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

212 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
not come to him, and he considered himself betrayed
by them, and became despondent. On that day Royal
Fortune remained as if in doubt between the two, the
uncle and the nephew. As thieves like darkness, even
so Chakrabāva and others who were born in Kramarājya
liked the confusion of a civil war, and were glad to hear
the latest news. But when the king arrived at Jainagiri
bent on prosecuting the war, messengers came to him
and said :—"O king! Bahrāmakhāna did not act wisely
in rushing to war, together with his son, like a mad
elephant ; he has been captured in battle. Bahrāmakhāna
who fought against your force, was thrown down in
the field of battle, and was deserted by his servants, even
as a tree in a garden is forsaken by leaves in the month
of Pousha. Then Sañjaramera and other leaders of the
army raised a shout and came upon him like a black cloud
and showered their arrows. Worthy of praise are those
who die in the presence of their master, and the memory
of their death is worthy of being cherished. Such men
remember the favours they had received from their
master, and sacrifice their lives like grass. They con-
sider the favours of their master as a debt, in payment
of which they yield their precious lives, when the time
comes, welcoming the weapons of the enemy even as
flowers. Such men are few among the servants of a
master, and they are worthy of praise. It was owing
to thy greatness O king! that Shirāla, Mārgapa, and
other servants and warriors of Bahrāmakhāna perished.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 213
It is strange that none of our army died, but the arrows
discharged by our men pierced the scabbard of the
Khāna and he was unable to draw his sword, so that
his weapon became useless, his condition pitiable, and
he was surrounded by our soldiers. The Khāna’s ardour
abated, even like that of the funeral fire after a shower
of rain. The soldiers came up to him and attempted
to kill him, but Phiryaḍāmara in his mercy promptly
saved him by sheltering him within his arms. The
earth was full of mud, and there was an excess of rain,
a Brāhmaṇa was before him, and in his helplessness and
fear of death what miseries did he not feel? Oppressed
by the cold wind and by fear, sunk in the mud of the
field, naked, and deserted by his craven troops, spoilt of
all his property by the low, and witnessing his poor and
afflicted son crying aloud, Bahrāmakhāna thought at
that moment of his brother, his attendants, and his home !
He found himself and his son captured by the enemy
and did not know to whom he could address himself
or what he could do. Better were it, he thought, if
death had come and his life were extinct. He remem-
bered that what his father had said had come to pass
that day, and he blamed himself that he had rejected
jewel for glass ! Thus accusing himself, and discon-
solate in his grief, the Khāna is living like one dead,
like a tall bare tree, devoid of leaf and fruit, in the
month of Pousha ! Enjoy O king ! the kingdom that
has descended to thee in succession, and has been given

214 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
to thee by God. Virtue, owing to good fortune, has
borne fruit unto thee. What more need be said ? Order
speedily what should be done to Bahrāmakhāna." When
the king heard this he was glad and gave rewards to the
messengers.
All the army were the next day pleased with the
music of victory, and they brought Bahrāmakhāna, and
his son, surrounded by troops, before the king. The
king went to the top of his palace in order to welcome
his soldiers proud of their victory, and for a while be-
held from a distance his uncle in his miserable plight.
He saw his uncle in the midst of the garrulous citizens
talking in high or low voice, his head bent down in
shame and fear, as if he sought for a hole in the ground
to conceal himself. He was bereft of ornaments which
had been robbed by the soldiers at the time of battle,
and was covered with an worn out garment which had
been given to him by some humble and kind hearted
man. His turban was soiled with blood from the wound
caused by an arrow in his face, and he was favoured by
the goddess of misfortune. The citizens saw Bahrāma-
khāna with his son bound before the king who was
favoured by good fortune, and Bahrāmakhāna's heart
was sore. Whose prosperity can be permanent ? Those
whose intellect is warped by covetousness are deceived
by prosperity, they lose the sense of right and wrong, and
are unable to rid themselves of the lust of prosperity which
they have once enjoyed, until it is forced from them by

