The Memoirs of Jahāngīr (Jahāngīrnāma) 9.4
The Tūzuk-i-Jahāngīrī (Rogers, Beveridge) 9.4
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- English
9.4.1
As the desire to hunt overcame me, at a propitious hour determined by the astrologers, when a watch and six gharis had passed on the night of Friday, the 10th Ramazan, corresponding with the 10th Azar in the 5th year (of my reign), I started to hunt, and made my first halt in the Dahrah Garden, which is near the city. At this stage I gave Mir 'Ali Akbar leave to go into the city after bestowing on him 2,000 rupees and a special warm wrapper (fargul). In order that the grain and cultivation should not be trodden down by my men I ordered that all should remain in the city but the men who were actually wanted and my personal servants. Having entrusted the charge of the city to Khwaja Jahan I gave him his leave. On the 14th Sa'du-llah Khan, son of Sa'id Khan, was given an elephant. On the 28th, corresponding with the 21st Ramazan, forty-four elephants, which Hashim Khan, son of Qasim Khan, had sent as an offering from Orissa, were produced before me. Of these one was very good and tame ; this one I put in my private stud. On the 28th an eclipse (of the sun, kusuf) took place, in order to do away with the unluckiness of which I weighed myself against gold and silver; it came to 1,800 tolas of gold and 4,900 rupees. This, along with several kinds of vegetables and sorts of animals such as elephants and horses and cattle, I ordered to be divided among deserving people who were unprovided for and helpless poor of the city of Agra and other cities in the neighbourhood.
9.4.2
As the affairs of the army which had been nominated for the subjugation of the Deccan under the command of Parwiz, and leadership of the Khankhanan and other high Amirs such as Raja Man Singh, Khan Jahan, Asaf Khan, the Amiru-l-umara, and other mansabdars, and other leaders of every tribe and condition, had ended in this, that they had turned back from half-way and returned to Burhanpur, and all the confidential servants and news-writers who spoke the truth had sent in reports to the Court, that although there were many causes for the ruin of this army, yet the chief reason was the disagreement of the Amirs, especially the treachery of the Khankhanan, it came into my mind that I must send Khan A'zam with another fresh and powerful army to make amends for and set to rights some of the improper proceedings that had arisen from the disagreement of the Amirs that has been described. On the 11th of Day he (Khan A'zam) was honoured with the charge of this duty, and an order was given to the Diwans to make preparations and send him off quickly. I appointed Khan 'Alam, Faridun Khan Barlas, Yusuf Khan, son of Husain Khan Tukriyah, 'Ali Khan Niyazi, Baz Bahadur Qalmaq, and other mansabdars, near to the number of 10,000 horse, to accompany him. It was settled that in addition to the ahadis who were appointed to this duty 2,000 others should accompany him, making altogether 12,000 horse.
9.4.3
Having sent with him thirty lakhs of rupees and several elephants, I gave him his leave and presented him with a magnificent dress of honour, a jewelled sword-belt, a horse with a jewelled saddle, a private elephant, and 500,000 rupees for expenses. An order was given that the chiefs of the civil department should recover this from his jagir. The Amirs who were under his orders were honoured with robes of honour, horses, and presents. I increased by 500 more horse the rank held by Mahabat Khan, of 4,000 personal and 3,000 horse, and ordered him to conduct Khan A'zam and this army to Burhanpur, and having enquired into (the circumstances of) the destruction of the army, should give the order of the appointment of the Khan A'zam to the Amirs of those regions and make them of one purpose and counsel with him. He was to see the state of preparation of the army of those parts, and after arranging all matters should bring the Khankhanan with him to Court. On Sunday, the 4th Shawwal, when near the end of the day, I engaged in a cheetah hunt. I had determined that on this day and Thursdays no animals should be killed and I would eat no meat, on Sunday especially because of the respect my revered father had for that day in not being inclined to eat flesh on it, and in forbidding the killing of any animals for the reason that on the night of Sunday his own honoured birth had taken place.
9.4.4
He used to say it was better on that day that all animals should be free from the calamity of those of a butcherly disposition. Thursday is the day of my accession. On that day also I ordered that animals should not be killed, so that whilst sporting I should not shoot an arrow or a gun at wild animals. In hunting with cheetahs Anup Ray, who is one of my close attendants, was heading the men who were with him in the hunt at a little distance from me and came to a tree on which some kites were sitting. When his sight fell on those kites he took a bow and some pointless arrows (tukka) and went towards them. By chance in the neighbourhood of that tree he saw a half-eaten bullock. Near it a huge, powerful tiger got up out of a clump that was near and went off. Though not more than two gharis of day remained, as he knew my liking for tiger-hunting, he and some of those who were with him surrounded the tiger and sent some one to me to give me the news. When it reached me I rode there at once in a state of excitement and at full speed, and Baba Khurram, Ram Das, I'timad Ray, Hayat Khan, and one or two others went with me. On arriving I saw the tiger standing in the shade of a tree, and wished to fire at him from horseback, but found that my horse was unsteady, and dismounted and aimed and fired my gun. As I was standing on a height and the tiger below, I did not know whether it had struck him or not.
