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

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 347
daughter on him, and he being thus related to the Mār-
gesha by marriage. But the son of the Mārgesha was
hostile to him, and the powerful Utsa Malleka, whose feet
were tied with an iron chain, was fouly murdered by the
son within five or six days. Like Utsa Malleka,
Bhaṭṭārjuna had fought in the field with the armed
enemies; he was now imprisoned, and was the last of
the rebels. A deep gloom, like that when the moon is
devoured by the powerful Rāhu, spreads even over
the face of the sun when men are engaged in mutual
hostility. The people loudly lamented for Utsa Malleka
as if he were their father. Wicked men walked about
at night and began to infest the country, piercing the
dense darkness with their eyes. In that year the villagers
were doubly unfortunate, the ministers who heard their
petitions were both deaf and dumb !
Mahammada reigned for nine months and nine days.
Once he went out of the capital, when Phatihashāha,
on receiving encouragement, came in. The king
bestowed the post of the minister on the Pratīhāra
Jyahāṅgīra, and he gave the great estate of the Siddhā
country to Rājāna Shṛiṅgāra. He had become king
by his own efforts, and he gave Kācha Chakra the
authority over the arsenal of his own will. Kācha-
Chakra was strong, and his prowess was like the rays
of the sun. Surely Kācha Malleka was an incarnation
of Indra and of Vishṇu, since throughout his life he
was graced with kingly fortune. The heroic Kañchana

348 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
was born of Hosana Chakra who was the cause of the
battle in Kramarājya, even as Rāma was born of
Dasharatha.
The king's mind was turned to virtuous deeds owing
to return of virtue in the people, or perhaps because
the king knew that he was to remain in the kingdom
for a short time only. He kept his actions under control
as if he were a servant. He prohibited the execution
of the inscriptions on copper plates. He ordered the
bones of the Hindus who had been dead to be collected
and taken to the Ganges, so that the outrages of the
mlechchhas on them might be prevented. The people
had deposited the bones in the Ganges and were
returning when they were suddenly overtaken by storm
and rain on the way, and they perished to the number of
ten thousand. But I think that the river Ganges was
oppressed with hunger, and as it was after a long time
that she had devoured bones, she surely devoured the
the men also who had carried the bones. Those who
had recourse to their legs escaped with but little of their
life left in them ; they reached home, but perished
through the influence of fate.
In the autumn of the year 91 the Mārgapati again
came from Vāngila accompanied by Mahmadashāhi.
Phatāhashāha with his army stationed himself at the
village of Vāngila, and his troops marched out to fight
with the powerful enemy. The virtuous son of the
Mārgesha was the leader of the army, and while fighting

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 349
hotly with the enemy in the field, he joined the company
of the women of heaven, (died). There exists in this
world only one part of virtue, out of four, in the Kali
yuga, but the son of the Mārgesha had made that virtue
four legged in the shape of the great towers of the masoda.
Surely Kārkoṭanāga had devoured the Mārgapati in anger
so that the Nāga might go from and return to Karkoṭa
hill every year without any obstruction. The plans of
Abdāla Malleka, Luhara, and other sons of the Mārgapati
were discovered by the king, and they fled to different
countries. As by chance the hand comes across a hole
in a cloth, and that which was torn but half a cubit before
is enlarged, even so misfortunes come upon sinful people.
An epidemic which was as it were the wife of Death
broke out on all sides, and it caused sickness, tumults,
and destruction of men. The number of the dead could
not be counted either in villages or in the capital. Men
could hardly get a piece of torn cloth at their last moment.
Friends did not weep for friends, what of sorrowing
for others ? Anxious for themselves, some managed to
save their lives, for as yet they were destined to live.
Now when the epidemic disappeared from the country,
through the influence of fate, men heard the news of
Mahmadashāha's arrival into Kashmīra. Mahmadashāha
set out from Noushāhāra accompanied by Luhara,
and obtained a large force from Eskandara, lord
of Gaja. He wished to take possession of Kash-
mīra, and he came bringing with him the sons of the
30