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 215
others. If prosperity thus becomes a source of inces-
sant grief, then may it, fickle as a prostitute, never
exist in this world. When the people saw the Khāna
brought forward bound, they remarked that he had, for
his own interest, neglected his father in his last illness, and
had by various means opposed his elder brother Ādama-
khāna ; and that when his another brother suffered
from an incurable disease, he with an wicked intention
had gone over to that brother ; and avaricious of obtaining
the kingdom from his nephew, he had risen in rebellion
against him. It was for these sins, they said, that
he received his punishment that day. Some again
remarked that it was owing to his father's curse that
Bahrāmakhāna had lost his sense. On one occasion when
Bahrāmakhāna was opposed to his father's faction, his
father had privately told him that his two elder brothers
were ruining his kingdom by their mutual enmity, that
they had caused him annoyance and harm, and he accord-
ingly proposed to discard them and to take Bahrāmakhāna
into his favour, and asked Bahrāma to trust in him.
When Bahrāmakhāna heard this, he replied that he would
not desert his elder brother who had always sought his
welfare, and that the eldest of the three could effect
nothing against the other two brothers combined. When
the king heard this, he said that the second brother had
been intending to kill his elder through Bahrāmakhāna,
and though the second brother had now given protection
to Bahrāma, it would be the killing of a servant of the

216 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
house by means of a guest. For if the second brother
succeeded in his purpose he and his son would turn
Bahrāma's enemies, and what then would Bahrāma do?
Bahrāmakhāna knew the Saṃskṛita language and when he
had heard this, he replied in the following shloka :—
“Those who know the shāstras wash off their sins at
the shrine of learning ; the virtuous wash off their sins
at the shrine of truth ; the munis, at the shrine of the
Ganges ; the yogis, at the shrine of self-knowledge ; young
women of good families, at the shrine of modesty ; the
munificient, at the shrine of charity ; and kings wash off
their sins at the shrine of sword.” When the king heard
this, he replied to his evil-minded son in these angry
words :—“I have witnessed many of your battles,
O miserable man ! and you were proud in wielding your
sword in war, in which I could not cope with you ! What
shall I say to you O evil minded man ? I see your eyes
which are worthy to be plucked out ! You will soon be
ruined and will then repent.” What the father had then
said came to pass this day. Thus the people said in
sorrow to one another when they saw him.
Here ends the account of the defeat of Vahrāma-
khāna.
The king distributed befitting gifts and honors
which pleased his army, and was himself happy in mind ;
and he came to his capital the same day. He took with
him his enemy bound, and embarked on a boat with his
son. He ordered Bahrāma to be confined in Bahrāma's

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 217
own palace. The king's mother was glad to see her son
back again from battle, as if he was born again. The
king was afraid of relations of Avatārasīha and others,
and within a few days, sent them to prison in his anger.
That wicked Mallikaṭāja, born in the country of the Five
Caverns, secured royal favour by flattery and became
a source of misery to men. The whole country was
deceived into bribing him, and he robbed the country
in order to amass a fortune. Abhimanyu the Pratīhāra
obtained the lordship of Devasara ; he was of an inde-
pendent character among the ministers and was proud
of his strength. This covetous man caused trouble
in every house and field with a view to plunder,
and became the object of the people’s curse. He
instilled fear into the king's mind for 'his father's
brother who was imprisoned near the palace, suggesting
that some one might bring him out of the prison and
set up a civil war. Incited by these words, the king,
whose intellect was yet immature, became angry with
Bahrāmakhāna, and ordered his eyes to be put out.
Bahrāma's eyes were accordingly covered with cotton,
and this unworthy descendant of Jainarāja caused a hot
iron rod to be applied on them for their destruction.
The sin of him who destroyed the eyes, and the pain of
him whose eyes were destroyed, cannot be described
in our words. Some said it was an unwise act, some
said it was the work of God, others remarked that it
was the fruit of acts done in a previous birth, while
19

218 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
there were others again who observed that it was the
punishment for keeping low company. Some said that
it was an inhuman act committed for the sake of wealth,
and others remarked that it was done owing to the
king's timidity. When the people heard that the Khāna
was blinded, they made remarks which are not fit to
be repeated. Let none be born as man, they exclaimed,
or if so born, let him be born rather as an ordinary
individual ; let no one take his birth in the house of a
king.
The king's time passed quickly in the enjoyment
of new delights of prosperity, and in various pleasures
and recreations. But even a dream appears like a
kalpa to one in the afflictions of misfortune, who
broods over his past prosperity and his present
danger. Bahrāma's feet were bound in iron chains, and
he remained imprisoned and blind, and passed the
remainder of his life in thinking of the pleasures he
had enjoyed in the days of his prosperity. He who
had always listened to songs in his house was now
kept awake by the noise of crickets. He who had al-
ways been served by his servants, champooing him in
every limb in his bed room had now sparrows and
insects for his attendants. He who had lived under
canopies such as even the gods did not possess, had
now to live under rows of spiders' nets spread over him
as a canopy. His tender limbs which had once adorned
a bed of silk and cotton, now lay on the ground without

