Muntakhab al-tawarikh 78.26
Muntakhabu-t-tawārīkh (Ranking, Lowe, Haig) 78.26
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78.26.1
“ Thy servants in the field of battle are like tailors, Though they are not tailors, O King conqueror of realms ! By the ell of the spear they measure the stature of thine enemies, That they may cut them up with the sword, and sew them with arrows.” After the victory was gained, the Emperor ascended a hill which skirted the field of battle, and applied himself to investigating the individual acts of prowess of the combatants, when suddenly Ikhtiyar-ul-mulk, who had been employed in keeping Khan-i A'zam from joining the Emperor, when he heard the news of the defeat of the Mirzas, left off blockading the city and made his appearance on the open plain. Great commotion was observable among his men, and a great hubbub arose, so the Emperor ordered a body of men to discharge arrows at them. They raised a terrific shout of “ Ya Mu'in !” and stretched on the dust of death the band which was marching in advance of Ikhtiyar-ul-mulk. Now Husain Khan was of the number of the very foremost in the conflict, so that the Emperor presented him with his own crescent cimeter which was the most renowned of cimeters. And Ikhtiyar-ul-mulk having broken his bridle fled with one rein, till his horse fell into a bed of prickly-plants, like an ass into clay, and the swift-footed steed of his life also lost its footing, and became the spoil of the Turk of Avenging Death. Sohráb Bég Turkman, who was pursuing him, came up and seized him.
78.26.2
At this juncture Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk said : “Young man you seem to be a Turkman, now Turkmans are followers of the blessed 'Alí and of his friends. I am a Sayyid of Bukhárá, spare me.” Sohráb Beg replied : “How can I spare you ? You are Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk. I recognized you and have been pursuing you headlong.” With that he alighted from his horse and struck his head from his body. Meanwhile some one else went off with his horse, so he tucked up the head in his skirt and walked off with it to the Emperor, and obtained favourable notice. Nearly 1000 heads fell on that battle-field and the Emperor ordered them to make a minaret out of those heads, that it might serve as a warning to rebels. At the very time that the turmoil of battle with Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk ceased, the servants of Rái Singh made Muhammad Husain Mírzá descend from the elephant, and dispatching him with a blow with a hand-spear sent him to the world of non-existence. And they sent his head and that of Ikhtiyár-ul-mulk to Ágrah : — “Why dost thou tell the story of eloquence ? Hear a tale from Death, That he may tell to the careless, deaf, and blind : To whom I have given, from whom taken strength; How I have bound the hands of kings ; In what fashion I have laid low palaces. That he may tell thee how I break heroes, Head and body and neck. That when thou hast heard, through pride of power Thou mayest not set thy heart on this faithless life.”
78.26.3
At this time Khán-i A‘zam came out of the fortress and paid his submission to the Emperor, who embraced him, and treated him with the greatest attention, and enquired with kindness after his welfare and that of the other Amirs (P. 170). The Emperor remained five days at the dwelling of I‘timad Khan. He sent Qutb-ud-din Muhammad Khan, with his son Nourang Khan towards Bahrouch and Chanpanir to exterminate Shah Mirza; and Khan-i Kalan he appointed to the government of Patan, and Wazir Khan to Dulaqah and Danduqah. And Shah Quli Khan Muharram, and Rajah Bhagwan Das, and Lashkar Khan Bakhshi he sent off by way of Idar towards Agrah and Fathpur, to reduce the district of Rana Udai Singh; and the town of Badnagar was taken by them. On the 16th of Jamada’l avval he himself marched from Ahmadabad and encamped at Mahmudabad one of the dwelling places of Sultan Mahmud of Gujrat. And from Dulaqah he gave Khan-i A‘zam and the other Amirs permission to leave that quarter. Mirza Ghiyas-ud-din ‘Ali Qazwwini received the title of Asaf Khan, and was appointed Diwan and Bakhshi of Gujrat. On the 3rd of Jamada’s-sani the Emperor arrived at Ajmir, and while staying at Sanganir he appointed Rajah Todarmal (who had remained at Agrah with a view to fitting out 1000 vessels and boats) to go and examine into the state of the revenues of Gujrat. On the 7th of Jamada’s-sani the imperial cavalcade arrived at the metropolis. The whole time of his going and coming did not occupy one month and a half.
