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

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 299
possible to take out the body of any particular man from
amidst the heap of dead warriors and soldiers. Those
who had been handsome and stout, and had lived in the
enjoyment of prosperity and pleasures in the kingdom,
now emitted a foul smell in the sun, and became the food
of dogs and crows. There lay like the red flowers of
the cotton tree, the dagger, the knife, the spear, the
club, and the mace, all smeared in blood,—weapons which
had once graced the soldiers in battle. The Mārgapat
remembered that the Saidas had burnt Rudra vihāra, andi
in his anger he caused Alāvapura to be set on fire.
The fire issued from houses in dreadful flame, and with
intolerable heat, and reduced the town to the con-
dition of a burnt forest. The fire, which rose from the
house of the illustrious Saida Hamādānakhāna, was like
the flame of anger for the injury done to the king and to
the subjects. When Bhākara and other chiefs had been
killed, and the others had fled, their Chaṇḍāla servants
began to plunder the city ; and in the confusion which
ensued, those who had been poor from their birth now be-
came rich, and those who had always been rich became
poor. Some searched dead bodies wherever they lay,
and found valuable articles on them, and became happy
even like the mendicants who rejoice in carrying skulls.
Fights took place among those who robbed and stored
the ill-gotten wealth in their houses, even like the fights
of dogs for flesh and bone. What one man had first,
purloined was again robbed from him by another, and

300 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
that was once more robbed from him by a third ; and
thus they behaved like fish. The current of victory
which had flowed alternately in one direction and in
another, now steadily flowed on one side only, and up-
rooted the trees [the Saidas]. The rich citizens, among
whom were many Brāhmaṇas and merchants, who had
been in enjoyment of ease before, were now robbed by
the soldiers, and reduced to poverty. The houses of
the citizens were consumed by fire, and their minds
by constant misery, and many things were burnt
down. Low and wicked men violated the virtuous
daughters and wives of good families and defiled
them, Kotis of wealth had been spent in rearing
houses, in the hope that they would endure to the end
of time, but they were burnt down and became dust
and ashes. On the right side of the river the plunderers,
emboldened by success, behaved like drunkards, some
assailed the people, some yelled aloud, and some
plundered property. Those who had not a vessel before
to drink wine from, now brought, during the season of
festivity, thousands of vessels filled with water from the
city. Some were sorrowful for the death of friends, and
some for the loss of their hoarded wealth ; some grieved
over insults which they suffered, as they belonged to the
defeated party, and others for lands taken away from
them. Many such persons wandered about in grief,
only one per cent of the population was happy. Two
thousand men died, great and low, including those

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 301
who perished in battle or of their wounds, and those
who died in their homes. Thus it happened that in
the year 60, on the first day of the moon, in the month
of Shrāvaṇa, many people died on account of this de-
cisive victory. The first shoot of that tree of mutual
enmity which gradually brought forth leaves and bore
fruits on that day made its first appearance when the
Saidas were murdered. The soldiers pillaged the citizens
every day of their hoarded wealth, and all the inhabi-
tants were robbed of the fruits of agriculture, and were
reduced to misery. In that contest with the Saidas,
a destructive fire arose on all sides at Pravarapura, in
the houses, the gardens, and among the fruit trees.
In the meantime when Ālikhāna and other Saidas,
who had been defeated by the Kashmīrians, heard of
this disaster, they remained attended by only a few
menial servants. Meyā Mahammada killed two or
three persons in the city, but returned to his tent as
there was no bridge. But when the Saidas heard that
Bhākara and others had been killed, they killed two or
three men, and determined to fight again, though they
were in a state of alarm. Tājabhaṭṭa believed that
the Mārgesha would cross over from behind and kill
them, and so he proposed to give him battle there where
they were. This threw the Saidas into disorder.
Meanwhile Rāvatra crossed over from the other side
of the river, skilfully took the Saidas and sent them
to their own homes.
26

