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

62 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
bird which can see from a distance should also be en-
trapped.
When Mahammada heard of these events, he was
anxious, and wished that he could come to Kashmira
in a day, and day and night he felt ill at ease as a poor
man feels for his daughter. In order to give himself
a little rest, Mahammada entered the house of Govinda,
whom he trusted, in the country of Durddaṇḍa. The
cloud which is born of smoke quenches the fire, the fire
which is born of the friction of trees destroys the
forest, the poison tree dries up the land on which it
grows, and thus the people, overpowered with covet-
ousness, behave with enmity even towards those who
do them good. When Mahammada the Mārgapati,
arrived at the house of Govinda the Khasha suspecting
nothing, the latter thus communed within himself for a
time :—The minister Sūhabhaṭṭa, with a view to prevent
a tumult in the kingdom, had opposed the evil minded
Mahammada who was getting up a faction in the coun-
try, and this sinful and powerless man who was trying
to create a disturbance in the kingdom had that day,
out of fear, entered his place ;—it did not appear therefore
to the Khasha that Mahammada deserved protection.
In the meantime, the shrewed men who had been sent
by Sūhabhaṭṭa in search for Mahammada came to the
house of Govinda the chief of the Khashas ; and that
wicked minded man violated the ties of friendship, and
the duty of protection to one who seeks shelter, and

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 63
betrayed his friend Mahammada. As a hunter binds
a sleeping lion, so did the Khasha bind him, as if he
had been an animal, and left him ; and those who had
come in search of him soon took him to Kashmīra. As
the monkey strikes the serpent rendered powerless by
incantations, and as the hunter scatters the mane of a
lion that is dead, even so a strong man may insult one
who is tied down, but what does he gain by it but
censure ? Fearing that the captive should run away,
they placed the honorable, but insulted Mahammada
in the great fort at Bahūrūpa. The new cloud at night
raises the hopes of travellers bound for a distant coun-
try by the light of its lightning but finally overpowers
them ; the lion inspires confidence in his victims by
looking backward before he springs on them. The
Saturn moves in a curve when it overthrows the Ram
and other constellations, so does Fate by a propicious
look inspire confidence in the sinful, but over-
whelms them in the end. Mahammada was consoled
by Shāha, a female servant, and was romoved from his
place of confinement by the sons of his nurse. Maham-
mada, when he was covered with perspiration, deceived
his sentinels by pretending to go to bathe. He entered
the bath, and thence he escaped. He then reached
the place where an opening had been cut by the sons
of his nurse, and he went out, as a swan does from
one great island of this earth to another. There
was a waterfall at Jampā deafening the ear as if in-

64 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
anger, and Mahammada left the fort which looked
like a precipice. The stones and the guard could not
prevent his departure, while the noise of the waterfall
drowned the clanking of the chain in his feet. The
sons of his nurse then broke his chain, and they thought
that they broke thereby the friendship between Sūha-
bhaṭṭa and his friends. Sūhabhaṭṭa feared that the old
Mārgapati would escape as Mahammada had done, and
though he had robbed the old man of his money, he
killed him on the way. When the Mārgapati was killed
by the evil minded Sūhabhaṭṭa, all the people blamed
the latter, and wept as at the death of their father.
Sūhabhaṭṭa, for fear of the people, went about every
night under the guidance of skilful men, like a bird
fallen from its nest. To this helpless man the day was
as night and the night as day. Surely when fate be-
comes unpropitious every thing turns out wrong. As
a fisherman becomes sorry when a large fish leaps out
of his boat and escapes, so was Sūhabhaṭṭa at the escape
of Mahammada froin the prison; and he often thought
of Mahammada.
The people had nursed and protected Piruja, and
when they beheld him, they thought that he was Shi-
kandhara who had gone to heaven. Though Piruja
was the son of Shikandhara by his wife Shobhādevī,
Shikandhara had exiled him from his own country,
inorder to prevent a commotion. He was a prince and
was welcomed by the king of the north; and he now

