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Tales Of The Punjab

F >> Flora Annie Steel >> Tales Of The Punjab




_Witch_--The word used was _dâyan_. In the Panjâb a woman
with the evil eye (which by the way is not necessarily in India
possessed by the wicked only, see _Panjâb Notes and Queries_,
1883-84, _passim_), who knows the _dâyan kâ mantar_, or
charm for destroying life by taking out the heart. The word in its
various modern forms is derived from the classical _dâkinî_, the
female demon attendant on Kali, the goddess of destruction.

_Jôgi's wonderful cow_--The _jôgi_ is a Hindu ascetic, but
like the word _faqîr_, _jôgi_ is often used for any kind of
holy man, as here. Supernatural powers are very commonly ascribed to
them, as well as the universal attribute of granting sons.
Classically the _yôgi_ is the devotee seeking _yoga_, the
union of the living with the sublime soul. The wonderful cow is the
modern fabulously productive cow _Kâmdhain_, representing the
classical _Kâmdhenu_, the cow of Indra that granted all desires.
Hence, probably, the dragging in here of Indra for the master of the
_jôgi_ of the tale. _Kâmdhain_ and _Kâmdhenu_ are both
common terms to the present day for cows that give a large quantity of
milk.

_Eighteen thousand demons_--No doubt the modern
representatives--the specific number given being, as is often the
case, merely conventionally--of the guards of Indra, who were in
ancient days the _Maruts_ or Winds, and are in modern times his
Court. See note.



THE SPARROW AND THE CROW

_The Song_.--The form of words in the original is important. The
following gives the variants and the strict translation--

_Tû Chhappar Dâs, Main Kâng Dâs, Deo paneriyâ, Dhoven
chucheriyâ, Khâwen khijeriyâ, Dekh chiriyâ kâ chûchlâ, Main
kâng sapariyâ._

You are Mr. Tank,
I am Mr. Crow,
Give me water,
That I may wash my beak,
And eat my _khichrî_,
See the bird's playfulness,
I am a clean crow.

_Tû Lohâr Dâs, Main Kâng Dâs, Tû deo pharwâ, Main khodûn
ghasarwâ, Khilâwen bhainsarwâ, Chowen dûdharwâ, Pilâwen
hirnarwâ, Toren singarwâ, Khôden chalarwâ, Nikâlen panarwâ,
Dhoven chunjarwâ, Khâwen khijarwâ, Dehk chiriyâ kâ chûchlâ,
Main kâng saparwâ._

You are Mr. Blacksmith,
I am Mr. Crow,
You give me a spade,
And I will dig the grass,
That I may give it the buffalo to eat,
And take her milk,
And give it the deer to drink,
And break his horn,
And dig the hole,
And take out the water,
And wash my beak,
And eat my _khichrî_,
See the bird's playfulness,
I am a clean crow.



THE BRAHMAN AND THE TIGER

_The Tiger, the Brâhman, and the Jackal_. A very common and
popular Indian tale. Under various forms it is to be found in most
collections. Variants exist in the _Bhâgavata Purâna_ and the
_Gul Bakâolâ_, and in the _Amvâr-i-Suhelî_. A variant is
also given in the _Indian Antiquary_, vol. xii. p. 177.

_Buffalo's complaint_.--The work of the buffalo in the oil-press
is the synonym all India over--and with good reason--for hard and
thankless toil for another's benefit.

_As miserable as a fish out of water_.--In the original the
allusion is to a well-known proverb--_mandâ hâl wâng Jatt jharî de_--
as miserable as a Jatt in a shower. Any one who has seen the
appearance of the Panjâbî cultivator attempting to go to his fields on
a wet, bleak February morning, with his scant clothing sticking to his
limp and shivering figure, while the biting wind blows through him,
will well understand the force of the proverb.



THE KING OF THE CROCODILES

_King of the Crocodiles_--In the original the title is Bâdshâh
Ghariâl.

_Lying amid the crops_--It is commonly said in the Panjâb that
crocodiles do so.

