Hammiramahakavya 1

English (machine translation) 1

Language: English

1.46 — 4 parts

1.4

I obtained the Hammīramahākāvya through Mr. Govinda Śāstrī Nirantar of Nāsik, who acquired it from a friend of his.

The colophon reads: "The present copy was made for the purpose of study by Nayahaṃsa, a pupil of Jayasiṃhasūri, at Fīrūzpur, in the month of Śrāvaṇa of the Saṃvat year 1542" (1486 CE). Possibly this was transcribed from the poet's original copy, and as such possesses an interest of its own.

1.6

Nayacandrasūri's work, as a poetic composition, possesses considerable merit and deserves publication as a specimen of the historical poems so rarely encountered across the range of Sanskrit literature. Though the author did not live, like Bāṇa and Bilhaṇa, during the reign of the hero whose history he celebrates, his work is of no less historical importance than theirs. The information contained in the poems of Bāṇa and Bilhaṇa has been made accessible to English readers through the labors of two eminent European Sanskritists. The present attempt to place the English reader in possession of the historical information contained in the Hammīramahākāvya will, I presume, be welcome to those interested in the advancement of our knowledge of Indian history.

1.7

Following the custom of other writers in Sanskrit who have attempted historical compositions, our author devotes the greater part of an entire canto, the fourteenth and final one, to an account of his lineage and the reasons that led to the composition of his work. A part of this will bear reproduction here in an English dress:

1.8

"Hail to the Kṛṣṇarṣi gaccha, which gladdened the whole earth, the beauty of whose body was like that of a blooming cluster of navamālikā flowers, and whose praises were celebrated by multitudes of learned men, who might well be compared to black bees; whose feet were ever borne upon the diadems of the adherents of the Jaina faith!

1.9

"In the lineage of the sūris whose deeds are abodes of wonders, Jayasiṃhasūri was born in due course, the crowning crest-jewel of the wise; who easily vanquished in disputation Śārṅga, the foremost poet among those skilled in composing poetry in six languages, and who was upright among the most upright; who composed three works—(1) the Nyāyasāraṭīkā, (2) a new grammar, (3) a poem on Kumārapāla—and who thus became celebrated as the foremost among those versed in the three disciplines of logic, grammar, and poesy."

1.10

"To the lotus seat of Jayasiṃha, Nayacandra is like the life-giving sun; who is the very essence of knowledge in the sciences, and a rising moon to the ocean of poetic lineages. This poet, whose spirit was elevated to the height of the subject by an injunction imparted to him in a dream by King Hammīra himself, composed this poem, which delights assemblies of kings and fully unfolds the heroic sentiment."

1.11

"The author is, by spiritual lineage, the grandson of the great poet Jayasiṃhasūri, but in the realm of poetry, his son."

1.12

"Let good readers not dwell excessively on the faults of expression into which I may have fallen. How could I, a person of modest capacity, avoid treading the path that even poets like Kālidāsa could not wholly shun? Yet a poem rich in worthy subject matter loses none of its value on account of a few flawed turns of phrase."

1.13

The poem begins, as is customary with Sanskrit authors, with invocations addressed to several deities, and the author has taken care to make these invocations applicable both to the Hindu deities and to certain Tīrthaṅkaras of the Jainas. This procedure deserves notice. Nayacandrasūri, as his name indicates, was a Jaina by conviction; that he appears to invoke blessings from the principal figures of the orthodox Hindu pantheon may be explained either by the broad intellectual freedom characteristic of the era in which he lived—when even Muslim intolerance was beginning to recognize the beauty of Hindu religious allegories—or by a fondness for composing double-entendre verses, a penchant that seems to dominate the author's style.
The hero of the poem is the Cāhamāna Hammīra of Raṇastambhapura (Raṇathambhor), a figure celebrated in Hindi song. Hammīra is one of those later heroes of India who crossed swords with the Muslim conquerors and died defending their independence. Even the history of the vanquished does not lack interest: the man who fights against all hope—fighting because he regards it as his duty, refusing to bend his neck before the oppressor because he deems surrender contrary to the traditions of his ancient house—deserves both sympathy and admiration. Hammīra is such a figure. The poet places him on par with Māndhātṛ, Yudhiṣṭhira, and Rāma. Though this is poetic exaggeration, the praise in the following verse is far from trivial, based as it is on the proudest ideals a Rajput can uphold—ideals whose strict observance distinguishes the lineage of the Sisodiyās of Udaipur and the Hāḍās of Koṭā and Būndī as the foremost among the chivalry of Rājasthān:

1.14

"For him whose vow was truth alone, who refused to surrender to the Śaka / his daughter and those who had sought his refuge, did the glory of kingship, its pleasures, and life itself become worth even a blade of grass?"

1.15

Born into the noble house of the Cāhamānas, to whom, as Tod observes, "the palm of bravery amongst the Rajput races must be assigned," Hammīra sought to uphold the independence of his line and ensure its customs were respected, achieving for a time remarkable success against his enemies. Some of these conflicts were undertaken to protect those who had sought refuge with him, and were to that degree disinterested. Indeed, he perished in a war waged to protect a Mongol nobleman who had fled to him from the tyranny of ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn: "In the third year of the reign of ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn, a nobleman whom he had disgraced took refuge with Hammīra, the Cāhamāna prince of Raṇathambhor, one of the strongest forts in India. ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn demanded the fugitive from the Hindu monarch, who nobly replied that the sun would sooner rise in the west and Mount Meru be levelled with the earth before he would violate his pledged word to an unfortunate refugee. The siege of Raṇathambhor commenced at once, and the fort was ultimately taken; but the heroic Hammīra fell in its defense, while the women of his household, resolving not to outlive him, perished upon the funeral pyre." This history of Hammīra provides information that the romantic and ardent chronicler of Rājasthān would gladly have woven into the pages of his work, casting fresh light on the momentous era in which the hero lived.

