A History of Hindu Chemistry from the Earliest Times to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century A.D. v1.c16.s1.37

v1.c16.s1.37

² In the 11th century, Kásmír remained safe behind its mountain ramparts and was hermetically sealed to all foreigners with out exception. Here, according to Albírúni, Hindu sciences retired and took shelter when the Mohammedan invasion of India began. But in the indigenous mode of warfare no reference to gunpowder is to be found; thus we read in Kalhana’s Rajatarañginì that in 1090 A. D. “he (Kandarpa) threw into the mêlée burning arrows smeared over with vegetable oil, struck by which the enemies caught fire. Believing that he knew [the use of] the weapon of fire (*agneya astra*), they became frightened and fled in bewilderment, cursing their return.” Stein’s Trans. Vol. I. p. 344.