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

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.

82 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
caused by snow, even so physicians who knew about poi-
sons could not, at that time, be found in the country,
owing to the oppression of the mlechchhas. The ser-
vants of the king at last found out Shivabhaṭṭa who knew
the antidotes of poisons, and who performed religious sa-
*crifices ; even as travellers discover a well in a desert.
He was well versed in the art of healing, but out of
fear of the mlechchhas he, for a long time, delayed
to come. When he arrived, the king gave him en-
couragement, and he completely cured the king of the
poisonous boil, even as an elephant uproots a poison-
ous tree. When that boil was healed, the fame of the
physician increased with the comfort of the king, and
the gladness of the people. The king was pleased and
gave him much wealth, but Shivabhaṭṭa did not look
at wealth, even as a man who has conquered his pas-
sions does not look at beautiful women. [Here a part
of a line is wanting, the probable meaning is that] He
spent the gold and silver in payment of fines by which
the twice-born preserved the purity of their caste.
The king caused rest-houses for travellers to be
built at the out skirts of villages, and they were sup-
ported by the villages ; and he caused shelters to be
built within forests. The buildings which were raised
for the deceased females of the twice-born stood at every
place, as if in them the females of that caste laughed at
Sāhabhaṭṭa. Thus the king, with unabated kindness,
saved the world oppressed by the mlechchhas, even

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 83
as Nārāyaṇa saved the world oppressed by the Dānavās.
The king humbled those who were high and raised up
the lowly, and he thus levelled the world inorder
to sow the seed of his fame. The king had vowed not to
touch the wives of others, but he broke the vow when he
embraced the goddess of Fortune who had belonged to
others before.
Then the king, who had gone through all the cir-
cumstances of life, and who knew all things, placed
Tilakāchāryya the Buddhist, in the highest position.
Shivabhaṭṭa, Tilaka, and Siṁha the astrologer, became
the steps by which Brāhmaṇas rose to appointments. As
the kokila increases his passion by tasting the juice
of fruits, even so the king developed his finer senti-
ments by serving the principal Brāhmaṇas. Shrīmāna
Karpurabhaṭṭa, the preserver of lives, (physician) drew
men of worth into the celebrated court of the king by
his merit. Rūpyabhaṭṭa could, without the labour of cal-
culation, but by merely observing the course of the planets
in the past year, know their position in the year to come.
At times ShrīRāmānanda's explanation of steam in the
country of Darada. * * * *
The kings of Gāndhāra, Sindhu, Madra, and Adri,
of this king * * * * At this time the king of
Khuḥkhura defeated and captured Māladeva the king
of Madra, but the king caused him to be released. The
**** Asterisks signify that a part is wanting in the original text.

84 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
king, the king of Rājapurī * * * * soon opposed the
march of Raṇaśīha and caused him to roll on the ground.
The king of Udabhāṇḍapura, though supported by the
king of Sindhu, was repeatedly overthrown by the king,
like a pebble, and was then cast down. Once upon
a time the king dyed his arrows in the hot blood
of the people in the Gogga country in the land of the
Bhauṭṭas ; and he pleased his own people by his virtues.
Having won the battle in the country of Shayā, the king
saved the golden image of Buddha from the Yavanas
by issuing severe orders. * * * * The power of the
king was like a test stone for the power of the Bhauṭṭas.
The king destroyed the beauty of the city of Lūta. The
hearts of the Bhauṭṭas which were empty, were filled with
the fear of the king, but their treasury where wealth had
been accumulated since a long time remained empty. The
kind hearted king, though engaged in endless wars, made
due enquiries after his subjects, even as a cultivator does
after the shāli crop. His bow was unable to brook
equality with the bow of Nārāyaṇa or of Mahādeva, but
it was not much used, as his work was accomplished
from a distance.
Noṣrata, son of Laddarāja had been favoured by the
king but was now sent into exile, though his wealth
was not confiscated, as the king considered him to be a
rebel. A Yavana named Saḍaula came from the coun-
try of Makka (Mecca) and arrived before the king bring-
ing with him many books. The king loved men of

