The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c18.26

c18.26

Here the imperial court was maintained with barbaric and luxurious ostentation. Basins and goblets of gold, some measuring six feet in width, richly carved tables and chairs of state, vessels of Indian copper set with precious stones, and gorgeous embroidered robes were to be seen in profusion, and contributed to the brilliancy of the public ceremonies. When the king condescended to show himself in public on state occasions he was carried in a golden palanquin, adorned with tassels of pearls, and was clothed in fine muslin embroidered with purple and gold. When making short journeys he rode on horseback, but when travelling longer distances he was mounted, like a modern Rāja, on an elephant with golden trappings.¹ Combats of animals were a favourite diversion, as they still are at the courts of native princes, and the king took delight in witnessing the fights of bulls, rams, elephants, rhinoceroses, and other animals. Gladiatorial contests between men were also exhibited. A curious entertainment, which seems not to be known in the present age, was afforded by ox-races, which were made the subject of keen betting, and were watched by the king with the closest interest. The course was one of 30 *stadia*, or 6,000 yards, and the race was run with cars, each of which was drawn by a mixed team of horses and oxen, the horses being in the centre with an ox on each side. Trotting oxen are still largely used for drawing travelling carriages in many parts of India, but the breed of racers seems to be extinct.²