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 65
came back bringing with him Mahammada, inorder to
conquer the people of Kashmīra. When Sūha heard
that Piruja had come with the Turuṣhka soldiers, he
sent ShrīLadda and Gauraka to oppose him. The
Turuṣhka army was destroyed by the wisdom of Shrī
Laddarāja and by the valor of Gauraka, even as
disease is destroyed by gift and prayer. Relieved of
fear, the minister Sūha made Laddarāja, lord of Kampana,
and Gaurabhaṭṭa, lord of Kramarājya. As in the even-
ing which darkens the mountains, neither the sun nor
the moon is visible, so when Sūhabhaṭṭa, who had
made himself felt by the king, became powerful, neither
the king nor the heir-apparent could raise his head.
The hawk kills other birds, the lion destroys other
animals, the Vajra-jewel pierces other jewels, and the
brilliant sun throws about the planets like flowers, and
thus destruction seems ever to be caused in this world
by one’s own people. Though the king ShrīShikan-
dhara was often instigated by Sūha to persecute the
twice-born, he, whose purpose was tempered by kind-
ness, fixed with some dfficulty, a limit to the advance
of the great sea of the Yavanas. But Sūha passed the
limit by levying fines on the twice-born. As the night
prevents people from seeing any thing but darkness, so
this evil minded man forbade ceremonies and processions
during the new moon. He became envious, and appre-
hended that the twice-born who had become fearless would
keep up their caste by going over to foreign countries ;

66 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
he therefore ordered all the guards on the roads not to
allow passage to any one without a written passport.
Then as the fisherman torments fish in an enclosed
river, so this low born man tormented the twice-born
in the country. The Brāhmaṇas burnt themselves in
the flaming fire through fear of committing sin, and
through fear of him who was like the heat of the fire ;
and thus they escaped. Struck by fear some Brāh-
maṇas killed themselves by means of poison, some by
the rope, others by drowning themselves in water,
others again by falling from a precipice, and others
burnt themselves. The country was contaminated by
hatred, and the king’s favourite (Sūha) could not pre-
vent one man in a thousand from committing suicide.
This wicked man disliked the weight of the kingdom
which was hard to be borne, but he delighted in the
cries of the twice-born, which gave him pleasure. A
multitude of Brāhmaṇas who prided on their caste fled
from the country through bye-roads, as the main roads
were closed, even as men flee under ground when the
doors of their houses are closed. Even as men depart
from this world, so did the Brāhmaṇas flee to foreign
countries, the son leaving his father behind, and the
father leaving his son, to the Death like Sūha who sor-
rowed at the escape of the Brāhmaṇas. The difficult
country through which they passed, the scanty food, pain-
ful illness, and the torments of hell during life time re-
moved from the minds of the Brāhmaṇas the fear of hell.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 67

Oppressed by various calamities, such as encounter with
the enemy, fear of snakes, fierce heat, and scanty food,
many Brāhmaṇas perished on the way, and thus
obtained relief. Where was then their bath, their
meditation, their austerity, and where was then their
prayer? The Brāhmaṇas wandered about in villages
begging, and thus spent their time. The wrong which
was done to the Brāhmaṇas proved beneficial to them,
since exiled by Sūha, the twice-born removed their
sins by visiting holy places. Some twice born men
who were anxious to save their wives, emaciated by
want of food, did not depart to foreign countries, but
wandered about in Kashmīra wearing the dress of the
mlechchhas. Sūha withheld the allowances of the twice
born with a view to extinguish learning, and they, in ex-
pectation of a mouthful of food, went from house
to house, putting out their tongues like dogs. It was
out of his devotion to the religion of the Turushkas,
not out of antipathy towards the twice-born, that he
oppressed the Brāhmaṇas; and hence his victims did
not much complain. This was what Sūhabhaṭṭa told
them inorder to remove the impression which his
actions created that he had antipathy towards the Brāh-
maṇas.
The Brāhmaṇas, the supporters of the world, had
taken refuge of Ratnākara inorder to preserve their
party, and this little Brāhmaṇa became the favourite
of Sūhabhaṭṭa. But Mālānodīna, the great guru of

68 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
the Yavanas, feared that Ratnākara would rise in rebel-
lion, and caused him to be arrested. From the time
that Malānoddīna arrived in the kingdom which was
then without chāmara and umbrella, the desire of
enjoyment did not leave Sūhabhaṭṭa even in dream.
But enjoyments are the fruits of austerities, and the
vain desire of enjoyments was painful to Sūhabhaṭṭa
like the disease of the eye. The ministers attained or
lost rank and honour according to the will of the power-
ful Sūhabhaṭṭa, even as the duration of the seasons
laden with fruits is under the control of the sun. When
Shāhikhāna saw that wisdom and power were centered
in one person, he became alarmed and anxious, and did
not sleep. When he saw the serpent like Sāha, with
his poisonous appearance, he was surrounded by dark-
ness which he could not illumine. Sūhabhaṭṭa spent
three or four years oppressing the twice-born, reviling
the Sāstras, thinking of rebellion, and undergoing medi-
cal treatment for his disease. As if sent by the virtues
of the people, and gathering strength from the sins of
Sūhabhaṭṭa, his consumption, which defied treatment,
withered him up. What could not the sun-jewel have effect-
ed if its fire had not been quenched at the rising of the
moon when the moisture of the moon-jewel allays the
heat of the earth ? Why did he not live for another three
or four years and witness in this world the effect of his
own sins at the time when Shāhikhāna rose to power.
When Sūhabhaṭṭa was living, Laddarāja had fled

