Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 151

AUGUST, 1920)
NOTES AX, BOX-JOBSOX
141
NOTES ON HOBSON-JOBSON.
BY PROF. S. H. HODIVALA, M.A. Alcoranas.-This strange word is illustrated by only one quotation, from Sir Thomas Her. bert, in Hobson-Jobson as well as in the New English Dictionary. The following extract from one of the Jesuit Letters shows that the error is much older than the days of that author.
[1590.) "The Emperor (scil. Akbar) turned all the mosques of the city where he lived into stables for elephants or horses on the pretence of preparing for war. Soon, however, he destroyed the Alcorans, (which are the turrets from which the priests call with loud voices on Muhammad), saying that if the mosques could no longer be used for prayer, there was no need for the turrets." Letter of the Jesuit Provincial, dated November 1690, Trans. Maclagan, in JASB., 1896, p. 62.
General Maclagan says that "other writers of the period commit the same mistake" and that it is an error for Mindras.' I venture to suggest that the word misrepresented is more probably (AI) Kangara,' which according to Richardson, means "a niched battle. ment of a castle, a pinnacle, a turret, a parapet wall, plumes upon helmets or ornaments upon crowns," Persian-English Dictionary, s.v.
Allygole, Alighol.-Both the derivations proposed are at best conjectural. Wilson sug. gests that it is from Arab. Ali, lofty, excellent, and Hind.gola, troop. Broughton asserts that these troops were so called from “charging in a dense mass and invoking Ali, t'he son-in-law of Mohammed." But the quotations from Wolfe Tone and Fraser show that the men were Rohilla Pathans-of whom it is common knowledge that they were and are somewhat strict, if not bigoted, Sunnis, and, as such, hardly likely to have used the name of Ali as their battle-cry.
I venture to suggest that the word is made up of the Pers. Ahl, people, men, and Qaul or Ghaul which is defined by Yule himself (8.v. Gole ') as "the main body of an army, a clustered body of troops, an irregular body of troops." Babur frequently uses 'Ghaul' for the centre of an army, and so also Badaoni (Lowe's Trans. II, 82 n., 197 n.). Ahl-i-ghaul or Ahl-i-gaul, would then mean 'men of the centre,' and would be easily corrupted into
Allygole.' Cf. Ahl-i-khana, Ahl-i-bait, Ahl-i-kitáb, Ahl-i-sunnat and about fifty other combinations with ahl in Richardson's Dictionary, 8.0. Ah.
Anna.-The earliest quotation is of 1708, but its vogue in English is of course very much older. In the second of the following extracts, we have a very early example of the use of the word in its secondary sense, viz., to denote not merely the 16th part of the rupee, but the “corresponding fraction of any kind of property, especially in regard to coparcenary shares in land or in a speculation."
[1620.] “In the paper No. 2 is two skeynes of the third and fourth sortes wee usialye buye in Agra, ... and is here worth at presant, ... 41 rup[ees) gross per seare, out of which the pre-mentioned disturye abated, will cost 3 rup[ees] 9 annyes net the seare of 34 pices weight per seare," Foster, English Factories in India, 1618-1621, p. 194 [1620).
“Those I provided here.... was according to custome of the buzare, both for price and allowance, which is a Savoye per cent ... and makes 20 per cent. differance or abaitment, to saye, for 100 rupes gross wee payed 80 net, which is the 4 aneys or 4/16 distury.” Ibid., p. 204.
Balasorg. - The derivation of Balasore from "Baleśvara, Skt. bála strong, and isvara lord, perhaps with reference to Krishna," given by Yule is identical with the one given by Hunter in his well-known work on Orissa ; (App. II, p. 31), but Mr. Beames has challenged it. "The word Isvara ”, he says, " is restricted to Siva and very rarely applied to Krishna. There is no temple to the youthful Krishna in or near Bâlâsore, whereas in the village of Old Balasore (Purana Baneswar), which was he original place of that name, there exists a small, rude and very ancient temple of Baneswara Mahadeva." Mr. Beames is in favour of deriving it either from ban, Skt. vana, forest, or from vána, arrow. "In favour of the first, may be adduced the large number of places beginning with ban all over Northern Orissa ; in support of the