_Demons of crocodiles_.--The word used for _demon_ here was
_jinn_, which is remarkable in this connection.

_Henna_--_Mehndî_ or _hinâ_ is the _Lawsonia
alba_, used for staining the finger and toe nails of the bride
red. The ceremony of _sanchit_, or conveying the _henna_ to
the bride by a party of the bride's friends, is the one alluded to.



LITTLE ANKLEBONE

_Little Anklebone_--This tale appears to be unique among Indian
folk-tales, and is comparable with Grimm's Singing Bone. It is
current in the _Bâr_ or wilds of the Gujrânwâlâ District, among
the cattle-drovers' children. Wolves are very common there, and the
story seems to point to a belief in some invisible shepherd, a sort of
Spirit of the Bâr, whose pipe may be heard. The word used for 'Little
Ankle-bone' was _Gîrî_, a diminutive form of the common word
_gittâ_. In the course of the story in the original, Little
Anklebone calls himself Giteta Ram, an interesting instance of the
process of the formation of Panjâbî proper names.

_Auntie_--Mâsî, maternal aunt.

_Tree that weeps over yonder pond_--_Ban_, _i.e.
Salvadora oleoides_, a common tree of the Panjâb forests.

_Jackal howled_--A common evil omen.

_Marble basins_--The word used was _daurâ_, a wide-mouthed
earthen vessel, and also in palaces a marble drinking-trough for
animals.

_The verses_,--The original and literal translation are as
follows--

_Kyûn garjâe badalâ garkanâe?
Gaj karak sâre des;
Ohnân hirnîân de than pasmâe:
Gitetâ Râm gîâ pardes!_

Why echo, O thundering clouds?
Roar and echo through all the land;
The teats of the does yonder are full of milk:
Gitetâ Râm has gone abroad!



THE CLOSE ALLIANCE

_Providence_--_Khudâ_ and _Allah_ were the words for
Providence or God in this tale, it being a Muhammadan one.

_Kabâbs_--Small pieces of meat roasted or fried on skewers with
onions and eggs: a favourite Muhammadan dish throughout the East.

_His own jackal_--From time immemorial the tiger has been
supposed to be accompanied by a jackal who shows him his game and gets
the leavings as his wages. Hence the Sanskrit title of
_vyâghra-nâyaka_ or tiger-leader for the jackal.

_Pigtail_--The Kashmîrî woman's hair is drawn to the back of the
head and finely braided. The braids are then gathered together and,
being mixed with coarse woollen thread, are worked into a very long
plait terminated by a thick tassel, which reaches almost down to the
ankles. It is highly suggestive of the Chinese pigtail, but it is far
more graceful.



THE TWO BROTHERS

_Barley meal instead of wheaten cakes_--_Jau kî roti_,
barley bread, is the poor man's food, as opposed to _gihûn kî
rotî_, wheaten bread, the rich man's food. Barley bread is apt to
produce flatulence.

_With empty stomachs, etc._--The saying is well known and runs
thus--

_Kahîn mat jâo khâlî pet.
Hove mâgh yâ hove jeth._

Go nowhere on an empty stomach,
Be it winter or be it summer.

Very necessary and salutary advice in a feverish country like India.

_If any man eats me, etc._--Apparent allusion to the saying
rendered in the following verse--

_Jo nar totâ mârkar khâve per ke heth, Kuchh sansâ man na
dhare, woh hogâ râjâ jeth. Jo mainâ ko mâr khâ, man men rakhe
dhîr; Kuchh chintâ man na kare, woh sadâ rahegâ wazîr._

Who kills a parrot and eats him under a tree,
Should have no doubt in his mind, he will be a great king.
Who kills and eats a starling, let him be patient:
Let him not be troubled in his mind, he will be minister for life.

_Snake-demon_--The word was _isdâr_, which represents the
Persian _izhdahâ_, _izhdâr_, or _izhdar_, a large
serpent, python.

