On a story from Attar’s Elahi-nameh and some remarks about the words “rāheb” and “tarsā”

In Attar’s Elahi-naqmeh, there is narrated the story of a young “tarsā” (Christian) who claims to be in love with an idol and sacrifices himself for it. So, in conformity with customs, boiling oil is poured over his head at a temple, and he dies.The redactor- commentator of the Elahi-mameh has counted the word “tarsā” in this story as being a translation of the Arabic “rāhib” (hermit). Besides, he has identified the scene of the story as one of the Buddhist temples.The present article casts doubt on both these claims and tries to demonstrate that, more probably, the root of this story can be found in Buddhists’ customs and stories. During the discussion, remarks will also be made regarding the word “rāhib”.