Page:History of India Vol 9.djvu/388

328 FRANCKLIN'S NOTES ON CEYLON AND INDIA affairs. Their religion, as far as I could gain any in- formation, is much corrupted from the ancient worship; they acknowledge that several Hindu forms and cere- monies have crept in amongst them, probably in com- A MANU8CKIPT OP THE AVE8TA WITH FAHLAVI TRANSLATION. pliance to the natives, in order to conciliate their affec- tions. I have heard it observed, however, that the Hindu religion does, in itself, bear some analogy to the ancient Persian worship. It seems that their sacred book, the Zend, which is said to have been written by their celebrated prophet Zerdusht (called by us Zo- roaster), is at present only a copy of a few centuries;