Travels in India (Tavernier) 122.3

122.3

There are some among them who are foolish enough to bury their treasures during their lifetime, as, for instance, nearly all the rich men of the Kingdom of Assam, so that if they enter, after death, the body of any poor and miserable mendicant, they can have recourse to the money which they have buried in order to draw from it at necessity. This is the reason why so much gold and silver and so many precious stones are buried in India, and an idolater must be poor indeed if he has no money buried in the earth. I remember that I one day bought in India, for 600 rupees, an agate cup 6 inches high and of the size of one of our silver plates. The seller assured me that more than forty years had elapsed since it was buried in the earth, and that he preserved it to serve his need after death, it being a matter of indifference to him whether he buried the cup or the money. On my last voyage I bought from one of these idolaters sixty-two diamonds weighing about 6 grains apiece, and on telling him of my astonishment at seeing so fine a parcel, he replied that I need not be astonished, seeing that it took nearly fifty years to accumulate them for his wants after death; but his affairs having changed, and having need of money, he had been obliged to dispose of them. These buried treasures were one day of great service to the Raja Sivaji, who took up arms against the Great Mogul and the King of Bijapur.