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 85
merit and he appeared before him, but the man was
boasting of his own qualifications. * * * The
judicious sovereign soon perceived that the man was as
void of qualifications as a drum is empty within. But
that sea of mercy, that lord of the life of the world,
did not withdraw his favour from the mlechchha beggar,
although void of merit, even as the father does not
withdraw his affection from his son. Like the darkness
of the night, and like nocturnal lightning, the many
vices of this wicked man frightened the people. At
this time, a great hermit who had conquered his pas-
sions seated himself on a high pillar inorder to obtain
emancipation by the practice of yoga. For nine days
he sat on the pillar with closed eyes and without food,
and by his blessing the queen gave birth to a son.
Thus he sat there at yoga, and on the ninth day, the
great festivity on account of the birth of the prince took
place. Sadaula became jealous at seeing the hermit
constantly favoured, and having lost his senses by intoxi-
cation from wine, he killed the hermit by arrows with the
help of mlechchhas. At the sight of the deed, the warm
and sorrowful tears of the people fell on the ground, and
their censure fell on the king. When the king heard of
the act, he drowned himself, as if for purifying his person,
in the sea of fear, shame, anger, and surprise, and in the
thought of what he should do. On that day, when his
first son was born, the king did not bathe, nor eat, nor
speak, nor do anything. On the next day the king
8

86 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
consulted his religious guide and learned men versed
in law, and he learnt that Sadaula deserved to be killed.
Sadaula was not killed, owing to king’s kindness, but the
king ordered him to ride on an ass with his face towards
the tail, and to be led about every market place, his
beard drenched with human urine, his head shaved, every
one spitting on him, and his hands tied with the entrails
of the dead man. The punishment was like death to
him though he was alive ; and pure flowers from heaven
which perfumed all sides fell on the king as well as the
blessings of the citizens, for this act of justice.
Like Dasharaṭha, the king had four sons given unto
him, and they were the delight of the people, and were
born of the two daughters of the king of Madra. The
eldest was named Ādamakhāna, the second, Hejyākhāna,
the younger ones were named Jassarathakhāna, and
Baherāmakhāna.
The Mandara hill churned the sea of cream, and re-
covered the nectar and the precious stones, which were
lying useless before, and brought them to use by bestow-
ing them on proper persons. That Mandara hill, worthy
of praise, is the king of the mountains. Even like him
the king obtained wonderful fame by joining a waterfall
to a stream, and the rivers which had been dry became
filled with water. The king caused the canal which ran
along the field to be extended to the lands at Utpalapura,
and he thus made both the canal and the lands useful.
He caused a canal to be carried down to the desert of

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 87
Nandashaila, and thus made the people think of the
Chakradhara in the midst of the sea. This beneficent
king held high his unsullied fame and made the country
of Karāla a theme of praise by means of a canal. In
Karāla, the king built Jainapurī where the Brāhmaṇas
had their rent free villages, and where women had neck-
laces. The king, whose history is pleasant, caused a
canal to be constructed in the lands of Avantipura, and
the canal was rich in shāli crop. When the water of the
Ganges was made to unite by a mountain channel with
the Mānasa lake, was the water of the Ganges purified
by that of the Mānasa, or the Mānasa lake purified by
the water of the Ganges? The king embellished the
Mānasa lake by building a town on its side, and its
image was reflected on the lake and looked as if it were
another town. This prosperous king connected Suyyapura
with the bank of the Vitastā, and thus removed the great
trouble which the land had experienced from heat. He
built Jainanagarī, rich with maṭhas, provided with rent
free lands for Brāhmaṇas, and with market places, ex-
tending from Pradyumna hill to Amareshapura. That
town with its high stone built houses of the Nāgas, was
reflected on the Jainagaṅgā, as if it rose from the water to
conquer the heaven. The pious king of unsullied fame,
forgot the joys of worshipping the feet of Hari in the
favour of the god Raṇasvāmī and Jainagaṅgā. On the
other side of Suyyapura, he built a town named Snānagiri,
and adorned with houses, it became equal to Kailāsa hill.

