Chapter III

Contemporary Political and Military Conditions of India

We find one notable difference in the political conditions of India at the

time of the Arab invasion of Sind and that on the eve of the Ghaznavite

penetration into Hindustan. At the opening of 8th century there was no

foreign colony, much less a foreign power, in the land except few of Arab

merchants on western coast whose primary vocation was trade. On the

other hand in the 10th century there were two kingdoms on this soil,

namely Multan and Mansura or Sind. The considerable portion of the

population of these two kingdoms were follower of Islam. There were also

colonies in southern India, particularly in Malabar where Hindu Rulers had

foolishly permitted the foreigners to proselytize the native population. As

was natural for these new converts to a foreign religion, the preferred the

foreign ways of life also and had sympathy with fellow Muslims from

Ghazni and Central Asia. Sabuktigin and Mahmud of Ghazni, as also

Mahmud of Ghur, about 150 years later, were lucky to enjoy some kind of

moral support from a section of the Indian people.

The history of the Arab kingdoms need not be related. Suffice it to say that

they comprised the whole of modern Multan and Sind and threw off the

Caliph’s yoke in 871 and since that date, enjoyed complete independence.

In view, however, of their peculiar position in a foreign country they

nominally preferred allegiance to the caliph for diplomatic reason.

There were dynastic changes in this kingdom, from time to time. At the

beginning of our period, Multan was ruled by Karmathians and its ruler

was Fathe Daud. He seems to have been a man of some ability. Sind

proper was still ruled over by the Arabs. The neighbouring Hindu

kingdoms, despite their political and religious experience at the hand of

Arabs, had left them unmolested. Every where the Arabs and, curiously

enough, new Hindu converts to Islam, were shown consideration and

allowed to follow their religion and to make new converts. They

constituted a power to be reckoned with.

There was indigenous rule in the rest of the country notable among them

may be enumerated in the following:

The Hindushahi Kingdom

The 1st important Hindu kingdom extended from the river Chenab to the

Hindukush mountains and included Kabul. “Its royal house had resisted,

single handed, the Arab encroachment almost successfully for 300 years. It

23
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

was, however, compelled to abandon a part of Afghanistan, including

Kabul and to shift its capital to Udbhanpur or Waihind.”1 The king about

the end of 10th century was the famous Jaipal who was a brave soldier and

an able ruler. The condition of his kingdom obliged him to bear the

Turkish onslaught from Ghazni.

Kashmir

The next notable kingdom was that of Kashmir. Its ruling family, the house

of Utpala came into conflict with the Hindushahi kingdom and the Empire

of Kannauj. The famous Kashmiri king Shankar Varman, extended the

boundaries of Kashmir in several directions. He died fighting with the

people Urasa, the modern Hazara district. His death was followed by a

great confusion. The Brahmans of the valley, therefore, raised a member of

their own fraternity, named Yasaskara, to the throne. His line came to an

end within a brief period and was followed by that of Parvagupta during

his time, his queen Dida, was the Virtual ruler. This powerful lady

ultimately seized the throne and crowned herself as a queen. She ruled over

Kashmir till 1003 when the throne passed to Sangrama Raja. Thus, when

Mahmud of Ghazni was Lammering at the gates of India, the reins of

Kashmir were in the hands of a woman and the condition of the country

was far from satisfactory.

24
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

Kannauj

The imperial city of Kannauj had passed into the hands of a new dynasty

known as the Pratihara dynasty, in or about 836 A.D., notable ruler of the

Pratihara dynasty was Vatsaraja, who won the title of Samrat or emperor.

He was succeeded by Nagabhatta II who, too was a notable fighter. He

defeated Dharmapala king of Bangal, but he suffered defeat at the hands of

the Rashtrakutas. The Pratiharas continued to exercise sway over Kannauj

and Madhyadish and to fight, sometime successfully and at others

unsuccessfully, with their neighbours in the north and the south. The

Pratihara king, Mahipala, was badly defeated by Indra III, the Rashtrakuta

king of the Dakhin. He lost his capital Kannauj. He was, however, restored

by a Chandela king. The Pratihara power was nevertheless a precarious

hold over the upper Ganga valley and parts of Rajasthan and Malwa. The

last king of this dynasty was Rajyapala. He was a feeble monarch and his

capital, Kannauj, was invaded by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1018 A.D. The

Pratiharas in, their early days had successfully fought the Arabs and

defended the country against them, but they had grown effete and, in the

early years of the 11th century so, they succumbed before the might of the

Turkish.

