द्वितीय राजतरङ्गिणी (जोनराज - कल्हणोत्तर मध्यकालीन कश्मीर का प्रामाणिक इतिहास)

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 143
indicated the death of the forest deer, like the destruction
of sins. The king rejoiced to see the sinless hermits
feasting on savoury cakes until they were satiated; and
the curd which they quaffed with their busy fingers was
strewn on their seats, and looked like the crescent of
the moon melted by the power of their Yoga.
The river Mārī flowed from this place into the Vitastā,
and was used by the citizens for the purposes of drinking
and bathing; and the king joined it at Hastikarṇa with
Shāli canal which was extended to the confluence of the
Vitastā and the Sindhu. This junction of the Mārī with
the Vitastā is known in the city as the Mārī confluence;
and is used for the cremation of the dead, and it is the
way to heaven. Previously, the owners of the land,
the servants of the king, and the Pañchavārikas used
to levy a rate at this place every day from the citizens
for the cremation of the dead. When my father died,
I informed the king of the tax, and the king punished
the Kirātas and abolished the rate on the cremation
of the dead. From that time the common people on
their death are cremated on that spot, to the grief of
the mlechchhas who are averse to witness cremation.
'The bhūrjja makers [who burn the dead] danced with
their umbrellas, and played on musical instruments on
this exemption from the tax. Here, according to the
custom of distant countries, females immolated them-
selves in the pyres of their beloved; and were not
forbidden by the king.