History of the Khaljis, A.D. 1290–1320 c2.s1.64

c2.s1.64

It was then decided to attack the city of Jhain itself. A force of 1,000 strong was despatched under officers like Malik Khurram; Malik Qutlagh Tighin; A‘zam Mubarak, Amīr of Narnaul; Ahmad Sarjandār; Mahmūd Sarjandār; the chief huntsman Ahmad; and Abaji Akhūrbeg. Alarm soon spread in Jhain. The Rai sent one Gurdan Saini with a force of 10,000 Ravats to check the advance of the Turks. Gurdan Saini was a great general and had led several expeditions into the country of Malwa and Gujarat.⁵⁹ But after a severe engagement he was killed and the Hindus fled pell-mell.⁶⁰ The chieftain of Jhain took shelter in the hills of Ranthambhor and three days after this signal victory Jalāluddīn entered Jhain. He greatly admired the beautiful figures, carvings and exquisite colours on stone and wood in the Raja's palace. He also visited the temples ornamented with elaborate work in gold and silver. But his aesthetic tastes were overshadowed by his inconoclastic fervour. He ordered their destruction and thus "made a hell of paradise."⁶¹ Two large bronze images of Brahma, each weighing "more than a thousand *man*," were broken into pieces and the fragements were distributed among officers for throwing them at the gates of Jama' Masjid at Delhi.⁶² A plundering party was despatched under Mahmūd Sarjandār to sack Malwa also, after crossing the rivers Chambal and Kuwari.⁶³ The expedition was a success. Temples were destroyed and the royalists returned with plunder and loot.⁶⁴