1.16

The Hammīra Mahākāvya is divided into fourteen cantos, of which the first four are concerned with the hero's ancestors—the Cauhāns, many of whom were paramount lords of India. “The empire belongs to the Cauhān” is an admitted Indian historical fiction, and the mere mention of the names of the old kings, many of whom were the lords paramount of India, accompanied as it is with much poetical nonsense, carries our knowledge of them a step further than the researches of Colonels Wilford and Tod.

1.17

The narrative is, all through, very uneven. The genealogy of the Cauhāns, as given in the first three chapters, though with some more names than are to be found in Tod's list, cannot be regarded as satisfactory. The author really knew nothing more about the ancient kings of the race; the names are simply brought in to give him opportunities of displaying his power for poetical conceits, and thus the accounts of the princes about whom he had no historical information are filled with fanciful conceptions, in which some of the natural phenomena are explained with admirable contempt of the teachings of the “proud philosophy” of Nature. From Pṛthvīrāja Cauhān to the death of Hammīra the narrative is fairly historic; but the author now and then even here relapses into rhapsody which amounts to a confession of his ignorance of the historical facts of the reign in hand.
Cantos V–VII of the poem are taken up, according to the rules of Sanskrit epic poetry, with descriptions of the seasons, and the sports and festivities in which Hammīra engaged. These cantos, as not possessing any historical value, may be ignored in this précis of the poem. I pass over a long lecture also on nītiśāstra which Jaitrasiṃha, the father of Hammīra, is made to deliver to Hammīra. Cand gives a similar dissertation on grammar in his Pṛthvīrājarāso.

1.18

With these introductory remarks, I come to the Pūrvajavarṇana, i.e., the account of the ancestry of Hammīra; and, in order to give some faint idea of the author's style of writing, I shall, in the following, attempt some sort of translation of the first few reigns. The style throughout is so ornate, inflated, and redundant, and the tendency of the author to punning is so persistent, that a longer translation is as difficult as the task would be tedious—

1.19

“Once upon a time, Brahmā wandered in search of a holy place where to hold a sacrifice. The lotus which he held in his hand fell on the ground, as if unable to bear the superior beauty of the lotus-like palm of the god. The god from this circumstance regarded the spot where the lotus fell as an auspicious one, and there, freed from anxiety, commenced the sacrifice. Anticipating persecution from the Dānavas, the god remembered the thousand-rayed one (the Sun), when a being, his face surrounded by a halo of radiance, came down from the orb of the sun. Him, the destroyer, Brahmā appointed to the work of protecting the sacrifice.”

1.20

I. “From that day the place where the lotus fell has been called Puṣkara, and he who came down from the sun the Cauhān [Cāhamāna]. Having obtained the paramount power from the four-faced Creator, he ruled over the heads of the kings, as his ancestor the sun rules over the heads of the mountains. Bali, mortified at seeing the glory of his charity eclipsed by the greater charity of this king, has hidden himself in the nether world; for what else could a man afflicted with shame do? The moon, taken to task by this prince for attempting to rival his glory, every month hides himself, through fear, in the sun's disk, and comes out as if desirous of propitiating the offended king by presenting him with the brilliant orb. The fire of the king's valour has so burnt the gardens of the fame of his enemies, that the smoke issuing from the conflagration, ascending into the atmosphere, has to this day left its mark in the blue sky. The Śeṣanāga, when he heard of the fame of this prince, was tempted to nod approval, but, fearing that the earth resting on his hoods might be thereby convulsed with pain, refrained from giving way to the generous impulse. Angry that his son should rival him in glory, the king deprived the ocean of his wealth of gravity. Are not sometimes fathers made to suffer for the faults of their sons? By the name of Cauhān, this prince became the shoot of the family tree, served by the poets; famous in the three worlds; the bearer in abundance of human pearls. In this family rose many a monarch surrounded by a halo of glory, whose lives, beautified with the triple acquisition, are able to destroy mountains of sins.

1.21

II. Vāsudeva—“In process of time Dīkṣita Vāsudeva was born, who conquered the world by his valour; who seemed the very incarnation of Vāsudeva come down to this earth for the destruction of the demon Śakas. He whetted his sword, blunt with striking down the heads of his enemies, in the fire of his valour, and then cooled the steel in the water of the tears gushing from the eyes of the wives of his enemies. The goddess of victory, as if enamoured of this prince, shone in his hand in the battlefield in the disguise of his sword red with the blood of the heads of his enemies that he had severed. In the field of battle when the martial bands were playing, and the gods in the heavens viewing the performance, the king caused the goddess of victory to dance in the guise of his quivering sword. Does not the sun, surpassed by this prince in brilliancy, drown himself in the deep, and—alas! for the pain of dying—come every day above the waters in his struggles?”

1.22

III. Naradeva—“Vāsudeva begat Naradeva, fit to be praised by Brahmā himself; the delight of the eyes of women—his body surpassing in beauty that of Cupid himself. When this king went out into the world, the other chiefs, to protect their possessions, did not take the sword out of its sheath, but only took wealth from their coffers. In the battlefield his arms, bearing the brilliant white sword, bore the beauties of the Eastern Mountains, destroying the freshness of the lotuses of the faces of his enemies. It is but natural that the fire of the king's valour should have burnt down the forests of iniquity, but it is strange that the rare fire should have filled his enemies with cold shakings. Methinks the sun, with his progeny, in token of submission, had fixed his abode in the toe-nails of this prince.”

1.23

IV. “Candrarāja by his fame and the beauty of his countenance, achieving a double conquest over the moon, vindicated the appropriate significance of his name, which means ‘Lord of the moon.’ Strange was the power of the fire of valour, for it burnt bright in the enemy in whom the stream of bravery flowed, while it was extinguished in that enemy who was destitute of this stream,” &c.

1.24

The above paragraphs may suffice to show the style of false eulogy used by the poet in disposing of those princes of whom he had no historical information to give. The same similes occur again and again, and often the language is stiff and artificial.