[Header] KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 219

a bed. He had been bounteous before, and used to
say, 'give it to others', now he raised the same voice
with difficulty, and said 'give something to me.' His
authority was gone, his servants were killed, he had
lately been defeated and bound in chains, and was
suffering agony on account of his eyes being put out.
The blind son of a king meditated on all this, and he
could not call to mind any one who had suffered like
him even in a tale. The bee sees the lotus, bright with
its cup, and seeks to feast on it as he roams at pleasure,
but the moon thwarts him, the night approaches, and
the bee is enclosed in the lotus and dies. The palace
which had been built by him for his enjoyment, now
became his prison ! Who can foresee what may befall
him ? Thus he suffered agonies for three years, his body
became a skeleton, and he died. . He who treats his ene-
mies with bitterness, and takes no account of time and
place, perishes in spite of his strength and wealth.
The cruel Abhimanyu, the Pratīhāra, was puffed up with
vanity for having performed some acts of prowess and
could not bear the powerful faction of the ministers.
He was inflated with a spirit of independence, and his
harsh words preceding from pride were like needles in the
eye of the ministerial party. The Pratīhāra went on
devising plans to get rid of the minister Mallika Ahmada,
and the Mallika also secretly entertained hostile feelings
against the Pratīhāra but found no opportunity to bring
him under his power. At last, on one occasion when

220 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
the king was proceeding to his palace at Vijayeshvara,
the minister induced him to cause the Pratīhāra, who
did not mistrust the king, to be arrested within the
palace. Abhimanyu himself was known to fame, but
his sons Pāṇḍava and others were unworthy as jackals.
Fie to the uncertainties of fate ! If the lion did not in
his madness enter into a trap, who could ever overcome
that strong animal, at whose sight even large and powerful
elephants flee afar, followed by bees. Then the Pratī-
hāra, with his sons, was brought in a boat by Tājibhaṭṭa,
bound and bereft of his wealth, and thrown into prison.
Within a year his eyes were put out, even as he had
induced the king to put out the eyes of Bahrāmakhāna ;
and as Bahrāmakhāna had suffered intolerable pain, even
so did he suffer pain which others cannot describe.
On the same day and in the same month of the year
in which the Pratīhāra had done injury to the Khāna,
did he himself suffer injury. He too, with his sons, suf-
fered like Bahrāmakhāna for two years the tortures of hell,
and died in prison and in misery. The wicked Pratīhāra
had once remarked that his eyes were gratified at the
sight of the death of Jainarāja, the foe of his family, and
of the plunder of his property ; for these cruel words he
was now punished with the destruction of his own eyes ;
so the people observed. The grandson of Jainarāja ac-
complished with ease what that king had meditated but
could not do. The very means which a man adopts
for the injury of others lead to his own destruction.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 321
The deer uses his antlers for the death of others, but is
killed by arrows discharged from bows made of the
self same horn.
Thus the people had for a long time beheld, with plea-
sure, as it were, the graceful chumps of bamboo in a grove
beautified by various colored grass and thick foliage.
But a fire rose from friction, and all was destroyed
in the grove from one end to another ; the offices found-
ed by ancient kings passed away in a short time, and
was only remembered as a dream. Some one falsely
reported to the king that Mallika Jāda intended to bring
forward the son of the blind Khāna and usurp the king-
dom. When the king heard this, he ordered the Mallika
to be imprisoned after confiscating all his property. All
those who had envied the Mallika were pleased with this.
Mallika Jāda had obtained wealth by violence, and by
violence did the officers of the king take away his riches.
No one pitied him in his misfortune, for he had op-
pressed the people by exacting bribe and money. It
was with much difficulty that his wealth was taken away
from him, for his vile hand, and the vile wealth he had
acquired by force, had become fast friends. It was with
difficulty and by means of coercion that the officers of the
king extracted from him what he had stored, even
as a serpent is pulled out with difficulty from its hole.
The barber Pūrṇa and Mallika Jāda and others, spoilt
of their riches, died after long imprisonment. Thus
Jainarāja's fatal curse reached all those who had

