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

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;

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 49
and we have held the kingdom on our head according
to the orders of the departed king, the wisest of men, in-
order to protect these realms strung together, like a gar-
land, by his policy. By going to exile under the orders of
your father, and now returning by his desire, you have
filled your country with fame, like Rāma. By your own
merit you have obtained honor, and will earn yet more.
Accept the post of the heir-apparent, and lighten the
weight that is on me. Your fortitude, the company of
courtiers and friends, and the duty of protecting the
people will soon assuage your grief. As the dead derive
no pleasure from fame, even so great men who live in
foreign lands derive no pleasure from wealth. You are
the image of him who has gone to heaven ; show your-
self to us, and relieve us of the sorrow we feel for him.
Let the people of a foreign country no more point you
out with their finger, as they do an ordinary person, and say
'this is the son of Shāhāvadīna'. Do not look up for favour
to princes who are dependant on me and who receive my
favours ; do not slight the wealth of Kashmīra. As the
serpent, which supports the world, places its weight on
the Meru mountain, even so shall I place the weight
of the kingdom on you and enjoy repose and wealth.
So long as I rule the subjects, you will live in the same
dignity which king Shāhāvadīna bestowed on me. Do
not therefore decline our request and thereby disappoint
[your mother] Lakshmī who acts according to the advice
of Udayashrī and other ministers."

50 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
The prince did not know that kings are guided
by other men as elephants are guided by their ears.
He read the letter and descended along the road to
Kashmira. He was, as it were, forbidden to enter that
country by the clouds which gathered before him, and
thundered. He shed a lustre on the road to Kashmíra
as he entered it, but the instigations of the wicked
poisoned the ears of the king. Wicked ministers are
to the world what the fire is to the forest. Some of
them in their ambition to rise, agitate the mind of the
king, as crocodiles agitate the sea. Some, in their
pride, shake the king as the wind shakes the tops of
plants. When prince Hassana had entered Kashmira,
the wicked thus said to king Kumbhadina:—"The wisdom
of the king is superior to that of others, the ministers
may, nevertheless, be permitted to speak to enable him
to decide what is beneficial and what is harmful. Even
sovereigns, who comprised in them a portion of Indra
and of the rulers of the four directions of the sky and
the four corners of the universe, were injured by the
members of their own family. A brother is like a black
serpent which is known to live on air and whose course
is tortuous; such a brother's touch is destruction. Who
can then be safe from danger? The prince will not
be satisfied with wealth or submit to you; the fire does
not become cool by coming in contact with cold ob-
jects. Do not think that he being alone can do no
harm to thee who art a king. What is the king of

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 51

elephants with his herd in the presence of a lion ?
But it would not be wise by our advice to destroy
his power, for the sensible Udayashrī, out of regard
for his late master, guards the prince. O ! Chief of
kings ! Hassana is not a fit object of your favour,
nor is he to be cast off ; he will become proud if you
favour him, and will cause you harm if you cast him
off ; as a man of spirit he will never forgive a wrong.
Does not the submarine fire always heat the sea ? Im-
prison him therefore and remove the anxiety of the
people,—those who are anxious for the king and also
those who are not.” As water becomes unsuitable for
drink if it flows into a lake from a dirty pool, even so the
king became estranged from Hassana by the words of
the wicked.
The king noticed the strange and haughty conduct
of the prince, he marked it, he heard of it, and he felt
it, but as the prince was his brother’s son, the king
did not imprison him out of affection. Udayashrī no-
ticed that the king was vexed with the prince, and thus
said to the prince’s nurse, the widow of Lolaḍāmara.
‘Ḍāmara Lolaka died, out of his affection for his late
master, and he did not tarnish his honor by serving
a new and wicked master. There is no hope of obtain-
ing wealth from the present evil minded king, and the
life of Hassana who was brought up by you is in dan-
ger. Ask the king therefore to accept the wealth which
you possess, so that this avaricious man may come

