4-A PICTURE

STORY-BOOK OF
INDIAN HISTORY

OToBnsnninEioj

GABRIELLE FESTING
 FOR USE IN INDIAN SCHOOLS.
PROGRESSIVE ENGLISH COMPOSITION. ORAL
AND WRITTEN. By Percival C. Wren, M.A.,I.E.S.
"
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SHORT STORIES FOR REPRODUCTION, by P. C.
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A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
OF INDIAN HISTORY
KING GEORGE V: EMPEROR OF INDIA
Photo. W. and D. Downey, London.
 A
PICTURE STOR Y-B O O K
OF
INDIAN HISTORY
BY
GABRIELLE FESTING
AUTHOR OF "FROM THE LAND OF PRINCES," "WHEN
KINGS RODE TO DELHI," " STRANGERS WITHIN THE GATES,
ETC., ETC.

WITH OVER
ONE HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS

BOMBAY
K. & J. COOPER
EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHERS
All Rights reserved by the Publishers.

Printed and published by K. & J. M. Cooper

at THE ATHEN.EUM PRESS,
Damania Building, Tardeo Road, Bombay.
 TO

G., N., & D.

AND
TO ALL CHILDREN WHO MAY
READ THIS BOOK.
Some of you may want to know whe-
ther these stories from Indian History
are all true. There is truth in all of
them ;
but in some of the earlier stories
it has been twisted, or else something-
has been added to it.
Some people explain the story of
Rama and Sita by saying that the
Rakshasas were really a hostile tribe
who stole Sita away and that the
monkeys who helped Rama to bring her
back were a race of little men who
lived in the forests like the Bhils. We
know of Asoka's reign and his good
laws, through the inscriptions on the
pillars at Allahabad, and Delhi, and
elsewhere; but the story about his
mother is a tradition which may or
may not be true.

2004988
vi A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
We cannot say that all the details
in the legend of St. Thomas really
happened, but the Christian Church from
the very earliest times has had a tradi-
tion that he preached and suffered
martyrdom in India.
Rana Hamir may not really have had
to recover his father's sword from the
witches, but he recovered his father's
kingdom by his and steadfast-
bravery
ness, and the story of the sword may
be a sort of allegory of his real
struggles with his enemies. The sword,
at any rate, really was treasured by the
Ranas of Chitor for many generations.
After writing the story of Akbar,
I went to hear a lecture from a very
learned man, who was quite sure that
Akbar really had cut off Himu's head.
But as other learned people for many
years have said that he did not, I have
not altered the story-
If you like these stories, you must
remember that they are only a beginning;
they were written in the hope that
some of you, after reading them would
go on to the real books on Indian
history, such as those written by
Mr. Keene, or Sir George Forrest, or
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. vii

Mr. Stanley Lane-Poole. This little book

may be like a pathway, that leads you
to a beautiful garden. But you must
not stay on the pathway you must go ;

on, into the garden, and see what you

can find for yourselves.

MODEL OF STONE CHARIOT.

Negative :
Archaeological Survey.
 CONTENTS.
PART I.

LEGENDS OF EARLY INDIA.

PAGE
STORIES OF RAMA AND SITA.
1. THE BOW OF SIVA ... ... 3
2. THE ENCHANTED DEER 7
3. THE ARMY OF MONKEYS 10

4. THE GOOD EMPEROR ASOKA ... 18

5. THE PALACE BUILT BY ST. THOMAS 25

PART II.

THE MUSLIM INVASION.

PAGE
STORIES OF MAHMUD THE
IDOL-BREAKER.
6. THE MERCIFUL SLAVE 31
7. THE SULTAN AND THE IDOL ... 35

STORIES OF THE LAST HINDU KING

OF DELHI.
8. THE WEDDING OF RAI PITHORA .. 39
9. THE BATTLE ON THE PLAIN 43
 CONTENTS. ix

PART III.
STORIES OF THE SULTANS
OF DELHI.
PAGE
10. THE STOLEN CHILD ... 47

11. THE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS 51

12. THE CHARMED SWORD 56

13. THE SULTAN AND THE HOLY MAN 61

PART IV.

THE GREAT DAYS OF THE

MOGHUL EMPIRE.
PAGE
STORIES OF THE EMPEROR BABAR.
14. THE ARMY IN THE SNOW 67
15. THE CONQUEST OF DELHI 71

16. THE RANI'S BRACELET 76

17. THE FAITHFUL NURSE 79

STORIES OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR.

18. THE CRUEL UNCLE 84
19. THE WOUNDED ENEMY 88
20. THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH ... 92

21. A NOBLE QUEEN . 98

22. THE STORY OF A BABY 104
23. THE STORY OF THE TAJ MAHAL 109
 CONTENTS.

PART V.

THE DECLINE OF THE

MOGHUL EMPIRE.
PAGE
STORIES OF SIVAJI.
24. SIVAJI AND THE ENGLISH 121
25. THE ESCAPE FROM AGRA 125

26. TWO ENGLISH DOCTORS 130

27. THE COMING OF NADIR SHAH ... 134

28. THE SACK OF DELHI 137

STORIES OF THE SIKHS.

29. GURU NANAK AND GURU ARJUN 140
30. GURU TEG BAHADUR AND GURU
GOBIND 146

PART VI.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE

MOGHUL EMPIRE.
PAGE
STORIES OF ROBERT CLIVE.
31. THE FRENCH AND THE ENGLISH 153
32. THE DEFENCE OF ARCOT ... ... 357
33. THE VICTORY OF PLASSEY 161

34. THE TIGER FORT 164

35. THE LAST BATTLE OF PANIPAT 168

 CONTENTS. XI

STORIES OF THE MYSORE WAR.

36. THE PRISONERS OF HAIDAR ALI ... 172
37. THE FALL OF SERINGAPATAM ... 176

38 THE LAST SACK OF DELHI 181

39. THE FATE OF GHULAM KADIR ... 184
40. THE LAST EMPERORS OF DELHI 186

A WATCH TOWER.
Negative : Archaeological Survey.
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
1. KING GEORGE V: EMPEROR OF INDIA ... ii

2. MODEL OF STONE CHARIOT vii

3. A WATCH TOWER xi

4. CANNON BALL, found on the battlefield of

Panipat xvi
5. THE Bow OF SIVA 2
6. THE WEDDING OF RAMA AND SITA ... 5
7. SITA AND THE HERMIT 9>

8. HANUMAN ... 11
9. SITA GUARDED BY THE RAKSHASAS ... 13
10. SITA'S GREAT TRIAL 15
11. INTERIOR OF RAMESHWARAM 16
12. SITA, RAMA, LAKSHMAN AND HANUMAN.
Images in the Temple of Rameshwaram ... 17
13. BUDDHA 20
14. THE GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI 21
15. ROCK WITH ASOKA INSCRIPTION 22
16. ASOKA PILLAR, showing Inscription 23
17. THE "LAT" OR STONE PILLAR OF ASOKA
AT DELHI 24
18. ST. THOMAS'S MOUNT, MADRAS 28
19. A HINDU TEMPLE 30
20. THREE-HEADED IDOL REPRESENTING
BRAHMA, VISHNU AND SIVA. Elephanta
Caves 33
21. THE TEMPLE OF SOMNATH 34
22. INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF SOMNATH ... 36
23. STONE BULL, SACRED TO SIVA. Tanjore
Temple 37
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, xiii

