'Collections of travels through Turky into Persia, and the East Indies. Giving an account of the present state of those countries, as also a full relation of the five years wars, between Aureng-Zebe and his brothers in their father's life time, about the succession. And a voyage made by the Great Mogul (Aureng-Zebe) with his Army from Dehli to Lahor, from Lahor to Bember, and from thence to the Kingdom of Kachemire, by the Mogols, call'd, the Paradise of the Indies. Together with a relation of the Kingdom of Japan and Tunkin, and of their particular manners and trade. To which is added a new description of the Grand Seignior's Seraglio, and also of all the Kingdoms that encompass the Euxine and Caspian Seas, being the travels of Monsieur TavernierBernier, and other great men.' [‎105] (776/1024)

1 be Gentiles of Indoftan.
hibition They remonftrated, that for 50 or 60 years part much Land had remained
Unploughed, becaufe the Oxen and Gows were become too fcarce and too dear. It
may be alfo, that thefe Law-givers confidered, that Cows and Ox-flefh in the Indies
isnot very favoury, nor wholefome, unlefs it be for a little time in Winter, during the
cooler feafon: Or laftly, that they \^ould take the People off from mutual cruelty, (to
which they were too much inclined,) by obliging them, as by a Maximeof Religion to
exercife humanity to the very Beafts, and by making them believe, that killing or eat
ing an Animal,it might happen that they did kill or eat one of their Grand-lires! which
would be in .hprrid crime. x " \ '7 - • V .y
According to the Docffrine of thefe Beths, they are obliged to fay their Prayers at leaf!
thrice every day, in the morning, at noon, and at night, with their face turned to the
Eaft. They are alfo bound to waff their whole body thrice, or at leaff before they
eat i and they believe, that °lis more meritorious to waff themfelves in running water
then in any other. And it may be, that the Legiflators in this point alfo have had a
refped to what is proper and convenient for thisGountrey, where nothing is more de
fir able then waff ing and bathing. And they hnd it troublefdme enough to obferve this
Law, when they are in cold Gauntries: I have feen fome of them that were like to die
becaufe they would there alfo obferve their Law of waffing their Body by plunging 5
themfelves into Rivers or Ponds, when they found any near i or by throwing whole
buckets of water over their heads, when they were remote from them. When I told
them upon occafion, that in cold Countries it would not be poffible to obferve that Law,
of theirs in Winter ( which was a lign of its being a meer human invention ) they gave*
this pleafant anfwer : That they pretended not their Law was univerfal j that God had
only made it for them, and it was therefore that they could not receive a Stranger into
their Religion: that they thought not our Religion was therefore falfe, but that it
might be it was good for us, and that God might have appointed feveral differing ways
to go to Heaven > but they will not hear that our Religion ffould be the general Re
ligion for the whole earth, and theirs a fable and pure device.
Thefe fame Books do teach them, that God having determined to create the World,
would not execute it immediately, but made firit three Perfedi Beings: the firft was
which fignifieth Penetrating into all things i the fccond Be/chen, thatis Exit
ing in all things', and the third Mehahden, that is, great Lord. That by the means of
Brahma he created the World, by the means.of Befchen he preferveth it, and by the
means of Mehahden he will deftroy it. That it is Brahma, who by the command of God
did publiflithe four Beths, and that therefore he is in fome of their Churches rcprefented
with four Heads.
Astothofe three Beings, 1 have feen fome European Miilionaries that were of opinion,
that thefe Gentils had fome Idea of the Myftery of the frinity j and faid, it was expref
ly contained in their Books that there are three Perfons, and one only God. For my
part, 1 have made the Fendets fufficiently difcourfe upon this point j but they declare
themfelves fo poorly, that I could not dearly underhand their fenfe. I have even heard
fome pf them, who faid, that thefe are three Creatures very perfect, which they called
Deutas. yefrwithout explaining well what they underftood by this word Veiitas i as our
antient Idolaters never explained what they meant by thefe words Genius and Numina,
which is f I think) the fame with Veiita among the Indians. ’Tis true, that I have
fpoken with others of the moft knowing amongh: them, who faid, that thefe three
Beings were indeed nothing but one and the fame God, confidered three manner of
way, viz. as he is the Producer, Confervator, and Deftroyer of things j but they faid no
thing ot three diftindt Perfons in one oiiely Deity.
Moreover I have feen the Reverend Father TLoa, a German Jefuit aind Miffionary at
dgra, who being well verfed in their Hanfcrit, maintained that their Books did not
°nely import, there was one God in three Perfons, but that even the fecond Perfon of
their Trinity was incarnated nine times. And that I fnay not be thought toafcribeto
felf the writings of others, I ffiall relate unto you word for word, what a certain
of Cbir^x hath lighted upon, which he related when the above-mentioned Fa-
that Koa paffed that way to come back to Rome. The Gentils ( faith he ) do htild, that
the fecond Perfon of the Trinity was incarnated nine times, and that becaufe of divers
peceffities of the World, from which he hath delivered it: But the eighth Incarnation
the moft notable i for they hold, that the World being inflaved under the power of
Giants, it was redeemed by the fecond Perfon, incarnated and born of a Virgin at
^ < midnight.