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

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. [p. 369]

the post of heir-apparent, in the month of Jaiṣhṭha, on
the tenth day of the bright moon. It was in the summer
of the year 6 that Mahammada Shāha was released
from the house of the Khashas, and was congratulated
as being born again, and was crowned by the minis-
ters. At this time Mereja Vābhora went to heaven,
leaving his possessions to his two sons Homāya and
Kāmarāṇa.
In the year 7, Kācha Chakrapati intended to fight
with the Mārgapatis, and he moved out with his army
from the village of Maurvvāra to a distant place;
and a comet appeared on the west, when he had
departed, as if the west had been his wife and had
held the comet on her head in anger on being deprived
of her love. Mahroma, the general of Kāmarāṇa, came
in the bright fortnight of the month of Kārttika, to
conquer Kashmīra. He was accompanied by Shikhāla
Bhiga, Mahmoda Khāna, and other Muggulas; and
they filled all sides with their strong and thundering
army. When Mahammada Shāha heard of this, he, by
means of the Mārgapatis, soon called in Chakrapati
with proclamations, for his help, and honored him.
The mlechchhas entered the city with thousands of
cavalry, and the Kashmīrians placed their soldiers
within forts. The citizens went out by different ways to
the caverns of mountains in fear, and as the mlechchha
soldiers outnumbered the Kashmīrian warriors, the latter
were destroyed. The Muggulas who had plundered

370 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
Kudvadīna found the beautiful capital empty, and in
anger set fire to the houses and the palace. The warriors
now came out of their forts with a view to fight with
the Turuṣhkas, and they willingly sold their lives, and
they all obtained fame. The cruel Turuṣhkas, the des-
troyers of the Juluchyas, killed thousands of people in
villages, in the capital, and in the kingdom. Then the
Kashmīrian warriors,—the Mārgeshas and the Chakrīs,
made peace among themselves, and drove the Turṣhkas
away, even as the sun's rays drive away darkness.
Thus the ravages of the Turuṣhkas took place.
The warriors now relieved of their desperate task
lived in their own homes. Kācha Chakra was afraid of
the coldness shown by the Mārgeshas towards him, and
he went out of the country. He came again from
Shūrapura, in the summer of the year 8, but finding
that his force would meet with resistance, he went out
in the same manner as he had come.
In the month of Agrahāyaṇa in autumn, Meroja
Haidara and other leaders of Kāskāra* troops of king
Shrī Saida Khāna, came to this country with twelve
thousand cavalry in order to subdue the people of
Kashmīra, even as the hawk comes to prey upon other
birds. They came from Koṭa to Gagana hill, and thence
they entered the capital. The good people were distressd
when they heard of this news; they considered the
ravages of the Kāskāras as being of greater magnitude.

• The country which lies between Chitral and Kaffristhan.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 371
than those of the Turuṣhkas, even as the eclipse of the
sun is, than that of the moon. All living creatures
left the place, and the rows of houses looked like heaps
of corpses, breathless and frightful; and these incen-
diaries conquered the town of Sekandhara in order
to burn it. Hundreds of thousands of low houses
were burnt, and the city that had been populous
before new became like the ground for burning
the dead, fearful to look at with its charred
wood. Where will kings get two such capitals
in which millions had been spent in lime, wood, brick,
and painting? Shrī Jainanagara and Diddāmaṭha, which
had stood like images of the virtues of kings, were
deserted on account of fire. Surely the Muggulas had
evil sprites under their command, for they discovered
the hidden treasures of the citizens in their houses.
The leader of the Kashmīrian army took shelter in the
king's lands which were covered with water, in fear of
the mlechchhas. When the people of Chiroḍḍāra,
Aṅgakoṭṭa, and Chakradhara in Hājya country heard of
the acts of the mlechchhas, they spent three months in
fighting with them. The Khasha Dainyarūpa fought,
but without any effect, with the Kashmīrians who were
stationed near Chakradhara. The Turuṣhkas robbed
the crops, killed the villagers in anger, and made
Maḍavarājya unapproachable. Those persons, young
and old, who reached the level tract of Saṃkhayāshrama,
lived at ease, for they had yet a portion of their

