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

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 29
equality even of his shadow. Fire manifests itself by
heat and smoke, but no sign of anger manifested itself
in that wise man. The wise Shahamera pretended
illness and caused it to be known that his end was near.
Queen Koṭā then sent BhaṭṭaBhikshaṇa with Avatāra
and others to see him. They found people at the door
discussing whether perspiration was good for one who
suffered from beliousness ; and these people prevented
the Bhaṭṭa's party from entering. Bhikshaṇa and
Avatāra, however, went in to Shahmera, but their pro-
tecting deities did not enter with them, as if on account
of the difficulty in getting admission. Shahmera at
first complained to them in detail of his illness, and
when the proper time arrived, he buried their own
weapon in their bodies, and thus allayed the illness
of his mind. Blood issued from their heads, and
water came out of their eyes; their lives left their
bodies, and the rancor which Shahmera had felt, left
his mind. Shahmera was bathed in their blood as
one bathes after recovery from illness ; their two heads
were like the two halves of a vessel, and their wounds
were like the marks of the lamp. Queen Koṭā was
determined to besiege Shahmera, and she was capable
of doing so ; but her evil minded ministers deterred
her from doing it, and reminded her that Shahmera and
Bhikshṇa had brought up her boys, and that it was Fate
that had killed the one by making the other an instru-
ment. That inorder to assuage the grief which had

30 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
arisen from the death of a Brāhmaṇa, the senseless Shah-
mera would sacrifice the lives of others in the blazing fire
of his anger.
As the canal nourishes cultivated fields with water,
so did the queen nourish the people by bestowing
much wealth on them. She was to the kingdom what
the moon is to the blue lotus ; and to the enemy she was
what that luminary is to the white lotus. On one
occasion she marched against the lord of Kampana,
with the intention to fight, because he had disobeyed
her orders. But the lord of Kampana captured her
in a mountain defile and put her in prison, even as
one catches a bird in its nest and puts it in a cage.
Her best minister named Kumārabhaṭṭa pretended to
quarrel with her other ministers with a view to release
her. He took with him a young student who carried
in his hand a water vessel, and who resembled the
queen in his appearance except that he was a man.
The wise Kumārabhaṭṭa went over to the lord of
Kampana, praised his intelligence, and admired his
magnanimity and beautiful appearance. “O lord ! ” he
said “ by obeying the orders of a female we live with
our heads humbled, but you have this day made our
manhood triumph. With your permission I, your ser-
vant, will go to the prison, and by reproving and con-
soling her by turns, I will take out her money
and give it to my lord. She has accumulated money,
being a woman, and being unable to part with it

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 31
of her own inclination.” The lord of Kampana was
thus deceived and suffered Kumārabhaṭṭa to go to the
prison. The evening, which paints the world so skil-
fully, now approached, as if to see queen Koṭā come
out of her prison. Accompanied by the boy who
carried water for his evening prayer, Kumārabhaṭṭa
entered the prison, and the grief of the queen left it.
He left the boy dressed in the queen’s garments, and
made Koṭā to follow him wearing the dress of the boy,
and thus issued from the prison.
Shahmera, who had thus risen by art, was not devoid
of circumspection ; the wise, when they are in enmity
with the powerful, never remain indifferent. Koṭā
was neither favourable to, nor angry with the powerful
Shahmera. Enmity attended with want of circums-
pection is the first germ of destruction. Once on a
time when the queen had gone to Jayāpīḍapura on
some business, the powerful Shahamera possessed him-
self of the capital. And when the Lavanya people
were subdued by the strong Shahamera, the qneen
closed the gate of Koṭṭa, in the hope of thwarting her
enemy. The strong and the wise Shahamera, a lion
among men, closed the front of the cavern-like fort,
and Koṭā like a she-jackal was struck with fear. The
fascinating Shahamera sent word to the queen through
his messengers, stating that she might sit with him on
the throne, and on his breast, with the goddess of
Royalty, and that she might live in his heart with the

