343 during the time he was a prince, had compiled a history and had included in it an account of upwards of thirty years, I made great search for it, being exceedingly anxious to see it. Subsequently, when I obtained a copy after great trouble and examined it carefully from beginning to end in the hope that I might gather the rich fruits of his labours, I discovered that his work did not contain one-half of what I had collected and included in my own history. The king of happy disposition strove earnestly from day to day to put in force the rules of the Law and to maintain the divine commands and prohibitions. Or- ders were also issued prohibiting the collection of the tolls, the ground cesses, and other imposts which brought in hundreds of thousands of rupees to the state. Prohibitions were promulgated against intoxicating drinks, against taverns and brothels, and against the meetings called jdtras or fairs, at which on certain dates countless numbers of Hindus, men and women of every tribe, assemble at their idol-temples, where hun- dreds of thousands of rupees change hands in buying and selling, while large sums accrue to the provincial treasuries. The minstrels and singers of reputation that were in the service of the court were made ashamed of their occupation and were advanced to the dignities of com- mands of horse. Public proclamations were made pro- hibiting singing and dancing. It is said that one day a number of singers and minstrels gathered together with loud outcries, and having fitted up a bier with
