10 
H I N D O 
Callinger, Nunda, had in a pitched battle attacked and 
defeated him and his principal officers. He then marched 
with the refolute intent of giving Mahmood himfelf bat¬ 
tle ; and the hoftile armies encamped on the two oppofite 
banks of the Jumna. The impetuous valour of fome of 
the officers in the army of Mahmood, inducing them 
without orders, in the dead of the night, to fwim acrofs 
the ftrea'm, and ftorm the enemy’s camp, the Hindoos, 
ignorant of the force that attacked them, and fuppofmg 
they were followed by the whole body of the Gaznavian 
army, inftantly betook themfelves to flight. Mahmood, 
on receiving this intelligence, was highly incenfed, as it 
was his intention to make the attack himfelf, at the head 
of his whole army. He however ordered a vigorous pur- 
foit, and, at length overtaking the rajah on the frontiers 
of his own dominions, both armies halted, and prepared 
for battle. A force confiding of thirty-fix thoufand horfe, 
forty-five thoufand foot, and fix hundred and fifty ele¬ 
phants, with which Nunda oppofed the army of Mahmood, 
lufficiently evinces the power and refources, at this period, 
of the rajah of Callinger. 
His fubjefts were unqueftionably the Ceilings Gangari- 
die of Pliny, though he places them nearer the ocean : and 
in all times, from the ftrengthand elevation of that amaz¬ 
ing fortrefs, their prince, though inferior to the fovereign 
of Canoiige, muft have been extremely formidable. Nunda, 
thus making a. Hand on the frontier of his dominions, in¬ 
duced the fiultan to fuppofe he meant to give him battle. 
But the wary rajah, foreboding the event, precipitately 
and filently decamped in the night, leaving behind him 
his tents, equipage, and baggage. Mahmood did not 
'think proper to purfue him, or proceed to the invellment 
of that impregnable fort on the heights, to which he re¬ 
tired with his forces. He contented himfelf with the plun¬ 
der of his camp, and with ravaging and firing the country, 
for many cofs round; after which afts of unworthy re¬ 
venge, he led back his army to Gazna. 
In the year of the hegira 4.13, correfponding to A.D. 
7022 , commenced the tenth Indian expedition of this reft- 
lefs marauder, in which the countries of Kiberat and Nar- 
dien, defcribed as bordering upon the provinces of Hin¬ 
dooftan, and as infefted with the Indian fuperllitions, 
were doomed to feel the lcourge of his/reforming zeal. 
The prince of Kiberat is reprefented as readily fubmitting 
himfelf to the refiftlefs potentate, who diftated at once a 
civil and religious code, entirely new to himfelf and his 
people; while the diftrift of Nardien wasTubdued by his 
general Ali; and, being a frontier province, that com¬ 
mander was ordered to ereft in it a fort of great ftrength, 
for the purpofe of overawing the inhabitants in future. 
Mahmood then continued his march towards Lahore, 
which he now refolved to confolidate with the Gaznavian 
empire. As Lahore was then the centre of an immenfe 
commerce, carried on with all the northern provinces 
and kingdoms of Afia, even to Tartary and China, the 
plunder of it was immenfe. Mahmood fpent the winter 
at this capital, fettling the affairs of the province, over 
which he appointed a viceroy; and over the inferior ci¬ 
ties and diftrifts on the Indian frontier, he deputed fub- 
ordiriate governors, from among the braveft omrahs of 
his court. In the fpring he returned to Gazna, loaded 
with treafures, and'with a multitude of captives. 
The very next year, A.D. 1023, we find him again in 
motion, and engaged in his eleventh Indian expedition. 
Marching by the way of his newly-acquired territory of 
Lahore, he bent his courfe towards the diftant Ganges, 
determined.to reduce the prince of Callinger, and other 
confederated rajahs, who, by their obftinate refiftance, had 
contrived to narrow the extent of his former conquefts in 
that quarter. It certainly required the military'ikiil and 
prowefs of a Mahmood to attack with fuccefs the hill- 
forts of this alpine boundary of Hindooftan, among which, 
Gwalior and Callinger are not the leaft confiderable. In 
his way, palling by the former fort, he immediately began 
the invellment of it; and after a few days he received the 
O S T A N. 
rajah’s fubmiffion, accompanied with magnificent prefents, 
and thirty-five elephants. His whole force was now at 
liberty to aft againft the prince of Callinger; who 
determined, by a novel and extraordinary experiment, to 
terrify and break the ranks of the Mohammedan army. 
