The Rashīdī History 222: FURTHER WONDERS.
The Tarikh-i-Rashidi (Elias, Ross) 222
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FURTHER WONDERS.
222.1
First and foremost among the wonders of Kashmir stand her idol temples. In and around Kashmir, there are more than one hundred and fifty temples which are built of blocks of hewn stone, fitted so accurately one upon the other, that there is absolutely no cement used. These stones have been so carefully placed in position, without plaster or mortar, that a sheet of paper could not be passed between the joints. The blocks are from three to twenty gaz in length, one gaz in depth, and one to five gaz in breadth. The marvel is how these stones were transported and erected. The temples are nearly all built on the same plan. There is a square enclosure which in some places reaches the height of thirty gaz, while each side is about three hundred gaz long. Inside this enclosure there are pillars, and on the top of the pillars there are square capitals; on the top of these again, are placed supports, and most of these separate parts are made out of one block of stone. On the pillars are fixed the supports of the arches, and each arch is three or four gaz in width. Under the arch are a hall and a doorway. On the outside and inside of the arch are pillars of forty or fifty gaz in height, having supports and capitals of one block of stone. On the top of this are placed four pillars of one or two pieces of stone.
222.2
The inside and the outside of the halls have the appearance of two porticos, and these are covered with one or two stones. The capitals, the ornamentation in relief, the cornices, the "dog tooth" work, the inside covering and the outside, are all crowded with pictures and paintings, which I am incapable of describing. Some represent laughing and weeping figures, which astound the beholder. In the middle is a lofty throne of hewn stone, and over that, a dome made entirely of stone, which I cannot describe. In the rest of the world there is not to be seen, or heard of, one building like this. How wonderful that there should [here] be a hundred and fifty of them! Again, to the east of Kashmir there is a district called Bamág [Vimág]. Here there is a hill on the top of which is a ditch [hauz] like a tank, and at the bottom of the tank is a hole. It remains dry throughout the year, except during the season of Taurus, when water issues from it. Two or three times a day it gushes out [with such force] that the tank is filled, and enough water flows down the side of the hill to drive one or even two mills. After this it subsides, so that no water remains except in the hole. When the season of Taurus is passed, it again becomes dry for a whole year. Though endeavours have been made to stop it up with lime and mortar, yet when the season has come, all this has been washed away, and it has never been found possible to stop its flow.
222.3
Further, in Nagam, a notable town of Kashmir, there is a tree which is so high that if an arrow be shot at the top, it will probably not reach it. If anyone takes hold of one of the twigs and shakes it, the whole of this enormous tree is put in motion. Again, Div Sar, which is one of the most important districts of Kashmir, contains a spring twenty gaz square. On the sides of it are pleasant shady trees and soft herbage. One boils some rice, puts it in a bottle, closes up the mouth [of the bottle] tightly, and having written a name on it, throws it into the spring and then sits down [to wait]. Sometimes the bottle remains there five years; on other occasions it comes up again the same day: the time is uncertain. If, when it reappears, the rice is found to be warm, the circumstance is regarded as a good omen. Sometimes the rice has undergone a change, or earth and sand may have got inside it. The more [substances] that find their way into it, the more unfavourable is the omen considered.
222.4
Moreover, there is in Kashmir a lake called Ulur, the circumference of which is seven farsakhs. In the middle of this lake Sultan Zain-ul-Abidin, one of the Sultans of Kashmir, erected a palace. First of all he emptied a quantity of stones into the lake, [at this spot] and on these constructed a foundation [or floor] of closely-fitting stones, measuring two hundred square gaz in extent, and ten gaz in height. Hereupon he built a charming palace and planted pleasant groves of trees, so that there can be but few more agreeable places in the world. Finally, this same Sultán Zain-ul-Abidin built himself a palace in the town, which in the dialect of Kashmir is called Rájdan. It has twelve stories, some of which contain fifty rooms, halls, and corridors. The whole of this lofty structure is built of wood. [Among] the vast kiosks of the world are:—in Tabriz, the Hasht Bihisht Kiosk of Sultán Yakub; in Herat the Bágh-i-Khán, the Bágh-i-Safid, and the Bágh-i-Shahr; and in Samarkand the Kuk Sarai, the Ak Sarai, the Bagh-i-Dilkusha, and the Bagh-i-Buld. Though [the Bajdan] is more lofty and contains more rooms than all these, yet it has not their elegance and style. It is, nevertheless, a more wonderful structure.
222.5
In the Zafar-Nama, Sharaf-ud-Din Ali Yazdi has stated a few facts with regard to Kashmir, but he is not quite consistent with reality. He had never been there himself, but derived his information from travellers, who had not a proper regard for accuracy; hence his statements are not always exact.