History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v1.c13.5

v1.c13.5

"As the sun was rising, the royal intimation conch began to send forth its peculiar notes announcing that the king was ready and donning his accoutrements. Within a few minutes Harsha came out of the gate riding a richly caparisoned she-elephant, (she-elephants appear to have been used by royal personages for riding on the march), surmounted by a white umbrella, with Tāmbūla or betelleaf in his mouth (he had already bathed and taken some refreshment), wearing a very delicate white piece of Naitra cloth. Exchanging glances of greeting with the princes and speaking a word here and a word there, he moved on to a place preceded by hundreds of gold mace-bearers who were making room in the crowd and staying there he saw the whole army pass on, an army as vast as the creation itself coming out of the milky ocean." Then the army marched swiftly to the next halting place at a distance of 8 krośa. Bāṇa true to nature also depicts the many interesting incidents that usually happen on a Royal march. "At some villages the villagers curious to see the king would turn out preceded by their Mahattaras or Patils and by women having pots full of water on their heads and when turned back by the mace-bearers running and falling and yet looking at the king. At others, people would cry out complaints against the evil doings of tax-collectors (भोगपति) and the past delinquencies of police-men (चाट). H. C. p. 286. At others still, the people reckless from rage at the pilfering of their crops and grass would pour denunciations on the king, crying ‘Who is the king? Whence does the king come? What sort of man is the king? At a village two Brahmin disputants got into high trees for fear of being hustled away by the mace-bearers and from thence kept crying out their own complaints.” Such amusing incidents so characteristic even of the present Indian ryot happened in the days of Harsha also. The army contained contingents of cavalry-detachments commanded by their own Rajput leaders. There is no description of the cavalcade of the Royal seraglio which formed so conspicuous a section of the Mogul army on march as described by Manucci. Probably Harsha was unmarried at this time, that is, when he started for his digvijaya and no sergalio hampered his movements. Having arrived at the next halting place Harsha dismissed his attendant princes at the gate of the royal enclosure and is shown to have entered it alone.