1.25

I subjoin a list of the Cauhān princes up to Hammīra as given by our author, and below that given by Tod in his Rājasthān—
(1) Cāhamāna (Canto I śl. 11–25).
(2) Vāsudeva (ib. 26–30).
(3) Naradeva (ib. 31–36).
(4) Candrarāja (ib. 37–40).
(5) Jayapāla Cakrī (ib. 41–52).

1.26

(6) Jayarāja (ibid., 53–57).
(7) Sāmantasiṃha (ibid., 58–62).
(8) Guvāka (ibid., 63–68).
(9) Nandana (ibid., 67–71).
(10) Vaprarāja (ibid., 72–81).
(11) Harirāja (ibid., 82–87).
(12) Siṃharāja (ibid., 88–102)—(killed Hetim, the Muslim general, and captured four elephants in the battle).
(13) Bhīma (nephew of Siṃha, adopted by him) (Canto II, verses 1–6).

1.27

(14) Vigraharāja (killed Mūlarāja of Gujarāt, and conquered the country) (ibid., 7–9).
(15) Gaṅgadeva (ibid., 10–15).
(16) Vallabharāja (ibid., 16–18).
(17) Rāma (ibid., 19–21).
(18) Cāmuṇḍarāja (killed Hejama'd-dīn) (ibid., 22–24).
(19) Durlabharāja (conquered Shahābu’d-dīn) (ibid., 26–28).
(20) Duḥśala (killed Karṇadeva) (ibid., 29–32).

1.28

(21) Viśvala (Vīsaladeva), killed Shahābuʼd-dīn (ibid., 33–37).
(22) Pṛthvīrāja I (ibid., 38–40).
(23) Alhana (ibid., 41–44).
(24) Anala (dug a reservoir at Ajmer) (ibid., 45–51).
(25) Jagaddeva (ibid., 52–55).
(26) Vīsala (ibid., 56–59).
(27) Jayapāla (ibid., 60–62).
(28) Gaṅgapāla (ibid., 63–66).

1.29

(29) Someśvara (married Karpūradevī, or, according to Tod, Rūpadevī, daughter of Anaṅgapāla Tuṅvār of Delhi) (ibid., 67–74).
(30) Pṛthvīrāja II (Canto II, verse 75—Canto III, verse 72).
(31) Harirāja (ibid., 91) (Canto III, verse 73—Canto IV, verse 19).
(32) Govinda of Raṇathambhor, father of (Canto IV, verses 20–31):

1.30

(33) Bālhaṇa—had two sons: Prahlāda and Vāgbhaṭa (Canto IV, verses 32–40).
(34) Prahlāda (son of Bālhaṇa) (41–71).
(35) Vīranārāyaṇa (son of Prahlāda) (72–106).
(36) Vāgbhaṭa (son of Bālhaṇa) (106–130).
(37) Jaitrasiṃha (son of Vāgbhaṭa).
(38) Hammīra (son of Jaitrasiṃha) (Canto IV, 143—Canto XIII, verse 225).

1.31

Genealogy of the Cāhamānas as given by Tod:—
Anhala or Agnipāla (the first Cāhamāna; probable period 650 before Vikrama, when an invasion of the Turuṣkas took place; established Mākāvatī Nagarī [Garha Maṇḍala]; conquered the Koṅkaṇa, Aser, Golkonda).
Suvacha.
Mallana.
Galan Sūr.
Ajayapāla Cakravartin (universal potentate; founder of Ajmer—

1.32

some authorities say in 202 of Vikrama; authors of the Virāṭa Saṃvat; the latter is the most probable).
Dola Rāya (slain, and lost Ajmer, on the first irruption of the Muslims, Vikrama Saṃvat 741, 685 CE).
Māṇikya Rāya (founded Sāmbhar; hence the title of Sāmbharī Rāva borne by the Cāhamāna princes, his issue; slain by the Muslim invaders under Abu'l-Ās).
Harṣarāja or Harihara Rāya (defeated Naṣīru'd-dīn [perhaps Subuktigīn?], thence styled “Sulṭāngrāha”).
Bīr Bilandeva (Bālyaṅga Rāi or Dharmagaccha; slain defending Ajmer against Maḥmūd of Ghaznī).
Vīsaladeva (classically Vigraharāja); his period, from various inscriptions, Vikrama Saṃvat 1066 to 1130.

1.33

Sāraṅgadeva, his son (died in nonage).
Ānā Deva (constructed the Ānā Sāgar at Ajmer, which still bears his name); his sons—
Jayapāla or Jayasiṃha (977 CE), father of—
Harṣapāla (Hīspāl of Ferishta).
Ajayadeva or Ānandadeva, son of Jayapāla (1000 CE); Vijayadeva and Udayadeva were his brothers.
Someśvara, son of Ajayadeva, married Rukābāī, the daughter of Anaṅgapāla of Delhi. His brothers were Kānhaḍarāya and Jaitrasiṃha.
Goelvāl Kānhaḍarāya's son, Īśvaradāsa, turned Muslim.

1.34

Pṛthvīrāja (1176 CE), son of Someśvara, obtained Delhi; slain by Shahābu'd-dīn, Vikrama Saṃvat 1249, 1193 CE.
Reṇasī (1192 CE), son of Pṛthvīrāja, slain in the sack of Delhi.
Vijayarāja, son of Chāhaḍadeva, the second son of Someśvara (adopted successor to Pṛthvīrāja; his name is on the pillar at Delhi).
Lākhaṇasī, son of Vijayarāja, had twenty-one sons, seven of whom were legitimate, the others illegitimate and founders of mixed tribes. From Lākhaṇasī there were twenty-six generations to Noṇadasiṃha, the chief of Nīmrāṇā (in Col. Tod's time), the nearest lineal

1.35

descendant of Ajayapāla and Pṛthvīrāja).

1.36

As observed before, up to the time of Pṛthvīrāja, the last great Cāhamāna, the poem is made up mostly of poetical bombast, in which, at intervals, a grain of historical matter may be found concealed under bushels of poetical chaff. It is therefore useless to give a further analysis of this part of the poem. I begin with Someśvara, the father of Pṛthvīrāja.

