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Muntakhab al-tawarikh 37.2

Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 37.2

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37.2.1

When he gave the signal and brandished his sword on all sides Not one leapt like lightning from that mass of clouds. May God have mercy! How could anyone draw the sword of revenge upon that crowd of moonlike faces. Whose heart would not be torn with distracting grief In pity for so many young and beautiful men? Oh Lord! may the breast of heaven be rent a hundredfold To think that it has brought so many noble ones to the dust. How can you look for pity for the blood he sheds, in the heart of the butcher? Whose one desire is to see his knife stained with blood. When the bloody butcher binds roses upon his head, Why should he withhold his knife from the rose-like body? Since no one of them desired that the sword should succeed in shedding their blood, There leapt from their midst like a whirlwind A man of low origin, a Hindu by birth Husky of hue, like to Ahriman, Nay! a thousand Ahrimans would stand aghast at his face; Grief-increasing like the pleasure of those in distress, Wrong in judgment like the intellect of young people; Unlucky to look upon as a young owl. Like a morning in Dai at Ghaznin cold and inhospitable; Like the night of sorrow his forehead full of gloom, Like the nature of a wicked man, accursed. A lip like the sole of a ploughman’s foot, A cheek like the mouth of a man with paralysis; That hideous one had a mouth like a helmet. His smile like the yawning of a burst shoe;

37.2.2

Long whiskers twisted over his ears His whiskers taking the place of the ring in the slave’s ear, Lightly he leapt out from the line of warriors, [You would think that waves of blood would burst from him, His skirt tucked up in his wrathful haste, his sleeves drawn back for bloodshed.] He demanded a well tempered sword from his officer, Drew it, and tightened up the skirt of his tunic, [The head of that cypress-like noble fell from his shoulders, He who was renowned for his youth and beauty.] Martyrdom was evident in Khizr in that palace, Just as the tree praises God when its branches put forth leaves. The heaven kept lamenting over his punishment, The angels continually assisted him in his martyrdom, Rizwan threw open the gates of Paradise, All the Huris began to sing his praises. From that martyr’s shout of triumph which came forth from the Shah, The sun and moon joined in the martyr’s song. When the dagger was raised aloft and the Shah’s face was seen amid his clustering locks, Lamentation arose in that assembly like the roll of thunder, The sun made his body a shield to protect him, But Fate turned it on one side from before him. When the sword of Fate severs the cord of Hope, Neither sun nor moon can become a shield for thee, With one blow which that ruthless one struck He made the Shah’s head a guest in his bosom. To wash away the blood, the revolving water-wheel of the sky Required that the spring of the sun should yield all its blood;

37.2.3

But since there was no longer a breath of life in his body, Of what avail was it to wash the blood from the surface of it. Dewal Rani, who was a woman of dignity and beauty, Was the lifespring of Khizr Khan’s existence. When the King of the Sky laid him in ambush to slay him That very well of life of his became the sword of enmity. When we look in this crystal globe carefully Many life-giving springs are also fatal in their freeze. The soul of the lover was poured out with his life-blood, But still was hovering round about the beloved one. A rose from which thou hast tasted a pearl of dew, Thou wilt shed thy blood for it a hundred times. Instead of rose-water they drew his heart’s blood from that rose, See how they (mercilessly) robbed him of his blood! And when the foundation stone of this edifice of the destruction of the family of ‘Alau-d-Din was laid, the question was asked of a devotee, why this should be? His reply was because ‘Alau-d-Din had cast a firebrand into the family of the uncle of his benefactor, and as a consequence similar treatment had been meted out to his own family. Verse. In this full-voiced, re-echoing dome (the world) Whatever speech you utter that same will you hear.

