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Ma in ly ba sed on Pe r s ia n S ou rce s .

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,

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Vol. 1 1 .

War of Succession .

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I‘

A .

CONTENT S .

Chap ter XV. Battle o f Dharm at.

Jaswant at U j jain, t—his movements , 2—tries to avert abattle, 3—his difficul ties , 5—treachery in his ranks , 7—hisp lan of battle, g—contending forces, u —order of battle ,

Iz—Rajput Van charges , l 4—d efence by Aurangzib

'

s V an,

1 5—Ra jputs destroyed , IS—Murad attacks the Imperia l left

wing, 1 9 fl ight , 2 1—pl under, 2 2 - Aurangzib

'

s

gain in prestige , 23—his m emoria l bui ldings , 24—casua l ties ,25—Aurangzib crosses the Chamba l , 28—reaches Samu

garh , 30 .

Chapte r XVI . Batt le o f Sam ugarh.

Shah jahan starts for Delhi , 32—Dara ga thers a new

a rmy, 33—takes leave of Shah jahan, 36—reaches Sam u

garh , 38—evening before the ba ttle , 39—Dara

’s a rmy : its

formation, 40—its weakness , 43—Aurangzib

'

s battle order ,44—cannonade , 46—charge ofDara ’s left wing , 47

—repul sed ,

4 8—Chhatra Sal charges Murad , 49—Ra jput at tack on

Aurangzib, 50—despera te fight, 5 1

—Dara ’s fool ish movements , 52—havoc by Aurangzib

'

s artil lery, 56—fiight of

Dara ’s a rmy, 5 7—Dara's escape , 59—c asua l ties , 6o—tactics

c riticised , 63 .

Chapte r XVII . Captu re o f Agra Fort an dCapt ivi ty o f Murad .

News ofSamugarh reaches Agra , 65— grief ofShah jahan ,

66—Dara ’s despondency, 67—his flight from Agra ,

68Aurangzib arrives outside Agra , 70

—is joined by manynobles , 7 1—his correspondence with Shah jahan, 7 1—ShahJahan

'

s loving messages , 74—Aurangzib seizes Agra city,7 7—besieges Agra fort , 78 -cuts off its wa ter supp ly, 79

Shah Jahan’

s pa thetic entrea ty, 80 —he surrenders Agra fort,82—jahanara

'

s embassy fai ls, 83—Aurangzib refuses to visitShah Jahan , 85—c lose confinement of Shah Jahan , 85Murad

’

s jea lousy of Aurangzib, 87—his ambition, 89—open

riva lry wi th Aurangzib, Qo—M urad invited by Aurangzib,

9 2—welcomed and feasted , 93—treacherously d isa rm ed and

vi HISTORY or AURANGZ IB .

imprisoned, 94—Murad in Gwa lior prison , 97—attemptedrescue, 98—tried for m urder ofAli Naqi and beheaded , 99 .

Chapte r XVII I . Purs u i t of Dara Shukoh.

Dara at Delhi , IOI—his difficul ties , I oz—goes to Lahore,I o3—holds the l ine of the Satlej, I O4

—Aurangzib a t De lhi ,1 06—crowns himself, Io7—his Van crosses the Satlej, 1 08Dara abandons the B ias , I to—d esertions from his army,

I Io—his suspicion roused aga inst Daud Khan by a fal sele tter, I l z—Da ra leaves Lahore, I I3

—Aurangzib pursuesDara to M ul tan , 1 1 5

—history of Dara’s fl igh t down the

Indus , 1 1 7 —pursuit to Bhakkar , I Ig—Dara’s m iserable con

d ition, I zo—deserted by Daud Khan , 1 2 1 —pursued to Sehwan, Leg

—intercepted , 1 24—escapes to Tatta , 1 26—to

Guzerat , 1 2 7—return ofpursuing army, 1 28 .

Chapter XIX . Shuja’

s Struggles fo r the Th rone .

Character of Shuja , l eg—he crowns him self , I3o

—advances to Benares, I3 I

—his camp surprised by SulaimanShukoh, I32

—Shuja'

s flight, l 34

—trea ty wi th Sula iman,1 36—Aurangzib

'

s friendly letter to Shuja , 1 37—Shuja

'

s

second advance , I39-reaches Khajwah, I4o

—Aurangziba rrives to oppose him , I4 I

—advances on Shuja'

s position ,1 43—eve ofthe ba tt le , I44

—Aurangzib’s camp looted by

jaswant , I45—panic and dispersion , I47—Aurangzib

’

s coolness , 1 48—the contending arm ies , I49—Aurangzib

’

s left wingrouted , 1 53

—attack on his centre repel led ,1 54—his right

wing hard pressed , 1 55—reinforced, bea ts the a ttack back,

I 57—genera l advance ofAurangzib

’

s army, 1 5 8-fl ight of

Shuja , 1 59—spoi l s , I6o—tactics , 1 6 1 .

Chapte r XX . Bat tle o f Deo rai.

Data’

s fl ight from Sindh , I62—welcomed by the Rao ofC utch , I 63

—Dara at Ahmadabad , I64—his confl ict ingp lans , I65

—invited to Ajm ir by Jaswant , 1 67— Jaswant

deserts Dara , I6S—Dara entrenches a pass near Ajm ir,I 7 I—battle zfirst day, I 73

—second day, I 75— third day,

1 76—Dara ’s left rear turned , I 7 7

—at tack on Shah Nawaz

Khan’s trenches , 1 78—obstinate fight , 1 79— trenches stormed,

1 8 1~flight of Dara’s troops , IS3—Dara ’s fam ily escape

fr

éim Ajmir, 1 85

-

p lunder, I 86—Aurangzib after victory,

I 7 .

CONTENTS .

Chapter XX I . End o f Dara Shukoh.

Dara 's fl ight to Mairta , 1 89—his sufferings, IgI—paths

closed to him , Igz—he is refused adm ission to Ahmadabad ,

1 93—flight to C utch, 1 94

—and Sehwan , Igs—jai Singh

'smarch in pursuit , 1 96

—reaches Ahmadabad , 1 97—and

C utch , 1 98 -crosses the Rann terrible sufferings of troop s ,1 99—105 5 of horses and cat t le . zoi—jai Singh

’s loyal tyvindica ted , 2 03

—Dara in the Ba luch country, 204—his

re luctance to leave India , 206—Mal ik J iwan welcomes Dara ,

206—death of Dara 's wife 206—J iwan teacherously imprisons Dara , 208—and de livers him up to the Imperia l genera l s ,209 ,

—Dara brought to De lhi , zl o—paraded through thestreets, zi t—popula r sympathy, 2 1 2—Dara sentenced to

death , 2 1 4—riot , 2 1 6—m urder ofDara , 2 1 7—his burial , 2 1 9 .

Chapter XXI I . End of Su l a im an Shukoh.

Sulaiman hears ofSamugarh, 2 2 1—deserted by his tr00p s ,

2 2 2 —retreats to Al lahabad , 2 23 -marches to Hardwar, 2 24his path to the Panjab closed , 2 25—wishes to enter Garhwa l ,2 27—robbed and deserted by his fol lowers, 229

—seeksa syl um in Garhwal , 23o—Aurangzib invades Garhwa l , 232

Sulaiman del ivered up to the Mugha l s , 233—interview with

Aurangzib, 234— drugged to death in prison , 236 .

Chapte r XXII I . Pu rsu i t o f Shuja .

Shuja’s fl ight from Khajwah, 237

—at Mungir blocks the

road , 239—Shuja at Sahibganj , 24I—M ir Jum la

’s detour,

242—Rajput contingent secedes from M ir Jum la , 243

Shuja'

s flight to Rajmahal , 245—Alawardi Khan conspires ,

246—is beheaded , 248—M ir Jum la occupies Ra jmaha l ,

248—scene ofthe war, 249

—Shuja’s naval superiori ty, 25 1

strategy ofthe war, 253—M ir jum la

’

s fi rst coup , 254—his

second coup, 256—his third coup fa i l s , 258—Prince M uham

mad deserts to Shuja , 260—rainy season, 262—Ra jmaha lwa ter- locked , 263

—recap tured by Shuja , 264—compaignrenewed , 265

—battle of Gheria ,266—Shuja

’s rea r threat

ened , 267—his retreat, 268~skirm ishes, 269—Shuja abandonsthe west bank for good , 270 .

Chapte r XXIV. End o f Shu ja .

M ir Jumla’

s new p lan of war, 2 7 2—his base at Samdah,

2 73—advance on Ma ldah, 2 74

—grand turning movement ,

vi i i HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB.

2 75—fords the Mahananda with loss , 276

—Shuja’s flight to

Dacca , 2 78—M ir jum la captures Tanda , 279

—Shuja’s pro

perty and harem seized , 280—Shuja’s fl ight from Dacca ,

2 82—help sent to him by the Arracanese, 283—Shuja leaves

India , 285—his mysterious dea th in Arracan, 286—Dutch

account ofit, 287 .

Chap ter XXV Grand Enth ronem en t o fAurangzib.

Pecul iar solemnity of Aurangzib’s second corona tion,

289—features Ofa Musl im coronation, 290 —march throughthe stree ts, 292—appea rance of Aurangzib , 293

—decorationof the Diwan - i-am , 294

—his enthronement , 296~khutba ,

p resents, new coins, 296

—aud ience held in the harem ,

298—his new ord inances, 299

—tributes and presents , 299fireworks and i l l um ination , 300 .

B ibl iography 30 1

Corrections and Add itions 3 1 8

The History of Aurangzib.

CHAPTER XV .

Bu n s or DHARMA ’

I‘

, 1 5 APRIL , 1 658 .

Reach i ng Uj ja i n w i th h i s a rm y at the end o f

Iaswant leaves February, - jasw an t was qu i te i n

Uiiain to oppose the dark about Aurangzib’

s inMurad, tent ions and m ovem ents . So

s t r i c t ly d i d that P ri nce watch the roads and

ferries of the Narm ada rive r that no new s from

the Deccan reache d Jaswan t . The Raj put

gene ral , how eve r, learn t that Murad wa s com i ng

from Guzera t . So ,he i ssued from Uj jai n

,took

post near Kachraud to bar the enem y’s path , and

sen t h i s spies tow ard s Murad’

s cam p for furthe r

news . M u rad w as then 36 m i les aw ay , b u t on

find ing Jasw ant’s force greatly super io r to h i s

own,he p rudently avoided a bat tle and m aking

2 HISTORY or AURANGZIB. [CHAR xv .

a wide detour round Kachraud arrived south o f

i t , i n o rde r to be near the Narm ada and Aurangzib

’

s l i ne of advance .

Jaswan t heard o f th i s m ovemen t , and i n h i s

and hears ofpresen t s tate of ignorance coul d

Aurangzib’s ap not accoun t for i t . Just then

p ron ";he got a let te r from Mandu Fort

tel l i ng him that Aurangzib had c ro ssed the Nar

m ada . A party of Dara’s t roops , who had fled

from the fo rt o f Dhar a t the approach of Aurang

zib, now joined Jaswan t and confirm ed the news .

The Maharajah was a t h i s wi ts’ end so w ell had

Aurangzib’

s m ovem en ts been kept secret that

Jaswan t had not heard of h i s m arch from Bu r

banpur, begun as early as 20 th March , nor of h i s

hav i ng crossed the Narm ada . The fi rs t news

tha t he got of Aurangzib was that the Prince

was al ready in Malwa and rap idly m arch ing on

Ujjainfis At the sam e t im e, from Murad

’

s presen t

posi t i on , a junct i on be tween the two b rothe rs

was m ost l ike ly .

I n ut ter perplex i ty Jaswan t returned to Uj ja i n .

Here a Brahm an envoy , su rnam ed Kav i Rai,

del i ve red to him Aurangzib’

s m essage advisi ng

him to give up h i s oppos i t ion and re tu rn peace

ful ly to Jodhpur a s the Prince was on ly going

to Agra to vi s i t h i s fa the r wi thou t any though t

A . N . , 56-57 . Kambu . i ia . Aqi l Khan , 22 .

CHAP . XV .) JASWANT PARLEYS . 3

o f w agi ng war . Ja swant decl i ned , saying,“ I

m ust carry ou t the Em pe ro r’s orde rs . I cannot

re trace my steps wi thou t d i sgrace .

He then advanced 1 4 m i les south-wes t Of

Uj ja i n and encam ped opposi te

gnm afOSt

Z: Dharm at , to block the path ofAurang the enem y com i ng up from the

sou th . He re anothe r s ta rtl i ng

new s reached him : Murad had joi ned Aurangzib

( 1 4th Apri l ) and the tw o w ere wi th in a day’s

m arch of him . Thi s w as a con t i ngency tha t

Jaswan t had not thought of be fore . Hi s wai t i ng

st rategy had fa i led to keep the two pri nces apart .

How was he to m ee t the i r un i ted forces now ?

He quai led a t the pro spec t . Nex t m orn i ng

when Aurangzib’

s army had al ready begun to

m arch to the encoun ter, Jaswan t i n m ortal

fear” a t tem pte d to parley . He sent a m essenger

to Aurangzib to beg the Pri nce’stries dip lomacy 6 ‘

in vain, pardon and say , I do no t want

to fight , and I have no pow er to

show a udac i ty to your H ighness . My wi sh i s to

vi s i t and se rve you . I f you pardon me and give

up your projec t of a figh t , I shal l go and w ai t

on you .

’ But Aurangzib knew his own ad

vantage and w as no t w i l l i ng to strengthen the

enemy by grant i ng him t im e. Hi s rep ly was,

“ As I have al ready s tar ted , de lay i s out of place

4 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR XV .

now . I f you real ly m ean w ha t you say , leave

your a rm y and c om e alone to Najabat Khan ,who w i l l gu i de you to my son M uham m ad Sul tan ,and tha t pri nce wil l i n t roduce you to m e and

secure your pardon .

Such a hum i l i a t i ng subm i ss i on before s t r i k i ng

a bl ow , the chie f o f the Ra thors could no t b ri ng

h imse l f to m ake . He prepared for figh t . Bu t a

gene ra l who sh ri nks i n terro r, changes h i s m i nd ,and a t tem pts t o ga i n t im e by pa rleying befo re a

bat t le , i s no t l i ke ly to w in i n the cla sh of arm s ;he has a l ready lost tha t confidence w h i ch i s hal f

the v i c to ry.

Jaswan t had com e to Malwa i n the hope tha t

the m ere p res t ige of the Im pe r ia land “m ay p re‘

s tandards would send the t epares for bat tle .

be llious princes back to the i r

p rov i nces , and t ha t al l that he w ou l d have

to unde r take w as a m ere dem on s t rat i on of

fo rce . Now , when too la te , he real i sed tha t

h i s adve rsarie s w e re i n dead ly earnes t and

ready to figh t to the b i t te r end. He m arshal led

h i s fo rces aga i ns t them , but m os t rel uc tan t ly , a s

i f he we re go ing to comm i t a h igh c rim e ; h i s

sp i ri t qua i led be fo re tha t of Aurangzib . A

ak A , N . , 58 , 64-65 . Aqi l Khan , 2 7 - 28 . l sar-das , I9 .

Masum , 466-476.

CHAP . xv .] JASWANT’

S DIFFICULT IES . 5

bat tle fough t be tween two s u ch genera l s can

have but one i ssue.

Ja swant had been charged by Shah Jahan to

The di fficulties send the two rebe l l i ous pr i ncesofJaswant

’s posi back to the i r own provinces wi th

t ion ( 1 ) his instructions leave a s l i t t le i nju ry to them ashim

{1 0freedom possi ble , an d to figh t them on ly

ofaction ;as a last resou rce .

” A t a l l t im es,

a s ubjec t oppos i ng tw o pri nce s of the blood , a

se rvan t fight i ng fo r a d i s tan t m as te r aga i n s t tw o

c h ie fs who acknowledge no highe r a u thori ty than

the i r own w i l l , i s seve re ly hand i capped. I n

Jaswant’

s ca se the natu ra l i n fer i o ri ty Of h i s

po s i t i on was aggravated by the comm and s he

had rece i ved f rom Shah Jahan . Whi le Aurangzib

fol low ed hi s ow n j udgm en t only , knew h i s own

m i nd , and , fi red by the h ighes t ambi t ion , p u rsued

h is objec t w i th al l h i s resou rces and s i ngleness

o f a im , ready to d o and dare h i s u tm os t,

Jasw an t w as hes i tat i ng , d i s t racted by the confl i c t

betw een the i n s t ru ct i ons from Agra an d the

ex i genc ies o f the actual m i l i ta ry s i tua t i on i n

Malwa,and en ti re ly dependent for h i s own l i ne

ofac t ion on w ha t h i s opponents w ou l d do . A

general so s i tua ted canno t have the advantage

o f taki ng the aggress i ve an d forc i ng the enem y to

4“ Kambu, i i a . Masum , 46b. Storia ,i. 258 . Bernier , 37 , 38 .

6 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAR xv .

abandon h i s plans ; no r can he pursue h i s aim

wi th i ron wi l l to the b i t te r end.

His arm y , too , was an i l l- kn i t group of d i s

( 2 ) the discordco rdan t e lem ents . The vari ous

ant elements of Rajput c lans we re o ften d ividedhis “ my ; from each other by he red i ta ryfeud s and quarre l s about d ign i ty and precedence.

Unl i ke Ja i Si ngh , Jaswan t was not the com

m ander to hum our and m anage them , and m ake

al l obey the wi l l o f one comm on head . Then ,agai n , there was the standi ng al oo fness between

H i ndus and Muhamm adan s . I t had been found

nex t to im po ss ible to brigade these c reeds to

gether fo r a cam pa ign under one genera l . Hence,in the fi rs t s iege o f Qandaha r al l the Raj puts o f

the Mughal Van m arched unde r Rajah Bitha ldas

and al l the Musl im s under Bahad u r Khanfi‘i

two co- ord i nate author i t ies subjec t on ly to the

comm ande r- in- ch ief . I n the Bijapur w ar al so

al l the Rajpu ts of the re i n fo rcem ents sent from

Hindus tan we re led by Chhatra Sal Hada , and

al l the Musl im t roops by Mahabat Khan . I t

was on ly a comm ande r s tand i ng in a po s i t i o n o f

unquest i oned supe r i o r i ty above the heads of the

o ther general s, tha t coul d m ake the two c reeds

work in am i ty . Aurangzib was one such by

bi rth a s m uch as by m er i t . But Jaswant was a

Waris, 2 7b.

CHAP . XV .] TREACHERY OF M USLIM TROOPS. 7

m ere mansabdar, only two grades h ighe r than

Qa s im Khan , and soc i al ly equal to him ,as both

w e re governors of provi nces . There coul d no t ,the re fore , be un i ty o f c omm and i n the Im per ia l

army . Indeed , Qasim Khan ’s orde rs w ere to co

ope rate w i th the Maha rajah , and not to act as

his subord ina te.

This d i vi si on o f comm and accen tuated the

d iffe rence o f c reed s i n thet

cfiilyse

fi?‘

In

t-

2; Im pe r ial arm y and rendered i ts

of his Muslim succe ss d i fficul t . Severa l o f theofficers .

M us l im office rs m oreove r, w ere ,sec re tly friend l y to Aurangzib o r had been

corrupted by him . The h i s tory o f the batt le

that fol lowed proves th i s suspi c i on t rue : w h i lethe Im peria l i s ts l o s t 24 Rajp u t ch iefs i n the con

fl ic t , only one Muhamm adan genera l was k i l led

on the i r s i de .

“ Qasim Khan and a l l the Im pe r i al

t roop s who i n th i s bat tle had not becom e the

targe t o f the arrow s of Fa te , fled," a s the offic i al

h i story i ss ued by Au rangzib reco rds . Th i s

c i rc um s tance lend s co lou r to the theo ry tha t

they had kept them se lve s out o f harm ’s w ay.

The day fo l low i ng the battle fou r Muhamm adan

office rs o f the Im per ia l a rm y cam e over to

Aurangzib and w e re rewarded by him f’i' Such

A . N . , 7 2 , 7 8. Storia , i. 258 . Bernier, 37 -38 .

8 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv .

m en could not have fough t l oyal ly tw en ty- fou r

hours earl ie r.

F i nal ly,Ja swant as a general was no m atch

Iaswant’s in

fo r Aurangzib, who had “ aged

capacity as a i n war .” Contem porary his

general ’torians

’i’é blame him for h i s in

capac i ty,i nexperience and fau l ty plans . He

chose h is ground badly and so c ram ped hi s

m en that the horsem en cou l d no t m anoeuvre

f ree ly nor gather m om en tum fo r a Charge ‘

he fa i led to send t im e ly s u ccour to the

d iv i s i ons that needed i t m os t , and , the bat tle

once begun , he l os t con t ro l ove r h is forces as i f

he w ere a m e re d iv i s i onal leade r and not the

suprem e comm ander o f al l . Las t ly , he m ade

the fatal m i s take of desp i s ing art i l le ry . It i s

saidT tha t the nigh t befo re the batt le, h i s Ch ief

O ffice r Askaran , s u rnam ed Kirtiwant , had urged

him,

“ The two pri nces have drawn up the i r gun s

i n fron t of u s . The brave Raj pu ts do not love

the i r fam i l ies o r own l ives very m uch , so that

when they m ove to the encounter they wi l l

neve r s tep back . The art i l lery of the other s id e

9“ Kambu , I l a 63“ b. Aqi l Khan 28 , 30 . Fa iyaz , 469 .

Isar-das, 20a .

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I o HI STORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv .

after they had passed by the enemy’s art i l le ry

and engaged Aurangzib’

s t roops , the French

and Engl i sh gunners o f the Pri nce qui ckly turned

the i r gun s s ideways and began to m ow downthe Raj puts i n the i r new pos i t i on . I t was t ruly

a contest be tween sw ords and gunpow der, and

art i l lery t ri um phed ove r cava l ry .

The whe re Jaswan t took h i s s tand

The field badlyw as “ arrow and uneven , w i th

Chosen for the d i tches and swam ps on i ts flanks .f

'

fightOne h i s to rian as se rts that Ja s

wan t had del iberate ly poured w ate r on and

Kambu says , “These two inexpert genera l s , through faul tycounsel , took post in a narrow swamp and uneven ground .

Nex t morning when they marsha l led their troops, a la rgebody was packed in that narrow pass , one behind another,and some stood here and there on the sides , without order or

to the na rrowness ofthe field and the pressure[ ofthe enemy] from the two sides, the Imperia l ists found no

Space to manmuvre .

”

( I Aqi l Khan supports this statem ent and adds, “ Jaswant drew up his troops on unevenground , on the bank of the Narmada ( l ) ; having pouredwater he made 200 yards ofground near it muddy . ( 28 ,

Murad'

s own description is , Jaswant encamped on

a p lot of land which had d itches of water on all the four sides[ joined to ] swamps , and set up entrenchments round it.

"

(Faiyaz, Bernier’s description of the ba tt le- field is

very inaccura te , the Persian histories do not speak ofany"disputed passage across the river, as the fight seems tohave taken p lace more than a m i le from the bank. I havevisited the scene and found there not a single “ rock in the

bed of the river" ; and the banks are not of “ uncommonheight ," as is asserted by Bernier, (38The ba tt le evident ly took p lace west of Fat ihabad , c lose

to the Ratan Singh Monument , and not east of the vi l lageof Dharmat . (A. N . names the vi l lage Dharmat -pur ,

CHAP . xv .] STRENGTH or Two ARM IES . i t

t rodden i n to m ud 200 yards of ground i n fron t

of him, evi dently to a rrest the enem y’s Charge .

His pos i t i on w as al so surrounded by trenches

th row n up duri ng the previou s day, as the usual

precaut ion agai ns t n igh t a t tack s . In short , the

Im pe ria l a rmy seem ed to be s tand i ng on an

i sland , ready for a siege . No w orse d ispo s i t i on

can be im agi ned for a pi tched bat t le to be

fough t by cava l iers on m et t led ho rses .

O fthe forces engaged , w e know that Aurang

zib had m en w i th him . To th i s m us t be

added Murad’

s con t i ngent , p robably less than

The Im per ial a rmy i s variou s ly es t im ated . .

Aurangzib puts i t a t horse and m any

i n fan t ry ,”Isardas a t M u rad goes even

further and counts the enem y a s 50 or 60 tho u sand .

Aqi l Khan est im ates i t a t 80 , w e m ay

conc l ude tha t the two arm ies w e re a lm os t equal ly

m a tched and num be red ove r m en

but the Ind. Atlas , sheet 36 N . E. , and the vi l lagers ca l lit Dharm at) . We read in A . N . ,

“ One kos from Dharmat

pur jaswant barred the Prince’s encampedopposite Dharma tpur, one kos from Aurangzib

’s army.

tent was pi tched on the bank of the nu llah

of Churnarayanah.

"The right bank of the river, facing

Dharmat , slopes gent ly , and could not have presented anydifficulty to the at tacking cava l ry and guns . There is no

swamp opposite Dharmat , but some damp soi l and nu llahsnear Ratan Singh’s Memoria l . I conclude from the Persianaccounts that the bat tle was fought in a p lain and not in thebed ofa river.

Adab, I64a . lsar-das, iga , (but , on i 7a , he puts Murad'

s

a rmy at men Faiyaz‘

469 . Aqi l Khan , 28 .

i z HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAR xv .

On Aurangzib’

s s i de the d i vis i on s w ere thus

Divisions ofform ed : The Van , sa id to have

A u r a n gz ib’s con s i s ted of s teel - clad

a rmy'

ve terans, under P ri nce Mohamm ad Sul tan and Najaba t Khan

, w i th Zu lfiqar

Khan and som e guns guard i ng i ts f ron t,— the

m ai n arti l lery unde r M u rsh i d Qul i Khan , -the

Righ t Wing un de r Mu rad ,— the Le ft Wing underMultafat Khan , w i th the boy- pri nce M uhamm ad

Azam as honora ry com mander, - the AdvancedReserve (iltimsh) unde r Mu rtaza Khan w i thAurangzib

’

s own guard s ,— the Centre und erAurangzib him se l f, wi th Shaikh Mi r and Saf

Sh i kan Khan guard ing h i s Righ t an d Lef t s i des .Som e p iece s o f art i l le ry w e re posted w i th the

lat te r. As us ua l the re was a sc reen o f ski rm i shers

i n fron t , com posed of the scouts and the se rvan tso f the hunt ing department .

Jaswant’

s Van , st rong, w as form ed i n

two columns, one unde r Qas im

Disposition of

Jaswant's troop s.

Khan,and the othe r, com po sed

of several tho u san d Raj puts,unde r Mukund Si ngh Hada an d Six o the r H ind u

Ch ief ta i n s . On h i s two w i ngs w e re Rajah Rai

S i ngh Sisodia and h i s c lan sm en ( the R igh t), and

Ift ikhar Khan wi th the M u s l im t roops of the

Im peri a l servi ce ( the Left) . The Cen tre he led

i n person,wi th ‘

20 0 0 of h is devoted clansm en ,

CHAR xv.i COMMENCEMENT or BATTLE . 1 3

besi de s othe r Raj pu t and Im pe r ia l t roops a t h i s

back . The Advanced Rese rve w as al so com pos

ed o f Rajputs , led by a Ga u r and a Rathor,whi le the sk i rm i she rs w ere a party of warri o rs

from Central As ia , expe rt i n the use o f the bow .

The Cam p an d baggage , le f t C l ose to the bat t le

fie ld , w e re guarded by Maluji, Parsuji ( two

Maratha aux i l i a ries) and Rajah Devi Si ngh

Bundela .

I t w as a l i t t le ove r two hou rs from sun ri se

w hen the r iva l hosts sigh ted

each other. The bat tle began

w i th the u sual d ischa rge of

The battle be

gins

art i l le ry , rocke ts, and m uske ts a t l ong range .

The d i s tance gradual ly dec rea sed , as Aurangzib’

s

arm y advanced s l ow ly , keep ing i ts regu la r

form at i on . Suddenly the ket t led rum s Struck up,

the t rum pets pealed forth , and the confl i c t beganat Cl o se quarte rs . The Raj puts den se ly packed

wi th i n the i r narrow po s i t i on , w e re seve re ly

”9 A. N . 6 1—66. Aqi l Khan , 28 - 29 . Isar-das, 206.

Masum (48a ) cannot be trusted . For the descrip tion ofthe bat t le our main authorities are A. N . 66—73 , Aqi l Khan29—3 1 , and Isar-das 20b- 2 Ib, (ex tremely va luable for

jaswant's doings) , and seconda ri ly Kambu I I I) , and Masum

( inaccurate as usua l) , 486—5 Ia . Fa iyaz , 469 -470 , and Adab,I64a 8: b, 2066, 1 23a , 1 336, are very meagre . Bernier isentirely unrel iable . Tod (ii. 875) mere ly records the wil dfiction ofthe Rajput bards . Khafi Khan (ii. 1 4

—1 8) is not

an origina l authori ty, but avowedly borrowed from A. N .

and Aqi l Khan .

1 4 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv .

galled by the barqandazes and arche rs of the

Princes’ army from f ron t and flank,w i thou t

be i ng able to m anoeuvre free ly an d give an

effec t i ve rep ly . The i r l osses began to m oun t upevery m i n u te. Dea th has no te rro r fo r the

Raj pu t, but then i t m us t be dea th i n confl i c t .Ifhe i s to die , i t i s be t te r to pe r i sh after k i l l i ng

som e o f the enem y , than to becharge by theRajp ut Van on

b u tchered wh i le s tand ing

Aurangzib’s Ar m ot i on less i n a den se co l um n .

tillery and Vanguard.

So th i nki ng, the Raj pu t leade rs

of the Van , —Mukund Si ngh

Hada , Ratan Si ngh Rathor, Dayal Si ngh jhala ,Arjun Si ngh Gaur, Sujan Si ngh Sisodia and

othe rs , wi th the i r cho i ces t c lansm en , gal l oped

forw ard . Shout i ng the i r war- c ry of Ram ! Ram !“ they fel l on the enem y l i ke t igers , cast ing away

al l p lan . The flood of Rajpu t charge firs t bu rs t

on Aurangzib’

s art i l le ry . The guns an d m uske t s

fi red at po i n t-blank range , w o fu l ly th i nned the i r

ranks,b u t so im pe t uou s was the i r onse t that i t

bore dow n al l oppo s i t i on . Mursh i d Qul i Khan ,the Chie f of Art i l le ry , was Slai n afte r a hero i c

res i stan ce and h i s d iv i s i on was shaken ; but the

guns were not dam aged . The arti l lerym en

probably fl ed be fore the sto rm , and retu rned as

soon as i t passed away . Vi c to ri ous over the

arti l le ry guard , the assa i lants fel l on the fron t

CHAR xv.] RAJPUT ATTACK ON VAN . 1 5

part ofAurangzib’

s Vanguard . Here an obs t i nate

hand- to-hand com bat raged fo r som e t im e . The

Rajput s at firs t outnumbe red the i r opponents.

Zulfiqar Khan, the comm ander of the f ron t

d iv is i on of the Van , w hen pressed hard by the

enem y , fo l l owed the cus tom o f Ind ian he roes i n

the so res t stra i ts . Get t i ng dow n from h i s

e lephant , he m ade a fi rm s tand on foo t i n the

Severe fight.cen tre of the carnage , fight i ng

W i th the valo u r o f despai r,wi thou t cari ng for h i s own l i fe or s topp ing to

count how m any backed him . Bu t th i s hero i c

sac r ifice could no t Stem the t i de of Rajpu t

o nse t : two wo unds stretched him l ow , and the

Rajputs, flushed wi th success, sw ept on and

p ie rced i n to the heart o f the Van . Thi s wa s the

m o s t c r i t i ca l m om en t o f the day . I f the Rajp u t

charge were no t checked , al l w ould be over wi th

Aurangzib ; the assa i lan ts , gather ing im petu s

wi th each vi c tory, would Shat te r h i s de fence , and

then a l l the d i vi s i ons o f h i s arm y w oul d catch

the con tagion of pan i c and ru sh headlong out

o f the fiel d .

But the Van w as com posed of h i s m ost p i cked

t roops ,“e igh t thousand m a i lObstinate de

fence byAurang Clad warr iors , m any o f themzib

's Van. hered i ta ry figh te rs of the Afghan

race, and the i r generals were re l i able m en.

1 6 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv

Muhamm ad Sul tan,Najaba t Khan

,and o the r

comm anders o f the Van , on the i r e lephants kep t

the i r ground l i ke h i l l s , whi le the flood o f Raj put

cha rge raged ro und and round them i n edd ies.Here the m o s t s tubborn and dec i s i ve fight ing o f

the day took place . Sword and dagger al one

coul d be pl ied as the hosti le cava l ie rs grappled

together a t C l ose q uarte rs . “ The ground w as

dyed cr im son w i th b lood l i ke a tul i p-bed.

”The

Rajpu ts , be i ng div ided i nto m any m utual ly

an tagon is t i c c lans , could no t Charge i n one

com pac t m ass they were brokenDisadvantages

ofthe Raiputs .

up i nto Six or seven bodIes, each

under i ts own Ch iefta i n and each

choos i ng i ts own poi n t of at tack . Thu s the

fo rce o f the i r im pac t w as d i vi ded and w eakened

as soon a s i t s t ruck the den se m ass of Au rangzib’

s

Van . Each clan engaged the enemy fo r i tsel f

and w h i rl ed round i ts own antagon is t , i n s tead o f

bat te r i ng down al l oppos i t i on and cleaving

th rough the Van i n res i s t less caree r by form i ng

one so l i d w edge,m ovi ng wi th one w i l l .

Only a few m en from Jasw ant’

s Cen t re and

Advanced Reserve had m oved up to support

the i r v i c to ri ous bre thren . But the Maharajah

had cho sen h i s posi t i on so bad ly that m any o f

the Im per ia l i sts s tand ing on the uneven ground

coul d no t j o i n in the figh t, and many others co u ld

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1 8 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv .

ranks get t i ng constan tly th i n ned , wi thou t

support o r re i n forcem en t arri vi ng from the i r own

army , the Raj puts we re d i sheartened and

checked . M ukund Si ngh Hada , the i r gal lan t

leade r, rece ived an arrow th rough his eye and

fe l l down dead . Al l the s ix Rajput Ch ie ft a i ns

engaged in the cha rge w ere Sla i n . Hope lessly

outnum bered now ,assa i led i n fron t , r igh t , and

lef t,and cut off f rom the i r rear ,

and destroys theRaiput

‘

assaiiants.

the RaJPU tS were Slaugh tered

after pe rfo rm i ng f ran t i c deeds

of val ou r, as was the i r wont .“ The dead form ed

heaps . The dagge rs grew blunt w i th s laughter.

Vast numbers of o rd i nary Rajp u t sold iers

were k i l led .

” Thus the fi rs t a t tack wa s ann i

hila ted.

Meant im e the act i on had becom e general . Re

cover i ng from the shock ofHavoc caused by 0

Aurangzib's art il Mukund Singh 5 charge a s soon

lety’ as the Rajpu t caval cade sw ept

on to anothe r po i n t , Aurangzib’

s gunne rs , wi th

the i r p ieces m oun ted on h igh groun d , concen

tra ted the i r fire on the enem y’s Centre under

Jasw an t h im se l f. The Im per i al i s ts,crow ded

together on a narrow groun d flanked w ith im

pa ssable d i tches and swam ps , cou l d no t

manoeuv re f ree ly , and“ sacrificed the i r l ives l ike

m oths i n the flam e ofwar.

” At the Sigh t o f the

CHAR xv. ] IM PERIAL LEFT ROUTED . 1 9

ann i h i la t i on o f the i r b rave Vanguard and a

t ri um phan t fo rward m ovem ent on the part of

Aurangzib, d e fec t ion appea red i n the Maha

rajah ’s ranks . Ra i Si ngh Sisodia f rom the righ t

flank of the Cen tre , and Su jan Si ngh Bundela

and Am ar Si ngh Chandraw a t f rom the Van,left

the fiel d wi th the i r clan sm en and returned

hom e.

B u t i n the heart of the Im pe ria l Cen t re,under

the banner of Marwa r, StoodMurad attacksthe Imperial Left Ra thors, ready to l ive o rWing '

to die w i th the i r Ch ie ftai n, be

s i des m any other Rajpu t and Mughal aux i l i a r ies ;an d these offered a stubborn Oppo s i t i on . Bu t i t

w as of no ava i l . For, m ean t im e Murad Baksh

w i th h i s d iv i s i on had fal len on Jaswant’

s cam p,

c lose to the fie ld , secure d the subm i ss i on o f

one of i ts defende rs , Devi Si ngh Bundela ,

and d r iven o ff the res t . Then advanc ing i n to

the fie ld i tse l f, Murad fe l l on the Le ft Wing

of the Im peri a l a rm y . I ft i kha r Khan , the

com m ander o f th i s d i vi s i on , worn o u t w i th

the day’s s t ruggle and now at tacked by fre sh

t roops i n overw helm i ng num be r, fough t val ian tly

to the death ; m any o f h i s col leagues, t ra i tors

a t heart , fled to j oin Aurangzib the nex t day ;and the Im per i a l Lef t Wing soon ceased t o

exi st .

zo HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv

Rai Si ngh’s fl igh t had al ready uncovered Jas

Jaswant desertwant’s r igh t flank ; the fal l of

ed by his col I f t i khar Khan exposed h i s l e f t .Icagues' Mean t im e h i s Van had alm ost

en t i rely m e l ted aw ay : par t of i t had pe ri shed

around Mukund Si ngh i n h i s he ro i c cha rge ; o f

the res t , the Chandrawat Raj p u ts and Bunde las

had fled, and the Musalm ans under Qasim Khan ,who had kep t aloo f f rom the figh t i ng, prepared

to run away as they saw Aurangzib’

s host ad

vancing on them . On ly one cou rse was lef t to a

Raj pu t gene ra l under s u ch c i rcum s tances ; he

m us t charge i n to the th i ckes t p ress o f the enemy

and die am i d s t a heap of the s la i n . And th i s Jas

wan t wan ted to do . He had fough t val ian t ly

fo r four hours and by firm ly keep ing h i s own

ground he had so l ong saved the Im per i al Cen tre,

the p ivo t on wh i ch h i s wholeis about to be

surroundedat the a rmy res ted . In Sp i te o f tw o

cent” ; wound s , h i s vo i ce and exam plehad cheered the Rajputs . But now Aurangzib

from the fron t, Murad from the le ft , and Saf

Sh ikan Khan from the righ t , were conve rging on

him l ike a tum ul tuous flood , to envel op h i s sm al l

rem nan t of c lansm en . Such a com ba t cou ld

have on ly one i s sue : vi c tory was im poss ible , but

a hero’s death— no less dear to the Rajpu t hea rt—wa s wi th i n h i s reach . He wanted to d ri ve h i s

CHAR xv.] FLIGHT OF JASWANT . 2 1

horse i n to the advanc i ng enemy’

s ranks and get

slainfi" But h i s gene ra ls Askaran and Maheshdas

Ga u r, and Govardhan and other m i n i s te rs se ized

h i s b ridle and d ragged h i s horse o u t o f the fiel d .

M ughal pri nces m i gh t cut each o the r’s th roats ,

he escap es w i thbut why Should the head of the

wounds to Iodh Rathors and the hope of Ma rwarp a” give up h i s l i fe i n the i r dom es t i c

quarre l ? Wi th a few Ra thors, m os t ly woun ded ,—the sole rem nan t of h i s gal lan t band , the van

quished general took the road to Jodhpur .

The bat tle had been al ready l ost , and fl igh t

o f the Rathors rem oved the las t sem blance of

res i s tance . There w as now a genera l fl i gh t o f

the few d ivi s i on s o f the Im pe r i a l a rm y tha t had

s t i l l kept the fiel d . The Rajp u ts re t reated to

the i r hom es , the Musl im s towards Agra .

at: Isar-das wanted to ride into the

struggle and get slain , but Mahesh-das , Askaran and otherpradhans seized his bridle and brough t him away.

" Masum— “ The Mahara jah was wounded and fel l down from

his horse . His devoted Rajputs wanted to take him to a

safe p lace. He forbade it, saying , did not l istento him , but removed the wounded man ful l of severe pains .

”

Aqi l Khan —“ The Rajah, in spite ofhis receiving twowounds , stood firm ly and encouraged the Rajputs as far aspossible . Bernier —“ Qasim Khan ingloriously fled

from the field , leaving jaswant Singh exposed to the mostimm inent peri l . That undaunted Rajah was beset on all

sides by an over whelm ing force, and saved only by the affecting devotion ofhis Rajputs , the greater part ofwhom d iedat his feet . " Manucci ( i. —"The Ra jah never ceasedto fight most desperately, unt i l at length he saw him self leftwith on ly the sma l lest remnant ofhis force.

”

2 2 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv .

The so ld ie rs had been unde r arm s fo r m ore

than e i gh t ho u rs ofa ho t Apri l

day . Vic to r and vanq u i shed

al ike we re w orn ou t by the s t ri fe . So , Aurangzib“m e rc i ful ly fo rbade pursu i t , sayi ng that th is

spar ing of h um an l i fe wa s h i s t i the- offer i ng

(zakat ) to the Creato r.” Bu t the Creator in

Aurangzib’

s c reed i s evi dently the Creato r o f

Musl im s on ly . The Prince’s i n s t ruc t i ons to h i s

offi ce rs we re to spare the l i fe of every Musalm an

found i n the fiel d and to respec t the prope rty

and chast i ty o f the Musalm ans found i n the

enem y’s cam p . The Hi ndus w ere outs i de the

pale o f h i s m e rcy , though seve ra l th ousands o f

th is c reed had fo ught loyal ly unde r h i s banne rs ,and o u t o f h is fo u r h igh Officers wounded one

After victory.

was a H i ndu .

There was anothe r and m o re p robable reason

fornot o rder ing a purs u i t . The

deserted cam p o f the Im pe ri a l i s ts

c lose to the fie l d , con ta ined“ booty beyond

im aginat ion .

” Hi ther the vi c to rs flocked . The

tw o bro thers m u s t have jealo u sly w atched that

ne i the r shou ld se ize m ore than h i s fixed share o f

the spo i ls,— two- th i rd s fo r Aurangzib, and one

Plunder .

A. N . , 73 . Masum , si a . But Kambu ( I io) and Aq i lKhan (32 ) say that there was a pursui t for 3 or 4 kos duringwhich many were slain. But we must accept the authority of

Aurangzib’

s oflic ial history.

CHAR xv.] SPOILS or VICTORY. 23

th i rd fo r M u rad . The en t i re cam p of Jaswant

and Qasim Khan wi th al l the i r art i l lery , tents ,and e lephants, a s we l l as a vas t am ount o f

t reasure , became the vi c to rs’ spo i l,wh i le the

sold ie rs l oo ted the p roperty equipm en t and

baggage of the vanqu i shed army . Long st ri ngs

o f cam e l s and m ules, l aden wi th vari ous art i c les,w e re se ized as pr ize or p i l laged by the comm on

so ld iers and cam p-follow ersfi

But far greater than al l these m ate r i a l gains

wa s the m ora l p res t ige securedA u r a n gz i 5 's by Aurangzib. Dharm at becam egain in p restige.

the om en of his fu tu re success

in the opi n i on of h i s fol l ower s an d o f the peop le

a t la rge th roughout the em p i re . At one b low

he had brough t Dara down from a pos i t i on of

imm ense supe ri o ri ty to one o f eq u al i ty wi th h i s

own,or even low e r. The hero of the Deccan

wars and the v i c tor of Dharm at faced the worl d

not only wi thout l oss bu t w i th h is m i l i tary

reputat i on rendered abso lutely unr ival led in

Ind ia . Wave re rs hes i tated no l onger ; they now

knew beyond a m omen t’s doubt wh i ch of the

fo u r b ro thers wa s the chosen favour i te o f Vi c to ry.

Even on the fiel d of ba t tl e Aurangzib was hai led

w i th “ Shouts o f congratu lat i on from the earth

For the booty, A. N . , 7 1 - 72 , Khafi Khan, ii. 1 8 ,Kambu, I i b.

24 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv .

and the age , as h is servan t wrote wi th pardon

ab le exagge ra t i on .

No sooner had Jaswan t and Qasim Khan

turned the i r backs than Aurangzib’

s band struck

up the notes o f vi c to ry : the d rum s beat , thekurka sent fo rth a m er ry pea ] , and the c lari on

sounded , p rocl a im i ng fa r and near that the bat tle

had been won . Aurangzib kne l t d own on the

fie l d and wi th folded arm s rendered thanks to

the Giver o f Vi c to ry . Then he m arched to the

deserted encam pm en t o f the enemy , p i tched h is

own sm al l cam paign ing ten t the re, and after

wards perform ed the eveni ng praye r i n fu l l

concourse of Mus l im o ffice rs and m en. Murad

now arrived , congra tulated him on h i s vi c tory,

and i n troduced the dese rte r Dev i Si ngh Bunde la.

Murad’

s co- Ope rat ion i n the vi c tory w as rew ard

ed wi th gol d p ieces , Offe red de l i cate ly as“ surgeon s’ fee for h is wound ed fo l l owers ,

” bes i de s

four e lephants and o ther presen ts .

On the s i te of the confl i c t the vi c tori ous Pri nce

A u r a n gz ib’so rdered , a vi l lage to be founded ,

m emorial build wi th a ga rden , m osque , andings atFafi habad'

serai.T The vi l lage, beari ng

the usual nam e o f Fatihabad or ‘Abode of Vi c

A. N . , 74-

75 , Khafi Khan , l l . 1 9 .

1‘ Isar-das, 22a . Dilkasha , 23 . My descrip tion of the

present condition of the p lace is based on a visit paid inOctober, 1 909.

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26 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAR xv.

Every clan o f Rajasthan cont ributed i ts quota

to the band of he roes who sacrificed the i r l ives i n

the i r m aster’s serv i ce (swam i-dharma) . As the

bard i c ch ron ic le record s i t ,“ The onse t cos t

seven teen hund red Rathors, bes i des Gehlots,

Hadas, Gaurs, and som e ofeve ry Cl an of Rajw ara .

” “ Th i s was one o f the events glo ri ous to

the Rajput , shewing h i s devo t i on to w hom

fidel i ty had been p ledged ,— the aged and en

feeb led em pe ror Shah Jahan , whose sal t they

a te ,— aga i nst al l the tem pta t i on o ffe red by youth

fu l Rajput sealed h i s fa i th in h i s

b lood ; and none m ore l ibe ral ly than the brave

Hadas o f Kotah and Bund i . The annals o f no

nat i on on earth can furn i sh such an exam ple, as

an ent i re fam i ly [the house of Kotah] , six roya l

b ro the rs , st retched on the Am ong the

ch ie fs ofnote who fe l l we re M ukund Si ngh Hada ,Sujan Si ngh Sisodia , Ratan Si ngh Rathor, Arjun

Si ngh Gaur, Dayaldas Jha la , an d Mohan Si ngh

Hada , bes i des e i gh teen o the r h igh Rajputs and

Isar-das’s estimate is 24 em inent Rajput chiefs , Rajputs ofMarwa r, and troopers and officers ofthe Imperia l service were slain

”

(zi b) . Aurangzib lost a p ricelessservant

,Murshid Quli Khan , but no other offi cer ofnote .

Isar-das makes the absol utely incred ible assertion that 7000troopers were slain on his side .

Tod, ii. 875 .

CHAR xv.] ADVANCE To THE CHAM BAL . 27

I fti khar Khan , an Im pe ri al Officer . To Ratan

Si ngh of Ru tlam a noble m onu

”Fat“ sm g” m en t w as ra i sed by h is descemonument .

dants on the spo t w here his

corpse w as burn t . Tim e ove rth rew i t , but in

1 909 i ts place was taken by a l ofty struc tu re o f

w h i te m arble , deco rated wi th re l ie f w ork of a.

bol d but convent iona l s tyle , i l l us tra t i ng the

pha se s of the bat t le, and surm ounted w i th a stone

horse . I t i s the m ost s t ri k i ng s igh t of the place .

The day afte r the vi c tory , the two bro thers

reached the envi ron s of Uj ja in,

A u r a n g z i breaches Gwalior,

an d Issued a gaze t te of honours

and prom ot i ons to thei r m er i

torious office rs . Many tra i to rs who had le f t the

Im pe r ia l a rm y d u r ing the bat tle , now jo i ned

Aurangzib and were w e l com ed w i th t i tles and

pos t s . A th ree days’ hal t w as m ade he re for

repa i ri ng hi s l osse s , m aking adm i n i s t ra t ive

arrangem ents , and t ransact i ng urgent affa i rs o f

State ; —and then , on 20 th Apri l,

the m arch

no rthw ard was resum ed , and a m on th afterward s

(2m t May) Gwal i or was reached .

“

He re Nas i r i Khan,a h igh comm ander who had

finds the Dhol won honou r i n the Bijapur w ar,

pur ferry guard j o ined Aurangzib, leavi ng theed by Dara , se rv ice ofShah Jahan , and was1 A. N . , 75—78 .

2 8 HISTORY OF AURANGzIB. [CHAR xv .

c reated a Comm ande r o f F i ve Thousand w i th h is

father’s t i t le of Khan - i-Dauran, w h i ch Aurangzib

had solem nly prom i sed to him i n w r i t i ng. I t

was now learn t that Dara had com e to Dholpurw i th a va s t arm y and se ized al l the w e l l -know n

and f requented ford s ove r the Cham bal r iver .

Hi s en trenchm ents frowned on the cro ss i ng

places ; h i s art i l lery c row ned the Oppos i te bank ;and everyw here s t rong partie s of h i s t roop s w e re

on the alert fo r the enemy’s arr i val . To cross

the r i ve r w i th i ts Steep rocky bank s and w i de

ravi ne- i n te rsec ted app roaches , i n the face o f s u ch

oppos i t i on, w ou ld have led to a heavy l oss o f

l i fe . So,Aurangzib cas t abou t fo r som e sec re t

and safe path and Offe red high rew ard s to the

ne ighbou r i ng landhol ders . One zam i ndar to ld

him that fo rty m i les east o f Dholpur the re was an

Ob scure and ou t- o i- the-w ay fo rd wi th only knee

deep wate r, by w h ich no army had ever c rossed

before . Dara had om i t ted to guard i t , a s i t w as

a pe t ty ford unfrequen ted by t rave l le rs and

Aurangzib was s t i l l fa r from the r ive r bank .

No tim e was to be l os t . In the ve ry even ing

crosses theafter the arri val near Gwal i o r

Chambal at a (2 1 5 1 May), w h i le the m ai n a rm y” glu t“ ! ford' hal ted , a strong d ivi s i on under

th ree gene ral s and som e art i l le ry m ade a forced

m arch a l l n ight , reached the ford nex t m orn i ng,

CHAR xv .] THE CHAM BAL FORDED . 29

and crossed safe ly to the other bank . That day

Aurangzib h im se l f set ou t from Gwal io r , covered

the i n te rva l i n two long m arches and c rossed the

r ive r a t the sam e place wi th the res t o f h i s arm y

(23rd May) . I n these two m arches,“the path

was rough , the sold iers underw ent m u ch hard

sh i p before arr ivi ng a t the ford and on the w ay

nearly m en d ied of th i rs t , — these las t be i ng

probably cam p fo l l ow e rs . But Aurangzib’

s um

re len t i ng firm ness ove rcam e eve ry Obs tac le and

carr ied the arm y th rough , regard less o f lossfis

The m i l i tary advan tage of the m ovem en t

com pensated for the heavy death- l i s t, equal to

that of a pi tched bat tle . By one s t roke he had

turned the enemy’s posi t i on and rendered Dara’s

A. N . , 79- 80, 85 , l sar-das, 23 , Kambu, 1 26, Aqi l

Khan 33-

34, Storia , i. 269- 270 , D ilkasha , 26 . The Alam

girnamah and Aqi l Khan nam e the p lace of crossingBhadauriyah and Bhadaur respectively, and p lace it

40 (or 50 ) m i les east of Dholpur. Isa r-das ca l ls it Kanira ,

and Bhimsen Gorkha . Now, Gorka is only 6 m iles east ofthe Dholpur ferry, and therefore could not have beenAurangzib

's crossing-p lace. ( 1 nd . At . 50 S. There

is a Bhadaoli, 26 45 N . 78 36 E. , 40 m i les east of theol d Dholpur fort on the Chamba l , in a straight l ine ;Kanera is 3 m i les S . E ofit . (Ind . At . The mapgives a vi l lage road com ing from the south-west (Gwa liorside), crossing the Chamba l a l itt le west ofBhadaoli andthen continued northwards to the jumna . According to the

Chhatra -Prakash (fol lowed by Manucci and Bhimsen a l so) ,Aurangzib

’

s guide to the ford was Champat Rao Bundola

(Pogson , l sar-das (236) ca l ls him “ Hathiraj jat ,zam indar ofGohad , in the sarkar of Gwa l ior. ’ Aqi l Khan(34) has only "

the zam indar ofBhadaur .”

