The infidels of Khatá, Khutan (Tartary), Chín, and Hind deny that the deluge of Noah reached their country, or rather they have no belief at all in the deluge. It is the belief of some (Hindús) that the Bráhman and Khatrí castes have existed from the most ancient times. There are many other castes which came into existence at the end of the Dwápar Yúg or third age, and the beginning of the Kalí Yúg or fourth age. Thus the Rájpúts were not known at first, but sprang into existence in later times. After the death of Rájá Bikramájít Khatrí, who lived 1600 and some years before the time in which I write, they (the Rájpúts) attained the sovereign power, and the manner of their gaining it is thus related: According to a custom which is still prevalent, the ráís of the Khatrís make their damsels wait upon them during the day, but give them liberty to do as they please at night; so each fair one chooses whom she will, and gives birth to children. These are brought up with great care, and are looked upon as the children of the great ráís. As sons of the house, they consider themselves as of noble birth, and call themselves sons of the Rájás. If you ask one of them whose son he is, he will tell you he is a Rájpút, that is, son of a Rájá; for Raj means the same as Rájá, and pút signifies “son.” It is related that the sons of Rájá Súraj, whose history will be told subsequently, were called Rájpúts.

Another article of faith among the Hindús is that Adam* formed of earth has existed from the beginning of creation, and will con­tinue to exist hereafter. The world is ancient (kadím), and will never pass away. But it is no secret to men of wisdom and perspi­cacity, that although from the beginning of creation, a period sup­posed to be 800,000 years, it may be that as many thousands of Adams have appeared on the face of the earth, they have all passed away behind the curtain of oblivion. Ján bin Abú-l Ján, whose history is recorded in the Holy Book, is the only exception; but he was not born of the earth. Some were formed of air, some of fire; but the race was always given to disobedience and rebellion, and under the behests of the God of vengeance, they were destroyed. Another race sprang up, who were not formed of earth. It appears indeed that the Hindús supposed these beings to be men formed of the dust; but how can this be? For the statements they make about the magnitude of their bodies and the length of their lives, and the wonderful and miraculous powers which they attribute to Rám, Lakhman, and others, are inappropriate to the nature of man. All this is mere talk and sound, and is of no weight in the balance of intelligence. If by accident there are any such, they must belong to that class of which mention has been made. Before Abú-l Bashar (the father of mankind), there was no Adam of earthy extraction; and from the time of Adam to the time when I write, not more than 7000 years have passed. So what the Hindús say about hundreds of thousands is all extravagance, and mere falsehood. The truth is, that the country of Hindústán, like other parts of the habitable world, was populated by the descendants of Adam, and the explana­tion of the matter is this: After the deluge, the Patriarch Noah, under the orders of the Creator of heaven and earth, sent his sons Sám (Shem), Japhet, and Ham into different parts of the world, and directed them to engage in agriculture.

History of the sons of Noah.—Sám was the eldest son and repre­sentative of Noah. He begat nine sons.* Arshad, Arfakhshad, Kai, Núd, Yúd, Aram, Kabta, A'ád, Kahtán, were their names. All the tribes of the Arabs and their congeners draw their descent from them. So the patriarchs Húd and Sálih and Abraham sprang from Arfakhshad. The second son of Arfakhshad was Kayúmars, great ancestor of the Kings of Persia. He had six sons, Siyámak, Fárs, 'Irák, Túz, Shám, and Damaghán. Of these Siyámak was the suc­cessor of his father. The other sons separated, and they gave their names to the countries in which they severally settled. Some men believe that one of the sons (pisar) of Noah was named 'Ajam, and that the country of 'Ajam takes its name from his descendants. The eldest son of Siyámak was named Hoshang, from whom the Kings of Persia down to Yazdajird and Shahriyár all descended.

The children of Yáfat.—In obedience to the command of his father, Yáfat went towards the east and north. There children were born to him. His eldest son was named Turk, and all the races of the Turks, the Mughals, Uzbeks, Chaghatáís, Turkomans of Írán and Armenia, are all descended from him. Yáfat's second son was named Chín, and from him the country of China was named. The third son of Yáfat was Árdes, whose descendants settled all the north country to the extreme regions of darkness: the Tájíks and the people of Ghor and Sclavonia sprang from him.

