, "*^^mH^-\\ »~ ifff ^■. \S\f\ i8eA Cornell University Library The original of tiiis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924086063504 THE ARAISH-I-MAHFIL; OB, THE OENAMENT ... OP THE ASSEMBLY X^>"^ R A LLY TRANSLATED FROM THE URDU BX Major Wenry Court MAJOR, GENERAL LIST, BENGAL CAVALRY. SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED. COPYRIGHT RESERVED. CA.LCUTTA : PEINTBD BY J. W. THOMAS, BAPTIST MISSION PRESS, MDCCCLXXXII. PrBLIfiHED BX THE AUTHOE AT DELHI. TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE EIGHT HONORABLE «, UIOHAED SOUTHWELL BOUEKE, EAKL OF MAYO, VISCOUNT MAYO OF MONYOEOWER, BARON NAAS OF NAAS, K. P., GRAND MASTER OF THE STAR OF INDIA, VICEROY AND GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA, THIS TRANSLATION IS DEDICATED BY SPECIAL PEEMISSION * . ^^ A HUMBLE MARK OF RESPECT BT THE AUTHOH!» PREFACE TO THE ENGLISH TEANSLATION. It is with great diffidence that I present to the public this translation of the first of the three books, viz., the Araish-i-Mahfil, the Nasr-i-be-Nazir, and Selections from the KuUiyat-i-Sanda, which i^. have lindertaken to publish. I am, however, iiiduced to d..x so by the knowledge that the want of these works has long beeb felt by the' students of the Urdu tongue, and I trust that they may B&*^ffmdusef ul guides to the study of that language. I have delved much time and labour to making them as thorough and careful translations as possible ; and as I considered a literal ren- dering to be the most useful, I have sacrificed elegance of style to this object. <«,„^ The Arajsh-i-Mahfil comipences with a description of India,, its seasons, fruits, animals, sciences, religious and niilitary orders, and women ; then follows a geographical account of the great divi- ■ sions of the country, and it concludes with a history of the Hindtl kings to the time of its conquest by the Muhammadans. Colonel Nassau Lees, the late Secretary to the Board of Examiners at Fort "William, Calcutta, in his preface to the Urdu version, remarks, I" Parts of it would be well worth translating into English ;" and it lis one of the books, mentioned by the late Sir Henry Elliot, as fit ^or publication. The notes are taken from various sources, or are [ the results of my own experience, and are principally intended for ' the Urdu student in England ; names of places are spelt as in the Urdu, and words not in the original are within round bratikets ; in translating the poetry, I have not attempted to turn it into rhyme, as in that case I must, to a great extent, have sacrificed the literal I rendering ; for this reason I have also kept the words of each line distinct. In -making thi^ translation, I have received the greatest assist- ance from Munshi Ahmad-ud-Din, of Bareilly, one of the cleverest teachers I have met in India, to whom my best acknowledgments VI PREFACE. ai-e due. Before concluding, I must not forget to tender my most cordial thanks to my wife, at whose suggestion and wish I com- menced these translations, and without whose untiring assistance I could not possibly have found time to prepare them for the press. • M. H. COURT, Lieut., , Bengal Cavalry. Simla, 9th October 1871. PEBPACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. / ■ Before bringing out the 2nd edition of this translation, I have been most carefully through it two or three times with men. of good authority on the subject, and the late Sayyad AbduUa pon- dered over every line of it inost studiously with me when I was at -home on furlough. I trust therefore that it may be iovdtS. tolerably free from mistakes. I take this opportimity of thanking those who reviewed the first edition, and pointed out mistakes therein ; in most cases, I have corrected the errors pointed out, but in one or two instances I have omitted to do so, as, after weighing the matter most care- fully over, those, whom I consulted, agreed with me that the errors, pointed out were not errors. I have also gone carefully through the spelling of the names^ of men and places, and have adopted one uniform system as sug- gested by the Saturday fteview. I trust that this edition may be found more useful than the previous one, but I must not conclude without tendering my best thanks to the public, for the liberal but unexpected support, which was given to the first edition, and in consequence of which it has been necessary to publish the present one. M. H. COURT, Major. Calcutta, lift August 1882. CONTENTS. m Page Preface to the English Translation ,.... v Preface of Sher ^li Afsos 1 ^-^hapterl. — Intrbduotory 7 "^Chapter II. — In praise of the land of India ' 9 Chapter III. — Ahout its spring and rainy seasons 12 '^Chapter IV.— Ahout its firaits , 15 "^ Chapter V. — Ahout its flowers , 20 "^ Chapter VI. — Ahout its horses , 23 "Chapter VII.— About its elephants 2t ■-- Chapter Vin. — About its rhinoceros 27 •^Chsmter IX.— About its wild buffaloes , 28 ■^Cha^r X. — About Grajrati bullocks and carts, &c , 30 •^ Chapter S^^HWm^ongS, &o 32 Chaaif^XII. — About its sciences 33 Chapter XIII. — About its religious orders and castes 39 •^Chapter XIV.— About its soldiers 43 Chapter Xy. — About its women j 46 Chapter XVI.— About its Beauties , ' 48 Chapter XVII. — About the province of Shahjabanabad 51 ■ Chajder XVIII. — About the provinoe of Akbarabad ; 62 Chapter XIX. — About the province of lUahabad , 66 Chapter XX. — About the province of Awadh ; 73 Chapter XXI. — About the province of Bihar , , 81 Chapter XXII. — About the province of Bangala 8S Chapter XXIII. — About the province of Crisa 103 Chapter XXIV. — About the province of Aurangabad „ 104 Chapter XXV. — About the province of Birar lOS ' llhapter XXVI. — About the province of Khandes 107 ■hapter :^XVII. — About the province of Malwa 108 JHiapter XXVIII. — About the province pf Ajmir ...'. 110 Chapter XXIX. — About the province of Gajrat 112 jphapter XXX. — About the province of Thatha 116 - Chapter XXXI. — About the province of Multan 119 Chapter XXXII. — About the province of Lahaur 123 Chapter XXXJII. — About the province of Kashmir ; 137 Chapter XXXIV.— About the province of Kabul 142 Chapter XXXV. — History of the Kings of India from king Judashtar to King • Pathera 148 Chapter XXXVT.— History of king Pariohhat ' 163 Chapter XXXVII. — History of king Janamji 167 Chapter XXXVIII. — History of king Parthi Eaj known as Pathora 19S THE ARAISH-I-MAHPIL OB THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. *^ x.*" PREFACE. 1 AM about to sing the praises of that Creator who, after He had bestowed on. all living things the rank of Stability, also gave them the robe of Existence, and adorned the state of man with the jewel of»JJnderstanding. I return thanks to that Benefactor, who has poui^d down on us divers kinds and sorts of blessings, and has ' gifted men with various faculties, befitting each limb in the body of the individual, and by means of which every rational creature can distinguish who are his friends and who his foes, and can tell the difference between what is poisonous and what is T(rholesome ; so ' that he can abstain from the oae and obtain benefit from tlie other. But chiefly do I feel grateful to Him for the sending of the Holy Prophets and the great preceptors, which is the chiefest of all His gifts and the highest of all His mercies ; for by their means clily have we rescued ourselves from perdition and found the road 1p salvation. Secondly, I thank Him for h"aving given authority to just emperors, and the sway of command to faithful kings ; so that under the shadow; of their protection we may live at ease and , not suffer pain from the hand of any tyrant. * DISTICHES. If each single hair of the body possessed a hundred tongues, Still how could man his thanks tender fully ? • His existence is a matter of necessity, whereas that of man is only one of possibility : . He is everlasting, whilst the other remains but a few days in the world. When have His favours ever been restrained ? We, then, can do iiothing but acknowledge our humility. The thought now enters my mind that I should sing the praise of, the Prophet. • .-1 2 THE AEliSH-I-MAHFIL, OE For there is no better subject of which I could make mention. Muhammad* is the name oi: that spiritual guide, And he is the chief of all the Prophets. PEOSE. How great is orLr fortune that we belong to the religious sect which he founded, for now we have not the slightest fear about the Eesurrection Day, and all terror regarding the riendering of t)Uf «5 account has been entirely removed from our minds. DISTICHES. Who now need have any fear concerning {the forgiveness of) his sins ? For our Prophet is the intercessor of his people. "Why should we be in the least alarmed about the fire of hell ?t For the merciful Apostle is our protector. ^ And then next in rank to him amongst our chiefs is King Bu Turab ;J Why, then, should we have any fear regarding the day of account ? PEOSE. _,, How fortunate are Tse in our day, that we are his slave^t why, then should we be harassed by difficulties, for our Lord is the bearer of our troubles ; and wherefore should we be confounded by every fox-faced deceiver, for our master is Asadullah,§ DISTICHES. He is the king of our religion and country, ' * And will most fully take care of us. He always remains in communion with God, And, the successor ' of the Prophet is not cut off from him (as is said by some). II He is the occupier of the throne of the Apostles, And no one else is fit to hold that position ; But his sons, the eleven Imams, Are after him the undisputed guides of our faith ; May it be my good fortune to follow their advice. For they are, without doubt, the beloved of God. * * The name Muhammad means '' praiseworthy." There is a play on the word in the Urdu which is lost in the English. ' ♦ t According to the Muhammadan belief, hell consists of seven strata, each being " distant from the other, a .journey of a thousand years, and each appropriated to a (Jjfferent^ class of sinners. Jahim is the third uppermost of these. % Bii Turab was the name of the Khalif All. § The word " Sher-i-khuda" means " the lion of God." I have therefore put the Arabic name, which has the same meaning, and by which Ali was known. He was also called Haidar, which means a lion. il i have translated the words " bila fasl" rather fully, and the passage is one diflS^cul? to understand without explanation, which I therefore give. The Suni belief is that Mu- hammad was succee4ed by Abubakr, after whom Dame Umr and Usman, and then All : whereas the Shiyashold that iili succeeded Muhammad; and no one came between them: this is what is -referred to in the text. It must be borne in mind that the composer ex- presses his views throughout the boob as a Shiya. Those who believe in the four^suoces- sors are also called the " Ohar Yari," sect ; whilst the Shiyas are styled Panjtani, or believers in ixve persons, viz., Muljammad, Fa^itima, All, Hasan, and Hasain. THE ORNAMBITT OF THE ASSEMBLY. PEOSB. After tMs the sinner Sher All Jafari, poetically called Afsos.* the son of Sayyad All MuzafPar Khan, writes thus, — " When I had ." finished writing the Bagh-i-Urdti, Mr. John GUphrist, Professor of "Hind* [long may his kindness he continued] commenced having " it printed ;' accordingly five hundred copies were struck off, and " reached distant places. After that, he said to me, — ' Thou hast the ** most perfect skill in this art, and I have been much pleased with "the style of thy writing ; now, therefore, take all the books which ," have been compiled or translated, and rectify the errors in them, " and on no account shew partiality to any onb in this matter ; thou " hast to find out where they are right or wrong, and hast nothing " to do vfrith the compilers or translators themselves.' I was helpr " less, and could not disobey his ordef ; wilhngly or unwillingly, I " set aboiJt the task, and entirely corrected the four books [of which " I gave a list in the Preface I wrote] , and I also corrected the " grjunmar of the sentences of one or two other works. I then " rehn^uished^tlys task, for the result of ' Labour which is thrown " away, ^^from which fault is inseparable,'t is useless ; but as it " ws^ not the habit of this worthless one to remain doing nothing, " I therefore dedicated some of my time to correcting the KuUiyat "of the chief of poets, Mirza Eaf i-us Sauda ; but, alas.! it had "become so full' of mistakes, owing to the ignorance of the scribes "in handling a pen, that I could not correct it as I should have "wffished, and the second copy even, which should be somewhat " accurate, did~n»%-*eaeh--tbarfc~e3T!Bite£fce it' ougWrto-i-are-dtme, and " owing to this, there a.re still a few mistakes in it here and there. " When, at last, after much labour I had obtained leisure from this "task, thfen that most noble gentleman;, the just one of his age, " Mr. Harrington [whom may good fortune always attend] , formed " the idea of making a translation of the Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh, and " moreover said to me that it was the order of the Members of ," Council. This humble one, accordingly, when he saw that this i' object was an exigency of the time, commenced with much ear- f ' nestnfess, writing what was required by that gentleman in the 3" Urdu tongue, but did it in the manner of a compilation. Al- ' " though it vyas begun in the last year of the government ~ of the ,"most Honorable the Marquis of Wellesley, who was the most ^' glorious of wise men, ^nd the founder of the Students' College ' " [long may his shadow continue], it being then 1219 a. h. and 1804 " A. D., stiU the account of the Hindu Kings was not finished till " the beginning of the administration of His Excellency Sir Greorge " Hilero Barlow, Bart., Governor-General, who was related to the ," King of Heaven (?o great was he), and was a Plato in understand- " ing, an Aristotle in wisdom, the bravest of the brave, and the chief * Each ;fioet has a, Takhallas, or poetical name, by which he is distinguished ; our , friend Sher Ali was called Afsos, or " sorrow," because he wrote in such' a mournful stylo. •^ t ''Mihiiat barbad gunah lazim" is a proverb, and means that whore labour is ' thrown away, .there some fault necessarily attaches. 4 THE AEMSH-I-MAHPIL, OE " of chiefs [long may his power continue]*. It was then 1805 a. d. " and 1220 a. h., and I trust, by the kindness of the beneTolent " Deity and the Lord, who requires no help, that the history of the " Muhammadan Emperors will also soon be finished in the satae " style; so that there may remain some memento of this ignoramus- " in the library of the. world, and much advantage may be bestowed "on the students of the Urdu tongue. I have called this book " ' The Araish-i-Mahfil' (i. e., the Ornament of the Assembly),rfor^ " assuredly there is nothing better, by means of which any one may " perpetuate his name, than by his books and his words ; since these " remain for ages, whilst he cannot hope for the continuance of his "lineage; for I have seen with my own eyes several families cut off, " and there has not remained a trace of them in this world by those "descendants." DISTICH. J If you wish your name to remain Then deposit some of your words in the world. PEOSB. " But, for this purpose, one requires complete freedontfrom " care on account of the means of livelihood ; in short, one needs " perfect peace of mind, which I had, owing to the instrumentality " of the renowned gentlemen, the protectors of the creatures of God, " and more especially did I. (enjoy that peace) through the kindness of " the renowned East India Company, the chief of chiefs of the world " [long may their shadow remain]. It behoves me, therefor^,-*to " bless them and sing their praise morning and evening, for there " is a well-known proverb — ' you should sing the praises of him by " whom you are fed.' " DISTICHES. May God always protect their power, Their nobleness, their eminence, and their splendour : May their court of justice alwaj's continue, An'd may their administration increase in prosperity : May that rule always remain in the world, i i And may every one take shelter under its shadow. a V PEOSE. " It is incumbent on me, night and day, to return my thanks te " the most renowned of native gentlemen, the well-wisher of the "East India Company, the glory of his family the deceased Fakhr-' " ud-din Ahmad Khan, better known as Mirza Jafir, the son of " Muhasih-uz Zaman Khan, for he was the means of my introduc- " tion to the noble Government,, else how could a poor man like " myself have obtained access to those who were so noble." < HETHISTICH. What connection is there between earth and heaven ? » These epithets are very fine sounding, and in the usual compUmentarv Persian style. THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. O PEOSE. " And more especially so, as there were at that time, and there " still are, at Lakhnan, many men of learning and poets far superior '' to myself ; in short, the fact of the recognition of worth, and the ' friendship of the above-mentioned Mirza, and the patronage and 'kindness of the honorable gentlemen, are engraved on the tablet of ' my mind like an engraving on stone, and cannot be effaced." HEMISTICH. It is engraved on stone, and cannot be effaced.^ PBOSE. " I only made brief mention of it in the preface of the Bagh-i- '' Urdu, f»r it was not the proper place to narrate it ia full." DISTICH. ^ell is the condition of the soil ; in some places grain is produced two, * Wheat is supposed ty some to have been the forbidden fruit. + The -water of the Ganges is held most sacred, and considered most strengthening and invigorating ; this is not the case with the Jamna. - The water of the former is said to be white, and, that of the latter of a yellow colour. THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 11 and even three, times in one year ; in others only bnee ; whilst in others again, none whateyer, although it may rain equally in every place. Again in some places the rice is specially good, in another the wheat, and in another part of the country the gram ; and besides .this, do- we not see scarcity of grain in one quarter, and plenty in anothef ? The cause of this I do not fuUy know, but there is no difference perceivable in the quality and character of fire ; the reason _of it may be this, that it cannot exist apart from wood, coal, &c. ; {5r it may be some other cause I am not aware of. • [The right un- ^ derstanding of it is with God.] 12 THE AEAISH-I-MAHPIL, OE CHAPTER III. A FEW LINES IN PRAISE OF THE SPEING AND EAINT SEASONS. In the spring time, in this country, a great many kinds ana sorts of flowers and fruits bloom and ripen, and mangos also come ^ into blossom; moreover, this is the ssason in which roses bloom most plentifully in the gardens, and the palas tree and mustard plant are so plentiful in the jungles, that the eye cannot take -^hem :all in, nor can it look steadfastly on them. Their colour adds splendour to the golden hue of lovers,* and the spring air makes the fire of love burn with twofold (vehemence). DISTICHES. The spring time is agreeable to those who are not separated froci their sweethearts ; But how ean it be pleasing to one forsaken by his beloved, as I am ? How can I look at the rose ? my disquietude of mind only increases twofold : The spring time only drives the thorn of separation further into my heart. PEOSE. Assuredly the day and night, in that season, are not devoid j>f beauty, for at that time the sun's heat is not over-powerful, and the moonlight is most bright. The wind also blows fragrantly and temperately ; the glow of its blasts regales the brain, and its fresh- ness gives renewed vigour to the body. The 'gentry of India call this season, the spring-tide, or spring season, but the public generally distinguish it by the name of the rosy cold weather ;t it commences when the sun enters the sign Pisces [that is to say, when the sun comes into the constellation of the Fish] , and it ends when the sun leaves the. Ram, i. e., when it reaches the thirtieth degree of Ariesi The Panehamin Basant,t which is the first day of the H(ili,§ is a> festival which has become customary in the world; nevertheless, agreeably to this reckoning, the Holi precedes this season, for tlte second day of the Holi is the first day of the month Chait ; the * Natives consider that the faces of people in love assume a golden tint. t It is so styled, teoouse at this time of year the roses bloom so plentifully, and it is cool and pleasant. J The Panehamin Basant used to be kept on the fifth day of the month Magh, and was observed as the commeneement of spring. Magh is the tenth Hindu month, and answers to our January — February. ' * § The Holi is the great Hindu festival, held at the approach of the spring equinox : the principal amusement at this Saturnalia is to throw mud over eaish other and then bathe ; after which, on the second day they sprinkle one another with a red powder, called Gulal. The Holi lasts properly for five days, but in some parts of India as long as thirteen. In the former edition I translated this passage "which comes before the Holi ;" this rendering was found fault with, and I agree with the reviewer that the translation, as it now stands, is the rational one. I have accordingly corrected it, although my first rendering was correct according to the vowel points ip the Vernacular, THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 13 Nauroz,* or New Year's Day, by which is meant the passing of the sun into the sign Aries, sometimes comes before, and sometimes after, the Holl ; bat owing to the number of days (in one calendar) being less than in the other, it so happens that after several years the Holi and the Nauroz fall on the same day. BtfC the rainy season in this country is more deKghtful (than the spring even), for clouds of various colours are to be seen in the hegjrens, and most agreeable breezes blow from every quarter ; the e5,rth is covered with -verdure, and every mountain looks as if it were a garden ; the gardens then are one mass of beauty ; flowers of various sorts blossom in the beds, and the thickly-planted trees, being covered with foliage, blend with each other ; apart from this is the elegance which is imparted by the fulness of the canals, and above all is the splendour bestowed by the state of freshness of the vegetation. Every stream, rivulet, and river becomes filled to the brim, and each puddle, lake, and tank gets filled with water. The greenness of the verdure, the redness of the ladybird, the flash of the ' lightmng, and the thundering of the clouds each manifest a world of beamy; the r(jws of white cranes, the drizzling showers, the scream of the peafowl, and the call of the sparrow-hawk fascinate » people's hearts. ' Posts are erected every here and there, to which f swings of ropes are fastened, and swings attached, in which hun- dreds of lovely creatures, wearing clothes of various colours, (may he seen) swinging ; some of them trying how high they can make the swings go by their own exertions, others singing the rain song; wBilst in another direction, some, with their feet close together, swing in company with some one else ; and others, making some one fall in love with them, lose themselves in joy. DISTICHES. Each is employed in her own business, And their blandishments are most fascinating ; The intoxication of youth has overcome them all, And lodk on whom you may, behold all are drunk with joy. • The rainy season is one af a wonderful description, Tor the appearance of the day and night becomes changed ; Such'is the multitude of clouds from morning to evening, • That the evening and morning become one in appearance. There are a mass of clouds in every direction : § And this is the state (the earth) manifests in the rainy season : The rain (falls imceagimgly, and appears') as if strings were tied between p the skies and the earth : And at other times it pours in heavy torrents ; Every fountain appears full of lustre,t Except that of the sun, which remains concealed : On the earth there is a passing round of pure wine, • And the spectacle that meets one's eye on every side is a continual down- fall of water. Tou cannot tell when it is day, and when night ; In fact, the only thing you can know is, that it is the rainy season. • This is the Persian New Year's Day ; it was also called Amma, and the sixth of the month was styled Khasa. These seven days were celebrated by feasts, bestowal of alms, the liberation of- prisoners, &c. t LiferaHy, " full of water and light," 14 THE AEAISH-I-MAHPIL, OE PEOSE. The commencement of this season is when the sun enters the sign Cancer, *. e., when the sun comes into the constellation of the Crab ; and it ends when the sun leaves Leo, that is, when it reaches the thirtieth degree of the Lion ; according to this reckoning, there* fore, the months Sawan and Bhadon only are included in this 'season, and Asarh and Kaar are not counted in it; but according to the vulgar account, all four are included in the following order : — Eirs^ comes Asarh, when the clouds are filled with dust [often accompaniecT with dust-storms, which darken- the sky], and the rain comes down, with great force, and it soon clears up, and becomes fine. Next in order is Sawan, in which agreeable clouds hang about the skies, and cool breezes blow, and the rain also is generally light and temperate, but' the clouds often remain collected for days, and the sun hidden from view. The third is Bhadon, in which there is a gogd deal of flashing and shining of lightning, and the rain comes down in tor- rents, but generally clears up quickly, and towards the end of this month it often happens that it will be raining in one quarter, and the sun shining in another ; people, moreover, h«ve so exaggerated the account, that they say "the rain in the month Bhadon is of a I wonderful description, for it wets one horn of a bullock, but leaves the other perfectly dry.-*.' For the above reasons, it has become com- ^lon to speak of the heavy showers of Asarh, the light falls of Sawan, and the torrents of Bhadon. The fourth is Kaar, which is really the entrance into cold weather ; in it it also rains, and sometimes conti- nues wet for days, but as the rain does not fall in any peculiar^an- ner, no accourtt has therefore been written of it.* * These months answer to the folio-wing English months, via. — Asarh, June — July ; Sawan, July — August; Bhadon, August — September; Kuar, September — Oetoher. THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 15 CHAPTER IV. A FEW LINES IN DESCRIPTION OP ITS PEUITS. Texiits of Tarious colours and kinds are to be had in this country ,at their respective seasons. Around each village and suburb there are fields, fiUed with water-melons and melons ; and' apples, pome- granates, peaches, figs, grapes, and other fruits are most plentiful in the orchards, but do not come up tg those of Kabul ; it is indeed true that the only connection between the two is in the name, for there is a vast differenQe in their nature and quality. The mango is one of the fruits peculiar to India, which they consider superior to those of that country ; but is ijb not true that in edibles and drinkphles much depends on custom and taste ? For instance, some of the mhabitants »f this country eat one fruit with much relish, whilst others run away from the smell of it, — so, in like mannerj jj. the writer cannot even bear the smell of the jack-fruit, whilst a * whole world are eager purchasers of it. Wo be brief,, one of the fruits peculiar to the country is the pineapple ; whoever once becomes ' acquainted with it, and tastes a little of it on his palate, will not be able to withdraw his mouth from eating it ; its fragrance gives, ease to the brain, its juice is the essence of the syrup of hfe, its sweetness puts the pear quite in the background, and well may the quince heave a sigh at its colour. But superior to all is the.. custard-apple ; poor and rich purchase it eagerly, and most meu of taste eat it, and praise it greatly. The jack-fruit and Barhal* are each incomparable in their respective tastes, but the soul revolts from a single slice ieven of the former, whilst the^ latter is a good deal eaten. The best of all fruits, though, is the plantain, but it is' one you should eat by itself, for it is a most excellent sweetmeat ;t and especially the kind called Imrat Ban, in which fragrance, softness, and sweetness, all three abound to perfection. There is alftothe ^h^'i'ipa species — ^but this, although it is very tasty, delicate, nice-looking, and well-flavoured, still is not to be compared to the list. To give an account of the other sorts would now be useless ; ^nd although some of them have a flavour of a particular kind, and 'are to be had in every J)art of India, still none equal those of Bangala, and the two kinds above-mentioned are moreover peculiar to that country. The Kanla Sangtaraf is also a very curious fruit ; in colour it is like a rose, and its juice is like wine ; it gives twofold beauty to the orchard, and makes a house appear like a garden ; in flavour it * This is a Sweet acid fruit, of a yellowish red colour, nearly round in shape. + The ^alwa-hedud is an Arabian sweetmeat, of flour and camel's milk, highly esteemed by natiyes, and therefore used in the present case to express the delicious taste of m (^? the plantain. J This is a kind of orange of a very beautiful colour. 16 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OE has no equal, and it is the fruit of life for those who are of a bilious constitution ; although an excess of it sets the teeth on edge, still the tongue, clacks, and enjoys its acid taste. Muhammad Shah, Firdaus Aramgah,* called the second sort (that is, the Scmgtard} Eangtara,t so that its name niight be expressive of its qualities f this kind is exceedingly delicate, nice-flavoured, juicy, and large, especially in Shahjahanabad, although at Lakhnau and in other places it is also very good and fine, but the first kind is most cem- g^ monly seen in these countries, where it is very large and exceedingly juicy, and in taste also so good, that people eat it with avidity,^ The Kaulah of Silhat. and Batol are, however, out and out the best, and where they are obtainalsle, no one will take the other kinds, even as discount, but regard them as the fruit of Indrayan ;| for the stoneless grape bears not fruit before it,§ nor does any m-an desire it. It is right to dwell on their|| deliciousness and pdour and fragrance as much as you like, but theself it is even proper to swear by. The forests of this country also bear fruit, and grass-cutters ' and wood-cutters often pluck and bring various kinds from , there, and the common people buy and eat them, espscially the wild her tree ; for hundreds of boys and girls collect in crowds round their baskets ; moreover, some women also eat it with avidity : , but you should enquire its real taste from travellers, for at every step its brambles catch their clothing, and its thorns repeatedly prick their feet ; in short, it does not- let them off unless they eat some. To be brief, the mango is the essence of the fruits of India, and assuredly it is a wonderful fruit. , The unripe ones are called the female^, and the ripe ones the males ; in colour it is sometimes yellow, sometimes green ; in taste, sometimes acid, sometime^ sweet ; its sweetness bestows sweetness on** the apple of Samarkand, and its mixed taste of sour and sweet is a cause of envy to the ruby-coloured pomegra- nate. Its tree is the ornament of the garden, and the fragrance of its blossom gives ease to the brain ; its shade is the resting-plac& of travellers, and every one who is f atigued, and tired, or burnt by the sun, longs for it. DISTICHES. e Why should it, not be the loftiest of trees ? For its fruit is pleasing both to kings and beggars : It is the chief of all the fruits of India, And is the light of every street and market-place. If a native of Ispahan should once eat it, ^ He would immediately forget all the fruits of Ispahan. *■ What need I say of its sweetness ? For that is published by the tongue of everybody ; And if one sucks it, he cannot open his lips again for some time ; * Literally, " Besting in Paradise," an epithet by which Muhammad Shah was distin- guished after death ; it also means "the deceased." t Eangtara, meaning a fresh, i. e., a beautiful, colour. X Indrayan is a fruit of beautiful appearance, but bitter taste ; hence any worthies* and beautiful person, or thing, is called " Indr»yan.-ka-phal." § That is, " from shame." II That is, " The other kinds of Kaulahs." . "U That is, " The Silhat and Ba^ol Kaulahs." •• That is, " surpasses the sweetness of." THE OEN-AMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. IT If you out it, the edge of the knife' becomes blunt. And should you at any time, a little piece of sweetmeat made from it Eat, your heart will be at once satiated. In the mango there is a wonderful deliciousness, So that there always remains a longing for it. ^Be stomach is filled from it, but not so the heart ; Wherefore what can man do, but eat more of it ? Those which are laid in straw are exceedingly sweet. But at the same time. the taste of those which fall from the tree is also superb. It is very superior to all fruits ; Why, then, should it not be the loftiest of trees in the garden ? In short, it is exceedingly full of flavour ;, Why, then, shovjld it not be the most delicious of all fruits ?* The colour of the Sendurya mangof is so lovely, Thaj^the apple of Samarkand is astonished at it. And to every heart, of fruits it is the most dear ; The apple is its slave and the quince, its handmaid. \ PEOSE. After this comes the sugar-cane, whose sweetness is bestowed of God, and it is the first element of every kind of sweetmeat. The villagers and zamindars of Awadh and Lakhnau, &c., call it tJkh, and those of the neighbourhood of Dilli, Ikli. There are many yarieties of it, and each kind has a separate name, but amongst tljpse who speak TJrdti, the names of no other kinds but Ganna, KataBa, and Paunda are used. The first is common to the whole species, for you- can call eyery kind by it, but the second and third are the titles of particular sorts. The Katara is hard and thin, and in length about equal to the Paunda, but very hard, and without much juice ; sugar-candy and sugar, &c., are made from it. - The Paunda is also of two sorts, white and black: and although the black is better in certain qualities than most kinds of sugar-cane, stiU its sweetness has mixed with it a good deal of bitterness, and some canes of it have, in addition to this, a saline taste ; neverthe- less, they are not deficient in deliciousness, although their hardness may sometimes give pain to the teeth and tongue. On the whole, h(fwever taking every quality into consideration, the white kind is the best. It is -tasty in every knot ; its joints are well flavoured, its mobs exceedingly juicy, and along with this, so soft, that a tooth- Jess man may eat them without pain ; rather, a chUd drinking milk may suck them with ease ; its juice increases the sap of existence, and its sweetness bestows sweetness on the palate and mouth. DISTICHES. • Why should not its rank be the highest amongst fruits ? A field of it is a mine of sweetness. * There, is here a play on the word "ras," -which means flavour, and " aaras," -which means best. There' ia another wOrd, " sBras," meaning -well-fl,ayoured. In native editions, in which vowels are not marked, the reader has to make his choice as to which of the two it should be. t ihe Senduriya mango is of a rich, reddish yellow colour. g 18 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHPIL, OK Its sweetness has with it a great deal of moisture : Shoiild a thirsty man eat it, his thirst would be allayed ; And in the time of the sugar-cane harvest, should one take a journey. He could fill his stomach with juice as he goes along the road. However many may be the travellers, still all may be satisfied, • And in an instant be filled with sweetness.* PEOSB. rrom the sweetness of its contents my ink has obt'ain-ed 'ih» property of honey, and the tongue of my pen has become closed.f The writer has been obliged to refrain from writing more about it,< otherwise he would have made the book a sugar-field. Besides these, there are various kinds of herbs and leaves in this country, many of which (grow) being planted, and many, without being planted ; the- natural state of leaves is that they remain green as long as they are on the tree, but the betel is, however, a most wonderful leaf, for when broken off, it becomes still greener, and moreover the older it grows, the more freshness it obtains : it is agreeable to the tas'te of every rich and poor man, and the courtesy of ki^s and beggars generally consists in {the giving of) it,-^the one bauds it on a sUver or gold tray, the other on an earthenware vessel. { HEMISTICH. The offering of a poor man is a green leaf. • PEOSE. Every leaf is full of verdure ; then why should it not give twD- fold beauty to the countenance of the ruby-cheeked ones ? 'If its; red colour§ is not on the lips, then the adorning of the woman is wanting in spendour ; although the lines of missi|f may be beauti- fully delineated, still without it they will be wanting in lustre, how- ever well put on they may be. There are many kinds of it, but near DiUi and Agra, the Kapuri and Pin are most in demand, for they are very delicate and tender, especially the Plri, which is so (fragile) that should it by chance fall from the hand, it breaks into pieces ; but from Awadh and Lakhnau to Bangala, the Bahgla and Disawari are most cared for; in truth, however, the Maghi species is the nicest, most delicious, and fragrant, and should a person ^t one gilauri1[ of it, the whole house becomes filled with its aroma. 1- * There is a play on the words " pul" and "-pal." ■ " Pul-bandhna" literally means- "to make » bridge;" secondly, "to fill, abound." There is another meaning to "' pal,"«.^ namely, "a field with a, raised border." If we take it in this sense, we have, "And it makes a bridge of sweetness in the enclosed field," Fields in India are generally enclosed with low walls to keep out wild animals, and the traveller, eating sugar-cane as he crosses the field, is said to make a bridge of sweetness. + That is, " It has been unable to write its praise sufficiently " j Tbis refers to the native custom, that when one visits a chief, or man of distinctioi^ on the guest taking his departure, he is presented with atr and pan, handed on silver or gold trays ; and even a poor man, if a friend visits him, offers him pan, but hands it in a humbler style. § This refers to the red stain produced by the chewing of pan. B It is the custom of native beauties to tinge their teeth with a black powder, and the red colour of their gums and lips caused by chewing p^n, shewing against the black of their teeth, is considered the height of elegance. Blissi is a powdar made of vitriol &o., and is sometimes used for ink if one runs short of it ; it is of a deep blue colour. , . V A betel-leaf prepared and made up. Missing Page Missing Page Missing Page Missing Page THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBI.T. 23 CHAPTER VI. A FEW MNES IN PEAISE OF THE HOESE. Some of the horses of this country are exceedingly handsome, »swift, and good stagers, especially the wild horse, which is very well- hred, easj paced, and daring; and in like manner, also, some of the horses from certain districts in the Dakhan, especially the mares, which are exceedingly swift, but they do not come up to those of Kabul in strength and speed ; for when King Bhao was killed, and his army defeated, one of his cl^iefs, who was well-mounted, escaped and fled and got away, when a Durrani saw him, and immediately pursued ; in short, when he got near him, the Marhatta galloped off, ans^ after going two or three kos, took breath; after an hour, when he turned r(}tind, he saw that that same Mughal was coming on, his horse done up, and he urging him along;" then he again pressed his horse on, as he had done before ; at last, having gone thirty or forty kos, his horse became tired, and stood still, and the Durrani came and drew near him. The Marhatta being helpless, began to "be astonished,* for neither was there strength in his mare, nor any vigour in himself. At last, the Durrani drove a spear at him, end he, on receiving its blow, immediately was parted from his mare, and fell, and began to gasp in agony ; the Mug^hal then took his weapons, his purse, which had gold-mohurs in it, and his silver saddle, along with its appointments, and departed to his own army, and considering that mare useless, left her there. Some attribute this circumstance to Patel, Mahaji Sindhiya and others to some other chief, but Grod knows the real state of affairs. * literally, " began to look in his face." • 24 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHFIL, OE CHAPTER VII. IN PEAISE OF THE ELEPHANT. But amongst the four-footed animals of this country, the ele^ phant is the wonder of creation, and its form and habits are quiteit distinct from that of all other beasts ; in stature it is very lofty, in bulkiness like a mountain, and superior to most animals in strength ; in colour, it is generally black, but, now and then, brown ones are seen ; besides this, there are large and small ones ; the small ones- are called Kamuyandhiya, and the large ones, Kanjul ; iit place of a. nose, it has a large proboscis, like a dragon, and can lift whatever it likes with it ; its ears are so broad that they are equal to a winnow- ing basket ; when it shakes them, there blows, as it werej^ blast of wind ; it has two teeth, which in length are Somewhat more or less than one yard, placed close to the opening of the mouth, one on this side of the cavity, and one on the other ; and they are so white that they make a candle, m.ade of camphorateq wax, devoid of splendour ; and hard to stich a degree, that they shatter a mountain to pieces. This is a most wonderful thing, that all its limbs in, size correspond to its stature, except its eyes, which are small ; -^e reason of it is best known to the Creator, and how can the creature- tell it ? But it thus appears to the fancy that the Creator did not make its eyes large for this reason, lest it should have become self- conceited. Accordingly He has bestowed on it the property of humility ; moreover, when it stands in its stall, it generally, with its proboscis, throws dust over its head ; but when it comes to the fight, , what power has the angry lion to confront it ; at one scream it becomes terrified, and never comes to the point of attacking it. Moreover, the experienced say that in the time of war one war elephant is equal to a thousand valiant horsemen ; certainly^ it is so brave, that it does not regard cannons and guns as anything more than fountain-like fireworks. - ' * DISTICHES. ^" What is a .Catherine wheel, that it shoulcj think of it ? t^ Or the rocket of the flash "of its lightning, thatt it should ever reach it ? ' It breaks the stafl: of it in pieces, and eats it like sugar-cane, And, taking the polak in its proboscis, scratches its foot with it.* It raises its trunk and gives a scream, And then all ,p,t once rushes to the attack of the {opposing) army. "^ * These lines are from the KuUiyat of Sauda. Polak are the straw bands at the end of the rocket and are used together with the ^harkhi to frighten or restrain a furious elephant. t "Kadam thahrna" and "kadam hatna" are two idioms, signifying "to resist" and "to retreat" respectively. THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 25 If, of cavalry, it altogether make^ a heap of slain, Then the resistance of foot soldiers may be regarded as dust. • Alas ! no one can find a place of refuge from it, ■ For their foot of flight becomes dislocated. PROSE. Very properly, from it, is unfurled the staaidard of victory, and it ^ on^ assuredly is the ornament of the army : from it splendour is g?ven to the troops of horsemen ; and to the army, from its prosper- ous tread, success is secured ; its rider is higher and loftier than » any other ; in price it is generally dearer than horses ; a servant of fifty rupees can buy a horse, but this is only fastened up at the portals of the rich; ^detachments of horsemen issue forth with risaldars, but a line of these follow in the rear of kings and ministers alone ; however swift a horse may be, still it cannot go more than forty or fotty-five kos,*but this can go eighty or eighty-five kos, and more than that, and, will not get tired ; and along with its size, it is so swift-moving, that the /water in the stomach of its rider does not shbke, and the sound of its footstep is heard by no one ; it is so merciful at heart too, that if it sees a little child lying on the road, it takes it up with its proboscis, and puts it aside, in such a way that it does not feel the touch of it in the least ; it is so modest that it has no desire for the females of any kind but its own, and besides this will not touch them even before men, and its young are also generally born in the forests ;, moreover, if an elephant should be- come pregnant, and be delivered in the village, then it is very d it is most probable that -he ■^ill make no mistake in this matter. THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 39 CHAPTER XIII. A PEW LINES ABOUT THE DEVOTEES OE INDIA, AND AN EXPLANATION OF THEIR SECTS. The first kind are the Saniyasis ; their belief is that they should forego all sensual desires and carnal appetites, and, in abstinence and fasting, should not turn away their face from unendurable troubles ; they cover their bodies with dirt to such a degree, that it all collects there ; and they keep their liair entangled to such an extent, that it is formed into clots ; day and night they place their thoughts 9d. God, and bend their heads in flis service ; they care for no one, nor have they desire for anything ; naked from head to foot, entirely covered with ashes, having forsaken fame and reputa- tion, what difficulties do they not bear in the road of their Lord ? Although outwardly"* their state is wretched, still inwardly, by the bounty of the great Giver, they are most wealthy ; although they have laid waste the foundation of their body, still they have made the building of their soul populous. One of their sects silently practise devotion, and carry on a dispute and argument with their ^own spirits ; others again, foregoing their bodies and raising their B&,nds towards heaven, seize the skirt of their desire ; while others again Suspend themselves upside down from some tree, and burn their inordinate appetites in the fire of penance ; some, in the- place of their worship, from morning to evening, remain continually stand- ing, repeating the name of Earn ; and others also withdraw their sight from this world, and fixing it on the sun, look steadfastly on the next world with the eyes of their heart. In short, these men spend their time in repetition of the Divine Name and penance only ; every instant they keep their desires in restraint, and their way of worship is exceedingly difficult ; what power has any one else therf to fulfil it, or even to fix his thoughts on it ? There is a weil known proverb, " Every one's business befits himself," and if the name of every sub-division of this sect, and a description of their manners, customs, and all their modes of worship, should be written, then the story would be greatly lengthened. The second ,Mnd are the Jogis, who spend their time day and night in recalling their God to memory, and, by holding in their breath for a long time, live for hundreds of years ; by reason of their strict austerities, their earthly garment (i. e., their body) is so light, that it files in tte air and floats on the water, and by the power of their actions, they can cause their souls to flee away whenever they please, assume whatever form they like, enter the body of another person, and tell all the news of absent ones (the invisible world) ; from putting copper in ashes, they can turn it into gold, and by the power of their magic, fascinate the hearts of the whole world ; they can make a sick man, on the point of death, well in one moment, and can 40 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHFIL, OR instantaneously understand the hearts of other people, and their custom is to have no cares or acquaintaiices ; it is true that "the Jogi is no man's friend;" and although, in magic and sorcery, alchemy and chemistry, " Saniyasis" have great skill, still'the art of the Jogis in these matters is more widely famous. The thj^d kind are the Beragis ; it is indeed true, that they are full of 'devotion, strict in their penance, and spend their time in much happiness, and, day and night, remaining occupied in their peculiar kind of worship, are in love with Ram ; they are cut off from the woi?ld, and rem&iin with their hands together in supplication before their Creator ; each one of them walks according to the direction of his* preceptor, and does not leave the narrow path' laid down by. him. Many men of taste among them, composing laudatory couplets about the Unity of God, and way of knowing him, sing . them from morn to eve, and play on various kinds of musical instruments ; in their belief, this is the true way to worship G-od and the road^to heaven. Many- of them also get into a state of ecstasy, and begin to dance involuntarily : moreover, they wander, about turning round and round, and, in their opinion, this is the essence of devotion, and the road to salvation ; to such a degree do they carry Tl, that they say that he, who has advanced even one foot in this matter, truly has taken one step in the journey of his desire ; some of them shout out His name also, and wander about making mention of His memory ; many of them too remain seated contemplating God, and thinking of His several forms ; whilst others of them remain with their thoiights fixed on the Bedanta Shastra, that they may find out tEe secrets of the Unity of the All One, and the traces of the knowledge of Him, and thus, filling the house of their souls with light, remove its darknesses. Amongst them there are many sects .also, each of which is called after the name of its chief. The fourth are the Nanak Panthis, who are also called Udasis. Their founder was Baba Nanak, and these also, agreeably to the orders of their chiefs, remain occupied in the praise and eulogy of God ; but this is the sum total of their worship, to chant the distiches, songs, and verses of their teachers, and, enchanting people with them, not to fix their thoughts on anything, . The fifth kind . are the Jatis Se?)ras, who also perform severe austerities, and undergo great hardships ; «for forty days at a time, they remain engaged in penance and fasting, and bear the griefs of hunger and thirst for a long time ; they do not take care of their bodies properly, and often the name of food and drink does not issue from their tongue ; the whole of th%Ci rains, moreover, they do not go anywhere, in short, do not' even put out their foot, iu case they might hurt soihe insect or worm, for their greatest worship is the preservation of animals, and for this very reason they do not burn fires or cook food. To build housas, light, lamps, dig wells — in short, to draw wat6i: even from them, they consider wrong, lest it should be the cause of pain to any animal; besides this, they never eat vegetables, greens or fruits, for, in their opinion, such things are like animals. If they are very hungry or thirsty, then, according to their need, they beg from the houses of their followers, and eat and drink ; and the clothes and THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 41 rags, whicli are necessary, they keep by themselves ; they do not, ac- knowledge the True Creator, for the precept of their teachers is this, that as the grass grows by itself, and no one sows it, so also is the birth of men and animals, and in short it always was so ; neither do thay believe in future punishments. They say that man's body is a collection 'of four elements, and when it is broken to pieces, then each part mixes with its original element — hence, on whom, and for whom, is the punishment ? Moreover, for this very reason, to- give fire and water to the dead, as is customary in the religion of the Hindus, is, they say, in their opinion wrong, for if you put (ftl in a lamp that is gone out, of what use is it ? Still more curious is this, that they regard being shaven or shorn* by the hands pi a stranger as a great calamity, and to picl^ out their hairs with their own hands, as true worship ; the speciality of their austerity is not to brush their teeth or wash their faces, to remain unclean, and not to bathe ; and if their hands should be thoroughly polluted withf the human excrement or urine, not to wash it off, or consider it unclean; for this reason all HindBs, who regard the absolute Creator as the True ^ne, and have no doubts regarding future rewards and punishments, keep apart from this sect, and do not consider it right to associate, or even talk, with them ; and they say thus, that if from one quarter a lustful elephant, addicted to tilling people, having broken > its chain, should come, and from the other a Seora, then they should go towards the elephant, and not even jQok towards the latter. The Brahmans also regard the old religion, which has been prevalent, since the beginning of the Creation, accord- ing to "Ihe laws of the Vedas, as right, and do not reverence the reEgious opinions which any sect may invent of its own accord for its own guidance; besides this, they do not admit any one of a contrary creed to their religion, although he may beg for it greatly ;: and if any one become an apostate from that faith, and adopt another religion, should he ever agaia wish to join his former belief, stni they do not allow him to re-embrace their faith, though he- may entreat most humbly for it. In that religion, there are four classes or orders; the first of which is the Bramhacharj, whose faith is this, that they should not marry,,but fully apply themselves to ftie acquisition and perfection of sciences, both outward and spiritual. The second is the Grahasta ; they are they, who marry and employ themselves in household matters. The third is the Banaparasta ; these are those who, when they get past middle age, nSd have sons and offspring, then leave their families, and going with their wives to, the woods, remain meditating, and performing penance, and eat nothing but fruit. The fourth kind is the Saniyyasas, or they who entirely eschewing all communication (with thm world), perform severe austerities and difficult worship. There are' four castes, or four sects ; the first are the Brahmans, whose duty it is .to read the Vedas, and pass their time in learning true wisdom ; the second are the Chhatris, whose business it is to govern. • Literally, " To have scissors or razors applied to the head or face." t LiteraHy^ " Be fiUed with." ' 6 42 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHPIL, OE administer justice, and fight ; the third are the Baisas, whose occupa- tion is trade, hanking, and other arts and professions ; the fourth are the Sodras, whose office is to perform service to the three other kinds. In short, all the natives of India, whether Hindus of Musalmans, dress well, are fond of good food, have cheerful faees, are well-mannered, polite, faithful, well-behaved, true' friends, speakers of the truth, kind, -compassionate, merciful, able, of fixed disposition, just, contented, friend- servers, magnanimous, and trust- worthy ; moreover, the bankers are so upright, that if any person place a thousand rupees, secretly, with one of them ^by way -of deposit without any witnesses, then should he ask it again at ariy time, he immediately makes it over to him without any demur or ceremony ; and if any one, by reason of fear of the road or any 'other cause, should deliver money into his charge, on the condition that he wiU take it to a certain city, or that his children are there, and that he wishes it conveyed to them, then also, for a little profit, he takes the money, and on a small piece of paper writes a cheque in the Hindi character on the name of his agent, whose shop is in that country, and neither puts it in an env^pe nor seals it ; then when that person goes to him, he (the agent) with much politeness, agreeably to the sum mentioned in the writing, without delay hands over the money to him, that he may know how trustworthy and upright is the conduct of an honest money-lender ; this kind of writing is called a cheque on demand, and the profit, the draft fee ; and if that person wishes it to be sent in any one else's name, tlia^ banker sends that paper with a letter to his agent, and gets his receipt from him, however far the road may be ; thiS' kind ol writing is simply called a draft. More wonderful still is this, that if the h61der of that draft at sight should sell that piece of paper to any other banker of any other city than the place mentioned, he will take it at once, and hand over the money to him ; and there is another circumstance more wonderful than this even — if any mer- chant from fear of the road should deliver over his goods and chattels to a banker, then these good-dispositioned ones take their com- mission, and convey the goods in perfect safety and security to where the owner directs, taking the loss on themselves ;* the name of this kind of proceeding is called insurance." •■ ° DISTICHES. All the inhabitants of Hindustan Are capable, wise, clever, and honourable. c Whatever they say with their mouth they eagerly perform ; "^ They never make any mistake in their money transactions • In them there is affability and shame, modesty and fidelity, Elegance and kindness, generosity and munificence ; In love matters, such is their state, c. That they give up every thing they have, even to their life. , Enough, they have all the good qualities of man ; In one of them alone, you find the virtues of a world. THE OBNAMENT OP THE ASSBMBLT. 