point, which is brown; the
upper mandible black in the middle, shaded off to
white at the point; lower mandible the same, white
 112 Otf THE DHAftE'SA,
at the bottom, both serrated ; a small black projection
, from the bottom of the lower mandible crested, cine-<
reous, tinged with brown ; the feathers, from the eye
to an inch over the beak, iron-grey, dashed with
brown ; ear-feathers dark iron-grey, fonning a curve
from the lower part of the eye, extending nearly
across the head, under the crest ; back grey ; neck the
same, much lighter ; breast, belly, thighs, and coverts-
of the vent, white ; coverts of the tail, greyish brown ;
scapulars, greater and lesser coverts of the wings, lead-
colour ; primaries at the base of the web, black, then
dark grey, edged with white ; each primary white at
the end, near an inch ; secondaries nearly the same ;
tertial greyish brown; under coverts of the wings
white ; tail cuneiform, very long, two middle feathers
reddish brown, longer than the rest, which are ferru
ginous, tipt with near an inch of white, above which
is a mark much larger, black ; eye, speculum black,
irides reddish brown ; from the beak to the ear-fea
thers, and round the eye, bare ; this part is black ;
legs and feet black, marked with dirty white at the
joints ; claws large and strong ; length two feet five
inches, from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail j
extent two feet four inches.

The last of these birds is to be met with in almost

every part of the country, more particularly where
there are jungles. I have seen a variety of them at
Burragong in Sircar Sarun, where, instead of the hom,
they had a large knob at the base of the beak, very
much resembling that of a wild goose. The one I
have attempted to give a description of, was brought
to me at Midnapore, in which province, and the ex
tending hilly country, they abound. 1 have seen
them in the vicinity of Shtergctty.

The Bcegma Dunnase chiefly inhabits the western

range of hills, extending from Neelgur through Mo*
 OR » INDIAN BtfiClROfc life?
kurbuiige, Midnapore, Ramgur, Rotas, towards Bid-
zigur. In Ramgur, I have been informed by an in
telligent person, they are to be seen in abundance. He
told me that he had seen crowds of them on the peeput-
trees, the berry of which they feed upon at times.—
Their note, or voice, in concei t, has a strong- resem
blance to the mournful cries of monkies, for which tins
person, deceived by the sound, at first took them. —
The place where I met with them was at Midnapore,
in thejungles adjacent to which they are- to be found*
fitom the month of N&oember to the month of March '
only; at which time they retire to thfe hills to breed.
I should have been highly pleased could my curiosity*
have been gratified in the inquiries I made respecting*!
the economy of this extraordinary bird; but the
people I had to deal with were poor ignorant folks,
from whom I could gain but little information : I
therefore can do little more than ascertain one curious
fact, and display some qualities of the bird, which
may hereafter be of benefit, if thoroughly in\
by some person of medical skill.

These birds have a most remarkable- appearance

when in the act of flying, from the great size of their
beaks and length of tail. I have seen several of them
in this state ; and a more uncouth object I never be-
heldi The -beak, -which forms the - most prominent
feature in this strange bird, may be considered as
onetof the most uncommonly curious i among the fea
thered tribe» The Toucan^ the' Spoonbill^ the Pelican,n
the Doda, and' others, certainly claim the attention of I
the naturalist ; but1 in my humble opinion the Bagma -
has merits far superior, on the ground of rarity. The ,
largest beak I ever saw was produced from a bird shot
at a place called Kullar, about nine miles from Midna
pore. Thefollowmg is the measurement:-

Vol. IV, I
114 ON THE DHANE'SA,

Length of the beak in a straight line from its junction Inches.

with the head - - • - 8J
Length of the horn from the base to the point - 8j *'
Depth of the whole beak, including the horn, near 4£
'The horn to its junction with the upper mandible 2j
Each mandible in the centre of the beak - I
Distance from the point ofthe horn to the point of the beak 3

It may be proper to. observe here, that the beak

forms a much greater curve than the horn, the point -
of which is parallel to its junction with the beak ;
whereas the point ofthe beak comes down an inch and
a quarter below the lower mandible. The following
ia. the measurement of the bird to which this beak be
longed. . } ' . J|' ..<'• -' • -

...» Feet. Inch.

Length from the forehead to the tip of the tail • 2 9
Circumference in the thickest part , - . - 0 15
Neck, from the chin to the shoulder " '-' - 0 6
Body, from the shoulder to the rump 1 1 1 < . - -10
Tail, from the rump to the point J-- i .- . 1 1
Height and breadth of the head -' «, 0 3|
Circumference of the neck in the middle - -' 0 6
Length of the wing when closed - -. 1 lj
Ditto when open - - 1 5j
Extent when expanded from tip to tip .- - 3 3
Length of the legs - - '. Q li
Ditto of the toes - ' -' - 0 2|
Ditto of the claws (largest) - - 0 o|
Circumference ofthe legs - - - ' 0 1J '

I have to regret that I did not weigh this bird :

indeed at the time, I had no idea that I should attempt
the description of it ; I can only therefore venture to
guess that it might weigh about six or seven pounds.
1 took a drawing of the bird, which has enabled me
to give the above account.

I endeavoured to acquire some information from

the bird-catchers respecting the use of the horn, upon
 OR INDIAN BUCEROS.
the idea that Natureforms nothing in vain ; but all that
I could learn was unsatisfactory, and amounted to
little more than this: one of the beaks was brought
to me with the horn very much worn at. the point,
which they told me proceeded from the bird's strik
ing it against the trees ; but for what particular pur
pose they so applied it, they could give no clear ac
count.

But what may be probably deemed the most ex

traordinary circumstance relating to this curious bird,
is its feeding upon the mix vomica. This is a point
which I have been able clearly to ascertain. One of
these birds, purchased by Capt. John Campbell, was
opened, by his orders, before several respectable gen
tlemen at Midnapore; and in its craw were found
several seeds of the nuv vomica. With respect to my
own observation, I have had only one opportunity of
seeing the contents of the craw, which was that of the
bird shot at Kullar. Nothing was found in it but the
remains of an egg, and some weeds : but to carry on
the inquiry, that I might be able safely to assert what
appeared to me a circumstance of great curiosity, I
asked the bird-catchers what these birds fed upon. —
They very particularly mentioned a fruit called coochla^
Agreeably to my directions, they brought it to me. —
It was about the size of a lime, of an orange colour,
with a very hard skin, shining and almost smooth : it
contained a pulpous substance, distinct and separate
from the shell. Conversing since with a man who had
been in Major Crawford's corps at Jelda, who had
seen great numbers of these birds in the surrounding
hilly country, I inquired of him what they fed upon.
He said, sometimes upon the berry of the peepul-tree ;
but that the food they affected most, and with whi-ch
they were most delighted, was the coockla ; which he
said was to be had in every bazar. He brought me
some of it. ' It proved to be the true nux vomica;
116' ON THE DHANESA,
which, from an account given to me hy a native, is
produced from the fruit above mentioned. The pul-
pous substance drying, leaves one, two, and sometimes
three of the flat seeds, which are known as the mix vo
mica: and this agrees with the account given of .it by
Casper Navman, in his Chemical JVorks ; who says,
" Nux vomica, so called, is not a nut, but the seed of.
" a fruit, like an orange, growing in the East Indies."
The tree which produces the coochla, abounds in the
range of western hills before mentioned; it varies in
its size ; sometimes attains to a considerable height ;
has a leaf nearly shaped like a heart. ft appears, from
what I have said, that these birds feed not only upon,
the seed, when it has arrived at a state of maturity,
but that they also eat it in the state it was brought to
me by the bird-catchers j and, that when the coochla
is not to be had, they resort to other food. These
birds, at particular seasons, grow very fat ; and this
season appears to be when the fruit of the nux vomica
prevails,—about the month of December. The one
before mentioned, shot at Kullar, was killed in that'
month, and was very fat. The natives make use of
the fat, and also of the flesh and bones, as a medicine.
They apply both species to this purpose. The cases
they use it in are, in the contractions, which sometimes
proceed from catching cold after the profuse use of
mercury : it is applied to alleviate and remove violent .
pains, that often succeed venereal complaints, called
by the; natives Guttca ke Azar: it is also used hy the
natives in very cold weather, when the pores of the
skin are affected; for, being in its nature, extremely
hot, in this case it causes a free perspiration. The
Bcegma is preferred to the Put teal, as being deemed
more efficacious. The mode they apply it in is this :
they reduce the fat to an ointment, at the same time .
mixing with it every kind of spice, pepper, cloves,
cardamums, &c. the flesh is also mixed in the same
manner. The ointment is rubbed into the part af-
 OR INDIAN BUCEROS. • 117
fected every night when they go to sleep, and a cer-
fainportion '6f the meat is eaten in the morning ris
"ing : the !g'all is also used by the native women in
' cases of sterility :—they_ take it either infused in wa
ter, or mix it with their Pawns ; and of the efficacy of
tfiis they have the firmest reliance, under Providence.
I inquired of the person who gave me this account,
whether he had ever known any one who had been
benefited by this medicine : he told me that he was
acquainted with a man who had used it in contrac
tions of his limbs, and that this person declared he
had derived great advantage from the application.-r-
, 'At any rate, it is certainly an opinion generally adopted
"by the natives, that it is of great use in the cases I have
mentioned. With every one with whom I have con
versed, \he medicinal properties of this extraordinary
bird are 'held in the highest estimation ; they speak of
it with a degree of admiration bordering on enthusi
asm. Thus I have endeavoured, from the slight
ability I possessed, to bring forward to public notice
one of the most curious birds, I have ever seen or
heard of. Some allowance, I trust, will be made,
from the consideration that this is my first essay : per
haps I should never have made the attempt but from
having taken a drawing of the bird, and having heard
of its feeding upon the nux vomica: these circum
stances induced me to give the above account. —
Wolf, in his description of Ceylon, has the following
words : " a very rare species too of cock is found here,
*' called Double-billed : this has a white double bill,
" which is almost as large as the bird itself." It
is by no means improbable that this may be the
same bird which I have given an account of : the
beak of the BcEgma Dunnase, particularly when in the
act of flying, appears to be as large as the bird itself;
the depth in measurement is nearly the same. It is
impossible to form any reasonable conjecture respect
ing the use of the horn : that some it must have, may
I 3
118 ON THE DHANE'SA,
naturally be supposed ; but what, must be left to
the future investigation of some one whose situation
will afford him full opportunity of making the in
quiry : it is certainly an object worthy of attention ;
more particularly so, as tending to elucidate the wis
dom of the Supreme Being, who undoubtedly creates
nothing in vain.

REMARK BY THE PRESIDENT.

Though the genus of the Dhanesa be already

known to our naturalists' by the appellations of Buce-
ros, Calao, and Hornbill ; and though even the seve
ral species be distinguished, I believe with exactness,
yet we are obliged to Lieut. White for a complete
description of so extraordinary a bird, and for our
knowledge of the singular facts which he first made
public, The hollow protuberance at the base of the
upper mandible, has been supposed, with reason, by
Count Gika, to serve as a receptacle f&r nourishment ;
and the natives, I find, consider it as a natural cistern
to supply the bird with water in the dry season, and
on its long excursions ; whence the name of Dhanisa,
Or Lord of Wealth, may possibly have been given to
it. The Count had been informed that it was no
other than the Garuda of Indian Mythologists ; but
the Pandits unanimously assure me, that, by the word
Garuda, they mean in common discourse the Gridhra,
or King of Vultures ; and they have a curious le
gend of a young Garuda, or Eagle, who burned his
wings by soaring too near the sun, on which he had
fixed his eyes. The bird of Vishnu is in fact wholly
mythological ; and I have seen it painted in the form
of a boy with an Eagle's plumage. As to the Cuchild
(for so is the word written and correctly pronounced)
it is, no doubt, the Strychnos nux vomica, or Colu-
bripa, for they are now thought specifically the same.
 OR INDIAN BUCEROS. 119
The leaves and fruit of both the varieties were brought
to me by a Brahmin as those of the Cuchildl; and he
repeated a Sanscrit verse, in which it was called Vana-
rqja, or King of the Forest: but, according to an ap
proved comment on the Amaracosh, it has four other
names, amongst which Culaca is the smoothest : so
that the first tine species of this genus may be named
Strychnos Culaca, and the second Strychnos Cataca ;
by which denomination it is mentioned in the Laws
of Menu, where allusion is made to the Indian prac
tice of clearing water, by bruising one of the seeds, and
casting it into the jar, where, says Koenig, all impuri
ties are in a few moments precipitated, and the water
becomes peifcctly limpid.
)
 ON

THE ISLANDS

NANCOWRY AND COMARTY.

BY LlEtT. R. H. COLEBROOKE.

THE island of Nancot&ry, or Soury, as it is some

times called, is nearly centiically situated among
the Nicobar isles. Its length may be about eight
•miles, and its breadth nearly equal. The island of
Coniarty, which is near it, is more extensive, but does
«Dt perhaps contain more solid land, being excavated
by a very large bay from the sea. The space between
these two islands forms a capacious and excellent har
bour, the eastern entrance of which is sheltered by
another island, called Trikut, lying at the distance of
about a league. The inlet from the west is narrow,
Ifout sufficiently deep to admit the largest ships when,
the wind is fair.

The Danes have long maintained a small settle

ment at this place, which stands on the northern
most point of Nanarwry, within the harbour. A Ser
jeant and three or four soldiers, a few black slaves,
and two rusty old pieces of ordnance, compose the
whole of their establishment. They have here two
houses, one of which, built entirely of wood, is their
habitation; the other, formerly inhabited by their
missionaries, serves now for a storehouse.

These islands are in general woody, but contain

 122 , ON THE ISLANDS
mits of their hills the prospects are often beautiful
and romantic. The soil is rich, and probably capa
ble of producing all the various fruits and vegetables
common to hot climates. The natural productions
of this kind which mostly abound, are cocoa-nuts,
papias, plantains, limes, tamarinds, beetle-nuts, and
the mildri*, a species of bread-fruit ; yams, and other
roots, are cultivated and thrive ; but rice is here un
known. The mangostain-tvee, whose fruit is so justly
extolled, grows wild ; and pine-apples of a delicious
flavour are found in the woods.

The Nicobar isles are but thinly inhabited, and

. some of them are not inhabited at all. Of those we
visited, Nancmry and Comarty appeared to be the
best peopled, There were thirteen villages, we Avere
told, upon both islands ; each village might contain,
upon an average, fifty or sixty people ; so that the
whole population of these two will scarcely amount
to eight hundred.

The natives of Nancowry, and of the Nicobar

islands in general, live on the sea-shores, and never
erect their habitations inland f. Their houses are of
a circular form, and are covered with elliptical domes,
thatched with grass, and the leaves of cocoa-nuts.
They are raised upon piles to the height of six or eight
feet above the ground ; the floor and sides are laid
with planks, and the ascent is by a ladder. In those

* Mr. Fontana has given an accurate and learned description of

this fruit. Vide Asiatic Researches, 3d vol. p. l6l,
t The great Nicobar island is perhaps an exception, where, it is
said, a race of men exists, who are totally different in their colour
and planners. They are considered as the aborigines of the coun
try. They live in the interior parts, among the mountains, and com
mit frequent depredations on the peaceable inhabitants of the coasts.

V
 NANCOWRY AND COMARTT. 123
bays or inlets which are sheltered from the surf, they
erect them sometimes so near the margin of thi water
as to admit the tide to flow under, and wash away
the ordure from below.

In front of their villages, and a little advanced in

the water, they plant beacons of a great height, which
they adorn with tufts made of grass, or the bark of
some tree. These objects are discernible at a great
distance, and are intended probably for landmarks ;
their houses, which are overshadowed by thick groves
of cocoa-nut trees, seldom being visible from afar.

The Nicobareans, though indolent, are in general

robust and well limbed. Their features are somewhat
like the Malays, and their colour is nearly similar.
The women are much inferior in stature to the men,
but more active in all domestic affairs. Contrary to
the custom of other natives, they shave the hair of
their heads, or keep it close cropt, which gives them
an uncouth appearance, in the eyes of strangers at
least. The dress of both sexes, their mode of life,
and some of their customs, have been so ably de
scribed by Mr. Fontana, that little needs to be said
of them here. I have only to state, in addition, an
extraordinary ceremony which they annually perform,
in honour of the dead,

On the anniversary of this festival, if it can be so

called, their houses are decorated with garlands of
flowers, fruits, and branches of trees. The people of
each village assemble, chest in their best attire, at the
principal house in the place, where they spend the day
in a convivial manner ; the men, sitting apart from
the women, smoke tobacco, and intoxicate themselves;
while the latter are nursing their children, and employ
ed in preparation for the mournful business of the
night. At a certain hour of the afternoon, announced
Ha< eto iift' rfsLA:N%fs
'by •striking the Goimg*, the women set up the most
dismal howls and lamentations, which they continue
without intermission until about - Isunset, when
••|,|M''j..ll the
lij • 'Jj
whole party get up, and walk in procession to the
burying-ground. Arrived at the place, they form a
circle around one of the graves, when a stake, planted
exactly over the head of the corpse, is pulled up. The
Woman who is nearest of kin to the deceased, steps
out from the crowd, digs up the skull j,, and draws it
up With her hands. At sight of the bones her strength
•Seems to fail her ; she shrielcs, she sohs ; and tears of
anguish abundantly fall on the mouldering Object of
her pious care. She clears it from the earth, scrapes
off the festering flesh, and laves it plentifully with the
milk of fresh cocoa-Tiuts, supplied by the bystanders;
after which she rubs it over with an infusion of saff ron,
"and wraps it carefully in a piece of new cloth. It is
then deposited again in the earth, and covered up ;
the stake is replanted, and hung with the various trap
es and implements belonging to the deceased.
y proceed then to the other graves ; and the
whole night is spent in repetitions of these dismal
and disgustful rites.

Oh the morning following, the ceremony is con

cluded by an offering of many fat swine ; when the
sacrifice made to the dead affords an ample feast to
the living: they besmear themselves with the blood of
the slaughtered hogs ; and some, more voracious than

* An instrument of brass, somewhat like the Gurry of Bengal.

Its sound is more hollow.
t We were present at the ceremony on the 1st of February, 1790,
when the first skull we saw was that of a woman, who had been buried
but a few months before. It was then dug up for the first time by
her daughter. This office, we are told, is always performed by the
women, which ever sex the skull belongs to. A mau in a fantastic
garb officiates as priest.
 NANCOWItV AND COMARTY. 125
others, eat the flesh raw. They have various ways,
however, of dressing their meat, but always eat it with
out salt. A kind of paste made of the melori, serves
them for bread : and they finish their repast with co
pious potations of taury.

The Nicobareans are hospitable and honest, and

are remarkable for a strict observance of truth, and
for punctuality in adhering to their engagements.
Such crimes as theft, robbery, and murder, are un
known in these islands; but they do not want spirit
to revenge their injuries, and will fight resolutely and
slay their enemies, if attacked or unjustly dealt with*.
Their only vice, if this failing can be so called, is ine
briation; but in their cups they are generally jovial
and good-humoured. It sometimes however happens
at their feasts, that the men of different villages fall
out; and the quarrel immediately becomes general.
In these cases they terminate their differences in a
pitched battle, where the only weapons used are long
sticks, of a hard and knotty wood. With these they
drub one another most heartily, until no longer able
to endure the conflict, they mutually put a stop to
the combat, and all get drunk again.

* We were informed, that a party of Malays had once landed at

Nancowry, to commit depredations, and were cut off to a man by
the enraged inhabitants. A similar instance of their vengeance is said
to have happened at the island Carnicobar, when they put to death
some sailors who were plundering their houses, and probably attempt
ing to violate their women.
 127

ON THE

LORIS, OR SLOW-PACED LEMUR.

BY THE PRESIDENT.

THE singular animal, which most of you saw alive,

and of which I now lay before you a perfectly
accurate figure, has been very correctly described by
Linnceus ; except that sicUed would have been a
juster epithet than awled for the Ibent claws on its hin
der indices ; and that the size of a squirrel seems an
improper, because a variable measure : its configu
ration and colours are particularized also with great
accuracy by M.. Daubenton ; but the short account
of. the Loris, by M. De Biiff'on, appears unsatisfac
tory, and his engraved representation of it ha3 little
resemblance to nature; so little that, when I was en
deavouring to find in his work a description of the
quadrumane which had just been sent me from Dacca,
I passed over the chapter on the Loris, and ascertained
it merely by seeing in a note the Linnecan character of
the slow-paced Lemur. The illustrious French natu
ralist, whom, even when we criticise a few parts of
his noble work, we cannot but name with admiration,
observes of the Loris, that, from the proportion of its
body and limbs, one would not suppose it slow in walking
or leaping ; and intimates an opinion, that Seba gave
this animal the epithet of sloxc-moving, from some fan
cied likeness to the Sloth of America : but, though its
body be remarkably long in proportion to the breadth
 1£8 OUT THE LORIS,
of it, and the hinder legs, or more properly arms,
much longer than those before, yet the Loris; in fact,
walks, or climbs, very slowly, . and is, probably, un
able to leap. Neither its genus nor species, we find,
are new : yet, as its temper and instincts are unde-
scribed, and as the- Natural History by M. De Bttf-
fon, or The System of Nature by Linnceus, cannot
always be readily procured, I have set down a few
remarks on theform, the manners, the name, and the
country of my little favourite, who engaged my af
fection while he lived, and whose memory I wish to
perpetuate.

I. This male animal had four hands, each five-

fingered ; palms naked; nails- round, except thos<£
of the indices behind, which were long, curved,
pointed j hair very thick, especially on the hauncheg,,
extremely soft, mostly dark grey, varied above with
brown and a tinge of russet ; darker. on the back,'
- paler about the face and under the throat, reddish .
towards the rump; no tail, , a dorsal stripe, broad,
chesnut coloured, narrower towards the neck; a*
head almost spherical ; a countenance expressive and-
interesting; eyes round, large, approximated, weak
in the day-time, glowing and animated at night; a '
white vertical stripe between them; eye-lashes black,
short; ears, dark, rounded, concave; great acuteness
at night, both in seeing and hearing; a face hairy,
flattish; a; nose pointed, not much elongated; the
upper lip cleft ; canine-teeth, comparatively long, very
sharp.

More than this I could not observe on the living •

animal; and he died at a season when I could nei
ther attend a dissection of his body, nor with pro
priety request any of my medical friends to perform
such an operation during the heats of August ; but I
opened his jaw and counted only two incisors above,
 OR SLOW-PACED LEMutt. 129
and as many below, which might have been a defect
in the individual ; and it is mentioned simply as a
fact, without any intention to censure the generic ar
rangement of LinrueuSi

II. In his manners he was for the most part gentle,

except in the cold season, when his temper seemed
wholly changed ; and his Creator, who made him so
sensible of cold, to which he must often have been
exposed even in his native forests, gave him, proba
bly for that reason, his thick fur, which we rarely
see on animals in these tropical climates. To me,
who not only constantly fed him, but bathed him twice
a week in water accommodated to the seasons, and
whom he clearly distinguished from others, he was at
all times grateful ; but, when I disturbed him in win
ter, he was usually indignant, and seemed to reproach
me with the uneasiness which he felt, though no pos
sible precautions had been omitted to keep him in
a proper degree of warmth. At all times he was
pleased with being stroked on the head and throat,
and frequently suffered me to touch his extremely sharp
teeth; but at all times his temper was quick, and
when he was unseasonably disturbed, he expressed a lit
tle resentment by an obscure murmur, like that of a
squirrel, or a greater degree of displeasure by a peevish
cry, especially in winter, when he was often as fierce,
on being much importuned, as any beast of the woods.
From half an hour after sunrise to half an hour before
sunset, he slept without intermission, rolled up like a
hedge-hog ; and as soon as he awoke, he began to
fu epare himself for the labours of his approaching day,
icking and dressing himself like a cat; an opera
tion which the flexibility of his neck and limbs ena
bled him to perform very completely ; he was then
ready for a slight breakfast, after which he commonly
took a short nap ; but when the sun was quite set, he
recovered all his vivacitv. His ordinary food was the
Vol, IV. " K
130 ON THE LORIS,
sweet fruit of his country : plantains always, and
mangos during the season ; but he refused peaches,
and was not fond of mulberries, or even of guaiavas ;
milk he lapped eagerly, but was contented with plain
water. In general, he was not voracious, but never
appeared satiated with grasshoppers ; and passed the
whole night, while the hot season lasted, in prowling
for them. When a grasshopper, or any insect, alighted
within his reach, his eyes, which he fixed on his prey,
glowed with uncommon fire; and, having drawn him
self back to spring on it with greater force, he seized
the victim with both his fore-paws, but held it in one
of them while he devoured it. For other purposes,
and sometimes even for that of holding his food, he
used all his paWs indifferently as hands, and fre
quently grasped with one of them the higher part of
his ample cage, while his three others were severally
engaged at the bottom of it; but the posture of
Which he seemed fondest, was to cling with all four of
them to the upper wires, his body being inverted ; and
in the evening he usually stood erect for many minutes
playing on the wires with his fingers, and rapidly
moving his body from side to side, as if he had found
the utility of exercise in his unnatural state of con
finement. A little before day-break, when my early
hours gave me frequent opportunities of observing him,
he seemed to solicit my attention ; and if I presented
my finger to him, he licked or nibbled it with great
gentleness, but eagerly took fruit when I offered it ;
though he seldom eat much at his morning repast.
When the day brought back his night, his eyes lost their
lustre and strength, and he composed himself for a
slumber of ten or eleven hours.

III. The names Loris and Lemur will, no doubt,

be continued by the respective disciples of Buffon
and Linnceus; nor can I suggest any other, since
the Pandits know little or nothing of the animal. The
» OR StOW-fACED LEMUR. 131
lower Hindus of this province generally call it LajjA-
banar, or the Bashful Ape; and the Mussulmans, re
taining the sense of the epithet, give it the absurd
appellation of a Cat ; but it is neither a cat nor bash
ful ; for though a Pandit, who saw my Lemur by
day-light, remarked that he was Lqjjalu, or modest (a
word which the Hindus apply to all sensitive plants)
yet he only seemed bashful, while in fact he was dim-
sighted and drowsy ; for at night, as you perceive
by his figure, he had open eyes, and as much bold
ness as any of the Lemures, poetical or Linncean.

IV. As to his country, the first of the species that

I saw in India was in the district of Tipra, properly
Tripura, whither it had been brought, like mine,
from the Garrow mountains ; and Dr. Anderson
informs me, that it is found in the woods on the coast
of Coromandel. Another had been sent to a member
ofour Society from one of the eastern isles; and though
the Loris may be also a native of Silan, yet I cannot
agree with M. De Buffon, that it is the minute, socia
ble, and docile animal mentioned by Thevenot, which
it resembles neither in size nor in disposition.

My little friend was, on the whole, very engaging ;

and when he was found lifeless, in the same posture
in which he would naturally have slept, I consoled
myself with believing that he had died without pain,
and lived with as much pleasure as he could have en
joyed in a state of captivity.

K i
 133

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS*
MADE IN THE
UPPER PARTS OF HINDOSTAN,
AND
ON A JOURNEY THENCE TO OUJEIN.

BY WILLIAM HUNTER, ESQ.

BEFORE delivering the following observations,

it will be proper to give some account of the
instruments with which they are made. The alti
tudes for determining latitudes and time, were taken
with a sextant of ten inches radius, made by Trough-
ton : the limb is divided into degrees and thirds of
Si degree, and the divisions on the vernier go to half
minutes ; so that, by the help of the magnifying lens,
a difference of ten seconds is sufficiently perceptible.
The two specula, being screwed down in their places,
do not (as far as I can discover) admit of the princi
pal or vertical adjustment : but the error was almost
daily ascertained by the double mensuration of the
sun's diameter, and constantly allowed for. It is sub-
tractive ; and my determination of its quantity varied
from 2' 30" to 3' 30". These differences may have in
part arisen from a real variation in the quantity of this
correction ; but I ascribe them chiefly to some inac
curacy in my mensuration of the sun's diameter.
To form some judgment of the influence this cause
might have, I have examined twenty-three of those
measurements, made between the 7th of March and
the 7th of June (being all of which I have any record)
K 3
134 ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS
by taking the medium of the sun's diameters, as mea
sured on the limb, to the right and left of zero, and
qpiHiparihf it with t%e diameter for that day, as laid
down in the Ephemeris. It will appear, from a list
of those observations, that my measurements com
monly exceeded those given in the Epfomeris; but
the greatest excess was
 IN UPPER HINDOSTAtf- 135

MENSURATIONS OF THE SUN'S DIAMETER.

Difference of the Sun's

1792. Adjustment of Sextant. diameter, measured
Subtract. from that ir> the
Ephemeris.
. . .
March 7 2' 34" + 8'
9 3 —
+ 14
11 2 30 + H
13 2 52 + 24
15 3 15 + J
17 3 15 + 3
18 3 7 + 10
19 3 15 + 3
20 3 7 + 25
21 3 15 + 4
22 3 15 + 20
23 3 .22 + 12
24 3 8 + 13
25 3 15 7
28 3 15 + 9
31 3 15 10
April 1 3 15 .-.I.*, 11
3 3 15 J 12
10 3 30 3
11 3 15 15
17 3 —
May 29 2 37 — 7
June 7 2 52 + 1
K 4
136 ASTRONOMICAl OBSERVATIONS
These mensurations may have a farther use, besides
ascertaining the adjustment of the quadrant. If the
eye could determine, with perfect accuracy, the
contact of the limbs, the mean between the two mea
surements of the sun's diameter would be exactly
equal to his apparent diameter, as determined by
calculation, and given in the Ephemeris ; but, from
the imperfection of our organs, it happens that the
limbs will sometimes appear to be in contact, when
a little space remains between them ; at others, when
they overlap one another : in the former case, the
diameter will appear greater ; in the latter, less than
the truth. But it is probable that, at nearly the
same period of time, the state of the eye, or of the
sensorium, by which we judge of this contact, is, in
the same person, nearly the same. Of this I have
made some trials, and found, that, when the sun's
diameter, by my mensuration, differed from that in
the Ephemeris, on repeating the mensurations, at
short intervals, the difference remained nearly the
same. Therefore, if we observe the sun's altitude a
little time before or after measuring his diameter,
the contact of the limbs, will, probably, appear to
take place in the same real situation of those limbs
as when we measured the sun's diameter. But here,
the effect of too open or too close observation will
be reversed ; the former making the altitude appear
less ; the latter, greater than the truth, These mea
surements then may be applied as corrections of the
observed altitude. Thus, if the diameter of the sun
has appeared too great, add the quantity of its excess
to the angle observed, between the sun and his image
in Mercury; if it appeared too small, subtract the
defect, to give the true angle. Thus, March the
13th, the error of the sextant was 2' 5Q" to be sub
tracted ; but the measurement of the sun's diameter
exceeds the truth by 24'', Therefore, this quantity
 IN UPPER HINDOSTAX. 137
is to be added to the observed angle, the observation
being, probably, so much too open.

The angle between the sun and his image in quick

silver, that day at noon, was 123° 33' 45''
Error Sextant — 2' 52"
Do. Observation x 0 24
Diff. — 2 28

2) 123 31 17

CI 45 38 5
Diff-. refr. and parallax •r- 26 5

61 45 12
Sun's Semidiameter + 16 7

62 1 19
Sun's Declin. South + 2 36 23

37 42

Latitude of Burroa Sagur - - - 25 22 18

which is 13" less than in the following list, where

this error was not allowed for.

The secondary, or horizontal adjustment, made by

a small screw at the fore-part of the little speculum,
was, from time to time, carefully attended to.

The altitudes were taken by means of the image

in quicksilver, which, if the sun was the object, was
defended from the wind by a covering of thin gauze,
as recommended by Mr. Burrow in the first volume
of the Asiatic Researches. When the altitude of a
star was to be taken, this method did not answer, as
it rendered the image too obscure. A thick cloth
138 ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS
was therefore properly disposed to windward of the
mercury. - . <

• The small telescope belonging to the sextant was

used in all the observations. , ".•

As the instrument is only graduated to 125 de

grees, I could not take .altitudes exceeding 62 de
grees. While the suns meridian altitude could be
observed, I have preferred it for the latitude; but,
as this was soon about to be impracticable, I began,
©n the 29th of February, to compare the latitudes by
meridian altitude, with those obtained from two
altitudes and the elapsed time, by the rule in the re
quisite tables, in order to judge how far the latter
might be depended on. The result of the compari
son, which appears in the observations from that
time to the 15th of March, determined me to trust
to those double altitudes, while they could be taken
within the prescribed limits ; at the same time, com
paring them occasionally with observations by a
fixed star. From the first of April, I was obliged
to trust entirely to the stars; and, to make the ob
servations by them as accurate as possible, I have,
•when circumstances would allow, taken the meridian
altitude of one to the north, and another to the
south, of the zenith. The telescope is an achro
matic, made by Dollond, of twenty-eight inches
focal distance. It inverts the object, and magnifies
eighty times.

The watch is made by Brookbank, with horizon

balance-wheel, and continues to go while winding
up. To determine, as accurately as possible, the
time of an observation, I took equal altitudes of the
sun, on the days preceding and following it, and,
having thus found the quantity gained or lost in
twenty-four hours, applied to the time of observation
 IN UPPER HINDOSTAtf. - a 139
a part proportional to its distance from the preceding
or following noon. In this calculation, allowance
was made for the difference of longitude (ascertained
by geometrical surveys) if the altitudes on the two
days were taken at different places. Besides this I
have, when I had the opportunity, taken the altitudes
of two fixed stars, one to the east, and another to the
west of the meridian, within an hour before or after
the observation, and calculated the time from them.
 fall.
begun
had
Sun
to
REMARKS.
Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. windy.
Clear,
Doubtful.
Distinct. Cloudy. Cloudy.
Clear. Clear. Clew.

LOOF
ABTSEIRTVUATDIEO.NS 12
27
11 26 27 27
11 4
0 27 41 27
11 12 12 22
27 22
27 27
12 27 27
201
Latitude. 27
11
12 0
21 2
21 44
27 27 11 44
21 46
27 27
21 42
22 21 26
27 12
27
11
0
22 12
27 27 1271 27
11 6 14 7
0 14 0
0

SHuntorar.
"v.«
© ©G O©©©©© © ©O©©©©©©o

PFuhtinearlehigpusr'hs;
Mr.
Bungalow,
the dE
furl.
BNiau2
wsn;
atg•bagnlutowg,e

of
Maiil,
Taj
Agra
mo;
nument
FLACK.
Ditto, Ditto,

111 22 26 0 22 26 11 22 20 2 2 0 11 21
1-91. 11 0
May
24 1ov. Dec.
4 Jan.
24 Feb.
1
'N22
 ej 0 2 2 2 S5 VO 48 ►
cthe
A
before
loudcameoversun

he
mrthe
eraicdhieadn.

REMARKS.

Clear
windy.
and

Clear.

OBOF
LSAERTVIATIUODNES. 02 26
26
40 41. |26
41 26
24 24
27 17 22 21 1 0 44 22
12 14
42 1 22
27 22
28 11
21 22
21 21
22
11 22
Latitude. 27
2
0 11 42 0
27 26
22
2 16
27
25 52
12
26
7
J2 4 0 0 42 42 0
26 26 26 22 22 22 22 22
SunStorar.
OM.
A. OA. A. OM.
2 OM. A. OM.
A. O
A.
2 OM.
A. O
A2. OM.
A. O A. O
A2. OM. A2. OM.
A. OM.
A. A.
2 A.
M. OM.
A.
©oo o

Ditto,•

Jhansy;
fort,
angle
SE
N
E
furl.
22| BE7j
N
Castle,
furl.
u21
rw;
ah-Sagur
Fort,
dAntery;
S
W
furl.
i12
4
stant Pirtipoo'r;
N
W—
furL
1E
22
12$
Baad
bearing
dE
N
furl.
istant
2; Rajah's
Ditto;
NW
House,
furl.
2
Ditteab;
d2|
ES
miles,
1ista1nt
Hill,
Gualior;
ES
E
2—
furl.
W
S2
Dholpour;
2• NGarden,
S2E2
o;
rabad
SM0uWnlfiuralb.;
Fort,
Choola;
N
W44
2 Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,

Dib orab,

24 22 22 67 2 0 11 12 12 14 12
179*. 11 11
Feb.
0 Mar.
2
 dmoClear,
ibda
setrivantcet.,

REMARKS.

I
moderate.
Clear,
calm.
Clear, 46
Clear,
calm.
202
Windy.
Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto.

LOF
OBASTEIRVTAUTDIOEN.S 0
1241 11 24
22 21 24
22 24 12 22 211 0
44 6 2217 0 00 0
22 26 4421 21
10 0
212 0
22 6
0
12 2
24 0
42
24 42 0 12 0 11 201 242 22
0 21
24
17 7 20
24 7
24 20
StarSunor
A. A. A. A. A. A. A. U.
|3 AO
M. 2. M.
0U. A2O. AO 2. AO
2. A2
Q. gU.
M. A2
O. A2
O. (SU.M. U.M.
(3 0 2
, 0U.M.
2222222 MRa tT1«
©oooooo
furl.
Belgaung
N1;.•..... N
W.
ERampoor;
2—•
42
furl,
PF
INI
N
W—
li12.
20
rt....i-•..p£o. r;
Bumaury
N
W—
W
furl.
l42
2;....,•.j. . N
Golgaumj;
E
11
2•••
4man., furl. dE
Ma14
N
Fort,
ist.
12
l;
t.o.wn Kporwey;
N
Fort,
W422—0.• .• .
HE
of
Temple
Narat;
2S
1anu£,
Ditto,•
KW
NE—
h2.
42
37
ei;
nl.as. a.h North
of
Bank
Ri,er,
Gulcut a
,illage,
the
Kinvay
close
to;. . . .
Marouny
S
E
Fort,
72;2 Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,.. . Ditto,
Ditto,..... . . Ditto,
SE
N
i22
ndw2aha; W
BN
1aso.u1.d.a.;
2 2C
BS
4
Tie6.l.sa. h;
N
Teary;
E
22
2

179s. 16 17 12 1.9 22 21 22 22 22 26 27 22 22 21
11 2$ April
0
Mar.
 1-1 '4 e U w K 0 .. t4 'A
0
—
-
-
•.—-

1, ..«
•'
REMARKS.
^,I

"...
.

LOF
OBASTEIRVTAUTDIOEN.S 24 0 46 34 58 11 2 11 5 44 24 0 46 2 2.9 11 1 0 12 211 12 - 22 2 2
Latitude.
112 24 12 116 02 12 12 112 14 22 26 22 1.0 01 12 12 11 12 12 12 11 11 12
- 11
23 23 23 22
11 11 11 11 0 11 0 0 11 0 22 0 11 23 11 23 11 11 0 11 11
SunStorar. Hydra?
« Hydrae
* llydrae
a. Hydrae
a. Hydra;
<* Hydrae
a Hydrae
a.
M.
U. U0
(9 .M. flla $ U. Vtl
M. a T/tla. M.
U. U.M.
& jS M.
U.
(S U. j9 M.
M. U0. M.
U.
(3 M. UH. "Ras Y\
a.
tri
*
$<*

6fort,
6'2
mile,
FBopaul
S
Wu1
4
t2—;ehgurh

Garden,
Khan's
Rana
Oujeia;
near Schouse
palace,
Ditto
inneard;
iah's
7|Punda«
furl.
N
E—
ES
41;2
22 S2
N
W
E2h1
uj;a0wulpo r
Be56iE
N
S
E—
1
i'2f;4roud village,
the
close
to
ajpoor
;
PLACE.
rW
4dN28
22
Furhjer; S
W
Sh22
alijehanpo r; Ditto,•
6E
Amalry
N
2;•7
Ditto, Ditto,l_Di,o, 'Ditto, Sehoue
2S
E;2j Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,
D.U0,
2W
N
72|

lar urana;
14lTi
Ml i 12
11 2S|
' 02 l6\ ' May
1704. April 14|
June
 2O o > f a a W <>.H t-i O
m ersion it
pened
minutes
earsomelier the
than agreeably
longitude
ought,
to i(
of
mthe
iPlanet
nat
esrtiaona.t
ialso
hap
The
B.
N.
m-nifying
2elescopg
limes.
Awith
,ll48d's
,.
-bs.ved
80
S.Jupiter's
of
ra~Eclipses
.tealticte, Telescope
unsteady.
somewhat
assigned
commonly
Agra.
to
beginning
break.
Day
to
odbA
isesrtvaitnocnt. odbA
isesrtvaitnocn.t odbA
isertvaitniocnt. os\
bsmceuwrhea.t
Remarks*

I mclear,
oderate, thin calm,|
calm,
clouds, hazy,
little
2
77
0a
Weather. windy,
cle., Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,Ditto, cloudy,
calm, Ditto, Ditto, 11 Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto.
Ditto,
.
77
calm,
clear, calm,
clear, calm,
clear,
77
12
11

12l
12
72 22)
1111 26'
1
72 12
77 44
12
77 22
11 12
00 11 27
12 0 22 1
Longitude. 11 11 11
0 70 0
2
22 11
11 1771 0.
' 41
77 2 2
72

|Agra;
Mahl,
Taj
Monument PB
Fhutilehigpusr'hs;
Mr. Mahl,
Taj
MAgra;
onument
R.
GN.
Bank,
ulc•ut a
ofOTbslervatcioen.
Fe ro•zabad,
Ei tumadpo r,
' Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Al ygu ge, ' Ditto, Ditto,
.. Ditto,
Pirtipo r, Maltown, Bhelsah.
Narat,

Im. Em.]or Em. Em. Em. Em. Em. Em. Im. Im. Im. Im. Im. Im. Im. Im. Im. Em. Im. Im. Im. Im.

22 12
41 17 6
22 2 24 0 27 0 27 1'42 21
11 17 11 2
11 24
26 12 26,
44 11 42 26
12 7 101 2
4 12
27 12
TAipmaer.ent 4
7 26
12 12 24 12 1621 12 127 107 12 12 12
05 2 21 0
11 12
28 0*
"23
D.H.1791.
26'
-,
May
11 June
12 27 1112. Jan.
10 Dec.
17 17 Feb. Mar.
12
 Q w* 0-o 44 H>
from
Time
of
obs.— from
Regulus 1alt.
of
14th
&©
6th.eq.
on
Gtaken
places
rat
with
oof
these
comparing
ebcthe
orh,ing
spoonesNot
enrwtoveairmtciphounr,sairyty of
tlie
in
given
Eclipses
the
chaI
times
osnwhich
that
from
of
clbethe
,eoisrarednetagri,enadteduo,dreys
emerging,
Satevery
dim.l ite
dObisetvery
rviantciton.

Ditto.

moderate,
clear, mclear,
oderate,
windy,
clear,
cJupiter's
Sof
Eclipses
oanteilnuietde.s, clear, Ditto, Ditto,
calm, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,
OUtfJ1
a-iUtAUiVt/'Vi
hazy,
Glongitude
from
rdeduced
the
thee
and
eEphemeris
ancwasiucrha.te,
12 76
42 46
7
2 72
22
42
72 72 11 21 11 26
76
11 72
11 26
72
22
77 76
12 76 42 46
72 72 0
11 72 42
2
0
77 0
24 10 11
11

72

Gard.
Khan's
Ugein;
R ananear
SUgein
cHouse
inneard;iah's,

Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,
Bopaul, Turana,

Im. Ira. Im. Em. Em. Em. Em. Em. Em. Em. Em. Em. Fm. Em. Em.

06 26' 11 42 27
14 40
17 11
I11 2 22
11 42
40 142 42
10 20 21
12 26
11
10 22 412
01 21
0
111 40
11
11
10 22
0 0
'D. 8 12
7
U
H.1792. 6 12 22 11 0 11 12 12 20 14
Apr.
2 6
May June
7
 calm.
Clear,

med.
21".
47'
11° 14"
med.
9'
24° med.
2".
7'
25°

1
11 §Al
11
20 0 442 02 26) 27 12) 11 26 24 27 40
24 0 42 21)
7 '16 26' 22
Latitude. 1
2
102 2
11
0 0 2, 11 261,2 )
46
2 4 11 6
24 52 26 22
|22 25
2
24 11
42
11 14 0 0 12
LOABTSIETRUVDE S. 22 22 24
-,
SSuntorar. a Hydrae
Hydrse a Hydrae
a « Hydrae
Hydrae a
M.A.
© ditto, ditto, ditto, ditto, Sirius, #to, Sirius, .P'V.
M. ditto, «Ra .M.
U$. ditto,ditto,ditto,ditto,ditto,

furl.
d62
N
W
Sj
istant
JO
2o sner; PdufN
E
cistant
412
turl.fjalitar;
Perawa,•• from
dW
furl.
S
Julmee
1ti2
'
s;
t•1oant

Dublana
from
furl.
SdE
ti1s;
22 toant
Oujein
Durgah,
SCamp
hat
ah.;
Dawul's Garden,
Khan's
Ditto
Camp
Rana
near;
furl.
d1TW
S
ei1
2—62
sktearnet;
furl.
dN
Soonel
W
1i2
1s;
ta1nt Kotah
BCamp
ag-near;
Dur-waza,
dGaumuch
furl.
S
Ei2
7s;
ta7nt
Boonde
N
Mahl,
Rajah
W42;
Ager,
•,
PLACK.' Ditto
Unk-Pat,
Camp
at;

Ditto,

SW
Doogaree;
..
Tenauriah, Mucundra, .....)
Anan.dp.o r,
Gutteah,
 St Ma
w a -- o o - > 3

16"
26'
26° 26°
21"
42' 26"
48'
24" 26'"
24"
22'
Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto,
Ditto. Ditto.
Ditto,
Remarks.
moderate,
Clear,
ditto. 26°
med.
Ditto,
28'
22" Ditto,
med, Ditto,
med, med,
Ditto, med,
Ditto, med.
Ditto,
12"
2'
27° med.
2'
Ditto,
42"
27°
uncertain Ditto,
Cloudy,
Ditto,
moderate. Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, wind, mDitto,
oderate'
Clear,
med.
4".
42'
22° windy.
Ditto,

Ditto. Ditto. Ditto. Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,

22
20 22 24
2 22 22
12 26 0 26
24
22 26
Latitude. 0 11 16
26
2 0 26
16
0 26
0
10 26
0 26
27 22 211 26
11 0 42'
26
24 26
20
42 26
9 29 26
110 26
42 42
22 26
22- 26
0 22
11 227
22 227
12 227
22

OLBASTEIRTVUEDE.S

a Hydrae
Hydrae « Hydrae
a Hydrae
a Hydrae
a
M. Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,Ditto, Ditto,Ditto,Ditto, Hydra;
0 a
|SU.
M. M. U.
/31L 18 (3
M. M.
U. /3U.
M. Ditto U.
M.
(8 *M.
U.
<3
27
32
2

BN
S.
E
dtu2
f. 11 wtaroeamhes, furl.
eist.
rx; BW
dN
h22
0
i2
ugs;
wtu•—antn-tgurh Hdf.
N W
E
i22
t12
nist.
1
en;
adrooeusnt CFDI
within
Camp
iutr;
u-newhaupznaop,.r
Bfurl.
dS
E
a2
ito
1
hsm;etna-ngtaung K62
NEdist.
furl.
h22
o4;
sh-h—al-gurh
dfurl.
M2istant
S
W u2
l7—22
;arna 6furl.
Pei2
dN
E 2—22
sl;
taudnoth dBiana
furl.
W
S
E.t2i1s;
t42oa2nt d6furl.
Kanau
S
N
Ei2
2ts;
toa20nt
fW
6dSurout;
S
ti02
url.
stoa2nt 1«*»•. «•
dfurl.
Oi0
S.
S
E to
o7
sntianrta; dE
KS
furl.
i0h1
se—22;
tranet Rudawul
N
dW
furl.
2
i22
s;
ta—nt
dE
furl.
Amergurh
S2i2
s;
t2ant

PLACE.

Ditto, Ditto Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,

0 6 2 0 02 11 02 12 145 14 16 17 W 22
1793- April
2
 >• H O CD
it- am > at-i »OAO .— o> o » at W.
SThe
emerged
had
saotmeltimte ofbrseorcvaytionsand£
PoBy
Arc- watch
Mpast
slow
at. is
turus,
0 12 the
time
by
and
26" 7th
ASun,
J
by
M.
7 12waperoof
aton. gained
adjusted.But
the
this in
If
hours.
allow pimmer
gain
the
time
oto
rtionable

watch
only
slow,
being
221"
,2'",
sion,
time
the
119"
1'
22'
12°
17",
was
and
l30".
72*
14i
ongitude
before
pit.
I
erceived

76°
Med.
3.

mclear,
oderate,
Satel ites
Jupiter's
of
Eclipses Weather. Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto.
Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,

Longitude.
22 6
72 72 72 22 75
15 76 41 76
2 72 2 76
27 76 21 36
77

Mahl
Taj
Rozeh
Agra,
ofObservation.
Place
Kho sh-hal-gurh
Bhugwunt-gurh
Anandpoor Bondee• Dublana• Ooniara• Ditto•
Surout•
Ditto

Im. or Em. Im. Im. Im. Em. I0 m. Im. Im. |

Em. jlm.Ilm.

16
0
12 21
0 11
42
14 6
12
24— 26!
9 1 14
11 12
11 2 24
22— 06
12
24
TApimaer.nt

D.H.'179..

26'
Mar.24
42
12 6
26
Apr.
22
12 May
13
9
2
27
 IN UPPER HINDOSTAN. 149
1 793. Feb. 25tb, at Oujein, Moon eclipsed.
At 3 P. M. watch by the Sun 10, 58" slow f
At 124 P.M. do. Procyon,... 959 do. Vmed. 10' 30"
At 14| do. Lyra 10 32 do. )
By Watch 14= 14' —"
+ 10 30
Appar. time, 14 24 30 A slight obscurity began on the Moon's
H N. E. limb.
14 18 —
+ 10 30
14 28 30 Dark shadow distinctly seen to enter.
17 00 00
+ 10 30
17 10 30 Eclipse ended—Limb clear.
If we reckon the beginning of the eclipse from the first perceptible
obscurity, i. e 14° 24' 30"
Then beginning by Ephemeris — 9 23 45
Difference of Longit. in time, 5 00 45 75 11' 15"
But, reckoning from the entrance of the
dark shadow, the difference is 5 4 45 76 11 15
The end, by observation 17 10 30
By E-plumcris — 12 6 30
5 4 00 76 00 00
Beginning of obscurity 14 24 30
End 71 10 30
Middle 15 47 30
Ditto, by Ephemeris — 10 45 15
5 2 15 75 33 45
Duration observed 2 46 00
By Ephemeris — 2 42 45
Excess of observation 00 3 15

As the state of the limbs at the times marked as the beginning of

obscurity and end of the ecli|)se were similar, if we add half this
difference (1' 37") to the firs! of ihese tinges, and subtiact it from the
last, we shall have the beginning 14° 26'' 7"
End 17 8 53
Either of which will give the longitude •• 75 35 40
L 3
t5Q ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS, &C.

REMARK BY THE PRESIDENT.

The observations with which Mr. Hunter has fa

voured us, will be a valuable acquisition to all Indian
geographers and antiquaries ; for since Ujjayini, or
Ujjein, is in the first meridian of the Hindus, its lon
gitude ascertains the position of Lancd on the equator,
and fixes the longitude, at least according to the
Hindu astronomers, of Curucshetra, Vatsa, the Pool
Sannihita Cdnchi, and other place?, which are fre
quently celebrated in Sanscrit books of the highest
antiquity. Hence also we shall possibly ascertain the
seven dwrpas, which, on the authority of Patanjali and
of the Veda itself, we may pronounce to be neither
the seven planets nor the seven climates, but great
peninsulas of this earth, or large tracks of land with
water on both sides of them. For example, in a pre
face to the Surya Siddhdnta, the peninsula, called Sdl-
mala, is declared to be Yojanas to the east of
Lancd ; now a true Yojana is equal to 4i geometrical
miles ; and the longitude of Sdlmala will thus bring
us to the Gulph of Siam, or to the eastern Indian
peninsula beyond Malacca. There is a passage in one
of the Purdnas which confirms this argument ; where
king Srdvana is described " on the White Mountain
" in the extensive region of Sdlmaladwipa, meditat-
" ing on the traces of the divinefoot, at a place called
" the station of Trivicrama." Now we are assured,
by credible travellers, that the Siamese boast of a rock
which afootstep, as they say, of
 151

QUESTIONS AND REMARKS

ON THE
ASTRONOMY OF THE HINDUS.

BY JOHN PLAYFAIR, A. M.
PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS, AT EDINBURGH.

WRITTEN 10th OF OCTOBER, 1792.

PRESUMING on the invitation given with so much

liberality in the Advertisement prefixed to the
second volume of the Asiatic Researches, I have ven
tured to submit the following queries and observations,
to the President and other Members of the learned
Society in Bengdl.

I.
Are any Books to be found among the Hindus,
which treat professedly of Geometry ?

I am led to propose this question, by having ob

served, not only that the whole of the Indian Astrono
my is a system constructed with great geometrical skill,
but that the trigonometrical rules given in the transla
tion from the Surya SiddMnta, with which Mr. Davis
has obliged the world, point out some very curious
theorems, which must have been known to the author
of that ancient book. The rule, for instance, by
which the trigonometrical canon of the Hindu astro
nomers is constructed*, involves in it the following
j i .i i i in i . . , , ii ,
* 2 Asiatic Researches, 245.
L4
152 QUESTIONS AND REMARKS ON
theorem : " If there be three arches of a circle in
" arithmetical progression, the sum of the sines of the
" two extreme arches is to twice the sine of the mid-
" die arch as the co-sine of the common difference
" of the arches to the radius of the circle." Now
this theorem, though not difficult to be demonstrated,
is yefc> 'so far from obvious, that it seems not known to
the mathematicians of Europe till the beginning of the
last century, when it was discovered by Vieta, It has
ever since been used for the construction of trigono
metrical tables, as it affords a method of calculating
the sines and arches, much easier than that which de
pends on successive extractions of the Square Root.
To find that this theorem was known to the Brahmins
many ages ago, is therefore extremely curious ; and
the more so, because there is some reason to think
that the commentator on the Siddhdnta, quoted and
translated by Mr. Davis f, did not understand the
principle of this rule, since the method which he lays
down is entirely different, much less profound in
theory, and much more difficult in practice. If this
be true, it indicates a retrograde order in the progress
of eastern science, which must have had its origin in
a very remote age.

II.
Are any books of Hindu Arithmetic to be procured?
It should seem that, if such books exist, they must
contain much curious observation, with many abridg
ments in the labour of calculating, and the like ; all
which may be reasonably expected from them, since
an arithmetical notation, so perfect as that of India,
has existed in that country much longer than in any
other ; but that which most of all seems to deserve
the attention of the learned, is, the discovery said to

t P. 246, 247.
 THE ASTRONOMY OF THE HINDUS. 153
be made of something like Algebra among the Hindus;
such as the expression of number in general by certain
symbols, and the idea of negative quantities. These
certainly cannot be too carefully inquired into ; and
will, it is hoped, be considered by the Society of Cal
cutta as a part of that rich mine from which they have
already extracted so many valuable materials. The
problem mentioned by Mr. Burrow* proves, that the
Hindus have turned their attention to certain arithme
tical investigations, of which there is no trace in the
writings of the Greek mathematicians.

III.
Must not a complete Translation of the Surya Sid-
dhdnta be considered as the grand desideratum with
respect to Indian Astronomy ?
Sir IV. Jones gives us reason, I think, to hope that
this will be executed by Mr. Davis; and the specimen
which that gentleman has exhibited, leaves as little
reason to doubt of his abilities to translate the work
accurately, as of the great value of the original : I
have therefore only to express a wish that, if there
be any diagrams in the Surya Siddhdnta, they may
be carefully preserved.