350 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
Mārgesha, and reached the country of Rājapurī.—All
this the king heard from his spy, and though he was
alarmed at this bad news, his former enemies and all the
ministers wished for the arrival of Mahmadashāha.
Kācha Chakresha and Rājāna Shṛiṅgāra went to Sūrapura
with their troops in order to wait the arrival of the new
king. The fate of the reigning sovereign began to waver,
and his servant Ālemera took refuge with the enemy.
This man was of Shāhibhaṅga country, a foreigner, and
had no one to help him, in consideration of these cir-
cumstances the king had prospered him, even as his son,
by giving him villages, gold, and other gifts. Phatāha-
shāha set out from the capital in order to give battle,
supported by only one minister, the Pratīhāra Jyahāṅ-
gira. When the army of Phatihashāha was encamped
at Kroshāṇaka, the keen sighted soldiers understood
the hostile movements of the enemies, and they went
to meet them at Sūrapura and there to fight with them ;
but they found there the bed of heroes, (died). Phatāha-
shāha fell from his horse while watching the battle, but
he was protected by the ministers, for he was a king,
and out of love which they had previously borne towards
him. Thus in the month of Āshvina, in the year 92,
the king was deprived of his kingdom after having
reigned in it for one year and one month. Phatihashāha
was then driven by the ministers to the outer country of
Lohara across hills of Chaṭikāshāra.
The fortunate Mahmadashāha being victorious felt

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 351
greatly elated, and re-entered Kashmīra with the army
of the lord of Gaja. As the powerful elephants, the
gifts of the lord of Gaja, ascended the mountains on
the way, they appeared as moving hills to the soldiers.
The people's cry of victory for the king was redoubled
by the neighing of horses, the grunting of elephants,
by the noise caused by the flapping of the elephants'
ears, and by the sound of drums. Victory be to the great
and the wise king, who is like Balarāma renowned for
the strength of his arm, the beautiful, the merciful, and
graceful as the letters of his name. Glorious on account
of his powers, prosperous among his countrymen, poss-
essor of extensive territory, his countenance is like
the sun, and who by the administration of justice
raised the people of Kashmīra, who had before been
oppressed by injustice. Let victory always attend Mereja
Haidhara Mahammada, who, like Nausharavana, is wise
in speech, and who was born on earth to perpetuate the
works of former kings which had for a long time lain in
a delapidated condition at Satīsara.
The king imprisoned Rājāna Shṛiṅgāra, and thought
of turning out Abdāla Mārgapati from his post of
minister. The powerful Chakresha Kāñchana accepted
the post of the chief minister, by his orders, though
Ālemera and others had asked the king for it. Having
appointed ministers for the administration of the king-
dom the king felt himself free. He divided the people
who lived in forest into different sections, and went out

352 KINGS OF KĀSHMÍRA.
of the country. Now Luhara Mārgapati and Rājāna
Nosaka, bent on hostile purpose, collected an army and
entered Nāgrāmakoṭa. The whole country trembled at
this bad news because the king was absent from the king-
dom, men suffered from cold in winter, and the ministers
were not known to the people. Not knowing what
to do, Chakresha soon brought to his help the great
warrior Malleka Jyaṅgira who was honored by a public
proclamation. The powerful Luhara and Nosaka re-
mained at Nāgrāmakoṭa for a month, and then went
one morning in anger to the city of their enemies in
order to fight with them. The soldiers of Kācha
Chakresha also marched towards their foes, and they
fought with one another at Jāladraṃgaḍa. Luhara
Mārgapati retired after fighting, but Rājāna Nosaka
sacrificed his life in the battle, and enjoyed the
company of the women of heaven. Nājoka Mārgapati
and others cut off Kācha Chakresha’s fingers, but they
perished like insects in the fire. The great warrior
Devarāvatra was retiring from the field when he was
killed by Chakra’s soldiers on the banks of the Mārī
river. Kācha Chakra survived this battle ; he was like
Karṇa and Arjuna, and all the people knew him as the
saviour of the country. This great hero, this minister
Kāñchana Chakra, whose fingers were cut off in that
battle, looked as beautiful as if he were made of
gold.
Now the king satisfied the other kings [who had