Nunda, by certain drugs, contrived to intoxicate ele¬ 
phants. Thefe he let loofe, without riders, and urged 
them forward, furious and precipitate, into the fultan’s 
camp; but he, obferving the wildnefs of their motions, 
conceived a prefentiment of what had been done, and or¬ 
dered his belt and braveft cavalry to attack and drive the 
enraged animals into an adjoining foreft, where they were' 
foon maftered and tamed. The enraged fultan new gave 
orders for the immediate extermination of Nunda, and his 
family; but his timely fubmiffion, accompanied with an 
elegant panegyric, compofed by the rajah himfelf, in In¬ 
dian verfe, on the undaunted bravery of troops who dared 
Jt'o confront, and had Ikill to reduce to obedience, a train 
of intoxicated elephants, at once appeafed and foftened 
the wrath of Mahmood, who, flattered and gratified by the 
compliment, notnonly left Nunda in the quiet poffeffion 
of his own ftrong fort of Callinger, blit added to it fifteen* 
other inferior ones, which he had reduced in the courfe 
of his expedition. 
In his twelfth and lalt Indian irruption, which took 
place in 1024., Mahmood direfted his vengeance againft 
the city and hill-fort of Sumnaut, in the province of Gu- 
zerat. Its temple is defcribed to have been the molt cele¬ 
brated refort of idolatrous devotees in the fouthern part 
of Hindooftan; and that no lefs than two thoufand villa¬ 
ges, with their territories, were allotted for the fupport of 
its eftabliffiment, and of the priefts, who it is faid amount¬ 
ed to above two thoufand in number. Its lofty roof was 
fupported by fifty-fix maffive pillars, overlaid with plates 
of gold, and incrufted at intervals with rubies, emeralds, 
and other precious ftones. One immenfe pendant lamp 
alone illuminated the fpacious fabric, whofe light, reflefted 
back from innumerable jewels, fpread a ftrong and reful¬ 
gent luftre 'throughout the whole /temple. In the midft 
ftood Sumnaut himfelf, an idol which gave name to the 
city and lurrounding diftrift ; compofed of one entire 
ftone, fifty cubits in height, forty-feven of which were 
buried in the ground ; and, on that chofen fpot, accord¬ 
ing to the Brahmins, he had been worffiipped between 
four and five thoufand years. Around the dome were ar¬ 
ranged fome thoufands of images, in gold and filver, of 
various ffiapes and dimenfions; fo that on this fpot, as in 
a grand pantheon, leemed to be affembled all the idols of 
the Hindoo mythology. 
Mahmood, informed of thefe riches, left Gazna with 
an immenfe army ; and advancing by the way of Moultan 
and Agimere, through the vaft deferts which lie between 
it and the Indus, he at length arrived, without oppofition, 
before the walls of Sumnaut. On the high battlements of 
the temple were affembled an immenfe multitude in arms; 
when a herald approaching, denounced the vengeance of 
the god upon the befiegers, ffiould they attempt to violate 
or profane that facred place. But Mahmood, in fpite of 
all thefe imprecations, commenced an immediate and vi¬ 
gorous affault, driving the affrighted natives from the 
walls, which the befiegers, by their fcaling-ladders, in¬ 
ftantly mounted, killing and deftroying every thing before 
them. The Hindoos, who had retreated into the temple, 
and proftrated themfelves before their idol, in expectation 
of feeing the enemy at once difcomfited through his fignal 
and inftantaneous vengeance, finding their expectations 
vain, made a defperate effort for the prefervation of the 
place. Rufliing in a body on the aflailants, they repulfed 
them with great daughter 5 and, as faft as freffi forces af- 
cended the walls, they puflied them headlong down, or 
impaled them with their fpears. This advantage they 
maintained for two days, fighting like men who had de¬ 
voted themfelves to that death, which their faith in the 
metempfychofis taught them to believe w'as only a paffage to 
felicity and glory. On the third day, a vaft army of Hin¬ 
doos 