1.37

After the death of Gāṅgadeva, who was brave like Bhīṣma of old, Someśvara became king. He was married to Karpūradevī, who gave birth to a son as the eastern quarter brings forth the cool-rayed, beautiful disc of the moon. This son was named Pṛthvīrāja by the king his father. Day by day the child flourished and grew into a strong and vigorous youth. After he had acquired proficiency in learning and arms, Someśvara installed him upon the throne and, himself retiring into the forest, passed away in the practice of yogic discipline. As the eastern mountain shines splendidly with the rays it receives from the maker of day, so did Pṛthvīrāja shine with the royal insignia obtained from his father.

1.38

While Pṛthvīrāja was ruling over his subjects with justice and keeping his enemies in dread, Shahābuddīn was vigorously endeavouring to subjugate the earth. The kings of the west, suffering terribly at his hands, chose Śrī Candrarāja, the son of Govindarāja, as their spokesman, and approached Pṛthvīrāja together in a body. After the customary presents had been offered, the suppliant kings seated themselves before Pṛthvīrāja, who, observing the gloom upon their faces, inquired the cause of their distress. Candrarāja answered him that a Muslim named Shahābuddīn had arisen for the destruction of monarchs, and that he had sacked and burned most of their cities, violated their women, and reduced them completely to a wretched state. “Sire,” he said, “there is scarcely a mountain defile or valley in the land that is not crowded to suffocation with Rajputs who have fled thither for refuge from his oppression. No sooner does a Rajput appear armed before him than he is dispatched to the gloomy realm of Yama. It seems to me that Shahābuddīn is Paraśurāma descended to this earth once more to exterminate the warrior order. The people are so terrified that they abstain even from food, and, not knowing from which direction he may appear, anxiously look all about them. The most illustrious Rajput houses have perished before him, and he has now established his seat at Multān. These kings have now come to seek the protection of Your Majesty against this relentless foe and his unprovoked aggression.”

1.39

Pṛthvīrāja was filled with wrath on hearing this report of the outrages of Shahābuddīn; his hand went to his moustache in the fury of his passion, and he proclaimed before the assembled princes that he would compel this Shahābuddīn to beg their pardon on his knees, his hands and feet heavily bound in chains, or else he were no true Cāhamāna.

1.40

After some days, Pṛthvīrāja set forth for Multān with a formidable army, and after several marches entered the enemy's territory. Shahābuddīn, hearing of the king’s approach, also advanced to meet him. In the battle that ensued, Pṛthvīrāja took Shahābuddīn captive, and was thus able to fulfil his vow, for he forced the haughty Muslim to seek forgiveness upon his knees from the princes whom he had plundered. His vow thus accomplished, Pṛthvīrāja bestowed lavish gifts and honours upon the suppliant princes and dismissed them to their respective realms. He likewise permitted Shahābuddīn to return to Multān, conferring upon him similar gifts.

1.41

Though treated with such generosity, Shahābuddīn was bitterly humiliated by the defeat he had suffered. Seven times thereafter he marched against Pṛthvīrāja to avenge his overthrow, each time with greater preparations than before, but each time he was decisively defeated by the Hindu sovereign.

1.42

When Shahābuddīn saw that he could not overcome Pṛthvīrāja either by force of arms or by the skill of his stratagems and tactics, he reported his successive defeats to the ruler of the Ghaṭāika realm and entreated him for aid. He obtained this in the form of numerous horses and soldiers from that king's forces. Thus reinforced, Shahābuddīn made a swift descent upon Delhi, which he seized at once. The populace was seized with panic and fled from the city in all directions. Pṛthvīrāja was astonished at this news, and remarked that this Shahābuddīn was acting like a foolish child, having already been vanquished by him several times and as often allowed to return unmolested to his capital. Pṛthvīrāja, confident from his previous victories over the foe, assembled the small force that was near him, and with this handful of men advanced to encounter the invader.

1.43

Slightly attended as the king was, Shahābu'd-dīn was greatly terrified at the news of the approach of the king, for he remembered too well the former defeats and humiliations sustained at his hands. In the night, therefore, he sent some of his confidential servants into the king's camp, and through them, with promises of large sums of money, he seduced from their allegiance the king's master of the horse and the royal musicians. He then sent a large number of his Muslims secretly to the enemy's camp, who entered it early in the morning, when the moon in the west had scarcely reached the horizon, and the sun was but beginning to illuminate the east.

1.44

All was now uproar and confusion in the king's camp. Some cried out, “Oh, bravo, comrades! Up and to your arms! Haste, haste! The enemy has approached and taken us by surprise. Let us fight and return conquerors to our homes or to heaven!” While the king's followers were thus preparing to meet their assailants, the disloyal master of the king's horse, as advised by his seducers, saddled and brought forth as the king's charger that day a horse styled Nāṭyārambha (‘beginning of dance’); and the musicians, who were waiting their opportunity, when the king had mounted, began to play upon their instruments tunes that were the king's favourites. At this the royal steed began to dance proudly, keeping time with the musicians. The king was diverted with this performance for a time, and forgot the all-important business of the moment.

1.45

The Muslims took advantage of the king's indolence and made a vigorous attack. The Rājputs, under the circumstances, could do little. Seeing this, Pṛthvīrāja alighted from his horse and sat on the ground. With the sword in his hand he cut down many Muslims. Meanwhile, a Muslim taking the king unawares from behind, threw his bow round his neck and drew the king prostrate to the ground, while other Muslims bound him captive. From this time the royal captive refused all food and rest. / Pṛthvīrāja, before he set out to encounter Shahābu'd-dīn, had commanded Udayarāja to follow him to attack the enemy. Udayarāja reached the battlefield just about the time when the Muslims had succeeded in taking Pṛthvīrāja captive. But Shahābu'd-dīn, fearing the consequences of further fighting with Udayarāja, retired into the city, taking with him the captive monarch. / When Udayarāja heard of the captivity of Pṛthvīrāja, his heart throbbed heavily with pain. He wished himself in the place of Pṛthvīrāja. He was unwilling to return back leaving the king to his fate. Such a course, he said, would be detrimental to his fair name, in his own country of Gauḍadeśa. He therefore laid siege to the city of the enemy (Yoginīpura or Dehlī, which Shahābu'd-dīn had taken possession of before this battle), and sat before the gates for a whole month, fighting day and night.

