[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Dark Ages](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages) › [Mughals (1526–1857)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal) › [Akbar (1556–1605)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar) › [Akbarnāma](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama) › [The Akbarnama (H. Beveridge), vols. I–II](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama~en-beveridge) › 12 # The Book of Akbar 12: CHAPTER II. The Akbarnama (H. Beveridge), vols. I–II 12 - **Language:** English ### CHAPTER II. ### [12.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama~en-beveridge.12.1) God)—eye of eternal empire,—pillar of the celestial throne,—pedestal of the sublime seat,—lady of the exalted marriage-dais,—princess of fortune’s alcove,—chosen curtain of honour’s litter,—exaltor of chastity’s coiffure,—glorious gift of heaven,—treasure of Divine mercy, prime dainty of the Divine table,—supreme boon of heavenly gifts, revolving-point of bounties and graces,—glorious pearl of dominion and prestige,—spring-flower of justice,—tablet of the gorgeous picture-gallery,—splendour of sanctity and love,—fire-flame of majesty and exaltation,—cream of abilities and accomplishments,—choice one of the secrets of hand and heart,—central node of wisdom and wakefulness,—linking the divine and the human,—goodly tree of peace and purity,—generous fruit of liberality and election,—truth-showing mirror,—countenance of certainty,—staircase of majesty,—ladder of realm and religion,—tap-root of the umbrageous trunk of happiness,—noble palm of the garden of excellence,—veiled matron of meekness and modesty,—screened and curtained one of honour and greatness,—glorious medium between hidden and revealed light,—opener of the morning of fortune and favour,—enveloped in celestial veils,—her Majesty Miryam Makānī, chaste one of church and state, Hamida Bānū Begam—(may her glorious shadow be perpetuated!)—pure scion of that pattern of eminent saints,—pole of the poles of greatness,—wanderer in the wilderness of humanity,—swimmer in the ocean of divinity,—lamp of spiritual secrets,—key of the treasures of conquests,—rose-gatherer of the gardens of revelation,—garland-twiner of the fragrant herbs of truth,—abbot (imam) of the monastery of asceticism,—cup-bearer of the tavern of abundance,—ocean-hearted one of the baiting-place of privation,—ocean-drinker of the tavern of unity,—immersed in the seas of holy conflicts,—consumed by the lightnings of contemplation,—torch-bearer of the chamber of the Path,—caravan-conductor on truth’s highway,—supreme theatre of the epiphanies of the divine essence,—illuminationspot of the rays of the Attributes,—cambist of the secrets of the masters of revelation and manifestation,—assayer of the hearts of the lords of divine transports,—observant traveller over hearts and spirits,—scrutinizer of the interiors of moulds and forms,—disperser of the clouds of darkness,—procuring the blotting-out of the writings of transgressions,—knowing the links between the seen and the unseen,—revealer of the splendours of the secrets of manifestation and concealment— ### [12.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama~en-beveridge.12.2) Verse. Pole which salutes the two poles of heaven. Bridling by discipline the tigers of lust. Stalking as a lion in the forest of the heart. Ocean-drinker of love, the premier elephant, Ahmad-i-jam, (fol. 148) the date of his death is fixed by the chronogram Ahmad Jami quddisa sirruhu. (See Richardson 718 a.) The passage occurs at 148a. of Add. 7607, Rieu’s Cat. I. 43c. and the words are \[Arabic text\]. The letters give the date 536, viz. A = 1 J = 3 q = 100 r = 200 h = 8 a = 1 d = 4 h = 5 m = 40 m = 40 s = 60 — d = 4 i = 10 s = 60 536 Total. There is an account of the saint in Dara Shikoh’s Safinatu-l-auliya and there the writer—the eldest son of Shah Jahan—refers to his great-great-grandmother, Hamida Banu’s descent from Ahmad-i-jam. But the fullest account of Ahmad is in Jami’s Nafahatu-l-uns, Jami being a townsman of the saint. The life will be found in Lees’ ed. of the Nafahatu (Cal. 1859, 405-417). Ahmad-i-jam is said to have converted 300,000 persons, and to have had 42 children, of whom 17 survived him. His Diwan is in the B. M., and he wrote other works. There is an explanation of the term Zhanda-pil by M. Pictet, in the Journal Asiatique for 1843, (Series IV., Vol. II., 141). He derives it from the Sanscrit canda. According to Fraser (Journey into Khorasan, Lond. 1825, App. B., 39), it means Elephant-reviver or animator, and was given to the saint because he, at the cost of his own life, restored to life the Governor’s elephant. ### [12.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama~en-beveridge.12.3) Fraser describes his tomb as a rough slab of marble, situated in a grove of pistachio trees, at Turbat-i-jam, half way between Mashhad and Herat. According to A. F. Ahmad-i-jam was the ancestor of Humayun’s mother as well as of his wife (Hamida Banu). Humayun visited the shrine in 1544 and put up an inscription which still exists. (J. R. A. S. Jan, 1897). Apparently the father of Hamida Banu was named ‘Ali Akbar, for Nizamu-d-din says, Khwaja Mu‘azzam (whom he calls Akbar’s maternal uncle) was the son of ‘Ali Akbar. According to A. F. the Khwaja was only uterine or half-brother of Hamida Banu, but it seems probable that ‘Ali Akbar was also her father, for Nizamu-d-din goes on to say that ‘Ali Akbar was descended from Hazrat Shaikhu-l-islam, Zhanda-pil Ahmad-i-jam. Gulbadan calls Hamida Banu, the daughter of Mir Baba Dost. Apparently Mir Baba is the Maulana Baba Dost Sadr mentioned (Akbarnama I. 315) as a servant for whom Hindal had a special regard. Perhaps Mir Baba Dost is not his full name—though it occurs in the Akbarnama—and he may also have been named ‘Ali Akbar. Gulbadan says that Mir Abu-l-Baqa took part in the marriage and that two lakhs of rupees were paid (or promised) as dower by Humayun. Abu-l-Baqa is referred to in the Akbarnama (I. 172). In the same volume, (I. 174, l. 15) mention is made of Khwaja Hajri Jami (qu. the Superintendent of Ahmad Jami’s cell?) as having been forward in promoting the marriage. ### [12.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama~en-beveridge.12.4) Gulbadan’s account of the marriage negotiations is minute and interesting. ## Linked texts (1) - [Akbarnāma](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama.6.80-103) — Abū'l-Faḍl ʿAllāmī 1589, Persian --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama~en-beveridge.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.darkages.mughal.akbar.akbarnama~en-beveridge.12) · Pramāṇa