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 69
through fear, and Hamsa and Gaura, captured him
after allowing him a little respite. But when Sāha died
they were incited by the lust of royal power to fight
against each other, even as two bulls are attracted by
a cow and engage themselves in breaking each other's
horns. At the time when Laddarāja was released from
prison by Hamsa, Gaurabhaṭṭa died in battle and glad-
dened the hearts of the celestial females. Fortune, ever
moving as the elephant's ear, now abandoned her fickle-
ness, and settled on Hamsa in the absence of a more
deserving object, even as an unchaste woman clings to
an old husband. But Shāhikhāna, though a boy, did not
brook the pride of Hamsa, as the new moon does not
brook the darkness increasing during the dark fort-
night. The wise heir apparent (Shāhikhāna) held a
council of the Ṭhakkuras, and killed in battle Hamsa-
bhaṭṭa who had killed Laddarāja. The love of the
people flowed towards Shāhikhāna, as the water flows
downwards. As black bees disregard the Kunda flower
and go to mango blossom, so the Royal Fortune felt a
desire to embrace the heir apparent, now flushed with
victory. But the time has not yet come for the prince to
be a king, and Royal Fortune remained therefore in a state
of suspense. Owing to the excessive love of the subjects
which the prince enjoyed, and owing also to his clever-
ness, the king bestowed on him the management of the
kingdom out of affection. Then Merakamsāra, the evil
minded Turushka, guided the powers of the prince as

70 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
the iron rod guides an elephant blinded by madness.
Men could not for a long time pollute the king's mind
by dark and evil counsel, as the dark clouds cannot
pollute the Mānasa lake. The king was affectionate
towards his devoted and able younger brother (the heir
apparent), and was also affectionate towards those who
sought shelter with him; but urged by evil minded
men he became uneasy.
The king at last wished to go on pilgrimage, and for
the protection of the people, he thus addressed the
heir apparent and his servants:—"Wealth cannot be
had because those who ask for it will be glad to
have it; our mind becomes corrupt without meditation
and without offerings to the dead, and our body
becomes polluted without pilgrimages to holy places.
I have placed the weight of the kingdom on you as on
the world supporting elephants, and am, like a second
Ananta Nāga, anxious to serve Nārāyaṇa." Agitated
with affection, as the sea with the Mandāra hill, Shāhi-
khāna replied to the king with this speech, sweet as the
new moon:—"Let thy untimely desire to go to pilgri-
mage, which is of doubtful good, abandon thee; rule
thy subjects and thus win the sure gate to fame and
virtue. If you, a warrior, cruelly leave this heriditory
kingdom after having ruled it for a long time, it will be
thought that you leave it for want of ability to rule. If
you are anxious to go on pilgrimage, then what work
shall be left to us, whose duty it is to serve you?"

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 71
When the heir apparent had thus expressed himself,
the king of men made the following speech graced by his
smile :—"The little virtue that is earned by merely
ruling the subject people, is like a chemical compound,
composed of many components. You are like my arm,
though not joined to me in person ; wherefore then
should the people think of my incapacity when they
behold your prowess ? And if you do not carry out my
order, my hopes which are placed on you will be at an
end." The king said thus, and was resolved to go on
pilgrimage, and after a long time made the heir appar-
ent accept the weight of the kingdom, and blessed
him saying,—long may he reign under the name of
ShrīJainollābhadīna !
In the hope of visiting holy places, the king went
out of his own country, but not from the prince's heart
which was blessed with love which like a bolt held fast
the king. The prince gave out valuable jewels from the
treasury, and beautiful horses, and for two nights he
followed his brother. Wicked people spoke to the king
on the way, about the troubles of the journey, the diffi-
culty of attaining virtue, and the small merit of visiting
shrines, and thus removed from the king's mind his
respect for holy places. The proud king of Madra
thought of the reproach which his son-in-law [the king
of Kashmīra] would incur, [by going on pilgrimage],
and caused him to return from the holy place of Hāra.
When the autumn season, like a season of good luck,

