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

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 3
seems but ordinary water, purifies him who drinks it.
I have made only an outline of the history of kings ;
let the skilful and artistic poets adorn it: a wheel
rubs down jewels, it is a finer instrument that can im-
part beauty to the gems. The good and the noble
peruse the works of writers without solicitation ; does
the moon await solicitation before diffusing nectar on
the earth? But the evil minded, even when propiti-
ated, do not cease to find faults ; the charcoal, even
when washed by nectar, never attains whiteness. The
desire that others should see my work has long depar-
ted from my heart, for it is an unworthy desire to wish
for the approbation of others. The beauty of a com-
mon song and that of the Saṅskṛita language appear
alike to the unskilful ; even as the monkey mistakes
red seeds for sparks of fire in winter. The ignotant
are not affected by listening to poetry ; it is those alone
who have strength of teeth, that perceive the
sweetness of the sugarcane in their mouth. Even the
pure minded and the meritorious are filled with
thoughts of envy when a composition embellished with
sense and sweetness is placed before them. Fate
is foremost among those who cannot bear to see
the prosperity of others ; Fate has stained the moon
with spots, and Fate has filled the learned with
envy, as with a consuming disease. Fate is therefore-
an object of reproach. Let my work which is mingled
with that of Kalhaṇa Paṇḍita be accepted, for even