Somewhere
in the Forests in India a priest of a high temple went to visit the local
ruler. “Great King”, said the priest, I have seen a dream, which can be
interpret as a sign of the gods, I have seen great days to come ahead if you
work for the gods.”
The
king was unsure what to make of such a priest, as most of them were corrupt and
used the king’s power to make riches of their own. Still, thought the king, it
would be good to see what this priest had to offer, incase he could benefit.
“To
the north” the priest said, “Lives a corrupt king, not of caste, he has never
made any gift to the gods, nor has he ever submitted to the over lordship of
the Shree Vishnu customs. It will be indeed a bad idea to keep him in power.”
The
King had heard of this menace in the west, which people described as a mlechha
king, who breadth fire upon the believers of the old gods and violated their
temples. It was better to be careful in this side of the Indus.
The
priest wanted to have a diplomatic mission to the north to Kanauj, into order
to teach the king about the true lord and master. He convinced the king that
Kanauj will pay enough tribute to alter the fate of his kingdom.
So,
the king, Raja Bhimsen of Anhilwara sent out a small party, north to the kings
of Gurjar Pritihara, in order to cement their bonds.
While
Multan was burning the Ismailis and Indian tribes pushed further
east
accross the Indus. Scouts reported for a large tribal army
coming
up from the southeast.
Mehmud,
at once, broke camp and move eastwards, placing himself
strategically
between the forested hills and open arid plains. In a few
days
they could see the banners of the incoming army.
The
battle began with small skirmishes from both side and no combat to
the
death. On the third day a large skirmish was underway...
While
the skirmishes continued It was heard that one enemy army would
be
crossing a narrow pass through the mountains and attacking from the
rear.
Ghaznavi took his horses on to meet them.
Scouts
reported of a village to the south from where the Ismailis were
operating,
secretly, with their vast wealth at their disposal.
After
the defeat of the advanced guards, Mehmud decided to put his
trust
on a shipbuilder whom he knew from Peshawar, who helped him
cross
the Kabul river. But can he put horses on leaky transports?
The
attack on the secret Ismaili city was outstanding, without their
fuel,
the rest of the Indian dispersed and some joined the Ghaznavi
for
good money. With that Mehmud first blood on the subcontinent was
complete.
Next
time, the Indians fight desperately to save their city and gods,
but,
can they be good enough?
No comments:
Post a Comment