9.4.5
In a moment of excitement I fired the gun again, and I think that this time I hit him. The tiger rose and charged, and wounding the chief huntsman, who had a falcon on his wrist and happened to be in front of him, sat down again in his own place. In this state of affairs, placing another gun on a tripod, I took aim (majra) giriftam). Anup Ray stood holding the rest, and had a sword in his belt and a baton (kutaka) in his hand. Baba Khurram was a short distance off to my left, and Ram Das and other servants behind him. Kamal the huntsman (qarawul) loaded the gun and placed it in my hand. When I was about to fire, the tiger came roaring towards us and charged. I immediately fired. The ball passed through the tiger's mouth and teeth. The noise of the gun made him very savage, and the servants who had crowded together could not stand his charge and fell over one another, so that I, through their pushing and shock, was moved a couple of paces from my place and fell down. In fact, I am sure that two or three of them placed their feet on my chest and passed over me. I'timad Ray and the huntsman Kamal assisting me, I stood up. At this moment the tiger made for those who were on the left-hand side. Anup Ray let the rest slip out of his hand and turned towards the tiger. The tiger, with the same activity with which he had charged, turned on him, and he manfully faced him, and struck him twice with both hands on the head with the stick he had in his hand.
9.4.6
The tiger, opening his mouth, seized both of Anup Ray's arms with it, and bit them so that his teeth passed through both, but the stick and the bracelets on his arms were helpful, and did not allow his arms to be destroyed. From the attack and pushing of the tiger Anup Ray fell down between the tiger's fore-feet, so that his head and face were opposite the tiger's chest. At this moment Baba Khurram and Ram Das came up to the assistance of Anup Ray. The prince struck the tiger on the loins with his sword, and Ram Das also struck him twice with his sword, once on the shoulder-blade. On the whole it was very warm work, and Hayat Khan struck the tiger several blows over the head with a stick he had in his hand. Anup Ray with force dragged his arms out of the tiger's mouth and struck him two or three times on the cheek with his fist, and rolling over on his side stood up by the force of his knees. At the time of withdrawing his arms from the tiger's mouth, as his teeth had passed through them, they were partly torn, and both his paws passed over his shoulders. When he stood up, the tiger also stood up and wounded him on the chest with his claws, so that those wounds troubled him for some days. As the ground was uneven, they rolled over each other, holding on like two wrestlers. In the place where I was standing the ground was quite level.
9.4.7
Anup Ray says that God Almighty gave him so much intelligence that he bore the tiger over deliberately to one side (in the original, that side), and that he knew no more. At this time the tiger left him and was making off. He in that state of bewilderment raised up his sword and followed him and struck him on the head. When the tiger turned his face round, he struck him another blow on the face, so that both his eyes were cut, and the skin of the eyebrows, which had been severed by the sword, fell over his eyes. In this state of affairs, a lamp-man of the name of Salih, as it was time to light the lamps, came in a hurry and by a blind chance came across the tiger. The tiger struck him one blow with his paw and knocked him down. To fall and give up his life were the same thing. Other people came in and finished the tiger's business. As Anup Ray had done this service to me and I had witnessed the way in which he offered his life, after he had recovered from the pain of his wounds and had the honour of waiting on me, I bestowed on him the title of Anira'I Singh-dalan. Anira'i they call in the Hindi language the leader of an army, and the meaning of Singh-dalan is a tiger-slayer. Giving him a special sword of my own, I increased his mansab. I gave Khurram, son of Khan A'zam, who had been appointed to the governorship of the province of Junagadh, the title of Kamil Khan. On Sunday, the 3rd Zi-l-qa'da, I employed myself in fishing, and 766 fish were caught;
9.4.8
these were divided in my presence among the Amirs, Ibachkian (?), and most of the servants. I eat no fish but those that have scales, but not because the professors of the Shiah faith look on those without scales as unlawful, but the cause of my aversion is this, that I have heard from old men, and it has become known to me by experience as well, that fish without scales eat the flesh of dead animals and fish with scales do not eat it. From this cause, to eat them is contrary to my disposition. The Shiahs know why they do not eat them and for what reason they consider them unlawful. One of my home-bred camels that was with me in the hunt carried five nilgaws that weighed 42 Hindustani maunds. I had before this sent for Naziri of Nishapur, who excelled other men in the art of poetry, and passed his time in Gujarat as a merchant. At this time he came and waited on me, and imitating a poem of Anwari,