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NARRATIVE OF THE COMING OF THE MEN OF THE GOOD FAITH FROM KHORASAN TO INDIA.
Hearken now to a wondrous tale (lit. a wonder among tales) recounted by Mobeds and ancients. Were I to tell it [at length], no description would be adequate, and no paper sufficient for the writing thereof. Therefore will I select but a portion and say but one word out of a hundred. I have heard it from a wise Dastur who was ever renowned for goodness. May the Dastur whose name is Hoshang and whose wisdom had always great excellence live long.-----6 The Zend and the Avesta likewise he had studied and driven away all Evil Spirits from himself. He was manifestly the Dastur (ayyán, evidently, plainly) of the city and from him the Faith had always become full of lustre. In those times, his authority was exercised over all (i.e. his commands were obeyed by all) and he managed many spiritual affairs. Every one who took counsel with him on the mysteries of the Faith acted according to his advice in matters of religion. In the town in which he was the preceptor, the hearts and souls of his disciples were delighted with him.-----7 He repeated to me this tale in the words of the ancients and discovered to me the hidden secrets of the Righteous. He narrated this story to us one day and strung the pearls of history with skill. May the Dastur who told me this tale have virtue everlastingly for his fellow. I repeat the story as he told it and relate the [hitherto] unknown deeds of the People of the Good Faith.-----8
6. This couplet is left out in some copies, but I have found it in at least three old and good Manuscripts and M. Huart of the Bibliotheque National has borne witness to its occurrence in Anquetil du Perron's copy of the KissehLV, Suppl. Persan. 200). There can be no doubt, therefore, of its genuineness. See Mody, A Few Events in the Early History of the Parsis 4 note. Anquetil, Le Zend Avesta, Tome I, Pte. ii. xxxiv.

7. or "he cordially delighted in teaching his pupils."

8. I have discussed the significance of this passage in a foregoing paper, "Jadi Rana and the Kisseh-i Sanjan."
The saintly Zartosht-----9 showed us the true path in Religion in the days when king Vishtasp lived. He had described in the Avesta all the stages (lit. states) through which his Faith would pass and said: "A Tyrant will appear; three times will the Good Creed be shattered and the People of the Faith ruined and worsted. That conqueror will be named Sitamgar-----10 [the Tyrant] and by him will the Religion of Virtue be reduced to despair. Give heed then unto what I now say of the Faith's doings." Everything happened as he had spoken and the People of the Good Faith groaned and made moan. Sikandar (Alexander the Great), came at last upon them and publicly burnt the scriptures of the Creed,-----11 which was despised for three hundred years-----12 and the Faithful were oppressed. Then after a time-----13, a Defender of the Faith appeared and Ardeshir seized the kingdom. Then once more the Good Religion revived and in the world became of good report. He got Arda Viraf sent to the Presence Divine for [securing] a description of the World of Spirits. But after a time, the Evil Spirit again wrecked this [right] road and once more brought disruption into the Faith, of which evil reports arrived from all sides. When after a while-----14 king Shahpur appeared, he once more made it illustrious and Adarbad Mahraspandan the Devout girded up his loins in its service. Seven kinds of metal (lit. brass) were molten together and poured upon his body [without doing him harm]. Thus did he resolve all the doubts of the Faithful and the Creed once more acquired lustre. From the times of Shahpur to those of Yazdagar it continued to receive honour and worship. Then the days [assigned] to Zartosht by Time (Fate) came to an end and not a vestige of the Good Religion remained, [so that] when the Millennium of Zartosht was over, the [happy days of] the Good Creed also reached their limit.-----15 9. The writer here follows pretty closely the Pahlavi Vohuman Yasht, II 15-22. West, Sacred Books of the East V. 198-201. See the Persian translation of the same in M. R. Unvala's lithographed text of Darab Hormazdyar's Rivayat, II. 86-88.

10. Alexander the Great is supposed by some to be referred to in the Pahlavi Vohuman Yasht (II. 19) as Akandgar-i-Kilisiyakih. Darmesteter suggested that "'Skandger' (Av. Skendo-Kara, Pers. Sikandgar) 'causer of destruction' would be an appropriate punning title for Alexander from the Persian point of view." West, on the other band, thinks that Akandgar is probably a miswriting of Alaksandar or Sikandar. Sacred Books of the East, V. 200 note. Others, again, are of opinion that there is no reference whatever to Alexander in the above passage. However that may be, Bahman Kaikobed's "Sitamgar" (oppressor) can be nothing else than "a punning title" for the great Macedonian.