43 CHAPTER XIV. A FEW LINES IN PRAISE OP ITS SOLpiEES. The soldiers of this country are generally faithful, daring, true to their salt, willing to lay down their lives in the employ of their tnasters, and do not leave their service ; they die and expire, but do not turn their backs ; the custom of most of the brave and daring of this country is, that when the time for fighting with arrows, balls, &c., is past, and the moment for close* conflict arrives, they let go their horses, and, with their swords drawn, fight dismounted ; for this reasoif, lest if , one side overcome the other, it might thus happen, that any of their comrades should lose their wits, and think " We are indeed horsemen, come, let us make owe horses flee, and preserve our lives ; for life is a wonderful thing, and very dear ; and there is a well-known proverb, ' A guest, like life, is never met again' ; there- fore first cut oE the foot of flight, that you lose not the victory ; and although the head must be cut off, still let it be cut off. DISTICHES. Those, who are called brave, in the day of battle Do not keep a foot for flight in their body ; They will never turn back their steps ; l^hey maj be killed right and left, but they fight well to the end. When can flight fall on their ranks, for they are immoveable ? The earth may give- way, but they will not yield. PEOSE. And some of the zamindars also of this country, if, from any cause, they should rebel against their rulers, when they themselves go to fighib, appoint a number of their trustworthy relations to take charge of the women ; when these see that the ruler has conquered, and they* (their brethren) have despaired of life, they, to preserve th«r honour, choose hard-heartedness, and killing the women one and all, then go to the fight, and are themselves killed ; the name of this deed is Johar, or general massacre ; but this way of acting is not peculiar to .the zamindars ; for certain nobles also, who have , any pride in them, when they see that a slight has been cast on their honour, revolt against their kings ; they give their lives, but do not lose their hoiiour and reputation. For instance, I, the writer, have heard this story from my oivn father, now deceased, that in ■jjie reign of Muljammad Shah, Firdaus Aramgah, which was prior , to that of Nadir Shah, amongst his sincere friends there was a Sayyad, by name Hasan Zaki Khan, who was an inhabitant of Bahralch, and the friend of the deceased Nawwab, ^mdat-ul-mulk,* Amir Khan Bahadar ; he was a very generous man, of high spirit, * Thia-i^ a title, meaning " the support or pillar of the state," which is conferred on officers of high rank. 44 THE aeaJsh-i-mahpii,, oe and true to his friends ; his monthly salary was three hundred rupees, but it never sufficed for more than twenty, days, for this reason, that there used generally to be a number of friends collected in his house, . and whatever apy one wanted, that was immediately procured ; in short, in the house of the noble above-nai^ed every month, for ten days there was pinching, and for twenty da^s abun- dance. And this was the manner of his personal expenditure ; he used to eat his food with two or four friends, had one suit of clothes to wear, one horse to ride [but that was exceedingly swift and costly] , his saddle and bridle also were highly adorned, and his arms made of gold ; fer domestics, he had two table servants, two* house servants, and one groom, and one of the indoor servants acted as his transactor of business ; the latter, moreover, had this strict injunction, that there should always be grass before the horse and fire on the hearth, so that no one might know that there ^as a fast in the house of Hasan Zatl. To make the story short, in Dilli one day, a grass-cutter was im wittingly. kUled by a Pathan, who, when he found refuge nowhere else, came into the presence of that venerable one, and explained to him, "I am ajathan of that village of which you are the chief ; I unknowingly committed a murder, and have come to you with this hope, that you will hide m& and save my life; if you will do this, it will be the height of manliness and generosity." That resolute one, without thinking, replied, " In ' the name .of God, seat thyself ; this is thy house — have no fear ;" immediately on hearing this news, all his acquaintances, who had a • care for his friendship and were brave,* came and joined him ; at last, somewhere over a hundred men seated themselves down pre- pared for death, and the energy of the Kotwalf could do nothing to oppose them :% for, to confront those prepared to give their lives, it is first incumbent, that one be prepared to lay down his own. At last the whole circumstance was detailed with all its ins and outs to the King, who immediately sent a command to the TJmdat- ul-mulk to this effect, — " Husan Zaki Khan is your friend, advise him to separate himself from this murderer, and deliver him up to His Majesty's servants, without delay, so that he may obtain the punishment of his own deeds, and no one else may ever again manifest the like audacity." The deceased Nawwab acted according to the orders of the King, but that venerable one did not listen to what he said, and moreover gave up his salary. On this, the Nawwab sent a petition to the King that Mir Zaki cared not for his own life or his salary ; howeyer much his disobedience was displeas- " ing to himself,§ still to prevent it was impossible, and he was helpless ; it was left to His Majesty to do what he liked, but he hoped his impertinence might be excused, when he said, it was better to pardon that murder, on account of the retaliation of whicb, * Literally, " had the intoxication of manliness." t The Kotwal was formerly the chief police officer of a city or town, hut in the pre- sent day holds a suhordinate position sometimes. ' X Literally, " Could not reach so far that he should form tto idea of (going) there (to oppose them)." § Literally, " one horn in the family ;" i. e., in the present passage the Oupendant of the king who was representing the matter in the usual humble Eastern style. THE OBNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 45 thousands* of muFders would have to be committed, since, for the ipublic weal, a little wickedness is allowable. At last, the murder was forgiven by His Majesty the King, still that great man never again entered the service of the deceased Nawwab, but through the medium of Miyan Akil, the Chief of the Kambal Poshas, became a servant 'under the Government of Nawwab Samsam-ud-Daulah Khan Dauran (lord of the worlds) Bahadar, and, in his war with Nadir, Shah, was slain along with him ; only the body of that brave man lay about twenty paces ahead of the corpse of Akil Beg. • DISTICHES. That which he did, surely it was the deed of the brave, And his name will be remembered till the Judgment Day. He kept his word and endangered his life ; He ret^ned his honour, though he might have lost his head. Now-a-days there remain to us neither the same soldiers nor such patrons; The story only is left to be told and listened to. 46 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHFIL, OB CHAPTER XV. IN PRAISE OF THE .WOMEN. The women of this country, I mean certain of the Hindu women, love their husbands to such a degree that they cannot beaiv the flame of the .fire of parting from them, and cannot remain separate from them for one instant, but after their (husbands') deaths, putting on their bridal attire, decking themselves out with their jewels, fully adorning themselves, and anointing themselves with argaja and sondha,* they burn themselves in th6 fire along with their (husbands') body, if it is to be found ; otherwise, taking some of his clothes in their hands, they turn their preciousf body into ashes, in the hope that their name may be conspicuous in this world, and they may enjoy much happiness in the next. QTTAETEAIN. Do not connect sati with a moth, For there is a great difference between the two ;f The one gives her life in the fire for the dead, Whereas the other does not hover around a candle, that has been put out. PEOSE. And others of them, although they do not burn themselves, still through fidelity and shame, after the death of their husbands, eschew wearing good clothes, eating good food, or even adorning themselves with their jewels and ornaments, and spend their nights and days in penance and heavy grief, although they may be only girls; if married for one night even, they do the same, and, their whole life-long, burn without fire. In short, in their religion to marry a second time§ is to lose the house of futurity, and disgrace the name of their family in this world. Although in the Musalipan religion this , is considered no sin, still (for a widow not to re-marry) is generally prevalent amongst the families of the inhabitants of this country, especially in the villages, where it is carried to such an extent, that although the parties might only have been betrothed, and her betrothed should die, they {her family) put widow's weeds ' on the girl, and either send her to her father-in-law's house, or keep her in her mother's family. The result of this is, that she spends her life in worship and reading the ^uran after the manner of widow;s, and as long as she lives groans under this calamity ; a^- • " Argaja" is a native perfume, composed of vaiious ingredients, of a yellowish colour, used for anointing the body with. " Sondha" is a fragrant hairwash. t This is an epithet, usually applied to the body. J Literally, " between that and this." § Literally, " to make a second home.'' ^ THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 47 though her guardian may be most learned, still he becomes a fool in this matter, and forsakes the paths of the laws of Muhammad. DISTICHES. • Engugh, in sati then there is only the name ; BVit it is, indeed, something to burn without fire. The one's grief is got. rid of by being bor,ne for an instant, Whereas the other spends her whole life in dying : The one dies and expires, 0, friends ! in one instant ; But to the other, as long as she lives, there is the counting of her • breath :• The one, then, instantaneously burns the body ; The other lives, but, day and night, burns her soul in grief. In short, that woman is indeed" lovely* Who always wears the garment of m'odesty : For «aodesfcy is a sign of goodness of conduct, And if she has it not, then aU her life is but as dust . * In the hope that death may soon come and relieve her from her trouMes. 48 THE AEAISH-I-MAHPIL, OB CHAPTER XVI. IN PEAISE £>F THE BEAUTIFUL. The lovely ones of this country are also nnfiqualled in grace, and in splendour are like the shining moon. I do not say that^ any land is wanting in beauty, hut that the habits of the beautiful women of this country are quite distinct ; for that neatness of form, blandishment and co'quetry, winning and charming manners, decora- ting, anointing, ornamenting, foppishness, and elegance, which are seen here, are beheld in no other region, and this is a irell known thing, that, in the immediate neighbourhood of Dilli, as far as beauty goes, an unadorned one has the elegance of adornment, and should one with a body fair as silver, but unpolished, come here, in a short time, having obtained neatness of form, she will rank among the beauties of the world.*, In short, every one here knows how to steal and rob (people's) hearts, and whomever you look, at, she is an expert in sharpness and repartee ;, should she form ' the desire, then with one glance she will drive a wise man mad, and, in one instant, deprive the hermit of his hermit's clothes ;t the devotee of a hundred years, immediately on seeing her lovely glancej becomes a debauchee, and the old Muhammadan hermit an infidel of SoKin5t§ DISTICHES. Every one is a proficient in the art of alluring hearts ; Every one is perfect iii elegance ;|{ Whichever you behold, she is incomparable in beauty, In blandishment and coquetry superior to Laila^ If she open her sweet lips a little, Then Shirin** can say nothing, but offer herself as a sacrifice. They always keep their lovers indisposed,tt And can kill whomever they like with their eyes. ^^ If a devotee should see, but for an instant, her meeting with her bridegroom, Then he would give piety for her unveiling offering J J They destroy the Musalman's faith. And, if they choose, can turn a Hindu into a Musalman. __ .. _ — _ * Litetally, " she will become prime in beauty." " + That is, of his goodness and austerity, and desire to live a solitary Ufe. J Literally, " the oup of her eyes." § Somnat was a place celetrated for its idol temples, which were laid waste by Malimud, who carried off immense treasures from here. II Literally, " elegance is finished (or reaches its height) in each of them." «» i Laila was the mistress of Majniin, and famous for her charming and winning man- ners, which drove him quite " majnun," or mad ; their loves have been made the theme of poetry by many Oriental writers. Majniin was also celebrated for his powers of •love-making. ** Shirin was a celebrated Eastern beauty. tt The word "bimar" is rather out of place, and is only used to jingle with tho " mar" of next line. aad II " Jilwa" is the meeting of the bride and bridegroom in presence of their relatives ; " Eunumai" (showing tho faoej is the offering made to her, when she then unffcUs herself. THE OENAMENTF OF TIJE ASSEMBLY. 49 In an instant they will change a. mosque into an idol temple. And cause a state of paganism in the tein]i>le of Makka. The praise of the beautiful ones is beyond bounds— , How then can the pen sufiicieutly write it ? PEOSE. In ^ort, how much soever you may praise this land, and com- mend its inhabitants, it is right, — ^for every one, great or small, living or dead, present or past, wise or" discerning, has praised this country, and moreover desired to take up his abcSe in it ; thus, for instance, the inhabitants of many lands have come, and, adopting it as their residence, have forgotten their own country, and, from being beggars, have become rich men, and from being poor, wealthy. DISTICHES. The whole world is full of people, But Bidia is a wonderful country : If a beggar come here in the morning, ■ You will see him, before evening, a noble. A foot soldier in an instant becomes a horseman. And he who comes discontented becomes satisfied. PBOSE. Truly, till the time of Aurungzeb this was without doubt its state, and the cities- were well populated ; but, since the reign of Farrukh Siyar, the kingdom has got into confusion, and Muhammad ■ Shah was not able to keep it in order by. reason of his luxuriousness, although, up to his time even, there always remained a breaking-up- of-a-market-like state,* but it was in the reign of Ahmad Shah that it was entirely destroyed, when many ministers and worthy men confined (themselves to their houses, and certain cavaliers and men of honour, by reason of penury, closed their doors and died ; while others, being dispersed and scattered, went and took up their abode in different places. Happy was the state of the inhabitants of the province of Bang, for the Eight Hon'ble Company took up the government, and for this very reason this comer is flourishing to this, day. Except in it, on all sides there is a calling out for justice ;, but in these days His Excellency the Eight Honorable the Viceroy andT Governor, Lord Marquis Wellesley, Bahadar [may his reign continue], has turned his attention to the management of the' government and the administration of the country, and it is probable that what he has determined will, by the favour of God and His 'divine kindness, be accomplished, so that, in a short time, this land' wiU obtain the splendour of the best of countries. DISTICH. ^ May his Government remain lasting.f And may every one praise his power. * In India there is great deal of noise and bustle at the breaking up of a market ; many people being collected together,, and dressed in various costumes, give a certain impoBing air to the whole scene. The writer here means that the kingdom still preserved a great deal of its pomp and grandeur, though in decay. ^ t LiteraUy, "Morning and evening," 7 50 THE AEliSH-I-MAHFIL, OE , , PEOSE. ' To be brief, all India, including Bangala, the Dakhan, and Kandhar contains twgn]by provinces, one hundred and ninety divisions,, and four thousand and two districts ; its revenue is eight hundred and eighty million, eight hundred and eight thousand, fiv^huiiared and eighty-three dams ;* and since a little has already been written regarding the praises and circumstances of this country itself, it is proper that, I should describe somewhat the condition of each of its provinces, and try the dexterity and expertness of my pen.f ^ , : -. : •— * The " dam" here referred to is that of Albar's time wHch was worth ^th of a rupee, or about f ths of a penny. It has since greatly deteriorated in value, and in the present day is only ^„',)a th of rupee, or t^th of what it was worth in Akbar's time. t I prefer the reading Dekhaun to Dekhijn but aa the.latter i^ that given in the text, I liave changed the translation accordingly. , THE dENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 61 CHAPTER Xyil. ABOUT THE COTJNTRT OP SHAHJAHANABAD THE SEAT OF GOVEENMENT- Fbom the Hindi and Persian histories it thus appears that tie ^city Hastanapur, on the banks of the Ganges, was in former times the capital of the kings of India; its extent and splendour was in their time beyond the bounds of description, and the tongue was unable to narrate it ; and although it 'is still very flourishing, yet it is not equal to what it was in the times of the Pandus and Kirtis.* SVhen these two tribes disagreed and fought with each other,f the Pandus left that country, and went and established themselves at, Indraparast, which is- on the banks of the Jamna, and moreover made it their capital. After some time King Atakpal> Tnnwar, about the year 1200 odd of the era of Bir Bakramajltj built a fort and city, and called it after his own name ; after him. King Kutb-ud-din, Ibak, and King Shams-ud-din, Altamash, moreover took up their abode in it, but King Ghayas-ud-dln, Balban, built another fort 666 A. H., and called it Marzghan.J After that King Muizz-iid-din, Kaikubad, in the year 686 btiilt another city on the banks of the Jamna, very spacious, with most elegant buildings in ■ it, and, called its name Kllugurhi, which Amir Khusru, has written a laudatory account of, in his book called Kiran-us-sadain.§ After him. King Jalal-ud-dln, Khalji, populated the city KBshk-i-Lal,|| and King Ala-ud-din founded Kushk-i-Sabz,l aind respectively m.ade these their seats of government. Afterwards, King Ghayas-ud-din Taghlak Shah, 725 A. H., built the city Taghlakabad, and after him his son. King Muhammad Muizz-rtid-din Jonan, founded another kingdom, and constructed a palace having a thousand piUars ; and besides it erected many other houses of red stone very elegant and neat. A^^erwards, King Kroz Shah, 755 A. H., populated Pirozabad whjph is very spacious and grand, and having cut the Jamna, caused it to flow under it ; besides. this, at a distance of three kos, he built another palace with a very lofty minaret, which is standing to this ■ day ; the common people call it the pillar of Firoz Shah. After hiuj, ^ng Mubarak Shah populated the city Mubarakabad : and 938 A.H. 'King Humayun mended, and repaired the fort of Indraparast, and * The Pandus, descendants of King Pandu, and Karus of Karu,- were the ancient inh abitants of India. A full account of them is given at the end of this book. -^ t Phut is also a fine species of melon, and hence the natiyes have naively come to say "Hiudiistan "ki phut angrezon ke waste ik?ir" The melons (disagreements) of India are elixir (most profitable) for the English. ' ' i " Marzghan" meaning " hell, or a burial-place." § Meaning "the conjunction of the two fortunate planets, Jupiter and Venus." II " The red palace." IT " The green palace." 62 THE ABiiSH-I-MAHFIL, OE giving it the name of Dinpanali,* made it Ms capital. Afterwards Slier Shah, Pathan, having depopulated Kushk-i-Sabz, populated another city, and his son, Salim Shah, built Sa,limgarh,t which is standing to the present day in the city of Shahjahanabad, on the banks of the Jamna, opposite the fort of Ark.J Although- gaefe*%f these sovereigns populated a city and made it his capital, still the seat of government of the kings of India is known in every country by the name of Dilli. Afterwards, 1045 A- H., ,that is, about the twelfth year of his reign. Shah Jahan, Sahib-i-kiran,§ the second, founded another city near Dillt, and calledits name Shahjahanabad;,.. from his good intentions this region has become so splendid and populous, that all the countries peopled by former kings, which have been mentioned above, have been forgotten, and its name only has remained, in the same way as many large rivers flow into . the sea, but its name only is mentioned. Its fort also ,of refd stone is built with such. strength and elegance, that the tongue of the builder of fate becomes red|l in its praise, and to make one like it then is an impossible task ; besides this, the houses are many in kind and number, elegant and pretty, and its garden is the choicest of the gardens of the world ; canals flow in every direction, and there are baths in every house filled like goblets ; wherever you look, you see some new details, and wherever you cast your eyes, they remain fixed there. If Eiawant were to see the beauty of that garden, then he would withdraw his hand from the of&ce of gate-keeper of the garden of Paradise. DISTICHES. Every house in it is a pattern of those of the regions of paradise, And, in good structure, twice as fine as them ; Its flower beds are always in bloom and blossom, And autumn never gets admission there. . Apart from those of the world, are the hue and scent of its roses, And the sweetness of its flowers is quite distinct ; The coloTlr of its birds too is quite peculiar, And the manner of their singing perfectly different ; To what shall I compare every thing ? •• For the things of this garden and those of the world do not blend. « PROSE. Around that fort of Mubarak there is a very wide, broad, and deep ditch, so that the depth of the earth falls short of it, and this ^ reaches somewhat beyond it ; its water is so pure and clear that, if one grain even of poppy seed. should be lying at its bottom, it would . ' * "The shelter, of the faithful." ,.' t " The fort of Salim." + That is, "the fort of the sun." .^■"' § That is, "the mighty," or one who has been horn under a fortunate junction of two or more planets. U That ia, "ashamed." *» it " Rizwan" is another name for Paradise and also the name of the porter of Paradise. There is Hfere a play on the word. ^ THE OSNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 53 be clearly seen in a dark night, and if a blind man could dive into it, he would certainly brifig it out. DISTICHES. «ss« A sttustard seed can be seen at its bottom ; Where is there this clearness in the lustre* of pearls ? And if a hair should fall into it, . Then it appears to the sight like the veinf of the pearl. PEOSE. , And the Jamna also, having become anxious to see that fort, has come from the east and flows with much grace under it. Afterwards, Nawwah All Mai-dan Khan, deceased, cut that river, and brought the' royal canal over the Sirmor hill, whifeh increased the splendour of its streets, and markets, and made the honour of the city twofold ■ hence in iftost people's houses there were little reservoirs full of cold water, and the baths and tanks also of the royal palace remained filled ; in the gardens, freshness began to take up its abode to a great extent, and the flower-beds became excegsivly verdant ; so that that great man truly was a Bihishti,t for from^is works kings and beggars obtained affluence. DISTICH. May God in the Resurrection give him honour, For his bounty flows from street to street. PEOSE. The wall round the city is built of stone, and is very hard and strong ; -the compound of the understanding cannot contain its breadth, length, height, and good building — in fact, it cannot think of the measurement of one side even. Inside and out of it there are villages innumerable, and at every hand's breadth, jn all directions,' there are hamlets, with many buildings of various kinds and sorts, all most elegant, and a great number of dwelling-houses of many varieties, each well constructed. The spHng time of its garden has no autumn,§ and in its flower-beds there is always a talisman-like state. Every quarter of the city is of greater extent than the world, an^ its smallest street is larger than a city; there are crowds of people on every road, everj^ place is a resort of sightseers, and the inhabitants of th^ cities and villages, having found it to their welfare and ease, have taken up their abode there. ' In short, people qf every kind, an^ things of every country, are to be seen there in great numbers whenever you like, and it is not possible that, at any time, there should be a deficiency of anything. Although all the bazars of it are superior to the whole world, still the Chandni Chaukjl is the light of the whole city, and every shop in it is without • Literally, "water." + Literally, " hair." J A BihisMi means a dweller in Paradise. In India this name has been given to the water-carrier class, because they are supposed to give water to people gratis, and in reward for this it is said that they will obtain a place in Paradise. § Or " the beauty of its garden has no fading." II Or" moonlight street.^ 64 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OB an equal in the world; whatever things you see, they are worthy of kings ;, its courtyard too is so spacious, that the heart opens in it, and so clean, that a man may scatter rice there and eat it. The brokers of that bazar wiU not lift up their eySs to look at merchants, and the haberdashers of it think nothing of jewellers; the §hop*\}f one cloth merchant is equal to that of all the cloth mercfiants of Constantinople, and the banking-house of one banker is equal to that of all the bankers of Iran:;^. Certainly, however much you may praise that gladsome place, it will be right, but the state of the king's palace is quite distinct, and its arena very neat and spacious ; the buildings in it are exceedingly well constructed and lofty ; its area is a cause' of envy to the area of the rose garden, and every shop is an ornament to the market ; all its artisans are in good circumstances, and their store-houses are full of riioney, goods, and jewels ; there is no defi- ciency of anything there, nor is any person in that city unhappy. DISTICHES. -Its gates are the doors of a flower garden, And its whiteness is the choicest of the choice ;* If one should see its extent for an instant, Then his heart will not become dejected again the whole of his life ; Wandering through- it drives grief away altogether, And its perambulation is pleasing at all times ; And if he could see its state but for a short time. Then Manif would never again mention" the name of his picture gallery, Arzhang. I have indeed praised it much, ' „ For it is the origin of the Urdu, language. ' PEOSE. The design of its cattle market too is quite distinct, and its extent is also greater than the extent of the world; its court is full of four-footed animals of every kind, arid its surface very clean and level; in every direction (you behold) a. collection of people, and in every quarter merriment; horse brokers are to be seen shewing off various kinds of horses, TsrhUst the buyers remain collected round the sellers ; the traffic in it is for ready money ;t every brdker there is a. rich man,, and intoxicated with wealths On one side you ^11 see a person bargaining for a horse,§ and on another some one stand- ing up and settling the price of a pony ; in one quarter the spldiers * Literally, " The selection of tte world." The reader will here Observe the play on Gulistan and Biyaz : Biya? is a common-place notebook, made of white paper. These lines might also be translated, " its gate is a chapter pf the Grulistau, and its notebook contains selections from the boots of the world." t " Mani" was a celebrated Persian painter, the founder of the sect of the Manioheeans^- f,. and was burnt by qrder of Bahram. He is said to have filled a cave in Chinese Tartary with liis strange and beautiful paintings which is known as Arzhang, t Dast-ba-dast literally means from hand to hand, quipk, expeditious, and hence a ready-money purchase. ' § Hathlana refers to the custom of purchasing horses, wb^ch prevails at fairs, when. the parties settle the price with their hands under a handkerchief ; for this they have a particular method of counting called A^d-ul-anamil, which may be found ip. the Q-hayas- ul-lughat, a Persian and Arabic lexicon by Ghayas-ud-din Muhammad of Rampur. THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 55 and men of rank are to be seen seated on platforms, with their saddle cloths spread, and their hukkas placed by them; in one direction behold the fops and dandies seated in their assemblies, and in another place, several rakes and profligates trying to smoke litjilg ball^ of tobacco, whilst in another quarter, a few large and big talkers are seasoning their two-and-a-half grains of rice.* In short, there is a crowd like as at fair, and, a congregation like that of the chharl,t collected every day, except Friday, np to two o'clock in the afternoon. To be brief, every quarter of that country, the founda- tion of auspiciousness, has beautiful environs, and every place in it «s wellpppulated; owing to the above circumstance, there are in it many temples, monasteries, and schools, elegant and pleasing to the sight, and. several garden-houses also^ But 1060 A. H. that is, about the twenty-fourth year of the reign of Shah Jahan, a Jami Masjid of red stone was built in the middle of the city, so beautiful that the people of former ages had never seen, nor had those of latter times heard of, the like ; the foundation of it is laid on Samak,t and its minarets reach to the sky ; the dome of heaven is the averter ©f calamities from its domes, and the splendour of its smgiU turrets reaches to the upper world ; the steps of its pulpit are higher than those which reach to the highest heaven, and the pillars of the milky way are lower than the pillars of its doors. Its shi-ine is a place of acceptable prayer, and he who prays there is approved of at the threshold of the Almighty ; its walls are higher than the waU of Alexander, and its court is equal to that of Paradise. Although much gain accrues from the building of mosques, gardens, and travellers' resting-places [for from them the builder's name .remains in the world, and the people too obtain comfort], still the construction of a warm bath is the causp of pleasui-e to both old and young, and removes the troubles of every one's heart : so, too, from the royal bath in this city, there has been conferred a public benefit, and no person is excluded from it: in structure it. is more beautiful than the bath of Plato ; its doors and walls are most exquisitely constructed ; the roof of its dome is close to the region of fire, and the foundations of its walls adjoin the centre of the earth ; iflS dressing-rooms are the best of buildiags, and its baths are^the water of life to those whose constitutions are dried up ; its kitchen is a store-house of bilrning fire, and the moon is the mirror of its sky light ; its heat increases th-e innate heat (of the, bvdy), and its ^humidity augments the natural moisture {of the human frame). . Iti short,- every house of this city is incomparable, and along with this, the buildings are many in number ; but just as inside thecity, there are a multitude of houses, so also outside of it, are there an immense number of tombs ; a , great many kings', ministers', and gobies' mausoleuqis are in every direction ; but the most celebrated * The meaning of these two sentences is, that these vagabonds like to shonv off their learning, and express their own grand opinions, or that they are trying to do what is absurd. t The " chhari" is a procession of the followers of Shah Madar, in which flags and bamboos are carried. t " Sama£" is the fish on which the earth is supposed to rest, in the Hindu mythology. 56 ' THE ABliSH-I-MAHFIL, OB is tkat of King HumaytJn in,tlie Kailu fort of Kaikubad on the' banks of tlie Jamna : ' and besides their tombs,* the graves of the ■wise, great, and holy, who were celebrated in their time, are in such numbers, that there is, as it were, a city of the dead populated there. Narnbl is an old city, about fifty kos distant l^om DUli ; its climate is exceedingly good, its environs are pleasing4o every man of taste,,and the houses in it are generally built of masonry and stone ; the henna plantf of that city is of a very rich colour, and the fields in which it grows are close to the town ; the children of the inhabitants often, as they play with one . another, emerge ■ on thoise fields, and as thej- return to their homes, fill their shoeas with henna leaves ; in short, by the time they reach their houses, their feet become a red carnation colour. There is also plenty of game of all kinds there, and on this account the bird-catchers sell four partridges for a pice ; what desire, then, can any one entertain for meat or vegetables that they should send fo? them and eat them, except from iMigence, or by reason of it being their custoin? Moreover, fruits and flowers of every season, sweet- scented and sweet-tasted, are to be obtained in any number, and give ease and repose to the hearts and ' brains of those who desire them. The natives of it are great men and nobles, and of every sect, but principally Shaikhs and Sayyads ; and these moreover are very clever and wise. Up to the time of Muhammad Shah, Firdau^ Aramgah, the above-mentioned city was well populated, and the wise and learned were so powerful, that in the month of Eamzan it was not possible up to midday for a baker or bhatiyaraj to heat his oven, nor was it feasible for any grain parcher to parch grain, or for any one in the day-time, to smoke his hukka in the bazar ; more- over, if any one perpetrated any of these deeds, then he lost his honour at the hands of the superintendent of police. Inside and out- side of that city, there are many temples, for thousands of men of dignity and rank lie at rest in that country ; moreover, the tomb of the holy man Sayyad Muhammad, the Tiirk, is outside that city, and thousands. of years have now passed since that nobleman was martyred at the hands of the infidels ; the inhabitants of that place attribute many marvellous and wonderful deeds and. miractes to his tomb, and to obtain their wishes go there every Thursday, and teep watch ; and up to that time§, no Hindu was able to build any idol temple or shrine in the environs of the above-named city. ^When Ahmad Shah became king, then the possessions and substance of its nobles began to decrease, and, in its assemblies, disputes found , their way, and every one took their road, to where they saw there was safety ; at last the above-mentioned city became depopulated, and everybody did what they liked there, and lihat state has * That is, the kings, ministers, and nobles. + This is the plant, from the leaves of 'which the red dye, with which, natives stain the hands and feet, is extracted. X It must be remembered sweet-scented refers to the flowers, and sweettasted to the fruits ; so also the heart to the fruits, and the brain to the flowers. § One who prepares victuals for travellers at an inn, 11 That is, the reign of Muhammad Shah. THE OENAMElfT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 57 remained to the present day. It remains to . be seen wliat will tappen hereafter, — God only knows. About Ishirty kos distance from Dilli there is an old city called Pa nlpat ; the holy Shaikh, " Bn-Ali Kalandar, was born there, and when he was forty years old, he qMne to«Dilli and was raised to honour in the serAdce of Khwajah Kutb-ud-din; he remained for twenty years in the search' of worldly knowledge, but when the rays of divine light, were diffused on his • ' heart, then he drowned all his books in the Jamna, and adopted the life of a traveller. When he arrived in Turkey, he obtained much profit from ghamsh-i-Tabrez and the Malvi of Earn, and besides tiem many of the holy men of that country also were of use to him. At last he returned to his own land, and when he arrived there, ' seated himself in the corner of retiijement, till at last he left the world ; a great multitude are witness to his revelations and deeds, and his tomb is the place of pilgrimage of a whole universe. Sar- hand is an old city and one of the dependencies of Samanah; Firoz Shah in his reign, 760 A. H. separated and made it a distinct district, after which its population and splendour began to increase daily. At a distance of twenty kos from Sarhand is a temple named Bhawanaghat, which most people.call Mahadeva. It is an old place of TPOrship of the Hindus, but Fidai Khan, Kokah, who was one of the chief nobles, in the fourth year of the reign of Alamgir, took up his abode there, and called it Bijnor, and the king of that country, who had reigned there for many generations, he turned out agreeably to the ^orders of the king, and laid out in it a very nice and elegant garden of five terraces ; the buildings are very fine, and the conversational benches "fexceedingly beautiful; however sad the soul might be, it would be fascinated there, moreover sorrow would never again come to that heart. Besides the buUding of the houses^ he did this wonderful thing, viz., that he brought into that garden a stream of water from the skirt of a mountain w'ith such skill, that all the foun- tains, which were in the baths and canals, began to play from its water, and no longer had need of reservoirs. The rose also blossoms there to such a degree, that ia the season every day, innumerable nice coloured and beautiful'flowers fall ofE the trees ; moreover, the writer of tBfe Khulasat-ut Tawarikh says that, in the spring time one day, ^hen he ;jvandered through that beautiful garden, forty mans* Qf rose flowers' dropped and were taken to the rose water manufactory. DISTICH* ^. • On its footpaths also there were heaps of flowers, _ And no perambulation was complete without walking in it. PEOSE. ■■^ In short, the flowers there have year by year inxjreased, and its elegance also has grown gteater. Thanesar is an old city, about three kos to the south of Sarhand, and near it there is a large tank called Kurukhet ; in Hindi books it is written that it is the" centre of the earth, and the "beginning of creation also, in the opinion of * A " man" is forty sirs, or nearly eighty pouads. 68 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHFIL, OE the Hindus, was in that place ; the result is this, that they regard it as a Tery great place of pilgrimage, and to wash in it as an exceed- ingly good work, deserving of reward, especially at- the time of the sun's eclipse ; for on "that day crowds of people come from great distances, women and , men, low and high — in short, all, smalLand great, come there and collect and give alms of money and 'gooos in many manners and ways, both openly and secretly ; however much any of them may be a miser or poor, still every one performs virtuous < and charitable deeds beyond his means and power ; moreover, be- sides the above-mentioned lake, for forty-eight kos round, all the marshes, tanks, baths, and wells aroujjd the city, and those houses near which the Sarasti river flowS, in fact , those resting seats also which are knoyvh by the names of former saints, and mention of * which is made in the old books, — these all are regarded as places of pilgrimage ; and for this very reason the Pandils and the Eiirus, who were the chiefs of the Hindus, fought with each otfeer and were slain there.. Forty kos from Dilli to the north is an old city, Sam- bhal ; the Harimandir in it is an old place of worship of the Hindus, • and it is said that in the last days an incarnation will take place there. Near it is Nanakmata, where the disciples and servants of Baba Nanak generally collect, and occupy themselves with devotion and penance ; to the north of it are the mountains of Kumaon, in which are mines of gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, sulphur, and borax ; besides this, hawks and kites, and other birds, which strike with their claws, corae from there ; the wild buffalo, musk deer, silkworms, and hill^ ponies are mostly reared there, ..and white honey also is obtained in large quantities.. To be brief, its city is very strong and inac- cessible, and by reason of the shelter^ it afPords, the zamindars do not obey the kings, but are rebellious '; ' the writer, once on a time in company with the deceased Nawwab Asaf-ud-Daula, went in ^ the retinue of the deceased Hasan Eiza Khan, Bahadar, as far as Nanakmata, but did not get the' opportunity of going into the mountain passes ; moreover, there was not a single person from the army who was able to go. Truly, the mountain road is very diffi- cult and inaccessible, but the hiU men of that country used to bring much goods and fruits, and dispose of them t<^ the army, especially walnuts, which they brought in great quantities an($sold very cheap. >. To sum up, in this province there are two large rivers ; on«, the Jamna, the fountain-spring of which is not known, but the travellers of the world, especi^fly those who come from China by the way of the mountains, report that this river rises in China, and, ^ cutting through the mountains, gets to Bashbhar. It is reported that in that country , there is much goldj and the reason of this is that most of the gravel of that country has the^ effect of the philo- sopher's stone, and iron and copper, on touching it, ire generaiJ|i«i» turned into gold, but cannot be i'ecognized; for this reason the inhabitants of that country, shoe their horses, ponies, and bullocks, and turn them out to graze on those mountains, and their shoes are geneirally converted into gold; the kettle-drums of the rulers of that country^ are generally made of gold, and there is no counting their goods and drinking vessels. To proceed, the "river above- mentioned crosses that country and comes into Sirmor ; the zamin- dars of that place moreover send ice on boats by the river to the THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLr. 69 kings of India, and also to the ministers and nobles, and on this account common people generally caU the king of that country the Ice King. It then comes by way of the mountains to that level country where Shah Jahan built a magnificent palace on its banks ; niai-eoTet, every nobleman and man of standing, and, besides them, certain other servants of the kings also, according to their means and ability, built handsome and nice houses, and for this reason it has become a thickly crowded compact little city; .its name is Muthlispur ; accordingly, the kings also often go there, and wander , about in it, and enjoy pleasure. From there the royal canal, which is 'about half the size of the Jamna, has been cut and brought into Dilli, and the above-mentioned river^ having descended from the mountains, has become the pause of freshness to many of the provinces; moreover, the Fort Ark and many other royal and ministers'houses are on its banks. From there it goes to Mathra, Gokul, and Bindrabun ; these places are about fifteen f a^sakhs* from the capital. It then flows under Agra, where also there are many royal mansions and ministers' houses on the banks of the river ; after which it goes by the city and fort of Itaya, from there to near Kalpi and thence to Akbarpur; king Birbal's houses are on its banks, and the above-mentioned king was born in the above- named city; below that town, the rivers Chambal, Betwah. and Dhasan, and, besides them, other streams, come from the direction of Gondwana, and join it at various points ; after this it traverses various countries, and joins the Ganges below Illahabad.^The second, river is the Ganges, and no one is acquainted with its fountain-head either, but it is thi;is believed by the Hindus, that it springs from Paradise, and a full account of it is given in the old Hindi books. Having crossed the , Kailas mountain, it issues forth near China ; moreover, it is written in the annals of Firdausi that the stone houses of Siyaush^ the son of king Kaikaas, aro on the banks of the Ganges. From there it comes to the mountainous region Badri, "where there is an enclosure of ice^ which they caU Himachal.f The Hindus dissolve their bodies in it, and think it the way to obtain future pwdon ; for this reason the Pandas also went and dissolved their bodies in it. But the banks of that river, in (its cpurse through) that mountain are so high, that the water is seen with difficulty, and men cannot go over to the other side in boats ; for this reason, at the crossing places large thick ropes are tied fast to the trees on b|)th sides, and people go over in baskets by their assistance. To , proceed, people come from every city to worship at Badri Nath, but when they find such a difficult way of crossing which no man has seen before, then they fear greatly. After that, the above-men- i^oned river, flowing from the mountain of Badri Nath, passes below ^Sirinagar, and from there goes to Eikhikaish, and issues forth by the mountain of Harduar ; althoug^L the Ganges from beginning to end, in the religion of the Hindus, is worthy of worship, stiU it is more especially so at that spot, and every year in the month Baisakh * A " faraaih" is the Greek parasang or English league, and is nearly 3 J miles long, t That is, ''The immoveable ice." . 60 ' THE AEliSH-I-MAHPTL, OK a crowd of people come from all sides and collect there to bathe ; but in the year in which Jupiter comes into the constellation Aquarius, • it' is called Kumbh, and in that year great crowds of people come from far and bathe there ; the rpsult: of th^ is that they regard washing, and performing charitable and gooa .de^s, and having their nails cut, and shaving the hair of their face and head, at that place, as a good' deed deserving of reward.* They, moreover, throw the bodies of dead persons into the Granges at that place, and this, too, they look upon as a means of obtaining salvation. They carry the water of' that spot to all countries on bhangisf as a rarity, and the peculiarity of it is that if they keep the water of that river in vessels, it never spoils, and animalculse never come into it ; besides this, it is sweeter and lighter than the water of all other , rivers. There is also this good quality about it, that it is pleasing to every constitution to such a degree, that it acts as a cure to the sick, and as a useful medicine to those who have chronic diseases; it, moreover, gives strength and freshness to those in good health, clears the entrails, and increases the diges- tive powers ; besides these above-mentioned effects, it augments the natural heat of the body and makes one hungry ; it causes the colour (of the shin)' to become red, and restores the health, and for this reasoii the kings and most of the nobles of India, wherever they may be, drink only its' (the- Ganges') water ;:^ To make the story short, this river from.Hardnar goes to the city of Sadat- i-Barah, and from there passes close by Haistanapur ; again from there, it goes to Garhmak:- tesar, Anupshahr,. Karambas, Soron, and Badaon, and from there flows near to Kinnauj ; at last, passing near Sheorajpur, Khajwa, Manikpur, and Shahzadpur, it issues forth just below the fort of lUahabad, and there the , Jamna, with a great many other rivers, comes and joins it. Again the Ganges, passing by the fort of Chanar and many other towns, at last flows below Bariaras ; finally, running under Pa-tna, seventy-two rivers, coming from the northern and southern hills, flow into it at different points, but its name only remains. The bed of it, however, is greatly increased, so that the shore there is seen with much difficulty, and during the*ains, not at all. From there, passing by Rajmahal, Murshidabad, Mirdadpur, and Hijraati, it flows below Jahangirnagar, which is also called Phaka ; after that, having gone for some distance, it divides into two parts ; one goes to the east, and flows into the sea at Chatgam, and its name is called Padmawati. The second flows to the soul^, and divides into three portions ; one is called the Sarasti, the second the Jamna, and the third the Ganges. It then breaks into'a thou- sand little streams, and flows into the main ocean near the harbour of Chatgam ; lower down, the Jamna and Sarasti also come and join it. But the truth is this, that the Ganges, after passing Rajmahal^ * Sawab means reward, recompense, and also the sense in which 1 have used it, t. e., means of obtaining future reward. t The "bhangi" here referred to is a pole with a basket at each end slung acrosa the shoulders. The water is carried in earthenware jars in these baskets from place to place, and, as often as it is sold, is replaced by fresh water from the nearest well, which the sellers impose on buyers as Ganges water ; a large profit is thus derived, THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 61 ■when it arrives near Kazihati, is then called Pada ; from there, a stream, separating itself from it, goes towards Mtirshidabad, which again coming into the main stream, flows into the Ganges, and, passina by Kalkata runs into the sea; its name is Bhagirti. The Padaj which is the original Ganges, flows into th^ sea at Chatgam, but at Dhaka this river is three kos distance, and near it is the old Ganges. To make the story shott, by the time the rivers Ganges, Jamna, and Sarasti reach Chatgam, they divide into a thousand little streams. It has been narrated by the tongue of many travellers, that robbers, thieves, rebels, and highwaymen live in great numbers on the banks of the Ganges from its source to its mouth. The writer of the Khulasait^ut-Tawarikh has accounted for this cleverly in one way, viz., that, as from w£|.shing in it people's faults are removed, it is probable that they (the sins) taking birth in men's'bodies, in the course of transmigration, come and harass people. To sum up, the climate of the above-mentioned province is nearly temperate; the agriculture is carried on there by means of the rains and floods, and in a few places by wells ; there are ■fcbree harvests, and its various fruits are taken to Iran and Turan in great quantities, and, sweet-smelling and sweet-coloured flowers are produced there in all seasons ; and in it are many large houses built of tiled masonry, of stone, and of brick. The province of Agra is 'to its east, the province of Lahaur to its west, Ajmlr to its south, and Kumaon to its north ; and reckoning from Agra and Palwal to Lo- dhiyanah on the banks of the river Satlaj,its length is one hundred and sixty kos, and from Rewarl to the hills of Kumaon its breadth is one hundred and forty kos ; in short, there are eight districts — Dilli, Sarhand, Hisar Firozah, Saharanpur, Sambhal, Budaon, Eewari and Narnpl ;' and dependent to these there are two hundred and twenty-nine sub-divisions. The revenue of this province is seven hundred and forty-six millions three hundred and thirty-eight thousand damS, which, in general acceptation, are worth at)0ut one- twenty-fifth part of a pice. 62 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OK CHAPTER XVIII. ABOUT THE COTTNTET OE AKBAEABAD, THE ABODE OF THE GOVEENOK, Agea was a village stibservieiit to tlie sub- division o£ Bayanah, and king Alexander, tke Lodi, seeing that place was very spaeion^, ' made it bis capital and populated a very fine city there, after which it was known as Badalgarh. After him, king Jalal-ud-din, seeing it was the centre of his dominion,' built a very strong fort there, and,, along with this, populated a very large and handsome city, full of fine buildings ; this is indeed true that no sight-seer of the ?rorld has seen a fort of the like structure, or city of that extent. ' The Jamna flows throilgh that city for four kos, and on both sides of it lofty houses and various coloured buildings shew forth the power of God ; besides this, people of all kinds, and inhabitants of all countries, are collected there in great numbers ; And, moreover, goods ■ and merchandise of all lands are to be obtained in great quantities, at all times and whenever you please. Fruits of every kind of every city and country, and flowers of all colours', are to be had there pleHtifully at all seasons ; but of the'fruits peculiar to it, the musk- melon is very sweet, nice-tasted, and sweet-scented, but somewhat small ; for this reason the red musk-melon of Agra has become celebrated. The betel leaf also of that country is very fragrant and moist, and besides this, many kinds and sorts of things, wonderful and rare, are ^ade there ; there are artisans also, each very skilful in their trades, ^specially gold lace makers ; the gold and silver lace made there is very costly and fine, and f(3r this reason most mer- chants buy good lace work and embroidered cloths there, and taking them to various countries, sell them at a great profit. To make the story short, the city above-mentioned is very populous and splendid, and there are many tombs of great and wise men there ; the sepul- chres of king Muhammad Akbar and Shah Jahan, which ^re close to it, are very elegant and lofty. Bayanah in past times was a laf ge city ; its fort also was very strong and well guarded ; and in former days they used to keep prisoners who had committed crimes in it. The henna flowers -of that country are of exceedingly fine colour, and the mangos also are very large and about two pounds in weighf. Sikri is a village of that same district about twelve kos distance from Agra; king Akbar at the request of Shaikh Salim Chashti built a fort of stone there, and, besides it, also erected some fine houses, elegant monasteries, and neat mosques, and calling its nam** Fatahpur, made it his seat of government, Near it there is also a great tank about two kos in circumference, on the bank of which is a large palace and lofty minaret;* and besides this there is an * This is called the " Hiran Minar ;" it is a most curious huilding, the outside being studded with elephants' tusks. Akbar used ocoMionally to resort to it for half-au-hour's sport in the morning, and the deor used to be disivon under it for him to shoot at. THE ORNAMENT OF TIJE ASSEMBLY. 63 immense house for elephants to fight in, and a very spacious shinty IfT^i' -^^^^ ^* ^® aflso a- quarry of red stone; pillars and blocks, nt for buildings and edifices, are moreover to be obtained there in' any quantity and of any size. Goaliyar is the name of a fort, of vrhich thqr climate is very good, and the strength and impregnability of which are well known ; and for the safety of the Government, those life prisoners, who required special guarding, used to be kept there. The inhabitants of that country are very eloquent, and have great powers of conversation ; the women too are. very expert in captivating hearts, and are a fearful* calamity. The tomb of •Shaikh Muhammad Ghaus is also th.ere ; it is said that the above- mentioned Shaikh was superior to all the wise men of his day, and it was he also who captivated Mars-t ^Kalpi is a city on the banks of the Jamna, and that country is fuU of many vtise and holy men; besides thjs, it is reported that in the cave of the mound of Bhem, there are mines of turquoise and copper, but the profit derived, and the expense of extracting, are equal. The heat in the hot weather is beyond bounds, to such a degree that, for a long time, a hot pestilential wind blows there, and travellers often, from its excess, are overcome and suffer much affliction, and some of them also die ; from the dread of it, the inhabitants of that country during that season generally remain seated in their houses, and do not wander about, except for the calls of nature, and thus pass the hot weather .> The sugar of that country is celebrated in India. Mathra is an old city on the banks of that river, and was the birthplace of Eanhayya ; in the Hindi books there is a long accoxmt given of the splendour and grSatness of that (his) family. It is certainly a great spot of pilgrimage of the Hindus, and from the beginning of the Creation they have regarded it as a place of worship; the Thakur of it in the time of llamgir was Kesho Eai ; that long, mereover, broke up his temple, and built a mosque on its site ; Abd-ul-nabi Khan, Eaujdar, also built a large mosque in the centre of the city, and thus obtained renown in the world, and secpired to himself reward in the next : besides this, in hia leisure hours he, built many hundred steps of stone and masonry from the bank of the river into the stream; Accordingly, in the months Jaith and Baisakh, somewhat ovJSf a hundred of them remain under water, and by reason of them, the beauty of the bathing-place has been much increased, and the bathers have obtained boundless ease ; the result of it was, that he satisrod the Hindus, and obtained a good name in the above-men- tioned city.y. Kinnauj is an old city on the banks of the Ganges ; its climate is exceedingly good, and its fruits are generally nice- flavoured. Balhor, which is a sub-division of the above district, has subservient to it a city, Makanpur ; the shrine of Sayyad Badi-ud- •%lin alias. Shah Madar, is there, and. many people reverence him, especially the common and vulgar folk : the fakirs also of this family are most of them jomewhat foolish. ^ To make the story short, in * Literally, " fearless,'' or have no fear about them. t This simply means -that his powers of fascination were so great that he could even conquer Mars, the God of War, by his charms. 