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

(100 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
in whose mind will it not raise a feeling of indifference to
worldly desires?
Shri Jainollā'bhadina having destroyed his enemies
in distant lands returned to his paternal kingdom, and
obtained it even as Rāma had done. The treasuries
were drained, but he collected what remained, inorder to
carry out his designs, even as a poet collects from the
vocabulary his words and meanings, suited for his work.
The reign of this king, after that of Ālishāha, who was
ignorant of the art of ruling, was like the cooling sandal
paste after the heat of summer in a desert had departed.
The punishments which his enemies received from his
hand were like those received from Yama after death;
each getting it according to his merit. Though the king
possessed great merits and executed good works, yet,
strangely enough, he was always possessed of riches of
various kinds. The goddess of Fortune certainly lived
on his face, graced with his bright eyes, and dwelt in his
house, bright with silk, rich with virtue, and adorned
with women of lotus-like beauty ; — while his fame, like
the notes of music, spread over Banga'a, Mālava, Ābheri,
Gauḍa and Karṇāṭa. Radiant as the sun but soft as the
moon, learned as Budha, and wise as Vṛihaspati, the
king obtained the names of the planets, and all the
planets were in his favour. The king was like the jewel
that fulfils every desire, and his merits attained great
lustre, even as the Kumuda flowers do at night on seeing
the moon. The six schools of philosophy which gladden

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 101
the learned, delighted his heart, as the six seasons, which
gladden men by flowers, adorn the garden of Indra. The
three great faculties [majesty, perseverance, and wisdom]
found in the king the three amiable attributes [virtue,
wealth, and desire], and like lovers they lived in harmony
in the king. Like Pārtha, the king satisfied every day
those who came for alms, and his fame spread on all
sides, as if to invite the poor. Artists considered him as
Vishvakarmmā descended on earth, yogis considered him
as Gorakṣha, and chemists looked on him as Nāgārjuna.
The king favoured those who showed their skill in arts
or in letters, and they were thus encouraged to persevere
in their callings. He spent his life in listening to
poems and songs, in dance and in the music of the
harp, and in shows, and was not anxious for work. He
directed those who knew the shāstras to persevere in
their duties, for they work justly who know the shāstras.
Driven by the irresistible force of his arrows, his enemies
always lived like insects in woods and remote places.
His spies made daily enquiries about his enemies' affairs
as well as about his own, and the king knew all about
his subjects except their dreams. No one could exact
even five gaṇḍās of cowries from a pious householder
engaged in prayer. The king caused the feet of the
chaṇḍāla thieves, who ought to have lived by agri-
culture, to be chained, and he compelled them to work
on land. Knowing that low caste men take themselves
to thieving when in want of means of livelihood, the king

102 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
gave them provisions. He knew Chakra and others of
Kramarājya to be wicked men, and he therefore con-
fiscated their land, made provision for their livelihood,
and kept them in the Maḍava country. The annoyance
from thieves being thus repressed by the prudence of
the king, travellers slept at ease in the woods as in a
house. The king lived in a simple way and in doing
good works; his actions were free, all his state officials
were prosperous, and he gave himself up to enjoyments
in various towns. Who does not praise the eternal sun
who rises on the eastern mountain and drives away the
mischievous darkness, the lover of the lotus, who sheds
his beams on it and is adored by it, and who withers
the kumuda flowers, and displays his power to men?
The Ṭhakkuras, sons of the king's nurse, were elated
with pride, made ill use of their wealth and fortune, and
like unchecked elephants, became the destroyers of the
king's joys. The eldest of them, Meraṭhakkura, though
conspicuous on account of his position as judge, and an
aged Musula [Musulman], became illustrious by his
literary work. It was with difficulty that he reached
Kāshṭhavāṭa from Vaṭapatha; there he found himself in
the midst of snow with which his feet were affected. He
stayed for sometime before the shrine of god Māṇikya on
the shores of the lake, and having obtained a few attend-
ants, he arrived at Chika country after a long time. He
reached there, worried by hundreds of difficulties, and
his feet were washed by a saida as by a servant, and in-

order to allay the pain of the sore, physicians bandaged
one of his feet with thongs for life. In this place he
lived five years with difficulty, and made various attempts
to reach his own country and to take possession of his
wealth. [Here it is said that a portion of the MS. from
which the text has been printed is destroyed by time.]
The king, after he had conquered Sindhu, Hinduvāṭ,
and other countries outside his dominion, went with his
army to conquer the Bhuṭṭa country. As soon as the
army had entered a forest, they saw with wonder, a
black skeleton of a man by the light of a lamp placed on
a wall. The wise men who had appreciated the king's
worth used to assert, that, by performing penances extend-
ing over a long period the king had attained emancipa-
tion, and had cast off his [former] body, as a serpent
casts off his skin. Their words were now proved ; or
how could the king know of hidden things if he had not
been a saint ?

