3o ~ 1 1~5a

IES IN MUGHAL INDIA

JA DUNA TH SA RKA R, M A

Ind ian E duca t ional Service (Biha rJ

(Being Historica l E ssa y s , zud . edition,w ith

1 2 new essays added .)

1919

M . C. SA RKA R Sons , Ca lcu tta .

HEFFER 8: Sons,Cambri dge .

fi

Rs . 2.

By the same a u thor .

H istory of A u rangzib, based on o rigina l Persian sources .

V o l . I .‘

R eign of Shah Jahan .

I I . Wa r of success ion .

III. N orthern Ind ia , 1658- 168 1 .

IV . South ern India , 1644- 1689 .

Sh iva ii and h is T im es,

Econom ics of Bri tish India, 4th ed .

Ch a itany a’s Pi lgrim ages and Tea ch ings,

A necdotes of A u rangzib, (A kham - i -A lamgi ri)Persian text and Eng . translation

,

o

M . C . Sarkar Sons,

Harrison Road,Calcutta .

XV . NeHer Sons,Cambridge (England )

STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA.

THE DA ILY LIFE OF SHA H J AH AN .

POPULAR V IEW W'RONG .

The Mughal pala ces a t Delh i and Agra every yeardraw thousands of vi s i tors from far and nea r . Thei r

bea u ty and Splendour have moved the wonder of the world

and the rapture of admiring art i st s and eloquent wri ters .

The globe - t rot ter in Ind ia gives them the foremost place

i n h i s tour programme . Photographs and lantern - sl ides

have made them fam il i a r to fa r - off l ands and home - s tayingpeople .

But what i s i t t ha t the common touri s t sees in them

He may fea st. hi s ey e s.

on the i r del i ca te mosa i cs and re

l ie fs ; he may soo the h i s sp i r i t i n th e cool recesses of tho sepure wh i te domes . But wha t he looks a t i s a fte r al l s tone

,

bare. stone . Does he ever reflect th a t these hall s were oncef u ll of l i fe , crowded with all the moving pageant s o f a

(‘ourt ? Doe s he t ry to real i se th a t l i fe o f a bygone world

,

so d i st ant,so unl i ke h i s I f so , wha t i s h i s mental

picture of i t ?

We are a fra id tha t mos t Europeans s t il l l ie under

the spel l of the popula r novel i st s . W i th them,al l

O riental k ings were heartless b ra inless despot s,ful l of

pride and ignorance , surrounded by pimps and sy coPh

ant s , squeez ing the l a s t farth ing ou t of a down - t rodden

pea sant ry , and spend ing thei r hoa rds on sensual plea sure'

or ch ild i sh show ,— w h o pa ssed the i r l ives in toying wi th

women in the harem , i n l i sten ing to the fulsome pra i s e,

IO STUD IES I N MUGHAL IND IA .

o f fa i thless court iers , or i n s tupefying themselves wi th

in tox ican ts,

—men . whose an imal exi stence w as never

ennobled by intellec tua l exerc i se or Spi r i tu al mus ing ,aesthe t i c c ul ture or the d i sc ipl ine of work . Such i s the

Sultan (or Raj ah ) of nearly eve ry Engl i sh novel , w i th h i s

j ewel led turban , curled up mousta ches , blood shot eyes ,nose h igh up in the a i r, and a small arsenal t hru st in to

h i s wa i s t -band . Thi s idea h a s been impressed on th e

g eneral publ i c of Europe by popular wri ters , who sacr i

li ce tru th to l i te ra ry effect , and whose ignorance of

Eastern h i story i s onlv equalled bv th e i r pride i n every

tlzing Western .

But a l i tt le reflect ion wil l sh ow th a t th i s v iew can

not poss ibly be t rue . From Akbar to A u rangzib we h ad

four great rulers , w h o re igned i n unbroken success ion

for a cen tury and a hal f extended the i r

domin ion , mainta ined peace a t home and respec t abroad ,developed an adm ini st ra t ive system i n al l i t s branches ,and carried many arts t oward s per fe c t ion . Could th i s

w ork h ave been done by sleepy voluptua rie s ? The world

i s not so eas i ly governed . Ine ttic iencv h a s a very short

lea se even in the Ea st . An emp i re l i ke tha t of the

Grea t Mughal s ”'

in i t s best days could not h ave been

a dead mach ine ; admini st rat ion ,a rt s and weal th could

not have developed , as they d id develop i n tha t peri od ,i f

w e h ad had only fa inea n ts on the t hrone , i n the cou nc il

chamber , and a t the head of a rm ies .

l l app ily the contempora ry Pers ian h is torie s fu lhdescribe the Emperor’s da ilv rou t ine of work a~"

TH E DA ILY L IFE OF SHAH JAHAN . 3

e nable u s to pi ct ure the l i fe of h i s Court . Let u s see

h ow Shah Jahan lived and worked i n h i s beloved palace

o f Agra . (True , he founded N ew Del h i and named i ta fter h imsel f , bu t Ag ra was th e c i ty of hi s heart . )

EMPEROR ’

S D A ILY ROUT INE .

4— Prayer — Read ing .

6 at Da rsh an window— elephant combatsreview of cavalry .

7 Darbar (D iw an- i - am ) .

9 Aud ience (D iw a n- i -kha s) .

1 1 Consu lta tion in the Sha h Bu rj.

1 2 harem — mea l— siesta - charity to Women .

rea r.

4 Aud ience— Evening prayer.6 assembly in the D iw a n- i - khas .

8 Counci l in the Sha h B urj.‘8-

30 . . In the harem — music .

no book s read .

CIO a s h — Sleeps .

M ORN I N G PRAYER .

The Emperor woke-

from h i s sleep abou t two hours

b efore sunri se , and a fte r h i s morning to ilet spent some

time in rel ig iou s devot ions . Afte r saying the cu stoma ryp raver based

‘

on the Prophets Tradi t ions , whi ch i s not

o bl iga tory on Musl ims , h e sa t w i t h h i s face toward s

Mecca , rec it ing the verses o f th e» Q u ra n and med i ta t ing

on God , Short ly before sunri se , he performed the firstMoh l iga tory pray er of th e day in the pa l ace mosque , andt

><h en ~

engaged in h i s worldly du ti es .

4 STUDIES IN M UGHAL IND IA .

D AR SH A N .

H i s fi rs t work was to show h imsel f to h is subj ec ts

l n t he eas tern w al l of A gra fort , ove rlook ing the fore

shore o i the J umna which st re tches l ike a pla in below ,.

there was a window called the - i - ( Iafrsh a n ,fronr

th e Sanskri t word da rsh a n meaning the sight o f seme w

one h igh or holy . V a st. crowds of expectan t peopl ea ssembled on the bank every morn ing . The. Emperor

appea red a t the window abou t 48 minutes a fter sunr i se ,and showed h is face to h is subj ec ts , who at once bowed .

wh ile he returned the i r sal u te . From tw o to th ree qua r

ters of an hour were spent here , not merel y i n show ing ;h imsel f, but al so i n busi ness and plea sure . The pla in.

be ing out s ide t he fort w a lls, the p ubl ic. had free a ccess

t o i t , and the oppressed could subm i t the ir pe t i tion s or

make the i r compl a int s to the Emperor , wi thou t hav ing "

to grease the palms of door - keepers and cou rt - under

l ings , or going th rough th e ted ious and costly p roce ss o f"

a la w su it . Thus the Emperor da ily came in touch wi th

th e common people and could freel'

v lea rn the i r “

though t s a nd feel ings . Often a st ring w as le t. down

f rom the window , and the pe t i t i ons t ied to ' i t and pul led

up by the a t tendant s above for immed ia te submission

t o the Emperor . Thi s wise pra ct ice wa s ins t i t u ted bv.

t he grea t Akba r . Curio usl y enough , there. was a cla ss

o f Brahmans , cal led the Da rsh anis , w h o d id not begin the i r:

(luvs work nor ea t the i r b rea kfa st un t i l thev had ga zed'

a t the auspic ious face of the Em perorf.

THE DAILY e r. or SHAH J AH A X . 5

After the publ i c sal ute, and admi ss ion of compla in t s

.w ere over , the pla in w a s cleared,and elephant -figh ts

t ook pla ce the re . Th is wa s the speci al preroga t ive oft h e Empe ror . and no t even th e princes o f the blood could

o rder such a fight for themselves . Shah Jahan wa s

spec ially fond o f th i s sport , and on some days a s many

a s five pa i rs o f elephant s were made to fight s ingle com

b a t s in success ion for h is del ight . Thi s spa c iou s pla in

w as a sa fe pl ace for the i r w ild charges,encounter

,and

pursu i t . In the fort quadrangle hund reds of spect a torsw ould have been t rampled to dea th by these moving

m ounta i ns .

Fierce war - elephants and newly captu red one s ,

w h i ch had not been ful ly t amed . were here sh own to

t h e Empe ror . I t wa s impossi ble to take them,l i ke the

o ther elephant s , to the court - y a rd ins ide the fort . ”n

t h e r iver - s ide , too , war- elephant s were t'ra ined to cha rge

c avalry , and thus made to lose the i r natura l fea r of horses .

Here were a lso paraded the horse s o f the Imper ial a rmya nd of the reta iners of the nobles .

DU VAN - I - A H .

Next took pla ce the Publ i c Dar-bar in the D i w a u - i -a m

o r Hal l of Publ i c. Aud ience . Akba r and Jahangi r u sedt o hold Court a t the very same spo t , but under canva s

a wni ngs st retched on poles se t up for th e occa s ion .

In 1628 Shah J ahan bu il t a gi l t and decora ted wooden

p avil ion ,for th e shel ter of the court ie rs . Th i s

G STUD IES I N M L’

UH A L INDIA .

was replaced i n 1638 by the present D i w an - i - am , a .

s ta tely ed ifice of red sa ndstone , pa inted wh i tewith l ime ,supported on 40 noble p il l a rs , and Lopen on th ree s ides

In the centre of the fou rth s ide or back i s a. ra i sed a lcove

o f the purest w h ite marble , r i ch ly decora ted wi th p ic tra'

alu m work and low rel i e fs of flowers and fol iage . Heresa t t he Emperor overlooking t he hal l below .

GRAND D A RBA R

I n th e Pers ia n h i stor ies we have a deta iled account

o f h ow a grand da rba r was lield i n those days . Th e

Em peror sa t on h i s cush i oned sea t in t he alcove . On.

h is r ight and lef t were the princes , hi s sons : these tool:

the i r sea t s“

only w hen commanded to do so . In the.Hall stood the com -t ie rs , officers , nobles

,and gent ry in

d ue order , with the i r ba cks t o the th ree Open s ides . Those

w h o at tended on the Emperor 's person were s tat ionedon h is righ t a nd lef t nea r t he tw o p il la rs cl ose

t o th e alcove , the i r ba cks be ing t urned to the wall .

Fa cing th e Emperor , s tood t he ch ie f offi cers o f S ta te ,rank beh ind rank , a ccord ing to the i r grada t ion . Th e

royal standard bea re rs , hold ing the golden banners a ndl ug ]: and qu r

, were drawn up on the Emperor 's le ft

wi th the i r ba cks t o the w a ll .

Thus th e ent i re Ha ll , 201 fee t long and 67 fee t

broad , w as fi lled w ith men . But i t wa s too smal l to holda ll w h o deserved or sough t aud ience . S ilver ra il ings

The T u rkish sta nda rd o f ba l l s a nd th e Ya k cow’s ta i l fixed on a rod a nd borne”

a loft . Th e M ugh a I Emperors w ere T u rks of th e (“ h ag h ta i tri be .

THE DAI LY e s or srn n u r ns . 7

fenced i t round on the three s ides with only three

open ings in them . In the court - y ard in fron t a spacewa s enclosed wi th a ra i l ing of pa inted wood on wh ich

velve t canop ie s ri chly embro idered wi th gold were

spread . Here stood al l men oelow commanders of tw o

hundred , archers of the gua rd , musket eers , and som e of

the re ta iners of the nobles , when they at tended t h e

darbar . At the doors of the Ha ll and of the tw o ra i l

i ngs (s i lver and wooden ) t rustworthy mace -bea rers and

sergeants - at - arms in the i r splend id uni forms kept gua rd ,

exclud ing strangers and persons w h o had no en t ree a t'

The aud ience s tood read y and expectant , when , a t

abo ut 7 -40 A .H .,the Emperor entered the alcove by the

back door , took h is sea t , and the business of the Court

began .

The H igh Bakhsh i or Paymaster-General repo rtedto th e Emperor the pe t i t i ons of the mil i t a ry office rs or

m a nsa bda rs,and immed ia tely rece ived H i s Maj est y '

s

orde rs g iving promot i ons to some , new posts to others .

Offi cers who had come to the capi t a l f rom the provi nces

had aud ience . Those who had been newly appointed to

some province or post were next presented by the heads

of the i r depa rtments , t he Commandant of th e

Art i llery (J l i r- i - a t ish ) , t he Paymaste r of the mounted ‘

musketeers , or the Paymaste r of the gentlemen troope rs

(a h ad i3. ) These ch ie fs recommended every dese rving

man among them for some roy a l favour . The presentee s

bowed and got the i r congee , usually accompan ied by a

$8 STUDIES IN m enu ; i NnrA z'

robe of _ honour and gi ft in th e form of jewellery , horse-or arms .

Nex t came the clerks o f th e Depa rtmen t of Crow nlands or the Em peror

’s privy

.pu rse . T h rough the i r

ch iefs ,— the - 2

.

and . the D iw an - i - ba yu ta t, theysubm it ted the i r variou s proposal s and got prompt orders

from H is Ma j e sty .

Then the. court iers w h o enj oyed the Emperor’s con

fidence placed before h im t h e despa tche s of the princes ,a nd of th e governors , fa u jda rs , ( le

'

ma ns (revenue heads , )bakimh is and other officers of th e provinces, and also

any pre sen ts (pesh ka sh ) sen t by them .

The le t ters of th e pri nces and ch ie f office rs were

read or heard by the Emperor h imsel f . The purport

o nly of th e res t w a s reported to h im . Wh efin i

th is work

was ove r , the Ch ief Sadr reported th e importan t po int s'

of‘ the despa tche s of the provinc ia l Sa rl rs sent to h im .

He al so brough t to the Emperor’s not i ce ca ses of needy

s chol ars , Syeds, Sh a ikhs , and pi ou s men , and got grant s

of. money for each accord ing to h i s need or deser ts .

The work of publ i c ch ari ty be ing over , orde rs pre

v io u sly passed abou t m a nsa bs, jag irs, ca sh grants , and

o ther financ i al affa i rs , were subm i tted to the Emperor

a second t ime for confi rma t ion . There wa s a spec i a l

o fficer to remind the Emperor of these th ings , and he bore

the. t i tl e of the da rogh a of a rz - i - nw lm rra r.

Nex t , the o fficers of the Imperi al s table s d i spl ayedbefore H i s Maj e sty th e. horses and eleph ants wi th the i r

"fixed ra t ion s . Th i s prac t i ce had been st arted by Akba r

THE DAILY LIFE or SHAH JAHAN . 9

inorder to puni sh th ese officers w h o s tole the Imperia l

g rant and st arved the an imals . I f any horse or elephan t

l ooked lean or weak , the money allowed for i t s feed ing

wa s resumed and the office r in charge '

of i t repr imanded .

Sim ila rly the re t a iners o f the nobles , whose horses had

been recent ly muste red and branded , were paraded in ful l

e qu ipment in the court - vard wi th in view of the Empe ror .

T h e. darba r la sted tw o hou rs , somet imes more or le ss

a ccord i ng to the amount of th e bus iness to be done .

D I VV A X- I -KHAS .

Then , a l i t tle be fore 10 A .M .

, H i s Maj es ty went tot h e Hal l o f Pr iva te A ud ience

i‘ and sat on the throne .

Here he wrote wi th h i s ow n hand the answers to th e

most importa nt. let ters . O f th e other let te rs a few were‘ read to h im bv the Court agen t s of th e h igh grandees ,

o r by the w a z i r, or bv t he officers appo inted to submi t”

th e despa tches of the provinc i a l v i ceroy s . In reply to“ th em

, fo rm a ns or Imperial l et ters were dra fted by them in i ste rs i n the te rms of th e i r mas te rs verbal orders .

T h e dra ft s were a fterward s revi sed and corrected bv the

Emperor , wri t ten out fa i r , and sen t to the ha rem to be

s ealed wi th the Grea t Seal ,‘

l‘ of wh i ch the Empress

Mumta z Mahal had cha rge .

The h i ghest revenue officers now reported on very

POpu la rlv ca l led t h e Gh w a l -k h a na ii beca 'u se A kba r'

s ba th -room w a s a dja cent to i t <’5’teo

t Uzu k , a sma ll ro u nd sea l , bea ri ng on ly t h e Emperor's name, afii xed to Sa ba

f a rmam . (Bloc hm ann'

s A i n, i . 52 8:

l l) STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

import an t ma tters connec ted wi th t he Crownlands , and

the a ss ignments on revenue made in favour of mil i ta ryofficers

,and lea rn t the Emperor

’

s plea sure on e ach po int

Th e. H ead of the Royal Cha ri ty Depa rtmen t brough tto the Emperor’s not i 'ce spec ial ca ses of needy men ;most of them rece ived ca sh grant s , some l ands , others.

da ily s t ipends . A fund was c rea ted for th is purpose ou t

of the gold , s i lver and j ewel s aga ins t wh ich the Emperor

wa s we ighed (w a za n) every b ir thday , and ' the moneywh ich was offered by the ndbles and princes a s sa crifi ce

(ta saddu g) i n order to avert calam i t ie s and bad omens from

h im .

Then a short t ime was pa ssed in inspect ing th e

works of sk i l ful ar t i sans , such a s j ewel - set ters , enamel

le rs , 810. Plan s of royal bu ild ings were pl a ced i n h is

hands , and he added elements o f bea u ty to them or made

al tera t ions where necessa ry . On the pl ans finallya pproved , t he prime -min i s te r Asa f Khan wrote an ex

plan at ion of the Emperor 's wi sh es , for the gu idance of

t h e a rch i tec t s . This w as an impor tan t work , a s Shah »

Jah an w as very fond of build ing noble cdifices ,— wh ich'

will rema in a s h i s memoria l to a l l t ime . The Superin

t endent of the Publ i c Wo rks Depa rtmen t w itlr

expert a rch i tec ts a t tended th i s priva te da rba r to consul t "

the i r mas ter .

These w orks being over , the Emperor occas ionallylooked a t the hunt ing an imals , hawks and leopa rds , wh ich

had been tra ined for h im . Met t led horses , r idden bv

expert horse - tamers , w ere made to go through the ir

THE DAILY LIFE or SHAH JAHAN . 11

exerc i ses i n'

t he ya rd of the priva te pal ace , under H is

Maj esty’s ey es .

SHAH BURJ .

Nea rly two hours were thus occup ied , and a t abou thalf pa s t e leven the Emperor l eft th i s H all and ente red the lofty Sh a h B u rj or Royal Tower . The most eon

fident ial bus iness was done here . None but the pri ncesa nd a few t ru sted officers could enter th i s tower"

without speci al perm iss ion'

. Even the servant s had to

stand ou t s ide , t i ll they were sent for .

Secre t affa i rs of State , wh i ch i t would have been

harmful t o ma ke publ i c , were d i scussed w ith t h e Grand.

lVa z ir. A p rcc is was made of the importan t and con

fident ial le t ters to be sent t o n oblemen serving in t h e

di stant.

provinces . Such urg en t ma tte rs about th e

Crownlands , the pay ment of the m il i ta ry , &c . ,a s had

been submit ted in the tw o previous da rba rs o f the day

were now reported by t he w a zi r and the Emperor'

s orders

t aken on them . Some three qua rters of an hour were

usually spent here , b u t the t ime varied accord ing to th e

amount of the bus iness t o be despa tched .

TH E HAREM A T NOON .

I t wa s now nea rly m idday and t he Empero r enteredi

th i harem , where he performed the zuba r pra y er , a te h is

meal , and took a nap for an hou r . m ost k ings

the ha rem is a pl ace o f plea su re and rest . But work

pursued Sha h J ahan even there . A crowd of female

begga rsfi

poor widows and orphans , ma iden s of deca y ed

12 S TUD IES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

fam il ie s , daugh ters o f poor sch ol a rs, th eolog ians

'

and‘piou s men ,

— besought the royal ch ari ty . Thei r pe t i t ion s

w ere pu t before the Empress by her ch ie f servant Sa t i

urn - Irissa , called th e Female Naz i r ; and Her Maj e styvrcported th e c a ses to “the Emperor

,who gave l ands t o

s ome , pens ion s or donat ions to o thers,and garmen ts ,

j ew el s , and money as the dowrie s o f ma idens too poor

t o m arrv. Large sums were every day Spen t in the h aremi n th i s w ork of rel ie f .

AFTERNOON AUDIENCE .

Shortly a fter 3 P .M . the Emperor performed h i s

m a r prayer , a nd somet imes v i s i ted the Hall of P ublicA ud ience aga i n . The men presen t bowed . A l i t tle St a teb u s iness wa s gone th rou gh in a

'

sh ort t im e . The pala ce

:guards , cal led c lm w l 'ida rs, were drawn up before h im

a nd presen ted th e i r a rms . Then H i s Maj esty j o ined thec ongrega t ion o f h i s Cou rt to perform the sun se t prayer

i n th e Pr iva te Aud ien ce Ha ll .

SO IRE E I N TH E D I VVA N - I -K I I A S.

The day wa s now spen t , but t he dav’s work was no t

y et over . Th e l) £w a n - i - 7rh a s w a s l it up wi th fragran t

c andles set i n j ewelled candelabra , th e Emperor and h is

choi ce a ssoc i ate s gathered here and spen t some tw o

h ours , a t fi rs t i n a ttend ing to th e adm in is t ra t i on and

a ft erw a rd s i n plea sure . But i t w as pl easu re of an el e

va ted a nd refined ch a racte r . He heard musi c , vocal andi nstrument al , and often deigned to j o in i n i t . I fw e mav t ru st th e Court ch ron icler , Shah J ahan w as a

THE DAILY LIFE or SHAH $ AHA‘Y, If?

M N

pa s t ma ste r of F rdu song , and h i s performances were

so sweet and cha rming tha t'

many pure - sm i led Sir/is a nd

holy men wi th hea rts w ithd rawn from th e world , who.

a t tended'

th ese even ing a ssembl ies , los t t he i r senses in

the ecstasv produced by h i s s ingingi

SECRET COUNCI L A GAI

Afte r t he ish a prayer (8 P M . ) h e w ent to the Shah

Burj , and i f there w as an y secre t bus i ness o f Sta te st il l

t o,be done , he summoned the Grand l l

'

a z ir and the

Ba lch sh is and despatched i t there ,— ~ leaving noth ing over '

for the m o i-

row .

LI l'

SI C A N D READING I N TH E HAR EM .

A t about 8-30 PA L , he re t i red to the ha rem aga in .

_

Two and somet imes th ree hours w ere here spent i n

l i sten ing to songs by women . Then H is Maj esty ret i red:

to bed and\w a s read to sleep . Good readers sa t beh ind ap a rda h wh ich separa ted them from the roy a l bed cham

be r, and read aloud books on t ravel , l ives of sa int s and

prophet s , and h i s to ri es o f’

former k ings,

— a ll r i ch

in inst ru ct ion . Among them the Li fe o f Timur and

t h e Autob iography of Baba r were h i s spec ia l

favouri tes:

Finall y ,a fter 10 P A L , the Emperor fel l a sleep and

'

enj oy ed a n igh t'

s repose o f'

six hours .

COURT OR J UST ICE -OS ‘V ED XE SD AY.

Such w a s t he l i fe of —th e. M ugha l Cou rt on ord ina ry

da y s . But w e must remember" t hat Fr ida y . i s the

H4 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

M uh ammadan Sabbath , wh en no Cour t wa s held .

Wedne sday,too

,was spec ially se t a part for doing

ju st i ce , -w h ich i s one of the most importan t dut i es o f

!O r iental k ings . On that d ay,no da rbar w a s held i n the

D i w an - i - am , bu t the Emperor came d irec t f rom the

.da rsh an window to the P riva te Aud ience Hall , a t abou t18 A .M . , to si t on the th rone of j u s t ice . True , h e h ad

a ppo inted wi se , exper ienced and God - fea ring men to

a c t a s j udges of Canon law (ga z is ) , j udges o f common

law (add s ) , and super in tenden t of. t he l aw- cou rt , but. the

k ing h imsel f w a s the fount a in of j u st i ce and the h ighes t

c ou rt of appeal . On Wednesday none h ad en trc c ex

c ept th e l aw officers , j u ri s ts versed in fa ta w a , piou s and

upright sch ol ars , and the few nobl es w h o cons tan tly

.a t tended on the Emperor’s person . The oflicers of

just i ce presented the pla int iffs one by one , and reported

.the ir grievan ce s . H is Majes ty very gently a scerta ined

t h e fac t s by inqu i ry,took the l aw from th e u lcm a

(Canon - l awyers ) , and pronounced j udgmen t a ccord ingly .

Many had come from far - off provinces to ge t j u st i ce

from th e h ighes t power i n t he land . Thei r pl a in t s couldno t be invest iga ted except loca llv ; and so the Emperor

wrote orders to the governors of those pla ces , u rging

them to find ou t the tru th,and e i th e r do just i ce there

or send the part ie s back t o th e cap i tal,wi th the i r

report s .

Such was the set tl ed l i fe of Agra o r Delh i , but» itwas o ften va r ied by rides th rough the c itv, general ly in

‘ the a fternoon , r iver t r ips on the Jumna in the State

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THE WEALTH OF IND, 1650.

WH E N M i l ton w ro te ,

H igh on a throne‘

of'roya l state, which fa rOu tshone the wea lth of Ormuz and of Ind

,

Or where the gorgeous East with richest handShowers on . h er k ings barbaric pearl and go ld ,

could he have been th ink ing of Ind ia. under Shah Jah an ,

the bu ilder of the Taj and ‘ th e Peacock Throne ? For

th e fines t example of e astern roy a l magn ificence wa s .

afforded by tha t k ing'

s Cou rt . The contempora ryh is tory of Abdul H am id Lahor i enables u s to est ima tea ccura tely th e wealth of the Mugh al Emperor i n 1648

A rupee of tha t t ime was w orth 2s . bu t i t s pu r

chas ing power w as abou t seven t imes tha t o f to -day .

The REV EN UE was 20 7.‘ro rcs of rupees (225m i l l ion

po unds ) , of w h ich the newly a cqu i red provinces ,Da ul a t abad

, Tel ingana , and Baglana ,-vielded 15

Th e Crown - lands suppl ied the Empero r'

s pr ivy purse

wi th three kro rcs of rupees (35mill ion pounds ste rling )In the firs t twen ty yea rs o f h i s re ign , Shah J ahan

spent 9 7} krorcs of rupees in reward s a nd gi ft s ,— abou t

4—5; [ worms i n ca sh and 5 k rorcs i n ki nd . H i s I i t’

I LD I NG s

a bsorbed more than three m ill ions ste rl ing , a s th e

following l i s t w il l show

A t A gra

The Pearl Mosque and th e palaces and gardens inth e fort

Th e Taj

THE W EALTH or IND . 17

A t Delh iPa lacesJ umm a Masj idNew w all round DelhiTh e Idgah outside Delhi

A t Lahore

Pa laoes, gardens , and canal

A t Kabul

Mosq ue, palace, fort , and city -wa llIn Kashm ir

Roya l bui ldings and gardensA t Qa uda ha r, fy e.

l“orts o f Qandahar, Bist, and Zam inda w ar

A t A jm ir , 8 c.

A jm ir, Ahmadabad, & c . (build ings)A t Ai ukh lispurImperia l palacesCrown Prince Dara Shukoli s p a lace “

2 72 2

1

4 n

The Imperia l J EW ELLERY w a s worth 5 [ ac res of

rupees , be s ides tw o lcru rex’

worth given away to th e

pr inces and others . Of the former , the Emperor wore

on h i s head , neck , arms , and wa is t ful ly tw o k rores’

worth ; the se were kept. i n the h a rem i n cha rge of th e

women servants,whi le the rema i nder (worth 3 krores)

w as depos i ted in the ou ter apartment s i n the custody of

the sl aves .

H i s rosa ry conta ined 5 rubies and 30 pearl s, and

w a s val ued a t 8 Iakh s. There w e re tw o other rosari e s

of 125 l arge round rubies worthy - of k ings; be tween

eve ry pa i r of beads w as a coloured y aqu t (topaz ?) Th e

midmos t be ad in each rosa ry we ighed 32 ra tis 9 8

cara ts ) and cos t R s . and the pr i ce of t h e tw o

S.M . 2

18 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

s tr ings taken together reached 20 lakh s. They h a d been

m ostly collec ted by"A kbar .

Only second - ra te j ewel s were , howeve r, pu t i n th e

Emperor’s rosary (the firs t named one ) . Al l the l a rge stand finest rub ie s were reserved for h i s sa rp ech (a igre t te

or j ewel worn on th e tu rban ) . Th is ornamen t w as t i ed

to h is head - dress on the ann iversary o f the coronat ion

i t had 5 l a rge rubie s and 24 pe arl s se t on it ;~ — o‘

f these

the l a rges t ruby i n the . cen tre weighed 288 ra tis

c a ra ts ) and w a s valued a t tw o (079713 o f rupees , though

in the marke t i t would have been cons idered cheap a t

4 la kh s . The tot al price of th e sa rp ech w as 12 Iakh s .

On 11th November, 1644, a‘ big pear- l ike pearl cost

ing R s . and w e igh ing 43 su rkh s gr . Troy ?)was added to i t . Th e

'

la rgest w hy (or d i amond ?) i n

the Imperi al tre asury was abou t 430 ra t is ca ra t s )i n we igh t and worth tw o Ia l'h s, bu t i t h ad not th e

flawless l us tre of the cent ral gem of th e sa rp cch . Yet

another ruby , shaped l ike a pea r , and w e igh ing 47 ra t is

cara ts ) only , cos t h al f a Mich .

On 12th March , 1685, Shah Jah an sa t for the fi rs t

t ime on the newly fin i shed PEACOC K THRONE .

“ M any

gems had been collec ted bv th ree genera t ion s o f

Em perors — Akbar , J ahangi r , and Shah J ah an . O f

wha t u se were they i f th e peopl e could not gaze a t

them ?” a sks the Court annal i s t , Abdul H am id La hori .So , al l the j ewel s i n the ou ter pal ace (worth 2 l

‘

rorcs )

were ordere d to be shown to'

th e Emperor , and ou t ofthem he chose th e very bes t , valued a t 16 la t-713. W i th

THE WEALTH or IND . 19

o ne lakh to la h s lbs . Troy) of pure gold , equ ivalen tto 14 la kh s of rupees , the a rt i sans of the Imperi a lg old - smi th depa rtmen t under the supe rin tendence of

Bebada l Khan , construc ted a th rone Si ya rds long , 25y ard s broad , and 5 yards h igh , and studded i t w i th

these j ewels . The inner roo f w a s enamelled and had

o nly a few stone s se t here and there ; but the out s ide

wa s covered w i th rubies, y og u ts, and other gems .

T w elve p illa rs of emerald supported th i s .roof . Abovei t were placed two figures of peacocks orn amented w i th

jewel s , and be tween them a tree se t wi th rub ie s , d i a

mond s , emerald s , and pea rl s .

Thre e j ewel led steps led up to th e Emperor’

s sea t ,w h ich was surrounded on el even s ides with j ewelled

p lanks serving a s ra i l ings ; (the twel fth wa s open , be ing

in front of the Emperor and j ust above the steps) .

O f these eleven panel s the most splend id w a s the

m idd le one , on wh ich the Emperor res ted h is a rm i n

r ecl in ing . I t cos t 10 Zakh s of rupees , i t s cen tra l ruby

a lcne be ing worth one la t h . Th i s ruby h ad been pre

sented by Shah Abba s I . ,th e Persi an king , to J ahangi r ,

a nd had inscr ibed on i t the names of Timur , Mi r

Shahrukh ,Mirza Ul ugh Beg

,Shah Abbas , Jahangi r

t h e son of Akbar , and Shah J ah an l Ins ide the th rone ,a poem by Ha j i Muhammad J an Qudsi , in 20 couple ts ,

,w a s insc r ibed in le t ters of enamel , the la s t th ree word s

(A u ra ng- i - sh a h a nsh a h - i- a (1i l) giving the date of i t s con

s t ruct ion . Apart from the sa la ry of the cra ftsmen,

20 STUDIES IN MUG-HAL INDIA .

th e ma teria l s alone ‘of th e t h rone cost one o f

rupee s .

Such va s t t rea sures would na t ural ly temp t spo ilers

from far - off lands , and requ ired a s t rong force to sa fe

guard them . Accord ingly ; w e fi nd t ha t the Imperia lA RMY i n 1648 comprised

cavalry ,

(commanders ) ,a hm h

'

s (gentlemen tr oopers ) andmounted ni u sketeers,

foot. m u sketcc’

rs’f and

a rt i lle rymen ,in add it ion to cava lrv unde r th e pr inces and

nobles .

TOTAL

th ese d id not include the loca l mil i t i a pos ted in

th e pnrga na h s and conrm andcd bv the fa ujzla rx , [ wo rt-v

(D i st ri c t Col lec tors , ) and'

a m la s ,— who must have num

bered severa l fa it h s m ore I n a let te r wri t ten just be foreh i s capt iv i ty Shah Jahan descr ibes h imself a s th e lordof 900,000 t roopers . The total a imed s trength of th e

empi re , then , approa ched one mil lion o f 1ne11 , th o i1ght d id not include al l I iidia .

‘

l‘

l

.l 1

l a

Q .

( it t hese , 10,000 accompanied th e Emperor a nd the rema in i ng 30.000 ere qu a rtered"

111 t l1c variou s Suba h s. z . . s 2 r, w ‘ e ” !

t A n t lio ri t les , -tor Rm cnnc (A bdu l Hami d ’s Pa d rsli a h na ma h , l l 7 1 1 B u i l d in g(1011! a nd Wa ri s'a Pa d ish u h na m a lif Kh u dd' l la k lisli M s . 10 111 , 1 1611 , J c

i

w ellci'yl l. 39 1 -393) 3Peacock ThroneAmid , I. B . 77

'

-81 l ; Arm) r

THE COMPANION OF A N EMPRESS .

TH E fol lowing biograph i cal ske tch g ives us a pic tu re

( i f the inner l i fe of the Mughal Court a t t he heigh t of

i ts glory , introduces to u s a lea rned and accompl i shed

Pers ia n lady , and finally tel l s th e s imple and sad tale o f ‘

.a m other’

s love and grie f wh ich ha s an i nteres t qu i te

a part from it s va lue a s a s ide - l igh t on Indi an h i storyThe Pers ians

,w h o have been r ightly called ‘ the

F rench of As ia ,’

suppl ied many of the most bri ll i an t

g ems tha t ga thered round the th rone of I nd ia’

s M u h am

madan rul ers . From Pers i a came Mah mud Gawan ,

th e. heaven - born min ister of the Ba lrm an i Sultans of

t h e Decca n , Mir Jumla , the righ t - hand man of Aurangz ib , Abul Fath

,the ph vsic ian and friend of Akba r ,

A l i Mardan Khan . th e general and admini st ra tor,

ltu h u lla h Khan , the finance min i ste r of A u rangz ib , and

nranv othe r worth ie s o f t he field and the counc i l - cham

b er. From Pers ia , too , came the h igh ly accompl i shed

ladv W h o i s the subjec t o f t h i s memoi r .

Sa t i - un - n issa "‘ (l i t .

‘ the lance - head among women ’

)was the daughter of a respectable nat ive o f M a zendran ,

a province of Pe rs i a,and belonged to a fam ily of

sch ola rs and ’

ph y sic ians . Her brot her Ta liba A m nl i ,

was unrival led in h i s age i n he choice of words and

th e power o f cloth ingfine sense in equally fine phrases,

a nd ea rned the t i t le o f P ri nce of Poe t s a t . th e Court.

o f J a h angrrg IV h en her husband Na si ra , a brother of

Sa l i , a Pers ia n w ord , mea ns a s I ha ve ta ken i t here Ru t Sirri , spelt in exa ct ly th e

f ame “a v, is a n Ara b ic w ord meani ng ‘Ma dam ’

,

‘gra ndmother'.

22 STUDIES IN M UG II AL INDIA .

th e grea t phys i c i a n B akna i Kash i , died in Indi a,

Sa t i -nu - n i ssa entered th e servi ce o f Mumtaz Maha l , th e

renowned Empress of Sh ah Jahan . Here he r ab i l i ty ,cha rm of speech , perfec t m asterv of the prope r conductof a dependen t , and knowledge of med ic ine and var i

ous k inds of t rea tment , won her roy al m i st re ss’s hea rt ,

and she w as p romoted above all “ the - old servant s

and ent rusted wi th the Em press'

s sea l , the badge of

th e head of her e stabl i shm ent . She was a good clocu

t ion ist. and could rec i te the Qu ra n w ell and read Pers i a n

works in prose and verse properly . For h er l i te ra ry

a ccompl i shment s she wa s a ppo inted t u toress to th e

Princess Royal J ah anara , and very soon ta ugh t her to

read the Quran and w ri te Pers ia n .

She w a s a lso the in termed ia ry of the Emperor'

s

cha ri ty to women . Whenever she hea rd of a n hones t

woman in d ist ress or of a v i rgin too po or to be marr ied ,

she reported the case to the Empress , and t he l a t ter

brought i t to t he Emperor'

s ca r on h is com ing to th e

ha rem in t he even ing . La rge sums were da ily spen t in

help ing these poor women , lands and da i ly st i pends or“

cash bount ie s we re g iven to th e wives a nd widows , and

o rnaments a nd m onev pa id to th e v i rgin s . Sat i - nu -n i ssa

reted a s the Imperia l alm oneress , a nd the h is toria n pra i ses

he r a s “ at tent ive , eloquent , expert . and gen t le in

manner .

W hen the Emp res s d ied (7 th June , Sa t i - un

n issa , a s her ch ie f serva nt a nd agent . a ccompan ied th e

corpse. t o i t s la st rest ing - pla ce a t Agra (the Taj Mahal ) .

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221 - srUDI E s‘

I N- MU (1HAL

l akh s in 1 jew els, one lakh i n cash , fou r l akhs in gold . and

s i lver ornament s and ra re a rt icle s of al l countr ies i n

the world , and the bal ance in eleph ants and horses .

‘ Byo rder of J ah anara ,

Sa t i - u n -n i ssa a rranged al l th isv a s t

c ollect ion for di spl ay in th e spaci ous courtyard of AgraFort i n front of the w i ndow a t wh ich the Emperor u sed

to show h i s face to h i s adoring subj ec t s .

‘

A t n igh t the whole place was i ll um ina ted , forming

a sort of exh ibi t ion . The court i ers and nobles fea sted

the i r eyes on the t rea sures,and even t he Emperor con

descended to pay a vi s i t .

So, too , a t th e marri age of the second pri nce ,

Sha j ah (23rd February, a d i splay w a s m ade'

of

wedding present s worth 10 lakh s o f rupees , al l suppl ied

by Mumtaz Mahal and J ah ana ra . Sat i - nu - n i ssa’s capa

c i ty for organ i sat ion and art i st i c t aste must have found

ample scepe for exerci se i n ge t ting up such exh ib i t ions .

In add i t ion to being th e h ead servan t of J ah anara ,

Sat i - u n -n i ssa w as al so made by the Emperor the Sa da -r

o r Superin tendent of th e harem , i n rew ard of her fidel i tyand obed ience ; She had al so t o wa i t. a t the Emperor’s

table and serve h im wi th provi s ions,

—a s the m o sth onoured and t ru sted of women a tt endan ts . Thus she

was cons tan tly i n the Emperor’

s eves and wa s most

kindly t reated by h im .

She h ad no ch ild of her own,bu t adopted th e tw o

d augh ters of h er l a te. brothe r,Tal iba . (In them she

l avi shed all the love and materna l yea rn ings of a

ch ildless widow'

s hea rt . The younger of t he tw o, on

THE COMPANION OF AN EMPRES S . 25

whom she part i cul a rly doted , w as married to HakimZ i a - ud -d in

,a nephew of her late husband . The bride

g room was brough t ov

i

er from Pers ia and cheri shed

a t the Imperial Cou rt th rough her influence . But th i s

voung woman ,the cent re Of a ll Sa t i - u n - ni ssa’s affec t ion ,

d ied of a l ong il lness fol lowing ch ildbi rt h (l0th J anuary ,

A mother'

s grie f i s too strong for any earthly

c ont rol . Sa t i - nu - n issa ,

“

in sp i te Of her wi sdom and

ph ilos‘oph y , cast oh'

all pa t ience , and abandoned hersel f

t o mourn ing for el even days in h er h ouse,outs ide th e

c i t adel of La hore .

”

But Shah Jahan wa s the ki ndes t Of men , a model

h usband , fa ther and maste r of hou sehold . He couldnot neglec t a n Old se rvant . ( In 22nd January ,

hoping

t ha t her grie f had now somewha t aba ted,he k indly had

her brought t o her O ffic ia l re s iden ce wi th in the Imper ia lha rem , went there i n the company of J ah a rrara ,

consoled

her i n many ways , a nd took her wi th h imsel f to the

pala ce .

Next day , a s the Emperor wen t out to hun t , Sa t i

u m- n i ssa re turned to her own house for some necessa ry

works . Afte r eat ing h er meal and say ing th e even ing

prayers , she be to ok hersel f to read ing the Qu ra n .

A t abou t 8 R M . she suddenly cried ou t,I feel l i ke

be ing choked , and rapidly grew worse . The'

Pers i a n

d octor Mas ih - u z - Zarnan , a d i stan t rela t ive , was'

imme

d ia tely summoned . A t h is a rr ival,she bowed to sal ute

h im , then ra i sed her h ead , and a t once sank down onh er s ide . The pul se wa s st i ll bea t ing ; the doctor and

26 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

h er sorr- in - law cont inued applying remed ies for fa in t ing ,

but to no purpose . When the pul se fa iled , t hey knew

tha t she had lef t t he world.

Thus sh e fol low ed h er

daughter in dea th by a fortn igh t onlv .

Next d ay (24th J anua ry ) the news rea ched Sh a h

Ja l i an in th e hunt ing camp . He w as deeply touched,

and ordered all honou r to be shown to her morta l

rema ins and R s . to be. spen t on her funera l .

Afte r more than a‘ yea r the body was taken ou t and fina l lv

bur ied w est of t he Taj Mah al , close to the outer

quad ra ngle , i n a tomb bu il t by Government a t a n expenseo f Rs . A vi llage yield ing R s . a yea r w as

a ss igned for the pay O f i t s a t tendant s . Thus she w a s

not pa rted from h er beloved ma ste r and mist ress even

in death .

“VHO BU ILT THE'

TA J MAHAL

MUMTAZ M AH A I.’

S DEATH .

I N 1007 A . D . , when Shah Jahan (then P r ince Khurram ) w as 15 y ea rs old , h i s fa ther Jah angi r be trothed

h im to Arjmand Banu Begam (a fterwa rds surnamed

Mumtaz Mahal ) , a daughter of Nur J ah an’s brother ,Asa f Khan . Five y ears a fterwa rd s the marri age

w as celebrated : th e br idegroom w a s then 20 years and

3 m onths of age , and the bride j ust 14 months younger .

After 19 yea rs o f wedded l i fe , in wh ich she bore 14

ch ildren to her royal husband , the Begam d ied of th e

pa in of ch i ld -birth , prolonged for 30 h ou rs , a t Burhan

pur, on Tuesday

, 7th June , 1631 (17 Ziqada , 1040 A H . )Sha h Jahan was so overpowered bv grie f tha t for

one week he could not bring h imsel f to appea r a t th e

window of t he Hal l of Audience , o r to a t tend to auv

affa i r of Sta te . He sa id t ha t he would have turned

faq ir f or t he rest of h i s l i fe , i f k ingsh ip were not a

sacred cha rge wh i ch no one can lay a s ide a t h i s plea sure .

He gave up the use of coloured d ress , scen t s , and

j ewel s ; forbade mus ic and song a t the annua l coronat ion

and birthda y ceremon ies,— i ndeed they now sounded

strangely l ike d irges and wa il ing in h i s ea rs . H is

bea rd wh i ch had not more than 20 grey ha irs,new

rapidly t urned wh i te . A t everv vi s i t t o her tomb , h e

used to shed r ivers o f tears ove r her rema ins,and

lamen t , saying ,

“ Empi re has no sweetness,l i fe i t self

.28 STUDIES IN M L’

GH A L INDIA .

“

has no rel i sh lef t for me now ' I f he v i s i ted the h a rem ,

be. promptly re turned weeping and s igh ing , Nobody ’

s

face can del igh t me now '” True , Shah J ahan had

m arri ed two other wives,the daughters of Muzaffa r

Hu sa in Mirza and Shah Nawa z Khan, 2 years before

a nd 5 years a fter h i s un ion wi th Mumtaz Mahal ; bu t

.t hese were pol i t i cal al l i ances (ba‘ig t iza

- c - m a slih a te ) , not

love -matches . Mumtaz Mahal so fu llv oc cupied h i s

hea r t th a t there wa s no Space lef t there for any othe rl ove ; and the Emperor in weal and w oe , i n se t tled res i.dence and t ravel , neve r par ted wi th he r company .

( l’m lish a h na m a ll

, i . 387 , a nd .l/u nta kli a b- u l-La ba b, i .

459 )The following account of h er death i s g iven i n a

rare Pers ian manuscr ipt (t he autob iography of Qasim

Al i A frid i , a ffixed to h is D i w a n ) , belonging to the,

Khuda Bakhsh Library . Th e story seems t o be cu rren t.

a t Agra , and i s al so found in a. Ms . t rea t i se on the Tajw h ich h as been len t by the Khuda Bakhsh Libra ry to

t h e V i c tor i a Memori al Hall .“

Shah J ahan had , bes ides h i s fou r son s,fou r

d augh ters ; Anj uman - a ra , Ga i t i - a ra , Jahan - a ra,and

Dahar - a ra [Gauhar - a ra ] . I t. i s sa id th a t j u st be fore. th ebi rth of th e l a st , a sound o f cry ing w a s hea rd in the

wom b of Mumtaz Mahal . I m m edia te lv on hea ring i t,

t h e l legam despa i red o f h er l i fe,summoned the Empero r

t o h er s ide , and sa id in pla int ive accen t s , I t i s w el l - knowntha t when the babe c ries in the womb

,the mothe r can

never survive it s b irth . Now tha t. i t i s m y lot to l eave

w no B t I LT’ THE TAJ MAHAL 9 29'

th i s morta l sphere for the e te rna l home, 0 King ! pa rdon

aught tha t I may have sa id am is s . P a rdon every fa ul t

t ha t I may have commi t ted , a s I am about to se t ou t

on my las t j ou rney S i r King ! I shared your l ot

a t the t ime of your capt ivi ty [ i n y ou r fa ther'

s re ign]and other affl i c t i on s . N ow t ha t the Lord God ha s g iven

i t to y ou to rule t he world,

I h ave , a la s , to depart in

so rrow ! Promise to keep m y two la s t requests .

’ The6Emperor prem ised on h is l i fe and soul ,

’ and a sked

hei

r - to s ta te her wishe s . She repl ied ,

‘ God has g ivenyou four sons and fou r daughters . Th ev a re enough t o ‘

pre serve your name and fame . Ra i se not i ssue on au v

other woman , le s t her ch ildren and mine should come

to blows for th e ‘

su ccession. Mv second pray er i s tha t

y ou -” shou ld bu ild over me such a mausoleum tha t. the l ik e

of i t may not be seen anvw h ere else i n ' the world .

’

Then ,

a momen t a f ter giv ing b i rth to Daha r - ara , she d ied .

”

(Pp . 226-23a ) .

But the above i s merely a popula r legend .

‘

Th e

contempora ry h is torian , Abdul H amid .Lahor i (a uthor

o f the Padish a h na m a h ) i s s ilent abou t i t . He describe s .

the dea th - scene thus

When the Begam lea rnt th a t her deat h was certa in ,

sh e '

sen'

t t he P r incess Jahan - a ra to call the Emperor to

her . He a t once a rr ived in grea t concern and sorrow .

Sh e commended her sons and h er mothe r to h i s ca re

a nd then se t ou t on he r la s t j ourney . (i .

Her body w as at firs t l a id i n the ea rth in a bu ild ing

w i th i n a garden on the bank of t h e r ive r Tap t i oppos ite

30 STUDIES IN MUGHAI’. INDIA .

Bu r-h anpu r. Onthe l st December following her dea t h ,i t w as t aken out and sen t to Agra i n cha rge of Prince

Shu j a , arr iving a t the la t te r tow n '

on th e 20th of the

m on th . (i .

TH E TA J , ITS BUILDER S A ND STONES .

A spa ciou s trac t o f la nd , sou th of Agra. c i ty , w a s

c hosen for t he bu ri al pl ace , and purch ased from i ts

o wner , Raj ah .la i S ingh , the grand son of Man S ingh(Pad is/ccth zm m a h

,i . Plans for the tom b were sub

m itted by al l the mas te r arch i tec ts o f the l and . When

o ne of.

th ese w a s approved by th e Emperor , a wooden

anode] o f i t was firs t ma de (D i w a l i - i -A fri (l i ,Begun early i n 1632, the Ta j was comple ted in

J anuary 1643, under the supervi s ion of M UKA RRA M A T

KHAN and M I R ABDUL KAR IM , a t an expense of fi fty.l akh s o f rupees (. ll nn ta l

'h a b- u I-La ba b, i . 596, and Pad is

lm h na ma h,i i . 322 o f. seq ) Th e D i w a l i - i -A /rid i es t i

ma te s the cost a t 9 krores and 17 l akhs o f rupees and

nam e s the following a rt i sans a s empl oyed in th e

!construc t i on

(1 ) Amanat Khan Sh iraz i , writer of Tugh ra ins

c rip tions, from Qandaha r .

(2) Master (u stéd ) I sa , ma son , a c i ti zen o f A gra .

(3) Master Pira, ca rp enter , a res ident of Delh i .(4-6 ) Banu h ar , Jha t Ma] , and Zoraw ar, sculptors , from

D elh i .

(7 ) I smai l Khan Rum i , maker o f th e dome and th e

s caffold ing (dbo la ) support ing i t .

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32 STUD IES IN M DG II A I . INDIA .

I TS ENDOWMENT .

On the 12th ann iversary of her dea th , (27 th

J anua ry,

Shah J ahan vi s i ted the Ta j Mahal , and

bestowed in w aqf 30 villages of the parganah s of Agraand N agarch in , yield ing a revenue of 1 l a kh of rupees ,

and the sera i s,and shops adj o in ing the tomb , produc ing

another l akh of rupee s in rent , for the u p- keep of th e

mausoleum and the support of the p i ous men pla ced

in i t . The Padi .s~7i cilw za nztzh (i i . 2527 ) give s a‘ l i s t o f these

v illages , (only 29 , however , be ing named . )

[H e Qasim Al i Khan Afrid i w a s born in 17 71 and

d i ed in 1827 A .

'

D . H i s fa ther w as named Burhan Khan,

and h i s grand - fa ther Neknam Khan .]

A URA NGZIB .

I .

EARLY LIFE .

Mu h iuddin Muhammad A u rangzib ,the th i rd son

o f the Emperor Shah J ahan and h is famous con

sort Mumtaz’

Mahal , w a s born on 24th Octobe r, 1618,a t Dohad , now a town in the Panch Mahal ta lu q of

the Bombay Pres idency and a s ta t ion on the GodraRu tlam ra i lway - l ine . The most notable inciden t of h is

boyhood was h i s d i splay of cool courage when cha rged

bv an infur i ated elephant , during an ELEPH ANT COM BATunder h i s fa ther

'

s eyes on the bank of t he Jumna

out s ide Agra Fort, (28 May, The vic tor ious

bea st , a fte r pu tt ing i t s r ival to the fl igh t , t urned fiercely

on A urangzib , who fi rmly kept h i s horse from runn ing

away and struck the elephant on the forehead w i th h is

spea r . A sweep of t he bru te’s t usk hurled the horse

on t he ground ; bu t A u rangz ib leaped dow n from the

sad d le i n t ime and aga in faced the elephant . J us t

then a id arr ived , the an imal ran away , and the prince

w as saved . The Emperor rewarded the heroi c lad wi th

h i s w e igh t in gold .

On 13th December , 1634, A u rangz ib , t hen 16

years of age , rece ived h is firs t appo intment i n the

imperial a rmy as a commander of ten t housand caval ry

(nomi nal rank ) , and next September he w a s sent ou t to

learn the art of w ar in the campa ign ag a inst J h u jh ar

3

34 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

S i ngh and h i s son V ikram ajit , th e Bu ndela ch iefs o f

U rch h a , w h o were finall y ext irpa ted a t th e end of the

y ea r .

From 14th J uly , 1636 to 28th May , 1644, A u rangz ib

served as V ICEROY DE THE DECCAN ,— paying several

v i s i t s t o Nor thern Ind ia du ring the period to see the

Emperor . Th i s h i s fi rst governorsh ip of the Deccan , wasma rked by the conques t of Baglana and the fi nal ex t ine

t i on o f the N i z am - Shah i dyna sty of Ahm adnagar . Hew as married , firs t to D ilra s Banu , the daugh ter of Shah

Nawaz Khan Safawi , (8th M ay , and a t some la ter

bu t unknown date to Nawab Ba i , and began to h ave

c hi ldren by them , h i s eldest offspring be ing Zeb- un -n i ssa .

th e gi fted poete ss , (born 15th February ,

In May , 1644 th e prince gave up h i s du t ies andtook to a l i fe of re t i remen t , a s a protes t aga ins t Dara

Sh ukoh ’s j ealous in terferen ce w i th h i s work and Shah

J ab an’s part i al i ty to h i s eldes t son . A t th i s the Emperorwas - h ighly d i splea sed , and a t once deprived h im o f

h i s governorsh ip , esta tes , and allowances . For some

m onths th e prince l ived a t. Agra in d i sgrace . But on

25th November , when J ah ana ra , the eldes t and best

bel oved daugh te r of Shah J a han , recovered from a

terr ible bu rn , her j oyful fa th er could refuse her no th ing ,

and at h er entre a ty A u rangz ib was restored to h i s rank .

On l 6th February , 1645, th e vi ceroya l ty of Guj ra tw a s given to h im ; h i s v igorou s rule suppressed l aw .

l essness in the province and won rew a rds from th e

Em peror .

A URAN GZIB . 35

From Guj ra t A u rangz ib w as recalled tw o yea rs

la ter and SEN T To CENTRAL AS IA to recover Balkh andBadakh shan , the cradl e of t he royal house of T imur .

L eav ing Kabul on 7th Apri l , 1647 , h e reached Balkh

o n 25th May , and ba t tled long and arduou sly wi th the

fierce, enemy . The brave st Raj put s shed the i r bl ood

in th e van of the Mughal a rmy in that fa r - off so il ;imm ense quant i t ies o f s tores , prov i s ion s and t rea su re

were wa sted ; but the Ind ian a rmy merely held the

g round on wh ich i t encamped ; t he hordes of Cent ra l

A s i a . more numerous than ant s and locust s,

” and al l

o f them born horsemen ,- swa rmed on al l s ide s and could

not. be cru shed once for a ll . The barren and d i st a nt

c onques t could have been re t a i ned only a t a ru inou s

c ost . So,a t ruce w as pa tched up : Na za r Muhammad

K h an , the ex - king o f Balkh ,

’ wa s sough t ou t wi th a s

much eagerness a s S i r Lepel Gri ffin d i spl ayed in get t inghold o f the la te Am i r Abdur Rahman , and coaxed in to

t aking back hi s th rone , and the . Ind ian army bea t a

hurried re trea t to avo id the dreaded winter of that

region . Many k ro res of rupees of Ind ian revenue werethu s wa sted fo r absolu tely no ga in ; the abandoned

s t ore s alone had cost several la kh s, and m uch property‘

too had to be sa crificed by th e rea rguard for la ck of

t ran sport .

During th i s campa ign A u rangz ib d id an ac t w h ich

made h i s fame r ing throughou t the I sl ami c world .

\V h i1e the Mughal army was fight ing desperately wi th

Th e vas t legion s of Abdul Az iz Khan , King of Bukh a ra,

36 STUD IE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

t he t ime for the even ing prayer (zen/ca r) a rr ived . D isregard ing the proh ib i t i ons of h i s offi cers

, A u rangz ib

d ismounted from h i s eleph ant , knel t down on the ground ,

and del ibera tely and peacefully wen t through all th e

c eremon ies of the prayer, i n ful l v i ew of both ! th e

a rm ie s . Abdul Az iz on hearing of i t cried ou t ,‘

To

fi gh t wi th such a man i s t o ru in one'

s sel f ,’and suspended

the ba t tle .