302 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
The ministers held a council in the presence of the
boy king, who was now freed from the Saidas, as the
sun is freed from clouds; and the ministers were
agreeable to the citizens, as the breezes are agreeable
to men. The Saidas relied on sinful warriors and
were attached to sin; they were violently against virtue
and the caste system, and were bent on war; and
they had held the kingdom by wicked measures, and
did it harm. The Saidas were like the sons of Kuru
who depended on Duryyadhana and were joined by
Shalla, who were violently against Yudhishṭhira and
were aided by Karṇa bent on fomenting quarrels,
and who grieved Dhṛitarāshṭra by their evil acts.
And like the sons of Kuru the Saidas did not win
victory in battle. The ministers removed the king’s
new residence from Padmapura and repaired the burnt
houses of the Khānas in Shrīnagara. The house of
Bhābhasaida Hamādāma was erected on the bank of
the river, and it seemed as if the unsullied virtues of
the ministers towered in the form of that building.
Then the ministers confiscated all that had belonged
to the Saidas, and exiled Ālikhāna and other Saidas,
with their families, from the kingdom. The ministers
of Kashmīra were of one mind, and Parashurāma and
others received honors, and returned to their country.
The leading men among the Saidas had hoped that by
bestowing the kingdom on a boy they would enjoy
prosperity, and they had accordingly acted in further-

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 303
ance of their own interests. But now that they were
destroyed, others obtained by force the posts of ministers
which the Saidas had held so long. Fate is powerful in
this world, not man.
Jyallāla Ṭhakkura took possession of Nāgrāma and
the other possessions of Meyā Hassana ; and his son
took Lohara and others places. Srī Jyahāngira took
Vāngila which had once been his own, and then
he took Makhūya and other places. Saiphaḍāmara
became master of Mākshāshrama and other places,
and gave other villages to his brothers, befitting them.
Jonarājānaka was in command of troops, and had
become strong and independent, and did not rely on
the help of any one else; and he made himself master
of Parihāsapura. The powerful Ebhrāhima the Mārga-
pati took to himself the possessions of the Dvārapāla,
and gave protection to the servants of the Saidas. The
ministers, like the elements which compose all the
substances of this world, created new things in govern-
ment. One Ṭhakkura was of the party of the Mārgapati,
and another Ḍāmara was of the party of the Rājānaka,
they both became conspicuous like fire. The boy king,
who was like a soul without action, was merely a
witness to the administration which was conducted by
the ministers. They divided the country among
themselves as they liked, and made the king write the
three letters of sanction on the documents. Oppressive
towards others, disliked by the subjects, and sinful

304 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
through the actions of their servants, they felt themselves
happy; they were bent on doing mischief, and they acted
as they liked. Clever in holding their own party together
and in defeating the purposes of their enemies, they
were like debaters well versed in discussion. They
were exempted from the payment of the king's taxes,
and oppressed the country, even as the twelve suns
oppress the world with their excessive heat at the end
of a kalpa. By the plaintive barking of dogs, by the fire
of meteors, and by frequent earthquakes, the trembling
people understood that their calamities had again
returned.
The king being a boy, his officers oppressed the
people, even as diseases harass the body in the
feebleness of old age. A prosperous king is soon
ruined when his officers, his chief supporters, quarrel
among themselves through jealousy, even as the body
is destroyed by its disordered components. Men who
were sharp like thorns, and adept in seeking flaws in
others, became the favourites of the royal officers, even
as prickly vegetables are liked by young elephants.
Such intriguers moved among the officers, and by their
deceit created disunion among them every day, and
increased their enmity towards one another. They
fabricated out of their own imagination, words, which
were never uttered by any one, and such false words
of their servants were pleasing to the officers even like
poetry. Thus the pure minds of the ministers, which

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 305
had reflected one another like mirrors, were dimmed
by the deceitful breath of their servants.
The other ministers were unable to brook the high
position of the Márgapati which had descended to him
from his ancestors, even as Chakravāka is unable to
bear the high position of the moon. The Márgapati
heard his attendants say that while he had fled
through fear of the Saidas, his attendants had killed
them ; but nevertheless he had now become the
principal personage in the king's court, and boastful.
On hearing such remarks, the Márgapati became
indifferent to the affairs of the king through anger
and disgust. Jonarājanaka had rendered himself an
object of the peoples' curse for having plucked out
the eyes of Vahrāmakhāna and on account of the
supremacy which he exerted by the strength of arms.
And this cruel man became among the ministers even
as Rāhu is among the planets by his injustice in
bestowing rewards and inflicting punishments. He
plundered, unopposed, the villages in Chhundānaka
and in other tracts, robbed the people and took
possession of their lands, and made himself master of
those places. During the time of the mutual disunion
among the Saidas, he had robbed the people and
obtained various articles from different places, and
had filled the granaries of his house. This avaricious
man forcibly took away the riches which the people
had earned and saved by their own labour, as if they