helped him to conquer Kashmīra], by gifts and honors,
took leave from them, returned to his kingdom, and
governed it well. Within a year the Malleka Ladda-
bhaṭṭa and other powerful men were thrown into prison
by the minister Chakresha ; and when the king had
been thoroughly brought under control, Kāka Chakra
was pleased with Malleka Jyaṅgira and gave his in-
telligent son Khāna Ebrāhima the possession of the
Siddhā country. This was done in the month of
Shrāvaṇa, in the year 94.
Now in times gone by Shiryya a twice-born had
planted * * as it were the creeper of his karma. On
the approach of winter * * it was watered by the good
Brāhmaṇa Shrī Nirmmalakaṇṭha. Then at the time of
the mlechchha oppression, Kaṇṭhabhaṭṭa and others
held a council and was able to avert the disgrace
which such oppression begat. Khujjāmerāhmada, on
the other hand, by devoting his life to the service of
Kācha Chakra and by giving him wealth, induced him,
who was alarmed at the work of Nirmmalakaṇṭha and
others, to give him permission to act against them ;
and actuated by the mlechchhas, caused them to be
murdered. * * O ! Brāhmaṇas where in this Kali
yuga are your Brāhmaṇical spirit and practice ? It was
for want of these that the sorrowful and the affrighted
Nirmmalakaṇṭha and others were killed. The oppression

* There is a blank here in the text

354 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
of the Mausulas which began in the time of the Saidas
was made prominent by Somachandra, and was per-
fected by Kāka Chakra.
' Now in the month of Shrāvaṇa, in the year 95, the
great king Phatāhashāha, the moon among sovereigns,
died in a country outside Kashmīra. Mahmadashāha did
not take his meal on the day in which he heard of this
event, nor did he sleep, or bathe, but spent his time in
thinking of that king. Where could be found a king
like him experienced, truthful, patient, a great politi-
cian, a lover of men of worth, and one who loved his
servants ? The king was born in a country outside
Kashmīra, and he died there. The work of fate is
extraordinary ! The corpse was then placed in a litter
and was brought here within a few days, by his ser-
vants and chiefs, in order to give it its last funeral rites.
The king, attended by his ministers, placed the de-
ceased sovereign in the ample burial ground of king
Shrī Jainashāha and others, where the crystal grave-stones
lay like images ; and performed the rites befitting a king,
and laid the body under the ground. What exertions
does not a king make in order to preserve his kingdom ;
and to root out from it men of violent temper, powerful
persons, and wicked servants ; and to support his own
ministers ? But alas ! when fate forsakes him, he is over-
whelmed by a tempest of misfortune, and is overthrown ;
and like a tree he is tossed about, and he falls. Or
why did this king kill his own ministers Saiphadāmara

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 355
and others, and die surrounded with difficulties? Alas!
Alas! the vissisitudes of time!
This is the account of Phatāhashāha's going to
heaven.
Then came the noble minded Rājāna Shṛingāra, and
as if out of affection for the king who had gone to
heaven, he followed him. Eskandhara the king of the
country outside Kashmīra, the lord of Gaja, also went
to heaven about this time in order to see Indra. On the
death of Phatāhashāha, Chakra Nāyaka became afraid of
Malleka Jyaṅgira, Mera Khujyāhmada, and others; of
Ebrāhema Khāna, Shṛiṅgārabhaṭṭa, and others, who were
of the party of the late king; they were in the capital;
and in the month of Vaishākha, in the year 96, Chakra
Nāyaka caused them to be arrested. Chakrapati gave
Siddhā and other districts to the noble minded Rājāna
Hosana, the favoured of fate; these estates had be-
longed to the persons who were imprisoned. Unable
however to brook the prosperity of Hosa Rājānaka,
Chakresha, the chief among the intriguers, threw him into
prison within three months, and became free from fear.
He pleased his friends Malleka Chakra, Seraṅga, Tāje-
mera, and others, and fully gratified them by publishing
a proclamation of their dignity in the kingdom.
In the year 97, in the month of Jaishṭha, Malleka
Abdālaka and other sons of the Mārgesha joined the
people of the country, they took Eskandara Khāna the
son of Phatihashāha with them, and came with an army

