[241] शुद्र, śudra, a man of the fourth or servile class, from शुच, such, to purify.—A. T.
[242] “The Ruzistars are in Pehlevi styled Hotukhshan, and are artisans and husbandmen.”—Comm. upon the Des.
[243] The names Huristar, Nuristar, Suristar, and Ruzistar, of the four classes of the people, are to be found in the Desatir (artic. 145, English translation, p. 27), from which work the author of the Dabistan is likely to have taken them, as various other information. As this division of a nation is undoubtedly suggested by the natural state of things, it has been attributed to more than one ancient king, and by Ferdúsi, in his Shah-namah, to Jemshid, under four denominations belonging to the ancient Persian language. These are as follows: 1ᵒ اموزيان, Amuzian; 2ᵒ نيساريان, Nisarian; 3ᵒ نسودی, Nasudi; 4ᵒ اهنو خوشی, Ahnu khushi, corresponding to the learned, the warriors, the husbandmen, and the mechanics. The first of these names, Amuzian, is easily recognised in the Persian اموختن, amokhten (Imp. اموز amuz), “to teach, to learn;” the second nisarian is the same with نيساری, nisari, the common Persian word for a warrior; the third, nasudi, is a Pehlevi noun (see Hyde, p. 437); the fourth, Ahnu´khu´shí, appears composed of اهنو, ahnu, “provisions, meat” (to be traced to आह्निक, ahnika, “daily work, food”), and of خوشی, khushi, “good, content,” or from خواستن khástan, “to ask.” Upon the four classes of the people see also History of the early kings of Persia, translated from the Persian of Mirkhond, entitled the Rauza-us-safa” by David Shea, p. 108-113.—A. T.
[244] The text of Gladwin has دستانير, destânir, the edition of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have Dasátir. The single volume published under that name at Bombay (see [note] page 14), if genuine at all, can be considered but as a very small part of the great work, said to comprehend all languages and sciences.—A. T.
[245] This faith is also called Fersendáj, and the great Ábád himself Ferzábád, and Búzúgábad, (Dasát., Engl. Transl., p. 27, 58, 187).—A. T.
[246] Burz, with the Arabic article Al-burz, is a mountain in Jebal or Irak Ajemi, not far distant from, and to the north of, the town Yezd in the province of Fars, where, from very remote times to our days, a great number of fire-temples existed. Alburz belongs to a fabulous region; this name is given to several mountains, among which the great Caucasus is distinguished from the tirah, or “little,” Alburz.—A. T.
[247] This word reminds of जिन, jina, or जैन, jaina, from जि, ji, ‘to conquer’ or ‘excel,’ a generic name of distinguished persons, belonging to the Jaina sect of Hindus.—A. T.
[248] This is evidently the Sanskrit word यशस्, yaśas, “fame, glory, celebrity, splendor,” and यशस्वान, yaśasvan, “famous, celebrated.”—A. T.
[249] Gladwin has نيمور, nimur; the edition of Calcutta and the manuscript of Oude have تيمور timur.—A. T.
[250] Gil-shah, “Earth-King,” also “the King formed of clay.” According to the Mojmil-al-Tavarikh (see Extracts from this work by Julius Mohl, Esq., Journ. Asiat., February 1841, p. 146), he was so called, because he governed the then not inhabited earth. Gil-shah is one of the names given to the first man or King; in the Desátir (pp. 70, 131) he is called Giomert, Gilshadeng; by others Kaiomars (see also Rauzat-us-Safa of Mirkhond, translated by D. Shea, p. 50).—A. T.