count
says that his body remained suspended for six months in the bier
without decomposing. His name Jhambaji was a contraction of Achambha
(The Wonder), with the honorific suffix _ji_.

2. Precepts of Jhambaji.

"The sayings (_shabd_) of Jhambaji, to the number of one hundred and
twenty, were recorded by his disciples, and have been handed down in
a book (_pothi_) which is written in the Nagari character, and in a
Hindu dialect similar to Bagri and therefore probably a dialect of
Rajasthani. The following is a translation of the twenty-nine precepts
given by him for the guidance of his followers: 'For thirty days
after childbirth and five days after a menstrual discharge a woman
must not cook food. Bathe in the morning. Commit no adultery. Be
content. Be abstemious and pure. Strain your drinking-water. Be
careful of your speech. Examine your fuel in case any living creature
be burnt with it. Show pity to living creatures. Keep duty present
to your mind as the teacher bade. Do not steal. Do not speak evil
of others. Do not tell lies. Never quarrel. Avoid opium, tobacco,
_bhang_ and blue clothing. Flee from spirits and flesh. See that your
goats are kept alive (not sold to Musalmans, who will kill them for
food). Do not plough with bullocks. Keep a fast on the day before the
new moon. Do not cut green trees. Sacrifice with fire. Say prayers;
meditate. Perform worship and attain heaven.' And the last of the
twenty-nine duties prescribed by the teacher: 'Baptise your children
if you would be called a true Bishnoi.' [384]

3. Customs of the Bishnois in the Punjab.

"Some of these precepts are not strictly obeyed. For instance, though
ordinarily they allow no blue in their clothing, yet a Bishnoi,
if he is a police constable, is allowed to wear a blue uniform;
and Bishnois do use bullocks, though most of their farming is done
with camels. They also seem to be generally quarrelsome (in words)
and given to use bad language. But they abstain from tobacco, drugs
and spirits, and are noted for their regard for animal life, which is
such that not only will they not themselves kill any living creature,
but they do their utmost to prevent others from doing so. Consequently
their villages are generally swarming with antelope and other animals,
and they forbid their Musalman neighbours to kill them, and try to
dissuade European sportsmen from interfering with them. They wanted to
make it a condition of their settlemen