1.46.1

One day during the siege, one of Shahābu'd-dīn's people went up to him and remarked that it would be becoming on his part, for once to release Pṛthvīrāja, who had several times taken him captive and then dismissed him with honours. Shahābu'd-dīn was not pleased with this noble speaker, to whom he replied sharply that councillors like him were the sure destroyers of kingdoms. The angry Shahābu'd-dīn then ordered that Pṛthvīrāja should be taken into the fortress. When this order was given, all the brave people hung their necks with shame; and the righteous, unable to suppress the tears gathering in their eyes, lifted them towards heaven. Pṛthvīrāja a few days after this breathed his last and went to heaven. When Udayarāja learnt of the death of his friend, he thought that the best place of abode for him now was that only whither his late friend had sped. He therefore gathered together all his followers and led them into the thickest of the battle, and there fell with his whole army, securing for himself and them eternal happiness in heaven.

1.46.2

When Harirāja learnt the sad news of the death of Pṛthvīrāja, his sorrow knew no bounds. With tears gushing from his eyes, he performed the funeral ceremonies for the deceased monarch and then ascended the throne. He had not ruled long when the king of Gujarāt, in order to secure his favour, sent to him some dancing women from his country as presents. These girls were exceedingly beautiful and highly accomplished, and they drew to themselves the king's heart so much that all his time was usually spent in their company, in listening to their music and seeing their dancing. At last matters came to such a pass that most of his revenues were squandered on musicians and dancers, and nothing was left with which to pay the salaries of the servants of the state, who naturally were disgusted with the king and his manners. His subjects also were dissatisfied. Apprised of these circumstances, Shihāb al-Dīn thought this a favourable opportunity for destroying Harirāja and his power. He therefore marched his army into the country of Harirāja. Ever since the death of Pṛthvīrāja, Harirāja had vowed not to see even the face of the hated Muslim, and he passed his time, as described, in the company of women. He was therefore ill-prepared to meet Shihāb al-Dīn on the battlefield. As a last resource, Harirāja determined to perform the self-immolation. He gathered together all the members of his family, and ascended the funeral pile along with them, and so went to the other world.

1.46.3

Harirāja had no son, and Shihāb al-Dīn pressed his followers hard. In the utmost confusion and misery, therefore, they assembled in council to deliberate on the course they had best adopt. They were now, they said, without a leader, while their army was so disorganized that it could not look the enemy in the face. Shihāb al-Dīn was a great warrior and they were weak. It was impossible that they should be able to protect themselves and their capital. They therefore resolved to abandon the country to its fate, and go and live under the protection of Govindarāja, the grandson of Pṛthvīrāja, who, having been banished from the kingdom by his father, had by his bravery acquired a new kingdom and established his capital at Raṇathambhor. They accordingly gathered in all the remnants of Ajmer. Vacated by Harirāja's party, [Ajmer] was now pillaged and burnt by Shihāb al-Dīn, who took possession of the city. The followers of Harirāja were well received by Govindarāja and appointed to suitable offices in the kingdom. Govindarāja was paralyzed at the sad news of the fall of Ajmer and the death of Harirāja, for whom he performed the last rites. For some years after this Govindarāja ruled well and justly. At last he died and went to heaven.

1.46.4

After Govindarāja, Balhaṇa succeeded to the throne. Balhaṇa had two sons—Prahlāda, the elder, and Vāgbhaṭa, the younger. Being brought up and educated together, there was between them very great brotherly affection. When they came of age, their father, who had grown old and feeble, placed his elder son, Prahlāda, upon the throne and appointed the younger, Vāgbhaṭa, to the post of prime minister. The old king did not long survive this arrangement. Prahlāda was a just king, and as he ruled mildly, his subjects were contented.

1.47

One day, however, as fate would have it, he went out to the forest to hunt. The hunting party was a grand one. There were many dogs with them, and the party was dressed in blue clothes. Merrily they went that day over hill and dale, and the prey was unusually heavy. Many a mighty lion was made to bite the dust. While the party was thus engaged, the king saw a big lion lying at his ease in a patch of tall reed grass, and, being dexterous with his bow, aimed an arrow at the lion and killed him. The attendants of the king raised a shout of joy at this feat of royal archery, which had the effect of rousing from his slumbers another lion that was hard by, but of whose presence they were not aware. In an instant the brute rushed on the king with the swiftness of lightning, and seizing one of the king's arms in his mouth tore it from the body. This sad incident put a stop to the sport, and the party bore the wounded monarch home, where the effects of the poison of the animal's bite terminated his life.
The deathbed of the king was an affecting scene. He placed on the throne his son Vīranārāyaṇa, and called to his presence Vāgbhaṭa, his brother and minister, and said to him that the three qualities of bravery, penetration, and circumspection were the mainstays of a monarch; but that these were acquisitions to which people attained in their majority. Rarely were they possessed by inexperienced youths. “My son,” said he, “is yet a child, and he knows only how to sleep and rise again to play. Be thou, therefore, such a guide to him that he may not come to

1.48

ruin.”
Vīranārāyaṇa from his very childhood was a naughty and unmanageable boy, and Vāgbhaṭa, convinced of this, could not find it in his heart to hold out the language of delusive hope to his dying and beloved brother. “My dear brother,” said he, as the tears rushed down his cheeks, “you know that no one is able to avert what is to happen. As for myself, I will serve the prince as faithfully and as diligently as ever I have served you.”