PAGE
24. RAI PlTHORA 40
25. RAI PITHORA'S TEMPLE, DELHI 42
26. MlNAR
KlJTB 46
27. THE KUTB MOSQUE AT DELHI 49
28. TOMB OF ALTAMISH AT DELHI 50
29. A RAJPUT SOLDIER 51
30. PADMANI 53
31. PADMANI-KI-MAHALL 54
32. DOOR OF PADMANI-KI-MAHALL 55
33. THE GATEWAY OF ALA-AD-DIN, in the
Mosque at Delhi 57
34. THE TOWER OF VICTORY, CHITOR ... 59
35. TOMB OF NlZAM-AD-DIN AULIA 62
36. FORT OF TAGHLAKABAD AT DELHI, en-
closing tomb of Sultan Taghlak ... ... 63
37. BABAR 66
38. TIMUR 68
39. THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
KABUL 70
40. KABUL 72
41. BABAR'S GARDEN AT AGRA 74
42. HUMAYUN 77
43. THE FORTRESS OF KOMULMIR 82
44. THE RUINS OF CHITOR 83
45. THE FORT OF KABUL 86
46. TOMB OF HUMAYUN AT DELHI 87
47. AKBAR 89
48. AKBAR'S-TOMB AT SECUNDRA, NEAR AGRA 92
49. FATEHPUR SlKRI, built by Emperor Akbar ... 93
50. PANCH MAHALL, FATEHPUR SIKRI ... 94
51. AKBAR LISTENING ro ARGUMENTS UPON
RELIGION 95
xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
52. INTERIOR OF DIWAN-I-KHAS, FATEHPUR
SIKRI 97
53. BUL AND DARWAZ A, FATEHPUR SIKRI ... 99
54. CHAND BIBI 100
55. THE WALLS AND MOAT OF BIJAPUR ... 103
56. JAHANGIR 106
57. NUR JAHAN 107
58. TOMB OF JAHANGIR AT LAHORE 109
59. THE TAJ MAHAL AT AGRA 110
60. SHAH JAHAN Ill
61. THE DIWANI-I-AMM HALL OF PUBLIC
(

AUDIENCE), in the Palace at Agra ... 112

62. THE SCALES OF JUSTICE i ... 113
63. THE PEARL MOSQUE (MOTIMASJID), AGRA 114
64. TOMBS OF MUMTAZ-I-MAHAL AND SHAH
JAHAN in the Taj Mahal ... 115
65. SARCOPHAGI in interior of the Taj Mahal ... 115
66. THE JASMINE TOWER 116
67. THE TAJ MAHAL, from the Jasmine Tower 117
68. THE FORT, AGRA , 118
69. AURANGZIB 120
70. SIVAJI ... 122
"
71. CLAWS "
TIGER'S 123
72. SURAT FORT 124
73. GOL GUMBAZ, BIJAPUR 127
74. THE RAUZA OF IBRAHIM, BIJAPUR ... 129
75. THE DUTCH TOMBS, SURAT 131
76. FARRUKH-SlYAR 133
77. NADIR SHAH ... 135
78. THE GOLDEN MOSQUE, DELHI ... 138
79. GURU NANAK 141
80. BUDDHA TEMPLE, GAY A 142
 LIS|T OF ILLUSTRATIONS, xv

PAGE
81. THE GOLDEN TEMPLE, AMRITSAR 144
82. GURU GOBIND 147
83. RANJIT SINGH 149
84. HINDU TEMPLE CONVERTED INTO MOSQUE 150
85. EAST INDIA HOUSE 15
86. FORT ST. GEORGE IN MADRAS 155
87. ROCK FORT AND TEMPLE, TRICHINOPOLY 156
88. ROBERT CLIVE 158
89. GUN CALLED MALIK-I-MAIDAN 159
90. SlRAJ-UD-DAULA 161
91. "BLACK HOLE" MONUMENT 162
92. FORT WILLIAM IN BENGAL 163
93. MONUMENTAL PILLAR, erected on the site of
the fort of Bobbili 165
94. AHMAD SHAH DURANI 169
95. INTERIOR OF DIWAN-I-KHAS OF DELHI
PALACE 171
96. HAIDAR ALI 173
97. THE FAMOUS TEMPLE AT DWARASAMUDRA
(HALEBID), MYSORE 174
98. TIPU SAHIB 178
99. STORMING OF SERINGAPATAM 179
100. SHAH ALAM II 182
101. ARTHUR WELLESLEY 187
102. THE LAHORE GATE, THE FORT, DELHI ... 190
103. QUEEN VICTORIA 191
104. THE THRONE OF THE LAST TITULAR
EMPEROR OF INDIA .. 192
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Figs. 19, 20, 23, 26, 27, 34, 39, 40, 45, 49, 55, 59, 63, 67, 73,

74, 80, 87and 91 are reproduced from photographs by Messrs.

Johnston and Hoffmann, Calcutta, and Figs. 37, 42, 47, 56,
60, 65, 69, 81, 88, 95, 101 and 102 from photographs by
Messrs. Bourne and Shepherd, India. The majority of the
other illustrations are reproduced from photographs kindly
supplied by the Archaeological Survey of India, the Trustees
of the Victoria Memorial Section, Indian Museum, and the
India Office. The Publishers' grateful thanks are also due to
the Maharaja of Bobbili for Fig. 93.

CANNON BALL
FOUND ON THE BATTLEFIELD OF PANIPAT.
 PART I.

LEGENDS
OF EARLY INDIA.
RAMA AND SITA.
STORIES OF
1. THE BOW OF SIVA.
2. THE ENCHANTED DEER.
3. THE ARMY OF MONKEYS.
4. THE GOOD EMPEROR ASOKA.
( ASOKA DIED 231 B. C. )

5. THE PALACE BUILT BY ST.

THOMAS.
( ABOUT A. D. 45. )

P. S. B. I. H.
 THE BOW OF SIVA.
Rama took it in his hands, and bent it till it sprang asunder.
From a painting by Ravi Varnia.
 1. THE BOW OF SIVA.

Once upon a time, a Raja had many

sons, and he loved Rama best of them
all.

When Rama was still a boy, while

shooting with a bow belonging to one
of his companions, he broke it. "Ah,"
said the other boy, "it is easy for you
to break my bow you should go to the
;

Court of Raja Janaka, and try the bow

of Siva which he keeps. He has pro-
mised his daughter Sita as a wife to
the archer who can bend it."
Now
Janaka's daughter was fairest of
all women, and she was called Sita ("a
furrow") because she was born of no
earthly mother, but had sprung from
the earth when Janaka was ploughing.
So Rama took his favourite brother,
Lakshman, with him, and they travelled
to the Court of Janaka, where he asked
leave to try the bow of Siva.
This bow was so large and heavy that
it had to be dragged upon an eight-
wheeled cart Rama took it in his
;

hands, and bent it till it sprang asunder.

4 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
The whole Court were so overjoyed
that every one, except Janaka himself,
turned head over heels. Rama was mar-
ried to the beautiful Sita, and Laksh-
man was married to one of her sisters,
with great pomp and ceremony.
When the wedding festivities were
over, the brothers took their brides to
their own home, and their father was
so delighted that he promised to leave
his kingdom to Rama when he died.
But Rama had a stepmother who was
jealous of him, and wanted her own son
to have the kingdom, and she gave the
old Raja no peace till he consented to
do as she wished. Nor was she con-
tent with this, but for fear that Rama
should change his father's mind again,
she wrought with cunning words and
with false tales, until the old Raja con-
sented to banish his dear son from the
kingdom for ten years.
Rama, like a dutiful son, did not dis-
pute his father's will. He was greatly
beloved by his father's people, and when
on the appointed day they saw him go
through the streets with Lakshman and
Sita, who preferred wandering over the
world in his company to living in
a palace without him, they wailed and
THE WEDDING OF RAMA AND SITA.
6 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
wept until their tears laid the dust that
had been raised by the wheels of the
chariots. The three had cast aside their
royal robes and jewels, and put on gar-
ments woven from the bark of trees.
Out of all their possessions they took
with them nothing but the armour and
weapons of the two princes, a basket,
and a hoe.
They had not gone very far before
they were overtaken by Rama's half-
brother, the son of the wicked step-
mother. The old Raja's heart had bro-
ken at parting from Rama, and he had
fallen dead the unkind Rani, at once
;

sent word to her son to take the king-

dom But he reproached her
for himself.
bitterly for her wickedness, and set forth
to find Rama and bring him back to
reign.
"
But Rama would not come. Though
my father is dead, I
disobeywill not
him," he said; "he banished me for ten
years. I cannot return before those ten
years are over."
So the good half-brother went home,
sadly, to govern as Rama's regent, and
Rama, Lakshman, and Sita wandered
away into the jungles.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY.

