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

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

232 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
female dancers Ratnamāla, Dipamālā, and Nṛipamāla
danced charmingly displaying emotions and gestures.
The king praised the beautiful actress Ratnamāla, her
forehead marked with tilaka, and he praised her dancing
and owned that she had melted the hearts of all by her
steps and her movements, by her tremour and her ac-
tion. How she commenced the expected dance ! And
how her gestures, her movements, the expression of her
passions, and the swelling song which flowed incessantly
from her throat, inflamed all men ! The vaunt of the
skilful is worthless as straw in comparison with her.
Possessed of loveliness and famed for her beauty, she
was the renovator of men ! Her song was without
a fault, her person was decorated with jewels, her
beauty was great, and she was possessed of merit.
The Creator made her face like the full moon, and
out of a portion of the nectar [ of which the moon
was made ]. The beauty of her face was nectar, and
a drop of nectar hung from her nose in the form of a
pearl pendant. The pearls which hung interwoven in the
locks of hair which fell on the cheeks of the women
were looked upon by the king as drops of nectar melt-
ing away from their moon-like faces ! Thus the youth-
ful king praised the women in presence of his boon
companions, and took cups of wine from them.
Admirable are the kings who devote themselves every
day to learning and to the compositions of poets, who
encourage beautiful women skilled in music and

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 233
overpowering as the five arrows of the god of love,
and who devote themselves to the affairs of the world
and of men. Pavārakadana was celebrated for his
song, his poetry, and his music. He had heard of the
king's fame which was gratifying to his ear, and he came
to Kashmīra from his distant country. He sang songs
composed by himself in the assembly, and the king was
pleased with him, and showered gold on him. He was
skilled in singing duet songs, and once he sang a duet
song named līlā in the vernacular before the king. The
king did not understand it, and I was asked to explain,
and I at once explained it to him from Bharatashāstra
and others. When the king had heard the six verses sung
in a beautiful voice, songs which were delightful to the
ear on account of their music, he became anxious to
hear more. Pavārakadana hesitated while I sang aloud,
and the king remarked to me that Pavārakadana was
vain on account of his abilities, and he directed me to
discuss the subject of music with that musician. I agreed,
and the king initiated the discussion between us. And
when the discussion in the assembly had been closed by
a reference to books on music, and when Pavārakadana
heard me speak about duet song, he expressed his wonder,
and exclaimed that the Kashmīrians were wonderfully
skilful people, knowing all the shāstras. He said so,
and embraced me and freely acknowledged me his
preceptor. When the king found me thus victorious
in the discussion, he was pleased, and favoured me by

234 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
bestowing on me silk robes which made me happy
What has not king Shri Hassana given to me Shrivara,
far beyond my worth? He has issued a proclamation
about me, which, as it emanates from the king, is a
source of pleasure to me. He has given me strong and
swift horses, and thick holy thread, and other beautiful
articles beset with gold and jewels; and he has also given
me beautiful boats with sails, and robes from his own
person, and wealth. Shamsadena was gracious, Alābha-
dena was politic, Shāhābhadena was a hero, and Kudva-
dena was wise. Shri Shekandhara was the favourite of
the Yavána nobles, Ālishāha was liberal, king Shri Jaina
loved all branches of learning and was versed in the
literature of all languages, and king Haidharashāha was
an expert in performances on the lute. But the present
king is a master of music. People observed that every
one of the former kings of this country was famous for
some special qualification, but it is said of the present
king that even Shri Jyahāngira the Mārgesha, and others
bowed at his feet when they heard his melodious and
delightful songs.
Whenever the people of this country forsook their
old customs owing to religious changes, or amassed
money by practising deception, they were generally
punished by calamities such as storm and conflagration,
excessive cold and snowfall, hostilities and diseases.
Once upon a time some merchants of the city, who were
the favourites of the Mausulas but who had followed

