التاريخ اليميني 7: The Conquest of Bhátia.

7

When Sultan Mahmúd had settled the affairs of Sijistán, and the action of his beating pulse had subsided, and the clouds had dispersed, he determined upon invading Bhatia. So he collected armies with trustworthy guides and valiant standard bearers, and crossing the Indus in the neighbourhood of Multán, he marched towards the city of Bhatia, the walls of which the wings of the eagle could not surmount, and which was surrounded as by the ocean with a ditch of exceeding depth and breadth. The city was as wealthy as imagination can conceive in property, armies, and military weapons. There were elephants as headstrong as Satan. The ruler at that time was Biji Rai, and the pride which he felt in the state of his preparations, induced him to leave the walls of his fort and come forth to oppose the Musulmans, in order to frighten them with his warriors and elephants and great prowess.
The Sultan fought against him for three days and nights, and the lightnings of his swords and the meteors of his spears fell on the enemy. On the fourth morning a most furious onslaught was made with swords and arrows, which lasted till noon, when the Sultan ordered a general charge to be made upon the infidels. The friends of God advancing against the masters of lies and idolatry with cries of "God is exceeding great!" broke their ranks, and rubbed their noses upon the ground of disgrace. The Sultan himself, like a stallion, went on dealing hard blows around him on the right hand and on the left, and cut those who were clothed in mail right in twain, making the thirsty infidels drink the cup of death. In this single charge he took several elephants, which Biji Rai regarded as the chief support of his centre. At last God granted victory to the standards of Islam, and the infidels retreated behind the walls of their city for protection. The Musulmans obtained possession of the gates of the city, and employed themselves in filling up the ditch and destroying the scarp and counterscarp, widening the narrow roads, and opening the closed entrances.
When Biji Rai saw the desperate state to which he was reduced, he escaped by stealth and on foot into the forest with a few attendants, and sought refuge on the top of some hills. The Sultan despatched a select body of his troops in pursuit of them, and surrounded them as a collar does the neck; and when Biji Rai saw that there was no chance of escape, he drew his dagger, struck it into his breast, and went to the fire which God has lighted for infidels and those who deny a resurrection, for those who say no prayers, hold no fasts, and tell no beads. — Amen.
The army of the Sultán kept moving on, and committing slaughter and pillage. One hundred and twenty elephants fell to the share of the Sultán, besides the usual share of property and arms. He also obtained an accession of territory without any solicitation. He remained at Bhátia till he had cleansed it from pollution, and appointed a person there to teach those who had embraced Islám, and lead them in the right way. He then returned to Ghazna in triumph and glory, and his fortune was in the equator (ascendant); but as his return was during the rains, when the rivers were full and foaming, and as the mountains were lofty, and he had to fight with enemies, he lost the greater part of his baggage in the rivers, and many of his valiant warriors were dispersed. God, nevertheless, preserved his person from those calamities which beset his road, for God is the friend of the virtuous. * * *