372 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
destined life to spend. It was owing to the evil deeds of
sinful men that calamities had before now visited this
country, such as the ravages of the Juluchyas, and
the battle of Kajjala.
The Mārgapatis headed by Chakresha joined the
king, they came from Chakradhara, crossed over from
the left side of the Ledarī, and pitched their tents near
Bhīmādevi, with a view to fight. In the battle which
there took place Eskandara Khāna, Merja Haidara,
and other great warriors united themselves together
and went against the Kashmīrians; and Mallekālaka
Hosana Mera, Shikhāla, and Kamāla Mera, in the two
armies sacrificed their lives at the foot of Mārttāṇḍa.
Some Kāskārian warriors made a good use of their lives
in the contest with Mallekāla and others, and went to
heaven. Ālimera perished in the battle with the Muggula
chiefs, in the cause of his country. O fools! look at
that death and ever serve your king, and leave aside all
fleeting riches of the world. The Kashmīrian soldiers
fled like Vidura when Ālimera died, though cheered by
Chakresha and the Mārgapati chiefs. The headless
dancing goblins, the Yakṣhas, men, sprites, and Rākṣhasas
were eager to devour human flesh in this field of
battle, which looked like a place crowded with the
followers of a bridegroom. The survivors returned to
their places of shelter from the field of battle where men
had been drunk, as in a garden, with warriors' wine.
Then in accordance with the orders of the king,

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 373
Chakresha and the Mārgesha, great on account of their
valour, held a consultation, and established peace with
the Muggulas. The Muggulas took nine pieces of
cloth, and a green coloured letter marked with the
words ‘Katephasohasaglata’ in Mausula character and
language. They returned from the presence of the king,
exulting with joy; they carried some idiotic men and
woman in the van of their army, but Hassana Mera took
pity on the idiots, released them, and brought them
back from the neighbourhood of Puṣhyat. Then in the
year 9, in the month of Jyaiṣhṭha, the Muggulas re-
turned to their country, taking with them by force the
wealth of the people, and by treaty the daughter of the
king. In this way calamity befell the sinful people
in the Satīsara country, and a comet was seen continu-
ally in the sky on the east and on the west.
Thus the ravages of the Kāskārians took place.
Stars fell from the sky on the fields where the full
harvest of rice was ripening, and a comet became again
visible. Even as a Rākṣhasa devours a king so did
this calamity devoured the grains; and there happened
a great famine, the destroyer of food. When Famine
entered the kingdom, his powerful soldiers, hunger and
thirst, the oppressors of the people, stalked about. One
khāri of grain was then bought for ten thousand pieces
of niṣhka,* and none but the rich could get it. Men
and women wandered about in hunger in order to save

• A nishka is supposed to be equal to a dīnára.
  32

374 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
their lives, casting aside their love for husband, for son,
and the service due towards their parents. The hungry
people ate twice or thrice or four times during day, and
yet again wandered about like sprites in quest of food.
Abdāla Malleka and others were bent on doing acts of
virtue at this time, they cooked a large quantity of grain
and fed the people every day. Men died of hunger and
thirst in villages, in the city, and in the king's highway,
and lay like sprites, and uncounted. Some people
saved their lives by selling their stores of silver and
baser metals, and by living on herbs, walnuts, and heart-
pease. The calamity caused by the famine was greater
than the ravages done by the enemies, even as a bad boil
is more troublesome than the disease of the throat or of
the eye. The famine became more severe at the end of
the month of Jyaishṭha, in the year 10, than what it
had been in the year 9, and spread itself all over the
country. Then a good season, like the minister of
king Food, brightened all sides with small seeds as with
lamps, and came to struggle with Famine. As wheat
grew on stocks and rose from the ground, and looked
like a terrace, its grains welcomed, as it were, the survi-
vors. It seemed as if when king Food saw his army
overpowered, he came himself to conquer the powerful
Famine which was like a mighty Rākṣhasa. He spread
out his great army of vegetables and rice and coarse
grain, and the walnuts were the stones he shot from his
machines. He conquered Famine, and then took his

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 375
rest. The lean creatures were nourished by the produce
of king Food, and they always thought that they were
born again.
Thus the ravages of the famine took place.
Now Kāñchana Chakresha, by the orders of the Mārga-
pati graced the place of minister before the king, and
stayed at Janapura. Called by the Chaṇḍālas, Chak-
resha went to Maḍavarājya, but there he experienced
coldness from the Mārgapatis and he imposed a fine
on the land. At this time the men who lived at
ease in their houses grievously oppressed this great
country, even as a vile disease oppresses the body. It
was owing to the sin of these oppressions and through
the force of fate that the king Mahammada Shāha
fell ill at the latter part of Chaitra in the year 13.
When the king found himself attacked by illness, and
exhausted, he thus said affectionately to his minister
Malleka Laddabhaṭṭa :—"Though our body is nourished
according as we acquire virtue or vice from the per-
formance of our kingly duties, yet it is universally true
that the body is subject to destruction. Our ancestors,
kings Shamsadena and others, and Shrī Jainollābhadena
were great in our family, and I am born in their dynasty.
My mind had always been anxious to know who would
be obedient to me and to what extent ; and to-day that
mind is being consumed by fever." When the king
had said this and remained quiet, Mārgesha Abdāla and
others who were present saw his condition, and with