64 THE AEiiSH-I-MAHPIL, OE this province also there are only two rivers worth mentioning — one the Jamna, of which an account has been written above ; and the second the Chambal, which at a distance of eight kos from Agra passes by'Bhadawar and Iraj, and close to Akbarpur, reaches Kalpi, and then flows into the Jamna ; but the place of the soupce of the above-named river is Khasptxr, one of the dependencies of'Malwa, To sum up, Ghatampiir is to the east of that province, the Ganges to the north, Chanderi to the south, and Palwal to the west ; the length, of the above-mentioned province, reckoned from Ghatampar, which is dependent to lUahabad, to Palwal, which is in the jurisdic- tion of Dilli, is one hundred and seventy kos, and its breadth from* Kinnauj to Chanderi, which is one of the appendages of Malwa, a hundred kds. To be brief, there are fourteen districts-^lgra, Bari, Alwar, Tajarah, Iraj, Kalpi, Sanwan, Kinnauj, Kol, Barodh, lif^and- lawar, Goaliyar, &c. — and dependent to them are two hujidred and , sixty-eight sub-divisions ; its revenue is nine hundred and eighty- one millions eight hundred and sixty-five thousand eight hundred dams ; and for some.jears the district of Kinnauj has been attached to the province of Awadh •)!,but Deg, Kambher, and Bhara'tpiir are also, you may say, subservient to the province of Agra, for there is a distance of only eighteen or nineteen kos from each of them to the above-named city. Their forts are very stfcing, well guarded, and large ; besides this, in each of them, there are such quantities of weapons of war and stores, that the people in them have no lack of them, especially in Bharatpur, which is the dwelling place of Eanjit Sing. The above-mentioned fortress is stronger and better fortified than the rest ; moreover, around it there is a little*stream for a moat, in which boats can ply; besides this, it has plenty of defensive weapons and arms.. But, in size, the fort of Deg is larger, although it is not so strong and well deiended. For instance, Zii-ul- fakkar-ud-Daulah, Najaf Khan, the chief paymaster, also defeated Nawal Sing ,in the war with him, and took the fort from him, but he never attempted the taking of Bharatpur, on the contrary, rather refrained from it. The foundation of it was commenced by king Badan Sing, the father of Siiraj Mai, the Jat, and he was incited to ' do this by king Jai Sing of JaipQr. Moreover, the Kadhhwaha* family were the cause of its rise ; accordingly Isri Sing farified Mewatt to him for one hundred and forty thousand rupees from Muhammad Shah, Firdaus Aramgah, and, besides this, helped him in all his affairs, political and civil.' The reason of this wa^ that the kings of Jainagar had always regarded the Jats as a bulwark to themselves, and for ,the 'sake of peace shewed them respect, and also caused them to be treated honorably by the kings.J From this their wealth began to increase daily, and their government to obtain splendour. Badan Sing made Suraj Mai his viceregent* during his lifetime, and himself remained apart, The latter built more'forts than he did, increased the prosperity of the .city, paid * Tie Kaohtwalia Eajpiits claim descent from Kaas, the son of Rama Chandra.' + Mewat is a mountainous region, famous for its robbers. J The kings of Dilli are here referred to, and also wherever thus spoken of. THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLT. 65 much attention to the state of the army, and was generally courteous to every rasaldar and chief : hy. reason of this, several- fine works were executed by Ms hand ;. he, moreovBr, accomplished successfully many foreign aJBairs, and also orercame the Nawwab Zu-ul-fakkar Jangj, ^ayyad SaJabat Khan, the chief treasurer ; and the Nawwab Hakim Khan, the brave, was killed in that field of battle. In short, his government has lasted tbiis. long for this reason, and also that when Eatan Sing became king, he was a good manager and brave ; the above-mentioned king was not faint-hearted, but only voluptuous and careless, and for this reason, was killed by Espanand, the tihemist. To make the story shbrt, they have created tumult and uproar from the time of Aurangzeb, and Zbrawar Sing,, moreover, used to loot the caravans from Agra and Dilli, and caueed much trouble to travellers and poor people ; he also built a very strong fort in tha neighbourhood of Sasni for his own safety, and from its protection fought for many days with the king's army j hence it was that the ruler of Agra made many attempts to take it, but coidd do nothing, and being helpless, refrained from attempting it. At last Prince Bidar Bakht came and besieged it for three months; when the stores were consumed, then Zorawar Sing came, with joined hands, into the presence of the prince, q,nd moreover went in com- pany with him to the Dakhan. Aurangzeb certainly was much afflicted at his hands, and therefore put him to the mouth of a gun and blew him away, on which the Jats appointed Eaj Ram as their chief. To sum up, their origin dates from the time of Alamgir ; after that, as the kingdom became weak, they became strong; moreover, up to the present time, the forty-eighth year of the reign of Shah 11am, king Eanjit Sing, the son of Smraj Mai, reigns over his country with that same power and sway.. 66 THE AEAISH-I-MAHPIL, OE CHAPTEE XIX. ABOUT THE COTTNTEY OF, ILLAHAbID WITH ITS GOOD ENVIEOITS. The Hindi name of it is Prag, and many Hindus also call it Tarbini ; Jalal-ud-din, Muhammad Akbar, built a very strong fort of stone between tbe Ganges and Jamna, in wbicb are houses? many in number, elegant, and strong, and populating a city with nice environs there, . called the name of it Illahbas ; -after him, Shab Jahan called it Illahabad. The above two rivers unite near the fortress on the east side, and a streani, also issuing fr J " Shiva" is the deity in the character of the destroyer. § " A pajidit" is a learned man, particularly one who knows Sanskrit. 11 The Vedas are four in number — the ."Rig," "Yagush," "Sama," and "Atharva." In addition to- these,- there is the " Upaveda," or minor Veda, which again is divided into four works — the "Ayush" (drugs), " Gandharva" (music), " Dhanush" (a bow)y and " Sthapatya" (arranging) : the meanings showing the sciences they respectively refer to, viz., Ayush, the theory of disorders arid medicines, and the manner of curing diseases ; Grandharva, thalt of music j Dhanush, on the fabrication and use of arms and implements handled in war by the Ohhatris ; and Sthajiatya, u, treatise on the sixty-four mechanical ^8 THE AKAfSH-I-MAHPIL, OE k^owers of tlie secrets of the Shastras, astrologer's, astronomers, and learned, men of every science, Uving in this city. For this reason, Brahmans and Brahmans' sons come from very great distances to bhtain (knowledge), and read and receive instruction for long periods ; moreover, the Hindi college is still extant, and the 5ono- rable East India Company also have sanctioned its expenses as formerly; "Many men of free dispoBitions,* worshippers t)f God, and devotees, in the idea that dying here is the cause of future salvation, leave their own country, and withdrawing their hands from the things of this world, adopt this place for their, residence, and occupy themselves with continual repetition of the name of Eam.-pA grea^ number of old and aged creatures and diseased persons, who have despaired of life, come here and die.f In fact, there is a continual coming and going of people from all quarters, and for this reason, its prosperity never decreases. Very good silken and embroidered cloths are' also made here, especially Ijhe Tashbadla,J which is exceedingly glittering, and, after Gajrat, nowhere in India are mashrii§ and kincob made equal to that of Banaras ; although they have begun now to make mashrti in Moow, still where do you see this fineness and delicacy in it ; there is the same difiference between them as between the mean-spirited and the noble-minded. To the west of the city is the- solid Bdasonry, and very spacious, serai of Aurangabad ; to the south|| of it is the tank of Bachas Mochin, and a little distance beyond it, outside the city, is the holy relic, to' which poor and ijobles generally go every. Thursday ; a concourse and crowd of people remains gathered there till evening, and al- though there are very few places to sit down in, or monasteries in it, stm it is not devoid of interest ; besides this, there are also, in that direction, the graves of many Musalmans ; . for instance, the tomb of Shaikh Muhammad All 5azin, the Gailani, is also there. That deceased^ person built it in his own lifetime, and used more- over often to go and sit there of a Thursday, and do (give) alms. DISTICH. He who regards his existence as unenduring will not suffer pain ; For he who dies in his lifetime never dies. ^ aits, for tiie improvement of such as exercise them. Originally there was only one Voda, whidh was revealed by Bramha, as we have, read ; it was divided into four parts by Bey as ]Deva. * That is, holy men, or men free from the cares of this world, ** t Literally, " and go away from the world." t A very fine kind of gold brocaded cloth. § " Mashru" is a kind of cloth made of silk and cotton mixed ; a Muhammadau may pray if dressed in this, but it is unlawful for him to do so if clothed io pure ailk. " Kan- khv/ab," called by the English " kino(^b," is a sUk cloth, embroidered with gold and silver" flowers. " ■ II I have translated this south, for in the Hindu belief the right hand is to the south ; the earth, of which ' Hindustan is the navel, adoording to them, has its head to the west, its tail to the east, its right side to the southj and its left to the north, and is supposed to be of the form of a cow. H I would draw the student's attention here to the word " marhum," which means " one w^o has found mercy," i. «., the deceased, but is, however, only applied by a Mu^am- madan to one, of his. own religion ; for any one else the -word " mutawaffi" is used. THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 69 PROSE. To be brief, that holy man died* 1180 A. H., after the. rout of Baksar. Chanargurh is a fort situated on a hill built of stone, Tery lofty and strong, but the ground in it is very uneven ;t the Gang«s .flows below it, and near it, up to the time of Alamglr, there lived in the forests a tribe (wAo went about) naked from head to foot, and used to spend their time in practising archery and sword exercise ; by which is meant, that up to that tinie many of the dwellers in the deserts and hills used to commit highway robbery, but in the present time, rather for some years past, a city has been populated near it, in which itnany Hindns and Musalmans reside, and goods and chattels, according to their wants, are procurable there. The fort, althou'gh, formerly even, it was very elegant, still since the East India Company have taken it into their possession, now alwajw remains in first-rate working order and well mounted ; near it is the shrine of Kasam Sulaimani, which is a fine btplding, full of interest ; the hquses in it are of stone and solid masonry, and many in number, each well built and well arranged after its fashion ; especially a mosque, situated in its centre, which is a very large, elegant, and strong building, and has the appearance of a stone in a ring. The forest in its neighbourhood is also very pleasant and green, and is a cure for palpitation of the heart.J ■ DISTICH. The land there is very fresh and green, And the forest is somewhat better than a rose garden. • PEOSE. At a distance of eight kos to the south of Chanar, on the banks of the Ganges, is Mirzapur, and although its town is a small one, still it is very flourishing, and has very pretty environs ; the buildings in it are . chiefly of solid masonry, but they are most of them the houses of traders. The white sugarcane (grown) here is very cele- brated, and although that of Hugli is vefy soft and sweet, still, along with these good qualities, it has also the (fault of) being thick and coarse. ^ Garli Kalenjar is a stone fort, very inaccessible, and situated on a very high hill ; no one is acquainted with its origin ; in it are many fountains, which keep (continually) playing, and the larg^ tanks, full of pure water, give an elegance to the scene. The temple Bhairon§ is at this place, and near it is a forest of thick trees, \^hich, however, are chiefly ebony ; people also catch elephants and bring them from there. Near it also is an iron mine ; in certain places pieces of diamond are also obtained, and the inhabitants of that place are well off. JonpQr is a large^ city; the Gumti' flows ' through it on its passage. Tiroz Shah populated it in his reign, calling it after the name of his uncle, Fakhr-ud-din Muhammad, Jonan ; in * Literafly, " was Messed with a portion in Paradise." t Literally, " there are many nps and downs in it." i This is 9 most difSoult passage to understand; what "is here meant is, that if a person, sad at heart, should go to the forest, it is so pleasant and green, his palpitation, »'. e., his grief, would be allayed. § This is another name of Mahadera or Shiva, 70 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OB short, the above-named city is situated in the midst of ruffians and robbers, and the Faujdar (governor) of it is generally engaged in murder and bloodshed. Its climate, however, suits both residents and travellers ; its arena is superior to that of a flower garden ; the buildings in it are generally of solid masonry and stone ; a fgw of the houses are thatched, and although its prosperity is not as great as it was, still it is in affluent circumstances ; and a few of the flowers in the gardens, to which [alas !) autumn has reached, are still worth the seeing, and display a pleasing sight to the spectator ; especially its Jami Masjid, which is unequalled in its structure ; assuredly it is a reminder of those who were experienced in their" work ; its building is altogether of stone, and there is no vestige of brickwork in it. DISTICH. „ How can any one mate the like now ? The repairing of it even is a difijcult business. , PEOSE. Sultan Shaikh Ibrahim, Sharki built it 852 A. H., and obtained a good name in the two worlds ; the date of its building is Masjid 'Jami-ush-Sharak.* The bridge at this place is unequalled in the land of India ; its durability and stability are clearer than the sun ; hundreds of years have passed, but it appears as if it had been built to-day, or had only just been got ready. Munim Khan, Khankhanan, laid the foun- dation of it in the reign of king Akbar, and the completer' of it was the learned slave of the deceased Nawwab, The date of its erection is this : — DISTICHES. Munim Khan, Khankhanan, mighty in power. Built this bridge by the favor of God; His name was therefore called Munjm, for he was Pitiful and merciful to His creatures. « Thou .wilt find the road to its date, if thou takest ^ Bad' (evil) from Sirat-ul-Mustakim {the straight road, i, e., the Muham- madan religion), PEOSE. And truly this is its correct date, and the disposition of tlie writer hit the mark ; may God immerse the composer of it in the sea of absolution, and give him assistance and aid over the bridge of Sirat.t * Or the Jami Masjid of Sharak. This is the native way of computing dates, each of the letters standing for a certain numher, and hy adding these together you get the date, e.g—miHi, s60,jZ, cl4iJ3,al, ot40, a 70, a 1, i! 30, «A SOO, ?• 200, i 100 = 852; and again helisw— « 90, r !400, a l,t 9, a 1,1 30, m 40, s 60 t 400, k 100, y 18, in 40 = 981, deduct l> 2, (i 4=6, leaves 975. 1 t " Sirat" is the bridge across the bottomless pit, which Musalmaua expect to cross on their way to Paradise. c^ THE OENAMENT OF" THE ASSEMBLY. 71 DISTICH. This is a mark of his, generosity ; May God preserve it for ever. . ' * ' , , PEOSE. There were many sarais in it, but now there only remain one, built of masonry, to tlie south of the bridge, and two built of earth, to the north side, and 13iese too are some' distance apart. The phulel* and atr of that plac6~-are very sweet-scented ; accordingly they are sent to many cities by way of rarities, and on account of their sweet fragrance, merchants take them to all quarters. In short, nowhere is there produce^ oil of sugandrai and belaf equal to that of this place ; rose-w^iter from shame would become water beforg it, and where it might be, there the scent of the atr of borax would not be agreeable. DISTICH. Those men and women, who ruh it on their bodies, Are, every one of them, made into bridegrooms and brides. PBOSE, In like manner also the atr of' jasmine {is celebrated), but there is a weU known saying, " the jasmine of Barh and the bela of Jonpor ;" however, I have my doubts about this. The nobles of that place also are generally sagacious, learned, and wise ; for instance, amongst the men* of former times, how learned was Mulla Mahmiid, who was the sage of his age, and in the present time, for any one to be like him is unheard-of ; he wrote a book, called Shamsh-i-Bazgha, on philosophy so Well, that all the books of the world put together do not come up to his eloquence and elegance of style, and the Shifa does not equal the beauty of its meaning'; besides this, it is a collection of wise questions, and in the present time, is a book quite well worth reading ; the learned and good men who dive into it, find it full of interest, and the seekers of learning obtain gain from it. And in the latter times, there have been Mulvi Mir Askri, and Mollis Abii-ul-Fazl and Abu-ul-Khair, each of which great men were assuredly unequalled in wisdom and excellence,- and the glory of their age ; from this it appears that the above-mentioned city is an abode of wisdom. In the present age, also, the high road of learning is somewhat pursued, and now also a few intelligent and clfever men are seen. The collection of virtues, invisible and visible, Mulvi Eoshan All, the ornament of the Muhiammadan religion, and the light of the assembly of excellence, is still living amongst its inhabitants, and many seekers', of knowledge obtain gain from his bounty, and reach to the pitch of eloquence.} To make the stpry short, the climate of the above-named province is very good, and • ' ' — f- '— ■ '■ ~'-^ ' • " Phulel" is a perfumed oil, prepared from the essence of flowers, t These arc .the names of flowers. J In the.ahovo lines the writer has brought in those compliments merely for the play- on the words Araish and Malifil, the title of this book. 72 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIt, GE there are various kinds of fruits produced there, especially grapes^ which are very juicy, nice-tasted, sweet, larg-e, and cheap, and flowers also flt to look at and smell, in great numbers at all seasons;, especially the mogra, which is very large, big, and exceedingly sweet- scented ; one flower of it is superior* (in scent) to a pot of ajr.. There is also a good deal of agriculture carried on here, but moth is little produced, and jawar and bajara still less. Of cloths^ jhuna and muhrgul are the best w6Ten ; and of the rivers, the largest in this province are the Ganges, Jamna, and Sarju. The length of it, from Maghjholi Jonpur to the northern mountains, is one hun- dred and sixty kos ; and the breadth of it, from the Chaunsa, whicll. is a tributary of the Ganges, to Ghatampnr, one hundred and thirty kos. The country of Bihar is to the east, Agra to the west, Awadh to the north, and Mandhgarh to the south. There are sixteen divisions in it — Illah§bad, Ghazipur, Banaras, Jonpsr, Chanar,. Ealajar, Kara, Manakpur, &c. ; and subject to them two hundred and forty-seven sub-divisions ; the revenue of it is seventy-six millions and sixty -one thousand dams. * Literally, " has the command over." THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 73 CHAPTER XX. THE COUNTET OP AWADH. In Hindi books its name is Ajnddhaya, and' it is tlie birth-place and seat of empire of Raja Eam Chand ; for this reason the Hindus regard it as a great place of worship, for the king aboye-mentioned was of high descent and good race, and, besides this, was blessed with both -vyorldly and spiritual wealth. ^ He performed many won- derful and miraculous deeds, and manifested jnany great acts ; for instance, Ijp built a bridge over the sea, and taking with him innumerable armies of monkeys and bears, attacked Ceylon, and, after having killed Rawan," rescued his wife from captivity, and many of his transactions with that family are written in the Ra- mayan ; in short, the above-named city is built in the midst of a province, one hundred and forty-eight kos long, and thirty-six broad, and if any one sifts the ashes in its environs, he finds gold. One kos beyond it, the Ghagrah joins the Sarju, arid flows under the fort ; and near the city there are two very large tombs, each of which are not less than seven or eight yards in length ; the common people say they are the tombs of kings Shesh and Ayyab, and on this account, every Thursday great numbers of people go there and read th^ir prayers. In the opinion of some, the tomb of KabJr Julaha is in Eatanptjr ; the above-mentioned person lived in the time of king Lodi, and for a long time used to perform penance and worship in B.anaras ; in the opinion of the fakirs, he was very orthodox and good ;, moreover, his verses and many of his distiches are daily on the tongue of men of taste, and it is true that love and wisdom ooze from them. Faizabad alias Bangalah, three kos to the west of Awadh, is a city lately founded, very extensive and vast, the soil of which is very good and moist ; the henna grown there is of^a ve!y deep, rich colour ; • stoneless grapes, mulberries, and, besiaes these, many other fruits, 'vegetables, and flowers, sweet- scented and -fine-cofoured, are produced in great numbers, especially the chainpa and tulip, but its melons are very bad, tasteless and worthless.* The reason of the foundation of the city was this, tbfet in the reign of Muhammad Shah, Firdaus Aramgah, the govern- nlent of the above-named province was transferred, and Nawwab Burhan-ul-Mulk, Saadat Khan, Bahadur, obtained it. After his death his son-in-law Nawwab Wazir-ul-Mamalik, Abu-ul-MansQr Khan, Safdar Jang, Bahadur, deceased, succeeded him, for he had no male child ; that great man laid the foundation of it, but after the manner of a cantonment. When Nawwab Shaja-ud-Daulah, Baha- * " Sfirat j^aram" meana " fair without and foul within," or promising more outwardly than inwardly contained, or after events justify. 10 74 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHFIL, OE dur, the son of Safdar Jang, Bahadur, Wazir-ul-Mnlk, obtained the administration of affairs, after the rout of Baksar, his spirit approved of this place, and accordingly he built many palaces, elegant gardens, and fine houses on the banks of the river, and also erected a building with three arches, very lofty and vast, near the fort and market- place ; moreover, he took up his abode there, and on thitf account many of his chiefs and courtiers also built mansions to such an extent, that every one, small and great, erected houses according to their ability, and thus a city was founded ; but most of them were tiled, and the houses buUt of masonry were few in number; however, it was not the purpose of the builder to make it permanent ; moreover, to destroy .it was his intention, but that he died in the year 1188, after the defeat of Nawwab Hafiz Eahmat Khan, Hafiz-ul-Mulk, and his tomb is built there. On this, his son, Nawwab Asaf-ud- Daulah, Bahadur, Wazir-Ibn-i-Wazir,, sat on the throng of govern- ment. He made Lakhnau his seat of government, as it was before; besides, he built some fine handsome buildings and gardens there ; at last the population of this one decreased to a great extent, and that of the other increased largely ; moreover, at the present time, 1220 A. H., and the fifty-eighth year of the' reign of Nawwab Saadat All Khan, Bahadur, Wazir-Ibn-i-Wazir [may his reign last], both cities are in that same condition. Bahraich is an old city on the banks of the Sarju, very large and ^fuU of interest ; there are many mango groves in its environs and suburbs, and a great number of flower-beds in all directions. The tomb of Kajjab Salar and the shrine of Salar Masatid, G;hazi, are, there. They say that Eajjab Salar was the brother of Taghlak Shah, and there is some difference of opinion about the circurnstances of Salar MasatJd, Ghazl ; some say that he was of the Sayyad caste, but that he was closely connec- ted with Sultan Mahmtjd, Ghaznavi, whilst the opinion of others is this, that he was a Pathan, but was martyred. In short, his temple is the place of pilgrimage of a whole world, and once a year people come in bodies of pilgrims from a long distance, some of whom are travellers and some merchants ; but the lower classes issue forth from their villages, carrying red standards, and playing little drums, and come there ; in short, the first Sunday in ^he month Jaith is the day on which oblations are offered to him, and\hese people arrive there two or three days beforehand, and their belief .is that that was the day of his marriage ; moreover, that he had his wedding clothes on when he was killed ; for this reason, an oil man, an inhabitant of Eudauli, sends a bed and seat with some bridal clothes on them to his tomb, knd, in their folly, they perform |;is marriage every year ; for years this custom has been handed down in his family — in fact, it is prevalent to the present time ; verily, may God protect me from the belief of these low-caste people, for it is not free from disgrace ; and to all the trees which are round and in front of its dome, they tie ropes, and to these some fasten their hands, others their feet, and others their necks; 'to sum up, they bring for offerings little lumps of sweetmeats of various kinds and sorts, and in their ignorance think that on this account they THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBI.T. ,. 75 will obtain their wishes. • Deokan has been from ages the copper mint of the chiefs ; the hill men bring from the northern hills 'gold, silver,, copper, lead, borax, ehak,* kaehur,t dry ginger, long pepper, baobarang,J salt, assofcstida, wax, woollen cloth, hill ponies, hawks, falgons, royal hawks, &c., and, besides these, many other things, and sell them there ; on thfe account there is a crowd of people, and a bustle of buying and selling. Nimakhar Misrak is a well known spot, and a great place of worship of the Hindus. The Gumti flows below its 'fort, and near' it there is a reservoir, which is called Barmhawarat Kundh, the water of which boils within it, and, besides this, , eddies round with such force, that no man can dive into it ; moreover, if anything falls into it, it is immediately thrown up (to the top again) ; with the fiindtis it is a great place of pilgrimage, and it is well known that all the Hindi books, which have disappeared through the revolution of the heavens and vicis- situdes of tiine, the devotees and saints, by the ingenuity of their characters and sharpness of their understanding, have gone to its ■banks, and have there re-written and corrected them, and every one has been benefited by the perusal of them. Close to it there is the fountain-head of a small river, which flows into the Gtimti ; it is one yard broad, and four fingers in depth ; when the Brahmans and readers of the Vedas read their charms on its banks, and, at the time of worship, throw rice, &c., into it, in whatever quantity it be, still no trace of it is again found. Lakhnau is a very large city on the banks of the Gumti and in former times was the seat of govern- ment, but the deceased Nawwab Shaj a -ud-Daulah, Bahadur, after the rout of Baksar, bestowed this dignity on Faizabad ; moreover, he took his departure from this perishable house in that city ; then Nawwab Asaf-ud-Daulah, deceased, also favoured it, and made it his capital; thereby its prosperity greatly increased, and at last reached a very great pitch, and now also, agreeably to the custom thus established, it is the seat of government but as it is built on uneven ground, there are many ups and downs in it. DISTICH. ^ The houses of some are on hillocks in mid air, And the huts of others are under the earth. PEOSB. In short, in the above-mentioned city are several sarais, and ,ny katras, tolas, and muhallas, all well inhabited. § The muhalla in which the temple of Shaikh Maina is situated, they call Maina Nagri ; on Thursdays many people go there for prayers, and most of the common people perform their devotions by offering a sweetmeat {made from mdlasses). * A medicine made of boiled lemon juice and pomegranate. t This is a kind of drug. J A sort of medicine. ' i The names of different divisions of a city. 76 THE AEAISH^I-MAHFIL, OE Outside 9f tlie city to the east, near Lakhpem, is the sepulchre of Plr Jalil, but the platform of his tomb is only the height of a man, and is without steps ; on this account no one goes near it, but people say their prayers at a distance. Every Friday many sight-seeing youths go there, for the purpose of walking about, while f ool^ ^nd common, people merely go from custom, add offer up mash, khichrii and bitter oil.* Pardon nly impertinence, in spite of all their works and miracles, see what good taste these two great men had, that after death they accepted such Offerings, and behold what sort of things their sOuls approved of. To the north of the city, on the banks of the Gamti, is the mound of Shah Plr Muhammad ; formerly it was an abode of learning ; many wise and intelligent men used to go there to read and study, and used to spend their time well ; it is said that the above-named Shaikh had a mine of wisdom, besides the dignity of holiness — in short, that he was both a good and wise man. In his lifetime that tomb was his home, and after his death it became his burial-place ; on it there is situated a very grand and large mosque ; its dome is very high and lofty, and its minarets are seen by travellers from the north and west, at a distance of three or four kos from the other side of the Gutoti ; its pillars glitter in that same way to this day ; near it, to the east, is the Panj Muhalla ; from general custom, however, the n in it has been dropped, and ch substituted for the j, and most people now call it the Paoh Muhalla. The above-named building was the hall of audience of Nawwab Abu-ul-Makaram • Khan ; this great man belonged to' the Shaikhs of Lakhnau, but was a nobleman. The reason of the nam^ ing of this place was this, that in former days two-storied houses were called two mUhallas, and three-storied, three muhallas ; perhaps this was a five-storied one, and therefore was called Paoh (five) Muhalla. To make the stot-y short, when Nawwab Burhan-ul-Mulk, Saadat Khan, deceased, with his family lived in this city, he used to rent that house for fiv^e hundred rupees ; moreover, the rent-roll signed by the deceased Nawwab is with the offspring of that man to the present day ; but he paid rent for a few days only, and then did not give any village or land in lieu; in short, up to the reign of Nawwab Wazir-ul-Mulk, Safdar Jang, Abii-ul-Mansur Khan, Bataduj^ de- ceased, its foundation remained exactly as it was. When Nawwab Wazir-i-i.zam, Shaja-ud-Daulah, Bahadur, deceased, mounted the throne of government, then he took the dwellings of other Shaikhs also, and ioined them with that house ; he moreover built, in addi- tion, one or two summer-houses, and in place of these dwelliJtes which he had taken, gave a village or two as a jagir to the owneFs, but after a few days they were also confiscated to the government ; these Shaikhs, however, did not bear the relationship of affinity to the Nawwab Abu-ul-Makaram Khan, deceased, but were merely fellow-countrymen. Then, when Nawwab Wazir Ibn-i-Wazir, Asaf- ud-Daulah, Bahadur, deceased's turn came, he built the, above house in quite a new style, and made its plan entirely different ; in fact, * " Mast" is a kind of vetoh, or kidney bean. " Khichii" is a dish made of rice and lentiles, Ijoiled together. " Bitter oil" is the common sort of oil, made from sesamum seed. THE OKNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 77 he piilled down many of the dwellings of the people which were in its neighbourhood and vicinity, together with the Shaikh's gate, and in their place buUt houses of a new plan of good design, and elegant; amongst these buildings are the Sangi Barah Dan and BEjpliwala Makan. Besides these, he built many other houses and gardens, each of them incomparable in its way, and in outline, adornment, and cleanness, better than the surface of a picture ; especially the Daulat Khana (or royal palace)', which is the best of buildings, and for this reason, was generally the place of abode of that deceased one. The date of its building is " Daulat Khana-i^ All," or the great palace, i. e., 1207.* This is the production of my (the compiler's) own fancy.- But the best of buildings is the Imam Bara, and certainly there is no edifice so elegant and lasting as this, and in no house is there a portico of such grandeur as there is in it.i ^ DISTICH. Its lower apsis is higher than the orb of heaven ; The ladder of fancy cannot reach to it. PEOSE. Its mosque is seen in all . the city, and its buildings are very elegant ; each tower of it in extent is equal to the Jami masjid (of Dilli), and in height equal to the bastions of the firmament. DISTICH. If the angels lived on the earth, Then they would sit there and worship. PEOSE. Now, since the death of the late Nawwab Asaf-ud-Daulah, Ba- hadur, Nawwab Tamin-ud-Daulah, Nazim-ul-Mulk, Saadat All Khan, Bahadur, Wazir-Ibn-i-Wazir, reigns on the throne of government, a^, by the favor of God, has obtained his hereditary country. In like manner, he also has turned his attention to buildings ; moreover, he has erected several grand and elegant houses, as also a very spacious park ; he has given twofold splendour to all the gardens that formerly existed, especially the Wazlr Bagh and Musa Bagh, l#In which he has built some such very fine ariH elegant English '♦houses, that the spring never departs from it, and the autumn never comes there. DISTICH. In it there is a talisman-like state ; If any one goes there, he can go nowhere else afterwards. • 6, kh 600, » 50, 7i 5. I here only give the new figures we have not had before. 78 THE AEliSH-I-MAHPIL, OE PEOSE. Certainly, each building is fit to be praised and worthy of eulogy, but the best built edifice is the house, bearing a standard, a copy of that of Hazrat Abbas [may peace be on him] ; Nawwab Eaf i-ul- Makan, in the year 1217, 'from the purity of his belief, built' it entirely new with much elegance, and spent thousands of rupees on its construction. The date of its building is obtained from this verse of the poet Mirza Katil : — HEMISTICH. " The foundation of the new device is propitious." PEOSB., May God protect the wealth of its founder, and increase His good favour towards him.* To the west below it, on the banks of the river, is the Imam Bara of Mirza Abu Talib Khan, the foundation of which is antecedent to that of all the Imam Baras of the city ; about sixty years have passed since it was built, at which time the govern- ment was in the hands of Nawwab Safdar Jang, Bahadur, deceased. n.^ After him, in the reign of Nawwab Wazlr-ul-Mamalik, Shaja-ud- Daulah, Bahadur, Bakir Khan built an Imam Bara near the jewel- ler's quarter, and obtained gain in the two worlds. The deceased Khan was a Mughal, born in a foreign country, and was the great man of his timel there were several hundred Mughals and other troopers in his cavalry regiments. At the present time Agha Patah All, his direct heir, is alive ;t from his tongue I have heard that about forty-one or forty-five years have passed since it was built ; God knows the real state of affairs. And near the Chauk, or market- place, to the south is the European quarter ; the reason of calling it thus is, that in the reign of king Akbar, a French merchant took up his abode in that house, and as this had happened without the permission of His Majesty, it was not pleasing to His Highness's servants, who at last ejected him ; afterwards, in the reign of Aurangzeb, agreeably to the commands of the king, the above- mentioned house was given to the sons of MuUa Kutab-ud-^m, ^e martyr ; accordingly it is the abode of his descendants to the present day. But the reason their salary was stopped was only the fault of their destiny, otherwise to the present day thousands are supported from the Nawwab's government ; occasional visitors even get a good deal from it, whereas these really have greater claims, for thdt^ fathers and ancestors of this royal family were ' faithful and loyal jl when the disposition of His Majesty shall happen to be turned towards them, a little, of what account is this small (salary) ? in addition to it' they will obtain great wealth, and thus become in- ' dependent for the whole of their lifetime ? but every action is dependent on time. * The date is not well chosen, and does not correspond, t Lit. " In the fetters of life." " , THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 79 DISTICH. Until the appointed time for every business comes to pass, The friendiship of every friend is of no avail. * ■ PEOSE. %^ To sum Tip, the above-mentioned 'house is an old college, and many learned scholars have passed from it ; moreover, to the present .time also, the course of study and inst:^uction is kept up ; accord- ingly, besides the students of that city, many people come for JQstruction from the suburbs and environs, and rep,p benefit from it. » Truly in that city there is a greater cultivation of science and know- ledge than in any other town, for the wisest of both sects* are found there ; but_ of the Sunl sect, the most renowned is the Mulvi Mubir Sahib, and in the class of the Imams, who are they that will obtain salvation, the unequalled of his time is Mulvi Sayyad Dildar Ah [may the Almighty God protect him] ; the profound knowledge of ' that great man is manifest from his writings, and his eloquence is apparent from bis works ; hundreds of people ' by his ineans have been kept from error, and have reached the goal of salvation ; he bestowed much advancement on the religion of the Imams, and established the Friday and public prayers in India. Nowhere else are there wise men like those of that city, either Persian scholars or Arabic. The cause of this is, "that after the destruction of Dilli^ ■"■ many poor nobles and princes' sons came from India, in the reigns of Nawwabs Safdar Jang ^nd Shaja-ud-Daulah, and took up tbeir permanent abode in that city ; which, therefore, from the dialect ot these people, became a second Dilli, and its inhabitants also, on account of continual intercourse with them, and imitatioij of their speech, began to pronounce words correctly, and carried it to such a degree, that they, whose natures were harmonious, became poets ; in spite of this, however, many differences remained in their way of pronouncing words, but vety little in their idioms, so that only the clever could tell words as pronounced by them, and their intellect alone could comprehend their phrases.-/^ There are idol temples both wit^n and without the city, but to the west of the Horse Shoe Gate is the old idol temple of the goddess Kall.f Every Monday the Hindus coUect there and worship her, but after the Holi^ for several- days there is a grand illumination every night. To the south, outside the city is the Pagan temple of Bhawani.J ' There also, GAce- a week, the Hindus go to worship and offer up sweetmeats, f ront of that temple, a crowd remains collectqd ; moreover, all the gardens also * That is, " the Sunia and Sayyads." t " Kali" was the wife of Shiva, to whom human sacrifices were offered. X This is another name for Parbati, Mahadeva's wife ; she is the patroness of Thugs. 80 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OE wtich are near it remain full of people. In short, there is not another fair held in this city equal to it ; its name is Athwan.* Sui-aj Knndh is a lake ahout four kos to the south-west of the city ; there also every year, at the end of the rains, Hindus [men and woiuen] , go in thousands to bathe ; moreover, people from some distance also come there; besides this, thousands of Miftalman sightseers,. decorated and adorned, are seen in every direction, and the prostitutes also of the whole city are beheld in all quarters, highly decked out and looking very fascinating; in short, up to evening time a crowd and throng of people remain collected there.* Balagram is a large city, most of the people of which are able, wis^ and intellectual. In the above-named city is a well, and if any one, for forty days in succession, should drink its water, then he would begin to sing well ; besides this,, piany good men have died there ; pioreoyer, Sayyad Jalil-ul-Kadr, Abd-ul-Jalil of Balagram, was a great poet, and was well acquainted with Arabic and Persian ; he died in the time of J'arrukh Siyar, and was moreover ap- pointed intelligencer of Sindh to His Majesty."/- After that venerable man, Mir Qhulam All Azad also was unequalled by his contem- poraries in wisdom, eloquence, learning, and goodness ; verily he coniposedi Arabic verses with such elegance, beauty and abun- dance, as none of the natives of India before him have ever pro- duced ; his panegyrics are proof - of this, and in his praise the tongues of the most eloquent Arabic linguists have become dumb. He was born 1114 A. H., and died in the year 1202.-f-To make the story short, the climate of the above-mentioned pr.ovince is exceedingly good, and various kinds of grain are produaed there, especially the istamali and jhanwan sorts of rice, which are exceed- ingly nice-tasted, white, clean, and sweet-scented. In several of the sub-divisions of this province, the fields are sown about three months before most of the districts of India, and in certain places the rivers begin to swell in the month Jaith, and many tracts of ground (in consequenc^ lie under waiter ; but as the water rises, so does the rice swell out and increase. If a torrent of rain should fall before the ear appears, then the ears of that field do not produce any ear. In its forests, wild buffaloes and tigers are verj» plentiful, especially in the direction of Gurakhpur and Bahraich; befeides them, deer, hogdeer, and other wild animals are seen in great numbers. Although there are many rivers in this province, still there are only three large ones, the Grhagrah, Sarjti, and the Dasni. Its length, from the Gurakhpur district to Kinnauj, is one hundsed' and thirty kos ; and its breadth, from the northern mountainsjio Saddahwor, which is an appendage of lUahabad, one hundred and fifteen kos. To thp east of it is Bihar, to the north the mountains, to the south Manakpur,, and to the west Kinnauj ; there are five districts— Awadh, Bahraich, Khairabad, Lafchnau, and Gurakpur; and dependent to them one hundred and ninety-seven sub-divisions ; its revenue is sixty millions five hundred and forty thousand dams. • So called from being held on the eighth day. THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 81 CHAPTER XXI. "»% ABOUT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY OP BIHAR. ^ The seat of government of it is Azimabad alias Patna, which has very nice environs, and a good climate, and is On the banks of the Ganges; at this place, they also call' that river the eighteen- stream river. This city is very great in length, but small in breadth ; in former times the houses were generally only tiled, but now many of them ar^ built of masonry also, for the population and splendour of the above-named city have greatly increased under the British Government ; on this accountj Bakipur, which is three kos beyond the city to the west, and Danapur, which is again three kos beyond it, have both become flourishing towns ; most of the houses, dwelling- places, and gardens of the gentlemen there are built with much elegance and symmetry ; in short, from the city to Bakipur, and from there to Danapur, is one continuous row of houses, and there is no empty space. The city wall is built of earth, except the intrenchment' on the river , side, which is of brick. The fort there exists only in name; truly it is a large brick building, but has become old now, and there are many houses in it. Near it, to the west, thca-e is a mosque and a college, which are very large and well constructed ; and although the building has become old, still it has no equal in the above-named city, although there are a great number of old and new mosques ; it is said that Nawwab Saif Khan, deceased, laid the foundation of it, and Nawwab Haibat Jang completed it. At present it is in the possession of the granddaughters of NaWwab Siraj-ud-Daulah. Before the eastern gate, at a little distance from, it, is the garden of Jafir Khan, and at' a distance of one kos from the west gate the shrine of Shah Arzan. Its environs are very pleasing, and jach iouse is well populated; every Thursday the people of that city collect there in great numbers, and all the whores and prostitutes of the city gO' there, and up to evening time, or rather up to some time of the night, dancing is kept up. . Before the rule of the East India Company people used to congregate there in great. niHnbers, but they do not coUect in such crowds now ; although at tl^ present time even, a tolerable throng is brought together, for there is no one to prevent or obstruct them, and those who wish to go, go, and those who do not, stop away. To the south of that shrine is an Imam Bara on the banks of a tank, in which aU the Taziyas* * Taziyas axe representations of the tombs of Hasan and IJaaain, the two sons of Ali who hoth auffeired martyrdom. These Taziyas are carried about during the .Mubarram, and on the Ashwara, or tenth day, are taken down to'some river, and thrown in it. The tenth day is a great holiday, both for Hindus and Musahnans, and often ends in a frocds •between them Each caste or quarter of a town, and every Mu^iammadan (not a Suni), of standing, ha^ its, or his, T?ziya. 11 82 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHFIL, ,0B , of the city are buried on the tenth day of the Muharram; its courtyard is very large and clean; and its air most pleasing and delicate, especially in the rainy season, when if any one goes there, he enjoys much pleasure. DISTICH. • ' If any one wisVies to open hi? straitened heart, ' Let him go and view its colours a little. , ' * FBOSE. ' di -. Grain of variolas kinds is also produced plentifully, and there generally is abundance. The 'milk is very thick and creamy ; the ^ curded milk also is exceedingly nice-tasted' and good, and is to be obtained plentifully. Vegetables of all kinds abound and are cheap, but some of the moist fruits are exceedingly good, especially the pomegranate, which is very nice-tasted and large ; its sfeds, too, are large and very juicy, and although they are not as good as those of Kabul, still they are better than the pomegranates of most of the countries of. India; in fafct, in size and quality Ihey are not at all inferior to those of Jalalabad. Cloths of difEerent kinds, of good texture, are woven in this province, especially the muslin of Shaikh- pura, which is celebrated, but hukkahs and certain glass vessels are made in no place better than at Azimabad. The imrat bhela and kajla species. of parrots are bred in great quantities, and if any one gets one of them and teaches it, then it learns to speak, and talks ^. very quickly and well.% Thirty kos from the abpve-named city to the south, on the skirt of the mountains, is G-aya, which js a great place of worship of the Hindus,* who come there from a distance, and perform charitable and good deeds, for the souls of their an- cestors, especially in the cold weather fast of forty days, when the sun comes into Sagittariiis, at which time thousands of people, men and women, collect at that spot from far and near, and having read their charms, and' offered up their oblations with purity for the souls of the dead, regard this action as the cause of salvation to them, and esteem it as the best of worship on their own part. Near it there is a marble quarry, where they make many valuables and ornaments of the above-mentioned stone, and shew the beakty of their workmanship. The best pap^r also is made in Arwal and Bihar. -<,The district of Mungir, — It appears from the Khulasat-ut- Tawarikh that in the reign of Alamgir, or before, there was a stone wall, which extended from the Ganges to the hills, and this was the fixed boundary of the province of Bihar, but year by year, up to Tbe present time, which is the forty-eighth year of the reign of Snah Alam, it has fallen away, and now no trace of it is to be seen or heard of. God knows whether it existed or not. On the banks of the river, however, there is a fort built of masonry, which still exists, but its buildings are falling down in several places ; the English have erected bungalows- q,nd some pukka houses inside of it. Below' the mountain Jharkhand, there is a place of worship, Baij- nath, which they call the abode of Mahadeva, and there is a pipul tree there, the beginning of the growth of which is known to no THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY, 83 one : should any one in its neighbourhood want money for necessary expenses, he foregoes his food and drink, and comes and sits down under' it, and petitions Mahadeva; after two or three days a leaf, written by an invisible pen in the Hindi character, comes and falls near h4n^, and thus he gets as many rupe^es as were in his fate ; and the name ■ of the payer, as also that of his father, grandfather, wife, and son, together with his country and district, although it may be five hundred kos distafnt, are ascertained from it ; he then takes this ^to his chief, who, according to its contents, writes and gives him a piece of paper, which is -vyhat they call a Bai3^ath cheque. The asker for mgney then takes this, and goes to that person', who imme- diately makes over the sum mentioned to the bearer of that paper ; moreover, the compiler of tha KhuIa|at-ul-Hind writes, that a Brahman who lived there brought him also a piece of paper {hill) drawn on his name, and he, considering it good luck, paid the sum mentioned. The most wonderful thing is, that in that temple there is a cave, and the chief of the attendants, once a year on the Sheo- barat day, goes into that cave, and brings away some dust, and gives a little of it to each of the attendants, and according to the power of that man's fate,, that dust becomes gold. Tirhut from old is the seat of learning of the Hindi language ; its climate is exceedingly fine ; the curdled milk of this place is rich, very nice-tasted, and excessively good ; moreover, the compiler of the Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh writes that it does not turn bad for a whole year; it is probable that this is an exaggeration, for 'it is contrary to understanding or tradition ; they say of the milk in like manner, that if a cowherd mixes water with it, then, from the invisible world, a misfortune will befall him. The buffaloes of that city also are so large and power- ful, that tigers cannot hunt them ; besides this, in the rains, deer, elk, and tigers, collecting in great numbers, come into the town, and the inhabitants of it enjoy pleasure from their sport. In the fine soil of the district of Champaran, if any one scatters vetches, then crops spring up without any toil. In its forests much long pepper grows. "tEuhtas is a fort on a high .mountain, difficult of access, and fourteen miles in circumference ; there are many fields in ii/and*many fountains too play with much force there ; if in any place in' it you dig four yards, then water comes out. Waterfalls are many in number, and in the rains there are somewhat over two hundred tanks. In short, in this province the heat is very great,, and the cold weather ten;iperate, and there is no occasion for wear- ujfg warm clothes for more than two months; the rains formerly T»ed to last for .six months, £Mid now even they are somewhat more or less than five; the land of this country remains green all the year on account of the great number of rivers, the wind never blows with violence, the dust never flies, and the crops are as one would wish them to be, especially the rice, which in this country is very fine and choice : but a grain, called Kisari,* is produced in much abundance ; it is very cheap, bad-tasted, and like the pea, and the poor, common, or humble people only eat it, although it is the * " Kisari" is a kind of pulse, which is considered very unwholesome, as it produces paralysis. 84 THE ABAISH-I-MAHFIL, OE , ^ cause of several diseases. Althomgli tliere are several rivers in this country, still the Ganges, Son, arid Gandak are the largest. But the Son comes from the southern' mountains, and joins the Ganges near Manlr ; it is said that the Narbada and it issue from the same spring ; and the Gandak comes from the north and (joins the Ganges) near HajipQr. The Karm Nasa issues from a mountain m the south, and flows into it at the ferry of Chaunsa ; the Punpun comes from the south, and passing by the city of Kinnauj, flows into the Ganges near Azimabad. , In short, there are seventy-two rivers of thi^ kind on which boats ply, and small ones innumerable, which join the Ganges before it reaches the above' city. M^ogt Hindus, when crossings the original Karm Nasa, take this precaution, that not a drop of water shall touch their body ; what mention then of washing in it ? But the compiler of the Khulasat-ut-Tawankh writes that if any.eone drinks water at that place, where the Gandak joins the Ganges, then a wen comes out on his throat, and gradually becomes equal (in size) to a cocoanut. The composer of the Sair-ul-Mutakhkhirin whites thus, that " this quality belongs to the climate of HajipUr ; many of its inhabitants are subject to this disease, and goitres are the ornament of their throats ;" but it is really the contrary ; perhaps this might have been , the case some forty or fifty years ago, but it is not so now;- certainly there are some persons who have them on their throats, but where is this not the case ? And the water of the above- mentioned river has been drunk along with that of the Ganges, "and also alone, by thousands of men, and is being drunk now also, but nobody's throat swells even; what mention then of goitres? But the old Gandak flows below Muzaffarpur, and this is a well known effect of its water ; moreover, they exaggerate to such a degree as to say that, if an animal or bird drinks its water, it gets this disease in its throat ; accordingly most of the men and animals of Muzaffar- pur are subject to this complaint. And the report, that in a certain land wens are found on the throats of some birds and crows, must refer to this {country). Salagram is a stone in the neighbourhood of Hajipur, of a black colour, small in size, round and shiny, and in Persian is called Sang-i-mihak {touchstone) ; the writer a^ the ' Khulasat-ut-Tawarikh states that it is found in the neighbourhood of the above-named city at a distance of forty kos. The Hindus regard it as a divine manifestation, and worship it; moreover, this is' the faith of Brahmans, that whatever idol can be broken is not fit to be worshipped, but this stone is. To make the story shofct, the length of this province, reckoning from Tiliya (^arhl to Ruhtia, is one hundred and twenty kos, and the breadth of it, from Tirhut to the northern mountains, one hundred and ten kos ; to the east of it is Bangala, to the west lUahabad, to the north Awadh, and to the south a large mountain. There are eight divisions — Hajipur, Mungir, Champaran, Saran, Tirhut, Patna, and Bihar; and' subject to them two hundred and forty sub-divisions ; the revenue of it is two hundred and eighty millions seven hundred and /thirty-three thousand dams. '■ THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 85 CHAPTER XXII. THE COUNTRY OP BANGALA. • Jahangie Nagab, otherwise Dhaka, is a large and. very pros- perous city, with nice environs ; all goods of every country are to be obtained there at all times ; people of ev^ry caste and countty live there in thousands. Its original name was Bang, and the word al was added *o it. This was the reason of it that in the Bangali language they call a large embankment al,, and they build these round 'gardens and fields, &c., for keeping the water out. Moreover, in former times the zamindars of this country, who lived at the foot of the mountains where the ground is low, use to build embank- ments ten hands high and eight hands broad, and laid the founda- tions of their houses in them,- and made their fields in the same way ; on this aceount, the common people here have called the name • of it, Bangal. The heat of this country, some forty or £fty years ago, was temperate, and the cold, very little. The rains commenced in Jaith {May—^une), and lasted for six months, but now, in certain parts, the, heat is somewhat greater; moreover, last year it was so great, that a whole world suffered torture, in fact, many animals and men died from the heat ; the cold also was so slight, that al- though men slept With only a coverlet of a sir's weight of cotton over them at night, still they did not get numbed. In short, from the first watch of the day up to the time that only two or three gharis remained, one had no need of a quilt, and from the second watch to mid-day, a thin cloth was enough. But in this season the fog generally faUs like a mist, rather sometimes the heavens bec&me a mass of smoke, and the sun does not appear in sight till a watch or jratclf-and-a-half has passed ; the rains also last for soihething less than five months ; they commence about the beginning of Jaith and end about the first of Katik ; in spite of this, if in any year rain faUs in the commencement of Jaith, or the end of Katik, it matters not ; for does not the rain fall sometimes out of season even ya the western countries ? Rice is produced in great quantities ' in &is land, and there are so many kinds of it, that if one should take a grain of each sort, then a bag would be filled. And there is this curiosity about it, that it is produced three times a year in one field, and according as the water increases, so it flourishes, but then care must be taken, that its ear is not drowned under the water, Now and then, when the a,griculturists have measured it, they have found it (the, stalk) gcMnewJiat more than fifty or fifty-five hands in length. Uhe inhabitants of tkis country are not rebellious to their rulers, and 'themselves bring the yearly taxes to the treasury hy eight tnonthly instalments. In this province, most of the dwellings 86 THE ARAISH-I-MAHFIL, OK are thatched; many of them are very nice, strong, lasting, and well- built; moreover, in the erection of some of the houses, four and five thousand rupees are spent ; but in place of walls they have tattis,* for the kachoha walls of this country do not stand, and where are bricks to be obtained by the poor ? In fact, even men of wealth, as a ru^j^do not build them of brick, on account of their stinginess ; and their vessels too are mostly made of clay, very few of brass. Their villages here are generally built in the midst of trees, that is to say, they make their houses in such a place, that there are trees all around them, and, God forbid, that one house should catch fire, for, in that case, the whole village would" be burned ; besides, none of them know their housesf except by the means of those trees. * The Boriyat also of this country in smoothness is almost equal to. silk, and in cleanness is somewhat better then Mahmudi Chandni ;J rather, in the hot weather a carpet of it would appear like dust before this, and this also is ntuch cooler than it. They very properly call it Sital Pabi (the cool mat), and certainly its name answers to its quality. The plrincipal food of the people of this country is fish, boiled rice, bitter, oil, curded milk, red pepper, vegetables, and greens ; moreover, i^ they get hold of a fish of the time of the prophet Jonah, they eat it, and if their hands should fall on any leaf which could be called a vegetable, it is not possible that they should withdraw their hand from it ; they eat a good deal of salt also, but, in certain parts of this country, it is scarce ; bread made of wheat, barley, or grain, however good it may be, they will not touch, and goats' meat, fowls, and ghi are not pleasing to their taste ; rather, the compiler of the Riyaz-us-Salatin writes that their digestion does not approve of these things, and should they eat them, then they commence vomiting ; but I have ■ not seen this myself, nor have I associated with any piire Bangali ; perhaps this may be their custom, but it is not the habit of all of them. The dress of the people in general, whether rich or poor, is merely enough to ; hide their privities, for the men fasten a white cloth, which they call a dhoti, underneath their navel, and this hangs down ' to their knees ; they tie a ragged old turban round their heads, giving it two or three twists, and all the top* of '^eir head remains bare. But any of the people of India, or of any other country [who come and take up their abode here, and two or three generations pass away] , or those Bangalls who have frequent inter- course with the people of India, and those whose occupation and trade is service, wear a half coat alfio ; still in their own'houses ther generally satisfy themselves after the way described above. BiK when the compiler of the Khulssat-ut-Tawarikh states that the men and women do not wear any clothes, but remain naked, his meaning is this, that what people. wOuld really call clothing themselves, that they do not do ; and this that he narrates, that all the out-door work is done entirely by women, the particulars of this matter are * ." Tattis" are screens made of dried grass. i t " Boriya." is the celebrated Calcutta matting. { This is a celebrated kind of white cloth. THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 87- not at all established ; it might have been so in his time. Bdt the clothes of the women also generally are something of the same nature, for they also are satisfied with one cloth, the name of which is sari ;* they put it on thus : first, they tie it a little above their navel, and. let it hang down to their calves, and the rest of it they allow So "faU down in froiit and ronnd their backs and necks; their heads generally remain uncovered, their feet moreover are also bare, and they do not wear shoes. The people here generally travel in boats, especially in the rains ; fot, in this country, various kinds of crafts, small and great, are to be obtained in great numbers at the jghats ; and when a traveller wishes, he can come on board, and go comfortably to whatever city he desires. In the hot and cold seasons, they generally use bullock-carts, garis, chaupals, and some- _ times even palkis, and travel on whichever of these they please. But good horses are not obtainable, except at a high price ; ele- phants,-however, are to be had ia great numbers ; and pearls, jewels, cornelian, and jasper are not to be found at all in this land, but come from other countries.S^Fruits of all . kinds and sorts, except grapes and melons, are produced here, especially mangos, pine- apples, and plantains, each of wbich aire so good that there is not the like of them in India. But the rose-apple is one of the £ruits of the conntry, and although its sweetness is not good, still by the time it is digested, when one belches, the smeU. ' of rose comes from it. Mowers of all kinds also are produced, but the keora is most plenti- ful, and also the madholata ; in fact,, this kind is peculiar to this country ; and in certain places ginger and black pepper are also produced ; and pan too of various kinds is very plentiful ; silk also is most abundant ; in fact, silk cloths of various kinds are made here so well, that the like of them are seldom seen elsewhere ; moreover, this is 'true, that the white cloth also- of kinds, whether fine or coarse, is made of such fine texture in some 'of the cities of this country, that those who see it imagine that they are looking at running water, and the wearer's body enjoys comfort from it; certainly the skill of weaving it, and the particulars of manufactur- ing it, are not to be obtained by.the finest weavers of other countries, although Jihey may spend a whole life in perplexity; what mention thefl of their making it ? For this reason, the chiefs of this country generally send various kinds and sorts of cloths as presents to their equals, and merchants very often take them to different countries (to seli) at a profit to themselves ; moreover, the latter custom is prevalent to the present day, but by reason of the changes of time, there has been somewhat of a falling off in the former, and the cfeeck turbans that used to be sent by the Nazim every year to the king, that (custom) has altogether been dispensed with, since the time of Muhammad Shah ; rather, they have kept back their poll tax, and some other fancy has seated itself in their head, and they have altogether forgotten the path of good breeding, and having Ijecome intjoxicated with the wine of pride and haughtiness, have * ^o called from its being in one piece. o» THE AEAfSH-I-MAHFIL, OR entirely witMrawn from the way of good manners ; but they have , suffered greatly from its effects, and their life is afflicted with a hundred different intoxicating calamities in consequence.