From Balkh , A u rangz ib re t urned to Kabul on 20th

October , 1647 , and was af te rwards.

appo inted V i ceroyof Mult an (15th March , Th is post .h e . held s ir

July, 1652, be ing twice in th e meant ime cal led away

f rom h is ch arge to BES IEGE QANDAHA R. (l 6th Mav — 5tlr

September , 1649 , and 2nd May — 9 th J uly , This

for t had been wrested f rom Shah Jahan by the Pers i ans ,

and these two huge and costly s iege s and a th i rd,and

s t il l grea ter one under Da ra (28th Apr il — 27th September ,1653) fa i led t o recover i t .

W i t h h i s SECOND V ICEROYALTY or TIIE DECCAN (tow h ich h i s appoi ntmen t. w a s made on 17th August"

,

began t he most. important chapter of A u rangz ibfs

early l i fe . I ’V h at Gaul wa s to Jul iu s Caesa r a s a - t ra i n~

i ng- ground for the coming conte s t for empi re , th e

Deccan wa s to A u rangz ib . Many hund reds o f h is.

let t ers , prese rved in th e A da h -FA give us much

interes t ing informat ion abou t h is l i fe and w ork du ringthe nex t s ix yea rs , - h ow he overcame h i s recurringfinanc ial d i fficul t i es , h ow he ga the red a p icked band of

o fficers round h imsel f , h ow ablv and s t renuousl y . h e

A URA XGZI B . 37

r uled " th e co untrw ,ma inta in ing order and secu ring the

h appiness o f the people . Dv const an t in spec t i on and

e xerc i se he kept h i s a rmy in good cond i t ion . He mus th ave been often ou t on tour , a s h e admi t s in one of

h is l ett ers th a t he was a hard r ide r and keen sportsman

i n those day s . Thus the vea r 1658 found h im bey ond

d oubt '

th e ables t and be st equ ipped of t he sons of Shah

J ah an in t he ensu ing W'

ar of Success ion .

A t th i s pe r iod ,too ,

occurred the onlv romance of h i s

l i fe , h i s PAS S ION FOR Hu m BA T, (su rnamed ZA I N A BA D I ) ,

wh om he took away from the h a rem of h is ma te rnal

u ncle . I t was a case of love a t firs t s igh t , and A nrangz ib’

s

“ i nfa t ua t ion for the bea ut i fu l singer knew no bound : t o

plea se her he consen ted to drink w ine f The i r un ion

w as cut short bv he r death in the bloom of youth ,wh ich

plunged her lover . i n the deepes t grie f .

A ft er a long int rigue he seduced from the King

o f Golkonda h is u'

a z ir Mir Jumla,one of the ables t

Pers i an s who have ever se rved in Ind ia . A t A u rangz ib’s

recommendat ion Shah Jahan enrolled M ir Jumla

among h i s officers and threw th e mantle of im pe r ia lprotect ion over h im . To force the Golkonda Ki ng to

g ive up Mir J um la'

s family and prope r ty,A u rangzib

made a RA I D ON HAID ARABAD (Jan .

—Apr .

, the

King fled to Golkonda where he wa s forced to make a

h um i l i a t ing peace wi th immense ‘ sa cr ifices . Mir J umla

joined A u rangzib (20th March ) , was summoned to Delh ia nd crea ted w a z ir (7th J uly) , and then on 18th J anuary ,

1657 , ret urned to th e Deccan to re in force A u rangz ib .

‘

38 STUDIES IN M UG I I A L INDIA .

A y ea r a fter th i s unprovoked a t tack on Golkonda ,

on the death of Muhammad Ad i l Shah,King of

BIJ APUR, A u rangz ib with h i s fa t he r

’

s sanct ion INVADEDthe la tter country

, (Janua ry , ca pt ured the forts

of Bida r and Kal i an i (29th March a nd l st A ugus t

respec t ively) , and was look ing forwa rd to annex ing a,

good deal of the terr i tory , when the whole scene changed

i n the most unexpected and s udden manner .

The Emperor Shah Jahan had now rea ched h is

66th yea r , and w as evidently decl in ing in hea lth . His

e ldes t son and in tended hei r - apparent , D ara Sh u koh ,

who l ived with h im and conduc ted much of th e adm in is

tra t ion ,i nduced h im to recal l the add i t ional t roops sen t

t o A u rangz ib for the B ijapur wa r , on the ve ry rea sonable

ground tha t the B i j apur K ing had th rown himsel f on

the Emperor’s mercy and offered a la rge indem n itv

and p ie ce of terr i to ry a s the pri ce of peace . But th is

peremptory orde r to A u rangzib t o come to term s w ith

B ij apur gave h im a sh arp check when flushed wi th victorv

and cu t short h i s schemes o f aggress ion . Besides,th e

deplet ion of h i s a rmy le ft h im too weak to hold the

B ijapu ris t o the i r promi ses , and thu s t he fru i t s o f h is

v ic t ory were los t t o h im .

I I .

-\It OF S UCCE S S ION .

On 6th September,1657 , Shah Jahan a t Delh i w as

t a ken severelv i l l . For some t ime h is l i fe wa s despa i red

o f . Da ra a t tended h im dav and n igh t.w it h ext reme

fi l ial p iet y , but. he also took steps to secure h i s ow n

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40 STUDIES IN MUGHAL IND IA .

o rders recall ing h is son f rom Bengal . But h i s d iv i s i on

o f h is forces h ad been a fat al mi st ake : Sula iman return

ed from far - off'

Bih ar too l a te to help h i s f a theror even

to save h imsel f . A u rangz ib had the immense advantage

o f crushi ng h i s enemies p iecemeal , wh ile h i s ow n armed

S trength was doubled by the league wi th Murad .

From Uj j a in the vi ctori ous brothers pu shed on t o

th e cap i ta l . A T SA M UGA RH , 10m i les ea st of Agra , DARAw h o h ad i ssued from th e c i ty wi th a second army ,

at ta cked them on a frigh tfully hot day (29th May ) , was

s ignally DEFEATED,and fled from Agra towards Delhi

and the P anj ab .

’

A u rangz ib now m a rched on Agra ,compelled h is ol d fa ther to surrender the ' for t by stop

p ing th e supply of drinking water from the Jumna,and .

kept Sh ah Jahan stri c tly confined in the h arem for the

rema inder of h i s l i fe . Then , a t Mathura he treacherously

MADE MURAD I’RI SON E R a t a. banquet (25th J une ) , and

a dvanc ing to Delh i crowned h imsel f Emperor (215t J ul y ,

Dara was cha sed through the Panj ab and Sindht o Ta t ta , whence he fled to Guj ra t over th e Rann of

Cutch , undergo ing terr ible hardsh ips on the w ay . Asecond a rmy wh i ch he ra i sed wa s dest royed near A jm ir

(13th March , and he wa s h un ted by A u rangzib'

s

general s from pl ace to pl ace,t il l h e re ached Dada r , a t.

t h e Ind ian mouth of the Bolan Pa ss , .whose ch ief bet ray

ed h im to A u ra ngz ib . The capt ive DARA .was brought.t o Delh i , paraded wi th insul t th rough the bazar

,and

M URDERED by some slaves of A u rangz ib, (30th August ,w h o had got the Mul la s to i s sue a sen tence tha t

A URA-N GZI B . 41

a ccord ing to I slamic Law Dara dese rved an apost at e'

s

death .

" M I' RAD BAKH SH wa s BEHEADED i n Gwal i or pri son

a s a j udi c i a l pun i shment , on t he accusa t ion of a man

w hose fa ther he h ad'

sla in i n Guj ra t , (4th December,Da ra ’s eldest son , Su la i inan Sh u koh ,

w as secretlv

d one to d ea th in the same State -

p r i son .

Meantime SHUJA had gathered toge ther a new a rm v

a nd advanced bey ond All ahabad to make a second

a t tempt for the throne . But he was s ignally - DE FEATEDa t KH A IW A H (5th Janua ry , and dr iven back to

Bengal,whence a fter a two years’ s tr uggle on land

a nd rive r he wa s forced to flee mise rably to A RRA CA N fo r

r efuge (6th M a y , Here he was MA S S ACRED withh is w hole family for a plot aga in st the Burmese King on

w hose hosp i tal i ty he wa s l iving .

Thus a ll h i s r iva l s be ing removed from h is pa th ,

A u rangz ib became the und i spu ted sovere ign of Ind ia .

I II .

A CRA XGZ IB S RE IGN IN NORTHERN IND IA .

The new monarch now enjoved a long period of

c ompara t ive peace : he rece ived grand embass ie s from

P ersi a (22nd M ay , Bukhara (17 th Novembe r .Mecca , Abyss i n i a and Arabia , sent to

c ongra tula te h im on h i s access ion ; and the envoy s were

t rea ted to a sigh t. of the lavi sh splendour of the Mugha l

Cou rt ,3— a splendour wh ich dazzled the eyes of Bern ier ,Tavern ier and other Eu rop ean

‘ravel lers o f the. t im e .

He had a sha rp a t t ack of i llness ( l‘

2th M ay— 2 4 th June ,

wh ich threa tened to shake h i s newly e stabl i shed

42 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

t hrone ; bu t he recovered and pa id a vi s i t to Kashm i r

(1st May— 29th Sep tember ,Though peace re igned in the hea rt of t he empire ,

there was W A R‘ON THE I

'

RON T I E RS : amb i ti ous and enter

pri s ing officers t r ied to'

ex tend the i r mas ter's dom in ion ;

D aud Khan , the Governor of B iha r , conquered Palaman

(Apri l — December , Mir J umla , the Governor of

Bengal , overran Kuch B ihar and Assam , captu ring thei r

cap i t al s on 19th December , 1661 and 17th March ,

but fam ine and pes t i lence des t royed h i s a rmy ,and he sank dow n under di sea se before reach ing Da ccaon ret urn (Bl st March , Sha i s ta Khan , the nex t

Governor of Bengal , wrested Cha tgaon (Ch i t tagong )f rom the Portuguese and Burmese pi ra tes (26th Janua ry ,

and al so captured the i sl and of Sondip in th e

Bay of Bengal . An exped i t ion from Kashmi r forced the

rule r of Grea ter T ibe t t o be a feuda tory o f the Empero rand to submi t to I sl am (November , To crown

a ll , the able and ast ute genera l J a i S ingh tamed

Sh ivaji , the da ring and h itherto i nvinc ible Ma ra tha

ch i e f,annexed tw o - th i rds of h i s forts , (Trea ty o f

Pu randar, 11th June , and ind u ced h im to do

homage to the Emperor by a v i s i t to Agra (12th May ,

A u rangz ib’s l a ck of st a tesmansh ip in dea l ing

w i t h Sh ivaji and the la t ter'

s romant i c escape from

pri son (19 th Augus t ) a re ' a famil ia r t a le al l ove r Ind ia .

True , th e Mugha l arms d id no t ga in any consp icuous

s uccess i n Ja i S ingh 's inva s ion of Bij a pu r (fi rs t hal f

o f bu t these exped it ions were o f the na ture o f

A URA N GZIB . 435

ra ids for extortion , and no t de l ibera te schemes o f

conquest .

A more form idable bu t d ist an t t rouble was the

revol t Of the Yusufza i cl an and the i r al l ie s on the Afghanfront ier , (begun i n The wa r ag a in st these s tu rdy

h i llmen dragged on for m anv yea rs ; success ive Mughal

general s t r ied the i r hands and buried t he i r m il itarv

repu ta t ion there , and a t la s t peace w as purcha sed onlv

bv pav ing a large annual subsidvfrom the Ind ian reven ueto these keepers Of Khyber ga te .

”

A st a te Of w ar a lso cont inued aga inst t he B i j apur '

K i ng and Sh ivaji for many years : but the Mugha l

genera ls were br ibed by the former to ca rrv on the con

test languidly,and th e l a t ter wa s more than a ble to

ho ld h i s own . These Operat ions present u s wi th noth ingworthy Of note . The Muhammadan kings Of the Deccan ,

i n fear of the Mughal s , courted the al l ia nce of Sh ivaji ,

who rapidly grew in wea lth , te rr i tory , a rmed strength , .

a nd prest ige , and had made h imsel f the foremost pow er"

i n the Decca n when dea th cut h is a ct ivitv short at t he

age of 52, (5th Apr il ,Meant ime A u rangz ib had begun to give free play

to h i s RELIGIOU S B IGOT RY . In April , 1669 he orderedth e provinc i al governors to DE STROY the TEMPLE S sand

scnOOls Of the to u t te rly put down the

tea ch ings and rel ig i ous pra ct i ces o f the infidels The

w a’

nder ing H i ndu sa int I' ddh av Bai ra‘gi was confi ned

in the pol ice lock - up . The V i shwana th temple a t

Benares w as pulled down in A ugust , 1669 . Th e

44 STr D I E s IN M UGHAL INDIA .

g randes t sh r ine of Mathura , Kesav Rai’s temple , bu il t

a t a cost of 33 la kh s of rupees by the Bu ndela Raj ah

B i i singh Dev , was razed to t he g round in J anua ry ,

1670, and a. mosque bu il t on i t s s i te .

“ The idol s were

brought to Agra and bu'r ied under th e s t eps of J ah ana i a ’

s

mosque tha t they might be consta ntly t rodden on ” by

th e Musl ims going i n to pray . Abou t th i s time the

(new?) t emple of Somna th on the sou th coa st of th e

Kath iawar pen in sul a w as demol i shed , and the Offering

o f worsh ip there ordered to be stopped . The smaller

rel igi ous bu ild ings tha t suffered havoc w ere bevond

count . The I tajp u t Wa r of 1679 -80 was a ccompan ied

by the dest ruct ion o f 240 t emple s i n Mewar a lone ,incl ud ing the famous one of Someshwar and th ree grand

o nes a t Uda ipu r . ( ln 2u d April , 1679 , t he J A ZIYA or pol l

tax on non -Musl ims wa s REVIVED . The poor people who

a ppealed t o the Emperor and blocked a road abj ec tly

c ry ing for i t s remiss ion , were t rampled down by

e leph ants a t h is order and d i spersed . By anothe r ord i

nance (March , al l H ind us ex cept Ita jpu ts wereforbidden to ca rry a rm s or r id e elephants , p a ll

'ix , or

Arab and Pers i a n.

horse s . \V i t h one st roke of h i s penb e d ismissed al l the H i ndu cle rks from offi ce .

" Custom~dut i e s w e re abol i shed on the Musl ims and doubled (in

tll t‘ H indus .

The d i sconte nt provoked by such measure s w a s

i l l omino us sign'

o f what the i r ul t imate pol i t i ca l cou se~

q uence would be , though A u rangz ib was too bl ind and

o bst ina te t o th ink of th e fut u re . A rebell ion broke

A URA N GZIB . 455

o u t among . t he pea santry i n the Ma thu ra and Agrad ist r i c t s , espec ially unde r Gokla Ja t and th e

Sa tnam i s or M u ndias rose nea r N arnol (March and

Apri l , and i t t axed th e'

im pe rial power seriously to

extermina te these stubborn pe asant s fight ing for

church and'

h om e . The S i kh Guru Tegh Bahadu r w as

tort ured in pri son t il l he courted dea th a s a relea se

bu t . h is fol lowers therea fte r gave no res t to th e

Panj ab Officers .

At las t A u rangz ib th re w Off a ll d i sgu ise and OpenlyA TTA t

‘

KE D THE RA J P I'

TS. Maharaj a h Jaswant S ingh

Of Jodhpur d ied in the Emperor'

s service a t

Peshawar (10th December , Immed ia tely A urang z ibsent ou t offi ce rs to ta ke possess ion O f h i s k ingdom and

h imsel f ma rched to A jm ir to overawe Oppos it ion . Tw o

wives Of t he Maharaj ah del ivere d t w o sons a fter reach ingLa hore in the follow i ng Febru arv . A u rangzib sold th e

J odhpur th rone for 36 l a khs Of rupees t o a worthless

nephew Of Ja swant and orde red the l a te Maharajah’

s.

widows and new- born babes to be se i zed and de ta ined

i n h i s Cou r t ti l l the l a t te r should -come Of age . Bu t

thank s to t he devot ion of t he i r Ra th er guards , all of

whom , d ied l i ke heroes , and the sagac i ty and loyal ty

o f- aD u rgadas, (one o f the nobles t characters in Ra jput

h i story) , Aj i t S ingh ,the survi ving infant Of J aswan t

a nd - the future hope o f M a r-war , was safelv conveyed

to J odhpur (23rd J ul y , But A u rangz ib w as u p

to any tri ck : he procla imed Aj i t S ingh to be a counterfe i t pr ince

,and for m anv vea rs cher i shed a beggar bow

4 6 s'

rI'

D I E S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

in h i s Cour t under the s ign ificant name of Muhammad i

Ra j , a s the t rue son of Ja swant ! Al l Raj putana

‘(except ever - l oy al Ja ipur ) burs t in to flame a t th i s

o ut rage to th e head of!t he Rathor clan . T he Maharana ,

Raj S ingh , ch ival rou sly took up the de fence of th e

o rphan’s r igh t s . The wa r dragged on with va ry ing

fortune ; the coun try w as devasta ted wherever th e

Mughal s could penet ra te ; the Maharana took re fuge in

h is moun ta in fa stnesses . A t l as t PR INCE '

A KBA ] t , th e.

fourth son of A u rangzib, REBELLED (J anuary ,j o ined th e Raj put s , and assumed the royal ti tle . Fo r a

few days A u rangz ib w as i n a mos t c ri t i ca l po si t i on , bu t

h is w onderf ul cunn ing saved h im : by a fal se le t ter he

sowed d i s tru st of Akbar i n the m inds of the Raj put s ,the prince’s army mel ted away

,and he fled , le aving all

‘h i s fam ily and property beh ind and rea ch ing th e

Maratha Court a fter a peril ou s j ourney unde r the

g u idance of the fa i th ful D u rgada s (May ,

“The Emperor pa tched up a. peace with the Maha rana

(J one , both s ide s mak ing concess i ons . But hence

forth‘ the R aj put s cea sed to be supporters Of the Mugha l

th rone ; we no longer read Of l a rge Raj pu t con t ing ent s

figh t ing under' th e impe ri al banner ; h e h ad to depend

more on the Bundelas. The Ra th ors con t inued the wa r

t il l t he close o f A urangz ib'

s l i fe . Here end s the fi rs t

a nd stable hal f of A u rangz ib’

s re ign— th e pe ri od pa ssedin Northern Ind ia .

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48 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Ram - derah in the Konkan under P r ince M uazzam , re

t u rned wi th fa i lure and heavy loss (September, 1683,May ,

Fierce,a s w as A u rangz ib

’s hatred Of the H in

AVER S ION FOR THE SH I A II S, -w h o suppl ied h im

wi th some Of h i s best general s and al l h is ables t c ivi l

Officers . To h im the Sh iah w as a here t i c (rdfiz i) ; i n one

of h is let ters he quotes w i t h adm i ra t i on the story Of a

Sunn i w h o escaped to Turkey af ter murdering a Sh iaha t. I s fah an , and draws from i t the moral , ffJ fl l Qfiw ets

for t ruth and speaks up for t ru th , i s befr iended by the

True God In anot Ier e t ter he tell s u s h ow he l i ked

(Rdfiz i

or some more of the same name to be

made for h im . In h is correspondence he never men t ionst he Sh i ah s wi thou t an abu s ive epi the t : ‘ corpse - ea t ingdemons ’ (gh u l- i - baydbdn i ) ,

‘misbel ievers ’ (bd ti l m azh a

bdn) , are among h i s favou ri te phra ses . Indeed,even th e

h ighes t Sh i ah officers had such a bad t ime Of i t i n h is

Court tha t they Often played the hy pocri te t o plea se h im '

A u rangz ib th rew the cloa k Of Sunn i orthodoxy overhi s aggress ive conques t of Bi japur and Golkonda , of

wh ich the rule rs were Shi ahs . The Sha ikh - u l- I slam (sono f the Ch ie f Qaz i Abdul V V

ah h ab and one of the purestcha racters of th e age , ) t r i ed to d i ssuade the Empe rorfrom these w a rs between Musl ims a s opposed to

I slam . But A u rangz ib got. d isplea sed a t the Opposi t ion ;th e hones t and manly Sh a i kh res igned h i s post

,le ft th e

A URA N GZIB .49

Cou r t , and for t he re st of h is l i fe rej ec ted the Empero r’

s

repea ted sol i c i t at i ons to re sume h is h igh Offi ce .

On l st April , 1685 the SE IGE OF BIJAP UR w a s begun

by Ru h u llah Khan and Khan - i - J ahan Bahadur Th e

Em peror advanc ed to Sholapur (24th May) to be nea r

th e sea t Of war . A te rr ible fam ine desol ated the besie

gers ; bu t ,reinforcem ents soon a rr ived wi th provi s ions ,

t hough scarc i ty of a kind con t inued in a chron i c st a te

i n the Mughal camp . The rel ievi ng armies O f Beydu rs

and Ma ra tha s were bea ten back and the s iege pressed on .

The garri son fought with th e heroism Of despa ir .

A u ra ngz ib h imsel f a rr ived in the envi rons of the c itv

to super intend the s iege Opera t ions (3rd J uly,A t la st , on 12th September , S ikandar , the las t of t he

Ad i l -Sll m " kings , su rrendered , and h i s ki ngdom w a s

a nnexed .

Meant ime another force had been sen t under Pr ince

Muazzam or‘Shah Al am (28th J une, 1685) aga inst

Golkonda t o preven t a id from com ing from tha t

qua rter t o Bi j apur . I t captured the r ich c i ty Of Ha idarabad , mak i ng an immen se loot (Oc tober) . The k ing

,

Abul Ha ssan , a worthless voluptuary and the exac t

counte rpart of “f ajid Al i of Oudh,helple ssly SHUT

h imsel f UP in the FORT or GOLKON DA . But h i s ch ie fs

w e re seduced by the Mughal s : there '

w a s d i sconten t

among h is Muhammadan Offi cers a t t he power of h i s

B rahman m ini s ter M adanna Pant . The be s iegers , too ,

had a ha rd t ime Of i t. be fore t hat. impregnable fort : a

terrible fam ine raged in Ha ida rabad , bu t the ra in s and

S.M . 4

(l STUDIES IN M UGHAL IND IA .

swollen r ivers rendered the t ransport Of gra in impossible .

and the most ghastly scene s were ac ted by the sufferers .

A t an immense cos t the Mugh als fi lled the moat and

al so erected a huge barr i er wal l Of wood and clay

completely surround ing the fort and prevent ing ingress

and egress . A u rangz ib h imsel f a rr ived near Golkonda

on 28th J a nua ry ,1687 , and pressed on the s iege . Bu t

min ing and a ssaul t fa iled , and i t. was only the treachery

of a Golkonda Offi cer tha t opened the ga te o f'

the fort

to the Mughals a t m idnigh t (21st September,The ‘ k ing was dragged out and sen t to sh are the

capt ivi ty Of h i s brother of B i j apu r . His k ingdom was

annexed . Two years l ate r , SH AM BH UJ I , the brave bu t

d issolute Marath a k ing , w a s surpri sed by arj1energe t ic

D eccan i Offi ce r (Muqarrab K h an ) , ignom in iou s o ml ar aded

through the imperi al c amp l ike a wild bea st , and

EXECUTED wi th prol onged a nd inh u nran tort ures (11th

March,

His capi ta l R a iga rh wa s captured (19 th

October ) and h is ent ire family,

“m others , wives .

dau ghte rs , a nd sons made pri soner by the Mughal s .

H is eldest son , Sahu , w a s brought up in the imperi al Cou rt

i n g ilded fetters .

All seemed to have been ga ined by A u rangz ib now .

bu t. i n real i ty al l w as lost . I t wa s THE BEGINNING OF

HIS END . The saddest and mos t hopele s s chapte r of h is

l i fe now opened . The Mugha l empi re had become t oo

l arge'

to.

be ruled by one m an or from one cen t re .

A u rangz ib ,l ike th e boa const ri c t or , h ad swal lowed more

th an h e could d igest . I t w as imposs ibl e for h im to t ake

A URA N GZIB . 51

possess i on of al l the province s Of the newly annexed

k ingdoms and a t th e same t ime to suppress the Maratha s .

H i s enemies . rose on al l s ides , he could de fea t bu t not

c rush th em for ever . As soon as h i s a rmy marched

away from a place , t he eu emv who had been hovering

round occ upied i t aga in , and A u rangz ib’s work wa s

undone ! Lawlessness re igned in many places Of Nort herna nd Cent ra l Ind ia . The old Emperor in the fa r

o ff Decca n los t cont rol over h i s Officers i n H indu sth an ,

a nd. the ADM INISTRATION grew S LACK and corrupt ; ch ie fsand zamindars defied the loca l a uthorit ies and asse rted

themselves , fill ing the coun trv with tunru lt . In the

province of Agra i n pa rt icul a r , there was ch roni c d i so rder . Art and lea rn ing decaved a t the wi thdrawal of

imperi al pat ronage ,— not a S i ngle grand ed ifice , finelvw ri t ten manuscr ipt , or exqu i s i te p ic tu re commemora tes

A u rangz ib'

s re ign . The endless war in the Deccan exh ansted h i s t rea sury : th e Government turned bankruptt h e sold iers , st arving from a rrears of pay , mut in ied ; and

d uri ng the clos ing yea rs of h i s re ign the revenue of

Bengal , regu la rlv sen t bv the fa i th ful and able d iwan

Mursh id Qul i Khan, was th e sole support o f the

Emperor’s household and a rmy , and i t s a rrival wa s

eagerly l ooked forwa rd to . Napoleon I . used to sav ,

“ I t was th e Span i sh ulce r wh i ch ru ined me .

" The

D ecca n ulcer ru ined A u rangz ib .

To resume the na rra tive , imper ia l officers were

despatched to al l s id es to t ake over the fort s and

p rovinces Of the tw o newly annexed k ingdoms from

52 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

the i r local Officers , m any Of whom had se t up for them:

selves . The Beyd u rs , a w i ld h ill t ribe , w hom Col ;

M eadows Tavlor ha s desc r ibed i n h i s fa scrira ting Story'

of My Life, w ere the fi rst t o be at ta cked . Thei r count ry ,

s i tu a ted between Bij a‘pur and Golkonda ,w as overrun ,

thei r capi ta l Sakh kh ar captured~(28th Nov . , and

th e i r ch i ef P id Na ik , a s trongly bu il t uncout h bla ck

savage,brought to the Court . But the brave and ha rdy

clansmen rose unde r other leaders and t he Mughal s had

t o send two more exped i t ions aga ins t them .

A desol at ing ep idemic Of BUBONIC PLA c I'

E broke ou t ‘

i n B i j apu r (ea rly i n November,

Sparing nei th e

prince nor pea sant . The im peri al househo l d pa id to lf

to Death in the person s of A u rangabadi'

Maha l (a w i fe

of th e Emperor ) , Faz il Khan the Sad r, and the bogus

son of J a swan t S ingh . t lf humbler vi ct ims the number is

sa id to h ave rea ched a. la kh .

After Sh ambh u '

s capt ure , h i s y ounger brot her R aj ah

Itam made a lra irbreadth e scape to the fort Of J inj i,

(Gi ngee . in the S . Arcot d i s t r ic t of Madra s ) , which w a s

bes ieged by the Mugha l genera l Zu lfiqa r Khan Nusra tJ ung and P r in ce Ka in Bakh sh (December , and

fel l on 7 th Febru a rv, 1698 . Soon a fterwa rd s Ra j ah

Itam , t he l a st k ing of the Ma rath a s , d ied . But the

MARATHA c apta in s , ea ch a ct ing on h i s ow n a ccoun t

i ncessant ly ra ided the Mughal territorv and d id the

greatest. poss ibl e inju rv bv the i r G F ER ILIA The

tw o ablest , m ost successful , and most dreaded leaders o f

th is class were Dhanna .l ad on and San ta: G h o rpu re (and

A URA N GZ I B . 53

l a tte rl y N im a S indh i a ) , who deal t heavy blows a t someimporta nt Mugha l det achments . They seemed to be

ubiqu itous and el usive l ike the wind . The movable

!c ol um ns frequ entlv sent. from the imperi al headqua rters3t o “ cha st i se t he robbers

,

’cmlv marched and counte r

mar ched ,w i thout be ing able to crush the enemy . When

t h e. Mughal force had gone back the sca t tered Marat has ,l i ke water pa rted bv the c a r , closed aga in and resumed

thei r a t ta ck , a s i f nothing had happened to them .

1

THE LAST PHASE .

Afte r moving abou t almost every year between

B i j apur in the sou th and the H anj i ra r iver in the north ,

A u rangz ib (218t May , 169-23) fina llv made Brahmapur i

o n the Bh ima r iver , east of Pandharpur , hi s Base CAMP ,a nd named i t I SL Here a c ity sprang up fromh is encampment , a nd i t was walled round in t ime .

Here h i s family was lodged when h e was out on

c ampa ign .

On 19th October , 1699 , a fte r a fou r y ea rs’ stay a t

I slam pu ri , A u rangz ib ,now aged 81 yea rs , se t out to

re sum e THE MA RATHA FORTS IN PER SON . The rest of h i s

l i fe i s a repet i t ion of the same s i ckening t ale : a h ill fort

c aptu red by h im a fter a grea t loss of t ime men and

m oney ,recovered bv th e. Mara th a s from the wea k Mughal

g a rri son a fte r a few months , and the se ige begun aga in

a fter a year or tw o ! The sold iers and camp - followers

suffered unspea kable ha rd sh ips in ma rch ing over flooded

D4 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

rivers and ra in - soaked roads , porters d i sappeared , t rans

port beasts d ied of hunger and overwork , sca rc i ty of

gra in was chron i c i n the camp . The office rs al l wea ried

o f th i s l abour of S i syphus ; but A u rangz ib w ould burst

i n to wra th a t any sugges t ion of re t rea t. to H indu sth an

and t aun t the unlucky counsellor w i th coward ice and

levc of ea se ! Th e mutual j ealou si es of h i s general s ,

Nusra t J ang and F i rm . J ang ,Sh u jaet

'

Khan and

Muhammad Murad Khan , Tarb iya t Khan and Fathullah

Khan , spo iled h i s affa irs a s thoroughly as th e

French cause i n the Pen insula r “far w as damaged bv

th e j eal ou s ie s of Napoleon’s ma rshal s . There fore , th e

Emperor must conduc t every opera t ion in person , or

noth ing would be done !

A ba re RECORD or HI S S IEGE S will s uffice hereBASANTGARH (s urrenders 25th

'

N ovem ber ,

SA TARA (s iege , 8th December,1699 — ~ 21st April ,

PA RLI GA RI I near Sa tara (s iege , 30th Apr i l— 9 th June ) .

H a l t a t Kh a w a sp u r fo r th e ra iny sea son of 1700 (from

30th August ) .PA NHALA (s iege , 9th March — 28th Mav

,1701) al so

Pa w anga rh capt ured .

H a lt a t Kh a ta n nn fo r th e ra iny sea son o f 1701 , (29th

May— 7 th November ) .Capture of W

'

a rdhanga rh (6th J une , N andgir,

Chandan and “h

andan (6th October) by Fathullah

Khan .

KH E LN A (s iege ,“

36th December, 1701— 4th J une , 1702)

H a lt a t. Ba h adnrp u r fo r th e ra iny sem en of 1702,a fter

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56 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

bod ing of Lou i s X V . was repeated by A u rangz ib

a lmost word for word ona - st h a m a h fa sad - i

H is domes t i c l i fe,too ,

“was lovele ss a nd dreary , and want

ing in the ben ign peace and hope fulness wh i ch th row

a halo round old age. Une daughter , Zina t - un - ni ssa ,al ready an old ma id , l ooked a fte r h i s household , and

h is younges t concub ine, Uda ipu ri , bore h im company.

Bu t he h ad , a t one t ime or other , to impr i son al l h i s

five sons except one ! By h i s own conduct i n the W ar

of Success ion he had ra i sed a spec tre wh i ch relentlessly

pursued h im : wha t i f h is sons should trea t h im in

h is weak old age a s he h ad t rea ted Shah Jahan? Th i s

fear of Nemesi s ever haunted h i s m ind , and he h ad no

pea ce wh ile h i s sons were wi th h im l La stly , there.

was the certa in ty of a deluge o f blood when he w ould

c lose h i s eye s , and h i s t hree surviving sons , each sup

ported by a provinc ial a rmy and t reasury,would figh t

for the throne to the b i t te r end . In two most pathet i cl et t ers wr i t ten to h i s son s when he fel t the sure approach

o f dea th , the old Emperor speaks of the a l arm an d

d i s t ra c t ion of h is sold iery,t he pass iona te grie f o f

Uda ipu ri , and h i s ow n b i tte r sense of t he fut il i ty

o f hi s l i fe , and then entrea t s them not to cause th e

sl augh ter of M u salm ans by engaging i n a. c ivi l wa r among

themselves . A paper , sa id t o have been found under

h is pillow after h i s dea th , conta ined a plan for.

the

peace ful part i t ion o f the empi re among h i s th ree

son s . Meant ime death wa s . al so busy a t work wi th in

h i s family c i rcle . When Ga u h a rara , the la s t among

r'

nAN G Z I B .57

A u rangz ib’

s brothers and si st ers , d ied , (abou t March ,

he fel t tha t h i s own tu rn would come soon . Some

o f h i s nephews,daughters , and grandsons , too , were

sna tched away from h im i n the course of h i s l a st year .

I n the m ids t of th e da rkness cl os ing around h im , he used

t o hum the pathet i c verses

By the time yo u a re 80 or 90 years o f a ge,Yo u wil l have fe lt many hard blows from Fate ;A nd when yo u reach th e stage of a 1 00 years,Life wi ll be th e image o f death to yo u .

A nd also ,

In a moment,in aminu te

,in a breath

,

Th e condition b f th e world m a y become d ifferent .

H i s la st i l l nes s overtook h im a t Ahmadnagar,la te

i n January , 1707 ; then he rall ied for 5 or 6 days , sen t

a way h i s two son s from h i s camp to the i r provinc i al

government s , and went th rough bus iness and da ily

prayers regu larlv . But tha t worn - ou t frame of 91 yea rs

h ad been taxed too much . A severe feve r se t in ,

and i n the morn ing of Fr iday, 20th February, 1704 ,

h e graduall y sank dow n exhausted into the a rms of dea th ,

wi th the Musl im confess ion of fa ith on h is l ips and h i s

fingers on h i s rosa ry .

The corpse w a s despat ched to Khuldabad , s ix miles

from D aul a tabad , and there bur ied i n th e courtyard of

t h e tomb of the sa in t Sha ikh Za inu ddin , i n a pla in low

red sandstone sepulch re bu il t by A u rangz ib i n h is ow n

l i fe t ime . The tombstone , 9 fee t by 7 fee t , i s a few inches

58 STUDIE S IN M UG II A L IND IA .

!

ia heigh t , and has a cavi ty in the m iddle wh i ch i s fi lled

w i th e arth for plant ing fragrant herbs i n .

A u rangzib’s wi fe D I LRA S BAN U BEGAM , th e daugh ter

o t Shah N awaz Khan Safawi , d ied on 8th October , 1657 ,

a fter h earing h im zeb- un -n i ssa , Azam and Akbar . Asecondary wife (m a h a l) NAV VAB BA I , the mother of

Sul ta n and Muazzam , does not seem t o have been

I favouri te . a s her h usband seldom sought her

soc ie ty afte r h i s access ion . O f h i s th ree concub ines

(p am s ta r) , H i ra Ba i or ZA I N A BA D I , wi th whom he w a s

i nfatua ted almos t to madness , d ied very young ;A l

'

aA N GA BA D I , the mother of Mihr - un -

‘ n i ssa , d ied of th e

plague in November, 1688 : UDA I P UR I , the favouri te

c om pan ion of A u rangz ib'

s old age and the mother o f

h i s pe t son Kam Bakhsh , entered h i s ha rem a fter h i s

a ccess ion . She i s sa id to have been a Circas s ian sl ave - gi rl

o f Dara,ga ined by A u rangz ib among the spoil s o f victorv .

But another a ccoun t wh ich descr ibes her a s a Kashmi r-

i

w oman,i s more l i kely to be t rue

,beca use the .l/a s ir- i

. l la mg iri call s he r Ba i , a t i tle wh ich was appl ied to

il l indu women only . Her descen t from the roy al house

o f Mewar i s a fanc i ful conj ectu re of some modern w ri te rs .

We also read of a w oman named D ilm -

a m , a s having been

h is IN I I‘

GSNI ) ‘ i n h i s ea rly l i fe : bu t she wa s probablv a

handm a id onl y .

A u rangz ib’

s eldest. son,S ULTAN , ch a fing und er the

rest ra int s o f h i s father’s offi ce rs , during the w a r i n

Bengal , fled to Shuja a nd ma rried h i s da ughte r , bu t in

few months re turned to h i s fa ther . The fool i sh

A U IrA Nu z rn. 59

youth,then only 20 y ea rs old , was kept in pri son for th e

rest of h i s l i fe . (D ied 3rd December ,H i s second son , M L

’

A ZZAM , (al so Sh a h. A lam ) , who

in 1707 succeeded h i s fa ther on the throne a s Bahadu r

Shah I . , i ncensed A u rangz ib by in tr igu ing wi th the

brsieged k ings of B ij apur and Golkonda ,and wa s pla ced

in confinement (20th Februa ry , A fte r h i s sp i ri thad been th orough lv tamed ,

h i s capt ivi ty was relaxed

l i t tle by l i t t le (in a ra the r amus ing fa sh ion ), and a t la st ,on 9 th May , 1695, he wa s sen t to Agra a s Governor ,(a ft erward

-

s get t ing the Panj ab to govern ) .

The th i rd prince , XZA M , stepped into the vacant

place of the he i r - apparent (Sh a h - i - e lija h ) during M u a z

zam’

s d i sgra ce , and was made much of by h i s fa ther .

But he was ex trem elv haughty , prone to anger , and in

capable of sel f - res tra int .

The fou rth , AKBAR , rebelled aga inst h i s fa ther i n 1681 ,

and fled t o Pers ia where he d ied a n ex ile i n November,

1704. H i s presence a t Fa rah , on th e Khurasan front ier ,w a s l ong a mena ce to the peace o f Ind ia .

The youngest, KA M BAKH SH , t he spo i l t ch ild of h is

fa ther'

s old age,was worthless

,sel f -willed, and fool i sh .

F or h i s m isconduct during the s iege of J inj i he wa s pu t

under rest ra int , and aga in confined for h i s fa tuous a t ta ch

ment to h i s foster - bro the r , a w ret ch who had t r ied t o

a ssa ss ina te an excel len t offi ce r . The th ird and fi fth

brothers fell fight ing in the st ruggle for the throne wh ich

followed A u rangz ib’s dea th , and

60 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

A mmx o zrn’

s CHARACTER .

So l ived and so d ied A u rangz ib , su rnamed Alamg i rShah

,th e l as t. of the Grea t Mughals . For , i n sp i te of

h i s rel ig ious intolerance , narrowness of nrind, and lack

o f generosi ty and sti

a tesrnansh ip , h e w a s grea t i n t h e.

possess ion of sonre qual i t i es wh i ch migh t h ave ga i ned

for h im the h ighest pla ce in any sphere of l i fe except the

supreme one of rule over men . He would have made a.

success ful general , nrin ister, t heologi an , or school -maste r ,

a nd an ideal depa rtmen tal head . But the cri t ical

eminence of a th rone on wh ich he wa s pl aced by a fre a k

o f Fortune,led to the fa i lu re of h i s l i fe and t he blfgh t-ing

o f h is fame .

Pure in h i s domest i c rela t ions,S imple and abstemiou s

l i ke a hermi t , h e had a. pa ss ion for w ork and a hat red

o f ease and plea s u re wh ich remind one of GeorgeGrenville , t hough wi th Grenv ille

'

s unt i r ing indust ry he.

h ad al so got Grenville'

s narrowness and obst ina cy .

European t ravellers observed w i th wonder the greyheaded

Emperor hold ing open Court. every day , read ing every

pet i t ion and wri t ing orders a cross i t wi th h i s ow n hand .

Of the le t ters d icta ted by him , t hose tha t a re known to

ex i s t i n Europe and Ind ia,number about two thousand .

(I h ave g o t copie s o f a l l of them a s fa r a s known to me ) .Many more must have peri shed .

In mat ters of offic ial d i sc ipl ine and Court e t ique tteh e was a m a rt ine t and enforced the st ri c te s t obedi en ce

to rules and e stabl ished usag es : I f I suffer a s ingleregula t ion to h e v iol a ted , a ll o f them will be d i s regarded ,

"

A URA XGZI B . 61

w a s h i s frequent remark . But. t h i s punct il ious observance

of the form must h ave led to neglec t of the spi ri t of inst i

tu t ions and l aws .

H i s pa ss ion for doing evcrvtlu ng h imsel f a nd d ic

ta t ing the minutest pa rt icula rs to fa r - off governors and

gene ral s,robbed them of all sel f - rel iance and power of

in i t ia t ive , and left them hes it a t ing and helpless in th e

face of any unexpected em ergencv . H i s susp i c iou s pol icycrushed the la ten t abi l i ty of h i s sons , so tha t a t. h i s dea t lr

th ev were no bet ter than ch i ldren though tu rned of six tv

vea rs of age . Al i ke in h i s pass ion for work , d i st ru st o f :

t he man on the spot,prefe rence for incompe tent bu t

set-vile agents

,and rel ig ious b igot ry , he resembled h i s

contem porarv i n Europe , Lou is XI V .

His coolness and courage were famous throughout

Ind ia : no danger however great , no emergency how

ever unlooked for , could shake h is hea rt or cloud th

serene l ight of h i s intellec t . Indeed , be rega rded

danger a s only the leg i t imate ri sk of grea tness . No »

am ount of exert i on could fa t igue t ha t th in w i ry frame .

The priva t-i on s of a campa ign or forced ride had no terror '

for h im . O f d iplomacy he wa s a past master , and could

no t be beaten in au v ki nd of i n t rigue or secret man ipula

t ion . He was a s much a.

'

master of the pen “ a s a

una ster of the sword .

"

From the str i ct pa th of a Musl im k ing'

s duty a s

la id down in the Quran i c Law noth ing could make h im

devi a te the lea s t . And he was al so dete rm ined n ot t o .

let o th ers dev ia te too f N o fea r of materi a l l oss .

62 sr i’

n i ns IN M UGHAL INDIA .

o r i nfluence of any favour i te , no tea rs or suppl i ca t ion

c ould induce h im to a c t cont ra ry to the Sh ara (Canon5

Law ) . Fla t terers styl ed h im a l iving sa int,

”

(A lam g ir: inda p ir ) . Indeed , from a very ea rly period of h i s l i fe

h e h ad chosen “ the st ra i t ga te and narrow w ay w h i ch

leadeth un to l i fe bu t the de fec ts of h i s hea r t made.

th e ga te s tra i ter and the way na rrower .

He l a cked tha t. w arm generos i ty of the hea rt ,th a t ch iva lry to fall en fees , a nd tha t ea sy fam il iaritv

o f address i n priva te l i fe , w h i ch made the grea t

A kbar win the l ove and admirat ion of h is contemporarie s

.a nd of al l poste ri ty . Li ke the Engl i sh Pur i t ans ,A u rangz ib drew h is in sp i ra t ion from the old la w

o f relen tl ess pun ishment and vengeance and forgo t.

th a t mercy i s an a tt r ibute of the Supreme Judge of the

Un iverse .

H is cold inte llec tual i ty , h i s su spic iou s nat ure , and

h is fame for profound sta tecra f t , ch illed the l ove of al l

w h o came near h im . Sons,daughters , general s , and

m in i s ters , all fea red h im w i th a secret. but. deep- rooted

f ea r , w h ich ne i ther re spect no r fla tterv could d i sgu i se .

Ar t,mus ic

,dance

,and even poetrv (o ther than

famil i ar quotat ion s were h i s avers ion , and he spent

h is le i sure hours i n hunt ing for lega l precedent s i n

Arabi c w orks on Juri sprudence .

Scru pulou sly following th e rul es of the Q u ra n in

h is own priva te l i fe , he. cons ide red i t h i s d uty to en force

th em on everybodv el se : th e lea s t devia t ion from th e.

st ri c t and na rrow pa th o f I sl am ic orthodoxy in any

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A URA NGZIB’

S DAILY LIFE .

I have already descr ibed h o w the Emperor Shah

J a h an spent h i s t ime . I shal l now presen t to the reader

a n account of h i s successor A u rangz ib’

s da ily life. a t

Delh i a t the beg inn ing of h i s re ign , a s suppl ied by thecontemporary Pers i an h istorv .

fl lu m g i rna m a h . A u rangz ib

w a s a s tri c t M'uh ammadan , a veri table Pu ri t an in the

purple . Hence h i s l i fe w a s marked by grea ter seri ous~

ness , rel igi ou s devot i on , and aversion to amusement than

h is fa ther’s . He scorned del igh t s and l ived laborious

days .

A URA NGZI B’S ROUTINE or W ORK .

A d “.

5— Morm ng Prayer —Devotiona l reading .

7 in Priva te Chamber.8 — Review— E lephant lights .

9 Darbar.1 1 Aud ience .

I I — S iesta .

P .M .

2 Prayer.

2 Chamber— Study — Business — A sa r Prayer— Statea ffa irs .

5 sa lute in th e Priva te Audience Hal l — SunsetPrayer.

6 in th e D iw an- i -kha s.

7 d ism issed- [ ska Prayer.

8 In th e Harem — Religious med itation a nd reading— Sleep .

M ORKI N G PRAYERIt i sm g from h is bed some t ime before dawn

,th e

‘.mperor performed h is mo rn ing abl ut ions

,went from

the h a rem to the mosque a t tached to the H all of Priva te

Audience (D iw a n - i - kka s) , and sat. there fa c ing the west ,wa i t ing for t he t ime of t he morn ing prayer a s ind ica ted

by the Had is (or Muhammad’s Trad i t ions) . A f ter

pe rforming th is rel igious r i te , he read the Qu ran and

the Prophet ’s Trad i t ions t i l l th e breakfa st hour , (say

7 -30

COURT OF J F STICE I N CHAMBER .

Then he wen t to h i s private chamber

to wh ich only a few confident ia l offi cers a nd h is per

sonal a t tendant s were admit ted , and sa t on the th rone

d i spensi ng j ust i ce , the firs t du ty of a n ea stern ki ng .

The superintendent s of the law- courts presented to h im

all aggri eved persons , who had come e i ther from th e

cap it a l or from the provin ces to see k j ust i ce a t i t s

founta in head . Thei r pla in ts were reported , and then

th e Emperor persona llv examined them to find ou t t he

t ruth .

On the bas i s of the fa ct s so ascerta ined , al l ca se s

coming under Canon Law were dec ided a ccord ing to th e

Q u‘

ra n ic inj unct ions . Common - l aw cases were tr ied

a cco rd ing to the customa ry procedure and regula t ions

of the Empi re,evidently a t the Emperor’s ow n d i sc re t ion .

l\'

eedv and miserable pla i nt iffs were helped wi th money

from the publ i c treasu rv .

DAR SH AN

Nex t , he ente red the bed- chamber and showed h is

face a t one of i t s w indows , called -the window of

SM . 5

66 STUD IE S IN M UGH AL I ND IA .

da rsh an ,

’ wh ich overlooked the broad sandy bea ch of the

J umna . A vast and varied crowd fil led th is p la in a t

th e foo t of the for t , i n expect a t ion of the Emperor'

s

appearance . Here the army wa s often rev iew ed , a nd

here too were paraded'

the re ta i ners of the nobles who

a ccompan ied the Emperor w hen he rode ou t i n process ion

to perform the Friday prayer i n the vas t J umma Masj i d

o f Delh i . Elephan t comba ts,t he tra in ing of war

, eleph an ts to charge cavalry wi thou t fear , and the pa rade

o f newly captured unt amed elephant s , took pl ace i n th i s

pla in , a s w as al so the ca se under Shah J ah an .

P UBLIC DARBAR .

A f ter pass ing three qua rters of an hour a t the

da rsh a n window , the Emperor , a t abou t 9 - 15 A .H . , t ook

h i s se a t in th e alcove overlook ing the D iw a n - i - a m ,and

t ransacted public affa i r s of th e same kind and i n th e verv

sam e way as Shah J ahan had done . Th is took nea rly

two h ou rs .

PR IVATE AUDIENCE .

Some t ime be fore noon li e wi thdrew to the D i w a n

i - lch a s, and held a priva te or selec t a ud ience,conduc t

ing confiden t i al bu s iness and bes towing gif ts t i l l noon .

Here were adm i t ted a few nobles , cle rks , servant s , mace

bearers , t he imperi al re t in ue,h i s spec i al wa t chmen

(Kh a s many sl aves , the s tanda rd - bea rers and

such o ther necessa ry person s only . A t th i s aud ienceh is business and plea sure were iden t i cal wi th those o f

Sh ah J ahan , a s descr ibed i n ano ther e ssay . Th e

A unaxc zm’s DAIL Y L IF E . 67

d espatches of the provinc ial v i ceroys and governors of

town s were e i ther read by the Emperor or repo rted in

brief abst ra ct s by the Grand Wa z i'r. The'

Empe ror’s

o rders were t aken , and their purport di c ta ted by the

W az i r to the secret a ri e s (m unsh is) , w h o dra fted the

repl ies . Many of the se were l ooked over and revi sed

by the Emperor ; t hen they were copied ou t fa i r and

placed before H i s Majesty for be ing s igned and sealed .

Somet imes he wrote i n h i s ow n hand the beg inn ings of

t he let te rs to t he h igh grandees , e i t her t o do them grea ter

honour , or to make the orders more urgen t , or to remove

a ll doubt a s t o the i r genu i neness .

HAR EM .

I t was now almost noon , and the Emperor re t ired to

t he ha rem t o take h i s well - ea rned rest . Af ter ea t ing h i sm eal

,he slept for an hour to refresh h i s body and sp i ri t s .

PRAYER .

But shortly be fore the Zu h a r pray er (abo ut 2 P .M . l

h e was up aga in , wa shed h imsel f , and wa i ted in the

palace mosque rec i t ing God '

s names and tel li ng h i s

beads . Th is prayer was pe rformed in company , a s

recommended by the Prophet . The congrega t ion pr iv i

leged to jo in the Emperor i n m s.

devot ion s , cons i s ted o f

ed em a (theolog ians ) , Sy eds , Sha i khs , fa qir'

s, and a few

o f H i s Majesty'

s close a t tendant s and Ich a w a scs .

IN TH E PR IVATE CHAMBER .

Therea fte r the Emperor w ent to h is Priva te Chambe r,s i t ua ted be twee n the h a rem and the Hall of Pr iva te

68 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Aud ience (named the Gh u sal and engaged in .

works of p ie ty , su ch as , read ing.

the Qu ran , copying i t ,

col l a ting h is t ranscr ip t of i t , hun t ing th rough A rabic

j uri sprudence for precedent s in Canon Law , & c . Or H is

Maj es ty read the books and pamphle t s of t he I sl amicp iou s men and sa in t s of al l ages . Then , urgent afi'

a irs o f

St a te forced themselves on h i s a t ten t ion . Th e pet itions

of aggrieved part ies r i ch enough to buy the med ia t ion

of the favouri te court iers , were now subm it ted . On

som e days , w ork be ing over , H i s Maj e sty v i s i ted th e

h a rem aga in for an hou r , heard the pet i t ions of poor

women , widows , and orph ans , and sa ti sfied them wi th:

m oney , l ands , or orn aments .

By th i s the t ime for the A sa r prayer (4 R M . ) a rr ived

I t was performed in company i n the mosque close to th eH al l of Pr ivate Audience ; afterwards the Emperor re

turned to h i s Pr iva te Chamber and spen t th e rema in ingsh ort per iod o f the (l ay i n t he work of admin i s t ra t ion .

EVENING SALUTE A N D PRAYER .

Abou t. hal f an hour before sunse t, His Maj esty

v is i ted the Ha l l o f Priva te Aud ience aga in a nd sa t onth e t hrone . A l i t tle work w as done . The court ie rs

'

made. the i r bows . The noble s a nd ofli cers , who h ad“

sent ry du ty th a t n igh t , presen ted themselves ia'

ful l

a ccou trement , and were ma rshalled bv the M ir Tu zu k

a nd the sergean t s a ccord ing to t he i r ranks on the tw o

s ides of the imperia l standard of cows ' t a ils a nd ball sTh e. ch ie f men formed a

‘

- l ine i n fron t ; the rea r ranks.

A URA N GZI B’S DAILY LIFE . 69

.were made up by the subord ina te s . Th e Paym asters

made them sal u te . accordi ng to the imperi al regula t ions .

The sun was now se tt ing . Pierc ing the even ing a i r

c ame the loud cry ,

God is most g rea t God is most g rea t I testify tha t there isno dei ty excéfiGod a nd th a t Muha mmad is His A postle Come to

f rayer Come to prayer Come to sa lva tion

I t wa s the m u azs—i h or cr ier of the mosque

,chan ti ng

from the church - sp i re the call t o pra y er . W ha t the

a ngelu s i s to the French pea sant ry, the a za n i s to the

Muslim world . All work was a t once s uspended . The

Emperor wi thdrew h is mind from earthly affa irs , and

l i stened wi th grea t reverence to the ca ll . A t every pau sein the cri er’s vo ice

,he in terje cted , l i ke a p iou s Musal

m an,these respon se sYes

, God is most g rea t I testify tha t there is no deity except

God a nd tha t il fl u hammad is the A postle of God I h ave no pow er

or streng th except from God t a t He u'il leth sha ll be

,a nd w h a t

He w illet h not sh a ll not ta ke pla ce.

Then he rose from the th rone , went to the mosque

in full congrega tion and performed the even ing praye r

and certa in non —obl igatory extra r i te s of devot ion (vizth e su nna h and the n afl) . These act s of p ie ty occupied

more than hal f an h our .

SOIR EE I N THE D IW A X - I -KH AS .

The D i w a n - i -kh as (or Hal l of Priva te Audi ence )was l i t up wih camphora ted candles and torches

,and

golden l anterns , making i t r ival t he vaul t of the sky

dot ted w ih myri ad s of twinkl ing st a rs . The Em peror

70 STUDIES I N MUGHAL INDIA .

a rrived here f rom the mosque and occup ied the th rone .

The l/Vaz ir reported on al l affa i rs of the revenue depart

men t , both gene ral and part i cula r , and got .

h is orders .

O ther k inds of Sta te bus iness were al so done . There

was no mus i c or dance , as A u rangz ib had ban i shed these

mundane van it i es f rom h i s Court in th e‘

l l tih vea r ofh is re ign (1668 A D . ) The a ssembly cont inued for more

t han an hour ; and shortly before 8 P .M ., the cal l to th e

1slm. prayer w as hea rd ; the Court was d i smi ssed .

The Emperor prayed in the adj o in ing mosque wi th

only h i s close a t tendan ts and 7:7:a w a xes; and then re t i red

t o the h a rem , bu t not to sleep . Several hours were here

spen t i n prayer and rel ig ious med it a t ion , before h i s t i red

f rame sank into the nece ssary repose .

Th i s rou t ine wa s varied on th ree days of the week .

On Friday , the I slamic Sabba th,no Court w as held .

W'EDNESDAY was sacred to j us t ice , and no publ i c da rbar

was then held , but th e Emperor went s tra ight from the

da rsh an t o the Pr iva te Aud ience Hal l , t h ronged wi th thlaw officers -

ga s h , m u ftis, schola rs , theologi an s (u lem a ) ,j udges , and the pre fect. of pol ice for the C i ty . None el sew as admi tted unless h i s presence w as needed . Th e

Emperor wen t on person ally j udging ca ses t il l noon .

On THU R SDAY he gave h is Court a hal f - hol iday , as

we get on Sat urd ay in Bri t ish Ind ia . The u sual rout ine

w as followed up to noon ; but there was no afternoon

Court , nor any assembly i n the D i w an - z-h h a s a t n igh t .

The whole even ing w as spent i n prayer and sacred

read ing , and the world and i t s d ist ra c t ions w ere kept ou t .

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THE EDUCAT ION OF A MUGHAL PR INCE .

