ELEPHANTS, HISTORICAL 169
without
a previous knowledge of what they signify, the task of reading them
would be no easy one, as is exemplified in the well-known sign manual
of the sultans of Turkey, to be seen on Turkish coins, public
documents, etc., for this also is a tugra, although it does not make a
picture.
Of
our specimens, one offers the letters of the sacred text which bears
the name "Nad-i-Ali" and reads as follows: "Address Ali who is the
source of all manifestations of wonder. You will find him a helper for
yourself in distress. Anxieties and sorrows will vanish in the
immediate future, Oh, Mohammed! by reason of your being a Nabi
[Prophet] and Oh, Ali! by reason of your Valayet [proximity to God]."
The other example gives the name and titles of the Nawab of Juora : "
Jahab Mustatab Mualla Alqab Vaia Khitab Hazur Faiz Ganjur Muhatshim ud
Daula Nawab Gaus Mohammed Khan Sahib Bahadur Shaukat Jung Firman-rabai
Darul Riyasat Jaora Nahum wa Maqfur."*
A
Hindu bazaar picture "with a moral" depicts an elephant in the act of
pulling down a banyan tree; hanging on to cords passing over a branch
of the tree is a man, who is seeking to seize with his mouth a clump of
pendent honey, typifying the sensual pleasures of life. Meanwhile two
mice, one white and one black, are gnawing at the supporting cords, and
when these give way the man will be precipitated into a pit wherein
four serpents, symbols of Avarice, Senselessness, Desire, and Anger
are eagerly awaiting an opportunity to destroy him. The banyan tree
itself represents Life, the elephant, Death, and the two mice, Day and
Night. Of a slightly different version of this picture, Sir Edwin
*Chaubey Bisvesvar Nath, "Calligraphy," with an introduction and notes by Col. T. H. Hendley, in the Journal of Indian Art and Industry, Vol. XVI, new Series, No. 124, October, 1918; our illustrations are from PI. 9, No. 1, and PI. 12, No. 19.
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