IV.
Would not a Catalogue Raisonne-, containing an
enumeration, and a short account of the Sanscrit Books
on Indian Astronomy, be a work highly interesting and
useful?

V.
Might not an actual Examination of the Heavens,
in company with a Hindu Astronomer, to ascertain

* 2 Asiatic Researches, 495.

154 QUESTIONS AND MMARfcS ON
all the Stars and Constellations, for which there are
names in Sanscrit, prove a most valuable addition to our
knowledge of Indian Astronomy ?

Let me here take the liberty of reminding the Pre

sident of his promise to make such an examination j
by which the mistakes coficerning the Indian Zodiac ,
some of which he has already pointed out, may be de
cisively corrected.

VI.
May it not be of consequence to procure descriptions
of the principal astronomical buildings and instruments
of which any remains are still to be found, and which
are certainly known to be of Hindu oi-igin ?

Under this head I would comprehend not only such

works as the Observatory at Benares, which is well
described by Sir Robert Barket, but also such instru
ments as the Astrolabe, mentioned by Mr. Burrow in
the Appendix to the second volume of the Asiatic
Researches; and engravings of such instruments will
be necessary to accompany the descriptions.

Though in the preceding questions there may be

nothing that has escaped the attention of the Society
in Bengal, yet they will, perhaps, be forgiven to one
who feels himself deeply interested in the subject to
which they relate, and who would not lose even the
feeblest ray of a light, which, Without the exertions!
of the Asiatic Society, must perish for ever.
 THE ASTRONOMY OF THE HINDUS. 155

REMARK BY THE PRESIDENT.

We shall concur, I am persuaded, in giving our

public thanks to Professor Plat/fair for the Questions
which he has proposed ; and in expressing our wish,
that his example may be followed by the learned in
Europe. Concise answers to his queries will be given
in my next annual discourse ; the subject of which
will comprise a general account of Indian astronomy
and mathematics. I would long ago have accom
plished my design (which I never meant as a promise
to be performed in all events) of examining the hea
vens in company with an intelligent Hindu astrono
mer, if such a companion could have been found in
this province; but, though I offered ample stipends
to any Hindu astronomer who could name, in Sans
crit, all the constellations which I should point out ;
and to any Hindu physician who could bring me all
the plants named in Sanscrit books, I was assured by
the Brahmin whom I had commissioned to search for
such instructors, that no Pandit in Bengal even pre
tended to possess the knowledge which I required.
Lieut. Wiljord, however, has lately favoured me with
a Sanscrit work, procured by him at Benares, con
taining the names, figures, and positions of all the
asterisms known to ancient or modern Hindus, not
only in the Zodiac, but in both hemispheres, and al
most from pole to pole. That work I translated with
attention, and immediately consigned it to Mr. Davis,
who, of all men living, is the best qualified to ex
hibit a copious and accurate History of Indian Astro
nomy.
 157

DISCOURSE THE ELEVENTH,

ON THE

PHILOSOPHY OF THE ASIATICS.

Delivered SOth of February, 17*4.

BY THE PRESIDENT.

HAD it been of any importance, Gentlemen, to

arrange these Anniversary Dissertations accord
ing to the ordinary progress of the human mind, in
the gradual expansion of its three most considerable
powers, memory, imagination, and reason, I should cer
tainly have presented you with an essay on the liberal
arts of the five Asiatic nations, before I produced my
remarks on their abstract sciences ; because, from my
own observation at least, it seems evident that fancy,
or the faculty of combining our ideas agreeably, by
various modes of imitation and substitution, is in
general earlier exercised, and sooner attains maturity
than the power of separating and comparing those
ideas by the laborious exertions of intellect; and
hence, I believe, it has happened, that all nations in
the world had poets before they had mere philoso
phers: but, as M. UAlembert has deliberately placed
science before art, as the question of precedence
is on this occasion of no moment whatever, and
158 ON THE PHILOSOPHY
as many new facts on the subject of Asiatic Philoso
phy are fresh in my remembrance, I propose to ad
dress you now on the sciences of Asia, reserving for
our next annual meeting a disquisition concerning
those fine arts which have immemorially been culti
vated, with different success, and in very different
modes, within the circle of our common inquiries.

By science I mean an assemblage of transcendental

propositions discoverable by human reason, and re
ducible to first principles, axioms, or maxims, from
which they may all be derived in a regular succession :
and there are consequently as many sciences as there
are general objects of our intellectualpowers. When
man first exerts those powers, his objects are himself
and the rest of nature. Himself he perceives ' to be
composed of body and mind; and in his individual ca
pacity he reasons on the uses of his animal frame and
of its parts, both exterior and internal • on the dis
orders impeding the regular functions or those parts,
and on the most probable methods of preventing
those disorders, or of removing them; he soon feels
the close connexion between his corporeal and men
tal faculties-: and when his mind is reflected on itself,
he discourses on its' essence and its operations: in his
social character, he analyzes his various duties' and
lights, both private and public; and in the leisure^
which the fullest discharge of those duties always ad-
mitsj his intellect is directed to nature at large, td
the substattce of natural bodies, to their several pro*
pert'ttsi, and to their quantity both separate1 and uriit-
e&'t finite- and infinite; from all which Objects he1
deduces notions, either purely abstract and universal,
ot mix-ed with undoubted facts; he argues from phe
nomena, to theorems, from those theorems1 to other
phenomena; from causes to effects; from effects to'
causes, and thus arrives at the demonstration of & First
IstielligenfcGawe:- whence his collected wisdom, being1
 OF THE ASIATICS. 159
arranged in the form of science, chiefly consists of
physiology and medicine, metaphysics and logic, ethict
and jurisprudence, natural philosophy scad mathematics ;
from which the religion of nature (since revealed reli
gion must be referred to history, as alone affording
evidence of it) has in all ages and in all nations been
the sublime and consoling result. Without professing
to have given a logical definition of science, or to have
exhibited a perfect enumeration of its objects, I shall
confine myself to those fire divisions of Asiatic Philo
sophy ; enlarging, for the most part, on the progress
which the Hindus have made in them, and occasionally
introducing the sciences of the Arabs and Persiansy
the Tartars and the Chinese: but, how extensive so
ever may be the range which I have chosen, I shall
beware of exhausting your patience with tedious
discussions, and of exceeding those limits which the

I. The first article affords little scope ; since I

have no evidence that, in any language of Asia, there
exists one original treatise on medicine considered
as a science: physic, indeed, appears in these regions
to have been from time immemorial, as we see it
practised at this day by Hindus and Mussulmans, a
mere empirical history of diseases and remedies ; use
ful I admit, in a high degree, and worthy of atten
tive examination, but wholly foreign to the subject'
before us. Though the Arabs, however, have chiefly
followed the Greeks in this branch of knowledge,
and have themselves been implicitly followed by
other Mohammedan writers, yet (not to mention the
Chinese, of whose medical works I can at present
say nothing with confidence) we still have access to
a number of Sa/iscrit books on the old Indian practice,
of physic, from which, if the Hindus had a theo
retical system, we might easily collect it. The
16o ON THE PHILOSOPHY
Ayurveda, supposed to be the work of a celestial
physician, is almost entirely lost, unfortunately, per
haps, for the curious European, but happily for the
patient Hindu ; since a revealed science precludes im
provement from experience, to which that of medi
cine ought, above all others, to be left perpetually
open : but I have myself met with curious fragments
of that primeval work; and, in the Veda itself, I
found with astonishment an entire Upanishad on the
internal parts of the human body ; with an enume
ration of the nerves, veins, and arteries ; a description
of the heart, spleen, and liver ; and various disquisi
tions on the formation and growth of the foetus.
From the laws, indeed, of Menu, which have lately
appeared in our own language, we may perceive that
the ancient Hindus were fond of reasoning, in their
way, on the mysteries of animal generation, and on
the comparative influence of the sexes in the pro
duction of perfect offspring ; and we may collect from
the authorities adduced in the learned Essay on
Egypt and the Nile, that their physiological disputes
led to violent schisms in religion, and even to bloody
wars. On the whole, we cannot expect to acquire
many valuable truths from an examination of eastern
books on the science of medicine ; but examine them
we must, if we wish to complete the history of uni
versal philosophy, and to supply the scholars of Eu
rope with authentic materials for an account of the
opinions anciently formed on this head by the philo
sophers of Asia. To know indeed, with certainty,
that so much and no more can be known on any
branch of science, would in itself be very important
and useful knowledge,- if it had no other effect than to
check the boundless curiosity of mankind, and to fix
them in the straight path of attainable science, espe
cially of such as relates to their duties, and may con
duce to their happiness.
 OF THE ASIATICS.
II. We have an ample field in the next division, and
a field almost wholly new, since the metaphysics and
logic of the Brahmins, comprised in their sLv philoso
phical Sdstras, and explained by numerous glosses,
pr comments, have never yet been accessible to
Europeans; and, by the help of the Sanscrit lan
guage we may now read the works of the Saugatus,
Bauddhas, Arhatas, Jainas, and other heterodox
philosophers, whence we may gather the metaphy
sical tenets prevalent in China and Japan, in the
eastern peninsula of India, and in many considerable
nations of Tartary. There are also some valuable
tracts on these branches of science, in Persian and
Arabic, partly copied from the Greeks, and partly
comprising the doctrines of the Sufis, which anciently
prevailed, and still prevail in a great measure over
this oriental world ; and which the Greeks themselves
condescended to borrow from eastern sages. ,

The little treatise in four chapters, ascribed to

Vyasa, is the only philosophical Sastra, the original
text of which I have had leisure to peruse with a
Brahmin of the Vedanta school : it is extremely ob
scure, and though composed in sentences elegantly
modulated, has more resemblance to a table of con
tents, or an accurate summary, than to a regular
systematical tract ; but all its obscurity ^ias been
cleared by the labour of the very judicious and most
learned Sancara, Avhose commentary on the
danta which I read also with great attention, not only
elucidates every word of the text-, but exhibits a
perspicuous account of all other Indian schools, from
that of Capila to those of the more modern here
tics. It is not possible, indeed, to speak with too
much applause of so excellent a work ; and I am
confident in asserting, that, until an accurate trans
lation of it shall appear in some European language
the general history of philosophv must remain incom-
Vqj.. IV. M
162 Otf THE PHILOSOPHY
plete ; for I perfectly agree with those who are of
opinion, that one correct version of any celebrated
Hindu book would be of greater value than all the
dissertations or essays that could be composed on
the same subject. You will not, however, expect
that, in such a discourse as I am now delivering, I
should expatiate on the diversity of Indian philoso
phical schools, on the several founders of them, on
the doctrines which they respectively taught, or on
dissented from their in
structors in some particular points. On the present
occasion, it will be sufficient to say, that the oldest
head of a sect, whose entire work is preserved, was
(according to some authors) Capila; not the divine
personage, a reputed grandson of Brahma, to whom
Crishna compares himself in the Gita; but a sage
of his name, who invented the Sarichya, or Numeral
philosophy, which Crishna himself appears to im
pugn in his conversation with Arjuna ; and which,
as far as I can collect it from a few original texts,
resembled in part the metaphysics of Pythagoras,
.and in part the theology of Zeno. His doctrines
were enforced and illustrated, with some additions,
by the venerable Patanjali, who has also left us a
fine comment on the grammatical rules of Pdnini,
which are more obscure, without a gloss, than the
darkest oracle; and here, by the way, let me add,
that I refer to metaphysics the curious and important
science of universal grammar, on which many sub
tile disquisitions may be found interspersed in the
particular grammars of the ancient Hindus, and in
those of the more modern Arabs. The next founder,
I believe, of a philosophical school was Go'tama ;
if, indeed, he was not the most ancient of all; for
his wife Ahalya was, according to Indian legends,
restored to a human shape by the great Rdma; and
a. sage of his name, whom we have no reason to
suppose a different personage, is frequently men
tioned in the Veda itself: to his rational doctrines
 OF THE ASIATICS^ 16$
those of Canada were in general conformable; and
the philosophy of them both is usually called Nyc'tya,
or logical: a title aptly bestowed; for it seems to be a
system of metaphysics and logic better accommo
dated than any other anciently known in India, to
the natural reason and common sense of mankind,
admitting the actual existence of material substance in
the popular acceptation of the word matter; and
comprising not only a body of sublime dialectics,
but an artificial method of reasoning, with distinct
names for the three parts of a proposition, and even
for those of a regular syllogism. Here I cannot re
frain from introducing a singular tradition, which
prevailed, according to the well-informed author of
the Dabistdn, in the Punjab and in several Persian
provinces; that, " among other Indian curiosities,
" which Callis'tkenes transmitted to his uncle, was
" a technical system of logic, which the Brahmins
" had communicated to the inquisitive Greek," and
which the Mohammedan writer supposes to have been
the ground-work of the famous Aristotelian method.
If this be true, it is one of the most interesting facts
that I have met with in Asia : and if it be false, it is
very extraordinary that such a story should have
been fabricated either by the candid Monshani Fdni,
or by the simple Pdrsis and Pandits, with whom he
had conversed ; but, not having had leisure to study
the Nyaya Sdstra, I can only assure you, that I have
frequently seen perfect syllogisms in the philoso-
Khical writings of the Brahmins, and have often
eard them used in their verbal controversies. What-1
ever might have been the merit or age of Go'tama,
yet the most celebrated Indian school is that, with
which I began, founded by Vydsa, and supported
in most respects by his pupil Jaimini, whose dissent
on a few points is mentioned by his master with re
spectful moderation: their several systems are fre-'
quently distinguished by the names of the {£x%\ and
M 3
164 ON THE PHILOSOPHY
Second M'mansa; a word which, like Ny&ya, denotes
the operations and conclusions of reason; but the
tract of Vydsa has in general the appellation of Vi-
danta, or the scope and end of the Veda ; on the texts
of which, as they were understood by the philosopher
who collected them, his doctrines are principally
grounded. The fundamental tenet of the Veadnta
school, to which in a more modern age the incom
parable Sancara was a firm and illustrious adherent,
consisted not in denying the existence of matter,
that is of solidity, impenetrability, and extended
figure (to deny which would be lunacy) but, in cor
recting the popular notion of it, and in contending
that it has no essence independent of mental percep*
tion; that existence and perceptibility are conver
tible terms ; that external appearances and sensations
are illusory, and would vanish into nothing, if the
divine energy, which alone sustains them, were suf-
pended but for a moment : an opinion, which Epi-
charmus and Plato seem to have adopted, and
which has been maintained in the present century
with great elegance, but with little public applause ;
partly because it has been misunderstood, and partly
because it has been misapplied by the false reasoning
of some unpopular writers, who are said to have
disbelieved in the moral attributes of God, whose
omnipresence, wisdom, and goodness, are the basis
of the Indian philosophy. I have not sufficient evi
dence on the subject to profess a belief in the doc
trine of the Vidanta, which human reason alone
could, perhaps, neither fully demonstrate, nor fully
disprove; but it is manifest, that nothing can be
farther removed from impiety than a system wholly
built on the purest devotion; and the inexpressible
difficulty which any man, who shall make the at-
'tempt, will assuredly find in giving a satisfactory
definition of material substance, must induce us to de
liberate with coolness, before we censure the learned
 OF THE ASIATICS. 165
and pious restorer of the ancient VMa ; though we
cannot but admit, that, if the common opinions of
mankind be the criterion of philosophical truth, we
must adhere to the system of Gdtama, which the
Brahmins of this province almost universally follow.

If the metaphysics of the Vbdlmtu be wild and

erroneous, the pupils of Buddha have run, it is as
serted, into an error diametrically opposite; for they
are charged with denying the existence of pure spirit,
and with believing nothing absolutely and really to
exist but material substance: a heavy accusation
which ought only to have been made on positive
and incontestible proof, especially by the orthodox
Brahmins, who, as Buddha dissented from their
ancestors in regard to bloody sacrifices, which the
Veda certainly prescribes, may not unjustly be suspect
ed of low and interested malignity. Though I cannot
credit the charge, yet I am unable to prove it entirely
false, having only read a few pages of a Saugata
book, which Captain Kirkpatrick had lately the
kindness to give me ; but it begins, like other Hindu
books, with the word O'm, which we know to
be a symbol of the divine attributes; then follows,
indeed, a mysterious hymn to the Goddess of Nature
by the name of A'ryd, but with several other titles,
which the Brahmins themselves continually bestow
on their Devi. Now the Brahmins, who have no
idea that any such personage exists as Devi, or
the Goddess, and only mean to express allegorically
the power of God, exerted in creating, preserving,
and renovating this universe, we cannot with justice
infer, that the dissenters admit no Deity but visible
nature. The Paudit who now attends me, and who
told Mr. Wilkins that the Saugatas were atheists,
would not have attempted to resist the decisive evi
dence of the contrary, which appears in the very
instrument on which he was consulted, if his under-*
M 2
166 ON THE PHILOSOPHY
standing had not been blinded by the intolerant zeal
of a mercenary priesthood. A literal version of the
book just mentioned (if any studious man had learn
ing and industry equal to the task) would be an in
estimable treasure to the compiler of such a history
as that of the laborious Brucker. But let us proceed
to the morals and jurisprudence of the Asiatics, on
which I could expatiate, if the occasion admitted a
full discussion of the subject, with correctness and
confidence,

III, That both ethics and abstract law might

be reduced to the method of' science, cannot surely be
doubted ; but, although such a method would be of
infinite use in a system of universal, or even of na
tional jurisprudence, yet the principles of morality
are so few, so luminous, and so ready to present
themselves on every occasion, that the practical
utility of a scientifical arrangement, in a treatise on
ethics, may very justly be questioned. The moral
ists of the east have, in general, chosen to deliver
their precepts in short sententious maxims, to illus
trate them by sprightly comparisons, or to inculcate
them in the very ancient form of agreeable apologues.
There are indeed, both in Arabic and Persian,
philosophical tracts, on ethics, written with sound
ratiocination and elegant perspicuity ; but in every
part of this eastern world, from Pekin to Damascus,
the popular teachers of moral wisdom have immemo-
rially been poets, and there would be no end of enu
merating their works, which are still extant in the
five principal languages of Asia. Our divine religion,
the truth of which (if any history be true) is abun
dantly proved by historical evidence, has no need of
such aids as many are willing to give it, by assert
ing, that the wisest men of this world Avere ignorant
of the two great maxims, that we must act in respect
of others as we should wish them to act in respect of
 OF THE ASIATICS. 167
ourselves,, and that instead of returning evil for evil,
we should confer benefits, even on those who injure us :
but the first rule is implied in a speech of Lysias,
and expressed in distinct phrases by Tholes and Pit-
tacus ; and 1 have even seen it, word for word, in the
original of Confucius, which I carefully compared
with the Latin translation. It has been usual with
zealous men to ridicule and abuse all those who dare
on this point to quote the Chinese philosopher ; but,
instead of supporting their cause, they would shake it,
if it could be shaken, by their uncandid asperity ;
for they ought to remember, that one great end of
revelation, as it is most expressly declared, was not
to instruct the wise and few, but the many and
unenlightened. If the conversion, therefore, of the
Pandits and Maulavis in this country shall ever be
attempted by Protestant missionaries, they must be
ware of asserting, while they teach the gospel of
truth, what those Pandits and Maulavis would know
to be false. The former would cite the beautiful
A'ryd couplet, which was written at least three cen
turies before our asra, and which pronounces the duty
of a good man, even in the moment of his destruction,
to consist not only in forgiving, bat even in a desire of
benefiting, his destroyer, as the Sandal tree, in the in
stant of its overthrow, sheds perfume on the axe which
fells it; and the latter would triumph in repeating the
verse of Sadi, who represents a return ofgood for good .
as a slight reciprocity ; but says to the virtuous man,
" Confer benefits on him who has injured thee ;" using
an Arabic sentence, and a maxim apparently of the
ancient Arabs. Nor would the Mussulmans fail to re
cite four distichs of Hajiz, who has illustrated that
maxim with . fanciful but elegant allusions :

Learn from ynn orient slicll to love thy foe,

And store with pearls the hand that brings thee woe:
Free, like yon rock, from base vindictive pride,
Emblaze with gems the wrist that rends thy side :
M4
168 ON THE PHILOSOPHY

Mart, where yon tree rewards the stony show*r :

With fruit nectareous, or the balmy flow'r :
All nature calls aloud : " shall man do less
" Than heal the smiter, and the roller bless V

Now there is not a shadow of reason for believing

that the poet of Shiraz had borrowed this doctrine
from the Christians ; but, as the cause of Christianity
could never be promoted by falsehood or error, so
it will never be obstructed by candour and veracity ;
for the lessons of Confucius and Chanacya, of Sadi
and Hajiz, are unknown even at this day to mil
lions of Chinese and Hindus, Persians, and other
Mahommedans, who toil for their daily support; nor,
were they known ever so perfectly, would they have
a divine sanction With the multitude ; so that, in
order to enlighten the minds of the ignorant, and
to enforce the obedience of the perverse, it is evi
dent, a priori, that a revealed religion was necessary
in the great system of Providence : but my principal
motive for introducing this topic, was to give you
a specimen of that ancient oriental morality which
is comprised in an infinite number of Persian, Arabic,
and Sanscrit compositions.

Nearly one half of jurisprudence is closely con

nected with ethics ; but, since the learned of Asia con
sider most of their laws as positive and divine insti
tutions, and not as the mere conclusions of human
reason ; and since I have prepared amass of extremely
curious materials which I reserve for an introduction
to the digest of Indian laws, I proceed to the fourth
division ; which consists principally of sciences tran
scendency so named, or the knowledge of abstract.
quantities, of their limits, properties, and relations, im
pressed on the understanding with the force of irre
sistible demonstration ; which, as all other knowledge
depends, at best, on our fallible senses, and in a great
 OF THE ASIATICS, v
measure on still more fallible testimony, can only be
found in pure mental abstractions ; though for all the
purposes of life, our own senses, and even the credible1
testimony of others, give us, in most cases, the highest
degree of certainty, physical ahd moral.

IV. I have already had occasion to touch on the

Indian metaphysics of natural bodies, according to
the most celebrated of the Asiatic schools, from which
the Pythagoreans are supposed to have borrowed
many of their opinions ; and, as we learn from
Cicero, that the old sages of Europe had an idea of
centripetal force, and a principle of universal gravita
tion (which they never indeed attempted to demon
strate) so I can venture to affirm, without -meaning
to pluck a leaf from the never-fading laurels of our
immortal Newton, that the whole of his theology,
and part of his philosophy, may be found in the Vi-
das, and even in the works of the Sufis. The most
subtil spirit, which he suspected to pervade natural
bodies, and, lying concealed in them, to cause at
traction and repulsion ; the emission, reflection, and
refraction of light ; electricity, calefaction, sensation,
and muscular motion, is described by the Hindus as a
jifth element, endued with those very powers; and
the Vedas abound with allusions to a force univer
sally attractive, which they chiefly ascribe to the
Sun, thence called Aditya, or the Attractor: a name
.designed by the mythologists to mean the Child of
the Goddess Aditi; but the most wonderful passage
on the theory of attraction, occurs in the charming
allegorical poem of Sturm and Ferhdd, or th6
Divine Spirit and a human soul disinterestedly pious :
•a work which, from the first verse to the last, as ;»
•blaze of religious and poetical fire. The whole
passage appears to me so curious, that I make no
apology tor giving you a faithful translation of it :
 ON THE PHILOSOPHY
" There is a strong propensity which dances through
" every atom, and attracts the minutest particle to
" some particular object. Search this universe from
" its base to its summit, from fire to air, from water
" to earth, from all below the Moon to all above
" the celestial spheres, and thou wilt not find a cor-
" puscle destitute of that natural attractability ; the
'* very point of the first thread, in this apparently .
" tangled skein, is no other than such a principle of
is attraction ; and all principles beside are void of
" a real basis: from such a propensity arises every
" motion perceived in heavenly, or in terrestrial
" bodies : it is a disposition to be attracted, which
" taught hard steel to rush from its place and rivet
" itself on the magnet: it is the same disposition
" which impels the light straw to attach itself firmly
" on amber: it is this quality which gives every
" substance in nature a tendency toward another,
" and an inclination forcibly directed to a determi-
" nate point." These notions are vague, indeed, and
unsatisfactory ; but permit me to ask, whether the
last paragraph of Newtoris incomparable work goes
much farther? and whether any subsequent experi
ments have thrown light on a subject so abstruse and
obscure? That the sublime astronomy and exqui
sitely beautiful geometry with which that work is il
lumined, should in any degree be approached by the
Mathematicians of Asia, while of all Europeans who
ever lived, Archimedes alone was capable of emu
lating them, would be a vain expectation; but
Ave must suspend our opinion of Indian astronomical
knowledge till the Surya Siddhdnta shall appear in
our own language, and even then (to adopt a phrase
of Cicero) our greedy and capacious ears will by no
means be satisfied ; for, in order to complete an his
torical account of genuine Hindu astronomy, we
require verbal translations of at least three other
Sanscrit books; of the treatise of Parasara for
 OF THE ASIATICS. 171
the first age of Indian science ; of that by VarAha,
with the copious comment of his very learned son,
for the middle age ; and of those written by Bha-
scara for times comparatively modern. The va
luable and now accessible works of the last men
tioned philosopher, contain also an universal, or spe
cious arithmetic, with one chapter at least in geo
metry; nor would it, surely, be difficult to pro
cure, through our several residents with the PishwA
and with Scindhya, the older books on algebra,
which Bhascara mentions, and on which Mr.
Davis would justly set a very high value; but the
Sanscrit work, from which we might expect the
most ample and important information, is entitled
Cshetradersa, or a View of Geometrical Knowledge,
and was compiled in a very large volume; by order
of the illustrious Jayasinha, comprising all that
remains on that science in the sacred language of
India: it was inspected in the west by a Pandit now
in the service of Lieutenant Wilj'ord, and might, I
am persuaded, be purchased at Jayanagar, where
Colonel Polier had permission from the Raja to
buy the four Vedas themselves. Thus have I an
swered, to the' best of my power, the three first
questions obligingly transmitted to us by Professor
Playfair,—-Whether the Hindus have books in San
scrit expressly on geometry ? Whether they have any
such on arithmetic? and, Whether a translation of
the Suryha SiddhAnta be not the great desideratum on
the subject of Indian astronomy? To his three last
questions,-^Whether an accurate summary account of
all the Sanscrit works on that subject ? A delineation
of the Indian celestial sphere, with correct remarks
on it? and, A description of the astronomical instru
ments used by the ancient Hindus, would not seve
rally be of great utility ? we cannot but answer in
the affirmative, provided that the utmost critical
sagacity were applied in distinguishing such works,
172 ON THE PHILOSOPHY
constellations, and instruments, as are clearly of
Indian origin,, from such as were introduced into this
country by Mussulman astronomers from Tartary and
Persia, or in later days by mathematicians from
Europe.

V. From all the properties of man and of na

ture, from all the various branches of science, from
all the deductions of human reason, the general co
rollary, admitted by Hindus, Arabs, and Tartars, by
Persians, and by Ckwese, is the supremacy of an all-
creating and all-preserving Spirit, infinitely wise,
good, and powerful, but infinitely removed from the
comprehension of his most exalted creatures ; nor
are there in any language (the ancient Hebrew al
ways excepted) more pious and sublime addresses to
the Being of beings, more splendid enumerations of
his attributes, or more beautiful descriptions of his
visible works, than in Arabic, Persian, and Sanscrit,
especially in the Koran, the introductions of the
poems of Sadi, Nizami, and Firdausi, the four
Vldas and many parts of the numerous Puranas : but
supplication and praise would not satisfy the bound
less imagination of the Vedawia and Siifl theologists,
who, blending uncertain ihysics with un
doubted principles of religion, have presumed to
reason confidently on the very nature and essence
of the divine spirit, and asserted in a very remote
age, what multitudes of Hindus and Mussulmans
assert at this hour, that all spirit is homogeneous ;
that the spirit of God is in kind the same with that
of man, though differing from it infinitely in degree ;
and that, as material substance is mere illusion,
there exists in this universe only one generic spiri
tual sustance, the sole primary cause, efficient,
substantial, and formal, of all secondary causes and
of all appearances whatever, but endued, in its high
est degree, . with a sublime providential wisdom.
 OP THE ASIATICS. 173
and proceeding by Avays incomprehensible to the
spirits Avhich emane from it : an opinion which
Gotama never taught, and which we have no au
thority to believe, but which, as it is grounded on
the doctrine of an immaterial Creator supremely
wise, and a constant Preserver supremely benevo
lent, differs as widely from the pantheism of Spi
noza and Toland as the affirmation of a proposition
differs from the negotiation of it ; though the last-
named professor of that insane philosophy had the
baseness to conceal his meaning under the very
words of Saint Paul, which are cited by New
ton for a purpose totally different, and has even
used a phrase which occurs, indeed, in the Veda,
but in a sense diametrically opposite to that which
he would have given it. The passage to which I
allude, is in a speech of Varum to his son, where
he says, " That spirit, from which these created
" beings proceed ; through which, having proceeded
" from it, they live; toward which they tend, and
"~4n which they are ultimately absorbed,—that spirit
" study to know ; that spirit is the Great One."

The subject of this discourse, Gentlemen, is in

exhaustible u it has been my endeavour to say as
much on it as possible in the fewest words ; and, at
the beginning of next year, I hope to close these
general disquisitions with topics measureless in ex
tent, but less abstruse than that which has this day
been discussed; and better adapted to the gaiety
which seems to have prevailed in the learned ban
quets of the Greeks, and which ought surely to pre
vail in every symposiac assembly.
 175

A DISCOURSE

Delivered at

A MEETING OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY,

ON THE 22d of may, 1794.

BY SIR JOHN SHORE, BART. PRESIDENT.

IF I had consulted my competency only, for the

station which your choice has conferred upon me,
I must, without hesitation, have declined the honour
of being the President of this Society; and although I
most cheerfully accept your invitation, with every
inclination to assist, as far as my abilities extend, in
promoting the laudable views of our association, I
must still retain the consciousness of those disquali
fications, which you have been pleased to overlook.

It was lately our boast to possess a President,

whose name, talents, and character, would have been
honourable to any institution ; it is now our misfor
tune to lament, that Sir William Jones exists but
in the affections of his friends, and in the esteem,
veneration, and regret of all.

I cannot, I flatter myself, offer a more grateful

tribute to the Society, than by making his character
 176
the subject of my first address to you ; and if in the
delineation of it, fondness or affection for the man
should appear blended with my reverence for his
genius and abilities, in the sympathy of your feelings
I shall find my apology.

To define, with accuracy, the variety, value, and

extent of his literary attainments, requires more
learning than I pretend to possess ; and I am there
fore to solicit your indulgence for an imperfect sketch,
rather than expect your approbation for a complete
description, or the talents and knowledge of your
late and lamented President.

I shall begin with mentioning his wonderful ca

pacity for the acquisition of languages, which has
never been excelled. In Greek and Roman litera
ture, his early proficiency was the subject of admi
ration and applause ; and knowledge, of whatever
nature, once obtained by him, was ever afterwards
progressive. The more elegant dialects of modern
Europe, the French, the Spanish, and the Italian,
he spoke and wrote with the greatest fluency and pre*
cision ; and the German and Portuguese were familiar
to him. At an early period of life his application to
oriental literature commenced : he 6tudied the He*
breto with ease and success ; and many of the most
learned Asiatics have the candour to avow, that his
knowledge of Arabic and Persian was as accurate
and extensive as their own ; he was also conversant
in the Turkish idiom ; and the Chinese had even at
tracted his notice so far, as to induce him to learn the
radical characters of that language, with a view, per
haps, to further improvements. It was to be expected,
after his arrival in India, that he would eagerly em
brace the opportunity of making himself master of
the Sanscrit /, and the most enlightened professors of
the doctrines of Brahma, confess, with pride, de
 177
light, and surprise, that his knowledge of their sacred
dialect was most critically correct and profound. The
Pandits, who were in the habit of attending him, when
I saw them after his death, at a public Durbar, could
neither suppress their tears for his loss, nor find terms '
to express their admiration at the wonderful progress
he had made in their sciences.

Before the expiration of his twenty-second year,

he had completed his Commentaries on the Poetry
of the Asiatics, although a considerable time after-
Wards elapsed before their publication; and this
work, if no other monument of his labours existed,
would at once furnish proofs of his consummate skill
in the oriental dialects, of his proficiency in those of
Rome and Greece, of taste and erudition far beyond his
years, and of talents and application without example.

But the judgment of Sir William Jones was too

discerning to consider language in any other light
than as the key of science ; and he would have - de
spised the reputation of a mere linguist. Knowledge
and truth were the objects of all his studies, and his
ambition was to be useful to mankind. With these
views, he extended his researches to all languages,
nations, and times.

Such were the motives that induced him to pro

pose to the government of this country, what he
justly denominated a work of national utility and im
portance; the compilation of a copious Digest of
Hindu and Mohammedan Law, from Sanscrit and
Arabic originals, with an ofl'er of his services to su
perintend the compilation, and with a promise to
translate it. He had foreseen, previous to his depar
ture from Europe, that without the aid of such a Work,
the wise and benevolent intentions of the legislature of
Great Britain, in leaving, to a certain extent, the na-
Yol. IV. N
178
tives of these provinces in possession of their own
laws, could not be completely fulfilled ; and his expe
rience, after a short residence in India, confirmed
what his sagacity had anticipated, that without prin
ciples to refer to, in a language familiar to the judges
of the courts, adjudications amongst the natives must
too often be subject to an uncertain and erroneous ex
position, or wilful misinterpretation of their laws.

To the superintendence of this work, which was

immediately undertaken at his suggestion, he assi
duously devoted those hours which he could spare
from his professional duties. After tracing the plan
of the digest, he prescribed its arrangement and mode
of execution, and selected from the most learned
Hindus and Mohammedans fit persons for the task of
compiling it. Flattered by his attention, and encou
raged by his applause, the Pandits prosecuted their
labours with cheerful zeal, to a satisfactory conclusion.
The Moluvees have also nearly finished their portion of
the work ; but we must ever regret that the promised
translation, as well as the meditated preliminary dis
sertation, have been frustrated by that decree which so
often intercepts the performance of human purposes.

During the course of this compilation, and as

an auxiliary to it, he was led to study the works of
Menu, reputed by the Hindus to be the oldest and
holiest of legislators ; and finding them to comprise
a system of religious and civil duties, and of law in
all its branches, so comprehensive and minutely
exact, that it might be considered as the institutes of
Hindu law, he presented a translation of them to the
Government . of Bengal, During the same period,
deeming no labour excessive or superfluous that
tended, in any respect, to promote the welfare or hap
piness of mankind, he gave the public an English
version of the Arabic text of the Sirajiyyah, or Mo
 17$
hammedkn Law of inheritance, with a Commentary.
He had already published in England a translation
of a tract on the same subject, by another Moham
medan lawyer, containing, as his own words express,
a lively and elegant epitome of the Law of Inheritance,
according to Zaid.

To these learned and important works, so far out of

the road of amusement, nothing could have engaged
his application but that desire which he ever professed,
of rendering his knowledge useful to his own nation^
and beneficial to the inhabitants of these provinces.

Without attending to the chronological order of

their publication, I shall briefly recapitulate his other
performances in Asiatic Literature, as far as my1
knowledge and recollection of them extend.

The vanity and petulance 6f Anquetil dii Perron}

with his illiberal reflections on some of the;
learned Members of the University of Oxford, ex
torted from him a letter in the French language,
which has been admired for accurate criticism, just
satire, and elegant composition. A regard for the
literary reputation of his country, induced him to
translate from a Persian original into French, the Life
of Nadir Shah, that it might not be carried out
of England, with a reflection that no person had
been found in the British dominions capable of trans
lating it. The students of Persian literature must
. ever be grateful to him for a grammar of that lan
guage, in which he has shewn the possibility of
combining taste and elegance with the precision
of a grammarian ; and every admirer of Arabic poe
try must acknowledge his obligations to him for an
English version of the seven celebrated poems, so
Well known by the name of Moallakat, from the dis
tinction to which their excellence had entitled them
.N 8
180
of being suspended in the temple of Mecca. I should
scarcely think it of importance to mention, that he
did not disdain the office of Editor of a Sanscrit and
Persian work, if it did not afford me an opportunity
of adding, that the latter was published at his own
expense, and was sold for the benefit of insolvent
debtors. A similar application was made of the pro
duce of the Sirajiyyah.

Of his lighter productions, the elegant amuse

ments of his leisure hours, comprehending hymns
on the Hindu mythology ; poems, consisting chiefly
of translations from the Asiatic languages ; and the
version of Sacontala, an ancient Indian drama, —
it would be unbecoming to speak in a style of im
portance which he did not himself annex to them.
They shew the activity of a vigorous mind, its fer
tility, its genius, and its taste. Nor shall I particu
larly dwell on the discourses addressed to this Society,
which we have all perused or heard, or on the other
learned and interesting dissertations, which form so
large and valuable a portion of the records of our re
searches ; let us lament that the spirit which dictated
them is to us extinct ; and that the voice to which
we listened with improvement and rapture, will be
heard by us no more.

But I cannot pass over a paper, which has fallen

into my possession since his demise, in the hand-
Writing of Sir William Jones himself,, entitled Desi
derata, as more explanatory than any thing I can
say of the comprehensive views of his enlightened
mind. It contains, as a perusal of it will shew,
whatever is most curious, important, and attainable,
in the sciences and histories of India, Arabia, Chinax
and Tartary ; subjects which he had already most
amply discussed in the disquisitions which he laid be
fore the Society,
 18J

DESIDERATA.
9
INDIA.

I.
The Ancient Geography of India, &c. from the
Purdnas.
II.
A Botanical Description of Indian Plants, from the
Coshas, &c.
III.
A Grammar of the Sanscrit Language, from Pa-
nini, &c.
IV.
A Dictionary of the Sanscrit Language, from thirty-
two original Vocabularies and Niructi.

V.
On the Ancient Music of the Indians.

VL
On the Medical Substances of India, and the Indian
Art of Medicine.
VII.
On the Philosophy of the Ancient Indians.

VIII.
A Translation of the Veda.

IX.
On Ancient Indian Geometry, Astronomy, and
Algebra.
X
A Translation of the Purdnas.
N3
 xi.
Translations of the Mahdbharat Ramayan,
XII.
On the Indian Theatre, &g. &c,
XIII,
On the Indian Constellations, with their Mythology,
from the Puranas.
XIV.
The History of India before the Mohammedan Con«
quest. From the Sanscrit-Cashmir Histories.

ARABIA.
XV.
The History of Arabia before Mohammed,
XVI.
A Translation of the H&masa.
XVII,
A Translation of Hariri.
XVIII.
A Translation of the Fdchatul Khulafd,
Of the Cdfiak,

PERSIA.
XIX,
The History of Persia, from Authorities in Sanscrit,
Arabic, Greek, Turkish, Persian, ancient and mo*
dern.
Firdaufis-Khosrau ndma,
XX.
The five Poems of Niz&mi, -translated in prose,
A Dictionary of pure Persian. Jehangire,
 183
CHINA.
XXI.
A Translation of the Shi-cing.
XXII.
The Text of Can-fu-tsu verbally translated.

TARTARY.
XXIII.
A History of the Tartar Nations, chiefly of the
Moguls and Othmans, from the Turkish and Persian.

We are not authorised to conclude that he had

himself formed a determination to complete the works
which his genius and knowledge had thus sketched ;
the task seems to require a period beyond the pro
bable duration of any human life ; but we who had
the happiness to know Sir William Jones, who were
witnesses of his indefatigable perseverance in the
pursuit of knowledge, and of his ardour to accom
plish whatever he deemed important, who saw the
extent of his intellectual powers, his wonderful attain
ments in literature and science, and the facility with
which all his compositions were made, cannot doubt,
if it had pleased Providence to protract the date of
his existence, that he would have ably executed much
of what he had so extensively planned,

I have hitherto principally confined my discourse

to the pursuits of our late President, in oriental lite
rature, which, from their extent, might appear to
have occupied all his time ; but they neither preclud
ed his attention to professional studies, nor to science
in general. Amongst his publications in Europe,
in polite literature, exclusive of various compositions
in prose and verse, I find a translation of the Speeches
of Isceus, with a learned comment ; and in law, an
Essay on the Law of Bailments. Upon the sub ject of
N4
184
this last work, I cannot deny myself the gratification
of quoting the sentiments of a celebrated historian :—
Sir William Jones has given an ingenious and ra-
u tional Essay on the Law of Bailments. He is per-
" haps the only lawyer equally conversant with the
" year-books of Westminster, the Commentaries of
" Ulpian, the Attic Pleadings of Isceus, and the Sen-
" tences of Arabian and Persian Cadhis."

His professional studies did not commence before

his twenty-second year : and I have his own authority
for asserting, that the first book of English jurispru
dence which he ever studied, was Fortescue's Essay,
in Praise of the Laws of England.

Of the ability and conscientious integrity with which

he discharged the functions of a Magistrate, and the
duties of a Judge of the Supreme Court of Judicature,
in this settlement, the public voice and public regret
bear ample and merited testimony. The same pene
tration which marked his scientific researches, distin
guished his legal investigations and decisions ; and he
deemed no inquiries burthensome which had for their
object substantial justice under the rules of law.

His addresses to the jurors, are no less distinguished

for philanthropy and liberality of sentiment, than for
just expositions of the law, perspicuity and elegance
of diction ; and his oratory was as captivating as his
arguments were convincing.

In an epilogue to his Commentaries on Asiatic Po

etry, he bids farewell to polite literature, without re
linquishing his affection for it ; and concludes with
an intimation of his intention to study law, expressed
in a wish which we now know to have been prophetic.

Mihi sit oro, von inutilis toga,

JVec indiserta lingua, nee turpis manus!
 185
. I have already enumerated attainments and works
which, from their diversity and extent, seem far be
yond the capacity of the most enlarged minds ; but
the catalogue may yet be augmented. To a proficiency
in the languages of Greece, Rome, and Asia, he added
the knowledge of the philosophy of those countries,
and of every thing curious and valuable that had been
taught in them. The doctrines of the Academy,
the Lyceum, or the Portico, were not more familiar to
him than the tenets of the Vedas, the mysticism of
the Sufis, or the religion of the ancient Persians ; ard
whilst with a kindred genius he perused with raptuic
the heroic, lyric, or moral compositions of the most
renowned poets of Greece, Rome, and Asia, he could
turn with equal delight and knowledge to the sublime
speculations, or mathematical calculations of Bar
row and Newton. With them also he professed his
conviction of the truth of the Christian religion;
and he justly deemed it no inconsiderable advantage
that his researches had corroborated the multiplied
evidence of revelation, by confirming the Mosaic ac
count of the primitive world. We all recollect, and
can refer to the following sentiments in his Eighth
Anniversary Discourse.

" Theological inquiries are no part of my pre-

" sent subject; but I cannot refrain from adding,
" that the collection of tracts, which we call from
" their excellence the Scriptures, contain, indepen l-
" ently of a divine origin, more true sublimity,
" more exquisite beauty, purer morality, more in*
" portant history, and finer strains both of poetry and
" eloquence, than could be collected within the sane
" compass from all other books that were ever com-
'.' pos«d in any age, or in any idiom. The tvo
" parts, of which the scriptures consist, are connected
" by a chain of compositions, which bear no resem-
" blance in form or style to any that can be produced
186
" from the stores of Grecian, Indian, Persian, or even
" Arabian learning. The antiquity of those compo-
" sitions no man doubts, and the unrestrained appli-
" cation of them to events long subsequent to their
" publication, is a solid ground of belief that they
" were genuine predictions, and consequently inspired."

There were, in truth, few sciences in which he

hid not acquired considerable proficiency ; in most
his knowledge was profound. The theory of musio
was familiar to him, nor had he neglected to make
himself acquainted with the interesting discoveries
lately made in Chemistry: and I have heard him
assert, that his admiration of the structure of the hu
man frame, had induced him to attend for a season
to a course of anatomical lectures, delivered by his
friend the celebrated Hunter.

His last and favourite pursuit was the study of

Ifltany, which he originally began under the confine-
Trent of a severe and lingering disorder ; which, with
nost minds, would have proved a disqualification
from any application. It constituted the principal
amusement ofhis leisure hours. In the arrangements
oiLinnazus he discovered system, truth, and science,
which never failed to captivate and engage his atten
tion ; and, from the proofs which he has exhibited
of his progress in Botany, we may conclude that he
would nave extended the discoveries in that science.
The last composition which he read in this Society,
wis a description of seXect^Indian plants : and I hope
his Executors will allow us to fulfil his intention of
publishing it in a number of our Researches.

It cannot be deemed useless or superfluous to in

quire, by what arts or method he was enabled to at
tain to a degree of knowledge, almost universal, and
apparently beyond the powers of man, during a life
little exceeding forty-seven years.
 187
The faculties of his mind, by nature vigorous,
were improved by constant exercise : and his memory,
by habitual practice, had acquired a capacity of re
taining whatever had once been impressed upon it.
To an unextinguished ardour for universal know
ledge, he joined a perseverance in the pursuit of it,
which subdued all obstacles ; his studies began with
the dawn, and, during the intermissions of profes
sional duties, were continued throughout the day;
reflection and meditation strengthened and confirmed
what industry and investigation had accumulated.
It was a fixed principle with him, from which he
never voluntarily deviated, not to be deterred by any
difficulties that were surmountable, from prosecuting
to a successful termination what he had once deli
berately undertaken,

But what appears to me more particularly to have

enabled him to employ his talents so much to his
own and the public advantage, was the regular allot
ment of his time to particular occupations, and a
scrupulous adherence to the distribution which he
had fixed ; hence, all his studies were pursued with
out interruption or confusion : nor can 1 here omit re
marking, what may probably have attracted your ob
servation as well as mine, the candour and compla
cency with which he gave his attention to all persons,
of whatever quality, talents, or education : he justly
concluded that curious or important information might
be gained even from the illiterate ; and wherever it
Was to be obtained, he sought and seized it.

Of the private and social virtues of our lamented

President, our hearts are the best records. To you
who knew him, it cannot be necessary for me to expa
tiate on the independence of his integrity, his hu
manity, probity, or benevolence, which every living
creature participated ; on the affability of his conver
188
sation and manners, or his modest unassuming deport
ment ; nor need I remark that he was totally free from
pedantry, as well as from arrogance and self-sufficiency,
which sometimes accompany and disgrace the great
est abilities : his presence was the delight of every so
ciety, which his conversation exhilarated and im
proved ; and the public have not only to lament the
loss of his talents and abilities, but that ofhis example.

To him, as the Founder of our Institution, and

whilst he lived, its firmest support, our reverence is
more particularly due : instructed, animated, and en
couraged by him, genius was called forth into exer
tion, and modest merit was excited to distinguish
itself. Anxious for the reputation of the Society, he
was indefatigable in his own endeavours to promote
it, whilst he cheerfully assisted those of others. In
losing him, we have not only been deprived of our
brightest ornament, but of a guide and patron, on
whose instructions, judgment, and candour, we could
implicitly rely.

But it will, I trust, be long, very long, before the

remembrance of his virtues, his genius, and abilities,
lose that influence over the Members of this Society
which his living example had maintained; and if,
previous to his demise, he had been asked, by what
posthumous honours or attentions we could best shew
our respect for his memory, I may venture to assert
he would have replied, " by exerting yourselves to sup
port the credit of the Society ;" applying to it, perhaps,
the dying wish of Father Paul, " Esto perpetua."
 .

JRNAL AND SI1

1 12 IS

A. M' 29-97 29.79 29.86 29J

I •97 ,79 .84
•97
II ,97 .S3
•96 •79 .83 .0
III •96
•95
IV •95 13
•95 : .83 •8S
 189

TREATISE ON THE BAROMETER.

BY FRANCIS BALFOUR, ESQ.

L
IN a Treatise, published at this place a few weeks
ago, on Sol-Lunar Influence in Fevers, I have en
deavoured to shew, " That all Fevers are liable to cer
tain diurnal and septenary* revolutions ; and that these;
revolutions are uniformly and constantly connected with
Juved periods of time.

II-
Having established this proposition (1.) it was na
tural to suppose that the power or influence which
is capable of producing these very remarkable and
interesting revolutions on the human constitution,
at certain intervals, did not exert itself without ef
fecting, at the same time, some corresponding' pe
riodical change in the state of that element in which
we constantly exist ; and in which all the operations
of life and nature are carried on.

Other necessary avocations having hitherto pre

vented me from being able to make those experi
ments myself that are required for deciding on this

* That is to say, changes happening after an interval of seven or

eight days.
 190 A TREATISE
question, I applied to Mr. Farquhar, who, I under
stood, had paid some attention to this subject; and
was favoured with the following very obliging and
instructive letter :

TO DOCTOR BALFOUR.

DEAR SIR,
" You likewise desire me to give y6u some ac-
count of the regular diurnal variations of the Baro
meter which take place in this country ; and which,
I said, I conceived to be peculiar to tropical climates^
from the otheiwise unaccountable silence of every
author whose work I had been able to consult on
the subject. The first intimation of this was from
Mr. Henry Trail, who informed me that he had ob
served the Mercury to rise every night till about
eleven o'clock, when it became stationary. I imme
diately repeated his observations, and found that the
fact was certain ; but that there was likewise another
diurnal variation, which had escaped his notice. Af
ter numerous observations, at all hours during the
day and night, I found that the Mercury is subject
to the following variations, with the utmost degree of
regularity, throughout the whole year. From six
m the morning till between seven and eight, it is sta
tionary ; it then rises till nine, sometimes, though
rarely, till ten, when it remains stationary trll noon ;
it then descends, and is lowest at three, and con
tinues stationary till eight; when it begins to riser
and continues till eleven, and is then at the same
height that it was at nine in the morning.

On relating the above observations to the late Co

lonel Pcarce, an indefatigable and rigidly accurate
observer, and who had devoted much time and at
tention to Barometrical pursuits, he was surprised that
§uch regular variations of the Mercury should have-
 ON THE EAROMETER. 191
. escaped his observation : but some time after, with
great candour acknowledged the certainty of the fact,
and framed an hypothesis to account for it; which you
will probably be able to obtain on an application to
Captain Grace.

To me the phenomena appear inexplicable by any

hypothesis that I can think of. The periods are evi
dently connected with the earth's diurnal motion ; and,
if he had not a satellite, might be easily explained by
the atmospherical tides caused by the sun. But when
we find that the Barometer is not, in the least observ
able degree, affected by the moon's passage over the
meridian, or by the united action of the sun and moon
at the syzygies, we have absolute proof that this can
not be the cause ; neither can the expansion of the
Mercury, being directly opposite to the phenomena,
. the greatest degree of heat taking place at three o'clock,
when the Mercury is lowest.

With respect to the influence of the moon on the

atmosphere, I was perfectly satisfied while in Beerboom,
that the cold season set in at the syzygies only ; and that
there was always a considerable increase ofcold at every
return of them. But at the old powder-works near
Calcutta, I observed the greatest degree of cold to
happen sometimes at the quadratures. Being, how
ever, at that time much engaged in other pursuits, I
did not attend to the circumstance of the moon's
absolute distance, though of the utmost consequence
in all calculations of the heights of the tide, to which
the variations of the state of the atmosphere, occa
sioned by the attraction of the sun and moon, must be
analogous. And yet this fact, important as it. is to
every sea-faring person, especially in river-navigation,
as well as to ship-builders, for predicting the highest-
spring-tides, seems to be totally unknown to the ge
nerality of these persons; nor is it surprising, as it is
 A TREATISE
not taken notice of in any treatise on navigation that
I have met with. But M. De la Lande (Astro
nomy, vol. iii. p. 6'56) shews, that if the moon's
mean force to raise the waters of the ocean be two and
a half, her greatest force when apogee, will be three ;
and her least when perigee, two : a difference suffi
cient to account for the tides at the quadratures
being sometimes nearly as high as those at the sy-
zygies : a circumstance which was ascertained by part
of a committee instituted for examining plans for
new powder-works at the Old Fort Ghaut ; where
stakes had been driven, on purpose to find the rise of
the tide. M. de la Lande confirms .the theory
by many observations, made with great accuracy in
some of the ports of France (Supplement, vol. iv.);
and I can vouch for the fact by numerous measures
of the heights of the tide, both at the old and new
powder-works. But you may easily satisfy yourself of
the fact, by observing the height of a few tides at
Champaul Gaut, when you will find, invariably,
that every great parallax of the moon, at the syzygies,
is attended with a very high tide and strong bore ;
and vice versa. I have' not been able to observe
that the moon's declination, notwithstanding Avhat you
may have heard from other quarters, has any percep
tible effect on the tides.

I have been the more particular on this subject, as

I have heard it made an unanswerable objection to
your system, that the first attacks of intermittent fever
do happen at the quadratures as well as the syzygies ;
and that relapses do likewise happen at the quadra
tures. Now, should you meet with any such cases,
the above observations may perhaps tend to reconcile
them to your system, &c.
John Farquhar.
Banky Bazar, 12/A Feb. 1794
 ON THE BAROMETER. 103

• PL - .

Although in this letter Mr. Fyrquhar describes

in the Barometer only three different diurnal pe
riods of rising and falling, I could hot help suspect
ing that there must likewise be & fourth, -which had
escaped his notice ; and that I should be able to dis
cover a periodical falling also in the state of the
mercury, between eleven at night and six in the
morning, analogous to that which he had observed
between eleven at mid-day and six in the evening.
Accordingly, by keeping myself awake, and conti
nuing my observations during the night, I have now
the satisfaction to be assured that my anticipation of
the revolution I expected to discover, was perfectly
just.

. IV.

With a view of ascertaining the progress of these

four different revolutions by personal observation, I
imposed upon myself the task of observing and re
cording the changes of the Barometer, as far as I was
able, every half-hour, day and night, during the pe
riod of one complete lunation.

The result of this undertaking I have now the ho

nour to lay before the Society ; and if in matter or
form it contains any thing worthy of their attention,
or of a place amongst their Researches, it will afford
me a degree of satisfaction that will more than re
ward me for my labour.
.-.irfi ii:./h'*M.1nr.|. r tri en J • / .;.;.{> . i ;. ;;. i

Vol. IV. 0
194 A TREATISE

I. OF THE PERIODICAL DIURNAL CHANGES

OF THE

BAROMETER.

THE DETAIL OF FACTS.

V.
The Detail of Facts is comprehended in the fol
lowing record of observations made on the Barometer,
as regularly as I was able to perform it, every half-
hour, both day and night, during the lunation which
intervened between the 3 1 st of March and the 29th
of April, 1794. To these I have added the state of
the Thermometer and Wind, with the appearance of
the sky.
VL
My observations of the Barometer were taken with
scrupulous exactness ; and although the weighty hand
of sleep has more than once deprived me of observa
tions that I was just about to make, and was anxious
to record, I have never ventured to assume any proba
ble state of the Mercury as an actual observation.
; : • . TIL '

With respect to the Thermometer, although it was

liable to some inaccuracy, from my not being able to
preserve the apartment in which it was hung, uniform
ly open or shut, yet, as the variations from this cause
were trifling, and never obscured the regular and pro
gressive rise and fall which it observes at different pe
riods of the day, I conceive that my record is suffi
ciently exact for enabling me to decide, with safety,
that the daily fluctuations which appeared in the Ba>-
 ON THE BAROMETER. 195
rometer, were not connected with the daily vicissitudes
of heat and cold.

VIII.
Although the state of the wind was not measured
by any instrument, but estimated only grossly by the
effect which it appeared to produce on the trees and
other objects around, still I conceive that I may also
venture to determine on this ground, that the diurnal
fluctuation of the Mercury was not connected with the
state of the wind.

