EARLY BARDIC CHRONICLES 15 The King, the Lord of Delhi, took her away. The rumour spiead that, outside the city. They are carrying off Padmavati by force. Drums are beat, there is saddling of horse and elephant, They ran, armed, in all directions. ' Seize ! Seize ! ' shouted each warrior. Rage possessed the heroes and their king. When King Prithiraj was going in front With all his army behind him, There the horsemen advancing arrived ; King meeting King, the warriors joined in battle, When Prithiraj the King turns rein, The heavens stand still, the world-serpent shakes. The chiefs and heroes all look (awful) as death, Eager for blood on rushes the King, The bows let fly countless arrows, The deadly blades draw blood. From the sweat of the wounds of the heroes on the field, A thick stream flows, and dyes the sand. As warriors of the bardt smote. On the field fell heads and headless trunks of the foe. The foe fell on the field of battle ; Turning his face towards Delhi, Having won the battle, went Prithiraj, All the chiefs were glad. He took Padmavati with him Rejoicing, King Prithiraj."* Chand Bardai's son Jalhan is also said to have been a poet and possibly some parts of the Raso were com- posed by him. Jagnayak.— y<2^;^J>'«>^ (or Jagnik) was a contempor- ary of Chand Bardai and attended the court of Paramardi (Parmal) of Mahoba in Bundelkhand, who was a rival of Prithiraj. His works have not _survived, unless we have in the Mahoba Khand (or Alha Khand)^ which has been described as a spurious canto of Chand's epic, a poem which was written by Jagnayak. This poem has been handed down by oral tradition and exists in many recensions which differ from one another both in language and subject matter. It is still sung by professional singers in India and the language is always modernized to suit the dialect of the reciter.
- Translation by Mr. John Beames, in Vol. 38 of the Journal of the
Asiatic Society of Bengal (1869), pp. 152, 153.