2. THE ENCHANTED DEER.

After straying up and down for some
time, the brothers built a little hut, and
lived in it with Sita, among the trees
and flowers and wild animals.
Now in the city of Lanka, in the is-
land of Ceylon, lived the terrible Ra-
vana, monarch of the Rakshasas ogres ). (

Having heard of Sita's beauty, he covet-

ed her for his wife. Not daring to
attempt taking her by force from such
a renowned warrior as Rama, he deter-
mined to get possession of her by craft,
with the help of his magical powers.
One day, a deer ran past the hut. Its
hide was of gold spotted with silver, its
feet were of silver and its horns were
covered with jewels. Directly Sita be-
held it, she implored Rama to get it
for her. Accordingly, he seized his bow
and arrows, and ran after it, bidding
Lakshman to guard Sita until his return.
For a long time, Rama followed the
deer, but though fleet of foot, he could
not overtake it. Then he sent an arrow
from his bow, which struck it, and as it
8 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
"
fell, sighed "Ah Rama! Ah Sita
it !

in tones of piteous sadness. The wind

carried the sigh through the jungle, till
its echo reached the hut where Sita and

Lakshman waited.
Sita cried, "Surely, that is the voice
of my lord Some evil has
! overtaken
"
him. Fly to his help.
At first Lakshman refused to go, urg-
ing that Rama had
charged him to stay
with Sita. Then she upbraided him, vow-
ing that he must be jealous of his bro-
ther, if he sat still when Rama called
for help, and Lakshman yielded, and
hurried away.
While Sita was alone within the hut,
there came to the door a man in the
dress of a hermit, who seemed spent
with hunger and weariness. Sita, as was
fitting, brought him food and water,
thinking him to be some holy man who
was leading a solitary life in the jungle.
Great was her horror when he revealed
himself to be none other than Ravana.
"Come with me," he told her, "and
all Lanka shall be yours, and you shall

have five thousand handmaidens to wait

upon you."
 SIT A AND THE HERMIT.
'Great was her horror when he revealed himself to be
none other than Ravana."
From a painting by Ravi Varma.
10 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Sita answered that she was the wife
of Rama and could belong to no other
lord, whereupon Ravana seized her by
force, threw her into his aerial chariot,
and flew away with her.
It was a terrible journey over the tops
of the trees, and the crests of the
mountains. Sita's thought was not for
herself but for Rama, and she cast about
how she might leave some token to
show by what way she had gone. As
the chariot sped above a hill, she saw
some monkeys playing on the hillside,
and she threw down her yellow veil
and her golden ornaments, in the hope
that they might pick them up.
Over the land went the chariot, and
over sea, till it reached Lanka, where
Ravana shut up Sita in a palace guard-
ed by female Rakshasas.

3. THE ARMY OF MONKEYS.

When Rama and Lakshman came back
to the hut,and found that Sita was gone,
they hunted for her, far and wide. At
length they heard from the Vulture-Raja,
who had seen her in the aerial chariot,
that she had been carried off to Lanka.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 11

On their way southwards, they met

the Raja of the Monkeys, who had been
dethroned by his brother. Rama helped

HANUMAN.

him to regain his throne,and the Mon-

key-Raja, full of
gratitude, promised
that his army with its general, Hanu-
man, should fight for Rama against the
Rakshasas.
12 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
There is a story that the little grey
squirrel was so sorry for Rama when it
saw him mourning for Sita, that instead
of playing about in the trees, it helped
the monkeys to build the bridge between
India and Ceylon, great pieces of which
are standing in the sea to this day.
Rama laid his hand upon the squirrel to
bless it, and ever since then you may
see the print of his fingers on its back.
Hanuman, who was wisest of all the
monkeys, contrived to steal into Lanka,
and even to enter the palace where Sita
was guarded by the Rakshasas. They
were like the creatures seen in bad dreams
some had ears hanging down to their
ankles, and some had no ears at all ;

some had an eye in the middle of their

foreheads; some had the heads of dogs,
or of swine, or of buffaloes. Every day,
Ravana came to ask whether poor Sita
would be his wife, and when she refused,
he threatened that he would eat her.
While Hanuman was in the palace, he
was discovered by some of the guard, and
taken before Ravana. Ravana decided
not to kill him, but to torture and mock
him; he ordered that cotton should be tied
to the brave monkey's tail, and set alight.
SITA GUARDED BY THE RAKSHASAS.
From a painting by Ravi Varma.
14 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
But Sita heard of the danger of the
friend who had come help her; she
to
prayed to the gods, and the fire did no

harm to Hanuman, who escaped out of

the clutches of the Rakshasas, and came
back to Rama.
After a great deal of fighting between
the army of Rama and the Rakshasas,
Lanka was taken in a night attack,
Ravana killed, and Sita delivered from
her prison.
The monkeys all crowded round to see
the beautiful lady, and Sita's attendants
spoke to them roughly, and would have
driven them back. But Rama rebuked
his servants, and said that as the mon-
keys had fought for Sita, they should
be allowed to look upon her face, be-
fore he took her home to his kingdom.
Somepeople end this story very sad-
ly,by telling how after he had regained
his faithful wife, Rama was so cruel to
her that Sita called upon her mother,
the Earth, to protect her. The ground
opened, and there appeared a beautiful
woman who stretched out her hand to
Sita, and drew her to sit by her side
upon a throne. Then they sank into
the depths, and the ground closed over
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 17

their heads. Rama found that he could

not live without Sita, and drowned him-
self.
Other people say that this is not real-
ly part of the story, and that Rama and
Sita lived happily together.
All over India you find pictures of
Rama and Sita, and of Hanuman, and
"
the Hindus tell you As long as the
mountains and rivers continue, so long
shall the story of Rama and Sita be
told in the world."

SITA, RAMA, LAKSHMAN AND HANUMAN.

IMAGES IN THE TEMPLE OF RAMESHWARAM.

P. S. B. I. H.
18 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK

4. THE GOOD EMPEROR ASOKA.

More than two hundred years before
the birth of Christ, the Emperor Asoka
reigned over nearly the whole of India.
There are many stories about him,
some of which may be partly true. One
of them says that a Brahman had a
daughter, of whom the astrologers fore-
told that she would have two sons, one,
a great monarch, the other a holy man.
When she grew up, she was taken to
the palace of an Emperor in a city on
the banks of the Ganges, to wait upon
his queens. The queens came to know
of the prophecy, and were jealous of
the Brahman's daughter, fearing that if
the Emperor saw her, he would marry
her. So they degraded her to doing the
work of a barber, thinking that the
Emperor would never look at a girl who
seemed to be of this caste.
But one day she found an opportunity
of speaking to the Emperor, and telling
him who she was, and he was so much
pleased with her that he made her his
wife. She had two sons, one of whom
became a holy man, the other was Asoka.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 19

Asoka, as a youth, was rough and un-

pleasing in his manners. His father
cared so little for him that, on hearing

that the city of Taxila in the Punjab

had revolted, he sent Asoka to subdue
it without giving him chariots or any
other war equipment.
Many sons would have refused to risk
their lives on such an errand, unless
they were furnished with all that was
needed ; Asoka departed at once for
Taxila. The legend says that as a re-
ward for his obedience, "the earth open-
ed her bosom," and from it came cha-
riots and all else that he wanted. We
need not believe this part of the story,,
but it is certain that others besides
Asoka have succeeded what in doing
seemed impossible, by trying their hard-
est, and not stopping to think about
the difficulties in the way.
It turned out that Asoka had no need
of war equipment, for the men of Taxi-
la, hearing that he was at their gates,
made submission; they had not rebelled
against the Emperor, but against unjust
ministers who had oppressed them.
After his father's death, Asoka became
Emperor. At first, his violent and cruel
20 A PJCTURE STORY-BOOK
temper made him feared, until he came
under the influence of the teachings of
Gautama Buddha, and learned mercy and
gentleness.

