3 
1904.] Bilgrami— Quatrains of Baba Tahir. 
is used but the value of its Persian equivalent is taken. As for in¬ 
stance, in the very first line of this quatrain where the Poet says 
fox! c/fj* J am that bahr (the sea), meaning darya ; now the 
w r ord darya is Persian for jsd and the numerical values of tbe letters 
of darya add up to 215, i.e., i = 4; j = 200 ; <^ = JO and 1 = 1, bp = 215. 
The numerical values of the letters of his own name jMk Tahir also 
number up to 215, so that when he says he is the sea, bp darya he means 
Tahir. Similarly, the word Alf, a thousand, is Arabic for the 
Persian j])& hazar. If we take the values of the letters of according 
to the second system, that is the Zahar and the Baiyyinat together, the 
result is as follows :— 
u> = 6; f) = S; uJ| = lll; |j = 201, total 326, the same 
figure. He says he is the js^- or bp = (215) Tahir numerically; 
so again the words ^ oJ| give the same number according to 
Zahar ;— 
1 = 1; J = 30; o = 80; <3 = 100; «> = 4; 
total 215. Here lie says he is the f.e., Tahir. Prom the 
preceding statement it will be seen that his date of birth, as given by 
himself, is 326 A,H. and the fourth line of Quatrain No. 29 is the 
chronogram of his birth. ’ \ 
1 . 
1. Happy are they who always see thy face. 
2. Who talk with thee, and sit with thee. 
3. If I have no leg to come to see thee. 
4. I will go and see those who see thee. 
There is no such word as for ejbo). We have the word 
the contraction of and the line has been correctly given now as 
<^ yf.j &JJ &£ <jlif 
2 . 
1. Without thee, I pray to God, may rose never grow in the 
garden. 
2. If it do grow, may none ever smell it. 
3. Without thee, should the heart ever open its lips to laugh. 
4. May its cheeks never be cleansed of its heart’s blood. 
The expression c-^b literally means u 0 Lord,” but is sometimes used 
as a prayer and is not directly addressed to God; sometimes it ex¬ 
presses wonder and astonishment. The Quatrain is addressed to the 
Poet’s beloved, and not to God, as it is obvious that nothing will grow 
without God. The second line supports this, as here the poet says, “ if 
it do grow.” Cf, the word wjb in Quatrain No. 57, line 4th,: where it is 
similarly used. Prom the note on page 67, it appears that the transla* 