30 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv .

e laborate t renches an d bat te r ies use less . The

road to Agra now lay open before him . I t w as

now Dara’s turn to abandon the l i ne o f the

Cham bal and fa l l back on the capi ta l,i f he di d

not w i sh to be i n te rcep ted . I n the h u rry of

h i s ret reat he had to abandon m any of h i s heavie r

guns on the ri ver bank,and thus weakened

h im se l f i n art i l lery in the nex t ba t tle By th i s

detou r to the r igh t Aurangzib

ind “ f in s near had le f t the h igh road to Agragra.

and arrived a good deal north

east of i t . F rom the Cham bal he m arched north

toward s the J um na and i n three days cam e i n

touch w i th the enem y near Samugarh.

As the Jum na sw eeps eas twards by Agra Fort

an d the Taj , som e e igh t m i lesSam ugarh dow n the s t ream w e have the

embed.

ferry of Raip u r, and Oppos i te

i t,on the so u thern bank , the vi l lage o f Im ad

pu r,w i th som e fine m ans ions bui l t by Shah

Jahan fo r h i s res i dence when ou t hun t i ng.

(These are probably rep resented by the Badshahi

M aha l o f the m ode rn m aps . ) One m i le eas t o f

them s tand s the vi l lage o f Sam ugarh, con ta i n ing

the ru i ns o f Jahangi r’s h un t i ng- l odge . Eas t and

south of Sam ugarh, a s fa r a s the bend o f the

D ilkasha , 26 .

CHAP . xv .] PLAIN or SAM UGARH. 3 1

J um na,s tre tches a wide p lain

’i”,a fi t a rena for

the dec i s ive com bat fo r the l ord sh i p of Agra .

Isardas spel l s the name as Sambhugarh.

"At Imadpur, one m ile from Samugarh in com ing towa rds the city,

on the bank of the river, mansions were buil t by order ofShah jahan at a cost of RS . and comp leted in

November , (Waris, Sam ogar is given in

Indian Atlas , Sheet 50 S . E. , as 8 m i les due ea st ofAgraFort . The jumna is ha lf a m i le north ofit and again four mileson the ea st . The day after the ba tt le , Aurangzib ha l ted inthe hunting- lodge at lmadpur . (Aqil Khan , 49 . ) Isardas

23a . Aqi l Kb. 42 .

“ At Rajpura 1 0 has from Agra ,near the

J umna , Dara chose a fie ld for the battle .

”A. N . 86.

CHAPT ER X V I .

BATTLE or SAMUGARH, 29 MAY , 1 658 .

Shah Jahan had been stay i ng a t Agra s ince

Novem ber, 1 657 . He was not h i s fo rmer se l f

agai n,and St i l l suffered from weakness and traces

o f h i s old com pla i n t . AS the summ er season

approached , the doc to rs feared tha t h is m alady

woul d i nc rease i n the hot c l im ate o f Agra , wh i ch

wa s subjec t to sand- storm s and heat-waves from

the Rajputana dese r t . So , they advi sed a change

to Delh i as a cooler p lace , wi th b reezes constan t

Iy b lowing from the south i n summ er, and

possess i ng fresh garden s , flowing canals,and m ore

comm od ious palaces . The Im per i al Court set

o u t f rom Agra on 1 1 th Apri l 1 658, and had

reached Baluchpur, e igh ty m i les north-wes t on

the way to De lh i , when the news o f the defeat

a t Dharm a t reached i t (25th Apri l ). All the

S h a h Ia h a nhopes bu l’t on Jaswant Were

hears of Dhar gone. I f the rebe l l i ous pr i ncesmat’

w ere to be s topped Dara m ust

hasten to Agra , equ i p a new fo rce, and person

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34 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAR xv i .

Mughals) were m ost ly t ra i to rs to him ,or a t lea s t

i nd ifferent to h i s causefi" He had m ade the fa ta l

m i s take o f send ing away hi s t rust ies t adherent s

and ables t l ieutenant s wi th Sula im an Shukoh to

Oppose Shuja , and now he fe l t sore need of s u ch

effic ien t i n s t rum ents . Wherever he cou ld not be

p resen t i n person,h i s bus i ness w as ru i ned by ih

com pe tent or fai th less subord i na tes .

And he wa s al so ham pe red by Shah Jahan .

Even now the Em peror urgedS h a h I a h a n

forbids a fight him to avoi d war ; he s t i l lamOng his fondly hoped tha t the q uarre lbut in vain.

among his son s co u l d be peace

fu l ly ended by d i plomat i c m essages . His nobles ,a l ready co rrupted by Aurangzib o r cari ng for

the i r own in teres ts on ly, took advan tage of th i s

natura l feel ing of a fathe r . They po in ted o u t

t o the Em peror that i t wo u l d be a fam i ly d i sgrace

i f the brothers fough t wi th each o the r , and worse

s till i f Shah Jahan i dentified h im se l f wi th anyof them . He should l e t his tw o son s vi s i t him ,

and then use the aw e of majesty and h i s personal

i nfluence to de tach the am b i t i ous nobles f rom

the i r s i des and send the pri nce s , sho rn o f s t rength ,back to the i r p rovi nces . Shah Jahan app roved

at A .N . 82 -83 ; Aqi l Khan, 33 ; Isardas , 2 26 ; Storia do

M ogor , i. 265 Kambu , 96.

CHAP . xvn] DARA LEAVES AGRA. 35

of thi s adv i ce, wh i ch echoed h i s feel ings .

But Dara taun ted the givers of such counsel s

wi th coward ice and t reason , and i nd i sc reet ly

boasted that th ough they m igh t no t fo l l ow

him ,he would drive Aurangzib

’s m en back l i ke

hares wi th the he lp of Chhatra Sal Hada . The

fo re i gn Muhamm adan s (both Pers ian and Cen tral

As i an m e rcenaries) resented thi s Speech . They

wi thd rew the i r hearts from Data?" an d sec re tly

resolved to deser t to Aurangzib at the firs t oppor

tunity. Dara had professed no need fo r the i r

servi ces ; we l l , then , they would no t he l p him ;

they would leave him to h i s Rajpu t friend s .

The advanced d ivisi on of Dara’s a rmy set out

Dara takes leavefor Dhol pur on 9 th May, to

ofShah Jahan at guard the ferr i es of the Chambal .Agra”

The res t o f h i s t roop s we re t o

m arch on the I Sth under h is own leadership . The

“ Shah jahan constant ly advised Dara not to engagein war, and a lways recommended peace he had growntoo weak and so yie lded to Dara

”

(A.N . 84- 85 , cf. Kambu,1 0 a . ) Again, “Shah Jahan wrote to Dara [before Samugarh] urging him to make peace and give up the designof fighting, but in vain . At last the Emperor determinedto extinguish the war by going in person to the camp , andmake peace by his own exertions and speeches . So heordered his advance- tents to be p itched between the twoarm ies ." (A.N . S6 Khafi Khan , ii. 2 1 , Masum , 566 ,and Aqi l Khan, 33-34, support the sta tement . Storia , i.264—267 . For the treachery of the Mugha l s (exp lained

by Aqi l Khan as“ both Turanis and in the

Imperial army, see Aqi l Khan, 34 and Storia , i. 267 , 263 .

36 HISTORY or AURANGZIB. [CHAR xv i .

leave- tak ing o f the Prin ce from h i s fathe r wa s

m ost pathet i c . To the aged Em peror i t seemed“ indeed as the part i ng of l i fe f rom the body .

He presented Dara wi th jewe l led o rnam ents ,robes , arm s , horses, e lephan ts , and a chari o t

,

wh ich las t i s he l d i n Ind ian be l ie f to be the m o s t

l ucky conveyance fo r a pri nce to r i de i n s ta rt i ng

for a cam paign i n the sou thern d irec tion. In

excess o f l ove the fathe r he l d the son to his

bosom l ong and t ightly, “ l i ke h i s own l i fe and

soul .” Dara rep l ied wi th bows and thanks and

begged leave to go . Shah Jahan , m oved to um

con t ro l lab le em ot i on , turned h i s . face tow ards

Mecca and l i ft ing up h i s arm s p rayed fo r Dara’s

v i c tory and rec i ted the presc ribed tex ts o f the

Musl im sc ri p ture (fatiha) for h i s safety and suc

cess. As a m ark o f spec i a l favour he ordered

the Prince to m oun t h i s char i o t a t the s tep s o f

the Hal l ofPubl i c Audience , to bea t h i s drum s

and m arch ou t i n full ' rega l pom p from tha t ve ry

spo t .

Leav i ng h i s father, Dara entered h i s ca r , w h ich

he afte rward s changed fo r anShah Iahan

’s e lephan t . The nob les and officersgrief.surrounded him in due orde r o f

p recedence. On h i s ri gh t and lef t were m assed

cap ta ins wi th the i r caval ry beyond coun t , wh i lethe rear was fo rm ed by foo tmen , reta i ners , spear

C HAP . xv1 .] DARA AT‘DHOLPUR. 37

m en, and rocket- th rowers . So the process i on set

o ut . Beh i nd them , i n the hal f-dese rted Hal l of

Forty P i l l ars stood a th i n ol d m an, w i th a long

fai r face and grey beard , leani ng on h i s m ace and

gaz i ng pens ively on the scene t i l l the caval cade

filed out of the gateway of the palace quad rangle .

What w as h i s l ong and glor io us re ign to end i n

What w ou ld be the fa te o f h is be l oved son and

cho sen he i r ? “He knew not that Heaven’s wi l l wa sa dverse or tha t the i ssue of the con tes t w ould be

othe r (than w hat he had hoped fo r) and that hew ou l d l ose h i s th rone Li t tle d i d e i the r fa the r

o r son im agine tha t th i s was des t i ned to be the i rlas t m eet i ng on earth .

Dara reached Dholpur on 2 2nd May , and wi th

the l ocal zam i ndars fo r h i s

1121?a

thfa

él

fia tfi?

gu i des he se ized al l the fo rds o fball

.

aga inst the Cham ba l i n the ne ighbourAurangznb,

hood . Throwingup earth-w ork s

and m oun t i ng guns on the bank , he comm anded

the road s and cro ss i ng- places . His aim w as to

retard Aurangzib’

s advance w i thou t prec i p i ta t i ng

a battle and thus to ga i n t im e

.

for Su la im an

Shukoh’

s army to jo i n him . Bu t he had under

The part ing scene is very graphica l ly described m Kam

bu , 1 2a , Storia , i. 267 . Masum , 57a , 15 brief. Isardas des

c ribes the farewell (266) but wrongly p laces i t in the nightfol lowing Samugarh. For the march of Dara ’s armyManucci has left a most vivid picture . (Storm , 1 .

38 msromf or AURANGZIB. (can . xw .

rated h i s r i va l ’s genius for m ilitary organi sat i onand far- s igh ted plans. After passing a few days

in a sta te o f expec tancy, he learn t to h i s cons ter

nat ion tha t Aurangzib had crossed the Cham bal

a t Bhadaur, forty m i les east of Dholpur , on 2 3rd

May . Dara’

s rear was now th reatened he hurriedly fe l l back towards Agra . E igh t m i les east

of the c i ty he encam ped cl o se to the pla i n of

Samugarh to offer bat tle to the enemy . He re

Aurangzib arr ived from the bank of the Chambal , on the 28th.

Tha t day , Dara on heari ng o f Aurangzib’

s

approach , drew up h i s t roop s and

rode ou t as i f to figh t. But a

short d istance i n fron t o f his

cam p he cam e to a hal t, re fus i ng to advance any

fu rthe r and wai t i ng to l e t the enemy take the

o ffensive . I t wa s a m ost unwise step : Aurang

zib was n um er i cal ly in fer i o r and h i s t roops we re

worn out by a ten m i l e m arch i n the sun over a

waterless dusty p la in , wh i le Dara’s army was

fresh . As the i r genera l hes i ta ted to engage , the

sold iers lost confidence in Dara, and Aurangzib,wi thout str iking a blow , gained a mo ra l v ic to ry

over h i s fool i sh bro ther. The v i c to r ofDharma t

was a foe to be dreaded , even by the lord of

horse.

and comes to

Samugarh

CHAP . xvi .] DARA AT SAMUGARH. 39

Then , again , a s Data’

s army stood to arm s

in ba t tle form at ion hour afte rhis useless de

monstration in hour th roughou t tha t May afte rlhe sun, 2 8th noon , the fierce sun overhead ,Mav

the sandy pla i n under foot , an d

the scorch i ng wind around,deal t havoc am ong

his s teel - c lad t roops and horses . “Many peri shed

f rom the hea t , th i rs t , and lack o f dri nk i ng water .

Whi le the pruden t Aurangzib rested hi s m en al l

the even i ng and n igh t fo r the m o rrow’s con tes t ,Da ta

’

s sold iers were w orn ou t and h i s horses ande lephants we re pro st rated by the ext rem e heat .

As one of h i s m en narrated h is exper ience ,“Wi th

a l l our arm our on , we we re dried up even as w e

s tood . Our feet cou l d no t m ove . The fiel dseem ed a blazing hel l to us . At sunse t Dara

re treated to h i s camp , —a m ovem en t prophet i c

o f h i s defeat i n bat t le . Hi s sol d iers l os t heart ,because h i s geni u s had quai led be fore tha t o f h i s

r ival'

i n the s i gh t of both the hos ts .Al l that n i gh t Aurangzib

’

s officers pat ro l led

round the i r cam p , wh i le the ir m a s ter heartenedhis fol lowers by a sp i ri ted harangue ' “ To

m orrow i s the day of val i an t

tal

iiffl e.

befm e

deeds . My cap i tal (Aurangabad )i s very far from th i s place . I t

A. N . 85—9 1 ; Aqil Khan , 42 - 43 ; Masum , 6—6oa(for the heat ) ; Starz

'

a , i. 27 1—273 ; Khafi Khan , ii.“

22 .

40 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv i .

i s necessary tha t wi th one heart and wi th your

faces turned one way , you should attack the

enem y and , wi th the b lows of your keen blades,se ize the reco rds o f the office of Fortune and

m ake your nam es fam ous i n the wo rl d for vi c to ryand (power of) break i ng up enem ies .

At la s t the eventfu l 29 th ofMay arrived . Long

before the early dawn o f theDara’s army I nd ian m idsumm er, there wasstrong ;

the s t i r o f p reparation and m ove

m ent i n both the camps. Squadron after

squadron was fo rm ed i n bat t le array and m arch

ed ou t to take up i ts appo in ted pos i t i on . Hear

i ng o f Aurangzib’

s advan ce , Dara m arshal led

h i s ranks on a wide sandy pla i n , two m i les i n

fron t o f h i s cam p , H is army num bered about

I ts backbone was com po sed of the

Rajpu t con t i ngent and Dara’s own re ta i ners, al l

devo ted to h i s i n te res ts. But nearly ha l f o f h i s

arm y bel onged to the Em peror’s servi ce, and

the se could no t be re l ied on . Most o f the i r

capta i ns m ade a show of figh t ing, but took care

not to pu t forth earne s t effort o r to run i n to

danger , and severa l o f the i r ch iefs, notab ly

Khal ilullah Khan,we re r igh t ly suspec ted of

hav ing been corrup ted by Aurangzib.

Aqi l Khan , 43 .

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42 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. LCHAP . xv i .

bearers and t roope rs o f th e Imperi a l escort ,thei r to ta l s t rength be i ng from ten to fif teen

thousand . An Advanced Reserve was sta ti oned

be tween the Van and the Cen t re as a sort of flying

column , ready to fol l ow up the success of the

Van or the Wings , and to succour them in d is

tress . It was com posed of ten thousand troopers ,part ly Rajput s and partly Dara’s Musl im t e

ta iners. The i r comm anders w e re Kum ar Ram

Singh , the hei r o f Jaipu r, and Syed Bah i r Khan .

In the Centre sat Dara h im sel f , on a lofty

e lephan t vi s ible from al l par ts o f the field , wi th

othe r e lephants car ry i ng h i s m usi cal band in

charge of h i s ret i nue . Imm ed ia tely unde r h i so rders were of h i s bes t cavalry and m ost

devoted fol low ers,bes i des m any Im peri a l t roops,

the w hole num be r i ng The two flanks of

th is d iv i s i on were led by h i s i nt im ate fol low ers

Zafar Khan and Fakhar Khan .

The Righ t Wing was placed und er Kha lilu llah

Khan , an ol d courti e r and a noble ofthe fi rs t

rank, but des ti ned to earn a sham efu l no to ri ety

by h i s t reache ry on th i s day . Here s tood m any

mercenaries from Cen t ra l As i a and a few Rajputs . These five d ivi s i ons com ple ted the army ;there was no Main Reserve and no Rearguard ,fo r the smal l unserv iceable and m i scel laneou s

( HAP. an ] mscoan AND DISLOYALTY at IT . 43

body lef t in charge of the cam p took no part i nthe bat tle .

To a superfic i a l ob server Dara'

s arm v locked

Causes of thel ike a m agnificen t hos t . as i t

true weakness of m oved to the en counter w i th i t

his army. no i sy m us i c . flu t te ri ng banners .

ga ilv caparisoned elephan ts an d horses , an dw a rr i ors clad i n po l i shed or o rnam en ted arm o ur

and flowing ves t s of em bro idery an d m any

col oured c lo th . B u t as an i nst rum en t of w ar i t

had som e fatal de fec ts . Apart from D ara'

s in

capaci ty and Khalilullah’

s t reachery there w as

firs t . the m u tual jea l ousy . lack of co- opera t i on ,

and even pos i t ive i l l -wi l l betw een Da ra’s own

fol l ow ers and the Im peri a l t roops und e r h i s

banner ; he had had no t im e t o w e l d the two i n to

one harm on i ou s w hole . The c lea vage w as

w i dened bv the Rajput s be i ng an im por tan t

elemen t of the host , for they alw ay s form ed a

c lass apart , fight i ng i n the i r own s tyle and obey

i ng the i r ow n ch ie fs , but i ncapable o f carrying

o u t the suprem e comm ande r’s tac t i cs im p l i c i tly ,

headi ly and effic ien t ly . o r o f ac ti ng i n exa c t

concert wi th Mus l im and fo re i gn t roop 5 . Secondlv . Da t a

’

s art i l le ry w as les s m ob i le than Au rangzib

’

s and al l posted in one place . Hi s horses

and t ranspor t an im al s w ere out o f condi t i on '

many of them , having been overfed i n the

44 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xvr.

Im peri a l stables , were m ore fi t fo r a showy

processi on than for the s tern tasks of war,and

al l we re hal f dead wi th yes terday’s fu t i le m an

oeuvring i n the sun .

In oppo s i t i on to th i s hos t s tood Aurangzib’

s

hard -b i t ten t roops,

seasonedA u r a n gz rb

’s

” mm a com ! ve terans on sea soned horses , andPM t fighting h i s excel lent tra i n o f field-p iecesm achine ;

handled by the European gun

ne rs o f M i r Jum la and we l l suppl ied wi th m un i

t i on s . The re was absolute un i ty of command

i n h i s arm y, and al l the officers had been taugh t

to obey wi thou t hes i ta t i on or ques t i on that

m aster wi l l wh i ch brooked no d isobed ience o r

del ay in a subord i nate .

His Van was form ed by som e t roopers ,al l Musalm ans, comm anded by

h is el dest son Sul tan Muhamm ad ,who ac ted unde r the gui dance of the expe ri enced

gene ra l Najaba t Khan , recently created Khan - i

Khanan . I ts fron t was pro tec ted by arti l lery i n

its d i visions .

For the d ivisions of Dara’s army, A .N . 95 96 ; Aqi lKhan , 44 ; Storia ,

i. 2 75 . Its inherent defects , (Storm , 1 .

266 - 267 , 273 , The numbers engaged are d ifferentlyest imated : Dara ’s force is given as troopers (A .N .

“

7 0 or 80 thousand" (KhahKhan , ii “

about a hundred thousand” (Aqi l Khan33 , but on p . 44 he gives a tota l of excl uding the RightWing under Khalilullah,

which on p . 46 he estimates at

Manucci gives (Storia , i. 265 and a l so2 75 )

CHAP . xvr. ] AURANGZ IB’

S BATTLE- ORDER. 45.

two d ivi s i ons unde r Zulfiqar Khan an d SafSh i kan

Khan .

The R igh t Wing w as comm anded by I s lam

Khan . Here fough t Indradyumna of Dham dhe ra ,Cham pa t Rao Bundela , Bhagw an t Si ngh Hada ,bes ides m any Musl im cap tai ns . Murad wi th

hi s own m en, probably under form ed the

Lef t Wing . The Advanced Reserve unde r

Shaikh Mi r was a sm al l body , about s trong,

but al l good m en and t rue , ready to press in to

the th i ckest o f the figh t an d restore the w aver ingba tt le . In the Cen tre, as usual , rode Aurangzib

on a tower ing elephan t , superv i s i ng the whole

field. Hi s righ t an d left flanks w e re p laced

respec t ively under Bahad u r Khan and Khan- i

Dauran (known to us as Nasi r i Khan i n the

Deccan wars) . Tal l and fierce elephants ,covered w i th barb s and s tee l - p lates , and havi ngm any sharp inst rum en ts t ied to the i r t runks

,

w ere stat ioned here and there am i ds t the dense

m asses of horse and foo t , t o s t i ffen the ranks .

\V i th the i r s teel - coated hawdas they looked l ike

tow ers r i s ing out of the sea of hum an head s .

“6 For the d ivisions of Aurangzib'

s army, A.N . 9 1—94,

Aqi l Khan, 44 ; Khah Khan , ii. 23 ; Storia , i. 274. His tota lstrength is given as p lus about under M urad(Aqi l Khan , men bes1des the camp-guards(Storia ,

i. Manucci’s numbers

.

and posmons are

unrel iable , when opposed to the Alamgzrnamah, as he wrotefrom m emory long after the event .

.46 HISTORY or AURANGZIB. [CHAR xvi .

By e igh t o’clock the m arshal l ing ofranks was com

plete , and Aurangzib’

s army was set i n mot i on .

The few m i les’ in terval was cove red i n about th ree

hours as the m igh ty host m oved sl owly and in good

form at i on t oward s i ts adversary stand i ng on the

pla i n of Samugarh. Towards m i dday,“the s tee l

bal l s tandards and c rescen t-m arked banners of

Aurangzib appeared i n the d i stance. Dara at

once took up the offens i ve. He d i scharged al l

h i s art i l lery, m aking a frigh tfu lDistant can

nonade.

noi se, and“ cover i ng the a i r

w i th a th i nk c l oud o f sm oke ,l i ke the m an t le of dark n igh t ,

” but do ing l i t tle

dam age to the enemy a t that long range .

Aurangzib gave a very short reply, and w i se ly

rese rved h i s powde r and sho t fo r c loser range .

An hour passed in th i s k i nd of cannonade .

Dara m i sj udged the e ffec t of h i s own fire and

the s i lence ofAurangzib’

s guns . He was de luded

by the sm oke o r by h i s own ignorance of war ,and dec ided to fol low up h i s seem i ng suc cess by

a chargeupon the t im i d enem y . The gun-fire

ceased ; p i pe and t rumpet pea led for th ; ket t le

drum s and b ig b rass d rum s s t ruck up , and am i dst

the deafen ing c languour of m usi cal ins trum en ts ,

the rat tle o f mu ske try , and the t rumpet ing of

exc i ted e lephan ts, the ba tt le jo ined!?

For the description ofthe batt le our chief authopities

CHAP . xv 1 . ] RUSTAM KHAN’

s GALLANT CHARGE . 47

It was already past noon . Sudden ly a m ul t i

Charge by Rustudinous shou t w as heard on

tam Khan with Dara’s left , and then , ou t o f theDat a’s Left Wing dark curta i n o f sm oke hanging

between the tw o arm ies, burs t the sheen of tenthousand sword s and lance-head s a s a whi rlw i n d

o f cav al ry swep t down upon Aurangzib’

s ho s t . Itwa s Dara’s Left Wi ng , led by Rustam Khan

.

F i l i ng out th rough the spaces be tween his guns,

i t fo rm ed a m ass an d at tacked the opposi nga rti l le ry w i th fla sh i ng blad es an d w i l d bat tle~

c r ies . Aurangzib’

s ch ief o f ar ti l lery , SafSh i kan

Khan , and the musketeers behi nd h i s guns s tood

the i r ground We l l and rece ived the charge wi thone deadly vol ley from the gun s and a showe r ofb u l l e ts , arrows, and jave l ins . The flood o f onse t

co u l d not rea ch and overw helm the guns i ts

speed s lackened as the cannon bal l s ploughed up

i ts ranks . So Rustam Khan sw e rved to h i s ri gh t

hand i n search o f an easie r p rey,and gal l oped

toward s Aurangzib’

s Van, leavi ng a c loud ofdus t

beh i nd . But Bahad u r Khan w i th the r igh t flank

are A .N . 96—1 05 ; Storz

’

a , i. 2 96- 282 ; and Aqi l Khan

,

45—48 . Kambu ( 1 3b—1 5a ) loses his usua l fulness and

accuracy of detai l . l sar-das (24a—256) is meagre andunsa tisfactory. Masum (5811 —646) is inva luable for theclosing scene . Khafi Khan, ii. 24 -30 . Adab, 1 336, andD ilkasha , 2 7 , (both meagre. ) Tod , ii. 1 34 1 , (for ChhatraSal ofBund i . )

48 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAR xvi .

Of Aurangzib’

s Cen t re had hurr ied up to the

f ron t i n to the gap between theo

Ri

zghtAurangzib

’sVan and the Art i l lery , and

barred the path o f Rustam Khan .

A C l ose hand to hand com bat now ensued ;sword and dagge r were free ly pl ied . B u t super io r

numbe rs bore down the gal lan t de fenders Baha

dur Khan fe l l d own wounded two of h i s

cap ta ins, Syed Dilawwar and Hadidad Khan

were s l a i n and h i s d ivi s i on seem ed a t the point

o f be i ng routed , when Islam Khan came to i ts a i d

f rom the R i gh t Wing and Sha ikh Mi r wi th the

Advanced Reserve . I t was now the turn Of

Rus tam Khan to be outnum bered : assa i led i n

fron t,r igh t and lef t, pl i ed wi th m usket ry-fire and

a heavy d i scharge ofarrows , he s t i l l m a in ta i ned

the combat on even term s. Wh i le the engage

m ent was a t i ts hot tes t, and ( to borrow a hyper

bole of the Pers ian h i story)“the b lood had

m o un ted waist- h igh ,” a bul let l odged i n Rustam

Khan’s arm and he fel t that h i s

end had com e. Qui ckly chang

i ng h i s e lephan t for a fleet horse,he se t h i s heart on the l as t voyage

”

, and wi th

Rustam Khanslain .

a dozen o ther despera te m en hew ed h i s w ay to

the centre o f the enemy’s ranks and there fel l

am i d s t a heap ofthe sla i n . I t was a glor i ous

end fo r the scarred veteran o f m any batt l es i n

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50 HISTORY OF AURANGz IB. [CHAR xvr.

e lephan t knee l down i f he valued h i s l i fe, theRajah flung h i s spear at Murad , but i t m i ssed theaim , and the Pri nce shot him dead w i th an arrow .

O ther Rajputs fe l l as they swarm ed roundMurad

’

s e l ephant , and wi th the i r robes “m ade

the groun d l ook ye l l ow l ike a

fifiiiu

hc

itégd force fie ld Of saffron” ! The Rajput

horsemen coul d no t reach the

Prin ce on h i s l o f ty e lephant but Murad rece i ved

three wounds in h is face ; h i s d r ive r w as k i l led ,and the hawda of h is e lephan t bri s t led w i th arrows

l i ke the back of a porcupinefi" The Pri nce

defended h im se l f wi th the valou r an d ski l l wh i ch

he neve r l os t i n ba t tle. But he w as also attack

ed by Daud Khan’s hardy c lansm en , and borne

backwards by the com b i ned on sl augh t ; h i s

Office rs Yahya Khan , Sarfaraz Khan and Rana

Gharib-das were sl a i n , and h i s m en sca tte red .

The vi c to ri ous Rajputs pressed on to the

Rajputs attack Cen tre and fe l l.

on Aurangzib

Aurangzib him who wa s has ten i ng to the a idself’ of Murad on hear ing of the

d i saster on h is lef t . The c lash between these

two powe rful fo rces was terr ib le . Rajpu t and

This hawda was long afterwards preserved in the storerooms of Delhi Fort as a memoria l Of the va lour of the raceof T imur. (Khafi Khan , ii. 29 Manucci (Storz

'

a , i.

280 ) gives a sl ightly d ifferent account of the death of RamSingh Rathor.

CHAP . XV I.] DESPERATE VALOUR OF RAJPUTS . SI

Pathan grappled together i n death less hate. The

figh t that raged here i s Spoken of a s w ithout a

paral le l i n the annal s Of that age. The Raj put s

fo rced the i r way to Aurangzib h im se l f, but tha t

P ri nce’s guard s O ffered an opposi t i on equal ly

hero i c , and be i ng them selves i n fresh cond i t i on

they prevai led over the Rajputs who were hal f

worn ou t by the s t ruggle w i th Murad and whose

rank s had been great ly th i nned by th i s t im e .

Enve l oped by super i or num bers , sho t down w i th

a rrows,bul lets , and rocke ts , to w h ich they could

not reply on equal term s, the Rajputs fough t on

w i th the wonted valour o f the i r race ,“ i n ut te r

con tem pt Of l i fe” . Even Aurangzib’

s co u rt

h i s to rian praises them fo r “ the i r very hero i c

fight .” But i t was o f no ava i l agai nst ove r

whelm i ng Odd s . One by one al l the i r leaders

fel l , —Chhat ra Sa l Hada , Ram Si ng Rathor,

Bhim Si ngh Gaur and Shivaram Gaur. But therem nant only m ade a m ore fran

t i c s t ruggle ,“ l i ke raven i ng dogs”

,

a s a European eye-wi tness des

cribes the scene . Rajah Rup Si ngh Rathor i n

reck less audac i ty jum ped down from h i s horse ,wi th h i s d rawn bl ade hewed a way to the

e l ephant of Aurangzib, and tr ied to cu t the gi rths

of the kawda in the hope Of hurl i ng the Pri n cedown to the ground . He slashed the beast’s leg,

but p erish after af rantic fight.

52 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xvr.

but was h im se l f cu t to p ieces by the bodyguard ,tho ugh Aurangzib, i n generous adm i ra t i on ,shouted to them t o spare such a hero’s l i fe . The

res t o f the Rajp u ts “ per i shed l i ke m oth s i n the

fire of the host i le blades .”

Thus bo th the Lef t an d Right Wings OfDara

had been ann ih i la ted by th i s t im e . We now

turn to see how tha t asp i ran t to the throne had

em ployed h im sel f so long.

At the very begi nn i ng o f the bat t le , a s soon a s

Rus tam Khan and Chhatra Sa lDar“ mm “

had charged wi th h i s Le f t Wingmerits : tries to

follow Rustam and Van , Dara qu i t ted h i s po s iKhan' t i on i n the Cen tre , rode th rough

h i s art i l lery , and went towards Aurangzib’

s R igh t

Wing i n order t o support Rustam Khan . No

m ore fa ta l m i s take cou ld have been comm i t ted .

Envel oped in a c lou d Of dus t and sm oke , whi rled

along w i th a dense body Ofcaval ry wi th i n range

of the enem y’s guns, he vi rtual ly abd i cated h is

posi t i on as a genera l and becam e a m e re d ivi

s i oual comm ande r. He cou l d no longer survey

the whole fie l d and cont ro l the bat t le . Hi s

t roops at once l os t the one suprem e leader who

coul d have d i rec ted the i r m ovem ents arigh t wi th

every fresh development Ofthe ac t i on , given un i ty

CHAR xvr.] DARA OBSTRUCTS HIS ARTILLERY . 53

to the i r e fforts , and sen t re i n fo rcem ents where

and thus loses m os t needed. At once ey ery:

the help of his th ing fe l l in to confu s i onartillery’

Secondly , by advanc i ng i n fron t

Of h i s art i l lery he obst ruc ted the i r fire , w h i le

Aurangzib’

s guns con t i nued to m ow down h i s

ranks w i thou t any chance of reply . When Dara

d i scovered hi s m i s take and m ade fran t i c s ignal s

to h i s gunners to bri ng the i r p iece s up to him ,

i t w as too late al l the art i l lery servants had i n

the m eant im e aban doned the i r pos i t i on and

sca t te red to loo t , because there was now no force

behi nd the figh t i ng l i ne to p unish such acts ;the t ran sport an im al s had pe r i shed of hea t an d

fa t igue,and there w as none t o d rag the gun s

fo rw ard?“ Thi s m i s take ru i ned Dara fa r m ore

than al l o ther causes put toge the r . The con tem

porary historiansT con dem n him for th i s unw i ses tep . The I tal ian Manucci, then a captain Ofh i s

I fol low the graphic account of Manucc i who was in

charge of some ofDara ’s guns . Storz’

a,i. 2 77 - 2 7 8 .

“ Dara , who was ignorant ofthe rules ofwar and lackedexperience in command , foolish ly hastened with the Centreand the Advanced Reserve in person , after the charge of

Rustam Khan, and p laced his own V an and Artil lery behindhim self.” (Alamgz

'

rnam ah,“ Dara , in grea t excite

ment and help lessness , forgetting true genera lship, foolishlyd rove his elephant beyond his own artil lery,

charged witha party of Syeds of Barha and Mugha l s

,and thus forced

his own guns to be silent .” (Kambu , 1 5a .)"Dara l ike an

inexpert fighter disordered his own arrangement of troops andadvanced beyond his arti l lery.

”(Aqi l Khan ,

54 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xvi .

art i l le ry, c learly desc ribes Dara’s success ivem ovem en ts and the evi l consequences o f h i s

ac tion thus

I ssu i ng from h i s Centre , Dara advanced by h i s

Da m, punishedleft s i de toward s Aurangzibjs

by Aurangzib’s r igh t f ront , beat i ng a ll his

“ finer” d rum s as i f the vic tory - had

been a l ready ach ieved by Ru s tam Khan’s cha rge

and noth ing was le ft b u t to fol l ow i t up and

ann i h i l ate the enem y . But he was soon um

dece i ved . Aurangzib’

s art i l lery had , as w e have

seen , al ready repe l led Rustam’

s caval iers , and

s tood calm ly rese rvi ng the i r fire “ unt i l Da ra had

com e qu i te c lose . Then al l Of a sudden the

enem y d i scha rged h is cannon , muske t ry, and

sw i ve l p ieces, w h i ch struck u s and frigh tened

numbe rs o f our m en, who scat tered th i s w ay and

tha t . F i nd i ng h im se l f in imm inen t pe r i l ,Dara d i d no t yet lose heart but tu rned to the

r igh t , to avo i d the enemy’s a rt i l lery, ra l l ied h i s

m en, and fe l l upon Sha ikh Mi r’s d iv i s i on .

Aurangzib had pushed up so“ id?" m uch re i n forcement to the f ron t

and so m any of h i s m en had

d i spe rse d befo re Dara’s advance , tha t fo r a t im e

he was le ft w i thou t any guard s . I f Dara co u l d

then have fo rced h i s w ay to h i s r ival’s s i de , the

vic to ry woul d have been h i s. But he m ade a

CHAR xv1 .] DARA’

s FUT ILE MARCHING. 55

short hal t, owing to the d i fficu l t ies Of the ground

and to the fat igue that overcam e him . His

fo rce l o s t i ts grow i ng m omentum ,the rate of i ts

p rogress an d the vigour o f i ts onslaugh t greatly

slackened , and the go lden chance was lost for

eve r ! Fo r,i n the m eant im e Aurangzib had

d ressed h i s ranks and m ade new d isposi t i ons,

and Dara wa s soon afte rwards cal led upon to

abandon h i s fo rward mo vem en t st ra igh t on h i s

r ival’s elephan t and to turn as i de towards h i s

own R igh t Wing i n order to back the t roops Of

and finally goesChhatra Sa l. Thu s Dara m ade

to his own ex a long m ovemen t across h i s“ em ?" Right’

ent i re fron t from the ext rem e

le ft to near the ext rem e r igh t . The f righ tfu l

heat s truck dow n h i s men and horses duri ng th i s

unp rofi table m anoeuvre , whi le the a rt i l lery

s ta t ioned i n the enem y’s fron t fi red vo l ley s

s t ra ight i n to h i s l ef t flank . Tho se who still kep t

up w i th him were exhausted by th i s l ong and

to i l som e m arch ove r loose burn ing sand , am i ds t

su ffocat i ng dus t , and under a b lazi ng sun wh ich

m ade the i r a rm our b l i s te r the sk in,wh i le not a

d rop of w ater co u ld be had to quench the i r

th i rs t . By the t im e he arr ived beh i nd h i s Van,

now ac t ing as h i s Ri gh t W i ng, hi s party w as

m ore dead than al ive .

4“ Manucc i’s Narrative, Storia , i. 277

—279 .

56 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAR xv 1 .

And they were assa i led by a fresh body of the

enem y . Du r i ng these early s tages of the bat t le ,Aurangzib

’

s Van , i n obed ience to h i s r igi d d i s

c ip line , had kep t i ts p rope r pos i t i on , w here i t

had not been attacked e i ther by the enem y’s Le f t

o r by the Van . See i ng Dara’s tw o Wings and

Van overth rown, and h i s Centre i n d i sorde r and

ou t Of i ts p roper place, Muhamm ad Su l tan sprang

fo rward w i th h is own d iv i s i on (via , the Van ) to

at tack Da ra . At the sam e t im eDara. nearlyhemmed round Aurangzib

’

s V i c tor i ous R igh tby the enemy' whee led round to envel op Dara

’s

d ivi s i on , wh i le the r igh t bat ter ies unde r Saf

Sh ikan Khan and the left ones unde r Zulfiqar

Khan al i ke assa i led i t w i thou t the fear Of a

re turn of fire.

Th is wa s the begi nn ing o f the end. Dara

had learn t Of the death Of h i s bes t gene ral s ,but he set h i s teeth and fo r a t im e exe rted

h im se l f to stem the d i saster . “He now

utterly despai red of vi c tory , but m ade a

stand wi th outw ard fi rm ness and encouraged

h is m en. But Aurangzib’

s t roop s , l i ke the

wave s o f the sea , approached him wi th count

less guns i n fron t of them . So heavy and

wel l- d i rec ted was the enem y’s fire that eve ry

m inute Dara’s d im i n ished host m et wi th heavy

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58 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAR xvx.

figh t , som e Im per i a l comm anders who had stood

id le and m any who by h i d i ng them selves i n holeshad rece i ved no hurt i n the ba tt le , had fled.

”

And now his rem ai n ing t roops , scat tered fa r and

near ove r the fie l d , saw that h i s hawda wa s em pty

and concluded tha t the i r m as ter had fal len .

Fo r whom shou l d they figh t any longe r Al ready

they were hal f dead wi th yesterday’s fru i t less to i l

i n the fiel d , today’s m arch and figh t In ragi ng

th i rs t and under a burn i ng sun from dawn t i l l

near sun set . To fi l l up the cup Of the i r m i se ry,a de sola t ing ho t wi nd sprang up and s t ruck

Dara’s fa i n t i ng t roops i n the face .

“ Most of h i s

officers and m en,w i thou t s trength to p ly arrow

or spear, wi th th i rs ty l i ps and parched tongues

c ried Oh the thirst Oh the thirst and gave up

the gho s t on al l s ides Of the fie l d .

”Stayi ng in

such a place was no longer po ss ib le . The Im

peri al arm y had been only wa i t i ng for a decen t

p re tex t fo r fl igh t, and the s udden d i sappearance

of Dara from the back Of h i s e lephan t gave

them the wi shed for opportun i ty . At once the

w hole arm y b roke up i n to sm al l confused group s

and fled from the fie ld i n the u tm os t d i so rde r .

Dara s tood alm os t al one, dese rted by al l save

a few hered i ta ry fol lowe rs and fr iends whose

fidel i ty wa s s t ronger than love of l i fe . J u s t then

one o f h i s body- servan ts , i n s trapp i ng h is qu iver

C HAR xv1 .] DARA RETURNS TO AGRA. 59

to h i s be l t , was sho t down . To delay any longer

the re w as to court a fru i t less death . Dara was

d i s trac ted , and h i s son Sipihr Shukoh wa s cry i ng.

B u t som e o f h i s c lose at tendants se ized the

bri d les of the two and turned the i r horses’ heads

tow ard s Agra.

“

The fugi t i ve Prince gal loped fo r 4 o r 5 m i les

and then sa t down utterly ex

Dara's flight toAgra .

hausted unde r a shady tree , In

the hope of talk ing breath and

un lac i ng lfi s burn ing helme t . But there was no

res t fo r him . The rol l o f ket t led rum s w as heard .

Dara’s a t tendan ts s tarted up i n alarm , and urged

him to m ount aga in and flee, i f he w i shed to

avoi d captu re. The Pri nce i n utte r p ros t ra t i on

re fu sed to m ove . sayi ng, “ Let w hat i s des t i ned to

happen (to m e ) happen now . What can be

be tte r than th i s that one (of the enem y) shou l d

com e and re lease m e from th i s l i fe o f sham e

At las t w i th m uch entreaty he was i n duced to

m oun t agai n , and reached Agra at 9 p m . i n an

unspeakably wre tched condition.T

Meanwh i le , i n the fie ld , as soon a s Dara had

lef t h i s elephant , Aurangzib sounded the m usi c

The last stage is described on the authority OfMasum ,

62b—64b ; Aqil Khan , 47 -

48 (esp . the hot blast) ; A. N .

1 04- 1 05 Khah Khan , 1 1 . 28 .

1‘ Masum , 64b—65a .

6 0 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IE. [CHAR XV I.

o f rej o i c i ng and pressed fo rward as to an aecom

plished vi c to ry . Hi s sold iers heartened by the

j oyous notes advanced from all s ides . Dara’s

rem ai n i ng t roop s a t once subm i t ted to the vi cto r

o r took to fl igh t . The las t t race o f res i stance

vani shed but there w as no pursui t the vi c tors

we re a s m uch w orn ou t as the vanq u i shed by

tha t l ong m i d summ e r day’s l i fe and deaths truggle.

Nor w as any pursui t needed . No vi c tory

co u l d be m ore com plete . OnHeavy loss ofl i fe on the vanqu i shed S lde ten thou sandDana’

s Sid? "m en had fal len , bes i de s horses

and t ranspor t an im al s beyond coun t . The fierce

sun and the waterless pl a i n had been as fa tal to

them a s the enem y’s blades . .Al l over the ten

m i les f rom the fie l d to Agra a s i cken ing spec tac le

m et the eye w hen the sun arose nex t m orn i ng on

the horro rs of th i s day’s w ar. Every few steps the

road was borde red w i th groups of wounded m en,

who had dragged them selves awav from the

fie l d i n the vai n hope Of reach i ng hom e and

n u rs i ng an d then d ied of exhau s t i on and agony,an d w i th fugi t i ves s t ruck dow n by the murderou s

hot b last but unscathed by the enemy’s Sword .

M i ngled wi th the m en, i n the fie l d and the road

s i de,lay the carcases of the d um b vi c t im s o f

wa r,— oxen , m ules , cam el s , horses,and ele

CHAR xv 1 .] CHHATRA s‘

AL’

s LAST DEEDS . 6 1

phants. Many of the so ld iers al so d ied after

en ter i ng the c i ty .

Am ong the comm ande rs who poured fo rth

thei r l i fe- blood i n the servi ce o fDeath ofChhatra

theSal Hada

th rone , n i ne Rajputs and

n i neteen Mu sl im s are m ent i oned

by nam e. Braves t am ong so m any brave m en w as

Rao Chhatra Sal Hada , the Ch ie fta i n of Bund i

and the he ro of fifty- two figh ts . “Wi th h is Hadas

clad i n the i r saffron robes , the en s ign s of death

o r v i c tory, the B und i p ri nce fo rm ed the vanguard

o f Dara on th i s pani c en sued , which w as

fol low ed by confus i on and fl igh t . The nob le

Hada , on th i s d isas t ro u s even t , tu rned to h i s vas

sal s,and excla im ed , ‘Acc u rsed be he who fl ies !

Here , t rue t o my sal t, my fee t are roo ted to th i s

field , nor wi l l I qu i t i t a l ive but w i th vi c tory .

’

Cheeri ng on h i s m en, he m oun ted h i s e lephant,

b u t w hi l s t encou raging them by h i s voi ce and

exam ple , a cannon -bal l h i t t i ng h i s e lephan t , theanim al t u rned and fled. Chhat ra Sa l leaped

from h i s back and cal led fo r h i s s teed, exclaim i ng

‘My e l ephant m ay turn hi s back on the enem y,

b u t never shal l h i s m a s ter .’ Mount i ng h i s horse ,and form i ng h i s m en i n to a dense m ass

, he led

them to the charge aga i n s t Prince Murad,whom

a: A .N . 1 05 - 1 06 ; Adab, I67a , 1 33 b ; Isardas says tha twere slain (26a .) Storz

'

a, i. 282 .

6 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xv1 .

he s i ngled ou t, and had h i s lance balanced for

the i ssue , w hen a ball p ierced h i s forehead.”

Wi th Chhatra Sal fe l l al so h i s younges t son

Bharat Si ngh , h i s brothe r Moki'

m Singh , th ree of

h i s nephews , as we l l as the cho i ces t of h i s cl ans

m en . In the tw o bat tles [of Dharm at and

Sam ugarh] no l ess than twe l ve p ri nces o fthe

b lood , togethe r wi th the head s of every Hada

clan , m a in ta i ned the i r feal ty even to death .

Whe re are w e to l ook fo r such exam pl es ?”To d

ask s i n gene rou s adm i ra t i on .

“ Four Ra thor and

th ree Gau r ch ief ta i ns w ere s la i n on Dara’s s i de,

and one Sisodia of note on Murad’

s .

The m o st renow ned vi c t im of the day , however ,

and of otherw as Rustam Khan , surnam ed

chiefs of Dara’s F i ruz Jang, the

‘

i he ro of the Uz

army‘ bak and Pers i an wars , an d the

m a i n prop of Dara’

s pow e r . M uhamm ad Sal ih ,

the diwan of Dara , two son s of Al i Mardan Khan ,

a b ro ther o f D i l i t Khan Ro he la ( second only to

the l at te r i n m art i al renown) , bes i desfive Syeds

o f Barha ,— a c lan whose t ri ed valour gave them

the r igh t to stand i n the van of Mughal arm i es

i n the pos t o f the greates t dange r and honour,

—swel led the death- l i s t o n Dara’

s si de.

Tod 's Rajasthan,ii. 1 341 .

CHAR xv1 .] SAMUGARH AND WATERLOO . 63

The army o f Aurangzib l os t on ly one ch ie f of

the fi rs t rank,Azam Khan

,

form erly know n as Mi r Khal i l ,the acti ve I nspec tor of the Deccan

Art i l le ry—who died of the excess i ve hea t , and

th ree m i no r officerS,— Sazawwar Khan , Syed

Dilawwar Khan,an d Hadidad Khan . E i gh t

othe rs,i n c lud ing Zulfiqar Khan an d Bahadur

Khan,we re The R igh t Wing su ffe r

ed the heav ies t po rt i on of the l oss , as i t

bo re the brun t o f the enemy’s at tack i n the

earl ie r s tages of the con test and had long to de

fend i tsel f againt super i or Odds .

A o r a n gz ib’s

losses.

Dara’s p lan of bat t le w as ex t rem ely s im ple and

prim i t ive : he would penet rate h i s enem y’s l i neat any poi n t found vul nerable to caval ry attack

,

then force h i s way to hi s ha ted r i val,and by

k i l l i ng him end the w ar at one

egacfi cs criticis bl ow . Wi th Aurangzib dead or

captu red , h i s armv woul d s ub

m it as a m a tter of co u rse . So he sen t on w avea fte r wave o f caval ry i n succe ss ive charges .

Aurangzib ,on the o the r hand , l ike We l l i ngton

at Waterl oo , kep t h im sel f s t r i c t ly on the defen

sive : he reserved h i s pow e r pat ient ly bu t fi rm ly,

4“ For the casual ties in the three arm ies , A. N . 1 05— 1 07

Khah Khan, ii. 28 , 30 ; l sar das, 24a , 26a .

64 HI STORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xvr.

wai ted to let Dara exhaus t h im se l f,ass and m et the

enem y’s onse t s tage by stage a s i t deve l oped it

se l f. Un l i ke hi s tac t i cs a t Dharm at , he d i d no t

he re assum e the aggress ive . Dara’s fol ly an d

i nexper ience alone con t rib u ted to the vic to ry o f

the de fen s ive gam e of h i s r i va l . The genera l

advance of Aurangzib’

s arm y and the u t te r d i s

sol u t i o n o f Dara’s va s t host a t the c lose o f the

day a ffo rd anothe r paral le l o f the fina l de fea t of

Napo leon , though here there w as no new ly

a rr ived Bl u che r to carry on a re lent less chaseof the vanqu i shed . Las t ly

, the Im per ia l i s ts a s

cribed the i r defeat to the t reache ry of Khalilu llahKhan , j us t as the French after Wate rl oo ra ised

the c ry Nous sommes trakt'

s.

a: Storia , i. 2 79, 2 76-27 7 ; Kambu, I3b.

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66 HISTORY or AURANGZIB. [CHAR xvn.

an early stage, thei r repo r ts on ly agi ta ted the

c i t izens withou t confirm ing the be l ief o f a

d i saster. As the day wore on, the public

anxiety deepened . At las t about 9 p . m . a sm al l

group of r iders on pan t i ng

{fagz’

zityarrival horses, wi thout torches , c la t ter

ed over the st reets and passed

by the gate o f the Fo r t to Dara’s house i n the

c i ty. I t was Dara and all that was l ef t of h i s

ret inue. He en tered h i s house and shu t the doo r.

Loud l am en tat ions broke ou t from w ithinfi’

At once the d i sm al news spread about ; the

c i ty was fi l led wi th alarm andShah Iaban’

s m ourn ing. The scene w i th ingrief at the

disaster, the Fo rt was equal ly sad . There

Shah Jahan and Jahanara

l earnt ofthe d isaster to the i r favouri te son and

b rother, and burs t in to grie f. The wom en o f the

harem l i f ted up the i r vo ices and wep t .

When the firs t parox‘

ysm of grie f was over,Shah Jahan sen t word to Dara

message t° by m eans ofan eunuch , say ing,0

What has brough t you down to

such a state i s on ly the decree of Fa te . I t i s

be tter for you now to com e to the Fort and see

m e.After hearing wha t I have to say, you m ay

Storia , i . 287 , 288-289 ; Khafi Khan. 1 1 . 30 ; A N 1 07 ;

Masum , 65a and b.

CRAP . xvu .] DARA’S DESPONDENCY AND SHAME . 67

go whe rever Fate leads you . Wha t i s pre

dest i ned fo r you wi l l happen i n every place that

you m ay be i n .

"

But Dara w as broken down in body and in

sp i r i t . The exe rt i ons o f the las t forty hou rs , h i s

two days’ march i ng in the sun , the l ong and

desperate struggle of today, and the hurried

ri de from the fa tal fie ld , had lef t him p rost rate .

Moreove r, the i ron had entered h i s sou l : he had

l os t al l,not except i ng honour. He rem em bered

that he had ri sked a bat tle wi th Aurangzib

agai n st Shah Jaban’s w ishes ; he had p revented

h i s fa ther f rom g oi ng out to m ee t the pri nces and

end ing the quarrel by h i s personal i nfluence and

now the w orst fo reboded by h i s fa ther had com e

to pass. He had been l avi sh ly furn i shed wi th

m en, m oney and arm s by a bount i fu l fa ther, and

he had thrown every th ing away in the gam b le

for the th rone . He had left Agra shou t i ng‘Vi c to ry or a grave

,

’ and now

Dat a's ” them he had retu rned wi thout vi c t ory .

rep ly.

A bankrupt in fame and fortune ,he h id h im sel f in sham e from fr i end and s tranger

a l i ke,and sen t th i s touch i ng reply to h i s fa ther

,

“ I have not the face to appear befo re your

Ya takht, ya tabu t , l iteral ly, ‘Either the throne or a

tomb’

(Starz’

a , i. 242 ,‘a proverb current among princes

laying claim to Dara's exact words are given on

p . 262 ofStorz’

a .

68 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAR xvu .

Majes ty i n my p resent wre tched pl ight . Then ,agai n , i f I stay he re longer, the t roops of death

wi l l enc i rc l e and s lay m e . Give up your wish

to see my aba shed face and perm i t m e to go

away . Onlb eg your Majesty to p ronounce

the bened i c t i on of farewe l l (fatiha ) on th i s

d i s trac ted and hal f dead m an i n the l ong j o u rney

tha t he has befo re him .

The arri val o f th i s m essage doubled the grie f

o f Shah Jahan he seem ed to fee l “the part i ng o f

7h i s own l i fe from the body .