_Sacred elephant_.--The reference here is to the legend of the
_safed hâthî_ or _dhaulâ gaj_, the white elephant. He is the
elephant-headed God Ganesa, and as such is, or rather was formerly,
kept by Râjâs as a pet, and fed to surfeit every Tuesday (_Mangalwâr_)
with sweet cakes (_chûrîs_). After which he was taught to go down
on his knees to the Râjâ and swing his trunk to and fro, and this was
taken as sign that he acknowledged his royalty. He was never ridden
except occasionally by the Râjâ himself. Two sayings, common to the
present day, illustrate these ideas--'_Woh to Mahârâjâ hai, dhaule gaj
par sowâr_: he is indeed king, for he rides the white elephant.'
And '_Mahârâjâ dhaulâ gajpati kidohâî_: (I claim the) protection
of the great king, the lord of the white elephant.' The idea appears to
be a very old one, for AElian (_Hist. Anim._ vol. iii. p. 46),
quoting Megasthenes, mentions the white elephant. See M'Crindle,
_India as described by Megasthenes and Arrian_, pp. 118, 119;
_Indian Antiquary_, vol. vi. p. 333 and footnote.

_Brass drinking bowl_.--The _lotâ_, universal throughout India.

_Ogre_.--In the original _râkhas_ = the Sanskrit _râkhasa_,
translated ogre advisedly for the following reasons:--The _râkhasa_
(_râkhas_, an injury) is universal in Hindu mythology as a
superhuman malignant fiend inimical to man, on whom he preys, and that
is his character, too, throughout Indian folk-tales. He is elaborately
described in many an orthodox legend, but very little reading between
the lines in these shows him to have been an alien enemy on the borders
of Aryan tribes. The really human character of the _râkhasa_ is
abundantly evident from the stories about him and his doings. He
occupies almost exactly the position in Indian tales that the ogre does
in European story, and for the same reason, as he represents the memory
of the savage tribes along the old Aryan borders. The ogre, no doubt, is
the Uighur Tâtar magnified by fear into a malignant demon. For the
_râkhasa_ see the _Dictionaries_ of Dowson, Garrett, and Monier
Williams, _in verbo_; Muir's _Sanskrit Texts_, vol. ii. p.
420, _etc_.: and for the ogre see _Panjâb Notes and Queries_,
vol. i., in verbo.

_Goat_.--The ogre's eating a goat is curious: _cf_. the
Sanskrit name _ajagara_, goat-eater, for the python (nowadays
_ajgar_), which corresponds to the _izhdahâ_ or serpent-demon
on p. 131.



THE JACKAL AND THE LIZARD.

_The verses_.--In the original they are--

Chândî dâ merâ chauntrâ, koî sonâ lipâî!
Kâne men merâ gûkrû, shâhzâdâ baithâ hai!

My platform is of silver, plastered with gold!
Jewels are in my ears, I sit here a prince!

_The verses_.--In the original they are--

_Hadî dâ terâ chauntrâ, koî gobar lipaî!
Kâne men terî jûtî; koî gîdar baithâ hai!_

Thy platform is of bones, plastered with cow-dung!
Shoes are in thy ears; some jackal sits there!



THE SPARROW'S MISFORTUNE

_Verses_.--In the original these are--

_Saukan rangan men charhî,
Main bhî rangan men parî,_

My co-wife got dyed,
I too fell into the vat.

_Verses_.--In the original--

_Ik sarî, ik balî;
Ik hinak mode charhî,_

One is vexed and one grieved;
And one is carried laughing on the shoulder.

The allusion here is to a common tale. The story goes that a man who
had two wives wanted to cross a river. Both wives wanted to go across
first with him, so in the end, leaving the elder to walk, he took the
younger on his shoulder, who mocked the elder with the words--

_Ik sarî, dûî balî;
Dûî jâî mûnde charhî._

First she was vexed, next she grieved;
While the other went across on the shoulder.

Hence the sting of the old sparrow's taunt.