In the column appropriated for recording the state

of the wind, Number 1 represents a breeze capable
of carrying on a ship two or three miles in an hour ;
Number 2, a breeze capable of carrying on a ship four
or five miles; and Number 3, a breeze capable of
carrying on a ship six, seven, or eight miles.
IX. : •• :*

Neither are the appearances of the shy defined

with much precision or minuteness; yet, upon the
description that I have given, I think I may pronounce
with sufficient confidence, that they did not direct
or regulate the periodical diurnal fluctuation of the
Barometer,

By conceiving the wind, which in the month of

April is generally from some point iri the south, car
rying constantly along with it, in the different degrees
of velocity I have described (VIII.) different pro
portions of light and heavy clouds, we may obtain a
tolerably just idea of the appearance of the sky at
Calcutta during that month.

To express these different states, we have employed

in the record, the terms clear, cloudy, and overcast
O 2
196 A TREATISE
When few clouds only appear, or none, which is sel
dom the case this season, the sky is said to be clear ;
when the sun or stars shine through a number of
clouds, the sky is said to be cloudy, and when the
sun or stars do not appear at all, the sky is said to be
overcast.

N.B. As the fecord of observations from which these negative

propositions (VII. VIII. IX.) respecting the thermometer, the
state of the wind, and appearance of the sky are inferred, is volu
minous, and would necessarily exclude from this volume of the
Researches matter that is much more interesting, it has been
considered sufficient for the object of this paper, to insert only
the opposite abstract, or Synopsis, of the observations made on
the Barometer.

THE STATEMENT.

XI. / '

The sum of my observations respecting the four

Periodical Diurnal Revolutions of the Barometer
which I have described, appears at one view in the
preceding Synoptical Arrangement, and when stated
precisely in numbers, amounts to this :—

1st, That on every day of the thirty compre

hended in the Record, excepting one (a), the
Barometer constantly fell between ten at night
and six in the morning; and that progressively,
and without any intermediate rising, excepting in
one instance (b).

£d, That on every day of the thirty compre

hended in the Record, without one exception,

(a) Between the 20th and 21st—Vide Synopsis*

(b) Between the 22d and 23d—ditto..
 ON THE BAROMETER. 197
the Barometer constantly rose between six and
ten in the morning; and that progressively, and
without any intermediate falling, excepting in two
instances (c) (d).

3d, That on every day of the thirty compre

hended in the Record, without one exception,
the Barometer constantly fell between ten in the
morning and six in the evening; and that pro
gressively, and without any intermediate rising in
any instance.

4-tfi, That on every day of the thirty compre

hended in the Record, excepting two (e) (f),
the Barometer constantly rose between six and
ten in the evening; and that progressively, and
without any intermediate falling in any instance.

THE INFERENCE.

XII,

From the preceding statement of the coincidences

observed in these four portions of the day, it appears
that we reasonably infer the following propositions,
limited to Calcutta in the month of April 1794.

1st, That, in the interval between ten at night and

six in the morning, there existed a prevailing ten
dency in the Mercury tofall.

(c) On the 11th, - —Vide Synopsis,

(rf) On the 23d, —ditto,
(e) On the 15th, - —ditto.
if) On the 20th, - —ditto.
03
198 A TREATISE
2</, That, in the interval between six and ten in
the morning, there existed a prevailing tendency
in the Mercury to rise.

3d, That, in the interval between ten in the morn

ing and six in the evening, there existed a pre
vailing tendency in the Mercury toJail.

4th, That, in the interval between six and ten in

% the evening, there existed a prevailing tendency
in the Mercury to rise.

These different prevailing tendencies to rise and

fall periodically at certain times of the day and night,
necessarily imply a proportionate corresponding cause,
sufficient to produce them. But here we stop, and
venture to proceed no farther than to say, with Mr.
Farquhar, that they seem to be connected with the
xliurnal revolutions of the planet which we inhabit.

XIII.
By an attentive examination of the Synopsis, it will
appear that the general characters of the tendencies
which prevail at the different periods we have de
scribed, are liable, within their respective limits, to
several remarkable variations.

1 . With regard to the time of beginning to rise or fall.

2. With regard to the time of ceasing to rise or fall.
3. With regard to the steps or degrees by which the
Mercury rises or falls.
4. With regard to the limits or extremes to which
it rises or falls.

Being under the necessity of acknowledging our

ignorance of the cause which produces these prevail
 ON THE BAROMETER. 199
ing tendencies themselves, we can of course have no
adequate idea or conception in theory of the different
circumstances that are capable of producing the differ
ent variations which appear in their general character;
and our observations being much too limited to esta
blish, concerning them, any like thing practical rules,
we must remain contented for the present with point
ing them out as questions which want investigation ;
expressing however a strong suspicion that they are
not unconnected with the relative positions of the
Moon and the other planets.

THE APPLICATION7, -

XIV.

At the time of digesting the ideas which I -have

delivered upon this subject, being possessed of no
information but that Avhich was communicated in
Mr. Farquhar's letter, and what I obtained after
wards from my own observations, I did not conceive
that I was authorised to extend the propositions
which I have advanced (XII.) respecting these ten
dencies, beyond the limits of Calcutta. By a note,
however, which is just now pointed out to me in
Dr. Moseleys very ingenious Treatise on Tropical Dis
eases (a), I have the satisfaction to find that the
very same tendencies have been observed to prevail

(a) The Note referred to in Dr. Moseleys Treatise is this :—

" It has been observed in these and more equatorial regions, that
" though the Barometer is useless in indicating the variations of the
" weather, it exhibits a phenomenon not correctly ascertained in
" temperate climates ; which is, that the Mercury has two diurnal
'^motions of ascent and descent, of nearly a line, corresponding
"with the course of the. sun; ascending as the sun approaches the
" zenith and nadir, and descending as the sun deviates from these
" points. It remains stationary at its lowest and highest degrees far
" some hours."
O 4
200 A TREATISE
on the opposite side of the globe. We ma) there
fore now venture to allow them a more extensive'
range ; and it will, no doubt, be considered of some
importance to establish in certain latitudes (b) the .
existence of a law in nature by which the Mercury
of the Barometer, let the standing weight and pres
sure of the atmosphere be what it may, is liable to
the effects of a constant and regular periodical diur
nal fluctuation ; for it will then follow that the power
of each succeeding hour to raise or sink it, is liable
to differ from that which went before ; that the height
of the Mercury, therefore, taken only at two or three
stated hours of the day, cannot with propriety be as
sumed to represent or form a just estimate of the
whole twenty-four; that calculations proceeding hi
therto on such partial grounds, must necessarily in
clude error and require adjustment ; and that in fu
ture, wherever this law extends, no correct philoso--
phical investigation connected with the nature of the
atmosphere, can be carried on without giving it a
place (c); and nojust prognostic formed of the weather

(6) As far as I can judge from the following extract from Father
Cotte's Memoir on the prevailing winds, &c. &c. which I have
just met with in the Edinburgh Magazine for March 1792, there
seems to be great reason to believe that similar fluctuations take
place in the Mercury, jn the differept latitudes of Europe; and
that they are not entirely confined to the regions under the
equator.
" The Mercury is generally a little lower about two o'clock in
" the afternoon than at any other time of the day ; and it is high-
*' est towards eight o'clock at night. I would compare this fact
f< without pretending to draw any consequences from it, with the
" phenomenon of the magnetic needle, the greatest variation of
*' which from north towards west takes place about two or three
" in the afternoon, and the least about eight o'clock in the morn-
" ing.—Vide the Edinburgh Magazine for March 1792, page 211,
par. 6.
(c) A mean, extracted from means obtained from the extremes of
these different diurnal fluctuations, will give the mean weight of the,
atmosphere much more correctly than the common process.
 ON THE BAROMETER.
without distinguishing those regular and constant
changes from such as are only occasional and tempo
rary.

With respect to Medicine, this law is a principle

entirely new; and it has now become a matter of
real consequence, to ascertain in what respects it co
operates with the power of the sun and moon in pro
ducing and regulating the paroxysms of fevers.
From the striking coincidence of these tendencies with
the periods at which the paroxysms of fevers gene
rally attack and remit, and from their superior preva
lence in tropical climates where the paroxysms of
fevers are also most prevalent, " it seems to be highly
probable that they may have a considerable share in consti
tuting that power which shews itself in so remarkable a
maimer in this country, and which we have denominated
Sol-Lunar Influence"

II' OF THE PERIODICAL SEPTENARY CHANGES

OF THE BAROMETER.

XV.
Respecting periodical septenary changes in the state
of the Barometer, the only information I have been
able to obtain, is extracted from an abridged Expo
sition of the System of Mr. Toaldo upon the proba
bility of the change of weather by the lunar points
taken from the Journal des Sciences Utiles, and pub
lished in the Calcutta Magazine for July and Au
gust 1793. Mr. Toaldo, it appears, in order to as
certain whether the moon had any influence on the
202 A TREATISE
Mercury, collected a journal of the ^Barometer kept
for several years, from which he discovered that the
Barometer was six-tenths of a line higher at the
times of the quadratures than at the syzygies.

If this journal was kept correctly on a proper

plan, periodical septenary changes in the Barometer
connected with the revolutions of the moon, are esta
blished of course. But if it was kept in the ordinaiy
way of assuming two or three observations taken in
the course of the day, to serve as a standard or rule
for estimating the state of the whole twenty-four, it is
evidently liable to errors, which render the calculation
precarious and inconclusive for the reasons already
explained, which however had not occurred to me at
the time of writing my last Treatise on Sol-Lunar
Influence.

That the Barometer will be differently affected at

the springs and neaps, is an anticipation which has
in its favour the strongest probability that analogy can
afford. Yet, upon a review of the observations col
lected during v the springs and neaps of the lunation
which I have observed, I cannot say that, when ar
ranged as they stand in the Synopsis, in coincidence
with their respective periods, they exhibit a differ
ence of character to establish this conclusion. We
therefore leave it to the decision of a far more exten
sive experience, conducting its observations on a plan
similar to that which we have exemplified in thi&
Treatise.
 Off THE BAROMETER. 203
In looking over Dr. Moseley'-s Treatise on this oc
casion, I am sorry to discover that, trusting too much to
memory, in referring to his work in my last publication,
I have given a very imperfect account of what he has
communicated on the subject of Sol-Lunar Influence.
But when he considers that by my inaccuracy I have
deprived myself of the weight of his authority, in sup
porting a proposition I was anxious to establish, he will
be inclined to ascribe it to the cause I have stated.
Dr. Moseley'j observations are contained in the Con
clusion to his Treatise, between page 550 and 556:
they confirm the power of Sol-Lunar Influence in Eu
rope in a very unequivocal manner, and merit the at
tention of those who wish for information on this sub
ject.—For the note to which this remark refers, vide
page 212.
 ON THE DUTIES

OF

A FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW.

BY HENRY COLEBROOKE, ESQ.

WHILE the light which the labours of the

Asiatic Society have thrown on the sciences
and religion of the Hindus, has drawn the attention
of the literary world to that subject, the hint thrown
out by the President for rejecting the authority of
every publication preceding the translation of the
Gita, does not appear to have made sufficient impres
sion. Several late compilations in Europe betray
great want of judgment in the selection of authori
ties ; and their motley dress of true and false colours
tends to perpetuate error ; for this reason it seems
necessary on every topic, to revert to original au
thorities for the purpose of recalling error or veri
fying facts already published ; and this object will
no way be more readily attained than by the com
munication of detached essays on each topic, as it
may present itself to the Orientalist in the progress
of his researches.

From this or any other motive for indulgence,

should the following authorities from Sanscrit books
be thought worthy of a place in the next volume of
the Society's Transactions, I shall be rewarded for
the pains taken in collecting them.
206 ON THE DUTIES
" Having first bathed, the widow, dressed in two
" clean garments, and holding some cusd grass, sips
" water from the palm of her hand. Bearing cusd
" and tila (a) on her hand, she looks towards the
" east or north while the Brahmana utters the mystic
" word Om. Bowing to Nerayana, she next declares
" (b) " On this month, so named in such a Pacsha,
" on such a tifhi, I (naming herself and her (c)
" family) that I may meet Arundhati (d) and re-
" side in Swarga ; that the years of my stay may be
" numerous as the hairs on the human body ; that I
" may enjoy with my husband the felicity of hea-
" ven, and sanctify my paternal and maternal pro-
" genitors, and the ancestry of my husband's fa-
" ther; that lauded by the Apsarases, I may be hap-
" py with my lord, through the reigns of fourteen
" Indras ; that expiation be made for my husbands
" offences, whether he has killed a Brahmana,
" broken the ties of gratitude, or murdered his friend,
" thus I ascend my husband's burning pile. I call
" On you, ye guardians of the eight regions of the
" world ; Sun and Moon ! Air, Fire, iEther (e),
" Earth, and Water! My own soul! Yamal Day,
" Night, and Twilight ! And thou, Conscience, bear

(a) Sesamum. . .
(b) This declaration is called the Sancalpa.
(c) G6tra, the family or race. Four great families of BrAhmanas
are now extant, and have branched into many distinct races. Since
the memorable massacre of the Cshatriyas, by Parasu Rdma, the
Cshatriyis describe themselves from the same Gvtras as the Brtih-
manas.
(rf) Wife of Vasishtha.
(e) Acasa.
 OF A FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW. 207
" witness : I follow my husband's corpse on the fu-
" neral pile (/)."

Having repeated the Sancalpa, she walks thrice

round the pile; and the Brahmana utters the fol
lowing Mantras:

" Om! Let these women, not to be widowed

" good wives, adorned with collyrium, holding cla-
" rified butter, consign themselves to the fire. Im-
" mortal, not childless, nor husbandless, excellent,
" let them pass into fire, whose original element is
" water.
From the Rigvida.

" Om ! Let these wives, pure, beautiful, commit

" themselves to the fire, with their husband's corpse."

A Pauranica Mantra,

With this benediction, and uttering the mys

tic Namo Namah, she ascends the flaming pile.

While the prescribed ceremonies are performed

by the widow, the son, or other near kinsman, of
the deceased, applies the first torch, with the forms

(/) In several publications the woman has been described as

placing herself on the pile before it be lighted; but the ritual
quoted is conformable to the text of the Bhagavata.
" When the corpse is about to be consumed in the SahCtajtf,
the faiUiful wife who stood without, rushes on the fire."
Ndreda to Yudishl'kira.
* Cabin of grass or leaves, sometimes erected on the funeral pile.
" The shed on the funeral pile of a Muni is called Parn'Staja and
Sahotaja." See the vocabulary entitled Hdrtibali.
£08 OW THE DUTIES
directed for funeral rites in the Grihya (g) ; by
which his tribe is governed.

The Sancalpa is evidently formed on the words of

Angiras :

" The wife who commits herself to the flames

with her husband s corpse, shall equal Arundhat'i,
and reside in Swarga ;

" Accompanying her husband, she shall reside so

" long in Swarga as are the thirty-five millions of
" hairs on the human body. 1

" As the snake-catcher forcibly drags the serpent

" from his earth, so, bearing her husband from
" hell, with him she shall enjoy heavenly bliss.

" Dying with her husband, she sanctifies her ma-

" ternal and paternal ancestors ; and, the ancestry of
" him to whom she gave her virginity.

" Such a wife, adoring her husband, in celestial

" felicity with him, greatest, most admired (h) ;
" with him she shall enjoy the delights of heaven'
" while fourteen Indras reign.

(g) Extracts or compilations from the sacred books, containing the

particular forms for religious ceremonies, to be observed by the race
or family for whom that portion of the sacred writings has been
adopted, which composes their Grihya. We learn from the Bh6ga-
vata, that Vydsa divided the Veda into four {Rich, Yajush, Sdman, and
Al'harvan) or five, including the Itihasas or other Puranas as one
Veda. Paila accepted the Rigneda ; Jaimeni and Cavi, or Sucra,
the Sumavlda ; Baisampayana learned the Rajttrveda ; Samuntu,
Damna, and others of the family of Atigiras, the At'harvaveda.
" My father (Suc'ha, son of Vy&sa, speaks) selected the Itihdsas and
" Pur&nas ; then the several Rishis chose the Vidas variously (parts.
" of each). Their pupils, the successors of their pupils, and the
" pupils of these, became followers of particular S&c'has."
(h) The word in the text is expounded " lauded by the choir of
heaven, Gandhanas," &c
 OF A FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW. 209
" Though her husband had killed a BrMmana,
" (i) broken the ties of gratitude, or murdered his
" friend, she expiates the crime." Anigras.

The Mantras are adopted on the authority of the

Brahme Purana.

" While the pile is preparing, tell the faithful

" wife of the greatest duty of woman ; she is loyal and
" pure wko burns herself' with her husband's corpse:
" Hearing this, fortified in her resolution, and full
" of affection, she completes the Pitrimheda Yaga
" (k) and ascends to Swarga."
Brahme Purana.

tt is held to be the duty of a widow to burn herself

With her husband's corpse ; but she has the alterna
tive,

" On the death of her husband, to live as Brah*

" machari, or commit herself to the flames."
Vishnu.

The austerity intended consists in chastity, and in

acts of piety and mortification.

" The use of Tambidi, dress, and feeding off ves-

" sels of tutenague is forbidden to the Yati (I), the
" Brahntacharl, and the widow.
Prachitas.

(t) The commentators are at the pains of shewing that this ex

piation must refer to a crime committed in a former existence ; for
funeral rites are refused to the murderer of a Brdhmana.
(k) Act of burning herself with her husband.
(/) Sannyash '
Vol. IV. . P
£10 OX THE DUTIES
" The widow shall never exceed one meal a day,
" nor sleep on a bed ; if she does so, her husband falls
" from Snvarga.

* She shall eat no other than simple food, and

" (m) shall daily offer the tarpana of cusa, tila, and
" water (n).

" In Vaisdd'ha, Cartica, and MAgha, she shall ex-

" ceed the usual duties of ablution, alms, and pilgri-
u mage, and often use the name of God in prayer,"
The Smritl

After undertaking the duty of a Sat'i, should

the widow recede, she incurs the penalties of
defilement.

" If the woman, regretting life, recede from the

" pile, she is defiled ; but may be purified by observ-
" ing the fast called Prajapatya" (o)
Apastamba.

Though an alternative be allowed, the Hindu le

gislators have shown themselves disposed to encou
rage widows to burn themselves with their husband's
corpse.

Harita thus defines a loyal wife: " She, whose

" sympathy feels the pains and joys of her husband ;

(*») If she has no male descendants. See Madana Parijdta.

(n) Oblations for the manes of ancestors to the third degree,
though not exclusively ; for the prayer includes a general petition
for remoter ancestors. Yet daily oblations (Vaisvedeva) are sepa
rately offered for ancestors beyond the third degree.
(o) It extends to twelve days ; the first three, a spare meal may
be taken once in each day ; the next three, one in each night ; the
succeeding three days, nothing may be eaten but what is given
unsolicited ; and the last three days are a rigid fast.
 . OF A FAltHFUl HIXDU WIDOW. £11
n who mourns and pines in his absence, and dies
" when he dies, is a good and loyal wife."
H&rita.

" Always revere a loyal wife, as you venerate

" the Dkvat&s ; for, by her virtues, the prince's em-
" pire may extend over the three worlds."
Matsya Purhna.

" Though the husband died unhappy by the dis-

" obedience of his wife; if from motives of love,
" disgust of the world, fear of living unprotected,
" or sorrow, she commit herself to the flames, 6he
" is entitled to veneration."
Mahd Bh&rata.

Obsequies for suicides are forbidden; but the

Rigvkda expressly declares, " that the loyal wife who
u burns herself, shall not be deemed a suicide. When
" a mourning of three days has been completed, the
" Strdddha is to be performed*." This appears from
the prayer for the occasion, directed in the Rig-
veda.

Regularly the chief mourner for the husband

and for the wife, would in many cases, be distinct
persons : but the Bhavishya Purhna provides, that
" When the widow consigns herself to the same
" pile with the corpse of the deceased, whoever per-
" forms the CriyA for her husband, shall perform it
" for her."

" As to the ceremonies from the lighting of the

" funeral pile to the Pinda ; whoever lights the pile
" shall also offer the Pinda." V&yu Purdna.

* The shortness of the mourning is honourable: th« longest

mourning is for the lowest tribe.
Pa
212 ON THE DUTIES
In certain circumstances the widow is disqualified
for this act of a Sati. *

" She who has an infant child, or is pregnant, or

" whose pregnancy is doubtful, or who is unclean,
" may not, O princess, ascend the funeral pile.

" So said Ndreda to the mother of Sagara."

" The mother of an infant shall not relinquish the

" care of her child to ascend the pile ; nor shall one
" who is unclean (from a periodical cause) or whose
" time for purification after child-birth is not passed,
" nor shall one who is pregnant, commit herself to the
" flames (q). But the mother of an infant may, if
" the care of the child can be otherwise provided."
Vrihaspati.

In the event of a Brahmana dying in a distant

country, his widow is not permitted to burn herself.

" A Viprd or Brahmana may not ascend a second

" pile." Gotama.

But with other casts, this proof of fidelity is not

precluded by the remote decease of the husband ; and
is called Anugamana.

" The widow, on the news of her husband's dying

" in a distant country, should expeditiously burn
" herself : so shall she obtain perfection*" Vycisa.

(q) It has been erroneously asserted, that a wife, pregnant at the

time of her husband's death, may burn herself after delivery.
Hindu authorities positively contradict it. In addition to the text
it may be remarked, that it is a maxim, " What was prevented in
44 its season, may not afterwards be resumed."
 OF A FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW. 213
" Should the husband die on a journey, holding
" his sandals to her breast, let her pass into the flames."
Brahme Parana.

The expression is not understood of sandals exclu

sively : for thus Usanas or Sucra.

" Except a Vipra, the widow may take any thing

u that belonged to her husband, and ascend the pile.

" But a Vipra may not ascend a second pile ; this

" practice belongs to other tribes." Sucra.

In two of the excepted eases, a latitude is allowed

for a widow desirous of offering this token of loyalty,
by postponing the obsequies, of the deceased: for
Vydsa directs that, " If the loyal wife be distant
" less than the journey of a day, and desire to die
. " with her husband, his corpse shall not be burnt
" until she arrive. And the Bhavishya Parana per-
" mits that the corpse be kept one night, if the third
" day of her uncleanness had expired when her hus-
" band died."

With respect to a circumstance of time (r), which

might on some occasions be objected, the commenta
tors obviate the difficulty, by arguing from several
texts, " that to die with or after her husband, is for
" a widow Naimittica (s) and Camya (t), and conse-
" quently allowable in the intercalary month ;" for
Dacsha teaches, that " whenever an act both Nqi-
" mittica and Camya is in hand, it ,is then to be
" performed without consulting season." They are N
at the trouble of removing another difficulty :

(r) Occasional observances are omitted on intercalary days,

(s) Eventual ; incumbent when a certain event happens,
(f) Optional ; done for its reward.
P 3
 214 ON THE DUTIES
" Dhritar&shtra, in the state of Samadhi, quitted
" his terrestrial form to proceed to the Mucti, or
" beatitude, which awaited him. When the leaves
" and wood were lighted to consume the corpse,
" his wife Gdndhdri was seen to pass into the flames.
" Now also, a husband dying at Cast and attaining
" Mucti, it becomes his widow to follow the corpse
(( in the flames."

It were superfluous to pursue commentators through

all their frivolous distinctions and laborious illustra
tions on latent difficulties. ,

All the ceremonies essential to this awful rite are

included in the instructions already quoted. But
many practices have been introduced, though not
sanctioned by any ritual. A widow who declares
her resolution of burning herself with the corpse, is
» required to give a token of her fortitude : and it is
acknowledged, that one who receded after the cere
mony commenced, would be compelled by her rela
tions to complete the sacrifice. This may explain
circumstances described by some who have witnessed
the melancholy scene,

Other ceremonies noticed in the relations of per

sons who have been present on such occasions, are
directed in several rituals :

" Adorned ,with all jewels, decked with minium

" and other customary ornaments, with the box of
u minium in her hand, having made pujd, or adoration
" to the Divdtds, thus reflecting that this life is
" nought: my lord and master to me was all,—she
" walks round the burning pile : she bestows jewels
" on the Brahmanas, comforts her relations, and
" shows her friends the attentions of civility ; while
if calling the Sun and elements to witness, she dis*
 OF A FAITHFUL HINDU WIDOW. 215
" tributes minium at pleasure ; and having repeated
" the Sancalpa, proceeds into the flames : there em-
" bracing the corpse, she abandons herself to the fire,
" calling Satya ! Satya ! Satya F

The by-standers throw on butter and \yood : for

this, they are taught, that they acquire merit ex
ceeding ten millions fold, the merit of an Aswaniedha,
or other great sacrifice. Even those who join the
procession from the house of the deceased to the
funeral pile, for every step are rewarded as for an
Aswamedha. Such indulgences are promised by grave
authors : they are quoted in this place only as they
seem to authorise an inference, that happily the
martyrs of this superstition have never been numerous.
It is certain that the instances of the widow's sacri
fices are now rare : on this it is only necessary to ap
peal to the recollection of every person residing in
India, how few instances have actually occurred
within his knowledge. And, had they ever been
frequent, superstition would hardly have promised
its indulgences to spectators.
 217

ON THE TRACES

OF THE

HINDU LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Extant amongst the Malays.

PY WILLIAM MARSDEN, ESQ.

THE Sanscrit, or ancient language of the Hindus,

is a subject so interesting in itself, that every
(discovery which contributes to throw light upon its
history or to mark its extent, carries with it a degree
Of importance. The proofs of its influence in the
northern countries of Assam, Nepal, Booten, and Tibet,
as well as in the southern parts of the peninsula of
India, are to be found in the works of the Missiona
ries and the Researches of this Society ; but the pro
gress it made in early times, amongst the inhabit
ants of the eastern islands and countries possessed by
the Malays, has not, I believe, been pointed out by
any writer. My acquaintance Avith the language
of the latter people, together with some attention
paid to the dialects of India in general, have enabled
me to observe, that the Malayan is indebted to the
Sanscrit for a considerable number of its terms. I
have also satisfied myself, that the intercourse by which
this communication was effected, must have taken
place in times anterior, probably by many centuries.
 218 ON THE TRACES OF THE
to the conversion of these people to the Mohammedan
religion. The language, it is true, abounds at present
with Arabic words, which their writers affect to in
troduce, because this display of literary skill is, at
the same time a proof of their religious knowledge ;
but they are generally legal or metaphysical terms,
borrowed from the Koran and its commentaries ; are
never expressive of simple ideas, have not been in
corporated into the language (a few excepted) and
are rarely made use of in conversation. The Hindu
words, on the contrary, are such as the progress of
civilization must soon have rendered necessary, being
frequently expressive of the feelings of the mind, or
denoting those ordinary modes of thought which
result from the social habits of mankind, or from the
evils that tend to interrupt them. It is not however
to be understood, that the affinity between these
languages is radical, or that the names for the com
mon objects of sense are borrowed from the Sanscrit.
The Malayan is a branch or dialect of the widely
extended language prevailing throughout the islands
of the Archipelago, to which it gives name (*).
and those of the South Sea ; comprehending between
Madagascar on the one side, and Easter Island on
the other, both inclusive, the space of full two hun
dred degrees of longitude. This consideration
alone is sufficient to give it claim to the highest de
gree of antiquity, and to originality, as far as that
term can be applied. The various dialects of this
speech, though they have , a wonderful accordance
in many essential properties, have experienced those
changes which separation, time, and accident produce ;
and in respect to the purposes of intercourse, may
be classed into several languages, differing consider-

* The Malay-Archipelago may be understood to comprehend the

Sunda, P/iillippinr, and Molucca islands, in the maritime parts of
which the Malayan is used as a lingua franca.
 HINDU LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 21Q
ably from each other. The marks of cultivation by
which the Malayan is distinguished from his ruder
neighbours, are to be attributed, in my opinion, to
the effects of an early connexion that must have sub
sisted between the inhabitants of this eastern penin
sula and those of the continent of India ; but what
the nature and circumstances of this connexion may
have been, it is not easy to determine. A spirit of
foreign conquest, and still more, a zeal for the pro
pagation of their religious tenets, appear incompati
ble with the genius of the Hindu system, except
ing amongst the disciples of Bhood ; but I have ne
ver discovered in the Malayan customs or opinions
any traces of the peculiar institutions of that extra
ordinary sect,

A commercial intercourse has always subsisted

between the manufacturing countries of India and
the marts for the produce of the Spice-islands, such
as Jokor, Sinapobra and Malacca; and when the
Portuguese, at the commencement of the sixteenth
century, first visited these places, they mention
with surprise the concourse of foreign vessels as
sembled there. But independently of other ob
jections that might be raised to the probability of these
traders having polished the language of the people
whose ports they frequented, or having imparted
to them their national literature, it is to be observed
that by much the greater proportion of the ships
belonging to native merchants, which now enter the
straits of Malacca, come from the coast of Coromandel,
and consequently are navigated by persons who speak
the languages prevailing in that part ; whereas it is
evident, that, from the Telinga, or the Tamool, the
Malayan has not received any portion of its improve
ment, but from the genuine Hinduvee of the northern
provinces, prior to its debasement by the mixture of
Arabic nouns, and the abuse of verbal auxiliaries. If
220 ON THE TRACES OF THE
the communication must necessarily be supposed to
have its origin in commerce, I should be inclined to
consider the people of Guzerat, notwithstanding their
distance, as the instructors of the Malays. Their
resort to Malacca is particularly noticed by De Bar
ren, and other authentic writers; and it is well
known that the Hindu language has been preserved
with more purity in that, than in any other maritime
province of India.

The nature of the affinity suggested, will suffi

ciently appear to those who are conversant with the
Hindu dialects, by the following examples of Sanscrit
words, which are at the same time so familiar to the
Malays, and so thoroughly incorporated into their
vernacular tongue, that their foreign origin is never
suspected, although the terms adopted from the Arabs
can, with very few exceptions, be immediately pointed
out by the most ordinary scholar. It is true that he is
assisted in this discrimination by the peculiarities of
the Arabic orthography; for the Malays, as well as
the Persiam and other people, who, in consequence
of their conversion to the faith of the Koran, employ
this alphabet in their writings, do yet reject the use of
certain letters, either as superfluous, or as not suited to
the smoothness of their own sounds, and which there
fore appear only in words purely Arabic. The Hin-
duvec words, on the contrary, being divested of their
proper dress, and clothed, in common with those
originally Malayan, in the adopted Arabic character
(with certain judicious modifications) want the same
token of their origin, and are more assimilated with
the rest of the language.

In this short list of words, taken, with little pains

in the selection, from a Malayan dictionary, the de
parture from the Hinduvee is scarcely more than may
arise from a different habit of spelling them in our
 HINDU LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
letters, unless where it consists in a slight variation on
the sense, or of the part of speech.

Sooka. Fond, pleased. Becliara. Advice, counsel, Jaga. To watch.

Sipoka chetha. Pleasure,joy. judicial proceeding. Pootrec. Princess.
Dooka. Sad. Beejee. Seed. Rata. Chariot.
Bagee. To divide. Boodee. Wisdom, under- Pernama. Full moon.
Bangsa. Race, family. standing. Choree. To seek.
Basa. Language. Lola. Covetous.

An inspection of the characters used by the natives

of the islands, who have not adopted the Malayan or
Arabic mode of writing, will shew that in the arrange
ment of their letters they have taken the Hindu for
their guide, and have even preserved the rhythm us
terminated by a nasal ; which so peculiarly distin
guishes this from every other system. The aspirated
letters not being required for expressing the sounds of
these languages, are omitted, and each division of the
series consists therefore of three, instead of five.' In
the Rejang alphabet the order is as follows: Ka, ga,
nga ; Ta, da, na ; Pa, ba, ma ; Cha, ja, nia, &c.
(see Histor-y of Sumatra, plate.) In the Sanscrit, I
need scarcely to observe, the series of consonants be
gins thus : Ka, Mha, ga, g'ha, nga; Cha, cfiha, ja,
j ha, gnya; Ta, t'ha, da, cTha, na, &c. If other
proofs were wanting of the influence of Hindu inter
course in these parts, such conformity alone, in a
matter so arbitrary, and which exists equally in other
obscure dialects, and extends even to the island of
Celebes, would be sufficient to establish it. The lan
guages of these islanders have not, however, been en
riched by an accession of Hindu words in any degree
proportioned to the Malayan, which uses the Arabic
alphabet ; but the probability is strong, that the inha
bitants of the Malay peninsula were in possession of
an alphabet on the same model, and were even skilled
in composition, before the Mohammedans introduced
their learning and character among them.
222 ON THE TRACES OF THE
But the circumstance which has more immediately
struck my attention, and given occasion to these re
marks, is that of my having met with frequent allu
sion in their writings to the most celebrated works of
the Hindu mythological poets, especially the Mahab-
harat and the Ramayan. A manuscript now lying
before me, which is a species of romance, exhibits
in almost every page the marks of the author's ac
quaintance with Hindu literature and manners. It
contains the adventures of two princes, who were
sent by the king their father, to obtain for him the
possession of an extraordinary self-performing in
strument of music, whose enchanting air he had heard
in a dream. However flimsy this foundation, and
incoherent the parts of its superstructure, it gives
scope to the display of a lively and fertile imagina
tion, much delicate imagery, and pathetic expres
sion of sentiment. The following passages allude,
unequivocally, to well-known personages in the Pit-
ranas :—Terlaloo baeck segqla roopdnia maha bidah
separtee pqndooa leema ; " surpassing good was their
" whole appearance ; most admirable, like unto the
" five Pandeos." Again : Lakodnia meng-amok eeto
separtee pandooa leema tatkala eea meng-amok deda-
lam rayet kooraoo; " the manner in which they
" fought was like that of the five Pandoos when they
" rushed into the ranks of the Kooroos." These can
be no other than the renowned favourites of Krishna,
whose brilliant actions and personal accomplish
ments are the theme of immortal song. The ma
chinery of the Ramayan is interwoven with the story ;
and this circumstance tends to increase my regret that
Ave possess no translation, even in abstract, of that
much-admired poem. The Malayan princes are,
like Rama, attended in their wars by apes of extra
ordinary endowments, who fight with more than
human prowess, and overcome the Raksasa, or
hobgoblins, who serve under the banners of the
 HINDU LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. 223
adversary. One of the former, whose talents as an
ambassador are the subject of panegyric, is said to
resemble that diplomatic monkey who was sent by
Sree Rama to the King of Langkapooree. The
mixture of qualities and actions gravely attributed
to them in their double capacity of monkies and
heroesT produces a very ludicrous and amusing
effect. Though their ideas are rational, their man
ners and propensities are faithful to nature. Men
tion is also made of Bisno dewa ; of the mountain
Maha mcroo ; of the blue lotos growing in the pool
Mandoo ratna; of a lion possessing supernatural
powers, Sing-asaktee, and elsewhere Sing-a-rajoon, who
shot arrows at Maharaja Karna. Some of these lat
ter names I do not recollect to have met with in the
notices we have of the Hindu mythology.

These similies and allusions must refer, as in all

poetry, to stories with which the readers were pre
sumed to be well acquainted, and seem to imply,
that translations of the works were formerly in the
hands of the Malays. I do not know that such re
main amongst them at this day : but my ignorance
is no proof of the contrary ; for at the time when I
had opportunities of making the inquiry, I was un
informed as to the existence of the originals, and the
passages above quoted were of course unintelligible
. to me. They must be sought for in the peninsula
of Malacca, or amongst the Menangkabon people in
Sumatra. A spirit of investigation is now gone
forth, and under the influence of the Asiatic Society ;
and from the example of its President, we may con
fidently hope that no region of oriental literature
will be left unexplored.

Since the foregoing Paper was written, and com

municated to a few friends, I have seen a copy of
the third volume of the Asiatic Researches (ju^t
224 TRACES OF THE HINDU LANGUAGE, &C.
received from Calcutta) and observe that the con
nexion between the Malayan and the Sanscrit has
not escaped the notice of the President, whose
learned and elegant Anniversary Discourse points it out
(p. 11 and 12) in a clear and decided manner. The
sanction of his authority to my opinion fully reconciles
me to the anticipation of a supposed discovery.
 225

CATALOGUE

INDIAN PLANTS,

Comprehending
THEIR SANSCRIT, AND AS MANY OF THEIR UNMAN GENERIC NAMES AS
COULD WITH ANT DEGREE OF PRECISION BE ASCERTAINED.

BY THE LATE PRESIDENT,

'ACA'SABALLI', Cassyta. 25 Aparajit5, Clitorid.

Achyuta, Morinda. Area, Asclepias.
'Acranti, Solatium. 'Ardraca, Amomum.
Acsha. Arim6da.
5 Agastya, JEschynomene. ArishtA, Xanthium.
Agnis'ic'hfi. 30 Ariaca, Ocymum'.
Aguru, Cordia. Arjuna, LagerstroemiuJ
Alabu, Cucurbita. Arushcara, Semecarpui.
Alamvusha, Bryonia. As'mantaca.
10 Alarca, Asclepias. As'oca, a new genus.
Alpam&risha. 35 'Asp'hota, Nyctantkes.
AmaM. 'Aus'vrihi, Oryza.
'Amalaci, Phyllanthus. Atavisha.
Ambasht'ha. AticharS.
15 Amlaiia, Gomphrena. Atimucta, Banisteria.
Amlal6nica, Oxalis. 40 'Avigna, Carissaf.
Amlavetasa, Hypericum. Bacula, Mimusope.
Amlitii, Tamarindus. Badari, Rkamus.
Amra, Mangifera. Bahuvdraca.
20 Amrataca, Spondias. Bahvanga, a new genus,
Anc6t'a. 45 B£M.
Ans'iniiati. . . Bala.
An'u, Oryza. . Bandhuca, Ixora^
Apamarga. Banga, Carmabi*.
Vol. IV.
 A CATALOGUE OF
Bata, Finis. Caraicara, Pavetta.
50 Bhadramustaca, Cyperus. 100 Carparala. Aloe?
Bhanga, Gossypium. Carpasi, Gossypium.
Bhanti, Clerodendrum. Carpura, Laurtu.
Bhavya, DUlenia. Caruna, Citrus.
Bharadwaji. C6sa, Saccharum.
55 Bhuchampaca, Kaempferia. 5 CdshmirA.
Bhfijambuca. C'ataca, Strychnos.
Bhfilavanga, Jussiena. Catp'bala, febernmmontan*.
Bhurandi, Ipomoea? Catu.
Bhuria. Cemuca.
60 Bhustrina, Andropogan? 10 Cesara, Crocut.
Bhutavesi, Nyctanthes. Cetaca, Pandamiis.
BerberS. Chacrala.
Bimba, Bryonia? C'hadira, Mimosa.
Bimbica, the same 1 Ch'hatraca, Agarievs.
65 Brahmani, Ovkda. 15 Campaca, MicHelia.
Brahmasuverchala. Chanaca.
Brahmi, Ruta. Chanda.
Bilva, Cratazva. Chandana, Santalum.
Biranga. Chandrica. /
70 Cacamachi 20 C'harjura, Phoenix.
Cacangi, Aponogeton 1 Carmacasha.
Cacbu, Arum. Cbavaca.
Cadali, Musa. Chitra.
Cadamba, Nauclea. Chitraca, Plumbago.
75 Cahlara, Nymphoza. 25 Chorapushp), Scirput.
Cala. Cirata.
COL Codrava.
Calambl. C6rangi.
Calami. Covidara, Bauhinia.
80 Calaya Calinga, Cucurbila. 30 Clitaca.
Calpaca. Cramuca.
Camalara, Jpomoca. Crista*.
Campilla, a new genus. Crishnachura, Poincian*.
Canchanara, Bauhmia. Csh'iravi, Asclepias?
85 Canda, Dracontivm. 35 Cshuma, Linum.
Candarala. Culaca, Strychnos.
Candura, Doliebos. Culmasha,
Candui u, Scilla ? Cumbha.
Cangu. Cumbhica, Pisfia.
90 Cantala, Agave! 40 Cumuda, Menianthet.
Capila. Cuneoma, Crocus?
C ipitt'ha, Limonia. Cunda, Jasminum.
CJiraiijaca, a new genus. Carubaca, Barleria.
95 Ciravclla, Cleome? Curuntaca.
Caravi, Lawns. 45 Curuvaca.
Caravira, Nerium. Cus'a, Poo.
Cannarauga, Avtrrhoa- Cushmanda, Cutumis?
 iNDIAW PtANtS. S27
Cusumbha, Cartkamvt. Haredru.
Cutaja, Jasminum. HarHaci, Termincha.
50 Cuvalaya. Haritala.
Cuveraca, Swietenid. 200 Haryanpa, Cissus.
Damapana. Heniapushpica, Jasmimim,
Dantica. Hemasagara, Cotyledon.
Dhanjaca. HilamochicaV
55 Darima, Punica. HimavaH.
Das). i Hingu, Terebinthus.
Devadaru, Unona. Hingul'i, Solatium.
Dhatacl. Hintala, Elate.
Dhustfira, Datura. Hoik*.
60 D6n9, Artrmisia. Jambira, Citrus.
Dracsha, Vitis. 10 Jambn, Eugenia.
Durgajata, Ophioglosum. Jatamans'i, Valeriana.
Durva, Agrostis. Java, Tertninafia f
Dwipatri, Fmpatiens. Jayap'hala, Myristica.
65 'Ela, Amorrwn* Jayaht'ij Otschynomene;
'Elabaluca. 15 I cshu, Sacchurum.
Eranda, Ricinus. Icsfaura.
Gajapippali, a new genus; IcshWacu.
Gambhari. Jimto.
70 Gandali. In dlvara, Tradescnntia?
Gandharaja, Gardenia. SO Jiraca.
Gandira, Solatium t Jivanti.
Gaurichandra, Hedysarum, IndravaiWi.
Ghantapatah. Ingudl.
75 Ghonta, Khamnus. Irbaru.
Gh6shaca. 25 lYwaramuIa, Aristolochia.
Grant'hila. Lacucha, Astrocarpus.
Grin jana, Daucut. Langal'i, Nama?
Gocantaca, Barleria. Latarca, Allium.
SO G6dhapadi. Lasuna, Allium.
G6dbuma, Triticum. 30 Laval'i, Avtrrhoa.
Gojihva, Elephantopus. Lavanga, Caryophyllut.
G6I6mi, Agrostiif Lodhra.
Gonardi, Cyperns? Madana, Pisonid.
85 G6raesba. Madhficar, Bassia.
Govacshf. S5 Madhidaca.
G6vara, Eranthmumi Madhuraca.
Gugguln. Madbusigru, Guilandina;
GnMi Mahajali.
90 Gunja, Abrus. Mahasweta.
Guvaca, Areca. 40 Malapu.
Haimavatl. Malati, Jasminvm.
Halaca, Nymphced. Mallica, Nyctanthei:
Hanu. Manaca, Arum.
J5 Haricus'a, Acanthus. Maudira, Erythrina.
Haidrai, Curcuma, 45 Marcara.
j Qs
328 A CATALOGUE OF
Marcati. 95 Pri'sniparn'i.
Maricha. Capsicum. Priyangu.
Marunniald. P6tica, PhysaUs.
Masaparnii Punarnava, Boerhaavitt.
50 Masba, Phaseoh Pundarica.
lashandr : 300 Pundra.
fasura. Puticaraja, Guilandina.
Matulanga, Citrus. Ractamula, Oldenlandfc.
Mauri. Rajadana.
55 Mayura. Rajam.
Muchucunda, Pentapetes. 5 Rajica.
Mudga. Rashtrica.
Mudgaparni. Rasna, Opkioxylum.
Mulaca, Raphanus. Renuca.
60 Muudaballi, Ipmuea. Riddhi.
Mura. 10 Rishabha.
Murva, Aletris. Rochana.
Mustaca, Sctuemus. R6hita, Punka.
Nagabala, Sida. Sac&taca, Tropins.
65 Nagaballi, Bauhinia. Sahacara, Magmfera.
Nagacesara, Mesua. 15 Sahachari,
Nagadana, Artemisia. Saileya, Museus.
Nagaranga, Citrus. Sairlyaca, Barleria.
Nala, Aristida? Saivala. .•
70 Nali. 'Sala.
Naranga. 20 SalancM.
Naricela, Cocos. 'Salmali, Bombax.
Nichula, a new genus. Samanga, 2 ?
Nili, Indigojera. 'Sami, Mimosa.
75 Nil&tpala, Pontederia. Samira, Mimosa.
Nimba, Melia. 25 Samudraca; Aquilicia.
Nivara, Oryza. Sana, Crotalaria.
Pacala.' Sanacrajata, Hedyfarum.
Padma, Nyphcea. 'Sanc'hapushpa, Coix.
80 Palandu, Allium. 'Sara.
Palasa, Butea. 30 Sarala.
Panasa, Artocarpus. Sarana.
Parndsa, Ocymum. 'Satamuli
Patali, Bignonia. Satapushpa. .
85 Patola, Solamim. Sathi.
. Paura. 35 Sep'halica, Nyctanthes,
Pichula, Tamarix. Septala, Nyctanthes.
Pilu, Aloe. Septapama, Echites.
Pinya. Sershapa, Synapis.
SO Pippala, Ficus. 'Simbi, Dolkhos.
Pippali, Piper. 40 Sindhuca, Vitex. . .
Piyala. Sirisha, Mimosa.
Pi'iasala. . '' Sisu, Croton ?
Placsha, Ftcus. Siva,
 INDIAN BLANTS. 229
Sobhanjana, Guilandina. Uraua, Cassia.
45 S&malata, Ruta? Utpala?
S6maraj'i, Pcederia. Vajradru, Euphorbia.
S61p'ha. 85 Valvaja, Andropogon.
Sonaca, Bignonia. Vanaceli, Canna.
Sringataca, Trapa. Vanamudga.
50 Sripatna. Vanardraca, Costus.
Sfhalapadma, Hibiscus. Vand£, Epidendrum.
Suca. 90 Vanda, Loranthus.
Sucri. Vandd, Viscum.
Sunishnnaca, Marsilea. Vanaca, Quercus.
55 Surabhi. Vans'a, Bam bos.
Suryamani, Hibiscus. Varahi.
Suvernaca, Cassia. 95 Varangace, Laurus.
Syama, a new genus. Varuna.
Sy&maca. Vasaca, Dyanthera.
60 Tala, Borassus. Vasalya.
TSlamulaca, Cochlearia ? Vastuca, Amaranthus.
Tali, Corypha. 400 Vasu.
TamalS, Laurus? Vataca.
Tambulis, Piper. Vatsadani, Menispermum.
€5 Tamracuta, Nicotiana. Vayasoli.
Taraca, Amomum ? Velasa, Barleria.
Taruni, Aloe. 5 Vetra, Calamus.
Tatpatri, Laurus. Vichitra, Tragia.
Tila, Shanum. Vidari.
70 Tilaca. Vidula.
Tinduca, Diospyros. Virana, Andropogon.
Tinsa, Ebenus. 10 Vishani.
Trupusha, Cucumus. Vistaraca, Convolvulus.
Trayamana. Vrsthi, Oryza.
75 Trivrita. Vyaghranac'ha.
Tubaricd. Vyaghrapada.
Tula, Morus. 15 Yasa.
Tunga. Yava, Hordeum,
Udumbara, Flcut. Yavasa, Poa?
SO Ulapa, Arisiida. Yuctarasa.
Upodica. Yut'hica, Jasminum.

Q 3
 231

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS

ON

SELECT INDIAN PLANTS.

BY THE LATE PRESIDENT.

' TF my names of plants displease you,' says the

A great Swedish botanist, ' choose others more
' agreeable to your taste ;' and, by this candour, he
has disarmed all the criticism, to which, as it must be
allowed, even the critical parts of his admirable works
lie continually open. I avail myself of his indulgence,
and am very solicitous to give Indian plants their true
Indian appellations; because 1 am fully persuaded
that Linnceus himself would have adopted them, had
he known the learned and ancient language of this
country ; as he, like all other men, would have re
tained the native names of Asiatic regions and cities,
rivers and mountains ; leaving friends, or persons of
eminence, to preserve their own names by their own
merit, and inventing new ones, from distinguishing
marks and properties for such objects only as, being
recently discovered, could have had no previous
denomination- Far am I from doubting the great
importance of perfect botanical descriptions ; for lan
guages expire as nations decay, and the true sense of
many appellatives, in every dead language, must
be lost in a course of ages ; but, as long as those ap
232 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
pellatives remain understood, a travelling physician,
who should wish to procure an Arabian or Indian
plant, and, without asking for it by its learned or
vulgar name, should hunt for it in the woods by its
botanical character, would resemble a geographer,
who, desiring to find his way in a foreign city or
province, should never inquire, by name, for a street
or a town, but wait with his tables and instruments,
for a proper occasion to determine its longitude and
latitude.

The plants described in the following paper by

their classical appellations, with their synonyma, or
epithets, and their names in the vulgar dialects,
have been selected for their novelty, beauty, poetical
fame, reputed use in medicine, or supposed holi
ness ; and frequent allusions to them all will be
found, if the Sanscrit language should ever be gene->
rally studied, in the popular and sacred poems of the
ancient Hindus, in their medical books and law-,
tracts, and even in the Vidas themselves. Though, un
happily I cannot profess, with the fortunate Swede
to have seen without glasses all the parts of the flowers
which I have described, yet you may be assured that I
have mentioned no part of them which I have not
again and again examined with my own eyes ; and
though the weakness of my sight will for ever prevent
my becoming a botanist, yet I have in some little dd-
gree atoned for that fatal defect by extreme attention,
and by an ardent zeal for the most lovely and fascinat
ing branch of natural knowledge.

Before I was acquainted with the method pursued

by Van Rhcedc, necessity had obliged me to -follow a
similar plan on a smaller scale ; and, as his mode of
studying botany, in a country and climate by no means
favourable to botanical excursions, may be adopted
more successfully by those who have more leisure iji-au
 ©N SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 233
I shall ever enjoy, I present you with an interesting pas
sage from one of his prefaces, to which I should bare-
ly have referred you, if his great work were not unfor
tunately confined, from its rarity, to very few hands.
He informs us, in an introduction to his third volume,
" that several Indian physicians and Brahmins had
M composed, by his order, a catalogue of the most
" celebrated plants, which they distributed according
" to their times of blossoming and seeding, to the
" configuration of their leaves, and to the forms of
" their flowers and fruit ; that, at the proper seasons,
{? he gave copies of the list to several intelligent
" men, of whom he sent parties into different forests,
" with instructions to bring him, from all quarters, such
" plants as they saw named, with their fruit, flowers,
u and leaves, even though they should be obliged to
" climb the most lofty trees for them ; that three or
" four painters, who lived in his family, constantly
" and accurately delineated the fresh plants, of which,
t( in his presence, a full description was added ; that,
" in the mean while, he had earnestly requested all
" the princes and chiefs on the Malabar coast to send
" him such vegetables as were most distinguished for
" use or for elegance; and that not one of them
" failed to supply his garden with flowers, which
" he sometimes received from the distance of fifty or
'* sixty leagues ; that when his herbalists had collected
a sufficient number of plants, when his draughtsmen
" had sketched their figures, and his native botan-
" ists had subjoined their description, he submitted
*' the drawings to a little academy of Pandits, whom
" he used to convene for that purpose from different
" parts of the country ; that his assembly often con*
" sisted of fifteen or sixteen learned natives, who vied
" with each other in giving correct answers to all his
" questions concerning the names and virtues of the
u principal vegetables ; and that he wrote all their an-
" swers in his note-book ; that he was infinitely de
234 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
" lighted with the candid, modest, amicable, and re-
" spectful debates of those pagan philosophers, each
" of whom adduced passages from ancient books in
" support of his own opinion, but without any bitter*
" ness of contest or the least perturbation of mind ;
" that the texts which they cited, were inverse, and
<c taken from books, as they positively asserted, more
" than four thousand years old : that the first couplet
" ofeach section in those books comprised the synony-
" mous terms for the plant, which was the subject
" of it; and that, in the subsequent verses, there
" was an ample account of its kind or species, its
" properties, accidents, qualities, figure, parts,
.".place of growth, time of flowering and bearing
" fruit, medical virtues, and more general uses;
ft that they quoted those texts by memory, having
(t gotten them by heart in their earliest youth, rather
" as a play than a study, according to the immemorial
" usage of such Indian tribes as are destined by law
" to the learned professions ; and on that singular
" law of tribes, peculiar to the old Egyptians and In-
" diant, he adds many solid and pertinent remarks."
Now when we complain, and myself as much as any,
that we have no leisure in India for literary and philo
sophical pursuits, we should consider that Van Rheede
was a nobleman, at the head of an Indian government,
jn his time very considerable, and that he fully dis
charged all the duties of his important station, while
he found leisure to compile, in the manner just de
scribed, those twelve large volumes which Linnaus
himself pronounces accurate,

1. Taraca;
Vidg. Tkrac.
JAnn. Amomum.
Cal. Perianth spathe-like, but sitting on the germ •
tubular, one-leaved, broken at the mouth into a few
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 235
irregular sharp toothleis ; downy, striated ; in part
coloured, in part semi-pellucid.
Cor. One-petaled, villous. Tube short, funnel-form,
Border double. Exterior three parted ; coloured
like the calyx ; divisions oblong, striated, internally
concave, rounded into slipper-like bags ; the two
lower divisions equal, rather deflected ; the higher
somewhat longer, opposite, bent in a contrary di
rection, terminated with a long point. Interior,
two-lipped (unless the upper lip be called the
/ilament) ; under lip revolute, with a tooth on each
side near the base ; two parted from the middle ;
divisions axe-form, irregularly end-nicked. Nec
taries, two or three honey-bearing, light brown,
glossy bodies at the base of the under lip, just bel
low the teeth { erect, awled, converging into a
small cone.
$tam. Filament (unless it be called the upper lip,
of the interior border) channelled within, sheathing
the style ; dilated above into the large fleshy an
ther, if it can justly be so named. Anther oblong^
externally convex and entire, internally flat, di
vided by a deep furrow ; each division marked with
a perpendicular pollenrbearing line, and ending
in a membraneous point.
Pist. Germ beneath, protuberant, roundish, obscurely
three-sided, externally soft with down. Style,
thread-form, long as theJilament, the top of which
nearly closes round it. Stigma headed, perforated.
Per. Capsule (or Capsular berry, not bursting in a
determinate mode) oblong-roundish, three-striped,
smooth, crowned with permanent calyx and corol ;
with a brittle coat, almost black without, pearly
within.
Seeds lopped, with three or four angles, very smooth,
inclosed within three oblong, rounded, soft, mem-,
braneous integuments, conjoined by a branchy re-
peptacle j in each parcel, four or five,
236 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Interior border of the corol, pink and white ; under
lip internally milk-white, with a rich carmine-
stripe in each of its divisions. Seeds aromatic,
hotter than Cardamoms. Leaves alternate, sheath
ing, oblong, pointed, keeled, most entire, mar
gined, bright grass-green above, very smooth ; pale

feet long, bright pink near its base, erect, ending

in a beautiful panicle. Peduncles many-flowered ;
bracts few, lance-linear, very long, withering. Root
fibrous, with two or three bulbous knobs, light
brown and spungy within, faintly aromatic. *

Although the Taraca has properties of an Amo-

fivam, and appears to be one of those plants which
Rumphkis names Globba, yet it has the air of a Lan-
guas, thefruit, I believe, of a Renealmia,zxi& no exact
correspondence with any of the genera so elaborately
described by Koenig : its essential character, according
to Retz, would consist in its two-parted interior border,
its channelled filament, and its two-cleft anther with
pointed divisions.

