Bagh O Bahar

Bagh O Bahar, Or Tales of the
Four Darweshes
by Mir
Amman of Dihli

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Bagh O Bahar, Or Tales of the Four
Darweshes
by Mir Amman of Dihli This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere
at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it,
give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg
License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Bagh O Bahar, Or Tales of the Four Darweshes
Author: Mir Amman of Dihli
Release Date: May 17, 2004 [EBook #12370]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BAGH O
BAHAR ***

Produced by Jeroen Hellingman and Distributed Proofreaders From
scans of the Million Book Project

BAGH O BAHAR; OR TALES OF THE FOUR DARWESHES.
Translated from the Hindustani of Mir Amman of Dihli
By Duncan Forbes, LL.D.,
Professor of Oriental Languages in King's College, London; Member
of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, author of
several works on the Hindustani and Persian Languages.
1874.

PREFACE.
The Bagh O Bahar, or "Garden and Spring," has, for the last half
century, been held as a classical work throughout our Indian empire. It
highly deserves this distinguished fate, as it contains various modes of
expression in correct language; and displays a great variety of Eastern
manners and modes of thinking. It is an excellent introduction not only
to the colloquial style of the Hindustani language, but also to a
knowledge of its various idioms and popular phrases.
The tale itself is interesting, if we bear in mind the fact, that no Asiatic
writer of romance or history has ever been consistent, or free from
fabulous credulity. The cautious march of undeviating truth, and a
careful regard to vraisemblance, have never entered into their plan.
Wildness of imagination, fabulous machinery, and unnatural scenes
ever pervade the compositions of Oriental authors,--even in most
serious works on history and ethics. Be it remembered, that jinns,
demons, fairies, and angels, form a part of the Muhammadan creed.
The people to this day believe in the existence of such beings on the
faith of the Kur,an; and as they are fully as much attached to their own
religion as we are to ours, we ought not to be surprised at their
credulity.
I have rendered the translation as literal as possible, consistent with the
comprehension of the author's meaning. This may be considered by

some a slavish and dull compliance; but in my humble opinion we
ought, in this case, to display the author's own thoughts and ideas; all
we are permitted to do, is to change their garb. This course has one
superior advantage which may compensate for its seeming dulness; we
acquire an insight into the modes of thinking and action of the people,
whose works we peruse through the medium of a literal translation, and
thence many instructive and interesting conclusions may be drawn.
To the present edition numerous notes are appended; some, with a view
to illustrate certain peculiarities of the author's style, and such
grammatical forms of the language as might appear difficult to a
beginner; others, which mainly relate to the manners and customs of
the people of the East, may appear superfluous to the Oriental scholar
who has been in India; but in this case, I think it better to be redundant,
than risk the chance of being deficient. Moreover, as the book may be
perused by the curious in Europe, many of of whom know nothing of
India, except that it occupies a certain space in the map of the world,
these notes were absolutely necessary to understand the work. Finally,
as I am no poet, and have a most thorough contempt for the maker of
mere doggerel rhymes, I have translated the pieces of poetry, which are
interspersed in the original, into plain and humble prose.
D. FORBES
58, BURTON CRESCENT, July, 1857.

THE PETITION OF MIR AMMAN, OF DILLI.
Which was Presented to the Gentlemen Managers of the College [of
Fort William].
May God preserve the gentlemen of great dignity, and the appreciators
of respectable men. This exile from his country, on hearing the
command [issued by] proclamation, [1] hath composed, with a
thousand labours and efforts, the "Tale of the Four Darweshes,"
[entitled] the Bagh O Bahar [2] [i.e. Garden and Spring,] in the Urdu, e

Mu'alla [3] tongue. By the grace of God it has become refreshed from
the perusal of all the gentlemen [4] [of the college]. I now hope I may
reap some fruit from it; then the bud of my heart will expand like a
flower, according to the word of Hakim Firdausi, [5] who has said [of
himself] in the Shahnama,
"Many sorrows I