1 THE GHAZNAVIDE DYNASTY. 79
2 invaders. Sabuktagin, having ascended a neighbouring hill, beheld the
3 vastness of the Indian host, which in extent is described as having resembled
4 a boundless ocean. Encouraging his chiefs with the hope of glory,
5 and appealing to their valour, he gave each his commands, and, dividing his
6 soldiers, who were few in number, into squadrons of five hundred, directed
7 them to make successive attacks on a weak point of the Hindu army. This
8 manceuvre made it appear as if bodies of fresh troops were being constantly
9 sent forward against the wearied cavalry of the Hindus, whose ranks were
10 broken, causing confusion and consternation to spread among their forces,
11 Taking advantage of this disorder, Sabuktagin ordered a general assault, and
12 the Hindus, worsted at every point, fled and were pursued by the victorious
13 Mahomedan troops to the banks of the Nilab. The victor levied heavy
14 contributions on the countries west of the Indus, and, making Peshawar
15 and Laghmdn the eastern boundary of his dominions, appointed one of his
16 officers, with ten thousand horse, to the government of the conquered country, :
17 and retraced his steps to Ghazni.
18 For the rest of his life, Sabuktagin was engaged in military exploits
19 to the north-west of his dominions. He died at Tamruz, near Balkh, in
20 August, 997 a.D., in the fifty-sixth year of his age and the twentieth of
21 his reign, his remains being carried to Ghazni for interment.
22 Sabuktagin was a prince who, in addition to uncommon bravery and
23 rudence, was endowed with a sense of equity and moderation. His wazir
24 was Abul Abas Fazil, a minister of great talent in the management of
25 affairs of State. It is said of Sabuktagin that, when out hunting one day,
26 he saw a deer grazing with her young fawn. Putting spurs to his horse, he
27 pursued and seized the fawn and, laying it across his saddle with its legs
28 bound, took his way homewards; but, happening to look back, he beheld
29 the afflicted mother following him at full speed. The heart of Sabuktagin
30 melted with pity and he set the young fawn at liberty, to the great joy of
31 the mother, who often turned to gaze on him with tears in her eyes.
32 He is said to have seen, that night, in a dream, the Prophet of God,
33 who said to him: “The generosity and compassion which you have this
34 day shown to a distressed animal have been appreciated by God, and the
35 kingdom of Ghazni is marked as your reward ; let not greatness undermine
36 your virtue, but thus continue your benevolence towards mankind.”
37 According to the author of Madsir-ul-mulk, Mahmud, the son of
38 Sabuktagin, having built a splendid house in his pleasure garden, invited
39 his father to a magnificent entertainment. The taste, beauty and skill
40 displayed in the structure of the royal edifice tempted the young prince
41 to seek the opinion of his father regarding it. But Sabuktagin, to the
42 great disappointment of his son, said that he looked on it all as a bauble
43 which any of his subjects might raise by means of wealth; it was the
44 business of a prince, he said, to erect more durable monuments of fame,
45 which might stand for ever, like pillars of glory, such as good deeds that
46 were worthy of imitation, but difficult to be surpassed by posterity. The
47 poet, Nizim Urazi, of Samarkand, observes upon this: “ Of all the magni-
48 ficent palaces built by Mahintd, there remains not one stone upon another,
49 but the edifice of his fame still triumphs over time and remains a lasting
50 monument of his greatness.”
51 SULTAN MAHMUD, GHAZNAVI.*
52 When Sabuktagin died, his eldest son, Mahm&d, was at Nishépuir. The
53 second son, Ismail, being by his father’s side in his last moments, obtained
54 es Surnamed Butshikan, or the Iconoclast. His titles were Amin-ul-Millat, “ Asylum of the
55 Faith,” and Yamin-ud-Dauat, “the Bight Hand of the State.”
56 Dexterous move-
57 ments of Sabuktagin.
58 His‘ victory.
59 Ps returns to Ghuz-
60 His death, 997 a. p,
61 His character,
62 Anecdotes.
63 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh J i eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com