Some let ters of A u rangz ib pre served i n the Pers ianmanuscript A dab- i-A lam gm ,

g i ve us i nterest ing in forma

t ion abou t the w ay i nl

w h ich Mughal princes were edu

c a ted and the idea s o f et iquet te and decorum held in the

seven teenth cen tury . In Oc tober , 1654, A u rangzib wa s

V i ceroy of the Deccan and h i s eldes t son , Muhammad

Sul tan , then in h is 15th yea r , was march ing towa rd s

A jm ir t o be presen ted to the Emperor Shah J ahan . The

father w as natu rally anx ious tha t h is boy should make

a good impress ion a t the imper i al court . Minute direc

t ion s were sent to the pri nce regula t ing every a c t of' h i s

l i fe a nd prescrib ing a str i c t rou t ine for every hou r of

th e day . Th is i s h ow the pr ince wa s comm anded to spend

h i s t ime .

t eth er you a re i n res iden ce or on a march , get .

up from bed 72 m inutes before sunr i se . Afte r spend ing48 minute s in bath ing and get t ing ready , come ou t of

y our rooms for the morn ing prayer . A fter saying the

prayer and rec i t ing se t pa ssages,read one sect ion of th e

Qu ra n . Breakfa st in the inner apartments will com e

next . I f y ou a re on a march , t a ke horse 48 minutes

a fter sunri se . Should you h unt. on the way , t ake ca re to

rea ch the hal t ing place appo inted for t ha t d ay punctually .

Arr iv ing there , i f you a re so i ncl ined or h ave the noce s

sa ry t ime , read someth ing in Arabi c ; othe rwi se ta ke res t .Abou t 24 minu tes a fte r noon ,

when the sun begin s to

de cl ine , com e ou t of your ten t for th e zu h a r prayer .wh ich

THE EDUCATION OF A MUGHAL PR INCE . 3

shoul d be performed i n ful l congrega t ion . The pr inc ipa l

meal and some repose— (ev idently the s ies t a or a fte rnoon

n ap so popular in the h ot countr ie s of Bum pe and As i aa l i ke ) will fi ll you r t ime t il l tw o hours before sunse t ,

when the a sa r pray er should be sa id . Bu t i f the mea l

a lone suffices to re fresh y ou spend the interval i n improv

ing y our handwr i t ing ,compos ing let ters

, or read ing Per

s i a n prose and poet ry . Af ter the ( ma r praver , read

Arabi c. for a short t ime , and then some 24 minute s be foresun se t , hold a

‘ selec t a ud ience , where you should s i t

t il l 48 minute s a fter n ight fall . Then leave the chamber

a nd read a sec t ion of the Qu ra n , and ret i r ing to the

i nner apartment s , go to bed a t 9 R M .

I f you a re on a j ou rney , bu t i t i s a day of hal t

do the othe r works ment ioned above a t the sta ted t ime ,bu t (in the pla ce of r id ing) spend 48 minute s of the

m orn i ng i n arch erv and musket ry pract i ce , and one hou r

a nd twen ty - four minu tes a fter sunri se hold a publ i c court

f or abou t 48 minute s or more a s the bus ines s requ i re s .

T hen , i f there i s importan t - work"

to be done,hold a

p r ivat e co unc i l for about an hour wi th y our ch ief officers .

O therwi se th i s pe riod (fou r gba ris) should be spen t i nr eading Arab ic .

On a dav of march read tw o sect ions and on a

d ay of‘

h alt th ree of the Qa w n .- I f t he stage to be

c overed i s a long one , t ake horse immed ia t ely a fter pe r

form ing the m orn ing pra y er and ea t your break fa s t on the

w ay , otherw i se you should break your fa s t be fore s tart ing .

N e march should be begun a t such an unsea sonabl e

74 STUDIE S I N M UGH AL INDIA .

t im e a s the morn ing tw il igh t or a f ter 9 A .M . I f y ouwant to hunt on the way , send your army to the hal t ing

place by the shorte s t rou te ' in cha rge of the Paymaster

of the Forces , and go to the hun t i ng ground w i t h a few

a ttendant s only .

”

The M ugha l governmen t of Ind ia w as essen t ia lly

o f the na ture of a mil i t ary occupa t ion and the stabil itv

of the throne depended on the effic iency of t he a rmy ,

and the mi l i t a ry capac i ty .of th e'

p rinces . A u rangz ib ,

t herefore , advi se s h i s son ,“ Gradual ly m ake yoursel f

perfec t i n the h ab i t of wearing arms . Let your swea t

dry before you take off your coa t and l ie dow n , les t you

sh ou ld ' fall ill . Str i c t d i sc ipl ine w as to be main ta i ned

in the arm y , and every one t augh t to keep h i s s ta t ion .

The pri nce i s thus i n s tru cted on th e s ubj ec t»

Don’t a llow any of my offi cers except Muhammad

Tah ir (the prince’s guard ian), or any servan t of th e

Emperor below a commander of horse,to r ide i n

f ront of your army, (w here the pr ince ma rched )

”

Certa in spec ified officers were to be p osted righ t a nd

le ft of h im and there fore i n the van of t he a rmy,but

t hey were to be accompan ied by not more th an two

vale ts . The pr ince i s commanded to see to t h i s rule

s tr ic tly , a s the crowd ing of the vulga r i n fron t of t he

a rmy destroys i t s order and d isc ipl ine .

”

The commander should not make h imself too affable,

les t fam il i a ri ty should breed con tempt . “ A t a l l t imes,

— whe ther march ing or hold ing court,

-spea k j us t a s

many word s a s are necessa ry; A s for those ' who are no t

THE EDUCATION OF A. MUGHAL PR INCE .

h igh enough to be persona lly spoken .to by you , cont r ive

to evade t hem po l i tely . Thi s sor t o f behaviour keeps

fea r and reverence al ive (i n the i r hea rt s . ) A sketch pla n

i s sent herewith to show h ow vou should marsha l th e

officers a t the publ i c and priva te da rba rs t ha t you hold .

Th is prince seems to have been too fond of hunt ingand ra ther averse t o s t udy . H i s fa ther compla ins , “ Iregre t very much tha t I took h im ou t with m ysel f to hun t

a t too earlv an age , for a fter once ta st ing th e del igh t s of

Sport,he h a s go t a d i sl i ke for read ing , wri t ing and s im ila r

a ccompl i shment s and g iven Up cul t iva t ing them .

”To

the studv of the Turki sh l anguage , — se nece ssa ry for the

Mughal empe rors who enterta ined la rge numbers of

Turkish sold iers and generals,

— Muhammad Sul tan had

a rooted avers ion . The Prince i s censured for leavingh is Turki tutor beh ind h im when se t t ing ou t for NorthernInd ia . He pleads in exc use tha t the tu tor wa s too o ld

a nd wea k to hea r the fa t igue of a march 'A u rangz ib

a ngrily re tort s th a t the prince h ad ignored the tu tor even

when i n res idence at Aurangabad . He has been engagedfor a yea rs t im e and "d rawn a lo t of money a s h i s

sala ry , but vou never t ried to st udy wi th h im .

”Th e

pr ince i s now ordered to cal l the tutor t o h imsel f and

converse wi th h im in Turk i to lea rn t he l anguage . Th e

fa ther remarks ind ignan tly ,

“ You re fuse to lea rn th e

accompl i shment s of (gentle ) men and k ings . W'ha t does

i t matte r to 71109 You a re new old enough to know

good from evi l . "

As _ might. be expected in a noble Muhammadan

7 6 STUD IE S IN‘ MUGHAL INDIA .

fam ily ,the h ighest importance i s a t t ached to et ique t te .

Th e pri n ce i s t old whom to adm i t t o h i s sele c t a ud ience

a nd whom to keep out,how to a rrange t he m a nsa bda rs

a t cou rt , and w hom to address and whom not . He mustbe part icul a r abou t h i s d ress .

“ Your father ha s been

shocked to hea r th a t you somet imes go to prayer i n

undre ss , wearing a wa i s t - coa t and t rou sers only . Thi s i s

a ma t t er of surpr i se , a s y o u have long l ived w ith h im

a nd watched h i s (decorou s ) h abi t s and manners .

”

Spec ia l a t ten t ion i s d i rec ted to stvle .

“ Read the

A kba r a t le i sure , so tha t the style of your con

versa t i on and wri t ing m ay become pure and elegan t .

Before you have thoroughly m a stered t he mean ings of

w ord s and the proper connect ion in wh ich they may be

used , do not employ t hem i n you r speeche s .or l e t ters .

Ponder care fully on what you spea k or wri te .

Th i s advice had a most comi c effect . The A kba r

w a m a h i s t he despa i r o f readers and the rage of cri t i cs ,

by rea son of i t s ext ravagant , i nvolved and pedant i c s tyle .

I t i s the worst poss ible l i terary model fo r a slow - w i tted

lad of fou rt een to imi ta te .

_

Muhammad Sultan’s nex t

l e tter to h is fa ther made h im open h i s eyes wide i n

a ston i shmen t . Th e poor ch ild h ad wr i t ten t o h is fa ther

a n exac t copy of one of th e l et te rs o f Akba r to h i s sub

jects as d ra f ted by Abul Fa zl i I t began wi th A kbar’s

f avouri te motto A lfa lf a a l'ba r z' J an- i -ja la lu h u .

’ in the

pla ce of the o rthodox B ism i lla h , and the wri ter h ad

a ppl i ed to h imsel f the imper ial phra se s and epi the ts o f

A kbar’s l et ter though add ress ing h i s own fa ther 1

THE ED UCATION or A'

M CGH AL PR INCE . 7

In deep vexat ion A u rangz ib wrote ba ck,

I h adadvi sed you to stu dv t he A kba rna m a h

'

of Abul Fazl, to

make y ou follow i ts s t y le a nd not to make you adep t the

a utho r'

s creed , who had changed the orthodox Sunn i

pra ct ices bv h is h ert ica l innova t ions . You des igna te you r

le t ter a s m y imper ia l l et te r ’ (n ish a n - i - w a la ) and your

sea l a s His Maj esty'

s se al ’ (m u h a r- i -Ml a s) . In wha tterms wi l l you t hen desc r ibe the Emperor s le tter and

sea l

However , i n sp i te of th i s poor succe ss in improvingSul tan

'

s style and l i tera ry kn owledge , he w as very grac i

ou slv rece ived by h i s grandfa ther a t B indun (i n December next ) , and loaded w ith .

g ifts and other marks of

favour .

The reader may be interested in the la te r h is tory of

th i s unprom is ing schola r . Three years a fter thi s , when

the war for the th rone of Delh i broke ou t , be accompan ied

h is fa ther'

s army to the .North end oft en acted a s h is

l ie u tenan t , a s we should expect o f a n eldest son . At th egrea t ba t tles of D h a rm a t , Sam uga rh ,

and Kh ajw ah h e

commanded hi s fa ther'

s vangua rd . Indeed , h i sfirmstand i s sa id to h ave snat ched v ic tory ou t of the j aws

of defea t a t Kh ajw ah . W hen Shah Jahan h elplesslv

su rrendered,Muhammad Sult an was sen t to see h im in

Agra Fort and a rrange abou t h i s confi nement . There

a fter he w as sent under t he guard iansh ip of Mir Jumla

to cha se Shuj a back to Bengal . Here , during the Operat ions round Ra jmahal he resented the cont rol of h is

gua rd ian and hi s fa ther'

s t rea tment , and l istened eagerly

7 8 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

t o Sh u ja’s em issari e s who offered h im ma rr iag e wi th

Sh u ja’s daugh ter '

Gu lru kh Banu Begam , t o whom he is

sa id to have been betrothed in ch ildhood . The i nfat uated

y oung man deser ted h i s a rmy and fled to h i s uncle'

s camp

o ne d ark n igh t (8 J une, 1659 ) and wa s married t o h is

beloved . Eigh t month s l a ter , Shuj a wa s hopele ssly de

f ea t ed , and Sul tan lef t h im to re turn to M i r Jumla .

S tern wa s the pun ishmen t me ted ou t by A u rangz ib t o

the deser ter . He wa s t aken to Delh i under strong guarda nd confined i n the Gw al ior Sta te pri son for the rest of

h is l i fe . Wh ile there h i s port ra i t was occa s ionally taken

a nd sen t to the Emperor for i n spect ion . Thus only“

d id

t h e fa th er know of h i s err ing son’s heal th ! Dea th p u t.an end to h i s m iserie s on 3rd December , 1676 , when hew a s abou t t o complete h i s 37th yea r . Only four y ea rs

before h is dea th wa s he brough t closer to h i s fa ther , by

be ing removed to the fort re ss of Sal imgarh (Delh i )

restored to favour in a smal l degree— be ing thr i ce marr ied

In th i s short per iod .

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80 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

poe try under the pseudonym of M a lchfior the ConcealedOne . But the extant D iw a n - i - zll a lchficannot be h erwork .

age The t i tle of M akhfiw as borne by several o ther

poe ts , notably a w i fe of Akbar and Nur J ah an . (M . A .

Zeb - nu - n i ssa, i s the heroine of some love - tale s curren t

i n modern Ind i an l i terary c i rcles . She w as a g i f ted

p oete ss and i s al leged to have cl a imed an a rt i s t’s indepen

dence of moral i ty . S imil ar d i scred i table legends abou t:

Ka lidas'

s l i fe h ave long c i rcula ted among ou r old schoo l

of Sanskri t i s t s , but a re d i scred i ted by sober h i s to r ian s.

(I nd . A n tiq .

, 1878, We sha ll to - day try to asoer

ta i n whether the t rad i t ions abou t the P r incess Royal o f’

Delh i had a s tronger bas i s i n fa c t th an t hose abou t thelau rea te poe t of the cour t of Ujjay in i .

No men t ion of Zeb - un -n i ssa’s love - in t rigue w i th

Aqi l Klran ,

~or indeed wi th any person whatever

,i s made

in any w ork of her fa ther’s re ign or even “ for h al f a

cen tury after h i s dea th . IV e can ea s i ly expl a i n the?

s ilence of the cour t h i s tori an s and other offi c ia l wri ters .

w h o would na turally suppress every scandal abou t royal ty .

Bu t perfect freedom of Speech w as enj oyed by the pr iva te:

h istor ian s of the re ign (especi al ly the tw o H indu au thors ,Bh irn sen and I sh w a rda s) , by Kh afiKhan w h o wro te a

quarter of a cen tury a fter A u rangz ib’

s dea th , and by

the author of the b iograph ical dictiona rv of t he Mugha l

Peers (rll a si r- u l- u m a ra ) , w h o l ived a genera t ion l a te r s t i l l .

‘ Th c s u bjec t h a s been f u l ly di sc u ssed by Kha n Sa h ib A . a ta di r in th e

0 P . L. Pe'rsia n Ca ta logue, V OL-I l l , pp . 250 - 1.

ZEB -UN -NIS SA . 81

Th e European t ravellers , Bern ie r and Manu cci , w rote for

th e eyes of'

foreigners, and h ad noth ing to fear from the

w ra th of A u rangz ib or h i s poster i ty . M anu cci , i h'

part-i

cuta r , revelled in court scandal s , so much so tha t h i s

h i s to ry of the Mughal s (Sto ria do M ogor) has been well

cal led a ch roniqu e sca nda leu se. lV ou ld he have pas sed

over Zeb - u n - n i ssa’s fa il i ngs , i f he had heard of any, as

such a topi c would h ave made excellen t copy for h i s

book ? The goss ipy and out spoken Kh afiKhan doe s no ta ssa i l Zeb - u n - n iss a’s ch aracter

,though he openly pro

cl a ims the sh ames of J ah ang ir‘

and Nur J ah an . The '

s tory of our hero ine’s love - in t ri gues i s modern , —a growth

of th e 19th century and the crea t ion of Urdu rom anc ists,

probably of Lucknow, The pretended Urdu L i fe o f

Zeb—u n -n i ssa tha t holds the fi eld a t presen t i s the D a r-

7'

7

'

-.l [ a lctu m of Munsh i A hm adu ddin , B .A . , of Lahor , w h o

quo tes from an ea rl ie r work,H a iy a t

- i -Zcb-n a - n issa by

Munsh i Muhammad - u d- din Khal iq .

Th is s tory , i n i t s mos t developed form i s conven iently

summari sed in Engl i sh (evidently from A h m adu ddin’s

l'

rdu work ) - in Mrs . W estbrook’s introduc t ion to he .

D i rr’a n of Zeb- ~u n - n issa i n the W i sdom of the East

Seri es ‘ She wri tes“In the beginning o f 1 662 A u ra ngz ib w as taken i ll

, and ,h is p h ysicians prescribing change o f a ir

,he took h is family

a nd court w ith h im to Labor. At th at time Aq i l Khan, th eson o f h is w a z ir, was governor of that city . He w as famous

for his bea u ty a nd bravery , and w as a lso a poet. He h ad heard

o f Zeb -na -nissa, a nd k new h er verses

,and w as anxious to see

h er: On p retence o f guarding the city , he used to ride round

S.M . 6

82 STUDIE S IN MUGHA L INDIA .

th e walls of the p a lace , hop ing to ca tch a gl imp se of h er. One

day he w as fortunate, h e caugh t sight of h er on the housetopa t dawn, dressed in a robe of gu l -ana r, the colour o f the flower ofthe pomegranate. He sa id , A vision in red appea rs on the roof of the

pa lace. Sh e heard a nd answ ered, comp leting the couplet, Supplica t ions nor force nor gold ca n w in her.

Sh e l iked Lahor as a residence, and w as lay ing ou t a gardenthere one dav Aq il Khan heard that sh e h ad gone with h ercompanions to see a marble p avi lion which w as being built In

i t . He d isguised himself as a mason, and , carry ing a bed ,

managed to p ass th e guards and enter. Sh e was play ingch ansa r with some of h er g irl friends, and be, passing near, sa idI n my long ing for thee I have become a s the dust w andering roundthe earth . She understood a nd answered imm ediately Even

if thou h adst become a s the w ind, thou shouldst not touch a tress ofmy ha ir . Th ey m et aga in a nd aga in, bu t some rumour reachedthe ears o f A u rangz ib, who w as at Delhi, and he hastened back '

He wished to hush u p the matter by hurry ing her into marriageat once . Zeb- un-nissa demanded freedom of choice

,and asked

that portra its o f h er su itors shou ld be sent to her and chose

natura lly th a t o f Aq i l Khan . A urangz ib sent for h im but a

d isappointed riva l wrote to h im‘

I t is no child’s p lay to bethe lover of a daugh ter of a k ing . A u rangz ib knows your doingsas soon as yo u come to Delhi , you wi ll reap the fruit of your love .

’

Aq il Khan thought the Emperor p lanned revenge . So,a las for

p oor Zeb -nu -nissa ! a t the critica l moment her lover proved aco w ard he decl ined the marriage, and wrote to the k ing res ign

ing his service . Zeb - u n-nissa w as scornfu l and d isappointed ,

and wrote : ‘ I hea r tha t A qil Kh an has left off pay ing homage

to th e’— o r th e words might also mean, has resigned service

’—

‘on

a ccount of some foolishness.

’He answered also in verse

,

‘t y

shah ld a w ise man do th a t w h ich he know s he w ill reg ret?’ (Aq il

a lso means, a wise man .)

zen- c x - xrssa . 8 3

Bu t he came secretly to Delh i to see h er aga in,perhaps

regretting his fears . Aga in they met in h er garden th e Emperorw a s told a nd came unexpec tedly , and Zeb- u n-nissa

,taken un

a w a rcs, could think o f no hiding-

p lace for h er lover but a dego r large cook ing -vessel . Th e Emperor asked ,

‘What is in the degand was answered

,

‘Only water to be h eated .

’ ‘

Pu t it on th efire

,then

,

’h e ordered ; and it was done . Zeb - u n-nissa a t th at

moment thought more o f h er reputation than o f h er lover,

and came near the deg a nd whispered ,

‘Keep silence if yo u arem y true lover, fo r the sake o f my honour.

’One o f h er verses says ,

‘

t a t is the fa te oj a lover ? I t is to be crucified for the w orld’

s

One wonders if sh e though t of Aq il Khan's sacrificeo f

.

his l ife .

* A fter this she was imprisoned in the fortress of

Sa limgarh.

”

‘

(Pp . 14

N ow, examin ing the above a ccount in t he l igh t of

know n h i story we a t once find tha t the story of the

smuggled lover be ing done to dea th in a deg i n the ha rem

has been t ransfe rred to Zeb from her aunt J ah ana ra , o f

wh om i t i s told by M anu cc i (Sto ria ,i . 218) and Bernie r

(p . The recorded fa ct s of the l i fe of Aqil Khan alsoc ont rad ic t the story in every part i cul ar .

Mir Aska ri,a fterwards surnamed Aqi l Khan , was a

n at ive of Khwa t (i n Persia ) ~ and not the son of a Delh iara z i i . He entered the service of A u rangz ib i n Shah

J aban’s re ign and a ttended the Prince dur ing h i s second

vi ceroy a lty of the Deccan (1652- 1657 ) a s h is eq uerry

(j i la uda r) . He h ad a l ready made h is mark a s a poe t anda dopted the pen- name of Ra z i from the saint Bu rhanudd in

Th i s conjec t u re i s inco rrect . Ac cord ing to th e convent ions of Pers ia n poet ryth e ty pe of th e perfect lover is th e mot h w h ich cons u mes i t se l f in t h e flame o f a lamriw i tho u t u . tcring a groa n . Cf . Ca rl y le's Cons u me vo u r ow n smoke

84 STUD IES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Raz - ul lah whom he venera ted . When A u rangz ib

s ta rted from the Decca n to contes t t he throne,he le ft

h is fam ily beh ind in the fort of D aula t abad (6th Februa ry— December, and Aqi l Khan acted a s the governo ro f the c i ty from 6th February and of the fort from

Augus t 1658 t i l l near th e end of 1659 . Arr iving a tDelh i on 8th Februa ry 1660, he w a s, tw o month s l a te r

made fa ujda r of the land between th e Ganges and th e

Jumna (Mian Duab ) , bu t repla ced by ano the r officer i nJu ly ,

1661 . In the following November he temporar i lyret i red from servi ce on th e ground of ill - heal th and w as

perm i t ted to res ide a t Lahor on a pens i on of R s . 750 a

month . Wh en i n November 1663 A u rangz ib was pa ss

ing through Lahor wi th h i s family, on hi s ret u rn from

Ka shmir,Aqil Khan wa i ted on

l

h im (2nd November ) andwa s t aken in t o the Emperor

'

s tra in a nd appo in ted Super

intendent of th e Ha ll of Pr ivate Aud ience , a pos i t ion of

very close con tac t. with the Emperor , (January ,

E x idently he con t inued to enj oy h igh favou r , be ing p ro

moted i n Oc tober 1666 and g iven a rova l present in

May next . Late r on he w as made Postmaste r -General

(Da rogh a of D ak bu t. res igned in April 1669 a ndseems t o ha ve l ived under a cloud for the' nex t seven

vears , a s we find no ment ion of h im t il l Oct ober , 1676

w hen h e. w a s g ranted an allowance of Rs . a mon th .

I n Janua ry , 1679 he w a s t a ken back i n to servi ce a s

Second Pay ina ster. Be ing appo inted Su ba h da r of Del h i‘

in ( lctober 1680, he held tha t office t i ll h is dea th in 1696 .

Thus we find tha t th e story of young Aq i l Khan

ZE B -DX - NIS SA .

having been roa s ted to dea th i n a cauldron by order of

A u rangz ib , i s ut terly fal se . No man below th i rty couldhave been pu t i n charge of a for t conta in ing A u rangzib

’s

wive s and ch i ldren on the eve of the w ar of s uccess ion ,

a nd , t herefore , Aqi l Khan mu st h ave been an old mana t the t ime of h i s dea th in 1696.

So far was Aqil Khan from be ing cu t OK i n the primeo f you t h through the v ind i ct iveness of h i s m i st res s’s

fa ther tha t he married , ra i sed a family and d ied a t the

a ge of more than seventy s urrounded by h i s grand

ch ild ren . The Le t ters of J l irza B ed il (a favour i te of.

Aqi l Khan , when governor of Delh i towards the end ofth e 17th century , ) ment ions Qayyum Khan as th i s noble’s

son , a nd Shukrulla h Khan and Sha ki r Khan a s h i s sons

in - law .

And ye t th e Urdu b iographer of Labor ha s th e.

a u dac i ty to say th a t Dr . Bern ier wi tnessed the bo il ing

of young Aqi l Khan in a cauldron in the harem Bern ier'

s

s tory refers to J ah anara'

s l over , and he took al l h i s fact s

from M anu cc i .

From the l i fe - ske tch of Aqi l Khan we find tha t he

w as a t. the same place wi th Zeb - nu - n i ssa fi rst a t D a u la ta

bad i n 1658 (some ten months ) , then a t Labor i n 1662

for a w eek only,thenceforth with the imperi al Cou rt a t

Delh i and Agra t il l h i s re s igna t ion in April 1669 , aga in

wi th th e Court dur ing the Raj pu t wars of 1679 and 1680,and finally a t Delh i from J anuary 1681 t o 1696 . It wa sonly during the fi rst and las t of these per iod s that he

86 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

could have been tempted to court the Pr incess by theabsence of her august fa ther .

The Khan’s tempora ry ret iremen t from service and

residence a t Lahor away from the cou rt (November , 1661October, 1663) could no t have been d ue to imperia l

d i spleasure a s he wa s g iven a la rge pens ion all the t ime .

But h is long remova l from the cap i ta l and Emperor’

s

entourage for ten vears (1669— 1679 ) d uring th e firstseven of wh ich he was den ied any imperi al bounty shows

t ha t he had for some rea son , unknown to us , fal len under

the Emperor'

s wra th .

Was i t a puni shment for mak ing love to Zeb - u n

n issa ? A le t ter to her from her brother Prince Akbar .w r i t ten i n 1680, conta ins the sta temen t , As t he Emperorha s now ordered tha t no packet. (na h co ) bear ing th e

Seal of Aqil should be admi t ted to the l ad ies’ apa rtmentso f the palace , i t i s ce rta in th a t papers wi l l h ave t o be

now sent [by me a fte r ca reful considera t ion .

"

Wa s t h i s Aq il her a lleged lover Aqi l Khan R a z i th epoe t ? I th ink

,not . There w as at th i s t ime in A kbar

’

s

camp a Mulla n amed Muh ammad Aq il , w h o a fterwa rds

s igned a man i fe sto pronounc ing canon i cal sentence of

depos it i on on A u rangz ib- in favour of Akbar , for whi ch

th e l i i ckless theolog ian wa s impr i soned and severely

ba st inadoed w hen h is pa tron’

s rebel l ion fa iled .

‘

Zeb

be ing hersel f a Quran ic schol a r and a pa t ron of.

new

commenta r ies on the Musl im scri pture , correspondence

be tween he r a nd a noted t heol ogia n l i ke Mulla N uhum

mad Aq i l would nat u ra lly pa ss unsuspected . The wri te r

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S STUD IE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

orders in all affa i rs as sacred l i ke the Qu ran and Trad [ t io nsof the Pr0ph et ,

'

and obed ience to them as prope r .

”

When A kba r’s rebell i on fr izzled ou t and h is aban

doued c amp near A jm ir was se ized by the imperial i st s

(16th J anuary , Zeb - un - n i ssa’s correspondence

wi th h im w a s d i scovered , she was deprived of her pen s ion

of fou r l akh s of Rupees a yea r , her property was con

fiscated, and sh e was l odged in the fort Sal imgarh a t

Delh i . (M a si r- i —A Iamgiri , Here Sh e l ived t il l her

death on 26th M ay ,1702. I t wou ld be swee t to imagine

tha t during th i s c apt iv i ty ou r

H igh born maidenIn h er p alace - towerSoothed h er love- ladenSoul in secret hourW i th music sweet as love

,which overflo w ed her power.

and tha t sh e wrote a t th i s t ime the pa thet ic l aments wh i ch

Mrs. Wes tbrook h as t ransla ted on page 17

So long these fetters cling to m y feetMy friends have become enemies , m y relations are strangers

to me .

What more h ave l to do with being anxious to keep my

name und ishonoured,

When friends seek to disgrace m e

Seek not relief from the prison of grief, O Makhfi; th y

release 15 not pol i tic .

O Ma khfi, no hope o f release hast thou until the Day

of Judgment come .

But h i story i s s ilen t on t he poi nt . On the other h and ou r

a rdour to w eave a romance ou t of her capt ive l i fe i s

ZE B- L’N - NIS SA . 80

ch illed by the reflect ion that she wa s now an old maid

of 43 and Aqi l Khan was a t lea s t twelve years older anda grandfa ther .

A nother legend makes her fall i n love wi th Sh iva ji

the Mara tha hero at fi rs t s igh t on t he occas i on of h i s be ing

presented to the Emperor a t Agra on 12th May ,1666 .

Fif ty y ears ago a novel was wri t ten by Bh u dev M u kh er i i

in Bengal i descr ibi ng how the lovers exchanged rings and

parted . But i t i s a fict ion and noth ing more . N ot to

spe ak of the Pers i an h i s torie s of the t ime , no Mara th i

l i fe of Sh ivaji ment ions that a Mugha l pr ince ss in terested

h ersel f in the fa te of th e capt ive Ch iefta in i n her father’

s

c ap i ta l . None of them gives the smalles t h in t of the

ch ampion of H i ndu rev iva l h av ing coque tted wi th a

M u sh m sweet -hea rt i n the enemy’

s den . Zeb - un - n issa'

s

aesthe t i c sense , too , woul d h ave saved her from throwi ng

her heart aw av to a. rugged and i l l i te ra te D eccani . The

whole storv i s not onl y unh i s tor i c , bu t improbable .

Her capt iv i ty at Delh i does not seem to have been

re lax ed duri ng her l i fe . The offic ial h i story records her

dea th thus'

Th e Emperor lea rn t from the news - let te r

of Delh i t h at the Pr incess Zeb - u n - n i ssa had drawn on her

face the ve il of God’s Mercy and ta ken up her abode

in the pala ce of i nexha ust ibl e Forg iveness , [26th May ,

A t the pa rt ing of h i s ch ild , dear a s h i s l i fe , hi shea rt w as fil led w ith gr ie f and h i s eyes wi th tea rs . He.cou ld not cont rol t he weakn ess tha t overpowered h im .

[A t l a st] he recovered self -possess ion [ somehow] , a nd

Jordered Syed Amj ad Khan , Sha ikh At au l l ah , and Hafiz

90 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Khan to give away alms [a t her funera l] a nd bu ild a

pla ce of repose for her , a s had been dec ided be foreh and ,i n th e Garden of Th ir ty Thousand [out s ide Delh i] wh ichw as a beques t from J a h anara .

”

A shor t le t ter from A u rangzib to Zeb - un -n issa h as

been preserved i n F a iyya z - u l-ga w a n in , (p . hal f of

i t. i s i n A rabi c and i t tell s u s noth ing abou t her l i fe . S im i

la rly , some le t ters wr i t ten to her by her brothe r Akba .

i n 1679 - 80 and g iven i n A dab- i -A lam g i ri th row no l igh t

on her b iography . A n‘Al iga rh College m anuscrip t con

t a ins some let ters wr i t ten by her Secre ta ry M i rza Khal il .

th ank ing her] for presen t s of fru i t , game , i ce , and a

pa ir of spect acles ! In the 32nd yea r of A u rangz ib’

s

re ign (1688- 1689 ) Inayet -ull ah , the son of her l ady- t u tor .

wa s appo in ted s teward (Kh a n - i -sa ma n ) of her household .

(11 . U .,i i .

She w a s buried in the Ga rden of Th i rty ThousandTree s ou t s ide the Kabul i ga te o f Delh i ; bu t her tombw as demol i shed in ' making the Raj pu tana ra ilw av l ine .

'1’HE NEMESIS OF A URA NGZIB .

.B u t in these ca sesWe sti ll h ave judgment here tha t we bu t teachBloody instructions, which being taught returnTo p lague th

’ inventor this even-handed justiceCommends th ’ ingredients of our po iso n

’

d cha liceTo our ow n lips .

”— M acbeth .

We all know tha t the Emperor A u rangzib ga ined

t he throne by depos ing h is fat her and murd er ing h is

brothers . But i t i s not so well - known tha t an exactl y

s im ila r fa te threa tened h im i n 1681 , when h is fourt h son .

Muhammad Akbar , made an a t tempt to se ize the throne .

Th is prince w a s born a t Au rangabad on 11th

September , 1657 . As h i s mother, Dilra s Banu Begam ,

d ied wi th i n a month of h is b irth the y oung orphan w a s

t rea ted by h is fa ther wi th spec ia l t endernes s . God be

my witness tha t I have loved vou more than my other

sons ,” a s A u rangz ib savs in a let te r to Akbar . The prince

se rved the usual apprent icesh ip in government by act inga s vi ceroy i n some provi nces .

On 10th Decembe r , 1678, Maharajah J aswant S inghof J od hpur d ied in the imper ia l service a t Jamrud in

A fghanis tan . The Empe ror immed ia tely se ized Jodhpur

a nd sent an army into Marwa r to bring i t under h i s d i rec t

rule . The deceased Maha rajah’

s property in the fort

o f S iwana was ordered to be confisca ted . H i s widowedqueens del ive red tw o sons on reach ing Lahor in Februa ry ,

1679 , and then proceeded to Delh i in tend i ng to re tu rntoJo dhpur . But meant ime A u rangz ib had sold the ki ngdom

of Marw a r to J asw an t'

s nephew Indra S ingh , des

92 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

t i oyed the temples o f Jodhpur,and ordered the ca rt

l oad s of idol s brough t f rom the c i ty to be flung down

i n t he c aval ry squa re of the imperial cour t and under the

steps of the Juma Masj id to be trodden on by the Musl ims .

P I our 2nd Apr il the ja z iya or poll - tax was re imposed o n

t h e. non -Musl ims in order , a s th e offic i a l h i s tory o f the

re ign a sserts ,“ to spread the l aw of I sl am and to ove r

t hrow the pract i ce s of the infidel s .

”

(rl/a s'ir- i - A la mg i ri ,

171 — 177 )A t Delh i the lead ing Ra thor adheren ts o f

J a swan t , ~ — D u rgada s, Itancli h orda s, and Rag hunath

I th a tti , — cont i nued to u rge th e Emperor to al low

J asw an t’

s survi v ing infant , Aj i t S ingh ,— the othe r

h aving d ied i n the meant ime , — to go home and

decla re h im as the he i r of Marwa r . But A u rang z ib

(15th July ) ordered the baby prince to be se ized

and confined i n th e pri son o f Nurgarh . The Rathor

e scort offered a mos t heroi c re s i s tance t o the a rres t ,

and the i r leaders , by succe ss ively sa cr ific ing themselves

a nd th ei r devo ted fol lowers i n reargu ard a c t ions , ca rr ied

Aj i t S ingh away i n sa fe ty to Jodhpur (23rd July) , a fte rm a inta in ing a runn ing figh t. w i t h the Mughal a rmy f o r

some days . One. of t he lt an is was k illed to save her from

capture .

The R athor m in i s ters immed ia tely got posse s

s ion o f J odhpur . The Mughal fa '

ujda r of J odhpur

and the fa inca n t Raj ah Indra S ingh were d i s

m i ssed by the Emperor for in compe tence . M ughal

a rm ies now march ed in to l l ajpu tana to wre st J odhpu r

THE NEMES IS or A URA N G Z I B . 93

from theRa th ors . The Emperor h imsel f went to A jm ir

(25111 September) to be nea r the sea t of w a r . Pr ince

A kba r a ccompan ied h im , and moved in advance wi th th e.

vanguard . Maha rana Raj S ingh of Uda ipur havingt a ken up the cause o f the orphan he i r of J odhpur , the

imperia l a rmy sta rted from A jm ir (30th November ) topun i sh h im . P rince Akba r entered I i da ipu r (in Janua ry ,

a ft er i t s evacua t ion by the Maha rana . Mewar w a s

ravaged by th e v Mu gh a ls and 176 temples were dest royed

a t I'

da ipu r and i t s envi rons , besides 63 others i n

(‘

h ito r -ll a sir - i -A la m gi ri , 183 The w ar dragged

o n for some t ime . In th i s wa r , P rince Akba rcommanded

,

. t hev

M ugh a l vangua rd , and ga ined

some. vi c to rie s through h i s able l ieutenant s Ta h a w w u r

Khan,and Syed Ha ssan Al i Khan . But when

posted in the (‘h i tor d is t r ict , he suffered some

heavy losse s by surpri se a t ta cks on the part of Maharana

l taj S i ngh .The Emperor i n anger t ransfe rred h im to

.l odh pu r (J une , where he fough t langu idly aga ins t

the R aj put s for some t ime longer", but i n the end formed

a t rea son able plot wit h t he R aj pu t s to'

depose h i s fa ther

and c rown h imsel f

The Emperor had been sta y ing a t A jm i r, t he b i l l"

o f h i s army being‘ deta ched unde r A kba r . On 7th J an u a rv .

1681 , he rece ived t he sta rt l ing news th a t Prince

Akba r had rebelled a t the inst iga t ion of the Ra th ors and‘

some tra i tors among the imperia l servant s ,”

procla imed

h imsel f Emperor,and wa s planning to at t a ck A u rangzib ,

w h o was slenderly guarded . But lova l officers made

9 -1 STUDIE S IN M I'

GIIA L INDIA .

f orced ma rches to j o in th e Emperor , who boldly i ssued

from A jm ir and rea ched Dorah ah (10 miles sou thward s )o n the 15th . Akbar too a rr ived w i th in three m ile s of th e

pl a ce and encamped for the n igh t . The ba t tle wa s fixed

f or the'

next morn ing . Bu t at n igh t Ta h aw w u r Khan

(surnamed Padi shah Qul i Khan ) , th e ch ief advi ser o i’

Akbar , c ame to the Emperor’s court a t the inv i ta t i on o fh i s fa ther - in - law , a loyal offi cer . A s he decl ined to takeo ff h i s a rms before enter ing the Emperor

’s tent,there wa s

a n al terca t ion wi th the court iers ; then h e t u rn ed to go

ba ck , bu t was bea ten to death by the imperi al guards .

A u rangz ib al so sen t a fal se l et ter to Ak bar and contr ivedth a t i t should fal l into th e hands of the Rajput s . In i t.he pra i sed the prince for h i s success in pre tend ing t o r i se

‘

i n rebell ion i n order to dece ive the R aj puts and br ing

them ea s i l y wi th in th e cl u t ch es of t he imperi al army ?

The Ra j pu t l eaders on i ntercept ing th i s l e t ter wen t

t o Akbar for an expl ana t ion , bu t could no t see h im a s he

w a s then sleeping . Th e j ourney of Pad i shah Qul i Khan

t o the imperia l camp doubled the i r su spi c ion of a t ra p

h aving been la id aga in st t hem ; the va s t R a jpu t army

m el ted away during the n ight and A u rangz ib was saved

Next morn ing (l 6th J anuary ) Akbar woke to find h im

s el f u t terly deserted , and he fled from h i s c amp , l eav ing

h is fam ily and ch i ldren beh ind . D u rgadas re turned to

h im w hen the truth became known .

After pa ss ing some month s in Marwa r and Mewa r ,in t essantly hunted by th e imperial forces, Akbar a t l a stfled to the Deccan 'under the escort of th e fa i th ful

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96 ‘ STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

A t the Pers i an cou rt he demanded a rmed a id for th e

conques t of H indu sth an ; the Shah repl ied tha t he could

not abe t h i s attempt aga inst h is fa ther’s th rone:but wouldgladly help h im w ith

l

m en and m onev i n a war ‘

of suc

cess ion wi th h i s brothers . Noth ing wa s now l e f t for

A kbar bu t to wear h is hear t ou t i n pa t ien t wa i t ing a t

Fa rah on the'

Pers i a n front ier and to wickedly pray forh is fa ther

’s speedy death . A u rangz ib on hearing of h is

u r na tu ral son’s a ims , sm iled gr imly and repea ted the

fol lowing Pers ia n qu at ra in

My heart cannot forget the speech o f th e p otterW'

h o addressed a fragile c up that h e h a d m ade ,‘ I know not wh ether th e stone from th e sky o f Fate\V ill break yo u or m efirst .

’

In fact Akba r d ied in 1701 , th ree years earl i er thanth e author of h i s be ing . Th e follow ing let ters h ave been

tran sl a ted f rom Pers i an Ms . No . 7 1 of the Roy al As i a t i cSocie ty’s Libra ry, (London ) The fi rs t two o f them also

occur,wi th many vari an t s o f re ad ing , in the Bengal

As i a t i c. Soc i e ty’s Ms . F . 56 , the l i thographed Za h ir- u i

ru sh ", and a Pers i an Ms . belonging to me .

T.

— A U RA N GZ I B To HI S SON MUHAMMAD AK BAR .

Muhamm ad Akba r , my son ! close to my heart , a

p iece of my l iver [a s i t. were] , dear as my l i fe— be a ssured

of and exal ted wi th my s incere ’ k indness

,and know

God be my witness , tha t I held you dea rer and m orebeloved th an al l m y ot her sons . Bu t you , th rough your

o w n i ll - l uck , were tempted bv t he decept ion and s tra tagem

of the R aj pu ts , t hose Satan s i n a human sh ape , to lose

THE NEME S IS or A URAN GZIB . 97

y our po rt ion of t he weal th of P a rad ise and to become a

wanderer in the h i l l a nd w i lderness of M i s fort une . Wha t

remedy can I contr ive and wha t help can I give My

hea rt became plunged in extreme sorrow and grie f when

I heard of your pre sen t m i se rable condi t ion of anxi ety ,

perplexi ty , ru in a nd wre tch edness . Nay more , l i fe i t se l ft a s ted b i tter to me ; w ha t need I say of o ther thing s

?

Al a s ! a thousand t imes a la s ! leav ing ou t of your sigh t

your [ legi t imate] pride of rank and maj esty as a prince

and Empe ror’s son , you i n your s impl ic ity took no p i ty on

y ou r ow n [ext reme] you th ; you showed no rega rd for

y our w ives and ch ildren , bu t In the most wretched condi~

t ion threw [ them] i n to the capt ivi ty of those beas t - look i ng

bea s t -hea rted w icked Ra jpu t s ! And you a re roami ng ina ll d i re ct ions l ike a polo ball , now r i s ing , now falling , now

flee ing !

As the Un iversal Fa ther has plan ted in all fa thers’

bo soms afi'ection for the i r sons , I do not , i n sp i te of t he

heavy s ins y ou have commit ted aga ins t ' me , wish tha t

vou should meet wi th the d ue pun ishment of your

deeds V erses)Even though the son m ay be a heap o f ashesH is father and mother regard h im as col lyrium' for their eyes

Let wha t i s pas t , he pas t ! N ow i f y ou a re so gu ided

bv Fortune a s to repent,

of your im pm per deeds , you may

wa i t on me a t any place t ha t you like; the pen of for

giveness w i l l be draw n acros s the pag es of your book of

errors and ofiences ; and such favours and grace w ill be

show n to you as you h ave not conceived inyou r mind ;sx . 7

Q: STUDIE S I N MUGHAL INDIA .

and al l your troubles and hardsh ips w i l l be compensa ted

for. A l though the grant ing of my favours does no t

depend u pon you r pre sen t ing yoursel f be fore me,ye t ,

a s the cup of your d i sgrace ha s fal len from above , i t i s

proper that you should come to my presence even once

to remove the sh ame of evi l repute from yoursel f .

J aswant , the ch ie f of Raj pu ts , a ss i sted and j oined D a ra

Shu koh , [bu t th a t prince] met with noth ing save humil i a

t ion and reverse s i n con sequence . Know for cert a i n

[ th a t the same will be you r _Providence be

fri end you ! God make i t you r lot to fol low the ‘ r igh t

path .

11 . MUHAMMAD AKBAR To THE EMPEROR A URA N GZ IE .

The pet i t ion of the humblest of sons , Muhammad

Akbar , w ho performs all the necessa ry ceremon ies o f

adora t ion and devo t ion , submi ss ion and obed ience , and

l i ke an a tom l ays the foll owing before your M aj e s ty, — th e

centre of adoration and the hol ie st sh r ine of th i s world

and the nex t :

Th e royal le t ter wh i ch , i n a sp i r i t of graci ousness t o

slaves,had been addressed to th i s th e h

'

tim blest of sons ,

a rrived a t the happies t of t imes and the bes t of pl aces . Il a id tha t au spi c ious cele st i a l d i sc on the crown of m y

head,and rubbed i t s w h i te port ion in to m y eyes l ike

l igh t and i t s black port ion l ike col lyri um , and ill um ina ted

m y heart and eye s by read ing its gra c iou s con ten ts . I

submi t a sh ort commentary on all ma t te rs w hi ch have

flow ed from your pen , so ful l of advi ce and grac i ousness ,wh i ch [commen tary] , a s Tru th rs th e essence of a nia ttcr,

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100 sw im -3s IN MUGHAL 4mm .

belongs to H im of l umi nous splendour ,— yet , [how - d oes?s uch part ia l i ty cons i s t w i th] your Maj esty

'

s devot i on to‘

the Canon Law , love of the r igh teous pa th . spi r i tua l

insigh t , and regard for t ru th , wh ich' a re know n and .

man ifes t to th e'

w orld and i ts'

inm ates, [ a s i s proved bv

Shah J aban’s - verse s (in you r Ma j esty in youth]

(V erse)

Whom will h e wish for'

as a friend ,a

and to whom will his heart in‘cl irié

V e ri ly,th e gu ide and teacher of th i s pa th [ of

rebell ion aga ins t a re i gn i ng fa ther] i s your Majesty aot he rs a re merely follow ing your foot steps . H ow can

t he pa th w h ichl yo

‘

u r Maj es ty. h imsel f ch ose to follow be

cal led “th e pa th of i l l - l uck (l

'

arses)

My father bartered away the garden of Eden fortw o gra ins of wheat

I shall be an unworthy son if I do not sell i t for a

gra in o f barley l

H a il , cent re of the w orld s , Spi ri tual and temporal' Men

draw hardsh ip and l abour"

on themselves . Former

emperors l ikeAkbar , J ahangir and Shah J ahan [del ibe r é'

a tely] ra i sed t roubles , and i n the end a t ta ined to thei r

hea rt s’ des i res . Th e vol umes of ‘h istory prove tha t so ;

long‘

as a king [ l i ke A l exande r the Grea t] does not )

penetra t e to the w i lderness of gloom(zu lm a t ) he cannot

t a ste the w a te r of eternal l i fe . No rose W i thout ~a thorn ,

and no buri ed treasure w i thou t [i t s guard i an] snake.

(V erses)

ra -n NEMES IS or A URAN Ge . 2101

Th at man a lone ca n tight ly clasp th e bride of Fortunein h is arms,

Wh o ca n p lant k isses on th e lip of th e keem edged sword .

Si nce ea se has been orda ined a s the resul t of every fat igue ,

I firmly hope tha t , t hrough the gra ce of the Deer of

Al l IV orks ,— ~the Cheri sher of H i s slaves ,— my heart’s

des ire wil l so on man i fes t i t sel f i n the happ ie st manner ,o and a l l my a nx ie t ie s and exert ions wil l be converted in to

re jo i c ing .

Your Ma je s ty has wr i tten,Ul as w an t was the chi e f

(“ O f the Ra j put s ; what sort of ass i s tance and support he

randered to Dara Sh u koh i s lm ow n to the world . Hen cetlie words of th i s fal se race do not dese rve trust . Your

Ma j esty h as spoken ve ry well i ndeed , but has not reached

th e marrow of t he ma tte r . In fac t Da ra Sh u koh bore.h a tred and ant ipa thy to t hi s race , and wha t he snfieredw as the consequence of i t . I f he had ag reed wi th themfrom the outse t , h is afi’a irs would not have come to su ch

a pa ss . Former emperors li ke Akbar had contracted

a l l i ance and kinsh ip w ith th i s race and conquered the

realm of'

H in du sth an wi th th eir help . Th i s i s the race

wi th whose a id a nd support M ahaba t Khan made the

Emperor J ahang ir h is capti ve and me ted ou t due puni sh

ment to the t r i cksters and dece ive rs . Thi s i s the race

who , when your Maje sty wa s adorn i ng the throne a t

Delh i , and the Raj put s [ there] did not number more thanthree hundred men , pe rformed hero ic deeds , w hose na rra

r ti ve i s m ani fe s t t0 ‘ the age ; such he ro i sm and vi c to ry

[ w ere' the i rs] - a s the commanders of th e age have not

STUD IE S ‘

I N M UGH A'

L INDIA .

hea rd of . J a swant i t w as -w h o i n the m idst of the'

bat tle

w it h Shu j a d ispl ayed u npardonable insolence and violence

t o your Maj esty ; and yet your Ma jesty knowingly and

del ibera tely overlooked h i s a c t . - The same J aswan t i t

wa s w hom'

your Maj es ty w on over wi th many charms and

soft speeches an d deta ched from the s ide of Da ra Sh u koh ,

so tha t vic tory fel l to you r s ide . Bless ings be on th is

ra ce’s fidel i ty to sal t , w h o ,wi t hou t hes i t a t ion i n g ivm g

up the i r l ives for the i r master'

s sons,have done s uch deed s

o f he ro i sm tha t for th ree years the Emperor of Ind ia , h i smigh ty . son s

,famous m i n i sters and h igh grandees h ave

been moving in d i s tra c t ion [aga ins t them] , though th i s

i s only the beginn ing of th e contes t .

And w h y should i t not be so , see ing t ha t in your

Ma j esty’s re ign the m in is ters have no pow er , the nobles

enj oy no tru st,the sold iers a re w re tchedly poor , t he

wr i te rs a re wi thou t employment , the t raders are w ithou t

means,the pea san try are down - trodden ? So , too , th e

k ingdom of t he Deccan — wh i ch i s a spa c iou s coun try and

a pa radi se on e arth ,— has become desol ate and ru ined

l i ke a h ill or dese rt ; and t he c i ty of Burh‘

anpu r , - a mole

of bea u ty on the cheek o f t he ea r th ,—ha s become ru ined

and pl undered ; the c ity of Aura ngabad , glorifi ed by con

nect ion wi th y our Ma j es ty'

s name , i s per tu rbed l i ke

qu icksi lve r a t t he shock and inj ury given by the enemy’s

a rm ies . On the H i ndu t r ibe s tw o cal am i t ie s have

descended, (first ) the exa ct i on of the jaz iya i n the tow ns

and (second ) t he Oppression of the enemy in the coun try .

When such suffer ings h ave come dow n upon the head s

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104 STUDIE S '

IN M UGII A L INDIA .

p ract i ce of traders , and are . buying post s w i t h gold and

sell ing them for sh ameful c onsi dera t ions . E very one w h o

ea ts sa l t des troys th e sal t - cellan The day seemed near

w hen the palace of the Sta te would be crac ked .

When I beheld th i s to be the s ta te of affa i rs [ i n the

realm] and saw no poss ib il i ty of your Ma j esty’s ch arac ter

be ing re formed,ki ngly spi r i t u rged me ‘ to cleanse t h e

realm of H indu sth an of the brambles and weeds (fvie,oppressors and l aw les s men ) , to promote men of le a rn i ng

and cul ture , and to dest roy the founda t ion s of tyrannv

and meanness ,— so tha t mank ind might , i n easy c i rcum

stances and peaceful m inds , engage in the i r respe ct i veprofess ions , and good n ame ,— w h i ch i s synonymous .with‘ next l i fe ’ and ‘ eternal ex i stence — migh t remai n [for

me] i n the pages of [ the h i story of] the age . How happy

w ou l d i t be i f Provi dence so befr iends [your Maj esty]t h a t le av i ng th i s work in the hands of th e humblest of

your sons,your Maj e s ty seeks the blessedness of go ing on

a pilgrimage t o the Holy Ci t ie s [Mecca and Med ina] , andthereby induces the whole w orld to u t ter pra i ses and

prayers foryou !'

H i therto your"

Ma j e s ty ha s spent‘

all your l i fe i n the

gues t of the th ings of th i s world— wh ich a re even more

fal se than dreams , and even less const an t th an sh adows .

N ow i s the proper t im e for you to lay i n provis ions for

th e next l ife , i n' order to a tone for your former deeds ,

done ou t of greed for th i s t rans i to ry w orld aga inst'

you r

august fa ther . and noble brothers i n th e days of you r

you th . (V erses)

THE NEME S IS or A URA NGZ IB . 105

O thou art pa st eighty years and art sti ll asleep- l

Thou will not get more than these few days .A s for the lec ture your Maj esty h as read to me in you r

le t ter , I am ash amed of your pre sumpt ion [ in wri t ing in

tha t s t ra in ] ( V erses)What good did you do to y our father,That you expec t a ll th ese [services] from your son ?

0 thou that art tea ch ing wisdom to mank ind,Administer to th y ownselfwhat thou a rt prea ching to oth ersThou a rt not curing thyself,Then , for once, g ive up counselling others

Concern ing what your Maj esty ha s w r i t ten to me t o go

to your presence , al though i t i s the h ighe st ble ss ing to

enter your presence , ye t by reason of my youth and mva pprehens ion of your Maj esty’s vengeance— w h o have

beh aved so notor iously towards your father and brothers— m y heart i s nat urally full of su sp i c ion of such undeserv

ed pun i shment . I f,however

,your Maj esty goe s to A jm ir

wi th a sma l l body of a t tendants , al l these fears w i l l be

removed from my heart ; i t wi l l ga i n confidence , and Ishal l secure th e honour of wa i t ing (in you . Thereafter ,

with perfec t composure of mind I shal l carry ou t al l your

commands . To wri te more woul d be impol i te

[Norns M y fa th er ba rtered a w ay , eta — I n Musl im

theology Adam i s sa id to have been expelled from

P arad i se for brea king God '

s command by eat ing tw

g ra ins of whea t the fru i t of the forbidden tree ) at

t h e insti gat i on of Sa tan .

Wi lderness of gloom .— There i s a Musl im trad i t ion

tha t Alexander the Grea t pe ne tra ted th rough the Egyp ti an

106 STUD IES I N MUGHAL INDIA .

desert to a te rrible dark region where the elix ir fvi ta e w as

preserved . He t as ted i t a s the reward of h i s da ring and

ha rd ine ss . The poe t Sad i uses the sto ry i n h i s Gu li stan .

You r M ajesty ars enal— Theall us ion i s to the despe ra te ba t tle s by wh i ch D urgadas and o ther B a thore

ca rri ed off J asw ant’s in fan t son Aj i t S ingh from Delh i

w here A u rangz ib t r ied to impri son h im s See my H istoryo f A u rangz ib, i i i . 877 .

Th e ba t tle w i th Sh u ja -The ba t tle of Kh ajw a , 5th

January , 1659 , on the eve of wh i ch J asw ant t rea cherously

pl undered A u rangzib’s camp and then fled to J odhpur .

See my H istory of A u rangz ib, i i . 146.

F or th ree y ea rs th e~E mp eror of H indu sth an , e tc .

The allus ion i s t o t he w ar w h ich broke ou t in Ra jpu tanae arly in 1679 , wh en A u rangz ib t ried to annex Ma rw a r

on the dea th of J aswan t S ingh . Mewar w as speed i ly

i nvolved in i t , and though the new M ah a rana J a i S ingh

made pea ce on 14th J un e , 1681, th e qua rrel w as soon

a fterwards renewed . W i th the R a thor follow ers of A j i tS ingh the w ar cont i nued wi thou t cessa t ion for 30 yea rs ,a nd ended only w i th h i s formal recogni t i on by A u rangz ib

'

s

successor i n August,1709 .

The spi ri ted defence of the R aj pu t cha racte r for

fidel i ty and of J asw ant’s memory ag a ins t A u rangz ib

’s

a spcrsions, show s th a t th i s le t ter w as insp ired by Durgada s . The s t ing ing sat i re on A u rangzib conta ined i n th e

second hal f of th e le t ter could never h ave been forgiven

bv tha t Emperor]

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108 STUD IES IN -MUGHAL INDIA ;

c aptured the fort of Qandahar from i ts Mughal garr i son,

A u rangzib be sieged i t twi ce‘

wi thou t succe ss .

R ing in th e ea rn— Slaves i n I sl am ic coun tri e s (as al soamong the anc ien t Teutons ) w ere d i st ingu i shed by putt ingrings i n the i r ears ]

I V . M UHAMMAD AKBAR TO SH A M BH UJ I .

Sh ambh uji , t he ch ief of grea t R aj ah s , e tc . ! h0pe for

my boundles s favou rs and know th at,

From the beginn ing of h i s reign i t w as the i nten t ion

o f Al amgir to u t terly ru in all the H i ndu s al ike . On th e

d ea th of Mah ara j ah J a swan t S ingh th i s in tent ion became

revealed to all . H i s war wi th the Rana' [Raj S ingh , of

Uda i pu r] w as al so the out come of th i s des ign .

