11-16] PADUMAWATI 9 increaseth by a quarter, day by day, the Creator formed his beauty above the world. Comely is he with a jewelled (tiara) on his brow, and the moon waneth as he waxeth ; while the earth, craving to see him, standeth and humbly offereth its praises. 17. Again God hath made him so greatly generous, that none in the world hath ever given gifts like unto him. Balil and Vikramāditya were famed for their generosity, and Ņūtim Tãē 3 and Karņa * were described as lavish; but none of them equalleth Shēr Shāh, for the very ocean and even Mount Mēru, are ever minishing (as they give up their jewels and gold). The kettle-drum of his generosity soundeth at his court, and the fame thereof hath gone even across the ocean. The world touched this Sun, and became of gold compact, so that poverty fled and went beyond the borders of his kingdom. He who but once approacheth him and asketh, for all his life is free from hunger and from nakedness. Even that (King of old) who per- formed ten horse-sacrifices, 6 - even he gave not holy gifts like him. So generous hath Sultan Shēr Shāh been born upon the world, that none hath e'er been like him, or will be, nor doth anyone give such gifts. 1 The well-known Daitya, who gave Visnu his famous three and a half paces of ground. s Clarum et venerabile nomen. The well-known king of Avanti, many legends of whose generosity are given in the Simhāsana Battisi. 3 Familiar to readers of the Bagh-o-Bahar (story of the second Darwēsh). His liberality continued after his death. His tomb was surrounded by stone images of girls, which each night used to burst out into lamentations for so good a man. King Zu-l-kara'a camping near there one night, hearing the wailing, asked the reason, and was told it was the tomb of Hatim Tâē. he then cried out in jest. O Hatim Tãē, we are thy guests, and hungry.' Shortly afterwards one of his camels became violently ill and (as they say in Ireland) to prevent its dying, they killed it, and then, to make the best of a bad job, had a good feast on its flesh. Next day, while they were on the march, they were met by Hatim's son bringing a she-camel. He explained that his father had appeared to him on the preceding night, and said .Zu-l-karā'a sought hospitality from me last night, and I had nothing to give him; so perforce I killed his camel, and do thou now give him one in exchange for the one I took.' History does not relate how the son appre- ciated his father's vicarious hospitality, but he certainly did accept the responsibility. 4 The famous Hero of the Mahābhārata. The son of Kunti by Surya. He was famous for his generosity. Yudhisthira once asked Kršņa, who was the most generous member of his family. To his mortification Krsna replied “Karna.' The following is an example. A poor Brāhman woman had a child born to her, and her husband went to Yudhisthira and begged for some wood to make a fire to warm her. Yudhisthira ordered his steward to supply the fuel, but on the latter reporting that there was none just then available, he told the Brāhmaṇ to go away, and to come again in an hour or two, when he could be supplied. The Brāhman went on to Kurņa and made a similar request. It happened that, here too, the supply of fire-wood was temporarily deficient, and the steward asked Karņa to tell the man to come again in an hour or two (as Yudhisthira had done). 'Fool,' replied Karņa, shall I leave the poor woman to die of cold, while you are searching for fuel? Break up my beds till the Brāhmaṇ has enough wood for to-day, and tell him to come to-morrow for more.' "This,' said Krsna to Yudhişthira, 'is the difference between you and Karna. Had you no beds to break up?' The above legend is sung by the Vyāsas at the passage in Maha-bharata where Karna divested himself of the ear-rings and armour (with which he had been born), and gave them to Indra, (See Mahā-bhārata, Adi-parvan, Adhyāya 67, Çlokas 141-143). 6 Again the triple pun on the word sūru. Shēr Shah is compared to a philosopher's stone which changed all that touched it into gold. 6 This is a reference to Brahma, who completed ten Acva-mēdha sacrifices at Benares. The site of the Sacrifice is the well-known Daçacva-mēdha ghat in that city, 3
