The Memoirs of Jahāngīr (Jahāngīrnāma) 30: THE NINETEENTH NEW YEAR’S FEAST AFTER THE AUSPICIOUS ACCESSION

The Tūzuk-i-Jahāngīrī (Rogers, Beveridge) 30

Language: English

THE NINETEENTH NEW YEAR’S FEAST AFTER THE AUSPICIOUS ACCESSION

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On Wednesday, the 29th Jumada-l-awwal, A.H. 1033, March 10, 1624, after one watch and two gharis of day had passed, the sun, that bestows bounty on the world, passed into its house of honour in Aries. The royal servants obtained promotions and increase of mansab. Ahsanu-llah, s. Khwaja Abu-l-Hasan, received as original and increase that of 1,000 and 300 horse. Muhammad Sa‘id, s. Ahmad Beg K. Kabuli, the same, Mir Sharaf Diwan-i-buyutat, and Khawass K., each of them that of 1,000. Sardar K., having come from Kangra, had the good fortune to pay his respects. At this time I gave orders to the yasawuls and men of the yasaq (guards) that hereafter at the time when I came out of the palace they should keep away defective people, such as the blind, and those whose noses and ears had been cut off, the leprous and the maimed, and all kinds of sick people, and not permit them to be seen. On the 19th the feast of the culmination was held. Ilah-wirdi, the brother of Imam-wirdi, had run away from Bi-daulat and came to Court, and was honoured with great favours.

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As the news of Bi-daulat’s coming to the border of Orissa was constantly repeated, a farman was issued to the prince and Mahabat K. and the Amirs who had been sent to the support of my son, that they should set their minds at ease about the administering the provinces (of the Deccan), and go quickly to Allahabad and Behar, and if the Subahdar of Bengal could not forestall him, and he should put forward the foot of audacity, he must be made a wanderer in the desert of disappointment by the blows of the victorious army which is in the shadow of the flag of my son. By way of precaution on the 2nd Urdibihisht I gave my son Khan Jahan leave to proceed to Agra to remain in that neighbourhood and wait for a sign. If there should happen to be any necessity for a particular service and an order should be given him, he must act as occasion might require. I sent him a special dress of honour, with a nadiri with pearl buttons, a special jewelled sword, and to Asalat K., his son, a horse, and a dress of honour.

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On this day a report came from ‘Aqidat K., Bakhshi of the Deccan. He wrote that, according to order, my prosperous son Shah Parwiz had married the sister of Raja Gaj Singh. I hope that her coming will be auspicious to the State. He also wrote that, having sent for Turkuman K. from Pattan he had appointed ‘Azizu-llah in his place. Jan-sipar K., also by order, came and waited on me. When Bi-daulat crossed the Burhanpur river and took the road of ruin, Mir Husamu-d-din, considering his own evil deeds, could not remain at Burhanpur. Taking his children with him, he conveyed the goods of ruin to the Deccan, in order that he might pass his days under the protection of ‘Adil K. By chance, as he passed by Bir, Jan-sipar K. obtained information, and sent a body of men to head him off. He seized him and his dependants, and brought them before Mahabat. Mahabat placed him in confinement, and took from him Rs. 1,00,000 in cash and goods. (Also) Jado Ray and Uday Ram had taken the elephants which Bi-daulat had left in Burhanpur and brought them to the prince (Parwiz). Qazi ‘Abdu-l-‘Aziz, who had come to Delhi from Bi-daulat in order to state his objects, had not been allowed by me an opportunity to speak and I had handed him over to Mahabat K. After his (Bi-daulat’s) defeat and ruin Mahabat K. had made him his own servant. As he was an old friend of ‘Adil K., and was for some years at Bijapur as Vakil of Khan Jahan, Mahabat K.

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now sent him again as his representative to ‘Adil Khan, and the leading men of the Deccan, nolentes volentes, looking to the necessities of the time and the upshot of affairs, were contented and professed loyalty and desire for service. The rebel ‘Ambar sent one of his confidential men of the name of ‘Ali Shir, and displayed great humility. He (‘Ambar) wrote in the capacity of a servant to Mahabat K., and engaged that he (‘Ambar) should come to Dewalgaon and wait upon Mahabat. He would make his eldest son a servant of the State, and keep him in the service of my auspicious son. About this time there arrived a letter from Qazi ‘Abdu-l-‘Aziz that ‘Adil K. from the bottom of his heart had elected for service and loyalty, and agreed that he would send Mulla Muhammad Lari, who was his principal agent and minister, and whom both in spoken and written messages he called Mulla Baba, with 5,000 horse, that he might remain continually on duty, and they might know that other troops would follow (?). Urgent farmans had been sent that my son should proceed to Allahabad and Behar in order to overthrow Bi-daulat. At this time news arrived that notwithstanding the rainy season and the violence of the rain, that son, on the 6th Farwardin had marched out of Burhanpur with the army of fortune, and had taken up his quarters in Lal Bagh, and that Mahabat K.