88 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
The king whose fame had extended on all sides and was
widely known, and who had subdued his enemies, built
a royal city named Siddhipurī at Siddhakshetra, in
Sureshvarī; and above the palace he built the two temples
of Mārttanḍa and Amaranātha which illumined the dis-
tant sky. In former times Suyyarāja had sought to in-
crease the prosperity of the country. Since then several
kings had passed away, but owing to the poverty of the
people's virtue, there was not the least increase; nor did
plenty put forth twigs, or flowers, or fruits by the strength
of religious penance. But owing to the purity of the
religious penance of Shrī Jainollābhadīna, prosperity was
sood attained; or how else could the prosperity be
accounted for? When the virtues of the previous kings
had worn off, they fell, but this king [so multiplied his
acts of merit] by obtaining this kingdom, as to secure
another in the next life. The land was previously de-
pendent on the rain [for its crops], but the king made
it dependent on the river; and he granted rent free lands
to Brāhmaṇas. At Barāhakshetra, Vijaya [kshetra] and
Īshānaka the great king opened houses of charity, and
thereby caused even Indra to tremble. In places, where
lands were sold, the king opened offices inorder to note
the sale on Bhūrja bark, so that the sale might not be
subsequently denied.
King Jayāpiḍa had, by the favour of the Nāgas, dis-
covered a hill of copper, and the hill yielded him that
metal as a tribute. During this reign, the earth gave

out from its mines, jewels such as are difficult to be
found, and such as humble the pride of the ruby. These
jewels are known by the name of Jainamaṇi. During
this reign the people collected from the sandy banks of
rivers, gold which humbled the pride of talc and which
resembled termeric in color. Pressed by the people,
the king caused an order to be inscribed on a copper
plate, to the effect that future kings should take only a
sixth part of the gold obtained from rivers. The Ḍāmara
Kācha, superintendent of the capital, built in the city
a stone bridge one krosha in length, on the road
which was difficult to traverse. Thus the virtuous king
not only raised himself from mire, but delivered all men
within the city from mud by the construction of the
bridge. Shivabhaṭṭa built large maṭhas in various locali-
ties, and the other ministers of the king also built many
religious houses.
As two powerful elephants, elated with pride, are
ever ready to agitate the water in a tank, and in their
madness fight with their trunks, and perish within a
short time ; even so Sayedha and Shūra, born of the
same family, sons of the king’s nurse, were unable to
brook each other’s prosperity ; and endeavoured to do
harm to each other. The king, however, assuaged their
anger, and they felt affection and kindness towards each
other ; but they killed a man, [as described below], and
prepared themselves for a commotion. Masoda Ṭhakkura,
was pierced, in presence of the king, by the taunts of

90 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
Shūra, which were sharp as arrows, and casting away
his weapons went unarmed at night, attended by a
limited number of followers ; Shūra finding him in a
defenceless condition killed him. His brother, Vinna
Ṭhakkura, celebrated for his valour, demanded permis-
sion from the kind hearted king to kill Shūra. The
Ṭhakkura then killed Shūra with his followers, and thus
increased his fame and relieved his mind.
The king honored the saints to such an extent, that
even the king of Madra and others attended on them
like dogs. The king took his instructions about religious
penances and about the pleasures of life from both supe-
rior and inferior hermits, and gave them ear-pendants,
vessels of gold, and clothes. Indra, the conqueror of
the three worlds, is not satisfied with the fame he acquir-
ed by cutting off the wings of mountains, by obscuring
the sun in clouds, and by performing a hundred religious
sacrifices, but he also displays in unsubstantial clouds,
composed of smoke, air, and water, the lustre of his per-
son in varied tints,—yellow, white, black, red, and green.
Likewise, the king, who appreciated courage, desired, for
the sake of obtaining fame, to perform what was beyond
the power of the past sovereigns, and what will be beyond
the ability of future kings. Time is endless, and great
is the expanse of the world, so that some future kings
in some distant country may believe it possible for
them to perform such worthy and enterprising acts, and
accomplish deeds which may almost rival his. The