306 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
were given to him by Brahmā. He was not satisfied
with destroying men by bringing together his troops ;
but like the submarine fire, the fire of his oppres-
sion was not quenched by the collected waters of the
rivers. When he oppressed men in town or in village
either through jealousy, or without any cause whatever,
no one could save the oppressed from his power. If
any one undertook to protect the oppressed out of
humanity, he was punished in the king's court by
more powerful men than he. Other avaricious officers
oppressed innocent men in their homes, even as
diseases oppress the body. What evils do not speedily
overtake the country where the king is a boy, and his
old supporters are independent and jealous of one
another and break down the administration of the
kingdom ?
Edarājanaka and Ṭhakkura Ahmada who had been
sent to countries outside Kashmīra returned to the city
on the plea of seeing the Mārgesha. But the Mārgesha
had heard certain rumours from his spies about these
ministers and had become alarmed ; he did not go into
the city, but went to his house in fear along with Saipha
Ḍāmara, and passed the night in fear on account of the
foreign soldiers that had been called in. When the
soldiers of whom the Mārgesha was afraid reached his
house, Ahmada Ṭhakkura killed Jonarājanaka in the
morning by the advice of the Mārgesha. Who did not
start in fear when he saw the dead body in the house

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 307
of the Mārgesha,—the blood issuing from the wound
caused by the weapon and moistening the ground?
Some people remarked that Jonarājānaka had bestowed
his daughter on the Mārgesha and had come to his
house under sworn assurance of safety. But never-
theless he was killed. Fie to the lust of enjoyment!
Some again said that ministers perish by violence be-
cause they are unable to tolerate difference in opinions.
Others said that Jonarājānaka with the Madra chiefs
had killed the Saidas, and it was for that crime that
he was killed by his enemies within a year. Vainly
were guards employed! Not one of the thousands
whom he maintained, could save his life at the time
of his death. Enemies rob us of all objects in the
same way in which we acquire them. Wealth wrongly
obtained does not remain long in the house, and when
fate becomes adverse, the officers of the king do not
distinguish between virtue and vice, strength and
weakness, between friend and foe, or between praise
and blame. His son had once advised him to give up
the post of commander of the army, as he could gain
no advantage by means of foreign soldiers; but good
fortune had left him, and he did not accept the advice.
When destruction comes to a luckless man, he loses
a proper regard for his son, and reposes confidence
in his enemy. Thus, Jonarājānaka had always
considered foreign soldiers as his countrymen, and had
believed the heroic soldiers of this country to be

308 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
cowards and foes. That chief among heroes, Saipha
Ḍāmara, had at one time been afraid of the prowess of
Jonarājanaka, and had yielded up his arms. Even
heroism fails at times. Jyāllala Ṭhakkura was shut up
by his own door keepers within the court-yard of the
palace. What means are left when fate becomes adverse?
Even the sun in the sky undergoes changes day by
day, becoming obscure sometimes and bright at other
times. What stability then can there be in the
strength of man who is subject to perplexities?
Strange are the vicissitudes of his power! Masoda
Ḍāmara and others, who had destroyed the bridge of
boats, collected an army as before at Jāladragaḍa.
Sāliya and other Ṭhakkuras were not attached to
Shṛingārasīpha; they went to him separately, but
were thrown into prison. No man's prosperity is
stable! Jerāka a bold servant of Shṛingārasīpha robbed
Ṭhakkura Āhlāda of his horses inside the city, and
went to Rājāpurī. Thus the crime of Jonarājanaka's
murder was aggravated by the imprisonment of his
warriors, even as one's unbearable sufferings from a
disease in the throat are aggravated if his foot is
burnt.
By the time a man gets over one anxiety, fate
creates another for him; when the moon has passed
through its period of wane and arrives at fulness,
eclipse comes in and destroys its beauty! When the
Mārgesha had become free from anxiety and without

