The Sultán, contrary to the disposition of man, which induces him to prefer a soft to a hard couch, and the splendour of the cheeks of pomegranate-bosomed girls to well-tempered sword blades, was so offended at the standard which Satan had raised in Hind, that he determined on another holy expedition to that land. On the last day of Rabí'u-l-ákhir of the same year,* the Sultán prayed God for the accomplishment of his wishes. When he had reached as far as the river of Waihind, he was met by Brahmanpál, the son of Andpál, at the head of a valiant army, with white swords, blue spears, yellow coats of mail, and ash-coloured elephants. Fight opened its crooked teeth, attacks were frequent like flaming meteors, arrows fell like rain from bows, and the grinding-stone of slaughter revolved, crushing the bold and the powerful. The battle lasted from morning till evening, and the infidels were near gaining the victory, had not God aided by sending the slaves of the household to attack the enemy in rear, and put them to flight. The victors obtained thirty large elephants, and slew the vanquished wherever they were found in jungles, passes, plains, and hills.
The Sultán himself joined in the pursuit, and went after them as far as the fort called Bhímnagar,* which is very strong, situated on the promontory of a lofty hill, in the midst of impassable waters. The kings of Hind, the chiefs of that country, and rich devotees, used to amass their treasures and precious jewels, and send them time after time to be presented to the large idol that they might receive a reward for their good deeds and draw near to their God. So the Sultán advanced near to this crow's fruit,* and this accumulation of years, which had attained such an amount that the backs of camels would not carry it, nor vessels contain it, nor writers hands record it, nor the imagination of an arithmetician conceive it.
The Sultán brought his forces under the fort and surrounded it, and prepared to attack the garrison vigorously, boldly, and wisely. When the defenders saw the hills covered with the armies of plunderers, and the arrows ascending towards them like flaming sparks of fire, great fear came upon them, and, calling out for mercy, they opened the gates, and fell on the earth, like sparrows before a hawk, or rain before lightning. Thus did God grant an easy conquest of this fort to the Sultán, and bestowed on him as plunder the products of mines and seas, the ornaments of heads and breasts, to his heart's content. The Sultán entered the fort with Abú Nasr Ahmad bin Muhammad Faríghuní, the ruler of Júzján, and all his own private attendants, and appointed his two chief chamberlains, Altúntásh and Asightigín,* to take charge of the treasures of gold and silver and all the valuable property, while he himself took charge of the jewels. The treasures were laden on the backs of as many camels as they could procure, and the officers carried away the rest. The stamped coin amounted to seventy thousand thousand royal dirhams, and the gold and silver ingots amounted to seven hundred thousand four hundred mans in weight, besides wearing apparel and fine cloths of Sús, respecting which old men said they never remembered to have seen any so fine, soft, and embroidered. Among the booty was a house of white silver, like to the houses of rich men, the length of which was thirty yards and the breadth fifteen.* It could be taken to pieces and put together again. And there was a canopy, made of the fine linen of Rúm, forty yards long and twenty broad, supported on two golden and two silver poles, which had been cast in moulds.
The Sultán appointed one of his most confidential servants to the charge of the fort and the property in it. After this he returned to Ghazna in triumph; and, on his arrival there, he ordered the court-yard of his palace to be covered with a carpet, on which he displayed jewels and unbored pearls and rubies, shining like sparks, or like wine congealed with ice, and emeralds like fresh sprigs of myrtle, and diamonds in size and weight like pomegranates. Then ambassadors from foreign countries, including the envoy from Taghán Khán, king of Turkistán, assembled to see the wealth which they had never yet even read of in books of the ancients, and which had never been accumulated by kings of Persia or of Rúm, or even by Kárún, who had only to express a wish and God granted it.
The Sultán again resolved on an expedition to Hind, and marched towards Náráín, urging his horses and moving over ground, hard and soft, until he came to the middle of Hind, where he reduced chiefs, who, up to that time obeyed no master, overturned their idols, put to the sword the vagabonds of that country, and with delay and circumspection proceeded to accomplish his design. He fought a battle with the chiefs of the infidels, in which God bestowed upon him much booty in property, horses, and elephants, and the friends of God committed slaughter in every hill and valley. The Sultán returned to Ghazna with all the plunder he had obtained.
When the ruler (malik) of Hind had witnessed the calamities which had inflicted ruin on his country and his subjects, in consequence of his contests with the Sultán, and had seen their effects far and near, he became satisfied that he could not contend with him. So he sent some of his relatives and chiefs to the Sultán, supplicating him not to invade India again, and offering him money to abstain from that purpose, and their best wishes for his future prosperity. They were told to offer a tribute of fifty elephants, each equal to two ordinary ones in size and strength, laden with the products and rarities of his country. He promised to send this tribute every year, accompanied by two thousand men, for service at the Court of the Sultán.
The Sultán accepted his proposal, as Islám was promoted
by the humility of his submission and the payment of tribute.
He sent an envoy to see that these conditions were carried into
effect. The ruler of Hind strictly fulfilled them and despatched
one of his vassals with the elephants to see that they were duly
presented to the Sultán. So peace was established, and tribute
was paid, and caravans travelled in full security between Khurá-
After the Sultán had purified Hind from idolatry, and raised mosques therein, he determined to invade the capital of Hind, to punish those who kept idols and would not acknowledge the unity of God. He collected his warriors and distributed money amongst them. He marched with a large army in the year 404 H. 1013 A.D. during a dark night, and at the close of autumn, on account of the purity of the southern breezes at that season. When the Sultán had arrrived near the frontier of Hind, snow fell, such as had never been seen before, insomuch that the passes of the hills were closed, and mountains and valleys became of one level. The feet of the horses and camels were affected by the cold, so it may be conceived what the faces, hands, and feet of men suffered. The well-known roads were concealed, and the right could not be distinguished from the left, or what was behind from that which was before, and they were unable to return until God should give the order. The Sultán employed himself, in the meantime, in collecting supplies, and sent for his generals from the different provinces. After having thus accumulated the means of warfare, and having been joined by his soldiers, who had come from different directions, in number equal to the drops of an autumnal rain, he left these winter quarters in the spring, and, had the earth been endowed with feeling, it would have groaned under the weight of the iron, the warriors, the horses, and the beasts of burden. The guides marched on in front over hill and dale, before the sun arose, and even before the light of the stars was extinguished. He urged on his horses* for two months, among broad and deep rivers, and among jungles in which wild cattle even might lose their way.
When the Sultán arrived near the end of his destination, he
set his cavalry in array, and formed them into different bodies,
appointing his brother, Amír Nasr, son of Násiru-d dín, to
command the right wing, consisting of valiant heroes; Arslánu-l
Jázib to the left wing, consisting of powerful young men; and
Abú 'Abdu-lla Muhammad bin Ibráhímu-t Táí to the advance-