History of Mediaeval Hindu India (being a History of India from 600 to 1200 A.D.) v3.c34.s1.64

v3.c34.s1.64

ending with the Turushkas on the Vankshu (Oxus) and the Kira king in the Himalayas (the usual pun on this word being made and the king of Kira being represented as a parrot confined in a cage and singing the praises of Lakshmaṇadeva). This is certainly a hyperbole of the inscription-writer who is none else than his successor and younger brother Naravarman. This king was a great poet and has plainly copied Kālidāsa from his reference to the river Oxus (Vankshu) mentioned by Kālidāsa also in the Digvijaya of the mythical Raghu. We merely give this exaggeration as an illustraion of such hyperboles even in inscriptions which are expected to give historical facts. Even inscriptions though contemporary and reliable records have, therefore, to be put into the crucible of credibility and examined carefully. Though there is nothing to show why the statements are false, they cannot be accepted unless we have corroborative evidence from records of other kingly families and, if possible, of foreign writers also.