Purú Jaipál in order to save his life, entered into a friendly engagement with Bhoj Chand,* who was proud in the strength of his forts and their difficulty of access, and there he considered himself secure against pursuit in his inaccessible retreat. But Chand Ráí, on the contrary, took up arms, trusting in the strength of his fort; but had he remained in it he would infallibly have had it destroyed, and had he trusted to his army, it would have been of no avail. Under these circumstances, Bhímpál* wrote him a letter to this effect:—“Sultán Mahmúd is not like the rulers of Hind, and is not the leader of black men. It is obviously advisable to seek safety from such a person, for armies flee away before the very name of him and his father. I regard his bridle as much stronger than yours, for he never contents himself with one blow of the sword, nor does his army content itself with one hill out of a whole range. If therefore you design to contend with him, you will suffer, but do as you like—you know best. If you wish for your own safety, you will remain in concealment.”
Chand Ráí considered that Bhímpál had given him sound advice, and that danger was to be incurred by acting contrary to his suggestions. So he departed secretly with his property, elephants, and treasure, to the hill country, which was exceedingly lofty, hiding himself in the jungles which the sun could not penetrate, and concealing even the direction of his flight, so that there was no knowing whither he was gone, or whether he had sped by night or day. The object of Bhímpál in recommending the flight of Chand Ráí was, that the Ráí should not fall into the net of the Sultán, and thus be made a Musulmán, as had happened to Bhímpál's uncle and relations, when they demanded quarter in their distress.
The Sultán invested and captured the fort, notwithstanding its strength and height. Here he got plenty of supplies and booty, but he did not obtain the real object of his desire, which was to seize Chand Ráí, and which he now determined to effect by proceeding in pursuit of him. Accordingly, after marching fifteen parasangs through the forest, which was so thorny that the faces of his men were scarified and bloody, and through stony tracts which battered and injured the horses' shoes, he at last came up to his enemy, shortly before midnight on the 25th of Sha'ban (6th January, 1019 A.D). They had travelled over high and low ground without any marked road, not like merchants of Hazramaut travelling at ease with their mantles around them.
The Sultán summoned the most religiously disposed of his followers, and ordered them to attack the enemy immediately. Many infidels were consequently slain or taken prisoners in this sudden attack, and the Musulmáns paid no regard to the booty till they had satiated themselves with the slaughter of the infidels and worshippers of the sun and fire. The friends of God searched the bodies of the slain for three whole days, in order to obtain booty. The elephants were carried off, some by force, some were driven, and some went without any compulsion towards Mahmúd, upon whom God bestows, out of his great kindness, not only ordinary plunder, but drives elephants towards him. Therefore they were called “God-brought,”* in gratitude to the Almighty for sending elephants to the Sultán, which are only driven by iron goads, and are not usually captured without stratagem and deceit; whereas, in this instance, they came of their own accord, leaving idols, preferring the service of the religion of Islám. * * *
The booty amounted in gold and silver, rubies and pearls,
nearly to three thousand thousand dirhams, and the number of
prisoners may be conceived from the fact, that each was sold
for from two to ten dirhams.*
These were afterwards taken to
Ghazna, and merchants came from distant cities to purchase
them, so that the countries of Máwaráu-n nahr, 'Irák, and Khurá-
After the expedition against the Afgháns, the Sultán turned again towards Hind with his bold warriors, whose greatest pleasure was to be in the saddle, which they regarded as if it were a throne; and hot winds they looked on as refreshing breezes, and the drinking of dirty water as so much pure wine, being prepared to undergo every kind of privation and annoyance. When he arrived in that country, he granted quarter to all those who submitted, but slew those who opposed him. He obtained a large amount of booty before he reached the river, known by the name of Ráhib.* It was very deep, and its bottom was muddy like tar used for anointing scabby animals, and into it the feet of horses and camels sank deeply, so the men took off their coats of mail and made themselves naked before crossing it.
Purú Jaipál was encamped on the other side of the river, as a measure of security, in consequence of this sudden attack, with his warriors dusky as night, and his elephants all caparisoned. He showed a determination to resist the passage of the Sultán, but at night he was making preparations to escape down the river. When the Sultán learnt this, from which the weakness of his enemy was apparent, he ordered inflated skins to be prepared, and directed some of his men to swim over on them. Jaipál seeing eight men swimming over to that distant bank, ordered a detachment of his army, accompanied by five elephants, to oppose their landing, but the eight men plied their arrows so vigorously, that the detachment was not able to effect that purpose. When the Sultán witnessed the full success of these men, he ordered all his soldiers who could swim to pass over at once, and promised them henceforward a life of repose after that day of trouble. First his own personal guards crossed this difficult stream, and they were followed by the whole army. Some swam over on skins, some were nearly drowned, but eventually all landed safely; and praised be God! not even a hair of their horses tails was hurt,* nor was any of their property injured.
When they had all reached the opposite bank, the Sultán ordered his men to mount their horses, and charge in such a manner as to put the enemy to flight. Some of the infidels asked for mercy after being wounded, some were taken prisoners, some were killed, and the rest took to flight, and two hundred and seventy gigantic elephants fell into the hands of the Musulmáns.*
Mathurá: The proper way of pronouncing this word is “Mah-
Kanauj: The proper way of pronouncing this word is “Kin-
Síhún and Jelam: The last name is spelt “Jailam,” it is a city in Hind.
Chináb: The proper way of spelling the word is “Chan-
Ráví: The correct mode of writing this word is “Airán,” but in some copies it is written “Iráya.”
Bíyás: The correct mode of spelling this name is “Yiyat.”
Sutlej: This should be written “Shataludr.” It is the name of a province in Hind. But I have ascertained from well-informed people that it should be “Sataludr,” not “Shataludr.”
Janki: This should be written “Chankí,” one of the names current in Hind.
Bamhí: This should be written “Sammhí,” another name current in Hind.
Jamná: This should be written “Jaun,” the name of a river in Hind.
Baran: The mode of writing this name is “Barbah;” but in some copies it is “Barnah.” It is a city among the cities of Hind.
Hardat: This is written “Hurdiz;” but in some copies it is represented as “Hurdib.”