72 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
arrived, the king of Madra took the king with him
and returned to Kashmira. Glad at the return of his
brother, but angry at the approach of the army of the
ally the king of Madra, Shāhikhāna became sunk in
joy and displeasure at the same time. But the noble
minded prince cast aside his anger, and out of his affec-
tion for his brother, gave up the kingdom. When the
day expires, the sun gives up his radiance to the fire,
and in the morning the fire returns it to the sun and
becomes an object of praise, and worshippers pour on
it the offering of new ghee during the day and thus
increase its power. As the breeze carries with it the
scent of flowers; even so the prince was accompanied by
all the Ṭhakkuras who were the lords of the country,
and he went out of Kashmira. Left by the Ṭhakkuras,
the army of Madra descended into Kashmira in peace,
like a river without alligators.
The king Ālishāha now ascended his wide ancestral
throne, but did not win the hearts of good men. If the
bright sun does not set, how can the moon with its
visible spots ascend? When a powerless and feeble man
is thoughtlessly raised to power by a warrior, he thinks
the victory due to his own valour, and considers the
universe as a blade of straw. As monkeys disturb a
shady garden by breaking the branches of trees, so did
the Turushkas the servants of the king, disturb the king-
dom. The Yavana Merakāmatra caused a commotion
in the kingdom, uninvited by the king.

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 73
As the black bee pollutes the closing lotus, so did
this barbarian pollute the wives of the citizens, who
were taken to him for his enjoyment. As mountain
elephants, with their long trunks, and blinded by
madness, agitate and pollute a tank, so did the Turuṣhkas
agitate the country and spread alarm. The people of
Kashmira became possessed of Rakṣhasas who could
not be prevented by the council of the ministers from
doing evil, and who did not cease to oppress even in
the day time. It is better for a kingdom to be without
a king than with such a king. It is better for the ear to
be without an ornament than with an iron pendant.
Lofty houses, excellent horses, fine dresses, large gems,
—all that adorned the king were now wrested by the
Yavanas. This inert king reigned for five or six months
more, not through his merit, but through the fullness of
the sins of the subjects. The smoke continues to cause
injury and annoyance until the fire glows brighter and
spreads its flame ;—the smoke withers flowers, obscures
all sides, weakens the eyes, and intercepts the rays of the
sun.
The king did not wish to repay the debt for the
kingdom bestowed on him by Shri Shikandhara, but was
anxious to increase his fortune, and urged by envy
towards Mahendra, the lord of the Khuḥkhuras sent
messengers to Shāhikhāna and asked him to come away
to his own country. If the alligator did not come
out of the water, and the crow did not leave the lofty
7

74 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
tree, and the rat did not quit his hole in the forest, how
could these be killed ? The king, in his anger, marched
against Jasratha for giving shelter to the heir-apparent
who was hostile to the king. The king was eager to
overcome Jasratha, the chief among the strong, and his
eagerness was not checked by his ministers whose in-
fluence was overshadowed by that of the mlechchhas.
The envoys and those who profited by dissensions inform-
ed the king by letters of the rising prosperity of the heir-
apparent, and increased by their advice, his eagerness for
battle. The monarch was flattered by the Yavanas who
hoped to obtain his favour, but his soldiers lost courage
at the triumph of the heir-apparent, and they became
alarmed and blamed the king's attempt. As the king of
Kashmīra marched, the sun shone against him, and the
chiefs who were friendly to him did not join him. The
mlechchha army, maddened with pride, saw darkness per-
sonified in the dust that was raised by them. The king be-
came furious, and caused Rājapurī and other countries,
which he should have taken under his protection, to be
harassed by plunder, as if they had been his enemy's
territories. When the king arrived at a place named
Mudgaravyāla, the king of Madra who was very power-
ful, sent him the following message : — " Though in your
camp there be infantry possessed of wealth, and swift
horses, and warriors skilled in fight, yet be not confident
in your war against the world renowned artifices of the
Khuḥkhuras. We know their artifices in battle, for

