1870.] Some Account of the Rishis or Hermits of Kashmir. 267 



distinguished from the religious dogmas and propaganda of the 

 Moslem faith. Before proceeding to enumerate a few of these 

 worthies and their holy acts and miracles, real or pretended, as re- 

 corded by the Historian Muhammad 'Azim, I must premise that 

 Shihdbuddin, fourth (or according to some, fifth) Muhammadan king 

 of Kashmir, styled the Iconoclast, had died in the year 1376, A. D., 

 and had been succeeded by his brother Qutbuddin, in whose reign 

 the famous Sayyid 'All Hamadani alluded to above, arrived in 

 Kashmir ; and his advent is recorded in the following couplet, which 

 also contains the date (A. H. 782) : 



corresponding with A. D. 1380 ; but I find I had better quote from 

 the pages of my Sketch of History before alluded to, to lead up to 

 the enumeration of the worthies I have undertaken to describe. 



Page 6. " Sayyid : 'AH Hamadani. This celebrated Sayyid was a 

 fugitive from his native city, Hamadan, where he had incurred 

 the wrath of Timur. Seven hundred Sayyids are said to have accom- 

 panied his flight to Kashmir, where he remained six years, and 

 which he named the Garden of Solomon (Bigh-i-Sulaiman). He 

 died at Pak'hli whilst on his return to Persia (A. H. 786.) 



" His son Mir Muhammad Hamadani was also a fugitive, and 

 brought in his train three hundred Sayyids to Kashmir, where he 

 remained twelve years. 



" These two emigrations of fugitive Sayyids fixed the religion of 

 the country, and were doubtless the chief cause of the religious 

 persecutions, which ensued in the following reign. They esta- 

 blished shrines all over the country, many of which remain to 

 this day. They originated the sect of rishis or hermits, which 

 are described by Abul Fazl as a very respectable and in- 

 offensive order in his time, some 2,000 in number, living upon 

 fruits and berries and abstaining from sexual intercourse ; their 

 numbers, however, afterwards declined, until they were quite 

 extinguished by the courtiers and creatures of the Emperors of 

 Delhi. Muhammad 'Azim, the Historian, enumerates many wor- 

 thies of this sect. * * Kashmir having been, previous 

 to this influx of zealots, in a transition state as to religion, the 



