and
subtlety which would have been impossible without the immediate
assistance and favour of the Divine will. Now the sacred Koran,
being frequently obscure, and few at this day being found capable
of explaining it, he determined to read all inspired works; that
the word of God might furnish a commentary on itself, and what is
concisely expressed in one book might be elucidated by a
reference to others; the abridged being the more diffuse. With
this view he perused the Pentateuch, the Gospels and the Psalms,
but the unity of God was obscurely and enigmatically expressed in
these works; nor did he derive more instruction from the simple
translations of hired linguists.

"He next desired to ascertain how it happened that in Hindustan
the Unity of God is the frequent theme of discourse, and that the
ancient philosophers of India neither denied nor objected to the
doctrine of the Divine Unity, but on the contrary held it as an
axiom. Unlike the ignorant race of the present day who set up for
philosophers, though they have fallen into the track of bloodshed
and infidelity, denying the attributes and unity of God, and
contradicting the proofs of that doctrine derived from the Koran
and authentic traditions; these may be considered as banditti on
the path of God.

"In the cause of this inquiry it was discovered that amongst the
Hindus, four inspired books were held peculiarly sacred, viz.:
the Rig Veda, the Jajur Veda, the Sam Veda and Atharva Veda,
which had descended from the skies to the prophets of those
times, of whom Adam (purified by God; may blessings attend him!)
was the chief, containing rules and precepts; and this doctrine
(viz.: the Unity of God) is clearly expressed in those books. As
the object of this explorer of truth (Dara-Shikoh) was not the
acquisition of languages, whether Arabic, Syriac or Sanskrit, but
the proofs of the Unity of the Supreme Being, he determined that
the Upanishads (which might be considered as a treasure of
Unitarianism) should be translated into Persian without adding or
expunging, and without bias or partiality, but correctly and
literally that it might appear what mysteries are contained in
those books which the Hindus so carefully conceal from Moslems.

"As the city of Benares, which is the seat of Hindu science, was
a dependency of this explorer of truth (Dara-Shiko