VICRAMADITYA AXD SALIVAHANA. 185 



or worldly illusion, otherw ise the impostor, and per- 

 haps intended for Moavveh. Muhammiid was 

 originally introduced into this and other lists, be- 

 cause it was to the Hindus an ever memorable, though 

 most unfortunate epoch, and from which their con- 

 querors dated their sacred era. It is not to be sup- 

 posed, that he was thus introduced into those lists, 

 from an idea that he ever was emperor of India. This 

 was well understood at first; but the case is very 

 different now. Such is the opinion of those who 

 reject the legendary tales about Sa'liva'hana and 

 Vicrama'ditya; and this is by no means a new 

 idea, for it is noticed in the Raja-Tarangini, which 

 is a work highly esteemed in India, and of some an- 

 tiquit}' : for it was presented to the emperor Acbar, 

 in his fiist visit to Cashmir, by learned Pandits, who 

 considered it as containing the most authentic do- 

 cuments of the history of their country. 



About the time of l\Iu hammed, the descendants 

 of De'va-'Sailim, who for a long time had lost their 

 rank of Visra-pafi, lords of the world, llajendraf 

 lords of kings, Rajd-rajas, kings of kings ; began to 

 lose also their influence and power, even as vassal 

 kings, and they even finally lost their patrimonial 

 territories and kingdom, which was usurped by the 

 ^Solanci tribe. It seems that they retired into the 

 province of Makca, in the vicinity of Vjjayin't^ 

 where they lived in retirement, and entirely given up 

 to devout contemplation, still ver}- much esteemed 

 and respected. There, at Ujjaxjim, we find one of 

 them called Saila-deva; who found, in the wil- 

 derness, young Vana-r'a'ja, and sent him to7^r/J- 

 nanpur to be brought up ; and this happened in the 

 year (396; for Vana-ra'ja, when fifty years of age, 

 built the town of Narzvdkh A. D. 746*. In the 



* Jyin-Acberi, Vol. 2d. p. 89. 90. 



