I asked him whether we
were likely to fall in with any hares, using the term 'khargosh', or
'ass-eared'.
'Certainly not,' said the Raja, 'if you begin by abusing them with
such a name; call them "lambkanas", sir, "long-eared", and we shall
get plenty.'
He shot one, and attributed my bad luck to the opprobrious name I had
used. While he was reloading, I took occasion to ask him how this
range of hills had grown up where it was.
'No one can say,' replied the Raja, 'but we believe that when Rama
went to recover his wife Sita from the demon king of Ceylon, Ravan,
he wanted to throw a bridge across from the continent to the island,
and sent some of his followers up to the Himalaya mountains for
stones. He had completed his bridge before they all returned, and a
messenger was sent to tell those who had not yet come to throw down
their burdens, and rejoin him in all haste. Two long lines of these
people had got thus far on their return when the messenger met them.
They threw down their loads here, and here they have remained ever
since, one forming the Vindhya range to the north of this valley, and
the other the Kaimur range to the south.
Pages:
808
809
810
811
812
813
814
815
816
817
818
819
820
821
822
823
824
825
826
827
828
829
830
831
832