52 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA:
to your house. When he is once in your house we will
kill him or seize him by force, and then the prince will
prosper." It so happened that this plan was revealed
to the king; Udayashrī became alarmed, and caused
Hassana to flee. Men like him are precious like the philo-
sopher's stone, and are worthy of praise in this world,
for he remanied fixed in his resolution, and he caused
another to flee. He was engaged in an undertaking
than which nothing could be more desperate; and he
was detected in it, but the forgiving king did not be-
head him. Udayashrī's faults were concealed in his worth,
and he passed his days, pure in appearance, like a lotus
in the mud. Though the moon-jewel be at a distance
from the moon, and concealed in water, does it not
even then emit moisture when embraced by the rays
of the moon? Thus thought Udayashrī to himself,
and he felt a desire to go to the prince; but the
king, who had heard of his treason, placed him in
prison; and, as if instigated by the gods who seemed to
know his purpose and that of his instructor, slew him in
anger. The elephant which crushes the lotus, the wind
that breaks the sandal tree, and the king who destroys
good men deserve censure in the three worlds. This
world is like a garden, and men are the flowers, and it is
in their words that praise which is like perfume, is sought..
As the blind man, who has lost his hands and feet, becomes
excessively timid, even so prince Hassana became timid
at the death of Udayashrī. The evil minded Khasha

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 53
chiefs were glad at the reward bestowed on them by their
master, and even attempted to kill prince Hassana.
When the enemies were confounded and dispirited, and
they melted away, the wisdom of the king became like
a light to the people. Then on the banks of the Vitastā
he built a town marked with his name, and the lofty
golden umbrella placed upon it seemed, by its beauty, to
mock the skies. The king saw that the people died of
famine every year and he performed a Jajña in the
month of Bhādra, and distributed large gifts.
In the old age of this king, the hair about his ears
became white, as if by listening to the nectar like words
of good men. But the king was not yet blessed with a
boy who would have been an ornament to the family,
a rock of support to the world, and a destroyer of the
enemy's prosperity. At last there came a yogi named
Brahmanātha from Kashmīra, and through his favour, the
king obtained a son after a time. The queen gave birth
to a son who was the ornament of the family and the
delight of his father, who was like a feast after a fast, a
subverter of darkness, and a destroyer of the eyes of
enemies. The king of the world saw the child who was like
the abode of love, and he named it Shṛiṅgāra. In the
festivities which were held on the occasion, the king, out
of the gladness of his heart, ordered the imprisoned to be
released, and it is strange that the boats in the bridge of
boats were still kept chained. The queen gave birth to
another boy, named Haivata, whose beauty rebuked the

54 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
moon. It was a spot in the character of the king, as
there is a spot in the moon, that he took unto him as
his wife the dame world, although she was of his family.
On the second day of the dark moon, in the month of
Bhādra, in the year 65, king Kumbhadīna, the chief
among kings, died. The queen was sunk in sorrow,
and the two princes were infants, the subjects were
therefore without a master and were struck with fear.
The profuse tears of the queen were like the rains in
the rainy season, and the ministers were like fish therein.
Uddaka and Sāhaka consoled the heroic queen. They
said, that it was useless to indulge in grief, that one
must have patience under such a misfortune, and that
the evil minded people were rising in the kingdom which
was without a strong ruler and without a king. They
then crowned the elder Shekandhara [Sekender] as king
of this great kingdom. By the order of the new king,
Uddaka treacherously burnt Mahammada, son of Sāha,
and his own daughter and son-in-law to death. The huge
whale unwittingly devours its spawn, and the bee which is
destined to perish when its hive will be robbed of honey,
destroys its own mother. What wicked deed will not
foolish men do under temptations,—their senses per-
plexed, and knowing that at the end they will be con-
sumed by fire? The prosperity of the great queen
ShrīShobhā was worthy of admiration. She beautified
the world with a golden linga, and the heaven with the
mark of her own virtue.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 55
Uddaka apprehended that as he had destroyed the
king's friend, he would be killed, and he removed the
king's brother by poison. He had sworn to Sāhaka
that he would by his own sword cut his own throat
before rising against Sāhaka. By such assurance, he
obtained the confidence of Sāhaka and killed him. To
the evil minded, whose destruction is near, their evil
deed becomes the harbinger of their death. The king
was apprehensive that he would be killed like his bro-
ther, but he had now grown up, and he made his party
strong. But the proud Udda, who had returned after
conquering the Bhauṭṭas, was unable to brook the ad-
vancement of others, and he killed Khuñjyārāja, brother
of Shrī Shobhā. Uddaka then ordered Mammaka, a
dependant of his, to create a disturbance at Dvāra, and
discarding the king's affection for him, he went in pride
to Helara. He heard that Laddarāja and others were
following the king, bow in hand, and were prepared for
battle in some deserted place. They whose destruction
is nigh think themselves to be sensible men, and gene-
rally mistake their own shadow for ghosts. The soldiers
of Udda had come prepared for fight, but when they
saw some she-buffaloes on the other side of the Vitastā,
they mistook them for horses, and fled. The king
pursued them, and at night captured Uddaka at Vitas-
tāpura, but was afraid of a disturbance in the city and
returned. Though Uddaka deserved to be killed, the
king cast him into prison out of pity. But Uddaka