As all men are the crea t i on of God, and He i s the

protec tor of them all , i t i s not prope r for us a s i Em pero rs

o f India to t ry to uproot the ra ce of l andowners , fo r

whom i s . Ind ia . Emperor Al amgi r h ad ca rried mat tersbeyond thei r l im i t , and I became convinced tha t i f t he sem en were overth rown then H indu sth an would .not con

tinue to be in the h and s o f our family . There fore , wi th

a \ iew to saving my heri t age and al so t ak ing pi ty on

t h i s race [Raj pu t Raj ah s] who h ave been loyal to u s

from olden t imes,— I decided, a t the reques t of Rana

R aj S ingh and D u rgadas Rath’or , to r i de to A jm ir and

figh t a ba ttle for the th rone , so th a t the inten t ion o f

God migh t become known. In th i s s ta te o f th ings , a s

theRana happened to die , th e. bu siness was del ayed . One

m onth a f te rw ard s , Rana J a i Singh submi t ted the same

THE NEMES IS or A URA NGZ I B . 109

pray er of h is fa the r [ to me ,] t h rough Padi shah Qul i

K.han ,— w h o had gone to J ilw ar in ord er to plunder h is

dom in ions ,— saying ,

“ I f you wi sh tha t the honour of

H indu stlran should rema i n [ i nviola te] , t hen w e all , layingour hands on the ski rt of your robes , hope

“ for ou r del iver

ance and benefi t from y our Ma jest y .

"

At the reques t of these two grea t clans,I

se t abou t to t a ke po ssess ion of mv her i tage . I

a rrived with i n tw o miles of th e ' encam pm ent of Al amgir ,i t w as t h ree hours a fter sunse t ,— the bat tle having been

fixed for t he next morni ng — when Dea th dragged th e

cowa rd Padi shah Qul i Khan bound [wi th ropes , a s i t

w ere ] to th e cou rt of Alamgi r , w h o slew h im immed ia tely

on h i s a rr ival . A l though the go ing away of any one w as

no t rea lly’

subversive of m y undertaki ng, yet , a s Pad i shah

Qul i Khan h ad been the intermedi a ry i n bringing over

t o m y

'

s ide t he Sisodias and Ra th ors, both these clans

were se ized wi th a groundless susp ic ion th a t the whole

a ffa i r w as a stra tagem [of Alamgir] . So they decamped

towards the i r homes , without inform ing me. A t the irdepa rtu re my sold ie rs lost hea rt and fled , so tha t the bat tle

was no t fought .

A t th i s I took a small po rt ion of m y fam ily re ta iners

w i t h me and wen t tow ards Marwa r . The n igh t of th e

next day D u rgada s Rat hor saw me wi th a ll h i s t roops ,

and dec ided t o accompany me . I made tw o or three, t r ips

and c i rcu i t s i n the k ingdom of Marwar . As Muaz zam , ,

w h o had been appo inted to pursue m e,—

.could not over

t ake [me] 111 t hese ramble s , he"d ivided h is troops and

110 STUD IE S IN MUGHAL rxnu .

s ta t ioned them in d ifferen t pa rt s of th e k ingdom o f

Ma rwa r a s outposts . There fore , I pa ssed [ i nto the domi

n ion of] Rana J a i S ingh , and he, a fter offering to me

horses and other presents, ~begged me to rema in in h i s

k ingdom . Bu t a s h is country was cl ose to the sea t of

the Emperor; I d id not cons ider i t. prudent to st ay there .

There fore , bearing i n mind your bravery and h igh spi ri t ,I dec ided to march [ to you r country ] So

,hel ped by

the favour of the grac iou s Accompl i sher of Tasks , on

t h e l st J amad i - u l - aww al , year 1092 A . H . (= 9 th May ,

I sa fely forded th e .river Narmada a t Bh a isw ara h .

D u rg adas Rathor i s w ith me . Keep your mind composed

a bou t me and cheri sh the hepe th a t , God will ing , whenI have ga ined the throne , the name wil l be m ine and the

S‘

t a te wi ll be yours . Fully rea l i s ing A lam gir’s enm ity

to yoursel f and to me , se t your h eart ' on th i s tha t we

sh ould a c t so as t o promote ou r bu siness . ( V erses)As th e world does not stay in the same cond itionI t is better to have a good name, which endures as a memorial .

Th i s i s w ha t w e expect from a man and a h ere . Wha t

m ore need I say than that ‘ A h in t i s enough for th e

w i se ? ’ W r i t ten on 3rd J arnadi - u l- awwal , yea r 1092,

( : l l th May ,

[Nor £ s .

— Maharana J a i Singh was the son and successor o f

Raj Singh . J ilw ar probably stands for the J ilw arra p ass lea d inginto Mewar. Akbar forded the N armada “

a t one of th e crossingp laces apperta ining to the ferry of Akbarpur, at a distance of

16 mi les, close to the frontier of Rajah Mohan Singh ,

” accord ingto Kh afiKhan (i i . Akbarpur is south of Mandu . Th e wordwritten as Bha isw a ra h in the MS . may be a copy ist

’s error forMaheshwar, a no ted p lace 8 mi les east of Akbarpur. The yearis w rongly given in the MS. as

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112 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

H is fi rs t meet ing w i th h is new subj ec t s w as not a

h appy one . An ‘Afgh an named A imal Khan had se t

up a s k ing of the hi llmen and s truck co ins i n h i s ow n

name . The firs t exped i t ion aga ins t the rebel s near th e

Lam gh ana t ended i n the rou t of the imper i a l forces .

Th e sword hav i ng fa i led,t he new governor took - to pol1cy .

’

He engaged h imsel f i n W i nn i ng the hea rts of th e

A fghan s w i th such success th a t the ch iefs o f '

the cla ns

lef t the i r shy and unsoc i al manners and begain’ito vi si t

'

h im w i th ou t any susp ic ion .

’

H i s s t a te smansh ip bore such good fru i t t h a t during

h i s government of 22 yea rs no d i sa s ter be fel l h im, andno admin i s tra t ive fa i l ure or d i sorde r took ‘ pl ace .

'

Rob~

bery and Oppress ion were kept down by h i s firmness anda ct ivi ty .

“Wha tever he pl anned su cceeded ; al l h i s des i res

were fulfill ed .

”

The t riba l ch iefs be came thoroughly obed ien t to h im

every one of them looked up to h im for advi ce i n con

duct ing h i s ow n affa i rs . Under h i s a s tu te gu idance they

cea sed to trouble the Imperi a l Government and spen t the irenergie s i n in ternec ine quarrel s ! H i s cleverness made

h im tr i umph over every d i fficul ty .

Once'

there w as a g rea t”

ga thering of the A fghans

under A imal . There w a s h a rdly any tribe tha t d id not

j o i n h im . Every ma le fighter i n th e h il ls t ook prov i

s ion s for a few days and a ttended th e muster . Th e

su ba h da r’s army w a s too small to encounte r a na t ion in

a rms. Amir Khan w as alarmed , took counsel w i th‘

a

very clever subord ina te , A bdullah Khan Kheshg i , and

a MU SLIM HEROINE . 13

m adeh im write fe igned le t ters to the head of every t ribe

i n the rebel camp , sa y i ng , We had long been wa i t ing

for such a happy event a s t ha t the government of the

count ry would pass to the Afghans . Thank God, ou r

long deferred hope is a t la s t be ing fulfilled . But w e do

not know the characte r of vou r new k ing . I f he i sw orthy .to rule , wri te , and we shall jo in y ou , as se rvi ce

under t he Mughals i s not to our l ik ing .

”

The Afghan ch ie fta i ns h ighly pra ised A imal Khanin the i r repl ies . Then Abdull ah Khan wrote aga in , Al lth i s pra i se i s good no doubt ; but i s your leader so emi

u ent ly just a s to t rea t h i s k insmen and strangers wi th

impart i al equal i ty ? Try h im by a sk ing him to parcel

o u t among the clans the la nd al ready conquered . Then

you will find ou t whethe r he ha s any greed or reluctance

to be impart i a l to al l .

A t th i s the t r ibesmen made the proposa l to h im .

A ima l decl ined , saying ,

“How can a small te rr i tory be

d iv ided among so m anv men 9

A l l was now di ssens ion in the Afghan camp . Manv

o f the h il lmen immed ia tely re turned home i n anger .

Ai mal Khan had a t la s t t o make a d iv i s ion of l and ; but

a s he nat ural ly showed grea te r cons ide ra t ion to h is ow n

cl an and ki nsmen ,th e qu arrel broke ou t afresh . Al l th e

other ch ie fs lef t h im in d isgust , and wrote to d issuade

A bdullah Khan from j o in ing such a bad ki ng ! Surely

the. pol icy of d ivide ct imp era ha s never tr iumphed so

w el l i n Afgh an istan .

S.M . 8

.114 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

A‘

WOM A N WHO RULED THE AFGHAN S .

Amir Khan’s wi fe , SA H I BJ I (=Her Ladysh ip) ,w a s a daugh te r bf A l i M ardan Khan , a h ighly gi fted

Pers i an , w h o rose to be the Prem i er Noble of the Court of

Sh ah J ahan . She w as a w onderfully clever and exper t

wom an . In conduct ing the admini s tra t ion she was he r

husband’s par tner . H is success i n many a di fficul ty w as

due to her wi se sugges t i ons an d bu s iness capac i ty . Sh e

w as the real Governor of Kabul .

One n igh t the Emperor A u rangz ib lea rn t from the

repor t of Kabul the new s of Amir Kh an’s death . Immed iatelv summ on ing

‘

A rsh ad Khan (who had formerly ac ted

a s D iw an of Afghan i st an ) , he sa id i n concern , A grea t

d iffi cul ty ha s cropped up . A mi r Khan i s dead . Tha t

province,wh ich i s ever r ipe for a thou sand d i stu rbance s

and troubles,ha s now none to govern i t . A d i sa s ter may

h appen before the arr ival of h i s successor .

”

Arsh ad Khan boldly repl ied,

“ Amir Khan l ives .

W 110 ca ll s h im dead

The Emperor handed h im the repor t from.

Kabul .

The Khan read i t and a dded ,

“ Yes ; bu t then i t i s

Sa h ibji who governed and controlled the province . So

long as sh e l ives your Maj es ty need not fea r any d i sorder .

”

The Emperor a t once wrote t o the l ady to gua rd the

prov ince t il l th e a rrival o f h er husband'

s su ccessor in

o ffice, w h i ch , however , h appened two yea rs a fterwards .

Du ri ng th i s in terval sh e w a s t he sole Governor o f

A fghan i s tan , a s she h ad been in all bu t the name in

her h usband'

s l i fet ime .

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116 STUDIE S I N' MUGHAL INDIA .

elephan t ra shly onw ard .

‘

Her escort pulled ou t the ira rrows from the .qu ivers ; bu t the bru te flung i ts t runk on

the c lm ndo l t o se ize and trample i t down . The porters

dropped i t and fled . Quick a s though t Sah ibji j umped

ou t , ran in to a money- changers sh Op h a rd by , and sh u t

the door . Thi s wa s no common fea t. of agi l ity,a s a

Musl im noblewoman travell ing on t he publ ic road mu st

have been securely wrapped up l i ke a pa rcel sent by pos t

i n the ra iny se ason .

She had saved her l i fe,bu t ala s ! she h ad broken

p a rda h ,- an unpardonable o ffence aga i nst Indian et i

ouet te . Ami r Khan was angry a t her a udac i ty , and for

a few days l ived in separa t ion from he r . Then th e

Emperor Shah J ahan told h im frankly , She has plaved

a man’s pa rt ; she ha s saved he r ow n and you r honour a t

the same t ime . I f the eleph an t had se i zed he r and

exposed her (bare bodv) to th e pu bl ic , wha t privacy would

h ave been lef t 9

So she wa s ta ken ba ck by he r h usband . Amir Khanmigh t h ave cried ou t t o h i s hero i c w ife ,

Bring forth men children only I

For th y undaunted m ettle sh ould compose

N othing but m ales

Bu t unfortuna tely she w a s ch i ld less l i ke Ladv

M a cbeth . Her h usband , i n fea r of her , durs t not. ta ke

another wi fe , bu t kept a secre t ha rem and had ch ildren

by them . A t la s t Sah ibji d iscovered i t , but adopted and

lov ingly brough t. up her step - sons .

A M U S LIM Irsrro‘

rNE . 117

THE FER INGI PIRATES OF CHA TGA UN , 1665 A D .

[F rom th e con temp ora ry Persia n a ccou nt. of .S'

h ih a bu dd in

71111371, i n th e‘

Bodleian. 113.

A l l RACAN DESCR IBED .

The fort of Chatgaon i s an appurtenance o f th e

k ingdom of A rra can‘

, which i s a l arge count ry and grea t

port of the eas t . One s ide of i t i s enclosed by h igh h il ls

wh i ch j o in the mounta ins of Kashmi r,Ch ina

,Cathay ,

and M ah ach in . Another s ide i s bordered by the oceanDeep r ivers and wide ocean s enclose the western s ide ,w h i ch adjo i ns Bengal . The land and wa te r rou tes

a l i ke for ente ring the coun try a re very d ifficul t .

I ts conques t i s an ext remely hard ta sk . The people

of th e count ry are cal led Magh s , — ~wh ich i s an abbrevi a

t ion of M a lt a m i l- i - sag dog ) , a ccord ing to

[ the prove rb] The name descend s from heaven .

”Th ev

do not adm i t i n to the i r cou ntiy any other tribe than

the Chri st ians , who vis i t i t bv t he sea - route for pur

poses of t rade . Good el eph ants abound ; horses a re

tot al ly wan t ing . Th i s wr i te r ha s heard from the Khan

Khanan [Mir Juml a] th a t the elephants of A rracan

surp ass al l oth e r elephant s i n bea u ty of appea rance and

ch a ra cter . Some m ines of metal s a re sa id to ex i s t i n th e

count ry . The inhab i tant s h ave no defin ite fa i t h or

rel igi on,but in cl ine [a l i t tle] to th e H i nd u c reed . The i r

l ea rned men a re cal led Ra w h'

s ; they do no t t ransgress

the gu idance of the la tte r in the i r earthly affa i rs . Th e

Ra w lis h ave the wavs of the Scw rah s [ = Sh w etam bar

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120 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDI A .

a re larger than g la m-

a bs ; these a re so s trongly made of

t imber wi th a ha rd core (a z (J rob- i - ga tbdm ) tha t th e ball s

of zam bu m ks and smal l cannon cannot p i erce them .

[La tterly] t he R aj ah appo inted t h e Fer-ingi p ira te s to

pl under Bengal,and hence h e (l id n ot. send the A rraean

flee t for the purpose .

OLD crnvroaozv nns c rrrnrzn .

Chatgaon i s a t ra c t ad j acent to Bengal and A rracan

al i ke . From J agdia , where there w as a [Mughal] ou t

post , to (‘

h a tgaon lay a w i lde rness . t ln th e sk i r t o f

the h i ll w a s a dense j ungle , w i th ou t any vest ige of

h abi ta t ion o r l iv ing be ing . The river Fen i , r i s ing in the

h ill s of Tipperah ,pa sses by J agd ia

egg and fal ls i nto the

ocean . N ine ty - n ine ri a l/( 17m , w h i ch conta in water even

in sea sons other than the m onsoon s , in tervene between

Fen i and (‘i lratgaon A f ter th e c apture of Ch a tgaon ,

bridges (p u t ) were bu ilt. bv Sha i st a Khan 's orde r over

all t hese a w l/( 17m . From Da cca to Cha tgaon s ix creeks(ba lm r) have t o be crossed i n boa ts : one of them i s th e

r iver of Sri pu r , whi ch i s so broad tha t a boa t can pe r

form onlv one t ri p across i t and ba ck i n the whole day .

t ln the bank of the Ka rrra fu l i r ive r a re sonre h i ll s ,high and low , si tua ted close t o ea ch other . The lower

h ill s have been h eaped over wi th earth and ra i sed to th e

level of the h igher ones ; al l these h ills h ave been scarped

cyl ind ri ca l ly , fort ified , and named the tort [o f Cha tgaon] .

I n st rength i t rival s th e rampart o f Al exander , and i t s

ln Rennc ll’s A t la s. Sheet 1 , J agd ra is on th e Li t t le Fea t R i xcr.

THE FE lt t i I PIRATE S or CHATGAON . 121

“ towers (bu rj ) a re a s h igh a s the tnh zl'- u l- b(u -

uj . Panev

c annot sound the depth o f i t s moat . inrag ina t ron cannot

reach i t s n iched pa rape t .

In the fort h as been dug a deep di t ch ,about e igh t

vards i n breadth ; on the ea stern side , cl ose to the edg e

o f the d i t ch , flows the river descend s

from the T ippe rah h il l s t o the sea . ( h r the north s ide i s

a la rge wide and deep tank cl ose to the d i t ch . Beh ind

the tank , along th e en t i re north s ide and a pa rt of th e.

western s ide , a re h ill s . The h ill s a re so h igh and the

j ungle so den se , tha t i t i s impossible to t ravers e them

e ven in imagina t ion . \V ith in the tort two springs flow ,

th e water of wh ich runs into t he Ka rna fu l i r ive r in the

rnonsoons , when the channel of the springs becomes so

broad th a t a jaUm boa t can easi lv pa ss th rough it . A s

the people o f the fort u se al l the wate r [ tha t i ssues] i n

sea sons other t han the ra iny, th ev danr the springs and

block the ou tle t to the Ka rna fu lr r i ver . ( ln a heigh t

wi th in the fort i s a t oni h ,know n a s the ( ism/u? of Pir

Bada r ; t he a t tendant s o f the shrine perform prayer and

f a st . The Magh infidels have set tled some vill ages

i n rcngf on th i s tomb ; th ev make p ilgrimage to the h o lv

d ead and o ffe r present s . I t i s sa id tha t i f one

c ould perform the imposs ible fea t of dragging a l arge

gun to the top of the bill a t th e weste rn angle [of t he

fert] — which adj o in s T ipperah— i t s ball s would fal l wi th

i n the fort . t ln th e other s ide o f the Karna fu l i there is

a lofty and st rong for t,oppos i t e the fort of Cha tgaon ;

i t i s ful l of defence -materi al s .

122 STUDIE S IN M UG I IA L INDIA .

Every yea r the Raj a h of A rracan sends to Chatgaon

a hundred sh ips ful l ofl soldiers and art i lle ry muni t i ons ,wi th a new Kdm m l 'ari (commandan t , super intendent ) ,w hen the form er Ka ram ka ri , wi th the sh ips of l a s t yea r ,re t urn s to A rracan . There

,rs a lway s some t ru stworthy

rel a t ive or fa i th ful clarrsm an of the R aj ah in charge o f

t he government’ o f Cha tgaon . He i s sues gold co in s

st amped w i t h h is ow n name a t th i s pl a ce and i t s

dependenc ie s .

In bygone t imes , one of th e Sultans of Benga l

named Fakhrudd in fully conquered Clratgaon , and bu il t

a n embankment (a t) from Chandpur , oppos i te the out

post of Sripu r across the r iver , to Cha tgaon . Th e

mosques and tonrbs wh i ch are s i tu a ted i n Cha tgaon were

bu il t in F akh r'u ddin’

s t ime . The [ex is t ing] ru ins prove i t .

CHATGAON I N MAGH HAND S .

When Bengal wa s annexed to the Mughal empi re ,

a nd incl uded i n the records of the qanu ngo depa rtmen t ,

Cha tgaon w as entered in the papers of Bengal a s one of

the de fa ul t ing unse t tled [d i s tr i c t s] . W hen the onu ta sa ti

(Us of Bengal d id no t really wi sh to pay any man whose

sal a ry was due , they gave h im an a ss ignment on th e

revenue of Chatgaon'Towards the end of t he rule of

th e Bengal k ings and the early years of th e conquest

o f Bengal by the Mughal s , w hen grea t confus ion pre

va iled i n the count ry , Cha tgaon aga in fell i n to the hands

o f the Maghs, w h o d id not leave a b i rd in t he a i r or a

bea st on the land [ from (‘

lra tgaorr] to J agd ia , the front ier

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124 sr i'

D I E s IN M UGHAL INDIA .

O

n ere sold to the Du tch , Engl i sh , and French merchant s

at. the ports o f the Deccan .

Som et irrres t hey brought t he capt ive s for sa le a t a

h igh pri ce t o Tam l u k , and th e. por t of Balesh war , wh ich i s

a pa rt. of the imper i al dom in iorrs and a dependencv o f

th e province of Ori ssa . The m a nner of . t he sale w a s

th i s — Th e wret ches u sed to bring th e prisoners in the i r

sh ips , anchor a t a, sh ort'

dista nce f rom the sh ore e lf

Tanrlu k or Bale shwar , and send a nrarr a shore wi th the

new s . The local office rs , fea ring lest the p i ra tes sho u ld

c omm i t any depreda t i on or kidnapping there , s tood on

th e sh ore wi th a. number of followers , and sen t. a m an

with a. sum of nroney to the pi rat e s . I f the term .

“ were.

sa t i s fac tory,t he p ira te s took the money and sent th e

pr isoners wi th the man . Only the Ferirrg i pi ra te s sold

the i r pri soners . But the Maghs employed al l th e i r

c apt ives in agricul ture and other kinds of servi ce . Many

h igh -born person s and Sayy ads , m any pure a nd Sayyad

born women, w ere compelled t o undergo the d i sgra ce of

th e slavery,servi ce o r concubinage (fa r

-

a s h ma s uba ba t‘

)

o f t hese wi cked men . Musl ims underwent su ch oppres

s i on i n th i s region of w ar (J a r- 1114 10 10) a s th ev had not

t o suffe r in Europe . I t w a s l ess in some Governors'

t ime

a nd more in others'

.

As th ev for a l ong t ime cont inually pra ct i sed p i racy ,

the i r count ry pro spered , and the i r number i ncreased , wh i l e.

Bengal da ily became more and more desol ate , l ess and

less able t o res i s t and figh t th em . Not. a householderw a s le ft. on both s ide s of th e rive rs on the i r t ra ck from

THE rs a rxo r PIRATES or CHATGAON . 125

Da cca to Chatgaon . The d i st ri c t o f Bagla ,ins a par t of

Bengal , lying in the i r usual path ,w as [ formerly] ful l of

c ult iva t ion and houses . and vielded every yea r a la rgeamount to the Imperia l Governmen t as duty on i t s betelnuts . They swept it wi th the broom of plunder and

abduct ion , leavi ng none to inhabi t a house or kindle a

fire in all the t rac t . Mat te rs came to such a pass that

the Governor of Dacca confined h is energie s to the defenceof th a t c i ty onlv, and the prevent ion of t he coming of

the p i ra te flee t to Da cca , and st ret ched some i ron cha insa cross t he n u lla h of Dacca and set up some bridges of

bamboo (n a i , reed ) on th e s t ream (na h a r) of the c itv.

DEMORAL ISED BENG AL NAVY .

The sa ilors o f the Benga l flot ill a were i n such a

fright , tha t I m ay say wi thout exaggera t ion th at when

ever 100 wa r- sh i ps o f Bengal s ighted fou r sh ips of th e

enem v ,i f the d i stance separa t ing them w as grea t the

Benga l crew showed fight by fl igh t , cons idered i t a grea t

victo ry tha t th ev had ca rried off the i r l ive s in safetv,

and became famous in Bengal for the i r valour and

h ero ism : I f the int erva l was smal l and the enemy overpowered them ,

the men of the Bengal sh ips— rowers .

sepoy s,and a rmed men al i ke— th rew themselves w ithou t

delay in to the water , preferring drowning to capt ivi ty .

Once Ashu r Beg ,an officer of P ri nce Shuja w a s

crui s ing with abo u t 200boat s , when a few of t he enemy'

s

Bug leincl u d

ed Backerga nj and pa rt of Da cca (7 . .4 . S. B. , Pt . L ,

( 873, p .

126 STUDIE S IN M UGHAL IN DIA .

flee t , i n num ber not[ even one- tenth of th e imperi al

fl ot il l a , c ame i n sight .

“Ashur Beg was mor tally f righ

t ened ; i n gre a t agi t a t i on he cried to the m cinjh i or capta i n

o f h i s sh ip ,“A I: bd i fish bc(l ch l

” * The m a nflzi i n

perplex i ty a sked , ,ill i r-ji u whence can I ge t broth at

such a t ime J us t now these pi ra tes wil l cook a n i ce

broth for you ! Ashur Beg i n ag i t a t i on and bewilder

men t kept up c rying , You confounded fell ow,give

fish ,” and the f

i nci'nj h i went on reply ing, I have not got

i t. with me .

’

Whence ca n I br ing i t ? ”

[The fa c t i s]sa i lors u se the term to mean , ba ck ing the boa t ’;A shur Beg in h i s terror had forgot ten the word and used(2371. i n s tead ! In no other pa rt o f th e Mughal empi re

h as any ne ighbouring infidel [k ing] th e power to oppress

a nd dom inee r over M usl ims ; bu t ra ther do [ i nfidel k ings]show all k inds of subm i ss ion and humil i ty i n order t o

save the i r homes and lands , and the [.Mugh al] officers

o f tho se pl a ces engage i n mak ing new acqu is i t i ons by

c onques t . In Bengal al one the oppos i te i s t he case ; here

the mere preservat ion of th e imperi al domin ion i s con

s idered a grea t boon . Those Governors i n whose t imesthese pi rac ie s were l ess frequen t , congratula ted themselve s

a nd exul ted a t. i t . None of them t ried to s top th e path

o f oppress i on and dominat i on of th i s wi cked t ribe through

thei r fear o f the nece ssa ry expend i tu re and exert ion ,

weakness o f fa i th and t ru st , and the [ fa l se] not ion of

t he i r la ck of power .

“ Ho , bro ther, gi ve [m e] bro th . Ro i is th e Dacca pro nu a cna t ion of Bh u i .

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128 STUDIE S IN M UGHAL INDIA .

i rahm ap u tra . Sangram garhf i s the land at the ex tre

nai t-y of th e i sl and del t a ) wh ich conta ins Dacca andother towns and vi llages . In front of i t the Gangesa nd the Brahmaput ra un i te . The mingled stre am

,a f ter

pass ing by Bh alu a and Sondip , fal l s into t he sea . Inanc ien t t imes , a man named Sangram had bu il t a fort

here to repel the Magh ra ids i nto Bengal . In Hi nd i afor t i s c al led a ga rb . By the comb ina t ion of these tw o

w ords t he name of t he pl ace has been formed . I f afor t were bu il t here a nd stored with w eapons , mun it ions ,.

and materi al s of de fence , and a la rge force and wel l

equ ipped flot i ll a kep t here , the Oppress ion of the p i ra te s .

a nd the ra ids o f the Maghs in to Bengal could most prob

ably be prevented .

FE RIXG I PIRATES .

M anv Fer ing i s l ived happily a t (Th a tgaon‘

l‘ and

used to come to the imper ia l dom inion for plunder and

abduct ion . Hal f t he i r boo ty th ey gave to the R aj ah

o f A rracan ,and the other hal f they kept . Th i s t ribe

was cal led Ha rmm t i They had 100 sw i f t jnNm boa t s

ful l of w ar-material s . The Governors o f Bengal wered isturbed by the i r robbery and were too wea k to preven t

i t . As the H a rm ads [ z Feringi pi ra te s] were not. in

tra ce o f Sa ngramga rh i sitou nd in Renne l l . Th e A la mg irna ma h, p . 943, say s

tha t i ts name w a s cha nged to A lam g i rna ga r, a nd tha t i t w a s 2 : bus from Sri p u r (p .

I t m u st ha v e been nea r Rennell'

s M end igm tge. Kh afiKh a n ca l l s i t Sa ngram ua ga r, i i . 188.

t The i r se ttlement w a s ca l led Pering i -ba nda r or Ba nda r, on th e so u th ba nk o f-

th e

Ka rna fu li , v ery c lose to i ts mo u th .1 Thi s w ord is ev i dent ly m mu d , a corr u p t ion o f a rm a da . .t rma d is u sed in th e

sense of fleet in th e Ku h‘

ma t-i-tn i'riba t .

THE FER ING I P IRATE S or CHATGAON . 129

need of the help of the A rracan flee t,the ki ng of A rracan

d id not send hi s sh ips to prac t i se p i ra cy i n Mugha l terr i

tory (Bengal) . He cons idered the Fering i p ira te s i n th el igh t of h is se rvant s , and too k the boo ty they brough t

[ as h i s share] .

[ In December, 1666 , the Fer ing is of Chatgaon , part lyin fea r of A rracan ese t re achery and pa rtly w on over by

Sh a ist a Khan’s tempt ing overtures] came wi th all t he i rfamil ie s in 42 ja lba s and took refuge w i t h Farhad Khan ,

t he Mughal th a na h da r of Noak hal i . The Khan sen t

t he i r ch ie f , Capta in Moor, wi th a few of the i r grea t men

to Shai s t a Khan a t Dacca ,h

wh ile he kept all the others

wi th the i r sh ips a t Noakhal i , sh owing them grea t a t ten

t ion and kindness . The Capta in and other leaders of the

Feringi s had a ud ience of the Nawwab a t n igh t , andrece ived Splend id robes of honour and other unexpec ted

favours . Th e Naw wab asked them ,\V h a t did the

i am indar of the Maghs fix as your sa la ry ? ” The

Feringi s repl ied,Our salary w as t he imper ia l domin ion '

cons idered the whole of Bengal a s ou r jag i r. Al l thetwelve months of t he year we made ou r collec t ion

booty] without trouble . We had not to bother ourselves

about a m las and a m ins ; nor h ad we to rende r a ccount s

and balances to anybody . Passage ove r wate r wa s ou r

[ land su rvev . IVe never sla ckened the enhancement

of ou r ren t , viz . ,booty . For yea rs we h ave le ft no arrea rs

of [ th i s] revenue . We have wi th us papers of th e d ivi

s ion of the booty vil lage by vi ll age for the las t 40 y ears .

"

One can infer from th i s answ er the cond i t ion of th i ngs

sun . 9

130 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

and the weakness of th e Governors of Bengal . Th e

com ing. over of , the Fering i s gave composure to the heart s

of th e people of Benga l . Tw o thousand rupee s w ere pre

sen ted from the N aw w ab’s ow n purse a s reward to

Capta in M oor and the other Fer ingi s w h o had come from

Chatgaon , and from the Imperi al Tre asury a monthlys t ipend of Rs . 500 w a s se t tled on t he Capta in , and oth er

comfort able s alar ie s on o thers of the tr ibe .

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132 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Depu ty Governor a t D a cca] A q ida t Khan had sen t wit ha smal l force to

,M una

'

ww ar , prevented t he crew of the ir

ow n boa t s from retrea t ing by t urn ing them round . Th e

crew , on see ing the i r pa ssengers averse t o fl igh t , j umped

into the sea and sw am ashore to sa fety . I sma i l Khanand h i s c omrades boldly made a fi rm st and and repelled

wi th the i r bows and guns the enemy who h ad advanced

to se ize them . A muske t - sho t gra zed the leg of I sma i lKhan . The curren t drove the i r sa i lorless boat s to th e

bank, and they escaped dest ruct ion . The few boa ts

t ha t s t il l belonged to the na w w a ra w ere thus los t , and

i ts name alone rema ined in Bengal .

SHAISTA KHAN’S RE SOLVE TO SUPPRES S P IRACY

On 8th M arch , 1664, the new V i ceroy , Sha ist aKhan, ente red R ajmahal [ the

‘weste rn cap it a l of Bengal] .

W hen he lea rnt tha t the cau se o f the ravages of th e

p i ra tes w as the pow er and equ ipmen t of the i r flee t and

the d ila p idat ion of the Benga l flee t , he gave u rgen t

orders to Muhammad Beg [A bakash , the da rogh a of th e

w a w w axra ] to res tore the flot ill a , wrote to A q idat Khan

al so [on the subj ect] , a ccepted th e suggest ions of

Muhammad Beg,appointed a t h is reques t Qaz i Samu , a s .

m u sh a rraf of the namma ra ,and sen t them back to D acca

w i th robes of honour and present s . As t imber a nd sh ip s

w righ t s were requ i red for repa i ring and fi t t ing ou t th e

Sh ips , t o evcrv fm a u za of the province tha t h ad t imber

and ca rpenters , ba i l iffs (inu h a sa l ) were sen t wi th

wa rrant s (pa ru'

a na h ) to ta ke t hem to Da cca . I t w as

THE coxou r-zsr or 133

o rde red tha t a t t he port s of H ugh l i , Bale shwa r , Murang ,

Ch ilmari , J essore , and Kariha ri , as m anv boat s should

be bu il t a s poss ible and sent [ to Da cca] . The Nawwabspoke to the Capta in of the Dutch

,w h o was .pre sent a t

t h e aud ience , You make vast amount s every yea r by

y ou r t rade i n the imperi a l dom inions,for wh ich y ou

have to pay no dut y or t i the . For th i s rea son , the pa th

o f the profi t of Musl im and H indu bepa ris and merchant si n the imperi a l dom in ions , espec ially i n Bengal , ha s

been closed . In gra t i t ude for such favour and bountyyou should ca ll for shi ps from vour country , and co

opera te wi th the imperi al force s i n the exped i t i on

a ga ins t A rracan for ext i rpat i ng the Maghs , wh ich I havei n view . Abol i sh the fac tor ies (l 'o th i ) th a t vou have in

A rracan . O therwi se , know for certa i n that t rade and

t raflic with you wi ll be forb idden al l over the empire ,a nd your ga ins stopped .

" The Capta i n repl ied , Ic annot agree to t h i s grea t and ser io us proposa l w ithou t

first wr i t ing to ou r head , t he Genera l [Govern or -Genera lo f the Dutch Ind ies], and gett ing h i s consent . The

Naw wab,a ccept ing the C apta i n

'

s ent rea ty , sa id ,

”

Wri t e

a nd ca l l for a reply ,

" and entrusted to the Capta i n a

p a rw a na h on the above subj ect , one su i t of Mai/a t and

one j ewelled sa ddle - cover , for the General . Through

G od’s grace , the i r help was a t l as t found unnecessa ry .

As the Fe ring i s engaged i n pi racy, k idnapping andpl under ing th e i nhabi tants of Bengal , and l ived a t

Cha tgaon under th e protec t ion of the zaminda r of

A rracan ,g iving hal f the i r booty from Bengal to h im , the

134 STUDIES IN MUGHAI. INDIA .

Naw w ab sent Sha ikh Zi audd in Yusu f, one of h i s ow n

officers , a s (la rogh a of t he port of Ladh ikolf wh ich is

nea r Da cca and where Feringi merchants , engaged i n

the sal t trade, l ive ; he ordered the Sha i kh to manage

th a t these Feringi s should wr i te to the i r bre thren , th e

p ira tes of Cha tgaon,offer ing assurances and h epes of

imperi al favours and rew ard s , a nd th us make them come

and enter t he Mugha l se rvice . Z ia udd in , t oo , w as

to send conc i l ia tory le tte rs [of h is ow n] to them .

SHAI STA KHAN CREATE S A N EW FLOTILLA .

'

Ou 13th December, 1664, Sha ist a Khan firs t

entered Da cca . He devo ted all h i s energy to t he rebu i ldi ng of the flot i l l a : not for a m oment d id he forge t to

mature plan s for a ssembl ing the c rew,prov id ing the i r

ra t ions and needrnents, and collec t ing the ma teri al s for

sh ip -bu ild ing and Sh ipwr igh ts . H ak im Muhammad

Husa in , ma nsabda r ,’ an old, able , lea rned , t ru stworthy and

v irt uous servant of the Naw wab , was appo inted head of

th ei

sh ip-bu ild i ng departmen t . The m u slza rrafl o f th e

flot i ll a w as given , r i ce Qaz i Sarn u , t o Muhammad Muq im ,

a n expert , clever , and ha rdwork ing offi ce r serving in

Bengal , whom Mir J umla had lef t a t Dacca in super

v i s ion o i the 710217100 20 a t the t ime of th e Assamexped i t ion . Kishor D as

,an imper ia l officer , a wel l

i n fo rmed and expe rienced clerk , w a s appo inted to have

cha rge of the pa rgana h s o f the a mmon i a , and t he

s t ipend o f t he j agi rs a ss igned t o the [naval] officers and

In Renne l l , Sheet I , Lu ricm l , 13m i les w est of Ch a ndpou r.

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136 STUDIE S IN M UG II A L INDIA .

THE FE l tI N G I S DE SERT To THE MUGHAL S IDE .

Ever s ince h i s com i ng to Bengal the Nawwab h adbeen plann ing 'h ow to’ pu t down the root of d i s tu rbance ,th e Fering i p i ra tes , e i ther oby w rnnrng them over or by

sl ay ing them . As al ready narra ted , Sha i kh Z iauddi n

Yusu f told the Feringi s of Ladh ikol wha t th e N awwabhad sa id , and they wrote to t he i r p i ra t i cal bre thren o f

Chatgaon rea ssur ing them and a sking them to v i s i t th e

Nawwab . IV h en th e N awwab w as making h i s progress

[from R ajmah al] to D acca , the [Portrrgrrese?] Capta in

of t he port of H u gh li i n terviewed h im on th e w ay . The

Nawwab,after gra cing h im wi th favours

, a sked h im to

wri te to t he Fering i p i ra t e s of C-ba tgaon tempt ing them

t o come over t o the ila w w ab

'

s servi ce . When he rea ch

ed Dacca , the Cap ta i n of Tamluk also wa s ordered t o

wri te let ters of i nvi ta t ion to them . When these su cces

s ive let ters a rr ived a t Ch atgaon,and t he news of the

conques t of Sondip and t he establ i shm en t of a Mugh al

th ana h t here spread abroad , sp ie s reported these mat te rs

t o the k ing of A rracan . Th e news threw h im into

t error,and he w rote to h i s uncle

'

s son , the Governoro f Cha tgaon , t o look ca re fully to t he defence of th e.

count ry and fort,conc i l i ate the Fering i p i ra te s , a nd send

to A rracan the i r fami l ie s a nd ch ildren , a nd i nformed

h im tha t a l a rge flee t equ ipped for ba tt le wa s being

shortly sen t to Ch atgaon for re in forcement . As he h adf rom the above cau ses com e to enterta in suspi c ion

[of the fidel i ty] of th e Feringi s , he really w i shed t o l u re.

th e i r fam il ies t o A rracan and massa cre the Fering i s

THE CONQ UE ST or c'

rI A TG o . 137

t h emselves a t Cha tgaon a t an opportune t ime . The hea rt s

o f the Fer ingi s were d i st rac ted and shaken by the a rrival

o f the tempt ing le t ters and the news o f the Mughal

e s tabli shment a t Sondip . On learn ing of the wi shes o f

th e Magh ch ie f , they fled wi th the i r fam il ie s i n 4"

j a lba s to Farhad Khan a t Noakhal i for protect ion .

“

[ They were t aken into impe ria l service and l ibera llv

rewarded by the Nawwab]

INVA S ION' IMMEDIATELY DECIDED OX .

Capta in Moor , t he Fer ing i leader , reported to t he

N awwab " Owing to the i r pride and folly , the ki ng and

c ounsellors of A rra can have . neglected t he defence and

mun i t ions of the for t , and ru ostly depended on us [ for

th i s purpo se] . But now th a t they have hea rd of the con

q u est of Sondip ,they have ordered a la rge a rmy and flee t

t o re in force [ the defence of Cha tgaon ] . I f the Mugha lforce a t ta cks the fort be fore th e a rr iva l of th i s re inforce

men t , i t s c apture will probably be verv ea sy .

” ‘The

Nawwab,w h o had been day and n igh t th inking how t o

r eal i se th is obj ec t , regarded t he com ing over of t he

Fer ingi s as the commencement of the v ic tory , and dec ided

not. to let th i s opport un i ty sl ip away .

From J agdia , the front i e r o f Mugha l Bengal , to

Chatgaon ,a d i stance of 30 Ice s , i s an u tterlv desola te

Th e A lamg irnama h , p. 947 , sa y s :“ Th e Feringi s , lea rn ing [of t h e intende d

A rraca nese treach ery J res i sted a nd fo u ght t h e A rra ca nese , b u rnt some o f th e sh i ps o f~

t h e la tter. and sta rt ed for serv ice in Benga l w i t h a ll t he i r good s a nd sh i ps . On

l gt h December, 1665,fift y j a lba: of th e Fei'ing’i s, f u l l of gu ns , m u sket s, and m u n i t ions ,a nd all t h e Feringi fami l ies, rea ched Noa kha l i .”

138 STUD IE S IN MUGHAL IND IA .

wilderness . The exped i t iona ry force would have to be

suppl ied wi th provi s ions [ from Bengal] t i l l a f ter Cha tgaon

was reached , bes ieged , and captured . A s the Benga l

crew were mor ta lly a fra id of the M agh flot il l a,prov i s ion s

could not be sent by wa ter , though the means of transport

in t h i s province a re confined to boa t s . Hence , when inJ ahangir

’

s re ign , Ibrah im Khan Fat i h J ang dec ided t o

a t tack Cha tgaon , for tw o years before Se t t ing ou t h e

col lec ted prov i s i ons a t Dhalua and J agdia .

COMPOS ITION OF THE EXPEDIT ION .

I t'

w a s dec ided th at the N aw w ab’s son , Buzurg

Ummed Khan,wi th t roopers should conduct th e

campaign, w h ile th e Nawwab w ould look a fter the work.

of keeping the army suppl ied w i th provi s ions . I f th e

s iege w ere pro trac ted he w ould qu i ckly go and j o in h is

son . On 24th December, age 1665, a t a moment au spi c iousfor making a beginn ing , Buzurg Ummed Khan s tarted

from D acca . Under h im were appo in ted I kh tisas Khan ,

a commander of ext ra t roopers) , Sarandaz

Khan , a. commander of (800 t roopers ) , F ar-had Khan ,

a commander of (150 troopers) , Q araw w al Khan , a

commander of (800 t roopers) , Raj ah Suba l S ingh

Sisodia , a commander of (700 t roope rs) , Ibn Husa in ,

da rogh a of th e namma ra , a commander of 800 (200 t roopers) , Mir M urtaza , J a rogh a of th e a rt ille ry , a commande r

of 800 (150 t roopers) , o ther imper ia l Officers w i t h the i r

T h e A lamg irna ma h , p . 948, gi ves asth December a s th e date , a nd sa y s t hat t h eexped i t iona ry force w a s composed of “ Bu g u rg Ummed Khan w ith tw o t ho u sa nd troo perso f t he N a w w ab

'

s ow n l u bino u (fo l low ers) , Syed Ikh tisas Khan Barha . S u ba l S inghSisod ia , M iana Khan, lx

’

a rn Khaj i a nd some others .

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1l 0i

STUDIE S IN M CGH A Li

IN D I A .

N AWW A B"S vm onoos EXERT ION S .

Before th i s M ir Murtaza had col lec ted m any ax es

a t Da cca . From the pa rga na h s , too,axes h ad been

brought by i s su i ng pa rw a nal zs , so th a t several thousand s

of them had been collected . These were sent. with th e

r \ pedit ion for clea r ing the j ungle . Every day the

.N awwab wrote to the officers of the exped it i on let te rs full

o f plan s and advice, ,

and inqu i ri e s addressed to the Khan

a bou t the cond i t i on of the enemy and th e s ta te of the

road . On the fi rs t day [when the exped i t ion le f t Dacca ]th e Nawwab st ayed ou t side [ the ha rem] t i l l noon , and

a ga in from the t ime of th e (rea r prayer to one p ra lm r

! i f the n ight , and supervi sed t h i s busi ness . Even when

lie w as i n the ha rem ,i f a ny good plan st ruck h im , he

a t. once sent w ord to the offi cers to ca rry i t ou t . M u h am

m ad Khal i l wa s ordered t o keep h im da ily in formed o f

the occurrences . Sha ikh Mubarak , an exper ienced and

tru sted servan t,appo inted to command the N aw w ab

'

s

reta iners accompanying Buzu rg Ummed Khan,w as ordered

t o report a ll the da ily even t s , grea t a nd sm a ll , . to th e

N awwab, and give th e Khan every advice th at h e con

s idered fi t .

FEED ING TH E ARMY .

The officers o f t he go lubs (grana rie s) were ordered

tha t one -h al f o f al l t he gra in tha t bepa ris brough t int o

Da cca sh ould be sen t to the a rmy . To the fa u jda rs o f

a ll part s o f Bengal u rgent pa rw mm h s were i ssued d i rect

ing tha t. every kind of provi s ion tha t they could secure

THE CONQ UEST or CH ATGAON . 141

should be despat ched to t he expeditionarv force . Yasa u‘m

i t a ls were appo inted bv the Naw wab to see to i t . So

excellen t were the N a w w ab'

s a rrangement s tha t fromthe. beg inn ing t ill '

now the price of gra in in the army ha s

been to t he pri ce in Da cca a s ten to 'n ine.

MUGH AL ADVANCE BY LAN D A ND SE A .

Buz urg [’

m m ed Khan moved qu ickly on,ca rr ied

h is ent i re army over the deep river in a few days,crossed

t he r iver of Fen ifientered the Magh terri tory,and

advanced cu tt ing the j ungle and making a road

Accord ing to the N aw w ab'

s command a th a na h w as

es t abl i shed on th e r ive r of Feni‘,under Sultan Beg

,

inm w a bdm , with a cont ingen t of horse and foot . As ther iver of Fen i j o in s the sea , i t wa s feared tha t the enem v

'

s

sh ips w ould pass up the r iver and ha rass t he imper ia l

a rmy'

s pas sage . I t was , therefore , dec ided t ha t out of

the commanders a t Noakhal i , Ibn Husa in should advange

with the na w ica ra. by the sea and Farhad Khan,Mir

M u rtaza , and Ha ia t Khan by land , i n a id of the na w u'

a ra

Th e A lamg im ama h , p . 949 , desc ri bes t he mo vements of th e expedition th u ss Fa rh ad Kha n. a p po inted a force of p ioneers, w ood -c u tters , and some infantry a rmedw i t h bow s and m uskets for ma king a roa d and c lear ing th e ju ngle. o u xzth Jan u a ry .

1666, ma rch ing from Noa kha l i w i th M ir M u rtaza a nd other comra des, h e reached th e

o u tpost of j agdia . lbn H u sa in a nd h is comra des on board w e ighed a nchor. On t h e

1 4t h , Farha d Kh an and h is pa rty crosse d the Fen i ri ver and a dva nced ca u t io u s ly . On

t h e n th , h e reached a tank. from w h ich Chatgaon w a s one da y ’s jo u rney ,

'

a nd w a ited forB u z u rg Ummed Khan’

s arri va l . Tha t genera l , af ter cross ing th e Fenj on th e 17th . .

a rri ved on th e z i st a t a p lace 8 be: beh ind th e pos ition of Farha d Kha n a nd M ir M u rt az a ,

w h ic h (la t ter) w a s ten h as from Cha tgaon fort , and w here t h e j u ngle w a s very t h ick a ndt he roa d very bad ,— and ha l ted t here. Farha d Kh an da i ly a dva nced a l i t t le , c u tting th e

j u ng le and level l ing th e roa d . Th e flot i l la w ai ted for th e a rmy a t D u mria , a dependencyo f Chatga on, w h ich w a s abo u t 20 t o: from th e h a lt ing

~place of B u z u rg Umm ed Khan.

142 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL IN DIA .

I f they could , they should ente r th e Karnafu li r ive r ando ccupy i t s mouth , and also a t ta ck Chatgaon . O therwi se

th ev sh ou ld '

stay i n ,t h e neighbou rh ood and wa i t for

B uzurg Ummed Khan’s a rrival .'i

The j ungle was there

a f ter t o be ou t along the sea

'

stage by s tage , the flot i ll a

t o advance by sea and the Khan by i t s coa st ; i n march

and hal t the land and sea forces w ere never to be

separa ted .

These o ffi cers s ta rted from Noakhal i . Ibn H usa inwi th the flo t i ll a soon arr ived a t th e creek of Khamaria ,tw o st age s from Chatgaon , and began to cu t the j ungle

.bcforc towards Ch atgaon and beh ind toward s the advanc

i ng army . Farhad Khan , Mir M urtaz a and o ther com

manders o f th e l and force too advanced cu t t ing th e

jungle , and j o ined h ands w ith Ibn Husa i n on 21st

J anua ry , 1666 . Buzu rg Umm ed Khan w h o w a s hasten

i ng clear ing the j ungle,a rri ved w i th t he [ma in] a rm v

w

yith in t h ree kos of Khamaria .

F IR ST NAVAL BATTLE, 23rd J a nua ry .

On the even ing of 22md J anu aryfi‘ the scout s'(Qa ra w w a ls) of Ibn Husa in brough t news th a t the

enemy’s flo t i lla h aving come from Cha tgaon was staying

i n th e creek of Kathal i a , s ix hours’

j ou rney from the i r

pl ac e . Ibn Hu sa in , a fter i n form ing th e imperi al and

N aw w abi se rvan t s w h o w ere on board most of the sh ips ,

g ot ready for a c tion . A t n igh t h e sen t a few sh ips t o

Tex t gi ves th e'

u th , w lu ch is e ng . A la mg im ama h , p . 950, ment ions t h e

23rd a s th e day o f t h e ba t t le.

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144 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

flee t , obj ec ted , say ing'

th at th a t day’s vi ctory— the l ikeo f w h i ch even cen ten

’

a r i an s had no t seen— ough t to content

them . Ibn Husa in had to y ield ; but advanc ing a

l ittle f rom the spot w here the gh u ra bs had been cap tured ,he decided to

l

stav t here t i ll even ing and to return to

t he creek of Khamari a a t n igh t .

Suddenly tw o or th ree sh ips w i th flags (ba ira q) were

seen a fa r Off . The Magh s , when they le ft the Kath al i a

c reek th a t morn ing for figh t and re ached the creek of

H urla close to Khamar ia , i n the i r pr ide le f t the i r l argesh ips — called [ch a in and (”mu m— and [ some] other sh ipsh ere , and sen t on only ten gh u ra bs and 45 ja lba s a s

su fli c ien t for [defea t ing and] capt ur ing the imperi a l

flot illa .

'The tw o or th ree sh ips wi th flags now seen w ere

am ong those It’h a l ll s le f t i n th e creek .

Ibn Husa in encou raged h i s crew, saying , N ow tha t

t he fugi t ive ja lba s h ave jo ined the i r larger flee t , th e

ene my have surely been se ized w i t h terror . I t behoves

[ us] a s brave men no t to give the enemy t ime , nor le t

t he opportun i ty sl ip ou t of ou r grasp , bu t a t ta ck them in

ful l rel iance on God .

” These words had effec t on th e

Bengal crew ; t hey agreed and sta rted for IIu rla . Th e

enemy lea rn ing o f i t i ssued from the creek and s tood

a t sea i n l ine of ba ttle . Ibn Husa in a rr iv ing there foundthe i r l ine st ronge r than A lexander’s rampa rt . He fel t

t ha t t o run h is smalle r sh ip s aga ins t the [enemy'

s] l a rger

ones,

— w hose many guns would , a t every d ischa rge ,

command [hi s sh ips] , —was to cour t needless ru in , bu t

tha t he ough t to s top i n fron t of the enemy , engag e in

THE coxot‘

nsr or CH ATGAON . 145

fir ing , and wa it for the arriva l of h i s l a rger sh ip s (snlbs, )wh en he would pu t the la t ter i n front and a ttack th

'

e

euem v . He therefore began fir ing h i s guns and sent a

m an to h u rry up th e sa lbx. These a rrived a t the t ime

Of the even ing prayer . From tha t t ime to dawn ,t here

w a s ca nnonade be tween t he two s ides .

‘

SECOND NAVAL EXCOI'

NTE B, 24th J a nu a ry .

Nex t morning , t he Musl ims flving the i r victoriou s

banners , h eat ing thei r drums , and sounding the i r bugles

a nd trumpet s , advanced towards the enemy fir ing guns

and i n th i s order : First the sa lbs , then the gh u ra bs, and

la st the ja lba s and kosa s s ide by s ide . The enemy lost

al l courage and fi rmness , and though t onlv Of flying .

Th ev t urned the heads of the i r la rger sh ips away from

t h e Imperial i s t s , at ta ched thei r ja lba s to them , and

began to tow back these - big sh ips , figh t ing during the i r

fl igh t . 0

Ibn Hu sa in wi thou t throwing aw ay caut ion or mak

ing rash ha s te ad vanced in h i s previ ous format ion . At

Th e A lamg irnam a h , p . 950, sa y s [After th efirst na va l ba tt le] t h e enemyfled .

lbn H u sa in w i th h is l i ght a nd sw i ft sh i ps ga ve cha se a nd ca pt u red t o gh u ra b:a nd three k a l iar [ =j a lba:1 from t hem . Soon a fterw a rds, th e larger sh ips ( na u ’

u -a ra

e-bu zu rg ) of t h e enemy came in s i ght , for a second t i me fo u ght a long and severe fight,

and a t s u nset fled from th e scene of act ion . lbn H u sa in p u rs u ed t hem , [p . gsr] bu t

a s th e enemy ’

s sh i ps entered th e Karnaf u li . and h i s ow n la rger sh i ps h a d not come u pw i t h h i m , h e t ho u ght i t ina d v i sa b le to a d va nce , bu t w i thdrew h is fleet to a s u i tablep lace , a nd pa ssed th e ni ght in keep ing '

w a tch .

B u z u rg Ummed Khan hea rd o f it , h e w rote strongly u rgi ng Fa rha d Khanand M ir M u rt a za not to w a it for c lea ring t h e j u ngle a nd ma k ing a roa d , b u t to h u rry u p

and jo in hands w i th th e na w w a ra . He h imse l f ga ve u p roa d -ma k ing and a dvancedqu ickly .

Next da y [24th j anu ary J Farha d Kha n a rrived a t th e ba nk of th e ri ver[Kam a fu l i] . Th e enemy lost hea rt a t th e s i ght of th e Is lamic army .

"

5.x . 10

MG STUDIES IN M UGH AL INDI A.

l a st a t about; 3 th e enemy entered the mouth of the

Ka 1nafu l i, 1 each ed t he i sl and i n m id stream i n f 1 on t of

Cha tgaon fort , a nd drew up the i r sh ips off the bank on

w h i ch Cha tgaon s tood . Th e imperia l flee t too came to

the Karna fu li and se ized i t s m onth . 011 the [ further]s ide of the Karnafu l i , nea r th e mouth and close to the

vi llage ca lled Fering i -bandar , where the Fering i p i ra te s

had the i r houses , the enemy h ad bui l t t hree bamboo

s tockades on the br ink of the w a ter , a nd fil led t hem wi th

a rt i l lery, many Tel inga s (a s the fight ing men of A rracan

a re called ) and tw o elephants , in prepara t i on for figh t .

WVh en t he imperi al flot i l la en tered th e mouth o f th e

Karna t’

u l i , t he se fort s opened fi re on t hem wi th muskets

and guns . Ibn Hu sa i n sen t m ost of h i s sh ips up th e

r ive r and many of t he sold iers by the bank , a nd a tt a cked

t hem . A fter making some va in elt'

orts th e garr i son of

the St ockades t ook to fl igh t . The Mughal s burned the

fort s and re tu rned .

A RRA CA X NAVY

Now w i th a st rong hea rt and good hope , Ibn Hu sa in

da shed upon the enem y'

s sh ips . Capta i n Moor and ot he r

Feringi pi ra te s , the N aw w ab'

s office rs [ such a s] M u h am

mad Beg A baka sh and Munawwar Khan za in inda r,came

swi ftly from (l itterent s ide s . A great figh t w a s fought .

Fi re was opened [on the Mughals] f rom the fort. of

Cha tgaon al so . At la st th e breeze o f v ieto rv blew on

the banne rs of th e Musl ims . Th e. enemy were vanqu i shed ;some of t he i r sa il ors and sold iers j umped ove rboa rd ;

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14-8 STUDIE S IN M UGHAL INDIA .

t ru stworthy men ou t .

’

of t hose t aken pri soner in the sh ips,

w rote t o the‘

-

q i lada r w h o represented th e Raj ah o f'A rracan , W h y sh ould you needlessly dest roy yoursel fand your fam ily ? Before vou a re forc ibly sei zed a nd

sacrificed to ou r swords , giveup your fort , and save your

l i fe and property .

” The q i la rla r, feel ing h imsel f hel ple ss

and in need of pro tect i on ,sent back the reply th at he

should be granted resp i te for the - n igh t a nd tha t next

morn ing he would admi t th em .

CHATGAON FORT SURRE NDE RS

In the morn ing of 26th Janua ry , 1666 , which

was the sunse t of [ the glory of] the Maghs , the com

mandan t Opened the for t ga te and in formed Ibn Husa in ,

w h o Started for th e fort . But Munawwar Khan zamin

da r had entered i t be fore h im , and h is compan ions h a d

se t fire to i t . Ibn H usa in ente red soon a fterwards . andtr ied h i s bes t to put ou t the fire , bu t i n va in . The firewas so v iolen t tha t h e could not sta v there , but came

ou t br ing ing the q ilada r away wi th h imsel f .

