The Cambridge History of India, Vol. III: Turks and Afghans v3.c20.70

v3.c20.70

¹ The date of this expedition coincides nearly with the date (June 19, 1033) assigned for the death of the mythical hero Sālār Mas‘ūd, popularly known as Ghāzī Miyān, at Balrāich. Sālār Mas‘ūd is said to have been the son of Sālār Sāhū and Māmal, sister of Mahmūd. The only work, pretending to be a history, which treats of him, is the Mir‘āt-i-Mas‘ūdī, written in the reign of Jahāngīr by ‘Abd-ur-Rahmān Chishtī, who cites as his authority ‘an old book written by Mullā Muhammad of Ghaznī, a servant of Sultan Mahmūd,’ but no trace of this ‘old book’ is to be found and there is little reason for believing that it ever existed, save in the imagination of ‘Abd-ur-Rahmān Chishtī, who seems to have been a crazy and credulous retailer of popular legends. The marvellous exploits of the young hero need not be related here, but he and his four mythical companions have become objects of worship to a peculiar sect, the *Pachpīriyas*, or followers of the five saints, which embraces ignorant Hindus as well as ignorant Muslims and is of great interest to students of folklore. There is probably some slender historical foundation for the myth, but it can no longer be traced. See *E. and D.* ii, 513–549 and *The Heroes Five*, by the late Mr R. Greeven, I.C.S. (Allahabad, 1898).