Firishta's History (Gulshan-i Ibrāhīmī) 77.10

77.10

Sooltan Mahmood, before the fall of the city of Ahmudabad Bidur, permitted his soldiers to indulge in every excess incident to warfare; but when he had resolved on establishing himself in the Deccan he changed his conduct, and treated the inhabitants as if they were his own subjects. He was at all times particular in regulating his dress and diet, agreeably to the holy laws concerning things pure and impure. On this account he procured his rice, wheat, oil, and other necessaries, for his table, when in the field even, from certain farms in his own dominions, and carried vegetables planted in wooden frames, filled with soil, along with him wherever he marched. During his stay at Ahmudabad Bidur, he sent for Mowlana Shums-ood-Deen, a holy man who attended the tomb of Shah Khuleel Oolla, to whom he complained of being distressed for vegetables, desiring that he would recommend him to some gardener, whose land was his own, in order that, agreeably to the orthodox laws, he might purchase them from him at any price.