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Mts. Girnar and Satruñjaya. He sank tanks and wells, established places for distributing water and erected temples. He married Kumāradevi, who bore him Malladeva, Vastupala, and Tejahpāla. The Goddess asked him to make the last two his ministers.
Viradhavala sent his chief officers to call these two brothers. They presented themselves before the king and paid him their respects with presents. The king was much pleased with their charming address, modesty, and mode of speaking, and offered them his ministership. Vastupāla thereupon told him plainly that the kings were greedy of wealth and the officers followed their whims. He was prepared to accept the ministry, if the king followed the path of justice, gave up greediness, removed backbiters and adopted an attitude of calmness. The two brothers were then invested by the king with the golden seal of the ministry.
This appointment led to the rise of the kingdom of Viradhavala. Viradhavala had taken by force the port of Cambay, which was under the kings of Lā-adeśa. It was a highly flourishing and a principal port of Gujarat and a place of great power and importance. Vastupāla was sent as its governor by Viradhavala. His entry in the city was hailed with joy by the residents and traders of Cambay. Under his rule the port, which was mismanaged by the persecution of evilminded officers, regained its lost splendour. He honoured all the religions with clothes and food, so that everyone thought that the minister belonged to his own religion. Being fond of poetical pastimes, he offered so much to the poets that the long-accumulated fame of Munja and Bhoja faded before his. While Viradhavala was engaged with the kings of Marwad, who were fighting with the king Lūņasāka, Sankha, the lord of Broach, marched with a large army to recover the lost port of Cambay which originally belonged to Broach. Sankha sent an embassy to Vastupala, with the following message : — “Viradhavala, though powerful, is at present attacked by many kings of Marwar and his victory is nowhere to be seen. It is very rare that the Chāhamāna king comes here. Rule by making him to enter Cambay. Viradhavala had given you orders with a smile for the protection of the city, but the appreciative Sankha will give you a country. Wavering in mind, if you do not make Śankha your lord, he will appoint another governor, when he has conquered Cambay. It is well known that twelve feudatory chiefs bound with a golden chain at his left foot are
bsnta-t.pm5 3rd proof
