86 DEAR SON, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?
will is thus fulfilled: Dahar marries his sister, and using his political
prowess, he becomes the ruler of Chach's kingdom.
The letters exchanged between Dahar and Daharsia operate within
the framework of divine will and political acumen. Chachnazha em-
phasizes the eloquence and humility in Dahar's letters, harkening back
to the skill and acclaim that Chach had garnered during his rise to
power. The letters are set up in a dialogic confrontation: a diplomatic
and well-crafted letter is necessary in a king's set of skills. However,
Daharsia's skepticism of the sincerity of Dahar's letters highlights the
capacity of beautifully rendered prose to obfuscate and distract. In
effect, the narrative outside of the letters-depicting the minister's
advice and Dahar's machin:itions-puts into relief a tension between
narrative truth and moral truth within the letters. Chachnama asks
us to imagine within that exchange a play of politics whereby contesting
political powers can lie, cajole, plead, or assert their positions with false
promises. Chachnama further complicates the question of political
rule through the minister's advice and attestation that the public has
a short memory, such that if necessary to retain power, a ruler can
make an immoral choice. The public-defined as both urban and rural
dwellers-will eventually forget or simply go along with the king's
dictum.
Advice for Conquest
A second set of letters involve an exchange between Hajjaj bin Yusuf
and Muhammad bin Qasim. It again demonstrates the work that episto-
lary exchange does in Chachnama-debating and resolving questions
of political alliances and of accommodation of different communities.^14
During the campaign to conquer the fort of Nerun, Qasim pauses next
to a lake of "water purer than the eyes of lovers and the garden more
pleasant than the garden of Aram," and he pens a letter to Hajjaj, re-
porting on the conditions of the army:
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Benevolent:
I send this to the magnificent court of the king of nobles, the
crown of faith, and the protector of Iran and Hind. I am your servant
Muhammad bin Qasim. With due humility and servitude, I report