The Palas of Bangal

Devapala of the Pala dynasty died after thirty-nine years of reign,

25
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

sometime between 833 and 878 A.D. His successors were weak and the

kingdom of Bangal rapidly declined under them. The degenerate later Pala

kings came into conflict with the Pratiharas of Kannauj and brought

sufferings of Bengal. Mahipala I who ruled Bangal in the first quarter of

the 11th century, was a contemporary of Mahmud of Ghazni. He succeeded

in restoring, at least partially, the fortunes of his family, but a part of

Bangal had already fallen into the hands of the powerful vassals who only

vaguely recognized the over-lordship of the Pala kings. While Mahmud of

Ghazni was wasting north-western India with fire and sword Bengal was

the threatened by the powerful Tamil ruler Rajendra Chola. In this warfare

Bengal had the worst of it. It, however, remained immune from the

Ghaznavite invasion owing to its distance.

The Dakhin Kingdom

The progress of the people in Southern India was marred by constant

warfare among the ruling families. The early Chalukyas in the Dakhin had

fallen in the struggle for supremacy, in 753 A.D., at the hands of the

Rastrakutas warfare with their neighbours, had given place to the later

Chalukyas in 973 A.D. Similarly, the great Pallava dynasty had fallen

towards the end of the 9th century. The principal kingdoms in the south

during our period were the later Chalukyas kingdom of Kalyani and the

Chola kingdom of Tanjore. The founder of the later Chalukya dynasty was

26
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

Taila II who claimed descent from the early Chalukyas of Vatapi. He made

Kalyani, in the Nizam’s dominion, his capital. His successors were

involved in a struggle with Cholas of Tanjore. His son Rajendra Chola,

was a great warrior and conqueror. He made extensive conquest in

southern and northern India and was considered one of the greatest rulers

in the country. While the Cholas and the Chalukyas were involved in a

bitter conflict in the south, mighty empires in Hindustan were crumbling

before the might of Mahmud of Ghazni.

Minor States

Beside the above there were several other small states in Northern India,

notable among them, being the Chalukyas of Gujarat, the Chandelas of

Bundelkhand and the Parmars of .

For nearly three centuries after the advent of the Arabs our country

enjoyed immunity from foreign invasion. This long freedom foreign

interference produced a feeling in the minds of our people and rulers that

India could never be threatened by a foreign power. External vigilance,

which is said to be the price of freedom, not only slackened but almost

reached the vanishing point. The rulers neglected their armies. They failed

to fortify the north-western frontier and to make an effective arrangement

for the defence of the hilly passes through which foreign armies could

enter the country. Side by side with this, the people of India failed to keep

27
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

in touch with the new military tactics and with the newly invented systems

of warfare. Secondly for the same reason, the people lost completely the

sense of patriotism and national order, which developes under the threat of

danger from abroad. That was not an age of territorial patriotism, but

whatever patriotism was disappeared owing to a false sense of security.

Thirdly, a kind of narrow mindedness became the characteristic of the

people from the 8th to 11th centuries of the Christian era. They believed that

they were the chosen people and all other people were unfit to be

associated with them. “The famous scholar Al-Biruni, who came to the

country in the reigns of Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni and studied Sanskrit

and Hindu religion and thought, had to note with surprise that, Hindus

believed that there is no country like theirs n nation like theirs, no king like

theirs, no religion lke theirs, no science like theirs. He adds that the

ancestors of the Hindus were not narrow minded as the present (11th

century) generation. He was also struck by the fact that the Hindus did not

desire that a thing which has once been polluted should be purified and

thus recovered”.2

During this period this country was practically isolated from the rest of the

world. Owing to this people ceased to come into touch with foreign lands

and, therefore, remained ignorant of the happening, political, military and

cultural, in the outside world. Want of contact with dissimilar peoples and

28
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

cultures bred stagnation and made the civilization decadent. In fact, a slow

but sure decadence began to manifest itself in every aspect of the life of

Indians during this period.