* Lakhnoti is an old city, the particulars of which are as follows : — On tjie con- fines of Ba^jgala there is a city by ' name Kuoh ; a certain person once set out from' its neighbourhood, and at last having cfin^uered the. prqvinces of Bihar and Bangala, came back and populated that city, and made it his capital ; moreover, for two thousand years the above-named city remained the seat of government of the province of Bangala ; after it, Tanda became the capital, then Jahangirnagar, and after that Murshidabad ; in fact, to the present time also, th^ residence of the ruler of this province is in that same city. . To make the story short, when King Humayun honoured LakhnOti with his presence, he saw that its climate was good, and called the name of it Jannatabad (the city of paradise). In the present day, that place has become so devastated, that thousands of animals and wild beasts make it their home, and the traces of the door of the fort, and a few remains of the golden masjid, alone are to be seen. DISTICHES. In that place, where there were thousands of gardens, There, now there is not the trace of a single flower : Where, there used to be the thrones of kings, There, now there is not even the bedding of a beggar. PEOSE. To the east of the city is a- jhil (a shallow lake, or morase) called Chhatabhata ; the embankment of it remains to the present day, but when the foundation of its prosperity was strong, then, in the rains, the water never by any means used to enter that city ; in the present day, it becomes one sheet' of water, and boats ply with ease on it. j^t a distance of one kos from the city there was an old building, and in it was a very stinking fountain, called Piyaz Bari (the onion hath) ; whoever drank its watef, became subj.ect to various kinds of diseases and died. It is said that before the reign of Akbar, they used to 6onfine criminals, in it, that they might drink its •jFat^: and die quickly ; the above king forbad this de^d, and stopped^'this custom. Murshidabad is an old city on the banks of the Bhagirati, and was populated in the reign of Aurangzeb ; but before that, a merchant by name Makhsus Khan, had built a sarai at that place on both sides of the river, and had called the name of it Makhsusabad, and there were a great many shops in" it. When Muhammad Alamgir bestowed on Jafar Khan Nuslri the independ,ent rule^f Bangala and TJrisa, he called him Murshid Kali Khan ; he then populated a city there, and calling the name of it Murshidabad, moreover made it his capital ;, and at the present time also, 1220 A. H. and (under) the g6vernment of the Company [long may their • It must be remembered that the compiler in this chapter shows hjs bitterness of feeling towards the Bangalis, whom the Mu$a!nmadan9 hate as a cowardly, crafty and conceited race. ' THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 89 shadow continue], the • residence of their ruler is at that place ; its length is somewhat more than four kos. The Chewali Botedar and Sari* of this country are celebrated, and the gardens and buildings also on the whole, are good, but not worth writing about, except the Moti Jhil and the Gauri of Bangala ; but they have become ruined and de^royed, and their name only remains on the tongue ; yes ! one building, the private palace of Nawwab Siraj-ud-Daulah, is standing to the present day. And the language of the people of this city is correct with regard to that of the inhabitants of other countries ;' the reason "of this is, that they pass much of their time with those torn in India, for, after the destruction of Shahjahanalbad, and < before the rule of the East India Company, many of them came there, and moreover took np their aboije in it. The above-named city is certainly not wanting in iJetail, but is situated below the level of the^iver ; and if its banks, or the embankments of the jhil of Akbarpur, should break in the rains [which God forbid], then the whole city would be drowned ; accordingly in the end of the year 1216, from the excess of water, when the bank broke towards Bhagwan-gola, every quarter of the city was submerged to such a degree, that in the new palace of the deceased Nawwab Muzaffar Jang the water reached somewhat above the knees ; so also in other houses. In like manner, they say that a deluge or water of the like nature occurred once in the reign of Nawwab Mahabut Jang ; may the True Protector now guard this city, and give to the em- bajikments the stability of mountains. The harbours of Hogli and Satgam , are about half a kos apart ; the city and town of Satgam was very'large and fuU of buildings, and ;the ruler used to live there ; when this place became depopulated from the flood of the sea, then the city of Hogli rose to great splendour, and the chief of this pro- vince made it his royal abode, and cared not in the least for the rulers of Bangala Jafar Khan requested from the king the gover- norship of the above-named harbour, and bringing it under his government, commenced taking care of the merchants and traders of all countries, and did not take one dam more than the proper dv^ties, in short, let off some of that even ; accordingly, many traders of E^opeJ China, Iran, Turan, Arabia, and Persia began to resort to it ; moreover, many masters of ships also fixed their residence there ; on this account, . the prosperity of the above-named city began to increase exceedingly. Although generally there were various kinds of merchants, still the Mughals enjoyed the greatest confidence, and wonld not allow the people of Europe to lay the foundations of forts and bastions, but permitted them to build fac- tories. When the chief officer treated them hardly, and began exacting more than he should, the above-named city became depo- pulated, and from the care and protection and light duties of the English, Kalkutta became more flourishing ; in short, it became the seat of govemment.X The city of Kalkutta, in former times, was a village, and-the reason of its designation was this, that there is a "goddess by Aume Kali here, and in the Bangali language they call a • • These are two kinds of cloth, •12 90 THE ARAiSH-I-MAHFIL, OR master Katta, and for this reason it was called Kahkatta ; after- wards gradually, from the changes of dialect, the ^ was dropped and Kalkatta remained. But the cause of its becoming populous, and of the houses of the English and the storehouses they have con- structed having been built, was this, that up to the reigr(,of the Nawwab Jafar Khan, the storehouse of. the East India Company was at Hoghli, close to Gholghat and near to Mughalpur, when suddenly at evening titne one day, the earth began' to "sink ; at that time, the English gentlemen were eating their dinners ; the chief men, stum- bling and falling, escaped at length with much toil and labour, but the whole and entire portion of their goods and chattels, togethei- with a great number of animals, were submerged in the water along with that house ; moreover, some men also were killed. On this Mr. Charnock bought the Banarsi garden, and cut down the trees and began to build a godown, and his intention «tvas to have built two or three-storied houses; ^hen the walls had been built, they began to lay the roof with beams ; on this, the chiefs and nobles of that place, especially the Mughals, who were the leading merchants said to the Eaujdar* Mir'Nasir, "When those stran- gerst shall live in these lofty houses, then the female part of our family will b,e unveiled ; in short our honour will be entirely ' gone ;" the Eaujdar sent a petition to this effect io the above-men- tioned Nawwab, and afterwards despatched them all to {relate their grievance). Immediately on their arrival, they made their complaint to the king ; Jafar Ehan at once sent a very strict command, for- bidding them to build ; the Eaujdar, instantly on reading it, carried it into effect, and gave an order that no bricklayet, mason, or car- penter should go there, and that the building should remain un- finished. The distinguished gentleman was much annoyed at this circumstance, and, in short, determined to fight, but his army was small, and he had only one ship; besides this, he reniem- bered the Mughals were many, and the Eaujdar countenanced them ; he, therefore, regarded the idea as unprofitable, and gave it up, and weighed anchor ; , and having set fire to the building's on shore with a burning glass, took his departure ; and although the Eaujdar tried hard to stop him, still it was of no avail, and th\ship arrived on the ocean, and from there- set sail for the south. In those days, Aurangzeb was down in those parts, and his enemies had cut off his supplies from all sides, and there was a great famine in the royal army. The chief of the godown in the Karnatak having loaded much grain on ships, conveyed it to the army, and having performed good service, and become the mark of the royal f avoiars and kindnesses, reached the very extreme of his desire and ambition. The king was so pleased with him, and, in fact, with the whole English race, that he bestowed on them edicts and orders exempting them from duty, and permitting them to build their godowns. On this, Mr. Charnock took the king's order and commands, and again * Faujdar is the magistrate or chief officer of police of a city. t Na. Mahram ia a person who is uot permitted to enter the female apartments, hence THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. • 91 came frOm the south, to Bangala, and sent a representative with an offering and present to the ruler. He, at last, having obtained an order to build a godown, laid its foundations, and, turniijg his atten- tion to the prosperity of the city, began to transact business in a very good style. That godown also is standing to the present day, and is 'called the old fort. To be brief, the above-named city is very large and spacious, and is laid out on the banks of the Bhagi- rati with great regularity. Its populousness is worth going to see, and its buildings are superior to those of China and Ispahan ; the style of its architecture is new, and the plan of each dwelling differ- ,ent. The- houses are built in rows, of masonry and lime, and the roads are all exceedingly fine and level ; its area is a cause of envy to that of the garden of Paradise, and its air is a subject of jealousy to the morning zephyrs ; emeralds would eat poison at its greenness, and from^ts redness the liver of coral would become blood;, in addition to this, from morning to evening there is a collection of lovely faced ones, and a market-like crowd of beauties. DISTICHES. If Indra even at that time should come here, Then he would never return to his own court ; And if, for a little while, they should see this dormitory, Then the fairies would leave fairyland : How then have mortals the power to cast their eyes on it ? ror_the liver of lightning becomes water here. 0, unwary one ! do not throw away your life gratuitously, Bat reflect a little before looking at this place. PEOSE. In every quarter of the town there is a talisman-like state, and at the sight of every street the picture gallery of Mani would be astonished ; the house of each pedlar is full of various things of every country, and, in the shop of every banker, heaps of silver and gold are piled up ; everywhere in the market there is merriment, and its stores of glass-ware are the envy of the glass palace.* • DISTICHES. The market is open, the streets are broad, And as plain as a page of a ruled book. On both sides of the road live artisans and shop-keepers^ Who appear like a string of pearls. On the one side are jewellers, on the other, cloth vendors ; • On the one side are bankers, on the other, goldsmiths, And you see silver and gold raining down, Like nosegays of Narcissus placed on trays. Gold brocade, silver lace, and striped cloths Glitter like lightning. Whatever goods of any place in the whole world you' may require, Those things are all to be obtained at one shop. * That of Lakhnau, which is the most colebrated in India, is; I think, here referred to. 92 THE ABAiSH-I-MAHPIL, OE PEOSB. Verily, its prosperity is double that of most cities, and its town is larger than 'the generality, of towns ; for, like as there is a market on both sides of the road on dry land, so also, from the numbers of ships and boats, a city is populated on the water ; but tM» is the reason of the increase of its prosperity, that every governor has turned his attention to its buildings, and spent l^khs of rupees on that work from the royal treasury ; especially the G-overnor-General, Lord Marquis Wellesley, who has expended immense sums on it ; besides this, he has greatly improved the structure of the city; he,^ moreover, has built a very handsome mansion, which has increased the splendour of the city beyond bounds ; to what can one compa;re it ? There is not an equal to it in all the world ; and to which could you call it the second,* for there is no building of the like structure ; this is indeed true, that like as the grandeur of the government of its builders is distinct in itself, so also is the splendour of the struc- ture of that house quite different from all others. DISTICHES. It is luminous and clear to such a degree, that, from it continually, The light of the clearness of the moon remains abashed ; ' It is carved and ornamented in such a way, that, in the matter of beauty. The picture gallery oi: China would ask questions of it ; And such is its height, that if Uj, the son of Uk, Should cast his glance on it, he would have to hold his pagrLf PEOSE. • However much you praise that house, it is proper, and however much you may commend that city, it is right ; certainly in India, nowhere is there now another city so full of buildings, and nowhere else either, the same throng of traders and merchants ; for a long time, it has been the emporium of the Bast India Compainy, and, from old, has been the pleasure-house of the English rulers, and in the present time, wealthy persons of various professions, a,nd artisans, perfect in skill, live here in great numbers, and goods and curiosi- ties of all sorts and kinds are obtainable ; in like manner, ftiere\s a brisk traffic,! and every trader is happy and contented. But colour- ed cloths greatly lose their colour, especially- those of a red tinge, which do not last at all : things with syrup in them, such as sharbat, leaven, and confectionery, go bad very quickly, and dry medicines, moreover, often spoil. The cause of it is the saltness, dampness, and moisture of the ■ soil ; accordingly, the ground of the houses always remains damp, indeed two or three yards of the walls also, and the lower stories are not habitable ; if they did not build two or * This IB the Urdu way of putting it ; it means. It ia unique and there ia no building one could name in comparison as a second to it. ' t The story goea ^hat Uj the son of Uk waa ao tall, that he waa ahle to •croas the sea and the water only reached to his kn'eea, and that he used to catch fish and »oast them in the sun. To let one'a pagri fall off is considered a very bad omen. , X Literally, " the thread of buying and selling ia w.ell in motion." THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 93 three-storied houses, then the inhabitants here would not enjoy any comfort at all. They generally drink tank or rain water ; the wells also are all Tery brackish, and the water of the running rivers even, on account of its propinquity to the sea, is very heavy, especially at the time^ of the flood tide [the meaning of this {word) is, that the river tfows backwards, and ebb tide is the contrary of this] ; in short, at that time to imbibe the water of the river is poison to the drinker, rather, it is the edge of a two-edged sword ; God grant that no one may drink it, for how could he live ? Accordingly, the drink of the people is confined to the water of the tanks, and for this «-eason many of them are buUt in that place, some of which are distinguished by particular names, as, for instance, Laldiggi, Chau- rangi, &c. ;- besides, the flood and ebb tides, for three days in the middle of the month, and for one at the end, the water once during the day and night {daily) comes up like a high wall, and flows towards the ocean with great violence and force ; ships also are shaken from the dashing of its waves ; of what account then would a boat be ? If, at that time, it be in deep water, then it may perhaps escape, but should it be fastened close to the shore, it would be thrown on the dry land and broken to pieces from its violence ; for this reason, the sailors, on the above-mentioned days, fasten the big and small boats with very heavy anchors at a distance from the shore. In the Bangall language, a wave of this kind is called Ham ma ;* ia the rains, however, it does not come with that force and violence. The climate of this place also is altogether good in comparison with former times, and is not at all bad ; especially, in the cold Veather, when it always remains temperate. What place is there^ in which men do not suffer this much pain and affliction, and what city is there, where there is not sickness ? But piles, itch- ing, or ringworm, and weakness of digestion are very prevalent in the East, and seldom experienced in the West ; nose disease, pain in the chest, elephantiasis, and goitre are peculiar to this country ; there you never see them, unless sometimes a person gets them as a rare case. In the Armenian quarter, there is a large bazar, and in the middle of the China bazar is the Armenian church, which is very Jfcfty'and large, and more celebrated than all the churches ; Agaha Nazif, the Armenian chief, built it in the year 1724 A. D. Although there are many English, Portuguese, and other Christian churches in this city, still this is the most renowned, and its clock greatly to be depended on. There are many mosques here also, but not worth writing about. Eamzani, the tailor, however, built a pukka mosque, square with nine arches, in Suthalhati ; truly, building it was beyond his meins, and it is better than all the masjids in this place. In like manner, there are many Imam Baras, for, I suppose, there has been no sarkar, jamadar, khansaman, or nazir, &G.,t who has not built one near his house ; but, as a rule, * Called bj Englishmen " the Bore." t I am afraid the writer, from his own choice of words in the , present instance, does not believe-much ia the honesty of the native of India; ; the savkar is a Bangali term ap- plied to the^uperintendent of the house, the jamadar is the head servant in a family, the kbansaman, the head of the culinary department, and the nazir, the superintendent of a kbansa 34 THE ARAISH-I-MAHriL, OR they are very small, and only two or three hands high, knd their platforms about the same length and breadth; however, a few chobdars, jamadars,* or native mistresses of certain (English) gentle- men, have buiit them with an enclosure, and out-liouses adjoining them, and spent much money on their construction ; still what do such people know of the manner of building and the fotms of mourning ?t On the seventh day of the Muharram, all the people here, who keep taziyas, taking banners and standards in their hands, with much lamentation and weeping, carry them to the place of deposit, and then return from there in the same manner to their houses ; on the road, on account of the numbers of persons, ouq gets very little elbow room, and people's shoulders rub against one another. From the afternoon up till night, this state remains, and in every street and lane there is mourning ; and the people of this country have called it "the afternoon mourning ;" on thg.t dayj the women and men of this place take with them some fowl curry and bread, or pulao, to all the Imam Baras, great and sniall, and with these they offer their oblations and prayers to their saints ; J in short, fowls are slain in such numbers on that day, that if you search in the city, you will not find one feather even, but you will see a pool of their blood flowing in every street or lane. Besides this, common and low people on that day go to the Imam Baras, and assume very wonderful disguises ; as, for example, if any one, in any Imam Bara, should have made a vow, that if his wish should be ac- complished that y«ar, then he would sit there and place a fire-place on his head, and cook rice with milk in it, then he cooks it; and if any one has promised to put a lock on himself, on obtainirfg his de- sire, he puts a lock on his mouth, although both his cheeks may be pierced with holes ; for they put a thin plate of iron on each side of their mouth, and in the centre, a fine spit ; its appearance is some- thing like the curb of a horse. To be brief, these stupid people put this on their mouths, and wander about in the neighbourhood of the dome of the Imam Bara ; and if after going three times round, the lock opens and drops off, then they know that their offering has been highly acceptable, but if it should not fall off till the seventh circumambulation, then only tolerably so. And those,* wh(^ cook milk and rice on their heads, assume such a disguise, that pSople think they are cold ; they cover themselves also with something or other, although it may be in the hot season ; in short, the com- mon people, beholding this their assumed state, and seeing the lock magistrate's office, or any other public work. The words are very naively selected to show these people must get nice little pickings to he able to indulge in works of this kind. * Every civilian, or political officer of position, has a ohohdar or jamadar, if nothoth. This passage is a hint for officers high in authority, and more particularly the highest in the land, not to believe too implicitly in their jamadars and chobdars. Their post is worth eight to twelve rupees a month, but few would resign it for five hundred rupees in a lump sum t Taziyadar is a person who keeps the mourning for Hasan and ^lasfan during the Muharram. X Fatihat is properly the iii'st chapter of the Kuran, which . people, praying for the souls of the dead, continually repeat, and hence it comes to moan prayers, or oblation offered up to a saint.' THE ORNAMENT OF THE, ASSEMBLY. 95 fall off of its own accord, regard it as a miracle and mark of appro- bation. Still more wonderful is this, that along with this f oUy, their belief is, that if they ;perform these deeds in any Imam Bara except the one in which they made their yow, then the milk and rice will not be gopked, nor will the lock unfasten itself. Moreover, if any wise man should wish to prevent these fools doing these improper acts, how would it be possible ? and even from the command of Imam himself, it would be difficult to hinder their doing' these deeds. HEMISTICH. • Every one is mad about his own affairs. PROSE. On the tenth day of the festival, I have not seen any custom peculiar to Jihis country, otherwise I should have written it. Some of the forms of worship also of the Hindns here are quite distinct ; moreover, in the worship of Durgs,* the worship of Kali, and the Katik worship, in their houses, they make large gods of grease x resembling each of them, and put them on the ground; on the fixed day, they carry them off with much pomp and grandeur, music and singing, and throw them into the river ; the common people here call this Bhasan. In short, the worship of Durga is performed with much show, and by great numbers, and on her offerings, the people waste a great deal of money; the name of it is Nauratra, the beginning of it is the first of the light half of the month Kuwar, and the enS of it is on the tenth ; but they worship from the seventh up to the»eighth, ninth, and tenth, by doing Thapna, that is to say, they fiU a new pitcher with water, and remain in devotion before it, and on the tenth day perform Bisarjan, that is to say, throw Durga into the water. On the above-mentioned days, especially from the sixth to the tenth, most of the Hindns and Bangalis hold merry meetings according to their ability and means, and although most of them are iniserly, still, in this matter, they waste a . great deal of money ; moreover, the great and wealthy entertain even Musalmans, in fact, the English also. To be brief, people and chief ^f mos'frsects go to their merry meetings, and enjoy a certain pleasure. They have carpets of all colours spread in every roomi, and very elegant and clean ones laid out under their Shamiyanas ;t glass chandeliers, shades, and candlesticks give a good light in every place ; boxes for holding pan and atr, made of gold and silver, are placed in order, and hundreds of trays are filled with flowers, necklaces, and nosegays ; the performers consist of ten or twenty bards, and dancing boys and girls, wearing very nice clothes round their necks (bodies). * The goddess Durga was the wife of Shiva, and mother of Kartikaya and Ganesha ; she is also called TJma, Parvati, and Bhawani, and is supposed to he of a terrific and irascible nature.\ t A Shamiyana is a flat canopy supported on poles ; it is made of gold and silver brocade, or plain, according to people's rfneans. The chief and leading men only sit under the canopy ijjself. 96 THE AEAISH-I-MAHPIL, OE C - DISTICHES. There is one incessant glitter of gold brocade lace, And along with it, the tinkling or clin-king of the wristlets and anklets. Where has the sight the power to look at it ? Why should not the hearts of lovers become "desperately enanacmred ?* PEOSE, Oa the surface of tlie carpets, on two sides, Englist, Portuguese, and Armenian ladies, and half-castes, wearing very elegant clothes, seated on their chairs, give splendour to the scene, and, in every quarter, there is a market of beauty. • DISTICHES. If Joseph also were to come into that merry meeting, Then, for one glance, he would sell his heart ; ^ And such is the glittering colour of every fair one, That Indra's court even is astonished at it ; Each one is proud of her beauty. And they are a calamity, and affliction, and sorrow ; , If a fairy could, come into that evening gathering. She would never agaiji go to fairyland ; Then of what power is an insignificant mortal? How could his senses remain in their proper state there ? PEOSE. This is indeed trUe, that the merry meeting, of eaeh^ace, and the splendour of their beautiful ones, are of a distinct type, and the fascination of the lovely ones of each caste is different.. • HEMISTICH. Each flower has a diferent colour and smell. PEOSE. To make the story short, every night until morning, there is a scene of dancing and music, and a throng of sightseers remain collected ; but on the tenth, from the afternoon till evening, an interesting scene is to be beheld, and a crowd of men and %omen remain assembled along the banks of the river. Besides this, ^here are many other fairs in their season, but not of the same splendour and detail ; on this account I have not given a description of them, and have not seen any real use in writing about them. At a little distance from the city on the south is the fortress of Port William ; the foundation of it was laid after the victory of ' Plasi in Jhe time of Colonel Clive, but it appears as if it had been built to-day, and had just been made ; along with this, all the goods and utensils, which are required for a fort or its inhabitants, are always kept ready ; rather, day by day, there is an increase and augmentation in this matter. What mention can I make of its construction ? Its building is quite unique, and the plan of its striycture new ; * Literally, " be reduced to meal." THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 97 it is like n6 fort in this country ; its four walls from outside appear like embankments, .and within are very lofty. Who can find its great treasures,* and who can possibly describe its safety and symmetry ? Assuredly it rules proudly over a world ;t the sight of it increases the astonishment, and wandering about in it deprives one of understanding, • DISTICHES. Where is there a fort like it on this earth ? I have not seen another resembling it. , Would it be wonderful if the great Creator • Should call it an impregnable stronghold ? PEOSB. To the \5est of the fort, on the other side of the river, close to the shore, at a little more than a garden's distance, is the garden of the East India Company [long may they reign], which is very beautiful, but not enclosed ; for it is so large and open, that the compound of the understanding cannot take it in ; how then could any one build an enclosing wall round it ? and the extent of it is so beyond bounds, that the bird of fancy even cannot go outside of it ; then how could a mortal get but of it ? This is indeed true, that, like as its rulers are better in administration and government than the chiefs of the world, so is this, in elegance and detail, better than the gardens of the universe ; and Kke as they have gre&,t dig- nity on the earth, so also have aU its trees ; assuredly each flower- bed of it is lite a garden of roses, and its design somewhat better than the- plan of the garden of Paradise ; the ground in it is altogether smooth and level, and the red footpaths in it very showy ; and around its green beds, there are hundreds of kinds and 'sorts of trees, whose leaves are like the green of emeralds. DISTICHES. Each thorn of that garden is like a rose, And all ^ grass of its flower-beds is like spikenard ; ^ow c^n the heart help being expanded in it ? The air in it always remains temperate ; Its flowers in colour are brighter than jpwels, And whoever sees them, his heart is immediately fascinated ; And he, who has heard the notes of the birds of that place. Would never wish for the sound of music. . PEOSE. There are thousands of fruit and flower trees ; moreover, many of such a nature that no one has heard their names even, and others of such a kind, that most people have not seen them ; as, for example, the clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, cubebs, and camphor, of * Ganjgaw wks the treasure of Jaipshid, which was dug in the reign of Bahrain, and distributed amongst the poor ; it also implies any very great wealth. t Literally, " bears a talisman like rule." , VO THE AEAfSH-I-MAH3PIL, OE wticli there are many trees in it.; moreover, the nutmeg tree has now and then been seen in flower there. Its leaves are something like those of the jaman [the Indian damson), but the jhumka is a flower which is peculiar to that country, and its foliage most resembles it [i. e., the nutmeg). The leaves of the clove are somewhat like it, but those of the cinnamon resemble the ber, and the foliage of the camphor is somewhat like that of the peach. There are many lakes ^ ^ in it also, and great numbers of canals and innumerable water- courses near the river; moreover, -at the time of the flood tide, <. when it comes with great force, the water runs into the lakes by means of them, and, at ebb' tide, flows out. There are three er , four houses in it also, but, on the banks of the river, there is an 9^\ English mansion, very elegant, full nf <1plfli1, and most beautifully iw* built ; the construction of it is superior to that of the best buildings ; besides this, it is fit for every season, its air is pleasing to every ■disposition, and its inhabitants generally enjoy pleasure. DISTICHES. A man, even if left th«re alone, would not feel distressed ; His mind would never become sad ; For in it there is a talisman-like state ; Then how could a mortal leave it and go elsewhere ? PEOSE, In the midst of four footpaths there is the tovah of General Kid ;, its enclosure is an octagon, and, in its dome, there are eight piUars and four doors also ; inside of it, there is a pfilar*of marble, about three or four hands long, but most beautifully carved, which glitters like glass : above it, is a picture of the gentleman who is buried in that tomb, and, near it, also a very pleasing likeness of a woman ; it is as a kind of warning, that this pillar of state, who once ruled here, to-day lies under it, while each limb of his body has mixed with the earth ; so one day the state of that pillar also wiU become altered, and a change come over the plan of that dome. " . % DISTICHES. • Therefore remove your hand from the building of mansions, And in a small degree build a mansion of futurity ; For this will last for a few days, but that for ever. For the sake of the former, do not lose a house like the latter. PEOSE. • , ' To make the story short, this garden is always flourishing and verdant; the cause of -v^rhich outwardly is this, that besides the superintendent and workmen, a hundred gardeners are always kept as servants, who night and day fix their thoughts on taking care of the trees, and the river also is very near; but rea,ily it is from the good purpose of its masters, for a hundred gardeners could not water the trees of one quarter of it even, and the propinquity of THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 99 the river* often is hurtful to fields and gardens; then is not the good Supervision of a ruler a wonderful thing. . Chandannagar alias Fransdanga, is a small city at a distance of twelve kos from Kalkutta, and the godowns of the French are at this place ; all trans- actions there used to he conducted by them, and the English did not interfere with them at alL But there has been a quarrel and dispute going on for some years, and on this account the EngHsh have taken it from them, and now it is entirely under them. Chauohara is near Hugli, to the south at a distance of one kos j it used formerly always to be undler the control and dominion of the Dutch, but some years ^go the English took possession of it, and the cause of this was their agreeing with the French. Sheva Rampur is also a smaU town, on the banks of the above-mentioned river, about six kos from Kalkutta, on the opposite shore. The river flows right between it and Achanak, and it belojtgs to Denmark ; the English have nothing to say to it, and the godowns of that nation are standing there to this day. Achanak is dependent to Kalkatta ; for this reason Lord Wellesley has built a handsome house and spacious garden there, whose court ■ is like the area of a park, and the air of which in all seasons is like the spring breezes ; there are many animals in it, of which there are not the lite in the world, and many birds also of wonderful beauty, on seeing which men would become transfixed like a {picture on a) wall, and the power of God would come to their minds ; even infidels would say, without being able to control themselves. " The power ©f God is superior to that of all creators •" and heretics also without hesitation would cry out, " Praised be God ; He is Lord of the two worlds." • Fjpm there to Kalkatta, he has also made a road so straight and level, that the word, crooked, could in no way be applied to it ;* besides this, he has caused shady trees to be planted on both sides 0^ the road, which make it a garden of roses, and give repose to travellers in hundreds of ways., I DISTICH. The air of a garden always blow^ ov&r it, ^ And its area i» like that of a gardea. PEOSE. Silhat. — Its city is in the hills ;, the shields manufactured there from the skin of the rhinoceros are celebrated; assuredly they are very good and well made, and in no city of India are any constructed equal to them. The fruits of that country are generally well flavoured, and the best of the best of them is the Kaula, an account of which has been writt&n before ; besides this, China root is obtained in great quantities. There are many aloe trees in the hills, which at the end of the rains they cut down and strew in the open; after some days, those that appear good they keep, and the bad, they throw away. Eang ' Par, or the horse pass. — Silk is obtained there in great quantities ; also a fruit which in bulk is * * Literallj, " Crooked has not remained even in name." 100 THE abaIsh-i-mahfil, oe about the size of four kernels, in taste like the pomegraiiate, and has three seeds in it ; its name is Ig-tkan, and it is peculiar to this country. They bring piebald ponies from the hills, which they sell there, and the buyers re-sell at a profit in other countries. Bugla is on the sea coast ; there is a fort there also, on the four sides of which are innumerable thick trees, and the spring and, ebb tides come there in- the same way as they do at Kalkatta ; but '. in the twenty-ninth year of the reign of Akbar, when about a watch, of the day remained, one day a wonderful flood rose ; all the city was sub- merged, and the king of it got into a boat and fled ; in. short, the violence of the inundation continued, and the agitation of the waves. of the river did not abate for five hours ; along with this the light- ning flashed, the clouds thundered, the rain poured, and in the end, two hundred thousand living animals, beasts and men, were drowned in that wave of destruction. ■ c 111 the Khulasat-nt-Tawarikh it is written that from the begin- ning of the new moon till the fourteenth of the month, the waves of the river there rose every day like mountains, and from the fifteenth gradually abated ; but this does not appear to have been the case from the history of Bangala. Close to it is Kamrup, which they also call Kanwaru; the women there are very beautiful, and are un- equalled in the art of magic ; they tell stories of their wonderful enchantments and tricks, which are beyond the grasp of the under- standing, one of which is that in an instant they can make whatever wise man they wish, mad ; rather, on whomever they set their designs, in a second they can turn him into an animal. The herbs of that place are also very wonderful and curious ; accordingljfeaf ter pluck- ing the flowers, the scent of them remains as usual for some months ; the mango trees, like grapes, are trained along boards, and thus ■ flower and bear fruit ; and there is this most wonderful thing about them, that if you cut the tree, a ^weet juice begins to drop from it to such a degree, that the thirst of the thirsty will be allayed. From the E,iyaz-us-Sal§tin it d,ppears that in former times it was under the jurisdiction of the Eajas of Kagh Bihar. The clothing oi the men and women here consists of only a lungi,* and theiraccent tallies with that of the inhabitants of KtJch Bihar.TC Near itts the ctontry of Asham, which is .very vast, and through the middle of which a river, the Bramhaputra, flows from west to east. The climate near its shore is good both for its inhabitants and for travellers ; but remote from it, it is good for the residents, but death to strangers. The rains last eight months, and the cold weather for four, but even then the rains do not leave off. Most of the flowers and fruits of India and Bangala are obtainable there, but besides them, many others are produced peculiar to that country ; rice is cultivated in very great quantities ; salt is scarce ; and wheat, barley, and masur are not sown at all, although the ground is fit for them ; and what- ever is sown, that springs up. The cocks of tha* country are great fighters ; of their own accord they will confront an adversary of four • The "lungi" is a narrow strip of cloth passed between the thighs and tucked into a string or waist belt before and behind, to conceal the private parts, ' » THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLV. 101 times tliciir strengtli, and fight with him to such a degree, that their brains are often smashed to pieces, still even they will not leave off fighting ; they may be killed, but will not retire from before their foe. The elephants in the forests there are generally handsome and large ; deer, barah-slngas,* nilgaos,t and rams are very abundant ; in the* sand of the river gold is found, but not good ; moreover, it is sold at eight rupees the tola. The most wonderful thing is this, that the king of that place lives in a very lofty house, and never puts his foot to the ground ; in fact, should he do so, he would lose his kingship ; the stupid belief of the kings of that country is, that .their fathers and grandfathers used to live in heaven, and some time or other, having made a ladder of gold, descended below, but did not put their foot to the ground ; for this reason, they call the kings of that country Sargi ; Sarg is a Hindi word, the meaning of which is h&a»-en,>tTo make the story short, when the king of that country dies, some of the men and women bury his servants and attendants alive, and, along with them, a great heap of his goods and chattels, and also a lot of wearing apparel and victuals, in a hole under the ground, and having lighted a great number of lights of ghi {clarified butter), place them over that spot. To the south-east is Arakhang, which is a very large country. The harbour of Chatgam is very near it ; elephants abound there in great numbers to such a degree^ that even brown elephants are to be had there, but horses are un- procurable ; camels and asses are very dear ; cows and buffaloes are not reargd at all, but there is an- animal somewhat like them, of a piebald colour, which gives milk. The religion and creed of the people, »i tJiat country is quite distinct and separate from that of the HindQs and Musalmans, and except their mother, they take every woman to wife; moreover, a brother ig not averse to a sister; besides this, their custom is that the wives of soldiers shall present themselves at the darbars before the chiefs to pay their respects, and their husbands remain seated at home. The curious thing is that the men and women there are black, and have little or no beards, but they perform service and obedience to . their chiefs and lords with purity of heart, and are greatly afraid of them ; their {chi4f's) iitfe is Wall.jC Near Arakhang is Pego. The army of that country consists only of elephants and foot ; in its confines are mines of metals and jewels, and this is the reason why the inhabitants of Pegu and Arakhang and the Maghs bear hatred and spite to each other. To sum up, the province of Bangala is very large and highly populous ; the largest of its riviers are the Ganges and BranJiaputra. The length of the province from Chatgam to Tiliya Garhi, east to west, is four hundred kos ; and the' breadth of it, from the northern hilly regions to Madarun, two hundred kos ; to the east of it is the sea, to the west Bihar, and to the north and south are mountains ; but it is stated in the Eiyaz-us-Salatin that the sea is to the south, afid the mountains to the east and north ; • The birah-singa is a kind of elk, with horns of twelve branches. t The nilgao is a species of animal between the deer and the cow. 102 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OK dependent to it are sixty-seven diyisions, and subservient Ho them eleven hundred and nine districts ; the revenue of it in former days was four hundred and sixty-one j million, nine hundred thousand dams ; but the writer of the iK.iy;.z-us-Salatin puts it down at twenty- eight divisions and eighty-seven districts, and the revenue of ity as in former times, five hundred and eight million, four hundred and fifty-nine thousand, three hundred ^ and nineteen dams, which is something' more or less than thirteen million, nine hundred and one thousand, four hundred and, eighty-two sikka rupees, fifteen annas. The standing army is twenty-three thousand, three hundred and thirty horse, eighty-one thousand, one hundred and fifty-eight foot, , four thousand two hundred artillery, and four hundred boats. THE OKNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 103 CHAPTER XXIII. THE COUNTRY OF U^ISA. roEMEELT there were twenty-nine forts, built of masonry, in this country, two or three of which still remain ; the climate is , also good and healthy, but the rains last for eight months, the cold for three, and the heat for one ; there are many flowers also in their respective seasons, especially the jasmine, which is very deli- cate and s^eet-scented, and the keora, which flowers in the woods. Yai*s«is tinds of pan are also produced, and there are many rice fields ; the food of the people of that country is generally boiled rice, fish, and egg plant, but they cook at night, and eat in the morning. Besides this, they take a steel pen in their hands and write letters and books on leaves of the toddy tree, and very seldom use paper and ink. In one of its villages there are many eunuchs, . and for this reason it is called the eunuch village. The cloths of that country are not bad, and the current coin is the kori. To the south on the sea coast is Pursotampiir, and king Indrasain laid the foundation of a temple to Jagarnath there ; this was more than four tligusand years ago ; near it is another temple also, which they attribute to the sun, and twelve years' revenue of that countrywsiiS spent on it. The height of the walls is one hundred and fifty hands, and their breadth nineteen ; most sightseers go to see it, and are astonished, rather, become transfixed like (pictures on a) wall. Tariyaraj is also very near it ; the men of that country dress like women, and also wear ornaments like them; but the women suffice themselves with covering their privities, and the clothing prevalent there is generally made of leaves. The length of that province is one hundred and twenty kos, audits breadth one hundred ; there are fifteen divisions — Jak%ar,*;Ol!ak, ,&c. — and dependent to them two hundred and sixty districts ; its revenue is four hundred and four million, one hundred and five thousand dams. 1 04 , THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OB CHAPTER XXIV. THE ATJSPICIOTTSLT FOUNDED COUNTET OF ATTEANGABAD. Fbom some histories it appears that in former times this city was called Dharanagar, but afterwards Devagir. When king. Muhammad Pakhr-ud-din Jonan, king of Dilli, conquered all the south, he called it Daulatabad, and made the fort his seat of govern- ment ;. after the above-named Sultan, all the south was taken away from the kings of Dilll. When three hundred years had passed. Shah Jahan again took possession of that fort, and gave the govern- orship of the above province to Alamgir. The prince populated a city near it, and called the name of it Aurangabad, for his eyes, from seeing the colour and beauty of that city, enjoyed pleasure, and from its extent, his aflicted heart expanded at once ; its air also is charming like the spring breezes, and its buildings are pleasing to every man 6i taste ; its water has the effect of wine of grapes ; every season there is good, and fresh like the spring ; and the rains fall from the beginning of Jauza {Gemini) to the end of Sumbula (Vvrg'o) ; in the gardens and wftods, there are alsaJruits of every kind, very plentiful, well-tasted, and nice-coloured ', besides this, there is always plenty of corn and lots of grain ; vaj»o\is kinds of cloths of good texture, and good jewels, rare and costly, are obtainable at all seasons ; besides this, rarities of every country, and curiosities of every island, are , procurable, whenever you desire them. Its inhabitants also dress and feed well, and are generally wealthy and rich, and the beautiful ones are altogether unequalled in loveliness and coquetry. The length of the province is one hundred and fifty kos, and its breadth one hundred ; there are eight divisions, and dependent to them eighty districts ; the revenue is five hundred and sixteen million, two hundrea anfl ei§hty thousand dams. THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEIIBLT. 105 CHAPTER XXV. THE COtTNTET OF BIBAE. This is a country to the south, between two mountains ; the name of one is Binda, on which are situated Kawil, Narmala, and , Mailgarh ; and the other, Sabbha, on which are Mahwar and Eam- garh. The climate of it is not bad, there is much agriculture in its neighbourhood, and elephants abound in the woods. But, in the above country, they call the village chief, Desh Mukh ; the revenue officeivDesff Pand ; the headman of a village, PataU ; and the land steward,* Kulkarm. Punar is a very strong fort, built of stone, with high embankments, and on three sides, two rivers enclose it ; to conquer it is very difficult, and to take it without the connivance of the people of the fort, would be an impossible matter. Kharla is a stone fort on a plateau of earth ; in Jieight it reaches the heavens, and in strength is like a mountain. Inside of it is a small hiU,wTiere people go to weep and lament ; and saying their prayers, rub their foreheads against it. Pour kos from there is a well, into which if the bones of any living thing fall, they become stone ; near Mail- garh also is-a spring, and whatever falls into it, is petrified. In Bairagarhjihere is a diamond mine, and the cloths of that country are piptures^ astonishment to the world. In Indru and Narmal are steel mines, and the stone vessels, made there, are the wonder of the age ; the oxen are also very good ; besides this, there is a fowl, called Karaknath, of such a nature, that it is black to its very bones. Dependent to that province is Bishangaya, a very great place of worship ; its tank is about a kos long and broad ; on all four sides of it are very high mountains, and many monkeys live there ; its water is brackish, but the property of soap and saltpetre is obtained from i|, aijd^Nko of glass.f Although there are many rivers in the province, still the Gautami is larger than all the rest, and like as the Ganges is connected with Mahadeo, so also is this connected with the saint Gautam ; there are wonderful and rare stories and fables written about it, and it is worshipped to the present day ; it springs from the mountain Sabbha, and begins to get its force near Tarambak ; after that, this stream, passing through Ahmadnagar, comes into Birar, and from there flows into the province of Talingana ; when Mercury comes into the constellation Leo, hun- dreds of Hinds s come from a distance, and regarding it as a (means of) future reward, bathe there. This fair is celebrated in every * The patwari keeps the accounts of the lands belonging to his village, and of the rent received ; ia fact, he very often is its acconntant-general, and no village is without one. t Meaning that the water was like soap for washing with, and if drunk &c,, had the property of saltpetre and was also as clear as glass. •l4 106 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHFIIi, OB > country ; they wprship the Tabi and Tapti also, with puriiy of mind, - and regard them as places of worship ; but the Ptirna flows near the , Tillage Dewal, although one head of it is about twelve fcos above the Tabi, and the other is near the above-mentioned village. To sum up, the length of the province from Patiyala to Bairagarh is two hundred kos, and the breadth of it from Bindra to Hindiya one hundred and eighty ; to the east of it is Ba];5garh, to the west . Mahrabad, to the north Hindiya, and to the south Palaligana ;. there are ten divisions in it, and dependent to them two hundred districts ; the revenue of it is six hundred; and seven million, two hundred and seventy thousand dams. r THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 107 CHAPTER XXVI. THE COUNTKY OE EHANDES. The capital of it is Burhanpar, on the bants of the Tapti ; it is yery long and broad, and its population beyond bounds ; its inhabi- ' tants are generally men of skill, and in its environs are many gardens. IVuits of various kinds are orocurable everywhere, and different sorts of flowers are each plenttEm in their season ; precious thingmnf e«ery' country are to be had in any quantities in its market, and heaps of sandal and aloes are to be seen in its shops in every direction. In the hot weather, the dust blows with* great yiolence, and in the rains, there is a good deal of slimy mud ; there are many fields of juwar, but few of rice, still the rice of that country is exceedingly nice and well-tasted ; there is abundance of pan and generally plenty of vegetables'; coarse and fine cloths of (Mfferent) kinds are obtainable, but the ilaeeha,* siri saf and siron are very good there. Formerly this country was under a ruler, Gharlb Khan ; when Shaikh Aba-ul-Fazl took the fort of Asir, king Akbar gave the above-nailed province to his second son, whose name was Danial, and called l^e name of it Dandes ; the zammdars in that country are generaSjt Bhils, Kolis, and Gronds. Changdeo is a village, near which the Tapti and Purna join ; the Hindus worship that placQ, and call it Chakkartarth. To make the story short, there are many rivers in this province, but the largest of them is the Tabi, which issues from Gondwana and Birar; the Purna also comes from there, but the Girni and Tapti join near Chopra. The Hindas regard that place also as sacred, and come from a distance to worship,' and in their ignorance [think they) enjoy great prosperity frpm it. ,To sum up, the leng%of this province from Purgaon, which is close to Hindivt) t» Tmng, near Ahmadabad, is seventy-five kos ; and its breadm from Jamodh, which is near Birar, to Pal, near Malwa, fifty kos ; to the east of it is Birar, to the west of it the southern mountains, to the south Ohalna, and to the north, Malwa ; there are five divisions in it, and dependent to them one hundred and twelve districts ; its revenue is forty-three million, six hundred and thirty thousand dams. * This is a cloth woven of silk and thread. 