_Verses_.--In the original--

_Ik chamkhat hûî;
Chirî rangan charhî;
Chirâ bedan karî;
Pîpal patte jharî;
Mahîn sing jharî;
Naîn bahí khârî;
Koïl hûî kânî;
Bhagtû diwanî;
Bandî padnî;
Rânî nâchnî;
Putr dholkî bajânî;
Râjâ sargî bajânî;_

One hen painted,
And the other was dyed,
And the cock loved her,
So the _pîpal_ shed its leaves,
And the buffalo her horns,
So the river became salt,
And the cuckoo lost an eye,
So Bhagtû went mad,
And the maid took to swearing,
So the Queen took to dancing,
And the Prince took to drumming,
And the King took to thrumming.



THE PRINCESS PEPPERINA

_Princess Pepperina_.--In the original _Shâhzâdî Mirchâ_ or
_Filfil Shâhzâdî: mirch_ is the _Capsicum annuum_ or common
chilli, green and red.

_Sheldrakes_.--The _chakwâ_, male, and _chakwî_, female,
is the ruddy goose or sheldrake, known to Europeans as the Brâhmanî
duck, _Anas casarca_ or _Casarca rutila_. It is found all over
India in the winter, and its plaintive night cry has given rise to a
very pretty legend. Two lovers are said to have been for some
indiscretion turned into Brâhmanî ducks, and condemned to pass the
night apart from each other, on the opposite sides of a river. All
night long each asks the other in turn if it shall join its mate,
and the answer is always 'no.' The words supposed to be said are--

_Chakwâ, main âwân? Nâ, Chakwî!_
_Chakwî, main âwân? Nâ, Chakwâ!_

Chakwâ, shall I come? No, Chakwî!
Chakwî, shall I come? No, Chakwâ!



PEASIE AND BEANSIE

_Peasie and Beansie_, p. 167.--In the original Motho and Mûngo.
_Motho_ is a vetch, _Phaseolus aconitifolius_; and
_mûng_ is a variety of pulse, _Phaseolus mungo_. Peasie and
Beansie are very fair translations of the above.

_Plum-tree_, p. 167.--_Ber, Zizyphus jujuba._



THE SNAKE-WOMAN

_King 'Ali Mardân_--'Ali Mardân Khân belongs to modern history,
having been Governor (not King, as the tale has it) of Kashmîr, under
the Emperor Shâh Jahân, about A.D. 1650, and very famous in India in
many ways. He was one of the most magnificent governors Kashmîr ever
had, and is now the best-remembered.

_Snake-Woman_--In the original _Lamiâ_, said in Kashmîr to
be a snake 200 years old, and to possess the power of becoming a
woman. In India, especially in the hill districts, it is called
_Yahawwâ_. In this tale the _Lamiâ_ is described as being a
_Wâsdeo_, a mythical serpent. _Wâsdeo_ is the same as
Vâsudeva, a descendant of Vasudeva. Vasudeva was the earthly father
of Krishna and of his elder brother Balarâma, so Balarâma was a
Vâsudeva. Balarâma in the classics is constantly mixed up with Sêsha
(now Sesh Nâg), a king of serpents, and with Vâsuki (Bâsak Nâg), also
a king of serpents; while Ananta, the infinite, the serpent whose
legend combines that of Vâsuki and Sêsha, is mixed not only with
Balarâma, but also with Krishna. Hence the name Wâsdeo for a
serpent. The Lamiâ is not only known in India from ancient times to
the present day, but also in Tibet and Central Asia generally, and in
Europe from ancient to mediaeval times, and always as a malignant
supernatural being. For discussions on her, see notes to the above in
the _Indian Antiquary_, vol. xi. pp. 230-232, and the discussion
following, entitled 'Lamiâ or [Greek] Lamia' pp. 232-235. Also
_Comparetti's Researches into the Book of Sindibâd_, Folklore
Society's ed., _passim_.

_Dal Lake_--The celebrated lake at Srinagar in Kashmîr.