32 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
virtue of forbearance. The queen was won by his
assiduity, and he took possession of the Koṭṭa country
and of queen Koṭā. He spent one night with her
in the same bed, and when he rose in the morning, he
caused her to be captured by the Tikṣhṇas. Then on
the tenth bright lunar day, in the month of Shrāvaṇa,
in the year 15, the queen dropped from her kingdom
like a star from the sky, Shahmera who was as the
kalpa tree to his kinsmen and relatives, and wise in
his actions, and chief among the warriors, imprisoned
the two sons of the queen. The results of our acts
manifest themselves in every direction, and generate
wisdom or ignorance. The influence of karma is sur-
ging with the influences of time and of local circums-
tances and leads to results. I bow to the god of
karma, be it Soul or Shiva or Hari or Brahmā or
Buddha or Jina.
Shahamera then overawed the Lavanya people,
spread his fame on all sides. He took the country
into his hand, placed the goddess of Fortune on his
breast, and put Koṭā in prison. The king then assuaged
the troubles of Kashmīra and changed its condition,
and called himself ShrīShaṁsadena. The scar of the
bow string on his mighty arm was like the smoke,
issuing from the flame of his power, which could have
burnt all sides like a forest. The king removed the
suspicions of his ministers, but the ministers could not
remove his circumspection ; as the diamond pierces

KINGS OF KAṢHMÍRA. 33

jewels, but the jewels pierce not the diamond. The
king who had won fame worthy of praise, caused the
Rajputs who were at Kāṣhṭhavāṭa to flee through fear.
His fame increased, and he wisely placed on his two
sons, who were not inferior to him, the burden of the
kingdom. He reigned for five years, and three days,
and died on the full moon day of Aṣhādha, in the
year 18.
Then Jaṃsara protected the country at Satisara, un-
diminished in prosperity and obeyed by the principal
feudatory princes. Like the two pillars that support
a gate, the strength and the intellect of the king's
younger brother supported the kingdom, and they be-
came objects of apprehension. He was not inferior to
the king in making gifts or in receiving presents, in
awarding punishments or favours on the people, in un-
dertaking pleasure trips or in the luxuries of the table.
The king ceased to trust him as he had trusted before,
and the mind of the young prince was inflamed by the
people around him. When the Rajputs heard that
the king's mind was alienated from his brother, they
instantly communicated the fact to the young prince.
And when hostility was inevitable, the rash young
prince left the protection of the Rajputs and went
excited to their chief town Avantinagara. The king
accompanied by his soldiers efficient in war, took shelter
in Utpalapura and sent the following message to his
brother :—"If you have not under estimated my affec-

tion by the instigation of wicked men, why do you not
tremble in fear of the censure of the people ? The
wishes of the king who has gone to heaven [our father]
to protect each other should be obeyed. Think of this
and turn your affection again towards me." After the
king had sent a messenger with this intimation to his
brother, he sent his son to kill the lord of Kampana.
The king's messenger was detained on the pretence
that the young prince had gone to hunt, while the
prince, whose treason had by this time become known,
went to kill his brother's son. Lakṣhmabhaṭṭa became
anxious as the messenger did not return for a long
time. He went to the king and said that, since the
messenger was delaying he feared that the king's bro-
ther was bent on rebellion, and had gone to kill the
king's son. He also said that, in order to fraustrate
the king's design, the messenger was no doubt detained
on some pretence or other, such as that the young
prince was bathing or eating or sleeping. He pro-
posed that as soon as the king's brother repaired to
ShrīDevasarasa, they should destroy Avantipura which
would then be left without any protector ; the king's
victory would then he complete. The powerful king
agreed to the proposal. He went to Avantipura with
his efficient soldiers, and besieged the town ; so that
the river Vitastā, the current of which was blocked up
by dead bodies, flowed backward, as if to inform Allesh-
vara of the slaughter of his men. Meanwhile Allesh-

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 35
vara defeated his brother's son and returned. Jaṃsara,
who was resting from the toils of battle, fled. The wise
Alleshvara came to an agreement with the king that
hostilities should cease between the brothers for two
months. Allesha left his soldiers and Avantipura be-
hind, and went to Ikṣhikā by the Kṣhīrī road. Jaṃsara,
beaming in splendour, left the protection of the capital
in the hands of his own minister Sayyarāja, and went
to Kramarājya. But the young prince alienated Sayya-
rāja from the king by promises of gifts and honors, and
got possession of the city by artifice. The king, now
king only in name, died after having suffered troubles
for one year and ten months in the kingdom of Kash-
mīra. Then Alāvadena [Allesha ?] knowing that the
time was unsuited for further disputes, immediately
bestowed the lordship of Dvāra on his [third] brother,
inorder to smooth all difficulties. Jaṃsara had caused
a bridge to be built to cross the river at Sujjapura, but
did not devise means to cross over his dangers. He
had excavated a tank and raised buildings by its side,
close to the mountains, as resting places for travellers.
For this beautiful act of improving his own country, Shrī-
Shivasvāmika had obtained from him the lordship of
Dvāra.
Once upon a time the prince was wandering for
amusement in the forest of Vākpuṣhṭā when he saw a
circle of the Yoginīs in the cavern of a mountain. His
friends Udayashrī and Chandraḍāmara also saw them ;

