THE KOH-I-NUR. 119
it
happened that the diamond, after being acquired by the Sultan
Ala-ed-din in 1304, is found in the possession of Bikermajit, Rajah of
Gwalior in 1526. It had evidently been restored to Bikermäjit's family
by the Khilji ruler after peace had been established between the two
states.
A
still more obscure and extravagant tradition identifies this stone with
one discovered first some 5,000 years ago, in the bed of the Lower
Godavery River, near Masulipatam, and afterwards worn as a sacred
talisman by Carna, Rajah of Anga, who figures in the legendary wars of
the Mahäbhärata. That such a stone should have been found in such a
place is likely enough, as it may well have been washed down to the
delta of the Godavery, which flows through one of the oldest and
richest diamantiferous regions in the world. But its identification
with the stone under consideration rests on no solid foundation, nor
will it readily be believed that a gem, which remained unnamed till
the eighteenth century, could be unerringly traced back to pre-historic
times.
Its
subsequent history from the time when it fell into the hands of Baber
to the present day is inseparably associated with many ot the most
stirring and romantic events of modern days. But, to quote Maskelyne,
though "one long romance from then till now, it is well authenticated
at every step, as history seems never to have lost sight of this stone
of fate from the days when Ala-ed-din took it from the Rajah of Malwa,
five centuries and a half ago, to the day when it became a crown jewel
of England."
Bernier tells us that on the death of Shah Jehan,