_Emperor of China's Handmaiden_--A common way of explaining the
origin of unknown girls in Musâlman tales. Kashmîr is essentially a
Musalmân country._

_Shalimâr gardens_.--At Srinagar, made by the Emperor Jahangir,
who preceded 'Ali Mardân Khân by a generation, for Nûr Mahal. Moore,
_Lalla Rookh_, transcribes in describing them the well-known
Persian verses in the Dîwân-i-Khâs (Hall of Private Audience) at Delhi
and elsewhere--

'And oh! if there be an Elysium on earth,
It is this, it is this.'

The verses run really thus--

_Agar firdûs ba rû-e-zamîn ast,
Hamîn ast o hamîn ast o hamîn ast!_

If there be an Elysium on the face of the earth,
It is here, and it is here, and it is here!

Shâh Jahân built the Shâlimâr gardens at Lahor, in imitation of those
at Srinagar, and afterwards Ranjît Singh restored them. They are on
the Amritsar Road.

_Gangâbal_.--A holy lake on the top of Mount Harâmukh, 16,905 feet,
in the north of Kashmîr. It is one of the sources of the Jhelam River,
and the scene of an annual fair about 20th August.

_Khichrî_.--Sweet khichrî consists of rice, sugar, cocoa-nut,
raisins, cardamoms, and aniseed; salt khichrî of pulse and rice.

_The stone in the ashes_.--The _pâras_, in Sanskrit
_sparsamani_, the stone that turns what it touches into gold.

_Attock_.--In the original it is the Atak River (the Indus) near
Hoti Mardân, which place is near Atak or Attock. The similarity in
the names 'Ali Mardan and Hotî Mardân probably gave rise to this
statement. They have no connection whatever.



THE WONDERFUL RING

_The Wonderful Ring_.--In the vernacular _'ajab mundrâ_: a
variant of the inexhaustible box.

_Holy place_.--_Chaunkâ_, a square place plastered with
cow-dung, used by Hindus when cooking or worshipping. The cow-dung
sanctifies and purifies it.

_Aunt_.--_Mâsî_, maternal aunt.



THE JACKAL AND THE PEA-HEN

_Plums_, p. 195.--_Ber, Zyziphus jujuba_.



THE GRAIN OF CORN

_The verses_.--In the original they were--

_Phir gîâ billî ke pâs,
'Billî, rî billî, mûsâ khâogî'
Khâtî khûnd pâr nâ!
Khûnd chanâ de nâ!
Râjâ khâtî dande nâ!
Râjâ rânî russe nâ!
Sapnâ rânî dase nâ!
Lâthî sapnâ mâre nâ!
Âg lâthî jalâve nâ!
Samundar âg bujhâve nâ!
Hâthî samundar sukhe nâ!
Nâre hâthî bandhe nâ!
Mûsâ nâre kâte nâ!
Lûngâ phir chorûn? nâ!'

He then went to the cat (saying),
'Cat, cat, eat mouse.
Woodman won't cut tree!
Tree won't give peas!
King won't beat woodman!
Queen won't storm at king!
Snake won't bite queen!
Stick won't beat snake!
Fire won't burn stick!
Sea won't quench fire!
Elephant won't drink up sea!
Thong won't bind elephant!
Mouse won't nip thong!
I'll take (the pea) yet, I won't let it go!'_

It will be seen that in the text the order has been transposed for
obvious literary convenience.

_Verses_.--In the original these are--

_Usne kahâ, 'Lap, lap, khâûngî!'
Phir gîâ mûsâ ke pâs, 'Mûsâ, re mûsâ, ab khâ jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
nâre katenge.'
Phir gîâ nâre ke pâs, 'Nâre, re nâre, ab kâte jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
hâthî bandhenge.'
Phir gîâ hâthî ke pâs, 'Hâthî, re hâthî, ab bandhe jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî samundar sûkhenge.'
Phir gîâ samundar ke pâs, 'Samundar, re samundar, ab sukhe
jâoge?' 'Ham bhî âg bujhâenge.'
Phir gîâ âg ke pâs, 'Âg, rî âg, ab bujhâî jâogi?' 'Ham bhî lâthî
jalâvenge.'
Phir gîâ lâthî ke pâs, 'Lâthî, re lâthî, ab jal jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
sâmp mârenge.'
Phir gîâ samp ke pâs, 'Sâmp, re sâmp, ab mâre jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
rânî dasenge?'
Phir gîâ rânî ke pâs, 'Rânî, rî rânî, ab dasî jâoge?' 'Ham bhî
râjâ rusenge.'
Phir gîâ râjâ ke pâs, 'Râjâ, re raja, ab rânî rus jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî khâtî dândenge.'
Phir gîâ khâtî ke pâs, 'Khâtî, re khâtî, ab dande jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî khund kâtenge.'
Phir gîâ khund ke pâs, 'Khund, re khund, ab kâte jâoge?' 'Ham
bhî chanâ denge.'
Phir woh chanâ lekar chalâ gîâ?_

