The Memoirs of Jahāngīr (Jahāngīrnāma) 6.4
The Tūzuk-i-Jahāngīrī (Rogers, Beveridge) 6.4
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6.4.1
On the same day Kalyan, son of Raja Bikramajit, came from Gujarat. Certain extraordinary proceedings on the part of this rebellious rascal had been reported to me. Amongst these was this. He had kept a Musulman woman in his house, and for fear this affair should become known had killed her father and mother and buried them in his house. I ordered that he should be imprisoned until I could enquire into his proceedings, and after ascertaining the truth I ordered first that they should cut out his tongue and place him in perpetual confinement, and that he should eat his food with dog-keepers and outcasts. On Wednesday I encamped at Surkhah. Thence I alighted at Jagdalak. At this stage I saw many ballut-trees (oak or chestnut), which are the best wood for burning. Although this stage had neither passes nor declivities there were plenty of rocks. On Friday, the 12th, I encamped at Ab-i-barik, and Saturday, the 13th, at Yurt-i-padshah. On Sunday, the 14th, I alighted at Khurd Kabul (little Kabul). At this stage I entrusted the Chief Justiceship and Qaziship of the city of Kabul to Qazi 'Arif, son of Mulla Sadiq Halwa'i. They brought some ripe shah-alu (cherries) from the village of Gulbahar to this place; of these I ate with much enjoyment nearly a hundred. Daulat, the head of the village of Jigri(?), brought some uncommon flowers, such as I had never seen in my life. Thence I alighted at Bikrami. At this place they brought to show me a piebald animal, like the flying (i.e.
6.4.2
jumping) mouse, which in the Hindi tongue they call galahri (squirrel) and said that mice would not frequent any house in which this animal was. On this account they call this animal the master of mice. As I had never seen one before, I ordered my painters to draw a likeness of it. It is larger than a mongoose. On the whole it is very like a civet cat. Having appointed Ahmad Beg Khan to punish the Afghans of Bangash, I ordered 'Abdu-r-Razzaq Ma'muri, who was in Attock, to take 2,000,000 rupees under the charge of Mohan Das, son of Raja Bikramajit, with him, and divide it among the auxiliaries of the aforesaid army. One thousand musketeers were also ordered to accompany this army.
6.4.3
Shaikh 'Abdu-r-Rahman, son of Shaikh Abu-l-fazl, was promoted to the rank of 2,000 personal and 1,500 horse, and obtained the title of Afzal Khan. 15,000 rupees were presented to 'Arab Khan, and 20,000 rupees more for the repair of the fort of Pesh Bulagh. I bestowed Sarkar Khanpur in fief on Dilawar Khan Afghan. On Thursday, the 17th, from the Mastan bridge as far as the Shahr-ara garden, which was the encamping place for the royal standards, scattering rupees, half-rupees, and quarter-rupees to faqirs and indigent persons on both sides of the road, I entered the aforesaid garden. It appeared to be very green and fresh. As it was a Thursday I gave a wine entertainment to my intimates, and on account of hilarity and excitement ordered those who were of equal age to myself and had been my playfellows to jump over the stream that flowed through the middle of the garden and was about four gaz in width. Most of them could not jump it, and fell on the bank or into the stream. Although I jumped it, yet now that I was 40 years of age I could not jump it with the activity that I had shown in the presence of my revered father when I was 30. On this day I perambulated seven of the famous gardens of Kabul. I do not think that I ever walked so far before.
6.4.4
First of all I walked round the Shahr-ara (city-adorning), then the Mahtab (moonlight) garden, then the garden that Bika Begam, grandmother of my father, had made, then passed through the Urta-bagh (middle garden), then a garden that Maryam-makani, my own grandmother, had prepared, then the Surat-khana garden, which has a large chanar-tree, the like of which there is not in the other gardens of Kabul. Then, having seen the Charbagh, which is the largest of the city gardens, I returned to my own abode. There were abundance of cherries on the trees, each of which looked as it were a round ruby, hanging like globes on the branches. The Shahr-ara garden was made by Shahr-banu Begam, daughter of Mirza Abu Sa'id, who was own aunt to the late king Babar. From time to time it has been added to, and there is not a garden like it for sweetness in Kabul. It has all sorts of fruits and grapes, and its softness is such that to put one's sandalled feet on it would be far from propriety or good manners. In the neighbourhood of this garden an excellent plot of land came to view, which I ordered to be bought from the owners.