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 235
the customs of the Hindus from their birth, killed
cows within the city. But when these wicked men had
eaten the flesh of the kine, the part of the city where
the animals had been slaughtered caught fire as if to
purify itself, and the vihāra there also was in flames.
Then the terrible south-west wind began to blow, and
became unbearable on account of the troubles that it
brought. When these calamities overtook the people
a paṇḍita's son meditated for some nights on the strange
and baneful wind and composed this shloka :— "Afflicted
by clouds that bear the tint of fire, by the sun that has
the hue of the moon, and by the powerful south-west
wind, whither O people ! will ye flee ?" In the year
55 a fire suddenly broke out at one end of the cow
market at Pravareshapura and extended its devastations
to the side of the Gulikāvāḍhikā. In a moment the
city was consumed, and looked like a burnt forest.
From the great masjeda the flaming barks of the
bhūrja tree, carried by the wind, came rushing, like mes-
sengers of calamities, to the place where the Brāhmaṇas
and the mendicants are fed. The Masjeda was a spaci-
ous building, extending on all sides, and was always
white-washed. It was like the embodiment of the fame
of king Shrī Shekandhara. It was within this building
that crowds of worshippers used to fall down and rise
at prayers, imitating the high waves of Sāṅgaravara. It
was here that the Yavanas chanted mantras and looked
graceful, like thousand lotuses with humming bees. It

236 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
was here that on Fridays, worshippers issued from the
four doors on the four sides, so that it seemed as
if the mlechchhas who had been buried were coming
out! It was here that the four high minarets looked
graceful like the supports of virtue, as if virtue had left
his own place and descended to this spot to witness if
the people observed the rules of religion. It was here
that the sun shone like an umbrella of gold, as if he
came hither to listen to the vanities of the world. Such
was the great building which towered to the sky and
was decorated with wonderful sculptures, and which
appeared like a fortress for the preservation of the faith
of the mlechchha king. In a moment the fire, all-des-
troying like the fire at the end of a cycle, left nothing
of that building but its walls. It was here that in times
of edhā and other festivities, the mlechchha people
used to gather in crowds and observe the rites of reli-
gion with devotion. There were houses built by Vah-
rāmakhāna called the Pañchāvāsas, and the fire flamed
wildly over them all and burnt them with a great noise,
even like the Khāṇḍava forest. The flaming barks of
the bhūrja tree fell on the waters of the Vitastā, and the
boats in the river could not be saved from catching fire.
What thousands of houses were burnt on the same day
in the herdsmen's quarter at Surapattana on account
of the destructive wind! One hundred fowlers perished
that day in the waves of the Mahāpadma lake, agitated
by the boisterous wind. The planet Mars predominated

that year, and caste rules were not strictly observed, and
the presiding goddess of the city was exiled from her
house ; hence the whole year proved destructive to
houses. Or was it that the righteousness of the righteous
builders having wasted away, Fate gave an opportunity
to new builders to rise to fame ? The area of the great
building which was burnt down was filled by the king
with new buildings and it looked graceful again, as if
the king’s righteousness manifested itself. The town
that had been burnt down was renewed within a short
time, and the new town was like a young wife to the
youthful king.
If the king’s addiction to evil habits can cause
ruin to this land of snow, the iniquity arising from
mutual jealousies of the great ministers is also capable
of destroying the whole kingdom in a moment.
A kingdom where the seven conditions* are favour-
able, expands in strength and becomes prosperous.
But if in such a kingdom mutual jealousies exist
among the principal ministers, then, it melts away
within a short time, even as the body withers when
attacked by three diseases. The authorities should
guard against such mutual jealousies and then they
need not fear a foreign foe, even as atheist fears no
God. Ministers who violate the above maxim of king
Lalitāditya and excite mutual jealousies perish. It was
on account of the quarrel amongst Malaēsa, Kadaryyā-

• See foot note at page 159.

238 KINGS OF KASHMIRA.
vakhāna, and others, that king Shrī Jaina's kingdom
went to pieces through mutual disagreement ; and from
that time when Shrī Jaina found his kingdom ruined,
no minister has ceased from being jealous of others.
Alas ! that in the king's court no minister repressed
the monster envy, the destroyer of all things ! Neither
the disease which defies treatment, nor the serpent
which possesses powerful poison, nor even the fire is
so dreadful as the disunion among the ministers.
The minister Ahmada, though well versed in the
science of government, became fickle-minded, like
one not possessed of self command. Once Naurūja
and other sons of Ahmada unable to brook the pros-
perity of Tājibhaṭṭa, privately accused him before their
father. They said that among all the ministers Tāji-
bhaṭṭa had monopolized the power to confer favours or
award punishments to men ; that he was haughty on
account of the support he received from the people,
and that he had risen to prosperity for the ruin of the
country. They also alleged that the guardianship of
the prince in the palace had also been given to him ;
and that these circumstances have concurred for
their ruin. They further said that the queen, like
the king, was favourably inclined towards him,
that he was the commander-in-chief of the forces, and
that if he were not destroyed, he would soon oppose
them. When his sons said these things, the
Mallika regarded Tājibhaṭṭa with jealousy, and was