’ But crue l nece ss i ty

d i d no t a l l ow him even a ful l express ion o f h i s

sorrow . Prepara t i ons had to be imm ed i a tely

m ade fo r Dara’s fl igh t , i f he was no t to be

i nte rcep ted by hi s V i c tori ous r i val s . Mule s l aden

wi th gold co i n s f rom the palace t reas u ry w e re

sen t o u t to him to p rovide fo r h i s j ou rney , and

Im pe r i al orders were despatched to the Governo r

of Delh i to open the s to res o f the fort the re to

Dara as freely as to the Em peror i n person.

if

The m i serable Pri nce, afte r snatch i ng a few

Dara’s fl ighthou rs res t

0

m his.

man s

i

on, re

f r o m A g r a sum ed his fl ight . Hisw 1fe Nad i ratowards Delhi ' Banu

,h i s ch i ld ren and grand

ch i l dren , and a few cho i ce s lave-gi r ls were placed

Masum , 656-66b ; S torz’

a , i. 287 -288 ; A. N . 1 07 ; Khafi

Khan , ii. 30 . Against these authorities Isardas (266) wronglyasserts that Dara visi ted Shah Jahan that night .

CHAP . xvn.] m s FLIGHT TO DELHI. 69

i n covered l i t ters on elephants. Taking as m uch

of h i s jewel s,gol d co ins , and other valuable pro

pe rty as cou ld be eas i ly carri ed , he set off towards

De lh i a t about 3 AM . wi th on ly a d ozen se rvants

and guards on horseback . Al l h i s o the r retai ners

we re ut terly overcom e by the heat, the defeat , and

the abandonm ent o f the i r p roperty i n the fie ld ,and cou ld no t m ove tha t n igh t . For the nex t

two days , som e of h i s sold iers and fol lowe rs i n

sm al l group s lef t Agra and jo i ned him , and thu s

h i s force was raised to m en. Shah Jahan

also con t i nued to send him m oney and sto res , t i l l

Aurangzib se ized Agra c i ty and c losed the road

to De lh i .The s lave-gi rl s , m us i c i ans , and o ther wom en

abandoned by Dara,took she l te r in the Fort wi th

Shah Jahan but the property i n h i s m ans i on

a t Agra , espec i al ly h is fu rn i ture, e lephants , horses ,&c . , was m ost ly l ooted soon after h i s

We now re turn to the vi c to rs a t Sam ugarh. At

Dara’s fl igh t Aurangzib descend

ed from h i s e lephan t and knee l

ing down on the ground rendered

thanks to God . Twice d id he do i t,to show h i s

sense o f the crown ing m ercy vouchsafed by the

Give r o f Vi c tory. Then he proceeded to Dara’s

ten t , but al l its r i ch furn i ture and trea su re hadat A.N . 1 08- 1 09, 1 20 ; Storia, i. 287—290 ; Khafi Khan ,

ii. 36 -3 1 Masum , 666—67a Kambu, 1 5b.

Aurangzib afterthe vic tory,

70 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. [a p . xvu.

al ready been looted . The ch ie fs of the army

flocked round Aurangzib to offer thei r congra

tulat ions, wh i l e they received prai se fo r thei r

exert ions . Murad Bakhsh , too , a rrived the re andw as rece ived wi th every kindness , Aurangzib

sayi ng tha t the v ic tory was ent i re ly due to h i s

younger bro ther’s hero i sm and tha t Murad’

s re i gnw ould date from that day . Exper t surgeons

w e re appo i n ted to t reat Murad’

s wounds. I f we

may bel ieve Khafi Khan, wh i le the doc tors wereexam i n i ng the wounds , Aurangzib la i d the head

of Murad on h i s own knees , wiped the blood

w i th h i s own s leeves , and wep t pathe t i ca l ly a t

the sigh t .

Afte r a t im e his own ten t a rrived from the rear

and Aurangzib re t i red to i t . Here a grand

aud ience was held , and those officers who had

d ist i ngui shed them selves in the figh t were re

warded . Al l n igh t the sound o f revel ry and

m err im ent fi l led the two and the sky was

l i t up by the coun t l ess fi res a t wh i ch the Hindus

burn t the i r dead .

In two marches the vi c to ri ous P ri nce reached

Agra and hal ted i n the garden o f

Nur-manzi l or Dhara , outs i de

the c i ty (I st June) . Here he stay

arrives outsideAgra

A.N . n o Aqi l Khan, 49 Isardas , 25 b Khafi Khan ,ii. 29 ; Storia , i. 283 .

a p . xvn.] AURANGZIB AT AGRA. 7 1

ed fo r ten days. Every day large numbers of

courtie rs , nobles , and officers deserted the Im

peri al s i de and hastened to the garden to worsh i p

the ri s i ng Sun. Som e of them had been so en ter

p ri s i ng a s to leave Agra and welcom e him on

the w ay the very day after the bat tle. The

h ighes t nobles of the cap i tal , l ike Shaista Khan

and Muhamm ad Am in Khan (the son of Mir

Jum la), and Dara’s ch ie f officers al l p ro ferred

and is foined bythe ir hom age and devo t i on to

the Imperial the v ic to r. The vanquished“ mes and “ my'

t r00ps who had escaped the

sw ord entered the arm ies ofAurangzib andMurad ,som e be i ng unable , but m ost bei ng unwi l l ing to

fo l l ow the i r fugi t ive m aster. Many new appo int

m en ts and promo t ions were m ade,and the

s t rength ofthe army rap id ly

The appeal to arm s having been dec i ded

A u ran g z i b’sagains t him , Shah Jahan next

correspondence t r ied d ip lom acy . We have seenWith Shah Jahan how as early as January, on

hearing of the arres t of Mi r Jum la , he had

wri t ten to Aurangzib‘

l’

rebuking him for th i s ac t

A. N . I I I—1 1 5 ; Aqi l Khan, 49 -50 ; Kambu , 1 56.

1“ Correspondence : Shah Jahan to Aurangzib, on hear

ing ofM ir Jum la’s arrest (Kambu , l ob) ; Aurangzib

’s reply

(purport only, Aqi l Khan, Aurangzib to Shah yahanafter reaching Burhanpur (A. N . 48 , purport) . Shah yahanto Aurangzib urgin him to give up the march to Hindustan(Insha-i-Farsi, A. B . MS. F. 56, pp . 59 Aurang

7 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAR xvu

of d i sobed ience and orde r i ng the release o f that

noble . Aurangzib took up the false plea tha t

Mi r Jum l a had treache rou sl y i n trigued w i th the

D eccani Su l tans . After reach ing B u rhanpur

Aurangzib had w r i t ten a le t ter to Shah Jahan

(m i dd le of February) , i nqu i r i ng about h i s heal th

and hop ing tha t the Em pero r w oul d put an end

to Dara’s usurpa t ion o f a u thor i ty and woul d

personal ly con d u c t. the governm ent . To th i s no

sat i sfac to ry reply had com e . Agai n , afte r de fea t

i ng Ja swant , Aurangzib had asked the new prim e

m i n i ster, Jafar Khan , to exp la in t o h i s m as ter

how the two p ri nce s had m arched from the South

on ly to pay the i r fi l i a l respec ts to the Em pe ro r,see him wi th the i r own eyes i n orde r to d i sprove

the alarm i ng rum ours curren t about h i s cond i t ion,

and unfo ld to him al l the bad turns Dara had done

to them and the d i sorder in to wh i ch h i s u surpat i on

had thrown the whole em p i re . The bat tl e wi th

Jaswant, he sa i d , had been forced on him by the

Maharajah’s obsti nate reso lve to bar the path to

aib’

5 reply compla ining ofDara 's usurpa tion and p rotestinghis own pacific intent ion to see the Emperor (Ibid 54—57 . Cf.Masum 44a 45a , incorrect paraphrase) . j ahanara to Aurangszb before Samugarh (Faz

'

yaz, 1 1 7—1 1 9 , Kambu , 1 26. Aqi lKhan , 34—37 , gives a long paraphrase ofthis let ter, whichdiffers from the short text given by Kambu) . Aurangzzb to

Shah yahan ,rea l ly in answer to Jahanara , (Kambu, 1 zb- 1 3a ,

Faziyaz, 1 1 9—1 2 1 Aqi l Khan , 37—42 , a paraphrase) . Aurangzib toyafar Khan same time. (Adab, 8: b) Murad to

7 afar Khan (Fag'

yaz, 465

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74 HISTORY OF AURANGzrs . [CHAP . Xvn.

no faul t whatever. Agai nst such over t host i l i ty

I am bound to take up arm s in sel f- preservat ion .

My wish , however, i s only to go to Shah Jahan’

s

p resence and reveal everyth ing to him personal ly.

I shal l not b rook any obstac le to th i s lov ing

des ign . See, how Jaswan t fa red in m aki ng the

at tem p t . Dara should , therefore, be sen t away

from the Im per i a l Court to h i s prov in ce o f the

Panj ab , to avo i d m i sch ie f.”

The day afte r Samugarh, Aurangzib wro te

to Shah Jahan d i rec tly, excus ing

fggfflisu£11

11 5 h i s late conduc t as fo rced uponfangl ib with a him by h i s enem ies . On reach i ngI tt f h h

labiarom S a

Nur-manl he received a reply in

Shah jaban’s own hand ( I st June) ,

i nvi t i ng him to an in terview,as he had com e

so near and his ol d fa the r l onged to see him .

The two bearers of th i s let terfi— the aged cham

beria in Fazi l Khan and the ch ie f ju st ice Syed

Correspondence : Shah yahan to Aurangzib, invitinghim to an interview, (Kambu , 1 56 ; Aqi l Khan 50Aurangzib

’s reply (IbidJ Shah jahan to Aurangzib,

protest ing against the susp icion of his good fai th (Kambu,1 66 ; Aqi l Khan , Aurangzz

'

b’s reply (Kambu 1 66,

Aqi l Khan , Shah yahan to Aurangzib, comp laining of

the cutting off of Jumna water, translated by me in thischapter, (A .S. B . MS. F . 56 , pp . 9 1 -92 , and, in a shorterform in Bri tish Museum Or . MSS Add ] . folio 77a ,

which a lone gives Aurangzib’s reply, “

on the back ofhis

fa ther's letter," as‘Karda - i-hhwesh ayed pesh ; ziyadah

hadd-z'

Shah Jahan to Aurangzib towards the

close ofthe siege ofAgra Fort (Kambu , 1 66- 1 76, Aqi l Khan

OHAP. xv 1 1 .] SHAH JAHAN PROPOSES INTERVIEW. 75

Hedaitullah.— also del ivered a l oving ora l message

from the Em peror, and took the i r leave after

get t ing Aurangzib’

s consen t to the proposed

i nterview. Next day they vi sited him again

wi th another kind m essage and m any presen ts

from the Em pero r, i n clud ing cos t ly jewe l s and a

fam ous sw ord known as Alamgz’

r (‘Conquero r of

the and repeated the Em pe ro r’s des i re

for an in terv iew. But they found the Prince

changed . Last even i ng h i s con

fidential advi sers had to ld him

that Shah Jahan s t i l l loved Dara bes t and was

exert i ng h im sel f ac t ively to p rom ote Dara’s cause ,so that the i nv i ta t ion ofAurangzib to Agra Fort

wa s on ly a t rap la id fo r h i s a rres t . Fazi l Khan

pleaded hard to rem ove these susp i c i ons , but

al l i n va in , and he had to re turn to h i s o ld

m aster and repo rt his fa i l ure . Shaista Khan

m ust have deepened the Pri nce’

s d is t rust of his

fathe r, fo r he was a lways fr iendly to Aurangzib

and Shah Jahan taxed him wi th set t ing tha t

his third visitPr i nce agains t the Em pero r.

K h a l i l u l l a h On the sth the grey-beardeddeserts Shah Fazi l Khan cam e a th i rd t im e,Iahan.

W i th a le tte r from Shah Jahan

pro test i ng agai nst the susp i c ion s as c rue l

His second visit ;

56-57 ; Masum , 696 Aurangzz'

b’

s reply (Kambu, 1 76 ;Aqi l Khan 57-58 ; Masum , 706

76 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAR xv1 1 .

ca lum n ies and aski ng Aurangzib to com e and

see fo r h im se l f the fu l l ex tent o f h i s fa the r’s l ove

and k indness . Kha lilullah Khan,who ac com

panied Faz i l Khan , had'

been a l ready w on over

by Aurangzib. He w as now granted a pr ivate

i n terview by the Pri nce,i n w h i ch he confi rm ed

h i s fears of h i s fathe r’s host i le des i gn s and

u rged him to im pri son the aged sove re ign as the

on ly m ean s o f m ak ing him harm less . The good

o ld Fazi l Khan w ho was w a i t i ng ou ts i de al l

th i s t im e , was told that Kha lilullah had been

placed unde r arres t by the Pri nce, and that he

m u s t retu rn alone to the Em pero r w i th Au rang

zib’

s reply decl i n i ng the p roposed i n te rv iew

on the ground .o i h i s m i nd no t be i ng com posed

about w ha t h i s Majes ty i n tended to do d u ri ng i t .

The Cham be rla i n cam e back and said tha t“the m at ter had now gone beyond the stage o f

sen d i ng let te rs and m essages .”

So , i ndeed , i t had ; for, that very n igh t the

s iege o f Agra Fort began . At last the la s t sh red

of pretence w as th rown Off ; the m ask was

d ropped al toge the r, an d the Em pe ro r h im se l f was

a ttacked .

For the embassies of Fazi l Khan , Kambu , 1 56- 1 66 ;Aqi l Khan, 50—54 ; A.N . 1 1 2 . Shaista Khan is sa id to havevisited Aurangzib on sth june (A.N . but he may havesent m essages to the Prince before tha t da te . For ShaistaKhan’s suspected partisanship ofAurangzib , see A.N . 1 14 ;

Adab, 26 1 a ; Khah Khan , ii. 2 1 Storz'

a, i. 255 , 292 .

CHAP . xv 1 1 . ] SHAH JAHAN HOLDS THE FORT . 77

The a rr i val of the vi c tor i ous arm ies i n the

envi ron s of Agra threw theAurangzib takes c i t izen s i n to the greates t al armpossession of

Agra C ity. and confus i on . Murad’

s t roop s,

s trangers to d i sc i pl i ne an d fearless Of the i r gay and i ndolen t m aste r

, en te red the

c i ty to p lun de r and ravi sh , i n defiance of Aurangzib

’

s order to spare l i fe an d p rope rty a t the

cap i ta l . These unru ly sold iers,a i d ed by the

l ow- cla ss ruffi ans o f the c i ty and the cam p,

th reatened to c reate a grea t d i s tu rbance So , onth i rd J une Aurangzib sen t h i s e l des t son i n to thec i ty to keep the peace an d pro tec t the people .

Accord i ng to one account the pre fec t of the

pol i ce (hotwa l) , Si dd i Ma saud , w as exec u ted, and

a Tart ar Office r of Aurangzib appo in ted i n h i sThe w hole c i ty fe l l under Aurangzib

’

s

con t ro l , but the Fort w as s t i l l i n Shah Jaban ’shands

On the retu rn of Faz i l Khan (s th J une), theEm pe ro r learn t that Aurangzib was bi t te rlye st ranged from him and tha t he cou ld not hOpeto m ee t an d i nduce him to m ake a friend lyset tlem en t wi th h i s bro thers . The o ld m onarchthe re fo re prepared to s tand a s iege

,and shu t the

gates of the Fort, les t som e tra i to r shou l d m u rderor im p rison him i n the hope of ga i n ing Aurang.

at Isardas . 266 ; A.N . 1 1 3 - 1 1 4 ; Ston’

a , i. 292 .

78 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP. xvu.

zib’

s favour fi‘ The defence of the wal ls was

en t rusted to som e officers whom he bel ieved to

be devo ted to him , and there was a garrison of

fore i gn s laves ,—Qa lmaqs, Abyssin i ans , and

Turks, who usual ly proved fai th fu l to the i r sal t .

At n igh t a detachm en t from Aurangzib’

s arm y,

led by Zulfiqar Khan and BahaAura be“ dur Khan , c rep t to the foo t o f

sieges hi s fatherin Agra Fort, the Fort wal l s and began the

attack Bom bardmen t was

t r ied a t fi rs t. One gun was m ounted on the

terrace ofthe Jum a Masj i d , fac i ng the wes tern

gate of the Fort, and ano ther on Dara’s m ans i on

by the Jum na . They are sa i d to have done som e

dam age to the Fo rt guns and the upper s to r ies of

the palace . But the Fo r t was one of the s trong

es t of that age , no assau l t, m in ing or sapp i ng

could capture i t , wi th i ts deep m oa t and i ts

towers and wal ls too th i ck to be bat tered

The art i l lery of the bes iegers was ineffec t ive.

Success by b reach ing and assaul t was out of the

quest ion . The m usketeers on the Fo r t wal ls

Kambu, 1 66 ; Aqi l Khan , 54-

55 .

The history of siege of Agra , in Masum 68 a—72 a

Isardas, 2 76—286 ; Aqi l Khan, 55—58 ; Kambu , 1 66—i 8a .

The Alamgz’

rnamah is entirely si lent about the affa ir !Khafi Khan (ii. refers to it briefly. Storia , i. 293

—295 ,is not ofmuch use .

CHAP . xvn . WATER SUPPLY CUT OFF. 79

fough t bo ld ly and fa i th ful ly, and shot down

eve ry one who showed h i s head bel ow . But

m ost ofthe besi egers had taken she l ter under the

p rojec t ing eaves and porches ofthe Fort and thene ighbouring trees, and i n the hou ses wh i ch then

c losely adjo i ned i t , wh i le the i r o fficers l odged inDara’s m ans i on . They , therefore, suffered l i t t leloss of l i fe . But at the sam e t im e they could no t

touch the garri son , and the captu re of the Fo rt

seem ed as far o ff as eve r.

A regular i nvestm en t woul d have caused a long

de lay , deta i ned the arm y there , and gi ven Dara

t im e to gather st rength at De lh i . So , Aurangzib

took counse l wi th h i s generals, and after a l ong

d i scuss i on they h i t upon a c lever dev ice,wh i ch

reduced “ th i s extrem e ly s trong for t in on ly th reedays .” Th i rst opened the gates o f Agra m orespeed i ly than assaul t o r bombardm ent .

Act ing on th i s p lan, Aurangzib’

s m en by a

cuts off thesudden rush possessed them se lves

water supp ly of of the Khiziri gate wh i ch Opensthe gu r’son‘

on the r iver. The arch of the

gateway protec ted them from the fire of the

defende rs on the ram parts, and they could sa fely

preven t the taking of water from the rive r in tothe Fort . The garri son now began to suffer thehorrors o f a siege. With the Jumna a t hand

,

al l other sources of wate r supp ly had been

80 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB . [CHAP . xvrr.

neglec ted i n the Fort . I t had a few we l ls nodoub t , but the i r water was b i t te r and they had

been l ong d isused . The Em pero r and h i s Court,

so l ong accustom ed to the “m ol ten snow” o f the

Jum na, found the we l l-wate r i n tolerab le. Many

of h i s office rs , pam pered i d le rs o f the Court,

be i ng unable to bear the hardsh i p fo r m ore than

a day, s l i pped out o f the Fo rt under the plea of

l ooki ng af ter the adm i ss i on o f wate r. O the rs

were co rrup ted by Aurangzib’

s go ld . The rank

an d fi le had i ndeed cou rage and fide l i ty , but a l l

were d i sheartened i n be i ng led by an o ld and

Shah Iahan’si nval i d m as ter , and w an ted to

abject app eal to beg fo r quarter . Shah Jahan ,Aurw gz’b

's p ity' com pel led i n h i s o l d age and

s i ckness to quench h i s th i rst i n the burn i ng heat

of June w i th the bi t te r we l l- w a te r, wrote the

fo l lowi ng touch i ng let ter to h i s c rue l sonMy son, my hero (verses)Why should I comp lain of the unkindness of Fortune,Seeing tha t not a leaf is shed by a tree without God ’s will ‘.zOnly yesterday I was the master of nine hundredthousand troopers , and to-day I am in need ofa p itcherofwa ter (verses )Pra ised be the Hindus in all cases ,As they ever Offer water to their dead .

And thou , my son, art a marvel lous Musa lman,As thou causest m e in l ife to lament for (lack Of)water !

O, prosperous son ! be not proud of the good luck of this

treacherous world . Scatter not the dust of negligence (ofduty) and pride on thywise head . (Know ) that this perishable worl d is a narrow pass ( lead ing) to the dark region , and

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82 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xv1 1 .

conc luded ,“ Owing to ce rtain occurrences I am

afra i d to in terview your your

Majes ty surrende rs the gates o f the Fort to my

m en and gives them f ree i ngress and egress , and

the reby rem oves my susp i c i on , I sha ll go and

wai t on you , consen t to whatever you wi sh , and

do noth i ng d i spleasi ng o r harm fu l to you .

”

On 8th June Shah Jahan opened the gates of

the Fort to Aurangzib’

s officers ,Shah khan who took po ssess i on of i t andyields,

expe l led the Em pero r’s o fficers

f rom a ll parts of i t . The t reasure , jewe l s , r i ch

robes, furn i ture , and Governm en t s to res wi th in

were seized by them and p laced i n severa l room s

wh i ch were s t ri c t ly kep t under lock and seal .

Thu s Agra Fort w i th i ts imm ense hoards o f

t reasure and w e l l -fi lled arsena ls and m agazi ne s,the accum u lat i on s o f th ree generat i ons of em

perors of the r i ches t coun t ry in the worl d,

passed in to Aurangzib’

s hands a lm ost w i thou t a

b low .

Muhamm ad Sul tan wai ted on h i s grandfather

and was rece ived wi th grea tand is made a

p risoner in his k indness . For som e days he

p a’ace’ ac ted as the cap t i ve Em pe ro r’s

keeper under m i nu te i nst ruc t i on s from Aurangzib

as to what he should do and whom he shoul d

adm it. Shah Jahan was dep rived of a l l power.

CHAP . xv1 1 .] SHAH JAHAN’

S CAPT1v1 TY. 83

From be i ng “the ki ng of k ings (Shahan- shah),

he sank at once i n to the Cond i t i on o f a he lp less

cap t i ve , dependen t on o the rs even fo r a change

of dress. He w as confined wi th i n the harem o f

the palace , beh ind the Hal l o f Publ i c Au d ience .

A st rong fo rce was posted i n and aroun d the Fort

to preven t any attem p t at resc u e , and carefu l

watch w as kep t on the eunuchs and o ther ser

vants leavi ng the palace, les t they should com

m unica te wi th the ou ts i de.

“ For a long t im e

none excep t a few servants were a l lowed to com e

and go to his Majes ty on any account , or even

to speak a w ord to him f rom a di stance '”

Phys i c i ans OfAurangzib’

s own choo s i ng a t ten ded

the old

On the 1 0 th the Princess Jahanara vi s i ted

Iahanara’s em !

Aurangs to try the effec t o f

bassy to Aurang her pe rsonal influenee and Si ste rz’b

ly pe rs uasi on . She tol d him of

the i r l ovi ng father’s wish to see him an d propos

ed in Shah Jaban’s nam e a part i t i on o f the em pi re

be tween the fou r Pri nces Dara shou ld have the

Panjab and the adjacen t provinces , Murad

For Shah jahan’s capt ivity, Kambu , 1 8a ; Aqi l Khan ,

5 8- 59 , 63 A . N . 1 1 6 ( si lent about the object ofJahanara'

s

visit) ; Masum , 72a and 6, 776—79a ; Adab, 1 87 6—1 89a

(Aurangzib'

s instructions to Muhammad Sultan as keeper ofShah Jahan, a few days later) , z6oa—264a (Aurangzib to

cap tive Shah jahan) 1 37a and 6 (Aurangzib to Fazi l Khan,in charge ofShah Jahan) A. N . 1 24 ; Khah Khan, ii. 32.

84 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xvn.

Bakhsh Guzerat , Shuja Bengal , Muhamm ad Sul tan

the Deccan , and Aurangzib the rem a in i ng port ion

o f the em p i re w i th the rank of he i r apparen t

to the throne and the t i t l e ofBuland-iqba l (wh ich

was to be taken away from the e l des t- born)”

Aurangzib was ready wi th h i s p lea for dec l i n

i ng these te rm s : “ Dara,

”he

fails to effect a

friendly sett le sa id , “is an i nfide l to Is lam and

ment the a friend of the Hindus . He m u s tfour princes.

be ext i rpated fo r the sake o f

the t rue fa i th and the peace o f the realm . I can

no t vis i t the Em pero r be fore conclud ing th i s

Bu t afte r l ong d iscuss i on and

entreaty , he was once m ore induced to prom i se

to v i s i t Shah Jahan , and next day m a rched in a

splend i d p roce ss ion from the garden to the c i ty,

the s t ree ts be i ng l i ned wi th dense c rowds of

s igh t- see rs who chee red and blessed him . B u t

on the way Sha i s ta Khan and Sha ikh Mi r gal lop

ed up to him and d issuaded him f rom m aki ng

the vi s i t , as a need less runn i ng i n to danger.

They to ld him tha t Shah Jahan had la i d a p lan

to get him m urdered by h i s fierce Tartar slave

wom en , as soon as he would step into the harem

Aqi l Khan, 59 -6 1 .

CHAP . xv1 1 .] INTERCEPTED LETTER To DARA . 85

ofthe Fort . Aurangzib’

s purpose was shaken

he s topped h i s e lephant , hesitat

i ng w hat to do . Just then a

yiew Shah Iahan slave nam ed Nahir- d i l a rri ved

gratiza

fm ‘

Of a

f rom the Fort an d be t rayed i n to

Aurangzib’

s hands a secre t let ter

wh i ch the Em pe ro r had ordered him t o sm uggle

ou t to Dara . I t ran thus“ Dara Shukoh s tay fi rm ly at Del h i . The re

is no lack of m oney and troops there. Take care

not to pa ss beyond that p lace, as I m yse l f shal l

despatch the affa i r

The w arn ing o f Aurangzib'

s advisers was thus

ver ified . F i nd i ng that h i s fa thers’s who le heart

was st i l l devoted to Dara , Aurangzib was great ly

d ispleased he gave up h i s i n tent i on of an i n ter

v i ew , pa ssed by the gate oi the Fort , and occupied

Dara’s m ans i on i n the c i ty . Shah Jahan’

s capt i

vity wa s now m ade s tr i c ter, and comm unica

t i on between him and the out s i de w orld cu t o ff.

Eve r s i nce Sam ugarh Aurangzib had been

da i ly rece iv i ng dese rters f rom the Im per i a l

Aqi l Khan , 6 1 -62 . Masum (796—82a ) says tha tShah jahan wrote a secret letter to Murad to m urderAurangzib We read ofNahir-dil chela or slave having beenappointed Kotwal ofAgra in 1 656 . (Waris, 1 06 b. ) Manucci

(Storia , i. 296) and Bernier (65 ) declare this let ter to Daraas a forgery of Aurangzib

’s . For Aurangzib

’s refusa l to

visit Shah jahan, see al so A.N . 1 22 - 1 23 ; Khah Khan, ii.34—36 .

86 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xvn.

serv ice and en l i s t ing new t roops and o fficers i n

l arge num be rs . When Agra Fort su rrende red ,he becam e t ru ly the sove re i gn ,

A u r a n g z i b and the whole adm i n i s t ra t iveopenly exercisest h e I m p e r i a l s taff subm i t ted to him . A granda tho

‘t dtalli es

r

izgntrola

if darbar was now held ( l o th June)the Governm ent. i n h i s cam p . He sa t on a couch

of State and granted a ud ience

to the pub l ic,eager to see the i r new m as ter . The

new Chancel l or Rai- i- ra i an , the grand w azi r

Jafa r Khan , and al l o ther depa rtm en ta l head s

w i th the i r s taffs d i d him hom age. Hos ts o f m en

w ere passed befo re him by the paym asters and

court iers , and w e re given sui table rank a t h i s

comm and by the m arshal s (mz

’

r tweak. ) Fresh

appo i n tm en ts w ere m ade on the l 1 th and 1 2 th,

afte r he had ente red Agra C ityfi" His p repara

t ion s be i ng now com ple te,and h i s m i nd a t peace

about Shah Jahan , Aurangzib on the 1 3th set

ou t from Agra towards De lh i i n pursu i t o f Dara ,and arri ved near MathuraT ten days late r. His

m arch had been s low and hes i tat i ng, beca use an

alarm i ng, but no t un foreseen devel opm en t had

taken p lace i n the m ean t im e . Mu rad w as t ry

i ng to assert h im se l f and c ro ss the purposes of

A. N . 1 1 1—1 1 9 ; Isardas 29a .

1' Storia , i. 30 0 n (the p lace where Murad was arrested . )Aqi l Khan 65 ; Isardas 3 1 6 (at Brindaban) ; A. N . 1 38‘the further side ofMathura .

’

CHAP . xv1 1 .] M URAD JEALOUS OF AURANGZIB. 87

h i s m asterful bro ther . Th is source o f dange r

had to be crushed before i t coul d grow too strong

fo r con tro l o r rem edy , and Aurangzib dec i ded

to set t le the affai r o f Murad be fo re p roceed ing

further.

Si nce the bat tle o f Sam ugarh Murad’“ had

kept to h i s own cam p on accoun t o f h i s wounds .

His co u rt ie rs showed him howMurad growsi e a I o u s o f powe r was da i ly sl ipp ing out o fAurangz’b’ h i s grasp wh i le Aurangzib was

becom i ng a l l i n al l . They fla t tered h i s van i ty

by saying that both the vi c to ries over the enemy

had been won by h i s own valour, whi le Aurang

zib had kept h im sel f ou t o f the hea t and bu rden

o f the day and yet now al l the Im peri a l o fficers

were m aking the i r bow to Aurangzib and he was

i ssuing orders i n eve ryth ing as the sole m aste r .

The surrende r of Agra Fort had m ade th i s

P ri nce Em pe ro r i n a l l but the nam e. Was i t

t o p rom ote h i s bro ther’s e levat i on to the th rone

that Mu rad had bled ? And what certa i n ty was

the re that Aurangzib woul d peaceably del i verto him the ful l l o rd sh i p o f the weste rn provi nces

t The reasons for arresting Murad are given byAurangzib in Adab, 1 886, and in his oflicial history,lamgz

'

rnamah, 1 34—1 38 . See a l so Kambu , 1 86 and margin

Isardas, 296—3 1 a ; Aqi l Khan , 64—66 ; Khafi Khan , ii. 37

(meagre) ; Masum , 79a—8 1 a (probably a mere story) ; Storia ,

i. 263 , 283- 284, 298—300 ; Bernier, 66-67 .

88 HrsTORY OP AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xvu .

as agreed i n the i r t rea ty ofa l l i ance ? Wi th h i s

sen i o r par tner da i ly growing st ronge r, Murad

m ust soon lose the power ofen forc i ng respec t totha t treaty .

A keen d i sappo in tm en t i s sa i d to have aggra

vated Murad’

s jealousy and alarm . Ever s i nce

the i r m eet i ng at D ipalpur Aurangzib had doneeveryth i ng to soo the an d fla t ter Murad . H i s own

in tere s t in the war o f success i on , he sa id , was

m erely that ofa p i ous Musl im,who could not

bear to see Dara openly sl ight i ng h i s c reed and

cheri sh i ng the infidels. He a im ed not a t the

c rown,but a t the ext i rpat i on of

whom he accusesof decep tion and the heret i ca l hei r-apparen t, the

gfigiW ShYPOCW ‘Idolator’ as styled him . As soon

as tha t objec t had been a ttained ,Aurangzib would p lace Murad on the th rone and

h im se l f take a low unam b i t ious p lace as h i s

m in i s ter, o r re t i re to the l i fe of a re l igi ous rec luse .

Hen ce in the i r conve rsa t i on Murad used to ad

d ress Aurangzib as H i s Ho l i ness (Hazrat wh i le

Aurangzib refer red to h i s younger b ro ther as H is

Majesty ( Padishah-jz'

Agai n , afte r the v i c to ry

of Samugarh, Aurangzib had congra tula ted

Murad on the comm encem ent of his re ign , and

yet he had now m onopo l i sed a l l powe r Such i s

the story tol d by al l the unofficia l h i s to rians o f

tha t age .

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9° HisTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xvu.

becom e a he ro l i ke him .. If Aurangzib could

usurp the sup rem e powe r, why coul d no t MuradLed on by such coun se l l o rs who fed h i s van i ty ,

increases hisMurad began to ac t i n opposi

a rmy in rivalry t i on to Aurangzib and to assertWi th Aurangz’b’ h i s ow n w i l l . In orde r to rival

h i s brothe r he began to i ncrease h is arm y ,seduced from Aurangzib

’

s s i de m any of the re

cently j o ined Im per i al t roop s by the prom i se of

h igher pay , and even i nte rcepted and d iverted

to h i s ow n cam p m en who w ere com i ng to enter

Aurangzib’

s se rvi ce. His lax d i sc i p l i ne and reck

less gene ros i ty m ade him the darl i ng of a certain

cl ass of so ld iers . The Mugha l m ercenaries i n

part i cula r were at tached to such a l ibera l and

len ient m aster . Many se l f- seeke rs , too , glad ly

deserted the s t r i c t an d pars im on ious Aurangzib

for h igher rank and pay unde r M u rad . Thus ,in a short t im e Murad

’

s a rmy wa s swol len to

m en. I n im i ta t i on of Aurangzib he con

ferred t i t les and m ansabs on h i s fo l l ow e rs , a s i f

he had al ready becom e k ing. Last ly he gave up

vi s i t i ng Aurangzib a s beneath h i s d ign i ty .

Thus an open Oppo s i t i on to Aurangzib’

s

authori ty w as set up . The m al con tents and

plot te rs agai n s t him found a cam p i n whi ch to

take re fuge and a regu la r organ isa t i on by m eans

o f wh i ch to d i sp lay the i r ho s t i l i ty . The si tua

CHAP . XV II.] OPEN OP POS IT ION TO AURANGZ IB. 9 1

t i on becam e ve ry c ri t i ca l fo r Aurangzib, and a

sol uti on o f i t had to be reached before the chase

o f Dara could be undertaken wi th safe ty.

When Aurangzib s ta rted from Agra , Murad

stayed beh i nd i n that c i ty ; butand show s Op ene s t r a n g em ent hl S adv i se rs told him tha t iffrom him '

Aurangzib en tered Delh i a lone

he w ould easi ly c rown h im se l f Em pero r. So ,

Murad changed h i s m i nd,and fol l owed h i s

b ro the r,always encam p ing a few m i les beh ind

him ,as i f wa i t i ng to deal a sh rew d blow from

the rear. The publ i c m i nd wa s great ly d i sturbed

by th is open rival ry , and turbulen t m en rej o i ced

at the prospec t of a c iv i l war, wh i ch would leavethem f ree to p lunder the coun t ry . The ac ts o f

vi o lence comm i t ted by Murad’

s m en could no t

be pun ished , as Aurangzib had no i nfluence ove r

bro the r now. The work he had s ti l l i n hand was

th rown i n to d isorder.

His plan was qu i ck ly fo rm ed .

’ With his

A u r a n g z i bi nborn cunn ing, he fi rs t lul led

invites Murad to Murad’

s susp i c i on to s leep . Two5 h as“

m arche s from Agra he presented

For the arrest of Murad , Kambu , 1ga ; Aqi l Khan,66—70 ; Isardas , 3 1 6—336 ; Masum , 82b—86a ; (the last twovery detai led) ; A.N . 1 38 (merely mentions the event ) ;Khafi Khan, ii. 38 , and Dilkasha , 30 , (both m eagre) ; Stor i

'

a ,

i. 300—306 Bernier, 66—69.

9 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xvn.

233 horses and 20 lakhs of rupees to Murad , as

the lat ter had com pla ined of be ing too poo r to

equi p h i s t roops fo r the m arch . Aurangzib

further p rom i sed to send him soon one- th i rd of

the spoi ls o f war,as previ ously agreed upon .

Then he invi ted h i s b rothe r to a feas t i n celebra

t ion of h i s com p lete recovery and also to hold a

c ounc i l of war for the projec ted opera t i ons

aga ins t Dara . Fo r som e days af ter th i s Murad’

s

ch ie f fo l low e rs d issuaded him f rom put t i ng

h im se l f i n his r i val ’s power. Tha t Pri nce ,though profess ing firm fa i th in Aurangzib

’

s

p rom i ses and oa ths , seem s to have been shaken in

h i s purpose, and decl i ned to m ake the v i s i t,

offer i ng pol i te excuses . Aurangzib repeated the

i nvi ta t i on da i ly . He had sec ret ly corrupted

Nuruddin , a personal a t tendan t (hhawas) of

Murad’

s, and th i s t ra i to r induced the hap less

Prince, when re turn i ng from a hun t , to ente r h i s

b ro ther’s cam p , (25th June .) The o ther o fficers

p ro tes ted,but in vai n .

Murad was rece i ved a t the gate by Aurangzib

and taken wi th in h i s ten t . His office rs were

sea ted i n a pavi l i on outs i de the port ico and

m ade wel com e by h i s bro ther’s m a rshals . The

courtyard w as fi l led wi th the sam e Prince’s officers

ofthe guard .

Murad was led in to Aurangzib’

s private

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94 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xvn.

a lovely slave-gi r l ente red the tent and , m aki ng

a s i gn to the eunuch to go away , took h i s p lace

a t Murad’

s feet and began to sham poo him . The

sof t to uch o f her palm s soothed Murad and

th rew him i n to a profoun d s lum be r . Then she

a rose an d s teal th i ly lef t the room , tak i ng away

Murad’

s weapon s f rom the s i de o f h i s pi l l ow .

The t im e l ong wai ted fo r had now arrived .

Imm ed i ate ly afte r her departure Shaikh Mi r

wi th a dozen o f the m ost trus ty se rvan ts of

Aurangzib ente red the cham be r and su rrounded

Murad’s bed. They seem to have m ade a c la t ter,

wh i ch awoke Murad . Start i ng up at the sound ,he fi rs t t r ied to se ize h i s w eapon s , b u t they w ere

gone . In a m om ent he u nderstood the m ean ing

of th i s “ s t range change he had been caged !

Res is tan ce w as hope less. Si nk ing i n to despa i r,he upbra ided h i s brother w i th t reache ry to a

gues t and a l ly an d fal sehood toand treacher0 11s m ade hl S p l ighted w ord and to vow s

Prison“ by Au “ sw orn on the Quran. Aurangrangsib.

0

Z lb, who was l urk ing In suspen se

beh ind a screen , repl ied ,“ As at the i nst igat ion o f

your wre tched advi se rs , you have recen tly done

act s l i kely to cause d i s turbance , t rouble, an d

inj u ry to the people an d ru i n to the count ry , and

as your head has been fi l led w i th pri de and

insolence , w i se people app rehended from th i s

CHAP . xv1 1 .] MURAD MADE PRISONER. 95

state of affai rs the des truc t i on o f p ub l i c peace ,i njury to p roperty , and con fus i on i n the govern

m ent . Therefore , wi th a view to re form you r

tem pe ram ent and to p rom ote the good of the

ki ngdom and the congregat i on , I th i nk i t

necessary to m ake you pass som e days i n pat ienceand repose , i n a re t reat fu l l o f com posu re, and

unde r my eyes , that yo u m ay not have t o

rack your head about i ssui ng comm and s and

p roh ib i t i ons and m aybe freed from the hardshi p s

of the world . God forbid that I should,wi th

regard to th i s ‘l igh t o f the royal eye ,’

en tertai n

the i dea o f do ing any ac t to pu t you r dear l i fei n dange r ! Praised be Al lah ! the foundat i ons of

my prom i se and vow (to you) have no t been a t

al l weakened . My bro ther’s l i fe i s safe in the

p ro tec t i on o f God . Ea t ing the bread of w i sdomknowi ng th i s (confinem en t) to be

purely benefic ial (to yourse l f) , give no place tosorrow or fear in you r heart .”

Murad found expostu lat i on and entreaty al i kevain ; res is tance would have been sui c i de . Heyie l ded in si lence. Sha ikh Mi r placed be fo re hima pai r o f golden fet ters and wi th a courteou s

sa lam t ied the Pri nce’s feet togethe r.

After m i dn igh t the pr isoner was placed i n a

96 HISTORY OF AIIRANGzIB. [CHAP . xvu .

cove red l i t te r, such as i s usua l lyCap tive Murad used by lad ies , m oun ted on an

sent to Salim

garb p rison,elephant , and sen t aw ay under a

large escort o f caval ry , i n charge

o f Sha ikh Mi r and D ilir Khan , two of the

t rust ies t generals o f Aurangzib. By rapid

m arches they soon reached the fort o f Sal im garh

a t Delh i and depo s i ted Murad in the Sta te

p ri son of that s trongho ld . To th row h i s f riends

off the scen t, th ree o the r e lephants , w i th s im i l ar

cove red hawdas and e sco rt o f caval ry,w e re sen t

ou t east , south , and w est

Th i s “exce l len t s tra tagem ,

as i t i s cal led i n

the h i sto ry wri t ten by Aurangzib’

s o rde r and

revi sed by him,— had been carried out so

sm oo thly that Murad’

s fo l l owers d i d no t hear of

h i s fate t i l l i t wa s too l ate. They had imagined

that he was feast i ng or ho l d i ng secret counc i l

w i th his bro ther al l the t im e . Next m orn ing

h i s l eade rless so l d ie ry, to the numbe r of

we re taken i n to Aurangzib’

s serv i ce, Even h i s

fa i thful officers,— blam i ng the i r m aste r for h i s

obs ti na te rush ing i n to a t rap i nHis Property con tem p t o f thei r loyal warn ing,

and fam ily seized 0

and his army and hope less of a t tem p t ing a

Kgfrngzt

iher by rescue in the absense of a

head ,— subm i t ted to the v ic tor,who soothed the i r feel ings w i th r i ch favours .

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98 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XVII.

remov i ng h i s r i val beyon d the reach of h i s earth

ly friends . Murad had che r i shed the Mughal

m ercenaries great ly i n the days o f h is powe r, and

even now he Spen t hal f h i s p r i son-al lowance i n

suppo rt i ng the Mughal s who res i ded as faqirs in

the p la in below Gwal io r and the Mughal way

fare rs and m erchants who arr ived there. Som e

ofh i s fo rm e r offi cers , i nc l ud i ng the fa ther of the

h i s tor i an Khafi Khan, also l ived there in d isgu i se .

The grate fu l Mughals now planned a rescue ; one

n igh t they con t r ived to fas ten a rope- ladder

to a bat t l em ent of the fort, kep t a ho rse

sadd led ready bel ow i t , a nd sen t wo rd to

Murad to escape. The Prince

was infa tuated wi th the beautyhim .

of h i s concubm e Sarsati Bai ,whom he had taken to h i s p ri son by ent reaty

w i th Aurangzib. At m i dn igh t , w hen a l l wa s

ready fo r h i s fl igh t, he went to take a lover’s

farewe l l o f her. There was l i t t le hope o f the i r

m ee t i ng together agai n . At the news , the

wom an set up a l oud lam en t, c ry ing, “ To whom

are you leavi ng m e ?” Heari ng the noi se the

guards awoke, l igh ted the i r torches and search

l igh ts,and soon di scovered the ladde r.“

Khafi Khan, n. 1 55 - 1 56 . The word ‘Mugha l ’ is usedin India for the Persians, and sometimes for the peop le Of

C entra l Asia al so, but never for the Mongol s.

CHAP . XVII.] MURAD CONDEMNED TO DEATH. 99

When the news of th i s abort ive attem pt reach

ed Aurangzib, he dete rm i ned toHe is accused of

the m urder of rem ove al l anx iety on the scoreAll N 3 8"

.

"ied of Mu rad fo r ever . At h is i nsby the Qazz,

t IgatIon a son of Al l Na ,

w hom Murad had m urdered at Ahm adabad

years ago , now dem anded just i ce fo r the shed

d i ng of the i r father’s blood . The el dest son de

c lined to seek vengeance . Not so the '

second song:who lodged a com pla i n t i n the law co u rts .

Aurangzib, now Em peror, d i rec ted the c rim i nal

judge (Qazz'

) of Gwal i or to dec i de the case

a cco rd ing to the evi dence and the Quran i c law.

The plai nt iff arri ved a t the fort i n charge o f an

eunuch of Aurangzib and opened h i s case before

the Qazz’

. Murad i nd ignantly refused to p lead ,sayi ng ,

“ I f the Em pero r, i n accordance wi th h i s

p rom i ses and vows to m e, abs ta i ns from th i s

m i serable creature’s b lood , no harm wi l l be done

to h is State an d power. But i f needless ly he

w i she s fo r the death o f th i s he lp less be i ng, what

m er i t o r p ropr iety i s the re i n my m ee t i ng such

low people a s these face to face ? DO wha t you

w i sh .

The Qazi conv i c ted Murad . As the avenge r

refused to accep t any pri ce for

h i s father’s b lood , death was

the only sen tence po ssib le under Islam i c law. On

and beheaded.

1 00 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xvn.

Wednesday, 4th Decem be r , 1 66 1 , two slaveswi th the i r swords “ re lea sed th is Pri nce from the

narrow ce l l o f h i s p ri son . His corpse was

bu ri ed i n the ‘Trai tors’ Cem e tery’ of Gwal ior

Fo rt . Fo r ty years afterwards, Aurangzib,then

an o ld m an ha sten i ng to h i s la t te r end, re fers tothe grave o f h i s m urd ered b ro ther , but w i thou t a

word of remo rse o r pityfi ' K i ngsh ip does no t

adm i t of love fo r b ro the r o r tende rness to the

fal l en who m ay poss ib ly be st rong.

Murad was sent to Gwa lior at the end ofJanuary 1 659 ,(A. N . 29 1 , Khafl Khan, 1 56 , says tha t Murad was

beheaded in the month of Rabi-us- sani , 1 072 A . H. ; Kambu246 (both MSS. in the Khuda Bakhsh Library) gives the

da te as 2 1 Rabi -us- sani , 1 070 A. H. Here the fina l figure 2'

has been dropped by m istake the year was certainly 1 07 2

and not 1 070 , because in Jamad i -ul-awwa l , 1 07 1 A. H. ,

M urad is spoken ofas stil l in Gwal ior (A. N . ,

For the execution ofMurad , Kambu , 24b Khafi Khan, ii.1 56 ; Storia , i. 382 -383 Dilkusha 35 . The reference to his

tomb is in Aurangzib's letters , Inayatullah

's Akham

,2896,

3026.

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1 0 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XVIII.

coul d no t poss ibly reach him qu i ck ly , and tha t

Aurangzib was not going to let Dara s tay i n

peace a t Delh i . The s u rrender of Agra Fort

(8th June) l eft Aurangzib free to go i n pursu i t o f

h i s defea ted bro ther, and he open ly m ade pre

parations fo r m arch i ng northw ards. At th i s

news Dara a t once reso lved on fl igh t wi th the

vi c tor ious enemy com i ng from the south i n over

whelm i ng st rength and the approach of the ra iny

season th reaten ing to cut him off f rom the Pan

jab,it would have been fatal for him to l i nger

a t Delh i . Should he m arch east , j o in h i s e ldes t

son’s v i c to ri ous t roops , m ake the im preg

nabl e fort ress o f Al lahabad ( then hel d by one of

h i s devo ted offi cers) h i s s t ronghold , and then ,form i ng an al l iance w i th Shuja , con fron t Aurang

zib wi th the i r un i ted fo rces B u t Shuja w as the

a l ly ofh i s foes, Aurangzib and Murad , and w as

bes ides sm art ing under h i s recen t defeat a t the

hands of Su l a im an . Hi s fri end ly co- operat ion

was no m o re to be hoped fo r than an al l iance

w i th Aurangzib. Therefore , for Dara to m ove

f rom Delh i to Al lahabad would be to let h im se l f

be crushed between two enem ies ,—Aurangzib in

the west and Shuja i n the east . On the o the r

hand , the Panjab st rongly at trac ted him . I t was

the hom e of so ld iers , and c lose to the Afghan

bo rder where the hard i es t m ercenaries coul d be

CHAP . xvm . ] DARA AT LAHORE . 1 03

en l i s ted . The provi nce had l ong been h i s v i ce

roya l ty and w as he ld by h i s fa i th ful deputy , Syed

Ghairat Khan . Lahore Fort con ta ined m uch o f

h i s p roperty,as w e l l a s one hrore o f rupees of

Im pe ri al m oney, and a vas t arsenal and m agaz ine.

So , Dara tu rned to Lahore , i ns truct i ng h i s son

to j o i n him by m aki ng a w i de detour round

Agra and Del h i an d c ross ing the Ganges and the

Jum na at the foo t o f the Him alayas . Th i s dec i

s i on ru i ned both fa the r and son ?

Leavi ng Delh i after a week’s hal t , on 1 2 th

June , wi th an arm v sw o l len to

figfiige’h’f°r

m en, Dara reached Sar

h i nd , where he seized the p ro

perty o f the revenue- co l lec tor and dug out 1 2

lakhs o f rupees wh ich that offi ce r had buried

underground befo re h i s fl i gh t . Then , after c ross

i ng the Sutlej , he des t royed al l the boats found

a t the fe rr i es w i th i n h i s reach , i n o rder to h i nder

the enem y’s passage . Reach ing Lahore on 3rd

July , he spent there a m on th and a hal f i n en l i st i ngnew m en and com plet ing h i s m i l i ta ry p repara

t ions i n o rder to m ee t Aurangzib on equa l term s

agai n . Even before l eav ing Agra he had i ns

truc ted h i s Lahore agen t , Syed Ghairat Khan ,t o rai se t roop s and col l ect guns , and he had a lso“ wri tten to every quarte r of th i s marti a l p rov i nce

A. N . 1 25 - 1 26 .

1 04 HISTORY OF AURANGZIE. [CHAP . xvIII .

invi t i ng the tri bes t o enl i st , an d sent robes o f

honour to the faujdars of the

Panjab , Mu l tan and Tatta (then i n h is v i ce

roya l ty) and to the t roop s near Peshawa r, inv it

i ng them to j o i n him . Afte r ente r ing Lahore he

opened the r i ch Im per ia l t reas u ry and began to

d i s t ribute m oney lav i sh ly to the sold ie ry , and to

g ive mansabs and t i t les free ly . In a short t im e

his m il i tary p rbm en we re assem bled

Parations at under him . Som e Im per ia l comLahm ’

m ande rs a lso jo i ned him , such

as Rajah Rajrup (zam i ndar of the Jammu hi l l s)and Khanjar Khan (faujdar o f Bhera and Khus

hab) . Hi s st rength da i ly i nc reased . He sec ret ly

wro te to Aurangzib’

s o ffice rs and to the Raj puts

i n the i r hom es i nc i t i ng them to rebel agai n s t

Aurangzib.

”AF

At the ferry o f Ta lw an , on the bank o f the

Satlej, he had left h i s ch i ef

gene ra l Daud Khan to oppose

the enem y’s c ross ing, and now

holds the line of

the Satlei.

he sent there a re i n fo rcem en t of 5000 troop s w i th

a rt i l l e ry and m ater ial ou t of h i s increased resour

ces a t Lahore. A second party unde r SyedGhaira t Khan and Musabih Beg was tol d off to

guard the ferry of Rupa r, severa l m i l es above

A .N . 1 42 - 1 43, 1 78 - 1 79 ; Khafi Khan , ii, 33 ; Storia ,

1 . 3 1 0 .

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1 06 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xvm .

hand wh i ch c ried out fo r rem edy before every

th i ng e l se . So , Aurangzib con tented h im se l f

wi th sendi ng Khan- i-Dauran to wres t Al lahabad

from Dara’s m en and thus secure the easternflank of Agra , wh i le he detached Bahadur Khan

to fo l l ow Dara (2 1 st June). Then he devoted

h im sel f t o the al l- im portan t but de l i ca te task of

a rres t i ng Murad . Th i s be i ng accom pl i shed he

pushed on to De lh i .

Here urgen t affa i rs o f Sta te and unce rta i n ty

his arm ngem ems

about Sula im an Shukoh’

s m ove

for opposing m en t s de ta i ned him fo r th ree

Dhl

fit

ghzkohl nd weeks . His army also requ i red

som e res t afte r thei r long m arch

es and st renuous fights , befo re they could be ca l l

ed upon to undertake a cam pa ign i n the Panjab

during the ra i ny season . There fore , he only sen t

off Shai s ta Khan to ho ld the r igh t bank o f the

Ganges and Shai kh Mi r to bar the Jum na aga i ns t

Sula im an Shukoh, and re in fo rced the purs u i ng

army unde r Bahadu r Khan wi th a fresh d ivi s i on

comm anded by Kha lilullah Khan , the new ly

appo i n ted Gove rnor o f the Panjab . Mean t im e

he set h im se l f to cons truc t a new adm i n i s t ra ti on

i n the place o f the Old one whi ch h i s v ic to ries

ove r the Im pe r ia l Gove rnm en t had shattered .