108 THE ABAfSH-I-MAHFII/, OR CHAPTEE XXVII. THE COTJNTET OF MALWA. The capital of it is Ujjain, the king of which place was Blr- bakra-ma jit ; his praises are beyond the bounds of fancy, and the men of former times have written them, moreover volume upop volume has been filled with them ; assuredly there has never again been a king of his diligence in India, and no one has helped the poor as he did ; the Hindi calculation of years to the present time is made from him : besides tbis, they have exaggerated «fiu«Jtecgbout the extent of the above-named city, in fact, they have written it in books. The river Shupra flows beneath it, making great waves, and the curious thing about it is, that now and then a wave or two of jqailk comes into it, and a whole world filLpots and vessels with it; it is said that many people have seen this, wonderful occurrence, and acted thus. Chanderl is an old cityj very large and exceedingly handsome, in which many people have taken up their a,bode ; there are three hundred and eighty-four bazars, three hundred and sixty sarais, and twelve thousand mosques in it. Toman is a city on the banks of the river Betwa, and now and then a few mermen are seen in the water of the abovB-named river^ who cause the lookers-on to dive into, the whirlpool of astonishment. Besides this, i&^he above- mentioned city, there is an idol temple, so large, that if any drum- mer beats his dram inside of it, no one outside will hear its sound. Mando is a large city, twelve miles in extent, which for a long time was the capital, and in its fort there is a minaret with eight faces, quite incomparable ; besides this, in it are some very large and elegant old buildings, and many tombs of the Khiljl dynasty. The wonderful thing about it is, that in the hot weather water drops down from the dome of king Mahmud, the son of kmg Hoshang ; the foolish for ages have regarded it as a miracle, but tie wise ascertain the true state of the circumstance with very little*consi- deration. It is said that the philosopher's stone is sometimes obtained in this country, and if iron, copper, &e., touch it, they are turned into gold. Dhar is a town which, in former times, was the capital of king Bhoj ; moreover, in the time of other kings also, it was often the seat of government. In short, the land of that pro- , vince is somewhat higher than that of other countries, and is all fit for agriculture ; both harvests are good, grain of all kinds is plenti- ful, especially wheat and opium ; and of fruits, sugarcane, ijiangos, melons, and grapes. There is this curious fact, that in Hasilpur, the grapes bear fruit twice (a year), and the pan is the best of the best ; the rains last for four months ; the air is generally temperate, and accordingly, in, the cold weather, one has no need of cotton clothes, or in t^e hot weather of cooled water, but in the rains some- times there is occasion for coyerlets. The small and great of that THE OBNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. '.' 109 country gjive their children opium up to the time that they are three years old. Although there are many rivers in the above province, still the chief are the Narbada, Shupra, Kali, Sindh, Betwa, and Kaudl ; the shores of all these rivers are flat and level for two or three kos, and besides this, many kinds of flowers, of various colours and sweet-scented, grow on them. Moreover, the hyacinth and shady trees are to be seen in every direction ; in the forests also, there are generally lakes, green pastures, and thousands of beautiful trees. The length of the province from below Kota to Banswara is two hundred an,d forty-five kos, and its breadth from Chanderi to .Nadarbar, two hundred and thirty kos; to the east of it is Bandho, to the west Gajrat and Ajmir, to the north Narwar, and to the south Baglana ; there are twelve divisions — Uj jain, Eaisain, Chanderi, Sarangpur, Bijagarh, Mando, &c. ; and dependent toHhem three hqjjdsftd *pd nine districts ; its revenue is three hundred and sixty- nine million, seventy thousand dams. 110 THE AEliSfi-I-MAHFIL, OR CHAPTER XXVIII. THE COUJSTTBT OF AJMJB, THE ABODE OF PEOSPEEITT. Ajmie is an old city,, with, a very good climate, and close to Bai^lialgarh. ; its environs are pleasing to men of good taste, its popnlation is very large, and the shrine of the holiest of the holy, Khwajah Muin-ud-din, Chishti, is within the, city, on the banks of ' a spring of water ; close to it in those environs, Sayad Hasain, the martyr, also lies at rest, whom the common people call Khing Sawar, or the rider of the cream-coloured horse. In short, the above-named Khwajah was the son of the Khwajah Ghayas-ud-dm, Chifhti, Snd was a Sayyad of the Husaini class ; he was born 537 A. H. in Sajistan, but when he was fifteen years old, his most worthy father, by the divine will, died, and in those days IbrShlm Kandazi took care of ■ him ; the zeal of religion immediately seizing him, . he at once began to sfeek the road of the knowledge of God, and ' at last, going to Harun, there obtained much advantage from the society of Khwajah Usman, Ghishti, and then absorbed himself in devotion and austerity ; when he was twenty years old, he got some gain from Shaikh Abd-ul-Kadar, Grhilanl. When king Shahab-ud- din Ghaun conquered India, and came to Dihll, then this 'Venerable man came to Ajmir for the purpose of retiring into soKtude, and a whole , multitude reached the stage of their desirestTie lived ninety-seven years in the world, and at last died, 636 A. H., on the sixth of the month Eajab, on a Saturday ; his tomb to this day is a place of pilgrimage of many people, and all the kings who, after the death of that great man, reigned in India, have been in the habit of offering up oblations in his temple ; especially Jalal- ud-dm, Muhammad Akbar, who placed very great confidence in him, and used often to come bare-footed to Ajmir, to obtain gain from pilgrimage to his shrine and that of Sayyad-i-HH*&ip, IL'^ing Sawar.^Three kos beyond Ajmir is Bhakkar ;* no one to«the present day has ascertained the depth of that.tank, and no one's foot has touched its bottom; it is an old place of pilgrimage of the Hindus — in fact, is the chief of them all ; and their belief is this,' that if a man visits every place of pilgrimage, and performs worship in all the temples of the world, still he does not gain any future reward, till he has washed in it. Chaitor is a celebrated fort dependent to ' this province ; at Kokandh, which is subservient to it, there are mines of pewter, and in Chinpur, of copper, but this place is subservient to Mandal, though formerly it used to be in * I do not know of any place of this name near Ajmir j Puhkar, or Pushkar, is, I think, meant ; this is one of the most celebrated places of pilgrimage, and tho fair, held here in November, is one of the finest in India for horses and different kinds of Ofittl^.' In olden times, when the Eanas of Udaipur made their pilgrimage to Puhkar, they used to give their weight in gold, to tho Brahmans, but now they only give it in silver. THE ORNAMENT "OF THE ASSEMBLY. Ill the possession of the Eana ;* king Akbar took it from him after a long fight,t the story of which is well known and celebrated. In former times, the chiefs of this country were called Eawals, but now for some time they have been named ESnas ; they are by caste Khil- wats, but regard their race as the offspring of Naushirwan, the Just ; 'and for the reason that his grandfather took up his abode in the village Saisfldiyah, they call themselves Saisadiyahs ; besides this, because a Brahman was a great friend of his, they call them- selves Brahmans. The custom of this family is, that when any Eana ascends the throne of government, he makes a mark on his .forehead with human blood. Sambhar.-^The salt of this place is , greatly celebrated, and is also much used for food ; near the city there is a spring, four kos long and one, kos broad, the water of which is very brackish ; but siieh is the effect (jpeeuliarity) oi it, tlliWi*^^ J"n dig (a hole in) the earth, and fill it with water, the earth absorbs it, and the whole surface becomes coated with salt ; again, if you dig a&y where, and throw the earth on the bank, dashing water over it, clear salt is obtained ; every year the merchants of that place sell many lakhs of rupees of salt, and deposit the duty . on it in the Government treasury. In short, all the land of this province is sandy, and you only get water after digging a long dis- tance down ; the produce of the fields depends on the rain, for this reason the spring harvest is small, but the autumn crops, bajra, juwar, and moth, are plentifully produced ; they give a seventh or eighth gajt of the grain to the Diwan; and the custom of paying land taxes'is very little prevalent. In the winter the cold is nearly temperai«?»but in the summer the heat is vexj great ; most of the country to the south is mountainous, and the generality of places are difficult of access ; on this account the Kachwahas, Eathors,J and, besides them, other Eajputs also, are not well under the king's power, and a royal army cannot get there easily ; besides this, water is not to be found for several kos distance. The length of the province from Ambir to Bikanir and Jasahnir is one hundred and sixty-eight kos, and its breadth from the further boundary of Ajmir to Bgnswara one hundred and fifty kos ; to the east of it is Agrajto Mhe West Dibalptlr, which is a dependency of Multan, to the nortn the cities of Dilli, and to the- south Gajrat; it has seven divisions — ^Ajmir, Chaitor, Eantanpur, Jodhpur, Nagawar, Saj-ohi, and Bikanir ; and dependent to them one hundred and twenty-three districts ; its revenue is five hundred and fifty million, three hundred axid sixty thousand dams. • * TheBana of TJdipfir only is always distinguished as "the Eana." He is the head of all the Rajput chiefe, and each of them either openly, or secretly (generally the latter), take thetika, or badge of sovereignty, from him to tiie' present day. + The Chaitor Eajputs to this day wear a piece of yellow cloth in their turhaiis. After the talang of Chaitor by Akbar, in which they fought most bravely and heroically, they made a vow that tiU they recovered possession of it, they would wear this piece of yellow to remind them of it. t The Bathors (meaning strong, fine) were, and still are, a very fine and brave race ; the Jodhpiir &inily are of this clan, and this is one of the various reasons set forth by the Jodhpor Chief as good cause for not sitting below the Rana of Udaipur at durbars, should they meet, which they never do of their own accord. 112 THE AEAI,SH-I-MAHFIL, OB CHAPTER XXIX. THE COUNTRY OF GAJKAT. From the boots of history, especially that chronicle, which king Bahadiir, the chitef of (j-ajrat, compiled, it appears that the city of Pitan was the capital, and for a short (time) Champanir also. When, king Ahmad, son of king Muhamiriiad, the son of king Muzaffar Shah, 812 A. H., ascended the throne, he built a strong fort, on the banks pi the river Sabarmati ; moreover, having constructed many other new buildings of vast extent, made of stone, and^<^»«M4.«y colours, he thus populated a very large and great city, and having called it Ahmadabad, made it his seat of government ;, besides this, during the thirty-two years, and six months that he reigned, he em- ployed himself in looking after its prosperity, and thus a large city was founded. In the above-named city, the walls of the houses are. of brick and lim^, and, in place of the usual flat roof, they are tiled. Moreover, certain far-seeing '■ ones laid very broad foundations of stone, and made long hollow walls in them, in which they had secret roads, by which, in the time of necessity, they might escape ; certain wealthy people also have built all their houses of Ij.nfe and plaster, and made underground houses in them in such a way, that the rain water may distil into them till they become , fill«^ for the whole year long they drink that only ; the inhabitants there call it a "tankh." -The engravers, sculptors, and, besides them, many other artisans, of that country make inkstands and boxes carved out of shells very elegantly and neatly, with great dexterity, and manifest the devices of their skill and handicraft. Kincob and gold lace and kharS,"(a kmd of watered silk), velvet and gpld brocade, , turbans and girdles^, are made here unequalled anywhere else ; who has the power and skill, except those workmen, to mals^ one stitch of tha,t weaving'! rather, one becomes helpless from ^stotiish^ent, and beats his own head. Besides this, they can also copy to perfec- tion, and the cloths of Turkey, Europe, and Persia, which are very fine> they can weave so exactly like them, that there will not be a hair's difference between the two ; they take them to a great dis- tance by way of ofEerings, and obtain a reward from men of genero- sity ; the swords made by them in temper and make are superior „to the swords of the West, and lightning is afraid of the edge of their daggers. In former times, bows and arrows also used to be made here worthy of commendation ; accordingly, the compiler of the history of India, and, the writer of the laws of Akbar, have both praised them ; but for some time past, the bows of Lahaar have been most celebrated in this land, and after those of Lahaur, those of Farldabad and Khajwa ; but they bring silver here from Irak, Turkey, &c., for it is not found in this country ; and there is gener- ally a brisk traffic going on in jewels. To sum up, the above-named THE OENAMEWT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 113 city has ajrery good climate, and goods and things of an incompara- ble nature are to be got here ; outside of it are three hundred and sixty suburbs, all populated after a distinct fashion, each of which they call a "para ;"* moreorer, all the requisites of cities are obtainable in each, and the requirements of an army are kept ready in every direction. In fact, eighty-four puras were inhabited up to . the time of Alamgir. Besides the buildings and gardens, there are thousands Of stone mosques, each of which have two ininarets in them ; and the inscriptions on them are so plain and legible, that a mortal on seeing them cannot but ofEer up congratulations, and say Ijravo to its engraver. The name of one pura is Easolabad, where ' Shah Alam, of Bukhara, is buried ; many people believe in the won- ders and holiness' of that venerable man, and his disciples and fol- lowers are many in number. Three kos from Ahmadabad is> a very laraiamtyj Tfatwah, in which many great men are also buried ; but on the tomb of Kntb-ul-Alam Shah, the father of Badar-i-^lam, of Bukhara, there is a cloth, about a hand's breadth in< length ; some think it is stone, some wood, some iron, and many wonderful and miraculous anecdotes are attributed to it. Pitan is an old town^ which, in former times, was the capital of the kings of that country ;. there are two forts in it, one of stone and one of brick, both very strong. The cows and bullocks in its environs are exceedingly good. Champanir is a fort situated on the high rising ground of a moun- tain ; the ascent to it is about two-and-a-half kos, and it has many gates, IJatithe road is very steep ; on this account, on one side^ they havQ cut the mountain away for about sixty yards, and covered it with plains, which they take up when they choose ; the above- named place, moreover, was the seat of government for sonte time. Bandar-i-Surat is a celebrated city, and there are several harbours dependent to it. The riVer Tapti flows close by it, and after going^ seven kos, joins the sea. Fruits of kinds abound, especially the pineapple, which is very juicy; odoriferous, and nice-tasted ; and flowers of various sorts bloom in great numbers. Besides this, very sweet-scented phulel is also extracted from them. Once, a sect of people came from Persia, and took up there abode here, and, night and d^, the sftriee of fire worship is unceasingly kept up by them. Between Surat and Nadarbar there ' is a mountainous region, well populated, which they call Baglana ; certainly it is very flourishing, and its climate very good. There are many fruits also, but the peach, ^ape, apple, pineapple, pomegranate, citron, and mango are each unequalled. T^ere are seven celebrated forts dependent to it als(^; amongst them are Salir and Mulir, but these are the most renowned, and the z,amidars there are Eathors. Bahronch is a large strong fort ; the Narbada, flowing below it, goes and joins the sea, and there are many harbours dependent to it also. Cloths of kinds are woven, but the ilaecha, made there, is the most celebrated ; mer- chants take it from city to city, and obtain profit from its sale. Sarkar-i-Sarth was a separate country, and the ruler of that pro- vince was master of fifty thousand horse and one hundred thousand • * Fura is a large village, or small town. - ' 15 114 THE ABAiSH-1-MA.HPIL, OB foot, but he was subservient to the chief of Ahmadabad, tifl the lord of lords, king Akbar, took permanent possession of his country. The length of it,, from the harbour of Ghogh to that of Aramra, is one hundred and twenty-five kos, and its breadth, from its boundary to the harbour of Deo, steventy-two kos ; its climate agrees, with the constitution, and there are many kinds of fruits and flowers in their seasons ; there are also trellisses and fields, full of grapes and melons, respectively. There are nine divisions in that country, but in each there is a separate race ; the. cause of this is the abundance and thickness of the trees ; besides this, the interlacing of the hUls with each other. Its habitations are very secure and well guarded; au ajnny cannot go there in a mass, and give them any effectualpunish- ment. Jonangarh is a stone fort, very strong, and in firmness and strength, there is not a second like it ; king Mahmud, the chief of . Gajrat, after. fighting many battles, took it by force, aKi,"JJ>,HL.aitj built another fort. Karnal, a fort on a moimtain, is a great place of worship of the Hindas, in which are many springs, and near which are many river harbours,' close to the ocean. The fish in that place are so delicate, that if you put them for one instant in the sun, they melt away ; the camels and horses, bred in its districtsj are very strong and swift. Somnat is an old idol temple, very cele- brated, from which the sea is three kos distant, and dependent to it are five harbours ; the Sarasti rises close by it, and the Hindus regard it as a great place of pilgrimage. It is well known that five thousand years ago, some fifty or sixty millions of men pf^tEe race of magicians were laughing and playing with each other between , the Sarasti and Haran, when they quarrelled, and attacking each other, fell into it and were drowned.^ Half a kos from Somnat is a place, Sangha, and here it was that the arrow, from the hand of a hunter, struck the foot of Shri Kishn, who became a dweller in para- dise, and (died) under a pipal tree, on the banks of the Sarasti ; on this account, that place is regarded as sacred, and they caU that tree the pipalsar. In the city Mol, there is a temple dedicated to Mahadeo ; every yeai' before the rains, on a fixed day, a small pigeon- like bird, with a thick beak, and of a black and white colour, comes and sits'on the roof of that temple, and, having sporfSd fbr ^ short time, tumbles to such a degree that it dies ; on this, the people of the city collect there, and offer up perfumes of kinds, and compute the rains from its blackness and whiteness ; that is, from its black- ness, the goodness of the rains, and from its whiteness, the dry season. Near it is-Daarka, which they also caU Jagat; it is very sacred, for when Shri Kishn left Mathra, he came and took np^is abode there, and they regard it also as a place of worship. Near it is a city, Gabhl, the dwelling-place of Ahirs ;* they differ in their religion from that of the Hindus, but the men and women are beautiful. When a new ruler comes there, they make him promise not to behave improperly towards the women, and then they take up their abode there, otherwise they leave the country. Near it, is a region ninety kos in length, and before the rains, the sea surges, so. * The Ahira are a race of cowherds. THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 115 that it alL gets .submerged under water; when the rains cease, the water bemns to- diminish, till at last the land comes- out, and much salt is obtained-y Kachh is a separate country ; in length and breadth it is two hundred and fifty kos, and Sindh is to the west of it ; the soil of that land is generally sandy, and camels are bred there ih §reat numbers, also a large quantity of goats. Besides this, the .Arab horse's of that place are celebrated and renowned. The reason of it is this, that, once on a time, a merchant was taking a lot of Arab horses by water, when, by chance, his ship was wrecked ; some of the horses got to shore on a plank, and reached that coun- j}ry, and to the present day, their breed continues in that land. In short, the air of this climate remains temperate ; juwar and bajra are produced in great quantities, accordingly they are the principal food of the people, but the spring harveSt is small. Wheat— in fact, Bjg^^aiBg — come from Malwa and Ajmir, and rice from the south ; and, in the woods here, the trees are so plentiful, that the people often remain deprived of the pleasures of the chase; and such is the abundance of mangos, that from Pitan to Barodh, a distance of a hundred kos, these trees are continually seen; besides this, they ara .very sweet and nice-flavoured ; moreover, the small unripe mangos are not wanting in sweetness ; the grapes and figs also, in like man- ner. The more wonderful thing is this, that melons are obtainable, in great numbers, both in winter and summer, and flowers of every season abound to such a degree, that the market becomes a bed of flowersc although there are other animals in this country, still leo- pa,rds abouhd to such an extent, that sportsmen go put and catch hundreds^af them every year, and teach them to hunt game ; the bullocks are very handsome, strong, stout, and expensive ; moreover, if you buy a pair for somewhat over five hundred rupees, they are cheap ; they also go so swiftly, that they can travel' fifty kos a day, and will not tire in the least. There are many small and large rivers in this province,' but the best known are the- Sairmati, Batarak, Mahindan, Narbada, Tapti, Sarastl, and Haran. The length from Burhanpiir to Duarka is three hundred kos, and its breadth from Jalor to Bandar-irDaman two hundred and sixty kos ; to' the east of it*is Shamdes^to the west Duarka, to the north Jalor and idar, and to th'f south Bandar-i-Daman ; there are nine divisions-^Kanhayat, Ahmadabad, Pitan Nadawwat, Bahronch, Barodh, Champanir', Kodhra, Surth and Islamnagar ; and dependent to them one hun- dred and eighty-eight districts, and thirteen harbours ; the revenue is five hunted and eighty-three million, eight hundred and ninety thousand dams. lie THE ABAlSH-I-MAHFIL, OB CHAPTER XXX. THE COTTNTET OF THATHA. In former times Birhmanabad was a large city, and the capital "of this province. In its fort, there were fourteen hundred bastions at a little distance apart ; moreover, to the present day, there remain some traces of its towers and walls. After this, Dewar became the* capital, but now Thatha is the seat of government^ which is also called Debal. Assuredly, it is a large and very great city, and all the things of the world are got there, especially pearls ; b,g|idgygost things which are peculiar to harbours. But this is the custom of this country, that the zariiindars deposit one-third of the produce in the government treasury, and tate two themselves ; a great deal of revenue, however, is obtained from the salt and iron mines ; 'six kos beyond the city is a quarpy of yellow rock,, from which they take stones of whatever size they wish, and have them cut, and use them in buildings ; bjiit most of their business is caaried on by means of boats, of which also there are, of various kinds and sorts, small and large, about forty thousand, always ready on the river. Although sport of different kinds is to be obtained in the neja^bour- hood,' still the wild ass, rabbit, spotted deer, wild boar, anofish are the most sought after. The food of the people of that .ja>untry is generally curdled milk, rice, and fish ; in short, to such an extent are they dependent on the last for food, that they dry the fish, put them in oil, load them on ships, and take them to various harbours and coulitries, and the people buy and eat them ; afterwards, they use the oil in the service of their boats ; the Palwah, too, is a very ■exquisite fish, which is peculiar to this country ; it is very tasty and -delicious, besides this, it does not spoil for four months. In the gardens, there are plenty of fiowers of various colours, with lots of fruits of different' kinds, especially mangos, which Are j^er^ nice- tasted, and there iS" this peculiarity about this country, that^mall melons grow wild in its jungles fit to look at, in fact, fit to be eaten. The witches of Thatha also are celebrated, for they quickly steal the hearts of children by the power of their charms, and cause sorrow to their mothers' souls ; no one thinks it proper to eat before them, for, at that time, on whomever they discharge the arrow p£ their glance, him they kill ; besides this, sometimes they bring to pass this state of affairs, that on whomever they look, he remains not in his senses; afterwards, taking several grains like pomegranates out of their pockets, by some device or other, for an instant they place them inside their own calves, and during that time, that helpless one remains senseless ; they then place them on the fire, and when they dissolve, they assume the forms of kneading troughs ; these they divide among their comrades, and eat, and then he (the victim) is killed. It is proper, that if those low-born creatures ai;e caught THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. H? ' by any chance, to rip up their calves, on which those grains will fall out; you?- should then give them to eat to him whose heart they have injured, and by God's power he will recover and be restored to happiness.* These strumpets, by the force of their charms, make the hawk so obedient, that they mount on it, and going to long •distanfce^ bring the news of certain countries ; and if any enchanter wishes to prevent their doing this, he must brand their cheek bones,t fill their eyes, with salt, keep liiem hung for forty days, and feed them with food without salt in it ; moreover, he must read charms against their false deeds, on which they will forget their bewitch- ments, and leave off these practices ; ijut women generally pursue * this avocation, and men seldom. The writer of the history of India ■states, that he saw with his own eyes, a witch take away the heart of a boy ; and although it cannot be l&elieved that, amongst men, there caii b e such men and women who can take out any one's heart trom Lis nbreast without ripping him open, and none see it, still the power of God is supreme, and it is not beyond His skill ; perhaps He has given some men this gift. If my understanding has not comprehended this, yet it is not proper to say that it is not really so; either the true Maker of impressions has given this power to ' her sight, that whatever child she looks on with her evil eye, it receives a great blow on its heart, or she knows some enchantmeht which has this effect. If ^is learned one said by way of metaphor, I saw her taking a heart, or eating it, it matters not. Besides, the witclii^ know another charm of such a nature, that if anyone should hang aT millstone round their neck, and drown them, they will not drown, g^gd if they should bum them in a fire, they wiU not burn. Hanglkj is a place, seventy kos from Thatha, dedicated to Durga, near the sea to the north-west. But the scarcity of water and badness of the road are very great; besides, there is the fea,r of highway robbery by Bhlls, and, for this reason, not every one can go there ; however, certain ascetics, especially Saniyyasis, disregarding hunger , and thirst, go there and worship, although it does not take less than fifteen days to make the journey and return. Seostan is •dependent to this province, and is on the banks of the Sindh. Near it i# a lafgft lake, the length of which is two. days' journey ; many fish€rmen, having' made a platform of earth on it, live there, and catch fish every day, and thus pass their time. And in jihis province, from the confines of Multan and Auch to Thatha and Kaj Makran to the north, are high and stony moimtains, in which many Ballochas and Pathans have taken up their abode ; and from Auch to Gajrat, to the south, are sand hiUs, in which the Bhil tribe have taken ■flp their residence, but the abode of their chiefs is in Jasalmir, and many tribes of Eajputs live in the country between Bhakar and Nasirpur, and Amarkot. Besides them, Sodhs and Chareeh^s — in short, many kinds of people — ^have come, and live there noWiX There' are many rivers also in this province, but the largest is the Sindh ; moreover, many merchants from Multan and Bhakar bring their * Literally, "his liver will escapp." t The part bet:ffeen the temple and the ear. 118 THE AEAISH-I.-MAHFIL, OR goods and chattels by water on boats to Thatba; in short, all travellers, and indeed large armies, go not to Thatha, exce|)t by way of the river, and it is seldom that people go there by the land route, without undergoing the sufferings of scarcity and privation, . and toils of the road. The length of this province, from Bhakar to Kaj Makran, is two hundred and fifty kos, and its breadth, febm the city of Badin to the sea harbour, one hundred kos ; to the east of it are Gajrat and Ahmadabad, to the west, Kaj Makran, to the northj Bhakar, and td the south, the sea; it has foiir divisions — ^Thatha, Seostan, NasipQr, and Amarkot ; dependent to them, are fifty-seven districts and five harbours ; ics revenue is ninety-four million, nine hundred and seventy thousand dams. THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 119 CHAPTER XXXI. THE COUNTET OF MULTAN. MuLTAN is an old city, where people of every trade lite : things _also of every country and every kind are generally obtainable in it, and there is usually a brisk trade ;* merchants bring horses from Persia, by way of Kandhar, and sell them here. The . cOld weather winds are temperate, but, in the hot weather, the heat is very great ; tim^itybaice of short duration. The language of the people of that country is Lahauri, but a great deal of Sindhi is mixed with it. The carpets and durries,. resembling flower-beds, made here, are also celebrated. Beside this, the powers of imitation of the work- men of that country are very, good; moreover, they make such _ copies of the chintz of Bandar, that one would think, they were the originals. The fort there is built of brick; and the tomb of the great man, Baha-ud-dln Zakarayya, is also in that place ; there are magnificent mausoleums of several men of dignity, besides him, in this city, which are the places of worship of many people. At a distafiiiaeof four kos from the above-named city, is the shrine of SayyadZaln-u-labidin ; king Sarwar was the son of that great man; and here also, in the hot weather, people come from iall quarters to vforship, and a large crowd remains collected for several days./ Forty kos beyond that, to the west, on the other side of the river, on the skirt of a mountain, is the city of the Ballochas, where king Sarwar is buried ; and, from aU directions, crowds come there .to worship and offer their oblations ; especially at the end of the cold weather, people come from afar in such swarms, that the road from Multan to his grave, a distance of forty koS, is nowhere ^mpty of great numbers of people, and, in every place, and -^ood, gieait crowds are seen. In the city Aueh, is the tomb of Shaifh Jklal, the son of Sayyad Muhammad, the son of Sayyad Jalal, of Bukhara, who was called the master of the two worlds. He was born 707 A. H. on the Shab-i-Barat, and although he was the successor and disciple of his own father, stiU he obtained great gain from Shaikh Eukail-ud-din, Abu-ul-Fatah, Sahr Wardi; ; after this, he came to Dilli, and gained much knowledge from Shaikh iN^sir-ud-dm, the light, of Dilli; at last, he, died on a Saturday, which happened, by chance, to be the very day of the sacrifice ; the Malang and Jalalaya fakirs are the disciples of his family. The city of Pitan, which is also called Ajodhan, is in the government of Debalptjr, to the east of Multan ; the offspring of Shaikh Farld Shakar Ganj, the son of Shaijih Jalal-ud-dih, Sulaiman Farrakh Shah, the Kabuli, live there ; their native country was the city of . * Literally, " a hot market of buying and selling." 12^ THE AUAJSH-I-jlIAHFUi, OE Suhnwal, near Multan, and it is reported that from the^ffects of his glance, the heaps of earth used to be turned into sugar, and, for this reason, his name has been called Shakar Ganj, or the treasure of sugar. At last, on the fifth, of the Muharram, on a, I Saturday, 667 A. H., he became a traveller on the road of non- existence in the city of Pitan. To make the story sliort, in Dfebalpur there are two tribes, Dojars and Gojars ; and besides them, many other classes, who are celebrated for their insubordina- tion and robbery, live th^re. When the rains commence, the two rivers, the Satluj and the Biyah, spread for miles, and the land, in several districts of the above-named division, generally becomes, one sheet of water ; in short, every year a flood comes there, and reminds the people of the flood of Noah; then, when the rivers abate, by reason of the moisture and damp, a very thick forest grows up, so that a footman cannot go there ; what power-Aen^i^ one on horseback to attempt, such a thing; and, for this reason, that country is called the lakhi* wood, and the rioters above- inentioned, by reason of the protection it affords, and from this cause, that the rivers divide into several parts, and flow near their homesteads, fearlessly commit robbery and theft, and the ministers . and rulers of the king are unable to punish them effectually. The cold weather in that climate is temperate, and the heat is very great ; in the autumn harvest, juwar, , and in the spring harvest, wheat, are produced exceedingly well. At a distance of five kos to the west of Multan, on the banks of the Ghana b, is the co^^r&y of the BaUoehas, who have two chiefs : one Dudai, who keeps thirty thousand horse and fifty thousand foot ; and the other Eot, wha is the commander of twenty thousand horse and thirty thousand foot ; the two, by reason 'of the enmity they have to each other, often come to the confines of their territories, and fight together, but they do not withdraw from the path of submission to the king ; moreover, every year they send a fixed tribute to His Majesty, to save their country from becoming the possession of the king; and agents', on the part of each, remain present at Multan, so as to be able properly to perform the orders of the king) and thcc commands of the governor ; also to prevent them becoming carefess andtidle, as they usually do. To be brief, the country of the BaUocnas is very flourishing ; in both harvests, the cultivation is extensive ;. the produce also, in like manner; besides this, thieves and robbers have no access there. It is said that the country of MuHsn de- parted from the power of the kings of Dilli in the reign of Ala-ud- dm the second, and the Langah tribe got it into their power; afterwards, king IJasain, the Langah, ruler of Multan, when, m his reign, he called king Sahab and other BaUoehas to help him, gave them as an estate the country from Karorkot to Dhankot : moreover, in the reign of king Akbar also, Eaja Todarmal, the minister of the king, gave over that land to the BaUoehas, and thus placed an army of brave men between Khurasan and India ; besides * This is a Sanskrat word signifying " fraud, disguije," so that it should be called the " Disguised or non-transparent wood." ^. THE OKNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 121 this, he built a strong wall on their confines^.KTo the south of Multan * is a forty called Bhakkar, very strong and weU fortified, and in the books of history of former times, its name is written Mansurah. A ciirious coincidence here occnrs, vie., that the river Sindh, after joining with the five rivers of the Panjab, flows close by it, and then again ai^des into two branches ; to the north of the fort, it is in one, and to the south of it, in two streams. In short, its strength and fortifications are celebrated in the world, and however large an army may be, stiU it cannot take it. The heat of that country is ' great, and the rains are short ; fruits also of (various) kinds are produced, delicate and nice. But there is a large desert and forest between Bhak:kar and Sewi ; for three months in the hot weather, the Samum blows furiously there. When the river Siadh, after many years, comes from the south to the north, the whole of the cjj^j^y iihJaid waste, and on this account, the inhabitants of that land live in thatched dweUings, and the custom of making pakks houses is scarce. The length of the province, from Firozpur to ' Seostan, is four hundred ' kos, and its breadth, from Khatarpur to Jasalmir, one hundred and twenty-five kos ; if you count Thatha in jt, then its length to Kaj Matran is six hundred and sixty kos ; adjoining, to the east of it, is the province of Sarhand, to its west Kaj Makran, to its north Pishaur, and to its south, the province of Ajmip. In it are three divisions — Midtan, Debalpiir, and Bha!kkar ; and dependent to them, ninety-six districts; the revenue of it is forty-fc^ million, six hundred and fifty-five thousand dams. 122 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OE CHAPTER XXXII. THE COUNTBT OP LAHAUK. Lahatte is an old city on the bants of the Eavi ; it is said that Ballo, son of king Eamehand, built it, and in some histories, itS" name is written Lihaur and Lahawar. When, from the rcTolution of time,, after the passing away of many ages, its prosperity became destroyed, and a few traces of it only remained here and there, jhen Sialkot became the capital of that country ; after this, wSen TSH^ Mahmad, the Ghaznavi, conquered India, Malik' Ayaz, who was his favourite, turned his attention to the prosperity of the city to such a degree, that he built a pakka fort, and populated the city in, quite a new fashion. Afterwards, the children of Mahmud, Khusrn Shah and KhTisru Malik, both father and son, conquered this country" afresh, and made Lahaur the seat of government; .in short, it remained the dapital of the descendants of king Mahmud for thirty- *ight years ; afterwards, no king of India took up his abode in this city, apd it was on this account, that it again became dejpid of splendour. At last, after a long time, Tatar, Khan, a rmidister of king Buhlol, again made it the seat of government; after 'him, the «on of king Babar, Prince Kamran, took up his abode {here ; on this, its prosperity increased ; after'this, Akbar, in his reign, turned .his attention to its prosperity, and built a stone wall round the city ; he, moreover, erected one or two palaces, and was a great cause of its splendour. Then Ntir-ud-din Muhammad Jahanglr, built many large houses in it, and for a long time sojourned there, and increased its glory ; those houses, moreover, were standing up to the time of Alamgir; and besides these, other princes also constructed some hous6s and mansions in the above-mentioned eiS;y; ap.d the ministers and great men also did the same, especially so M)a-ul- ^asan, Asaf Khan, the son of Itimad-ud-Daulah, for- the house, he built, is very elegant. And in the reign of Shah Jahan, its splendour increased day by day ; when the reign of llamgir came, then the river Eavi swelled to such a degree, that it caused much injury to the gardens and buildings of the city ; on this, the king, in the fourth year of his reign, gave an order to make a strong embank- ment, so that it might not again cause the like harm to its buildings. His servants, accordingly, built an embankment, a kos in length, and in many places, made steps of solid masonry going into the river, and caused the banks to look elegant ; they, moreover, built some houses of solid masonry, and_ nice mansions on the river's bank, and made the city like a picture. In short, every year, from the beginning of the fourth year of his reign, for forty years, it was repaired and kept in order by the government, and much THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 123" money was expended; thus, this auspiciously founded (city) be- came populated in a very short time. There can be few, in which there are such numbers of people and crowds of artisans ; and the doors of beggars and mendicants are nowhere to be found j things^ of every country — ia short, articles found in the sea and the ' earth — ajre obtainable in great quantities ; traffic con- tinues night and day, and buying and selling are briskly kept up ; although the streets and markets are not wanting in mosques, still on the banks of the river, opposite the palace of Alamgir, is a stone masjid, so elegantly built, that five hundred thousand rupees were .spent on its construction. Besides this one, in the heait of the tSwn, Wazir Khan alias Hakim Jlm-ud-din, of the family of Shah Jahan, bxult a very elegant jami masjid, which has increased the splendour of the city twofold. There 'are also the tombs of many greaA m»» in the city ; the best is that of Babar All, Khajwiriy who was very fuU of excellence and holiness ; he too rests here, but he came with king Mahmud from Ghaznin to Lahaur ; and moreover, the belief of the above-named king was, that the con- quest of the above-mentioned province was owing to the blessings .of his steps. The grave of king Jahangir is on the opposite bank of the river, near to Shah Dara, and adjoining it is th© tomb of Asaf Khan, Abu-ul-^asan, of the fa;mily of Jahangir, Although, on the outskirts of the town, there are many large gardens, still none of them are equal to the Shalamar garden,? which Shah Jahan'ig^ade, in imitation of the gaarden of Kashmir ; from wander- ing ia it, every broken-hearted one is restored to happiness, and the heari of the afflicted obtains freshness. §iface the circum- stances of the seat of government have been written about a little, it is proper to write something about its cities also. Jalin- dhar is an old city in the Doaba ; king Nasir-ud-din was buried there, and his tomb has become the place of worship of a world ; especially in the hot weather, when lots of people go there to worship, and offer up prayers and oblations at his tomb. It is said that the deceased Shaikh in his time was a very holy man and a great dev(j,tee. And the tomb of Shaikh Abd-ullah of Sultanpar is also'in ihat^quarter ; his excellences and virtues are celebrated and renowned ; his title, in the reign of Salim Shah, was Shaikh-ul- Islam ; afterwards, in the reign of HumayQn and Akbar, he was called Makhdum-ul-Mulk ; and in that Doaba is an old city, Bajawara ; the sarlsaf, bafta, doriya, paohtohya, jhonah,* white turbans, and golden girdles with edging, made at this place, are celebrated in India ; but chintz is best printed in Sultanpur ; more- over, the gold brocade also of that place is the best and most glittering. In the Doaba is a division, Haibatpur Bhati, and the horses bred there are like Arabs; accordingly, some of them sell for ten and fifteen thousand rupees. And dependent to Bhati Haibatpflr is a place Chak Garudhar Gobind, in which is a very large garden, and a very handsome lake, fit to walk round, and worth going to see ; on the day of the f uU moon, in the month . * These are various kinds of cloths and muslins. 124 THE ABilSH-I-MAHFIL, OB Bajsabli, hundreds of men collect there. Two or, three kos f rom it is a great place of devotion, called Kamtirth ; the Hindvs regard the effects of worship at this place, as the means of obtaining future reward. Some kos from there is an elegant and large city, Patala, of which the climate is good ; the founder of that ci^ was Earn Deo Bhati, who was a 2samindar* of Kapurthala, and the chief of his tribe. Xlt is reported that formerly, in the Panjab, a deluge of such a nature occurred, that all the country, from the Satluj to the Chanab, became one sheet of water ; and, on this account, many houses tumbled down and cities were depopulated ; moreover, thousands of living creatures were drowned and killed;, in consequence,, for along time after the abating of the deluge, aU the country remained waste, but after a while, some places were again populated ; still the Mughals of Balkh and Kabul, every year used to make raids on the Panjab, and for this reason, thia^coujaiBj, remained depopulated for a long time, and very little agriculture was carried on in it, nor was the produce very great. When the reign of king Buhlol, Lodi, began, then Tatar Khan became the governor of Lahaur, and from him, Eai Eam Deo Bhati rented the whole of the Panjab for nine hundred thousand, takas ;t by chance,, an event of such a nature took place, that the above-mentioned Eai became a Musalman, and this was the cause of his advancement. After this, 877 A. H. and 1600 A. B., with the leave of the Khan above-mentioned, he populated Patalah, which was simply a jungle before ; the cause of its name was this, that at the time q^ faying the foundation of the city, there was a bad omen, and for this reason the site was changed, and he again laid the foundation of»it on a hillock which was close by ; in the Panjabi language, Patalah means that which is changed, and hence this city, above-named, was thus called. .After this, he cut down many of the woods, populated numerous villages, and sowed several fields, so that at last it became a district ; moreover, its revenue in the time of Aurangzeb was somewhat larger than the wealth of Karun;t in fact, the city above-mentioned was not well populated at first, but Shamsher Khan, Khojah, who was tax collector in the time of Akjpar, having built a magnificent house, a handsome lake,, and a" large garden there, increased its splendour twofold ; then, day by day, its popula- tion increased to such a degree, that it became a celebrated city % after this, Shaikh-ul-Ma§haikh, the tax-gatherer, having erected a * A zamindar is, as the name implies, a landholder ; he is always headman of the Tillage. He holds a tract of land or village, on condition of paying the rent, for -wkioh ■ he alone is responsible, and as long as he pays it, he cannot be ejected, but should he fail in doing thiSj so much of his tenure as will suffice to cover his engagements is sold, and he is aASwerable for all, debts inom'red by him during possession. A zamindar, howeVer, who fails in his payments owing to unforeseen circumstances, such as drought, &c,, is either remitted part of his rent, or allowed to pay it off gradually. A village often belongs to four or five zamindars, and their share is called a " patti." t The value of the " taka" depends on that of the pice ; a taka, however, is equal ' to two pice. A pice in general acceptation is a farthing and a half. J Kaiun, or Korah, is believed by the Musalmans to have been a very rich and avajricious man, and. their tradition is that he was swallowed up by the earth, because he refused to pay his cousin, Moses, ,a tithe of his posseeeious for the public use, , THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 125 very costly house, and planted a very elegant garden, thus augment- ed its prosperity, and gave it the freshness of spring. Again, in the time of Aurangzeb, when Wazir Khan alias Mirza Muhammad Khan, was commissioner; he, in the twelfth year of Alamgir's reign, made all the shops of the bazaar pakta. Banka Eai and Subhan Sing [who were both Kantingos*] , moreover their sons also, built many spacious houses, besides erecting a caravan sarai, and founding a pQra. After them, Kazi Abd-ul-hai built several stone and orna- mented houses ; in addition to these, he erected a very laj-ge bazaar for the above caravan sarai, and a very lofty jami masjid. ,He built, moreover, a large and handsome garden ; after this, the splendour of the city became fourfold, and its prosperity increased beyond bounds. Then Ganga Dhar, the son of Hira Nand, dug a pakka weU in the bazaar of the city ; besides which, he built a j^den -".^th a well, that had steps going down into it, in the neighbourhood of the city, on the road to Lahaur ; and thus, in short, bestowed honour on both places, and gave comfort to its in- habitants, in fact to travellers also ; verily, the water of them both is equal to that of the Ganges, and for this reason, the name of their .water is known. as Ganga Dhar. Although, in the neighbourhood of the city, there are innumerable gardens and flower-beds, full of beauty, still A mar Sing, the Kanungo, built a garden, like that of Shalamar, very large and elegant, and made three terraces in it ; the Tipper one overlooks the lake of Shamsher Khan. In short, there is no &^ef, which its perambulation will not remove, and no tempera- ment is ever satisfied with its sight- Besides the beauty of its ~ buildinge and gardens, many holy men are buried inside the ■, city, and outside in its environs ; amongst the number are Shahab-ud-dm of Bukhara, Shah Ismail, Shah Nimat-uUah, and Shaikh Allahdad, each of whom was the most learned and enthusiastic of his day.x Two kos from there is a village, Masali, in which is the mausoleum of Shah Badr-ud-dm ; the pedigree of that great man is traced to the Pirri-Dastgir.f Four kos from Patalah is Depaldal, in which is the shrine of Shah Shams-ud-dm, Dariyai ;f that man's miracles and marvel^ are on the tongue of all the people of the world ; in shorty to and gram and barley are not even seen there ; the soil of that land IS moist and damp, and exceedingly good for cultivation ; and in spite of the great number of its inhabi^nts, and the scarcity of food, there are no thieves or beggars in that country ; its residents are .generally well off, moreover they always wear a coat made of' a shawl. They are able, and perfectly to be trusted in both religious and worldly matters, and this is a mistake, that all are outwardly good but inwardly bad ; however, the good are few, and the bad many. There are no camels or elephants there, but hill ponies are . very plentiful, strong, swift, and good roadsters and climbers of mountains. But the cows are black-coloured ; there is one kind of sheep there also, which the people of that city call Hando, the flesh of which is exceedingly delicate and nice-tasted. Money transac- tions are not much carried on. There are twenty-six roads, by which one can go from it to India, but it is best to go by Bhimbar and Pakhali ; yet there is this much difference between the two, that the first is the nearer, and has many waterfalls ;* armies, however, generally go by Pirpanjal; moreover,' should any one kill a bullock or horse on the mountains, a violent storm with lightning arises, and then it either begins to snow or rain. The length of this province, from Kir to Kishngang, is one hundred and twenty kos, and its breadth eighty, but in the revenue book Of Akbar, it is put down at twenty-five kos ; to the east of it is Pirastan and the Chanab, to the south-east are the mountains of Banhal and Jammu, to th%nortii-east is Greater Tibbat, to the west Pakhali and the river ^iahng£ftig, to the south-west Khukar, to the north-west Lesser Tibbat, and all round it are mountains. Dependent to it are forty- six districts ; and its revenue is one hundred and twenty-six million, two hundred and eighty-five thousand dams ; in addition to this, two thousand four hundred feathers for turbans belong to the revenue of this country. * I have used waterfalls for the sake of brevity, hut the true translation would be " small water channels in the clefts of the rocks." 142 THE ARAiSH-I-MAHFIL, OE CHAPTEE XXXIV. THE COUNTET OF KABUL. Kabth, is an old city witli a very good and fine climate ; Pa- stang, the son of Toz, the son of Faridun, populated it, and the date of its being populated was some two thousand one hundred J^^ before the fortieth year of the reign of Alamgir ; its fort is very ■ strong and well defended, and the, inner fort is on a small-hill, with, another hill overlooking it ; the name of it is Hisar-i-^kabin (tJia inner enclosure), while some people call it Koh-i-Saf-a . (ifee white^m movMtam). But from the tongue of some travellers, I have heard regarding the above-named town, that that mountain overlooks the first fort, and on its skirt are many gardens and flower-beds, espe- cially the garden of, Shahlalah, which king Babar built 925 A. H. ; again, near it, Jahangir, 1016 A. H., built the garden Jahan Ara • (world adorning). And close to the ferry on the banks of the river is the sepulchre of Babar, and also that of Hindal Mirza, his succes- sor ; besides these, there is also built in that place the tomb of Muhammad IJakim Mirza, the son of Humayun. In the neighJ)our- hood of that city there are two rivers, one of which Qomes from Lalandar, and passes through the gardens Shahr Ara (city adorning) and Jahan Ara, and the streets and lanes of the city; it Is called the river Khutiban ; the second comes from Ghaznin and Lohgarh, and passing by the village T^kub, issues forth below the Lahaur . gate ; its name is the river Pul-i-Mastan (the bridge of drunkards) ; its water is transparent and nice-tasted, moreover it is a medicine for certain diseases. The province on the skirts of the mountains is also called Lesser Kabul ; flowers and fruits of various colours, sweet-scented, good-coloured, and well-tasted, abound in it ; but' ■ Lamghaiii Kahdara, Parza, Ustarghach, Astalaf, &c., tre worthy (objects) ii sight, and fit (jplacesj 6±' recreation ; accordin^y •kings also used to re,30rt there a great deal, and remain in these places for a long time. The province of Qhaurband is a country situated towards Balkh ; no red colour comes lip to the colour, of its tulips, and no atr equals the odour of it's herbs. In short, thirty-three kinds of tulips grow there ; one of which, moreoter, has the scent of roses, and for this jreason is called the scented tulip. There ^re mines of lapis lazuli and silver near it. Besides this, there is a sandy region, which is called the Khwaja quicksand ; in the hot weather, the sound of drums and kettle-drums issues from it, but no trace, as to where it comes from, can be discovered. This place, faces Toran, and is close to the confines of Balkh, and is, as it were, a s,trong wall to it. The provinces Zahhak and Bamiyan are two places in which are found signs and traces of the ancients ; in the mountains in that neighbourhood, they dug and built twelve thou- sand underground houses, and plastered and ornamented them; THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 143 formerly people in the cold weather used to bury their goods and chattels in them, and pass their time without anxiety of mind. \3?herej/this curiosity about them, that in one of the, houses there is a coffin, in which a person is sleeping at peace like the dead ; they say that four hundred' years ago, in the reign of Changez Khan, this great m^n was martyred, and his limbs have remained- to the present day jiist as they were, and his place {of rest) is a place of worship.X Besides the above, the writer, also heard another wonderful and marvellous story regarding- this province from Agha Muhammad, a merchant of Persia. By chance, that great man arrived in Calcutta in the year 1220 ; it so happened that one day this humble creature ^'llJiiiluhe met ; the mention of several places occurred in conversation ; when he commenced talking about Kabul, the distinguished mer- chant began to say, that some time Before, he, with several other persons, was going towards the above-mentioned city, when sudden- " ly they reached the boundaries of Zahhak ; on arriving near the fort, they went in,; everywhere they found its buildings in ruins, more- over, many of the walls also, but they saw in it a very large stone well, quite dry, without water, in perfect condition ; they went and stood on its {brink) ; in the mean time, when every one suddenly looked at their own clothes, they beheld them greener than emeralds, although they were white, and when they came out of the fort, they became as they were before. It is not beyond possibility that this was the efEect of some magic ; God knows the real truth.X The pro- vince of Ghaznin is a country, which they also call Zabul. In former times it was the capital of the kings of Khurasan, especially Nasir-ufJ-din, Sabuktagin, king Mahmud, the Ghaznavi, and king Shahab-ud-dm, the Qhauri. The philosopher Sanai* also is buried there, and, besides him, many holy men are interred in that city. On account of the extremeness of the cold, and the quantity of snow, it is regarded as equal in climate to Tabrez and Samarkand ; many minerals also are produced in .its neighbourhdod, and are taken moreover from there to India ; near it is a fountain in which, if urine falls, then the effects of clouds and snow are seen. To be brief, this place is near the confines of Kaaidhar, and they call it the gate of Persia. XLohgarh is an abode of the Afghans ; near it is a fountain, Badah Khwab Shajenah, which they "call Ganga, but in Hindi books, its name is written Lohargal. The Hindus regard it as a great place of pilgrimage ; on a fixed day, a large crowd also collects there ; the water of it is like that of the Ganges, and if you put it in vessels, it does not go bad for a long time. The province of Mandar and Wall Shang is towards Kafiristan, the inhabitants of Which place are called infidels. In that place is the tomb of the father of Noah [peace be on him] ; the name of that great man was Lam, and some also call him Lamak. In short, the inhabitants of that place change the h into gh ; for this reason they are called • Muhammad-bin-Adam, whose takhallua, or poetical name, was Hakim Sanai, or Khwaja Sanai, was a celebrated Persian poet, who flourished in the twelfth century A. D. He was the author of the Ilahi Namah, a religious poem consisting of prayers and hymns ; also .of tl^ Hadikah, or " palm plantation," another religious poem. 144 THE AEAJSH-I-MAHML, OE Lamaghans by many people. The province of Bakhrad is a place, the cHalghoza* of which is celebrated. The great thing about it is, that they burn it in that country instead of a lamp, morec^r the .light of it is very bright. In its environs is an animal, which they call the flying fox, but it does not fly more than one or two turns near its dwelling ; and there is also a rat there, which has the'smell of must. The province Nek Nihar is a place which is the residence of the superintendent. In former times it was known as Adlnapor; in the time of Akbar it was called Jalalabad. Its city is on the banks of the river Nilab ; there are many fruits grown in it, but the pomegranate of that country is unequalled. Two kos from there is the Bagh i Safa which is known as the four gardens; and in feajf district~is the Bagh i Wafa, a memorial of king Babar, very large and elegant, and the stoneless pomegranate grown in it is unsur- passed ; in short, snow does not fall in that place, nor is there any very great cold either. The valley of Kafir is also close to it ; in short, infidels live there, and for this reason its name has been thus fixed. The province" Baj or is towards Kashghar; its fort has been the place of government from old. During the summer, the air is very hot, and in the winter, very cold. But Afghans alone dwell in its environs, whether it be forest or hill, whilst near the fort is the abode of the Maghals ; they regard themselves as Arabians, for this reason, that, when Alexander Rumi passed through there, he left behind him many of his relations and connexions, and up to the time of the reign of Alamgir, his offspring lived there, and had' the ascendancy over the Afghans; 'God only knows whether they are there now or not. To" sum up, this place is twenty-five, kos in length, and ten in breadth.