11. See a brilliant note vindicating this statement of the Parsi books in Haug and Hoshangji, Book of Arda Viraf, 142-3.

12. Alexander the Great defeated Darius at Arbela in 331 B.C. and Ardeshir Papak's accession cannot be placed earlier than 226 A.C. There was therefore an interval of 557 years and not 300 between Alexander and the Sasanian. See Alberun's remarks on this confusion in the Persian Chronology in the Athar-al-Bakya, tr. Sachau. 116-121. West, S.B.E. XLVII. Introduction, xxxii

13. Pas az wai Muddati -- Muddat is here employed to signify a period of three hundred years.

14. Here also the phrase is "Pas az Muddat." Ardeshir died in 241 A.C. Shahpuhr III reigned from 309 A.C. to 379 A.C. See, West, S.B.E. XLVII. xxxv.

15. The Millennium of Zartosht and its termination are distinctly mentioned in the Pahlavi Vohuman Yasht, II. 23. West Sacred Books of the East. V. 201.
When the sovereignty departed from Yazdagar, the Unbelievers-----16 came and seized his throne. From that period-----17 Iran was shattered. Alas for the land of the Faith which was rendered desolate. During those days-----18 all were dispersed, all (lit. everyone) whose hearts were attached to the Zand and Pazand. When all the laymen and Dasturs suddenly went into hiding for the sake of the Faith, they left their homes, dwellings, gardens, palaces, and halls and abandoned them all for their Religion. In Kohistan, they abode for a hundred years. When they were in this plight, a virtuous sage once bethought him seriously [of their state] and said to his companions, "It will be difficult [for us] to remain here [much longer] for fear of the Unbelievers." So the Dasturs and laymen incomparable departed for the city of Hormuz.-----19 When fifteen years were spent in that clime, every one of them had endured much trouble from the Miscreants.-----20 The sage Dastur who was with them there was a mighty astrologer. He looked into his ancient Tables [and said,] "The period during which we were [permitted by Fate] to eat and drink [in this land] has come to an end. It will be well if we leave this country. We must go out of this region forthwith, [otherwise] we shall all fall into a snare and prudence will then be useless and our business spoilt. It will be better therefore for us to fly from these fiends and Miscreants to Hindustan, and run away towards Ind for fear of life and religion's sake." Then a ship was made ready for the sea. Instantly they hoisted sail, placed the women and children in the vessel and rowed hard for Hind. When the ship came in sight of land, the anchor fell at Div. There they went down, took up their abode and their feet stuck fast in the soil of that spot. The People of the Good Faith stayed there for nineteen years, at the end of which the Stargazer once more [sought to] divine the future. The aged Dastur having looked into his Tables, said: "O my enlightened friends, hence also must we hie to another spot in which will be our second home." All of them were delighted by his words and they set sail quickly towards Gujarat. When the vessel had made some way into the sea, a disastrous storm approached. All the Dasturs of the Faith were thrown into consternation and their heads turned as in a whirlpool.-----21 They rubbed their faces before the Presence Divine and stood up and made loud laments, [saying], "O Thou Wise One, come to our aid on this occasion (lit. business) and for once deliver us from this distress. [And] Thou, All conquering Warharan, befriend us and bring us out triumphant from this trouble. [If we possess] Thy favour, we shall not care for the tempest and give no place to fear in our hearts. Hearken then to the complaints of the helpless and show Thou the way to us who are lost [in this waste of waters]. If we escape from this dreadful storm, (lit. whirlpool), if disaster does not confront us and if we reach the realm of Hind with cheerful hearts and merry, we shall kindle a great fire to Warharan. Deliver us then from this strait and keep us sound (stong). We are resigned to everything [that comes] from the Lord, for save Him we possess no other [friend]." By the blessing of the Fire of the Glorious Warharan, all of them luckily got over that trouble; their supplications were instantly heard and the Lord came to the rescue. A prosperous gale began to blow, the light of Heaven [to shine) and the contrary wind ceased. When the Captain with (lit. opened his tongue to utter) the Holy name of God upon his lips steered the ship with vigour, and all the Dasturs and laymen also made Kusti,-----22 the vessel drove instantly into the sea. Then Providence so ordered it that all those people arrived near Sanjan.
16. Juddin. lit. People of another faith. The Arabs are meant.