37.2.4

At all events, after the usurpation by Sultan Qutbu-d-Din, all the rules and regulations made by ‘Alau-d-Din, each of which embodied some wise purpose or far-seeing design, were thrown into confusion, and dissoluteness and wickedness, contumacy and rebellion sprang anew to life during the reign of Sultan Qutbu-d-Din, who threw open the doors of license and gratification of desires to the people; and when Malik Kamalu-d-Din Garg, after that Alp Khan had been summoned to the presence and had been executed, proceeded to Gujrat where he attained martyrdom, ‘Ainu-l-Mulk Multani was nominated by the Court, and having quelled the disturbance there regained possession of Nahrwala and all the country of Gujrat, Sultan Qutbu-d-Din married the daughter of Malik Dinar, and having given him the title of Zafar Khan sent him to Gujrat. He performed the important duties of that province better and more satisfactorily than 'Ainu-l-Mulk. In the year 718 H. (1318 A.D.) Sultan Qutbu-d-Din marched for Deogir with a larger army, and the Rais of that country were not able to stand against him.

37.2.5

He flayed Raipul Deo who had rebelled during the time which followed the death of Ram Deo; the country of the Mahattas also fell into the hands of Qutbu-d-Din who, having given Khusru Khan the canopy and staff of office, ordered him to proceed to Ma'bar, and having left Yaklakhi in Deogir as Naib, returned to Dihli. Near Badra-i Sakun, Malik Asadu-d-Din ibn Yaghrash Khan, who was called Malik Khamush, and who was the uncle's son of Sultan 'Alau-d-Din, was smitten with the ambition of chieftainship, and plotted a rebellion against the Sultan, who however was warned of this design by one of his loyal adherents and gave orders for the immediate execution of Malik Asadu-d-Din. He also sent orders that twenty of the relations of Yaghrash Khan who were aware of this conspiracy, some of whom were children, should be executed, and when he reached Jhain he sent Shadi Kath his chief captain to Gwaliur to bring the family and relations of the murdered Khizr Khan and Shadi Khan with the remainder of the haram of 'Alau-d-Din to Dihli, after having killed Sultan Shihabu-d-Din, which he carried out. Sultan Qutbu-d-Din was led by the fact that Khizr Khan had been a disciple of the Sultanu-l-Mashaikh Nizamu-d-Din Auliya, to regard that holy Shaikh with suspicion and distrust, and in opposition to the wishes of the holy saint sent for Shaikh Ruknu-d-Din from Multan, and honoured Shaikhzada-i-Jam, who was one of the opponents of Shaikh (Nizamu-d-Din) with special distinction. Verse.

37.2.6

When God desires to openly disgrace any man He leads him to abuse those of holy and pure nature; And if God desires to hide the sins of any man He leads him to talk little about the sins of other sinners. His habits also underwent great change, and his heart emboldened him to walk in the valley of bloodshed as his father had done, so that rivers of blood began to flow, and he put to death without any cause Zafar Khan Wali of Gujerat. In the mean while Yaklakhi had prepared a rebellion in Deogir, and had arranged to assume the insignia of royalty. At last when Khusru Khan reached Deogir, the men of the army who had been sent to Deogir seized Yaklakhi and made him over to Khusru Khan, who sent him bound to Dihli where he was executed. The Sultan also put to death Malik Shahin who was known by the title of Wafa Malik, without any reason save the representations of some intriguers. In these days the Sultan used generally to array himself in women's garments, and adorning himself like them with gold and jewels, used to give public audience. Moreover he openly indulged in drinking and other forms of vice, inter marem feminamque discrimen nullomodo facere solebat. Verse. Statura cujusvis ut littera Alif erecta, idem quod littera Bal et Nun incurvescebat, adeo Alif in rimam omnium inserebat.

37.2.7

He used to command buffoons and jesters to insult with jest and witticisms his most trusted and eminent Amirs, as for instance ‘Ainul Mulk Multani and Qarabegh who held fourteen appointments, and summoning them for that purpose to the roof of the Hazar Sutun palace, they used to perform low buffooneries, et nudefacti, gestu turpi et obscœno, in vestes nobilium honoratorum mingebant. Thus he prepared everything that was necessary for the downfall of the kingdom. Verse. There was the rose, the leaf adorned it too And the kingdom seemed to say — Oh ! King what can come to pass from wine bibbers What too can come to pass from unrestrained lust The king maddened by lust, the empire ruined, the enemy before and behind It is only too plain in such a case, what must come to pass.

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