56 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
was stained with the sin of treachery against those who
had confided in him, he feared death from the king
who was mild on account of his kindness, and he cut
his throat by his own sword. As the king of birds kills
serpents, and the lion kills jackals, so the king of the
world killed the guards placed on him. Kingdom and
the safety of his body and mind and his personal free-
dom were preserved to the king even like the fruits of
penance performed in the midst of five fires.
The king dispelled the gathering gloom of the pride
of other kings, and commenced his march which alas!
terrified Indra. His great prowess coloured the world
red, but made colourless the nails of the sorrowing
wives of hostile kings. At this time the king of the
mlechchhas had plundered Ḍilli and made it like a
widow deprived of ornaments and without a protector.
When the king of the mlechchhas returned, he was
afraid of the king of Kashmira, and gave him two large
elephants as presents. The elephants exuded moisture
as they passed and the line marked by the moisture
was the boundary of the kingdom of Kashmira which
the king of the mlechchhas himself seemed to demar-
kate. The two big elephants looked like peaks of the
Himālaya, and Agastya became angry, apprehending
that the Vindhya mountain was rising in dimension.
When they crossed the Vitastā, they saw their own
reflection in the water, and became angry, mistaking
the shadows for rival elephants. They were proud of

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 57.
their rounded foreheads which mocked the beauty of
the bosoms of the king's wives. They were stabled
in the elephant stable which was like a prison to them.
The bountiful king not only satisfied those who
asked, with gift of gold, but even distributed it of his
own accord. When he made gifts, his hands hung down
and were contracted, for he felt abashed at the praises
of those who asked, and obtained what they asked.
Who can describe his gifts? He dipped his hand in
water before making a gift, and his hand looked like a
lotus under the water. The lines on his thumb were
like barley grains, but they did not sprout by being
constantly drenched in water ; because, I imagine, of
their constant contact with the handle of the sword.
It was perhaps owing to the sins of the subjects that
the king had a fondness for the Yavanas, even as a boy
has a fondness for mud. Many Yavanas left other
sovereigns and took shelter under this king who was
renowned for charity, even as bees leave the flowers and
settle on elephants. As the bright moon is among the
stars, so was Mahammada of Mera country among these
Yavanas ; and although he was a boy, he became their
chief by learning. The king waited on him daily, humble
as a servant, and like a student he daily took his lessons
from him. He placed Mahammada before him, and
was attentive to him like a slave. As the wind destroys
the trees, and the locusts the shāli crop, so did the
Yavanas destroy the usages of Kashmīra. Attracted by

