Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 19.5.2

19.5.2

According to tradition, in the vicinity of the Wular Lake once stood a city of which the Raja was Sudrasen. By reason of the enormity of his crimes the waters of the lake rose and drowned him and his subjects. It was said that during the winter months, at low water, the ruins of a submerged idol-temple might be seen rising from the lake. Zayn-ul-Abidin constructed a spacious barge, which he sank in the lake, and upon which he laid a foundation of bricks and stones till it rose high enough to be level with the water. Upon this he erected a mosque and other buildings, and gave the islet the name of Lanka. The expense of the work was defrayed by the fortunate discovery of two idols of solid gold which had been brought up from the lake by divers. On the completion of Lanka the King ordered a great festival to be held, wherein large sums were distributed among the poor. Verses were written by the poets to commemorate this event, and among these the inscription under notice by Ahmad Allamah, Kashmiri, was engraved upon a stone and placed on the mosque. See pp. 54, 55, Proc. As. Soc. Bengal for 1880; also pp. 16-20 Jour. As. Soc. Bengal, Part I. 1880, Notes on an inscription found upon a stone lying near the ruins of a Masjid on Lanka Island, Wular Lake, Kashmir, By Major H. S. Jarrett, B.S.C.