356 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
from country outside Kashmīra. They desired the pros-
perity of the family to which they belonged. But when
the powerful Chakresha Kâcha heard of their arrival, he
took the king with him and went to Laulapuroḍḍāra,
with the view to fight with the Mārgapatis. The ene-
mies had a small force with them, and when they saw
the large army of Chakra, they fled in fear of their lives
at the close of the night to the fort of Nāgrāma which
was difficult of access. The army of Chakresha followed
the Mārgapatis. Chakresha stationed many soldiers on
the grounds attached to the fort, and warriors from
both the armies came out and shouted in the field of
battle, and covered the earth and sky with the dis-
charge of their arrows. At this time Jyahāngera
Pratīhāra entered Luhara with his army, and accom-
panied by Gadāyamera and Vahadoramera. When
Chakrapati saw the enemy's troops together, and both
above and below him, he sent his son Masoḍa Chakra
against Luhara. This heroic Mīr Masoda, accompanied
by Tāja Chakra, arrived at the town of Shāhābhadena,
with the intention to fight with the enemies. When
he came in sight, the soldiers of the other side wel-
comed him to the field of battle, and they fought with
him. The hero Mīra Gadāya avoided the arrows
discharged by Masòdamera, which were like the banners
of his kingly fortune ; and when the son of Chakra fought
like the son of Arjunna there was no bowman among the
enemies who could stand firmly on his ground. One named

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 357
Arjuna Rājānaka then thus addressed the soldiers :—"Do
not, O ! mighty warriors, flee from the battle overcome
by enemies and leaving aside the virtue of heroes, but
march forward in phalanx." The soldiers marched forward
and entered the battle field, even as insects enter the fire.
After fighting with these great warriors Masoda was
returning with his army, when Gadāyamera received
the love of the women of heaven, (died) ; and when these
women saw that Puṣhpasāyaka, the son of Chakrī, had
been made a leader of the army, they soon snatched
him up from the field of battle. When the soldiers who
had been following him saw their leader killed, they ran
towards Masodamera and wounded him with an arrow
in his eye. Pierced in the eye by the arrow, Masoda-
mera, the chief among the bowmen, the son of Chakrī,
was killed, and he fell on the ground, and his soldiers
dispersed at his death, even as when the central
jewel in a necklace is broken the pearls in it are
scattered about. Among the enemies, Hosa Rājānaka,
Gājamera, and Shṛiṅgārabhaṭṭa were captured in that
battle, and were killed by wicked men. The army
of the Pratīhāra was destroyed ; it entered the town
and stayed there for two days, after which it went out
of the country in the same manner as it had come in.
The grief caused by the death of such a heroic son,
killed in the battle by the enemies, cast a gloom over
the mind of Kācha Chakra. When Tāja Chakra and
others of his relatives saw their leader thus sorrow-