New officers had to be appo i n ted and sen t off t o

the i r cha rges ; arrangem en ts had to be m ade

CHAP . xv1 1 1 .] AURANGZ IB CROWNED EMPEROR. 1 07

fo r re-establ i sh i ng authori ty ove r d i s tr i c ts wh ich

had lapsed in to l awlessnes s duri ng the c i v i l war

a thousand deta i ls o f the pub l i c se rvices had to

be cons i dered and orde rs i ssued on them ; the

detachm ents ma rch ing to the Satlej had to be

furn i shed wi th suppl ies , m ate r i al , and supports

and last ly the th rone lef t vacan t by the im pri son

m en t Of Shah Jahan had to be fi l led . At last

the t im e had com e fo r Aurangzib to th row awaythe m ask and open ly real i se h i s long- cher i shed

am bi t i on . The gao ler o f Shah Jahan could no t

p retend that he was on ly conduc t i ng the ad

m i n i st ra t i on as tha t Em peror’s fa i th fu l servant

and obed ien t agen t. Aurangzib m ust assume

the c rown to give val i d i ty to h i s ac ts and

appoi ntm ents and to end the las t remai n i ngpossib i l i ty of a confl ic t of a u thor i t ies .

The astrologers po i nted out zrst July a s an

ausp i c i ous day fo r s i t t i ng on the throne . There ;

was no t im e to m ake grand p reparat ions fo r the

A u r a n g z ih co ronat i on o r to furn i sh the

c rowns him self palaces i n Delh i Fort i n a styl eEm p eror' worthy of Mughal t rad i t ion .

A. N . 1 25 , 1 26, 1 28 , 1 44—1 48 , 1 55—1 59 ; Kambu, iga

(brief) Aqi l Khan , 63-64, 70 -7 1 , 7 2 - 73 Khah Khan , ii.

39 . The garden in whieh Aurangzib was crowned was thencal led Agharabaa

'

and contained some fine Imperia l palaces .Since Khafi Khan's time it has been known as Shalamar

It is si tuated about 8 m i les N . W. Of Delhi , close to anotherImperia l garden named Sahibabad .

1 08 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xvi i i.

But the lucky day w as no t to be m i ssed . So , wi th

hurri ed p repara t i ons and cu r ta i led cerem on ieshe sat on the th rone at the appoi n ted hour i n the

garden o f Shalam ar outs i de the c i ty of Delh i ,and assum ed the t i t le o f Alamgir (

‘Conque ro r of

the Uni verse’

) wi th the usua l add i t i ons of

Padi'

shah and Ghuzz'

Em pe ro r and Holy

Warrior). Six days afterwards he resum ed the

m arch tow ards Lahore.

Mean t ime he had taken eve ry s tep to exped i te

the pursu i t o f Dara and to leave to tha t un lucky

Pri nce no t im e to recoup h i s power . With ad

m i rable fo resigh t he m ade his naval departmen t

cons truc t po rtable boats wh i ch were sen t on

waggonsits ac ross coun t ry to the Vanguard .

Bahad u r Khan hastened to the Sa t lej a t Ta l

wan , but found the opposi te bank held too s trong

ly by the enemy . Then , guided by som e friend ly

zam i ndars , he m ade a forced m arch to the ferryOf Rupar, s i xty m i les furthe r up stream , wh ich

was neg ligen t ly guarded . Here he col lec ted 25

boats , —part ly brough t on waggons from Delh i

and partly secured l oca l ly wi th the help o f the

A u r a n gz ib ’s

zam i ndars . I n the n igh t of s th

Van crosses the August , he c rossed the ri ver bysu m" m eans of these , wi th 800 m en

A . N . 1 64.

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'

I I O HISTORY OF AURANGZIB . [CHAP . XVIII.

re in fo rcem ents and i nstruc t i ons to engage the

enemy . But Aurangzib had

orde red Khal i lo l lah Khan toAurangfi b

's hal t fo r re i n forcem ents , w i thou t

0

forc i ng an ac t i on . The Em pero r

h im sel f reached the Sa tlej at Rupar on 1 4th

August, and , w h i le he hal ted there fo r e i gh t days

to take h i s va s t a rm y ac ross in the few boats and

to ascerta i n i f the road to the Bias was cl ear, he

sen t off Ja i Si ngh and D ilir Khan wi th the

a rt i l lery under SafSh i kan Khan to j o in Khal i

lullah and m ake h i s st rength super io r to the

enem y’s . Thi s d iv i s i on reached the Van a t

G arh Sarang ( 1 8th) and there learnt tha t Dara

had fled from Lahore afte r recal l i ng Sipihr“

Shukoh from the Bias and ordering Daud Khan

t o burn h i s boats and fal l back on him when the

Im peri a l a rm y would ac tua l ly a rri ve on the lef t

bank a t Gov indwal.if

In fac t, when the new Em pero r’s army c rossed

the Satlej and he h im sel f arrivedDa ra’s desp airtreachery and a t tha t rive r, once m o re Dara sdesertim in his gen i us qua i led befo re tha t o fa rm 0y

AurangZIb. How could he hOpe

to res i s t a ri va l , who wi th in fer i o r fo rces had

A. N . 1 82—1 86 ; Kambu, 1 96 ; Su ltanpur , N .

E,on the eastern bank ofthe Kalna river, and 5 mi les

e ast of the B ias . Govindwa l , on the western bank of the

Bias , 1 1 m i les N . N . W. ofSultanpur . (1 nd. At.

CHAP . xv1 1 1 .] DARA’

s DESPAIR. 1 1 1

conquered Jaswan t Si ngh and Rus tam Khan ,who had t r i um phed ove r fa t igue , bad roads , and

ra i n- swo l len r ivers , and who wa s now com i ng

up wi th a large army of ve teran s tha t had neve r

known a defeat ? Agains t these Dara’s raw re

cruits and heart less fugi t ives from Sam ugarh

coul d m ake no s tand . The t ra i to rs i n h i s rank s

and the m ercenaries w hose lukewarm servi ces he

had bought, becam e a source of danger to him

as the enemy came neare r and m ade i t easie r

for them to desert o r m u t i ny . Dara now des

pa i red Oi success in war and confessed to h i s

c onfident i a l advi sers ,“ I cannot res i s t Aurangzib.

I f i t had been any one e lse , I shou l d have fought

him here .” The i r leader’s despai r i n fec ted the

army ; they lost heart and confidence i n a chief

who had no confidence i n h im se l f ; m ost o f the

new ly assem bled t roops abandoned the l osi ng

si de and m arched off to j o i n the banne r o f

v i c tory and hope that waved ove r Aurangzib’

s

head . That Pri nce had been busi ly send i ng

le t ters ful l o f tem ptat ion to Dara’s officers and

succeeded in seduc i ng m any of them , such as

Rajah Rajrup , Khanjar Khan and som e othersfiz‘

Worse than the defec t ion o f these m en, a c lever

ruse o f Aurangzib paralysed Dara’s r igh t arm

by sowing susp ic ion in h i s m ind about h i s b raves t

A.N . 1 8 1—1 82 ; Masum , 88 6—89 a ; Kambu , 1 9 a .

1 1 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xvi i i .

and m ost devoted Officer, Daud Khan , “to whom

h i s whole army looked up fo r encouragem ent

and the exam ple ofs teadfastness .

Aurangzib wrote the fo l lowing let ter to Daud

Khan and cont r ived tha t i t

$526“

2233; should be i n tercepted by Dara’sDaud Khan [ Wa patrols and placed be fore himfalse letter .

“ I learn from you r let te r,wh i ch

has reached m e a t such an d such a place, that

you wish fo r my success beyond l im i t . I pra ise

and approve of your conduc t . As requested by

you I am proceeding ve ry qu ickly t owards that

s i de . God wi l l i ng , you wi l l soon have the

honour of wai t i ng on m e . The prope r course for

a devo ted se rvant (l i ke you) i s to ac t i n th i s

m at te r i n the way m ent i oned i n your l et te r, so

that my ! m i nd m ay be ent i re ly placed at res t

abou t these affa i rs and Sip ihr Shukoh,— nay , all

the enem ies o f the Prophe t’s path , and al l

den iers o f the Prophe t’s fa i th

,

—may be madeprisoners by the t roops o f Is lam .

Eve ry word of the le t ter was false,because

the fa i th ful Daud Khan had neve r corresponded

wi th Aurangzib,s t i l l less had he con spi red to

se ize and bet ray h i s m as te r and h i s m a s ter’s son .

But the ly i ng epi st le com i ng at a t im e when so

m a ny othe rs were turn i ng t ra i to r, d id the work

i n te nded .

“The fu ture grew absolutely dark to

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1 1 4 HISTORY OF AURANGzIB. [CHAP . xvni .

from Gov indwal j oined him outsi de Lahore , and

so di d Daud Khan afte r des troy i ng the boats on

the Bias . Nearly t roopers accom pan ied

the Pr ince,“ att rac ted by h i s hoard of

B u t the pursuer was no t far beh i nd . At the

A u r a n gzib's

news of Dara’s fl igh t from

officerstakeposs Laho re , Khalilullah, then a t” Sim OfLabore‘ Garh Shankar, had sent a party

hurri edly to Gov i ndwal to p rocure boats from

the zam indars and ra i se those sunk by the

enem y , and then th row a bridge over the Bias .

Anothe r party was sent under Tah i r Khan to

reach Lahore by fo rced m arches i n o rder to keep

o rde r in the m asterless c i ty and to save Dara’s

abandoned p roperty and the Governmen t s to res

f rom being loo ted . They arri ved there on the

25th, exac t ly a week after Dara had left, an d

a t once took possess i on of i t .

The Van i tsel f, led by Kha lilullah Khan , after

m aking long m arches, a rrived near Lahore on

the zgth, and the ve ry nex t day , wi thou t en teri ng

the c i ty, set off towards Mul tan a t the heel s of

Dara .

‘

l Aurangzib h im se l f spen t three weeks

( from 1 4th August to 4th Septem ber) on the

two banks of the Satlej in t ransport i ng h i s vast

A. N . 1 86—1 88 ;Aqi l Khan, 73 (meagre) ; Starla , i. 3 1 2 .

1 A. N . 1 86—1 88 . Garh Shankar, 32 m i les N . N . W . of

Rupar. The text wrongly reads Garh Sarang.

CHAP . XVIII.] AURANGZIB MARCHES TO MULTAN. 1 1 5

army, then c rossed the Bias on r 1 th September,and nex t day reached Haibatpur Pat i . Here

ala rm i ng news arr ived from h i s Van Khalilullah

had reported ,“ I t i s expec ted tha t Dara wi l l

m ake a firm s tand a t Mul tan . The pursui ng

a rmy ha s no general h igh enough to encounter

a p ri nce o f the blood and to secure the obedience

of the ent i re army . I f a bat tl e i s p rec i p i ta ted

now,a d i sas ter m ay be fa l l our army . SO , we

have s l ackened our pursu i t .

At th i s Aurangzib determ i ned to lead the chase

in person . Send i ng h i s b igAurangfi b leads cam p , heavy baggage and un

the p ursuit fromLahore in person, necessary t roops on to Laho re

wi th h is son Azam , he turned

south-w es t toward s M u l tan wi th a sm al l ten t,the

i nd ispensable stores and the p i ck o f h i s so ld iery ,m aking fo rced m arches of 1 4 t o 2 2 m i l es a dayfi

‘

By way o f Qasur, and Shirgarh, he reached

Mumanpur on the 1 7 th, and there got the news

that Dara had fl ed from Mul tan ( 1 3th Septem ber)southwards to Bhakkar, and tha t h is army was

dai ly dec reasi ng through desert ion . The re was

no need now for Aurangzib to tax the endurance

ofh i s m en and anim als . He henceforth t rave l led

as A . N . 1 89, 1 92 , 1 97—20 1 ; Kambu, 1 96 (brief.) Patf

N . E. , 1 1 m i les north Of the batt le-field oiSobraon (1 nd. At

1 1 6 HISTORY OF AURANGZIE. [CHAP. xvm .

sho rter s tages , but Saf Sh i kan Khan wi th

men f rom the Van was ordered to push on after

Dara beyond Mul ta n and expel him f rom the

p rov ince . Twenty thousand go l d-p ieces were

sen t to pay h i s t roops . Kha lilullah wi th the

res t ofthe Van was o rde red to s tay at Mu l tan t i l l

the Em pero r’s a rrival . Aurangzib reached the

env i rons of Mul tan’f‘ on the 25th

and reaches Mul but from th i s po in t he tu rnedW

222? £1

3; back towards De lh i five days

Delhi. late r, because an alarm ing

s i tuat ion had been deve loped in

the east , wh i ch requ i red h i s p resen ce there, whi l e

Dara’s power was now so reduced that h i s

pursu i t m i gh t be sa fe ly le ft to d ivis ional

comm anders.

We now leave the hun te rs and take up the

h i s tory of the objec t of thei r chase. Afte r Dara’sfligh t from Lahore, the Impe ri a l Vanguard

fo l lowed him on ly twe lve m arches beh i nd .

Every day m en deser ted the hapl ess he i r to the

throne ; even h i s own Paym aster, Khwajah

a: A. N ., 20 1—2 1 2 ; Aqi l Khan , 73 ; Qasur , 32 m i les S . of

Lahore, is a sta tion on the N . W. R.,Shir arh, 1 0 m i les

S . E . ofthe Satghara Sta tion (Ind . At . umanpur is

said to be 38 m i les from Shirgarh. I can find only a

Mumandwala , 4 m i les north ofHarappa (Ibid.

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1 1 8 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xviii .

Meant im e, Aurangzib’

s Van unde r Khalilullah

had reached Mul tan on zrst

Pursuit of Dara Septem be r, e i gh t days afterfrom Multan. Dara’s fl igh t f rom i t. The

scouts sen t fo rward lost the

t ra i l of the fugi t ive ; they coul d no t learn

whether he had gone south- eastwards to

Rajputana or south-westwards to Sindh . After

fo l l owing the former route fo r som e days they

retu rned baffled . Soon the news arrived tha t

Haj i Khan Baluch , a grea t zam i ndar of the

province had d isputed i n va i n the passage o f

Dara’s t reasure-boats down the r iver. The route

ofh i s fl igh t was now ascerta ined . On the 2 2nd

a courie r arrived a t Mul tan wi th Aurangzib’

s

ins truc tions and gold co i ns, and imm e

diately a fterwards SafSh i kan Khan m arched out

ofMul tan i n pursui t . On the 26th Aurangzib

sen t Shaikh Mi r and B i l i r Khan wi th a corps of

m en to re in fo rce the pursue rs. By m aking

long m arches, Saf Sh i kan reached Uch on the

3oth, four days after Dara’s fl igh t from i t . The

w ork of bri dging the Sa tlej (probably near

Jalalpur) and the need of wai t ing for s t raggle rs

and treasu re , del ayed the advance . On zud

October SafSh i kan rece ived a party of m uske

tee rs, hatchetm en and wa te r ca rriers ,

go ld co ins and m any necessary s to res sent by

CHAP . XVIII.] IM PERIALISTS REACH BHAKKAR. 1 1 9

the Em peror, and resum ed h i s m arch . As

Sha i kh Mi r’s party was s t i l l 60 m i les beh i nd , Saf

Sh i kan d i d no t w ai t fo r him , but m arched on to

a p lace 1 26 m i les north o f Bhakkar , where he

hal ted t i l l the 1 7 th , when Sha ikh Mi r’s fo rce

j o i ned him . He re scouts b rough t the new s o f

Dara havi ng c rossed to the r igh t bank of the

I nd u s on the 1 3th an d en tered Sakkar fi"

The pursu i ng fo rce now numbered and

w as too large to m arch convenient ly by the sam e

path i n one body. SO , i t w as d ivi ded : Shaikh

Mi r w i th h is d ivis ion c ro ssed the Indus and

m arched along the r ight bank , w h i le Saf Sh i kan

Khan m oved along the left bank , towards

Bhakkar and Sakkar, - the length,

o f the two

routes be i ng 200 and 1 26 m i les respec t ively .

On the 1 8 th the two general s parted com pany

near Kan , and w h i le Sha ikh

rif

f; 5 1113323

8 Mi r hal te d two days to th row a

bridge o f boats ove r the Indus,SafSh i kan pushed on by the lef t bank , and in

th ree l ong m arches reached Bhakkar on the fi st .

Sha ikh Mi r on the other bank o f the Indus cover

ed 1 60 m i les in th ree days , suffer i ng great hard

sh i p from the j ungles bri ars and d i fficul t groundit A. N . 205

—209 , 272—2 73 . Uch, N . 7 1 7 E . (1 nd.

At. 1 8 N . W) . Three marches south OfMul tan theM ughalarmy had to cross the B ias , which then flowed in its Old bed

here. (A. N .

1 20 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XVIII.

c rossed on the way ; m any t ranspor t cat t le

peri shed ; the cam p fol lowers were exhausted ‘

and on the 3rd day of the m arch the baggage

and ten ts l agged so fa r beh i nd that the t roops

had to l ive on scan ty ra t i on s . On the fourth

day, after t rave l l ing 24 m i les , he reached

Sakkan*

He re the Imper ia l i s ts l earn t tha t the i r p rey had

aga in given them ‘ the s l i p . Dara had le f t much

of h i s p roperty, m any lad ies ofh i s harem , some

t reasure , al l h i s heavy go l d and si lver p la te, and

som e o f h i s b ig guns,in the fo rt ofBhakkar, and

en t rusted i ts defence to h i s eunuch Basan t and

Syed Abdu r Razzaq , wi th p len ty of m un i t ion , a

body of m usketeers, bowm en and barqandazes,together wi th many European gunne rs unde r

Manucci. The rest ofh i s p roperty was conveyed

down the r i ve r in boats , wh i l e

cggfi’

iiz’serab’e he moved south ( 1 8th Oc tober)

wi th h i s t roops by the r igh t bank

Of the Indus , cut t ing a way through the j ungle .

On ly 3000 men accom pan ied him . The

t roopers who had left Lahore wi th him , had

been reduced by desert i on to one-hal f when he

abandoned Mul tan. And now when he refused

A. N . 2 73-274. Sakkar is on the western bank and

Rohri on the eastern bank of the Indus , whi le the islandfortress of Bhakkar is Inm idstream , between the two towns .

(Postans’s Sindh, ed. 1 843 , pp . 30

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1 2 2 HISTORY OF AURANGzIE. [CHAP . xv ii i°

again asserted h i s devo t i on and re fused to desert

h i s m aste r even at h i s b i dd ing. He m urde red

the honourable l ad i es o f h i s ha rem , in order to

be free f rom anx ie ty about them,and then

reported to Dara how he had “ com posed his

m i nd abou t certa i n objec ts wh i ch m ake m en

hes i tate and sh rink from (despe ra te) exert i on and

figh t ing a t such t im es ( o f He ent reated

Dara to ban i sh al l doub t of h i s good fa i th from

h i s m ind , now tha t he had no fam i ly tie wh i ch

m igh t counterac t h i s cons tan cy and fidel i ty.

But even th i s p roo f o f devot i on d id no t conv i nce

Dara ; he sent away Daud Khan f rom h i s s i de .

The Afghan genera l had to leave the arm y per

fo rce , and a fte rwards j oi ned Aurangzib who

ra ised him to a h i gh rank .

With less than m en Dara reached a

place (p robably Larkhanah) 50 m i les south of

Sakkar, whe re the road to Qandahar begins .

But h i s servants and w i ves fla t ly refused to go

to the l and of the fe roc i ous and i nhosp i tabl e

Baluches . He had no he l p b u t to give up th i s

p lan and flee further south . By land he reached

Siw istan (Sehwan), wh i le h i s boats gl i ded down

the river.‘l‘

Masum , 936—96a (for the above detai l s) , A.N . 274,275 M .U. ii. 33 ( l ife ofDaud Khan) ; Stori a , i. 3 1 7 3- 1 8 .

fA. .N 275 . Sehwan is always meh tioned in the Persianhistories as Siwistan. (See al so Postans,

CHAP . xv1 1 1 .] DARA INTERCEPTED AT SEHWAN. 1 23

Saf Sh i kan Khan , who had reached Bhakkar

on zrst Oc tober, on ly th ree daysPursmmfD3 “ afte r Dara’s fl igh t from the

to Sehwan.

oppos i te bank (Sakkar) , hal ted

one day to take possess ion of the c i ty , posted a

garri son a t Roh r i and a fo rce a t Sakkar to

blockade the gates o f i ts fort, and then on the

23rd re sumed h i s m arch , w i thou t wai t i ng for

Sha ikh Mi r who had a longer journey to m ake

and was three days behind fi" On the 3oth he

go t a let te r from the qi’

ladar ofSehwan , which

was 26 m i les ahead , repo rt ing that Dara had

arrived w i th i n ten m i les of that fo rt and urgi nghim to hurry up and in tercep t the enemy

’

s

t reasure- boats com i ng beh i nd . At once he

despatched a force of 1 000 m ounted barqandazes

wi th 1 4 swive l guns on the backs of cam el s , and

rockets , to outstri p Dara’s boats and ent rench on

the lef t bank of the Indus further down, near

Sehwan , whe re the r iver was narrow , and thus

p reven t the escape of the boats . That very

n igh t he h im se l f m ade a fo rced m arch o f 24.

m i les down th i s bank and , leav i ng Dara on ther igh t bank beh i nd him , nex t noon overtook the

barqandazes by the edge of the r iver, one m i lebe low the for t (wh i ch was on the oppos i te bank) .

A. N . 275-276.

1 24 HISTORY OF AURANGzIB. [CHAP . XVIII.

En t rench ing two m i les o f the r iver- s i de,he wa i ted

for the enem y’s boats .

Dara’s m en removed thei r boats on the righ t

bank to a po in t th ree m i l es above the Imper ia l

t renches . Beh ind them coul d be seen part of

Dara’

s a rmy— som e 1 000 cavalry, 1 0 e lephants,

and a few banners . Th i s was the mos t c r i t ica l

A t t e m p t t os tage of the pursu i t . Now , i f

intercep t Dara’s ever, Dara’s fl igh t was to be

” my an”boa’s’ barred . He had been p laced

between the two d iv i s i ons of the Im per ia l a rmy,—Saf Sh i kan Khan’s before, and Sha ikh Mi r

’s

beh ind ; and these two together outnum bered

h i s fo rce as five to one. His boats had to run

the gaun t let of the guns of Sehwan Fo rt on the

r i gh t bank and those of SafShikan’

s l igh t a rt i l

lery on the le ft . But one way of escape st i l l

rem a ined Open : these two d iv i s ions of the enemy

were posted on the oppos i te banks ofa large swi ft

ri ver, a t a grea t d istance from each o ther, and wi th

no adequate supply of boats for comm un i cat ion

wi th each other. Dara wi th great prom p t i tude and

dash se ized th i s weak poi n t to effec t h i s escape .

As the Im pe ria l i s ts were very weak in boats,the i r imm ense super io r i ty on l and cou ld be

effec t ively used to c lose the rive r i f on ly the fort

a nd the army co-operated from the two banks.

SafSh i kan Khan’s rap id m arch had lef t all h i s

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1 26 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP. xv1 1 1 .

al l the n igh t and the next day ( 1 5 1 November),s tand ing on the ale rt in h i s t ren ches . The news

reached him tha t Dara had com e to a hal t and

t hat Sha ikh Mir expec ted to com e upon the

enem y on the r igh t bank i n two o r th ree days.

But about 9 a. m . on 2nd Novem ber a c l oud

o f dust fi l led the weste rn sky : Dara’s army wa s

on the m ove . Soon h i s boa ts too were sigh ted

from Saf Shikan’

s pos i t ion . The Imper ial i sts

s tood arm ed and watch fu l on the left bank ,wai t ing for the approach of the host i l e flot i l la .

But a c rue l d i sappo i n tm en t was

i n s to re for them . In an hour

i t becam e c l ea r that Dara’s

boats were pass ing by the fu rthe r bank (near the

fo rt) and not com i ng to the en t renched side.

The art i l l e ry ofSafSh i kan Opened fi re, but the

wid th of the r iver was m ore than thei r range .

O n ly two of the boats were dam aged ; a l l the

res t passed safely downst ream . The l and- fo rce,t oo ,

escaped cap tu re . Dara i ssued from the

narrow defi le of Sehwan and hastened towards

Tatta,wh i ch he reached on the 1 3th .

On the 3rd SafSh i kan Khan l earn t of Dara’s

successful fl igh t f rom Sehwan the day before ,and he a t once m arched down the le f t bank fo r

two days i n the hope ofkeep ing up touch wi th

the enemy. Then he hal ted for Sha ikh Mir,

Escape ofDaraa nd his boats.

CHAP . xv1 1 1 .] DARA LEAVES TATTA. 1 2 7

who arr ived Oppos i te him on the 6 th and ordered

a junc t i on of the i r forces . Som e days were

taken in ferry i ng SafShikan’

s arm y over to the

righ t bank , as the boats we re few . By m aking

forced m arches he overtook Sha ikh Mi r on the

way to Ta tta ( 1 4th Novem ber) and wa s again

sen t in advance of h i s co l league . On the 1 7 th

he got the news that a t Tatta

reige

ralx

sue’s Dara had c rossed over to the

le ft bank of the I ndus the

precedi ng day, and that the Im per i al scouts who

had entered the c i ty had had a b rush wi th the

rem nan t of the enemy’s t roops i n i t , but that

Dara was st i l l hal t i ng on the other s i de . At th i s

SafSh ikan m ade a fo rced m arch o f 2 8 m i les

and reached the Ind us tw o m i les above Tatta .

Nex t day (the 1 9th) he hal ted , took possess io n of

Dara’s abandoned p roperty i n the town , and was

j o i ned by Shai kh Mirfi"

On the 20 th Saf Sh ikan Khan resum ed h i s

D a r a l e a v e s m arch from Tatta , advanced s i x

Sindh for Guze m i les south o f the town andu " hal ted to co l lec t boats fo r bridging the Indus . Th i s work be i ng accomp l ished ,he c rossed the r iver on the 23rd and encam ped

on the l eft bank . But the b i rd had flown away ;no t race o f Dara coul d be found in Sindh .

A. N . 276—282 .

1 28 HISTORY OF AURANGZIE. [CHAP. XVIII.

Taki ng advantage of the Im per i al i sts’ en fo rced

hal t a t Tatta , the Pri nce had hurr ied eastwards

away from the Indus, reached Bad in (the 24th)and was m arch i ng along the Rann towards Cutch

and Guzera t .

Just then o rders arr i ved from the Em peror

1Pursuing troop s

reca l ing the pursu ing fo rce 1 1 1

recalled by Aur hot has te to the Court, to repe langzib.

Shuja’

s i nvasion . The t roops ,ut terly exhausted by the i r incessan t m arch i ng

ove r long stages th rough the d reary sands and

jungles ofSi ndh and wi th m os t of the i r remoun ts

and t ransport an im als dead of fa t igue , welcom ed

the comm and , and set thei r faces hom ewards upthe Indus (5th They had fai led in

the i r ques t, but had st i l l won glo ry. The ir

suprem e feat of endurance had m i ssed success

when a lm ost wi th in the i r grasp , th rough their

lack ofboats . The pursui t w h i ch had been so

re len tless ly carried on for th ree m on ths s i nc e

Dara left Laho re, now ended . Nor was i t any

l onger necessary fo r Dara’s ru i ned cond i t i on and

the te rr ib ly inhosp i tabl e region that lay before

him prom i sed l i t t le that he would ever again

th reaten the Im per ia l th rone .

A.N . 282 - 283 . They joined the Emperor at the hunting

- lodge ofRupbas on 8 th Feb.

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1 30 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . x ix .

c ies to cal l them forth , and shone on ly by flashes ;he was s t i l l capable of v igo rous ac t ion

,but on ly

fi tfully.

The story of Shah Jahan’

s i l l ness , wi th i ts

em be l l i shm ents by rum our, rea

ched Shuj a a t Rajmahal , the then

capi ta l of Bengal . He imm e

dia tely c rowned h im se l f k ing,took the pom pous

t i t le of Abul Fauz Na s i rudd in Muhamm ad,

Tim ur Ill , Alexande r ll , Shah Shuja Bahadur

Ghaz i . The khutba was read in h i s nam e in the

m osques , co ins were struck beari ng h i s t i t le ,s and

the assum pt i on of royal ty was com p le te . I t on ly

rem a i ned to de feat h i s rival s and seize the th rone

ofDe lh i .

For th i s purpose he s ta rted wi th a large army ,an adm i rable park o f art i l lery ,

Shuja crownshim self,

marches on Bem um .

and the h ighly use ful war- boa ts

(nawwara ) of Bengal . Passing

th rough Patna , he reached Benares by the end of

January, 1 658 . Mean t im e Dara had despatched

an arm y of cavalry , foot-m uske tee rs ,and 200 barqandazes, wi th a we l l-fi lled war- chest

and m any elephantsT The nom i nal comm and

had been given to his e ldes t son, Sula iman

Khafi Khan, II. 5 Masum 326.

Adab- i -Alamgz'

ri, Alamgirnamah, 3 1 ; Masum ,

34a ; Kambu 9a.

CHAP . x1x .] SHUJA NEAR BENARES . 1 3 ;

Shukoh, a m ere youth ; but the real powe r l ay

in the hand s o f h i s assoc i ates, the po l i t i c and

expe r ienced Rajput ch ief Jai Si ngh , and the

dough ty Afghan leader Dilir Khan Ruhela . The

o ld Em pero r had ent reated the generals to do

the i r best to ave rt the f ra t ric i da l war ; they were

no t to m oles t Shuja i f he ret i red peacefu l ly to h i s

own provi nce , and shou l d figh t him only i f he

pe rs i sted i n Th is a rm y cam e in

touch w i th Shuja’

s at Bahadurpur, 5 m i les north

east o f

Here on the h igh bank of the Ganges Shuja

fo rm ed an entrenched cam p,

1122:$219 at B" wi th h i s flo t i l l a m oored c lose at

hand . Dara’s arm y hal ted th ree

m i les o ff. For som e days there was a di s tan t

a rt i l le ry due l , and now and then ski rm i shes

between the scout s of the two arm ies . The De lh i

t roops had no such dec i ded supe r io ri ty o f st rength

as to storm Shuja’

s pos i t i on wi th the certai nty ofvi c to ry . Sulaim an , there fore , care ful ly s tud ied

the enem y’s pos i t i on and hab i ts . He found out

that t hey d id not take o rd inary m i l i tary precau

t i on nor pa t rol round the i r cam p , an d tha t Shuja

4c Adab-z’

2 1 6b ; Storz’

a , i. 244 ; Bernier , 35 .

1' Bahadur/my (Indian Atlas, sh. 88 ) only 2 m . east ofthe

right bank head of the Rai lway bridge over the Ganges at

Benares .

1 32 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xxx.

was grossly indo l en t , l e t t i ng th i ngs d ri ft and‘

s leep ing t i l l la te in the morn ing.

So Sula iman m ade h i s own preparat ions . Early

in the m orn i ng of 1 4th Februa ry ,

lzfin’

fi‘s

se

guzgu '

1 658 , he m arched h i s t roops ou t

on the pre tence o f changi ng the i r

ground , and sudden ly fe l l upon Shuja’

s cam p .

“ The Bengal so ld iers a fte r rubbing the i r s leepy

eyes found tha t the enemy we re al ready aroun d

them they had no t im e to put on the i r tun i c s,

but took the shortest road to safety .

”

The tum ul t b roke Shuja’

s s leep on a couch

hung round wi th m osqu i to-nets . He took an

e lephan t and hurried out to re t r ieve the day , but

the bat t le had been al ready l os t . The enem y

had swarm ed i n to h i s cam p and we re l oo ting i t .

Al l h i s captai n s f rom the i r respec t ive quarters

had fled, W i thou t car i ng what becam e of thei r

m aste r .” Here and there a few knots of m en were

fac ing the enem y and offe r i ng re s i s tance , but m o re

wi th a V i ew to win the i r way to safety than to ga in

a v i c tory . Som e th ree thousand o f the enemy

enc i rc l ed h i s e lephan t and p l ied the i r m uskets

and bows at him . The i r a rrows rai ned down on

his hawda , and som e even glan ced off h i s coat of

a: Alamgzrnamah, 3 1 ,Masum , 34a

—4ob. My accoun t ofthe surp rise and fl ight is taken from the latter’s graphicdescription .

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1 34 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . X IX .

and e l ephan ts . Even the hum bles t p rivate had

abandoned h i s l i t t l e a l l . The to tal l oss could

no t have fa l len sho rt o f two krores of rupees .

The fugi t ive Pri nce imm ed iately w e ighed

ancho r and sped down the ri ver. Som e o f his

fo l lowe rs who reached the bank Short ly after him ,

were too la te to em bark , and pe ri shed hel p lessly

by the enem y’s swords . For ten m i l es the

flot i l la w as row ed i n se lfish ha ste , wi thou t a hal t

bei ng m ade to p ick up the i r own m en runn i ng in

d i st rac t i on on the bank . At last the boats drew

up in exhaus t i on on the further Si de , and here

Mi rza Jan Beg, the wazir, who had ridden away

from the fie l d w i th only 400 m en, was taken on

board . The nature of the i r pan ic m ay be j udged

from the fac t that “ he congratula ted h i s m a s ter

on his having saved h i s l i fe , which , in such a

carnage , was equivalen t to a thousand vic tories!”

But the m a i n port ion o f the army fled by the

land route th rough Saseram to

Of the Patna. So tho roughly dem ora

lised we re they tha t d isgrace fu l

scenes m arked the i r p rec i p i tate fl ight . Eve ry

sm al l group of hal f- naked peasan ts, walk i ng

beh ind them st ick i n hand , was m agnified by

thei r terro r- st r i cken im aginat i on in to the pursu ing

arm y , whose arri val they d readed eve ry m om ent .

The vanquished warr i ors , though ten to fifteen

CHA P . X IX . ] FORTIFIES MUNGIR. I 35

thousand st rong,c lad i n m ai l and cui rass , and

m ounted on charge rs, quiet ly let them sel ves be

s tr i pped of the i r al l by sm al l band s of such

vi l lagers ! Som e even th rew away the i r own

accoutrem ent s and m oney to fac i l i ta te the i r

fl igh t ! The vi l lage w om en l ured the sol d ie rs

as i de,prom i s i ng to give them d ri nk ing-wate r, and

then snatched aw ay the i r c lo thes and p rope rty,whi le the he roes d u rs t no t pro tes t even by a

w ord ! The enti re road to Patna wa s l i t tered

w i th num be rs o f abandoned e lephants . horses,l oad- cam e l s , m ules, co s t ly art i c les and sack s o f

coins. These were quick ly appropria ted by the

vi l lagers .

Shuja reached Patna on the l gth and ral l ied

h i s m en to som e extent . But theShuja g0es to

M ung“ .

v i c torIous Sula im an Shukoh,

afte r freely loo t i ng the Bahadur

pur cam p , was now com i ng i n pursu i t . So

Shuja pu shed on to Mungi r (Monghyr), w here hes topped to gather the st raggle rs

,give re spi te to

the wounded , and arrange fo r m aki ng a stand

agai nst the p u rs uers . By grea t effo rts and da i ly

supervi s i on he bui l t a w al l two m i le s l ong fromthe hi l l to the r i ve r, ac ross the p la i n outs ide the

c i ty . The ram part was s trengthened wi th

t renches , stockades , an d bat ter i es ; so ld ie rsm anned them day and nigh t , on the alert for

1 36 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB . [CHAP . X IX .

the enem y’s approach . Th i s un foreseen

obstac le brought Sula im an to a sha rp ha l t . He

wavered , encam ped 1 4 m i les wes t ofMungi r, and

took t ime to m atu re new p lans .

Jus t then alarm i ng news reached him from the

Court. His father wro te urging

812323;Xi”)

him to patch up a truce wi th

Shuja and hasten back to Agra

to m ee t a new dange r com i ng up from the south .

Aurangzib and Murad had advanced from the

Deccan , jo i ned the i r fo rces on the way, c rushed

Dara’s a rmy w h i ch barred thei r path at Dharmat

( 1 5 th Apri l ), and we re now in ful l m arch on the

capi tal .

Term s were qui ckly arranged between Shuja’

s

wazir , Mi rza Jan Beg, and Rajah Jai Si ngh , and

confi rm ed by the pri nc i pa ls . I t was agreed that

Bengal , O r i ssa , and Bihar to the east ofMungi r

shoul d be l ef t to Shuja, but h i s seat should be

Rajm ahal , as h i s presence a t Mungi r, on h i s

weste rn fron t ier, would be a m enace to the ruler

ofDe lh i . AS 5 0 0n as the t reaty was signed T(early in May, Sula im an hastened back

towards Agra , but, alas ! too l ate to save e i ther

h i s fa the r or h im se l f.Masum , 40b and 41 a .

‘l’ Masum , 52a—sé c . Masum at one p lace (526) says tha t

Sulaiman’s camp was 30 m i les from Mungir, and at another

( I47b) 1 4 m i les .

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1 38 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP. x1x.

your o ther wishes. L ike a true brother l shall

no t refuse you anyth i ng that you des i re , be i t

land or In the l igh t of Aurangzib’

s

treatm en t of Shah Jahan , h i s loving father , and

o f Murad Bakhsh,the very ladde r by w h i ch he

had m oun ted the th rone, h is p ro testa ti ons of

bro the rly l ove were est im ated by Sh u ja a t the i r

t rue worth . He sen t in reply a po l i te le t ter o f

thanks and— p repared fo r war .

The news of his bro ther’s absence i n the far-off

Shuja’s hope of

Panjab at the heel s o f Dara ,cap turing Agra. revi ved Shuja

’

s am b i t i on . Heby smm s’"

cou l d nor let s l i p th i s go lden

oppo rtun i ty . To the objec t i ons of h i s ch ie fs and

m in i s ters he answered ,“Aurangzib has le f t bet

ween th i s p l ace and the capi ta l no genera l st rongenough to oppose m e. I f Pri nce Sul tan Moham

m ad bars my path , I shal l w in him over, and by

a qu i ck m ovement secure the person of Shah

Jahan and res tore the old gove rnm en t . And

then I shal l Stay a t Court as my father’s obed ient

se rvant .

So he wen t to Patna . There his gene ral Mir

l s fand ia r Mam uri , who had been wounded and

captured by Sula im an Shukoh a t Bahadurpur

and had escaped from h i s p ri son at Agra in

a: Alamgz’

rnamah, 2 I I , 223 and 2 24.

j‘ Masum , 964 and b Alamgirnamah, 224.

CHAP . x1x.] SHUJA’

s SECOND ADVANCE . 1 39

the con fusi on fo l lowing Dara’s fl igh t , j o i ned him .

He,alone am ong the Bengal ch ie fs , fed Shuja

’

s

van i ty and urged him to m ake a hol d b i d fo r

the crownfi5

At the end ofOc tober, 1 658 , the Bengal army ,caval ry

,wi th art i l lery and

a vast flo t i l la , set out qu i ck ly

from Patna . At fi rst Fortune

seem ed to sm i le on the exped i t i on . Dara’

s ‘

His march on

Allahabad.

office rs i n charge of the forts in the eastern

provinces had been ordered by tha t Pri nce , j us t

after h i s defeat , to surrender them to Shuja and

thus save them f rom fal l i ng in to Aurangzib’

s

hands. Rohtas,Chunar and Benares al l opened

the i r gates to Shuja , and the comm andan t o f Al la

habad wrote to him pro ffer i ng subm i ss i on . A

detachm en t sent to the north of the Ganges

cap tured Jaunpur. At Benares h i s war- ches t

was replen i shed w i th th ree lakhs o f rupees ex tort

ed from the m erchants and rich m en o f the c i ty ,both Hindu and Muhamm adan . Al lahabad was

reached on 23rd Decem ber A sm al l d iv i

s i on of Aurangzib’

s t roops unde r Khan- i-Dauran ,wh ich had been bes ieging the fort , fe l l back a t

the m ere approach o f Shuja .TBut that Pri nce’s v ic tor ious advance was soona: Masum , gya and 99a.

1' Alamgzm amah

, 224, 225 , 239, 240 Kafi Khan, II. 45—47 .

Masum is strangely si lent about the detai l s ofthis march.

1 40 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . X IX .

to receive a check and he was toReach KbW 3 11 ,

as a, con fron t enem ies of a d i fferen t

s tam p . Th ree s tages from Al lah

abad he reached Khajwah“ (3oth Decem ber)and found Sul tan Muhamm ad , the el de s t son

of Aurangzib, barri ng h i s path . Th ree days

afte rwards the Im pe r i a l cam p becam e the sceneof unusua l l i fe and bust le : Aurangzib h im sel f

rode i n to i t and took over the suprem e com

m and . Now fo r the dec i s ive bat t le !

To understand th i s s tart l ing developm ent we

Aurangzib hasmus t hark back to the end of

tens back to July last,when Aurangzib, after

O pp ose klm ' crow n i ng h im sel f a t Delh i , setofffo r Laho re , to chase Dara . His m i nd was not

a t ease about h i s brother i n Bengal . He had

several agen ts in the eastern parts , who watched

every m ovem en t of Shuja , and fas t couriers who

sped wi th the i r reports to the Em pero r. Shuja’

s

susp i c i ous m arch from Rajmahal to Patna and

h i s open ly hos t i le act ion in advanc ing towards

In 1 764 the English exacted a ransom of 4 lakhs fromBenares as the p rice of not looting the city. (B roome,

Khajwah ( Indian Atlas , sh. 60 N . E. , Khajuka ) is in

the Fa tehpur D istrict, 5 m . S. S. W. ofthe B indki RoadS ta tion on the E . I. R. It is situated at the same d istance ,1 0 m i les , from the Ganges on its north and the jumna on its

south. Eight m i les west ofit stands Korah, which has givenanother name to the batt le. A century afterwards (3rd May.

1 765 ) Genera l Cam ac routed the Maratha a l l ies oftheWazirofOudh on the p lain ofKorah. (Broome,

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1 42 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . 11 1 11 .

from Agra Fort , and seve ra l o ther o fficers, m ost ly

Raj puts,wi th the i r Whi le these

a rrangem en ts were tak i ng p lace, Shuj a w as s t i l l

a t Benares : h i s one chance of swoopi ng down-on Agra w as thus Io s t the open road on whi ch

he had counted was now blocked , and the

Em pe ro r h im sel f was wi th i n hai l a t De lh i .

Thus the s ta te o f the gam e was com ple te ly

changed , andAurangzib natural ly

expec ted that Shuja would now

re t i re quickly from h i s vai n

reaches the!cam p at Korah.

ques t , as any wise m an would have done . So ,

he sl ackened h i s own speed , hal ted twe lve days

a t De l h i , and then went to the hun t i ng- l odge of‘

Soron , to w a i t for news. I f Shuja ret i red , Prince

Muhammad would be recal led and the Em peror

wou l d re turn as from a hun t ; o the rwi se he would

has ten from Soron to j o in the cam pa ign . Shuja ,howeve r, pushed bl i nd ly on and reached

Khajwah, as we have seen . The Em pe ro r, cons

tant ly i n form ed of the enemy’s m ovem ents , left

Soron on zrst Decem be r, o rder i ng Su l tan Moham

m ad not to prec i p i ta te an ac ti on bu t w a i t for

him . On and January, 1 659 , fathe r and son

un i ted the i r forces near Korah , e i gh t m i les west

ofShuja’

s position.

‘

l‘ That ve ry day, by a happy

at: Alamgirnamah, 2 26, 234 and 235 .

1 Ibid, 235—238 , 241 .

C HAP . X IX .] PREPARATIONS FOR BATTLE . 1 43

c o incidence , Mi r Jum la arr ived from the Deccan

by forced m arches, and a t once took h i s p lace as

the confiden t ia l adv i se r and right hand man of

the Em pero r.

BATTLE OF KHAJWAH

No t im e was now los t on the Im pe r ia l s i de .

Nex t day , 3rd January, Aurang

zib form ed h i s p lan ofbattle and

assigned to each d iv isi on i ts

p roper posi t i on. Early at dawn on the fourth,

the orde r ofba tt le was i ssued the art i l lery was

to be planted oppos i te the enem y’s guns , and the

arm y was to advance the re . Al l was st i r andbus tle i n the camp . The m arshals and o rder l ies

gal loped about to arrange the ranks ; t rum pets

sounded ; the ket tledrum s s truck up the s tand

ards were borne aloft. Be fo re each d iv i s i on

m oved the e lephan ts and guns ; beh i nd themt ram ped the serr ied ranks of s teel- c lad caval ry.

“ A den se c l oud ofdust ra i sed by horses’

hoo fs h i d the earth and sky .

”e

Aurangzib mar

sha l s his army,

Alamgz'

rnamah, 242 , 245 , 250 . Khafi Khan , ii. 49 .

Aurangzib'

s d isposition ofhis troops is m inutely described inthe Alamgirnamah, 245

—250 , and Shuja’

s on pp . 250 8c 25 Ia lso Aqil Kb. 75 . Khafi Kh. (ii. 49) merely gives an abstractofthe Alamgz

'

rnamah.

1 44 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . X Ix .

From 8 a .m . Aurangzib h im sel f rode ou t on a

huge e lephant i nspec t ing h i sadvancesShuia

’s position.

t roops and Cheer ing them

by h is p resence i n the fie ld .

Under h i s leadersh i p the arm y advan ced sl owly

and i n perfec t order, till about 3 p .m . ,when they

hal ted one m i le f rom the enem y’s fo rce, beh i nd

the Im per ia l art i l le ry , at a spot cho sen by

the scou ts fo r the bat tle . Sha j ah , too , m ar

shalled h i s ranks , b u t d i d not leave h i s pos i t i on .

On ly h i s ar t i l lery w as sen t hal f a m i le i n fron t

of h i s cam p . The Im peri al a rt i l le ry repl ied to

the i r fire, but l i t t le execu t i on seem s to have been

done on e i ther Si de .

At n igh tfa l l Shuja’

s art i l lery reti red on h i s

arm y , i n o rder to keep touch

w

r

jécggizgs

f’ent in wi th i t . Mi r Jum la

,wi th a.

bo rn genera l’s i ns t i nc t , a t on ce

seized the deserted pos i t i on , —wh i ch was a h igh

ground comm andi ng the enemy’s cam p . By

hard labour he d ragged 40 guns to i t and m oun t

ed them , a im ing a t the enem y and ready for

ac t ion on the nex t m o rn ing. By Aurangzib’

s

o rder h i s sol d iers d id not take off the i r armour,the i r horses were not unsaddled ; the m en only

at Masum ( 1 0 1 6) says that the fire was continued allnight,

and many were slain . But this is very unl ikely. TheAlamgirnamah gives the more cred ible account

, which Ihave fol lowed .

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1 46 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . x 1x .

Messengers began to com e runn ing up to

caused by Jasthe Em pero r to report the t ru th .

want 's treacher An ac t of t reachery,d i sgracefu l i n

“ 3 “ tad“ any se rvan t , doubly d i sgrace fu l

i n a w as the roo t of a l l th i s t rouble .

Maharajah Jaswant Si ngh (of Jodhpu r), who com

m anded the Im per ia l R igh t Wing,had brooded

ove r som e fanc ied sl igh t o r neglec t and m atu red

a deep plan of vengeance . He had , i t wa s sa id , sen t

a sec re t m essage to Shu j a say i ng tha t he wou ld

a ttack the Im per i a l cam p beh i nd the fiel d a t the

c l ose of '

the nigh t ,1’ and tha t wh i le the Em pero r

w ould has ten to the rear to repel him Shuja

Should sw i f t ly fal l on the d i sordered arm y an d

c rush i t be tw een two adve rsar ies . So , short ly

afte r m idn igh t he go t h i s Rajputsi ready,

9“ Aurangzib’s Own words , in a letter to jai Singh, given in

the Paris MS . , 2b.

1 For the a ttack on the Base Camp, see Masum , 1 1 0 12- 1 1 1 6 ,

Alamgirnamah, 253- 256 , Khafi Kh. ii. 5 1

-

53 , Kambu , 1 9 17 ,(meagre), Aqi l Kh. 76 81 7 7 (brief and confused ) , and Alzé am ,

Irvine MS. 46. ( India O ffice MS. 34a g ives a few l ines more . )The best accounts are those supp lied by the Alamgz

'

rnama lz

and the Anecdotes, 7 . Khafi Khan supp l ies a few in

teresting detai l s.

I This number is given by the Ahkam . Masum says5 or 6 thousand .

"l have taken the larger number because

Jaswant as commander of the Right Wing could not have hadless than men ; in the reduced M ugha l army ofthe

next day that wmg had men,wi th a reserve of

more . Secondly, the Alamgz'

rnamah adm its tha t at dawnAurangzib

found tha t “ nearly one ha lf Ofyesterday’s forcehad been scattered by the tumul t

”

C HAP . x1x.] IM PERIAL IST CAM P LOOTED . 1 47

turned h is back to the fi eld , and rushed the

cam p of Pri nce Muhamm ad , w h i ch lay i n the path

o fh i s fl i gh t . The few guards o f the cam p we re

soon overpowe red , the fo l low ers who were found

i n the w ay we re s la i n , and every th i ng that the

Rajp u t s cou l d lay the i r hand s on w as carried off.

Som e o f the cam p people , roused by the no i seand m i s tak ing i t for the app roach o f the enemy ,ha s t i ly loaded the i r good s on the i r bea s ts to

p repare fo r fl igh t . These now fe l l i n to the hand s

of the Rajputs , who we re saved the t rouble of

packing the i r boo ty ! Horses and cam e l s beyond

n um be r an d an imm ense am oun t i n cash an d

k ind w ere carried off. The baggage,s to res , and

d raught- catt le of the Im pe ria l i s ts , from the

Em pe ror to the m eanes t p ri vate , whi ch lay i n

the cam p beh ind the b ivouacki ng arm y,were

l oo ted .

“ Everyth ing i n the Pri nce’s cam p w as

swep t away w i th the broom of pl under .” Much

of the Em pe ror’s own cam p su ffered the sam e fa tebe fo re the Rajput s gai ned the road to Agra .

The confusi on spread to the arm y at the fron t .Men assem bled i n broken group s, and rum ours o f

a d isaste r sp read th rough the ranks . “ The news

caused d i s t rac t i on am ong the t roops ; the i r o rder

w as broken coward s and t rai tors fled away wi th

or after Jasw an t ; som e do uble- dealers w en t over

to Shu ja . Many comm anders l ef t the i r posts and

1 48 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . X IX .

ha s tened to the rear- cam p to look afte r the i r

property .

But the s i tuat i on was saved by Aurangzib’

s

w onde rful coolness and Shuja’

s

Shuja Inactive.hesi tat ion . Shuja rece ived Ja s

want’s m essage, heard o f the tum ul t , bu t d i d no t

leave h i s own cam p at n igh t , feari ng i t m igh t

be a m e re ruse con tr i ved betw een Aurangzib and

Ja sw an t to l ure him on to dest ruc t i on So grea t

was Aurangzib’

s repute fo r wri t ing fe igned le t ters ,m aking false p rofess ion s , and p rac t i s i ng al l the

s t ratagem s of war and po l i cy , that Shu ja durs t

not take advan tage ofh i s seem ing d i stress. The

genera l who hes i ta tes i s l os t ; the psychologi ca l

m om en t pa ssed aw ay , never to return .

The Em pe ro r w as a t h i s tahajjud prayer i n h i s

field- ten t , w hen the new s of

A u r a n g z i b'sJasw ant

’

s at tack and dese rt i oncoolness

reached him . Wi thout u t ter

ing a w ord, he m e re ly waved h i s hand as i f to

say,

“ I f he i s gone , let him go Afte r de l i

berately fin i sh i ng the p raye r, he i ssued from the

ten t , m ounted a takht-i- rawan (portable chai r) ,and addressed h i s office rs , “ Th i s i nc i den t i s a

m ercy vouchsafed to us by God . I f the i nfide l

had played the t rai to r i n the m i d s t o f the ba ttle ,al l w oul d have been l os t . His fl igh t (now) i s

good for us . Prai sed be God that by th i s m eans

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1 50 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xix.

rej o i n the roya l banner. Thus Aurangzib saw

around h im se l f m ore than sold iers , as

agai nst Shuja’

s bare He i ssued the

order o f battle w i th an assurance o f v i c to ry

whi ch the flat ter i ng Court annal is t ascr ibes to“ h i s t rust i n God an d the esco rt o f angel ic

legi ons ,” bu t whi ch the m odern c ri t i ca l h i s tor ian

m ust set down to a m o re m undane cause, via ,

h i s c lear supe r i ori ty o f two to one over his

enemy .

F i rs t sp read a screen o f ski rm i shers (qarawwa ls),a sm al l bu t p i cked body under

5

A “ 3 “ g“ b’s Abdul l ah Khan . These w ere the

attle array.

re t i nue o f the Im per i a l hun t , m en

accustom ed to t rack the deer and the t iger and to

take advantage of every cove r i n the ground .