BUDDHA.

He did spend his time in wars

not
with other kings; he said that "a con-
quest by the sword does not deserve the
name of conquest," and in his reign of
22 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
forty years, there was only one war. He
was ready at all times to hear any of
his subjects who came to him with peti-
tions. He established hospitals, both for
men and for beasts. By the wayside, he
planted fruit-trees and dug wells, that
men and beasts might be refreshed.

ROCK WITH ASOKA INSCRIPTION.

The law which he taught his subjects,

still to be seen engraved upon rocks and
pillars in various parts of India, was a
law of "mercy and charity, truth and
purity." It bade the people hearken to
 ASOKA PILLAR.
VIEW OF LOWER PORTION SHOWING INSCRIPTION.
24 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
their parents, show mercy to all living
things, speak the truth, reverence their
teachers, and be courteous to all their
relations.

THE "LAX" OR STONE PILLAR OF

ASOKA AT DELHI.

When Asoka died, he was remember-

ed as "the Loving-minded One, the
Beloved of the Gods."
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 25

5. THE PALACE BUILT BY

ST. THOMAS.
There were Christians among the people
of India long before any Europeans came
thither, and there is a story which tells
how they learned their faith.
When the twelve Apostles were com-
manded to go out into the world, and
preach the Gospel to every creature, it
was the lot of St. Thomas to be sent to
India. He knew not how to reach it,
and he lamented and complained until
St. Peter,the Chief of the Apostles, con-
sented to go with him, and set him upon
his way.
Travelling together, they came to a city
in which they found a merchant, who
had come all the way from India to find
a craftsman who should be able to build
a palace for Gondophorus, his king.
When St. Thomas heard this, he went
to the merchant, saying "If you would
buy a slave for your king, take me. I
can build temples, palaces, and ships, and
I can make ploughs, and just measures
and true balances. Moreover, I can heal
the sick."
26 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
So the merchant bought St. Thomas for
three pieces of gold ;
and St. Thomas
gave the gold to the poor, and bade
farewell to St. Peter, and went with his
master to India.
When they reached the city where
Gondophorus dwelt, the King rejoiced
to know that here was the architect for
his palace. He opened his treasury, and
brought forth stores of gold and silver
and gems, which he gave to St. Thomas,
commanding him to build a palace fair-
er than any in the land. Then he went
away to a distant part of his kingdom,
and did not return for two years.
When he came back, he expected to
find the palace ready for him. During
his absence, St. Thomas had sought out
the poor, and given alms to them; he had
healed the sick he had comforted those
;

who were in trouble. The city was full of

joy and gladness, where had been misery
and suffering. But nothing was left of
the King's treasures, and not one stone of
the palace had been raised upon another.
Then the King was filled with anger,
and he commanded that St. Thomas
should be thrown into prison, meaning
to put him to a cruel death.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 27

Just at this time, the King's brother was

seized with illness, and lay for four days
in a trance, as if he were dead. On the
fourth day, he opened his eyes, sat upright,
and thus spake to the King: "I have
been where the angels showed me a
palace of gold and silver and gems, won-
drous to behold; and they said, 'This is the
palace that Thomas the architect hath
"
built for thy brother, King Gondophorus.'
Then
the King ran with haste to the
dungeon, and released the Saint and ;

"
St. Thomas
said to him, King, thereO
are in heaven rich palaces without num-
ber, which were prepared from the be-
ginning of the world for those who gain
them by faith and by charity. Your rich-
es prepare the way for you to such a
may
palace, but they cannot follow you thither."
Then the King and all his court were
baptized.
After this, the Saint journeyed about
India, teaching and preaching, till he
suffered martyrdom, being pierced with
a lance as he knelt at the foot of a
cross that he had made, at the place
afterwards called "St. Thomas's Mount,"
in Madras.
How much of this story is true, we do
not know. From very early days, the
28 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Christian church has had a tradition that
St. Thomas preached in India, where he
baptized the three Wise Men who brought
gifts to Bethlehem. When the Portu-
guese came to India, many hundred years

ST. THOMAS'S MOUNT, MADRAS.

later, they believed that they found the

body of the Saint. It is certain that
there have been Christians in Southern
India, long before Christianity was known
in other parts of the country.
 PART II.

THE MUSLIM INVASION.

STORIES OF MAHMUD THE
IDOL-BREAKER.
. THE MERCIFUL SLAVE.
7. THE SULTAN AND THE IDOL.
(SOMNATH WAS TAKEN 1026.)

STORIES OF THE LAST HINDU

KING OF DELHI.
8. THE WEDDING OF RAI
PITHORA.
9. THE BATTLE ON THE PLAIN.
(DELHI WAS TAKEN 1206.)
A HINDU TEMPLE.
 6. THE MERCIFUL SLAVE.
If you among the Afghan
travelled
mountains, to the North-West of India,
until you came to the town of Ghazni,
you would see at some little distance
from the town, two lofty minarets and
a tomb. They are all that is left of
the old
capital of mountain king-
the
dom of Ghazni, where, nine hundred
years ago, you would have found a uni-
versity, a library, a mosque full of gold
and silver ornaments, and other splendid
buildings all founded by the Sultan who

sleeps in that tomb, Mahmud "the Idol-

breaker."
Mahmud's father, like many rulers in
the East of his time, had been a slave.
It is said that one day, when hunting,
he caught a tiny fawn. He was riding
away with it, when he saw its mother
following him, uttering such piteous cries,
that he was sorry for her, and set the
fawn down upon the ground. It scam-
pered away to its mother, and as they
went, the mother turned back, two or
three times, and looked at the slave, as
if she were trying to thank him.
32 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
That night, the slave dreamed that
the Prophet Mohammad stood beside his
bed, and told him that as he had shown
mercy to one of God's creatures, in re-
ward God would give him a kingdom.
Some time afterwards, the slave's mas-
ter, who was Sultan of Ghazni, died,
and the slave became Sultan in his stead.
The slave's was only
son, Mahmud,
a boy when he caught smallpox; he did
not die of it, as many did in those
days, but his face was so terribly disfi-
gured that he thought that no one
would ever love him. So he made up
his mind that, he could not bt
since
loved, he would be feared. As soon as
he succeeded to his father's throne,
he led his army southwards, to, invade
India.
This was in the year 1000, when the
Danes were making forays upon Eng-
land, where Ethelred the Unready was
reigning. While men from the North
were invading England, plundering towns,
carrying away cattle, slaying women and
children, or taking them captive, men
from the North were invading India,
sacking cities, killing Indian princes and
their armies, or selling them for slaves in
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 33

the markets of Persia. The Danes plun-

dered and destroyed Christian churches,
because they were heathen the Afghans
;

plundered and destroyed Hindu temples,

THREE-HEADED IDOL REPRESENTING

BRAHMA, VISHNU AND SIVA.
ELEPHANTA CAVES.

because they were Muslims, and it was

part of their religion to break idols. As
India, with its wheat, its spices, its sugar-
cane, its ivory, gold, silver, and precious
3- P. S. B. I. H.
34 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
stones, was far richer than England,
Mahmud and his Afghans profited more
by their forays than the Danes.
India was then split up into a num-
ber of kingdoms, some large, some small,
many of which were at war with each
other. If they had united, they might
have been able to keep Mahmud off; as
it was, he overcame them, one by one.
Every year, for six and twenty years, he
led an army into India and brought it
back to Ghazni, laden with booty.

THE TEMPLE OF SOMNATH.

