too ORIGIN AND DECLINE OF THE 



the inhabitants of which country were at that time 

 followers of Brahma', and that the Sanscrit lan- 

 guage was studied and well understood there by the 

 learned. He came to India, where he resided for a 

 long time, and in his old age he returned to his na- 

 tive country, in order to end his days at Mocshh- 

 wara-sthan, or Mecca, in the performance of reli- 

 gious duties. Dr. Buchanan informs me, that he 

 saw in the Dtkhin several tribes of Jainas, who in- 

 sisted that they came originally from Mecca or Ara-- 

 bia ; and that they were expelled by Muhamed, or 

 his successors. 



Tliere are certainly followers of Brahma' and 

 Brahmem to this day in Arabia ; and I am credibly 

 informed, by natives of that country, that in the inte- 

 rior parts there are still many idolaters, whom they 

 suppose to be followers of Brahma', or Hindus, as 

 they call them. The greatest part of the old names 

 of places in Arabia are either Sanscrit or Hindi: and 

 Pliny mentions two celebrated islands on the south- 

 em coasts oi Arabia, in which there were pillars with 

 inscriptions in characters unknown, I suppose, to the 

 Greek merchants who traded there : but these were 

 probably Sanscrit ; as one of these two islands was 

 called Isura or Is'wara's island, and the other 

 Rinnea, from the Sanscrit Hrinii/df or the island of 

 the merciful goddess. 



Tlie Hindus claim Mecca as a place of worship be- 

 longing to them, and certainly with good reason. 

 They say, that they were allowed to go and worship 

 there for several centuries after the introduction of 

 the religion of Muhamed; Jjut were afterwards 

 positively forbidden even to approach this sacred 

 place. 



