122 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XIII, 



Note. 

 I have translated the words than than ftPTOW) as meaning 



i< sin^^**. " 



empty. 3 ' But the meaning of the whole of the first line is 

 obscure. I have translated the word khai (^fnO as meaning 



" edible^ 



On the contrary, the following Parsee riddle about salt 



(published at page 100 of Vol. X. of the Bombay Anthropologi- 

 cal Society's Journal) expresses the attributes of this condiment 

 more explicitly : — 



" Though white, yet it is not sugar ; though bright, yet 

 it is not glass ; though melting, yet it is not snow ; but you 

 always eat it." Answer. — Salt. 



( ^) ^rarr z*$s*i ^tt m€\ i 



^1 f «i^ *n?^ w^t ii 



^ 



fsTTT ^ If ^ I 



'OTT fflR tnsg t II 



Translation. 



(31) 1. The courtyard is empty. Its seat is the earth. 



2. What potter is makir»<* t. h« hrm/l 



3. (Within which) curd] 



milk ? 



4. How shall I find such a potter ? 

 Answer.— Quicklime. 



Note. 

 The expression " uthan than than " (^htst 3*3?*) also 

 occurs in the previous riddle ; and I have translated it accord- 

 ingly. The words baithak matt (w*T^t), perhaps, refer to the 



fact that quicklime is produced by burning limestone which is 

 found in quarries beneath the ground. The third and fourth 

 lines allude to the fact that, when dry quicklime is placed in a 

 vat and water is poured over it, it bubbles and effervesces and 

 becomes wet lime which, in appearance, is like curdled milk. 

 Then I come to the last class 



(VI). Miscellaneous. 



*) $*f far is $3T %ct sriir wit tfteT i 



3*f ^ mrm\ htjt, *r^rf% %%* stt** *tf 



