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OCTOBER, 1882.]
SÅRIKÅ, MAINÅ, KEPKION.
291
The Story of Sassi.15 A damjâm was king of the city of Bhambor, and was great and good and generous. To him was born in the city of Bhambor a daughter Sassi, and he called the astrologers to foretell her fate. And these said "she will die in a lone and sandy desert and bring disgrace and shame to her father's house." Now although her father and her mother loved her much, nevertheless, when they heard she would bring shame on them, they made a plan to put her into a wooden chest, and throw her into the river, thinking thereby to rid themselves of the evil name in store for them. So having gotten a wooden chest, they put Sassi into it, and threw it into the river.
Now one Attâ, & washerman, was washing clothes by the river bank not far from the place where Sasst was thrown into the river. Seeing the chest floating down the river he jumped in, and brought out the chest with Sassi in it, and taking Sasst home to his own house he cherished her until she became of full age. And to him came the young washermen, and demanded her in marriage, whereupon he went to Sassi, and said "Choose whom you will," but she would have none of them, saying "I am a
king's daughter." When they heard this the washermen went to Adamjâm the king, and told him that Attâ the washerman had a daughter worthy of marrying hir. The king thereupon sent for Sassî, but when he saw what was written on the paper, which had been in the wooden chest, he was greatly ashamed, and sent Sassi back to her foster-father the washerman."!1
The tale of Sassi and Punnün has occupied a good deal of attention, and has been translated into verse as “Suswee and Punhoo" by Sir F. Goldsmid from the Sindh version. The name varies as Sassi and Punnûn, Saswi and Punhů and as Sassi and Pannun. Punnûn was a Beloch prince, son of Ari (Hot 'Ali according to Hashim Shah) king of Kech or Kecham in Makran, which place has been variously identified as Kachh, Kiraj, Kich, and Kej."
As the tale is of considerable importance and interest I give the following references regarding it. Burton, Unhappy Valley, vol. I, pp. 81-88; Sindh, pp. 57, 92, 106; Postans, J. A. S. B. vol. VII, (1838) pp. 93 ff.; and vol. XIV, (1845) pp. 75 ff.; Elliot, Hist. of India, vol. 1, pp. 332-336, 329, 263, 390-391, 368; HartDavies, Sind Ballads, pp. 8, 25, 43.
SARIKA,-MAINA,-KEPKIQN.
BY LIEUT. R. C. TEMPLE, B.S.C., F.R.G.S., M.R.A.S. &c. Liddell and Scott in their Greek Lexicon, (5th the society of its mate that it prefers starvation Ed., 1864,) 8. V. Kepkim, 1. quoting Ælian, De to slavery with sumptuous fare. It is called Animalium Nature, xvi, 3, say that it is an by the Makedonians, who settled among the unknown bird.
Indians in the city of Boukephala and its McCrindle, Ancient India of Megasthenes and neighbourhood and in the city called Kuropolis, Arran, following Schwanbeck, at p. 160, (Ind. and others which Alexander the son of Philip Ant. vol. VI, p. 345) translates the passage búilt, the kerkiin. This name had, I believe, from Ælian referred to by Liddell and Scott, as its origin in the fact that the bird wags its tail being copied from Megasthenes, thus: “There in the same way as water ousels (ót Kiyot)." is found in India also another remarkable bird. Taking Boukephala to have been built on the This is of the size of a starling and is parti- banks of the Hydaspes or Jhilam, its neighcoloured and is trained to utter the sounds of bourhood would be the present Rawal Pindi human speech. It is even more talkative than and Jhilam Districts of the Panjab. This the parrot and of greater natural cleverness. talking bird then, which Anglo-Indians recogSo far is it from submitting with pleasure to be nise at once as the maind, was called kerkión, fed by man, that it rather has such a pining for or something that corresponded to it, about freedom and such a longing to warble at will in Riwal Piņui and Jhilam in Græco-Indian times.
16 Sassi means the moon: Sansk, sakin. Hart-Davies, Sind Ballada, calls her Saswi (Suswee), and following the Sindh poets derives the name is Saisir mer sui, "heard in the world or famous." This is of course sheer nou sense. See Elliot, Hist. of India, vol. I, p. 332.
10 Bhambor is Bh&mbaraw, the old Greek Barbarike.
The ruins are situated about 20 miles from the modern Tatta in Sind. Elliot, vol. I, p. 368. Hart-Davies, Sind Ballada, p. 25.
11 See Roman Urdu Journal, vol. IV, No. 38, p. 22.
15 Elliot, vol. I, 333, 390-1: Hait-Davies, P. 43 : Bano88, Index Geographicus Indicus, Pp. 104, 178, 193.