When the fi re wen t ou t , he aga in proceeded to th e

army . Th e Imperial forces by la nd and sea enc i rc led t h e fort . T h e ga rri son , af ter

mak i ng grea t exert ions , fo u nd tha t they co u l d no t res ist th e M u gha l army , a nd a t la stso u ght sa fety . Th e second day of t h e s iege, 26th Jan u a ry ,

-1666, th e Imperia l a rmy ga inedpossess ion o f th e fort , t h e w ho le prov ince o f Cha tga on , a nd th e enti re a rti l lery a nd na vv

o f th e p la ce (p. Th e Go v ernor of Chatga on , w h o w a s th e son of t h e A rra ca n

k ing's u nc le , w a s ta ken pri soner w i th one son a nd some o ther rela t i i es , a nd nea rly 350m en

o f th e tri be, [ 32 sh i ps o f w a r, g u ns ma de o f bronze a nd iron, ma ny match loc k sa nd z ambu ra ks (camel p ieces) , m u ch Shot a nd pow der, o ther a rti l lery ma teria ls, a nd threee lepha nts, w ere ca pt u red . La rge n u mbers

,of the pea sants of Benga l w h o h a d been

carried OR a nd kept pri soner here, w ere now relea sed from t h e M a gh oppression andjret u rned to their homes .

"

THE (‘

ON Q I‘

E ST or (‘

H 149

f ort and at t ached the propert y . l le sent th c'

gi lada r

w i t h the news of victory to the Nawwab a t Dacca,and

a l so informed Buzu rg Ummed Khan of the h appy event .

The M aghs who were in t he fort on the other s ide

o f the r iver , tied , and th at. fort , too , fell i nto Mugha l

hand s . The pea santrv on t he furt her s ide of the r ive r ,w h o were most ly Musl im s k idnapped from Bengal

,

a t t acked the Magh s tha t fled vesterday and to - day , slew

o ne o f the i r lea ders , capt ured two o f the i r elephants ,

a nd brought them to Ibn Husa in . ( if the four elephants

i n t he fort of Chatgaon , tw o were burn ed in the fi re and

two were secured bv t he Mughal s .

REW'ARD S TO TH E VICTOR S .

“n 29 th Jan ua ry the news o f the conquest rea ched

Da cca . The Naw w ab a fter thanking God , began to give

to a ll the a rmy l iberal rewa rd s cons i s t ing of robe s , horses ,

a nd elephant s , d i st r ibuted a lms to the poor , and ordered

t h e music o f jo y to play . W eal th beyond mea sure wa s

g iven to the Feringi p ira tes and one month’s pay as

bounty to hi s ow n officers and the crew of the na zc w a r‘

a .

Tha t very dav the Nawwab sent a despatch on thev i cto ry t o the Empe ror . When it a rr ived a t Court , § the

Emperor ordered foyou s m u sic to be played . Rewards

w ere given to all concerned in the conquest : the Nawwab

was presented wi th a cos tly jewel led sword o f the

Emperor,tw o elephants , tw o horses with gold t rappings ,

“ A t t h e end of Sh ‘aba n [Febru a rv l 666] accord ing . to t h e A lamgirnama h ,

p 956 . The Em peror ordered Cha tgaon to be renamed i s lam a ba d .

150 STUDIE S IN M CG H A I. INDIA .

a spec ia l fall /la t , and an imper ia l fu rm a n of pra ise . Buzu rgUmmed Khan, Farhad Khan , Mir M u rt az a

,Ibn Husa in ,

and Muham mad Beg A bakash w ere promoted . IbnHu sa in got the t i tle o f Mansa r ‘

t Kh a n , and Mir Murta za

tha t of Mu ja h id Khan .

N EW GOVERNMENT OF (JI IA TGAON .

On 27th J anua ry; 1660, Buzurg Ummed K h an

en tered th e for t of Cha tgaon,rea ssu red th e people th a t.

the ir l ive s w e re sa fe , and firmly forbade h is sold i ers to

Oppress the people , i n order to ca u se t h e place to be well

popula ted and prosperous .

[Here th e l iodle ian Ms . ends abruptly . I give th econcl ud ing port ion

i

o f the campa ign from the A la m g i r

no'

m a h , pp . 953

Buzurg Ummed Khan s taved a t Cha tga on for some

t ime to set tle i t s a ffa irs . Miana Khan w a s sen t to th e

north of Cha tgaon to rea ssu re th e pea santry and to

e stabl i sh a th a na h . Taj M iana , wit h h i s fol lowers and

100 musketeers , w as appo in ted a s f lm nnh da r and gua rd

of the road s from Chatgaon to th e bank of th e Fen i r iver

RAMBU TAKEN" A N D ABANDONED .

The port o f B am bu’t‘ is fou r days

'

jo u rnev from

Chatgaon,and m idway between Ch al'raon a nd A rra can

A la rge body of the enemy defended i t s fo rt . M ir

Murtaza wa s ordered to tha t d irect ion , t o w in ove r th e

‘l‘ M u zafia r acco rd i ng to t h e . l lu mgi rnu m u h .

t Th e date i s left b la nk i n t h e Bod le ia n M s . l ha ve s u pp l ied i t from th e A la mgi r

nama h .

a oa in Renne l l , Shee t 1

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152 STUD IE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

vi ctors pursued , slew and .capt ured many of'

them,and

se ized 80guns , many musket s , and other w ar materi al .

As th e space be tween Cha tgaon and lt am bu i s ve ryhard to cross , full of h ill s a nd jungles , and inte rsec tedby one or tw o s treams wh ich canno t be crossed wi thou t

boa ts , and a s in the ra iny sea son the whole pa th i s flooded ,

a nd th i s yea r there was only a sm a l l store of provi s ion s

a nd the ra iny season w as nea r , -therefore t he send ing of

the Mughal army into A rra can was pu t. off . Buzurg Um

m ed Khan,i n view of the road s be ing closed and re

in foreem ents and prov1s'

Ions be ing cu t oif by the ra ins ,very w i sely ordered Mir Murta za to

'

evaeu a te Rambu and

fal l ba ck w i th the ch ie fs , z aminda rs , pr i soners , and

pea sant s o f Rambu , on Da kh in - kolft wh ich i s close t o

Cha tgaon . He d id so .

i i . e. . Th e so u thern ba nk of th e n ver.

’

SHAI STA KHAN IN BENGAL (166 1

THE n s x r s c nn y r.

“'

h cn Mir Jumla invaded Kuch B iha r and Assam ,

h e had in h i s t ra in an officer nam ed Sh ih abudd in Tal i sh ,

w h o ha s left a deta i led h i story of the exped i t ion ,named

by the author the Fa t]:iyya h - i - ibri yya h . A long abstra cto f i t was given by Mr . Bloch m ann i n the Bengal As ia t icSoc iety

'

s Journal for 1872, Pa rt I , No . 1 pp . 64- 96 . Thi s

Soc ie ty has a fine o ld Ms . o f th i s work (D . 7L) , and t h e

Khuda Bakhsh Libra ry th ree others . Al l these end w i t h

the dea th of M ir J uml a , 31st March , 1663.

But the Bodle ian Lib rary possesses a Ms . o f the work

(No . Bod . 589 , Sacha u and Ethe'

s ('

a tu loy u c , Pa rt. I , Nsupposed to be the a uthor

’

s au tograph , whi ch con

ta i n s a cont i nua t ion (fol ios rela t ing t he event s

immed ia tely following and bringing the h istorv down to

Buz urg Ummed Khan'

s v ictor ious ent ry into Chatgaon

(Ch it tagong) , 2 7 th January ,1666. Th is port ion is abso

lu te ly un ique and of t he greates t importance for the

h istmy o f Benga l .

The interna l ev idence i s overwhelming’ in favou r of

t he Con t in ua t ion being rega rded as Sh ih abuddin Ta lish'

s

work . The style i s marked bv t he same bril li an t-v of

rheto ri c ; many favour i te phra ses and turns of express ion

a re common to both ; and one peq ia r sent ence , which

I have foun d in no other Pers ia n h i story , occurs in both

(Conqu est of A ssa m ,p . 58 of Ms . D . 72. and Co n t in u a t io n ,

154 STUDIES IN M l’GH A I . INDIA .

fol io We_

have ‘

h ere (f. 15tib) one ins tance o f

t he a u thor'

s im i ta t ion of Amir Kh nsrau’

s vic ious

rhe tori ca l tr i ck o f runn ing the va ri a t ions of a s ingle s imil e

through a whole page of wh ich there a re t hree example s

in the Conqu es t . The wri te r i s the same hero -worsh ipper,

only Sha ist a Khan here t ake s t he place o f M i r J umla .

The author eviden tly d ied sh ortlv a fte r w r i t ing th e

Con tinu a t ion , for i t end s abrupt ly , w i tlfou t ca rry ing on

the campa ign i n the Cha tgaon D i s t r i ct to it s conclu si on .

He had no t ime to g ive i t the fin i sh ing t ouches : th e

ma ter ial i s loosely a rranged ; there i s no regular d ivi s i on

i nto chapt e rs a s i n the Conqu es t, onl y th ree head ings

(am-N d ) be ing l éfia , and Moreove r .

th e a u thor ha s le ft blanks for d ates i n tw o

pla ce s and wh ich he. evidently meant

to fil l up a fter consul t ing othe r sources . W rong dates

a re g iven in 106a and 167a and some obscuri ty h a s

been i nt roduced i nto t he na rra t ive by h is pa ss ing over

the first day of the s iege o f Cha tgaon (25th J anuary ,

1666 ) in absol ut e s ilence .

The Con t inu a tio n stippl ies u s w i t h u se ful and origina t

in format ion on the fol lowing fou r subj ec t s :

(l ) Sha ist a Khan’s admin i st ra t ion o f Bengal up to

J a nua ry ,1666 . (2) The sy stem of p i ra cy followed by th e

Feri ngi s o f Cha tgaon , and a record of the va ri ou s Magh :

i ncurs ion s into Bengal and Bengal a t ta cks on t he Maghs .

(51) A descript i on of Sondip and the h isto ry of it s conques t

(1 ) . A descri pt ion of Cha tgaon and t he h istorv of its

conquest .

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156 STUD IE S IN M I IUH A L INDIA .

c ons iders t he pa rad ing of th is fa ct. a s akin t o h y pocrisva nd remote fronr t rue devot ion a nd fidel i ty .

A t th ist ime the (ufm ada rs and st ipend - holders of the

province of Bengal began to flock to the Nawwab to make,c ompla int s The fact s of. the i r ca se were

A fter the re ign of Shah Jahan,t he la te Khan - i - khanan

[Mi r J umla] confi rmed i n h is own Jag i rs many of these

m en who were celebra ted for devot ion to v i rtue a nd love

o f t he Prophet ’s follmvers , and som e who had got, fo rm a m

o f t he Emperor . Al l other men who had been enj oyi ng'm ada tl - i - m

‘

u cish a nd pens ions in the ( frown - l and s andfiefso f jag irdars, were violen tly atta cked by Qaz i l tizw i , th e

Sadr ; the i r sa nads were rejected and the i r s t ipend s and

subs i s tence can c elled . I t. w a s ordered t ha t the a im ada rs

should t a ke, to the bus iness of cu lt iva tors , t il l a l l the l ands

t hey held i n m a c/m l- i - m‘

a a xli , and pay revenue for them

to the depa rtment of ("

frown - la nd s or to the jag irdars. And ,

a s i n ca rrying ou t th i s h a rd order these poor crea ture s

could not get. any re spi te , many who had the capabil i t y

sold the i r property , pledged the i r ch ildren [a s se rfs] , and

thus pa i d the revenue for th e current yea r

pre serving the i r l ives a s the i r on lv stock for th e next,

y ea r . Some , who had no property , brough t on them

selves t ort u’

re and puni shment,gave up the i r l ives , and

th us esca ped from al l anx ie ty abou t th e next vea r .

(l’

crsc )

Like lire they ate st icks received beating] andgave u p go ld [or sparks],

And then,th rough loss of strength , they fell down

dead in m isery .

SHAISTA KHAN IN BENGAL . 157

An d now even by the resumpt ion of the cul t iva ted

lands s uffic ient ga in in the fo rm of produce cannot be

collect ed , because t he a imm la rs abst a in from t i ll ing the

la nd s that h ave been eschea ted to the St a te ; and even the

cha st isement and pressure of the ‘

a m la s cannot make

t hem engage in cul t iva t ion . And so the land rema ins wa steand the a im ada rs poor a nd aggr ieved . Owing to th e

grea t d i s tance and th e fear of calam i t ies , these poor per

p lex ed su tferers could not go to Delh i to report the i rcond it ion fully to the Emperor and get the wicked and

oppress ive offic ial s pun ished Hence the ir s ighs .

and l amenta t ions rea ched the sky .

One Friday , th e Nawwab , a s wa s h is custom , went

[ to the mosque] to offer h is Friday pray er . After i t. wasove r he lea rn t tha t an old a im ada r had suspended h is

head ups ide down,one vard above the ground , from a

t ree nea r the mosque,and tha t he was on the brink of

dea th and was saying (l'

c rsc )

Shal l my l ife return [to m y body] or shall i t go out ,wh a t is th y command if

The Nawwab ordered the author t o go and ask thereason . I went to th e o ld man and inqu ired . He repl ied , .

My son,who held th i rty bigh a s of land in m ad ad - i

m‘

a a sh ,ha s d ied . The a m la s now demand from me one

year's revenue o f th e l and . A s I have no wealth , I shal l

g ive up mv l i fe and thu s free m vsel f [ from the oppres

s ion] . I reported the ma t te r t o the Nawwab ,w h o gave

h im a la rge sum,and then confirmed h is son

'

s rent - free

land on h im . ( V erse)

STUDIES IN MUGHAL'

INDIA .

9 od favours that man,Whose l ife gives repose to th e peop le . [1 196]

The wi se know tha t th e resumption of the land s of

a imada rs and the cu t t ing off of the subs i stence of st ipend

holders bring on grea t m i sfortunes and terrible cou se

q u ences [on the w rong - deer] . I have seen sonre among the

rul ers o f th i s coun t ry who engaged i n th i s w i cked work

a nd could not l ive through the year . (V erse)

Th e dark sigh of snfierers,in the heart of dark nights,

Snatches away by [God’s] command the mole of prosperity

from the cheek of the op pressor.

I t. i s a l a s t ing act of vi rt ue a nd an undying deed of

ch ar i ty to be stow ionlak on th e needy and [dra r on the

poor . The h indering of such l iberal i ty and the st oppage

of su ch ch a ri ty does not bring any ga in i n th i s world

a nd Involves one in the Crea tors wrath i n the next .

[120a ] One day there wa s a talk on t h i s subj ect

in th e N aw w ab’

s court . As the w ords of k i ngs a re k i ngs

among w ord s,

’ he rema rked , I f a man ha s not graceenough to i ncrea se th e gi f ts made t o these [poo r] p

eople ,

h e should a t l ea s t not depr ive th em o f wha t others gave

th em beca use th ese people , t oo . should be

c ounted am ong the needy . And one sh ould not throughh is ow n meanness of

’

spi ri t a nd vileness of hea rt re sume

th e ch ar i t abl e gi ft s of oth ers .

In short,the N a w w ab

’s na t ura l k i ndness having been

exc i ted,he ordered th at M ir Savy id Sad iq , the. Sad r

Sh ou ld f u l lv recogni se the rri ( 1dad - r

'

and rcas ifa

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160 s'

rc D IE s IN MUGHAL’ INDIA .

o f t he Nawwab , h e passed them through the Record

o ffice a nd sealed t hem , and then gave them ba ck to th eIn short , h e exh ibi ted su ch grea t labour and

pra i seworthy d il igence in th i s bus iness,t ha t every one

o f th i s cla ss of men got. wh a t he desi red . A nd the a fore

sa id Khawaj ah ga ined good nam e and respect. for h imsel f,

t emporal and spi ri t ua l wel fa re for h i s master,and prayers

for th e perpetu a ton'

o f th e emp ire for th e Solomon - l i ke

I‘Im peror . (V erse)That man’s influence with th e k ing is a blessed thing ,

\V h o forwards the su its o f the d istressed .

SHAI STA KHAN ’S GOOD D EE D s .

(Tra ns la t ion )

[ 1270] I . l l i s exert i ons for conquering the pro

v ince and fort of Cha tgaon ; the suppress ion of the p i ra tes ,

a nd the consequent. rel ief o f the people of Bengal .

I I . Every day he held open (10 ) -ba r for admin i ste ringj u st i ce

, and qu ickly redressed wrongs . l {e rega rded th i s

a s h is most important duty .

I I I . He ordered tha t i n th e p arganah s of h i s ow n

j agi r everyth ing col lected by t he revenue officers above

t he fixed revenue sh ould be refunded to t he ry o ts .

[ 127b] .

I V.The former governors of Bengal u sed to make

m onopol ie s (ija ra ) of a l l a rt i cles o f food and cloth ing

and [many] o ther th ings . and then sell th em a t fanc i ful

ra te s wh i ch the helpl es s people h ad t o pav. Sha i st a

Khan res tored absol ute freedom of buying and sell i ng .

su n s“ KHAN I N BEN GAL . 161

V . W'

henever sh ips brough t eleph ants and other

[ animals] to the po rt s o f the province , the men of th eSnbah dar used to a tt ach (qu rq ) them and take whatever

th ey selected a t pr ice s of the i r ow n li king . Sha i st a Khan

forbade i t .

V I . H i s abol i t i on of the collect ion of zaka t

on e- fort i e th of the income ) from merchan ts and t ravel

lers , a nd of custom (ba s i l) from a rt ificers, tradesmen andnew - com ersf H i ndu s and M u sa lm ans al i ke . The h istorvo f i t i s as follows

From the firs t occupa t ion o f Ind ia and i t s ports byt he Muhammadans to t he end [ 1280] of Shah .I ah an

’

s

re ign , i t was a rule and pract i ce to exact"

h a s-II from

eve ry t rader,

— from the rose - vendor down to the clav

vendor , from the weaver of fine l inen to tha t of coa rse

eloth ,— to collec t hou se - t ax from new- comers and huck

s i ers , to take za ka f from travel lers , merchants and stable

keeper s (ra nka r i ) . As Sad i ha s sa id ,

“ At fi rs t oppres

s ion’s basi s wa s small ; but every success ive genera t ion

i ncreased i t ,“

[ so i t happened] , t ill a t la s t In a ll provinces .

ess!

pec ia l ly 111 Bengal , i t reached such a stage tha t trades

men and merchant s gave up the i r bus ines s , householders

took to exile , say i ng

\Ve sha ll flee from th e oppression of the A ge,

To such a p lace that T ime cannot track us th ere .

The rulers . ou t of greed for ba s i l , gave them no rel ie f .

[ hush -trash in,w h ich ma v a lso mea n w e l l -to-do men.

’

8 .x . l l

162 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

On th e roads and ferr ie s ma t ters came to such a pass tha t

no rider w as al lowed to go on unless h e pa id a d ina r,a nd no pedest ri an unle ss h e pa id a (I i i -a m . On the r iver

h ighways i f the wind brough t i t to th e ea rs o f th e tol l

collect ors (ra h - (la ws) t ha t the s tream was ca rry ing away a

broken boa t w i thou t paying bas i l,they would cha in th e

r iver I f t he tol l - officers hea rd th a t the wave

had t aken away a broken plank [w i thou t] paying zaba t ,

th ey w ould beat i t on the bac k of i ts head i n the form

o f the wind . They cons ide red it a n a ct of unpara lleled

len i ency i f no h igher : aba t was taken from rotten clothes

a ctually worn [on th e body] th an from m ended rags ,and a deed o f ext reme gra c iousne ss i f cooked food wa s

charged wi th a l ower du ty th an uncooked gra ins . Non eof the Delh i sovere igns , i n sp i te of t he i r effort s t o

strengthen t he Fa i th and fol low th e rules of th e Prophet ,

put dow n these wi cked and. [canon i cal ly] i l lega l prao

t i ces,bu t conn ived a t them . Onlv, we read in h i stori e s ,

Firu z Shah forbade these unj ust exact i on s . But a fte r

h im they were restored , nay increa sed . B u t when , by th e

g ra ce o f God [1290] A u rangz ib a scended th e t h rone ,

h e sen t orders to the governors o f th e provinces and the

c lerks of the admin i s t ra t ion no t t o do such th ings i n

fut ure . He th us gave rel ie f to the inhab i ta nts of vill ages

a nd t ravellers by [129b] l and and sea from the se h a ra s s

m ent s and i l legal demands. The lea rned know th a t no

o ther king of the pas t showed such gra c iou sness , m ade

su ch st rong exert ions,and rem i t ted , t o the people su ch

1 la rge su rn -wh ich equalled the tota l revenue o f'

l'

u ran .

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64 STUDIE S '

IN M UGH AL INDIA .

descr ibe [ i n th e records] a horse tha t s tands erect as

fit for the yoke , a horse tha t bends i t s leg a s l ame , a

h orse th a t sh ies a s doubtful , a horse that l acks a part i cle

of ha i r a s Tagh l ibi . They ca ll a Daud i coa ti

o i'

mai l th e

film of a wa sp and a steel helmet i t sel f a smal l l inen cap .

Th ey re ga rd a. Rustam a s a Za l , a nd a Za l a s a mere

ch i ld . M ay God the G i ver [ 1306] rewa rd wi th th e

l ong l i fe of Noah , the pa t ience o f J ob , and th e t reasures

of Corah th a t val ia nt man , brave l i ke A standiar , w h o

a ft er t ravers ing these h i l l - tops get s h i s

ta sdi q yad-a’a sb t ga bz and ba ra t pa s sed th rough the Ha tt

kha n of th e accounts depa rtment , so that h is bus iness m av

be done . In t he shamble s of th e ba cbm i o f Crown - l ands

s t ipend - holders have to fiav t hemselves [before get t ingthe i r dues] , and a t t he sacr ific ia l a lta r o f the office of

t h e d iw a n- {J a n ta nbba - da rs find i t necessarv to roo t ou t

t he i r ow n l ives . 0 ye fa i th ful ! D id man ever hea r o fsuch ty rannv a s t ha t» each let ter o f the iden t ifica t i on

m a rks of the reco rd office should be. writ ten by a [different]cle rk t ) ye Musl ims ! D i d m a n eve r see s uch opp ress ion

a s tha t one w ord h as t o be wri t ten bv ten men ? In

[making ou t] th e a ss ignment - paper (I’m-

a t“

) th ev decrease

t he i a nbba due and magni fy th e deduct ion to be made:.

I f , t h rough a mis ta ke , th e balance i s en te red i n th e~rece ipt s th ev t rea t i t a s a true record and a ppro

p ria te t he amount to themselves . And they th ink tha tt hey h ave conferred a grea t obl iga t ion i f t hey con sent

t o [ i ssue such a pape r a s] th i s : In the pa rgana h o f“l iranp u r (c ity of Desol a ti on ) i n the sarb'a r of

SHAI STA KH AN I x BENGAL . 165

‘ Adamabad (Depopul at ion ) , t rac t s a re assigned on the

revenue in j ag i r [ to the duped sold ier and [he should]d emand from the j agi rda r Kba na -bba ra b (Ruined ) the

irrea rs of many year s a t th i s place . A day'

s d ifference

in. t h e verifica t io n (tosh iba ) i s se i zed upon a s a ground

f o r making a year’s deduct ion [ from the t roope r’s pay]I t a man ha s entered servi ce on the l st Farw ardi , they

a ss ign ta '

nbba to h im from th e end of the coming A sfandar .

For the s ingle gra i n of whea t (= fru i t of the tree of

knowledge , i n Musl im mythology) wh ich Father Adam ,

in h i s j agi r of t he sa rba r of J anna tabad (Parad i se ) , a te

w ithou t [ 1310] authori sa t ion , t hey demand from h i s

p rogeny refund amounting to an a ss’s load . I f a man’s

pay is due for 3 years , they des igna te i t as one for many

y ea rs and then wr i te [only] one - hal f of i t The fa ces

o f'the clerks of t he ta ujz

'

b (descr ipt ion - roll ) are d i sag ree

able . The answ er of the au thor of th i s journal i s , The

st ate of not be ing in need i s bet ter , wi thou t the need of

ta king oaths [ to No ha rm ha s been done to me

by these men (the clerks ) , and no confus ion h as been

introduced - in to my affa i rs by t h em ; bu t [ I write] fromsee ing and hearing what they have done to the helpless

a nd the weak i n the court. [of the Nawwab] and in th e

p rov inces fa r and nea r . ( V erse )My heart is oppressed , and th e pain is so great,That so much blood gushes ou t of i t .

In short,the Emperor’s orders for abol i sh ing selec t

a nd basil, sent t o Bengal , were fo r abol i sh ing them in

t h e parganah s of th e Crow n land . The Nawwab had a

166 STUDIES IN M L'

GH A L INDIA .

f ree cho ice in’h is j ag i r w ith rega rd to al l exact ion s except

th e 7-

a

'

lzda-ri and the proh ibi ted cesses (a bw a bs ) . But th i s

j ust , God- fear i ng , benevolent governo r, o ut of h i s sense

of j u st i ce and devot ion t o‘

God , abol i shed the ba s il

amount ing to 15 l a khs of’rupees wh ich used to be collec ted

[181b] i n h is own j ag i r, a nd he thu s chose to plea se

Go d, rel ieve the people , a nd fol low h i s rel ig ious ma ster

(A u rangz ib) .

YI I . In many parganah s thedespi cable pra ct i ce had‘

long exi s ted tha t when any man , rvot o r new comer (bbu sb

na sh in ) , .d ied Wi thou t. le avi ng a ny son, a ll h is propertv

i ncl ud ing even h i s w i fe and da ugh ter w as t a ken possess ion

of by the depa rtmen t of the Crownlands or the j ag irda r

or zam indar w h o had such powe r ; and th i s c u stom was

ca lled a nlcu ra The Nawwab put down th i swi cked th ing .

V III . In t he lco tw a li. cba bu t ras of th i s cou ntrv i t

wa s the cus tom tha t whenever a man proved a loan o r

cla im aga in s t another , or a man'

s s tolen property [w as

recovered] , th e clerks of the cba bu tm , in pa y i ng to th e

cl a imant h is d ue , used to se ize for th e s t a te one - fourth

of i t under the name of “ fee for exert ion . Th e

Nawwab abol i shed i t .IX

. When the pla int iff and defendan t pre sen ted

t hemselves a t. the mag ist ra cy (mu ba lcu nm ) both of t hem

w e re kept i n pri son unt il t he dec i s ion of the ir ca se , lest

it should be wil full y del a y ed And the i r l ibe ra tors

(i t laq -

golan ) t ook da ily fees from the pri soners and pa id

t hem into the Sta te . Th is cust om , too ,w as now abol i shed

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THE REV EN UE REGULATIONS OF A E R-A NG‘

ZIB .

A Pers i an manuscr ipt of th e Berl in Roy a l'

Libra ry

(Per-tsch

’

s Ca t alogue , entry No . 15 (9 ) ff . 112b- 125a

and 15 (23) ff . 2670 -2 320 ) g ives , among other th ings ,tw o very beau t iful ly wri tten fa rm a ns of the Emperor

A u rangz ib . The tex t of th e fi rst fa r-m a n i s a ccompan ied

by a h ighly use ful commen ta ry in Pers i an , wri t ten on

smal ler leaves pla ced be tween bu t paged consecu t ivelv .

The fa rm a n to l lasik - das is a lso to be found i n

Bibl iotheque Na t ionale (Pari s ) Ms . Sup . 476 (f. 13a ) , i n

the Ind ia O ffice L ibra ry,and in a Ms . presented to

me by Maulv i M . Abdul Az i z of Sayy idpu r- Bh i ta r i

(G-haz ipur . ) The fa rm arn

‘ to Muh ammad Ha sh im ha s

been pr in ted in the .l l ira t - i -A bma l ll (p . 283) and th e

Pers i an Reader, V ol . I I . (Cal cu t ta School Book Soc ie ty ,

Engl i sh transla t ions o f i t. are to be found in the

la st ment ioned work and Noel Pa ton '

s P rinc ip les o fA s la t ick i llmm rcb icx. But th e comm en ta rv occu rs in the

Berl in Ms . a lone .

For the meanings of Ind ian revenue terms I have consu lted (1) B ri t ish I nd ia A na lyzed. (a sc r ibed to C . Grevil le ) ,London , 1795, Pa rt I (2) W i l son

’s Glo ssa ry ; and (3)

E l l io t and Beam es'

s Supplementa ry Glossarv. 2 vol s .

THE REVENUE RE G F LA T I ON S or A CRA XU Z I B . 169

Tnxx sm rrox .

F o rm a t: of th e E m p ero r .:l u ra ngz ib in th e y ea r

1079 o n th e collec t io n of reven u e .

[ 112 b] Th riftv Muhammad Ha sh im, [d iwan o f

Gu j ra t] , hope for impe r ia l favours and know

That , as , owing to the blessed gra ce and favou r

o f the Lord of Earth and Heaven , (great a re H i s bless ingsand un iversa l are H i s gi fts f) the re in s of the Empe ror

'

s

in ten t ion are a lways turned to the purport of the verse ,

V er ily God command s wi th j ust ice and benevolence .

a nd the Empe ror'

s a im i s d irected to the promot ion o f

busines s and the regula t i on of affa i rs a ccording to the

Law of the Best o f Men , (sal ut a t ion and peace

be on h im and h i s descendant s,and on h is most vi rt uou s

c om pan ions f)— and as the tru th of [ the verse] Heavenand earth were establ i shed wi th j u st ice i s a lw avs a ccept

a ble i n th e eyes [of t he Emperor] a s one of the wavs

o f worsh ipp ing and honouring the Omnipoten t Com

m ander,and fr iendl iness and benevolence to h igh and

low i s the a im of the i ll umina ted heart [of th e

There fore,a t th i s ausp ic ious t ime , a fa rm a n of the

h igh and j ust Empe ror i s i ssued ,

That office rs of the present and future and a m ils of

t h e Empire of H indu sth an from end to end , should

co ll ec t th e revenue and other [dues] from the m a ba ls i n

the proport ion and manner fixed in the lum inous La w

J u ne 1668— M ay 1669 ; t h e n th vear of t h e re ign .

70 STUDIE S xx M L’

GH A L INDIA .

and sh in ing/o rth odox Fa i th

,and [a ccord ing to] wha tever

has been meant and sanc t ioned in th i s gra c ious manda te

i n pursuance of the correc t and t rustworthy Trad i t ions ,

A nd they should no t demand new orders every yea r,and cons ider delay and transgress ion a s t he ca u se

“

o f the i r

d i sgrace [ 11311] i n th i s world and th e‘

nex t .

[Com m en ta ry ,113 6 margin —

'

1‘

h e purport of th e

i nt roduct ion i s onlv t he t ransa ct ioni

of affa i rs and threa ten

ing with [ the anger of] God for the performance of th eroyal order and for the sa ke of [a ccord ing] j u s t ice to th e

officers , and benevolence mercy and conven ience t o the

pea san t s i n the collec t ion of revenue , etc . , agreeably to

the Holy Lawn]

F irs t — J l‘

h ey should pra ct i se benevolence to the cul

t ivators, i nqu i re i n to t he i r condi t ion , and exert t hemselve s

jud ic iously and tac t full y , so tha t [ t he cul t iva tors] may

j oyfully and hea rt ily t ry to i ncrea se t he c ul t iva t ion , a nd

every a rable t ra c t may be brough t under t i llage .

[Co nnnentm-

y , 1 13 1) marg in — Concern ing wha t ha s

been wr i t ten i n the fi rs t cla use t he w ish of t he j ust

Emperor is , D i splay fr iendl iness and good managementwh ich a re the cau ses o f the increa se of cul t ivat ion . Andt ha t [ friendl iness] cons i st s in th i s t ha t. under no name

or c ustom sh ould y ou ta ke a dam. or d im m above the fixed

amount and‘

ra te . Bv no person should the ry ot s be

oppressed or molested 111 any w a y . The manager o f

ifl’a irs a t the pla ce should be a po rtcc tor [of r igh t s] and

jus t [ in ca rry ing ou t] these

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172 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Th is t h i ng rs the cau se of th e ga in of the Sta tei

and th e

benefi t o f the ryo ts .]Th i rd — A bo u tfir ed re venu e : - I f the pea sant is

'

too

poor to ge t t ogether agri cul tu ral implement s and runs

a way le aving the l and idle , g ive the land to another on

lea se or for [d irec t] cul t iva t i on [a s a tenan t a t‘will

a nd t a ke the anrou nt of th e revenu e from the le ssee i n

c ase of lea se , or from the sha re of t he owner in ca se of

[ d i rec t] cul t iva t ion . I f any surpl us i s le f t , pa y i t to theo wner . Or

,subst i tu te another nran i n th e place o f the

[ former] owner, i n order tha t he may , by cul t iva t ing it ,pay the revenue and enj oy the surplu s [of the produce ]And whenever the [ forni er] owners aga in become capableo f cul t iva t ing ,

restore. the lands to them . I f a man

[ 115, b] runs away leaving the land to l ie idle , do not

l ea se i t ou t before the nex t yea r .

114 In f — 1 1 11 wh a t ha s been wr i t ten

..abou t. giving lea se , ent rust ing to cult iva tors for [d i rec t]c ult iva t ion , ta k ing the amount of the revenue from th e

le ssee [ i n case o f lea se] and from the owner’s sh a re i n

c a se of [rif t-ec t] cult iva t i on ,

and paying one- hal f

to the m a lil, i . c . ,to the cul t iva tor

,— the word

m a lilr (owner ) does not mean ‘ propr ie tor of th e

s o i l ’ bu t ow ner of the crop i n the field

beca use , i f the w ord ‘ owner ’ mean t propr ietoro f th e so i l ,

’

then th e owner w ould not run away

th rough poverty and want of agr icul tu ral ma teria l s,

bu t w ould ra th er sel l h i s l and and seek rel ie f

in e ither of the se two ways : (i ) th rowing the paym en t

THE Bravnx c ra RE G FLAT ION S or A F RA N G Z I B . 173

o f Gove r nmen t revenue upon th e purcha ser, (i i ) devot ing

t he sa le - proceeds of hi s owner ’s right to the removal of'

h is'

ow n needs . As for the words subst i t ute another

man for the [ former] owner , t he righ t ful subst i t u te fo r

a pro prietor can be none but h i s he i r,and t h is i s the

d i s t i nct ive ma rk of ownersh ip . Therefore,the word

:

6subst i tute as u sed here means a subst i tute for

the owner of the crop .

’ But in the case i n

wh ich a man , a fter spend ing h is ow n money and with the

perm iss ion of Gove rnment , cult iva tes a waste land wh ichhad pa id no revenue be fore , and having agreed to i t s .

a ssessmen t for revenue pays. the revenue to the Sta te ,such a man ha s [ t rue] t enan t

’s r ight to the land h e

cul t iva te s , beca use he i s t he agent of recla im ing the land

The rea l owner i s he w h o can crea te a subst i t ute for th e

ow ner , i . c .

,the k ing . I t i s a well - known max im , W hose

ever wield s the sword,the co ins a re s tamped in h is name .

A s for the expres s i on'

pa y hal f [ the produce] to the

owner,and do not lea se ou t t he field to :

‘nvone else for

a vear a fterwa rds,

— the in ten t ion i s th a t , a s the fixed

revenue (.Kh a raj- i- m unzzaf ) i s not affected'h:: th e pro

du c tive or barren na ture [.o f the y ea r] , i n bot h cases th e

cul t iva to r h as to pa y the revenue in cash . A s th e

Emperor l ikes len iency and j ust ice , [be here o rders] tha t

the offi cers should kindly wa i t fo r one y ea r [ for the re turn

of a fugi t ive ryot] and , i n t he ca se of [d irect] cul t iva t ion

or lea se, th ev should pa y to h im anv surplus lef t above

the Government revenue ]F ou rth — Inform yoursel f abo ut the t ract s o f fallow

74 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

(uftada ) l and wh i ch h ave not returned to cult ivat ion . I fthey be among the roads and h ighw ays

,ente r them among

th e a rea La na ) o f towns and vi ll age s , in order th a t none

may t il l t hem . A nd i f you find any l and other th an these ,wh ich con ta in s the remnan t of a crop tha t stand s i n the

w ay o f i t s t ill age , then do not h inder [ th e cul t iva t ion]for the sake of i t s revenue . But i f i t be capable of cu l t i

va t i on,or really a p iece of land fall en in to ru i n (bdi r) ,

then in both these ca ses , i n th e even t of the land having an

owner and th a t owner be ing present and abl e to cul t ivat e

i t, urge the owner to t i ll i t . Bu t i f the l and h as no owner ,or i f t he owner i s unknown , give i t to a man w h o c an

recl a im i t to recla im . Therea fter , i f the lessee be a

M u h am rnadan and th e land a ] adj o in s a trac t pay

i ng t i t hes , a sse ss t i th es on i t ; i f i t adj o in s a rent - paying

t ra ct,or i f th e re cla imer of th e l and h e an infidel , do

no t make aba temen t [of th e f ul l revenue on it . ] In ca set h e [ standa rd] revenue h a s to be abated , then , as prudence

m a y d i ct a te , e i ther a ssess th e land a t someth ing per bigh a

by way of unal terable ren t , —wh a t i s called Kh a raj - i

fri zt tl a t‘

nt‘* l ay on i t t he prescribed revenue of hal f

t h e crep ,— wh i ch i s called Kh a raj- i -m u qa sem a . I f th e

o wner be known , bu t i s qu it e unable t o cul t iva te i t , th en

i f th e l and had been prev iou sly subjec t to Klza ra j- i

m -u qa scm a

,act a ccord ing to th e order i s sued [ for th i s

c l a ss of revenue] . Bu t i f i t be not sub ject to .Kh a raj - i'm u ga scm a or i s not h earing any crop , then do not t rouble

B i lm ok ta l a u d he l d a t a low u na ltera h le w o l f — (Bri t . Ind p . 151

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176 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDI A .

t il l when i t wa s in h i s pos sess ion , and do not'

give posses

s ion of i t to a nvbody el se .

[Comm en te r-y , 116; b : ~— l n the fi ft h cl a use i t h as

been wri t ten : I f the owner of a de sert trac t be presen t ,entrust i t to h im ; otherwi se , give i t , a s advi sable , t o a

fi t person w h o m ay recla im i t to cul t ivat ion ; recogn ise

h im as i t s owner , do not w res t i t from h im,

— i f there is.

no probabi l i ty of ‘

m u la t in i t , and other th ings . Herethe w ord ‘

a nda f ha s two mean ings : (i ) t ha t the l and i s

l i kely to conta in m ines,and (i i ) t ha t the [orig ina l] owner

m ay ret urn to i t . The second al terna t ive wh ich ha s been

s ta t ed before , i s clea rl y evident. here , Whosoever makes

a land fi t. for cul t iva t ion should be recogn ised a s i ts

owner . I t means tha t , a s wi th t he permi ss ion of th e

ruler he cul t iva te s a was te unproduct ive land and benefi ts

the S t a te , there fore h e h as a cla im to th e land ba sed on

h is servi ces . Hence the imper ia l order run s : Whoso

ever makes a land fi t for cul t i va t ion sh ou ld .be recogn ised

a s i t s owner , and the l and should no t be wrested f rom

him . Then i t i s eviden t tha t none else can have any

r igh t to t he land .

'

As fo r th e ga in from the l and ,

e tc . i f herea fter someone el se se ts up a cla im to

ownersh ip,he should not b t

‘ g iven posses s ion of t he profi t

from th is l a nd , such a s the pri ce o f crops or [ the ga in

f rom] ga rdens , t a nks , and such th ings . The rea son i s

th a t th i s land h ad been pa y i ng no ren t be fore , and there

fore th e man w h o h a s recla imed i t and none el se ha s “ a

r igh t to i t .

And i f a t ra ct of w a ste l and , etc . i f a t ract

THE unvsx cs REGULATION S or A URA N GZI B. 177

o f waste land i s in i t s ent i rety t ransfe rred to another

pe rson , e i ther on account of i t s hav ing had no ow ner , or

bv rea son of the man having recl a imed the land bv h i s

ow n exert ions from unproduct iveness and incapac i ty to pa y

revenue , then the man w h o fi rs t owned i t and from whom

i t was transfe rred to the former , has a right to the price of

the produce of the t ransfe rred land up to the t ime when

i t ce ased to produce anyth ing . Th is produce had no

connect ion with the man to whom the land has been

t ransferred , because the land belongs to h iin only from

the t ime o f the t ransfe r]Si.rth .

— In pla ces where no t ithe or revenue h as been

la id on a cul t iva ted land , fix wha tever ought to be fixed

a ccord ing to the Holy Law . I f i t be revenue , fix such

an amount tha t [ 1190] th e ry ot s mav not be ru ined ; and

for no reason exceed hal f [ the crop] , even though the

land mav be capable of pay ing more . ‘V h ere the amount

i s fixed,accept i t

,provided tha t i f i t be Kh a m j , the

Government sha re should not exceed one- hal f , les t t he

rvots be ru ined by the exact ion . Otherwi se reduce the

former Kh a m j and fix wha tever the rvots can easilv pa y .

I f the land is capable of pay ing more than the fixed

[amount] t ake more .

[Com m en ta ry] , 118. a : -I n the s ixth cla use : The

w i sh of the benevolen t Emperor i s t ha t the revenue

should be so fixed tha t the pea sant ry mav not be ru ined

bv payment of i t . The land belongs to the k ing , but

i t s cul t iva t ion depends on the ryots ; whenever the rvo ts

deser t the i r place s and are ru ined , i .c . , when they are

1?

178 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL IND IA .

cru shed by the excess ive exact ions and oppress ion of th e

officers , one can , easily imagine w ha t the cond i t ion of

the cul t iva t ion w ould be . Hence urgen t orders are i ssued

in th i s clau se . A nd the sta temen t i n the l ast port ion ,

I f the l and i s capable of paying more than the fixed

amoun t , take more , I s contrary to the order i n the fi rs t

port ion of the same clau se . Probably i t i s a n error of

the scr ibe . He must have imagined tha t as th i s pa ssage

i s i ns i s ten t, i t ough t to be read as‘ t ake .

’ The reason i s

th a t i n th e fi rst port ion there i s a to tal proh ib i t ion [of

t ak ing more revenue], a l though i t c an pay more , do

not take more than one-hal f ,” and aga i n here the Empe ro r

orders do not t ake more th an the prescr ibed amount ,”

such an order s trengthens the firs t order , nay more , the

repet i t ion of the order i s for th e purpose of s trong

ins i s tence ]Seventh — You may change fixed revenue (m u a zzaf)

i n to sh are of cr0p (m u ga scm a ), or v ice 'versa , i f the ryots

des i re i t ; otherw i se not .

[Comm en ta ry — Th e order for changing one kind of

revenue into another a t the wi sh of the ryots i s for the i r

c onven ience ]E igh th

— Th e t ime for demand ing fixed revenue is

th e h arvest ing of every k ind of gra in . Therefore , when

any k ind o f gra in rea che s the s tage of ha rves t , coll ec t

th e sh are of revenue su i ted to i t .

[Com m en ta ry— The obj ect. i s , whenever the revenu e

i s demanded at h arves t,th e ryots m ay , w i thou t any pe r

p lex it y , . sell a port i on of th e crop suffic ien t to pa y t he

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1180 STUDIE S IN M'

UGI I A I. INDIA .

the case of fields w h ich have been flooded, or where th e

[ stored] ra in - w ater h as been exhausted , or any non

preventable calami ty h as overtaken the crop before reaping , so tha t the ryot ha s secured noth ing , nor has b e t ime

enough lef t for a second crop to be ra i sed be fore the

beginn ing of the next yea r ,— cons ider the revenue a s los t

But i f the calam i ty happens a fter reaping , whether i t

be preventable l i ke ea t ing up by ca t tle or a fter th e

calam i ty suffic i en t t ime i s le ft [for a. second crOp] , collec t

the revenue .

[Commen ta ry z I f a man holds a land on wh ich

Kh a ra j- i -m u azzaf h as been l a id , and he ha s the power

to cul t iva te i t , and t here i s no obsta cle to h is cult iva t ing ,

and ye t he leaves i t. unt illed ,— then real i se t he revenue

of th a t l and from any other land belonging to the man ,

because h e le f t h i s l and i dle in sp i te of h i s be ing able

to t il l i t and there be ing no obsta cle . I f a u v land h e

longing to the man i s flooded or the ra i n -wa ter w h i ch had

been dammed up for i rriga t ion of crops gets exhausted ,

and the crop i s ru ined , or i f any non - preventable. c alam ity

befall s h i s crops,before they have ri pened and been har

vested,so t ha t h e secure s no c rop nor has be an y t ime

left for ra i s ing a second crop tha t vea r ,— then do not

collec t the revenue . But i f any non - preventable ca lam itv

overta kes the crop of the man afte r reap ing , or i f t he

calami ty takes pla ce before the reap ing bu t enough t ime

i s le ft for a second crop tha t yea r , t ake the revenue

beca use the calam itv happened through h is

o w n ca relessness a fte r the reaping of the corn . And so ,

THE RE V E N UE REGULATION S or A URA N GZIB . 181

t oo , i f the calami ty happens before the reaping,bu t

t ime enough i s left for anothe r crop,then [a s the loss]

o ccurred through h i s neglect , i t i s proper to take revenue

from h im .]E leven th — I f th e owner of a land , subj ec t t o a fixed

revenue , cul t iva tes i t but d ie s before paying the year's

revenue , and h is he i rs ge t the produce of the field [ 121 , a ]c orrec t t he revenue from them . But do not t ake anything

i t the a foresa id person d ied before cul t iva t ing and [ t ime]enough i s not le ft tha t vea r [ for anvone else to t i l l

it] .

[C'

o nim en ta ry ,120, a : — \V h a t has been publ i shed

abou t “ the death of th e owner of the land , t ak ing the

revenue from h is he i rs,and not demand ing the revenue

f rom the he i rs i f h e d ied before t i ll ing " i s man i fe s tly

just ; beca use the land - owner,i . c . , t ruly speaking the

o wn e r of the cr0p , d ied before cul t iva t ing ,and so i t i s

.

f a r from j ust. to collect revenue from hi s he i rs , even

t hough they m ay have got someth ing from h im by way

o f bequest ; for the [ true] owner of the land i s the k ing ,

a nd the owner of th e c r0p ,the decea sed [ ryot] d ied

before cult iva t ing ,and h i s he i rs have not got anyth ing

o r crop tha t may be a ground for [demand ing] revenue ,so . noth ing should be collected from them .]

Tw e lfth .

—Con.cern ing fixed a ssessm en ts : I f the

o w ner gives h i s l and in lea se or loan , and the le ssee or

borrower cul t iva te s i t , take the revenue from the own e r .

I f the la t ter plan ts ga rdens , take the revenue from the

la tter . B u t i f a man a fter get t ing hold of a Kh a raj i

182 STUDIES IN M UGHAL INDIA .

l and den ies i t , and the owner can prod uce Wi tnesses , t hen

i f t he usurper has cul t iva ted i t,ta ke the revenue f rom

h im ; bu t i f h e has no t done so, take the revenue from

ne i ther of them . I f the u surper den ies [ the u surpa t ion]and the owner canno t produce wi tnesses

,take the revenue

f rom the ow ner . In cases of mortgage (riba n ) , ac t a ccording to th e orders appl icable t o cases of unsurpa t ion . I fthe mortgagee ha s engaged i n cul t iva t ion wi thout th e

perm iss ion of the m ortgagor, [ 121, b] [exac t t he revenue

from the former] .

[Com 7ncnta ry , 120 b— Thi s order may be cons trued

'

in e ither of the following two w ays , or it will yield no

sense : I f the owner of a l and under fixed revenue givesh is l and in lea se or loan , and the lessee or borrower c ul

tiva tes i t , real i se the revenue from the owner . I f th ela t ter has pl an ted gardens on i t , t ak e the reven ue from

h im,because he has plan ted the gardens . I f a man a fter

gett ing hold of a Kh a raji l and denie s i t , and t he owner

ha s w i tnesses , t hen , i n the ca se of t he u surper h avingt il led i t , t ake the revenue from h im . bu t i f he h a s not

done so take the revenue from ne i ther of them . I f theusu rper den ie s [ the usurpat ion] and (i ) t he owner h a sw e wi tness , t ake the revenue f rom the owner .

”Thi s is

one construct ion . Th e other i s (i i )“ i f the owner h a s

witne sse s , take the revenue from the owner ,”i .e. , th e

usurper den ie s [ the u surpa t ion] and the owner produce s

w i tnesse s to prove h is ow n cul t ivat ion , there fore the owne r

sho uld pay th e revenue .

In cases of mortgage act accord ing to the orders

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184 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

h a s sold i t w i th ful l knowledge, h e must have taken the

pri ce of the r ipe gra in . There fore the sell er should pay

the revenue ]F o u rteen th . la nds u nderfir e/l, revenu e

I f a man bu i lds a house on h i s l and , h e Should pay the

ren t a s fixed before ; and the same th ing i f he plan t s

on the land t rees without fru i t s . I f he t urns an a rableland , on w h ich revenu e w a s a ssessed for cul t iva t i on

[123i , a ] in to a ga rden , and pl ants fru i t - t rees on the whole

t ract w i thout leaving any open spaces [fi t for cul t iva t ion] ,t ake Its . w hi ch i s the h ighest revenue for gardens ,a lth ou glr th e t rees a re not yet bea ring fru i t . But in the

ca se of gra pe and almond treeshw h ile they do not bea r

fru i t ta ke t he cu stomary revenue only , and a fter they

have begun t o bea r fru i t,ta ke R s . 25, provided tha t th e

produce of one canon ica l bigba , wh ich means 45x 45

Shah - Jahan i yards , or GOX GO canon ica l yard s , amoun t s

t o Rs . 5] Or more . Otherwi se t ake hal f the actua l pro

duce [of the t rees] . I f th e price of the produce amoun tsto l ess th an a quarter- rupee , - a s i n the ca se w hen gra in

sel l s a t 5 Shah -Jahan i see rs a rupee and the Government

share of th e crop amount s to one seer only — you

should not ta ke less than th i s [qua rter- rupee].

I f a. H indu sell s h i s land t o a. Muhammadan , demand

the revenue in sp i te of h i s be ing a Musl im .

122 I) — I f a man hold s a la nd under

Is not th i s a verv ro u nd abo u t “ av o f sa v ing t ha t w hen t h e reven u e in k i ndi s w orth only of a r u pee, a q u a rter-r u pee s ho u l d be rega rded a s th e mi ni m uma ssessment

THE anvnx cn REGUL ATION S or A r nA N o zm . 18-3

a fixed revenue , and bu ild s a house on i t or plant s a

ga rden of t rees that bea r no t ru it,there should be no

-change in i t s revenue , t he former revenue should be

taken . I f a ga rden is planted on a land wh ich was used

for cul t iva t ion and on which the revenue of cult urable

land w as fixed , and the fru i t - t rees a re pla ced so close

together that no open space. i s lef t for t ill age,take

Rs .

‘

3- 12, wh ich i s the due (h a s-i l ) of gardens , even wh ile

t h e trees d o not bea r fru it . But in the ca se of grape and

almond t ree s , the [ usua l] revenue is taken while th ev

have not begun to bea r fru i t , a nd a fterwards the due

(ba s i l ) of gardens . But i f th i s due of ga rdens , which is

fixed a t R s . 2- 12— ou the ground that the tota l yield

w if e ) of a legal bigh a i nclud ing the owner'

s sha re , may

reach to R s . 5- 8 — does not rea ch tha t amount , t hen ta ke

half the actual produce a s revenu e t But i f the pri ce o f

th i s h al f - sha re of the produce be less than As . 4— a s , in

t he ca se of gra in , if you get one see r in five Shah -J ahan i

seers — do not t ake le ss [t han As . I f an infidel

sell s h is l and to a Muhammadan , collect the revenue from

t h e l a t ter , because i n trut h i t wa s not the l a tter’

s

po ssess ion ]F ifteen th — I f any m an t urns h i s land into a

cem eterv [ IQ-3, b] or sem i. i n endowment (tcaqf ) , reg ard

i t s revenue as remi t ted .

[Co nu nen ta ry , 124 a — As i t i s a pious act to endow

t In rcvcnnu e by d i v i sion of crops. t he S ta te took onlv i of th e gross prod u cein t h e ca se o f gra in bu t i to l in t h e ca se of opi u m , s u gar-cane , v ine p la nta in , and

cott on. (Brit . l d . , p . t 7g.)

186 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

tombs‘

and sera is, there fore the Emperor forbidst he collect ion of revenue from

'

them , for the sake of benefi t ing and'

do ing good [ to the publ ic] . Revenue ought. not to be

ta ken [ from such l ands] .

Six teen th — A bou t rer cnu c by d ivision of crop s

(N i a rej- i -nruqasem ai) : I f a man,whether H indu or

. .I u h amm adan , i s not the owner o f a revenue -paying land ,

but h as only bough t i t or holds i t i n pawn , he ought to

enj oy the profi t from w ha tever i s produced i n i t . Collec t

f rom h im the proper port ion wh ich h as been fixed [ a s

revenue] , -provided th a t the sh are is ne i ther more than

one- hal f nor less th an one- th ird [o f the tota l crop] . I f’

i t be less than one- th i rd , i ncrease i t , [ i f more than'one

hal f , decrea se I t] , a s you cons ider advi sable .

[Comm en ta ry z — I f a man i s no t the real owner of

a.

fm u ga sefm a, l and ,

bu t hold s i t [by purcha se or] i n pawn ,

he ough t to enj oy th e ga in from the land , whether he

be H i ndu or M uhammadan , on cond i t ion th a t i n case of‘

mortgage he h as rece ived perm iss ion [ to t il l] from th e

mortgager . There fore , collec t from h im the port ion [pre

v iou sly] fixed as th e a sse ssment on th a t la nd . But th i s

port ion ought no t to be m ore than one-hal f nor les s than

one - th i rd . I f more than one- ha l f , decrea se i t , i f les s tha n

one - th i rd,increase i t , to a proper amount ]

Seven teen th — I f the ow ner of a nm qa scm a land d ies .

wi thou t leaving anv he i r, ac t , i n g iving i t ia lea se , d i rec t

c ul t iva t i on,e tc . accord ing to t he ord inances i ssued [above]

fo r m u a zzaf l ands .

0

[Conrm cn ta ry z— I f th e cul t iva tor d ies wi thout he i r , .

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188 sr t‘

D i E s IN MUGHAL I ND IA .

produce (ba s i l) o f t he past yea r and the yea r preced ing it ,the area. capable of cu l t iva t ion

,th e cond i t i on and capabil ity

o f the ryot s , and other po in t s . And i f the ry ot s o f any village do no t agree to th i s proced ure , they fix the revenue at.

th e t ime of ha rvest i ng by [a ctual] su rvey or est ima ted valu

a t ion of i a'o And i n some of the vi ll ages , w here t he cul t iva tors a re know n to be poor and deficient. i n cap i tal , they

followi

th e pra ct i ce of d i V l Si on of crops [gh aUa - ba lch sh i] a t

t he ra te of or m ore, or less . And a t the endof the vea r they send to th e imper ia l

l

i ecord offi ce th e

account - books (Mu no z-Yr of the ca sh collect ion of revenue ,a ccord ing to rule and custom , with thei r own veri fi cat ion

(tu sdiq ) , and the Kro ris' a cceptance

, [267 , b] and the

signa tu res of the clm zu lh u ris and qa nu ngo es . But they.do not send there the record s of th e la nds of every

flu f f/0 116171:with descri p t ion of the cul t iva t i on and det a il s

o f: the art i cle s forming the au tumn and Spring harvest ,

in such a. w a a s to show w ha t proport ion of th e crop of

last year w a s a ct ua lly real i sed and wh a t proport ion fell

short,wha t d ifference , e i ther increa se or decrea se , ha s

occurred between the la st yea r and the present a nd t he

number of ryot s o f every fm a u s‘

a d ist ingu i sh ing the

le ssees,cult ivators

,and others . [Such papers] would

t ruly exh ib i t the c i rcumstances of every mnlm l , and the

w ork of th e offi cers there— w h o , on th e occurrence o f a'

decrea se in the coll ec t i on of the m a lm l, a fter the a scer

t a ining of the revenue h ad t aken place remi t a la rge

Ka zi koor— “ li st im a tc o f t h e ri pened corn i s ca l led Kw t. " (Bri t. h ut , p .T Tu nm r— rent-ro l l .

THE REVENUE REG ULATION S or A E RA N GZI B . 189

amount from the tota l [ s tanda rd] revenue on the plea o f

defic ient ra infall , the ca lam i tv of ch illn ip ,dea rth of gra in .

or someth ing else .

I f they a ct wi th a t tent ion to minute deta i ls,a fte r

i nqu i r ing i nto the true sta te of the crops and cultiva tors .

of every village , and exert themselves to bring al l the

a rabl e lands under t i ll age and to increa se the cult iva t ion

and the tota l standa rd revenue , so that the pa rga na h s mav

become cult iva ted and inhab i ted , the people prospe rous .

and the revenue increased , then , i f anv ca lam i ty does .

h appen , the abundance of cult iva t ion wil l prevent anv

grea t. los s o f revenue occu rr ing .

