حبیب السیر 14.1

14.1

At that time having made over the government of Somnat to Dabshilim Murtaz, he turned towards Ghaznin. It is related that when Sultan Mahmud was about to return from Somnat, he consulted with his ministers of State, and said : " It is necessary to appoint some proper person to the government and possession of the kingdom." They answered, " As none of us will again cross over into this country, it is fitting that you should appoint some person resident in the country to be the ruler." The Sultan having spoken on this subject to some of the people of Somnát, one party said: "Among the sovereigns of the country, no one is equal to the tribe of Dábshilím in character and lineage. At the present moment there is a young man of that tribe, a Brahman, who is wont to practise severe austerities: if the Sultan delivers over the kingdom to him, it will be proper." Another party did not approve of this proposal, and said: "Dabshilím Murtaz is a man of a morose disposition, and it is through indigence that he is obliged to practise austerities. There is another man of the tribe of Dabshilím, the ruler of a certain country, very wise, and a keeper of his word, whom it is fitting that the Sultán should make sovereign of Somnát."