1.49

Scarcely had Vāgbhaṭa finished his speech when the king breathed his last.
When Vīranārāyaṇa came of age, a marriage was arranged between him and the daughter of the Kacchavāha prince of Jayapura, and he set out for Amarapura (Amber), the capital of the Kacchavāha. On the way Vīranārāyaṇa and his party were pursued by Jalāl al-Dīn, and had to turn back to Raṇathambhor without being able to marry the Jayapura princess.

1.50

Here a great battle ensued, but neither party obtained the advantage. Jalāl al-Dīn saw that it would be difficult to conquer Vīranārāyaṇa on the field, and therefore determined to entrap him into his power by stratagem. For the present, therefore, he returned to his country; but after some days he sent a very flattering message to Vīranārāyaṇa through one of his most trusted servants. The messenger represented to Vīranārāyaṇa that he and Jalāl al-Dīn were the sun and moon in the

1.51

surrounding starry heaven of kings, and that his master, extremely pleased with the gallantry displayed by the prince in the late war, sought his friendship. He also represented how good it would be if they both lived in harmony and saw each other frequently; how strong they both would be by this alliance, which would be like the union of wind with fire, and which would enable them to bear down all their many enemies. Jalāl al-Dīn, said the envoy, now looked upon Vīranārāyaṇa as his brother,

1.52

and called upon the Almighty to witness if there was aught of deceit in his heart. The envoy concluded by inviting the prince, in the name of his master, to be the guest of the latter in his capital. “Should your Majesty have any objection,” added the wily man, “to accept of Jalāl al-Dīn’s hospitality, Jalāl al-Dīn himself will come to Raṇathambhor and pass a few days with you.”
At this time there was pending some feud between Vīranārāyaṇa

1.53

and Vigraha, king of Vakṣasthala-pura. Bent upon chastising Vigraha, Vīranārāyaṇa gave a willing ear to the ambassador, and resolved upon an alliance with Jalāl al-Dīn. Vāgbhaṭa disapproved of this alliance with the wicked Muslims, sought an interview with Vīranārāyaṇa and spoke against it: “An enemy,” said he, “is never changed to a friend, do what service you may to him; and if you have any wish to live and govern the kingdom, you must listen to the advice of your elders.

1.54

and elders, and avoid having aught to do with Jalāl al-Dīn and the Muslims.”
Vīranārāyaṇa was incensed at his uncle's advice, and contemptuously asked him not to think of the cares of the state, as they were now ill-suited to his old and weak mind; that he himself was equal to the task of government and henceforth would do and act as best pleased him.
Vāgbhaṭa, stung to the quick by this answer, left the palace and

1.55

departed for Mālwa. Other courtiers, too, after Vāgbhaṭa had left, tried to dissuade the king from going to his enemy, but all failed.
Vīranārāyaṇa at length went to Yoginīpura. The wily Muslim came out to receive him, and treated his guest apparently with the greatest respect. The prince was delighted with his reception, and became much attached to Jalāl al-Dīn. After a few days' hospitality, however, the prince was poisoned and died.
The joy of the Muslims at this event was excessive.

1.56

They exclaimed that now the whole tree was prostrate at their feet, and they could help themselves to any part of it.
As the king was no more, and Vāgbhaṭa had left for Mālwa, Raṇathambhor was without defenders, and easily fell into the hands of the enemy. Once in possession of Raṇathambhor, Jalāl al-Dīn sent a message to the king of Mālwa to say that Vāgbhaṭa should be put to death.
The king of Mālwa, it appears, lent a willing ear to this nefarious proposal, but Vāgbhaṭa discovered the secret. He

1.57

murdered the king of Mālwa, and possessing himself of his throne, soon gathered round him many of the distressed Rājputs. Possessed thus at once of a country and an army, he made a league with the Kharpūras, who were already in arms against the Muslims. Vāgbhaṭa conducted the combined army to Raṇathambhor and reduced its Muslim garrison to such a plight that they vacated the fort. Thus Vāgbhaṭa and the Rājputs once more became masters of Raṇathambhor.

1.58

It was Vāgbhaṭa's policy to station large forces at different posts along the frontier and thus to keep off his enemies. He died after a happy reign of twelve years.
Vāgbhaṭa was succeeded by his son Jaitrasiṃha. His queen was named Hīrā Devī, who was very beautiful, and in every way qualified for her high position. In course of time, Hīrā Devī was found to be with child. Her longing in this condition presaged the proclivities and greatness of the burden she bore. At times she was possessed with a desire to bathe herself in the blood of the Muslims. Her husband satisfied her wishes, and at last in an auspicious hour, she was delivered of a

1.59

son. The four quarters of the earth assumed a beautiful appearance; balmy winds began to blow; the sky became clear; the sun shone graciously; the king testified his joy by showering gold on the Brahmans, and by making thank offerings. The astrologers predicted, from the very favourable conjunction of the stars that presided over the child's nativity, that the prince would make the whole earth wet with the blood of the enemies of his country,

1.60

the Muslims. Hammīra (for that was the name bestowed on the child) throve and grew up a strong and handsome boy. He easily mastered the sciences, and soon grew an expert in the art of war. When he attained a proper age, his father had him married to seven beautiful wives.
Jaitrasiṃha had two other sons also, Suratrāṇa and Vīrama, who were great warriors. Finding that his sons were now able to relieve him of the burden of government,

1.61

Jaitrasiṃha one day talked over the matter with Hammīra, and, after giving him excellent advice as to how he was to behave, he gave over the charge of the state to him, and himself went to live in the forest. This happened in Saṃvat 1330 (A.D. 1283).
Being endowed with the six guṇas and the three śaktis, Hammīra now resolved to set out on a series of warlike expeditions. The first place which he visited was Sarasapura, the capital of Rājā Arjuna. Here a battle was fought, in which

1.62

Arjuna was defeated and reduced to submission. Next, the prince marched on Gaḍhamaṇḍala, which saved itself by paying tribute. From Gaḍhamaṇḍala, Hammīra advanced upon Dhārā. Here was reigning a Rājā Bhoja, who, like his famous namesake, was the friend of poets. After defeating Bhoja, the army arrived at Ujjain, where the elephants,