36 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
for what is not visible to those who follow great men?
Small things like bells tremble and make a noise, but
great things like the minds of valiant heroes remain
unmoved. They wished that the Yoginīs might not
disappear, as they were anxious to see them and to
speak to them. The heroes then alighted from their
horses and were not afraid of the Yoginīs. Shining in
their formidable strength, these valiant men proceeded
slowly and silently, and approached the Yoginīs. The
leader of the Yoginīs recognized the prince from a
distance and sent him a cup of liquor with incantation
and blessing. The king drank his fill ; Chandra partook
of what remained, and though pleased with it, he left a
portion for the sake of Udayashrī. Udayashrī was much
gratified with the drink, and owing to some fatality,
forgot the groom of the horses and left nothing. They
were pleased with the strange sights they saw. The
Yoginī, who understood omens, thus said to the prince
with clasped hands : "your kingdom will remain entire,
and Chandra will enjoy a part of your wealth, and
Udayashrī, as long he lives, will be blessed with undy-
ing prosperity ; but the groom bereft of our favour
will be soon left bereft of life." Thus she foretold the
future, and vanished with the other Yoginīs, and then
the life of the keeper of horses departed.
It is owing to the merit of the subjects that such
kings are born, who raise the prosperity of the kingdom,
and deliver the people sunk in the gloom of injustice.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 37
The king abolished the evil custom under which a
childless widow, though unchaste obtained a share of
her husband's property from her father-in-law. The
great and wise king made Jayāpīḍapura his capital, and
built at SrīRiñchanapura, an edifice named Budhagira.
In the year 19, a famine of unprecedented severity, the
effect of the sins of men, harassed the suffering people.
Having ruled the kingdom for twelve years, eight
months, and thirteen days, the king died in the month
of Chaitra, in the year 30.
The halting description of the reigns of bad kings
now gives place to an account of the very powerful
Shāhāvādīna [Sahab-ud-din]. When he became king,
the country ceased to remember the prosperity and
dangers, the pleasures and afflictions of the time
of Lalitāditya. As the sky, after the departure of the
different seasons, obtains the bright sun in summer, so
the earth passed under the rule of many kings, and
obtained this sovereign at last. The king did not re-
pair to the city of the sinful Jayāpīḍa. Adorned with
pearls and necklace, this king was the most prominent
among all kings, past and future, as the central jewel
is prominent in a necklace. Though he obtained
victory at every step yet the fire of his valor was not
satiated, even as the ocean receives rivers from all
directions, and is not satiated. He counted as lost
those brief periods of time in which he obtained no
victory. The march with his army was as dear to him

38 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
as a young wife is to an old man. Deer-eyed women
attracted not his mind, nor the pleasures of drinking,
nor the light of moon. Only the march with his army
occupied the king's attention. Neither heat nor cold,
nor evening nor night, neither hunger nor thirst obstruc-
ted his march. When this proud king was on his
march, he found no difficulty in crossing unfordable
rivers, inaccessible mountains and barren deserts. In
his conquering expeditions, the king first went to the
north which had never been conquered by previous
kings, and which was peopled by the Pārasīkas. He
took Chandra, Laulaka, and Shūra with him for help,
even as the world conquering Kāma takes the spring,
wine, and woman as his auxiliaries. This destroyer
of the proud filled his soldiers with strength, his enemies
with grief, and all sides with dust. Udabhāṇḍapura,
ruled by Govindaḵẖāna, was first entered by his arrows
and then by his soldiers. When the army of the king
reached the top of the mountain, his opponents, des-
cended from the high peak in fear. The ruler of Sindhu
unable to make presents befitting the king, presented
his own daughter to him. The weight of the country
of the Gāndhārās was added to the king's glory, but
strange! that the weight of fear lowered the hearts of
those people. The powerful king destroyed the pride
of the country of the Shiṅgas but did not destroy their
swords. On hearing the lion-roar raised by the army
of the lion like king, Gajinīpurī [the elephant city] fell