TH E EMPEROR ORDER S THAT

You should inqu i re into t he rea l c i rcumstances of

every'

vil lage i n the pa rga na h s under y our (l i tm u s and

a m in e, namely , what i s t he ex tent of the arable land in

i t [268a ] what preport ion of t h i s tota l i s a ct ually

u nder cult iva t ion ,and wha t port ion not ? “

'

ha t i s the

amount of t he ful l crop every yea r? Wha t i s the cause

of those lands ly ing uncul t iva ted ?

Al so find out,wha t wa s the sy s tem of revenue collec

t i on in the re ign of Akba r under the d iwan i admini st ra t ionof Tudar Mal ? I s the amount of the sa ir cess the same

a s unde r the old regula t ions , or was i t i ncrea sed at H i sMajes t

y

's a ccess ion ? How man y ma u z a s a re cult iva ted

a nd h ow many desola te ? “'

ha t i s the cause of the deso

la t ion ? After inqu iring i nto al l t hese ma t ters , exert

yoursel f to bring all a rable lands under t illage , bv giving

1 90 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

c orrec t agreements (ga u lf‘ and proper prom ises

,and to

i ncrea se the first-ra te crops . Where there are d is usedw ell s, t ry to repa i r them , and al so to d ig new ones . A nd

a sse ss th e i r revenue in such a w ay tha t th e ryot s a t l arge

m ay ge t the i r dues and the Government revenue may bec ollec ted a t the r igh t t ime and no ryot may be oppressed .

A nd every year after correctly preparing the papers

c ont a in ing the number of the cul t iva tors of every ma u z‘

a ,

[th e extent of] the cu l t iva ted and uncul t iva ted l ands,

l ands i rriga ted by well s and by ra in [respect ively] , th e

h i gher and lower cr0ps , the preparat ions for cul t iva t ing

t h e arable land for i ncrea s ing the first- ra te crops and

b ringing under cul tu re the vi llages wh ich had l a in

.( lesolate for years ,— and wha t. else h as been ordered i n

p revi ou s revenue -gu ide s (da stu ru -Z — report these

det a il s , w i th the amoun t of the money collec ted during

.th e yea r j ust comple ted [268, b]. Know th i s regul a t ion

and procedure a s establ i sh ed from the beginn ing of th e

a u tumn of the year of th e Hare ,‘r th e 8th yea r of th e

re ign,and act i n th i s w ay , and also u rge th e officers of

the m a h a ts o f th e jag irda rs to ac t s im ila rly

F i rst .

— Do no t gran t priva te in tervi ews to the ‘a m i ls

a nd ch a zu lh u ris, but make them a ttend i n the [publ i c]a ud ience - h all . Make yoursel f personally fami l ia r wi th

th e ryots and poor men , w h o may come to you to sta te

the ir cond i t ion ,by admit t ing them to publ i c and priva te

Ti ppo S u l tan'

s Order On th e commencement o f t he yea r {the m ni l] sh a l l

gi ve ( ow le to a ll th e ryots . .and enco u rage them to c u l t i va te th e la nds Bri t ish I ndiaA na lysed , l , l a nd 3

t A T u rk ish year.

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192 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

demanded a t the appointed t ime , a ccord ing to the mode

agreed upon in every pa rga na h for the payment of th e

i n sta lments of revenue . And y ou y ou rself should every

w eek cal l for report s a nd urge them not to le t any port ion

o f the fixed insta lmen ts fal l into a rrea rs . I f by chancea part

’

of the fi rs t i nsta lment rema i ns unreal i sed , collec t

i t a t the t ime of the second i nsta lment . Leave absol u tely

no a rrea rs a t th e t h ird instalmen t .

F ifth .—H aving d ivided the out stand ing a rrears i nto '

s u i table i ns talment s a ccord ing to the cond i t ion and cap

abil i ty of the ryots , urge the Isro rix t o collec t the i nsta l

m ent s a s promi sed [bv the ryots] , and vou should keepy oursel f i nformed about the a rrangement s for col lect ingt h em

,so th a t the collect ion mav not fall in to abeyance

th rough the fra ud or negl igence Of the ‘m n ilx .

Sic fln— W lmn you yoursel f go to a village , for lea rn

ing the t rue cond it i on of the pa rga na h s , view the sta te

and appearance o f th e crops , th e capabil itv o f t he ry ots ,

a nd t he amoun t of th e revenue . I f i n apport ion ing [ th et ota l revenue among the vi llagers] jus t i ce and correctness

h ave been observed to evcrv i nd iv idual , fa i r and good .

B u t i f the ch o ra l/n u t or'm u ga d t/m n or p a t w a ri h as

p ra ct i sed Oppress ion , conc il ia t e th e rvots and'

g ive them the i r d ues . Recover the unlawfully appro

p ria ted l ands (ga nja /sit ) from the hands of u surpe rs . InShort , after engaging w i t h honesty and m inute a ttent ion

in a scert a in ing [ the sta te of th ings] i n the presen t y ea r

and the d ivi s ion o r deta il s] o f th e a sse ts , wri te [ to th e

Emperor] in de ta il , — so th a t t he t rue services of the

THE REVENUE REGULATION S or A URAN GZI B . 193

m a ins a nd the admirable admin i st ra t ion o f th is waz i r

[ l l asik- das] may become known [ to H i s Maj es ty] .

Seven th — Respec t the rent - free tenures,

‘

n-a-

nlra rt and

i u‘

u m , a ccord ing to th e pract i ce of the depa rtment for th e

admi n ist ra t ion of Crown - l ands . Learn wha t the Governm ent ‘

am i ls have increased namely , how much of

th e fa nv

l 'lm of jar/ {rs they have lef t in a rrea rs from the

beginning , what port i on they have ded u cted on t he plea

o f shortage [of ra in] and [na tural] calam ity . In cons idera t ion of these th ings resume [ the unlawfully in

( I ea sed rent - free land s] of the pas t , and proh ib i t [ them]in future , so that they m ay bring the pa rga na h s back to

t he ir proper condi t ion . The t ru th w ill be reported to

the Emperor , and favours wil l be shown to al l a ccord ing

to the i r devot ion .

E igh th— I n the ca sh ier

'

s office (fo la fch a na l order thefotada rs to accept onl y ‘

A lam giri co ins . B u t i f these h e

not ava il able,th ev should ta ke the Shah - Jahani R upee s

current in the ba za r , and collec t onlv t he sz

’

lt 'l 'a - i - a bu ‘

a b .

Do not admi t into the fo ta lt 'h a na an y co in of short we ight

w h i ch wil l not pa ss in the ba zar . But when i t i s found

tha t the collec t i on would be delay ed i f defec t ive co insa re ret urned

,t ake from the ryot s the exact and t rue d is

coun t for changing them in to current co in s , and imm e

d ia tely so change them .

N inth .

— I f . (God forbid l ) au v calami ty [270a ] fromea rth or sky overtakes a mafia ], s t rongly u rge the am ins

t N a nka r— (Bri t. I nd . ,p . Emm a — “

the mea nest a nd more genera l g i fts o f

la nd , bestow ed on mend ica nts and common singers.

"

(Bri t . l ri d., p . 186

13

194 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

and fame to w a t ch th e st and ing cr0ps wi th grea t ca re

andfidelity ; . and a fter i nqu ir ing in to the sown fields,t hey

should ca re fully a scerta in [ the loss] accord ing to th e

comparati ve St a te of the presen t and pas t produce (h a st - u

bu d)”e You should never admi t [a s val id] any sa rba sta

’r

cal am i ty , the d i scr iminat ion (tafriq ) of which depend s

solely on the report s of the ch au dh u ris , qam m y o cs ,

m u qadda m s, and pa t w a ris . So th at all the ryo ts may

a tta in to the i r r igh t s and may be saved from m isfortune

and l os s , and u sq ers may not u sq [o thers righ t s]

1 c u t/L.— St I oiI gly u rge the a mm s,

‘

a m zls , ( ba ud/n u n ,

ga nu ngocs, and'm u ta saa

'rh x

, to abol i sh ba lm or

exact ions (a kin-

aja t ) i n excess of revenue , and forb idden

a bw a bsi (cesse s ) , — wh ich impa ir t he wel fare of th e ryot s .

Take secu ri t ie s from them tha t they should never exact

ba lia or collec t th e a bu'

a bs proh ibi ted and abol i shed by

H i s Maj esty A nd vou yoursel f should const an tly get

informa t ion ,and i f vou find any one do ing so and not

heed ing your p roh ibi t ion'

h nd t h rea t , report the fac t t o

th e Emperor , tha t he may be d i sm issed from se rvi ce and

another appointed i n h i s pla ce .

E leventh —For t ran sla t ing H i ndi papers in to Pers ian ,

' H a sfa bood j a ma Compa ra t i ve acco u nt of t h e former a nd a c t u a l so u rces o ;

reven u e, show ing th e tota l increa sed va l u a t ion of th e lands. t h e v a riations prod u cedby cas u a lt ies. new a ppropria t ions & c . (p .

‘l‘ So rba sti , exempt ion from pa yment. Hence t h e w ord in th e text means ent i t ledto remi ss ion o f re ven u e . Sa x-ba sh : in t h e sense of secret does not y ie l d so good a sense .

I A bw a bs l mposts lev ied u nder t h e genera l hea d of Sa ir" B ri t. b ut .p . 108)

t hey a re en u mera ted in pp . 164-166. A u rangzeb abo l i shed 70 of these a bw abs"

(p

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196 STUDIE S I x M UGHAL I xnu .

t he ir honesty “ Bu tv if anv have a cted'

in the oppos i te

m anner , report th e fac t to the Emperor , th a t they may

be d ismissed from th e service , put on the ir de fen ce and

expl ana ti on [of the i r conduct] , and rece ive t he pun i sh

men t o f the i r i rregul ar a c t s .

Th irteen th .

~ - \V i th grea t ins i stence gather together

th e papers o f the records (sa r- i - rish ta ) a t t he r igh t t im e

In the m aba l i n w h i ch y o u st ay , every day secu re from

th e officers t he da ily a c count o f the collect ion o f revenue

and cess and pr ice s - cu rrent , and f rom ,the other pa rga na lm

t he da ily a ccoun t o ff- the collect ion of revenue and ca sh

(m a u juda t ‘

) every fortn ight , and th e balance [Qi l a ] in th e

t i easu ries o f fo tada rs and the ja mfa zca si l ba q i eve ry month ,

a nd the tu m a r of the to tal revenue and the ja m‘

a. ba nd i t

and t he i ncomes a nd expend i t ures o f the t rea su r ies o f

t he fo ta da rs season by Sea son . Afte r look ing th roug lb

these papers demand the re fund ing of wha tever ha s

been spent above the amoun t allowed or spen t wi thou t

be ing accounted for ) , and then send t hem to th e Imperialrecord offi ce . Do no t leave the pa pers of the springh a rvest uncollec ted up t o t he a utumn harvest .

[Q’I b] q 'tecnflz. an m a in or a m 17 or

fotada r i s d ismi ssed f rom service , promptl y demand h is

papers from h im and bring h im to a reckoning . According to the rule s o f the d i w a n’s depar tment , ente r a s l iable

to recovery t he a bica bs tha t ough t. to be resumed as the

resul t o f th i s a ud i t i ng . Send the papers w i th the records

o f th e nbzca bs recove red from d ism issed ‘

a m iis , to th e

t 7ama bnmli Ann u a l sett lement of t he rexenu e . (Brir, Ind p .

THE RE V E x UE REGULATION S or A URA N GZI B . 197

al c u tch ery , in order t ha t the aud i t ing of th e man’

s

may be fin i shed .

ifteenth .

—D raw up the d i w a ni papers a ccord ing toablish ed rule s sea son bv sea son , a ft“ to t hem you r

in proof] of verifi ca t ion , and send them to th e

a l record oflice .

ORISSA IN THE SE V ENTE EXTH CENTURY,

l . SOURCE S OF INFORMAT ION EXTA NT .

In h i s‘ A cco u n t. of Or i g-Ra Proper o r w ri teir

i n 1822, Alexander St irl ing compla ins,

“ The slender

in forma t ion extant of the proceed ings of the Mughal

officers fronr the ret i rement of Ra j a Man S ingh

in A . D . 1604 t o the de w an sh ip of the famous

N a w w al) J att’

a r Kha n Na s ir i (A 1) . 1707 to ha s

t o be gleaned from a few sca t tered not i ce s in Pers i an

h i st or ie s of Bengal a nd sca rcelv i n tel l igible revenue

aeeou nts , t hough the centu rv in quest ion must be

rega rded a s a m ost imp o r ta n t p eriod i n the a nnal s of th e

count ry , when we cons ider the deep and permanent t ra ces:

im pressed on t he sta te o f affa i rs , by the a rrangements ,

i n st i t ut ions, Offices , and offic ia l des igna t ion s , in t rod uced

bv th e imper ia l government d ur ing tha t in terva l .

From Pers ia n w orks , not. ind ica ted hv S t i rl ing . i t. i s

now poss ible to fill , though pa rt ia l ly , th i s gap in ou r

knowledge of O ri ssa d ur ing the seven teen th century ,wh ich St irl ing r ightly ca l ls a mos t. importan t per iod

i n t he annals o f the co untrv. Ou r sources of in forma

t i on are

(i ) The Memoi rs of J aha ng i r and the. offic ia l annals

o f t he re igns o f Shah Jahan and A u rangz ib , wh ich th row

l igh t only on the conquest s and changes of offic ia l s but not

o n the adm in i s tra t ion o r the cond i t i on of the people . (i i )The N o w qa t

- i -Ha sm n,or Le tte rs of Ma u lanu: Abul

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200 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Order of appointment dated 8th March , 1642,

removal da ted 2l st November , 1645M u taqad Khan , 1645- 1648.

Appoi nted 21st. November , 1645. Recal led to cou rt

i n the 22nd year of Sh ah Jaban’s re ign (July

1648— J une

Tarb iya t Khan (Sh afiu llah Birlas, vil ayet - za ) a s

agen t of Pr ince Shuj a , 1655- 1656 .

Anarchy ,1658- 1659 .

I h t ish am Khan,November 1659— September , 1660.

Khan - i -Dauran,September 1660— May 166 4 .

Tarb iya t Kh an , J une 1667— October 1669 .

Safi[or Sa i f] Khan , Oc tober 1669

Ra sh id Khan ,— March

,1676 .

Sha is ta. Khan , March 1676— December 1676 (9)

Nurulla h (a s agen t of P ri nce A zam ) , J une , 1678

Kam gar Khan ,— 1704.

Mursh id Qul i Khan, 1704- 1725.

9

3. TH E EXPAN S ION OF THE M UGHAL PROV INCE OF Ol t l SSA .

In th e s ix teen th century the independen t Raj ahs o fOr i s sa were cru shed between the upper m ill - s tone of the

A fghans advanc ing southward s from Bengal and the,

nether m ill - st one of th e Qu tb - Shah i pow er (of Go lkonda )

expand ing northwa rd s from the M adra s s ide . l i nde r

Akbar th e Mughal s held only the northern port ion of

Ori s sa,wh ile th e cen tral port i on w as ruled by . na t ive

Th e A lamg irna ma h say s tha t t h e Emperor lea rnt Of Kha n~i - l) a u ra n'

s dea th o n

7 i h December 1607 (pa ge bu t On page 1050 h e is represented a s dea d to t h e

preced i ng j u ne . l ha ve a ccepted th e la tter date.

OR IS SA I x rm : snvrxrmzxm cnxrrnv. 201

prin ces wi th sem i - independent powers, bu t bearing the

t i t le of ma nsa bda rs i n the Mughal peerage . The QutbSh a h is held the sou thern ex trem i tv of th e province . Inthe re ign of Sh ah Ja han the power of Golkonda wa s

broken by the Mughals in 1636 and 1656, and Qutb Shah

bec ame a lova l feuda tory of the Emperor of Delh i . payingh im an annua l t ribute . Early in A u rangzib

’s re ign

Malud was the southernmost outpost of Mughal U ri ssa ,

and beyond i t. lay the Qutb - Shah i d i s tri ct of Ch i cacole,

from wh ich the Golkonda t r ibut e “ appert a in ing to the

prov ince of Or i s sa ,” abou t R s . a. year , w a s sent

to th e Mughal Subahdar of Or i ssa (312511 1a 51 ,

Thi s re sul t , however , was ach ieved a fter much fight

ing . On 13th Bahman , 12th regnal year (about t he end

o f J anua ry , J ahangir records in h is Memoi rs“ A t th i s t ime i t was reported to me tha t Mukarram

Khan , the governor of Or i s sa , had conquered the count ry

o f Khurda , and that the Raj ah of th at pl ace had fled

a nd gone into Rajm ah endra . Between the prov ince o f

( lrissa and Golkonda t here are tw o zamindars , one th e

Raj ah of Khurda and the second the R aj ah of Rajm ahend ra . The province of Khurda has come i nto t he

po sse ss ion of the servant s of the Court ; Af ter th i s i t i sthe turn of the country of R ajm ah endra . My hope in th e

grace of'A llah i s th at the feet of my energy may advance

further . At th i s t ime a pe t i t i on from Qutb- u l-mu lk reached

m y son Shah J ahan to the efiect th a t a s the bou nda ryo f h i s terr itory had approached t ha t of the King

t h e Mu gh al Empe ror] , a nd he owed serv i ce to th i s Court ,

202 STUDIES I N MUGH A L IND IA .

he hoped a n order would be i ssued to Muka rram Khan

not to s t ret ch out h i s hand , and t o a cqui re posse ss ion of

h is count ry (Rogers and Beveridge , i ,In th e winter of 1629 -30, Baqar Khan , the Govern or

of Or i ssa , marched to Kh irapa ra h , 4 miles from Chat ter

d ua r, a very narrow pass on the front ie r between th e

Qutb - Shah i k ingdom and O ri ssa , and 24 miles f rom

M ah endri , and plundered and la id w a ste i t s te rri tory

The approa ch of the ra iny sea son compelled h im to re t i re

w ithou t do ing anyth ing m ore . In the au t umn of 1630h e set ou t aga in , with friendly levie s from the zam indars

o f Kh al ikot , Kudla and A la , and on 3rd December a rrivedi n th e envi rons of Mansu rga rh , a fort bu i l t by a Golkonda

o fficer named Mansu r , 8 miles from Kh irapa ra h . Th e

enemy offered ba t tl e i n th e p l a in out s ide th e for t , but

w ere routed,and then t he commandant of th e for t , a .

N a ikw ar , ca pi tul a ted . Baqa r Khan returned , a fterleav

ing garr i sons a t Kh iraparah and Mansurgarh (Hamidu ddin

’

s Pad ish a h na m a h , I .A . , The Q u tbsh ah is:

a s sembled i n force to recover t he fort , but Baqa r Khan

on hea ring o f i t made a forced march and defea ted th e

Decca n army . The news of th i s second vict ory7 rea ched

th e Emperor on 23rd April , 1631 (find ,

4 . BAQAR KHAN’S ADM INISTRATION .

Compla in ts aga ins t Baqa r Khan'

s oppress ion of th e

pea san t ry a nd zaminda rs repea tedly rea ched Shah J a h an’

s

ca rs and a t la s t on 24th J une 1632 a n orde r w a s i s sued

remov ing h im f rom th e post . I t i s sa id tha t the Governor

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3204 STUDIE S IN MU GHAL IND IA .

t h e governorless province of ( lrissa . I h tish am Khan ’s

s tay there w a s too short to enable h im to res tore onle rly

g overnmen t . Tha t ardu ou s '

task fel l to the lot o f Khan

.i -Da uran , who in Apri l 1660, was t ran sfe rred from

A llah abad to Or i ssa and worked there a s su ba h da r t i ll h i s

d ea th in May,1667 .

I h ti sh am Khan’s fi rst a ct s were to i ssue a proclam a

t ion tha t th e Mamba should be read 'in al l the mosques of!O ri ssa , i n the name o f the new Emperor A u rangz ib

and t o Send a pa r-

w a na h to al l the m a n

sa bi la rx, : a m im /a rs , c fi a m lh u ris , gam u zgocs, et c ., o f the

prov ince announc ing h i s own appo intment a s .S‘

U bfl ll l ld l‘

and ordering them to mee t h im a t Na rayanga rh , wh ithe r

h e w ould march from Med in ipur,the northern front i e r

.of the province , some t im e a fte r 14th November , 1659

47

“7hen , l e ss t han a yea r a fterwards , he wa s rep la ced by

Khan - i -Dau ran,and sent to Benga l to serve under M i r

J umla,he t r ied to ca rry a w ay wi th h imsel f a s pri soners for

defa ul t of revenue,the brothers of Raj ah N i l kan tha Dev ,

Gopina th,the brother of Bha ra t Pa tnay ak and ch i ef

o ffice r of R a j ah M ukund Dev , and the other zam inda rs.of th e environ s of Kata k . A s the i r zaminda ri s couldn ot be adm in i ste red nor any ren t col lected i n the absence

o f these men , th e Mughal faujdar of Katak secured the"r el ea se of Gop ina th Pa tnay a k by h imself s ign ing a bondfo r Rs . to I h tish am Khan . A nd th e other ca pt ives

w ere s imila rly relea sed . For t h i s th e fa uj da r was seve rely

! ensured bv Kha rr- iJ ) a u ran ,who insi s ted tha t th ev sh ould

10DQ

:

OR IS SA IN TH E SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

be uncond it i ona lly del ivered up to h im as I h t ish am Khan’s

s uccessor in offi ce (.ll u raqa t , 183- 184,

6 . M I'

GH A L RECONQ UE ST or UR IS SA r xnrfln KHAN - I

D A I’

RA N , 1660- 1663.

The firs t part of Kh an - i -D a u ran’

s v iceroy a ltv w a s

devoted to a t ask tha t w a s pract ica lly equ ivalent to th e

reconques t of O rissa for the Mughal Government,a s im

pe rial aut hor i ty had d isappea red from the province duringt he l a te “Ta r o f Success ion . The sta te o f ana rchy i s verv

g raph ical lv described in the le t ters of th i s s ubahda r

Al l the zam inda rs are re fra ctory , owing to the sla ck

rule of my predecessors (page The “ zaminda rs:

on the further s ide of the Ka tjh u ri , i n the j uri sd ic t ion

o f Savid Sher Khan , have re fused tribute and decla red’

war agai nst h im (page Kr ishna Bh anj , of Ha riha rpu r , the lead ing zam inda r of th i s province

,during th e

i n terregnum spread h i s power over the country from

Med in ipur to Bhadra k , a d i st ance o f 50 or 60km , se iz ingthe property of the inhabi t ant s and wayfa re rs and severelv

“

oppress ing the people ”

(pages 72 and The fort

o f P anch ira was wrested from Sh u ja’

s men by La kshm i

Na ra y an Bh anj . the R a jah of Keonjha r , during the

t ime of d isorder" (pages 52, 58, For t he la s t

th ree vears, the zam inda rs on the further s ide o f Kata k

have been collec t in g va st forces and get t ing ready for

wa r (page 72 ) Bahadur the zam indar o

i

f—

H ij l i i s inrebell i on ”

(page Ch h u t Ra i ha s d i spersed th e

ryot s of Med in ipu r,and i s build ing a fort in the jungles

w ith evi l in tenti ons (pirge I t i s useless to g ive a

206 STUDIE S m MUGHAL INDIA .

l i s t of th e n ames o f the other rebel zam indars here,a s

t hey will be ment i oned i n de ta i l i n th e h i s tory of Khan

i -D au ran'

s campaigns wh i ch follows .

The fa rma n. appo int ing Khan - i -D auran to Or i ssa wa ss en t from the Imper i al Cou rt on 8rd April , 1660 (A la my im a ma h , He re ce ived i t. a t Allahabad , where hewa s subahdar , and soon se t ou t for h is new province i n

the very height of t he monsoon s,de fying raging storms

,

e xcess ive mud , and flooded rivers,wh ich had closed th e

path s ” (J l u m qa t , On 26th September he entered

Med in ipur,the fi rs t town a fter cross ing the Or i ssa front ie r

(page A fter spend ing some days here to set tle th ed i s tr i ct

,organ ize the c ivi l adm in i s tra t ion and revenue

c ollec t i on and sta t ion fau jda rs i n all d i rec t ions , he se t

o u t for J a lesh w ar , i n the meant ime w ri t ing to the zam in

dars of northern Ori ssa to m ee t h im on the w ay and pay

t he ir respect s a s loyal s ubject s (page H i s i n tent i onw a s to fin ish the H ijl i bus iness

” fi rs t . Bahadur , the

z am inda r of tha t port , h ad rebelled , and had to be subdued

before the Mugha l route from Med in ipu r r ia Narayanga rh.a nd ol alesh w a r to Baleshwa r cou ld be rendered sa fe . Bu t

t he o ther zaminda rs report tha t the coun try of H ij l i i snow covered wi th mud and wa ter , and , not to spea k o f

caval ry,even foot soldi ers cannot t raverse i t . Afte r a.

t ime,wh en the roads of th e d i stri ct become dry ag a in . th e

c ampa ign should be opened (pages 132 and So,

Khan - i-Da ura n pu t. off the idea , and wen t d i re ct to

..l a lesh w ar, w h ich h e reached i n the l a t ter hal f o f

!October (page

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208 STUDIE S IN M UGHAL I N D IA .

t he Emperor saved mv l ife . \V e slew Krishna Bh anja nd man y o f h is men . The rest fled . Some ch ie fs

,

s uch a s Udand , th e zam inda r of Na rs ingpur , Ch h a ttresh w ar Dhol . the zaminda r of Gha t s i la , and H a rich andan ,

t he zam ind a r of N i lg i r i , threw awa y the i r weapons and

del ivered themselves up a s pr isoners (pages 72 and 107103)

The rela t ives o f the sla i n R aj ah [of M avu rbh anj]ra i sed d i st urbances , molest i ng the ry ots . So , I s ta rted for

Ha rih arpur to pun ish them a nd hal ted a t Remuna on th e

f ront i er of h i s domin ion . H i s brother , J ay B h anj , s ubm itted , begged pardon , a nd brough t to me h i s mother and

son and three elephan ts and.some money as a presen t

(p esh kas h ) , a nd begged the f ilm. o f the R ajah sh ip and

z aminda r i for the son . I agreed , and then sta rted to

puni sh the rebels near Ka ta k (page

8 . KII L'

B D A RA J A FFAIR S .

When th e Khan rea ched Ka ta k , Raj ah M a lt und Dev

o f Khurda , the l ead ing zami nda r of th i s countrv , whose

orders a re oh eved bv the ot her zam inda rs

the ot her zam indars of th i s count ry worsh ip l i ke a

and d i sobed ience of w hose order they rega rd a s a grea t

s in (pages 7 7 and 102 ) —wa i ted on h im with due

whom a l l

hum il i ty,a ccompan ied by th e othe r zaminda rs and

l i h anda its [of (‘ent ra l ( lrissaj (page 11m. Then , owing

1' Cf . S t i rl i ng “ Th e t i t le of sovere i gnt y h a s been a lw a y s a ckno w ledged. by th e

genera l vo ice and fee l i ng o f t h e co u ntry , to xest m th e Raja hs of Kh u rda . Dow n to

t h e presen t momen t th e Ra ia h s~of Kh u rda are t h e so le fo u nta in of hono u r in thisd i stric t

oa rsss 1x THE SEvEx'

rE E N'

rH CENTURY . 209

to the badness of the cl imate , a severe malady se ized the

governor and he w as confined to bed for two months, nu

able to move abou t .

" “ The rust i cs uncult iva ted

loca l zaminda rs] se i zed the opportun ity and ca used d is

order . Raj ah Mu kund Dev absented h imsel f from t he

force sent by me to pun i sh t he rebels,and h imsel f ca used

lawlessness . The Mugha l tr00ps subdued m anv of therebe ls and took several fort s . After recovering a l i t tleI Khan - i - Dauran ) on 7 th February 1661 se t ou t

from Katak aga inst the other fort s wh ich my subord in a tes

were too weak to capture (page On l 6th Februa ry

I a rr ived near the fort s of Ka lu parah , Mutr i , Karkah i ,

Kh u rd ih a and [ t hree] o thers ,~ —~ seven fort s clo se to each

other on the s ide of a h igh h il l . An assa ult w as ordered

next dav . When ou r t roops appeared nea r the forts ,t he enemy in a numberle ss hos t , cons i st ing of p a iks and

i n fantry,bot h t zdsh a n and zami nda rs of Banki and

offered

ba t tle . Our men slew many of them and ca rr ied the i r

t renches a t the foo t of the h ill a nd a fter repea ted cha rge s

entered the i r [main l i nes . The enem v fought with

nra tch locks , arrows , It'h a nda h s , sa blis , du a rs , dh u ka ns,

s i u f is ,e tc . ,

but be ing unable to res i s t fled away with the ir

famil ies.A grea t vi ctory — unequalled bv tha t o f a ny

fo rmer su ba h dar— was won . The seven forts were ca p

t a red . Tw o or t hree davs were spent in set tl ing the con

quered di str ic t and appoint ing th a na h s (pages 99

On 20th February ,1661 , I lef t for the conquest. of

Khurda,the ancest ral home of Mukund Dev , s i tuat ed in

S.M . 14

Ranpur,and other Bh u m ia h s and Kh a nda i ts ,

210 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL IND IA .

the midst of a dense j ungle and lofty h ills (page ( in

the 23rd , I encamped a mile from Khurda . The Raj ah

h ad fled from i t , and'

we se ized a vast amount of boo ty

and m any pri soners a t h i s cap i tal ’f (page Duringth e la s t 50 years , no other su ba h da r had reached these

pl aces . They were all conquered by my army ! and the

ru st i cs became the food of the p i t i les s sword . I gave

Mukund Dev’s th rone to h i s younger brother Bh ram a r

bar (page Th e vi c tor ious su ba h da r hal ted a t

Khurda for some days . The fa te'

of the prem ier Raj ah

of the province st ruck a salu ta ry terror i n the hea rt s o f

the other e’

vi l - doers . All l awless men are now wa it ing

on me wi th every mark of abj ec t submi ss ion . The

zamindar of Banki and Khand Na rendra (the zam inda r

o f Ra npur ) have sent t rusty agent s to a rrange for the i r

i nte rview wi th me . The pa th for coll ect ing the revenue

ha s been opened in all places and .m ah als. Raj ah Mukund

Dev,w h o h ad been il l - advi sed enough to de fy my authori ty

and wi thhold tribute , fi nd ing no way of e scape from our

heroes,saw me pen i tent ly on 18th March . The rebel Bha ra t

[Pa tnay ak] , t oo , ha s done the same”

(pages 158

Mu kund Dev wa s a fterward s restored to h i s throne , a s w e

know from other sou rces .

An i nt eres t ing b it o f th e h ist ory of the Khurda

R aj ahs i s furn i shed in a le t te r o f Khan - i -Dauran to h i sa gent a t th e Imperi al Cour t . Rece ived your letter re

port ing th at a counte rfe i t Gangadha r h a s gone to theCourt and secured an i nterview wi th Kumar Ram Singh

[Kachhwa , son of M i rza Raj ah J ay S ingh] th rough the

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'

212 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

(pages 58 H i s terr i tory was ravaged and the'

fort

i n ques t ion recovered (pages 52 and

A t a subsequen t date (probably ) , Bahadur , the rebelzarn indar of H ij l i , w as captured wi th h is family (page

A fter Khan - i -Dauran had expelled Mu ku nd Dev from

Khu rda ,3‘Khand Na rendra , the zam inda r of R anpur and

the zam inda rs o f M al h ipara h and D om pa ra , who had

never be fo re wa i ted on any su ba h da r,”

saw h im and

agreed to pay t ribu te (page“ The zam indars on

th e further s ide of t he Ka tjh u ri , who had withheld tribu te

and fought th e fa u j da r , Savvid Sher Khan , were de fea t

ed ”

(page

A t the same t ime the Mugha l fa uj da r of M a lrrd ,on

t he southern front ier o f Ori s sa , w a s engaged in suppress

i ng the rebellion of P i t am , the zam indar of Andh iar i , and.Krrm ar Guru ,

th e zaminda r of M a lrrd (page

The zam inda ri o f Ka rrika was conquered bv Mian:

Muhammad Ja n , and th e Ra j a h wa s d r iven ou t to a fort

nam ed R ika on a n i sla nd in the ocean . In order to »

bes ieg e h im there , ( J r/ra m p boa t s of the river Mahanad i

and la rger boa t s too w e re sent to Muhammad Jan,wi th

the help o f Gopa l i , the zam i nda r of Kujang (pages 16 4.

and

Ran Tara [or Rawa t the zam inda r o f Kuy ilu

Madhupur , w as th rown in to pri son for heavy airrea rs of‘

revenue to the imperia l exc lrequ er for the pa rganah of'

On page 172 th e name is spelt a s Ba r-nt 'a fa ra ?

OR IS SA Lv THE ssvsxTE EN TH CEx Tr a v. 213

A wla s . Gopali of Kuj ang al so suffe red the same fate

(p ages 170 and

Khwaj ah Khal id N aqsh bandi l a id s iege to th e fo rto f

.

Ku lra h and ca rr ied m i nes u nder i t s wall s . Then Sri

C h andan [or Harich andan th e q i lada r'

,begged quart er .

'

He was promi sed h i s l i fe , but thrown in to pri son and

the fort wa s taken possess ion of . 80 a lso wa s anothe r

fort named Katka l (page

Ch h u t Ra i , the zaminda r of Ka il iko tfi‘ evidently int h e neigh bourhood of Na ra y angarh , h ad di spersed the.

ryot s of (th e pa rganah of“

) Medin iprrr and bu i lt a fort i n

the jungle with evil-

i nten t ions (page But. h i s sons

were th rown in to pri son , and he seems to have submi t ted ,

for we read in another let ter how a pa rzca na h was sent

to h im to s top t he horse - dealers w h o u sed to devia te from

t h e imper ia l road and take the i r horse s by way of Banpu r .

They were to be sen t to the provi nc i al governor in future

(page

Raj a h.

N i lkantha Dev was a loyal servant of the

empi re and fought under the Mughal banners wi th h is

c ont ingent (page Pa rgana h Q u tbsh ah i was h i s jag i r,wh ich be admin i stered through h is agen t Gajad h ar .

R s . were due from th e Raj a h a s arrea rs of revenue

(pages 145 and H i s brothers were placed in confinem en t by I h t ish am Khan for defaul t , but Khan - i

Dauran secured the i r relea se (pageThe re sul t of these operat i ons w a s t he re storat ion

l am do u btfu l a bo u t t h is local i ty . Pa ge 160 seems to i mp l y t ha t it w a s in

{ h e extreme so u t h of Ori ssa .

214 STUDIES IN M UG I I A L INDIA .

o f Imperi a l a uthori ty l ll (J rissa . The country aga in em

joyed peace and o rder and the imper i a l revenue , wh ic h

h ad en t irely dr ied up during the in terregnum , began to

h e real ized aga in . Khan - i -D auran could legi t imatelyboa st o f h i s m ilita rv successes , wh ich in h is ow n words

were “ unriva l led by any preced ing As h ewrote in h is despa tches to the Emperor A u rangz ib , I

have pun ished a l l the u surpers , oppressors , and lawless

men of t he province and made them obed ient The

revenue i s be ing collec ted bv ou r Office rs . The people are

enj oying peace and happiness and plying the i r t rade s

(page 49 ) And,aga in , a yea r la te r , abou t Apri l , 1662,

he wrote,

The prov ince i s be ing wel l adm in i stered

(page

10. REVENUE COLLECT ION .

A fte r tak ing effect ive possess ion of the prov ince andrestori ng order in th i s w sv,

Khan - i-Da u ran , ea rly in 1662,

sent. five elephants as h is pre sent to the Empero r on the

occa s ion of the ma rr iage of tw o of h is (the Khan'

s ) sons ,

t oge ther wi th tw o other elephants presen ted bv th e

Sul tan of Golkonda . page These , a s we

know from the offic ia l h istorv (A la mg ir'na m a h ,

rea ched th e Court a t the end of Mav . The forest s o f

Tel ingana , imm edia telv wes t o f Or i s sa and ly ing in th e

Golkunda terri tory , w ere famous for elephant s , and thesean imal s formed the usua l present from t he governors o f

ti

lrissa to the Pad isha h . In May , 1628, Shah Johan

rece ived five elepha nts f rom Baqa r Khan a nd in Septembe r

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216 STUD IE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

succeeded in coll ect ing R s . ou t of the a rrears

under th i s head , and sen t an agen t to Chi ca cole to dun

for the bal ance . (Page

Evidently a ll the financ ia l records of Sh u ja’s t ime

h ad been los t or des troyed by d i shonest Offi cers (page.

and th i s produced uncerta inty abou t imper ia l d ues al so .

For example , the Emperor knew the tr ibute of th e

zamindars of Sa rangh ara to be Rs . a year , bri t coul d

not say wha t add i t ional sum they u sed to pay a s success i on

fee . Khan - i -Dauran wrote in reply , I find from the

Old record s'

of th e su ba h th a t they u sed to pay R s .

a s success ion fee ,‘but then the i r annual t r ibute wa s

noth ing l ike wha t you r Maj est y represen ts i t . They u sed

to pay someth ing a s naza r a t in terval s of two or th ree

yea rs [bu t no regul ar t r ibu te] . I have ‘now l a id on

Purushot tam Dev R s . a s fee for su cceed ing h i s

bro ther [ i n the zamindari], wh ich ha s been fully real ized .

”

(Page

Severe mea sures had to be t aken wi th the revenue

coll ectors and zam inda rs le s t they should defra u d th e

Governm en t of i t s dues . Khan - i -D au ran wr i te s thu s toMu hammad J an , a former d iwan of the prov ince , whom

h e had appo in ted (page 196) l and - steward or fa ct or

(sah ib- i - ih ta ma m ) for h i s fiefs from Bhadra k to th e

south ern l im i t of O ri ssa : Balabh adra and Brajana th

qa nu ngjocs, w h o have been relea sed from pri son , and

Paramananda , th e zam inda r Of Rahm ach nan a re sen t

to you i n ch a ins under a ba il i ff (saza w d l) a s a sked fo r

OR ISSA I N TH E SEVENTEENTH CE N T I'

RY.

by you I f you fea r tha t before my a rrival near Kata kt h e zam indars wil l ca rry Off the crops

,t hen w r i t e urging

the am ils to col lec t the dues and a tta ch the st and ing

c rops . Appo in t men to gua rd th e gra in .

"

(Pages 163,

And , aga in , to Man S ingh , the faujda r Of

Remuna : Send selec t men to ha sten the gathe ring i n

a nd guard ing Of the crops and the collect i on Of the

Government d ues Send them qui ckly that the revenue

Government share ) Of t he autumn ha rvest may not

be removed .

”

(Page

The in ference na turally suggested bv th e above

p assages , namely , tha t i n Mughal t imes the revenue of

Or i ssa was collec ted i n the form Of ri ce , i s defin i tely sup

ported by a le t ter from Mursh id Qul i Khan to A u rangz ib

wr i t ten about 1704 :

’

The revenue - collect i on of Or issa

depends on the a utumn ha rve s t,wh ich ha s to be kept stored

for a long t ime , and , i n sp i te of a ll my devices , cannot'

be

sold .

”TO th i s the Emperor repl ied ,

" I have hea rd

tha t t raders t ake the crop and i n return for i t they bring

from the port s wha tsoever i s in demand .

’

(I nayetu llah'

s

A bka m - i -A la m g iri , Rampur MS. , 219b . ) Khan - i -Dau ra nsays the same th ing ,

“ In th i s country the real i za t i on

of the land - revenue Of the whole yea r depends on the

t hree months o f a utumn .

”

(Page'

A s for them a la ng i boat s for load ing ri ce in , they have not been

procu red owing to the bad conduc t o f the d arogha of

the port.Ge t boat s from th e zamindars of t he mahal ,

and send th e r i ce to th e port to be sh ipped in th e sa il ing

sea son .

”

(Page 165, see al so page

18 STUD IES I N MUGH AL INDIA .

Some inc idental l ight i s th rown on the Sta te purchase

o f local ind ustr ies . Khan - i-D auran w r i tes to Muhammad

Jan ,

“Th e office rs of t he Imperi a l Government have

reported tha t 210 lca di of cloth , o f the sa h an , ba rba ra h ,

(Io - su f i and tha ti varie t ies , maunds of r ice , 300'

n i a u nds of musta rd o i l yel low o il 260m ounds o f sesa

mum , and 100 maunds of ga lnm safr are requ ired for pro

v is ion ing.

the sh ips [of the Sta te] . Accord ing to the

schedule a t t ached to th i s le t ter , urge the officers o f J ajpur , Bhadrak and o ther m ah als in your fa u jdari to get ,

th em ready qu ickly and send t h em before the sa il ing sea son

to the port of Baleshwa r to Muhammad Baqar , the '

da rogha of sh ip constru c t ion . [Th is i s evident ly a

reference to Sha i s t a K h an’

s v igorous naval const ruct ion

p rogramme Wi th a View to h i s conques t of Ch i ttagong in

1065] The pri ce o f these th ings will be deducted from

the amounts due from the a m la s .

The am la s should advance to the weavers , art i sans ,o il- vendors , e tc .

, m oney for the th ings ordered . F irs t ,

se t tle the pri ce w i th the help of brokers . Then , take

bonds wi th the a t tes ta t ion of the brokers for the del ivery

of the goods i n t ime . Send the du - su t ii before t he o ther

a rt i cles to the da rogha tha t he may make sa ils wi th them

Al l th e ka lapa t is and naja rs , — maste r c ra ftsmen and

blacksm i ths,— l iv ing a t the port o f Ha ri shpu r a nd other

places,should be w on ove r a nd sent to Baleshwa r , t o

engage in sh ipbu ild ing [ for the Gove rnment] there .

Da ted 28th December , (Pp . 173

We al so learn t ha t Rs . w as due from the

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220 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Revenu e of Orissa .

1594“ Rs

(Abd u l Hami d 's1 648 Pa drsh a h nam a hi i . 7 1 1 )

c Da st u r-u l-am l1654 RS‘ 56’j g’500 u sed by Thoma s )1665 :RS. (tiern ier, 457 )

C 1690 R s .(Da st u r-u I-am lBr. M u s . Or I 64 1

t . 5b){C 1695 1700 RS. (D a st u r-u l-am l

u sed by Thoma s)C 1695A ND RS. (Kh rrla sa t -u t

ta w a rrk h , 320 )

c 1697 - 1707 Rs .

1707 A D . R s . (Ram u sio)

1707 li S J agj ivanda s, in Ind ia Ofli ceMS . 1 799 , p .

Tiefienth aler, Rs .

I t. will be seen tha t the oth , 9 th , l 0th and 11th o f

th e above figu res a re a ll deri ved from the same.

sou rce ,'viz .

, an Offic i al re turn . Th e amoun t ment ioned in the

Kb u la sa t - u t - ta w a r il ‘h le i s clea rly w rong . The rather h igh

figures given by Bern ier and Manu cci a re no t necessa r ily

incorrect , bri t may be due to the effic ient adm in i st ra t ion

o f Khan - i-Dau ran and Mursh id Qul i Khan respect ively .

12. TH E DIWANS AND TH E IR METHOD OF REvE eADM INI STRATION .

Lis t of D i rca ns of Orissa .

Mian Muhammad Jan ,— 1657 ; d ismis sed , l ived a t

Baleshwa r , a fterwa rds (1661 ) appo in ted land - agen t

of the Subahda r,Khan - i -Dau ran .

For th e Klm lnm l , sec m v 'I ndio of A u ra ng z ib : Sta t istics, Topogra ph r' a nd

.

‘R vuds, N V , l v i i i , 47 , 48.

OR I S SA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY . 221:

Mir I sma i l ; -October, 1660.

M irza Ibra h im , Ba klrsh i , offic ia tes a s d iwan also,

Oc tobe r, 1660— March , 1661 , d ism issed .

Muhammad Ha sh im , March 1661- e r . 1663,d i smissed

M uhammad Ta lrir , d ied in the province .

Muhammad Taqi , 0 . Oc tober , 1664— 1665

K‘hwaj ah Muhammad Mumin ,

'

e . 1665

( )wing to the pol i t i cal d i s t urbances through wh ich

the province had passed a t the end of Shah Jaban’s re ign ,

t he loss of financ i a l papers , and t h e appo intment of an

a lmost ent irely new staff of Offi c ial s , the revenue depa rt

ment w a s i n a very unsa t isfactory and confused condit iorr

during the firs t few y ea rs o f A u rangz ib'

s re ign . Some

o f t he provinc ia l d iwans seem to have been ineffic ient ,sla ck or d ishones t ; otherwise we cannot account for the i r

rapid success ion and frequent d ismissal . A permanent.

d iwan arrived in March 1661 i n the person o f Mu h am

mad Ha sh im . Th is man ‘ se t to work wi th the proverbia l

energy o f a new broom . P roud o f having been appo inted

from the Court by the Offic ia t ing Imperia l Chancel lo r

(Ra'ja h Raghuna th ) , a nd no doubt cha rged wi th

a m iss ion to reform the adm in i s tra t ion of the depa rt

m ent and real ize t he St ate dues fully , he reached the'

province wi th a contempt for hi s predecessors in Office

a nd a deep - rooted suspi c ion t ha t t he Subahdar h ad been:

robb ing the Stat e in collu s ion wi th th e l oca l d iwans .

Muhammad Hash im,d iwan , sta rted by rudely qua r

re lling with Khan - i -Dauran The Subahda r wrote to

h im on l st J u lv . 1661 , Your predecessors were

22 sr r‘

D I E s IN M I‘

U H A L INDIA .

Muhamm ad J an and M ir I sma il . You have ca lled for th e i r

p apers . Wha t obj ect ion can I poss ibly h ave to givingthem to you Muhammad J an g ave up h is office long

ag o , and ha s s ince then been l i ving a t J a j pur on a ccount

of il l - heal t h . You compl ain tha t M ir Ibra h im ,Bakh sh i ,

h as u surped and appropri a ted to h imsel f some vi ll age s

i n the parganah of Sarsa tibisi . “’ha t h is agent s have

colle cted from that parganah w i l l be pa id i nto the

imperi al t reasury . You wri te tha t t he ami l of parganah

Karmul h as m i sappropr ia ted some money col lected in

th a t m ah al . I order an i nqu iry to be made , and in ca seth e allega t ion i s found t rue , the man will be bea ten t o

m ake h im d i sgorge the m onev.

”

(Pp . 141, 142, see a lso

142

Th e new diwan seems to have se t h imsel f up a s a

!c en t re of defiance to the provinc i al governor’s a u thori ty ,

a nd in t roduced confus ion int o the execut ive government .

A s Khan - i -Dauran w ro te t o h im , You have summoned

th e employés of th e M int. to H ariha rpur . H ave y o u

rece ived any order from the Emperor to se t u p a Mint.

there I f not , send the m en immed ia tely back to Kata k

t o do t he i r former work . [Then follows a cen su re of

th e d iwan's conduct ] The m en of the imperia l

a rt i l lery ,st a rving th rou

’

gh non -

pavm ent of the i r sala ry ,

h ave come away from th e outpost s where t hey w ere

s t at i oned .You should come h ere qu i ckly and grant them

(ca sh pay ) accord ing to the regula t ion s . (Pp . 146 ,

We lea rn a l i t t le l a ter tha t t he i r pay h ad bee n

s t opped on th e plea of check ing the accounts !

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224 ST UDIES IN MUGHAL I ND I A .

whi le the ry o ts ,’

u nable t o p ay , have fled [ from the ir

homes] and the vil lage s have turned in to a

When Muh ammad Ha sh im a rrived i n person to make a

se t t lement (bm u l - o - ba xt ) , the ryots , al ready brough t to

dea t h’

s door by h is oppres s ion and ha rsh exact ions,

[mostly] fled on hearing the news of i t . Some of t hem ,

unable to pav the dem and , have d ied unde r blows ; most

others a re In pr i son . I t ‘

is imposs ible for me to repor t

[ fully] t he grievances Of the ryot s,w h o , hav ing sold

t h e i r wive s and c h i ldre n,have ba rely suc ceeded in keep

ing body and soul toge ther .

’

(Pages 63,

As Muhammad Hash im refused to follow t he advice

o f Khan - i -Da uran and reforrn h is ways , t he l a t ter wrote

to the Imperial Chancel lor to remove h im and appo int.

another d i w a n. (page Th is wa s done , e i the r la te i n

1662 01'

ea rlv ia - 1663 (a s R aj ah R aghuna th , to whom th e

Governor’s le t ter w as addres sed , d ied on 2nd J une ,

18. I SLAM IN ( lRI SSA .

The pro - I slam ic ord inance s i ss ued by A u rangz ib ea rly

in h i s re ign and descr ibed in mv H is to ry of A u ra ngz ib,

V ol ume I II , pages 89 - 106 ,were enforced i n Or i ssa a lso

On page 203} of the J l u ra qa t - i -Ha xsa n i s g iven th e text of

th e proclama t ion by wh ich “ t he fa ujda rs , th a na /rda rs ,

gu zna sh ta hs

'

o f jag ir-J a rs, a m i ls, [ nor

-is, ferrymen , road

g'u a r

'

tls, gam l i lgocs and za m inda rs , o f t he ent i re

.s-u ba h o f Uri ssa " a re t old th a t H is Maj esty the Emperor

had abol i shed th e du ty on the commod i t ie s ment ioned

i n the following schedule ," for the good of h is subj ec t s ,

OR IS SA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY . 225

and tha t these officers should absta in from levying the

taxes and should keep the roads open for the t rans i t ofgoods , on pa i n of imperia l d ispleasure and chast i sement .

The schedule i s not g iven in my MS,but. we know from

othe r source s wha t the abol i shed dut ies were . (See page

80 o f my H istory of A u rangz ib, V ol . III . )

The beginn ing of A u rangz ib’

s re ign saw the s tr ic t

restora t ion of the offi ces of Canon Law J udge (gazi ) and

Censor of Publ i c Moral s (m u h ta s ib) enj oyed by I slam icrule and precedent , i n everv province and import an t.

t own . Sha ikh Juna id wa s appo inted 'm u h ta s ib of Katak ,

and h i s dut ie s a re descr ibed on page 196 . (See also

H is to ry of A ura ngz ib, III , 93,O f the qa z is Of

Kata k w e find tw o names : Rahmatullah , who w a s di s

m i ssed for misconduct and v iolat ion of canon law , and

Sayyid Muhammad Ghaus,who succeeded h im both a s

qa z i and 7 lri r- i - ad i l, on a sa la rv of R s .

Zlf'

da ilv , i n 1665.

(Pages 192— 195 and

A t the end of t he s ixteen th cent ury , Ori ssa , l ike

many ot her part s of Eastern Ind ia , was notor ious for theca st ra t ion of ch ildren and the i r sale a s eunuchs by the i r

mercenary parent s . (Jarret t’s A in - i - A /rba rz, I I , In

1668 A u rangz ib i ssued a general order forbidd ing thi s

w icked pract i ce throughout h is empi re . (.ll a si r- i -A la m

g iri , Even some y ears ea rl ier he h ad made the

Imper ial Chancellor,Raj ah Raghunat h Khatr i , write to

t he Governor Khan - i -Da uran , a let te r by order”

tell ing

h im tha t in Ori ssa many people used to cas t ra te the i r

S M . 15

226 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

sons,th at Shu j a had forb i dden i t during h i s v i ceroyal ty

,

and th a t the su ba h da r should pu t a step t o the pract i ceimmedi a tely on the rece ip t of th i s imperi al order . Khan

i -D auran repl ied , “ I have made ca re ful i nqu ir ie s, brrt

found no t race of th i s pract i ce . They say tha t i t h as

never been done in th i s province from ancien t t imes to

th i s .

”

(Pages 75,The Muhammadan rulers Of ‘ Ind ia u sed to make

gran t s of rent - f ree land to the holy men and scholars

of the i r fa i th a s “ help to subsi s tence ”

(m adad - i -m a sh ) .

Several i nst an ces of th i s system are g iven i n the M a i-

a ga r.

Sha ikh Abul Kha i r l ives l ike a J a r-visit i n a mona steryin the v ill age Of Qu

‘

tbpu r in sa rlra r Goa lpar . For the

l as t 24 years he ha s been enj oying as h is m adad - i - m a sh

a. vi l lage named D arbast - J asra i n parganah Ka siju ra h

i n tha t sa rka r,i n a ccordance wi th th o sa nads of former

governors . The papers sent by the Kh an - i

Mir J umla.) to the d iw an of th i s su ba h show the vil lage

a s resumed to th e State: Please move the Emperor t o

resto re th is faqi r’s grant .

‘

(Khan - i -Dauran to the Imperia lCh ancellor

,pages 78, Sha ikh Ba r - kh u rdar ,

a member of t he N aqsh bandi’

orde r and a holy monk

of Ka t ak , enj oys as h is m a rlad - i -m a sh a v il lag e yi eld ing

R s. 31 r a year , named Nur - tank in pargan ah Karmul , i n

sa r-lca r Katak . I recommend for h im th e add i t ional grant

o f one

"

Rupee da ily from the income of the ch a bu tra of

th e m ir- i - ba h a r (admiral or 9 7e officer) of Katak .

"

(Khan - i -D auran to th e Ch ie f Sadar of the empi re , pa g e

We al so h ave a pa rw a na h , da ted 13th December ,

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228 STUDIES IN M UG I IAL IND IA .

14. To roc rmrm m r. NOTES .

The fol lowing fa u jrla rix or subd ivi s ions , ea ch under an

fa u jda r, a re inc idental ly ru ent ioned i n the -.llm a ga t

1 . Chakla Med in ipur , f rom Med in ipur to N a ravan

ga rh . (Pp . 38 ,

2. Rem una , on the front ier of Mayurbhanj . (Pp

181 Five m iles north -west o f Bal a sore .

Katak . (P .

4 . Pipl i N iu r,beyond the Ka tjh u r

'i r ive-r . (P .

Twenty - tw o miles due north of Puri .

5. Padish ah u aga r, beyond t he Ka t jh u ri r iver . (P . .

6 . Pa ch h era (P . I’m t c'h ira ,

w est o f th e

Ba ita ran i , 24 miles w est of Bhadra k and 3 miles west of

Ki llah A m boh ; i t s tood a t th e g a te of the k ingdom o f~

Keonj ha r w hen proceed ing from th e eas t .

7 . Sarang - ga rh and Sandh a h pnr [‘

Sa rangerh and

Santrapu r’ of St i rl ing , page 49 ] (Page

8 . Talmal . (Pp . 145, 156 ,

9 . Malud,

on the front ie r fac ing th e. Deccan .

(Pp . 81 , 158 , 160, Sout h o f Lake Clrilka , 19 .1l i’rf

Al l t he above a re m en t ioned by S t i rl ing (48 , 49 ) a s

M uglral t hanah s , with the except ion of

the nea res t approa ch t o w h ich in St i r ling'

s l i s t is A lma

g h i r Sh i rgc rh .

We a l so lea rn tha t Suro h w as on t he front ie r o f

B h adra k and La khanpur on tha t o f Keonjha r (J i m-(111m ,

pp. 41 , A s to Kira /[Lo t or Kni lflco t , St i rl ing (page

OR I S S A IN THE SE vE NTE E NTH CEN TE R I'

. 229

45) ment ion s the zaminda ri o f Ira /[c o re a s a H il l Esta te ,n o w rrnder the Ganjanr D i st ri c t . Sepa ra ted from Or i s sa

.a lfont 1730. Fi fteen mile s du e north of Ganjam Town .

.V m is u rgcrrh— I find a .l/a nx u r-Ko ta 12 miles sou th

w est Of Ganjam and 8 m i les due ea st. of Berhampur .

H a I-

r

'

lra r11u 1— N irre miles south of Baripada (in t he

_Ma y u rbhanj S ta te . )

-Ya rs u igh p u r .

— Nort h Of t he AI ah anadi 2O.27N .

.V i/y i r i .

— E leverr miles south -west of Bala sore .

— t )n the rai lway l ine , midway between

B a la sore and Bhadra k .

K7m n la .

— The Old fort stands 54 miles wes t of the

iKh u rda Roa d sta t i on .

Ku ja ng .

— 20. 14E . 011 the se acoast .

]) om pa ra .

— 19 miles south -west west of Katak .

J Ia l ip a ra .

— Eleven m ile s south south - east of Dompara .

Ka lu pa m h . Gu i-

r Ka llopa rra of I nd ia n A tla s,

:sh eet 116, 5miles south - ea st of the Khurda Road st at ion .

J / u tri . M ootooree' of the A t la s , 1 mile north

w e st of Ka llOpa rra .

Kh u rrl ih a i— J‘ Gurr gorodh ea of the A t la s , 2 miles

s ou th -west of Kalloparra .