In the domain of religion also, which must always be the fountain head of

right conduct and morality, perceptible degeneration crept in. The great

Shankaracharya, who had organized Hinduism and given it a common

philosophical background, had failed to purge it of great evils that had

crept into it. “Vamamarga Dharma had become popular at this period,

specially in Kashmir and Bengal. The followers of this creed indulged in

wine, flesh fish and women, and they believed in the motto of eat drink

and be merry. The vicious ideas of this school had permitted some of our

educational institutions, particularly the University of Vikramashila in

Bihar. Another evil which can be traced in its exaggerated from to this

period was the ‘Devdasi’ system. Every important temple had a number of

unmarried girls dedicated to the service of the deity. This bred corruption

and temple prostitution became common. 3 Tantrik literature, which was

obscene in the extreme, developed rapidly in this era. It produced an

adverse effect on morals. It was not considered derogatory by the greatest

of scholars of this period to write obscene books. A minister to one of the

kings in Kashmir wrote a book named, Kuttimi Matam’ or ‘opinions of a

go-between’. Another great Sanskrit scholar Kashmendra published

29
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

‘Samaya Matraka’ or the autobiography of a prostitute. All this led to

moral degeneration among the upper and the middle class people.

Mahmud’s Small Ventures

Historians are divided in their opinion regarding the numbers or the dates

of his expedition. Whenever possible he made one year ad the general

consensus of openion is that he mad twelve such expeditions. Hindu

authorities never mention distinctly his proceedings, which are known only

from the account left by Mohammadan authors.

“His first attack was of course upon the frontier towns of the Khaiber pass.

In September 1001, Mahmud left Ghazni with 15,000 horse and advanced

to Peshawar where Jaipal I of the Punjab was prepared to meet him with

12,000 horses 3000 foot and 300 Elephants”.4 Jaipala was marking time as

he was expediting reinforcement from the tribal areas. Mahmud realized

the situation and went into immediate action. The Hindus could not

withstand the impetuosity of the Muslim horse and before noon they were

routed, leaving 15,000 dead in the field or killed in pursuit. Jaipala was

taken prisoner with his family and their Jewels including a necklace of

enormous value worn by the raja formed part of Mahmud’s plunder.

He then advanced to Waihind, which to be identified with Udabhanda, the

capital of the Shahis, Mahmud followed the tactics of his father and

30
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

dividing his troops into a number of regiments sent them to attack in

successive waves. The Hindus put up a brave resistance but were once

more defeated. Jaipal was set free on promising to pay 2, 50,000 dinars and

25 elephants, but at the ransom was not at once forthcoming he was

obliged to leave hostage for its payment. His son Anandpal sent the

stipulated ransom and elephants to Mahmud and Jaipal and the other

wastage were set free. With proud despair of his race Jaipala refused to

survive his disgrace. Preferring death to dishonour he cast himself upon a

funeral pyre.

He was succeeded by his son Anandpal (AD 1001) who continued the

struggle with the foreigners but without successors.

Mahmud again invaded India in A.D. 1004 he marched from Ghazni to

punish Bajra for his failure to support him. It is difficult to locate Bajra

today. Some scholars identity it with Uch and Bhatinda. It was ruled by

Baji Ray who put up a very brave fight Mahmud took Bhatiya by storm,

and pillaged the city. “Baji Ray stabbed himself to death to escape capture

by the Muslims. His head was carried to Mahmud and his troops were put

to the sword”.5 Mahmud remained there for sometime, making

arrangements for the permanent annexation of the state he started for

Ghazni in 1005 when all the rivers were in spate. While crossing them he

lost his plunder and much of his baggage. His passage was also obstructed

31
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

by Abul Fateh Daud, the ruler of Multan. “Mahmud marched against him

in 1005 in autumn and in order to avoid the passage of the river in their

lower waters marched by way of Und in the dominions of Anandpal,

however, opposed his advance but was defeated and fled into Kashmir, and

Mahmud pursued his way through the Punjab, plundering the country he

advance”.6 The Sultan now advanced to Multan through the Shahi

kingdom plundering the country.

The defeat of Anandpal unnerved Daud who shut himself up in Multan.