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 75
serpents, not others, know the ways of serpents. So long
as we do not come to your help, you should remain
stationary in the mountain.” But blinded by pride,
the wicked chief of the Yavanas believed that the
king of Madra had sent the message inorder to gain
renown for himself. The foolish king then descended
from the hill, as from his high dignity, and his banners
waved in the air as if they trembled in fear of the army
of the king of the Khuḥkhuras. By the charge of the
cavalry, the earth was filled with dust, and Vāsuki was
overwhelmed with fear. The sandy ground was dug up
by the hoofs of horses and drenched in blood; and the
warriors sacrificed their lives in battle, in their valor. As
the waves in the sea break the force of the air, so in
this sea of battle the king was overpowered by mis-
fortune.
Brahmā displays his mercy by bidding the sun rise
when the world is merged in darkness, by causing the
advent of the spring when the joys of earth are des-
troyed by the cold wind of winter, and by sending a
perfect and blameless king when the world is disturbed
with fear by a wicked king. The sinless Shrī Jainollā-
bhadīna, flushed with success, entered Kashmīra like
propitious Fate. This king called forth words of
praise from the lips of good people, and filled all
sides with the sound of the kettledrum, and entered
the capital, but not before he had entered into the hearts
of the people. When the king bathed during his corona-

76. KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
    tion, the minds of his subjects were washed clean ; and
    when he displayed his royal umbrella, the power of his
    enemies became still. His wise policy was like the
    sugar in the juice of the sugarcane, and it removed the
    people's thirst for the good kings of old. The king re-
    vived the disregarded laws of previous kings, as the
    spring revives the plants destroyed by the winter. His
    prowess and his wise policy vied with each other in
    overcoming his enemies who were hard to subdue ; and
    sometimes his prowess and sometimes his policy pre-
    vailed. Beauty dwelt in his person, and the goddess
    of learning on his lips, Fortune rested in his breast,
    and Patience in his mind ; and when Fame saw this, she
    spread his reputation afar. The king's virtuous mode
    of government in the Kaliyuga became glorious like the
    very middle of the Satyayuga. The younger brother of
    the king of Kashmira named ShriMahat Madakhāna be-
    came his partner in royalty, his councellor in matters of
    policy and a judge in the investigation of the Shāstras.
    What more need he said of ShriMahat Madakhāna than
    that through the king's influence he became like the
    king, save only that he had not the royal umbrella
    and chāmara. What the spring is to Cupid, what the
    master's favourite is to other servants, that was the king
    of the Khuḥkhuras to the monarch,—the most beloved
    of all who served him.
    As the fruit of his obtaining the kingdom, the king
    thought it proper to abolish evil practices from the

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 77
country ruined by the mlechchhas ; whereupon his
favourite officers awarded to the oppressors the punish-
ment that was due to them fearlessly, openly, and with-
out asking for the king's orders. The king sowed the
seeds of fame on all sides, planted prosperity in good
men and happiness in the people, and then uprooted
his enemies. In this way he reversed the usual agricul-
tural process [of uprooting wild plants first, and sowing
and planting afterwards.] The sun is always power-
ful, and the moon is always mild, and as if to surpass
them at once, the king combined both these qualifica-
tions in himself. How shall I describe all his innumer-
able virtues in this condensed narrative? Can the king
of the elephants find room in the hole of the jackal?
I therefore paint his virtues in this book, as the Himālaya
of the three worlds are painted in a picture, or as the sun
is reflected in a mirror. As the cold and the heat are
of equal power in the early part of summer, or as the
days and nights are equal when the sun is in the equinox,
so the king looked with equal eyes on his own as on
others. As the traders do not allow any inequality
in their scales, so the king did not brook inequality [in
his administration.] As the lion does not attack other
animals in the peaceful hermitage of saints, so the
Turuṣhkas, who were much alarmed, did not now oppress
the Brāhmaṇas as they had done before. Brilliant as
the sun, the king bestowed his favours on men of merit
[Brāhmaṇas] whose very existence had been endangered

78 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
by the moon-like Sūha, the very source of evil. Possessed
of merit and appreciating merit in others, the king
encouraged learning ; and the stream of learning which
had run downward, like a canal which breaks through a
gap, now began to flow smoothly once more. He was the
destroyer of evils, and he preserved by various means
the good usages of Kashmira, even as a physician helps
our digestive functions by medicines. As if to purify the
earth polluted by the touch of Sūhabhaṭṭa, the king
kindled the fire of his prowess which lighted up the
great firmament. He pursued his policy in five different
ways, and his enemies, as if to defeat his purpose, dis-
solved themselves into the five elements, (died.)
To praise him for having conquered his external foes,
would be to reproach a monarch who had conquered the
ever present internal foes (the passions).
Though great in his strength, the king of the world
undertook expeditions only when there was an enemy
to overcome. The sun marches through the sky only
to overcome the moon and stars. Powerful as he was,
he did not wish to conquer others for the thirst of
wealth : the lion does not kill elephants for the sake of
meat. His enemies in the hilly regions were subjected,
as if for their purification, to five fires, viz. :—the sun,
the forest fire, the king's prowess, the fire of grief,
and the fire of fatigue. Although a dweller of this
earth the king never went astray, even as the moon when
full never rises but when the night begins. The politic

