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of 'Alā'u'd-din, a monarch who had destroyed all his enemies, who possessed numerous strong forts and well-furnished arsenals and magazines, who had put to shame Mahādeva himself by capturing numerous impregnable forts, like Devagadha, whereas the fame of the god rests on the successful capture of the fort of Tripura alone.
H a m m î r a, who had listened with impatience to the ambassador's speech, was incensed at the insulting message delivered to him, and said to Śrī Molhana Deva that if he had not been there in the capacity of an accredited envoy, the tongue with which he uttered those vaunting insults should ere this have been cut out. Not only did Hammira refuse lo entertain either of the conditions submitted by the envoy, but on his part he proposed the acceptance by 'Alâu'd-dìn of as many sword-cuts as the number of the gold mohors, elephants, and horses he had the impudence to ask for, and told the envoy he would look upon the refusal of this martial offer by the Muhammadan chief as tantamount to his ('Alā'u'd-din's) feasting on pork. Without any further ceremony, the envoy was driven from the presence.
The garrison of Ranathambhor now prepared for resistance. Officers of approved ability and bravery were told off to defend various posts. Tents were pitched here and there on the ramparts to protect the defenders from the rays of the sun. Oil and resin were kept boiling in many places, ready to be poured on the bodies of any of the assailants to scald them if they dared come too near, and guns were mounted on suitable places. The Muhammadan army too, at last appeared before Ranathambhor. A desperate struggle was carried on for some days. Nuarat Khan killed by a random shot in one of the engagements1, and the monsoon having set in, Ulugh Khan was obliged to stop all further operations. He retired in some distance from,
1. Elliot and Dowson's History, vol. III, p. 172—ED. .