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 39
bereft of pride, and struck with fear. At Aṣhṭanagara
the veda-readers and the Kshatriyas wept through fear,
as if the smoke from the fire of their youth and
valor, which was extinguished, affected their eyes. When
the king had robbed the wealth and the fame of Puru-
ṣhavīra, the name of that country lost its meaning. The
women in the villages assigned to the Brāhmaṇas shed
tears, as if they offered water to the dead and food to
the living. When the leaders of the cavalry had gone
away on the pretext of repairing to the banks of the
Ghoṣhadhātu river, the king administered a severe
chastisement to Udakpati.
Returning thence, he marched southward, and
assuaged the toil of the journey in the waters of the
Shatadrū. He harassed Udakpati who had arrived
after plundering Ḍhillī, and blocked his way. He then
bestowed horses and clothes on petty kings and sent
them to their countries, and they looked as if they were
the embodiment of the king's fame. The king of Su-
sharmmapura apprehended danger from the king of
Kashmīra, and he forsook the pride of his fort and
sought the protection of the queen. It was owing to
the humility, not to the pride of the Bhauṭṭas, that the
king's horses, eager to ascend the mountains, were check-
ed. The king arrived at the banks of the Sindhu which
he found difficult to cross, but the gods smoothed
the waves of the river. This strange fact has been
heard from elderly men. Thus in his unceasing en-

40 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
deavour to conquer other countries, his own became to
him as a foreign land, and foreign countries became his
own. Thus having filled all sides with his valor, he
entered Kashmira and instituted festivities to delight
the eyes of the citizens.
In the course of our narration, we are describing the
superhuman abilities of this king, and shall perhaps be
considered by future generations to be flatterers. Once,
when the king was marching to a distant country, he
heard of a woman beautiful like an Apsarā, with eyes
like those of the deer, and became eager to enjoy her.
He deceived his followers by some device, and alone en-
tered the country where she lived, and like a second
Kandarpa fascinated her by his wit. He drank the nectar
from her lips and quenched the desire of his heart.
When his soldiers missed him, they feared that he was
killed by some enemy, and lost their reason in their
anger. They searched for him, and when they saw his
horse tethered in the courtyard of a house, they thought
that he had been overcome by his enemies. Without
any armour, the soldiers blockaded the house with a
view to fight with Shauryyasvāmī and Anugā. But on
hearing a voice like the roar of a lion from within the
house, their hearts that knew no fear were softened
with gladness, their faces were subdued with awe, and
their heads were bent with good sense. The king caused
many columns of victory to be raised, proclaiming his great
deeds, in places where his enemies had been destroyed

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 41
like sacrificial beasts in the flame of his prowess. In
the management of the affairs of his own country he
depended on his two ministers Koṭabhaṭṭa and Udaya-
shrí, and in battle he depended on Chandraḍámara
and Laula. Koṭasharmmá was like the moon in the
sea like dynasty of Devasharmmá. Indifferent to
worldly concerns, he left the wealth repeatedly bestowed
on him by the king, and retired to a forest.
Surely it was to display the prowess of the king that
on a certain occasion a calamity befell, troubling his
subjects grievously. In the year 36, a cruel inundation
distressed the subjects. What the sun is to the kumuda
flower, or a hero to his enemies, so was the inundation to
the city and the trees. The city was under water, but
the mighty inundation still increased and reached the
hills which shed tears in the shape of waterfalls. There
was not a tree, not a boundary mark, not a bridge, not a
house, that stood in the way of the inundation, which
it did not destroy. The king, who never took shelter in
a hill fort in fear of an enemy, now frequently resorted
to such forts through fear of the inundation. It subsid-
ed within a few days, as if dried up by the prowess of
the king; but the king wished to build a town on a hill
in fear of another inundation. He consulted his queen
named Lakshmí and built a celebrated town which
equalled his own greatness; and the people saw be-
fore them, at the base of the Himálaya, the town of
Sháriká, inhabited by virtuous men, even like Alaká, at the