CHAPTER I.

The description of the kingdom.

The king begat three sons, the eldest Ādamakhāna,
the second Hājyakhāna, and the youngest Vahrāmakhāna.
The eldest was handsome, and he pleased his father
by the natural grace of his person and by his appearance,
even as the moon pleases the sea. Hājyakhāna dis-

104 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
played his greatness in his daily boyish pastimes, even as
the camphor indicates its nature by its sweet scent. The
two boys were beloved of their parents, and the happy
king left them in charge of two Ṭhakkuras, the sons of
his nurse, inorder to be brought up. The two Ṭhakkuras,
sons of the nurse, knew how to serve their own interests
and to damage their opponents ; and they became to each
other like the two disputants in logic. They cut the stem
of the tree of brotherly affection, and, owing to their
mutual envy, became envious of the princes; and the
three worthy sons of the king grew up in mutual enmity
caused by the Ṭhakkuras. The country was like a
body of which the king was the soul, when the king
felt happy all others felt happy, and when he felt miser-
able all others felt miserable. It was owing to the
wicked policy of the ministers that the princes felt angry
with each other, and the elder and the younger did not
perform their mutual duties.
Once on a time the king heard of the enmity
which his sons bore against one another, and he ordered
Ādamakhāna to prepare himself for departure without
delay to a foreign country. "O! bad son" he said "if
you do not act according to my reasonable command,
difficulties will arise which will destroy your dignity, life,
and wealth." When he had heard these words of his father,
the prince said to his servants that he would go to
Parṇotsa where they would always live in happiness.
They replied that his brother was of magnanimous mind,

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 105
and liberal, and could bestow wealth on his servants ;
and they asked him if he could do so. "We would rather
die in his service and before his eyes," they said, "than
serve you who are so weak and devoid of powers." As
an arbitrator stands between the two who are engaged in
making a partition, so Fate stood between the elder and
the younger brother inorder to equalize their happiness
and misery by reversing the scales. The king was afraid
that the life of Ādamakhāna was in danger, and he sent
him out of the country within a few days on the pretence
of sending him to Bhuṭṭa.
Mechanics showed to the king different kinds of
thunder-weapons [cannon] which make men tremble with
the deep sound they make. The king brought out these
weapons made of different metals, new, and hard ; and at
his command I composed the following lines in praise of
the weapons :— " In the year 41, in the Saka year '1586,
the king Shri Jainollābhadīna, renowned like the lord of
heaven [Indra], the victorious, the ruler of Kashmīra,
constructed this weapon which is well known to the
world and is spoken of in the mausula language. It
destroys forts, pierces the hearts of men, strikes horses
with terror, throws arrows [balls] of stone from a distance,
and remains unseen by the soldiers from encampments,
strong, well regulated, of deep sound, and of great value ;
— such was the engine constructed by the mechanics. The
engine will be useful to the king like a new town. May
it be useful by the large quantity of the different metals

166 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
of which it is composed, and by its frame, by its sound,
and by its power of expansion." The engines, vying with
the thunder in their roar and their fire, were inscribed
with these lines, and they looked graceful.
In a short time Ādamakhāna returned after the con-
quest of Bhuṭṭa and Hājyakhāna went to the mountains
of Lohara under the orders of the king. The king knew that
two swords do not find room in the same scabbard, and
so he caused one of his two sons to go out and the other
to come into the country. Ādamakhāna bathed and
drank and played and engaged himself in amusements
every day before his father. The swan that lives at ease
in the Satī lake does not leave it in the rainy season till
he is struck dead by the fowler.
In the year 28 Hājyakhāna wished to return Kashmīra,
when Rāvatralavala thus spoke to him :— "O ! master !
the friends of your elder brother are enjoying the delights
of Kashmīra, we alone have left our home and are
pining in a foreign land. The powerful Rājānaka the
Pratīhāra, Kulaja the Mārgapati, and others who are
proud of their prowess are awaiting us in Kashmīra.
Even if you be disobedient to your father, will the merci-
ful king kill us all in his anger? Should Ādamakhāna
come out with his forces to fight, he will have to fly
before you, even like young birds before a hawk. The
people of Rājapurī wish us good, let us therefore go by
the way of Rājapurī. What can we not win through
courage? Now that Agira the Pratīhāra is dead there