Bo w l — Ou the south bank of th e M ah arradi , 23mile s

s outh -west west of Katak .

Ra np u n— 2OJ X.

Ta lm a l .

— A t th e north - ea st corner of Lake Ch il ka ,

15 miles north -west west of Pur i .

H a rish p u r Ga rh— Ou the seacoa st,

230 STUD IE S IN n c oru r. INDIA .

Kan ika .

— A lorrg the seacoa st,north of Po in t Pal

m yra s and south of 21N . Lat i tude .

Ku Ira /r.

“Kh u la rda h

”

of A tla s,8 mile s smi th

south - ea st of Ka tak .

Biza npu r.

— Fourteen miles nort h of Kal iko t . (Sheet

1ta w a fa .

— There i s' a parg a na h Ra oo tra h i n A this ,

due north - ea s t of Balasore , a cross the r iver . (Shee t

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32 STUDIES IN M UGHA L INDIA .

un ique in forma t ion abou t many h i s tor i cal personages and

event s of the t ime and topograph ical de ta i l s . The Br it i sh

M u seum , London , has a comple te manuscri pt of the

D iUca sha, ha s t i ly bu t correctly w r i t ten (Or. The.

copy belong ing to the Ind ia Office L ibrary,London

,i s

less correc t and covers only the firs t. hal f of the book ,

end ing abruptly w i th the cap ture of Golkonda in 1687 .

(NO . 94, Ethe’s Ca talogue The B ibl io theque Na~

t ionale , Par i s , has another and a complete copy (Suppl .

259,Bloch et

’

s Catalogue No o ther MS . of i t i s

known to ex i st . An abridged and incorrect Engl i sh

t ransl a tion of a part of i t was publ i shed under the t i tle

o f J ou rna l of a , B oondela h Officer, i n Jona than . Scot t'

s

H istory of th e D ecca n , (Shrew sbu ry ,

Bh im sen’s fa ther , Ragh u nandanda s was one of the

s ix sons of J ivm al , a Kaya sth a of the Saksena sect ion ,

th e other five be ing Bhagwanda s , Sh y am da s, Goku lda s ,

H a ridas and D h aram das . Of these Bhagwanda s rose t o

th e h ighes t pos i t ion then open to a H i ndu . He wa sa ppoin ted D iw a n (Chancell or ) of Mugha l Deccan wi ththe t i tle of D ia na t Ray (= Baron Honesty) in 1657 ,

a ccompanied A u rangz ib from the Deccan during h is ma rchnorthwards to contes t the th rone o f Delh i , and l ived a ttha t capi ta l w i th the court t il l h i s dea th in 1664. Heh ad every expecta t ion of be ing appo inted ch ief D iwano f the Empire

,but when A u rangz ib confined h i s old

fa ther in Agra Fort (J une , Itay- i- rayan l tagh u

na th Ra i , the As s i s tan t D iwan w h o had been do ing al l

t he dut ie s o f the Imper ia l D iwan , deserted t o the prince ,

A GREAT HIND U MEMOIR 2i 3i }

a nd h i s t imely treachery was rewa rded by h i s be ing given

t h e pos t of the ch ief D iwan of the Empire , though wi tho u t th e

‘ t i t le . Thus D i anat Rav lost h i s h ighe st hope .

It agh u nandan wa s m u s h a rraf of the imperia l a rt i llery

o f the Deccan ,a post wh ich he resigned about 1670, i n

o rder to pass h is old age in rel ig ious med it at ion . dving

a t Aurangabad in 1674 .

Genea logy o f th e fa m i ly

J iv Ma l

Bhagwan Shyam~ Goku l Raghu Hari Dharamda s-Dia da s das na u da u da s da s

fl a t Ra y

I Ha t Ra ia

J ogram Su k h raj I Bhimsen Sita ldas Ham i r Sen

Maka ra nd

IRa i

Da y a ldas

IShambhu H immat son

(d . o f ma th Ra i

drink ) D ip Ra i

J ivan Ra i Don d . in Ganeshinfa ncv Ra i

I I . E A RLY LI rE .

Bhimsen was born a t B in -h anpu r on the Tapt i (the

c api ta l o f Khandesh ) i n Samva t 1705 (1649 and

a t the age of e ight he le ft t h i s pla ce to jo in h is fa ther a t

Aurangabad . Tha t wa s an eventful vea r The

c rown of Delh i w a s changing hands and the boy reta ined

a vivid recollect ion of the rumours of wa r in Northern

23 STUD IES IN M UGHAL INDIA .

Ind i a t ha t ag it a ted the c i t izens of Aurangabad . A t th eage of ten he pa id a v is i t to the Na s i k caves and Trimbakfort in h is fa ther

'

s company . The dea th of D i ana t Rav

a t Delh i (1664) dashed down to the ground a ll the hopeso f h igh promot ion cheri shed by hi s fam ily . H i s eldestson J ogram w a s appo inted by the Emperor m u xlm rrafof the Elephants , -no very h igh post ; bu t d ied i n a fewyears . Then Su kh raj, th e younger son of D ia na t B a y ,

w a s appo inted [M u sh a rraf of the Imperi a l Dri nk and Betellea f 1) epa 1 tm ents .

A t Aurangabad Bh imsen rece ived h is educa t ion in

Pers ian from h i s n inth to h i s fi fteen th yea r , under the

care of h i s fa ther . Then , for seven yea rs he a cted a s h is

fa ther'

s depu ty . Itagh unandan was growing old and

w ea k, and fel t h imsel f unab le to a t tend h i s offi ce and

do h i s d ut ie s a s m u sli afiaf of Art i l lery . Feari ng tha t

t he Emperor would be angry i f he hea rd tha t R aghu

nandan w as st aying a t home , whi le h i s office work w as

be ing act ua lly done by a youth o f,

21 , he res igned ( 1670)Young Bh imsen had now to look out for some employ

ment and t urned t o many pat ron s of h is fam ily . bu t in

va in . A t la s t h e secu red th e post of m u slm rra f o f muster

and brand ing of horses in the d iv is i on o f Daud KhanQura i sh i

,immed ia tely under Mir Abdul Mabud . th e

I’avm aster (ba lrll u

'

) of tha t general . He had to pa y a

la rge bribe t o get the post and had al so to run into

deb t to engage and equ ip fol lowers i n a manne r w orth v

o r h i s post a nd mansab . He s ta rted for Daud Khan '

s

camp a t Junna r , but met h im on the way and ret u rned

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. 2 26 sr t'

D I rcs - Ix n rc ru r. IND IA .

befr iended by h i s fa ther a t Au rangabad . Da ud Khan

a rr ived too l ate to save Sa lh ir from be ing captured by

Sh ivaji, but cont i nued fight ing nea r the Chandor range

for some t ime and took the fort of A lrivan t .

A le t ter now arr ived from the Emperor a ccept i ng t he

Pri nce’

s recomm enda t ion t ha t Bh imsen should be appo in t

ed m u sli nrraf of m u s tc r a nal lu '

a'

lu l ing . J aswant had i nduc

ed the Prince t o ma ke th i s proposa l . But through th e

mach ina t ion s of the H indu favouri te s of Mahaba t Khan ,

.t lre new com m a rrder- in - ch ief o f the Deccan , th e post wa s

c onferred on a son of Br indaban (the‘ son of Da ra’s

d iwan ) . The cup w a s th us sna t ched away from the l ips

of B h imsen and he had to pass a long t ime in unemploy

nrent and d i stre ss , but h is h igh - pla ced friends helped

h im wi th money .

A fter a t ime Bahad u r Khan , t he new V i ceroy of theDeccan

, (1672) gave that post t o Blrirnsen and he held i t

.fo r many years a fterward s .

In the course of the pu rsu i t of the Mara tha s who hadra ided Itam g ir (110 miles north - ea st. of Ha ida rabad ) i nNovember

,1672, Bhimsen had a marvellou s advent ure

‘

M’ lt ll a J a rvis/z w h ich reads l i ke a romance . For th e nex t

' two years he made much money and l ived i n grea t happi

ness and comfort ; even grea t nobles could not. l ive i n

th a t s tyle a s he brags ! Bu t a su cce ss ion o f be reave

ni cut s overtook h im soon a fterwa rd s : he lost h i s uncle

Goku lda s (a few yea rs ea rl ier ) , h i s brother Sita lda s. and'h i s fa ther Raghunandan , then .l la r l l a i and l i a r Ra i

'

s“f a ther Sh y am da s .

A GREAT H INDU riE rI orn- w nI rE n .

For a long t ime Bhimsen had been ch ildless . So, h e

adopted a s h is own , a son of hi s y ounger brother Sita lda s .

who was born in 1671 and na nred I'

m ich and by t he

a s t rologers and Brajabh u sh an b y o u r a u thor . In 1678

th i s l i t tle ch i ld w as married .

In 1686 Bh imsen , t ired of work , le ft h is o ffice dut ie s

in the imperi al a rmy to be d ischa rged bv h i s agent s

(g u rna sh r‘

a s ) a nd went to l ive wi th h is family a t Naldurg ,

a fort 05 mi les north - ea st o f Slro lap u r. Here i n 1688

a son was born t o h im and named Sh am h h u na th : but

Bra jabh u sh an , whom he had adopted a s h i s son , cont inued

to be cheri shed a s a member of h i s fam ilv , l ike h i s eldest

son .

I V . SERVE S D A LI'A T RA O B L

'

N D E LA .

Soon a fte rwards , Bh imsen lef t Naldu rg and jo ined

t h e Mugha l a rmy a t Sholapur . At th i s place he w a s

ta ken into the servi ce of D alpa t Ran , the B u ndela ch ie f

ta i n of Da t i a and an important genera l in A u rangz ib’

s.

arm y , a s h i s priva te secreta rv and man of bus iness .

La nds y i eld ing Its . a y ea r were given to h im a s

hi s sa larv,evidently in Bundelkhand . [Bh imsen does

not seem to have res igned h i s post in the imperial a rmy ]Th e connect ion thus begun cont inued t il l D a lpa t

'

s dc a tlr

e igh teen vea rs la te r .

In the company of Da lpa t Ilao . w h o was l ie utenant

to A u rangz ib’

s foremost general Zu lfiqa r Khan BahadurNusra t Jang (the son o f Asad Khan ) , our a uthor ma rch edthrough jungles to J inj i (in the South Arcot D i s t r i c t ):i n 1691 . The s iege of th i s fort bv th e Mugha l a rmy

.238 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

I

w a s soon abandoned (for a t ime ) , and D a lpa t wi th Bh ini

.fsen w en t to VV andi ’a sh and then to Madras for t rea tmen t‘under the celebra ted European doctors of the place . The

R ao wa s not cu red and returned a fte r los ing much money .

T he I ta l ian t ravelle r N iccolao M anu cci , w hoh ad se t u p

a s a doctor" wi th ou t any med i cal knowledge,says tha t

"

D alpa t-

'

s agent was dece ived by a selfish m iddleman and

d id not consul t lrirn but w ent t o Some other quack ,and

hence h i s fa i lure ! (Sta r-{a do i i i .

Th e business of D alpa t Rao brough t Bh rm sen from

Madra s to the imperi al c amp at Brahmapur i on the

Bh ima r iver,18 mile s sou th - e a st of Pandharpur . A fte r

fin i sh ing i t,he re turned qu ickly to .I inji , only to come

to Nald urg aga in for t he marriage of‘

h is son Shambhu

nath (celebra ted at ll a idarabad . ) Soon a fter going ba ck

to J inj i he ret ra ced h i s steps and travelled to Agra on amiss ion of D alpa t Ilao , and on h i s re turn he stopped a tNa ldurg . To th is d i s tri c t D alp a t. Rao came a fter t h e

fal l o f J inji i n 1698 ,and our a uthor jo ined h im . Du ring

th e journeys of th ese e ight years . Bh imsen vi s i ted most

o f the famous tem ples and c it ie s of the Madra s P res i

dency and Northern Ind ia , and he ha s le f t short butextremely val uable descri pt ions of them as they were

two hundred and th i rty y ea rs ago .

Abou t the m iddle of 1698, a Mughal army was sen tto bes iege Pa nh ala , a fort 10 miles north of Kolh apur .

D ur ing th e. en forced i dleness of the s iege , Bhimsen

began to wri te h i s H i s tory i n h i s tent a t the foo t of

P anh ala . B u t th e l ong wars of A u rangz ib h ad made the

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240 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

(a s pet ty clerks ) i n the se rvi ce of Pr ince Kh ujista AkhtarJ ahan Shah , through the k ind help of R ay - i - rayan Guj arMa], a nd ret urned home to lead a l i fe of rel ig ious med i ta

t ion . We know noth ing of h i s dea th,nor of the a fte r

h i story of h i s fam ily . But the genealog ical t ree g iven

above may be a means of t ra c i ng h i s l iving descendant s ,

i f my readers a t D a t ia , Gwal ior , B urhanpur and A u ranga

bad make inq u ir ie s and wri te to me .

V I . A s A VVRIT i-zn.

The va lue of Bh im sen'

s H istorv l ie s in h i s extens ive

and accura te personal obse rvat ion and h i s pos i t i on . A s

a. cle rk in the Mugha l army of t he Deccan and the - fr iend

of many general s and other h igh offi cers , he secured cor

rec t offic i a l i n forma t ion and lea rn t. many a Sta te secre t ,w h i le h i s s i t ua t ion a t a d i stance from the throne and t h e

fa ct. o f h is H i story no t having been wri t ten for the

Emperor'

s eyes pla ced h im above the tempta t ion to omi t

o r d i sgu i se fa ct s d i sc red i t able to t he Government or wri tea fu lsome eulogy on t he Emperor and h is court ie rs . H e

i s thu s free from the Wors t de fec t s o f the offi c ia l h i stories

o f t he Mughal emperors . Bh imsen knew the t rut h and

could afford to tel l i t . He has al so given t rue ske tcheso f the cha ra cte rs of the va rious h i stor ica l personages o f

the t ime and po inted ou t t he i r de fect s . H is

reflect ive m ind and H i nd u creed enabled h im to

l ook w i th the eyes of a neut ral specta to r a t. th e

event s of A u rangz ib'

s re ign and to na rra te the i r

t rue causes and effect s . Above al l , h i s accoun t of many

A GRE AT HIN DU MEMOIR -W R ITER . 241

i nc idents of t he M ughal w arfa re in the Deccan i s a sva luable a s the report s of t he “ Eye wi tnes s ” in the

pre sent European w ar . Indeed , he i s ou r only source of

deta i led informa t ion abou t them .

Th ings wh ich the pompous offic i a l h i stor ians of the

day scorned to ment ion ,— such a s the prices of food , the

amusements of the people , t he cond i t ion of the roads,

and the soc i al l i fe of the offic ia l cla ss,— * a re descr ibe d here

onlv . For Deccan h istorv i n the l a te 17 th century ,he

1s Inval uable .

The charac ter of Bh imsen a s a man i s unfolded in

h i s Memoirs withou t anv di sgu ise . We see h i s weakness ,but w e al so see h i s s trong fidel i ty to fr iend and master ,h i s devot ion to h is k it h and k in , h i s love of ch ildren and

h is devout fa i th in H i ndu i sm . Bhimsen w as a cha rm ing

character,tender

,un pretent iou s , frank and serene , lov

i ng soc ia l ga iety but also deeply.

touched by sorrow . I fi t be t rue tha t “ t he sty le i s the man , then we must

hi ghly pra ise th i s master of a s imple bus iness- l ike prose ,

i n wh ich there a re no useless flowers of rhetor ic , no pro

fuse word iness , no round - abou t express ion , bu t. plenty of

a ccurate obse rva t ion and conc ise bu t clea r s tatemen t of

all e ssent i a l po in t s . These a re rare quali t ies in a Pers ia n

w r ite r .

16

AN OLD HINDU HISTORIA N or A URA NGZIB .

There a re . tw o ex tremely valu able con temporaryh i stori e s of A u rangzib

’s re ign (1657- 1707 w ri t ten

in Persi anbu t by H indus . One i s the N u skha- i -D i lkush a

by Bh imsen , a Kayas th , born a t Burh anpur , and the othe r

i s the Fa tu h a t- i -A lamgin"

composed by I shw a r - da s of

Pa t an inGu j ra t . O f th e‘

latter only one manuscr ip t i s

known to ex i s t i n the w orld , fviz . ,

'

Br i t i sh M u seum Pers .

MS . Add i t i onal No . I t con ta i ns 329 pages of

11 l ines e ach . I have made a ful l t ransl at i on of i t

i n to Engl i sh , w h i ch I i n tend ti) publ i sh . The

grea t impor tance of th ese tw o h i s tor i ans l ies not

only in the i r looking a t th e re ign through

the eye s of contemporary H indus , but al so i n the i r l iving

near enough to t he grea t Mughal officers to learn the

h i s tor i cal even t s of the t ime accura tely , bu t not nea r

enough to the throne to be lying flatterers.

I shwar - das, a Naga r Brahman and i nh ab i tan t of th e

c i ty of Patan in the su ba h of Guj ra t (now i n the Gaek

war’s dominions ) , served Sh a ikh - u l - I sl am from h is

y outh up to h i s 30th yea r . Th i s Sh a ikh , a s the Ch ief

Qaz i of the Empi re , used to a ccompany the Emperor

A u rangzib i n camp and court alike , and 'I shwar -das i nth e t ra in of h is master got good opport un i t ie s of lea rn

ing the t rue fa ct s of Ind i an h i story d irectly from the

ch ief offic i al s o f the t ime or the i r servant s . We know

f rom the offic i al record of A u rangz ib’s re ign (en ti tled

the Ill u sir- i - A Za nzg z'

ri ) tha t Sha ikh -u l - I sl am acted a s

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'

244 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

brough t up i n a secre t nook by‘

D urgadas Rath er , th e

guard i an and champion Of A j i t S ingh,the young he ir

to th e J odhpur throne . A u rangz ib w as ever eager to

recover h i s grand - ch ildren and thus preserve h i s family

honou r . .

'

A t the same t ime , D u rgadas was worn ou t by

th e constan t w ar wi th the M ughal s and the devas t a t i on“

of h i s count ry .

The re s t Of the story w e shall give in the words O f

I shwar - das“ H i s (Le , D u rgadas

’s) da y s Of suffer ing were ove r

a nd h is happy days a rr ived . SO (i n 1698) he sen t a

let ter t o the au thor of th i s book , s ta t ing that i f

Sh u jaet Khan gave h im'

a sa fe - conduc t and spa red h is

home from harm pendi ng th e'

Em peror’s Orders on h i s

pe t i t ion (for forgiveness ) , he would send Safiy a t -nu - n i ssa

Begam to t he Imperi a l Cou rt . The Emperor a t once

a cceded to the proposa l The author I shwa ron the arrival c f the Emperor

’

s reply , by order of th e

Khan vi s i t ed D u rgadas, w h o was l ivi ng in a pla ce ex

trem ely d i ffi cul t O f a ccess , persuaded h im with w ise'

advicef confirm ed h im in h i s good resolu t ion , and return

i ng‘

to the Khan,took proper escor t and conveya nce s

back with h im fOr conduct ing the princess to her grand

fa the r. As t he Begam had been plea sed w i th h i s sl ave'

s

services and a rrangements , Sh e a sked h im to a ccompany

h er to the Imper ia l Court Arr ived there, t he Begaminformed A u rangz ib t ha t D u rgadas had been so a ttent ive

to her ‘ a s to ge t for her a M uhammadan t u toress from

A jm ir, under wh ose t u i t ion she had al ready read th e

AN OLD HI NDU H I STOR I AX or A URA NGZIB . 245

m a n and commit ted i t to memory . Thi s fac t eon

-

vinced the Emperor o f D u rgada s'

s devot ion and induced

h im to forgive all h i s past Offences . The imperia l grace

g ushed forth an d he asked , Tel l me wha t D u rgada s

wants 9 ” The Begam answered tha t I shwar - das knewi t . H i s Ma jesty a t once ordered me to be pre sented to

h im in h is private chamber by Qaz i Abdull ah , t he fr iend

o f Sh u jaet Khan . Next day , I was honoured with an

a ud ience and reported D u rgadas’s prayer to re ce ive a

ma nsa b and al lowance . I t w as granted ; and th i s humble

a tom I shwar - da s) was a lso crea ted a commander of200 horse i n rank (ra t) , invested w i th a robe of honour

(kh i la t ) , and sent to bring Buland Akh ta r and D u rgada s

to the presence On my ret urn to Ahmadabad I wasrewarded by Sh u jaet Khan ,

too . Repeatedly vi s i t ing

D u rgadas, I took solemn oath s On behalf Of the Khan ,

and rea ssured h i s m i nd wi th promi ses . D u rgadas, _On

g et t ing pa rw ana-h s conferr ing jag irs on h imself and

being put i n act ual possess ion of the m uk a ls a ss igned

to h im ,c ame with me to Ahmadabad . The Pr ince and

D u rgadas were conduc ted by the au thor to Sura t , where

many Officers deputed by the Emperor me t the Prince

i n advance,both to wel come h im and also to teach h im

court - et iquet te.But the Prince cont inued to behave l ike

a dumb and awkward clowni sh l ad , and the cou rt doctors

fa i led to remedy hi s defect .

W hen D u rgada sa rr ived a t the port ico of the Aud i

ence Hall , the Emperor ordered h im to be ushered a n

a rmed (l ike a pri soner Or suspect ) . D u rgadas, without

246 STUDIES IN M UGHAL INDIA .

a moment’s hes i t a t ion or obj ect ion , took h is sw ord Off

Hea ring th i s , H i s Ma jesty ord ered h im to come in with

h is a rm s on ! When he entered the tent , [ th e finance

m in i ste r} R tih u lla h Khan w as ordered to mee t h im in

advance and'

p resen t h im . The Khan conducted h im t o

the Emperor a fte r b ind ing h i s wri st s together wi t h a

ha ndkerch ie f . [This wa s . a mummery by wh ich th e

Offender had to beg the roya l pa rdon , appear ing l i ke a

capt ive Of wa r or crim inal under a rres t . The reader wil l

remember h ow the represen tative s O f the c i t izens of

Cala i s h ad to m ake'

subm ission to‘

Edw a rd I II . by appea r

ing wi th hal te rs round the i r necks . I t wa s , in Mugha lInd ia, a merely t heat ri cal a ct ion , i ntended to soothe th e

im per ial d ign i ty] .

H i s Maj es ty now gra c iou sly ordered D u rgada s’s a rms

t o be un ited , promoted h im to be a commander of

horse (i n rank , with an ac tua l con t ingen t of t roop

ers ) , and gave h im a j ew elled dagger , a pntla k (gold

pendant ) , and a st r ing of pea rls — and an order on th e

Imper i a l Treasu rv for one la kh o f rupees .

The author,t oo , w as favoured by the Emperor wi t h

a robe of h onou r and a promot ion of 50 horsemen i n"

ran k

and ten t roopers i n h i s a c t ua l f ol lowing , and“w as g iven

a jag ir in M a irth a (i n Ma rwa r , west of A jm ir. )

SO ,I shwa r- das became a commander of 250 horse i n

rank , i n rew ard of h is success i n d ipl omacy . Th is a ccount.

O f h imsel f i s 'al so supported by the Pers ian h is tory , M i ra t

i -A h m adi , p . 350-351 . We know noth ing fu rther o f ou r

a uthor .The colophon of h is book tell s us tha t h e

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48 STUDIE S I N MUGHAL INDIA .

B i l i r Khan d isobeys Pr ince Sh ah Alam,V i ceroy

of the Deccan . (585)

Bat tl e wi t h Sh iva near Salh ir . (605)R is ing of th e Satnam i sec t . (615)D i sa s ters to the imperi a l a rms in Afgh an i s tan . (625)Dea th of Ja swan t S ingh ; e scape Of h i s ch ildren

ja z iya ; Raj pu t war ; A kba r’

s rebell i on . (735)

Report s Of the war wi th the Ra th ors. (850)Pr ince Azam sent aga inst Bij apu r and Shah Al am

into the Konkan . (865)

Conques t Of Golkonda . (890 )R is ing of Pah ar Singh Gaur In Sironj . (940 )Conques t of B ij apur . (970 )

Doings Of Sh am bh u ji and Prince Akbar . (1085)P r ince Shah Alam impri soned . (1135)Capture of Ram sij and Salh ir. (1165)R is ings i n Bundelkh and (1195)Desul tory figh t ing i n the Deccan . (1200 )A kbar

’

s fl igh t to Pers i a (1215)Rebell ion Of Durj an Singh Hada and d i stu rbance s

i n R ajputana . (1225)

Capture of fort Adon i . (1240 )Capture o f Bangalore . (1275)R i sing of Ra ja ram Ja t near Agra . (1315)R i sing o f Gopal S ingh Gau r nea r Gwal ior . (1350 )R is ing of Churaman J at a t Sansani . (1355)

Capture of Rustam Khan by Sant a Gh orpare . (1405)Rupa Bh onsla l oot s S idd i A bdul Qad i r . (1425)

AN OLD H INDU HISTOR IAN OF A URA N GZI B . 249

Emperor t reacherou sly destroys the eyesigh t Of

Gh aziu ddin Khan Bah adur F i ruz Jang wi th

the help of the Court doctor .

Campa ign aga in st Sh am bh u ji .

Capture and execut ion Of Shambhu .

Capture of many Maratha fort s .

Fl igh t Of Raj aram , the brother of Sh am bh u ji .

Aghar Khan sla in nea r Agra .

Submi ss i on of D u rgada s ; I shwar -da s has aud ience of the Emperor and i s rewa rded .

(The book ends on

W ILLIA M IR V INE , THE HISTOR IAN OF THE

LATER MUGHALS .

H IS CAREER .

W i ll i am I rvine , th e son of a Scotch advoca te , w as

born in Aberdeen on 5th July , 1840 He came to Londonwhen qu i te a ch ild , and a fte r leav ing school a t the ea rly

age Of fi fteen he w en t i nto busi ness , unt i l he obta ined a n

appo intment i n the Admi ra lty a t n ine teen . He s tayedt here for a y ea r or tw o ; but having acqu ired a verv

good knowledge of French and German , he event ually

re s igned , went t o K ing'

s Coll ege,London , to complete

h i s s tud ies , and en tering for the Ind ian C ivi l Serv ice hepassed very h igh in the examina t ion of 1862 .

A rr iv ing in Ind i a on 12t h December , 1863, he w as

a t ta ched t o the North -W e stern Provinces C iv i l Service

i n the fol lowing J une , a s Ass i st a nt Mag is tra te O f Sabaranpur . After spending nearly a yea r there , h e wa s sen tt o Mu za ffarnagar , for four y ea rs (Apri l 1865— J uly

A long furlough to Europe consumed more tha n two years ,1872 and 1873. He next served in Fa rru khabad (June1875— April 1879 ) w here he rose t o be Jo in t Magi st ra te

He had al ready begun to study L i do -Muhammadan h i s tory

with schola rly ser iousness , and t he fi rs t fru i t s of h is

w ork in t h is l ine were an a ccu rate and l uminous Accountof the Da

i

ngash N aw w abs of Fa‘

rrukhabad publ ished in theJ ou rna l of th e A s ia t ic So c iety of B cnga l, 1878

— 79 , and

some val uable Chap te rs contr ibuted to the Gazetteer of th e

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toC)

!

to STUDIE S I N M UGH AL IND IA .

manuscr ipt s w r i t ten 111 tha t tongue . He h ad al so begun to

collect Pers ian h istori cal MS S ; , i n add i t i on to printed and

l itlrograph ed w orks in Urdu and H ind i having even the

remotest connec t ion wi th th e Mughal period . During h i so ffi c i a l career many Ind ian gentlemen

,knowing h is

s pec ial t a s te , sought to plea se h iin by presen ti ng Persia n

M SS .

,and he al so purchased them both i n Ind ia and i n

Engl and . Bes ides , he kept. i n h i s pay a Muhammadanscr ibe of Bh i ta r i Sa y y idpu r (Ghaz ipur D i s t r i c t ) , to huntfor and CUPy such Pe rs i an MS S . a s c ould not be had for

l ove or money . Tra nscr ip ts were, al so made for h im o f

t hose ra re MSS.

‘ of th e Roy a l Libra ry , Berl in , wh i ch b e

requ i red for h is h istori ca l resea rches . Thus i t h appened

t ha t he made a.

col lec t ion o f or ig inal MS . a uthori t ie s on

h i s spec i al period w h i ch wa s unapproa ched by any o f

t he publ i c l ibrar ie s o f Europe .

To take only one example , he had two MSS. of the

Anecdo tes o f A u rangz ib (A 550m - i -A lm ng i ri) a scr ibed to

H am iduddin Khan N im ch ah , whi ch i s not to be found

i n any publ i c l ibra ry of Ind i a or Europe , and o f whose

ex i stence h i stori an s w e re unaw a re , though i t i s a work

ex tremely charact e ri st i c o f the Emperor and gives in

form at ion offirst - ra te importance concern ing h i s l i fe andopin ions . I w a s happy to have been able to d iscover

another fragmen t O f th i s work and to presen t a t ranscrip t

!o f i t to h im . Aga in,of the (fli a li a r GTLlNlNI N , a ra re

18th centu ry volume on the topography and sta t i s t ic s of

the Mughal Empire,I could find only one copy i n Ind ia ,

( tha t bel onging to the Khuda l lakh sh Li brary ) , and h ad

WILLIAM IRVINE . to0

1

w

to ba se a port ion of my I nd ia of A u ra-vigz ib on th i s s inglemanuscr ipt . But Mr . Irv ine posse ssed three 3188 . of it ,

tw o of them hav ing been presented to h im '

by India nfriends . Af ter I had made h is a cqua in tance

,whenever

I came upon au v find of ra re Pers ia n M SS . on Ind ianh i story , he was su re to secure a copy of them for h im

sel f . Thus I w as t he m eans of enrich ing hi s priva te

l ibrary wi th transc i ip ts o f Mirza R aj ah Ja i 1Q ingh 3 let ters

(Heft A nju m a n ) , the orders i ssued by A u i angz ib in h is

old age and colle cted by h i s secre ta ry Ina y etu llah Kh an

(A lclf a m - i -A Iam g iri ) , the let ters'

of Shah Jahan and h is

sons a s preserved in t he F a iya z - u l- gau-an in , and th e

epi st le s of the Pers ia n King Shah Abba s I I . As Mr .

I rvine wro te to me ,h a t you tell m e abo u t your various finds of MSS. m akes

m y mouth water, and I shall be very grateful if you ca n engageany one to copy for m e Ina yetu lla h Khan

’s A hkam and th e varidu sfragments you h ave of Ham iduddin

'

s collection . Th e Ha ft

A njuman seems to be a va luable and most unexpected d iscoverv.

I have scolded Abdul Aziz [h is reta ined scribe] -whose spec ia lhunt ing ground is Benares , -f0r not h avfii g d iscovered it(Letter , 13Nov ,

H I S La ter J l ug lza ls .

\V i t h such a wea lth of orig ina l Pers ian sources i nh i s possess ion and hi s kn owledge of cont inenta l t ongues

Open ing to h im th e East Ind ian record s of the Du tch .

French and Portuguese Governments , a s well as thoseof the Chri s t i a n m iss ions t o the Eas t (espec ia l lv th e

le tters of t he Soc ietv of Jesus ) , Mr . I rv ine pla nned an

254 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

orig inal h i story of the decl ine of the Mughal Empire .

I t'

w as ent i tled Th e La ter ill u g’

h a l s' and . in tended to cover

the cen tury from the dea th of_A u rangzib i n 1707 to the

c apture of Delh i by the E ngl i sh i n 1803. As h e w ro te to

me on 23rd February , 1902“ I h ave first to finish the H istory from 1 707 to 1803which I

b egan twelve years ago . At present I have not ge t beyond 1 738,

i n my draft, though I have materials collected up to 1 759 or evenl a ter.

But the work grew i n h i s h ands , and so con sc ien t iou s

a workman was he , so . many sources of i n forma t ion d id

he consul t , and so of tend id he veri fy h is references , tha t

h is progress wa s slow and he l ived to complete th e na rra

t ive of only fourteen years ou t of the cen tury h e i ntended“to embrace i n h i s w ork . Chapters of Th e La ter .ll u gli al s

.appea red from t ime to t ime i n the I nd ia n A n t iqu a ry , and

t h e A sia t ic Qu a rterly R eview,bu t ma inly in the J ou rna l

of th e A sia tic, Soc iety of B enga l . Five years a fter wri t ing

t heabove to me , he th u s speaks of the sta te of h is under

t ak ing i n the L’envo i to i t s l a s t publ i shed chapter (J . A

.S. D . , November? 1908)W ith the d isappearance of th e Say y id brothers the story

atta ins a sort of dramatic comp leteness, and I dec ide to suspenda t this point m y contributions on th e history of the LaterM ugh a lsh There is reason to believe that a completion of my

orig ina l intention is beyond my remaining strength . I p lannedo n too large a scale , and it is h ardly likely no w that I shall bea ble to do much first dra ft for th e years 1 72 1 to 1 738

is written. I hope soon to undertake th e narrative of 1 739,

ncluding th e invasion ot,N ad ir Shah . I t rema ins to be seen

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256 STUDIE S I N MUGHAL INDIA ,

Mr . Irvine ever se t h is hand to th e Storia and the A rm y

of th e I ndia n M u gh a ls'

; t hese books prevented the con

t inu ation of Th e La ter Mu gh a ls t o th e da te , 1756, a fterw h ich the Persi an records cea se to be offirst- ra te va lue andwe get fuller l igh t from the documents i n t he European

tongues . In these Pers i an records lay the spec ial

s trength of M r . Irvine . He had spen t a l i fe i n collec t ing ,

maste ring and arranging them ; and h i s dea th robbed th e

world of al l h i s ga rnered knowledge . H i s s uccesso r inthe same field wi l l have to begin a t th e very . beginning

and to spend years i n going over th e same ma ter i al s , a nd

can arr ive a t M r . I rvine’s pos i t ion only a fter twenty

years of prel im inary st udy . I f Mr . I rvine h ad rigorouslyshunned al l such d ivers ions of h is a t tent ion and pushedon wi th h i s grand w ork , he could in h i s rema in ing years

h ave pla ced on record h i s l i fe'

s a ccumulation of i nforma

t ion and reflect ion on t he decl ine and fall of the Mugha l

Empire,and completed i t s h i s tory a t leas t up to i t s

pra ct i cal ext inct ion abou t the m iddle of the 18th centu rv..

But h e has not done i t ; and for probably 30yea rs to com e

we have l i t t le chance of h i s unfin i shed t a sk be ing ca rr ied

to comple t ion with anvth ing approa ch ing the h igh stan

dard of fulness and accu racv he a t ta ined i n the port i on

he l ived to wri te . In th i s respec t the w orld i s d i s t i nct ly

the poorer for h i s having undertak en to ed i t Manu eci .

For the la st. e igh t y ea rs of h i s l i fe Mr . Irvine w a s

haunted by a sad forebod ing tha t. h is days ori ea rth were

n umbered and tha t th e chosen work of h i s l i fe w as dest ined

t o rema in a fragment . In let te r a fter le t te r h e

W I LLIAM IRV INE . 257

u rged me to hurry 011 with my ow n h i stor ical work i f

I wished h im to see i t .

At my age fi

l cannot afford to lose any t ime , as I fearnotsurviving to finish the long and h eavy tasks I have on hand .

"

(18th March ,

I see every reason to bel ieve that your ed ition of th e

Alamgir lett ers wi ll be a thorough , good p iece of work,— bu t l

trust it w i ll not be too leng delayed , — for I am gett ing o ld and

shall not last very much longer. (16 Jan .

I hope that vour first volume of A urangz ib may appearbefore I leave the scene . (29 Jan .

A t la s t in Oc tober , 1907 he mournfu l ly admit ted tha the had not enough strength left to complete h i s original

plan , and tha t he wa s not l i kely to wri te much more of

Th e La ter J l u gh a ls than the port ion already sent. to the

press . Things looked a l i t t le more hopefully for h im in

the wa rm weather of 1910. As he wrote on 8th J u lv

Thanks for your enquiries about m y hea lth. Decay h a s

not come on so rap id ly as I thought it would . Th e comp lainsufier from is under contro l and apparently no worse thanwasfive years ago ,

— and considering I was 70 three days ago ,

I have a fa ir amount of activity ,bodily and mental , left to me

In fact I am contemp lating this next winter w riting ou t my

Bahadur Shah ch ap ter ( 1 707— 1 7 1 2 ) and send ing it to the

Asiatic Soc iety of Bengal .

But unfortunately t he hope was del usive . On th e

l a s t day of t he vea r he w a s taken very i ll . For some

t ime i t was expected tha t he mi ght recover a certa in

amount of health and st rength . In the summer of 1911

17

258 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

he w a s a l i t tl e better and appeared to be get t i ng stronger.

011 31st A ugu st he wrot e to me ,

" I am coming downsta irs once a day for 4 or 5hoursI arn

'

w ork ing on quietly and h app ily . My upper part— heart ,lungs and l iver, a re declared by the specialist to be quite clea rand l ikely to go on [doing their] work so long well that I may

reasonably [hope for] a continued l ife o f five to ten years. Soit is worth while go ing on as I sha ll be able to finish one thingor [another.]

T ire improvement,however

,w as temporary . Since

the au tumn se t in , h e began to fa i l rapidly and i t w a s

real i sed tha t he could not la s t th e winter . He bore h isl ong and trying i l lnes s wi th admirabl e pat ience and for-t i

t ude , and pa ssed aw av qu ietly a t la st on Friday, 3rd

November, 1911 .

Since S.R . Gard iner d ied wi th the cry My h i s tory !

Oh , m y h i story ! t here ha s been no'

such sad ea se o f a

monument al work undertaken wi th the fulness of know

ledge bu t cu t short bv the cruel hand of dea th . For

Ga rd iner , however , there wa s the con sola t ion th a t he hada rr ived almost. with i n s ight o f h i s goal , th e Res tora t i on ,

and was leaving a not unworthy d i sc i ple and cont inuer

i n Prof . Firth . Th i s con sola t i on w as den ied to t he clos

ing yea rs of W i ll i am Irv ine .

H I S EDITION or MA N UCCI’

S TRAVEL S .

( If al l Mr . I rvine '

s works th e Tra vels of .ll a nu cc i

(Sta rla ( lo 3109 0 1) i s mos t apprec ia ted by the Europeanpubl i c

,and wi th them , s trangely enough , i t i s h i s ch ie f

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260 STUDIE S IN M UGH AL INDIA .

carefully correc t the i r own sta tements in t he l ight of .

t he informa t ion there collected .

H I STORY OF M A N t'

cc'

I'

s MSS .

Before Mr . I rvine ~rediscovered M anu cci’s MSS . a t

Berl in and V en ice , tha t I t a l ia n t raveller had been la row nto the world only th rough the pira ted and incorrect French

vers ion made by Catron, a nd schola rs had been s igh ingfor the recovery of the or ig inal text a s a th ing hardly

to be hoped fo r . The h is tory o f M anu cc i’

s book r eads

l i ke a romance .

N iccolao M anu cci h ad le f t V eni ce i n November , 1053a t the age of fourteen a s a S towaway . Reach ing Ind iai n Janu ary 1656, he t ook service under pr ince Da ra'

Sh u koh and la tterlv under Shah Alam . A t in terval s h e’

se t up pract i ce a s a doctor wi thou t auv med ical t ra in ing .

t ravelled al l over Ind ia , went through va rious advent u resand changes of fortune , a nd passed h i s old age a t Madras

and Pond icherry ,dying in 1717 . Thus h is l i fe i n Ind i a

covered more t han s ixty yea rs .

A t d ifferent t ime 's he wro te h i s h i s tory of the

Mughals (Storm. do ill ogor) i n Portuguese ,' French and

I t a l i an ,—about one - th ird of the whole work hav ing been

drawn up original ly i n h is mother tongue I ta l ian , and

nea rly the whole being rewri t ten in Portuguese m ixed

wi th French . I t cons i s t s o f five Pa rt s,deal i ng wi th

(i) the author's journey from Venice to Delhi a nd a shortch ronicle o f th e Mugha l emperors dow n to the access ion o f

A u rangz ib,

W ILLI AM IRVINE . 261

(ii) _

.the reign of A u rangz ib, with th e a uthor’s persona l h istory ,

(i i i) th e Mugha l court, i ts system of government and revenue,much mixed u p wi th d igressions on E uropean companies , th eH indu religion, Ind ian anima ls, t h e Cathol ics in Ind ia , &c .

,

0 (iv) current events in th e Mughal camp in th e Deccan from1 70 1 , with long accounts o f th e doings of th e Jesui ts and otherC a t h olics

,

(v) events in 1 705 and in 1 706, with many stories of earl ier.

y ears interspersed .

The first three Part s he sent to Paris in 1701 by the

hand of M . Boureau Deslandes , an officer of the French

East Ind ia Company,

“ ev idently in the hope that the

Sta rla. would be publ i shed at. the expense of Lou i s XI V .

”

D eslande s len t the MS . to Fa ther Franc is Catron , a Jesui t ,w h o in 1705publ i shed an incomplete , garbled and grossly

incorrect French vers ion of i t,with interpola t ions from

o t her sou rces . Thi s w ork ends wi th 1658 and has been

t ran sl ated into Engl i sh, tw o reprint s of the Engli sh ver

s ion having been i ssued i n Calcutta s ince 1900. In 1715Ca tron

.publ i shed a cont i nua t ion , wh ich i s almost ent irely

t aken from Part II of Manu cci’

s MS . and covers the re ign

o f A u rangzib . I t ha s not been t ran sla ted into Engl i sh .

Thi s Manu cci MS. ,the version of the Storia

w h ich wa s fi rst sen t to Europe , — l ay in the l ibra ry of

the J esu i t s in Pari s t i ll 1763 when i t was sold wi th

o ther works of th a t collect ion and passed through succes

s ive hands into the Royal Library of Berl in I ti s descr ibed at the B erlin Codex Phill ipps 1945,

.

a s con

s i s t ing of th ree volumes wri t ten in.

Portuguese with three

621 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

gaps subsequently fi lled up i n Fren ch,and i t forms th e

t ex t t ransl a ted by . Mr . I rvi ne .

When Man u cc i i n Ind ia lea rn t of the a udac iousplagiar i sm of Ca tron , he sen t (1706) the ori g i nal I t al i andra f t of h i s Storia , Part s I , I I , and I I I , (wh ich he ha da lw ays kept by h imsel f ) , a s wel l a s the only ext an t MS .

of Part s I V (French ) and V (French and Portuguese ) , tothe Sena te of V en i ce begging tha t augus t body to order

the publ i ca t ion of th i s l i t tle work wh i ch i s l i kely to be

of the grea tes t u se t o t ravellers , miss iona ries , and mer

ch ant s , et c .

” Thi s MS. i s styled V enice Codex .XLI V or?

Zanett i’s ca ta logue . The only comp le te and consecut ive

tex t of Part V i s an I tal i an vers ion in manuscr ip t madeby Coun t Ca rde i ra ou t. of Portuguese in 1712, (V en ice'

odew

For a. long t ime i t w as bel ieved tha t th e MS . wh ich

Manu cc i had presen ted to the V enet i an Sena te was mi sl a id d uring Napoleon’s inva s ion of the Republ i c . Bu t

what Napoleon I . took away in 1797 was only a volume

of 56 contemporary port ra i t s of the princes and oth e r

cel ebri t ies of the Mughal court drawn a t M anu cc i’

s

instance'

by M ir Muh ammad , an a rt i s t i n the household

of Shah Al am before 1686 , and presented by Menucc i

t o the Sena te . (I t i s now 0. D . No .

‘

45 of the Na t ionalL ibrary , Pari s ) . These portra i t s a re of s urpass ing va lue

a nd h ave been reproduced in Mr . Irv ine’s ed i t ion .

Another vol ume of 66 drawings of H i nd u gods . rel ig id u s

ceremon ies,e tc . , sent by N omucc i t o V en ice a t t he same

t ime , i s sti ll there .

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264 STUDIE S IN M L’

GH A I . INDIA .

and Pari s for mechan i cal ly reproduc ing Pers ian MSS . fo r

m e by a process cal led ro ta ry brom ide print,i n w h ich

t he wri t ing appears as wh ite and the paper a s bl ack .

In every d i fficul ty and doubt tha t I have appealed toh im , he ha s g iven me prompt advi ce and a ss i st ance . Acerta in Ind ian Nawwab ha s a ra re col lec t i on of Pers ia nh i stori ca l le t ters . I se cu red h i s perm i ss i on to take a copy

o f i t a t my expense and enga g ed a s cr ibe . But for m ore

than a year the N aw w ab'

s officers under various pretext s

re fused my man access t o t he MS . A t l a s t , i n despa i rI wrote to Mr . Irvine about t he case . li e wrote to one

of h i s friends h igh in the C ivi l Service of All ahabad ,and th i s gentleman commun ica t ed w i th t he Nawwab . The

owner of the MS . now had i t copied a t h is ow n. a rp e'

ns c ,

bound the transcrip t i ii s ilk and morocco , and presen ted

i t to Mr . I rvine, w h o len t i t to me soon after rece iving

i t ! Mr . Irvine also cr i t i c i sed and emended the firs t five

ch apters of my H istory as f reely and care fully a s i f i t

e re h is own work .

Indeed,he rendered l i tera ry a s s i s tance i n such pro

fu s ion and a t so much expense of h i s own t ime , that Iw as a t t imes a sh amed of h av ing sough t h i s a id a nd ' th u s

i nterrupted h i s ow n work . In connect ion wi th the stat i st i c al a ccounts o f the Mughal empi re , I had compla inedtha t anc ien t. Ind ia , l i ke anc ien t E gypt , can be bet ter

s tud ied in t he gre at European capi tal s than in the country

i t sel f,and Mr . I rvine’s reply w as to send ru e unsol i c i ted

h is th ree MS S . of the (Ili a /fa r 'Gu lxh a n , a valu able'

w ork

on Ind i an st at i st i c s and topography in the ea rly 18th

W' ILLIAM rit vI NE . 265

c entury , of wh ich I had found only one and incorrec t

c opy in Ind ia . Simila r instance s migh t be easi ly

mul t ipl ied .

And yet so scrupulously honest wa s he that the mostt rivi a l a ssi s t ance rendered bv others to h im was fully

a cknowledged in h i s works, a s can be seen from the notes

a nd addenda of h i s Storia do . .ll ogor He overwhelmed

me wi th a ss i st ance wh ile he l ived , and y et h i s la st let te r

wri t ten only tw o month s before h i s death closes wi th

the word s , Thanks for a ll the help of many sort s I3)have rece ived from yo u .

A s A H I STORLt N .

As a h i st ori an , Mr . Irvine '

s most str ik ing character

ist ics were a thoroughness and an accuracy unsurpassed

even by the Germans . H i s idea l was the h ighest imag inable : A h i stor i an ought to know ew i y tlu ng , and ,though tha t i s an impossibi l i ty

,he should never despi se

a ny branch of learn ing to which he ha s access .

"

(Let ter

to m e, 2nd October,He brought l ight to bea r on h i s subjec t from every

poss ible angle ; Pers i an ,Engl i sh , Du tch and Portuguese

records,the corre spondence of the Jesu i t m iss iona ries in

Ind ia,books of travel , and parallel l i teratures , were all

ransa cked by h im . The bibl iography at the end of the

Sto ria or th e A rmy of th e I nd ia n .ll u gh a ls i s i tsel f a

source of i n struct ion . A con sc ient ious workman , he

g ave exact re ference for every st a tement , and only those

w h o ca rry on research lm ow h ow very l aborious and t ime

266 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

absorbing th i s seem ingly smal l ma t ter i s . For these

rea sons: I wish tha t ou r Ind ian wri ters i n part i cula r

should s tudy and imi ta te Th eLa ter ill ug lta ls a s a model

of h i stor i ca l m eth od'

and a means of i ntel lect ual d i s c ipl ine .

Some a re incl ined t o deny Mr . I rvine the t i tle o f

th e G ibbon o f Ind ia , on the ground tha t he w rote a mere

na rra t ive of event s , without g iving th ese reflect ions a nd

general i sa t ions th a t ra i se the D ec line and F a ll to th e

rank of a ph i losoph i ca l t rea t i se and a cla ss i c in l i tera tu re .

But they forge t th a t Ind ian h i s tor i cal s tud ies a re a t amuch more primi t ive stage than Roman h is tory wa s

when G ibbon began to wri te . We have yet to coll ec t

and ed i t ou r mater ial s , and to cons truc t the necessa ry

founda.t ion ,— the bed - rock of

t

ascert a ined and unassa il

able fa c ts,— on wh i ch alone the superst ructure of a ph ilo

sophy of h is tory can be ra i sed by our happ ier successors .

Prema tu re ph i losoph is ing , based on uns i fted fa cts and

unt ru stw orthy ch roni cles , w il l only yi eld a crop of wild

theor ie s and fanc i ful recon s tru ct i on s of the pa st l ike those

w h i ch J . T . W heeler ga rnered in h i s new forgot ten

H is tory of I nd ia , a s the fut ile resul t of yea rs o f to il .

H I S I IUMOUR .

As a wr i ter , Mr . Irv ine w as a vigorous cont rovers i a l i st

H is a rt i cle on Ca na l Ren t 'Z'

S. Lam l Revenu e makes a

t rench ant a t t a ck on Mr . A . O . Hume 's proposa l t o excl udet he profi t s due to canal i rr iga t ion when fixing the a sse ss

ment of land reven ue and'

t o fix the former on purely

c ommerc ia l pr inc iples . He had also a happy ve in of

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268 STUDIE S IN M L'

GH A L INDIA .

EDITING HI S H I STORY .

The sect ion of the La te r . ll '

ng li a lx coveri ng the period

from the dea th o f Bahadur Shah I . to the a ccess ion :o t

M uhammad Shah and the fal l of the Sayy id Brothers

(1712 was pri nted under Mr . I rvine 's eyes i n theJ o u rna l of th e A sia t ic Soc ie ty of Benga l . The port i on

immed i a tely before th i s , viz ,th a t deal ing wi th the re ign

o f Bahadur Shah (1707 i s i n MS. ,and will requ ire

m inute and ca refu l ed i t ing before i t can be prepa red for

the press , a s he le ft seve ral gaps , queri es , and penc il

notes i n the margin for verifica t ion of re ferences , con

s u lta t ion of a uthor i t ies,ari d recons idera t ion of sta temen t s

and views . The chapte rs on th e orig in and ea rly h i story .

o f the S i kh s , for example,were marked by h im for

rev is ion a fte r the expec ted publ i ca t ion o f M acau litt'

e'

s

Silrli Relig ion i n 6 vol umes . Th is sec t i on , however ,a t ta i ned to comple tenes s o f l i terary form i n h i s hands ,a nd requ ires correct ion or change i n ind iv idual poi nt s and

matters o f deta i l only .

The la st sec t ion , nam ely the narra t ive of event s from

1720 to 17 38, h a s been le ft i n th e form of rough dra ft s

and deta ched notes . But even these “ s t ud ie s o f a

m a ster cra ft sman l ike h im have a h igh value for s tudent s

o f h i story , i n sp i te of the i‘r not» hav ing been retou ched

a nd given final ity of form bv h im .

H i s daugh te r Mrs . Margaret L . Seymour ha s very

kindly sent me the MS . port i on of the La ter . l/ng lza ls to

be revi sed completed and publ i sh ed ; and I have , for

th e l a st tw o yea rs , been col lec t ing Persi an MSS . deal ing

WILLIAM IRVINE . 269

err‘

o d 1720- 1738, to enable me to ed it and

r . I rvine '

s work in a manner tha t wil l

v be low the h igh standard of a ll h i s publ i shedIf my ca l cula t ions a re not. upse t , the first

thadur Sh a h ) wil l be sent to the press about

o f 1900.

KHUDA BAKHSH , THE INDIAN BODLEY .

LIFE A ND cI I ARA CTER .

Khan Bahadur Khuda Bakh sh, w a s born a t

Chapra in North Bih ar , on Tuesday, 2nd August , 1842,

(23rd J amad i - u s- san i , 1258 of th e-

H ijera era ) . H i s familyw as d i st i ngu i shed for scholarsh ip i f not for weal th ,

and

one of h i s cl ansmen , Qaz i H a iba tull ah , took pa rt i n

c ompil ing the Inst i tu te s of A u rangzib (Fa ta w a - i -A la m

g iri . ) Muhammad Bakhsh , the fa ther of ou r h ere ,w a s

a l awyer a t Bank ipu r . Though not a r i ch man , he had

.a pa ssi on for Pers i an and Arabi c books and succeeded ina dd ing manuscript s t o the 300wh ich he had rece ived'

by i nheri t ance . On h i s dea th -bed he cha rged young

Khuda Bakh sh to complete the collec t ion in every branch

o f Or i ental learn ing and bu ild a. l ibrary - hal l for the u se

o f t he publ i c . Th e fam ily was then i n h a rd st ra i t s ; there

w a s no pa t rimony for Khuda Bakhsh , and the future

seemed cheerle ss . But wi thou t a moment ’s hesi ta t i on or

fear, h e a ccepted h i s fa ther

'

s command , and right nobly

d id h e fulfil i t . The vol umes le f t beh ind by

Muhammad Bakh sh increa sed during the l i fet ime of h i s

son to abou t and the i r val ue in 1891 , when they

numbered only wa s est ima ted by an expert under

Si r Al fred (‘

roft a t two and a h al f l akhs of R upees

An Engl i sh coll ect ion , worth nea rly a l akh

o f Rupees , ha s been added ; and the w hole ha s been housed

in a splend id ed ifi ce cost ing R s . A ll these repre

sen t the l i fe's work of one m an , Khuda Bakhsh .

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272 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

S tatutory Civi l Service . But he had a roaring pra ct ice and

decl ined to enter'

th e publ i c service .

Publ i c honours , how ever , came th ick upon h im .

L i ke a t rue c i t i zen he ch eerfu llv gave h i s t ime freely to

many a publ i c cause . For h is work on the School Com

m ittee he got a Cert ifica te o f Honour a t the Delh i Da rbar of 1877 . He was the firs t V i ce - cha i rman of th e Patna

Munic ipal i ty and of the Patna D is tr i ct Boa rd , when thesesel f -govern ing bod ies w ere crea ted by Lord .R ipon . H i sforens i c abi l i ty found recogni t ion i n h i s appo intment a s

Government Pleader ; and he rece ived the h ighest honourof h i s profess ion w h en , i n 1894, he wa s appo inted Ch ie f

J ust i ce of the H igh Cour t of the N i zam . A Khan Baha

du rsh rp w as conferred on h im in January , 1883, and a

C . I .E . i n 1903. He was also a. Fellow of the Calcu tta

Un ivers i ty .

Return ing from Ha ida rabad i n 1898, he aga inj o inedthe Bankipu r ba r . But h i s heal th wa s al ready on th e

decl ine,and the to i l s o f h i s profess ion were too much

for h im . La tterlv hi s m enta l pow ers gave way , and

finally a t 1 P .M .

,August 3rd , 1908, he breathed h is la st ,

a fte r h av ing comple ted h i s 66th yea r the day be fore . H i syounger brother , Mr . Abul Ha ssan , Bar - a t - law , was for

some t ime Ch ief Judge o f the Calcut ta. Small Ca use Court .

O f Khuda Bakh sh'

s sons , the eldest , Mr . Sal ih - ud - d in , M .A . ,

B.C

.L

. (Oxford ) , Bar- a t - l aw , ha s a l read y made h is niark

as an O ri ental i s t ; the second ,I s a

Depu ty Super in tendent of pol ice a nd posses ses a ra re

KHUDA BAKH SH , THE INDIAN BODLEY . 273

knowledge o f Pers ian MSS . ; the th i rd d ied i n earlv vou thand the fourth i s a lawy er .

H I S S CHOLAR SHIP .

Khuda Bakhsh was one of the grea tes t au thori t ie s

on I sl amic bibl iography . An art i cle from h is pen on

th i s subj ect appeared in the N ineteenth Cen tu ry . But

i t represen ts only a smal l part of h is knowledge . I remem

be r h ow one dav - h e poured ou t of the copiou s s tore

o f h i s memory , a full l i s t of Ar abic biographers andc r it i cs from the first century of the H ijera to the e ighth ,

wi th runn ing comments on t he value of each . Most. of

t he i r works he had h imsel f collected . But ala s ! Arabicha s long been a dead language in Indi a . He al so compileda descri pt ive ca talogue of many of h is manuscr ip t-s, (the

J Ia h bu b-u l- a lba b, wr i t ten in Pers ian anu li thographed

a t Ha idarabad i n 1314 A H . ) Next to the acqu is i t i on of

a ra re MS . wha t gave h im most deli ght:was to see anvbodv

u s i ng hi s l ibrary i n carrying on research .

