168 Translations from Chand. [No. 4, 



hand. Mallakhan's army is contemptible, utterly destroy it. Sarsa 

 borders on Mahoba, there pass the frontier. The chief of his warriors 

 have gone indignant to Kanauj : the Ohandel has lost his senses, and 

 stays still at Mahoba. There he stays careless, leaving all to me ; 

 I support his throne, and rule the entire land. Rouse your indigna- 

 tion, Chauhan, answer me as a king ; take Parnial a prisoner, plunder 

 the city of Mahoba." 



Such was the letter given by the messenger to Prithiraj ; the king, 

 as he read it, was more delighted than words can tell. That instant 

 he wrote in answer to the prince : " If the Chandel Raja be conquered, 

 half the kingdom shall fall to your share." Again and again he 

 repeats the same words in writing to the Parihar.* " If the land be 

 conquered, I promise you dominion over one half of the whole realm. "f 

 Mahil's envoy G-opal spoke and said to the king : " Should Alha and 

 Udal by any chance return from Kanauj all our arrangements}; will 

 come to nought. The king has grievously outraged§ them and banished 

 them from the city ; still, remembering their duty to their lord, when 

 they hear of his distress, they will hasten to his side." Having 

 uttered this caution, the messenger took the letter and departed. The 

 Chauhan army started to ravage the country of the Chandels. 



In the year 1140, on a Wednesday in the month of Kiiar,|[ the lord 

 of Sambhar gathered his army and set forth to wreak vengeance on 

 Parnial. When the assembled army broke up and marched from 

 Dilli, earth trembled. ^f In the van were 500 elephants, huge as the 



* ' The Parihar'— that is, Mahil. 



f The couplet stands thus : ^\\ ?{f% ^^f 



Here aphiya is said to be a Marwari. word signifying ' to give ;' and 

 one Pandit to whom I shewed the passage assured me that tabhd is also a 

 Marwari word used in connection with aphiya to imply a solemn donation. Of 

 this, however, I feel doubtful and prefer to take tha Jcahat bhd as three words, 

 meaning ' I tell you.' 



X ' All our arrangements' — ^j ^ tqj i$ jj-^j ^ Here raul is apparently 

 for haul. 



§ Grievous outrage — ^f^ -^sj 



|| The word in the text is ikkmds : I am not certain what month is intended. 



•ff The couplet stands thus — 



m^ ^T oT^ f%Wl S' xf1%3[ *£S ^ tMfa^ Pf fa*, which may also be 



translated — When the assembled army marched from .Dilli, forest trees were 

 broken, the earth-supporter trembled. 



