Tazkiratu-l Wáki'át of Jauhar (extracts)
Translation of Tadhkirat al-waqiʿat (Tadhkirat al-wāqiʿāt)
- Language
- English
- Date
- 1873 CE
- Translators
- Henry Miers Elliot, John Dowson
- Extent
- 10 passages, 3,702 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- archive.org · The History of India, as told by its own Historians. The Muhammadan Period. The posthumous papers of Sir H.… · Public domain (published before 1930)
Contents
- 1 Humayun's conquest of Chunar. — 4 parts
- 2 Humáyún in Bengal.
- 3 Defeat of Humáyún at Chaunsa-ghát.
- 4 Humáyún's defeat at Kanauj
- 5 Battle of Kipchák.
- 6 Surrender of Kabul to Kamran
- 7 Kamran surrendered by the Gakhars, and blinded
Text
Humayun's conquest of Chunar.
1.1
His Majesty then inquired from his ministers and nobles what intelligence there was of Sher Khan Afghan, where he was, what he was doing, and what he was intent upon? He was informed that Sher Khan had taken the fort of Rohtas and Bahrkunda, that he had been for some time besieging the capital of Bengal, and was upon the point of taking it. Upon hearing this untoward news, His Majesty exclaimed to his nobles, "To what a pitch the daring of these Afghans has reached; please God, we will to-morrow march to the fort of Chunar." His Majesty then questioned Rumi Khan as to the powers of resistance of the fortress, and he replied that by the Emperor's good fortune, and the favour of the Almighty, they would take the fortress by force. Thereupon the Imperial forces marched towards Chunar, and on the Shab-i barat they came to five kos distance from the fort. The engineer (Rumi Khan) then debated with himself how he could find out the exact condition of the fortress, what bastion he ought to attack, and on which side he should mine. He had a slave named Khalafat, whom in furtherance of his plan he so flogged that the weals were visible upon his body. He then directed him to go into the fortress, and say that he was the slave of Rumi Khan, and that his master had so beaten him without any cause that he had fled and sought protection with them. So he was to find out the particulars of the fortress and return. He acted in accordance with these instructions.
1.2
When the Afghans saw his condition, and the marks of the chastisement plainly visible on his body, they believed him, and strove to heal his wounds. One day the slave proposed to the Afghans, that if they saw no objection they should show him the defences of the fortress, and he would advise as to the best means of resisting the guns which Rumi Khan had planted, so that the garrison might be safe. The Afghans complied with this proposition. After staying a few days in the fortress, and making his observations, the slave made his escape, and returned to his master, whom he acquainted with the exact condition of the fortress. He advised him to attack the bastion on the river-side, and to construct a mine on that same side. Rumi Khan brought up his guns, and battered that bastion, and he placed other batteries under his various officers. * * * Rumi Khan then sought His Majesty's permission to construct a floating battery, by means of which he proposed to cut the garrison off from the water, and prevent them from being able to maintain life. The royal order was given for him to do what he deemed expedient. Under this authority he employed himself for six months in constructing a battery upon three boats, so high that on the top of it all the soldiers of the garrison were plainly discernible. When it was completed, he sought the royal authority to move his battery, make it fast to the fortress, and carry the place by storm.
1.3
Permission being given, the attack was kept up till mid-day, and the royal army lost nearly 700 men. For all their efforts they could not take the place, and the garrison by their fire smashed one portion of the battery. Next morning Rumi Khan again prepared his battery. The Afghans saw that the assailants were resolute and vigorous, and that the place must soon fall, so they proposed to capitulate. Under His Majesty's command the garrison marched out, and the royal forces took possession of the fortress. Rumi Khan, being very irate and furious, cut off both hands of 300 gunners and others who had formed part of the garrison. When His Majesty was informed of this, he was very angry with Rumi Khan, and declared that no injury ought to be inflicted on men who had surrendered. After the capture of the fort a grand banquet was given and great rejoicings were made; rewards were distributed and great honours were bestowed. His Majesty then asked Rumi Khan as to the fortress and to the way he would deal with it. The Khan replied, that if the place were in his hands he would not allow a Bengali to approach within a kos of it. And upon His Majesty asking who ought to be placed in command of it, he replied, that he knew of no one fit for the position but Beg Mirak. Upon this advice His Majesty placed Beg Mirak in command of the fortress.
1.4
This counsel so incensed all the nobles against Rumi Khan, that they conspired against him, and caused poison to be placed in his cup, so that he died.