376 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
tears in their eyes, thus spoke to him :—"It was owing
to oppressions caused by us O king! or owing to the
misfortune of the subjects, that you are afflicted with
this bodily torment, even as the soul is afflicted for the
sin of being born." When the king heard their words
he said :—"You should always protect our children, we
are now going by a road which is remote from here."
When the men heard these words of the king there
arose cries of lamentation in the palace. That day the
king gave one koti of coin to be spent for religious pur-
poses, for when the month of spring had arrived, the
liberal minded king, oppressed with pain, believed that
he would die in a dark fortnight. On Thursday, the
first of the month of Jyaiṣhṭha, in the bright fortnight,
this virtuous sun among men set after having reigned a
second time for five years.
When the king had ascended to heaven, the people
lamented for him, and thus said in their grief;—
"Whose protection should we now seek when thou
hast gone to heaven? O beautiful like the moon,
and powerful like Kārttikeya! O king! without thee
who shall protect us in our times of difficulty? Where
wilt thou go O king Mahammada! leaving this earth?"
Thus loudly the people lamented as they stood at
the gate of the palace, and it seemed as if the tears
from their eyes served the last offering of water to
the deceased sovereign. The ministers then placed
the corpse in a litter, and bore it on their shoulders

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 377

to the great grave-yard, and laid it within the ground
beside his father. What a difference there is between
a king lying on his bed soft as the moon and befit-
ting a sovereign, and one lying in deep darkness
within a hole in a gravelly ground ? That day the people
remained dumb with grief, and their sighs only were per-
ceptible. No smoke was seen rising from their houses,
for they did not cook their food that day.
Thus Mahammada Shāha ascended to heaven.
Mahammada Shāha's son whom the Mārgesha
wished to have as king, was, in the midst of applause
of all, crowned by the minister under the name of
Shamsa Shāha. All the wicked and powerful favourites of
the late king were glad to see a young sovereign begin
a new reign. Shamsa Shāha arrived at the palace,
accompanied by his younger brother, and heard the
blessings of the people on the way saying ;—"Let him
remain long in his ancestral kingdom." After the king
had seated himself firmly in the kingdom, the powerful
Kācha Chakrapati, to whom Riga Chakra had held out
some hopes, came to the city from Jainapura. When
Mārgesha Hossana saw that hero come, he joined
Utsabhaṭṭa and went to the Mārgapati at Kichāshrama.
Kācha Chakra, the destroyer of his enemies, entered the
beautiful city, and he was honored by the king with
his affection. Kāñchana Chakresha knew that his ene-
mies were at a distance, and in order to subdue them
he encamped with his army at Gardhasoḍḍāra. When

378 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
the Mārgapatis heard that their powerful enemy lay very
near to them, they soon placed their troops in the
neighbourhood of Jalagada. Then the noble minded
Riga Chakresha went to Kācha Chakra and to the chief
of the Mārgapatis, and by despatching messengers tried
to establish peace between the parties. "Let Kācha
Chakresha" he said "remain in the city, and the Mārga-
patis in Kramarājya, and I am equally inclined to both."
Thus he established peace between them.
Then the hero Kācha Chakresha brought over to
him his friends Jaita Chakresha, Malleka Dauluta, and
Ebhrāhma Khāna from among the army of the Mārga-
patis, and triumphantly went up to the city, and lived in
the house of Riga Chakra. In the illustrious Kāñchana
Chakrapati his name has its full significance, on account
of the gifts of gold that he gave, we have actually seen
the marks of petals of a lotus in the palm of your hand
which indicate your charity. Let your left hand continue
to do good to others for a thousand years! O chief of
of the Mārgapatis! the king of the seasons (spring) has
seen your white fame, and with a view to serve you in
every way, has joined the lord of the zodiac (sun), cele-
brating your triumph with garlands of Jasmine and
Mañchari flowers, and of the Karṇikāra buds; and
with the hum of the black-bees and the voice of kokilas.
All are happy at every act of yours. Let the season of
spring afford you objects pleasent to you!
So long as Kācha Chakra the arbiter in all things

