Be it known to the appraisers of the pearls of past chronicles that most of the historians have narrated that when Hām, son of Noh (Noah) the prophet (may he be in peace!), with the permission of his holy father, set himself to colonize the south, he girded up his loin for accomplishing this, and deputed his sons— the first of whom was Hind, the second Sind, the third Habash, the fourth Zanaj, the fifth Barbar, and the sixth Nubah— in all directions on colonizing expeditions. And the tract that each of them colo­nized was called after him. The eldest son, Hind, having come to the country of Hindūstān, it was so named after him. And Sind in the company of his elder brother, having set himself to colouize the tract of Sind established himself there, and that was named after him. But Hind had four sons, the first was Pūrab, the second was Bang, the third was Dakīn, and the fourth was Nahar­wāl. And every tract that was colonized by each, is still called after him. And Dakīn, son of Hind, had three sons, and the coun­try of Dakīn was parcelled between them. Their names were Marhāt, Kanār, and Talang; and Dakhinans are all descended from him, and up to this time all the three tribes dominate there.

And Naharwāl had three sons, namely, Babruj, Kanoj and Mālrāj. After them cities were also named.

And Pūrab, who was the eldest son of Hind, had forty-two sons, and, within a short time, their descendants multiplied and colo­nized different countries, and when they became numerous, they raised one of themselves to be the chief and to look after the management of the realm.

And Bang, the son of Hind, getting children born to him, colo­nized the country of Bengal. The name of Bengal was originally Bang. And the reason why the word āl was added to it, is this: āl in the Bengali language means an ‘embankment’ or raised ground, which is placed round a garden or cultivation, so that floods may not enter it. As in ancient times, the chieftains of Bengal on lowlands which were situate at the foot of hills, used to raise mounds about ten cubits high and twenty cubits broad, and to make homes, cultivations, and buildings within them, people used to call this country Bāngālāh.* The climate of Bengal is temperate, and owing to proximity to the sea and owing to heavy rains, is very damp. The rainy season begins from the month of Ūrdī Bihisht,* which in Hindi is called Jaet, and for six months the rains continue; this is unlike other parts of Hindūstān, where rains set in from the middle of the month of Khūrdād, which the Hindis call Asār and last till Shahrīwar which Hindis call Āsin, for four months. In the rainy season, the lowlands of Bengal get flooded, and the climate becomes bad, especially towards the end of the rainy season. Human beings as well as animals become sick and die. The soil contains much damp, so that in many places they build two-storeyed buildings, made of lime and brick. Notwithstanding that they make the floor of lime and brick, the lower rooms are not fit for habitation, and if any one lives there he soon falls sick. And owing to excessive humidity, the soil of Bengal has much power of sprouting, for instance, some sorts of paddy, in propor­tion to the rise of water, so long as they are not inundated, shoot forth higher up and their ears do not sink under water, and similarly from one paddy-seed two or three seers of paddy are obtained in the case of certain sorts of paddy. And most of the lands grow three crops in a year. And the crop of that country is all paddy, whether fine or coarse. Other crops, such as wheat, barley and pulse, &c., are scarce. And strange to say the paddy crop grows in so much abundance that it needs not the rains in dry months nor the water of wells and rivers. But in cases of drought in the rainy season, the paddy crop is totally destroyed.*