2
The King moved forward with the whole army, and in four days with little difficulty took possession of Gaur, the capital of Bengal, and drove away all the Afghans. After cleansing and repairing the city, the first act of His Majesty was to divide the province into jágírs among his officers; after which he very unaccountably shut himself up in his harem, and abandoned himself to every kind of indulgence and luxury. While the King had thus for several months given himself up to pleasure and indolence, information was at length conveyed to him that Sher Khán had killed 700 Mughals, had laid siege to the fortress of Chunar, and taken the city of Benares; and had also sent forward an army along the bank of the Ganges to take Kanauj; that he had further seized the families of several of the officers, and sent them prisoners to Rohtás.
3
As soon as the peace was concluded, the treacherous Sher Khán summoned his principal officers and said to them, "Is there any of you brave enough to go and storm the Mughal camp?" At first not one of the Afghan officers would undertake the task. At length a person called Khawás Khán said, "If he would give him a detachment of good soldiers and a number of war-elephants, he would attempt it, and exert himself to the utmost;" adding, "this is a business of chance; but let us see to whom God will give the victory."
Sher Khán was much pleased with Khawás Khán's proposal, and gave him his choice of all the troops and several war-elephants; but although the detachment marched from the camp at ten o'clock of the morning, the artful general loitered about till night. In the mean time Shaikh Khalil sent off a messenger to His Majesty, cautioning him to be on his guard ; but "when fate descends, caution is vain." * * *
The King would not believe the information, or that Sher Khan would be guilty of such a breach of honour and religion, and passed the night without taking any precautions. But just as the sun rose next morning, the Afghans entered the rear of our encampment, made a dreadful uproar, and caused the greatest confusion both among the troops and followers. His Majesty, on hearing the noise, ordered the kettle-drums to be beaten, and in a short time about 300 cavalry assembled around him. In a few minutes one of the enemy's war-elephants approached ; on which His Majesty made a sign to Mir Bajka, who was celebrated for his valour, and who with his two sons, Garg 'Ali and Tatta Beg, one of whom carried the King's double-barrelled gun and the other the royal spear, to attack the elephant ; but as none of them had the heart to do it. His Majesty snatched the spear from the hand of Garg 'Ali, spurred on his horse, and struck the elephant with such force on the forehead that he could not draw out the spear again. In the mean time an archer who was seated on the elephant discharged an arrow, which wounded the King in the arm, and the enemy began to surround him. His Majesty then called to his troops to advance and charge the enemy, but no one obeyed ; and the Afghans having succeeded in throwing everything into confusion, one of the King's followers came up, seized his bridle, and said, " There is no time to be lost ; when your friends forsake you, flight is the only remedy." The King then proceeded to the bank of the river, and although followed by one of his own elephants, he urged his horse into the stream, but in a short time the horse sank. On seeing this event, a water-carrier, who had distended his leathern bag (masak) with air, offered it to His Majesty, who by means of the bag swam the river. On reaching the northern bank, he asked the man his name; he said, "Nizám." The King replied, "I will make your name as celebrated as that of Nizámu-d din Auliya (a famous saint), and you shall sit on my throne." * * *
Soon after the King had remounted his throne, the water-carrier who had enabled him to cross the Ganges paid his respects; and His Majesty, remembering his royal promise, seated him for two hours upon the throne, and desired him to ask for whatever he wished.
4
After the battle had raged for some time, information was brought to His Majesty that the Prince Hindal had discomfited the Afghans opposed to him, but that the left under 'Askari was compelled to retreat. Mirza Haidar represented that in order to let the fugitives pass, it was requisite to loose the chains of the carriages ('arába), which formed a barricade in front of the centre. His Majesty unfortunately complied with this advice, and the chains being unloosed, the runaways passed through the line of carriages in files.
During this time, an Afghan clothed in black advanced and struck the King's horse on the forehead with a spear, on which the animal turned round and became unmanageable.
