Muntakhab al-tawarikh 239.3

239.3

“In truth the quiltings of the patched woollen robe of poverty Bind upon the hands and feet of avarice the chains of contentment.” “Love’s mendicant laughs at the ermine of royalty, As he comes forth from love’s furnace smeared with ashes.” “The dust of existence has gone on the breeze, but still from moisture of tears The feet of Thy humble lovers remain in the mire.” “The sword of thine eyelashes came as a boon to me when I was beside myself, When I came to myself I had a hundred wounds on my soul.” By the emperor’s order he wrote the following verses, descriptive of an elephant: — “From the dust of the road of the emperor whose throne is the sky, He scatters ambergris on himself by way of perfume. The constellation of the Eagle appears on his head, without exaggeration, Like a midge on the summit of the mountains of Caucasus : When his body is encircled with its golden chain The milky way and the heavens come into view. When he is distressed by the heat of the sun He pours water over himself like a fountain. Damsels of fairy form and moon-like countenance Sit, by the emperor's command, on the throne which he bears. They sit there ever in their entrancing beauty For verily the mountains of Caucasus are a meet resting-place for fairies.' One night in the year h. 975 robbers put him to death with cruel sword, and he was buried in the building which he had erected for himself in Agra.