The cat said, 'I will eat him up at once!'
(So) he went to the mouse, 'Mouse, mouse, will you be eaten?' 'I
will gnaw the thong.'
He went to the thong, 'Thong, thong, will you be gnawed?' 'I
will bind the elephant.'
He went to the elephant, 'Elephant, elephant, will you be bound?'
'I will drink up the ocean.'
He went to the ocean, 'Ocean, ocean, will you be drunk up?' 'I
will quench the fire.'
He went to the fire, 'Fire, fire, will you be quenched?' 'I will
burn the stick.'
He went to the stick, 'Stick, stick, will you be burnt?' 'I will
beat the snake.'
He went to the snake, 'Snake, snake, will you be beaten?' 'I will
bite the queen.'
He went to the queen, 'Queen, queen, will you be bitten?' 'I will
storm at the king.'
He went to the king, 'King, king, will you be stormed at by the
queen?' 'I will beat the woodman.'
He went to the woodman, 'Woodman, woodman, will you be
beaten?' 'I will cut down the trunk.'
He went to the trunk, 'Trunk, trunk, will you be cut down?' 'I
will give you the pea.'
So he got the pea and went away.



THE FARMER AND THE MONEY-LENDER

_Money-lender_--_Lîdû_, a disreputable tradesman, a sharp
practitioner.

_Râm_--Râma Chandra, now 'God' _par excellence_.

_Conch_--_Sankh_, the shell used in Hindu worship for
blowing upon.



THE LORD OF DEATH

_Lord of Death_.--_Maliku'l-maut_ is the Muhammadan form of
the name, _Kâl_ is the Hindu form. The belief is that every
living being has attached to him a 'Lord of Death.' He is represented
in the 'passion plays' so common at the Dasahra and other festivals by
a hunchbacked dwarf, quite black, with scarlet lips, fastened to a
'keeper' by a black chain and twirling about a black wand. The idea
is that until this chain is loosened or broken the life which he is to
kill is safe. The notion is probably of Hindu origin. For a note on
the subject see _Indian Antiquary_, vol. x. pp. 289, 290.



THE WRESTLERS

_The Wrestlers_.--The story seems to be common all over India. In
the _Indian Antiquary_, vol. x. p. 230, it is suggested that it
represents some aboriginal account of the creation.

_Ten thousand pounds weight_.--In the original 160 _mans_,
which weigh over 13,000 lbs._



GWASHBRARI

_Gwâshbrâri, etc_.--The Westarwân range is the longest spur into
the valley of Kashmîr. The remarkably clear tilt of the strata
probably suggested this fanciful and poetical legend. All the
mountains mentioned in the tale are prominent peaks in Kashmîr, and
belong to what Cunningham (_Ladâk_, 1854, ch. iii.) calls the Pîr
Panjâl and Mid-Himâlayan Range. Nangâ Parbat, 26,829 ft., is to the
N.W.; Harâ Mukh, 16,905 ft., to the N.; Gwâshbrâri or Kolahoî, 17,839
ft., to the N.E. Westarwân is a long ridge running N.W. to S.E.,
between Khrû and Sotûr, right into the Kashmîr valley. Khru is not
far from Srinagar, to the S.E.