^/- The province Sawad is also towards Kashghar, and many valleys are in its districts ; the heat and cold there'are not very great, but a great deal of snow falls, which, how- ever, does not lie on the deserts for more than twenty or thirty days, but on the hills the cold continues the whole year long. The spring- time and rains are like those of India ; many of the flowers of Toran and India grow there ; violets and narcissus shoot up wild in every desert ; in like manner also, fruits luxuriate, but the peaches and pears of that country are celebrated ; moreover, hawks? falcons, and royal, white falcons are obtained there of the very best ; and there are mines of iron in its neighbourhood. The city Manglor is its capital ; including it, the length of this province is forty kos, and the breadth fifteen, but the Yasufzals only live in it. The province Bakram, known as Peshawar, is on the confines of India; the grapes, peaches, and melons there are like those of Turan. The summer and winter are like spring, and the rains are like thbse of Indi^. The rice grown there is celebrated, assuredly there is none like it any where in India, especially the sukhdas ; moreover, there is always plenty of grain, and lots of cultivation. In short, this pro- vince is altogether the abode of the Afghans, especially Mahmands, &c., but they are taxpayers, and nofrebellious. Peshawar is an ancient city ; in old books it is also written Parshawar and Farsha- * A kiud of nut like the pistachio. , THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 145 war. Near it is a celebrated place of worship of Jogis, Gaurkhatri ; in the time of Shah Jahan it feU into rain, but there were in it other five pl^es of pilgrimage, all verj elegant, up to the time of Alamgir. Many Jogis, Saniyyasis, Bairagis, besides other ascetics, have built their dwellings and sitting-places around the lake, and live there. The province Bangighat is situated near Multan. Its population is very large, but the tribes in it are generally Pathans, and there is a very great deal of agriculture carried on there, especially rice, to such an extent, that it is sent to other districts ; besides this, there are salt and iron mines in its neighbourhood. In short, the cold in ^hat province is very great, but it does not do harm, and there is v&f^little heat, so that one cannot sleep without something over one. The snow falls very thickly, as in Turan, but it remains for four months in the plains, and continually in the hiUs. To sum up, the spring time is very verdant and blooming ; innumerable flowers of various colours blossom, and wholesome fruits of many kinds grow there. Although there are many varieties of grapes, still the Sahibi and Husaini and Kandhari kinds have a peculiar flavour and taste j and of the various species of apricots, the Mahmudi, Kaisi, and ,Mirzai are the best tasted; of melons, the Koknabat, Mahtebi, Nashpati, Ushri, and Dud-i-Chiragh are very delicious and well flavoured ; and of grains, barley and wheat are most plentiful. But of those fields which are watered by rivers and streams, the third part of their produce is paid, to the government, and of those watered by canals, the tenth; some money is also levied on grapes and almonds by-way of tribute, but the produce of trees is free from, tax; thsy do not pay the smaUest atom on the produce of the safflower, but a third part on its seed. The inhabitants of that country, like those of Samarkand and Bukhara, call the districts, in which muhallas and cities are situated, tumans ; moreover, its. inhabitants know eleven laHguages — Hindi, Persian, MughulJ, Turkl, Afghani, Pushtu, Paraehl, Gabri, Barki, Lamghanl, and Arabic; and the Mughals live in the immediate environs of Kabul, but present themselves, with their hands, palm to palm, before the ruler, and make jio d%lay in paying their taxes. The more wonderful thing is this, ^at thei* women have the ascendancy over the men ; accord- ingly, at the time of their marriage, they cause this difficult thing, to be written in their deed of settiement, namely^ that their hus- bands will never quit themselves of their obligations to them ; but this is not the custom of chaste women, who never shew themselves to the world ; moreover, they go, according to their own pleasure, to wander about in the gardens, and to bathe ia the baths, and do not, in the very least degree, think of their husbands. The author of the Khulasat-ut-Tawankh writes, that he has seen some women who have left one husband and immediately taken another;, in short, it is not unusual with them to take from fifteen to twenty husbands in the course of their lives. To make the story short, the greater number of the inhabitants of this province are Hazaras and Afghans, but the Hazaras regard themselves as Mughals, and the descendants of Chaghtai Khan, the son of Changez Khan. From G:haznin,to KandhafJ and from the province Maidan to the boun- . 19 14!6 THE AEAiSH-I-MAHPIL, OB daries of. Balakli, there are exceedingly diffictilt passes, and winding mountains in whlcli they live ; and in most places they do not obey the commands of the kings,- hut are outside of the compound' 4(| the jurisdiction of rulers. The Afghans also regard themselves as the children of Israel ; the name of their great ancestor was Afghan ; he had three sons, the name of the .first Saren, that of the' second Ghurghusht, and the name of the third Batni ; these three had numerous offspring, each of whom is called after the name of his ancestor. The following tribes trace their descent to Saren, namely, the Tareni, Bareeh, Miyanaj Kharsain, Sharani, Auzmar, Kasi, Jamand, Khweshgi, Katani, Muhammadzai, Yasufzai, Ehalil, Mahmand, Daudzal, Kakiyanl, and Barkalani; and the Suitwul,*' Jailam, Warakzai, Afridi, Jaktani, Khatki, Karani, Katri, Abd-ul- Rahmanl, Aryani, and Taran to Ghurghusht; while the Sherzad,, Khizrkhail, Shalzi, Lodiniyazi, Lohani,~Surj, Sarwani, and Akozai trace theirs to Batan ; the other tribes are the descendants of these.5? In short, these all live between the banks of the rivers Sindh and Kabul, a space of one hundred kos, and betwixt the frontiers of Kandhar and Multan, to Sawad, which border on the confines of Eafiristan and Kashghar, a space of three hundred kos; their people, by reason of the shelter of the mountains, which are difficult ' of access, do not bend their heads before the king's commands,, rather they take some money also from the governor by way of reward, and levy from travellers so much on each horse and camel, as toll ; besides this, they also rob caravans, &c., of their good^ and chattels, and having seized the poorer class of travellers, make slaves of them ; in short, they sell them sometimes. To be brief, .amongst other nations there are very few thieves, but the Afghans are all of them thieves and robbers, and the result is this, that the whole city of Kabul is subservient to them. From Peshawar, thete are three road's leading to Kabul; one road makes a long circuit by Bangishat, and besides this, is very, steep, and an army going that way endures much hardship in reaching the resting-place of their desire; the second goes by Kharpa, but after reaching Jalalabad, it joins the high road ; this also is not free from the narrowness of ^e, valleys, the difficulties of ascent and descent, scarcity of . -water,, and the depre*dq,tions of the Afghans ; the third comes by Ali Masjid and the Khaibar; and from the brook of Jamrud to Dahka, the road goes along the bank of the river Nilab, for eighteen kos' distance from the pass ; but from the valley of the Khaibar, for two kos, by reason of ups and downs, it is exceedingly difficult to traverse, though easy in comparison to the other roads ; moreover, armies and caravans come and go by that road, especially from Dahka to Bitnlah,' a distance of thirty-two kos, which is very level, and from Bimlah to Kabul, forty kos, which is not very difficult either j although there are hills in the way, still travellers do not undergo much annoyance. To make the story short, there are mountain passes on all four sides of Kabul, and on this account an enemy's army cannot come there suddenly, or bring the above-mentioned country thoroughly into their power ; and though this country does not yield much revenue, still wise men consider it as the gate of India, and, for thi^ reason. THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 147 a large sum of money used to be sent from the royal treasury to pay^ the soldiers, so that each soldier and chief might live at ease, and not si:j^er annoyance of any kind ; for, on this account, the armies of Tran and Turan were not able to come into this country. I have heard that in former days Kabul came into the sway of one of the tings of1)illi, and on this account the Pahjab became very populous, and India safe (from invasion). The length of that province, from Atak Banaras to the Hindu Koh mountains, is a hundred and fifty kos, and its breadth, from Karabagh KandhSr to Chaghan, one hun- dred and twenty-five kos ; to the east of it is the river Sindh, to the vvest Ghaur, to the north, Andarab, Badakhshan, and the Hindu ^^fe«iountains, and to the south Parmal and Naghz ; all around it are mountains, and level, even ground is very scarce ; still there are mountain passes in every place. There are eight divisions and thirty-eight districts; its revenue is a hundred and twenty-six million, five hundred thousand dams altogether, but for a long space of time the Durrani kings have reigned in Kabul and Kashmir, and Lahaur has been governed by the Sikhs ; moreover, in the present time, which 1222 A. H., the ruler of the above-mentioned province is Eanjit Sing ; and from 1218 A. H., the provinces of Agra and *DiIli, agreeably to the wiU of the shadow of Grod, king Shah Alam, have become the property of the British ; formerly they belonged to Maharaja Daulat Ram, SlndiyS ; moreover. General Lake [may his prosperity continue] not only defeated this chief in fight, but took his forts from him. And in that same year, the province Urisa came into the possession of the East India Company [may they long overshadow us] ; before that, it was under Ragho Ji Bhonsala ; Colonel Harcourt made the settlement of it. To make the story short, India for ages has been (made up of) numbers of (small) princi- palities* and whatever country any one laid his hands on, he took possession of ;t no one ever paid any regard to the king, yes ! one (government) — the East India Company did not withdraw from per- forming obeisance and service to him ; moreover, to the present time, which is 1222 A. H., and Akbar Shah, the son of Shah 11am, is kin^ they, in a degree, perform service to him, and do not with- draw their hand from obeisance. To conclude, having written a few particulars about India and its provinces, now it is necessary that I should write a few of the circumstances regarding the kings of that country, commencing from the Pandus, so that an acceptable gift may be prepared for the reader. * Lit. " Bands of Kings." *t This is a most difficult passage to translate ; in my .first edition I rendered it "an object of temptation to kings." In Richardson's Persian Arabic Dictionary, one of the meanings given for "Taifa" is " a portion," and as such I took it. Professor Sayyad Abdullah informed me that it is an idiom signifying "a state of anarchy." The meaning might also be that bands of kings had overrun the country and seized whatever parts they could, and that no one had paid any heed as to who was tiie reigning supreme sovereign. 348 THE AEA|SH-I-MAHFIL, OE CHAPTER XXXV. THE FIRST CHAPTEB ABOUT THE KINGS OF INDIA, COMMENCING FEOM KING JTJDISHTAB DOWN TO KING PATHOBA. Fbom the books of Indian history, especially from the Maha- bharat, which is the great history and most trustworthy, it tJjgsMr appears, that, from the beginning of Creation, the sovereignty of India descended in the families of the Pandijs and Kflriis. Their, ancestors took the country, and reigned in every place. When the time of the reign of king Bechtraberaj came, who was the -^ grandfather of the Pandas, he also spent his time in equity and justice agreeably to the ways of his ancestors ; at last he took up his abode in Paradise, and none of his offspring remained who could carry on the business of the empire, and give splendour to the kingdom. The ministers of state consulted and agreed amongst themselves that they should petition Siiami Biyas Deva and give the king's wives into his service, so that a son might be born, and the succession to the kingdom remain in that family .V In short, when the first wife saw his dreadful appearance, she had nat the power to look at him, but shut her eyes, and from thi^ cause her son was born blind; his name was DhartrSsht. And when the second wife beheld the splendour of his countenance, sh'e became frightened and turned yellow ; her son was born of such a de- scription, that the whole of his body was yellow ; his name was Pand. He who was born from the third pregnancy, his name was called Bidur, but he was the blindest of them all ; the fourth was born of a slave girl ; for this reason the kingdom passed to the second son, and the blown-out light of that house again became bright, , and the faded flower of the garden of the kingdom blossomed a second time. In short, king Pand from the strengt]^ ci¥ hi^sword, and his great bravery, overcame all his enemies, and bringing all countries into his possession, revived the name of his ancestors, •>> and kept up the mention of their great deeds ; but ' he was very fond of sport, and used to go to the forest to hunt ; suddenly he beheld a deer and doe sporting together ; he immediately took his aim and discharged an arrow, and hit the deer in such a way, that it was separated from its female, and fell on the ground ; however, that was not a deer, but a holy and devout man who had come into its form. To be brief, at the time of dying, he said, " I hope from God that death will come to thee in ,the same way, and may thy life leave thee." The king was greatly distressed at that event, for there is no remedy for the arrow that has once been discharged, or for an action that has been done ; he became assured of his own death, and on this account gave over the government, and going to the woods, employed himself in penance and devotion, but THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSBMBLT. . 149 was greatly distressed because he was without offspring,; both his wives accompanied him in his fallen state ; one day he said to his ^^ first wife, whose name was Kunti, that he,- who dies without off- tjjjflng, goes to hell, and it is lawful-in our religion that he who has no son, shonid make his request in this matter to a Brahman, and get a sSd. ; moreover, when my father died without offspring, the nobles of the state made their petition about this matter to Biyas Deva, and on this account I and my brothers were born of Biyas Deva ; on hearing this, his wife gave answer, that if she should burn in the hottest fire, she would not lie with another man, but that she had learnt a charm from a great ascetic, by which she ""COTZ-Id call whatever angel she wished from the land of angels, and get herself with child, and bring forth a son ; the king, on hearing this, was greatly pleased, and gave" her leave. That woman im- mediately went to her chamber, and the king went and sat at the ^ door, so that no one might be able to enter, rather that nothing with life might be able to get in. At last that woman issued forth from there in a pregnant state, and gave the king this good news ; when nine months had passed, then a "handsome strong, boy was bom who was called Judishtar ; a second tiqie she became preg- * nant in the lite manner, and a son, very powerful, and of a dread- ful form, was bom, and he was named Bhimsain ; on the day of his birth a wonderful occurrence took place, for a formidable tiger was seen in the forests, and people, on seeing it, screamed out froili fear. Kunti, being frightened, without being able to restrain herself, aK)se and stood up, and Bhimsain fell out of her lap on a larger stone, which, from the blow" it rfeceived from him, was broken in pieces; the • lookers-on were astonished, and the king knew that this son would be an exceedingly powerful man. The third time, she, in a like manner, gave birth to Arjun ; at that time a voice thus spake from heaven, that as liidra was the ruler of the heavens, so also would this son be on the earth, and no one would be able to oppose him in warfare. After this the ' second wife also gave birth to twins, Nakul and Sahdeva. In short these five brothers were incomparable in beauty, goodness, and bravery *KiBLg Pand used to live with them in the forest, and mad^over the government of Hastanapur .to his eldest brother, ^ Dhartrasht. To be brief, his wife also became pregnant, and after two years a*lump of flesh issued forth from her stomach, but it was harder than steeL; she remained astonished, -and wished to throw away that lump of flesh, when, at that instant, Biyas - Deva came, and presenting himself, began, to say, " Do not destroy ttiat on any account, for from it many mighty and renowned sons vrill be born, but do you cast cold water on it ; she then and there threw cold water, and it was immediately broken into a hundred pieces ; then she put each of them carefully into a vessel filled with , oil. When two years had elapsed, she opened these vessels, and out- of 'each of them issued forth a boy ; the biggest of them all was Durjodhan: when he came forth from the vessel, he pawed the earth, and began to bray like an ass ; on hearing his voice, the donkeys and Jackals on the earth, and vultures and brows in the .150 . THE AEAISH-I-MAHPIL, OR air, began to make a eomplaining noise, and the air became filled with -dust ; beholding this wonderful state, the lookers-on were astonished. Besides these hundred sons, he had born to him from his second wife ■another boy, whose name was Jojotasii; >but on the body of DSr^ jodhan, who was the biggest of them all, no sword, arrow, ball, or any weo^pon, had any effect, for his frame was made of brass ; he was unequalled in bravery and strength. At last king Pand died from the effects of the curse of that saint, and his second wife burnt herself along with him. After this, the saints and ascetics who were his companions, conveyed his first wife, together with his five sons, to Hastanapur; many people thought them the sons of^^ king Pand, but otherg did iaot believe this, especially Durjodiian, the eldest son of Dhaftrasht ; moreover, he said thus, that king Pand, from the curse of the saint, never Uved with his wife, then how should he regard them as his sons ? Immediately a voice came from the Invisible, and said, " These are the sonS of king Pand, and they were born by means of an angel, as an extraordinary case ;" and then mud rained down on their heads from the air, and along with it the sound of drums and flutes began to be heard, and a great clamour arose in the heavens ; on this all Hastanapur were assured ^ ■that they were the natural-bom sons of king Pand, and Bhekam Patamah, who was a disciple of their father, from kindness paid attention to their bringing-up and instruction ; he moreover appoint ted very wise, learned, and scientific men for their education, and jalso fixed their monthly salary. In short, the nature of the Pandas inclined to instruction, hence in a few days they learnSd a great many sciences, and to read the Vedas ; moreover, they Jearnt a .good deal also about military matters so quickly, that they became expert in handling the spear, bow and arrows^ and the sword ; but Judishtar, who was the eldest of them all, was the most polite and truthful, moreover his good nature and affability were celebrated ; the second, whose name was Bhimsain, was unequalled in wrestling and handling the mace, and was the renowned of his time in ■strength and prowess ; he used to pull up large trees by their roots, and trip up huge elephants, and had no equal in ma^jline^ and strength ; while Arjun, who was younger than these two, swr^ssed the best teachers in archery, and was the renowned of the renowned in liandling the bow ; ' at last, his repute was spread abroad through the seven climes, and his fame reached every country, so that many became practisers of his arts ; moreover, he used to aim one arrow, ^and put several others into it, and kill his enemies, and if he so willed, from his arrows made a screen, which was a barrier against wind and rain, and, when he wished, used to shoot forth fire from Jiis darts, in such a way, that he burnt up everything, wet and dry. : Sometimes he used to rain water mixed with dirt from his arrows, iand trample his enemies in the dust. Moreover, if a shaft came from the direction of an enemy, then he would cut it in two in the 'air with his own arrows ; besides these deeds, in the field of battle by the power of his charms, he used to shew himself to -his enemies, -sometimes up above, sometimes down below, now fat and now thin ; at one time he wotild nianif est himself having assumed a dreadful r THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLT. 151 form, at another he would be hidden from view. To make the story- short, this knowledge is peculiar to the angels, namely, to throw aj-row gjbhus, and by the power of their charms to manifest such wonderful sights, and drown a whole world in the sea of astonish- ment ; ^othei^se, w:here have mortals the power to be the mani- f esters ol such wonderful deeds ? but one must not regard this as beyond the powers of Arjun, for he was of divine origin. His step- brothers, Nakul and Sahdeva, also were teachers in the art of riding horses, elephants, &c., and besides this, they also knew how to use the spear and sword. In short, these five brothers were most pre- scient in every art and science, and very superior in wisdom and excellence. And in addition to this, they were all as uniform and similar (vn, appearance) as if the Creator had formed qne life in five pieces, and moulding them in five^moulds, had given one soul dominion in five bodies ; but Judishtar, who was the eldest of them all, the other four regarded as their chief and representative, and obeyed his orders at all times. Dur jodhan, who was the eldest son of Dhartrasht, seeing and hearing the good qualities of the Pandus, burnt with the fire of jealousy, especially from seeing the strength ^nd power of Bhimsain, on which account smoke issued from every root of his hair. In short, as the killing of enemies is the business of king«, so he began to meditate, about killing the Pandas ; accordingly he fed Bhimsain with poison several times whilst out hunting, and many^ times, when he found him asleep, tied his hands and feet, and threw hiih into the Ganges.; but the power of God, who was his protector, allowed not his enemy jto prevail, and he remained per- fectly safe and sound, as he usup^Uy was. When Dhartrasht found Judishtar the most fit of them all, he appointed him his heir apparent, and placed him over the affairs of the kingdom. On this account, the fire of jealousy burnt fiercely in the heart of Durjodhan ; at last, he sent a message to his father, that he would not obey Judishtar in any way, and if this his request was n«t pleasing to him, he would des1;roy himself. Dhartrasht, for the sake,of his son, made over half the kingdom to him,, and commanded Judishtar to go witb his,brothers to Bamawa. But as Durjodhan was hostilely inclin^Jie seflt some of his companions there, prior to Judish tar's -departure, to make houses with gujn, resin, grease, rubbish, and ropes, so that when the Pandas arrived and commenced to live in that country, they might get their opportunity, and setting fire to them at some time, they might aU be burnt and turned into ashes. They acted agreeaWy to his commands, but the Pandas, immediately on their arrival, became acquainted with their deceit and stratagem, an& having dug a mine in that house, one night set it on fire, and went out themselves by way of the mine ; but a woman, whose name was Bhel, by. chance arrived there, and she, together with her five sons, was burnt and turned into ashes. The companions of Dur- jodhan thought that those five brothers had been burnt to death with their mother, and immediately conveyed the good news to him ; instantly on hearing it aU his joy returned and his sorrow departed. "When the Pandus escaped from that cpuntry, they arrived in a wood, and having put on the clothes of ascetics, adopted a 152 THE ABlfSH-I-MAHPIIi, OE wandering life ; in whatever place of pilgrimage tbey arrived, they Used to perform worship ; in whatever place they found wild animals, they used to kill them ; and wherever they saw rhinoceroses aa d wild. buffaloes, they hunted them. At last they arrived in Kampalah;' king Durpad was king there, and his daughter, who was very .beauti- ful and lovely, in those days had reached puberty, and was flusned with youth ; on this account, the king, according to the way of his ancestors, sending for many pripces and kings, formed a betrothal ring, and said, whomever that girl approved of, he would give her in marriage ,to. This custom is called swaimbar amongst the Hindus. To proceed^ the king f ast_ened a gold fish on a long stick, and putting it upon, a plain, -placed a large cauldron -filled with oil oil a fire below it; along with this, he also deposited near it a very stiff bow with an arrow, and made this condition, that whoever should draw that bow, and shooting the arrow, hit .the fish, s6 that it should fall into the cauldron, he would give that girl in marriage to that man, and take him for his son-in-law. All the princes and kings, who had come with that intention, were worsted in that fi!eld, and were not able to fulfil the condition. These five brothers were also seated in a corner, like fakirs, and were watching the spectacle j^ suddenly thf idea came into the mind of Arjun, on which he took up the bow and arrow, and discharged the arrow, so that it separated that fish from the stick, and it fell into the cauldron ; he immedi- ately took Daropadi, the daughter of king Durpad, out of that crowd, and seared the hearts of those who wished for her witli the brand of envy ; the spactators, beholding his prowess abd activity,, remained astonished,* and no one had the courage to go and contest her with him. In short, it was destined in the fate of that girl that she should marry five men ; on this account, the five brothers, agreeably to the orders of their mother, married her, and fixed turns of seventy days each (io Mve with her). When this news reached HastanSpur, that the sons of king Pand were going about alive, and that the daughter of king Durpad had been married to them, then Dhartrasht sent some of his people, agreeably to the advice of his pillars of state, to call them, gnd Jpiaving restored half the kingdom as formerly to Durjodiian, ilj^ other half he mad^ over to them ; but he took oaths and promises from., both parties that they would live friendly, amicably, and peacefully with each other ; he then dismissed them, and commanded them to go and live in the city Indraparast on the banks of the Jamna, and they immediately went and took up their abode there ; it afterwards was known as Dilli. To make the story short, ]s;ing Judishtar remained engaged in political and civil matters ; besides this, he conquered, many countries by the power of his plans and the prowess of his sword, and overcame many sovereigns ; when his kingdom had gained much splendour, and his wealth had become uncountable, he performed the royal sacrifice called Rsjsu with great pomp, which none pf his ancestors had been able to do. The Eajsu sacrifice, in the Hindu phraseology, is a great act of worship ; the account of it is as follows : they first cook various sorts and kinds of food, and giving it to thousands of Brahmans THE OBNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 153 together with the gold and silver dishes, read prayers, and offer up various kinds of meats and perfumes ; besides they burn various Jj^erjcinds of fine and costly things in the fire, and the most wonderful condition of conditions is this, that the kings of all the earth lujist be collected there, moreover they must perform all services themselves, so that they must draw water in clean vessels, • and cook food ; then, agairi, all those things which are requisite for a lord of the seven climes, must be possessed by him, and these God gave to Judishtar, for all the rulers of the world were obedient to him ; for this reason, this sacrifice was completed according to « Jbis wishes, and he obtained a name throughout all the wOrld. Durjodhan also came to the performance of that sacrifice, and helped, in it; when he saw the incr^se of his kingdom, arid the greatness of his wealth, the fire of jealousy burnt in his breast, and *. his old hatred, which had departed, came afresh. At that time, however, he took his departure, and coming to Hastanapur, told his companions what had befallen his heart there ; at last he began to counsel for the overthrowing of the foundation of Judishtar's kingdom and the scattering of his wealth, and determined on this, that he would get together a gambling party, and spread a false ehaupar board,* so that his country and wealth might "come into his hands by this artifice. To make tfce story short, he called and sent for him by very clever stratagems, arid after meeting, remained a long time conversing together in a friendly manner ; after a while,, the mention of gambling spread about, and the words, losing stnd winning' were warmly talked of. It was the bad fate of Judishtar that he should be destroyed and annihilated' with his brothers ; a curtain fell before the eye of his wisdom, and he forgot to think what was good and what , was bad ; in spite of his wisdom^ and understanding, he was caught in their, traps, and entangled him- self in the net of imposture, and, at last, lost all his money, good^, jewels, treasuries, . and hidden treasures ; in fact, the royal ap- purtenances and . royal ornamtots were all won by the enemy, and he remaineid shaking his hands.f He was not, however, satisfied with that enen, and refrained not from play, but was dumb-fOunded to suci^« degree, that he lost by turns his four brpthers, theu ^4iimself, and then Daropadi ; assuredly the result of a bad deed is evil ; first, the loss of wealth, then the laughing in their sleeves of one's neighbours. Alas ! thq,t a man of such a good name should get such a bad name, and fdolishly lose his wealth and substance. , DISTICH. All the spectators, small and great, One and all, fell into the whirlpool of astonishment. PBOSE. On this, Wagasan, the brother of, Durjodhan, with bad feel- ing and cruelty, brought Daropadi into the assembly, dragging * Ghaupa is 3 game played with long dice, something like our backgammon, t /I'his s a Batim ezpiessiou to signify atter perplexity and distress. • 20. i C ev 154 THE ARAJSH-I-MAHFIL, OE her by the hair, and, talking vainly, wished, agreeably to the v command of Durjodhan, to make her naked. She prayed at the shrine of God for her purity and concealment, aild her prayeswgi^ immediately accepted; moreover, when that shameless one took off her clothes from her body, others immediately came on her fcom the Invisible. In this manner,' he, for a long time, continued tearing them off, and the Giver kept giving them to her, till at last he refrained from that tearing off, and bent down his head from shame ; on this, the spectators were greatly astonished, and all of thtoi shutting their eyes from confusion, spake many words to Durjo- dhan and Wasasan and their companions ; but that brazen-faced, one did not listen to what they said, nor did he leave off his bad actions ; further, he determined on this, that he would play another game, and if Judishtar won, then he would return all his pro- perty, wealth, and kingdom, moreover every £hing he had lost, . otherwise he should wander about with his five brothers for twelve years in the jungles, and in the thirteenth year, should come into the city but secretly ; besides, if it should become known in that appointed year, then he should gp for twelve more, as before, and take up his abode in the woods. The wisdom of Judishtar had, indeed left him, he played on that condition, and again lost ; after that, accqrding to his promise, taking Daropadi and his brothers with him, he prepared to go to the desert. At that time, a person, by name Karan, who was 'very badly disposed towards the-P|ndQs, laughingly sp.id, — "O Daropadi; why dost thou go along with these ? remain with king Durjodhan : he" will marry thee to such a person vrho will not lose thee in play." Then Wasasan tauntingly said, " The sons of Pand are in the service of eunuchs ; go not with them, but choose whomsoever thou mayest wish of us, that thy time may pass happily." In short, these low creatures speaking these light words, remained joking each other, while these helpless ones from shame were bending their heads; Bhimsain wished to take his revenge and to punish those babblers severely, but king Judishtar would not allow him to dp so. At last they went out from Hastana- ptjr, and took their way to the woods. It is said that ai» earthquake occurred at that time, thunder was heard and ligBtning«i^s seen without clouds, and a star fell iiT a frightful way from the heavens*^ which being broken in pieces, whirled round Hastanapur; the animals of the desert came into the city, and jackals in the broad day-light came into the bazaars and began screaming; vultures began talking at peoples' doors, and the Nympkosa lotus flowered on the tree ; trees bore fruit out of season, cows brought forth the young of asses—in short many kinds of animals brought forth young of other species. Seeing these circumstances, the augurs and astrologers said, " It appears from these tokens that in a few days a great calamity will befall the sons of of DhartrSsht, moreover their name and trace even will not remain." To make the story short, the Psndus wandered over the forests a long time, till at last they fixed their abode in the wood Kamak; after some years, Arjun, by the force of his penance, went to' the region of Indra, and king- Judightar, with the remaining brothers, remained wandering about THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 155 performing worsliip and penance in every temple and place of pil- grimage, and moreover saw a large portion of the world. Arjun, aft^^ve years, having learnt the remaining stratagems of archery rtum. the angels, and bringing the appurtenances of splendour and pomp, came and joined them. At length, the Pandds having passed twelve years in the deserts with much labour and difficulty, and undergone many wonderful and marvellous calamities, and having seen many extraordinary events, at the end of their contract, in the thirteenth year, came to the city Berat, where, changing their names, they became servants in the eimploy of the king of Berat. , The companions of Durjodhan searched for them much, but obtained no due to them. When the thirteenth year was completed, they shewed themselves and sent a message to Durjodhan to show kindness to them, and give them their share of the country. He, through pride and haughtiness, did not accede ; on this they again sent a message " Let us five brothers have these five districts for our subsistence, namely, Kethal, Karnal, Andari, Barnarah, and In- draparast; then we will remain there in comfort, and will not attempt conquest." Durjodhan, from folLy and ignorance, did not ^ make peace even on this easy proposition, but determined oh war- fare, and those kings and princes, who were under his command and ■ dominion, he called from the neighbouring countries and regions ; kijQg Judishtar also sent for his own people, relations, friends, helpmates, and companions, who were rulers of countries: In a few 'days, iimumerable and noted chiefs, tens of millions of foot jsoldiers, hundreds ,of thousands of horsemen — in short, all the great Titans, heroes, warriors, great men, brave men, and men of courage, bringing the weapons of warfare and appurtenances of royalty, came and collected on both sides ; and it is reported that never has there been, nor wUl there be, in any battle the same numbers of soldiers nor the same sized army : neither have the people of former times beheld, nor will those of future times see, the like. In short, the plain Eurukhet, which is now known as Thanesar, is an old place of pilgrimage, and very sacred with the Hindus; moreover, their wise n^en sg,y that Bramha was born in that place from the Nymphosa lotus ^^of ncihing, by the great power of God ; and by the com- i„mand of the true Creator, populated this world of strife and quarrel ; on this account the belief of that sect is this, that if any man gives up his life in that place, he will not be born again in this world, and, in the next,- will obtain a most excellent mansion in Paradise. These people also took this into consideration, and 6xed the field within a space of forty kos in that quarter : and then, from both sides, troops., cr<5wds, and lines of horse and foot appeared ; dust and dirt arose to such a degree, that the earth and sky could not be seen. The sound , of the martial drum was heard on high, and the notes of the war flute were audible. The title cryers* began to scream, and the Kar- khetf bards called out the challenge ; the heroes and brave men * In India, all men bf rank are preceded by these fiinctionarieB, who call out their titles at the pitch of their voices. t It is the duty of these bards to encourage the soldiers in time of battle (by pointing '• out the good effects of steadiness and valour, extolling the actions of former heroes and yraxnozB, aiSl singing war-songs), and also to challenge the enemy's army. 1 ■ 156 THE AEAISH-I-MAHPIL, OE seized their arms, aii,d tlie war instruments began to sound on all sides. At the flourish of the trumpet, the thunder began to tremble, and oif. hearing the shouts of the brave men, the planet Mars beg an to shake. At last the Pandas divided their army into seven ^SPBS^ one they put to the front, one to the rear, one on the right, one on the left, and one to the centre ; one part they put as a reserve to the body, who were on the right, and one for those on the left. The fight then commenced ; first of all Bhimsaiu came into the field, and raised such a shout, that the hearts of the heroes, with bodies like elephants,, > were^ split, and the spirits of the brave men, strong as lions, were moved ; the elephants screaming fled away, , and innumerable horses galloped off with their riders ; * then that demon-like-bodied one whirled round his heavy mace, and gave such a blow, that, from one stroke of it, a great number of chariots with their charioteers were struck dovHj and made to lie like the dust, and knocking the heads of many strong young men, one agaiiist the other, killed them ; then, when he rushed on again, he lifted up many elephants and horses Yidth their riders by the strength of his arm, and threw them down on the ground with auch force, that not one bone of them remained whole, nor was this even ascertained, whether the sky had eaten* them up, or the earth. Then Arjun entering the enemy's army, in the sam&way thata hungry tiger enters a flock of goats, made thousands the food of his eagle-like arrows, and caused hundreds to lie in the dust from the blows of his sharp sword ; and, at' last, collecting a heap of corpses, made a mountain with the dead bodies. In fact, in this way each brave Inan manifested his valour and courage, and set forth a claim to heroism and soldier-like qualities. ~ Durjodhan also, having arranged the ranks of his army, sent for' , many rows of war elephants, and determined that, behind each of them, there should follow fifty troopers, well armed and equipped, and behind these, he put thousands of footmen, unmatched in the use of the sword, so that when the elephant^ rushed on the oppos- ing army, they might also go with them, and, on arriving near, might charge in ,a body and put the enemy under tljeir swords ; but he made Bhekam Patamah, Darun Acharj, K»ran, Jj^asan. and Sakan, the chiefs and leaders of the army, and, by their advice, forme'd it into five divisions, and remained ready for the fight ; with them there were many dauntless heroes, in strength like huge mountains, and stronger than lusty elephants, in bravery superior to the fierce tiger, and whose swords waved in mid air in such a way, that, from seeing them, the senses of brazen-bodied ones left them. Immediately on arriving on the field of battle, first of all they shot arrows and spears so well, that there issued, •nolens volens, from the mouth of every enemy and friend, cries of bravo, bravo. They then drew their swords, and rushing on. them, caused many renowned youths to bathe in. blood, and smote doivn many strong men by blows 6f their swords ; the army of the Pandas then made a countermarch, moreover several of their ranks were broken, like the green scum on the surface of stagnant pools. But THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 157 Bhekam Patamah more especially fougW so well, tliat no one was able to oppose him, and every day, by his hand, thousands of noted ^ and valiant young men were slain, and hundreds of thousands "Wounded. In short, in the space of ten days he caused a hundred thousand horse and foot to sleep in dust and blood, and made a stream of gore to flow on that vast plain. At last, the fire of slaughter, and massacre blazed forth, and the smoke of it so spread that every one left off thinking about friends or strangers. The son came before, his father, and the nephew . confronted his uncle ; the maternal nephew beg4n to fight with ]ii^' maternal uncle, and the brother became the murderer of his brother ; the scholar rushed on bis teacher, and the disciple attacked' his priest. At last, the weapons began to be struck at close quarters, and the market of the angel of d'eath became brisk with traffic; corpse fell upon corpse, and the whole battle-field was filled with dead bodies ; a^ river of blood began to flow forth with much force and noise, and the name of dust and dirt remained not. The liver of the lion of the sky, be- holding the bravery and intrepidity of the heroes of both sides, was turned into water, and began "'to flow forth,* and the planet Mars remained like one astonished. As far as the messenger of sight could reach, nothing was to be seen but bodies torn in pieces, and in whatever place on the battle-field one placed his foot, it crushed the limbs of the dead bodies ; the slain fell in such numbers, that many mountains of iron were formed on the battle-field, and sucE was the abundance of ornaments, that the whole plain of that . country became yeUow and white.t In short, when the smell of the flesh and blood of the dead bodies was carried to a distance by means of the wind, the carrion-eating birds, alighting in uncountable numbers on the field, satiated themselves to the full, and filled their claws and beaks also to their hearts' content. Thd animals of the wilderness too [as for instance the hyaena and jackal], feeding on the flesh of the dead bodies, were pulled tight.J The great wise men and persons acquainted with the Vedas, say that in whatever field a thousand men are slain, there a body with- out ^^ hegid, and a head -without a body, wander about dancing and shfljiting." But in that field of battle, thousands — yea, hundreds of thousands — were killed, hence many bodies without heads, and heads without bodies', were capering and dancing about ; along with this, sounds of " strike," " kill," were heard from all' quarters, and from hearing these dreadful noises, the lives of the heroes "began to leave them. To make the story short, for eighteen days the market of slaughter continued very busy, and the weapons remained striking against each other ; this is indeed true, that the praise and eulogium of the bravery and manHhess of the heroes of both sides is out of the bounds of description and narration ; what power, then, has a speaker to give an account of them, or where * An idiom signifying' to he greatly distressed, or terrified. t 'Literally, " Ganges and Jamna" — vide note, page 10. This refers to the colour of the geld and silver ornaments. X This simply nieans that their bodies were distended from eating. so much. 158 THE ARAlSH-I-MAHriL, OR has a writer the means to be ahle to write them ? But the bulletin of victory, the secretary of fortune and fate had caused to be written in the name of Judishtar, and on this , account, by the _ assistance and labour of his good fortune, and by the help and^U!^ of his fate, he gained the victory. Durjodhan was killed in a shameful way by Bhimsain, and obtained the punishniien^'of his evil deeds ; the limbs of his relatives were torn in pieces, and they died the death of dogs. To sum up, in the armies on both sides, nine million eight hundred and forty-eight thousand, one hundred and sixty foot* and horse were. collected ; and, besides, there were numbers of elephants, horses, and camels ; out of these, only eleven ^ persons altogether escaped alive, of whom five were these brojlihers, and six other persons ; except these, all the animals and men were killed, and this is indeed true, that there never was an army so large, or such a shedding of blood in any battle, from the time that Adam was created to the present day; neither has any chronicler written a description of a fight and slaughter of the like nature in any history. Truly a wonderful event occurred amongst the race of men ; in most of the regions round about, mourning took place, thousands of mothers wept for their sons, _ and hundreds of thousands of wives lamented the loss of their ' husbands. The sound and noise of their weeping and lamentation so rose an high, that it reached the seventh heaven, and the blood of their hearts so fiowed from their eyes, that a large river, as it were, poured forth ; in short, many women diefl from the greatness of their grief, and numbers of them were burnt and turned into- dust ; several of them refrained from eating and drinkiug, and thousands of them threw themselves from the tops of their houses. When after the victory king Judishtar saw this circumstance, he became deeply afflicted, especially at the slaughter of his relations and connections, the killing of. his friends, and the taking away , of the lives of his tutots, teachers, and instructors ; he became in the highest degree aggrieved, moreover reflecting on the frailty of this borrowed life, the infidelity of the world, and the non-dur- ability of the survivors, he wished to withdraw his ^and^ from country and wealth, and having foregone government j^ to ssige the corner of penance, that in the next world he -might not obtain the ^ recompense of this great sin : but Bhekam Patamah, in his dying moments, gave him this strict injunction, that he should not allow the reins of government to slip from his hand, nor withdraw from royalty, moreover that he should not oppress mankind, but use his strength for the cherishing of his subjects, for kings will be punish- ed if they forego this, but if they devote themselves to it, they wlU obtain reward. After this, he pointed out to him many kinds of charities, and various forms of alms, a full account of which is written in the books of that science. King Judishtar also acted agreeably to the saying of that great man, and placed his thoughts on the proper man^agement of the affairs of the kingdom. First of aU, he came to Hastanapar into the presence ofJSiing Dhartrasht, and consoled him for {the loss o/)' Durjodhan and his brothers, and made many apologias ; after this, with the leave of his unclq, he sat THE OKNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 159 on the throne, and began managing political and civil matters, and by the conjoint assistance of his four brothers, in a few days obtain- ^,edjjpssession of the seven regions of the world, and overcame tbe Hngs of the earth. But, as Biyas Deva had said, that by perform- ing thfi 'sacrifice of the horse, the moroseness and sorrow of "the death of his brethren, which was on his mind, would be certainly effaced, and this would also sufiftce for the expiration of his sins.* , [The sacrifice of the horse amongst the Hindtis i^ a peculiar worship ; the manner of performing it is this, that to gain posses- sion of the inhabited quarter of the world, they let loosef a horse, , which has every good quality, and cause a large army, and an imniBs^ebody of troops, to follow in its retinue; wherever the horse wilhes, he wanders about, and^the rulers and chiefs of every city, who may be informed of his arrival, come out and' meet him to make him some offering ; in case the ruler of any country does not thus act, and turns away rebellious, then it is right for the chief of the army to tie the horse there, and give that ruler severe punish- ■ ment ; the result of which is, that he takes tribute from: the rulers qf the world, and then returns to his own home ; but this sacrifice , can only be performed by one who is a lord of tbe seven climes, and such was Judishtar.] On this account, without ceremony he pre- pared and made ready to perform the horse-sacrifice, then having got a horse also of that description, let it loose according to custom, an^giving Arjun an immense army for its retinue, appointed him to the command ; in whatever country the above-mentioned horse •went, the rulers brought their offerings and agreed to the , obeying of him ;• no one had the power to oppose him, or to diminish the fixed present. , In short, after a year, Arjun, with the horse and army, having finished travelling over the fourth part of the world, and having made the kings of the earth obedient to him, bringing money and goods without end, presented himself in the presence of Judishtar, and informed him that the rulers of the earth were submissive to him. The king was exceedingly pleased, and gave goods and wealth to every Brahman and indigent person to such a degree, th«,t they attained the dignity of riches, and became quite free ^ism. wailt. After this, fully turning his thoughts to the affairs • of government and administration, he lighted up the world with the light pf his equity and justice, and nowhere in the seven regions of the globe did he allow the darkness of tyranny to remain ; the high and low of his soldiery and subjects became well off dnd began to live, at ease ; artizans and mechanics, by means of their labour and toil, became affluent in circumstances ; and merchants and bankers became wealthy from the profits of their traffic and merchandize ; in his time the rains always fell in their proper season, and there never was famine ; cultivation was carried on plentifully, ' and the earth began to die from the weight of the grain ; the fruit trees bore fruit most prolificly, flowers of various kinds blossomed in great • The sentence breaks off abruptly here to give an account of the sacrifice of the horse ; the end of it will' be found some lines down. t Literally, " wholly unrestrained by the rein." 160 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OE numbers ; animals and birds also skipping about the forests and gardens, indulged in tbeir gambols, and were not in the least afraid of reptiles and wild beasts ; Jogis, Jatis, Tapshis, and Munis, .^ch of them employed themselves in their penance and sacrifice witnout anxiety of mind ; pandats, poets, and astrologers — in shorty every wise man and seeker after learning — always remained employed in their own business. ' DISTICH. . In his, reign no one suffered grief ; Every person lived joyfully day and night. PEOSE. ^^if^ Theft, robbery, insubordination, rebellion, strife, and quarrel- ling left the world; love, kindness, friendship, and amiability, joining together, increased day by day ; the inhabitants of the cities, deserts, seas, and lands always lived happily, and the weak and impotent were not afraid of any strong or powerful man. He was so generous, that eighty thousaiad Brahmans used to be fed in his kitchen ; so just, that in his time, if you searched even, you could not find a complainant or plaintiff ; truthful to such a degree, that he never forgot himself to tell a lie, and never opened his lips ; except to speak ijhe truth ; he was so dutiful and grateful, that, to the present day, Hindtss act on his precepts and regard his behaviour as a worthy pattern ; small and great sing *his miracles, and. regard the narration of his praises as worship. Since him up to the present time [and four thousand nine hundred and ' fifty-one years have passed since his reign], there has not been born another ruler like him in the world, and no mortal has seen a king with the same praiseworthy qualities and the same pleasing dis- position. But in spite of this strength and power, he regarded the paying of homage to Dhartrasht as auspicious, and esteemed his favour above all things ; besides, he used to perform all political and civil business according to his commands and advice,' and made his officials work agreeably to his orders ; he served and obeyed, him to such a degree, that he, Dhartrasht, forgot ^11 Uboifc the kingdom' of his own sons ; for never in their rfeigns had he tB^ame power, and no one obeyed him as he did. When sixteen years had thus passed, one day Bhlmsain, who never had any friendship to Dhartrasht, striking his arms in an attitude of challenge, said " These arms are those, by the strength of which t overcame the one hundred sons of Dhartrasht together with their army, and by the force of these arrows I knocked off their heads." On hear- ing this, he became very much 'distressed, and withdrew from living there ; at length, retiring from the world, and taking his wife, and Kuntl, the mother of the Pandas, together with his uncle, he went to the woods, and employed himseK in devotion and worship. Three years after, he departed from this world, either on the brink of the lake at Thanesar, or at Hardawar on the banks of the Ganges. Accordingly Biyas Deva has given a full, complete, and detailed account of this, and all the cirduiastances THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEiSTBLY. 161 of the KurQs and Pandas, as well as all tlie particulars of their ancestors also ; besides this, he has written many wonderful and strajjge stories about them, and called the name of that collection, the Mahabharat. It consists of a hundred thousand disticheS and e^hteen chapters, of which eighty-six thousand distiches are in narration of the following matters, namely, the truth of God, the right way to find Him, religion, and seeking after God; some give advice about justice and generosity, while others contain the customs of religion and worship, and an, account of the antiquity of the world. The tWenty-four thousand, which remain, are re- garding the wars and battles of heroes and brave men. The cause of l^ifitbook being so called is this, that Maha means great and Bharatmeans war ; accordingly in it is written an account of the great war, and, for this reason, its name was fixed as Mahabharat. Another account of its being so named is, that the Pandas and Kiiriis were the offspring of king Bharat ; moreover the fifteenth generation of their ancestors reaches to him. He was a very great king, and the seven regions of the vrorld were under his sway, and for this reason the book has been called by his name. In it Biyas Deva has also written a true account of the birth of his mother and the particulars of his own origin. In short, the pivot of revolution* of the world amongst the wise and learned HindQs is four ages ; the first is the Sat, Tug, or the age of truth, which is of one million, seven hundred and twenty-eight thousand years* duration, in which all people, small and great, rich and poor, are —celebrated for their integrity and uprightness, and renowned for their piety and purity ; in it the natural age of men is one hundred ' thousand years. The second is the Treta Tuga; it is of one million. Wo hundred and ninety-six thousand years' duration ; its distinguishing feature is something like that of the former. Men in it also are well behaved and of good dispositions, but their natural age is ten thousand years. The third is Dwapar, , which is of eight hundred and sixty-four thousand years' duration ; but ' people are nine degrees less powerful and good than in the second age, ^nd ^heir natural span of life is a thousand years. The fourtji^ the* Kali Yuga ; it is of four hundred and thirty-two m. thousand years, but in it the praiseworthy dispositions and good qualities of people are one-tenth of what they were in the third, and their natural age is a hundred years ; the result is this, that this is the worst of all ages, and people in it are generally badly behaved, wicked, liars, and deceitful ; as they do not see in them- selves the same strength and power which was in those of former ■ ages, they regard, their state and circumstances as beyond the power of men, and on the whole look on them as impossibilities, and those who believe in them, as vain thinkers. To make the story short, as long as the revolution of this infinite world shall last, these ages will continue coming and going, and the conduct * I have translated this literally ; what is meant is, that they consider there are four Tugas, or great perioda of time, and that when the fourth is finished, it begins again at the first. '21 162 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIIi, OE and belxaviotir of men will be changed also according to them. It is said that the reign of the Pandus was at the end of the Dwapar age, and hpnde it was annihilated in such a short time. TheJiJi he Kali age commencing its reign, the behaviour and manners of the people appeared of another mode, and .the marks and signs of wrangling were perceived. The king saw that this was the effect of the Kali age, and wished to retire from the world ; in the i meanwhile the news of the death of Sri Kishn and Balabhdar, with the circumstances of the overthrow of the Jadus and magicians, as it is -described and narrated in the Mahabharat, was conveyed to his ears ; he became tired of life, and the bright world becoming , dark in his eyes, he retired from the governmeut and ina^*i^ver that country to Pareehhat, the son of Abhiman, the son oiArjun, who was of the offspring of the five brothers. He placed the badge of loyalty on his forehead, and when he had given the business of the ministership to Jojotasti, the son of Dhartrasht, then he took the royal clothes, together with the jewels, from off his , own neck, and covered his body with the leaves of trees, and his four brothers also assumed this state ; at last they departed from the city in company with Daropadi ; and the women and men also of that place issued forth after them, crying without- being able to restrain themselves ; the king having comforted thpm all, dismissed them, and departed towa:^ds the forests of the east ; then after seeing all the country of Bangala he came to the south, and having wandered through it, arrived in Gajrat; from there he came to Diiarka, and remembering about Sri Kishn and Balabhdar, wept — much ; at last he did not take up his abode there even, but having wandered through Multan and the Panjab, went, to the mountaia of Badri, and there began to perform many {acts of) devotion and great austerities for the forgiveness of his sins ; at length they all went and took up their abode in Hamachal, and of their own accord, having dissolved their bodies in the snow, obtained a good name in this world and exaltation in the future ; but the body of king Judish- tar remained exactly as it was in the snow, and that incarnate one went to Paradise. To make the story short, the reign qf the KiJrus and Pandus lasted for one hundred and twerfty-fiv^j^ars ; conjointly seventy-six years ; but after the departure of the Pandtjs, • Durjodhan reigned for thirteen years, and after the Mahabharat war, king Judishtar governed for thirty-six years. THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEBTBLT. 