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 79
king levied taxes from his poor subjects that they might
not perish through their pride. The Fame of his enemies
along with their Royal Fortune, sacrificed herself in the
fire of the king’s prowess at the extinction of their own.
Once on a time, Jasratha, oppressed by the king of
Ḍhilli took shelter under the king, and he protected him
as the mountain protects darkness in its caves from the
sun.
During the time when this restrainer of the wicked
ruled the country, there lived a Brāhmaṇa at Jayāpīḍa-
pura. He had a cow which was the very embodyment
of the hope of the gods. The cow once broke away
from him and fled, either in quest of corn in villages,
or by the will of fate. The Brāhmaṇa went to
Maḍavarājya, to bathe in a shrine, and there recog-
nised his cow, the marks of which animal he knew.
He knew that the cow was his, and he followed the
animal in the evening and quarrelled with the master
of the house to which it went. The master of the
house was urged by cupidity, and the Brāhmaṇa was
certain that the animal was his, so their quarrel did
not cease, and they took their dispute before the king’s
court. There they were unable to meet each other’s
arguments, and the king threw some water-nuts before
the cow inorder to test their claims. The cow had
been accustomed to eat the nuts in its younger days,
it smelled them and ate them with alacrity like fruits ;
but its calves did not eat them for a long time. The

80 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
people who had not been able to determine the case,
praised the skill of the king, and the king caused the
pretender to be punished by the twice born, even as one
deserving of punishment is punished.
Though the king was kind hearted, yet for the sake of
his people he would not forgive even his son, or a minister,
or a friend if he were guilty. Mereshāya the Yavana was
once drunk and killed his wife without any fault,and though
he was the king's favourite, yet the king caused him to be
executed. He who was like Indra on earth humiliated his
enemies and honored those who were saintly and wise. He
was graced with power, kindness, and wisdom in a greater
degree than any other king that had reigned before.
Cupid causes apachita (suffering) to parted lovers, but
the king who was graceful as Cupid paid apachita (honors)
to the wise. Beauty and fierceness were blended in the
king. Where except in the sea can be seen both poison
and nectar, both water and fire together ? Judges used
to take money from the plaintiffs and the defendants
since a long time, but the practice was disallowed by the
good and virtuous king.
There was a Brāhmaṇa named Laularāja who for
some reason sold a plot of level land out of ten pieces
which he possessed, and the sale was effected in writing.
Laularāja died in the year of sale, after telling his young
son Nonarāja and others of the transaction. Nonarāja and
the others were weak, and consequently the powerful
purchasers took possession of the other nine plots though

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 81

they were not sold. They were powerful and for a
long time kept possession of the ten plots, but inorder
to secure them legally they forged entries in the docu-
ment. Before the time of this king who was a careful
judge, they had caused the words 'ten pieces of level
land have been sold' to be written by Nonarāja's son.
I was in the court, and was grieved that the land was
thus forcibly taken possession of. Then by the king's
orders the litigants brought the document, and the judi-
cious king read it and threw it in water. [Half of a
couplet appears to be wanting here.] The newly written
letters were effaced and the old ones remained showing
that one piece of level land had been sold. The king
then caused it to be read by his courtiers. Thus the
king's fame spread on all sides. I obtained some land,*
the forgerer received severe punishment, the subjects
were happy, and the wicked remained in fear.
The moon, when full, is sometimes afraid of Rāhu ;
the cloud which gives rain sometimes strikes us with
terror and hurls thunderbolts on trees ; and even so
the Creator, who creates good men for the delight of
the world, sometimes causes apprehension by sending
diseases. At one time a poisonous boil gave much
pain to the king in his forearm, and to his sub-
jects in their hearts. As flowers are not obtainable
in the month of Māgha on account of the mischief

* The wanting portion would perhaps have showed the share
the author had in winning the suit by which he obtained land.