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 379
remained with the king, the strength of the powerful was,
owing to his prowess, found in the weak. Riga Chakra
came and spent a few days with him ; but finding that
Kācha Chakra loved him but slightly, he returned. He
went to the Mārgesha whom he knew to be like a strong
malady to Kācha Chakra, and told him of the purposes
of Chakresha ; and he brought together the officers of
the king’s vanguard and consulted with them. There
were celebrated ministers in the land of Kashmīra,
Malleka Shrī Daúluta, Gāja Khāna, Chakresha, and
others. They were wise in council, and were like Bhīma,
Arjuna, and Droṇa in the field of battle.
Mārgesha Abdāla had invited the Mereja to come to
Kashmīra, but in fear of Chakrī he had thought that he
would not be able to obtain possession of the country.
Now Malleka Kācha Chakresha went to Hinduvāṭa and
there died, and the minds of the Kashmīrians who lived
outside their country became darkened. The great Mereja
Haidhara heard of this event, and he took possession of
the kingdom of Kashmīra as if it had come to him
from his ancestors. The Muggulas, at the death of
Chakresha; spread themselves over the kingdom without
fear or dread, like goblins at the shrine of Shāradā ; and
their people came like bees from foreign countries to
Mereja Mashugola* who was in Kashmīra. When their
number increased, they, instigated by Mashugola, seized
lands from those who had possessed them for years

• The same as Mereja Haidhara ?

380 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
before either by plunder or by gift. By virtue of writs
given in the Mausula character by the Devāna,* the
mlechchha leaders of troops took possession of lands
in this affrighted kingdom, and.thus deprived the people
of their income. Thus in the month of Shrāvaṇa of the
year 22, the country witnessed the poor people almost
dying, and like a chaste woman trembled in fear. But
owing to the victory which the people of Kashmīra then
obtained, the Muggulas fled from the country, and the
people again were eager to get possession of lands in
order that they might acquire wealth. It was on account
of the association of the people with the Turuṣhkas that
they did not give up their fondness for dress, land, and
food, the last of which brought in punishment on them, in
as much as they had to place themselves hereafter under
medical treatment. Even when the wealthy people saw
the effects of sumptuous eating, they did not give up
their evil desire for food, even as great physicians do
not give up their treatment of patients in accordance
with the shāstras.
In the month of Āshvina of the year 30, there
occurred frequent earthquakes on account of the
wicked acts of the king, as if the earth suffered from
flatulency. The planet which causes calamity is
assuaged by various acts, by gifts of land to independent
people, by giving back to men their properties
which had been robbed, and by like deeds. Now

• Dewan of the emperor of Delhi ?

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 381
there occurred an earthquake at the second watch of
night when all men were asleep, and it destroyed
many people. It caused holes in the ground, and
travellers going on their way were misled at every step.
Houses fell into these holes at night and the people,
anxious to get out from their houses in the morning,
issued by breaking through the roof. On this occasion
many wooden houses fell into the water of the Vitastā,
and when they had floated down for seven kroshas,
the people who were in them awoke and came out.
The confusion caused by the earthquake in the two
towns of Hasainapura and Hosainapura, situated at
some distance across the river, can be seen even to
this day. Pitiable cries of lamentation of the much
afflicted people were then heard calling out "O
father !" "O mother !" "O friend !" "O brother !" in
different places, which made the heart feel as if it
were struck by a thunder bolt. At this time the sky
appeared terrible with claps of thunder, the movements
of the stars were stopped, and the land was agitated
like a gourd on the waves. The mind of the people be-
came troubled with the fear of the earthquake, and
they felt no affection for sons or friends or wives or for
good men or for kind hearted people or for any object
whatever. It was owing to the glory of the holy shrines
of Vijayeshvara, Mārttaṇḍa, and Varāhakṣhetra, that
fears and apprehensions from earthquake were not felt
by the inhabitants of these places. The earthquake

