Bibliothèque mondiale du cheval

« Foll. 90 ; 8 1/4 in. by 5 3/4 ; 13 lines, 4 1/4 in. long; written in a rude Indian Shikastah-āmiz, apparently in the 19 th century.
I. Foll. 3-60. A treatise on farriery, translated from the Sanscrit work known as Sālihotra.
Translator : ’Abd Ullah B. Safi, […] ’Abd Ullah states, in a short preamble, that he had, in the reign of Sultān Ahmad Valī ul-Bahmanī, and by his order, translated into Persian the Sālihotra from the original of Durgarāsī, son of Sargarāsī, […] He adds that the work was written in the city of Kulbargah. The date of composition which follows is, in the present copy, defectively written " A. H. . . . hundred and ten,[…] The same work is dated in Stewart’s Catalogue, p. 96, A.D. 1107 (AD. 810). As, however, Ahmad Valī ul-Bahmanī reigned from A.H. 825 to 838, that date cannot bo correct.
Contents : Preface and table of chapters, fol. 3 b. Legendary account of the creation of the horse, which is said to have been originally endowed with wings, fol. 4 b. Defects of the horse, in fifty-two chapters, (Fasl) fol. 5 a. Good points of the horse, in thirteen chapters, fol. 22 a. Signs of the age of horses, fol. 26 a. Diseases of the horse, with their treatment, and management of the horse, fol. 29 b.
The treatise is illustrated with a great number of coloured drawings of a rather rude style of execution. Sālihotra is the traditional inventor of the veterinary art. He is stated in the introductory chapter to have been instructed by his father, Aspastī […], in the knowledge and management of horses, while in the next following work he appears as a Brahman, the master of Susruta. The same name, however, is defined by Abul-Fazl, in the Ā’in i Akbarī, vol. ii. p. 144, as applying to the art itself, and it has come to be used as a common designation of the works in which it is set forth. See Weber, Verzeichniss der Sanskrit Handschriften , p. 291, Elliot, Bibliographical Index , p. 263, and History of India, vol. v. p. 574.
II Foll. 61 — 73. A treatise, without title, on the same subject. […] In the opening lines the Sultan Ghiyāg ud- Dīn Muhammad Shāh B. Mahmūd Shāh Khiljī is mentioned as the reigning sovereign, and the 21 st of Muharram, A.H. 983, […],as the date of composition. As Ghiyāg ud- Dīn Muhammad Shāh B. Mahmūd, king of Mālvah, who is here meant, reigned from A.H. 873 to 906, the above date is obviously wrong; it is probably a clerical error for A.H. 883.
The work is divided into twelve chapters (Bāb), subdivided in sections (Fasl), and enumerated at the beginning, as follows : 1. Breeds of various countries, fol. 62 a. 2. Mode of choosing horses, fol. 62 b. 3. Omens derived from the motions of horses, fol. 63 a. 4. Colours of horses, ib. 5. Their blemishes, fol. 63 b. 6. Their limbs, fol. 65 b. 7. Diseases and remedies, fol. 66b. 8. Bleeding, fol. 69 a. 9. Diet and food, fol. 69 b. 10. Fattening, and treatment of sores, fol. 71 b. 11. How to know the ago of horses by their teeth.
In the body of the work, however, the last chapter is replaced by the two following : 11. On various remedies, fol. 73 a. 12. On lucky and unlucky marks in horses, fol. 73 b.
A fuller copy of the same work, with the title of Kurrat ul-Mulk , will be found among the Elliot MSS., Or. 1697, art. ii. See also Elliot, Bibliographical Index, p. 263.
III. Foll. 74—89. Treatise on the diseases of horses and their treatment, imperfect at the beginning and end.
Prefixed to the volume is an English letter written by "Tirmal Rāo, son of Rāo Bahadoor Venkut Rāo, principal Sudr Ameen of Dhar-war," on sending the work to the Rev. John Wilson, D.D., president of the Bombay branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. It is dated Dharwar, 20 th August, 1840. » Charles Rieu (1879-1883)

« A Persian MS. treatise on Farriery, translated from the Sanscrit work 1407, known as Salihota. By Abd Ullah Ben Safi.
Content :— A Preface and table of Chapters. Legendary account of the Creation of the Horse which is said to have been originally endowed with wings ; Defects of the Horse in 52 chapters ; good points of the Horse in 12 chapters ; signs of the age of Horses ; Diseases of the Horse with their treatment, and management of the Horse. […]
Prefixed to the vol. is a letter written in English by Tirmal Rao, son of Rao Bahadoor Venkut Rao, principal Sudr Ameen of Dhurwar, presenting the work to the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. The letter is dated Dhurioar, August 20 th , 1840. » Huth (1887)