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was awaiting at Burhanpur the arrival of Mulla Muhammad Lari, so that when he arrived he would relieve himself of the care of the maintenance of order in that neighbourhood, and come with him (Muhammad Lari) to wait on my son. Lashkar K., Jado Ray, Uday Ram, and other servants of the State had been ordered to go to the Balaghat (the country above the Ghats), and remain at Zafarnagar. Having given Jan-sipar K. leave as before, he (Parwiz) kept Asad K. Ma‘muri at Elichpur. Minuchihr, s. Shah-nawaz K., was appointed to Jalnapur. He sent Rizawi K. to Thalner, to guard the province of Khandesh. On this day news came that Lashkari had taken the farman to ‘Adil K., and he, having decorated the city, had gone out four koss to meet him, and had performed salutations and prostrations for the farman and the dress of honour. On the 21st I sent dresses of honour for my son Dawar-bakhsh and Khan A‘zam and Safi K. Having appointed Sadiq K. to the government of Lahore, and given him a dress of honour and an elephant, I gave him leave. An order was given that he should have the mansab of 400 personal and 400 horse. Multafat K., s. Mirza Rustam, raised the head of distinction with the mansab of 1,500 personal and 300 horse.

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One day while hunting it was reported to me that a snake with a black hood (kafcha) had swallowed another hooded (kafcha ?) snake and gone into a hole. I ordered them to dig up the place and bring out the snake. Without exaggeration I had never seen a snake of this size. When they opened its belly, the hood of the snake that it had swallowed came out whole. Although this snake was of another kind, in length and girth little difference was visible. At this time it was represented to me in a report by the news writer of the Deccan that Mahabat K. had ordered ‘Arif s. Zahid to be executed, and had put him (i.e., Zahid), with two other sons, in prison. It appeared that that wretched man had written with his own hand a petition to Bi-daulat representing on the part of his father and himself his loyalty, sincerity, repentance, and shame. By fate that letter fell into the hands of Mahabat K. Having sent for ‘Arif into his presence he showed him the letter. As he had written a decree for his own blood, he could not make any acceptable excuse, and of necessity he was executed, and his father and brothers imprisoned. On the 1st Khurdad it was reported that Shaja‘at K. ‘Arab, had died a natural death in the Deccan.

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At this time a report came from Ibrahim K. Fath-jang that Bi-daulat had entered Orissa. The particulars of this are that between the boundary of Orissa and the Deccan there is a barrier. On one side there are lofty mountains, and on the other swamps and a river. The ruler of Golconda had also erected a wall (dar-band) and a fort, and armed it with muskets and cannon. The passage of men by that closed route was impracticable without the leave of Qutbu-l-mulk. Bi-daulat, with the guidance of Qutbu-l-mulk, having passed by that route, entered the country of Orissa. It happened that at this time Ahmad Beg K., nephew of Ibrahim K., had attacked the Zamindars of Khurda. At this strange occurrence, which happened without precedent or news or information, he became confused and bewildered and without seeing a remedy gave up his campaign, and came to the village of Bulbul (Pipli), the seat of the governor of that Subah (Orissa). He then took his women with him and hastened to Cuttack, which is 12 koss from Pipli towards Bengal. As the time was short, he had not leisure to collect troops and arrange his affairs. He did not feel himself equal to a war with Bi-daulat, and he had not with him associates such as were necessary, so he went on from Cuttack to Bardwan, of which Salih, nephew of Asaf K. deceased, was the Jagirdar.

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At first Salih was astonished, and did not believe that Bi-daulat was coming, until a letter came from La‘natu-llah to conciliate him. Salih fortified Bardwan and remained in it. Ibrahim K. was surprised on hearing the terrible news. Though most of his auxiliaries and soldiers were scattered in the villages round about and unprocurable, he yet planted the foot of courage firmly in Akbarnagar (Rajmahal), and set himself to strengthen the fort and collect troops, and encourage the heads of tribes and retainers. He prepared the things necessary for his guns and other weapons and for battle. In the meanwhile a notice came to him from Bi-daulat that by the decree of God and the ordinances of heaven what was not suitable to him had appeared from the womb of non-existence. By the revolving of crooked-moving time and the changes of night and day his passage towards these regions had come to pass. Although to the view of manly courage the extent and breadth of that country were not more than an exercising-ground, or rather than a rubbish-heap (fur-kahi, “full of straw”), and his aims were higher, yet as he had to pass by this way, he could not pass for nothing. If it were Ibrahim’s determination to go to the royal Court, he (Shah Jahan) would hold back the hand of injury from him and his family, and he might go to Court with an easy mind. If he considered it advisable to stay, he would bestow upon him any corner of the country he might ask for.