1.63

The text runs as follows:— "Then, in the year numbered by 'samva', 'akṣa', 'dhyan', 'vahni', and 'bhū' [Saṃvat 1335], during the bright fortnight of Māgha, on the Pauṣya tithi, on a Sunday under the asterism of Puṣya, at an auspicious lagna appointed by astrologers..." / horses, and men bathed in the clear waters of the Kṣiprā. / The prince also performed his ablutions in the river and paid his devotions at the shrine of Mahākāla. In a grand procession he then passed through the principal streets of the old city. / From Ujjain, Hammīra marched to Citrakūṭa (Chitor), and ravaging Medapāṭa (Mewār), went on to Mount Ābu. Though a follower of the Vedas, Hammīra here worshipped

1.64

at the temple of Ṛṣabhadeva—for the great do not make invidious distinctions. The king was also present at a recitation in honour of Vastupāla. He stayed for some days at the hermitage of Vasiṣṭha and, bathing in the Mandākinī, paid his devotions to Acaleśvara. Here he was much astonished at seeing the works which Arjuna had executed. The king of Ābu was a famous warrior, but his prowess little availed him at this juncture, and he was obliged to submit to

1.65

Hammīra. / Leaving Ābu, the king arrived at Vardhanapura, which city he plundered and despoiled; Cāṅgī met with the same fate. Hence, by way of Ajmer, Hammīra went to Puṣkara, where he paid his devotions to Ādivarāha (the primeval boar). From Puṣkara the prince repaired to Śākambharī. On the way the towns of Mārhaṭa, Khaṇḍillā, Cāmḍā, and Kāṅkrolī were plundered.

1.66

Tribhuvanendra came to see him at Kāṅkrolī and presented to him many rich gifts. / After having accomplished those brilliant exploits, Hammīra returned to his capital. The advent of the king caused a great commotion there; all the great officers of state, headed by Dharmasiṃha, came out in procession to receive their victorious monarch. The streets were lined by loving subjects eager to get a glimpse of their king.

1.67

“There is no town of this name that Hammīra could have ravaged on his way to Śākambharī. There is such a town as Meḍtā on the borders of Mewār.” / Some days after this, Hammīra inquired of his spiritual guide, Viśvarūpa, as to the efficacy of the merits arising from the performance of a sacrifice called the Koṭi-yajña, and being answered by the high priest that admittance into Svarga-loka was secured by the performance of the sacrifice, the king ordered that preparations should be made for the Koṭi-yajña. Accordingly, learned Brāhmaṇas from all parts of the country were

1.68

convened, and the sacrifice was completed according to the ordinances laid down for its performance in the holy śāstras. The Brāhmaṇas were sumptuously feasted, and handsome dakṣiṇās were given to them. To crown all, the king now entered on the munivrata, which he was to observe for an entire month. / While these things were taking place at Raṇathambhor, many changes had occurred at Delhi, where ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn was now reigning. Apprised of what was passing at Raṇathambhor,

1.69

he commanded his younger brother Ulugh Khān to take an army with him into the Cauhān country and to lay it waste. “Jaitrasiṃha,” he said, “paid us tribute; but this son of his not only does not pay the tribute, but takes every opportunity of showing the contempt in which he holds us. Here is an opportunity to annihilate his power.” Thus commanded, Ulugh Khān invaded the Raṇathambhor country with an army of 80,000 horse. When this army reached the

1.70

Varṇanāsā river, it was found that the roads which led into the enemy's country were not practicable for cavalry. Ulugh Khān, therefore, encamped here for some days, burning and destroying the villages in the neighbourhood. / The king at Raṇathambhor, not having yet completed the munivrata, was unable to take the field in person. He therefore despatched his generals, Bhīmasiṃha and Dharmasiṃha, to drive away the invaders. The king's army came

1.71

Malik Muʿizz al-Dīn Ulugh Khān, called “Aluf Khan” by Briggs in his translation of Ferishta. / upon the invaders at a place on the Varṇanāsā, and gained a decisive advantage over the enemy, great numbers of whom were killed. Contenting himself with the advantage thus gained, Bhīmasiṃha began to retrace his steps towards Raṇathambhor, Ulugh Khān secretly following him with the main body of his army. Now it so happened that the soldiers of Bhīmasiṃha, who

1.72

had obtained immense booty, were anxious to carry it home safely, and, in their anxiety to do this, they outstripped their chief, who had around him only a small band of his personal followers. When Bhīmasiṃha had thus gained the middle of the Hindavāṭa pass, in the pride of victory he ordered the kettle-drums and other musical instruments he had captured from the enemy to be vigorously sounded. This act had an unforeseen and disastrous consequence. Ulugh Khān had ordered his army to

1.73

follow Bhīmasiṃha in small detachments, and had commanded them to fall on him wherever he should sound his martial instruments, which they were to understand as the signal of some great advantage gained over the enemy. When the detached parties, therefore, of the Muslims heard the sound of the kettle-drums, they poured into the pass from all sides, and Ulugh Khān also coming up began to fight with Bhīmasiṃha. The Hindu general for a time nobly sustained the

1.74

unequal combat, but was at last wounded and killed. After gaining this signal advantage over the enemy, Ulugh Khān returned to Delhi.
Hammīra, after the completion of the sacrifice, learnt the details of the battle and of the death of his general Bhīmasiṃha. He upbraided Dharmasiṃha for deserting Bhīmasiṃha and called him blind, as he could not see that Ulugh Khān was on the track of the army. He also called him

1.75

impotent as he did not rush to the rescue of Bhīmasiṃha. Not content with thus upbraiding Dharmasiṃha, the king ordered the offending general to be blinded and castrated. Dharmasiṃha was also superseded in the command of the army by Bhojadeva, a half-brother of the king, and a sentence of banishment was passed upon him, but, at Bhoja’s intercession, it was not carried out.
Dharmasiṃha, thus mutilated and disgraced, was bitterly