_Lay at Gwâshbrâri's feet, his head upon her heart_.--As a matter
of fact, Westarwân does not lay his head anywhere near Gwâshbrâri's
feet, though he would appear to do so from Khrû, at which place the
legend probably arose. An excellent account of the country between
Khrû and Sesh Nâg, traversing most of that lying between Westarwân and
Gwâshbrâri, by the late Colonel Cuppage, is to be found at pp. 206-221
of Ince's _Kashmîr Handbook_, 3rd ed., 1876.



THE BARBER'S CLEVER WIFE

_Hornets' nest_.--Properly speaking, bees. This species makes a
so-called nest, _i.e._ a honey-comb hanging from the branch of a
tree, usually a _pîpal_, over which the insects crawl and jostle
each other in myriads in the open air. When roused, and any accident
may do this, they become dangerous enemies, and will attack and sting
to death any animal near. They form a real danger in the Central
Indian jungles, and authentic cases in which they have killed horses
and men, even Europeans, are numerous.

_Fairy_.--_Parî_, fairy, peri: the story indicates a very
common notion.



THE JACKAL AND THE CROCODILE

_Verses_.--In the original they are--

_Gâdar, ghar kyâ lâyâ?
Kyâ chîz kamâyâ?
Ki merâ khâtir pâyâ._

Jackal, what hast thou brought home?
What thing hast thou earned?
That I may obtain my wants.

The story has a parallel in most Indian collections, and two in
_Uncle Remus_, in the stories of 'The Rabbit and the Wolf' and of
'The Terrapin and the Rabbit.'



HOW RAJA RASÂLU WAS BORN

_Raja Rasâlu_--The chief legendary hero of the Panjâb, and
probably a Scythian or non-Aryan king of great mark who fought both
the Aryans to the east and the invading tribes (? Arabs) to the
west. Popularly he is the son of the great Scythian hero Sâlivâhana,
who established the Sâka or Scythian era in 78 A.D. Really he,
however, probably lived much later, and his date should be looked for
at any period between A.D. 300 and A.D. 900. He most probably
represented the typical Indian kings known to the Arab historians as
flourishing between 697 and 870 A.D. by the synonymous names Zentil,
Zenbil, Zenbyl, Zambil, Zantil, Ranbal, Ratbyl, Reteil, Retpeil,
Rantal, Ratpil, Ratteil, Ratbal, Ratbil, Ratsal, Rusal, Rasal, Rasil.
These are all meant for the same word, having arisen from the
uncertainty of the Arabic character and the ignorance of
transcribers. The particular king meant is most likely the opponent
of Hajjaj and Muhammad Qasim between 697 and 713 A.D. The whole
subject is involved in the greatest obscurity, and in the Panjâb his
story is almost hopelessly involved in pure folklore. It has often
been discussed in learned journals. See _Indian Antiquary_, vol.
xi. pp. 299 ff. 346-349, vol. xii. p. 303 ff., vol. xiii. p. 155 ff.;
_Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal_ for 1854, pp. 123-163,
_etc_.; Elliot's _History of India_, vol. i. pp. 167, 168,
vol. ii. pp. 178, 403-427.

_Lonan_--For a story of Lonân, see _Indian Antiquary_, vol.
ix. p. 290.

_Thrown into a deep well_--Still shown on the road between
Siâlkot and Kallowâl.

_Gurû Gorakhnâth_--The ordinary _deux ex machinâ_ of modern
folk-tales. He is now supposed to be the reliever of all troubles,
and possessed of most miraculous powers, especially over snakes. In
life he seems to have been the Brâhmanical opponent of the mediaeval
reformers of the fifteenth century A.D. By any computation Pûran
Bhagat must have lived centuries before him.

_Pûran Bhagat_.--Is in story Râjâ Rasâlû's elder brother. There
are numerous poems written about his story, which is essentially that
of Potiphar's wife. The parallel between the tales of Raja Rasâlu and
Pûran Bhagat and those of the Southern Aryan conqueror Vikramâditya
and his (in legend) elder brother Bhatrihari, the saint and philosopher,
is worthy of remark.

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