58 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
the gifts and honors which the king bestowed, and by
his kindness, the mlechchhas entered Kashmīra, even
as locusts enter a good field of corn.
On a certain occasion the king subdued the king of
Udabhāṇḍapura, and being pleased with his daughter
Shrī Merā, obtained her as the goddess of victory in-
carnate. She was surely a goddess, born in the family
of Shāhi, and her son was destined, on a future day, to
consolidate Kashmīra destroyed by the mlechchhas.
That boy named Shrī Jainollābhadīna was like virtue
incarnate in the Kali Yuga and like the king of hermits,
he became the king's favourite.
A certain wily alchemist named Mahādeva gave
some drug to the king and spoke to him of alchemy, and
said that the golden Meru was indebted to the king
for having constantly borne the weight of the world,
and had through Mahādeva, bestowed much gold on
him. But his alchemy did not remove Mahādeva's
poverty. He deluded the sight by deception, and ex-
hibited gold in the crucible, and the delusion lasted for
a long time. But the king by his strong sense detected
the trick, and told Mahādeva of it. Alarmed at this dis-
covery, Mahādeva committed suicide.
Laddarāja the physician Shaṅkara, and Bhaṭṭa Sūha
were the councillors of the king and were intimate with
him. Three sons were born to queen Merā, beautiful
as Cupid, and like Virtue, Wealth, and Desire personi-
fied ; and they were adorned with the names of Mera-

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 59
khāna, Shāhikhāna, and Mahmadakhāna, as the three
worlds are beautified by the waves of the Ganges. The
sons of queen Shovā were adopted children, and were
therefore banished. One of them, Piruja, was, however, not
banished from the city by the king. On the side of
Pradyumna hill, the king built a town, even like the
town of Alakā reflected on the Mānasa lake, and in-
habited by virtuous people. The Yavanas, who had
accumulated wealth, were indifferent as to the king's
treasure, whether it was large or small. The kingdom of
Kashmīra was polluted by the evil practices of the
mlechchhas, and the Brāhmanas, the mantras, and the
gods relinquished their power. The gods who used to
make the glory of their prowess manifest, even as fire-
flies manifest their light, now hid their glory on ac-
count of the country's sin. When the gods withdrew
their glory, their images became mere stones, and the
mantras, mere letters. Owing to the sin of the Kali
yuga, the merits of those who did virtuous acts were lost,
and the gods deserted the images, even as serpents cast
off their skins. As a crystal becomes red or white or
black by the reflection of the object that is near it,
even so, the king became changed. Sūhabhaṭṭa who
disregarded the acts enjoined by the Vedas, and was
instructed by the mlechchhas, instigated the king to
break down the images of gods. The good fortune of the
subjects left them, and so the king forgot his kingly
duties and took a delight, day and night, in breaking

60 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
images. Of the tree of misgovernment [which was now
planted] Harṣhadeva the Turuṣhka was the seedling,
sinfulness was the root and the terrible devastations
caused by the Lavanyas were the leaves. Its flower
was Ḍalacha the king of the mlechchhas ; and its fruits
were the daily troubles of the king who broke images
at the instigations of the mlechchhas. He broke the
images of Mārttaṇḍa, Viṣhaya, Īshāna, Chakrabhṛit,
and Tripureshvara ; but what can be said of the evil
that came on him by the breaking of the Sheṣha ? When
Sureshvarī, Varāha, and others were broken, the world
trembled, as if through fear, but not so the mind of the
wicked king. There was no city, no town, no village,
no wood, where Sūha the Turuṣhka left the temples of
gods unbroken. Of the images which once had existed,
the name alone was left, and Sūhabhaṭṭa then felt the
satisfaction which one feels on recovering from illness.
Sūhabhaṭṭa with the leaders of the army tried to destroy
the caste of the people ; it was like a boy eating the
unwholesome food. The Brāhmaṇas declared that
they would die if they lost their caste, and Sūhabhaṭṭa
subjected them to a heavy fine because they held to
their caste. At the time when his dependents who
belonged to the Brāhmaṇa and other castes forsook
their caste, ambitious to obtain the favour of the king,
Shrī Siṁha and Bhaṭṭakasthūṭa, two merchants, became
worthy of praise, and Shrī Nirmmalāchāryyavaryya
deserved praise in the three worlds. Nirmmalāchāryya