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EPIGRAPHIA INDICA.
for thy help in adversities. Every care and every sorrow will surely vanish through thy prophetship, O Muhammad, through thy saintliness, O 'All, O'All, O'Al, O 'Ali!"
His.'
3. Near the Nâgôr-Gate, outside the town, is a sandstone (measuring 5' by 4"), on four sides covered with inscriptions. It belonged to the tomb of Shaikh Muhammad Chishti, but it is now on a wrong grave, where it was placed a short time ago, on being dug up. The inscription, in one line, on the west upper side, runs—
نقل ابن سلطان المشايخ والزليا شيخ محمد بن شيخ محمود چشتي في التاسع من شعبان سنه اتلى وتسعين وثمانماية
"The departure of this king of the Shaikhs and the Saints, Shaikh Muhammad, son of Mahmud, the Chishti, (took place) on the 9th Sha'bán, 802 (31st July, 1487)." Since the tomb of so highly revered a man as Shaikh Muhammad Chishti was may claim some interest, I give also the Arabic inscriptions of the lower west side and of the east face
يا من بدنياه اشتغل قد غره طول الامل الموت يأتي بغتة والقبر صندوق العمل
Metre: Rajaz. "Ah! He that is occupied with his earthly life and the length of his hope (ie., his hoped life-time) deceives himself! Death comes unexpectedly, and the tomb is the coffin of his work."
الله الرحمن الرحيم لا اله الا الله محمد رسول الله صلى الله عليه بس
الشبم راحل وهو في ا الا انما الدنيا كمنزل راكب اينام عشيا
"In the name, etc., station of a camel-rider? morning?"
4. Outside the Nâgôr-Gate is also the enclosure known as Shaikh Junaid's tomb. The stone on the west contains the name of the builder twice, who, in spite of the omis sion of any title, may nevertheless be identical with the Shaikh named, from his also being
there is no God but, etc. Is not the world verily like the Will he sleep in the evening when he is to depart in the
This formula is very popular for amulets all over the East. It is engraved on bracelets just as on swords (see Proceed. ings 48. S. Beng. for November 1872, p. 169). Mr. Blochmann gives it in his Ain-i Akbari Translation, p. 507, with an unmetrical alteration in the second line. But see also Proceedings As. S. Beng. (loc. cit.)
Some of the following inscriptions were published by Blochmann, in Proceedings As. 8. Beng. for April 1877, pp. 94, seg.
The most extensive essay on the whole branch of the Chishti Saints (see ante, p. 145) is in the Sawdți" ul-anuár, a copy of which work is in India Office library in London. The contents of this large volume (481 pages of 17 lines each) have been copiously described by Prof. C. H. Ethé in his Catalogue of the Persian Manuscripts of the India Office Collection (No. 654), for access to the proof sheets of which I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. R. Rost. It is known that biographies of single Chishtis are likewise given in other works and that there are writings treating of single members as the Matlub uttalibin, which is restricted to the life and deeds of Nizamuddin Auliya. Compared with such books those of the princess Jahânârâi about Shaikh Mu'in uddin and of her brother Dårå Shukôh (Safinat ul-auliya) are very dilettante. I have perused the whole of the first and looked over the latter in the manuscripts at the British Museum. This is not the place to speak at large of the value of the literary products of the two princely authors, but I may mention that I was disappointed with them, and the most by Dârâ Shukoh's, which pretends to be more serious than Jahânârâi's unassuming book. They do not furnish us with original information of importance concerning the Chishtis, as one would be disposed to expect, considering the close relation of both with Shaikh Mu'in uddio.