163 CHAPTER XXXVI. ABOUT --gJlirG PAEECHHAT, THE SON OF ABHEMAN, THE SON OF ABJUN. When the war commenced between the Kartis and Pandiis, the sons of the five brothers were all killed, and not even one of them remained alive; on this account the hearts of the Pandas .were distressed by the greatness of their sorrows, and harassed by the cares of the world, but they placed their hopes on God. • However, it was decreed that, for a certain time, -that kingdom shoul5>^ain in the family of the Pandus ; for this reason, when Abheman, the son of Arjun, was killqd^ in the battje of Chakaba, his wife happened to be pregnant ; accordingly, after nine months, she gave- birth to a fortunate son, so their dark house Tfas lighted up, and the line of sovereignty remained with them. In short, that boy was unequalled in disposition and appearance, and was very powerful. After the departure of the Pandus, be sat on the throne of government, and managed the world with justice and" equity ; . by his gifts and charity he made the poor happy, and gave splendour to the name of his fathers and ancestors. But he also was fond ■ of sport like his ancestor, king Pand, and, for this reason, passed much of his time in wandering about the deserts ; still, in spite of tiis, he did not neglect the care of his subjects, the cherishing of his army, or the protection of the devotees. For some time he "^hus passed his days : one day, according to his custotn, he set forth to* hunt, and going to .some forest, let loose his animals of chase on jbhe birds and beasts ; the leopards rushed on the elk, and the lynxes attacked the deer ; the dogs seized the hares, and the hawks flew at the ducks ; the falcon struck at the partridge, the hawks pounced down on the jays ; the falcons went and caught hold of the bazas, and the hawks went and slew the kulungs. The sum tptal of it is this, that the rapacious animals killed thousands of the grazing animals, and the animals which catch with their claws4)roilg'ht down hxmdreds of birds from the air ; in the mean- time th'^king discharged an arrow at a deer, which was wounded, ' and fled away : the king pursued it, till at last he was tired, and separated from his army, and being greatly fatigued, became very- thirsty, and began, to search everywhere for water ; by chance he alighted at the threshold of a devotee, who was employed in devotion, and engaged in worship on his carpet ; in fact, he always spent his precious time in remembering God, and from evening time to morning, used continually to sit down and rise up ; his forehead .was lighted up by the light of devotion, and his form had become transparent from the splendour of his worship. The king, im- mediately on seeing him, alighted from his horse, and began to ask for water, but he, as he was engaged in worship and repeating the name of his Creator, did not know who he was or what he said ; the king became very angry at his want of attention, and the flame of his anger blazing up, he at last, having taken up a dead snake Ttfith the end of his bow, threw it on his neck, and took his 164 _ THE AEAISH-T-MAHPIIi, OB departiire home. That devotee did not know about it, but remained as he was, meditating on God ; for some days his son [>vho had been conceived in the womb of an antelope, and the accost of whose birth is well known ; who, moreover, had horns like a deer on his head, and for this reason was called SiringlEishi], Ijg-dbeen employed in worship in some forest, and that day, having finished his devotions, was going to see his father with much pleasure, when a friend of his said to him on the road, " As thou art coming so happily, perhaps thou hast not heard that king Parechhat has thrown a dead snake on thy father's neck ;" on hearing this, that devotee became very angry, and going to the edge of the lake, , bathed ; after that he uttered this curse, " Seven days hgjKse let the snake Taehhak* bite that man who threw the suSkc on my father's neck, and let him die ;" the command of God was forth- with conveyed to that snake, and the arrow of his curse hit its mark. When he had finished his prayers, he went to his father, and saw that he was engaged in worship, with the snake lying round his neck ; then, calling out without being able to restrain himself, he began to cry. At last his father paid attention to him ; then Siring! Kishi said, " father ! I have cUrsed him who threw the snake on thy neck." That venerable manf becoming very angry, began to say, " Thou hast done very wrongly in that thou hast- cursed a king, who takes such care of his subjects, and is attentive to his business ;" besides this, he said many other ujibe- coming (severe) words to him, and sent and told this matter, to the king by the hand of one of his servants, and gave him full infor- mation of this circumstance- The king was greatly ashamed of his behaviour, and became alarmed at the curse of the fakir's son, for he was assured that this thing would take place seven days after ; the message of death arrived without fail. He dismissed the servant ; then by the counsel of his nobles, erecting a long and broad place in the Ganges, he made a small house on it, and took up his abode there with several companions until the time of the fulfilment of the curse ; he also kept in its neighbourhood many magicians and snake-charmers for his protection, and collected near himself antidotes, which had been* fully tested and ^xamiji^; in addition to this, he gave an urgent prder that, without his leave, .« not a fly or giiat was to come into that house, and, withdrawing from all worldly business, fixed his thoughts on adorationj and devotion, and ^te . nothing for six days. When the seventh day arrived, the snake Taehhak, assuming the form of a man, set out from his house to bite the king. By chance the philosopher Kishab met him on the road ; he was so accomplished in the art of physic, that many sick persons, who had despaired of life, were cured at his hands, and thousands of those afilicted with chronic diseases immediately became well through his remedies ; especially with regard tb those bitten by snakes., his medicines were such good • Taohhak was one of the principal nagas or serpents of Patala or the regions under the earth inhabited by the serpentine race according to Hindii mythology, f Literally, "became of avail" or " was successful." ' means silent repetition of the name of God. • ; THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 165 cures, ttat they restored people to life, and it was nothing to him to remove the effects of their venom. To make the story short, Tac^ihak asked him who he was, and where he was going. The philosopher said, " I have heard that some derwesh has cursed the king, and has wished, that a snake should bite him ; and he is so just that the weak from his protection do not fear the strong, and the poor, from his merciful hand, do not remain indigent ; for this -reason, I am going, that after he has been bitten, I may again restore him to life, by the strength of my medicines and the power of my charms, and may take away the effects of its poison by the . power of my enchantment;" He said, " I am that snake who will bite'ttk^iing ; if thou hast this power, I will now cut down this tree ana reduce 4t to ashes, and ,will see whether thou, by thy charms, canst again make it green or not ; in short, try thy spells and shew me their effect." Having said this, he stung that green shady tree, and, by the fire of his poison, burnt and reduced it to ashes. The learned philosopher also, without thought or hesitation, by the miraculous power of his charms, made of those ashes a tree as it was before, moreover, all those men who were cutting its , branches, and those birds whose nests were on it — in fact, the ants, flies, and reptiles even which were wandering over its branches — he restored to ^ife, and they, according to their regular custom, began to perform their respective works. The snake Tachhak, seeing his hidj^en powers and faculty of enchantment, began to dash his head, and thus commenced to think, " It is necessary to kiU the king ~ agreeably to the orders of God, but if this Messiah-like* philosopher should arrive there, then it will not be possible for him to be killed, or for his body to be burned by my poison, and turned into ashes." Thus thinking, he began to praise the philospher Kishab, and • said, " Thou, art going to the king ' for this reason, that thou mayst deliver him from my poison, and make much gain and profit ; if this is what thou desirest, take it here from me, and do not undergo the fatigue of a journey." Kishab reflected in his mind, saying, "^If the king's death-time has arrived, then it is probable that my' charaas will have no effect, or if he should get well, that I will ' not gje^my gS,in. Enough, this ready money, that Tachhak willingly • gives me, why should I leave it ? for to undergo such labours for a mere shadow would be very foolish," In short, covetousness got the better of him, and he refrained from going near the king, and began to say to Tachhak, " Give me what thou wishest to give, so that I may return to my own house ; it is true I have nothing to do with the king." Tachhak was greatly pleased, and ~ bestowing on him a valuable gem, replied thus^" This is its peculiarity, that ' whatever' thou wilt ask, it will give it thee without delay ; besides this, I promise thee, that whenever thou sendest for me, I will come to thee, and whatever thou vrilt order, I will perform." At last, he, taking the gem, went to his home, and Tachhak set forth with a perfectly contented heart. When he arrived at Hastanaptjr, * The cures of our Saviour are held in as high repute ty the Muhammadans as by ourseWes. 166 THE ARAfSH-I-MAHi'lL, OE he saw that the king lived in a well-guarded house ; snake-charmers, magicians, philosophers, and doctors were sitting around and before him, and it was impossible that the smallest of small repiiles or venomous animals could get to him. He was perplexed ' how he. should reach and bite him. When he saw that the Brahmajis and readers of the Vedas kept coming and going near the king, Tachhak also called his sons, and made each of them of the form of a Brahman and having given some fruit into their hands and got leave from the doorkeepers, sent them in, and himself assuming the form of a small insect, hid himself in some fruit. The sons, blessing the king, offered their fruits, and the king gave some to his attendants ; by . chance he took that fruit, in which Tachhak was hidden,^pirtlim- self, and a small insect issued from it. The king, on seeing it, said to those present in the assembly, " Agreeably to the saying of the devotee's son, to-day is the seventh day ; the sun is setting ; perhaps what he said may not be false, and this insect is Tachhak,^ and he will bite me." In short, having lifted up that insect in fun, he placed ijb on his own neck. Tachhak immediately assumed his natural form, and becoming a large snake, enveloped the king ; and raising his neck, bit that of the king and flew to the heavens. , All beheld this occurrence. Then from the effects of his poison, he, together with the house, began to be burnt. The Brahmans, and others who were there, all quickly fled, and the house, together with the king, was turned, into ashes. After this, the pillars ;fell with such fbrce that the noise confounded the thunder, and all night long the inhabitants of Hastanapur did not sleep from fear - of that dreadful sound. Next day the burnt body of the king was taken out, and thrown into thp Ganges, and every one remained engaged in weeping and lamentation. Although the king had taken up his abode for safety in such a house that the nnka of fancy could not reach there, still death, when it comes, cannot be averted, and the Messiah even would have no power there ; and if he had been shut up in a house of iron, then even he would not have escaped from its grasp. Behold, in the end, the device of the king became of no avail, and his life was not saved by any means. Th* duration of his reign was sixty years, but from the time that thejiing retired into that house, he used to listen to the narratives and tales " of his ancestors, and committed to memory the Vedanta Shastra; for the resuit of this is the purifying of the heart, and, in the futtire world, escape from torment. The holy saint, Sukh Deva, the. son of Biyas Deva, in that court, for the sake of getting the king released, and giving a world benefit f-rom it, composed thg book Bhagwat, which comprehends the means of obtaining knowledge of God,* and His ways, and includes the adventures of Sri Kishn. Without doubt or fail, a man, from enquiring into its particulars, obtains release , from the fetters of attachment to this world, and the house of his heart becomes lighted up with the light of His knowledge. Accordingly, from that time, it has been celebrated in this world, and a vast multitude, both high and low, take pleasure (in reading it). . , ~ s * The Bhagwat is one of the Puranas or diviBions of the, Vedas. " THE OENAMDNT 01" THE ASSEMBLY. 167 CHAPTER XXXVII. THE ACCOTTNT OF KING JANAHJl, THE SDN OP KING PAEECHHAT. , ' When king Parechhat left this frail world and took up his abode in Paradise, then the ministers, consulting together, placed his eldest son on the throne, and accepted his sway, and fastened on the girdle of service. Although this king was young in years, still he settled the country, and managed the kingdom in such a good way, that no old man could cavil at, or object to, his deeds. 'The iajUd became flourishing, the seditious were destroyed, the subjectsSrere happy, and the soldiery well off ; the king attacked certain Qf the rulers of that country who would not obey him, and were rebellious, and giving them a thorough beating, took their country into his own possession. After this, he entered Hastanapnr ; at that time a saint, by name Uttang, who was the great man in wisdom and deeds and. words of his age, came to the ■ court of the king, and the monarch, regarding his arrival as propitious, received him with much affability and civility. The saint said to the king, •" What practice is this ! that thou oppressest and seizest the coun- tries of those kings who have done thee no harm, and on this account a great warfare is goiujg pn ; the servants of God are being killed, and the subjects troddSh under foot; thou art bringing calamity oh thyself, and dost not turn thy attention towards those ' •aaatters, from wbich a good name is got in this world, and happiness in.the nest." The king, on hearing this, remained astounded, and after reflecting, said, " What deed is this that I should at all hazard perform ?" The holy man said, " Thy father was very just; good, and clever, took care of his subjects, and looked after his army; the snake Taehhak killed him, and thou, in spite of thy power and might, dost not take thy father's revenge from him, and hast not given him the punishment, of this bad deed, so that thy name may remain in the earth to the Day of Judgment, and thou mayest not suffer Joss in the next world." X At length the speech of the devotee took effect, and tears dropped from the eyes of the king . without his being able to restrain himself ; _ the cauldron of his sense of honour boiled over, and the blaze of pride reached on high ; at last, he determined to burn the snake Taehhak and his family, and to reduce them to ashes — in fact, not even to leave the seed of a serpent or a snake in this world: on this account, he' called the 'great enchanters, . magicians, wizards, and sorcerers, and of thSm he selected from each kind one, who was able to present the upper world before him, and to bring down the sun and moon from the heavens; whatever materials and necessaries were requisite to bum and destroy the snakes, he collected. The magicians prepared an enclosure of fire, after which they began to read their charms, from the effects of which, in the hearts of snakes and serpents, a wonderful kind of fear prevailed, and dread overcame them; hundred of thousands of them issued forth in a state of perturbation from their holes and cavities, and falling into that fire, began to be burnt in such numbers, that those which lived / 168 THE ARiiSH-I-MAHPIL, OR under the eartli and in the world above, they also came there, and that so quickly too, that they got entangled amongst each other. The first time twee^ thousand^ snakes came and were burnt; next, one hundred thousand were tiirned into ashes ; after that, one million, one hundred thousand; then one hundred millio;^; after-' wards, they came in numbers uncountable, and were burned, and of them a great number were horse-faced, and a great many had tusks like elephants ; several of them had mouths in their nooses and ears, and others of them had two heads, while some again had four each ; many of them were one kos long^ and others were two kos broad; while some could assume any form they wished, and, could convey themselves anywhere they desired. In sh^stf they were burnt in such numbers, that streams flowed from the fat of their bodies, and the fire blazed to such a degree, that from its smoke, a sheet of smoke spread up to the sky ; at last, the charms caused this effect, that the snake Shesh was perplexed, . and wished to lift the earth on his shoulders, and come and fall into that fire ; but it was not the decree of God, that the surfaae of the world should be broken to pieces at once, or that the seed of snakes should not remain on the earth, and for this reason he remained in his own place with much toil and labour. At that time, another great ascetic and devotee, by name Astik, came into the court of, the king, andj blessing the monarch, interceded for. the serpents and caused their fault to be forgiven ; those, whose death had Qome, were burnt, but the rest of the snakes escaped from that life- devouring fire ; it is true whom God protects, on him no calamity* ever falls ; the snake Tachhak, for whom this dreadful fire«had been prepared, also escaped sajEe, and, by the intercession of the devotee, was not burnt in that hot fire. Then the king made a great" feast, and fed many thousand Brahmans with exquisite food ; he bestowed on them silver and gold vessels also, and clothed them in costly raiment ; he distributed mijch money and goods too, and gave away thousands of silver and gold vessels, and shewed much com- passion for the poor and holy : in this very feast, he placed before the kings and lords who had come as his guests, trays (pf (jlothes, jewels, &c., moreover offered to them elephants and horses, «eqiiipped and saddled, and bestowed on them also curiosities of every city • and country, and then dismissed them all happy and contented. Somewhat over four thousand eight hundred years have passed since then, and except by that king, the sacrifice has been performed ■ by no one else ; moreover, his ancestors, although they had power to go to heaven, and bring information from the bottom of the «arth, still they never undertook this deed, and how could it have been done, for the wiiter of fate and destiny had written that it should be accomplished by the hands of Jauamji ; accordingly, we find that before the odcurrence of this event, the tellers of past and future events had written that the above deed would be performed by the hands of the said monarch. When the king had ceased from that business, he employed himself in the management of ■the kingdom, and began to perform justice and equity. After some time, by chahCe, Biyas Deva came into the presence of that g.overeign, who asked that kuower of hidden secrets, " How was it, when my THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 169 ancestors were wise and discerning, and hidden secrets were made manifest to them, when every child knows that this life is a bor- rowed thing, and that no one lives for ever, i^or will any remain always in this world, then why did they fight such battles in which thousands of brothers, relatioHS, and connections were killed by the swt)rd ; moreover, innumerable animals and mortals, endowed with life, were slaughtered — what was the cause of it ?" Biyas Deva said, " The will of Grod was verily this, that these deeds should be accomplished by their hands ;" the king again asked, " In spite of the forewarning they had, why did they not take means for preventing them ?" Biyas Deva replied, " Who has the power ' to subvert the will of God ? and when the order of an earthly king is scarcely disobeyed, then how can the orders of the True King be withstood, and how is it possible for any one to escape from them ? Shortly, with regard to thyself, a deed will come to pass from behind the curtain of invisibility, and thou wilt be caught in a very great sin ; but I will tell thee the remedy for it also ; if thou art able to perform it, do so, and escape from it." The king, on hearing this, remained astonished, and after reflecting a little while, asked, " What calamity is this, which has been appointed for me, and J which is written in my destiny ? for God's sake have mercy on me, and tell me the means of averting it, that I may make my arrange- ments before it comes to pass, and escape from its injury." That knower of hearts was fully acquainted with the circumstances, and began to say, " On a certain day, a merchant will bring into thy presence a handsome and very swift horse ; it behoves thee not lio ""take it, nor even to look at it ; moreover, if thou shouldst take it, thou shCTildst never ride it, for if fUou ridest it, it will without delay take thee to the forests, and thou, wilt there see a beautiful woman with a countenance like the moon ; do' not thou even think of her, nor associate with her ; but if thou shouldst even act thus, do not become subject to her ; and if that woman should come to thy house, then do not obey her ; otherwise thou wilt commit a very great fault." Having thus spoken, Biyas Deva became hidden from sight. When the day named arrived, a merchant brought a hand- some, ^oo^- tempered, well-built, nice-coloured, very swift and fast- going, horse tb the palace of the king. A crowd of rich and poor • collected ; gradually, the news reached the nvonarch, and a curtain fell before the eye of his sight. ' This is true, that that, which is to be, never can help comiAg to pass. Without being able to restrain himself, he issued out from the palace to look at it. Immediately on seeing its beauty and elegance, the bridle of control went forth from his hand ; he instantly mounted it, and that swift-footed one at* once ran off with him, and conveyed him to such a dreadful forest that the hearts of the dragons^used to be smitten from .the fear and dread of its trees, and at the noise of its animals and wild beasts, the hearts of the tigers were frightened. The king remained astounded and terrified to such a degree, that he began to tremble and shake, and stare in aU directions. He then saw a fairy, fourteen years old, in complexion and form better than the full moon ; in short, the glitter of the sun became yellow before her colour, and the beauty of Indra's court became dusk before her loveliness. , 22 170 THE AEAJSH-I-MAHFIL, OE VERSES. She could kill the world in an instant ; Where is this, state to be found amongst mortals ? Plowei-s could not blossombefore her counteijance, Neither could the partridge come and walk before her.* In comparisou with her eyes, the narcissus had no charm, Nor could the spikenard, in the least degree, compare with her hair ; And if they coald but see her beautiful mien, Then the virgins of Paradise would become her waiting maids, PEOSB. Accidentally, the king saw her, and immediately lost his senses ; hjs understanding left him, aiid love seized hini ; the skirt of reflec- , tion departed from his hands, and the country of rest and ease-n^vas altogether laid waste ; nolens volms, dismounting from his horse, he went and sat by her, and thus addressed her, " lovely fairy ! the envy of the moon, of what garden art thou the jasmine, and of what flower-bed art thou the white rose ? what calamity has befallen thee, that thou hast come to this forest an^d desert ?" That woman, ■with a mouth like a rosebud, smiling, gave him a full description and account of her coining to that wood, with much coquetry and blandishment. The king, on hearing her sweet speeches and ^ charming words,t became still more fascinated ; at last, according to the rites of his religion, he married that lovely one. After that, the king brought her to his capital, and making her the queen of the harem, obeyed her to such a degree, that without her giving hijn leave, he did not even move to drink water. It is true tha,t_ the good and bad deeds which are to be done by any one, the requisities — for their performance are always ready beforehand ; willingly or unwillingly he does them, and however much he may try to save himself, he cannot do so. It was decreed in the destiny of the king that this woman should be the cause of a grievous sin, and in spite of his being forewarned, he could' not help committing it. By chance, one day a great number of Brahmans were eating sweet and salted foods and delicacies of various kinds in his house, and enjoy- ing their flavour on their palates and tongues. The king was sitting there for the sake of getting reward, when that lovely woman, the destroyer of the faithful, of calamitous figure, .with silver t>reast and fairy body, the spoiler of the t:^ue believers, the devastafor of GabarsJ and Musalmans, nicely dressed with her ornaments, loaded with jewels, wearing very fine clothes, with her hair and back hair neatly dressed, issued forth from her palace, and came into that assembly. Immediately on seeing her, those helpless ones went into a state of trance, and remained astonished, and eating the arrow of her glance, withdrew their hands from food. The kimg, on seeing this circumstance, became furious, and the flame of jealousy burnt high in him. In the twinkling of an eye, he caused the Brahmans who were assembled there to sleep in the dust of perdition, and got himself a bad name in this world, and severity * The partridge ia supposed to walk in a most proud, majestic, and elegant manner. + Literally, " savoury" or "salted." J A " Gatar' ia really a fire- worshipper, hut here it is applied in opposition to Musal. mana, to infidels who do not believe in their faith, THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 171 of punishment in the next. Afterwards, he regretted it deeply, and began to rub his hands from grief ; then, weeping and lamenti- ing, said, " I have done this wicked act, and the good name of my whole life has gone ; I have got a bad repute ; besides, after death the retribution of this deed will be very grievous for me." Although he underwent great grief and anxiety, and repented greatly, still it was of no use. In the meantime, Biyas Deva again presented himself, and began to say, " O king ! although I warned thee about this matter, still thou didst not ward ofB the event and take means to avert it." The king became greatly ashamed, and made many excuses and apologies ; after which, he began petitioning him and eaid, " Tell me some means and plan, by which, in the future world, I may obtain release from the punishment of this dreadful sin, and may not remain captive to it." Biyas Deva said, " After performing many alms and charities, do thou have the Mahabharat read to thee and listen to it with the ears of thy heart, and meditate on its meaning; then, assuredly, thou wilt obtain release, and this thy sin will be forgiven." Accordingly, the king bestowed on fakirs and beggars all his public and hidden treasures, in fact all his goods, and caused, Sanatan, who was a disciple of the divine • Biyas Deva, to read the above-mentioned book, while he listened with attentive mind, and was. thus cleansed from fault, and escaped from future punishment. From that time, this book has been celebrated and renowned in all the world; when he had finished thus doing, he employed himself in the affairs of his kingdom as usual, and began to perform justice and equity ; after some time, the star of his duration set in the west of mortality, and the world became "dark in the sight of his subjects Jind soldiery. The duration of his reign was eighty-four years-KKing Asmand, the son of king Janamji, was the eldest of all (his sons) ; he succeeded his father on the throne, and gave light to the world by his justice and equity, and ordered the affairs of his kingdom like his forefathers ; the length of his reign was eighty-two years and two months. King Adhan, the son of king Asmand, reigned eighty-eight years and two months, and gave much peace to his subjects and soldiery. King*Makaji, the son of king Adhan, reigned eighty-one years and elevea months, and adorned the throne of government. Xing' Jasrath, the son of king Mahaji, ruled and governed the kingdom two months and seventy-five years. King Dashtdan, the son of Jasrath, reigned seventy-six years and three months, and made a world populous. King Agarsain, the son of king Dashfda'n, reigned after him, and sounded the kettledrum of cherishing his sijbjects and government ; at last, after seventy-eight years and eight months, he passed away from this world. King Sursain, the son of Agarsain, remained giving light for eighty years on the throne of government, and managed the affairs of the country and revenue very well. After him, king Sustsain, the son of .king Sursain, reigned for sixty-five years and two months, and gave comfort to his subjects and soldiery. After him, king Easmi, the son of king Sast, gave light to the throne for sixty^nine years and five months, and reigned well in the world. After him, king 172 THE AEAlSH-I-MAHFIL, OE Parchhal, tlie son of king Easmi, sat on the throne of government, and kept the country flourishing for sixty-four years and seven months. After him, king Sonethpal, the son of king Parohhal, reigned for sixty-two years and one month, and kept the world fr.ee from disputes and quarrels. Then king Narhar Deva the son of king Sonethpal, remained engaged in governing and guarding the kingdom for fifty-one years and eleven months. After him, king Sojrath, the son of Narhar Deva governed the world for forty-two years and eleven months, and passed his life in good ■behaviour. Then king Bhtjp, the son of king Sojrath, became ruler, and managed the affairs of the kingdom for fifty-eight years and three months. After him, king Soni, the son of king Bhnp, ascended the throne, and governed the kingdom for fifty-five years and eight months. Then king Madhabi, the son of king Son!, remained ruling and managing the kingdom for fifty-two years and nine months ; and, at last, became a traveller from this world. After him, king Saranohar, the son of Madhabi, reigned for fifty years and eight months, and gave splendour to the country. Then king Bhikham, the son of king Saronchar, reigned for forty-seven years and nine months ; he kept his soldiery and subjects happy, and adorned the world by his equity and justice. After this, king • Padarth, the son of king Bhikham, cherished his soldiery and subjects, and took care of the world for forty-five years and eleven months. Then king Daswan, the son of king Pa-darth, became Sovereign, and protected his soldiery and subjects for forty-four years and nine months. King Aoni, the son of king Daswan, ^ reigned forty-four years, and remained concihating the hearts of the world. After him, king Amanibar, the son of king Aonl, remained fixed in the government fifty-one years, and jeherished •the soldiery and subjects with his justice and equity. Then, king Dandpal, the son of king Amanibar, remained chief for thirty- eight years and nine months, and gave tranquilhty to the world. King Darsal, the son of king Dandpal, reigned on the throne of government forty-five- years, and kept the world in comfort under the shadow of his protection, and made those, who raised their necks {in rebellion), hang down their heads (in subjection), ffheft king Shibak, the son of king Darsal, managed the affairs of the kingdom for thirty-six years, and drank and ate the blood of the rebellious and murderers. After him, king Khaim, the son of king Shibak, remained the representative of his father fifty-eight years and five months, and gave splendour to the name of his ancestors. Then king Khaiman, the son of king Khaim, sat on the throne, but was indolent in the affairs of the kingdom, and lazy in the- administra- tion of justice, and did not pay the least attention to civil and political matters. He passed his time in thoughtlessness and licentiousness, and, at last, allowed the kingdom to go out of his hand ; moreover, he gave his own life also. The Creator of the universe and the globe, from the time that He created the world, has given the control of the management of the affairs of His creatures into the hands of the highest kings, and, therefore, it is becoming to them that they should, at all times, desire the THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 173 comfort of their people, and pursue the course of equity and justice properly ; otherwise, the kingdom will be taken away from them, rather a calamity will befall their lives also. When the ministers and nobles found king Khaiman exceedingly negligent and lazy in political and civil matters, this gave the minister, who managed the affairs of the kingdom, hopes of succeeding to the government ; at last, he also longed for the kingdom, and the needle of covetous- ness sewed up his eye of manliness. One day, finding his oppor- tunity, he killed the king, and established himself on the throne. To sum up, king Eiaiman reigned forty-eight years and eleven months, and the government up to his time remained in the family of the PandSs ; according to the decree of fate and destiny, the kingdom continued in their family for eighteen hundred and sixty- four years ; and, counting from king Judishtar to king Khaiman, thirty persons in all ruled over the kingdom. From being a minister, king BasarwS attained to the rank of sovereignty, and, ascending the throne, generally remained employed in the business of the kingdom, and cheerfully bore many troubles for the sake of his subjects ; but, as the state of his offspring is not fully known, I have therefore abbreviated it, and written only their names, and the duration of their reigns. To make the story short, king Basarwa reigned seventy years and four months ; then king Siirsain, his son, gave comfort to his subjects and soldiery, by the shadow of his justice, for forty-two years and eight months after his father, and, at last, departed alone to the land of non-existence. Then king Birsah, the son of king Siirsain, sat on the throne of his fathers, and kept the world under his protection fifty-two years and two months. After him, king Ahangsah, the son of king Birsah, became aaonarch, and, for forty-seven years and nine months, he also executed justice, and protected his subjects. After him, king Barjit, the son of king Ahangsah, became ruler, and reigned thirty-five years and eleven months, and gave splendour to the kingdom. Then king Darabh, the son of , king Barjit, sat on the throne, and ruled for forty-four years and three months. After him, king Sodahpal, the son of king Darabh, reigned over the king^m^ and made the country very fiourishing. After thirty year^ and nine months, he left this world, and went and took up his abode in Paradise. After him, king Piirmat, the son of king Sodahpal, adorned the throne of government, and raised on high the sound of justice and equity ; at last, after fortyrtwo years and two months, he left this perishable world. Then king Sanji, the son of king Pflrmat, sat in the place of his father, and, for thirty- tjvo years and three months, he also remained employed in the management of the affairs of the kingdom. After him, king Amarjodh, the son of king Sanji, became ruler, and remained managing the affairs of the world twenty-seven years and four months. Then king Aminpal, the son of king Amarjodh, sounded the drum of government, and, for twenty-two years and eleven months, settled properly the disputes and quarrels of the people of God. After him, king Sarohi, the son of king Aminpal, governed the world, and passed his time in taking lands and conquering 174 _ THE AEAfSH-I-MAHFIL, CB coTintries. At last, after forty-seven years and seven montlis, he became a dweller in Paradise, Then king Padarth, the son of king Sarohi, raised on high the standard of command, and, for twenty-five years and five months, sounded the kettledrum of justice and equity. After him, king Badhmal, the son of king Padarth, sat on the throne of government, but did not pay any attention to his soldiery and subjects, and fell into pleasure and debauchery ; having taken to eating bhang,* and being drowned in drunkenness, he began acting badly to his nobles and ministers, and, entirely shut- ting his eyes, forgot the ways and customs of rulers, and wounded the hearts of his people, and became ma,d and insane ; it is becom- ing for chiefs not to indulge in any intoxication nor to institute the custom [of drinJcmg), otherwise they will create in themselves ^ the nature of a fossil, and their manliness will leave them. Inr short, when the king gradually lost control of himself from the excess of bhang, and began to behave badly to the nobles, then Birmah, the minister, by the instigation of the people, getting his opportunity, one day slew him, and became master of the country. Assuredly, the desire of government and the coveting of royalty causes men to forget their proper obligations ; moreover, removes the fear of God from their hearts, and they, knowingly and witting- • ly, commit deeds like this, by which they lose their future welfare. To be brief, this murderer reigned thirty-one years and eight months. After him, the line of the kingdom departed from the family of king Basrad, and went into another dynasty ; the sum total of this is that, from king Basrad down to this chief, fourteen persons reigned during a space of five hundred and ope years. Then king Birmah, who, from the office of a minister, had obtained the dignity of a monarch, sat on the throne for thirty-five year.g. After him, king Janjab Singh, the son of king Birmah, continued reign- ing for twenty-seven years and seven months, and, at last, left this world."/. Then king Satarkhan, the son of king Janjab Singh, mounted the throne, and reigned twenty-one years. After him, king Mahipat, the son of Satarkhan, remained the representative of his father for twenty-five years and four months, and managed the affairs of the kingdom. After him, king Baharmal, *he «on of Mahipat, succeeded to the throne of empire, and, for thirtji-four years and eight months, conducted the affairs of ' administration and government. Then king Sarupdat, the son of king Baharmal, became sovereign, and lived for twenty-eight years and three months. After him, king Matrsain, the son of king Sarnpdat, adorned the throne of government for twenty-four years and three months, and passed his time in protecting, and doing justice to, hjs soldiery and subjects. Then king Sukhdan, the son of king Matrsain, became ruler, and reigned for twenty-seven years and two months. A.fter him, king Jaimal, the son of king Sukhdan, became chief for twenty-eight years and two months ; at last he was burnt in a fire and reduced to ashes. After him, king Kalnak, the son of king Jaimal, sat on the throne of his fathers, and remained ruler for thirty-nine years and four months. " Then king Kahnan * Bhang is an intoxicating potion made of hemp. THE OENAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 175 tbe son of king Kalnak, lighted up the world, and, for forty-six years, did not allow the neighbouring tyrants to come into his country^ After him, king Satarmardan, the son of king Kalman, adorned the throne of government, and ruled in the world for eight years and eleven months. After him, king Jiwanjat, the son of king Satarmardan, became the representative of his father, and bestowed happiness on the world for twenty-six years and nine months. Then king Harijak, the son of king Jiwanjat, became sovereign, and managed the affairs of the country for thirteen years and two months. After him, king JBirsain, the son of king Harijak, reigned on the throne of government for thirty- five years and two months, and managed the affairs of administration and government. After him, king Adhat, the son of king Birsain, was appointed ruler, but he, from the pride of youth and obtaining power, remained negligent regarding the affairs of the country, and passed his life in pleasures and debauchery, and generally spent his time in the harem. Assuredly excess and dissipation are very fascinating in the ' time of one's youth ; accordingly, it is pleasing to every young man, especially those who are rich in youth, and the right is on their side to be so ; but they, to whom God has , given wisdom, usually think and reflect before they indulge in voluptuousness or become fond of it, and, regarding the affairs of the kingdom before all matters, ponder on the words of their well- •wishers with all their heart and soul. When a ruler becomes dissolute, then he has left off {caring for) religion and country; and the effect of licentiousness is indolence, and of laziness, disgrace. Manyrulers, from idleness, have become beggars,* and many kings, by reasftn of sloth, have been debased. In short, when the neglect and carelessness of the king had increased greatly, and his unfitness become apparent to all, the nobles and grandees connived with the minister, and, having kUled the king, seated him on the throne. The moral is this, that the neglect of kings brings their power into the dust, and promotes ministers from the office of premier to the dignity of chiefs.. At last, king Adhat, after a reign of thirty years and eleven months, received the reward of his deeds. To sum up, from king;kBi]3nah to king Adhat sixteen persons ruled over the king- dom^and, after four hundred and fourteen years, the government departed from their family. When king Dandhar, from having been a minister, obtained the dignity of a monarch, he remained taking care of, and watching over, his soldiery and subjects for forty-one years and six months, and, at last, sounded the drum of departure. Then king Sain Dhoj, the son of king Dandharj sat on the throne for forty-five years, and the affairs of the world were itanaged by his hands. After him, king Mahagang, the son of king Sain Dhoj, became ruler, and, after forty-one years and two months, put on the robe of non-existence. After him, king Mahajodh, the son of king Mahagang, became chief, and, for thirty-three years, managed the affairs of the kingdom. Then king Nath, son of king Mahajodh, remained ruler for twenty-eight years, and, at last, reached the fiill measure of his age. After him, king • Literally, " Possession of the feasir, or mat for sitting on." 176 THE ARAISH-I-MAHML, OB Jiwan Eaj, the son of king Nstli, was established on the throne, and managed the afEairs of the kingdom for fortj-five years and seven months. After him, king Uday Sain, the son of Jiwan Eaj, sat on_ the throne of government, and remained in the world for thirty-seven years and five months. Then king Anandjal, the son of king Uday Sain, reigned for fifty-one years, and; at last, left the throne of government. Then king Eajpal, the son of king Anandjal, reigned on the throne of government, and, giving com- fort to the creatures of God, remained employed looking after the world and managing the kingdom ; by the power of his sword, he conquered many countries, and made many rebels obedient to him, but then the intoxication of the wine of pride rose high in him, and his haughtiness increased beyond bounds ; accordingly, he used to take no notice of most kings, but used to behave in an arrogant manner ; the end of it was that he prided himself on the strength o;^ his army, and the subduing of princes. The wise and learned have said, and it has also been proved, that those who become proud, haughty,' and arrogant, in a short time suffer such a repulse, that they become mixed with the earth, and he, who ties his turban with loftiness,* that very pagri immediately becomes his accuser, and seizes him by the throat and strangles him ; at last he fell , into the dust of degradation. To make the story short, a. king, by name Sakhwant, reigned over a small part of the country on the skirts of the mountains of Kamaon, and used, moreover, to" pay him tribute ; one day, taking his nobles and ministers, •■li6- gether with his army, he attacked the Maharaj or great king, and was victorious. What is impossible to God's power ? if He form the intention. He can uproot a mountain with a blade of straw, and can cause an ant to kill a snake. Accordingly, thg Rsja in spite of his power and strength, was killed by the hands of' a weak man, who became master of the country ; king Eajpal reigned twenty-six. years. To sum up, counting from king Dandhar down to this chief, nine persons were rulers, and, at last, the kingdom departed from their family after king Eajpal. Then king Sakhwant, the mountaineer, became master of the countries occupied by this sovereign ; much pride also arose in his mind, and he beg^n ^o act unbecomingly to his nobles and ministers, and was not abie to restrain the intoxication of the wine of royalty ; he was ignoble, and it boiled over, and he became intoxicated with it ; now, this state is not becoming to kings, rather it is necessary for them {to he) good dispositionedj take care of their army, look after their subjects, and appreciate their peoples' merits ; and that king who abandons these actions, the cord of royalty departs froni . his hands. Now this man, along with his bad deeds and deviation from right, was a taker of poppy also ; on account of his excess in this, his understanding became quite debased, and he generally passed most of his time dead drunk, and was beside himself night and day. It is not becoming for rulers to eat or drink anything * This means, ■w'ho behaves haughtily. I have given it literally, so aa to give the fuU. force of the natiVe sentence. THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 177 intoxicating^ especially poppy wHch leaves only the skin and bones on one's 'body, mates a strong man weak, those in good health, ill, . and those upright in figure, hump-backed ; the strong become like straws, their necks become bent down, and stupefaction overcomes them ; they remain awake all night, and sleep during the day, and do not retain their original form, but become degenerated.* In short, the king, by reason of his intoxication, became quite peevish, and began to oppress his subjects, and act unjustly to the s'oldiery ; the chiefs, on account of his bad behaviour, became discontented,t and averse to him. When the news spread into the neighbouring countries, king Birbakramajit, the king of Ujjain, collecting an army, came and attacked him, and he also assembling his forces, opposed him. The two armies fought well with each other, and thousands of men were killed ; the ^lain became a stream of blood, theistate of the battle-field assumed.another colour ; the bodies of brave men, from the number of' arrows, became like a reed planta- tion, and the breasts of the courageous became like sieves from the numbers of javelins ; the waves of the sharp swords made the armies a landing place of death, and entirely destroyed tlj^ apparatus of existence of every living being./. A thousand .bravos ' to the courage and bravery of the heroes of both sides, for each .broke the string of life, but did not turn their face from the blows of the daggers and swords up to the last moment of their existence, ^ijt last, there remained not to king Sakhwant the power of opposition; he fled quickly ,t but was killed, and fell on the field , of battle, and Birbakramajit returned victorious. In short, the reign o:^king Sakhwant lasted for fourteen years. There are many diverse opinions about the genfealogy of king Birbakramajit, the son (jftxandharpsain ; the composer of the.Khulasat-ul-Hind writes, that, from some histories and the chronicle of Akbar, it appears that his ancestors were kings of TJjjain, and his father's name was Gandharpsain ; but from the translation of the Sanghasan Battisi, it appears, that one day in a festiye assembly, many. dancers§ were dancing before king Indra, and a wonderful scene was going on, when, at the height of its excellence, the glance of Gandharpsain, the son 8f Indra, fell on one of the dancers ; moreover, she con- tinuafly. began to make eyes at him and she also was the favourite of the king. II The king, beholding this state [of affairs), became very angry, and there and then cursed his son, saying, " Do thou go from the upper to the lower world, and all day long remain in the form of an ass, and aU night in that of a man ; till, at last, a mighty king will burn thy asinine form in. a fire, then thou shalt return tO thy original shape, and shalt again come back to the regions of angels." Gandharpsain was immediately separated from his • household, and turning into the form of an ass, fell into * Literally, " metamorpliosed into an inferior being.'" t liiterally, " oomplainers." i Literally, " his feet were lifted up." $ " Apoliara" is a female dancer in the Court of Indra. II Literally " the approved of the eyes." ' »23 178 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIIi, OB the lake near Dharanagar, and there taking up his abode, formed this design to himself, " I will carry off the daughter of the king of this place, and thus obtain release from this ass' form ; because the king will assuredly burn me, and I, being changed into my original shape, will become a traveller to my paternal hoii),^." He was thus thinking, when a Brahman came to the banks oi that lake to wash; Gandharpsain,, hearing the soUnd of his footsteps, said from within the water, "0 Brahman ! I am Gandharpsain, the- son of Indra ; go and tell the king of this country to marry his daughter to me, and ~ then I will give him whatever he may want ; and, if he will not listen ;fco what I gay, then I will reducfe the whole of his kingdom to dust." The Brahman, that day, did not place any reliance on that sound, but when he had heard it two or three successive days, he felt constrained to go and tell king Dhar the whole particulars of it. The king, being astonished, himself ctome to the bank, and heard that sound with his own ears. On this, he said, " If thou art assuredly the son of king Indra, and hast the power of performing wonderful deeds, then make an iron battlement round this city, so that I may have some proof of what tnou sayest, and then I will marry my daughter to thee." Gan- dharpsain immediately offered up his prayers in the temple of the " Supreme Judge, and, by the power of the True Builder, without the help of masOns and iron-smiths, an iron fence, exceedingly strong, became apparent round the city. The people, on seemg this wonderful circumstance, became astonished, and the unto"- standing of the king began to leave him. He immediatelj; went , to the lake for the purpose of fulfilling his promise, for, :£rom the manifestation of this event j his words had become established, and not the least doubt remained in his mind. ' " NovC^issilB quickly from ,the water," said he, " and I will at once marry my daughter to thee/' Gandharpsain immediately issued forth from the water in the form of an ass ; the king, instantly on seeing him, became drowned in the whirlpool of astonishment, and immersed in shame.