Note 14 — CHAPTER 3

Wilford, who by his indefatigable research and knowledge of Sanskrit had accumulated extensive materials, unhappily deteriorated by a too credulous imagination, yet containing much valuable matter available to those sufficiently familiar with the subject to select with safety, has touched on this, and almost on every other point in the circle of Hindu antiquities. Ali Ibrahim, a learned native of Benares, was Wilford’s authority for asserting the Rana’s Persian descent, who stated to him that he had seen the original history, which was entitled, Origin of the Peishwas from the Ranas of Mewar. (Ibrahim must have meant the Satara princes, whose ministers were the Peshwas.) From this authority three distinct emigrations of the Guebres, or ancient Persians, are recorded, from Persia into Gujarat. The first in the time of Abu Bakr, A.D. 631; the second on the defeat of Yazdegird, A.D. 651; and the third when the descendants of Abbas began to prevail, A.D. 749. Also that a son of Noshirwan landed near Surat with eighteen thousand of his subjects, from Laristan, and were well received by the prince of the country. Abu-l Fazl confirms this account by saying, "the followers of Zoroaster, when they fled from Persia, settled in Surat," the contracted term for the peninsular of Saurashtra, as well as the city of this name [Āīn, ii. 243].