Muntakhab al-tawarikh 30.3
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 30.3
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30.3.1
The chargers were plunging and the heads of the riders falling.
The feet of the horses speeding and the heads of the riders bowling along.
Every spurt of blood which spirted from the body struck by an arrow,
Leapt without restraint like a man who leaps to avoid an arrow.
The arrow of every man who from stoutness of heart had an arm nerved for the fight, fitted accurately to the bow flew straight to the heart of the enemy's army.
And he who from faint-heartedness has lost command of his arms and legs, was running now to the water and now to the plain.
The king, the commander of the army, was urging on the charger of his fortune, and it galloped with him in drawing up his line, and planning the scheme of action.
The heavens turned Victory backwards seizing it by the hair,
Although Victory was speeding towards us having left the accursed (infidels).
[The infidels were expecting the coming of night, to take to flight.
Suddenly the scale of the balance turned against us].
What a night was that! when the sun had fallen from the sky!
And demons were hurling fire upon the earth, and the stars had fallen.
When nothing of day remained for that sun of fortune.
Some little daylight remained when the sun (of royalty) fell.
Although Husain of the famous Kerbela was in straits for want of water.
He was the Muhammad whose end came upon him in the water.
30.3.2
The heart of mankind became (full of holes like) a fishing net because, from the craft of the demon the royal signet which was on the hand of Solomon fell into the water.
The infidels were wallowing in blood as the donkey wallows in the gutter, the believers lay in the mud like jewels in the mire.
One army was passing through the water of the flood of disaster,
The other parched with thirst had fallen in with a mirage.
Each one of them was put down on the tablet of the earth for this reason that their affairs had fallen into the account of the day of reckoning.
The skull caps which were lying in the fresh crimson blood looked like cocoanuts engraved and ornamented with vermilion.
The wounds of the heart were weeping tears of blood in bidding farewell to the soul, and the bodies were lying desolate owing to separation from life.
Alas ! many were the living who were lying among the dead overcome with fear, their bodies blood-stained and their eyes sunk in (feigned) sleep.
Look at the deeds of this crafty old wolf (the sky) for lions were as though bound in chains and elephants in fetters at the hands of (infidel) dogs.
[This was not a battle, I verily saw that that was the day of resurrection. If these are the tokens of the resurrection, then I have seen it].
Look at the revolution of the heaven, for it brought about such a change, that it made the centre of Islam to go round and round (in perplexity) like the compasses.
30.3.3
Has one ever seen an atom carry off the water of the sun's spring?
Has one ever seen a stone, which has rivalled the princely pearl?
When the king entered the cave of the protection of God, that man is a dog who did not wake the sleepers of the cave with his lamentations.
That he entered the secret cave (of death) when fleeing from his enemies, is no disgrace.
The elect of God (Muhammad) fled towards the cave to avoid the attack of his enemies.
And if a spark reached him from the arrow of his enemies this too is right, for the wrath of Nimrod at last committed Abraham to the fire.
And if he went to the holy place (Paradise) do not be vexed and count it as a shame to him for 'Isa through the spite of the Nazarenes devoted his life on the cross.
And if the (infidel) dogs were crafty as foxes to him, say this, that it is of a piece with the dog like behaviour which was shewn to ('Ali) the Haidar-i-Karrar (lion of repeated attacks).
And if the demons caused him to drown, then say this that it is like when a demon drowned Rustam in the ocean.
Every year he used to devote his life and energy to fighting the Mughals,
At last he yielded up his precious life in this endeavour.
This is one of the tricks of fate which at one time sheds blood and at another gives life; we are powerless, it is useless to strive against the all-powerful tyrant (fate).
The mighty lion when stung by the ant roars aloud in agony.
The infuriated elephant when pricked by a thorn shrieks from pain.
30.3.4
[It was on Friday, the last day of Zul Hijjah that this battle took place
At the end of eighty-three and the beginning of eighty-four].
The sun and moon wept over the face of that one of auspicious features,
Day and night wept over the youth of that short-lived one.
Like his orders, tears from the eyes, flowed from east to west
Behold the obedience of the servants who wept without any master.
In his reign birds and fishes were so happy
That the fishes wept in the water and the birds in the air.
The heavens with its thousand eyes wept over the people of the earth like vernal showers upon the grass.
The dew which falls every morning from heaven and waters the earth, consider that as the tears of the stars who are weeping in the highest heavens.
The people of Multan, men and women, weeping and tearing their hair, in every street, face to face and everywhere.
No one could sleep at night for the noise of the wailing, and the beating of the drums, for in every house the mourners were weeping bitterly.
30.3.5
They were preparing to perform the wazu in the water of their eyes, Hoping for pardon for that they wept at the time of prayer. Their tongues were blistered like the feet of prisoners, So sorely did they weep for the captives of calamity. Their eyes poured forth blood upon the earth like the throat of the slain, So bitterly did each one weep for his own dead. And if by chance a captive returned from that bond of calamity, Every one seeing his face wept honest tears of sorrow. [So great was the weeping that the waves of the tears were greater than those of the Jihun. This was my own condition, the state of the others how can I describe? Shall I wring my hands, or shall I with my own teeth make my arm livid, Or shall I wear clothes of a darker blue than this blue heaven? Every man of reputation tattoos his arm with the needle, But when I make my arm blue with my teeth, the name of the king leaps forth on my arm. Alas! that he by the tyranny of the blue sky, is sleeping beneath the earth, while because of his sleeping there the whole horizon has become blue (dark). There was both the blackness of the Hindu and the whiteness of the Turk, whereas now both Turk and Hindu are wearing blue (as mourning). [It was as though the people were tearing the heavens and dividing them among themselves, To such an extent [men are in all directions blue with mourning garments.]
30.3.6
Now it has become customary to wear blue — so that hence-forth it behoves the weavers of white cloth to dye their thread blue in the spindle.
In every street of Cairo a river blue like the Nile was flowing; to such an extent were blue garments being washed in tears on all sides.
The dyers of blue cloth were as happy as if there was a bridal in their houses, because so many brides had their garments dyed blue in mourning for their husbands.
The lovely ones who were smiting their foreheads and shedding tears of blood had their cheeks below their eyes red (with blood) while above their eye-brows it was blue.
The beauties have no need of blue (patches) and redness (rouge) after this,
For the cheeks are torn till they are red (with blood) and the face is smitten till it is blue (with bruises).
In such quantities do they tear their hair from their delicate brows, one and all
That the root of every hair becomes blue from such rough treatment.
[How long shall I tear out the hair of my head in this lamentation and mourning!
Nay I will pluck this body of mine like a hair from the head of my life].
Alas! that my heart has suddenly turned to blood on account of (the loss of) my friends.
Alas! for that assembly who were a constant fresh joy to their friends.
The eyes became flooded with water and blood on account of their friends, so long as I saw my friends in the midst of blood and water.