6.4.5
I ordered a stream that flows from the guzargah (ferry, also bleaching green) to be diverted into the middle of the ground so that a garden might be made such that in beauty and sweetness there should not be in the inhabited world another like it. I gave it the name of Jahan-ara (world-adorning). Whilst I was at Kabul I had several entertainments in the Shahr-ara garden, sometimes with my intimates and courtiers and sometimes with the ladies of the harem. At nights I ordered the learned and the students of Kabul to hold the cooking entertainment, bughra, and the throwing of bughra, together with arqhushtak dances.
6.4.6
To each of the band of Bughra'iyan I gave a dress of honour, and also gave 1,000 rupees to divide amongst themselves. To twelve of the trustworthy courtiers I ordered 12,000 rupees to be given, to be bestowed every Thursday, as long as I was in Kabul, on the poor and needy. I gave an order that between two plane-trees that were on the canal bank in the middle of the garden — to one of which I had given the name of Farah-bakhsh (joy-giver) and the other Saya-bakhsh (shade-giver) — they should set up a piece of white stone (marble ?) one gaz in length and three-quarters of a gaz in breadth, and engrave my name thereon (and those of my ancestors) up to Timur. It was set forth on the other side that I had done away with the whole of the customs dues and charges of Kabul, and whichever of my descendants and successors should do anything contrary to this would be involved in the wrath and displeasure of God. Up to the time of my accession these were fixed and settled, and every year they took large sums on this account from the servants of God (the Muhammadan people in general). The abolition of this oppression was brought about during my reign. On this journey to Kabul complete relief and contentment were brought about in the circumstances of my subjects and the people of that place. The good and leading men of Ghaznin and that neighbourhood were presented with robes of honour and dealt kindly with, and had their desires excellently gratified.
6.4.7
It is a strange coincidence that (the words) ruz-i-panjshanba hizhdaham-i-Safar, Thursday, 18th Safar, which is the date of my entry into Kabul, give the Hijra date thereof. I ordered them to inscribe this date on the stone. Near a seat (takht) on the slope of a hill to the south of the city of Kabul, and which is known as Takht-i-shah, they have made a stone terrace where Firdaus-makani (Babar) used to sit and drink wine. In one corner of this rock they have excavated a round basin which could contain about two Hindustani maunds of wine. He caused his own blessed name with the date to be carved on the wall of the terrace which is next to the hill. The wording is, "The seat of the king, the asylum of the world, Zahiru-d-din Muhammad Babar, son of 'Umar Shaikh Gurgan, may God perpetuate his kingdom, 914 (1508-9)." I also ordered them to cut out of stone another throne parallel to this, and dig another basin of the same fashion on its side, and engrave my name there, together with that of Sahib-qirani (Timur). Every day that I sat on that throne I ordered them to fill both of the basins with wine and give it to the servants who were present there.
6.4.8
One of the poets of Ghaznin found the date of my coming to Kabul in this chronogram — "The king of the cities of the seven climes" (1016). I gave him a dress of honour and a present, and ordered them to engrave this date on the wall near the aforesaid seat. Fifty thousand rupees were given to Parwiz; Wazir-al-mulk was made Mir Bakhshi. A firman was sent to Qilij Khan to despatch 170,000 rupees from the Lahore treasury for expenses of the army at Qandahar. After visiting the Khiyaban (avenue) of Kabul and the Bibi Mah-ru, I ordered the governor of that city to plant other trees in the place of those cut down by Husain Beg Ru-siyah (the black-faced).