The Book of Akbar 192: CHAPTER XXIX.
The Akbarnama (H. Beveridge), vols. I–II 192
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CHAPTER XXIX.
192.1
morning which was his downfall's evening, the Mīrzā proceeded with evil intent towards Mashtang. When he had advanced one or two kos, he asked his servants, if any of them had been that way. Jai Bahadur Uzbak, who was Qāsim Husain Sultān's servant and had on this expedition taken service with the Mīrzā, said, "I know this road thoroughly, and have repeatedly gone and come by it!" The Mīrzā replied that he was speaking the truth for he had been a jagīrdār there, and he bade him go on ahead and lead the way. He objected that his pony was knocked up, and the Mīrzā signed to Tarsūn Barlās, one of his servants, to give him his horse. He objected about his own necessities but had to surrender the animal. Jai Bahadur, who had served the king in India, advanced a little by auspicious guidance and then putting his horse to the gallop, went off to Bairām Khān's tent, and unfolded the facts of the case. Bairām Khān went with him to his Majesty Jahānbānī, whom he informed of the evil intentions of that ingrate ('Askarī). His Majesty sent to Tardī Beg and some others for horses. Those base, narrow-eyed men turned away from the perception of their good fortune (in thus having an opportunity of serving Humāyūn) and refused to give them. His Majesty wished to mount his horse (perhaps Jai Bahadur's) and go and give them a lesson. Bairām Khān deprecated doing this, as the moment was critical and there was no time for dallying.
192.2
"Let the ingrates be left to God's vengeance, and let his Majesty follow his own course." On hearing this representation his Majesty, attended by a few devoted followers, took the road of the desert. He gave up the idea of Qandahār and Kābul and proceeded towards Persia ('Irāq) with the intention of going to the Hijāz (Mecca, &c.), and as a desert-traverser, entered on the path of separation (firāq). Khwāja Mu'azzam, Nadīm Kokaltāsh, Mīr Ghaznavī, and Khwāja 'Ambar Nāzir were directed that his Majesty, the king of kings, was in the cradle of guardianship and under the protection of the Divine love, and that affliction's dust could not reach his fortune’s skirt, but that they should by every possible means bring her Majesty Maryam-makani to the king. Those right-minded ones made haste and performed acceptable service. After going a little way, night came on darker than the hearts of unacknowledging ingrates. Bairam Khan represented that his Majesty was aware of Mirza ‘Askari’s lust for gold and property; that at this time the Mirza would be secure and at ease, and be sitting in a tent with two or three clerks, and looking at the list of the goods and chattels in his Majesty’s camp. The proper thing for them was to rely upon the Divine favour, and to come suddenly on that tent, and settle his business. That though the Mirza had become alienated, all his servants had been brought up on his Majesty’s salt, and that they would inevitably come forward and serve him.
192.3
His Majesty approved of this proposal from the practical point of view, but out of his pure nature and well-meaningness he declined to adopt it, and said they had now set out for a foreign land and had entered on a long journey, and that he would not give up his plans. Once more he committed his Majesty, the king of kings, to the protection of the God of Glory, the repeller (daf'i) of evils, and supporter (rāfi') in dangers, and taking the eternal counsels as his guide and the everlasting favour as his helper in place and out of place, he fixed the saddle of dominion on the steed of enterprise, and the foot of forward-faring in the stirrup of trust and proceeded on his way.
192.4
When Mirza ‘Askari with his evil intentions approached Mashtang he sent on his sadr Mir Abu’l-hasan that he might go to his Majesty Jahanbani, and that if the latter was meditating departure, he might by trick and stratagem detain him. The Mir arrived just when his Majesty Jahanbani was mounting his horse, and sought to turn him by alleging sundry messages from the Mirza. His Majesty, by God’s guidance, did not listen to his vain words, but rapidly went off. M. ‘Askari came up afterwards and sent Shah Walad, Abu’l-khair and many others of his men to guard the camp and not let any one go out of it. He heard from the Sadr Mir Abu’l-husain and so would not turn back. the story of Jai Bahadur’s warning and of his Majesty Jahanbani’s departure. Tardi Beg Khan and the other faithless servants came and paid their respects to the Mirza who made them all over to trusty men of his own. A short-sighted man, who does not reflect on the evil day or on a bad end and who enters on the path of wicked designs and of shamelessness, in reality strikes an axe into the foot of his own well-being, and prepares for himself misfortunes and heaven-sent adversities. These things are not hidden from the readers of the pages of the world’s history! When Mir Ghaznavi came and paid his respects to M. Askari, the latter said, “We came to do homage to the king, wherefore has his Excellency gone off by the desert?” Then he inquired where the Prince was, meaning his Majesty, the king of kings.
192.5
Mir Ghaznavi said he was in his quarters. The Mirza said “Good, let a camel-load of fruit be taken to him from the commissariat (rikab-khana); I am coming too.” At night he and one or two clerks examined in his tent some of the things which had been brought from the royal stores (sarkar); they wrote them down and the state of affairs was exactly as Bairam Khan had conjectured and had represented. Next day at breakfast time (about 9 a.m.) he had his drums beaten and moved from his quarters to the royal encampment. He alighted at the door of his Majesty Jahanbani’s residence (daulatkhana) and had all the men, one by one, small and great, arrested. He made over Tardi Beg Khan to Shah Walad, and he put all the unfaithful servants in charge of his own men and took them off to Qandahar. Many of them he destroyed by hardships and torments, and from Tardi Beg Khan he took all his hoard so that he soon got the retribution of his deeds. But no, no! how could this be retribution for such crimes? if we called this typhoon of evils one revolution (girdi) in the descending of retribution, it would still not be appropriate. Verse. If a wicked and ill-fated man Become good by a teacher's instruction. In the end the mystery is explained For then his true nature is revealed.