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 107
lives no hero in the country ; you should therefore proceed
and snatch the throne of your father. We warriors, your
subordinates and followers, will fight with your father's
men ; and you should see what heroism is." "Be it so"
said the Khāna, and he asked the opinion of two minis-
ters, SaphiryyaḌāmara and Tajatantresha, and they thus
replied :—"O ! master ! your servants are anxious for
their homes, and are speaking without due consideration
of circumstances, and their advice will lead to mischief.
How can we get into the country so long the powerful
king is alive ? Who can with a cocoanut shell cover the
radiant sun in the sky ? No one will be able to oppose
the king so long he lives, hence for the present, you
should do what is pleasing to him. What prosperity
may we not attain if your father be favourably inclined
towards you ? The virtuous have reverence for their king
and senior ; and even when angry, he is more propitious to
you than others even when they are favourably inclined.
The light which emanates from the sun even on a cloudy
day, is more than what emanates from a burning lamp.
The king always renders justice, and the purity of his
mirror-like heart is not destroyed by the foul breath of
the wicked. He is attached to the doctrine of nirvvāna,
and is equally versed in all the shāstras ; he is kind and
does not inflict any pain. Though he had risen against
his father's party, he did not discard his affection for his
father, and his father's last moments were hallowed like
those of king Jaina. His officers are wise, friendly,

108 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
humane, and worthy of him, and it is on account of
this happy circumstance that his sons are prospering.
He is your father and you his son, and we all are your
servants. If you go and fight against him how can we
gain a victory? The king has many servants, and if
some of them perish, his loss will be little, if the Gaḍura
bird loses a plume, is his speed impeded? There is no
auspicious omen in our favour; the country of Kashmīra
is mountainous and difficult of access; and the king is
your father; for these reasons we should avoid a war
now. Let the king rule over the interior of the country,
and let us rule over the outer country; what blessings
have you not got here by his favour except the royal
umbrella? If they come to fight us here, they will not
be able to conquer us, and if we go into the interior we
shall never be able to overcome them" The Khāna how-
ever, instigated by the wicked, and in his own pride,
set out by the Sūrapura road, in spite of this advice,
and keeping Rājapurī before him, came to Kashmīra.
The king in the meantime had heard of the sudden
arrival of his son, and had taken his army with him, and
he soon issued out of the capital. While marching
with the army, the king felt certain that he would die, and
caused this verse to be read :—"The thought of war and
peace always creates alarm; and when such alarm is
caused by ones own son, his happiness is at an end." As
the king marched, he heard blessings of men in villages,
and people said that the son was under the coutrol of the

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 195
ignorant and had caused pain to his father, not to speak
of the sin committed in rising against his father. While
the king was yet reigning, his son, forgetting the affection
due to his father, had come to bring affliction to the
country; that the prince might with his army speedily fall
like an insect in the fire of the king's valor, and the virtu-
ous king might reign without opposition, and his enemies,
defeated in battle, turn back. The king heard this and
more, and arrived with his army at a place named
Suprashamana.
Then when the armies of the father and son met at
Pallashilā, the king sent a Brāhmaṇa as messenger
to his son. But the messenger was for sometime sur-
rounded by the angry people who were anxious to know
his message, and they shouted and asked what the
Brāhmaṇa had to say. The messenger thus fearlessly
delivered the message of the king, "O prince! O
mighty armed! O! Sea of amṛita! Attend to what
your father orders which I speak unto you. 'The son
is to the family as the fruit is to the tree, he is the
benefactor in this as well as in the next world, and always
delights the eyes of the parents; by whom can such a
son be discarded? All people endeavour to provide for
their sons, since in old age an obedient son brings com-
fort and ease. You, who are born my son, are my stay
in this world and in the next; but now all my hopes
of ease have fled, and my anxiety has increased. The
protection which you are giving to the wicked men
10