42 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
base of the Sumeru. At the junction of the Vitastā and the
Sindhu, he built a town after his own name, and the
town was reflected in the waters, as if it had hid itself
in the river through modesty. Lolaḍāmara, on whom
fortune shone steadily, built a town after his own name,
and the high edifices were like glory amassed. The
ever restless world soared upwards [in the shape of hills]
as if to reach the heavens, and thus [casting its shadow
on the town] deprived it of the rays of the sun.
Lāsā was the daughter of queen Lakshmī's sister and
was brought up by the queen. Her image was now
reflected on the mirror of the king's heart. He was for a
long time held by ties of respect to Lakshmī, but those
ties were snapped by the passion inflamed by the beauty
of Lāsā. The goddess of Fortune had, with the image
of Kṛishṇa, taken her seat in the bosom of the king, and
the fortunate Lāsā was now allowed a place by her side.
The shadow is not cast in the direction of the sun, for
the sun enjoys the glory of the day, and the shadow
brings darkness and destroys the beauty of the sun. It
has been well said that women have four times the in-
tellect of men, and none can frame crooked and pene-
trating devices better than they. The chaste Lakshmī,
though she was the daughter of a common Bhalla named
Avatāra, became displeased with the king who had
become attached to Lā ā ; and she went in anger to the
king of Sindhu who was her countryman. But the king
of Kashmīra, out of shame, though not out of deep affec-

tion, brought her back. The she-elephant of the wilder-
ness, when her agony caused by heat is relieved by the
water of a lotus-tank, nevertheless troubles the water, and
rudely shakes the mosses and the lotuses in the tank. Even
so Lāsā, the beloved of the king, behaved ungratefully
towards Lakshmī, the sister of her mother, and who had
nourished her like a mother ;—as the full moon which
is nourished by the bright fortnight terminates and
destroys that fortnight. The kumuda flower is des-
tined to bloom by night ; otherwise the night, like a
wicked woman could have destroyed it by the help
of the moon which destroys the wakefulness of the
world.
Once upon a time Lāśā, in the enjoyment of her pros-
perity, thus spoke to the king with the wile of a serpent :
and the king listened with anxiety, and his breath dulled
the splendour of his lips. "If the sun had not by its rays
expanded the lotus, who would have cared to destroy
it through jealousy ? Who cares to destroy the moss ?
Unable to bear the favours bestowed on me, your queen
is devising for my destruction. The queen watches me
through her spies, and out of her enmity, has directed
Udayashrī, who has become her favourite by his services,
to employ magic against me." But the wise king replied
to her that Udayashrī was inimical to the gods, and
could not therefore perform magic. Lāsā repeated the
charge ; and in order to convince her of her mistake, the
king thus addressed Udayashrī : "O ! Udayashrī ! The

44 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
treasury has become empty by excessive expenditure, but
the people ask the king for every thing, as if he was the
kalpa tree. There is one way which is apparent to me,
for making money. By cutting up the huge brass image of
ShriJayeshvari and turning it into coin marked with my
name, we may meet the required expenses, and deeds of
deathless fame may be done." The mean minded minis-
ter thus replied to the king : "The idea is a good one,
but the image is light, how much can we obtain from it ?
Rather let the image of the great Buddha be coined into
money." On another day, after the necessary prepara-
tions had been made, and Lāsā had been convinced [that
Udayashri was not a believer in the gods], the king thus
said privately to that minister : "Past generations have set
up images to obtain fame and earn merit, and you propose
to demolish them ! Some have obtained renown by
setting up images of gods, others, by worshipping
them, some, by duly maintaining them ; and some, by
demolishing them ! How great is the enormity of such
a deed ! Sagara became famous by creating the sea and
the rivers, and grieving for Sagara's sons, Bhagīratha ob-
tained fame by bringing down the Ganges. Jealous of
Indra's fame, Duṣhmanta acquired renown by conquering
the world ; and Rāma, by killing Rāvaṇa when the latter
had purloined Sītā. King Shāhāvadīna, it will be said,
plundered the image of a god ; and this fact, dreadful as
Yama, will make the men in future tremble. When the
king had spoken thus, Udayashri held down his head, .

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 45
as if seeking for a hole in the ground, wishing to go
down into the interior of the earth.
When the sun rises in the sky he causes harm to
his sons, the Saturn and other planets. So when Lāsā
reported against the sons of the king, the king, at her
instigation and out of his affection for her, exiled the
princes from their own country, as if they were his
enemies. They went to the assistance of the lord of
Yoginīpura, and displayed their prowess by superhuman
acts.
As advised, the king killed the rebellious Hindukas,*
and the rebellious Shekandhara and other mlechchhas,
to whom he had assigned salaries out of his generosity.
Alarmed by wicked men, the hero Madanalāvika pre-
pared to rise against the king, but was prevented by
his soldiers. Accustomed to hunting, the king made
a quick march with his soldiers, and removed the beauti-
ful bridge of boats over the Sindhu which was like a
moat.
The heroic king, with the steady courage of a lion,
wandered at Khaḍganagarī in pursuit of game, and he
ran after a lion. Riding a horse, the king ran past the
den, followed only by Madana who was much devoted
to him. The lion, with its mane erect, threw down the
brave and lion like king, who was alone, and who struggl-
ed for a long time. The hero Madanalāvika soon alighted

• This is the first instance where the term "Hindu" is used in
  this book.