2. Bhuchampaca:
Vulg. Buchampac.
Linn. Round-rooted Kcempferia.
Cal. Common Spathe imbricated, many-flowered;
partial : Perianth one-leaved, small, thin, obscure.
C'or. One petaled. Tube very long, slender, subcy-
lindric below, funnel-form above, somewhat in
curved. Border double, each three-parted ; ex
terior divisions lanced, acute, dropping; interior,
two higher divisions erect, lapping over, oblong,
pointed, supporting the back of the anther ; lower
division expanding, deflected, two-cleft; subdi
visions broad, axe-form, irregularly notched, end-
nicked, with a point.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 237
Stam. Filament adhering to the throat of the corol,
oblong below, enlarged, and two-lobed above, co
loured. Anther double, linear, higher than the
mouth of the tube, fixed on the lower part of the
filament, conjoined round the pistil, fronting the
two-cleft division of the border.
Pist. Germ very low near the root, attended with a
nectareous gland. Style capillary, very long. Stigma
funnel-form below, compressed above ; fan-shaped,
two-lipped, downy, emerging a little from the con
joined anther.
Per. and Seeds not yet seen. .
Scape thickish, very short. Corol richly fragrant;
tube and exterior border milk-white, divisions drop
ping, as if sensitive, on the slightest touch, and soon
yielding to the pressure of the air ; interior border
purple, the higher divisions diluted, the lower
deeply coloured within, variegated near the base.
One or two flowers blow every morning in April
or May, wither entirely before sun-set ; after the spike
is exhausted, rise the large leaves keeled, broad-
lanced, membraneous nerved. Root with many
roundish, or rather spindle-shaped bulbs.

This plant is clearly the Benchdpo of Rhecde, whose

native assistant had written Bhu on the drawing, and
intended to follow it with Champa 0: the spicy odour
and elegance of the flowers, induced me to place this
Kcempferia (though generally known) in a series of
select Indian plants ; but the name Ground Champac
is very improper, since the true Champaca belongs to
a different order and class ; nor is there any resem
blance between the two flowers, except that both have
a rich aromatic scent.

Among all the natural orders, there is none in which

the genera seems less precisely ascertained by clear es--
sential characters, than in that which (for want of a bet
 238 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
ter denomination) has been called scifamineous ; and
the judicious Retz, after confessing himself rather dis
satisfied with his own generic arrangement, which he
takes from the border of the corol, from the stamen,
and principally from the anther, declares his fixed
opinion, that the genera in this order will never be de-
termined with absolute certainty until all the scitamineouf
plants of India shall be perfectly described.
3 Sefhalicd:
Syn. Suvahd, Nirgudi, Nilica, Nivdoicd.
Vulg. Singaha, Nibdri. ,
' Linn. Sorrowful Nyctanthes.

In all the plants of this species examined by me,

the calyx was villous ; the border of the corol white,
five-parted, each division unequally subdivided ; and
the tube of a dark orange-colour ; the stamens and
pistil entirely within the tube : the berries twin, com-
pressed,capsular, two-celled,margined, inverse-hearted,
with a point. This gay tree (for nothing sorrowful
) spreads its rich odour to a con-
siderable distance every evening; but at sunrise it
sheds most of its night-flowers, which are collected
with care for the use of perfumers and dyers. My
Pandits unanimously assure me, that the plant before
us is their Se'p'hdlicd, thus named because bees are
supposed to sleep on its blossoms ; but Nilica must
imply a blue colour ; and our travellers insist that
the Indians give the names of Pdrijdticd, or Pdrijata
to this useful species of Nyctanthes. On the other
hand, I know that Pdrijata is a name given to flow
ers of a genus totally different ; and there may be a
variety of this with bluish corols ; for it is expressly
-declared in the Amarcbsh, that, " when the Sip'kd*
" lied has white flowers, it is named Switasurasd, and
" BhutavesL"
4. <*. Maghya.
Syn, Cunda.
 OX SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 239
Linn. Nyctanthes Sambac.
See Rheede: 6 U. M. tab. 54.
Flowers exquisitely white, but with little or no fra
grance ; stem, petioles, and calx very downy ; leaves
egged, acute ; below rather hearted.
0 Septala.
Syn. Navamallicd, NammdlicL
Vulg. B6la, Muta-Ula.
Burnt. Many-fiowered Nyctanthes.
See 5 Rumph. tab. 30. 6 H. M. tab. 50.

The blossoms of this variety are extremely fra

grant. Zambak (so the word should be written) is a
flower to which Persian and Arabian poets frequently
allude.

5. Mallica.
Syn. Trinasidya, Malli, Bhupadi, Satabhira.
Vulg. Dhi-bela.
Linn. Wavy-leaved Nyctanthes.
Berry globular, simple, one-celled. Seed large, sin
gle, globular.

According to Rheede, the Brahmins in the west of

India distinguish this flower by the word Casturi, or
musk, on account of its very rich odour,

6. ' Asp'hotd:
Syn. Vanamallh
Vulg. Banmallica.
Linn. Narrow-leaved Nyctartfhes.

The Indians consider this as a variety of the

former species ; and the flowers are nearly alike. Ob'
tuse-leaved would have been a better specific name :
the petals, indeed, are comparatively narrow, but not
the leaves. This charming flower grows wild in the
forests, whence it was qalled Vanajati by the Brahmins,
240 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
who assisted Rheede ; but the Jati, or Mat&ta, be
longs, I believe, to the next genus.

7. Mdlati:
Syn. Sumana, Jati,
Vulg. Malti, Jati, Chambeli.
Linn. Great flowered Jasmin.
Buds blushing; corol, mostly With purplish edges.
Leaves feathered with an -odd one, two of three of
the terminal leaflets generally confluent.

Though Malati and Jati be synonymous, yet some

of the native gardeners distinguish them ; and it is
the Jati only that I have examined. Commeline
had been informed that the Javans give the name
of Malati to the Zambak, which in Sanscrit is called
NavamallicA, and which, according to Rheede, is
used by the Hindus in their sacrifices ; but they make
offerings of most odoriferous flowers, and particularly
of the various Jasmins and Zambaks.

8. Yufhica.
Syn. Mligadhi, Ganica, Ambashfhd, Yut'Kl.
Vulg. Jut'hi, Jul
Linn. Azorick Jasmin.
Leaves opposite, three'd. Branchlets cross-armed.
Umbels three-flowered. Corols white, very fragrant.
The yellow Yut hica, say the Hindus, is called H6-
mapushpica, or golden-flowered ; but I have never
seen it ; and it may be of a different species.

9. Amlicd:
Syn. Tintid'i, Chinchfcr .
Vulg. Tintiri ; Tamriilhind'i, or Indian Date.
Linn. Tafnarindus.

The flowers of the Tamarind are so exquisitely-

beautiful, the fruit so salubrious when an acid sller-

V
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 24 1
bet is required, the leaves so elegantly formed and
arranged, and the whole tree so magnificient, that I
could not refrain from giving a place in this series to
a plant already well known. In all the flowers, how-*
ever, that I have examined, the coalition of the sta
mens appeared so invariably, that the Tamarind should
be removed, I think, to the sixteenth class ; and it
were to be wished that so barbarous a word as Tama-
rindus, corrupted from an Arabic phrase absurd in
itself, since the plant has no sort of resemblance to a
date-tree, could, without inconvenience, be rejected,
and its Indian appellation admitted in its room.

10. Sara; or Arraai-cane.

Syn. Gundra, or playful ; Tijanaca, or Acute.
Vulg. Ser, SerherL
Linn> Spontaneous Saccharum.
Cal. Glume two-valved; valves oblottg-lanced,
pointed, sub-equal, girt with silky diverging hairs?
exquisitely soft and delicate, more than twice as
long as the flower.
Cor. One-valved, acute, fringed,
Stam. Filaments three, capillary ; Anthers oblong,
incumbent.
Pist. Gems very minute J styles two, thread-form.
Stigmas feathery.

Flowers on a very large terminal panicle•, more

than two feet long, in the plant before me, and one
foot across in the broadest part; consisting of nume
rous compound spikes, divided into spikelets, each on
a capillary jointed rachis, at the joints of which are the
flowers alternately sessile and pedicelled. Common
peduncle many-furrowed, with reddish joints. Valvelet
of the corol purple, or light red ; stamens and pistils
ruddy; stigmas purple; pedicels of a reddish tint,
finely contrasted with the long silvery beard of the
calyx. Leaves very long* ' striated, minutely sawed ;
Vol. IV. R ,
242 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
teeth upwards ; keel smooth, white within, sheathing
the culm ; the mouth of the sheaths thick, set with
white hairs. Culm above twenty feet high ; very
smooth, round, and light ; more closely jointed and
woody near the root, which is thick and fibrous : it
grows in large clumps, like the Venu. This beautiful
and superb grass is highly celebrated in the Purdnas,
the Indian God of War having been born in a grove
of it, which burst into a flame ; and the gods gave
notice of his birth to the nymph of the Pleiads, who
descended and suckled the child, thence named Carti-
ciya. The Case/, vulgarly Casia, has a shorter culm,
leaves much narrower, longer, and thicker hairs, but a
smaller panicle, less compounded, without the purplish
tints of the Sara. It is often described, with praise, by
the Hindu poets for the whiteness of its blossoms,
which gave a large plain, at some distance, the ap
pearance of a broaa fiver. Both plants are extremely
useful to the Indians, who harden the internodal parts
of the culms, and cut them into implements for writ
ing on their polished paper. From the munja, or culm,
of the Sara was made the maunji, or holy thread, or
dained by Menu to form the sacerdotal girdle, in pre
ference even to the cmtf-grass.

11. Durvd:
Syn. ^Sataparvica, Sahasraviryd, Bkdrgavi, Rudri>
Anantd. r
Vulg. Dub.
Koen. Agrostis Linearis.

Nothing essential can be added to the mere bo

tanical description of this most beautiful grass, which
Van Rheede has exhibited in a coarse delineation
pf its leaves only, under the barbarous appellation of
Belkcaraga, . Its flowers, in their perfect state, are
amoftg the loveliest objects in the vegetable world,
and appear, through a lens, like minute rubies and
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 243
Emeralds m constant motion, from the least breath of
air. It is the sweetest and most nutritious pasture for
cattle ; and its usefulness, added to its beauty, induced
the Hindus, in their earliest ages, to believe that it was
the mansion of a benevolent nymph. Even the VMa
celebrates it; as in the following text of the A't'har-
vana: " May Durvd, which rose from the water of
" life, which has a hundred roots and a hundred
" stems, efface a hundred of my sins, and prolong
" my existence on earth for a hundred years !" The,
plate was engraved from a drawing in Dr. Roxburgh's
valuable collection of Indian grasses,

12. Cus'a, or Cus'ha.

Syn. Cutha, Darbha, Pdvitrai
Vulg. Cusha.
Koen. Poa Cynosuroides.

Having never seen this most celebrated grass in a

state of perfect inflorescence, I class it according to
the information which Dr. Roxburgh has been so
kind as to send me. The leaves are very long, with
margins acutely sawed downwards, but smooth on
other parts, even on the keels, and With long points,
of which the extreme acuteness was proverbial among
the old Hindus. Every law-book, and almost every
poem in Sanscrit, contains frequent allusions to the ho
liness of this plant ; and, in the fourth Vida we have
the following address to it at the close of a terrible in-*
cantation : " Thee, O Darbha, the learned proclaim
" a divinity not subject to age or death ; thee they
" call the armour of Jndra, the preserver of regions,
" the destroyer of enemies ; a gem that gives increase
" to the field. At the time when the ocean resound-
" ed, when the clouds murmured, and lightnings
" flashed, then was Darbha produced, pure as a drop
" of fine gold." Some of the leaves taper to a most
acute, evanescent point ; whence the Pandits often
Ha
§44 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS ,
say of a Very sharp-minded man, that his intellects are
acute as the point of' a. CusaAesS,

13. Bandhuca: .
qyn. Ractaca, Bandhujivaca.
Vulg. Bdndhuti, Ronjan. .
Linn. Scarlet Ixora.
Cal. Perianth four-parted, permanent ; divisions co
loured, erect, acute.
Qor. One-petaled, funnel-form. Tube cylindric, very
long, slender, somewhat curved. Border four-
parted ; divisions egged, acute, deflected.
Stam. Filaments four, above the throat very short,
incurved. Anthers oblong, depressed.
Pist. Germ roundish, oblate beneath. Style thread-
form, long as the tube. Stigma two-cleft, just
above the throat ; divisions externally curved.
Per.
Seeds. • . .
Flowers bright crimson - scarlet, umbel - fascicled.
Leaves oval, cross-paired, half - stem - clasping ;
pointed, pale below, dark green abovej leathery,
clothing the whole plant. Stipules between the
opposite leaves erect, linear. Stem russet, chan
nelled.

The Bandhuca flower is often mentioned by the best

Tndian poets ; but the Pandits are strangely divided
in opinion concerning the plant which the ancients
knew by that name. Rddhdcdnt brought me, as the
famed Bandhuca, some flowers of'the Doubtful Papaver ;
and his younger brother Ramacdnt produced on the
following day the Scarlet Ixora, with a beautiful
couplet, in which it is named Bandhuca: Soon
after, Servoru, showed me a book, in which it is said
to have the vulgar name .Dop'kari'ya, or Meridian;
but by that Hindustani name the Mussulmans in some
districts, mean the Scarlet Pentapetes ; and in others,
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 245
the Scarlet Hibiscus, which the Hindus call Suryamani,
or Gem of the Sun. The last mentioned plant is the
Siasmin of Rheede, which Lijinaus, through mere
inadvertence, has confounded, with the Scarlet Pen-
tapetes, described in the jifty-sixth plate of the same
volume. I cannot refrain from adding, that no Indian
god was ever named Ixora ; and that Is'wara, which
is indeed a title of Siva, would be a very improper

name.

14. Carnicdra:
Syn. Drumbtpala, Perivya'dha.
Vulg. Ca'nerd ? Cat'hachampd.
Linn. Indian Pavetta.'

It is wonderful that the Pandits of this province,

both priests and physicians, are unable to bring me
the flower which CdMdsa mentions by the name of
Carnicdtra, and celebrates as a flame of the woods.
The lovely Pavetta, which botanists have sufficiently
described, is called by the Bengal peasants Cdncrd,
which I should conclude to be a corruption of the
Sanscrit word, if a comment on the Amardcdsh had
not exhibited the vulgar name Cafha-champd ;
which raises a doubt, and almost inclines me to be
lieve that the carnicdra is one of the many flowers
which the natives of this country improperly called
wild Champacs.

15. Mdshandari ;
Vulg. Masandari in Bengal, and Bastra in Hindostdn.
Linn. American Callicarpus ; yet a native of Java ?
Cat. Perianth one - leaved, four-parted ; Divisions
pointed, erect.
Cor. One-petaled, funnel-form; border four-cleft.
Stam. Fildrfients four1,' thread-form,, coloured, longer
than the corol. Anthers roundish, incumbent.
R 3
246 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
fist. Germ above, egged. Style thread-form, co«
loured, longer than the stamens. Stigma thiclrish,
gaping.
Per,
Seeds.

Flowers minute, bright lilac, or light purple, ex

tremely beautiful. Panicles axillary, one to each
leaf, two-forked, very short in comparison of the
leaves, downy. Bracts &w\ed, opposite, placed at each
fork of the panicle. Leaves opposite, petioled, very
long, egged, veined, pointed, obtusely notched, bright
green and soft above, pale and downy beneath.
Branches and petiols hoary with down. Shrub, with
flexible branches; growing wild near Calcutta; its
root has medicinal virtues, and cures, they say, a cu
taneous disorder called A%asha, whence the plant has
its name. Though the leaves be not sawed, yet I
dare not pronounce the species to be new. See a note,
on the Hoary Callicarpus, 5 Retz. Facie, p. \.n. 19.

16. Sringa'ata,
Syn. Sringataca,
Valg. Singhdra.
Linn. Floating Trapa.

I can add nothing to what has been written on

this remarkable water-plant ; but as the ancient Hin-.
dus were so fond of its nut (from the horns of which
they gave a name to the plant itself) that they placed
it among their ltinar constellations, it may certainly
claim a place in a series of Indian vegetables.

J 7. Chanduna.
Syn. Gandhasara, Malayqja, Bhadras'r't,
Vulg. Chandan, Sandal, Sanders.
Linn. True Santalum ; more properly Sandalum,
Seed large, globular, smooth.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 247
Having received from Colonel Fullarton many
.seeds of this exquisite plant, which he had found in
the thickets of Midnap&r, I had a sanguine hope of
being able to describe its flowers, of which Rumphius
could procure no account, and concerning which
there is a singular difference between Linnceus and
Burman the younger, though they both cite the
same authors, and each refers to the works of the
other; but the seeds have never germinated in my
garden, and the Chandan only claims a place in the
present series, from the deserved celebrity of its
fragrant wood, and the perpetual mention of it in
the most ancient books of the Hindus, who constantly
describe the best sort of it as flourishing on the moun
tains of Malaya. An elegant Sanscrit stanza, of
which the following Version is literally exact, alludes
to the popular belief, that the Vbms, or Bambus, as
they are vulgarly called, often take fire by the vio
lence of their collision; and is addressed, under the
allegory of a sandal-tree, to a virtuous man dwelling
in a town inhabited by contending factions : " De-
" light of the world, beloved Chandana, stay no longer
" in this forest, which is overspread with rigid perni-
" cious Vans'as, whose hearts are unsound; and
" who, being themselves confounded in the scorch-
" ing stream of flames kindled by their mutual attri-
" tion, will consume not their own families merely,
" but this whole wood." The original word Dur-
*oans'a has a double sense, meaning both a dangerous
bambu, and a man with a mischievous offspring. Three
other species, or varieties of Chandan, are mentioned
in the Amaracbsha, by the names Tailaparnica, G6-
^irsha, and Herichandana : the red sandal (of which
I can give no description) is named Cuchandana from
its inferior quality, Ratijana and Racta from its co
lour, and Tilaparni or Patranga, from the form of
its leaves.
R 4
$48 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
18. Cumuda;
Syn. Cairava,
Vulg. Ghain-chu,.
Jlkeede: Tsjeroca Qt Ambel. 11 H. M. t. %9.
Linn. Menianthes ?
Cal. Five-parted, longer than the tube of the corol,
expanding, permanent ; divisions awled.
Cor. One-petaled. Tube, rather belled; border five-
parted ; divisions oblong, wavy on the margin : a
longitudinal wing or foldlet in the middle of each,
'file mouth and whole interior part of the corol

Stam, Filaments five, awled, erect; Anthers twin,

converging; five, alternate, shorter, steril.
fist. Germ egged, very large in proportion ; girt at
its base with five roundish glands. Style very short,
if any. Stigma headed.
Per. Capsule four-celled, many-seeded.
Seeds round, compressed, minute, appearing rough,
with small dots or points.
Leaves hearted, subtargeted, bright green on one
side, dark russet on the other. Flowers umbel
fascicled, placed on the stem, just below the leaf ;
Glands and Tube of the corol yellow ; border white ;
both of the most exquisite texture : Cumuda, or
Delight of the Water, seems a general name for
beautiful aquatic flowers; and among them, ac
cording to Van Rheede, for the Indian Menianthes,
which this in part resembles. The divisions of the
corol may be called three-winged : they look as if
covered with silver frost.

ig. Chitraca.
Syn. Pat'Kin VahniT and all other names of Fire,
Vulg, Chita, Chit}, ChitrL
Linn. Plumbago of' Silan, .
Cal' Perianth onerleaved, egg-oblong, tubular, five-
sided ; rugged, interspersed with minute pedicelled
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 249
glands, exuding transparent glutinous droplets;
erect, closely embracing the tube of the corol;
mouth five-toothed ; base protuberant with the valves
of the nectary.
Cor. One-petaled, funnel-form. Tube five-angled,
rather incurved, longer than the calyx. Border
five-parted, expanding. Divisions inverse, egg-
oblong, pointed, somewhat keeled.
Nectary five-valved, pointed, minute, including the
germ.
Stam. Filaments five, thread-form, inserted on the
valvelets of the nectary as long as the tube of the
corol. Anthers oblong, oblique,
Pist. Germ egged, very small : at first, when cleared
of the nectary, smooth ; but assuming as it swells,
five-angles, Style columnar, as long as the sta
mens. Stigma five-parted, slender.
Per. None, unless we give that name to the five-angled
coat of the seed.
Seed one, oblong, obscurely five-sided, inclosed in a
coat.
Racemas viscid, leafy. Calyx light green. Corol milk-
white. Anthers purple, seen through the pellucid
tube. Leaves alternate, egged, smooth, pointed,
half sheathing, partly waved, partly entire ; floral-
leaves similar, minute. Stem flexible (climbing)
many-angled, jointed at the rise of the leaves. Root
caustic; whence the name Vahni, and the like.
Chitraca means attracting the mind ; and any of the
Indian names would be preferable to Plumbago, or
Leadwort. The species here described, seems most
to resemble that of Seilan ; the rosy Plumbago is less
common here : the joints of its stems are red ; the
bracts three'd, egged, equally pointed, coloured.

20. CamalatA:
Syn. Suryd-cunti or Sunshine, 1 1 H. M, t. 60.
Vufg. Cdm-latd, Ishk-pichah,
Linn. Ipomcea Quamoclit.
 250 t BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
The plant before us is the most beautiful of its or
der, both in the colour and form of its leaves and
flowers ; its elegant blossoms are celestial rosy red, love's
proper hue, and have justly procured it the name of
Camalata, or . Love's Creeper ; from which I should
have thought Quamoclit a corruption, if there were
not some reason to suppose it an American word. Ca
malata may also mean a mythological plant, by which
all desires are granted to such as inhabit the heaven of
Indra ; and if ever flower was worthy of paradise, it is
our charming Ipomcca. Many species of this genus,
and of its near ally the Convolvulus, grow wild in our
Indian provinces ; some spreading a purple light over
the hedges, some snow-white with a delicate fragrance ;
and one breathing, after sunset, the odour of clows ;
but the two genera are so blended by playful nature,
that very frequently they are undistinguishable by
the corols and stigmas : for instance, the Mundavallt,
or Beautiful Climber, of Rheede (of which I have
often watched the large spiral-buds, and seen them
burst into full bloom) is called Ipomcea by Linnceus,
and Convolvulus (according to the Supplement) by .
Koenig; and it seems a shade between both. The
divisions of the perianth are egg-oblong, pointed ; free
above, intricated below ; its corol and tube, those- of
an Ipomcea ; its filaments of different lengths, with
anthers arrowed, jointed above the barbs, furrowed
half-incumbent ; the stigmas, two globular heads, each
globe an aggregate of minute roundish tubercles ; the
stem not quite smooth, but here and there bearing a
few small prickles; the very large corol. exquisitely
white, with greenish ribs, that seem to act as muscles
in expanding the contorted bud; its odour in the
evening very agreeable ; less strong than the primrose,
and less faint than the lily. The clove-scented creeper,
which blows in my garden at a season and hour when
I cannot examine it accurately, seems of the same ge
rms, if not of the same species, with the Mundavalli.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 251
21. Cadamba:
Syn. Nipa, Priyaca, Halyprya.
Vulg. Cadamb, Cadam.
Linn. Oriental Nauclea.

To the botanical description of this plant I can add

nothing, except that I always observed a minute
five-parted calyx to each floret, and that the leaves
are oblong, acute, opposite, and transversely nerved.
It is one of the most elegant among Indian trees, in
the opinion of all who have seen it, and one of the
holiest, among them, in the opinion of the Hindus.
The poet Cdlidds alludes to it by the name of Nipa ;
and it may justly be celebrated among the beauties of
summer, when the multitude of aggregate flowers,
each consisting of a common receptacle, perfectly glo
bular, and covered uniformly with gold-coloured
florets, from which the white thread-form styles con
spicuously emerge, exhibits a rich and singular ap
pearance on the branchy trees decked with foliage
charmingly verdant. The flowers have an odour,
very agreeable in the open air, which the ancient
Indians compared to the scent of new wine; and hence
they call the plant Halyprya, or beloved by Halin, that
is, by the third Rama, who was evidently the Bac
chus of India.

22. Gandira:
Syn. Samasht'hild, Lavana-bhanfa'ca.
Vulg. Lona-bhant; Ins; Salatiyd.
Linn. Splanum. Is it the Verbascum-lea.ved ?
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, cup-form, or belled, ob
scurely five-cleft, downy, pale, frosted, permanent.
Divisions egged, erect, pointed, very villous.
Cor. One-petalcd. Tube very short. Border five-,.
parted. Divisions oblong, pointed, expanding,
villous.
Stum. Filaments five, most short in the mouth of
352 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
the tube. Anthers oblong, furrowed, converging,
nearly coalescent, with two large pores gaping
above.
Fist. Germ roundish, villous. Style thread-form,
much longer than the stamens. Stigma obtuse-
headed.
Per. Berry roundish, dotted above, hoary, divided*
into cells by a fleshy receptacle, with two or three
wings.
Seeds very many, roundish, compressed, nestling.
Leaves alternate, egg^oblong, pointed, rather wavy
on the margin, delicately fringed with down ; darker
and very soft above, paler below, writh protuberant
veins, downy on both sides, mostly decurrent on
the long hoary petiols.
Stem shrubby, scabrous With tubercles, unarmed.
Flowers umbel-fkscicled. Corols white. Anthers
yellow. Peduncles arid pedicles hoary with deci
duous frost.

This plant is believed to contain a quantity of la-

vana, or sail, which makes it useful as a manure ; but
the single word Bkantdca, vulgarly Bka'nt, means the
Clerodendrum, which (without being unfortunate)
beautifies our Indian fields and hedges with its very
black berry in the centre of a bright red expanding
permanent calyx. The charming little bird Chatrdca,
commonly called Chattdrya, or Tuntuni, forms its
wonderful nest with a leaf of this downy Solarium,
which it sews with the silk-cotton of the Seven-leaved
Bombay, by the help of its delicate but sharp' bill:
that lovely bird is well known by the Linnaan appel
lation of Motacilla Sartoria, properly Sartrix'; but the

23. Samudraca:
Syn. Dhola-samudra.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 25$
Vulg. Dhol-samudr.
Linn. Aquilicia ; but a new species.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, funnel-shaped, five-
toothed, short, the teeth closely pressing the corol ;
permanent.
Cor. Petals five, egg-oblong, sessible, greenish ; acute,
curved inwards, with a small angled concave ap
pendage. Nectary tubular, fleshy, five - parted,
yellowish; divisions, egg-oblong, doubled, com
pressed like minute bags with inverted mouths ; in
closing the germ.
Stam. Filaments five, smooth and convex externally,
bent into the top of the nectary, between the divi
sions or scales, and compressing it into a globular
figure. Anthers arrowed ; the points hidden within
the nectary, surrounding the stigma; the barbs
without, in the form of a star.
Pist. Germ roundish, Style cylindric. Stigma obtuse.
Per. Berry roundish, flattened, naved, longitudi
nally furrowed, mostly five-celled.
Seeds solitary, three-sided, externally convex. Cymes
mostly three-parted. Stem deeply channelled,
jointed, two-forked. Peduncles also jointed and
channelled. Fructification bursting laterally, where
the stem sends forth a petiol. Berries black, wa
tery. Leaves alternate, except one terminal pair ;
hearted, pointed, toothed ; twelve or fourteen of
the teeth shooting into lobes ; above, dark green ;
below, pale, ribbed with processes from the petiol,
and reticulated with protuberant veins ; the full-
grown leaves above two feet long from the apex,
and nearly as broad toward the base ; many of
them rather targetted. This new species may be
called large-leaved, or Aquilicia Samudraca* The
species described by the younger Barman, under
the name of the Indian Staphylea, is not uncommon
at Crishna-nagar ; where the peasants call it Cdca-
jangha, or Crow'sfoot : if they are correct, we have
 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
erroneously supposed the Coing of the modern Ben-
galese to be the Ca'cdngi of the ancient Hindus.
It must not be omitted, that the stem of the Aqui~
licia Sambucina is also channelled, but itsfructifica
tion differs in many respects from the descriptions
of Burman and Linnctus ; though there can be no
doubt as to the identity of the genus.

24. Somardji:
Syn. Avalguja, Suballi, Somballica, Cdlameshi, Crish-
naphala Va'cuchl, Vdguji, Pu'tip'kalli.
Vulg. Sdmraj, Bacuchi.
Linn. Fetid Pcederia.
The characters as in Linnceus, with a few variations.
Calyx incurved. Corol very shaggy within. Style
two-cleft, pubescent; divisions contorted. Stem
climbing, smooth. Leaves opposite, long-petioled ;
the lower ones oblong, hearted ; the higher, egg-
oblong, veined, With a wavy margin. Panicles
axillary (except the highest) cross-armed. Flowers
beautiful to the sight, crimson, with milk-white
edges, resembling the Dianthus, vulgarly called
Sweet William, but resembling it only in form and
colours ; almost scentless to those who are very
near it, but diffusing to a distance a rank odour
of carrion. All the peasants at Crishna-nagar
called this plant Samrdj ; but my own servants; and
a family of Brahmins from Tribhii, gave that
flame to a very different plant of the nineteenth
class, which I took, on a cursory inspection, for a
Prenanthes.

85. Sy&ma:
Syn. Gopi, Sa'rivd, Ananta, Utpalasdriva, Gopa,
Gopdlica, Gopavalll.
Vulg. Sydma-lata.
Rheede; in Makbar letters, Puppdl-vaUl
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 255
Cdl. Perianth one-leaved, five-toothed, erect, minute,
permanent.
Cor. One-petaled, salver-form. Tube itself cy-
lindric, but protuberant in the middle with the
germ and anthers; throat very villous. Border
five - parted ; divisions very long, lance-linear,
spirally contorted, fringed, closed, concealing the
fructification.
Stam. Filaments, if any, very short. Anthers, five,
awled, erect, converging at the top.
Pist. Germ above, pedicelled, spheroidal, girt with
a nectareous ring. Style thread-form, rather awled.
Stigma simple.
Per. Capsule one - celled ; one seeded, roundish,
hispid.
Seed oval, very minute, glossy.
Flowers raceme-panicled, greenish-white, very small,
scented like those of the hawthorn, but far sweeter;
and thence the Portuguese called them honey-
flowers.
Peduncles axillary, russet; pedicles many - flowered.
Branchlets milky. Leaves opposite, lance - oval,
pointed at both ends, most entire veined ; above,
dark green ; below, pale. Stipules linear, axillary,
adhering. Stem climbing, round, of a russet hue,
rimmed at the insertion of the short petiols.

The ripe fruit of this elegant climber, which

Cdlidds mentions in his poem of the Seasons, has
been seen by me only in a very dry state; but it
seemed that the hispid appearance of the capsules,
or berries, which in a microscope looked exactly like
the burs in Van Rheedes engraving, was caused by
the hardened calyxes and fringe of the permanent
corols; the seeds in each bur were numerous, and
like black-shining sand, for no single pericarp could
be disengaged from it ; and it is described as one-
seeded, merely from an inspection of the dissected
256 BOTANICAL OBSERVATION*
germ. Before I had seen the fruit, I thought the
Syama very nearly connected with the Shrubby Apo->
cynum, which it resembles in the leaves, and in parts
of the corol.

Five of the Sanscrit names are strung together,

by the author of the Amaracosh, in the following
verse :

Gobpi syama s'arivd syddanatotpala sarbcd :

and his commentator observes, that the last name

was given to the Sdrivd from the resemblance of its
flowers to those of the Utpala, which I thence con
clude to be a Menianthes, especially as it is always
described among the Indian water-plants. The other
synonymous words are taken from Vdchaspati.

26\ A'vigna, or Avinga :

Syn. Crishnapdcap'hala, Sushinas, Caramardaca.
Vulg. Carondd, or Caraundd in two dictionaries ; in
one, Pdniamald. .
Linn. Carissa Carandas.
Cal. Perianth five-cleft, acute, very small, coloured,
persistent.
Cor. One-petaled, funnel-form. Tube longish;
throat swoln by the inclosed anthers. Border five-
parted ; divisions oblong; one side of each embrac
ing the next.
Stam. Filaments five, extremely short. Anthei'S ob
long, erect.
Put, Germ above, roundish. Style thread-form,
short, clubbed. Stigma narrower, pubescent.
Per. Berry elliptoidal, two-celled.
Seeds, at least seven, oval, compressed, margined.
Flowers milk-white, jasmin-like. Fruit beautifuI
in form and colour, finely shaded with carmine and
white; agreeably acid. Branches two-forked.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 857
Leaves opposite, short petioled, elliptic, obtuse^
most entire, smooth ; some small leaves roundish
inverse-hearted. Thorns axillary, opposite, ex
panding ;• points bright red. Peduncles twin, sub-
terminal, three-flowered; pedicels equal. The
whole plant, even the fruit, milky. We have both
species of Carissa in this province ; but they melt,
scarce distinguishably, into each other.

The Pandits have always brought me this elegant

plant as the Carcandu, mentioned by Jayade'va ; but,
judging only by the shape and taste of tlie fruit, they
seem to confound it with the Rhamnus Jujuba ; and .
the confusion is increased by the obscurity of the fol
lowing passage in their best vocabulary :

CarcandM, vadar'i, chl't; c6lam, cuvala pKenile,

Sauviram, vadaram; ghdntd—

All agree that the neuter words mean fruits only ;

but some insist, that the Ghdntd is a distinct plant,
thus described in an ancient verse : ' The ghdnta',
' called tflso gdpaphfmta, is a tree shaped like the
* Vitdark, with a very small fruit, growing only m
* forests.' For the ghdntd, here known by the name
of Sehdciil, my servants brought me Rhamnus with
leaves alternate egg-oblong, three-nerved, obscurely
sawed, paler beneath, and most beautifully veined ;
Jioral young leaves crowded, very long, linear; prickles
crowded, very long, linear; prickles often solitary,
sometimes paired, one straight, one curved ; a small
globular drupe, quite black, with a one^celled nut :
the flowers I never saw perfect ; but it seems the nine
teenth species of Linnceus. We have many species of
Rhamnus in our woods and hedges ; some like the
Alaternus, polygamous by male and hermaphrodite
flowers ; others, distinguished by various forms and
positions of the prickles and leaves ; but the common
Vol. IV. S
258 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Badari or Baiar, is the Jujuba-tree, described by
Rkeecle ; and by Rumphius called Indian Apple-tree.
Its Persian name is Condr ; by which it is mentioned
in the letters of Pietro della Vdlle, who takes no
tice of the soapy froth procured from its leaves ; whence
it has in Sanscrit the epithet fihenila, oxfrothy. To
the plant the Arabs give the name of Sidr, and to its
fruit that of Nabik ; from which perhaps, Napeca has
been corrupted.

27. Caravira :
Syn. Pratihdsa, Satapra'sa, Chan data, Hayamdraca.
Linn. Nerium Oleander. and other species.
Vulg. Caner, Carbir.

A plant so well known would not have been inserted

in this place, if it had not been thought proper to take
notice of the remarkable epithet hayamdraca, or horse-
killer ; which rose from an opinion still preserved
among the Hindus, that a horse, unwarily eating the
leaves of the Nerium, can hardly escape death : most
of the species, especially their roots, have strong me
dicinal, but probably narcotic powers. The blue-
dying Nerium grows in woods at a little distance from
my garden ; and the Hindu peasants, who brought it
me, called it Nil, or blue: a proof that its quality
was known to them, as it probably was to their an
cestors, from time immemorial.

28, Septaparna, or seven leaved:

Syn. Visdla-twach, Saradi, Vishama-cJihada.
Vulg. Chhitavaiii, CKhdtiycm, Chhaton.
Linn. School Echites.
Cal. Perianth five-parted, sub-acute, small, villous,
permanent; closing round the germ immediately
on the removal of the tube.
Cor. One-petaled, funnel-form. Tube cylindric be
low, prominent above, with inclosed anthers, very
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 259
villous in the throat. Border five-parted, shorter
than the tube : divisions inverse-egged, obtuse, ob-'
lique, reflected, waved on the margin.
Nectary, a circular undivided coronet, or rim, termi-'
nating the tube, with a short erect villous edge.
Stam. Filaments five, eylindric, very short in the throat
of the tube. Anthers heart-harrowed, cleft, pointed,
forming a star, visible through the mouth of the
tube, with points diverging.
Pist. Germ above roundish-egged, very villous, scarce
extricable, from the calyx enclosing and grasping
it. Style eylindric, as long as the tube. Stigma,
two-parted, with parts diverging, placed on an ir-

Per. Follicles two, linear, very long, one-valved.

Seeds numerous, oblong, compressed with silky pa
pencilled at both ends.
NOTE.
The whole ofthe plant milky. Stem dotted with minute whitish, tu
bercles. Leaves mostly sevened in verticils at short distances, very
soft, oblong inverse-egged, some pointed, some obtuse, some
end-nicked ; some entire, some rather scallopped ; with many
transverse parallel veins on each side of the axis ; rich dark green
above, diluted below. Petiols furrowed above, smooth and con
vex beneath, elongated into a strong protuberant nerve continu
ally diminishing and evanescent at the apex. Stipules above erect,
acute, set in a coronet round the stem ; the verticils of the leaves
answering to the definition of fronds. Flowers rather small, greenish
white, with a very particular odour, less pleasant 'than that of
elder-flowers. Peduncles terminal, with two verticils pedicelled
umbel-wise, but horizontal. Pedicel, six-headed, many-flowered ;
highest verticils similar to those heads, more crowded. Tree
very large when full grown; light and elegant when young.
This plant so greatly resembles the Pala of Van Rheede (which'
has more of the Nerium than of the Taberncemontana) that I suspect
the genus and the species to be the same, with some variety.
That author says, that the Brahmins call it - Santenu, but his
Nagari letters make it Sav&nu ; and neither of the words is to be
found in Sanscrit. With all due respect for Plumier and Burman,
I should call this plant Nerium Septaparna : it is the Pule of Rum-
phius, who enumerates its various uses at greai length and with
great confidence.
S 2
860 30TANICAL OBSERVATIONS
29. Area:
£yn. Vasuca, Asplibta, Gonarupa, Vitirana, Man-
ddra, Arcaperna; and any name of the Sun.
Vulg. Acand, Anc.
Linn. Gigantic Asclepias.
Nectaries with two glanded compressed folds, instead
of axcled hornlets at the summit ; spirally eared at
the base. Filaments twisted in the folds of the nec
taries. Anthers flat, smooth, rather wedge-form.
Styles near halfan inch long, subcylindric. Stigmas
expanded. Flowers terminal and axillary umbel-
fascicled: amethyst-coloured, with some darker
shades of purple on the petals and nectaries ; the
starred corpuscle bright yellow. Leaves opposite,
heart oblong, mostly inverse-egged, subtargeted,
very rarely stem-clasping, pointed, villous on both
sides, hoary beneath, with soft down ; petiols very
short, concave and bearded above, with a thickish
conical stipule. The whole plant filled with caustic
milk. A variety of this species has exquisitely de
licate milk-white flowers ; it is named Alarca or
Pratdpsa, and highly esteemed for its antispasmodic
pqwers. The Vadmarca, which I have not seen, is
said to have small crimson corols. The individual
plants, often examined by me, vary considerably in
the forms of the leaves and the tops of the nectary.

30. Pichula:
Syn. J'hdvaca*
Vulg. J'hau.
Koen. Indian Tamarfa 9
Flowers very small, whitish, with a light purple tinge,
crowded on a number of spikes, which form all to
gether a most elegant pannicle. Stem generally
bent, often straight, and used anciently for arrows
by the Persians, who call the plant Gaz. The ce
lebrated shaft of Jsfendiydr was formed of it, as I
learned from Bahmen, who first showed it to me
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 261
on a bank of the Ganges, but asserted that it was
common in Persia. The leaves are extremely mi
nute, sessile, mostly imbricated. Calyx and carol
as described by Linn&us ; five filaments considera
bly longer than the petal; anthers lobed, fur
rowed; germ very small; style scarce any; stig
mas three, revolute, but, to my eyes, hardly fea
thered.

Nothing can be more beautiful than the appear

ance of this plant in flower during the rains, on the
banks of the rivers, where it is commonly interwoven
with a lovely twining Asclepias ; of which the follow
ing description is, I hope, very exact :

31. Dugdhica, or Milk-plant.

Syn. Cshirdvi Dugdhica. _v /? /
Vulg. Kyirui, Dudhi, Dkdh-latL *
Linn. Esculent Periploca.
Cal. One-leaved, five-parted; divisions awled, acute,
coloured, expanding.
Cor. One-petaled, salver-form, star-like, divisions five,
egged, pointed, fringed.
Nectary double, on a five-cleft base, gibbous between
the clefts, protuded, and pointed above, surround
ed with a bright green villous rim : exterior five-
parted ; divisions egged, converging, attenuated
into daggers; each concave externally, gibbous
below the cavity, which is two-parted and wrinkled
within. Interior a five-parted corpuscle, lopped
above, five-angled, surrounding the fructification.
Stam. Filaments scarce any. Anthers five, roundish,
very minute, set round the summit of the lopped
corpuscle.
Pist. Germs two, egged, pointed, erect, internally flat.
Styles none, unless you so call the points of the
germs. Stig?na, none but the interior nectary, un
less you consider that as a common stigma. *
S 3
 262 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Per. Follicles two, oblong ; in some, pointed ; in
others, obtuse ; inflated, one-valved ; each contain
ing a one-winged receptacle.
Seeds numerous, roundish, compressed, crowned with
pappus.

To each pair of leaves, a peduncle mostly two-flow->

ered, often with three sometimes with five, flowers,
Calyx reddish. Corol white, elegantly marked with
purple veins ; fringe, white, thick ; anthers black.
Leaves, linear-awled, pointed, opposite, petioled, with
one strong nerve ; stipules very soft, minute. Stem
smooth, round, twining; the whole plant abounding
with milk.

.'32. La'mali:
Syn. Saradi, To'yapippall, Saculddani.
Vulg. Cdnchra, Isholangolya.
, Rheede. CMru-vaMl?
Linn. Nama of Sildn.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, five-parted, villous; divi
sions lanced, pointed, long, permanent.
Cor: One-petaled, nearly wheeled. Tube very short,
Border five-parted. Divisions egged.
Stam. Filaments five, awled, expanding ; from the
mouth of the tube, adhering to the divisions of the
border by rhomboidal concave bases convergent
above. Anthers large, arrowed.
Pist. Germ above, egg-oblong, two-cleft. Styles
two, azure, funnel-form, diverging almost horizons
tally. Stigmas lopped, open.
Per. Capsule many-seeded.
Seeds very minute.
Stem herbaceous, branchy, smooth, pale, creeping.
Leaves alternate, short-petioled, most entire, lance-
oblong, smooth, acutish. Peduncles mostly axil
lary, sometimes terminal, villous, often many-
flowcred, subumbelled, three-rayed, with involucres
 OX SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 263
general and partial. Corols bright blue, or violet.
Stamens white. The plant is aquatic, and by no
means peculiar to Silan: I have great reason, how
ever, to doubt whether it be the Langali of the
Amaracosh, which is certainly the Canchrh of Ben
gal ; for though it was first brought to me by that
name, yet my gardener insists that Canchra is a
very different plant, which, on examination, ap
pears to be the Ascending Jussieua of Linnceus, with
leaves inverse-egged, smooth, and peduncles shorter:
its fibrous, creeping roots are purplish, buoys white,
pointed, solitary ; and at the top of the germ sits
a nectary composed of five shaggy bodies, arched
like horse-shoes, with external honey-bearing ca-
. vities.

33. Uma:
Syn. Atasi, Cshuma'.
Vulg. Tisl, Masartd.
Linn, Most common Linum.
Cal. Perianth five-leaved ; leaflets oblong, acute,
imbricated, keeled, fringed minutely, having some
what reflected at the points.
Cor. Small, blue: petals notched, striated, wavy,
reflex, imbricated.
Stain. Anthers light blue, converging, no rudiments
of filaments.
Pist. Germ large. Style pale blue. Stigma simple.
Per. Capsule pointed ; furrowed.
Root simple.
Stem Herbaceous, low, erect, furrowed, knotty ?
naked at the base. ,
Leaves linear, three-nerved, alternate crosswise, ses
sile, smooth, obtuse, reflected, stipuled, glanded?
Stipules linear. Q. a minute gland at the base.

S 4
264 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
34. Mured: -
Syn. Devi, Madkurasd, Moratd, Ttfanl, Survd, Mad*
hus'rerii, Gdcarni, PUuparrit.
Vulg. Muraga, Murahara, Murgdbi.
Linn. Hyacinthdid, Aletris,
Cal. None.
Cor. One-petaled, funnel-form, six angled. Tube
short, bellied with the germ. Border six-parted.
Divisions lanced ; three quite reflected in a circle ;
three alternate, deflected, pointed.
Stam. Filaments six, awled, as long as the corol, dir
verging, inserted in the base of the divisions. An-
Jhers oblong, incumbent.
Pist. Germ inverse-egged, obscurely three-sided, with
two or three honey-bearing pores on the flattish top,
Style awled, onerfurrowed, as long as the stamens.
Stigma clubbed.
Pericarp and Seeds not yet inspected.
Hoot fibrous, tawny, obscurely jointed, stolon-bearing.
Scape long, columnar, sheathed with leaves, im
bricated from the root ; a few sheaths above, strag^
gling. Leaves fleshy, channelled, sword-form,
keeled, terminated with awls, the interior ones
longer, mostly arched, variegated with transverse
undulating bands of a dark green hue, approaching
to black.
Raceme erect, very long. Flowers, from three to
seven in each' fascicle, on very short petiols.
Bracts linear, minute. Corals pale pea-green,
with a delicate fragrance, resembling that of the
Peruvian Heliotrope; some of the Sanscrit names
allude to the honey of these delicious flowers;
but the nectareous pores at the top of the germ are
not very distinct : in one copy of the Amaracosha
we read Dhanuh s'rinl among the synonyma ; and
if that word, which means a series of bows, be cor
rect, it must allude either to the arched leaves or
to the reflected divisions of the cprol. This Aletris
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 265
appears to be a night-flower: the raceme being
covered every evening with fresh blossoms, which
fall before sun-rise.

From the leaves of this plant, the ancient Hindus

extricated a very tough elastic thread, called Mauroi,
of which they made bow-stings, and which, for that
reason, was ordained by Menu to form the sacrificial
zone of the military class.

85. Taruni: ,
Syn. Sahd, Cumari.
Vulg. Gkrita-cuma'ri.
Linn. Two-ranked Aloe, A Perfoliata, P ?
Flowers racemed. pendulous, subcylindric, rather
incurved. Bracts, one to each peduncle, awled,
concave, deciduous, pale, with three dark stripes.
Corol six-parted ; three external divisions, orange-
scarlet; internal divisiom, orange-scarlet; internal,
yellow, keeled, more fleshy, and more highly co
loured in the middle. Filaments with a double
Curvature. Germ six-furrowed. Stigma simple.
Leaves awled, two-ranked ; the lowest expanding;
sea-rgreen, very fleshy; externally quite convex,
edged with soft thorns ; variegated on both sides
with white spots. Van Rheede exhibits the true
Aloe by the name of Cwndri; but the specimen
brought me by a native gardener, seemed a variety
of the two-ranked, though melting into the species,
which immediately precedes it in Linnaus.

36'. Bacula.
Syn. Cisdra.
Vulg. Mulsarl, or MAlasri.
Linn. Mimusops Elengi.
Cal. Perianth eight-leaved ; leaflets egged, acute,
permanent ; four interior, simple ; four exterior,
266 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Cor. Petals sixteen, lanced, expanding ; as long as
the calyx; Nectary eight-leaved ; leaflets lanced,
converging round the stamen and pistil.
Stam. Filaments eight (or from seven to ten) awled,
very short, hairy. Anthers oblong, erect.
Pist. Germ above, roundish, villous. Style, cylindric.
Stigma obtuse.
Per. Drupe oval, pointed ; bright orange-scarlet.
Nut oval, wrinkled, flattish, and smooth at one
edge ; broad and two-furrowed at the other.
Flowers agreeably fragrant in the open air, but with
too strong, a perfume to give pleasure in an apart
ment. Since it must require the imagination of a
Burman to discover in them a resemblance to the
face of a man, or of an ape, the genus, will, I hope,
be called Bacula; by which name it is frequently
celebrated in the Purdnas, and even placed among
the flowers of the Hindu paradise. Leaves alternate,
petioled, egg-oblong pointed, smooth. The tree
is very ornamental in parks and pleasure-grounds.

37. As>'oca : . .y<jr?v*V0i- l*-$fC #*-~- .

Syn. Vanjula. fir
Cal. Perianth two-leaved, closely embracing the
tube. ! -
Cor. Qne-petaled. Tube long; cylindric, subin-
curved ; mouth encircled with a nectareous rim.
Border four-parted; divisions, roundish;* .
Stam. Filaments eight, long, coloured, inserted on the
rim of the tube. Anthers kidney-shaped. .
Pist. Germ above, oblong, flat. Style short, downy.
Stigma bent, simple.
Per. Legume long, compressed at first, then protu
berant with the swelling seeds ; incurved, strongly
veined and margined, sharp-pointed.
Seeds from two to eight, solid, large, many-shaped,
. some oblong-roundish, some rhomboidal, some ra
ther kidney-shaped, mostly thick, some flat. Leaves
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 267
egg-oblong-lanced, opposite, mostly five-paired,
nerved ; long, from four or five to twelve or thir
teen inches.
The number of stamens varies considerably in the
same plant : they are from six or seven to eight
or nine ; but the regular number seems eight, one
in the interstices of the corol, and one before the
centre of each division. Most of the flowers, in
deed, have one abortive stamen, and some only
mark its place, but many are perfect ; and Van
Ilheede speaks of eight as the constant number:
in fact no part of the plant is constant. Flowers fas
cicled, fragrant just after sun-set, and before sun
rise, when they are fresh with the. evening and morn
ing dew ; beautifully diversified with tints of orange-
scarlet, of pale yellow, and of bright orange, which
grows deeper every day, and forms a variety of
shades according to the age of each blossom that
opens in the fascicle. The vegetable world scarce
exhibits a richer sight than an Asoca-tree in full
bloom : it is about as high as an ordinary cherry-
tree. A Brahmin informs me, that one species of
the Asoca is a creeper ; and Jayadeva gives it the
epithet voluble: the Sanscrit name will, I hope, be
retained by botanists, as it perpetually occurs in
the old Indian poems, and in treatises on religious
rites,

38. Saiv&la:
Syn. Janalili. S'aivall.
Vulg. Simar, Sydla, Patasydla, Sehdld.
Linn. Vallisneria? R.
Cal. Common Spathe one-leaved, many-flowered, very
long, furrowed, two-cleft at the top ; each division
end-nicked. Proper Perianth three-parted ; divi
sions awled.
Cor. Petals three, linear, long, expanding, fleshy.
268 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Stam. Filaments invariably nine, thread-form. An
thers erect, oblong, furrowed.
Pist. Germ egged, uneven. Styles always three, short,
awled, expanding. Stigmas three, simple.
Per. Capsule very long, smooth, awled, one-celled,
infolded in an angled Spathe.
Seeds very numerous, murexed, in a viscid mucus.
Flowerets, from six to fourteen, small. Scape compres
sed, very narrow, fleshy, furrowed in the middle.
Pedicel of the floweret thread-form, crimson above ;
proper perianth, russet; petals white; anthers deep
yellow. Leaves sword-form, pointed, very narrow,
smooth, and soft, about two feet long, crowded,
white at the base. Root small, fibrous. It flourishes
in the ponds at Crishna-nagar. The refiners of
sugar use it in this province. If this plant be a
Vallisneria, I have been so unfortunate as never to
have seen a female plant, nor fewer than nine sta
mens in one blossom out of more than a hundred,
which I carefully examined.

39- Puticaraja :
Syn. Pracirya, Putica, Calimdraca.
Vulg. Natacaratya.
Lhm. Guilandina Bonduccella.

The species of this genus vary in a singular man

ner : on several plants, with the oblong leaflets and
doubleprickles of the Bonduccella, I could see only male
flowers as Rheede has described them; they were
yellow, with an aromatic fragrance. Others, with
similar leaves and prickles, were clearly polygamous,
and the flowers had the following character,

MALE.

Cal. Perianth one-leaved, salver-form, downy ; Eor- -

der five-parted, with equal oblong divisions.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. £6'9
Cor. Petals five, wedge-form, obtusely notched at the
top ; four equal, erect, the fifth depressed.
Stam. Filaments ten, awled, inserted in the calyx,
villous, very unequal in length. Anthers oblong,
furrowed, incumbent.

HERMAPHRODITE.

Calyx, Corol, Stamens, as before.

Pist. Germ oblong, villous. Style cylindric, longer
than the filaments. Stigma simple.
Per. and Seeds well described by Linnaeus.
Flowers yellow ; the depressed petal variegated with
red specks. Bracts three-fold, roundish, pointed.
Spikes set with floral leaflets lanced, four-fold, re
flected.

40. Sobhdnjana:
Syn. Sigru, Ticshna, Gandhaca, A'cshiva, M6chaca.
Vulg. Sqjjana, Moranga.
Linn. Guilandina Moringa.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved. Tube short, unequal,
gibbous. Border five-parted. Divisions oblong-
lanced, subequal ; first deflected, then revolute ;
coloured below, white above.
Cor. Petals five, inserted into the calyx, resembling
a boat-form flower. fPing-like, two, inverse-egged,
clawed, expanding.
Awning - like, two, inverse-egged, erect ; claws
shorter.
Keel-like, one, oblong, concave ; enclosing the fruc
tification; beyond it, spatuled; longer than the
wing-petals.
Stam. Filaments five, fertile ; three bent over the
pisti> : two shorter, inserted into the claws of the
middle petals. Anthers twin, rather mooned, ob
tuse, incumbent. Five steril (often four only)
alternate with the fertile, shorter; their bases
villous.
270 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Pist. Germ oblong, coloured, villous; below it a
nectar-bearing gland. Style shorter than the sta
men, rather downy, curved, thicker above. Stigma
simple.
slender, wreathed, pointed,
three-sided, channelled, prominent with seeds, one-
celled.
Seeds many, winged, three-sided.
Tree very high; branches in an extreme degree
light and beautiful, rich with clustering flowers.
Stem exuding a red gum. Leaves mostly thrice-
feathered with an odd one ; leaflets some inverse-
egged, some egged, some oval, minutely end-nick
ed. Raceme-panicles mostly axillary. In perfect
flowers the whole calyx is quite deflected, counter
feiting five petals : whence Van Rheede made it a
part of the corol. Cowls delicately odorous ; milk-
white, but thfc two central erect petals beauti
fully tinged with pink. The root answers all the
purposes of our horse-radish, both for the table
and for medicine; the fruit and blossoms are
dressed in caris. In hundreds of its flowers, exa
mined by me with attention, five stamens and a
pistil were invariably perfect; indeed, it is pos
sible that they may be only the female herma
phrodites, and that the males have ten perfect sta
mens with pistils abortive; but no such flowers
have been discovered by me after a most diligent
search.

There is another species or variety, called Menhu

Sigru, that is \loi\ey-Sigru : a word intended to be
expressed on Van Rheede's plate in Nagari letters ;"its
vulgar name is Muna, or Racta sajjana, because its
flowers or wood are of a, redder hue.

Linnaus refers to Mrs. Blackwell, who represents

this plant by the name of Balamis Myrepsica, as the
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 271
celebrated Ben, properly Ban, of the Arabian physi
cians and poets.