The Vanguard was led by Zulfiqar Khan and

Sul tan M uhamm ad, the R igh t Wing by Islam

Khan,and the Le f t Wing by Khan- i-Dauran and

Kum ar Ram Si ngh (the son o f jai Si ngh . ) Each

of these d ivi s i ons was s trong and had a

num be r of guns cover i ng i ts f ron t . Bahadur

Khan comm anded the Iltz'

mshor sm al l Advanced

Aqi l Khan (p . 76) gives Shuja’

s numbers thusRight WingLeft This gives a tota l OfRight ReserveLeft N0 main Reserve is mentioned .

’

Centre (tip)

CHAP . X ix . ] AURANGZ IB'

S ORDER OF BATTLE . 1 5 1

Reserve. The m a i n Reserve s of the two wings ,ea ch n umber i ng t roopers , w ere unde r Daud

Khan and Rajah Sujan Si ngh re spec t i ve ly . I n

the Centre the Em peror's banne r waved ove r aW

va s t hos t o f a t leas t m en? “ His own r i gh t

and left flanks w e re comm anded by Am i n Khan

and M u rtaza Khan . Khaw a s Khan brough t up

the scan ty Rear. Aurangzib rode on a huge

e lephan t wi th h i s th i rd son , Muhamm ad‘Azam ,

i n h i s hawda . Mi r J um la was seated on anothe r

elephant , c l ose to the Em peror’s , ready to he l phim wi th counse l a t any c ri s i s . The arm y

m arched s low ly ahead i n thi s form at i on , and

c la shed w i th the enemy a t 8 a .m .

The actua l strength of the Imperia l a rmy is m entionedneither in the Alamgirnamah, nor by Khafi Kh. The formeronly says tha t more than one ha lf of the previous day

’s forcez

'

. e . , was p resent (p . This would giveto The latter adds that at dawn many of the dis

persed oflicers came back to the presence (p . ThereforeAurangzib could not have got less than men withhim after jaswant

'

s flight would be nearer the truthAqil Khan (p . 78) estimates the lmperial force thus : V an

,

Right Wing , and Left Wing, each ; Right and LeftReserves each. The number in the Centre (under theEm peror) is unfortunately not given . But it must have beentwice as strong as either of the wings , because the Alamgz

'

r

nama/z mentions 43 Officers as present in it , against some20 in each of the wings (pp . 246 The statement ofthe Akkum tha t when the battle began Aurangzib

’

s a rmy“ did not number even one- fourth of Shuja

's"is an absurd

exaggeration and occurs on ly in the'

Ind ia Office MS. of

it (f.

1 5 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . X IX .

Sh u ja had been im pressed by yes terday’s vas t

assem blage of the Im per ia l host ,Shaia

’s forma

t ion whose numbe r rum ou r had

sw ol len to above m en.

He knew tha t he could no t adopt the c ustom ary

p lan o f bat tle , m aki ng hi s fo rce co rrespond ,d i vi si on fo r d ivi s i on

,to the enem y’s d i spo s i t i ons .

Hi s smal l force w ould then have been ove rlapped

and sw al l owed up by the va st ly ex tende d fron t

of an enem y who outn um be red him as th ree to

one . So, w i th great j udgmen t he m ade a new

form at i on to- day : al l h i s army w as d rawn up

i n one l ong l i ne, behi nd the ar t i l le ry . HIS Righ t

was comm anded by hi s e ldes t son Zainuddin

Muhamm ad and Syed Alam m en), and

h i s Le f t by Hasan Kheshgi m en) . Behi nd

the se tw o w i ngs s tood the i r Reserves , each

s trong, unde r I sfandia r Beg and Syed Q u l i

respec t ively . In the Centre rode Sh uj a w i th

h i s second son , B u land Akhta r, m en).

h is fron t be i ng led by Sha i kh Zari f an d

Syed Qasim . The re was apparen t ly no m ai n

Rese rve. Wi th t rue general sh i p Shuj a deter

m i ned to ass um e the offens i ve , and m ake up

fo r the sm al l ne ss of h i s number by the m ora l

supe r i ori ty whi ch the a ttacki ng party always

has . The firs t stage o f the ba tt le j ust ified h i s

fo reca s t .

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1 54 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . X IX .

Em pero r’s death suddenly sprea d th rough the

ranks and took aw ay the hea rts o f the sold ie rs .Many fled aw ay ; “

even ve teran s of the Deccanw ars and o l d servants o f the Em pe ro r j o i ned the

7Ons tream o f fl ight . So great was the i r panic

tha t som e o f the fugi t ives d i d no t ha l t be fo re

reach ing Agra . Jasw ant’

s m ysteri ou s appearan ce

and rap id fl i gh t had c reated along the route to

Agra a sto ry of the Em pe ro r's de fea t an d captu re .

The la te r arr i val s f rom the fiel d confirm ed the

new s , gave c i rc um s tan t i a l de ta i l s o f the d isaste r

l ike eye-w i tne sses , and anno unced the speedy

advance of the vi c tor i ou s Sh uj a to release Shah

Jahan . Agra then m us t have resem bled Brusse l s

just a fter Wate rl oo

Bu t the batt le had yet to be fough t an d w on.

The enem y , after c lea ri ng the

Le ft Wing, pushed on tow ards

the Centre , where only

Attack on his

Centre

t roopers now rem ai ned to guard the Empe ror .

B u t Murtaza Khan from the Iltimsh, and Hasan

Al i Khan f rom the Le ft Reserve , each w i th a

hand fu l o f m en , flung them se lve s fo rw a rd and

barred the enemy ’s path . The Em pero r, too ,bold ly t u rned h i s elephan t's head to the Left to

confron t the enem y . Backed thus by the Cen tre ,these few brave office rs successfu l ly repe l led

Aq il Kh. 76 8: 77 .

CHAP . X IX .] AURANGZIB TURNS TO RIGHT . 1 55

Syed Alam,who gal l oped back by the same pa th

that he had com e.

Bu t the th ree e lephants cont i n ued to advance

w i ld ly,thei r wound s having

m ade them fiercer than befo re .

One o f them cam e up to Aurangzib’

s e lephant .

I t was the c r i t i ca l m om en t of the battle . I f the

Em pero r had given ground or tu rned back , his

w hole army would have fled. B u t he s tood l i ke

a rock , chai n ing the legs Of h i s e lephan t to pre

ven t i ts fl i gh t? At h i s o rde r one o f h i s m atch

l ockm en , Jalal Khan , sho t dow n the m ahut of the

at tacking e lephant, an d immed ia tely a fte rw ards

repelled.

som e Im pe ria l e lephan ts surro unded i t , a brave

roya l mahut n im bly leaped on i ts back and

b rough t the r iderless beast under h i s contro l . The

other tw o e lephan ts ran aw ay i n fron t o f the

Cent re tow ards the Righ t Wing . The Em pe ro r

now got breath ing t im e, and turned to s uccour

h is R igh t , whi ch had been hard pressed i n the

m eant im e .

For, encouraged by the s ucce ss o f Syed Alam’

s

charge , the enem y’s Van an dA '

b

succihiirzliisgh

z

ai-d Le ft , led by B u lan d Akhtar,

55532“ Right Sha i kh Wal i , Shaikh Zari f,

Hasan Kheshgi , and others , had

a t tacked the Im pe ria l R igh t . In sp i te of the i rat Khafi Kh. ii. 56 .

1 56 HISTORY OF AURANGzIB . [CHAP . X IX .

sm al l n um ber, the i r gal lan t charge d is lodged

the i r Opponen ts ; m any of the Im pe r i a l i s ts fled,

but the capta i ns kept the i r p laces , though wi th

very few m en a t the i r backfi’" Al l th i s t im e so

severe w as the s t res s o f the figh t on the Le f t that

Aurangzib had no t im e t o t h i nk o f h i s Ri gh t .

Now , f reed from the dange r on h i s Lef t, he l ook

ed a t the Righ t and found the re s igns o f confu

s i on an d fl igh t . His fi rs t though t wa s to hasten

to re i nforce that hard -pressed d ivi s i on . But even

i n the grea tes t d ifficul ty and dange r, h is coo l ness

and p resence o f m i nd d id no t desert him .1’ I t a t

once s t ru ck him tha t , as h i s own fron t had

h i the rto been turned toward s the Lef t , i f he were

now to face suddenly round and m arch to the

R ight , the res t o f the arm y woul d i n terp re t th is

volte face as fl igh t . So ,he firs t sen t o rderl ies to

the Van to tel l the genera ls o f h i s real objec t and

to urge them to figh t on wi thout fear o r doubt .

Then he w hee l ed the Cen tre round and jo ined

the R igh t Wing . The succour cam e not a m i nute

too soon . The e lephan t of I sl am Khan , the

comm ander o f that w i ng, taki ng frigh t from a

rocket , had fled scat ter ing and Shak ing the t roops

o f tha t d i vi s i on . The comm ande r o f the Righ t

Wi ng art i l le ry and h i s son had been s la in . But

Kambu , 20a ,Masum , 1 026 8: 1 03a .

j“ Alamgirnamah, 26 1 81 262 .

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1 58 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . X IX .

arm y that no m an could s tand i t . The fron t l i ne

ofSh uj a began to gal l op back to a safe d istancei n twos and th rees a t a t im e.

The re w as now a genera l advance o f the whole

General advance lm perial arm y,Righ t , Cen tre,

of Aurangzib's and Le ft . “ Like m asses of dark

m m" cl oud s , they s u rrounded Shuja’

s

own d ivi s ion , the Cent re ,” h i s tw o flanks having

been la i d bare by the defeat and fl igh t o f h i s

R igh t and Le f t Wings . Many of h i s personal

a t tendants pe r i shed from the Im per i al i s t fire

u nde r h i s own eyes . The cannon-bal l s carried Off

a head or hal f a body a t a t im e. Som e of them ,

we igh i ng 1 6 or 20 fits, flew about h i s own head.TThere fo re, a t Mi r Is fand ia r Mamuri

’

s advi ce he

lef t the dangerous p rom i nence of the e lephant’s

back and took horse .

This w as the end of the s truggled: Al l was

now lost . The s igh t of theShuja dis

mount s from his em pty hawda, V i s ible from the

elephant furthes t l im i ts o f the fie ld , s t ruck

terro r i n to his sold i ers’ hearts . The i r m aster w as

a: Masum , I o3a - 1 04a .

This last scene is graphica l ly described by Masum ,

t o3b 8t Io4a .

i Bernier’s statement , copied by Stewart , tha t Shuja was on

the point of gaining the Victory when he lost all by d ismountingfrom his elephant , m erely g ives the bazar gossip . None

of the contemporary authorities on whom my.

account of the

batt le is based , supports such an idea , which 15 a l so natura l ly

CHAP . x1x.] FLIGHT OF SHUJA’

S ARMY 1 59

s lai n , so they im agi ned . For whom woul d they

figh t any longer ? They had been sore ly tried by

Aurangzib’

s art i l lery an d w anted only a decen t

excuse for fl igh t . Thi s w as now found i n the

r i de rless e lephan t . I n a m om ent the whole army

broke and fled.

Shuja’

s shou ts to h is m en to s tand firm fel l on

unheeding ears ; he coul d no t

arres t the t i de of fl igh t , b u ts too d i n the field as a he lp less “ spec ta to r of the

hand of Fate. A few of h i s captai ns , who had

been gal lan t ly fac i ng the enem y , now l ooke d

around and saw w i th am azem en t the fiel d beh i nd

them deserted , and none of the i r fo l l ow e rs presen t

a t the i r back . The enem y , em bol dened by the s ight ,hemm ed them round . I t wa s only left fo r them

to d o and to die, and th i s they d i d . Syed Alam

alone broke th rough the r ing of h i s adversaries .

”

Al ready the c raven- hearted had begun to buy

safe ty w i th d ese rt i on to the

V i c to r’s S id e . Whi le Aurangzib

w as advanc i ng from h i s own

Ri ght , first Murad Kam Safaw i(s u rnam ed Mukar

ram Khan), then Abd u r Rahman Khan (son o f

Nazar Muhamm ad Khan , the ex -king of Ba lkh) ,

improbable . Indeed , the bat t le had been a lready lost andShuja was in imm inent risk Of being captured , when he tookhorse.

0 Masum , 1 04a ;8z 6.

His army flees.

Desert ions to

Aurangzib.

1 60 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . X IX .

and Sa i ijar Beg (the son o f Alawardi Khan ), le ft

Shuja and j o i ned him . Under the i r gu idance the

Em pero r Sk i rted Shuja’

s art i l le ry on hi s lef t hand

and charged the enemy’s Cen tre , a s narrated

befo re? But the vi c to ry had been al ready w on.

A courier now gal loped up to him w i th the

happy new s that Shu j a had fl ed f rom the fie l d

wi th h i s sons , Syed Alam ,Alawardi Khan , and a

sm al l rem nant of h i s army.TImmediately the Im pe r ia l ban d Struck up the

‘m u s i c o f vi c to ry ,

’

w h i ch conSpo’ls Ofwetory'

veyed the happy news to eve ry

sol d ier in the fiel d . The ba tt le w as ove r. Au r

angzib descended from h i s e lephant , and kne l t

down on the fie l d to thank the Give r o f Vi c tory .

Shuja’

s ent i re cam p and baggage w ere plunde red

by the Im pe ri al i sts . One hun d red and fourteen

large and sm al l p ieces of cannon , an d e leven of thecel eb ra ted e lephan t s of Bengal becam e the V i c to r’s

spoi l,as also d i d a sm al l port io n of t reasure and

jewel s w h i ch had escaped pl under by the soldiers iReviewing the ba t tle , w e m us t give the palm

of general shi p to Shuja . Aurang

tisg‘t’c’sm “ t“

zib showed great firm ness and

p resence of m i nd , but no m i l i

‘3 Kam bu , 20 17 ; Alamg-irnamah, 263 8: 264.

Aurangzib’

s own account of the bat tle is given in the

Ruqat-i NO. 1 9 and the Paris MS . , 26 .

I Alamgz’

rnamah, 265 ; Khafi Kh. , ii. 59 .

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CHAPT ER XX .

BATTLE OF BEORAI (AIM IR), I ZTH—I4TH

MARCH, 1 659.

We have seen how Dara had been pursued

al l the way from Lahore to Tat ta i n Lowe r

Si ndh and final ly d i s lodged from that town .

Leaving i t on 1 8th Novembe r, 1 658 , he had st ruck

i nland to Bad in , 55 m i les eastwards, and then

m arched fo r three days a long the northern shore

o f the sal t lagoon o r Rann, suffering unspeakab le

hardsh i p th rough lack of water. That yea r the

ra i nfal l had been scanty , and the tanks on th i s

rou te were al l d ry, w h i le the few wel ls con ta i n

ed on ly a sm al l supply of m uddy wa te r. Many

ofh i s t ransport an imals per i shed of th i rs t and h i s

sold iers were brough t a lm os t to death’s door.

The lagoon was e i gh ty m i les b road wi th m any

q uicksands , and no dri nki ng water a t a l l . But

every th i ng m ust bow to necess i ty . Dara had no

cho i ce bu t to en te r the Rann (2 7 th November)

C HAP . XX.] DARA IN CUTCH. 1 63

wi th hi s tende r wives and daugh te rs in order to

reach Guzerat fi‘

Crossi ng the Greate r o r Wes tern Rann he

reached the vi l lage of Luna , a t

gga

ést‘

zfifcom '

the nor th-wes tern end of the

i sland of Cutch . Then , m aki ng

h i s way through the desert and a long the sea

coast by a d i fficul t and untrod den path , under the

gu i dance o f som e l ocal zam i ndars , he arrived a t

the capi ta l o f the i s land . The Rajah hosp i tablyrece i ved him , and overcom e by the personal

charm of Dara and the hope ofm a tch ing wi ththe Im peri a l house of De lh i , he be trothed his

daughter to Sipihr Shukoh)“ and gave every

help to Dara to m ake h i s p rogress easy . The

fugi t i ve , replen i sh ing h i s powe r in the dom in ion

o f h is new fri end , c rossed to Kath i awar. Here

the lead ing ch ief, the Jam of Nawanagar, o ffered

him presen ts and the necessary p rovis i ons and

4: A. N . 282 - 283. Badin, 55 m i les east of Ta tta . Darap robably crossed the Rann at Rahz

'

mkz'

Bazar , 30 m i les S . E.

of Bad in . Ja i Singh afterwards reached the northern shoreOfthe Rann at “

the vi l lage Of Rahman (Paris MS. 1 03a ) ,which I take to be another name Ofthe same p lace.

The Rao of Cutch, "when he appea rs in publ ic , a l terh ately worships God in a Hindoo pagoda and a Mabommedan roya l fami ly of Cutch have neverobjected to form matrimonia l a l liances wi th Mahommedanswhen the ma tch was suitable, or when a politica l Object wasto be jharejahs emp loy Mussa lman cooks , andeat from their hands . (Burnes

’s Visit to Court If Shade45 ’ Hist ory of Ca tch, ed. 1 839 , p . xiv. )

1 64 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XX.

conveyances . Growi ng stronger as he advanced ,he en tered Guzera t . The l ocal officers and

jagirdars on the way we re forced to fol low him .

gets possessionOn h i s arrival before Ahm ada

of Ahmadabad bad wi th m en, Fortuneand ra’seS tm oPs' sm i led on him unexpec tedly.

Shah Nawaz Khan , the newly arrived Governo r

of the provi nce , cher i shed resen tm ent agai nst

Aurangzib fo r hav i ng im p ri soned him at Bu rhan

pur on h i s re fusal to j o i n that P ri nce i n the t e

be l l i on aga i n s t Shah Jahan . True , Aurangzib

had m arr ied the Khan’s daugh ter, b u t that lady

was dead , and Shah Nawaz Khan fe l t no natura l

a t tachm en t to h i s persecuti ng son- in- law. Be

s ides, he had taken charge o f Guze rat so recen tly

tha t office rs and troops se rv i ng i n tha t province

had not been ye t brough t under h i s con t rol . His

m i l i ta ry fo rce wa s sm al l and too d ivi ded by

m utual jealousy to offer an effec t i ve oppos i t i on

to the i nvade r.

Whether i nspi red by revenge o r cowardi ce ,Shah Nawaz Khan subm i t ted a t the ve ry outse t .With h i s ch ie f o fficers he advanced to Sarganj,four m i les from the capi tal , to w e lcom e Dara ,adm i t ted him in to the for t (9 th Jan uary ,and opened to him the Treasury con ta in i ng tenl akhs of rupees be longi ng to Murad . Dara Spen t

one m onth and seven days i n Guzera t,and by

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1 66 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IE. [CHAP . xx.

and at the end o f these i nvasions he had interceded wi th h i s fa the r and secured lenien t te rm s for

them . Aurangzib was as m uch the i r m o rta l foe

as h i s , and he m igh t coun t on the i r ass i s tance

from vindi c t i veness i f n ot from grat i tude . Dara,

therefo re, a t fi rs t wished to m arch i n to the South

and set up h i s authori ty there , and then , by

jo in ing fo rces w i th Golkonda and Bijapur, take

revenge on the comm on enem y ofthe th ree. The

report tha t such a m ovem ent was con tem plated

by him reached Pri nce Muazzam ,the Gove rnor

ofAurangabad , and he set abo u t enl i s t i ng t roops

to be bet ter ab le to bar the path o f h is unc le.

But a new hope drew Dara off from th i s en ter

p ri se.

The news reached Guzerat that Shuja was:

rapid ly advanc i ng from the east , w h i le Aurang

zib w as absen t i n the Panjab . Now was the

t im e fo r Dara to m ake a dash on Agra from the

west and release Shah Jahan . Soon rum our

brough t the flat te r i ng news that Aurangzib’

s

army had been routed i n a bat tle wi th Shu j a

near Al lahabad and tha t Jaswan t Singh had

returned hom e l oaded wi th the spo i l s o f the

vanqui shed Im pe ri a l cam p . The go lden oppor

tunity had com e . Dara hes i ta ted no l onge r.

On 1 4th Feb ruary he started fo r Ajm ir, leav i ng

one o f h i s o ffice rs beh i nd as Gove rno r of Guzera t,

CHAP . xx .] DARA ADVANCES TO AJM IR. 1 67

and carry i ng away wi th h im se l f the se rvan ts ,ch i l dren and w i ves o f Murad , as wel l as several

l ocal Officers l ike Shah Nawaz Khan . Th ree

m arches afte rwards he learn t the t ruth tha t

Jaswant Singh Aurangzib had t r i umphed over

invites Dara to Shuja ; bu t th i s d i sappoin tm en tA’mu "

w as m ade up for by a s troke of

unexpec ted good fo rtune . Maharajah Jaswan t

Si ngh sen t one of h is h igh office rs to Dara w i th

a le t te r p rofess i ng h is devo t i on to Shah Jahan

and a sking Dara to reach Ajm ir qui ckly, where

the Ra thors and o ther Rajputs w ere ready to

j o i n a leade r who would take them t o the rescue

of the i r capt ive sove re i gn . Wi th Jaswant’

s

p rom i sed hel p a vast Rajpu t arm y cou l d be easi ly

ra i sed .

Ajm ir i s the very hear t o f Rajas than ,

“the

centre round w h i ch the hom es of the Raj pu t

cl an s clus te r . Eas t of i t lie K i shangarh and

Jai pur, i n the south Mewar, i n the S. E . Kotah

and Bund i , i n the wes t Marwar , and i n the north

we s t , beyond Marwar, are Shekhwa ti and Bikanir.

The refore the Mughals , and fo l l owing them the

Engl i sh,have he l d the i so l a ted d i s t ri c t of Ajm ir

as a m eans o f p lan t ing the i r feet on the breast o f

Rajpu tana and dom i na t i ng al l the Rajput c lans

w i th ease . Wi th Jaswan t as h i s r igh t hand man,

Dara woul d find Ajm ir a m ost conven ien t p la c e

1 68 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xx.

for ra ising a vas t Raj put army in a short t im e.

On the way he rece ived m o re fr iendly let ters from

Jaswan t , t i l l he reached Mairta ,th ree m arches

from Jodhpur, fu l l ofh igh

These hopes were soon dashed to the ground

fo r, i n the m eanwh i le AurangzibAurangzib in

SVades Marwar,

had succeeded In secu ri ng Ia

want . Afte r the battle o f Khaj

wah , the Em pe ro r, j ustly angry w i th Jasw an t for

h i s t reachery on tha t day , wanted to m ake an

exam ple Ofhim . He despatched an army of1 0 ,000

m en and guns under Muhamm ad Am i n Khan to

i nvade Marwar,expe l Jaswan t , and place on the

throne Ra i Si ngh Rathor. Fo r a t im e Jaswan t

m ed i ta ted res i s tance , gathered troops , and Offered

an al l iance to Dara . B u t he soon real i sed hi s own

im potence .

“As Agra and De lh i had fa l len i n

a twinkle i n to Aurangzib’

s hands , how l ong could

the fort o f Jodhp u r hol d ou t against h i s pow e r

After wai t i ng w i th a l l h i s t roops for some days i n

unce rta i n ty a t Man dur,h i s ol d capi tal

,and then

learn i ng tha t the army of h is chasti se r and h i s

r i val had reached Lalnu th, ravaging the coun try ,he l o s t heart and fl ed to the h i l l- fort of Siw anah.

Meant im e , Aurangzib had real i sed the wisdom

of no t dr iv i ng Jaswan t i n to h i s enem y’s arm s .

a A. N . 2 29-

300 , 3 1 1 Aqi l Khan , 8 1—82 . Mairta , 37m i les N . W . of Ajmir and 68 m i les N . E . of Jodhpur ( 1 nd.

At. 33 S . W) .

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1 70 HISTORY OF AIIRANGZIE. [CHAP . xx .

in expec ta ti on of ra i s i ng m ore m en and organis

i ng h i s fo rce , but urged Dara to advance to

Ajm ir where he w oul d jo i n him wi th h i sRaj pu ts .

From Ajm ir Dara agai n sen t Dubinchand to

bring'

Jaswan t . But the embassy w as fru i t less ;Jaswan t had c learly given up a l l i n ten t i on Of

goi ng to Ajm ir. The unhappy Dara m ade a

th i rd attem pt . Stoop ing from hi s d igni ty under

the force o f necess i ty, he sen t h i s son Sipihr

Shukoh to Jodhpur to ent rea t the Maharajah to

com e to Ajm ir, by appeal ing to h i s sense of

honour and the sacredness of p rom i ses . Jaswan t

rece i ved the Prince wi th courtesy, but d id not

m ove from h i s purpose. Afte r wast i ng th ree days

in va i n expec ta ti on and be i ng pu t Off wi th

sm ooth words , Sipihr Shukoh a t las t retu rned to

h i s father i n d i sappo in tm en t . A Raj pu t of the

h ighest rank and fam e had turned false to his

word . O f a l l the ac tors in the dram a of the

War Of Success i on , Jaswan t em erges from i t

w i th the wors t reputat i on : be had run away

from a fight whe re he comm anded i n ch ief, he

had treachero us ly a t tacked an unsuspect i ng

fri end,and now he abandoned an al ly whom he

had pl igh ted h i s word to suppo rt and whom he

had l ured in to danger by h i s p rom i ses . Unhappy

was the m an who put fa i th in Maharajah Jas~

CHAP . xx .] ENTRENCHMENTS AT DEORAI 1 7 1

wan t Si ngh,l ord o f Marwar and Ch ief tain o f the

Ratho r Cl an .

But there w as no escape for Dara . By th is

t im e Aurangzib had arrived near Ajm ir and a

bat tle coul d no t be avoi ded . Dara , p l unged i nto

despai r by Jaswant’

s fa i th lessness an d the defee

t i on o f o ther Rajpu ts who we re i nfluenced by

h i s exam ple , had to prepare for batt le, w hether

he wished fo r i t o r no t .

Con sc i ou s o f the smal lness o f h i s own force and

the overwhe lm i ng st rength o f theDara entrenchesa p ass near enem y, Dara W i se ly changed hisAim ir' plan . Ins tead o f figh t i ng a

pi tched bat tle i n an open pla i n , he dec i ded to

hol d the pass of Deorai, four m i les south of

i n the narrow bread th ofwhich a sm al l ho s t can

keep a super i or fo rce of a ssa i lan t s back . His

two flanks were pro tec ted by the hi l ls o f B i th l i

and Gokla w h i le beh i nd him lay the r i ch c i ty

o f Ajm ir, w here h i s o fficers had depo s i ted their

property and fam i l ies and when ce he coul d eas i ly

d raw h i s suppl ies . He ran a low wal l south o f

For jaswant’

s deal ingswith Dara ,—A. N . 300 , 309—3 1 2 ;

Khafi Khan , ii. 65—66 ; Bernier, 85—86 ; Isardas, 43a ;

Kambu, 2 1 a (meagre) ; Aqi l Khan, 8 1—84. The Mugha linvasion of Marwar after Khajwah is ful ly described in

Isardas , 4 1 6—43a , and briefly mentioned in A . N . 288 , 305 .

1 Deorai is given as Dorai in Indian Atlas , (Sheet 34 N .

4% m i les south ofAjmir, a l ittle to the east of the Ra jputanaMa lwa Ra i lway l ine.

”1 72 HISTORY OF AURANGziB. [CHAP . xx.

“h i s posi t i on,from h i l l to h i l l ac ross the val ley ,

wi th t renches i n front and redoubts at d ifferen t

p o i n ts. The en t i re l i ne was d ivided i n to fou r

s ec t i ons, each under a d ifferen t commander wi th

a rt i l le ry and m usketeers . On the righ t , a t the

south-wes tern corne r o f the po s i t ion , c lose to the

h i l l o f B i th l i,lay the t renches of Syed Ibrah im

‘

(su rnam ed Mustafa Khan) and Jan i Beg (Dara’

s

Ch ief OfArt i l lery) w i th a thousand barqandazes

bes ides othe r sold ie rs. Next came the t renches

o f F i ruz Miwa t i, and beyond them , on a h i l lock

overlook i ng the pass, w ere m ounted som e big

gun s . He re , at the centre of the l i nes s tood Dara

wi th h is sta ff. On h i s le ft the l ine was cont i nued

by the th i rd sec t ion o f the t renches (he ld by Shah

Nawaz Khan and M uhamm ad Shari f Qal i ch

K han , the ch ief office r o f Dara), and the fourth

s ec t i on unde r Sip ihr Shukoh a t the south- eas te rn

corne r ad j o i n i ng the h i l l o f Goklafi"

The pos i t i on was adm i rab ly chosen , and i ts

natura l s trength was greatly i ncrea sed by art .

Two h i l l ranges runn ing beyond Ajm ir, rendered

i ts flanks absolutely secure, a s they could be turn~cd only by m aki ng a very wi de de tour and th read

i ng the way through anothe r defi le. In f ron t , theenem y to i l i ng up the Slope f rom the pla i n be l ow

t For Dara ’s d ispositions—A. N . 3 1 3-3 1 4 ; Khafi Khan,II I. 67 ; Aq i l Khan , 84 ; Isardas , 436.

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1 74 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XX .

t h i s pos i t i on of van tage under cove r of h i s res i st

a nce , and the post fi rm ly secured . Dara’s

advanced troops re t i red baffled beh ind the i r l i nes .

The whole Im peria l arm y now m oved forward .

The Van and the Ri gh t Wing took post oppos i te

the eas te rn trenches, c l ose to the Gokla h i l l , and

the Le ft Wing faced the t renches near Bi th l i .

I t wa s im poss ib le fo r Aurangzib’

s arm y to befu l ly deployed ; the o ther d ivi s i ons were hel d

back from the figh t i ng l i ne and surrounded

A urangzib’

s ten t wh i ch was now p i tched 1

m i les from the enemy’s pos i t i on . That day (i 2 th

March) h i s guns were carried hal f a cannon-Sho t

forward and d isposed befo re the enemy’s guns in

the cen t re o f the l ine .

I t was even i ng befo re th is genera l m ovem en t ,sh i f t i ng ofcam p , and d ispos i t i on of the art i l lery

and the a ttack i ng d i vi s i ons could be com pleted .

Then the bat t le began i n r igh t earnest . F i rst, as

usual in Mughal warfare, there was an art i l lery

due l . F rom the sunset Of the 1 2 th to the dawn

of the 1 3th , there was i n cessan t fi r ing from both

Si des. “ Earth and heaven shook wi th the no ise .“ Clouds ofgunpowder sm oke covered the

The 1 3th passed i n the sam e manner. From

1 ! A. N . 3 1 5 ; Aqi l Khan, 85 .

CHAP . xx.] SECOND DAY’

s FIGHT . 1 75

m orn ing to 3 0’ c l ock i n the afternoon , the art i l

Battle, second lery due l con t i nued . The

day s.

cannonade Im pe ria l ists were busi ly engagedcont’nued' i n d igging t renches to cove r

the i r f ron t but bands of brave m en m ade so rt i es

f rom Dara’s l i nes, fel l on these t renches , and a fter

k i l l i ng m en and horses returned to the She l te r o f

the h i l l s. In the afte rnoon , from the r igh t and

lef t Of Dara’s army stee l- c lad caval ry

swarm ed ove r the wal l and entered the field ,brand i shi ng the i r swords and spears . The

Im per i a l a rmy accepted the chal lenge, and a hot

hand- to- hand comba t raged i n m id-field t i l l the

sun wen t down .

Dara’s art i l lery and m uskets from the i r h igh

pos i t i on showered death on Aurangzib’

s gunners

and t roops . But the cannon-bal l s o f the Im pe

rialists fel l on the stone-wal ls o f the enem y or

on the h i l l-s i de, do ing no harm . Al l the n igh t

o f the 1 3th also the gun s con ti n ued boom ing,but evident ly as a p recaut i on agai nst a surp r ise

o r n i gh t- at tack .

The Im per ia l generals recognised the s trength

of the enem y’s trenches as im p regnable .

“ As the

l i nes were st rongly fo rt ified and ensconced i n

i naccess ib le h i l l s , the effo rts of the Im per ial i s ts

to cap ture them d id no t Shai kh Mi r

Khafi Khan, ii. 68 .

1 76 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xx.

and B i l i r Khan real i sed tha t an at tem p t to storm

the enemy’s t renches by a caval ry charge would

lead to a fru i t less l oss o f l i fe . So an assaul t

was forb idden . The n igh t wa s spen t i n a counc i l

o f war. Nex t m o rn i ng ( 1 4th)§ Aurangzib as

semb led h is gene ra ls , rebuked them fo r the i r

delay in ach ievi ng success, and u rged them to do

thei r u tm o s t to capture the enemy’s l i nes .

A new p lan o f at tack was also adopted . The

convent i onal m ethod of each d ivi si on engaging

the one opposed to i t and the art i l le ry opposing

the enem y’s a rt i l lery and try ing to breach the

earth-work s , wa s abandoned a s havi ng p roved

i tse l f use le ss a fter a was te of two days’ t im e and

m uch amm un i t i on .

Aurangzib’

s gene ra l s dec i ded to m ake a

concen t ra ted at tack i n overw he lm i ng s trength on

Shah Nawaz Khan ’s t renches ,B ttl th

‘

d da 3 1 tr ay a t the enem y’s left ,T Wh i le the

Both the Alamgirnam ah (3 1 9) and Aqi l Khan (88) declare the 29th jamad i - us- sani as the da te of the victory.

This date corresponds to i 4th March , 1 659 A .D . Both the

Alamgirnam a lz and Jai Singh Speakof the day as a Sunday,but i 4th March was a Monday. From A. N . (330) it is clea rtha t Jam ad i- us - sani that yea r had a thirtieth day. In the

history of the pursui t given in the next chapter the fi rst fewdates m ay be inaccura te by one day as the resul t Ofthe abovei rreconci lable d ifference.

1" Kambu (zi b) says that this attack was m ade at a

treacherous hint from Shah Nawaz Khan . Bernier, 87 ,a lso. Masum ( i 38m sta tes, Dara ascribed his defea t to thetreachery ofShah Nawaz Khan, and on this false suspicion

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1 78 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xx

to d iver t the enemy ’s a t ten t ion . A body o f one

thousan d t roopers sa l l ied out o f Shah N awaz

Khan’s t renches and encoun te red Rajrup . The

other Im pe r ia l gene ral s had been sm art i ng under

the Em pero r’s reprim and in the m orn ing,and

now the s igh t o f the enemy wi th i n easy reach of

the i r weapons roused the i r m art i a l a rdo u r. D ilir

Khan wi th h i s Afghan s gal l oped i nto the fray

from the r igh t s i de o f thet t d

Art i l lery ; Sha ikh Mir fromN awaz Khan’s beh i nd the guns turned to thet renches.

righ t and cam e up to the fron t

l i ne alongs i de of D i l i t Khan . Sha i s ta Khan

w i th the R i gh t Wing, the art i l lery m en from the

m i ddle , and Ja i Si ngh wi th the Van , al l flocked

to thi s po i n t to s uppo rt the figh ters . The Left

Wing also m ade a forward m ovem en t again s t

Dara’s ex t rem e r igh t .

The figh t now becam e general . The b u l k of

the Im per ia l a rm y w as m assed i n fron t o f the

enem y’s le f t, w here the assau l t w as de l i vered .

Sha ikh M i r and D ilir Khan togethe r advanced on

Shah Naw az Khan’s t renche s i n reckless valour.

The Im pe r i al a rt i l le ry reopened fire w i th grea t

rap i d i ty and preven ted the o ther d i vi s i ons o f the

enem y from leavi ng the i r t renches and m arch ing

ac ro ss the fron t to ai d thei r hard-p ressed friend s

i n the pl ai n on the i r lef t, who go t supports only

CHAP . xx.] FRONTAL ATTACK ON SHAH NAWAz. 1 79

from the t renches imm ed i a te ly beh i n d them .

The hardes t figh t raged i n th i s par t of the fiel d .

Dara’s m en obst inate ly defended the i r l i nes, and

the rival general s free ly exposed them se lves to

encourage the i r m en. From Dara’s second and

th i rd t renches cannon-bal ls and b u l lets w ere

showered upon the assa i lants . H i l l a nd p la i n

we re enve l oped i n a th i ck pal l of sm oke .

Accord ing to one account Dara’s art i l lerym en

Obstinate s trug were co rrupted by Aurangzib

gle and heavy and fired blank charges . Bu tSlaughter' h is m uske teers a t a l l events

fough t val ian tly , and the Slaughter inAurangzib’

s

ranks was heavy at th is po in t . The vigour o f

the onse t , howeve r, d i d no t abate. The blood

ofthe Im per i al i s ts was fi red by the fierce passi on

or com bat ; the i r horsem en dashed on towardsthe t renches i n the face ofa ha i l o f bul le ts ; the

wounded who fel l we re t ram pled under the

horses’ hoofs beyond recogn i t ion , but fresh troops

from beh ind pressed forward to take the i r p lacesfi"

The at tack was pers i s ted i n fo r ove r an hour

wi th undim i n i shed v igour. Wave after wave

of Im pe r i a l is ts swarm ed up to the charge ; and

at las t they pushed al l the enemy out of thefie ld and won the ground to the edge of the

a: Khafi Khan , ii . 70 .

1 80 HISTORY OF AURANGzIE. [CHAP . xx.

t renches. Now , i f ever, Dara’s l ines we re to be

ente red , o r a l l th i s loss o f l i fe would be va i n .

By th is t im e Rajrup’

s m en had to i led up the

back o f the Gokla h i l l , wh i le the enem y w ere

abso rbed i n the seve re contes t i n the i r f ron t .They plan ted the i r banne rs on the top an d ra ised

a shou t . The Im per ial i s ts we re fi l led wi th joy

and the assurance o f s uccess, and Dara’s Lef t

Wing was se ized wi th despai r a t i ts rear be i ng

t u rned . An attack f rom th i s quarte r had not been

expec ted a t al l , and i t had been left unguarded .

The exu l tan t Im per i a l i s ts redoub led the i r

effo rts to en te r the t renche s. But m any of Dara’s

m en s t i l l res i s ted wi th the courage of despai r .

To ove rcom e the las t oppo s i t i on , Sha ikh Mi r

d rove h i s e lephan t fo rwa rd . A bul let s t ruck him

i n the breast and he fe l t that h i sM i r

end had come. But th is fa i th

ful se rvant’s las t though ts we re

s t i l l about h i s m aste r. He told h is ki nsm an Syed

Hash im ,who was s i t t i ng behi nd him in the sam e

hawda ,“ I am done fo r. Cla sp m e round the

w ais t and prop my head up , SO tha t my fol l owers

m ay not know of my death and give up the figh t

i n despa i r . I see c lear s igns o f a v i c tory to our

arm s , and ve ry soon the Im peri a l band wi l l st ri ke

up the m usi c of tri umph .

Khafi Khan , II. 7 1 .

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1 82 HISTORY OF AURANGzIB. [CHAP . xx.

advance o f the t roops o r d i rec t i on o f the batt le

im poss ible . Sha ikh Mi r’s fo l l owers , too , at the

death o f the i r ch ie f , go t ou t o f hand and d i spersed

fo r pl unde r, ins tead o f con t i nu ing the figh t . The

sun set on a scene of w i l d confus i on and tumul t .“ In the darkness swo rd s p layed ; friends cou l d

no t be know n from foes ; the warri ors o f the two

arm ies fe l l d own figh t i ng Side by But

gradual ly as the n igh t advanced , the t ruth

becam e know n that the bat t le had been al ready

D dec i ded . True , only one o f theara s positionrendered unten four entrenchm ents had beenable '

cap tu red ; b u t i t w as enough .

Dara’s l i nes w e re fa tal ly p ie rced . The redoub t

on h i s ext rem e le f t , comm anded by Sipihr

Shukoh had been rendered untenable by the

Jamm u h i l lm en se izi ng i ts back and the Im per ial

t roop s who had entered Shah Nawaz’

s pos i t i on

t u rni ng i ts righ t . Thus Da ra’s Le f t Wing was

en t i re ly gone. His R igh t rem a ined in tac t .

Askar Khan st i l l he ld the redoub t on h i sex t rem e r igh t and kep t the Im pe r ial i s ts back.

F i ruz Miwa ti’

s pos t , the second redoubt , was

al so uncaptured , and there w e re s t i l l abou t

m en to uphold Dara’s cause bu t the i r ch ie f was

gone .

From his h igh pos i t i on a t the back of the3“ Kambu, 22a .

CHAP . xx.] DARA’S LAST EXERTIONS . 1 83

Centre , Dara had been watch i ng every phase o f

the bat tle . He had been stead i ly send i ng up

supports to h is hard pressed th i rd d i vi s i on by

the path i n i ts rear. He had al so o rde red Shah

Nawaz Khan,who wa s wi th him at the t im e o f

the at tack , to hasten back to h i s redoubt and

gu i de the defence . Up to sun set Dara had s t r i ven

hard to m a in ta i n the fight ; he had con stant ly

p u t heart i n to hi s m en and urged them to m ake a

firm Stand . But the capture o f Shah Nawaz

Khan’s redoubt and the tu rn i ng of the Gokla

h i l l shat tered al l h is hopes . I t becam e clea r to

h i s m en that further re s i s tanceD i r o f" p a was va i n . Dara’s com rades inD a ra ’s troop s .

these Ci rcum s tances re fused to

th row away the i r l ives and p repared fo r fl igh t .

Plead ing wi th them was useless. Safety lay

on ly i n a hurried escape , fo r wh i ch the darkness

of the n igh t and the d ispe rs i on and di sorder gf

the vi c tors presented a golden opportun i ty .

*

Feari ng such a reverse , Dara had placed his

harem and t reasure on e lephants , cam el s and

m ules , and kep t them on the bank of the

Anasagar l ake, five m i les beh i nd the scene o f

bat t le,wi th an esco rt of t roops in charge of h i s

fa i thful eunuch Khwajah Maqul . He had

i n tended to take them wi th h im se l f in h i s fl ight .

Kambu, zi b—22a.

1 84 HISTORY OF AURANGZIE. [CHAP . xx .

But when Shah Nawaz Khan’s redoub t was

carr ied and the v ic to rs p ressed on tow ards

Dara’s pos i t i on , the luck lessFlight of Dara.

Prince had no t a m om en t to

lose. Accom pan ied by h i s son Sipihr Shukohand h i s gene ra l F i ruz Miwa ti and fo l lowed byon ly ten or twe lve of h i s m en, he fl ed i n head

long has te tow ard s Guze ra t by the fi rs t road he

cou ld reach . Ter ro r and bew i l derm ent urgedhim on , wi thou t leav ing him the powe r to turn

as i de fo r h i s fam i ly at the appo i n ted p lace o r to

send them orders to save

Mean t im e the cond i t i on of the lad ies wa s m os t

p i t i able . Ever si nce m i ddayH’s women wait they had been kep t i n the saddlein suspense,

on the t ip toe o f suspense fo r the

terribl e news ofa d isaster in the fie l d and the order

to escape . Al l the fo renoon the cannon had

boom ed in the near bat tle-field ; then there

was a lul l ; but about two hours befo re sunse t i t

b roke ou t wi th redoubled v i gour ; the horizon

was fi l led wi th smoke , and the horr i d din of

s A. N . 325, 409. The S laughter was estimated by Isardasat 5000 men on Aurangzib

’s side and ten thousand on Dara ’s ,—the last figure being too high for a force which numbered

less than men and hel d an a lmost impregnable line Of

which three- fourths were untouched by the enemy. Onehundred and fifteen e lephants were ki l led on the two sidestaken together (44a . ) Kambu says that a heavy slaughta

'

took p lace in Shah Nawaz Khan’s trenches after the Imperialists had forced them .

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1 86 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xx .

was to engage i n p lunde r wh icheve r Si de m igh t

wi n , thou sands o f Raj puts had a ssem bled in the

ne ighbou rhood of Ajm ir a t the cal l o f Dara , but

had he ld back from the figh t a t the de fec t i on o f

Ja swant, and were hove ri ng round l i ke vu l tures

soari ng ove r the i r expec ted prey . Th i s n igh t

and the nex t day they go t the i r chan ce . Mos t

o f Dara’s prope rty and transpo rt an im al s we re

l ooted . Hi s m u les laden wi th bags o f go l d

co i ns were d riven away by the very Raj puts o f

Ajm ir d i s t ri c t whom he had appoi n ted as h i s

t rea sure-esco rt ! Al l h i s cam p and base we re

swep t bare by the p lunde re rs from the vi c tor i ous

a rmy , the cam p- fo l l owers , and adven turers who

profi t by tum ul t and con fus i on . The s tores of

var i o us departm en ts and m os t of the m oney we re

carried off by the Rajputs and the abo rigi nal

Mai rs . “ Booty beyond cal cula t i on was se ized by

the t roops. ’ “ Dara took away no th i ng beyond

the jewe l s he w ore on h i s person and som e gold

co i ns placed i n the hawdas of h i s w omen .

“Wounded so ld ie rs who had fled f rom the fie l d

were s tr i pped of the i r a l l , and wandered c ry ing

i n the

A. N . 325—326 , 329 , 41 0 ; Khafi Khan, II. 73 ; Aqi l

Khan, 88 .

CHAP . xx .] SUBM ISSION OF DARA’S MEN. 1 87

When n igh t d ropped the curtai n on the terrib le

Dara’s troop sscene of the day’s slaughter, and

submit to the Dara fled away, none of h i s offiv’c’or’ ce rs (except F i ruz Miwati) ac

com pan ied him ,as the i r p roper ty and fam i l ies

were i n Ajm ir. Nex t day they subm i t ted to the

vi c to r and ente red h i s serv i ce . Askar Khan , Syed

Ibrah im , Jan i Beg and othe r officers who occupied

Dara’s ex t rem e r ight , had he ld the i r po s i t i ons t i l l

about 9 p . m . Then the news of Dara’s fl igh t

reached them ,and tow ards the end of the n igh t

they cam e to SafShikan Khan beggi ng fo r quar

ter. The w ounded Muhammad Shar i f aecom

panied them , but, i n sp i te of m edi cal treatment

by h i s ch ival rous enem y,he

The de ta i l s oi the s i tuat i on and the ful l extent

of h i s success becam e known to Aurangzib nex t

m orn ing ( 1 5th March) . He m ourned the death

o f Shaikh Mi r, great ly rewarded that fa i th fu l

servant’s c lansm en , espec ia l ly

Syed Hash im , and ordered him

to be buried w i th ful l honours

i n the hal lowed enc losure o f Sain t Muinuddin

Chisht i’

s tomb. Here , too , was buried Shah

Nawaz Khan , who had fough t aga ins t him and ,i f we can bel i eve Khafi Khan , had courted death

* A. N . 325 -326 ; Aqi l Khan, 87 -88 ; Kambu , 22a ;

Khafi Khan , ii. 73-74.

Aurangzib afterthe victory.

1 88 HISTORY OF AURANGzIE. [CHAP . xx .

to escape the sham e of l ooking h i s host i l e and

vi ctor i ous son- in- law in the face . In the con

secrated so i l o f the Dargah of Ajm ir, the two

chi ef v i c t im s of the r iva l hosts are un i ted i n

death . Aurangzib h im se l f v i s i ted the holy

shri ne the day after the vi c to ry , d i d homage t o

the sain t’s m ortal rem a ins, and presented Rs.

to the a t tendants as a thanks- offer i ng for the

v i c to ry . A strong force under Ja i Si ngh and

Bahadur Khan was detached in pursu i t of Dara .

A. N . 330—332 Khah Khan, ii. 72 , 74 Storia, i. 342 .

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1 90 HISTORY OF AURANGzIB. [CHAP . XX I .

On ly t roope rs accom pan ied Dara when

he left Mairta . Many t im es t hat number had

run away from the bat t le, but they took other

rou tes and never j o i ned him ,— som e sca t tered to

the r igh t and lef t o f h i s l i ne of fl igh t,and

one party o f the fugi t ives wi th h i s elephant s

m oved in a d ifferen t d i rec t i on al together, via ,

north- eas t toward s Sambhar.

At Mairta the purs uers we re s ix days beh ind

hastens towards but the rum our o f the i r com ing

Ahmadnagar in preceded them everywhere , an dgreat m l se’y' a t every hal t ing p lace robbed

the unhappy Prince and h is fo l l owers o f the i r

sore ly needed res t and len t wi ngs to the i r fl igh t .

Cover i ng th i rty m i les o r even m o re a day, they

fled southward s to Guzera t by way of P ipar ( i 6th

March) and Bargaon , and on the 29th reached

a place 48 m i les north of Ahm adabad , hop ing to

find a refuge in tha t c i ty . The i r m i sery w as

ex t rem e . The baggage and tents had been

to Aurangzib conta ined in Haft Anjuman (Benares MS. )and Paris Bibliotheque Nationa le Persian MS . NO . Sup .

476 (Blochet'

s Ca ta logue No . The la tter wi l l be

referred to as the Paris MS. A genera l narrative with muchsupp lementary informa tion is given in A . N . 409

—4 1 5 ,

4 1 8 -41 9 . Bernier’s persona l Observations (88 Kambu2 2b, Aqi l Khan 87 , and Isardas 44a and b are very brief .Masum I38b

— I45b, though a l ittle confused about the route ,

suppl ies very useful deta il s about the capture and execution.

Storia , i. 345—355 , is of l itt le va l ue , as Manucciwas invested

in Bhakkar all this t ime .

CHAP . XX L ] HARDSHIP S DURING FLIGHT. 1 9 1

abandoned i n the w i ld rush to escape f rom the

batt le-field, and now al l a l ong the route vari ou s

necessary a rt i c les and even treas u re had to be

sacr ificed fo r w ant o f porters . “ The heat w as

i n tole rab le , the dust suffocat ing, and the path a

sandy was te . Band s of Ku l i s , a t ri be of profe ssi on

a l robbe rs , fol l ow ed the fugi t ives day and n ight ,p i l l agi ng an d s lay i ng straggle rs . Horses , cam e ls ,and oxen pe r i shed f rom the hea t an d overw ork .

A F rench physi c ian ret rac i ng Dara’s path a few

days la te r, no t i ced too o ften by the road s i de the

Si ckening “si gh t o f dead m en, e lephants

,oxen ,

horses , and cam e l s ; the wrecks o f poor Da ra’s

I n the m eant im e the hunters had go t on ther ight t ra i l and w ere fol lowing i t w i th re lent les s

vigour. So fa st had been Dara’s fl igh t and i n

so m any d i rec t i on s had h i s fo l l owers sca t te re d

tha t fo r th ree days after the bat t le none knewDara’s cond i t i on o r the l ine o f h i s fl igh t . At

fi rs t a rum our arose that he had turned no rth

eas t towa rds Sam bhar . But w hen the pu rs u i ng

force unde r Ja i Si ngh and Bahad u r Khan reache d

Mairta (20 th March) the t ruth becam e know n to

them . Eve ry path was closed to Dara . The

Paris MS . 946-gsa ; Bernier, 88—92 ; A. N . 4 1 0 ;Kambu , 226. P ipar , 35 m i les S . W . of Ma irta . (Ind . !in,

34 N . W. ) Bargaon, 2 2 miles S. of Bhinma l (Sh. 2 1 N . E .)

1 92 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB . [CHAP . xx i .

Em pero r had wri t ten to the Maharajah of jodh

pur to a rres t Dara i f he enteredRajputana raised against him .

h i s k ingdom . Jasw an t got the

let te r th ree days a fte r Dara had

left Marw ar ; but he imm ed i ately set off i n pur

s u i t and reached Bh i nm al , when ce he t u rned

aside to jo i n Ja i Si ngh i n the m arch to Guze rat .

Jai Si ngh sen t off let ters to the pri nces and

zam indars i n eve ry d i rec t i on to bar Dara’s path,

to Si roh i and Palanpur in the south , Daiwara

in the sou th -east , to the p ri nces of no rthe rn

Ka th i aw ar and Cutch and the zam i ndars of

Lower Si ndh , and to the o ffice rs o f Guzera t .

Thus i t was that eve rywhere Dara found enem ies

w arned of h is com i ng and ready to se ize him fi"

The c iv i l and m i l i tary office rs of Guze ra t de

c i ded to adhere to Aurangzib ; they arrested Syed

Ahm ad Bukhari , the Governo r lef t by Dara a t

Ahm adabad , and took po ssess i on o f the c i ty and

fo rt . Dara’s harb inger re turned from Ahm adabad

w i th the d ism al news that he wou l d be res i s ted

i f he t r ied to enter the c i ty . This reply reached

him at h i s hal t ing-p lace som e 48 m i les north of

Aqi l Khan , 87 Paris MS . gsa—966 , 9 76, i o8a . Bhin

mal , 25 N . 7 2 20 E . (Ind. At . 2 1 N . E ) ; Sirohi , 245 3 N .

E . (Ibid) . Palanpur , 24 1 0 N . 7 2 30 E . (Ibid . 2 1 S.

there is a Dailwara , 9 m i les N . ofUdaipur .

