Muntakhab al-tawarikh 77.8
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 77.8
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77.8.1
“What am I? one who has let go the rein of his heart; Who by the hand of his heart has fallen from his feet upon the road of trouble; Who is become like a madman in the skirts of the mountains; Who has without will of his own turned his head to the desert; At one time like a candle seized by the fire of his heart, At another like a wick fallen into the heart of the fire. I, Bairam, am free from care for little or much, Never have I uttered a single word less or more (P 42), This maqta' also is one of Hashim’s: — “ Thy lip was smiling on account of the weeping eye that I have, Thy heart was contented on account of the distracted state I am in.”
77.8.2
And in the same way the Khan Khanan, although he had nothing in his treasury, gave at one sitting a lac of tanhahs worth in money and goods to Ram Das of Lak’hnou, who was one of the musicians of Aslim Shah, and one that in music and song you might term a second Miyan Tan Sin. This man used to be the Khan Khanan’s companion and intimate associate, and by the beauty of his voice continually brought tears to his eyes. There was likewise a certain Hijaz Khan Badauni, who formerly was among the number of the Amirs of the Afghans, and had a standard and a kettle-drum, and a pennon, and afterwards towards the end of his life retired from military affairs, and in the enjoyment of a very trifling pension pursued rectitude in the path of asceticism and devotion. To him in return for a Qacidah, which in the Maqta' he dedicated to the Khan, he gave a lac of tanhahs, and made him Superintendent of the Government of Sirhind, and caused him to be appointed to that province. The Maqta' of the Qacidah is as follows: — “ When the seal of the ring of the heavens Went down into the water, The view of its signet gave A ruby-tinge to the ground.” And so that saying of Khwajah Kalan Beg came true, viz., “ Heaven above is of course a good judge of poetry!” The sum of the whole matter is that 100,000 were to the liberal mind of the Khan as one. How different indeed to these base ones, who now have come to the surface of the water: —
77.8.3
“ If the odour of fidelity thou perceivest from any one, His foot thou shouldest kiss much more than that of kings.” In the month Zi-’l-qa‘dah of this year, after the appointment of Atkah Khan to march to the Panjab, the Emperor appointed Khwajah ‘Abd-ul-Majid of Harat, with the title of A‘saf Khan, to the Government of Dihli. And then as it was the best thing to do, since Husain Khan’s father Wali Beg and his brother Isma‘il Quli Khan were with the Khan Khanan, he delivered Husain Khan to A‘saf Khan’s keeping, and himself went to the Panjab.
77.8.4
Mun‘im Khan, in accordance with orders, having come from Kabul to the halting-place of Ludhiyanah in company with Muqim Khan sister’s son to Tardi Beg Khan (who afterwards became Shuja‘at Khan), waited on the king. He received the title of Khan Khanan and was raised to the office of Prime-minister. And the state of the public exchequer he laid bare. To this same halting-place came the news of the victory of Atkah Khan and the flight of the Khan Khanan towards the mountains of Siwalik. The captives were brought into the Emperor’s presence, and he had them imprisoned. One of them, Wali Beg, who had received mortal wounds, went from a [temporal] to an eternal prison, and they sent his head to Dihli. Husain Khan was committed to the charge of his wife’s brother Malik Muhammad Khan son of Mahdi Qasim Khan, and the Emperor eventually took him into favour, and appointed to him as his fief Patyali, which is a town on the banks of the Ganges and the place of the birth and growth of [Amir] Khusrou (mercy be upon him!). After his defeat the Khan Khanan retired to Talwarah and shut himself up there. This is a very strong and almost inaccessible place in the mountains of Kushmal, on the banks of the river Biyah, the government of which belonged to Raja Gobind Chand. The forces of the king drew near and joined battle. And Sultan Husain Jalair, a youth of great beauty, symmetry of form and bravery, fell in that battle.
77.8.5
When they brought his head to the Khan Khanan, offering him congratulations, he calling to mind the youth’s devotion to himself in times gone by, covered his face with a veil and wept aloud, saying : “A hundred reproaches on this life of mine ! For through the misfortune of my soul so many youths are lost.” Although the Hindus of that place supported the Khan Khanan, fellow-feeling with the Moslem religion seized his skirt, so that turning his thoughts to the world to come, and purifying himself in the path of religion, he with a view to obtaining forgiveness for his shortcomings, sent without delay, and with the greatest humility, a message by the hand of Jamal Khan, a ghulam, craving an audience with the Emperor. Then Mulla ‘Abd-ullah of Sultanpur, whose title was Makhdum-ul-mulk, set off with the intention of acceding to his request. But the armies still remained in the same position, and the coming and going of messengers continued, until Mun‘im Khan, with a handful of intrepid men, came up and seized the Khan Khanan’s person and brought him back. And all the Amirs, in accordance with orders, went to meet him, and all honour and respect, just as in former times, having been paid to him, he received a free pardon, moreover a special dress of honour and a horse were given to him. Then Mun‘im Khan brought him to his own abode, and put all his tents and appliances at his service.
77.8.6
And two days afterwards he received permission to proceed to Mekka with such an allowance for travelling expenses as beseemed his rank. And the Amirs and courtiers, both small and great, gave him every proper assistance in the shape of money, and that kind of stores which the Turks call Ghandogh, and the Emperor having appointed Muhammad Khan Sistani as the Khan’s escort, himself went for recreation and hunting towards the castle of Firuzah, going by way of Dihli; and on the fourth of Rabi‘-ul-awwal in the year nine hundred and sixty-eight (968) he made his glorious entree into Dihli. And on the 12th of Rabi‘-us-sani he arrived at Agra, the metropolis, by water. Now they say that the Khan Khanan going with his retinue to Gujrat by way of Nagor, passed through a jungle which abounded in the prickly acacia, (P. 45) and the corner of his turban was caught in a thorn and fell from his head. And, whereas such an event is usually considered a bad omen, in the Khan Khanan’s case it was turned to quite the reverse, for Haji Muhammad Khan aptly quoted the following [couplet from Hafiz]:— “When in the desert through desire for the Ka’bah thou dost set thy foot, If the thorn of the acacia hit thy head do not grieve.” And so the Khan’s gloom was turned to cheerfulness:—
77.8.7
“By speech knots are untied, By speech the rust of the heart is polished off: Many a knot which comes into our affairs from destiny, To open which seems difficult, Suddenly, by a graceful turn of language, That business is converted into facility.” When he arrived at Patan in Gujrat, Musa Khan Fuladi, governor of Patan, and Hajji Khan of Alwar, received him with the greatest respect, and gave themselves up to the necessary duties of hospitality. One day the Khan Khanan was taking a trip on the lake, called Sahnas Lang, where one named Mubarak Khan Afghan, (he belied his name!), whose father the Khan Khanan at the beginning of the conquest of Hindustan had ordered to be put to death, being resolved on vengeance, at the hour of evening prayer, when the Khan Khanan was getting out of the boat, came with a lot of ruffians, on the pretence of meeting him, and with one blow of his gleaming dagger made him drink the draught of martyrdom. And the date was found as follows:— "When Bairam put on the Ihram in order to encompass the Ka'bah, On the road he became a martyr, not having obtained his desire. Of my heart I asked the date of his martyrdom, It said: Muhammad Bairam is become a martyr." And the humble author of this history discovered an enigma "He said, 'The rose is gone from the garden of beauty.'"