A. D- 

 86L 



? 4 HISTORY OF CASHM1R. 



sist what our author thinks the impulse of destiny, proclaimed him, as soon 

 .as they beheld him, sovereign of Cashmir. 



The person thus suddenly elevated to the throne was Yasascara Deva: 

 he was the son of Camadeva, born of Viradeva, an inhabitant of the village 

 oiPisachapur. Camadeva in his youth had been brought up by Meruver- 

 dhana, and being a lad of abilities, rose with the patronage of that minis- 

 ter to the Ganjadhicarya, the command of the guards, which he held un- 

 der the reign of Sancara Verma. Having occasion to dread the hostility of 

 PrabhIcara, the favourite of Sugandha, he determined to place his son out 

 of danger, and sent him into another country with a young friend named 

 P'halguna. They had resided abroadfor some time: at length his father being- 

 dead, and propitious dreams exciting his hopes, Yasascara resolved to return 

 to his native country, and it was upon this occasion that he encountered the 

 agents of the queen, and learning from them the object of their journey, ac- 

 companied them to the capital, where he so unaccountably gained the unso- 

 licited choice of the sacerdotal electors. 



The vigour and equity of the new king fully justified his election ; he 

 re-established order and security, and gave to Cashmir a period of repose 

 which had been long unknown : theft and murder were abolished ; the roads 

 were perfectly safe, and the shops were left open throughout the night 



without a guard ; the distinction of classes was rigidly maintained, and the 

 Chandalas no longer administered the affairs of state, nor did the Brahmans 

 carry arms ; we have several anecdotes of this king's acumen and justice: 

 one of them is narrated by Abulfazl, a reference to whom will perhaps be 

 sufficient to satisfy any curiosity that may be excited on this head. 



After promoting the happiness of his subjects for several years, Yasas- 

 cara was doomed to suffer the loss of his own : one Of his wives was de- 

 tected in an intrigue with a watchman of the palace, a man of low cast, 

 and it appears that the king was more afflicted by this latter circumstance, 

 than any thing else, as it had prophaned the purity of his birth ; to expi- 