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1 94 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . X X I.

m i serabl e cond i t ion Dara turned (29th March )w es twards to the Kar i d i str i c t , w here Kanj i , the

Kul i Ch ie f ta i n, esco rted him fa i th ful ly to the

boundary of C u tch . On the way the fugi t ive

was j oi ned by Gul M uhamm ad , h i s la te fauj dar

of Surat , wi th 50 horse and 200 foo t m usketeers .

From Viramgaon,“ reduced to the poores t and

so rries t dreSS, —a tun ic of th i n l i nen and Shoes

worth e i gh t annas,

- wi th a heart broken i nto

tw o and con s tan tly Shaki ng wi th fear, ac

com pan ied by one horse , one bul l ock- cart, five

cam e ls fo r h i s lad ies , and a few othe r cam e l s fo r

t ransport , h i s ret i nue sh runk toDara fl ees to a few m en the he i r to theCutch, where he

i

is refused shelter, th rone o f De lh i c rossed the

Lesser Rann and reached Bhuj ,the cap i ta l o f Cutch . Bu t he found h i s fo rm er

friend and pro tec tor changed ; fo r, i n the m ean

t im e Ja i Singh’s let ters “ ful l o f hopes and

threats ,” urging the arres t o f the fugi t ive, had

reached the ru ler o f the i sland and done the i r

w o rk . Dara p rayed fo r a p lace i n h i s dom i n i ons

to h ide h i s head i n fo r som e t im e ; bu t the Rao

could no t afford to offend the Im per i a l i sts,

espec ia l ly as the i r rap id approach w as noi sed

ab road . He, however, harboured Dara fo r two

days and then esco rted him to the northern

boundary o f h i s i s land , whence Dara c rosse d the

CHAP . XXL] CROSSES THE RANN To S INDH. 1 95

Greater Rann and reached the southern coast o f

Si ndh (beginn ing o f May) , w i th h i s re t i nue s t i l l

fu rthe r d im i n i shed .

Here , too , Dara found hi s path c l osed i n the

eas t and north by h i s r i val ’s fore though t and

geni u s for com bi nat i on . Aurangzib had sen t

Kha lilullah Khan , h i s gove rno r o f the Panjab,d own to Bhakkar, t o preven t Dara

’s m arch i ng

fu rthe r up the Ind u s , and he had posted m en to

c lose the eas te rn route to Jasalm ir. Ja i Si ngh

al so had warned the Im peri a l officers i n Low e r

Si ndh to be on the ale rt .

Afte r c ross i ng the Rann , Dara found Bad i n

hel d by a thousand Im peri al i s ts unde r Q ubad

Khan,and he had t o give up the hope of en ter

i ng that vi l l age to re fresh h i s m en and an im al s

afte r the i r terr ib le hard sh i ps i n cro ss i ng the vas t

sal t m arsh . Aurangzib’

s l ocal o fficers and jai

Si ngh’s advanced detachm en ts we re converging

on the prey from north , east and south- ea st .Only one path of escape s t i l l

n’

fie

gindsfih'

rem ai ned open : Dara turned to

the no rth-w es t , crossed the Indus

and entered Siw istan, i n tend i ng to flee to Persi a

by way of Qandahar. On the bank of the I nd u s

even F i ruz Miw a ti’

s l ove of hom e land prevai led

in A . N . 41 0 -41 1 ; Bernier 89—9 1 Paris MS. 97a, 1 0061 0 1 6 Isardas, 44a .

1 96 HISTORY OF AURANGzIE. [CHAP . XX I.

ove r h i s cons tancy he left h i s m as ter’s hopelessly

los t causei’f and set off to j o i n Aurangzib.

We now tu rn to the pursuers . Ja i Si ngh reached

The p ursuingMairta on 20 th March

,-l' s ix days

army under Jai beh i nd Dara , and the re learn tSingh‘

the t rue rou te o f h i s fl igh t and

imm ed iate ly set ou t southwards after him by way

of Jal o r and Si roh i . On the way , one m arch

beyond Si roh i , he w as j o i ned by Jaswan t Si ngh

and h i s Rathor a rmy (3I st March ), and then ,“ i n

o rde r not to al l ow Dara t im e to gai n com posu re

a t Ahm adabad ,”

the Im pe r i al i st s pushed on,

m arch ing from 1 6 to 20 m i les a day , “ i n sp i te of

scarc i ty o f water, want o f fodder, and exhaus t i on

of the horses and t ran sport-cat tle.

”Reachi ng

Si dhpur on s th Apri l , they learn t that Dara had

been re fused entrance i n to Ahm adabad and had

t u rned as ide toward s Cutch . Ja i Si ngh had before

th i s sen t let ters to the pri nces o f northern Kath i a

war and Cutch u rging them to ba r Da ta’

s path

and se ize him . Now he w ro te to them agai n to

be up and doi ng on the Em peror’s s i de . The

pursui ng army m arched on to Ahm adabad to

refi t . The i r m i sery was hard ly less than tha t o f

Dara . The year was one o f d rough t i n Guzera t ;and th i s va s t a rm y o f m en m oving to

Paris MS. 1 04a and 6, i o8a ,1 02a A. N . 41 1 .

-|r Probably zt st See p . I 7on .

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1 98 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB . [CHAP . xx i .

Halwad and there learn t that Dara had c rossed

the Rann and en tered Si ndh againfi“

On the 1 3th the pu rsue rs reached the capi ta l

o f C u tch . In th i s count ry , never

E11 1? ” enters t rodden by Mughal t roops be fo re ,

as Ja i Si ngh proudly w ri te s , h i s

let ters and the rum our of h i s approach had

al ready done the i r w ork . The Rao had re fu sed

to harbour the Em pe ro r’s enemy i n h i s land an d

had personal ly conduc ted him ou t of i t . A s Ja i

Si ngh approached Bhuj,the Rao sen t his son

i n advance to we l com e the Im peri al general and

then personal ly rece i ved him wi th due honours

outs i de hi s capi ta l (1 3th May) , and gave him a

bond so lem nly asse rt i ng that Dara was not i n

h i s te rr i to ry . Jai Si ngh hal ted there to learn

the t ru th , and soon go t new s from the M ughal

o fficer o f Bad i n that Dara had reached Lowe r

Si ndh . A sm al l de tachm en t of 50 0 unde r tw o

officers was a t once sen t ahead wi th orders to

ha s ten onwards and c ro ss the Rann , whi le the

m ai n arm y was to m ove m o re s l ow ly a t n ight .

Pa ris MS . 946—1 0 1 6. 7 41 10 7 , N . 7 24 1 E. , 32

m i les N . E . ofBhinma l (Ind . At . fi nd . 20 S. E . ) Sidhpur ,

235 5 N . E. , 63 m i les north of Ahm adabad . 2 1

S . E. ) Viramgam , 237 N . 7 27 E. , 30 m i les W . ofAhmadabad ; Patri, 1 8 m i les W . of V iramgarn ; Ha lwad, 231 N .

E . ( Ibz'

d , 22 N . W . )

CHAP. XX L ] JAI S INGH CROSSES THE RANN . 1 99

In crossi ng the Greater Rann the arm y suffered

Iai Singh cross !

frigh t ful p ri vat i ons . The Rao o f

es the Greater Cutch had turned unfrien d ly,Rann and re fused to supply a gui de

ac ross the sal t m arsh ; one of h i s grandsons

accom pan ied Ja i Si ngh , but on ly to the shore o f

i t . At one hal t i ng place , six m i les south o f the

Grea te r Rann , they found a few wel l s and the

sol d iers wi th a l l the i r exert i ons go t out o f them

only som e d rop s of water m ixed wi th m ud,wi th

whi ch they w ere fo rced to quench the i r th i rs t .

Nex t day they heard o f three or fou r wel ls , ten

m i les f rom the i r cam p . The sold iers hasten

ed th i the r fo r the prec i ous water ; a few go t i t ,whi le the others returned wi th the i r th i rs t nu

quenched after twenty m i les of fru i t less m arch

i ng. Tow ards even ing the army arrived at the

sou thern edge of the Rann , a t the vi l lage of Lauh

and began to c ross the sal t pla i n at

n igh t . The Greater Rann was he re 70 m i les i n

b read th , i n the whole exten t of wh i ch not a drop

of d ri nki ng water co u l d be found , nor fo r 1 0 m i les

beyond i ts no rthern shore .

The army pl unged i nto th i s d rea ry wi l derness

sufferings ofa t sunset . Up to m i dn igh t the

his troop s from m oon l i t up the i r pa th , and1 k f t3 ° wa at

when i t set , torches were k ind l

ed at every m i l e’s i n te rval to gui de the so ld ie rs

zoo HISTORY or AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xxx.

on. No t roope r o r fo l lower was los t in th i s

t rackless pla i n . I t was two hours a fte r dawn

when the c ross ing wa s over and the northern

shore was reached . An hour af terwards they

cam e t o the vi l lage o f Rahm an,i n to the sm al l

tank o f wh i ch the whole army , dying of th i rs t

and worn ou t by the i r to i lsom e m arch , rushed .

In a m omen t i t was fi l led wi th s t ruggl i ng m en

and the water was tu rned i n to m ud. In the i r

agony of th i rst,m en and beas ts c ry i ng fo r wate r

wande red to the nullahs of the vi l lage and d rank

up the p u t ri d water,“ the taste of w hi ch m ade

l i fe i tse l f b i t ter to them .

” I t was only after

m arch i ng on t i l l noon tha t they reached the i r

cam p ing ground a t Kulab i , and got rest .ele

The expe r ience had been m os t terrible : the

arm y had m arched 80 m i les w i tho u t hal t ing, and

that m arch had cons i s ted of wad i ng th rough sand

over a roadless wi lderness wi th no water to slake

the i r th i rs t . The horses and cam e l s were so w orn

out by the i r l ong journey and scan t i ness of fod

der and wa ter that , after c ross ing the Rann a s

the sun grew ho tter and they we re urged to t rave l

e igh t m ore waterless m i les before reach i ng a

sui table place fo r cam p ing, they fe l l down dead

i n large num bers al ong the road . At every hal t

i ng-place , m any transport- cat tle l ay down , neve r

Paris MS. 1 026- 1 036, toga- n oa .

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20 2 HISTORY or AURANGZIB . [CHAP . xx1 .

a t Nasarpur, 7 th June befo re he reached Hala,

and the l 1 th o f that m on th befo re he s t ruck the

Indus near “the r iver o f Siw istan.

” He re he

learnt tha t Dara had c ro ssed over to the r igh t

bank o f the Indus and en te red Siw istan, i n tend ing

to go to Qandahar w i th the hel p of the Maghasi

t r ibe.

Ja i Si ngh’s ta sk was done ; the enemy w as no

longer on the Ind ian so i l . So , he wrote to the

Empe ro r a sk ing to be recal led to Cou rt ,—“When

appo i n t i ng m e to th i s serv i ce, your Majes ty had

to ld m e that so long as Dara was no t captured

o r k i l led , o r d id no t qui t the em pi re, I shoul d not

wi thd raw my hand from him . I have le ft no

m eans un tried to accom p l i sh the firs t two al ter

nat i ves . I have , a t no place , how eve r hard and

d i fficu l t to t raverse. taken though t of the scarc i ty

of wate r and grai n o r of the predom i nance of

law less m en. B u t God orda i ns every th i ng, and

so the th i rd al te rnat ive has com e to pass . As

your Majes ty has now been freed from the m is

ch ief of that [enemy] , I beg to subm i t that , i n

view o f the ex t rem e p ri va t i ons borne by the army

and the w eakne ss o f the ho rses and transpor t

cattle , w h ich have no t s trength enough to m ovem ore than s ix or e igh t m i les a day ,— I shoul d be

”gs;recal led to Co u rt .

Paris MS. Iosa—1 06a ; A. N . 4 1 2 .

CHAP . xx1 .] JAI SINGH TRIED HIS BEST 203

Manucc i asserts tha t Ja i Si ngh del ibe rate ly

Did Iai Singhcarried on a s lack pu rs u i t i n

want to let Dara o rde r to leave Dara t im e to

escap e ?e scape to Pers i a . The re i s

noth i ng im probable i n the suspi c i on , a s no ol d

gene ra l o f Shah Jahan , w he the r I nd ian Mu sl im

o r Rajpu t , cou l d have w i l l i ngly con sen ted to

bri ng abou t the capt u re of h i s e ldes t son , s i nce

al l knew that i f they d i d i t the resul t w ou l d be

h i s m u rde r by h i s vic to ri ou s r ival . Bu t I can

find no sem blance o f s l acknes s i n the pu rsu i t ,excep t ( i ) Ja i Si ngh

’s m arch ing from Sidhpu r

to Ahm adabad , i n s tead of t u rn ing due w est t o

Kath iawar, and ( i i ) the l ong t im e spen t betw een

h i s c ross ing the Rann and reach ing the le f t bank

o f the Indu s near Siw istan. The fi rs t i s , how eve r,expla ined aw ay by the need of tak ing m oney

from the Ahm adabad t rea s u ry and furn i sh i ng the

arm y w i th the m ean s o f secu ri ng w a te r and fodde r

i n advance fo r the w ate rless m arch th rough

Kath i awar and C u t ch , w h i le the second i s

sa t i sfac tori ly accounted fo r by the u t te r exhaus

t i on of the t roops and lo ss of t ransport,so

graph i ca l ly desc ribed i n Ja i Si ngh ’s le t te rs to

h i s m aster.

Wi th the objec t o f ret u rn i ng to Northe rn India,

Jai Si ngh w as sl ow ly m ovi ng up the Indu s

tow ard s Bhakka r, w hen abou t the m i ddle -

of

2 04 m sronY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xx 1 .

June he rece i ved the s tartl i ng new s tha t Dara

had been captured on the oth of that m on th

and tha t the Im per ial gene ra ls m us t h u rry on

to take charge of the prisonerfi‘

We lef t Dara i n Siwistan ben t on m ak ing h i s

escape t o Qandahar and Pe rs i a . In the t ran s

Indus coun t ry he w as at tacked an d p l unde red by

the Chand i tribeT an d barelyDat a's

.

adven escaped capture at the i r hand stures in theBaluch country.

by fight i ng despe rate ly . The

Maghasis whom he nex t v i s i ted

were m ore ho sp i table ; the i r headm an , Mi rza i

Maghasi, w el com ed the roya l suppl ian t i n h i s

ho u se and p rom i sed an escort ofh is m en to the

f ron t ie r o f Qandahar , on ly twe l ve m arches off.

But Dara’s wom en were u t terly opposed to

leavi ng Indi a and entru s t i ng the i r l i ves to the

savage Bal uches o r the i r honour to the Pers ian

K ing . His bel oved wi fe, Nadi ra Banu Begam ,

was se ri ous ly i l l , and the p rivat i ons o f a j ou rney

th rough the desola te Bolan Pass and the in

Paris MS . 1 08a ; A. N . 4 1 4-41 5 .

A. N ., 4I 2 , has the country of Chand Khan . or

ofJandban'

according to a d ifferent read ing . Khafi Khan,n . -8 2 , has Jawz

’

an . Jai Singh’s letter has Ru é handza ,

( Paris MS . 1 05 b. ) I get the correct name of the tribe fromMasson’s Kalat

, 334.

“ The Pat of Shikarpur, [betweenKach Gandava and Shikarpur] separates the lands of theMagghazzis , subjects of Ka lat , from those of the Chand itribe, dependent on Sind .

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2 06 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHA P . xx 1 .

Dara , therefo re , changed hi s mind , and looked

abou t for a Ch ief ta i n i n tha t ne ighbourhood who

w o u l d give him a safe - she l terMalik Iiwan,

chi E of Daand the se

rv i ce s of his c lan sm en .

Su ch a fr ien d he hoped to findi n Mal i k J iw an

,the zam i ndar of

Da dar , a pla ce n i ne m i le s ea s t o f the I nd i an end

o f the Bolan Pas s. Years ago th i s Afghan ch ief

had offended agai n s t the State and been sen t by

the Gove rnor o f Mu l tan , bound i n chai n s , to

De lh i , w he re Shah Jahan had sen tenced him to

be tram pled t o d ea th by an e lephan t . Dara,then

a t the he i gh t o f h i s fa ther’s favour, had been

i n teres ted i n the case by one o f h i s se rv an ts,an d

had s u cces sfu l ly begged the condemned m an ' s

l i fe and l ibe rty from the Em pero r. He now

l ooked for jiw an’

s gra t i tude i n h i s own need .

G ivi ng early no t i ce of h i s com i ng, he reached

Dadar und er the gu i dance o f Ay ub , a servant

sen t by J iw an i n advance . Tw o m i les from the

fo rt the chie f h im se l f wel com ed h i s honou red

gu es t an d pa t ron , and took him to h i s ho u se ,show i ng him every respec t and care (probably

6 th J une) .

On the w ay to Dadar the greatest of a l l m is

fortunes had overtaken Dara .

Hi s w i fe Nad i ra Ban u, w ho had

been l ong a i l ing of d i a rrhoea , and

Dea th of Dara’sW ife.

CHAP . XX L ] GRIEF AT DEATH OF W IFE . 2 0 7

wa s heart-broken at the l oss o f her e ldes t son,

succum be d to hardshi p and w ant of m ed i c i ne an d

res t . She w as a daughter o f P ri nce Parw iz and

grand - daugh te r o f the grea t Akbar on both s i des

o f her paren tage , and had borne her h u sban d al l

h i s th ree son s an d one daugh te r. Dara w as fran

t i c wi th grief at l os i ng h i s constan t com pani on

and co un sel l o r i n w eal and w oe .

“ The w orl d

grew dark i n h i s eyes . He w as ut terly bew i lde red

Hi s j udgm en t and p rudence w ere ent i re ly

gone .

“ Death w as pa i n ted i n h i s eyes . He

becam e he lp less an d weak through i n ten segrief . Eve ryw he re he saw only d es t ruc t i on

(s tari ng him i n the face) , and losi ng h i s senses

becam e ut terly heed less of h i s own affa i rs .”

I n sp i te of the warn ings o f h i s son and fo l l owers, Dara , stupefied wi th grief, en tered Jiw an

’

s

house , w i sh ing to spend the re the th ree days o f

m ourn ing, i n s tead of a t once m arch ing tow ard sthe Pers ian fron tier . His w i fe ’s las t w i sh ha d

been tha t her bo dy should be la i d i n the so i l o f

H ind us ta n . So , after tw o days he d espa tchedher co rpse to Lahore, i n cha rge o f Khw ajah

Maqul , to be b u ried i n the grave-y ard of the t e

now ned sai n t Mian Mi r, h i s own sp i r i t ual gu i de.

By a suprem e act o f fol ly he sen t h i s m ost devoted o ffice r, Gu l Muhamm ad , w i th al l the seventy t roopers s t i l l lef t a t h i s s i de , to esco rt the

2 08 msronr 0 1? AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xx 1 .

coffin . I n a fi t o f m agnanim i tyDara sends hissoldiers away, wh ich can be ascribed on ly to

u tte r despai r and apathy to h i s

own futu re , he le ft to h i s com pan ions free cho ice

between retu rn i ng to the i r hom es and accompanyi ng him to Pers ia . None , he sa id , woul d

be fo rced to go i n to ex i le and per i l for h i s sake.

§

Th u s i t happened tha t no devoted officer o r b rave

cap tai n,not even a si ngle comm on so ld ie r o f h i s

own,now rem ained w i th Dara . He becam e

u t terly he lpless and d ependen t on h i s host’s

fidel i ty .

And too soon was he to learn the s trength o f an

Afghan’s grat i tude o r fa i th whent h“

i s.opposed to on

Pr ison,

“ by his J une , when Dara began thehost I iwan.

m arch toward s the Bolan Pass ,

the t reache ro us J iwan w i th h i s wi ld clansm en

s u rrounded the party , cap tu red the r i ch p rize an d

b ro ugh t them back to h i s v i l lage . Agai n s t these

hum an “w olves and robbers

” o f the dese r t , the

few eunu chs and servan ts w ho s t i l l fo l l ow ed

Dara coul d o ffer no defence . Only h i s second

son,the l ad Sip ihr Shukoh, gal lan t ly struck som e

blow s for freedom , bu t he was overpow ered , h i s

arm s we re p i n i oned beh i nd h i s back , and the

a: Kambu, e3u.

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2 1 0 xxxsronr or AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xxx.

le t te r to the eunuch Basant,o rder i ng him to

give up to the Im peri al i s ts the fo rt o f Bhakkar

wi th Dara’s property and fam i ly l odged the re,and sen t the eunuch Maqul to carry i t a s a proof

of Dara’s ru i n .

The purs uers, at last success fu l a fter m ore than

th ree m onth s’ cha se th rough

Bt fm ught t° dese rt and j ungle , i n summ e r

hea t and sand - s to rm,began the i r

return m arch to De lh i , care fu l ly guard ing the

p ri soners. The I ndus was recrossed above Bhak

kar on 28 th J une . Passi ng ove r the ra in - swol len

r ivers o f the Land o f F i ve Wate rs w i th due

ca u t i on fo r the i r im portan t charge, they arr i ved

outs i de Delh ifie on a3rd August , 1 659 .

The fi rst news tha t Aurangzib rece i ve d o f the

downfal l o f h i s r ival , was on 2nd July, f rom

Mal i k Jiw an’

s let ter forwarded by the fa u jdar o f

Bhakkar . He read the let ter ou t i n open Court.“ Bu t so grea t w as h i s con tro l over h i s em o

t i ons,tha t he d id no t go i n to exu l ta t ion over i t

,

and rare ly refe r red to the captu re,nor d id he

orde r the Im pe r i a l band to play the m usi c o f

vi c tory .

”The t rue reason o f h i s m odera t i on

wa s that the new s seem ed too good to be t rue .

Paris MS. 1 086, 1 07a 8: b, and Haft Anjuman 356-364

(for the remova l of Dara to Delhi) . Paris MS . 2b-3a

(Aurangzib’

s instructions to Jai Singh about guarding thep risoner) . A . N . 41 8 , 41 9 , 430 .

CHAP . XX L ] DARA BROUGHT TO DELI-II. 2 1 1

But w hen,on 1 5th July , Bahadur Khan

’s des

patch arri ved , report i ng that he had taken charge

of the cap t ive , there w as no l onger room fo r

doubt . Rej o i c i ngs w e re ord e red in Court,“ to

i n fo rm the publ i c , who were s t i l l scep t i ca l abou t”gt;Dara’s capture .

On arri v ing outs i de Del h i the m i se rab le

Prince and hxs son were han de d ove r to Nazar

Beg,a s lave sen t by Aurangzib to w ork h i s p u r

po se on them . The Em pe ro r o rdered that the

c apt ive sho u ld be paraded th rough the cap i ta l i n

orde r to let the people see w i th the i r own eye s

tha t i t wa s he and none el se , so tha t i n fu tu re nocounterfe i t Dara m igh t rai se h i s head i n the pro

vi nces and by wi nni ng the support of the credu l

ous c reate d i s turbances aga in s t the Governm en t .

On 29th August the d egrad i ng parade was

D ,

11 m p aradedhe ld . To com ple te hxs h um i l i a

through Delhi t i on , Dara w as seated i n anW ith insu’t ’

uncove red hawda on the back

o f a sm al l fem a le e lephan t cove red wi th d i r t .By h i s s i de was h i s secon d son

,Sip ihr Shukoh, a

lad o f fou rteen ; and beh ind them wi th a naked

sword sat the i r gaole r, the s lave Nazar Beg,w hose heart sh rank from no ac t o f c ruel ty o r

b loodshed a t the bi dd ing of h i s m aster . The

are A. N , 41 4—41 9 ; Masum , x42a ; Kambu , 23b ; Khafi

Khan , xx. 85 .

2 1 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XX I.

capt ive he i r to the r i ches t th rone i n the w orld ,the favo u r i te and pam pered son o f the m os t

m agn ificen t of the Great Mughals , wa s now clad

in a t rave l- ta i n ted d ress of the coarses t c l o th ,wi th a dark d i ngy- co loured tu rban , such as on ly

the poores t w ear, on h i s head , and no necklace

o r jewel adorn i ng h is person . His feet w e re

cha i ned , though the hands w e re f ree . Exposed

t o the ful l blaze o f an August s un,he was taken

through the scenes of h i s fo rm e r glo ry and splend

our . In the b i tterness o f d i sgrace he d i d no t

ra i se h i s head , nor cast h i s glance on any s i de,but sa t “ l ike a crushed tw ig .

’ On ly once d id

he l ook up , when a poor beggar from the road

s i de c ried o u t ,“ O Dara ! when you were m a ste r ,

you always gav e m e alm s ; today I know we l l

thou has t naugh t to give .

”The appeal touched

the pri sone r ; he rai sed h i s hand to h i s sho u lder,d rew off h i s wrappe r and threw i t to the beggar.

I f Aurangzib had w i shed to m ake Dara ridicul

ous to the publ i c , the resu l t

pzf§;igwhim p roved the con trary . The p i ty

of the c i t izen s swep t eve ry o ther

fee l i ng aw ay . Dara had been popular wi th the

l owe r o rders fo r h is m agnificen t d isplay and

lav ish char i ty,and now a l l c lasses we re m oved

to sym pathy a t the s igh t o f fa l len greatness .

Bernier, an eye-wi tnes s of the scene , w r i tes,

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2 1 4 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . XX I.

nant i nfluence o f h i s younger s i s ter Raushanara

wa s th row n i n to the scale agai n s t Da ra , and her

clam ours s i lenced the feeb le vo i ce of m ercy i n

a Cou rt w here m o s t m i n i sters shaped the i r

opi n i on s afte r the i r m aste r’s i nc l i nati ons . The

pl i an t theologian s i n the Em peror’s pay

signed a dec ree that Dara dese rved death on

the ground o f i nfidel i ty andDara sentencedto death as a. devxa txon from I slam i c o rthoheret’c’ doxy.

“ The p i l la rs of the

Canon i ca l Law and Fa i th apprehended m any

ki nd s o f d i s tu rban ce f rom h i s l i fe . So , the

Em pe ro r,both o u t o f nece ssi ty to pro tec t the

Fa i th and Holy Law,and also for reasons ofState,

con s i de red i t un lawful to al l ow Dara to rem ai n

a l i ve any l onge r a s a dest royer o f the p ubl i c

peace .

” Thus does the o ffic ia l h i s tory pub l i shed

und er Aurangzib’

s a u thor i ty j u s t i fy th i s ac t o f

po l i t i ca l m urde r.

The doomed Pri nce’s agen t tr ied hard to save

h i s l i fe by runn i ng to d i fferen t m ed ia tors,but

in vai n .

“ Dara learn t o f h i s fa te and m ade a

las t appeal to Aurangzib’

s p i ty . He wrote,“My

Lord Bro ther and Em pero r !

the des i re o f k ingsh i p i s no t at

al l le f t in my m i nd . Be ( i t)

His appeal form ercy rejected.

A. N . 432 ; Khafi Khan, 1 1 . 87 ; Masum , 1 426 ; Bernier,too- 1 0 1 Storia , i. 356 .

CHAP . xx 1 .] AURANGZ IB’

S vxunxcrxveness . 2 1 5

blessed to you and your son s . The plan o f sl ay

i ng m e w h ich you are cheri sh ing i n your heart

i s unjust . I f you only gran t m e a house fi t for

(my) res i dence and one young han d -m aid ou t of

my own hand-m ai d s to wai t on m e , I shal l

employ m y se l f i n pray ing for you r (good) i n the

re t i red l i fe o f a pardoned m an.

”

On the m argi n of the pet i t i on Aurangzib

wrote i n h i s own hand i n Arbic , “You fi rs t ac ted

as a usu rper, and you we re a m i sch ie f

For Dara the re cou ld be no pardon from Aurang

zib. For m ore than s ix teen years Dara had been

a bl igh t i ng shadow on Aurangzib’

s l i fe he had

robbed h i s younger b rothe r of the sun sh i ne o f

the i r fa the r’s favo u r he had thwarted h i s pl ans

an d backbi t ten him a t the Im per ia l Court h is had

been the sec ret influence beh i nd the th rone that

accounted for Shah Jaban’s att i tude o f coldness

and undese rved censure toward s the able Vice roy

of M u l tan and the Deccan he had i n t rigued wi th

Bijapur and Golkonda i n open oppo s i t i on toAurangzib i n the wars aga i nst them sanc t i oned

by the Em pero r h im se l f ; eve ry enem y of Au rang

zib had found a ready patron i n Dara ; Dara’s

o ffice rs had i nsul ted and calum nia ted PrinceAurangzib wi thout any puni shmen t from the i rm aster ; h i s sons had m onopol i sed al l the favours of

4“ British Museum , O r. MS. Addl . 1 888 1 , f. 772 .

2 1 6 H ISTORY or AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . xxx.

Shah Jahan , leavi ng none fo r Aurangzib’

s off

spri ng. Al l these Aurangzib had borne wi th

pat ience and even wi th affec ted hum i l i ty for

s ixteen long years . Now a t las t he had got h i s

chance o f revenge ; and he was not the man

to give i t up .

A rio t on the 3oth prec i p i ta ted the end of Dara .

The populace of De lh i had m arked the t ra i to r

Mal i k j iwan i n yesterday’s p rocess i on b u t i n the

presence o f the s t rong esco rt they could not vent

the i r i nd i gnat i on excep t by curs i ng and pe l t ing

at him . Thi s ungrate fu l wre tch and pe rj u red

host had been appo i n ted a Comm ander o f One

Thousand Horse and raised to the peerage u nder

M a l ik I iw a nthe t i t le o f Bakhtyar Khan

,a s

mobbed by the the pri ce o f h i s t reache ry . Onp eoP’e 0’De’h” th i rt ieth August , as he was

goi ng to Court w i th h i s Afghan fo l low e rs , the

populace o f De lh i , i ns t igated by Haibat , a gent le

m an t rooper (ahadz'

) of the Im per ial a rm y , and

j o i ned by the ruffians, beggars and o the r despera

d oes o f the c i ty and workm en f rom every lane

and bazar , bes i des Dara’s fr iends , m obbed the

party . From abuse they qui ckly pa ssed to hurl

i ng stones , c lods o f earth , and sweep ings at the

t ra i to rs,and final ly growing bolder assa i led

them wi th st i cks. F rom the house—tops on boths i des the w om en showered ashes and po ts of fi l th

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2 1 8 HISTORY or AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xxx.

wi th a m alevolen t glance bade him get up . In

m adness and despai r Sipihr began to weep and

c lung to Dara’s legs . Fathe r and son hugged

each o the r t igh t ly,wi th loud c r ies of grie f. The

s laves grew m ore th reaten i ng i n the i r tone , and

then t ried to d rag the boy away by the hand .

At th i s Dara w i ped h i s own tears and calm ly

appealed to the s laves to ca rry h i s ent reaty to h i s

b rothe r to leave Sipihr Shukoh wi th him . But

they sco rn fu l ly repl ied , “We cannot be anybody’s

m essenger. We have only to carry ou t our

Then wi th a sudden rush they to reo rde rs.”

aw ay the boy from h is fa ther’s a rm s by shee r

fo rce,took him t o a s ide- room , and p repared to

despatch Dara . That P ri nce , knowing that h i s

end was near, had al ready p repared for a las t des

pe ra te s t ruggle . He had secured a sm al l penkn i fe

and concealed i t i n h i s p i l l ow . Now he tore the

cove r open , grasped the kn i fe, and a t tacked the

sl ave who w as advanc ing to

The scene ofthemurder ofDa m

se ize him . Th i s sm al l instru

m en t was d riven wi th such fo rce

i n to the wre tch’s s i de tha t i t s tuck fast i n the

bones. ' Dara tugged a t i t , but i n va i n . Then he

flung h im se l f b l i nd ly on them , deal ing blows

w i th h i s fis t r igh t and lef t . But the s laves w ere

accu s tom ed to such bloody wo rk they fel l on

him i n a body and se ized and over-powe red him .

CHAP . xxx.] BURIAL IN HUMAYUN’S TOMB . 2 1 9

Al l th i s t im e Sipihr Shukoh’

s agoni sed sh rieks

we re reachi ng h i s fathe r’s ears . A m inu te after

the room grew s t i l l ; the dagge rs of the sl aves

fini shed the work the s truggle ended i n a pool

of blood .

The seve red head wa s sen t to Aurangzib, to

sa t i sfy him tha t h i s ri va l wa s real ly dead , and

tha t no fraud or sub s t i tu t i on of vi c t im s had taken

place.By Aurangzib

’

s orde r the co rpse w as

placed on an e lephan t , paraded through the

s t reets of the c i ty a second t im e , and then bu ried

i n a vau l t und er the dom e o f theHis burial .

tom b of H um ayun,w i tho u t the

c us tom a ry washi ng and d ress i ng of the body ,w i thout a fune ral process i on fol l ow i ng i t . Bes i de

him l ies no t only tha t royal ances tor , b u t al so

tw o of h i s grand - unc les , the yo unger son s o f

Akbarfii‘

Two cen turie s rol led by , and then the dyna s ty

of the Grea t Mughal c losed i n a still bloodier

scene . On 2 2nd Septem be r 1 857 , no t fa r from

the spot w he re the m angled rem a in s o f DaraFor the m urder and buria l ofDara, M asum , 1 436

—1 456

(most graphic account , fol lowed by me) ; Bernier, 1 02 ;

T avernier, i. 354 ; Starz’

a , i. 358 Kambu , 240 ; A. N . 432

433 ; Khafi Khan , ii. 87 (all very brief . ) The popular storyof the insul t done to his severed head by Aurangzib, restssolely on the doubtful authority of Bernier and Manucc i.

Masum says , —“When the head was carried to Aurangzibhe said , ‘As I did not look at this infidel’s face in his lifetim e , I do not wish to do it now .

’

2 20 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xxx.

Shukoh we re la i d i n earth,Pri nces Mi rza

Mughal , Mi rza Q u ra i sh Su l tan , and Mi rza

Abu Bakht , the son s and grand son o f the l as t

Em pe ro r o f Del h i , and one o f them h i s chosen

he i r, we re sho t dead i n co l d blood by a fo re i gn

sol d ie r, as devo id o f pri nc i ple as of p i ty, w h i le

they w ere va i n ly p ro te s t ing the i r i nnocence and

c ryi ng fo r an i nqui ry i n to the i r pas t

conduc t .

is The bod ies of the las t o f the legiti

m a te Tim urid s w e re flung l i ke carcases on the

te rrace of the Po l i ce Office and exposed to the

p ubl i c gaze, a s Dara’s had been . In brothers’

flood d i d Aurangzib m o unt to the th rone , and

i n the bl ood of h i s ch i l d ren’s ch i l d ren d id the

royal nam e pas s away from h i s race.

4“ "Unscrupulous , man without fear , ifnot wi thout slaying them as he did

he was guil ty of an outrage against humanity.

” Holm es’sIndian Mu tzny (4th ed . ) 37 2 , 37 7 .

“ The spirit of the

condottzere now came into p lay [ in Hodson'

s m ind . J Amore bruta l or a more unnecessary outrage was never

a single item ofevidence had been adducedto substantiate the charge [ tha t the princes had instiga tedthe massacre of Europeans in Malleson

’s Indian

Mu tiny (ed. of ii. 7 7 , 80 . With their dying brea ththe princes vain ly appea led to Hodson to m ake a tahqiq

( investigation) into their conduct , before shooting them .

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2 2 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . xxxx.

news o f Dara’s dow nfal l produced the greate s t

exc i tem en t i n h is son’s army ; the sold ie rs we re

d i s t rac ted or openly host i le to the fal len cause ;the road to De lh i w as l ong an d would soon be

b lo cked by Aurangzib’

s m en. Wha t w as

Sula im an Shukoh to do ? The youth fu l P r ince ,bew i l de re d by the calam i ty

,took counse l w i th

ja i Si ngh . The Raj pu t genera l advi sed him

e i ther to p u sh on to Delh i o r to fal l back on

Al lahabad and the re w a i t w i th i n i ts she l ter i ng

wal l s fo r new s o f h i s fa the r . For h im se l f , Ja i

S i ngh open ly refu sed to fo l l ow the l os i ng s i de

any longe r ; he w ould go away w i th h i s t roop s

and j o i n the new Em pe ro r . The hapless Sula i

m an w a i ted anothe r day an d he l d a second

consu l ta t i on . D ilir Khan , the

Afghan general , advi sed him to

c ross the Ganges a t Al lahabad ,go to Shahjahanpur, the hom e o f a la rge Afghan

colony,and the re ra i s i ng an arm y of h i s c lan sm en

w a i t fo r fresh d eve l opm ents . On ly on such

c on d i t i on w a s he w i l l i ng to accompany the

Pri nce . Sula im an had no he l p bu t to obey . So ,

he orde red a ret rea t from Al lahabad (4th June) .

B u t m ean t im e Ja i Si ngh had convi nced D ilir

Khan o f the fo l ly of s u ch unselfish devot ion ;the se two genera l s wi th the i r con t i ngents

pa rted com pany w i th the Pri nce a t Korah , and

is deserted by theIm p erial troop s,

CHAP . xxxx.] SULAIMAN AT ALLAHABAD . 2 23

so al so d i d al l the o ther Imper ia l o fficers and m any

newly enl i s ted troopsif w hose hom e was i n th i s

doab coun try . On ly m en, less than a th i rd

o f Su laim an’

s arm y, accom pa

ge

a

t

gfats fo fi fl ahe n ied him i n the ret reat to

Al lahabad , un der the gu i dance

of h i s guard ian , the fai th fu l Baq i Beg. Whi le he

should have flown on wi ngs to h i s fa ther’s s i de,i f he was to reach him a t al l , he w asted a w eek’s

t im e he re i n d i strac t ion , da i ly consul ta t i on , and

the m a turi ng of confl i c t i ng p lan s . He was

burdened w i th a harem o f w om en an d “ furn i tu reand art i c les of pom p beyond im aginat i on .

Couches of gold , chai rs o f gold and s i lver,jewe l le ry, gold plate , r i ch c lo th i ng

,— in short

every gi ft tha t a l oving father and a dot ing

grand fa ther co u ld bestow on him on h i s firs t

cam pa ign , accom pan ied him an d im peded hi s

m arch . He could no t car ry them and yet he wasl oa th to leave them . Som e advi sed him to se izeand govern the count ry from Al lahabad to Patna

and the re bui l d up an i ndependen t pow er. Others

counse l led him to ret rea t to Patna an d by jo i n

i ng Sh uja ra i se a strong fo rce aga i nst Aurangzib.

But the Syeds of Barha , who we re am ong Dara’s

ch ief fol low ers , pressed him to m ake a w ide l oopMasum , 1 47a - 1 486 ; A.N . 1 68—1 70 . Manucci says

that Sula iman conspired to murder Jai Singh and B i lirKhan at an interview (Starz

’

a , i. 284

2 24 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . xxxx.

ro und De lh i , m arch by the northern s i de o f the

Gange s , th rough the i r hom e the Mi d d le Doab, and

then c ross the Gange s and the Jum na a t the foo t

o f the h i l l s, near Nagi na and Saharanpu r, i n

o rder t o reach Dara i n the Panjab w i thou t fear

o f i n te rcept i on by Aurangzib’

s forces .

This las t cou rse Su l a im an Shukoh adopted .

Leaving h i s su rpl u s p rope rty , heavv baggage ,s tores, and harem at tendants i n the fort of

Al lahabad i n cha rge of h i s father’s t rusty servan t

Syed Qas im of Barha , he c rossed the Gange s w i th

l igh t k i t ( 1 4th June) , passed by Lu cknow and

Moradabad , and rapi d ly m oved on Nagina ,w he re he plunde red the G

‘

ovem m ent t reasury o f

tw o lakh s o f rupee s and som e p rivate prope rty

a l so . But n um be rs o f so ld ie rs dese rted him

da i ly, an d h is fol l owi ng rap i d ly dw i nd led from

the m en who had le f t Al lahabad wi th him .

Even for h i s d im i n i shed num bers he could no t

secure a cross i ng ove r the Ganges to the r igh t

bank .

“ At eve ry ferry the m en took the i r

boats to the other s i de a t the report o f h i s

app roach , and he co u l d no t c ross .m arches throughthe doab to So he w as fo rced to p roceedHardwar . fu rthe r up the r ive r toward s

Hardw ar i n the hope o f cros s i ng w i th the he lp o f

the l ocal zam i ndars .” At Chand i , s i tua ted i n the

Sri nagar State opposi te Hardwar, he ha l ted fo r

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2 26 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xxxx.

Rajah o f Kum aun , the ne ighbour and therefore the

enemy of the Rajah of Sr i nagar, tha t the fugi t i ve

was m arch i ng northw ard s to Hardwar i n orde r to

c ross the r iver there w i th the hel p of the lat te r

Rajah . F i da i Khan by hard r i d i ng covered 1 60

m i les i n one day and reached the r igh t bank o f

the rxv er at Hardw ar i n the afte rnoon . Su la i

m an w i th several thousand m en occup ied the

oppos i te bank , wish i ng to c ross the re that very

afternoon . Only 50 t roopers had been able to

keep up wi th F i da i Khan i n h i s s trenuous m arch .

But h i s appearance was enough . At once the

rum our spread that th i s bank w as he l d by the

Vanguard of the Im per i a l arm y and tha t the i r

m ai n body unde r Shai s ta Khan w as approach i ng.

Sula im an Shukoh l os t heart , and durst not force

a pa ssage ac ross . The prec i o u s m om en t w as

l os t,and he had to tu rn back from the Ganges

towards the Sr i nagar h i l ls i n search o f an asy

l um .

ii His bes t fol l ow e rs , the Syeds o f Barha ,who had the i r hom es i n the Mid d le Doab

,roun d

Sam bal , feared fo r the sa fe ty o f the i r w ives an d

ch i l d ren and re fused to enter the h i l l s .

His m os t fa i th fu l officer an d ch ief m anage r o f

affai rs , Baqi Beg,a Badakhshan i , who had se rved

Dara from h i s boyhood , d ied on the way . At the

Aqi l Khan, 7 1—72 . Pa th, 28 4 1 N . 78 1 5 E. , 8 m i les S .

ofGarh Muktesar. (1 nd . Atlas, 49 N . E) .

CHAP . xx 1 1 .] WANT S To ENTER GARHWAL . 2 27

death of such an expe r ienced ab le and resou rce f u l

leade r, confu s i on fe l l o n Sulaim an’

s party . The

m as ter -m i nd w h ich had fi rm ly he ld the m en to

ge ther wa s gone , and the party broke up i n to

flyi ng a tom s . “ At the death of such a fai th fu l

fo l l ower, u t te r despai r and con fus i on ove rtook

Sula im an .

” More than hal f the party wi th him

fl ed back to the i r hom es . His fo rce was red u ced

to m en .

Despai ri ng to m ake h is w ay to the Panjab,

Seeks refuge inSula im an had appealed to the

t h e Garhwal m ercy of Prithw i Si ngh, the

hills.

Rajah of Sri nagar , and m arched

to h i s fron t ier . Here the Rajah’s m en m et him

and gu i ded him i n to the i r count ry . Four

m arches f rom the cap i tal , the Rajah h im sel f

wa i ted on the augu s t gues t and offe red h im a

refuge in Sri nagar on cond i t i on o f h i s be i ng

accom panied by h i s fam i ly and a few servan ts

only ; but h i s army , horses an d e lephan ts

w e re to be d i sm i ssed , as the country was poo r

and the road s bad .

The m i se rable suppl i an t hes i tated befo re con

senti ng to rende r h im se l f u tterly powerles s and

become ab sol ute l y dependent on h i s s t range ho s t .

He spen t a week i n m ed i ta t i on and consul ta t i on.

But there wa s no escape fo r him . The path to

Masum , 1 52a ; A. N . 1 74 .

2 28 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . xxxr.

Hi ndustan was e ffec tual ly c losed . At Hardwar,

Sam bal , and the Mi ddle Doab, s trong fo rces of

the enemy v igi lan t ly w a i ted fo r him ; and a .

fourth fo rce was al ready on the m arch to inves t

Al lahabad , wh i le Aurangzib h im sel f had entered

the Panjab . A dash to the p la i n s would only

m ake Sula im an Shukoh fa l l in to the j aws of

death .

At las t he m ade up hi s m i nd to accep t the

Rajah’s term s. Those o f h i s se rvant s who

wan ted to desert him but we re de te rred from the

at tem p t by the roads out o f the h i l l s be ingguarded by the Rajah’s m en ,

now advised

Su laim an no t to t rus t h i s l i fe to the h i l l people,but to return to Al lahabad . To lend support to

th i s counse l , they showed him a

forged le t te r purpo rt i ng to have

com e from h is fa the r’s devoted

comm andant o f Al lahabad and repo rt i ng that

Shuj a had arr ived the re w i th a vast a rm y .

Sulaim an , the re fo re , changed h is m i nd , thanked

the Rajah for h i s offe r o f hosp i ta l i ty, gave him

som e p resents , and re turned to Nagina . The real l the t ra i to rs fled away , leav i ng only seven

hundred m en wi th him .

Despa i r se ized Sula im an Shukoh as he d iscove r

ed the real m ot ive o f h i s fa i th less adv i se rs . He

dec ided to re turn to Sr i nagar . But h i s t roubles

Changes his

m ind.

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230 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . xxxx.

route he con t i nued the pursu i t wi thou t ha l t ing

the re. The news o f the app roach of the

Im per i a l i sts and the rap i d i ty of the fl igh t d i s

so lved Sula im an Shukoh’

s party ; m o s t o f h i s

m en deserte d him ,and at la s t w i th h i s w ife , a

few o ther lad ies, h i s fos ter- bro the r Muhamm ad

Shah , and on ly seven teenEnters Garhwal

wi th 1 7 followers. fo l low e rs , he reached the

en trance to the hillsfi" The

Raj ah o f Sr i nagar gave him an a sylum ,prom i s

i ng to harbour the supp l ian t in sp i te of the

dange r an d l oss that we re s u re to befa l l him

for h is hospi ta l i ty.

The host w as al l k i ndness and atten t i on to h is

p ri nce ly gues t i n d i s t res s . “He repa i red the o l d

an d ru i ned palace o f h is ances tors , l odged the

Prince i n i t , and day and n igh t served him at

tentively . He cons i dered the arri va l o f such a

pri nce a s a d ivi ne grace, because no such event

had eve r happened [to h i s dynasty] befo re. The

Rajah even gave h is daugh ter i n m arriage to

Masum , 1 5 1 6— 1 536 ; A .N . 1 73

—1 7 7 ; Khah Khan , ii.42 (says that the Rajah trea ted Sulaiman l ike a prisoner ingreed ofhis go ld and jewels . ) Sula iman

'

s fl ight to Garhwa ltook p lace at the beginning of August , 1 658 , as the detachm ent sent by Aurangzib from Delhi on 24th July underSha ikh M ir and B il ir Khan to watch the Jumna aboveSaharanpur aga inst the fugitive , returned to Aurangzib

some m iles east ofRupar on the Satlej on 1 0 th August wi ththe report that Sulaiman had entered Srinagar. (A. N . 1 67 )

CHAP . xxxx.] SULAIMAN IN GARHWAL . 231

Sula im an , i n o rder to m i ngle h i s b l ood wi th that

of the Im per i al house of Delhifi"

Fo r a year Sula im an enj oyed peace i n his rude

but safe she l ter. He m ust have been s igh ing for

the com forts o f c iv i l i sed l ife , the l uxuries o f his

fa the r’s Court,and the power and w eal th o f a

ru l i ng pri nce. Accordi ng to Masum , h i s ev ifl

coun sel l o rs, —or, as i s m ore probable , hi s own

rest less am bi t i on p romp ted him to sal ly forth

f rom the h i l l s and ra i d a Mughal vi l lage

i n the pla i ns, in the hope of re-estab l i sh ing h i s

author i ty and assemb l i ng h i s father’s old re ta i ne rs

and other officers from the ne i ghbouring tract .

The only resu l t of the exped i t i on wa s the plunder

o f h i s al l by h i s fa i thless fol lowers and h i s re turn

i n naked pover ty to the Garhwal h i l l s

Aurangzib had al ready w arned the Rajah that ,i f he d i d no t wish to see the ru in

Aurang‘ib in‘ of h i s house , he m us t y iel d thevades Garhwal

to secure the fugi t ive . Prithw i Si ngh t rieds u r r e n d e r of

Sula iman , evasxon and pre tended that

Sul a im an Shukoh had found an

asy lum in a ne i ghbouring h i l l-Sta te and not i n

Garhwal . But the fal sehood fa i led i n its objec t .

Masum , 1 536, 1 s6a .

1“ Masum , 1 540—1 55a . The Alamgz

'

rnamak ( 1 75 )p laces this return to the p lains and desertion of Sulaimanby his treacherous fol lowers before his entrance into Garhwa l .This is more l ikely than Masum

’

s version.

232 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB . [CHAP . XXII .

At the end of a year, Aurangzib now t ri um phan t

over a l l h i s r ivals , was free to turn to Sulaim anShukoh. On 2 7 th July 1 659 he sen t Rajah

Rajrup of the Jamm u h i l l s wi th a party of Im

per ia l t roops to i nfluence Prithw i Si ngh , e i ther

by persuasi on o r by th reat,to surrende r h i s gues t .

For a year and a hal f the h i l l-Rajah s truggled

aga ins t tem ptat i on and fear in the sacred causeof hosp i ta l i ty . Re i n fo rcem ents i n p ioneers

ar t i l lery and m uske tee rs we re sen t to Rajrup i n

Oc tober But a cam paign am ong the

rugged h i l l s o f Garhwal w as a sl ow and doub tfu l

exped ien t. Aurangzib the re fore fel l back on di pl o

m acy . He i n tr igued wi th Prithw i Si ngh’s al l

powerful m i n i s ter and vi rtualand twith ruler o f Garhwal , and prom i sed

and his him h i s m aste r’s throne i f her.

brough t abou t the capture of

Sula im an . This man, co rrupted by amb i t ion ,adm i n i s tered to the Pri nce a poison in the form

of m ed ic i ne . Sula im an exper im ented wi th i t

on a cat and learn t of i ts dead ly property . When

he d isc losed the p lo t to Prithw i Si ngh , the Rajah

in righ teous ind ignat i on cu t the wre tched m i n i s

ter to

Aurangzib next em ployed Jai Si ngh, h i s agen t

9“ A. N . 42 1 , 589 ; Masum , 1 566—1 576.

i Masum , 1 576—1 596.

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2 34 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . xxu .

offe red res i s tance His fos te r-brother and som e

o the r com pan ions were s la i n,and he h im sel f

wounded i n the va in st ruggle fo r freedom agai nst

heavy odds . On 27 th Decem ber he w as sen t

d own to the p la i ns and de l i ve red to Ram

and on 2nd January 1 66 1 brought to the for t of

Sal im garh at De lh i .

On 5 th Jan uary the pri soner was p laced befo re

h i s d read uncle i n the Hal l o f Private Aud ience

o f the De lh i palace .T His yo u th,

ext rem e

beauty , m arti a l fam e , and p resen t m i se ry deep ly

i n terested the co u rt iers and even the lad ies of the

Im pe r ia l harem i n h i s fa te . The e ldes t

and m os t favoured grandson of Shah Jahan , hem igh t under happ ier stars have one day adornedthe th rone o f Delh i and sa t on the sea t of s ta te i nthe ve ry hal l w here he now s tood as a cap t i ve i n

chai ns w ith a secret and ignom iHis intervieww i th Aurangzib

n i ons death be fo re him .

“Many of

the cou rt ie rs shed tears a t the

s igh t o f th i s i n te rest i ng young

pri nc i pa l lad ies o f the beh in d

a la tt i ce-work,we re also greatly m oved . Aurang

zib spoke to him wi th apparen t kindness, to

re l ieve him o f the fear of a death- sen tence ,

A . N . 600—602 ; Aqi l Khan , 1 05 ; Storia, i. 378—380 ;

Khafi Khan , ii. 1 23 .

1 A. N . 602 .

CHAP . xxm] Porsomsn WITH OP IUM . 235

‘Be com fo rted ; no harm shal l befal l you . You

shal l be t reated w i th tenderness . God i s great ,and you should p u t your t rus t i n Him . Dara ,your fathe r, wa s no t perm i t ted to l ive on ly

becau se he had becom e a kafir , a m an devoi d o f7al l re l ig ion . The Pri nce m ade the sa lam or sign

o f gratefu l then tol d the

Em peror , wi th m uch sel f-po ssess i on , tha t i f i t

we re i n tended to g ive him the {waste to d r ink , he

begged tha t he m igh t be imm ed i ate ly pu t to

dea th . Aurangzib prom i sed i n a solem n m anne r,and i n a loud voi ce, tha t th i s d r i nk shou ld m ost

certa i nly not be adm i n i s te red , and tha t h i s m i nd

m igh t be per fec t ly

The {Jousta i s a dri nk m ade o f poppy-heads

c rushed and soaked i n wate r fo r a n igh t . Thi s

was the pot i on gene ral ly given to p ri nces con

fined i n the fo rt ress o f Gwal i o r, whose heads the

Em pero r was d eterred by p rudent i al reasons from

taki ng off. A large cup of th i s beverage was

brough t to them early i n the m orn ing , and they

were not given anyth ing to ea t unt i l i t wa s

swal low ed . Th i s d ri nk emac i ated the wretched

v i c t im s who los t the i r s t rength and in tel lec t by

slowgdegrees, becam e torp i d and sen seless, and a t

length d i ed .