17. Here again the phrase is az-an-muddat, an exceedingly vague expression which seems to be applied to a period of almost any length.

18. Badàngàhi. See the paper on the Traditional Dates of Parsi history, ante 8-9, for my view of the real signification of the whole passage.

19. This is not the famous island of Hormuz, but the old city on the main land. "It was on the northern shore of the Persian Gulf, about 30 miles east of the site of Bunder Abbas or Gombroon. Sir Louis Pelly has traced the extensive ruins of the old city, which stand in the present district of Minao, about 6 or 7 miles from the fort of that name. 'Hormuz', says the Geographer Abul Fela, 'is the port of Kerman, a city rich in palms and very hot. One who has visited it in our days tells me that the ancient Hormuz was devastated by the incursions of the Tartars and that its people transferred their abode to an island in the sea called Zarun, near the Continent and lying west of the old city. At Hormuz no inhabitants remain, but some of the lowest order (in Busching, IV. 261-2).'" Ibn Batuta also discriminates between Hormuz or Moghistan on the main land and New Hormuz on the island of Jerun. Yule, Marco Polo. ed. Cordier, I. 110-111. The name [Moghistan -- the land of the Moghs -- Fire-worshippers -- is most instructive and significant.

20. Darwand, Av. Dregwant; The Darwand, 'wicked', is the infidel who does not keep the Zoroastrian law. Haug and Hoshangji, Book of Ardaviraf, 178, note.

21. Or "they felt giddy in (or were stunned by) that calamity."

22. The "Kusti is tied round the waist in a peculiar manner during the recital of a particular formula in which Ohrmazd is blessed and Ahriman and the demons are cursed." West's Note on Bundahishn, XXX. 30, S.B.E. V. 129.
In that region was a virtuous Raja who had opened his heart (lit. head) to holiness. His name was Jádi Rana; he was liberal, sagacious, and wise. A Dastur renowned for learning and prudence went to him with gifts and invoked blessings upon him and said: "O Raja of Rajas, give us a place in this city: we are strangers seeking protection who have arrived in thy town and place of residence. We have come here only for the sake of our Religion, for we heard that there was in this place a Raja descended from the beneficent Shillahras,-----23 ever renowned throughout Hindustan, who gave people shelter in his town and kingdom and regarded them with the eye of compassion. We were cheered by these tidings (lit. thoughts) and have approached thee under favourable auspices. We have now reached thy city in the hope of escaping from the Miscreants." The hearts of all the followers (lit. men) of the virtuous Raja were gladdened and their souls charmed by these words. But when that prince beheld them-----24, a terror suddenly fell upon his heart. Fears for his crown entered his mind and [he thought] that they might lay waste his kingdom. Frightened by their dress and accoutrements, he questioned the Dastur about their religious mysteries (lit. inner secrets). "O thou devout Dastur", he at last said, "Tell us, first of all, the gist of the matter (lit. the secret of the business). What are the customs of your Creed, which of them are open and which concealed-----25? Let me first of all see what your beliefs are and we will then arrange for your residence here. Secondly, if we give you shelter, you must abandon the language of your country, disuse (lit. cast aside) the tongue of Iran and adopt the speech of the realm of Hind. Thirdly, as to the dress of your women, they should wear garments like those of our females. Fourthly, you must put off all your arms and simitars and cease to wear them anywhere. Fifthly, when your children are wedded, the marriage knot must be tied at evening time. If you first give a solemn promise to observe all this, you will be given places and abodes in my city." When the Dastur heard all this from the Raja, he could not help agreeing to all his demands.-----26 23. I read Shillahràyán, not Sháhràyàn, for the reasons stated in the paper on Jadi Rana and the Kisseh-i-Sanjan.

24. Shan, 'them', but it may also mean "dignity, stature."

25. i.e. outward professions as well as the really secret doctrines. Persecuted sects were often under the necessity of having two sets of opinions, one for home and the other "for foreign consumption."

26. There is evidently something wrong here. The Raja first says that he would not give them permission to reside in his territory, until he was satisfied of the unobjectionable character of their rites and doctrines. But without waiting to hear a word of explanation, he forthwith proceeds to dictate four conditions, the last of which -- that relating to their marriage ceremonies -- discovers an unexpected familiarity with their usages. If they were such utter strangers to him, how could he know such a minor matter as that their marriages were celebrated in the morning and not in the evening as with the Hindus? Can it be that the lines relating to the conditions have by some accident been misplaced and that they should come after the Dastur's harangue? It is perhaps also worthy of note that Bahman Kaikobad repeatedly avers that the first emigrants brought the women of their own race with them.

