170 Translations from Cliand. [No. 4, 



taking in his hand lotus and other flowers with fruits, roots, and incense, 

 he presented them in the temple. Reclining on a couch of husa 

 grass, the king adored with clasped hands : " Grant me victory, 

 Ahinath, then again will I visit thy shrine." The oracular lord of 

 creation vouchsafed response and said : " The Chauhan army shall 

 conquer, but perish in the conquest. Many wounded men shall fall 

 in the battle, bereft of life ; you shall be protected by the grace of 

 Brahma and Gorakhnath." The king bowed his head on hearing 

 this, and great joy filled his soul : " Come life, come death, be victory 

 mine, then heaven is won." 



The Chauhan left the temple of the eternal Siva rejoicing ; the 

 army panted for the fray, the trumpets gave a dread sound. As they 

 marched from Batesur, the elephants led the van ; all the Chauhan 

 forces met at the Charmavati. The trumpets gave a fierce sound ; 

 great was the gathering of kings and nobles : Seshnag was troubled 

 by the crowd of hosres and elephants, as the army passed on to 

 Indragarh. The Chauhan princes met at the river Sindh ; at dawn 

 Mallakhan heard the news from the chief of the spies : " The Chauhans 

 have arrived at Basavgarh."* On hearing this, Mallakhan acted 

 prudently and summoned his counsellors, and priests, saying : " Speak, 

 friends, and advise me ; shall I keep my family with me, or send them 

 to Mahoba? join counsel and declare what seems to you best." His 

 kinsmen and counsellors made answer, revealing their thoughts: 

 "Despatch your family to Mahoba." Thus spoke all the counsellors 

 and bards : u Set your mind at ease by sending the women to Mahoba ; 

 then give your whole soul to the battle."f Mallakhan pondered the 

 advice of his kinsmen and counsellors, and went into the seraglio to 

 speak with the Queen. 



So ends the fourth canto, entitled Mallakhan' 's Council. 



Postscript. 



While correcting the proof sheets of the above, I received a copy of 

 the Journal containing Mr. Beames's complete translation. I have 



* Basavgarh — i. e. Indragarh : Yasava being a name of Indra. 

 f The following Persian words occnr in the above passage : viz., sarddr, 

 rah, Jeumdk, fauj, Ithabr, asil, pU } and mahall. 



