Page:History of India Vol 9.djvu/72

 46 ACCOUNT OF INDIA BY STEABO outside the gates. A woman, who puts to death a king when drunk, is rewarded by becoming the wife of his successor. The sons succeed the father. The king may not sleep during the day-time, and at night he is obliged from time to time to change his bed, from fear of treachery. Beside leaving his palace in time of war, the king leaves it also when he goes to sit in his court as a judge. He remains there all day thus occupied, not suffering himself to be interrupted even though the time arrives for attending to his person. This attention to his person consists of rubbing (or massage) with pieces of wood, and he continues to listen to the case under considera- tion, while the friction is performed by four massageurs who stand around him, Another occasion of the king's leaving his palace is to offer sacrifice. The third is a sort of Bacchanalian start on the chase. Crowds of women surround him, and spearmen are stationed out- side of these. The road is set off with ropes; a man, or even a woman, who passes within the ropes is put to death. The king is preceded by drums and gongs. He hunts in the enclosures and discharges his arrows from a high seat. Near him stand two or three armed women. When hunting in the open, he shoots his arrows from an elephant. Of the women some are in chariots, some on horses, and others on elephants; they are provided with all kinds of weapons, as if they were going on a military expedition.' Strabo next devotes a page or more to some fabu- lous accounts of Eastern peoples, several of them being