The Sultan besieged the city for serve days and Daud had to buy to buy

peace by consenting to pay yearly tribute of 20,000 golden dirhams and

adjuration of the faith of the Ismaili sect.

At this time his Northern Province was invaded by Turks of Transexiana

under Ilak Khan. He appointed Sukhpal, a grandson of Jaipal as Governor

of the Indian province and himself marched to Khurasan to meet the

invader Sukhpal accepted Islam and took the name of Nawasa Khan.

We are not concerned with details of Mahmud’s campaign against Ilak

Khan who was driven across the Oxus, but it is interesting to note that a

large number of Indians formed part of the victorious army.

As Mahmud returned to Ghazni in 1007 he learnt that Awasa Shah had

apostatized and made an alliance with the Indian kings. Sultan immediately

32
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

marched to India to deal with the rebel. Nawasa Shah was captured and his

treasures amounting to 40,000 dirhams were confiscated.

“In the following year AD 1008 Mahmud resolved further to Chastise

Anandpal for his opposition to the passage of the Muslim army through his

dominions on its way to Multan, and in the autumn of 1008 marched to

Peshawar”.7 Anandpal followed his father’s example and organized a

confederacy of Hind kings, including the rulers of Ujjain, Gwalior,

Kannauj, Delhi and Ajmer, who took the field with a host which was larger

than that opposed to Sabuktigin, and was under the supreme command of

Visala-bera, the Chauhan Raja of Ajmer. Mahmud had never yet

encountered such an army, and he hastily entrenched his camp and waited

forty days facing the constantly sculling forces of the Hindus.

Each day brought fresh re-enforcement to the confederacy and it became a

problem feeding so large a force. This was alleviated by the devotion of

the women-folk who sold their jewels to enable their husbands to keep the

field.

Mahmud protected his of following his usual tactics strove to entice the

enemy to attack him in his own strong position. In this he succeeded and

the Hindus attacked on December 31, 1008. The camp was stormed by a

rush in force of the Khokhar tribe of the Punjab, who slew three or four

thousand Muslims in a few minutes. Victory seemed to be within the grasp

33
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

of the Hindus when it was snatched from their hands by one of those

unlucky accidents which have so other determined the fate of Indians

battles. Anandpal’s elephants took fright, the rumour ran that the Raja was

feeling from the field and a general stampede ensued. Instead of retreating

before a victorious army, in the turn of an instant Mahmud found himself

pursuing a panic-stricken crowd, the Mohammadan cavalry pursued them

for two days and nights, killing eight thousand and capturing enormous

booty. Loosely, organized confederates of Hindu contingents each under

its own independent chief always proved incapable of withstanding the

attack of fierce foreign cavalry obeying one will.

On a snow-covered spur of the Himalayan ranges, stood the fortress of

Kangra or Bhimnagar and also known as Nagarkot. Its modern name is Kot

Kangra. The fort was surrounded by a moat and was considered

impregnable to mortal power. Its temple was rich in treasure presented by

chiefs and devotees from different parts of India over the centuries. After

some parleying the gates were opened to Mahmud on the third day after his

arrival, and the booty which fell into his hands is “Said to have amounted

to 700,000 dinars”.8

A pavilion of silver and a canopy of Byzan time lion reared upon pillars of

silver and gold also fell into his hands. With this plunder the returned to

Ghazni and held and exhibition in the palace court. The entire world

34
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

flocked to Ghazni to see the fabulous wealth of India. Mahmud annexed al

the territories to the west of the Sind including the Shahi capital

Udabhanda.

Mahmud led an expedition against Narayan situated in Rajasthan in 1009.

Cunningham identified Narayan with Narayanpur, in the old Alwar state.

The Raja surrounded after a stiff resistance.

“In A.D. 1011 he visited Multan, where his authority was not yet firmly

established, brought the province under more efficient control and

extinguished the still glowing embers of heresy”. 9“Meanwhile Anandpal

had died and had been succeeded by his son Jaipal II who made the

fortress of Nandana his chief stronghold and in 1013 Mahmud invaded

India to attack him”.10 There was a heavy snowfall which blocked his

passage. The mountains and valleys appeared almost level under the

treacherous white mantle. After an arduous march over very difficult

terrain the Sultan approached Nandana. He now divided his cavalry into

three groups under command of Amir Nasar. Anslanjazib and Abu

Abdullah, Mohammad. Altuntash was placed in charge of the central part

of the army. On hearing of Mahmud’s advance Trilochanpala retired into

mountains leaving his son Bhimpala to oppose Mahmud. Bhimpala took

up a tactical position on a narrow mountain pass and the Sultan did not

succeed in dislodging the Shahis easily from this position. The veterans

35
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

from Oxus and the Afghan spearman bored into the gorge like a gemilet

into wood, but it took several days of hard fighting before the place was

carried.