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 309
a rival, he heard of the arrival of the son of Ādama-
khāna. I will narrate the account of this Khāna from
his boyhood, how he arrived into the kingdom, and
how he took it. When his father Shrī Jaina died, the
helpless Ādamakhāna went to the Madra kingdom.
While he was living there, his son was born on the
Shivarātrī night at a moment which indicated his
future royalty and wealth. When the boy's father
perished in the battle with the Turuṣhkas, he was
brought up in the house of his mother's father, even
as the moon is reared in the sea of milk. In time,
Tāttārakhāna gave him his protection ; and subse-
quently he went of his own accord to the shrine
of Jālandhara, and spent there a few years. When
Jyahāmgira the Mārgesha was living outside Kashmīra
out of fear of the Saidas, he asked the son of Ādama-
khāna in an artful letter to accept his ancestral kingdom.
When Tāttārakhāna died, his son gave protection for
a time to the son of Ādamakhāna. The latter was
courageous enough to undertake bold deeds ; he deluded
the Turuṣhkas, and came to Grahaṇa country with
numerous retainers. On the other hand, messengers
had been sent from Kashmīra by the Mārgesha, when
Shṛiṅgārasīha, brought him to Rājapurī. The lord of
Rājapurī bore ill will towards the Mārgesha, and with
a view to secure a protector he caused Phatāhakhāna
to be brought to him. Now owing to the murder
of Jonarājānaka, the Ḍāmaras and Edharājānaka,

310 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
Ṭhakkura Daulata and others had departed from
Kashmīra, and had been living at Rājapurī. They
now took shelter under the Khāna, as the black-bees
take shelter in a tree, and the Khāna obtained great
reputation, even as the son of Vupyedeva had obtained
before. Masodanāyaka had the charge of defending
the road, and though he was related by marriage to the
Mārgesha, he went over to the side of the Khāna. The
message of the arrival of the son of Ādamakhāna was to
the poor villagers, oppressed by many masters, like salt
sprinkled on a wound. The guilty, the debtors reduced
to servitude, the thieves, the wicked, and the destitute
were glad to hear the news about the Khāna. Who
did not in village and in town leave his home and kin-
dred and come to him, fixing his hope on his kingly
fortune? The wealthy Khāna received many men who
had come from the country, and obtained fame, and
wished to rival the king. The people from all the king-
doms took shelter with him, discarding others, and they
exclaimed that he was a worthy grandson of king Shri
Jaina. When the thieves and others, who had remained
concealed, heard of him, they jumped out in gladness as
the fishes do in large tanks. But even as a tree is afflic-
ted by insects so was the king afflicted by the thought
that he had not a large army, that when one foe had
been conquered there still existed another mighty anta-
gonist, that the country was besieged by powerful
enemies who had won over the servants and spies of

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 311
the state, that the state horse was unfit for work, and
that the officers of the kingdom took no interest in the
king's affairs.
Jyahāngira who had sent an artful letter to the
son of Ādamakhāna was now glad of his approach, but
when he found out the views of the Khāna he became
anxious. Jyahāngira had accumulated great wealth in
the country by destroying his enemies, and had wished
to enjoy ease, but his ease was disturbed by the tumult
that was now created. The people trembled at the
news of the approach of the Khāna, who was daily
coming nearer, even as trees in the woods tremble in
the storm. The Khāna was bent on conquering the
country, and his crafty and scheming councellors sent
a messenger to the Mārgapati with the following letter :—
"O Mārgapati ! You have in your pride overcome the
valour of all within Kashmīra, and are, like a god, enjoy-
ing fair fame. This Khāna O ! Mārgapati is the chief
of his dynasty whom you have invited by letter from
the country of the Turuṣhkas. Why are you neglecting
him now ? Why are you repenting of what you
yourself have done ? Others are enjoying the power
of the state by placing a boy on the throne. Why
should this person, whose conduct is worthy of his
position and whose character is pure, be kept waiting
outside the country ? Or if you give him his father's
share of the kingdom, then let him stay without and
let the king remain within the realm. But what is

