1836.] Description of Uch- Sharif . 797 



"When the Makhdu'm reached Madina he was suspected to be a com- 

 mon Musalman and not a Siad. On this he stood out of the door, 

 and, looking at the tomb of Muhammad, cried as follows : " Assaldm 

 alaikiki ydjaddi" (or, Peace be with you, O grandfather) ; when cams 

 the answer " Va alaiki ussaldmya valdi," (or, Peace be with you, O 

 son) out of Muhammad's tomb, which convinced the men of the shrine 

 that he was a real Siad. People assert that this proves his being the 

 respected and first saint of the Musalmans. On receiving the intelli- 

 gence, I desired to visit the monument of such a renowned holy man 

 of Uch. 



In company with my countryman and school-fellow, Pandit Ka- 

 shinath, we proceeded to the town of Uch, and passed through a few 

 narrow streets on our way to the shrine. 



On coming to the door, which has dwindled into the most ruinous 

 state, we descended towards the west, and turning to the south enter- 

 ed the room where the body of the Makhdu'm rests. The tomb is a 

 very poor structure, but raised about seven feet high from the ground, 

 which is concealed by numerous other graves. There is nothing 

 admirable in the shrine of the Makhdu'm. Three small openings give 

 light inside the apartment. 



The following Persian inscription written on the door, presents us 

 with the date of the Makhdu'm's death. 



" T£rlk gasht jumlah jah&n be jamal Shah, 

 Tarikh bud haft sad o hashtad o panj sal." 



When the world was covered^ by darkness without the countenance of the 

 Shah, (or Makhdum.) The date was 785 of the Hijri era. 



The mausoleum of Makhdu'm Jahanian Jaha'n Gasht is annually 

 visited by the pilgrims of the distant country. It is a popular belief 

 in this region, that a fool can get restored to perfect sense by eating 

 the earth of this tomb. 



It is very odd that the tombs of the saints of the holy Uch, who 

 possessed such boundless reputation and respect in days of old, have 

 been not adorned with any kind of architectural beauty, either 

 by their posterity or believers, except that of " Bibi Jind Vadi," (or 

 the lady of the long life.) It is situate on the verge of a precipice 

 which commands the old bed of the Panjdb rivers, and gives a ro- 

 mantic view. 



The southern part of this magnificent sepulchre has been unfor- 

 tunately swept away by the late inundation of the above streams. 