192.6
It is clear to those who can discern the mysteries of fate, that when the fortunate hand of an eternally elected one be decked with sovereignty’s signet, and the dominion-head be exalted by the Khilāfat’s diadem, the rays of glory are ever shining on the forehead of his career. One of the wondrous indications and celestial portents which occurred at this time in relation to his Majesty, the king of kings, was as follows. When Mīrzā ‘Askarī came to the royal camp and began his improprieties, Mīr Ghaznavī and Māham Agha brought his Majesty the king of kings before him on the shoulder of honour and in the bosom of security. Though the Mīrzā directed his countenance towards him and had a jubilant air and wore a forced smile, his Majesty, even then an aggregate of the perfections of a mature man of the world, spite of his tender years, was in no way elated (shigufta). Restraint of spirit was manifested on his brow. The Mīrzā changed his tone and said, “We can see whose this child is. Why should he be elated at seeing us?’ The Mirza’s ring was hanging from his neck by a red ribbon and after a little while the child in accordance with infantive ways—no! no! by Fortune’s guiding hand, put his hand to the ribbon and sought to take it. The Mīrza immediately took the ribbon from his neck and gave it to his Majesty, the king of kings.
192.7
The acute in the assembly saw in this an auspicious prognostic that bye-and-bye the seal of dominion and the ring of sovereignty would be in his Majesty’s name, and that water flowing from the fount of Divine bounties would become a river. From thence his Majesty the Shahanshah went, protected by the Divine aid, in company with M. 'Askari towards Qandahar. Standing and sitting, sleeping and waking, rays of greatness and command streamed from his Majesty’s forehead, and the lights of God’s knowledge were manifested. On the road Kokī Bahadur, one of M. 'Askari’s confidants, came near his Majesty’s (Akbar) camel litter and said to Mīr Ghaznavi that if he made the prince over to him he would take him to the king. The Mīr replied that as the king himself had not taken him, ’twas evident there was a reason for leaving him; nor could he venture without high authority to take action. Bahadur said, “I’ve formed the desire to serve his Majesty and hence I come at such a time of desolation to do so. I wanted to perform this service and now that you don’t exalt me by this blessing, give me a token from his Majesty, the king of kings (Akbar), that I may give it to his Majesty.” Mīr Ghaznavi gave to Bahadur his Majesty’s cap, the diadem of the moon of auspiciousness, and thereby exalted him.
192.8
M. ‘Askarī brought his Majesty, the king of kings, to Qandahar on 18th Ramazan, 950 (16th December, 1543), and assigned him a residence in the citadel near himself. Maham Agha, Jiji Anaga and Atka Khan were made eternally fortunate by serving him, and longed for the diffusion of the light of holiness. The Mīrza made over this nursling of fortune who was growing up in the shadow of the Divine protection, to his own wife Sultan Begam, and that cupola of chastity out of her abundant wisdom, lovingly and devotedly tended him. To appearance she watched over him, but in reality she was keeping herself alongside of light absolute, and so receiving illumination, and day by day she was beholding more and more the glory (farr) of greatness proceeding from the light-increasing brows of that world-blessing. Evil thoughts respecting one who is God-supported and in whose person God-nourished light exists, can only terminate in good, and out of contrariety nothing can come except service and benefit.
192.9
Accordingly Eternal Providence was tending him at that time when paternal affection and maternal love should have been responsible for his needments (takafful-i-muhimmat) and he was in the hands of deadly enemies, so that the foot of loyalty of the far-sighted of wisdom’s kingdom might be the more established, and that a guiding lamp might come into the hands of the short-sighted and simple, and that the facts of the Divine watchfulness and of heavenly guardianship might be manifest to friend and foe. I have heard from the sacred lips of his Majesty, the king of kings, as follows : “ I perfectly remember what happened when I was one year old, and especially the time when his Majesty Jahanbani proceeded towards ’Iraq and I was brought to Qandahar. I was then one year and three months old. One day Maham Anaga, the mother of Adham Khan, (who was always in charge of that nursling of fortune), represented to M. ‘Askari, “ It is a Turki custom that when a child begins to walk, the father or grandfather or whoever represents them, takes off his turban and strikes the child with it, as he is going along, so that the nursling of hope may come to the ground (i. e., may fall down). At present his Majesty Jahanbani is not here; you are in his room, and it is fitting you should perform this spell which is like sipand against the evil eye.
192.10
The Mirza immediately took off his turban and flung it at me, and I fell down.” “ This striking and falling,” his Majesty deigned to observe, “ are visibly before me. Also at the same time they took me for good luck to have my head shaved at the shrine of Baba Hasan Abdal. That journey and the taking off my hair are present before me as in a mirror.” What is there extraordinary about this or a hundred things like it, to any one in the blissful chambers of whose heart there is an enkindled lamp ? As the thread of the narrative has extended so far, it is unavoidable that for the moistening of discourse (sirabi-i-sukhan), I say something about the remaining events of Sher Khan, about Mirza Haidar’s going to Kashmir, about the condition of M. Kamran who went to Kabul, and M. Hindal who hurried off to Qandahar, and Yadgar Nasir Mirza who made opposition and remained in Bhakkar, so that the searcher after instruction may take warning, and by the strength of a happy fortune, spend his days prudently and righteously.