 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 35

7. THE SULTAN AND THE IDOL.

The holiest and richest temple in all
India was the temple of Siva at Som-
nath on the shores of Gujarat. The
way thither led across
sandy desert, a
where was little food or water for Mah-
mud's army. When, after many days of
heat and thirst, they stood before the
temple, they found its gates closed, and
its walls crowded with armed warriors.
For three days, the Hindus and the
Afghans fought, and the Hindus had so
much the better of it that on the third
day theAfghans turned to flee. Mah-
mud threw himself from his horse, and
called upon God and the Prophet, then
led his men in a last charge, which
broke the enemy's line. Many of the
garrison of Somnath were killed, and
the rest escaped by sea.
The Afghans pressed into the temple;
the pillars were covered with precious
stones the hangings were embroidered
;

with gems; the bell which the worship-

perssounded when they came to pray,
hung from a huge golden chain. Mah-
mud thrust his way through the priests
36 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
of Siva, who were calling in vain upon
their god, and stood before the idol.
" "
Hew it in pieces! he commanded
hi* followers.

INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF SOMNATH.

Then the priests fell down at his feet,

promising to show him where they had

hidden the richest treasures of the tem-
ple, if he would spare the image.
Q
W g
SB
38 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Then Mahmud cried aloud :

"
On the Day of Resurrection, let me
hear the call,
'
Where is that Mahnunl
who broke the greatest of the heathen
idols?' not
'

Where /.s*that Mahinud ir/io

'

sold it for yold '.'

He whirled his mace about his head,

and brought it down upon the idol.
The image burst asunder, and from in-
side it poured jewels of far greater value
than any in the temple, which the Brah-
man s had hoped to keep for themselves,
if they lost everything else.

After despoiling the temple of every-

thing that it contained, the Afghans be-
gan their march back to Ghazni. Some
Hindu guides promised to lead them
through the deserts; before long, the
army found itself wandering among salt

pools and ridges of sand, in fearful heat,

without a drop of water to drink. Mah-
mud suspected that the Hindu guides
had misled him, and ordered them to
be put to the torture.
One of the guides laughed aloud, " We
are Brahmans, and priests of Somnath !

We have brought you here, where you

shall all perish miserably, to avenge our
"
god !
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 39

Some of the Afghans went mad with

horror, on hearing these dreadful words,
Mahmud fell upon his face in prayer, as
he had fallen on the battlefield. Night
came on, and still he prayed. Then a
meteor blazed in the sky, to the north.
" "
Lo ! a sign from God !cried Mah-
mud, and he led his army forthwith in
its track. When the sun rose, they had
found water, and were saved.
This was Mahmud's last great foray
into India.

8. THE WEDDING OF RAI

P1THORA.
In the days before the Muslims had
conquered India, the bravest in the land
was Rai Pithora, Raja of Delhi and
Ajmer, whose fort is still standing at
Delhi.
He made
the great Horse-Sacrifice,
which only mighty kings can offer. A
horse was consecrated to the gods, and
for a year wandered at its will, all men
over whose lands it passed owning Rai
Pithora for their sovereign lord ("Prith-
wi Raj"); at the end of the year, the
horse was sacrificed, with solemn rites.
40 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Now the Raja of Kanauj was jealous
of Rai Pithora, and when he heard of
the Horse-Sacrifice, he proclaimed that on
a certain day his daughter^ would choose

RAI PITHORA.

a husband from among the princes of

the land. Every one who was to take
part in preparing the wedding feast,
down tothe very scullions who washed
the dishes, was to be of royal blood.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 41

From all over India flocked the princes,

each hoping to be chosen by the beauti-
ful Princess. Rai Pithora alone did not
come, for he had not been invited. The
Raja Kanauj moulded his image in
of
clay, andset it up behind the door,
saying that Rai Pithora should act as
doorkeeper; this he did in mockery, for
the doorkeeper's place at the feast was
lowest of all.
Blazing with gold and jewels, the
princes waited in the great hall at
Kanauj, and the Princess came in, bearing
a garland of flowers, which she was to
fling to the bridegroom whom she chose.
She looked to the right, she looked to
the left, and turned quickly round again
and threw the garland round the neck
of the clay figure behind the door.
Before her father or her suitors could
speak for indignation, an armed man
stood in the doorway. The real Rai
Pithora had come to the feast, uninvited,
and his strong arms seized the Princess,
and swung her to the back of his horse
that pawed at the gate. Shouting his
war-cry, he rode off, fleet as the wind,
and though the disappointed princes
42 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
sprang to horse, and followed him, they
could not recover the Princess. For five
days Rai Pithora and his followers kept

RAI PITHORA'S TEMPLE, DELHI.

up a running fight with the pursuers,

and then they reached the gates of
Delhi, and he brought his bride into his
palace.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 43

9. THE BATTLE ON THE PLAIN.

For some years Rai Pithora and his
Rani lived together in perfect happiness.
But their story was not to end
happily.
Mahmud the Idol-breaker had left de-
scendants who ruled at Ghazni till they
were turned out by another Afghan tribe.
Nearly two hundred years after Mah-
mud's time, the chief of this tribe, Sultan
Mohammad Ghori, set to work to invade
India, year after year, as Mahmud used
to do.
Gradually he made his way towards
Delhi, and reached the great plain of
Panipat where the throne of Delhi has
been lost and won, many times, since
the beginning of Indian history. The
first time that he came there, Rai Pi-
thora drove him back. A year later, he
came with a still greater army. The
other rajas were jealous of Rai Pithora,
and only the Rana of Chitor came to
help him against the invaders.
44 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Rai Pithora asked his wife whether he
should fight the Afghans, or try to make
terms with them. She answered :

"
To die well is to live for ever. Think
not of self, but of immortality."
She armed him for battle, and as he
"
road away, she said to her maidens, I

shall see him again in the mansion of

the sun, but never more in Delhi."
She spoke truly, for Rai Pithora's army
was cut to pieces by the invading host,
and he never came back to her. She
put on her bridal dress and jewels, and
burned herself upon a funeral pyre. The
Afghan chief became the ruler of Delhi,
and Muslims have ruled there ever
since his time, till the days of Queen
Victoria.
 PART III.

STORIES OF THE SULTANS

OF DELHI.
10. THE STOLEN CHILD.
( ALTAMISH DIED, 1236. )

11. THE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS.

12. THE CHARMED SWORD.
( ALA-AD-DIN SACKED CHITOR,
1303.)

13. THE SULTAN AND THE HOLY

MAN.
(TAGHLAK WAS KILLED, 1325.)
KUTB MINAR.
 10. THE STOLEN CHILD.
At the time when Mohammad Ghori
was invading India, there was a chief
in Turkestan who had many sons. The
youngest, Altamish, was cleverer and
more lovable than any of his elder
brothers, and he was his father's darling.
This made his elder brothers very jea-
lous, and they determined to get him
out of the way. One clay, they invited
him to come with them to see a drove:
of horses ;
he went, and his brothers sold
him to the horse dealers for a slave.
The horse dealers took him to Bo-
khara, where was the great slave-market
of Central Asia. There he was so lucky
as to be bought by a man of high rank,
who him kindly and gave him
treated
a good education.
When Altamish was still quite a little
boy, his master sent him to the bazaar
to buy grapes. On the way, he lost the
money, and began to cry. A faquir came
up to him, and asked what was the matter;
Altamish told the truth, that he had been
sent on an errand, and had lost his
master's money. The faquir did not.
48 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
scold him, but taking his hand, led him to
the fruit-stalls, bought some grapes, and
gave them to him, with these words,
"When you dominion and wealth,
attain to
take care that you show respect to faquirs
and pious men, and maintain their rights."
The little slave made the promise, and
in after years he kept it, though he
never saw his kind friend again.
When he was older, his master sold
him to a merchant, who took him to
Ghazni, to the Court of Sultan Moham-
mad. All agreed that a slave so clever,
so handsome, and of such noble bearing
had never yet been brought to Ghazni,
and the Sultan offered to buy him for
a thousand gold dinars.
"I can't sell him for that," said the
merchant.
"
If I cannot buy him for a thou-
sand gold dinars, no one else shall buy
him at all," said the Sultan.
After no one dared to make any
this,
offer for Altamish, and after waiting for a
year in the hope of selling him, the mer-
chant was obliged to go back to Bokhara.
He waited there for three years more,
and then again brought Altamish to
Ghazni but the Sultan's decree still held,
;

and no one would buy him.