Account of the descendants of Hám, with a brief description of the settlement of Hindústán.—Hám, under his father's command, went southwards, and engaged actively in settling that country. Six sons were born to him, named Hind, Sind, Jash, Afranj, Hurmuz and Búyah. The countries of the south received their names from them. Hind, the eldest son of Hám, went to that country, which from him received the name of Hind, and employed himself in settling the country. His brother Sind settled in Sind, where he built the cities of Thattá and Multán, which received their names from his sons' names. Hind had four sons—1. Púrb; 2. Bang; 3. Dakhin; 4. Nahrwál; and they populated the countries which are known by their names. Dakhin, the son of Hind, had three sons, among whom he divided the territories of the Dakhin. Their names were Mahrát, Kanhar and Tilang; and these three races are still extant in the Dakhin. Nahrwál also had three sons, Bahroj, Kambáj and Málráj;* whose names he gave to cities which he founded. Bang also had sons by whom the country of Bengal was peopled. Púrb, who was the eldest son of Hind, had forty-two sons, and in a short time their progeny became numerous. They raised one of their number to be their ruler, and he exerted himself in bringing his country into order. His name was Kishan.

History of the reign of Kishan.—It must not be concealed that the first person who ascended the throne of royalty in Hind was Kishan. He was not the celebrated Kishan about whom the marvellous stories are told, wonderful adventures are related, and to whom a divine origin is attributed. This Kishan was wise, learned, brave and generous. He was of gigantic form, and unable to ride; so, after mature reflection, he gave directions for catching elephants and other wild beasts in snares. His plans having succeeded, he had animals on which he could ride. During his reign a person named Bráhman, descended from Bang, the son of Hind, made his appearance. He was very wise and intelligent, and Kishan made him his minister. Many crafts, such as carpentry and working in iron, sprang from his intelligence; and some maintain that writing and reading also derived their origin from him. In those days the city of Oudh was built, which was the first city established in India. Kishan was cotemporary with Tahmúrasp, and he lived more than four hundred years. During his reign nearly two thousand towns and villages were built. He left thirty-seven sons, the eldest of whom, Mahá Ráj, succeeded him.

History of Mahá Ráj, son of Kishan.—With the assent of the chiefs of the tribe and of his brothers, Mahá Ráj ascended the throne; and he was more active even than his father in settling the country, and in establishing a government. The men who descended from Púrb he appointed to the duties of rule and government; and to those who descended from Bráhman he allotted the duties of acting as ministers and clerks and the sciences of astrology and medicine. One tribe he appointed to carry on trade and agriculture, another he directed to practise all sorts of crafts and trades. He also busied himself in the spread of agriculture, so that he brought many distant parts of Hindústán under cultivation, and founded many cities. In these cities he settled men of knowledge and character, whom he gathered together from all parts. He also built many temples and colleges, and assigned the revenues of the lands near to them as endowments. The sannyásís and jogís and bráhmans were engaged in teaching, doing good, and in scientific pursuits. His reign lasted seven hundred years. The kingdom of India reached a high degree of prosperity and glory, and vied with the empire of Jamshíd and Farídún. To secure the stability of the government, and to promote the happiness of his soldiers and people, he made excellent laws and regulations, some of which are acted upon to the present day. He gave to each tribe a distinctive name, such as we now find in the Ráhtors, Chauháns, Powárs and the like. He kept up friendly relations with the Kings of Írán. But one of his brother's sons being offended with him, went to Farídún, and that monarch sent Gurshasp, son of Atrúd, with a valiant army, to assist the fugitive. So Gurshasp marched to Hindústán, and inflicted great evil on the country, ravaging and devastating it for the space of ten years. Mahá Ráj gave his nephew a portion of territory, and so satisfied him. He also sent a rich tribute by Gurshasp to Farídún. Towards the end of his reign, the zamíndárs of Singaldíp (Ceylon) and Karnátak came up with their forces, and expelled Sheo Ráí, the ruler of the Dakhin. He came to seek assistance of Mahá Ráj, who sent his eldest son with a large army and mighty elephants along with Sheo Ráí. The zamíndárs of the Dakhin united, and having collected a large and powerful force, made ready for battle. A terrible conflict ensued, in which the son of Mahá Ráj was killed, all the baggage and elephants were lost, and Sheo Ráí, with his auxiliary army, fled wounded and defeated. At the news of this defeat, Mahá Ráj writhed like a snake, and bit his hands with vexation; for up to that time none of the zamíndárs of distant lands, such as the Rájá of Tilang,* Pegu and Malabar, had ventured upon disobedience or rebellion.