78.26.4
On the 25th of this month the rite of circumcision was performed on their imperial highnesses the Emperor’s sons. And on the 22nd of the month Rajab the prince Sultan Salim received the tablet of instruction from the hand of the God-fearing Maulana Mir Kalan, the traditionalist of Herat (who was an angel in human form, and had been instructed by his reverence the paragon of traditionalists Mirak Shah bin Mir Jamal-ud-din), and learnt the lesson “In the name of the gracious and merciful God. The Merciful-One taught the Quran.” (P. 171) In this year the Emperor recalled Muzaffar Khan, who had been appointed governor of Sarangpur, and appointed him prime minister, and gave him in addition to his other titles that of Jumlat-ul-mulk. And the Emperor ordered the debts of Shaikh Muhammad of Bokhara, who was killed in the battle of Patan, and of Saif Khan, who fell in the last battle of Ahmadabad, to be paid out of the public treasury. They amounted to a lac of rupees. And in this year the Emperor presented a sword to Rajah Todarmal, when he brought with him a clear balance-sheet of the accounts of Gujrat. Then he sent him in conjunction with Lashkar Khan Bakhshi (whom most of the people of Hind call Sher Khan) to attempt the conquest of Bengal in the service of Mun‘im Khan, the Khan Khanan. To Shahr-ullah Kambui of Lahor he gave the title of Shahbaz Khan, and appointed him Mir-bakhshi, and this rhyme was sealed with his name:—
78.26.5
“By the blessing of the favours of the Lord of Conjunction I have reached Shahbaz Khan-hood from servitude.” At this time Mir Muhassan Razwi returned from an embassy to the Dak’hin, and brought suitable presents from the rulers of that country. On the 16th of Shavval of this year the Emperor determined on a pilgrimage to Ajmir intending to pray for assistance in the conquest of Bengal. At the village of Dair, which is four cosses from Fathpur, his reverence the refuge of direction, and possessor of saintship, Khwajah ‘Abd-ush-shahid, grandson of Khwajah Ahrar (may God sanctify his tomb!), made intercession for the release of Mirza Sharaf-ud-din, but was refused. Although the Emperor did not neglect any marks of due honour and respect, and publicly even read the Fatihah, still his reverence felt much grief at the refusal, and went away much saddened. At 7 cosses from Ajmir the Emperor alighted, and on the 12th (P. 172) of Zi-qa‘dah he was honoured with the privilege of paying a visit to the blessed burial-place. On the 17th of this month took place the entrance of the earth-illumining sun, which is the greatest heavenly body and the light-giver of the world, into the constellation of Aries: “The body of the Sun, when it comes from the Fish to the Ram, The white horse of day makes the black horse of night white of foot.”
78.26.6
And because of the dignity of this day, which he observes every year and passes in joy and gladness, he held a high feast in the ancient fashion, and distributed the sum of a lac of rupees to every class of person present at the assembly. On the 23rd of the month Zi-qa‘dah the Emperor marched out of Ajmir (which in grandeur may vie with Constantinople itself), and arriving at his capital he set on foot preparations for an expedition to Bengal, and gave orders for the building of boats. Of that number one boat was lion-prowed, and another crocodile-prowed. And verily only sea-going vessels have such beam and draught. Towards the end of the month Zi-hajjah of this year the Author by reason of destiny, which is a chain round the foot of decision, having parted with Husain Khan, and come from Badaun to Agrah, was introduced at Court by Jamal Khan Qurchi, and the late Galen-like physician Ayn-ul-mulk. And since in those days the chatties of learning had considerable currency, I was dignified with the honour of a conversation the moment I came, and was enrolled in the number of the attendants at his assemblies. The Emperor made me dispute with sages, who boast of their depth of science, and who admit no uninitiated into their presence, and was himself the arbiter. By the grace of God, and the strength of my natural talent, and the sharpness of my intellect, and the courage, which is inherent in youth, I overcame most of them.
78.26.7
When at the time of presentation they described me as follows: “This worthy of Badaun has broken the head of Haji Ibrahim Sirhindi,” the Emperor desired that I should be presented at once, and his commands were issued to that effect. Shaikh Abd-un-Nabi, the Chief Qadr, was very much offended with me because I had not made use of him to obtain my introduction. He used to take the opposite side to myself in disputation, but the proverb came true “He that is bitten by a snake takes opium,” so that enmity by degrees turned into friendship. About this time Shaikh Abu-l-Fazl, son and heir of Shaikh Mubarak of Nagor, the star of whose knowledge and understanding was brilliant, came to Court, and received many marks of distinction.