Trilochanpala fled into the Kashmir valley to organize resistance but he

was again defeated and fled to Sirhind in eastern Punjab. Mahmud forcibly

converted to Islam a large number of Hindus and carried off to Ghazni a

large number as prisoners. Men in high position in India were sold there as

slaves to serve the shopkeepers.

“Then followed a weary marched in 1014 across the stern dissert of

Rajputana to Thanesar, a days journey from Delhi between Ambala and

Karnal. Jaipal had to allow Mahmud a safe passage through his kingdom in

accordance with a treaty he had concluded earlier. But he warned

Bijaypala the Towar Raja of Delhi, in whose kingdom Thanesar was

situated, the approach of the invader. The Sultan was apposed by a Raja,

named Rama the chief of Dera, as he approached a mountain pass through

which the river Sutlej flowed. But he was dislodged from the steep pass

where he waited with his splendid troop of Ceylon elephants behinds a

rapid river. But Mahmud was no novice in tactics. He forded the river and

crowned the heights on either side and while detachment fell upon his

enemy’s flank the Sultan’s main body flung itself into the ravine and the

position was stormed. The Hindus fled and their famous elephants were

36
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

captured. After brushing aside this opposition the Sultan resumed his

march”.11

Mahmud marched with such rapidity through the Punjab that he reached

Thaneswar before the Hindus could rally their forces. The city fell

Mahmud plundered it of its vast treasures. He next intended to invade

Delhi, but he was overruled by his general staff who advised him not to

advance so far into India until the annexation of the Punjab should have

furnished a base of operation within its borders. Mahmud did not send any

expedition against India in 1016 and 1017 as he was engaged in operation

in Khavarizm and in the northern province of his empire”. It was not until

1018 that he was able to turn his attention to India. He now prepared to

penetrate further into the country than on any former occasion and to

plunder the rich temples of Hindustan proper. With an army of 100,000

horse raise in his own dominion and 20,000 volunteers from Turkistan,

Transoxiana and the confines of Khurasan”. 12 He marched from Ghazni

and guided by the Lohara Raja of Kashmir, crossed the Indus and rivers of

the Punjab. On December 2 he crossed the Jammu and pursued his march

southwards. Avoiding Delhi, he followed the eastern bank of the Jamuna

and reached Baran, modern Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh. The ruler of

the place Hardat fled from the fortress. The garrison found resistance of o

avail and purchased peace by paying the Sultan a great quantity of treasure

37
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

and thirty elephant. From Baran he passed to Mahaban on the eastern bank

of the Jamuna in the Mathura district. It was ruled by a prince named

Kulachandra of the Yadu dynasty. Kulachandra put up a brave fight but he

was defeated. He killed his wife and son and then killed himself”. 13

Mathura the holy city of Krishna, was the next victim the city was

surrounded by a stone wall, in which were magnificent temples all over the

city and in the middle, there was a temple larger and finer than the rest.

The idols included five of red gold, each five yards high the eyes formed of

priceless jewels. The Sultan gave orders that all the temples should be burn

and levelled to the ground. Thus perished works of art which must have

been among the noblest monuments of Ancient India pressing eastwards,

the Sultan’s army reached Kannauj the imperial city of northern India, then

under the rule of Rajyapala–Parihar. The Raja had already fled at the mere

bruit of the Sultan’s coming, and the seven forts of the great city fell in one

day. The inhabitants were put to the sword and of its gorgeous shrines not

a temple was spared.

From Kannauj Mahmud marched to Manaich which is identified with a

place of same name, 14 males north-east of Etawah. Some scholars

identify it with Marjjhawan, 10 miles off Kanpur. The fortress strongly

garrisoned and was reduced after a siege of 25 days. The gallant defenders

killed their wives and children ad sallied forth from the fort to perish on

the swords of the enemy.