170 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
obscures my reign, even as a breath obscures a mirror.
The unruly Khashas, ever ready to destroy, will not
remain long with you, even as swans do not remain
long in tanks. Why have you of your own accord, and
without my orders, come into the country ? Who can
obtain the kingdom by force except when propitious
fortune favours him ? You were ruling over all the
outer countries, wherefore were you not satisfied with
them, and wherefore have you come to take away the
rest of my kingdom by force ? O son ! Cease to enter-
tain vain and vicious thoughts ; the sin of the destruc-
tion of the two armies will rest on thee.’ This have I
told you in the words of your father ; but I tell you truly,
that, like a sparrow before a hawk, your warriors will
fly away from the king.” When the soldiers heard
these unpleasant words of the Brāhmaṇa, they cut off
his ears, and with the blood they marked the foreheads
of their friends. When Hājyakhāna saw this he felt
ashamed, and came to Abhimanyu the Pratīhāra, and
asked permission to leave his soldiers and to bow at
the feet of his father. “Be the king pleased or angry,”
said he “he will deal with me as he likes. I shall al-
ways serve the feet of the king, and he surely will pro-
tect us. In my judgment, this battle should not be begun.
I do not, even in dream, think of mischief to the king ;
he who bestows on me happiness both in this world
and in the next is greater to me than a god. My elder
is approaching in the front, and my father is preparing

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 111
for battle, I have not come prepared to kill my father."
When Tājatantripati and other ministers heard this, they
held the bridle of the prince's horse, keeping it in front
and told him these cruel words :— “When we told you
that it was not the time for battle, and advised you to
return, you slighted our words. You must now there-
fore complete the work you have begun. If you two,
father and son, be reconciled with each other, the enemy
will be pleased with your conduct, but we, who have
suffered in the hope of serving you, shall be ruined.
Heated oil remains on the pan, but whatever is thrown
between them is instantly burnt. You are our master,
we your servants, witness our heroism now. If we win,
you gain the kingdom, and if we lose, you return as you
came. Wait as long as we fight, when we are killed, do
whatever be your duty. If deceived by your father, you
reject our advice, we will do violence to your person,
and then go away hence.” The prince felt frightened at
these words of reproach, and sank into a sea of anxiety,
and was induced to give battle.
In the meantime when the king saw the Brāhmaṇa
in that plight, he became angry like Kṛishṇa, and pre-
pared himself for battle. The king, who could observe
the stars, and whose name was derived from the posi-
tion of the planet Venus in a lunar mason, placed him-
self in a position so as to have the sun behind him, and
made arrangements for the protection of his men. The sun
shone on his sword from behind as if to assure him of

312 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
victory, and then descended from the sky. While the king
was trying to guess the number of the troops led by his
son, those troops appeared before him glittering in the
rays of the sun, and illumining the earth with their
splendour. And he saw his own troops also, and the
armoured and spirited horses moving swiftly in com-
panies. Whom could not the king or his eldest son
with the help of his army overthrow, were he Hājyakhāna
or any other hero? There at Mallashila the soldiers
met and displayed their various quick manœuvres, even
as dancers show off their different steps on a stage.
The army of the king was like a cloud, furnished with
weapons like lightnings, and it showered forth arrows
with deep and prolonged roar. The men who met one
another got mixed ; they produced sounds like those of
brazen gongs, and they bore mutual blows making a loud
noise. The drums of Hājyakhāna sounded loudly as if to
say—"the soldiers are compelling me to battle, do not
press me hard." I [the author] saw the Pratīhāra and
others, men of great and of little prowess, but all powerless
in this battle, as clouds are powerless to arrest the course
of the sun. Then the two Ṭhakkuras, Hassana and
Hossana, sons of the nurse and well wishers of the king,
came out in their wrath from among the king's forces.
The Rajputs Suvarṇa and Sīhanagra were struck with
many weapons, and they sacrificed their handsome persons
even as Shrī fruits are sacrificed in the smoke of a
Yajña. Warriors moved to and fro in the presence of