. 41. Cbvida'ra:
Syn. Cdnchandra, Chamarica, Cuddala, Yugapatra.
Vulg. Cachndr, Racta cdiickan.
Linn. Variegated Bauhinia.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, obscurely five-cleft, deci
duous.
Cor. Petals five, egged, clawed, expanded, wavy ;
one more distant, more beautiful, striated.
Stam. Filaments ten, unequally connected at the base ;
five shorter. Anthers double, incumbent.
Pist. Germ above, oblong. Style incurved. Stigma
simple, ascending.
Per. Legume fiattish, long, pointed, mostly five-
celled.
Seeds mostly five ; compressed, wrinkled, roundish.
Leaves rather hearted, two-lobed; some with round
ed, some with pointed, lobes. Flowers chiefly
purplish and rose-coloured, fragrant; the sweet
and beautiful buds are eaten by the natives in their
savoury messes. We have seen many species and
varieties of this charming plant : one had race-
med flowers, with petals equal, expanding, lanced,
exquisitely white, with a rose-coloured stripe from
the base of each to its centre ; anthers four only,
fertile ; six much shorter, steril ; a second had
three fertile, and seven very short, barren; ano
ther had light purple cerols, with no more than
five filaments, three longer, coloured, curved in
a line of beauty. A noble Climbing Bauhinia was
lately sent from Nepdl ; with flowers racemed,
cream-coloured; style pink; germ villous: sta
mens three filaments, with rudiments of two more ;
stem downy, four-furrowed, often spirally. Ten
drils opposite, below the leaves. Leaves two-
lobed, extremely large : it is a stout climber up
274 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
the highest Arundo Vinu. The Sanscrit name Man*
dara is erroneously applied to this plant in the first
rolume of Van Rheede.
*
42. Capitfhd
Syn. Grahin. Dadhitfha, Manmafha; Dadhip'hala,
Pnshpap'hala, Dantas'afha.
Vulg. CaVh-ba.
Koen. Crateva, Valanga.
Cat. Perianth five-parted, minutej deciduous; divi
sions expanded, acute.
Cor. Petals five, equal, oblong, reflected.
Stam. Filaments ten, very short, with a small gland
between each pair, awled, furrowed, Anthers
thick, five times as long as the filaments; furrowed,
coloured, erect, expanding.
Fist. Germ roundish, girt with a downy coronet.
Style cvlindric, short. Stigma simple.
Per. Berry large spheroidal, rugged, often warted
externally, netted within; many-seeded.
Seeds oblong-roundish, flat, woolly, nestling in five
parcels, affixed by long threads to the branchy re
ceptacles.
Flowers axillary, mostly toward the unarmed extre
mity of the branch. Divisions of the Perianth with
pink tips ; petals pale ; anthers crimson, or cover
ed with bi i ght yellow pollen. Fruit extremely acid
before its maturity ; when ripe, filled with dark
brown pulp, agreeably subacid. Leaves jointedly
feathered with an odd one ; leaflets five, seven, or
nine; small, glossy, very dark on one side, in
verse-hearted, obtusely-notched, dotted round the
margin with pellucid specks, very strongly fla
voured and scented like anise. Thorns long, sharp,
solitary, ascending, nearly cross-armed, axillary,
three or fourpetiols to one thorn. Kleinhoff limits
the height of the tree to thirty feet, but we have
young trees forty or fifty feet high ; and at Bandell
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 273
there is a full-grown Capitfka, equal in size to the
true Bilva ; from its fancied resemblance to which
the vulgar name has been taken. When the trees
flourish, the air around them breathes the odour of
anise, both from the leaves and the blossoms : and
I cannot help mentioning a singular fact which
may indeed have been purely accidental: not a
single flower, out of hundreds examined by me,
had both perfect germs and anthers visibly fertile,
while others, on the same tree and at the same
time, had their anthers profusely covered with pol
len, but scarce any styles : and germs to all appear
ance abortive.

43. Cuveraca:
Syn. Tunna, Tuni, Cach'ha, Cantalaca, Cuni, Nan-
divricsha :
Vulg. Tuni, Tun; absurdly Vildyatl Nimh „/ lts
Linn. Between Cedrela and Swietenia. f^- '
Col. Perianth one-leaved, five-cleft, minute, deci
duous : divisions roundish, concave, villous, ex*
panding.
Cor. Rather belled. Petals five, inverse-egged, ob
tuse, concave, erect, white with a greenish tint,
three exterior lapping over the two others. Nec-
tary short, five-parted : divisions roundish, orange-
scarlet, bright and concave at the insertion of the
stamens ; rather downy.
Statu. Filaments five ; inserted on the divisions of the
nectary, awled, somewhat converging, nearly as
long as the style. Anthers doubled, some three-
parted, curved, incumbent.
Put. Germ egged, obscurely five-cleft. Style awled,
erect, rather longer than the corol. Stigma broad-
headed, flat, bright green, circular, starred.
Per. Capsule egged, five-celled, woody, gaping at the
base. Receptacle five-angled.
Seeds imbricated, winged.
Vol. IV. T
274 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Leaves feathered, scarce ever with an odd one ; pairs
from six to twelve ; petioles gibbous at their inser
tion, channelled on one side, convex and smooth
on the other. Stipules thick, short, roundish ;
leaflets oblong-lanced, pointed, waved, veined;
nerve on one side. Panicles large, diffuse, con
sisting of compound racemes. Nectaries yielding
a fine yellow dye. Wood light, in colour like Ma-
hagom.

44. Nichula r
Syn. Ambuja, Ijjala.
Vulg. Hijala, Badia, Jyuli.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, belled, fleshy, downy-co
loured, permanent, five-parted; divisions erect,
pointed.
Cor. Five-petaled : petals egged, short pointed, re-
volute, downy within and without.
Stam. Filaments ten, five mostly shorter ; inserted in
the bell of the calyx ; awled, villous. Anthers
erect, oblong, furrowed.
Pist. Germ egg-oblong, very villous. Style thread-
form, curved. Stigma headed, with five obtuse
corners.
Per. Drupe sub-globular.
Nut scabrous, convex on one side, angled on the
other.
Leaves feathered ; pairs, from five to nine ; leaflets
oblong, daggered, notched. Calyx pale pink. Corol
darker pink without, bright yellow within. Cyme
terminal, spreading.

45. Atimucta:
Syn. Pun'draca, Vasant'i, Mudhavilata.
Vulg. Mddhav'ilata.
Linn. Bengal Banisteria.
Rheidi: Dewenda, 6 H. M. tab. 59.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, five-parted, permanent ;
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 275
divisions coloured, oblong-oval, obtuse; between
two of them a rigid glossy honey-bearing tubercle,
hearted, acute.
Cor. Five-petaled, imitating a boat-form corol. fVings,
two petals, conjoined back to back, involving the
nectary, and retaining the honey.
Awning, large concave, more beautifully coloured.
Keel, two petals, less than the wings, but similar.
All five roundish, elegantly fringed, with reflected
margins, and short oblong claws. .
Stam. Filaments
thickish, furrowed.
Pist. Germs two, or three, coalesced. Style one, thread-
form, incurved, shorter than the longest filament.
Stigma simple.
Per. Capsules two or three, mostly two, coalesced
back to back; each keeled, and extended into three
oblong membraneous wings, the lateral shorter than
the central.
Seeds roundish, solitary.
Racemes axillary. Flowers delicately fragrant; white,
with a shade of pink ; the large petal supported by
the nectarcous tubercle, shaded internally with
bright yellow and pale red. Bracts linear ; Wings
of the seed like brown ; the long one russet.
Leaves opposite, egg-oblong, pointed. Petioles
short. Stipules linear, soft, three or four to each
petiol. Two glands at the base of each leaf. Stem
pale brown, ringed at the insertion of the leaves,
downy.

This was the favourite plant of Sacontala, which she

very justly called the Delight of the Woods ; for the
beauty and fragrance of its flowers gave them a title
to all the praises which Cdlida's and Jayadiva bestow
on them : it is a gigantic and luxuriant climber ; but,
Avhen it meets with nothing to grasp, it assumes the
form of a sturdy tree, the highest branches of which
T 2
276 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
display, however, in the air their natural flexibility
and inclination to climb. The two names, Vasanti
and Mddhavi, indicate a vernal flower; but I have
seen an Atimucta rich both in blossoms and fruit on
the first of January.

46. Amrdtaca:
Syn. Pitana, Capitanh.
Vulg. A'mdd, pronounced A'mra, or A mid.
Linn. Spondias Myrobalan g, or a new species.

The natural character as in Linnaus. Leaves fea

thered with an odd one ; leaflets, mostly five-paired,
egg-oblong, pointed, margined, veined, nerved ;
Common petiol smooth, gibbous at the base. Flowers
raceme-panicled, yellowish white. Fruit agreeably
acid ; thence used in cookery. Van Rheede calls it
Ambadd or Ambalam; and, as he describes it with
Jive or six styles, it is wonderful that Hill should have
supposed it a Chrysobalanus.

47. Hbnasagdra, or the Sea of Gold.

Vulg. Himsagar.
Linn. Jagged-leaved Cotyledon.
Cal. Perianth four-cleft ; divisions acute.
Cor. One-petaled : Tube four-angled, larger at the
base ; border four-parted : divisions egged, acute.
Nectary one, minute, concave scale at the base of
each germ. .
Stam. Filaments eight, adhering to the tube ; four
just emerging from its mouth; four alternate,
shorter. Anthers erect, small, furrowed.
Pist. Germ, four, conical. Styles, one from each
germ, awled, longer than the filament. Stigmas
simple.
Per. Capsules four, oblong, pointed, bellied, one
valved, bursting longitudinally within.
Seeds numerous, minute.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 2/7
Panicles terminal. Flowers of the brighest gold-colour.
Leaves thick, succulent, jagged, dull sea-green.
Stem jointed, bending, in part recumbent. This
plant flowers for many months annually in Bengal:
in one blossom out of many, the numbers were ten
and jive; but the, filaments alternately long and
short.

48. Madhuca;
Syn. Gurapiishpa, Madhudruma, Vdnaprasfha, Mad-
kushfhila, Madhu.
Vulg. Maiiydla, Mahuyd, Mahtod.
Linn. Long-leaved Bassia.

49. Cahldra*:
Syn. Saugandhica, or Sweet-scented.
Vulg. Sundhi-hdld, or Sundhi-hdld-ndli.
Linn. Nymphasa Lotos.
Calyx as in the genus.
Cor. Petals fifteen, lanced, rather pointed and keel
ed ; the exterior series green Avithout, imitating an
interior calyx.
Stam. Filaments more than forty; below, flat, broad;
above, narrow, channelled within, smooth without ;
the outer series erect, the inner somewhat converge
ing. Anthers awled, erect ; some coloured like
the petals.
Pist. Germ large, orbicular, flat at the top, with
many (often seventeen) furrows externally, be
tween which arise as many processes, converging
towards the stigma ; the disk marked with as many
furrowed rays from the centre, uniting on the mar
gin with the converging processes. Stigma round-

* According to the sacred Grammar, this word was written

Cahlh&ra, and prononnced as Callara would be in ancient British.
When the flowers are red, the plant is called Hallaca and Racta
sandhaca.
T 3
278 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
ish, rather compressed, sessile in the centre of the
disk, permanent.
Per. Berry in the form of the germ expanded, with
sixteen or seventeen cells.
Seeds very numerous, minute, roundish. Flowers
beautifully azure, when full blown more dilated ;
less fragrant than the red, or rose-coloured, but with
a delicate scent. Leaves radical, very large, sub-
targeted, hearted, deeply scollop-toothed. On one
side dark purple, reticulated; on the other dull
green, smooth. Petioles very smooth and long,
tubular. The seeds are eaten, as well as the bulb
of the root, called Saluca ; a name applied by
Rheede to the whole plant, though the word Ca-
mala, which belongs to another Linncean species
of Nymphcea, be clearly engraved on his plate in
Nagarl letters. There is a variety of this species
with leaves purplish on both sides; flowers dark
crimson, calycine petals richly coloured internally,
and anthers flat, furrowed, adhering to the top of
the filaments : the petals are more than fifteen, less
pointed, and broader than the blue, with little
odour.

The true Lotos of Egypt is the Nymphcea N'riifer,

which in Sanscrit has the following names or epithets :
Padma, Nalina, Aravinda, Mahotpala, Camala,
Cuseshaya, Sahasrapatra, So1rasa, PancirUha, Tdma-
rasa, Saras'iruha) Raj'iva, Vis'aprasuna, Pushcara,
A7nbh6ruha, Setapatra. The new-blown flowers of
the rose-coloured Padma, have a most agreeable fra
grance : the white and yellow have less odour : the
blue, I am told, is a native of Cashmir and Persia,

50. Campaca:
Syn. Chdmp&ya, HSmaptisf/paca,
Vulg. 'Campac, Champa.
Linn. Michelia.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 279
The delineation of this charming and celebrated
plant, exhibited by Van Rheede, is very correct, but
rather on too large a scale : no material change can
be made in its natural character given by Linnatus :
,but, from an attentive examination of his two species,
I suspect them to be varieties only, and am certain
that his trivial names are merely different ways of ex
pressing the same word. The strong aromatic scent
of the gold-coloured Campac, is thought offensive
to the bees, who are never on its blossoms ; but their
elegant appearance on the black hair of the Indian
women is mentioned by Rumphius ; and both facts
have supplied the Sanscrit poets with elegant allusions.
Of the wild Campac, the leaves are lanced, or lance-
oblong; the three leaflets of the calyx green, oval,
concave; the petals constantly six, cream-coloured,
fleshy, concave, with little scent ; the three exterior
inverse-egged ; the three interior more narrow, shorter
pointed, converging ; the anthers clubbed, closely set
round the base of the imbricated germs, and with
them forming a cone; the stigmas minute, jagged.

Both Mr. Marsden and Rumphius mention the blue

Campac as a rare flower, highly prized in Sumatra
and Java; but I should have suspected that they
meant the Kcemperia Bhuchampac, if the Dutch na
turalist had not asserted that the plant which bore it
was a tree resembling the Campaca with yellow blos
soms : he probably never had seen it ; and the Brah
mins of this province insist, that it flowers only in
paradise.

5 1 . Dtvaddru :
Syh. Sacrapddapa, Pdribhadraca ; Bhadrada'ru,
Duhcilima, Pitaddru, Da'ru, Putica'shf'ha.
Vuh\ Dtvaddr.
Linn. Most lofty Unona.
T 4
280 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
.52. Parndsa:
Syn. Tulasi, Cafhinjara, Cufheraca ; Vrinda.
Vulg. Tulosl, Talsi.
Linn, Holy Ocymum ?

The Natural Character as in Linnaeus.

See 10 H. M. p. 173.
It is wonderful that Rheede has exhibited no deli
neation of a shrub so highly venerated by the Hin
dus, who have given one of its names to a sacred
grove of their Parnassus on the banks of the Yamuna ;
he describes it however, in general terms, as resem
bling another of his Tolassis (for so he writes the
word, though Tulasi be clearly intended by his
Na'garl letters) ; and adds, that it is the only species
reputed holy, and dedicated to the god Vishnu. I
should, consequently, have taken it for the Holy
Ocymum of Linntzus, if its odour, of which that
species is said to be nearly destitute, had not been
very aromatic and grateful ; but it is more probably
a variety of that species than of the Small-fiawered,
which resembles it a little in fragrance. Whatever
be its Linncean appellation, if it have any, the follow
ing are the only remarks that I have yet had leisure
to make on it.

Stem one or two feet high, mostly incurved above ;

knotty and rough below. Branchlets cross-armed,
channelled. Leaves opposite, rather small, egged,
pointed, acutely sawed; purple veined beneath,
dark above. Petioles dark purple, downy. Racemes
terminal ; Flowers verti tilled three-fold or five
fold, cross-armed, verticils from seven to fourteen ;
Peduncles dark purple, channelled, villous ; Bracts
sessile, roundish, concave, reflected. Calyx with its
upper lip orbicular, deeply concave externally.
Corol bluish purple. The whole plant has a dusky
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 281
purplish hue, approaching to black, and thence, per
haps, like the large black bee of this country, it is
held sacred to Crishna ; though a fable, perfectly
Ovidian, be told in the Puranas concerning the
metamorphosis of the nymph Tulasi, who was
beloved by the pastoral God, into the shrub, which
has since borne her name. It may not be improper
to add, that the White Ocymum is in Sanscrit called
Arjaca.

53. Pdtali:
Syn. Pdtala, Amvghd, Cdchasfhdli, P'haUruha, •
Crishnavrinta, Cuvirdchi. Some read Mbghd and
Cdldst'hdli.
Vulg. Pdrald, Pdrali, Pdrul.
Linn. Bignonia. Chelonoides?
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, belled, villous, withering,
obscurely five-angled from the points of the divi
sions, five-parted ; divisions roundish, pointed, the
two lowest most distant.
Cor. One-petaled, belled. Tube very short; throat
oblong-belled, gibbous. Border five-parted, the
two higher divisions reflected, each minutely tooth
ed ; convex externally ; the three lower divisions,
above, expanded ; below, ribbed, furrowed, very
villous. Palate nearly closing the throat. Nectary,
a prominent rim, surrounding the germ, obscurely
five-parted.
Stam. filaments four orJive, incurved, inserted below
the upper division of the border, shorter than the
corol, with the rudiment of a fifth or sixth, between
two shorter than the rest. Anthers two-cleft, in
cumbent at obtuse angles.
Pist. Germ oblong-conical. Style thread-form, as
long as the stamens. Stigma headed with two folds,
often closed by viscidity.
Per. Capsule one-celled, two-valved, twelve inches
long at a medium, and one inch thick ; rounded,
282 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
four-sided, pointed, incurved, rather contorted,
diminished at both ends, dotted with ashy specks,
here and there slightly prominent, striated; two
stripes broader, very dark, at right angles with
the valves.
Rac. A series of hard, broadish, woody rings, closely
strung on two wiry central threads.
Seeds numerous, forty-eight on an average, three
angled, inserted by one angle in cavities between
the rings of the receptacle, into which they are
closely pressed by parallel ribs in the four sides of
the capsule ; winged on the two other angles with
long sub-pellucid membranes, imbricated along the
sides of the receptacle.
Tree rather large. Stem scabrous.
Branchlets cross-armed, yellowish green, speckled
with small white lines. Leaves feathered with an
odd one ; two or three paired, petioled. Leaflets
opposite, egged, pointed, most entire, downy on
both sides, veined; older leaflets roughish, mar
gined, netted and paler below, daggered. Petioles
tubercled, gibbous at the base ; of the paired lea
flets, very short ; of the odd one, longer. Stipules
linear. Flowers panicled ; pedicles opposite, mostly
three-flowered; an odd flower subsessile between the
two terminal pedicles. Corol, externally, light pur
ple above, brownish purple below, hairy at its con
vexity; internally dark yellow below, amethystine
above ; exquisitely fragrant, preferred by the bees
to all other flowers; and compared by the poets to
the quiver of Cdmadiva, or the God of Love. The
whole plant, except the root and stem, very downy
and viscid. The fruit can scarce be called a silique,
since the seeds are no where affixed to the sutures ;
but their wings indicate the genus, which might
properly have been named Pterospermon: they are
very hard, but enclose a white sweet kernel ; and
their light-coloured summits with three dark points,
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 283
give them the appearance of the winged insects.
Before I saw the fruit of this lovely plant, I sus
pected it to be the Bignonia Chelonoides, which
Van Rheede calls Pddri; and I conceived that
barbarous word to be a corruption of Pa'tali ; but
the pericarp of the true Pdtali, and the form of the
seeds, differ so much from the Pa'dri, that we can
hardly consider them as varieties of the same spe
cies ; although the specific character exhibited in
the Supplement to Linnaeus, corresponds very nearly
with both plants.

The Pdtali blossoms early in the spring, before a

leaf appears on the tree, but the fruit is not ripe till
the following winter.

54. Gocant'aca:
Syn. Paldncashd, Icshugandhd, S'wadanshtrd, Swadu-
cant'aca, Gdcshuraca, Vanas'rnigata.
Vulg. Gdcshura, Gokyura, Culpi,
Rheede : BahU Chulli.
Linn. Long-leaved Barleria?
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, hairy, five-toothed; upper-
tooth long, incurved, pointed; two under and two
lateral shorter, subequal, winged with sub-pellucid
membranes.
Cor. One petaled, two-lipped. Tube flattish, curved,
protuberant at the mouth. Upper lip erect, two-
parted, reflected at the sides, concave in the middle,
enclosing the fructification. Under lip three-
parted, reflected, with two parallel, callous, hispid
bodies on the centre of its convexity ; Divisions
inverse-hearted.
Stam. Filaments four, inserted in the mouth of the
tube; connected at their base, then separated into
pairs, and circling round the pistil ; each pair
united below, consisting of a long and short fila
ment; Anthers arrowed.
£84 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Pist. Germ awled, pointed, furrowed, with prominent
seedlets, sitting on a glandular pedicel. Style
thread-form, longer than the stamens, incurved
above them. Stigma simple.
Per.
Flowers verticilled ; Corols blue, or bright violet;
centre of the under lip yellow. Verticils, each sur
rounded by six thorns, very long, diverging,
coloured above ; under which are the leaves, alike
verticilled, lanced, acutely sawed, pubescent,
interspersed with bristles. Stem jointed, flattish,
hairy, reddish; furrowed on both sides; broader
at the joints, or above the verticils ; furroxos alter
nate.

55. Sindhuca.
Syn. Sindhuvdra, Indrasurisa, Nircandl, Indrdnica.
Vulg. Nis'andd.
Linn. Three-leaved Vitex, or Negundo ?
Cal. Perianth five-toothed, beneath, permanent;
toothlets acute, subequal.
Cor. One-petaled, grinning; Tube funnel-shaped,
internally villous11; border two-lipped; upper lip
broad concave, more deeply coloured; under lip
four cleft ; divisions acute, similar.
Stam. Filaments four ; two shorter, adhering to the
Tube, villous at the base. Anthers half-mooned.
Pist. Germ globular ; Style thread-form ; Stigma
two-parted, pointed, reflex.
Per, Berry (unless it be the coat of a naked seed)
roundish, very hard, black, obscurely furrowed^
with the calyx closely adhering.
Seeds from one to four ? I never saw more than one,
as Rheede has well described it.
Flowers raceme-panicled ; purplish or dark blue
without, greyish within, small. Racemes mostly
terminal ; some pedicles many flowered.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 285
Stem distinctly four-sided ; sides channelled, jointed,
bending. Stipules egged, scaly, thickish, close.
Branchlets cross-armed.

The tube of the corol is covered internally with a

tangle of silvery silky down, exquisitely beautiful;
more dense below the upper lip.

This charming shrub, which seems to delight in

watery places, rises to the height of ten or twelve,
and sometimes of twenty feet; exhibiting a most
elegant appearance, with rich racemes or panicles
lightly dispersed on the summit of its branchlets. Oh
a comparison of two engravings in Rumphius, and
as many in Van Rheede, and of the descriptions in
both works, I am nearly persuaded that the Sindhuca,
or Nirgandhl, is the Vitex Negundo of Linnceus: but
it certainly resembles the three-leaved Vitex in its
leaves, which are opposite, egged, acute, petioled ;
above mostly three d, below mostly jived; paler be
neath ; rarely sawed and very slightly, but generally
entire : they are very aromatic, and pillows are stuffed
with them, to remove a cold in the head and a head-
ach occasioned by it. These, I presume, are the shrubs
which Bontius calls Lagondi, and which he seems to
con sider as a panacea. i; <

56. Caravilla:
Syn. CdtUlaca, Sushavl.
Vulg. Beng. Hurhuriya: Hind. CarailL
Linn. Five-leaved Cleomef
Cal. Perianth four-leaved, gaping at the base, then
erect; leaflets egg-oblong, concave, downy, deci
duous.
Cor. Cross-form. Petals four, expanding, claws
long ; folds wrinkled.
Nectary, from six to twelve roundish perforated glands,
girding the gibbous receptacle.
 286 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Stam. Filaments six, thread-form, hardly differing
in length, inserted iedicel below the germ.
Anthers erected, pointed, furrowed.
Pist. Germ erect, linear, long, downy, sitting on the
produced pedicel. Style very short. Stigma
headed, flat, circular.
Per. Silique one-celled, two-valved, spindle-shaped,
with protuberant seeds; crowned with the perma
nent style.
Seeds very many, roundish, nodding. Receptacles
linear, often more than two.

The whole plant most distinctly one piece. Root

whitish, with scattered capillary fibres. Stem her
baceous, pale green, in parts purple, hairy, cross-
armed, produced into a long raceme crowded at the
summit. Rranchlets similiar to the stem, leaf-bear
ing; similar, but smaller leaves rising also from their
axils. Leaves fived, roundish-rhomboidal, notch
ed, pointed, hairy, dark green, the lower pairs re
spectively equal, the odd one much larger, strongly
ribbed with processes from the petiol-branchlets,
conjoined by the bases of the ribs, in the form of
a starlet; each ray whitish and furrowed within.
Calyx green. Petals white. Anthers covered with
gold-coloured pollen. Pedicels purplish. Bracts
three'd, similar to the cauline leaves. The sensible
qualities of this herb seem to promise great antispas
modic virtues ; it has a scent much resembling assa-
fcetida, but comparatively delicate and extremely re
freshing. For pronouncing this Cleome the Cdravella
of the ancient Indians, I have only the authority of
Rheede, who has exactly written the word in Malabar
letters. As to the Brahmanical name Vildni, my vo
cabularies have nothing more like it than Tilaca, to
which Cshuraca and Srimat are the only synonyma.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 287
57. Nagacesara:
Syn. CMmpeya, Cdsara; Canchana, or any other
name of gold.
Vulg. Nagafar.
Linn. Iron Mesua.

To the botanical descriptions of this delightful

plant, I need only add, that the tree is one of the
most delightful on earth, and that the delicious odour
of its blossoms justly gives them a place in the quiver
of Camadboa. In the poem called Naishadha, there
is a wild but elegant couplet, where the poet compares
the white of the Ndgachara, from which the bees
were scattering the pollen of the numerous gold-
coloured anthers, to an alabaster-wheel, on which
Cama was whetting his arrows, while sparks of fire
were dispersed in every direction. Surely, the genu
ine appellation of an Indian plant should not be substi
tuted for the corrupted name of a Syrian physician,
who could never have seen it : and, if any trivial name
were necessary to distinguish a single species, a more
absurd one than iron could not possibly have been
selected for a flower with petals like silver, and anthers
like gold.

58. S'almali:
Syn. Pichhild, Puivnl, Mochd, Sfhirdyush.
Vulg. Semel.
Linn. Seven-leaved Bombax.

59. S'arfa:
Syn. S'andpushpicd, Ghanfdrava.
Vulg. San, pronounced Sun.
Linn. Rushy Crotalaria.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, villous, permanent ; short
below, gibbous on both sides, with minute linear
tracts. Upper teeth two, lanced, pressing the ban
ner; lower tooth boat-form, concave, two-gashed
 288 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
in the middle, cohering above and below, sheath
ing the keel, rather shorter than it ; pointed.
Cor. Boat-form.
Banner broad, large, acute, rather hearted, with two
dark callosities at the base, andtwith compressed
sides, mostly involving the other parts : a dark line
from base to point.
Wings inverse-egg-oblong, with dark callous bodies
at their axils, two-thirds of the banner in length.
Keel flattened at the point, nearly closed all round to
include the fructification ; very gibbous below, to
receive the germ.
Stam. Filaments ten, coalesced, cleft behind, two-
parted below; alternately short with linear furrowed
erect, and long with roundish anthers.
Pist. Germ rather awled, flat, villous, at aright angle
with the ascending, cylindric, downy Style. Stigma,
pubescent, concave, open, somewhat lipped.
Per. Legume pedicelled, short, velvety, turgid, one-
celled, two-valved.
Seeds, from one or two to twelve or more, round
kidney-form, compressed.
Flowers deep yellow. Leaves alternate, lanced, paler
beneath, keeled ; petioles very short ; stipules mi
nute, roundish, villous. Stem striated.
Threads, called pavitraca, from their supposed purity,
have been made of Sana from time immemorial ;
they are mentioned in the laws of Menu.
The retuse-leaved Crotalaria, which Van Rheede by
mistake calls Schama Puspi, is cultivated, I believe,
for the same purpose. Rumphius had been truly
informed that thread for nets were made from this
genus in Bengal; but he suspected the information
to be erroneous, and thought that the persons who
conveyed it had confounded the Crotalaria with
the Capsular Corchorus. Strong ropes and canvas-
are made of its macerated bark.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 289
The Jangals'an, or a variety of the watery Crotalaria,
has very beautiful flowers, with a greenish white
banner, purple striped, wings bright violet : stem
four-angled, and four-winged; leaves egged, ob
tuse, acute at the base, curled at the edges, downy ;
stipules two, declining, mooned, if you chuse to
call them so, but irregular, and acutely pointed.
In all the Indian species, a difference of soil and
culture occasion varieties in the flower and fructifi
cation.

6'0. Jdyanti:
Syn. Jayd, Tercdrl, Nddiyl, VaijayruticL
Vulg. Jainti, Jahl ; some say, Arani.
Rheede: Kedangu.
Linn. Oeschynomene Sesban.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, rather belled, five-cleft;
toothlets awled, erect, sub-equal, more distant on
each side of the awning ; permanent.
Cor. Boat-form.
Awning very broad, rather longer than the wings,
inverse-hearted, quite reflected so as to touch the
calyx : waved on the margin ; furrowed at the
base internally, with two converging hornlets
fronting the aperture of the keel, gibbous below,
awled upwards, acute, erect, within the wings.
Wings oblong, clawed, narrower above, obtuse,
spurred below, embracing the keel and the hornlets
of the awning.
Keel compressed, enclosing the fructification, inflect
ed nearly in a right angle, gashed below and
above the flexure ; each division hatchet-form ;
beautifully striated.
Stam. Filaments simple and nine-cleft, inflected like
the keel; the simple one curved at the base. An
thers oblong, roundish.
Pist. Germ compressed, linear, erect as high as the
Vol. IV. U
290 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
flexure of the filaments with visible partitions.
Style nearly at a right angle with the germ, awled,
inflected like the stamen. Stigma rather headed,
somewhat cleft, pellucid.
Per. Legume very long, slender, wreathed when ripe,
smooth at the valves, but with seeds rather protu
berant, many-parted, terminated with a hard sharp
point.
Seeds oblong, rather kidney-shaped, smooth, slightly
affixed to the suture, solitary.
Stem arborescent, rather knotty. Leaves feathered,
pairs from nine to fifteen, or more, often alternate ;
leaflets oblong, end-nicked, some with an acute
point, dark green above, paler beneath, with a gib
bosity at the insertion of the petiols ; sleeping, or
collapsing, towards night. Racemes axillary ;pedicels
with a double curvature or line of beauty ; flowers
small, six or seven ; varying in colour; in some
plants, wholly yellow ; in others, with a blackish-
' purple awning yellow within, and dark yellow
wings tipped with brown ; in some with an awning
of the richest orange scarlet externally, and inter
nally of a bright yellow ; wings yellow, of different
shades ; and a keel pale below, with an exquisite
changeable light purple above, striated in elegant
curves. The whole plant is inexpressibly beautiful,
especially in the colour of the buds and leaves, and
the grace of all the curves, for there is no proper
angle in any part of it. The Brahmins hold it
sacred : Van Rheede says, that they call it Cananga ;
but I never met with that word in Sanscrit : it has
parts like an Hedysarum, and the air of Cyt'mis,

.61. Palasa:
Syn. Sins'uca, Parna, Vdtdpofha.
Vulg. Palas Plas DMc.
Koen. Butea frondosa.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. S91
Cal. Perianth belled, two-lipped upper lip broader,
obscurely end-nicked; under lip three-cleft, downy;
permanent.
Cor. Boat-form.
Atoning reflected, hearted, downy beneath; some
times pointed.
Wings lanced, ascending, narrower than the keel.
Keel as long as the wings, two-parted below, half-
mooned, ascending.
Stam. Filaments nine and one, ascending, regularly
curved. Anthers linear, erect.
Pist. Germ pedicelled, oblongish, downy.
Style awled, about as long as the stamens. Stigma
small, minutely cleft.
Per. Legume pedicelled, oblong, compressed, de
pending.
Seed one, toward the apex of the pericarp flat, smooth,
oval-roundish.
Flowers raceme-fascicled, large, red, or French scarlet,
silvered with down.
Leaves three'd, petioled; leaflets entire, stipuled,
large, rhomboidal; the lateral ones unequally
divided; the terminal one larger, equally bi
sected, brightly verdant. A perfect description of
the arborescent and the twining Paldsa has been
exhibited in the last volume, with a full account
of its beautiful red gum; but the same plant is
here shortly described from the life, because few
trees are considered by the Hindus as more venera
ble and holy. The Paldsa is named with honour
in the Vidas, in the laws of Menu, and in Sanscrit
poems, both sacred and popular ; it gave its name
to the memorable plain called Plassey by the vul
gar, but properly Palasi ; and, on every account,
it must be hoped that this noble plant will retain
its ancient and classical appellation. A grove of
Paldsas was formerly the principal ornament of
C? ishna-naga" vhere we still see the trunk of an
U 2
J92 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
aged tree near six feet in circumference. This
genus, as far as we can judge from written descrip
tions, seems allied to the Nissolia.

62. Caranjaca.
Syn. Chirabilva, Nactamala Caraja.
Vulg. Caranja.
Rheede. Caranschi, 6 H. M. tab. 3.
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, cup-form, obscurely five-
tootbed, or scalloped, beaked.
Cor. Boat-form.
Awning broad, end-nicked, striated, rather spirally
inflected, with two callosities at its base.
Wings oblong, of the same length with the awning.
Keel rather shorter, gibbous below, two-parted.
Stam. Filaments nine in one body, gaping at the base,
and discovering a tenth close to the style. Anthers
egged, erect.
Pist. Germ above, oblong, downy. Style incurved
at the top. Stigma rather headed.
Per. Legume mostly one-seeded, thick, rounded
above, flattish, beaked below.
Seed oblong-roundish, rather kidney-form.
Racemes axillary. Awning pale ; wings violet. Leaves
feathered with an odd one, mostly two-paired ;
leaflets egg-oblong, pointed, keeled, short peti-
oled ; brownish on one side, pale on the other.
Common petiol gibbous at its base. The seed yields
an oil supposed to be a cure for the most inveterate
scabies.

63. Arjuna:
Syn. Nadisarja, Vlrataru, Indradru, Cacubha.
Vulg. Jaral.
Rheede. Adamboe; 4 H. M. tab. 20, 21, 22,
Linn. Beautiful Munch hausia?
Koen. Queens Flower Imagerstroemia?
Cal. Perianth one-leaved, six-cleft, top-shaped, fur
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 293
rowed -with protuberant ridges, downy, perma
nent; divisions coloured, with points reflected.
Cor. Petals six, roundish, somewhat notched, expand
ing, wavy ; claws short, inserted in the calyx. .
Stam. Filaments coloured, numerous, capillary, short
ish, obscurely conjoined in six parcels, one to each
division of the calyx : anthers thick, incumbent,
roundish, kidney-shaped.
Pist. Germ above, egged. Style coloured, longish,
thread-form, incurved. Stigma obtuse.
Per. Capsule egged, six celled, six-valved.
Seeds numerous.
Panicles racemed, terminal, erect. Flowers violet or
light purple, in the highest degree beautiful.
Leaves: alternate, leathery, some opposite, egg-ob
long, stipuled, most entire, short petioled, smooth,
})aler beneath. Branches round and smooth. I
lave seen a single panicle waving near the summit
of the tree, covered with blossoms, and as large as
a milk-maid's garland. The timber is used for the
building of small boats.

6'4. Vanda:
Syn. Vricshddanl, Vricsharhua, J'voantica.
Vulg. Bdnda, Persara, Perasaril.
These names, like the Linncean, are applicable to all
parasite-plants.
Linn. Retuse-leaved Epidendrum ?
Col. Spathes minute, straggling.
Cor. Petals five, diverging, oval-oblong, obtuse,
wavy; the two lowest larger; the three highest
equal, bent towards the nectary.
Nectary central, rigid: mouth gaping, oblique: Up
per lip shorter, three-parted, with a polished honey-
cup; tinder lip concave in the middle, keeled
above, with two smaller cavities below, two pro
cesses at the base, incurved, hollow, oval-pointed,
converging, honey-bearing.
$94 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Stam. Filaments very short. Anthers round, flat-
tish, margined, covered with a lid, easily deciduous
from the upper lip of the nectary.
Pist. Germ beneath long, ribbed, contorted with
curves of opposite flexure. Style very short, adher
ing to the upper lip. Stigma simple.
Per. Capsule oblong-conic, wreathed, six-keeled, each
with two smaller keels, three-celled, crowned with
the dry corol.
Seeds innumerable, like fine dust, affixed to the re
ceptacle with extremely fine hairs, which become
thick wool.
Scapes incurved, solitary, from the cavity of the leaf,
at most seven-flowered; pedicels alternate. Pe
tals milk-white externally, transparent; brown
within, yellow-spotted. Upper lip of the nectary
snow-white ; under lip rich purple, or light crim
son, striated at the base, with a bright yellow
gland, at it seems, on each process. The flowers
gratefully fragrant and exquisitely beautiful, looking
as if composed of shells, or made of enamel ; crisp
elastic, viscid internally. Leaves sheathing, op
posite, equally curved, rather fleshy, sword-form,
retuse in two ways at the summit, with one acute
point. Roots fibrous, smooth, flexible; shooting
even from the top of the leaves. This lovely
plant attaches itself chiefly to the highest Amras
and Bilvas; but it is an air-plant, and lives in a
pot without earth or water: its leaves are exca
vated upwards, to catch and retain clew. It most
resembles the first and second Maravaras of Van
Rheede in its roots, leaves, and fruit; but rather
differs from them in its inflorescence. Since the
parasites are distinguished by the trees on which
they most commonly grow, this may in Sanscrit
be called Amaravanda ; and the name Boculavanda
should be applied to the Loranthus ; while the
Viscum of the oak, I am told, is named Vandd sim
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 295
and transcendantly, the Vandaca, or oak, being

65. A'malati:
Syn. Tishyap'hald, Amritd, Vayast'hd.
Vulg.
Linn. Phyllanthus Emblica.

66. Gqjapippali:
Syn. Caripippali, Capiballi, Colaballi, Sreyas'i, Vasira.
Some add, Chavicd, or Chavya ; but that is named
in the Amarac6sh&& a distinct plant, vulgarly Chava,
or Chayi.
Vulg. Pippal-Jhanca, Maidah.

MALE FLOWERS.
Cal. Common Perianth four-leaved; leaflets round
ish, concave ; the two exterior, opposite, smaller,
containing from eight to fourteen florets. Partial
calyx, none.
Cor. None. Nectary, many yellow glands on the
pedicel of the filaments.
Stam. Filaments from eight to eighteen in each
floret, connected by a short villous pedicel, thread-
form, very hairy. Anthers large netted, irregular,
inflated, containing the pollen.
Pist. Rudiments of a germ and style withering.

FEMALE FLOWERS.
Cal. Common Perianth as in the male, but smaller ;
containing from ten to twelve florets.
Partial calyx none, unless you assume the coroL
Cor. many-petaled, belled. Petals erect lance-
linear, fleshy, covered within, and externally with
white hairs. Nectary, yellow glands sprinkling
the receptacle.
U 4
296 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Pist. Germ. oval. Style cylindric, curved at the base.
Stigma headed.
Per. Berry globular, one-seeded.
Seed spherical, smooth.
Flowers umbelled, yellow from their anthers. Leaves
mostly oblong-lanced, but remarkably varying
in shape, alternate. Both flowers and fruit have an
agreeable scent of lemon-peel ; and the berries, as
a native gardener informs me, are used as a spice
or condiment. It was from him that I learned the
Sanscrit name of the plant ; but as balli means a
creeper, and as the Pippal-j hanca, is a tree perfectly
able to stand without support, I suspect in some
degree the accuracy of his information ; though I
cannot account for his using a Sanscrit word with
out being led to it, unless he had acquired at least
traditional knowledge. It might be referred, from
the imperfect mixed flower, to the twenty-third
class.

67. Sacbtaca :
Syn.
Vulg. Syura, or Syaura.
Koen. Rough-leaved, Tropins?

MALE.
Cal. Common imbricated; leaflets six or eight, eg
ged, acute, small, expanding, withering, con
taining generally from five to seven flowerets.
Partial four-parted ; divisions egged, expanded,
villous.
Cor. None, unless you assume the calyx.
Stam. Filaments mostly four (in some, three ; in one,
five,) awled, fleshy, rather compressed, spreading
over the divisions of the calyx, and adhering
to them at the point. Anthers double, folded.
The buds elastic, springing open on a touch.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 297

FEMALE.
Cal. Four-parted : divisions egged, concave, pointed,
permanent, propped by two small bracts; unless
you call them the calyx.
Cor. None; unless you give the calyx that name.
Pist. Germ roundish. Style very short, cylindric.
Stigma long, two-parted, permanent.
Per. Berry one-seeded, navelled, smooth, somewhat
flattened.
Seed globular, arilled.
Leaves various, some inverse-egged, some oblong,
some oval, pointed, irregularly notched, alternate
(some opposite) crowded, crisp, very rough vein
ed, and paler beneath, smoother and dark above.
Berry, deep yellow. The Pandits having only ob
served the male plant, insist that it bears no fruit.
Female flowers axillary, from one to four or five in
an axil.

68. Virana:
Syn. Viratara.
Vulg. Bind Gdnddr Cata.
Retz. Murkated Andropogon.
Roxb. Aromatic Andropogon.

The root of this useful plant, which Cdlidds calls

JJs'ira has nine other names, thus arranged in a
Sanscrit verse :

Abhaya, Nalada, Shya Amrindla, Jalas aya,

Ldmajjaca, Laghulaya, Avaddha, Ishtacdpafha.

It will be sufficient to remark, that Jdlas'aya means

aquatic, and that Avadaha implies a power of allaying
feverish heat ; for which purpose the root was brought
by Gautami to her pupil Sacontald. The slender
 593 BOTANICAL OBSERVATION*
fibres of it, which we know here by the name of
Chas or Khashas, are most agreeably aromatic
when tolerably fresh ; and, among the innocent luxu
ries of this climate, we may assign the first rank to
the coolness and fragrance which the large hurdles
or screens in which they are interwoven, impart
to the hottest air, by the means of water dashed
through them; while the strong, southern winds spread
the scent before it, and the quick evaporation contri
butes to cool the atmosphere. Having never seen
the fresh plant, I guessed, from the name in Van
Rheede and from the thin roots, that it was the Asiatic
Acarus: but a drawing of Dr. Roxburgh's has con
vinced xne that I was mistaken.

69, Sana:
Syn. Sactu-p'hala, S'iva.
Vulg. Saen, Babul.
Linn. Farnesian Mimosa.
Thorns double, white, black pointed, stipular.
Leaves twice feathered ; first, in three or four pairs,
then in pairs from fourteen to sixteen. Spikes
globular, with short peduncles ; yellow, perfuming
the woods and roads with a rich aromatic odour.
A minute gland on the petiols below tbe leaflets.
Wood extremely hard, used by the Brahmins to
kindle their sacred fire, by rubbing two pieces of
it together, when it is of a proper age and suffi
ciently dried. Gum semi-pellucid. Legumes rather
spindle-shaped, but irregular, curved, acutely
pointed, or daggered, with twelve or fourteen
seeds rather prominent, gummy within. Seeds
roundish, compressed. The gum of this valuable
plant is more transparent than that of the Nilotic or
Arabian species; which the Arabs call Ummul-
gh'ilariy or Mother of Serpents ; and the Persiansy
by an easy corruption, Mugh'dan.
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 239
Samira means a small Sami ; but I cannot learn to
what species that diminutive form is applied.
Lajjdru (properly Lqjjdlu) signifies bashful, or sen
sitive, and appears to be the word engraved
on a plate in the Malabar Garden; though Van
Rheede pronounces it Lauri. There can be no
doubt that it is the swimming Mimosa, with sen
sitive leaves, root inclosed in a spungy cylinder,
and flowerets with only ten filaments Linnaus,
by a mere slip, has referred to this plant as his
Dwarf Oeschynomcne ; which we frequently meet
with in India.—See 9 H. M. tab. 20. The epithet
Lqjjdlu is given by the Pandits to the Modest
Mimosa.

70. Chandrica:
Syn Chandrapushpa.
Vnlg. CKhbta Chdnd, or Moonlet.
Rheede : Sjouanna Amelpodi. 6' H. M. t. 47.
Linn. Serpent Ophioxylum.
Cal. Perianth five-parted, small, coloured, erect,
permanent : divisions egged, acutish.
Cor. Petal, one. Tube very long in proportion ;
jointed near the middle, gibbous from the en
closed anthers; above them, rather funnel-form.
Border five-parted ; divisions inverse-egged, wreath
ed.
Pist. Germ above, roundish. Style thread-form.
Stigma irregularly headed ; with a circular pellucid
base, or nectary, extremely viscid.
Per. Berry mostly twined, often single, roundish,
smooth, minutely pointed, one-seeded.
Seed on one side flattisb, or concave ; on the other,
convex.
Flowers fascicled. Bracts minute, egged, pointed,
coloured. Tube of the corol light purple; border
small, milk-white. Calyx, first pale pink, then
bright carmine. Petiots narrow-winged. Leaves
300 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
oblong-oval, pointed, nerved, dark and glossy
above, mostly three-fold, sometimes paired, of
ten four-fold near the summit; margins wavy.
Few shrubs in the world are more elegant than the
Chandra, especially when the vivid carmine of the
perianth is contrasted not only with the milk-white
corol, but with the rich green berries, which at
the same time embellish the fascicle : the mature
berries are black, and their pulp light purple.
The Bengal peasants assure me, as the natives of
Malabar had informed Rheede, that the root of
this plant seldom fails to cure animals bitten by
snakes, or stung by scorpions ; and, if it be the
plant, supposed to assist the Nacula, or Viverra
Ichneumon, in his battles with serpents, its nine
synonyma have been strung together in the follow
ing distich :

Ndculi, Surasa, Rdsnd, Sugandd Gandkandculi

Ndculeshtd, Bhujangdcsh'i, Ch'hatricd, Suvaha,
nava.

The vulgar name, however, of the ichneumon-plant

is Rdsan ; and its fourth Sanscrit appellation signi
fies rvell-scented : a quality which an ichneumon
alone could apply to the Ophioxylum ; since it has
a strong and rather foetid odour. The fifth and
sixth epithets, indeed, seem to imply that its scent
is agreeable to the Nacula ; and the seventh (ac
cording to the comment on the Amaracbsh) that it
is offensive to snakes. It is asserted by some, that
the Rdsan is no other than the Rougfli Indian Achy-
ranthes ; and by others, that it is one of the Indian
Aristolochias. From respect to LinncEus, I leave
this, genus in his mixed class ; but neither my eyes,
nor far better eyes than mine, have been able to
discover its male flowers ; and it must be confessed,
that all the descriptions of the Ophyoxylum, by
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 301
Rumphius, Burman, and the great botanist him
self, abound with erroneous references, and unac
countable oversights.

71. Pippala:
Syn. Bodhi-druma, Chala-dala, Cunjardsanas, An-
wafha.
Vulg. Pippal.
Linn. Holy Ficus: but the three following are also
thought holy. Fruit small, round, axillary, sessile,
mostly twin. Leaves hearted, scalloped, glossy,
,daggered ; petiols very long ; whence it is called
Chaiadala, or the tree with tremulous leaves.

72. Udumbara.
Syn^Jantu-p'hala, Yajnydnga, Hemadugdhaca.
Vulg. Dumbar.
Linn. Racemed Ficus.
Fruit peduncled, top-shape, navelled, racemed.
Leaves egg-oblong, pointed, some hearted, obscurely
sawed, veined, rough above, netted beneath. Van
Rheede has changed the Sanscrit name into Roem-
badoe. It is true, as be says, that minute ants are
hatched in the ripe fruit, whence it is named Jantu-
phala; and the Pandits compare it to the Mun
dane Egg.

73. Placsha:
Syn. Jati. Parcati.
Vulg. Pdcari, Pdcar.
Linn. Indian Ficus citron-leaved; but all four are
Indian.
Fruit sessile, small, mostly twin, crowded, whitish.
Leaves oblong, hearted, pointed, with very long
slender petiols.

74. Vata:
Syn. Nyagrodha, Bahupat,
302 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
Vulg. Ber.
Linn. Bengal Ficus ; but all are found in this pro
vince, and none peculiar to it.
Fruit roundish, blood-red, navelled, mostly twin, ses
sile. Calyx three-leaved, imbricated.
Leaves some hearted, mostly egged, obtuse, broadish,
most entire, petiols thick, short, branches radi
cating.

The Sanscrit name is given also to the very large

Ficus India, with radicating branches, and to some
other varieties of that species. Van Rheede has by
mistake transferred the name Aswatt'ha to the Placsha,
which is never so called.

75. Caraca:
Syn. Bhauma, CKhatraca.
Vulg.
Linn. Fungus Agaric.

This and the Phallus are the only fungi which I

have yet seen in India : the ancient Hindus-held the
fungus in such detestation, that Vama, a legislator,
supposed now to be the judge of departed spirits, de
clares " those who eat mushrooms, whether spring-
" ing from the ground or growing on a tree, fully
" equal in guilt to the slayers of Brahmins, and the
" most despicable of all deadly sinners."

76: Tala :
Syn. Trinrajan.
Vulg. Tal, Palmeiro.
Linn. Borassus.

This magnificent palm is justly entitled the King

of its order, which the Hindus call trina druma, or
grass-trees. Van Rheede mentions the bluish gela
tinous, pellucid substance of the young seeds, which,
 ON SELECT INDIAN PLANTS. 303
in the hot season is cooling, and agreeable to the
taste ; but the liquor extracted from the tree is the
most seducing and pernicious of intoxicating vege
table juices : when just drawn, it is as pleasant as
Poubon water fresh from the spring, and almost equal
to the best mild Champaigne. From this liquor, ac
cording to Rheede, sugar is extracted ; and it would
be happy for these provinces, if it were always applied
to so innocent a purpose.

77. NdricLla:
Sun, La'ngalin.
Vulg. Ndrgil, Ndrjil.
Linn. Nut-bearing Cocos.

Of a palm so well known to Europeans, little more

need be mentioned than the true Asiatic name : the
water of the young fruit is neither so copious, nor
so transparent and refreshing in Bengal as in the isle
of Hinzuan, where the natives, who use the unripe
nuts in their cookery, take extreme care of the trees.

78. Guva'ca:
Syn. Ghbnt'hd, Pdga, Cramuca, Capura.
Vulg. Supydri.
Linn. Areca Catechu.

The trivial name of this beautiful palm having

been occasioned by a gross error, it must necessarily
be changed; and Guvdca should be substituted in its
place. The inspissated juice of the Mimosa C'hadira
being vulgarly known by the name of Cafh, that
vulgar name has been changed by Europeans into
Catechu ; and because it is chewed with thin slices of
the Udviga, or Areca-nut, a species of this palm
has been distinguished by the same ridiculous corrup
tion.
 30$

A
DESCRIPTION

OF THE

CUTTUB MINAR.

BY ENSIGN JAMES T. BLUNT,

OF THE ENGINEERS.

THE base of the Cutiub Minar is a polygon of2

twenty-seten sides, and rises upon it in a cir
cular form ; the diminution of the column is in a
good proportion. I do not mean to infer, that the
architect has followed any established rule, for it does
not appear that the ancients, in any country, were
tied dbwn to rule ; for although we see extremely dif
ferent instances of the diminution in their works, in
general they all look well.

The exterior part of the. Minor is fluted into

twenty-seven semicircular and angular divisions, upon
which is written a good deal of a very ancient Arabic
character ; it is supposed to contain passages from the
Koran; there are four balconies in the height or
the building,- the first is at the height of 90
feet, the second at 140, the third at 180, and the
fourth at 203 feet; to the height of 180 feet, the
pillar is built of an exceeding fine red granite, and
the fluting there ends. The balconies are supported
upon large stone brackets, and have had small battle
ments erected upon them, as, a preventive of people
who may choose to go into tfiem, from falling ; and
serve likewise as an ornamental purpose to the build-
Vol. IV. X
306 A DESCRIPTION OF
ing ; from the height of 203 feet, excepting a few
inconsiderable ornaments, it rises with an even sur
face, and circular form, built of very fine white mar
ble ; upon which the date when the Minar was com
pleted is said to be written. It was a matter of much
disappointment that I could not approach sufficiently
near to the date to copy it ; for I found it was situated
at such a height, as to put it totally out of my power ;
and what adds to the difficulty is, that there is not a
bamboo, or wood of any kind produced in that part
of the country, calculated to raise a scaffolding with.

An irregular spiral stair-case leads from the bot

tom to the summit of the Minar, which is crowned
with a majestic cupola of red granite; there are
many openings during the ascent, for the admission
of light and air ; at each balcony, an opening to al
low of people walking into them ; but I found the
battlements in many parts entirely ruined, and those
that were standing, in such a decayed state as to ren
der it a matter of some danger to venture out from the
stair-case.

The entire height of the Cuttub Minar is 242 feet

6 inches: I ascertained it by measuring a direct
line from its base ; and, as it may be a matter of some
satisfaction to see that it is done with precision, I annex
the trigonometrical calculation.

The Base A B being measured in a right line from

the bottom of the Mi- C
nar, was found to be
402 feet 6 inches,
twenty - four feet one
inch, the semi-diameter
of the base of the Mi- ,^s\.
nar being added to it,
•B X
 THE CUTTUB MINAR, 307
gave a line of 426' feet 7 inches from the cen
tre of the pillar. At the extremity of the base A,
a theodolite was placed, and previously being care
fully adjusted, by putting the line of collimation in
the telescope, parallel to the plane of the horizon,
the angle B A C was observed to be twenty-nine
degrees, thirty-nine minutes ; thence the height of
the Cuttub Minor, was found to be 242 feet and
nearly 6 inches.

By Plane Trigonometry.

The Base A B giving 426 feet, 7 inches, say

426, 5, the angle B A C is given 29", 39', the angle
B A C is a right one ; the sum of the angles in all
triangles being equal to two right angles, or 1 80 de
grees, by deducting the sum of the two angles CAB
and ABC, from the sum of three angles in the tri
angle ABC, the angle A C B will be found.
C A B = 29- 39
ABC — 90. —

180—1 19- 39 = 60. 21 *= angle A C B.

Then as the angle A C B is to the side A B, so is

the angle C A B to the side C B, or height of the
Minar.
Log.S.ofACB Log.ofAB • Log. S. ofCAB Log.ofCB
9,93905 : 62942 :: 9, 69434 : 242,5,
+ 2, 62942

10, 32376
-9, 93905 feet

2, 38471 — 242,5
X 2,
308 A DESCRIPTION OF
The Cuttub Minar is situated about nine miles
Searing S. 16° W. from the Jumma Musjid, that was
erected by the Emperor Shaw Jehan in the present
city of Delhi, and appears to have been designed for
a Minaret to a most stupendous mosque, which never
was completed; a considerable part of the second
and corresponding Minaret is to be seen, and many
other parts of this intended immense building, par
ticularly of the arches. The mosque seems to have
been abandoned in this unfinished state, from causes
at this time entirely unknown ; perhaps the original
designer of the fabric found human life too short to
see it accomplished during his existence. It may not
appear a matter2 of much surprise that the wealth of
one man shoufcl be found inadequate to so arduous
an undertaking, however opulent and exalted in life
his situation may have been. The tomb of Cuttub
SJiaw, at whose expense the Minar is said to have
been built, is to be seen a few hundred yards to the
westward of it ; the tomb is rather inconsiderable and
of mean appearance, when compared with the many
more magnificent mausoleums that are to be met
with in the extensive ruins of Delhi.