Then the old Mobed addressed him thus, "O sagacious king, hearken now to what I say of our Creed. Do not be heavy-hearted on our account, for never shall any evil [deed] proceed from us in this land. We shall be the friends of all Hindustan and everywhere scatter the heads of thy foes. Know then for certain that we are the worshippers of Yazdan (One God) and have fled from the Miscreants only for our religion's sake. We have abandoned all we possessed and borne many hardships on the road. Houses and mansions and goods and chattels we have all forsaken, O auspicious prince. We strangers are of the seed of Jamshed and reverence the Sun and the Moon. Three other things also out of Creation-----27, we hold in honour, viz. the Cow, Fire, and Water. Thus we adore the Fire, Water, Cows, and the Sun and the Moon likewise. It is the Lord who has created all those things that are on earth and we pray to them, because He Himself has preferred (lit. chosen) them.-----28 Our sacred girdle (Kusti) is made of seventy-two threads and we repeat (lit. make) when we tie it on, solemn professions of Faith. Our women when in their manner behold not either the sun or the sky or the moon, because they are the sources of light in excelsis; nor do they touch fire or water. They stand strictly aloof from everything, whether during the radiant day or the darksome night and sit apart, until the catamenia have ceased. They look at the fire and the sun only when they have washed from head [to foot]. So also, the female who gives birth to an infant must live apart for forty days. She ought to keep aloof [all the while] just as if she were in her manner and if this rule is not observed, it is vile. [Similarly], when a child is born of a woman before its time (lit. in a few months only) or when the babe is still-born, the mother (lit. she) does not [among us] go or run about hither and thither, nay does not even hold converse with any one. A female in that state also must keep severely aloof for forty-one days." All their other rites and customs also he described one by one to the Raja. When the mysteries of the Good Faith were thus expounded and the pearls of discourse strung in this most elegant manner, and when the Hindu Raja heard the oration, his mind regained perfect ease. 27. I read Káinàtash. All the Mss have Jáinátash or Jàinànash, which is unintelligible to me.

28. or 'We pray to him who is Self-chosen or Self-Existent.'
That good king forthwith commanded that they should reside in his dominions. Then some persons who were intelligent, good-natured and resourceful surveyed the land, discovered a spacious plain and informed the Mobed. A spot in this wilderness was chosen, of which the soil was excellent and there they made their abode. The people also liked the place and a city appeared where there had formerly been a jungle, desolate and uncultivated, but there they all descended, old as well as young. When the Dastur beheld that fine spot, he chose a site for their dwellings. The Dastur gave it the name of Sanjan and it was soon flourishing even as the realm of Iran. From that day the surname Sanjana came into vogue; know that the town is named after them.-----29 There they remained in joy and comfort and every one prospered in the end according to his wish. 29. Strangely inconsistent not only with the statement in the first hemistich of the same couplet but also with fact.
One day,-----30 they happened to have some business with the Raja, and all of them went with cheerful hearts (lit. thoughts) to him. The Dastur then addressed him thus: "O Prince, you have given us a dwelling spot in this land. We now wish to install in the Indian clime the Fire of Bahram [Warharan]. [But] the land must be cleared for three farsangs,-----31 so that the ceremonies [connected with the consecration] of the Nirang-----32 may be duly performed. No alien should be there present, save and except the Wise Men of the Good Faith. No person belonging to another creed might be there. Then only will the Fire be consecrated. If any strange person make a noise there, the religious rites will doubtless, be all of a sudden interrupted." Quoth the Raja then, "I have given you the permission. I am disposed to be very liberal in this matter. I rejoice (lit. prefer, choose) with all my soul that such a Prince (shâh) should be installed in my time. Indeed O sage, than this [act] what can be better? Go then speedily after his business, and gird up thy loins." That very instant, the Prince issued his commands and gave the Dastur a pleasant site. The Hindu Rana Jadi had the land at once cleared on every side. All the Unbelievers within three Farsangs were removed and no one remained there except the People of the Good Faith. No one dwelt around within three Farsangs of it, and no one stayed there save Zoroastrians (lit. men) of knowledge. Round the Aurvisgâh,-----33 on all sides [stood] Dasturs, every one of whom shone, in virtue of his sanctity, like the sun himself. They watched there day and night, for to do so was the command of the Lord. In those days, they were all men full of knowledge and capable in matters relating to the Faith. For several days and months they recited Yazashnes [Yasnas] and Yashts and worked with great energy. The laymen also were preoccupied in the business and provided, out of [their zeal for] the Faith, all various things necessary. The Prince Jádi Rana also sent offerings of every sort. In those days, all the arts and industries (lit. workshops) were in the hands of the People of the Good Faith. Things were everywhere easy for them for they had brought along with them all the tools (or means) from Khorasan. With all those resources derived from Khorasan, they were able to accomplish their task without any trouble. The reason was that several parties of Dasturs and Laymen of holy lives had also arrived at that spot. In their company were several alchemists also and the favor of the Lord thus made things easy for them. They had brought along with them ample resources and they thus consecrated the Fire according to the dictates of religion. The aged Dasturs thus installed the Iranshah-----34 beaming with light, in conformity wit the rites [prescribed] in our creed. In those times, men were [deeply] versed in spiritual matters and were able to observe religious precepts on account of their wisdom. In our own age, the Lord only knows what True Religion is; [men do not], and [all religious] action is, [after all], only a matter of personal satisfaction.-----35 30. Note that there is nothing here which can support Dr. Mody's assumption as to five years having elapsed between the landing and the consecration of the Fire temple. All that Bahman says is that they went to the Raja one day after they were settled in the town.