312 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
the use of saying many words if you are not going to
acknowledge him? The sin of the death of the
soldiers who fall in battle on both sides will be on you.”
When the Mārgapati had heard this letter which was
shown to him by the messenger of the Khāna, he
gave the messenger a letter in reply to the following
effect :—“O ! protectors of the kingdom and enjoyers
of kingly fortune, doers of all beneficial acts ! Consider
what is said in the Purāṇa, that Kashmīra is Pārvatī,
and know that its king is born of a part of Shiva. Even
if the king be wicked he should not be slighted by
those who strive for good. Sovereignty is obtained
in this country by religious penance, not by valour.
Why else did Ādamakhāna and others of lenial descent
fail to obtain it? Why did they speedily reap the
punishment of their unworthy acts? The present
king has come to the throne by inheritance, and how
can the Khāna, who intends to usurp the king's power,
be allowed during the life time of the king to enter the
country in order to create a disturbance. This boy
was coronated by others, and was not set up by me,
but who can destroy him at present while I am near?
The Khāna will be honored in every way, if he wishes
to follow our views ; the rising sun receives due honor
when he follows the Dawn. Fortune obtained by
ingratitude does not last long for the enjoyment
of men. The pleasure derived by eating bad food
causes illness. What more should be said, the way

by which the king has been released from the hands
of the Saidas, will be open to him again, for coming
out of the hand of the Khāna. This is the will of fate."
Jyahāṅgira despatched this letter. He was angry
with Masoda on account of his leaning towards the
Khāna, and took away from him the post of warder of
the road. He entrusted the duty of defending the
road to Vahrāmanāyaka and others, and sent Shṛiṅgāra-
rājānaka and others without delay to Sthāma. The
troublesome Masodanāyaka was enraged at being
deprived of his charge of the road, and he arrived at
Sūrapura following the Khāna. Masoda's followers, the
Khashas, and the Ḍombas, who had been deserted by
him, created a tumult in the Maḍava country at every
step. On the other hand the king's army harassed
the army of the Khāna, and the two armies
looked like the two rows of teeth of all devouring
Death. The tumult created by the Khāna was
greater than that caused by the Saidas; it was
like a painful disease of the throat, aggravated by
the burning of the foot. Travellers were attacked by
robbers, the weak were destroyed by the strong, and the
country was reduced to a miserable plight, as if it had
no king. The inhabitants of that part of the country left
their houses in fear, taking with them their kine and
wealth, and went to Dakshiṇapāra and other villages.
The two armies then entered the kingdom of Kṣherī which
with its woodlands was deserted by the inhabitants, and
27

314 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
was devastated by the two armies as by a great fire. On
one occasion, Jeraka and others came to know through
their spies that the soldiers of the king were asleep, and
they attacked their camp. The king's soldiers did not
keep themselves awake, nor employed spies, nor had
learnt to wield their weapons, they fled like beasts
in fear from the camp. Some relatives of the com-
mander of the king's army were alienated from the
king's cause by the enemy. They left the king's army,
took shelter with the enemy, and rebelled against the
king. When differences arise among the strong and
powerful in Kashmīra and the government is paralysed,
then the Khashas who live beyond Kashmīra begin
to rejoice; the people suffer from plunder and
conflagration, thieves accumulate wealth, the enemy
seeks for riches, and the soldiers, heroic and enduring,
desert their cause. When the commander of the army
saw those people rebel, and found that the zeal of his
troops had relaxed, he was struck with fear and fled
from the army; but he was killed by soldiers who
came up from behind. The Khāna was glad of this first-
victory by which he obtained everything. It was by the
advice of Subhāgasīha that the Khāna had come unop-
posed from the Turuṣhka country, but Subhāgasīha was
killed by some unknown person as he was going away
from before the presence of the Khāna.
Now the Khāna, happy and exulting in his victory,
encamped at a place called Maliashilā and collected his

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 315
army with a view to subjugate his enemy.. At Karāla
his soldiers destroyed the powerful soldiers of the king,
and robbed and killed the helpless inhabitants. At
this time, the Mārgapati took the boy king with him
and went out of the city accompanied with troops, in
order to overcome the enemy. During the disturbance
caused by the Saidas, the people had been frequently
plundered of their property ; and they were therefore now
filled with alarm, and they sent away their women from
the city to villages. The city was without a king, and its
wealth had been taken away from it, and it did not
look imposing ; it was like a beautiful woman who
had been robbed. The Mārgapati encamped in a
garden at Gusikoḍḍāra, and his troops cried out against
the insolence of the foreign soldiers. But when he
heard that the Khāna was at Kalyāṇapura, he left the
king at Gusikoḍḍāra, divided his army into three
divisions, and came out for battle. When he arrived
at the extreme boundary of the village of Drābha in
Sakhānamaruga, he found himself in the neighbourhood
of the Khāna, and he remained there in great anxiety.
Vaidūryyabhaṭṭa, whose power was irresistible at Chakra-
vāṭa and other places in Kramarājya, stationed himself
on the mountain road on the west. The sons of
Gakkarāja and others, with Pirvaja the Pratīhāra,
came forward and manèuvered as on a chess board. On
one side the sons of Masodanāyaka, accompanied by
the Kashmīrian and the foreign soldiers, came out of