46 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
from his horse, and killed the lion with his sword. The
grateful king whose life was thus saved, rewarded him
with wealth ; but apprehending the death of Madana-
lāvika at the hands of wicked men, he wisely sent him
forthwith to the king of Ḍilli on pretence of marriage.
Once upon a time a man named Sharkarasūha saw
in a dream a great city of gold which shone like cham-
paka flowers blown in the sky. He dreamt that he en-
tered into house after house, but he found them all emp-
ty. In a palace however he found a woman of radiant
beauty. He asked her why she was living alone
but fearless in that great city, like the crescent of the
moon in the sky ; and he enquired whose city it was,
why it was tenantless, and whose body was lying before
her. She replied, that, like a beauteous woman whose
husband was dead, or like the night without moon, that
city belonged to the king of the Gandharbhas ; and
the king, in order to govern the country of Kashmīra,
had left his body there, and with all his ministers had
descended on earth. He was known in the three worlds
by the name of Shāhāvadīna, and that she alone was
staying there to keep watch over the body. She said,
that, after completing his work on earth, the king would
return within three months to protect his own city.
When Sharkarasūha awoke, he was sunk in excessive
wonder and grief and meditation, and he narrated his
dream to the king. The king thought to himself that
there was no cause for fear if the dream turned out to

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 47
be false, and if it proved true, he would attain super-
human power ; and so the king was not troubled with
grief. The king then sent letters to his sons, who were
at a distance, to come to him, but they did not come.
This wise sovereign then placed the Hindukas in their
own posts, and on the fourteenth lunar day of the
bright moon of the month of Jaiṣhṭha, in the year 49, he
cheered celestial beauties by his embraces.
King Kumbhadīna succeeded ; his orders were
placed on the heads of kings, his bounty delighted their
hearts, and his prăise was on their lips. He captivated
the hearts of all, even like the sun when he is in the
equinox, and is neither too powerful nor too weak.
Those whom the late king had sent to reconnoître
Lohara had run away in fear of the lord of that country.
All the luminous plants become dull when the moon
sets, and the sun-jewel loses its brilliancy at the setting
of the sun. With a view to attack Lohara, king Kum-
bhadīna sent the powerful Ḍāmara Lolaka from the
city, and Lolaka surrounded the hill of Lohara on all
sides. The lives of the great men who devote them-
selves to their master's work are like grass. The lord of
the fort, unable to defend it, sent Brāhmaṇa messengers
to the Ḍāmara chief, in order to deliver it up. But the
Ḍāmara, who had kept his temper even in the heat of
battle, believed the messengers to be spies in the garb
of Brāhmaṇs, and he chastised them. Brāhmaṇas were
as gods to the lord of Lohara, and when he heard that

48 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
punishment had been inflicted on Brāhmaṇas, he took
courage, held out the fort, and did not despair of his
life. And when he and his people found that death
awaited them whether they fought or fled, they re-
solved on battle which is the avocation of Kshatriyas.
Terrible in battle, they discharged their arrows and
stones, and as they descended from the hill of Lohara,
their fame ascended to the skies. Lola the Ḍāmara
chief was struck by stones and perished with his deeds,
for who can escape the decrees of fate? The stones
discharged by the enemy covered the Ḍāmara Lolaka,
so that he was not deprived of burial, the last rite of the
Yavanas.
King Shāhāvadīna had exiled his own sons, but just
before his death, he had invited them to return by letters
written with his own hand. The eldest and the most
meritorious among them, the prince named Hassana,
came to Mahendramaṇḍala, and met with no opposition.
Here he heard of the death of his father, and shed floods
of tears, even as the pearl oyster sheds pearls, and as if
he thereby offered water to the dead. The following letter
of his father's brother, the king Kumbhadīna of Kashmīra,
made this pure minded prince continue his march, and
prevented him from retracing his steps : " King Shāhā-
vadīna has left us, his servants, out of his friendship for
Indra, and has departed to heaven. He has left us to
seek the company of the celestial Apsarās, and we have
performed the funeral rites which you should have done;