The Book of Akbar 389.2.5

389.2.5

His Majesty, a rock of firmness, continued to sit steadily and to watch the ways of destiny. After running a long way the elephant came to the edge of the river Jamna, and to the head of the great bridge of boats. Ran Bagha in his confusion went on to the bridge, and Hawai with the tiger of fortune’s jungle on his back came upon the bridge behind him. Owing to the great weight of those two mountain-forms the pontoons were sometimes submerged and sometimes lifted up. The royal servants flung themselves into the water on both sides of the bridge and went on swimming until the elephants had traversed the whole of the bridge and got to the other side. At this time when the spectators were looking on at the wonderful affair, the Khedive of the age in a moment restrained Hawai who was like fire in disposition and like wind in swiftness. Ran Bagha ran off, carrying his life. New life, too, came to the world and distraught hearts were composed. Some short-thoughted, short-sighted ones imagined that perhaps there was some drunkenness in the brain of the Ruler of time and terrestrials, and that this performance was the result thereof. They immediately recoiled from this baseless idea and perceived that His Majesty was a wondrous portrayer of the arts of reason who was bringing into evidence a specimen from the wondrous inner gallery and was summoning the astray in the wilderness of ignorance to the king’s highway of knowledge.