1.76

mortified at the treatment he had received at the king's hands, and resolved to be avenged. In pursuance of his determination, he contracted an intimate friendship with one Rādhā Devī, a courtesan who was a great favourite at court. Rādhā Devī kept her blind friend well acquainted every day as to what was passing at court. One day it so happened that Rādhā Devī returned home quite cross and dejected, and when her blind friend asked her the cause of her low spirits, she answered that the

1.77

king had lost that day many horses of the vedha disease, and consequently paid little attention to her dancing and singing, and that this state of things, in all probability, was likely to continue long. The blind man bade her be of good cheer, as he would see ere long that all was right again. She was only to take the opportunity of insinuating to the king that Dharmasiṃha, if restored to his former post, would present the king with twice the number of horses that had lately died. Rādhā

1.78

Devī played her part well, and the king, yielding to avarice, restored Dharmasiṃha to his former post.
Dharmasiṃha, thus restored, only thought of revenge. He pandered to the king's avarice, and by his oppression and exactions reduced the subjects to a miserable condition and made them detest their monarch. He spared no one from whom anything could be got—horses, money, anything worth having. The king, whose treasury he thus replenished, was much pleased with his

1.79

blind minister, who, flushed with success, now called on Bhoja to render an account of his department. Bhoja knew the blind man grudged him his office, and going to the king he informed him of all Dharmasiṃha’s schemes, and applied to him for protection from the minister's tyranny. But Hammīra paid no attention to the representations of Bhoja, telling him that as Dharmasiṃha was entrusted with full powers, and could do whatever he thought proper, it was necessary others should obey his orders. Bhoja, when he saw

1.80

that the king's mind was turned from him, submitted to his property being confiscated and brought into the king's coffers as ordered by Dharmasiṃha. As in duty bound, however, he still followed his chief wherever he went. One day the king went to pay his devotions at the temple of Vaidyanātha, and seeing Bhoja in his train, scornfully remarked to a courtier who stood by, that the earth was full of vile beings; but the vilest creature on earth was the crow, who, though deprived of his

1.81

last feather by the angry owl, still clung to his habitation on the old [tree]. Bhojadeva understood the intent of the remark, and that it was levelled at him. Deeply mortified, he returned home and communicated his disgrace to his younger brother Pītama. The two brothers now resolved to leave the country, and the next day Bhoja went to Hammīra and humbly prayed to be allowed leave to undertake a pilgrimage to Vārāṇasī. The king granted his request, adding that he might go to Vārāṇasī or further if he chose—that there was no danger of the town being deserted on his account. To this insolent speech Bhoja made no reply; he bowed and withdrew, and soon after started for Vārāṇasī. The king was delighted at Bhojadeva's departure, and he conferred the office of koṭavāla vacated by him on Ratipāla. When Bhoja reached Śīrṣā, he reflected on the sad turn his affairs had taken, and resolved that the wanton insults heaped

1.82

upon him should not go unavenged. In this mind, with his brother Pītama he went to Yoginīpura and there waited upon ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn. The Muslim sovereign was much pleased with Bhoja's arrival at his court. He treated him with distinguished honour and bestowed upon him the town and territory of Jāgara as a fief. Henceforth Pītama lived here, along with the other members of Bhoja's family, while he himself stayed at court. ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn's object was to learn Hammīra's affairs, and he therefore lavished presents and honours on Bhoja, who gradually became entirely devoted to the interests of his new master.

1.83

Convinced of Bhoja's devotion to his cause, ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn one day asked him, in private, if there were any easy and practicable means of subduing Hammīra. Bhoja answered that it was no easy matter to conquer Hammīra, a king who was the terror of the kings of Kuntala, Madhyadeśa, Uḍḍīsa, and the far Kāñcī—a king who was master of the six qualities and the three powers, and who commanded a vast and powerful army—a king whom all other kings feared and obeyed, and who had a most valiant brother in Vīrama, the conqueror of many princes—a king who was served by the fearless Mongol chiefs Mahimasāhi and others, who, after defeating his brother, had defied ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn himself. Not only had Hammīra able generals, said Bhoja, but they were all attached to him. Seduction was impossible save in one quarter. One man only had his price in the court of Hammīra. What a blast of wind was to a lamp, what the cloud was to the lotuses, what night was to the sun, what the company of women was to an ascetic, what avarice was to all other virtues, that was this one man to Hammīra—the sure cause of disgrace and destruction. The present time, too, said Bhoja, was not ill suited for an expedition against Hammīra. There was a bumper harvest this year in the Cāhamāna country, and if ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn could but snatch it from the peasantry before it could be stored away, he would induce them, as they already suffered from the blind man's tyranny, to forsake the cause of Hammīra.

1.84

ʿAlāʾ al-Dīn liked Bhoja's idea, and forthwith commanded Ulugh Khān to invade Hammīra's country with an army of one hundred thousand cavalry. Ulugh Khān's army now poured over the land like an irresistible torrent—the chiefs through whose territories it passed bending like reeds before it. The army thus reached Hindavāṭa, when the news of its approach and intention was carried to Hammīra. Thereupon the king convened a council, and deliberated on the course they had best adopt. It was resolved that Vīrama and the rest of the eight great officers of state should go and do battle with the enemy. Accordingly, the king's generals divided the army into eight divisions, and fell on the Muslims from all the eight points of the compass at once. Vīrama came from the east, and Mahimasāhi from the west. From the south advanced Jayadeva, while Garbharūka advanced from the north. From the south-east came Ratipāla, while Ṭīcāra the Mongol directed the attack from the north-west. Raṇamalla came from the north-east, while Vāīcara chose the south-west for the direction of attack. The Rajputs set to their work with vigour.

First 84 of 114 passages. Read on

Linked texts (1)

Hammīramahākāvya — Nayacandrasūri, Sanskrit

Hammiramahakavya 1

Contents

Linked texts (1)