202 B. Bandyopadhyaya — Hamir Rasa, [No. 3, 



the capsules of the poppy) ten thousand, and that of powder nine lacs. 

 Heaps upon heaps of salt are piled like hills. There are different stores for 

 camphor, musk, saffron, spices, itar, oil, iron and lead." 



Emperor. — " How does Hamir rule over his Raj ? Describe his morals 

 and ways of government." 



Herald. — " In the character of Hamir are combined the highest qua- 

 lities of a king with those of a moral man. As a king, he is a great lover of 

 justice ; merciful to his subjects, affable to the virtuous, charitable and bene- 

 volent to the poor. No tax is levied in his states. His people, 6,710,000 

 in number, live in peace and prosperity. As a moralist, be is strict in the 

 performance of all the austerities of his religion, with unflinching courage, 

 bold decision of character, and total disregard for his life, when it stands 

 between him and his promise. He abstains from flesh and wine, tolerates 

 no Muhammadan forms of worship, neither hang (call to prayer) nor nimdz 

 (prayers). He has pulled down all the mosques in his territory and erect- 

 ed temples in their stead, whose walls resound with prayers offered up to 

 Hari. The hymns of the god are chanted, and his words read over the 

 length and breadth of his dominion. The Koran can never be pronounced 

 there. No man can jest with a woman other than his wife. The son pays 

 the greatest possible respect to the father, talking with his face down all the 

 while. A woman who proves false to her husband is punished with death. 



Emperor. — " Tell me in brief the charity of Hamir." 



Herald. — " Five inoliars, each weighing 5 tolas, and 12 cows with their 

 calves are given every morning at sunrise to pious Brahmans, who are daily 

 fed in the palace. 107 maunds of Jchitcliari (cooked rice and dal) are 

 daily distributed among disabled men, and 12 maunds of grain are scattered 

 to be f»icked up by birds." 



Emperor. — " Tell me the character of his queen." 



Herald. — " His queen Asa is the perfect pattern of chastity and is 

 always engaged in doing her duties as a wife. As a mother she is a Suniti 

 of her age, and is very kind to her subjects. Hamir has a prince and a prin- 

 cess both unequalled in beauty. The sun stops in his airy path to get a 

 glimpse of their royal persons, and flies buzz about their mouths as they do 

 about a sweet-scented flower. In brief, mighty monarch, both the Bao and 

 his wife hold under their bodies and devote their minds to things of a 

 transcendental nature, deep abstractions of philosophy and mental discipline. 

 The great Chohan prefers the substantial to the unsubstantial, the lasting 

 to the frail and evanescent. As a true Rajput, he does not lack physical 

 courage : brave and firm like a rock, he never shows his back to his enemies. 

 His subjects are all happy because of the virtues of their ruler. The 

 young as well as the old, the rich as well as the poor, the able as well as the 

 disabled, all find in him their affectionate friend." 