222 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
wronged the realm. O ye ministers ! endeavour to
improve the country by your advice. Verily I say, if
you wish the destruction of the king, you will not obtain
happiness either in this world or in the next. Those
of the sons and attendants of king Jaina who had injured
him did not attain happiness. Others among his
servants, great and low, who had done him harm now
perished.
As long as the spring lasts the bees enjoy them-
selves, but when the spring departs, they wander about
listless and unhappy. Knowing that Saida Nāsira and
his people were born of the family of Paigamvara,* and
that they were men of great accomplishments, and had
come to adorn his kingdom, and were deserving of honor,
the king Jaina had given them very high seats in his
court, had shaken hands with them, and showed them
unusual favour by bestowing his own daughters on
them, and assigning to them estates in the kingdom.
But now, Saida Jyamāla and others of that family were
known to the present king as turbulent chiefs. He
accordingly exiled them from the country, and confis-
cated their hoarded treasure. Saida Nāsira was admired
by the wise, and was famed in battle ; he foresaw the
future, and left the country during the lifetime of
king Jaina. The Saidas enjoyed many large estates,
and by their marriages with the king's daughters had

• Mahammad.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 223
lived like kings for a long time. They now wandered
about hither and thither ; some of them went to Dilli-
pura, and others, owing to their avarice, did not leave
the country, though exiled, but remained like bees in
the month of Māgha. These foreigners, who used
formerly to live on the refuse of grains, had become
rich after coming to this country, and had forgotten
their previous history, even as men forget their previous
life on coming out of the womb. They oppressed the
people, and owing to the weight of that sin, they were
despoiled of their wealth and were exiled by the king ;
and they lived in fear of their life like fish taken out
of a lake.
The Mallika [Ahmada] formed alliances by marriage
with the Rājānaka people, and with the Ṭhakkuras, and
the Mārgapatis ; and for the sake of Tājibhaṭṭa, retained
in his hand the possession of all the offices of the great
kingdom. He thought to himself that Tājibhaṭṭa be-
longed to his family and was adopted as his son, and
noticed that he began to prosper speedily. Ahmada
therefore forgave all his shortcomings. Jyahamgira the
Mārgapati found that his sister was slighted by the
Saida, and he drew up a deed for her divorce. At the
request of the wise Malleka the king caused the elder
sister of the Mārgapati to be given to Tājibhaṭṭa.
Jyahamgira the Mārgapati understood the wisdom of
the act, and forgave the marriage of his elder sister to
Tājibhaṭṭa. Wife and wealth come to the fortunate

224 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
even as bees come to the garden, or as rivers flow into
the sea. She had lived in the family of the Mārgapati
as a kalpa creeper in a garden, and possessed many
excellent qualifications ; and the Bhaṭṭa obtained her
as one obtains the goddess of fortune. The people
remarked that while king Jaina could not banish the
Saidas, his grandson had done it with ease.
When the country was rid of these thorns, the king,
with the approval of the Mallika, engaged himself in
erecting buildings ; and his courtiers were also similarly
engaged. The people were happy under the good ad-
ministration, and they occupied themselves in marriages
and festivities, in building good houses, in dancing and
processions, and they thought of nothing else. The king
built in the year 50 a beautiful palace at Diddāmaṭha,
on the banks of the river, unmindful of expense. The
new palace with its [four turrets in the] four corners,
which were like hands upraised, was reflected on the
water, and looked as if it danced there day and night,
conscious of the people's admiration, while the old
palace remained tenantless. The golden umbrella over
the palace looked as if the sun in the semblance of an
umbrella had descended from the sky to see the build-
ing, as none of his (solar) dynasty had erected any
building equalling it. The architects made wooden
figures of Gaḍura and placed them on the corners of
the building, so that the birds in the sky were afraid of
them and did not fly over the palace. The queen mo-

