ro8 A DEMON WITH RUBY EYESbeat it to shreds" to punish him for the resistance.^6 Hearing of this,
the priest laughs and says, "Chach does not have the power to hurt me."
After a violent struggle in which many are killed, the city surrenders
to Chach and begs him for amnesty. With the help of mediators who
"belonged to learned classes," Chach grants amnesty to all, entering
into marriage alliances and fixing taxation. After a year of settling
the affairs of the new state, he turns his attention to the priest who
defied him:
[Chach] asked, "Where is that magician Buddhist (samani) so that I
can see him?" They said, "He is an ascetic (nasik) and will be with
the ascetics. He is one of the wise ones of al-Hind and a servant of
the temple (kanohar). They praise his miracles and his spiritual gain.
He is so powerful that he has ensnared the whole world in his 'spell
and those that he supports succeed."^7Even though Chach has gained political control over Brahmanabad,
he is determined to counter the powerful claims of this priest and his
support for the previous king. Chach takes a large retinue and sets off
to find and kill the priest. He orders his troops to stop at a distance
from the temple, and he proceeds alone. He instructs them that after
he is done conversing with the priest, he will give them a signal, and
at that moment, they are to descend upon the priest and cut off his
head. At the temple, Chach finds the priest sitting alone on the ground,
making little clay idols (asnam) with his hands and marking them with
a seal. The priest ignores Chach for a while and then finally addresses
him: "So the son of Sila'ij the priest has arrived?"
Chaeh replies, "Yes, 0 Ascetic."
"Why have you come?"
"I am your disciple, and I have come to pay my respects."^8
The priest asks Chach to sit and inquires about him. Chach says
that he wants the priest to return to the court in Brahmanabad and re-
sume religious duties so that the people can continue their traditional
ways. The health of the polity, Chach says, depends on the continua-
tion of what has been, rather than on new regimes of power. The priest
listens carefully and replies that he feels no need to take part in po-
litical matters, and he is content to stay in his temple. This prompts
Chach to ask,