The rebels, who fled, took refuge with Ráí Ajípál*
at Kanauj.
When the letter of Sálár Sáhú reached the Sultán, he was overjoyed
at the good tidings, and bestowed a special dress of honour, with
several Arab horses upon him, and was graciously pleased to order
the government of the country to be given to his faithful brother,
Sálár Sáhú. He also wrote as follows: “If the Ráí Ajípál (Jaipál),
Prince of Kanauj will adopt the Musulmán faith, well; but if not,
we ourselves will proceed towards that country with our all-
When Sitr Mu'alla' reached Ajmír with the dress of honour and the farmán, Sálár Sáhú gave himself up entirely to pleasure and rejoicing; and, through the power of Almighty God, on that very night—i.e., on the ninth of the month Shawwál, in the year 404 —Sálár Mas'úd left the loins of his father and entered the womb of his mother. Nine months passed in ease and pleasure; and in the tenth month, on the twenty-first of the month of Sha'bán, in the year 405, on Sunday, at the pure time of dawn in the first hour, the world-enlightening son was born. The beauty of Yúsuf, the grace of Abraham, and the light of Muhammad shone upon his brow.
The Sultán was also extremely delighted at the birth of his sister's son, and had rich dresses of honour prepared for the father, mother, and the infant Mas'úd. He also, in the most gracious manner, issued a mandate under his own hand to this effect: “Let the Government of the Kingdom of Hindustán be bestowed upon our brother and his son; and if the Ráí Ajípál gíve in his submission, well and good; if not, let him know that we ourselves will make an expedition into Hindustán, and on the same occasion will see our nephew Sálár Mas'úd.”
Khwája Hasan Maimandí, who had an hereditary feud with the General of the army, was jealous of the honours and favours bestowed on him by the Sultán; but to what purpose?
Meanwhile, although Sálár Sáhú sought to lead Ráí Ajípál in the right way, he would not cast his lot into the scale of truth; and from excess of worldly-mindedness he did not even desire peace. On the contrary, he encouraged the rebels of the surrounding country, who had taken refuge with him after their flight from Ajmír, to attack the dominions of the Sultán. The General, troubled by anxiety arising from his infatuation, communicated the state of affairs to the Sultán, and, after a few days, Mahmúd took the road to Hindustán with his army. The General Sálár Sáhú, and Muzaffar Khán, went to meet the Sultán with their armies, and conducting him first to Ajmír, displayed Sálár Mas'úd to the fortunate gaze of their royal master, and then presented offerings of money and all kinds of property.
The Sultán bestowed the whole on Sálár Mas'úd, and, during the several days that he remained at Ajmír, he would not let him (Mas'úd) go out of his sight. He then turned towards Kanauj with his army, in rage and indignation, appointing Sálár Sáhú and Muzaffar Khán to the van of the army.
He first came to Mathura, and plundered that nest of idolatry which was a very holy spot among the people of India. After subduing and plundering all the chiefs of the neighbourhood who were reported to be rebellious and factious, he next proceeded against Ráí Ajípál, the King of Kanauj, who did not venture to resist him, but fled, as is detailed in the history called the Rauzatu-s Safá, as follows:— * * * *
The author of the Tawáríkh-i Mahmúdí relates that when the Sultán returned to Ghazní after the Indian expedition, Sálár Sáhú, the general, petitioned to be allowed to attend him, but the Sultán said, “The subjugation of this country of Kanauj is your work, my brother, and I have therefore appointed you its governor.” When they had reached the neighbourhood of Lahore he presented the General with a dress of honour and sixteen Arab horses, and dismissed him; nor did he neglect Sálár Mas'úd, but bestowed upon him costly gifts. He also honoured Muzaffar Khán with presents of dresses and chargers, and sent him away with the General, ordering him to serve him in every way in his power.
So the General returned to Ajmír, and immediately appointed officers throughout the districts of his province, whether new or old, for the protection of the people and the redress of the oppressed. He then fixed an annual tribute to be paid by the Ráí Ajípál, and left him at Kanauj on condition of service, whilst he himself remained at Ajmír, enjoying all happiness and peace, governing India as deputy of the Sultán.
He was exceedingly fond of his son, and when Mas'úd was four years four months and four days old, he sent him to a tutor, Mír Saiyid Ibráhím, to be instructed in the creed of Islám. * * * * The Almighty had endued him with a great aptitude for learning, so that by the time he was nine years old he had acquired most sciences, practical and abstract, and at ten years of age he was so given up to devotion that he passed the whole night in deep study, and never left his chamber before a watch of the day had passed. * * * In short, he excelled in everything, small and great, and was skilled in whatever came before him. * * *
The Prince of Martyrs was most spotless in body and mind. His pure soul was occupied always in meditating on God, and he was free from sin, external and internal. * * *
Of the return of Sálár Sáhú and the Prince of Martyrs to Ghazní, and of the feud of Hasan Maimandí, the wazír of Sultán Mahmúd of Ghazní, with Sálár Mas'úd, on account of the destruction of the image of Somnát.
In the course of the next ten years the General subdued many of the countries of India, and lost all fear of the efforts of the unbelievers. The revenue, too, began to flow in regularly and without trouble.
The Sultán Mahmúd was in Khurásán, when some rebels, inhabiting the skirts of the mountain, banded together for the purpose of attacking Kábulíz, and Malik Chhachú, Governor of Kábulíz, reported the matter to the Sultán. As soon as the intelligence reached him, a farmán was issued in the name of the General, ordering him to leave half his forces for the protection of the country of Ajmír, and to proceed himself with the other half to Kábulíz, and so to punish the unbelievers, as to make them careful not to rebel again, adding, that he (the Sultán) would go himself, but that he was occupied with important matters.
Kábulíz is situated in the vicinity of Kashmír. It was an important place, and had a very lofty fort. The town was originally in the hands of Ráí Kalíchand Fir'aúní.* He had grown presumptuous on account of the abundance of his wealth and forces, and the extent of his kingdom; therefore, when Sultán Mahmúd went on the Kanauj expedition in the year 407, upon his arrival in Kashmír, he took the fort of Ráí Kalíchand with the greatest difficulty, and appointed civil officers of his own. The particulars of the siege of the fort, and of the death of Ráí Kalíchand with 50,000 of his companions, are related in the Rauzatu-s Safá, but cannot be told in a brief work like the present.
The General of the army having left Mír Saiyid Ibráhím, Muzaffar Khán, and other confidential nobles of his province, to attend upon Sálár Mas'úd, proceeded with his train by successive marches to Kábulíz.