 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 49

Then there came to Ghazni Aybek,

the Sultan's Viceroy in India, who built
the wondrous Kutb Mosque at Delhi,
and began to build the tallest minaret in

THE KUTB MOSQUE AT DELHI.

the world, Kutb Minar. He took;

the
a fancyAltamish, and asked the
to
Sultan's leave to buy him.
"I said that no man should buy him
in Ghazni, and no man shall," said the
Sultan; "if you want him, take him to
Delhi, and buy him there."
4. P. S. B. I. H.
50 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
So Altamish was taken to Delhi, and
was soon high in favour of Aybek, who
himself had begun life as a slave. In
a great battle against the Hindus Alta-
mish fought so bravely that Aybek gave
him his freedom, and one of his daugh-
ters as a wife.
When Aybek died, Altamish became
Sultan of Delhi. He finished building
the Kutb Minar, and you may see his
tomb near it.

TOMB OF ALTAMISH AT DELHI.

 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 51

11. THE BEAUTIFUL PRINCESS.

At the time of Mohammad Ghori's in-
vasion, Delhi, Kanauj, and other great
Indian kingdoms were ruled by Rajput
princes.

A RAJPUT SOLDIER.
The Rajputs are the warrior race of
India and none can be braver or more
daring than they. But they would not
unite against the invaders, and so their
kingdoms were overrun by the Muslims.
52 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
As the Muslims advanced farther and
farther, the Rajputs were driven out of
the rich cities and fertile plains, into the
deserts and hills of Central
India, where
their enemies would gain nothing by
following them.
Their chief stronghold was Chitor, a
city built on a high rock. You may
walk among its ruins to-clay, and see
the empty temples where princes and
warriors used to worship, and the stables
where they kept the chargers on which
they rode to battle and you may pick
;

wild flowers growing round a palace look-

ing over the lake, which is still called
"the Palace of Padmani."
Princess Padmani was wife to one of
the bravest of the Rajput princes, who
was uncle and guardian to the little
Rana of Chitor. All over India, men
had heard of her beauty, and at last the
fame of it reached the ears of Ala-ad-din,
the commander of the army of Delhi.
Ala-ad-din was a cruel, treacherous ruf-
fian, who afterwards murdered the kind
old uncle who had brought him up, in
order to make himself Sultan of Delhi.
He now gathered a host, and marched
PADMANI.
54 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
to Chitor, and demanded that Padmani
should be given up to him, as he would
have the most beautiful woman in India
for his wife.

PADMANI-KI-MAHALL.

Rajputs laughed him to scorn

The ;

Chitor, on its rock with massive walls

and towers surrounding it, was too strong
for his men to capture. Then Ala-ad-
din pretended that he had changed his
mind, and not want to carry off
did
the Princess he asked was to be
;
all

allowed to see the reflection of her face

in a mirror, and then he would go back
to Delhi in peace.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 55

So he came to the palace, and looked

in the mirror, and then went away.
Padmani's husband escorted him down
the hill, as an honoured guest. When

DOOR OF PADMANI-KI-MAHALL.

they came to th~ outskirts of the Mus-

lim camp, a party of men rose out of
ambush and seized the Prince. The trea-
cherous Ala-ad-din sent word to Chitor,
"
Your Prince shall return to you when
you send me the Princess."
Next day, a long procession of palkis
came down the hill to Ala-ad-din's camp.
56 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Ala-ad-din was told that Padmani had
come with all her ladies, and begged to
speak with her husband for the last
time. palki was set down within a
Her
tent, the Prince went in, and came out
in a few moments; then he stepped into
another palki, and was carried towards
Chitor by six bearers.
"Fool!" thought Ala-ad-din, "does he
"
think I really meant to let him go ?

And he bade his men stop the palki.

Then the curtains of all the palkis
opened, and out sprang, not Padmani
and her ladies, but seven hundred arm-
ed warriors, who fell upon the Muslims.
Padmani had never left the palace. Her
husband came back to her in safety.
Ala-ad-din, furious at having been trick-
ed and defeated by the Rajputs, struck
his camp, and went back to Delhi.

12. THE CHARMED SWORD.

ThoughAla-ad-din had been foiled
once, he never forgot the face that he
had seen in the mirror. When he had
made himself Sultan of Delhi, he came
back to Chitor with an army, and with
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 57

battering rams and all sorts of engines,

he pelted its walls till it could hold out
no longer.

THE GATEWAY OF ALA-AD-DIN

IN THE MOSQUE AT DELHI.

Then the Rajputs opened the gates,

and rolled down to the plain, like a
river in flood. They knew no fear, but
they were few and their foes were many.
They were overcome by weight of num-
bers. When the last had fallen, Ala-ad-
din rode into Chitor to find Padmani,
but she and all the women had burned
themselves on a vast pyre in the vaults
below the Rana's palace.
58 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
So Ala-ad-din returned to Delhi with-
out the Princess, and there he died
miserably. For some time after his death,
there was so much fighting and quar-
relling among the Muslims that they had
no time to harass the Rajputs, who took
advantage of this to come back to
Chitor, and rebuild it as best they could.
The Rana of Chitor was now Hamir,
whose father and eleven brothers had
been killed during the siege. When he
returned to his city, he found that Ala-
ad-din had carried away all its treasures.
Hamir cared little for gold or jewels,
but he grieved bitterly over the loss of
a charmed sword, which had been given
long ago to the ancestor of the Ranas
of Chitor by the goddess Bhavani.
No one could tell him what had be-
come of it. At last, when he had made
supplication at the shrines of all the
gods, was revealed to him that he
it

must look for the sword in the vaults

under his palace.
No one had dared to enter those vaults
since Padmani and the women of Chitor
had died there. It was said that witches
and demons flitted about in them, and
that a great snake lay coiled in the
 THE TOWER OF VICTORY, CHITOR.
This was built by a Rana of Chitor in memory of a
great victory over the Muslims.
60 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
passage, spitting venom at all who came
near. But Hamir had made up his mind
to regain the sword, and he went in.

Down, down he went, pitchy dark-in

ness till the passage widened out into a
cavern. In the middle of the cavern
burned a fire, and round it crouched
the witch-wives.
"By what right dost thou break upon
"
our feast ? they cried.
Hamir strode up to the fire, over
"
which hung a great caldron. I come
to claim what is my own," he said, "the
sword of my fathers."
Then the witches filled a dish from
the caldron, and signed to him to eat.
It was horrible to eat with such revel-
lers and horrible was the food set be-
fore him, but Hamir did not flinch.
When the feast was over, the witches
in exchange for his empty plate, gave
him the sword.
Back through the darkness to the light
of day went Hamir, having rightly earn-
ed his heritage by his courage and
steadfastness.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 61

13. THE SULTAN AND THE

HOLY MAN.
When the cruel Sultan Ala-ad-din died,
for many years the people of Delhi were
as miserable as during his reign, for the
Sultans who came after him were worse
even than he. Then at last uprose a
great warrior, Taghlak, who had been
Ala-ad-din's viceroy in the Punjab, and
had driven back the Mongol invaders
from the North in nine and twenty bat-
tles. The nobles of Delhi elected him as
their Sultan, and he chastised evil-doers,
and brought peace and order to the land.
Sultan Taghlak built a strong citadel
outside Old Delhi, and in it a tomb for
himself of red sandstone and white marble.
He was in haste to see it finished, because
he was an old man, and so he made all
the workmen for miles round come to
labour upon it. Among them were some
men who had been making a tank for
a very holy man, Nizam-ad-din Aulia.
The holy man bought oil, and when
his workmen came away from the for-
tress at nightfall, he gave them lamps,
62 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
and set them
to labour at his tank.