382 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
continued for several days, occurring several times every
day, and all the people lived under canvas.
When some time had elapsed, and all men had
returned to their home, Dauluta Chakkaka governed the
whole country with a strong hand. Once he obstructed
the passage of water which flowed through a goblin
ground with a view of diverting it to a corn field where
he lived. For this act, the angry goblins threw stones
into his house at night, and heaps of stone thrown by
unseen gods lay scattered during night near the palace
gate, and the people wondered at them. In their
wonder they asked one another who it was that showered
stones every day. Now there lived a very wise and a
very pious devotee named Abhimanyu in the village of
Tūlamūla. Dauluta Chakkaka one day went to his
house and asked the saint how this great kingdom
could be freed from the alarm. When thus asked, the
saint replied :—"Cease, by my order, to levy the annual
tax from Brāhmaṇas, and then you will obtain your end."
When the saint had thus said, the chief of the mlechchhas
replied :—"Listen attentively, O great saint ! to what I
say. I will even now bestow on you the village of
Tūlamūla, but how can I, who am a mlechchha, cease
by your order, to levy tax from Brāhmaṇas?" When
Dauluta Chakka had said this, Abhimanyu became
agitated with rage ; and as the tax on the Brāhmaṇas was
not forthwith withdrawn by the Chakkaka, the saint in
anger cursed him saying that so far as he was concerned

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 383
the sun and the moon would fall and sink into the sea.
Dauluta Chakkaka, on account of this curse, became
bereft of prosperity.
At this time Homāya, whose feet were brushed by
the crowns of kings bowing to him, became the emperor
of the world. He had quenched the great fire of a civil
war, but poverty, like jungle fire, oppressed the
hearts of his people, and it was not quenched. This
king had an enemy named Ajahomāya who meditated
taking shelter in an inaccessible country and he thought
of coming to Kashmīra; for here Homāya would
not be able to assail him. Now when with this
intention king Ajahomāya came to Kashmīra he had to
fight a battle with the people of this country on the
top of a hill; and the Kashmīrians who dwelt on
the mountains totally destroyed his army. This king
Ajahomāya was, at the time when Nājoka ruled the
country of Kashmīra, like a living fire that surrounded
all sides.
Then king Habhebha reigned for one month, when
Gāja Khāna, out of cupidity, usurped the throne.
Let the great warrior, the victorious Gāja Shāha,
the ornament of the world,—he who had distressed the
enemies, who had in battle held the sword of death,—
the great leader, the life of the world, the giver of good
to the humble, the accomplished, who looked graceful
in the kingdom, the beaming, the one versed in literature,
and the benefactor of the people, be always triumphant !

384 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
In the bright fortnight of the summer month of the
year 37, Nājoka Shāha joined Kara Bāhudhara the son
of king Homāya, the chief of the Muggulas, and the
leader of the army of Amvara; and with a view of
conquest arrived in the Pāshāṇḍa country. When Gāja
Shāha heard of this attempt made in the country out-
side Kashmīra, he held a council and sent Malleka
Hosa Chakresha to the outer country. This high minded
Hosa Malleka encamped at Surjala with the chief
ministers Laula Malleka, Chakresha Pijya, Haibhata
Khāna, Khujyā Phatiha, Merālaka, and others, and
with ten thousand warriors and infantry, and innumer-
able tents. The country outside was covered with the
great Muggula army, even like the pure heart of a good
man with darkening sin. First the army of the chief of
the Muggulas and then the trocps of Pāshāṇḍa, who had
been neglected before, covered the whole of the Rājapurī
country. When the king of Kashmīra heard of this he
became angry, and set out with his army from Shūrapura
to Hinduvāṭa, in order to overthrow his enemies. When
the mlechchhas saw this great and powerful army of
Gāja Shāha, they melted away, even as a mass of snow
in the rays of the sun. Phatte Malleka and Luhara
Malleka soon came up to the powerful army of Gāja
Shāha. Now when the way to the fort was closed,
Phatiha Khāna and others raised their battle cry and
distressed the large army of the Muggulas. The king
of Rājapurī in fear of Gāja Shāha made peace with

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 385
Khujyahājya, Yosopha Chakra, and others who were
with the Muggulas. While Shāha Nājoka stayed at
Naushahāra, the Muggulas established a truce, and em-
ployed their time in constructing fortifications and other
works. King Gāja sent a messenger of rank who went to
the assembly held by Kara Bāhudhara and thus said :—
“Why all on a sudden O chief of the mlechchas ! have
you come with a large army, not knowing the prowess
of the king, and confiding on whom ? Have you for-
gotten the battle of Shailīshāhi ? Yours will be the sin
of the destruction of men in the two armies. If you
have strength, where is the use of works of forti-
fication ? Man enjoys what Fate gives him. Chakri
Rājānaka and others will take a portion of this country,
what then will become of this land, or of the Muggulas,
or of Khujyahājya?” When Shāsanamakura the letter
bearer had thus said, Khujyahājya replied as follows :—
“I am under the Muggulas. The chief of the Chakras
is liberal, and a man of worth ; he is the chief among
bowmen, and is upright like Nausharovāna ; how
can we sufficiently praise him ? If you give to the
mlechchhas a portion of the land which belongs to the
Kashmīrians, as a reward, you will gladden the heart of
the king of the Muggulas. Or what is the use of dividing
the country ? All know that heroes perish in battle,
and none was seen or heard of or remembered like
Gāja Shāha who has now come out of his country to
fight.” When the king heard these words from the
33