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 113
their master in that field of battle, ambitious of obtain-
ing fame, even as black-bees roam about in a garden in
the presence of spring, seeking for flowers. Soldiers
whose heads were lopped off lay in the battle field, like
morsels of food in a vessel for the hungry Yama. What
with the sound of the war trumpet, what with the uproar
of men, and what with the lion like shouts of heroes,
there was a noise, the like of which was never heard.
The king's servants, who had received the king's favours
as a debt, now repaid it by casting aside all hopes of
their life; and they earned merit and praise by saving
the lives of many bewildered people. The sharp arrows
of the royal troops fell on the party of the Khāna, as if in
fear, and seemed to convey to him a friendly hint to save
himself. His banner also trembled in the breeze and
flew backward, as if seeking shelter behind in fear of the
battle. The field of the battle where slaughter took place
was like a lotus plant; the severed heads of warriors
beaming like lotuses, and the chariots moving like
leaves on the water. The king beheld the extraordinary
heroism of his son and his army, and when at last the
battle was over, he thought that he had obtained a new life.
All through the day, while the battle lasted, Hājyakhāna
was held by force by his servants, and now he turned
back from the combat, surrounded by the guards. When
the timid elder brother saw his younger yield, he pur-
sued him and killed the soldiers who were overcome by
their fear and felt ashamed at their defeat. What need

114 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
be said of the cruelty of the elder brother who in his folly
even killed some travellers who were going to a marriage
party, in Sūrapura. The king marched in the midst
of all his troops to that distant part of the country in
the south where the sun shines mildly. They who
entrust the duty of ruling the earth to wicked warriors,
who depend on their heavy lances, and are fond of
horses, who listen to the advice that leads to the mischief
of others, and who are not anxious to preserve their
religion and caste, like the sons of Kuru, do not win
in battle.
On the following day Hājyakhāna collected the rem-
nant of his force, repented of what he had done,
and decided to live in the Chitra country. He consoled
some of the men who were in distress, supported others
who were broken down, nourished those who were
hungry, and spent the night on the summit of a hill.
The kind hearted king returned from battle after passing
orders that none of his men should harass his son. He
had thought to himself that by placing the burden
of the kingdom on his son he would obtain rest,
and with this view he had entrusted the administration
of the country to his kindreds, to the lords of the
kingdom who had surrounded themselves with horse-
men, and to his principal servants whom he had
favoured. But they had all sided with his son, and had
come to fight with him to usurp his kingdom. He blamed
himself for having cast aside prudence in his kindness,

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 115
and accused himself as the cause of the mischief. Thus
he reflected, and blamed the servants who by the work
of Fate had become his enemies, and he returned to his
own city in grief. The king caused the heads of the
great warriors who had fallen in battle to be brought, and
over them he built a beautiful edifice in the town. In
this way many warriors lost their lives in battle that
year, in the quarrel between the father and the son,
owing to the wickedness of the servants. Dissensions
among kindred are like a curse, and are as little con-
ducive to the king’s happiness as the fall of snow is to
the full blown lotuses, or as the dreadful comet, the
destroyer of wicked men, is to an ill fated kingdom. O
king Shrī · Mānasimha* ! the letters of your name are as
potent as the five arrows of Kandarpa towards women,
or like the five vital fires to friends, or like the five sons
of Pāṇḍu to the enemies, or like the five celestial trees
to the poets and the learned.
Here ends the first chapter named the account of the
battle of Mallashīlā of Jainarājatarangiṇī composed by
Paṇḍita Shrīvara.
CHAPTER II.
Owing to the wickedness of the younger son, the
strong and pure stream of the king’s affection now flowed

• This name and the concluding lines are inexplicable here,
  probably inserted by mistake in the text from some other place.

116 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
towards the elder. He now won the affection of the king,
enjoyed good fortune, and had his councillors, and shone
owing to the absence of the heroic prince from whom
much was expected. After a long time the king returned
to the capital, and made over to Ādamakhāna a few of
the adherents of his younger brother who were at
Kramarājya. Ādamakhāna appropriated all the wealth of
Hājyehaidharakhāna which was in the house, or in
villages, or in the temples of gods, even as the sub-
marine fire consumes the water. From that time the
elder brother remained at ease in Kashmīra, in the pre-
sence of the king, as heir-apparent, and spent five years,
enjoying the dignity of kings.
Fate augments the happiness of men by increas-
ing the crops, and Fate also brings calamity to them
in the shape of famine. The clouds that make the
grass grow by rain, also destroy it by the weight of
snow. The country was rich in crops, when in the
year 36, in the month of Chaitra, the sky suddenly rained
dust.* It is well known from the Mahābhārata that the
year 36 [of a preceding century] had become terrible to all
on account of the destruction of the race of Yadu. The
leaves and the flowers hung down, grey with dust, as if
sorrowing for the people threatened with famine. The
chief of the soothsayers was consulted by the king, and

