1849.] Brahmans and Buddhists, 101 



logical personages perhaps, or Buddhas or heroes. The Buddhists there- 

 fore may have easily derived their list of regenerators or Buddhas from 

 Persian history, or tradition carried by them to India, whether we are 

 to look upon them as forming a portion of the emigration to the Panjab 

 or as belonging to previous or subsequent migrations to India. Indeed, 

 this author assumes it as a fact that the brahmans came from Iran, 

 and that the ancient Indians and Persians were Hindus, or in other 

 terms, Cusians, or Casdeans or Scythians, who had established a pow- 

 erful dynasty in Persia, and whose history had been engrafted on that 

 of the Hindus of Uyodhya and Indraprestha. But this latter supposi- 

 tion only embraces one or more partial emigrations from the west. The 

 whole of India and its shores south of the Gangetic Provinces are not 

 here accounted for, and the variety of tribes which now people that 

 area, exhibit a considerable difference in their physical developments, 

 hence a wide field is opened I suspect for research. That the emigrations 

 to upper or N, Western India were by land, can hardly be doubted, and 

 their progress may have been gradual, for architectural remains in the 

 regions intermediate betwixt central Asia and India are supposed, and 

 with, I think, much probability, to exist, if found, to attest these last 

 suppositions. But it appears I think equally probable that emigrations 

 to the coasts, and their inclosed areas of India, took place by sea. 



If emigrations had taken place from Persia or any other focus in 

 central Asia, to India, anterior to the arrival of the brahmans, they too 

 must have brought with them the religions prevalent at the respective 

 periods in the parent state. But have we any architectural remains, 

 unconnected with Brahmanism or Buddhism, which can lead us to con- 

 clude what these religions if any, were, — assuming here for the sake of 

 elucidation, that Buddhism was indeed posterior to Brahmanism. It is 

 to be conjectured, not — unless the Pali comes to our aid. 



It is difficult to resist the conclusion, after a perusal of Sir W. Jones' 

 arguments, that " the brahmans came directly from Persia." If this 

 position could be distinctly proved, the period might, with tolerable 

 precision, be fixed, when they did arrive ; by a comparison of their reli- 

 gious dogmas, as they exist in the Vedas, and in the religion which pre- 

 vailed in Persia when Zeratusht, as Sir W. Jones informs us, had 

 added to the Sabism and fire worship of Kyumers, which were per- 

 fected by Hushang,— the new family of Genii or Angels, and also new 



