Page:History of India Vol 5.djvu/75

DEFEAT AND DEATH OF BUI RAI 49 When Biji Eai saw the desperate plight to which he was reduced, he escaped by stealth and on foot into the forest with a few attendants and sought refuge on the top of some hills. Mahmud despatched a select body of his troops in pursuit of them, and when Biji Rai saw that there was no chance of escape, he drew his dagger, struck it into his breast, and went to the fire which God has lighted for infidels and those who deny a resurrection, for those who say no prayers, hold no fasts, and tell no beads. The army of the Sultan kept moving on and com- mitting slaughter and pillage. One hundred and twenty elephants fell to the share of the Sultan, besides the usual share of property and arms. He also obtained an accession of territory without any solicitation. He remained at Bhatia till he had cleansed it from pollu- tion, and appointed a person there to teach those who had embraced Islam and to lead them in the right way. He then returned to Ghazni in triumph and glory, and his fortune was in the ascendent; but since his return was during the rains, when the rivers were full and foaming, and as the mountains were lofty, and he had to fight with enemies, he lost the greater part of his baggage in the rivers, and many of his valiant warriors were dispersed. God, nevertheless, preserved his per- son, for God is the friend of the virtuous. Intelligence reached Mahmud of the acts committed by Abi-al-futuh, the ruler of Multan, and also of the impurity of his religion, the seditious designs of his heart, the evidence of his evil doings, and his endeav-