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 239
angry with him, though he had been adopted as
his son. The minister had administered the kingdom
suitably to the requirements of the times, and had
personally looked into the affairs of state, but as the
merit earned in his previous birth was exhausted, he too
gradually lost his sense. Those who serve their master
by being attentive to his work and sacrificing their own
interest, suddenly follow a different line of conduct
when the time of their destruction comes nigh. Mallika
devised various plans intending to do mischief to
Tājibhaṭṭa. At one time, he spoke thus in anger, in
the king's court :—" What avails it, O King ! that you
have obtained this kingdom while the surrounding
countries are overspread with enemies? No one takes
heed of that. Allow me to march out against the
enemies according to my discretion as long as they
remain undestroyed. Give me this order O master !"
Tājibhaṭṭa was eager to undertake some bold
adventure, so when he heard this, he also asked the
king to place a general of the army under him, so that
he might march out. When the king heard this, he,
by the advice of the Mallika, furnished Tājibhaṭṭa
with an army, and sent him out of Kashmīra. Tāji-
bhaṭṭa's servants followed him with great din and
noise, in fear and in gladness, even as black bees
follow their chief.
When the king of Rājapurī and Atyabhadeva and
the men of the Madra country saw the

240 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
costly and well equipped army, adorned with
royal insignia, they wondered. The people of Madra,
of small stature, were pleased at the approach of
Tājibhaṭṭa ; they became unruly, left their ruler
Tattārakhāna and came to him, thus causing a division
among themselves. Tājibhaṭṭa created some confusion
in Tattārakhāna's country by burning down masjedas
which had been built by the Khāna at Shrīgalakoṭa
and other places. As Tājibhaṭṭa was born of an ordi-
nary family, the people believed he had no worth in
him, but nevertheless through his devotion to his
master he performed acts which were not expected of
him. He reduced the herdsmen of Purapattana,
until their power existed in name only, and his own
prowess became irresistible like that of the sun.
He reduced many petty chiefs to vassalage, and per-
formed many deeds of courage and of severity, and there-
by inspired terror in the celebrated kings of Dili and
other places. He soon returned to his country with
wealth and horses. In the interests of his master a
minister sometimes looks on his own son as his foe
and shelters his bitter enemy as his son. Deceived by
fate, the Mallika disregarded this maxim, and unable
to brook the prosperity of Tājibhaṭṭa resolved on humilia-
ting his pride.
The minister thought that Tājibhaṭṭa was strong on
account of the affection which the king bore towards
him, and was oppressing all men. He was therefore afraid

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 241
of Tājibhaṭṭa and was angry with him, and caused the
king to be jealous of him. At this time the king's little
son named Hossana was [taken away from Tājibhaṭṭa
and] made over to Malleka Nauruja to be brought up.
Tājibhaṭṭa was returning with his troops when he heard
of this disregard of the king's obligation towards him, and
he felt his influence diminished. When he arrived with
his army, the fickle minded king, now devoid of affection
towards him, did not accord him due honors. The
Mallika however was unable by his own endeavours
to do any injury to Tājibhaṭṭa, and he accordingly
planned to bring back the Saidas who had left the
country. He represented to the king that the Saida had
given his daughter to the king, and she had borne him
sons, and that the family of his father-in-law ought
to receive his protection ; and he therefore suggested
that the Saida should be brought back. Bent on pleasing
the king, Ahmada despatched encouraging letters to the
Saidas in the country of the king of Ḍilli. When a
person becomes fortunate, his people assert their supe-
riority over others by wicked and evil means. Why do
not foolish men grasp this maxim and conduct them-
selves accordingly, and why do not powerful and pros-
perous men overcome the whole world by means of good
counsel? People ask themselves such questions, and
attribute all things to fate. Sagacious men remarked
that since the Mallika was bringing the Saidas back
after having once done them injury, they would even-
21