His Majesty afterwards related that as soon as he could control his horse, he saw the Afghans employed in plundering the carriages, and wished to have charged them, but some person caught the reins of the steed, and led him to the bank of the river. Here, while undetermined how to act, he saw an old elephant which had belonged to the late Emperor. He called to the driver to bring the elephant to him, who did so. He then mounted, and asked a eunuch who was in the howdah, what was his name. He replied, "Kafur." His Majesty then ordered the driver to carry him across the river, but the fellow refused, and said the elephant would be drowned. On which the eunuch whispered, that he suspected the driver wished to carry them over to the enemy; it would therefore be advisable to take off the fellow's head. The King said, "How shall we then make the elephant cross the river?" The eunuch replied, that he understood something of driving an elephant. Upon hearing this, His Majesty drew his sword and so wounded the driver that he fell off into the water, and the eunuch stepped down from the howdah on the neck of the animal, and caused him to pass the river. His Majesty further related, that when he arrived near the bank, it was so steep that he could not find a place to ascend. At length, some of the camp colour-men, who were on the look out for him, tied their turbans together, and throwing an end of the cloth to him, he with some difficulty climbed up. They then brought him a horse, on which he mounted and proceeded towards Agra. * * *
The King having been joined by the Princes Hindal and 'Askari and the Mirzas Yadgar Nasir, etc., proceeded joyfully towards Agra. When they reached the village of Bhain-ganw, the peasants, who were in the habit of plundering a defeated army, stopped up the road, and one of them wounded Mirza Yadgar with an arrow. On which the Mirza said to the Prince 'Askari, "Do you go on and punish these villagers, while I stop to dress my wound." The Prince was displeased at this request, and gave the Mirza some abuse, on which the other retorted in harsher language, and the Prince struck him three times with his horsewhip, which was returned with interest on the other side. When intelligence of this unpleasant fracas reached the King, he said, "They had better have vented their spite on the robbers than on each other. What has happened cannot be recalled, but let us hear no more of it." In short, the King reached Agra in safety.
5
One of the scoundrels of the enemy approached the King, and struck him on the head with his sword, and was about to repeat the blow, when His Majesty, looking at him, said, "You wretch, how dare you?"—upon which the fellow desisted; and some other officers coming up, led the King out of the battle; but he was so severely wounded, that he became weak from loss of blood, and therefore threw off his jabba (quilted coat), and gave it in charge of an Abyssinian servant; but his servant being obliged to make his escape from the battle, threw away the jabba, which having been found by some of Kamran's followers, it was brought to the Prince, who immediately proclaimed that the King was killed.
At this time there only remained with His Majesty eleven persons, including servants, and the author of these pages. We therefore took him out of the battle; and as his own horse was unquiet, we mounted him on a small ambling steed, two of the chiefs supporting him on either side, and endeavouring to console him by anecdotes of former princes who had suffered similar adversity, and encouraged him to exert himself, as it was probable the enemy might pursue him. On hearing this, he resumed his fortitude, and proceeded towards the pass of Sirtun. On the march we were joined by some of the chiefs, and at nightfall reached the entrance of Sirtun. As it was then very cold, and His Majesty suffered much from weakness, a sheepskin cloak was brought and put on him.
In the morning we reached the top of the pass; and as it was then getting warm, the King dismounted on the bank of the river, performed his ablutions, and washed his wound; but as there was no carpet for prayer to be found, the humble servant, Jauhar, brought the cover of a stool of scarlet cloth, and spread it for His Majesty, who knelt thereon, and performed his devotions, and sat down facing the kibla (Mecca). * * *
The King again mounted, and rode on to Parwan, where he alighted. At this place the only tent that could be procured was a small shamiyana (canopy), sufficient only to screen one person; under this His Majesty lay down and slept. In the morning the author of these pages awoke His Majesty, and told him it was the hour of morning prayer. He said, "My boy, as I am so severely wounded, I cannot bear to purify myself with cold water." I represented that I had got some warm water ready for him; he then arose, performed his ablutions, and said his prayers. He afterwards mounted his horse, but had not ridden far when he complained that the clotted blood on his clothes hurt him, and asked of the servants if they had no jama (coat) they could lend him. Bahadur Khan replied, he "had a jama, but it was one His Majesty had discarded and given to him, and he had worn it." The King said, "Never mind that, bring it." He then put it on, and gave the dress which was stained with blood to this humble servant, Jauhar, the aftabchi, and said, "Take care of this dress, and only wear it on holy days."
From Parwan we proceeded to Kahamrud, where Tahir Muhammad had the honour of paying his respects. He had pitched an old tent for the King, and had prepared an entertainment for him; but the blockhead did not bring any present, not even a spare dress. His Majesty ordered his followers to partake of the dinner, but went himself to the edge of a fountain, where they pitched an old tent, grimed with smoke and soot, for him; but as there was no necessary tent, the humble servant went and procured two hurdles, which he fixed up as a privy. At this time an old woman came and offered His Majesty a pair of silk trousers. He said, "Although these are not proper for a man to wear, yet, as my own are defiled with blood, I will put them on." He then inquired what the woman had for her support; and on being informed, wrote an order to the collector not to demand any tribute from her in future.
