第93章

As soon as you are inside,on the left hand,are two chambers one above the other,which are in this manner:the lower one is below the level of the ground,with two little steps which are covered with copper gilded,and from there to the top is all lined with gold (I do not say "gilded,"but "lined"inside),and outside it is dome-shaped.It has a four-sided porch made of cane-work[459]over which is a work of rubies and diamonds and all other kinds of precious stones,and pearls,and above the porch are two pendants of gold;all the precious stonework is in heart-shapes,and,interweaved between one and another,is a twist of thick seed-pearl work;on the dome are pendants of the same.In this chamber was a bed which had feet similar to the porch,the cross-bars covered with gold,and there was on it a mattress of black satin;it had all round it a railing of pearls a span wide;on it were two cushions and no other covering.Of the chamber above it I shall not say if it held anything because I did not see it,but only the one below on the right side.In this house there is a room with pillars of carved stone;this room is all of ivory,as well the chamber as the walls,from top to bottom,and the pillars of the cross-timbers at the top had roses and flowers of lotuses all of ivory,and all well executed,so that there could not be better,--it is so rich and beautiful that you would hardly find anywhere another such.On this same side is designed in painting all the ways of life of the men who have been here even down to the Portuguese,from which the king's wives can understand the manner in which each one lives in his own country,even to the blind and the beggars.In this house are two thrones covered with gold,and a cot of silver with its curtains.Here I saw a little slab of green jasper,which is held for a great thing in this house.Close to where this jasper is,I.E.underneath some arches where is the entrance into the palace,there is a little door closed with some padlocks:they told us that inside it there was a treasury of one of the former kings.

As soon as we left this house we entered a courtyard as large as an arena for beast-fights,very well plastered,and almost in the middle are some pillars of wood,with a cross beam at the top all covered with copper gilt,and in the middle four chains of silver links with hooks which are caught one into the other;this serves for a swing for the wives of the king.At the entrance of this courtyard on the right hand we mounted four or five steps and entered some beautiful houses made in the way I have already told you --for their houses are single-storeyed houses with flat roofs on top,although on top there may be other houses;the plan is good,and they are like terraces.There is a building there built on many pillars,which are of stone-work,and so also is all the work of the roof,with all the rest of wood (MANERIA),and all the pillars (with all the other work)are gilded so that they seem as if covered with gold.

Then at the entrance of this building in the middle nave,there is,standing on four pillars,a canopy covered with many figures of dancing-women,besides other small figures[460]which are placed in the stone-work.All this is also gilded,and has some red colour on the under-sides of the leaves which stand out from the sculpture.You must know that they make no use of this building because it belongs to their idol and to the temple.At the end of this is a little closed door where the idol is.Whenever they celebrate any festival of this idol,they carry it on a golden throne and put it underneath that canopy which is made for that purpose;and then come the Brahmans to perform their ceremonies there,and the dancing-girls come to dance.