Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 19.5.1

19.5.1

Leaving this lake, I went in search of a spring, considered an object of curiosity. It bubbles gently and rises with some force, bringing with it a certain quantity of very fine sand, which returns the way it came; after which the water becomes still a moment or two without ebullition and without bringing up sand, and then bubbles as before. May this edifice be as firm as the foundations of the heavens, May it be the most renowned ornament of the universe, As long as the Monarch Zayn Ibad holds festival therein May it be like the date of his own reign, — 'happy.' The numerical value of the letters in khurram (happy) is 847, which is the year of the Hijra it is intended to record, equivalent to A.D. 1443, 1444, during which Zayn-ul-Abidin (the Zayn Ibad of the inscription, for both have the same meaning, viz., Ornament of the Adorers) ruled in Kashmir.