Kálíkot, and certain other ports along the coast as far as Káil, which is opposite Sarandib, also called Sílán, are situated in a province called Malíbár. Ships which depart from Kálíkot to the blessed Mecca (God preserve it in honour and power!) are generally laden with pepper. The men of Kálíkot are bold navigators, and are known by the name of “sons of China.”* The pirates of the sea do not molest the ships of Kálíkot, and everything is procurable in that port, with this sole exception, that you cannot kill cows and eat their flesh. Should any one be known to have killed a cow, his life would infallibly be sacrificed. The cow is held in such respect, that they rub the ashes of its dung upon their forehead,—the curse of God upon them!

Visit to Bíjánagar.

This humble individual having taken his leave, departed from Kálíkot, and passing by the seaport of Bandána, which is on the Malíbár coast, arrived at the port of Mangalúr, which is on the borders of the kingdom of Bíjánagar. Having remained there two or three days, he departed by dry land, and at the distance of three parasangs from Mangalúr, he saw a temple which has not its like upon the earth. It is a perfect square of about ten yards by ten, and five in height. The whole is made of molten brass. There are four platforms or ascents, and on the highest of them there is an idol, of the figure and stature of a man, made all of gold. Its eyes are composed of two red rubies, which are so admirably set that you would say that they gazed upon you. The whole is made with the greatest delicacy and the perfection of art.

Passing on from that place, I arrived each day at a town or village well populated, until a mountain rose before me, the base of which cast a shadow on the sun, and whose sword (peak) sheathed itself in the neck of Mars: its waist was encircled with the bright stars of Orion, as with a ring, and its head was crowned with a blazing chaplet. Its foot was covered with such numbers of trees and thorny bushes that the rays of the world-enlightening sun were never able to penetrate its obscurity, and the genial clouds could never moisten its soil with their rain. On leaving this mountain and forest, I arrived at the city of Bidrúr,* of which the houses were like palaces and its beauties like houris. In Bidrúr there is a temple so high that you can see it at a distance of several parasangs. It is impossible to describe it without fear of being charged with exaggeration. In brief, in the middle of the city, there is an open space extending for about ten jaríbs, charming as the garden of Iram. In it there are flowers of every kind, like leaves. In the middle of the garden there is a terrace (kursí), composed of stones, raised to the height of a man; so exquisitely cut are they, and joined together with so much nicety, that you would say it was one slab of stone, or a piece of the blue firmament which had fallen upon the earth. In the middle of this terrace there is a lofty building comprising a cupola of blue stone, on which are cut figures, arranged in three rows, tier above tier.

Such reliefs and pictures could not have been represented upon it by the sharp style and deceptive pencil.

From the top to the bottom there was not a space of the palm of a hand on that lofty building which was not adorned with paintings of Europe and Khatá (China). The building was con­structed on four terraces of the length of thirty yards, and of the breadth of twenty yards, and its height was about fifty yards.

All the other edifices, small and great, are carved and painted with exceeding delicacy. In that temple, night and day, after prayers unaccepted by God, they sing and play musical instru­ments, enjoy concerts, and give feasts. All the people of the village enjoy pensions and allowances from that building; for offerings are presented to it from distant cities. In the opinion of those irreligious men, it is the ka'ba of the infidels (gabrán). After remaining here two or three days, I continued my journey, and at the close of the month Zí-hijja arrived at the city of Bíjánagar. The king sent out a party to escort us, and we were brought to a pleasant and suitable abode.

From our former relation, and well-adjusted narrative, well-informed readers will have ascertained that the writer 'Abdu-r-razzák had arrived at the city of Bíjánagar. There he saw a city exceedingly large and populous, and a king of great power and dominion, whose kingdom extended from the borders of Sarandíp to those of Kulbarga, and from Bengal to Malíbár, a space of more than 1,000 parasangs. The country is for the most part well cultivated and fertile, and about three hundred good seaports belong to it. There are more than 1,000 elephants, lofty as the hills and gigantic as demons. The army consists of eleven lacs of men (1,100,000). In the whole of Hindustán there is no ráí more absolute than himself, under which denomi­nation the kings of that country are known. The Brahmans are held by him in higher estimation than all other men. The book of Kalíla and Dimna, than which there is no other more excellent in the Persian language, and which relates to a Ráí and a Brahman, is probably the composition of the wise men of this country.

The city of Bíjánagar is such that eye has not seen nor ear heard of any place resembling it upon the whole earth. It is so built that it has seven fortified walls, one within the other. Beyond the circuit of the outer wall there is an esplanade ex­tending for about fifty yards, in which stones are fixed near one another to the height of a man; one half buried firmly in the earth, and the other half rises above it, so that neither foot nor horse, however bold, can advance with facility near the outer wall. If any one wishes to learn how this resembles the city of Hirát, let him understand that the outer fortification answers to that which extends from the hill of Mukhtár and the pass of “the Two Brothers” to the banks of the river, and the bridge of Málán, which lies to the east of the village of Ghízár, and to the west of the village of Síbán.*

The fortress is in the form of a circle, situated on the summit of a hill, and is made of stone and mortar, with strong gates, where guards are always posted, who are very diligent in the collection of taxes (jizyát). The second fortress represents the space which extends from the bridge of the New River to the bridge of the pass of Kará,* to the east of the bridge of Rangína* and Jákán, and to the west of the garden of Zíbanda, and the village of Jasán. The third fortress would contain the space which lies between the tomb of the Imám Fakhr-u-dín-Rází, to the vaulted tomb of Muhammad Sultán Sháh. The fourth would represent the space which lies between the bridge of Anjíl and the bridge of Kárad. The fifth may be reckoned equivalent to the space which lies between the garden of Zaghan and the bridge of the river Jákán. The sixth fortification would comprehend the distance between the gate of the king and that of Fírozábád. The seventh fortress is placed in the centre of the others, and occupies ground ten times greater than the chief market of Hirát. In that is situated the palace of the king. From the northern gate of the outer fortress to the southern is a distance of two statute parasangs, and the same with respect to the distance between the eastern and western gates. Between the first, second, and third walls, there are cultivated fields, gardens, and houses. From the third to the seventh fortress, shops and bazars are closely crowded together. By the palace of the king there are four bazars, situated opposite to one another. That which lies to the north is the imperial palace or abode of the Ráí. At the head of each bazar, there is a lofty arcade and magnificent gallery, but the palace of the king is loftier than all of them. The bazars are very broad and long, so that the sellers of flowers, notwithstanding that they place high stands before their shops, are yet able to sell flowers from both sides. Sweet-scented flowers are always procurable fresh in that city, and they are considered as even necessary sustenance, seeing that without them they could not exist. The tradesmen of each separate guild or craft have their shops close to one another. The jewellers sell their rubies and pearls and diamonds and emeralds openly in the bazar. [Eulogy of the gems.]