They not
durst refuse and affront the
holy man, but they were so weary that
they could do no work for the Sultan,

TOMB OF NIZAM-AD-DIN AULIA.

next day. When

he found out the rea-
son, Taghlak was very angry, and for-
bade all men henceforth to give or sell
oil to Nizam-ad-din Aulia.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 63

Then the holy man prayed, and a

miraculous light rose from the water of
the tank when the sun went down, so
that the workmen needed no lamps.
Then the Sultan was still more angry
and he laid a curse upon the tank, so
that the water became noisome, and no
one could drink it. ( If you go there,
you will remember its horrible smell,
for the rest of your life. )

FORT OF TAGHLAKABAD AT DELHI

ENCLOSING TOMB OF SULTAN TAGHLAK.

But the holy man cursed the city of

Taghlakabad which the Sultan had built,
and it has lain desolate ever since his time.
Then the Sultan went into Bengal, and
while he was fighting there, his eldest
son, Prince Mohammad, plotted with the
64 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
holy man to seize the throne. This
reached the Sultan's ears, and having
been victorious in Bengal, he started on
his homeward journey, vowing to punish
the holy man, whose disciples were very
much frightened.
" "
The Sultan is coming !
they cried.
"It's a
cry far to Delhi," said the
holy man, calmly telling his beads.
" "
He will be here to-morrow let us !
fly !

"
It's still a far cry to Delhi," said the
holy man.
Just outside Delhi, the Sultan was met
by Prince Mohammad, who asked him
to a feast in a wooden pavilion beside
the river. After the feast, there was a
parade of elephants, and while Taghlak
and his youngest son looked on, the
pavilion suddenly collapsed. Mohammad
had had it built to fall and kill his
father and brother.
The old Sultan's body was found under
the ruins, with arms stretched out over
his dead boy, as if he had tried to
shield him. He was buried in his tomb
in the citadel, and Mohammad became
Sultan. He had been a cruel son, he
proved to be a cruel ruler and every
one was glad when his reign ended.
 PART IV.

THE GREAT DAYS OF THE

MOGHUL EMPIRE.
STORIES OF THE EMPEROR BABAR.
14. THE ARMY IN THE SNOW.
15. THE CONQUEST OF DELHI.
(BABAR ENTERED DELHI, 1526.)

16. THE RANI'S BRACELET.

17. THE FAITHFUL NURSE.
S10RIES OF THE EMPEROR AKBAR.
18. THE CRUEL UNCLE.
19. THE WOUNDED ENEMY.
20. THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH.
(THE COMPANY OF MERCHANTS
OF LONDON TRADING TO THE
EAST INDIES, FOUNDED 1600.)

21. A NOBLE QUEEN.

22. THE STORY OF A BABY.
23. THE STORY OF THE TAJ
MAHAL.
5. P. S. B. I. H.
BABAR.
 14. THE ARMY IN THE SNOW.
The next wave of invasion to sweep
into India was led by Timur the Tar-
tar, who had conquered Persia, Mesopo-
tamia, and
Afghanistan. He came to
Delhi, murdering, pillaging, and destroy-
ing, stayed there for fifteen days, and
went back to Samarkand, leaving ruin
and desolation all along his track.
After
this, the was
Sultan of Delhi
of no account, and there was little but
revolt and disorder, until another con-
queror came from the North, who won
Delhi in battle when Henry VIII. was
reigning in England.
Babar was the son of the king of a
little state beyond the Oxus, now called

Khokan ;
in his time, it was known as
Farghana. He was
not twelve years old
when his father died from an accident,
and he had to rule the kingdom, lead
the army to battle, and take care of
his mother and sister whom he loved
very much. His two uncles, like the
wicked uncles in a fairy story, tried to
take his kingdom away from him, and
he had many other enemies.
68 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Sometimes he wore the silken robes
of a king, sometimes he wandered over
the bleak hillsides, clad in sheepskin
with leather brogues upon his feet; but

TIMUR.

wherever he was, in the rose-gardens

of a palace, or in a shepherd's smoky

hut, he was always a true king brave,

cheerful, courteous, thinking of others
besides himself.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 69

Whenyou are older, you can read the

book which he wrote, telling his ad-
ventures from boyhood nearly to the
end of his life. You will read there how
he enjoyed a good fight, and how he
used to make poetry as he galloped
after a flying enemy how he loved and
noticed the beautiful things about him,
the flowers, the animals and the stars.
There is room here for only one story
from this book, which shows how he
was ready to take his share of good
and bad with his followers.
After many fights and wanderings,
Babar made himself King of Kabul,
which is nearer to India than Farghana.
He had been on a long journey to visit
some cousins at Herat, and when he
tried to come back over the mountains
to Kabul, the snow was falling so
heavily that he and his army were
nearly lost.
For about a week, they struggled on,
Babar and some of the strongest went
in front, to trample down the snow,
and make it easier for the others. At
every step, they sank to the waist or
the chest, but still they went on.
70 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
"Every one who has spirit does his
best at such times," Babar, "and
said
those who have none are not worth
thinking about." After three or four

THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF

DEATH, KABUL.

days' hard work, such a fearful snow-

storm came that
they all expected
on,
to die. Just then, they came to the
mouth of a cave among the rocks, and
his officers begged him to take shelter
inside it.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 71

But he refused, because the cave was

not big enough to hold all his men.
"I could not sit there, warm and com-
"
fortable," he said, if my soldiers were

cold and wretched in the snowdrifts."

So he sat in the snow with them, until
a cave was found large enough to hold
every one. Babar was none the worse,
except for a cold in his ear, and his men
must have loved him more than ever.

15. THE CONQUEST OF DELHI.

Babar had been King in Kabul for
some years when he marched down to
the plains to conquer India. At that
time, the Sultan of Delhi was an Af-
ghan, who was detested
by every one;
his Afghan and nobles were
officials
hated by the Hindus, because they were
foreigners and Muslims, and they quar-
relled amongst themselves, so that their
big army could not withstand Babar's
little army.
The was fought on the plain
battle
of on another part of which
Panipat,
the Muslim invaders had overcome Rai
Pithora, more than three hundred years
ago. The Afghan Sultan was killed,
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. .73

and his defeated, and Babar took

army
possession of Delhi and Agra.
In these two cities, he found all man-
ner of treasures, which he shared with
his army. His eldest son, Prince Hu-
mayun, had protected the family of an
Indian raja, who had been killed fighting
against Babar, and to show their grati-
tude, they gave him an enormous dia-
mond. He brought it to his father, who
told him to keep it for himself. Some
people say it was this very diamond
which is now in the Tower of London,
having been presented to Queen Victoria.
One of the first things that Babar did
was to remember those left behind in
Kabul. On a certain day, all the royal
ladies, his wives, daughters, sisters, aunts,
and others were told to come into the
palace garden. When they arrived, they
found that it was full of beautiful pre-
sents which Babar, in the middle of his
fighting, had found time to choose for
each one of them gems, and coins, and
gold plates, and the gorgeous Delhi
embroideries that look like jewels, and
muslins so fine and soft that they could be
drawn through a finger-ring. There were
so many things that it took three whole
days to divide them among the ladies.
 BABAR'S GARDEN AT AGRA
WHERE HE PLANTED ROSES AND NARCISSUS.
From a Persian MS. of his Memoirs at the British Museum.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 75

In a little while, Babar had subdued

the upper part of India, and could send
for the ladies to come to him. Even
his aunts came; Babar was especially kind
to them, telling his state architect that
he must do whatever work they wanted
for their palace, before doing anything
else. He used to go and see them, every
Friday. One day, it was very hot, and
his wife said, "The wind is very hot in-
deed how would it be if you did not
;

go, this Friday?" But Babar said, "They

have no father or brothers if I do not ;

go to cheer them, who will do it?" and

he went, just as usual.
He felt the heat very much, and often
longed for the snowy hills that he was
never to see again. He planted roses
and narcissus, in remembrance of the
gardens where he used to sit and talk
with his friends. In the furnace of the
Indian plains, he suffered from fever,
and grew weaker, month by month.
Little more than four years after the
battle which made him Emperor of
Delhi, he fell very ill and died, while
his family, his soldiers, and his nobles
all wailed and lamented.
76 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK

