التاريخ اليميني 19.30

19.30

Andpāl told himself that his father had put on the mantle of dotage and was chewing the cud of old age; that the Vulture of captivity and the Dabarān of misfortune had risen over him, the ʿAwwāʾ of trial had howled at him, and the Shawla of abandonment had lifted him up; that the time had come for him to meet his death and for Time to exact its debt from him. Among their customs, which they obey, is that whoever of them falls captive into the hands of the Tāʾiyya—that is, the Muslims—can never afterwards hold rule, nor attain full leadership and government. When Jaypāl saw himself caught between the fetter of old age and the thong of humiliation, he preferred fire to shame and death to disgrace. He began by shaving his hair, then threw himself upon the fire until he was burnt.