Baʾūrab or Barīzah (Notes on Measurement and a Pratihāra Title)

Summary

These paired notes address two distinct problems. The first examines the meaning of astaka‑navaka‑nāla within the context of land measurement. It argues that earlier scholars misread the term and that it denotes a reed eight to nine cubits long used to measure fields. The second note tackles an enigmatic word in al‑Masʿūdī’s tenth‑century Arabic chronicle, variously read as Baʾūrab, Baʿīrah or Barīzah, which he uses as the title of the rulers of Kānyakubja (Kanoj). After reviewing different readings proposed by Western translators and Indian historians, the author cites a revised French translation based on the Leyden manuscript that reads the word as Barizā. He argues that this term is the Persian equivalent of the Sanskrit title Varāha (“boar”) and suggests that the Gurjara‑Pratihāra kings adopted Varāha as an honorific epithet. The article notes that the Pratihāras favoured animal titles such as Ādivarāha and Mihira to emphasise their martial prowess and sun worship. By linking the Arabic Barīzah to Varāha, the author explains why al‑Masʿūdī described all kings of Kānyakubja as having the same title. The note further hypothesises that a city called Barīzah mentioned by al‑Masʿūdī might have been near the sources of an Indus tributary and could correspond to a settlement named Varāha in early Indian sources. Both notes highlight the importance of careful philological comparison across languages and the potential of Arabic accounts to illuminate Indian dynastic history.