31. Farsang. A measure of length which varies considerably according to different authorities. It is sometimes said to be equivalent to a league, sometimes to 12000 cubits -- or 18000 feet. For the different estimates, see Alberuni, India, W. Sachau, II. 67-68; Elliot and Dowson, History of India, I. 24, Ain-i-Akbari, tr. Jarrett. II. 415-6 note. Pietro Della Valle says a Cos is half a Ferseng or league of Persia and that a Cos will answer to a little less than two Italian [English] miles. Vorsages, ed. Grey, I. 23.

32. Nirang, "The ceremony relating to the preparation of the gomez, Cow's urine, which is used as the most efficacious means of purification." Haug and Hoshangji, Book of Arda Viraf 147 note.

33. Arvisgah or Aurvisgah. "The consecrated space within which the Yazashna [Yasna] ceremony is performed." West supposes the word to be derived from the Av. Uvesa, goal. Note on Dadestan-i Denig XLVIII. 13. Sacred Books of the East, XVIII. 163.

34. "The Prince or Lord of Iran" [Persia]. The ancient Fire now lodge at Udwada is still known by this name.

35. The whole passage is most significant and throws, when read side by side with the Persian Rivayats, considerable light on the history of the Indian Atash Warharans.
All the laymen and Dasturs then celebrated in that land an extraordinary festival with entertainments. In this way, three hundred years, more or less, passed away and the people in small numbers or large, left the place. They dispersed in the land of Hind in all directions, and selected places to their minds. Some turned their faces toward Bânkâner, others fell off towards Broach, a few went away in the direction of Bariâv. All hastened towards different spots. Some reached the town of Anklesar or walked away proudly to the city of Cambay. Others dragged all their goods and chattels to Navsari, with pleasure and good luck. Wherever anyone felt [himself] comfortable, there he made his home. In this manner were spent two hundred years in joy, prosperity, and quiet. In those times, several Dasturs' houses were left in Sanjan town. One of God's Judgments then came down upon them, but I do not know what became of all those Dasturs, (or where all of them went). There dwelt one virtuous Dastur, young, well-intentioned and fluent of speech. The name of that Dastur was Khushmast and his aspirations were always towards virtue. A son [he had], who bore the name of Khujastah and whose [sole] delight was the performance of the ceremonies of the Baj-----36 and the Barsom.-----37 His perpetual avocation was the celebration of the Yazashne [Yasna], and the Baj and the Barsom were his constant companions. He was so deeply versed in the Yazashne that he has still left his mark in the Aurvisgâh (i.e. he is still remembered there). That saintly person lived in good repute [on earth]; may he possess joy and bliss in Paradise [also].*-----38 In this manner, seven hundred years went by and many of their descendants had lived in that town. When several years passed over, the heavens became untoward, the world suddenly became strait unto them and Time (Destiny) resolved to take their lives.

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