The Administration of the Sultanate of Dehli c15.66

c15.66

The Hindu attitude towards their Muslim rulers can be determined from literary works and folklore, where the sultans are depicted as receiving help from Hindu princes in times of need and rewarding them for their services.² Of special interest is a Hindu inscription partly in Sanskrit and partly in the vernacular of Hariyānah: though a panegyric, it illustrates the Hindu attitude towards the sultans. It is dated 1337 of the Vikrama era (1280-1 A.C.) when Balban was on the throne. Lavish praise is bestowed on the Muslim rulers; Balban in particular is described as "he, throughout whose contented realm, under his great and good government, from Gaur to Ghaznah, from the Dravida country and Rameshwaram, everywhere the earth bears the beauty of sylvan spring." His armies "ensure the peace and security enjoyed by all." So great is the sultan's care for his people that "Vishnu himself has retired from the care of the world and gone to sleep on the ocean of milk." The sultan's capital, Dehli, also comes in for poetic eulogy.³ In another inscription, Muḥammad bin Tughluq is praised as "the crest-jewel of all rulers of the earth."⁴