Gazetteer of the Bombay Presidency, Vol. I, Part I: History of Gujarat c19.s5.35.4

c19.s5.35.4

He makes out that the Kastaríya or Kshatriyas are able to drink three ratl (a ratl being one pound troy) of wine and are allowed to marry Bráhman women. The Sabdalíya or Chandal women, he says, are noted for beauty. Of the forty-two sects he enumerates worshippers of trees and adorers of serpents, which they keep in stables and feed as well as they can, deeming it to be a meritorious work. He says that the inhabitants of Kambáya are Buddhists (idolators) and that the Balhára also worships the idol Buddha.⁷ The Indians, says Al-Idrísi⁸ (end of the eleventh century) are naturally inclined to justice and in their actions never depart from it. Their reputation for good faith, honesty, and fidelity to their engagements brings strangers flocking to their country and aids its prosperity. In illustration of the peaceable disposition of the Hindus, he quotes the ancient practice of dahái or conjuring in the name of the king, a rite which is still in vogue in some native states. When a man has a rightful claim he draws a circle on the ground and asks his debtor to step into the circle in the name of the king. The debtor never fails to step in nor does he ever leave the circle without paying his debts. Al Idrisi describes the people of Nahrwára as having so high a respect for oxen that when an ox dies they bury it. "When enfeebled by age or unable to work they provide their oxen with food without exacting any return."⁹