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OCTOBER, 1878.]
bankment rebuilt, began to lament, (the work) 20 was accomplished by the minister Suvisâkha, the son of Kulai pa, a Pahlava, who has been appointed by the king, out of kindness towards the town and country people, to protect the whole of An arta and Surâshtra, who by the proper dispensation of justice in temporal and spiritual affairs increases the affection (of the subjects), who is able, of subdued senses, neither hasty nor wanting in presence of mind, of noble family and unconquered, who governs well and increases the spiritual merit, fame, and glory of his master."
CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEA.
NOTE by Dr. G. BÜHLER.
The Gujarati original of the above article was made over to me for translation by Pandit Bhagavânlâl in the end of May 1877. Various personal reasons prevented my going to work on it at once. But even now, after Professor Eggeling's revised transcript and version of the inscription has appeared in Mr. Burgess's Report of Kathiávád, I do not think that the publication of Bhagavânlal's paper will be deemed superfluous. Mr. Burgess's facsimile, it is true, is a very good one, and Professor Eggeling's work shows great progress as compared with Dr. Bhâû Dâji's. Still a repeated and careful comparison of the stone with the photograph from Mr. Burgess's paper cast, which I made in December 1876, has yielded a few better readings in such places where the faintness of the letters, or accidental scratches, necessarily made
CORRESPONDENCE AND MISCELLANEA.
THE PARSI PRIESTHOOD.
To the Editor of the "Indian Antiquary." SIR, The communication from Mr. Sorâbji K&vasji Khambâtâ in the Indian Antiquary, vol. VII. p. 179, pointing out some errors in the information which Prof. Monier Williams had received regarding the Pârsi religion and rites, shows that there are still some obscurities with respect to the classification and titles of the Pârsi priesthood, which it ought not to be difficult to clear up.
Mr. H. G. Briggs, in his work on The Parsis or Modern Zerdusthians, says, on the subject of the priesthood (p. 45) "Mubed is the general term, and tantamount in acceptation to our word
20 Karma must be added in the text.
'Aptaкn occurs in the Periplus, §§ 14, 41, and 54; in
263
the readings from the photograph doubtful. Most of these have also been given by Bhagavânlâl, but I have once more pointed them out in the notes to his transcript.
I fully concur in most of the Pandit's important new readings and new renderings. One of his remarks also I recommend to special notice, the identification of the Greek name of the western coast, Arabike or Ariake, with Aparântika. I have no doubt that he is right, and that the reading Arabike (APABIKH) in the Periplus has to be altered to Abaratike (ABAPATIKH). The identification of Aparânta with the Konkana has been made first by Prof. R. G. Bhandarkar, Trans. Or. Cong. p. 313. The same gentleman's identification of Kukura with Hiwan Thsang's Kiu-che-lo cannot stand, as ku is never represented by Chinese che, and the identification with Gujjara is perfectly unobjectionable. Mr. Burgess's identification of Nishâda" with Berar rests on a mistake. Nala's kingdom is called Nisha dha, not Nisha da. It would seem that there were several districts in ancient India which bore this name. In our inscription, probably, the north-western Nishâda, which, according to a passage of the Mahabharata (see the Pet. Dict. s. v. Nishâda), corresponded with the Hissâr and Bhatnir districts, is meant. Bhagavanlal's Sva bhr a is a bold conjecture which is not sufficiently supported. But he is right in not accepting the form Asvaka which former decipherers have imported into the text.
Clergy. The learned among them, and those who hold spiritual dignity, are denominated Dasturs or Andhidrus, almost significant to our Doctors and Bishops. Herbads are the inferior clergy."
This is not the same as the account given by Prof. Monier Williams. Mr. Sorâbji Kâvasji's differs from both. And it might be assumed that his is correct, were it not that it has an appearance of being a little at variance with itself. Herbad, it says, is "a mere generic term for Dasturs and Mobeds," while a footnote says, "Some Herbads are neither Dasturs nor Mobeds, for they do not choose to enter the holy order."
The account of this priesthood would be made more distinct if, in addition to a statement of the
the second, the reading 'Apaßin occurs in the codex, but is generally regarded as corrupt.-ED. 22 Report on Kath. p. 131.