358 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
ful, they asked him not to be dejected. Kācha Chakra
was not quite overcome with grief for his son, and he
issued orders to fight with the army of the Mārgeshas
stationed in the fort on the opposite bank of the river.
The soldiers of Kācha Chakra were eager to fight with
those of the enemies, but the people of the village in
their sorrow did not know how to act. The valour of
the Mārgeshas was well known; but when they saw
that the strength of Chakresha was directed against them,
they retreated with the Khāna. When the army had
gone away in the manner it had come, the victorious
Chakresha, accompanied by the king, but oppressed
with sorrow, entered the capital. This powerful minister
saw the hero Daulata, patient, possessed of worth, and
foremost among warriors, and he felt no fear, but gave
him, who was his brother's son and who was skilful in
wielding the bow, all his deceased son's villages and
estates.
Now in the year 98, the Mārgapatis took the prince
Habhebha Khāna with them and again came from the
Chaṭikāsāra hill. By the time they had stationed their
forces at Tāmasīmarugāsthāna, the soldiers of Malleka
Kācha Chakra entered Sandhapura. As the Mārgapatis
had but a handful of soldiers, and as they had once ex-
perienced the valour of the Chakrīs, they did not des-
cend from the mountain road into any village. The
soldiers of the Mārgapatis were less in number than
those of Chakresha, and from among them again Eda

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 359
Rājāna son of Somarāja came out and took shelter
with the army of Chakrī. The Mārgapatis very much
felt this treachery of their friend when they came to
hear of it, and they cast aside the evil spirit of a hope
and returned by the same mountain road. Their army
divided itself into hundred different parts at the hill
named Mitradroha (treachery of friends), and united itself
again at Vāhyapalvala, and thence it went away. Habhe-
bha Khāna was taken ill and died in the way. His
followers placed the corpse in a litter and brought it to
Kashmīra. Last rites were given to it on the burial
ground; and the noble minded ministers placed the body
in a hollow in the ground by the side of his father.
The enemies who could not have been driven away
by means of arms, were thus, on the advent of Kācha
Chakra's good fortune, expelled by means of finger nails.
Malleka Jyangera, who was to the family of the Pratī-
hāra as the moon is to the sea, perished by fire in a
country outside Kashmīra. Chakrī then brought the
Mārgapatis Abdāla, Luhara, and others into the
country, and they came for the purpose of forming a
marriage alliance. For instance the Mārgapati Luhara
gave his daughter to Malleka Kācha Chakra, as if
Sachī was given to Indra. Chakresha gave his
daughter to Malleka Abdāla, but the father lost his
affection for his daughter shortly after the marriage.
Tāja Chakra then married the daughter of Mārgapati
Abdāla, as if Kandarpa married Rati. Kāñchana Chakra

360 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
raised the dignity of the Mārgapatis by frequentlyi ssu-
ing proclamations in the kingdom regarding them, and
by giving them large gifts, and bestowing honors on
them ; and love between the Mārgeshas and the Chakrīs
became stronger every day. But impelled by fate, that
love was banished by a friend named Riga Chakra.
It was at this time that king Ebhrāhema of Hastinā-
purī was overthrown by Vābhora of Kāmbhoja, the king
of the Yavanas ; but the expectations of the heroic
followers of the lord of Gaja, who was besmeared with
dust of battle, were never fulfilled.
The harmony that had existed between the 'mily of
the Mārgesha and that of Chakresha was destroyed by
Riga Chakra and Ālimera who were tale bearers ; even as
a lamp supplied with oil is quenched by water. Chakrī's
mind was inflamed with anger, but it was cooled by the
arrest of Riga Chakra, even as fire is quenched by water.
In the year 3, the Mārgapatis, their affection now
alienated from the Chakrīs and themselves encouraged
by Alemera, encamped at Chireḍḍāra. When the king
learnt what the Mārgeshas had done, he consulted
Chakrapati and placed his own troops at Jāladraṁgaḍa
with the view to fight with the enemies. The soldiers
of the Mārgeshas were determined to fight, and were not
to be brought over by reconciliation, gift, or by any other
means, nor could they be brought back from the posi-
tion they had taken by any person in the army of
Chakrī. Chakresha fought with them at Shalasthala,