316 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
their ranks in order to fight. The soldiers, armed
with sword and shield, approached with shouts, and
moved in array, as the swans do across the sky.
Ahlāda Ṭhakkura's phalanx engaged them as they
advanced to the front, but his troops were defeated.
Armed men shouted like thunder, and their arms
flashed like lightning, and they came out with shields
for battle. The field of battle was uneven and muddy,
and the roads leading to it were difficult to traverse,
but the soldiers came to it as if it were their own home.
When the army of Ahlāda Ṭhakkura saw the foreign
troops, and the waving of their shields, they lost heart,
and like sparrows fled afar. Ahlāda Ṭhakkura could not
stay the broken and the fleeing army, which was like a
river that had broken its embankment. Some of them
ran crying 'I will flee,' 'I will flee', and died of the wounds
they received ; and thus they paid with their life the wages
they had received. Their bodies were besmeared with
blood, and lay on the field of the sāli crop, and looked
like beasts that had been sacrificed on fields during
some religious ceremony. The army of the Khāna
which came from the south-west and broke the king's
force, even as the wind breaks the trees, was like a
tempest that destroyed men. Some Kashmīrians
perished by the flame like arms of the foreign soldiers,
as if they sacrificed their persons in fire. What is the
use of mentioning the names of those who fled to save
themselves, when they saw the array of troops reduced

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 317
to the condition of a herd of animals by fear ? The
owners of estates, who had figured in the royal court,
were now struck with fear such as they had never felt
before, even like men who had never used arms. Only

• • • • obtained praise by dying like a
        hero. Three or four of his followers who wished
        to go to heaven fell in battle and went there before him.
        The great army of the Khāna having routed the survi-
        vors returned, and appeared before the Mārgapati mis-
        taking him to be of their own party. Hassana Mīra and
        other heroes who were determined to conquer sought
        Masodakhāna and were recognised by the soldiers of
        the Mārgapati. Nauruja and others, the five attendants of
        his wife’s brother, together with Gaurabhaṭṭa, were killed
        in the presence of the Mārgapati.
        Fate, that had been long adverse to the Kashmīrian
        army, now became favourable to it, owing to the prow-
        ess of the king or to the commendable firmness of the
        Mārgesha in this battle. He remained fixed with his
        troops like a strong and immovable column of victory.
        Had he retreated but one step from the place, nothing
        of this Kashmīrian army would have remained. As . the
        skill of a physician is observed in a serious disease, even
        so the skill of Shrī Jyahāngira was observed in bringing
        to order the disordered state. In battle, the goddess of
        victory comes pleased to him who in the hour of danger
        possesses indestructible energy, genius, skill in devising
• There is a blank here in the text.

318 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
plans, and fearlessness. He circulated the false rumour
that the Khāna had fallen into his hands, and thus by an
artifice he brought back those who had fled from the
battle. The soldiers returned to the battle field with
shouts in the presence of the Mārgesha, and joined their
party ; even as in spring, the black-bees come to a
garden, humming, on their beautiful wings. Gakka and
others, flushed with victory, killed many men, and plun-
dered the camp of the Khāna of articles left there by
the Khāna after what he had taken away. Evarāhima
Mārgesha was in the front of the battle with his atten-
dants ; he threatened Masodanāyaka and others and
caused them to retreat. Shṛingārasiha and others saw
the formidable army and fled without delay from
Meḍīvana and reached their own country. All the
soldiers of Rājapurī were surrounded by the Kashmīrian
troops, but Gakka, like Gaṇesha, gave them assurance,
and protected them in the battle. The foreigners left
all the amunitions of war behind, and fled, pursued by
the Kashmīrian soldiers. They were plundered by the
Khashas and the Ḍombas who hung on their rear and
greatly harassed them. Some of them lived by eating
the leaves of trees in the wood, and they gave back
all that they had extorted from the villagers, as if the
things had been only deposited with them. Hundreds
of foreigners and Kashmīrians died, some oppressed
with cold and fever, some faint with hunger. Fate
is beyond our comprehension ; and though it is not