Cuttub Sharp came to the throne of Delhi in the

Mussulman year 602, corresponding with the Christian
aera 1205, and died in the Mussulman year 607, or
Christian aera 12 1Q, a reign of only five years; and
certainly a period not sufficient to erect- so large a
building as a mosque, t© correspond in magnitude
and grandeur with the Minar and other parts of the
structure that were began upon, adjoining to it.

I think it may with some degree of reason be in

ferred that a stop was put to the building of the
mosque at the decease of Cuttub Share, and from
which period we may date the Minar to have been
completed; conformably with this inference, it is as
 THE CUTTUB MINAR. 309
certained that the Minar has stood at least 580 years.
Excepting the unavoidable and irresistible effects of
lightning, from the goodness of the materials, and the
excellent judgment with which they appear to have
been put together, there is every reason to suppose it
would have withstood the ravages of time, for suc»
ceeding generations to behold with admiration and
astonishment, for yet many ages.
 XIX.

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS

MADE ON

A VOYAGE

TO THE

ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS.

BY LIEUT. R. H. COLEBROOKE.

Diamond Island, near Cape Negrais, 1789.

DECEMBER 14th. By the Sun's meridian altitude

taken on shore .... Lat. 15° 49' 33''
By Captain Kyd 15 49 43

Mean 15 49 38

Carnicobar Island, 1790. On board the Atalanta Sloop

of War, about one milefrom the western shore.
January 2d, Sun's meridian altitude 57° 44' 40'
Lat. 9° 8' 52".
BEARINGS.
Northernmost point of the land - N. \6° E.
Southernmost point of do. ... S. 2 1 E.
Nearest shore N. 70 E.
X 4
312 ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE

Danish Point, at Nancowry, 1790. Observationsfop

the Latitude, taken near the Flag Staff.

Sun or Stars. Doub. Mer. AIM. Latitude N.

Jan. 11 104 33' 0" 8° 1' 51?
58 48 0 8 2 17
20 97 54 30 8 2 31
21 Sun's lower limb 123 42 0 8 2 27
104 34 30 8 2 36
106' 18 10 8 2 49
23 104 34 20 8 2 35
106 17 30 8 2 29
Mean of the whole 8 2 26, 8
If the first observation by Capella be rejected, the.
mean of the remaining seven will be 8° 2' 32".

The observations were made with a fine sextant by

Troughton, and artificial horizon. The refractions,
applied in computing these, and all the following
observations, were taken from Monsieur Le GentiVs
table, published in his Voyage dans les Mers dq
Ulnde. The declinations of the stars were taken
from table 7th of the requisite tables, and partly from,
Dun's catalogue.
 Cutter.
Experiment
Southern
the
board
Island.
The
Pumbank
extremity
on

Sof
by
Eclipses
Jupiter's
'aOtbselroaitieosn. for
Longitude.
the
inLdeg.
ongit. Latitude
Mean
8°
67
13'
15
18
w/o 02
15
21 02
2
21 02
0
21 mtimes.
rTelescope
from
The
ae92
22
to
gfawasrnaicftyoirn,g

tLoingmiet.-in Point,
from
Danish
Gof
Longitude
East
Mean
r0
21
02
e nwich
6
22 6
12 27 26
12 6
12
of
Island
the
East.
bearing
"h.
'
Em.Im.or
1mm. 1mm, Imm..

Weather. Clear.
Do. Do.
altitude
18'
67°
meridian
Sun's
Oth,
February
30"
I-
Satel .
002
Kyd
by
67
Capt.
Do.
18
0-
12 26
44
17 21
22 1012

timeA1790.p arent h.
'"
d. 23
11
January
11
514 ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE IN

CARNICOBAR ISLAND.

February 15.
Sun's meridian altitude 68° 5' 30" Lat. 9° 5' 31".
The southernmost point of the island bore E. \ S.
1 mile distant.

February 16.
Suns meridian altitude 68° 26! 15"
Do. by Capt. Kyd - 68 26 30

Mean 68 ,26 22 Lat. 9° & 24"

Southernmost point of the island bore W \ S 1 \ mile
distant.

Chatham Island in Port Cornwallis*, at the Great

A,ndaman, 1?'90.

OBSERVATIONS FOR LATITUDE.

Date. Jlames of Stars. D. AlLs. on Mer. Latitude.
Feb. 23 Canopus • • • • 51 31 0 11 41 0
24 |S Aurigae 113 36 30 11 42 5
a Ursa: Majoris 77 40 0 11 41 40
26 |3 Aurigae 113 .36 .0 11 41 50
■ ,Canis Majoris 99 15 0 11 41 23
J'Canis Majoris 104 31 .0 11 40 49
28 g.Aurigae 113 36 20 .J I 42 0
Canopus • • , • 51 31 10 11 40 55
March 2 t Canis Majoris 99 15 30 11 41 8
3 123 46 30 11 40 50
9 t ArgoNavis, • 63 14 40 11 40 37
11 |rArgo Navis- • 77 48 30 11 41 40
/?:Urs32 Majoris 88 25 30 11 42 5
Mean 11 41 23,9
* The Old Harbour so called.
 oX> a> w > 0
An
cin
Arnold,
by
used
time
the nlometnetr, The
observing
which*
ehxcorrect
to
rcowas
e; former,
the
of
ocby
and
frequent
taken.
equal
bostars
srewere
sun
or
revastpiondsingwhich
after
and : of
before
ain
observed
the
equations
applied
ltitudes,
to
noon,
proper
were and tudes these
abefore
few
several
taking
by
minutes
the
latter
least,
star
west,
tione
case
a the
and
coresults
separately,
of
after
baslecwere
was
mean
:
ruvlatieodn of
watch.
the
cdeduced
The
from
applied
time,
ostars,
rapparent
to
as
or
sun
ection

Sof
for
by
Longitude,
Othe
Eclipses
aJupiter
btserls
vaitieons. Lindeg.
ongit. 26
02
7,2 02
27,4 22
22 02
11,2 26
02
11,
2
22
02
2 0
22
02
.-
24
02
d.
'"
intLionmgei.t. Mean
6
2
24,
12 6
2
24,
12 62
',
12 6
5
19,
12
6
25
12 6
12

h.
"'
Em.lm.or Emer. Emer. Emer. Emer. Emer. Emer.

Weather. Clear, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,

Satel. second
within
general
in
agreed
two.
a
or
2 11210
,,4
,
.. 11
41,2
02 1 2
2,2 6
22,2
12
14
2
49 11
7
24

timeA1790.p arent
"h
'

d. 26: 14 IS 16
March
7
Feb.
211
ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS MADE IN

H
a
a
H
E
a

£
n
Z
o

5 tfi O O ooo>ooooi^oooo
j-i .* eo o n «) w o

uo

si 3_ »M
^ O 3 S 2? s G '3 s S3S O.-^
2 5 3
l-i<u| B-i:!^0:! 9- 8 -3:1

00
 K ft o> > > 48 ti X K< cn O2W Oo a 9 Co

|
|
Of6
N W
12
mile
dist.
2
o11
11,
72
surl.
1cot ah, |
TVillage,
furl.
NNWfi
dist.
o11
12
42
ndano r
Banddofthepiensaletraniecnsetg. 1-21
<jYekaty
Village,
N
furl.
dist.
E
0
42
27
4 j
Idist.
N
miles
W
l11
12
47
74
o0
lior-dro g,

\
6PS
E
dist.
mile
a12
21
l1
ma2naire, j
Biinnelly
46
Village,
fdist.
W
\
12
2
url.
nta.—nyo r|
bSfurl.
N
dist.
Ea2 , Afurl.
dist.
SE
Fort,
22
2
r42,
12
ake re
6-j^Kanambaddy,
26
W
dist.
mile
12
24,
1j

I I
J
Meanlatitude.

d.
dLat.erived. * 10 11 11 24 12 22 10 2.0 44 01 14 10 01 47 - 2 24 1 0 7 0 12 47
12 12 12 12 12 12 4 12
4 12 27 12
22 24
12 26
12 26
12 26
12 12
22 46
11 12 12
12 112 12
2 116 12 12
12 46 42
d.
'
aMer.ltitudes it 12 2 22 12 12 45 11 2 22
observed. 2 0 0 11 2 0 2 0 12 12 2 12 41 22
11
6'2
21 62
21 11 22
11
26
27 22 10 1110 620 26'
0- 24 0
24 11 44
12 2
11 112
2 .
2 24
46'
26
111 0
22 24
41 207
d.
'
Capella• Sirius• Majoris
Ursa?a• Ursa?y• 3,
Majoris
Ursa?-• Majoris
Ursa?
D-• Ursa? n• Majoris
Ursa?-• Majoris
| Ursa?n• Majoris
Ursa?4•-, Majoris
Ursa?n-•
Do. Majoris
by
Lt.Bushby Majoris
ofSNatmer?s-. Majoris
Ursa?a
C6
eutauri C6
entauri C9
entauri
Auriga
/3 A0
uriga?8
Auriga?
Sirius Sirius

21 12 22 11 10
March
2 0
1701. May
7 June
11
Feb.
11
48 ► 11 f3O o - o ► o w 11 W < > o in >aw 3
6Pagoda,
with
N
Bull,
the
(
EMaggry
2
poftheanddBnielsatrnceisent.g |
mdist.
Anchitty
S
E
J
Droog,
2iles
2422 J
Sin2
SSE
Village,
d.
f. 22,
gauaikanapil y
N
W
dist.
mN72
1e1
ileldu—rgum, ^Saiidicoupang
f£
dist;
Fort,
E
urlong
2
12,
of
Bangalore
Pthe
In
Area
a2Q
l<ace.

11*5|
dist.
furlong
1

Meanlatitude.

2 42 30 30 2 0 2 0 2.5 4.5 2.5 30 22 0 0 2 0 52 0 0 2

6 11 27 7 0 21 26 11 11 2d 2 2 44 11 24 11 42 22 22 11 22
21. 42 42 21 21 22 28 22 46' 47 42
d. 11 11 11 46 46 2 0 11 11 0
Ryd,
Capt.
by
Ditto
Limb
Lower
Sun's
ofKSatrnes,
Cygni
a• Cas aiopeae Cas .io.peae Cas a.iopeae
&
Draconnis Dracy
onis Fomalhaut Foinalbaut Fomalhaut
Scorpii
t Eridani
fl Persei<*.
Antares Antares i Cygni Cygni
Cygni Grusy * « Grusa.
 *w 0> > O > on o w o o r; <4H2*!
the
SGreat
before
Camp
eringapalaui, of dPagoda
of
LJjjf
Great
eurtitvuede
0W
Pa,da,
N
Bull,
the
with
rMaggry
6 the
from
place
ob
beanos miles
Pagoda dW
2sS
iersvta°t—|inotn
place.
ofthenanddBiesatraensicteng

dist.
mile
Fort,
Tiipatore
SE
1

dist.
furlongs
4-

. Fort.
Vcl ore
22'
24".

lMeanatitude. 27
22,
12
i
27
12
54
11

d.
'"
1
27
0
12 J
211
12
11
47
42,
12 27
12 27
14 12 27
0
12 22
27
12 27
12
10. 51
211 27
12 12 22 2 2 12 2 42
27
12 12 34
dLat.erived. 12 12
02 2 26'
22 27 28 24
12
0
12 24
0
27
111 12
22 22
12 '
27
12
'"
d.
I27
42
121

Limb
Sun's
Lower• Majoris
Cams
/.J• Majoris
Canis
|3•
ofSNtamres. Majoris-
Ursoe
I Majoris
Ursa1a Majoris
Urssr.a.
5
Cassiopex Cent1.usri
6
Eridani Perseia, E8
ridani Perseia. Aurigae
|3 Auriga*
/3 A#
uriga
Sirius Sirius Auriga; Sirius *'Ursa;„ Canise Canis
it

22 21 21 0 12
t)ate. 0 11
1701. Dec. 1112. Feb. Mar.
2 April
10
27 11
en 0O2 O >-* o>. f o w a> W <>H t—« O 44 0 > w
Pagoda,
Sd.
Great
S
E
e2
2rim.ng°apatam SPagoda,
before
(Camp
bearing
eringapatam

ofplace.
theanddBinesatrneicsnetg
N27 N
furl.
Village,
Yekaty
E
dist.
4 Hdist.
E
miles
o74
4
lior-dro g,
1N
W
dist.
mile
Oo7s cot|2ah,
6mile
dist.
PS
Ea1
lma2naire,

Longitude
for
of
SJupiter's
Othe
by
Eclipses
abtserlvaitieosn.s dist.
miles
S
f
2W
2j
Aof
Magnifying
the
Telescope
cto
100
80
hrpower
omatic.,

dLineognrgeits. 76
7,2
42
76
12
40
0 77
72
22 27
2 76
26
2, 76
' 2 76
2 76
11 12
0-

d.
'"
Lintoinmgei.t 6
2
0,2
1124 2
2 1221 6
2
24 7
2
17 6
2
12 6
2227

h.
'"
Weather. Clear, Ditto, Windy, Clear, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto, Ditto,

Emorer. Emer. Emer. Emer.

Imm. Imm. Imm. Imm. Imm. Imm.

Sat.
timeDateandofap arent
10
24
12
10 19-2221
12
2
22 12,
24.
theobservations.

'"1111.
h.
d.

02 Jnne
12
00,2
112
2 1112. 26
Mar,
12
0
122 Mar.
Feb.
'
411 24 May
2 27
412
 j?
of
Table
Latitude*
and
Longitudes
of
principal
Places
India,
in
dfrom
some
eAtsetrmoinomeidcal
The
eld
Factory
the
BaRiver.
onr ampo ter Between
Targe
two
trees,
of
the
centre
town.
OBy
bMr.
Reuben
sBurrow.
eCrovby
Lieut.
amR.
tH.
Ciu•onlsi.ec—bartoedke.

Mr.
BRuersiodwe'nsce. Near
the
of
mouth
Bannar
River.
End
of
the
Town
Soneartalo ry.
the
At
Conflux
with
River. Conflux
with
Megna
the
River.
Remarks.

The
Kobe,
Factory.
or Mouth
of
Nullah.
the

The
large
Tree.
The
Mount.

|N.
Laotnigtiutd.eintime I
5
5470
5322 6
2 46
2 26
2
11 17 11
11 42 9 40
2 42 6
2
12 6
7
2 6
24 6
2 22 2
2 2520
2
11
-
11 2
'
XXI. h.
'" •6
0
2
J
27
22
32
22 42
0
11 11 22
9
2
14 161 26
21
11 24 24
10 8 44 0 6 26 6
24 25
41 6 22 22
12. 2
24 21 16
0
112 22 22
11
7
11 11
0
27
<J.
I
« 11
22
26 116 26 22 20 0

Gonganagor».*•♦»
ShNullah
ealdo►». . Tinga«rc►hor Ra
jegunge•

Dig a»n-i•abad
Places. RuCsalnearacputglay,
Bygon•.•»bar y
ReNmualtealily
Bak amarchor
Dewanguuge Sampniar ay
Tealcopee Kazyco.t. a. hGoalparra* Dadnachor Po kereah Amcera*had
Doobarey Coweally
Sagow..
 ida,
CCantab
River.
the
Island
ain
An
torabida Rivers.
CHoogly
and
aof
the
jsuinmcbatziaorn Palace
Fort.
the
AClhaenearvhorelrsdetio'sn,

CRiver.
the
of
Mouth
aNear
tabida
RofamiOSpot
ebsmarvktsio.n
Cin
Hthe
TaA
rtown
baobuird.a
CPoint
in
rhA
emadrukbabl.e

Round
aThe
Tower.
ncient Bungalow.
CMr.
leveland's
Island.
the
of
end
North <$,
Ganges,
the
On
<1u
in• 1rr• 4 the
of
Rocky
Fort.
point
PThe
Marble
alace. StaflF.
Flag
Fort
-.il,.
Cof
Fort
heduba, Tof
Fort
unibiah. V
\
Granary.
Coast.
Arracan
the
and
Cheduba,
At
on Rock.
Centre

Longitude. 12 22
16 14 0
14
12
11 12
11 16
7 12
42 26 6
16 15
21 222
0 12 26
0
2 2
22 27 2
2 41 442
40 211 325
31
42
2
0 22

20
27 12 26
12 0
2 12 46
12 42
43 2
10 12
27 12 '21
42 44
42 42 26
12 24
12 112
01 24 122
402 0
202 2
40 2 22 16
22 27
6 11 26
22 3
25 22
27 24
27
22 25
22
32

'*
d.

Colgong
>•• «. •< Bankipoor
«•< River
of
CMouth
the
arauinas a

Places. Mongheer
•
Jy
••••• Island
Jykuna
• Nuddea•«
Staff
Flag
Che•d.uba
Point
Cedars• «.
Island.. Maykawo dy
House Rock
Cliagoo
..
Island
Tree Sackey
Fort»
Kyaunimo Rajemahl Buxar•
Dumsil Patna•
Gour
 O 0oKw wH Si o >•fc* >o w 3 M CO 11

the
of
Town.
highest
Nullah,
Close
part
to
of
Middle
River
Town.
the
side,
near
ofOandRSpot
besmrav tkiso.n

Preyag.
SE
of
Fort
the
atcomer

BCaptain
Bough's
ungalow.
CGanges.
the
with
onflux
the
Gaut.
Stone
old
At Hill.
the
Se onbsmot
Se onbsmot
Hill.
the
Old
Foifc
the
Sear
Magazine
Gaut. Fort.
Brick
The
Hindoo
The
< Gaut.
the
At
Staff.
Flag Fort.
The The
Gaut. The Fort. The
Fort. The Well.

11 11
22 21
12 2 24 26
22 27 22 21
Longitude. 26
11
2 21 11 12
21 11
24
0 10
10 12 2
12 2
12 26 11 16
12 12 12 12
11 11 10
2
'"
h. 2222222 222252

»K'^»'J•a'i •jesuiow

Bena•res Jo'g•nagpo r
^Caunpour
•

of
Mouth
Goomty
the Cor eah•cot ah

Camp River
Chunar Futtyghur
•,
Tonse4 Cus umkhore Sungrumpore
Fort
Chunar Surajepo r MindiGaut Canouge
• Berimutana Khe rpo r
Al ahabad Nanamow Keas pore Jil alabad Cut erali
Oqjear
..
 > a M O *1 ej ow o f os<© H O w v>
of
Bhagul.
Banks
the
end
of
Town
NE
on
Kof
Ootar.
oGate
aFort
The
lncainkenet

Randof
OSpot
ebsmarvktsio.n
Palace.
Khan's
of
Rustum
Centre through
Town.
the
Moat,
Hindoo

Tope.
the
in
Temple
Seebs
City.
the
of
Gate
NW
Pof
Centre
il ibeat. the
in
Palace
Fort.

Serai.
The Edgaw.
The
The The
Fort. Fort.
Well. Fort. Fort. Fort.

5
14
14
Longitude.

17 211 2 0 42 20 22 42 11 11 0 22 0 22 11 1 14 0 11 44 2 12 2
Latitude.
27 22 27
211 22 22 22 22
22 26 42 42
22 22 22
42 46 2 20
20 12 20
12 20 21
2 22
22 22 2.0
11 27
12 22 22 26
22
11 11 22
22 20
0
»
d.

Places.

Bareilly
,•> Lumb•e<•ra•h» Hafiz
Ditto,
Musjid Hazar•<etnagor Aftml
Ghur
•.«
Nabo•>bgu ge
Mahmudpore
Fere dpour Hafizgunge 'Lillowry
i\ Gowne rah Shair
Ghur Moradabad Boojepoor Cossipore
Jcs ocah Pil i.b.eat Bar .ow. er Bourkah Rampour Sumbul« Bhyrah
Rair«
 O 0M n M > >o M c/i 44. »-«. « > OS to w

of
Staff.
Flag
the
East
Bank,
Steep
On

andROofSpot
besmarvktsi.on Town.
the
in
Building
Northernmost
Jungle.
large
the
in
is
Village
This HTemple,
opposite
uStone
rdwar.
City.
the
in
Principal
Mosque in
Camp
the
where
Place
1774.
was Shed.
ANThe
ratwialb'esry
Ghur.
Hyder
called
Also
of
Fort.
the
High
Gate Fort.
the
of
Gate
Stone Town.
the
of
Gate
East
Musjid.
Khan's
Dowlct
Seray.
Khan's
Nidjib
Fort.
the
of
Centre Sieds.
the
of
Fort of
Well
Town.
the
Mosque.
White Fort.
Bamboo
Brick
Fort. Mud
Fort.

Longitude.

H 11 16 46 21 2 14 26 22 0 211 0 10 112 2 11 4 22 29 2 . 22 11 21
27 26 26 0 44 2 22 11 26 27 0 - 0 16 12 11 44 42 22 21 26' 22
22 22 22 22 22
d. 0 0 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 11

Places.

Chundnywal a KjChandy
Gaut Congrce
■• Mi nd•awer Secr■•se
Ghur
Patter Asoph
Ghur
Borunwal a Jo gywal a Darahnagur Chaundpour , Hus enpour
Khunspour .• Dona■•re Chandousey
Anopshir
She rcote Nundenah Nidjibabad Lolldong Ilurdwar Aniro ali
Nagal
> a t*M O f H HCb o o O H ow
lower
miles
twelve
Blonger
about
but
is
Cof
River
othe
T*,
ugelwnnocorahetunrlgaolniecah,
the
of
Ganges.
ehave
by
produced
been
which
nchange
Mdown,
Cutlamary
between
curomay
;
achmaentd
of
Dien.
ud
Cuttub
aMosque
Large
ncient
ofandROSpot
besmrav ktiso.n Pcalled
the
Chiefs
House,
oThe
shta.

R*Cof
Mouth
the
uiver.
lcul ia

Musjid.
Khan's
Doondy
Hindoo
The
Temple.
Jungle.
in
Village
a

Ghaut.
Gow
Gate.
East

Longitude. 145
17 0 2S 42 11 42 56
22 11 112
27 2
16 16 20
'"fa. 244
21
02
22 12 24 40 22
12 45
21 24 1 122 42 2
11 26
Latitude. 22 0 26
0
12 27 26
2
2 42
' 27
11 0
0 42
24 24
d.
"'.

Places.
Bun*•eah Os.h••e-t Dacca•,'-•
DTea
Cally
umduma

Bis o••-l•ie obarickpourBogwa.n.golah

M Pubna•
Gopalpour
Budawun Cos unda
Bettoor
 OF SOME PRINCIPAL PLACES IN INDIA. 327

Note by Mr. Bwrow.

As a more particular account will be given hereaf

ter of the manner in which these Latitudes and Lon
gitudes were deduced, it will be sufficient here to
mention, that the Meridian Altitudes of Stars from
whence^ the Latitudes were derived, sometimes a-
mounted to twenty or thirty, North and South, and
very seldom were less than five or six, and those
mostly on both sides the Meridian ; so that, upon
the whole, I believe very few of the foregoing Lati
tudes can be more than five seconds wrong, perhaps
not many of them so much, as the single observations
with the Sextant seldom differed from one another
more than fifteen or twenty seconds, and very often
not half the number. As to the Longitudes, it is
possible there may in some cases be an error of two or
three miles ; but I can scarce believe there is any
great probability of it, as the observations were made,
as well as calculated, in a different and more exact
manner than is generally used at present.
 329

XXII.

ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS, AND

PRACTICES OF

THE HINDUS.

BY THE PRESIDENT.

IN the preliminary discourse addressed to the So

ciety by our late President, Man and Nature were
proposed as the comprehensive objects of our Re
searches ; and although I by no means think that ad
vantage should be taken of this extensive proposition
to record every trivial peculiarity of practice, habit,
or thinking, which characterizes the natives of India,
many singularities will be found amongst them which
are equally calculated to gratify curiosity, and to at
tract the notice of the philosopher and politician.

Of all studies, that of the human mind is of the

greatest importance ; and whether we trace it in its
perfection or debasement, we learn to avoid error, or
obtain models for improvement, and examples for
imitation. In pursuing customs, and habits to the
principles from which they are derived, we ascertain
by the sure rule of experience the effects of natural
or moral causes upon the human mind.

The characters of the natives of India, notwith

standing all that has been published in Europe, are by
no means well understood there ; and a careful and
accurate investigation of them, with a due discrimi
330 ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
nation of habits and usages, as local or general,
would afford a subject for a curious, useful, and en
tertaining dissertation.

It is not my intention to undertake it. I neither

profess to have ability, nor have I leisure for the task ;
and the preceding remarks are offered to the Society
for the purpose only of introducing the recital of
.some extraordinary facts, customs, and practices of
this country, which have occurred to my observation
in the course of public duty. If the narrative has
too much of the language of office, it may be deem
ed a sufficient compensation that it is extracted from
official documents and judicial records, and hence
has a claim to authenticity. • '

The inviolability of a Brahmin is a fixed principle

of the Hindus ; and to deprive him of life, either by
direct violence, or by causing his death in any mode,
is a crime which admits of no expiation. To this
principle may be traced the practice called Dherna,
which was formerly familiar at Benares, and may be
translated Caption or Arrest. It is used by the
Brahmins in that city, to gain a point which cannot
be accomplished by any other means ; and the pro
cess is as follows: :.i.'!

The Brahmin who adopts this expedient for the

purpose mentioned, proceeds to the door or house of
the person against whom it is directed, . or wherever
he may most conveniently intercept him: he there
sets down in Dherna, with poison or a poignard, or
6ome other instrument of suicide in his hand, and
threatening to use it if his adversary should attempt
to molest or pass him, he thus completely arrests him.
In this situation the Brahmin fasts ; and by the rigor
of the etiquette, which is rarely infringed, the un
fortunate object of his arrest ought also to fast ; and
thus they both remain until the institutor of the
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS, 331
Dherna obtains satisfaction. In this, as he seldom
makes the attempt without resolution to persevere,
he rarely fails ; for if the party thus arrested were to
suffer the Brahmin sitting in Dherna to perish by hun
ger, the sin would for ever lie upon his head. This
practice has been less frequent of late years, since
the institution of the Court of Justice at Benares in
1783; but the interference of that Court, and even
that of the Resident there, has occasionally proved
insufficient to check it; as it has been deemed in ge
neral most prudent to avoid for this purpose the use
of coercion, from an apprehension that the first ap
pearance of it might drive the sitter in Dherna to
suicide. The discredit of the act would not only
fall upon the officers of justice, but upon the govern
ment itself.

The practice of sitting in Dherna is not confined

to male Brahmins only. The following instance,
which happened at Benares in the year 1789, will at
once prove and exemplify it : 1

Beenoo Bhai, the widow of a man of the Brahmini-

cal tribe, had a litigation with her brother-in-law
Balkishen, which was tried by arbitration ; and the
trial and sentence were revised by the court of justice
at Benares, and again in appeal.

The suit of Beenoo involved a claim of property and

a consideration of cast, which her antagonist declared
she had forfeited. The decision was favourable to
her, but not to the extent of her Avishes ; and she re
solved therefore to procure by the expedient of the
Dherna, as above explained, what neither the award of
arbitration nor the judicial decision had granted.

In conformity to this resolution, Beenoo sat clown

in Dherna on Balkishen ; and he, after a perseverance
332 OF SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
of several days, apprehensive of her death, repaired
with her to a Hindu temple in Benares: where they
both continued to fast some time longer. Thirteen
days had elapsed from the commencement of Bal-
kishens arrest, when he yielded the contest, by enter
ing into a conditional agreement with Beetwo, that if
she could establish the validity of her cast, and in
Eroof thereof prevail on some creditable members of
er own tribe to partake with her of an entertain
ment of her providing, he would not only defray the
expense of it, but would also discharge her debts.
The conditions were accepted by Beenoo, who fulfil
led her part of the obligation ; and her antagonist,
without hesitation, defrayed the charges of the en
tertainment: but the non-performance of his en
gagement to discharge her debts, induced Beenoo
Bhai to institute a suit against him ; and the prac
tice of the Dherna, with the proofs of it, were thus
brought forward to official notice.

It is not unworthy of remark, that some of the

Pandits, on being consulted, admitted the validity of
an obligation extorted by Dherna, provided the ob
ject were to obtain a just cause or right, wickedly
withheld by the other party, but not otherwise. Others
again rejected the validity of an engagement so ex
torted, unless it should be subsequently confirmed by
the writer, either in whole or in part, after the remo
val of the coercion upon him.

Of the practice which I have related, no instance

exactly similar has occurred to my knowledge in Ben
gal or Behar, although Brahmins, even in Calcutta,
have been known to obtain charity or subsistence from
Hindus, by posting themselves before the doors of
their houses, under a declaration to remain there until
their solicitations were granted. The moderation of
the demand generally induces a compliance with it ;
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS. 533
which would be withheld if the requisition were ex
cessive. But I have been credibly informed that in
stances of this custom occasionally occur in some parts
of the Vizier's dominions, and that Brahmins have
been successfully employed there to recover claims, by
calling upon the debtor to pay them, with a notifica
tion that they would fast until the discharge of the
debt. The debtor, if he possesses property or credit,
never fails to satisfy the demand against him.

Another practice, of a very singular and cruel na

ture, is called Erecting a Koor. This term is explain
ed to mean a circular pjle of wood which is prepared
ready for conflagration. Upon this, sometimes a cow,
and sometimes an old woman, is placed by the con
structors of the pile ; and the whole is consumed to
gether. The object of this practice is to intimidate
the officers of government, or others, from importu
nate demands, as the effect of the sacrifice is supposed
to involve, in great sin, the person whose conduct
forces the constructor of the Koor to this expedient.

An instance of this practice occurred in a district

of the province of Benares in the year 1788. Three
Brahmins had erected a Koor, upon which an old wo
man had suffered herself to be placed ; the object of
temporary intimidation was fully attained by it, and
the timely interposition of authority prevented the
completion of the sacrifice. It cannot be uninterest
ing to know the cause which urged the three Brah
mins to this desperate and cruel resource. Their own
explanation is summarily this: That they held lands in
partnership with others, but that the public assessment
was unequally imposed upon them ; as their partners
paid less, whilst they were charged with more than
their due proportion ; they therefore refused to dis
charge any part of the revenues whatever, and erected
a Koor to intimidate the government's officers from
334 ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
making any demands upon them. Their sole object,
as they explicitly declared, was to obtain an equal
distribution of the public assessment between them
selves and their partners.

A woman, nearly blind from age, had in this in

stance been placed upon the Koor: she was summoned
to appear before the English superintendent of the pro
vince, but absolutely refused to attend him ; declar
ing that she would throw herself into the first well ra
ther than submit. The summons was not enforced.

This is the only instance of setting up a Koor which

had occurred for many years, previous to 1788, al-_
though the practice is said to have been frequent for
merly. No information has reached me of the repe
tition of this practice in Benares, or of the existence
of it in any other part of the Company's possessions;
nor is it pretended that it was ever general through
out Benares, but is expressly asserted to have been
limited to a very small portion of that extensive pro
vince.

This last-mentioned fact is very opposite to that

humanity and mildness of disposition by which the
author of the historical disquisition, regarding ancient
and modern India, affirms the inhabitants of this coun
try to have been distinguished in every age. As a
general position, liable to particular exceptions, I am
not authorised to dispute it : but it must at the same
time be admitted, that individuals in India are often
irritated by petty provocations to the commission of
acts which no provocation can justify ; and, without
reference to the conduct of professed depredators,
examples may be produced of enormities scarcely
credible: the result of vindictive pride, and ungo-
verned violence of temper.
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS. 535
In support of these assertions, I shall quote three
remarkable instances, attested by unquestionable evi
dence. In J 79 1 Soodishter Mier, a Brahmin, the far
mer of land paying revenue, and tenant of tax-free land
in the province of Benares, was summoned to appear
before a native officer, the duty collector of the dis
trict where he resided. He positively refused to obey
the summons, which was repeated without effect ; and
after some time several people were deputed to enforce
the process, by compelling his attendance. On their
approaching his house he cut off the head of his de
ceased son's widow, and threw it out. His first in
tention was to destroy his own wife ; but it was prov
ed in evidence that, upon his indication of it, his
son's widow requested him to decapitate her; which
he instantly did.

In this case, the process against Soodishter was

regular, his disobedience contemptuous ; his situation
in life entitled him to no particular exemption, he
had nothing to apprehend from obeying the requisi
tion, and he was certain of redress if injury or in
justice were practised upon him.

Another Brahmin, named Baloo Paunden, in

1793, was convicted of the murder of his daughter.
His own account of the transaction will best explain
it, and his motives : I give it in abstract. That about
twelve years before the period of the murder, he,
Baloo, and another man, were joint tenants and culti
vators of a spot ofground, when this partner of Baloo
relinquished his share. In 1793 this partner again
brought forward a claim to a share in the ground :
the claim was referred to arbitration, and a decision
was pronounced in favour of Baloo. He consequently
repaired to the land, and was ploughing it, when he
was interrupted by his opponent. The words of
Baloo are as follows: " I became angry, and en
336 ON' SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
" raged at his forbidding me ; and bringing my own
" little daughter Apmunya, who was only a year and
" a half old, to the said field, I killed her with my
" sword." This transaction also happened in the
province of Benares.

The last instance is an act of matricide, perpetrated

by Beechuk and Adher, two Brahmins, and zemin
dars, or proprietors of landed estates, the extent of
which did not exceed eight acres ; the village in
which they resided was the property of many other
zemindars. A dispute, which originated in a com
petition for the general superintendence of the reve
nues of the village, had long subsisted between
the two brothers and a person named Gowry ; and
the officer of government, who had conferred this
charge upon the latter, was intimidated into a revo
cation of it by the threats of the mother of Beechuk
and Adher to swallow poison, as well as to the transfer
of the management to the two Brahmins. By the
same means of intimidation he was deterred from
investigating the complaints of Gowry, which had
been referred to his enquiry by his superior autho
rity.

But the immediate cause which instigated the

Brahmins to murder their mother, was an act of vio
lence, said to have been committed by the emis
saries of Gowry, with or without his authority,
and employed by him for a different purpose,
in entering their house, during their absence at
night, and carrying off forty rupees, the property of
Beechuk and Adher, from the apartments of their
women.

Beechuk first returned to his house, where his

mother, his wife, and his sister-in-law, related what
had happened. He immediately conducted his mo
ther to an adjacent rivulet, where, being joined in the
 AND PRACTICES OP THE HINDUS* 337
grey of the morning by his brother Adher, they
called out aloud to the people of the village, that
although they would overlook the assault as an act
which could not be remedied, the forty rupees must
be returned. To this exclamation no answer was
received ; nor is there any certainty that it was even
heard by any person ; and Beechuk, without further
hesitation, drew his scymitar, and at one stroke se
vered his mother's head from her body, with the pro
fessed view, as entertained and avowed both by parent
and son, that the mother's spirit, excited by the beat
ing of a large drum during forty days, might for ever
haunt, torment, and pursue to death Gowry and the
others concerned with him. The last words which
the mother pronounced were, that she would blast the
said Gowry and those connected with him.

The violence asserted to have been committed by the

emissaries of Gowry in forcibly entering the female
apartments of Beechuk and Adher, might be deemed
an indignity of high provocation ; but they appear
to have considered this outrage as of less importance
than the loss of their money, which might and would
have been recovered with due satisfaction, by applica
tion to the Court of Justice in Benares. The act
which they perpetrated had no other sanction than
what was derived from the local prejudices of the
place where they resided : it was a crime against
their religion : and the two brothers themselves quoted
an instance of a Brahmin who, six or seven years be
fore, had lost his cast and all intercourse with the other
Urahmins, for an act of the same nature. But in
truth Beechuk and Adher, although Brahmins, had
- no knowledge or education suitable to the high dis
tinction of their cast, of which they preserved the
pride only ; being as grossly ignorant and prejudiced
as the meanest peasants in any part of the world.
They seemed surprised when they heard the doom of
Vol. IV. Z
338 ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
forfeiture of cast pronounced against them by a
learned Pandit, and openly avowed that, so far from
conceiving they had committed a barbarous crime,
both they and their mother considered their act as a
vindication of their honour, not liable to any religious
penalty.

The Society will observe, with some surprise, that

the perpetrators of the several acts which I have re
lated were Brahmins. These facts- took place within
three districts only of the province of Benares, named
Kuntel. Buddhooee, and Kereat Sekar. I mention
these particulars that I may not lead any person into
a common error of deducing general conclusions
from partial circumstances. In Bengal and Behar,
where the passions of jealousy, pride, and revenge,
sometimes produce very fatal consequences, I recol
lect no instance where the efforts of their violence
have been transferred from the objects which excited
it to others that were innocent, as in the preceding
cases.

That the practice of Infanticide should ever be

so general as to become a custom with any sect or
race of people, requires the most unexceptionable
evidence to gain belief : and I am sorry to say that
the general -practice, as far as regards female infants,
is fully substantiated with respect to a particular
tribe on the frontiers of Juanpore : a district of the
province of Benares, adjoining to the country of Oude.
A race of Hindus called Rqjekoomars reside here ; and
it was discovered in 1789 only, that the custom of
putting to death their female offspring, by causing
the mothers to starve them, had long subsisted, and
did actually then very generally prevail amorig&t
them. The resident at Benares, in a circuit which hfe
made through the country where the Rajekbomars
dwell, had an opportunity of authenticating the exist
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS. 339
ence of the custom from their own confessions : he
conversed with several t all unequivocally admitted
it, but all did not fully acknowledge its atrocity;
and the only reason which they assigned for the in
human practice, was the great expense of procuring
suitable matches for their daughters, if they allowed
them to grow up. It is some satisfaction to add, that
the custom, though general, was not universal, as na
tural affection, or some other motive, had induced the
fathers of some Rqjekoomar families to bring up one,
Or more, of their female issue; but the instances
where more than one daughter had been spared, were
very rare. One village only furnished a complete
exception to the general custom ; and the Rajekoomar
informant, who noticed it, supposed that the inhabit
ants had sworn, or solemnly pledged themselves to
each other, to bring up their females. In proof of
his assertion in favour of the village in question, he
added, that several old maids of the Rajekoomar tribe
then actually existed there, and that their celibacy
proceeded from the difficulty of procuring husbands
for them, in consequence of the great expenses at
tending the marriages of this class of.people.

It will naturally occur to the Society to ask, by

what mode a race of men could be continued under
the existence of the horrid custom which I have de
scribed. To this my documents enable me to reply,
partly from the exceptions to the general custom,
which were occasionally admitted by the more wealthy
Rajekoomars ; more particularly those who happened
to have no male issue ; but chiefly by intermarriages
with other Rqjepoot families, to which the Rajekoomars
were compelled by necessity.

A prohibition enforced by the denunciation of

the severest temporal penalties, would have little
efficacy in abolishing a custom which existed in op-
Z 2

i
340 ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
position to the feelings of humanity and natural
affection ; and the sanction of that religion which the
Rajekoomars professed was appealed to, in aid of the
ordinances of civil authority. Upon this principle
an engagement, binding themselves to desist in
future from the barbarous practice of causing the
death of their female children, was prepared, and
circulated amongst the Rajekoomars for their signa
ture; and as it was also discovered that the same cus
tom prevailed, though in a less degree, amongst a
smaller tribe of people also within the province of
Benares, called Rajebunses, measures were adopted at
the same time, to make them sensible of its iniquity,
and to procure from them a subscription similar to
that exacted from the Rajekoomars.

The following is a copy of the engagement which

the latter subscribed :—
" JFhereas it hath become known to the Go-
" vernment of the Honourable East India Company,
" that We, of the tribe of Rajekoomars, do not suffer
" ©ur female children to live ; and whereas there is
" a great crime, as mentioned in the Brehma Bywant
" Pooran, where it is said that killing even a Foetus
" is as criminal as killing a Brahmin ; and that for
" killing a female, or woman, the punishment is to
" suffer in the nerk, or hell, called Kat Shootul, for
" as many years as there are hairs on their female's
" body, and that afterwards that person shall be born
" again, and successively become a leper, and be
" afflicted with XhtJukhima; and whereas the British
" Government in India, whose subjects we are, have
" an utter detestation of such murderous practices,
" and we do ourselves acknowledge, that although
" customary among us, they are highly sinful, we
" do therefore hereby agree not to commit any longer
" such detestable acts : and any among us (which God
" forbid) who shall be hereafter guilty thereof, or
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS. 341
u shall not bring up and get our daughters married,
" to the best of our abilities, among those of our cast,
" shall be expelled from our tri be, and shall neither
" eat nor keep society with us , besides suffering
" hereafter the punishments denounced in the above
" Pooran and Shaster. We have therefore entered
" into this agreement.
" Dated the 17 th December, 1789."

A record of the various superstitious ceremonies

which prevail throughout Hindostan, would form a
large and curious volume ; but as all the preceding
instances which I have related, are taken from trans
actions in Benares, I cannot refrain from mentioning
the superstitious notions of the people of that pro
vince regarding the sugar-cane : which proves an ig
norance that may be admitted in palliation of grosser
errors^ The narrative is a mere extract from an offi
cial record, with an omission of some words, and some
trifling verbal alterations.

As it is usual with the ryots, or husbandmen, to

reserve a certain portion of the canes of the preceding
year to serve as plants for their new cultivation, it very
frequently happens that inconsiderable portions of the
old cane remain unappropriated. Whenever this hap
pens, the proprietor repairs to the spot on the 25th of
Jeyte, or about the 1 1 th of June, and having sacri
ficed to Nagbele, or the tutelary deity of the cane,
he immediately sets fire to the Avhole, and is exceed
ingly careful to have this operation executed in as
complete and efficacious a manner as possible.

This act is performed from an apprehension, that

if the old canes were allowed to remain in the ground
beyond the 25th of Jeyte, they would in all proba
bility produce flowers and seeds ; and the appearance
of these flowers they consider as one of the greatest
misfortunes that can befal them.
Z 3
342 ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
They unanimously assert, that if the proprietor of
a plantation ever happens to view even a single cane
therein in flower after the 25 th of Jeyte, the greatest
calamities will befal himself, his parents, his children,
and his property : in short, that death will sweep away
most of the members, or indeed the whole of his fami
ly, within a short period after this unfortunate specta
cle. Ifthe proprietor's servant happens to see the flower,
and immediately pulls it from the stalk, buries it in
the earth, and never reveals the circumstance to his
master; in this case they believe that it will not be
productive of any evil consequence. But should the
matter reach the proprietor's knowledge, the calami
ties before stated must, according to the prevailing
ideas, infallibly happen.

In support of this belief, many of the most aged

zemindars and ryots in the province of Benares, re
cited several instances of the above nature, which
they affirmed to have actually happened during their
own time ; and moreover, that they had been perso
nal witnesses to the evils and misfortunes which befel
the unhappy victims of the description alluded to,

When we reflect how generally credit was given to

the power of witchcraft, long after the revival of let
ters in Europe, and that names ' of great repute for
learning and abilities are found amongst its defenders,
we shall not be surprised that charms and amulets are
wore in this country by men of superior rank and
education; that astrologers are consulted to name
the fortunate hour for commencing a journey or
expedition ; and that the fascinating influence of
an evil eye upon the human constitution, as well as
the power of witchcraft, is admitted by the vulgar in
general. Fortunately, however, the practice is not
supposed to bear any proportion to the belief of the
power ; although two recent instances occur to my
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS. 343
recollection, of individuals having been sacrificed to
this popular delusion ; or at least the imputation of
witchcraft was made the pretence for depriving them
of life.

But the judicial records contain a case ofgreat enor

mity, in which five women were put to death for the
supposed practice of sorcery. I shall submit the cir
cumstances of this transaction, with some detail, be
fore the Society, premising that it happened in a
district of Raingur, the least civilized part of the
Company's possessions, amongst a wild and unlettered
tribe, denominated Soontaar, who have reduced the
detection and trial of persons suspected of witchcraft
to a system.

Three men of the cast of Soontaar, were in the

year 1792 indicted for the murder of five women;
the prisoners without hesitation confessed the crime
with which they were charged, and pleaded in their
defence that with their tribes it was the immemorial
Custpm and practice to try persons notorious for witch
craft. That for this purpose an assembly was conven
ed of those of the same tribe, from far and near, and
if after due investigation the charge was proved, the
sorcerers were put to death, and no complaint was
ever preferred on this account to the ruling power.
That the women who were killed had undergone the
prescribed form of trial, were duly convicted of caus
ing the death of the son of one of the prisoners by
witchcraft, and had been put to death by the prison
ers, in conformity to the sentence of the assembly.

The prosecutors, who, agreeably to the forms of

the Mohammedan law, were the relations of the de
ceased women, declared they had no charge to prefer
against the prisoners, being satisfied that their rela
tions had really practised sorcery.
344 OX SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
The custom pleaded by the prisoners was fully
substantiated by the testimony of a great number of
witnesses, who recited specific facts in support of it,
without any denial or disagreement ; and from the
collective evidence exhibited in the course of the in
quiry, the following curious and extraordinary cir
cumstances appeared :—

That the successive demise of three or four young

, people in a village, led to a suspicion of sorcery as
the cause of it ; and the inhabitants taking alarm, were
upon the watch to detect the witches. They were
generally discovered dancing naked at midnight by
the light of a lamp, with a broom tied round their
waists, either near the house of a sick person, or on
the outside of the village.

To ascertain with a greater degree of certainty the

persons guilty of practising witchcraft, the three fol
lowing modes are adopted :

First. Branches of the Saul tree, marked with the

names of all the females in the village, whether mar
ried or unmarried, who have attained the age of
twelve years, are planted in the water in the morning,
for the space of four hours and a half; and the wither
ing of any of these branches is proof of witchcraft
against the person whose name is annexed to it.

Secondly.. Small portions of rice enveloped in cloths,

marked as above, are placed in a nest of white ants ;
the consumption of the rice in any of the bags, esta
blishes sorcery against the woman whose name it bears.

Thirdly. Lamps are lighted at night ; water is placed

in cups made of leaves, and mustard-seed and oil
is poured, drop by drop, into the water, whilst the
name of each woman in the village is pronounced ;
the appearance of the shadow of any woman on the
water, during this ceremony, proves her a witch.
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS. 345
Such are the general rules for ascertaining those who
practise witchcraft. In the instance which I have
quoted, the witnesses swore, and probably believed,
that all the proofs against the unfortunate women had
been duly verified : they assert in evidence, that the
branches marked with the names of the five women
accused were withered ; that the rice in the bags hav
ing their specific names, was devoured by the white
ants, whilst that in the other bags remained untouch
ed ; that their shadows appeared on the water, on the
oil being poured upon it whilst their names were pro
nounced ; and farther, that they were seen dancing at
midnight in the situation above described.

It is difficult to conceive that this coincidence of

proof could have been made plausible to the grossest
ignorance, if experience did not shew that preposses
sion will supersede the evidence of the senses.

The following custom would be too trivial for notice,

if it were not strongly descriptive of the simplicity
and ignorance which mark the character of the gene
rality of the inhabitants of Ramgur.

From habitual neglect in ascertaining the quantities

of land held in lease, and in defining with accuracy
their respective tenures, frequent disputes arise between
the inhabitants of different villages regarding their
boundaries : to determine them, a reference is usually
made to one or more of the oldest inhabitants of the
adjacent villages ; and if these should not agree in
their decision, other men are selected from the inha
bitants of the villages claiming the disputed ground ;
and the trial proceeds as follows : Holes are dug in
the contested spot, and into these holes each of the
chosen men puts a leg, and the earth is then thrown
\\\ upon it ; and in this situation they remain until
 346 ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY FACTS, CUSTOMS,
one either expresses a wish to be released, or com
plains of being bitten or stung by some insect. This
decides the contest, and the property of the ground is
adjudged to belong to that village the inhabitant of
which goes through the trial with the most fortitude,
and escapes unhurt by insects.

If the preceding detail has no relation to science,

it is at least descriptive of manners ; and in availing
myself of the opportunities afforded by official occu
pations (which is all indeed that these occupations ad
mit) to contribute my portion to the researches of the
Society, my example will, I hope, be imitated by
those who, with the same, or greater opportunities,
possess more knowledge, ability, and leisure.

NOTE.

Having lately received some further documents on

the subject of the Dhiirna, which I did not possess
when the preceding paper was read to the Society, I
have extracted from them what appears to me requi
site to elucidate this extraordinary practice. From
these documents it appears that several cases of Dhur-
na had been brought before the Provincial Court of
Justice at Benares ; and as a penalty had been annex
ed to the performance of this mode of importunity,
it became necessary to define with precision the rules
constituting Dhurna, according to the Shaster and
Usage. \

For this purpose a, question was proposed to several

Pandits, inhabitants of the province and city of Be
nares ; and the answer subscribed by twenty-three
Pandits is as follows :
 AND PRACTICES OF THE HINDUS. 347
" Any one who sits Dhurna on another's door, or
in his house, for the realization of a debt, or for other
purpose, in which the party sitting takes with him
some weapon or poison, and sits down ; nor does he
eat himself, nor allow the party against whom he is
sitting, or his family to eat ; nor does he allow any
person ingress into that person's house, nor egress from
it ; and addressing himself in terms of the strongest
oaths to the people of the house, he says, " If any
" of those of your house shall eat victuals, or go into
" your house, or go out of it, I shall either wound
" myself with this weapon, or swallow this poison ;"
and it does sometimes happen that both these events
take place, and that he who sits in Dhurna is not to
remove from it without the intreaty of those on whom
he is sitting, or the order of the Hakim. Whenever
all the requisites above-mentioned are found united,
they constitute Dhurna; but if any one of them be
wanting, that is not Dhurna, but Tuckaza or Dun
ning ; and as no text of the Shaster hath been found
concerning Dhurna, wherefore we have delivered the
requisites thereof according to the common custom
and practice."

There is some difference in the opinions of other

Pandits as to what is understood to constitute Dhurna;
but the quotation which I have inserted, appears to
me to contain the most authentic information on this
subject.

The Society will observe that the practice is not

specifically pointed out in the Shaster, but has the
sanction of usage only.

The following instance is of late occurrence. In

January, 1794, Mohun Panreh, an inhabitant of a dis
trict in the province of Benares, sat down in Dhurna
348 ON SOME EXTRAORDINARY CUSTOMS, &C.
before the house of some Rqjepoots, for the purpose
of obtaining the payment of Birt, or a charitable sub
sistence to which he had a claim ; and in this situation
destroyed himself by swallowing poison. Some of
the relations of the deceased retained his corpse for
two days before the house of the Rqjepoots ; who thus
were compelled to forego taking sustenance, in order
to induce them to settle the Birt on the heir of the
deceased Brahmin.
 349

XXIII.

DESCRIPTION OF THE YAK OF TARTARY,

CALLED

SOORA-GOY,
OS
THE BUSHY-TAILED BULL OF TIBET.

BY LIEUTENANT SAMUEL TURNER.

THE Yak of Tartary, called Soora-Goy in Hin-

dostan, and which I term the bushy-tailed bull
of Tibet, is about the height of an English bull, which
he resembles in the figure of the body, head, and legs.
I could discover between them no essential difference,
except only that the Yak is covered all over with a
thick coat of long hair. The head is rather short,
crowned with two smooth round horns, that, tapering
from the setting-on, terminate in sharp points, arch
inwardly, and near the extremities are a little turned
back ; the ears are small ; the forehead appears pro
minent, being adorned with much curling hair ; the
eyes are full and large ; the nose smooth and convex ;
the nostrils small ; the neck short, describing a cur
vature nearly equal to both above and below ; the
withers high and arched ; the rump low. Over the
shoulders rises a bunch, which at first sight would seem
to be the same kind of exuberance peculiar to the
cattle of Hindustan ; but in reality it consists in the
superior length of the hair only, which, as well as that
along the ridge of the back to the setting-on of the
350 DESCRIPTION OF THE YAK OF
tail, grows long and erect, but not harsh. The tail
is composed of a prodigious quantity of long flowing
glossy hair descending to the hock, and is so extremely
well furnished, that not a joint of it is perceptible ;
i>ut it has much the appearance of a large bunch of
hair artificially set on. The shoulders,' rump, and
upper part of the body is clothed with a sort of thick
soft wool, but the inferior parts with straight pendant
hair, that descends below the knee ; and I have seen
it so long in some cattle which were in high health
and condition, as to trail upon the ground. From
the chest, between the fore-legs, issues a large pointed
tuft of hair, growing somewhat longer than the rest.
The legs are very short. In every other respect,
hoofs, &c. he resembles the ordinary bull. There is
a great variety of colours amongst them, but black or
white are the most prevalent. It is not uncommon to
.see the long hair upon the ridge of the back, the tail,
tuft upon the chest, and the legs below the knee white,
when all the rest of the animal is jet black.

These cattle, though not large boned, from the pro

fuse quantity of hair with which they are provided,
appear of great bulk. They have a down heavy look,
but are ,fierce, and discover much impatience at the
near approach of strangers. They do not low loud
(like the cattle of England) any more than those of
Hindostan ; but make a low grunting noise scarcely au
dible, and that but seldom, when under some impres
sion of uneasiness. These cattle are pastured in the
coldest parts of Tibet, upon the short herbage pecu
liar to the tops of mountains and bleak plains. That
chain of lofty mountains situated between lat. 27 and
8, which divide Tibet from Bootan, and whose sum
mits are most commonly clothed with snow, is their
favourite haunt. In this vicinity the southern glens
aiford them food and shelter during the severity of
winter ; in milder seasons the northern aspect is more
 TARTART, CALLED SOORA-GOY. 351
congenial to their nature, and admits a wider range.
They are a very valuable property to the tribes of illi
terate Tartars, who live in tents and tend them from
place to place, affording their herdsmen a mode of
conveyance, a good covering, and subsistence. They
are never employed in agriculture, but are extremely
useful as beasts of burthen ; for they are strong, sure
footed, and carry a great weight. Tents and ropes
are manufactured of their hair ; and I have, though
amongst the humblest rank of herdsmen, seen caps
and jackets worn of their skin. Their tails are esteem
ed throughout the East, as far as luxury or parade
have any influence on the manners of the people ; and
on the continent of India are found, under the deno
mination of Chowries, in the hands of the meanest
grooms as well as occasionally in those of the first mi
nisters of state. Yet the best requital with which the
care of their keepers is at length rewarded for selecting
them good pastures, is in the abundant quantity of
rich milk they give, yielding most excellent butter,
which they have a custom of depositing in skins or
bladders, and excluding the air : it keeps in this cold
climate during all the year ; so that after some time
tending their flocks, when a sufficient stock is accu
mulated, it remains only to load their cattle and drive
them to a proper market with their own produce,
which constitutes, to the utmost verge of Tartary, a
most material article of merchandise.
 353

XXIV.

A DESCRIPTION OF THE JONESIA.

BY DOCTOR ROXBURGH.

CI. Heptandria Monogynia.

ESSENTIAL CHARACTER.

CALYX, two-leaved, Corol, one-petaled, Pistil-

bearing ; base of the tube impervious ; stamens
long, ascending, inserted into the margin of a glan-
dulous nectarial ring, which crowns the mouth of
the tube, the uppermost two of which more distant.
Style declining. Legume turgid.

Consecrated to the remembrance of our late Presi

dent, the most justly celebrated Sir William Jones,
whose great knowledge of this science, independent
of his other incomparable qualifications, justly en
titles his memory to this mark of regard,

Jonesia As'oca.
Asjogam. Hort. Mat. 5, P. 117, Tab. 59.
As'oca is the Sanscrit name.
Vanjula, a synonym e,
Russuk of the Bengalese,

Found in gardens about Calcutta, where it grows

to be a very handsome middling sized ramous tree ;
flowering time the beginning of the hot season ; seeds
ripen during the rains. The plants and seeds were,
Vol. IV. A a

-
354 A DESCRIPTION OF
I am informed, originally brought from the interior
parts of the country, where it is indigenous.