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 361
Pālaḍa, and in other places, and for a hundred days
he remained without any fear. But one night the
king issued from the army of Chakrī and went to
Yāṭikātala in Lahara, and Kācha Chakra left Kashmīra
in fear. This dispute between the Mārgapatis and
Chakresha 'was like a desert tract in which the wise
Ālemera caused flowers and young plants to grow.
When the angry minister Chakresha had gone to
Hinduvāṭa, the king reigned in the country surrounded
by the Mārgapati ministers. Chakresha had his army
with him, and like Shrī Jainashāha, he exacted tri-
bute from petty chiefs with tact. His heroic brothers,
Tāja Chakra and others, killed the Muggulas in a fight
at Lahara and in other places and performed deeds
befitting their youth. Chakresha believed that all this
was the effect of the intrigue of the heir-apparent, and
like a huge serpent he surrounded Eskandhara on all
sides. When the king saw Chakrapati's boldness, he
caused him to be brought into Kashmīra in the summer
of the year 4.
It is well known in the world that the father, the
brother, or the son of a king is his enemy, on account
of his desire to take possession of the kingdom. Other
enemies can do nothing worse. The Mārgapatis who
knew of this danger of kings went with their army to
country outside Kashmīra by the Kichāshrama road.
But when Chakrapati arrived, bringing with him Eskan-
dara Khāna, who was like a hawk among his enemies,
31

362 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
the king became glad, for he thought that his king-
dom had now become free from danger. Eskandara was
not destined to see the world again, he was carried into
the palace by the servants of the king, and his lotus-like
eyes were put out. Cruel men extracted the eyes of the
prince, by the order of the king, even as the hawks do of
the deer. And even as the cranes behave towards the
deer so did they behave towards the prince. The pain
which he then felt could not be described ; but the curse
of the prince's parents, or it may be of the prince himself,
was realised on the relentless servants of the king who
had acted with great cruelty towards the prince.
Chakreksha knew that the Mārgapatis were stationed
at Kīrtyāshrama, he therefore went from Varāhamūla and
entered Shrīnagara. He then crossed the river, and the
two armies met, as if to see who gains and who loses
the battle in which many men perished. Malleka Dau-
lata, son of Chakrī's brother, arrived at night after cross-
ing the hill, and drove out the chief of the Mārgapatis
from the country. Meyā Mera the chief of the Mārga-
patis was unable to travel by the road, and some armed
soldiers perished in the way. Thus when the Mārgapatis
had fled in fear, and were perishing, Mahammada Shāha,
surrounded by the Chakrīs, went into the city.
A foolish man feels happy when his enemy is
destroyed, even like a fire that is quenched ; but it
sometimes happens that a great fire bursts out from his
house ! King Mahammada Shāha was to be deprived of

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 363
his kingdom by his own son ! O strange are the works
of fate !
The king had placed his son Ebrāhima Khāna as a
hostage in the house of the lord of Gaja. But there
scattered by the tempest of a battle with the Turuṣhkas,
the soldiers of the prince escaped with their valuable
lives, as by a boat in a sea. It was because the
prince was destined to obtain a kingdom hereafter, that
he escaped with his life from that battle. He grew in
the affection of his father and came to Kashmīra. In
the meantime Chakrapati intended to usurp the
kingdom, and his evil design afflicted the king
even like cholera ; and as a physician treats a
difficult disease by strong measures, even so Chakrapati
in anger cast the king's confidential persons Malleka
Laddabhaṭṭa and others into prison. Now Ālimera had
been confined in the house of Tāja Chakra ; but one
night Ālimera's followers deceived the guards, took him
out of the prison, and removed him to a distance. Chakra
became angry with Mahammada Shāha on account of his
ill behaviour and harsh and abusive language and set
him aside in a few days, even as Rāhu obscures the
moon during eclipse. Thus was king Mahammada
dethroned after reigning in Kashmīra for eleven years,
ten months, and ten days. The pain which the Khāna
had endured on his being blinded was now borne by the
king on his being deposed. Virtue bears fruit in time,
but the effect of plucking out the prince's eyes was seen