TH E LI BRARY BF I LD IXGS

Khuda Bakhsh had prom ised to h is dying father to

erec t a house for the l ibra ry , bu t the w ay i n whi ch he

carr ied ou t h i s promi se must have del ighted Muhammad

Bakh sh’s soul i n Parad i se . Th i s mi ddle - cla ss l aw yer ,

there are tw o or three such men i n m any D i str i ct Court so f Bengal ,— spent R s .

on the l ibrary build ings .

I t i s a tw o- s tor ied st ruct ure with a spa c ious hall and tw o

S ide- rooms on the fir s t floo r and a wide shady verandah

gow g all around i t . The tw o sta i rcase s , the west veran

s .n . 18

274 STUD IE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

dah s and most of the low er rooms are paved wi th marble

or s tone mosa i cs ; i n the other verandah s and rooms the

floor i s covered wi th encaust i c t iles . The w hole l ibrary

w i t h i t s bu ild ings and grounds w as made over - t o the

publ i c by a. t ru st - deed,on 29th O ctober 1891, one of th e

cond i t i on s be ing tha t the MSS. should not be removed from

Patna . The donor in h i s u nselfish ness d id not even giveh i s ow n name to h i s g i f t , bu t called i t th e Or ienta l Publ i c

L ibra ry . The publ i c , however, do not accept th i s sel f

effacement,and the Khuda Bakhsh L ibra ry i s th e only

name by w h ich i t i s known i n Ind ia .

H I S DEVOTION TO TH E LIBRARY .

But Khuda. Bakh sh’s devot ion to the l ibrary i s no t

to be mea sured by the money he spent on i t, practica l lv

all h i s earn ings . H i s whole heart wa s se t on i t . The

l ibrary w as the subj ec t of h i s t hough t s i n w aking and

sleep al ike . H i s very dreams centred round i t . Two

of them are here given from h is narra t i on ; A t fi rs t

MSSJ cam e i n very slow ly . Bu t one n igh t a stranger came

to me in my dream and sa id , I f you w ant books , comewi th me ? I fol lowed h im to a grand bu ild ing l ike the

Lucknow Imambara , and w a i ted a t th e gate wh il e my

gu ide entered i t . A fter a wh i le he came ou t , and' took

me i nside to a va s t hal l i n wh ich a ve iled be ing sa t sur

rounded by h is friends . My gu ide sa id , Th i s man ha s

come for the manu scr ipt s .’ Th e ve iled one repl ied, Let.

them be g iven to h im .

’ Shortly a fter th i s,MSS . began

t o pour into my l ibrary from var ious places . (Thi s

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276 STUD IES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

and to whi ch he gave h i s a ll . A low unpre ten t ious tomb

be tween the l ibrary bu ild i ngs and the read ing room ,

marks t he l as t re st ing - pl a ce of the grea te st benefac tor and

fi rs t c i t izen of Patna , a m an Sprung from the m iddle cl a ss

w h o h as le f t the country ri cher by a trea sure su rpa ss ing

the g if t s of pr ince s and mill ion a i res . He wa s the Ind ianBodley , and unborn genera t ion s of Ind ian sch ola rs andreaders wi l l bless h i s memory and say tha t he was righ tlv

named Kh u da Ba kh sh,

‘ the gi ft of God .

’

For , the va l ue of h i s gi f t and i t s full sign ificance

i n the growth of ou r na t ion W i l l h e. real i sed more a nd\m ore a s t ime passes .

_

A t. present the Indian Or ien tal i st sa re a small body

,and few of them have taken to Pers ian ,

a lmos t none t o Arab ic . A European schol a r , a f te r

in spect ing th i s l ibra ry and not i c ing i t s l a ck of readers .

remarked to Khuda Bakh sh , t a t a fine cemete ry for

books.

have you bu il t ! In E u rope su ch a l ibra r y would

ha ve been da i ly th ronged wi th a hundred student s b usv

i n research ; bu t I see none such here . But i t w i l l not

be so with us for ever ; a lreadv a new era o f resea rch

h as dawned among u s . In the meant ime th e Khuda

Bakh sh L ibra ry forms a nucleus round wh i ch India nmanu scri pt s a re ga theri ng

,somet imes by purcha se , but

m a inly by gi f t . A most. admirable fea ture o f th e

European characte r is th a t w hereve r they go the y col lec t

MSS. ,ant iques

,and spec imens for presen ta t i on to the ir

na t ional museums . In the Bodle ian , the Br i t i sh Museum ,

a nd the India Office Libra ry , t he re are m anv prec iou s

Orient al MSS .bea r ing t he s ignat ures o f h i s tor i cal Anglo

KH l‘

D A BAKH SH,THE IND I AN BODLEY .

’77

I ndians o f the 18th centurv,— Kirkpat ri ck

,Gladwin

,

Fi tz pa t rick , Jona than Scot t , e tc . Even i n those early

{ la y s of Bri t i sh power , whi le th ev were conquering and

s e t tl i ng the land , they eagerly hunted for MSS . and be

q u ea th ed t hem to the i r count ry’s use . Many rare and even

u n ique works h ave thus d i sappea red from Ind ia,and now

a dorn the l ibrar ie s of European capit als . European

s a v'

a nts use them : to the Indian scholar, u n1ess he i s

r ich enough t o v i s i t Europe , they are sealed books . The

Khuda Bakhsh L ibra ry ,by offer ing a well - know n and

secu re home for books and en sur ing thei r publ i c u se , i s

tempt ing pr ivate owners al l over Ind ia to send their col

lect ions to i t and th us save them from be ing di s persed

or lo st to th e country . This has been st rik ingly seen i n

s ome. recent va luable g i ft s o f Pers i an MSS. to th i s l ibrary

by generous Muhammadan gentlemen . Jahangi r’s book

o f f ort une - tel l ing,

a copy of H afiz '

s Odes, wh i ch he

used to open a t random to learn the future , (j u st a s

people took wo rm from \ i.1g il

’s poems in med iaeval

u rOpe ) ,— ha s be en presented by M . Subh anii llah Kh an

c f Gorak hpur . I t conta ins marginal note s in the

Emperor’s ow n hand

,sta t ing when and wi th what resul t

he 'consulted h i s ora cle . Then aga in , Secret ary Inay e tn llah Khan ’s A h ka m - i -A h ung iri , giv ing the Emperor

A u rangz ib'

s le t ters in h is l a st y ears and graphi cally de s

c ribing th e break- down of the imperial author i ty , w as

f ormerly known by name only ; no publ i c l ibrary in

Europe,

or Ind ia h ad a copy of i t . In October , 1907 Id i scovered an old Padshah i MS . of i t in the Ramp

278 STUDIES IN M UGHAL INDIA .

(Roh ilkh and) Sta te L ibra ry and got the N a w w ab'

s k ind'

permi ss ion to takei

a copy of i t . On m y retu rn to Bank ipur

wha t w a s my surpri se and plea sure to see t ha t another '

MS . of i t , (once belonging to some noble of t he Court ,and supplying many d ifferences of read ing ) , - had been

Short ly before presented to t he O .P .L bv Sa fda r Nawwab 1'

These a re only two example s ou t o f m anv w h ich shov

how th is ' l ibrary ha s been t he means of keep ing i n ou r

land India’s l i terary trea sures .

ITS PAINTING S AND SPECIMEN S OF (‘

A LI GR A PHY.

The spec imens of Ea ste rn pa int ing ,— Ch inese , Centra l

A s ian , Pers ia n and Indian ,— collected here are invalu able '

to the s tuden t o f Or ien tal Art , and have ga ined thew a rmes t pra i se from a cri t i c o f Mr . H avell

’

s ab il i ty;

Many of t hem are i llumina t ion s of m an uscri pt s from th e

Mughal Imper i al l ibrary,some from Ranj

‘

i t S ingh'

s col

lect ion,mos t o thers from t he p ic ture - albums of t he nobles

o f the Court s of Delh i and Lucknow , or scrap - books com

pleted piecemea l a fter yea rs of wa i t ing and sea rch bv th e'

u nt i r ing and s ingl e -minded founder . Mos t o f the port

ra i t s o f bygone celebri t ie s a re un ique . The very papers

on wh ich the manuscr ipt s are wri t ten a re of such va ried

descr ipt ion and represen t. so many cou nt r ie s and periods

o f the paper -making a rt , tha t a spec ia l t rea t i se mav bewri tten on them . The fines t and most numerous speci

mens of Pers ian penman sh ip a re to be found here . of anv

count ry in As i a .

ITS ENGL I SH BOOKS .

Grea t a s a re the ' al ue and celebri tv o f i t s Pers ian and!

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280 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Ind ia‘

were undoubtedly those of the M ugh al

i

l ibrary of

Delh i . Th i ther , through the 16th and 17th centuries,

came all ra re a nd fine examples of ca l igraphy and ill u

m ina t ion i n the East . Some were purch ased,others were

executed by art i s t s re ta ined in the Imperi al servi ce,som e

w ere Secured by conques t (a s of Ha id arabad and Bi j apurin A u rangz ib

’s re ign ) , a nd many by the confisca t i on of

the good s of grea t nobles on the i r death . Thus wa s form

ed the l a rgest l ibra ry i n the Ea s t in th a t period ; for,wh ile Central As i a , Pers i a and Arabi a were torn by incessan t w ar , Ind ia enj oyed peace under the Grea t M ughal s .

In the 18th cen tury man sr o f these. MSS.

‘ found th ei r w a y

to the l ibra ry of the N aw w abs of Oudh . But the Sepoy

Mut iny of 1857 brough t abou t the fal l of Del h i andLu cknow . The Imper i a l and N aw w abi t rea sures were d i s

persed . The Naw wab of R ampur (Itoh ilkh and) , w h o hadj o ined the Engl i sh , got the bes t of the loot , a s he h ad

procl a imed among the v ic tor i ou s l oya l sepoys th a t he

would pay one rupee for every MS . brough t to h im .

Khuda Bakh sh began h i s collec t ion much l a te r ; but there

was th e grea te s t r iva l ry be tween h im and the Nawwab . A t

l a s t Khilda Bakhsh won over from the N a w w ab'

s s ide t ha t

j ew el o f a book - hun ter , an Arab named Muhammad Makk i ,pa id h im a regular sal a ry of Rs . 50 a month (bes ides

comm iss i on ) for 18 years , and employed h im in search

ing for rare MSS . (mostly Arabi c) i n Svr ia, Arabia , Egypt ,

and Persi a, (e spec i al ly at Be iru t and Ca iro) . I t was

Khuda Bakh sh’s i nvari able practi ce t o pay the doubl e

ra i lway fare to every manuscr ip t - sell er who vi s i ted

nn t D A BAKH SH , THE INDI AN BODLEY . 281

Bank ipur , whether he bough t any th ing from h im or not .

Th us h i s fame spread throughout. Ind ia,and he was g iven

th is firs t cho ice of eve ry M S . on sa le i n a u v part o f the

Curi ou sly enough , one vea r the l ibrary was broken

i nto by a former book - binder and some of the best MSS .

s tolen. Th e th ie f sen t them for sale to a broker or mer

i c hant a t Lahore , and the la t ter unsuspect i ngly offered

them to Kh uda. Bakhsh as the l i keli es t person to buy them .

So , in the end the honest man came by h i s ow n and

th e thi e f w a s puni shed .

In'

another ca se d ivine just i ce a sserted i t sel f by a

s im ila r roundabou t proces s . Mr . J . B . El iot , Prov inc i a l

J udge of P atna , (a great MS.

- collec tor and donor to the

Bodle ian) , borrowed a un ique MS . o f t he Odes of Kamal

li ddin I sma i l I s fahan i from Muhammad Bakhsh and

a f terw ards re f used to re turn it , offering a large p rice

The owner ind ignan tly decli ned the proposal , bu t

held h i s pe a ce . ‘V hen Mr .

‘ll iot ret i red , he packed h is

cho icest MSS . i n some ca ses and sh ipped them to England ,

w h ile his worthless books were pu t i n another ca se and

left at Patna to be sold by auct ion . But by the i ronv

of fa te or of the hand of God , call i t wha t vou will ,

not only.

the extorted volume of Odes Bu t some other

ra re MSS . (su ch a s the .lI nja Iis- i - [f h a m sa, bea ring Shah

J aban’s a utograph ) , had got into the wrong case , and

Muhammad Bakhsh bought them ! On reach ing England

Mr.Elio t d i scovered h i s mistake , but only to fret and

fume i n va in .

282 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

One day when Khuda Bakhsh was driv ing back from

the H igh Court a t Ha idarabad , h is eyes , ever on the lookout for MSS . , d iscovered a bundle of volumes on a sack

o f flour in a grocer’s sh Op . He s topped,t urned the books

over , and asked abou t the pr i ce . The owner shrewdly

answered , To any other man I Should have sold th i sh eap of old and ro t ten papers for R s . 8 . But a s y our

lordsh ip i s i nterested in them,they must conta i n some

th ing of va l ue . I want Its . 20 for them .

” A t rue guess,

for along wi th some worth les s th ings the bundle con

t a ined a n ol d work on Arabi c b ibl iography not to be

found el sewhere Immed ia tely a fte r Khuda Bakh sh’s

purcha se , Rs . 400were offered for i t by the N i zam , but in

va in .

ITS TREA SURES .

One of h i s l i te ra ry t rea sures , Jah angi r'

s Book o f Fat e ,ha s been al ready descr ibed . Another i s an a utograph

copy of the Sh a h a n sh a h a n epi c poem celebrat ing

the v ictories of Sul t an Muh ammad I I . (the conqueror of

Cons tan t inopl e i n wri tten by the au thor i n 1594

and presen ted to Sul ta n Mu hammad I I I . Many bold and

st r i ki ng bat tl e - piece s i ll um i na te th e volume , wh ich reach

ed Ind i a i n Shah J aban’

s re ign , and e ither tha t Emperor

o r some l ater owner pa id R s . 700 for i t . J ami’

s poem

l'

w su f uia Zu la ikh a

,copied by t he grea tes t o f Pers ian

cal igraph ists, Mir Al i , for wh ich Jahangi r pa id gold

m oh a rs , now adorns th i s l ibra ry . There a re tw o o f Shah

J ab an’s Commonplace Books , one of them conta in ing h i s

s igna tu re a t the age of 14,— Da ra Sh u koh '

s a utograph

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-284 ST I'

D IE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

Am ong the Arabic works,we have the Tafsz

'

1-~zf

.th rce gigan t ic vol umes wri t ten in an un i forml y small ,finea nd d i st inct h and . I t i s a monumen t of in cred ible humanpa t ience and i nd u st ry . There i s a. very old MS . on botany ,

t he [ I'

i to h - u l-H u sh o i vh, (ful l of coloured i llu st ra t i ons ) ," t ransl a ted from the Ch eck of D i o scor ides i nto Arabi c byStephen , the. son of Ba s il , (w h o d ied in 240 in the

re ign of the. l i li a l i f Mamun . Another equally old MS .

i s a n Arabi c t i ea t ise on surgi ca l inst r ument s (al l i l l u st ra ted) , com posed bv Zah rabi in Granada . Anothervol ume of Zah rabi s works bea rs t ra ce s of fi re on many

p ages . Could i t h ave been a. survival from the M oo i ish

l ibra ry burn t h v Ximenes ? There i s a - piece of pa rch

m ent wi th Cufic cha ra cte rs a scr ibed to A l l s hand !

A nother wonder i s a comple te. Q u ra n on a si ngle finefilm - l i ke pa rch m en t roll o f grea t length , wri t ten i n a

m inute but d i s t inct h and . A second copy of the Q U I N N

"

belongs t o th e ago before d iacri t i ca l ma rks came in to'u se in w r it i ng Arab ic .

A h istori c curios i ty o f grea t i nte res t i s the.

“ Story

of Christ (D o smn - i t ransla ted from the B ible

i n to Pers ia n a t A kba r'

s reques t by the Portuguese m i s

s ionary Jeron imo Xav ie r . Thi s copy was t ran scribed by

A bdur R azzaq Qandaha ri in 1013 A .H . (160—1 A .D . )

In short,i f I go on describing th e r i ches o f the

'Khuda Bakh sh l ibrary I shal l never end . He who w ouldfknow th em should see them . In Janua ry 1903,

Lord‘Curzon , fresh from the Delh i Da rbar and with h i s head

KHUDA BAKH SH,TH E INDIAN BOULEY .

s ions of Mugha l grandeur b um m ed when

i s l ibrary ,

ga rfirdcius ba r ru - i - za min a st

m in a st,m'a h am in ast

,w a h am in

there be on earth an ely sium o f bliss,is th is

,i t is this

,a nd Oh it is this .

’

i s t he best descript ion o f i t to a sc hola r.

Q 85

ART IN M USLIM INDIA .

I . ARCHITECTURE .

Pa than a rch i tec tu re , espec ially i n I’

pper Ind ia , thel and of stone , ha s a certa in gl oomy mass iveness and

sol id i ty , bu t i n genera l i t l a cks the elegance of fin i sh,

del i cacy and weal th of decora t ion of the bu ild ings of the

Mughal period ; The brick pal aces and mosque s of the

Bengal sul tans (at Gaur ) , however , form a clas s apa rt

f rom th e s tone edifi ce s o f th a t. age found i n othe r pa rts

!o f Ind ia , and ind i ca te a h igher level of des ign and decora

t ion,and on the Whole give one the impress ion of having

been more influenced by loca l gen iu s and local a rt t rad i

t i on s , wh ile th e ot her Musl im bu ild ings of Ind ia clea rlysuggest a. fore ign orig in .

I t h a s been supposed that. the rad i a t i ng a rch wa s

I nt roduced in to Ind i a by the Muhammadans , becau se thell indu a rch follows the cant il ever princ iple and i s made

'

u p of h ori zonta l s tones l a i d i n overlapping layers . Ive

find one example o f i t i n the h uge a rch of Al t amash inth e enclosure of the Qutb mosque . Early Pa than'

a rch i tec ture i s represented bV mosques , tombs , mina rs and

a rched gateways . I t s la te r represent a t ive s a re the Sha rq ibu ild ings of Jaunpur and th e fine bri ck pala ces and

mosques of th e Bengal sul tans a t Gaur . Some o f th e

b u ild ings o f th e Tugh laq per iod suggest th e anc ien t

Egypt ian style by the ir slop ing wal l s and genera l h eavy

a nd dark appea rance ; but no connect i on between anc ien t

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288 STUD IES IN M U G I IA L INDIA .

S i kr i ) a re exac t cop ies of the bra cke ts of many a H i nd utemple l i ke th at of D i lwa ra on Mount Abu . The

decorat ive det a i l o f a. bell hanging from a cha in i n

rel i e f , wh ich i s found i n one of the Muhammadan tombs

o f Ahmadabad and a few North Ind ian bu i ld ings,i s al so

o f H indu origin .

The con spi cuou s Mughal dome , wh ich i s la rger tha n

in exact hem isphere , ha s been supposed by one school to

be a copy o f the bell - sh aped ten t s of the Turkomans of

Cent ral Asi a , becau se there wa s no th ing l i ke i t in Pathan

or H i ndu a rch i te c ture ; but a p ie-Mughal temple i n

Cen t ral Ind ia i s sa id to have th i s sort o f dome . Mr . H avel lh old s tha t th e Mugha l dome i s really of H i ndu origi nand represen t s an a t tem pt to tran sl a te into stone or bri ck

the figure of a. drop of water res t ing on a lea f , wh ich in

San skrit l itera tu re is the emblem of the short ness o f

h uman l i fe and th e uncerta in ty of a ll ea rthly t h ings .

Th is theory seems to be far - fet ched .

Akbar w as a bu i lder i n red sand - st one and Shah

.I a h an i n wh i te ma rbl e ;' i n both we have plenty of ca rr

i ngs and rel i ef work and perfora ted s tone la t t i ce s ; but

Shah J aba n’s bu i ld ings w e re also grander , l arger . more

del i ca tely decora ted,and fa r more. costl y . A kbar

'

s ch ie f

ed ifi ces are, th e A kbari Mahal i n Agra Fort and much of

th e fort ifica t ion s of that. place , the bu ild ings a t Si kandra ,

Fa th pu r S i kri , the fort o f At tock , e t c . Shah Jahan bu il t

t h e J ama Mas jid o f Delh i , al l the fort pala ces o f newDelh i or Shahjahanabad (except the l i t tle Pea rl Mosquethe re

,wh ich w as bui l t by A u rangz ib ) . t he grea t Pearl

ART IN MU SLIM IND IA . 289

Mosque of Agra , and many of the marble pal a ces and

mosques wi th in A gra fort , t he Taj Mahal , I tim ad- u d

daula’s tomb, the marble pavi l ionsi

on the A n na Sagar a t

A jm ir, and many others . A u rangzib bu i l t only the small

Pea rl Mosque in Delh i Fort and the tomb of h is wi fe

at Aurangabad ; but some grand mosques were bui l t byother pe rsons in h is re ign , s uch a s W az i r Khan

'

s mosque

a t Lahore , Z ina t - un - n issa’s mosque in Delhi,etc .

II . PA I e xc'

.

Pa int ing rece ived a grea t st imul us a t th e Court of

Akba r and cont inued to improve t i ll the fal l of Shah

Jahan . The Qurani c law forb id s man to reproduce the

form of au v l iv ing be ing , and hence. orthodox Mu h am

m adan s‘ canno t draw anyth ing except pl ants , flowers and

geometr i ca l des ign s (arabesques ) . Akbar wa s not an

orthodox Muhammadan,and he engaged manv pa inters

and pa t ron i sed the i r a rt .

On account of the Quran i c proh ib i t ion , ri ch M u h am

madams (especiallv i n Cent ral As i a) used to employ

Ch i nese pa inters whose name (na iclca sh - i -Ch z’

n i ) became

proverbia l In Pers i an l i tera t ure for excellence of work

m ansh ip . In the ea rl iest pa int ings of Kh urasan , Buk hara ,

e tc. ,we See complete Chinese influence , especial lv in the

fa ces,and the represent at ion of rocks , shee t s of water ,

fi re and dragons.There are some da ted manuscr ipt s in

the Khuda Bakh sh L ibra ry , Patna , the il lumina t ions of

I knew a M u ha mma da n ha w ker of Agra w h o ref u sed to dea l in marble mosa icsrepresen t ing e ven pa rrots !

19

290 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

wh ich enable u s to t race the h i s tory of Saracen art i n

Ind ia s tep by step wi th absolu t e certa in ty . The sum ptu

ou s Sh a h bam a h - present ed by Al i.M ardan Khan to the

Emperor Shah J ahan in 1639 A D . (though execu ted much

ea rl ier) represen ts the pure Ch inese art of Central As i a .

Spec imens of th i s school mus t have re ached Ind i a earlyin A kbar

’s re ign and even before .

In the Cour t of ou r t ruly na t ional k ing - A kbar, th i s

Ch inese (or ext ra - Ind i an Musl im ) art mingled wi th pureH indu art —whose trad i t ions h ad been handed dow n nu

changed s ince the days of th e Aj anta frescoes and theBharhu t and E llora ‘rel iefsfiThus Musl im ar t i n Ind iaunderwent i ts firs t transforma t ion .

The r igid i ty of the Ch inese ou tl i ne was softened .

Th e convent ional i ty of Ch i nese ar t w as d i scarded . We

note a new m e thod of. represen t ing rocks , w a ter and fire ,

w h i ch i s no doub t suggest ive of the Ch inese School , bu t

i t i s cle arly the Ch inese School i n a process of d i ssol u

t ion and mak i ng a nearer approa ch to Na ture . The

scenery and fea tures a re d i s t i nc tly Ind ian . In short , thenew elemen t i n the old i s unm i st akable

'

even to a ca sual

beholder . The Khuda Bakh sh copy of t he Ta rilrh - ‘i

Kh a ndan - i -Tim u rid i s the bes t contemporary example of

th i s change th a t w e possess in any publ i c l ibrary in Ind ia .

Readers i n England have a sl igh tly la ter and more deve

loped example (though of Akbar-’s l i fe - t ime ) i n the

t A n ivory re l ief represent ing pa storal scenes of Krishna '

s l i fe, done a t M u rsh ida

bad abo u t a cent u ry ago a nd now in M r. P. C. Manu k'

s possession , looks exa ctly l i ke a

tw i n bro ther of th e stone rel iefs of Bli a rh u t i l l u strating r u ra l l i fe in anc ient i ndi a .

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292 STUDIE S IN M UGI I AL INDIA .

o f neglec t and rough handl i ng) have fa i led to weaken ,

fade , or cause to cake off . The i r n igh t scenes andfirew orks were a spec i al i ty , Sk il l in wh ich ha s been lost byt he i r unworthy grand - ch i ldren .

I I I . TH E SO- CALLED RAJPUT SCHOOL or IND IAN PA INTING .

Wha t D r . Coom arasw am i call s the R ajput School of

pa int ing i s not an ind igenous H indu product , nor h as

i t any na t ura l connect ion wi th Raj putana . The va ssa l

Raj ahs of the Mugha l Empire used to enl i s t pa i nters

t ra ined in the imper ial Court and employ them in repre

sent ing scenes from the H i ndu epi cs and romances and

other s ubjec ts of a purely H indu ch ara cter,bu t th e stvle

and art - idea s o f these pa inte rs a re exa ctly the same a s

those o f the pa in ters employed by th e'

M ugh a l Cou rt .

So thoroughly were the pa inters o f H i ndu subject s imbued wi th the sp i r i t of the i r masters w h o d rew Musl im

or Mugh al Court p ic t ures th a t th e resul t i s often comi c

to a modern cr i t ic . I have seen some. bea ut iful and

genu inely old Indo - Saracen H indu p ict u res wh ich reprosen t the elders o f Ma thura , dressed and a rmed l i ke

Mughal cou rt iers,go ing out to m eet. Kri shna ; and Ram

advanc ing to the conquest of Lanka w ith h i s a rmy march

ing i n exact d ivi s i ons , with a ll the a rms , equi pment and

t ran sport. of th e Mughal imper ial a rmy ,a rti l lery no t left

n a t l The It'a ma rba nds bri stl e wi th d aggers . A few

St rokes w ith a bru sh can turn h im into Akba r . Radha i s

only a Mugha l noble l ady a t h er to ilet , with fewe r

o rnaments .

There i s a certa in crudeness ,— the use o f

A RI" IN MU SL IM INDIA . 2953

s ta r ing colours , a. ret urn to rig id i ty '

of outl ine,

a nd a cer ta in ba reness or poverty of envi ron

ment ,— in t he Rajput School , because i t fall s sh ort

o f’

t he perfect ion of deta il , del i cacy of touch and elabora

t ion of ornament wh ich marked the cl imax of Mughal

a rt i n the age of Shah Jahan . The Rajput Pr inces who

p a tron ised these pa inters were less r i ch and c iv il i zed

than the Emperors of Delh i,and hence the i r pa inters

represen t a compara t ively primi t ive school , or more cor

rectly , suggest the idea of the i r being the work of th e

immature pupi l s of the old masters of the Mughal Court.

w ork ing in a less cul tu red a tmosphere and for poorer

pat rons . The art t radi t i ons of th i s so- called Rajput

S chool have cont inued wi th l i t tle change or development

a t J a ipur t i l l to -day . Catering for the modern European

market h as etfectu a llv dest royed all hope of i t s r i sing

a bove old convent ions or showing a l i fe of i t s ow n .

Indo - Saracen pa int ing rap idly decl ined a fter the

d eath of Shah Jahan . A u rangz ib’s pur i tan i cal s impl i c i ty

and miserl iness , the imper ial bankrupt cy caused by h i s

many wars,and the d i sorder and impoveri shment wh i ch

sei zed the Mugha l Em pi re under h isi

su ccessors, led to

the sta rva t ion of art i s t s and the d isappearan ce of all

gen i us i n th i s l ine . Cheap infer ior p ic tures cont inued

to be drawn and the l i fe of th e a rt i s t in Ind ia. became

miserable in the 18th century, excep t under a rare Raj ah

o r Nawwab here and there , t i l l the invasion of Nad i r Shahwh i ch le ft chaos beh ind i t . In the last quarter

o f the 18th century there w as a revival of art under

294 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

the patronage of the N aw w abs of Oudh . But European

a rt now began to exerc i se a fa ta l and domina t ing i nfluence

upon Indo - Sara cen a rt . The resul t wa s th e ba s tard

Lucknow School of Pa int ing ,— a contempt ible hal f -breed

product w i thou t any of t he good featu re s of e i the r th e

Ind ian or th e . E u ropean s tyle . Tas te,concept i on and

execu t ion al i ke are vulgar and a ifected fie and none of

t hese works i s enl ivened by a S ingl e spark of gen ius . I n

the 20th cent ury there ha s been a revival o f i nteres t i n

the old Ind ian pa int ings , t hanks to the tea ch ings of MrHavel] , D r . Coom arasw am i and S i ster N ivedi ta . The pri ce

of genu ine old Ind ian p i ct ures ha s been grea tly ra i sed byE u r-Opean and Ameri can collectors , a nd there. i s a t presen t a cons iderable t rade i n fa ked old Ind ian pict u res

,

tha t i s , modern cop ie s made from a few genui ne old

orig inal s bu t a rt ific i al ly trea ted to look old and passed off

on unsuspect ing European buyers,a s genu inelv ant ique

a rt works .

The new school of Ind i an pa int ing wh ich i s repre

sen ted by A banindranath Tagore and h i s bes t pupi l Na ndaLa l Bose , del iberately imi ta tes the Aj an ta style . Th e

Mugha l School h a s al so found a few modern im i tators ;bu t these a re a l l art ific i al products , and not works of

a l iving inspi ra t ion or gen i us ; hence they cannot poss iblyc ause a new b ir th or developm ent. of a l iving g row ing

Indo - Saracen art . Th ev l a ck the“ d ivine madness ” of

Th e se -ca l led o ld portra i t o f Akba r fond l i ng lu s Chri stia n w i fe, desc ribed beFatherHosten. is only a spec i men o f t h e L u cknow schoo l , proba h lv done a fter 1825.

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296 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

ence of the M ughal royal ty and nob i l i ty as the resul t of

Nad i r’s i nvas ion gave the Mara thas a rare opportun i ty tocollec t the r i che st art t rea sures of an o lder generat ion ,

and severa l of these st i l l surv i ve In the Bombay Pres i

den cy , a s I d i scovered during my tours in Mahara sht ra .

In one bran ch of sculpture,nam ely, ivory carving

(of ten in min ia tu re ) perfect ion was rea ched in the Mughal

per iod , and the art h as con t inued w i th ha rdly any decay

to almos t ou r ow n day ,when i t i s fa s t dying ou t for

wan t of pa t ronage .

I V . TH E TEXTILE A RT .

Ind ia h as b een famou s from very anc ien t t imes for

her cot ton cloth . The hot damp cl imate of the pl a ins pro

moted the manufac ture of th in musl in s for the u se of

kings and nobles . S il k rea r ing and s il k weaving were

al so a h ighly developed and flouri sh i ng art even before

the Muhammadan peri od . V elve t and scarle t cloth werenever ind igenous in the count ry but were imported from

abroad , (u sual ly Europe ) , and these were speci al f avour

i te s of our M uh ammadan rulers . A r i ch trade in them

was carried on by fore igners , e spec i ally European mer

ch ant s , th roughou t the Mugha l peri od .

I t i s d i fficul t to Speak w i th cert a inty on th e subject ,but the M uhammadans seem to have introduced or a t

lea s t to have grea tly developed the varie ty and ri chness

of embro idery . Large numbers of sk il led art i sans were

ma inta ined by our Muh ammadan rulers to work figure s

wi th coloured cot ton thread or s il k thread or metall i c thread

ART IN MU SLIM INDIA . 297

o n cloth of va rious k inds . There w a s imm ense va riety

i n the des igns , cla sses of fabri cs and the nat ure of th e

mater ia l u sed (see A z

’

n - i -A kba ri, V ol . I ) . The shawl

Indu st ry of Kashmir and th e Panj ab was di st inctly the

c rea t ion of the Mughal Emperors . The irinlrh a b and

o t her k inds of embro idery work wh ich they requ ired for

themselve s and the ir court iers,made them ma inta i n

la rge Sta te - fa ctor ies of weavers and embro iderers i n many

t own s , besides pa t ron i s ing priva te art i sans . Ahmadabadin Guj ra t

,Masul ipat am and a few other town s were the

most famous among ' the sea ts of the cloth industry .

Carpets for the floor and hangings for the wall s were

most l ikely introduced in to Ind ia by Muhammadan rulers ,a nd t he perfect ion of ornamenta t ion , floral decora t ion

and arti s t i c ha rmony of colours in these was reached in

the re ign of Shah Jahan , when extremely costly carpet s

w ere manufactured for the court . Cloth canop ies of st ate

were excl us ively used and these were . al so manufactured

a t gr ea t cost and in a sumptuous Style , usual ly a t Ahmad abad and in Kashmir . (They were known in the H induperiod , too . )

The court was the ch ie f purchaser of these t hings ,

bu t '

a certa in quant i ty wa s al so produced for exporta t ion

abroad by priva te t raders . S ilk embro idery w a s carr ied

to a h igh art i st i c level and the muslin industry of Dac caflour i shed greatly as the resul t of roy a l patronag e during

t h e Muhammadan per iod .

V. TH E JEW ELLER’S AND GOLDSMI TH’S A RT .

These were,no doubt

,h ighly developed in the H indu

298 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

period , bu t they rece ived a grea t im pe tus tunder th e

Mughals ,’

w h o l avi shed large sums on them , partly from

thei r n a tural love of l uxury and partly from the pol i t i c al

necess i ty of g ivi ng costly ornamen t s i n re t urn for present s .

rece ived from others or a s g i ft s of honour to fore ign

rulers and the i r ow n sons and officers .

V I . POTTERY AND METAL VVO‘

RK .

Ornament al pottery and metal work w ere a l so very

h ighly developed . The H i ndu k ings of old are no t very

l i kely to have u sed porcel a i n or any k ind of costly

earthenw are , a s the i r rel ig iou s prejud i ces confined them

to stone vessel s and cheap cl ay pot s and pans wh i ch couldbe throw n away after one use . As the met al vesse l s i nH indu houses h ave to be da i ly scrubbed , t here was no

room for ornamental bra ss or s i lver ve ssel s for show or

meta l ve ssel s wi th inla i d w ork, (koft-ge ri ) ,

i n a H i nduhousehold . H ence , inla id metal vessel s , porcel a i ns , Bidri

pot s and even sumptuousl y decora ted bra ss and s i lver

vessel s were ch aracteri st i c.

of the Muhammadan period

of Ind ia and no t of th e H i ndu .

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300 STUDIES IN MUGHAL INDIA .

w ri te th e al ph abe t a nd commi t the Qu ran to memory .

Th e ed uca t ion imparted,therefore

, w a s of the most ele

m entary cha ra cte r . Some of the mona s ter ie s (kh anka s )c onta ined schol ars and theologi ans

,bu t the lazy i l l i tera te

ida rvish es ou tnumbered them ; hence the monaster ie s o f

Mughal Ind i a were not , a s a rul e , sea t s of learn ing l ike.the monasteri e s of Chri s t i an Europe . There were

,how

!ever, fam i l ies of hered i ta ry Musl im schola rs l iv ing In

c ert a i n towns,

Tat ta, A jodh an ,

S ialkot, Sarh ind ,

Kanauj , Nagor , Ahmadabad , Pat tan ; J aunpur,e tc . )

whose reputa t i on at t ra cted pup il s from all part s of th e,

country and who pra c t i cally ma in ta ined h igh school s or

c olleges , impart ing the h ighe st. ins truct i on i n the i r spec ia l

subj ec t s . Though the Muhammadan k ings rewa rded

these schol a rs i n the course of the i r g i ft s to p iou s men

In general , yet , these pr iva te town - colleges were wi thou t

any endowmen t or permanen t sou rce of i ncome and

stabil i ty . Thei r l i fe depended ent i rely upon the capac ity

of t he i nd iv idual teacher,h is power to secure gi f t s i n

a dequa te quan t i ty and h i s reput a t ion for schol arsh i p .

They were pu rely family aff a i rs,and na tu ral ly broke u p

when the family cea sed to produce schol ars .

Though Arab i c became a dead l anguage in Ind ia ,even a s ea rly a s the 13th cen tury

,ye t th e h ighes t M u h am

m adan educa t ion w as imparted th rough the med ium of' th i s language . Al l books of Sc ience , Ph il osophy , Gramm ar and Mathemat i c s , not to speak of Theology

,were

’wri t ten in Arab i c . Persian w as s tud i ed only a s an aecom

pl ish m en t necessary for cul t iva ted soc ie ty , li ke French

EDUCATION IN M U I I A M M ADA N IND IA . 01

in Europe , and not a s t he key to ser ious knowledge . I t

was th e ambi t ion of t he most advanced Musl im st udent s

o f Ind ia to vi s i t Mecca , sta y th e re for some vears, and

give t he fini sh ing touch to the i r educa t ion . A Mecca

degree comm anded th e h ighes t respe ct in Ind ia ,and w as

often cons idered a s the necessa ry qual ifica t ion for th e

ch ief Q az ishi p . Khura san i , Turan i and Arab schola rsw h o came to

‘ India were h ighly welcomed a s men

o f super i or a t ta inment s and were promptly i nst alled

in h igh offices of the State or t h e Church . The t utors

o f the pr inces were chosen from th is class , wherever

poss ible .

FEM ALE E D L'

CA T ION .

The Mughal Emperors u sed to employ lea rned women ,

usua lly Pers i ans, to teach t h e i r daughters . The lad ie s

St udi ed the human it ies in pre fe rence to theology , and

Pers ia n rather than Arabi c . But everv one of them w h o

made some progress in he r st ud ie s had to commi t the Qu ra n

to memory . Some of t hese pri ncesse s even d i st ingu i shed

themselves in l i tera tu re , the bes t examples be ing a wi fe

of Akbar surnamed .ll nlt'h fi (the ve iled one Zeb - nu

n i ssa the daughter of A u rangz ib , and Nu r- nu - n issa , a

w ife of Shah Alam I . Noblemen also engaged ladv

private tutors for the i r daughters , but progress in let te rs

w as less of ten ach ieved i n thei r famil ies . Noble g irl s‘were married between t h e ages of 15 and 18 y ea rs a s a

ru le .Middle cla ss people u su a l lv kept the i r- daughters

in ignorance,except in the very rare ca ses where th e

302 STUDIE S IN M UG I I A L IND IA .

fa thers acted a s tea ch ers a t home . In Pers ia and Arab i al i t tle g irl s a t tended the sam e primary school under the

Mull ah wi th the boys , bu t in Mughal Ind ia , so far a sw e can j udge , such m ixed cla sses of both sexes even for

very small ch ildren were not held and the g irl s of t he

poor were . lef t i n absol ute i ll i tera cy . Somet imes the

Mull ah of a mosque gave inst ruct ion to a group of l i t tl e

g i rls from the ne ighbourhood whose paren ts wi shed them“ to be educa ted , but the i r knowledge d id not go very fa r ,and such female classe s were the except ion and not the

ru le . On the wh ole th e d ispa r i ty in educa t ion and even

i n l i teracy between ou r male s and females w as even grea ter

i n the M uh ammadan period than i t i s in Bri tish Ind ia .

To the h ighes t departmen t of though t no woman , H induo r Muhammadan , of med iaeval Ind ia made the lea st

c ontr ibu t ion .

S UFI SM .

Sufi sm pl ayed a very importan t part i n the h i s tory

o f Ind i an cul ture i n th e Mughal per iod . Sufi sm a s known

i n t he w estern l and s of I sl am such a s Syri a or Egypt , was

d ifferen t i n i t s ch ara cter , princ iples and origin from th e

s ufism of th e m iddle Ea st . The former wa s influen ced

by the Greek ph i losophers e spec ial ly Pl ato and the N eo

p l a ton i sts ; the l at ter , t hough origi na t ing i n I sl am ,w a s

c omple tely trans formed by the panthe ism of the V edan ta ,(h ama oo - st

, He i s i n al l th ings . ) In fa ct , i t wa s th e

H i nd u form of devot ion (bli alct i ) i n I sl am . Sufi sm

a fforded a common meet ing ground for the h igh er H indu

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OR IENTA L MONARCHIES .

I .

W ha t i s the essent i al d ifference be tween the an c ien t

and the'

modern S ta te (no mat ter on wh ich s ide of t he

Ura l mounta in ) ? Between th e A th en ian democracy andan a nc ien t Ind ian tribal

'

repu blic (ga na )? Or between

a H indu empi re and say , th e French monarch y under

Lou is XI VIV h en our new nat ional school of writers on H indu

pol i ty say th a t i n anc ien t I nd i a there were republ ic s , th ek ing regarded h imsel f a s m erely exerc i s ing a tru s t , a

cab ine t of m in i s ters was held to be nece ssa ry , or tha t

the people enj oyed sel f - government , — they m ay be l i teral ly

correc t ; but we feel th at t h i s i s no t the whole t ru th , tha t

there a re certa i n qual ifica t i ons wh i ch h ave been with

held from us . In the mind of a tw en t i e th century reader ,

the above st a tement s imply the d i re ct influence of the

people on t he fore ign pol i cy of th e S ta te , the respons ib il i tyof the exe cut ive to the governed , t he re ign of a law

wh ich emanate s from a legi sla t ure represent ing the

c it izens , - in short - the cont rol of the admin i s trat ive

mach inery not by one man’s wil l but by the w il l of

Soc iety.And yet

,every one of these l at te r conno ta t ions

i s untrue and should h ave been expressly contrad i c ted

by the wri ter i n order to gua rd aga in st our forming a

m i sconcept ion of anc ien t Ind ia n politv as i t real ly w as .

The compara t ive me thod i s of supreme necess i ty here ,

i f w e want to reach t he t ruth .

ORIENTA L MONARCHI ES . 305

A modern Sta te’

i s a compac t th ing in w h ich the

centra l a uthor i ty and the ind ividuals a re organ ically con

nected . The anc ien t Indian State (leaving ou t of ou r

consi dera t ion pe t ty pr inc ipal i t ie s and tr ibal groups) —w as

very loosely kni t ; i n i t the Sovere ign ” had no means

of making h i s wi ll effec t ive on the governed ; h i s resources

were poorer , h i s i nst rument s could touch bu t a few ,and

the agent s , mechani ca l appl i ances , and soc i al organ isat ion

a t h i s di sposal were very much more limited and imper

fect . He coul d crush an ind ividu a l enemy or eleva te an

i nd ividu a l favouri te , but he could nei th er grind dow n

nor upl i f t the mass of h i s subj ect s by a flat of h is wil l

or any act ion of h i s government . A vas t Sta te of th e

anc ient type,l ike the Chinese empire , w as held toge ther

only by grant ing the fulle s t loca l sel f - government to th e

village communes and even to the provinces , and le tt ing

t he people alone,so long a s they pa id the ir proport ion of

the revenue and suppl ied the i r quota of sold iers . Anya ttempt at gen era l oppre ss ion or genera l reform would fa il

through the Sovere ign’s impotence and the lack of a

nexus between h im and h i s s ubj ec ts .

But local autonomy in parochi al mat ters d id not mean

th e possess ion of representa t ive government or popular

cont rol over the execut ive and nat ional di plomacy . We

may elec t our“ pres ident s of vi ll age p anch ayets and

even cha i rmen of loca l boards ; but tha t would not take

u s nearer t o mak ing the V i ceroy accept a un iversal educa t ion b il l or boy cot of ant i

-As i at i c colon ie s , or th e

organ isa t ion of an Indian nat ional mil i t i a , or w ar with

S.M . 20

300 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

any fore ign Sta te a t the b idd ing of the representa t ive s

of the Indian people . The anc ien t H ind u k ing wa s s im ilarly absolu te ,— so l ong a s the people chose to obey h im .

The modern Sta te , on t he other hand,i s omnipoten t

,

for good and ev i l a l i ke . I t can reach i t s hand ou t t o

every c i t izen and to every corner of the realm ; i t c ru she s

th e ind ividual under i t s excess ive organ i sati on and soc i al

istic regula t i on . A s ingle decree of the Nat ionalAs sembly swep t away every t race of Feudal i sm from

France and e stabl i shed soci al equal i ty . A s ingle u ka se

of Tsar Alexander I . emanci pated the serfs th roughou t

the cont i nen t ca lled Russ ia , wh ile another of N i cholasI I . abol i shed vodka drink ing th rough ou t th a t boundless

emp ire . A vote in th e Bri t i sh Parl i amen t i n troduced

compul sory pr imary educa t ionfor a populat ion of morethan 30mil l i ons . A telegram from IV ilh elm I I . h urled

a nat ion in a rms into R u ss i an Pol and or neut ral Belgium .

'

A word from Ca ther ine de M ed ic i organ i sed the massacre

of Huguenot s t hroughou t the realm of France . i n a

s ingle d ay .

Bu t in the an cien t S ta te the case w as d itIerent . Noed ic t of A soka or Sam u dragu pta could have abol i sh ed

ca ste d i s t in ct ion s or i n troduced compul sory mass educa

t i on, j ust: a s th ey could not h ave su cce ssfully ca rri ed out.

a genera l ma ssacre or spol i a t i on of the i r people . Norescr i pt of the Dowager '

Empress coul d have suppressed

the cul t iva t ion of op ium in Ch ina ; no fia t of Yua n- sh i

Ka i could crea te a t ruly na t ional a rmy of even

men .

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808 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

however , t he'

dominant populace w ere the rulers and the

S t ate had homogene i ty (i f w e shu t ou r eyes to the

depressed ind igenous races , l ike the' Minas i n J a ipur , the

Parihars i n J odhpur and the Bh il s in Uda ipur) . Bu t i t

w as the homogene i ty of a H ighl and clan,a s graph icallv

descr ibed by Macaulay in h i s H istory of E ng la nd , ch .

XI II . I t s effic iency was soc i al , not pol i t i ca l . Here,too

,

Soc ie ty and not the Sta te was omnipoten t and i n organ i c

tou ch wi th the i nd ivi dua l .

The people h ad moi

control over the S ta te,except a s

a mat ter of fear or f avou r on the par t of the Sovere ign

now and then . A l i cent iou s Baj i Rae II . ,or an imbeci le

Daula t Rae S indh ia could wreck h i s army and Sta te by h i s

ind iv idual capr i ce . There was no i n ternal check on h im,

no mean s of prevent lng such a ct ion on h is part except

the dagger or the poi son cup . Bu t these th ings are no tCmat ter s of p o li ty . In th i s sense the term or ient al des

pot ism’ i s a s appl i cable to the anc ien t H i ndu St ate as

to the empire of the Caesars . In the anc ien t East and

.W est al ike , the peopl e a ccepted the rule of the I mp era to r,the vi c toriou s general who h ad repelled fore ign foes , who

h ad saved them from nza tsya-nyny a , or who led them '

on to a c areer of lu cra t ive conquest , and they gave h im

a ca rte bla nch e . In monarch ie s of th i s type pol i ty had

pret ty nearly the same efii ca cv a s a Parl i amen t dur ing

a sta te of s iege . But d i sregard of the popular sent i

m ent’

for'

ever cannot , i n the nature of th ings , bu t be

fata l to the mi l i t a ry type of St ate in the end . That i s

the rea son w h y so many anc ien t H ind u th inkers were

ORI ENTAL MONAR CHIE S . 309

busy devi s ing rules for the gu idance of kings a nd the

o rgan i sa t ion of the admini st rat ion on some basi s broader

than one man’

s w ill . The ir fa il ure to achi eve th i s end

i s proved by the rapid changes of dynast ies and para

mount S ta tes in the East .

\V hen a Bengal i wri ter tell s us that a s early

a s th e 9th cent ury A . D .

,t he Bengal i people

e lected their king ,w e a re apt to exul t and cry

Hurrah for Popular Sel f- government i n Ancient Ind ia !W e only forget tha t from the moment when Gopal , thes on of a success ful sold ier of fortune , w as crowned by

the people of Gaur to save them from the anarchy of

the smaller fry be ing ea ten up by the bigger (m a tsya

myay a ) , he became a s absol ute and a s independent of anynormal const i tu t ional control on h i s act ions by the

people,a s the Roman general who had saved I ta ly from

the fear of an A fri can invas ion on the wa ters of Ac t i um ,

w h o had freed t he “'

estern Med i terra nean from the pi ra te

galley s o f Pompey ,and whose victorious brows h i s devoted

sold iery had crowned with la urel amidst shout s of A r c.

i mp era tor f N ay ,Gopal became even more absolute than

Augus tu s,a s the la t te r had to go th rough the formal i ty of

c on sul t ing the Roman Senate and the Roman populace ,

wh ile the former’s a ut hority wa s unl im i ted i n theory a s

much a s i n pract i ce .

The V ed ic k ingsh ip was , no doubt , responsible t ot h e popula r a ssembly of f reemen , l ike the kingsh ip of

the anc i ent. Goth ic Mark B u t such ki ngdoms were

e xceed ingly smal l and primi t ive . When our k ingdoms

310 STUDIE S IN MUGHAL INDIA .

grew into l a rge S ta tes,i .e . ,

th roughout ou r recorded

h i story , the royal power wa s unl imited by any constitu

tional mach inery of popular era-min i ster i a l control

because there was no cons t i tut ion but plenty of p ious

wishes and counsels embod ied in A’i ti -S’

h a stra s.

In st ri c t theory , the Musl im Sta te i s a pure theocracy ;i t s true sovere ign i s God , and the human ruler i s merelyGod’s agen t on ear th , bound t o carry ou t the d ivine wil l

a s man i fe sted in the R evealed Book and s ubj ec t to th e

i n terpreters of the Quran i c La w . Th e S tate i s , i n i t s

essence,a m il i ta ry democra cy , the Sul tan or Pad ish ah i s

only the ele c ted commander of the fa ith ful . He re ignsnot under any d ivine sanct ion , nor by hered i t a ry r ight ,

bu t s imply a s th e firs t se rva nt of the realm , hold i ng h is

office l ike a. t rus t subj ec t to cert a in cond i t i ons .

Logically there can be only one leg i t imate ruler of'

the ent i re M usl im world,

'

j u s t a s there can be onlv one

sp i ri t ual head of the Ca thol i c Church . To the people

of a Muhammadan k ingdom the i r ow n ruler i s the

Khal if a of the age,the leg i t ima te successor of th e Prophe t

i n the command of t he fa ith ful , a nd there fore ent i tled

to the obed ience o f a ll t he fa ith ful wherever they

might l ive . Al l o ther Musl im rule-rs are u surpers , w h o

have kep t t h i s Khal i fa ou t of h is j u s t r ight s . Every

Musl im ruler , therefore , sty les h imsel f the V i cegerent of'

God,the P resen t-day Khal i fa , the Suzera i n of the A ge .

To h i s subj ect s , nobody else can be Khal i fa ; and

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-312 STUDIE S IN MUG-HAL IN DIA .

s teady absorpt ion of al l sovere ign I sl ami c S ta te s by theChr i s t i ans .

The Musl im Sta te be ing a theocra cy and i t s rule r

the mere servant of the holy Law and elected capta in

of th e free and equal fa i th ful c i t i zens , — ~the sovere ign i s

l i able to d i smi ssal for any v iol at ion of the Quran i c La w .

No type of monarchy can be more l im i ted in. th eory . But

in p ra c t ice the Muhammadan monarch w as even more

absol u te th an the Roman Impera tor . There wa s no

con st i t u t i onal agency,no organ ised w ell lknow n body for

j u dging h i s a c ts and pass ing sentence on h im as a servan t .

In theory the theologian s (a lc ina ) were the repos i tor ie sof the Quran i c Law and i t s

l

vindica tors when i t was

viol ated . But they d id not form any ch amber , and

even the membersh ip of the body o f t he nlcma was a

mat ter of uncerta i n ty , be ing ent irely dependent on t he

read iness of the lay publ i c t o accept a part i cul ar schola r .

A nebu lou s cou rt w i th sh adowy members canno t bring

the master o f legi ons t o t r i a l ; and the n lcm a fa i led to

supply the lea s t pract i ca l check on th e Musl im k ing'

s

a u tocracy,i f he happened to be a st rong man of act ion

with the army a t h i s back .

A u rangz ib got. the nlcm a t o j u st i fy h is forc ible depo

s i t i ou of h i s fa ther (a s well a s the murder of h i s elde st

b rother) by charging them w i t h th e viol a t ion of the

Quran i c La w ; and h i s ow n sonA kbar i nduced four theo

logians t o i s sue a s im il a r h u ll of deposi t i on aga ins t

A u rangz ib h imsel f on th e same ground ! A u rangz ib

5)OR I ENTAL MON ARCII IE S.

succeeded beca use he had a conquering army beh ind h im ,

A kbar fa iled becau se he had not .

The hy pocr i sy of appeal ing to t he Quran i c La w

a ga inst a po l i t i ca l r ival was , however , the homage which

f orce pa id to publ i c Op in ion . The i rres i st ible cou

q u eror a cknowledged , i n t heory a t lea st , a h ighe r au th oritv

t han the swords of h i s l egions . General B onaparte , no

doubt,purged the A ssem blv bv means of h i s grenad iers ,

bu t even he went through the form Of get t ing hi s mi l i t ary

d ict atorsh ip val ida ted by the rump of the Leg isla ture . InI slam ,

h owever,there wa s no such legi sla t ive body

Everyt h ing wa s le ft to ‘ publi c opin ion and the l imi t of

pu bl i c endurance . Hence . there was no const i tu t ional i sm

i n Or ienta l mona rch ies .

Works of J ADUNATH SARKAR, M .A .

Sh iVaji and H is Times .

52 8 pages, Rs . 4 .

A compreh ensive a nd or1t i ca l study of Sh ivaji’

s l ife (162 7p o licy , achievem ents and a ims

, and h istory of th e

D eccani Powers in his time , based upon a l l the availablesources (both printed a nd MS ) in Marathi

,English ,

Du tch,

Persian and H ind i . (See descrip t ive B ibliography of nine p agesa t th e end . )

Corrects Grant Duff’s numerous errors and supp lies muchadd it iona l infomation from contemporary a uthorities unknownto h im . Th e chronology is the most deta i led a nd accuratep ossible a t present . Reconstructs th e life and reign o f Sh ivajifrom year to year in amp le deta i l as known to the m en of h is.

t ime .

Among the contents a re— Maharash tra : the land and itscrops ; th e p eop le a nd their character— Boyhood and educat ion of Sh ivaji— A minute study of the A fza l Khan affair— warswith Shaista Kh an a nd Ja i Singh - ~Sh ivaji

’

s visi t to A urangz iba nd romantic escape— H is long wars with Bijapur and theMugh al emp ire— Grand coronation fully described— luvasion of

Tanjore— Conquests i n Kanara — Maratha N avy and nava lwars with th e English and the Siddis— Relat ions with theE ngl ish factories - Sh ivaji

’

s system Of administration ,inst itu ~

tions, po licy , actua l achievement and p lace in history — Was

h e a mere robber

H istory of RUrangzib. R s. 3-8 eac/z volum e.

Ba sed entirely up on origina l sources , via ,Persian State

p apers , m emoirs o f contem porary Ind ians , more th anPersian and Mara thi letters of th e leading historic ch aracters o f

the a ge, Marathi bakha rs travels o f Seventeenth centuryEuropean visitors to India ,

and revenue returns and Officia lh and-books of the Mugha l emp ire.

V o l . I . Reign of Sh a h Ia h an .

Lessons of A ura ngz ib s reign— m a teria lsfi A u ra ngz ib'

s

boyh ood a nd education— early viceroyalt ies— marr iages andfamily - war i n Centra l Asia — sieges Of Qandah ar— viceroyaltyo f th e Deccan - invasions of Golkonda a nd Bijapm — R ise Of

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unknown tra its of his character, h is p ithy say ings , and h isprinc ip les of government — his trea tment of h is sons and

oflicers,h is pol icy towards th e H indus

’

and the Shias,curious.

ep isodes of h is early life (such as“ the Puritan in love and

his last will and testament .

Oha itam'a’s Pilgrimages and Teachings

Wi th a portrait , 338 pp . ,Rs. 2 .

Chaitanya , (1485 the greatest sa int of Bengal , .caused a comp lete mora l revolution in Eastern India by preaching the creed of bh akt i or devotion to God as incarnate inKrishna . H is fa ith conquered Benga l, Orissa , and Assam ,

and also established i ts strongholds at severa l other p laces,notably Brindaban .

Economics of B ritish Ind ia

Fourth ed thorough ly r evised and enlarged. Rs. 3.

A com'

p lete account of India’s physica l features , econom ic

products and resources, transport , currency ,‘

public finance,labour laws , land tenure systems and leg islation , d c . Theh and iest and most accurate descrip t ion o f Ind ia’s economiccond ition and problems , and an ind ispensable guide to aright understand ing of the country . Statistics brough t up to

1 9 16 and 1 9 1 7 . A ch ap ter on The E conom ic Effects of the War

on India added .

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