Trunk erect, though not very straight. Bark dark

brown, pretty smooth. Branches numerous, spread
ing in every direction, so as to form a most elegant
shady head.
Leaves alternate, abruptly feathered, sessile, generally
more than a foot long; when young, pendulous
and coloured.
Leaflets opposite, from four to six pair, the lower
most broad lanced, the upper lanced; smooth,
shining, firm, a little waved, from four to eight
inches long.
Petiole common, round and smooth.
Stipule axillary, solitary ; in fact a process from the
base of the common petiole, as in many of the
grasses and monandrists, &c.
Umbels terminal and axillary ; between the stipule and
branchlet, globular, crowded, subsessile, erect.
Bracts, a small hearted one under each division of
the umbel.
Peduncle and pedicels smooth, coloured.
Flowers very numerous, pretty large ; when they first
expand, they are of a beautiful orange-colour, gra
dually changing to red, forming a variety of lovely
shades ; fragrant during the night,
Calix perianth, below two-leaved, leaflets small, nearly
opposite, coloured, hearted, bracte-like, marking
the termination of the pedicel, or beginning of the
tube of the corol.
Corol one-petaled, funnel-form; tube slightly in
curved, firm and fleshy, tapering towards the base
(club-funnel-shaped) and there impervious ; border
four-parted; division spreading, suborbicular; mar->
gins most slightly woolly : one-third the length q£
the tube,
 THE JONESIA. 355
Nectary, a stameniferous and pistiliferous ring crowns
the mouth of the tube.
Stamens, filaments (generally) seven, and seven must,
I think, be the natural number, viz. three on each
side, and one below, above a vacancy, as rf the
place of an eighth filament, and is occupied on its
inside by the pistil ; they are equal, distinct, as
cending, from three to four times longer than the
border of the corol.
Anthers uniform, small, incumbent.
Pistil, germ oblong, pediceled ; pedicel inserted into
the inside of the nectary, immediately below the
vacant already mentioned ; style nearly as
long as the stamens, declining ; stigma simple.
Pericarp, legume scimitar-form, turgid, outside reticu-
vlated, otherwise pretty smooth, from six to ten
inches long, and about two broad.
Seeds generally from four to eight, smooth; grey,
size of a large chesnut.

Note. Many of the flowers have only the rudiment

of a pistil : a section of one of these is at D.

REFERENCES.
. A. A branchlet natural size.
S. A single flower a little magnified, aa the calyx.
C. A section of the same, exhibiting four of the stamens 1.1.1.1.
the pistil 2, and how far the tube is perforated.
D. A similar section of one of the abortive flowers ; 3 is the abor
tive pistil.
E. The ripe legume opening near the base, natural size. Note,
the space between the b and c marks the original tube of the
corol.
F. One of the seeds natural size.
G. The base of the common petiole, with its stipules ; aa the-petiole*
of the lower pair of leaflets.

A a 2
 dBy
Survey,
of
iLbe
fateirtenucde Fandhtoedhaghu-rhis
Kutween Kand
1",
11'
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dahgungeJ4' 27° 11'
lalabad gurh.
Making
24".
eFutteh these
2",
11'
Khodah
give and
7".alabad 6'
J27°
elgunge so exactly
12".
the
last
27°
As
agrees the
with
obsvery
I ervation, think
the
LKho
oabat
tsietruvded

Clear..
Moderate. Moderate.
Clear. MDo.
oderate.
dahgunge
litoo
twasle. Calm.
Do.
Remarks. Do. Do.

OHunteg.
William
Aby
Esq^
bstsreornovmaitcialen,

Latitude. 27
11
12 27 127
6
0 17 22
02 46
26
12 26
51
10

LOABTSIETRUVDE S. d-
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26
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Latitude. 26
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11 127
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calm. Moderate. Moderate. Moderate. Moderate.
Windy. Windy. Windy. Windy. Windy.
Remarks.
Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do.

Thin
flitting
Clear. Clear.
Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do.

Latitude. 26
42
17 2 26
22 26"
46
26 22 24
12 27
01
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27
21 27
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18, 21 26
6 6
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26
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BLight
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Moderate. Moderate. Moderate.
Calm. Calm.
Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do.

Clear.
Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do. Do.

Latitude.
26
42 26
47 4
22 26
22 26 42 26
40 26
30 22 42 46
22 26
11 16
7
27 11 2
127 2277
26
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11 12 16 12 0 22 21 22 22
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4 Oct.
17
 361

XXVI.

A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS.
THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &c.

FROM THE HINDU SACRED BOOKS.

BY LIEUT. FRANCIS WILFORD.

IN the Sc&nda-purana and Vis'va-s&ra pracasa, or

declaration of what is most excellent in the world,
we find the following legends, which have an evident
relation to the origin of Semiramis, the Syrian dove,
Ninus, and the building of Nineveh, Hierapolis, and
Mecca, &c.

Maha-dboa and his consort Pdrvati, with a view

to do good to mankind, quitted their divine abode
on Cailasa, and proceeded towards the north, alighted
on the summit of the Nishada mountains, where they
found the Devdtas ready to receive them, with a nu
merous retinue of Celestial Nymphs, and Heavenly
Choristers. Mahd-diva was so struck with the beauty
of some of the Apsaras, and his looks were so expres
sive of his internal raptures, that Parvati, unable to
conceal her indignation, uttered the most virulent re
proaches against him. Conscious of the impropriety
of his behaviour, Mahd-dtva used every endeavour to
pacify her ; he humbled himself ; he praised her, and
addressed her by the flattering appellation of MaM-
bhdga ; but to no purpose. She fled into Ctcsha-duip,
on the mountains of Vahni-vyapta, and seating her
self in the hollow trunk of a Sami-tree, performed
362 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
Tapasyd (or austere devotion) for the space of nine
years ; when fire springing from her, pervaded with
rapid violence the whole range of mountains, inso
much, that men and animals were terrified, and fled
with the utmost precipitation. Devi, unwilling that
her devotion should prove a cause of distress to the
animal creation, recalled the sacred flame, and con
fined it in the Saml tree. She made the hollow of
that tree her place of abode and dalliance ; and hence
she is called Sami-Rdmd, or she who dallies in the
Saml-trte.

The fugitives returning, performed the Puja in

adoration of her, with songs in her praise. The flame
confined in the Sanu-tree still remains in it ; and the
Devatas are highly delighted with the fire, which is
lighted from the Aran'i (or cubic wood of that tree).
The Arani is the mother of fire, and is produced
from the Saml-tree. From that time, this sacred tree
gives an increase of virtue, and bestows wealth and
corn. In the month of As'wina, or Cooar, the tenth
of the first fifteen days of the moon is kept holy, and
Pujd is made to Sami Rdmd and to the Saml-tree;
and those who perform it obtain the object of their
desires. This sacred rite I have hitherto kept con
cealed from the world, says Mahddtva, but now I
make it known for the good of mankind ; and who
soever performs it will be victorious over his enemies
for the space of one year.

During these transactions, Visveswara-Mahd-d&oa,

or Cdsi-pati (that is to say, Mahd-dha, the lord of
the world and sovereign of Casi or Benares) visited
the country of Purushotama, in Utcola-desa or Orissa;
which he was surprised to find overspread with long
grass, and without inhabitants. He resolved to destroy
the long grass, and for this purpose, assuming the di-
jninutive shape of a dove, with an angry contenance,
 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. 363
commenced the performance Tapasya; his consort
D&o'i also transformed herself into a bird of the same
species; and from that time they were known to
mankind, and worshipped under the titles of Capdtes-
wara and CapdUsi or Iswara and 1st, in the shape of
a dove. They set fire to the Cusha, or long grass, and
the country became like Vindra-van near (Muttra)
and was soon filled with inhabitants. The spot where
they performed their Tapasya is called to this day
Capdta-sfhati, or the place of the dove. It is a cele
brated place of worship, and, as I am informed, about
five coss from Jagannafha.

Almost the whole universe was likewise at this

time overspread with long grass ; and to destroy it,
Mahd-dtca, with his consort, resolved to travel round
the world. They accordingly proceeded into Cusha'
duip, which they found tilinly inhabited by a few
Mledihas, or impure tribes, and the Yavanas, who
concealed their booty in the grass which covered the
country.

Maha-diva took compassion on them, and con

sidering their sufferings in this inhospitable country
as a sort of Tapasya, he resolved to bestow Mocsha,
or eternal bliss, on them : for this purpose he assumed
the character and countenance of Mocshiswara or
Iswara, who bestows Mocsha ; and directed his con
sort Capdtisi, who is also called Mahd-bhdga, to go
to Vahni-sfhan, on the borders of Cusha-duipa ; there
to make Tapasyd, in order to destroy the long grass.
Accordingly she went into Vahni-sfhan ; and that she
might effect it without trouble to herself, she assumed
another form : from which circumstance she was
named Anay&sa. In this character she seated herself
on a beautiful hill, and there made Tapasyd for many
days. At last fire sprung from her devotion ; and its
presiding power standing before her, she directed him
864 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMlS,
to destroy the Cusha ; when the hills were soon in &
blaze, and the Yavanas and other MlhcKhas obtaining
Mocsha, were reunited to the Supreme Being, without
labour or effect on their part ; that is to say, they were
involved in the general conflagration, and destroyed.

When the grass was consumed, Andydsa ordered

the clouds to gather and pour their waters on the
land, which was soon overflowed. The waters then
retired, and the four great tribes came into Ousha-
duip, where they soon formed a powerful nation, and
became rich and happy. After the conflagration,
all sorts of metals and precious stones were found
throughout the country. The countenance of And-
ydsd-dtoi is that of fire; and a most divine form
it is.

The inhabitants soon after deviating from the paths

of rectitude, became like the Mlich'has : and the Ya*
vanas re-entered Cusha-duip, plundering and laying
waste the whole country. The four tribes applied to
Anay&sa, offered praises to her, and requested she,
would protect them against the Yavanas, and dwell
among them. Mahdbhdgd assented; and the spot
which she chose for her abode, is called MaM-bhdgd-
sfhdn, or the place of Mahdbhdgd.

In the mean time Mahd-diva was at Mocsha-si'hdn,

or Mocshesa, bestowing Mocsha on all who came to
worship there. It is a most holy place ; and there
Mahd-dtva laid aside the countenance and shape of
Capotiswara, and assumed that of Mocshkvara.

Among the first votaries of Mahd-deva, who re

paired to Mocsha-sfhdn, was V'irasina, the son of
Guhyaca. He had been making Tapasyd for a long
time, in honour of Mahd-dtoa, who at last appeared
to him, and made him king over Sfhavdras, or
 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. 363
the immoveable part of the creation. Hence he was
called Sfhdvar-pati ; and the hills, trees, and plants,
and grasses of every kind were ordered to obey him.
His native country was near the sea ; and he began his
reign with repressing the wicked, and insisting on all
his subjects walking in the paths of justice and recti
tude. In order to make his sovereign acknowledged
throughout the world, he put himself at the head of a
numerous army : and directing his course towards the
north, he arrived at Mocsha-sfhdn, where he perform
ed the Puja in honour of MocsMswara, according to
the rites prescribed in the sacred books. From M6c-
shesa he advanced towards the Agni pdrvatas, or fire-
mountains, in Vahnisfhdn ; but they refused to meet
him with presents, and to pay tribute to him. In
censed at their insolence, St'hwoar-pati resolved to de^
stroy them : the officers on the part of Sami-Rdmd,
the sovereign of Vahnisfhdn, assembled all their troops,
and met the army of St'havar^pati ; but after a bloody
conflict, they were put to flight.

Satni-Ra'md amazed, inquired who this new con«

queror was ; and soon reflected that he could never
have prevailed against her without a boon from Ma-r
hd-deva, obtained by the means of what is called
Ugra-Tapasyd, or a Tapasyd performed with fervor,
earnestness of desire, and anger. She had a confer
ence with Sfhdvar-pati ; and as he was, through his
Tapasyd, become a son of Mahd-dha, she told him
she considered him in that light, and would allow him
to command over all the hills, trees, and plants in
Vahni-st'kdn. The hills then humbled themselves
before Sfhdvar-pati, and paid tribute to him.

The origin of Ninus is thus related in the same

saced books. One day, as Mahd-dcva was ram
bling over the earth naked, and with a large club in his
ftand, he chanced to pass near the spot where several
366 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
Munis were performing their devotions. Mahd-deva
laughed at them, insulted them in the most provok
ing and indecent terms; and, lest his expressions
should not be forcible enough, he accompanied the
whole with significant signs and gestures. The of
fended Munis cursed him ; and the Linga or Phallus
fell to the ground. Mahd-diva, in this state of mu
tilation, travelled over the world, bewailing his mis
fortune. His consort too, hearing of this accident,
gave herself up to grief, and ran after him in a state
of distraction, repeating mournful songs. This is
what the Greek mythologists called the Wanderings
of Dematar, and the Lamentations of Bacchus.

The world being thus deprived of its vivifying

principle, generation and vegetation were at a stand :
gods and men were alarmed ; but having discovered
the cause of it, they all went in search of the sacred
Linga; and at last found it grown to an immense size,
and endowed with life and motion.

Having worshipped the sacred pledge, they cut it,

with hatchets, into one-and-thirty pieces, which, Poly-
pus-Wke, soon became perfect Lingas. The Devatas
left one-and-twenty of them on earth ; carried nine
into Heaven, and removed one into the inferior re
gions, for the benefit of the inhabitants of the three
worlds. One of these Lingas was erected on the
banks of the Cumud-vati, or Euphrates, under the
name of BdUswara-Linga, or the Linga of Iswara
the Infant, who seems to answer to the Jupiter Puer
of the western mythologists. To satisfy Divi, and
restore all things to their former situation, Mahd-diva
was born again in the character of Bdlestvara, or
Iswara the Infant. BdlSswara, who fosters and pre
serves all, though a child, was of uncommon strength ;
he had a beautiful countenance; his manners were
most engaging ; and his only wish was to please every
 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, kc. 367
body; in which he succeeded effectually; but his
subjects waited with impatience till he came to the
age of maturity, that he might bless them Math an
heir to his virtues. Bdliswara, to please them, threw
off his childlike appearance, and suddenly became a
man, under the title of Ltt&swara, or Isrcara, who
gives pleasure and delight. He then began to reign
over gods and men, with the strictest adherence to,
justice and equity : his subjects were happy ; and the
women beheld with extacy his noble and manly ap
pearance. With the view of doing good to mankind,
he put himself at the head of a powerful army, and
conquered many distant countries, destroying the
wicked, and all oppressors. He had the happiness of
his subjects and of mankind in general so much at
heart, that he entirely neglected every other pursuit.
His indifference for the female sex alarmed his sub
jects : he endeavoured to please them ; but his em
braces were fruitless. This is termed Asc'halansfMn.
The Apsaras, or celestial nymphs, tried in vain the
effect of their charms. At last Sami-Rama came to
Aschalansfhdn, and retiring into a solitary place in
its vicinity, chanted her own metamorphoses and those
of LU&swara, who happening to pass by, was so de
lighted with the sweetness of her voice, that he went
to her and inquired who she was. She related to him
how they went together into Utcoladisa in the charac
ters of the Capdteswara and Capotisi: adding, you
appeared then as Afocsheswara, and I became Anayasa;
you are now Littmara, and I am Sam\-Rama, but I
shall be soon Lilisrvarh LUiswara, being under the
influence of Maya, or worldly illusion, did not recol
lect any of these transactions ; but suspecting that the
person he was speaking to might be a manifestation
of Parvati, he thought it adviseable to marry her ;
and having obtained her consent, he seized her hand,
and led her to the performance of the nuptial cere
mony, to the universal satisfaction of his subjects.
368 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
Gods and men met to solemnize this happy union ;
and the celestial nymphs and heavenly quiristers graced
it with their presence. Thus Sami-Rdmd and Lili-
swara commenced their reign, to the general satisfac
tion of mankind, who were happy under their virtu
ous administration.

From that period the three worlds began to know

and worship IAUswara, who, after he had conquered
the universe, returned into Cusha-duipa. LUeswara
having married Sami-Rdmd, lived constantly with
her, and followed her wherever she chose to go ; in
whatever pursuits and pastimes she delighted, in these
alone he took pleasure ; thus they travelled over hills
and through forests to distant countries ; but at last
returned to Cusha-duip: and Sami-Rama seeing a
delightful grove near the Hradancita (or deep water)
with a small river of the same name, expressed a wish,
that he would fix the place of their residence in this
beautiful spot, there to spend their days in pleasure.

name of Lila-sfhdn, or the place of delight. The

water of the ffradancita is very limpid, and abounds,
with Camala-ftowers, or red Lotos.

Sami-Rama is obviously the Seniiramis of the wes^

tern mythologists, whose appellation is derived from
the Sanscrit Sami-Rdmhi, or Isi (Isis) dallying in
the Sami, or Fir-tree, The title- of Sami-Rdmisi is
not to be found in the Purdnds ; but it is more gram
matical than the other ; and it is absolutely necessary
to suppose the word Isi, or Esi in composition, in
order to make it intelligible.

Diodorus Siculus* informs us that she was born

* Diodorus Siculus, lib. 3. cap. 2.

 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. 369
At Ascalon : the Purdnds say, that her first appearance
in Syria was at AscKalana-sfhdn, or the place where
Ltlesia or Ninus had Asc'halana.

The defeat of Semiramis by Staurokates, is re

corded in the Purdnds with still more extravagant
circumstances ; for Staurobates is obviously St'havara-
pati, or Sfhdwara-pati, as it is more generally pro
nounced.

The places of worship mentioned in the above le

gends are Mdcshisa or Mocha-sfhdn, Aschala-sfhdn
or Aschalana-sfhdn, two places of the name of Lila-
stKdn or Lilisa-sfhdn. Andydsd-devi-sfhdn and Ma-
hd-bhdgd sfhdn.

The Brahmins in the western parts of India, insist

that Mocsha sfhan is the present town of Mecca. The
word Mocsha is always pronounced in the vulgar dia
lects, either Moca or Mucta ; and the author of the
Dabistan says, its ancient name was Maca. We find it
called Maco Raba, by Ptolemy, or Moca the Great
or Illustrious. Guy Patin mentions a medal of An
toninus Pius with this legend, « mok. iep. axt. ayto."
which he very properly translates, Moca, sacra, inviola-
bilis, sais utens legibus, " Moca the holy, the inviolable,
and using her own laws." This, in my humble opinion,
is applicable only to Mecca, or Mocsha-sfhdn, which
the Purdnds describe as a most holy place. The
Arabian authors unanimously confirm the truth of
the above legend ; and it is ridiculous to apply it to ,
an obscure and insignificant place in Arabia Petrea,
ealled also Moca. It may be objected, that it does not
appear that Mecca was ever a Roman colony. I do
not believe it ever was; but at the same time it was
possible that some connection for commercial purpo
ses might have existed between the rulers of Mecca and
the Romans in Egypt. The learned are not ignorant
Vol. IV. ' Bb
370 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
that the Romans boasted a little too much of their
progress in Arabia ; and even medals were struck with
no other view, apparently, but to impose on the mul
titude at Rome. It is unfortunate that we do not meet
in the Puranas with the necessary data to ascertain,
beyond doubt, the situation of Mocshea. From the
particulars contained in them, however, it appears to
have been situated a great way to the westward, with
respect to India, and not from Egypt and Ethiopia, as
has been shewn in a former dissertation on these
countries, and in the third volume of the Asiatic Re~
searches.

It is declared in the Puranas that Capotisxoara

and his consort Capotis}, in the shape of two doves,
remained there for some time ; and Arabian authors
inform us, that in the time of Mohammed, there
was in the temple of Mecca a, pigeon carved in wood,
and another above this : to destroy which, Moham
med lifted Ali upon his shoulders. These pigeons
were most probably placed there in commemoration
of the arrival of Mahd-deva and Devi, in the shape
of two doves.

The worship of the dove seems to have been pe

culiar to India, Arabia, Syria, and Assyria. We read
of Semiramis being fed by doves in the desart ; and
of her vanishing at last from the sight of men, in
the shape of a dove ; and, according to the Puranas,
Capotisi, or the dove, was but a manifestation of
Sami-Rdmd,

The dove seems to have been in former times the

device of the Assyrian, as the eagle was of the Roman
empire ; for we read in Isaias *, " And the inhabit-
" ants of this country shall say in that day, such was

* Isaias, cap. xx. in fine.

 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. « 371
" our expectation ! behold whither we wanted to fly
" for help from the face of the dove, but how could
" we have escaped."

I have adhered chiefly to the translation of Tre-

viellius, which appears the most literal, and to be
more expressive of the idea which the prophet wished
to convey to the Jews, who wanted to fly to Egypt
and Ethiopia, to avoid falling into the hands of the
Assyrians; but were to be disappointed by the fall of
these two empires.

All commentators have unanimously understood

Assyria by the Dove, and have translated the above
passage accordingly. Capbtesi, or the Assyrian Dove,
was also mentioned in a song, current in these coun
tries, and which seems to refer to some misfortune
that had befallen the Assyrians. The 56th Psalm is
directed to be sung to the tune of that song, which
was known to every body ; and for this purpose the
first verse, as usual, is inserted. " The dove of dis-
" tant countries is now struck dumb."

The Hindus further insist, that the black stone in the

wall of the Caaba, is no other than the Linga or Phal
lus of Mahd-d&oa; and that Avhen the Caaba was
rebuilt by Mohammed (as they affirm it to have been)
it was placed in the wall, out of contempt ; but the
new converted pilgrims would not give up the wor
ship of the black stone ; and sinistrous portents forced
the ministers of the new religion to connive at it. Ara
bian authors also inform us that stones were worshipped
all over Arabia, particularly at Mecca; and Al-shah-
restanani * says, that the temple at Mecca was dedi
cated to Zohal or Kyevun, who is the same with Sa
turn. The author of the Dabistan declares posi-

* Sale's Koran.
Bb3
372 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMtS,
tively that the Htjar al aswad, or the black stone, was
the image of Kyevun. Though these accounts some
what differ from those in the Purdnds, yet they shew
that this black stone was the object of an idolatrous
worship from the most remote times.

The Mussulmans, in order to palliate their idolatry

towards it, have contrived other legends. Kyevun
is the Chyun of Scripture, also called Remphan,
which is interpreted the God of Time. If so, Chyun,
or Kyevun, must be Mahd-dtva, called also Ma-
hd-cdla, a denomination of the same import with
Remphan; the Egyptians called Horus, the lord of
time ; and Horus is the same with Hara, or Ma->
hd-d6va*.

The reason of this tradition is, that the Sabians,

who worshipped the seven planets, seem to have con
sidered Saturn as the lord of time, on account of
the length of its periodical revolution ; and it appears
from the Dabistan, that some ancient tribes in Persia
had contrived a cycle of years, consisting of the revo
lution of Saturn repeatedly multiplied by itself.

Aschala-sfhdn, or Aschalam-sfhdn, is obviously

Ascalon ; there Semiramis was born, according to
Diodorus Siculus, or according to the Puranas, there
she made her first appearance.

Mahd-bhdga-st'hdn is the sfhan or place of

Sami-Rdmd, in the characters of Mahd-bhdgd, or
the great and prosperous goddess. This implies
also that she bestowed greatness and prosperity on
her votaries.

* See Dissertation on Egypt, &c. in the third volume of the Asi

atic Researches,

(
 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. 373
We cannot but suppose that the sthan of Maha*
bhdgd is the ancient town of Mabog, called now Men-
bigz and Menbig ; the Greeks called it Hierapolis, or
the holy city : it was a place of great antiquity ; and
there was a famous temple dedicated to the Syrian
goddess, whose statue of gold was placed in the cen
tre, between those of Jupiter and Juno. It had a
golden dove on its head ; hence some supposed it
was designed for Semiramis ; and it was twice every
year carried to the sea-side in procession. This sta
tue was obviously that of the great goddess, or Ma-
habhdgd-devi, whose history is intimately connected
with that of the Dove in the western mythologist, as
well as in the Purdnds.

An ancient author* thus relates her origin : " Di*

" citur et Euphratis fluvio ovum piscig Columba adse-
" disse dies plurimos, et exclusisse Deam benignam et
" misericordem horhinibus ad bonam vitam." " It
" is related that a Dove hatched the egg of a fish,
" near the Euphrates, and that after many days of in-
" cubation came forth the Goddess, merciful and pro-
" pitious to men, on whom she bestows eternal bliss."
Others say that fishes rolled an egg upon dry land,
where it was hatched by a Dove, after which appear
ed the Syrian Goddess.

Her origin is thus related in the Puranas: The

Yavanas having for a long time vexed the inhabitants
of Cusha-duip, they at last applied for protection to
JUdhd-bhdga-devi, who had already appeared in that
country in the characters of Sami-Rama and Capotisi,
or 1st, in the shape of a Dove ; they requested also
tfiat she would vouchsafe to reside amongst them.
The merciful Goddess granted their request ; and the

* Lucius Amphelius ad Macrin.

Bb 3
374 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
place where she made her abode was called the
sf-han, or place of Mahd-bhagd.

The Syrian name of Mabog is obviously derived

from Maha'-bhdgd. This contraction is not uncom
mon in the western dialects, derived from the Sans
crit ; and Hesychius informs us that the Greeks pro
nounced the Hindu wtird Maha (great) Mai. Mabog
is mentioned by Pliny, where we read Magog ; but
Mr. Danville shews that it should be Mabog : I con
clude from some manuscript copies. This is also con
firmed by its present name, which is to this day Man-
big, or Manbeg. We find it also called Bambukeh
(B*t*@vxn Bambyce) ; and in Niebuhrs Travels it is
also called Bombadsche : I suppose for Bombaksche or
Mombigz : but this is equally corrupted from Mdab-
haga. In the same manner we say Bombay for Moni-
ba ; and what is called in India Bambu or Pambu, is
called Mambu in Thibet.

The temple of Mabog was frequented by all na

tions ; and amongst them were Pilgrims from India,
according to Lucian, as cited by the author of the
Ancient Universal History.

Mabog, or Hierapolis, Was called also Old Ninus,

or Nineveh, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, and
Phihstratus: and there is no mistake in Diodorus Si-
culus and Otesias, when they assert that there was a
town called Nineveh near the Euphrates. Scripture
also seems to place Nineveh thereabout ; for it is said
that Rezen was between Nineveh and Calach. And
the situation of Rezen, called also Resaina, by an
cient authors, and Razain by the moderns, is well
known as well as that of Calach on the banks of the
Lycus, now the Zab, to the eastward of the Tigris.
Nineveh, of course, must have been to the westward
of these two places, and falls where the Old Ninus is
pointed out by Ammianus, Philostratus, &c.
 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. 375
Two places of the name are mentioned in the Pu-
s rands, under the name of Lilasfhdn, the sfhdn or
place of Lilesa or Ninus. There can be no doubt,
in my humble opinion, of their identity ; for Sami-
Rdmd is obviously Semiramis. Ninus was the son of
Belus, and, according to the Purdnds, Lilisa sprung
from BdUswara, or Balesa ; for both denominations,
being perfectly synonymous, are indifferently used in
the Purdnds.

Nineveh on the Tigris, seems to be the sfhdn or

Li'lisa, where he laid aside the shape and countenance
of Bdlesa, and assumed that of Li lbsa. The other
place of Lilesa, which Sami-Rdmd, delighted with
the beauty of the spot, chose for the place of her re
sidence, is Hierapolis, called also Ninus or Nineveh ;
hence we find her statue in the temple of JVahab'hdcd*
It is said to have been situated near a deep pool, or
small lake, called from that circumstance Hradancitd ;
and the pool near the Hierapolis was described to be
two fathoms deep. Sami-Rdma is represented in a
most amiable light in the Purdnds, as well as her con
sort Lileswara, or Lilesa.

Stephanus of Byzantium says that Ninus lived at a

place called Telani, previous to his building Nineveh ;
but this place, I believe, is not mentioned by any
other author.

Ninus is with good reason supposed to be the Assur

of Scripture, who built Nineveh ; and Assur is ob
viously the Is'wara of the Purdnds, with the title of
Liliswara, Littsa, or Ninus. The word I'swara,
though generally applied to deities, is also given in
the Purdnds to Kings ; it signifies Lord and Sove
reign.

With respect to the monstrous origin of Bilisa,

and the thirty-one Phalli; my Pandit, who is an
Bb4.

4
376 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
astronomer, suspects it to be an attempt to reconcile
the course of the moon to that of the sun, by dividing
the synodical revolution into thirty-one parts, which
may represent also three hundred and ten years. As
this correction is now disused, he could give me no
further information concerning it. To the event re
lated is ascribed the origin of the Linga or Phallus,
and of its worship: it is said to have happened on the
banks of the Cumud-vati, or Euphrates ; and the first
Phallus, under the name of Baleswara-Linga, was erect
ed on its banks. This is confirmed by Diodorus Sicu-
lus, who says that Semiramis brought an Obelish from
the mountains of Armenia, and erected it in the most
conspicuous part of Babylon : it was 150 feet high,
and is reckoned, by some authors, as one of the seven
wonders of the world*. The Jews in their Talmud
allude to something of this kind; speaking of the
different sorts of earths, of which the body of Adam
was formed: they say that the earth which composed
his generative parts, was brought from Babylonia.

The next place of worship is the sfhan of An&yd-

sa-devi : this, I think, is obviously the Heiron tes
Anaias of Strabo, or the temple of the goddess
Anaia, or Anaias, with its burning spring of Naphtha.
They are upon a hillock, called Corcura by the an
cients, and now known by the name of Corcoor: it is
near Kerkook, and to . the eastward of the Tigris. To
this day it is visited by pilgrims from India; and I
have been fortunate enough to meet with four or five
who had paid their devotions in this holy place. I
consulted them separately ; and their accounts were as
satisfactory as could be expected. They call it Jud-
la-muc'hi, or the flaming mouth.

This conflagration is minutely described by Diodo

rus Siculusf, who says, that in former times a mon-

* Diod. Sic. lib. 3. cap. 4. f Ibid, cap, 5.

 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C, 377
ster called Alcida, who vomited flames, appeared in
Phrygia ; hence spreading along mount Taurus, the
conflagration burnt down all the woods, as far as In
dia : then, with a retrograde course, swept the forests
of mount Liban, and extended as far as Egypt and
Africa : at last a stop was put to it by Minerva.

The Phrygians remembered well this conflagration

and the flood which followed it ; but as they could
not conceive that it could originate from a benevolent
Goddess, they transformed her into a monster, called
Alcida. Alcida however is an old Greek word, im
plying strength and power, and is therefore synony
mous with Saca' or Sdctd-devi, the principal form of
Sa'mi-Rdma, and other manifestations of the female
part of nature.

Indeed, the names and titles of most of the Babylo*

man deities are pure Sanscrit : and many of them are
worshipped to this day in India, or at least their le
gends are to be found in the Purdnds.

Thus Semiramis is derived from Sami-Rdmisii or

Sami-Rama, and Sdm'i-Rama-d6vi.

Militta from Militia-Devi, because she brings peo

ple together (Connuba).

Shacka, or Saca, is from the Sanscrit Sacta-devi,

pronounced Saca in the vulgar dialects: it implies
strength and power.

. Slamba, or Salambo, is from Sanvdmbd, often pro-

liounced Salwdmba: it signifies the mother of all:
and she is the Magna Mater of the western myco
logists.
378 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIEAMIS,
Devi is called also A'ntargati, or Antargata-, be
cause she resides within the body, or in the heart, and
thereby gives strength and courage. This is the
Goddess of Victory in India, and they have no other :
it is declared in the Puranas, that she was called A'n-
trast hi (a title of the same import with the former)
in the forests of Vishdla-van, on the banks of the river
Tamasa, in Chdndra-duip : from A'ntrasf hi the old
Britons, or rather the Romans, made Andraste.

The Babylonian Goddess was called also the Queen

of Heaven ; and to this day a form of Devi, with the
title of Sverga radni divi, or Devi, Queen of Heavenr
is worshipped in India.

Rhea is from Hriya-devi, or the bashful or modest

Goddess.

Rakh is from Raciswara : a name of Lunus, from

one of his favourite wives called Raca: it signifies
also the full orb of the Moon.

Nabo, or Nebo, is Iswara, with the title of Nava,

or Naba, the celestial.

Nargal is from Anargaleswara ; that is, he who is

independent.

Adram-melech is from A'dharm-eswara ; for Iswara

and Melech, in the Chaldcean language, are syno
nymous.

Adharmemara is thus called, because he punishes

those who deviate from the paths of justice and
rectitude.

Anam-melech is from Anani-eswara or Tswara,

 THE ORIGIN OE MECCA, &C. 379
who, though above all, behaves to all with meekness
and affability.

Nimrod is from Nima-Rudra, because Rudra, or

Mahd-dtoa, gave him half of his own strength.

Vahni-st 'him, called also Agni-sf hdn, is said in some

Puranas to be in Cusha-duip ; and in others, to be on
the borders of it. It includes all the mountainous
country from Phrygia to Herat. Vahni-sfhan and.
Agni-sfhan are denominations of the same import,
and signify the country or seat of fire, from the nu
merous volcanoes and burning springs which are to
be found all along this extensive range of mountains.
The present Azar-Bdijdn, is part of it, and may be
called Vahni-sf han proper. Azar, in the old Persian,
signifies fire ; and Baijan, a mine or spring. This
information was given to me by Mr. Duncan, resident
of Benares, who was so kind as to consult on this
subject with Mehdi-Ali-Khdn, one of the Aumils of the
Zemindary of Benares. He is a native of Khorassan,
and well acquainted with the antiquities of his own
country, and of Iran in general. According to him,
the principal Baijan, or spring of fire, is at a place
called Baut-Cubeh*, in Azar Baijan. Vahni-sf hdn
is called also Vahni-vydpta, from the immense quan
tity of fire collected in that country. There are
many places of worship remaining throughout Iran,
still resorted to by devout pilgrims. The principal
are Balk and the Pyrceum, near Herat. Hingla'z, or
Anclooje, near the sea, and about eighty miles from
the mouth of the Indus : it is now deserted ; but there
remain twenty-four temples of Bhavdni. This place, -
however, is seldom visited, on account of the diffi
culties attending the journey to it.

* It is vulgarly called Baku.

380 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
Gangkwdz, near Congo, on the Persian Gulph,
another place of pilgrimage, where are many caves,
with springs in the mountains.

The sfhan of Calydna-Rdya and Govinda-Rdya,

two incarnations of Vishnu, is in the centre of Bussora,
on the banks of the Euphrates; and there are two
statues carefully concealed from the sight of the
Mussulmans.

Andydsd-divi-sfhdn has been already mentioned ;

and the great Judld-muc hi is the designation of the
springs of Naphtha, near Baku.

There is also another Hindu place of worship at

Barahein (FA Katif) and another at Astrachan, where
the few Hindus who live there worship the Volga, un
der the name of Surya muc hi-Ganga ; the legends re
lating to this famous river are to be found in the Pu-
rdnds, and Confirm the information of the pilgrims
who have visited these holy places. There are still
many Hindus dispersed through that immense coun
try ; they are unknown to the Mussulmans ; and they
pass for Guebris, as they call them here, or Parsis.
There is now at Benares a Brahmin of the name of
Devidds, who is a native of Mesched ; he was intro
duced lately to my acquaintance by Mr. Duncan ; and
he informed me that it was supposed there were about
2000 families of Hindus in Khorassan ; that they call
ed themselves Hindi, and are known to the Mussul
mans of the country under that appellation.

This, in my opinion, accounts for the whole coun

try to the south of the Caspian Sea, from Khorassan
and Arrokhage, as far as the Black Sea being called
India by the ancients ; and its inhabitants in various
places Sindi: it is implicitly confirmed by the Purd-
nds, in which it is said that the Surva-muchi-Gangd,
 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. 381
or Volga, falls into the Sea of Sind. The Hindus near
Baku and at Astrachan, call it the New Sea, because
they say it did not exist formerly. They have legends
about it, which, however, my learned friend Vidhya'*
na'th could not find in the Purdnds.

According to the pilgrims I have consulted, there

are about twenty or thirty families of Hindus at Balk;
and Eusebius informs us, that there were Hindus in
^Bactriana in his time. There are as many families at
Gdngdwdz, or Congo ; about one hundred at Bussora ;
and a few at Baharein : these informed Burandpurl,
a Y6yi and famous traveller, called also Ura'hwabahu,
because he always keeps his hands elevated above his
head, that formerly they corresponded and traded with
other Hindus on the banks of the river Nila, in the
country of Misr ; and that they had once a house ol
factory at Cairo ; but that, on account of the oppres
sion of the Turks and the roving Arabs, there had
been no intercourse between them for several genera
tions. There are no Hindus at Andydsddivl, or Cor-
coor ; but they compute a large number in the vici
nity of Baku, and Derbend. The Shroffs at Sdmdkhi
are Banyans or Hindus, according to the dictionary ,
of Commerce, and of Trevoux, as cited in the French
Encyclopaedia.*

The Cubdni's who live near Derbend are Hindus,

as my friend Purani-Puri was told at Baku and
Astrachan, in his way to Moscow ; and their Brah
mins are said to be very learned ; but, as he very pro
perly observed, this ought to be'understood relatively,
on a comparison with the other Hindus in Persia, who
are extremely ignorant. .
 382 A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS,
His relation is in a great measure confirmed by
Strahlenberg, who calls them Cuba Cubatzin; and
says that they live near Derbend, are a distinct people,
supposed to be Jexts, and to speak still the Hebrew
language.

The Sanscrit characters might easily be mistaken

for the black Hebrexo letters by superficial observers,
or persons little conversant in subjects of this nature.

The Aran'i, figuratively called the daughter of the

„ Sami-tree, and the mother of fire, is a cubic piece of
wood, about five inches in diameter, with a small hole
in the upper part. A stick of the same sort of wood
is placed in this cavity, and put in motion by a string
held by two men, or fixed to a bow. The friction
soon produces fire, which is used for all religious
purposes, and also for dressing food. Every Brahmin
ought to have an Arani ; and when they cannot pro
cure one from the Sami-tree, which is rather scarce
in this part of India, they make it with the wood of
the Asvatfha, or Pippala-tree. This is also a sacred
tree, and they distinguish two species of it ; the Pip-
pala, called in the Vulgar dialects Pipal, and the Cha-
latpalasha. The leaves of this last are larger, but the
fruit is smaller, and not so numerous as in the former
species. It is called Chalat palasha, from the tremu
lous motion of its leaves. It is very common in the
hills; and the vulgar name for it is Popala; from
which I suppose is derived the Latin word Populus ;
for it is certainly the trembling Poplar or Aspen-tree.

The festival of Semiramis falls always on the tenth

day of the lunar month of Aswina, which this year
. coincided with the fourth of October. On this day
lamps arc lighted in the evening under the Sami-tree ;
offerings are made of rice and flowers, and some
 THE ORIGIN OF MECCA, &C. 383
times strong liquors ; the votaries sing the praise of
S'ami'-Ramd-devi and the Sami-tree ; and having
worshipped them, carry away some of the leaves of
the tree, and earth from the roots, which they keep
carefully in their houses till the return of the festival
of Semiramis in the ensuing year.
 385

XXVII.

ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS.

BY LIEUT. R. H. COLEBROOKE.

THE Andaman Islands are situated on the eastern

side of the bay of Bengal*, extending from
north latitude 10° 32' to 13° 40'. Their longitude is
from 92° 6' to 61° 59' east of Greenwick. The Great
Andaman, or that portion of the land hitherto so
called, is about one hundred-and-forty British miles
in length, but not more than twenty in the broadest
parts. Its coasts are indented by several deep bays,
affording excellent harbours', and it is intersected by
many vast inlets and creeks, one of which has been
found to run quite through, and is navigable for
small vessels. The Little Andaman is the most south
erly of the two, and lies within thirty leagues of the

,* It is perhaps a wonder, that islands so extensive, and lying in

the track of so many ships, should have been, till of late years, so
little known ; that while the countries by which they are almost en
circled, | have been increasing in population and wealth, having
been from time immemorial in a state of tolerable civilization,
these islands should have remained in a state of nature, and their
inhabitants plunged in the grossest ignorance and barbarity.
The wild appearance of the country, and the untractable and fe
rocious disposition of the natives, have been the causes, probably,
which have deterred navigators from frequenting them ; and they
have justly dreaded a shipwreck at the Andamans more than the
danger of foundering in the ocean ; for although it is highly pro
bable, that in the course of time many vessels have been wrecked
upon their coasts, an instance does not occur of any of the crews
being saved, or of a single person returning to give any account of
-such a disaster.
Vol. IV. C ©
386 ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS.
island Carnicobar. Its length is 28 miles by 17 in
breadth, being more compact, but does not afford any
harbour, although tolerable anchorage is found near
its shores. The former is surrounded by a great num
ber of smaller islands.

The shores of the main island, and indeed of all

the rest, are in some parts rocky, and in a few places
are lined with a smooth and sandy beach, where boats
may easily land. The interior shores of the bays and
creeks are almost invariably lined with mangroves,
prickly fern, and a species of wild rattan ; while the
inland parts are covered with a variety of tall trees,
darkened by the intermixture of creepers, parasite-
plants, and underwood ; which form altogether a vast
and almost impervious forest, spreading over the
whole country. The smaller islands are equally co
vered with wood ; they mostly contain hills of a mo
derate height ; but the main island is distinguished by
a mountain of prodigious bulk, called from its shape
the Saddle-Peak ; it is visible in clear weather at the
distance of twenty-five leagues, being nearly two thou
sand four hundred feet in perpendicular height. There
are no rivers of any size upon these islands, but a num
ber of small rills pour down from the mountains, af
fording good water, and exhibiting in their descent
over the rocks, a variety of little cascades, which are
overshaded by the superincumbent woods.

The soil is various in different parts of these

islands * ; consisting of black rich mould, white and
dark coloured clays, light sandy soil, clay mixed with
pebbles of different colours, red and yellow earth but
the black mould is most common. Some white cliffs

* I am indebted to Major Kyd and Captain Archibald Blair for

many of the subsequent remarks. The latter was employed by-
government in surveying these islands, and has the credit of having
furnished the first complete and correct Chart of the Andamans.
 ON Tilt ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 387
are met with along the shores, which appear to have
been originally clay, with a mixture of sand, hardened
by time into the consistence of stone, but might
be cut, and would probably answer for building.
Near the southern extremity of the great island, where
it is mountainous and rocky, some indications of mi
nerals have appeared, particularly of tin. There is
also a kind of freestone, containing a yellow shining
spar, resembling gold-dust. Some of the hills bor
dering the coasts exhibit blue shistous strata at their
bases, with the brescia, or pudding-stone ; and some
specimens of red ochre have been found, not unlike
cinnabar.

The extensive forests with which these islands are

over-run, produce a variety of trees fit for building,
and many other purposes. The most common are
the poon, dammer, and oil-trees ; red wood, ebony,
cotton-tree, and buddaum or almond-tree; soondry,
chingry, and bindy ; Alexandrian laurel, poplar, and
a tree resembling the sattin-wood ; bamboos, and
plaas, with which the natives make their bows ; cutch,
affording the extract called Terra Japonica; the Me-<
lori, or Nicobar bread-fruit; aloes, ground rattans,
and a variety of shrubs. A few fruit-trees have been
found in a wild state ; but it is remarkable that cocoa-
nuts, so common in other tropical countries, are here
almost unknown. Many of the trees afford timbers
and planks fit for the construction of ships, and others
might answer for masts. A tree grows here to an
enormous size, one having been found to measure
thirty feet in circumference, producing a very rich
dye, that might be of use in manufactures.

The only quadrupeds yet discovered in these islands

are wild hogs, monkeys, and rats. Guanas, and va
rious reptiles abound; among the latter is the green.
C c 2
 388 ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS.
- snake, very venemous ; centipedes of ten inches long,
and scorpions.

A variety of birds are seen in the woods ; the most

common are pigeons, crows, paroquets, king fishers,
curlews, fish-hawks, and owls. A species of hum
ming bird, whose notes are not unlike the cuckoo, is
frequently heard in the night.

The principal caverns and recesses, composing part

of the coast, give shelter to the birds that build the
edible nests : an article of commerce in the China
market, where they are sold at a very high price.
It has been thought that these nests are formed from
a glutinous matter exuding from the sides of the
caverns where these birds, during their nidification,
resort. It is not known whether they emigrate ; but
the period of their incubation takes place in Decem
ber, and continues till May. Not more than two white
spotless eggs have been found in their nests ; but they
have been further supposed to breed monthly.

The harbours and inlets from the sea are plentifully

stocked with a variety of fish ; such as mullets, soles,
pomfret, rock-fish, skate, gurnards, sardinas, roe-
balls, sable, shad, aloose, cockup, grobers, seer-fish,
old wives, yellow tails, snappers, devil-fish, cat-fish,
prawns, shrimps, cray-fish, and many others : a spe
cies resembling the whale, and sharks of an enormous
size, are met with. A variety of shell-fish are found
on the reefs, and in some places oysters of an excel
lent quality. Of the many madrapors, coralines,
zoophites, and shells, none have yet been discovered
but such as are found elsewhere.

The Andaman Islands are inhabited by a race of men.

the least civilized, perhaps, in the world ; being nearer

.
 ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 389
to a state of nature than any people we read of. Their
colour is of the darkest hue, their stature in general
small, and their aspect uncouth. Their limbs are ill
formed and slender, their bellies prominent, and, like
the Africans, they have woolly heads*, thick lips, and

* In this respect they differ from all the various tribes inhabiting
the continent of Asia, or its islands. A story is somewhere told of
a ship full of African slaves, of both sexes, having been cast away at
the Andamans ; and that having put to death their masters and the
ship's crew, they spread themselves over, and peopled the country.
This story does not appear to have been well authenticated, nor
have I ever met with the particular author who relates it. They
have been asserted by some to be cannibals, and by others (vide
Captain Hamilton's Voyage, and all the Geographical Dictionaries)
to be a harmless and inoffensive people, living chiefly on rice and
vegetables. That they are cannibals has never been fully proved,
although from their cruel and sanguinary disposition, great voracity,
and cunning modes of lying in ambush, there is reason to suspect,
that in attacking strangers they are frequently impelled by hunger^
as they invariably put to death the unfortunate victims who fall
under their hands. No positive instance, however, has been known
of their eating the flesh of their enemies ; although the bodies of
some whom they have killed, have been found mangled and torn.
It would be difficult to account for their unremitting hostility to
strangers, without ascribing this as the cause, unless the story of
their origin, as above-mentioned, should be true ; in which case
they might probably retain a tradition of having once been in a
state of slavery. This in some degree would account for the rancour
and enmity they shew ; and they would naturally wage perpetual war
with those whom they might suspect were come to invade their coun
try, or enslave them again.
It would appear that these islands were known to the ancients
(see Major Rennel's Memoirs, introduction, page xxxix). They
are mentioned, I believe, by Marco Polo; and in the ancient ac
counts of India and China, by two Mohammedan travellers, who
went to those parts in the ninth century (translated from the Arabic
by Eusehius Renaudot) may be seen the following curious account :
—" Beyond these two islands (Nejabahis, probably Nicohars) lies
•* the sea of Andaman; the people on this coast eat human flesh
*' quite raw; their complexion is black, their hair frizzled, their
" countenance and eyes frightful, their feet are very large and almost
" a cubit in length, and they go quite naked. They have no em-
" barkations; if they had, they would devour all the passengers
«* they could lay hands on," &c.
C c 3
390 ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS.
flat noses. They go quite naked, the women wearing
only at times a kind of tassel, or fringe, round the
middle ; which is intended merely for ornament, as they
do not betray any signs of bashfulness when seen with
out it. The men are cunning, crafty, and revengeful ;
and frequently express their aversion to strangers in
a loud and threatening tone of voice, exhibiting va
rious signs of defiance, and expressing their, contempt
by the most indecent gestures. At other times they
appear quiet and docile, with the most insidious in
tent. They will affect to enter into a friendly confer
ence, when, after receiving with a show of humility
whatever articles may be presented to them, they set
rip a shout, and discharge their arrows at the donors.
On the appearance of a vessel or boat, they frequently
lie in ambush among the trees, and send one of their
gang, who is generally the oldest among them, to the
water's edge, to endeavour by friendly signs to allure
the strangers on shore. Should the crew venture to
land without arms, they instantly rush out from their
lurking-places, and attack them. In these skirmishes
they display much resolution, and will sometimes
plunge into the water to seize the boat ; and they have
been known even to discharge their arrows while in
the act of swimming. Their mode of life is degrad
ing to human nature, and, like brutes, their whole
time is spent in search of food. They have yet made
no attempts to cultivate their lands, but live entirely
upon what they can pick up, or kill. In the morn-,
ing they rub their skins with mud, and wallow in it
like buffaloes, to prevent the annoyance of insects,
and daub their woolly heads with red ochre, or cinna
bar. Thus attired, they walk forth to their different
occupations, The women bear the greatest part of
the drudgery in collecting food, repairing to the reefs
at the recess of tl\e tide, to pick up shell-fish, while
the men are hunting in the woods, or wading in the
water to shoot fish with their bows and arrows. They
 ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 39 1
are very dexterous at this extraordinary mode of fish
ing ; which they practise also at night, by the light
of a torch. In their excursions through the woods, a
wild hog sometimes rewards their toil, and affords
them a more ample repast. They broil their meat or
fish over a kind of grid, made of bamboos ; but use
no salt, or any other seasoning.

The Andamaners display at times much collo

quial vivacity, and are fond of singing and dancing;
in which amusements the women equally participate.
Their language is rather smooth than guttural ; and
their melodies are in the nature of recitative and cho
rus, not unpleasing. In dancing they may be said to
have improved on the strange republican dance as
serted by Voltaire to have been exhibited in England:
" Ou dansant a la ronde, chacun donne des coups de pieds
" a son voisin, et en recoit autant." The Andamaners
likewise dance in a ring, each alternately kicking
and slapping his own breech, ad libitum. Their salu
tation is performed by lifting up a leg, and smack
ing with their hand the lower part of the thigh.

Their dwellings are the most wretched hovels ima

ginable. An Andaman hut may be considered the
rudest, and most imperfect attempt of the human race
to procure shelter from the weather ; and answers to
the idea given by Vitruvius, of the buildings erected
by the earliest inhabitants of the earth. Three or
four sticks are planted in the ground, and fastened to
gether at the top, in the form of a cone, over which a
kind of thatch is formed with the branches and leaves
of trees. An opening is left on one side, just large
enough to creep into ; and the ground beneath is
strewed wjth dried leaves, upon which they lie. In
these huts are frequently found the sculls of wild
hogs, suspended to the roofs.
, Cc4
392, ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS.
Their canoes are hollowed out of the trunks of
trees by means of fire and instruments of stone, hav
ing no iron in use amongst them, except such uten
sils as they have procured from the Europeans and
sailors who have lately visited these islands ; or from
the wrecks of vessels formerly stranded on their coasts.
They use also rafts, made of bamboos to transport
themselves across their harbours, or from one island
to another. Their arms have already been mentioned
in part ; I need only add, that their bows are remark
ably long, and of an uncommon form ; their arrows
are headed with fish-bones, or the tusks of wild hogs;
sometimes merely with a sharp bit of wood, hardened
in the fire; but these are sufficiently destructive.
They use also a kind of shield ; and one or two
other weapons have been seen amongst them. Of
their implements for fishing, and other purposes, lit
tle can be said. Hand-nets of different sizes are
used in catching the small fry ; and a kind of wicker-
basket, which they carry on their backs, serves to
deposit whatever articles of food they can pick up. A
few
islands.

The climate of the Andaman Islands is rather

milder than in Bengal. The prevailing winds are the
south-west and north-east monsoons, the former com
mencing in May, and bringing in the rains ; which
continue to fall with equal, if not greater, violence till
November. At this time the north-east winds begin
to blow, accompanied likewise by showers, but giv
ing place to fair and pleasant weather during the rest
of the year. These winds vary but little, and are in
terrupted only at times by the land and sea-breezes.
The tides are regular, the floods setting in. from the
west, and rising eight feet at the springs, with little
variation in different parts. On the north-east coast
 ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS. 393
it is high water at the full and change of the moon at
8a 33'. The variation of the needle is 2° 30' east
erly.

Specimen of the Andaman Language.

Andaman is- , ) Door, - - Tang

land, or na- 1 ►Mincopie To drink, Meengohee
tive coun- j Earth, Totongnange*
try, 1 Ear, - - Quaka
Ant, - - - Ahooda To eat, - - Ingelholiah
Ant, white in, 1 Elbow, - - Mohalajabay
its winged > Doughay Eye, - - Jabay
state, )
Arrow, - - Buttohie Finger, - , Momay
Ann, - - Pilie Fire, - - - Mona
Fish, - - - Nabohee
Bat, - - - Vilvila Fish-hook, Atabea
Bamboo, Otallie Flesh, - - Woohee
Bangle, - - Alai Foot, - - Gookee
Basket, - - Teregay Friend, - - Padoo
Black, - - Cheegheooga Frog, - - Etolay
Blood, - - Cochengohee
Bead, - - Tahee Goat, - - Kokee
To Beat, Ingo taheya Togo, - - Oosseema
Belly, - - Napoy Grass, - - Tohobee
i Totoba oto goley
To bind, \ toha Ottee
Hair, - -
Bird, - - , Lohay Hand, - - Gonie or Monie
To bite, - - Moepaka Head, - - Tabay
• Boat, - - Loccay Honey, - - Lorkay
Boar, - - Stohee Hot, - - Hooloo
Bow, - - Tongie House, - - Beaday
Bow-string, - Geetahie
Breast, - - Cah Abay
Bone, - - Geetongay Jack Fruit, -
Jackall, - - Omay
Charcoal, Wehee Iron, or any
Metal, | Dohie
Chin, - - Pitang
Cold, - - Ghoma Kiss, - - Itolie
Cocoa-nut BoUatee Knee, - - Ingolay
Cotton cloth, Panga]>ee
To cough, Ingotahey To laugh, V Qnkeomai
Crow, - - Nohay Leaf of a Tree, Tongolie
To cut, - - Hojeeha Leg, Chigic
394 ON THE ANDAMAN ISLANDS.
Man, - Camolan Smoke, - • Boleenee
Moon, - Tabie To sing, - Gokobay
Musqueto, - Hohenangee To sit down, Gongtohee
Mouth, - - Morna Shadow, Tangtohee
To sleep, Comoha
Nail, - Mobejedanga To sneeze, Oh-cheka
Neck, - Tohie To spit, - Inkahoangy
Net, - Botolee To swim, Quaah
Nose, - Mellee To swallow, Beebay
Sky, - - Madamo
Paddle, or Oar, Mecal Star, - - Chelobay
Pain, Alooda Stone, - Woolay
Palm, - • Dolai Sun, Ahay
Paper, Pangpoy
Pike, Woohalay To take up, - Catoha
To pinch, Ingee Genecha Thigh, - - Poye
Plantain-tree, Cholellee Teeth, - - Mahoy
Pot, Bootchoohie Tongue, - - Talie
1 Totobati Ge- Thunder and \ Maufay Mac-
To pull, | hooa lightning, j cee
Rain, Oje, To wash, - Inga doha
Red, Gheallop Wasp, - Bohomakee
Road, • Echollee To walk, - Boony-jaoa.
To run, - Gohabela Water, - Migway
To scratch Inkahey aha To weep, - Oana-wannah
Seed, • Kheetongay Wind, - Tomjamay
Sheep,* - - Neena Wood, - Tanghee

* It may appear surprising that they should have names for animals that are
not found in their islands. This eiicuinstance may tend to confirm the story of
their origin.

