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

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 7
flection; and he thereupon struck the water with his
palm, so that his jewel ring fell into the water. When
asked where the royal jewel seal was, he pointed to the
ripple of the water and said that it was in the ripple.
He was the very model of a dunce. He reigned for
nine years, four months, and two and half days.
His younger brother Jassaka was also a great dunce;
and though he did not wish to have on him the weight
of the kingdom, he was annointed king by the Lavanyas
who wished their own aggrandisement. The parrot
which imitates the human voice is caught but not the
crow; stony soil is not ploughed and dug like fertile
land; and stones are not powdered to dust like rock-
salt. The very faults of some persons are advantageous
to them like merits. There were two Brāhmaṇa bro-
thers named Kṣhukṣha and Bhīma. By fraudulent
means they earned the affection of the king, and then
they became disobedient. They thought that as they
were rich and powerful, the king would not be able
to check them, and so they did not endeavour to
strengthen their party by taking in other men. And
it was only the power of the Lavanyas, and not any
other apprehension, that kept them from attaining the
regal state. Alas! That a sweet but unwholesome dish
should ever be taken! Alas! That a young but false
woman should ever inspire love in man by her embra-
ces and her show of affection! For they both bring
affliction, and if unchecked, cause death by their poison.