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 225
ther Golkhātonā was like the former queen Diddā, and
she also built a large religious edifice called the madrasā.
Accompanied by his mother's father, the king entered
the building and felt happy, and he ordered festivities
to be held at great expense for a fortnight. Even then
the king thought that the ceremony of consecration was
but half done, and was not equal to the occasion. He
built a khānagāha within the town for the benefit of his
father's soul. The king renewed the palace that had
been burnt by fire on the banks of the river at Kulod-
dharaṇanāga and made it beautiful. The old palace
on the banks of the river at Vijayesha was renewed, and
owing to its excessive brightness, it looked like the
central jewel of a necklace. The dome of the building
looked beautiful, and the umbrella over it was reflected
on the waters of the Vitastā, and it seemed as if the gods
in their gladness had thrown down a golden lotus. The
palace built by the king at Suyyapura looked graceful,
and being white-washed, seemed to laugh at the old
palace. There also he built in his own garden a royal
palace which was unique in the kingdom, and at the sight
of which surely Indra acknowledged his inferiority !
I do not describe the other buildings which the king
erected in his kingdom through fear of lengthening this
narrative. The minister Ahmada built at Diddāmaṭha
rows of buildings unmatched in beauty ; and near the
great stone wall which surrounded the court-yard of
masodāha, and beautifying it, he raised a religious edi-

fice, the celebrated khānagāha, where many travellers
come from various countries. To such an extent were
new buildings erected at Diddāmaṭhapura, that the
whole town became pleasing to the eye. The minister
invited the king on the occasion of the first entry into
the building, and spent sixty lakhs. He assigned the
village of Satipusha for the supply of food [ for travel-
lers]. Even his wife Shāhā built a maṭha for religious
purpose, on the road leading to Kherī, and gave alms
when it was completed. His son too, the minister
Nauruja, built a new religious maṭha, and constructed
a stone causeway from the town to the Kṣhiptikā ; and
when it was completed as far as the island in the
river, the people of the town ceased to wonder at the
sjght of a long causeway supported on pillars. The
two other brothers named Richaka and Nūthaka, who
were worthy of praise, built two maṭhas in Kramarājya,
beautiful as palaces. Tājibhaṭṭa, who had become rich
and great on account of the king's affection for him,
built a maṭha at Jainapurī in Karāla country, and erec-
ted a new edifice of stone at Kudmadīnapuri. Indra him-
self, on viewing these structures, would become desirous
of erecting edifices ! Edarājānaka, master of the royal
wardrobe, built a khānagāha at Balādyamaṭha, and a new
maṭha in his native land. The maṭha was built by the
side of the funeral ground, and was adorned with apart-
ments for the accommodation of wearied travellers.
He constructed rows of buildings ;—maṭha, agrahāra,

masjeda, vihāra,—and altogether erected twenty or thirty
buildings in the kingdom. Phiryyadāmara built at Jaina-
pura a well proportioned khānagāha, and a masodāha
beautiful on account of its extensive yard, and he spent one
koti on the occasion of the first entry into these edifices,
distributing gifts according to all shāstras. Hayātakhātonā,
the beloved of the king, and radiant with wealth, re-
paired the maṭha at Mṛigavāṭa which had been burnt
down; and queen Bhomārakhātonā built a new maṭha
at Jainanagara with her own money near the palace. The
princess Jayarālā, born of the royal family, built a new
khānagāha by the side of Shekandharapura. The
barber, Pheraṭhakkura, was an officer of the king,
the works of piety which he built like the yard
of masedāha adorned Jainapura. He was bent on
doing good deeds, and built a beautiful maṭha on the
banks of the river at Vijayesha. Sayyabhāṇḍapati built
a vihāra at Vijayeshvara, which was to the cause of
religion as a spacious road by which an army can march.
His brothers Lakshmamera and others, chiefs among
merchants, built a new stone temple of Bhīmasvāmī Gaṇe-
sha. The faces of the mlechchhas became dark and were
bent down, as if at the sight of that high white-washed
temple of Gaṇesha. Others also erected various buildings
high and low, and the country was covered with them, and
looked like heaven. A virtuous man thinks to himself that
many rich people have lived before and spent years in
hoarding, but only a few cowries were placed on their

228 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
bodies when they died, and even these they left behind.
And thus if he who had become rich, fails to
perform acts of piety by consecrating buildings, he too
will have to depart alone when he dies. It is con-
siderations like these which incline virtuous men towards
pious works. When the king became angry with
wicked men, he destroyed them but not their buildings.
In former times, the houses of those who rose against
the king were demolished. The fear of such punishment
however left the minds of the wealthy in this reign.
What more need be said ? Trees were cut down for build-
ing houses, so that woods were laid bare even like an
enemy's country.
The king found that the dinnāras of ShrīToramāna
had ceased to be current, and he gave currency to the
new coin, Dvitīnnārī, which was impressed with the
figure of a nāga. The old copper coin was twenty-five*
[in value], but owing to the dearness of articles its value
had become somewhat reduced.
The mother of pearl, which rears pearls out of water
from the clouds, is worthy of being placed on the head
of kings. But when men take out the pearls, the objects
of her affection, it, like a good woman, does not survive
long. Golkhātonā, the king's mother died suddenly ;
she had during his infancy reared him with her milk.
She had opposed the king when he began to form ir-
regular habits, and restrained his wavering heart
even as the sea shore always restrains the sea. She