16. THE RANI'S BRACELET.

You will remember how Chitor was
taken by Sultan Ala-ad-din. That is
known in history as the first sack of
Chitor.The second sack came in the
days when Humayun, Babar's son, was
Emperor of Delhi.
Nothing could teach the Rajput princes
not to quarrel amongst themselves, and
their disputes made it easy for the
Muslim ruler of Gujarat, Bahadur Shah,
to invade Rajputana and besiege Chitor.
Then, when the foe was at the gates,
nearly all the Rajput princes forgot their
feuds, and gathered to defend the city.
All fought bravely, women as well as
men. The Rana of Chitor, Bikramajit,
was not there, but his mother, the old
Rani, who had caused many of the
quarrels, in days gone by, put on ar-
mour, took up shield and spear, and led
a sally against the besiegers. She died
like a warrior, but she could not drive
back the men of Gujarat. Bahadur Shah
had brought very heavy cannon, and had
European gunners and engineers. The
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 77

walls of Chitor began to crack, and the

garrison saw that they could not hold
out much longer.

HUMAYUN.

The next Bikramajit was his

heir to
littlehalf-brother, Udai Singh, whose
mother thought of a way to save her
son. There is a very old custom among
the Rajputs that awoman may send a
bracelet to any man whom she pleases,
78 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
and claim his help at need. As soon
as he puts the bracelet on, he becomes
her brother, and is bound to do what-
ever she may ask.
The Rani wove a bracelet of floss-
silk spangles, and called a trusty
and
"
messenger. Make your way through
"
the enemy's lines," she said, ride hard
till you find the Emperor Humayun, and

give him this bracelet from me."

The messenger rode long and rode
far the Emperor Humayun was not in
;

his palace at Delhi, or his rose-gardens

at Agra. was many weary days and
It

nights ere he found him in Bengal, and

laid the bracelet at his feet.
To his joy, the Emperor took it up,
and bound it about his wrist. " What
would the Rani have of me?" he asked;
"
she shall have her desire, were it my
strongest fortress."
"
For herself the Rani asks nothing,"
answered messenger, "but
the she im-
plores her brother to save her son
from his enemies."
Then Humayun led his army into-

Rajputana. But instead of hastening to

attack Bahadur Shah, he sent letters
bidding him raise the siege, to which
Bahadur Shah paid no heed.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 79

The city walls were falling down

under the Gujarat cannon the garrison
;

prepared to make a good end. Little

Udai Singh was smuggled through the
enemy's lines, in charge of a trusty
henchman. His mother and the other
women mounted the funeral pyre, and
the men rushed down through the gates,
to die sword in hand.
A fortnight afterwards, Humayun ar^
rived, too late to save the garrison and
the brave Rani, but in time to chase
away Bahadur Shah, whose army melted
away in all directions, leaving the spoil
of Chitor behind them. Humayun sent
for Bikramajit to rule in Chitor, and
Udai Singh was brought back to the
palace.

17. THE FAITHFUL NURSE.

Rana Bikramajit was neither wise nor
courteous in his dealings with his nobles.
Soon after he came back to Chitor,.
he had offended them so grievously that
they deposed him, and appointed a
cousin, Bunbeer, as Regent for Udai
Singh, who was only six years old.
80 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
Udai Singh's nurse whose name was
Punna ( " the diamond " ), had a boy of
the same age as the little Prince, who
was brought up with him. One evening,
after playing together, as usual, they
had their supper of and milk, and
rice
then fell asleep, lying on the same
couch, while the nurse watched over
them. Suddenly, from the rooms where
the women lived, there rose screams and
cries. Punna heard, and knew that it
was the wailing for the dead.
In hurried one of the palace barbers.
"
They are wailing for Bikramajit," he
"
said. You know how the nobles de-
posed him, and made Bunbeer Regent ;

Bunbeer has killed him, to make himself

Rana."
"
Then he will kill my
Prince too," said
"
the nurse, for whilehe lives, Bunbeer
"
cannot be Rana. Help me to save him !

She caught up the little Prince, tore

off his silk coat and jewels, and put him
in a great basket in which fruit had
been brought, piling leaves on the top,
so as to hide him.
"
Take him, and hide in the dry river-
bed, beyond the city walls," she said ;

" come." The barber

wait there till I
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 81

took the basket, and walked out of the

palace. None of the guards stopped him.
They were used to see him carrying
scraps from the kitchen home to his
family, and they never thought of look-
ing into the basket.
Meanwhile, Punna dressed her own little
boy in the Prince's clothes and jewels.
She had scarcely finished when the hang-
ings of the doorway were torn to one
side, and there stood Bunbeer, sword in
hand.
" "
Woman, show me the
Prince he !

cried. The poor nurse could not make

herself speak she raised her hand and
;

pointed to the couch where her son lay,

and Bunbeer killed him.
As soon as she could get out of the
palace, Punna slipped down to the river-
bed, where she found the barber, and
Udai Singh, who luckily had not woke
or cried since he was put into the basket.
They made their way across the country
by lonely tracks, trying to find some
prince or chief who would shelter the
little Rana; but none who dwelt near
Chitor would face the risk of Bunbeer's
discovering him.
6. P. S. B. I. H.
82 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
So the nurse had to go farther still,
into the eastern hill, through ravines,
along precipices, over torrents, among
wild beasts and wild men, till she came
to the fortress of Komulmir where lived
a Jain chief. He listened to her story,
and promisedto protect Udai Singh ;
but the nurse must leave him, since he
must pass for the chief's nephew, and a
Jain boy could not have a Rajput nurse.

THE FORTRESS OF KOMULMIR.

So she went back to her home, and

waited alone for s^ven long years. At
the end of that time, Bunbeer had made
himself detested by the nobles of Chitor,
I
84 A PICTURE STORY-BOOK
When they heard from the nurse that
Udai Singh was still alive, they made
him Rana, and drove out Bunbeer. Sad
to say, he proved one of the worst
Ranas ever known, and it was in his
reign that Chitor was taken by the
Emperor Akbar.
This was the third sack, and ever since
then, the city has lain in ruins.

18. THE CRUEL UNCLE.

Babar's son, Humayun, was not such a
man as his father, and in many ways he
had harder work to do. The Moghuls were
foreigners in India they belonged to a
;

race differing more from the Hindus

than the Hindus from the English. They
had won Delhi because they were the
stronger, and they could keep it only so
long as they remained the stronger.
Some of the army that had conquered
with Babar were dead, and some had
gone back to their homes North.
in the

Humayun had enemies all round him,

and worse than any of them were his
three brothers, who were jealous of him,
and rebelled continually against him.
 OF INDIAN HISTORY. 85

He was turned out of Delhi, and for

a long time wandered up and down, like
his father, a king without a kingdom.
At last, he got possession of his father's
city of Kabul, and settled there, with
his wife and his little son, Akbar. Even
then, he had no peace, for one of his
brothers, Prince Kamran, gathered an
army, and tried to get the kingdom
for himself. Humayun went in pursuit
of him, and had not gone far when he
was taken For many days, he lay
ill.

in atrance, knowing nothing of what

was going on, kept alive by the juice
of pomegranates, which his wife squeezed
into his mouth.
When came to himself, there was
he
very bad news for him. While he lay
ill, Kamran had seized upon the fort of
Kabul, and upon little Akbar who had
been left in it.

The poor father marched back to Kabul,

through the heavy snow, and stood at
the gates of the fort, with his officers
round him, to summon his brother to
surrender.
They saw ropes hanging from the
battlements, and tied to those ropes were
three poor little boys, the sons of two