BookMarks #142: Alberuni's India

Title: Alberuni's India: An Account of the Religion, Philosophy, Literature, Geography, Chronology, Astronomy, Customs, Laws and Astrology of India About A.D.1030

Author: Edward Sachau

Genre: History, Culture

Published: 1910

BookMarks

Translation of Al-Beruni's Kitab ta'rikh al-Hind, an enyclopedia on India of 1030 AD. This is an account of learnings from his stay in India, where he was sent by Sultan Mahmud of Persia. Quite a vast work of knowledge from someone who spent considerable time trying to learn a new place's history, customs, religion, philosophy, literature, science, astronomy, maths.

Following are some of the takes from the book

Views on Hindus (the resident of Hind)

• Maḥmûd utterly ruined the prosperity of the country, and performed there wonderful exploits, by which the Hindus became like atoms of dust scattered in all directions, and like a tale of old in the mouth of the people. Their scattered remains cherish, of course, the most inveterate aversion towards all Muslims. This is the reason, too, why Hindu sciences have retired far away from those parts of the country conquered by us, and have fled to places which our hand cannot yet reach, to Kashmir, Benares, and other places. And there the antagonism between them and all foreigners receives more and more nourishment both from political and religious sources.
• Hindus believe that there is no country but theirs, no nation like theirs, no kings like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs. They are haughty, foolishly vain, self-conceited, and stolid. They are by nature niggardly in communicating that which they know, and they take the greatest possible care to withhold it from men of another caste among their own people, still much more, of course from any foreigner. According to their belief, there is no other country on earth but theirs, no other race of man but theirs, and no created.
• If they travelled and mixed with other nations, they would soon change their mind, for their ancestors were not as narrow-minded as the present generation is.
• The Hindus, like other people, boast of this enormous range of their language, whilst in reality it is a defect.

On knowledge & Vedas

• The scholars are well aware of the use of money, but the rich are ignorant of the nobility of science.
• Between man and God there are a thousand stages of light and darkness. Men exert themselves to pass through darkness to light, and when they have attained to the stations of light, there is no return for them.
• Veda means knowledge of that which was before unknown. It is a religious system which, according to the Hindus, comes from God, and was promulgated by the mouth of Brahman. The Brahmins recite the Veda without understanding its meaning, and in the same way they learn it by heart, the one receiving it from the other. Only few of them learn its explanation, and still less is the number of those who master the contents of the Veda and their interpretation to such a degree as to be able to hold a theological disputation.
• The Brahmins teach the Veda to the Kshatriyas. The latter learn it, but are not allowed to teach it, not even to a Brahmin. The Vaiśya and Śûdra are not allowed to hear it, much less to pronounce and recite it.
• If the Hindus happen to get some book which does not yet exist among them, they set at work to change it into Ślokas, which are rather unintelligible.
• The word dharma means reward, but in general it is used for religion

On Living Bodies

• There are three classes of them the spiritual ones in the height, men in the middle, and animals in the depth. Their species are fourteen in number, eight of which belong to the spiritual beings: Brahman, Indra, Prajâpati, Saumya, Gandharva, Yaksha, Râkshasa, and Piśâca. Five species are those of the animals — cattle, wild beasts, birds, creeping things, and growing things, i.e. the trees. And, lastly,. one species is represented by man.’”

On Hindu way of life

• They use turbans for trousers. (an interesting way to refer to dhoti)
• They do not ask permission to enter a house, but when they leave it they ask permission to do so.

On geography

The names of countries change, and particularly in the yugas. So Mûltân was originally called Kâśyapapura, then Haṁsapura, then Bagapura, then Sâmbhapura, and then Mûlasthâna, i.e. the original place, for mûla means root, origin, and tâna means place.”

Overall, quite an indepth reading of the India of a 1,000 years ago. An interesting external perspective of the life and times of our ancestors.

Previously on BookMarks: Matilda