1895.] H. G. Raverty — Tibbat three hundred and sixty-five years ago, 97 
Toya ?], but, in history, the name is written Shaka Muni. In some 
Histories he is accounted among the prophets of Hind, and some aver 
that he was a philosopher. * * * Shaka Muni declared that of the 
121,000 apostles or prophets who were to follow him, the last would 
be named Janksabah, who would be an orphan, without father or 
mother, and all the world would become converts to his faith ; that 
he himself would impart the precepts of his religion, so that it 
might be transmitted from one generation to another by these prophets 
down to the period of Janksabah’s blessed appearance. He also 
declared that the countenance of this prophet would be in such and such 
wise ; and he had given an image which every one should take care to 
preserve, because a being would be born of that likeness, and that, 
before all other people, they should believe on him. At this time, in 
all their idol-temples, the image or likeness which occupies the chief 
place, is the image of this expected Janksabah, and all the likenesses 
which they make are with reference to him. 1 
“ Another of the territories or districts of Tibbat is Zonkah, which 
is the most noted and esteemed in all Tibbat. In that part the mah- 
farfln is produced. 
“ I saw there a mandate from a Badshah of Khitae, written in the 
Khita-i character, in one corner of which the purport thereof was 
written in the Tibbati alphabet, and in another corner, a translation in 
the Persian language, 2 3 * neatly written in the nashh character. It set 
forth that, ‘ His Majesty sends his greeting unto all people, and says, 
that Shaka Muni, who founded the religion of idol-worship (but jparastl ), 
lived upwards of 3,000 years ago, and that he had delivered sayings of 
great wisdom and subtlety which was beyond the capacity of every one 
to comprehend, and that they might set their minds at rest on that 
matter.’ There are other remarks on the subject of repairing the 
idol-temples ; but the chief object intended to be conveyed is the era of 
Shaka Muni. A year different from that of the Hijrat , with which I 
was not acquainted, is written therein; but, from appearances, I should 
imagine that the document is not much more than a century old, but 
God knows best. I had gone into Zonkah in Rabi‘u-l-awwal (third 
month) of 940 H. (September, 1533 A.D.). S 
1 This is a somewhat remarkable statement, and shows that what is assumed 
to be, and which writers call, “ the image of the sitting Buddha,” in the temples 
of Buddhist people, is no other than the likeness of the coming Buddha, Janksa¬ 
bah, and which Shaqiya Muni enjoined his followers to keep in their temples. The 
same, I think, may be said of the paintings supposed to be of Shaqiya Muni. 
2 This shows the extensive use of the Persian language in Asia. 
3 This would be the reign of Yng Tsong, the sixth emperor of the Ming 
J. i. 13 