38
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

“After plundering Manaich, Mahmud attacked Asni, a fortress in the

immediate neighbourhood, defended by deep ditches and a dense Jungle,

that is to say an enclosure of quickset bamboos similar to that which now

surrounds the city of Rampur in Rohailkhand and forms an impenetrable

obstacle. Asni was the stronghold of a powerful chief named either

Chandpal or Chandal Bar, who had recently been at war with Jaichand. On

hearing of Mahmud’s approach he fled, leaving his capital a prey to the

invader”.14

The Sultan next advanced to Sharva which Cunningham indentifies with

Sirasawa near Saharanpur. Its ruler Chand Rai was a powerful monarch.

But when he learned the ominous tramp of the Turkish horsemen, gathered

up his treasures and move for the hills. Flight did not save him, the enemy

tracked him through the forest, and coming up with him at midnight

attacked him. The fort was despoiled and demolished and the inhabitants

put to the sword. The Sultan carried home immense booty and so many

prisoners of that the slave market of Persia was glutted and a servant could

be bought for a couple of rupees.

After his victory over Chand Rai, which took place in January 1019,

Mahmud returned to Ghazni. He founded the famous ‘Jami Mosque’

known as ‘The Bride of Heaven’. He also established a university and a

museum close by.

39
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

The cowardly flight of the Kannauj Raja angered his fellow Rajas, who

under the command of a Chandel prince Nanda, Raja of Kalinjar combined

against Rajyapala, slew him and replaced him by Trilochanpala. When

Mahmud heard of this, he marched in 1021 at the head of an army against

Kalinjar, the capital of Nanda. A confederacy of the Indian kings was

organized this time also. Bhimpal, the fearless son of Jaipal II of the

Punjab, also joined the confederacy. But instead of opposing Mahmud on

his western frontiers. Where he would have been beyond the reach of help

from his allies, he with drew to the banks of Jamuna when they could have

supported him. Here Mahmud found him encamped and hesitated to

attempt the passage of the swollen river as it was very deep and its bottom

full of mud. But eight gallant soldiers of Mahmud army with their

contingent succeeded in crossing the river, surprised the Hindus and put

them to flight. “Mahmud whose way was cleared before him, crossed

Jamuna and Ganges and found Nanda waiting on the bank of the Sai with

an army of 36,000 horses, 1,05,000 foot soldiers and 640 elephant”. 15

Before this host Mahmud’s heart failed him for a moment. In great awe

and fear he prayed to God for victory. His prayer appeared to have gone

not in vain as Nanda fled the camp during the night without any ostensible

reason. It may be surmised that he probably lost faith in the sincerity and

honesty of his allies which was nothing very unnatural in those days of

40
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

mutual distrust and jealous. Mahmud took to plundering of the Hindu

camp, and carried off to Ghazni 580 elephants and an enormous booty.

Later in the same year he again invaded Kashmir which he had failed to

capture on a previous occasion. He besieged and did not fare better this

time also and raised the siege. He did not return at once to Ghazni but

entered the Punjab to punish Bhimpal for joining the Hindu confederacy

against him. The enemy however did not attack Lahore but dispersed in the

countryside to cut off supplies reaching the capital. Bhimpal fled, took

asylum in the court of the Chauhan Raja of Ajmer. The Punjab was

formally annexed to the Turkish empire and Mahmud may, therefore, be

formally called an Indian ruler. After a century and a half his descendents

being ousted from Ghazni found

“In the autumn of 1022 Mahmud again invaded Hindustan in order to

inflict further punishment to Nanda of Kalinjar”.16 He marched through the

Doab, crossed. Jamuna below Delhi and was attracted by the strong

fortress of Gwalior, to which he laid siege but, finding that the operation

was likely to be protracted, pirmitted the Kachhwaha Raja to compound

for a formal submission by a gift of no more than thirty five elephants, and

pursued his way towards his real objective, Kalinjar, to the reduction of

which he was prepared to devote more time.

