The Book of Akbar 157.7

157.7

The story of this is that on the night of the rejoicings and banquetings on account of the marvellous victories, some feeble souls who were fated to be admitted to the verge of the sublime assemblage, viz., book-bearers, armour-bearers, ink-horn-bearers and the like, happened to have gone to the gardens of Halul, the scent of whose flowers might cure the melancholy, and whose heart-expanding breeze might give motion to congealed blood, and to have started a winefeast. In this state of exultation which had put to flight sense and reason, they took up the Zafarnama and read of the beginnings of the victorious career of his Majesty Sahib Qirani (Timur)—how that prince had with him, in the vernal prime of his glory, forty chosen companions, and how one day he took from each a couple of arrows and after tying them all together, gave them to each companion to break. Though each put the bundle across his knee and exerted all his strength, it was of no use. But when he opened the bundle, and gave each two arrows every one broke them. His Majesty had then observed “we are forty persons, if we are united like this bundle of arrows victory will attend us wherever we go.” In accordance with this right thought and lofty idea they girt up their loins of courage and went forth to conquer. Those ignorant fools when they heard this story did not reflect that each one of the forty was a heaven-aided host. They thought merely of the external circumstances and so fell into ruinous imaginings.