AL KAZWI′NI′.
to the attendants for their maintenance. When the Indians make an attack upon the town, the Musulmáns bring out the idol, and when the infidels see it (about to be) broken or burnt, they retire. Ibnu-l Fakíh says that an Indian came to this idol, and placed upon his head a crown of cotton, daubed with pitch; he did the same with his fingers, and having set fire to it he staid before the idol until it was burnt.
SAIMÚR.—A city of Hind near the confines of Sind. The people are very beautiful and handsome, from being born of Turk and Indian parents. There are Musulmáns, Christians, Jews, and Fire-worshippers there. The merchandize of the Turks is conveyed hither, and the aloes called Saimúrí are named from this place. The temple of Saimúr is an idol temple, on the summit of a high eminence, under the charge of keepers. There are idols in it of turquoise and baijádak,[1] which are highly venerated. In the city there are mosques, Christian churches, synagogues, and Fire temples. The infidels do not slaughter animals, nor do they eat flesh, fish, or eggs; but there are some who will eat animals that have fallen down precipices, or that have been gored to death, but they do not eat those that have died a natural death. This information has been derived from Mis’ar bin Muhalhil, author of the ’Ajaibu-l buldán, who travelled into various countries and recorded their wonders.
SOMNÁT.—A celebrated city of India, situated on the shore of the sea, and washed by its waves. Among the wonders of that place was the temple in which was placed the idol called Somnát. This idol was in the middle of the temple without anything to support it from below, or to suspend it from above. It was held in the highest honour among the Hindus, and whoever beheld it floating in the air was struck with amazement, whether he was a Musulmán or an infidel. The Hindus used to go on pilgrimage to it whenever there was an eclipse of the moon, and would then assemble there to the number of more than a hundred thousand. They believed that the souls of men used to meet there after separation from the body, and that the idol used to incorporate them at its pleasure in other bodies, in accordance with their doctrine of transmigration. The ebb and
- ↑ [A stone like a ruby.]