:
I
 395

XXVIII.

ON BARREN ISLAND, AND ITS VOLCANO.

BY LIEUT. R. H. COLEBROOKE.

ABOUT fifteen leagues to the eastward of the An

daman Islands lies an island which navigators,
from its appearance, have justly called Barren. On
the 12th of May, 1787, Captain Kyd and myself, be
ing on board the Trial Snow, on a voyage to Pulo
jPenang, Barren Island in sight, bearing SSW. seven
leagues distant, saw a column of smoke ascending
from its summit, and by the help of our glasses plainly
perceived it to arise from a hill nearly in its centre,
around which appeared an extensive valley, or crater :
but being becalmed, we could not approach nearer to
examine it.

The following account of this remarkable island is

given by Captain Blair, in his report of the Survey of
the Andaman Islands.

" I left that coast March the 21st, and landed on

" Barren Island on the 24th.—The- volcano was in
ft a violent state of eruption, bursting out immense
" volumes of smoke, and frequently showers of red-
" hot stones. Some were of a size to weigh three or
" four tons, and had been thrown some hundred
f* yards past the foot of the cone. There were two.
396 OJf BARREL ISLAND,
" or three eruptions while we were close to it ; seve-
" ral of the red-hot stones rolled down the sides of
" the cone, and bounded a considerable way beyond
" us. The base of the cone is the lowest part of the
" island, and very little higher than the level of the
" sea. It arises with an acclivity of 32° 17' to the
" height of 1 800 feet nearly, which is also the eleva-
" tion of the other parts of the island.

" From its present figure it may be conjectured

" that the volcano first broke out near the centre of
" the island, or rather towards the north-west ; and
" in a long process of time by discharging, consum-
" ing, and undermining, has brought it to the pre-
" sent very extraordinary form, of which a very cor-
" rect drawing by Lieutenant JVaks, will impress a
" distant idea.

" Those parts of the island that are distant from

" the volcano, are thinly covered with withered shrubs
" and blasted trees. It is situated in latitude 12° 15'
* north, and fifteen leagues east of the northernmost
" island of the Archipelago*, and may be seen at the
" distance of twelve leagues in clear weather. A
" quarter of a mile from the shore; there is no ground
" with 150 fathoms of line." g

REMARK.

From the very singular and uncommon appearance

of this island, it might be conjectured that it has '
been thrown up entirely from the sea, by the action
of subterranean fire. Perhaps, but a few centuries
ago, it had not reared itself above the Avaves ; but
might have been gradually emerging from the bot
tom of the ocean long before it became visible ; till
* The easternmost cluster of the Andaman Islands.
 AND ITS VOLCANO. 397
at length it reached the surface, when the air would
naturally assist the operation of the fire that had been
struggling for ages to get vent, and it would then burst
forth. The cone or volcano would rapidly increase
in bulk, from the continual discharge of lava and com
bustible matter ; and the more violent eruptions which
might have ensued at times, when it would throw up
its contents to a greater elevation and distance, might
have produced that circular and nearly equidistant
ridge of land we see around.

If this conjecture should gain credit, we may sup

pose not only many islands, but a great portion of the
habitable globe, to have been thrown up by volcanos,
which are now mostly extinguished. Many hills and
islands now clothed with verdure, bear evident marks
of having once been in this state. A ground plan of
Barren Island would so exactly resemble some of the
lunar spots, as seen through a good telescope when
their shadows are strong, that I cannot help thinking
there are also many more volcanos in the moon than
have yet been discovered by a celebrated modern
astronomer*. Those remarkable valleys, or cavities,
discernible on her disk, have many of them a single
hill in their centre, and are surrounded by a circular
ridge of a similar appearance.

Query. May not the moon be surrounded by an

atmosphere of pure air, which differing essentially in
its properties from the atmosphere of our earth, might
account for some of the phenomena of her appearance
to us ? An atmosphere of this sort might be so trans
parent as not to refract the rays of light in a sensible
degree, or to produce the least change in the appear
ance of a star passing through it when an occultation

* Herschell,
398 ON BARREN ISLAND, &C.
is observed. At the same time, it would increase in
a high degree, the inflammability and combustion of
matter, so as to produce volcanos ; and if we suppose
the moon to have neither seas nor vegetation on her
surface, the sun's light would be more strongly reflect
ed than from the earth, where the rays are liable to
absorption by water and vegetables.
 399

XXIX.

Extractfrom a Diary of a Journey over the Great De-

sart, from Aleppo to Bussora, in April 1782. Com
municated by Sir William Dunkin, and published
with a View to direct the Attention offuture Travel-,
lers to the Ruins described in it.

APRIL 16.
SET off at five in the morning; encamped at five
in the evening ; the day intensely hot ; the soil in
general sandy ; some few shrubs and bushes, but now
quite brown, and so dry, that with the least touch
they fall to powder; many stalks of lavender and rose
mary ; and in very dry red sand several scarlet tu
lips ; other sorts new to me, one of a singular kind,
in colour and smell like a yellow lupin, but in figure
like the cone of a fir-tree, from ten to twelve inches
long.

After about two hours in this sort of country, the

ground appeared more verdant and firm ; we then
came to some very extraordinary ruins our Shaikh had
seen, but never had approached them before; we
prevailed on him ; he called the place Castrohuoin ;
another Arab called it Calmay ; our Armenians, who
interpreted for us in very bad Italian, called it Castro-
duofratilli (I try to give the names from their mode
of pronouncing); what we first saw was a square,
each side about 400 yards long. The walls forty feet
high, yet entire in many places ; at each angle there
is a circular tower, two others in each of the sides ;
they rise much higher than the walls ; the towers and
the walls constructed with very large blocks of cut
stone. To what use the hollow of the square had
400 DIARY OF A JOURNEY
been applied, I could form no conjecture : in it are im
mense blocks of cut stone, and segments of arches of
different dimensions, tumbled together in monstrous
heaps. Near to the gateway by which we entered, two
arches remain perfect, a third nearly so ; they were pro
bably carried all along the inside of (but distinct at least
twenty feet from) the wall. These arches spring from
very slender pillars, each pillar a single shaft; the arches
are nearly semicircular, of the same beautiful Avhite
stones as the pillars. About a quarter ofa mile from this
square there is another, which appears to be a fourth
part less ; the entrance into this is under the loftiest
as well as the widest arch of stone I ever saw : I had
no means of measuring, which I much _ regretted :
I cannot draw, which I regretted much more. The
proportions of the pillars, and of the arch which they
support, conveyed to me something more just and
beautiful than I can describe. The inside of the arch
is richly ornamented with sculpture; at the sides
there are niches, I suppose, for statues; the outer
face of the building is composed of great blocks of
stone as the greater square ; and in many places yet
entire, appear to be as well chisseled and jointed as
the best constructed marble building I ever saw, even
at Venice. The height of the wall seems to be equaI
to that of the greatest square ; the thickness, which
from some breaches quite through may be observed, '
from seven to eight feet, all through of the same
stone, Avith little, if any, cement: the number and
disposition of the towers the. same as in the other ; but
in this, where the towers rise above the wall, they
are more ornamented; two circles or bands of sculp
ture at equal distances appear relieved from the body
of each tower : but as all the tops are broken off, I
could not guess how they had been closed. The
sculpture on the inside of the great arch of entrance,
and on many of the fragments of prostrated pillars,
 OVER THE GREAT DESART; 401
appear like those of Mr. Wood's plates of the rains of
Palmyra. Over the entrance-arch on the inside, are
some remains of an inscription in Arabic; but so de
faced, that our Shaikh, who reads and writes Arabic,
could not make out one word. All along the inside of
this square, arches, formed of the finest brick, are con*
structed ; they project from the wall about thirty feet,,
and are about twenty feet high over the arches ; and
close up to the wall is a platform of earth perfectly le
vel, and now covered with rich and verdant herbage.
No vestige of buildings appear in the hollow of this
square, but many fragments of pillars lie in ruins ;
some are of brick, and so cemented, that it must be
as difficult to separate their parts as if they were solid
blocks of stone. There are no openings in the walls
from which any thing could have been discharged :
in the towers there are openings, at regular distances,
Which seem to have been designed to admit light only :
not for any hostile purpose. Equidistant from each of
the squares is, a building of the same sort of stone,
about fifteen feet; though it appears to have been
much higher, it is still considerably more lofty than
the other buildings: the stairs by which this was
ascended appear perfect from about twelve feet above
the ground; what were lower, now a heap of rubbish;
there does not remain the appearance of any commu
nication between this and the other buildings ; all •
the interjacent ground is level, and now verdant ; no
stream or well appears nearer than the well we stopt at
yesterday, about six hours from hence. If this district
could be supplied with water, it would be rich indeed ;
for several miles onward we thought we discovered the
remains of trenches or cuts for the conducting of wa
ter over the*'plain. The Arabs were entirely ignorant
respecting these extraordinary buildings ; when, or by
whom erected, or when destroyed. The Shaikh hur
ried us away, very much dissatisfied that we had lost
so much time; he swears he never will come near it
Vol. IV. D d
402 DIARY OF A JOURNEY, &C.
again : the distance from Aleppo is six days journey.
The Shaikh says that we are now about forty miles
from Palmyra, which is on our right, and about fifty
from the Euphrates, on our left. No person at Aleppo
gave me any hint of such a place. The gentlemen of
our factory at Bussora had never heard of it.

XXX.
 403

XXX.

PROSOPIS ACULEATA. KcexNig.

Tshamie of the Hindus in the Northern Circars.

BY DOCTOR ROXBURGH.

THIS grows to be a pretty large tree, is a native

of most parts of the coast, chiefly of low lands
at a considerable distance from the sea, and may be
only a variety of P. Spicigera, for the thorns are in
this sometimes wanting ; it flowers during the cold,
and beginning of the hot seasons.

Trunk tolerably erect, bark deeply cracked, dirty ash-

colour.
Branches irregular, Very numerous, forming a pretty
large shady tree.
Prickles scattered over the small branches ; in some
trees wanting.
Leaves alternate, generally bipinnate, from two to
three inches long ; pinnae from one to four, when
in pairs opposite, and have a gland between their
insertions.
Leaflets opposite, from seven to ten pair, obliquely
lanced, smooth, entire, about half an inch long,
and one-sixth broad.
Stipules none*
Spikes several, axillary, filiform, nearly erect.
Bracts minute, one»flowered, falling.
Flowers numerous, small, yellow, single, approxi
mated.
Calyx below, five-toothed.
Dd, 2
404 PROSOPIS ACULEATA.
Filaments united at the base. Anthers incumbent, a
white gland on the apex of each, which falls off
soon after the flower expands. Style crooked.
Stigma simple.
Legume long, pendulous, not inflated.
Seeds many, lodged in a brown mealy substance.

The pod of this tree is the only part used. It is

about an inch in circumference, and from six to twelve
long ; when ripe, brown, smooth, and contains, beside
the seeds, a large quantity of a brown mealy sub
stance, which the natives eat; its taste is sweetish
and agreeable ; it may therefore be compared to the
Spanish Algaroba, or locust-tree. (Ceratonia Siliqua,
Linn.)

NOTE.

. In compliance with Dr. Keenig's opinion, I have

called this a Prosopis, though I am aware that the
antheral glands give it a claim to the genus' Adenan-
thera^
 405

TO THE

RIGHT HON. SIR JOHN SHORE, BART.

GOVERNQR-GENERAL,
AND
PRESIDENT OF THE ASIATIC SOCIETY.

Dear Sir,.
I HAVE had from Mr, Goldingham (one of the Ho
nourable Company's astronomers at Fort Saint
George, a person of much ingenuity, and who appliea
himself to the study of antiquities) some drawings,
taken from the cave on the island of Elephanta : they
are the most accurate of any I have seen, and accom
panied with a correct description. This gentleman ar
gues ably in favour of its having been an Hindu tem
ple ; yet I cannot assent to his opinion. The immense
excavations cut out of the solid rocks at the Elephanta,
and other caves of the like nature on. the island of Sal-
sette, appear to me operations of too great labour to
have been executed by the hands of so feeble and ef
feminate a race as the aborigines of India have gene
rally been held to be, and still continue : and the
few figures that yet remain entire, represent persons
totally distinct in exterior from the present Hindus,
being of a gigantic size, having large prominent faces,
and bearing some resemblance to the Abyssinians, who
inhabit the country on the west side of the Red Sea,
opposite to Arabia. There is no tradition of these
caves having been frequented by the Hindus as places
of worship ; and at this period no poojah i$ performed
at any of them ; and they are scarcely ever visited by
the natives. I recollect particularly, that Ragonath
Row, when at Bombay% did not at all hold them in
any degree of veneration.
D d 3
 406
I flatter myself that you, Sir, will agree with me
in thinking the accompanying Memoir deserving of
being inserted in our proceedings.
Mr. Goldingham acquaints me, that he has paid two
visits to some curious remains of antiquity, about thir
ty-five miles southerly of Madras, commonly known
by the name of the Seven Pagodas. He promises to
transmit to me his remarks on these curiosities, with
copies of the inscriptions, which are in characters un-
known to the people of the district. He declares
himself highly ambitious of the favour of being ad
mitted into our Society ; and I shall be much gratified
in being instrumental to his obtaining that favour,
from a conviction that he will greatly add to our stock
of information, and prove an useful member.

I cannot conclude an address to you, Sir, as the

worthy successor of the gentleman who lately presided
over our Society with so much credit to himself and
benefit to the public, without adverting to the memo
ry of Sir William Jones, whose universal science and
ardent zeal for diffusing knowledge, I have had so
many occasions to admire during the course of an ac
quaintance of twenty-five years.

I have the honour to be, with the greatest respect,

Dear Sir,

Your most faithful and most obedient servant,

J, CARNAC,
Calcutta,
39M Jufy, 1795.
 407

XXXI.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CAVE

IN THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA.

BY J. GOLDINGHAM, ESQ.

THE Elephanta Cave, which is situated in a small

island in the harbour of Bombay, has deservedly
attracted the attention of the curious ; an elephant of
black stone, large as the life, is seen near the landing-
place, from which the island probably took its name :
the cave is about three quarters of a mile from the
beach ; the path leading to it lies through a valley ;
the hills on either side beautifully clothed, and, ex
cept when interrupted by the dove calling to her ab
sent mate, a solemn stillness prevails; the mind is
fitted for contemplating the approaching scene.

The cave is formed in a hill of stone ; its massy

roof is supported by rows of columns regularly dis
posed, but of an order different from any in use with
us * ; gigantic figures, in relief, are observed on the
walls ; these as well as the columns are shaped in the
solid rock, and by artists, it would appear, possessed of
some ability, unquestionably of astonishing perseve
rance. Several of the columns have been levelled,
and the figures mutilated, as I am informed, by the
Portuguese, who were at the trouble (and no small
one) of dragging cannon up the hill, for the better
execution of this exploit.—Destructive Superstition

* See the sketch of one of the pillars.

Dd4
408 SOME ACCOUNT *OF THE CAVE
seeks not for merit ; she commits to the flames and to
destruction, members of a community most valuable,
and structures doing honour to human ability !

The wall at the upper end of the cave is crowded

with sculpture; the attention is first arrested by a
grand bust, representing a being with three heads ;
the middle face is presented full, and expresses a dig
nified composure j. the head and neck splendidly cover-*
ed with ornaments. The face on the left is in profile,
and the head-dress rich; in one of the hands is a
flower, in the other a fruit resembling a pomegranate j
a ring, like that worn by the Hindus at present, is
observed on oi>e of the wrists ; the expression of the
countenance by no means unpleasant. Different is
the head on the right ; the face is in profile, the fore
head projects, the eyes stare ; snakes supply- the place
of hair, and the representation of a human skull is
conspicuous on the covering of the head ; one hand
grasps a monstrous Cobra de Capella (the hooded
snake) the other a smaller ; the whole together cal
culated to strike terror into the beholder. The height
of this bust is about eighteen feet, and the breadth of
the middle face aboutfour; but the annexed drawing
of this piece of sculpture will give a better idea of it
perhaps than words.

Each side of this niche is supported by a gigantic

figure leaning on a dwarf, a3 in the drawing.

A niehe of considerable dimensions, and crowded

with figures, on either side the former ; in the middle
of the niche, on the right, stands a gigantic figure,
apparently female, but with om breast only. This
figure has four arms, the foremost right hand is leaning
On the head of a bull, the other grasps a Cobra a'e
Capella, wile a circular shield is observed in the inner
feft hand; the head is richly ornamented j on the right
\
 IN THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA. 409
stands a male, bearing a pronged instrument, resem
bling a trident ; on the left is a female, holding a
mace or sceptre; near the principal is a beautiful
youth on an elephant ; above this is a figure with four
heads, supported by swans or geese ; and opposite is
a male with four arms, mounted on the shoulders of
another, having a sceptre in one of the hands. At
the top of the niche small figures in different atti^
tudes. are observed, seemingly supported by clouds.

The most conspicuous of the group on the niche

to the left, is a male near seventeen feet in height,
with four arms ; on the left stands a female about
fifteen feet high. The same circular rings worn by the
present Hindu women, are observed on the legs and
wrists of this figure ; the hair bears a like correspond
ence in the mode of putting it up ; the countenance
is peculiarly soft, and expressive of gentleness. In the
back ground, a figure with four heads, supported by
birds, and one with four arms on the shoulders of ano
ther, are also observed. Several smaller figures in at
tendance : one with the right knee bent to the ground,
in the attitude of addressing the principal, bears a
crese, exactly resernbling that in present use. The
heads of most of the small male figures have a whim
sical appearance, being covered with an exact resem
blance of our wigs.

On each side of these groups, is a small dark room,

sacred in ancient times perhaps to all but the unpol
luted Brahmin; but bats, spiders, scorpions, and
snakes are now in the possession.

Left of the last described group, and nearer the

side of the cave, is another; a male is observed in the
action of leading a female towards a majestic figure
seated in the corner of the niche, his head covered
jike our judges fin the bench ; the countenance and
410 SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CAVE
attitude of the female highly expressive of modesty,
and a timid reluctance : a male behind urges her for
ward. Several smaller figures compose this group.

Curious it is to observe all the female figures having

ornaments round the wrists and legs, like those worn
by the Hindu women at present, while the males
bearing the same correspondence, have ornaments
round the wrists only.

Opposite the last niche, and fifty feet nearer the

entrance, is another of equal dimensions, inclosing a
figure that forcibly arrests the attention : it is a gigan
tic half-length of a male with eight arms ; round pne
of the left arms a belt, composed of human heads, is
seen ; a right hand grasps a sword uplifted to sever a
figure, seemingly kneeling (but too much mutilated
to distinguish i ly) on a block, held in the cor-
respondent left hand ; a Cobra de Capella rises under
one arm ; among the singular decorations of the head,
a human skull is observed : above are several small
figures, represented in distress and pain. Many of
the figures mutilated, as is the principal, whose aspect
possesses a great degree of unrelenting fierceness.

Crossing to the other side of the cave, near one of

the small rooms, before mentioned, a male sitting as
the people of this country do at present, is observed ;
a female in the same posture on his left, with an at
tendant on either side : at the feet of the male is the
figure of a bull couchant ; and in each corner of the
niche stands a gigantic guard. Opposite is a cone'
spondent niche : the figures being a good deal mutilat
ed, and the situation dark, prevent these being pro
perly discriminated ; a sitting male figure, having an
attendant oil either hand, is however most easily per
ceived.
 IN THE ISLANP OF ELEPIIANTA, 411
A niche filled with figures, greatly defaced, is ob
served on each side the entrance. On one side is a
male that had eight arms, which are all destroyed : in
the back part is the figure with four arms, supported
by birds ; and the other figure with four heads, whim
sically elevated. A large sitting figure is the prin
cipal in the opposite niche ; a horse and rider in the
back ground ; the former caparisoned according to
the present mode in this country.

On the left side and half way up the cave, is an

apartment about thirty feet square, enclosing the
Lingam ; an entrance on the four sides ; and each side
of either entrance is supported by a figure seventeen
feet in height, each figure ornamented differently.

The part of this surprising monument of human

skill and perseverance hitherto described is generally
called the Great Cave; its length is 135 feet, and
breadth nearly the same. A plan accompanies this
account, which, however, I cannot venture to pro
nounce perfectly correct, having mislaid a memoran
dum ofparticular parts which were deduced, and with
sufficient correctness perhaps from the general mea-
sures preserved. But there are compartments on
both sides, separated from the great cave, by large
fragments of rock and loose earth, heretofore proba*
bly a part of the roof. That on the right is spacious,
,and contains several pieces of sculpture : the most re
markable is a large figure, the body human, but the
head that of an elephant. The lingam is also en
closed here. Above each, of a line of figures stand
ing in a dark situation, is a piece of sculpture, pointed
out to me as an inscription : however (with the assist
ance of a torch) I found one an exact copy of the
Other, and with little resemblance of characters.

The compartment on the other side contains seve

ral sculptures, and among the rest, a figure with an'
412 SOME ACCOUNT OF THE CAVE
elephant's head and human body. A deep cavity in
the rock hereabout contains excellent water, which,
being sheltered from the influence of the sun, is al
ways cool, and deservedly held in estimation by those
whom curiosity leads here through a scorching atmo
sphere. A traditional account of the extent of this ca
vity, and the communication of its waters by subter
raneous passages, with others, very distant, was given
me by a native of the island ; which would make a
considerable figure in the hands of a poet.

Gigantic as the figures are, the mind is not disa

greeably moved on viewing them : a certain indication
Having measured
three or four, and examined the proportions by the
scale we allow the most correct, I found many stood
even this test, while the disagreements were not equal
to what are met with every day in people whom we
think by no means ill proportioned.

The island wherein these curious remains of anti

quity are situated, is about five miles and a half from
Bombay, in an easterly direction; its circumference
cannot be more than five miles : a neat village near
the landing-place contains all its inhabitants, whom,
inclusive of women and children, number about one
hundred. Their ancestors, they tell you, having been
improperly treated by the Portuguese, fled from the
opposite island of Sahette hither, cultivating rice, and
rearing goats for their support. In the same humble
road do they continue. The islanders have no boat;
they cut wood from the adjoining hills, which the
purchasers remove in boats of their own ; they are
under our protection, and pay about fifty-six pounds
annually to the government ; the surplus revenue fur
nishes their simple clothing. By persevering in this,
humble path, these harmless people continue to re
joice in tranquillity under their banyan-tree. The
 IN THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA. 41S
cave, they tell you, was formed by the gods : and
this is all they pretend to know of the matter.

Various have been, and are to this day, the con

jectures respecting the Elephanta Cave. Those who
attempt to deduce its origin from the Egyptians, from
the Jews, or from Alexander the Great, appear to
me, with due deference, to give themselves much un
necessary trouble; which I shall further endeavour
to shew as briefly as the subject will admit of,
though at the same time it must be observed, that re
sembling features are not wanting in the case of the
Egyptians and of the Jews, to lead towards such de
ductions ; but these resemblances strike me as tending
to the elucidation of a more interesting hypothesis,
viz. That the systems of those people were copies of
an original, found in this part of the world.

The striking resemblance in several particulars of

the figures in the cave to the present Hindu race,
would induce those who from history, as well as from
observation, have reason to believe they have preserved
the same customs from time immemorial, to imagine
the ancestors of these people its fabricators ; but those
who are in a small degree acquainted with their mytho
logy, will be persuaded of it; nor is'a much greater
extent of knowledge requisite to enable us to discover
it to be a temple dedicated principally to Siva, the
destroyer or changer.

The bust is doubtless a personification of the three

grand Hindu attributes of that Being for whom the an
cient Hindus entertained the most profound venera
tion, and of whom they had the most sublime concep-
tions. The middle
creative attribute ; that on the left, Vishnu, or the pre
serving ; and the head on the right, Siva, or the de
structive or changing attribute.
414 Some account of the cave
The figure with one breast has been thought by mast
to represent an Amazon; it however appears to me a
representation of the consort of' Siva, exhibiting the
active power of her lord ; not only as Bawani, or
courage, but as Isani, or the goddess of Nature, consi*
dered as male and female, and presiding over genera*
tion, and also as Durga. Here we find the bull of
Iswara (one of Siva's names) and the figure bearing
his trisule, or trident. The beautiful figure on the
elephant is, I imagine, Cama, or the Hindu god of
Love ; the figure with four heads, supported by birds,
is a representation of Brahma ; and that with four arms,
mounted on the shoulders of another, is Vishnu.

The two principal figures in the niche to the left,

represent, perhaps, Siva and his goddess as Pai~vati.
Here, as before, we observe, Brahma and Vishnu in
the back ground.

The terrific figure with eight arms, has been much

talked of; some will have it to represent Solomon,
threatening to divide the harlot's child ; others, with
more reason on their side, suppose it to represent the
tyrant Cansa, attempting the life of the infant god
Crishna, when fostered by the herdsman Ananda.
To me, the third attribute, or the destroyer in action,
appears too well represented to be mistaken. The
distant scene, where the smaller figures appear in dis
tress and pain, is perhaps the infernal regions. The
figure about to be destroyed, does not seem to me an.
infant, but a full grown person ; if, indeed, the de
stroyer was of the human size, the figure in question
would bear the proper proportion as an infant ; but
as he is of enormous magnitude, a human being, full
grown, would appear but an infant by the side of him ;
and thus it is, I imagine, that people have been de
ceived : a case by no means uncommon in circum
stances like the present.
 IN THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTA. 415
The sitting male and female figures, having a bulL,
couching at the feet of the former, are Siva and his
goddess ; and thus are they represented in the pago
das of the present day, ,

No person can mistake the figure with the human

body and elephant s head for any other than Ganfaa,
the Hindu god of Wisdom, and the first-born of
Siva ; and thus is he represented at present.

From what has been advanced, it will appear in

contestable, I imagine, that this is a Hindu temple ;
whence the Lingam is a testimony sufficient of Siva's
having presided here, without the other evidences
which the intelligent in the Hindu mythology will
have discovered in the course of this account.

To deduce the asra of the fabrication of this struc

ture is not so easy a task; but it was, no doubt, pos
terior to the great schism in the Hindu religion,
which, according to the Puranas, I learn, happened
at a period coeval with our date of the creation. Be
this as it may, we have accounts of powerful princes
who ruled this part of the country of a later date,
particularly of one who usurped the government in
the ninetieth year of the Christian sera, famed for a
passion for architecture. Many worse hypotheses
have been, than one which might be formed of his
having founded the cave ; but I am led to imagine,
no certain conclusions on this dark subject could be
drawn from the sources of information open at pre
sent.
 417

XXXII.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE PRESENT STATE

OF DELHI.

BY LIEUTENANT W. FRANKLIN.

THE once celebrated city of Delhi, the capital

of Mussulman sovereignty in Hindostan, and,
in more early times, the seat of Hindu dominion over
northern India, has employed the pen of many dif
ferent authors, Asiatic and European; though of the
latter in a less degree than might have been expected.

The following account of the present state of this

ancient city, is extracted from a journal of observa
tions made during an official tour through the Dovab
and the adjacent districts, in company with Captain
Reynolds, of the Bombay establishment, appointed by
the Bengal government to survey that part of the
country in the year 1793.

It cannot be supposed to contain much new in

formation on things already described by others ; but,
as a faithful statement of the actual condition of the
once flourishing metropolis of a great kingdom now
in ruins, it may be acceptable ; and in this hope it is
offered, with deference to the Society ; who will
judge whether it be deserving of more general dif-
Vol. IV. E e
418 AN ACCOUNT OF THE
fusion by publication with their more important re
searches.

The extent of the ruins of old Delhi cannot, I

suppose, be less than a circumference of twenty miles,
reckoning from the gardens of Shalimar, on the north
west, to the Cuttub Minar on the south-east ; and
proceeding from thence along to the heart of the old
city by way of the mausoleum of Nizam-u-deeti,
on which stands Humaiooris tomb, and the old fort
of Delhi on the banks of the Jumna, to the Ajmere-
gate of Shah Jehanabad.

The environs to the north-west are crowded with

the remains of spacious gardens and country-houses
of the nobility, which were formerly abundantly sup
plied with water by means of the noble canal dug by
AH Mirdan Khan, and which formerly extended
from above Paniput quite down to Delhi, where it join
ed the Jumna ; fertilizing in its course a track of more
than ninety miles in length, and bestowing comfort
and affluence on those who lived within its extent.
This canal, as it ran through the suburbs of Mogul
Parah, nearly three miles in length, was about twenty-
five feet deep, and about as much in breadth, cut
from the solid stone-quarry, on each side, from which,
most of the houses in the neighbourhood have been
built. It had small bridges erected over it at different
places, some of which communicated with the gar
den-houses of the nobility.

In the year of the Hagiree 1041 (A. C. 1631-2)

the Emperor Shah-Jehan founded the present city
and palace of Shah-Jehanabad, which he made his ca
pital during the remainder of his reign. The new
city of Shah-Jehanabad lies on the western bank of the
Jumna,.'m latitude 28° 36' north. The city is about
seven miles in circumference, and is surrounded on
 PRESENT STATE OF DELHI. 419
three sides by a wall of brick and stone : a parapet
runs along the whole, with loop-holes for musquetry ;
but there are no cannon planted on the ramparts. The
city has seven gates ; viz. Lahore-gate, Ajmere-gate,
Turkoman-gate, Delhi-gate, Moor-gate, Cabul-gate,
and Cashmere-gate; all of which are built of free
stone, and have handsome arched entrances of stone,
where the guards of the city keep watch. Near the
Ajmere-gate is a Madrissa, or college, erected by
Ghazi-u-deen Khan, nephew of Nizam-ul-Moolluck :
it is built of red stone, and situated at the centre of
a spacious quadrangle, with a stone fountain. At the
upper end of the area is a handsome mosque built of
red stone, inlaid with white marble. The apartments
for the students are on the sides of the square, divided
into separate chambers, which are small but com
modious. The tomb of Ghazi is in the corner of
the square, surrounded by a shrine of white mar
ble, pierced with lattice-work. The college is now
shut up, and without inhabitants. In the neighbour
hood of the Cabul-gate is a garden, called Tees Huz-
zari Baug, in which is the tomb of the queen Malka
Zemani, wife of the emperor Mohummud Shah: a
marble tablet, placed at the head of the grave, is en
graved with some Persian couplets, informing us of
the date of her death, which happened five years
since, ann. Hagiree 1203. Near this tomb is another,
of the princess Zeebul Nissah Begum, daughter of
Aurungzebe. On a rising ground near this garden,
from whence there is a fine prospect of Shah Jehana-
bad, are two broken columns of brown granate, eight
feet high, and two and a half in breadth, on which
are inscriptions in an ancient character.

Within the city of new Delhi are the remains of

many splendid palaces, belonging to the great Om-
rahs of the empire. Among the largest are those of
Kummer-u-deen Khan, Vizier to Mohummud Shah;
E e 2
420 AN ACCOUNT OF THE
Alt Mirdan Khan, the Persian; the Nabob Ghazi-u-
deen Khan; Sefdur Jung; the garden of Coodseah
Begum, mother to Mohummud Shah ; the palace of
Sadut Khan; and that of Sultan Darah Shekoah. All
these palaces are surrounded with high walls, and take
up a considerable space of ground. Their entrances
are through lofty arched gateways of brick and stone,
at the top of which are the galleries for music : before
each is a spacious court-yard for the elephants, horses,
and attendants of the visitors. Each palace has like
wise a mahal, or seraglio, adjoining ; which is sepa
rated from the Dewan Khana by a partition-wall, and
communicates by means of private passages. All of
them had gardens with capacious stone-reservoirs
and fountains in the centre ; an ample terrace extend
ed round the whole of each particular palace; and
within the walls were houses and apartments for ser
vants and followers of every description, besides
stabling for horses, Feel Khanas, and every thing be
longing to a nobleman's suite. Each palace was like
wise provided with a handsome set of baths, and a
Teh Khana under ground. The baths of Sadut Khan
are a set of beautiful rooms, paved and lined with
white marble: they consist of five distinct apart
ments, into which light is admitted by glazed win
dows from the top of the domes. Sufder Jung's Teh
Khana consists of a set of apartments, built in a
light delicate manner ; one long room, in which is a
marble reservoir, the whole length ; and a small
room, raised and ballustraded on each side, both
faced throughout with white marble.

Shah Jehanabad is also adorned with many fine

mosques, several of which are still in perfect beauty
and repair. The following are most worthy of being-
described: the first, the Jama Musjed, or great ca
thedral. This mosque is situated about a quarter of
a mile from the royal palace ; the foundation of it was
 PRESENT STATE OF DELHI. 421
laid upon a rocky eminence, named Jujula Pahar,
and has been scarped on purpose. The ascent to it is
by a flight of stone steps, thirty-five in number, through
a handsome gateway of red stone. The doors of this
gateway are covered throughout with plates of wrought
brass, which Mr. Bernier imagined to be copper.
The terrace on which the mosque is situated, is a
square of about fourteen hundred yards of red stone ;
in the centre is a fountain lined with marble, for
the purpose of performing the necessary ablutions
previous to prayer. An arched colonnade of red
stone surrounds the whole of the terrace, which is
adorned with octagon pavilions at convenient dis
tances, for sitting in. The mosque is of an oblong
form, two hundred and sixty-one feet in length, sur
rounded at top by three magnificent domes of white
marble, intersected with black stripes, and flanked
by two minarets of black marble and red stone alter
nately, rising to the height of a hundred and thirty
feet. Each of these minarets has three projecting
galleries of white marble; and their summits are
crowned with light octagon pavilions of the same.
The whole front of the Jama Musjed is faced with
large slabs of beautiful white marble ; and along the
cornice are ten compartments, four feet long, and two
and a half broad, which are inlaid with inscriptions in
black marble, in the Nushi character, and are said to
contain great part, if not the whole, ofthe Koran. The
inside of the mosque is paved throughout with large
flags of white marble, decorated with a black border ;
and is wonderfully beautiful and delicate: the flags
are about three feet in length by one and a half broad.
The walls and roof are lined with plain white marble;
and near the Kibla is a handsome taak, or niche, adorn
ed with a profusion of frieze-work. Close»to this is
a mimber, or pulpit, of marble, having an ascent of
four steps,, and ballustraded. The ascent to the mi
narets is by a winding stair-case of a hundred and
E e 3
422 AN ACCOUNT OF THE
thirty steps of red stone; and at the top you have a
noble view of the king's palace, and the whole of the
Cuttub Minor, the Kurran Minar, Humaioons tomb,
the palace of Fcrose Shah, the fort of old Delhi, and
the fort of Loni, on the opposite side of the Jumna.
The domes are crowned with cullises, richly gilt, and
present a glittering appearance from a distance. This
mosque was begun by Shah Jehan, in the fourth year
of his reign, and completed in the tenth : the expen
ses of its erection amounted to ten lacks of rupees ;
and it is in every respect worthy of being the grand
cathedral of the empire of Hindostan.

Not far from the palace is the mosque of Roshun-

a-Doiclah, rendered memorable to the Delhians for
being the place where Nadir Shah saw the massacre of
the unfortunate inhabitants. The cause assigned by
historians for this inhuman act is, that a sedition broke
out in the great market, in which two thousand Persi
ans were slain. Nadir, on hearing of the tumult,
marched out of the fort at nicrht with a small force to
the Musjed of Roshim-a-Doxolah : where he was fired
upon in the morning from a neighbouring terrace, and
an officer killed close by his side. He instantly order
ed an indiscriminate slaughter of the inhabitants ; and
his squadrons of cavalry pouring through the streets,
before the afternoon put to death a hundred thousand
persons of all descriptions. " The King of Persia,"
says the translator of Ferishta, "sat, during the dread-
" ful scene, in the Musjed of Roshun-a-Dowlah.
" None but slaves durst come near him, for his coun-
" tenance was dark and terrible. At length the un-
" fortunate Emperor, attended by a number of his
" chief Omrahs, ventured to approach him with
" downcast eyes. The Omrahs who preceded Mo-
" hummud, bowed down their foreheads to the
" ground. Nadir Shah sternly asked them what they
 PRESENT STATE OF DELHI. 423
" wanted ? they cried out with one voice, Spare the
" city. Mohummud said not a word, but tears flowed
" fast from his eyes; the tyrant, for once touched
" with pity, sheathed his sword, and said, For the
" sake of the prince Mohummud, I forgive." Since
this dreadful massacre this quarter of Delhi has been
but very thinly inhabited. The mosque of Roshun-a-
Dowlah is situated at the entrance of the Chandney
Choke, or market ; it is built of red stone, of the com
mon size, and surmounted by three domes richly gilt.

Zeemul-al Mussqjid, or the ornament of mosques, is

on the banks of the Jumna, and was erected by a
daughter of Aurungzebe, of the name of Zeenut al
Nissah' It of red stone, with inlayings of marble;
and has a spacious terrace in front of it, with a capa
cious reservoir faced with marble. The princess who
built it, having declined entering into the marriage
state, laid out a large sum of money in the above
mosque, and on completing it, she built a small se
pulchre of white marble, surrounded by a wall of the
same, in the west corner of the terrace. In this tomb
she was buried in the year of the Hagirec 1 122, dor-
responding with the year of Christ 1 7 1 0. There were
formerly lands allotted for the support and repairs of
this place, amounting to a lack of rupees per annum;
but they all have been confiscated during the troubles
this city has undergone. Exclusive of the mosque
above described, there are in Shah Jchanabad and its
environs above forty others ; but as most of them are
of inferior size, and all of them of the same fashion, it
is unnecessary to present any further detail.

The modern city of Shah Jehanabad is rebuilt, and

contains many good houses, chiefly of brick. The
streets are in general narrow, as is usual in most of
the large cities in Asia; but there were formerly two
E e 4
424 an account of the
very noble streets; the -first leading from the palace-
gate through the city to the Delhi-gate, in a direction
north and south. This street was broad and spacious,
having handsome houses on each side of the way, and
merchants shops well furnished with the richest arti
cles of all kinds. Shah Jehan caused an aqueduct to
be made of red stone, which conveyed the water along
the whole length of the street, and from thence into
the royal gardens, by means of a reservoir under
ground. Some remains of the aqueduct are still to
be seen ; but it is choked up in most parts with rub
bish. The second grand street was likewise from the
palace to the Lahor-gate, lying east and west : it was
equal in many respects to the former ; but in both of
them the inhabitants have spoiled their appearance,
by running a line of houses down the centre, and
across the streets in other places, so that it is with
dirhculty a person can discover their former situation
without a narrow inspection. The bazars in Delhi are
but indifferently furnished at present, and the popu
lation of the city miserably reduced of late years : the
Chandney Choke is the best furnished bazar in the
city, though the commerce is very trifling. Cotton
cloths are still manufactured, and the inhabitants ex
port indigo. Their chief imports are by means of the
northern caravans which come once a year, and
bring with them from Cabul and Cashmere, shawls,
fruit, and horses : the two former articles are procura
ble in Delhi at a reasonable rate. There is also a
manufacture at Delhi for beedree hooka bottoms. The
cultivation about the city is principally on the banks
of the Jumna, where it is very good ; the neighbour
hood produces corn and rice, millet and indigo. The
limes are very large and fine. Precious stones like
wise are to be had at Delhi, of very good quality, par
ticularly the large red and black cornelians ; and
peerozas are sold in the several bazars-
 PRESENT STATE OF DELHI. 425
The eity is divided into thirty-six mohauls or quar
ters, each of which is named either after the particular
Omrah who resided there, or from some local circum
stance relative to the place. It appears that the mo
dern city of Shah Jehanabadhas been built principally
upon two rocky eminences ; the one where the Jama
Musjed is situated, named Jujula Pahar: and the
other, the quarter of the old-sellers, called Bejula Pa
har : from both of these eminences you have a com
manding view of the remainder of the city. Ancient
Delhi is said by historians to have been directed by
Rajah Delhi, who reigned in Hindostan prior to the in
vasion of Alexander the Great; others affirm it to
have been built by Rajah Pettourah, who flourished in
a much later period. It is called in Sanscrit, Indra-
put, or the abode of Indra, one of the Hindu deities;
and it is also thus distinguished in the royal diplomas
of the chancery-office. Whether the city be of the
antiquity reported, it is difficult to determine : but
this much is certain, that the vast quantity of build
ings which are to be found in the environs for up
wards of twenty miles in extent, as well as their
grandeur and style of architecture, prove it to have
once been a rich, flourishing, and populous city.

On the 11th of March we were presented to the

King Shah Allum. After entering the palace we
were carried to the Dewaun Khanah, or hall of audi
ence for the nobility, in the middle of which was a
throne raised about a foot and a half from the ground.
In the centre of this elevation was placed a chair of
crimson velvet, bound with gold clasps, and over the
whole was thrown an embroidered covering of gold
and silver thread : a handsome Samianah, supported
by four pillars included with silver, was placed over
the chair of state. The king at this time was in the
Tusbeah Khanah : an apartment in which he generally
sits. On passing a skieen of Indian connaughts, we
 426 AN ACCOUNT OF THE
proceeded to the front of the Tusbeak Khanah, and
being arrived in the presence of the King, each of us
made three obeisances in turn, by throwing down the
right hand pretty low, and afterwards raising it to the
forehead ; we then went up to the Musnud on which
his Majesty was sitting, and presented our nuzzers on
white handkerchiefs, each of our names being an
nounced at the time we offered them : the King re
ceived the whole, and gave the nuzzers to Mirza
Ahber Shah, and two other princes who sat on his left
hand. We then went back, with our faces towards
the presence, made the same obeisance as before, and
returned again to the Musnud. After a slight con
versation, we were directed to go without the inclo-
sure, and put on the Khelauts which his Majesty or
dered for us ; they consisted of light India dresses ; a
turban, jammah, and kummerbund, all cotton, with
small gold sprigs. On being clothed in these dresses,
we again returned to the Tusbeah Khanah, and after
a few minutes stay, previous to which Capt. Reynolds
received a sword from the King, we had our dismis
sion ; and some servants were ordered to attend us in
viewing the palace.

The present King, Shah Allum, is seventy-two

years of age; of a tall commanding stature, and dark
complexion; his deportment was dignified, and not
at all diminished by his want of sight, though he has
suffered that cruel misfortune above five years. The
marks of age are very strongly discernible in his coun
tenance : his beard is short and white. His Majesty
appeared at our introduction to be in good spirits ;
said he was happy at our arrival; and desired we
would visit his palace and the fort of Selim Ghur.
—His Majesty's dress on this occasion was a rich
kheem-khaub; and he was supported by pillows of
the same materials.
 PRESENT STATE OF DELHI. 427
I imagined I could observe in his aspect a thought-
fulness, as if sufficiently acquainted with his degrada
tion, and the recollection of his former state.

The palace of the royal family of Timur was erect

ed by the Emperor Shah Jthan at the time he finished
the new city ; it is situated on the western bank of
the Jumna, and surrounded on three sides by a wall of
red stone. I suppose the circumference of the whole
to be about a mile. The two stone figures, mentioned
by Bernier, at the entrance of the palace, which re
presented the Rajah of Chitore and his brother Pottah,
seated on two elephants of stone, are not now to be
seen ; they were removed by order of Aurungsebe, as
savouring too much of idolatry ; and he enclosed the
place where they stood with a skreen of red stone,
which has disfigured the entrance of the palace. The
first object that attracts the attention after entering
the palace, is the Dewaun Aum, or public hall of
audience, for all descrip lions of people. It is situated
at the upper end of a spacious square, and is a noble
building, but at present much in decay. On each
side of the Dewaan Aum, and all round this square,
,are apartments of two stories high, the walls and front
of which, in the times of the splendor of the empire,
were adorned with a profusion of the richest tapestry,
velvets, and silks ; the nobles vying with each other
in rendering them the most magnificent, especially on
festivals, and days of public rejoicings, when they pre
sented a grand sight. These decorations have how
ever been long since laid aside, and nothing but the
bare wails remained. From the Dewaun Aum we
proceeded through another handsome gatewav to the
Dewaun Khans, before mentioned. The building is
situated at the upper end of a spacious square, and
elevated upon a marble terrace, about four feet high.
The Dezcaun Khass in former times has been adorned
with excessive magnificence, and though stripped and
428 AN ACCOUNT OF THE
plundered by various invaders, still retains sufficient
beauty to render it admired. I judge the building to
be a hundred and fifty feet in length, by forty in
breadth. The roof is flat, supported by a great many
columns of fine white marble, which have been richly
adorned with inlaid flower-work of beautiful stones :
the cornices and borders have been decorated with a
great quantity of frieze and sculptured work. The
ceiling was formerly incrusted with a work of rich fo
liage of silver throughout the whole extent, which has
been long since taken off and carried away. The
delicacy of the inlaying in the compartments of the
Avails is much to be admired ; and it is a matter of
heartfelt regret to see the barbarous ravages that have
been made in picking out the different cornelians, and
breaking the marble by violence. Around the in
terior of the Dewaun Khass, in the cornice, are the
following lines, engraved in letters of gold upon a
white marble ground :—

" If there be a paradise upon earth, this is it—'tis

this, 'tis this." The terrace on which the Dewaun
Khanah is built is composed of large beautiful slabs of
white marble; and the building is crowned at top
Avith four pavilions or cupalos, of the same materials.

The royal baths, built by Shah Jehan, are situated

a little to the northward of the Dewaun Khass, and
consist of three very large apartments surmounted by
Avhite marble domes. The inside of the baths is
lined, about two-thirds of the way up, with marble,
having a beautiful border of flower-worked cornelians
and other precious stones, executed with taste. The
floors are paved throughout with marble in large
slabs, and there is a fountain in the centre of each,
with many pipes : large reservoirs of marble, about
four feet deep, are placed in different parts of the
Avails ; the light is admitted from the roof by win
 PRESENT STATE OF DELHI. 429
dows of party-coloured glasses ; and capacious stones,
with iron gratings, are placed underneath each sepa
rate apartment. There is a noble mosque adjoining,
entirely of white marble, and made after the fashion
described above. In the Shah Baug, or the royal
gardens, is a very large octagon-room, which looks
towards the river Jumna. This room is called Shah
Boorj, or the royal tower ; it is lined with marble ;
and from the window of it the late heir apparent,
Mirza Juwan Bukht, made his escape in the year
1784, when he fled to Lucknow: he descended by
means of a ladder made with turbans ; and as the
height is inconsiderable, effected it with ease. A
great part of this noble palace has suffered very much
by the destructive ravages of the late invaders.
The Rohillas in particular, who were introduced by
Gholaum Kauder, have stripped many of the rooms
of their marble ornaments and pavements, and have
even picked out the stones from the borders of many
of the floorings. Adjoining is the fortress of Selim
Ghur, which you reach by a stone-bridge, built over
an arm of the Jumna. The fort is now entirely in
ruins. At the eastern end of it were shewn the
sally-port, from which Gholaum Kauder Khan made
his escape with all his retinue, when the place was
besieged by the Mahrattas in 1 788' The river Jumna
running directly underneath this bastion, the tyrant
crossed it immediately, and fled to Meerut, in the
Dooab.

The Gentur Munter, or observatory, in the vicinity

of Delhi, has been described by former travellers. It
was built in the third year of the reign of Mohummud
Shah, by the Rajah Jeysing, who was assisted by many
persons celebrated for their science in astronomy from
Persia, India, and Europe; but died before the work
was completed ; and it has since been plundered, and
almost destroyed by the Jeits, under Jwwaher Sing.
430 AX ACCOUNT OF THE
I will only add a short account of the royal gardens
of Shalimar. These gardens, made by the Emperor
Shah Jehan, were begun in the fourth year of his
reign, and finished in the thirteenth ; on which occa
sion, according to Colonel Dow, the Emperor gave
a grand festival to his court. These gardens were laid
out with admirable taste, and cost the enormous sum
of a million sterling : at present their appearance does
not give cause to suppose such an immense sum has
been laid out upon them ; but great part of the most
valuable and costly materials have been carried away.
The entrance to them is through a gate-way of brick ;
and a canal, lined with stone, having walks on each
side with a brick pavement, leads up to the Dewaun
Khanah, or hall of audience ; most part of which is
now fallen down : from thence, by a noble canal, hav
ing a fountain in the centre, you proceed to the apart
ments of the Haram, which embrace a large extent of
ground. In the front is an Ivan, or open hall, with
adjoining apartments ; the interior of which are deco
rated with a beautiful border of white and gold paint
ing, upon a ground of the finest chunam. At the
upper end of this Ivan was formerly a marble throne,
raised about three feet from the ground ; all of which
is removed. On each side of this Ivan, inclosed by
high walls, are the apartments of the Haram, some of
which are built of red stone, and some of the brick
faced with fine chunam, and decorated with paintings
of flowers of various patterns. All these apartments
have winding passages which communicate with each,
other, and the gardens adjoining by private doors.
The extent of Shalimar does not appear to have been,
large : I suppose the gardens altogether are not above
a mile in circumference. A high brick wall runs
around the whole, Avhich is destroyed in many parts of
it, and the extremities are flanked with octagon pavi
lions of red stone. The gardens still abound with
trees of a very large size, and very old. The prospect
 PRESENT STATE OF DELHI. 431
to the southward of Shalimar towards Delhi, as far as ,
the eye can reach, is covered with the remains of ex
tensive gardens, pavilions, mosques, and burying-
places, all desolate and in ruins. The environs of
this once magnificent and celebrated city appear now
nothing more than a shapeless piece of ruins ; and the
country round about is equally forlorn.
 433

XXXIIL

BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS
ON
THE SPIKENARD OF THE ANCIENTS:
INTENDED AS A SUPPLEMENT TO THE LATE
SIR WILLIAMJONES'S PIPERS ON THAT PLANT.

BY WILLIAM ROXBURGH* M; D.

Valeriana jatamansl

GENERIC CHARACTER.

FLOWERS triandrous, leaves entire, four-fold, the

inner radical pair petioled, and cordate ; the rest
smaller, sessile, and suManceolate ; seeds crowned
with a pappus.

V. Jatamansi of Sir JVilUdm Jones. See Asiatic

Researches, vol. ii. page 405 and 417, and page 105
of this volume*

November 6th, 1794. I received from the Ho

nourable C. A. Bruce, commissioner at Coos-Beyhar,
two small baskets with plants of this valuable drug.
He writes to me on the 27th September (so long had
the plants been on the road) that he had, the day be
fore, received them from the Deb Rajah of Bootan ;
Vol. IV. P f
 434 BOTANrCAl OBSERVATIONS ON
and further says, that the Booteahs know the plant by
two names, viz. Jatamansi and Pampi, or Paumpi.

I need scarce attempt to give any further history of

this famous odoriferous plant than what is merely bo
tanical : and that with a view to help to illustrate the
learned dissertations thereon, by the late Sir William
Jones, in the 2d and 4th volumes of these Researches;
and chiefly by pointing out the part of the plant
known by the name Indian Nard, 'or Spikenard: a
question on which Mathiolus, the commentator of
JDioscorides, bestows a great, deal of argument ; viz.
Whether the roots or stalks were the parts esteemed
for use ? the testimony of the ancients themselves on
this head, being ambiguous. It is therefore neces
sary for those who wish for a more particular account
of it, to be acquainted with what that gentleman has
published on the subject.

The plants now received, are growing in two small

baskets of earth ; in each basket there appears above
the earth between thirty and forty hairy spike-like
bodies, but more justly compared to the tails of Er
mines, or small Weasels*; from the apex of each, or
- at least of the greatest part of them, there is a smooth
lanceolate or lanceolate-oblong, three or five-nerved,
short-petioled, acute or obtuse, slightly serrulate leaf
or two shooting forth. Fig. i; represents one of them
in the above state ; and on gently removing the fibres
or hairs which surround the short petiols of these
leaves, I find it consists of numerous sheaths,; of
which one, two, or three of the upper or interior ones
are entire,, and have, their fibres connected by a light-

* The term spica, or spike, is not so ill applied to this substance as

may be imagined; several of the Indian grasses, well knpwn to me,
have spikes almost exactly resembling a single straight piece of nar-
dus : and when those hairs (or flexible arista, like bristles) are remov
ed, Pliny's words, " frutex radiee pinguj et crassa," are by no meani
inapplicable. See fig. 2, from a to b.
 THE SPiKENARD OE THE ASCrElCE?. 4&S
In-own coloured membranous substance, as at b ; but
in the lower exterior sheaths, where this connecting'
membrane is decayed, the more durable hair-like
fibres remain distinct, giving to the whole the ap
pearance of an Ermines tail : this part, as well as
the root, are evidently perennial *. The root itself
(beginning at the surface of the earth where the
fibrous envelope ends) is from three to twelve inches
long, covered with a pretty thick light-brown colour
ed bark : from the main root, which is sometimes di
vided, there issues several smaller fibres. Fig. 2,.is ano
ther plant with a long root ; here the hair-like sheaths,
beginning at a, are separated from this, the perennial
part of the stem, and turned to the right side ; at the
apex is seen the young shoot, marked 6, which is not
so far advanced as at fig. 1 ; ccc show the remains
of last year's annual stem. When the young shoot
is a little further- advanced than in fig. 2, and not sa
fair as in fig. 1, they resemble the young convolute
shoots of monoco-tyledonous plants, June 1795.—
The whole of the above-mentioned plants have pe-

* The above described perennial hairy portion of the plant, iq

dearly the Indian spikenard of our shops ; but whether the nardus
of the ancients or not, I leave to better judges to determine ; how
ever, I believe few will doubt it after having read Sir William Jones'*
Dissertations thereon, and compared what he says with the accom
panying drawings of the perennial hairy part of the stem, of this plant,
which are taken from ,the living plants immediately under my own,
eyes: the drawing of the herbaceous, or upper part of the plant, is
out of the question in determining this point, and only refers to the
pjace the plant bears in our botanical books. While writing the above,
I desired an Hindu servant to go and buy me from their apothecaries'
shops a little Jatamansi. Without saying more or less, lie iinmedfc-
ately went and brought me several pieces of the very identical drug I
have been describing : a drawing of one of the pieces is represented at
fig. 4, and agrees not only with those I have taken fr,om the living
plants, but also exceeding well with Gareias ab Orta's figure of the
nardus indica, which is to be found at paj;e 109, of the fourth edition
of Clmius's Latin translations of his History of Indian Drugs, pub
lished in 16<)3. J
436 BOTANICAL OBSERVATIONS, &.C.
rished without producing flowers, notwithstanding!
every care that could possibly be taken of them.-—
The principal figure in the drawing, marked fig. 3,
and the following description, as well as the above
definition, are therefore chiefly extracted from the
engraving and description in the second volume of
these Researches, and from the information commu
nicated to me by Mr. Burt, the gentleman who had
charge of the plants that flowered at Gaya, and who
gave Sir William Jones the drawing and description
thereof.

Description of the Plant.

Root, it is already described above.
Stem, lower part perennial, involved in fibrous sheaths,
&c. as above described ; the upper part herbaceous,
suberect, simple, from six to twelve inches long.
Leaves four-fold, the lowermost pair of the four radi
cal are opposite, sessile, oblong, forming, as it were,
a two-valved spathe ; the other pair are also oppo
site petioled, cordate, margins waved and pointed ;
those of the stem sessile and lanceolate; all are
smooth on both sides.
Corymb terminal, first division trichotomous.
Bracts awled. ,
Calyx scarce any.
Corol one-petaled, funnel-shaped, tube somewhat gib
bous. Border five-cleft.
Stamens, filaments three, project above the tube of
the corol : anthers incumbent.
Pistil, germ beneath. Style erect, length of the tube.
Stigma simple.
Pericarp, a single seed crowned with a pappus.

END OF THE FOURTH VOLUME.

W. Wilson, Printer, St, John's Square,

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