>§ A DISSERTATION ON SEMIRAMIS, 



Parjis. There is now at Benares a Brahman of the 

 name of De'vi-da's, who is a native of Mejched\ he 

 was introduced lately to my acquaintance by Mr. 

 Duncan ; and he informed me that it was supposed 

 there were about 2000 families of Hindus in Kboraf- 

 faw y that they called themselves Hindi, and are known 

 to the Mujfulmans of the country under that appel- 

 lation. 



This, in my opinion, accounts for the whole coun- 

 try to the south of the Cafpian sea, from Khorajfan 

 and Arrokhage, as far as the Black Sea being called 

 India by the antients; and its inhabitants in various 

 places Sindi : it is implicitly confirmed by the Para- 

 na's, in which it is said that the Surya-muc'hi-Gdngd, 

 or Volga, falls into the Sea of Sind. The Hindus near 

 Baku and at Aftrachan, call it the new sea, because 

 they say it did not exist formerly. They have le- 

 gends about it, which, however, my learned friend 

 Vidhya-na'th could not find in the Pur anas. 



According to the pilgrims I have consulted, there 

 are about twenty or thirty families of Hindus at Balk % 

 and Eu see ius informs us, that there were Hindus 

 in Baciriana in his. time. There are as many fami- 

 lies at Gdngdwdz, or Congo; about one hundred at 

 Buffora; and a few at Baharein: these informed Pur a - 

 na'-puri', a Y6yi and famous traveller, called also 

 Urd'hwara'hu, because he always keeps his hands 

 elevated above his head, that formerly they corres- 

 ponded and traded with other Hindus on the banks 

 of the river Ntla, in the country of Mifr ; and that 

 thev had once a house or factory at Cairo ; but 



that, 



