234 B. Bandyopidhyaya—Hamir Rasa, [No. 3, 
once. The continuous succession of the sounds of these fire-arms was like 
the sounds emitted from the fiery oven of a grain-baker. Thousands of 
guns were discharged all at the same time. The showers of their bullets 
were like the showers of hail-stones. Rockets of iron (bdn) flew, circling 
with a great noise, and fell amidst the hostile ranks. 
Heavy showers of arrows rained incessantly. Away they flew piercing 
many horses and elephants. There was a brisk play of tomars (sticks pointed 
at both ends). Many a lance was driven into the bowels of the Muham- 
madan soldiers amidst loud shouts. The swords began to flash fire. Even 
the massive heads of two elephants were cut off by one stroke. The blood 
of the slain flowed in torrents. When a sword was raised on the head of 
a Muhammadan, it failed not to cut through the helmet, the head, the breast- 
plate, the breast, the belly, the waist, the saddle and the horse. There 
danced and laughed Sambhu, the lord of tigers. With great glee he 
presented necklaces of human heads, one to every hero. Daggers were 
run through the breasts of the hostile soldiers. Their sharp points, seen 
outside the backs of the wounded, were like red hands of women stretched out 
of the windows of a balcony. The sharpest knives stabbed many a warrior, 
and kanjars (battle-axes) despatched many more by opening large wounds in 
their chests. Here and there the heroes of both sides fell to wrestling. The 
din of the battle was deafening. Many bodies rose without heads and fled at 
their adversaries with a rush. The bowels of the slain were scattered all 
around and drawn hither and thither by the greedy vultures. The wounded, 
made desperate by the deep scars on their bodies, began to rave. The Joginis 
filled their cups with blood and feasted on flesh, and the Bhairavs danced 
with mirth, eating the hearts of the fallen. The infidel heroes were taken to 
heaven by the black-eyed Houris and the Hindi by the Apsaras. The 
goddess Kali opened wide her jaws and laughed, grinning at the Muham- 
madans. 
The imperial forces withdrew in fear. The emperor, in an angry tone, 
thus exclaimed—* Where will ye fly to, ye fools? Wherever you may go, 
you can never escape from the fury of Hamir.” 
Ald-uddin to Mihrim Khin.—* See, Vazir, see how my cowardly 
troops prize their lives and fly away, while the Chohans are fighting 
bravely, regardless of life and interest. All the Kshatriyas are very 
faithful to the virtues of their clans. See, how they fight fearlessly 
and never show their backs to the enemy. See their bold determination, 
their unflinching courage, their noble resignation to fate, and lastly their — 
heroic contempt of life. See, with what skill they are cutting our soldiers 
to pieces, never leaving for a moment the field of battle. On the other 
hand look at our forces. They, including the Mirs and the Amirs, love the 
