Indian Antiquary Vol 03

SR No.: 032495
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Jas Burgess
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1984
Total Pages: 420
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 19 MB

Page 273

SEPTEMBER, 1874.)
WORDS AND PLACES IN AND ABOUT BOMBAY.
249
even the papers relating to the grant * of munity from death, and also & promise that he the Island of Bombay, by the King of Por- should always be successful in war against his tagal to Charles II. of England. In the treaty, enemies. This privilege, however, made him concluded on the 23rd June 1661, the name 80 vain that he commenced to harass all his Bombaim is used, which also the earliest neighbours, when a meeting of the gods was English writers, such as Dr. Fryer and others, convened in order to put a stop to the enemployed.
croachments of the privileged giant. They all It is reasonable to suppose that this name is went for advice to Vishnu, and he, in order to derived from Mumbå, of the origin of which chastise the giant, created a goddess from his there are two versions. One is that the Mum. own splendour, who punished him sosebåderi temple was first erected about five verely that he was obliged to sue for pardon. hundred years ago by one of the Kolîs, ab- Having granted this, the goddess told the giant original dwellers in Bombay, whose name was to ask any boon or favour from her, whereupon Munga (T): and really such names as he said that he would like to build a temple and Munga, Simgå, Boga, and Vå gå are not name it by their joint names, as Mumbad evi, uncommon among them; and they say that the or the goddess of the giant Mumbaraka. He name of Mungå might have eventually changed is supposed to have been Mubaraka I., Eminto Mumba, for it is customary among the peror of Delhi, and called a giant from the reHindus to give their own names to their gods and sistance he always offered to the Hindu religion ; goddesses, as, for instance, the word D hAka- | and to have called the place Mubarak apur, leśvara, i.e. a temple built by a person of.the subsequently contracted into Mumbai and name of Dhakji, Mâņakesvara, i.e. a tem- Bombay, the change of m (H) into b (c) ple built by a person by name. Mankoji, and being natural, several others. But it is not possible to account Although a myth, this story explains tho for the change in the word Muñgå of the letter origin of the name Bombay in a somewhat more 9 (T) into the letter b () of Mumba; for plausible fashion than the other, and I give it these two letters belong to two different without comment in the form in which I reclasses of consonants.
ceived it. The other version, and perhaps the more cor- The temple referred to was first built on rect of the two, is that taken from the Mumbá Devi what is now the Esplanade, but about a century Mahatmya, written in Prakrit, which states that and a half ago it was transferred to its present there was a giant in the Island, by name Mumba- site, near Payad hûni, where there is a pagoda raka, in whose honour Bombay is named. This with a large tank, the daily resort of innumeragiant by his religions austerities pleased Brahma ble Hindus, especially Vånis and Kolis, who have so much that he obtained from the deity im- recourse to it in order to perform their ablutions.
• As it is very seldom that these old documents see the light, I may give here an old official paper,. written in the Portuguese of the 16th century, purporting to be a list of all the villages, cocoanut-trees, taxes, &o. which were made over to the English at the time of the formal cension of the Island, which took place on the 17th February 1665, after a meeting of the Commissioners of the two nations, Inofre Coque and Luis Mendes de Vasconcellos and Dom Sebastiao Alvares Migos, by a written agreement drawn up in the house of D. Ignez de Miranda, the first landed proprietress in the island, and widow of D. Rodrigo de Moncanto, in the presence of the public notary of Boscaim, Antonio Monteiro da Fonceca, and otber authorities of the Islands of Bombaim and Bascaim." Here follows the list :Bamonavalle, e Celtem : (Pacaria) Rendimento 15 muras
paras, lladolis de batte. Bandrastaes : Duas povoaçoes dos destiladores da surs de palmeiras bravas.
Bombaim (Cassabe) 40 mil palmeiras particulares, e 5 mil da Companhia.
Coceo : Theo da ponta da Ilha.
Colvarias : Povoaçoes dos Coles, com os nomes das Aldeas a que pertenciam : Varoy-Parella-Sião- Dirgavi.
Diravy : (Pacaria) R. 8 muras e 8 pars. Maim: (Cassabe) 93 mil palmeiras manças, e algumas hortas.
Mazagam : (Aldea) R. 184 mur., 250 palmeiras bravas.
Mataguem : (Aldea) R. 65 mur. par.-8 adol, e 10 palmeiras bravas.
Nagam: R. 42 mar. 15 par. e 15 adol. Parella: (Aldea) com suas pacarias-Boyvares. Patecas : (Ilha) de Mazagão. Romalla, e Salgado: R. 150 mur. 15 per., e 15 adol. Rauly, e Matuguem : (Marinhas). Siam; (Aldea) R. 54 mur. Siury; Vadalay.
Vadalla ; com para Pacarias, Syory--Gon Waddy R. 75 mur. 4 par. e 4 adol.
Varoly: (Aldea) R. 84 muras.