41
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

After of protracted siege Nanda was permitted to redeem his stronghold for

three hundred elephants which instead of being formally delivered, were

mischievously driven in a body of towards the Muslim camp in the hope

that they would throw it into confusion, but the Turks had by now some

experience of elephants, and caught and manage them. According to a

possibly mythical account of the event, their success compelled the

unwilling admiration of Nanda, who addressed to Mahmud an encomiastic

poem which was so highly praised by learned Hindus in the Muslim camp

that its author was rewarded with the government of fifteen fortress, a great

probably as hollow as the flattery which had earned it. After this

composition with Nanda, Mahmud returns to Ghazni with his spoils.

This is a brief account of the Mahmud’s battles which he fought with

Hindustani kings. There was a major battle also which is very famous the

battle of Somnath. Every time when Mahmud attacked India we see that

Indians were defeated in spite of double army than that of Mahmud.

There were so many demerits in our army like lack of leadership and war

phobia, lack of concentration and so on. Conversely, Mahmud’s army

though less in number was well trained and operating under the leadership

of Mahmud, who was a great general.

42
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

Political Conditions

There was one notable difference in the political condition of our country

at the time of the Arab invasion of Sind and that on the eve of the

Ghaznavite penetration into Hindustan. At the opening of the eighth

century there was no foreign colony, much less a foreign power, in the land

except a hand ful of Arab merchants on our western coast whose primary

avocation was trade. On the other hand, in the tenth century there were two

foreign kingdoms on our soil, namely Multan and Mansura or Sind.

Besides, a considerable portion of the population in these two kingdoms

had been converted to Islam. There were also Arab colonies in southern

India, particularly in Malabar, where the Hindu rulers had foolishly

permitted the foreigners to proselytize the native population. As was

natural for these new converts to a religion, they preferred the foreign ways

of life and had sympathy with their fellow Muslims from Ghazni and

Central Asia. Subuktigin and Mahmud of Ghazni, as also Mahmud of

Ghur, about 150 years later, wore lucky to enjoy some kind of moral

support from a section of the Indian people.17

For nearly three centuries after the advent of the Arabs our country

enjoyed immunity from foreign invasions. This long freedom from foreign

interference produced a feeling in the minds of our people and rulers that

India could never be threatened by a foreign power. Eternal vigilance,

which is said to be the price of freedom, not only slackened almost reached

43
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

the vanishing point. Our rulers neglected their armies. They failed to

fortify our north-western frontier and to make an effective arrangement for

the defence of the hilly passes through which foreign armies could enter

the country. Side by with this, our people failed to keep in touch with the

new military tactics and with the newly invented system of warfare.

Secondly, for the selfsame reason, the people lost almost completely the

sense of patriotism and national ardour, which develops under the stimulus

of danger from abroad. That was not an age of territorial patriotism; but

whatever patriotism there was, disappeared owing to a false sense of

security. Thirdly, a kind of narrow-mindedness became the characteristic

of our people from the eighth to the eleventh centuries of the Christian era.

They believed that they were a chosen people and all other people were

unfit to be associated with them. The famous scholar Al Beruni, who came

to our country in the trains of Sultan Mahmud Ghazni and studied Sanskrit

language and Hindu religion and thought, had to note with surprise that

“the Hindus believed that there is no country like theirs, no nation like

theirs, no king like theirs, no religion like theirs, no science like theirs”. He

adds that the ancestors of the Hindus “were not so narrow-minded as the

present (eleventh century) generation”. He was also struck by the fact that

the Hindus did “not desire that a thing which has once been polluted

should be purified and thus recovered”.

44
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

During this period our country was practically isolated from the rest of the

world. Owing to this fact our people ceased to come into touch with

foreign lands and, therefore, became ignorant of the happenings, political,

military and cultural, in the outside world. Want of contact with dissimilar

people and cultures bred stagnation and made our civilization decadent. In

fact, a slow but sure decadence began o manifest itself in every aspect of

our life during the period. The Sanskrit literature of these centuries is much

inferior in virility and taste to that of the fifth and the sixth centuries. Our

architecture and painting and fine arts were similarly adversely influenced;

our society, too, became static, caste rules became more rigid. Widowhood

began to be rigorously imposed, remarriage of widows among higher

classes almost completely stopped and food and drink taboos came into

existence. The ‘untouchables’ were compelled to reside outside the towns.

