xviii APPENDICES
adopted from Bellew. But why precisely nine monasteries ? Nine appears an understatement.
3. That Nang (Ning or Nung) -nahar verbally means nine streams, (Babur's Tuquz-rud,) an interpretation of long standing (Section b infra). But whence nang, ning, nung, for nine ? Such forms are not in Persian, Turkl or Pushtu dictionaries, and, as Sir G. A. Grierson assures me, do not come into the Linguistic Survey.
b. On nang, ning, nung for nine.
Spite of their absence from the natural homes of words, however, the above sounds have been heard and recorded as symbols of the number nine by careful men through a long space of time.
The following instances of the use of "Nangnahar" show this, and also show that behind the variant forms there may be not a single word but two of distinct origin and sense.
1. In Chinese annals two names appear as those of the district and town (I am not able to allocate their application with certainty). The first is Na-kie-lo-ho-lo, the second Nang-g-lo-ho-lo and these, I understand to represent Nagarahara and Nang-nahar, due allowance being made for Chinese idiosyncrasy.1
2. Some 900 years later (1527-30 AD.) Babur also gives two names, Nagarahar (as the book-name of his tumdn) and Ning-nahar.2 He says the first is found in several histories (B.N. f. 131^) ; the second will have been what he heard and also presumably what appeared in revenue accounts; of it he says, " it is nine torrents " {tuquz-rud).
3. Some 300 years after Babur, Elphinstone gives two
1 Julien notes (Voyages des pterins Bouddhistes, ii, 96), " Dans les annales des Song on trouve Nang-go-lo-ho, qui repond exactement a l'orthographe indienne Nangarahara, que fournit l'inscription decouvert par le capitaine Kittoe" (JASB. 1848). The reference is to the Ghoswara inscription, of which Professor Kielhorn has also written (Indian Antiquary, 1888), but with departure from Nangarahara to Nagarahara.
2 The scribe of the Haidarabad Codex appears to have been some .»hat uncertain as to the spelling of the name. What is found in histories is plain, N : g: r: har. The other name varies ; on first appearance (fol. 1311}) and'also on fols. 144 and I54*> there is a vagrant dot below the word, which if it were above would make Ning-nahar. In all other cases the word reads N : g: nahar. Nahar is a constant component, as is also the letter g (or k).