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 91

king was not pleased to hear of the deeds of enterprise
achieved by past kings in inaccessible mountains or lakes.
And as the poet arranges words according to the sound,
so did the king act according to the advice of merchants
in pursuit of wealth. The king was anxious to make
oblations to the fire, and leaving all other thoughts
aside, he heard Nīlapurāṇa and other sāstras read by
the paṇḍitas.
For a long time the king had conceived that this
world was to the universe what the face is to the body;
and that Kashmīra was the principal portion of this
world as the eyes are of the face, and that the line of
mountains around were like eyelashes. Inside, like the
eyeball, was located the Mahāpadma lake where large
lotuses grew, and like the * * * * If the lake could be
filled up and gradually built upon by any means, the
kingdom * * * * This prince of lakes, whose fathom-
less waters extended over twenty eight kroshas, like the
great purposes of great men * * * * In order
to accomplish his purpose the king went by a boat to
the middle of the lake, even as a yogi attains the
Supreme Soul by means of his own. * * * * Previous
kings did not go to the great Mahāpadma lake constant-
ly agitated by waves, through fear that the boat might be
demolished. It was either by the power of penance, or
by his patience, or on account of the greatness of his aim,
that the king moved in the waters of the lake as easily as
he would on land. What the mind can conceive can be

92 KINGS OF KASHMÍRA.
worked out after a time; but what the ordinary mind
cannot conceive is possible to genius alone. The good
king could not at first settle what to do, but he at last
devised means to convert the lake into land. He thought
of filling up that lake, by conveying stones in carts and
throwing them into it one above another, even as a sea is
filled up by peaks of mountains. The waggons, if built
of pine planks with iron clasps, would not, he thought,
break or wear off.
The eager king then returned and sought the help
of old men, and they came to him. As the Sudarshana
chakra encircles Dvārikā, even so was the peaceful
capital of this king encircled by these men. The
presiding god of his city * * * * the Mahāpadma lake.

• • • • He protected the people of the four castes as if
        they were his sons * * * * It was owing to the in-
        fluence of the Kaliyuga that the people of the country
        followed evil practices day by day and yet prospered.
• • • • Then as the fruit of their evil practices, and
        owing to adverse fortune, the lord of the Nāgas became
        angry, even as a good man does on receiving an offence.
        In a dream he said to a potter who had not left off his good
        usages, that he would drown the citizens who had adopted
        evil practices. When the potter told the people in the
        morning that the Nāga would drown them for their
        evil practices he was laughed at by all the citizens, as
        if he was an irrational beast. Then the Nāga agitated the
        lake by his hundred hoods, and the roar of the water

KINGS OF KASHMÍRA. 93

seemed like that of an enemy who had surrounded the
city. Then the Brāhmaṇas chanted their incantations
and bowed to the Nāgas, and boys began to cry; but
like the king of death the king of the Nāgas neither felt
fear nor pity. The boys clasped the necks of their
mothers in fear, and the mothers shed tears, as if they
worshipped the lord of the Nāgas with pearls. [As the
water rose], the children got up from the feet of their
mothers to their lap, then to their shoulders, and then
to their head, and finally departed from them even as
life departs from the body; and the agitated water of
the inundation clasped the trembling limbs of the
women like a lover. It covered every thing, small and
large, thin and thick, little and great, and spread itself
over all like darkness. The lord of the Nāgas, unable to
brook the touch of the wicked who were drowned in
that fathomless water, stayed like a good man in the
woods. Kāliya was the name of the lord of the Nāgas,
and his head when pressed by the feet of Nārāyaṇa
received the impression of the feet, and hence he obtain-
ed the name of Mahāpadma. The king heard some
one telling him in a dream that he was an incarnation of
Nārāyaṇa and that his purpose to reconstruct Kashmīra
which lay in ruin would be fulfilled. For a short time
he revolved in his mind as to how he could accom-
plish the work. The Nāga did not refrain from punish-
ing the city for the evil practices of the people; why
should a great being like him put up with a wrong