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The Book of Akbar 5: INTRODUCTION.

The Akbarnama (H. Beveridge), vols. I–II 5

Language
English

INTRODUCTION.

5.1

glorious Sun? It is sufficient honour and glory to describe itself in that Presence as an insignificant atom. In that Presence where the favoured magnates of the Court to whom the power of recommending a tiny ant has not been vouchsafed, have not received permission to express their wishes, how can it be proper for one who, like myself, is remaining on the threshold and is without right of access, to solicit grace and favour for the chosen courtiers and to ask pardon and paradise for them. If he should, from inconsideration, lengthen the tongue of boldness, by what name would he be called in the justice-hall of discernment, and what reproach would he not receive from the Inquisitor of Justice! I therefore gave up that idea and made myself ready, so that, if my abilities permitted and the Divine aid were vouchsafed to me, I might reduce to writing the auspicious description of the King of manifestation and reality, the leader of religion and realm (dīn u dunyā), and might bring together his beautiful and awful attributes and the praises of his majesty and perfection; to wit,—the marvellous festivals, wondrous wars, exalted devotions, and pleasant ways of this chosen one of God, without the disagreeable admixtures of poetical prose writers. So that I might acquit myself of my duties of (1) worship, (2) loyalty, (3) gratitude, and might also establish a claim to the regard of newcomers to the world and of future travellers by life’s caravans.

5.2

Though each one of those four points was a powerful motive for entering upon this great task, yet, as my aim was lofty and ability small, success was not attained nor my desire achieved until this light shone on the antechamber of my truth-reflecting heart; to wit — “In this noble enterprise, at the same time that you discharge your duty to the creature, you are also fulfilling your obligations to the Creator. While you are paying your devoirs of respect and gratitude, you are in reality, steadfastly engaged in praising God, the Creator of the world.” Day by day, my purpose was growing confirmed and the materials of success were being collected, until at length, out of general good-will to the partakers of his felicity and from special favour to me, his charmed-one, a ray of intimation from the court of liberality reached this—as regards his sincerity,—forerunner on the highway of loyalty, but—as regards attainment of desires,—hindermost (member) of the caravans of felicity; and to Abu-l-fazl, son of Mubarak, upon the crown of whose heart is the quadripartite cap of discipleship and whose seven times embroidered sleeve of devotion is celebrated throughout the eighteen thousand creations, this sublime mandate was given. "Write with the pen of sincerity the account of the glorious events and of our dominion-increasing victories. What shall I say was the effect of this order for describing the occurrences?

5.3

Did it grant permission to undertake the task by bestowing on me the necessary genius? or did it, by a grant of felicity to my heart, appoint me the recorder of glorious events? or did it bestow eloquence on one rude of speech? Nay! nay! it gave wings to my words and feet to my pen. It was an invisible angel, conveying from the upper world, life-giving news of joy. It was the Archangel Gabriel bringing down a revelation from the antechamber of Omnipotence. Assuredly, I spent much labour and research in collecting the records and narratives of his Majesty’s actions and I was a long time interrogating the servants of the State and the old members of the illustrious family. I examined both prudent, truth-speaking old men and active-minded, right-actioned young ones and reduced their statements to writing. The royal commands were issued to the provinces, that those who from old service remembered, with certainty or with adminicle of doubt, the events of the past, should copy out their notes and memoranda and transmit them to Court. Inasmuch as this auspicious invitation was not fully responded to nor my wish fully accomplished, a second command shone forth from the holy Presence-chamber;

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to wit—that the materials which had been collected, should be faired out and recited in the royal hearing, and that whatever might have to be written down afterwards, should be introduced into the noble volume as a supplement, and that such details as on account of the minuteness of the inquiries and the minutiae of affairs, could not then be brought to an end, should be inserted afterwards at my leisure. Being relieved by this royal order,—the interpreter of the Divine ordinance,—from the secret anxiety of my heart, I proceeded to reduce into writing the rough draughts which were void of the graces of arrangement and style. I obtained the chronicle of events beginning at the nineteenth year of the Divine Era, when the Record Office was established by the enlightened intellect of his Majesty, and from its rich pages I gathered the accounts of many events. Great pains too, were taken to procure originals or copies of most of the orders which had been issued to the provinces from the Accession up to the present day which is the dawn of Fortune's morning. Their sacred contents yielded much material for the sublime volume. I also took much trouble to incorporate many of the reports which ministers and high officials had submitted, about the affairs of the empire and the events of foreign countries. And my labour-loving soul was satiated by the apparatus of inquiry and research.

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I also exerted myself energetically to collect the rough notes and memoranda of sagacious and well-informed men. By these means, I constructed a reservoir for irrigating and moistening the rose garden of fortune. But inasmuch as, notwithstanding all this apparatus and these rich treasures of information, the House of History was become decayed from lapse of time, and there were contradictions and imperfections in the accounts and no sufficient means of clearing up difficulties,—I begged the correction of what I had heard from his Majesty who, by virtue of his perfect memory, recollects every occurrence in gross and in detail, from the time he was one year old—when the material reason came into action—till the present day when he is, by his wisdom, the cynosure of penetrating truth-seekers. By repeated interviews I arrived at correctness and erased doubts and difficulties with the knife of investigation and ascertainment. When peace had possessed my soul, I made honesty and lavish labour, conductors of the lofty undertaking. I trust that I shall, by help of sincerity, accomplish my task, and that, having gathered such of the wondrous new fruit of the garden of creations, and catalogue of the Creator’s masterpieces as my understanding can grasp, I may display them so that a lamp of vision may be set up at the head of Wisdom's Way for the darkened of heart, and that the store of the enlightened may be augmented. Laus Deo !

5.6

What a blessed thing it is that I am paying my devotions to God behind the curtain of service to my sovereign, and that while setting forth the code of regulations of the outer and inner world and the duties of sovereignty and servitude for all mankind from the king to the beggar, I am acquiring a stock of eternal merit for myself.

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