6
When His Majesty left Kabul, he bestowed the government on Kasim 'Ali, who had formerly been a servant of Kamran's; but notwithstanding this circumstance, he for some time refused to give up the fortress, till assured by Kamran that the King was dead, who in proof thereof produced the jabba or quilted coat; in consequence of which the Prince was allowed to enter the fort, and again took possession of the young Akbar. * * After remaining a month and twenty days at Andarab, * * the King determined on marching to oppose the rebels; but he first assembled all his chiefs, and proposed to them to take the oath of allegiance. Haji Muhammad Khan said, "It was also incumbent on His Majesty to take the oath of confederacy." The Prince Hindal said, "Such a proceeding was highly improper." But the King said, "If the chiefs wished it, he would take the oath to satisfy them." In short, the oaths were ratified on both sides; and, to give the ceremony more solemnity, the King fasted all that day.
7
The King received letters from Sultan Adam, chief of the Gakhars, stating that "the Prince Kamran was now in his territory, and that if His Majesty would take the trouble of coming there, he would give him up." * * * The Prince arrived, and advanced with great humility. The King, however, received him graciously, and pointed to him to sit down on the bed on his right hand. His Majesty then sat down on the bed also, having the young Prince Akbar on his left hand. Sultan Adam, 'Abdu-l Ma'ali, and the other chiefs were also seated in due order. After some time, His Majesty called for a water-melon, one-third of which he took and divided with his brother. * * * Preparations having been made for an entertainment, the whole night was passed in jollity and carousing. * * * [Four days after], the business of Mirza Kamran was taken into consideration, and it was resolved, in the first place, to remove all his servants from him. Then the King ordered five of his own people [names], and his humble servant Jauhar, to attend upon the Prince, and he said to me, "My boy (ghulam), do you know where you are sent?" I said, "Yes, and I know Your Majesty's (wishes)." He replied, "Your business is to take care of the interior of the tent, you are desired not to sleep for a moment." * * *
Early in the morning the King marched towards Hindustan, but before his departure determined that the Prince should be blinded, and gave orders accordingly; but the attendants on the Prince disputed among themselves who was to perform the cruel act. Sultan 'Ali, the paymaster, ordered 'Ali Dost to do it. The other replied, "You will not pay a Shah-Rukhi (3s. 6d.) to any person without the King's directions; therefore, why should I commit this deed without a personal order from His Majesty? Perhaps to-morrow the King may say, 'Why did you put out the eyes of my brother?' What answer could I give? Depend upon it I will not do it by your order." Thus they continued to quarrel for some time. At length, I said, "I will go and inform the King." On which I with two others galloped after His Majesty. When we came up with him, 'Ali Dost said, in the Chaghatai Turki language, "No one will perform the business." The King replied in the same language, abused him, and said, "Why don't you do it yourself?"
After receiving this command, we returned to the Prince, and Ghulam 'Ali represented to him, in a respectful and condoling manner, that he had received positive orders to blind him. The Prince replied, "I would rather you would at once kill me." Ghulam 'Ali said, "We dare not exceed our orders." He then twisted a handkerchief up as a ball for thrusting into the mouth, and he with the farash seizing the Prince by the hands, pulled him out of the tent, laid him down, and thrust a lancet into his eyes (such was the will of God). This they repeated at least fifty times; but he bore the torture in a manly manner, and did not utter a single groan, except when one of the men who was sitting on his knees pressed him. He then said, "Why do you sit upon my knees? What is the use of adding to my pain?" This was all he said, and he acted with great courage, till they squeezed some (lemon) juice and salt into the sockets of his eyes. He then could not forbear, and called out, "O Lord, O Lord, my God, whatever sins I may have committed have been amply punished in this world, have compassion upon me in the next." * * * The author of these pages, seeing the Prince in such pain and distress, could no longer remain with him. I therefore went to my own tent, and sat down in a very melancholy mood. The King having seen me, sent Jan Muhammad, the librarian, to ask me, "If the business I had been employed on was finished, and why I had returned without orders?" The humble servant represented that "the business I had been sent on was quite completed." His Majesty then said, "He need not go back, let him get the water ready for me to bathe."