Indian Antiquary Vol 53

SR No.: 032545
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: Richard Carnac Temple, Stephen Meredyth Edwardes, Krishnaswami Aiyangar
Publisher: Swati Publications
Publication Year: 1985
Total Pages: 392
Language: English
Classification: Book_English
File Size: 17 MB

Page 47

FEBRUARY, 1924)
MISCELLANEA.
41
asked the King to pardon them 67. But he answered that they had to bo killed according to the laws of the Portuguese ; because they, being of Christian descent, had made themselves out to be Moors. However, since he had interceded for them, he gave them over to him. The Father then devoted himself to tho salvation of their souls; and all of them wore convertedThanks be to God. This was not the only fruit the Fathers gained in this journey ; for many sons and daughters of Portuguese were also given over to thein, and Brother Benito de Goes brought them to Goa.68"
From the rest of Fr. Xavier's letter, which gives no further news about the conquest of this fort, we may conclude that Akbar spent some further time in the neighbourhood, where he received homage and some religious gifts from Fr. Manuel Piñeiro, S.J., who had remained at Lahore in charge of the Christians of that town.
The letter of Fr. Xavier is the most trustworthy account of the conquest of Asirgarh ; but it needs to be supplemented and checked by the sidelights provided by the Muhammadan historians, and especially by the author of Zafar-al-Walih ; this task we have attempted, while publishing the letter in English for the first time. From its study the following facts, not recorded by Smith, are brought out
(1) The purpose of Akbar in this expedition was to open the way through the Deccan for further conquests in Goa, Malabar, Vijayanagar and Dabul.
(2) An alliance probably existed between the Portuguese and the Deocan kingdoms, to oppose the Moghul Emperor.
(3) Mukarrab Khan was sent twice by his father Malik Yakat to the Imperial camp, the first time before the kidnapping of the king, and the second after that event.
(4) The kidnapping of Bahadur took place, not at the end of August but later on, probably in October.
MISCELLANEA. DISPOSAL OF DECEASED LAMAS IN
Both the above statements are of interest. The EASTERN TIBET AND THE MUMMIFYING
first because the Parsi mode of disposing of the OF BODIES IN CHINA.
dead in towers of silence to be eaten by birds is In Eric Teichman's Travels of a Consular Ficer said to be due to the idea of not polluting the in Eastern Tibet, the latest and very excellent Mother Earth by burying the body in it. The book on that country (1922), there occurs a remark second is of course a common Hindu custom of (1) able statement on the modo of disposing of the Aryan or outside-Aryan origin. bodies of lamas by feeding them to birds, to which On the samo page Mr. Teichman has a note of the author has attached an equally remarkable
great interest on Chinese mummifying, which is account of the Chinese method of mummifying worth reproducing here. the dead held to be of much account.
“We never came across a mummied lama in On p. 84, we read : "On this march we passed
Eastern Tibet, but the mummy of Tsongkaba (the & deceased lama being cut up and fed to the birds, great reformer of Tibetan lamaism) is said to be A somewhat gruesome sight. Domna, our Tibetan preserved in & monastery at Lhasa. Mummies of mastiff, immediately galloped off to join in the feast, priests and other celebrities are not uncommon and was with difficulty recalled. This is the usual in China, and there is one at Peking which is well method of disposing of deceased lamas. The idea known to foreign tourists. The Chinese make seems to be that a speedy reincarnation is secured their mummies by starving the subject before by being thus fed to the birds (and each reincarne- his death (so that he may be s8 empty and dry tion is, it is hoped, a step towards non-reincarnation as possible) and then placing the body in a sealed And the desired escape from the revolving wheel jar with charcoal, which absorbs the moisture. of earthly existence). Dead laymen are usually when the body is ontirely dried it is removed from thrown into rivers, a practice which makes it the jar and gilded." inadvisable to drink unboiled river water in Tibet."
R. C. TEMPLE. 57 The conduct of Fr. Xavier was that of a minister of Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, and he acted according to the words of God to the Prophet Ezekiel : "I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live " (XXXIII, 11), and he succeeded in his efforts.
58 The fact that there were so many Portuguese in the fort perhaps confirms the hint of Fr. Du Jar. rio, that an alliance existed between them and the kingdom of Khandesh. Of. note 47.