In the domain of religion also, which must always be the fountain-head of

right conduct and morality, perceptible degeneration crept in. The great

Shankaracharya, who had organised Hinduism and given it a common

philosophical background, had failed to purge it of great evils that had

crept into it. Vamamarga Dharma had become popular at this period,

specially in Kashmir and Bengal. The followers of this creed indulged in

wine, flesh, fish and women and they believed in the motto of ‘eat, drink

and be merry’. The vicious ideas of this school had permeated some of our

45
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

educational institutions, particularly in the University of Vikramasila in

Bihar. An incident that book place at the above named university shows

how deep the moral canker had gone into our life in that age. A student

priest was found with a bottle of wine and, on being interrogated by the

university authorities, he revealed that it had been given to him by a run.

When the authorities decided to take disciplinary action against him, the

members of the university split up into two parties and the result was

trouble. When such an incident could take place at a highest seat of

learning, the condition of the upper and middle class people, who lived in

sloth ad luxury, can well be imagined. Our great mathas, which were

originally great seats of learning and piety became centres of luxury and

idleness many of the monks became licentious. The order of the sannyasis

lost its significance, but the common people continued showing them

reverence. Another evil which can be traced in its exaggerated from to this

period was the devadasi system. Every important temple had a number of

unmarried girls dedicated to the service of the deity. This bred corruption

and temple prostitution became common. Tantrik literature which was

obscene in the extreme, developed rapidly in this era. It produced an

adverse effect on our morals. It was not considered derogatory by the

greatest of our scholars of this period to write obscene books. A minister to

one of the kings in Kashmir wrote a book named Kullini Matam or

46
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

‘Opinions of a Go-Between’ Another great Sanskrit scholar, Kshemendra,

published Samaya Matraka or ‘the autobiography of a prostitute’. In this

book “The heroine describes her adventures in every sphere of society, as a

courtesan, as the mistress of a noble, as a street walker, as a go-between, as

a false run, as a corrupter of the youth and as a frequenter of religious

places”. All this led to moral degeneration among the upper and the middle

class people. Probably the common folk were free from the debasing effect

of current literature and Vamamarga religion. 18

Economic Conditions

Economically the country was rich. Its great mineral and agricultural

wealth had continued accumulating for generations, individuals had piled

up riches and our temples were their store-houses; but there was great

disparity of wealth. The topmost people that is, the members of the ruling

families and their nobles and courtiers rolled in wealth and luxury. The

merchant princes were millionaires and spent thousands of rupees in

charity. Ordinary village folk were rather poor, though not in want. They

were thrifty. They had a few belongings. Nevertheless the general life was

economically prosperous owing to the accumulated wealth, peace and

commerce. It was this fabulous wealth that tempted Mahmud of Ghazni to

invade our country. Our rulers did not know how to ensure the great wealth

of India by organizing a wise system of defence. The political structure

47
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

was also weak. The institutions, of course, were the same as in the time of

Harsha; but there was a marked deterioration in the spirit in which they

worked. The bureaucracy was corrupt and people, in general, enervated by

a variety of debasing influences.

This was the condition of India at the time when Mahmud of Gazni

invaded her. Though outwardly strong, she was unprepared for defending

her religion and liberty.19

References

1
Srivastava, A.L., The Sultanate of Delhi, pp.47-48.
2
Ibid., p.52.
3
Ibid., p.54.
4
Haig W., Cambridge History of India, p.13.
5
Ibid., p.14.
6
Ibid., p.15.
7
Ibid., p.15.
8
Kar H.C., Military History of India, p.183.
9
Haig W., Cambridge History of India, p.17.
10
Ibid., p.17.
11
Kar H.C. Lt. Col., Military History of India, p.184.
12
Haig W., Cambridge History of India, p.18.
13
Kar H.C. Lt.Col., Military History of India, p.185.
14
Haig W., Cambridge History of India, p.20.

48
 A Study of Generalship of Mahmud of Ghazni

15
Kar H.C. Lt. Col., Military History of India, p.187.
16
Ibid., p.189.
17
Hon. Mountstuable Elphinstone, History of India. The Hindu and
Mahometan periods, Kitab Mahal Pvt. Ltd., Allahabad, 1966, p.1.
18
Ibid., pp.4-7.
19
Ibid., p.7.

49