• Probably twenty-five gandas or one hundred Cowri shells are
  meant.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 229
favoured the customs of the Hindus as the light of the
sun favours the lotus ; and all men thought of her and
lamented and wept for her. When his mother left him,
the king appeared covered in a black dress, and looked
like a lotus shrunk with sorrow when forsaken by
day-light.
When seven days had past, Mallika [ Ahmada ] made
the king wear a white dress, and money was spent on
the occasion, and he caused the king's sorrow to abate.
The king ordered a large new bridge of boats to be
built at the extremity of Shāhābhadinapurī with his
mother's money so that her righteousness might increase
in merit.
The queen Hayātakhātonā, born in the family of the
Saidas, was beloved of the king, and was the object of
his love, his joy, and his consolation. The king was not
attached to any one else, and he gave all things to her,
utensils, ornaments, and household furniture. The
moon-like king derived pleasure from that highly accom-
plished queen alone, as the bee does from the mālatī
plant. There is prosperity in this world, but only a few
can attain that desired object ; few are the peasants
who chance to find pearls when the clouds rain ! A
prince was born to the king by this great queen and he
was named Mahmadakhāna, a name worthy of the
Mausulas. The king, happier than before, entrusted his
boy to Tājibhaṭṭa for being brought up, even as the sea
entrusts the moon to Mahādeva.
20

230 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
In the month of Vaishākha, in the year 54, the king
held a festival on account of the birth of his son, and
a large sum of money was spent to make the ceremony
an imposing one. All spent money, as liberally as
Kuvera, on men of wit and the promoters of festive
sports, on dancers, and singers. In the reign of Shrī
Jaina, the king had bestowed silk dresses on feudatory
chiefs and ministers in order to do them honor ; but
in the present reign when the festivities were carried on
at a great expense, the promoters of the festival and
dancers obtained silk clothes even from ordinary men.
The youthful king, on whom Royal Fortune was prope-
tious, brought in men expert in singing, and enjoyed
music. Jyahāngera the Mārgesha and other courtiers,
versed in music and accustomed to a life of pleasure,
looked like stars before the moon in the presence of the
king. Great actors, skilled in acting, and graceful like
so many moons placed in a row, excited in the king
a desire to see their performance. Jesters were like fun
personified, with their hanging breasts and artificial
beards, with the movements of their teeth and brows,
with their jests and antics, their laughter, and the rolling
of their eyes, expressive of various emotions, and with
their cries, mimicking the cries of animals. Mallā
Hassana, more skilful than his father, first invented the
delightful lute with ten strings, and I held up the
gourd-lute, by the order of the king, and showed my
skill in vernacular and in Persian songs. The king was

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 231
versed in Sanskṛita verses, but was fond of vernacular
songs, and he repeated the following shloka in praise
of music, setting it to music. "The power of music
renovates withered trees, subdues the lower animals, and
makes the gods descend to woods and speak unseen ;
in sorrow and in pleasure, it gives joy to the ignorant and
the learned, to the young, and the old alike ; may
such music abide with me!" With a sweet voice he sang
many high tuned songs of unparallel music and in many
tunes, and surprised us. Then the great king ordered
me, who am the head of a section of the music depart-
ment, to introduce the singers to his presence. I
brought in Vahävadena and others, who were superior
to all, and the leaders among singers, and I named each
of them and placed them before the king. Shikshākāra
and four other singers seemed to spread the influence
of the god of love under the pretence of singing five
tunes. Their charming voice issued from their faultless
throat and pleased all men ; they had studied the art of
singing and were well skilled in instruments, and they
laboured to display their skill. The singers from
Karṇāṭa sat gracefully before the king as if they repre-
sented the six tunes ; viz :-Kedāra, Gauḍa, Gāndhāra,
Desha, Bhaṅgāla, and Mālava. The female dancers of
the king shone beauteously and bright like the lamps
at night, they were inflamed by the god of love and were
young and full of emotion, even as the lamps were fed
by wax, and were new and supplied with wick. The