* When he recovered from that state, he thought in his heaf't that if he should give his daughter to him, then his enemies would- rejoice at his misfortune ; and if he should not ^ve'lier to him, then this holy born one would make him, as well S,s the ofl&cers of his kingdom, black as dust, and, in fact, would not leave a single individual alive. Gandharpsain, knowing what was passing in his, heart, said, " 0" king ! seeing me in this form, do not thou be distressed ; for this is the mystery of God, that in the day-time Ishould remain in the form of an ass, and-at night I should assume that of a man." In short, king bhar had not the power to with- draw from that transaction ; nolens volens, he married his daughter to him. Gandharpsain in the day-time used to be of the form of an ass, and eat grass in the stable ; and at night, going to the palace, slept with his bride ; but king Dhar, becoming vexed and distressed from the revilings of his enemies and the reproaches of prattlers, always remained thinking and reflecting how he could * , Literally, " the juice of sbauie," THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 179 punish him {or that deed. This is the account of what happened one night : Gandharpsain, according to fixed custom, one night leaving his asinine form, went into the harem in the form of a man ; and the king, getting his opportunity, hurnt his body, and reduced him to ashes. Gandharpsain immediately issued from it, and began to say, " king ! when Indra first cursed me, at that time he told me, thqtt when a king should burn this form of an ass, then I should go from this lower world to my original home in the shape in which I was before. Thou hast been most kind to me, in that thou hast burnt me and cut short my time, and hast removed my , curse ; may God give thee a good return. I here make a humble representation to thee : first, a son, by name Bhartari, has been born by me of a slave girl ; and now, thy daughter, who is pregnant, shall give birth to a boy, Bakramajft, who, in this body, wiU have the 4toength of a thousand elephants ; in short, the names of these two will remain fixed on the pages of the world to the Day of Judgment. The effects .of the curse of Indra have been now de- stroyed ; I must therefore go to the upper world, and take my leave of thee." Having thus said, he flew to the skies, and vanished out of their sight. The king remained astonished at Seeing this ' wonderful deed, and, at last, began to repent, that alas, he had been able to perform no service to that holy angel, for it was a wonderful ^ccidtot that he came into the world. Along with this, when he r^^cted that from his daughter there would be born of him a son so strong, that he should have the strength of a thousand elephants, ' then be became frightened, lest, when he got such power in the world, he should by the strength of his arm, take away his king- dom fro m him, and he himself should not be able to oppose him. fle, ffierefore, appointed a great number of persons for the purpose of bringing the son to him, immediately his daughter gave birth to him, go that he might kill him, and escape from his wickedness. Tha;t girl, who, in the first place, was burning from the fire of separation from Gandharpsain, when she saw that this crowd had been appointed for this purpose, namely, that when she g^ve birth to a boy^hey' might destroy him, her life becoming twice as burdensome as bgfore, she saw she could not bear the force of the blow, and before it took place, cut open her belly with a knife, and put an end to her life. By chance, the nine months had been completed, and it had been determined by the will of God, that this child should be born into this world, and should do deeds, the like 'of which no mortal has performed, or can perform. On this account, Bakramajit issued forth from her womb alive, and began to cry like new-bom children ; the keepers, that instant, took him to the king, and narrated at fuU length the particulars of the death of his mother, and the circumstances of his birth. The king was already distressed on account of Gandharpsain ; and now, when he heard of the death of his daughter, his grief still more increased; in short, immediately on seeing that orphan child, love .arose in his heart, and he instantly appointed many milk-nurses and wet-nurses for his bringing up, and turned his thoughts to the fostering and instruction of Bhartari in the same manner. By tha favour of God, 180 THE ABAfSH-I-MAHFIL, OE the two brothers, in a few days, grew up, but as, on the glorious forehead of Bakramajit, the marks of royalty and rule were apparent, on this account' the king liked him the most. When he became a young man, he made over to him the governorship of Malwa ; on this Bakraimajit represented to the king, that he was not fit to reign before his elder brother, and that it was better that his brother should be ruler, and he, minister. The king, on hearing this speech, was exceedingly pleased, and -gave the governorship to Bhartarl, made Bakramajit his minister, and then dismissed them both. When they arrived iii the ' above-named province, Bhartarl made Ujjain.his seat of government, and immediately sat , on the throne : Birbakramajit also remained employed in the office of minister, and began to manage well the ordering and arrange- ment of political and civil matters. Gi:adiially, the two brothers got into their possession several of the regions, which were Hea.r their country, and made many rulers subservient to themselves, _and their^orders became current in many lands.. The city of XJjiain was marked out about thirteen kos in length, and nine in breadth. Eing Bhartarl, however, greatly loved his wife, whose name was Sita, and who was also called Bangala ; for this reason, he lived much in the harem, wasting a good deal of his precious time in sport and pleasure with her, and began to pay less attention to political and civil matters ; so the weight of the important affairs^ of the kingdom and government fell on Bakramajit. He, with g^sp intentions, used often to advise the king, that it was not proper for him to spend so nmch time in the harem, and pay no attention ■ to the affairs of the kingdom. The queen, either on this account, or because the burden of the affairs of the kingdom rested onjiim. became displeased with him ; and, having taunted the king* caused him to turn him out of the country, and take away his power from him. That creature, who was bereft of his understanding, and under petticoat government, behaved thus badly to his brother, that he remembered not his brothership, and forgot his true self-, dfevotion, and, for the sake of a woman, who was the destroyer of his house and devoid of understanding, turned that abl^m^ out of the city, and broke off his own arm with his own hand. yC^hen an interval had thus passed, a Brahman, by the power of his austerity, acquired . a fruit of such a kind, that whoever ate it, obtained eternal life. He, however, at the instigation of his wife, in* the hope of getting a livelihood, came and offered that immortal fruit to the king, and obtained his wish. The monarch, in short, was much in love with his wife, and made over that life-giving fruit to her. That whore was in love with the superintendent of the stable, and gave that incomparable curiosity to him ; he also was captive in the net of Lakhabeswa,* and taking that rare fruit, went and placed it, before her. It came into her mind, that eternal life belongs to the abstemious and good, and, for wicked doers like herself, this much life even is a calamity ; it was, therefore, better that she should give that everlasting fruit to the king, for, by his * This is the name of a celebrated Eastern courtesan. THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 181 universal favours, a whole people remained flourisliing, and a world was made happy ; if such a person should gain long life, then the people of God would obtain comfort until the Day of Judgment. At last, she came and offered that fruit to the king, who, recogniz- ing it, became astonished; at length, haAdng enquired into the affair, he became acquainted with the secret love of the queen. When that deceitful one saw that her power had gone from her hand, then, by reason of fear, she threw herself from a lofty house, and went and reached the lowest of the low of the regions of hell. The king became ashamed of his love for that harlot, and began thinking how uselessly he had wasted his precious Hfe. But this account of the queen's falling in love with the master of the stable, and of her dying in this way, is lUot written in other books ; but he| chastity has been established, and the following account is given of her death, — namely, that one day king Bhartari mounted his horse to go hunting, and when he arrived in a village near the city, he saw that a wonian, having come with the bier of her husbaqd, joyfully and happily burnt herself with him, and reduced herself to ashes. The king greatly applauded and praised the , affection and fidelity of that very chaste woman ; moreover, coming into his harem, narrated that circumstance to his queen; she, on hearing it, said, "This thing is remote from the love of chaste ^Fomen, that they should wait till they are burnt, rather they should ll^ve a sigh, and die." This her speech became like a thorn in the heart of the king. One day, for the sake of trying her, he sent several men weeping and lamenting, from the hunting-ground, to go to the city and say, that there had been a fight between the king ^nc^fcjdemon, and, that, at last, the latter had been victorious and killed the king. They, first of all, went and published the news regarding this affair in every place ; at last, it reached the queen also ; moreover, for the verifying of it, they shewed the king's own clothes besmeared with blood. The queen, who was deep in her love_and fervent in her affection, did not think about the falsehood or truth of it, but died on the spot, and established the suit {truth) of h*r l*ve, and caused her name to be written in the archives of those who have good names. Prom the contents of these books, it appears that king Bhartari had two wives, and loved them both : one, from the effects of her love for the master of the stable, fell and was killed, whose name was Sita ; and the other, hearing the news of the death of the king, died on the spot ; she is known as Bangala.XTo make the story short, king. Bhartari, either from «hame after the death of that adulteress, or from grief at the death of that good woman, having left the kingdom, became a traveller in the desert of loneliness. At last, he attained the stage post of his desire ; and, from the greatness of his austerity and devotion, the light of salvation arose in his bosom, and the curtain of darkness was removed from before the eyes of his heart ; he always remained beholding the beauty of his beloved, and, escaping also from the blow of death, became established in the enclosure of everlasting life, — the cause of it was that everlasting fruit, or else his severe austerity ; in short, with the Hindus he is alive to the present day, 182 THE ARAJSH-l-llkHFIL, OE and secretly wanders about the eartH. When king Bhartari went away, the country was left withotit a protector, and there was no one who could shield the people of God from the attacks of the demons ; moreover, in the neighbouring regions, thousands of demons were seen, and men begkn to sufEer pain beyond descrip- tion; in the city of Ujiain also, !;a demon, by name Parthpal, who' had the rule over a great many man-eating fiends, and many other • cannibal jins arriving there, began to harass, and moreover to eat, , the people of that place, many of whom became morsels for their appetite, while others of them, escaping with their lives, fl.ed away from there. That flourishing city, which was equal to a country, became in a few days quite depopulated, It is true, that a country without a protector has the same power as a body without a head. When that merciless one had eaten up many of the inhabitants of that country, then the chiefs of that place consulted with -each otlier, and thus petitioned that hardrhearted one, saying, " Do thou fis on the amount of thy food, so that one man may present himself in thy court, and ' the rest of the people, for that day, may remain free from that calamity." He agreed to this, and said, "Let that person, whose turn it is, on that day sit on the throne of govern- , ment, and let all the nobles, that day up till evening, manage the . afEairs of the country and "revenue according to his commands; moreover, let not a single person ever object to his deeds, or raisey before him the head of rebellion ; when it becomes night, then thiSi person shall become my mouthful." AU of them, on account of their urgent necessity, agreed to what he said, and established *it as ' a regular custom, on the inhabitants of that city. Accordingly, every day one person from amongst them, on the day of hi^jjjjirn^ used to reign till evening time, and then, at night, became his portion, and the rest of the inhabitants of the city used to remain expecting their death, like a flock of goats belonging to a cook- house. friends ! if you reflect on your own state, you will see that this is also your own condition with regard to the fiend of dea.th ; moreover, each one of you becomes by tumS his morsel, still you waste your time in negligence ; but remember tfeis^that not a single individual will escape from his hand, or always remain safe. When some time had thus.passed, by a lucky chance, a body of merchants, coming frota Gajrat, alighted on the banks of the river near TJiJain. Birbakramajit was -also a companion of those merchants on that journey, with the rank of a servant ; when it became night, many jackals, according to their custom, began to call ; one jackal from amongst them began to say in their language^ that, after two or three hours, a dead body would come- floating- down that river, with four precious rubies tied about its waist and a turquoise ring on its finger ; if any one would take out that dead body, and give it to him to eat, the sovereignty of the whole world would come into his hands. Birbakramajit understood the languao-& of beasts and birds, and hearing his speech, came to the banks of the river, and stood expectant; after two or three minutes, he beheld that a dead body was coming floating down the river ; he immediately took it out, and saw the ring on its finger, asd the THE OENAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY, 183 nibies about its waist ; then, believing what the jackal had said to be true, he brought and placed that lifeless body before him, and , himself became hopeful of sovereignty. The next day, he went to wander about Ujjain, and, as it was his sweet home formerly, he began- to roam about every street and market. When, he arrived at the door of a potter, he beheld that an equipage, with royal appurtenances, was standing there ; and all the nobles also, together with the army, were present, and wished to mount his son on the ■elephant and take him to the throne ; a more wonderful thing was this, that his mother and father, tearing* their collars from distress were standing at their door, throwing up dust over themselves, and tears of blood were incessantly flowing from their eyes. Birbakra- ma jit, beholding this cirdumstahce, was astonished as to what was the cause of this weeping and lamefttation, for all those things were thejappurtenances of joy. At last, he enquired with his mouth from some one about the circumstance ; afterwards, taking pity on the old • age of the potter, and the youth of his son, he addressed him, " old man ! ido not thou be at all sorrowful, nor give vent to any tears,, for I will go, in place of thy son, before the demon, then, with the help of God, having killed him, I will free the creatures of » God from the claws of his tyranny, or being killed, will enjoy the taste of the favour of Paradise ; for whoever is killed for another will assuredly, in the next world, obtain everlasting life." Hearing ^^ra, the potter and several of the people, said, " How is it right for us, that we should unjustly make a traveller the mouthful of . this cannibal demon ; in short, if we shall thus act to-day, then what sh^U we do to-morrow, that is to say, whom shall we send in his place ? it is, therefore, better that he also, according to the sSanll'SP bt others, should himself go in his turn, and " present him- self." At last, Birbakramajit, having made much expostulation about this matterj took that 'potter's son's turn on himself, and according to appointment, dressed himself in royal clothes and anointed hiniself with fine attar ; then; having arrayed himself with arms and weapons, he mounted a mountain-bodied (i. e., very powerful) elephant, and with much pomp and grandeur, causing the . Joyfurti^ngs to be beaten, entered the fort, and sat on the royal throne; and the nobles, according to their rank standing in their respective places, became employed in the affairs of the kingdom, and, agreeably to the orders of his majesty, placed various kinds of food and different sorts of cooling drinks at that door of the fort, which was the exit of the demon ; but when they saw the marks of royalty apparent on the forehead of Birbakramajit, tlley remained uttering prayers all day long for his safety. When it became night, the demon, according to custom, came there, and, with much avidity, swallowed up those nice dishes, and drank all the different sorts and kinds of cooling drinks. After that, he went in and beheld a very elegant young man seated on the throne, and wished to advance ; Birbakramajit, immediately on seeing this, * " Chak" also means a potter's wheel and is here used with special reference to the potter. 184 ^ THE arItsh-i-MaOTil, OB prepared to flgM with him, and stood up ; at last, the two began to wrestle with each other ; sometimes the demon was victorious, sometimes he ; after some time thej left off wrestling, on which Birbakrama jit, drawing, his sword from its sheath, wished to put an end to the business of that useless one. The demon began to reflect that the young man was also very powerful and dreadfully strong, and that it would, be better to make peace with him, and take the road of escape. Thus having considered, he left off fighting, and addressed him, saying, — " young man ! thou hast ' entertained me with a right good' feast and fed me with most da,inty dishes, and hast given me exceedingly nice cooling drinks; on this account, I have given thee thy life ; rather for thy sake, I have given safety to the whole city. I am now going ; may the kingdom of this country be auspicious to thee ; I have beheld no one else who was fit for this business ; should any important a^air arise, call me tp mind, and know that I will come to thee without demur, for I am, from my heart, thy friend and well-wisher, and will become thy associate in , the time of difficulty ; rather will I take the calamity on my own head in thy place." Blrbakramajit said,- " I had intended to kill thee, and, depriving thee of thy life, to have taken the retribution of the blood of the world ; but, from < hearing thy loving speech, I have let thee off in safety ; however, this is the demand made of thy love, that thou must depart from here, and when necessity befalls me, I will send and call theeJ' The demon, after hearing this elegant speech, took his deparflBre from TJjjain. In the morning^ when they came into the fojt, and , beheld him alive, they remained astonished, thinking to themselves, " This is indeed a mortal, then how has he escaped from that cannibal demon/ and . moreover, overcome him ? thanks 49rt!0 the Creator for sending such a mighty and brave young man here, that, by the power of his arm, such a tyrant has departed from this city." Then becoming merry, they went and gave this information to all the inhabitants of the city, and the iiobles and ministers then came there ; when they saw him alive, they knew that the demon had not succeeded in carrying his point, and had therefore fled. They thought that person must be either some holy angel, the •oflSpring of some king of great power, or else Blrbakramajit, the bft>ther of king Bhartari ; otherwise where had mortal such power as to save himself from that creature? to make him run away was quite impossible. At length, from enquiring, they found out that he was Blrbakramajit ; but as a long time had passed since he had gone away, he had, therefore, not been recognized. At last, when ' they reflected on his deeds and marks, they rejoiced and thanked God that the sway of the demon over that country had been removed, and they had obtained security ; they then all tied on the waist- belt of service, and regarded obedience to him as incumbent on themselves. The affairs of the kingdom began to be properly managed; tyrants and rebels desisted from oppression and rebelKon, and every one, according to their desire, making merry meetings, the wine of pleasure began to be passed rounds nor was there any house in the city, where there was not great rejoicing. The buds THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLT. 185 I of the hearts of old and young opened out, in fact the buds, which were painted in pictures even, also bloomed ; the inhabitants of the city rejoiced one and all, and the country became flourishing again ; the dome of heaven re-echoed with the sound of the voices of singers and minstrels ; from' earth to heaven became filled with the strains of musical instruments ; beholding the movements of the dancers, Venus began to faint ; and, from their great splendour and coquetry, the lightning became bewildered. The people of the city made a feast of a wonderful description, and deprived the court of Indra of their senses ; in every street, drums began to sound, and, in every house, rejoicings arose oh high ; at last, the ^rmy of joy and pleasure increased to such a degree, that the host's of grief and pain were all trodden under foot. By chance, those were the days of the Holi ■; accordingly, every assembly began ,to be coloured, , and the^ulal powder to fly about ; m all directions, kumkumhas,* began to be struck, and everybody to call out. Welcome, welcome ; the colour of the mouth of every one became purple, and their clothes safFron-coloured. In short, after the king had seated himself on the throne of government, the ministers, nobles, chiefs, and officials, seeing his excellence, became submissive to him, and, by his good- > ness and kindness, many ' people, who had nothing, became pos- sessed of means ; the custom of complaining departed from the ,. world, and the heads of the different courts began generally to i^ain idle ; his generosity made his soldiery, and subjects weU o^and his liberality made the houses of thts fakirs and poor people . full ; ihen every individual, having obtained his rights, began to bless hjm from morning to night, and every one began continually to praise and eulogize him. In his time, the rain used to fall ia its ^B^pfer season ; there never was famine, not a single person remained, indigent, no one starved, no one was able to put his hands on another's property, and the road of tyranny and oppression became blocked up and the road of theft and robbery disappeared ; in short, the king had, besides outward knowledge and exceUen'ce, ■inward purity, and, on this account, he used to remove the burden of every one's heart ; he had also knowledge of the invisible, and knew muTh about past and future events. His bravery and cour- age 'were such, that he took all the countries to Dakhan, Urlsa, Bangala, Gajrat, and Somnat, and made the mlers of these regions obedient to himself ; at last, having killed king Sakhwant, he also took DUll, and :^uled over all the countries as far as Kabul. The particulars of the slaying of king Sakhwant have been narrated before. \ In short, the king had divine and spiritual aid, and, for tHis reason, used to relieve the necessities of aU indigent persons, and the desires of those who had any wishes, without delay, and no one went disappointed from the door of his threshold ; moreover, many demands and requests of those who had petitions to make, which were beyond human power, and outside of the compound of understanding, from these even he did not turn away his face, but performed them in a right good manner; accordingly, several * These are the globiileB in which the red powder they throw at each other is eoatained^ '24 186 THE aeIish-i-mahfil, OB wonderful st6i*ies of his relieving' people from their necessity are told in various books, but more especially so in. the Sanghasan Battisi ; for, in that ' book, the adventures of that king of high spirit only, and of no other, are written ; accordingly, many people, regarding them as a means of giving pleasure, relate them in the merry meetings of their chiefs, and reflect well on their meaning. When king Birbakramajit departed from this mortal world to the everlasting inn, some five hundred and forty-two years afterwai-ds, a king, by name Esja Bhoj, who was of very good descent, well-, dispositioned, exceedingly just, equitable, and of' high family be-' came ruler of Malwa ; and Pandat Barrach, his minister, was also exceedingly good-tempered and trustworthy ; for this reason the king appointed him to be the key of his understanding, and his help in important matters. In short, wonderful and curious stories and tales are told of that mighty chief and his minister ; in Vhis world after king Birbakramajit, he had the. highest reputation. By chance, king Bhdj went to the forest to hunt, and beheld that many boys, having made a young lad their king, another minister, and another superintendent of police, were transacting all the business and affairs of the state according to their orders, and thus remained playing with each other. Their king also, sitting X)n a « mound, was issuing forth the decrees regarding the affairs of the kingdom, and the orders of the courts with firmness and authority ^ like a ruler ; they were not at all perplexed at the arrival of tjMf monarch, but remained seated in the same way without paying any regard ,to him, and it is well known that {these boys flaying) this > game of kings settled the quarrel of the theft of the ruby, which no powerful king had ever settled, in such a way, that the wise men of the world have remained astonished and gazing like pictured. Th"8 king, hearing this circumstance and beholding their government, was astounded, and said, " Bring that boy to me." When he had dis- mounted from the throne, the fear of the king overcame him, and he began to cry after the manner of children ; on this, by the order of the king, they took him back to the mound, and he began to act royalty in the same way as he was doing before. The monarch, on beholding this their state, s.aid, " This is the effecf oT that mound, it is not the capacity of that boy ; quickly dig it away." Agreeably to the orders of the king, when they had dug it awaiy, a beautiful jewelled throne appeared ; then the king knew for certain, that th6 only reason 'of their acting royalty so well was that throne ; ' otherwise how could that helpless boy have known anything about the affairs of a court or government. At last, being greatly pleased and delighted, he took it away to his capital, and wished to put his feet upon it ; on this, one of the thirty-two imaged, according' to the command of God, spake out, staying, " O king Bhoj, this throne is the dais of king Birbakramajit; thou must distinguish thyself like him, and then thou mayest sit on it." The king astonished at its talking, began to say, " images ! relate what wonderful deeds king Birbakramajit performed." In short the thirty-two images related thirty-two rare and wonderful stories before king Bhoj* The king, on hearing them, remained silent, and the Pan4at THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 187 Bari-acii wrote theai with much elegance in the Sansbrat tongue, a/nd then gave that collection the name of the Battisi Sanghasan, or " The Thirty-two Thrones." Accordingly that boob is celebrated in the regions governed by that chief up to the present time, and hence, the wise of the world and mighty bings have settled, that those mpnarchs and chiefs, who become famed in the earth by reason of their great deeds, and to whom few are found equal in equity and justice, the history of their reigns should be published in every region and country ; most probably for this reason, that the rulers of every age 'may follow their behaviour^ and mahage' ' the affairs of the world in that same way ; accordingly, many princes and several great bings have ruled over the regions of India,, and the history of each one of themrhas only remained during their owrv reigns ; when they departed from the surface of existence, then ' thefr histories also became non-rexistent and non-apparent, except the history of bing Jiidishtar, which has been c^ebrated in every place, and remains also to the present time ; accordingly, a few of Ms circumstances have entered into the writing {of this book). After him, bing Birbabramaiit also was celebrated for his praise- ^ worthy qualities, and noted for the way in which he administered I the affairs of the country, and gave people what they wished ; hence the date of > his reign has been established in the records *flf the people of India [either from the time he began to reign G*^-^ Malwa, or from that date when he slew bing Sabhwant, which was three thousand and forty-four years after the time of Judisfitar], and continues up to the present time also, which is somewh%,t over eighteen hundred years from his reign ; his namei and-.t^*t of bing Bhartari, have not been effaced from the pages of the world, and it is probable that, they will remain to the end of time. Hence, it becomes every man of dignity and every ruler, to spend their time in giving people their wishes, and not to do any- thing from avarice, for there is no dependence on the pomp and .grandeur of the world ; it is not in the least, or slightest, degree lasting ; its existence is entirely non-existence, and its prosperity is in tie iighest degree dilapidation ; all its fl-ower-beds are full of thoras, and the gentle breezes of its spring are libe the hot pesti- lential winds, and, whom it blesses with wealth and power, him, at last, it mabes dejected through poverty and grief. In the chronicles of Abbar, it is written that Birbabramajlt, in the last days of his- life, forming the intention of conquering countries, went to the Dabhan, and fought with Salbahan ; by chance he was taben puisoner at his hands ; Tvhen he saw that he was about to bill him, " My year and date will not become extinct from- the records of the' world ; this is my sole ambition, and nothing else.". S slbahan agreed to what he said, arid continued it as it was before ;* accordijigly, to the present day also, it is current in the world, and the> date of king Salbahan has remained for this reason, that he toob such a mighty and exalted bing prisoner, and billed him. But, in the Eajawali and Rajtarangl, it is not thus written, fo r his death is * This obsGure passage means that when he killed Birbakramajit; he went on, com. puting the years, as if ie were still alive and reigning. 188 THE AEifSH-I-MAHFIl, OiE proved to have been perpetrated by the hands of the jogi, Saman- darpal, and the account of it is as follows : When Blrbakramajit had become victorious, and filled with wealth and power, he reigned for a certain time, and gave people their wishes ; at last, the cold boisterous wind of old age touched the flower garden of his youth, his graceful and majestic form bowed from the blow of old age, and wrinkles gathered on his forehead ; the sight of his eyes waxed dim, his teeth were broken, his ears became dull of hearing, his brain weak, and his understanding decreased; no flesh was left on his body, and, on his bones, there remained naught but skin ; life was worse to him than death, and his movements became dependent on another. In this state, Samandarpal, the jogi, a great musician [who knew hundreds of charms and magical arts, was skilful in the science of talismans ; whomever he wished, he , could in, an instant fascinate, and in one minute make them mad, and be^des this, was also very expert in the art of removing his body from one place to the other], one day, by some means, got into, the presence of the king, and, by his magic and arts, deceived him, moreover he took in the ministers and nobles also ; in short, they were all subdued to such a degree, that the king and pillars of the state never swerved a hair's breadth from his bidding, or placed one " foot even, out of the path of obedience to him. One day with fraud and cunning, he began to say to the king, " Thy original' body, by reason of old age, has become very afflicted and weak, an^ the power of moving even remains not to thee ; my advice to thee is this, that thou shouldst learn from me the art of repioving ttiyself to, another body, and, leaving this weak frame, shouldst go into the strong body of some youth, from which the soul has but just^putraj- ed; so that thou mayst a second. time be blest with the wealth olt ■ youth and bodily enjoyment." The days of the life 6f the king had become accomplished ; he was immediately caught in the net of the jogi, and, having learnt that science from him, removed his own soul into the body of a dead youth. The jogi was expert in this science, and immediately putting his own soul into the body of the king, without hesitation killed him, and then- became feed as his representative on the throne of government. Although* this story is very widely spread, still the wise and discriminate do not believe it^ or regard it as true, for the soul is an individual and delicate thing, and, in itself, is free from old age, youth, weakness, and impotency ; but those circumstances befall it by reason of the body, and, since the frame of the king had become weak through old age, and his senses and strength had given their full answer, how then could the soul of the jogi come into his body, and con- veying to it the state of youth, become properly the root of all necessary requirements ? for the strength and power of it depend on the body. There is this also, as a proof, to give it the lie, that when the soul of the jogi entered the king, the^n why should it be called Samandarpal? for the giving of names depends on the person himself, and it cannot be without the body; and the soul has nothing to say with regard to calling it Zaid or Amar {Jack or Tom) ; if this circumstance had been really true, .then he THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 189 would have been called king Birbakramajit, It is quite clear that there is no truth about the transferring of the body, but, as Samandarpal was his usual associate and companion, and also owing to his magic and enchantment, he therefore managed to stupify the king, in fact the pillars of state also were taken in by him ; when the king died his natural death, or when Salbahan killed him, then the ministers, consulting together, placed him on the throne. In short, as there are many diversities of opinion regarding . the birth of Birbakramajit, so also are there a great number regarding his death. It is said that the age of the' king ■ was eleven hundred years, and he reigned over the kingdom of Dilli for ninety years. Then king Samandarpal, having left the state of a devotee, succeeded to the throne. At first, outwardly he used to p,ppear day and night employed in worship, but inwardly always reiflained separated from his Lord ; he only became a jogi to appear (a good mnn) in the sight of people, but the intention of his heart was quite difBerent ; dust was besmeared over his body, but not from humility, rather, it made apparent his inward foulness ; in form he was a devotee, but in reality was in love with the glitter of the world ; his thoughts were not on the everlasting God, but , that unfortunate one was the slave of Bir BataL* Although his outward tongue remained tied, still his inward tongue gave ' utterance to many words ; ashes were rubbed over his face, but his heart was fixed with devils ; his penance and invocation were all a sham ; his adoration w^s all dust and earth ; outwardly he had withdrawn his hand from the world, but had stretched forth the hand of his heart towards its riches ; he had closed the outward ^aae q£ his eyes on the earth, but he kept the eye of his heart open, expecting its {rewa/rds) ; outwardly he was of the form of tigers, but inwardly was a dog of the world. At last, many short- witted persons, by reason of his witchcrafts, were caught in his net ; many stupid persons, regarding his forebodings as miracles, bent their heads before him ; hundreds, from the longing to learn che- mistry, became obedient to him ; and thousands, from the desire of knowing how to prepare mercury, were killed in attachment to him. Th«result was this, that a whole world became captive and obedient to that deceiver, and he obtained from his devotion the result which he wished, that is to say, the beggar's mat was left and a king's throne was obtained ; but assuredly he lost the small philosopher's stpne, and obtained iron covered with rust ; in fact he let go heaven and seized earth. Bravo ! bravo ! that for a short life and for a few days' pleasure, Samandarpal lost the possession of true wealth and holiness, and obtained the kingdom of the world with much labour and toil. At last, with shame and regret, he took the road to the land of non-existence ; the duration of his reign was twenty-four years and two - months. Then king Chandrapal, the son of king Samandarpal, sat on the throne of government for forty years and five months ; at last, he became a traveller on the road of non- existence. King Nainpal, the son of king Chandrapal, sounded ** Batal is the name of a demon who is Bupposed to occupy dead bodies. 190 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFII,, OE the drum of government fifty-one years and five montlis, and, at last, marched to the country of non-existence. King Despal, the son of king Nainpal, governed for forty-seven years and two months, and, at last, passed away from the world.. King Narsingh- pal, the son of king Despal, was blessed with power for forty-eight years and three months, after that he took away with him shame and regret. King Sobhpal the sOn of king Narsinghpal, reigned thirty-seven "years and eleven months, and, at last, left every thing. King ISTakhpal, the son of king Sobhpal, remained the representative of his father for thirty-eight years and three months, and managed the affairs of the kingdom, well. King Ambaratpal, the son of king Nakhpal, governed twenty-seven years and six months^ and gave the people ease by his equity and justice. King Mahlpal, the son of king Ambaratpal, remained engaged in the business of the kingdom fifty-five years and five months, and cherished 'tis soldiery and subjects with his justice and equity. King Bhimpal, the son of king Mahlpal, managed the affairs of tjie kingdom ■ forty-eight years and eight months ; at last, he went and took up his abode in Paradise. King Gobindpal, the son of king Bhimpal, remained governing and adorning the kingdom thirty-seven years an(J nine months after' his father ; at last, he took his road to the world of non-existence. King Bainlpal, the son of Gobindpal, remained governing twenty-nine years and two months, and, at ' last, died. King Hurpal, the son of king Bainipal, goveraed twenty-four years and nine months, and gave ease to the people by his justice and equity. King Maddanpal, the son of king Hurpal, was ruler for thirty-one years , and two months. King KUrmpal, the son of king Maddanpal, spent forty-five years and five jnoBihs. of liis life in governing ; at last, he took the road of non-existence. When king Bakrampal, the son of ting Karmpal, became the representative of his father, he set himself to work to conquer countries, and make many rulers obedient to himself, and took , tribute from them ; still the avarice of conquering lands departed not from him ; accordingly, taking an army with him, he attacked many cities, and subdued them by the fame of his power «,nA the strength of his arm and thus for, a time, adorning the country «ind conquering forts, gave splendour to the government. When the days of his mortal life became few, it was fixed in the decree of God. that the sovereignty should go from this familvto another race. The above king, from pride and haughtiness and without any cause, went and attacked Talok Chand, king of Bahraioh ; he also prepared his army, and confronted him ; a great fight ensued, and the swords set to work with a right good will ; thousands of young men were killed, and the heads of hundreds of brave heroes were cut off; the heaps of the slain reached to the tops of the. elephants, and the piles of corpses appeared like minarets on the battle-field. At last, by the will of the divine God, king Bakrampal was defeated and slain, and king Talok Chand came off victorious. To sum up,, king Bakrampal reigned forty-four years and three months, and, reckoning from Samandarpal to him, the sovereignty continued in his family for three hundred and f orty-three»years. THE ORNAMENT OP THE ASSEMBLY. 191 , during whicli sixteen persons ruled ; after that, it . was transferred to another race. Behold ! king Talok Chand, the ruler of Bahraieh, was lord but of a small country, and, now and then, used to pay- tribute to the king of Indraparast, and had not the power to defeat a braTe mighty king like Bakrampal, who had such a large army and so many instruments of war ; only his fortune was favourable, and the sovereignty of Indraparast descended to him, and he became king of that place ; but death gave not safety to him, and, for this cause, he reigned but two years. Then king Bakram Chand the son of king Talok Chand, remained reigning with success for twenty-two years and seven months. Then king Katak Chand, his son, ascended the throne, and lived four years and three months. After him, king Ram Chand, his son, performed the duties of sovereignty for fourteen years an(f eleven months ; at last^ he took his^ departure f rom ■ this world. After him, king A dhar Chand, the light- and delight of king 'Ram Chand, remained bestowing light on the banquet of the kingdom for eighteen years and two months ; at last, he was blown out by the cold boisterous wind of death. Then king Kalyan Chand, the son of king Adhar Chand, succeeded to the throne, and, for fifteen years and seven months, i» reigned in ease and comfort, and, at last, gajve his earthly body to the fire. After him, king Bhim Chand, the son of king Kalyan « Chand, remained ruling the country, and fighting with his sword for eighteen years and three months, and, at last, was killed by fhe* sword of death. Then, king Loh Chand, the son of king Bhim « Chand, remained bestowing fruit on the gardens of the kingdom for twQpty-five years and five months, and, at last, took away on , his breast the brand of regret. After him, king Gobind Chand, T;h^so3' of king Loh Chand, remained drinking the wine of wealth and power for twenty-two years and two months, and, at last, fulfilled the measure of his life. Then queen Paimdevi, the wife of king Gobind Chand, succeeded to the throne, for this reason, that the king above-mentioned had no sons, and the officers, who were his attendants, were of good dispositions, and did not forget what thev owed him for their salt, and did not lose sight of the fruit *of^faithfulness, but placed their mistress on the throne ; and accepting her dominion and sway, they all fastened tight ' round their waists the waist-belt of service. The officials managed politi- cal and civil matters .agreeably to her commands, and began to make their subordinates work well. But death did not give safety to that modest woman, arid, after one year, she went from this world full of ambition. In short, from king Tilok Chand down to Paimdevi, ten persons governed during a space of a hundred and fifty-five years. Then king Har Prem, 'tyho from being a beggar had attained the dignity of a king, ascended the throne. His history was thuS : when there was no king left among the heirs of king .Gobind Chand and queen Paimdevi, and the people saw the ' ~ kingdom devoid of a king, the nobles and well-wishers of the realm, -having sworn themselves in, consulted together, that a ruler was necessary for the management of the affairs of the country an^^- the business of the empire ; the dominion and sway of Har Prem, 192 THE ARAiSH-r-MAH^iL, OB the devotee [who was of a very good disposition and holy, and whom a whole world wished to serve, in short, whotn the nobles also trusted], were displeasing to no one, and every one regarded his service ,as lucky, and obeyed from their hearts whatever he said. Lt was better, therefore, to seat him on the throne, and obey what he ordered in the government and administration of the Eingdoin. For that devotee, who worshipped God and was wise, would never wish ill to the creatures of God, and would carry out well the laws of - justice and equity. To make the story short, the ministers and nobles, with much entreaty, raised him from the devotee's mat, and seated him on the royal throne. He reigned seven years and five months, and, at last, took the road of ^the country of non-existence. Kitfg Gobind Prem, the son of king Har Prem, ruled on the throne of the kingdom after his father, and gave his subjects rest for twenty years and, three months, qpd, at last, burnt his earthly body in the fire. Then Gopal Prem, t^e son of Gobind Prem, became the representative of, his father, and remained employed in the affairs of the kingdom fifteen years and three months, and, at last, also took the road to the land of non- existence. King Maha Prem, the son of Gopal Prem, sat . on the throne of the kingdom after his father ; outwardly he remained em- ^ ployed in political and civil affairs, but inwardly was greatly disgusted * with, and despised, the world, and all that was in it, and passed , much of his time with devotees and holy men ; moreover, he listened to the speeches of men who had divine knowledge, and devotSetf, with the ear of his heart.' The result was this, that his mind was > not absorbed with earthly sovereignty, but his inward soul was entirely filled with the wealth of holiness, and, although the bride of this world used to come before him daily, decked out in a"afef?" style, still she did not find the slightest place in his truth-seeing eyes. Verily he, in whose eyes friends have found a place,' when wiU a stranger be pleasing to his sight ? and he, whose soul has been lighted up by the lamp of salvation, when will the light of the candle of sovereignty appear agreeable to him P and he, who has obtained the straight road to the -destination of futurity, when will he wander in the crooked roads of this perishalEe* inn? Assuredly, salvation and freedom are unfading riches anff in- comparable favours. The pomp of this world is not superior to the wealth of the next ; the religious mendicant's patched garment is a great deal better than the robes of royalty, and he, who has chosen the corner of solitude, he alone, in this mortal resting-place, can Stretch out his legs and sleep. At last, the severity, of fasting drew that holy man to itself, and he threw the crown 6t royalty Ijo the ground, and placed on his head the tiara of futurity, and set his face towards* the wilderness. Praised be his far-seeing wisdom, that he regarded the favours of futurity as everlasting, and entirely foreweni; the wealth , of this world. That holy man reigned six years and eight months. To sum up, counting from king Har Prem to Maha Prem, four persons, during fifty-three years, ruled * That is, he took to the wilderness, or again became a devotee. THE OKNAMKNT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 193 on the royal throne ; at last, the fire burnt and reduced them to ashes. When it became knowij that, the king of ludraparast having left the world, and retired into the corner of solitude, the royal throne .was empty, and its wide domains without a head, then the rulers of every country determined to seize the land, and, on this , account, all marched armies against it. But king Dabi Sain, the king of Baingala brought a large army first of all and reached ■ Indraparast very quickly. There was no ruler there, or any one to oppose him ; without warfare, he seized the land and ascended the throne of the kingdom. The nobles and ministers, and all other , officers, came and presented themselves. In short, he also adorned the, affairs of the kingdom for eighteen years and five months, and, at _ last, died the death {appointed for) him. Then king Bakwal Sain, the son of. king Dabi Sain, reigned twelve years and four mOTjihs, and, at last, went and took up bis abode in Paradise. After hijfi, ^aiso Sain, the son of Bakwal Sain, remained the repre- sentative of his f athei- for fifteen years and eight months, and, at last, passed awaiy from this world. After him, king Madho Sain, the son of Eaiso Sain, caused the kingdom to flourish eleven years. ^nd four months by his equity and justice, and, at last, took the |T-oad of this mortal world. After him, king Siir Sain, the son of Madho Sain, ascended the throne, and, for twenty years and two *nonths, managed the kingdom very well ; at last, he packed up his Ijaggage of existence. Then king Bhim Sain, the son of Sur Sain, remained drinking the wine of wealth for five years and two- months, and, at last, the cup of his life became brimfull. After himy king Ka«ak Sain, the son of Bhim Sain, placed his foot on the throne of government, and, after four years and nine. months, took fEe road*of nouc-existence. After him, king Hari Sain, the son of Kanak Sain, sat on the throne, and remained engaged in the affairs of the kingdom for twelve . years and two months ; at last, he departed empty-handed from this world. Then king Khan Sain, the. light of the eyes* of king Hari Sain, gave splendour, in the kingdom, to the name of his father and grandfather for eight years and elftvgn months, and, at last, the cold boisterous wind of non- existejice blew out the light of his existence. After him, king Narayan Sain, the son of Khan Sain, ruled two years and three months ; at last, he made over his life to the Creator of the world. ' After him, king Lakhman Sain, the light of the eyes of Narayan Sain, became the bestower of favours on the seat of government, and, for twenty-six years and eleven months, lighted up the world with the light of justice, and, at last,the lamp of his life also was blown out by the cold boisterous wind of death. Then king Damo- dar Sain, the son of king Lakhman Sain, sat on the throne of government after his father, but the folly of youth and negligence {resuUY'oi ignorance overcame his disposition ; the name even of right and wrong remained not vvith him ; the degraded and evil- disposed entered intb his society, and he altogether left the ways and manners of his ancestors ; his nature turned away from equity , * That is, "the son." -'25 194 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL, OE and justic?, and adopted the practising of tyranny and oppression. 'It is true that a bad companion is the representative of Satan, and, rising up and sitting doivn, will-teippt thee at all times, and not let thee see the right road ; jn short, he will lead thee astray evening and morning ; therefore, do not allow such a wicked person to come near thee, and be careful of his society ; for, like as the autumn lays the splendour and lustre of fldwers in the dust, so ako will the companionship of a bad person degrade the beauty of wealth. To be brief, the king, either from his own evil disposition, or else from the temptations and instigations of bad people, reduced the servants of the kingdom, and the well-wishers of the , empire, from their places, and began to oppress the tax-gatherers and subordinates. When the seditious and riotous saw his want of discrimination, they began, without fear, to oppress the people, and plunder the property and goods of men of letters andsihe peasantry, without consideration. In the space of a short tin&e,' the splendour of the country began to depart, and its prosperity to be laid waste ; the Revenue of the land decreased, and the kingdom was devastated, the pillars of state fled and the king Obtained the punishment of his deeds. That tyrant ruled for eleven years and , three months. To sum up, fropi king Dabi Sain to king Damodar^ Sain, twelve persons reigned, for one hundred and fifty years. King Dabi Singh, the hiU man, the ruler of the Sawalak mountains, had' a large army, and was greatly renowned for his justice ; the minigtefs and officers — in fact, all who had been distressed by the bad be- haviour and oppression of king Damodar — came to the mottntains and told his majesty all about themselves, the condition of the people, the confused state of the army, and the disagreemeij|j^ of the officials, and caused him to covet the kingdom of Indraparast. He, immediately on hearing those joyful tidings, sounded the drum of rejoicing, and sending forth an innumerable army in the direction of the above-named country, made forced marches. Accordingly, in a short time, he arrived there,' and imprisoned that person, who,, was intoxicated with the wine of negligence, and then, seeing his lucky moment, ascended the throne of government, tej^ojed the darkness of tyranny by the light of justice, gave lustre^io the world, and remained employed in the business of the kingdom for twenty-seven years and two months, and, at last, became a traveller to the country of non-existence. After him, Isiing Ran Singh, the son of king Deb Singh, remained ruler for twenty-two years and five months, and, at last, died the death (appointed for} him. Then king Eaj Singh, th6 light of the eyes of Ean Singh, bestowed prosperity on the kingdom by his equity and justice, and kept the army very contented ; at last, after nine years and eight months, he took the road of non-existence. After him, king Hgur Singh, the son of king Eaj Singh, gave splendour to the tteone of the kingdom, and obtained a very good name in this world from his equity and justice, and, at last, after forty-six- years and one month, took the road of the journey of mortality. Then king Nar Singh, the son o^ king Har Singh, became the representative of his father, and he also, in that like manner, made his soWiers and •^ —••^ " THE ORNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. 195 subjects tappy by Ms generosity and justice ; at last, when five and twenty years and three months had .passed, he took the road to Paradise. When ting Jiwan Singli, the son of king Nar Singh, ascended the throne, he was young in years, and began to pass his life in pleasure and amusements, and from carelessness and licentiousness, paid no attention to the affairs of the kingdom. It is true that, in the beginning of youth, carnal lusts are very power- ful, and the disposition of man desires pleasure ; it is not every one's wish at that time, in spite of the intoxication of wealth, to refrain himself from its taste, and not to be the jiarticipator in bad de^ds and wine drinking ; and they are indeed great men, who * d«ny themselves at such a time, and fear God ; assuredly, there is a good name for them in this world, and in the next, happiness. To make the story short, power remains not in the hand of one wh^s careless and given to pleasure ; accordingly, in a very few dadi^ the government departed from his hands, and he took the road of the desert of distress, and then, remaining there, became ' a traveller on the road of non-existence. The length of his reign was twenty years and five months. Counting from king Deb Singh . to Jiwan Singh, six persons reigned during a space of one hundred ^nd thirty-nine years. 19 G THE, AEAiSH-I-MAH-PIL, OE CHAPTER XXXVIII. y EEGAEDING THE CIECTTMSTANCES OF piN.G PAETHI BAJ, COMMONLf KNOWN AS THE PATHOEA. When this became the will of the true king, that the Eai Pathora,, who was the chief of Berath, and had always had great hopes . from Jiwan Singh, should become the ruler of so great a kingdom, and so extensive a country should come into his posses- sion, then king Jiwan Singh, either by reason of his natural iojiy, , or because some important business bef el him, sent all his. chiefs, with his army, towards the mountains, which wete the native land of his ancestors, and himself remained with a few companions at the capital. Eai Pathora, seeing that he was alone and offiyhis guard, came suddenly, and arrived with a large army. King Ji^n Singh, when he saw that he hald not any implements of war^id with that small band in the direction of the mountains which were difficult of access, and, at last, the measure of his life was filled to the brim there ; and Rai Pathora, causing the rejoicings of victory ^• to be sounded, sat on the throne of government. When fif teeifj years of his reign had passed^ king Shahab-ud-dm, the Ghauri, came several times from Ghaznin and fought repeated battles wittf him ; at last, at Naraini, which is known as Talawari, hfi !^lled the above-mentioned king, and himself sat on the throne of the empire. To sum up, these circumstances, which have been TTritten about the kings, correspond to the Eajawali and JEiajtara»gi ; but, ■ in the third book of the history of Akbar, and in certain other * works, it is thus written, that in 429 A. B., king Atak Paf, Tanwar, " becoming king, populated the city of Dihli near Indraparast, andj of his offspring, twenty persons sounded the drum of royalty for four hutadred and nineteen years, one month, and. twenty days; and, at last, his twentieth descendant, who is known as Parthi Eaj, fought with Babu Baldeo, Chohan, and was killed : in short, in 848 A. B., the sovereignty departed from the Tanwar race, ^lyi went into the possession of the Chohans ; and king. Baldeo, an^seven of his descendants!, reigned for three hundred and' eighty- five years and seven months. When the seventh generation of Baldeo, whose name was Pathora, obtained the turn of government, king Shahab- • ud-dm, the flhauri, attacked him seven times, and fought with him, but each time returned defeated ; still in spite of this, he spent much of his time in planning to take, India, but could do nothing. In the meantime, king Jai Chand, the Rathor, king of Kinnauj, overcame most of the chiefs, and, on this account, deter- mined to perform, the Rajsu sacrifice, a description of which ceremony has been vs^ritten before. In short, the above-mewaJned king gave the orders for its preparation and performance ; besides this, he also determined that he would marry his daughter in that assembly to some great chief, and, oh that account, *ki^ted the kings of every country. The Pathora also, agreeably to hiij invi- tation, determined to set out in that direction, when, suddenly, it THE OBNAMENT OF THE ASSEMBLY. ■ 197 issued forth from the mouth of one of his attendants, that it was strange for Jai Chand to meditate this sacrifice, when the king of kings was alive, and also for him to go ; but that his going there was the most . wonderful part of it. Immediately on hearing this, the king became furious, and set out for that country with the determination of making war. King Jai Chand also, on hearing that news, coiled himself up like a black snake, but, as the moment of warfare had drawn near, advisedly, on that account, restrained himself, and having caused an image of gold to be made resembling "V^ the Pathora, placed it at the gate, like a , doorkeeper. ' The Eai ^ 'Pathora, on hearing this circumstance, through anger made forced marches^ and, in a few days having arrived there, 'took up the image of himself, and, after a ^reat battle returned to his own country ; many people were slaih.^ Although king Jaii Chand al- tjjgether obtained respite from war, still his daughter did not I ^l^prove of any king, and, having been informed of the bravery ^;-*.q^ manliness of the, Pathora, longed greatly for him. For this reason, her father turned her out of the harem, and put her in a separate house. The Eai Pathora being informed of this, also ^ yearned much for her, and with the greatest politeness, sent Chanda, r* the bard,* to Jai Chand, and himself, taking a few picked persons with him, set forthwith him as his servant. When the bard arriVed ♦ at Kinnauj, the Eai Pathora carried off the above-mentioned girl Tvitljjnuch gallantry, and departed towards Dihll. King Jai Chand, lunmediately on hearing this circumstance, marched to the attack wiW» an army, and, at last, a great battle took place between them ; seven ^ousand persons of both sides were killed. The Eai Pathora, how ever, did jiot forego that lovely one, nor turn his face from the ""Tght, ahd, at last, arrived safely at his palace, and became captivated in the net of her love, to such a degree, that he neglected politi- cal and civil affairs. When a year had thus passed, king Shahab- ■^-ud-dm, the,G;haurl, also obtained' this news, aind laid the foundation of friendship with king Jai Chand ; and', in 1233 A. B., i. e., 588 A. H., the king above-mentioned, for the eighth time, collected a large armY. and turned his thoughts towards Dihli, with the design of ta^ng the country, in fact, he took many of the districts. At that time, no one had sufficient spirit to apprize the king of this cir- cumstalnce ; at last, the nobles consulted, and sent the bard, Chanda, to the harem, to tell the true state of affairs to that fairy, so that she might convey it to the king, and thus the> chief was informed of it ; but, as he had been so many times victorious oyer the king, he regarded him as nothing, and did not bring him into his thoughts *by reason of his pride and haughtiness ; accordingly, he issued forthr, taking but a small army with him, and king Jai Chand also did not help him, but rather aided the emperor. To be brief, the "" ^umto f war and bloodshed blazed forth, and the heart of the king was extinguished ; the followers of the emperor at last seized him, ■ and the emperor, taking him prisoner, carried him off to Ghaznin Whe^Piandk, the bard, was informed of the real state of affairs, he ^et forth to Ghaznin, and, at lastj taking service with the — — ' '— T ' i t * Literally, " seller of wind." 198 THE AEAISH-I-MAHFIL. emperor, became the object of his friendship. After this he also got into the presence of the Pathora, and began to sympathize with "him in the prison. One day, by his advice, he began to- praise the Pathora's skill in archery to such a degree, that he [the emvp&for) became very desirous to see him, and sent and called him ; more- over, there and -then gave him leave to shoot. The Eai, above- named, immediately took up his bow and arrows, and discharged a shaft at Jihat mark of the arrow of fate in such a way, that his business was accomplished ; and the emperor's servants also forth- with killed the king and Chanda, the bard. But, in the Persian histories, the slaying' of the Pathora is Written as having takei^ place on the battle-field of Talawari, and king Shahab-ud-din is saifi to have been murdered, after a time, at the hands of Pidai Khokhar. The sum total is this, that there is much difference of opinion on ' this subject ; God knows the true state of affairs. To be bri^, after the death of king Pathora, the government of India departeft from the Hindu, and came into the hands of the Musalman, kings,^ To conclude, counting from king Judishtar to the Pathora,*>5M^ hundred and twenty, persons ruled during a space of four thousand four, hundred and eight years, and each of them, at last, took the - road of the journey of non-existence ; and out of this, the days of the reign of the Pathora were forty-nine yearS. From the time_ that the Creator , of earth and heaven gave light to this world of strife and quarrel. He has never given to any living bei gg th e robe of everlasting life, nor has He made government confinea'ta* one dynasty. Death comes to every one, and government and pasp« also depart from one family to another ; hence it is right f oj; every wise mail not to regard wealth and property a,s his own, and not to be deceived with this borrowed life, or puffed up with its uflendflP*" ' ing riches. DISTICHES. He, who places his foot on a king's throne, •• At last becomes an inhabitant of a bier ; And those, who are the riders of hundreds of horses, At last are carried on the shoulders of four men. , Those who twist, and place, golden crowns on their heads,* *■* The dust one day will eat their heads also. • Whoever is born in this unlasting world. He will, one day, become a traveller to non-existence. Assuredly the world, brother ! is nought, And its pomp and grandeur are altogether vanity. Beholding the ornaments of this harlot, Do not therefore become fascinated : she is altogether deceit ; In her heart, there is no odour of fidelity, * And in her eyes, no shame or modesty ; , Be not deceived with, or become a desirer after, her. And do not stain thy heart with the spar of regret. .i.i.im/** Do not, foolish one ! become captivated in the net of ararice and ambition : In this world God alone has power — all else is vanity. • It must be remembered that a native head-dress is a cloth turban. FINIS. ' - miiraiBD BX J. w. thomas, baptist mission pbebs. r ■ .MWs''.r^ 1^' •T! •:se ^4#4-'?«; .1*9 ■1 "■'• , 'V ^^Mir %^^ ■■ -'^^^ "Sit '.•'•<; - V'- «f.'