386 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
messenger when he returned to him, he descended in
anger and in surprise from the top of the hill, but
ascended to the summit of great renown.
The king of Kashmīra encamped near the forces of
the enemy. He was graced by the presence of his sons
Shrī Shṛingāra Malleka, Ale Malleka, Khāna Ahmada,
Yosopha, Ebha Shāha, and by Khāna Shāhibhāja, and
by the ministers supported by their armies. He was
also attended by thousands of cavalry and swift horses,
and by hundreds of thousands of infantry in compact
masses furnished with bows, swords, clubs, bearded darts,
lances, iron maces, and with weapons named uphākas
used in nāgarandhras* and ashmarandhras.* As the
two well arranged armies approached nearer and nearer to
each other, the troops on both banks of the river began
to adorn the field of battle. Surrounded by a thousand
infantry, Gāja Shāha commenced the battle ; and by the
laughter and the sound of kettledrum, by the flapping
of the elephants' ears and the neighing of horses, and
by the roar of ashmarandhra he terrified the enemy.
When some of the Muggulas saw that hero approach,
they became disheartened and slowly issued out for
battle. The soldiers in the front and before the king out
of devotion to their master, severed the heads of the
mlechchha warriors in battle, even as the earthen covers
are removed from the pots. Haibhata Khāna was
wounded with five arrows, and yielded up his life and
* Perhaps cannon is meant by these names.

immediately espoused the women of heaven. The surviv-
ing Muggulas reflected on the heroic deter-
mination of the soldiers in the front, and on
the uncommon valour of the king, and they
returned in the same manner as they had come. The
chief warriors in the two armies wielded their arms
and sacrificed their lives, and they obtained great fame
and went to heaven. The king beheld the unparalleled
valour of the infantry, and gave them silver and other
metals which the troops in the front had acquired from
the mlechchhas. The Muggulas saw the reduction of
their own army and the increase of that of their enemies,
and went away even like the sons of merchants when
they are paid. Strong in his valour, Gāja Shāha was
accompanied by the king of Rājapurī, and he now
made the Pāṣhaṇḍas tributary to him, and returned to
his country. As he entered Kashmīra he heard the
blessings of the people saying :—"long reign O
king! lord of the empire, and always victorious!"
Though drenched by the tears of the weeping women
of the enemies, the houses of his foes were burnt by
the strong fire of his prowess, as by forest fire; and
when that fire had consumed the houses, grass began to
grow, watered by the tears of the female relatives of
his enemies.
The king saw conflagrations in different directions,
and there occurred earthquakes, and so he took council
of the soothsayers who thus said :—"In this country,

388 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
O king ! a great battle will be fought, and a river shall
flow with rapid current even through the field of battle ;
or it may be that the distress of the people caused
by famine shall everywhere prevail ; therefore rule the
country wisely.”
Now Kara Bhaddora, a servant of Merja Haidara,
came again with his army, with the object of conquering
the country. When Gāja Shāha heard this news, he set
out with his horses, at whose trampling the rocks re-
sounded and were powdered into dust. The king
sheltered himself at Rājavira, and ordered the infantry,
which was on its way, to fight. The two kings met
at Rājavira, and the people, who had been frightened
at the very idea of the meeting of two kings, became
alarmed. When Kara Bhaddora saw the skill with which
the infantry marched into battle, his heart trembled like
the wind, and he became alarmed. Then when he saw
the Kashmīrians discharge their arrows, he became
enraged. He fled from the country at the sight of the
infantry, even as darkness flies at the sight of the rising
sun ; and the people came out of their houses when he
had gone. As a family prospers when the serpent leaves
the house, even so the glory of the king now increased,
and the world glowed in his glory.
The king's prowess increased like the sun’s in the
summer season. But alas ! at this time Chakka and
others, whose hearts burnt with rage, entered the city.
When the enemies had encamped at Sadāshivapura, the