Bernier, who witnessed the scene, (pp . 1 05Storia , i. 380 .

236 HI STORY or AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . xxu .

But the fa te that Sula im an Shukoh had d read

D r a gged t oed m ore than death i tse l f

,was

death in Gwalior m eted ou t to him by Aurangzibp ri son‘ in vi olat i on o f h is ‘solem n pro

m i se. The cap t ive was sen t to Gwal i o r (on

1 s th January) and there ordered to be p l ied w i th

the d ri nk of op ium - seed s . I n th i s d i sm al Sta te

p ri son the hapless Pr i nce dragged h i s m i serab le

l i fe on fo r a year, and final ly , i n May 1 662 ,“ he

was sen t to the nex t world throught he exert i on s

ofh i s keepe rs.” Hi s caree r that had begun wi th

so m uch p rom i se and splendour was cut offat the

age o f th i rty . On the Gwal i o r h i l l he was

burie d c lose t o ano ther p ri nce ly v i c t im ofAurang

zib’

s am b i t i on , and Sula im an Shukoh and h i s

unc le Mu rad Bakh sh were un i ted i n death in that

unhonoured cemetery.

”as

9

9“ Kambu , 24b ; Isardas, 4 1 6 ; Bernier, 1 07 Storz'

a , i. 380 ;A. N . 603 (si lent about his fate) ; lnayetullah

’s Akkum - i

Alamgz'

rz'

,2866, 302 17 .

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2 38 HISTORY ‘

OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . xxm .

After four days of fl igh t he c rossed the Gange s

and encam ped a t Jus i , oppos i te Al lahabad .

Dara’s com m andant of A l l ahabad shut the fo rt

gates i n h i s face , and i nvi ted the Im per i al i s t s t o

c om e and take de l i very o f the fo rtress , (which

w as done on 1 2 th. January . )On reach ing Bahadurpur, east o f Benares,

Shu j a s topped for som e days,

t o Bahadurpur' repai red the wal l and trenches

round h i s fo rm e r cam p , and though t o f m ak ing

a s tand there agai nst h i s pursue rs . I f the wors t

cam e t o the w ors t , he coul d re t rea t i n h i s flot i l la ,w h i ch lay m oored a t hand . Seven la rge gun s

we re brough t away from Chunar and m ounted

on the ram partsTSul tan Muhamm ad , who had

no boat s,coul d no t c ross the flooded Gange s

near Bahad urpu r ; so he m arched back ups tream ,

fo rded the r ive r near Al lahabad , and advanc i ng

by w ay of Khe r i and Kuntit arri ved two stages

from Chunargl:This fac t , j o i ned to the news tha t F i da i Khan ,

another o fficer o f Aurangzib,to Patna.

wa s m arch ing north o f the

Ganges from Gorakhpu r towards Patna , alarm ed

Alamgirnamah, 285 8: 286 ; Masum , 1 056.

1 Alamgz'

rnam ah, 492 8: 493 .

1 Aqi l Khan, 9 1 . Kheree is in the Khyragarh Dist . l( untz’

t

is near B indhachal , IO m i les west of M irzapur. (Indian

Atlas, Sh.

CHAP . xxru .] SHUJA HOLDS M UNGIR. 2 39

Shuja , and he fled prec ip i tately to Patna , arr iv

i ng at the garden of Jafar Khan i n i ts suburbs

on 1 0 th Feb ruary , 1 659? Here som e prec io u s

days we re wasted i n m arry i ng h i s son Zainuddin

to the daugh te r of the old and re t i red office r

Zulfiqar Khan Qaramanlu , i n the vain hope o f

thus bu ttressi ng up h is fa l len fortunes . Mean

t im e the enem y arrived w i th i n 20 m i les of the

town,and the re was ano the r rap i d fl igh t to

Mungi r,w h i ch was reached on the 1 9 th. Sul tan

Muhammad arrived at Patna abou t the 2 2nd,

e igh t days after Shuja had le f t i t , and here he

w as jo i ned by F i da i Khan.T

At Mungi r Shuja m ade a longe r s tan d (Feb.

1 9 th—March 6th) . The ground

to Mim gi r'favoured the de fence agai ns t an

i nvader f rom the west . The c i ty o f Mungi r

s tands i n a narrow plai n , 2% m i les w i de , bounded

by the Ganges on the wes t and the Khargpu r

h i l ls on the ea s t . Along th i s pla in runs the m o st

conven ien t road from Patna to Bengal . I f i t

were b locked , the i nvader would have to m ake

a long detour th rough the desola te h i l l s an d

j ungles of the Santa l Parganahs and Bi rbhum ,

fa r away from the Ganges and i t s pop u l ous

Aqi l Kh. , 9 1 8: 92 ; Alamgz'

rnamah, 493 .

fAqi l Khan , 92 .

240 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

c i t ies , and st ri ke the r ive r aga in only in the

ne ighbourhood of Mursh idabad .

During the per i od of Afghan rule , a w a ll and

m oat had been run i n fron t of

Mungi r, f rom the h i l l to the

r iver-bank , fo r the defence of

Where he blocksthe road.

the town . La s t year, w hen oppo s i ng Sulaim an

Shukoh, Shuja had repa i red these o ld defences,ra i sed bas t i on s eve ry 30 yards a long the wal l , and

connec ted the d i tch w i th the s t ream . Guns

w ere now landed from h i s boats and m ounted

on the wal l s , the t renches were regularly m anned

by h i s so ld ie rs , and Rajah Bahroz, the zam indar

o f Khargp u r, undertook to guard the sou thern

h i l l s , th rough wh ich ran a difficu l t path to

Rajm ahal .

Early i n March Mi r Jum l a approached Mungi r,

and find ing the m a i n roadMir Ium la

’s

turning m ov e ! barred , d id no t w aste his t im e

afifst

‘

thm ugh the i n a t tem pt ing the s iege o f the

tow n , but bough t over Rajah

Bahroz. Under the Rajah’s gu i dance the Im pe r ial

a rm y m arched th rough the h i l ls and j ungle s of

Khargpu r, and m aki ng a detou r round Mungi r,

th reatened to seize Shuja’

s t ear.T That Pri nce ,

Alamgz’

m amah, 493 and 494.

1“ fi nd , 494 25: 495 ; Aqi l Khan, 92 ; Masum

, Kharg

pur is due south ofMungir . (Indian Atlas, Sh. 1 1 2 i .

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242HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

l ong befo re h i s wal l a t Sah ibganj . His r ight

waspro tec ted by the r iver, h i s lef t by the Raj

m ahal h i l l s stretch ing southwards i n a long l i ne

f rom the Ganges to B i rbhum . To guard against the

Im per ial i sts aga in turn i ng hi s le ft flank by m aking

a de tour th rough the h i l l s , he sent h i s fo l l ow er Mi r

Isfand iar Mam u r i to Khwajah Kam al Afghan ,

the zamindar of Bi rbhum an d Ghatnagar,

wi th orde rs to oppose such a m ove and clo se

the path on the south .

But agai n the gol d Of the Im pe r ia l i sts upset

Mir Jumla’s de

h i s p lans . As at Mungi r, so he re

tour through too,Mi r Jum l a won over the

Birbhum . t rus ted zam indar and purcha se d

a safe passage th rough h i s l ands . Afte r twe lve

days of to i l som e m arch th rough the h i l l s sou th

eas t o f the Mungi r Di s t ri c t,i n wh i ch Raja

Bahroz acted a s gui de and provi ded rat i on s and

fodde r, the Im per ia l i sts em erged from the

j ungles*3 and en te red the zamindari Of Bi rbh um .

The ch ief town , Su r i , wa s passed on 28th March .

Here a s t range piece Ofnews dam ped the ardour

o f the Im per i al i s ts and w eakenedRum our of

A u r a n gzib's thei r s t rength . I t had been

defeat‘ known that Dara Shukoh had

agai n m ade head i n Guzerat , and that the

Em peror had ha s tened th i the r to Oppose him .

Alamgz'

rnamah, 496 and 497Aqi l Khan, 92 .

CHAP . XXIII.] FALSE ALARM OF IM PERIALISTS . 243

On 1 3th March 1 659 , the two arm ies

c lashed togethe r near Ajm ir ; Dara’s powe r

w as dest royed for ever, and he was flee i ng he lp

less ly befo re the pu rsuing Im pe ri al i sts . Bu t

rum our, w i th her usual l ove of fal sehood , w af ted

to the M ughal army a t Pialapur the new s tha t

Aurangzib had been routed a t Ajm ir and had

fl ed to the Deccan abandon ing everyth i ng.

Di s tance m agnified the extent Of the d i sas ter, an d

the ta le rece i ved m any em be l l i shm ent s as i t flewf rom m ou th to m outh . The w hole arm y was

th rown in to alarm and confus i on . Mi r jum la’

s

flanking m ovem en t th rough the h i l l s w as

suspec ted to be no t an at tack on Shuja’

s rear,b u t a cover t des ign to flee w i th Pri nce Sul tan

Muhamm ad to the Deccan by the unfrequented

ro u te o f Cho ta Nagpu r and O ri ssa

The Raj put con t i ngen t w as part i cula rly upset .

The RaiputAs h igh cas te Hindu s they wo u ld

C o n t i n g e n t have to unde rgo untol d hardalarmed

sh i p s regard i ng food and d ri nk

i n a seve ra l m on th s’ m arch through an unbroken

wi lde rness . The i r hom e s i n the fa r wes t w ereexpo sed to the vi c to r iou s enem ies o f Aurangzib.

The w rath o f Dara w ould descen d heavies t on

the house o f Jai pu r, a s Ja i Si ngh had dese rted

Su l aim an Shukoh and won over Jaswan t Si ngh

to Aurangzib’

s s i de, and both he and h i s

244 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XXIII.

son Ram Si ngh had done s ignal servi ce

to the Em pe ro r. Th i s march through the h i l l s

was bad enough , but the outl ook before

them w as worse s t i l l . What coul d they expec t

on reach ing the Deccan , even i f the m arch w ere

safely accom pl i shed ? To joi n the broken ranks

o f a de feated pretende r to the th rone,and to be

for ever ex i led from hom e and chased hi ther and

th i ther w i th the fugi t i ve Aurangzib ! Be t ter

retu rn w es t th rough Patna and Al lahabad

and m ake peace wi th Dara , or at least

push on to Rajputana i n t im e to guard the ir

hom e land .

The Rajputs brooded over the m atter and

and leaves Mirsl owly m ade up the i r m i nd s .

Ium la to return Som e days afte r leaving Pialapurhome’ they s topped w a i t ing on the

Prince l i ke o ther Offi ce rs , a t the t im es of his

s tart i ng and d ism ount i ng. Then , on 26 thMarch ,afte r the day's advance they d i d no t occ upy the

respecti ve quarte rs m arked o u t fo r them i n the

encam pm en t , but al l the Rajputs o f the d i ffe ren t

d i vi s i ons co l lec ted toge ther and took up a

pos i t i on beh i nd the cam p . Next day they

fo l low ed the m ai n army at som e d istance,keep i ng the i r ten ts and baggage wi th them selves .

On3oth March

,two stages beyond Bi rbhum , the

Rajput con t i ngent , strong, seceded from

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246 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

o f h i s powerfu l flot i l la,agai n s t w h i ch Mir

Jum la’

s p u rely l an d fo rce cou ld m ake no head .

B u t t reachery wa s brewing i n h i s ranks .

p lot of AlaThe advance o f the Im pe r i a l

wardi Khan to a rm y i n h i s rear des t royed hisdesert him . las t chance of s u ccess ; the i r

arri val a t Belgha ta , 30 m i les from hi s pos i t ion ,s upp l ied h i s w ave r i ng fol l ow ers w i th p ro tec to rs

cl o se a t hand i n ca se they de se rted . F i de l i ty

to Sh u j a now m ean t only a cho i ce be tw een two

m i ser i es, via ,

s laughte r by the ove rw he lm i ngly

super i o r lm per ia l a rmy,and volun tary ex i le to

the d readfu l lan d o f the savage Arracanese .

“ Many of his o ld and trus ted fol lowe rs” now

con spi red to d eser t him . The leade r of the

m al con tent s was Alaw ardi Khan , a noble who

had governed Biha r i n the cl os i ng years o f Shah

Jaban ’s re i gn , an d j o i ned Shuja’

s s tan dard a t

Pa tna w hen that Prince m ade h i s fi rs t a t tem pt

fo r the th rone i n 1 657 . Shuj a had p rom oted him

to the rank of his ch ie f adv iser, u sed to cal l

him Khan Bhai (My noble bro the r) , and had

recent ly c reated him Amir- ul-um ara or ‘Prem ie r

For the a ffair ofAlawardi Khan see Alamgirnamah,

2 1 , 42 2 , 499—50 1 ; Masum I i 4a

—1 1 56. Aqil Khan , 94,m erely mentions the execution .

CHAP . XXIII.] BEHEADS INTENDING DESERTERS . 247

The plan o f the t rai tors was to lag beh ind a t

Plot detectedRajm aha l a fter Shuj a

.

had gone

to the ferry, and to sl ip away to

the Im peria l cam p when he w ould be ac ross the

r i ver . Shu ja ce r tai n ly wen t to the fe rry of Doga

ch i ( 1 st Apri l , but a s torm p reven ted h i s

em barkat i on that n igh t , and he had to re tu rn

to h i s tent , 5 m i les from the r i ve r. The consp i ra

tors had no t fo reseen thi s delay . The plo t had

al ready go t wi nd . Shuja heard o f i t a t the end

of the n igh t, and ac ted wi th unw on ted prom p ti

tude and dec i s i on . He had lef t two O ffi cers at

Rajm ahal to supe ri n tend the t ran sport of the m en

and s tores that were to fo l l ow him .

N ex t m orn i ng (zud Apri l ) , he gal l oped from

h i s tent to the c i ty,a di stance of 1 0 m i les , and

al ighted i n h i s garden i n the He was

i n a towe r i ng rage and kep t shout i ng to h i s officers to br ing Alaw ardi Khan . Man a fter m an

was sen t on th i s e rrand . Mean t im e Alaw ardi

Khan was guard i ng h i s house w i th h i s own re

tainers, agai nst any at tack . Shuja’

s Offi ce rs cam e

i n rap id s uccess i on and gathered round hi s hou sewi th the ir t roops , w a i t i ng fo r the Pri nce

’s o rde r

to s torm i t . At th i s Alaw ardi l os t heart h i s

part i sans we re cow ed down . So, when the

4: Was it the Nages'war Bag garden given in Rennel l ,

sheets 2 and 1 5 22

248 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XXIII.

dz'

wan, Mirza Sarajuddin Muhamm ad Jabri , ar

r ived to fetch him ,he eas i ly consented to leave

h i s st ronghold and accom pany him t o the

Princefi‘

Alawardi, wi th h i s younge r son Sai ful lah , was

taken to the Pri nce outsi de the

c i ty . They w ere imm edia tely

se ized an d handcuffed by the

l oyal so ld ie rs, placed on an e lephan t, and carr ied

back to the c i ty wi th Shuja . Here a t the palace

gate they we re beheaded pub l i c ly. Two othe r

m ansabdars, who had j oi ned the p lo t , shared the

sam e fate .

After pass i ng th ree m ore days a t Rajm ahal ,Shuja , on 4th Apri l , c rossed the

M

p iei'

IiZfiifiif,“ Ganges at Dogach i , and en

and its leadersbeheaded.

cam ped a t Baqarpur on the

oppos i te bank , wi th the flot i l la guard ing h i s

fron t . The Im per ia l a rmy after leav i ng B i rbhum ,

had turned to the N . E. , wish ing to s t ri ke the

The officia l history accuses Shuja of having inducedAlawardi to come out of his house by a false p rom ise of

safety, and then treacherously executed him . (Alamgz'

rna

mah, But the Tar i'

kh- i-Shujaz’ does not support the

cha rge . It says , “ M irza Sarajuddin Muhammad, a confi

dentia l servant of the Prince , offered to bring Alawardi,went to the latter, and tol d him all the case (haqi

’

qat- i-hal ) .

The la tter had no help but to come with one or two man

sabdars engaged in the same p lot .”(f. I l sa ) . I have

accepted his account as more l ike ly to be true under thecircumstances . Alawardi had no chance of escape if he

resisted arrest .

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2 50 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . XXIII.

Sikrigali, i t flow s th rough a softer ground and

gives free play to i ts fondness fo r changi ng i tsbed o r sp l i t t i ng up i n to m any st ream s . Thus the

val ley o f the Ganges , be tween the Rajm ahal h i l l s

on the w es t and the upland of Barind at the

back o f Maldah on the east , i s i n te rsec ted

by coun tless th i n serpent i ne brook s and nullahs ,d ry sandy depos i t s m ark ing the dese r ted bed s

o f the r i ve r, and the one or m ore s t ream s Of the

Gange s and the Mahananda .

“ The earth i s as

w ate r" he re and t rave l l i ng i s ex t rem e ly d i fficu l t .

On the north Of th i s t rac t , the m a i n a rtery of the

Ganges rece i ves m any straggl i ng branches o f the

l owe r Kush i , on the east the Ka l i nd i , the Maha

nanda (the r i ve r o f Maldah), and severa l o f i ts

ow n ram i fica t i ons. On the south , a l i t t le eas t o f

Su t i , the or igi nal Ganges branche s o ff i n a th i n

tortuous s tream , wh i ch st i l l bears the nam e of

Bhagira thi o r the Holy Gange s , and flows pas t

Mursh i dabad,Nad ia , and Cal cu t ta , to the sea .

B u t i ts m ai n curren t flow s eas tward s by Rajshah i and Goalnand i n a vas t vo lum e of wate r

known as the Padm a .

During the ra i ns m uch of th i s val ley i s fl ooded .

As the ra i ns s top and the floodfull of water

Courses , sub s ides , i nnum erable wate r

courses (nullahs) and lakes are

found to in te rsec t the land . Only a few o f the

CHAP . XXIII.] SHUJA’

S GUNS AND BOATS . 25 1

nu llahs ca rry Off runn ing w ate r ; al l the othe rs

firs t grow s tagnant , then the i r end s d ry up, and

they form s l im y pool s and soft m orasses . Only

i n the i r l as t s tage , in the hotte s t part o f summ er ,do they present the sol i d l and aga i n , b u t im

m ensely changed from i ts las t year’s configura

t i on . Th i s p rocess goes on year afte r year,m ak i ng fanta st i c vari at i ons i n the su rface o f the

ground .

Shu ja had a hope les s i nfer i or i ty o f t roop s . He

had brough t back abo u tShuia

's naval

p ower. m en from Khajw ah. O f these

som e had been lost by d ese rt i on ,and m any others had been i ntercepted by the

Mugha l captu re o f Rajm ahal .£23 On lan d he

cou ld no t have m ade an hour’s s tand agai n s t

the Im per ia l i s ts. But he had an arti l lery o f b ig

p ieces adm i rab ly se rved by European and hal f

ca s te gunners . He wa s also st rong i n an arm

pecu l i a rly su i ted to the theatre o f the w ar, an

a rm i n w h ich Bengal , Of a l l the provi nces o f

the em pi re, enjoyed a notable supe r i o ri ty , and

the lack Ofwhi ch paralyse d h i s enemy’s e ffo rts .

Bengal i s the land o f w ater-ways,and i ts subahdar

(Vice roy ) used to get a large ass i gnm ent on the

revenue (tankhah) and extens ive jagirs (fiefs) fo r

an Aqi l Khan , 95 . For the state Ofthe deserted Shujaites inRajmaha l , see Masum , 1 1 6b and 1 2641 .

252 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII .

m ainta ining a flot i l la (nawwarafi‘ to pat ro l the

r ive rs, convey Officers and t roop s,and res i s t the

p i rates o f Sondip and Chatgaon . The Mughals

we re p rove rb i al ly bad seam en . Expert caval ie rs ,they w ere powerless on board a sh i p . The deep

had unknown terro rs fo r them ,and even a voyage

down a r iver was a penance to be gone th rough

w i th set teeth and breathless expec tat i on of i ts

end, when they would t read on sol i d land agai n

Mi r Jum la’

s army was a purely land fo rce.

He had no t brough t a s i ngle

boat wi th h im sel f, no r could he

get any in Bengal , as Shuja had

Mfr ] u m Ia' s

weakness.

ant i c i pa ted him by se izi ng and Sinki ng al l the

p r ivate boats i n th i s part o f the count ry . For

wan t o f w ater- t ransport Mi r Jum la wa s confined

to the w es tern bank , unab le to c ross over and

at tack the enemy,o r advance on Dacca , a s m any

rivers i n te rsec ted h i s path . Shuja , on the o the r

hand , could m ount h i s guns and m en on hi s

boats and em ploy th i s ex t rem ely m ob i le fo rce

anywhere he p leased along the en t i re Mughal

l i ne f rom Rajmahal to Sut i . Bu t he w as too

weak i n t roops to take the offens ive aga in s t an

enemy so over-whelm ingly s upe ri o r on land .

The Bengal i nursery tale of the d uel between

Talish's Continuation, tr . by me in yourna l and P ro

ceedings, A . S. B . June 1 906 and June 1 907 .

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254 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

m ahal to Su t i , on the w es te rn bank . On h i s

ow n s i de Mi r jum l a p lace d p i cke ts at every fe rry

and road to preven t Shuja’

s deserted fo l low ers

a t Rajm ahal f rom c ro ss i ng ove r to him . After

the occupat i on of Rajm ahal ( i 3th Apri l ,h i s fi rs t Objec t w as to get boats , w i thout wh i ch

he coul d not take one s tep fo rward . By pe rs i s t

ent e ffo rts for a fortn igh t he succeeded i n secur

i ng a few ,- kosa s , kha luahs, and rahwaras

,f rom

d istan t o r ob scu re p lace s .

Taki ng up h i s quarte rs a t D ogachi,‘

l' abo u t

1 3 m i les south o f Rajm ahal , he

ffii

t

r

w up

lum la's ca rried out h i s fi rs t bol d and

wel l- planned st roke In m id

s t ream oppo s i te h i s post there w as a h igh i sl and ,which fo rm ed a hal f-w ay house to the o ther

bank . A de tachm en t from Shuja’

s army had

al ready occ up ied i t , and begun to entrench an d

e re c t batter ie s , i n o rde r t o m oles t the Im per ia l

cam p in co -operat i on w i th the i r flot i l la . Mi r

Jum l a resolved to wres t i t f rom them . Under h i s

carefu l arrangem en t and persona l supe rvi s i on , h i s

few boats m ade severa l Si len t and sec re t t r i ps

Masum , I i 8a .

1' Dogachi is

given in the Indian Atlas, sh. 1 1 2,about 1 3

m i les south of Rajmahal . There IS another Dogachi , 1 4

m i les further south but tha t is not the p lace m eant in thishistory

. D unapur is given on the sam e sheet as Dugnapurnear the S . E . corner.)

CHAP . XXIII.] M IR JUMLA SEIZES ISLAND . 2 55

a fte r m i dn igh t , t ransport i ng to the i s land

sold iers under Zulfiqar Khan and som e othe r h igh

office rs, wi th 2 2 hatchet-m en and a few guns .The m o rn i ng d iscovered the i r a rri val to the

enemy , who fl ed away i n the i r boa ts,carry i ng

off the i r gun s. The Im pe r ia l i s ts occup ied the

deserted pos i t i on and hast i ly en trenched . Nextday they repe l led a fo rm i dable at tack. by Shuja

’

s

ent i re flot i l la , s i nk i ng som e of the boats. A

party Of the enemy tha t had landed on one s i deo f the i s land and was t ryi ng to th row up

entrenchm en ts , was gal lan tly charged by a body

of Afghan s under Taj Niaz i and d ri ven out after

a seve re and bloody Struggle . A second at tem p t

of the enemy’s comb i ned fo rces to recover thei s land was defea ted two days la te r

,an d the

Im peria l i s ts were lef t i n und i s turbed possess i on

Of the captured postfii'

But here the i r success ended . Shuj a , warned by

Sh‘

I tthe past ,now guarded h i s defences

a” fi g an

ca reful ly , hi s flot i l la dai ly cruised

up and down the r iver, exchangi ng fi re wi th the

Mughals on the western bank , and h i s army and

guns were m assed opposi te Dogach i . I t was

hopeless fo r Mi r Jum la wi th h i s hal f dozen boat s

to ca rry h i s army across i n sm al l bod ies o r effec t

Alamgz'

rnamah, 50 1—503 .

256 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

a land i ng by su rpri se a t th i s po i n t in the face o f

such a powerful and v i gi lan t enemy.

So ,he m ade other arrangem ent s and b ided h i s

t im e . The Im pe r ia l arm y w asMughal armydistributed on the d i s t ributed a long the ent i reright bank' western bank Muhamm ad Murad

Beg w as lef t in comm and a t Rajm ahal in the

ex t rem e north ; the Prince w i th Zulfiqar Khan ,I sl am Khan

,F i da i Khan , and the b u l k of the

army , rem ai ned a t Dogach i 1 3 m i les southwards,fac i ng Shuj a . At Dunapur, som e 8 m i les furthe r

sou th,Al i Qul i Khan was po s ted , wh i le Mi r

Jum la h im se l f wi th s ix or seven tho u sand t roops

o cc up ied Su t i , the southe rnm ost po in t o f the

Mughal l i nes, 28 m i les south of Rajm aha lfii‘

He re he co l lec ted about a hundred boats of

vari ous so rts, and dailv watchedM i r ] u m l a

’s

second coup.

fo r an Opportun i ty to land on the

othe r bank by surp ri se . The enemy

had e rec ted a h igh ba tte ry of e igh t la rge gun s oppo

Si te him ,whi ch d i d grea t dam age to h is fo l l owe rs

and ca t t le on the r ive r si de . An exped i t i on sen t

one n igh t i n ten boa ts wa s detec ted by the enem y

and repul sed . Nex t day the a ttem pt wa s repea t

ed, and su cceeded by i ts very audac i ty . I n the

broad glare o f noon , when the wind had

freshened and the enem y were off the i r guard , he

at Alamgz'

rnamah, 503 and 504.

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258 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . XXIII.

At dawn (3rd May) when the firs t two or th ree

boats o f the exped i t i on sen t by

Mi r Jum la reached the oppos i te

bank , lhtam am Khan landed w i th som e m en an d

assaul ted the enemy’s t renches , d ri vi ng them o u t

and plan t ing the Im per i al banner there . Then

Syed Alam i ssued from h i s am bush and fe l l upon

His third coup

thi s sm al l party , whi ch gal l an t ly defended i tse l f

in the captured redoubt Som e o f the boa ts we re

busy t ry i ng to land the i r m en m os t O thers had

not yet reached the bank these l os t heart a t the

sudden appearance ofthe enem y and rowed back

to the i r own s i de on ly Six boats we re le ft

beh i nd . The enem y growi ng bol der turned asi de

from the redoub t to a t tack the boats , lead ing tw o

elephants w i th them . The Im peria l i s ts were

perplexed of m any troope rs the ho rses had no t

yet landed , and even those few who w e re

m ounted could no t gal lop on the l oose sand . To

com ple te the i r m i sery, som e of the enemy’s fas t

boats (kosa s) now surrounded them , and a con

fused naval battle began i n w h i ch the odd s w e re

agai ns t them . Zabardast Khan , though wound

ed, c u t h i s way th rough the r i ng Of the enemy .

H i s brothers and nephews, i n ano the r boat , w e re

t ry i ng to di sem bark a nd a i d lhtam am Khan,

when ano ther party of the enem y, 200 s t rong,

wi th a furi ous e lephant (a no ted figh te r, nam ed

CHAP . XXIII.] DISASTER TO IHTAMAM KHAN . 2 59

Kokah), fe l l on them . I t go red Shahbaz Khan

wi th i ts tusk and sank two o r th ree boats. Two

othe r capta i ns were s l a i n . O f the comm on

sol d ie rs ,“many were d rowned or Sla i n

,and the

w ounded were m ade pri sone rs .”

After d ispos i ng o f the boa ts, Syed Alarn turne’

d

upon lhtamam Khan, who wasfa ils with heavyloss . he l p lessly cooped up in the re

doubt . The Khan fel l fight i ng ,w i th m any of h i s m en ; the rest su rrendered .

“ The very p ick o f the Im peri a l arm y thus per i sh

ed m i serably ; 500 o f them w ere taken pri soner,an d som e o f these we re afterw ard s put to death

by orde r o f

Mean tim e Mi r Jum la had been a he lp less spec

ta to r of th i s reve rse from the wes tern bank . In

va i n d i d he comm and and entreat h i s fugi t ive

boats to re turn to the a i d Of the i r b reth ren they

were too dem oral i sed to face the Bengal flot i l la

again . He was deeply m o rt ified ; the d i sa ster

d imm ed the l ustre o f h i s h i therto vi c tori ous

career ; he had lo s t a cho i ce body of m en and

given cau se of exul ta t i on to h i s enem ies , both

across the r i ver and i n h i s own army .

Soon afterwards the Im pe ri a l pa rty had to

a"Alamgi'

rnamah, 506

—509 ; Masum , i i 8a - 1 1 9b; Aqil

Khan, 95 .

260 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XXIII.

m ee t wi th a l oss wh i ch paralysed i t fo r a t ime ,

and would have been d i sas trous but fo r Mir

Jum la’

s wonderful courage, p resence of m i nd , and

m as te ry ove r m en. Late i n the n igh t of 8 th

June, h is cam p a t Sut i was s ta rt led to hea r tha t

Pri nce Muhamm ad had deserted h i s post a t

Dogach i and fled to Shuja

Sul tan Muhamm ad had been l ong chafing

unde r the tu te l age o f Mi r J um la .

Prince Muham ‘

Youth fulm ad discontented fla tterers we re no t

want ing to te l l him tha t he was

the hero of Khajwah, and tha t wh i le the othe r

d ivi s ions o f the Im per ia l Army had been routed

o r shaken , h i s al one had stood its ground and

beaten back the enemy’s onset . Was he no t

m ore worthy of the th rone than h i s fa the r, especi

al ly as he was be l oved by h i s capt i ve gran d

fathe r To these dream s o f am b i t i on w ere added

the tenderer ones of l ove . Years ago, w hen the

Empero r Shah Jahan was ho ld i ng Court a t Kabul ,the Pri nces Aurangzib and Shuja had taken leave

of him to go to the p rovi nces ass igned to them .

The i r way l ay toge ther up to Agra . In jealousy

o f the i r e l des t b ro ther Dara , they had vowed to

un i te aga inst him on the i r father’s dea th , and the

vow had been s t rengthened by each enterta i n i ng

the o ther fo r a week a t Agra and bet roth i ng theyoung Sul tan M uhamm ad to Shuja

’

s l i t tle daugh

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262 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

quie t , and the m o rning afte r the fl igh t rode to the

Mir Jum la. ” CLPrince’s cam p a t Dogachi ,

fies and controls harangued the leade rless t roops ,the “ my’ put heart and hope i n to them ,

and res to red orde r and d isc i p l ine. A counc i l o f

w ar wa s he l d al l the other gene ra l s agreed to

Obey him a s the i r so le head . Thus th rough h i s

hero i c exe r t ion , the arm y weathe red the s torm ;

i t l os t on ly one m an— the Pri nce ,” as Aqi l Khan

p i th i l y puts i t .

I t w as now the m i dd le o f June . The to rrent i a l

ra ins of Bengal suspended opera

t i ons,and the army w en t i n to

can tonm en ts . Mi r Jum l a wi th

abou t m en fixed h is quarters a t Murshida

bad , “ a h igh t rac t o f land , w i th abundance o f

supp l ies . Zulfiqar Khan and m any other Officers

wi th the res t o f the a rmy s tayed at Rajm ahal .

Evi den t ly the pos ts a t Dogach i,Dunapur, and

Op erat ions suspended by rain.

Sut i w ere w ithdrwanfif

The m ora l effec t of the Pri nce’s fl igh t was very

grea t . Corn i ng so soon afte r the reve rse Of3rd

May , i t dam ped the sp i r i t o f the Im per i a l arm y

and suspended i ts a c t i vi ty . The Em pero r w as

ala rm ed a t the news ; he sent ou t st rong re i n

fo rcem ents , and h im se l f left the cap i tal for

Al l ahabad , to be wi th i n easy reach of the Bengalt Alamgz

'

rnamah, 5 1 2 .

CHAP . XXIII .] IM PERIALISTS IN RAJMAHAL. 263

arm y,Sho u l d the danger i ncrease and ro l l west

w ards . The Shuja ites we re correspondingly

e lated , and now for the fi rst t im e i n the war

took the aggress i ve. The i r enem y’s force w as

spl i t up i n to two bod ies separated by s ix ty m i les

of alm o st im pa ssab le road . They had on ly to

w res t Rajm ahal from Zulfiqar Khan , and then

m arch sou th to c rush Mi r Jum la . A daring blow

ach ieved the firs t of these objec ts wi th start l ing

qu i ckness and ease .

The ra i n s had converted the envi rons of Rajm ahal i n to one m arshy lake

Io

Rc

a

ézzhal water '

(jheel) , excep t a t the N . W.

co rner whe re the h i l l s approach

i t . Boats pl ied even i n the m i d st o f the c i ty .

The enem y’s flot i l la preven ted Mi r Jum la from

sending the prom i sed suppl ies from Mursh i dabad

by wate r . Harchand, the Rajah of the Majwah

h i l l s , stretch ing w es t o f Rajm ahal , on rece iv i ng

Shujah’

s subs i dy , stopped the com i ng o f suppl ies

from that s i de , and robbed eve ry grai n-m erchan t

(bunjara) who ventured to send even a bul lock’s

l oad o f grai n to Rajm ahal . “ Not a grai n reached

the c i ty , the t roops were w eakened by ab undance

o f w ater an d dearth o f (sol id) food .

” “ Scarc i ty

reached i ts extrem e poi n t . Grai n rose to

the pri ce o f gold . Coarse red r i ce and dal

sol d at n i ne seers for a rupee . In the agony

264 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

o f hunger m en a te nox i ous weeds. The Im pe r ia l

t roops i n the c i ty were reduced to the las t

ex t rem i ty by fam ine and the l os s of the i r horses

and d raugh t ca ttle and the discord am ong the i r

gene ra l s m ade m at te rs worse .

F i rs t, Shuja

’

s adm i ra l , Shai kh Abbas , se ized

a h i l ly t rac t nam ed Pa turahfi’

82:35“ e by

5 m i les south of Rajm ahal .

F rom th i s .base he began to

m ake boat- ra i ds i n to the wate r-gi r t c i ty . Then

on 2 2nd August , Shuj a suddenly a t tacked Rajm ahal wi th h i s flo t i l la . The comm andan t ,Zulfiqar Khan , was too i l l to ri de . Rajah I ndra

dyum na alone Offered a gal lant oppos i t i on to the

i nvader. The other Im per ia l officers w ave red ,he ld a counc i l ofw ar, could no t agree to any

th ing, but quarre l led wi th each other, and fled a t

n igh t fo r Mushidabad, evacuat i ng a l l the i r

posi t i ons ,— the c i ty on the bank, the upland , (a

spur o f the h i l l ) , m i dway be tween old and new

Rajm ahal , wh ich wa s the i r m a in cam p , and the

causeway lead ing from the h i l l- s i de to the new

town . Al l the i r p roperty was se ized by Shuja,who thus recovered h i s cap i ta l and re-es tabl i shed

h im se l f on the western bank ofthe

n Pu ttoorah, 5 m i les south of Ra jmahal , (Indian Atlas ,sh.

1‘ Alamgz

'

rnamah, 5 1 6—5 1 9 ; Masum , 1 zsa and b ; Aq i l

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266 HISTORY OF AURANGziB . [CHAP . XXIII.

nullah by the lef t b ridge and m arched on Shuja

from beh i nd . Catch ing up the enem y’s rear on

Batt le ofGheria,the bank of the Bhagira thi near

the V i l l age o f Gheria , w h ich w as

afterward s the scene of two o the r m em orable

combats , —Aliwardi Khan’s t r i um ph ove r Naw ab

Sarfaraz Khan i n 1 740 and the rout of Mi r

Q asim’

s t roops by the Engl i sh i n 1 763,—he d i s

persed i t w i th l oss. B u t the i r m a i n a rm y cam e

back and faced him i n bat tle o rde r, beh i nd the i r

gun s , w h i ch d i d great execu ti on and arrested the

M ugha l advance . Eviden tly there w as a d i s

orde rly shri nk i ng back am ongdrawn.

the Im per ial t roops . The Court

h i s to ri an tries to expla i n i t away by sayi ng that ,as the o fficers d i sobeyed Mi r jum la

’

s orders , the

d ifferent d iv i s i on s w ere separated too far, and

the enem y cou l d no t be cha rged . At sun se t Mi r

Jum la had to re tu rn baffled to h i s cam p , afte r

a l i t t le f ru i t less cannonade . Tw o days a fter

w ard s the Shuja ites agai n cam e upon the Im pe

r i al a rmy and d id som e dam age w i th the i r

powerfu l artilleryfi‘

a: Alamgz’

rnamah, 5 1 9—525 ; Masum , 1 3 1 a

—1 33b. Aqi lKhan (99—1 03) tel l s a story which cannot be reconci led withthe other two histories . He says tha t M ir jum la surroundedShuja in the vi l lage ofGheria and could have captured himifhe had bold ly made a night -attack. In the morning Shujaescaped . This passage is incomprehensible to me ; it doesnot look like an invention

,but bears the stamp of an eye

CHAP . XXIII. ] SHUJA PURSUES To NASHIPUR. 267

In th i s arm Mi r Jum la w as very w eak . He

had dragged only l igh t p ieces wi th h im sel f by

the land rou te from Allahabad , w h i le Shuja

could take h i s b ig gun s i n and ou t o f h i s boats ,and had al so en l i s ted excel len t gunners from the

European s o f Hughli, Tam l uk , and Noakhal i .

Mi r Jum l a w i thout wast i ng anyMir Ium la re

treat s. m ore m en and amm un i t ion ,quiet ly ret i red to M u rsh idabad ,

a s he w as every day expec t i ng a d ive rs i on i n

ano the r quarte r, w h i ch w oul d send Sh u j a flyi ng

to h i s own ba se . That Pr ince , em boldened by

the enem y’s re t reat and i gnoran t of the dange r

i n h i s own rear, m arched paral le l to the Mughals

down the othe r bank o f the Bhagirathi, to Nash i

p u r ( 1 2 m i les no rth o f Mursh idabad ), i n o rder to

c ross the re and cut Off the Im pe r ia l a rmy from

the last-nam ed town .

The Em pero r w i th h i s usua l foresigh t had

D a u d Kh a n ord ered Daud Khan , the

threatens Shuia’s subahdar o f Bihar, t o m arch

“ a“upon Tanda along the le ft o r

northern bank of the Ganges and co -opera te wi th

Mi r Jum la who wa s on the ri gh t bank . The

Khan had sta rted from Patna as early a s 1 3th

witness’s report . But it is contradicted by the Officia l historyMasum on the contrary assert s that ifShuja had charged hecould have defeated M ir jum la !

2 68 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . XXIII.

May , 1 659 , bu t the ra i n s , the m any flooded riverso f North Bihar, an d the enem y’s flot i l la and

t renches on the r ive r- banks had brough t him to

an absolute hal t a t Qaz i -Ke r ia , oppos i te Bhagal

pur. Early i n Decem be r he resum ed h i s advance,fo rced a pa ssage across the Kush i

,sw ept aw ay a.

Shujaite de tachm en t under Syed Taj ud d i n of

Barha , Jam al Ghori , and Khwajah Mishki , w h ich

barred h i s pa th , and w as i n fu l l m arch from the

N . W. toward s Maldah , (by 2 oth Decem ber).Shuja a t Nashipu r heard th i s d i sm al news i n

the n igh t o f 26th Decem be r and7Shula s retreat a t on ce beat a ret reat towards

from N ashipur.

Su t i , intend ing to c ross the

Ganges there and fa l l back on Tanda .

‘if

Mi r Jum la had been wai t i ng fo r th i s deve l op

m ent . He now sprang forwardM ir Jum la gives

chase.

in pursu i t . Sta rti ng a t 9 a .m .

nex t day , he Sigh ted the fugi t ive

enem y beh i nd a nullah flanked wi th sw am ps .

Afte r an i ne ffec tua l a rt i l lery due l , Shuja fled from

h i s pos i t i on nex t m orn ing , at 3 a .m . Ve ry t im e ly

re i n forcem ents w i th a rt i l lery, m ater ial , 70 0

rockets , and 1 2 lakhs o f rupees now reached Mi r

jum l a from the Cou rt . At sunrise he crossed the

nullah, con t i nued the chase , and at n igh t ha l ted

a t Fa tihpur, 8 m i les beh i nd the enemy’s fo rm e r

Alamgirnamah, 5 1 3 , 5 14, 524-526 ; Masum , 1 340 .

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2 70 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIII.

m ounted guns , and then marched over the Ganges

w i th h i s whole a rm y by a bridge of boa ts , (oth

Janua ry) .

Nex t m orn ing, Mi r J um la a t Dogach i , heari ng

the new s , pushed fo rward aM i r Jum la t e

covers Rajmahal .detachm ent to occupy Rajm ahal

and open the ri ve r- s i de road to

Mungi r , w h i ch had been so long c l osed by the

enemy . On 1 1 th January , the Im perial i s ts re

cove red Rajm ahal . The w hole count ry wes t of

the Ganges wa s now los t to Shuja fo r eve r . I t

on ly rem a i ned to crush h i s powe r on the eastern

s i de Of the r ive r.

Alamgz’

rnamah, 5 26—532 ; Masum ( 1 34a) is extrem ely

brief ; Aqil Khan ( 1 0 1 -I o3 ) evidently refers to this stage Of

the war ; but there is probably a gap after p . 1 00 in the A . S.

B . Ms . ofAqi l Khan which I have used .

CHAPT ER XXIV

THE END OF SHUJA .

Preparat i on s were qu i ckly m ade for i nvad ing

the eas tern bank of the Ganges ,Mir Jum la rein

forced and events m ove d apace . Daud

Khan had now arr ived at a place

on the lef t bank Ofthe Ganges, som e 1 6 m i les

north o f Rajm ahal . A con t i ngen t o f

Afghan s under D ilir Khan had been sen t by the

Em pero r to re i n fo rce the army i n Bengal i?“ These

c rossed the Ganges (oth Jan uary , a t the

ferry of Kadam ta liT and jo i ned Daud Khan .

Anothe r equal ly neces sa ry s i new of w ar reached

Mi r J um l a i n the fo rm of seven teen lakhs of

rupees f rom the C ourt j:

Kha fi Khan , ii . 93 .

Kadam ta la is 9 m . due N . N . E . of Rajmaha l (IndianAtlas, sh. The Alamgz

'

rnamah gives its a l ternativename as Dodha (which I cannot find in the maps) .

It Alamgirnam ah, 533 81 534.

2 7 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIV .

Last year Mi r Jum l a had at tem pted to c ross

the Ganges near Sut i and m archHis new p lan Tan da i.e.

ofwar.

north eastward s on

to attack Shuja from the sou th

wes t . Th is w as a bad p lan , a s i t i nvolve d the

cro ss ing o f one la rge and m any sm al le r r ivers

c lose to the enemy’s pos i t i o n and i n the tee th o f

h i s pow e r fu l flo t i l la . I t was rendered im po ss ible

by Mi r Jum la’

s lack of boat s . Th i s year h i s plan

of cam paign w as bri l l i an tly nove l ; he wou l d

a ttack the enem y from the oppo s i te po i n t , i.e. ,

the north - east . He w ou l d m ake a w i d e de to u r

ro und the enem y’s posi t i on . He w ou l d c ro ss the

Ganges 1 0 m i le s above Rajm ahal , j o i n Daud

Khan near Akbarpu r (due eas t o f Sikriga li), pass

ove r the shal low uppe r courses of the Mahananda

and som e nullahs , reach Maldah , an d then tu rn

sharply sou th , cross the Mahananda agai n , swoop

dow n upon Tanda from the eas t , and th u s com

pletely enc i rc le Sh uj a i n his ne t . Al l the w hi lehe w o u ld keep a screen of m en i n fron t of the

enem y ’s t renche s a long the Kal i nd i r ive r, and

dece ive him wi th fe i n ts . Shuja’

s po s i t i on was a

long l i ne , st re tch i ng north-wes tShu a

's osition.p

to sou th-east , f rom Sam dah»

a Samdah is given in Rennel l , sh. 2 8c 1 6 . Clzauki M ir

dadpur (Indian Atlas , 1 1 2 ) is 8 m . east of Rajmaha l .Tanda is Tarrah in Rennel l, sh. 1 6, about 4 m . west ofthe

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2 74 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XXIV.

to d i s t rac t the enemy and conve rge on

Maldah .

The res t o f the sto ry i s soon to ld . Shuja offered

an ob s t inate res i s tance a long the banks of the

Kal i nd i and the Mahananda . But he was hope

l essly outnum be red from the firs t . The Im

peria lists we re del ayed on ly by the i r lack of boats ,and by the den se j ungles and coun t less nullahs

tha t barred the i r path the i r on ly l osses we re from

d rown ing. The enemy we re too few to facethem i n the Open p la in , and no m ore p i tched

bat tles took place . The deta i l s o f the m arch i ng

and counter-m arch i ng th rough th i s labyri nth of

nullahs are ne i the r i n te rest ing nor i ns truc t ive to

the studen t Of the art o f w ar. I t wi l l suffice to

t race the o u t l i ne only .

Shuja had bui l t a wal l and a doub le l i ne of

en t renchm en ts al ong the Kal i nd i

Nfifisfvan“ °n

(a branch of the Mahananda)barri ng Mi r Jum la

’

s d i rec t route

to Tanda . But the la t ter m a d e a fe i n t i n fron t ,turned the enem y’s flank by a swi ft m arch north

wards,and safely c rossed both the easternm os t

branch o f the Ganges and the Mahananda .

He now despa tched a colum n towards Maldah

on the ea s tern bank o f the Mahananda , (8th

a Alamgirnamah, 537—541 Masum , 1 35 a& 6.

CHAP . XXIV. ] MUGHAL ACTIVITY IN MALDAH. 2 7 5

Ru i n now stared Shuja i n the face . On h i s

wes t s tre tched the Mughal l i nesPrince Muham from Rajm aha l to Su t i ; on h i sm ad leaves Shuja.

3

north they occup ied vari ous

poi n ts from Samdah to the Mahananda , and now

another fo rce w as m ovi ng southward s to hem

him round on the eas t a nd fina l ly to cu t off h i s

o nly l ine of ret reat i n the sou th . At th i s t im e

Prince M uhamm ad dese rted him and sneaked

back i n to the Mugha l cam p a t Dogach i as

sec re t ly a s he had lef t i t , (8 th The

l uckless youth wa s sent c l o se ly guarded to h i s

relen tless fa the r and doom ed to sigh . ou t the

rem ai nder of h i s l i fe i n a cap t ive cel l o f the rock

pri son o f Gwal i o r . Only two years be fore h i s

d eath d i d he gai n even a l im i ted am ount o f

l ibe rty and t ransfer to the p ri son of Sa l im garh

(De lh i ).

On 29th Februa ry Mi r Jum la final ly left

Sam dah, and on 6th March he

pflggrifiliif’na’

reached Maldah . At Mahm uda~bad , a few m i les bel ow Maldah

,

he spent a m on th i n act ive preparat i on for h is

c rown i ng s t roke.

“He bade ad ieu to ease and

rest , spend i ng day s and nigh ts i n exert i on,i n

o rde r to d i spose of Shuja , and prevent the war

”FAlamgirnamah, 542-

544, 546 ; Khafi Khan, ii. 998: too.

2 76 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIV.

from be i ng d ragged on t i l l the com ing of thera i ny season ,

”—w h i ch woul d m ean the l os s ofanothe r yearfi

" A short d i s tance fur the r downthe s t ream w as the ferry of Bholaha t ,Tw here a

detachm ent unde r B i l i r Khan w as entrenched .

Four m i les bel ow i t an obscu re ford w as d i s

cove red , wh i ch the enem y had neglec ted to guard

we l l . The w ater was shal low fo r only a th in

s tr i p ac ross,but ve ry deep on both s i des .

Eve ry th i ng be i ng ready , Mi r Jum l a le ft

D isas trous ford Mahm udabad a t 3 a .m . on 5 th

ing ofthe Maha Apri l , un i ted w i th D i l i t Khan’s"anda ‘ fo rce on the w ay, and after a

m arch of 1 0 m i les down the bank cam e to the

ford a t dawn . The enemy w e re taken by sur

p ri se ; they had posted only a sm all force wi th

som e gun s on the oppo s i te bank . Without a

m om ent’s del ay the Im per ia l i s ts began to ford .

The leaders d rove thei r e lephan ts i n to the w ate r ;then the caval ry pl unged i n .

“ The so l d ie rs

rushed i n to the ri ve r from r i gh t and le ft , f ron t

an d rear, t roop after t roop like a success ion of

9waves . ’ Al l o rde r wa s gone ; m any swerved

asi de to avo i d the enem y’s showe r o f sho t and

bul le t. In the rush of so m any m en and beasts

Alamgirnamah, 547 8: 548 .

f Alamgim am ah (544. 545 , 547 , 8m. ) Spel ls the nameas Baglagha t . From the bearings given it must be Bkolahat(Indian Atlas, sh. 1 1 9 , 8: Rennel l , sh.

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278 HisTORY or AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXIV.

gun s beh i nd . Re i n fo rcem en ts unde r Syed Alam

and Pri nce Buland Akh ta r arrived when i t was

too l ate , and they fled a t the s i gh t of the trium

phan t Mughals . The Pri nce has tened to Tanda

i n d i strac ti on . Syed Alam carr ied the d ism al

news to Shuja a t Chauk i-Mirdadpur.

The Im pe r i al i sts w e re now on the r ight bank

Shaia's fl ighto f the Mahananda wi th no th ing

bu t e leven m i les of road and the

narrow brook o f the Bhagira thi (or Bagm ati) be

tw een them and Tanda . Swi ft m ust be Shuja’

s

fl i gh t to Dacca,i f he d i d no t wi sh to see the net

com pletely drawn round him and h i s only path

of ret rea t cu t o ff from the so u th . Dazed at the

new s , he held a hurried consul tat i on w i th Mi rza

jan Beg, who gave the only advi ce poss ible in

th i s case , “You should c l ing to no th ing here , but

flee a t once to avoi d capture .

”So , a t n igh tfal l

he hastened back from Chauk i-Mirdadpur to

Tandafi’

i

Then ensued al l the sad and s i cken ing scenes

w h i ch attend a sudden fal l f rom

powe r and the hurried fl igh t o f

vanqui shed pri nces . Shuja reached Tanda a t

dawn, (6 th Apri l ,) a l ighted i n a garden outs i de

the c i ty , and imm ed ia tely proceed ing to the

harem orde red h i s Begum s to com e away at onceMasum , 1 6za .

from Tanda .

CHAP . XXIV.] SHUJA’

S FLIGHT FROM TANDA. 279

“wi thout w ai t i ng even to change thei r

By great exert i ons and constan t superv i s i on he

loaded h i s t reasure i n two s trong boat s (ghurabs),and a selec tion f rom h i s p roperty and stores in

two others, and sen t them off. Then leav i ng

Tanda for ever, he went to the r iver bank at

4 p .m . and em barked . His two younger sons ,

(Buland Akh ta r and Zai n -ul-Abid i n) , h i s ch iefs ,Mi rza Jan Beg, Syed Alam of Barha , Syed Qul i

Uzbak,and Mi rza Beg, a few sold iers , servan ts,

and e unuchs ,— 3oo m en i n al l ,— accom panied him

i n 60 boats (kosas) Thi s wa s the sole rem nan t

o f the splendi d Court am i ds t wh i ch he had ru led

th ree p rov i nces, and the vast a rmy wi th wh i ch he

had twi ce con tested the th rone of Delh i ! The

other officers and servan ts parted from the vi c

tim of m i s fo rtune, and went the i r own way.TThe 6th o f Apri l was a ve ry busy day wi th

M ir Jum l a.Mi r Jum la . Early i n the m orn

m arches on i ng he set ou t from the fa ta l fo rdTanda towards Tanda , but on the way

turned sharply to the lef t to cu t o ff Shuja’

s re

t reat ar Tart i pur on the Ganges. Hasteni ng

th i ther wi th a l igh t d iv is i on , he se ized 400 l oad

ed boats o f the enemy’s flot i l la , left a detachm en t

Masum , 1 6za . Here the work ends abruptly. The

author did not comp lete it. For the remaining portion ofthischapter, the Alamgirnamah is our sole authority.