• The translator witnessed a dust-rain at Jammu, during the
  winter of 1885-86.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 117
he said, that owing to the dust-rain there would be a
famine in such a year. The year 36 of the last century
was the harbinger of a severe famine, and men feared that
the present year 36 would become like the one that was
past. The country was beautified with the shāli rice, when
snow fell in the month of Agrahāyaṇa and caused distress.
The earth covered her face with snow, as with a white
mantle, as if unable to bear the sight of the people's dis-
tress. The ripe shāli crop which had gladdened the
hearts of men was covered with snow, even as men of
learning and merit are covered with sandal paste in
an assembly of the wicked and the ignorant. The
monster famine soon stamped its mark on the coun-
try ; there were emaciated men distressed for want
of food, oppressed with hunger, and with eyes in-
flamed. A hungry man, distressed with the thought
of what he should eat, entered a house at night, and
leaving aside gold and other riches, stole rice from a pot.
All day, and even at night, the beggars entered the
house where there was rice, one after another, even as
arrows enter a body. Some took shells (coin) with them,
went to houses where there was grain, and obtained dry
cakes with which they sustained their lives ; and some
died by eating after too long or too short an interval,
Feeble, emaciated men in villages longed to obtain rice
which was like nectar to them, but lived on edible
leaves, roots, and fruits, as if they had taken some reli-
gious vow. Some again supported themselves by cook-

118 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
ing rice after a long interval, and by edible leaves. The
high price of ghee, salt, and oil was reduced on account
of the dearness of rice, as the greatness of good men is
detracted by the pride of the low. Those citizens who
had been garrulous before about many things now be-
gan to talk a great deal about rice only. The Bandhujīva
flower, which is like the life of a friend, was neglected
even like the ākanda, for without rice the people were
blind with hunger, and the sight of flower inflicted pain.
Formerly one khāra of paddy could be had for 300
dinnāras, but owing to the famine, the same khāra of
paddy could not then be obtained even for 1500. What
more need be said ? In some parts of the kingdom the
poor people were denied even the gruel of rice. Before
this the people had thought little of the lucious brīhi
and the shāli rice, and it was for this, I think, that they
now suffered from this calamity.
Being of a kind disposition, the king became anxious
for his people, and after he had fed his distressed sub-
jects for a few months, like his children, with his own
rice, a plentiful crop grew, as if on account of the
greatness of his heart. A truthful king has not to
grieve for a long time. It was the sea, I think, [by
not supplying the clouds with water,] that troubled
the earth with the calamity of the famine, inorder
that the king's humanity might be displayed. Thieves
delight at the time of anarchy, unchaste women in the
hours of darkness, and those who sell grain delight in

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 911
the time of famine. As the people were oppressed by
hunger, precious things were received in exchange for
grain ; but after the famine the king caused them to be
paid for at their proper price. During famine men
had eaten up walnuts ; so the intelligent king, ob-
serving the condition of the people caused oil to be
extracted from the pine. Out of humanity he cancelled
the deeds on bhūrja leaves drawn up between the credi-
tors and the debtors. The sixty-four branches of learn-
ing, art, science, and progress, all remained dormant in
the distress caused by the famine. For new books
exhibiting the play of words and sentences, the arts of
singing, music, and dance, and women skilful in the arts
of love delight not the hungry.
Here ends the second chapter named the account of
the famine of the year 36* of Jainarājatarangiṇī composed
by Paṇḍita Shrīvara.
CHAPTER III.
Fate, like a mad sovereign, can in a moment bestow
unusual favour on his subjects when propitious, and inflict
untold miseries when unpropitious. Who can understand
the caprices of Fate ? While the people had not yet for-
gotten the miseries of the famine of the year 36, they
witnessed in the year 38 a dust-rain descending on the
* The year 26 in the text is a misprint for 36.