364 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
without delay. Chakri then sent the king to a place
named Gaggaḍa in the country of the Khashas.
Thus the dethronement of Mahammada Shāha took
place.
I bow to Mahādeva who is the cause of the creation,
the preservation, and the destruction of the universe ;
who is the bridge by which to cross over our sea-like
worldly existence ; and who is in himself Brahmā, Vish-
ṇu, and Rudra ;
Kāñchana Chakra then raised the son of Mahammada
to the kingdom, and named him Ebrāhima Shāha.
He took possession of the money derived from taxes,
and with it he undertook to manage the kingdom. He
thus raised his post of minister to glory. He gave the
estates of Nāgrāma and others, which were worthy of
kings, to Tāja Chakresha, Meyyā Mera, and to his other
younger brothers.
Now in the country outside Kashmira, the angry
Mārgesha Abdāla went in search of service to Merja
Vābhora, king of Dilli, and the chief of the Muggulas.
This king of the Turushkas observed the external and the
mental emotions of the Mārgapati, heard what he had to
say of his work, and for a short time held down his head
in wonder. He understood the worth of that chief mi-
nister, and gave him one thousand valiant soldiers. In
the month of Vaishākha Chakrapati, who shone in his
own valour, heard of this news which had spread itself in
the country of Pañchamahāyana. The Chakris were in

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 365
the enjoyment of the pleasures of heaven on earth when
the great Mārgapati warriors Malleka Abdāla, Mārgesha
Luhara, and others crossed the mountains, and soon came
within Kashmīra from Vāngela, accompanied by the
Muggulas Shikhāla Bhega, Mahmoda Khāna, and others.
They united themselves together, placed Nājoka son of
Phatāha Shāha at their head, and halted in the desert of
Pratāpapura well prepared for battle. . When Chakrapati
heard of this, he stationed his soldiers at Nīlāshva, and
the warriors came out from the two armies and dis-
played their devotion to their masters. As birds spread
themselves over the sky, even so did the enemies and
the mlechchha soldiers cover all sides, so that Chakra-
pati, though supported by his army, could not move a
step. At this time a messenger arrived and conveyed
the following message of the Mārgesha to Chakrapati :—
"O Chakrapati ! I have for my help brought in these
followers of king Mereja Vābhora who by his own valour
has made the petty kings in foreign countries his tribu-
taries, and who has killed the illustrious and powerful
Ebrāhima the lord of Gaja, surrounded as he was by five
hundred thousand soldiers ; now gather up your strength
for battle." When the letter carrier had thus said,
Chakresha replied as follows :—"Dilli is not your country
neither are we the inhabitants of Kashmīra, you will
derive no benefit from the country of the powerful
Muggulas."
Now the heroes and the strong and powerful

366 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.

men who wielded bows,—Ebrāhima Khāna, Seraṅga,
Mera Malleka Tājaka; as also Malleka Luhara and
others on the side of the Mārgesha; and Riga
Chakresha Malleka, and the mlechchhas Shikhi Bhiga,
and others were determined to show how the battle
of the Kuru-Pāṇḍavas was fought. The heroes proud of
the strength of their arm issued out for battle. The
great warrior Riga Chakresha hurrled a spear against the
enemies but it was broken by Tāja Mera a man of uncom-
mon prowess. Mera Seraṅga struck with his sword,
but his enemy Luhara Mera felt it as if it were a blow
caused by a flower. Thus the great warriors fought
with one another in this great battle; they filled all
sides with valour even as musk does with sweet scent.
At this time Tāja Chakresha with his soldiers joined the
battle, his banner fluttering in the breeze as if challeng-
ing the enemies. The battle between the armies of
Chakresha and the Mārgesha raged round him, and as
the combatants fell, there arose the cries of “come,”
“kill,” “stay.” When Mārgapati Luhara saw Tāja Chakra
in the midst of the battle, he came up to him and said,—
“Fight on, what else can you do, what else can man do
than serve his master”? When Malleka Tāja heard
this, he fought with the heroes for a long time, and
then lay on a hero’s bed graced by the women of
heaven. When his career had ended, Meyyā Malleka,
Seraṅga Mera, and other brothers of Chakrī joined the
Muggulas. Chakresha saw the destruction of his army,