1‘ Alamgirnamah, 552 .

2 80 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB. [CHAP . XXIV.

in charge, and then wi th on ly 400 t roopers, m ade

a forced m arch backwards to Tanda,arriv i ng

there a t m i dn igh t .He was not a m i nute too early . Al l th rough

tha t day Tanda had been a scene o f w i l d terror

and con fus ion . The sold ie rs , deserted by theirm aster, roved about i n d i sorde r, plunder ing h i s

unguarded property . Treasure l oaded on 6

e lephants and 1 2 cam els , wh i ch w as be i ng taken

by the eunuch Sanda l (the ,custodian Of Shuja

’

s

toshakkhanah) t o the bank fo r em barkat i on , w as

l oo ted by the ruffians, as al so were som e led-horses

of the Pri nce .

“Men ran about i n d isorderly

groups . Grea t tum ul t and confus i on p reva i l ed .

Everyone plunde red wha t he coul d lay ho ld o f.”

But next day (7 Apri l) Mi r Jum la res tored

order he se ized for the Govemand restores

11 1 t a“ the p rope rty he found ,order there.

and worked hard to recover what

the ruffians of the a rmy had loo ted . The women

l ef t beh i nd we re taken care o f ; guards were post

ed round the harem,and i ts officers and eunuchs

o rdered to do the i r du ti es as before ?

The fugi t ive Pri nce could no t keep al l that he

was ca rry ing off. Mughal t roops

liggfis heavy had now hastened to the bank

a long h i s route down the ri ve r .

3“ Alamgirnamah, 552 -553 .

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2 82 HISTORY OF AURANozIB. [CHAP . XXIV .

chas t i se them o r to face Mi r Jum la , who was

com i ng hot foo t on h i s t rai l . He had al ready

begged succo u r from the p i ra te k ing of Arracan,

bu t no reply had yet com e . The near approach

of the Im pe r ia l i s ts , how ever , l e ft him no cho i ce .

On 6th May, he bade fa rewe l l even to h i s easte rn

capi ta l , and w i th h i s fam i ly and a few fa i th fu l

nobles and se rvants gl i ded d ow n from Dacca t o

Dhapa , 8 m i le s southward s . Nex t day he reach

ed Sri pu r (p robably short fo r S r i ram pur.) At

every Stage sold iers an d boatm en deserted him

in large num bers ; even h i s ol d m i n i s ters and

confident ia l se rvan ts fo rsook the i r doom ed master.

On the 8 th , Short ly afte r leavi ng Sri pur, he m et

5 1 Magh and Fer i ngi boats (jalbas) , sent by the

Governo r o f Chatgaon by o rder o f the king of

Arracan.

Nex t m orn ing start i ng from the parganah of

Lakh i -deh Lakh i pur) , he hal tFails to cap ture ed 8 m i les from the fo rt o fBhalua .

Bha luaf" and m ade a m ad e ffo r t

to secure i ts surrender by i nv i t i ng i ts comm andan t

to an in terv iew and then t reache ro u sly im pri son i ng

him . But the party sen t by him w i th the capt ive

comm andan t’s le t te r orde ri ng h i s m en to sur

Dhapa is given as Daapeka Kella in Rennel l , sh. 1 2 .

Sripur is evidently Serampur , and Lakhideh Luckz’

pour of

Rennel l, sh. 9 . Bhalua is Rennell’

s Bu llooah, 1 0 m . S . E . of

Luckipour.

CHAP . XX IV .j RESOLVES To GO To ARRAGAN . 283

rende r the fort , w as at tacked and captured by

the garri son .

On r 1 th May a Magh genera l a rr ived f rom.

Chatgaon wi th th ree m ore sh i p s .

“52:5 .

Afl acaneseSee i ng Shuja

’

s pow e r hopeless ly

b roken and h i s fortune gone , he

re fused to s upport h i s wi ld plan o f an assau l t on

the fort o f Bhalua . An open q uarre l broke ou t

between the fal len Pri nce and h i s barbarous

al l ies . They frankly to ld him ,

“ Our k ing had

ordered us to hel p yo u i n figh t,i f you had any

chance o f success or he ld a s ingle fo rt . But you

cannot take even Bha lua una ided ! So , you had

bette r a t once s ta rt i n our Sh ip s fo r Arracan, o r

w e shal l leave you alone and re turn to ou r

coun t ry . The cup o f Shuja’

s m i sery was now

ful l . He abandoned a l l hope and s teeled h i s

heart to accep t the fo rme r o f these terrible al ter

nat i ves and em bark for Arracanfif'

The news spread con s te rnat i on am ong h i s

Terror and hafam i ly and fol low ers . The

tred insp ired by p i racy o f the Arracanese ofthe Maghs .

Chatgaon i n the r ivers of East

Bengal had m ade them t oo w e l l - know n to thepeople . Whole d i s t r i c ts i n Noakhal i an d Baqar

ganj had been depopula ted th rough the i r ravagest For the last month of Shuja

’

s stay in Ind ia our onlyauthority is the Alamgirnamah, 556

—56 1 . There are a

few additiona l detai ls in Talish's Continuation.

2 84 HISTORY or AURANGZIB . [CHAP . XXIV.

and rem a ined deserted even so late as 1 780 ,

when Renne l l d rew h i s m aps . The i r dari ng

a t tacks, feroc i ous crue l ty , uncouth appearance,barbarous m anners, lack o f re l igi on and ca s te,and prac t i ce of ea t i ng unclean anim a lS,

— al l m ade

the people of Eas t Bengal , H indus and Musl im s

a l ike , regard them w i th a m ix ture o f terro r and

loath i ng, to whi ch h i story affo rd s the only paral

lel i n the Hun i nvas i o n o f the Rom an Em pi re

and the Co ssack ra i d i n to F rance after Le i pzi g .

The d read of cap t i vi ty unde r them was enhanced

by the unknown dangers o f the i r m ys te ri ous

c ountry , which was be l ieved to be fu l l o f pes t i

ferou s j ungles and separa ted by the peri l ous ocean

f rom a l l c iv i l i sed landsat

And now Shuja was to go there But to him

i t wa s a lesse r ev i l than to fal l

in to Aurangzib’

s hands . The

fa te Ofh i s fa the r and two bro thers

m ade him shun the i dea o f su rrender . Shah

Jahan , the k i nd es t Of fa the rs , was p i n i ng away

i n di shonoured o ld age as a prisoner i n the ve ry

fo rt where he had once he l d Court as the “ K ing3

Skuja’s fear of

Aurangzib.

o fK i ngs . ’ The l i be ra l and accom pl i shed Crown

Prince , Dara Shukoh, had been b rough t in cha i ns

For the Benga l i view ofthe Arracanese, see ShihabuddinTalish

’

s Continuation as t ranslated by me in “ The FeringiPira tes of Chatgaon," J . A . S. E . , june , 1 907 .

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2 86 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IE. [CHAP . XXIV.

he red i tary righ t of occupying the p lace o f honour

in the Em pero r’s l i ne of battlefii' I t was on ly

fitt i ng, therefo re, that Syeds of Barha we re fo und

ready also to s tand by the i r m aste r’s Side in

the hour o f h i s s uprem e m i sfo rtune an d dange r .

Mys tery sh rouds the end o f the i l l- fated Pri nce

whose h i s to ry w e have pursued so l ong . The

autho r o f the Ama l- i-Sa lih,T wri t i ng i n 1 67 1 ,

says,

“ Up to th i s t im e none knows anyth i ng abou t

Shuja’

s fate i n Arracan. I t i s u t te r ly u nknown

in wha t count ry he i s and wha t he i s doi ng, or

whether he has been sen t to the realm of the

dead .

”Sixty years la ter, Khafi Khan was no

bet te r inform edql: He rem arks ,“ In Arracan al l

t races o f Shuj a d i sappeared ,— none [i n Ind i a] got

any Sign o f him .

” Noth i ng save the vagues t

rum our pass i ng through m any i n te rm ed iaries

eve r reached Aurangzib . Fo r years afterwards

wi ld tales cam e to Ind ia o f Shuj a having gone to

Pe rs i a ; and sharpers coun terfe i t i ng h i s son

Buland Akh tar appeare d i n d ifferent parts of

Ind i a . One such was arrested near Al lahabad

a s l a te a s 1 699 . A fal se Shuj a headed a ri si ng

Irvine’s Army of the Indian M ughals , p . 2 25 .

1 Kambu , 2 1 a .

I Khafi Khan , ii. 1 09 .

CHAP . XX IV .] SHUJA SLAIN BY MAGHS . 287

near Murang i n 1 669 an d anothe r i n the Yusufza i

country i n

To rem ove the unce rta i n ty , Aurangzib des i red

that Mi r Jum la , the new Vi ce roy o f Bengal,

should after conqueri ng Assam lead an arm y i n to

Arracan to recover Shuja’s fam i ly i f possibleil

'

When Shaista Khan , Mi r Jum la’

s s uccesso r,con

quered Chatgaon from the Maghs he ev i

dently got no certa i n new s o f Shuja , or i t woul d

have got in to the Offic ia l h i s to ry . The E u ropean

traders who had free acce ss to Arracan w erel ikely to be bes t i nfo rm ed , and I be l ieve tha t thet ruth l ies i n w ha t they have recorded of Shuja

’

s

fate.

From th i s so u rce w e learn , “Many dwe l lers i n

Arracan, Mogul an d Pathan

Showe d them se lves i nc l i ned

towards him [Shuja] . He planned an outbreak

i n tend ing to s lay the king an d take hi s

Fate ofShuja

kingdom , and then advance once m o re to test

h i s for tune i n Bengal .” The ki ng o f Arracan

heard o f the p lo t and “ p lanne d the assass i na t i on

of Shah Shuja . Shah Sh uj a wi th a few m en

fled i n to the jungle . The the

poor h i s body i n to p ieces .”

0 Masir-i-Alamgir i, pp. 405 and 84. O rme’s Fragments ,p l 500

1' Shihabuddin Talish

’s Fatkiyya - i-ibnjlya , p . 25 .

2 88 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHA P . XXIV .

This s to ry i s ba sed on the report o f a Dutch

m erchan t nam ed Jan Tak to Aurangzib. The

o ffic i al . reco rd s o f the Dutch fac tory firs t s ta te

that on 7 th February,1 66 1 , when Shuja

’

s house

was surrounded by the Arracanese , he set fi re to i t

and escaped w i th h i s fam i ly and fol low e rs towards

Tipperah . Bu t they fina l ly take a d i fferen t view

and a s se r t,“ Al though there can be no ce rta i n ty

,

the fac t i s that he was ki l led i n the firs t out

break ,” and that h i s fo l l owers concealed the fac t

and spread the fa l se new s that he had fled i n to

the j ungle )?

Storia , i. 374—376 , esp . the footnote .

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2 90 HISTORY or AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . XXV .

was a c lo se pri sone r i n h i s dungeon s , Shuja had

been d efeated a t Khajw ah and Dara Shukoh a t

Ajm ir, and both were i n cou rse of he l ple ss fl igh t .

The corona t i on tha t fo l lowed these gran d vic

tori es natu ral ly com bi ned al l the pom p and

splendou r o f an o rien tal en thronem en t w i th the

so lem n i ty and grandeur o f a Roman tri um ph .

The e ssen t ia l elem en t o f a Muhamm adan coro

nat i on i s the ac t Of the k ing’s sittingon the throne ;

Features of a.hence i ts Arabi c nam e ja lus or

Muslim coro ‘Si t t ing .

’ No high- pries t has tonat ion' anoin t the new sove re ign ’s fore

head wi th holy o i l o r sandal - pa s te , a s am ong the

anc ien t Jew s an d Hi nd u s , nor place on h i s brow s

a diadem ,as i s the pract i ce wi th Chris t ian s . The

Musl im sove re ign m ou nts the th rone fu l ly d re ssed ,wi th a clo th turban bo und round h i s head .

Diam ond s and jewe l s gl i t te r on tha t t u rban ; an

a igret te ( jigba) wi th nodd i ng ta ssel s o f pearl s

a dorns the f ron t pa rt o f i t b u t no c row n o f the

type fam i l i a r to Europe f rom anc ient t im es i s

necessar i ly w orn by him . The Pe rs ian sove re ign s ,how eve r, pu t on a c rown o f th i s pat tern , w i th a

na rrow ba se and w i de i nd en ted top .

No Musl im coronat i on i s com ple te un less the

new sovere i gn’s nam e and t i t les are p ubl i c ly pro

c laim ed from the pul p i t (khutba ) an d co i n s bear

i ng h i s nam e are s tam ped (sikka ) To these m u s t

CHAP . xxv .] C oRONAT iON DAY . 29 1

be added , i n m os t ca ses, h is assum pt i on o f a t i t le

d i fferen t f rom that he he ld as a pr i nce , the o ffer

i ng of presents and largess by the nobles and

o fficers , and the gran t i ng of t i t le s , prom ot i ons

and bount ie s by the new sove re i gn . Large sum s

are given away i n char i ty to scholars , holy m en ,

and beggars . Musi c , dance and i l l um i nat i on s a t

n igh t com plete the fe st i v i t ies .“

The Cou rt astrologers w ere of op in i on tha t

Sunday , 5 th June, 1 659 , wa s a m ost ausp i c i ou s

day, and al l a rrangem en ts we re m ade fo r

Aurangzib’

s enthronem en t on that day . A yea r

earl ie r he had gai ned the c rown of De l h i , but he

was then too busy pursu i ng h i s r ival s to hold a

grand co ronat i on , and on ly a hurried and curta i l

ed ce rem ony had been gone th rough on zl st

Ju ly , 1 658 . Al l the ce lebrat i on and rej o i c i ng

had been le f t over for the pre sen t occasi on .

On I zth May took place the Em pero r’s grand

ent ry i nto De lh i,after the glo ri ous cam paigns of

Khajwah and Ajm ir,— tho ugh a m arch th rough

the s t reets i s no nece ssary part of a Musl imco ronat ion fes t ival . Early i n the m o rn i ng the

o Weighing the king against go ld and si lver , which weregiven away as aImS, was a Hindu pract ice which our Mugha lEm perors adop ted and even the orthodox Aurangzib counte

nanced . It took p lace every year at the two bi rthdays , solarand l unar , of the sovereign , but was no part of the coronationce lebra tions .

292 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXV .

Im per ia l p rocess i on started from Khizirabad, a

suburb o f De lh i , where the Em pe ro r had encam p

ed on h i s re tu rn from the war. F i rs t m arched the

Grand marchband , m ak ing a deafen ing clang

through the o u r o f ket tle-drum s , tamboum eets' r i nes , big brass d rum s , brazen

p i pe s and trum pets . Nex t cam e a l ong fi le o f huge

e lephants , r i ch ly capari soned i n gold and s i lver,the i r hous i ngs be i ng of em bro idered ve lve t and

clo th of gold , th i ck set w i th flash i ng gem s , w i th

golden bel l s and s i lve r chains'

dangling from the i r

bod ies . Each ca rried on i ts back an Im per ia l

s tandard of pol ished bal ls s lung from a pole,as

ensigns o f Turkish royal ty . Then w ere led forth

a troop of cho i ce horses , o f the Pers ian and Arab

breed , the i r sadd les deco rated wi th gold , and

the i r b r id les se t w i th jewel s ; beh i nd them

were m arshal led fem ale e lephants and drome

daric s . Then m arched dense co l um ns o f in fan try

cons is t i ng ofm usketeers and rocke tm en, carrying

flash i ng blades . Beh i nd them and gi r t round by

a vast c rowd o f nobles and m i n i sters , cam e the

lo ft ies t e lephan t o f the royal s tables , wi th a

go lden th rone s t rapped to i ts back , on w h i ch sa t

the observed o f a l l Observe rs , the und ispu ted lo rd

and m aste r o f a l l he surveyed , Aurangzib Alamgi r

Ghazi , Pad ishah of H ind .

He was a few m on ths ove r forty . Long years o f

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294 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . XXV

al l d i sm ounted : the Em pe ror sa t dow n fo r a

w hi le i n the Hal l s of P ub l i c and Private

Audience i n success i on . The nob les la i d be fo re

him l arge sum s to be given aw ay i n cha ri ty fo r

avert i ng evi l f rom him . F i na l ly , he re t i red tothe harem .

The d eco ra t i on Of the tw o Hal l s o f Aud i ence

fo r the co rona t i on cerem onv p roceed ed apace . A

lavi sh d i splay w as m a de of al l the prec i ous

thi ngs w hi ch the sove re i gn s of the r i ches t em pi re

i n As i a had acqu i red i n th ree gene rat i ons , and

a l l the ra re art i c les w h i ch the m os t ski l led

art i san s of hom e an d fo re ign coun trie s had m ade

fo r sale.

The ce i l i ng and fo rty p i l lars o f the D iwan' i-um

Decoration of (Hal l o f P ubl i c Au d ience) w e re

d raped i n gol d - em bro i d ered

ve l vet an d c lo th of go ld and s i lve r from

Pe rs i a and the fam ou s flow e red brocad es o f

G uzera t . From eve ry arch hung po l i shed bal l s

se t wi th jew e l s , enam e l led , or o f p la i n gold , by

m ean s of golden cha i n s . I n the m idd le of the

Ha ll a space w as fenced round w i th a golden

ra i l i ng. Wi th i n i t , am i d s t the dazzl i ng l us tre of

d iam ond s , rub ies and topazes , s t ood the tower

i ng Peacock Th rone , one o f the w onde rs of the

Eas t . Be fo re i t w as s t re tched a m o s t cos t ly

canopy of Sta te , he ld up by fou r s lende r co l um ns

CHAP . X XV . ] PAV IL IONS IN THE ARENA . 295

enc rus ted w i th gem s ; i ts co rners w ere fa s tened

w i th s tri ngs of p rec i ou s pearl s i n stead of ropes .

On the tw o sides o f the throne- enclosure s tood

tw o jew e l led umbre l la s , w i th tassel s of pearl s

hanging from them . Righ t and le ft o f the

Im pe r ia l throne w e re placed tw o golden couches,cove red w i th enam e l w ork . Beh i nd i t benches

of gold w ere la i d , and on them w e re d i splayed

the Crow n w eapon s ,— jew e l led sw o rd s,ta rges ,

shield s,and spears . The cou rtya rd i n fron t of

the Hal l was co xe red w i th aw n i ngs o f em bro i de r

ed ve l vet bo rne aloft on s i l ve r pole s , and s im i la r

canop ies we re s t re tched on a l l s i des of i t . Be l ow

w e re spread co st ly carpet s of m any coloured

patte rns . The oute r s i de s o f the Hal l w e re en

c lose d by a s i lver ra i l i ng. In the arena i tse l f

the re was a secon d s i lve r ra i l i ng, fo rm i ng an

i nne r enclos u re , w hi le the o u te rm os t fence w as

of red pain ted w ood . On the two w i ngs w e re

p i tched l ofty pavi l i on s ove rspread w i th bright

coverings . The doo r and w al l s o f the Hal l w ere

tapes t ried w i th em bro i d ered ve l ve t , flow ered

ve lve t , European screen s , and go ld t i ssue from

Turkey and Ch ina . The enclos u res roun d thecou rtyard of the Aud ience Hal l w ere furn i shed

by the noble s f rom the i r ow n s to res,i n a befi tt

i ng s tyle , for the accomm odat i on of the i r re

ta iners.

296 HISTORY OE AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXV .

From th i s the reader m ay guess the style i n

wh ich the Hal l o f P rivate Audience (D iwan- i

khas) was decora ted .

The astro l oge rs had decla red 3 hours 1 5

m i n u tes from sun ri se a s the ausp ic i ou s m om ent .

The whole Court anx i ous ly hung on the l i ps of

the astrol ogers,who keen ly watched the i r (w a te r)

c l ocks and sand-gla sses . At las t they gave the

s ignal ; the prec i ous m om en t had arri ved ; the

Em pero r, who had been s i t t i ng d ressed and ready

A u r a n g 2 i i: beh i nd a sc reen , en te red the Hal l

m o u n t s t h e o f P ub l i c Aud ience an d m oun tthrone '

ed the th rone . At once there

was a loud bu rs t o f j oyou s no tes from the lm

per ia l band i n at tendance . The m usi c i an s began

the i r songs the nautch -gi rl s began the i r dances.

An e l oquen t chante r m o un ted a l of ty ros t rum

(m imbar) and i n a cl ear ri nging vo ice read the

khutba or p ubl i c p roc lam a t ion o f the Em pe ror’s

nam e and t i t les , pre faced w i th the prai se o f God

and the Prophet , an d fol l owed by the nam es Of

h i s p redecessors on the th rone . As every such

nam e fe l l f rom h i s l i p s a fre sh robe o f honou r

was bes tow ed on him . And w hen he cam e to

the rec i ta l o f the Em pe ro r’s own t i t les , he got a

robe o f c l o th of go ld as w el l a s a ca sh reward .

Trays of gold and Si l ver co i ns and p lates heaped

over w i th pyram i ds Of pearls and jewel s , were

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2 98 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB . [CHAP . XXV .

i n the Tughra sc ri p t : Abul M uzaffar M uhiuddin

M uhamm ad Aurangzib Bahadur Alamgir Padi

shah Ghazi.

Form al le t te rs w e re sent to al l the provi ncesand c i t ie s to announce the gl o ri o u s a ccess i on . In

th i s w ay two hou rs and forty- e i gh t m i nu tes w e respen t i n the Publ i c Au d ience . Then he re t i red

to the harem and he l d ano the r Cou rt the re , a t

whi ch the pri ncesses , wives Ofnobl es , an d other

lad ie s “ s u rro und ed thi s Ca nd l e o f the Assem bly

of Rova lty l i ke a sw arm o f m oth s . They

offe red the i r d u t i fu l congratu l aCourt in the

harem .

t ion s and scattered la rge quan t i

t ie s o f gold and s i lve r,pearl and

jew e l , in hono u r o f the Em pe ro r , w h i le he m ade

r i ch present s to them i n re t u rn . Hi s S i s te rRa u shan

ara Begam ,who had suppor ted him d u ri ng

the war of s ucces s i on and w a t ched ove r h i s in

terests i n the harem of Shah Jahan , i n oppo s i t i on

to her e lde r S i s te r Jahanara ,the pa r t i san of Dara

Shukoh,now rece i ved fi v e lakhs o f rupees i n

cash and k i nd . Aurangzib'

s fou r d a ughte rs got

4. 2 , and 1 5 l akhs respec t i ve l y .

Therea fte r the Em pe ro r be took him se l f to the

Hal l o f P rivate Aud ience, to w h i ch on ly a selec t

few had ent ree . He re he presented to h i s fou r

sons 3, 2 , 2 , and 1 l akh s respec t ive ly . O the r gi fts

w e re m ade to the nobles , office rs , scholars , poe ts .

CHAP . XX V . ] ISLAM IC ORTHODOXY RESTORED . 299

an d m us i c ia n s . Fo rty-e igh t m i n u te s we re passed

he re .

The poe ts taxed the i r b ra i n s to com pose verses

the num eri ca l va l ue o f w ho se le t te rs w hen ad ded

toge ther w o u ld express the date of the a cce ss i on .

The m o st s uccess fu l o f the se chro nogram s w e re

h igh ly rew a rded and handed d ow n to po s teri ty .

A s the Rom an proproc tors on ass um i ng O ffice

d ec lared the law s they i n tended to fol low ,so the

Mughal Em pe ro rs a t the i r a ccess i on often m ade

changes i n the e s tabl i shed u sage . Aurangzib,

fo r i n s tance , re s to red the l una rHis new ordi Hijera vear i n al l publ i c transac

nances.t i on s , abol i shed the ce lebra ti on

of the Pe rs ian New Year’s Day (nauroz) , —an i nno

va t i on borrowed by Akbar from the he ret i ca l

Shiah s of ham— appoi nted Censors of Publ i c

Moral s to pu t d ow n w i ne - d ri nk ing an d othe r

v i ces condem ned by I s lam a s s i n s . and las t ly he

abol i shed m any cesses and the t ran s i t- d ut ies and

pol i ce- fee s on gra i n .

The nex t day and for w eeks afterw ard s , the

fes t i vi t ies con t i nued . Pre sen t s (peshka sh) su i ted

to the h igh occa s i o n w e re rece i ved f rom the

noble s , o ffice rs , cou r t iers , an d feudatory pri nces,w h i le they rece i ved i n ret u rn t i t les , robes of

hono u r,prom ot i on s of rank , and gi fts i n ca sh an d

k i nd ,— such a s e lephants , horses , jew e l le d sword s

30 0 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB. [CHAP . XXV .

daggers and pen- cases, necklaces of pearls , jewe l

l ed a igre t tes w a i st- band s and other ornam ents .

At n ight bo th banks o f the Jum na r iver were

i l l um i na ted .

“ The s u rface of the r iver l ooked

l i ke a flowe r-garden” of l igh t . The nobles fi t ted

ou t boats w i th planks on w h i ch lam p s were

a rranged i n t ie rs , and a s they pl ied up and d own

the stream the band s seated on the decks d i s

cou rsed sw ee t m us i c . Mvriads o f people l i ned the

banks to feast the i r eyes on the spec tacle .

But the grandes t d i splay of fire-w o rks w as

m ade by the Im pe r ia l Art i l le ry Depa rtm ent (24th

June) ,— evi den t ly because i t con ta i ned expe rts i n

the m anu fac tu re o f powder and had an unl im i t

ed supply o fthe m a ter ia l . These were let off on the

leve l bank of the ri ve r ou ts i de the Hal l of Private

Aud i ence (Diwan- i-khas) i n the Fort . The Em pe ro r

behe l d i t from a bal cony on the easte rn w al l

o f tha t Hal l,w h i ch looked o u t on the r i ve r .

Early i n J u ly new s arr ived of the arres t o f

Dara , an d i t he igh tened the j oy of the Em peror

and hi s cou rt ie rs . The co ronat i on fes t i vi t ies w ere

p rolonged fo r m ore than two m on ths , and fo r

m al ly ended on 1 9th Augu s t . The re ign was

o rde red to be reckoned f rom I st Ram zan 1 068

A . H . (23rd May , i n a l l offic ia l papers,because h i s second or grand coronati on took

p lace i n th i s m on th of the year 1 069.

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30 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB .

and writes in the exac t style and method of the Courtanna lists in continuation Of Waris

'

s history. But with thei l lness of Shah jahan he evident ly lost access to the Sta te

papers and his narrative from this point onwards lacksfulness and accuracy,

and is either meagre ofdetai l or pad

ded out with rhetorica l commonp laces and moral reflections .In a disjointed m anner it continues the narra t ive to the dea thof Shah jahan . The same volume as No . 3 above .

5 . Alamgirnam ah by M irza Muhammad Kazim , (B ibliotheca Ind ica series ) , covers the first decade of Aurangzib

’

s

reign. Written to order and revised by the Em peror .Ful l Of gross fla t tery and suppression Of all incidents discred i table to Aurangzib. (El l iot, vii. Quoted as A. N .

6 . Masir - i-Alamgir i byMuhammad SaqiMustaid Khan,(Bibl iotheca Indica series), written after

'

Aurangzib’s dea th,

but on the basis of the Sta te papers . ( Ell iot , vii. It

is very condensed , giving the history of 5 1 years in 54 1

pages , whi le a regular Court chronic le like the Alamgirnamah

takes 1 1 0 7 pages in treating of 1 0 years only . [ suspecttha t some of the leaves of the MS . from which this ed itionhas been printed had got out of their proper p laces, andcerta in incidents of one yea r have been recorded underanother year . But I have not met w ith any good MS . of

the work. Quoted as M .A.

B.—PRIVATE. HISTORIES .

1 . Aq i l Khan Razi, ( life in Masir—u l - um ara , ii. an

old servant of Aurangzib ,wrote a Short history variously

entitled Zafarnam ah Ha la t - i -Alamgiri, and

Aurangnamah. It begins with the inva sion Of B ijapur in1 657 and ends with the dea th of M ir jumla . The authorwrites with independence and in som e ca ses revea ls fac tswhich could not have been p lea sing to his maste r . His

B IBL IOGRAPHY . 30 3

style is stiff with rhetoric , and the ma teria l portion of hisbook is rea l ly sma l l in extent , though of undoubted val ue .

I have used the A . S. B . MS . D . 239 , occasiona l ly comparing it with the Khuda Bakhsh MS. There are severa l copiesof it at Rampur. (See Rieu , pp . 265 ,

8 . Tar ikh- i-Shah-Sbafai , writ ten a t Ma ldah in 1 660 by

M ir Muhammad Masum , an old servant of Shuja . (See

El l iot , v ii. 1 98 , for o ther tit les of the book. ) Masum’s wife 's

brother M uhammad Sa id , was the payma ster ofSipihrShukoh (a son of Dara) and afterwards entered the serviceof Muhammad Sul tan ( the eldest son ofAurangzib. ) So ,

our author lea rnt the d ifferent versions ofevents current inthe camps of three of the riva l s for the throne . But he l ivedand wrote in Benga l , where on ly d istorted rum ours of Delhiafiairs reached him . Hence he is not a lways re l iable aboutoccurrences outside Benga l , and can be convic ted of

inaccuracy in certain detai l s . But he mentions m any fact snot to be found el sewhere and seem ingly true . For Shuja

’

s

doings he is our only authority and a very im portant one too .

There is a striking agreement between him and Manucc i in

many pa rt icula rs ; evident ly the two used the same sourceof informa tion . Ends abrupt ly with Shuja

’

s return to

Tanda on the eve of his fl ight to Dacca . l have used theInd ia Office Libra ry MS . No. 533 ( Ethe KhudaBakhsh has a better copy ofit .

9 . Munickhab- u l -Lubab, by Muhammad Hashim KhahKhan, (B ibl iotheca Ind ica series) , 2 vols—a history ofthe

Mughal Emperors from Babar to the 1 4th year of M uham

mad Shah’s reign Khafi Khan’s father was an

oflicer of Murad Bakhsh , and he was probably rela ted tosevera l nat ives of Khaf who he ld the post of co l lector ofcustom s at Sura t and whom he praises . Khafi Khan him se lfconducted an embassy to the Engl ish at Bom bay in 1 694 .

304 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB.

His history is p rofessedly an abridgement ofmore origina lworks up to the m iddle ofAurangzib

'

s reign . Thereafterhe writes from persona l knowledge and supp lements the

meagre Masir - i -Alamg‘iri in many important points . He

took care to consul t many of the surviving actors of theearl ier scenes and to verify his informa tion by d i ligentinquiry. His reflective style , descript ion ofthe condition ofsociety, and characteristic anecdotes save his work fromthe dry forma li ty of the Court anna l s , and he is specia l lyinform ing with regard to Deccan affairs . But Kha fi Khanat p laces seem s to me to have added unauthorised touchesfor the sake of l i tera ry effect . (Ell iot , vii.1 0 . Nuskha -z

’

-Dz

'

lkasha , by Bhim sen , a Kayeth born at

Burhanpur and the son of Raghunandan whose brother wasBhagwan-das surnamed D iana t Rai, officiating dz

'

wan of

the Deccan . Our author , therefore , l ived in friendlyintercourse wi th the highest ofl’icers , Hindu and Muslim ,

of Mugha l Deccan . He spent most ofhis l ife as the agentofDalpat Rao, the Bundela chief ofDatia , who long foughtin Aurangzib

’s wars in the Deccan with a contingent ofhis

clansmen , usua l ly as the l ieutenant of N usrat Jang .

Bhim sen had to trave l from Delhi to Cape Comorin and has

left short but interesting accounts of the p laces he saw,

besides recording many autobiographica l touches and throwing much l ight on the manners ofthe age and the characterofthe adm inistra tion . His book is ofthe highest importanceto the historian, especial ly for Deccan affairs . An abridgedand incorrect translat ion of a portion of it has been publ ishedas

“the Journa l ofa Boondelah Officer” in Jonathan Scott’s

History of the D eké an (Shrewsbury, I have usedI. O . L . MS. No. 94 (Ethe 445) as far as it goes , m

’

z .

to the fa l l of Golkonda (pp. 1—208) and thereafter the

British Museum copy (Or . fol ios 946—1 74a . The work

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306 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB .

son ofDara 's diwan Bahara Mal, (A . S . B . MS . D .

Too brief to be ofany use. (El liot , vii.

1 6 . Adab- i Khuda Bakhsh MS. f . 2 1 3a—259 6,

gives a history of the g1 st year of Shah Jaban’s reign andofthe War ofSuccession

,avowedly abridged from the regular

histories (v iz . the Am l - i-Sa lik and the Alamgirnanzah),but occasiona l ly adds a l ine or two of informa tion not to be

found in the sources .

D .—MONOGRAPHS .

1 7 . La tazf-u l-Akhbar , p robably written by Bad i-uzzaman Rashid Khan, gives a detai led account of DaraShukoh

'

s siege of Qandahar . Khuda Bakhsh MS . (See

Ethe No. 33 1 and Rieu , i.1 8 . Fathiyya - i - ibriyya and its Continuation, by Shihab

uddin Ta lish , (El liot , vii. The ma in work dea l s withM ir Jum la

'

s invasion of Kuch B ihar and Assam ,and an

abstract ofit has been published by Blochmann in

1 87 2 . I have ed ited the Persian text (as yet in MS . ) on the

bas is of4 MSS . MS . D . 7 2 and three others in theKhuda Bakhsh Library (one ofwhich was written in England in M r. Swinton ’s house by Ihtisham -ud -din, the

author ofthe Shzga if-namah-i-Vilayet .) The Continuation

( Bodleian 589 , Sachau and Ethe No. 240) gives the historyof Benga l from M ir Jum la

'

s dea th to the conquest ofChatgaon by Sha ista Khan. I have published an abstract ofitscontents and translations of three long passages of it in

1 906 and 1 907 . Fragm ents ofthe Continuation

have been found in the l ibrary of Nawab Abdus Sa lamKhan and (probably) in MS. 1 572 (Ethe1 9 . Tarikh- i-Shi'vaj i (I. O . L. Ms. 1 957 , Ethe No . 485 ,

cf. Rieu, i. an uncritica l history of the rise of the

Maratha kingship down to Sambhaji’s accession , ful l of

B IBLIOGRAPHY. 30 7

popular stories , but giving the Maratha version ofmany important events . Evident ly translated into Persian by someHindu m unshi from one ofthe Marathi bakhars ofShivaji.I have published an Engl ish rendering ofit in the Modern

Review, 1 90 7 . The Persian is very impure and the workbris t les with Sanskritic words .20. Masir - u l - um ara , or a biographica l dictionary ofthe

peerage of the M ugha l em pi re, ! (B ibl iotheca Indica series , )3 vol s . (El liot , viii . Begun about 1 742 and com pletedin 1 7 79 , on the basis ofthe existing and authoritative histories and letters ,—thirty of such sources being named

(i. 4 Where it conflicts with the origina l authorit ies , itsevidence has necessari ly to be rejected . But its chief va l uel ies in the many characteristic anecdotes it mentions and the

l ight it throws on the manners of the age . Evidently theauthors used many true trad itions p reserved up to thei r time

and some historica l works now lost to us . Quoted as M . U .

2 1 . Alzkam - i -Alamgiri, ascribed (on insuffi cient evi

dence) to Ham id - ud-din Khan surnamed N imchah- i

Alamgiri, whose l ife is given in M . U. i. 605—6 1 1 . I havepubl ished the text with a critica l and annota ted Engl ishtransla tion under the name of Anecdotes qf Au rangzib,using the only copies of the work known to exist , fv iz .

, 2

MSS. of M r. Wm . Irv ine (Nos . 252 and 340 ofhis l ibrary)2 MSS . of Nawab Abdus Sa lam Khan of Rampur, and

I . C .L . M S . 3388 , none of which is comp lete . O ther fragm ent s of this work awa it discovery. It contains manyanecdotes about Aurangzib, his sons and oflicers, and his

orders on petit ions , usua l ly in a caustic vein .

E.—HISTORIES OF PERSIA (for the sieges of

Qandahar) .

22. Tarikh-i-Shah Abbas Sani, by M irza TahirWahid

30 8 H ISTORY OF AURANGZ IB.

(Mul la Firuz Library, Rehatsek’

s Ca talogue, IV . 2 7 and

Pers.23 . Tarikh- i-Alam ara - i-Abbasi, V ol . II. (Mul la Firuz

L ibrary , Rehatsek IV .

24 . Zubdat-u t- Tawarikh by Md. Afza l Husain , KhudaBakhsh MS .

a l so Ruqat - i-Shah-Abbas Sani (my MS) .

F.-DECCAN HISTORI ES.

25 . Basatin- i -salatin, a history of B ijapur, by M irzaIbrahim Zubairi, (Ethe written in 1 824 but a re l iablework, being based on older sources . I have used MajorVamandas Basu’s MS . Khuda Bakhsh has a very goodcopy ofit .

26 . Tarikh- i-Haft -Kursi (B ijapur) , I. O . L . No . 305 1

(Ethe 454)27 . TarikhLi-Ali Adil Shah 1 1 . by Syed Nurul lah,completed in 1 667 . I. O . L . 3052 (Ethe

28 . Qutb-numa - i-Alam , by Syed Muhammad M ir Abu

Turab,comp leted in 1 806 . A good abridgement of “

the

Tar ikh- i- Qu tb Shahi, and other re liable histories”

of Go]

konda . I.O . L . No . 2428 , (Ethe 465 , Where the tit le and

author are given d ifferently) .

Nos . 26 - 28 reached me too late for use in my fi rst two

volumes .G .—COURT BU LLET INS.

29 . Akhbarat- i-Darbar- i-Muala , R. A. S . MS. It con

sists of smal l sl ips ofbrown paper, each briefly recording one

day’s occurrences at Court , viz" the movements and doings

ofthe Emperor, the time of hol d ing Court , the appointments

made , the persons presented Or given congee, the presentsoffered to the Emperor and the gifts bestowed by him , sum

maries ofthe despatches received and the orders passed on

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3 1 0 HISTORY OF AURANGZIB .

his secretary Abul Fa th, afterwards created Imperia lM unshi and entit led Qabi l Khan , who retired from servicein june 1 659 and d ied in May 1 662 . Aurangzib

'

s lastlet ters here are some addressed to Shah jahan about twomonths after that Emperor was p laced in confinement . The

volume a l so containts ( 1 ) a num ber of letters written by

Abul Path on his own beha lf or by order ofhis master, (2)letters w rit ten by Sadiq ofAmbala, the secretary ofM uham

mad Akbar, on beha lf of that prince and of him self, and

(3 ) a history of the War of Succession . Compiled in 1 704.

(See El liot , vii. 205 and Rieu on Br . M us . O r . I haveused the beautiful Khuda Bakhsh MS. , which once belongedto the Fort Wi l l iam Col lege . A few letters from it havebeen inserted in other col lections and a l so in Khah Khan .

In every case the addressee is mentioned , and Ihave found outthe dates of most of the letters from interna l evidence, by a

thorough study ofWaris and Kambu .

8 0. A/zkam - i -Alamgiri by Inayetullah Khan , the lastand favouri te secretary ofAurangzib. The volume conta insnot ful ly wri tten out letters but only a precis ofthe pointswhich the Emperor dicta ted to his secretary for inclusion in

the letters . But they . are not so brief and obscure as the

content s of3 1 . The persons addressed are usua l ly named .

The contents refer to the last decade ofAurangzib’

s reign. I

have used the Rampur Sta te Library MS . , a fine copy whichmust have belonged to the Delhi Pa lace Library, and col latedit with the Khuda Bakhsh MS. , 3 nea tly written copy of the

t 8th century. No other MS. ofit is known to exist .3 1 . Ka limat - i - Tayy ibat, a precis of the points

d ictated , incl ud ing scraps of verse and Arabic texts , forincl usion in the forma l let ters . Ofthe sam e character anddate as No. 30 , but the persons addressed are usual ly not

named , and the contents are often hopelessly obscure from

B IBLIOGRAPHY. 31 !

thei r brevity. Compi led in 1 7 1 9 by Inayetullah. I haveused A. S. B . MS. F . 27 , a fine old copy, probably ofthe

Delhi Pa lace Library, and compared it with I. O . L . 1 76 1

and 1 594 (f . 5 2a to end. ) Some letters from it have found a

p lace in other co l lections .

(6) 32. Raqaim - i-Karaim , compi led by Syed AshrafKhan M ir Md. Husaini , consists (but not excl usively) ofAurangznb

’

s letters addressed to the ed itor’s fa ther M irAbdul Karim . ( Br. Mus. Addl . 26 ,3 3 and 34 . Dastur -u l -am l - i-Agahi and Ram s (or ra ther

Rumaz) -ma -Isharahha - i-Alamgiri, two col lections of

Aurangzib'

s letters formed at the instance ofRajah Aya Mal,

the diwan of Siwai Jai Singh ofJaipur, in 1 738 and 1 742

respectively. (El l iot , vii. 203 Bri tish M useum Addl .26240 , which bears the tit le ofRam z and Addl . whichis named Dastur , are identical in contents and arrangementwi th each other and with the Ruqat - i -Alamgiri l ithographedat Lucknow and Cawnpur and everywhere avai lable in thebazar,—there being some slight differences and the in ; vitableadd it iona l letters a t the Ruqat has been four timestranslated into English . B r . Mus . Addl . 26239 , bearingthe ti tle of Raqaim , agrees with I. O . L . 302 1 , 3388 and

1 594 (f. 1 and all of them reproduce the contentsof the l ithographed Rugat , with some add itions , om issionsand changes in the arrangement . I. O . L . 330 1 agreeswith 302 1 , but with many d ifferences and add itions . I. O . L .

1 76 1 agrees with B r. Mus . Addl . 26239 . Irvine MSS . 344

and 350 , though both enti tled Ram z , great ly differ from eachother in their contents and arrangement . Most of theirletters (esp . in 344) are to be found in the Ruqat and

I. O . L . 1 344 . But there are large add itions, many from

the Kalim a t- i Tayyibat in the case of350 , and a few fromsources not yet traced by m e . Irvine MS . 350 ,

f. 37a—43b,

3 1 2 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB .

contains a number ofstories , epigram s , and maxim s tol d bythe Emperor, many of which are to be found in the Rugat ,I . O . L . 1 344 , and the K - i- T. I. O . L . 370 , f . s6b—80a ,

mainly reproduces the contents of Irvine 350 ,w ith addi tions

from I. O . L . 1 344 . Cambridge University Library Addl .420 (Browne ’s Catalogue , No . CX V I I) is a lmost identica lwith Irvine 344, with a number of letters from I rvine 350thrown in.

Thus we may take the bazar Fuqat - i -Alamgiri as the

type ofone class Of this group . The other type is supp l iedby I. O . L . 1 344, (agreeing with I. O . L . whichreproduces many of the let ters ofthe Rugat , but usua l ly in

an a l tered form , and gives many others which are not tobe found in the Ruqat , be ing taken most ly from the K - i T,

and in a few cases from the Aa’ab.

( c) 3 5 . Ka limat - i-Au rangzib, I. O . L . MS. 330 1 , f.

33a -6 0b, incomp lete at the beginning . It contains lettersbelonging to the Emperor

’s last yea rs , none ofwhich is tobe found in any other known col lection . A few seem to

have been taken from Inayetullah’

s Ahkam , but I have notyet compared the two works closely enough to pronouncean Opinion on the point . The contents give informa tion of

va lue.

3 6 . Rampur Sta te Library, Insha 1 09 of the new

Ca ta logue , is entitled Ka lima t- i Tayyibat , but does not ata ll agree with the A. S . B . MS. of that work excep t in the

preface ! It conta ins 204 pages of a very sma l l size. The

first two letters ofit are found in 35 above . From the shortexam ina tion I could make of it , it struck m e as differentfrom Inayetullah

'

s Ahkam . Ends wi th a letter of Aurangzibto Md. Akbar and that p rince

’s taunting rep ly (bothabridged) . Probably these letters were added on at the

end. The concl usion is abrupt , without the regular khatimah.

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3 1 4 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB .

Lutful lah Khan to M ir Jum la on his being taken underImperia l protection .

42 . Somefarrnans ofAurangzib publ ished in the j . A.

S. B . and a l so col lected separately.

43 . His letter of reprimand to Azim -ush- shan about

private trade (saua’

a - i-khas) , given infthe Riyas -a s-sa latin

and I. O . L . 302 1 .

Stray letters ofAurangzib are a l so found in I. O . L . 549

(f . 50a 8: b) and in some other MSS.

Letters of other His torical Personages.

44 . Haft Anjuman , (Benares MS. belonging to BabuShyam Sundar La] and his brothers ; many leaves hopelesslydamaged through neglect . ) U da i Rajwas secretary to Rustam Khan Deccani and then to Mirza Ra jah Jai Singh . On

the death ofthe la tter he embraced Islam with the name of

Ta la Yar. The letters he had wri tten were col lected by hisson in a book d ivided into seven sections (ca l led anjumans),thus

(i) Despatches from Rustam Khan to Shah jahan,f . 7b—26b.

( ii) Despatches from jai Singh to Aurangzib during the

pursuit ofDara after the bat tle of Ajm ir, f. 266

37a .

(iii) Despa tches from Ja i Singh to Aurangzib during theDeccan compaigns against Shivaji and Bijapur,f . 37a—94b.

( iv) Rustam Khan to Shah Jaban's sons , f. 946—1 25a .

(v) a . Rustam Khan to nobles during Shah Jaban’sreign , f. 1 25a— t3sh.

b. Jai Singh to nobles ofAurangzib’

s Court .0 . Jai Singh to nobles and officers posted in the

Deccan .

B IBL IOGRAPHY. 3 1 5

d. Jai Singh to Sada t Khan , Qutb Shah . and can

didates for office deserters from the

Deccani Sul tans. ) f. 1 35b—~1 65a are covered

by b, c, and d .

Jai S ingh to the Imperia l envoys to the Deccani

Sul tans , f. 1 65a- 1 74a .

(vi) a . Letters written in Shah Jahan’

s reign aboutcertain affa irs of Rustam Khan and in Aur

angzib'

s reign about the marriage of RajSingh and other mat ters , f. 1 74a—1 87a .

b. Priva te letters of Jai Singh to his son Ram

Singh , his agent Girdhar Lal, and others , inAurangzib

’s reign , f. 1 87a—zo4b.

(vn) Letters written by U da i Raj for him self and others ,f . 2046—243a .

The whole ofAnjuman ii. and a portion ofiii. are givenin the Paris MS. , NO . 37 above . Severa l ofJa i Singh

's lettersare a l so met with in the Faiyaz- ul - qawanin .

45 . Faiyaz-u l -qawanin , belonging to Nawab Ali

Husa in Khan Bahadur ofLucknow, a MS . of266 leaves , 1 7l ines to a page . It is a large col lection ofhistorica l letters ,severa l ofthem being taken from the officia l anna l s and

other earl ier sources . D ivided into three books (ca l leddaftars) : (i) Letters ofkings and princes , (ii) letters fromnobles to each other and to kings and princes , and (iii) m iscellaneous le tters . Among the wri ters are the EmperorsAkbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan (25 letters), Aurangzib ( 1 1 ) ,and Farukh- siyar , Jahanara , Dara Shukoh Shuja (6),M urad Bakhsh Jafar Khan , wazir of Aurangzib

the Shahs Tahmasp , Abbas I. and Abbas II. , Ad i l Shah ,Qutb Shah, Ja i Singh and others . Some of Murad

'

s lettersa re al so given the Rampur State Library bad MS. Qasir-u l

anam il (Insha Irvine MS. 37 1 , a fragment , gives some

3 1 6 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB.

o f the let ters ofthe Faiyaz . I have quoted the paging of

I rvine’s copy ofthe com plete Fa iyaz .

46 . I rvine MS . 257 , a fragment of6 leaves , contains theletters of Lutful lah Khan , the son Of the wazir Sadul lahKhan, to Aurangzib.

39 . Khatu t - i-S/zivaji (R. A . S . MS. 7 1 ) conta ins , besidesA urangzib

’

s letters to p rince Akba r and three Marathagenera l s

, the fol lowing z—Shivaji to the offi cers ofAurangzib

before the siege of Purandhar, —Shivaji to Aurangzib,

Pra tap Rao Gujar to the Sura t ofiicers,— letters ofSahu ,Shah A lam I. , Namdar Khan, D ilir Khan (both to Shivaji) ,Prince Akbar to Aurangzib (most ironica l), to Sam bhaji and

Kavi Kulesh, &C .

47 . I. O . L . 2678 , f. 7 2—1 28 , m iscel laneous letters

,

severa l ofAurangzib’

s tim e, very badly writ ten .

48 . I. O . L . 1 50 ( Ethe Letters from the Englishat the Sura t Factory during thei r imprisonm ent for suspectedcomp licity in the p l under of the ship Ganj i -Sawai and otherletters of 1 695 - 96, folios 65 .

49 . Insha - i -Rauslzan-Kalam ,by M unshi Bhupa t Rai,

servant of Radandaz Khan , faujdar of Ba iswara in

Aurangzib’

s reign . Irvine MS. 41 7 , pages 63 .

“ U sed by

C . A . El liot t in his Chronic le: of Oonao, 1 860 .

5 0. M a raga t- i—Hassan, written in 1 669 by Maulana

Abul Hassan, an officer who served in Benga l and O rissa

about 1 655— 1 667 , especia l ly during Tarbiyat Khan’s

viceroya l ty ofOrissa . (Rampur Sta te Library, Insha5 1 . Majmaa - i-m unsha t -wa -

ghaira contains letters fromand to B ida r Bakht , let ters from M ukh l is Khan, RuhullahKhan, Asad Khan to Md. Murad Khan , and from severa lother oflicers during the closing years Of Aurangzib

’s reign .

(Rampur State Library, Insha5 2 . B ritish M useum Addl . 6600 gives letters from

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C o rrections and Additions .

VOL I.

Page vii l ine 8 , for garrision read garrison .

xvii 1 0 he had he has.

xx 1 6 Nur- ul Maulana Abul .8 6 dervishes darvishes .

1 6 1 5 weath wea l th .

1 7 1 6 in given is given .

26 1 1 p leasent pleasant .

43 9 south south and east .

48 1 2 stand a stand .

59 5 behind behind .

7 D

70 note* add—She d ied on 7 th May 1 7 2 1 , O . S

(Irvine in the Indian Antiquary .)

7 8 note* for m angav i read inziwa and after “ turnedherm it” insert (manzav i . )

8 1 note* for E 2 7 read F . 27 .

9 1 l ine 1 feared feared .

1 1 6 notei add—A. N . 420 and 75 1 .

1 2 7 l ine 20 for blesssings read blessings .1 34 26 surpised surprised .

1 77 23 add note—l am not sure that the Persiantex t m eans this .

25 1 23 for Ifexp lains read It explains .282 1 7 where were .

288 24 withont without .296 note-l add—Since the above was printed I have

seen Dara 's tract named Risala - i

Hagnum a , in the Engl ish translationby Rai Srisa Chandra Vasu Bahadur .

CORRECTIONS AND ADDIT IONS . 3 1 9

Page 326 l ine 24

i

for impossed read imposed .

335 n 29 n Mul tan (2 1 0—2 1 4) read Mul tan (290294)

V OL . II.

Page 3 1 note ; add—For Aurangzib’s stone records at

Sam ugarh, see Atkinson’s N . W. P . Gazetteer , V ol. V II.

(ed. p . 6 1 1 . Aurangzib’s camp on the eve of the

batt le was at a large vi l lage 2 1 m . s . e . ofAgra , which herenamed Fatihabad , and where he founded a sem i and a

mosque cal led the M ubarakManzil on the spot on which herested after his victory, [here pp . 6 1 2 and 7 25 disagree ;p . 6 1 2 being undoubtedly wrong , as Mubarak there shouldbe N ur] , constructed a tank, and p lanted a large groveto the s . e . ofthe p lace . The mosque was used as a customhouse, and the se mi as the tahsil office, the tank was nearlysi l ted up and the grove remained in tolerable preservationin 1 884. (Ibid , 6 1 1—6 1 2 and 7 24

—7 25 , where there are

references to Keene's Handbook to Agra ,ed. 1 878 , p . 1 1 1 ,

C unningham ’s Archaeologica l Su rvey Reports, iv . 1 95 , and

Ell iot and Beames’s Supplemental Glossary , ii. For

Sarnogar, Atkinson, vii. 765 .

Page 55 note s for Narrat ive read narrative .

58 l ine 1 4 arrow bow.

63 3 after known as insert—Multafat Khan ,d iwan of the Deccan and el derbrother of

1 7 for futher

1 5 man”

1 8 influenee

84, 5 born”

94, margin Aurangsib

96, l ine 26 absense

320 HISTORY OF AURANGZ IB.

SutlejPatfoi

Kah

theyoflicers

had beenBeriner.

Ahmadnagar Ahmadabad .

l ine 4 scare . scarce .

notes add Addl . 26,24of. 55 a and b ; I. O .

L . 330 1 ,f 29b.

l ine 7 for ewildered read bewi ldered .

l l . 23 et seq , add note This is myconjecture.

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